How hard should you push on the bike?

Q: How hard should I push on the bike to have a good run?

A: This depends on several things & I wish I could give a straight answer but it's a little messier than that.

Ask these questions: 

If you want the best outcomes, 

it's a great idea to have a clear strategy.

1) Is this my A race & how long is it? 
2) How did I train on the bike for this? 
3) Is this ride going well, are there ideal conditions? 
4) Check how hard your cardio system is working (HR/RPE) & how much muscle you're recruiting (are they burning/feeling fatigued). 

You can see why I'm always saying stay focused - there's a lot to check in on!

If this is your A race, you have ideal conditions & are feeling as you hope to, you can go as hard as you trained for on the bike. This means you should be training at a specific level during the intensity & (some) brick sessions. 

In training for your A race your goal is faster speed, which means you're going to probably be working in a slightly higher gear than steady state. This will increase HR & muscle recruitment (ultimately the higher gear will be your steady state once you've adapted which will help for longer rides & races). In training you'll find out how that affects your run, and if you can sustain this & complete the run with little effect or if you have to gear up/down to ensure the run isn't highly affected (on a training brick or practice triathlon). OR you may find that you can only increase your gears & push on bike only sessions to slowly adapt over time. Most likely you'll need to do intervals of harder/steady state gear as you progress.

So you need to do some training focusing on this. Some training (your "key intensity" sessions) will be done in this more powerful gear - how hard can you go out? Pay attention as you ride & push yourself. 

On bike only sessions you can work very hard without worrying about the run. I recommend checking these things: Is this harder gear making my speed faster enough to accept the harder intensity I'm feeling? Sometimes I've found the answer to be no, if for example my speed ups by .5mph but my HR goes above sustainable. Sometimes yes it definitely does make sense to be in the harder gear, even though I know I can't sustain the duration. My speed is much faster & makes sense to push for it. 

It also depends on the race distance

Always check in. If you're not sure, try something and see what happens - in training.

Some brick intensity sessions are good as trials - push your bike & ask yourself "am I recruiting too much leg muscle (burning & tired legs) for the allotted run distance after this?" If you're not sure - try pushing & see what happens. You can learn a lot from a tough run. Then ask "how can I do this better?"

It also depends on the race distance the intensity you'll ride and run. A sprint distance race you can ride in Z4 but remember that on race day you'll want it to be more cardio/less muscular so that harder gear you've been pushing in may or may not be the right one. That will depend on your adaption to it, and how much muscle is actually being recruited. One way to know (other than feeling it) is cadence. Riding around a 90rpm is your best bet for proper muscle recruitment. Mashing the pedals uses too much muscle and will ruin your run.

An Olympic distance race you'll want to have a lower HR. Z3, good option.
IRONMAN 70.3 & IRONMAN distances you'll need to stay in Z2 as much as possible.

If this is not your A race, things will be different. You may not want to push as hard as you can simply because it's not logical. It could affect your A race because it takes longer to recover, thus affecting crucial training sessions. This is something you can discuss individually with your coach. 

Remember: If you want the best outcomes it's a great idea to have a clear strategy.

Keep in mind the bike highly affects the run BUT pacing the run plays a big factor. If you start out too fast it's hard to gain control. So on those brick sessions practice this like crazy.

Ready to start working with a coach? We've got you covered. Living in Hawaii or anywhere in the world, we can help!

Get the best results from your endurance training

Years ago I ran a lot. I didn’t really have a goal in mind other than enjoyment. I’d head out on a run & they usually ended up being quite long. Just kinda running for the sake of running. Weekly mileage topped off at 40miles, all the same pace. This was a year round plan with very little variation. Nothing wrong with that for fun & fitness.

Then I started training for my first sprint triathlon. I now had a goal that helped me change the way I exercised. I was now “in training.” The number of workouts I did per week stayed the same but I cut mileage at least in half, each one now having a purpose. One or two were for speed, one would be longer. I added short bikes & swims to reflect the sprint distance race.

To my surprise I dropped two pant sizes & got ultra fit. I understand now why but at the time I was just surprised that doing less gave me more.

 

Me before a big race

I have athletes ask me about this all the time. How to train? How much, how often, how long...

Here’s a breakdown of how to plan training to get the best results.

  1.  Plan the races you’re doing labeling them as A, B or C (A top priority to peak for, C is like a training session). Believe me if you haven’t thought of this you aren’t alone.

  2.  Set SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) for said race – let’s stick with the A race from here.

Tips:
-As you plan your goals draw in what level you’re starting from – beginner, intermediate or advanced. 
-Do you want to just finish & create a lifestyle or take it to the next level & have some pace goals? 
-Take into consideration how many weeks you have (increase slowly is best). 
-Consider your age, fitness level, the current volume (frequency x duration), duration of your race & strengths/limiters.
-What athletic background is, what other commitments you have & how much support you have.

Think it through & be specific.

Our athletes after finishing the Honolulu Marathon

3.  Periodization. Think of planning in terms of blocks going from building a base to specific skills to peaking for competition. The base phase (or general prep) works on gaining endurance, muscle memory & limiter work. For example working on swim technique, getting used to being on the bike over longer distances, endurance vs speed. For beginners this is the biggest block of your season.

    Then move on to adding more race specifics (specific prep) like bricks, hills & speedwork etc. Continued limiter training & easing into strengths work.

    The last few weeks before tapering is the competition phase. You’ll do more higher intensity work plus race day readiness sessions, maybe a short practice race. This is where you peak for optimal performance.

    Planning your general prep, specific prep & competition phases sets you up for the what comes next...

4.  Decide the volume of training (frequency x duration) – what’s your max volume just before you taper for the A race, and what’s your initial volume of training. Then fill in the weeks in between.

So where DO you start with volume planning? Good question. 

    1.Think key (priority) & non key (optional) sessions.

Key Training Sessions - At a minimum for each discipline, athletes should have one key higher intensity training session and a key endurance session per discipline per week (microcycle). Start with the volume you’re doing now & increase through the season depending on your race distance.

You may find this minimum is enough for your body to elicit adaption for your goals. Anything more & your body starts showing signs of over training. If so hold here no matter what the next guy is doing. If you’re a beginner, hold here. You will see results with this if each workout has a purpose. In this scenario if do more you risk over training and won’t see a positive response. The workouts will suffer, you’ll end up with mediocre sessions & in turn have mediocre results.

Maybe your body can do more & is adapting like crazy. Ok, slowly add in some non key sessions. You can work on your limiters or strengths: limiters in base/specific prep phase, strengths in competition. Work on getting more time in the saddle, doing swim drills or add a mid distance run etc. Your coach can help figure this out. 

I think the question of how much volume confusing a lot of athletes. How do you know if you can do more? I'll be writing more on this in future posts.

     2. Keep in mind our bodies respond to “loading” then “unloading.” This is a balance of training then resting to allow for gains. If you train hard all the time with little to no rest, the potential will never be fulfilled. The body strengthens during rest, not during work so give it time to make those gains. This can be a struggle. It's counterintuitive to take time off but science trumps logic here.

Science says as least one day recovery per week is necessary. Incorporating a full week of recovery during training season is also a good idea, especially when training hard for a big goal.

Struggling with comparison? Keep your perspective. Maybe you’re training for your second sprint while they’re training for their fifteenth. The more advanced athlete that’s training is obviously going to have more intense workouts & most likely can handle a higher volume.  

Like I mentioned before there’s also a difference in how much training an athlete’s body is going to respond to. My husband & I can have the same race, same goal yet his body responds to way more volume than me. Mine starts breaking down long before his. I've learned to train the way I need to in order to get results. This comes with experience, so learn your body & track your metrics. 

We see so many people getting confused and I can understand why. It can be really confusing! Hopefully this has helped give you some direction. Happy training! 

-Coach Emily

Triathlon training and goals

As triathletes our focus is always on gaining speed. How can we get faster, better, stronger? It makes sense. After all we're training hard for a race and want to see results.

What if instead of always focusing on tougher, harder training sessions we shift our outlook? Let me suggest that there is more to being a triathlete than an intense training session. 

For myself because of my health, I don't see much in terms of gaining speed. It can be...annoying to put it nicely. So I've readjusted my focus and taken a look at my stats to see what I can improve instead of looking at what doesn't (& may never) improve. Let me share what I'm improving upon. You can take part in it too. 

Swim: 

•  Stroke rate. Mine is lower than I want & lower than it should be.
  FYI - In hip driven swimming, which is what I believe is best for triathlon, the stroke rate will be lower than shoulder driven, which can be 70-90 strokes per minute. I'm working with my tempo trainer to increase stroke rate.
• Balance. My balance is way better than it used to be. But I'm not satisfied with it & know I can improve.
• Head position. Again, it's not bad, per se. But I find myself sometimes moving my head or lifting it up a bit more than I want. So, down it goes & that's definitely something that can improve.

  

  What a great place to train!

Bike: 

• SLD. Single leg drills on trainer for full use of pedal stroke. 
• Pedaling. Focusing on quick, even pressure of pedal during rides & especially on hills 
• Less is more. For me, guilt free less cycling because I don't enjoy the pain. My scoliosis & cycling don't like each other.

Run:

• Ground contact time (GCT). It's too high! I've actually been having fun working on quicker, lighter steps.
• Cadence. My legs tend to want to go slow. Kind of goes along with GCT.
• Form. My form is good, but by paying very close attention to it as I run, I can tweak for the absolute best technique.
• Hills. Short quick hills to build fitness but not to tire me out.

Strength: 

• Heavier weight less reps. This is fun, which motivates me to do it!
• More sets on days I feel good. On days I'm not feeling well, still do it but less. Keeps things consistent.
• A third day on appropriate weeks. Which I'm loving!

Many of these have stats attached to them that I can clearly see progress on. 

My challenge for you is to instead of feeling discouraged about your progress, shift your focus and keep moving. You will see results, you might even find a renewed love of the sport!

Triathlon gear recommendations part 2: Bike

The bike leg. You love it or you hate it. 

But either way, you're going to spend the majority of your time on the bike, and the majority of your money on cycling gear. This is the discipline you can spend a FORTUNE on. But remember, especially if you're a beginner, all the tools & gear are only helpful once you have the base line to get the most out of them. Give yourself time, and ease into new things when you KNOW what will help you most. That may take a while so be patient & don't jump the gun or you'll end up spending more & getting something that's not right for your needs. If in doubt, ask your triathlon coach their recommendations.

Beginner level:

-Any bike that 1) Has plenty of gears that work 2) Has reliable brakes 3) Moves when you pedal. Seriously, any bike will do when you're a beginner. Don't spend an extraordinary amount until you know you're going to like it & you have the skills to get the most out of the bike.

-Helmet - a USAT approved road helmet will do, no need for the aero or time trial helmet. See the difference here.

-Triathlon shorts - I recommend these instead of cycling shorts. You'll be wearing tri shorts in the race anyway, so why get cycling shorts AND tri shorts. No need. Tri shorts have less padding in the saddle area.

-Tri top or cycling top - really a tri top is better but if you want a cycling specific top for your rides that's fine.

-Basics such as a water cage & bottle, tire pump & equipment to change a flat, a small bike specific bag to carry all of this. I like xlab. You also need to learn how to change a flat tire. Here in Honolulu you can take a course with the Honolulu Bicycle League.

Non beginner level:

-Indoor bike trainer. I like Cyclops but there's a lot of good ones out there. Talk to your local bike shop. No need for a fancy trainer, get one that fits the budget.

-Clipless pedals & shoes. Again, spend some time trying on shoes & doing some research on what fits you, your budget. There's a lot of good brands out there.

-Some kind of tracker like a Garmin so you can track cadence, speed, HR etc.

-Road bike - trial ride as many as possible to find the most comfortable one for your body. Comfort is key when looking for your bike. 

Once you've gotten your pedals and trainer use them well. They'll be a big asset to your triathlon career. The indoor trainer is an important tool even if you live in a year round warm climate. 

From there, check these out:

Triathlon bike (aka time trial bike) or aerobars for your road bike (personal preference between tri bike & just adding aerobars to your road bike in my opinion. It depends on the size of your race, your body's needs, budget & how hard core you get into things. Some coaches would say definitely a tri bike. I'm not one of them). 

Once you're well versed with cycling & have the bike you'll be spending some time with, you can check out getting a power meter. I have a Quarq & love it but the one you get will depend on a multitude of things. This is something you and your coach can discuss. I recommend power meters only after you've done several triathlons, want to really get into it, have THE bike you want plus everything else I've mentioned. 

Remember that you could get the latest most fancy bike, get all the gear and still not do well. It's not the gear, it's the engine - that's you! So train smart, train often & get a triathlon coach or get into a group! 

Eat your chocolate

This is a simple yet often misunderstood nutrition tip.

These 9 kisses are 1 serving & depending on the flavor all 9 are about 200 calories. That fits nicely into most people's daily diet, including yours. 

Remember you can have 100-400 discretionary calories/day depending on activity level.

Tip: eat your discretionary foods as dessert. You'll ultimately eat less than if you eat it as a snack.

So now you know you can enjoy chocolate guilt free daily. Eat mindfully and enjoy every bite!

Schedule workouts wisely during training season

Now that you're familiar with the eight key sessions you need to incorporate in triathlon training, let's talk about how to space out each discipline throughout your week.

Smart training will give you a big smile
on race day!

Ideally you don't want to go more than two days between each discipline (swim bike run). This may not always be possible but it's something to strive for and a template to use when you plan your weekly schedule.

When you're on your first year of training and doing only the key workouts, you may have more than a two day gab. For example, if you do an endurance swim on Sunday then your shorter faster swim on Wednesday (there's your two key swims), you'll have three days before another swim. You can either allow the gap or add in a mid distance or recovery workout on Friday.

Keep in mind that adding in an additional training session may not always be the best option. If you're real life schedule is already packed tight, this may lead to frustration, lack of sleep etc so take heed and monitor your training closely.

You also want to remember that you can add an additional training session to only the discipline you feel least comfortable with. For most people (especially beginners) that's going to be the swim. If swimming is a new skill, adding even a few minutes of practice drills can go a long way toward muscle memory.

Getting in the water often is a good idea for new triathletes

So take a look at your schedule right now & see if there's any workouts you can move to fit this template. 

Have questions? Leave them in the comments for coach Emily or email her at emily@ontrackfitness.net and let's get your triathlon training kicked up a notch! 

Eight key training sessions

Triathlon training should include eight key training sessions. These sessions take priority to all other workouts.

Include these key workouts each week:

• One endurance workouts for each discipline (swim, bike, run). These aerobic sessions are the foundation of your triathlon training.

What is the comfortable range you could do consistently right now for an endurance workout? You can start there.

• One speed sessions for each discipline. These faster paced, shorter sessions can be tracked with by heart rate (HR) plus pace & power output.

If you're a beginner, HR and or rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and should be included in training only after a base has been established. RPE is also important in advanced athletes.

• Two strength sessions. Yes, that's right! Strength training (aka resistance training) is a very important piece of your triathlon training. Any style is good other than circuit work. Be sure to include some balance training (example one legged squats), functional training and core work.

You'll be spending a lot of time in your endurance sessions in
Ironman  & 70.3 training to get you across the finish line

As you progress over the seasons and are ready to take training to the next level you can start at a higher volume, and add in some additional mid distance training sessions.

Need help with your training or ready to take it to the next level? We're here to help! Coach Emily is a certified triathlon coach & Ironman Certified Coach.

Conact Emily to get started.

Nutrition & fitness: a days worth of food

Nutrition & fitness go hand in hand, everyone knows that right? But I see so many of us confused about nutrition. I see so many of us being a slave to food. That's not how it should be. 

I thought I'd share a typical days worth of food so you can see how this coach & athlete eats. It's my hope that if you've been a slave to food, something in this post will ignite something in you so you will no longer have to be enslaved to food. Food should be enjoyed, without guilt, no matter what size shape or fitness level you are.

Before I share today's meals, I'd like to discuss some habits I have:

• I rarely think about deleting food. Instead, I enjoy looking for ways to add in foods that will make my meals healthier. That's a mindset shift from 'can't have' into a more positive thought of how can I include something to bring balance.
• I eat chocolate, donuts, cookies etc without guilt. If I'm going to eat it, I'm going to fully enjoy it.
• That being said, I strive to eat 80% wholesome, nutritious foods & 20% discretionary. A healthy diet can - and should - include 100-400 calories of discretionary foods a day (depending on how many calories one can have per day). I say should because having those treats is real & it's unreasonable to try and cut out treats altogether. Unless you want to feel deprived, overindulge, have guilt, over restrict & repeat. No fun, no thank you!
• While I strive to eat nutritiously, I do not want to be a slave to food. This isn't how God intended. I spent several years in my teens enslaved to food & I can tell you that I'm much happier, well rounded and optimally fit than I was when I had harsh restrictions.  And honestly, restrictions are very seldom about health are they? Oftentimes we do it to punish ourselves because we think we're fat. Right?
   
• I very rarely measure things out. I do, however, keep track of general serving sizes of each food group. I go for a balanced diet.
• I try to eat at least 3 food groups per meal and 2 per snack. Again with going for a balanced diet.

When you see the food below, you may see ways I could have made better choices. I agree. I'm not going for perfection & I hope you don't either. On the other hand, you may think this is not enough food for you, not enough chips or chocolate. I'd like to remind you of two things 1) When I see these pics I agree it doesn't look like much. But I was full & satisfied & couldn't have eaten more. 2) There are certainly - certainly days that I have more chocolate or potato chips. I sometimes eat a donut for breakfast. Yep! Just not every day & I try to space things out...so not chips and donuts all in one day. Please remember that. 80/20 folks. 

Breakfast: whole wheat bagel with cream cheese, babybel light & berries, was thoroughly enjoyed. I've been on a cream cheese kick lately, but I'll also have peanut butter or cottage cheese on my bagels. This gave me plenty of energy for my morning sessions & my own swim workout. 

Whole wheat bagel had 8g of fiber. I always look for
a minimum of 2g per serving.
The Babybel gives some calcium & protein plus it's fun to play
with the red wax :) Berries are loaded with goodness.

Lunch: Single serve hummus with baby carrots & crackers plus a veggie salad topped with an egg, low fat cheese, tomatoes, avocado, cauliflower, low fat dressing and a few more crackers. Might not look like much but I was quite satisfied. Great refuel after my workouts.

Single serve hummus is convenient & delicious.
I like to have at least some veggies with it because it's
an yummy way to get more veggies.
Egg atop the salad gives me another food group, and I have to really work
to get enough protein so always keeping this in mind.

Mid day snack: Easy. Small smoothie I made with a bit of soft tofu, strawberries & half a banana plus soy milk & stevia. Just enough to get me to dinner so I don't crash. 

Yet another way to get more produce, calcium
& protein which are things I have to work at. Sweet enough I don't
want cookies anymore! Holds me over so I don't crash & eat the world.

Dinner: Whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce (I added fresh tomatoes) & 95% lean ground beef. Side salad. We had a coconut fruit bar for dessert. 

We really need to eat more meat. I know that's unusual but
in our household, we need to. The pasta gives me energy & nutrients that fruits & veggies
don't have in them. Carbs are important as long as they're not over eaten..just like
anything else. Always looking for ways to add in more produce, hence the salad (& tomatoes in the sauce). If not for the salad I'd probably had seconds of pasta. Instead I kept it more balanced. The fruit bar was delightful.

Night time snack: Half a Clif Builder Bar. Chocolate! These few calories will help me not to wake up and overeat. 

I ate half because I wasn't terribly hungry. The chocolate was satisfying. 

There you have it: full disclosure! I pray that this gives you an idea of what an imperfectly healthy day looks like. 

If you want to learn more about balanced nutrition, there are some resources I recommend. Eatright.org, read Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook, Mindless Eating & Eating Mindfully. These are great starts to learning more on your own. If you need more guidance get in touch with a professional & make sure they're a Registered Dietitian. Contact me if you have questions. - Coach Emily

OnTrackFitness.Net

Nutrition tip

How are you doing with your nutrition habits?

Today I had overnight oats with Chia seeds, banana & peanut butter for breakfast. For lunch it was this toasted cheese (low fat pepper jack) with tomato & avocado plus almond & dried pineapple mix. A little dark chocolate for dessert (Hershey's nuggets, yum!). I'll have a snack before my triathlon training session tonight. Then a big salad for dinner & probably a yummy frozen coconut bar for dessert. 

Most day this is about the style of how I eat. I strive for a big healthy breakfast, mid morning snack if needed, big healthy lunch, snack if needed and a fairly light dinner. It depends on how much exercise I do but usually 1800-2200 calories, more during marathon training. Sometimes less (usually not) but I listen to my body & eat as needed. I try to get at least three food groups per meal (more is better), two food groups with snacks & look for ways to make sure I have enough dairy because that's an easy one for me to skimp on if I'm not careful.

If you're looking for ways to improve your diet (aka what you eat) a start would be, like I mentioned above, working on a big healthy breakfast. 

Also practicing doing the three to four food groups per meal.  For example a sandwich with just meat which is only grains & protein, it's easy to pile on veggies to get a third group & a lot more nutrition. Add a fruit for dessert & you get a gold star.  For snacks at least two food groups (Ex: instead of just crackers do cheese & crackers). 

If you sprinkle discretionary calories in after meals instead of in between meal snacks it's generally better. That was a big one for me. So instead of a few mid afternoon cookies, have one or two after the meal & ENJOY! You'll eat less of them & your energy level will stay consistent because a snack of just cookies is pure sugar so you'll get a spike then a crash.

Lastly I suggest you start thinking of food as fuel instead of how you can satisfy cravings. Enjoy everything you eat, but strive for the best fuel for your body. You'll feel SO much better! -- Written by Emily Collins, Owner of OnTrack Fitness

A veggie lovers dream

Hello my wonderfully delicious avocado! 

I love avocado. It adds a little something special to anything, like eggs & tomatoes shown here.  But it is it goes with so much that adding it to just about any meal is a easy. 

One serving is about one 5th of a medium avocado (or 1oz). A serving has 50 calories and contributes nearly 20 vitamins and minerals making it a nutrient dense choice. 

Don't be afraid of the fat in an avocado.  It's the saturated fat that we want to be concerned with.  Avocados, due to their mono and polyunsaturated fat content, are a great substitution for foods rich in saturated fat.  

Sounds like a winning veggie to me!  Read more about avocados here.  -- Written by Emily Collins, owner of OnTrack Fitness

Balanced meals don't have to be difficult

I was hoping it wouldn't happen, but I finally got the bug that's going around. I certainly didn't feel up to fixing anything for lunch but I know it's important. So I put together a few things, put it on my serving dish I like & was able to enjoy a small yet balanced meal. 

Here's the breakdown:
-1 whole grain (toast)
-1/2 dairy (cheese slice)
-1 protein (egg)
-1 vegetable (broccoli)
-2 1/2 fruit (large banana & half cup OJ)

Balanced meals. It's how we should eat. It doesn't need to be fancy, but it does need to be consistent - even when we're not feeling well! 

Look for ways to add healthy foods instead of what you feel you have to take out. I did this by adding low fat cheese to toast where I could have had butter, putting leftover (from last night's supper) broccoli on the plate where I could have left it empty (& gotten hungry soon after even though I'm sick), and a small serving of juice instead of the diet coke that I really wanted. 

By shifting the mindset of adding healthy to work toward a more balanced meal, we create a positive thought process. Just takes a little practice. Try it! -- Written by Emily Collins, owner of OnTrack Fitness

Being well is more than fitness

Followed a few favorite poses from the book Power Yoga
for Beginners by Liz Lark

Being well, or wellness, is so much more than being fit.  My chronic health issues constantly remind me to take care of myself.  For me, staying fit really helps but it takes more than going out for a run.

Over the past two weeks I've been having a lot more neck & spine pain.  Last night I was really feeling bad.  Since I know exercise helps, I went for a 3 mile run.  I then practiced some of my favorite yoga poses to ease pain, concentrating on relaxing & flowing through the poses with my breath. 

My husband helped me gently get into some poses a bit more for MUCH needed added stretch. 

Since I have moderate scoliosis, I don't have much range of motion. My neck, spine, shoulders & hips hurt all the time. Exercise, ice, chiropractor visits & advil (only if absolutely needed) help keep it at bay. If I don't exercise I'm in great pain. Yoga really helps, and with my husbands help last night I felt SO much better and was able to go to bed with an ice pack, pain free. The chiro visit I had this morning was perfect timing!  Feeling much more positive about things! -- Written by Emily Collins, Owner & trainer Honolulu HI

Ronna's fitness assessment week

This week was exciting because it was Ronna's fitness assessment week!  

Since we work long distance we reviewed together how to do each standardized 'test' & she completed it at home.  

The assessment is a snapshot of exactly where Ronna's fitness level is with each component of fitness.  She also took total body measurements, resting heart rate & weight.  

Now that we know exactly where she stands, we can set some very specific goals based on the findings & work toward them.  In about 3 months we're going to do the sames tests & see how well she's improved!

We're taking this one step at a time starting where she's at.  Moving more, learning new eating habits and doing it slowly is how we're doing this.  Too much too soon & things start falling apart - that goes for us ALL.

With Ronna's focus & dedication to her new healthy lifestyle she'll see great strides from her first to her second assessment & I for one can't wait!

Balanced diet

I've been working on eating more for breakfast & through the afternoon for my marathon training & it's been helpful.  

I'm also paying careful attention to balancing my diet:

• Grains 5-8 servings focusing on complex carbs & w
  
  hole grains with fiber
• Proten 5-6oz (lean) & I like to eat some protein with my breakfast.  It helps keep me full longer.  I enjoy lots of different protein sources.  I also try to eat beef once per week (which might seem low to you but we don't eat much beef in our home, just because...)
• Vegetables 4-6 servings, super easy for me.  I like all veggies!
• Fruit 3-4 servings, the hardest of all for me.  I like fruit but I never want to eat it so I have to make special efforts
• Dairy 3 servings from skim milk, soy milk, low fat cheese, yogurt, pudding - lots of fun options!

I eat discretionary calories (treats) every day too.  For me that usually means chocolate & sometimes potato chips or McDonald's pie!  

I don't feel any guilt because I keep it between 100-400 calories depending on how active I am that day.  I NEVER feel like I'm missing out on anything because I eat what I want, just in moderation & with a bit of thought.  It's pretty easy & gets easier with practice.

I've been enjoying being extra healthy with balancing my diet.  It's fun for me & I feel really good.  Feeling good makes it more fun & makes me want to do it more.  It's a cycle of goodness!

Stop the cycle

Why do so many of us allow guilt and irrational expectations about food & exercise rule our lives?  

I admit that I get really sick of this because it’s so very unhealthy physically, mentally and spiritually.

See if this sounds familiar…
Going from very little exercise to an intense workout EVERY day or going from little to no running straight into long distance training, fad dieting, taking supplements to lose weight, recommitting to the same old things that didn't work, etc etc...

Then failing, feeling guilty, stopping everything because of discouragement, repeat cycle over & over & over….

How about this instead:

1) Stop trying to be perfect.  

You aren't.  Deal with it.
What you’re doing when you commit to unrealistic goals is not making a TRUE change and setting yourself setting yourself up to fail.

 
2) Don’t go from nothing to all
aka having an all or nothing mentality.  Fail.

3) Stop the guilt.  

Just stop!  Eating a treat every day can be part of a healthy lifestyle.  100-400 calories of ‘treats’ into your daily calories is fine & PART of a healthy lifestyle.  It’s irrational to cut out treats altogether!  

4) Start moving more.  

EVERY time you move you’re doing something good for your body.

5) If you want to lose weight make a life long commitment to the changing of your lifestyle.  

Don’t put unrealistic expectations on yourself because if you do you WILL fail.  It's a life long commitment and there are NO shortcuts.  

You wouldn't expect your child to go from kindergarten to high school & succeed, right?  It's the same thing.  Start from the beginning & do one thing at a time.

Here are some guidelines:

-Move more every day being physically active.  This isn’t exercise, it’s just moving.  Housework, walking the dog, etc 

-Set SMART goals – Specific, Measureable, Realistic, Timely

-Calculate your daily carloric needs so you know how much to eat.
http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/healthy_living_tools_content.aspx?id=4

-It takes 3500 calories To lose 1lb.  Burn some & eat a few less.  1lb per week is perfect.  

-Eat a balanced diet.  If you don’t know what that means go here: choosemyplate.gov

-Set aside 100 – 400 of those calories for treats EVERY DAY & enjoy them.
Repeat from earlier because it's important.

-Work towards adding 3-5 days of moderate cardio exercise (walking, biking, Zumba) 20 – 60 minutes.

-Work towards adding 2 days of resistance training.  Examples are lifting weights, pilates or calesthenics (pushups, cruches, etc). 

-Take a couple of days off from exercise to physical & mental rest.  This means doing resistance on cardio days.

-Sleep more

-Drink water

-If you miss a day or eat more or whatever SO WHAT?  Were you expecting perfection again? – don’t start over, just keep moving forward. 

-By the way you do NOT have to do insane workouts, become a long distance runner or cut out food groups to be healthy.

So you can see that there's a lot to work toward over a lifetime.  It's not easy but it's a lot easier than the cylce of guilt!

Rest to get fitter

How often do you hear a fitness trainer tell you to rest?  Are you surprised that's what I'm saying?  Don't be.  Rest days are equally important as training days!


It makes sense when you think about it.  As we train and work our body, the muscles are breaking down, we're putting our skeleton & soft tissue through impact and rigor.  If we continue to do this day after day, week after week, it won't be long until there's overtraining which leads to injury, low energy, less calorie burn & the list goes on.


In order for our body to gain the benefits of training, we must give it time to do just that.  It can't gain benefits if it's always being broken down. 


Take 1-2 days off every week and one week every 3-4 weeks to do some recovery or easy cross training.


So, rest time equals a fitter & stronger body, less injury and more energy!

Let's talk nutrition

Did you know there are 3,500 calories in just one pound of fat? I don’t know about you, but that makes me stop and think before I eat. Things like “are those chips really worth it?” run through my head.

I’m not telling you to never eat chips, but knowing that it takes a loss of 3,500 calories to get just ONE pound of fat off, makes some foods look less appealing to me!

When trying to lose weight, it’s difficult to lose and keep it off with just diet or just exercise – that’s a lot of calories to cut back or burn alone. It takes a little of both to succeed long term.

Here’s what I mean:

If you’re trying to lose one pound per week (1-2 pounds lost per week are ideal), and you cut out 300 unnecessary calories from your diet (one donut or two cans of soda) and spent an extra 200 calories through physical activity each day, you would lose one pound every week.

That’s an awfully lot easier than trying to cut out 500 calories every day or burning 500 calories through exercise (think running 5 miles/day).

If you’re trying to lose weight, look at your food intake and find something you’re willing to cut back on. Move more every day to burn calories. You’ll be surprised how much easier this is than you thought.

If you have a story about how you've lost weight through proper nutrition and exercise, we'd love to hear it. Share with us!

Body composition

I work with a lot of people who want to loose weight. What they actually mean by this, is that they want to loose body fat and gain a little muscle so they have proper body composition.

Proper body composition is one of the four components of fitness. It's also the component that you can see the most obviously - and it takes more than exercise to achieve!

Exercise alone is only going to get you so far. A healthy diet, eating the right amount of calories AND exercising, is the only way to get it.

To find out what your actual body composition is - what your body is composed of (fat free vs. fat) - you need to get tested from a professional. There are several ways to get tested, one of the simplest is via the skin caliper test.

If you don't have access or the money for a test, there are a couple of things you can do. It won't tell you what your actual body composition is, but it will tell you if you're at risk for obesity related diseases. It will give you an idea of if you need to lose weight. Here are two tests you can easily do with just a measuring tape:

1. Waist to hip ratio
Take measurements of your waist & hips.
Divide the waist circumference by the hip circumference.

If your ratio is greater than .95/men and .85/women, you may at a higher risk for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure & certain cancers.

2. Waist circumference
Simply take your waist measurements.

If you're measurement is greater than 40in/men or 35in/women, you are at risk.

If you find that your measurements are high, don't panic! Just get up, get moving and start eating a little healthier!

Retake your measurements after about 3 months. If you've been diligent, you should see noticeable improvement!