Calories From Alcohol

How many pounds you can put on from alcohol is a frequent topic of conversation among fitness enthusiasts.

While some folks who are serious about fitness do not consume alcohol, there are those who enjoy it.  They particularly enjoy it when they have finished an event. 

This article from Becky Hand at www.dailyspark.com details the calories attached to various drinks.  For example, a 12-ounce beer has as much as 140 calories.  One can gain up to 15 pounds consuming a daily beer at that rate!

Know what the costs are of what your consuming the next time you enjoy a drink!

More Motivation

Here's a bit of motivation so as not to fail.

Check out this post from the Run To The Finish blog, particularly if you have had trouble accomplishing something.

Did you know Thomas Edison had 9,000 experiments before he perfected the light bulb or that Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team due to "lack of skill"? 

Failure truly represents failure only when you don't learn from it.

Need Motivation?

Sometimes we just need a little nudge.

Here is a link to a series of motivational quotes and references designed to help keep you moving from Christine Luff at www.about.com.

If you are like me, motivational quotes are often helpful to me when I am training for a specific event or I am a bit down.

Winter Activity Tips

If you're living in the Midwest like I do, it's hard to say what the weather will be like.

Recently, we have had days that make you think we live further south.  However, the winter months have a habit of moving people indoors even if the weather is mild. 

For the sake of argument, let's assume you want to get outside for some fitness activities. Some advice from Ben Greenfield at www.active.com might come in handy. 

Start small and build yourself up.

Offseason Treadmill Workouts

It is still not spring yet.

So, that means you might still be doing workouts on the treadmill.  Treadmills . . . I don't many who enjoy using them.  However, if you live in a cold winter climate like I do, it is a necessary evil.

Here are some treadmill workouts from triathlon coach Justin Levine posted on www.active.com. They provide a variety of different approaches to making for a few effective runs on your treadmill.

Running Warmup

Stretching prior to a run is a good thing.

However, read this post from Matt Fitzgerald at www.competitor.com.  You will learn that stretching is great prior to the run, but it should be accompanied by "warmup" activities.

Fitzgerald lists some suggestions of activities to get yourself warmed up along with a video.  Make sure to take time to properly warm up before your runs.

Celebrating Running

It's pretty cool to have been able to run for many years.

For me, I just celebrated 15 years of consistent running - among other activities, of course.  Also taking some breaks for injuries, of course too.  This post from the Run DMZ blog on celebrating 20 years of road races made think back and reflect on my running over the past several years.

At times, it has not been easy.  My share of knee issues sometimes keeps me on the sidelines.  However, those injuries have taught me the benefit of just enjoying running as opposed to trying to be so competitive.  My hope is that I will enjoy the sport of running a lot longer taking this attitude.

In any event, take a moment to celebrate your running . . . or any other physical activity you choose to enjoy.

One Foot In The Grave

Does the Wall Street Journal think fitness is healthy or does it think it puts us closer to the grave?

I'll leave this up to you, but the Shut Up and Run blog does a great job of answering this question in a recent post.  Interestingly enough, the Journal also recently wrote how older athletes are finding ways to thrive in endurance events by using varied training techniques.  Now, an article recently written by Kevin Helliker questions the health benefits of endurance activities.

In my mind, the bottom line is this . . . anything can be overdone to a point where there is no longer a benefit attached to it.  Fitness activities are no different.  Taken in stride and moderation, there is no way you will convince me a healthy lifestyle with the right amount of fitness helps people live healthier and longer lives.

Off-Season Activities

Hopefully, you're not lying on the couch this off-season.

The off-season is a great time to recover and focus on new activities. This post from Gale Vennare on www.active.com makes complete sense of key areas of focus for the off-season.

I mentioned "not laying on the couch".  Not a bad idea to consider some couch time, particularly if you had a rigorous event season.  Take care of your body and let it heal during the off-season.

During the off-season, strength training is fabulous.  You also need to maintain your balance.  Keep activities up to a point where you are not breaking yourself down, but you are maintaining the edge you developed in-season.

Remember to consider your diet.  With not being as active as you might be during the warmer months, athletes need to be more considerate of what they consume.

Changing Things Up

Believe it or not, our bodies get efficient.

The more efficient our bodies get, the less physical benefit we derive.  It works like this: when your body is used to completing an activity, it doesn't work have to work as hard.  But when you vary your activities and surprise your body, you gain more physical benefit.  In other words . . . you burn more calories.

This post from the Go The Distance blog highlights the importance of changing our routines in our physical activities.  We may excel at one activity, but working on others is a great complement to our overall fitness.

In my next post, we will take a look at some off-season activities that will offer some options in this direction.