<p>Three of my family members are gone, so it’s just my 21-year-old son and myself in the house for a couple of weeks. He can fend for himself, so it will be easy for me to eat well. My parents, niece, and nephew are coming on July 6, so I have to steel myself for their visit! My dad loves to cook, sigh. He and my mom both need to lose weight. It’s funny, Dad is always telling me, “Mom really needs to start exercising and lose weight.” The last time he said it, I couldn’t stay quiet and replied, “Well, Dad, you and I both need to, also!” He took it well.</p>
<p>Still enjoying CrossFit. Yesterday I had to run carrying a 10-pound ball, step up and down off a box (two people were jumping on and off a 2-foot high box!), and do ring rows (hold on to two hanging rings, lean backwards, then pull myself forward - it’s a way to work up to real pull-ups). Also some core exercises that made me sore! Running this morning was tough.</p>
<p>ML, great approach with your dad - “you AND I”. One word of advice on box jumps - do not jump OFF the box even if the trainer tells you to do so. It is a sure-fire way of injuring a knee or ankle or pulling a muscle. Besides, it does not serve any fitness-improving purpose. Jumping UP does work your leg a d even core muscles. </p>
<p>MOfWC - maybe they are fake runsies? LOL, but thanks for the tip - I will take a look. Betcha a solid color Runsie will look great with my 3" heeled fancy JC! </p>
<p>Counterfeit runsies? Go figure. The way I see it, if you can make the hottie in the website photos look silly wearing a runsie, they’ve got a fashion design fail.</p>
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<p>Maine:</p>
<p>I second the recommendation to never jump off the box. Big injury potential even for professional athletes. Coach Mike Boyle won’t even let the US Women’s Olympic Hockey Team players jump off the box and I figure they have a lot more limber knees and tendons and ligaments than any of us do. Jump up, step down. </p>
<p>Box step ups are one of the most tiring exercises I do. I do them one side at a time. Leave the working leg planted on the box, step down so the back foot touches the floor and back up, using as little back floor to push off as I can. Do all the reps on one leg, then switch and do the same reps on the other leg. Those things gas me in no time at all. The only downside is that high steps are a little rough for people who have knee troubles.</p>
<p>I don’t do box jumps to exhaustion. Try to do a few good explosive reps. As I tire, it’s just too easy to catch a shin on the edge of the box. Doing a lot of them for time is a good example of Crossfit exercises to avoid. Picking an exercise to do to exhaustion/failure should be something with a very low injury risk. For example, it would be pretty hard to hurt yourself doing push ups until you can’t do another one.</p>
<p>Oh. and sorry to do this right after lunch, but…</p>
<p>Plus Size Runsies, anyone?</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that I’d see them walking the aisles of my grocery store!</p>
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<p>And, on the subject of bad PLUS size fashion… I wonder how much longer we’ll have to suffer through the current style of capri length cargo shorts on fat men? OMG… I count my blessings every day that I lost weight before those were the ONLY shorts in the store…</p>
<p>Thanks for the warning not to jump off the boxes! I wasn’t paying that much attention to the guys, so I’m not sure what they were doing. I do know we were just supposed to do a few steps or jumps, so it wasn’t to exhaustion. I will try stepping next time as you describe, interesteddad. I don’t have knee trouble, fortunately.</p>
<p>ML, I has zero knee troubles until I jumped off the retaining wall in my backyard! That’s why Im anti-jumping. And if Mike Boyle and idad say so… :)</p>
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<p>I think just about any way you do box steps is good for you! The only thing is to try not to cheat by pushing off with the back foot. The leg up on the step should be doing the work – ultimately working up to a step that puts the top of your thigh parallel to the ground when your foot is on the step. For me, a 16 inch weight bench is a good height (and what I have!).</p>
<p>Leaving one foot on the step the whole time is just a good way to eliminate the pushing off.</p>
<p>It a great exercise or hiking in the White Mountains, where so many trails require stepping up 12 to 24 inches to the next rock.</p>
<p>Plus size onesies and plus size man capris? That is a great visual, but also another reason for me to not jump off a box so that I risk not being able to run and play.</p>
<p>Idad or others, I need advice. As I step up my running (more distance, more hills, tougher terrain) I am finding that I have many more sore days (I can feel it in my thighs when going downstairs especially). What can I do to minimize this pain? Am I not warming down enough before I sit for a period of time? Should I be fueling differently pre- or post-run?</p>
<p>D is home and she’s been working with a trainer since Christmas so she’s now a much fitter D! We went to the gym today, together. I ran 3.5 on the treadmill, followed up with a couple of back weights while she ran through the exercises she got from her trainer. It’s way too hot to exercise outside, imo; 93 degrees all afternoon, sunny and humid. Even the gym feels a bit warm. It really is summer. </p>
<p>Snowflake , describe your running history in more detail. How long have you been running? Are you new to running? Or back to running after a hiatus? How often are you running- not distance but times per week. What type of shoes and how many miles are on them? </p>
<p>Some running stores have clinics where you can go and they will evaluate your running stance, pace, habits, etc. Maybe this would help??</p>
<p>I am an experienced runner returning after a 4-year hiatus. I ran a half in 2008 and then didn’t really run for two years for various life things, and then 2 years ago when I tried to start up again, I couldn’t due to IT-band issues that kept coming back when I tried to ramp up miles. I cross country ski pretty regularly (and mildly intensely … I am not a racer but train with good skiers). This year I got some good physical therapy advice in March and followed it religiously, so started to ramp up miles starting in May. I run 3 - 4 miles 2-3 times a week and try to do a longer run on Sundays 5-7 miles. Most of my miles are on trails or dirt roads. I had shoes fitted and tested and purchased in March and then again in April, so have two new pair of shoes, both Brooks.</p>
<p>I am a good weight (23 BMI) and I eat mostly healthy, so now I just want to stay healthy and get faster as I do enjoy racing (especially 5K and some longer).</p>
<p>Bunsen, I was for my IT issue but haven’t for the last two weeks since my IT band tightness seems all but forgotten. Perhaps I should roll out the tightness/stiffness in my quads? </p>
<p>I’m the last person on earth to ask about running. Injury rate is too high for me. But, I do think that the golden rule for fitness for us older folk is to make it a policy of not doing the same kind of exercise two days in a row. Recovery time is critical. There are rare occasions when I break that rule – like I’m not going to Acadia and not hiking two days in a row. But, generally speaking, I try to stick to it. Alternating weight lifting with Airdyne bike days or walk/jog days or hike days. With time in between to let those muscles recover while I do something else. Most running aches and pains are overuse injuries – it’s highly repetitive. So, if you have sore quads after running, you may have to give it two days rest or however long it take for the soreness to completely subside. Or run fewer miles. Whatever it takes. And, then be patient as your tolerance for that particular exercise increases.</p>
<p>I don’t think exercising through pain or soreness is a smart strategy, especially for us middle-agers. Muscle soreness from exercise should be mild and short-lived. More serious soreness or prolonged soreness is our body saying, “Too much, too soon, big fella…”</p>
<p>Snowflake - my guess your soreness is a result of increasing intensity whether it be speed, miles or difficulty. I think idad is right in terms of resting or cross training when soreness hits. The running literature that I have studied indicates a proper warmup helps reduce soreness. I like swimming on the days when I feel sore or lethargic . </p>
<p>Snowflake, keep doing whatever exercises have been prescribed to you by your PT. Just because it does not give you any issues now, it does not mean that it cannot flare up quickly. So keep strengthening your core and foam roll religiously after exercise.
Re: rest. I usually run 4 days a week and do core stuff 3 days. It does mean running two days in a row, but those are my easy days. A small amount of Aspercream also helps, especially when someone can massage it in for you. </p>
<p>Okay, I will continue to do my PT, roller and core. I guess I should hold my current mileage constant for a few weeks and not risk injury. All good suggestions … Thank.</p>
<p>Snowflake, ymmv, but I personally found Marathonrookie’s training schedules perfect for my training needs. Hope you will find some relief for your sore muscles!</p>
<p>A couple days away from the gym in favor of other exercise, including, finally, some golf!</p>
<p>FWIW, several years ago when I started trying to get back into some amount of running, I followed the “Couch to 5K” program. That schedule has you running every other day, which made sense to me and my aging body. Even now when I’m doing the Galloway Method of run/walk, I hardly ever do it 2 days in a row. Knock on wood I’ve never had any serious injuries, and I’d very much like to keep it that way!</p>
LOL, but thanks for the tip - I will take a look. Betcha a solid color Runsie will look great with my 3" heeled fancy JC! </p>
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