Hoops

Me, my brother, and our mad hops

Cardio is important. Whether you're interested in losing weight, decreasing stress or just bettering your overall health outlook, you should be doing at least 30 minutes of cardio 5x each week.  Treadmill, stairmaster, run in the park, brisk walk ... whatever. Just get out, work hard, and feel the positive effects.

The worst thing about cardio? Boredom. It's horrible and it strikes when a person just tries to do the same workout everyday, or the same routine every week. I know for a fact because I'm a person that gets bored easily, so I'm always trying to shake things up when it comes to cardio-based exercise. One thing I don't do enough (but did today, so it's top of mind)? Play basketball.

Now, in order for basketball to count as true cardio exercise, it can't be a leisurely game of H.O.R.S.E. while drinking beers, or a half-court game of 21 where everyone is basically walking around shooting jumpers. The true cardio benefits of hoops come when someone plays a full-court game, doesn't cherrypick, and works hard to rebound and defend, which require a lot of lateral movement, leaping and muscular activity. All these activities will elevate the heart rate and engage many different muscle groups, as well as activate a neurosensory element not always present in cardio ... if you have to think about how to play the game, defend  a person, avoid a body coming at you, you are taking on a different challenge and decreasing the likelihood of boredom.

Want more information on the physiological benefits of playing hoops? 

The intangible benefits of playing basketball may be the best though. Walk into a gym knowing no one, make some quick friends (4), get on the court, figure out how to work together, hopefully win and hold the court, defend against a new group of people, learn more, etc. I can't say enough about how much of a person's character is revealed by how he or she plays basketball with people he or she doesn't know.

If you ever want to play, let me know and let's get out there! I'm out at the SDSU ARC at least once or twice a week and could always use a point guard to pass me the ball. No Celtics fans allowed. 

Happy (Balboa Park) Trails

Took a run through Balboa Park today and was excited to see the city has posted a whole new list of running trails at the southwest corner of the park (basically where 6th meets I-5). If you haven't checked these out, or the ones that are posted on the corner of 6th and Upas, you definitely should. Balboa is a hidden gem for trail running, with all kids of degrees of difficulty, interesting loops through the parks and adjacent canyons, etc. And, for me, there is nothing that connects a person to nature better than bobbing and weaving through dry creek beds, soft dirt trails and groves of trees while pushing yourself.

Giddy up! And let me know which route is your favorite. I'm partial to the "Red" trail that starts on the corner of 6th and Upas myself.

Got a favorite running spot in San Diego? Share with us! 

Persistence Hunting and Endurance Running

I read an awesome article in ESPN the Magazine last week about persistence hunting and the study of its origin/link to the evolution of the human species. It was/is truly amazing. Unfortunately, the article is only available for paid subscribers, but I went online and found some interesting material to explain it better/give you guys some context.

These "persistence hunts"--which started thousands of years ago and continue to this day--last for 8-12 hours or more and involve humans essentially chasing animals until they drop. The runners (relatively slowly) follow them, track their movements, and finally come across their collapsed-due-to-exhaustion bodies. These hunts are the ancient ancestors to marathons, ultramarathons, and distance running in general.

Before I get into the specifics a bit, please watch this entire 8 minute video, which is a very brief documentary of a persistence hunt in the Kalahari desert. You have to watch it. I loved it. Very captivating and emotional.

The central thesis in the majority of this research is that humans evolved from quadrupeds to bipeds basically to open up their lungs to allow for better breathing, because the only "weapon" they had at that time (this was before things like spears or bows and arrows were invented) was their ability to run long for very long distances ... something the majority of animals we hunted were unable to do. If you want some scientific breakdown of this, check out this journal article.

Humans are the only species equipped with sweat glands all over the entire body--so that we can cool ourselves as opposed to the majority of animals we hunted. We also have certain neck muscles to stabilize our head during running, the muscle structure and certain ligaments to give us the ability to run for long distances, and other benefits specific to humans. All of these create a natural link between evolution of the species and our desire to be distance runners. ESPN used all of this information as a way to tie the burgeoning trend of people adopting distance running to the evolution of the human species as runners and a desire to return to that primal state. Super cool.

Obviously, this is a crude explanation, but hopefully enough to pique your interest. Enjoy reading some more about it here. If you're an endurance runner, this will change your view on running in a great way. For me, it helped me understand a bit more one of the reasons why when I run I feel at peace, connected, focused and internally motivated.

Are you a runner? Why do you run? What types of things motivate you to do it? 

5-Minute, 5-Stretch Routine for Runners (Lower Body)

I used to be horrible at stretching before or after a run. Then I began my focus on fitness and learned about all the different benefits that stretching provides, mainly after a workout. I immediately began seeing the results of taking time to work on flexibility. Curious about those benefits? Check this out. 

I made stretching easy on myself by adopting a simple, five-stretch routine (that I originally developed for my Running 101 class at the Mission Valley Y). I now do it after every run I take. If I knuckle down, I can knock it out in five minutes, which is a wonderful investment when the return = less soreness, reduced likelihood of injury, and better flexibility.

I'm going to list all five stretches and link to videos describing them. I feel that's a more efficient way of "demonstrating" them (instead of writing a descriptive "how-to"). However, if you have any questions, want me to help you understand them, or just want a running partner, let me know!

Remember, hold each stretch for 30 seconds (at least), no bouncing, and breathe deep the whole time. Try and use the time to recover with your breathing, relax and think about how awesome your run just was.

1 - Straight-leg hamstring stretch. No video for this one, because it's the "touch your toes" stretch. It's fundamental and popular for a reason - it works. Targets the hamstrings and low back.

2 - "Flamingo" stretch. This is also a fundamental one because it's the best way to target the quadriceps. Skip to :28 seconds into this video to see a demo.

3 - Calf Stretch - Targets the calves. I covered this in a previous blog post; you can check it out here.

4 - "Butterfly" stretch - Targets the groin and hip flexors. This video gives a demo. I'm not a huge fan of the 10-15 second warm-up period she suggests, but there's nothing fundamentally wrong with it, so if you like it, go for it.

5 - Hip stretch - Targets the hips. This somewhat cheesy video (with an ad - sorry) gives a great demo.

Give it a shot! Your muscles and joints will thank you post-run. Also, I was serious about that running buddy thing ... if you want someone to chug alongside you, give me a call.

Do you have any stretches that you love? Share them with us!

Caffeine and Exercise - Things to Know

When I started teaching a running 101 course at the YMCA, the most common question I got--believe it or not--wasn't about stretching, technique, or anything like that. It was about caffeine. Strange. Maybe it was because a few articles were published around that time talking about caffeine's effect on exercise. Either way, I figured it would be a fun topic to discuss here ...

The basics:

• Caffeine is a diuretic. It robs your body of water. So, if you're going to drink it before exercise, be sure you make up for it by increasing water intake. A good rule to follow is one cup of water for each cup of coffee (or caffeinated beverage).
• Caffeine releases FFAs (free fatty acids) into your blood, which can help increase energy. The caveat to this is that your body needs to be "trained" to use fat as energy in order to do it efficiently. It's not difficult, but it takes time exercising at higher-than-normal intensity levels to "teach" your body how to use fat as fuel. If you want to learn more about this, read this article (science-speak alert). 
• Once the body is trained to use fat as fuel, caffeine can be a great way to delay fatigue, as the body will burn the fat (released by caffeine into the blood) as fuel first, and glucose later (glucose depletion is the major cause of fatigue).
• Caffeine gives you energy! Duh. This is the reason people ask the question. But it's not stupid to look at the bottom line: if a cup of coffee or tea helps you get out of bed in the morning to exercise, that is a good thing! 
• Recent studies have shown that caffeine increases nitric oxide levels, which promotes better blood flow to the muscles - this means better stamina during resistance training, and a boost in strength/power/endurance

What's the takeaway? Caffeine can definitely help with workouts! Just be careful to drink enough water and, like everything, use it in moderation.

What's your experience with caffeine and working out?? How much do you drink/how soon before you workout? What effects have you seen?