steady – Jenna Jamieson, Author

Slow, steady, and consistent wins the race ;-)

By Jenna Jamieson | October 23, 2014 | Comments 0 Comment

I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to write about today, but as I drove my boyfriend to work he brought up his half marathon that I “spectated” over the weekend…if you can even call it that! It was more like I got to see him start and finish the race, which honestly was a pleasure and while the 5:30am alarm was not what I would call pleasant, it was an experience I wouldn’t trade for the world. After all, it was his first half marathon and, well supporting him is what it’s all about, right?

I was people watching, talking, and kind of doing my own thing as I passed the time until my boyfriend would come running across the finish line. I began to believe and probably even realize that these half marathoners and full marathoners might be considered half crazy or completely crazy. (No disrespect to those who train, love, and compete in them, but I got this feeling the more I talked and overheard competitors discuss the race…most said race day would come and they would wake up feeling crazy!) Sure, I can get my butt out of bed to do interval training early in the morning because it’s fast paced, interval exercises that go quickly and are ever changing, but running? Really, are you kidding me? Get up at 5:30a and be ready and willing to run at 7am seems nuts! I hand it to any and all runners who choose to get up and run 13.1 or 26.2 miles before the sun has even begun to come up, but I will stick to my interval training that keeps me on my toes and my eyes wide open! That’s why a 5k would need to be fun or adventurous for me to take part. Maybe even a triathlon at some point…that would at least be more similar to high intensity interval training…kind of, right?!

So, you might be asking yourself what’s the point of this post? Talking about half and full marathon runners along with high intensity, fast paced interval training is like comparing apples to oranges…or is it?! This is where the important stuff comes in. 😉 Both are very different exercises and both fit different people’s lifestyles, interests, and personalities, but one thing is that both are workouts. And with workouts, especially running and long, cardio interval training is that the best way to maintain your workout is to go at a slow, steady, and consistent speed to maintain pace throughout your entire workout.

Whether it is running, interval training, yoga, or some other type of workout, it is best to build yourself up as you go through your workout. The best way to go about your workout without getting tired too soon is to realize that going at a slow, steady, and consistent speed will allow you to keep pace. Don’t challenge yourself or go fast too early in your workout. You should think of the beginning of your run or interval training as your “warm-up” so that you get your muscles moving, ready, and prepared for the middle part which should be the most challenging part of your workout. The middle part should push you to your limits. This is the part of your workout where you can increase your speed, increase the number of reps and sets, and set your goals higher than the beginning or end.

The moral of the story? We may all be different shapes and different sizes with different personalities, hobbies, interests, and even different fitness goals, but in the end we are all working out to stay healthy. So whether you are running, walking, doing interval training, or yoga you should still realize that we are all in it together when it comes to working out. This means we all need to maintain a slow, steady, ad consistent speed in order to get the most out of our workouts. After all, while being fast may seem to pump you up and get you going, it is slow, steady, and consistent that wins the race!

Happy running, training, and working out! 🙂

~jj

Breathing fuels your muscles, so practice breathing!

By Jenna Jamieson | October 17, 2014 | Comments 0 Comment

Last week when I was working out, I was thinking about how important and helpful it is to know what breathing pattern works best for your body, which highly depends on the person and the exercise. If you understand the importance of your breathing during exercise, you will be more likely to succeed and get through your workout. It’s something that I have practiced before (as odd as that may sound) because without proper breathing you cannot fully conquer a workout. Working out is as much about breathing as it is getting your heart rate up and moving your body because breathing fuels your muscles and keeps your body going during your workout.

Here are a few tips on breathing that will help you get through your workout more efficiently. See the chart below for a visual that will help explain the process of how and why breathing matters during your workout.

1. Remember that breathing gives your muscles the energy they need to keep up with the pace, speed, and challenge of your workout. Think of it like this: similar to consuming food to keep your body going and nourished, breathing keeps your muscles going when active. Putting junk food such as chips, cookies, sugary drinks, etc into your body makes your body feel lethargic, energy deprived, and lazy while breathing poorly such as taking shallow or short breaths, holding your breath, or not breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth when you exercise does the same thing to your muscles that poor eating does to your body. It makes it harder for your muscles to get through the workout just like junk food makes it harder for your body to function properly and can create problems such as diabetes, heart attacks, and other health related problems. If you do not practice breathing properly you can face shortness of breath during exercise, asthmatic symptoms, fainting, dizziness, or even headaches.

Breathing (Deep, steady breaths)

→

Energy to fuel muscles

→

Assists YOU with keeping steady, consistent pace

→

Helps challenge and push you farther

→

See better results over time

2. Deep breathing. Find your breathing pattern and what will work best for you during your workout. The best way to do this is to practice breathing at your normal, resting heart rate to recognize how fast, slow, deep, or shallow your breaths are. Then, consider taking deep breaths which help get more oxygen to your muscles. It is important to be aware of how you breath because this will help you feel more at ease when you exercise as well as ensure you have enough energy to continue through your workout without experiencing dizziness, headaches, or even fainting. Realize that it can often times be a learning curve to change your breathing pattern so be patient. Lastly, as a quick tip, if you ever get to a point where you feel you have reached the peak of your workout or need a quick dose of energy, sometimes taking one big deep breath will help you regain momentum to push forward.

3. Breathing patterns can change based on the type and intensity of the exercise and workout you are performing. For example, cardio workouts will require a more rigorous breathing pattern to keep up with the movement, speed, and intensity of your workout. In yoga, you can practice breathing that is similar to mediation and slow breathing techniques that will have a calming effect on your mind and body. Keep this in mind while working out so that you are getting the maximum benefits during your workout (i.e. burning max calories during cardio workouts and gaining ease and relaxation during yoga workouts). These are just examples, there are many other types of workouts that you can adjust your breathing for based on the speed, length, intensity, and movement.

It may seem hard to believe that something as involuntary and regular to us as breathing can impact our workout so much, but proper breathing is key to help you maximize your results and maintain a safe workout. Shall I say, happy breath-ercising?

~jj