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I'm sure you've heard the saying, "a calorie is a calorie," and that when weight loss is the goal, you can probably loose weight on a 1,200 calorie/day diet whether it is 1,200 Twinkie calories or apple calories. At this point, you might be thinking, "Cool! I'll go on the Twinkie diet!"   Our bodies are smarter than that though, and I say, thank goodness. I know - I'm no fun at all :-). Last week at the grocery one of my kiddos held up a box of Twinkies and had the audacity to ask me to purchase them. I nearly burst a vessel in my forehead trying to restrain myself from smashing the box with......
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Being that it is summer, and there are vacations, kids home from school, camps, a lot of running around in circles...sometimes a workout is hard to knock out, even when intentions are high. When that happens, I have a 30-minute, total body workout that requires very little equipment, yet will leave you dripping in sweat. Wanna hear it? Here it is... You'll need:  a set of 10 or 12lb wts (lighter if you like), a resistance tube 5-10 minute warm up @ 40-50% max heart rate Set 1: 10-14 Burpees (also called pop squats) 3-way lunges w/ dumbbells: Start with weaker leg leading. Take one lunge forwa......
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Stumbled upon a few deals I'd like to pass along: 20% off planners! For all of you planners out there (you know who you are, planning each workout weeks in advance), get a head start on school year planning at MomAgenda. MomAgenda is offering 20% off small School Year books (use code: schoolyearsmom) Visit MomAgenda.com, offer expires 7.31.2011 *P.S. I LOVE MomAgenda planners. Seriously, love them - totally created by moms, for moms. Enough said. EatingWell magazine has a new book out: EatingWell 500-calorie Dinners for $22.45 (10% off the regular price). While you are planning workouts in you......
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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 bod......
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The mysterious " fat burning zone " continues to confuse many gym-goers. The theory goes something like this: working out in a "zone" of intensity that is less intense for at least 20 minutes will burn more fat calories than calories from carbohydrate. Is this true? Yes and no, but mostly no. You actually burn more calories from fat right now, sitting still, reading this post, than you do on the treadmill. That is because in the resting state, the body burns a higher percentage of fat calories. As you crank up the exercise intensity, you burn a little less fat per calorie. However, it really c......
Mar

03

I caught a glimpse of small Bobcat plowing a long stretch of running path near my house yesterday, and thought, “Yippeee! I can run outside!        F-I-N-A-L-L-Y!” And so I did. And it was harder. So thought I’d share some helpful tips for you, avid runner girls, to ease the transition from treadmill to trail.

5 Tips for taking your run outdoors

1. The first run outside after a long winter of treadmill running WILL BE HARDER. If you haven’t stepped foot outdoors since the first snowfall, which for Ohio folk, was before Christmas, then you might want to spend a couple of weeks weaning yourself off the treadmill. If “0″ incline is your standard setting for indoor runs, gradually start bumping it up in .5% grades until you reach 2 or 2.5% incline. Why?  Because that incline most closely mimics the natural terrain.

2. Outdoors, the trail does not move for you. Sure, treadmill workouts can be very challenging, especially if you’re using the inclines for hill repeats, etc. But let’s face it – it is mentally challenging enough to run inside on the hamster wheel without adding the challenge of making our muscles work harder than you want them to they need to. Expect your first outdoor run to feel different. Your legs might be expecting the pull the treadmill gave them through each stride. Now, you have to do all that work. Alas, this is not a bad thing. :)

3. Do hit the ground running, but not at full throttle. As you accustom your muscles and joints to their somewhat new motor pattern, it is probably wise to ease into your typical run. If you usually run 30 minutes indoors, start with 20 outdoors, and gradually work back up to 30 minutes.

4. Watch your hat. Depending on where you live, spring can be very windy. Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it provides resistance and helps improve endurance. But indoors, there is no wind to contend with, except from the chatterboxes nearby. I could spend an entire post venting about these chatty sorts who talk 90% of the time and exercise the other 10, but not today. If you wear a hat, bobby pin it to your head, or skip it altogether – otherwise, the constant tugging on it to keep it on your head will drive you crazy. It drove me crazy this morning.

5. Get new scoots. If you’ve been wearing the same pair of running shoes all winter and have logged 300 or more miles on them, treat yourself to a new pair. Whether the path you run on outdoors is concrete, asphalt, or packed dirt, it will be harder on your skeleton than the forgiving structure of the treadmill. A brand new pair of shoes will add some cushioning to help you transition from treadmill to trail.

Adios, and here’s to an enjoyable outdoor run! Finally!

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