This blog is about me and my safer lifestyle choices based on my professional opinion (as a Doctor of PT licensed in VA & FL) and my personal research into how to live my healthiest life. This blog does not reflect the opinion of any professional organization with which I am affiliated, nor is designed to replace your PT's nor physician's medical advice. This blog is for informational and entertainment purposes only. If a reader relies on this blog as advice, it is at their own risk
So, to keep myself honest, here's the latest installment of my workouts (prior to the bold type is what was on my last blog):
Week 6: Last week
Continue eating well, sleeping at least 8 hrs a night
and rising early
Move up to week 3 of the C25K and add in Burst Fit
video workouts:
Monday (W3D1) -
2.41 miles at avg 14'16"/mi in 34:27 mins
Hurrican Ana... not direct hit!
Burst Fit:
Abs and Back Shredder
Tuesday (golfing) – 7.6 miles
(used push-cart for clubs!) at avg 35’32”/mi in 4.5 hours
Burst Fit: Shoulder & Leg
shaper
Wednesday (W3D2) – 2.37 miles at avg
14’46”/mi in 35:05 mins
Burst Fit:Chest & Arm definer
Thursday (walk) – 3.11 miles at 18’01”/mi
in 55:55 mins
Friday (W3D3) – 2.27 miles at avg
14’56”/mi in 33:50 mins
Sat/Sun - hurricane Ana!!! Stayed inside as it rained ALL day!
Monday morning after the storm... ready for my run!!
Week 7: This week
Changed shoes to accommodate a heel lift both feet as both Achilles tendons are getting worse pain (left worse than right). Icing left Achilles bursa post workouts and during day. Adding 1000mg turmeric daily to regimen for anti-inflammatory nature. Kinesiotaping left Achilles tendon/bursa.
Stay on week 3 of the C25K due to worsening nature of Achilles pain and difficulty in doing the run portions last week:
Monday (W3D1) – app failed, but ran identical route as last week, so can assume at least 2.25 miles and was gone from house for 32 mins.
Burst Fit: Abs & Back shredder
Tuesday (walk) – 3.13 miles at 17’44”/mi in 55:32 mins
Wednesday (W3D2) – 2.51 miles at avg 14’38”/mi in 36:44 mins
Thursday (walk) – 3.12 miles at 17’48”/mi in 55:36 mins
Friday (W3D3) – 2.36 miles at avg 14’53”/mi in 35:04 mins
So... what's up? Achilles bursitis and tendonitis... both legs :(
The hubby, in trying to help, sent me a great link to a runner's website talking about how some runners, once they've switched to newer or minimal footwear begin to have pain in their calves or shins due to the decrease in heel height. I wanted to scoff at that at first, until... I sat and thought about it. It makes sense! One has to look at one's self to notice what's going on and I did spend about 8 weeks in combat boots (which do have a considerable heel on them compared to toe height) and the pain began while doing my last stint in uniform.
However, I continues to run/walk in my minimalist shoes WITHOUT adding in extra achilles/calf stretches! Oops. You'd think a PT would know better!! I mean, these shoes HELPED me start running and got over my propensity for shin splints! I don't want to give them up!!
So, what now? Well, for the time being, if I want to keep running, I feel the need to give in and wear my "old" running shoes (the ones I bought WAY back when I wanted to run but my shins hurt too bad to do so... so I never wore them). I love New Balance... they keep my heels and arches the most comfortable for "motion control" shoes. So, no reason not to wear them and they actually have helped the past two days. BUT, also must do something else!!
So, que the roller!!! Ta-da!!!
I've been rolling sore muscles for a while and use the roller a LOT with my patients. It just takes a few minutes and a slight knowledge of where the muscle knots could be related to where your pain is. I've no pain in my calves, just the area of the achilles tendon that connects the calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus) to the back of the heel bone (calcaneus). BUT, one shouldn't roll the tendon as it really is inflammed... look UP. No, not the sky... up the region of muscle to which the tendon is connected. THAT is where to focus on the rolling. There are a LOT of methods for rolling and the one I use involved pushing the muscle (or body part) over the roller, finding the spot that hurts when the pressure is on it (a trigger point) and putting a lot of pressure right on THAT spot - for about 45 seconds. Then... roll around again, kinda like rolling pie crust, and find a new spot or the same one and place pressure again about 45 seconds. Repeat this with the entire muscle region. I've got about 4 to 6 spots that just KILL when I push on them... but they work out with the pressure. Then I stand up and stretch the same muscle.
from VHI handouts
WHY roll and not just stretch?? Well, kinda two reasons in this PT's head for that:
1. self massage
2. stretching the middle portion of the muscle.
OK... there are a few ways to stretch... one is to extend the joint/limb to the limit and hold it there (static stretching: like the runner's stretch for the heel),
another is to actively move the limb/joint to the end range over and over (dynamic stretching: such as hip circles and swings),
but a great way to stretch is to put pressure on the middle portion of the object you are trying to elongate. That's the goal... make the muscle longer - elongate the muscle fibers, right? (excuse the hand drawn demonstration!!)
Now... WHY is there pain in that midpoint as we roll it?? That spot is called a trigger point by PTs, massage therapists, physicians, etc. It is an area within a muscle that is overly irritable and can be felt as a knot or a taut band (kinda like a tootsie roll under the skin). No one's really sure (there's a LOT of theories, though!) what they are or why they happen... but, one thing is sure... they HURT!! There are also many ways to treat them, from massage to therapeutic dry needling to stretching, but the basic thing is... YOU have to find out what works best for YOUR body. As a PT, I enjoy using all of the above as an eclectic way of treating my patients. Some respond well to massage and stretching, other patients need the dry needling (which is VERY effective), while others need a more conservative approach beginning with modalities like ultrasound. If you have significant trigger points, or cannot figure out how to stretch your muscles the best, get with a local PT!! Some states no longer require a referral (however, many insurance companies do... check with yours).
Anyhow... off I go to roll, stretch and ice some more!!
So, you read the internet and magazines all about working out and what kind of workouts a person should be doing and for how long? Yeah. I know. There's advice ALL OVER THE PLACE. (don't forget, I use a TON of embedded links!!! Click on them!!)
So... what do I do? Well, you must remember that I still have to do the "Fit 2 Fight" model for the reserves, meaning push ups, sit ups (I still refuse to call them "crunches"), run 1.5 mi/walk 2km and have a slim waist. At my age, and with all the arthritis and joint issues creeping up on what feels like a daily basis, I have to test every 6 months as I just haven't been able to do a full-component fitness test in yeeeaaaars. Oh well, keeps me honest.
So... as a PT, what do I do? I truly do think we need to be moving each and every day. Personally, I have a hard time running (always have, ask my high school PE teacher...) and doing anything with my arms (weak shoulders). So, I make sure that's in my program. Why not just do something else?
Well, I might, but there's that pesky AF fitness test ;) Plus... it IS a good idea to push oneself in her weakest areas, don't you think?
I returned from a lengthy time away from home and got WAY off track while gone. I was doing my Couch to 5K program MWF and BurstFit every day but Sunday. But, after 2 months of just walking and a run every now and then (but not even that far... I had gone to Utah and they're almost 5K feet high!!!), my fitness had gone WAY down. Not to mention my weight had gone a little up and the flab-factor was reappearing. So, here's what I've done so far:
1st two weeks home:
Acclimatize to new timezone (4-6 hours behind where I was visiting), but establish a get-up-before-6am routine with 7-9 hours of sleep.
Fitness test NLT 31 Dec 2014 - NO EXEMPTIONS! (goal, right??)
Week 3:
Continue above
Begin walking (whatever distance was comfortable to my body) each day upon rising and use my fitness apps to remain accountable to all the "friends" on them. I use Nike+ (running app, but I like it for walks, too), Map My Run (which has a place from where I can chose to use "walk" instead of "run"), and Runkeeper (why this 3rd one?? Different "friends" that provide feedback on walks and runs than on the other two apps).
Here's what week 3 walks looked like:
Monday - 2.31 miles at 17'28"/mi in 40:29 mins
Tuesday - 2.89 miles at 17'31"/mi in 50:39 mins
Wednesday - 2.53 miles at 17'42"/mi in 44:50 mins
Thursday - 3.13 miles at 17'53"/mi in 56:00 mins
Friday - 2.96 miles at 17'54"/mi in 53:05 mins
Saturday - rest
Sunday - 2.43 miles at 17'29"/mi in 42:30 mins
Week 4:
Continue eating well, sleeping at least 8 hours a night and rising early (6am-ish)
Add Couch to 5K running program back into routine on MWFs and walk other days of the week (you'll notice that I abbreviate that to C25K and the week x day x to WXDX):
Monday (C25K:W1D1) - 2.06 miles at avg 14'45"/mi in 30:27 mins
Tuesday (walk only) - 3.13 miles at 17'46"/mi in 55:44 mins
Wednesday (C25K:W1D2) - 2.15 miles at avg 15'13"/mi in 32:50 mins
Thursday (walk only) - 3.08 miles at 17'56"/mi in 55:21 mins
Friday (C25K:W1D3) - 2.23 miles at avg 14'43"/mi in 32:54 mins
Saturday and Sunday were both rest days as I caught a tummy bug Friday night
Week 5:
Continue eating well, sleeping at least 8 hrs a night and rising early
Move up to week 2 of the C25K:
Monday (W2D1) - 2.59 miles at avg 14'47"/mi in 38:21 mins
Tuesday (walk) - 3.12 miles at 17'58"/mi in 56:09 mins
Wednesday (W2D2) - 2.57 miles at 14'47"/mi in 38:03 mins
Thursday (walk) - 3.09 miles at 17'30"/mi in 54:13 mins
Friday (W2D3) - 2.57 miles at 14'16"/mi in 36:44 mins
Saturday - rest
Sunday (walk) - 3.08 miles at 18'00"/mi in 55:36 mins
Week 6: (this week... so far)
Continue eating well, sleeping at least 8 hrs a night and rising early
Move up to week 3 of the C25K and add in Burst Fit workouts:
Monday (W3D1) - 2.41 miles at avg 14'16"/mi in 34:27 mins
Burst Fit: Abs and Back Shredder
Needless to say... I'm a work in progress!! What a great start! Yes, working through an achilles bursitis (kinesiotape and rolling help) and the usual hip/knee joint pains, but I'm OUT THERE! Working out at comfortable paces for MY body and now pushing my strength. My goal is to do 20 push ups for my AF fitness test in December. I'll get there!
"Hey friends! I want to let everyone know that suicide IS preventable. Here's my promise to you: I will always Listen/Talk it out/Be a trusted friend/Get you help. Talk to me if you're in crisis. The Lifeline is there for you and so am I."
#800273TALK #suicideispreventable #LETITOUT
September 30th is the last day of the Suicide prevention month. On this day, I found out my dear friend's (from our last military assignment) husband apparently shot himself at home. She found him according to the news reports.
He was an amazing man. High ranking Army officer. But, a Teddy Bear in person. Always had a wonderful, full, encompassing hug ready and available no matter where we'd run into each other. A smile and a kind word... always. Did he seem depressed? Not a year ago when I last saw him. Yes, he went for walks with the dog and was a quiet man, but didn't seem "depressed". His family was amazing and supportive. Very involved in the community and at church. Why him?? I, personally, do not expect I'll ever know. All I can do is to pray for his soul, pray for his family, and pray for my dear friend that her dreams are not nightmares of finding him... AND get the word out about suicide prevention.
Suicide was a growing trend in the military (it 'might' be lowering... slightly in the past 2-3 years). Presumably from the time spent in deployed locations and the stresses that one is under just from being in the military.
We, in the Air Force, are subjected to yearly Suicide Prevention briefings. We're taught how to be a "good wingman" and recognize the "warning signs".
But, somehow... my friend's husband slipped through that.
I think one of the things that most people do not realize is that you MUST ask DIRECTLY if your friend or loved one is thinking about hurting or killing themself.
You MUSTN'T tell them they are stupid or weird or wrong... just listen. THEN, STAY with them!!
Check in with them if they're not in immediate danger or take them to an emergency room or doctor.
Hide items that they might use to hurt themself...
don't just say "Life is too wonderful... why would you WANT to end it??" Typically, they are in such pain that ALL they can think about is ending their pain... their life is NOT wonderful to them - No matter if yours is to you or if theirs appears to be wonderful from your perspective.
Do NOT place guilt on them... don't tell them how many lives will be "ruined" if they die... just listen to what is hurting them and BE there for them. Even if you feel like you just NEED to say something... say, "I am here for you" and mean it.
PLEASE help end suicide. Especially for our military and veterans.
IF you eat pork (I do)... here's a nice way to prepare pulled-pork using a crock-pot that I came up with after researching how to do it online. There was just SO much advice that I finally stopped reading and researching and just MADE it.
Ingredients:
1 Pork roast - whatever size fits in your crock-pot!
7-10 garlic cloves - peeled and the larger ones cut in half length-wise
sea salt and pepper
apple cider vinegar (I use Bragg's organic)
BBQ sauce (you can make yourself or find some that fit your "rules"... mine is NO HFCS or GMO ingredients)
Start with a decent cut of pork... I use pork shoulder with the bone still in. I have used pork butt and other chunks of pork meat, but my favorite is the shoulder. Of course, in a perfect world, I'd buy from a sustainable farmer who really feeds their pigs well... but, on the budget we have, that only happens once in a blue moon.
Next... LEAVE ON THE FAT!! I have tried this in cutting off EVERY single scrap of fat before (the hubby can NOT stand fat) and it does NOT cook well at all.
Slice small cuts into the meat and insert a garlic clove on both sides of the roast.
Place into crock-pot and salt/pepper one side, flip and salt/pepper the other side.
Add approx 1/2 - 3/4 cup vinegar. Don't worry if it seems like it's not enough as the juices will FLOW while cooking and it'll appear to multiply!
Turn the crock-pot on low setting and leave alone for 3 hours, minimum.
Turn over at that point and cook at least 3 more hours.
Check for ability of it to just tear apart with your fork at the 6 hour mark. It might need 1-2 more hours.
This one was ready at 7 hours. I then removed most of the liquid and preserved it in a 2 cup measuring cup. Next, cut off the HUGE layer of fat on the side. You can leave it and eat it, but this was NOT from a reputable farmer and I'm loathe to eat the fat from a pig who eats conventionally. So, off it came and into the garbage. Remove the bone and shred right in the crock-pot.
Some cooks recommend shredding the pork on a cutting board, but I'm all about the LEAST amount of clean up possible; so inside the pot is fine by me!
Here's what the pork looks like at this point. I've added back in some of the juices that were taken out and saved in my measuring cup... still a little dry appearing, so I added more back. Then, the family REALLY likes BBQ sauce, so I add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of that and place the rest on the table for them to add more, if necessary.
GREAT EATS!!
Serving: For the hubby (NOT gluten-free or Paleo/Primal), he eats it on a bun... for the son and myself? We just eat it with a fork!! I usually cook up some roasted veggies like cauliflower and broccoli to go along with this and a mixed garden salad.
First off... wedding. We had a wedding in our family. It was my oldest son getting married to his college sweetheart in Ft Worth, TX. What a beautiful day and celebration!! Here I am in my most glamorous gown... wearing all that spanx thingies to hold all the stuff in place.
Yes, hubby got cropped out of this photo!
I'll try to do an "after" picture... once I get these extra 15 lbs off... From my lowest weight loss to now, yep, 15 pounds. That's 6.8kg for my non-American friends.
HOW?? WHEN???
Looking back on my daily weight loss calculator, I see that the weight really started to come back on AFTER the holidays. WHY??? Well, IF I had been keeping a food journal or diary, I could look back and see what I was eating to possibly contribute to this gain. Otherwise, I'm left to make suppositions and theories as to how I sabotaged my weight management program. Can I blame it on the stress of the wedding? Possibly, but why... it was joyful.
So... getting back to the basics. The "rules", if you will, of being Paleo/Primal.
Let's see how I fare in the basics... (I'm not going to get into the 'why we don't eat these' right now, just going through how I've sabotaged myself):
1. Change your eating to REAL foods (no processed junk)
No grains. none, nada, nyet, zip!! That includes wheat, barley, rye, rice, corn, etc. Now, here's a possible weight gainer for me: rice and organic corn. I've tried to reason away eating rice (ONLY if it's non-GMO or Japanese!!) and corn (ONLY if it's organic/non-GMO or the blue kind). Yep... I've been indulging a little too frequently in rice and corn. Corn itself? No, more like chips or crackers. STOP!! I also have a confession to make... it's easier to be "Gluten-free" than Paleo in this world. I have slipped and purchased pre-packaged goodies that are "gluten-free", but definitely NOT Paleo/Primal. Why? 'Cause they're so darn good. STOP!!!
No beans/legumes. Well... this one is OK for me as I haven't had beans since having the gallbladder out. If you've read this blog since it's inception, you know all about how painful eating legumes was for me back then (you can read my story here). The inflammatory nature of legumes was really impressed upon me back then and I've not 'cheated' eating them at ALL. (it REALLY was painful!!).
No Dairy. Well... the reason I call myself Primal is that I do allow myself some dairy. It's usually the raw, unpasteurized and organic kind (NO hormones, antibiotics, etc.), and more likely the harder cheeses. I find that I cannot do any of those fake cheeses nor "cheese substitutes" like velveeta or American Cheese. My intestines greatly revolt against fake stuff and the softer cheeses. I can eat harder cheeses, as I mentioned as my system tolerates them. I've also found that I can eat goat cheeses and some soft cheese as long as it's raw. Needless to say, I do not drink milk anymore. Now, if my uncle who owned the milk farm was still alive and I could get my hands on some raw milk, I might try it. Ah well, rest in peace, Uncle George!! Even so, I do not eat dairy often at all. Not enough to consider it a "cheat" or sabotage to my weight loss.
No added sugar. Ugh. Right here is my issue. Right here. I was, for a LONG time, staying away from white sugar... well, I still do, it's not in my house. BUT, the added sugar in fruit juices (even 100% pure fruit juices
are still VERY sweet) and candy are my biggest and most recent downfalls. I have been drinking Simply Lemonade (LOVE it) with raspberries and blueberries and strawberries. It's so dang natural that I reasoned it away... a while back, I posted on fructose and how you'll need more and more to hit that rush... well, yeah. I went from one small glass with tequila, triple sec and simply limeade to large 20 ounce cups with just the lemonade and fruit mixtures. To get off of this, I pulled out the crystal light. BIG mistake!!! Made my body crave sugar even more. Out came the peppermint patties, the Hawaiian macadamia nut chocolates, etc. Bad, bad Debi.
2. Fitness!!!
Up your fitness level, but not by overdoing the aerobic exercise! Right now, I run 3 times a week (it's a "military have to"), but never go beyond 3 miles and mainly stick around 2 to 2.5. Also, 6 days a week, I do tabata style exercise. This is intense weight lifting, no weights and just body
weight exercises, and sprinting. I only do this for 22 minutes with my Burst Fit workout videos (by Dr. Josh Axe, you can access his site by clicking on his name). I'm not good at just exercising, so these videos give me a great 22 minute workout and I can make them as intense or as modified as I need. Yes, some people have mentioned that perhaps my weight gain is due to starting the Burst Fit back in Feb 2014 (it does coincide with my weight gaining), but I reject that notion... based solely on what has been going between these two lips and into my body. Yes, exercise makes a body hungrier. Yes, I ate more. We (Paleo types) tend to say calories don't matter, but if they're sugary, grainy calories, they DO.
3. Sleep.
No problems here. I even downloaded an app: 24/7 that records sleep (I found out I'm not a regular snorer!! YAY!) and tells you if you're sleeping deeply or lightly by how much you move in your sleep (yes, you have to sleep with your iPhone in your bed). So, 7 to 8 hours a night when working and 8 to 9 hours a night when not. I'd say, I have this one in the bag!!
So, there you have it. I've been eating too many pre-packaged "Gluten-free" goodies that include grains (they almost all are made from rice flours) and sugars. I've indulged WAY to much on candy in the past few weeks (daggone Hawaiian chocolates!!!) and eaten more calories, that contain these two bad boys (sugar and "gluten-free" grains). Needless to say, today being a Monday, I'm back "on plan" and will, most likely, hit that silly carb wall in about 2-4 days. No sugar and no grains (corn and rice, mainly) for the next month or so to get these 15 lbs OFF!!!
We had our first house guest (outside of my oldest son and his friends visiting) for the first time in over 4 years!! It made me realize how little we've done around the house to actually spiff it up and begin updating it ("Its SO dated!"). We've done some things such as:
1. Installing two Big Ass Fans (seriously, that's the company's name!!) in the main room:
"Before" look over to the main room
"During" to show one with the light on it
2. Installing an access door/ladder and attic in our garage (sorry, no pictures!).
3. mounting the TV on the wall and hubby putting the cable access into the wall to get rid of all those lovely wires from hanging down!
4. Fixing various things around the house that were broken... such as the microwave door, the fridge ice maker and dispenser and fridge lights (we thought they were just lay and hadn't replaced the lights inside the fridge, but there was some kind of circuit issue in the electric board inside it... thank goodness hubby is an engineer!!), new kitchen faucet and put old one in the laundry room sink, etc.
5. Hubby removed some bushes from out front and planted grass.
6. etc.
However wonderful and necessary those changes are... nothing updated the house. So... I started with the guest bathroom.
Befores and Afters
Right after we got the keys to the house and hadn't moved in stuff. See where the towel bars are located? WHO puts them THAT low?? Seriously??
I always "cut in" first
ALWAYS take off the plates!!! See how the builder painted with them on and left a huge indent? Stupid.
Done painting the sink room...
Cutting in the tub/toilet room
Quite a difference between the dried paint and newly painted whole wall! Don't worry, that dries well and matched up.
Changed to teal colored towel and son moved up the towel bars.
New shower curtain... WalMart!!
In the long run, plans include removing the mirrors and replacing with two over the sink ones, removing medicine cabinets, painting the cabinet white and putting wainscotting up to the level of the medicine cabinet and on the wall behind the doors.
Gosh... it's been, well, a loooooong time since I blogged! Why? Life got in the way. I would start to blog, then get busy doing something like move into a new house or go to Utah on reserves or show a Japanese friend's daughter all around Hawaii.
Last time I wrote, I wrote about hip pain. Well, I took 2 months off and got "activated" with the reserves to go to Utah. Worked SO hard there that the time is almost a blur. Well, I got back to running when I returned to Oahu right before Christmas (yeah, started the following week... kinda like a "New Year's resolution". I started back on the Couch to 5K program again. I may have blogged about it before, but here we go again!!
The Couch to 5K program is a registered trademarked running training plan... but, before it became trademarked, there were a few other groups putting out free apps out there. Now, it seems, everyone has their own version and you pay for them. You can try some for free, but to finish the plan, you'd have to pay. So, for the "original"... go here: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml for their plan (its $1.99). Now, the nice thing about this website is that you can print the plan for free on their site and make the intervals work for you.
Week
Workout 1
Workout 2
Workout 3
1
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
4
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
5
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.
6
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 22 minutes) with no walking.
7
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
8
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
9
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).
The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).
The hard thing is... I don't want to look at a timer to see how long to run (well, that does work well on a treadmill!!). So... I did buy one of those "other" plans when it was still called C25K. The plan I've used now for almost 3 years is "Ease into 5K" by Blue Fin apps (this one is $2.99).
Now, I'm not telling you what plan to use... they are ALL modeled after the same interval-based running program to get you off the couch and running! I have seen some of my friends, who were self-proclaimed couch potatoes, get up and run and be SO proud of themselves for running greater than 60 seconds at a time... then to see them run a 5K? Priceless!! (not to mention ME running!!! I've always "hated" running as it was just too hard and "everything hurt") Most of the free apps are the main app allowing you to try out the first 4 weeks. I did find some other free apps, but cannot speak of how good they are. I did download some and found they appear to have all the intervals and weeks, plus the GPS and music sync. Investigate for yourself!! Like I said, mine was free when I first got it. Would I buy it for $2.99 now? Probably not as the other ones seems so similar. But, I'm used to it now...
What I like about the interval way to getting off the couch and running is that someone else is telling me (through my earpieces) when to run and when to walk and when I'm 1/2 way done or when my last run is coming up. I LOVE to listen to music when I'm working out as it really makes me think of the songs instead of how my body is feeling. Believe me, at 47 years, your body YELLS at you to stop at times!!
So... here's how I use the training plan for my patients. In the military, most people are now runners (due to the annual or biannual fitness testing requiring running) and are in a hurry to get back to running after hurting themselves. The kicker is that mostly, they've hurt themselves... running. (Or doing crossfit type workouts improperly. But, that's another story.) So, most of the injuries are "runner's knee", ITBand friction syndromes at the knee and hip, ankle pain, shin splints, and back pain.
Rehab:
There are typically two to three things that cause a person who supposedly runs all the time to become injured:
1. not warming up.
2. running improperly.
3. too much/too soon/too fast
1. WARM UP!!!
Most people I see going out for a run (yes, I watch every one, all the time!! I am a people watcher and habitually look for gait deviations and such... sheesh... I'm a physical therapist! Its in my blood!!) do a few stretches then simply... run. Now, we have all taken an aerobic class or two in our lives and they ALWAYS warm up. Perhaps it's a slower paced dance move for a few minutes or some other activity to get your heart started pumping... but they warm up.
There is a LOT of research out there as to how a person should warm up, should warming up include stretching or not, and why we should warm up. There are also some great videos that'll take you through a 5 minute standing hip/lower extremity warm up prior to running. There were so many on YouTube that I got off-blog for a LONG time just now!!
What I tell my patients? Warm up through some kind of movement which gets your heart pumping a little bit faster than "normal" walking. So, for a runner, it would be a faster walk than their normal walking pace. So, I ask my patients to build in a 5 minute warm-up walk and a 5 minute cool-down walk after their runs. Stretching?? When to stretch? My response is typically when YOU want to stretch... after the warm up walk or after the cool down walk? Its up to you. The research is all over the place, but does tend to point to stretching at some time (leaning toward "dynamic" stretching prior to running, but longer static stretches afterwards), period.
2. Run in proper alignment!!
Heel strike is the MAJOR cause of shin splints and joint pains, in my opinions. Somehow, when we're younger, around middle school age or high school aged, we change the way we run to include a heel strike.
There are a LOT of hits when you Google: Proper Running Form. I'm a visual person and need things explained in a way this kinesiologist understands... not in words, either. So, I tend to skip all those great sites (and there are amazing ones out there!!) and go straight to YouTube and look up "Chi Running"... it'll get you a great PowerPoint-looking video that's white background and a stick figure with ovals on him as one of the first hits. In my opinion, that's the best video. Take the time to watch it... it's less than 10 minutes and explains how to run in a way that's taken most of my patients from painful running (regardless of where the pain is) and into painfree or tolerable (at the worst) running.
My second favorite video is by Danny Dreyer, "inventor" of Chi Running, himself describing why and how to do Chi Running:
Alignment people... alignment and the forces that act on your body. To get it right, I've put patients on the treadmill, jacked up the incline and put the tread speed slower than their typical speed... then have them lean forwards (hold on!) and PUSH the tread as they run. They'll get used to pushing the tread more with the balls of their foot and the feeling of pulling the ground with their feet instead of stopping the forward progression of their body with a heel strike. It's a great exercise for a little while, but will burn out your treadmill motor if you did this all the time. Yes, there are some non-powered treadmills out there on which you can work at your body's pace (more like running outside anyways), but I have no idea how to buy and which ones are the best to buy. I would recommend running on an indoor track, if weather isn't cooperating, or outside.
3. Begin running or going back to running SLOWLY and smartly.
So many of my patients fit into one of two categories:
1) "I'm not a runner and NEVER have been a runner, but now I 'have' to run 'cause the Air Force says I have to!!"
2) I was injured while running (or had a surgery) and was told by my doc it was "OK" to go back to running.
#1. These folk dislike running so much that they've never taken the time to learn how to warm up/cool down, do proper stretching, wear best running shoes for their feet, run in proper alignment and how to go from a couch potato to becoming a runner. These folk mainly need to be shown the Couch to 5K program, Chi Running video, given some stretches and exercises for their specific body type and diet/nutritional counselling as they usually have a little excess weight to manage and think running alone will solve their weight problem. Typically, they have a mental block on running... so, if I can make it easier for them to get out there through education and weight loss, they tend to lose that mental block (hey, I'm one with this group!!! I always thought I "hated" running, too!!)
#2. These folk think that because they were distance runners before their injury or surgery/procedure, they can just get back out there and pick up from where they stopped... or just go out and run until something hurts or they're too tired to keep going. WRONG. Everyone should give their body a chance to readjust back to running... even if they've been on a treadmill, elliptical or stationary bike!!
These prior runners also benefit from a return to run program, such as the C25K. Yep. I'm hooked on that one. Why? Because you can start it at any level of fitness. Typically, I'll have a prior runner start farther in on the program, such as week 3 or 4. This allows them to get their pace back and figure out their new alignment, smooth over issues with muscle weakness or tightness, and get back to running smartly.
Needless to say, I've done this with myself, too. I'm the kind of PT that won't do something with her patients unless she's tried it out on herself first. I need to experience the treatment/program in order to truly understand how to use it and with whom to use it. Make sense? GREAT!!
Now that the hip is feeling better, I've started taping it and got back to running. After a 2-month hiatus and an injury... you bet I went back to week 1 day 1 of the C25K! Yep... first week felt as though I was being a wimp, and that I could run farther or for longer times, but it was the SMART way to get back. It allowed me to focus on my hip level (don't let one hip drop down when weight bearing anymore - that's part of what caused the injury... gluteus medius weakness and a pull to the TFL), my pace and cadence, and whether anything was hurting or feeling OK.
