Sports Drinks - from a student

It's been a while since I've had a student discussion post submission that I liked so much I wanted to share it on this blog - but without further ado here is a post about sports drinks from one of my Sport Nutrition students, Keriana S!  I hope you enjoy :)

Sports Drinks

          I’m sure you've all heard the story about the Florida Gators Football team and the discovery of Gatorade! If you haven’t, go check it out http://www.gatorade.com/company/heritage (it’s pretty cool!). Basically, the four researchers who led the study found that there are two major factors that play an important role in an athlete’s ability to perform at an optimal level. These factors are: Electrolytes and carbohydrates.

          So what exactly do electrolytes and carbohydrates have to do with sports drinks, and how do they help athletes perform at their highest level? Let’s start with electrolytes! If you’ve taken chemistry you know that many salts (such as NaCl) dissociate into ions when placed into an aqueous solution.  For example, if we drop a lump of NaCl into a solvent such as H2O, it will break down into Na+ and Cl-. This solution can now conduct electricity and is considered an electrolyte solution (Silberberg, 2014). The ions inside the solution are now called electrolytes! Other common electrolytes include: calcium (Ca2+), potassium (K+), and magnesium (Mg2+) etc…

          The wonderful idea behind sports drinks is that you can consume readily available electrolytes and your body doesn't have to break down the salts (So clearly this is a better option than shaking table salt into your mouth!). The electrolytes can be taken directly into your system and used to replenish and balance fluids and help with muscle function. As you know, these functions (and almost every other function in our bodies) rely on concentration gradients, and ions play a huge role in this process.

          Now let’s look at carbohydrates. Many sports drinks contain a high level of carbohydrates in order to help athletes quickly refill their glycogen stores. For example, Gatorade (on average) contains 34g of carbohydrates per 20 ounces of product (Gatorade.com, 2016). It is recommended that athletes only consume sports drinks with carbs after at least 1 hour of exercise (Story, 2012).  The problem with sports drinks is that many individuals who are not engaged in physical activity for an hour or more, tend to choose them as a snack. Sports drinks are not recommended for the average population because it is not healthy to consume 34 grams of carbohydrates as a snack (that’s a lot of sugar!). The American Heart Association recommends 25-37.5 grams of added sugar per day.

          In conclusion, athletes and individuals engaged in moderate – intense exercise for at least an hours are encouraged to consume sports drinks in order to replenish fluids, glycogen stores and electrolytes. Gatorade and PowerAde are the top rated sports drinks on the market today and offer sugar free options for individuals who are not engaged in exercise. When choosing a sports drink, it is important to make sure that your choice includes potassium and sodium. It is best to choose a sports drink with 6-8% carbohydrates for optimal glycogen replenishment (Roberts, 2009). Although sports drinks can be very helpful in replacing lost electrolytes and carbohydrates, water is always the best option when it comes to properly hydrating the body.

References:

O'hare, J. (2011). Who Drinks What: Identifying International Drinks Consumption Trends. London:Euromonitor. 25(6), 27-28. Retrieved March 10, 2016.

Roberts, A. (2009). Sports Drinks Fact Sheet. Sports Dietitians Australia. Retrieved March 10, 2016.

Silberberg, M. (2014). The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change (7th ed.).

Smith, J. (1997). A Look at the Components and Effectiveness of Sports Drinks. Retrieved March 12, 2016, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

Sports Drink Recommendations for Exercise in the Heat and Cooler Conditions. (2010). Retrieved March 12, 2016, from Gatorade Sports Science Institute.  

Sugars, Added Sugars and Sweeteners. (2015). Retrieved March 12, 2016, from American Heart Association. 

Caution with Carbs

Carbohydrates... friend or foe?  I imagine many of us have a love-hate relationship with them.  But what exactly comes to mind when you think of eating carbs?  Are you thinking pancakes, heaping plates of pasta, and pastries... or are you thinking fruits, vegetables and whole grains?  This could be the determining factor of your relationship with carbs and your success (or struggles) with weight management.

How much should I eat?
We've previously discussed that it can be kind of difficult to know how many calories you should be eating a day - without having specific metabolic testing done.  In addition, you may have heard me suggest that the recommended daily amount of carbohydrates should be 50-55% of your total caloric intake.  But if you don't know how many calories you should consume, then this percentage isn't very helpful.  Likewise, the truth is that the amount of carbohydrates you should consume is going to vary depending on your body size, health status, and also your level and type of physical activity (duration, intensity, frequency, etc).
Taking this information into consideration, let's calculate the following:
1. Take your weight in pounds and divide by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms.
2.  Select your level of physical activity:
*recreationally active (exercise 30-60 minutes most days of the week / not training for an event): 3-5 g/kg.
*moderately active, but low endurance (such as football players, and other sports that do not require continuous activity for long periods of time without breaks): 5-7 g/kg.
*highly active, high endurance (training for a long distance event, frequently training for 2+ hours a day): 7-10 g/kg.
3.  Multiply your weight in kg times the number of g/kg of carbs for your activity level.  I suggest starting with the low to mid number in the range.
I imagine most of my readers will be in the 3-5 g/kg range.  I personally aim for 4 g/kg.

Here is my personal example:

125 lb / 2.2 = 57 kg

57 kg * 4 g/kg = 225 grams of carbohydrates/day

I have actually met with a nutritionist and was given this recommendation.  But it doesn't stop there.  We still need to look at the type and timing of the carbohydrates.

What kind should I eat?

We have all heard of simple and complex carbohydrates.  I have always used their name as an explanation for how your body breaks them down (simple are more easily digested, give you a quick sugar spike, and then leave you hungry/tired... complex take longer to digest, keep you full longer, and give you a steady level of energy).  But I have recently learned that this is not correct!  The name is merely describing the structure of each carb.  Complex carbs have a more "complex" chemical structure and tend to be less processed and higher in nutrients and fiber than simple carbohydrates.  So in the end, it is still a better idea to pick complex carbs such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains (bread, cereal, pasta) and legumes (beans, peas, lentils) over simple carbs such as sweetened cereals, breakfast bars, candy, soda and dessert.

There is another way we can categorize our carbs: by the glycemic index.  This categorizes foods as having a high glycemic response (quick rise in blood sugar and insulin), moderate, or low glycemic response (slow rise in blood sugar and insulin).  It is better to consume more foods that are low-moderate glycemic index in order to keep from having insulin spikes that could potentially lead to issues with insulin resistance.  Here is a GI index list of some common foods:

Additionally, CLICK HERE for a website where you can search any food item you would like, to see the glycemic index and also the grams of carbs per serving (click the tab on the left for GI database).   

Of course it can't really be this clear cut and easy.  As you start to mix carbohydrates together, or add protein and fat to the meal, that can alter the glycemic index of a food.  But this at least gives you a good idea of which foods to make "all the time foods" and which foods should only be "sometimes foods" (as explained to me by my darling niece and nephew).  And as we'll discuss below, there are certain times you might want to focus on lower GI foods and other times that high GI foods are beneficial.

When should I eat them?

It is a good idea to spread your nutrients out throughout the day.  Keep in mind that the main purpose of eating is to fuel your body.  If you consume too much at once, it may go to fat for storage.  If you don't consume enough - you may run out of energy.

As a general rule, try to consume about 20% of your carbohydrate grams at every meal, and 10-15% during three snacks spread throughout the day.  

For example, the suggestion I received for myself from the nutritionist was as follows:

Consume 225 g/kg of carbs per day

Aim for 45 g for each meal

Aim for 30 g for each snack

(3 meals + 3 snacks = 225 g)

This is a good way to ensure that your blood glucose and insulin will stay more stable throughout the day.

However we should also consider your carbohydrate intake in regards to your activity level.  Here are a few pointers:

* It is good to eat a pre-exercise meal or snack 1-3 hours before your exercise session to make sure you have energy.  Since we want to sustain energy, aim for low-moderate glycemic index foods here.

* If your exercise session lasts an hour or less, you don't need to be concerned with consuming carbohydrates during your workout.

* If your exercise session lasts well over an hour, you may want to consider some carbohydrate supplementation along the way - through sports drinks, sports beans, gel packs, etc.  This will help maintain your endurance for a longer duration.

* Since glucose is the primary source of fuel used during exercise, it is good to replenish after an exercise bout.  In fact, if you had a strenuous endurance session, it is very important that you aim to replenish your carbohydrates within 30 min - 2 hours after your exercise session, otherwise you may not actually be able to refill your glycogen stores as fully.  Since we are aiming for quick absorption here - high glycemic index foods are actually best.  Interestingly, fructose is digested slowest of all of the sugars, so it may not be best to use fruit or fruit juices for replenishment purposes.

This certainly is not an exact science.  It will be different for each individual, and your guidelines may need to be a little different each day - depending on your level of activity.  Use this information (and the information to follow on protein and fat in the weeks to come) as a guideline, and feel free to adjust your numbers up or down a little to meet your needs.

I'll end with a few more tidbits that I picked up from my meeting with the nutritionist:

1. Everyone should consume at least 1/2 cup of either nuts or beans every single day.

2. Better cereal choices include whole grain varieties like Total or Wheaties, and you can mix in your own fresh fruit.

3. From a sugar standpoint, she perfers "no sugar added" ice cream over frozen yogurt.  

We didn't discuss simple sugar too much in this post... and that is because those are not the types of carbohydrates we are aiming for.  When you are reading a nutrition label, look at how many grams of carbs are in a serving, and then look below to see the sugar content.  Try to aim for food choices that don't have all of their carbs coming from simple sugars.  If you stick with the whole grain variety, you'll be doing much better.  Save your simple sugars for the natural sugars in fruits and veggies.  And remember: items like pasta and rice should be a SIDE DISH, not your main entree.  A serving should be no larger than the size of your computer mouse (so cute and tiny, right?!).

I hope this will make you a little less fearful of carbohydrates, and help you gain confidence and responsibility in your food selection.  As mentioned, stay tuned for similar information on protein and fats!

Have a HEALTHY day!

~Fit Britt

It. Is. Get-ting. So. Hot.

Regardless of whether you live in TX and have been experiencing summer for a few months, or summer is just now finding its way to you, It's Getting Hot Out There!

Now that you are unable to hide your layers of 'natural insulation' underneath baggy clothes, you may be motivated to kick it into high gear and get bikini ready! Whatever your motivation, Fit Britt supports your workout endeavors! Here are a few tips to keep in mind when exercising in hot weather:

Heat Illness - The main concern is an increased risk of heat injuries (heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat stroke). The first symptoms are headache and nausea, followed by muscle cramps and eventually lack of sweating, dry skin, etc. This can be avoided by making smart choices about your activities, attire, time of day, etc.

Reduced Performance - Additionally, depending on your level of competitiveness, you may be interested in learning that your endurance capacity and VO2max (efficiency of using oxygen during exercise) both decrease as you lose body weight from sweat and dehydration. These symptoms can be prolonged, if not avoided by making smart decisions and planning ahead.

Acclimatization - it is encouraging to note that you CAN acclimatize to the weather, to some degree (pun not intended). Whether you are just starting a new program and it happens to be the middle of summer, or you are competing in events that require you to travel to different climates, allow yourself 7-14 days for your body to become most efficient at working in the hot environment. You should notice that you actually begin to sweat MORE and lose less salt along the way.
Hydration - being dehydrated will decrease your body's ability to sweat as well as cool itself. Additionally, as you sweat, you decrease your blood volume by pulling water out of your body. This, in turn, makes it more difficult for your blood to circulate, deliver essential nutrients and remove waste as you continue your workout (hence the decrease in performance mentioned above).

In order to stay properly hydrated:

• Focus on staying well hydrated within the 24 hours before your exercise session (limit caffeine, consume foods that contain a lot of water such as fruits and carbohydrates).
• Drink 1-2 cups of fluid (preferably water or sports drinks) 1-2 hours before exercise.
• Typically, water is sufficient during activity for exercise sessions less than 60 minutes.
• When exercising for more than 60 minutes, and/or you are sweating a lot, incorporate a sports drink with carbohydrates (sugar = fuel!) and electrolytes (to replace the sodium you depleted while sweating). A good rule of thumb is to find a drink that has 6-8 grams of carbohydrates per 100mL of fluid.
• Consume your beverages at the coldest temperature you can tolerate - as this will help cool your body from the inside-out.
• IF YOU FEEL THIRSTY, YOU ARE ALREADY DEHYDRATED!
• After your workout, replenish with more fluids. You will know you are well hydrated when your urine is light yellow to clear.
• If your exercise session lasted for over an hour, and it was really hot, you may want to consider weighing yourself before and after exercise. You can assume any weight loss is water weight that needs to be replenished (consume 3 cups for every pound lost).

Humidity - In addition to temperature, humidity will also contribute to your body heat during a workout. Humidity will decrease the body's ability to dissipate heat (through evaporation) and will hinder the cooling process. I like this chart because it also mentions calculating the temperature to be higher if you are wearing thicker clothing or are in direct sunlight.

Target Heart Rate - If you work within a specific heart rate range during exercise, this would still be a wise suggestion while exercising in the heat. You will notice that your heart rate increases much quicker (in an effort to help cool your body). This means, you will have to decrease your intensity in order to keep your heart rate within the same zone.
Clothing - There is a reason dry wick clothes have been so popular - because they feel so much better! This is not the time of year to pull on your garbage bag sweat suit... and forget the cotton too, get some dry wick shorts and tanks in order to improve the evaporative heat loss from your body.
Sun Screen - If you have ever seen me exercise outdoors (no matter what time of year) my face is the color of a tomato when I am finished... but fortunately for me this is just temporary blood flow. Avoid any long-lasting redness or damage from the sun (ie: cancer and wrinkles) by remembering your sun screen! Here are a few reminders to make sure you get the maximum effectiveness out of your sun screen:

• Apply sunscreen liberally (should form a white film at first) 30 minutes before going in the sun to give time to absorb.
• Select an SPF between 15 and 50, depending on how prone you are to burning.
• Re-apply every 2 hours.
• Try to avoid the strongest rays of the day: between 11 am and 3 pm.
• Look for clothing that also provides UV protection.

Have fun in the sun, but make smart decisions to help keep your body fit inside and out!

Have a HEALTHY day!

~Fit Britt

Sources used for this information:
- Sports and Exercise Nutrition, 3rd Edition, McArdle, Katch & Katch
- Exercise and Sport Nutrition, Kreider, Leutholtz, Katch & Katch
- ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 8th Edition

Are you doing ENOUGH?

Certainly the amount of physical activity we do is dependent on our fitness/health goals. The American College of Sports Medicine, which sets the guidelines that all other fitness organizations follow, has updated their guidelines for 2010. Here, I share them with you:

For Physical Activity and Health
The recommendation is now 30-60 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity five times per week, or 20 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity three times per week.
Currently, more than 66% of adults are overweight and 32% are obese in the US.
For Cardiorespiratory Training
The intensity should be a combo of moderate (40 - 60% Heart Rate Reserve [HRR]) and vigorous (>60 - 85% HRR). However, if you are extremely deconditioned, start at an intensity of 30 - 40% HRR.
The duration should be at least 30 minutes for moderate intensity, sessions totaling 150 minutes a week. When using a more vigorous intensity, go for at least 20-25 minutes a session, totaling 75 minutes a week.
To promote or maintain weight loss, perform moderate exercise for 50-60 minutes per day with a total of 300 minutes a week.
For Muscular Strength/Endurance Training
2-4 sets are recommended for each muscle group (you can do the same exercise multiple times or do various exercises for that specific body part).
Strength training should be challenging, and you should work to the point of exhaustion with each set. Therefore, a 2-3 minute rest period is suggested between sets. (I still like to alternate body parts so I am working out another group instead of sitting on a bench for a 2 minute break between each exercise).
For older and/or deconditioned adults, start with only one set.
It is important to add in "neuromuscular training:" activities such as balance, agility, and proprioceptive training for at least 2-3 days per week. *this is great to work on your "functional fitness" and become more efficient at performing ADLs (activities of daily living).
For Flexibility Training
Static stretches should be held for 15-60 seconds.
For Special Populations
Pregnant Women: exercise at least 3, preferably all, days of the week. Use an intensity of 40 - 60% HRR, or a RPE (rate of perceived exertion) of 12-14 (on a scale from 6-20). Have our sessions last at least 15-30 minutes per day, for a total of 150 minutes a week.
Hypertensive Clients: There is concern with raising the blood pressure too high while doing vigorous exercise. Utilize an intensity of 40 - 60% HRR. Always remember to continue breathing (don't hold your breath) and limit going from lying to standing quickly (or vice versa) and minimize lifting weight over your head.

Have you ever considered logging your activity to calculate how much you perform in a week? I hope sharing these guidelines will encourage you to evaluate your program and make sure you are doing enough, whatever your goal may be!

Thanks to the May/June 2010 issue of American FITNESS, published by the Aerobic and Fitness Association of America for bringing the new guidelines to our attention, as well as to the American College of Sports Medicine for updating their guidelines and helping us stay on top of our game.

Have a HEALTHY day!
~Fit Britt

Online Personal Training by Fit Britt!

While the website is not at 100% yet, nor do I have it linked from my blog quite how I'd like yet, the fact is my HFPN Pro site is up and running for Online Personal Training! And, as promised, all training and consultations for the month of January will be FREE!

Click here to check out the site!

Inquire by filling out the 'contact me' box in the bottom left corner.
I have a 2-page questionnaire for you to fill out, and then I can work on designing your individualized program, complete with pictures and descriptions of each exercise!
Coming soon, there will also be opportunities to purchase fitness equipment at a discounted price!
Already you can purchase various supplements as well as an exerspy arm band device similar to the bodybugg that I've blogged about (scroll down to item #1).

Let Fit Britt help you achieve your 2010 resolutions and cross them off your list once and for all!

Have a HEALTHY day!
~Fit Britt

Yoga Part II: Sun Salutation

The Sun Salutation is an integral part of the Vinyasa yoga practice.

It is usually performed toward the beginning of a practice and can be a useful way to "warm up" and elevate the heart rate before performing deeper, longer stretches and strengthening poses. It can also be an enjoyable meditative practice; an opportunity to relieve stress and flow with your breath to a series of opposing flexion and extension poses.

This past Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day to "solute the sun," so I have some pictures to share with you from the neighborhood lake in order to walk you through your Sun Salutation.

Mountain Pose:
Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, disperse your weight evenly from
left to right and front to back. Strengthen your thighs and glutes, lift your
spine tall and roll your shoulders back. Keep the head lifted. This is an excellent opportunity to practice "perfect posture" which will be challenging for most of us.

Full Sun:
Inhaling through your nose, lift your arms to the sides and above your head into full sun.
After you've performed a few repetitions, and your spine is warmed up, you can even add a little back extension here by looking up and back.

Swan Dive:
On your exhale, sticking your hips back and keeping a slight bend in your knees, slowly fold to the ground with a flat back. The hips back / knees bent is very important to make sure you are not putting any strain in your lower back.

Forward Fold:
Finishing your exhale in the forward fold, dropping your head down, looking through your legs behind you. While in the folded position (if you plan on holding it for a little while), make sure you support your weight by putting your fingertips on the ground, or placing your hands on your shins. Again, this helps to prevent unnecessary pressure in your lower back.
Lunge:
On your next inhale, step back with one leg into a deep lunge. Drop the hips and lift the head and chest. If you are doing option 1 that follows (child's pose), you can drop back to a kneeling lunge, pressing your back knee into the mat.

Option 1: Child's Pose
For a beginner, or anyone seeking a more gentle practice, stick with option 1 for the next few asanas. After your lunge drop both knees to the ground and press back into child's pose as you exhale. Your fingertips reaching forward while your forehead presses to the mat.

Option 2: Down Dog
As you advance, or for a more intense practice, from the lunge position, step the other leg back and exhale as you lift your hips up to the sky. Focus on pressing the heels into the ground and keeping your shoulders relaxed. Think about sliding your shoulders "down your back" and tucking them into your back pockets, keeping your shoulders away from your ears.

Option 1: Kneeling Plank
Inhale as you shift your weight forward into a kneeling push-up position. Your hips should be in a straight line with your knees and shoulders and your abdominals are kept tight.

Option 2: Plank
From down dog, shift your weight forward into a push up position on your toes, inhaling as you come forward. Abdominals are tight and your arms are strong.

Option 1: Kneeling Crocodile
Slowly and with control, keeping your elbows close to your sides, gently lower yourself toward the ground for the entire length of your exhale. Over time, work on building strength by holding this position. The more you keep your elbows tucked in, the easier this will be.

Option 2: Crocodile
From the plank pose, shift your weight forward by pushing with your toes and slowly lower, keeping your elbows close to your sides. If it seems too challenging at first, feel free to drop to your knees as you lower down, then work on building the strength over time.

Option 1: Baby Cobra
After lowering all the way down, inhale as you lift your chest slightly, using your hands for additional support. As you flow through multiple sun sal's, you may be able to lift your chest a little higher, however, never lift higher than you feel comfortable. This should feel like a nice opener for your abdominals and chest, and a strengthener (not causing strain) for your lower back. If there is any irritation, stay low. You will notice your flexibility will be different every day you perform these poses.

Option 2: Full Cobra
If you have the back flexibility, after lowering your crocodile pose, inhale as you lift your chest and press higher with your hands. Don't feel the need to straighten your arms completely, just lift as high as is comfortable for your back. Just because you are choosing option 2 doesn't mean that you have to perform the full cobra. Having a low-back injury myself, I often perform all the other moves on my toes, but then opt for the baby cobra, unless I am feeling very warm and flexible.

Option 1: Back to Child's Pose
Gently lower your chest and press back to child's pose while exhaling.

Option 2: Back to Down Dog
From Cobra, tuck your toes under and press with your arms as you lift your hips back to the sky, pressing the heels into the ground, back to down dog. Exhaling as you press into this position.

(Whether you are following Option 1 or 2): Lunge
Step one foot forward into the lunge position, taking the time to work your foot back up between your hands. Dropping the hips and lifting the chest as you inhale. Checking to make sure your knee and ankle are in alignment (and that your knee is not past your toes). I have found that it is more difficult to step forward into a lunge (achieving proper form) then it is to step back into the lunge that we do towards the beginning of the salutation. Take the time to inch your foot forward so that your knee comes into proper alignment.

Forward Fold:
Stepping the other foot in as you exhale and sink into your forward fold, remembering to drop your head and keep your weight supported.

Reverse Swan Dive:
Inhale, sticking your hips back and keeping a slight bend in your knees while lifting with a flat back (again, supported through your hips).

Full Sun:
Finishing your inhale by standing tall and reaching back up into full sun.

Mountain Pose:
And finally exhaling your arms back to your sides into mountain pose, checking to make sure the feet are in alignment with the toes facing forward with your hams and glutes contracted.
-----

This completes one sequence of the sun salutation. I suggest performing an even number and making sure that you alternate which leg you lunge back (and forward) with each time.
After performing 6-10 salutations, you'll probably be feeling pretty warm and ready to attempt additional yoga stretches! However, I've also used the sun salutation as a nice break from a study session, to help clear my mind, and also after a long day of sitting/traveling in order to stretch and strengthen each area of my body.
While I certainly emphasize proper form to all of my classes, it is most important that you release any feelings of judgement or competition with yourself or with others. Resist comparing the way you feel or look in the pose to the pictures you see here, or other ideas you have about these poses. Each day will be different. Some days you will feel strong, balanced and flexible, others you will feel off balance and/or inflexible. That is all part of the journey and discovery of becoming in tune with our bodies.
Keep in mind all the great benefits of yoga that I briefly introduced in the last post about Yog-aaahhhhh. And stay tuned as the next post will give you greater detail and explanations for why and how those benefits can be achieved.

Have a HEALTHY day!

~ Fit Britt

Run Fit Britt Run!

Well, Fit Britt and Gym Jim (ha ha - he's going to kill me if he reads this) have decided to sign up for a few half-marathons in 2010. Our first one will be a nice way for us to take care of our hearts on Valentine's Day, at the Austin 1/2! We are hopeful that some of our Texas friends, family and coworkers will join for this event.
This will be a nice prep for the main event: The Nashville Country Half Marathon on April 24th... You know, Nashville isn't TERRIBLE driving distance from places like North Carolina and DC for ALL of our friends to join!

In the past, we have ran a few 10 milers, but it's been a few years and while I've been doing other forms of activity, I haven't been running much lately. So this post will give you a few suggestions in case you want to join us and are starting from scratch, or just give you motivation for whatever new training program you are considering!

1. Give yourself credit: One word you will never hear me refer to myself as is an athlete... I enjoy working out and staying healthy, but I personally don't have that strong drive to be "bigger, better, faster." On top of that, I try to refrain from telling people that I am a runner, because really I'm more of a jogger (I truly prefer the 10 minute mile). All of this to say that everyone is going to have different reasons for training and different goals along the way. And that is okay... and that is something that you will want to remind yourself often. Back when I was in my past running phase, I started running with some friends that were a lot faster than me, and they really encouraged me to run faster and faster. And what I personally found, is that I no longer enjoyed the activity... it just wasn't what I was looking for! Even though it takes me longer to run a certain distance than "the runners," in the end I am really proud of myself for running non-stop for whatever the length of time (1:40 for a 10 miler, etc.)!
I'm not saying that you shouldn't challenge yourself and try and improve over time (you'll need to in order to continue to see results... but it will also become easier for you to work harder). But I am saying to keep your personal goal in mind and don't let anyone else's goal or fitness level take away from the great work you are doing for your health or the enjoyment you are having with the activity.
2. Know where to start: Even though I do plan on running the entire race, that doesn't mean that I have to run for ALL of my training! In fact, I have really struggled with running outside now that we have moved to Texas. So I've decided to start by continuing some of the activities I've been doing indoors (attending cycling classes and other group ex classes) and also adding in some long 1 hour+ walks outside so that I can start getting used to the temperature, repetitive motion, and the length of time. Not only does cross training provide another outlet for you to be working on your cardiovascular training, but it is a great way to minimize the repetitive movement of running, keeping your body in better balance.
3. Keep your program well rounded: Regardless of which aspect of fitness you are focusing on, don't forget that all programs should incorporate cardio, strength and flexibility. This can be as simple as making sure that you take 5-10 minutes to stretch at the end of each run, and possibly even perform some crunches, push ups, dips, etc. Otherwise, you can dedicate 1-3 days of the week to add in some strength training days and possibly even a yoga class; both of which will ultimately benefit your running!
4. Have a goal: Your training program should have a deadline. Whether your goal is weight loss, running a certain distance, increasing strength, size, etc - you should have a target date to achieve this by. In our case, we needed the motivation of signing up for an event in order to motivate us and keep us on track. After the deadline, you can revise and set your next goal.
5. Have short term goals: You should also have measurable checkpoints along the way... mini goals that will build up and help you achieve your main focus. If you are signing up for a long race, find some shorter events leading up to the event that can help keep you on track and measure your progress.
6. Design a plan: You should have a fairly good idea of what you want to accomplish each week. I like to try to get a workout in every day during the work week, but we all know that doesn't always happen. Likewise, there is no way that I could have time to do my long runs (once I get to that point) during the week. So my personal plan will be:
2-3 sessions of (30-60 minute) cardio each week,
2 sessions of (30-60 minute) strength training each week
and 2 (60 minute) yoga classes each week.
I will try to do all of the above during the work week and a long run AND REST on the weekend.
This will mean that during the week I will be combining two activities on multiple days. Another option would be to build your rest days into the work week and get more activity on the weekend when you have more flexibility in your schedule. I'm doing this because I enjoy all of these activities, but don't feel like you need to squeeze all of this into your plan in order to train for an event!
7. Take a break!: Build time to rest into your plan. When you strength train, you literally rip your muscles... they need time to rest and rebuild stronger. When you workout at a high intensity (sprinting or possibly endurance) you get a build up of toxins in your muscles and blood that needs time to dissipate and recover. Rest isn't for weenies, rest is for people who want to be stronger and more efficient... once they recover. Allow at least one day a week for rest.
8. Listen to your body: Sorry, but I'm not one of those tough gals that's going to tell you "Pain is weakness leaving the body." My final suggestion to you is to listen to your body. If your knee or ankle is bothering you, maybe you shouldn't go for a run that day. If you truly feel like your body needs another day of rest, give it what it needs. Otherwise, I challenge you to find another activity that you can do that will be more gentle on your joints... or more mild if you are feeling under the weather one day. Cycling is great for the joints, walking is great for less intensity; elliptical-ing is great for both.

No matter your goal, I hope these simple suggestions will keep you on track and feeling successful along the way. Anyone willing to share their goal??

Have a Healthy day!
~ Fit Britt