There are so many 5K and 10K charity runs around St. Louis.  Participating in such events can be a great addition to your current program while helping out a great cause.  A strength and conditioning program can be very beneficial to the novice or advanced runner. Your program should consist of low weight, high repetition movements and involve the following components.

1) Proper Warmup/Cooldown

2) Flexibility Training

3) Proper Nutrition and Hydration

4) Balance Training- coordination/stability, opposing muscular balance, upper/lower/core balance

5) Running-specific movements the both mimic running and strengthen the working muscles

Implementing such a program can lead to:

- Increased strength, power, endurance and efficiency as a runner

- Decreased injury

i. Increased flexibility

ii. Balanced strength in the appropriate muscle groups

iii. Increased stability

- Less muscular imbalances

Today we are focusing on the resistance training aspect of becoming a better runner.

Exercise Demonstrations- notice I’m only mentioning 1 upper body, 1 core, and 1 lower body exercise. Each of these has an opposing muscle group that needs equal attention.

- Plank- alternate reach (excellent total core exercise)

- Pushup- unlimited variations (make sure to include back exercises)

- Lunge on BOSU ball- focuses on stability/coordination while working the essential muscle groups specific to running (while a lunge does work both quadriceps and hamstring, it is primarily quadricep. An additional hamstring exercise is recommended.)

These are some very general recommendations for being a stronger, more efficient runner. As we know, everyone is built differently and therefore responds differently to training. To make sure that you have a plan that is customized to your abilities, I suggest setting up an appointment with a qualified personal trainer.

It seems as though the longer time goes on and more research is done on fitness and exercise, we are trending toward reverting back to some very basic human movements.  One perfect example is the Farmer’s Walk.  This very functional exercise is done holding heavy dumbbells in each hand, standing with good posture, and walking around 20 yards or so.  As with every exercise, make sure that you are able to master your posture before adding more weight.

This exercise works the musculature of your entire back, improves grip strength, exhausts your entire lower body, and focuses on lateral torso and hip strength.  It is an excellent choice to add into almost anyone’s program to add a bit of “real life” benefit.  Personal trainers should be aware of incorporating such exercises into their clients programs to aid in the function of their clients daily activities.

Although many of us drink soda regularly and know that it is unhealthy, most probably don’t know the extent of it.  Soft drinks contain little or no vitamins or essential nutrients.  Instead, they contain items that we should avoid or limit such as caffeine, carbonation, simple sugars, and food additives.  Consumption of soft drinks can lead to tooth decay, obesity, nutrition depletion, and heart disease.

The normal daily USDA recommendation of sugar in a 2,000 calorie diet is 10 teaspoons.  Most soft drinks fill this quota with one serving!  Overconsumption leads to raised insulin levels, leading to depression of the immune system and decrease ability to fight disease.  Besides this, excess consumption also leads to increased body fat stores which, in turn, leads to a whole host of health problems.

Many people have determined that by drinking sugar free or diet soda they are making a better choice.  One study shows that regardless of diet, sugar free, or regular consumption, individuals displayed a 30% incrase in belly fat.  In a recent blog post, I discussed the unknowns about artificial sweeteners.  Some of these could possibly pose a risk to your health.  

In addition to helping my personal training clients in St. Louis, I want to share this information to everyone and also give some tips to ingest more adequate fluids.

- Drink fresh water.  Water is vital and contains vitamins and nutrients essential to life.  Try enhancing your water with honey or mint leaves

- Drink Fruit Juice.  Although sometimes loaded with sugar, you can water down.

- Drink Tea.  Has numerous benefits including antioxidant properties and calming effects

Throughout the year there are various barriers that we must overcome to keep a proper, balanced diet.  The current and upcoming season prove to be especially challenging with the cold, cozy temperatures and the several holidays/events.  Here are some tips that you can implement to ensure that you limit your caloric intake and keep active.

1. Football games- serve veggies and low fat dip as part of your spread, do push-ups, sit-ups, or jumping jacks during every commercial or half time

2. Seasonal Beverages- highly caloric drinks such as eggnog, lattes, apple cider, and hot toddies.  Try hot green tea or light beer and limit yourself to one or two

3. Halloween Candy- Satisfy sweet tooth with gum or fruit.  Limit candy, but put away in cabinet when not eating

4. Stuffing- contains fat , sausage, and butter and is especially bad with gravy.  Try a low fat recipe with fruits, vegetables and stock and keep portions small

5. Pies- It’s the buttery crusts, sweet fillings, and whipped toppings that get you.  Try skipping the crust, limiting the topping and limiting the quantity.

6. Exercise- as always, it becomes even more important to stay on top of your fitness plan.  It may even be the right time to enlist the assistance of a qualified personal trainer!

In the personal training industry, many facilities and fitness trainers rely on the quantity and quality of the equipment that is available to them.  Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent by some gyms to ensure that they have the coolest, top of the line, ground-breaking line of exercise machines.  I must admit that I fell into this trap as well.  

It takes awhile to realize that a certain amount of equipment is nice to have.  Some might argue that some sort of baseline is necessary in any fitness facility.  When it comes down to it, many exercises can be performed with little or no equipment at all.  Several studies show some of these more functional, body weight type exercises can no only lead to more muscle coordination, but to increased strength as well.  Recently it was determined that the strength gains can be more prevalent than traditional weight selected machines.

I always use body weight exercises as a benchmark for most of my clientele.  In some way or form I would like to see my training clients lift and support their bodies in various dimensions.  The TRX bodyweight strap system is a great tool to assist in accomplishing body weight lifting at various angles.  Check out pictures on our website for pictures on the TRX System.  http://www.studio-element.net