Exercise Consistently

I often preach to athletes who are starting out in an exercise program of the need to be consistent in their dedication and approach.

How many times have you started, stopped, started, stopped, and then again started on a program only to become frustrated and upset that you have not reached your fitness goal. Consistency will help you get there.

Plan your program to be consistent. If in the beginning you can only workout two times each week, then workout just two times each week, but maintain the consistency. When you start missing individual workouts, it becomes easier to begin missing weekly workouts which then leads to monthly workouts, soon you are not exercising anymore and you have reverted back to your old self.

If you need to, follow this plan.

Week 1 – Workout once per week
Week 2 – Workout twice per week
Week 3 – Workout three times per week
Week 4 – Workout four times per week
Week 5 – Maintain

This program should help you ease into a consistent workout pattern.



This blog was contributed by Speedy Sneakers Walking and Running Clubs for women. Speedy Sneakers is committed to promoting women’s health and fitness through walking and running programs.

Cold Weather Workout Tips

Just because it is cold outside does not mean we have to stop working out. In the colder states we need to be a little more creative to get through the dark cold months.

Here are five workout tips you can try this winter.

1. Mall Walking. Early morning, or later in the evening on weekdays are great for getting a warm walk in. If you are not running around at 4:00 minutes/mile pace, mall security will not mind you walking.

2. Cross Train. Winter provides the perfect opportunity to do some additional cross training at your local gym, such as lifting weights and swimming. Both provide the opportunity to workout different muscles groups that you may not have done while walking or running in the summer.

3. Jump Rope. Get a jump rope from your local fitness store, they are inexpensive and provide a solid workout. Jump rope for 5 minutes to start and you will feel like you had just run 5 miles!

4. Indoor Cycling. If you have an indoor bike, use it. So many people have indoor equipment do not use it. This is a waste, as time passes the machine will breakdown and ultimately become useless. Try cycling for 30-minutes.

5. Core Conditioning. Wake up each morning and workout your various abdominal muscles. Core conditioning is essential for maintaining torso strength for walking and running.

As always in cold weather, maintain adequate hydration, dress in layers.

Stretching is Key

Whether you are a walker or runner of any type, stretching is an essential yet often overlooked part of the training workout. Simply just stretching may not be enough if it is not done correctly.

For every workout there are two parts to stretching, the pre-workout and post-workout stretch.

The pre-workout stretch gets the muscles ready for the workout by allowing blood to flow into the muscles and the increasing flexibility of the muscles which will be used during the activity. This allows you to get into the workout quicker.

The post-workout stretch will help move out of the muscles any lactic acid that will have accumulated in the muscles during the workout. This will allow for a quicker recovery and alleviate some of the soreness that you could experience from the exertion placed on the muscles during the workout.

If you are an older athlete, 30 years and older it becomes even more important to incorporate stretching into your workout routine as all the benefits of having young stretchy muscles starts declining. Stretching will help avoid some of the little injuries that can occur in older athletes that younger athletes take for granted.

Stretching Images

Essential Water

I wanted to add to Peter's thoughts on fluid intake. Many people ask, "How much water should I drink?" The standard response is 8 -10 cups of water a day. The average adult loses about 10 cups of water a day through perspiration, urination, bowel movements and breathing. However, if you are an active individual you will tend to lose more water.

Most of us substitute and say things like, "Well I had coffee this morning, it has water in it." Yes it does but it also has caffeine. Caffeine actually contributes to dehydration by removing water from the body. So, if you are active try to consume fluids that have no caffeine or if you do don't count that as your fluid intake for the day. I know most of us like our cup of Java in the morning but try to replace that with water once you are awake!

What about sports drinks? They do contain electrolytes essential for muscle function, but be careful of the high sugar content contained in the drinks. One of our graduate students found that athletes that consumed sports drink ad libitum during practice were actually more dehydrated following practice than those that consumed just water.

In the end what does this mean: carry water with you and sip/drink it throughout the day. Don't rely on high sugar, caffeinated drinks to quench your thirst.

Happy drinking!

The Need for Vitamins

The question always comes up about the need to take additional supplements in the form of vitamins. We have to realize two things when considering taking vitamins, be it a multi-vitamin or a specific vitamin such as C, or B.

The first is that vitamins are expensive, and secondly, do you really need to take them?

Let me answer the second thought first. When trying to decide whether or not you need to take vitamins take a look at your pantry and refrigerator. Are you eating quality food? Does you refrigerator look like a flower shop, green, red and orange vegetables and fruits? Do you eat whole grain breads? Drink milk and water? Simply are you eating well enough to not need to take in additional supplements? Supplements are meant to replace what you do not have. If you can get it in your food, no need for vitamins.

Lastly, be careful not to flush good money down the drain buying vitamins and vitamin drinks when you could be planning good meals for yourself and your family, thereby saving money and increasing the quality of your lives.

Keeping it Simple

I was once at a sales conference where the presenter had ten slides he showed to kickoff his presentation. These ten slides provided the tone for the rest of the presentation and had everyone listening very closely.

Each slide was a copy of a few very well known money magazines. Each had an incredible headline, “top 10 stocks”, “the other top 10 stocks”, “get out of these 10stocks”. The slides went on and it became apparent that if you had read these ten magazines you would have been confused and not anymore educated than before you began reading.

So are other magazines any different, such as health and fitness magazines? The answer is yes, absolutely. If this is true, what are you to do? Just be careful about taking to heart all the information, there is just too much and it does conflict. For the most part the information contained in the magazines is valid and good, however if you were to take all the advice you would be constantly changing your workouts, diet, buying all kinds of new gadgets and just simply getting yourself into a state of utter madness.

Read all magazines for education, pick out just a few things you would like to try and give it time to work if it is what you want to do. Speak to trainers or coaches about what you have read and see if they agree with it. Any good coach will ask some probing questions before giving advice.

Why be physically healthy?

It is a New Year, new goals to eat better, get in shape and stick to that plan!! So why is it so important to be physically healthy? Do we do it to look good? Yes perhaps, but the older you get the more you begin to realize that health is perhaps a little more important than looks!

One reason to be physically healthy is that it contributes to your mental, emotional and spiritual health. When you exercise there are basic physiological changes that occur in the body which help with mood states. For instance, it is known that exercise can decrease the incidence of those blue days that we all seem to have. This in turn improves your emotional state and allows you to have a more positive outlook on life.

So as this week begins, commit to making your exercise goals, even if they are baby steps at first!

The Most Important Meal

Have you ever wondered where the name “Breakfast” came from? I have not formally researched this, but the explanation provided to me seems plausible and rational based on why it remains the most important meal of the day.

Breakfast is simply made up of two words, “Break” the “Fast”. As an example, when our last meal of the day is 6:00 pm in the evening, and we wake up at 6:00 am, that first meal breaks the fast we have gone through of some 12-hours.

Our bodies though in a state of rest has not eaten or had something to drink for half the day. It is imperative to performing well within the next few hours that we have something to eat and drink.

A good meal can start with a bowl of cereal. Cereals are simple to make and sit well with the stomach; they make perfect meals if you are running late. I personally prefer a meal with a little more substance after my morning workout. This is a double dose, no eating for 12-hours and then a light workout, my body needs food and water.

As a last suggestion, if you eat light in the morning, try to take a piece of fruit or a shake with you to work for that mid-morning snack. Your body needs the right amount of fuel in the right quantities throughout the day in order to ensure maximum performance.

By Speedy Sneakers Walking and Running Clubs for women

New Year’s Resolution: Support a Great Mission

In 2008 Speedy Sneakers Walking and Running Clubs for women will be supporting the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition in the mission to fight cancer. Anybody that has ever had somebody die from cancer can attest that this is a fight; in fact it is a war. Cancer is a devastating enemy that many times takes lives way too early. The fight is ongoing and relentless to find a cure.

The Ovarian Cancer Coalition mission is “To raise awareness and promote education about ovarian cancer. The Coalition is committed to improving the survival rate and quality of life for women with ovarian cancer”.

Speedy Sneakers mission in promoting health and fitness in women through walking and running programs also believes that we should live up to our mission by supporting grassroots organizations that are on the front line in the battle to improve the lives of women.

As a man, I am profoundly appreciative of the role that women play in our society, from their role in the workplace to their role at home, women are a precious treasure.

As you make New Years resolutions I hope that you resolve to contribute to society by considering supporting your local or even the national organization of the NOCC. You can find more information about NOCC on their website.

Back to Work

For most of the country, it is time to get back to work after a few weeks of parties and celebrations and no doubt there probably was a little more eating than normal that took place. As in my previous blog post, I spoke about taking time off. Now is the time to refocus and get back to working out. Delaying any further will just make getting back harder and harder and ultimately you may not even see a little sweat until April. Get back on track now.

Here are some tips for getting back without the strain:

Start off slowly
After a few weeks of doing mostly nothing, do not rush out the door and try to get 8 miles done. Start off with 2 miles if need be. Slowly build up your distance by adding 10-15% each week until you hit that 8 mile mark again (if that is where you left off). Gradually and slowly ensures success.

Keep a daily log
If you did not get one as a stocking stuffer, get an inexpensive log book to keep track of you progress. Keeping track ensures that you do not miss too many days between workouts without feeling guilty. Felling guilty is good if you need that kick in the pants.

Get others involved
Call a few friends and get them to the gym with you, make it a date and stick to it. The best motivator in the cold months up in the north is to have others workout with you. All can be a great encourager and motivator to each other.

Set your goals
This is the time of the year, where I hope you can look back at last year in order to look forward to set new goals for the coming year. If you are new to working out, then set a goal of maintaining the program.

Be thankful
Lastly, always be thankful to live in a great country where you have access to areas to workout. Not everyone in this world can run in a safe neighborhood, or workout in a spacious gym.

Good luck for the coming year, I look forward to hearing about the goals and achievements you have made throughout the year.