Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at
6:20 pm
Runner’s Question: I am currently running a minimum of 7 miles a day. My dad told me I should be running barefoot strides after every workout. I tried that on the football field, only 4 strides. When I was done, I noticed that my calves and hips felt amazing. Does a little bit of barefoot running actually prevent injury?
My 2 cents: Good question! I’ve been doing my share of barefoot running lately… As in literally running without any type of footwear. I’ve only worked up to roughly 3 miles, as it tends to get harsh on your feet, especially when running through the terrain that I’ve been (neighborhoods… streets and sidewalks). I only do it during the day when so I can concentrate on my foot placement and be sure that I’m not stepping on any glass. Anyway, not gonna go off on a long rant here, but I would definitely recommend adding barefoot running to your training/cardio regimen. Just be sure to start slow and ease your way into it. Only do like 3-4 blocks your first day – Your calves are going to be feeling it soon after!
Add your two cents! Answer this question (or check out the other answers) in the comments section below.
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at
4:14 pm
Guest post by Kathleen Baker.
Regardless of your city’s location, if it is the site for any major marathon race, then chances are it will attract a large international audience. With many prominent runners hailing from African nations like Kenya and Ethiopia, there has been a recent influx of fast runners from Germany and Russia as well taking many of the top times. In these poorer African nations, however, youths see their distance running as a ticket to get out of these poverty-stricken areas so that they can succeed in something that comes naturally to them.
East Africa has long supplied many of the world’s top long-distance runners over the past years, though there still remains speculation as to why this has become such a true fact. Many believe this is because of the high altitude at which Kenyans and Ethiopians train, although these countries also have a robust running culture as well as highly trained regimes. The specific Kalenjin tribe in Kenya are only 12 percent of the population of the country although they make up 75 percent of the nation’s elite runners, growing from the onset Olympic victory of Kip Keino in 1968. This has thus inspired many Kalenjin youths to grow up and be like this hero of the tribe. Additionally, the fact that so many Kenyans and Ethiopians have witnessed their fellow citizens travel overseas and win thousands of dollars in marathon money has been a further encouragement to rigorously train in order to become the best at marathon running. This has led domestic competition to drastic levels in order to determine who is the best to compete internationally.
However, very few youths get the opportunity to leave their home nations and travel in order to compete in international marathons. This still remains a dream far out of reach for so many young people in these nations, especially Kenya, but they keep training in the 7,000 to 8,000 foot altitudes in order to build up an endurance. This change in altitude offers a form of training that is used around the world, but the Kalenjin tribe has learned to hone into this factor and train their runners specifically for distance. Many genetic tests have additionally been conducted to determine to what length physiology plays a role in the Kalenjin tribe’s accomplishments as runners. In 2000, the Danish Sports Science Institute concluded after their tests with a Danish runner that Kenyans have a born advantage due to their “birdlike legs”. Many Kenyans themselves view their running strength as a sign of their superior work ethic which allows them to work harder and reach goals that would otherwise seem unfathomable. While the true reason behind their superior running skills remains undetermined, the fact remains that across the world, Kenyans and on a smaller scale, Ethiopians, are still dominating the first place mark on many marathons without any sign of this letting up.
This post was contributed by Kathleen Baker, who writes about nursing schools. She welcomes your feedback at KathleenBaker3212 at gmail.com
Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 at
5:24 pm
Buying a treadmill is quite hard enough. Choosing the best option out of millions is nearly impossible. But after you got the one you have always wanted, are your worries truly over? Well, they might be, but only if you take care of your treadmill and keep it under maintenance.
Your treadmill is probably one of the biggest investments you’ve ever made besides your home and your car. It’s only natural therefore if you want to keep it running. One of the ways to doing that is to keep a regular maintenance schedule.
A high quality treadmill, however, should never require frequent maintenance. Upkeep for your treadmill includes period dusting, and occasional belt lubrication. The following are some tips to help you maintain your treadmill and prolong the life of your fitness investment.
The number one cause of early belt issues is dirt. That has always been the case ever since the first treadmill was made and broke in the fitness industry.
Dusting between the belt and the deck will insure way longer lasting of your treadmill just do this once a week. The deck should be kept dry and debris free at all times during usage. In addition, make sure the area where you place your treadmill is dust free and dust free means not the attic, to minimize the dust from getting between the belt and/or the deck.
Wipe down display with a mild solution of Non-Phosphate cleaner on damp soft cotton. Cloth should be damp not wet. Wipe down handrails and traction strips with soft cotton cloth and mild soap and water. Cloth should be damp not wet.
You should also do the following on a monthly basis. Unplug the treadmill and let it sit for 10 minutes, then disassemble the motor cover and vacuum inside the motor area, being very careful not to directly touch the static-sensitive electronics. Slide a clean towel under the tread belt and wipe the deck and under the belt. Rotate belt 180 degrees and repeat. Check drive belt tension and adjust as necessary. Check tread belt tension and tracking and adjust as necessary.
The best treadmills of all are those that allow you to or around the belt area easily. But even the best treadmills with the most easily accessible belt tracking are also susceptible to stretch slightly under initial use. That is why it is important that you adjust the tread belt every so often to keep down stretching. If the belt gets to stretchy when your running you could fall when it breaks and really injure yourself badly. This is why choosing the best treadmill is the first step in buying one.
Thursday, May 21st, 2009 at
10:58 pm
The perfect workout routine is one that combines strength training and some form of cardio. The problem is, most people hate doing cardio and will make up any excuse not to do it. A popular excuse is not having enough time. This article, however, will show you how you can spend only 20 minutes on a cardio workout and still reap the benefits.
So first of all, why is it necessary that you add cardio to your workouts? Most people understand the benefits of strength training because it adds muscle and muscle makes you healthier, more lean and stronger overall.
But what are the benefits of cardio? Here is a short list that names just a few:
- it helps reduce stress
- it burns calories which leads to weight loss
- it makes your heart and lungs stronger
- it reduces your risk of certain diseases
- it reduces depression and increases confidence
- it gives you more energy and helps you sleep better
To sum it up, adding cardio to your workout improves your health and well-being which leads to a better quality of life. Combine this with strength training and you’re on your way to feeling great, fast.
So how can you reap the benefits of cardio in only 20 minutes per workout? It’s called Interval Training and it can be applied to many different forms of cardio including boxing, running and biking.
The concept in a nutshell is shorter workouts, but higher intensity. This is accomplished by pushing hard for say two minutes and then slowing down for two minutes. If you repeat this cycle four more times then you have your 20 minutes. You could also do one minute hard, one minute easy and then repeat this nine more times.
Here is an example:
Interval training is perfect for running. If you’re working out on a treadmill or running outdoors, it’s the same routine. Start out with a warm up jog followed by two minutes of a challenging pace. This won’t be your all out because you have to maintain it for two minutes, but a pace that will be very hard for you. You then follow this with two minutes of either a walk or a very slow jog. Repeat four more times and you’ve got yourself an effective cardio workout in only 20 minutes.
This concept can be applied to many different forms of cardio: two minutes hard, two minutes easy, repeat four more times. Or one minute hard, one minute easy, repeat nine more times.
You’ll get your blood flowing, your heart pumping and reap all the benefits cardio has to offer…all in only 20 minutes.
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009 at
2:55 am
I have been doing the same hill workout for the past 4 or 5 weeks. This morning I was feeling good and I wanted to make things a little more challenging. I got the idea to add a tempo run to the end of my normal hill workout.
My usual hill workout has been a warm up of 1.5 miles. After the warm up run over to the hills begin to run the series of 12 hills. After the hill workout is finished I will cool down by running back to the start. The total workout is 7 miles.
This morning I warmed up and ran the hills as usual. After finishing the hills instead of cooling down I ran for 20 minutes at tempo pace. This made the total workout about 10 miles.
I must admit this workout is a lot tougher. I plan to rotate a ten mile tempo pace run with my new combination workout. My theory is that I will be able to keep the leg strength that I have gained and also improve my lactate threshold with this type of training too.
I have adapted this workout to my marathon training. This workout could also be adapted to different race distances. Runners training for a half marathon would have a great workout for finishing the race strong. By cutting the hill workout in half and still running the tempo pace portion runners could use this for 5 and 10k training.
Friday, May 1st, 2009 at
9:13 am
In this article I want to compare traditional long, slow cardio with interval training for fat loss. From a fat loss standpoint, the more calories you burn, the better. Let’s see how good long, slow cardio and interval training are at burning calories.
Long, slow cardio burns more calories during training, but interval training burns more calories overall (during and after training), because it makes you burn calories between training sessions since your body must recover from the intense bout. It’s “hard” on your body. Winner: interval training.
Long, slow cardio won’t help you gain muscle mass. On the other hand, interval training makes you gain muscle mass, because to sprint or bike like crazy you need to push on the pedal really hard. This builds muscle (think of a sprinter). Since the more muscle you have, the higher is your resting metabolic rate, interval training makes you burn more calories all day, every day. Winner: interval training.
Another benefit of interval training is that it takes much less time (about 30 minutes per session). Winner: interval training.
On the other hand, interval training is too hard for beginners. If you’re a beginner, stick to slow jogging first for two weeks, and then experiment with increasing the pace for 5 minutes and walking for the next 5 minutes. Once that becomes easy, shorten the work interval and increase its speed. Winner: long, slow cardio.
Overall, if you’re fit, interval training is best. But since it’s very hard on the body, no one (even elite runners) does it more than twice per week. So, to lose fat quickly, your best bet is a combination of interval training (1-2 times per week) and long, slow cardio (2-3 times per week). Plus it brings variety to your training, which is good. Winner: both.
To sum up, if you want to maximize fat loss, I suggest you do interval training alone on the days you do it, and that you do some weight lifting and then long, slow cardio on the other days you train.
This being said, the specifics of interval training can get tricky. Hopefully I can share with you the method I prefer later. Athletes and smart trainers use interval training: you also should.
