Burning Calories

An enormous, old, dead tree stood alone in the field, I sat in the back of my Dad's truck, my Dad and two other men were working at the base of the tree. They alternated between using a chainsaw and hammering wedges into the cuts on the tree. Occasionally the tree would groan and shift a little. Finally it started to lean, then it rolled to one side just a bit, then with a pop and crack the beast of a tree was falling, crashing to the ground.

After my family had moved out of town and into the country we had to adopt certain new chores. The only heat in that house when we moved in was a propane furnace which didn't provide enough heat and cost us a lot to get the propane refilled so we got a wood burning stove and had to get firewood and split it. There was no trash pickup, so we had two methods of dealing with trash, a drive to the dump or the burn barrel.

While I was out on my long run today, I was thinking about the phrase "burning calories" (I think about all sorts of things while out on a long run) and it occurred to me that different people have very different ideas about calories.

I've divided people's thinking about calories into two categories. There is "burn barrel" thinking and "firewood" thinking.

Burn Barrel Thinking

Growing up, one of my chores was often to monitor the burn barrel. All the paper trash would go into the burn barrel and be lit, then I would be left to make sure nothing fell out or drifted out, and to occasionally throw in more trash or stir the trash in the barrel to keep it from smothering itself out. We burned all the garbage, the idea was to get rid of it, get it out of the house, dispose of it and not deal with it anymore.

Burn Barrel thinking when it comes to calories is viewing the calories the way we viewed the garbage. It was something that came into our house and we needed to get rid of. It was undesirable, it was sort of the enemy, it's only place was to be disposed of.

Burn Barrel thinking is when the workout serves the purpose only of getting rid of these awful calories that we consumed.

I challenge any burn barrel thinkers to start adopting firewood thinking.

Firewood Thinking

Firewood thinking is almost the opposite of burn barrel thinking. Yes it is still the process of burning something, and getting rid of it, but approaching it from a very different perspective. Firewood is what kept us warm and safe in the winter. Firewood made our house comfortable and livable. There were so many evenings in the winter that I would eat a big bowl of my Mom's Chili, then lay on the floor next to the wood burning stove and take a little catnap in the heat from the stove.

So firewood was not something we desired to get rid of. We knew that to keep our hose warm (to fuel your body), we needed to get firewood (you need to consume calories). My Dad had types of wood he preferred over others, he really liked to burn hickory (there are foods you should prefer too). Firewood was not the enemy, but something we needed to fuel our home (calories are what you need to fuel your body). The colder the winter was, the more energy we needed to expend to warm the house, so the higher quality and higher quantity of wood we needed. (The tougher your workout, the more energy expended, so higher quality and quantity of calories you need to fuel your body.)

Of course, that doesn't mean the solution was to cut down every dead tree, cut it up, split it, and stack it. If we got too much, it would not all get used and it would sit in the stacks and rot. The goal was to get the right amount of the right kind of wood to provide the fuel we needed.

When it comes to calories, I want you to think of them as the fuel you need to get through your life. Make sure to get the right kinds and the right amount. Not too many, not too little, and not garbage. Garbage goes in the burn barrel.

"We Need One of the Men For This"

I never want my daughter to have to say, "We'll need to get one of the men for this."

In the workplace I have heard that phrase a lot. I couldn't decide whether that was discriminatory against women, men, or both. I once saw a physically demanding task handed to a male who was less capable of lifting heavy loads than the female standing next to him.

I also cringe when I hear modified pushups (knee pushups) referred to as "girl" pushups.

Yes I do understand that physiologically men tend to have higher upper body strength than women; however, I also have met women that could bench press me while I am bench pressing my one rep maximum.

Each person has a right to live their life their own way, but as long as I can influence my daughter I want her to value fitness, strength, and self sufficiency. I want her to be the one who says, "We don't need a man to carry that box upstairs, it's only 25 pounds and I squat 150!"

Lifting weights is not just about bodybuilding, it is not just about proving yourself in the gym. Most of us in the USA today are privileged in that we have the opportunity to live pretty soft lives. Our daily routine does not have to include heavy exertion. In fact, in many cases our daily routines make it hard to find opportunities for heavy exertion.

Then benefits of strength training include:

• Weight maintenance
• Weight Loss
• Arthritis Relief
• Stronger Bones
• Leaner Body
• Reduced Risk of Heart Disease
• Being able to carry your luggage up a set of stairs
• Never needing to say, "We better get one of the men for this."

Benefit From the Bad Run

My long run this past weekend was one of those "bad" runs.

It started out fine, but before I was even 1/3 of the way done my speed was dropping and I just felt bad. I kept going, and kept getting slower, and finished the last mile walking.

The first time I had a bad run, I wasn't sure how to handle it mentally. Negative thoughts bounced around in my mind,

"I'm supposed to be faster, I'm supposed to be able to handle this, maybe I'm not as good at this as I thought I was."

Now I have learned how to benefit from the bad run.

1. Consider the factors that led to the underwhelming performance.

In my case, it was the hottest run I'd had this year, the longest run I'd gone on since my ultra-marathon in March, I had spent the previous day canoeing, I probably started off a little bit under hydrated, and I was under a large amount of personal stress.

2. Make changes as needed.

This weekend I will freeze my water bottles so that by the time I reach for gatorade it won't be 85 degree gatorade. I will try to get more rest the day before the long run. I will adjust my planned mileage down a little bit.

3. Monitor your next few workouts to see if this was a fluke or part of a larger trend.

On my next run, two days later, I was back up to my usual performance, so I think this one was a fluke.

4. Keep a workout log.

Not only can you look back on your log to see what caused the bad workout, you can use it to plan ahead to avoid future problems.

Personal Training or Group Fitness

There are advantages to personal training, and there are advantages to group fitness. In the end, it is not a matter of one being superior to the other, but which one is the best fit for an individual.

Personal Training.

If you don't know where to start, a trainer knows how to get you started.

If you've hit a plateau and aren't seeing results, personal training can help you get past the plateau.

Personal training provides accountability.

The more specific your fitness needs, the better off you are with a personal trainer.

Group Fitness

Generally less expensive than personal training.

Get support and camaraderie from the group.

Knowing that you can only go to the class at the time it is offered prevents procrastination.

How To Run Faster

It was a crisp October morning. Unsure of whether to expect dew or frost on the grass I got out of bed, started breakfast, pinned my race bib on to my shirt and went about getting ready for my day. I had been an adult onset runner for just eleven months and at this point my number one goal was to run faster every time that I raced. I knew that I wasn't going to be among the first to the finish line, but I also knew that I would likely finish in under 21 minutes. This would be an improvement of six minutes over my first 5K less than one year before.

I studied runner training to learn the science behind improving as a runner. I cruised online on google+ and facebook listening to questions runners from around the world had and reading about their experiences, struggles, and successes so I could see what other runners were doing.

I learned a lot, there is a science to learning to run more quickly, and since I just wrote about how to run more slowly, I thought now I'd write about how to run faster.


1. Stop trying to run so fast all the time.
I know, I know, your fitness app applauds and sends you recorded messages from Lance Armstrong every time you run a mile faster than you have before, but if you really want to improve, running faster every training run is not the way to do it. Most of your running should be done at your "easy" pace. In fact, you can make loads of improvement in your race times using only easy runs. When your race times plateau, it is time to take on some other types of training.


2. Run faster some of the time.
Intervals, tempo runs, fartleks, reps, and strides all are ways to introduce some higher intensity running into your running schedule. When my runners are in the appropriate part of their training I start introducing higher intensity runs into a small part of their running schedule. Still 80% or more of their training will be easy runs.


3. Do some runner specific strength training.
Resistance training has been found to reduce risk of running injuries, improve core stability, improve running economy, and improve race times. It is best if the training is not just the latest workout in a fitness magazine, but a program specific for runners.


4. Don't forget to have fun.
For most of us, it is not our job to win races. If that is the case it is important that you are enjoying your running. There are tons of benefits of running, so that even if you don't enjoy every single run, you should at least be enjoying the results of running. Just don't forget to have fun on your runs. It is really difficult to train harder to run faster if you hate going out for your run. Find ways to keep it fun, change intensity, find new routes, enjoy the scenery, run with a friend. . . Do whatever makes running enjoyable.

How To Run More Slowly

I just imagined three different responses to that title:

"Why would I want to run more slowly?"

"Finally, I've been trying to run more slowly ever since I heard about heart rate training!"

"WHY WOULD ANYBODY RUN, IT'S BAD FOR YOUR KNEES, SOMETHING WOULD HAVE TO BE CHASING ME FOR ME TO RUN AT ALL. . ."



Why running slowly is good.

Running quickly and running slowly are relative things when it comes to choosing your training pace. Running slowly for me is faster than running slowly for my wife. Running slowly for Meb Keflezighi is faster than running quickly for me. When I use the phrase running slowly, what I am really talking about is running within one's aerobic pace.

For endurance runners, the easy run is a crucial part of training. Benefits include strengthening of bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles, increased capillary capacity, increased mitochondrial density, improved aerobic capacity, improved running economy, and the list goes on.

The problem is, that some people don't feel like the easy runs are hard enough, so they run faster and push themselves out of the aerobic training zone and don't get all the benefits of the easy run.


How to run slowly.

First, if you want a primer on how to determine your maximum heart rate for easy, aerobic running, click here.

That post gives the nuts and bolts of determining heart rate for an easy run, but I've also been asked about how, physically, to actually run slowly. It is easier than you think.

Start off with a moderate walking pace. As you are walking, monitor your breathing, and increase your pace gradually. There will come a point at which a walking gait no longer feels comfortable at the speed you are moving. Allow your body to adjust naturally and you will adopt a running gait. If you've been running too fast, it won't seem like a run, maybe a jog, or a shuffle, but congratulations, you are now running more slowly.

If this still puts you out of your aerobic zone, as discussed here use a run/walk interval system. Once you are breathing too hard, slow down to a fast walk, when that starts feeling too easy, speed up to a slow run again, repeat the process until you find your sweet spot.

Good luck and happy slow running.

Great Workout! Not Sore?

It was the day after weight training and. . .

I wasn't sore, so I went for an easy three mile run. The next day, still not sore, easy four.

It was a great workout, challenging, full body, heavy (for me) sets, but I never got sore. It was three sets of each exercise in the 4-8 rep range, meaning that if I could do the lift 9 times, I added weight until I couldn't, but I still didn't get sore. Sure I could feel the results of the workout, I could tell which muscles were tired, but it was nothing to stop me from my running schedule.

I am a runner who lifts. I don't lift to burn calories, or so people will be " 'mirin' my aesthetics". I don't do weights to burn extra calories, the only time I count calories is when I'm making sure I've had enough of the little guys that day. I lift to make my running better, so what good would it do me if I can't even walk the next day.

Whether you are a runner or not, soreness is not the goal of a workout. It is often a side effect of a workout, and if you have muscle soreness it isn't the end of the world. If you are new to resistance (weight) training or if you move in a new way during weight training there is a very good chance you will be sore until your body adapts to the new movements. The soreness however, is not the goal.

If your goal is to feel sore (why?) that is easy to accomplish, you don't even have to do any work just come in and I'll practice my Muay Thai kicks on your thighs. I guarantee you'll go home with sore legs.

If your goal is progress, come in and we will work smarter. Yes, you may get sore at first. Yes, it is OK for you to be excited about the soreness. No, soreness will not be the goal.

The goal is up to you. Lift more, run faster, burn fat, improve bone strength, improve metabolism. . .

How you want to feel is up to you. Stronger, leaner, healthier. . .