Tag Archives: Fitness

Twin Cities Fittest in USA

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Minneapolis SkylineThe Twin Cities surpassed Washington DC as the fittest city according to the American College of Sports Medicine’s 2011 list of America’s fittest cities. WebMD provided a great summary of the report which included this paragraph:

Even though the Twin Cities reduced park-related expenditures in 2011, the area’s percentage of parkland is still above average, and so is its percentage of recreational facilities other than swimming pools, according to a report from the American College of Sports Medicine, which was made possible by a grant from the Indianapolis-based WellPoint Foundation.

It is no surprise that Portland made the top 5, since Minneapolis and Portland swap the best biking city designation.  And actually none of the top 5 are that surprising.  Here is the list (with their score and 2010 rank):

1. Minneapolis-St. Paul 77.2 3
2. Washington, D.C. 76.8 1
3. Boston, Mass. 69.1 2
4. Portland, Ore. 67.7 5
5. Denver, Colo. 67.6 6

If you want to see a pdf of the Twin Cities data you can click here. Other cities are available at the American Fitness Index website.

Here is a list of the Twin Cities strengths:

  • Lower percent unemployed
  • Higher median household income
  • Lower percentage of households below poverty level
  • Higher percent of any physical activity or exercise in the last 30 days
  • Higher percent physically active at least moderately
  • Lower percent currently smoking
  • Higher percent in excellent or very good health
  • Lower percent with asthma
  • Lower percent with angina or coronary heart disease
  • Lower percent with diabetes
  • Lower death rate for cardiovascular disease
  • Lower death rate for diabetes
  • Higher percent of city land area as parkland
  • More farmers’ markets per capita
  • Higher percent using public transportation to work
  • Higher percent bicycling or walking to work
  • More ball diamonds per capita
  • More dog parks per capita
  • More park playgrounds per capita
  • More golf courses per capita
  • More park units per capita
  • More recreation centers per capita
  • More tennis courts per capita
  • Higher park-related expenditures per capita
  • Higher level of state requirement for Physical  Education classes

 

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A Look at Heart Rate Training

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After a scare on a run in January where it felt like my heart was in my throat the doctor encouraged me to start wearing a heart rate monitor and to keep my workouts under 60% of my Maximum Heart Rate.

Note: The doctors said my heart appeared to be very healthy and they assumed I had had a cold (weather) induced asthma attack.  The heart rate is more of a precautionary tool to monitor my pulse during workouts in case it happens again.  They prescribed an inhaler and wearing something to cover my mouth/nose to help warm up the air.

Remember the conversion?  220 minus your age equals maximum heart rate.  So my current max is 220 – 29 = 191.  60% of that is 114.  If you’ve followed my workouts you know that I’ve not been anywhere close to that.  That is super low. I used an online calculator to determine my training zones and came up with these zones:

  • Fat Burning: From 128 to 141 beats per minute
  • Aerobic: From 141 to 153 beats per minute
  • Steady State: From 153 to 166 beats per minute
  • Anaerobic: From 166 to 178 beats per minute
  • Maximal: From 178 to 191 beats per minute

There is some variation in terms and the number of training zones.  For example, Polar share three – light, moderate, and hard. So here is how the web calculator breaks it down:
Fat Burning (50 to 60%) In this range you are developing your basic endurance and aerobic capacity. This zone is great for burning fat compared to the effort you put in. Other zones will also burn up your fat but you will have to work harder to burn up the same amount.

Aerobic (60 to 70%) This zone is great for your cardiovascular system. This helps your muscles become stronger and more efficient and you develop your bodies ability to transport oxygen to (and carbon dioxide away from) your muscles. You should be spending the majority of your training time in this zone.

Steady State (70 to 80%) Think tempo run.  This is not an easy workout but not super hard or stressful.

Anaerobic (80 to 90%) Entering this zone is a sign that you have become serious about your sport. In this zone your body develops its ability to handle lactic acid. An anaerobic workout takes place when you are working so hard that your body cannot keep up with the production of fuel and oxygen and so you need to dip into your reserves. When you dip into your reserves you produce numerous waste products – principally lactic acid.

Maximal (over 90%) Develops maximum speed and should only be used for short bursts of activity.

I’ve started listening to a podcast produced by Jeff and Diane Kline of PRS Fit and they are huge proponents of heart rate training.  It seems like they would concur with my doctor and that I should spend a lot of time training at the Fat/Aerobic training zones.  They say it will feel really slow at first but over time my speed would come back and my splits would drop.   What do you think about that?

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Resting: 3 Variations

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Many runners think that taking a day off is a bad thing.  The thought of not running any miles on a given day is ridiculous.  There is the saying that when you are running 3 miles someone else is running 4, this type of thinking leads into the “no rest” mentality.

Every training program that I’ve followed includes some form of rest/recovery in it.  Resting is an important part of allowing your body, especially your muscles the chance to heal and repair themselves.  To improve, muscles need a chance to create new fibers and generally get stronger.  Running – even an easy jog will tear muscle fibers that need healed.

Resting can mean a lot of different things though.  Below are several types of rest:

1) Doing nothing. This is generally what we think of when using the word rest.  Doing no strenous physical activity.

2) Cross-training.  Biking, Swimming, Rowing, Elipticating  – doing some type of physical exercise that isn’t running and doesn’t use your main running muscles.  Elipticating might actually be a bad form of cross-training but it is a fun word to write.

3) Active Rest. I think of this as doing nothing strenous but maybe doing something moderate or different than normal.  Going for a longer walk than normal, doing more yard work than normal. Basically doing something that isn’t necessarily strenuous but isn’t sitting around on the coach.

I would advocate that doing absolutely nothing every now and then is a good thing.  I am a huge proponent of cross-training at least one day a week.  Most types of cross-training will actually help your running.

One thing I’m learning more and more is that it is important to understand your body and what you need to stay healthy and fit.  A few days off in any given week isn’t going to kill your training plan.  But a well thought out resting strategy can be crucial to race-day success.

Bonus Tip: There is a way to get 24 hours of rest and still run every day.  If you run in the morning on Monday and then in the evening on Tuesday, you have given your body 24 hours of rest in between runs.  What you do on Wednesday is tricky, but you still got a “rest day” without writing down a zero.  If you run Wednesday morning prepare for it to be a crappy run (especially if Tuesday was a hard workout).  You could mitigate this by doing a lunch-time run.

[tags] running, resting, rest [/tags]

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More Push-ups

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Uploaded by: Frank C.

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Earlier this year I started the 100 Push-up Challenge.  You know… train for six weeks and then be able to pump out 100 push-ups in a row.

Well I did ok for the first few weeks… Then I failed I think week 4 or 5 several times in a row and I quit. I was making them harder by putting my feet up on a physioball, thus getting a better core workout.  I was also in the middle of marathon training…

Needless to say my body didn’t appreciate the extra demands I was placing on it and something had to go.  So I quit.

Last week I talked about going into the off-season and looking to do some strength training.  I even alluded to the fact that I’d probably do the push-ups.  Well I am currently in the middle of Week 2.  For this first section I managed to get myself into the hardest category and the workouts have been pretty tough to finish.  I don’t plan on quitting this time around, even if I have to repeat a few weeks!  Part of the reason is that a bunch of people that I run with started the challenge, albeit a week later (somehow I missed the memo!).  So that gives some extra motivation.  Especially when some of the women completed more regular push-ups than I did.

Here are a few random snippets from the e-mails being sent around.

I think I have my grunting technique down after my 5th set last night!

I think push ups are a much better work out than running.  I am going to give up running and just do push ups.  On a long push up day..you could have jelly beans strategically located to be lapped up when glycogen levels get low.

Yes, we have a fun group! I’ll keep posting my push-ups in my “Week in Review.”  Are you doing the push-ups?? What week are you in? How are they going??

[tags] 100 pushups, pushups, strength training, core [/tags]

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Off-Season?

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Cross-country skiing (skating style) in Einsie...

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Do runners really have an off-season?? Does any athlete really have an off-season???

“Off” might not be the best word to describe what happens between the end of one season and the beginning of the next. Maybe down time or to use a more technical term: periodization.

Periodization is often used in the triathlon world to help them focus on the three different sports within their event.  Runners also sometimes use the term in training, such as a base period, a hill period, and a taper period.

Webster defines the off-season as:

a time of suspended or reduced activity ; especially : the time during which an athlete is not training or competing

If you tear it apart and redefine it as: a time of reduced activity or a time during which an athlete is not competing, then we can have a real off-season. Most athletes of all makes and models probably don’t take more than a few weeks off with out any physical activity.

In college we would take 2 weeks off at the end of cross-country and then start base-building for track.  Then when our track season ended we took 2 weeks off and started the process all-over again for cross-country.  In our program we had some flexibility but that was the expectation and you suffered the consequences for your action or inaction!

So what does all this babble really mean to you and me?  For the most part we should be doing some type of cardiovascular workout all year long.  Lots of research has shown that two-three weeks is a safe amount of time to take off without any real detriment to your overall fitness.  For some of us, after our fall races we’ll take some time off and then bounce back up and run all winter long.  Most people cut back completely on their running.  I think the key is to find a nice balance during the winter down-time.  It is important to keep the cardiovascular system strong and healthy all winter long – so any type of cardio work is a must.  This is a good time to let your legs, feet, hips, or whatever to completely heal.  Use the bike, elliptical, or row machine.

I ran through the winter last year, trying to avoid the dreadmill at all costs. I was training for an April half-marathon so I needed to be running as much as possible.  Beyond running though winter is a good time to pick up some other activities – here in Minnesota many runners cross-country ski to maintain fitness.

This winter I am really going to focus on building my strength.  During our down-time, off-season, or winter period it is a good time to focus on the other important aspects of running.  Things like a strong core that can really improve your running form and stamina.  Or what about flexibility?

YES!! This winter I am going to work hard on my core and maybe hit some weights at the gym.

I have all the equipment I need at home to work on my body’s core.  I just need the focus and determination.

Will you help hold me accountable?  I haven’t decided on what exactly I will do, but just the idea of work.  It will probably include push-ups, maybe even 100 of them.  Stay tuned for more details…

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