Staying motivated
Let's get motivated!
A new year often means new goals. Many people start a new year with motivation and enthusiasm for a new target. It's normal to have down days and days when the exercise mojo just isn't there. There are times when things can come along and drain your motivation to exercise: work, kids, general fatigue, weather (it's freezing in January!), various commitments and duties that need to take priority. However, it's ok to accept that there will be down days but also plenty of up days. To help you have more up days and stay motivated, check out our tips to help you stay motivated.
1. Plan your exercise activity. Schedule a time when you plan to exercise and try to stick to it. It's been shown that the best time to exercise to help you stick to your goals is the morning. Doing an activity in the morning can help you to make a good start to the day, before additional demands start to take up your time. Getting into a morning routine can be hard at first and we do suggest you 'test the water' by just doing this once or twice a week and it eventually becomes part of your routine. It's also helpful to lay your gear out the night before so you're all prepared in the morning. If mornings just aren't for you, try and schedule a specific time of day for you so that an activity becomes part of your daily routine.
2. Do an activity with other people if you can. Make a date with others to go for a run, walk or ride. Involve other people and you are more likely to do a scheduled run. Talking and being in the company of other people is great for the mind. Tell other people about our challenge. They might want to join you and they can also use our in-app group feature.
3. Be realistic. Don't beat yourself up if you have to miss an activity due to unforseen events, injury or just lack of motivation or just want a rest. Don't expect to run sub 10mins miles or ride at 30mph if you are a beginner. Decide each month/week what is achievable in terms of training and other commitments.
4. Vary your routes. You can easily become stale doing the same thing day after day. Boost your motivation by going on different terrain and finding places that you like to visit. It keeps you fresh to vary the terrain - hilly/flat and change up the routes that you might use.
5. Ask us if you need help. Yes, we want you to succeed. Please message us or post on our social media pages if you need some help or check out or community group for motivation. We're here to help you complete your challenge. You've got this!
We want to help everyone in getting fitter and keep you motivated so please keep checking updates on our Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Keep being awesome
Carl Ryde
About the author:
Carl is an international marathon runner and qualified exercise physiologist. He holds a BSc(Hons) in sports and exercise science, a Diploma in Sports Psychology and is an Advanced Level 3 REPS qualified exercise instructor. Carl is also a BACR Phase IV cardiac rehabilitation therapist and has been leading exercise and fitness sessions for over 20 years.
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Staying safe, staying healthy, keep running
Running and staying healthy
A number of studies have recently been published which have looked at the effects of COVID-19 impacts on mental and physical health. One study by University College London (UCL) found that over two-thirds of adults (69%) in their study reported adverse mental health effects due to COVID-19, including anxiety, boredom and depression. Uncertainty about the future presents further challenges for people with regards to maintaining positive mental health. If you run and exercise regularly you will be aware of the many positive benefits, both mental and physical, of going for a run. Recent research by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has shown that regular activity can ‘boost our immune system to help minimize the effects of the virus, ameliorate our symptoms, expedite our recovery times and lower the likelihood that we can infect others with whom we come into contact’. Their research has shown that exercise is a very effective medicine. We’ve created a simple guide, with these tips to help you stay safe and well, both mentally and physically by including running as a healthy activity.
· Try to run as usual and stay active. Running is a safe activity and will improve your mental health too. When you exercise your brain releases dopamine and other endorphins, which can create a ‘happy state’. In addition, the hippocampus — the part of the brain associated with memory and learning — has been found to increase in volume in the brains of regular runners.
· Try to run relaxed for some of your runs and avoid being a ‘slave to the watch’, trying to run set times or splits most of the time, which can become a negative habit if done too frequently. We only recommend running hard two times a week as a maximum. Enjoy your runs and being out in nature. Keep your easy runs easy. Easy runs actually make you very fit! The world marathon record holder runs most of his training at 70% of his maximum – not 100%! Most of your running might be at a conversational pace, meaning you can talk as you run. Running relaxed has been shown to boost endorphins and promote a positive mood.
· Stay connected with others. We could do a promo post about the Fitwins App and how you can connect with others in groups (OK, we just did!), but if you want to connect by social media, Strava, or share your runs on another platform, it helps to know that you are part of a community. Give someone kudos – a ‘well done’ can make someone’s day and spreads positivity
· Try to eat healthy foods, including fruits and vegetables (5 a day). It’s been shown that low-mood can often lead to poor dietary choices and resorting to eating unhealthy snacks. Leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collards, and broccoli are rich in brain-healthy nutrients like vitamin K, lutein, folate, and beta carotene, and can boost serotonin levels
· Getting a good night's sleep during the pandemic will not only boost your immune system but will promote positive mental health. Make sleep a priority, just as you would healthy eating or being active.
Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, if possible, especially during the pandemic, when routines may have been disrupted.
Remember it’s good to get outdoors and exercise. Fresh air and sunlight can significantly improve mood, whilst also boosting Vitamin D levels and immune function. Keep running, stay safe and keep being awesome.
References
UCL COVID-19 Social Study (2020)
SET YOURSELF A GOAL. Write down a target of what you want to achieve. Eg. xx miles in one week/month. FITWINS offers monthly distance challenge to motivate you to achieve your goals.
RUNNING FURTHER
I want to get better at running. I want to run for long periods. How can I increase my stamina?
This is a question that we got asked this week and we often receive questions about how to run further and develop stamina. We have some guidance about how you can improve your ability to run further. If you are wanting to increase the length of your runs and develop your endurance, we recommend the following:
1. BE PATIENT. We want to increase fitness progressively. Look at increasing the length of your longest run by no more than 20% each week (an increase of 10% is preferable). This is manageable and allows time for adaptation. Recovery is key and for this to occur, you need to be patient. If your longest run is 5 miles, then look at slowly building to 6, then 7 over progressive weeks; avoid trying to make a jump from 5 miles to 10 miles too quickly; big jumps can often result in injury. This applies to all abilities of runner. If I am starting a marathon build up, I may be running 12 miles as my longest run at the start, but to start running 20 miles plus comfortably takes around 6 weeks. Small steps all add up if you are consistent.
2. GET FRESH. If you're wanting to run longer than before make sure you're rested. That means having a few easy days before your longer run, eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, drinking adequate fluids and not too running hard in the days before a longer effort.
3. PROMOTE FITNESS GAINS. After your run, that's when adaptation and improvement starts. Have some quality protein within 30mins of your run (shake, banana, oatbar) and try to do some stretches to make sure you start the recovery process. Have an easy day after your longer run to promote adaptation. If you follow these steps, you should become able to run further, with less fatigue and feel stronger, fitter and even faster. We've heard of many success stories of people who have gone from not being able to run for 10mins to being able to run a marathon, by being consistent.
4. SET YOURSELF A GOAL. Write down a target of what you want to achieve. Eg. xx miles in one week/month. FITWINS offers monthly distance challenges and you can learn more about these here.
5. CONNECT WITH OTHER PEOPLE. Running with others, physically or virtually, can motivate you to run further as you will encourage each other to succeed. You can run with others virtually too, sharing your runs on running apps such as STRAVA. You can also create your own running groups with the FITWINS app.
Stay positive, set your goals and smash them. #teamfitwins
GET FIT AND BE A WINNER!
SET YOURSELF A GOAL. Write down a target of what you want to achieve. Eg. xx miles in one week/month. FITWINS offers monthly distance challenge to motivate you to achieve your goals.
favourite shoes
A shoe that exceeds expectations
Here is our review of the 361°Meraki running shoe, a shoe that I’ve been wearing for many training runs. In the 20+ years that I’ve been running, I’ve worn many great running shoes. Some of my favourite shoes have been the Asics Gel Nimbus, Adidas Supernova Glide and the Brooks Adrenaline. I like a shoe that has good support for my general training runs, feels light, has a good response and bounce, and is also very comfortable. When running you need comfort and above all you want the shoes to fit well and allow you to run fast – it needs quality engineering and not all running shoes can do this. The 361° Meraki does exactly this – their own MORPHIT technology allows the shoe to fit securely and lock the forefoot, providing maximum comfort on your run. There is also a carbon fibre shank that runs along the spine and provides optimum support in the midfoot. My favourite aspect of the shoe is the QU!KFOAM, which gives added bounce and responsiveness, which you can really feel on contact. These are my favourite shoes at the moment and credit must really go to the engineering involved in creating these superb shoes. If you would like to check out these shoes online, there is a link here: https://www.achillesheel.co.uk/collections/361-degrees
361° Meraki
running mindfulness
With the impact of lockdown causing changes to our routines, this can have a negative impact on our health both mentally and physically. These routines have been established over many years and to suddenly face the lack of social, face-to-face connection, changes in work or furlough, added stresses and uncertainties we all face due to COVID-19, plus lots of other disruptions, it can create a negative mindset.
We want to try and help you to find positives and apply a positive mindset during these difficult times. Although these ideas aren’t a complete solution and may not be for you at all, they might help. I’ve decided to call this ‘Running Mindfulness’ as running is my passion and I know too well the positive mental benefits that running can bring. Here are a few things that might help.
1. Contact a friend and tell them that you are going for your run. Agree a time and a distance that you will run. Agree to contact each other afterwards and guess your partners time for the distance. I do this with my friend, who runs 5k three times a week and am only 10-20 secs out each time. He does the same with me and we see who is closer. We’re keeping score and it’s 6-2 to me.
2. Accept that although there are no Parkruns or races, you can still earn medals, prizes and get support through our virtual running challenges. Check out FITWINS challenges on our site.
3. Do not try to run a PB on every run or set a record-breaking time on every run you do. We recommend only running hard 2 or 3 times a week. Remember to take easy days.
4. With disruption to your routine, set aside a time that you will run and get out. I used to run at 7am before work and some laziness has crept in. An early run sets me up for the day but a lie-in is also helpful. I now set aside 12-1pm for my run and my family are supportive of that being the time for me to go out and run.
5. Running is one of the few areas where we might have control in terms of having YOU time. Do not feel guilty about having YOU time. It’s basic self-care. A single run, on your own can work wonders to clear your head and solve problems. Some of my most creative ideas happen when I run.
6. Music can help brighten up your mood. I wear AfterShokz when I run and listen to my favourite tunes, all downloaded and stored in the headphones.
7. Join a virtual running club. We have an inclusive club here on STRAVA (click on this link)
8. Accept that things will go back to normal soon
9. Give kudos to someone who has run in a virtual club, such as our STRAVA club. Reach out and give them a 'thumbs up'. Share the positivity of other people completing an activity.
10. Try to laugh. Have you noticed.....Some people only write Lockdown because they can't spell Kwaranteen.
Time for a run
carl@fitwins
© Carl Ryde and FITWINS Ltd.
Carl is an international marathon runner and qualified running coach. He holds a BSc(Hons) in sports and exercise science, a Diploma in Sports Psychology and is an Advanced Level 3 REPS qualified exercise instructor. Carl is also a BACR Phase IV cardiac rehabilitation therapist and has been leading fitness and running sessions for over 20 years.
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Measuring fitness
Improve your fitness and track your progress
FITWINS is committed to promoting and improving health, through regular activity. We are for all levels of ability and people can do 25 miles to 200 plus miles in one month. The gains that you might get from engaging regular activity, such as running, include and are not limited to: improved aerobic capacity, achieving a healthy weight, improved muscular endurance and strength, improvements in exercise efficiency, improved mood, self-esteem, and many more benefits (we could go on).
A question that often puzzles people is ‘How can I measure fitness gains?’ For many people the first thing they might think of is stepping on the bathroom scales and measuring their weight, assuming that weight loss means improved fitness. Millions of people think this and strive to achieve fitness improvements by diet, with limited physical activity. However, does this improve general fitness effectively? Some people would argue that there are very limited, if any, fitness gains from simply losing weight. We need to exercise and the general guidance for enhancing physical health is that we should do regular activity for at least one hour every day.
If you’ll excuse the scientific terminology, many exercise physiologists measure aerobic fitness by VO2 max, which is the ability of your heart to deliver oxygen to working muscles, and the effective use of oxygen by muscle tissues. It’s the maximum amount of oxygen you can use in a minute (ml/(kg·min). I’m going to explain it in simple terms: if you have an improved VO2 max, then you have made significant improvements in your aerobic fitness. Given that these gains will have been achieved by regular exercise, using working muscles, you will have more muscular endurance and will see massive improvements in your fitness. Your heart and muscles will work more efficiently, you’ll feel better and will run and move faster and often with less effort.
So how do we measure improvements in aerobic fitness? One way of doing this is by going to a laboratory but we’re not in any rush to do that, as there are some easier ways. Some watches have VO2 max calculators built in that use heart rate to measure the effort required to run at a certain pace and will use other variables.
Another, very simple way, is by covering a route that you use as part of your routine and seeing if it feels easier at the same pace as a few months ago, looking back at how much you have improved. Some people might do time trials or Parkrun, and it might just be an idea, instead of going for a PB or fastest time, to try and run a time that you ran a couple of months ago and compare your effort level, and maybe heart rate if you have a monitor.
Finally, if you do have a heart rate monitor, I suggest covering a standard route and comparing your heart rate at a similar pace. A lower heart rate at a similar pace/intensity will show that your aerobic fitness has much improved. Some months ago I tore my hamstring and could not do any running for 6 weeks and cycling also hurt. I did some swimming but due to my terrible swimming technique I wasn’t getting the same fitness gains that I got from a run. My fitness declined rapidly, I gained weight, my mood suffered and I was eager to get back running. Eventually I started running and noted how high my heart rate was at relative paces compared to before. I needed to slow my runs down and gain fitness gradually rather than try to run harder at the same pace. In time, my aerobic fitness improved over 4 weeks and this is shown in the images (note the lower heart rate compared to before). Using heart rate and your perception of effort can help you to monitor improvements in fitness.
If you are now wondering how you might improve your aerobic capacity, the first thing is to be more active: run and walk more. We aim to promote increased activity with FITWINS. Perhaps you recently completed a monthly challenge (25/50/75/100/125/150/175 miles in a month) and now you’re thinking of doing the next +25 miles increment the following month. Just make sure you plan your month and don’t risk injury by overdoing your activity at the end of the month, playing catch up. You can also increase the pace of A FEW runs to add some intensity, such as 5 x 2mins faster efforts during your runs, or using some fartlek or interval training to improve fitness.
Time for a run
carl@fitwins
© Carl Ryde and FITWINS Ltd.
Measuring heart rate can be used to measure improvements in fitness
Fuelling your training
Nutrition for training and recovery
If you're training regularly you'll be aware of the importance of fuelling correctly to ensure you can train well. I've made many mistakes, most notably missing lunch due to work commitments, not eating for 12 hours, forgetting that I'd not eaten (yes, it was a very intense day) and then going into a long run before feeling faint and dizzy at around 20mins in, sitting down and finally managing to crawl home! Well, 'an empty sack won't stand up', we need to ensure we have enough energy to train. Thankfully, that was a one-off occasion and something I learned from. I make sure I eat enough carbohydrate before I run and am conscious of the need to have healthy snacks available, including energy bars, bananas and fruits that have a good source of natural carbs. I always eat something 30 - 60 minutes before training, whether I'm hitting the trails or doing a speed workout. In addition, I also take a Revvies caffeine strip ten minutes before and every 40mins to increase my energy levels and focus, particularly if I am planning on running a challenging session.
After training, that is when adaptation occurs and this is when you can make the most training gains, by facilitating the recovery process to make you fitter and stronger. I always make sure I have planned my post-training nutrition by having a recovery protein shake ready. Protein provides the body's building blocks: amino acids that support muscle growth and recovery + thousands of other vital functions. I use a TRIBE nutrition shake as they are 100% natural and contain 20g of protein. It has been shown that to improve training gains you should ingest protein during the optimum 30mins window immediately after exercise. I make sure I have a protein bar and a banana during the 30mins post-training period.
If you’re training regularly, it is essential to stay hydrated pre, during and post workout. It is also just as important to keep hydrated when you aren't training, as fluids help to regulate your body temperature and flush out damaged cells. During training sessions, it's good to drink 4 - 5 sips of water/electrolyte drink every 20 minutes.
I managed to run a 2.23 marathon, which was my optimum, by ensuring I used quality products to reach my potential. OK, it wasn't near Kipchoge's 1:59 but I got the best out of myself, and obviously fuelling well played a big part.
I really love TRIBE nutrition products as they are 100% natural and give me the energy and protein I need. I also use Revvies before and during long runs to give me a boost. My favourite energy bar is the TRIBE peanut butter and banana energy bar; great tasting, easily digestible and give a slow release energy that can power me through my runs. You can check out products that I use here: TRIBE nutrition ; Revvies Energy
I'm now off for my long run, fuelled well and with a nice recovery shake at the end!
Keep on moving.
carl@fitwins
About the coach:
Carl is an international marathon runner and qualified running coach. He holds a BSc(Hons) in sports and exercise science, a Diploma in Sports Psychology and is an Advanced Level 3 REPS qualified exercise instructor. Carl is also a BACR Phase IV cardiac rehabilitation therapist and has been leading fitness and running sessions for over 20 years.
TRIBE packs offer a mixture of 100% natural energy, protein and hydration products.
100km in a month?
Your first challenge...let's do this!
If you've entered out first challenge, we wish you every success in covering 100k whether running, walking or combining both types of activity. We know you can do it and this guide will help break it down for you. Remeber to record your activities on your fitness tracker (Strava/Garmin/Fitbit) and once you've completed the monthly challenge you can get that awesome medal. To help you in getting fitter and achieving your goals, here is some useful advice from our expert coach on interval training, using running and walking.
I'd like to share with you some advice about how we burn calories (kcal). Whether we run or walk, during the activity we will burn a similar amount of calories. We will burn slightly more from running however due to (a really scientific term) EPOC, excessive, post exercise consumption, which means our bodies use more energy after running. In addition, our fat-burning hormonal response is also greater after running. With this in mind you might want to consider using interval training to add intensity to your walk/run. Not only will this add variety to your training but it will also lead to increased fitness gains. If you are already capable of running 3-6 miles without walking, why not try adding intervals in the form of 1 minute of fast running/1min easy jogging for three miles. This is a session that marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge likes to do (but for up to 10 miles!). If you combine this with a 1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down that is a good quality session, with 5 miles in total, that will promote fitness gains. A cool down is a very slow recovery jog/walk. A warm up should start very slowly and build up to a comfortable pace (a pace at which you can speak easily whilst moving).
If you are new to interval training and want to combine walking/running this programme should work for you. This plan is for beginners.
Week 1: Sign up to the challenge. Walk/run 15 miles during the week (15 miles for week/15 miles monthly total)
Week 2: Do this on two days this week:
Walk 3mins, jog for 1 minute until you have completed 3 miles. If 1 minute is too much reduce running time to 30secs. Include a 1 mile warm up
and cool down. Do another run/walk of 6 miles this week. (16 miles for week/31 miles monthly total)
Week 3: Do this on two days this week:
Walk 2mins, jog for 1 minute until you have completed 3 miles. Do another run/walk of 6 miles this week. (16 miles for week/47 miles monthly total)
Week 4: Walk 1 minute, jog for 1 minute until you have completed 3 miles.
Do another run/walk of 6 miles this week. (16 miles for week/63 miles monthly total)
That's 62.1 miles (100k! done) ! WOW!!!! Send us your image file to verification@fitwins.co.uk and get that medal and t-shirt (optional).
In order to complete the challenge this plan will work. However, bear in mind that you don't want to end up trying to squeeze in lots of runs towards the end of the month to complete the challenge if you aren't used to regular exercise. That's why we recommend taking a month to complete each challenge unless you run or walk frequently. Elite runners are able to train every day but if you aren't used to running most days you will need to plan in recovery/rest days to avoid massive increases in training load and potential injury or burnout.
We want to help everyone in getting fitter and keep you motivated so please keep checking updates on our Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Keep on moving.
Carl Ryde
About the coach:
Carl is an international marathon runner and qualified running coach. He holds a BSc(Hons) in sports and exercise science, a Diploma in Sports Psychology and is an Advanced Level 3 REPS qualified exercise instructor. Carl is also a BACR Phase IV cardiac rehabilitation therapist and has been leading fitness and running sessions for over 20 years.
The coach: Carl Ryde, England International Marathon Runner