Transitioning Off of the Treadmill

Word on the street is that it’s spring  but yesterday I spent four hours outside in rain, wind and 47-degree weather (yay track and field) so I’m not entirely convinced…

Anyways, in honor of spring, first, my favorite color combo- blue and yellow!

Aren’t those Ranunculuses (Ranunculi? What?) so, so delicious?

And second, running.  Specifically outside.

My girl Terri at TryAnythingOnce was looking for some advice on transitioning from running on the treadmill to running outside.  I’ll be honest, I rarely use it anymore but I used to be a treadmill beast back in graduate school, so I’m drawing from then…

I think that it’s important to ease back into running outside, rather than hit the pavement running (HA!).  I am a huge fan of run-walking, so throwing a few 3:00-run/1:00-walk sessions outdoors can help get your running legs back.

Don’t forget, the treadmill is a bit easier than running outside, simply because it pushes you along. There’s less fighting against gravity, so it makes sense that going from the treadmill to the streets might be a tough transition.

Another idea for making the transition to running outdoors is to increase your typical speed on the treadmill- basically, making it *that* much harder and, by comparison, running outside *that* much easier…

For me, running outdoors is one of the perks to being a runner and now that it’s finally getting nice out there, I’m enjoying the lack of layers and warm (ish) temperatures during my runs.

Which do you prefer, the treadmill or outdoor running? Have you had any trouble transitioning from the treadmill to outside?

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Speed Workout, Part Un: Quarter-Mile Repeats

I recently was asked by fellow Chicago-Marathon-runner Penny about speed workouts and if I could offer up an example or two.  Of course, I’m happy to oblige (cuz I love talking about running, obvs) so here we go!

First off, do not be scared by the phrase “speed workout.”  Speed is a relative term, by which I mean that one person’s “slow” pace might be another’s “fast” pace.  It’s all about pushing yourself beyond what is ‘comfortable’ (I use that term very loosely since we all know running is mostly a b*tch and rarely comfrotable.)  Ya read me?

OK, cool, now that we’ve worked past that hurdle (look, a track pun! In a running blog! I’m so clever…), let’s talk about what a speed workout typically entails.  If I told you it involves ‘speed’, would you slap me upside the head? Anyways, the point of a workout like this is to try and get your body accustomed to a faster pace.  In order to do this, we have to practice.

So. What might a decent speed workout actually look like?

Here’s a goodie for you guys:

Warm-Up

5:00 jog followed by your choice of Dynamic Movements (high knees, butt kicks, leg swings, sideways shuffles, skipping, etc)

Work-Out

*6 x 1/4 Mile Repeats at a pace that is :30 faster than your race pace.

*2:00 walking rest in between each one.

1/4 Mile is equivalent to 400 meters or one lap of a standard-sized track.  And just so we’re super-clear, here’s a few examples of where your interval times would range, depending on your mile time.

If you run a 11:00/mile, you should run the quarter mile repeats in 2:15.

If you run a 10:00/mile, you should run the quarter-mile repeats in 2:00.

If you run a 9:00/mile, you should run the quarter-mile repeats in 1:45.

Tip-If you are unsure of how to calculate this mileage and don’t have a GPS watch, you can always use your car’s odometer or head to your local high school or college to use their track.

Cool-Down

 5:00-10:00 easy jog (you’ve earned it!)

Why is this workout so effective? Coming from someone who specialized in the 400-meter race in high school (ah, the glory days), let me tell you- It ain’t easy.  It’s too long to be a true sprint but not long enough to slow down. This workout will teach your body to move faster for longer periods of time, so hopefully come race day, you’ll be ready to shave a few seconds off each mile.

If you try it, let me know how it goes, I’d love to hear feedback! Don’t be scared off by the title

Stay tuned for Speed Workout, Part Deux!

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OMG SNOW!

The alternate title for this post could be “Three Random Ways to Cross-Train When You’re Snowbound Without a Gym Within 30 Miles” but that’s way too long to be an actual title.

Anyways, in case you don’t live in the northeast and are unaware of the weather we’ve been having, let me lay it out for you real simple like: snow.  Lots and lots and lots of snow (over two feet, officially, but in my parent’s backyard, it was up to my waist!)

This means no running for me today but I surreptitiously happened upon some other winter-time activities that worked as cross-training agents.

1.  Shoveling Snow

It took all four members of my family almost two hours to shovel out our driveway and the path up to the chicken coop (my parents live in the country, can ya tell?) My arms and back now have the familiar ache of a heavy lifting workout and apparently, it burns 408 calories per hour. I was a sweaty, hot mess afterwards, so I think that’s probably accurate.

2.  Snowshoeing

My parents were heading out to do some cross-country skiing and since they didn’t have a pair of ski boots in my size, I grabbed my mom’s snowshoes and tagged along.  It was an un-groomed trail that headed uphill and I broke the trail for most of the time, since it’s easier to do in snow shoes than skis.  Ooooof, it was rough! The best description of the activity I can give is walking upstairs while underwater.  Tons of resistance from the snow made my hamstrings, quads and calves burn like motherf*cker!

3.  Snowboarding/Skiing

While this one isn’t exactly the most cardiovascular of workouts, I’m always completely wiped out after a day on the slopes.  When I’m snowboarding, my muscles burn, I can barely catch my breath and my body’s always aching afterwards, which makes it a super workout in my opinion.

So the next time you’re snowbound and can’t get your exercise on, consider one of these activities as cross-training day!

Anyone else have another winter activity that burns some calories?

 

PS- Look how high the snow was, poor little Perri couldn’t see over the top and she HATED it!

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Workout: The Bell Curve

Today’s workout comes to us via my college track and field coach, who liked to inflict this one upon us when she felt we needed a good figurative kick in the arse.

I would put this in the “medium to hard” category, as far as workouts go, since it requires you to be conscious of your pace for the entire time.

Before I write out the workout, I think it’s best if we all refresh our memories as to what a bell curve actually looks like:

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Remember these bad boys from high school algebra? Or was it geometry? Clearly, math is not my strong suit!

Anyways, here’s how the workout goes:

*5:00 easy jog warm-up (with some dynamic movements thrown in, if you want)

*2:00 at a pace you would consider a “1″ on a scale of 1-5 (one is the easiest)- this is the beginning of the bell curve; follow this with 2:00 at a “2″  pace (slightly faster.)

*Continue the workout with 2:00 intervals at levels “3″, “4″ and “5″ (level 5 being a pace you could maintain for 2:00 but probably not much longer than that. In other words, you should be sucking wind by the end of that interval!)

*Once you do 2:00 at level “5,” drop down to “4″ for 2:00, then “3″ for 2:00, etc until you back down to the “1″ pace, or your easy jog.

*5:00 cool down of easy jogging or walking

This workout is designed to be done continuously, moving from one level to the next without stopping and it’s a great way to focus on your pace and push your body out of it’s comfort zone.

I also like this workout because it’s quick but it gets the job done. Cardiovascular limits are pushed, mental barriers are broken and it’s just a great little session to bust out whenever you’re feeling the need to push yourself.

What do you guys think, does this look to difficult to attempt or could you do it?

 

 

 

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Easiest Workout Ever

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Haha, get it? The cat is in an actual rut!

Seriously, even if you only have 25 minutes or less, this is a very effective way to maximize a workout.  Here it is:

One minute on, one minute off, for as long as you want to work out.

You can do this on any machine in the gym or any type of physical activity (running, biking and swimming come to mind.)

All it means is that you do one minute of activity at a hard pace, followed by one minute at an easy pace.  Rinse and repeat.

I swear, it works, as simple as it sounds! I did 30 minutes like this on the elliptical the other day and I definitely felt a difference from my standard “barely exert myself” normal half hour on the ol’ ellip’.

Plus, for some reason, the time seems to always fly by whenever I do this work-out, which is another bonus. Mostly ’cause I can only handle one episode of “Everybody Loves Raymond” or whatever syndicated sitcom happens to be showing (with the exception of Friends.  Friends rules, forever!)

Anyways, you should try this workout, it’s really, really easy and you’ll get good results.   So go now, try it and report back to me and tell me how it went!

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Something New!

Yesterday I tried a new cross-training machine for the first time at my humble, little New York Sports Club gym.  It’s called The Cardio Wave and it looks like this:

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In case you were confused, that is not me using it in that picture.  I have way better hair (but he’s got way better legs.  Call it even.)

It’s kinda like the StairMaster, only instead of a vertical leg movement, it’s a side-to-side movement, mimicking ice skating or roller blading (or what I imagine these activities to feel like, since I have not engaged in either since my early elementary school years.)

Supposedly, it strengthens both your knees and your glutes, while accomplishing “the best ratio between calorie expenditure and muscle toning,” according to TechnoGym.

The verdict? I liked it! Definitely going to add it to my cross-training repertoire, although I think the maximum time I could spend on the machine would be 20-30 minutes.  I felt like it worked that hard-to-tone inner thigh region (those rotten inner thighs just never comply with my wishes to not resemble a sausage) while getting my heart rate up and sweat glands pumping.

It requires a somewhat strange and counter-intuitive motion from your legs but I liked the feeling and I had to concentrate to do it correctly, which somehow makes the time go faster for me.

In short, I’ll be working the Cardio Wave into my normal cross-training routine.  I frequently like to do a workout that has me doing short (10-15 minutes,) high-intensity workouts on two or three different machines (e.g. elliptical, stairmaster and stationary bike,) so this will be a welcome addition or replacement for one of those three.

So glad I discovered this machine, my experience was a “Greaaaat success (said in the Borat voice)!!”

Has anyone else tried this cardio machine? I feel like it’s totally underrated!

 

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