Fit Bunn

Everyone knows what happens this time of year - more food, more alcohol and more laziness! Well, not me. This winter I am keeping control of my life and spending the 6 week run-up to Christmas getting super-fit.

I've got myself a fitness plan with activities every day - the daily cycle-commute to work along with some longer bikes in there too, push-ups, arm workouts, core workouts and runs. Our meal plans have been juggled to be a bit healthier whilst maintaining a good carb:protein ratio to compliment the mix of cardio and strength training I have planned.

Why am I boasting? Well, I want you to join me of course! Although I have my dedicated fitness blog, Running Bunn, I think it's important to include a bit of fitness over here too. Everyone should be doing some exercise, I was an 'ideal weight' but very unhealthy for years. Now I can happily say all that lethargy and depression has been severely punished and I actually really look forward to a good workout these days!

So, make yourself some fitness goals for winter, whether it's to run up the stairs instead of walking or to finally get that 5k run done in under 40minutes. When I get up in the morning to see pouring rain I know I can't just get the bus because I wouldn't reach my goal that way, it's such a great motivator! And I bet you'll feel fantastic come Christmas Day.

An Introduction to Squatting

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Whether you are training to lose weight, increase size and strength or for sports - you should be squatting! Squats are a compound exercise, this means that they use more than one set of muscles. In fact squats are the most important compound exercise you can do. The main muscles used are the quads, glutes and hamstrings, but squats do a lot more than build lower body strength. Squatting correctly uses muscles over the whole of your body.

The Body Weight Squat

• Stand up straight with your feet shoulder width apart.
• Bend your knees and lower your upper body until your thighs are parallell to the floor (you can go down further into a deeper squat but make sure you go to at least parallell.)
• Ensure that your knees do not extend past the end of your toes.
• Look straight ahead. This will help keep the correct form and stop your back from arching.
• Push up through your heels to a standing position.
• Breathe in as you go down and out as you push up.
• Repeat!

It is a good idea to practice body weight squats for a while before adding weight. This ensures you are using the correct form and will help prevent any injuries.

Once you are comfortable with the body weight squat and can perform 20 reps quite easily - try it with an empty bar across your back.

• Place the empty bar (no weight plates) across the top of your back (not your neck!).
• Grip the bar with wide grip, palms facing forward.
• Squat! (remembering the flat back, knees not past the end of your toes and to push up through your heels.)

Adding Some Iron!

Once you are happy with your form with the empty bar it's time to add some weight. You will need to use a squat rack. If you don't have access to a squat rack, you can squat with dumbbells (see below).

• Step into the squat rack and set the bar a few inches below shoulder height.
• Check that the safety bars are low enough so that you can squat deeply.
• Duck under the bar and grab it with a wide grip, palms facing outwards.
• Rest the bar across the top of your back.
• Unrack the bar by standing up, whilst breathing out and then take a step back.
• Squat!
• When you have finished put the bar back onto the rack by stepping forwards and dropping it back down.

The Dumbbell Squat

If you don't have access to a squat rack you can still perform squats using dumbbells. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms down by your sides and perform the squat using the same technique as above.

Following this guide and squatting correctly won't just help you sculpt those Olympian legs - you will find that more iron on the squat bar will put a few extra kilos on your bench press, deadlift and other exercises too.

Focus on Side Stitch

A lot of novice runners give up quickly thanks to little niggles. Here, I address those problems and solve them so you can get out there and run! Or at least you'll have answers for all those lazy buggers who come up with excuses not to run with you.

Side Stitch

No-one's quite sure what causes a stitch. Some theories suggest it's caused by the liver contracting (which would be why a stitch is usually on the right hand side) due to internal pressure as blood flow increases. Other theories blame the diaphragm or spine.

Whatever the cause, a stitch doesn't feel good. The best course of action is to slow down, stop if you have to, and just wait it out. As ever a strong core can help, and try to avoid food and sugary drinks for an hour before you run.

Focus on Back Pain

A lot of novice runners give up quickly thanks to little niggles. Here, I address those problems and solve them so you can get out there and run! Or at least you'll have answers for all those lazy buggers who come up with excuses not to run with you.

Back Pain

A lot of runners complain about pain in their back and, as someone new to the sport, you're more at risk. Novice runners often have a weak core which places strain on the rest of the body.

In your back a weak core can contribute to curvature and compression of the joints which is pretty painful. Combat the pain by including some abs exercises in your warm-up and really concentrat in pulling your core in tight as you run.

Attending a regular yoga or pilates class can help to alleviate the pain, strengthen your core and stretch out any tight muscles.

Focus on Headaches

A lot of novice runners give up quickly thanks to little niggles. Here, I address those problems and solve them so you can get out there and run! Or at least you'll have answers for all those lazy buggers who come up with excuses not to run with you.

 Headaches

A lot of new runners complain about headaches during and after a run. The culprit? Usually dehydration.

As you run your body heats up and you sweat to cool down. Even if you're not running very far or very fast, you nee to remember to re-hydrate your body. As a general rule, when you're training and working out regularly try to drink at least 2.5 - 3 litres of water a day - more if it's hot.

If you're run lasts more than about half an hour you'll probably want to take a drink with you. Something sport focused like Lucozade Sport will help to replace lost electrolytes and give you a carb boost too. If you're still struggling consider using re-hydration sachets before and after a run. Also wear a peaked cap and sunglasses to block out glare which can be another trigger factor.

Focus on Shin Splints

A lot of novice runners give up quickly thanks to little niggles. Here, I address those problems and solve them so you can get out there and run! Or at least you'll have answers for all those lazy buggers who come up with excuses not to run with you.

Shin Pain


Some pain in your lower legs is normal when you're really exerting yourself in a training session and, as a new runner you're even more susceptible. As with most little niggles a strong core really helps as this takes a lot of the stress away from your legs.

Again, wearing the right shoes is important. If you haven't been to a proper running shop for a gait analysis yet then you really should! If you're really feeling it try lowering your mileage and doing a few interval runs instead and definitely don't skimp on the rest days! Build up your leg strength slowly and try to stick to softer running surfaces for a while.

Focus on Runner's Knee

A lot of novice runners give up quickly thanks to little niggles. Here, I address those problems and solve them so you can get out there and run! Or at least you'll have answers for all those lazy buggers who come up with excuses not to run with you.

Runner's Knee

Getting twinges around your knee when you run can indicate a muscular imbalance. Make sure you're doing at least one weekly strength session on your legs. Aim to include lunges and squats to improve your overall leg and glute strength which will relieve some of the pressure on your knee. Having a strong core helps too so throw in a few planks a week too.

Having the right running shoes always helps - you need good mid-foot stability  and a well cushioned sole. Always stretch really well after your run and use an ice-pack on your knees if you need to.

If you're still having problems include plenty of oily fish in your diet to keep your joints healthy and consider taking a supplement such as glucosamine or cod liver oil

Never Been To Zumba?

Today I have a real treat for you - a guest post from my wonderful, not-evil-at-all step-mum Mags. Read more from her over at Heath Barns, a lovely blog all about renovating some beautiful barns.

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Early Morning Training

"The heights of great men reached and kept,
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept, 
Were toiling upwards in the night."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I have never been very good at getting up early, however the early morning is (in my opinion) by far the most beautiful time of day. It is also the perfect time of day for exercise, so I have spent the past few weeks conditioning my mind and body into getting up early and fitting some training in before breakfast.

The most important step in getting up earlier is going to sleep earlier. It doesn't have to be a big change - I have brought my bedtime forward by about an hour, so I now go to bed at around eleven o'clock. Losing an hour at the end of the day hasn't affected me greatly at all. The final hour of the day is the least productive - it has just meant reading a few less chapters of a book or watching a shorter film (possibly Predator instead of Scarface).

The extra hour or so gained at the start of the day however has made a huge difference. I now set my alarm for 5:30 and by 5:45(ish) I am out of the house, having donned my training gear and downed a protein shake.

Variety is important. If I had been getting up early and doing the same thing every day I think the monotony would have beaten me. My early morning training is usually one of the following; 

• Aerobic endurance (either a steady paced run or intervals).
• Plyometrics followed by sprints (I have to do plyometric training early, when not too many people are about or I get some very strange looks as I jump around my local park).
• Weights session.
• Yoga.

One of the benefits of early morning training is the freeing up of time later in the day (the time after work spent in the gym or running can now be used elsewhere) and I don't know if this is true for other people but early morning training sessions seem to be a lot more effective than sessions later in the day. This has to be purely psychological and I put it down to the fact that training early in the morning makes me feel like Rocky!

12 Week 10k Plan

I've decided to do the Reepham Summer 10k on August 19th, this gives me 12 weeks to prepare myself for a much better time than the Race for Life 10k. I found a really good looking training plan which I have transferred to a Word document to make it easy to modify. I've only moved a few of the runs around but this should help the plan to fit into my week a bit better - send me an email or leave a comment if you'd like the doc sent over to modify yourself.

Flexibility

This week I'm going to be trying to improve my flexibility. After my 10k race at the weekend I felt so stiff, all I wanted to do was stretch and massage every muscle in my body. So my mission this week is to improve my flexibility. I'll be concentrating on a few muscle groups and combining exercise, yoga, static stretching, massage and diet to see what results I can get.

I need a start point, so I've chosen a few stretches which I'm going to use as a test and some exercises to see how effective my increased flexibility is. I've done them today and will do again at the end of the week to see if there's been a significant change.

So, starting with the flexibility testing then. I used the following video as a guide and scored myself out of 5 each side for each of the leg tests and out of 10 for the last two. There's a maximum of 25 for each leg and 70 overall.
 

	Left	Right	Total
Knees to chest	4	4	8
Leg in air	3	4	7
Leg out to side	3	3.5	6.5
Leg over to side	1	1	2
Leg bent and over	2	3	5
Down dog	4		4
Kneeling back	9		9
Totals	13	15.5	41.5

Before the stretches I also did some plyometrics. If you're not sure what it is, don't worry - I didn't either until recently! Basically, it's jumping, but hardcore jumping. I did two sets of eight for each jump and scored out of five for how easy I found the exercise (with one being hard and 5 being easy) and five for form, a total of 10 points possible for each jump, 40 overall.

	Ease	Form	Total
Squat Jump	3	1	4
Standing Long Jump	2	2	4
Diagonal Jumps	1	1	2
Lateral Jumps	1	1	2
			12

So why not give these a go yourself, see how you score, then join me back here to analyse my results.

Night night. x

Race Prep

So, tomorrow is the big day. After months of training and anticipation I'm finally going to be doing a 10k race! This past week I've been doing a few things to get me ready physically and, tonight, I'll be starting the mental preparation. So, here's how to prepare for race day.

Attitude Control

I got up this morning full of beans. I had a fantastic run last night (2.75 miles, hardly walked any!) and a really good night's sleep. I sat at the table eating my Weetabix when the radio announced that today is Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year.

My Twitter feed is full of people complaining about why they feel blue today, people in the street saying "Well, it is the most depressing day of the year." to explain their sullen faces. No-one can help it on a day like today, it's scientifically proven, we have to be depressed.

So, why is it Blue Monday? Well, just a quick Google and the lovely Wikipedia explains it all. Blue Monday was originally a publicity stunt by Sky Travel in 2005 to get people to go on holiday. They paid academics to put their names to a pseudo-scientific paper with a nonsense equation and it looks like everyone has fallen for it.

We've been told to be sad today, so we will be.

Well, NOT ME! I'm not going to feel how the corporations tell me to feel. I'm going to take control of my attitude and have a good day, a great day!

In the words of His Holiness the14th  Dalai Llama...

The key to human happiness lies within our own state of mind, and so too do the primary obstacles to that happiness.

And, in my words, Blue Monday can jog on.

Random Running

The Mr managed to convince me that I'm probably better than c25k week one and that, instead of following the plan, I should just run as much as I can, with no route.

I got MapMyRun up on the ol' HTC and we set off. Yes, we. I ran with my husband for the first time ever. After about 15 minutes we were doing some 'off-roading' in the woods and my asthma started to kick in. Having lost my inhaler in the house move I decided to slow down for a bit. Some sporadic (and painful) jogging later and I was back home.

Unfortunately I had managed to pause MapMyRun in my pocket and so had no idea how far we'd gone, if all that pain was worth it. I went on-line later and figured it must have been just under 2.5 miles in about 35 minutes. Not bad when you feel like you're going to pass out, be sick and explode your lungs all at once.

The thing is, I feel like I failed. It wasn't a long run, overall I was quite slow and it hurt. I'm going to stick to the plan and do solitary c25k runs from now on. If they are easy then at least I'll feel like I've achieved something and look forward to the next run.

As it is, bring on Sunday when I'm going to smash my previous week 1 time/distance record. Go me!

Public Transport is an Inspiration

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 I work 2.9 miles from home. According to Google Maps it should take about an hour to walk, 35 minutes on the bus and 10 minutes to drive. Last night was my first experience getting the bus home and all I can say is wow. What a waste of time (and £2.20).

I had a few bits of shopping to do first but was still at the bus stop 10 minutes before the bus was due at 6.38pm. I walked in the door just before 8.00pm. Ridiculous. I could have walked it quicker.

So, there's the inspiration, the kick up the bum I needed. There's no way I can face getting public transport home when the distance is so small. Here's to running home in 2012!

Getting back into it

As I'm sure you can tell by my absence, my first run after the injured knee did not go too well. After the first running interval I felt like I'd been kicked by a donkey. Since then I've just not had the guts to go back out.

For years I have hated exercise. I'd always tell people it's dangerous, anyone with an injury most likely got it from some kind of sport related incident. Besides, I've never been much overweight so why should I bother. Sporty people annoyed me with their happiness and their dedication.

I felt so good after the first few weeks of C25K that I suddenly felt stupid for all those years derision. I was happier, needed less sleep to feel more awake, I was breathing better and, dare I say it, looked better too - my skin was brighter, my hair shinier. That was just from a few weeks, imagine what I'd be like at the end of 9 weeks?! When I hurt my knee it was like I was being chastised for giving up my old beliefs so freely.

When Bangs and a Bun posted today about the new 'Team Bangs...' I was so jealous that I can't be a part of it. If I'd never injured myself I'd be up to 5k now and doing the Berlin half marathon wouldn't be a million mile target. But as it is I can't even chase a pigeon let alone run 13 miles.

So I've decided, "that's quite enough moping Mrs Bunn"! Tomorrow I will find time (in between the school run, Christmas shopping, house move packing etc. etc.) to go out. I'm not going to pressure myself by trying to do a C25K run, I'm just going to do my best. If I can't run at all then so be it. I need to get back in the habit of putting on my running gear and leaving the house for half an hour. I can build up as slowly as my knee (and my injured courage) needs.

Watch this space...

Review: Converse

I'm not going to pretend that running in Converse is ever a good idea but, for those of you who are considering it I want you to be prepared.



When I first started on my running journey (a whole week ago!) I looked everywhere for my trainers. I found one. Not wanting to hop for nearly 2.5miles I grabbed the next best thing - my Converse high tops. Whilst running in them wasn't too bad in itself (if you can ignore the slapping noise as the flat soles hit the pavement) the pain afterwards was just awful. Today is the first day in a week that my legs haven't hurt.

So, let's get down to why they are so bad for sports. Converse shoes typically have very little cushioning in the sole. This means feet aren't supported properly which can cause problems with the natural side to side motion of your feet ('pronation'). If you have problems with pronation you'll almost certainly suffer from injuries and stubborn aches and pains. For me this has come in the form of serious calf pain, for others it could be shin splints or joint problems.

Ask any runner and they'll tell you the most important piece of kit they have is their shoes. Having learnt the hard way during this past week I'll be getting myself a proper pair of running shoes ASAP whilst the Converse will be reserved for looking awesome with my skinny jeans. I suggest any other novice runners do the same.