<p>3 miles is a long way. Yes, you have to train to complete a 5K unless you are very young and/or very fit- and even then you run the risk of great soreness or injury if you haven’t prepared somewhat for the distance. On my running forums we have a lot of respect for the 5K.</p>
<p>Speaking of backs, I listened to a podcast from the famous back researcher somebody linked to here last week. Terrific stuff, not just on the back, but on training injuries and on the role of core stiffness and bracing in general.</p>
<p>It’s really quite amazing. When I’m riding my exercise bike, I can brace my core/abs just slightly and my pace immediately picks up without trying.</p>
<p>nrbsd:</p>
<p>Must be a mind reader. I just received the daily e-mail from my iPod trainer on, of all things, about training for a 5k race:</p>
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<p>Here’s the link to the article on training for a 5k:</p>
<p>[Anatomy</a> of 5K Training](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■.com/yke6wr5]Anatomy”>http://■■■■■■■.com/yke6wr5)</p>
<p>Did my usual 60 minutes on the bike. After not going to the gym(worked in the yard) this weekend my knee was stiff and sore. Felt way better after exercising…great motivation, indeed! Did some weight machines…lat pulldowns, triceps, biceps, chest press and flys. Makes me giggle when I see this old overweight woman in the mirror and I realize it is me. I look very funny! ;)</p>
<p>Where are you EddieOdessa?
Getting back on track today. Did my arm exercises with the weights. Walked 1.5 miles with most of it being hills. I tried a different route today. I hate one of the uphill portions of my usual route so tricked myself by going a different way. I think in the end I did just as much uphill but in my mind I thought I was taking an easier route.</p>
<p>idad…do you have a link to that podcast on backs? </p>
<p>One of my issues is that I sit at my desk a lot for work…writing on my computer…and posting on CC when I’m bored 
Not good for the back…</p>
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<p>Tell me about it. On my walk, I stand at the very top of hill and look down over fields on the entire quarter mile descent to the river, knowing that as soon as I get to the bottom of the hill, I’ve got to turn right around and climb back up to the top – a hill that just knocks me out. I just use it as a measuring stick for my fitness. I know, that if I keep doing it, I will steadily get stronger. I guess the way to add another half mile to my route is to turn around and do the hill, down and back, twice!</p>
<p>toneranger:</p>
<p>No, I lost it. If I can figure out how I found it, I’ll post it. </p>
<p>The guy’s basic premise is that you only have “x” number of flexes of your spine during your lifetime before it is damaged and you have to be nuts to waste those on sit-ups and cruches. Basically anything that flexes the back forward (hunched over, chin down) is not good.</p>
<p>He’s very big on plank and side plank – exercises that strengthen the core muscles without flexing the back.</p>
<p>His study of elite athletes shows that the number one characteristic of world class athletes is their ability to quickly stiffen the core. For example, if an NBA basketball player doesn’t have a stiff core when he plants and jumps, the energy of driving off the heel is wasted. However, they can’t perform properly when muscles are continually tensed, so it’s the instantaneous abilty to stiffen and unstiffen. For example, he’s measured long-driving champs in golf. They stiffen the core to start the downswing, then relax to be flexible and generate speed, and then brace/stiffen again the instant before impact. Interesting stuff.</p>
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<p>I think you are right about that, IDad. Years ago, I was doing a bench aerobics class at my health club. Tony Dorsett joined our class (this was probably 20 years ago). He didn’t last more than 10 minutes! I remember being surprised as he certainly looked VERY fit.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info about 5K training!</p>
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<p>Hallelujah! I’m not a lonely nut who thinks the same way! I passionately hate crunches with every fiber of my soul! Most people who do them do them incorrectly anyway :)</p>
<p>One of the things the back researcher said was that you don’t want to take NFL running backs (like Tony Dorsett) and design a fitness program to stretch and loosen their hamstrings and leg muscles – that one of the things that separated world-class NFL runners was their explosiveness in cutting and changing direction and that the gift that made that possible was tight leg muscles! That stretching and loosening muscles is just an energry drain when the force of the cut is applied. You want the force of the heel planting to be tranfered through the stiff core. Interesting stuff. He had a virtual muscle model on the computer, driven by EMG elecrodes attached to athletes as they peformed, so he could chart the contraction of all the muscle groups. So, it stands to reason that Dorsett would be mediocre at a limber aerobics class.</p>
<p>bunsen:</p>
<p>He said the proper way to do “crunches” is with your hands under your back so it was arched and then pretend the head and shoulders are on a bathroom scale. Contract the abs just enough to unweight the scale, but not actually move the head and shoulders more than a millimeter or two. That’s essentially what iPod nazi has me doing on the exercise ball. Very little actual mostion.</p>
<p>I had fun. Not ready to move on to the next leve of iPod nazi, so I combined the two workouts into a “super set” – one rotation each of Monday’s and Wednesday’s circuits. I used my own timer and blasted music into my iPod. Did the whole thing without a single extra pause and then did the ten hard intervals on the bike to crank my heart rate up to 95% of max for a few minutes. Yippee! </p>
<p>I even cranked up the intensity a bit: up to 20 pushups now. Completed 45 seconds of everything including the ball squats with dumbells. Progress.</p>
<p>I’ll do the same thing on Wednesday and Friday and then graduate to the next level.</p>
<p>Except that Lance Armstrong (who was on my swim team, by the way) is an awesome runner and swimmer. He was a top young triathlete before he decided the money was in cycling (correct decision). His legs are now too muscular for him to be an elite runner, but he has run a few successful marathons in the last couple of years. Lance Armstrong is a freak.</p>
<p>[How</a> Lance Armstrong Gets His Unusual Energy - New York Times](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/14/science/14cycl.html?ex=1276401600&en=391826c48a3a1a17&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss]How”>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/14/science/14cycl.html?ex=1276401600&en=391826c48a3a1a17&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss)</p>
<p>I need some more of those “slow twitch” muscles.
Wow, this guy works HARD.</p>
<p>I’ll take any kind of muscles I can get!</p>
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<p>LOL, isn’t that the truth?</p>
Hill walking for me. I knocked 50 seconds off my route, but had to practically kill myself to do it. I think I’m just going to worry about enjoying the walk, rather than training for a new world’s record!
I wrapped up the first 10 weeks with my weigh in Monday morning. 19 pounds. I’m thrilled with that. I hope the next 10 weeks is as rewarding as this “eat less, move more” thing has been so far.
<p>Is this the ab workout we’re talking about? [Is</a> Your Ab Workout Hurting Your Back? - Well Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/core-myths/]Is”>Is Your Ab Workout Hurting Your Back? - The New York Times)</p>
<p>Yes. That’s it. The video shows four of his ab exercises for people with lower back troubles.</p>
<p>BTW, on that sideplank, you can start out on your bent knees as the fulcrum rather than your feet. It makes it a little easier. That and the plank on the stability ball (called “stir the pot”) are very challenging exercises for us heavy folk. You can’t do them without a braced core.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to his website:</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.backfitpro.com/]BackFitPro.com[/url”>http://www.backfitpro.com/]BackFitPro.com[/url</a>]</p>
<p>There is a link there to download an interview. Right-click the link and save it to your harddrive, because it’s an hour long interview – with a weight-lifter type. If you just click the link, it’ll just sit there in limbo for ten minutes downloading.</p>
<p>H got the Boston paper to have a memento and couldn’t find his name. He asked me to check the official time again the next morning and they had it listed at 4.5 hours!!! His real time was 3:34, which had been the time posted originally. He was beside himself because this is the third time something like this has happened to him with the times on his races–the other two being a chip malfunction so no time at all. The good news is the marathon people caught the mistake, which apparently affected 650 runners, fixed it and sent a nice email apology to the affected runners. Doesn’t change what was printed in the paper but very professional of them to be proactive with the apology and not just quietly make the change. He was disappointed that he didn’t run a sub 3:30 which would have qualified him for NYC, but he said he went conservative on the hills. He felt great and was happy overall. His time does qualify him for Boston again next year since he is over 50.</p>