Create Your Own Training Adventure

Looking to up your training game?

It's true.  The more we do the same things, the less impact it has on our bodies.  Being the amazing machines that they are, your body adapts to the routine YOU adopt and it becomes more efficient.  It's at this point where training starts to minimize in positive impact. 

However, if you consistently challenge yourself toward accomplishing different things, you can ALWAYS stay in shape.  Check out this post from Justin Moser of http://www.active.com/.  It lists some great ideas how you can get outdoors and enjoy good weather, but still train doing different activities.

Favorite Running Song

Eye of the Tiger.  Born To Run.  Thunderstruck.

Nicole Nichols recently posted a request asking people to share their favorite running songs.  The post captured a lot of attention. 

You might want to take a look as there are a lot of great songs here that you may want to make sure you have loaded in your iTunes account.

Running Skirts . . . Just For The Ladies

Just FYI . . . I don't wear running skirts.  However, I thought women who read this blog might find this interesting.

From the Jill Will Run Blog, she reviews a Mizuno running skirt.  Previously, she had not been a skirt fan, but liked some of the features of this design.

Check it out and learn if this is something you should try.

Quick Workouts

If you are busy and in need of quick workouts, this is for you.

Tri Coach Karen Buxton posted this for http://www.active.com/, offering you a few options for 30-minute workouts for those "on the go".

Even if you are short on time, these simple workouts will help to keep you from losing your edge.

Too Busy To Exercise?

Jeff Galloway may have just made the best argument I've ever heard about making excuses not to exercise.

So you say you're "too busy to exercise".  If you read a recent post from Galloway's blog, you'll see that most of our most recent presidents have made a habit of regularly exercising during the course of their day.

So, I'll pose the question again - still think you're too busy to exercise? Tell that to the leader of the free word!

Overcoming Open Water Fears

Some folks really fear swimming in open water.

While it doesn't seem as though it would be that hard, this is the biggest challenge people will cite to me in being unwilling to attempt a triathlon.

Before you say "no", check out this post from Chris Janzen at triathletemind.com.  For the most part, it's simply "head games" where we need to use reverse psychology in order to overcome fear.

The swim across the pond is never as far as it looks, you just need to be able to overcome this thought in your head.

Obesity Takes Its Toll

The Coast Guard now assumes the average boat passenger eights 185 pounds, up from 160 pounds in 1960.
Did you know more than a quarter of all Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 are unfit for military duty due to being overweight?  Or how about this - approximately $5 billion more per year is spent on jet fuel in order to transport heavier Americans compared to 1960 weights.

"The New Obesity Campaigns Have It All Wrong" by Gary Taubes recently published in Newsweek should be required reading for all Americans.  We eat too much, exercise too little and worst of all . . . we could care less as a society.

Well, the alcoholic's bar tab is about to come due.  The hangover will be severe.  Paying for our refusal to adopt healthier lifestyles will cost ALL of us in the form of dramatically increased health care expenses.  This epidemic has the potential to have all of the costs attached to it as smoking does.

Exercise Benefits Versus Joint Concerns

So, overweight and still using the excuse that exercise will cause injuries?

That argument doesn't look like it's holding a lot of credence any longer.  Take a look at the article recently posted in the Wall Street Journal.  According to Jen Murphy's article, a report in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health shows some interesting developments on this front. The study of overweight and obese people found their risk of knee osteoarthritis was significantly higher than normal-weight individuals, but exercise didn't increase that risk.

Now get the bike out, start walking or do something.  Exercise never means you have to do something overly strenuous that can put you at risk for injury.  Just get started by getting moving!

Minimalist Running Update

The minimalist running craze has certainly taken off.

I have not taken it up, although it certainly is a topic of conversation among my running friends. Both pro and con points are made about it.  While I've had one friend tell me she wanted to try it, but struggled after taking it up again following a break during pregnancy, I've had other friends tell me they are fans.

My own personal opinion is that you need something substantive to help cushion the blow of pressure you place on your lower extremities when you run. However, I did run across an article on the KMOX/CBS Radio website that offers more information about minimalist running.

Enough people do it and the products available to support it are plentiful.  That probably means it's right for some.  But only you can answer whether it's right for you.