Walk this Way!

October 23, 2012 Leave a comment

I read an article recently that said people who walk even 1/2 a mile a day are healthier, fitter and happier.  The article went on to conclude even small amounts of activity really made a difference in overall long-term health.  (I wish I could find the article – I’d share a link but alas – I can’t!)

At any rate – the day I read that article I had an errand to run about half a mile from my house so I figured I’d walk.  And then the next day – I was asked to distribute some posters in my neighborhood – so again I thought I’d walk.  And sure enough one of the stores wasn’t open … so day three I set out again.  Least you think I’m logging a great many miles – these walks averaged slightly over a mile or so.   On day four – the sun was shining, the weather was perfect and I thought “what a perfect day for my little walk” so I set out for 20 minutes with no real reason other than enjoyment.  It’s important to note- I’m not a walker.  I’m a runner.  I’m competitive – and let’s be honest a bit too competitive at times!  None of my walks were at a competitive pace or about hitting a certain distance or time.

Around this same time, a friend asked me if I’d do the Mayor’s Walk with her and another friend.  While normally I’d be looking for something I could win – I thought this would be a fun afternoon event with friends.  So I signed up… I suppose without really trying to  -  I’ve been ‘training’.

What I have discovered over the past week and half of my mini walks:

- Taking as little as 10 minutes to get outside, walk, feel the sun, and move does uplift me!

- I have more energy for my ‘sedentary’ work when I come back from my mini walk

- My head feels clearer

- I’m happier and lighter

- and it’s not about exercise or burning calories (maybe that’s why I enjoy it – whatever I do is enough)

I have to say, I think the article is right.  Next time you need a break, to clear your head or an uplift – take a mini-walk.  Even 1/2 a mile will do you good!  I did the math too… if you walked just 1/2 a mile 5 days a week (so we are talking less than 10 minutes people!) – by the end of a year you would be down almost 4 pounds!   Little efforts to really add up!! I’m already looking forward to this afternoon’s mini-walk break … hope to see you out there too.

Filed under Exercise, Life, Pilates Musings Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Choose Wisely!

September 11, 2012 Leave a comment

Time for Coffee??

I recently went to a women’s entrepreneur coffee event and the guest speaker – a very successful, self-made business owner made the comment, “I get asked to lunch by a lot of folks – if there is nothing in it for me – I say no thank you.”  Initially, that sounded really harsh and went against my innate need to help others.  My first reaction was one of shock that this successful woman was not interested in giving back and helping others find their success.  BUT… she went on to explain that folks that came to her with an idea, a plan, a proposition and had put some time into it she would certainly help.  It was the folks that came with nothing and just wanted her to tell them what they should do to be successful that she had no time for.

As a business owner myself, I get requests for donations, support, information, coffee meetings, lunch meetings and so on.  I just don’t have enough hours in the day to help everyone and still do my job.  While I really hate to say no and would love to donate my time or offer advice more – I can’t do it all and still have time to teach and run a business.  I’m beginning to understand just where this successful business owner is coming from!

Time is truly a commodity and we probably all wish we had a few more useable hours in the day!  You don’t have to be a business owner to run into this dilemma – but I do think having a more flexible schedule lends itself to giving others the impression of more free time.  What I am starting to realize is I need to choose wisely with the commitments I make.  I have to think about what I need to do from a business standpoint and also for me personally.  What is the point of working in the fitness industry if I never carve out time for my own workouts?  What kind of role model would I be if I let myself go and didn’t adhere to a program.  And who’s going to want my advice or help if I don’t maintain my business and achieve a certain level of success.  One feeds the other!

While it’s hard for me to say no, it is a choice that I have to make sometimes.  Similar to the business owner I mentioned above- I have to evaluate each request and decide is this a person or organization I believe is doing good things I’d want to support or is this someone looking for a freebie?  Unfortunately there are many out there that would like to ride on coattails or poach clients.  While I feel I offer a good and unique ‘product’ and am not threatened by competition – that’s just not a good use of my precious time.

We are all asked to do so much these days – life is not simple and many are stretched far to thin.  We are not able to do our best when we are exhausted, stressed, hungry, out of shape and so on.  Our own requests and needs still need a place and a value.  Taking care of ourselves – eating right, choosing fitness, and finding a little social time too should be priorities.  We are less able to help others when we don’t help ourselves first.

All that being said- I do still believe it is important to give back and to help others.  I do believe these selfless gestures often lead to rewards down the road – be it new clients or good word of mouth marketing.  One of the perks of working for myself is I have been able to do more in my community and get involved with organizations I believe in.  So I say choose wisely!  Pick people or organizations that are willing to do the work and respect and support you at the same time.  Steer clear of folks with selfish pursuits.   I believe helping others can be very personally rewarding – like an internal pat on the back!  But choose wisely and make sure you are still able to take care of yourself, meet your commitments – eat right- workout and have time with family too.  It’s ok to say “No” or “Not right now”.  You are best able to help others when you take care of yourself.  Get involved but choose wisely!

Filed under Life, Pilates Musings Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Olympic Learnings

August 14, 2012 Leave a comment

It’s just two days since the Olympics wrapped up and I already miss them!  I work out of my home so I had the opportunity to watch a lot of the Olympics.  While admittedly I saw more water polo than I needed, I also saw many other great sports!  It was motivating, exciting, inspiring and I loved watching team USA shine. While I didn’t get to win a medal, I did pick up some gold medal tips! Here’s what I am taking away from the London Games:

1.  You don’t have to win a medal to be a hero!  The true sportsmanship was shown by athletes such as Kirani James exchanging race numbers with Oscar Pistorius after besting him in the qualifying rounds.  How about Michael Phelps sharing the spotlight with his team mates when clearly the press wanted to focus on him during interviews after his final relay.  Real winners have a presence, attitude and supportive nature… and that’s something all of us can gold medal in if we want to!

2.  Injuries happen to everyone but winners don’t give up.  As the announcers spoke of the hurdles these athletes overcame to make the games or ongoing struggles with nagging injuries – it was clear – injuries happen to everyone sooner or later. The difference is Olympians don’t give up and throw in the towel when I tight hamstring gives them issue.  They find ways to keep working on it and keep reaching for the gold.  How often do we use an injury as an excuse to quit?

3.  It takes hard work – I heard countless interviews with Olympians both from the USA and other countries.  Not one of them said- I’m just naturally gifted and don’t have to work at it.  Well – ok- correction- Usain Bolt isn’t the most humble athlete but I’m sure he works hard too!  Ryan Lochte tosses 300 lb tires around before getting in the pool.  Allyson Felix has been practicing jumping with weights dangling from her waist.  And many of the gymnast have continued to train hard through injuries.  Least you think- well it’s just natural talent – these folks work hard just about every day.  And hard work pays off!  What could I accomplish with hard work?

5.  Champions don’t give up.  I’ll admit it – I love those stories of Olympians overcoming obstacles.  One of the USA sprinters, Bryshon Nellum, was shot in both legs and then worked hard to recover, run again … and medal.  Wow.  I’m sure no one said- “Hey, I beat you’d be a good candidate for the 2012 Olympics” while he was in the hospital. This man clearly had the attitude of a champion and the spirit to keep going. What kind of attitude am I bringing to my workouts? Do I believe in myself or do I talk myself out of my potential by listening to negative thoughts and the aches and pains?

6. It doesn’t happen overnight.  I heard countless stories of Olympians who missed qualifying for the 2008 Olympics like Jen Kessy and April Ross in beach volleyball or didn’t perform well if they made it like Sandra Richards-Ross.  But they set their sights on better things and worked hard for four years!  How many of us can say we’ve stuck to a goal and worked for it for four years?  Most goals are short sighted- looking good at the beach next month, running a faster 5K this fall.  What would happen if we set a really big long range goal and worked towards it little by little?  The results could be great!

While I’ll miss watching the Olympics – I’m going to try to keep the Olympic spirit alive with my training, my attitude and how I teach.  I can be supportive of other’s efforts, set bigger goals, keep a positive attitude, work hard and be the champion of my own personal Olympics!

Filed under Exercise, Life, Pilates Musings Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Catch Me if You Can

June 12, 2012 2 Comments

Summer time and warm weather are a great time to work on improving your speed.  I’m a firm believer that you body gets comfortable at one pace and in order to get faster you need to show it what that feels like!  There are several different approaches you can take to increase your speed.  Whether your goal is a faster 5K, a better pace in a longer race, or the ability to sprint to the finish –  here are some strategies for speed training.

1. Fartleks- Funny name but an effective workout. Fartleks can be done on any of your normal runs.  Here’s how it works:  Let’s say you are going to run a five mile loop. You’ll want to use the first mile to warm up.  For the next four miles- intersperse 4 or so pickups. What I like to do is select a street sign, tree, house – something I can see in the distance than pick up my pace til I reach that point.  Here’s the key- once you reach your destination- DO NOT STOP! Continue your run at your regular base pace.  The distance of your fartleks can vary and the terrain can as well. It’s actually good to try some uphills, downhills and turns.

2. Track Workouts or Intervals- Some folks prefer the discipline and precision of doing speed work on a track.  You can pick whatever distance you want to focus on – mile repeats, single laps, half laps, 1/2 mile repeats or even do a ladder approach. You’ll want to time yourself on each go with the goal being to finish the last one as well as you did the first one. Here’s a sample of what a track workout could be:

  • 400 repeats (1 lap around the track)  - After warming up, you will do 4-6 laps for time with a lap in between each one for recovery. Your recovery lap can be at any pace as long as you keep moving. After completing your first timed lap – that is your goal time that you either want to beat or maintain for the remainder.

Another option:

  • Ladders on the track – for those that like variety!  Warm up and then you’ll start with a 100 yard dash, then 200 yards, 400 (1 lap), 800 (2 laps) and maybe even a mile (4 laps). You may choose to challenge yourself by going up and down the ladder –  after completing a mile you’d do an 800, 400 and so on. Again the goal is to maintain your speed throughout and finish strong. This workout will kick your butt if you do it properly!
3. Train with a Faster Runner- If you can find a friend or group that runs a little faster than you do – join them for a run.  You may not be able to hang for the whole run but the more time you stay at their pace, the more you are learning to run a faster pace.  You may want to join on their easy run day and your hard run day.  And it’s ok to let your friend or group know what you are trying to do – increase your pace.  They will be more likely to push you and encourage you  if they know that’s your goal!
4. Garmin Pace Buddy – If you happen to have a garmin running watch, there is fun training feature called the training buddy.  You can select a goal pace and program that in as your ‘buddy’s pace’.  As you are running the watch will show you how you are doing compared to your buddy- how far ahead or behind you are in time and distance.  It’s pretty motivating to see you are only a few seconds off or that you are ahead!
5. Make your own competition – I like to find competition during my training runs.  This means when I see someone running ahead of me, I’ll push myself to catch up.  Same goes for walkers, bikers – really anyone out there can be my competition.  It makes me work harder to reach and pass my goal and of course you can’t slow down the second you pass them!  This is good practice if you are planning on racing and want to place in your age group.
6. Sprint to the Finish- Regardless of what distance you are running or where you are running (track, trails, treadmill or street) finish your run like it’s a race.  Imagine someone is coming up from behind and sprint your little heart out to the finish.  Start you sprint anywhere from 50 yards to 1/2 mile out.  That quick turnover your legs experience at the end of your run will get them conditioned to work hard when fatigued during a race.
These are just a few ways you can add a little speed to your workout!  The key is teaching your legs how it feels to turn over quicker and getting your heart conditioned to handle it!  Have fun out there and if I happen to see you on the road or trail during a training run – just know I’m going to try to catch you! ;-)

Filed under Exercise Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

← Older posts

%d bloggers like this: