<p>PG, we need you back here. We’ve got a nice group of newer runners and some great coaching advice. Whatcha been up to?</p>
<p>I struggle with using the HR as a reliable way to train. . My HR is at pretty consistent 164 between 8:30 pace and 6:30 pace. Yet my body tells my I’m feeling “ok” at 8:30 pace and tells me I’m struggling at 6:30 pace and yet HR is the same? When I get beyond 6:30 pace it starts to increase .</p>
<p>Do you know what your actual max hr is? Resting hr?</p>
<p>IDad, I’m also not surprised about the “no distance running” for the hockey team. Probably has something to do with recruitment and training of slow twitch vs fast twitch muscle fibers. Hockey is a sport where you need explosive power for acceleration and need to develop strength and endurance in fast twitch fibers for that. Long distance running develops slow twitch and can even cause fast twitch to develop response characteristics of slow twitch.</p>
<p>For anyone reading all this- remember that max heart rate is NOT a sign of fitness. It will decrease some with age (although mine hasn’t done so), it is simply a number which differs from individual to individual. My daughter’s max is much higher than mine, so her target zones are very different. My max is around 185 now, and my aerobic training zone is 136-148. For low heart rate training I try to stay around 135, but in reality it is more like 140 and if I hit any sort of incline, unless I walk, it gets up into the high 140s. Resting heart rate is the indicator of fitness.</p>
<p>My resting HR when I wake up is 47-50. Max HR that I’ve measured is 183 in a 5k race. Pretty much stayed there for the last 5 minutes of the race so maybe it isn’t my max?</p>
<p>What MOWC said! Cardiac output is a function of stroke volume and heart rate. Cardiac output is a measure of oxygen delivery to the body tissues. Fitter equals greater stroke volume of heart which results in lower hr to deliver same output of oxygen as demand requires. Mitochondria in muscles on cellular level impact on ability to utilize oxygen delivered. Fitness equals greater mitochondrial development resulting in greater efficiencies and capacities to utilize delivered oxygen. Put it all together and you get lower hr for a given amount of “work” which is what training is all about on a cardio vascular level.</p>
<p>PG, we need an update. Btw, the other day at the gym I’m on a treadmill and not far away there’s a woman near a yoga ball in dancer’s pose. She has her hand on a window ledge for balance, and I’m thinking, I wonder if PG needs to hold onto a ledge for balance? Probably not. :-)</p>
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<p>Re HR, HRR, VO2 – I consider it a positive sign if no ambulance needs to be called.</p>
<p>Haha, yeah, what Deborah T said too!</p>
<p>Thankful for all the “oldies” and " newbies" here - we were all newbies at one time!!!</p>
<p>Hoping to do some cross training today - of walking in and out of stores and arm lifts of clothes off of racks and into my shopping bag. :)</p>
<p>I have no idea what my max heart rate is. When I’m doing my intervalish stuff I try to make sure it gets to at least 150. I don’t think it goes over 160. Meant to go to the gym yesterday, but spent 45 minutes trying to figure out where my wallet was. Somehow it ended upstairs on our bed. I decided to just work out at home. Tried valslide alligator walk with dish towels which worked surprisingly well, did split squats with weights and can feel it in my glutes - I should do those more often! Salmon on spinach with a port wine shallot sauce. Yum.</p>
<p>Little run, but no sneezing, so that was good. Hope to swim later.</p>
<p>Did a TRX workout last night. My favorite trainer challenged me to do push-ups with hands in the straps and feet on balance ball with body fully extended. I was a ridiculous mess and kept falling off the ball. My control was non-existent. So I went back to the “easier” version of feet elevated on my lifting bar in the cage and hands in the straps. Tough, but at least I stopped falling over lol.</p>
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<p>How did you like those alligator walks? 
Salmon night for me last night, too. Salmon in Thai Red curry with broccoli and snow peas.</p>
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<p>I think there are several factors. Ice hockey is a massively challenging sport from an aerobic conditioning standpoint, but it’s probably more like sprinting. They are constantly changing players so it’s short intervals of constant stopping and acceleration. They get so much “cardio” while on the ice practicing, that laying on miles and miles of running becomes too much, on top of three or four days a week strength training.</p>
<p>Part of it is cultural. We are so bombarded with the message that “fitness” and “running” are synonyms that these college age women believe that they need to be running 5 or 10 miles every day, on top of playing ice hockey, on top of strength training. The biggest challenge with these national level athletes is avoiding over-training.</p>
<p>So, my mojo has been surprisingly gone over the last week. I was with my strength-training guy today and I just wasn’t as up to snuff as usual, and I confessed to him that I’d thought about calling in sick. I haven’t been as clean on the eating either. I’m afraid of losing all my progress, but just feel unmotivated - like a light switch turned off. This guy thinks I’ve overtrained, and we stopped working out and just talked about it. Anyone ever have this happen?</p>
<p>Edited to add - I didn’t see til I posted that several of you had asked for an update. I cannot tell you what that means to me - to have this group! Thank you!</p>
<p>I did do - before we stopped - some kind of walk with a rubber band around my ankles - first sideways, then like a zombie. Was fun, in its own weird way. </p>
<p>And there is a place offering an aerial yoga class (one session drop-ins) but I haven’t yet gone the step to sign up.</p>
<p>abasket-- Thank you for your encouragement and support. I hope you found lots of nice things to buy!</p>
<p>I walked 5.34 miles first thing in the morning. The weather started clear, turned to a light rain, turned to a heavy rain and then turned into beautiful large snowflakes. I had no idea we were expecting snow and I am doubly thankful I walked before it accumulated and became slippery outside.</p>
<p>I am adding some exercises to my walks beginning tomorrow. I am thinking of sit-ups and one arm exercise with weights. I will then add two the following week and so on and so forth.</p>
<p>Can anyone recommend the proper form for sit-ups (legs flat, knees bent, ?) and suggest a number to start with? Also, any suggestions for a beginner’s arm exercise? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Pizzagirl- You were doing an insane amount of exercise on some of your days- 3-4 hours of classes, it seemed. I think that would have burned me out quickly. It’s a dreary time of year and a lot of people have motivation problems- this is confirmed by some of my other online forums. You might want to bite off a smaller piece for awhile- maybe 1 hour class or 30 minutes of cardio on your own every day (or 5 days a week).</p>
<p>5.4 miles with H. HR monitor didn’t work after a mile or so due to my clothing choice, but I think I kept it down since H’s pace is easy. 34, windy, gloomy. I think we are close to pulling the plug and getting a treadmill for the house. I wouldn’t have used it today, but there have been so many days lately that it would have been nice to have one. One of my running friends in PA did a lot of research and tried out a bunch and settled on the Landice L7. I think I’ll check that out. It was about $4K including mat. I’m pretty sure WildChild got the same one.</p>
<p>Gym workout</p>
<p>1/2 running & 1/2 strength training</p>
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<p>Peacefulmom, </p>
<p>iDad started me off with Yuri Elkaim for core exercises, so I’ll pass those two links on to you. I’ll let him address the topic of sit ups and crunches and why alternatives may be preferable.</p>
<p>[Core</a> Workout: Ab Exercises for Beginners - YouTube](<a href=“Core Workout: Ab Exercises for Beginners - YouTube”>Core Workout: Ab Exercises for Beginners - YouTube)
[FREE</a> Ab Workout | Amazing Abs Solution](<a href=“http://www.amazingabssolution.com/free-ab-workout/]FREE”>http://www.amazingabssolution.com/free-ab-workout/)</p>
<p>In honor of another iDad recommendation, which is a concept he has absorbed from one of the coaches he follows – a push, a pull, and something for the legs – how about pushups (you could start with hands on counter, hands on a bench, or modify with knees bent) and dumbbell 3 pt rows?</p>