DaileyFit

Week 4 of marathon training complete using Runna.  The week went like this: Monday - Cross training.  WOD from Concept2 on my SkiErg (3 min ski and 2 min recovery x 5).  Full body strength from Runna including bodyweight squats, core work, step ups with knee drive, chest flies, and lunges with overhead pressing. Tuesday - 4 miles easy (done on treadmill due to temps). Wednesday - Cross training.  30 min Peloton bike.  Lower body strength from Runna with walking lunges, fire hydrants, clam shells, deadlifts, and side planks. Thursday - 4 mile progression run - .75 easy, .50 at 7:50, 1 mile at 7:20, .50 at 7:00, .50 at 6:45, 90 sec recovery, .75 easy (done at track) Friday - 3.75 miles easy Saturday - 45 min Peloton bike and heavy bench press. Sunday - 9.5 miles (2.5 easy, 6 at 7:50, 1 easy).  I had to do this on the treadmill due to the snow outside, the first 2.5 miles were a gradual progression from 6-7.5 mph, the block of 6 miles were at 7.7, and the fina...

 I have recently started training for my latest marathon, the Buffalo Marathon, which will be Memorial Day weekend.  This will be marathon number 11 for me and over the years I have followed many training programs to get myself prepared (some with more success than others). Usually with these programs, I just transfer the chart with prescribed workouts and paces into my calendar and make minor adjustments here and there and hope for the best with nothing more to go off of than my own input. While there are many great run coaches out there, I am giving the app Runna a try this go around because I wanted to change it up but also had heard many good reviews.  Runna allows you to customize the type of program you want in many aspects: How long do you want to train How aggressive do you want to train How much, if any, speedwork do you want included How many days per week would you like to run Do you want pace targets?  How often? What is the minimum/maximum mileage you wa...

 With the start of a new year, chances are more likely that you've set some goals for yourself.  Eating healthier, working out more, and losing weight come to mind as typical "New Year, new me" type resolutions.  We've all done this and made these proclamations without fully coming up with a strategy or gameplan to achieve our goals (no matter what they are). Let's take the "I want to work out more" goal for example.  What exactly is the goal?  What is the endgame?  How long are you giving yourself to achieve this goal?  Without specific criteria like these, the chances of attaining this "goal" plummet. Enter the SMART goal.  Smart goals create accountability and help guide you to accomplishment.  They help you zero in on what exactly you wish to do, and create an outline to get you to it. When you create a goal, apply the SMART criteria to help you answer these questions. Is your goal.... S: Specific ?  What exactly are you trying to do...

Trainers are often incorrect when "prescribing" 30-45 minutes of cardio a day.  Yes this is beneficial for weight loss and general health but the common misconception is that it must be all performed in one shot (ie: 30 minutes straight).  In reality, long durations of aerobic exercise do induce more fat burning but calories are calories.  If you can only dedicate 3 separate 10 minute jogs throughout the day then you are still burning the same amount of calories had you jogged for 30 minutes one time. This is a good instance to initiate "commercial workouts" with youself, your family, and your kids.  If you have tv time at night then it would be beneficial to exercise when the commercials come on.  Push-ups, squats, crunches, running around the room, or even jumping rope. When doing this you will still accumulate the same amount of calories burned in a standard workout but it was just broken up over a longer timeframe. Calories are calories!

If you get easily overwhelmed when entering the gym and don't even know where to start your workout because of all of the different equipment then just focus on one type of thing to use for the entire workout. Example: Do a BOSU only workout.  Everything is centered around the BOSU.  You stand on it to do your bicep curls and shoulder raises, you jump on and off of it for cardio, you squat on it, you do your pushups on it, and you do your crunches and planks on it.   You have used the BOSU ball to simplify a complex workout by maintaining focus on one type of equipment the entire time and not straying from it.

Using a potato peeler to lightly skin the colored peel off of an orange will remove the outermost layer and leave the white pulpy flesh of the rind still intact and on the orange.  This part of the rind contains a lot of nutrition that we can utilize when juicing without the bitterness contributed by the outermost peel.  If you have juiced an orange whole then you will know the bitter taste I am talking about.  This takes less time than actually peeling an orange and the shavings can be sent down the garbage disposal to cleanse your sink.