Running TOWARDS life.

Lacey and I were at dinner with a friend last night, someone that we are having the great pleasure to get to know better.  I found myself talking about how I have signed up to run my first ever full-marathon in San Diego at the end of May.  I’ve run half’s before but never the 26.2 mile distance  🙂

Every single person in my life in NYC now, knows me as a very physically fit and healthy individual, in fact many of my friends (and indeed my lovely fiancée!) I met at the gym 🙂  Nobody is surprised when I say that I’m racing, nobody except myself.  It wasn’t until I heard myself explaining at dinner why exactly I have become so excited about the prospect of running it, and running it well that I fully understood it myself.

It was about five years ago that I decided I should probably get a new life, because the one I was living didn’t feel worth the cigarette smoke filled air I was breathing.  About three days later I stepped into Central Park wearing the single pair of running shoes that I owned and which I had barely worn in years.  Central Park has a number of different running loops, and I figured that I’d start out easy and just run the 1.2miles around the reservoir.  I think I made it about 100 meters (if that) before I was doubled over wheezing and had to repeat a long and arduous walk-run which took rather longer than expected.  I literally threw up from the strain.  

I was genuinely surprised because I’d been an active kid, but looking back, the years of not eating or eating crap, smoking and general physical abuse that I’d put my body through had obviously taken its toll.  I do not joke when I say that there were several 70+ year-old runners in that park who could easily out run my young self.  Humiliating!

Initially I ran because I had gained weight and was having a very hard time with that fact, and with my reflection in the mirror.  Then I ran because I couldn’t believe that people older than my grandparents were in better shape than me.  Then because it gave me a sense of calm at a time when my life was anything but.  I ran and I wheezed and I went early, or late or whenever I though no one would notice how bad I was.  And I hated parts of running for about 6-9 months! 

But gradually I could feel differences.  I could run the 1.2mile loop without stopping, then the 1.5 loop.  The other runners started to smile at me like I was one of them.   My body started to change, but much more surprisingly so did my attitude towards it; I didn’t WANT to smoke the cigarettes I used to live on because I knew it would be so much harder to run the next day.  I DID want to eat real food so that I could feel stronger when I ran, and I could be OK with that food because I knew I was revving my metabolism up to burn the calories off efficiently.

And eventually it genuinely became fun for me to run.  Not always before I started, and usually not for that first mile (which is still tough for me to this day) but after that… and when I was done I felt and feel AMAZING!  It turns out that I’m actually a pretty good runner.  Who knew?  Certainly not me 🙂

My point is that I used to look at people on the treadmills at the gym, or running past me as I walked to work in the morning and think “There is no way I could ever run that fast or for that long”.  I would think that they had OBVIOUSLY been fit their whole lives and that if I tried running on the treadmill next to them they would be laughing at me huffing and puffing and think that I was pathetic. 

NONE of that is necessarily true and much of it was just an excuse for me not to try it, to not put myself out of my comfort zone.  But the fact is that with fitness (As with most things in life) we only get better at something if we push ourselves just a little bit further than what we believe ourselves to be capable of.  I didn’t start out to run a marathon.  I just focused on wanting to run for 1.2miles without stopping. And the sense of accomplishment on the day that I first did that is still with me today.  It still makes me smile 🙂

That’s why I want to run the marathon, for the tangible representation of a journey that has been my new life for long enough that it is now just MY LIFE.  Because it shows me just how far my health and fitness has evolved, gradually, over years and for all that the journey had given me and continues to give me; friends, self-esteem, physical and emotional health, focus, ambitions and an amazing woman to share all of that with.  Because it took time, and because it is meant to take time, and because the journey is never over but it can get a whole lot more fun!! 🙂

SEVEN Treadmill WORKOUTS!

Hey SWEATCity! 

How ya doin?  🙂 I’ve gotten a lot of emails about creating EXCITING Treadmill Workouts… The Turkey Holiday is approaching, the weather’s getting a bit nippier, and I thought now’s the perfect time to give you what you want!

If you recall from my previous post I love to work with a heart rate monitor –

LACEY’S INTERVAL WORKOUT

I believe the monitor adds volumes to a workout because you know exactly where you stand. No ifs ands or buts about anything, if you’re working hard you know immediately because the monitor tells you. 

BUT not everyone has a Heart Rate Monitor sooo I’m going to give you a couple of Treadmill ideas that don’t require one, cool? COOL 🙂

Here’s how I look at it, there are 3 Variables you must take into account when doing a Treadmill workout: Time, Speed, and Incline 

Time: There are 4 Time limits that I think are appropriate for the treadmill, bear in mind every workout should include a 3-5 minute warm-up and cool down.  Always Warm it up, Always cool it down.

WORKOUT TIMES

1. 20mins – If you’re majorly strapped for time… If you must do a 20min quickie make it intense.

2. 30mins – Middle of the road – You can really make some progress with a 30.

3. 45mins – LOVE me a 45min workout, you should always aim to give up 45.  The 45er is not to much so that you’re dragging A&#@ but it gives you some time to add some bang to your buck!

4. 1HOUR – If you have time time for 1 hour that is GREAT. I am a firm believer that 1 hour is the limit on the amount of cardio you ever need to do in a day.

DISCLAIMER: If you’re training for a marathon, triathlon, or you’re a professional athlete that’s a different story.

INTERVALS: The amount of seconds/minutes you Jog, Sprint, or Climb.
Can be 30seconds, 60seconds, 2mins, 3mins, 5mins, 10mins, etc! In between each interval you choose how you need to recover.

SEVEN Treadmill WORKOUTS – Spice it UP!

 

1. The SPRINT OFF

Best used when you’re strapped for TIME – 20 or 30minute workout.RULES of the GAME: See how many sprints you can complete in 20mins.

Warm-up for 3mins at a comfortable pace.
SPRINT as fast as you can for 30seconds, increase speed on the treadmill dramatically. My sprint is an 8 or an 8.5mph
Recovery: Bring the speed back to a comfortable jog for 1/2/3mins depending on your fitness level. Beginners will need more recovery.
Repeat until you finish… Cooldown.  

When you get fitter you will need less rest time AND the amount of sprints you complete will increase. I find it FUN do to do this workout once a week and try to beat the amount of sprints UNTIL you can’t anymore. Soooo keep track of your number!

 

2 . The ALTERNATOR

FUN to do for 30-45mins OR 1Hour, Alternate between Hills and Sprints

Warm-up for 3mins at a comfortable pace.
This section is similar to The SPRINT OFF – SPRINT as fast as you can for 30seconds or 1min
Recovery: Bring the speed back to a comfortable jog pace for 2/3/4mins depending on your fitness level.
HILL – Increase the incline on the Treadmill to a height you can still keep a comfortable running pace at for 3mins
Recovery: Decrease the incline to the start level of 1.0 and jog at a comfortable pace
Repeat until the finish – Sprint, Recovery, Hill, Recovery, Sprint….

The more fit you get the shorter the rest periods, the faster the sprints and the steeper the inclines… YOU make it as hard or as easy as you can handle on any given day!

 

3. MOUNT EVEREST

HILL MANIA… How High Can YOU Go?!  This is a day where you are willing to work hard, get a ggreaatt playlist because you are in for some bun burning action! 30/45/1hour

Warm-up for 3mins at a comfortable pace.

Increase the speed to a level 6-7 for you on a scale of 1-10. For me that speed on a treadmill is around a 6.5 at an incline of 1.0 for 3mins
After 5mins increase the Incline by 2, so now you are at an Incline of 3 keep the same speed.
After 5mins increase the Incline by 2, so now you are at an Incline of 5, keep the same speed.
After 5mins increase the Incline by 2, now you are at an Incline of 7, decrease your speed by .5. For the entire Mount Everest you want to maintain a steady jog… So if you need to adjust the speed in accordance to the incline do it.  YOUR goal is to keep it moving up that hill until you finish your alloted workout time.

Continue adding 2 to the incline and adjusting the speed until you’ve reached your Treadmill’s max Incline or you’ve finished your allotted time. This takes more than sweat you will need to be mentally tough to handle Mount Everest… YES YOU CAN!

 

4. Marathon Mountain MIX

This is a GREAT 45min Workout! Not including warm-up and cool down 🙂

Do a Mount Everest Workout for first 15mins of your workout BUT instead of increasing the incline by 2 increase it by 5, much more aggressive HILL. Do this for 15 Mins.

After 15mins decrease the Incline to 1.0 and run at a Great comfortable steady pace for 15mins. A speed of 6-7 on a scale of 1-10, do this for 15mins.

For the Final 15mins do another Mini Mount Everest!

This is an AWESOME workout because it involves a lot of variables, which staves off boredom!

 

5. Sprinting CLIMBER!

Obvi warm-up 🙂 This is a GREAT 20min/30min Workout!

Jog at a pace that is not a sprint but also isn’t jog… YOU want to feel like you’re putting in some effort, do this for 5mins.

Then Increase the Incline to a VERY HIGH level. For me I would put it at an incline of 10. Once the treadmill has kicked in the incline, which often takes awhile… Adjust your speed to a sprint. Run up that hill for at least 1.30; shoot to make it 2mins.

Once complete decrease the incline back to a level 1.0 and recover for 1/2mins depending on your fitness level.

Then Repeat – Jog for 5mins, INTENSE CLIMB for 1.30-2mins, Recover, etc.

Cooolll dowwwnnn.

 

6. The RUN

YOU all know this one 🙂 Warm it up and then go! Very old school but it works like a charm. Your speed will be dependent on your Workout TIME.  Make sure to keep the pace consistent for the entire workout. I find this to be the best workout when I am completely stressed out and want to clear my head. Most fun done outside!

The RUN is best done for the longer haul – 45mins to an Hour
Nothing fancy just flat ground for the entire workout… I like my run to be an hour and I tend to stay around 7-7.5mph the entire time.

 

7. Marathon-Sprinting-Mountain Climber-COMBO!

You can do this Workout in whatever order your heart desires! I think you get the picture… I will lay it out for you and if you have any questions you know where to find me, right? 🙂  This workout involves sooo many variables I would do it for at least 45mins…  An HOUR would be ideal.

Let’s warm it up of course for 5mins

Marathon – Nothing fancy just flat ground for 10mins… I stay around 7-7.5
Sprinting – Follow the RULES of the SPRINT OFF for 15mins
Mountain CLIMBER – Follow the RULES of the more aggressive Hill in The Marathon Mountain Mix for 15mins
Marathon – Finish off the last 10mins of the workout as you began… Nothing-fancy just flat ground at a pace that isn’t a sprint but also isn’t a jog for 10.
5min Cool-Down – DONE!

Those are SEVEN of my favorite Treadmill Running Workouts…  I hope they add a little spice to your workout!  🙂

Do I need to sweat?

Here’s something I find interesting… People who call themselves runners when all they’re really doing is jogging.  There’s a HUGE difference between running and jogging. Night and DAY.

When one jogs you can carry on a lovely conversation, one doesn’t necessarily sweat, and one tends to get passed by runners. Here’s an example of what jogging looks like on a workout machine; A Television show can easily be watched, a book/magazine read, or my personal favorite – a conversation on a cell phone or a text-o-thon.  Listen, that’s fine and dandy if one wants to kill two birds with one stone, but it ain’t really workin out… And people who call that working out are missing the point. 

I see these same people tell their friends what a great “workout” they had at the gym and then proceed to reward themselves with the breadbasket at dinner.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that wasn’t even a workout… They hardly burned off one roll let alone a basket full of’em.

FACT:  Going on a machine and just movin for 30mins is not going to cutt it. I’m sorry.

Let’s talk about what working out it is… Not the miracle workout, not the workout that’s going save you so you never have to workout again. Lets talk reality, because we all live in the real world right? 

People that have extraordinary bodies that you admire… Go talk to them, seriously.  These people know that there’s no magic pill, no miracle workout. These people get their asses outta of bed and run until they’re going to throw-up, they work out HARD. These people have trained themselves to enjoy that.  These people don’t eat the breadbasket… They are disciplined and work for those bodies.  

AAAaannnndddd the ones that don’t work out and don’t choose healthy life styles BUT still look freakin great on the OUTSIDE… As fitness professional I shouldn’t say this… but I care.  Those people sadly mainly women are barely eating enough to survive.  Those women consider a soy latte a meal, those women are not very happy on the inside…. For them it’s not a lot of fun to be alone or to have to look at themselves in the mirror.  I’d RATHER bust my butt in the gym then be like them any day. 

Please STOP comparing yourself to women who are miserable… pppleeasseeee.  Sometimes looking good isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, my idea of what looking good is involves feeling good too. IF you don’t feel good what’s the point? 

There’s a small percentage of about 5 on the planet that don’t have to worry about working out or eating right… Most people no matter what they tell you do one or the other – Workout (TRULY Workout) or don’t eat.

I’m going to give you my Top 5 tips for a REAL Workout… One that will give you the body you deserve.

1. You can not read a magazine article while you’re doing a workout that’s real.

2.  You should want to be wearing short sleeves or shorts, if you’re comfortable wearing long pants or a sweatshirt it better be freezing because you need to be able to move. YOU gotta move to get results.

3. Sweating is key… Everyone sweats.  You need to get your body moving to a point where you need a towel.

4.  You should feel your body… When you put your hand on your chest you should be able to feel your heart beating through your skin.  If you don’t feel your heart beating rapidly at one point during your workout it wasn’t a GREAT workout that gets mmaaajjorrr results.

5.  I truly believe a workout that gets results involves a point where you question if you want to go on any longer.  If it’s easy/breezy the entire time you’re not giving what you need to give to get the results you want.

This workout is about a SEXY body… losing those extra 5, 10, 20, 30, whatever pounds. There‘s a time and a place for Yoga and Pilates but those two workouts will NOT get you a tight piece of ass you are looking for… YUP, you heard it here first.

Madonna worked her ass off before she considered yoga… That woman does 1 hour of yoga and 15 hours of dancing and taking over the world. That woman never stops.

I want you all to have the body of your dreams… I’m going to talk about my cardio workout in the next week. Know that anything worth having isn’t easy, if it were easy it wouldn’t be worth it.

How does that make you feel?