Running Injury-Free

Keeping away the injury bug can be a trick, particularly if you're a runner.

Nicole Nichols of www.dailysparkblog.com posted about her strategies for keeping yourself injury-free as a runner.

Her suggestions make sense - it's important not to run every day, not do things you know will cause trouble for you and be conservative.

Take a peak at this post to learn how you can keep your running injury free.

20-Minute Workout

There is a benefit to the "20-minute workout".

At least Matt Fitzgerald of Triathlete.com says there is.

Most people wouldn't really consider working out for 20 minutes worth the effort. Read Fitzgerald's recent post and his rationale for why a 20-minute workout is still worth the time.

There are healthful benefits to a 20-minute workout even though it seems like too short of a period of time to make it worthwhile.

Running With Friends

I found another reminder why it's great running with friends.

Not only does running with others help pass the time away, it helps keep you accountable and provides for a great way to enjoy your friends. I find it's just "fun" to run with people I really enjoy. I don't get worked up about pace either - if they are slower, I slow down and if they are too fast; I know that person or persons aren't the right running partners. Keeping it fun is the name of the game, so I prefer not to hung up on these issues.

In this post from The Happy Runner blog, we're reminded about the fun of running with others and not just by ourselves. Take charge, get an e-mail out and organize a run with some of your friends this weekend. Don't wait!

Proper Warm Up

Having been injured as a result of not getting a good warm up, I highly recommend taking time to make sure your muscles are prepared for work.

Matt Fitzgerald of www.competitor.com writes a great post about how to be both general and specific in your warm up efforts.

Muscles need the general warm up of getting prepared for a work out. A slow exercise of any kind like running or vigorous walking can help achieve this. The muscles that will specifically be used in a workout can benefit from stretching and warm up specific to those areas.

Check out Fitzgerald's article to learn how you can improve your warm up efforts and avoid injuries.

Older Athletes Make Strides

When you consider the "comebacks" of older athletes like Janet Evans, I can't help but think what all of us can achieve as we age if we put our minds to it.

Olympic swimmer Janet Evans is the latest in a list of 40-plus athletes working to make a "comeback" in their sports. USA Today's Janice Lloyd chronicled Evan's work in a recent story that also highlights how many aging athletes are still able to accomplish a lot.

Of course, you're thinking by its nature, swimming offers the opportunity for this type of activity because it's not as hard on your body as other sports. Certainly, this may be the case. The point I would make is that even though most of us are not world class athletes, there's no limit to when one can pursue fitness activities as a way to keep themselves healthy.

If Janet Evans and others are doing it in their 40s, there's no reason whatsoever why any of us shouldn't be out looking for ways to get ourselves moving.

Using Swim Paddles

Using Swim paddles is a great way to perfect your stroke technique in the pool.

Swim Coach Frank Sole provides recommendations for varying levels in the size, style and brand of paddles for swimmers in this post for www.active.com.

You're looking for a paddle about 10 percent bigger than your hand. The goal is to use the paddle to help "train" proper stroke technique.

Maybe You Need A Coach

Maybe your routine is in need of a "shakeup".

You may have reached a point in your training life where you'd like to "take things up to another level". Or you may be in a position where you feel as though you're in a rut and you need to "shake things up".

Whatever your case might be, I thought this post on the Frayed Laces blog laid out a good process for deciding upon and engaging a coach.

There are a lot of considerations in choosing a coach - your goals, the experience you're seeking, synergy with a coach, etc. Use this experience as a guide in helping you make a decision that's right for you.

Speed Workout

Check out this resistance band workout video.

Todd Durkin of FitnessQuest10.com demonstrates how to use the band in a variety of ways in this video. Durkin has been a personal trainer for New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

Using a resistance band for exercise is a great alternative workout to using weights.

Take Care Of Yourself After Runs

Take care of yourself after runs.

Are you feeling sore? Do you have headaches? Various treatments might be called for to treat symptoms you're feeling after runs that "aren't quite right".

Applications like ice baths or certain foods or drinks can play a role in the recovery process. Check out Christine Luff's post on www.about.com to learn more about things you can do to make yourself feel better following your runs.

Check Out Mr. Fitness

Gary Player, the famous South African golfer, isn't generally know for his fitness exploits.

Personally, I wasn't aware he was dubbed "Mr. Fitness" in the 1950s. At age 75, take a look at how good this guy looks now! I can only hope I look half as good as he does at that age.

Player has an interesting mix of resistance training and cardio he does "five or six times a week". His routine includes 1,000 pushups and situps every morning.

Read more about how this golfer takes fitness seriously through Jen Murphy's Wall Street Journal article. Player relates how his fitness activities have contributed to his success on the greens.

Running Injury Free

If you're looking to run free of injuries, here's some good advice.

Nicole Nichols at the dailysparkblog.com posted about how she's stayed injury free this year with some pretty easy-to-follow instructions.

Advice for running injury-free? Well, it starts with some easy suggestions like listening to your body, not pushing your body just because you think you can and not running every day.

From experience, I can tell you these suggestions make sense. Cross training and not pushing yourself into extremes are good points to follow.

Swimming Etiquette

I never thought much about this, but there is swimming etiquette.

If you're taking the plunge into the pool and looking for some direction, the Frayed Laces blog has a "starter's kit" for you.

As I read this, there were some great suggestions that I honestly had taken for granted. Most of these items are common sense, but sometimes it's good to get the benefit of someone else's perspective.

For example, the post shares when it's good to leave the "band-aids" at home, when to chat with others and how to approach sharing a lane.

Check out this Emily Post guide for swimmers.