Actually, the question went more like this: “I hate to run. It is hard. Did I already say that I hate it? Yet, you talk about running so much. Why?” There was more, but for the sake of this post, let’s just say that this reader’s negative feelings about running ran deep (no pun intended).

Why am I so hip on running? Well, for one thing, it is hard. I like things that are hard to do. Second, it is “me” time, and often the only time I have for finishing a thought. Four kids…enough said. And finally, (and let’s face it, this is important stuff) few physical activities burn as many calories per minute as running. Check it out…

Table:

110 lb woman, 3 miles, 215 calories

130 lb woman, 3 miles, 255 calories

150 lb woman, 3 miles, 294 calories

170 lb woman, 3 miles, 333 calories

True, other cardiovascular activities come close to these stats, but in my opinion, they aren’t nearly as much fun. I can spend 40 minutes running through the woods and enjoy nature, or I can spend 40 minutes on an elliptical machine smelling the garlic spew from the pores of the sweaty guy next to me. And by the way, rec center staff, ESPN is not enjoyable to women, even when displayed on a fancy flat screen TV. Naw, it is outdoor running that I like – even when it involves chasing turkey vultures out of my way as I go. Now back to the topic of calories…

Tip: Want to find out how many calories you burn running? Look it up on Run the Planet. Enter your weight, gender and distance or speed and the handy calculator does the thinking for you!

Running has many perks

• Running is appropriate for a variety of fitness levels, and virtually any age can participate. Leave from your doorstep, cruise a scenic trail, or wind your way through Chicago’s historic neighborhoods. There is no shortage of places to run, and no telling what you’ll see along the way.
• Running is easy to learn. While running for sport and competition does require good form and some knowledge of proper training progression, the skill required is low compared with other sports, such as tennis or golf.  Regardless of your size, age, speed, or experience level, whether your goal is fitness, weight loss, or competition — nearly anyone can run.
• Running is portable. How many activities can you think of where you can wear your equipment, and that is all that is required to begin your workout?
• You can take it with you when you travel. There is nothing better than sightseeing on foot, and if you are a runner, you can see it all a bit faster. Quaint cafes, one-of-a-kind boutiques, off-the-beaten-path art galleries, and unique neighborhoods are among the many hidden treasures and well-kept secrets that would be easily missed when traveling by car.
• With enough practice, running can become a competitive endeavor for your. From 5K to ultra-marathons, there is a challenge ripe for the picking, no matter what your level of fitness may be. This may possibly be what I like most about running – the dangling carrot.

So there you have it. I’m hip on running – other people, not so much, and that is fine. The important thing is to find an activity (preferably a physical activity that you enjoy, and will stick with, for the long haul. I won’t hold it against you if you hate running too.

If you’d like to give running another shot, you might like to read, “Run/Walk/Jog: Footprints toward fitness,” to learn about getting started, even if you have no experience. Also, “Running Resources” is chock full of, well, running resources, from trail and map information, to running groups for women.

Have a favorite activity other than running? Let’s hear it…

This is actually one of the better questions I’ve received recently. Instinctively, my first thought is NO. More on this in a minute.

If, however, you are new to fitness and just starting to exercise regularly, then by all means do whatever type of exercise you like, even if it means doing the same thing every day. You will eventually reach a point when the results taper off, you lose motivation, get bored, or all of the above. That is when you’ll want to mix it up.

Even if you are a fitness guru, there will come a time when your “normal” workout routine isn’t working, or you suffer from burnout (this is common). To keep your muscles challenged and continue to see results, you need include the following components in your routine:

1. Variety

2. Cardiovascular exercise

3. Muscle strengthening exercise

4. Progression (which is just a fancy word for, “gradually making it harder” so that muscles and/or cardiovascular fitness continue to improve)

5. Stretching

Variety is the spice of life, and also the key to a successful workout routine. By continually surprising your muscles with new challenges, they will in turn adapt and become stronger, more efficient.

To mix up your routine, you  might try martial arts, swimming, weight training, yoga or Pilates, Zumba, BodyPump…you get the picture. This is also called “cross training.”

Cardiovascular exercise is the calorie-burning equivalent of driving your car on the highway. Aim for 30-60 mins on most days of the week.

Strength training is beneficial in many ways. It builds lean muscle, which increases resting metabolic rate. It also helps prevent injury by strengthening the muscles around the joints.

Progression will get you from A to B. You can progress both your cardiovascular and strength training routines, and there are many ways to do it. Read more about how to progress your routine.

Stretching We sit all day, move forward  most of the time, and, as the title of this post would indicate, tend to do the same workouts over and over. As a result, muscles get T-I-G-H-T. Stretching at least a few times a week for 15-20 minutes (2-3 minutes for each major muscle if you do 8 stretches and hold each one 15-30 seconds, and repeat), will go a long way toward improving elasticity, and help prevent injury. I’m a fan of yoga, as well as Pilates, but really, any stretching is good in my book.

You might also like: Is your workout working?and, Strength Training 101

Do you have a favorite “mix it up” routine? What do you do to add spice to your workouts?

“The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours – it is an amazing journey – and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.” — Bob Moawad

Blue Sky Gym’s “Suggested Reading” list will inspire you to achieve your goals!

1. 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Today, by Steve Siebold
2. The Weight Loss Diaries, by Courtney Rubin
3. Weight Watchers’ Start Living, Start Losing: Inspirational Stories That Will Motivate You Now
4. Making a Habit of Success, by Mack Douglas
5. The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, by Dr. Joe Murphy
6. Adventures Within, Dr. Joe Vitale
7. How to be a No-Limit Person, book or audio format, Dr. Wayne Dyer
8. The Secrets of the Power of Intention, book or audio format, Dr. Wayne Dyer
9. Get the Edge, book or audio format, Anthony Robbins
10. The Art of Exceptional Living, by Jim Rohn
11. Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life, book or audio format, Dr. Wayne Dyer
12. The Power of Positive Thinking, by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
13. Beyond Positive Thinking: A No-Nonsense Formula for Getting the Results You Want, by Dr. Robert Anthony and Dr. Joe Vitale
14. You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise Hay and Joan Perrin Falquet
15. Love Yourself, Heal Your Life Workbook, by Louise Hay
16. I Can Do It, by Louise Hay
17. The Zone, Dr. Barry Sears
18. The Best Life Diet, Bob Greene
19. Living the Low Carb Life: From Atkins to The Zone, Choosing the Diet That’s Right for You! Jonny Bowden, PhD, M.A., C.N.S

What book helped inspire you? I’ll add it to my list

Check out this video if you are unfamiliar with trigger point therapy…TPR Therapy, Ironman competitor

Have you ever wished you could afford a personal masseuse? One who could come to your home, preferably daily, to help relieve you of the knots and muscle tightness that inevitably occur from daily workouts and, well, being a mom? In search of a solution to my IT band issues, I tried a chiropractor (not money well spent), stretching, massage therapy (therapist too gentle to release deep tissue), and my O.D. The O.D. provided the most valuable information: without proper biomechanics, the body can’t move the way it should. So, we are working on improving the way I move. In the meantime, I bought the TPR kit from Trigger Point Performance Therapy. Wow! What a difference!

How it works: Each tool in the kit is designed to relief muscle tension and release trigger points (those tender knots many of us suffer from that hurt like the dickens when palpated and often cause radiating pain to muscles and joints nearby). Untreated, active trigger points can result in painful and less effective workouts, incomplete recovery from workouts, and eventually, injury. Relieving the tension that TPs place on muscles and the joints they act upon allows the joints to move through their full range of motion the way they are designed to. Basically, it is like getting a personal massage, at home, whenever you need it. I’ve used the kit for several months and love it. Regular use has improved the range of motion in my hips, relieved tension and TPs in my calves, quads, IT-band, pectorals, back, glutes…you name it. I feel fantastic!

The Ultimate 6 kit I purchased is designed to alleviate the trigger points in the calf, quads, IT-band, glute, abdomen, and shoulder that tend runners tend to acquire. I had all of them, and then some. The kit includes the TP Massage Ball, TP Footballer and TP Quadballer, an easy to follow guidebook, and DVD. Ideally, the tools should be used pre-workout, post-workout, and within 90-minutes of going to bed. While the therapy isn’t terribly time-invasive, the first few times you go through the release techniques, it does take at least 30-40 minutes (actually, I think it took me an hour because I had so many trigger points). Once you get the hang of it though, the sessions move more quickly. I have achieved a lot of relief from using these tools and highly recommend them to anyone who suffers from trigger point syndrome, athlete or not.

The cost for the Ultimate 6 is $150. Other kits are available, so check out their website: Trigger Point Performance Therapy

*I am in no way affiliated with Trigger Point Therapy and do not receive compensation for recommending TPR products.

I did a really, really dumb thing yesterday…I injured myself (while cross-training, of all things), because I listened to the instructor instead of the voice in my own head. Yes, you heard me right -I basically just told you to not listen to a fitness instructor.  Let me explain.

Maybe this was a premonition, or just a timely idea, but I found a bookmark the other day that said, “There is only one of me. There is only one of anybody. That is why steps look different on different people.” Judith Jamison said that. She was a well known dancer and choreographer, and obviously was aware that we are all individuals. Individually, we move differently because our bodies are put together differently. My range of motion is different than yours, yours is different than your neighbors, etc. Respect that. Know your limits.

I know, I’m usually encouraging you to push the limits…imagine NO limits…REMOVE limits. Those are “perceived” limits though – the kind of limits we place on ourselves such as, “I can’t do a triathlon, because I’m afraid to swim.” That is a fixable problem. The kind of limits I’m talking about are physical limits. Yes, there really are such things, and if you’ve ever tried yoga, you well know what I’m talking about. No doubt that first class felt awkward, hard, frustrating. Am I right? I doubt your body could bend and twist quite the same way as, well, any given person. Maybe you were more flexible. Maybe less. Alas, we are all different.

Now back to my dumb injury. I know my limits, and had been nursing a cranky piriformis problem for several months. Opting to attend a boot camp class I’ve frequented a few times this year (thinking the cross-training would do me some good), I did a stupid thing: I missed the warm up because I arrived late. Then, I did another silly thing: I listened to the instructor’s advice when she (not very tactfully, mind you) informed me that I wasn’t sprinting during one of her intervals because I wasn’t on my toes. A) I don’t sprint, and B) I don’t run on my toes. Ever. But, opting to prove to both myself and the instructor that I could, indeed, do it the “right” way, I badly strained my piriformis and part of my glute. Hurt like the devil, I tell you, but you know what? I’m the only one to blame. I knew better. The thing is, you might not, and I don’t want any of my readers to fall into this trap of, 1) aiming to please an instructor  (I could say more, but will take the higher road here), and 2) trying to prove something to yourself or anyone else, especially when you know your limits.

Listen to your body. Respect your physical limitations (you know what they are.) And finally, don’t assume that because someone is teaching a class, she knows your body. Only you know what your body can truly do – respect that, and don’t be afraid to tell an instructor, “sorry, I’m doing it my way, because I don’t feel comfortable trying something I don’t think I’m ready for.”

To your health, and SAFETY!