Time To Run

It's "lean week". Or at least that's what I'm calling it. Actually, I am starting week 2 of a double-session fitness schedule for myself, and I have decided to integrate more pure running mileage as part of my training. I thought about how I could get in a 5-miler each morning, but I came to the realization that the time would vary, and at least for the start, it would take me longer. I wanted to maximize a specific time slot while also challenging myself, so instead of running for distance, I decided to integrate a 30-minute run, and each day I will push a little harder to get more distance in the allotted time. Also, my Nike+ will track all of that and I'll know approximately when to head home based on my halfway point. I will also time myself on my heart monitor watch and even set up a 5 minute warm up so that I don't get carried away with that either. Worked out great this morning, and yesterday I had the chance to calibrate my Nike+ system again, and I feel it is as accurate as possible, and I'm happy running with it (no pun intended). In addition to my fitness training, I will also closely schedule and monitor my meals and portions, and my goal is to be on a 300-500 calorie defecit of what I'm burning so I can possibly shed a body fat percentage point or two over the next couple weeks.

I wanted to give you all an idea of how I train and my thought process so you can see what goes into this, and you may get a better idea for your own training. The most important thing that helps is scheduling. Plan to wake up, eat, work out, take breaks at work, etc, at specific times. Also, track and plan your meals with a tracker. I use www.myfitnesspal.com, and I even calculate my macronutrient breakdown from time to time to see if I'm on the right path. Try it out. Since we know that carbs and protein yield 4 calories a gram and fat yields 9, you can check quite easily. Please contact me if you have any questions, but for a healthy diet, you should aim for 10-15% of your daily calories to be from fat. Use that as your first challenge. Since fat yields over double what carbs and protein do, you can see how those cals add up. This is why you should aim for low-fat and nonfat items as much as possible, but make sure these items are natural. Fat-free mayo is full of lab garbage while natural mayo is simple, but really only fat. So just eliminate it and substitute mustard, a calorie-free flavorful alternative. Please post your comments, questions, and training tips if you have em! Gotta run! Have a great day everyone, and thanks for reading!