I’d like to talk about cross training a bit because it can help you get in your needed exercise while dealing with all the challenges to your time, even when running isn’t possible.

Cross training, for runners, refers to exercises that are different than running. For walkers, this means changing to another activity besides walking. This could be almost any form of conditioning that gets your heart pumping at a minimum level and duration. So, if you walk instead of run, you are cross training. If you swim, you are cross training. If you do yoga, you are cross training. At its simplest it just means doing an alternate activity to the one you prefer to do the most.

The caveat here is that the activity needs to be done at a minimum heart rate level of 60% with continuous movement for at least 20 minutes at that 60% level or you are not replacing one activity with another type of fitness training. You must have an equal or greater level of intensity to the exercise in order to replace one exercise with another for equal cardiovascular maintenance. Other than that, the sky’s the limit. Anything goes. Any activity will do.

This Coach’s Definition of Cross Training for Runners and Walkers

Cross training, specific to runners, refers to exercise that compliments, but does not include, outdoor/distance running, AND increases the heart rate to 60% or more of maximum heart rate* for 20 minutes or longer. The word walk can be exchanged for run IF it is power walking or “heart pumping hard walking”.

Another factor to consider is that you will not start out at a 60% rate. Your heart begins exercise somewhere significantly below it. When I’m on the elliptical machine at the gym it usually takes about 10 minutes to get up to my 60% rate. So, give yourself a minimum of 5 minutes to warm up and another 5 minutes to cool down at the end.

Your total workout will be a minimum of 30 minutes. This is why, in track workouts, we always warm up a bit before getting into the meat of the workout. This is not to say that activities like gentle yoga or easy walking lack merit. That is not the case. They are forms of movement that stretch and strengthen different muscle groups, but they are not increasing cardiovascular strength or capacity.

Stretching activities and other exercise, even if not rigorous, are important to us for balance as we tend to have major muscle groups that get no attention while other groups (our quadriceps, for example) get REALLY STRONG from walking or running. I’m differentiating here to clarify my definition. More on cross training, stretching, and other exercise in future issues. I hope this was a good beginning for you.

Want to know how to calculate your MHR Minimum Heart Rate (also Base Heart Rate). Look for my next article.

Stephanie Atwood, M.A. is coach of a women’s fitness team in the Bay Area. A teacher and trainer at heart, she is currently certified as a personal trainer with AAAI/ISM and consults on sports nutrition. Stephanie’s undergraduate degree was in “experiential education” and her M.A.in cross cultural business communications. Atwood is completing a book on women’s fitness. Presently, Ms. Atwood is a Master’s Runner and runs or walks almost every day. When we’re moving, we’re getting fit. It doesn’t matter how fast we’re doing it!”

Ms. Atwood is author of the weekly fitness E-zine The Weekly Pep Talk at http://www.TheWeeklyPepTalk.com and hosts the blog http://www.altbgo.blogspot.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephanie_Atwood

Injury prevention is a very serious issue for those who run regularly, especially those who are in training for a particular race or event. In these cases injury prevention is not only important because it helps the runner to avoid a painful injury and potentially long recovery period but it is also critical because an injury can disrupt the training schedule and result in the runner not being properly prepared for the race or event. This article will provide some basic tips for runners which will help them to prevent injuries.

Well designed equipment which also fits properly can go a long way towards injury prevention for runners. One of the most important pieces of equipment for runners is their running shoes. Running shoes should fit properly, not be overly worn and should also ideally be designed to accommodate the runner’s style of running. Additionally, running shoes should be replaced regularly to prevent injuries which may result from the running shoe being overly worn out. A good recommendation for how often to replace a pair of running shoes is every 300-500 miles. Runners should keep a detailed training log with a section for accumulated miles since the runner started wearing a new pair of running shoes. This will allow the runner to easily determine when they have reached the 300-500 mile range on a particular pair of running shoes and are likely to be in need of a new pair in the near future.

Stretching regularly can also help runners to avoid injuries. One worthwhile recommendation for stretching is to stretch during and after a run. Many novice runners make the common mistake of thinking they should stretch before their run but this is not necessarily true. Runners who stretch before they run are stretching cold muscles which are not as pliable as muscles which have been warmed up with a short jog. For example if you are planning to go for a five mile run, you might want to consider jogging an easy one half mile or a mile before you stretch to give your muscles ample time to warm up and be more receptive to stretching. It is also a good idea to stretch after you have completed your run. This will help your muscles to cool down properly and will aid in the recovery process of the muscles. This is important because the muscles can tighten considerably during the course of the run. Stretching them afterwards will help to prevent a long term shortening of the muscles.

Finally, runners can help to prevent injuries by taking care to avoid doing too much mileage too quickly. An individual who has not been running at all and attempts to immediately start running 5-7 miles per day is likely to experience a number of different injuries. Those who have not been running regularly are advised to start out with only a couple of miles a day. Even experienced runners can cause injuries by attempting to increase their mileage too quickly. You should aim to make mileage increases as gradual as possible and try to limit yourself to increase of no more than 10% per week to avoid injuries commonly associated with over training such as shin splints and stress fractures.

John Hopple is the owner of TheRunnersGuide a website that shares great running tips. To learn more about marathon training, go to my website and make sure to check out the benefits of running.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Hopple

Running is one of the most popular and easiest sports to participate in. All you need is a pair (of decent) running shoes a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and you’re ready to go. However, it’s not that easy all the time and many runners complain of being injured during either competition or training.

The source of the injuries can be wide and varied but we will look at one area in particular.

Hands up if you run and have suffered from knee pain at some time or another!!

Don’t worry you are not on your own as I alluded to above, many people who are runners struggle with injury’s that stop them running or competing at some point.

What that means is that you are not able to do what you love or need to do (especially if you’re training for an event)!

Most people tell themselves they’re just being ‘wimps’ and run through it. Fortunately (for them) some people stay injury free for quite a while. This all changes when years of compensation and altered mechanics leads to a breakdown…at some point!!

Hip extension is essential for good running mechanics.

If you are not sure what hip extension is then stand up, with your feet together. Lift one foot off the floor and with a straight (or bent) knee push that foot back so that your thigh moves backwards…that’s hip extension.

If you don’t have enough hip extension then you’ll have to compensate for it some where else in the body (usually the low back, but that’s for another day).

If you are lacking hip extension then you end up overworking your muscles around the knee.

When you start to overuse any muscles you put the body in a position where it changes the balance. Joints need balance between the muscles in order to make sure that they stay in the right alignment and no undue ’stresses’ are placed into the joint.

I work in a busy sports injuries clinic and I would have to say that the physiotherapists I work with tell me that in 90% of cases knee pain, that people report, has nothing to do with any degenerative problems around the ligaments, tendons or cartilage.

Most of these ‘presenting’ knee pain patients are actually people who have massively got their muscle balance out of kilter.

So what can you do about it?

As well as a complete corrective exercise plan, one of the first things we work on is hip range of motion.

I know, you hate stretching!!

That’s because human beings tend to gravitate towards the things they like doing most and avoid the things they like doing least.

If you don’t stretch it’s probably because you find stretching hard and painful. The tighter you and more painful you find it the more essential it is for you to do.

So the key is to put the muscles like the quadriceps and hip flexors in a position that will maximally get them to stretch and relax.

This is my absolute favorite hip flexor stretch and an essential for all runners to do.

I’ve put it on you tube so that you can see it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5uz3DE-FEc

Just in case you can’t get on there, here’s a brief description:

1. Place your foot on a bench or a Swiss ball so that your laces are in contact with the surface, and the knee of that leg is on the floor (your leg will have a V angle).

2. The other leg should be in front of you with the foot on the floor so that you are in a lunge like position.

3. Keep the back straight and the buttock on the same side (leg that is being stretched) clenched.

4. You should feel a stretch stating at the knee and moving all the way up to the front of the hip or anywhere in between, it depends where you lack the flexibility.

5. Make sure that you are ‘tipping’ the pelvis (tuck your bum under your body) so that you are stretching the thigh and not compensating for the movement in your low back. You will know you are doing this if you have a big low back curve.

6. The low back should be relatively flat or slightly rounded.

7. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds.

One of my clients called Rachel was suffering with some really bad knee pain. She was referred to me by a sports physician because she was suffering from patellar tendinitis.

One of the first things I got her to do was this exact stretch. She now does this on a daily basis; in fact she should be doing it at least twice a day. That’s because she works all day sat at a desk.

This means that not only have her muscles adapted to the lack of flexibility at her hip, but she gets the double whammy of making them tight and short all day long at work.

You don’t need to do this stretch for hours on end simply complete it a couple of times a day to really get the muscles up the front of the leg relaxed and lengthened. You should start to feel some of the pressure and tension in the knee releasing the more you do it.

This obviously is not a panacea for knee pain but is definitely one of the easiest and simplest places to start.

Alex Poole helps his clients reach their half marathon goals whether that is to complete their first or beat their PB. Educated at Loughborough University he used physiological research and his strength coaching to develop his successful running programme. http://www.halfmarathonfitnessblueprint.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Poole

Running is one of the most heavily participated sports and recreational activities in the world. However, from a young age we are told to go out on the streets and run until we are tired. This may be alright for a while but further on down the road you will be likely to sustain an overuse injury that takes away your passion for running.

In order to make running a lifetime activity you need to be aware of some of the contributing factors that lead to common running injuries. Once you acknowledge these injury causing factors then you can develop the right plan for you. This applies to both the recreational runner as well as the competitive runner.

To ensure that you gain the most out of your training sessions while also reducing the risk of sustaining an injury be sure to take note of the following mistakes made by many athletes and coaches.

Excessive hill running that can often lead to excessive demands placed on the calf muscles (possible shin splints). Shin splints are an absolute nightmare for a runner. This type of injury can put you out of running for months.

Excessive down hill running can lead to increased stress on the quadriceps muscle. Most athletes say that running down hill is easier, however, it is just as tough on your body as running up hill.

Running in one direction all the time (if doing track work or running around the tennis court, football field etc.) can cause excessive pronation on the inside leg. Once again this can be easily fixed by alternating directions in which you run.

Running on unforgiving surfaces such as street running (high impact). Asphalt is not an appropriate running surface. This is one of the major causes of knee and hip injuries for runners. Roads are made for cars and not for runners! If you must run on asphalt then add in some runs on a grass surface.

Lack of variety in your training sessions can lead to overuse injuries as well as mental boredom. Select different workouts each week. Do you always run the same route in the same direction each time? If so vary where you run, the distance you run as well as the intensity of the run.

Running on an uneven surface such as a grass field. Often athletes try to avoid the hard surface of the streets so they decide to run on uneven fields which can lead to injuries of the feet. I love running on ovals as they are more friendly on my body but I choose not to run on a football ground as I know that the surface is likely to be uneven and full of holes. Most recreational parks are better.

Increasing training volume too quickly (allow for individual progression). This is a tough one for highly driven individuals who thrive on pushing themselves. Have a plan and follow it. Even if you feel that you can push yourself and run that extra mile hold back!

Increasing the pace or speed at which you run too quickly (can be achieved slowly through Fartlek training). Try to stick to your plan and run at a similar speed before you get into your next phase. As we improve we often want to run faster. Increasing both the speed and distance of your run at the same time can lead to injury.

It is important to wear the proper footwear when you run. Encourage your athletes to change from their normal sports shoes (eg. tennis shoes, basketball shoes) to running shoes prior to starting their run. Wearing tennis or basketball shoes while running long distances will lead to injuries. They don’t provide the required support for the feet.

Recognize that each individual will have their own pace and level of endurance so set individual goals for each athlete. When running in a group at a set pace, that pace may be comfortable for some runners, but too fast for others. Divide your athletes into two even groups. This is often a big flaw for many coaches of sports teams. We have all been guilty for doing this in the past but you must allow for individual abilities of athletes.

Running long distances in extreme weather conditions such as freezing temperatures, hot and humid conditions or even when there has been a high pollution alert level given by the weather bureau. My tennis coach in college would often make our tennis team run at 7:00 am in the morning in the middle of a winter in North Carolina. As you could imagine we would often suffer from bronchitis and other common respiratory ailments. Unfortunately mine developed into pneumonia so make sure that the environmental conditions are appropriate for running.

Be smart when you run and your body will thank you for it!

David Horne is a former professional tennis player who has created several online sports web sites including Global Sports Zone which is the Ultimate Sports Directory for all sports fans! You can also visit the global web site for Tennis Coaching at Global Sports Coaching

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Horne

Last year, I had a consultation with a 27-year-old woman named Allison. She’s a marathoner who’s been suffering from what I call “Athletic Fatigue.”

I’d been treating Allison off and on over the last two years for a series of problems, including Hip pain, back pain, and plantar fasciitis (foot pain). Lately she’d been getting injured more frequently, and complaining that she was having trouble sticking to her training schedule.

Here’s how she described her problem:

“I feel like crap. I’m tired a lot and pretty grouchy at work. I’m training for Chicago (the Chicago Marathon) and it’s not going well. And my stomach’s been bothering me. I know you do adrenal testing, and I wanted to see if I could do that. My race is in two weeks, so can we do it after that?” I agreed. Allison got through her race, but she was not happy with her time. She said she didn’t feel like herself and was absolutely exhausted for three days after the race. She came to pick up her test kit, and she looked drained.

“Why don’t you take a few weeks off from training until we can see what’s going on with you?” I suggested.

Allison agreed. I gave her the Functional Adrenal Stress Profile test kit, to see what was going on with her adrenals. I also had her complete a Metabolic Assessment Profile, to see if she was digesting proteins properly and to see if excessive exercise had caused any cell damage. Her test results showed that she had really run herself into the ground. Her lab tests indicated:

* Her adrenals were in Stage 2 burnout.

* She was intolerant of gluten.

* She wasn’t digesting protein adequately.

* Her body was under some stress from free radicals.

When I discussed Allison’s test results with her, she asked a question that a lot of athletes like to ask, “Can’t you just tell me which supplements to take?”

Unfortunately there’s a mindset today that goes something like this: “Have a problem? Take a pill.” While this may work in certain severe situations, the truth is that health problems and sports performance problems are rarely caused by a lack of pills; either prescription or supplement.

So, in Allison’s case, the answer was a flat no.

“Look Allison, we need to get a handle on your diet, on your training schedule, on your sleep and recovery, and then we can talk about which supplements you should take. In cases like yours, there are no quick fixes, and I can tell you from experience that these problems will keep getting worse.” I told her she need to work with me for 6 months so we could really get her back on track. She agreed and signed up for a 6 Month Personal Program.

After she took the Starting Point assessment home with her and faxed it back to me, it was easy to see that Allison had several things working against her.

* She was over training. Distance athletes tend to train too much, for too many races without enough off time. Allison was no different. She ran in 4 (!) marathons this year, and did a few sprint triathlons. She was planning on doing a half Ironman next year.

* Allison was drastically over-consuming gluten grains, and carbs in general. The high-carb diet is still very popular among distance athletes. Allison was eating a lot of pasta and cereals, and was also using way too much protein powder.

* Allison was experiencing quite a few digestive problems as well. Her diet included a lot of processed foods, and not enough cooking with whole foods.

* She wasn’t sleeping enough. Allison stayed up fairly late, and got up early to run. She was averaging around 6-7 hours a night.

* Allison was having problems with a low sex drive. This is common, especially in women athletes who are training too much. She had been married for about a year and half, and having children was in her plans.

So Allison over-training, lack of sleep, and gluten consumption had drained her adrenals. We had to get control of that problem first, then we had to look at her digestion.

The first thing I made her do was take a full month off from running. Yes, a full month. I even forbid her from running in the Turkey Trot. Here’s why: A lot of runners are addicted to running. They’ll keep running through almost anything. When someone starts developing some of the problems that Allison was experiencing, it’s critical that she takes the time to heal. She wasn’t allowed to ski until December.

While the rest in and of itself would help Allison tremendously, taking a month off would let her sleep later. Sleep is crucial for adrenal gland recovery.

That was all we worked on in month one. I’m not going to lie: At first Allison revolted. But after I explained that letting her adrenals recover now would pay off next year and told her that the adrenal fatigue was the reason she was feeling so badly during her runs, she agreed.

During that first month, we met every week. Allison spent about a week in runner’s withdrawal. She had to fight the urge to put in 10 or 12 miles every single day. But she survived. She quickly started sleeping later, and getting about 9 hours of sleep each night. I had told her that month 2 would focus on getting off of the gluten, but she took herself off right away. She wanted a big project to focus her attention while she wasn’t running.

We also started her on a supplement program.

After her month off from running, I let Allison start again. She agreed to keep her distances down to 3-5 miles three times a week. Twice a week she did a kettlebell training circuit at home, for no more than 30 minutes. If she went skiing, that replaced a day of running for that week.

After the first month, Allison was doing well. Her digestive problems still bothered her, so I had her see her doctor about it. The doctor had her do a stool test, and it turned out that Allison had an infection in her intestines. Her doctor prescribed antibiotics, and the problems improved in a few weeks (this was an instance when ‘Have a problem? Take this pill’ worked).

At 3 months, we had Allison repeat the Adrenal Stress Profile, and it was much better. She had stuck to her program and really been a great patient. After about 4 months, Allison was doing really well. She was done with her supplement program. Her sex drive was back to normal, she was staying off of gluten, and she was getting ready to start training for her first marathon of the season. But then something happened. Take a guess…

Sometime in the 5th month of her program, Allison told me that she and her husband were expecting their first child. She’d be getting a long break from marathon training.

Allison’s case of athletic fatigue is very common, particularly in women who are involved in distance sports. (Guys have problems with Athletic Fatigue, too, but the symptoms are different.) It’s critical to take enough time to recover, eat right, and train sensibly.

If you think that you’re suffering from the symptoms of adrenal fatigue, you may enroll in one of Dr. Hyman’s programs, or schedule a 45-minute initial consultation to discuss your situation. Dr. Hyman works with clients throughout the US and Canada.

Learn more at http://www.strongerleanerbetter.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Glenn_Hyman

Most experienced runners can tell when other runners are in shape just by watching them run. They look for efficiency, a measure of how much energy is lost by wasteful movements during running. You run with your legs and all of your other movements are used just to balance your body. The main reason you don’t fall when you are walking or running is that your brain constructs a “center of gravity”, a point around which all movements on one side are balanced by equal movements on the other side. For example, when your right leg goes forward, your left arm goes forward and your right arm goes backward. You do this without thinking and your movements are automatically calculated in your brain.

A study from The Hospital of Laval in France shows that even the best runners lose their efficiency when they become fatigued (Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, June 2006). Experienced runners have consistent stride length and form. This study shows that with fatigue, their stride length decreases and, more importantly, they start to lose form by adding a significant amount of side-to-side movement that wastes energy and does not drive them forward.

Running slowly does not teach your brain how to balance your body when you run fast. Good form comes from practicing running very fast in training. People who run slowly all the time usually have poor running form. They waste movements that do not help them move forward. For example, their feet often move to the side after they raise their feet from the ground. Their arms do not move loosely and comfortably to balance their bodies. They may run with toes pointed outward, which is a sign of weak shin muscles. If you want to improve your running form, run faster a few times every week.

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Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports — and the FREE Good Food Book — at http://www.DrMirkin.com

Shin splints - what a descriptive phrase! It conjures up images of a shattered bone loose in your leg. As descriptive as that is, and that *is* how it feels when you have the condition, in fact that isn’t what’s happening at all.

The term shin splints refers to multiple possible conditions, and although in severe cases a stress fracture of the bone is possible, in most cases the condition will be concerning the muscles and tendons around the shin bone.

It’s a condition affecting all types of sports, and for runners it is almost an inevitability, because the body is not prepared to take the pounding that comes from running unless it is properly conditioned.

When I turned 40 in 2006 I decided I would run the London Marathon to mark the occasion. I knew this would be a challenge as I was so unfit, and there have been plenty of times when I told myself what a stupid challenge it had been! None more so than when I first had shin splints.

I had got a good ten weeks into my training when I got a tweak in my groin muscle, ironically not sustained through running! I took a couple of weeks off, and when I had got back into my stride so to speak, I noticed aches in my left lower leg. I put it down to the aches of getting fit and carried on. Once the ache turned into the kind of sharp pain I would associate with the term ’shin splints’, I decided I needed to research the issue.

There is a bucket load of information available online, but as is the case with most health issues, there is almost too much information! A lot of it contradicts itself, and what you do find is fragmented, so you end up flitting from one site to another trying to piece it all together.

Being an online writer and publisher, it didn’t take me long to realise that what I needed was the kind of thing I could write myself, with the facts presented simply and efficiently, so I proceeded to write my Coffee Shop Guide to Shin Splints.

In this I could present the information about shin splints, what causes them, how to treat them, and better still how to prevent them in the first place!

It may sound glib to say that to heal and prevent shin splints, you simply address the causes and then stop doing those causes, but in fact that is pretty much *all* it takes to do it!

There can be one or more causes, and any combination, but it only needs a few steps to correct the issues, and I can honestly say that I have now left shin splints in the past for good!

Read more about Gordon Bryan’s Coffee Shop Guide To Shin Splints at: http://www.gordonbryan.com/shin_splints_guide