April 28, 2024

Celebrate Your Fitness!

July 8, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Celebrate your Fitness!

Join #HealthyWayMag Fitness Chat EVERY Monday 5pmP/8pmE on Twitter and celebrate your fitness! Regardless of where you are on your fitness journey, it’s important to stop along the way and acknowledge how far you’ve come, the strength and conditioning you’ve gained and the skills you’ve mastered.

You’ll also pick up workout motivation, exercise accountability and fitness tips for the week. Consider this your virtual fitness club meeting to jump start each week exciting about living healthy and fitness. 

Here’s how to join:
Log into your Twitter account.
Enter #HealthyWayMag to see the chat feed.
Chat with others, offer your thoughts and input on questions, have fun!

 

Monday July 11, 2016 #HealthyWayMag Fitness Chat is Sponsored by Running on the Wall:

Looking for a way to acknowledge your running friend or family member on run well done? As “your gift source for running”, Running on the Wall is your one stop shop for gifts for runners. They offer everything to commemorate and motivate running miles from decals and magnets to race bib displays and medal displays. Offer a thoughtful token of congratulations with a small gift to acknowledge their race commitment. And don’t forget to celebrate your own success! Have you completed a racing goal that you’d like to show off? Don’t hide your medals in a drawer or closet when a high quality display is just a click away. And as a bonus, seeing your medals regularly will provide visual reinforcement of your workout and training efforts, super-charging your fitness motivation! On their website you’ll also find apparel, motivational plaques and jewelry for every runner and every distance. Visitors can also commemorate participation in the hot trend of virtual races with running hats, shirts and medals. Follow them on Twitter, @Gift4Runners.

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Interested in Running?

May 31, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Start a Running Program!

So you’re interested in running to help your fitness? A common mistake of many beginning runners is doing too much too soon. Here’s how to get started effectively and safely:

 

Start with walk/jog intervals. Perform a walking warm up for 10 minutes, then start with 3-5, 10-30 second jogging intervals followed by 1-2 minute walking recovery intervals, complete your workout with a 10 minute walking cool down.

Wear running shoes. Go to your local sporting goods store and ask about running-specific shoes. Proper footwear is essential with high-impact fitness.

Listen to your body. When beginning a running program, listen to your body and level of soreness. Muscle aches are okay when starting new exercise, consistent pain is not.

 

*Consult your physician before beginning exercise.

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Racing? Here are your race prep basics.

April 15, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Get Fit Quick Tip:

4 Racing Basics

There are a few racing basics important to keep in mind heading into your race day. Here are 4 to commit to memory:

 

Embrace your nerves. Many athletes experience pre-race nerves. Nerves mean the event is important to you and you want to do your best. Nerves happen with uncertainty or with the unknown. Accept your anxiety simply as part of the process. Instead of allowing nerves to paralyze you, enable them to empower you.

Master the art of letting-it-go. You’re distracted by someone along the race course? Let it go. Your pre-race ritual was interrupted? Let it go. Another athlete cut you off at the hydration station? Let it go. Focus on your race, your miles.

Stick to your race plan. Never try anything new on race day. Only do what you’ve practiced in training. Stick to your pre-race meal plan. Your clothing. Your hydration schedule. Your pace.

Visualize your finish daily. Every night before going to sleep, visualize in full detail finishing your race strong. During your race when miles become tough, play back the well rehearsed mental picture of your strong finish. You’ll be able to change your emotional/mental state mid-race and reset your resolve to keep moving forward.

 

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Running: How much is too much? By Charlene Ragsdale

August 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment

As we begin running, we are faced with the choice when/if/how to increase our mileage. While it may seem to be an easy choice, it isn’t. The choice to increase mileage should not be done carelessly. Safety first! Whether you are a newbie or a seasoned athlete, start with two thoughts:
1. Your current fitness level
2.  Define your goals

Accessing your current fitness level is critical. A newbie runner cannot and should not attempt to run a 10 mile run, in their first week. However, a seasoned athlete may be able to do so. Running should be goal focused. You may want to lose weight, gain fitness or train for a race. Speak with those of whom you value their time and experience to find out more about what it takes to achieve your goals.

When the time comes to increase your mileage:

There is a general rule of thumb: Increase your mileage per week by 10% and train at that distance for 3-4 weeks.  Then, increase it some more. Overdoing the mileage can and often will lead to fatigue, burn out and even injury. Know your body limitations!

When increasing your mileage, know why you are doing so. Again, keep your eye on the goal. Increasing your weekly mileage by 5 miles can be mentally exhausting. Focus on the long term goal and when the times get tough, remember that goal. As you increase your mileage, be sure to pay attention to how your body (and mind) are adjusting. If you are becoming overtly fatigued or drained, back down on the miles.

Above all else, have fun. Increasing your mileage should be a great gauge for your training and will provide inspiration to keep running.

Charlene Ragsdale is a RRCA Certified Running Coach, IFA Certified Sports Nutritionist and member of the USATF Master’s All-American Team. She can often be seen at on the podium as a frequent Age Division & Overall Winner in several distances. She lives with her Chef husband, two sons and two dogs in Las Vegas, NV. You can follow her at her blog: www.FABRunning.com

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