Health & Physical Fitness/Training Thread

[Lanky Livingston]

My old gym teacher taught us to breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth. Always seems to help me stay under control while running. Probably similar to the gait tactic.

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[Henry]

I had to look up the word gait but that sounds like a solid idea.

thanks, man! and..uhh...good luck with your "issues"

Thanks ... I'm all better now

And in case I wasn't clear, breathe in for two steps, then let it out for two steps. This also helps with those times when you just start feeling worn down during a run.

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[Henry]

I hear ya. Believe me, I know The Panic all too well.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Lots and lots of cleans tonight, and my back feels great. Not doing a lot of weight yet, but enough to make me nervous. Gives me confidence!

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[Special K]

Taking a few days off from the gym to let my body recover for a bit. Will jump back in Thursday.

Mike, I hear you about hating running. These days I really hate running, but back in high school when I ran long distance track a lot, I always used the method Henry described of timing breathing with gait rhythm and it helped. When running long distance, the first 5 minutes are the most difficult; after that your body can get into a rhythm and it isn't too bad.

 

[Henry]

Mike, it also sounds like you might be running a bit too fast. Try slowing your cruising speed down by about a minute per mile.

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[tshile]

This weather is killing my ability to workout.


Translation:
I'm really lazy and using the snow on the ground as an excuse to not work out.
The worst part is I know it...

Then I ran. I really hate running. I lose control of my breathing, lose focus, and always end up "freaking out". Any advice would be appreciated. But anyways, i went 2mi in 20:45.

Have you tried listening to music while you run? That could be dangerous depending on where you run (traffic) but it helps me. I otherwise have thes ame problem as you - I absolutely hate running. The only enjoyment I get is that it should be healthy - every thing else I'd rather ram my head into the wall.

But listening to music takes my mind off it and lets me go on auto pilot. Before I quit for the winter I was regularly running 3+ miles at a time, which many here would laugh at but for someone that otherwise wasn't working out it was a big deal for me, and the only way I could get through it was to listen to music (or radio). It's great for a tread mill, just be careful running along streets with head phones in, it's not safe if you don't make it a point to be cautious.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

This week is not fun. PT has been at 6am each day. 45 minutes in the pool for exercises. 15 minute break. Light weight training for 30 minutes. Break. Then treadmill to finish - includes walking backwards for several minutes.

Everything is light compared to what any of you are doing, but I'll be happy to trade the early morning for mid morning. Ugh. The good news is that the rest of the day is free, but still prefer a later time.

 

[Henry]

Mike I've been running for years and when I go out for a regular run I go 12 minute miles. Doesn't mean I can't run faster than that but it's not necessary. If you're training for a race mix in one fast run a week, but otherwise don't worry about it. We're not training for the olympics here.

 

[tshile]

you should step your game up by running slower but more often.

over time your mile times will go down and your distance will go up, and you'll feel much better while doing it and afterwards.

i think the most important part early on is to make sure you don't push yourself too much and drive yourself away. also to make sure you don't hurt yourself.


side note - i ran a half mile on sunday then went to the driving range and tweaked my knee :\ much better today but monday it was really swollen. didn't even realize i did something to it until I woke up monday and felt like someone twisted my knee while i was sleeping.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Glad I got back to this thread. It is really inspiring for me.

 

[tshile]

Glad I got back to this thread. It is really inspiring for me.

on the contrary, i find your work to be inspiring.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

I need to start running again. Henry, I'm going to try your breathing trick... Never done anything like that.

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[Special K]

this is going to sound stupid but Katie once commented on my running with "dude, 10 minute miles are average. Step up your game" and while I know she didnt mean it in a negative way it became the "goal" I shot for.

I will slow down today. Today I will slow down. Slow down I will today.

Miiiiiiiike!!! I didn't intend for it to be that way, just giving you a hard time. You could have clocked a 6 minute mile and I would have still said that was average and you needed to step up your game, lol. I agree with others about the pace of your running. We're all old now, don't push it to where you can't breathe.

 

[CounterTrey]

I have a couple of suggestions Mike.

1. The way you start as opposed to the way you finish can have a huge impact on your entire workout. Are you starting out the pace that you plan on averaging for the whole run? IOW are you starting out at a brisk pace or easing your way into it? Granted my perspective is different but as we age this is something more and more important to pay attention to. If you start off too fast you can literally ruin the whole run in a 5 minute span. I run a lot further than 1 mile when I run and I average 7.5 min/mile with around 6 on a fast and hard day (when I'm in shape) so this is relative but with those numbers it takes me over a mile before I feel loose and ready to actually starting putting up any kind of pace that taxes me. Try running that 1st quarter to half mile a lot slower and speed up to a peak speed by the end of the run. It might make a BIG difference for you.

Also when if at all are you stretching? The philosophy among coaches has changed dramatically on this topic over the years and now they are pushing for no stretching before working out and either stoppin g partially into it or stretching thoroughly afterwards. I do both...stop a mile in and stretch after my muscles are good and warm and loose enough to stretch out and then I stretch afterwards. I can't begin to tell you how much of a positive impact this has had on me endrurance, recovery and ability to improve.

You can also add what are called sprint preems...just little bursts of speed occasionally to jack up the muscles a little and get the juices flowing. You could try slowing dow a little overall but add in a few 20-50 yard sprint preems where you crank up the speed to anywhere from 70-100% and still probably get the same times overall, if not faster.

I also would cut yourself a little slack with this. You're close to my age IIRC and when I start running to get back in shape the first 3 weeks are pure hell until I build that base. Start with your 1-2 mile runs and take em easy for a few weeks, then in week increments start adding distance a half mile to mile at a time. Do that distance for the week and then increase the following week until you get to where you want to be. Then about a month in you can really start focusing on things like speed because your base will be built. Running sucks donkey balls until you build that base, then it actually gets fun.

Last but not least I would like to echo the track sentiments. 1 track day a week makes an enormous difference in your speed and ability to take your game to the next level. Even if you're not racing it can help a lot with things like confidence and rhythm because you're not stuck away from home and forced to run home when things go bad (unless you run to the track for a warmup the way I do). You can just walk and get a breather for a few laps before you go back to it, and once you've reached your limit even if it's less than you planned you just quit and go.

Do that stretching, I can't possibly stress this enough. If you want specific tips/exercises/techniques lemme know. Good luck!

 

[CounterTrey]

It takes a while brother and if you've never really been one before and you're not in decent Cardio shape then it can be really discouraging those first few weeks. The biggest key is don't push hard enough that it hurts. In sports like football pain can mean improvement and be good. In track...no. If it hurts, you're pushing to hard. That means not pushing into an anaerobic mode (breathing real hard, not relaxed, feeling like you're ready to drop). The key to good running is relaxing, so focus on that...just zone out. Don't clinch your fists, your teeth, anything, just try and relax as much as possible.

Oh and you don't need to stop and stretch every mile just after that first and after the workout is done. Calves and hamstrings especially.

 

[Henry]

Yeah, and I will admit that while we all say speed doesn't matter, most of us check it anyway to see how fast we're going. Don't feel bad that you care but don't let it control your workout either. Like CT said if speed is that important do some speedwork, but your easy runs should be easy.

I've never tried this but I know it works for some serious runners: Run for time, not distance. Just plan on running for a half an hour (or an hour, or whatever) and don't ever check your speed at all, or how far you've run. Your body will go the speed it's supposed to go that way. I have to admit I'm too obsessed with my stats to do it, but some purists swear by this method.

 

[Chris]

When I first started running (later in life) I couldn't go a quarter mile without stopping to walk, even though I was in good physical shape. I clearly remember making it one mile without stopping for the first time and how exciting that was at the time. That landmark occurred on about the tenth day of consecutive slogs, uh, I mean runs.

Improvements in both distance and speed came over time, and quicker than I could have imagined. Within a year I was up to 25-35 miles a week with no stopping at all. It still amazes me, I never thought that would be possible for me.

Best advice I ever got- Run often. Mostly slow, sometimes fast.

 

[tshile]

Mike
I apologize if you've already discussed this, I don't keep up with this thread. I was thinking about it last night. Are you still smoking or recently quit? Last summer I quit for a good 6 months or so, after smoking for ~10 years. It took a solid 2 months of not smoking and running 3 times a week before my lungs opened up and running stopped being a chore. Literally.

You just have to power through it. The bright side, at the end of the tunnel, when it clicks and you can breath like a normal person, you'll run 2 or 3 miles with ease and when you're done you'll think "I could go for another two" And then you'll be stuck thinking for 20-30 seconds whether you should say screw it and go run some more or not.

It's a good problem to have

Because running 2 miles with smokers lungs is so mentally challenging (it's a physical thing, but what it does to your mind is the hard part to get over) that when you finally get past it the rest of it seems really, really easy.

 

[tshile]

I am a BIG watch checker as well and I think that is a big issue, too. I end up calculating "ok, I have gone X distance in Y time, so I better step on it" and then its all downhill from there.

I will try that as well...this is a lot to take in so don't expect a report anytime soon. But I am definitely trying it all. Something's gotta give!

I'm a watch checker too. I just use a smart phone app to keep track of it, and set up audio queues. So every 5 minutes it tells me how far i've gone, pace, etc. And every mile it tells me how many miles i've gone and time.

It also tracks my history and routes which I'm a nerd about so I find it fun.

In fact... the primary motivation I have right now for cycling and running is that I want to put more history in my apps and more routes....