Run Your Best Race Yet

From 5K to a Marathon, here are all the tips you'll need to make it your best run ever.

From a feature I wrote for Women's Running Magazine.

Running Your First Race

Is it a good idea to make it a marathon?

2 Fitness Tips To Help You Lose Weight Fast

If you’re looking to fire up your fitness results you need to consider changes you can make in two areas of your routine. 

Firstly, what you do when you work out to make each workout a maximum fat burner and maximum exertion.   

Secondly, what you can do to increase your activity levels during the course of each day so you're really burning calories all day long.

1.Play Mind Games
Earlier this week I only had time for a short run so I wanted to make the best use of the time I had. Once I’d got warmed up I followed a pattern of running 100 steps as fast as I could and then recovered for 100 steps. I kept this up for around 15-minutes and the overall intensity of the workout was definitely higher than I would have achieved had I just run at a consistent speed for the same amount of time.

You can follow the same routine to shake up with your workout. If you row, try alternating 25 tough strokes with 25 recovery strokes. If you prefer the bike try 100 hard pedal turns with 100 easy ones to get your breath back. These workouts are challenging but fun and you’ll be amazed at what you’re capable of. Prepare to sweat!

2. Get Moving
OK, this will make me sound a little strange but this morning I had a call to make which I knew was going to last an hour. As an experiment I strapped on a pedometer and did the call standing and strolling around instead of sitting at my desk. I managed to clock up 866 steps without even trying!

If I followed the same pattern for the rest of a 7 hour working day, that would make 6062 steps which is well on the way to the recommended 10,000 steps per day.

It would also mean an extra 3 miles of walking per day. That’s a marathon every 9 working days. So if you're struggling to make time for a workout, bring the workout to you! Multi- tasking is the way.

How to get rid of that side stitch when you run

Weekend is here and so is the final tip of the week.

If you're going running on Sunday, you may be one of those people who is prone to getting painful side stitches that leave you doubled over in pain. I came across a great article that may just put an end to that pain.

Have a read, there's some great tips offered and enjoy that run.

Have a great weekend.

P.S
Some of you may have trouble accessing the site so I have apsted a version of article below:


Sidestepping that side-stitch
Experts don't know exactly what causes that pain in the side, but there are a few methods you can try to avoid one.
By Jay Blahnik, Special to The Times
February 18, 2008
WHEN I walk or run, I often get a pain in my side by my ribs. If I keep going, it sometimes will go away, but other times I have to stop exercising because it's so uncomfortable. Any suggestions?

Phil, Costa Mesa

The pain that you described is often referred to as a "side-stitch." Fitness experts disagree about what exactly causes this phenomenon, what you can do to prevent it -- and how to make it go away once it starts.

One school of thought suggests that this pain is caused by jarring on the ligaments that connect the stomach to the diaphragm. This is perhaps why side-stitches occur more during higher-impact activities such as running than during lower-impact activities such as cycling or swimming.

Other experts say that if you exercise too soon after eating or start exercising too vigorously, the diaphragm may cramp, which can cause pain under the rib cage.

Although there is no guaranteed way to avoid a side-stitch, here are a few suggestions that often work (in no particular order):

* Take a deep breath and then slowly exhale through pursed lips.

* Contract the abdominals while flexing the body toward the area of pain.

* Mix up your breathing pattern and stride pattern.

* Slow down and reduce your exercise intensity until the pain subsides.

* Jog in place and take a few moments to bend, twist and stretch the torso.

* You can also try extending your warmup period and taking more time to work up to your steady walking or running speed. This can be especially important in colder weather, when side-stitches may occur more frequently.

* Finally, drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise, but try sipping your water more often rather than taking big gulps at less frequent intervals.

Everyone is different, so try these suggestions -- and others you may have heard about -- until you find what works for you.

Although side-stitches are one of the mysteries of exercise, you might find your secret solution just by experimenting.

Jay Blahnik, a Laguna Beach- based personal trainer and IDEA Health & Fitness Assn. spokesman, has appeared in more than 25 videos and is the author of "Full-Body Flexibility." He can be reached at jay@jayblahnik.com or health@latimes.com.

How to Stay Slim? Walk a Marathon A Week.

'People who exercise 60 to 90 minutes a day shed weight and keep it off. It will make unpleasant reading for dieters who have been hoping that light exercise was the key to weight loss.

For it seems the most successful slimmers chalk up a marathon a week, according to research.

A study found that those who exercised for 60 to 90 minutes a day – walking the equivalent of a marathon each week - tended to shed at least two stones and kept the weight off for six years.’

My first thought when I read this article by Fiona Macrae was that it needn't sound so bleak. If you walked 26 miles per week (distance of marathon = 26 miles 385 yards) this works out as 3.7miles a day which shouldn't take 60-90 minutes. A brisk walk could see you cover 4-miles an hour but if you really get a move on you could do your daily allocation toward your weekly maraton in around 45-minutes.

But how do you fit 45 minutes exercise into every day? Easy.


Break it up – do half in the morning and half at the end of the day. Plan it and do it. Don’t start making excuses before you’ve even tried.

Brisk walking requires some serious pavement pounding so make sure you wear the right shoes. Proper support from your shoes can prevent ankle, knee, hip, back and even shoulder problems. A sound investment if ever there was one.

Eat well – Drink plenty. The extra energy and hydration will help to make those miles covered much easier thanks to increased energy.

Walk in the morning, ideally, or during your lunch hour – apart from the safety aspect, its great to get your metabolism fired up early in the day and then again at regular intervals. Much better than sitting still for 8 or 9 hours as many people do in the office.

Take a friend – the commitment is always easier to stick to when you know you would be letting someone else down by not going.

Keep a journal or log of your walks and track your progress against your weekly target. Working backwards is really motivating for seeing how far you've come so keep a mileage log and count down from 26 miles. Ticking off the miles each week will keep you super motivated and will make for good reading. It's also bound to start you competing against yourself to see how many miles you can do each day and how quickly you complete them.

Time yourself – try to break your own records. Wear a pedometer if you have one so you can keep an accurate log on the number of steps you’re taking and gauge your progress.

Get walking – and start to reap the rewards.