You Don't Have To Be An Olympian To Train

   With the Summer 2012 Olympics starting in London many people around the world are in awe of the physical strength, speed, endurance, and a host of other attributes that the contestants exhibit during these games.

    What most people are also thinking is that there is no way they would ever be able to compete in any sort of event that comes close to that of the Olympics. But, you don’t have to be an Olympian to train or compete in events. Every year thousands of Team In Training participants, normal people like you, train to compete in Olympic distance running, swimming, and cycling races.

    Not only do our participants train, much like Olympians do, but they raise massive amounts of money, $1.2 billion since the organizations creation, for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. If you are nervous about training and still do not think that you have the ability to compete in this manner, don’t worry you’ll have an entire team of TNT staff, coaches, mentors, teammates, friends and family behind you cheering you on the entire way.

    So what is your excuse now? Get up off the couch, join a team, and do the impossible! Compete in an Olympic distance event and help defeat blood cancers!

Reasons to Train

Many of us have our own personal reason for why we train and participate in Team In Training. But did you know that there are many other reasons to run, bike, walk, swim, etc. other then the usual, it’s a good way to exercise, and things of that nature?

Motivation: Everyone needs a little help getting out the door to run every once in a while. We get tired, busy or just plain lazy. If you have a race penciled in on the schedule it can help you get out there and log those few extra miles that you wouldn’t get in otherwise. Accountability is everything, and signing up for a race can be the motivation you need to get out there and get it done.

A sense of accomplishment: There isn’t anything quite like coming across the finish line of a race. No matter how long it takes or the struggle you went through to get there at the end of a race when you cross that line, it is the best feeling in the world.

Make new friends: Attending a local race can help you to meet some people that you won’t find running around your neighborhood. And with Team In Training you have the opportunity to not only meet fellow participants on race day, but you get to train and build a bond with them months in advance.

Get a new shirt: Most races will offer you a t-shirt when you sign up to participate. A t-shirt is more than just a shirt: it’s a reminder of your accomplishment and might even encourage a friend or two to join you for the next one.

Quench your competitive spirit: Get your friends together and challenge each other to run a race together. This is one way to foster friendly competition and keep each other accountable.

Learn something about yourself: Racing allows you the opportunity accomplish something you once might not have thought possible. You may be faster than you think, or perhaps you will learn to push beyond your comfort zone.

What are some of the reasons you train? Let us know at rackeyj@lls.org

Exercising On Vacation

   Getting away from reality is good for the soul, and getting away from the usual workout routine is good for the body. However, a vacation can be the perfect time to exercise. By freeing yourself from your routine, you open your mind to new ways to move your body, have fun and keep your body fit while you're on vacation.

Cardio:

   If you want to maintain your cardio endurance while having fun, there are a variety of vacation activities that will give you a great workout without feeling like exercise. Some of the best workouts include:

     Walking on the beach: Walking in soft sand is a killer workout and burns more calories than walking on flat ground. Some experts suggest that you can burn twice as many calories walking in soft sand.
     Beach volleyball: You can burn more than 150 calories an hour, depending on how hard you work and it's a great way to meet other people at the beach while having fun.
     Hiking: Anytime you add elevation to your walks, you'll burn more calories.
     Golf: If you want to burn more calories, carry your clubs and walk the course. You'll burn around 200-300 calories per hour.
     Tennis: Like golf, a game of tennis can be as easy or hard as you want it to be. Chasing the ball and hitting it like you're Serena Williams or Roger Federer will give you a great workout, burning up to 400 calories for a 150-lb person.

Lifting Weights:

   Finding fun cardio activities is easy when you're on vacation. Lifting weights, however, presents more of a challenge. You usually don't have much equipment and the thought of going to the hotel fitness room isn't that appealing when you're trying to have fun.

   You don't have to do much, however, to maintain your strength and muscle while you're out of town. A quick workout with body weight exercises, resistance bands or full water bottles will keep you strong and fit until you get back home to your usual routine.

If I Don't Exercise, How Fast Will I Lose Muscle and Endurance?

   If you decide to use your vacation to rest from exercise entirely, you may wonder what happens to your body. How long can you go before you lose fitness? How fast you lose endurance and/or muscle depends mostly on your genetics, but below are some general guidelines: 

•  Aerobic power can decline 5-10% in three weeks.
•  All your gains could be gone after about 2 months of inactivity      
•  The fitter you are, the faster you lose your fitness, which doesn't seem fair, does it? You tend to lose aerobic capacity faster than muscular strength.Muscles are resilient and retain a memory of all those exercises you did.

Let us know your vacation workout routines at rackeyj@lls.org

The Top 10 Rules of Injury Prevention

1. Rest and Recover: Include rest days into your training plan by taking a complete break from training both physically and mentally. Get off your feet, rest your mind, rest your body for the day.

2. Incorporate Recovery Techniques: There are a number of ways to incorporate recovery into your routine. Biofoam rollers and massage sticks help sore, achy or stiff muscles recover from exercise. Watching movies, spending time with family, reading, listening to music or socializing with friends can all be effective relaxation strategies that allow you to disassociate from physical exercise and reduce tension while developing positive mood states of happiness and calmness.

3. Sleep: Essential for physiological growth and repair, routinely physically active individuals are encouraged to aspire for 8 to 9.5 hours of sleep each night.

4. Consume Post-Exercise Fuel: You should eat 15 to 30 minutes after exercise, preferably as soon as possible, when the muscles are most receptive to fuel. Muscle replenishment and tissue repair can be accelerated if you combine carbohydrates and protein together in a ratio of 4 to 1.

5. Warm-up and Cool Down: A proper warmup is a key component to preparing the body for the demands of any training session or competition. Developing a pre-race warmup is unique to each individual. Performing a warmup will elevate heart rate, VO2, and increase blood flow to the connective tissue and local muscles to be trained. This in turn will raise muscle temperature and help decrease joint and muscle stiffness, therefore improving range of motion. Warm-up periods of five to 15 minutes are recommended with the effects lasting up to 45 minutes. After 45 minutes of inactivity, re-warming may be needed. On the other side of the coin, the recovery process and preparation for the next day’s training begins with a proper cooldown. Low-intensity aerobic exercise, such as aquatic-based training, light jogging or cycling, are effective cooldown activities for clearing lactic acid and lessening the severity of muscle soreness.

6. Integrate Strength Training: Strength training is essential for preparing the body for the rigors of training and racing. It facilitates bone health and enhances injury resistance, including factors that contribute to overuse injuries. It can help bridge the metabolic power gap between swimming, biking and running by boosting lactate tolerance, as well as assist with delaying fatigue.

7. Use Proper Equipment: Correct equipment minimizes unwanted stress.

8. Follow the 10% Rule: Increase annual training hours, or training volume, by ten percent or less.

9. Interval Train: Intervals allow your body to adapt to and eventually race at greater speeds.

10. Know That More is Always Better: Recovery allows your body to adapt to training loads. Conditioning should be specific to the event you are training for. Training volume can be defined as the combinations of how often you work out (frequency) and how long you train (duration). Training volume is going to look different for an Ironman triathlete versus a 5K runner.

How do you prevent injuries? Let us know by emailing us at: rackeyj@lls.org