March 2010 (Cont'd)

Blizzards (February 6, 2010)
Urgent Message: If you are in a place where it is snowing or has snowed a lot and you are stuck inside, guess what?...What?...Do not quit on getting a workout in. Yes, there is plenty of shoveling to do. But, there is always plenty of lounging that will occur. Whatever happened to the good ole snowball fight? Sledding? Cross Country skiing (if you have skis)? And, the walk around the neighborhood in the snow? Hey, it is all possible. Hop to it.

Looking for cold and no snow...head North.


Olympic Fever (February 23, 2010)
So, the Vancouver Olympic games are about 68% complete. USA is looking good. The luge looks dangerous. And, curling...curling has intrigued many curious onlookers. In addition to watching the herald games, how much have they inspired you to either continue with your own regimen, start a new one, or modify your current regimen?

Observing an Olympic athlete serves as a reminder that the pursuit to be as fast as you can be, to jump as high as you can, and to be as strong as you can be (no, not talking about the Army) is a tough but fun pursuit. We're talking citius, altius, fortius.

Now, you do not have to be an Olympic athlete. Oh, not at all. You only have to find the time in your schedule to train like the minor...sometimes very minor athlete that you are. Yes, you can train like athlete just not as fast and as much. With this idea in mind, step up the intensity or the volume. Move around like you mean it - don't wait for that next perfect sunny day.

The Season (February 24, 2010)
ESPN used to have a show called "The Season" in which cameras followed a certain high school team throughout their respected season. Talk about good exposure yet a lot of responsibility for a 14-17 year old. Your edition of the season, or rather our edition of the season, is coming up!

Unfortunately, ESPN will not be there but perhaps your digital cameras will be. It's that time of year when road races begin to occur. These races include 3k, 5k, 5-milers, 10k, half-marathons, marathons, triathlons, and duathlons bombard the weekend agenda. In addition, it is important to train for these races. It is not smart to attempt to perform these races cold (meaning, without proper training).

In the only triathlon I have participated in so far (a young 38 year-old male died of cardiac arrest that he experienced on the first leg of the race. If you're familiar with tri's - it happened in the water!). It turns out that is important to train properly, which includes training your heart at various levels of intensity, cross-train, strength train, stretch, relax, and eat well! But, most importantly and especially if you are not accustomed to such high degrees of training you should get your heart checked out by your primary care physician or even a cardiologist. We're not talking the simple check the old blood pressure and resting pulse rate. We're talking heart function as in echo-cardiograms. What are your heart muscles doing? How is the blood supply to the heart? Is there too much fat around your heart and abdomen? Are your heart valves functioning properly?

Hey, it feels good to get in gear.