3 Exercises to Train Your Mind. What percentage of performance on race day is mental: 50 percent; 75 percent; 95 percent?
And how often do you train your mind? Many athletes would readily admit that more than 70 percent of our performance depends on our mental outlook, yet most athletes spend little to no time training their mind. Our mental race dialogue is built upon what we do in practice. We can't flip a switch and expect to have a positive mental dialogue (that we actually believe) during a race unless we've practiced the same dialogue in training. Train your mind and prepare to battle negative race-day banter with three simple techniques.
Tips for Energy-Efficient Running. The subject of clean energy is an important one today.
There are many good reasons to reduce our over-reliance on carbon based fuels, become more efficient in how we use energy, and use clean fuels that don't create as much waste and environmental damage. The same is true for the way we take care of our own bodies, which can be viewed as a microcosm of the world around us. ChiRunning and ChiWalking are meant to set up the conditions so that: 1. You are more energy efficient. 2. In our many discussions about energy efficiency and clean sources of energy, it was difficult to narrow down the topic. It's worthwhile to stop and ask yourself, "What is my energy source? " As you become more efficient with your running, you can reduce your reliance on inappropriate muscle usage. Running with tight glutes, tight shoulders, or a tight pelvis can increase the workload to other muscles. Every aspect of ChiRunning and ChiWalking is about creating energy efficiency and preventing injury.
4 Mental Tips to Boost Your Run. 1.
Think Positive. Your mind believes what you tell it. The Diet Detective: How to Perfect Your Posture. Want to look slimmer without doing any "real" work?
How about getting rid of back and neck pain? It all starts with one simple thing: posture. We talked with a few posture experts, and here's what they had to say: Why is good posture so important? Nothing ages you faster than a stooped posture. And finally, posture is the single most important factor in the health of your back and joints. What are the main culprits responsible for our terrible posture? As we age and work in sedentary jobs, there is a tendency for our heads to go forward, our shoulders to round and our bodies to slump from performing tasks in the same poor postures every day, says Marilyn Moffat, a professor at New York University and author of Age-Defying Fitness (Peachtree, 2006).
Basically, we sit too much. How should you sit? "You want to maintain the natural curves of your spine. What effect does posture have on back, neck and joint pain? How to Beat the Wall During Your Marathon. Every year hundreds of thousands of runners will have the opportunity to "hit the wall.
" "The wall" is defined as that period in a marathon when things transition from being pretty hard to being really, really hard. It is the point where your body and mind are simultaneously tested. It's the perfect intersection of fatigue and diminished mental faculties. Or as you most likely remember it, it's the exact point where all your pre-race plans went out the window. How you handle "the wall" can literally make or break your marathon. 10 Steps to a Successful 10K. Harder to find these days, but a fun distance to run, the 10K can be a great bridge between a 5K and a half marathon.
The 10K is twice as long as a 5K, but in many respects it's a more enjoyable race. Instead of shifting immediately into 5th gear from the starter pistol, the 10K allows for a little more time to get in your groove. While the 10K pace may be a little toned down from the 5K, it's still moving at a pretty good clip and for twice the distance. Speed training is a component of 10K training, but endurance-training is really the key to a successful a 10K. 5 Running Tips for Beginners. How to Find a Race Pace That Works. Setting a good race pace is important runners of all experience levels.
But how do you set a good pace that won't have you crashing before the finish line? In this video, Matt Fitzgerald, author and running coach, shares his strategies for finding a race pace that's comfortable, effective and will have you running your best when it counts most. Related Articles: 7 Ways Runners Can Avoid Overtraining Your Race-Day Running Guide. Life Lessons from Charles Atlas. © Charles Atlas, LTD “Let Me Prove in 7 Days That I Can Make You a New Man!”
“The Insult That Made a Man Out of Mac” “Hey, Skinny! Yer Ribs Are Showing!” It’s an ad the majority of readers out there can easily conjure up in their heads. The Benefits of Minimalism – Simplicity and Freedom. “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery Spring Break of my freshman year of college I went on a 4-day backpacking trip in the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico.
My partner in adventure, Lucas, was a former Wyoming backpacking guide turned potter-philosopher, the perfect companion for days wandering the woods processing what comes about with the sudden cleaving from the static of modern living. A year prior we had traipsed around Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska on a 14-day trip that cemented our friendship…and wanderlust.
Beginner’s Guide to Long Distance Running. Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Matt Frazier.
For the past few decades, running hasn’t seemed so cool. For most guys, the thought of running–not for another sport or because you’re being chased, but for its own sake–conjures up images of high school gym class. Or maybe a skinny guy in short shorts. Bike Touring: A Beginner’s Guide. Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Bryan Schatz. I glanced back and there was my long-haired friend Dan just behind me, pedaling like a madman up yet another endless hill. His face was red with fury, sweat dripping onto the handle bars and his eyes fixated on the white painted shoulder line separating us from the speeding maniacs that frequented this road: Pacific Coast Highway in California.
The false summits had become the source of too much agony over the past few days and now he didn’t dare look more than five feet ahead of him. Our legs were constantly cramped, our bodies sun burnt and sore, and we’d forgotten to apply the Chamey Butter to our punished asses almost every morning. This is what bike touring means: It means adding a rack or trailer to your bike, stuffing two panniers to the brim with food, water, clothes, jackets, equipment, books, maps, a sleeping bag, a tent…maybe more.
Sound fun? Despite the hardships, journeys atop bicycles are immensely enjoyable. Two Wheels to Freedom-Part II: Gearing Up for a Bike Tour. Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Bryan Schatz. Leaving off from the previous post on the nature of bike-touring and what to expect, the following is a basic overview of equipment and things to consider in order to prepare for a bike-tour. Invariably, the particulars of each tour will vary depending on your particular style. As outlined previously, dirt bag travel is quite different from the more comfortable variety. Boxing Stance and Footwork. Boxing Defense.
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Chad Howse who is doing a series of posts for AoM on the basics of boxing. Check out Part I and Part II. In a sport where the objective is to hurt your opponent more than he hurts you, defense is a pretty important thing, which is why we’ll be covering how to defend yourself from getting hit before we go over punching. The first thing that should be understood about defense is that it is more or less done to serve another purpose. You’re not blocking just for the sake of not getting hit, but blocking to get in a position to return an effective punch that will hurt your opponent or lead to a punch that’ll land flush. How to Punch: The Jab and Cross. Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Chad Howse who is doing a series of posts for AoM on the basics of boxing.
Now that we’ve covered wrapping your hands, stance and footwork, and defense, it’s time to get into a little bit of offense. We’ll start with the most important punch in boxing, the jab, and then get into another extremely important punch, the cross. How to Throw a Hook Punch and Uppercut Punch. Punching Combinations for Boxing. Increase Punching Power. How to Wrap Your Hands for Boxing. How To Win a Street Fight. Let’s say you’re out with your buddies (or maybe a lovely young lady) having a good time, when all of a sudden some jackass shoves you. You didn’t do anything to instigate the guy, but it doesn’t matter. There is a special breed of males, that when inebriated, start fights with random people. This breed, when found in their wild habitat, are often accompanied by their similarly boneheaded buddies. Or perhaps you and your posse end up in a rumble with the Socs because one of your buddies killed a Soc while trying to save Ponyboy from being drowned by a douche bag Soc.
Man, I hate them Socs. What can you do to prepare for a street brawl and protect yourself in this type of situation? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Knee to the groin. 6. A punch to the head. 7. How to Make and Use a Bulgarian Training Bag. Workout Routines - Workout Plans for Men & Women. Plans. Perfect Practice: Train to Race.