Consistency

Fitness comes with consistency: Whatever motivates you: Fast Times, Hot Body, High Energy, Peace & Serenity, Social Connections.

We got all that. The ONLY requirement is: Show up every day & do treatment: Ice, Stretch, Salt Bath, Drink Water, Ice again, Get massage, Roll out on foam roller, Ice again, roll out with lacrosse ball.

The time to do treatment is NOT after the problem starts. Consistency = Workout + Treatment

Caroline	4
Irene Jac	4
Jill	4
Jimmy F	4
Kathleen Hot Dog	4
Katie	4
Martha	4
Mary B	4
Wendy	4
Arnaud	3
Ashley	3
Cindy	3
Dave D	3
Jenny	3
Kathleen	3
Lacie	3
Lisa	3
Mary D.	3
Michael	3
Molly Twinky	3
Prance	3
Reba	3
Barb Tuffy	2
Cece	2
Claire Bear	2
Dave B	2
Irene B	2
Kathleen Cup Cake	2
Kwithee	2
Mary Blythe	2
Charles	1
Johnathan	1
Sally	1

Do Treatment, Ice, Stretch, Salt Bath, Drink Water, Ice again, Get massage, Roll out on foam roller, Ice again, roll out with lacrosse ball.

The time to do treatment is NOT after the problem starts. 

LSD vs Speed

LSD was abused by hippies during the 60s and 70s. These gangly nomads roamed the earth like tribal packs seeking nothing more than another mile. LSD (Long Slow Distance) was the path to road racing nirvana. America's greatest distance runners ran an absolute ton of miles. Bill Squires of The Greater Boston Track Club would say "the long run puts the tiger in the cat."

Looking back on a lifetime of over-distance, many of these same guys are struggling to continue to run or are not running at all. The current philosophy is to increase volume without increasing miles. This is done in many different ways.

We increase volume through basic training exercise. The exercise keeps our heart rate up while we are not running and builds muscular strength which makes us more efficient, stronger runners. We hammer in between sets of basic training exercise to get our heart rate up and to teach us to run faster. Two hundred to three hundred meters of 5K race pace running per interval get us toward lactate threshold before we stop and pump out more exercise.

The average of 20 miles running & 4,000 repetitions of exercise per week gives us the volume of someone running 40 miles a week. Our legs are fresher and bodies are stronger.

It is also becoming accepted that running fast is better for aging runners than running slow. Speed of paces usually brings us more forward with our foot strike, increases our rate of turnover, decreases the time our foot spends on the ground and gives us a feeling of "rolling" or "floating". Research suggest that impact lessons with increase speed.

We get faster races out of fewer miles!

Fitness Gospel

The human experience is fraught with pitfalls and trap doors. It is so easy to stray off the path. Pleasure, to be sure, comes with a price. Lust & Gluttony are two sides of the same coin that can debilitate the mind, body and spirit.  Being lazy comes easy for some. For others, Pride & Greed drive us out of control into a brick wall.

If our best friend lent us a brand new car, would we drive it different than our own? Would we be so much more careful, thoughtful and respectful not to trash it?

Being bad and doing the wrong thing often feels so good. It is so difficult to know where to draw the line.

If we treated our physical bodies as expensive loaners, we may find that sweet spot where our heart and minds lead us to a balance that allows us to respectfully enjoy the ride.

Half Time

On rare occasions, we are visited by one of our favorite folks on earth. He usually arrives well after we are gone (he likes playing hide & seek with Boot Camp). We always know when he has arrived. His voice trumpets over the music, chatter and instructor. Yes, its the Preacher!

The Preacher has a gig downtown every Sunday at 11am. His venue is one of the finist you will find in our fair city. He is a old fashion preacher who reads from the bible BUT, sometimes likes to pretent he is anchoring a nightly episode of sports center. While we love it, he occasionally gets anonomous critics of the sports analogies.

This week was classic Preacher. July 2nd marks the middle of our calendar year. The Preacher asked us catch our breath at "half time" and think about adjustments we need to make before we get back in the game.

From a fitness perspective, we can look at a few things.
1) are we working out every day?
2) are we writing it down in a log or journal?
3) are we resting/ cross training when we need it?
4) are we getting treatment? stretching, icing, rolling out, massage, salt bath

Now that the Peachtree Road Race has been run, pictures secure, T shirt tucked away, we can get back to the maintenance program. This is our cruise season. We will back off the paces just a bit, recover and look down the road for more opportunites to toe the line.

Cindy	14
Jill	14
Lisa	14
Susie Mac	14
Mary B	13
Wendy	13
Amy Glamour	12
JenJen	12
Kathleen Hot Dog	12
Lacie	12
Irene	11
John G.	11
Katie	11
Barb Tuffy	10
Claire Bear	10
Jimmy F	10
Brian S	9
Caroline	9
Kathleen	9
Reba	9
Arnaud	8
David G	8
Harriott	8
Jenny	8
Prance	8
Roxanna	8
Dave B	7
Dave D	7
Johnathan	7
Liz	7
Chris S.	5
Pietro	5
Charles	4
Kwithee	4
Mary Blythe	4
Molly Twinky	4
Tim C	4
John S	3
Mary D.	2
Michele	2
MiMi	2
Sally	2
Emily	1
JoEllyn	1

More Water NOW

STOP whatever you are doing!

Get some water.

Drink it!

Repeat every hour.

NO JOKE. Acclimation is happening

Fitness Class

Yoga - not really fitness, but a great place to go in workout clothes to get loose and balanced. This is great for runners. Don't think you are going with a friend to talk the whole time. Yoga snobs will kill you for interrupting their practice.

Spin - This reminds me of a hamster on a wheel. There is a ton of motion but nobody goes anywhere. While there is a good calorie burn, there isn't any additional fitness benefit. In an iron man, the bike is 4 times as long as the run. Riding a bike is pseudo fitness.

Blast - Boot Camp indoor. This is a great workout if you want to stay inside. The music and instructors are very energetic, so its hard to talk over them.

Barre - Yoga against a mirrored wall.

Pilate's - Yoga with equipment.

Cross Fit - Old school weight lifting. Great for the kids. Risky for the old folks. This is a cult. People love it. This will add muscle like crazy.

Boot Camp - Fellowship and Fitness with friendly neighbors. When folks want a high level of fitness, this is the workout.

June Bug Fitness

The largest crowds come during the spring and summer. We have a good crowd now. June is prime time for boot camp. Our hotties are tightening up. Our Mommies and Daddies are feeling relaxed with with school out. Schedules are looser. The fast runners are racing, training for racing and preparing for peak performances.

Its daylingt at the beginning of the workout so our circadian rhythems are aligned with power output. So far, the bugs and heat have been manageable. This is best time of year for outdoor group training.