Top 10 Reasons I Cross Train

I have to say, I was pretty motivated this week. This was my first week back on a running/biking schedule since ... well, let's just say a long time. I signed up for the Strasburg Duathlon (5K run, 30K bike, 5K run) on April 14 and the Alexandria Half Marathon on May 27. Meaning that until April 14, I will be training both on the bike and off. (My goal for both races is to beat my PR.) This may seem difficult, because I'll have to fit in both a long run and a long ride every weekend, and shorter runs, one short ride and yoga during the week. But I think it will be really good for me to have more than one goal until the final weeks leading up to the half. I have seen the benefits of cross training before - I lost some weight in 2010 doing a boot camp, and, in turn, I got my 5K PR that summer.

So, instead of writing about health news today, rather, I'll write about what health news has taught me about the benefits of cross training. Because I'm no expert, I'm not going to write these as why "you" should cross train, but rather why I cross train. This is what five years of running has taught me.



Top 10 Reasons Why I Cross Train

1  It prevents overuse injuries. If you're actively cross training, you're spending less time doing your sport, meaning that you're less likely to overuse your muscles in a week. Runner's World
2 It allows you to do other sports you enjoy. So, yes, you love running. But how about hiking? Rock climbing? Swimming? You don't have to give those up. For me, swimming/yoga once a week is refreshing for me when I'm training for a half marathon.
3 It challenges your muscles. "Our bodies tend to perform harder if we challenge our muscles by varying the workout and its intensity." WebMD
4 It lessens the pressure. I find that when I get really really into training for a race, I often forget that I enjoy running. Adding other activities into my week makes me less like I am on a strict "schedule."
5 It is rehabilitating. Your muscles enjoy the break. Runner's World
6 It keeps you moving during recovery days. If you don't feel like sitting still for a full day when training for an event, cross training allows you to have an active day on your "off" day. Runner's World
7 It keeps you motivated. Cross training prevents you from getting bored with your activity of choice by breaking up your workout routine. "Tenable us to maintain motivation in physical exercise, we need to keep it fresh and enjoyable!" WebMD
8 It prevents muscle imbalances. It works other muscle groups than normal activity, balancing your body out. Cyclists could use a good swim or two to build back muscles. Runner's with tight hamstrings can benefit from yoga. 
9 It is challenging. When you are constantly doing one activity, your body gets used to it. Cross training is hard because it pushes your body out of its comfort zone. When you alter your routine, you confuse your muscles and make them work harder.
10 It makes you stronger all over. While performing your activity of choice may help you build the muscles that are directly related, cross training makes you more powerful overall by strengthening complimentary muscles. Runner's World

What do you think?
How many times a week do you cross train when training for an event or when in-season for your sport?
Has your performance improved because you cross train?

Cheeseball picture before my ride yesterday.

Weekend Word:
Eating Citrus Fruit May Lower Women's Stroke Risk
9-year-old dies after being forced to run 3 hours after lying about eating a candy bar
Physical Activity Keeps Workers Mentally Fit

Overeating on the Weekend: What it Means For Our Health

I want to talk about something today that I seriously struggle with: Eating too much on the weekend.

From Friday night to Sunday night, even when I am on a diet, I have a really hard time controlling what I eat and drink. My problem is that because I work all day during the week, I normally have my meals planned, and they are normally fairly healthy. On the weekend, I eat anything set in front of me, and normally do more social activities (which normally involve food/drinks). It is likely that I will have two-three beers or glasses of wine at night instead of my usual zero-one. And it is likely that I will wake up and make a huge breakfast, and then continue to snack until I have pushed off my lunch to much later.

I’m sure that other people struggle with this too, and so I wanted to see if there were any studies I could find on how much this was really affecting my weight and my health.

Recent temptations at a Bachelorette Party for one of my friends.
That cheese was so good! Oh, and the wine...

According to study results released last year, we gain about .26 of a pound on the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) and we lose about .22 of a pound during the week (Monday through Friday) over time. The results are due to lifestyle changes during the weekend, and explain in part why people have trouble losing weight or maintaining weight loss, according to the study, which was conducted by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine.

Other study results that are a bit older, from 2003, show that we consume about 115 more calories per day on the weekend (Friday through Sunday). At that rate, in one year, if we didn’t lose or gain any weight on week days, we would eat 17,940 extra calories – the equivalent of 5 pounds. And the majority of those calories come from fat and alcohol. Yumm….

So, as we approach Superbowl Sunday, I am offering this link to a story from a nutrition blogger who recently nagged at his readers for making unhealthy decisions on the weekend. I’m not going to nag at you because I’m one of you, so I will let him tell us all how it is.

Do you normally eat and drink more on the weekends? Do you work out more or less?
Any tips for how I can avoid shoving my face once Friday rolls around?

Does P90X Work? Yes, says ACE.

Is this workout program any different from committing to another program for 90 days straight? Is it just the time commitment and the commitment to work out every day that makes a difference?

The American Council on Exercise has decided that P90X really does "bring it." In a study published in November, researchers found that the "muscle confusion" (working different muscles each time you work out) and the strenuousness of the workouts really get your heart going, and your muscles working. It does work. But, the study warns, as with everything else, you have to eat right to see the fat go away. If not, you're just building muscle. For me, that's always the hardest part.

When I started P90x, I was a bit intimidated. The results you see on the ads normally show burly men becoming even burly-er.
Cue, Tony Horton ...

But I needed something that I could do indoors during the cold months, so I decided to have at it. (I'm still really not used to temperature less than 50 degrees.) Well, the 90 days are over, and I did aboouuuut 75 days of the 90-day program. I have to say I feel so so so much stronger, and my biceps and hips grew a half inch of muscle, and I can do a chin-up without jumping. But I definitely didn't lose weight, and that is what I am always going for (not much, but maybe 5 lbs?). I decided about 2 weeks ago to switch over to Insanity - which has a lot more cardio and a lot less weight training. I'll share my results from that one in a few months.

But I can share with you my boyfriend's results from P90X, which were much better. He looks like one of the burly men in the infomercial now. His biceps, hips and bust all grew. And he can do a zillion pullups rather then the five or so he started with.

All in all, I would recommend it for those trying to build muscle. Otherwise, I know that there is a "light" schedule you can follow that may allow you to fit in more cardio!

Does Weighing Yourself Work?

Another Sunday gone too quickly. Today was Costco day, always exciting. You know me, as I walked in, my eyes were already scanning the aisles for free samples. I'm not going to lie, they are my absolute favorite part of going there. As my mind is wandering through the endless sample possibilities, James' eyes glanced up to end of an aisle, and then he turned back to me to see my reaction to what he had spotted. A scale. "We gonna get it?" he asked. "Ugh." I knew my answer didn't matter. He grabbed it and put it in the cart.
You may be thinking, "You don't have a scale?" Well, no. We don't have a lot of things after moving here from Arizona and leaving most behind. But, since, I have absolutely refused to buy one. When there is a scale in the house, I get super obsessed. I weigh myself at least once a day, and I get all depressed if my weight is about 2-3 pounds higher. I don't know about you, but I think that is CRAZY. I tried to think, I wonder if other people have this problem as much as I do.

Well, I scanned the internet, and, now, I'm pretty sure that just about everyone has the same obsessive problem that I do. It is actually a symptom of eating disorders, too. So I'm wondering, does weighing yourself actually mean you'll weigh less? I'm sure it does for people on a strict weight loss plan, but, for every day life?

Now, I'm not sure if there is a more recent study out there compared to this 2007 one done by the National Weight Control Registry, but it did seem reliable. The study showed that out of a group of people who lost more than 30 pounds of weight and kept it off for more than a year, the people who kept the most weight off were the ones that said they weighed themselves consistently. It's not too hard to believe ... numbers are motivating. But I'm just wondering what "consistently" is ... if there is a study that shows if someone is bound to keep more weight off when weighing themselves once or more a day rather than once a week. I'll try and find something ...

So, we left Costco today with 10 pounds of oatmeal, chicken and protein powder (literally), 4 boxes of cereal, 48 eggs, a jumbo pack of craisins, almonds, granola bars, tons more food ... and a scale. As the items rattled in the back I debated crawling back there and throwing the scale out the window and yelling something like "Freedom!" Instead, I just sat there wondering just how crazy obsessed I'm going to become.

New Year, New Blog

Here's to a new year and finally getting around to starting this blog. I plan to keep this going as one of my New Year's resolutions, along with not snacking after dinner and not biting my nails. Let's hope I have enough gumption to actually do this.

A study about New Year's resolutions (from Feb. 2011) showed what we all know to be true. In the study, about 50 percent of women had declared "losing weight" as a resolution in the last two years, but only between 9 to 20 percent of women keep their vow. Why? The women stated that it took too long to see results, or they have self confidence issues that make things difficult.

I hear ya. I hate to admit, most of my resolutions are normally done-zo by March. But maybe this year things will be different for me and the rest of the women on the earth. After all, it is our final year.