Well tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I decided to put together a holiday primer for everyone for the long weekend.
Tomorrow morning in some places there will be running events in honor of Thanksgiving. In Clearwater, Florida there is the St. Pete Times Turkey Trot. A good web site to check out for any type of upcoming road race is The Schedule. All around the country there are events to go to or to participate in.
After you are done running or watching parades on TV the main event is Thanksgiving dinner. Here is a pretty good list of eating tips when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner. It's important to watch out for portion size due to most dinners will be having multiple side dishes and desserts.
As for football for tomorrow on TV: Green Bay@Detroit on Fox Sports at 12:30 EST, Oakland@Dallas on CBS at 4:15 EST, and NY Giants@Denver on NFL Network at 8:20E EST.
Looks like a full day of fun and excitement, good times and cheer for you and your family. Enjoy the holiday and get ready for shopping on Black Friday!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Did Some Trail Running Today
Well today I decided to get away from the treadmill and run outside. I find that when you normally run on the treadmill and then one day you run outside the treadmill will actually make you run faster. The workout is slightly more difficult but overall you will run faster.
I ended up running about 2 miles and then went for a bike ride. The run took me to a sports park in town that has multiple football and baseball fields. It is bordered by a wooded area and there are some trails on the perimeter of the park that I run occasionally. I got a good sweat going and worked on some sprinting too.
Here is a link to the sports park that I was running at.
Trail running is great because you not only see how in shape you are due to not being on a treadmill conveyor belt, but you also have the hills and unsteady ground to deal with. Practice makes perfect and doing trail running will help you out with any type of outdoor team sport (football, soccer, baseball, etc). Definately add it to your training regimine as it does help with getting in shape.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Stretching Guidelines
When you work out don't forget to stretch before you begin the workout. Some of the stretches I always do involve the ankle, the hamstring, the groin, the back and the shoulders and neck. These body parts need to be limber and ready to be exercised prior to the beginning of the workout. Below is a video on proper stretching prior to running.
Reduction of injuries during running and working out can be prevented by stretching before and after the workout. Please be safe when working out and don't forget to stretch.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Shoulder workouts that yield results
Today I went to the gym and had a good shoulder workout. The shoulder muscle is called the deltoid. The deltoid has three parts to it: the front deltoid, side deltoid and rear deltoid. It's important to workout all three for a well rounded shoulder.
An exercise that hits all three parts of the deltoid is the shoulder press. When you do the exercise you pick up a pair of dumbbells and hold them level to the shoulder in either a seated position or standing. You raise the dumbbells up over your head and then back down. 8-10 reps is a good amount for building the muscle. If your goal is to get defined deltoids (like basketball players, footbal players have) increase the reps to 12-15. Do 3-5 sets.
For the front deltoid exercises such as front raises with dumbells are good. For the rear deltoid you can do bent over lateral raises. You preform these by doing the following: using dumbbells, bend over at the waist with your feet shoulder width apart. Bend the knees slightly so that you don't stain yourlower back. Hold the dumbbells at arms length in front of you with the palms of your hands facing each other. Keep a slight bend in your elbows and bring the bumbells back towards your ears and then back down. The rear deltoid is usually not that strong so start off with light weights.
Below is a good video I found on other shoulder workouts that you can preform in a gym.
An exercise that hits all three parts of the deltoid is the shoulder press. When you do the exercise you pick up a pair of dumbbells and hold them level to the shoulder in either a seated position or standing. You raise the dumbbells up over your head and then back down. 8-10 reps is a good amount for building the muscle. If your goal is to get defined deltoids (like basketball players, footbal players have) increase the reps to 12-15. Do 3-5 sets.
For the front deltoid exercises such as front raises with dumbells are good. For the rear deltoid you can do bent over lateral raises. You preform these by doing the following: using dumbbells, bend over at the waist with your feet shoulder width apart. Bend the knees slightly so that you don't stain yourlower back. Hold the dumbbells at arms length in front of you with the palms of your hands facing each other. Keep a slight bend in your elbows and bring the bumbells back towards your ears and then back down. The rear deltoid is usually not that strong so start off with light weights.
Below is a good video I found on other shoulder workouts that you can preform in a gym.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
A Good Leg Workout
When I go to the gym I split my workouts between upper body and lower body workouts. On lower body workout days I like to do leg extentions, leg curls and have started doing a workout similar to the following video in which you take some dumbells and step up onto a bench with each leg (one at a time). I do 10 repetitions and then increase the weight. Here is the video....
I train legs about 3 days a week and I like to do leg curls and leg extentions on different days. A lot of times I notice people in the gym focussing their workout on upper body and I hope people do not neglect their leg workouts.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Why You Should Work Out Big Muscles First
When people do weight training sometimes they work body parts in the wrong order. It is important to realize that working out bigger muscles and then move to smaller muscles will enhance your workouts.
For example, when I do an upper body workout I will start with chest or back because those muscles are the biggest and are needed in order to workout the smaller muscles. I will do pushups, benchpress or other chest exercises and then move on to biceps or triceps. That is because if you workout the biceps or triceps first you won't be able to use those muscles later on in your workout because they will be tired due to being smaller muscles.
Anyone who has worked out biceps or triceps first and then try to do a chest workout will know that you won't be able to lift as much or do as many repetitions as you normally would. This is because the muscles became tired from working them out first and did not have enough energy left in them to help fully for the chest workouts.
If you want to get a good workout start with the bigger muscles and then work out the smaller muscles. You will have a better workout overall and be able to see improvement over time.
For example, when I do an upper body workout I will start with chest or back because those muscles are the biggest and are needed in order to workout the smaller muscles. I will do pushups, benchpress or other chest exercises and then move on to biceps or triceps. That is because if you workout the biceps or triceps first you won't be able to use those muscles later on in your workout because they will be tired due to being smaller muscles.
Anyone who has worked out biceps or triceps first and then try to do a chest workout will know that you won't be able to lift as much or do as many repetitions as you normally would. This is because the muscles became tired from working them out first and did not have enough energy left in them to help fully for the chest workouts.
If you want to get a good workout start with the bigger muscles and then work out the smaller muscles. You will have a better workout overall and be able to see improvement over time.
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