by Karen on January 6, 2010
Base your goals on what you can reasonably handle with your life, work, travel and family responsibilities. You cannot perfectly adhere to a program all the time with other life constraints pulling at you.
Build up Slowly - breathe… take your time, don’t start out with too much too soon. Remember injury can set you back and who likes pain.
Everything takes time – Baby steps, pick out your workout clothes the night before so no excuses to not do what training you intended to do. This makes it easier for you to not back out and stay on track.
If you are feeling depressed and unmotivated - Sometimes the act of motion, of leaving your home to get to the new hiking area, group run, etc… helps to inspire you and set in motion a new found energy that can change your mood.
Set weekly, monthly and seasonal goals – map out your schedule ahead of time. Sign up for a few races, or charity events, summer bike, kayak or hiking tours as long term goals that will be fun and rewarding. These will be great ways to see the success of your fitness training.
Make the commitment - to yourself, a friend, trainer, coach. Make sure you tell someone and be accountable to them. Even letting friends know on “FB” or “Twitter”. I find writing it down helps. Create your own blog. When I was training for my first Ironman, my running coach, who was also training, and I both kept an online log, which really helped me stay accountable. An audience inspires many to be successful. Try it out, and it is fun, you never know who will be reading.
Your ideas thoughts and inspirations… Please let us know.
by Karen on September 25, 2009
1. Maintain your cardio fitness. Too cold to cycle outside? Join a Masters program for swimming, increase your running distance, or just add more days of week to your running. Take a spin class, or a coached bike class. I sign up for the Fast Splits cycling class taught in West Newton, MA and hop on my bike Computrainer to keep the cycling legs strengthened from the summer.
As the winter months drawer closer, try cross country skiing or skate skiing, which are two both excellent aerobic activities. It also gets you outside for that much needed vitamin D.
Another great endurance activity is winter hiking or back country skiing. I have tried these two winter activities and it was the most invigorating challenging new sports to learn. There is a huge learning curve from knowing how to dress, to skiing and hiking while wearing a heavy pack and knowing how to stay warm and dry. It certainly teaches you how to handle the cold and you also learn how to hike and ski in the dark. Check out the AMC for courses and weekend getaways.
2. Bump up your strength-training program. Keep squats and lunges in every program and after every cardio session during the week. It helps to hire a coach or trainer to put a basic program together for you. You can keep that core strong as well by implementing some Medicine ball work as well as learning the five basic principles of Pilates. Once you understand this you can add to any exercise you do, as well as everyday functional activities.
3. Decrease your caloric intake and portion sizes. Now that you won’t be doing 50 – 100 mile rides throughout the shorter and darker months, this severe decrease in activity will slowly catch up to you and add to your waistline. Most triathletes and endurance riders gain on average 5 – 7 lbs during the winter months easily. Has this happened to you? Make it easier on yourself and get back into the Spring for 2010 by just cutting back on portions and continuing to eat 3 meals a day plus 2 or 3 small snacks. I continue to be amazed by my 3-year-old daughter who eats that way and am so surprised that we lost that method of eating as we grew into adults. I am curious how many athletes and clients do eat this way? For some it is very difficult because of work constraints. It takes a lot of preplanning but in fact gives you more energy throughout your daily living.
