Jimmy or Warren?

So...I have this new friend. His name is RJ and with 17 marathons, one ultra-marathon and "a dozen or so" triathalons under his belt, he knows a thing or two about running. Oh, and he's pretty funny.(And I get to post his wit and wisdom from time to time:))

I am frequently asked why I run so much. Do you want the short answer? Running is a buffet. And twenty bucks says that I already know what you are thinking. “What does a sneeze guard have to do with aerobic exercise?” Well, nothing. Absolutely nothing. But a buffet is similar to running in the sense that you can have whatever you want. Do you want an outdoor adventure? Do you want to catch up on your favorite “Real Housewives” cast? Or maybe you are just out to stretch Fido. You can indeed have whatever you want with running. It is a buffet.

When I run, I often do not like repetitions. I am not one to fancy the treadmill, unless there is snow on the ground, and then it’s ESPNEWS on rinse and repeat. The great outdoors is the ultimate place to run for me. It’s not labor intensive if you are enjoying your time. I challenge you to run on a street that you’ve routinely driven down in your car. Perhaps the speed limit is 50 or just 25, but either way, I absolutely guarantee you that you’ll see something that you would have missed in your horseless carriage. Perhaps it’s the cute old guy tending to his garden or the cute little lab puppy chasing butterflies. The cuteness factor of the built environment exponentially increases the slower you travel. How much cuteness to what to see today? It’s a buffet; you can have whatever you want.

I once had this hellish chemistry class in college. In the building where we did our experiments, there was a sign that read: “You can’t have a laboratory without the labor.” Ugh. Unfortunately, for that semester of frustration, the quote was correct. In running, the key is to eliminate the disappointments and sorrow. If you are new to running, make it fun and beneficial. If you are a running veteran, still keep it lighthearted. We aren’t running to put bread on the table; you enjoy you. You can always mix in speed work with long runs and then sprinkle it with cross training. The key to any foodservice industry is to get you to come back. I want you to return to this buffet and frequently.

However, there is always one caveat to the buffet. If you eat too much rice pudding too fast, you’ll get sick. You must always listen to your body. I’ve fallen victim to the perils of the buffet. Crazy ideas of piggybacking marathons in the past have left me with Achilles tendinitis and stress fractures in my feet. Injuries will absolutely put the “labor” back in “laboratories.” The key to enjoying yourself at a buffet is to take your time; there will always be another clean plate to use. This is no different than in running. There is always tomorrow, take it easy and enjoy.

-RJ Lott Pin It

Treadmill Interval Workout

Treadmill Interval Workout

*Set your treadmill to a good jogging pace that you could hold for a long time. Here are the interval times;
beginner- 30 second run, 30 second rest. At each rest, increase the speed by 1.
repeat 10 times.
intermediate- 45 second run, 30 second rest. At each rest, increase the speed by 1.
repeat 10 times.
advanced- 45 second run, 20 second rest. At each rest, increase the speed and incline by 1.
repeat 10 times.
*You can repeat the whole workout up to 3x.

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3 Reasons To Do The Tabata Training Method Instead Of Long Distance Running (for fat loss)

I talk over and over again about the benefits of Tabata, so for those who have never done a Tabata session and have no idea what I am talking about, here is an overview. (NOTE: The chart at top shows the workout, one excercise, 20 seconds of full intensity followed by 10 seconds of rest, 8 times, then take a short rest, change the excercise and repeat that pattern. 4-8 times total). There are a couple of great ideas for excercises following the overview.

At one point or another, you have probably went jogging and if you’re anything like most people I know, it’s boring. All you do is run from one area to another and run back at a steady, most of the time slow pace. Most of the time jogging sessions last an hour to 2 hours. However, Tabata training is completely different. I’ll give you three reasons why you should use the Tabata Training Method instead of long distance running and other long hours of cardio training.

1. Time
One of the down sizes of doing long distance running is that it takes time to get to the area where you are jogging to and back; and time for your heart rate and metabolism to shoot up. Because it takes time, you’ll have to work longer and harder in order to see the results (losing fat and/or improving cardio). However, with Tabata, you can gain more results in less time.
If you don’t know already, Tabata is a four minute session. Each Tabata has 8 intervals of which you exercise at a very high intensity for 20 seconds. After 20 seconds, you have 10 seconds to rest. Tabata is a form of high intensity training and one of the benefits of high intensity training is that it can boost your metabolism and heart rate up in a matter of seconds. Long distance running requires anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 in order to get your heart rate up. Not only that but you have to maintain that heart rate for the rest of the jog to get your body to burn fat.

2. Losing Fat
I’m sure you’ve encountered various people saying that the only way to lose fat is to jog. The truth is, jogging is only one of the ways to lose fat (and the slowest). As mentioned above, jogging takes time for your metabolism and heart rate to rise. So in order to burn fat while jogging, you have to wait a bit until your body can get into the fat burning zone.
Tabata training will raise your metabolism and heart rate up in no time. Because you are performing these exercises at a very high intensity, your body will have to work much harder to keep up. This will cause your heart to pump faster and your metabolism to rise; which you want if you are planning on losing fat. Your metabolism will stay at a high not only during the workout, but after the workout as well. This means that your body will be burning fat even when you aren’t doing anything.

3. Aerobic and Anaerobic Benifits
Izumi Tabata was the founder and creator of Tabata. He conducted a test which tested two groups of athletes. The first group was ordered to train in moderate intensity exercises (this includes jogging, skipping, swimming, cycling and so forth) at 70% lasting an hour for each training day for five days a week for a total of six weeks. The result from this group was that their aerobic system improved, however their anaerobic system improved little to none.
The second group was ordered to train 4 days a week for a total of 6 weeks at a high intensity (170%) each training day lasting 4 minutes. The results of this training group was that they increased their aerobic system much more than the other group and that they had a 28% increase.
This means that the group performing high intensity training (Tabata) had much more improvements than the group performing moderate intensity.

Basically, you can get much more done in less time in Tabata training than you can in long distance running. You can also put any exercise you want in Tabata to make it much more fun.

http://youtu.be/kDJBjVq_930
http://youtu.be/ITeAbUbAQw4 Pin It