Fit To Run: Month 2 Strength for Runners Workout

Welcome to the latest edition of Workout Wednesday! Each week I've been unveiling a new component of my strength for runners program. So far I've released the first month of strength workouts and an interval cardio workout as well as a treadmill hill workout as part of month two. 

In the first month we did a time-based protocol. The idea is to keep moving and get your strength work done quickly and efficiently. This month we will start to incorporate weights and will count reps in a circuit fashion. 

These are intended to be quick workouts that you can tack on to the end of your easy run days (less than 30 minute runs at an easy pace). I would recommend this workout twice a week.

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FIT TO RUN: MONTH 2 STRENGTH WORKOUT (A)

EQUIPMENT:

8lb dumbbell
Gym Mat

INSTRUCTIONS:

Perform the assigned reps of each exercise then move to the next exercise without rest. When you have completed all the exercises, rest for one minute (or as long as you need) and then repeat the circuit one or two more times. 

PLANK ROW TO SIDE PLANK

Start in straight arm plank position with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your legs a little wider than hip width for stability. Keep your body in a straight line from your shoulders to ankles while engaging your core. Do not allow your hips to hike (get that butt out of the air) or sag down.

With your core tight and your glutes engaged lift your right elbow to row as you bend your elbow up toward the ceiling, keeping your arms close to your sides.

Twist to the right to move into a side plank position keeping your right leg in front of your left for stability. Reach your arm to the ceiling and hold for 3-5 seconds before returning to plank position. Repeat on other side.

SINGLE LEG LIFT & CHOP

Stand on your right leg and grip the weight on each end with two hands. Reach your arms straight up over your right shoulder and slightly twist your torso to the right. With straight arms, bring the weight across your body and down towards the outside of your left knee by rotating your torso and shoulders. Repeat on other side. 

MOUNTAIN CLIMBER

Start in a straight arm plank position with your wrists directly under your shoulders with your legs wider than hip width for stability. Keep your body in a straight line from your shoulders to ankles while engaging your core. Do not allow your hips to hike up or sag down. Quickly bring your right leg in to touch your elbow, then back to plank position. Repeat on other side. Right then left equals one rep. Move as quickly as possible while maintaining strict form. 

SINGLE LEG DEAD LIFT

Standing on one leg, keep your knee slightly bent and perform a deadlift by bending at your hip while keeping your back straight and neck neutral. Extend your free leg behind you in line with your body. Grip the weight on each side with two hands and lower until your back is parallel to the floor. With your back straight return to the upright position. Repeat on other side

BRIDGE WITH WEIGHTED PULL OVER

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Keeping your elbows in a slightly bent position, draw the weight backward until it touches the floor.

Reach your arms over your head towards the ceiling while raising your hips off the floor so that your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Pause at the top then slowly lower your hips and arms back to the floor.

Stay tuned for the next strength workout in this series.

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52 Healthy Habits: How to Set Your Day Up For Success

Welcome to another edition of 52 healthy habits when each week we tackle a new healthy habit. This week we are talking about preparing for a healthy day. With a little planning and preparation we can set ourselves up for success. So when your boss asks you to stay late, your child remembers at 7pm he needs 36 cupcakes for school the next day or your dog's stomach disagrees with his new food (gross), you'll have the tools to manage stress and make good decisions, despite the things going on in your life. Because let's face it, life is always crazy. If we plan for success only on days where everything goes smoothly, we wouldn't stand a chance. 

That's where healthy habits come in. The beauty of habits is that once they are practiced and developed they become automatic. They are the behaviors that we lean on when we have more important things to worry about. You're probably never too busy to make your morning coffee, brush your teeth or take a shower (you somehow always manage to find time). Your habits (good or bad) are how you live your life on autopilot. Taking the time time to develop healthy habits will serve you when life gets in the way of your best intentions. 

IT ALL STARTS THE NIGHT BEFORE

MEAL PREP

Meal prep doesn't necessarily mean 21 tupperware containers with each meal for the week perfectly portioned, carefully measured and weighed. Meal prep isn't an all-or-nothing scenario. Anything you can do to set yourself up for success by preparing in advance counts as meal prep.

It can mean taking the time in the evening to chop vegetables for a salad or snack the next day.
It can mean packing your healthy lunch a day in advance. 
It can mean deciding on what meals you will make during the week, buying the ingredients and having them prepped and ready to go for meal time.
It can mean doubling a dinner recipe so you have leftovers for lunch the next day. 
It can mean cooking three pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast on Sunday afternoon.
It can mean hiring a meal prep service. It's about what works for your lifestyle.

I like to spend some time on Sunday cooking meals in the crockpot, meats in the oven or on the grill so that I have cooked protein ready to go at any time. (ok, truth: hubby does the cooking part.) He cooks a few pounds at a time and freezes what we won't use in the next several days. It is a lifesaver for quick healthy lunches and dinners. 

Try these mason jar salads to prep salads for the week.

Anything you do in advance to prepare and plan for healthy meals and snacks is meal prep. You don't have to start big. Chop veggies, wash fruit, bag up raw nuts for a snack on the go. Every little thing you do in advance will help you make better decisions when you're stressed, scattered or in a hurry.

SLEEP

If you are running on five hours of sleep it makes it harder to make good decisions. I know it may seem like you get more done when you stay up late and get up early, but most of our body's recovery processes happen during sleep. Your body has work to do while you sleep. Poor sleep can disrupt appetite regulation and cause you to feel hungrier during the day. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Create and follow a bedtime ritual to set yourself up for success. I know it is easier said than done. If you are getting less than seven hours a night, start by going to bed just 15 minutes earlier. Every little bit will help. You'll make better decisions when fully rested and restored. 

MORNING RITUAL

DRINK WATER

Drink a cup or two of water before you gulp down your coffee in the morning. It helps rehydrate your body, it supports feeling alert and may help with appetite control. 

15 MINUTES OF MOVEMENT

Schedule some movement in the morning: a 15 minute walk, 15 minutes of body weight exercises or a 15 minute Yoga or stretching sequence. You don't need to run a 10K or join the local CrossFit box for their 5am WOD. Just start with some light movement to energize you for the day. If you end up not having time for your regularly scheduled/structured workout, at least you got in 15 minutes of movement. It will give you a boost of endorphins and the feeling of accomplishment all before you make it out the front door. If you don't have time for 15 minutes, do 10, or 5 minutes. Whatever you can fit into your lifestyle is a great place to start. 

PLAN AND EAT A HEALTHY BREAKFAST

Eat a healthy breakfast with protein, carbs and fat and you'll know that whatever life throws you that day, you'll at least have had one healthy meal at home. I like to eat two eggs, cottage cheese with berries and a piece of fruit. It can all be cooked/consumed in under 10 minutes. Don't have 10 minutes for breakfast? Try prepping hard-boiled eggs for the week or throw together a healthy protein shake for the road. Healthy can be quick and convenient too.

THE DAY

SET EXPECTATIONS

No day will ever be perfect. The best we can do is aim for better choices, not perfect. Healthy living isn't about perfection, it's about making the best choice of what's reasonably available to us. That means if you packed your lunch for work but there turns out to be a mandatory lunch meeting that's catered by a chain restaurant sandwich shop, just make the best choice possible. You don't have to be perfect. What's reasonable? Even with a less-than healthy meal in front of you, you can still pay attention to portions, try to fill up on protein and stop eating when full. If lunch didn't go exactly as planned, you always have dinner to make better choices. I don't get too caught up in the meal to meal decisions. One meal will not make or break your health or progress. I try to make the best choice I can with what's available to me and I move on. Don't obsess.

MORE MOVEMENT

I know. It doesn't seem like it would matter much, but a lot of little movement throughout the day adds up. You body doesn't know the difference between incidental exercise and intentional exercise. Park in the farthest spot away from the front door at work or school. Do the same at the grocery store (and return your cart back to the store, not the closest stall). Take the stairs. Use the restroom on another floor. Pace while you're on the phone. Take a short brisk walk after you've finished lunch. Walk to talk to your co-workers rather than emailing them. Go the long way. It all adds up. If you have time for a regular exercise session during the day, then great. Find an exercise that you enjoy and aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days a week.

THE EVENING

DINNER

If you planned your meal ahead of time, you're more likely to make a healthy choice. Try to eat dinner at a consistent time at an actual table (no, the coffee table doesn't count). Eat most meals at home. If you can put away electronic devices, turn off TVs and actually talk to your family/housemates during dinner, that is the best case scenario. (I'll admit this is a hard one in our house.)

Eat slowly. Chew your food slowly. Pay attention to fullness cues and stop eating when you've had enough. Even with slow eating, we can usually eat a dinner in our house in about 15 minutes. Hubby is the cook, he has mastered the quick and healthy dinner. Most dinners take 15-20 minutes to prepare, are delicious and healthy. He calls himself Chef Boy Russ G. Maybe he needs a guest segment on the blog to show us some of his favorite recipes. What do you think? 

THE WIND DOWN

Turn off electronic devices 60 minutes before bed. Relax with a book or magazine, or talk to your family/housemates about their day. Take a bath, call a friend, journal your thoughts. Take a little bit of time away from electronics for some self care at the end of the day and you'll likely fall asleep faster and more soundly. If you don't have 30 minutes before bed for self care, take five. Start somewhere. 

If it all seems like common sense, it is. The problem is the common sense doesn't seem so common anymore. The messages from the fitness industry tell you that you have do more, be perfect, eat organic, eat clean, lift heavier, run farther, work harder...when the truth from my point of view is that we just need to develop healthier habits, cultivate environments that enable us to make better choices, spend time with people who encourage and empower us, move a little more doing the things we enjoy and love ourselves a lot more. 

You don't have to do everything at once. Tackle one thing at a time and work on it for a few weeks. Grow a little each week. Get better each month. Become a little healthier each year. A healthy lifestyle is not a 21 day challenge or a 12 week solution, it's a journey for the rest of your life, you might as well enjoy it. 

Have questions? I'd love to help. 

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How to Stay Motivated Through the Dog Days of Summer

I live in Texas and make no mistake, the triple digit temperatures of summer have officially arrived. It's hot y'all. (I'm from Pennsylvania but I can say y'all because I live in Texas now. My y'all only comes out when I talk about the heat.) The heat can make us feel sluggish and lazy. It can make us want to watch a Netflix marathon (or three) rather than train for a real one. 

The dog days of summer are here. It's hot. The heat and humidity can wreak havoc on our best intentions, but our motivation can rise with the temperatures with a little summer planning.

HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED THROUGH THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

LIMIT OUTDOOR WORKOUTS

As the temperatures rise it is a great opportunity to focus on weightlifting, group fitness classes, swimming and other indoor activities. I use the summer to focus on strength training, since I can take advantage of the cool air conditioned comfort of the #shredshed, our backyard gym. I limit runs to early morning, late evening or on the treadmill. It's a good idea to alter our workouts with varied training cycles and the weather gives us the perfect opportunity to shake up our regular exercise routine. 

GET ON A SUMMER SCHEDULE

Summer can mess with our regular schedules. School's out, kids are home, vacations are planned and hotdogs are on the grill. Our best defense against summer slacking is establishing a summertime routine. Take the kids for a walk every morning or get your workouts in after lunch every day. Our schedules may be a little more varied than during the winter months, so establishing exercise and healthy eating routines can keep us on track. 

FOLLOW THE 15 MINUTE RULE

When you really don't feel like you have the energy for a workout, follow the 15 minute rule. Commit to doing a 15 minute workout. The hardest part of most workouts is getting started. After 15 minutes, you can stop if you want, but most likely once you get going you'll want to keep going. Even if you stop at 15 minutes, it is better than not working out at all. 15 minutes every day is still 1.75 hours of workouts for the week, not too shabby. 

HYDRATE EARLY AND OFTEN

Whether your workouts are indoors or out, hydrate early and often. Dehydration can make us feel lethargic and fatigued. Drink up to eight glasses of water a day and add more if you working out and are spending time outside in the heat. No, a cold brew doesn't count. Hah.

Ready to run! ha ha

DRESS FOR SUCCESS

Avoid cotton clothing and socks in the hot weather. Cotton absorbs water (aka sweat) and can cause blisters, rashes and embarrassing sweat stains. Stick to technical fabrics that wick moisture away from the body. When out in the sun wear light colored, loose fitting clothing and of course, plenty of sunscreen to protect your skin. Nothing kills motivation like a blisters and a sunburn.

SLEEPY SUMMER

If you're getting up early to beat to the heat, make sure you are going to bed earlier as well. Sleep is one of the most important things you can do for your health, so you're not doing yourself any favors if you get up 2 hours earlier to run and lose two hours of precious sleep. Aim for 7-8 hours per night of sleep to ensure proper recovery from those summertime workouts. When you're properly recovered you'll feel more inclined to get in that next workout.

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Coach Lea

Fit to Run: Run for the Hills

Welcome to the latest edition of Workout Wednesday, when each week I share a new running or strength training workout. This week we are doing hills! Every runner's favorite workout is a hill workout, right? (Crickets). OK, so maybe they are not the favorite, but I assure you hill repeats are some of the most effective interval workouts for runners looking to improve running strength and increase speed. What's not to love about that?

I put together this hill workout that you can try on a treadmill. It is only 19 minutes long, but you'll get in a great workout during a short period of time. 

THE WORKOUT

Always warm-up before beginning any workout. 

Start by running for two minutes at 0% incline
Increase the incline to 2% and run for one minute at a hard effort (RPE 7-8)
Recover by jogging at an easy pace for one minute at 0% incline
Increase the incline to 4% and run for one minute at a hard effort
Recover by jogging at an easy pace for one minute at 0% incline
Increase the incline to 6% and run for one minute at a hard effort
Recover by jogging at an easy pace for one minute at 0% incline
Increase the incline to 8% and run for one minute at a hard effort
Recover by jogging at an easy pace for one minute at 0% incline
Decrease the incline back down to 8%, 6%, 4%, 2% with one-minute easy jog recovery between reps at 0% incline.
Cool down for two to five minutes

WORD TO THE WISE

This is a short but challenging workout. Allow your body adequate time after this workout to properly recover. Most athletes will need two to five rest and/or recovery days between hard workouts. You can do easy runs or lower impact activities during this time. Adaptation (getting faster and stronger) happens during rest, not during the actual workout. Be sure to allow your body the proper time for recovery from intense workouts in order to reap the benefits of your hard work. 

Never blindly follow a workout on the internet. Listen to your body. If you need more recovery time between reps, then take two minutes (or three). If an 8% incline is too hard, then only go to 6% or 4% and work to increase it in the future as you get stronger and fitter. If one-minute intervals are too much, start at 30 seconds. Always work according to your own fitness ability. Pushing beyond your limits will only lead to frustration, burnout, and injury. Start small when necessary and allow yourself the space to grow. Need help? Have questions? I'd love to help. 

Interested in hill workouts that you can try outdoors? I wrote a post last year about running hills that you may find helpful.

Like this post? It helps me when you share with your friends and followers. 

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Coach Lea

52 Healthy Habits: The 5 Minute Habit

Welcome to the latest edition of 52 healthy habits! Each week we tackle a new healthy habit because habits are the building blocks of a healthy lifestyle. If we try to rely on willpower or motivation to meet our goals we won't get as far because well...we're human. The secret to success is building healthy habits slowly over time. Once a healthy behavior becomes a habit, it's just something we do without having to think about it, no willpower needed.

Focusing on daily habits is a much more sane and sustainable approach to healthy living. We don't have to change all our habits all at once, just one thing at a time slowly over time. It doesn't matter if you are brand new to healthy living or have been at it for decades, there is always room for incremental improvements. I know I am personally always looking for ways to improve.

If you've been following along you know we've been tackling new habits for the last 20 weeks. (Wow, time flies when you're having fun.) This week I'd like you to come up with your own five minute healthy habit to work on. The beauty of a five minute habit is that it takes so little time there will likely never be a legitimate reason to miss it. However, five minutes a day of consistent action can be just what we need to develop a new habit. It's less about what you choose for your habit and more about developing the habit of developing habits. (hah). A five minute consistent action for two weeks can be the catalyst to real change. Five minutes a day can lead to long term success. What are you willing to tackle for five minutes a day?

What to choose? When I first did this, I chose flossing my teeth. It was one of those things that even though the dentist lectured me every six months, I only did sporadically. A healthy mouth and healthy gums are a huge part of a healthy lifestyle. It is important and it takes less than five minutes a day. Need some ideas? Here are some ideas to get your brain churning and turning. Choose one of mine or choose something that is meaningful to you and your goals. Brainstorm some of your own ideas then choose one.

FIVE MINUTE HABIT IDEAS

Run for five minutes a day
Walk for five minutes a day
Do bodyweight strength exercises for five minutes a day (one minute squats, one minute push ups, one minute lunges, one minute tricep dips, one minute plank. BOOM!)
Spend 5 minutes writing down what you're thankful for every day
Take a multivitamin or fish oil with a tall glass of water every day (takes less than five minutes!)
Read for five minutes every night before bed
Spend five minutes a day connecting with a friend in real life (on the phone or in person)
Chop veggies for five minutes every night to prepare snacks for the next day
Floss your teeth
Five minute meditation or prayer practice
Five minutes of Yoga
Five minutes of stretching or foam rolling
Five minutes of journaling
Drink two bottles of water a day
 

The possibilities are endless. Choose whatever you like. What do you want to improve on? Start with five minutes. You have the rest of your life to build on it. 

My new habit is five minute of ab exercises every day. It's so easy, but five minutes a day is 35 minutes a week! 

If you've never worked out before and want to start, then making exercise your five minute habit increases your chance of long term success over committing to hitting the gym for an hour six days a week for the rest of your life. It doesn't mean you can't do more than five minutes, of course if you want to do more, then do more. The idea is that you're only committed to five minutes. You can't fail.

When you're successful, you build confidence. When you build confidence, you feel ready to take on a little more. When you take on a little more you continue to progress forward. Your five minutes a day, eventually turns into 10, then 15, then 30 minutes a day. You build up slowly over time. It works for exercise, it works for almost any new habit you want to develop. It sounds counterintuitive, but focusing on less can help you achieve more. 

TIPS FOR THE 5 MINUTE HABIT

• Choose one habit at a time. One thing only. Master it, then build on it or choose something else.

• Make it so easy that you can't fail. Success builds confidence.

• Choose something measurable. You should easily be able to tell if you did it or not. Check the box every day.

• Be consistent. Do it daily.

• Expect setbacks. $hit happens. Move on. Do the best you can.

So what five minute habit will you chose to better your life, five minutes at a time?

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Coach Lea