The Trouble with Weekends….

 

I found myself falling into a bit of a trap this weekend. After working so hard over the last several weeks to stay  lean for my race, I fell off the wagon a bit. Not awful, still got some great exercise, but I ate foods that I wouldn’t normally eat. All the while telling myself, “You rarely do this, it’s no big deal”. At the end of Saturday night my stomach was gurgling, I slept poorly and just felt terrible.
Looking back I see quite a few things that I did that I have warned many of you about. For most of you, your weekdays are fairly predictable and routine. You get into a flow of five days of similarity. Then the weekend comes and you have less (sometimes) obligation. At the point where you could use that free time to help towards your fitness goals, some of us (myself included) become so overjoyed at the thought of not having any plans, that we become one with the couch.

Here are a few tips for enjoying AND accomplishing tasks for your weekend.

1. Schedule things a bit like a work day. However, leave in down time.
2. Don’t forget to drink your water. This was a big problem for me. I’m used to drinking water with each of you while training and I totally get off track on the weekend.
3. Don’t look at food as a reward…. YOU ARE NOT A DOG. However, if you really have a taste for some ice cream, have some. Just don’t eat the whole pint! (Did someone see me do that last weekend?)
4. Set aside a bit of time to plan and prepare some meals for the upcoming week. This shouldn’t take more than an hour of your weekend.
5. Do some activity that you enjoy that is physical. Take a hike, try paddleboarding, take your kids or grandkids to the play ground. Remember why fitness is important and how much fun it can be.

Finally, if you do over-do things a bit, don’t panic. One weekend of not so great choices will not ruin your game plan. Don’t let it defeat you. The next time you are tempted to drink/eat/sit around too much try to remember how badly you felt last time and choose to make better choices!

Distance Running Ramblings

Sunday morning I will run the Run 13.1 Half Marathon.  I picked up my race packet, have my clothes laid out, my race bib pinned on and have everything else set out that I will need for the morning.  All of the weeks of preparation finally pay off when I achieve my goal and cross the finish line.  The weather looks to be good and I’m ready!  In the weeks of training leading up to this I am again reminded that distance runners are a “bit” crazy.  Here is a glimpse into the mind of a distance runner:

While running long distances, your mind takes you to some very odd places. I have found countless coping techniques and have created games to distract myself while running for several hours. One of my games is to try to spot a wild flower in every color of the rainbow. In case you were wondering, blue is the most difficult to find. Another favorite is to try to guess the make of the approaching car before I can see the hood ornament.

Music is a life saver to me, I have carefully created a playlist composed completely with songs that I love that are all at the pace that I should be running. Sometimes, I even sing out loud when I’m running. After 5 miles or so, you really don’t care that you “might” look silly singing to yourself.

Running long distances is very stressful, but tension relieving at the same time. There comes a point where you shut out most of the outside world and just take a trip around your brain. It can also be very emotional. I cried like a baby when I finished my first half marathon. I was so proud, relieved and exhausted that the tears just flowed. In training for this race, I had a very significant “coincidence” occur on a 16 mile run. I was at about 13 miles and “The Blarg” showed up. The Blarg is the name I have given to my evil twin, the one who bitches constantly and tries to convince me to stop. The Blarg started whispering in my ear that my knee hurt, I was tired, I should just stop and walk….I started thinking, “Why am I doing this?” At that exact moment, something silver caught my eye. I looked down and saw one of those new Coke cans, the ones that say “Share a Coke with…” and the only thing I could see was the word “DAD” glaring right at me. Message received, loud and clear. Sobbing commenced, the rest of the run was easy because The Blarg took a nap.

Here are some of the crazy things that I have discovered while running the miles that I log in preparing for races:

The worst smell in the world is 2 day old dead armadillo in the St. Louis summer heat.

People throw out way too much trash on the street. Some of it is very interesting (I have found many liquor containers, a pregnancy test, single shoes and a box of trash bags to name some items).

I can solve the problems of the world when I have blood flowing through my veins, yet I forget most of my ideas by the time I have cooled down.

If you repeat “This run sucks” 20,000 times in a row, your run will be over before you know it 😦

I see WAY too many people texting while driving.

I can tell the difference between a banana peel and a snake from 10 feet away

Wildlife I have seen:
Fox
Beaver
Frogs
Ground Hog
Deer
Squirrel
Rabbit
Snails
Wooly Worms
Billions of birds (my favorite is the yellow finch and I believe that seeing it brings me good luck)
Snakes (they help increase my speed)
Turtle
Crawdad (yes, in the middle of the sidewalk)
TONS of insects
SIDE NOTE: During grasshopper mating season it is necessary to wear sunglasses and a mask. Those things are deadly!
ADDITIONAL SIDE NOTE: I am very careful not to step on any creatures. However, I once almost tripped and landed on my face trying to avoid landing on a wooly worm. Lesson learned, if it’s face plant or wooly worm, Sorry buddy!

It’s somewhat alarming how many people use our roads and sidewalks and do not have any idea of the etiquette of their use. As a service to everyone, the following are the rules of the road:

If you are walking, by yourself or with others, stay to the right of the sidewalk. If someone is running or biking behind and they wish to pass, they should announce themselves and say, “On your left”. At that point, you move as far to the right as you can, so that they can safely pass you on your left. If you are walking as a group, please pay attention to those around you and don’t use the entire sidewalk. As a runner you should run on either the sidewalk or the shoulder and you should, whenever possible, run FACING traffic. If you are going to pass another runner or walker, be sure to announce yourself and then pass carefully to their left. Cyclists should, whenever possible, bike on the street WITH traffic. If you approach a walker or runner that you need to pass, announce yourself well in advance and then pass carefully. Finally, all walkers, runners and cyclists should be sure that they can hear what is going on around them. If you use your ipod, always leave out one earbud so that you can hear the traffic and people around you.

In closing, I hope you all enjoy your weekend. I am going to kick this race in the hind end, drink a beer, eat some chocolate chip cookies and then have a home made spaghetti and meatball dinner!

Non-Scale Victories

So many people get caught playing the weight game.  Let me be honest, I do NOT weigh my clients, nor do I base any of their success on the number on the scale.  It is a measure of the earth’s gravitational pull on your body.  It is not an indicator of your health, your success or your self worth.

I have a friend who is an athlete and although he is usually carrying around 8-10 percent body fat (super low for a male his age) he is considered morbidly obese by height and weight charts.  He is in fantastic shape and healthier than probably 95% of people his age, yet charts based on his weight say different.  On the other hand, I once had a client who was considered “Ideal” weight for her age.  She had never worked out, had sky high cholesterol and triglyceride levels and was one of the unhealthiest people I have ever dealt with.

How do you not get caught up in the “Scale Game”?  Throw it out.  Seriously.

Focus on the true indicators of health.  What is your body fat percentage?  What is your resting heart rate or your recovery heart rate after exercise?  Do you sleep well?  Can you move easily?  Are you sick often?  How many medications do you take?  Can you walk up the stairs without getting out of breath?  Can you bend over and touch your toes, or put your shoes on easily?  Do you have energy throughout the day?  How is your memory?  Do you tolerate stress well?  Each of these are definite indicators of your true health.

This week I challenge you to focus on Non-Scale Victories and please share them with me!

Live Long and Strong!

Lighten up Frances!

Today I’m going to discuss a pet peeve of mine…NEGATIVITY.  Negativity serves no purpose in this world and really, just pisses me off!

What set me off on this topic?  This week several other trainers who are friends of mine on Facebook have posted negative thoughts and images about various types of training or conditioning. I have seen trainers try to discredit running, eating carbs, crossfit, any cardio and big box gyms.  RIDICULOUS!!!  Each of these has different benefits.  Personally, I believe that if you devalue something that is important to someone else, you just look like a fool.

Additionally, as a trainer, we should all be thrilled with ANY form of exercise people are doing that is

1. Better than sitting behind a desk or on a couch or

2. Not life threatening

Over my 26 year career in this industry I have worked for big gyms, small gyms, personal training studios, a hospital wellness program, a collegiate athletic program, corporate fitness programs and finally owning my own business.  Having dealt with a multitude of different people with different goals, levels of fitness, and body types, I can tell you that there is not just one program that is right.

Do you like powerlifting?  Awesome!  Go to a powerlifting gym, learn the moves correctly and lift crazy heavy weights.  It’s great for developing strength.  Do you love to run?  Perfect, get outside and find some running buddies, enter in a few races and enjoy the people and your accomplishments, it’s excellent for cardiovascular health.  Did you recently start taking a crossfit class and now you’re hooked?  Fantastic!  The classes are challenging and burn a great number of calories while conditioning at the same time.

The point is that just because someone isn’t exercising in the way  you choose to exercise, doesn’t make it any less effective.  I challenge every one of you, client and trainer, to encourage each person you encounter this week.  Lift them up and you will be lifted up yourself!

Rant over….

Extreme is only good if you’re speaking about the band!

Quite possibly the two most frequent comments/complaints I hear are either:

– It’s takes so much effort to lose weight, I’m going to have to give up everything that tastes good and become a “health nut”. It will require massive changes.

or

-I’m working so hard and I just want to lose 5 more pounds so that I have a six pack. It should just take a little extra work to get there.

Both of these viewpoints are far from the truth.

The good news and bad news is this: With just a few small changes to the average person’s diet and exercise routine they can achieve noticeable improvements. However, the process that helps you lose the first 10 pounds is not the same as the process that helps you get that shredded six pack. In fact, the work gets harder as you get leaner.

Precision Nutrition has a great informational graphic that shows the work required to get to different body fat percentages and also gives the health benefits or problems at each level. The second column shows you what you would need to do more of, and less of, at each corresponding level.  Take a look at each of the levels, weigh the pros and cons so that you are able to decide what is best for your health and your situation.  As always, I welcome any comments or questions!