FitSugar

Go From Tortoise to Hare With These Running Tips

Jenny Sugar — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 15:24:31 PDT

A friend asked me to go for a run the other day, and I agreed with the disclaimer that I was pretty poky in the speed department. I was surprised that I wasn't as slow as I thought. I've been working on my pace, and I guess what I've been doing has been effective. Try these tips on your runs to give your running pace a little kick in the pants.

Don't fear the hills. Running uphill is much harder than running on a flat surface since you're working against gravity. Moving on an incline strengthens the same muscles you use for sprinting, so it's the perfect way to make you a faster runner. It also increases your body's endurance, which you'll need when picking up the pace. Find a neighborhood or woodsy trail that has natural hills, or use the treadmill and pump up the incline.
Do sprinting intervals. If you want to become a faster runner, you have to practice running fast. Sprinting intervals are great because they last only a short amount of time, so they're easy to start incorporating into your runs. The easiest way to do intervals is by time. Keep an eye on your watch and run at a basic pace for three minutes, then sprint for 30 seconds. Or if you have access to a track, sprint the straights and run the curves. There are lots of ways to incorporate interval training into your plan, and if you make intervals part of your regular workouts, you'll quickly notice a difference in your strength and endurance. Before adding sprints into your running workouts, make sure you have a solid cardio base. Remember, your fast pace doesn't need to be an all-out sprint, but a faster pace than your usual.
Start doing tempo runs. If you're not familiar with this running term, it means running slightly faster than your normal, comfortable pace for a steady period of time. These types of runs will push your physical threshold and teach your body how to metabolize oxygen more efficiently. If you're new to tempo runs, start out with eight to 10 minutes, and build up to 20 or 40 minutes. You're not sprinting the entire time, just moving slightly faster than your basic pace. Here are tips for tackling your first tempo run.

Keep reading for more speed-building tips.

Running Tip: Strengthen Quads With Wall Squats

FitSugar — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:00:00 PDT

If you're a runner and you want to increase your speed, build your endurance, and have the ability to tackle hills with a breeze, you need to have strong quads. Strengthening your thighs can also prevent injuries such as runner's knee. This common injury, which often happens to new runners, is tied to a combination of weak quads and tight hamstrings and calves. Wall squats (also called wall sits) are the perfect exercise to strengthen your upper legs.

To find out how to do this essential move for runners,

Need For Speed? Relax When You Want to Run

FitSugar — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:30:00 PDT

The more I race, the faster I want to go. My competitive spirit gives me that "need for speed." A recent article in the New York Times detailed one often forgotten element of moving quickly - relaxing. It seems counterintuitive, but tension makes you tight and that tightness interferes with your groove and slows you down. You need to learn how to get in that relaxed state while working hard and find the illusive state of being in the zone. You know, when running hard actually feels good.

According to the article, one way to loosen up while on the move is to relax your face starting with your eyes. Tense wide-opened eyes indicate a tense face and jaw, which translates into a tense upper body. A tense upper body is hard to move and can interfere with finding your rhythm. This reminds me of something that I always tell my Pilates clients: relax your face while you're working out because the tension interferes with correct and efficient muscle patterns. Good to know that this trick can help me run faster, too.

So next time you're out for a run or working out, try running "sleepy eyed" and see if that helps relax the rest of your body enough to help you move a little more quickly.

Source

Fit Tip: Run With Someone Who's Faster Than You

FitSugar — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:30:00 PDT

One of my running goals is to run a little faster and I've found that when I run outside alone, I'm not that motivated to push myself. When I run with someone else, whose pace is slightly faster than mine, it totally encourages me to kick it up a notch and keep up. So if increasing your speed is something you want to do, find a running buddy who'll give you that extra push.

Source

Fit Tip: Pick Up Your Pace, Just a Little

FitSugar — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:00:00 PDT

I know I may have busted your bubble when I told you that one mile doesn't equal 100 calories. The truth is, the faster you move, the more calories you burn. For a woman, walking a mile in 19 minutes burns 43 calories, and jogging one mile in 9:30 minutes burns 91 calories. So if you're looking to lose weight, increasing your pace - even just a small amount - will help to burn some extra calories.

Whether you enjoy walking, jogging, biking, or using a cardio machine, pick up your speed slightly. That means if you usually walk 3 mph (20-minute miles), increase your speed to 3.5 (17:08 minute-miles). Or if you're jogging at 6 mph (10-minute miles), increase .1 or .2 mph, and you'll have covered more distance and burned more calories by the end of your workout. Making these small increases won't seem like huge difference to your body, but it's a great way to gradually increase your speed and burn more calories per workout.

Fit's Tips: If you're not sure how fast you're moving because you don't use a cardio machine, you can purchase the Nike+ iPod Sports Kit. You wear it while walking or running, and with one touch of a button, it'll tell you how fast you're moving. If you're a biker, they make bike computers that will tell you the same kind of info.

Source

How Many Extra Calories Incline Really Burns

Jenny Sugar — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:00:37 PST

Pumping up the incline on the treadmill not only tones your tush and legs, increases your endurance, and can help you improve your speed, it also burns crazy calories - significantly more than with no incline. Need a little more proof? Check out the chart below for some inspiring numbers.

*All calculations are based on a 130-pound woman.

Pace (minutes per mile)	Calories burned in 30 min at 0% incline	Calories burned in 30 min at 5% incline	Calories burned in 30 min at 10% incline	Calories burned in 30 min at 15% incline
7	391	526	615	708
8	338	464	550	630
9	300	420	482	558
10	270	363	420	482
11	243	326	392	432
12	216	296	362	394

The Consequences of Overtraining, and How to Prevent Them

Leta Shy — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:20:20 PST

We may want to push ourselves to meet new goals, but there can be a fine line between pushing ourselves to the limit and overtraining. And research has shown that more and more of us are actually pushing ourselves past what is healthy for our bodies when we train.

Serious athletes are trained to exert their bodies to their max point, and many recreational exercisers, from the grunting guy straining to lift too much at your gym to your friend who always complains she feels dizzy after a workout, may think they should do the same, all the time. The problem is that recreational athletes may lack the knowledge to know when their bodies are telling them to rest, which makes them perform worse - and, as a consequence, just want to train even more to start seeing results. That can lead to a vicious, painful, and exhausting never-ending cycle of overuse injuries, constant fatigue, and worsening athletic performance.

When it comes to your own workout, don't be that person. Read on for some important tips for preventing those unpleasant consequences of overtraining

Top 10 Mistakes You Make on the Elliptical Trainer

Prevention — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:08:59 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

By Lisa Hoehn, Prevention

As the weather drops, more and more people head straight to one machine in their gym - the elliptical trainer. According to a 2008 report from the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association, the number of users of elliptical trainers in health clubs grew sevenfold from 1997 to 2007. And while you may be proud of yourself for making it to the gym and squeezing in some cardio, taking a lackadaisical approach to your elliptical workout and casually spinning your legs while reading a magazine or watching TV isn't going to blast away those holiday cookies. Here, 10 mistakes you frequently make on the elliptical and how to fix them so you maximize calorie burn while adding fun to your ho-hum routine.

Top Workout Ideas For When the Gym Is Too Crowded

1. You’re too lazy to enter your information.
Most machines are calibrated for a 150-pound person - but personalizing your stats will help you get a more accurate calorie read. Aim to burn around 100 calories per 10 minutes, says Jennifer Cassetty, an exercise physiologist.

2. Your resistance is zero.
You might feel like a million bucks spinning at a mile a minute, but without resistance, you’re not going to see results, says Röbynn Europe, a personal trainer at Chelsea Piers in New York City. Make sure that you’re using enough resistance to push and pull through the stride. Then continue at a moderate pace until you feel like you’ve done all you can do. "You shouldn’t feel like you have even five minutes left in you when you step off," she says.

3. You're a sloucher.
Standing up straight helps to lengthen your abs, giving you a chance to engage your core and even work your upper body muscles, Cassetty says. Certified personal trainer Neal I. Pire, MA, CSCS, president of Inspire Training Systems in New Jersey, recommends hopping on a machine with an upper body component so you can engage even more muscles - and blast more fat. Can't find a machine that lets you pump your arms? Let go: some research suggests that leaning on machine armrests during exercise reduces calorie burning.

How to Buy a Cardio Machine

4. Your machine sounds like it’s going to take off.
If you can hear the purr of the machine while you’re exercising, it means that you’re going too fast without enough resistance - which means you're not getting the most calorie burn out of your time, Cassetty says. Keeping a steady, moderate pace at a resistance that forces you to use your muscles will get, and keep, your heart rate up.

Learn four more fitness mistakes after the break.

Faster, Harder, Longer: How to Maximize a Treadmill Workout

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:29:43 PST

Numb fingers. Black ice. Risk of frostbite. These are all common reasons to skip running outside in Winter and take refuge in a warm, dry gym. Treadmills might feel safer, but you might even find the workout feels a little easier. Don't sell yourself short! Use these tips to upgrade your treadmill time and maximize the benefits of your run.

To Burn More Calories

Do intervals. Running at a consistent pace is great for longer training runs, but during your intense workouts, take advantage of intervals. By alternating between running a few minutes at a moderate pace and throwing in bursts at a quicker pace (or even sprinting), you'll burn more calories, build endurance, and become a faster, stronger runner. Not to mention, intervals have also been proven to fight belly fat. Here's a 30-minute treadmill interval workout for you to try.
Gradually increase your speed throughout your workout. You definitely don't want to start your run at a seven mile per hour (mph) pace since you need to give your body a chance to warm up. Start out with a brisk walk (4 mph) and every five to 10 minutes, give your speed a little push until you're running at a 5 to 8 mph pace.
Run longer. It's good to mix up the type of running workouts you do, so on days that you're not running intervals or building up speed, do a longer run at a consistent pace. If you run for 30 minutes (at a pace of 10 minutes per mile) you'll burn 270 calories. Forty-five minutes burns 405 calories, and even longer, an hour-long run burns 540 calories.

Keep reading to learn ways to tone your muscles and become a faster runner.

Fresh Start Resolution: Quit Your Caffeine Addiction

Emily Co — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:00:00 PST

It's a new year and a new you! We're kicking off a short series detailing 12 helpful tips to start off the year right, whether it be to advance your career or increase your financial cushion. We've already given you advice on kicking your daily deal habit, so here's another way to start afresh in 2012.

Caffeine addiction is so commonplace that nobody will bat an eye if you say you need your daily dose of coffee. In fact, many of us would readily admit to an addiction. Though people claim that coffee benefits them, the efficacy of the brown liquid is often misconceived. For starters, studies have shown that although caffeine may give you more speed, you'll be more prone to making mistakes. This means even if you have a larger output, it'll be of lower quality. More negatives include feeling jittery when you drink too much coffee and withdrawal symptoms like headaches if you choose to stop drinking. Convinced? Here are some tips to kicking your caffeine habit to the curb for good this year:

Figure out your quitting style. Everyone has their own way of kicking bad habits and you can either choose to go cold turkey or ease off of it slowly. Remember, if you go cold turkey and suffer withdrawal symptoms, don't take any pain medication for your headaches since those have caffeine in it as well!
Find a replacement. When you find yourself craving coffee, try to replace it with caffeine-free tea. Chamomile and mint tea are always good options.
Try decaf. When you just miss the comfort of the taste of coffee, opt for decaf. Keep in mind that there's actually a small amount of caffeine in a decaffeinated cup of joe, so drink a small cup.

Of course, it's up to each individual to decide if quitting coffee is right for them. I'd say you should truly consider it if you're drinking excessive amounts (I'm talking more than three or four cups a day) and if you're feeling some of the negative effects of caffeine.