Archive for December, 2008

Can a 5K be aboug 3 Miles

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

Are 5K Running and 3 mile races the same thing? The answer is yes and no. Yes because a runner who can do 5k can do 3 miles. No because 5k equals 3.10615569 miles and in today’s sports world where a thousandth of a second can mean the difference between victory and defeat, the extra hundred yards can make a lot of difference. Its like another 100 meters sprint added on to the 5k race.

A 5k race is all about pacing yourself as a runner. You need to know when to conserve energy, when to use short bursts of it during the course of the races and when to make the final push. The better the runner you are, the more finely you will be able to judge when to do what. And if you are a good enough runner to be able to define your race strategy in meters, the extra hundred can make all the difference.

Measuring your race accurately down to a few meters is something all professional runners do. But, to almost the same degree, so to regular amateur runners. If you are an amateur runner who has been competing in 5K Running regularly, you may not consciously know at what distance to hold back and when to push, but your experience will inform your subconscious mind when the time comes to change your pace. The best strategy is to really watch and make sure so your last burst of energy is timed exactly with getting to that finish line. But what happens if you suddenly find you have another 101 meters to go? Sure your body can do it. Its not vary far. But how fast can you do it?

If you are planning on a final burst over the last few hundred meters, your body, both physically and psychologically, has been primed to use up every last bit of energy it has over that distance. If you see someone at the beginning of the race running smooth and someone at the end of the race hurting badly this is probably what happened to them. The extra 101 meters required for a 3 mile race could mean staggering through the extra distance for those not prepared for it.

The best way to be prepared for both the 5K Training and 3 mile races is to run 3 miles during your training. This will condition your body to the distance. When you have a race planned, spend a few days before the race running exactly the 5k distance. Mark off the last 500 meters of your practice run and start your closing burst from here, or where ever you normally do it from. When preparing for a 3 mile race, do exactly the same thing for the last 500 yards. This will allow you body to adjust to the small but important difference in the distance.

100 meters many not be much but have you seen how much a sprinter puts in over that distance and how drained he is by the end of it?

Jogging Tip is a brand new website that is all about jogging. Jogging Tips is the premiere website to connect with all of your jogging friends. Learn about training for a 5k and running your first 5K race. Visit the new Jogging TIp.com today to get your free jogging ebooks just for signing up to be a member of the jogging tip website.
 

Learn the Steps to Running a 5K

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

Okay, so you run for fitness and fun. You enjoy 5K Training because it enables you to run along with others, unlike your normal practice which you do in solitary splendor. And you can measure you performance against that of your peers. The last is important. The pro runners will out run you for the rest of your life so its best not to even compare yourself to them. As an amateur runner, it would be foolish to expect to be able to match their performance. Finishing the race on par with others of your sex, age, level of fitness and motivations is good enough. That means you are doing okay. But everyone would like to do better. And you can, without spending money on training, half a day doing roadwork or changing your lifestyle. There are a few simple tricks that you can fit into your training routine that will not perform miracles and keep you up with the pros, but at least keep you among the first of your equals.

· Don’t push to increase your 5K Running speed, but rather increase your distance. Keep to the pace you are comfortable with but gradually work the distance up to 6k. What you need to get to is that you are doing these workouts for 2 or 3 times per week , then things will start to feel better and you will feel better at the end of your race.
· Pick you your speed for short bursts. Try for a 10% increase in your pace over a few hundred meters at some point in your training. Once you are comfortable, do this 3 or 4 times. Once again, do not try to increase you pace for the full 5k. The idea is to enable you to have the speed to overtake with ease when you need to.
· Try and include and incline or slope in your run. If you really want to start building stamina, then you should start running up hills. Do not do this for more than a maximum of 1k out of the 5.
· Practice increasing your 5K Running stride for the last 200 meters of your practice and slowly increase this distance to about 0.5k. Once again, increase your stride and not your pace. The idea here is to cover more distance with each stride, not to increase the number of strides. This will enable you to maximize your performance as you approach the finish line.

You may wonder at the repeated warning about not trying to run faster. That’s because since you are not a professional runner, it is taken for granted that you are running at a pace that you are comfortable with and which is appropriate for your age and sex. Pushing yourself to run faster can affect your long term health and take the fun out of running. Following these tips will not put too much additional strain on your body or increase the amount and type to training you do (remember, running is fun, not a chore or an end in itself). They will however, improve your performance as a runner and enable you to run 5k races with more confidence, stamina and do better without straining yourself.

Jogging Tip is a brand new website that is all about jogging. Jogging tip is your perfect place to join with the rest of your jogging friends. Learn the best tips for training for a 5K and what to expect for your first 5K race. Stop by Jogging Tip.com today to get your free jogging ebooks just for signing up to be a member of the jogging tip website.
 

The Best Way to Train for a 5K

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

A lot of people wake up in one fine morning and decide they want to 5K Training . The know a sprint won’t give them the exercise they want. When people start to look at other distances of races, for example, the 10K race, they really aren′t as motivated to do those races because its a bit much. But 5k (or 3 miles if that sounds more reasonable) is something most people think they can achieve easily. As a matter of fact they usually can, if the go about it the right way.

Most people start running because of health or weight concerns. Maybe your doctor told you that you need more exercise. The problem is that everyone wants to start running the full 5k from day one or thereabouts. It never works and trying it will result in a rebelling body, with aches, pains, sprains and a feeling of dejection when they see how little ground they are actually able to cover. This often results in people getting turned off and giving up the idea of running. Its sad, because not only are they missing out on a great form of exercise, but also on a great deal of fun and a sense of personal achievement.

The best way to start is to find a good beginners’ training program to follow. There are books and websites aplenty offering such programs. Remember its all about your own body and how it reacts so choose a program that you are very comfortable with. Stay away from those that promise miracle results in a short time. The result that you can expect from this practice is really what we mentioned above which really isn. Getting into shape for 5k running will take about 2 to 3 months, depending on your age and general condition. Its important to try not to rush through things. Your aim is to run the distance, not see how fast you have reached the level of running it.

Whatever 5K Training program you choose, stick to it and don’t try to skip steps to speed things up. The plans will have been designed taking a lot of factors into consideration and even if you feel super fit when completing a step and think you can jump ahead one or two, don’t. What happens is that this can be extremely painful if you are not used to this training or if it has not been prepared or conditioned. If you find a program does not suit you for any reason, find another more to your liking and try that.

Begin slowly and regularly. Remember that you should not 5K Training more than 5 days a week – your body needs rest to develop, which it can’t do while it is constantly being exercised. At the same time, don’t give in to the lazy urge and start taking extra days off. That too will ruin our training schedule.

Don’t expect great results from day one. Your body has first ot be conditioned to accept the training it will be undergoing and most programs are designed keeping this in mind. You really want to stick with a program for a good 2 months before you reevalutate your performance and take a look at changing the program. Expecting too much too soon will only lead to disappointment.

Jogging Tip is a brand new website that is all about jogging. Jogging tip is your perfect place to join with the rest of your jogging friends. Learn about training for a 5k and running your first 5K race. Stop by Jogging Tip.com today to get your free jogging ebooks just for signing up to be a member of the jogging tip website.
 

Learn the Miles in a 5K

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Does it matter if you measure a distance in kilometers or miles? No matter what way you tend to look at things or think about things, the distance itself is not going to change. But it does have a psychological effect on people who may be running the distance.

A 5K Training is 3 miles long. Or if you want to be really accurate, it is 3.10615969 miles long.  Its basically nothing more that a mental attitude which depends on what system of measurement you are more accustomed. Whether you have done your running training based on a 3 mile distance or a 5k one, you have been doing exactly the same thing. If you are honest with yourself, the difference of about 100 meters will not really affect your performance in your race. The only difference will be, for runners who measure their performance in seconds, it the few moments longer running time the extra 100 meters of the 3 mile run will take over the 5k one.

The difference in performance requirements in nothing. For a runner who normally puts in a final burst over the last 500 meters of the 5k course, it means postponing the start of the bust by 100 meters, or doing a 600 meter burst at the end. The only time measuring a races distance as either 5K Running or 3 miles will make a difference is when the run is over a closed circuit where runners who are regulars on the circuit will have a fixed mark or point from where they begin their final push to the finish line. If a runner has a mark he has been using regularly in 5k races, when he is in a 3 mile race he will have to either find a new mark to sue for starting his burst or judge the extra 100 meters from his regular mark and then begin his final burst. If you are a runner who normally does the regualr 3 miles then its the reverse that will apply to you.

Of course, the terminology of 5K Training and 3 miles is being used more and more interchangeably and non professional races often set a 5k distance for a race that is called 3 mile one and a 3 mile distance for a 5k race. The variation in distance is so small it makes no difference to those who run it and has had no measurable impact on the outcome of the races.

However, many professional runners feel that this casual attitude towards a difference of a 100 meters is a mistake. In a world where victory and defeat is measured in hundredths of a second, the extra 100 meters of a 3 mile race will add up to 15 to 20 seconds to a race time and will give an incorrect measurement of a runner’s performance. After all, even the best of sprinters take about 10 seconds to cover a 100 meter distance so the extra amount that needs to be run should not be ignored.

In the end it really comes down to a mindset and a runner’s habitual distance and his comfort level with the terminology.

Jogging Tip is a brand new website that is all about jogging. Jogging tip is your perfect place to join with the rest of your jogging friends. Learn about training for a 5k and running your first 5K race. Stop by Jogging Tip.com today to get your free jogging ebooks just for signing up to be a member of the jogging tip website.
 

Improving your 5K Race Results

Monday, December 29th, 2008

Since you are not a professional runner you have doubtless been told over and over again that you should run against yourself and do the best you can without worrying about how other runners are doing. That’s fair enough because as an amateur runner your main interest is normally in keeping fit and the enjoyment you derive from running. But lets face it, man is a competitive animal and we all want to outshine others when we can. This is never more true that in a race when the race results are a generally accepted measure of success or the lack of it. You may be a weekend or occasional jogger who decides to enter a Jogging just to see how your performance level compares with others of your age group. You really need to look at your age against your age group to get a realy accurate depiction of how you are doing. The problem lies in the fact that while its nice to know that you are as good as your peers, you can’t help wishing that you could outperform them and rather than finishing the race in the midst of 50 year olds you could do it among the 40 year olds. How great would that be and how young would it make you feel?

Pushing yourself and your body too hard is not just foolish but also dangerous and you could do yourself serious harm. But having said that, there are some things you can do, within reasonable limits, to improve your 5k timings.

The most common method of improving your timing is to practice tempo running. This simply means maintaining an even pace (or tempo) throughout your run. Start with 1k and run it at a pace that brings you to the threshold of exhaustion at the end of it. Knowing when you have reached your threshold is important – overdo it and you could hurt yourself. When you muscles ache and your breathing becomes labored, you have passed your threshold. Once your have established a maximum pace for 1k, start gradually extending the distance (without letting your pace drop) – remembering again not to cross the threshold. Keep doing this until you are running the full 5K Training as fast as you can. What this really is is your maximum pace and you will find that you will get the best 5k results at this pace without injuring yourself.

The important thing to remember is that running should be fun. If you push yourself to the point where running is a task that has to be performed only to feed your ego by getting better results than would normally be expected of you, you are doing yourself a disservice. How long will the desire to run last? Is it worth it to take the pleasure out of running just to get great 5K Running results that, in the final analysis, do not improve the quality of your life? Keep striving for improvement, but know when to stop. The best advice is to always consult your doctor before you start to train for something that will require over exerting yourself or pushing yourself too hard.

Jogging Tip is a brand new website that is all about jogging. Jogging tip is your perfect place to join with the rest of your jogging friends. Learn the best tips for training for a 5K and what to expect for your first 5K race. Come by Jogging Tip.com today to get your free jogging ebooks just for signing up to be a member of the jogging tip website.
 

5K Walking and Advice on 5K Walking

Sunday, December 28th, 2008

We all walk everyday. Some of us just to around the house, or to places where the distance is too short to make it worthwhile to take the car. You probably have been told this before, but walking is a great exercise. But to get the maximum benefits from walking you need to do it properly. A 5k walk four times a week will help to keep you is shape and shed a lot of excess weight. This does not mean a slow casual stroll with your friends. It means walking with speed, precision and with an objective in view. The best way to do this is to set yourself a goal of entering a 5k walk and doing well. You probably won’t win because there will be experienced walkers and perhaps even professionals in the pack, but then again, you shouldn’t expect to.  Taking part in the event and completing it in a reasonable time is enough of an achievement and once you do it, its all the motivation you need to keep on walking and perhaps even going in for longer distances.

The first thing to do is to make a regular 5K Training walk a part of your daily routine. Don’t worry about the distance initially – walk as much as you are comfortable. What you want to do is increase the distance gradually over time and also over time try to increase your speed. If you push yourself too hard then you are more likely to have problems so don’t push yourself too hard. An increase of 0.5k per week is fine. That means that if you start with a 2k walk, you should reach 5k in about 7 to 8 weeks. Don’t worry about your time – walk a brisk pace that does not leave you feeling exhausted at the end of the walk. A good target for a beginner to aim for is to do a 5k walk in between 50 to 60 minutes.

There is a lot of material available on 5K Running walking. While this may seem needless for such a common and basic activity, read a few books and articles. Knowing what posture to keep, what strides are best for you and so on are necessary to get the best results from your walk, both in terms of performance and exercise.

Once you have this down as a part of your daily schedule, find a Jogging race to enter. On the day of the race stay to the rear of the starting grid – let the experienced walkers and the pros get off to a clean start. One you start you may find yourself in a pack of other walkers. If the speed suits you, stay with the pack, but try and keep to the outside so the crowd doesn’t cramp your walking style. If the pack is either too fast or slow, drop out and walk at your own pace until you find a pack the matches your speed.

You will find people speeding up away from the packs as the finish line approaches. Don’t let that worry you – you can pick up these tricks later on. The best thing to keep your mind on is that you are going to finish the race. After the race compare your performance with others of your age and fitness level. It will give you an idea of where you stand and if you have to improve your performance which you can do when training for the next race.

Jogging Tip is a brand new website that is all about jogging. Jogging Tip is now the best place to visit to meet others who enjoy jogging. Learn about training for a 5k and running your first 5K race. Come by Jogging Tip.com today and if you sign up to be a member for free then you get your free jogging ebooks.
 

5K Training for Beginners

Sunday, December 28th, 2008

Getting ready for a 5K Running run does not need any drastic changes to your life style, taking it for granted that you live a reasonably healthy life and are in good physical condition. Running is not just good exercise, but it should also be fun and over doing the training and preparation will not just take the fun out of it but can also result in overstraining yourself and, in fact, reducing your running abilities.

Remember the tips that are given here are good general guidelines and can help you get to where you need to go. Just remember that the plan has a focus of getting you ready in 8 to 10 weeks for running the 5k and tampering with it too much can make the plan less effective. The plan calls for 4 days a week of active exercise and training, 1 day of relaxed exercise designed to keep you loose and flexible and 2 days of rest.

Many people tend to ignore the rest days and put in more exercise. They think that the more effort they put in, the faster they will be ready for the 5K Running . They also feel that since they are not suffering from any form of tiredness or soreness, they don’t need the rest. Wrong on both counts. Your muscles need rest not just to recover from the exertions of the exercise, but also to build themselves up which they cannot do while being is constant use. If you don’t let this naturally happen and you don’t let your body recover like this you won’t have a chance of seeing the results you want to see. Really if you don’t feel super tired or sore you are actually probably doing things perfectly right. What this really boils down to is that you aren’t pushing your body too hard which is good because that can really be counter productive. So never ignore the rest your body needs. Keep Mondays and Fridays as your rest days.

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays are the days when you run. Find a good warm up routine to start the session with. After that, begin your 5K Running at a comfortable pace. There is a fine balance between being lazy and not pushing yourself enough and not pushing yourself too hard. At first running 1k like this is fine. You can build up the distance slowly. You don’t have to run a longer distance everyday, but a good target to set is to increase the distance by 0.5k a week. If you are really listening to your body and you would like to increase your training, then go ahead with a little bit of caution because too much too fast will be hard to handle.5k a week too much. The idea is to run 5k, and whether it takes you 8 or 12 weeks to reach that level doesn’t make much difference.

On Wednesdays do some other form of exercise like cycling or swimming to exercise the other muscles of you body. About 30 minutes per day is fine and using the same principles you can build it up slowly.

Sunday is the day for loosening up. Do a slower run or a run and walk combination over a longer distance than you do on the other days.

You can play around with the days to suit you convenience. Just don’t bunch the exercise and rest days together.
  
Jogging Tip is a brand new website that is all about jogging. Jogging tip is your perfect place to join with the rest of your jogging friends. Learn about training for a 5k and running your first 5K race. Come by Jogging Tip.com today to get your free jogging ebooks just for signing up to be a member of the jogging tip website.
 

5K Races in Chicago

Saturday, December 27th, 2008

The windy city is full of runner, from the occasional jogger to regular 5k, 10k, half marathon and full marathon runners, all with varying degrees of running skills. Obviously, this means that the city hosts a large number of races and among the varying distances, the 5k race is among the most popular. Besides top class professional athletes from all over the world, you will find local runners who have near world class times. And of course, a huge majority of people who run just for to fun of it.

Chicago is a nice city for running. Although the weather can become a bit extreme at times, the flat terrain and the chance to run along the lake shore make racing here enjoyable. Even the wind, which professionals who measure their times in hundredths of a second often complain about, is something that most other runner find refreshing. Another nice thing about Chicago is the people who are ever ready to stop on the sidewalks and cheer on runners as the pass by.

Chicago 5k races are scheduled all year round. Sometimes the popularlity of 5ks is so great that there may be multiple races that happen over the weekends. With this plethora of racing opportunities, it is often difficult to decide on which race to enter. Given below is a very small list of just some of the many 5k races held in Chicago every year.

There are a few races in November in Chicago and one of them is the Edison Park Turkey Trot. Turkey trots are extremely popular in Chicago. There is a big one held every year in Lincoln Park, but smaller one like this have their own charms and attract a bunch of dedicated runners who return year after year.

A Jogging that has changed from being a night time run to a morning one without losing any of it popularity is the Universal Sole Resolution Run held in December. One of the neater races in Chicago that is very scenic is the race that goes along the lake shoreline and there is a big following of people that come out for this race.

A popular annual event is the New Years Day 5k Race which, as its name suggest, is run every January first. People who run this one are dedicated runners who have forsaken their New Year’s Eve festivities to be in a condition to start the year off on the right note by running in this race. Of course, you will also find quite a few blurry eyed runners who have not recovered from the previous night’s excesses trying to stagger the distance.

In May there is the Alivio Y Saud 5K Training event which happens in Harrison Park. This race is run for a good cause and benefits the medical center it is named after which provides healthcare for those in need.

If you like to race in the evenings, you could try the Chicago Fire Fighters 5K Running Run for the Kids which begins from the Great Lawn at Soldier Field. This is another run for a great cause.

There are a huge number of other 5k races that take place regularly in the city. To find out more join one of the many running clubs or groups that are located all over the city.

Jogging Tip is a brand new website that is all about jogging. Jogging tip is your perfect place to join with the rest of your jogging friends. Learn all about the right way to train for a 5K and helpful hints for your 5K race. Come by Jogging Tip.com today and if you sign up to be a member for free then you get your free jogging ebooks.
 

Shredding kilograms off your belly: Why interval training is the fastest routine to lose the belly fat

Saturday, December 27th, 2008

A lot of people are looking for a great way to eliminate belly fat. After spending many years training for all sorts of sports, there aren’t too many workouts I don’t know about. So if you want to discuss losing fat, I know for certain that pretty much every workout will lose weight. All of them, just a few works a hundred times faster than the others!

Now if you were trying to lose belly fat, you wouldn’t in your right mind spend all of your time doing the exercises that would take forever?

In fact an hour of the right kind of exercise is worth more than eight hours of the wrong kind of exercise.

So what are the best lose belly fat exercises? These exercises are unique in the fact that they change your body into a fat burning mode for up to thirty eight hours after your workout. So you have finally found a way to lose weight while you snooze.

The secret of this long term fat burning lies in a process called EPOC. This occurs when you use up your muscles energy reserves and your body goes into a process of breaking down fat stores to resupply the body with the energy that it lost.

This state only tends to happen with high intensity interval training types of workouts. In fact they create EPOC naturally, that’s why they are the best lose belly fat exercise.

There is research to back these claims, in fact the initial study done by Trembley concluded that the interval training was 9 times more effective than standard cardio.  A lot of research has been done on this lose belly fat exercise since then, and although the concept is still the same, there have been tweaks added which multiply your fat loss. The more advanced workouts can lose around 2 kilograms a week.

interval training is a mixture of very intense exercise for a brief period of time followed by a rest. Although it’s a pretty simple concept you can maximise your lose belly fat exercise by making sure that you recover enough to really be able to give your all in the sprint phase.  The more intense your interval, the more reserves you use and the longer your body stays in epoc. The great thing about it is that for beginners twenty minutes, three times a week will provide you with visible changes in your fat loss.

Trampoline Safety Advice

Friday, December 26th, 2008

How not to use a trampoline

Trampolines have quickly become the must have fun and fitness accessories. But as more and more people now own trampolines so the number of trampoline related injuries has increased.

The UK based Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) figures tell us that, in 2002, 11,500 people went to hospital after being involved in a trampoline accident. This number was a 50% increase on the previous year. Approximately 75% of injuries took place when there were 2 or more people on the trampoline and the least heavy person is five times more likely to be injured. A very worrying statistic for parents is that children under the age of six are the most vulnerable.

Injuries vary from minor bruises, grazes, strains, sprains and whip lash, to broken bones and more serious injuries including paralysis and even death.

The Chartered Institute of Physiotherapy have published some common-sense safety guidelines that anyone owning a garden trampoline should be familiar with.

To avoid injuries they recommend:

  1. Stretching before and after trampolining
  2. Don’t push your body too far when trampolining to avoid muscle strain
  3. Control your bouncing and don’t go too high
  4. Never attempt somersaults or flips as awkward landings can have serious consequences.

Their twelve point safety advice for trampolines is:

  1. If possible set the trampoline in a hole, with the mat at ground level, to reduce the distance the user could fall.
  2. Always keep trampolines clear of fences, trees and any other backyard or garden play equipment. Erect safety netting around the sides of the trampoline to stop users falling off.
  3. Ensure trampoline has a securely fastened frame pad to cover the entire spring system, hooks and frame
  4. Place cushioning material (such as wood chips, sand or soft lawn) under and around the trampoline
  5. Check the wear and tear on the trampoline mat and springs before use
  6. Use the trampoline only when the mat is completely dry
  7. Children should always be supervised by an adult. It is not advised that children under age six use large trampolines
  8. Only one person should use the trampoline at a time
  9. Users should always jump in the middle of the mat
  10. Never exit the trampoline by bouncing off - climb on and off carefully
  11. Users should remove all jewellery, buckles or anything that might catch and should not wear hard shoes; socks should be non-slip
  12. Never sit or crawl under the trampoline

Another key point that should not be overlooked is the trampoline quality. The current popularity of trampolining means that the market has been flooded with cheap trampolines that can be sub-standard and unsafe.

Always check that your selected trampoline meets relevant safety regulations and that it’s a safe size for your yard or garden.