Healthy Eating

Easy Tips for Planning a Healthy Diet & Sticking to It

Healthy eating is not about strict nutrition philosophies, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, stabilizing your mood, and keeping yourself as healthy as possible—all of which can be achieved by learning some nutrition basics and using them in a way that works for you. You can expand your range of healthy food choices and learn how to plan ahead to create and maintain a tasty, healthy diet.

Healthy eating tip 1: Set yourself up for success

To set yourself up for success, think about planning a healthy diet as a number of small, manageable steps rather than one big drastic change. If you approach the changes gradually and with commitment, you will have a healthy diet sooner than you think.

Simplify. Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories or measuring portion sizes, think of your diet in terms of color, variety, and freshness. This way it should be easier to make healthy choices. Focus on finding foods you love and easy recipes that incorporate a few fresh ingredients. Gradually, your diet will become healthier and more delicious.

Start slow and make changes to your eating habits over time. Trying to make your diet healthy overnight isn’t realistic or smart. Changing everything at once usually leads to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan. Make small steps, like adding a salad (full of different color vegetables) to your diet once a day or switching from butter to olive oil when cooking. As your small changes become habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices to your diet. Every change you make to improve your diet matters. You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy to have a healthy diet. The long term goal is to feel good, have more energy, and reduce the risk of cancer and disease. Don’t let your missteps derail you—every healthy food choice you make counts.

Think of water and exercise as food groups in your diet.

Water. Water helps flush our systems of waste products and toxins, yet many people go through life dehydrated—causing tiredness, low energy, and headaches. It’s common to mistake thirst for hunger, so staying well hydrated will also help you make healthier food choices.

Exercise. Find something active that you like to do and add it to your day, just like you would add healthy greens, blueberries, or salmon. The benefits of lifelong exercise are abundant and regular exercise may even motivate you to make healthy food choices a habit.

Healthy eating tip 2: Moderation is key

Harvard Healthy Eating Plate

People often think of healthy eating as an all or nothing proposition, but a key foundation for any healthy diet is moderation. But what is moderation? How much is a moderate amount? That really depends on you and your overall eating habits. The goal of healthy eating is to develop a diet that you can maintain for life, not just a few weeks or months, or until you've hit your ideal weight. So try to think of moderation in terms of balance. Despite what certain fad diets would have you believe, we all need a balance of carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals to sustain a healthy body.

For most of us, moderation or balance means eating less than we do now. More specifically, it means eating far less of the unhealthy stuff (refined sugar, saturated fat, for example) and more of the healthy (such as fresh fruit and vegetables). But it doesn't mean eliminating the foods you love. Eating bacon for breakfast once a week, for example, could be considered moderation if you follow it with a healthy lunch and dinner—but not if you follow it with a box of donuts and a sausage pizza. If you eat 100 calories of chocolate one afternoon, balance it out by deducting 100 calories from your evening meal. If you're still hungry, fill up with an extra serving of fresh vegetables.

Try not to think of certain foods as “off-limits.” When you ban certain foods or food groups, it is natural to want those foods more, and then feel like a failure if you give in to temptation. If you are drawn towards sweet, salty, or unhealthy foods, start by reducing portion sizes and not eating them as often. Later you may find yourself craving them less or thinking of them as only occasional indulgences.

Think smaller portions. Serving sizes have ballooned recently, particularly in restaurants. When dining out, choose a starter instead of an entree, split a dish with a friend, and don't order supersized anything. At home, use smaller plates, think about serving sizes in realistic terms, and start small. If you don't feel satisfied at the end of a meal, try adding more leafy green vegetables or rounding off the meal with fresh fruit. Visual cues can help with portion sizes–your serving of meat, fish, or chicken should be the size of a deck of cards, a slice of bread should be the size of a CD case, and half a cup of mashed potato, rice, or pasta is about the size of a traditional light bulb.

Healthy eating tip 3: It's not just what you eat, it's how you eat

Healthy Eating

Healthy eating is about more than the food on your plate—it is also about how you think about food. Healthy eating habits can be learned and it is important to slow down and think about food as nourishment rather than just something to gulp down in between meetings or on the way to pick up the kids. Eat with others whenever possible. Eating with other people has numerous social and emotional benefits—particularly for children—and allows you to model healthy eating habits. Eating in front of the TV or computer often leads to mindless overeating.

Take time to chew your food and enjoy mealtimes. Chew your food slowly, savoring every bite. We tend to rush though our meals, forgetting to actually taste the flavors and feel the textures of our food. Reconnect with the joy of eating.

Listen to your body. Ask yourself if you are really hungry, or have a glass of water to see if you are thirsty instead of hungry. During a meal, stop eating before you feel full. It actually takes a few minutes for your brain to tell your body that it has had enough food, so eat slowly.

Eat breakfast, and eat smaller meals throughout the day. A healthy breakfast can jumpstart your metabolism, and eating small, healthy meals throughout the day (rather than the standard three large meals) keeps your energy up and your metabolism going.

Avoid eating at night. Try to eat dinner earlier in the day and then fast for 14-16 hours until breakfast the next morning. Early studies suggest that this simple dietary adjustment—eating only when you’re most active and giving your digestive system a long break each day—may help to regulate weight. After-dinner snacks tend to be high in fat and calories so are best avoided, anyway.

Healthy eating tip 4: Fill up on colorful fruits and vegetables

Shop the perimeter of the grocery storeFruits and vegetables are the foundation of a healthy diet. They are low in calories and nutrient dense, which means they are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.

Try to eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day and with every meal—the brighter the better. Colorful, deeply colored fruits and vegetables contain higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants—and different colors provide different benefits, so eat a variety. Aim for a minimum of five portions each day.

Some great choices include:

Greens. Branch out beyond bright and dark green lettuce. Kale, mustard greens, broccoli, and Chinese cabbage are just a few of the options—all packed with calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, and K.

Sweet vegetables. Naturally sweet vegetables—such as corn, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, yams, onions, and squash—add healthy sweetness to your meals and reduce your cravings for other sweets.

Fruit. Fruit is a tasty, satisfying way to fill up on fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. Berries are cancer-fighting, apples provide fiber, oranges and mangos offer vitamin C, and so on.

The importance of getting vitamins from food—not pills

The antioxidants and other nutrients in fruits and vegetables help protect against certain types of cancer and other diseases. And while advertisements abound for supplements promising to deliver the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables in pill or powder form, research suggests that it’s just not the same.

A daily regimen of nutritional supplements is not going to have the same impact of eating right. That’s because the benefits of fruits and vegetables don’t come from a single vitamin or an isolated antioxidant.

The health benefits of fruits and vegetables come from numerous vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals working together synergistically. They can’t be broken down into the sum of their parts or replicated in pill form.

Healthy eating tip 5: Eat more healthy carbs and whole grains

Choose healthy carbohydrates and fiber sources, especially whole grains, for long lasting energy. In addition to being delicious and satisfying, whole grains are rich in phytochemicals and antioxidants, which help to protect against coronary heart disease, certain cancers, and diabetes. Studies have shown people who eat more whole grains tend to have a healthier heart.

A quick definition of healthy carbs and unhealthy carbs

Healthy carbs (sometimes known as good carbs) include whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables. Healthy carbs are digested slowly, helping you feel full longer and keeping blood sugar and insulin levels stable.

Unhealthy carbs (or bad carbs) are foods such as white flour, refined sugar, and white rice that have been stripped of all bran, fiber, and nutrients. Unhealthy carbs digest quickly and cause spikes in blood sugar levels and energy.

Tips for eating more healthy carbs

Whole Grain Stamp

Include a variety of whole grains in your healthy diet, including whole wheat, brown rice, millet, quinoa, and barley. Experiment with different grains to find your favorites.

Make sure you're really getting whole grains. Be aware that the words stone-ground, multi-grain, 100% wheat, or bran can be deceptive. Look for the words “whole grain” or “100% whole wheat” at the beginning of the ingredient list. In the U.S., Canada, and some other countries, check for the Whole Grain Stamps that distinguish between partial whole grain and 100% whole grain.

Try mixing grains as a first step to switching to whole grains. If whole grains like brown rice and whole wheat pasta don’t sound good at first, start by mixing what you normally use with the whole grains. You can gradually increase the whole grain to 100%.

Avoid: Refined foods such as breads, pastas, and breakfast cereals that are not whole grain.

Healthy eating tip 6: Enjoy healthy fats & avoid unhealthy fats

Good sources of healthy fat are needed to nourish your brain, heart, and cells, as well as your hair, skin, and nails. Foods rich in certain omega-3 fats called EPA and DHA are particularly important and can reduce cardiovascular disease, improve your mood, and help prevent dementia. Add to your healthy diet:

Monounsaturated fats, from plant oils like canola oil, peanut oil, and olive oil, as well as avocados, nuts (like almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans), and seeds (such as pumpkin, sesame).

Polyunsaturated fats, including Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, found in fatty fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, and some cold water fish oil supplements. Other sources of polyunsaturated fats are unheated sunflower, corn, soybean, flaxseed oils, and walnuts.

Reduce or eliminate from your diet:

Saturated fats, found primarily in animal sources including red meat and whole milk dairy products.

Trans fats, found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, baked goods, and other processed foods made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Healthy eating tip 7: Put protein in perspective

Protein gives us the energy to get up and go—and keep going. Protein in food is broken down into the 20 amino acids that are the body’s basic building blocks for growth and energy, and essential for maintaining cells, tissues, and organs. A lack of protein in our diet can slow growth, reduce muscle mass, lower immunity, and weaken the heart and respiratory system. Protein is particularly important for children, whose bodies are growing and changing daily. Here are some guidelines for including protein in your healthy diet:

Try different types of protein. Whether or not you are a vegetarian, trying different protein sources—such as beans, nuts, seeds, peas, tofu, and soy products—will open up new options for healthy mealtimes.

Beans: Black beans, navy beans, garbanzos, and lentils are good options.

Nuts: Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and pecans are great choices.

Soy products: Try tofu, soy milk, tempeh, and veggie burgers for a change.

Avoid salted or sugary nuts and refried beans.

Downsize your portions of protein. Many people in the West eat too much protein. Try to move away from protein being the center of your meal. Focus on equal servings of protein, whole grains, and vegetables.

Focus on quality sources of protein, like fresh fish, chicken or turkey, tofu, eggs, beans, or nuts. When you are having meat, chicken, or turkey, buy meat that is free of hormones and antibiotics.

Healthy eating tip 8: Add calcium for strong bones

Add Calcium for Strong BonesCalcium is one of the key nutrients that your body needs in order to stay strong and healthy. It is an essential building block for lifelong bone health in both men and women, as well as many other important functions.

You and your bones will benefit from eating plenty of calcium-rich foods, limiting foods that deplete your body’s calcium stores, and getting your daily dose of magnesium and vitamins D and K—nutrients that help calcium do its job.

Recommended calcium levels are 1000 mg per day, 1200 mg if you are over 50 years old. Try to get as much of your daily calcium needs from food as possible and use only low-dose calcium supplements to make up any shortfall.

Good sources of calcium include:

Dairy: Dairy products are rich in calcium in a form that is easily digested and absorbed by the body. Sources include milk, yogurt, and cheese.

Vegetables and greens: Many vegetables, especially leafy green ones, are rich sources of calcium. Try turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, kale, romaine lettuce, celery, broccoli, fennel, cabbage, summer squash, green beans, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, and crimini mushrooms.

Beans: For another rich source of calcium, try black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, white beans, black-eyed peas, or baked beans.

Healthy eating tip 9: Limit sugar and salt

If you succeed in planning your diet around fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and good fats, you may find yourself naturally cutting back on foods that can get in the way of your healthy diet—sugar and salt.

Sugar

Sugar causes energy ups and downs and can add to health and weight problems. Unfortunately, reducing the amount of candy, cakes, and desserts we eat is only part of the solution. Often you may not even be aware of the amount of sugar you’re consuming each day. Large amounts of added sugar can be hidden in foods such as bread, canned soups and vegetables, pasta sauce, margarine, instant mashed potatoes, frozen dinners, fast food, soy sauce, and ketchup. Here are some tips:

Avoid sugary drinks. One 12-oz soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar in it, more than the daily recommended limit! Try sparkling water with lemon or a splash of fruit juice.

Sweeten foods yourself. Buy unsweetened iced tea, plain yogurt, or unflavored oatmeal, for example, and add sweetener (or fruit) yourself. You’re likely to add far less sweetener than the manufacturer would have.

Eat naturally sweet food such as fruit, peppers, or natural peanut butter to satisfy your sweet tooth. Keep these foods handy instead of candy or cookies.

How sugar is hidden on food labels

Check food labels carefully. Sugar is often disguised using terms such as:

cane sugar or maple syrup

corn sweetener or corn syrup

honey or molasses

brown rice syrup

crystallized or evaporated cane juice

fruit juice concentrates, such as apple or pear maltodextrin (or dextrin)

Dextrose, Fructose, Glucose, Maltose, or Sucrose

Most of us consume too much salt in our diets. Eating too much salt can cause high blood pressure and lead to other health problems. Try to limit sodium intake to 1,500 to 2,300 mg per day, the equivalent of one teaspoon of salt. Avoid processed or pre-packaged foods. Processed foods like canned soups or frozen dinners contain hidden sodium that quickly surpasses the recommended limit. Be careful when eating out. Most restaurant and fast food meals are loaded with sodium.

Opt for fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned vegetables.

Cut back on salty snacks such as potato chips, nuts, and pretzels.

Choose low-salt or reduced-sodium products.

Try slowly reducing the salt in your diet to give your taste buds time to adjust.

Burn Fat Without Losing Muscle

Sprint To Lose Fat, Not Muscle

Some very interesting theories and thoughts are presented here and they do make a lot of sense as well. When I look back at my "weight loss," I quickly attribute that to walking. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, it was walking with a little bit of resistance, but it was walking that was the key. I don't think the added resistance was truly interval stuff but I can see the comparison there.

As I was reading the article (posted below), I was left thinking that I know I am building up my stamina to run and don't think I've seen a substantial reduction in muscle loss. What I have noticed is that I have plateaued for basically a year now with only a marginal loss in weight. There are some people that say I am building up muscle, but I do think that is the next step and I am going to have to go to the gym and start doing the "circuit" that is referred to in this article.

In the meantime, I leave this article here as a reminder and guide that there is a better way to approach my running routine and maybe mixing it up by going to the track (to start) and running sprints. I know when I was younger, I could sprint like the wind ... okay maybe not like Usain Bolt, but I felt I was pretty quick. To stay on track, this article is about understanding your body and approaching interval training smarter so that you can burn the fat but not lose the muscle.

To burn fat without losing muscle there are two options when it comes to cardio and they’re at extreme opposite ends of the spectrum. You can either do very high intensity cardio (sprint) or you can very low intensity cardio (walk). It’s the midrange stuff that presents a problem for most people.

When you hop on a machine and go at it with moderate-high intensity for 30-40 minutes you will get all of the negative effects associated with cardio (increased cortisol, muscle loss, overuse injuries, decreased power output- meaning you’ll be less explosive, etc.).

Why I Hate "Interval Training"

Many people know that traditional cardio sucks so they recommend intervals. I personally hate intervals. On a bike, stair climber, ski machine thingy and whatever else they stock Bally’s and Gold’s with these days.

Especially the rowing machine. Thirty minutes of repeated spinal flexion sounds fun but I think I’ll pass. According to typical interval training prescriptions you’re supposed to push as hard as you can for 30 seconds followed by a lower intensity period of 90 seconds, or something along those lines.

No matter what anyone says that will also sap your power production because the lactic acid buildup is massive. Lactic acid is the arch enemy of fast twitch muscle fibers.

Sprint to Lose Fat & Keep Your Muscle

A better option for intervals would be to rage against the machines and get outside and sprint. But who do you know personally that can sprint for thirty seconds straight? That would be over 200 yards! Talk about an injury waiting to happen. Yet that’s what interval training enthusiasts regularly advise their normal 40 year old office worker client to do.

To sprint for 30 seconds, followed by a 90 second rest period, over and over for 10-20 minutes straight is nearly impossible for most non-Olympians and risky as hell. If you want to sprint like a sprinter, not a nitwit, start Slowly.

Start with short distances and slowly work your way up over time. Take adequate rest periods and slowly decrease them as you get in better shape. If you’re an average dude it will take you in the neighborhood of 6-7 seconds to run a 40 yard sprint. And that would be a very far distance for your first time sprinting. I’d recommend sticking with 20’s your first few weeks. So instead of the silly recommendation of sprinting for 30 seconds straight I advise you to sprint for two or three seconds straight.

It’s funny that intelligent strength coaches who work with high level football players rarely let their athletes sprint at balls out intensity, 40 yards or more during the off season (because the risk of injury is too high), yet fitness trainers recommend that the average lay person head right out to the track and start running 100’s from day one. People have got to be more responsible than that.

It’ll take months to work up to that distance. Assuming you are sprinting proper distances and taking care to be safe the next question is how long should you rest? The truthful, nonspecific answer is - as long as you need to.

Keep track of it and try to improve over time. Everyone’s different.

That’s why when people ask me about specific guidelines for hill sprints I tell them I don’t know. I don’t know what kind of shape you are in and what hills you have available to you. Because you’re really limited by the hills you have.

If I told you that you should be sprinting for 15 seconds yet you could make it up the only hill in your neighborhood in eight seconds would you not sprint up the hill?

You can’t always be a slave to exact prescriptions; sometimes you need to just man up and do work. Your sets, reps, intervals, whatever, are based on your hill and your fitness level. Now, eventually you may work your way up to being able to sprint your hill for 30 seconds, followed by a 90 second break and repeat that for 20 minutes straight.

So I guess you could say you’re doing intervals at that point. But who cares? I call them hill sprints. Like Walter Payton did. If you’re sprinting on a football field or a track just say you’re sprinting. Don’t actually say to anyone that you’re “doing intervals.” That’s so 2004 and so not cool.

If you had absolutely no other option, for whatever reason, than to do intervals on a bike I’d keep the sprints very short and the rest periods as long as necessary, removing almost all tension from the bike while cruising. You really want to avoid that extreme lactic acid buildup if you want to maintain your power.

A Better Way to Do Interval Training

The best way to come close to traditional interval prescriptions is achieved by performing a variety of exercises such as swings, burpees, med ball slams, battling ropes, mountain climbers, etc. in a circuit. Mixing it up prevents the massive accumulation of lactic acid in any one area and is far more beneficial than be locked into the versa climber for twenty minutes.

For athletic purposes I prefer to keep the intervals or work times/set duration lower than 30 seconds. Ten to twenty seconds would be a better idea for power athletes. This type of "interval training" is often associated with the training of combat athletes.

Low Intensity Cardio

As far as the low intensity stuff goes you can walk with a sled, a light weighted vest, walk up hill, walk through the woods or trails or just walk the streets like Omar from The Wire. Be sure to whistle The Farmer and the Dell to let the suckas know you’re coming.

The best time to do it is first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Try to keep your heart rate at around 65% of max for 30 minutes.

The nice thing about this is there is no negative effect at all. No cortisol, no muscle loss, nothing. And you start your day with some nice fresh air which is great for your health and your mind.

This should be done three times per week, minimum. This will help keep you lean while you’re in the process of trying to gain size and will also help you recover more efficiently.

The old days of bulking and cutting are dead. A smarter approach is to include some high and low intensity cardio methods year round, skip the traditional cardio machines and never let yourself become an out of shape fat ass.

I have copied and pasted this article from Jason Ferruggia for my purposes and for those who come by it.

Walking vs Running

When I started on my path to a healthier me, I started by walking. It was short distances on relatively level grade but soon realized that I needed to add in the resistance of inclines. I quickly found that I enjoyed walking the trails around my neighbourhood that included some difficult hills. Walking was my ticket to head down the path and paved the way for me to make some noticeable weight loss gains.

Although I did try to add in the next level of resistance being running, I still find myself enjoying a nice walk daily and sometimes twice daily with my dog. Walking is still an enjoyable activity for me and I have been known to start wandering off and not returning for hours and many kilometers later. This article compares the benefits of walking and running and shows that it isn't necessarily the speed or distance that's covered but the time spend on the activity that provides the benefit.

Once again this article is not mine, but one that I am posting here for my reference. It was originally posted on the National Post website in their Running section (click here).

Walking vs Running
by Jill Barker

Comparing walkers to runners is like comparing Barry Manilow to the Rolling Stones. One gets all the respect and the other … well, not so much.

But a new study out of the University of California, Berkeley, has given walkers a much-needed boost in respect, not to mention added validation that walking is bona fide exercise.

The study, published this month online in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, examined the health outcomes of 33,000 runners and 16,000 walkers over six years, and researchers discovered that despite the difference in exercise intensity, both walking and running offered similar reductions in risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

The results fly in the face of the assumption that runners are healthier than walkers, which is what many previous studies have indicated. The trouble with those results, say the authors of the Berkeley study, is that they compared the two modes of exercise based on time, not distance.

When the health benefits of running and walking the same distance were compared, the results accrued were similar. But when the health benefits of running and walking the same length of time were evaluated, the walkers fell short.

“The superiority of vigorous over moderate exercise, in some studies, may simply reflect the fact that more calories can be expended per minute of activity with vigorous exercise. Consequently, when exercise is compared by time spent in activity, vigorous exercise seems more beneficial.”

This is an important distinction, especially since most health-based exercise recommendations are prescribed by time, as in 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week, and not distance. It is the contention of the Berkeley team that distance may be a better measure of the long-term benefits in more than just running and walking.

“Most epidemiological studies estimate exercise dose by time and intensity, which our analyzes [finds] would substantially underestimate the true health benefits of physical activity,” say the authors of the Berkeley study.

Before walkers can rejoice, however, it’s important to understand that to get the same benefits as runners, walkers need to budget more time for their workouts. It takes longer to walk a given distance than it does to run, so walkers need to pick up the pace or put in more time.

Therein lies the kicker in this good-news story. The added length of time it takes for walkers to achieve the same health benefits as runners is no minor detail, because most people claim lack of time as their No. 1 barrier to meeting the recommended amount of exercise needed to benefit health. And according to the Berkeley research team, walkers lagged behind runners when it came to meeting or exceeding those guidelines.

“Specifically, there were substantially more walkers whose walking was at or below the [recommended health] guideline levels than runners whose running was at or below the guidelines and substantially fewer walkers than runners whose walking or running exceeded the guideline levels by twofold, threefold and fourfold,” the Berkeley researchers state.

That important detail takes on even greater significance because the Berkeley study revealed that the more distance walkers and runners cover the more their risk of chronic disease is reduced.

So what does that mean practically for walkers who want the same health benefits as runners but without the bone-jarring, heart-pumping, oxygen-gasping side effects that come with speeding up a walk to a run?

Well, it means setting distance rather than time goals and then slowly working on improving the time it takes to cover that distance.

The first step is to start planning your workouts like a runner, even though you’re going to keep your pace squarely in the walking zone.

Here are some tips on getting more distance out of your walking workout:

• Map your route based on distance, not time, using 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 kilometres (depending on your present level of fitness) as your goal.
• Reorganize your workouts to include one long walk and one speedy walk per week.
• Quicken your pace, gradually improving the time it takes to walk your goal distance.
• Take shorter, quicker steps when picking up your walking pace.
• Increase the pace of your arm swing to naturally increase your foot speed. Bend at the elbows, swinging the arms close to the body in a forward and back (not side to side) motion reaching the hands no higher than the sternum in front and your back pocket in the back.
• Use fartleks (the Swedish word for speed play) as a way to gently introduce more speed to your walking workouts. Pick out a landmark (mailbox, street sign or distinctive house) in the distance and speed walk until you get there. Reduce your speed to a more comfortable pace for three minutes. Repeat gradually, working up to six to eight fartleks done in the middle of your walking workout.
• Look after your feet by wearing lightweight, breathable and comfortable footwear with polyester (not cotton) socks designed to wick sweat and maintain their shape.
• Use smartphone apps such as Sports Tracker (my favourite), Google My Tracks, RunKeeper, Runtasktic Pro and iRace Me to chart your distance and pace.

Getting Started as a Runner

I find myself reading more and more interesting articles on running and preparing for running. I don't consider myself a full fledged runner as of yet, but am interested in getting there and can almost picture myself running some decent distances. I am very interested in running a 10K length next at the Labour Day Classic in Prince George so of course I'm looking at getting consistent with the 5K length and then stretching that out.

Part of the process is making sure I have all the right tools to be able to handle the longer distances both physically and mentally. So finding any article that provides tips and strategies is a good one. This is an article about getting started running and so I am posting it here for my reference. It was originally found on the National Post website in their Running section (click here)

The First 10 Steps to Getting Started as a Runner
by Ben Kaplan

With running groups beginning in earnest for fall’s crop of races, there’s no better time to lace up and head out the door. That said, we don’t want to lead you into the street naked, so we’ve gathered our favourite experts and asked: What do we need to know to enjoy running, and start right now?

10. Get off the treadmill and head outdoors.

Even if you’re only walking around your neighbourhood — and a great way to start running is by walking first – it’s important to move from the gym to the great outdoors. For one, that’s where the races are held, and by signing up for your first 5K, perhaps 10 weeks from now, you’ll have incentive to keep up your hard work. Also, it’s summertime! On my run this morning I saw a deer.

9. Find the right shoes.

“In the past, there was conflict between runners who wanted shoes that were comfortable and soft, but felt like a dead fish – no more,” says Gerd Manz, senior innovation director for Adidas. This summer, Adidas rolled out Manz’s design for the Boost, which is shot through with polyurethane pellets and took four years to bring to market. “Runners that are at the beginning of their career, they’d like to have shoes that support them, that make running easier, make it fun, and not a clunky, heavy product,” continues Manz. “A new runner should try on a sneaker and, before they buy it, it should feel light and comfortable right away.”

8. Take it slow.

I have a friend wondering whether to shoot for the half-marathon or marathon as he begins to run. He’s a guitarist and got frustrated as he ran for the first time. I asked him, “Did you write your album before first learning a few chords?” Running seems easy, and it is, but you need to build stamina and endurance. My friend’s now training for his first 5K.

7. No, really. Pace your goals accordingly.

Even Canada’s fastest marathon runner says so. “Keep in mind that running doesn’t feel great at the beginning and it takes time to achieve fitness. Patience is required,” says Reid Coolsaet, who ran the marathon for Canada at the 2012 London Olympics and is eying Jerome Drayton’s 38-year-old marathon record at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon this fall. “Injuries are the worst, so make sure you have some strength training incorporated to compliment all your running. Other than that, have fun and listen to your body.”

6. Be safe, don’t chafe.

Skin rubs against skin when you run and, when you run for a while, this happens over and over again. If you don’t use Vaseline, Body Glide or some sort of salve, you will bleed. Before you run, put a little wax around your bra line, nipples and underarms. It’s a much more pleasant way to run.

5. Don’t run alone.

Running’s a solitary sport, but it improves, as will your finishing times, with the support of a community. The Running Room hosts clinics at most of their 125 locations, where like-abled new athletes meet three times-a-week and prepare for either 5K, 10K, the half-marathon or the marathon. It’s easier getting out of the house if you feel beholden to a larger group, or even a single person. Besides, after you’e finished running, you can’t give yourself a high-five.

4. Experiment with wacky trends.

The new craze in racing is putting the emphasis on fun over competition, as The Color Run and Color Me Rad, short distant races where participants are doused in paint, grow in popularity. No one ever said the endeavor had to be miserable; thanks to this new style of racing, running can become more like a dance party than a race.

3. Make a plan.

If you want to start running, set a goal, so you don’t feel like aimless. (If you do, what harm is it if you skip a workout?) Instead, find yourself a realistic finish line you can work towards. This will add a little competitive fire to your runs. “Get a training program with an end goal, and be persistent,” says Alan Brookes, race director of Canadian Running Series. “Work determinedly, but patiently, towards slowly and consistently reaching your long-term goal.” It’s more fun when you run for a reason.

2. One more thought about shoes.

“There’s right weight and lightweight, you want the right balance between the two,” says Scott Meyers, Nike’s product specialist, from the company’s Oregon headquarters. In recent years, minimalist sneakers – shoes with scant heel and little padding — have come to dominate the market, none more than the Nike “Free” series. However, tread carefully: Even Meyers says it’s important to have a gait-analysis observed before selecting your footwear (and minimalist sneakers offer little support). “It’s very subjective, and new runners should try different shoes,” says Meyers. “There’s no ‘best sneaker,’ only what’s best for you.”

1. The path can lead toward positive mental health.

In psychology, the term “mastery,” is a feeling a person experiences as they notice incremental improvement. Not surprisingly, mastery, even at something as repetitive as running, feels good. “Mastery, especially as compared to that back and forth indecisiveness, can give you energy,” says Dr. Kate Hays, founder of Toronto’s The Performing Edge. “People who don’t run don’t necessarily believe running can give you energy, but it does — and mental energy, for sure.”

Core Power

In my transition from a sedentary creature to one that engages in a more active lifestyle, I'm at the point where I know I need to step up to the next level and start doing fitness training. Outside of daily walking and regular running, I need to worry about the muscles in my body and strengthen them with weights. I also have to do the stretching and exercising that will provide me with a full range of motion and build up flexibility as well as strength.

I'm not sure I'm ready to take on a Cross Fit program, but will be looking into that some more. Instead I prefer a cheaper method and one that doesn't require costly gym memberships or equipment. Working the core seems like a sensible place to start as it uses mostly movements that only require the resistance of your own body weight but appear to be very effective at targeting the one area that I know I still need to target - the visceral fat or abdominal fat that is still very much a part of the body weight I carry and the reason I'm not at a healthy BMI. The goal is to reduce my overall body fat index.

I just came across this article listing five exercises that can be done at home and with or without any additional weights for added resistance. The article provides some good insight to properly perform the exercises, it also explains why they are important as building a solid core is more than just focusing on the abdominal muscles but also the muscles in the back and those that support the entire body as well as the core.

This article is being posted here for easy retrieval and reference for myself but if you have found it and find it useful, please note that it is not my and that it was copied and pasted from the ALIVE website and can be found here (original article).

CORE POWER, 5 exercises to tone your torso
by Gail Johnson

Call it a spare tire, mummy tummy, beer belly, or muffin top: abdominal fat is easy to poke fun at. It’s also a big motivator when it comes to working out. But there’s much more to a strong core than having so-called six-pack abs.

To achieve and maintain a solid core, it’s crucial to work not just the abdominal muscles but those in the back as well. And good old-fashioned sit-ups alone aren’t enough to address a bulging belly. The abdomen consists of different muscle groups, and it takes various exercises—not just a bunch of crunches—to target each one. (It takes cardiovascular exercise and a healthy diet to slim down, too.)

Beyond the crunch

Crunches—where you lie on the floor with your knees bent, then lift your torso upward—do have their place. They’re one way of working the rectus abdominis, a long, paired, flat muscle that runs along the front of the entire abdomen.

But there are the external and internal oblique muscles to focus on too. These muscles run along the side of the torso. Then there’s the transverse abdominis, which is the deepest layer of muscle in the abdomen—and also usually the most neglected.

All the abdominal muscles help support the torso, but not without the help of the muscles in the back. The erector spinae consists of two groups of muscles that run along both sides of the spine.

Doing a series of exercises that targets different muscle groups is the most effective way to acquire core strength. Like other strengthening exercises, you can do 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 15 repetitions of each of the following exercises.

Be careful

If you ever feel pain in the lower back while doing any abdominal or back exercises, stop immediately. This is a red flag. You will need to modify the exercise or find an alternative. For example, if the lower back hurts while doing the Dead Bug, keep the legs bent and just lower them slightly—don’t go as low as before.

Posture is crucial when it comes to performing abdominal exercises safely and effectively. Always keep your shoulders back as opposed to rounding the upper back.

Avoid holding your breath. Always exhale on exertion, during the hard part of the exercise.

Take breaks. It’s okay to take a rest if you need one.

Hydrate. Drinking plenty of water before, during, and after a workout doesn’t just apply to cardio. Drink up for strengthening and core sessions too.

1. Butterfly Crunch

This exercise targets the upper portion of the rectus abdominis. You’ll notice right away that it’s a very small range of motion, but you should start to feel these muscles working right away.

Lie on your back with legs bent and the soles of the feet together.

You have three options for your arms: they can be outstretched by your sides, or folded across your chest, or you can bring your hands to your ears while keeping your elbows back (not folded inward toward your temples).

Lift your upper body upward while looking up to the sky. Try to get your shoulder blades completely off the floor. Lower and repeat, trying to keep your belly button pulled in toward your spine throughout. This helps engage the core and helps protect your lower back. Exhale as you lift upward; inhale on the way down.

2. Hip Raises

This exercise complements the Butterfly Crunch in that it works the lower portion of the rectus abdominis.

Lie on your back with your legs extended up toward the ceiling, with your knees slightly bent.

Have your arms at your sides, pressing your palms into the floor.

Flex your feet.

Lift your hips up off the ground, as high as you can. Think about pushing the ceiling away with your heels.

Exhale as you lift your hips up.

You want the power to come from your abdominal muscles and not from momentum, so avoid swinging the legs. Keep the movement contained as if your legs are moving in a cylinder.

Keep your belly button pulled in throughout. Avoid tilting your neck by keeping your chin tucked into your chest.

If you’re comfortable, you can lift your arms up off the floor, clasping your hands together over your chest.

3. Oblique Crunches

Lie on your back with your feet on the floor and knees bent.

Drop both knees to the left, so that the left leg is resting on the floor.

Keep your chest square to the ceiling.

With arms outstretched by your sides, or folded across your chest, or with your hands at your ears and your elbows back, lift your chest up toward the ceiling. Keep your gaze on the ceiling and not your knees.

Think about your rib cage moving toward your hip.

Exhale as you lift your torso up.

Repeat on the other side.

4. Dead Bug

This funnily named exercise works the transverse abdominis. If you’re new to this exercise, you might feel like you have mild cramps the next day. This is simply because this muscle typically doesn’t get a lot of attention.

Lie on your back with your belly button pulled in and legs extended toward the ceiling with your knees slightly bent.

Slowly lower one leg toward the floor. Start by keeping the leg bent; if it feels comfortable, straighten the leg and point the toe. Bring the leg back up.

Repeat with the other leg, moving slowly.

Alternate sides.

Exhale as you lower your limbs.

Keep your arms by your sides, palms pressed into the ground.

Another option is to reach the arms up, as if you’re trying to touch the ceiling.

You can add opposite arm movements:

Start with both arms reaching upward.

As you lower your right leg to the ground, lower the left arm toward the floor, over your head.

Bring the arm and opposite leg back in together.

Lower your left leg to the ground as you lower the right arm.

5. Superman

This exercise works the erector spinae.

Position yourself on the floor on all fours, with your knees directly underneath your hips and your hands under your shoulders.

Slowly extend your right leg out behind you as you reach out your left arm in front of you.

Bring the arm and leg back in, then repeat on the other side, extending your left leg and right arm.

Be sure to keep the hips square to the floor.

Equipment

The beauty of these core exercises is that you don’t need a single piece of equipment to do them. If you don’t have a mat, you can use a towel.

If you’d like to incorporate equipment for variety or added challenge, consider using a light set of free weights for the Dead Bug. You can also hold a single free weight against your chest for the Butterfly Crunch or Oblique Crunches.

About the Author

Gail Johnson is a Vancouver journalist and a certified group fitness instructor who loves sharing her passion for fitness.

Race Day

Just slowing down after completing my first official 5K race

Well today was the day and I did it and better than expected! I was able to complete my first 5K in a time of 26:50, which is a new personal best for me.

I felt good for the entire race. There was only one real incline and that is Massey up to Ospika; the incline starts almost right away and you are over a kilometer into the race when it levels off and then starts dropping back down to the finish. In hindsight, I think my training helped me out quite a bit because I was tackling the big incline after the 3K point in my training.

When I was about three kilometers into the race, I started counting the bodies in front of me and that is when I realized that I was in the front of the pack. Turns out I wasn't as far up as I thought I was ... I thought I was in sixth place but later discovered that there were some speedsters that had long gone ahead of my little group. If I had maybe thought this a little sooner in the race, I may have tried to increase my pace to see if I could get into medal standing. Once the race results started coming in, I found out that I was two minutes back of running a medal race but still finished 7th in my age category (19-49).

As I started out on the race course, I was very conscious of my pace and wanted to make sure I wasn't going too fast or too slow. I used a man and a lady to help me guage my pace but soon ended up passing the guy who was waiting for his son to catch up. The lady also started to slip behind me as we started our incline. About two thirds of the way up Massey I passed this one guy who had noticed earlier was running quite fast but was now just walking. As I turned the corner onto Ospika, he once again ran by, but that was short lived and I passed him again just before the water station.

Grabbing the cup of water and trying to drink while running is apparently an art form that I gave up on before drowning myself. The volunteers along the race course did an exceptional job and there were three that stood out for me. The first one was directing traffic at the intersection of Westwood and Massey who we ended up running by twice, the second was the lady at the water station who expertly handed off the water to me and the third was the lady that was using a walkie talkie to relay the bib numbers of the participants just before they entered back into Masich Place Stadium for the finishing sprint.

Sprint I did do, but not until it was too late. Earlier on the course I found myself encouraging a younger runner who I passed. He dropped off but started to turn it on again and as he came up beside me, I told him he could do it and that he was almost there. He thanked me and ran on up ahead. As I turned to the track I noticed this same runner almost throwing up. When I came up on him again, I put my hand on his back and asked if he was going to be okay. With a bit of a head nod he eased up but kept on running. This is when I started to open up and realized that it was coming easier than I thought it would. So I tried to go full tilt. I noticed that the lady on the microphone was commentating about me and apparently somebody behind me who was also sprinting to the finish. I didn't look back and I didn't ease up until I crossed the first finish line.

I slowed down to cool off, stopped my watch and also stopped my Sports Tracker app that said I ran 5.11 kilometers in 27:20 and at an average speed of 11.2 km/hr. I was stoked! I took a complete lap around the track to cool off and then went into the infield to find water and some food. The organizers also had a monitor that was scrolling times for the participants; after a few minutes I noticed mine - 542, Ron Gallo, 5K, 26:49. 26:49 ... could this be right? It certainly was although they added one second to the official race results online. Either way, this was a great time for me.

When I first signed up for the race, I told myself I just didn't want to finish last. I finished 21st overall among all 5K runners and shortly after finishing Allan Bristowe came up to me and asked if I knew that I had killed him by over a minute. Over a minute on somebody I consider to be in better shape and does this kind of stuff (Posted Race Results). Dave Branco also approached me and told me that the next one will have to be a 10K or even a half marathon. I think the half marathon is still a little optimistic, but I am totally looking forward to running in a 10K and will be registering for the Labour Day Classic as long as there isn't any Spruce Kings road game scheduled that day - Sunday September 1, 2013.

Nightmares vs Dreams

My dream is to be able to run in my first running event and stay above the curve, but last night I had another dream. To be a little more accurate, it bordered on being a nightmare.

Years ago, in my early days of deejaying, I would sometimes have these dreams where anything that could go wrong would. From music equipment that wouldn't work to me not be able to find the next song to put in the mix.

In my dream last night, I was running in the road race and everything seemed to be going good until I got to near the midway mark. Along the route there were these race officials that were wearing like linesmen jerseys. They were there to make sure that the participants stayed on course.

For the most part I remember being alone in the run; there were other runners but I was alone in the run. The course seemed to take a turn into an apartment building that had tons of stairs. When I was at the top I noticed other runners down below so my goal was to get to where they were. That's when things got really interesting.

As I continued along the course, every once in awhile I would see these linesmen and figured I was going the right direction. I kept thinking to myself I should have pre-ran the course, but it was too late for that now.

I was closing in on some other runners ahead of me. As I caught up to one of them I asked them what race they were running fully expecting them to say either 5K or 10K. To my horror one of them said the hockey run and that's when I knew I was in trouble.

Way off course and and in no hope of catching the original group, that's when I was saved by waking up.

It is comical in nature and I don't fear it actually because those dreams that I used to have about deejaying almost always led to one of my best nights of spinning. So maybe my nightmare will lead to my dream of setting a new personal best in my first ever YMCA Road Race.

7-Minute Workout

Source:LiveScience

Adults should do 150 minutes of moderate exercise (or 75 minutes of intense exercise) weekly, and do muscle-strengthening exercises two days a week, according to recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People who follow these recommendations get two kinds of exercise:

• weight bearing (aka strength training), involving muscle contraction to build strength
• aerobic (aka cardio), meaning exercises meant to boost the heart rate and oxygen use

But a new workout plan from researchers at the Human Performance Institute in Orlando, Fla., recommends a seven-minute exercise regimen.

The high-intensity workout combines both kinds of exercise, using body weight to provide resistance. Each exercise is done for 30 seconds, with a 10-second rest before going on to the next exercise (with breaks included, the routine totals eight minutes).

The entire sequence of 12 exercises can be repeated two or three times if desired.

The order of the exercises is:

• Jumping jacks
• Wall sits
• Push-ups
• Abdominal crunches
• Step-ups onto a chair
• Squats
• Triceps dips on a chair
• Planks
• High knees/running in place
• Lunges
• Push-ups and rotations
• Side planks

Overcoming the Mental Block

Nemesis Hill, I'll have to conquer this hill
if I am to complete a full 5K race

It's now less than two weeks to my first 5 K road race (Canadian Tire YMCA Road Race) and yes, I am still very much going to be running in it. Despite the time lapse between this and my previous post, I have been very much gearing myself up to participate in the race and can tell you that I should be able to finish it in under 30 minutes. That is a huge benchmark for me because of course I know I'm not going to finish first, but I certainly don't want to be coming in last either.

Although I'm still not running a full five kilometers when I go out on my runs, I have lengthened my running distance to a point where I can go two and a half kilometers before having to resort to a short walking interval. In most cases that walk is necessary because of the incline that happens at that point and gets quite steep before leveling off again. Now that being said, I know that this is mostly a mental hurdle that I must learn to overcome.

I now use a heart rate monitor on my runs and that is showing me that I'm not putting my heart under any undue stress; although I did notice that my average maximum heart rate has dropped from the mid 170's to the mid 160's since first getting the monitor. My average heart rate through the whole five kilometer distance is in the mid 140's and has been pretty consistent there throughout. The maximum heart rate is usually hit while making my ascent on that hill that has me questioning effective strategies for overcoming it.

I have been doing research on hill training and in none of it have I ever found anything that tells you how to avoid hills. Instead it is always to take on the hill with proper form. From the head and chest up approach and also the shorter stride lengths while allowing the stride to become more of a spring with the release off the ground coming from the forefoot with a forward lean.

Because of my hesitancy to take on that hill but my desire to still add distance to the overall run interval, I've just built in a mini-loop on my training route where I circle back through an adjoining street, adding on another kilometer. Yesterday was the first day of that little add-on, which by the way starts will a short incline the equivalent of two fleets of stairs. I'm disappointed to say that I walked that ascent and then started running again once I was at the top of it.

Somewhere deep inside my head is the ability to overcome this mental hurdle because I did it a year ago when I was walking and had just started adding in resistance to my walks. The UNBC Connector Trail is a favourite of mine as it is just over one kilometer on an incline that I'm guessing to be around 15 degrees. The very first time I made that ascent, I struggled to say the least and stopped a few times on the way up including a long pause on the bench that is about halfway up the hill. I kept at it and a few trips later I was going from the bottom to the top without stopping. On my most recent ascent of that hill, I completed it from bottom to top in eleven minutes - a far cry from my twenty minute duration a year ago.

So I know I can overcome the obstacles, I just have to do it. Even that hill that is causing me grieve now, I have tackled that hill and basically won by taking bites out of it to the point where I can scale it and still keep going afterwards. The problem is getting to the point where I can run the two to three kilometers (now that I have added in that loop) and keep going up that hill. That is the only hold back now and I have to overcome that; and I will. The only question is will I be able to add in all the parts of the duration into one full run before the 5 K, because there are hills on that route that I haven't even tested myself on yet.

Hill Training

Running up the UNBC Connector Trail
will have to be a future goal

I came across this blog on the TSN website (Hills: Getting Stronger to Go Faster) by Dr. Greg Wells. I found it to be of interest and posted it here for future reference for myself and anybody else that may stumble upon it.

Even if you are not a glutton for punishment who likes to push yourself up the neighbourhood hill or working toward a race with a significant uphill section, hill training should be an integral part of your training programme. By understanding and applying the science of hill running, you can improve your training program to maximize the benefits of this low-impact, high-benefit type of workout.

Hill training works because it makes you stronger. Just like the skinny kid at the gym who bulks up by putting additional plates on the bar with each successive workout, running on an incline forces you to lift a heavier load. By taking advantage of your favourite training partner – gravity – you can create a situation that is similar to running while carrying a load, which will increase your muscle strength and make your body weight easier for you to move. Hill running is a low impact form of training. The strength benefits of hill training come without the strain on your muscles and joints that would occur if you were trying to run while carrying a heavy load.

Exercise science tells us that when you start to run up a hill you are engaging a different energy system and muscle group than you use on the flats. As long as you maintain a reasonable pace, hill climbing will require the kind of force that is generated by your Type II muscle fibres and your anaerobic energy system. These are the twin engines that get involved when you sprint, jump or do heavy lifting. Type II muscles exert more power but they also burn glucose faster and produce lactic acid – the waste product that makes your muscles burn during intense workouts. By engaging your type II muscles, you are working the full spectrum of your muscle fibres. This develops your total muscle strength and prepares your body for situations when you have to pick up the pace – like the final kick when the finish line comes into sight.

To get the most out of your hill training focus on speed and form. The benefits of training on an incline come from pushing your body to exert more mechanical energy. This can only happen if you maintain your pace. Doing your best impression of the little engine that could isn't going to cut it. You need to run up the hills at a speed that is in the same range as your comfortable running speed on flat ground. Ideally, you will run at your normal pace for the first 2/3 of the hill and then increase your effort to a more intense pace during the final section when the burning sensation begins in your legs.

It is also important to maintain proper form. You can do this by shortening your strides slightly while increasing your cadence. Concentrate on driving your knees upward and extending fully through the drive/support leg while maintain your momentum. An evaluation of kinetics during uphill running demonstrated that the hip extensor muscles, which are not as active during level running, are extensively used during incline running1 so it is critical that you lift your knees to generate sufficient force.

Keep in mind that it's not ideal for you to look at the ground in front of your feet. If you can keep your chest, eyes and head up by looking ahead of you – maybe even at the top of the hill - you will eliminate neck strain and ensure that your posture is optimal. This will ensure that you do not reduce your energy expenditure and make the hill running more efficient.

Here's a quick summary of the key ideas about hill training that you need to keep in mind:

• Use hill workouts as part of your base training program when you are adding volume and building up your speed.
• Avoid doing hills in the final few weeks of your preparation for a race.
• Use a variety of hills to challenge your muscles – long, gentle slopes one week and short, steep efforts another.
• Take short strides and keep your cadence (stride rate) up.
• Focus on driving your knees upward.
• Make sure you don't brake when your foot lands so that you can maintain momentum. To do this, try planting your feet below your hips.
• Run at your normal pace for the first portion of the hills and pick it up as you approach the top.
• Keep your eyes, head and chest up to avoid losing your form.

In terms of nutrition and refueling, you should think of a hill workout as a session of strength training. A good post workout snack/meal of carbohydrates will also help replenish the muscle glycogen and promote faster recovery. In particular, your body will need protein to build new muscle fibres and plenty of water to process the lactic acid that is produced. You will also need to give the muscles time to recover by avoiding additional leg strengthening exercises in the subsequent days.

Mentally, the focus required for hill training is very different than running on flats because you have to concentrate on maintaining your pace and form despite muscle soreness and an intense desire to stop and walk. Fortunately, the benefits of this low-impact and high-benefit form of training will motivate you to keep going. Not to mention the amazing feeling you will get when you get to the top, look back and say "I did it."

Reference

Roberts TJ, and Belliveau RA. (2005). Sources of mechanical power for uphill running in humans. Journal of Experimental Biology 205: 1963-1970.

Greg Wells Ph.D. (www.drgregwells.com, @drgregwells) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto in the Faculties of Medicine and Kinesiology. He was the sport science analyst for the Olympic Broadcast Consortium during the 2010 & 2012 Games, and is the author of Superbodies: Peak Performance Secrets from the World's Best Athletes. Jessica Caterini is a member of the Human Physiology Research Unit in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Toronto.

http://www.drgregwells.com
http://www.twitter.com/drgregwells
http://www.superbodies.tv

Getting Tougher

This is my "Strength Tree"

The training continues for my first 5K run, but getting easier, I'm not sure that's the case.

Today was the first time I have ever gone to the Week 4 level that features a 400 meter run, 200 meter walk, 800 meter run, 400 meter walk and then repeat the 400 meter and 800 meter runs with the 200 meter walk in-between. Those numbers don't see all that impressive, but those 800 meters were tough especially the second one with it starting at the bottom of an incline.

I have to draw some strength from my favourite tree on my walks down by the river. Beyond all mathematical odds, this tree continues to stand with the dirt beneath all but gone. Perhaps I can find the will power to over come whatever hurdles I have placed on myself because when I think of doing those runs, they certainly don't seem to be that daunting.

The first two weeks were all based on time and I was generating some good distances in the allotted time, such good distances in fact that the third week seemed to be a big step backwards. I knew at that time that it would be the calm before the storm as the distances are basically doubling every week now.

I have no buffer to try and get up to speed, so to speak, as my C25K will run out on the Thursday before the race ... which just happens to be my birthday.

I'm still a big believer in the C25K app, but know that I have to find something else to help me achieve my weekly goals. Week 5 starts with three by 800 meter runs for Day 1 and then escalates to a pair 1.2 kilometer runs. As if that isn't bad enough, Day 3 features a single 3.2 kilometer run!

As the app says, I shouldn't get discouraged by this as I have been preparing for this for the past five weeks. Fair enough, but running isn't just about running, it is about putting the right fuel in your body and making sure that you have the energy to run.

I have been trying to reduce overall consumption of food, but will have to step that up while maintaining a diet that provides the protein and energy that I'll need ... time to do so more research on all of that.

Don't Shoot Shotgun

Walking isn't always easy, but it shouldn't be this hard either!

Can anybody answer the question as to what compels people in vehicles to scare and terrorize pedestrians? While I enjoy walking and have lots of good things to say about that particular activity and the places in Prince George to enjoy a great walk there are those times and people that make me shake my head.

I have been yelled at by passengers and drivers, what they're saying is a mystery to me as I can usually only hear one maybe two syllables as they zip by. I have had people try to smoke me out with the exhaust that spews from vehicles that are unnecessarily being revved to create the excessive exhaust.

I have had drivers purposely serve into my path and others try to time a puddle to splash me. I have had things thrown at me including quite recently an almost full fountain drink that exploded and showered me with pop when it hit me in the back.

By far the scariest incident happened today when a passenger rolled down their window, pointed a gun at me and fired a single shot. I'm sure it was nothing more than a cap gun as I wasn't hit with anything, but that doesn't matter.

Don't ask me to identify the vehicle or anybody in it ... I wasn't wearing my glasses because of the rain. It did give me a jolt and it scared Sophie who took about 15 minutes to calm down and stop looking around in fear. This is careless, reckless and as far as I can tell serves only to scare and terrorize the pedestrian.

I am stubborn enough that this will not deter me from continuing my walks, but seriously why do people feel the need to infringe on pedestrians in any of these manners? It takes away from all of the considerate drivers out there. For example a big thank you to the driver that saw me standing at the corner with Sophie sitting and waiting our turn to cross. This particular driver did not need to, but stopped at the crosswalk for us.

I originally posted this on my Facebook page and received a number of comments back including one from a friend who shared similar encounters and had often wondered if those were a form of ridicule. There is no explanation and certainly no excuse for these actions. I am the first to acknowledge that on some level the people doing these things find them funny, but all I can hope is that the old cliche of "what goes around, comes around" will eventually ring true.

C25K App Training

I use the RunDouble C25K app

The goal of running in the YMCA 5K Road Race on June 2nd is very much alive and back on track. I have started running on the road and have dusted off the C25K app on my phone. I have started over with Week 1 which is eight one minute run intervals with 90 seconds of brisk walking in between.

The app is designed to run every other day in the week and each week will see an increase in duration and intensity of the run with the end goal of being able to run for a solid five kilometers. Prior to taking my "running" inside to the track at the University, I was having trouble getting comfortably through the third week and into the fourth week.

In order to have success with this app and achieve my goal of being prepared and able to run a full 5K, I need to be able to get through the weeks in order and reach the new levels week after week. To be honest, I am worried about this because after all I have restarted the C25K and on Day 3 I felt like I wouldn't be able to finish the intervals especially in the second half.

On the plus side, I did finish all intervals and did them with in good time maintaining a good pace. My run intervals averaged 220 meters which is a pace of 4:30/kilometer with the fastest pace being 4:10 (240 meters) on a downhill slope while an uphill slope on interval six saw the slowest pace of 5:01 covering 200 meters.

So after a "successful" week one, I'll be looking to tackle week two with its six ninety second runs with two minute brisk walks in between. In October, the last time I have any data for this particular interval, I had no paces under 5:00, so it will be interesting to see what happens there. I don't think I want to be trying to get the highest pace possible, I'm more interested in making sure I can maintain a pace that will allow me complete the 5K without having to resort to any walking lengths and finish in less than a half hour.

I am still trying to find the best way to be able to run longer lengths from monitoring my food intake to stretching before and after runs. Stretching has to be a key that I find to unlock some hidden potential. I'm not a stretcher but have been trying to be a little more proactive on doing at least some leg stretches and feel that the little bit that I've done has shown some benefits.

There are lots of suggested stretches out there but I found some interesting posters on the walls at the Northern Sports Centre that originate from the Human Kinetics website.

Lost My Motivation

Was looking for my motivation on Sunday
when I went on an eight kilometre walk

It is disappointing to say that and it is easy to look for excuses as to why this has happened. The easiest of the excuses would be to blame it on hockey; afterall I am coming off a whirlwind of games and travel over the past couple of weeks.

It all started with the trip to Chilliwack on March 14th to play the first two games in the best of five first round series down there. I had plans of walking from the rink to the hotel as I have in the past at least once and even recruited the temporary trainer who seemed to be interested in doing that. I never did walk with him but, to be fair to myself, I did walk from the rink to the hotel on the morning of the 15th. Since then I haven't done much of anything.

It rained while we were down there and then of course there was the Saturday overnight trip back home to Prince George. Sunday morning I was in the Spruce Kings office until after 2pm and can't really remember doing much of anything after that. Monday and Tuesday, the games were in Prince George so I was in the office for most of the days. Following Tuesday's game we had to ride back down to Chilliwack for Wednesday's game ... that the Spruce Kings lost.

Instead of coming home on Wednesday night, we stayed in Chilliwack over night and drove home Thursday instead and that is when the lack of motivation took full effect. I didn't do anything Thursday night, all day Friday or all day Saturday. My Fitbit steps took a beating so to speak and I have updated Fitbit for almost two weeks.

Fitbit, as I mentioned earlier, is the reason for my increased activity and weight loss. Instead of embracing that over the past two weeks, I have done the exact opposite with lots of drinking and excessive eating with little to no activity. How am I going to be able to run a 5K road race?

On the plus side, it is just over two months away and if I can get back on track, should be able to get myself ready for it.

Although my eating is not back to where it should be and my weight is showing that being seven pounds up over my weight two weeks ago, I did go for a long eight kilometre walk with a few hills on the trail on Sunday, I walked home from work on Monday night and on Tuesday I went to the gym to see how I would fare on the treadmill - no 5K there I can tell you.

Maybe having that "step back" will be good for me, but I don't like the feeling that I am starting from square one so I will have to do something about that to get completely back on track. The plan is to get back to the gym three times a week and maybe even start trying to do some running on the road using the C25K app.

Challenging myself to get back into a routine shouldn't be difficult, and I did promise myself that I would never see 230 again which is only 4 kgs away again. I have a 5K race to run and I'm thinking I would be better off if my weight was closer to the 200 mark than it is now for sure. I know I can do this and have to get back to tracking the data I was tracking before including calorie consumption.

I started this on my own, I signed up for the 5K on my own and I have to get back on track now on my own. I have to be my own best motivator and remember what it was like before, cause it was enjoyable seeing that success on the scales and on the track/treadmill.

My First 5 K: Backgrounder

My Walking Partner Was This Two Year Old Moose Calf

Okay here it goes ... gonna try using this blog of mine to post my thoughts and more as I prepare for my first 5K run.

Since February of last year I have been keeping myself active and it has resulted in me losing 50 pounds ... technically it is 49 pounds as I still have one more pound to shed. I started by just walking and I can remember my very first walk.

It was only a four kilometer walk, two kilometers from my house and back again. The walk itself was a feat to complete and my wife reminded me just the other day that I was complaining that she was walking too fast and that we had gone too far. Wow has that changed! Now I walk on average four kilometers with my nightly dog walk.

After that first walk, it took me over a week before I said to myself that I need to get back out there and do it again. I took the dog and we went on a short walk, but at least I got back out there. I didn't get out on a daily basis, but I would try to go at least twice and sometimes three times a week.

One of the first changes I noticed was with my daily routine. Instead of spending all day on the computer and then bringing work home with me that would have me sitting at my computer for hours in the evening, I was now going outside with the dog for at least a couple of hours. Soon I was just leaving my personal computer at work and not even bringing it home, because when I did it was only sitting in the carrying bag anyways.

I started going on walks with much more regularity and noticed that they were getting easier to accomplish. Most of my walks were on mainly level ground with not very much change in elevation. I started adding that to my walks by heading to the base of University Hill, not the road but through the Connector Trails and taking the 1 kilometer incline to the top.

The first time I did this trail I thought I was gonna die (sound familiar) and had to stop twice along the way. Fortunately there were benches on the path that I could use to catch my breath. I kept at it and it didn't take long before I was heading up the hill without having to stop.

The turning point in my walks came on July 7th, when I went on a long walk that ended up totaling 13 kilometers. During this walk I ended up walking alongside a two year old moose calf. It was so surreal as the moose walked beside me for a few steps before I realized what was happening. I stopped dead in my tracks as the moose took a few more steps before he too stopped and looked back at me. I looked nervously around for the mom for fear of an attack, but there was nobody else around. Shortly after the moose calf decided it was time to continue on and away he went.

By the way, that story is going to be the genesis of a future blog about wearing noise dampening headphones and listening to music while out walking or running.

I Credit My Success To This Device

Okay, I think you can see where this is all leading ... I started walking and added resistance to those walks. I still wasn't contemplating running as I don't, or at least didn't, consider myself a runner. The addition of my Fitbit and the use of GPS enabled tracking apps, I like Sports Tracker, allowed me to use data as a form of motivation to go longer and faster.

As summer started to turn to fall with winter closing in, I noticed that my walks were getting a little more uncomfortable with the cooler temperatures. That along with the start of hockey season forced me to figure out something different to continue an active lifestyle. My wife, who was the first person to really encourage me, had a membership at the Northern Sports Centre so I added a spousal membership.

I wasn't sure how that was going to work out for me because I've never been a big fan of working out with a bunch of strangers, but work out it did. I average three times a week and sometimes four times a week when I'm not traveling with the Spruce Kings. I really only spend time on the track and sometimes the treadmill (there's another blog that I'm going to have).

Spending time on the track, it was just a natural fit to try running and that has fueled my desire to see if I can complete a 5K run. Before heading inside for my "workouts," I had been playing around with a C25K app but hadn't got past the Week 3 level. I believe now I will be able to get a lot farther into the app and should be able to complete the full C25K (couch to 5K) training.

But that is still to be tested as I have only been able to run a full 5K on the treadmill once and haven't been able to do much more than one kilometer on a regular basis on the track. I suppose that is where I am the most nervous, because if I can't run for 5 kms on the track, how am I suppose to do that in a road race?

I know I am pushing myself, but still have a ways to go both physically and mentally as there are some hurdles that I can't seem to clear just yet. As far as walking etc. goes, I don't seem to tire out on walks no matter the duration and currently with my Fitbit, my daily goal is set to 14,287 steps which equates to 100,000 steps a week. The Sports Tracker app challenges me to add speed to my walks which I have also seen a steady increase in. So all that is really left is to get running and get myself to that mental level that lets me know I can accomplish the feat and reach my goal of running a 5K.