You’ve probably heard the the words functional fitness before, but what does that mean? When your body is functionally fit, you are able to perform everyday movements in everyday situations without the pain associated with, say a bad back. For example you may be able to lift your weight in a bench press, but are you able to lift your toddler or a bag of groceries into your car without any problems? When you workout at a gym on the machines you are training your muscles to work in 1 plane with 1 stable and controlled motion. When you train for functional fitness you work multiple muscles at one time to work together in an unstable, yet controlled environment. For example, you may stand on 1 leg while holding a dumbell and Read More »

~ To learn how to exercise properly (good technique) and avoid injury: A good trainer (not all trainers are good) will teach you how to exercise correctly by keeping your body in alignment and making sure your form is solid. A good trainer will watch you throughout each and every exercise to make sure you are moving properly and correcting you when you are slipping out of form or cheating your exercise.

~ To excel at a certain sport or event : If you’re training for a specific sport or event an experienced trainer can help you figure out what you need to do to stay strong during your season, as well as repairing and building up weakness for the up coming season or event. Make sure your trainer has sport specific training and has experience in your sport or event. Read More »

On Saturday August 29th my 2 teammates and I had quite the adventure…and workout while participating in the Oyster Adventure Race Series in Seattle. Finishing 3rd was a wonderful reward! It is a crazy challenge for the adventurist and the very fit!

Huge thanks to Recycled Cycles Bike Shop for the awesome road bikes which made our rides not only more enjoyable…but helped us earn 3rd place! Our bikes were perfectly fitted to us by the very knowledgeable staff member Andy Voight, and the store general manager Ted was awesome too! Recycled Cycles not only rents bikes, they also sell used and new bikes, as well as offer classes too. Check them out at recycledcycles.com.

The race began with a blind folded ride with bags over our heads on The Duck. I, along with one member of every other team (there were 80 teams total) were transported to a mystery location, while our teammates all ran from home base in lower Queen Anne to a 2nd location. After arriving at our mystery location (Palisades restaurant) we were given a passport telling us to run to Kerry Park to meet up with our teammates.

Our second leg (no resting in between unless you want to sacrifice time) was a mission to bike to the ‘Gum Wall’ and add our own gum then return to home base.

Read More »

Here it is, your first marathon training plan! Before beginning this plan you should already be logging anywhere from 12 - 20 miles per week. It is very important you have built up a base before attempting to jump right in to this plan, otherwise you risk injury. And injuries are no fun! While training for your first marathon it is also important to listen to your body. It is ok to push yourself, but it’s not ok to over train. Get your shoes on and get out there…

16 week Beginner’s Marathon Training Plan

week 1 Read More »

Here is a great article for pre race nutrition. It was written for runner’s but can be adapted by most athletes.

pre race fuel

There have been many studies on this subject, and turns out caffeine enhances your body’s performance and speeds up muscle recovery! I am not a caffeine consumer, and this info probably won’t make me one either, but I know most of you out there are, so now you have a good excuse to consume your caffeine fix!

Studies show that caffeine ingestion prior to exercising extends endurance in moderately strenuous aerobic activity. Other studies researching caffeine consumption on elite athletes show increased performance times following caffeine consumption.

But… before you make Starbucks part of your pre-workout warm-up be aware that: Read More »

You committed, now you need to perform…where do you start? Right here! I’ve been there, a little overwhelmed by what you just got yourself into and totally confused as to how your going to pull it off. Don’t worry it can be fun…hopefully my training plan makes it a little less intimidating and more enjoyable (yes running can be enjoyable when you train properly)!

A Few Suggestions:

• It is ok to take walk breaks if you need to - listen to your body *

• Keep a running journal/log. This is not necessary, but keeps you aware of how your body is adapting to your training.
• Make sure you fuel yourself properly while learning to run longer distances. For runs under 60 minutes you should be ok with just water. For runs longer than 60 minutes - which many of yours will be. Your body is going to need carbohydrates to break down into glycogen so your muscles will have continuous fuel to keep you from hitting the wall. Try Gu’s, gummy bears, licorice, or dried fruit.
• Always carry enough water… or you can try to talk your partner into meeting you at certain points throughout your long run to bring you water (I did this and it was really nice to see a familiar face after running alone for what seemed like hours).
• ALWAYS begin with a warm up, I suggest a 5 minute walk before you begin your run. And ALWAYS cool down, 5 minute walk then STRETCH. Trust me it is worth the extra minutes.

Training Plan
Week 1: Read More »

Wow, what a workout of a different kind this is! If you think your already strong - prepare to get stronger and more defined. Suspension training offers a new form of exercise for people of all abilities. It allows you to leverage your own bodyweight and gravity to develop strength, balance, flexibility, and joint stability simultaneously. In our everyday lives, we move to the side, backwards, forwards and diagonally. Shouldn’t we train the same way? Unlike traditional weight training that tends to follow one plane of movement, Suspension Training encourages multi-directional training which integrates all your motions and mimics real life movements. This helps to creates muscular balance in your body which increases performance and prevents injuries. Read More »