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A Matter of Exercise Principles.
Interval training: Can it boost your calorie-burning power? Interval training is a powerful tool for novice exercisers and accomplished athletes alike. Here's how it works. Are you ready to shake up your workout routine? Do you wish you could burn more calories without spending more time at the gym? Consider aerobic interval training. Once the domain of elite athletes, interval training has become a powerful tool for the average exerciser, too. What is interval training? It's not as complicated as you might think. Interval training is simply alternating bursts of intense activity with intervals of lighter activity. Take walking. If you're in good shape, you might incorporate short bursts of jogging into your regular brisk walks. If you're less fit, you might alternate leisurely walking with periods of faster walking. For example, if you're walking outdoors, you could walk faster between certain mailboxes, trees or other landmarks. What can interval training do for me? Whether you're a novice exerciser or you've been exercising for years, interval training can help you jazz up your workout routine. Consider the benefits: You'll burn more calories. The more vigorously you exercise, the more calories you'll burn — even if you increase intensity for just a few minutes at a time. You'll improve your aerobic capacity. As your cardiovascular fitness improves, you'll be able to exercise longer or with more intensity. Imagine finishing your 60-minute walk in 45 minutes — or the additional calories you'll burn by keeping up the pace for the full 60 minutes. You'll keep boredom at bay. Turning up your intensity in short intervals can add variety to your exercise routine. You don't need special equipment. You can simply modify your current routine.
How will my muscles respond to interval training?
During intense exercise, muscles produce the waste product lactic acid. Too much lactic acid can make exercise painful and exhausting. But by alternating bursts of intense exercise with easier intervals, you'll help reduce the buildup of lactic acid in your muscles. The result is more comfortable exercise. Are the principles of interval training the same for everyone? Yes. But you can take interval training to many levels. If you simply want to vary your exercise routine, you can determine the length and speed of each high-intensity interval based on how you feel that day. This casual approach to interval training is known as fartlek, a Swedish term meaning "speed play." After warming up, you might increase the intensity for 30 seconds and then resume your normal pace. The next burst of more intense activity may last two to three minutes. "The intervals can vary throughout your workout," Dr. Allison says. "How much you pick up the pace, how often and for how long is up to you." If you're working toward a specific fitness goal, you may want to take a more scientific approach. A personal trainer or other expert can help you time the intensity and duration of your intervals based on your target heart rate, the ability of your heart and lungs to deliver oxygen to your muscles (peak oxygen intake) and other factors. "This type of interval training also adds variety to your workout, but it requires more discipline and concentration," Dr. Allison says. "You'll plan shorter periods of intense activity and shorter recovery periods." Does interval training have risks? Interval training isn't appropriate for everyone. If you have a chronic health condition or haven't been exercising regularly, consult your doctor before trying any type of interval training. Also keep the risk of overuse injury in mind. If you rush into a strenuous workout before your body is ready, you may hurt your muscles, tendons or bones. Instead, start slowly. Try just one or two higher intensity intervals during each workout at first. If you think you're overdoing it, slow down. As your stamina improves, challenge yourself to vary the pace. You may be surprised by the results. Source: Mayo Clinic
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IronMan lifestyle!
Changing Life. A Life from Ironman Arizona April, 2008 Matthew Dale profiles Ford Ironman World Championship lottery winner Jim Blinkhorn Jim Blinkhorn's father died of a heart attack at 38 and his grandfather underwent triple bypass surgery in his 40s. Blinkhorn's mother was obese. High blood pressure runs throughout the family. Yet here was Blinkhorn, all of 30, with two young daughters, out of shape, weighing 195 pounds at 5-foot-9, 40 pounds heavier than when he graduated college. A stockbroker, Blinkhorn was working 60-hour weeks. Saturdays and Sundays were seldom days off. His exercise routine then? Maybe 20 minutes of squash. “Then drink beer and eat chips,” says Blinkhorn. “In my head, that was exercise.” Today, Blinkhorn is 46. He lives in Portland, Ore. He’s a scuba instructor, has run a dozen marathons and 10 days ago dipped his toe into the triathlon world, his first swim-bike-run of any distance coming at Ironman Arizona. Asked what drove him to debut at the Ironman distance, Blinkhorn says, “Lack of brain power.” His wife puts it another way. “He’s a very passionate person,” says Linda Blinkhorn. Two days after finishing Arizona in 16 hours, 32 minutes, Chapter 2 of Blinkhorn’s triathlon career unfolded. He was getting ready to leave Tempe, Ariz., to visit his 20-year-old daughter who’s a student at Scripps College in Claremont, Calif., when he checked his e-mail. Right there at the top was a missive from one of the organizers of a training camp Blinkhorn had attended, congratulating him on winning a lottery spot for the Ford Ironman World Championship come October. Blinkhorn didn’t even know lottery winners were announced on April 15. “I stood there,” he says, “stunned.” The man has come a ways from his overweight days, when Blinkhorn says, “I was a big Jell-O man.” It was more than just Blinkhorn’s family health history that scared him straight. He peered into the future, thinking of those two beautiful daughters, and didn’t like the vision. “They were going to be playing soccer, softball and I was just going to be sitting there watching, not being able to play with them,” he says. “I’d finally just had enough. I figured death was coming if I didn’t (change his ways).” So he started logging 20 minutes on the StairMaster. Twenty minutes morphed into half an hour, then 45 minutes. Before you knew it, Blinkhorn, passing the time reading business material, was leaving puddles on the floor, pumping up and down for two hours. As the weight began to shed, Blinkhorn took up running. “I hated running,” he recalls. “I made myself go three days a week and said I’d do it for six months to give it a fair shot. After about eight months, I started not hating it. Somewhere after that I really liked it.” He knocked off his first marathon in 1994, barely two years after starting to lose the excess baggage. His 26.2-mile personal best: 3 hours, 17 minutes. As for good times with those girls, when his 18-year-old daughter, Courtney, was six, she ran a 5K with her father. After one of his marathons, Blinkhorn was bent over, taking off his timing chip when he felt a hug from behind. It was Courtney. Jim didn’t know she was working the finish line. Tennis was his oldest daughter’s sport. Jim took lessons to play with Ashleigh. By the mid-40s, most of us have been touched by death. Blinkhorn has dealt with it more than most his age. Besides his father and grandfather passing young, he has lost a friend and his mother to cancer. A business mentor died last year from muscular tissue cancer. Blinkhorn’s mother died last year of colon cancer. A client/friend is currently fighting cancer. Linda was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1996, undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. The best man at his wedding died seven years ago from a neurological disorder. So while Blinkhorn laughs easily and often in conversation, poking fun at his one-time Charmin-soft physique, he understandably values his health and the opportunity to sweat. “I’ve just been thankful that I can still run,” he says. He was hoping for a 13-hour finish at Arizona, but dehydration issues on the bike during the 90-plus-degree day extended his Ironman introduction. Portions of the race were so emotional he said only the birth of his daughters exceeded them. Recalls Blinkhorn, “I was going through my head, ‘Who am I going to disappoint? I’m not going to finish.’” He beat the bike-run transition deadline by 40 minutes, took his time in T2, started walking with ice cooling his head and when he got to the mile one marker said to himself, “I don’t have a marathon left anymore. I’m still in this. I didn’t quit.” Linda calls her husband a Renaissance Man. They’ve enjoyed season tickets to the symphony. They introduced the girls to art museums. They practice conservation, husband and wife driving hybrids. Jim’s well-rounded life now will include swimming Kailua Bay, pedaling the Queen K Highway and running to the Energy Lab during triathlon’s most fabled race. Incredibly, Blinkhorn didn’t sign up for his first triathlon until nine months ago. “When I first saw Ironman Hawaii (on TV), I thought, ‘This is insane. This is impossible.’ I couldn’t believe people did that,” he says. The man who once couldn’t chase after a squash ball for more than 20 minutes without calling it quits knows how lucky he is.
Source: Ironman.com
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Get tough !
A Workout Plan for the Midsection and Butt:
This workout plan for the midsection and butt will keep your core strong and glutes firm. Most of your power on the bike comes from your glutes and you want a stable core to keep your back in shape and transfer power to your legs. Midsection Crunches – Full situps and leg raises tend to work your hip flexors more than your abs (although as cyclists we do need strong hip flexors). Instead, do 3 sets of 20 crunches, with your arms cradling your head, lift your shoulders straight up off the floor, pause for 2 seconds, and then come back down with control. Hold weight against your chest to increase resistance. Body Pike – Get up on your elbows and toes and hold your body in a straight line for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Keep your butt even with the rest of your body and breathe. This will work your transverse abdominals to draw in your stomach. Negative Situps – Sit upright with your knees bent at 30 – 45 degrees, arms pointed out in front of you. Slowly lean back, controlling your movement, until your torso drops to the floor. Explode up and repeat.
Cycling is great for the butt, so ride, ride, ride.
Squats work your hips, butt, and thighs. Start with body weight squats and progress to dumbbells. There’s no need to use large amounts of weight. Lunges work the entire leg: quads, calves, glutes, and hamstrings. Try variations such as the reverse lunge, side lunge, and walking lunges. Use dumbbells to increase resistance. Step ups are also a great leg exercise. Do them slowly, concentrating on putting all your weight on one leg. Never go past a 90 degree bend in your knee. Source: cycling-fitness center.com
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Classic Sports Story
08/08/08 Let the games begin History of the Summer Olympics The Beginnings of the Summer Olympic Games. The Summer Olympic Games are not historically documented until 776 BC, but it is widely accepted that they had been in practice from as early as the 13th century BC. There are several Greek legends that speak of the beginnings of the Summer Olympic Games. One indicates that it was begun when Herakles won a race then asked that the race be run every four years. Another legend mentions King Iphitos who asked the Oracle of Delphi how to deal with a current war that was ravaging his country. The Oracle advised him to hold games in honor of the gods, which would require a truce. Whatever the origins of the Olympic tradition, it is obvious that it was originally of a religious nature. The Olympics in Ancient Greece. The history of the Summer Olympic begins in Olympia, where they were first held. The ceremonies held for the winners were similar to those we hold today but instead of medals they received palm branches to hold and red ribbons which were tied around their heads and hands as a sign of their victory. At the completion of the games there was another ceremony and they would be crowned with a wreath of olive branches. When the athletes returned home they were often awarded large sums of money and fame, just like our present day Olympic athletes. The Sports of Ancient Olympic Games. The ancient Olympic Games had their roots in only one competition, a foot race called the stadion or stade. It was the distance of one stade, or sprinting from one end of the stadium to the other which measured about 200 meters. The earliest known documents that mention the Olympic Games are from 776 BC, and Coroibus of Elis is listed as the winner of the race. The events included the stade, the diaulos, which was similar to the 400 meter race and the Pentathlon. The Pentathlon was another ancient sport and included the stade, the diaulos and a long race called the dolichos which was from 1400 meters to 4800 meters. There was also a race called the Hoplitodromos and entailed running about a mile in armor weighing from 50 to 60 pounds. This was particularly grueling and was a display of military strength, speed and stamina. Also included were boxing and wrestling, as well as the equestrian sports of riding and chariot racing. The Athletes of Ancient Olympic Games. The athletes that participated in the ancient Olympic Games were of the highest quality and prestige. They performed nude as the body was viewed as a thing of great beauty. Only Greek speaking men were allowed to compete in the ancient Games, however these men came from all the different areas in Greek city-states and colonies. The athletes had to qualify and meet the requirements of the Games. Women were not only excluded from participating in the games, but they were not allowed to observe them, as this was considered a sacred activity only for men. The ancient Greeks had established a long and valuable tradition in their Olympic Games. They were celebrated every four years during August and September. They held the Games until the forth century BC when the Roman Emperor Theodosius, abolished them due to their pagan roots. The Beginning of the Modern Games. The modern Olympic Games have much in common with those of ancient Greece. They were reestablished by a French aristocrat, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who urged the founding of the International Olympic Committee in 1894. The committee originally scheduled the first modern Summer Olympic Games for the year 1900, but later pushed that date back to 1896. They were held in Athens Greece during the first week of April. The games included 14 countries and had over 200 participants, but most of them were Greek. Women were not allowed to compete in the 1896 Summer Olympic Games and did not make an appearance until the year 1900, when they competed in lawn tennis and golf. The1936 Summer Olympics were held in Germany, amidst the Nazi regime of pre-World War II. We see the beauty and spirit of the 1936 Summer Olympics in the amazing victory of Jesse Owens who won four gold medals all while dealing with the immense pressure of racism and hate. Hitler was looking forward to showcasing his supposedly superior German Arian athletes but Jesse Owens proved him wrong by winning a gold medal in the 100 meters, 200 meters, the long jump and the four person 100 meter relay. The 1936 Summer Olympics was truly a memorable and important step in the right direction towards racial equality and justice. The 1996 Summer Olympics repeated the feelings from the 1972 Winter Olympics when a terrorist group kidnapped 7 Israeli athletes. The 1996 Summer Olympics are remembered most for the terrorist attack that killed one and injured over a hundred more, but the games continued. There was a large turn out with 196 countries competing. The 1996 Summer Olympic Games heralded two new sports, softball, and soccer, and the US women won the gold medal in both new sports. Michael Johnson won double gold medals in the 200 meter and the 400 meter as did a French woman Marie Jose Perac. The 2000 Summer Olympics show another record turnout and bridging of hostility for the Games. 199 nations gathered to celebrate, and North Korea and South Korea united to enter the field under the same flag and uniform. Ian Thorpe of Australia broke his own world record in the 400 meter freestyle and managed to take four medals, three of which were gold. The 2000 Summer Olympics show the US softball team defending its previous win with a new medal and Michael Johnson wins the gold in the 400 meter. The 2000 Summer Olympics also marked the turning of a new century the first Olympic Games to be celebrated in the 21 century. The Olympic Games just as before, continue to evolve and change with more sports being added and more people being eligible. The History of the Olympic Games spans thousands of years, and continues today to bridge the gap between countries. All differences between people can be put aside for the glory of the games.
Source: historyofsports.org
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Did You Know?:
No Excuse! Exercise and Physical Fitness . There are 1,440 minutes in every day. Schedule 30 of them for physical activity! Regular exercise is a critical part of staying healthy. People who are active live longer and feel better. Exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight. It can delay or prevent diabetes, some cancers and heart problems. Most adults need at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity at least five days per week. Examples include walking briskly, mowing the lawn, dancing, swimming for recreation or bicycling. Stretching and weight training can also strengthen your body and improve your fitness level. The key is to find the right exercise for you. If it is fun, you are more likely to stay motivated. You may want to walk with a friend, join a class or plan a group bike ride. If you've been inactive for awhile, use a sensible approach and start out slowly. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
IrongeezerSays: Be sure to check with your doctor before starting any new exercise program, or increasing your present activity.
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Ford Ironman Arizona, Tempe 11/23 2008
I'll be doing it, see you there!
I live just a few miles from the race site, any questions, email me: Cliff irongeezer@irongeezer.com
______Need a training plan for Ironman Arizona 2009? It's not too early!
See our "Beginner 5K & Tri" page. ____- BOOK Suggestion: 30 Years of the IRONMAN Triathlon World Championship by Bob Babbitt forward by Jim Lampley
______ 11/09/08 a 2.4 mile open water swim in Tempe Town Lake will be presented by DCB Adventures. www.dcbadventures.com
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Tempe Town Lake, Tempe, Arizona
SPLASH & DASH - 2008 Fall Schedule
Saturday, September 13
Thursday, September 25
Saturday, October 4
Friday, October 17
Sunday, November 2
Saturday, November 15
www.4peaksracing.com
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POTOMAC VALLEY TRACK CLUB
TO HOST 2009 USA MASTERS INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH WORLD RECORD HOLDERS AND OLYMPIANS Potomac Valley Track Club (PVTC) based in Arlington, Virginia, hosts the 2009 USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships. The national championship meet is at Prince George's Sports and Learning Center in Landover MD, Friday-Sunday, March 20-22, 2009. The meet is open to all athletes 30+ and draws more than 1,000 competitors from all over the USA. "We expect numerous world record holders and past Olympians," said Robert S. Weiner, chair of the Local Organizing Committee and USA Track & Field's National Masters Media Committee chair. In recent years, competitors included Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Sullivan Award finalist Philippa Raschker. "We've even had athletes over 100 years old, like Everett Hosack," said Weiner. Olympic Gold Medalist hurdler Allen Johnson, 36, a graduate of Lake Braddock High School in Burke VA, plans to run the 2009 Indoor Track & Field Championships as his first masters meet. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Rochelle Stevens will present the medals in the 400m, her event, and two-time Olympian Robin Campbell is on the organizing team, along with many top local athletes. The USA masters championship meet was held in Boston 11 of the past 12 years. "Greater Washington Sports Alliance is proud to welcome the 2009 USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships, an elite competition followed by many of the more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. This event supports the spirit of competitive excellence developing in the region and showcases the Greater Washington area as a marquee sporting destination," said Bob Sweeney, president of Greater Washington Sports Alliance, the D.C. area's regional sports commission. Officials are needed, and athletes may serve as officials when not competing.
Sign-ups for the 2009 meet will open in mid-summer. The host hotels will be the Radisson and Holiday Inn Express in Largo MD. For information about PVTC and host hotels, see www.pvtc.org, write racedirector@att.net, or call 703-927-4833. |
The Irongeezer Chronicles: IrongeezerSays™: “Obesity, be not proud”
By Tatjana and Cliff Eggink, USAT Certified Coaches Two thirds of the American public is either overweight or obese. Adults and kids alike are gaining pounds and suffering dire, life altering, life threatening health consequences: Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease are among those consequences. We all know the list of diseases and their outcomes. So there is no need to belabor that point, is there?
Yet, why are so many of us unwilling to change eating and exercise habits? The doctors don’t know. The exercise physiologists don’t know. The researchers don’t know. The government doesn’t know. Actually, no one knows what to do about this looming health care crisis that will cost all of us, not just financially in increasing health care costs for everyone, not just for the overweight and obese, in increasing insurance premiums, money lost for sick days, and loss of productivity… (and yes, Michael Moore, the nation’s gadfly on health care in his recent movie Sicko, needs to participate in that aspect of health care – the diet and exercise - and not just rant about what others need to do)…, but most importantly, beyond the dollar signs of the issue, are the misery of lives reduced to couch sitting, huffing and puffing, missing out on really delicious, nutritious, fresh food, instead gorging on synthetic, industrial tastes of, let’s say, “Twinkies.” (however, any mass produced food will do fit the bill here- as long as it is cheap, fast and satisfies fat and sugar and/or salt cravings).
All the “health apostles,” as some call the reasonable voices for a sensible approach to food and activity, have tried to educate, cajole, beg, plead, threaten, negotiate, but have finally resigned. Doctors do it – resigning themselves to the prescription pad, managing disease with the latest pharmaceutical – statins for high cholesterol, for instance. What often should go on that prescription pad is a simple: “Exercise and eat sensibly!” Then, let’s just see what happens. Maybe that might prompt even one person to a positive change. Doctors are not to blame though; some even try this approach, but are rebuffed by patients, who are irate that a doctor would discuss nutrition and have the audacity to suggest getting their duff moving. The government has resigned – it has tried throwing money, in the form of public education, at the problem, but no change has happened. The nation, the industrialized world as a whole, as a matter of fact, just keeps getting larger.
So, what happened? No one seems to know. We are suggesting that it is not the fault of television, the food manufacturers, the pharmaceutical companies, or any one else, but the “fault,” if we can call it that, lies within ourselves. As a people, we have an odd relationship to bodies, food, and who we admire and at what tables we worship. On the one hand, we salivate over every detail of some emaciated glamour life, and sneer at the discovery that this celebrity actually does have cellulite; that’s the euphemism for fat, by the by. All the while, as we are glued to the television screen fixated on this celebrities’ life, we are eating a bag of potato chips. On the other hand, we are willing to try most fad diets, at least once – swearing today that carbs are good, then bad; tomorrow, it’s the cabbage soup diet, the South Beach diet, and next, we discuss the “wondrous, marvelous, awesome” moment of sports television, a gluttonous, disgusting hot dog eating contest, complete with spewing vomit from one of the contestants. That’s just sick, depraved, and alarming on so many levels. What does it say about us and our culture when we award a person who can force-fed himself until he spews or wins? Metaphorically, not historically, we have sunk to the level of a declining Rome, just before the fall of that once great civilization. The Romans, too, vomited at their lavish banquet, so that could continue eating. Interestingly enough, force-feeding geese to produce foie gras is coming under scrutiny and has been outlawed. Right or wrong? At any rate, someone is watching out for the geese. But what about the overweight children? Isn’t it abuse on some level to allow your children to eat themselves into a state of obesity? Do we sense there is a disconnect here somewhere? Our mental state, our bodies, our nature are out of sink. And that’s the essence of the problem. Can we fix it? Yes, but the cure is hard. It worked with smoking. Yes, bigger is not better; bigger is bad. We are not talking about people either. Don’t make the cars, houses, chairs, beds, plates, portions, etc, bigger: keep ‘em normal. Once we accept larger as normal, larger becomes normal, and we can grow larger yet. Not a good idea. But that’s not going to happen until we make obesity as much as a pariah as smoking has become. Remember, in the not too distant past, smoking was normal, perfectly acceptable; now, it is marked as a “disgusting, tumor causing habit” – well, guess what, so is overeating. I already hear the politically correct choir chiming – and yes, o course, the overweight are humans with feelings and no one suggests here that those should be ignored, or that people should be outcast, ridiculed or shamed in any way – we are all here to help. Just remember, if you think that this is tough medicine, substitute every idea about obesity in this sassy piece with smoking, and you will find, for instance, that smokers are people with feelings and rights, too, and we weren’t nearly as politically correct when it came to them. Why? Maybe because eating is a necessity, smoking isn’t. Maybe because eating is seen as benign, compared to smoking. Maybe because smoking, as in second hand smoking, affects others, but guess what, so does obesity – we all pay for that health crisis in the end.
And lest you think the authors speaks from a lack of experience: One has been a smoker, and I understand addiction, and one of us has weighed 205 pounds, so he understands being overweight.
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