Yoga Series Part 2: Intentions in Mindfulness and Training

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 Have you ever thought to yourself why did I do that? What was I thinking? I bet you have, I know I have. We might think that its capable to act without volition (will or choice) but researchers and common sense all agree that it isn't. Every action is preceded by a thought or an intention to act. Even when you're just going through the motions or the same mindless routine like cleaning the toilet.
You've probably already also heard the phrase "the path to hell is paved with good intentions", there's a reason this phrase is so well understood.


Intentions are an important part of being mindful. Before you act, or chose to act it is important that you set good intentions. It is impossible to be completely mindful when you do not know or understand your goals and purpose for the activity. In yoga intention is an important part of your practice. In fact having the right intentions, and then following them are what sets the course for your practice. Starting with the the wrong intentions is like trying to start your car with water and not gas, not only will the car not start, but it can also cause severe damage to the engine. In yoga good intentions could be to keep your mind in the present, to listen to your body, to push yourself gently, to be calm and in control. In training for a marathon good intentions could be to adequately rest between bouts of exercise, push yourself a little harder on your sprint workout, and practice mindfulness during training.

By starting with good intentions we set the stage for our experience. You could also compare your intentions to the script of the play. A good script is necessary for a successful play, but even a good script will not guarantee success. You also need good actors. A good actor knows and follows the script adding vitality and life to the words on the page. Intentions may be the script, but you are the actor. If you fail to follow your well written intentions your practice or training will fail to be a success.

During your speed workouts you have set good intentions before beginning of pushing to a 6 min/mile pace for mile repeats during the workout but once you get going you get lazy and only run a 7 min/mile. This may not be a huge deal for someone who has the goal to finish the race, but what if you're trying to get your PR, failing to follow your intentions may ultimately lead to not achieving your goals. Training with mindfulness and with intention go hand in hand. If you are not mindful during the practice you will inevitably lose sight of your purpose and intentions. Here I'd like to also mention that it is also a bad thing to take your good intentions too far. For example, pushing through injury simply because you had intentions of doing speed work today is also not very wise.

Starting with Good Intentions

Hopefully I have adequately illustrated the importance of both having good intentions, but also of following through with your intentions. Intentions can be seen as the purpose of the particular workout, or the process (workout specific) goals that you set for that work out.

 Here are some guidelines that can help you when planning your workouts and help you use good intentions and mindfulness.

1. Establish your lifestyle philosophy and purpose. This philosophy should be a constant in your life and never have an end. In 20 years you should still be living with the same purpose. To illustrate a lifestyle philosophy could not be to win the St George Marathon. A good lifestyle philosophy could be to maintain a high quality of life.

2. Create the big picture for your training that fits in with your lifestyle philosophy. Illustrated by the infamous words of the Cheshire cat in Alice and Wonderland if you don't know where your going "then it doesn't matter which way you go". Write down your training goals for both the near and distant future

3.  Determine your current position in relation to your training goals and lifestyle philosophy including your training strengths and weaknesses. Recognize that to be safe and free from injury you should allow yourself ample time for your body to develop and to reach the demands of your goals. Adjust your time frames as necessary. Pushing yourself too quickly into something could put a temporary or permanent end to your goals.

4.  Working backwards from your goal dates, plan a general map/script of a course of progress to get you from A to B and then to C. (meaning don't skip straight from A-Z). Keep in mind your philosophy and goals.

5. Before beginning any workout, remind yourself of your lifestyle philosophy and your goals as well as the intentions for that specific workout. If both your goals and philosophy are written down in an obvious place this will be much easier. Each workout should fit like a puzzle piece into the big picture you've created.

6. Practice mindfulness, staying focused on the moment during the workout. Frequently remind yourself of your intentions.

Staying focused on the moment as well as on your intentions will help you get more out of your training program. It will also help you stay balanced as you focus on the big picture and your lifestyle philosophy. You may find yourself either becoming lazy or wanting to push yourself to the brink of injury and burnout. If so bring yourself back to your intentions.
 
Establishing your intentions before you start is obviously important, but it can be difficult. I know most of us have a hard time deciding what is the best choice that will be most likely to lead us to success. It can be difficult to know without having had prior experience writing training plans, studying training adaptations, and knowing truly what your body is capable of.

Training for success is an art and science that begins with building your intentions (process goals) and purposes into every workout. If you need help and feel lost or overwhelmed it is important to recognize that there is a ton of free rescources in the form of general training programs that can help be your guide. There is also tons of books and articles that have already been published that can be used to help you make appropriate decisions. Also, never forget that there are many well qualified coaches and trainers (such as myself) also available to help create customized programs to meet your needs.

Please as always, e-mail me with any questions or concerns!

Training and Fundraising Updates

I know you're all dying to know how my training and fundraising is going. :) ok maybe I'm kidding myself. None the less I thought I'd update you anyways.

Lets start with training. Overall training has improved. I am able to work at higher intensities and for longer without feeling the drag and dead leg feeling that I had earlier this season. Which is a big plus. I think a lot of this is due to the things that I did while not training. I started eating better (more fruits and veggies every day), I have been icing after my long and hard workouts, and I have tried to do be more diligent on stretching post workout. It really is the little things that count. Last week I ran 24 miles and while I was tired, I felt so much better during the run than I did a few weeks earlier while running 16 and 17 miles.


So as some of you know a few months ago I posted "Race Schedule=Death" (http://crazytrainrunner.blogspot.com/2012/05/race-schedule-death.html) and am proud to say that I made it through my pre-season races fairly successfully! Or in some cases almost successfully :). The Bike MS which I have already blogged about was a little rough... but we blame most of that on the 100deg weather and dehydration that set in as a result.

Three weeks ago we raced in the Rigby Tri, olympic distance. It was a really small but fun event. Overall I think we'd do it again. Its definetly a practice race though, its not high enough quality to be considered a season best. Josh and I both put in really good efforts. I didn't get the time I really wanted, which I blame mostly on the little time I spend biking. I will have to focus more on biking, and less on running for next years races. I do really well in the swims though. I was the second female out of the water with a total tiem of 27 minutes (including my transition time). Like I said though, while this time is pretty good, I really didn't have a lot of competition.

This last weekend Josh and I competed in the Black Ridge Tri in Herriman. This race was bigger than the Rigby Tri, but it still wasn't huge, some 350 people to compete in the sprint distance event. It was The swim was in Black Ridge Resevoir which is tiny. One lap around the piremeter is only 500 yds. So instead of being a typical 800yd swim the race was only 500. A little short. But that also made it nice for Josh who still hates swimming.

The beginning of the bike was all uphill making this a very challenging course. But that also meant the second half was pretty much downhill the whole way. (yay!) Josh topped speeds of 40+mph going down some of the hills. I wasn't able to get going that fast, I think the most I ever hit was 32mph. The run I was pretty proud of, it was 3.1 miles and my average pace was a 7:47 min/mile! That is great for me! I am not super fast and typically train at a 9min/mile pace so I am thrilled with that time. Josh did even better on his run! He was exactly one minute faster than me for a total time of 23:09 and a min/mile pace of 7:14. I have to say I am so proud of all the work he's done in training this year. It has been such a relief... no if only I could get him to learn to swim better. Sigh... another chore for another year I guess.

Here are some pictures of the Black Ridge Tri Finish Line posing:

So here are the remaining events of the year

August 25th -RUN-A-THON- 35 mile run to raise money for LLS

September 8th- Bear Lake Brawl Half triathlon (=half ironman distance)

October 6th- St George Marathon

October 14th- Nike Women's Marathon (YAY!!!)


I must say I am feeling much better about competing in the half ironmnan! Earlier this summer I was feeling incredibly unprepared. I know I could have done a much much better job training, but considering most of my training time I spend running I can't be to upset with myself. Except of course to push myself to get out on my bike a few more times. Lukily the race course will be almost completely flat (woot!) and so I should survive.

The biggest concern right now is the Run-a-thon where my goal is to run the 35 miles. I am not too nervous about running 35. I know I could do it. The real concern is what will happen after that. Will I be able to bounce back and compete in the Bear Lake Half? Will I end up injured? Its just so hard to tell at this point. I'd love to think that I am super woman and come out on top, but realistically I'm not sure that is even possible.

Not too mention I'm only 1/3 of the way to meeting my race goal of $3,000. Granted, I would gladly settle for only getting to $2,000 by the 25th and then $3,000 by October 14th. But once again I need to be realistic. So I'm considering only doing 26 miles on the 25th. Even though I already agreed to 35. But why willingly kill myself if I didn't even meet my goal right? Right? the other Option is I might postpone the 35 miles until the end of October. This way I'm gauranteed NOT to kill myself... so much to think about.

What do you think I should do?

Thanks for reading! And don't forget to donate!

Yoga for the Endurance Athlete: Part 1 Mindful Training

Practicing yoga principles while training is not a new concept to those of us who practice yoga and perhaps some of you who practice yoga while training without even knowing it. But to those of you who have never done yoga or who have never considered the idea you are missing out on the wonderful benefits that could be yours through using the yoga mentality while training.

Yoga brings a new and invigorating component to your training, and I don't mean just by increasing your flexibility, which yes is a benefit. What I'm referring to is what happens when you bring yoga off of the matt and onto your run, or swim, or bike ride. By bringing yoga with you while training I sincerely believe you will be much more satisfied and fulfilled with your training sessions, and you will see improvements in your physical performance as well as your mental performance.

This article will be the first of a series, where I will take an idea or principle that yoga teaches and tell you how to incorporate it into your training. However, if you have never taken a yoga class before, I recommend you sign up and get started. Many of the things may make sense to you just by reading them. However, when you go to a class and put them into practice under the guidance of a skilled instructor you will better know how to apply them to your training as well.

The first principle I'd like to talk about is mindfulness.

Smriti

Five years ago if you would have asked, I would have told you that I hated running. I would have given you the same reasons that most anyone else would have had, it was boring, I wasn't very good at it, it was too hard, etc. If it wasn't for a coworker, Russ, I don't think I would have ever willingly decided to take up running. Running became a way for me to cope with life, it helped me find a sense of identity and most importantly I learned the power of mindfulness in running.

 I didn't have a goal to run a marathon or even a half. Back then I did it because I wanted to get in shape and feel strong physically and mentally. I'm not sure when exactly it happened, but I learned to love running somewhere in those first few months. Running was hard, but I didn't try to hide from that any more. I welcomed the challenge, the feeling of my pounding heart, the overwhelming sensations in my legs, the adrenaline rush, and the new strength I felt, all became feelings I wanted to keep feeling. Initially, Russ and I would talk, but soon we would just run. Letting our minds focus on each step and breath. The stresses of real life seemed to fade to the background as I had only one thing to focus on, running.

 Smriti in Sanskrit (written language of yoga) means mindfulness. Mindfulness is a principle found in both Buddhist and Yoga teaching. Before I offer a definition of mindfulness let’s look at this example found on yogajournal.com, Nora Isaacs uses this example to illustrate mindfulness in a yoga practice.

You're standing in Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I). You actively reach through your back foot and allow your tailbone to descend away from your lower back as your arms reach up toward the ceiling. As you hold the pose you start to notice your front thigh burning, your shoulders holding tension, and your breath becoming labored. Still holding. Soon you get agitated and start to anticipate the joy you'll feel when the pose is over. Your breath becomes shallow while you await the teacher's instruction to come out of the pose. But she doesn't say anything. You label her a sadist. Still holding. You decide that you are never coming back to yoga. As your thigh starts to shake, you mentally check out. Frustrated, you drop your arms and look around the room.

Now imagine this: You're standing in Virabhadrasana I, noticing the same sensations, having the same thoughts and feelings—anger, boredom, impatience, tension. But instead of reacting, you simply observe your thoughts. You remember that this pose, like everything else in life, will eventually end. You remind yourself not to get caught up in your own story line. And, in the midst of feeling irritated while your thighs burn, you appreciate the sweetness of the moment. You may even feel a wash of gratitude that you have the time and privilege to do a hatha yoga practice. Then you bring your awareness back to your breath and witness the ongoing sensations and thoughts until the teacher guides you out of the pose.

As illustrated by Isaacs, mindfulness is about staying in the moment and keeping your mind focused on the task with a non-judgmental attitude. About.com uses the following definition:

 Mindfulness refers to being completely in touch with and aware of the present moment, as well as taking a non-evaluative and non-judgmental approach to your inner experience. For example, a mindful approach to one's inner experience is simply viewing "thoughts as thoughts" as opposed to evaluating certain thoughts as positive or negative.

I really like this definition because it points out a few characteristics of mindfulness found in the words in "in touch", "aware", "non-judgmental" which are also illustrated in the example by Isaacs. Other characteristics of mindfulness include, attentive, heedful, and mindful of responsibilities.

 One of the most important characteristics of mindfulness is being present in the moment. In yoga class we are taught to set aside the thoughts, lists, feelings, etc. that do not have a place in our yoga practice. We are taught to keep our mind in the present moving forward with us as our body moves with each breath and each pose. It is no coincidence that at the end of yoga you feel so relaxed, free from anxiety and worry it’s because of the intense focus you used during class to keep your mind in the moment.

I know that many of you prefer to practice disassociation (distracting the mind away from the task at hand) over association (focus on the task). I can't recall how many times I have heard "I can't run without music" or swimming laps is so boring I just can't do it. Training and racing can be painful, uncomfortable and if you’re like me, you spend a LONG time being uncomfortable. It is so tempting to try to take your mind off of the discomfort with music or by watching TV and its definitely easy to let your mind wander off on what work you have to do that day. Nonetheless, when you are not focused on the task at hand you lose something from that moment, the opportunity to learn from that moment.

 The ability to be mindful during training or racing is not easy, and it takes practice but it is worth it and it will make all the difference in your training and racing. Some of the ways that mindfulness can benefit your training and racing are:

· Injury prevention through paying better attention to the signals sent to you by your body.

· Improved awareness of technique and mechanics as you focus on proper movement

· Improved mental toughness and ability to tolerate the stress of training

· Increased satisfaction and fulfillment

· Improved performance as your mind is centered over the intention of the workout

· Increased ability to pace appropriately.

Applying the Principle

Being mindful may be easier said than done. This is something you'll have to start doing a little at a time. If you have never practiced mindfulness I would recommend finding an active yoga class to participate in first. Having a teacher to guide you during this period of exploration can be very helpful to becoming more mindful.

 While there are many ways to practice mindfulness, I recommend starting by practicing a few minutes at a time and slowly increasing the time you spend being mindful.

Some ways that you can practice mindfulness is by intermittently checking in with your body, focusing on your breathing and movements. Turn down or off the music and the external noise, enjoy your surroundings. Lastly, do your best to not make judgmental responses while training. Do your best to be a neutral observer.

Next Article: Intention in mindful training

The following article was sited in this article:

http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/2684?print=1

Check out this fun article:

http://www.diy-stress-relief.com/simple-mindfulness-exercises.html

Money Money Money

na na na na na (sing it in your head not out loud... that will annoy your neighbors).

SO good news! I have reached over 20% of my goal of $3,000! Ha ha I'm 1/5th of the way there!

So to all of you who have donated! Thank you Thank you Thank you! I am thrilled and happy to have all of the support! It definitely has lifted my hopes and made putting in the miles training worth it.

SOOO a BIG thank you to the following donors:

Zella Nesbitt

Pool N' Patio

Emily Standing

Janice Foote

Karen Steele

Nate, Vic, and Auggie Eschler

Ashley Stauffer

Matt & Christine Eschler

Nina Petro

Kirsten Engelby

Kathryn Rogers

Sue Baca

And PLEASE Don't forget to donate if you haven't already!!!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ut/nikesf12/rblackamix

The Model of Change

So today I did something that I have wanted to do for over a year. I rode my bike from West Jordan to the U of U and back again for a grand total of 33 miles. I know that sounds simple to most people. They commute to work every day on bikes. But for me, this was a mountainous challenge I have faced.
I tend to let most of my life choices be guided by fear. Why? I don't really know, I wish I did. One of my biggest fears is of physical pain. I am tormented by thoughts of breaking bones, getting hit by cars, breaking my neck, etc etc. I will rarely participate in an activity if I think its too dangerous. This last winter we tried going skiing, which I've only been a few times before, and I was an awful nervous wreck. The snow was too icy, I was going to fast, and I just couldn't relax and have a good time.

Well among my fears of physical injury has been the fear of being hit by a car while riding my bike. I've always enjoyed riding bikes, when I was at SUU I had one that I used for simple commuting purposes. But it was no big deal, there is hardly any traffic in Cedar City. Salt Lake is a completely different story for me. So when I bought my road bike a 3 years ago I was thrilled to be able to use it to compete in triathlons... but I rarely had the guts to ride it. Unless of course it was out on the Legacy Parkway trail or somewhere where there was little to no traffic. So despite having had the bike for 3 years, I've only put just over 1,000 miles on it which has always bothered me. Despite a desire to ride more, it was always too inconvenient to load up the bikes and drive to a remote place with no traffic. So I would just run instead.

This year, I think around the New Years I committed to myself that I would begin to over come this fear. I always see people riding bikes, to commute to school/work, to train, for fun or whatever reasons else and every time I saw them I felt an increased sense of shame for not being more brave. I also felt an increase in commitment to my goal. So slowly, maybe just a few times a month Josh and I have worked on becoming more comfortable riding in traffic. And today I reached my goal, I rode to school! This may seem insignificant, but after months of working on trying to convince myself to do it, I did it!

I share with you this story for educational purposes. Not simply to brag. Because lets be honest, this really wasn't that big of a deal. But many of you out there are probably in similar situations. You know you need to be physically active. But something is holding you back, maybe its yourself or its your situation. Either way, you can overcome and triumph and I hope to help you understand better how to get yourself from just thinking about it, to doing it.

In the Health world there is a model on Change. Its called the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change.



There are many visual descriptions of this model and I have included as many of them as I can find to help you better understand what the process of change.

The Transtheoretical Model, is just that, its a model to help us understand the process of making habit changes and to form new habits. In order to help you understand the 6 phases that are shown to the left lets look at an example, my example. Riding my bike to school.

Precontemplation: In this stage the individual won't even contemplate or consider making a change. I will drive to school because I always do. The pros don't really exist in this phase.

Contemplation: In this stage, the individual is has considered the change of behavior. "Well I could ride my bike, but there are such and such reasons why I can't do it". In this phase the cons still outweigh the pros. But I am trying to think of reasons why "I should" ride my bike to school.


Preperation: In this stage, the pros of riding my bike to school have finally outweighed the cons and I am taking steps into preparing myself to ride to school. For example, I bought a better backpack I can commute with. I practiced riding in traffic around my house so that I'd feel more comfortable.

Action: In this stage you have finally made the behavior change, however, it is not yet a habit nor is it yet considered a permanent change. YAY! I finally rode my bike to school, and I have plans on riding again on Friday... If I can.

Maintenance: You are considered to be in maintenance stage if you have been actively performing the desired behavior change for at least 6 months. You are now considered to be stable and less likely to relapse or quit. But I mean less likely. It is still possible.

Termination/Relapse: The last stage, which isn't really a stage is the termination or relapse. At any point you may decide to quit the process of changing and go back to the original behavior. In my case, driving my car.

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So once you know the stages that doesn't obviously mean that you'll follow the stages in order or in any certain time frame. It is possible to relapse or quit at any time and its also possible to make a change so permanent that you are altered forever. The difference is really all found in your rating of importance.

One thing we know for certain is that if you think you can't do something you never will, and right there along with that is that if you think some behavior (or lack of performing a certain behavior) isn't important to your well being and success, odds are you will not perform said behavior, or quit performing that behavior.

So what is the moral? Well if there is something you need to do, whether its to get into shape, practice your sport, train, brush your teeth, etc but you are having a hard time doing it. See if you can't implement some of these strategies to help you (or your loved one) move from one stage to the next. But either way, be patient, this takes time, and there might be several relapses.

So... Here are some useful strategies to try.

1. Build Competence

         Competence is the belief you have in your ability to perform the certain behavior, and to perform it well enough to succeed. If you're struggling with what we call self efficacy (the self belief of competence) then you will probably not even try to succeed. A good example of this is shown in the graph below. Lets take the behavior change, of quitting smoking. Studies have shown that "normally" in the first 2 stages (precontemplation-PC and C-contemplation) self efficacy is very low. So for a smoker, they may not believe they have the ability to quit, so why bother trying? Temptation is too high to overcome at this point.

By building self efficacy (through building competence) you decrease the feelings of temptations towards the negative behavior and increase the behavior itself.

So how do you do this? Well practice makes perfect. Start by working on fundamental skills, overcoming barriers that are preventing the behavior change, provide social support for the new behavior. This can be applied in any situation from quitting smoking to learning to riding your bike to school.

For me, first I had to build skills, I practiced riding in traffic till I became more comfortable. I overcame barriers by buying a better commuting backpack. I created social support by watching and speaking to my peers on campus who rode to work. And slowly, I started to feel more and more confident until I was able to successfully make the ride.

2. Overcome Barriers
       Sometimes there are definite obstacles in our way that prevent us from doing the things we need or want to do. For example, what if that someone doesn't have a bike, you don't have money for a gym pass, or you don't feel like you have time to exercise. Most of these barriers can be overcome, albeit some will take longer than others.

3. Increase the Pros
       One good strategy is to make a pro-con table listing all of the reasons why you should change that particular behavior and the reasons why you shouldn't. Include everything possible on here. While you can use strategy #2 to cross out some of the cons, you can also work on increasing both the number of pros as well as the priority of the pros. Meaning sometimes telling someone that if they quit smoking now they won't die of lung cancer in 12 years. Well.. most people are only concerned about immediate consequences so that may not really have any impact on them. But what about they will smell better? Exercising will feel better. There teeth won't be stained, etc. Below is a guideline for the decision balance and how it affects which stage you are in.

4. Appeal to the Emotions
      One way, which is not necessarily effective, but can sometimes work is to heighten emotional urgency. This can be done by scaring yourself or the person into thinking that this behavior change is necessary. Another way is to make them very excited, guilty etc. This is not as effective, as these emotions do quickly ware off. But it is one option.

5. Provide Positive Peer Pressure/Support
       The last way that I will share is to alter your surroundings. If everyone that you hang out with gets completely smashed on the weekends from partying hard, and you decide you want to quit partying, its going to take a lot more than good intentions to change. As independently minded as we'd all like to think we are, well we're not. We tend to have the same priorities as the people we spend the most time with. So if your friends all value exercise, you probably will too.

       So when you're trying to make a change, look around at your support group. They will either greatly help or hinder. Talk to them. Ask for their support. Try to make changes together when appropriate. Or, worse come to worse, find a new support group.


 

Triathlons, Idaho, and Horse Back Rides

This weekend was a blast I must say! Josh, myself, and our two dogs made the trip up to Idaho Falls/Rigby Idaho this weekend for a triathlon we'd signed up for ages ago. We had a really good time and everything turned out great! well... except of course for my camera.

Which leads me to explain why there will not be any pictures of this trip. During the triathlon it started to rain and I had forgot to cover my bag that had my camera in it. A pool of water gathered at the bottom of the bag (where my camera was of course sitting) and it is ruined... again. I swear I am buying a water proof camera! Now if only they made water proof phones.

The Race

So we competed in the Rigby Lake Triathlon on Saturday. We did the Olympic distance which was good training for my half ironman in September. The race was SUPER small. They only had 170 ish people enter and more than half of them were doing the sprint distance. Small races can be really fun and this one was fairly well organized. But I'll be honest it wasn't amazingly done. But for what it was it was pretty good.

While I was really happy with how I did, I thought I worked hard. I still hadn't dropped any time. I think my biking is really slowing me down. I need to ride more... darn running. It just keeps getting in the way.

Josh did pretty well as well. I had just a little faster bike and run times, but his swim time is what killed him. He doesn't like swimming very much so he never trains, so he struggles a little and is still pretty slow.

Overall I think we both really enjoyed the race and the wheather was perfect. It was almost chilly and it was cloudy the whole time. And it did rain a little during the race. But not too badly.

Idaho

Idaho was gorgeous! It was very green and the air is so clean. I must say I do love a small town. Josh's brother Jonathon lives in a big house with 6 acres, 6 horses, a goat and 3 chickens. Their house is prettily situated down a quiet road which was ideal for Buttercup's (my dog) and mines daily walks. It is a nice feeling to have so much space and quiet. I wish we had more. But I suppose that I must wait to earn my fortune before I can afford something like that.

Saturday Evening we drove highway 20 to Island park. Island Park is up in some sort of canyon and is absolutely gorgeous. We went up to see Josh's Nephew play cello in the concert. We didn't last long though because neither Josh or I brought jackets and it started to rian. So we bailed out after dinner and drove home. I'd love to go back though. Here let me find some pictures online that I can show you of the place.
So we didn't get to see much of the place. But I'd love to go back. It was really really nice.

Sunday afternoon before we left. Jon and Catherine (my in-laws) agreed to take me on a horse back ride. I haven't been since I was very little because I allergic to animals and they actually cause asthma attacks in a bad way. However, I hoped that if I used my inhaler and we got out into fresh air, maybe I would be ok. And for the most part I was.

We went to some sand dunes by a race track and exercised the horses there, where it would be a soft landing in case I fell. I managed to stay on the horse and felt even a little comfortable on him, that is until she decided that she wanted to roll in the sand... I had no idea what was happening. Catherine just started yelling at me to jump off as the horse started to kneel down on the ground and roll over. I did fortunately manage to jump off before she squished me into the soft sand. I doubt I would have been injured even if I had stayed on.. maybe just a few bruises is all.

Its always hard to leave vacations, but I was glad to come home to my own house.

Holding it Together- Core Strength and Endurance

Muscular strenght and endurance is crucial for the health of our back and body, we all know this but when you think about your core, do you ever think about its importance in helping you run faster? Fatigue less quickly? or swim more efficiently? Well whether you have ever thought about it before or not it does, and it matters.

Your core muscles are what keeps everything together... literally. They help coordinate movements of upper and lower body, they control postural positions while in motion, and they can improve your efficiency, speed, strength and performance. In short if you have a strong core you will be able to perform better and if you don't well... things don't go as smoothly for you.

How It Works

So every muscle has the ability to adapt to stress from stimuli. Meaning if you exercise(stress/stimuli) your muscles will adapt appropriately. When it comes to running, biking, and swimming we want our core muscles to be able to endure prolonged stress, just like we do our legs or arms. While we will build some strength and endurance in the muscles of our core simply through running, biking and swimming, it may not be enough alone to really improve our efficiency and well being. Supplementing your workouts with core exercises can really help you improve a lot more  in the performance improvement area.

So here are the muscles as well as some exercises for each that you can do to help strengthen those week points. I have only included exercise names, please use the internet to find instructions on how to perform the given exercises. Or you can e-mail me to set up a training meeting @ coach.beckyblack@gmail.com

The Muscles at Work

Erector Spinae

These muscles run up and down your back attaching to your vertebrae and the pelvis. They are in charge of extension of the back as well as some lateral flexion. These muscles are crucial to the health of your back as well as to your sport performance. They help to hold your postural position while biking, the forward lean during your run, and they help to lift your body on top of the water during swimming.

Exercises to use:

Superman

Quadrupped

Dead lifts

Back Extensions (any variation)





Trapezius and Rhomboids

The trapezius and Rhomboid muscles are primarily responsible for pulling back your shoulder blades and shoulders back and keeping you from that forward slouched position I know you're doing right now as you read this.

While running or swimming, good posture is having your chest stick out just a little bit and your shoulders either neutral or slightly pulled back. In biking your goal is to balance the forward pull of the chest muscles. If these muscles are not strong odds are as you run you will start to feel a lot of tightness, irritation, and even cramping between the shoulder blades as they try to compensate for the overly tight pectoral muscles.

Exercises to use:

Rows (of any variation)

Shoulder Blade Push Ups

Reverse Fly (any variation is good)

Internal & External Obliques

These muscle fibers run at an angle along from back to front and front to back respectively. While running these muscles help coordinate the upper and lower contralateral movements and help keep them synchronized. During swimming, these muscles help your body rotate smoothly and with control as you role from side to side with each stroke. These muscles are important in any side bending activity and help maintain the integrity of the spine.



Exercises to Use:

Side Plank


Side Plank with hip dips to the ground

Russian Twists

Bicycle Crunches

Oblique Crunches (any variation)

Transvers Abdominus

The transverse abdominus muscle is used in posture support for any position. (please see picture above). This muscle is often overlooked but can be strengthened through some of these exercises.


Exercises to Use:

Plank

Plank with leg lifts

The stomach vacuum

Lying

Transverse Pull ins

Back Extensions



Rectus Abdominus

This is the muscle of you probably thought of when you heard the word core or abdominals. Well this is an important muscle as well. It provides core strength and stability along with the other core muscles. This is also the muscle that provides that "6 pack" look when its strong and toned. It helps in biking, running and swimming in both postural support.

I'm sure you can think of at least 10 exercises that can work this muscle. However, here are a few fun ones to try.

Exercises to Use:

Pikes on Swiss Ball

Crunches on ball or disc

Reverse Crunches

Hanging Crunch

V-Ups

Rope Climber

Dead Bug

Training Recommendations

For Stomach Muscles - exercise each group at least 3x's per week for at least 3 sets of 20+ reps. Add weight slowly maintaining 20+ reps/set. Be careful how you add weight and never put yourself in a compromising position. In the beginning give yourself a day or two off in between. Once you build up strength and stamina you can work out every day.

Lower Back Muscles (including erector Spinae)- start with body weight of around 3-4 sets with 15-20 reps per set to start 2-3x's a week. Before you add weight increasing the frequency (meaning increase the number of days you use these exercises per week). Take 2-3 days off between exercising theses muscles.

Upper Back Muscles- start at a weight that allows you to complete 3 sets of 12-15 reps. You should feel fairly fatigued at the end of the set and very fatigued at the end of 3 sets. This would correspond with a weight that is about 65-80% of the max you could lift one time. As with the other exercises start with 2-3x's a week with at least 48 hours in between.