My 5 Favorite Track Workouts

Are you looking to take step 2 as a runner?

Once you've been running for a little while and have achieved your initial goals, you'll probably want to improve a little bit. That may mean adding some distance to your long runs, but for most people, it also means you'd like to get faster. There are many things you can do to improve your speed. But one of the best is speedwork.

I do most of my speedwork at the track. It takes the guesswork out of things. You know exactly how far you've gone. And track running means interval training.

The basic science behind interval training is simple: You force your heart rate up close to or even beyond your aerobic threshold. Then you bring it back down, which forces additional blood through your heart and strengthens it.

First off, no matter what workout you're doing, you need an adequate warmup. One lap really isn't enough. I run a full mile -- four laps -- at an easy pace before starting the workout. Maybe that's a bit much for you, but to achieve Level 4 Suck, you have to be able to give your run a full effort from the very first step.

When we discuss effort here, keep in mind the green-yellow-red scale: Green = you can have a conversation. Yellow = you can blurt out a few words. Red = you can't talk.

Are you ready? Here are my favorite interval workouts.

400 Repeats: These are meant to be run pretty hard. Go for 1 lap, with a half-lap of recovery. (Note: It takes a little paying attention to make sure you keep your starting and stopping points straight.) I do anywhere between 8 and 12 of these repeats. Effort level: Yellow bordering on Red. Significantly above 5k pace. You're not sprinting, but it should feel hard from the get-go. If you need to walk for some of the recovery half-lap, that's fine.

800 Repeats: 800s are probably the number-one staple for 5k and 10k training, and they're pretty good for longer distances, too. You do 2 full laps around the track with 1 lap of recovery. I try to work at least 6 of these repeats into my run. Effort level: Yellow. Slightly faster than 5k pace, with a slow jog during the recovery laps. If you're doing it right, your breathing will be just about back to a regular cadence by the time you start the next repeat. If you need to walk for a small part of the recovery lap, OK, but keep it to a minimum.

Mile Repeats: This is the one workout I'll do on the street. I have a good mile loop mapped out in my neighborhood, with an easy landmark halfway through. As with the 800s, warm up for a mile. If you're on the track, you'll do 4 laps, with 2 laps recovery. If you can get through 3 of these, you're doing pretty well. Effort level: Yellow, around 5k pace. It's OK if you go slightly faster, but not too much. You're doing a few of these, so you don't want to collapse after the first one. With a half-mile to recover, you shouldn't have to walk any.

Ladders: Ladders challenge you at various distances and speeds. You can work out a pattern that you prefer, but I'll do something like 400-600-800-1000-800-600-400. Recovery intervals are always half the distance of the previous hard part (except after the 1000 -- just recover for 1 lap). Effort level: The shorter the repeat, the higher your effort level should be. So you'll be close to Red on the 400s, but comfortably in Yellow on the 1000. You can play around with the distances, or even do something like 2x400, 2x800, 1x1600 (mile), 2x800, 2x400.

Straights and Curves: This is Level 4 Suck. It's deceptively simple: Jog or even walk the curves, sprint balls-out on the straights. Effort level: Red. If you can make it through 2 miles of this, you're doing really well. It's a killer.


After a tough interval workout, you should cool down for at least two laps at a nice, easy pace. You've built up a lot of lactic acid in your muscles that you'll want to clear. And once you're totally done running, don't forget the stretching. I do toe touches, a butterfly stretch and figure-4 stretches.


What's your favorite interval workout? Leave a comment or touch base on Facebook or Twitter!

Am I Still a Regular Guy?

If you’ve been keeping up with my admittedly sporadic blog and Facebook posts over the past three or four months, you probably know that 2016 has been a breakthrough year for me. I’ve set major PRs in the marathon, half-marathon and, most recently, the 5K.

You may have seen this pic on Facebook recently.

You probably also know that when I’m not on the road, the trail or the track, I’m kind of a gym rat. I’m not afraid of free weights and especially not the “Big 3”: deadlifts, squats and bench press. I believe these have helped me both with general fitness and specifically with running.

I’ve come a long way since I started the blog back in December 2014. But it's also planted an existential question in my mind: Am I still a Regular Guy?

The whole point of being a Regular Guy is Keeping Fit and Living Your Life. It's about finding the balance between your real priorities and being healthy enough to engage fully in those priorities. Being able to keep up with your kids, keeping your heart strong so you can enjoy grandkids someday, having the physical dexterity and endurance to handle the housework and yardwork that comes with life. That sort of thing.

Here I am getting the yard ready for a party. Tough guy!

So what does it mean that I:

• Run advanced intervals, such as mile repeats, progressive repeats, etc.?
• Have bookmarked articles such as Perfect Supersets for Strength, Muscle and Spinal Health and The Role of Muscle Fibers in Running?
• Recognize all the regulars at two different gyms?
• Have to force myself, kicking and screaming, to take a week off to heal up some nagging injuries?
• Am in the Top 1 percent of runners in MapMyRun's You Vs. the Year challenge?
• Came in 11th overall at that 5K where I set a PR?

I'll admit: I don't know. I am by no means an elite athlete, that's for sure. I'm certainly not the fittest, buffest, most ripped dude at the gym. And I honestly do try not to be that guy at parties, on social media or anywhere else. 

And yet, here I am wondering. I'm definitely past the point of just trying to lose (or keep off) that beer belly. I'm definitely past the point where I go to a race with the goal of finishing and having fun. I'm at the point where I'm wondering just how good I can get. How much I can lift. How svelte I can look. How fast I can run (especially that one). 

But this isn't just about me and how I view myself. My goal is to have a Conversation about Keeping Fit and Living Your Life. To foster a discussion and a community where we Regular Guys can talk about our health and fitness without devolving into uber-competitive, crazy complicated, ultra-technical, totally unrealistic ridiculousness. It's only worth keeping up this blog and the social-media accounts if it's relevant to you guys.

I guess my challenge is this: Can I relay ideas that hit home for everyone -- or at least most of us -- while pushing myself further and further in my own fitness journey? Or will I just get too caught up in the minutiae of what I'm doing to have a basic, simple conversation? 

And not for nothing, but can I do it without being a jerk? This whole piece has an obvious undercurrent of "yeah, I'm in better shape than you are." Just because I'm at a certain point on my journey doesn't make it any better or worse than where you are on yours. We all have our own lives and our own priorities, and no matter how good the information and ideas in this blog are, you're not going to read it if you think the author's an asshole. After all, there are things in life that you're way better at than I am, too.

So my pledge to all you Regular Guys: I will do my best to keep doing what drew you to this blog in the first place. I'll work to relate my experiences and my reading to what works in your lives. And I'll try to remain humble while I do it. 

Because at heart, I really am a Regular Guy, too.

Me and some of my best tailgating buddies. (courtesy Lou Matino)

Marathon Is Over... Now What? 6 Strategies to Keep Up My Momentum

So you might have heard: I had a successful 2016 New Jersey Marathon.

Training for the race, thinking about the race, writing about the race, boring all my friends and loved ones with my obsession over the race -- that's dominated my life for the past four months. And now it's done. So now what?


Time to Evaluate

I haven't really had enough time to evaluate my long-term goals. But the first choice I have to make is pretty simple: How much of my fitness regimen do I want to direct toward running?

Last year, I wrote about the benefits of being a generalist as opposed to a sport-specific specialist. Unless you have very defined goals, I think you're better off trying to mix up your fitness regimen to work on all aspects of your fitness -- strength, flexibility, mobility, speed, endurance, etc. After all, the rest of your life doesn't specialize, does it?

There is no question in my mind that, before this training cycle, I was in better overall shape. I know for sure that my upper body was stronger, and I definitely had better muscle definition. So I absolutely want to regain some of that.

At the same time, I've made positive strides (pun intended) in my running, and I don't want to regress. I do plan to run another marathon in 2017, and I'd like to maintain my running-specific and aerobic fitness levels, rather than have to start building from close to scratch next time around.

So I think the answer is the same one I had in January: and. Now comes the tough question: How do I ramp up my routine and I find the time and energy to accomplish everything I want to? And what about, you know, life?


6 Strategies to Keep Up My Momentum

Scheduling: Training for a marathon makes scheduling easy: You just follow your training plan. But a big key to keeping consistent in your fitness regimen is to have a routine. Now that I'm not on a specific training plan, I'm going to have to create my own schedule, to be sure that I accomplish what I want every week.

Maintain Successful Strategies: I wrote in a recent Facebook post that I'd like to stick with my new level of alcohol intake, without being a stick in the mud. That's going to mean leaving the beer to the weekends and limiting nights out to two or three drinks. Also, I need to do my best to get to bed on time, to maximize sleep, and to focus on my diet -- stuff I did well the past four months.

Keep the Mindset: After my first marathon in 2014, I got off a regimented schedule. And that led me to ease off the throttle a bit. I ran a fall half-marathon with sporadic training and an early spring half with basically no training. I also had about nine months where I didn't belong to a gym. What happened? I allowed myself to feel that three or four days a week with any exercise -- even just a 20-minute bodyweight session -- was OK. I gained weight, lost endurance and lost muscle definition. Last June, I started to fix things,being sure to do some kind of workout at least five days a week. And now: My goal is to bring purpose to every workout session, just like in marathon training.

Diversify: My wife has been bugging me to try yoga for a while. I think now is the time, concentrating on hip mobility, core stability and glute activation. I also want to work on plyometrics; the simplest plyos for runners is jumping rope. And I plan to keep weekly interval training on the schedule to work on getting faster.

Take Advantage of Vacation: I tend to concentrate my vacation days in the summer. Those days are a great time to ramp up on exercise, when you don't have the time pressure of commuting and work.

Keep Learning: I am certainly no noob on the roads, at the track or in the gym. But I'm no expert, either. I have lots to learn about pacing for various running workouts. And there is seriously no end to the number of strength exercises I could and should be doing -- not the least of which is the deadlift. I won't get better than I am now if I just keep doing the same old stuff.


Walking the Walk

If I can hit all these marks, I believe I'll be in much better shape to embark on another marathon-training cycle in the beginning of 2017, and I'll improve on my time. Now comes the hard part: Putting the plan into action.

And really, that's what being a Regular Guy is all about: Getting stuff done. Figuring out your fitness priorities and doing what it takes to reach your goals.

It kind of feels like New Year's Resolution time. So let's get to it!

What do you do after you've reached a big goal or milestone? What are your next steps? How do you avoid settling for good enough? Sound off in the comments below, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Taper Madness: The End of Marathon Training

Do you know what a taper is?

If you've ever participated in an endurance event, you surely do. But if you haven't, you may not be aware of how training changes in the last few weeks leading up to a race. It's kinda crazy.

The simple idea behind a taper is that in the two to three weeks before your race, you gradually dial down the intensity and duration of your workouts. So for runners, that means scaling back on the distance, and cutting out speedwork and heavy lifting. It seems counter-intuitive -- why wouldn't you keep working hard right up to the race? But studies have shown that a taper can improve your performance by as much as 3 percent. My goal is to finish under 4 hours, so 3 percent translates to more than 7 minutes.


What Actually Happens to Your Body?

As you probably realize, marathon training pushes your body well beyond what even reasonably fit people are comfortable with. My peak week, right before the taper, included 46 miles of running -- about 7 hours' worth of exercise. (And that doesn't even count warmups, cooldowns, walks to and from work or any other activity.) Really, you're on a razor's edge: You're maximizing your endurance and fitness just short of the point of overtraining or injury.

Lily has been resting up, too!

So by gradually dialing back on mileage, you really accomplish three big things:

• Replenish your energy stores, particularly your glycogen. Glycogen is the blood sugar your body prefers for energy.
• Gives your muscles a chance for recovery. In other words, get some rest!
• Allows you to heal up all those little twinges and dings and aches you've been nursing.

So How Do You Go About Tapering?

Experts say the taper begins "immediately upon completing your last long training run, which is usually between 20 and 23 miles." That's generally three weeks out from the race, as it was in my case, when I went just shy of 22.

You won't find me lifting!

Dial back the mileage. The idea is to start allowing your body more rest, but you don't want to give back all of your gains. So you can't just stop running altogether. Instead, you gradually decrease to the point where, in the week just before the race, you're running just enough to keep your muscles limber. My last Sunday run was 8 miles.

No strength training. The taper is a time for your muscles to repair. In three weeks, you're not going to lose significant strength. But you can do some damage if you keep trying to lift heavy. You want those muscle fibers to repair, not to get torn again. Plus, much as with dialing back mileage, cutting out resistance training will help build glycogen stores. Even non-aerobic training uses energy.

Dietary changes. This is when the carb loading really starts. To avoid the dreaded 20-mile "bonk," you want to go into the race with as much glycogen in your system as you can hold. In week one of the taper, you also try to ramp up on protein, to aid in muscle repair. But after that, you start building up your carbs. In order not to overload on calories, that means a big reduction in fat -- as little as 10 percent of your calorie intake. I've been eating so much fruit, rice, potatoes, pasta, bread and other carbs that I'm ready to cry. After the race, I may just grab a spoon and a jar of pesto. I've also cut even further back on alcohol and limited myself to one cup of coffee a day, since both are diuretics.


But Really, It's Mental

The hardest part of tapering for me is the mental game. I'd just spent the past three months or so working as hard as I possibly could to prepare for the rigor of 26.2 miles. And all of a sudden, you're supposed to take it easy. No, having an extra half-hour because you only ran 3 miles doesn't mean you should add in a HIIT routine. Yes, it's OK to stretch out on the couch. No, there's no benefit to adding in a few extra miles. And go ahead and eat, eat, eat -- just make sure it's carby.

When you've been driving this hard for this long, the idea of letting up is enough to drive you nuts.


Have you ever tapered for a big event? What successes and failures did you encounter? Sound off in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter!

Training for a Second Marathon: Lessons Learned

26.2 miles.

I am getting down to brass tacks in my training for the New Jersey Marathon on May 1st. I have one 20-mile run in the books, and after a "step-back" week this week, one more long run before I enter the taper phase. I am looking forward to it.

On yesterday's 5-mile run, I got to thinking about what's been different this time around. What did I learn from my first marathon, and how have I improved in the two years since?

Headed for the finish line in 2014 (courtesy Christine McDevitt)

I've been more serious about alcohol.

Two years ago, I wrote about my training experiences on a blog I called Beer or Gatorade. The basic gist was that training was all about making the right choices. And for the most part, I did, with a few exceptions. This time around, I've taken that particular choice out of the equation. I've cut down to a hard limit of 5 drinks a week, and I'm averaging about 4. There have been two big benefits:

• I'm carrying less weight than I ever have for a race. Honestly, this was my primary consideration.
• No worries about hangovers getting in the way of training.

I've been more mindful of overtraining.

About eight weeks out from the marathon two years ago, I had a bad long run. Rather than chalk it up to a bad day, I decided that I wasn't pushing myself hard enough to be prepared. I added a fifth running day a week and bumped the mileage on most of my runs. The result: I wound up skipping a workout during the last week before the taper, and I bonked during that final long training run. Physically, it probably wasn't the end of the world. Mentally, it left me with a ton of doubt right up to race day.

This time around, I've been much more cognizant of the difference between "I don't wanna" and true fatigue. I've reworked my schedule (more on that below) and allowed myself extra rest days when I really need them. I won't say I'm fresh as a daisy, but I feel ready to make that final push.

I'm less of a slave to the program.

I set out following Hal Higdon's Intermediate 1 program. It has you running 5 days a week, with 1 day for cross-training and no speedwork. It took me about three weeks to realize that this wasn't going to work for me.

• I need a second rest day each week. It's as much of a mental break as it is a physical one.
• I don't agree with his idea that speedwork is best left to other times of the year. Most training programs incorporate it.
• Stubbornly sticking to high reps/light weight for strength training ignores your fast-twitch muscle fibers. I need to set aside time simply for lifting, not just a little auxiliary work at the end of runs.

The one thing I really like about the plan is back-to-back weekend runs, so that the long run simulates the feeling of fatigue at the end of the race. So that I've kept. But I eliminated the third midweek run and moved my cross-training to that day. Here's how my week works:

• Monday: Repeats (usually 800 meters or miles)
• Tuesday: "Longish" run (peaking around 8-9 miles)
• Wednesday: Cross-training and lifting
• Thursday: Rest
• Friday: "Longish" run
• Saturday: Long run (peaking at 20-21 miles)
• Sunday: Rest

I'm more thoughtful about nutrition.

Yeah, I ate carby dinners before most of my long runs two years ago. But beyond that, I took the approach that "a hot enough furnace will burn anything." I'm not going to claim that I'm totally hardcore about lean proteins and perfect macro ratios, but I consider my nutrition, and what it's doing for me, all week long -- not just the night before a big workout.
  

My strength training has been more purposeful.

Two years ago, I did incorporate some strength training. But I wasn't very comfortable with a lot of it, and so I limited myself to:

• The exercises I knew, regardless of benefit to running.
• Machines over free weights.

In the past year or so, I've forced myself to learn more about lifting -- specifically, how best to benefit the kinetic chain to maximize my running performance. Yes, that includes a solid dose of core work, as any coach would recommend. But it also means squats. Real squats. With a barbell and heavy weight. This has boosted my hip strength and mobility more than anything else I've ever done. And I've come to believe that your hips are the real drivers of your running ability.
  

I've fixed my running form.

Two years ago, I would've scoffed at the notion of an "ideal" running form. Many, many knowledgeable people argue that your best form is your natural form. But I've changed my tune on that. 

What I do believe is that you can't just all of a sudden switch up your mechanics completely and expect some kind of magic to happen. And that's where the strength training really comes into play. 

I'm going to relate my own experience, but I'm pretty sure it's not unique to me. I've found that by paying attention to my foot strike -- and landing mid-foot, instead of on my heel -- I ensure that my weight is over my feet when I push off. What that does is engages my quads and glutes -- the big muscles in my legs. But none of that would do me any good if I hadn't increased my hip mobility and strength. I'd be engaging weaker muscles with lesser range of motion.

But I have worked on that, and the proof is in the pace. I recently PR'd in the half-marathon by 8 minutes.

I've tried to compartmentalize.

Let me admit flat out: It's hard for me to focus on stuff other than running and fitness right now. But I have made a real effort to put that part of my life into a box, and try not to open that box when other boxes need attention. 

That means focusing on work, family, my wife, my responsibilities around the house, and so on. A few weeks ago, it meant waking up at 2 a.m. to drive my son to the airport. It meant going outside at 4 a.m. in the rain to shoo a raccoon off my roof.

Look, marathon training takes over your life. It just does. But I've at least tried to keep in mind that I'm running to live, not living to run. In other words, Keeping Fit and Living My Life.

  

I walk.

I work in New York and am in the office 2 or 3 days a week, most weeks -- frequently on days when I've run in the morning. A short, brisk, after-lunch walk around Soho really helps me:

• It makes my legs feel better. I don't know if I'm clearing lactic acid or simply loosening up my muscles.
• The natural vitamin D from the sun is good for me.
• With all the hubbub about sitting for extended periods, getting up and moving kind of resets the system.
• It clears my head a bit.

Two years ago, I felt that after I'd run, I'd done my bit for the day and didn't worry about additional exercise. Now I'm a strong proponent of a good walk.
  

It's really been a lot of small changes instead of any one big thing.

To anyone who's watched me through both of my marathon-training cycles, there's probably nothing they can point to as significantly different this time around. It's all about small improvements. But if each of those changes has gained me 5 or 6 seconds a mile, that adds up to about 45 seconds faster. And that's where I am.

And really, that's kind of a metaphor for life, isn't it? You always have a lot more success, long term, making small, incremental adjustments rather than one huge change.

Thoughts? Questions? Insults? Sound off in the comments below, on Facebook or on Twitter!

Stuff...Stuff I Need: Essential and Non-Essential Fitness Gear

Go into any running shop or sporting goods store, and you'll see all manner of fitness gear. Water bottles, water belts, hydration packs, fitness trackers, GPS watches, armbands for your phone, extra pockets for your keys... Not to mention all sorts of shirts, shorts, pants and shoes. It's enough to make your head spin.

As I've said before, sometimes when I'm running, I feel like a prop clown with all the stuff I'm carrying. But compared to some other runners I've seen, I'm actually pretty low-maintenance. So I thought maybe it'd be helpful to give you an idea of the gear I use and what I leave behind.

The bottom line is that I want to be comfortable, not distracted from what I'm trying to do.


Stuff I Need

• Running Shoes: You can't run consistently without a good, supportive, properly fitted pair of shoes. They're not a guarantee against injury, but running without them is a guarantee you will get hurt.
• Armband: I put my phone in an armband. Some people use a belt clip, but that's personal preference. The key is not to have to carry it in your hand.
• Moisture-Wicking Clothes: I sweat. A lot. You want to get that moisture away from your body. Your innermost layer should always be something that wicks away water. But it doesn't have to be expensive. I buy much of my workout gear at Old Navy.
• Hand Towel: No matter how cold it is outside, I sweat. I need to wipe it from my brow. I use freebie golf towels I get at pep rallies and the such.
• Fuel: For cardio workouts (generally runs) more than an hour, I carry GU energy gels. You're going to burn through your glycogen stores. Getting some fast carbs in you is essential.
• Pockets: Not really gear, per se, but be sure you have places to put the crap you're carrying. You don't want to have to hold things.

Stuff I Don't Need

• GPS Watch: Lots of people I know rely on them, but I simply map out my run and try to pay attention to my effort. It takes a little getting used to, but I am much better at pacing as a result. I just set the stopwatch on my phone and go.
• Fancy Water Carriers: I've recently started using a hydration backpack on long runs, but I definitely don't need it. Nor do I need a belt with water bottles. I can easily plan a route that takes me past my house or, if I go to a nearby park or trail, past my car. Again, the key is not to carry it in your hand. Less of a big deal at the gym, obviously.
• Expensive Cold-Weather Gear: When it's cold, I wear a regular wool cap. I dress in layers, and my outermost layer is an old sweatshirt that has been through the wars with me. I do have a pair of running gloves, but they were less than $15. I buy long running pants at Old Navy -- I wait for sales and get them for $15. I have a balaclava for when it's really cold -- that was $10 at Costco.
• Headphones: This is a matter of personal preference, but I can tell you that you don't need music to exercise. And if you're running outside, I really recommend against it -- both experience's and safety's sake.
• Orthotics: My orthopedist told me flat-out that there's actually no science backing the use of orthotics in your shoes. If it feels better to you, go for it, but it's just preference.
• Sports Bra: I'm a guy. But I'm told by Regular Gals that a proper sports bra is essential.

Stuff I Sometimes Need

• Poop Bags: If you've been reading the blog for a while, you know I often run with my dog. If you do the same, be a good neighbor and clean up when she poops.
• Recovery Drink: If my workout isn't in my own neighborhood, I bring a recovery drink with me. For cardio, it's a carb-protein mix (such as chocolate milk). For resistance training, I use when protein.
• ID: If you're working out solo -- especially if you're on a run or a bike ride -- have an easy way for people to identify you in case of emergency. I carry an expired driver's license.

What Stuff Do You Need?

What workout gear have you found to be absolutely essential? What have you found you can do without? What do you wish you had, or with they would invent? Comment below, on Facebook or on Twitter!


A Quick Note

I linked to some retailer and product pages in this post. I have gotten no payment, product or any other consideration for those links -- it's stuff I use and recommend. (Of course, I do plan to tag those companies on Twitter!)

Lessons From a Raccoon: Life Doesn't Stop for Your Fitness Training

My personal Facebook friends may have seen that Sunday night (actually around 4 a.m. Monday), we had a raccoon clambering around on our roof. I'd run 17.5 miles on Sunday, but instead of a good night's sleep, I was standing in the cold, dark rain trying to persuade a wild animal that my house isn't worth its time and energy.

And last night, even though my powers of persuasion seemed to have worked, I didn't sleep well either. Any little bump in the night got me going. My daughter got up to go to the bathroom around 3:00, and the dog jumped out of bed around 4:00.

Both of those things, especially the latter, kept me awake. So I wound up not doing my run this morning. I'm hoping to sneak something in after work. But there are a few things you can learn from this:

• You can do only what you can do. One of the big reason elite athletes are elite athletes is that it's their job. Regular Guys have to fit calamities into their everyday lives, and sometimes that means you're going to miss a workout. It's OK.
• Look for ways to adapt. Since we set the clocks ahead this weekend, I have an extra hour of daylight this evening. Perhaps I'll be able to get something done then.
• Focus on the long term. One missed workout isn't going to be the difference between fitness and obesity, or in your ability to hit your goal in a race, or whatever.
• Something is better than nothing. I'd initially planned 800-meter repeats today. I'm still pretty tired. I might just do a regular old run. That's better than no workout at all.
• Rest is so important. You don't realize just how important until you're really in a hole like I am. 
• Focus on what's important. Keeping your family safe, happy and healthy is always priority one. Staying fit is a means to that end, not the goal in and of itself.

How do you keep up when life throws you a curveball? Comment below, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Photo credit: *~Dawn~* via Foter.com / CC BY

Keep It Simple, Stupid

Do you get confused by all the health and nutrition information out there? Who can blame you? It's way too easy to get lost in all the details.

But most Regular Guys should simply stick with good ole-fashioned KISS -- Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Nutrition

Specialized Diets
There's a diet advocating just about everything. Some so-called experts suggest cutting out all simple carbs. Some say go vegetarian. One that's getting a lot of press lately is the High-Fat, Low-Carb diet. How are you supposed to know which ones work and which ones don't?

For starters, if you're not eating food you like, and enough of it to satisfy you, it's not going to work. You might hold out for a week or even a few weeks, but eventually, if you're miserable, you're going to give it up. As you should.

My other rule of thumb: If a diet purports to circumvent the first law of thermodynamics, it's bogus. You can't beat Calories In, Calories Out.

A More Basic Approach
Let's assume you're just looking to eat healthier overall. Maybe you're not one for smoothies, or you can't see how the Paleo diet would work when cavemen died at age 30. The big trick is to cut your calories (while still getting the nutrients you need).

But are you really going to count your calories? Weigh everything on a food scale? When I was first looking to lose some weight and get healthier, I made it much simpler:

• Don't eat too much.
• Don't eat a lot of crap.

Add in a little exercise, and it's a recipe for success for most Regular Guys. So how do you cut down your calories without counting? Here are some things that worked for me:

• Leave 10 percent of whatever you're eating on your plate. Just eyeball it.
• Make a point of having a salad or a vegetable at dinner every night. Put more of that on your plate and a little less of the other stuff.
• Cut your burger, sandwich, whatever in half, and eat that. Still hungry? Cut it in half again, and eat that. Many times we eat more than we should because it's literally in our hands.

About a year ago, I spelled out a few of these tricks and added a few others. Check them out here.

Exercise

What the Heck Should You Do?
Get out on the big, bad Internet, and it won't take you long to find a gazillion different workout plans and even more suggestions for individual exercises. There's cardio vs. strength, compound vs. isolation, weight vs. bodyweight... That doesn't even get into mobility and flexibility, let alone aerobic, threshhold and anaerobic cardio. And you can totally get lost thinking about which of your more than 600 muscles you're targeting with a specific exercise. It's enough to make your head spin -- which is not a good exercise.

Much like with your nutrition, if you want to stick to a workout plan, you need to find the exercises you like doing. Yes, a daily walk is better than nothing. But you do want to be sure to build both aerobic fitness through cardio and strength through resistance training. How much of either depends on your goals. What works for me is close to a 50-50 balance, though I have tipped the scale in favor of running while I build up to the New Jersey Marathon in May.

A More Basic Approach
Really, I think a basic DIY workout program should do two things:

• Elevate your heart rate for at least 30 minutes at least three times a week -- and preferably more.
• Target every major muscle area -- core, arms, shoulders, chest, back, glutes and quads, and calves -- at least once a week each.

You can get into more detail as you continue in your fitness journey, but if you're doing those two things, you're already well on your way.

The Fine Print

I've always been very up front on the blog that I am not a pro -- just a guy who loves fitness and wants to foster the conversation. I think my advice is good, but before you make any big changes, be sure you're up to the task -- and if you're not sure, talk to your doctor.

What else should you do? If you learned something here, or even just found an idea you'd like to discuss more, share this article with a friend. The more Regular Guys we have, the better the conversation will be!

Negative Personality Traits That Are Actually Good at the Gym

If you're anything like me, you were raised to be a kind, friendly, even-keeled, intelligent and hard-working person.

Those are admirable traits and something I'd look for in any Regular Guy wanting to be part of my life. But in your fitness journey, some not-so-endearing personality flaws can actually help you reach your goals.

Stubbornness: In most instances, refusing to give in or compromise just makes things worse. People don't like you, and you often don't get things done. But at the gym, stubbornness is a virtue. Push yourself to get that weight up one more time or do one more set. Go an extra quarter-mile on the treadmill or another few minutes on the elliptical. Your tired body really wants you to give in, to compromise, to say "good enough." But the real magic happens in that extra bit of work, where you push your limits. So be stubborn and stick to it -- just know the difference between "I don't wanna" and "I can't."

"I don't like you." "I don't like you, either."

Being Anti-Social: In most situations where you're in a room full of people, decorum suggests that you try to be friendly and outgoing, to engage the people around you. Don't do that at the gym. Sure, it's fine to give someone a quick nod or greeting. But you're there to work, not to socialize. Your time is valuable. Leave the chit-chat for the locker room.

Anger: You know that one guy in your social circle who always seems to be angry? That guy who, no matter the conversation, has a chip on his shoulder? In life, you don't want to be that guy. It's not good for your stress levels or your relationships. But at the gym, you should work out with bad intentions. Attack what you're doing -- don't be passive. Hit it hard. Just don't be a jerk to the people around you.

Do Things the Hard Way: At work, the best way to get something done is usually the easiest and most efficient. Extra effort is best directed at some other project. But in the gym, you're not looking for the most direct path. It's easy to lean back during lat pulldowns and let the cable do the work. Or to let the flywheel's momentum carry you on the exercise bike. If you're running, that shortcut that avoids the big hill is appealing. But you're not getting the full benefit of the exercise that way. Do it right, even if it's harder. Down the road, you'll be glad you did.

Living the good life!

Laziness: Wait, what? How could laziness possibly benefit your exercise regimen? When it's time to rest -- that's how. Work hard during your workout. When you're done, be done. Let your rest day be your rest day -- as Dane Rauschenberg writes, running an "easy three" isn't rest. Fitness gains don't happen while you're exercising -- on the cellular level, they happen when your body is recovering from the damage you did while exercising. If you never give it a chance to recover, you'll never make gains.


What other negative traits do you use to help you achieve your fitness goals? Let's hear it! And if you like what you're reading here, be sure to share it with a friend.

Are You Overtraining?

This is a subject I've been giving a lot of thought to.

I'd been working hard at fitness in the six months or so leading up to when I started marathon training at the top of the year. Or so I thought.

The first full week of training beat me up, mentally and physically. By day three, I could not wait for my rest day -- and I was so beat, I asked my boss to let me work from home so I could truly rest. And I began to wonder: Am I overtraining?


What Are the Signs You're Overtraining?

Experts warn of some specific symptoms of overtraining; click here and here for some of those. But I'd like to add a few more general signs that I've noticed in my own life.

• You just can't get up. I'm not talking about the usual hit-the-snooze button mornings that every Regular Guy goes through. I mean you seriously can't get your head off the pillow. Your body is asking for rest.
• Recovery seems to take forever. If you're truly working hard, you're going to have soreness. That's a badge of honor. But when it's carrying over into the next workout, and then the next, and then the next, you need to think about whether you should back off.
• You dread your workouts. I get it -- it's not always fun or easy to exercise. But if you find yourself really worried about it, maybe there's a bigger problem. This is a voluntary activity, after all. Nobody's forcing you to do it.
• Stuff you should be able to do is hard. One morning in the early fall, I found myself unable to complete a set of dumbbell presses at a manageable weight. I was tired, I had a headache, and they just wouldn't go up. The prescription: a week off from all exercise.
• Stress disorders. Exercise should be a stress reducer, not a stress inducer. Here are some physical manifestations of stress that may be signs you need to ease off the throttle:
• Generalized chest pains. (Though don't mess around with this if you're not sure.)
• Irritable bowel syndrome.
• Prostatitis.
• Tension headaches.
• Acid reflux.
• Worsening of a chronic injury (e.g., a bad back, sciatica).

What Can You Do About It?

  

The obvious advice for someone who's overtraining is to cut yourself some slack. But that's easier said than done. Obviously, you don't want to give up hard-earned fitness gains. And perhaps you're in the midst of competition-focused training, like I am for the marathon. 

So what can you do to keep your momentum but get back to feeling right?

• Dial back the intensity. Not every workout needs to be done to exhaustion, every set of lifts to failure, every run to the point of collapse. Chances are, if you're overtraining, you've hit a plateau anyway. Give your body a chance to regenerate.
• Reduce the frequency. The magic number for the average Regular Guy is three days a week at minimum. If you're not on a competition-training plan, consider working in a few more days off.
• Shorten your workouts. If you're generally exercising for an hour at a time, try a few quicker workouts. Again, it's OK if you're not completely worn out at the end.
• Take two days off. Two days off isn't going to screw anything up. It might just be the recharge you need. Most scientists agree that you don't start to lose significant fitness for at least 10 days.
• Take stock of the other stuff. Is your nutrition on target lately? Have you been getting enough sleep? Are you exerting yourself physically in other aspects of your life? Maybe you can fix things without altering your training routine at all.

Whatever You Do, Don't Just Work Through It

If your car is almost out of gas, you don't just keep driving, so you? No. You refuel -- or you run out of gas completely. Likewise, if you're truly overtrained, simply trying to work through it isn't an option. If you keep going, you're just going to be more overtrained, and at some point, your body is going to stop responding at all. Next thing you know, you'll be out of the game for weeks or even months.

This is one case where an ounce of prevention is way better than a pound of cure. So take heed, look for the signs, figure out how you can combat it, and keep on rockin'.

What Say You?

What overtraining signs have you learned to recognize? What strategies do you use to get past it? And what hasn't worked? Comment below, on Facebook or on Twitter. And if you have a friend who seems to be overtrained, share this post with him!

Nutrition vs. Exercise: What Matters More?

It's one of the biggest cliches in the fitness world.

We've all heard or read it: The majority of your fitness happens in the kitchen, not the gym. Depending on who you believe, nutrition accounts for two-thirds, three-quarters or even 80 percent of the equation. But I don't think it's as simple as that.

If you've been reading the blog for a while, you know that I'm a big believer in Calories In, Calories Out. Humans are not exempt from the First Law of Thermodynamics. It's pretty simple: If you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. You can alter either side of that equation -- Calories In or Calories Out. So why do so many people insist that diet has so much more impact than activity does?

The reasoning goes something like this: Most people can find more excess calories in their average daily intake than they can burn off. I'm painting with a really broad brush here, but in a reasonably intense cardio session, you can expect to burn about 10 calories per minute. So if you can devote 45 minutes to your workout four times a week, you can burn about 1800 calories -- more or less the amount it'd take you to lose half a pound. Whereas if you're eating 4000 calories a day, you can cut 1500 or more and still get all the macro- and micro-nutrients you need, and you can do it seven days a week. That's 10,500 a week, or 3 pounds.

So that's it, right? Case closed. Diet is way more important than exercise.

I say no.

Exercise Helps Keep Your Metabolism Going. As you lose weight, your metabolism will drop. This is basic science: The less of you there is, the less fuel it takes to keep you alive. One pound of muscle burns 6 calories a day; one pound of fat, 2. If you lose 10 pounds of fat, your body will actually burn 20 calories less per day. But if you lose 20 pounds of fat and gain 10 pounds of muscle, you'll burn 20 more calories per day. A huge difference? No. But it is an extra 2 pounds per year.

Exercise Keeps You Healthier. Yes, losing weight through diet lowers your risk of obesity-related diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. But it doesn't actually strengthen your heart. Exercise can also strengthen your bones, reduce the risk of some cancers and improve your mental health. It can even help stave off dementia. Simply cutting calories can't do any of that.

Lean Bodies Look Better. Let's face it: A big motivation for most Regular Guys is the desire to look a little better. Sure, you can focus on diet and get lean, but really, you'll just be skinny. A little bit of muscle definition -- we're not talking Schwarzenegger -- is the difference between the skinny guy and the trim, healthy-looking guy. Go ahead, ask your wife.

You're Going to Plateau. How much weight have you gained in the past year? If you've held relatively steady for a while, that means you're already at equilibrium -- you're taking in the same amount of calories you're expending. Now, an obese guy might hit that point at 3000 calories or more a day, even without any significant activity. But for most of us, that point is 2500 or less. And I have news for you: You are not going to be happy, long term, cutting any significant amount from that number. So the obvious solution is to ramp up your Calories Out. Still don't believe me? Recent research shows that physical activity has a higher correlation with healthy weight than diet does.

You'll never get this feeling of accomplishment by dieting!

Working Out Is More Fun Than Dieting. Regular Guys, dieting sucks. You're hungry, you're irritable, there's tons of stuff you "can't" eat, and worst of all, it's not sustainable. A better plan is to find an activity you enjoy and use solid nutrition to fuel yourself. Football star J.J. Watt eats 9000 calories a day -- does he look fat to you?


Now don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating the "see-food diet." Even if you're working your ass off, you can burn only so many calories. You still have to balance the CICO equation. And the best way to do that, of course, is with a diet that's heavy on nutrient-dense foods.

But for my money, the bigger factor is exercise. So get to it!

A quick note: There are some folks for whom this isn't good advice. Someone who's morbidly obese will put himself at significant risk by jumping into an intense exercise program. Other people have health conditions -- such as COPD or heart disease -- that should preclude them from intense exercise as well. And, of course, if you're suffering from a long-term or permanent injury, you need to be sure you won't do further damage through your exercise program. If any of these is you, talk to your doctor about fashioning a diet-and-activity plan that will work for you.

6 Ideas to Make New Year's Fitness Resolutions Stick

First off, let me apologize for the absence the last few weeks. Winding down the year at work and the holidays got the better of me, and I've slacked off. And though I'd like to resolve to write at least an article a week, with marathon training on my plate this winter and spring, I don't want to make promises I can't keep.

But I Do Have Something to Talk About: Resolutions

A lot of fitness writers decry New Year's resolutions. They're arbitrary. They're unrealistic. They're too easy to give up on. Sure, that stuff is true. A lifelong commitment to Keeping Fit and Living Your Life shouldn't start with a simple flip of the calendar page. A serious commitment requires a concrete plan and the discipline to stick to it. I get it.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't make a resolution.

Cliche alert: Every journey begins with a single step. You have to start somewhere. If the New Year is what pushes you out the door, that's as good as anything.


So Let's Talk About Making Resolutions Work for You

Incremental Change: Set some achievable, concrete goals, and meet them. Once you do, you can set some more. Running a marathon -- or even a 5K -- might not be in your immediate future. That's OK. Maybe for now you can find time for a 15-minute walk every day. A brisk walk, not a stroll. Or if you're not sure about joining a gym and trying to lift, check out some basic bodyweight moves, like pushups and planks. You'll get better quickly, and then you can set new goals.

Do Stuff You Like: You're not going to keep doing something you absolutely hate. That's not just a Regular Guy thing -- it's just human nature. If you dread it, you'll find every reason not to do it. So find activities you enjoy. Maybe for you that's walking, or playing basketball, or riding a bike. Or maybe it really is picking things up and putting them down. Whatever you do, don't make fitness into a punishment.

Don't Overhaul Your Diet All at Once: A lot of people are tempted to cut their calories down to some tiny amount, ramp up the protein to 300 grams a day, cut out any trace of simple carbohydrates and keep a minimum 10-foot distance from added sugar. Slow down. You're going to make yourself miserable, which means you're destined to fail. And really, unless you have at least some understanding of what you're doing, you're as likely to do harm as you are good.

Learn Some Basics: You're not going to get anywhere if you don't understand the basic principles of nutrition and fitness. You don't have to get a PubNet subscription and bury yourself in research. But find a few good resources, like this one, to learn the essentials. Do you know what a macro is? How many calories do you have to burn to lose a pound? What's the difference between HIIT and steady-state cardio? The trick to achieving a goal is knowing how to get there.

Have a Back-Up Plan: Especially during the coldest months, you may not be able to exercise the way you want to. Weather is a major issue. So is daylight, especially if you live in a rural area where there's lots of wildlife. But even setting that aside, sometimes life gets in the way. If you want to run but can't hit the roads, find a cheap gym like Planet Fatness to use the treadmills. If you just want to get your heart rate up, find a good HIIT workout you can do in your living room. If you're snowed in and were hoping to lift, figure out some bodyweight alternatives. And can we talk about cold for a minute? 35 degrees isn't cold -- you just need warmer gear. I'm a notorious baby, but it has to be in the 25 range or below to keep me indoors. (Caveat: As I write this, it's 12 degrees with a wind chill of 0. I'm not running.) Don't let circumstances derail your progress.

Think About Future You, Not Present You: Many fitness-resolution articles suggest that after people miss a few days, or have a fridge binge, they say, "Screw it, it's a lost cause." Really? I don't think people do that. My wife turned me on to this concept: "Many of the decisions we make seem to suggest that we think about our future self as a different person than the one we are today." We're wired to make ourselves happy in the now. But you do lots of things for Future You. You save for retirement. You get your car's oil changed. You wash the dishes after dinner, not just when you need something clean to eat on. I'm not suggesting you pass up every opportunity for fun or enjoyment -- as I always say, if you really want the cookie, just eat the damn cookie. Just keep Future You in mind when making all these small decisions.


Tying It All Together

The bottom line with New Year's resolutions: The more easily you can fit them into your everyday life, the more likely you are to stick with them.

• Don't bite off more than you can chew, and make sure you enjoy what you're doing. Start with some basic activity, make some small changes in your diet and don't turn it into a chore.
• Understand the why of what you're doing. Think about Future You, and learn the basics to get there. 
• Know that it's not a straight line. You need a backup plan, and sometimes, it just won't work at all. That's OK if you're consistent in the long run. 

What are you doing about your New Year's resolutions? I wanna hear from you! Leave a comment below, or sound off on Facebook or Twitter.