Best Fitness Blog

... By Karli Taylor

What’s the one piece of workout gear you can’t live without? Your ipod? A good water bottle? A matching track suit? Think again- the single most important piece of equipment to virtually any kind of exercise program -- running, aerobics, hiking, tennis, basketball -- is the right pair of shoes. A good pair of shoes can make or break your workout, so how do you pick the right pair?

The biggest mistake people make when they start an exercise program is just reaching into the closet and pulling out an old pair of sneakers, or going to the store and buying a new pair based on looks alone.

First, be sure you are looking for the right sneakers for the right activity. And yes, it does matter. A shoe made for running is very different from a shoe made for basketball or tennis, in a number of ways. Think about the way you move when you run – always forward right? Now think about tennis, or basketball or even soccer- you move sideways just as often as you move forward. This small detail changes the placement of extra support when a shoe is designed.

Those examples may seem obvious, but even walking shoes are different than running shoes. Runners land more on their forefoot when they strike the ground, while walkers have a heavier heel strike. Something this simple changes where extra padding is built into a shoe. If you are a walker who sometimes adds jogging or running to the mix, go with the runner as you need the extra padding more for the higher impact involved in the running motion.

What if you aren’t heavily into running, walking, tennis, or any one particular sport? What if you go to the gym occasionally, maybe play tennis with a co-worker once in a while, or shoot hoops on the weekend with the kids? For you, a cross-trainer might be the best choice.

Next step is to make sure the shoe truly fits. I know it seems obvious, but many of us have been walking around in shoes that are either too tight or way too big for most of our lives. Take the extra few minutes to get both of your feet measured the next time you buy shoes. It won’t take long, and the right fit will make a huge difference.

Regardless of what type of shoe you end up with, dedicate those shoes to working out only. By using your workout shoes as your everyday shoes, you will break them down much faster and the benefit you have gained form choosing the right shoe will soon be lost.

Keep in mind that even if you dedicate your shoes to a specific purpose, they will need to be replaced eventually. Most experts recommend that runners replace their shoes every 300-500 miles. If you don’t run enough to have a mile count, base the life of your shoes on the frequency with which you work out. If you’re exercising on a casual basis, you can make your shoes last a year, but if you’re working out at least 5 days each week, six months is pretty much your limit.

... by Karli Taylor

Let's talk about stretching. Why do we stretch? Some people think that it will prevent injury. Some people think it will prevent soreness. What if I were to tell you that the only thing stretching does is make you more flexible? Yup- that's it. So if you participate in a sport that requires flexibility- like gymnastics or even golf, then stretching will help your performance. But runners, skiers, baseball players- unless you are tight or imbalanced, stretching will not help your game.

Now Stretching does have its place- I don't want to be known as the anti-stretch trainer. If you are recovering from an injury, you should surely stretch. Why? Put simply, a healing muscle tends to be tighter than a normally functioning muscle, and like I mentioned earlier, if you are tight- STRETCH!

But when should you stretch? Every time I go to a race or a sporting event I see people lined up before the start stretching. I want to grab a microphone and scream at everyone! Stretching before an event will make you weaker. It will loosen up a muscle that is about to produce power- not a good thing. Think about a rubber band. When will a rubber band give the hardest snap back? When it is new or when it has been stretched out a few times? Make sense?

Before any event, warm up by moving dynamically. A dynamic warm-up is not a mile jog or walking a bit before the start. It consists of a series of exaggerated motions that take all of the joints about to be used through their full range of motion. Unlike stretching, dynamic warm ups do not require that you hold any one position for more than a second or two. For example, before a run take 10 or 15 steps each time lifting one knee up and pulling it into your chest. Turn around and walk back kicking your straight leg out in front of you each step. Follow that up by walking with a butt kick. Doing these 3 simple warm-up drills will prepare your body for the stress of hip flexion, knee flexion, hip extension and knee extension- the primary joint actions used while running or walking!

Static stretching, or holding a stretch for 30 seconds, comes after you run or work out. Can you ever stretch during a workout? Again, if something becomes very tight- go for it. Or, in the case of weight lifting, stretching the opposing muscle to that which you are training will actually make you stronger! Try it if you don't believe me. The next time you are weight training, stretch your biceps in between sets of a tricep exercise, or your quads in between sets of a hamstring exercise. Let me know what happens!

... by Karli Taylor

Shin Splints, or pain in the front of your lower leg, can creep up on you when you start building mileage. First things first- if you are running on a treadmill, make sure that you have the incline set to at least 1.0. For some reason, all treadmills are set up so that 0.0 incline is actually downhill! This will put undue stress on your shins and knees when mileage starts to get up past 2 miles.

If you are an outside runner, shin splints will occur if you have weakness in the front of your lower leg (tibialis) or tightness in the back of your lower leg(calves). To prevent this annoyance, make sure that you stretch your calves after every run, and on off days try the following exercises to strengthen your shins:

1. Sit on the edge of a chair and tap your toes on the floor with your heels planted- tap hard to create stress. Sounds simple, but it will prepare your shins for the stress of running.
2. If you have a resistance band of some kind, sit on the floor with your legs out in front of you, loop the band around your feet and point your toes while pulling back on the band. Point and flex 20-25 times then rest.

Another thing that may be contributing to your shin pain is your foot strike while you run. Focus on striking the ground with the balls of your feet instead of your toes. Toe-running will tighten your calves right up, and tight calves lead to weak shins!

Ladies- if you wear high heels all day long, do NOT come home and run right away. Give yourself some transition time to get used to your sneakers. Going straight from high heels to pavement pounding will put those shins at risk.

Any other pains creeping up on you as? Let me know and I'll try to help you fix it!

... By Karli Taylor

I hope you are sitting down for this one: After the age of 20, if you do not add activity to your day or cut calories, you will gain approximately one pound each year.

Now that I’ve gotten your attention, what if I told you that you don’t have to do anything drastic to keep that weight from creeping up on you? Feel better? Keep reading.

If you walked an average of 150 extra steps every single day, you will avoid that weight gain. That is the equivalent of walking for 3 minutes that you would normally be sitting. You can accomplish this simply by pacing your office or home while on the phone or parking a little bit further away from the front door or your office or grocery store.

Can’t find extra time during your average day to sneak in a few steps? You can accomplish the same thing by going to the gym for 30 minutes 10 times a year- yes- a year!

Now, let’s say you don’t just want to maintain your weight, but you’d like to lose a pound every year as you age. All you have to do is double those numbers and enjoy the benefits of virtually reversing the aging process!

The bottom line is simple: weight gain happens slowly over time. SO slowly, that sometimes we don’t see it until it’s too late and we have gained 20-30 pounds. Start being conscious of the amount of activity you do each day, and this sneaky weight gain will never impact your lifestyle!

Cross Training ... by Karli Taylor

The weather gets nice and we all just want to run (or cycle or swim or hike) outside. Every year I encounter people who freeze their gym memberships for 3 months and stick to their outdoor sports. I get it- I really do, but now I'm going to tell you why that's not such a great idea...

By just running (or cycling etc), you are doing 2 things that will work against you in the long run- you are creating imbalances and overuse injuries and you are quickly running toward a training plateau.

First let's talk about the imbalance thing. Though your body will become very efficient at the sport you gravitate towards during the summer, you are using the same muscles day in and day out. These muscles, over the course of the summer, will grow unusually tight. This tightness will put you at risk for muscle strains, pulls and even tears.

In addition to overusing certain muscles, you start to under use or neglect others. The muscles that you neglect will lose strength also putting you at risk for injury.

Now onto the training plateau- like I said earlier, your body will become very efficient at your sport of choice. For a while you will see gain after gain. Surely all of this repetitive running is good for you if you get faster each week right? WRONG. This improvement will inevitably stall- your body will become so efficient at running that you will need to run for hours to actually get a workout! I don't know about you, but I don't have 3 hours a day to run to burn a few extra calories.

So what's my point? My point is that playing outside is GREAT. I applaud all of you for being dedicated to your sport- but be informed as well. Treat yourself to at least one day off each week and at least 2 days of cross training. If you are a runner--cycle, if you are a swimmer---run. Shake up your cardio routine to get the greatest gains possible. I'd be willing to bet money on the fact that if you replace 2 running workouts each week with a bike ride, you will be a better runner by the end of the summer than you would be if you just ran.

Also- don't forget about resistance training. I know it's often a drag to be inside in the nice weather, but if you can squeeze in 2 30 minute sessions each week, you will not lose strength or muscle quality. It will be enough to keep you from losing all of your progress, and you can focus more on making gains in the gym when the snow comes back.