So we’re half way through the year.  Our New Year resolutions were probably made for our planned fitness regime, new diet and great health-conscious intentions, but how many people actually achieve their goals?  The answer is not many!  But for those that do, wouldn’t it be good to know how they made their plan and great to understand how they stuck to it.

It tends to take the excesses of Christmas for us to stop over indulging. Then, the start of a new year marks the turning point for a new beginning and a new ‘you.’  Yet, after a couple of weeks in January of cutting back on the alcohol, may be visiting the gym a few times and going out a bit less, most people feel that they’ve done their bit towards this new campaign of healthier living.   The majority then slip back into old habits as the nights out are planned, the overdraft gets paid down and life gets back to ‘normal’ which usually means leading pretty much the same lifestyle as before.  It takes a very committed person to have the willpower to continue with diet and exercise goals, especially if they’re going to mean altering the way of doing things.

And this is the key to success.   Because it rests on the fact that to change the shape of your body, you need to address your lifestyle choices surrounding why your body is in the shape it currently is, and consider how you want your body to work for you in the future.

For instance, its not enough to exercise without addressing diet:  Its not enough to put yourself on a ‘diet’ without doing any exercise.  And its certainly not going to achieve any long term weight loss or change in body shape if you put yourself on a crash ‘diet’ consisting of things like chemically charged shakes and meal substitutes in place of eating and drinking healthily and in moderation. The reason for this:  You need to exercise your body properly to burn calories, lose excess weight and tone up.  And you need to fuel your body with the necessary energy producing food in order to do this.  Only then will you be able to alter your body shape and sustain it.  Yet this equation takes planning, time, effort and commitment; results don’t happen over night and a few weeks of cutting back won’t exactly have a massive impact.  And there lies the problem:  Most people want instant results, expect that in our 24/7 society, we can decide when we want a different body shape and think we can just go and get it.  Yet, to notice a real difference, you need to be in it for the long term and make a lifestyle change combining exercise with a reduction in the amount consumed, or it tends to be short term effect with little reward.

The way to make this change is to set realistic, specific and achievable goals.   If you pitch it too high, then the chances are you won’t achieve your end result.  If you expect results immediately, then you’ll probably become disillusioned and demotivated by the fact that you’re not getting instant changes.  And if you vaguely cut back on something you like to consume and occasionally do a bit of exercise, then in reality you’re not going to make much difference to your body, other than convincing yourself that you’re being ‘virtuous’ by doing something about it as opposed to absolutely nothing!

But if you set a carefully planned target for yourself which is achievable given your day to day commitments, your time available, your budget and your starting point, then you’re much more likely to embark on a journey which has an achievable destination.  By setting yourself markers along the way to check your progress, then you can tangibly see that you’re getting results and making some progress.

For example, if you set yourself a goal of keeping a food diary to enable you to think about what you’re consuming, when and how often, combined with thinking about how you felt as a result, you will soon start to see where the problems lie.  For instance, have you ever considered how sluggish you felt after eating certain foods?  Have you ever thought of various drinks being a source of excessive sugar and calories?  Or have you considered that just by substituting white processed bread for something similar tasting yet containing some fibre and vitamins, you could improve your overall health without even noticing?
And if you set yourself an exercise goal, then you’re exercising for a reason, rather than aimlessly ‘going to the gym’ or running round the same old route.  Because if you understand why you’re doing something, it tends to make ‘the doing’ a lot more focused, effective and enjoyable as you visualise the end result and see your progress.

So whether your goal is to lose weight, to change shape, to run a 10k or a Marathon, its the goal that’s key.  And whether its the fear of not being able to do something, of not being able to fit into a favourite outfit, or whether it’s the praise and compliments that you seek, identify what your goal is and how you’re going to get there.  And, perhaps fundamentally, ask yourself why you want to get there.  Once you’ve identified these key factors, as long as you have the willpower, then you’re highly likely to achieve your aim.  So, as we approach the second half of the year, why not make new resolutions for the rest of 2012 and or ask yourself how you’ve done so far.  And if you’re not on track, ask yourself  why, then decide what will make you get back out there!

Annie Jacks

www.personaltrainingworks.co.uk

Related posts:

1. Setting Short and Long Term Goals
2. New Year, New You…….Really?
3. Running That Perfect Half Marathon

8. Give yourself enough travel time

9. Assemble your gear.
Assemble all you running kit the night before, pin your race number on your vest and lay it out ready for the morning, seeing this on waking will motivate you. Pack a bag with Vaseline, extra safety pins, toilet paper and bottled water and make sure you have any food supplements that you need prior and / or during the event. Don’t forget a small snack for after the event. If it helps, make a list and simply tick the boxes.

10. Get enough rest.
It is very important to get a good enough rest before the race and to go to bed at the normal time. We become conditioned to awakening at a certain time each morning, and this time is not influenced by how late we go to bed. Athletes who go to bed late at night thinking that they will simply awake later the next morning are wrong. They will wake at the same time and will therefore sleep fewer hours. It is especially important to go to bed very early the second-last night before the race and to sleep as many hours as possible that night.

11. Wake up right.
• Avoid using an alarm clock with a loud and jarring ring. The idea is to be nudged awake by a gently alarm or by a quiet knock on the door.
• Make your drink of choice so that you can wake up gradually while enjoying the sensory pleasure of drinking.
• Repeat some positive statements about how well you feel, what a beautiful day it is, and how excited you are about the race.

12. Eat a Pre Race breakfast
Provided you eat dinner the night before a 10 or 21km race, you do not have to eat breakfast before a morning race. But if you are accustomed to eating before running in the morning, you should not feel compelled to change. The reason eating breakfast is not essential before races of up to 21km is that such races do not cause muscle or liver glycogen depletion, making hypoglycaemia an unlikely cause of fatigue at these distances. The main effect of the pre race breakfast is to restock the liver glycogen stores that have been partially depleted by the overnight fast and to prevent hypoglycaemia from developing.

13. Warm Up.
Having prepared both mentally and physically, it is time to take to the road. Check in early at the race start and leave yourself at least 30 minutes for adequate stretching, a gently warm up, and a final mental tuning. Stretching is essential to overcome the overnight tightness and inflexibility that will have developed in your most trained muscles; the calves, hamstrings and back muscles. Set aside about 15 minutes for this. Once you have stretched and warmed up, with 5 minutes to go before the race start, drink between 300 and 500ml of cold fluid, preferably the carbohydrate containing solution of your choice.

14. Run a good race.
You will soon learn that, next to your running shoes, a heart rate monitor with a digital stop watch is you most critical companion in any race, and the more so the longer the race. Having recorded the time that you actually crossed the start line, your immediate priority should be to achieve the correct running pace as quickly as possible. For novice runners this is often difficult to get right. The only way to correct this is to calculate the running pace over the each of the first two kilometres by calculating your actual running time at the first and second kilometre marks, not you total elapsed time from the official start of the race. If you fail do make this correction you will calculate that you are running slower than you actually are and may therefore be tempted to speed up.

Pacing
The goal of pacing is to run the race at an even pace – the pace you feel you can complete the race in should have been arrived at in the days leading up to the race. It is vital that you first kilometre is run at your proposed race pace or slightly slower. For the novice runner this is usually impossible so the only thing to do is to check your first kilometre time and make a concerted effort to slow down.

Drinking
Drinking and sponging is relatively unimportant in races which take less than 60 minutes. In contrast, in longer races, it is important to start drinking at around the 3k mark. It is important to start drinking early, as the rate of fluid absorption from the intestine continues at a constant rate and cannot make up for time lost if the stomach stays empty for some time after the start of the race.

Mental imaging
Once you have settled into the race (usually after a few kilometres) and are running at the appropriate pace, start associating if you wish to race at your best possible pace. The key to associating is to concentrate on precisely what you are doing each step of the way and to exclude the distractions of all the runners surrounding you.

Late Race problem solving
Near the end of any race, regardless of its distance, fatigue becomes a real issue. After completing their first 5k, novices want to run 10k or 21k a distance for which they are not yet properly prepared.
The result is that the last third of these races will probably cause a feeling of progressive fatigue and growing despair. The solution is to adopt the associating form of mental imagery and to segment the remaining distance into manageable segments, usually of 1km. You then focus all your efforts on getting through the next race segment without any concern for the total distance remaining. At first, almost imperceptibly, the remaining distance starts to shorten until quite suddenly, it becomes manageable.

After your race
After races of 10 – 21km, all runners will be mildly dehydrated and should drink sufficient liquid to correct any dehydration and sodium chloride loss incurred. The best drinks to correct this dehydration are those that you usually favour and that you will therefore drink in the required volumes.
The body can only correct its water losses after exercise if the sodium chloride losses are replaced at the same time. The body, as it were, concerns itself with correcting the sodium chloride losses and allows water deficit to be restored only when the sodium deficit has been corrected.

Related posts:

1. Race Preparation -Part 1
2. What Happens on Race Day?
3. 10 Ways to Avoid Those Race Day Hiccups

One of the attractions of running is that it is possible to prepare properly for a race and be fairly certain of the outcome. Chance plays only a small role in running; what happens is predictable on the basis of the runner’s physical endowment, recent race history, and training history.
Therefore, to be successful – which means running to the limit of your particular ability within the constraints imposed by your environment, including work, study, family responsibilities, or all three – you must follow certain rules in both training and racing. These rules ensure that the time you spend in training is not wasted and that it produces your best possible result.

Here are 13 steps you should take when preparing for a race together with information on what to do after a race:

Step 1: Run Progressively longer races:
Before attempting races of 10km or longer, start running some longer races three to nine months before your planned race. Doing so helps you become accustomed to the distractions that accompany long races.

Step 2: Acclimatise to Heat:
Another problem faced by many runners is that most of our training is done in the cooler times of the day, either in early morning or late evenings. The result is that most of us are not adequately acclimatised for exercise in the heat because we have not trained sufficiently in warm conditions. Therefore the wise runner will undergo a period of heat acclimatisation consisting of running in the heat for five to eight sessions leading up to a hot weather race.

Step 3: Taper Your Training:
It is important that you do not carry your hard training right up to race day. It is advocated that for at least 7 days before the race you cut your training by half.

Step 4: Decide Your pace and effort:
During the week before the race, you need to think about your race tactics. There are essentially three ways to run a race: According to your body, according to your heart rate monitor, or according to your watch. When running according to your body, you monitor effort; when running according to your heart rate monitor or stopwatch you monitor either heart rate or pace, or perhaps both.
For the first few races, it is best to run according to your body and allow the “governor” (this is your in built pace regulator) to take charge. Start every race very slowly at an effort that the “governor” will allow you to maintain for the entire distance. It is disastrous to start too fast in any race, but especially in your first longer race. The golden rule is that the effort for both halves of the race should be as close as possible.

Step 5: Eat Healthy foods:
Ensure that you eat a healthy diet with moderate to high carbohydrate for the last 48 hours before the race. Eating breakfast before the race and ingesting carbohydrate during it will ensure that your blood glucose concentration does not fall during the race, impairing performance.
A disconcerting experience for any runner is to have the race interrupted by an unscheduled pit stop. The emotion of the moment, combined with half an hour or more of hard running, will shake loose even the most resolute bowels. One way of avoiding a pit stop is to ensure the that the intestine is empty before the race. To do this, eat only refined, low bulk carbohydrates which leave little residue (white bread, sweets, rice, potatoes)

Step 6: Prepare mentally:
With regard to competition, the important features are to control your anxiety and arousal levels before the race and to run the race in your mind as often as possible before you attempt it in reality. It is also advisable to store creative energy by avoiding all demanding creative activities in the last few days before a race.

Store creative energy.
In the week before the race, runners wanting to run a good race should devote some time to mental preparation. The first priority is to store creative energy; running requires mental energy and if this energy has been exhausted in other pursuits, there will be insufficient remaining to run a good race. There are at least three ways in which runners can harness their creative energy before a race:

• Reduce training loads.
• More sleep.
• Avoid any new creative activities at work (not always possible!)

Mentally rehearse.
Run the race in your mind. Set realistic goals and then divide the distance into manageable segments. Clearly these skills are not acquired overnight and take practice. Your task is to imagine yourself running each of these segments in turn, in the times that you have set yourself. A special priority is know where the hills are on the course, especially those in the last third of the race. The reason for this is simply that near the end of any race, you are so tired that an unexpected hill can be discouraging

Related posts:

1. Race Preparation Part 2
2. Heart Rate Monitor Training – Part 1
3. Marathon Training Advice – Part 3

Daily energy expenditure consists of 3 components:
1. Resting metabolic rate (energy required for basic living) total of 60-70%
2. Diet induced Thermogenesis (energy required to breakdown food) 10% of total
3. Energy cost of physical activity 20-30% of the total.

1. Question:

If we create a caloric deficit of “X” amount – we will lose “Y” amount of fat? (i.e. the calorie deficit = fat loss, a 3500 calorie deficit = 1 pound)

True or False?

False!

In a study of meal frequency, it has been show that a group eating 6 meals per day lost more fat than a group eating 2 meals a day, despite the calories being equal. The study showed that adults who were accustomed to eating 4 meals per day switched to 3 meals a day actually gained body fat and weight despite the calories remaining the same.

2. Question:

A calorie is a calorie. With the same meal frequency, as long as we adjust the “calories in v. the calories out” we will see the same fat loss; that is proteins, carbohydrates and fat (macronutrients) do not really matter.

True or False?

False!

At the same calorie intake a low carbohydrate diet resulted in significantly greater fat loss than a low fat diet.

Summary:

Low carbohydrate, high protein diets favourably affect mass and composition independent of energy intake

So what Should We Be Doing?

• Increase meal frequency.
• Eat meals at regular times.
• Lower carbohydrate intake/increase protein.
• Moderately reduce calories.

3. Question:

The addition of aerobic (jogging/gentle running) exercise to a caloric deficit (through diet) will increase calories burned and therefore increase fat lost.

True or False?

False!

In a 6 month study of 2 groups: 1 on diet only and 1 on diet plus aerobic exercise (50 minutes 5 days per week) There was No additional effect of aerobic exercise on body composition that is to say, adding aerobic exercise had no effect over dieting alone.

4. Question:

If diet (total caloric and macronutrient intake) is a constant, then the more calories you burn during training, the more fat you will lose.

True or False?

False!

A group was divided into 2 smaller groups:

• Group 1 exercised for 15 weeks doing 20 minutes of interval training per session 3 times per week.
• Group 2 did 15 weeks of 40 minutes steady state aerobic (jogging) exercise per session 3 times per week.
• Both groups burned the same calories over the 15 weeks and ate the same diet.
• The steady state group actually gained on average 1lb of fat.
• The interval training group lost 5.5lb of fat and increased lean mass.
• The interval group also increased aerobic capacity more than the steady state group.

So NOW What Should We Be Doing?

• Increase meal frequency.
• Reduced carbohydrate diet.
• Interval training – this should only become part of your training programme once you have developed a foundation of steady state running.
• Resistance training – introduce a controlled well planned weight training programme.

Related posts:

1. The Key to Weight Loss For Runners
2. Weight Loss Strategies For Runners Part 2
3. Nutrition Tips

The UK’s Ultimate Running Store, Accelerate,  is pleased to announce the launch of the BIG Running Weekend – Saturday 25^th – Monday 27^th August in the Peak District, England.

The Big Running Weekend is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK to celebrate trail running over a variety of distances and will comprising of a children’s fun run, 10K, 12.12mile trail race and a 55mile Ultra Tour of the Peak District.

The event will be based at Whirlow Hall Farm Trust, set in 138 acres of land on the border of the National Park, where competitor camping and registration will be located along with post-event party. The Trust, an educational charity providing a ‘classroom in the countryside’ to children in South Yorkshire, has organised  a  fun run and 10k race as part of an annual fundraising fayre for over 10 years . Accelerate became involved in 2011 with the ambition of eventually being able to deliver an Ultra Running event in the Peak District National Park.

With the event planning for the Ultra and the 12.2 in the hands of EightPointTwo, Adventure Event Organisers, the whole weekend promises to be one not to be missed.

Stuart Hale, Accelerate’s Managing Director said: It’s long been an ambition of mine to bring together people who love off-road running – whatever their preferred running distance – and celebrate this in a relaxed atmosphere with like-minded runners. We’ve plans for a motivational talk, party-atmosphere and overnight camping.”  Debbie Smith, Co-Director at Accelerate, is from Sheffield and has spent many years running in the Peak District. “It’s a beautiful National Park” she said, “one of the most popular in England. It’s famous for its windswept crags and is a Mecca for climbers but I’ve always loved the diversity of the landscape and the terrain when running in the Peak District, and to be able to encourage people to visit my favourite places for running is an amazing feeling”.

“We’re hoping to make the Ultra Tour of the Peak District accessible to all runners with the ambition of running 55 miles – it could be your first Ultra or you could be a seasoned Ultra Runner – that’s the beauty of this route and event, it should appeal to everyone. The 12.12mile trail race and 10K are a great way for those taking their first steps into off-road running to appreciate the difference from running on road”.

It is estimated that the fastest runners taking part in the Ultra Tour of the Peak District will complete the course in 8.5hours, after covering a total of 56.5miles and ascending 2722 metres (equivalent to just over twice the ascent of Ben Nevis). The 12.12 metre trail race is anticipated to take just over an hour to complete and features 433 metres of ascent.

The Big Running Weekend will take place across the August Bank Holiday Weekend, Saturday 25^th to Monday 27^th August 2012.

More information and entry details are online at The BIG Running Weekend

Related posts:

1. Trail Running
2. Beyond Road Running
3. UK Gear – PT-1000 Road & Trail Running Shoe

How is Your Metabolism?

Research now shows that, on average, people experience a 2-4% decline in their resting metabolic rate with each passing decade after the age of 25. Add to this metabolic decline a 5lb loss of muscle mass with every decade and getting older is a depressing proposition.

Indeed, for most people these declines are all but definite.

When it comes to metabolism and muscle preserving strategies, intense exercise is the king. With it, you get to keep that muscle mass and fuel that metabolism. Without it, you get to politely smile while you wave bye-bye to your youth, muscle strength, lean mass, and metabolic rate.

Now, the big question is this; what qualifies as “intense exercise.” Well, certainly resistance training (strength training) is one of the biggies. However, there are a host of other types. Here are a few:

• Interval Running, Climbing, Cycling, and Rowing.
• Resistance Circuits.
• Body Weight Circuits.
• Rope Jumping (Skipping)
• Running Hills.
• Burpees, Jumping Jacks, and Other Plyometrics.
• Medicine Ball Tosses and Rotations.
• Kettlebell Exercises.

Basically, any physically demanding task that:

1. Incorporates many muscle groups
2. Is done near your maximum heart rate qualifies. So feel free to invent your own form of intense exercise.

Now, when you do an intense bout of exercise, you overload your muscles. This overload helps stimulate protein turnover, protein building, and gains in lean mass (or at least lean mass preservation).

But what about the cardiovascular system?

Well, with all those muscles doing so much work, the cardiovascular system MUST respond by pumping blood faster and delivering a lot of oxygen to your working muscles. So you definitely get a cardiovascular benefit from doing intense exercise.

In addition, your metabolic rate also benefits from the increased oxygen consumption. You see, the more muscle you have and the more exercise you do, the more oxygen your body will need. As oxygen generates 5kcal per litre consumed, a high oxygen demand means that your body is burning a ton of calories.

After The Intense Exercise.

Now, it should be clear that DURING exercise, your oxygen demands are high. That’s why you’re breathing so heavy. You’re getting rid of the carbon dioxide your cells are producing at a high rate and you’re taking in additional litre of oxygen.

However, the real key to intense exercise is what happens AFTER your exercise session.

If your exercise is intense enough, your oxygen demand remains elevated for well after the exercise session. With low intensity cardio work (jogging or steady state running), you only benefit from a few minutes of additional oxygen demand (and metabolic activity). However, with high intensity activity, the oxygen demand can remain high for anywhere from 6 hours to 48 hours, depending on the intensity and duration of the exercise session.

And remember, a bigger oxygen demand means more calories burned. So it’s only your high intensity activity that boosts your metabolism 24-7.
In a Nutshell:

• Your muscles are your “fat burners”
• Intense activity causes your muscles to burn calories.
• Intense activity causes this “burn” to continue after the exercise has finished.
• You MUST include one or more of the following in your running training programme:

1. Hill work.
2. Weight Training.
3. Intervals.

Related posts:

1. Principles of Training: Simple Physiology
2. Heart Rate Monitor Training
3. Training Intensity

But what about the associate benefits of exercise?  How good you could may be start to feel, start to look and how much more you could get out of life if you were fit and healthy?

Losing weight, exercising, and controlling diet are challenging to mind and body: We’re deprived of our favourite treats, we fight against the muscle soreness, the feeling of being out of breath and often the fear of being out of control.  Unfortunately there’s no denying that exercise can be tough.  Sure we can start with a walk, progress to running, go to the gym, but unless we work at the correct intensity for the right amount of time it won’t have much impact on our body shape and its all too tempting to give up, or just not start at all.  Equally, if we cut back on our food intake, unless it’s a properly planned eating programme, we may lose a few pounds, but we really need to exercise alongside it to gain real changes.  So, for most of us, starting exercise is a big decision because it requires us to change numerous things about our lifestyle, and for many, that’s a daunting prospect.

And it’s not only the prospect of being out of our comfort zone physically that’s a fear factor, because mentally too, there are issues to overcome.  Think back to our childhood.  How many of us had a bad experience at school?  How many people recall being made to feel a failure because they struggled on the cross country, always the last one selected, the one nobody wanted on their books?  How many people have long lasting memories of being unable to catch a ball, unable to swim or just that feeling of being generally bad at sport? 

I work with many people who’re still scarred by those feelings.  That total lack of self belief about doing anything active.  And imagine if you were made to feel like that in the past, why would you consider putting yourself through it as an adult? 

Take Juliette, a business woman:  ‘The first time I ran with ‘friends who run’ I felt physically scared.  It took me 27 years to get over those terrible memories of being a total tortoise at school and to try running as an adult.  It was only the reassurance that we would never be too far from base to walk back that gave me the courage to join them.’

This lady overcame her anxiety and now exercises on a regular basis. Whilst she’ll possibly never enter a marathon, she’s enjoying running for pleasure, steadily realising that she can run, that she can lead an active, healthier lifestyle and that it’s not always about winning the race, but sometimes it really is the taking part that counts, taking that plunge and banishing the fear. 

So what’s going to make most people make the change and embark on some exercise?  Sometimes it’s a health scare, may be it’s a comment somebody’s made, may be someone close to us had a wake up call and it could happen to us.  Occasionally though it’s just because we want to be part of the action, able to do things other people do, to look and feel better and cope with what life throws at us. 

If you’re fighting with issues in your life such as family or money worries, then see what exercise has done for Rachel who copes with disability in her family on a daily basis:

‘Embarking upon proper, regular exercise for the first time in years felt like the first positive action I’d taken for a while.  Initially my objectives focused on getting fit and losing weight. Now training is also about having control over something in my life and a really effective means of stress release.  At the beginning I was apprehensive before a training session.  I knew it would be hard and I wanted to make sure I didn’t let myself down.  Now I look forward to training even though I know it will be really challenging.  The sense of achievement getting through a hard session and the way it makes me feel afterwards makes it all worthwhile.’

And if you’re still wondering if there’s any real point in exercising, then read this Mother’s views on starting an exercise programme with me last year:

‘Since learning to exercise properly, my bottom often aches and it’s all your fault!  But despite being quite active, frustratingly my body remained flabby, with rather pathetic upper body strength.  Starting to exercise has licked me into shape.  My tummy is flatter, my bat wings don’t flap and my bottom has lost some of it’s wobble.  Being fit has given me more energy, made me feel happier and I now have a much more complete feeling of well being.’

Strong words indeed.  And from my experience with all body shapes, ages, sizes and types, these emotions can be achieved by anyone and everyone once you give exercise a go.  Getting started is the hardest part, but once the journey has begun, the chances are you’ll go to places you never thought possible and will want to discover more and more.

Annie Jacks

www.personaltrainingworks.co.uk

Related posts:

1. People Who Exercise Are No Fools!
2. When Loss Strikes Hard – Exercise Can Help
3. PE Lessons Put Girls Off Exercise

Iron deficiency is especially prevalent among women, for a few different reasons. In an attempt to watch our waistlines as well as our health, women tend to avoid eating red meat. However, by steering away from what we think is bad for us; we could actually be ruining our health as well as our performance. This is largely because iron is responsible for red-blood cell formation.

Too little iron in the body can lead to low iron stores and iron deficiency known as anaemia. Symptoms include tiredness, poor appetite, irritability, and a lower attention span. If you are constantly tired or think you may have iron deficiency anaemia, please consult your doctor.

There are two types of iron: heme iron and non-heme iron.

Heme iron is found in meat, fish and poultry and is well absorbed by our bodies.
Non-heme iron is found in some vegetables, cereals, pulses, beans and fruit. It is poorly absorbed but when taken with vitamin C or heme iron, absorption will increase significantly.
Iron has three main functions in the body:

1.     To carry oxygen around the body in haemoglobin found in the blood

2.     To ensure a healthy immune system. The cells that fight infection depend on adequate iron stores. If your iron levels are low, your body is prone to more infections.

3.     Iron isessential for the production of energy in the body from nutrients

Sources of Iron:

• Dark green leafy vegetables.
• Fortified breakfast cereals.
• Dried fruits – dates, apricots, prunes.
• Kale.
• Blackstrap molasses.
• Beans.
• Tofu

Tips to help boost your iron intake:

• Eat lean red meat 2-3 times per week to ensure the maximum absorption of haem iron.
• Avoid drinking coffee or tea with your meal. The presence of tannin reduces the amount of iron we can utilize from food.
• Eat plenty of vitamin C rich foods (like fruit and vegetables) to assist the body with the absorption of non-haem iron found in plant foods (vegetables, pasta, rice, cereals, bread, pulses, such peas, beans and lentils and fruit)
• Eat lean red meat and vegetables together. Eat a combination of red meat and plant foods. This will assist the body with the absorption of non-haem iron by up to four times
• Beware of diets – Studies suggest that girls and women on low calorie diets often do not get their daily iron requirements. Lean beef, lamb and offal (e.g. liver) are relatively low in calories, yet high in iron. Choose low-fat cooking methods such as grilling of stir-frying and always drain or skim any excess fat, or blot with absorbent paper towels.
• Cooking in cast iron cook ware every so often rather than stainless steel.
• Keeping fit – You’ll need extra iron if you exercise often and strenuously. Ensure your diet is balanced and varied, including lots of food high in haem iron

Once you’re iron levels are back up to a healthy level, you’ll be amazed by the improvement in your performance as well as the increase in your energy level!

Related posts:

1. Iron Defficiency
2. 10 Healthy Breakfast Options
3. Anaemia

• Running at a faster pace.
• Poor fitting shoes.
• Foot abnormalities such as bunions, heel spurs, and hammertoes.
• Heat and moisture will intensify friction by making your feet swell

Blisters – How To Prevent Them: As with other running injuries, begin with the shoes:

• Your shoes must fit correctly to prevent blisters. Check the height of the ankle and heel counter as these are potential blister traps. Avoid shoes that impinge on your toes from the sides and the top.
• Socks: Select socks that fit your foot without being too tight or loose. Choose soft wicking fabric such as Coolmax – NO cotton – cotton absorbs moisture and is usually a little rough in texture. Do not wear socks that are too worn.
• Try and keep your feet dry
• Do NOT wear new shoes to race in – wear them in first.
• Regular foot inspection should identify any potential blister sites, as would general training runs.
• Regular application of a drying agent to the skin, such as methylated spirits, especially to sites most at risk is a good option. Do not apply to existing blister areas!
• If you have specific areas that are prone to blisters you might try applying some covering such as Compeed or Second Skin. These types of product can be found in the Foot Care area of most Chemists

Treatment of Blisters: Be aware that if the blister remains intact, and there is no fluid seeping out, then it is technically a sterile lesion and if possible it should remain intact. Leaving it intact aids the healing. This is easy if the blister is not in a high weight bearing or stressed area and if the blister is small. If the blister is large and somewhere prominent, such as the end of the big toe, side of the little toes or on the heel then it is not desirable to leave intact. This is due to the continued amount of friction that it would be exposed to and the pressure applied to it. If you do have blisters like this then lance the side of the blister with a clean, sterile needle and squeeze gently to remove the fluid. Make sure your hands are clean and try to keep the roof of the blister intact as this will aid the healing process. It is important that an antiseptic dressing is applied immediately and fixed securely in place. If the blister has already broken then the same antiseptic dressing should be applied

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1. 1000 Mile Tactel Ultimate Technical Racing Trainer Liner Socklet
2. Toe Toe Sports Runner Socks
3. Tips For Buying The Correct Socks

Why is it that just when you are on track for a PB you get stich! It appears to happen to me quite often so I decided to find out exactly what is going on:

The fact is that no one really knows what stich is and why or how it happens so I have done a bit of research and come up with some interesting information:

All the information point to the diaphragm being the culprit! It is pretty well understood by most people that the diaphragm is the main muscle of inhalation, but what is less known is that the diaphragm is also a vital part of the group of muscles known as the core stabilisers. In its role as a core stabiliser, the diaphragm is activated subconsciously during the preparity phase of most limb movements. This function prevents no problem when standing still, but when exercising put these two demands together, as occurs during running and it is easy to see how the diaphragm can become overloaded.

Facts About Stitch:

• Stitch is most common during running.
• The site of the stitch varies but is most common in the mid / lateral abdomen.
• Stich decreases with age.
• Stitch is sometimes linked to food or fluid intake.
• Stitch can lead to difficulty in breathing.
• Stitch may be more common in people who train less regularly.

Coping With Stitch:

• Stitch pain will subside if you allow your diaphragm to rest – in other words stop running.
• Try breathing with just the top half of your lungs for a short time.
• Bend forwards while contracting the abdominal muscles.
• Breathe deeply through pursed lips.
• Bend forward, tighten the abdominal muscles and press inwards and upwards on the site of the pain with your palm for 10 – 15 seconds.

Prevention:

• Do NOT ingest large volumes of food and drink, especially if it is high in Carbohydrate immediately before or during exercise.
• Train your diaphragm: Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) You will need a specific training device, such as POWERbreathe and  consists of inhaling against a moderate training load.

So there you have it! I have just started “training my diaphragm” and will let you know how I progress.

Related posts:

1. Stitch – A Real Pain in The Side! Part 2
2. Running and Stitch pain 2
3. Stitch