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Lead Stories: Sunday, July 20, 2008

Winter Survival Guide: Dressing for Cold-Weather Exercise

Posted November 24th, 2007 at 1:35 PM by Julie R. Keen

Section: Running & Training, Gear & Apparel, Apparel, Miscellaneous, Training Tips, Health & Fitness, Injury & Rehab, Exercise

The temperature is finally dropping, Daylight Saving Time has ended, and Christmas decorations are filling the local drug and retail stores. Short of joining a gym and running on the treadmill like a gerbil trapped in a cage, what is an avid exerciser to do?

If you like to snowshoe, cross-country ski, or just keep running in the cold weather, you should follow these steps to ensure safe outside exercise as the temperature plunges.

1) Drink Extra Fluids - Many different companies now make wearable hydration packs [i.e. - Camelbak, Fuelbelt, etc] that resemble small backpacks and contain a fluid reservoir as well as belts that have several small, bottles scattered around the exterior. This allows you to keep your hands free (to hold ski poles, if that’s what you do) and you can stay hydrated while exercising. They also give you a place to stash those extra clothes when you get warm.

Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: HesFit.com

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Tips for early morning running

Posted June 21st, 2007 at 1:46 PM by Shannon Clark

Section: Running & Training, Training Tips, Health & Fitness, Exercise

Many individuals prefer to run first thing in the morning because not only does it give them more energy to start their day with but it also prevents other things in their life from creeping up and taking time away from their exercise session.

Often, when the demands of life go up, our workouts are the first thing to suffer. But by running first thing in the morning, you can be sure you will not miss out. At first, it may be difficult to motivate yourself to get up, but after a week or two, it should become more of a habit and you will start doing it much more naturally.

There are a few basic things you should know, however, before you begin an early morning running routine. The following tips are important for safety and injury prevention.

Read the rest of this article at our partner site: HerActiveLife.com

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Prevent injury and improve performance by increasing the intensity of your warm-up

Posted March 6th, 2007 at 10:37 AM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: Running & Training, Injury & Rehab, Health & Fitness, Injury & Rehab, Exercise

Warming up before you exercise helps to prevent injuries and lets you jump higher, run faster, lift heavier or throw further.

Your warm-up should involve the same muscles and motions you plan to use in your sport. For example, before you start to run very fast, do a series of runs of gradually-increasing intensity to increase the circulation of blood to the muscles you will be using.

Muscles are made up of millions of individual fibers, just like a rope made from many threads. When you start to exercise at a very slow pace, you increase the blood flow to muscle fibers, increase their temperature, and bring in more oxygen, so the muscles are more pliable and resistant to injury.
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Active and Dynamic Stretching: An injury prevention tandem

Posted January 16th, 2007 at 4:24 PM by Richard Quinn

Section: Running & Training, Injury & Rehab, Health & Fitness, Injury & Rehab, Exercise

Stretching before and after running (and any physical activity) is an important aspect of preventing injuries. Stretching can also help with muscle recovery, optimizing muscle gains and increasing flexibility. There are two general types of stretching that can lead to these benefits: active and dynamic.

Active stretching (as seen above), also known as static stretching, entails stretching a muscle to an elongated position and holding that stretch for a certain amount of time. This is the most common type of stretching that most of us have been taught from a young age. Although there is some debate about the effective of active stretching, Sports Fitness Advisor states:

“This debate relates to an acute bout of static stretching prior to exercise. It is still considered important and beneficial to athletes away from competition to to bring about a long-term increase in range of motion.”

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MUSIC: Runners’ secret weapon in the battle of mind over matter

Posted January 9th, 2007 at 11:00 PM by Mickey Katz

Section: Motivation, Music

As most of you already know, exercise is known to be a battle of “mind over matter” (with your mind often wandering while we work on our bodies). Although mind wandering can sometimes lead to your next great idea when you’re at the gym or on your training runs, you need your mind to stay focused and give you a little extra push. This, my friends, is where music comes in!

I am a firm believer in the mental workout being just as necessary as your physical one, and I’d like to help those of you whose minds have wandered. It is true that protein feeds the muscles and provides strength, but if nothing is ‘driving’ you to succeed, then your workout will only be as good as lasts nights steak dinner or for those vegetarians, your buffet of tofu and eggs.
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Don’t forget to warm-up
your heart!

Posted December 30th, 2006 at 7:00 AM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: Health & Fitness, Injury & Rehab, Exercise

Most people know that you have to warm up skeletal muscles to help protect them from injury, but many do not know that warming up the heart muscle also helps to prevent heart attacks in people with blocked arteries leading to the heart

Before you try to run very fast, you can protect your muscles from injury by performing a series of runs of gradually-increasing intensity to increase the circulation of blood to your muscles.

The same principle applies to the heart.
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What’s the best time
to do your stretching?

Posted December 9th, 2006 at 7:00 AM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: Running & Training, Training Tips, Health & Fitness, Exercise

Stretching should always be done after your muscles are warmed up. Warming up raises muscle temperature to make them more pliable and resistant to injury. Resting muscle temperature is only about 97 degrees, but a slow jog around the block or any similar warm-up activity will raise muscle temperature to more than 99 degrees. Then you can do your stretches, or you can stretch after you finish your workout.

There’s no good evidence that stretching prevents injuries, but stretching that is done properly can help to make you a better athlete.
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Racing Etiquette: A Guide for Beginners

Posted November 17th, 2006 at 4:00 PM by Jenna Sumara

Section: Running & Training, Training Tips

You know those dreams where you show up to the fist day of school and your naked? I’ve been plagued by those dreams, not about return to school, but rather about re-joining the world of racing.

I dream that on race day I am naked, show up late and end up stuck at the front of the pack before the start line. Then, I run so slow that people start knocking me over while other runners point and laugh.

Sure, I used to run 5k’s as a kid, but when you’re young you can get away with not knowing all the rules of race etiquette. As an adult, you want to be able to show up on race day focused on having fun and performing your best; not on how to pass, where to line up or how to get a drink from the aid stations.

That being said - I have complied a guide to racing etiquette so that the only thing that’ll make you, and I, stand out from the crowd is just how darn fast we are! :-) Read the rest of this entry »

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Balancing the benefits and consequences of running

Posted November 7th, 2006 at 1:00 PM by Anuradha Kher

Section: Running & Training, Injury & Rehab

Running is one of the most popular forms of exercise and participation in the sport is growing exponentially.

A large part of running’s appeal is that it is easy to get into; requiring only minimal equipment and can be done almost anywhere. For the most part, people run (usually in an effort to stay in shape and/or relieve stress) without giving the activity enough consideration.

Getting started: Things to consider
Beginners and/or runners who are coming back from a long layoff, often do not fully appreciate the possible consequences of the sport. On the other hand, there are also a whole slew of overlooked benefits of running that go beyond just staying in shape or relieving stress. Read the rest of this entry »

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How to Warm Up

Posted October 22nd, 2006 at 5:56 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: Running & Training, Injury & Rehab, Training Tips, Health & Fitness, Exercise

Warming up before you exercise helps to prevent injuries and lets you jump higher, run faster, lift heavier or throw further. Your warm-up should involve the same muscles and motions you plan to use in your sport.

For example, before you start to run very fast, do a series of runs of gradually-increasing intensity to increase the circulation of blood to the muscles you will be using.

Muscles are made up of millions of individual fibers, just like a rope made from many threads. When you start to exercise at a very slow pace, you increase the blood flow to muscle fibers, increase their temperature, and bring in more oxygen, so the muscles are more pliable and resistant to injury.

When you contract a muscle for the first time, you use less than one percent of your muscle fibers. The second time you bring in more fibers, and you keep on increasing the number of muscle fibers used in each contraction for several minutes of using that muscle.

Read the rest of this entry »

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