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ABDOMINAL OBLIQUE MUSCLES TO BE SPECIFIC. Lauren Mazzo features a routine by trainer Kira Stokes that provides a tough workout designed to build core muscle strength.
Runners and walkers following the Earned Runs HALF MARATHON with ‘Saints Days” 5k & 10k Training Plans may wish to change up the scheduled (Wednesdays) back and abdomen strengthening exercise (Dead Bugs) with others in this routine. Like Dead Bugs, the exercises “done lying face-up” are meant, per Stokes, to be performed while pressing the lower back into the floor to engage both abdominal and back muscles simultaneously. In the article for SHAPE.com, "The Hardest Obliques Workout Your Abs Will Ever Experience". Stokes indicates key to developing “core and spinal stabilization” important in running, squatting, and other movements is the strengthening of the internal and external oblique and transverse abdominis muscles. These muscles, “act like a corset to cinch up your stomach” Stokes says. Below is a listing of the exercises, which are demonstrated in a video:
Mazzo provides other directions per Stokes instructions, a reason to read the full article. Those who enjoy watching TV shows to relax in the evenings or transition to action in the mornings may find that the “face-up” exercises can be performed fairly easily at these times. I was surprised to find that this positioning (as for bicycle and Dead Bug moves) is more back-friendly than slouching in a chair or lounging on a sofa prior to bed time. Seriously. RUN & MOVE HAPPY! https://www.shape.com/fitness/videos/intense-obliques-workout-abs
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WEEK 8 HALF MARATHON 2019 with SAINTS DAYS 5k &10K TRAINING PLAN STARTS!
At the end of this week some may be running or walking an early St. Patrick’s Day-themed 10K RACE. If the 10K is your GOAL race you will be running or walking it just to finish or to achieve a decent time. The EARNED RUNS ‘Saints Days’ walking and running plans do not aim to prepare trainees for speed, specifically a personal record (PR), but once you’ve recorded a 10K finish time it is something to consider for the future! A strategy that many runners follow to insure they will not quit mid-race but cross the finish line in good form is to start it comfortably slow and end it with best effort. The plan is to hold back initially, pick up speed gradually, sustain an increased effort for miles 4 and 5, and dig deeper for the final 1-1.25 miles. The general plan is to cover the second half of the race distance, just after passing the mile 3 marker, in less time than the first half, which is referred to as a ‘negative split’. A benefit of starting at a slower than normal pace, in spite of other runners enthusiastically passing by on either side, is a strong finish. You’re likely to be passing some, possibly many of these same people as you pick up speed later in the race. The strategy has worked for me in both walk and run events. Those who are training to run or walk the HALF MARATHON later in the spring, will treat this 10K as a ‘tune-up’ event rather than a goal race. You’ll plan to hold back a bit, hold a steady pace, and not push hard with an all-out effort at the finish. For this reason, there wasn’t a scheduled taper or a ‘peak’ for this distance If you don’t remember the BLOG post that introduced the running and walking plans, explained the concept of training or “tune-up” races, and linked to a Runnersworld.com article, you might check it out. The advice given in that article was to run the ‘tune-up’ 10K evenly all the way through, finishing as if you felt you could have run faster. This race is about gently testing yourself before the half marathon. It provides you with a ‘practice’ race that should build confidence. In other words, easy-does-it, especially at the start. Don’t blast out of the gate and wither before the end. Also, there’s an article in Competitor.com “How to Use Races to Train for Other Races” by Kelly O'Mara that provides more explanation. Enjoy St. Patrick’s Day with this tune-up. RUN & MOVE HAPPY! http://running.competitor.com/2016/04/training/use-races-train-races_148413 http://www.earned-runs.com/blog/fun-tune-up-races http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/tune-up-for-successful-racing https://running.pocketoutdoormedia.com/the-art-of-10k-pacing_7449 https://www.realbuzz.com/articles-interests/running/article/10k-race-tactics/ http://www.tips4running.com/10K-Race-Strategy.html (updated from 2018)
IT’S TIME TO ANTICIPATE the upcoming season. In just under 3 weeks, on March 20, 2019 the Vernal Equinox will occur in the Northern Hemisphere (autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere), and the hours experienced in daylight will equal those in darkness. The event marks the beginning of astrological spring. Why wait so long to celebrate increasing light up north? Meteorological Spring arrives today, March 1 and the first day of “The Brightening” began on February 4. The what? The Earned Runs blog has posted on the topic of “The Brightening”, now for 3 years (2017, 2018, 2019), because it suggests a change in perspective that might help with exercise motivation at the time of year when enthusiasm is at a low point. Fierce winter storms have rolled across the country, week after week for months. Treacherous travel conditions, chilly temperatures, above average precipitation, sunless skies, and too many kids-at-home “snow days” will have sabotaged at least some workouts. A wrecked training program is not a morale booster. Failing to meet New Year fitness resolutions is discouraging. Generally, disruption of any kind to comfortable routines can be stressful. So here we are, at the start of March, in need of cheering up. Perhaps news of “The Brightening” and the coming of meteorological spring today will help. The original post (February 8, 2017) featured the novel idea, put forth in a Backpacker.com magazine article, that the four seasons be reconfigured to help outdoor enthusiasts make the most of daylight hours*. The article’s writer proposed an early spring equivalent, to be called “The Brightening” season, would begin on February 4 each year, and described it as the “glorious season in which you can finally plan a trip without a triple set of headlamp batteries.” The Earned Runs post explained that the item’s “writer does not call for chucking the old system but for using the daylight-based year to inform the backpacking world: don’t wait for ‘Spring’ to arrive to plan hikes. Longer days start with “The Brightening”. Earned Runs urged outdoor lovers of other sports to take note and follow the backpacking community’s lead. “Runners and walkers might also benefit from considering the seasons in the same way as hikers. Although we are not as restricted to daylight hours in enjoying our outdoor activity, the proportion of the day in which the sun is above the horizon may affect enthusiasm and the planning of long or destination runs in nearby [or] getaway locations.” Every winter at this time, the reasoning behind dividing the year by daylight length, starting with “The Brightening”, might make good sense to those weary of darkness. After all, Daylight Saving Time in the USA is set to begin on March 10. We’re ready for more usable daylight. February 4 may be too early to start celebrating in some geographic locations, but the start of meteorological spring on March 1 seems ideal to recognize earlier sunrise and later sunset times. And to consider utilizing them for fitness fun. “The Weather Channel”, which has named winter storms since 2012 (the US National Weather Service refrains from this practice), reports that “Winter Storm Ryan” is making his way across the country. It’s a good bet that the rest of the alphabet will be put in play before winter weather is completely behind us. However, in spite of this stark reality, it might be more mentally and emotionally healthy to begin focusing on the positive aspects of the season now that March has arrived. Like how much brighter and longer that days are and what we can hope to do with the extra time! In the next few weeks some Earned Runs blog posts will go with the theme of making the most of daylight in terms of outdoor exercise. In 2017 the post ended with the sentiment: “At the time of this post we will be in the season of Brightening; let’s celebrate and accelerate our timeline to enjoy the great outdoors.” Earned Runs hopes to help with the acceleration. RUN & MOVE HAPPY! *Here’s how the seasons should be structured, according to Backpacker.com: - THE BRIGHTENING: February 4; “glorious season in which you can finally plan a trip without a triple set of headlamp batteries” - THE SHINING: May 5; “the season of long days fit for big miles” - THE DIMMING: August 7; “reminder to seize every weekend” - THE DARKENINIG:November 7; “perhaps plan a moonlit hike” https://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-spring-vernal-equinox https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/news/meteorological-versus-astronomical-summer—what’s-difference https://www.earned-runs.com/blog/running-in-increasing-daylight https://weather.com/storms/winter/news/2018-10-01-winter-storm-names-2018-2019 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_storm_naming_in_the_United_States |
BRIDGE TO PHYSICAL SELF
Running, walking, and fitness activities enable us to experience our physical selves in a world mostly accessed through use of fingers on a mobile device. AuthorEARNED RUNS is edited and authored by me, runner and founder. In 1978 I began participating in 10K road races before 5Ks were common. I've been a dietitian, practiced and taught clinical pathology, and been involved with research that utilized pathology. I am fascinated with understanding the origins of disease as well as health and longevity. Archives
November 2023
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