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Is “stretching” and “warming up” the same thing?…No!

with 2,178 Comments Healthy LifestyleWellness

Afraid of pulling a hamstring? Then warm up sufficiently to reduce your risk of muscle strains. This doesn’t mean stretch out. The purpose of warming up is to prepare your body for movement and reduce your risk of injury.  Increasing blood flow, oxygen and nutrients to your muscles will elevate your heart rate, body temperature and make your muscles more extensible.

A warm up is usually 10-15 minutes long and it may be a low intensity version of that activity you are about to perform. A brisk walk turning into a light job with some calisthenics are appropriate before activity. Hold off on long slow static stretches and replace them with dynamic movements intended to reduced muscle tension and improve range of motion. Research demonstrates “stretching” before activity, at least the long slow kind used to improve flexibility may even reduce your athletic performance and reduce your power output. Save the long slow stuff, for after when you are nice and warm.

Friends

Building Fitness With Friends

with 14,074 Comments Healthy LifestyleWellness

As you can imagine, or know first hand, Ironman training is very time consuming. As I mentioned last week, the juggle of balancing time with family and friends while training is challenge at time. This week I was thankful to spend time with people I love while training. My husband quietly rode next to me on our indoor trainers while I suffered through a Functional Threshold Power (FTP) test. For those of you who are unfamiliar, basically you ride your bike for 5 minutes then 20 minutes all out and not die. It’s not fun. Like all tests, I did have a few days of test anxiety leading up to it. I did pretty well. However John said I didn’t pass out, vomit or fall off the bike so I probably could have pushed myself harder. Humm.. I’m not sure about that.

This weekend was no exception to the juggling act. We had four birthdays parties to attend mixed in with training. No hangovers, No missed training, while having fun with friends was the goal. Mission Accomplished!

Mixing things up this weekend outside of my regular routine helped get the job done. I was able to visit with my friend Shannon and train in her pool. Let me tell you, If you are not a swimmer you might not understand how staring at the line at the bottom of the pool for a couple of hours each week can be maddening. Swimming in a beautiful outdoor pool makes your workout so much more enjoyable. However lightening did cut my swim short. I value my life more than more yards.

My favorite training session this weekend was my bike ride. My sweet friends were supportive of my bike assignment, keeping me company on my warm up and cool down and cheering me on between power blocks. The miles go by so much faster with great company. 

Sunday I did my first double run session. I have never ran twice in one day before. One of those birthday parties was brunch. With brunch comes mimosas. Orange juice is good for you but probably not champagne when you have to run later. Lets just say I continued the juggle but this time with coffee and water. A few hours later the 30 minute run was not too bad. Let’s just say I did not add these details to my coach’s notes on Training Peaks.

Have a great week!

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“Manage your Sh#t!”

with 102 Comments Healthy LifestyleWellness

I am new to having a coach for triathlon and new to having someone, other than myself, to hold me accountable to my training program.

My coach is remote and we are just getting to know each other. Most of our weekly communication is through TrainingPeaks, email, and messenger. Preparing for my last race he gave me race day directions and told me to “manage my sh#t.” I laughed thinking about what he meant when he wrote those words. I find myself often repeating the expression since hearing it. Yesterday I think i found the perfect example of what he meant by those words “manage your sh#t.”


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The weekend usually involves long bike rides and long runs or a combination of both riding and running. My bike workout was supposed to be 3 hour 30 minute to just get in some miles. I planned to join some friends riding in Clermont. If you are unfamiliar, Clermont is the only place to go to ride hills in Florida. The drive takes close to an hour to get there so I woke up very early to get all my stuff packed up for a long morning of riding hills. 

When I pulled into the parking lot many riders were eagerly getting ready to start their day. I was excited to start the day as well. I pulled everything out of my Jeep, put on all my gear and jumped on my bike to quickly discover the battery was dead to my electronic shifting. I started to panic to think of how I am going to miss out on my much needed hill training and then have to drive an hour home to then go for a very long bike ride. I was so upset at myself and disappointed with how my day was turning out.

Prayers were answered. There was a solution. My fellow friend, the “Bearded Bike Doctor,” a mobile bike mechanic, was there and saved the day. His wife is my size and rides a bike pretty close to the same size I do. She had just finished up a morning ride herself. The bike doctor was quickly able to transform her bike into one I could ride. He took some quick measurements, moved a few things around, swapped out some pedals and boom…a bike ready for me.

Another lesson learned for me. Check your equipment the night before and the morning of your event to be sure you are ready to roll. I will not let that happen again. Thanks again to the Bearded Bike Doctor and his generous wife. I was able to get in my training and had a great day.

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Sitting Is The New Smoking

with 1,676 Comments Healthy LifestyleWellness

Sitting is the “new smoking” according to Dr. Levine, director of the Mayo Clinic-Arizona State University Obesity Solutions Initiative. According to the World Health Organization, the fourth largest killer of preventable disease…sitting!

Sitting or Sedentary lifestyle does not exclude the runners and gym rats. Applaudable yes, but what are you doing the other 23 or so hours of the day? If the answer includes, sitting …while eating, driving to work, while at work, driving home…all the sitting may negate the benefits of your hard work and sweat.

    Sitting or sedentary lifestyle, is detrimental to our health. Increasing your risk of serious illness such as heart disease, type II diabetes, depression, obesity and musculoskeletal issues to name a few. Our bodies are designed to move. If you are sitting, your not moving. When sitting, muscles tighten up and weaken, circulation slows, disc pressure increases. Stand up!

   Ok so we can’t stand while we drive, at least not yet anyway but we can reduce optional sitting during the day.  Stand up at work, if not all day, then get up and move 5 minutes of every hour. Movement improves neurocognitive function so your productivity might increase as a result.

  Standing desks are a growing trend in the workplace. Can’t afford Varidesk, check out Pinterest for DIY ideas!


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Check out these apps to help get you moving during your work day:

One Minute Mobility Clinic:

Standing Split Squat/Lunge: Hold your abdominals tight, engage or tighten your rear glut, move into a lunge position, focus on neutral alignment , don’t let your knee of your front leg pass over your toes.

Quad Stretch: Use your desk or chair back for balance, bend one knee , reach back to grab your leg above your ankle ligaments, pull your heel towards your buttock. Keep your abdominal muscles engaged and your alignment in neutral. Focus on breathing and relaxing into the stretch. Hold 30 seconds working up to one minute. 1-3 reps.

Arm Circles: Standing tall with your core engaged, reach over head with a locked elbow, thumb pointing behind you. Start your circle backwards, palm moving away from you. Repeat 10 each arm. Change directions.

Forearm stretch: Using your desktop or chair seat. Start palms down,fingers pointing toward you, with slight bend to your elbow. Slowly start to extend your elbows. Hold 30 seconds, repeat 1-3 reps.Repeat with palms up.