Side Planks Without Using Shoulders

written be runnergirl training

Planks are a very effective exercise for strengthening the core (glutes, back, abdominals). Often shoulder weakness or injuries prevent proper body alignment. Check out this easy to use modification to perform side planks.

6 Fitness Myths Busted

1. You burn more calories if you do cardio before weights.

Kinda true.

As you fatigue the second workout will be less intense and therefor burn less calories than the first workout. Do the main focus workout first. If you are marathon training then run first. If you are working on improving your 1 RM on squats then lift weights first.

2. The cardio equipment at the gym accurately records calories burned.

False.

Cardio equipment at the gym is notoriously off (incorrect) when recording calories burned. A more accurate way to know your calories burned is to use a fitness band/watch or an online calories burned calculator.

3. Poor eating habits can be erased with tough workouts in the gym.

False.

While in your teens and 20’s you can try to get by it will eventually catch up to you at some point. Excess sugar, calories, alcohol and poor nutrition habits will cause poor health. A good way to avoid these pitfalls is to record your daily food and drink intake in an app that will give you the nutritional breakdown of your habits. This is one of the easiest and quickest ways to lose weight.

4. Women who lift weights will get bulky.

False.

Women do not have enough testosterone to build bulky muscles like men. Women need to incorporate resistance training to maintain muscles for strength for everyday activities, to increase metabolism and be toned (not squishy). In order for a women to maintain a large amount of muscle mass they have to perform a lot of resistance training, consume a lot of protein (and possibly supplements) and eat a lot of calories to support and maintain that mass. They go out of their way to purposely achieve those results.

5. You need to drink a protein shake after every workout.

False.

A protein shake is a meal replacement. That means you drink it instead of a breakfast, lunch or dinner. Depending on the calorie content you could make it a snack. If you really want to down a shake post workout then incorporate it into your nutritional plan for the day. You could hit then gym then have a shake for breakfast. You could do a bodyweight routine at work and drink a shake for lunch. You could do an evening commute run home and then have a shake for dinner.

6. To get a ripped 6-pack you need to do a million crunches.

False.

There is no way to spot reduce. Abs, biceps or calves development are all going to be dependent on several factors including your genetics, nutrition, workout program, etc. Instead of focusing on 1 particular body part try to focus on your overall total body. If you want to see an increase in muscle definition then focus on a workout program that will use cardio and resistance training components and reduce the amount of processed foods you eat. Try to switch them out for organic, whole food, fresh (or canned with low sodium) food options. In 1-3 months of making these adjustments you should notice your body feeling energetic, clothes fitting better, etc.

5 Common Exercise Mistakes

written by runnergirl training

Here are 5 common exercise mistakes a lot of people make. Learn some easy ways to avoid them!

Catecholamines & Exercise

written by runnergirl training

What are catecholamines and how do they relate to exercise? Catecholamines are adrenal gland hormones and are dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine. The adrenal glands are located on top of the kidneys and they release catecholamines when an individual is stressed physically or emotionally (MedlinePlus, 2013).

Physiologically epinephrine increases the heart rate and constricts the blood vessels throughout the body (Klabunde, 2013). These actions are required by the body when performing exercise and are what helps get the body in motion.

What, if any, responses to exercise to catecholamines play? For endurance trained individuals there is an increased adrenaline response compared to untrained individuals for high intensity aerobic exercise. This is due to an occurrence termed the sports adrenal medulla (Zouhal, Jacob, Delamarche and Gratas-Delamarche, 2008). Conversely, Kjaer (1998) reported that at a same workload the endurance trained had a lower adrenal response than the untrained participants. However, when presented with non-exercise stimuli the adrenaline response for the endurance trained was higher than the untrained participants. This result is an adaptation of the glands from long term physical conditioning also known as the sports adrenal medulla.

Even though there is a debate in the literature regarding the impact of catecholamines on trained verses untrained individuals it is a topic worth continuing to investigate. They are necessary in the response to exercise and psychological stress for the fight or flight mechanism. In conclusion it would be beneficial to definitively show the adaptation of this system due to the response to physical training.

Klabunde, R. (2013). Cardiovascular Physiology Concepts. Retrieved from http://cvphysiology.com/Blood%20Pressure/BP018.htm

Kjaer, M. (1998). Adrenal medulla and exercise training. European Journal Appied Physiology Occupational Physiology, 77 (3), 195-199.

MedlinePlus (2013). Catecholamine-blood. Retrieved from https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003561.htm

Zouhal, H., Jacob, C., Delamarche, P., Gratas-Delamarche, A. (2008).  Catecholamine and the effects of exercise, training, and gender. Sports Medicine (38) 5, 401-423.

Avoid Locker Room Infections

written by runnergirl training

Gyms are great breeding grounds for germs to be shared. It is easy to pick them up on exercise equipment, shared air & shower stall floors. I’ll share about the commonly found ones. Also find out how to keep the pick up on the down low. Click below to read more!

Exercise Dependence

Written By Runnergirl Training

Exercise is beneficial for a variety of reasons.  Like anything else, exercise is the most beneficial when in moderation and balanced. Read more below.

Reactive Hypoglycemia

By Runnergirl Training

Reactive hypoglycemia occurs when blood sugar rapidly drops during a workout, shortly after eating, or random occurrences during routine dietary habits.

Factors involved include timing & type of training, most recent nutrient intake, prior hypoglycemic episodes, hydration level, time of day, stress level, blood pressure level, & individual sensitivity to a drop in glucose.

Ways to prevent reactive hypoglycemia:
- Avoid exercise when you have not eaten within the past 4 hours.
- Eat complex carbohydrates, instead of simple sugars. Example peanut butter & crackers, instead of a cookie.
- During exercise, consume carbohydrates (sports drink, gels, bars, etc).
- If you are overtraining, you have an increased probability to be hypoglycemic.
- Being hypoglycemic, eating, & exercising too soon after being hypoglycemic increases the probability to again become hypoglycemic.


Stellingwerff, T. (n.d.). Reactive Hypoglycemia- is it a real phenomena among  endurance athletes. Retrieved from http://www.runhilaryrun.ca/Images/Athlete%20Reactive%20Hypoglycemia.pdf

Q Angle & Quadriceps Strengthening

written by runnergirl training

The Q angle is a measurement derived from measuring a line from the tibial tuberosity up to the midpoint of the patella (knee cap) & another line from the anterior superior iliac spine to the midpoint of the patella. A large Q angle can cause knee pain & injuries. See more below!

Training Logs

There are a variety of training logs to use. Here are a few to try.

Active Trainer

Daily Mile

Run Keeper

Lose It

FITT Principle

written by runnergirl training

What are the basic elements of designing an exercise program? Those elements are frequency, intensity, time, type.

Frequency (how often)
Intensity (level of intensity)
Type (mode of exercise)
Time (length of exercise time)

The elements can be manipulated in a variety of ways over time to continue seeing results & reaching your fitness goals! 

VO2 Max & Norms For Testing

VO2 max is a predictor of cardiovascular fitness. There are a variety of tests used to assess VO2 max. The norms and explanation for the tests are here.

Stability Ball Tuck Exercise

There are a multitude of exercises that can be performed with a stability ball. One is a tuck. It is an advanced exercise and should be used following a progression of exercises. The video is from @IHPSWIM on Twitter.

Progression of Stability Ball Exercises

Do you use a stability ball in your workouts? Check this article for ideas & progressions of exercises with the stability ball.

Progression of Balance Exercises - Lower Body

Balance training is a fundamental component of any fitness program. It is essential to follow a progression when designing a balance program.

Check out this info to see how to set up & follow a sequence of exercises that will assist you in reaching your goals!

Muscle Review - What's An Adductor?

Are you familiar with the term 'adductor'? The adductors are a group of leg muscles. They bring the leg toward the midline of the body, externally rotate, extend, & flex the leg (or the hip, to be specific).

There are multiple ways to work & stretch this muscle group. A few are listed:

Weight Lifting Exercises:
Cable hip adduction
Seated hip adduction
Standing hip adduction

Body Weight Exercises:
Squats
Lunges (forward, back, lateral/side to side)

Static Stretches:
Kneeling groin stretch
Lever groin stretch
Side lunge stretch

Twitter Wellness Chat with Dr. Jamie Kane

If you missed the wellness chat on Twitter tonight, you can catch the recap here! It is on Twitter every Thursday evening at 8pm EST by Dr. Jamie Kane. His Twitter profile is here. This is his website.


The following are his posts and/or replies for the discussion:


* When talking about running nutrition, it is important to determine goals/purpose.

* General health, peak for performance, racing, weight-loss all have different requirements.

* You might want some longer acting carbs. GU and Gatorade pretty quick burning stuff w/potential crashes.

* I find that GU is temporarily useful for me but I almost always feel the crash as it is wearing off.

* It probably isn't absolutely necessary to eat before a moderate distance run. enough glycogen is stored.

* You might also want to consider something like granola that mixes fast acting & slower burning carbs.

* GU/gels etc. are crucial after you pass a certain distance & are out of your own carbs to burn.

* You have over 1000 calories to spare, though, which for most runners is more than 10 miles.

* Simple equation = 1 liter for every pound you have lost during run but depends on temp, humidity. Need sodium too.

* I believe the 200-300 kcals/hr refers to the amount the amount of carbs that can be stored, not amount of sugar in blood.

* On a hot day, I like cola after a long ride. Very little beyond carbs is actually needed post endurance workout.

* There is very little evidence on protein post-workout (minimal benefits).

How To Start An Exercise Program

Interested in starting an exercise program? Follow these easy steps....and get going!

What is a Tempo Run?

What is a tempo run? How to add them to a running program.

Dizzy During/After Exercise

Wonder why you may become dizzy (light headed) during or after exercise & need to know what to do for it? Here are some more ideas for resolving it.

Online Running Store

Looking for a comprehensive, online running store? I've shopped at Road Runner Sports & had a positive experience. Their product inventory is quite large!