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By Dorene Internicola
NEW YORK, April 14 (Reuters) - As the days lengthen and the weather warms and novice runners cast an eye outdoors, fitness experts suggest they take a slow start to find their outdoor rhythm and pace to avoid injuries.
Jen Van Allen, a certified running coach and co-author of "The Runner's World Big Book of Running for Beginners" said the first time outdoors everyone else seems like a real runner. And new runners often fear getting hurt, or that they will find running unpleasant or boring.
"Certainly when someone pushes body and mind farther there is going to be some discomfort," said Van Allen, who has completed 48 marathons. "But a lot of people make the mistake of running as fast as they can and they get hurt."
She suggests that even if the goal is to run, newbies should walk and use the first four to six weeks to establish the habit.
"If you're just starting out, focus on rhythm, on finding the most convenient times and the safest routes, and deciding if you'd rather work out alone or with others," Van Allen said.
She added that the correct form for most people means eyes on the horizon, arms moving alongside, not crossing, the torso, shoulders and brows relaxed.
"Starting at the top of your head, periodically check in with your body to release areas of tension," she advised.
David Siik, a Los Angeles-based running coach for Equinox, the national chain of upscale fitness centers, said when running for fitness the first goal is consistency.
"It's actually one of the hardest goals, and more immediately important than mileage and calories," he said. "People fall out of the habit, often afraid that it's too difficult or too hard on their body."
If running is physically very demanding, Siik said, the benefits can be extraordinary.
"A great indicator of how fit running can actually make you is that you can lose it so quickly," he said. "People who take long periods of time off from running see their aerobic strength go away very quickly."
Running takes time, so he suggests taking it slow, keeping a log, and seeing how it goes.
"You'll learn something new about yourself every time you run," he added.
Siik said much improper form is a lack of strength that sometimes, but not always, auto-corrects with practice.
"Run with the runner's tilt, making sure your weight is barely over your hips, never back on your hips, except during a decline," he said. "That slight tilt forward engages your back muscles."
Jacque Ratliff , an exercise physiologist at the American Council on Exercise, said cardiovascular activity (such as running) increases the strength and efficiency of the heart muscle, which is important in warding off heart disease, lowering blood pressure and improving HDL (good) cholesterol.
But she said any fitness regime should include strength, flexibility and mind-body components as well.
"If somebody is just running all the time, that's when injuries can occur," Ratliff cautioned.
Whether the goal is marathon glory or losing love handles, Van Allen urges new runners to start at their current level of fitness, not where they were in high school.
"Get good shoes, start slow, find your pace," she said. "It's great to have dreams but in order to get there you have to start where you are." (Editing by Patricia Reaney and James Dalgleish)
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Health and Fitness - The Huffington Post
Are You A New Runner? Experts Suggest Taking It Slow
By Dorene Internicola
NEW YORK, April 14 (Reuters) - As the days lengthen and the weather warms and novice runners cast an eye outdoors, fitness experts suggest they take a slow start to find their outdoor rhythm and pace to avoid injuries.
Jen Van Allen, a certified running coach and co-author of "The Runner's World Big Book of Running for Beginners" said the first time outdoors everyone else seems like a real runner. And new runners often fear getting hurt, or that they will find running unpleasant or boring.
"Certainly when someone pushes body and mind farther there is going to be some discomfort," said Van Allen, who has completed 48 marathons. "But a lot of people make the mistake of running as fast as they can and they get hurt."
She suggests that even if the goal is to run, newbies should walk and use the first four to six weeks to establish the habit.
"If you're just starting out, focus on rhythm, on finding the most convenient times and the safest routes, and deciding if you'd rather work out alone or with others," Van Allen said.
She added that the correct form for most people means eyes on the horizon, arms moving alongside, not crossing, the torso, shoulders and brows relaxed.
"Starting at the top of your head, periodically check in with your body to release areas of tension," she advised.
David Siik, a Los Angeles-based running coach for Equinox, the national chain of upscale fitness centers, said when running for fitness the first goal is consistency.
"It's actually one of the hardest goals, and more immediately important than mileage and calories," he said. "People fall out of the habit, often afraid that it's too difficult or too hard on their body."
If running is physically very demanding, Siik said, the benefits can be extraordinary.
"A great indicator of how fit running can actually make you is that you can lose it so quickly," he said. "People who take long periods of time off from running see their aerobic strength go away very quickly."
Running takes time, so he suggests taking it slow, keeping a log, and seeing how it goes.
"You'll learn something new about yourself every time you run," he added.
Siik said much improper form is a lack of strength that sometimes, but not always, auto-corrects with practice.
"Run with the runner's tilt, making sure your weight is barely over your hips, never back on your hips, except during a decline," he said. "That slight tilt forward engages your back muscles."
Jacque Ratliff , an exercise physiologist at the American Council on Exercise, said cardiovascular activity (such as running) increases the strength and efficiency of the heart muscle, which is important in warding off heart disease, lowering blood pressure and improving HDL (good) cholesterol.
But she said any fitness regime should include strength, flexibility and mind-body components as well.
"If somebody is just running all the time, that's when injuries can occur," Ratliff cautioned.
Whether the goal is marathon glory or losing love handles, Van Allen urges new runners to start at their current level of fitness, not where they were in high school.
"Get good shoes, start slow, find your pace," she said. "It's great to have dreams but in order to get there you have to start where you are." (Editing by Patricia Reaney and James Dalgleish)
Good News - The Huffington Post
After 3 C-Sections, I Want To Be a Doula
I hated wedding prep. Or more accurately, I hated the part of wedding prep that was all about the bride. Primping, perfecting, picking apart... it became a series of mini-sessions examining every one of my imperfections as if under a microscope: You should really pluck those eyebrows. Your eyelashes don't stand out. You should get highlights. You're too short for that wedding dress. Your lips are too small. Your nose is too big. It made me break out just thinking about all my flaws. Great. Now I had acne.
I decided to do my own makeup.
I loved childbirth.
I gained nearly 60 pounds in my first pregnancy. I never blow-dried my hair anymore. By the end, I was wearing hand-me-down maternity clothes that hung off me like deflated parachutes and regularly borrowing T-shirts from my 6'2" husband. My subpar eyelashes hadn't seen mascara in months.
When I was ready to give birth, I arrived at the hospital at 2 a.m., 4 cm dilated, after laboring at home for over 24 hours. I looked like crap. No one cared. They welcomed me in (or rather, did so after making me walk the halls for two more excruciating hours until I dilated to 6 cm). They celebrated my body. I knew I didn't look beautiful. They told me I was.
Whoever you are, you are more of that person when you're in labor. Because you know what? You don't have a choice. You're in pain, you've lost control of your bodily functions -- you simply don't have the wherewithal to sugarcoat your personality. You are your true self. And everyone loves you anyway.
I didn't have a birth plan. If I did, it was to not plan the birth. I felt I couldn't control it, so I didn't even try. We opted for the one-day childbirth prep class; we didn't hire a doula; at full-term, I "crammed" so at least I knew the different stages of labor -- I yielded to the inevitability of it all. It was highly uncharacteristic of me.
Oddly calm and curious, yet stubbornly determined, I embraced every wildly ecstatic, uncontrolled minute of it. When the relentless back labor became more than I could bear, I requested pain medication. When the OB declared a C-section inevitable after an hour of pushing, I pushed for over three hours more. When I could feel, finally, that my son was not coming out on his own, we went to the OR. And there -- there, my husband held our son for the first time. He brought his soft cheeks over to my trembling lips. I lay, crucifixion-style, on the operating table as I gave him the first of so many kisses, my tears falling onto his.
I became a mother.
Now I'm training to become a doula.
What? But you had three C-sections!
Yep. I also had back labor, a posterior baby and a sweet, sweet epidural.
But I still believe the birth experience -- however planned and however actualized -- is transformative and life-alteringly beautiful. It is the imperfectly perfect path to motherhood. It reveals that you are at once supple and strong, fierce and adaptable. It teaches you about yourself, your partner, your body.
It will be nothing like you expect. Neither is parenthood. But that's the best part.
I want to be there when that mother is born. Telling her she's beautiful. Helping her see that, beginning with the birth, becoming a mother means embracing your true, flawed self. Real and raw. No filter. Unretouched.
When you nurse your 3-month-old back to sleep at 2 a.m., puffy-eyed, hair haphazardly thrown into a messy bun. When your mushy midsection perfectly pillows your toddler's head. When your nail-bitten fingers brush your 3-year-old's hair out of his eyes or your chapped lips lay kisses on his soft tufts. When you hold rhythm-less dance parties in the living room or sing tone-deaf lullabies before bed.
You will see your best, and worst, qualities reflected in your children -- and you find their beauty. Your beauty. You'll realize you have the strength to do more than you ever thought you could. That you're exactly who your children need. Just as you are.
You may have a birth plan, or you may not. But birth has a plan for you: once your child is born, you will see yourself as a mother. And realize you've never been so beautiful.
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I decided to do my own makeup.
I loved childbirth.
I gained nearly 60 pounds in my first pregnancy. I never blow-dried my hair anymore. By the end, I was wearing hand-me-down maternity clothes that hung off me like deflated parachutes and regularly borrowing T-shirts from my 6'2" husband. My subpar eyelashes hadn't seen mascara in months.
When I was ready to give birth, I arrived at the hospital at 2 a.m., 4 cm dilated, after laboring at home for over 24 hours. I looked like crap. No one cared. They welcomed me in (or rather, did so after making me walk the halls for two more excruciating hours until I dilated to 6 cm). They celebrated my body. I knew I didn't look beautiful. They told me I was.
Whoever you are, you are more of that person when you're in labor. Because you know what? You don't have a choice. You're in pain, you've lost control of your bodily functions -- you simply don't have the wherewithal to sugarcoat your personality. You are your true self. And everyone loves you anyway.
I didn't have a birth plan. If I did, it was to not plan the birth. I felt I couldn't control it, so I didn't even try. We opted for the one-day childbirth prep class; we didn't hire a doula; at full-term, I "crammed" so at least I knew the different stages of labor -- I yielded to the inevitability of it all. It was highly uncharacteristic of me.
Oddly calm and curious, yet stubbornly determined, I embraced every wildly ecstatic, uncontrolled minute of it. When the relentless back labor became more than I could bear, I requested pain medication. When the OB declared a C-section inevitable after an hour of pushing, I pushed for over three hours more. When I could feel, finally, that my son was not coming out on his own, we went to the OR. And there -- there, my husband held our son for the first time. He brought his soft cheeks over to my trembling lips. I lay, crucifixion-style, on the operating table as I gave him the first of so many kisses, my tears falling onto his.
I became a mother.
Now I'm training to become a doula.
What? But you had three C-sections!
Yep. I also had back labor, a posterior baby and a sweet, sweet epidural.
But I still believe the birth experience -- however planned and however actualized -- is transformative and life-alteringly beautiful. It is the imperfectly perfect path to motherhood. It reveals that you are at once supple and strong, fierce and adaptable. It teaches you about yourself, your partner, your body.
It will be nothing like you expect. Neither is parenthood. But that's the best part.
I want to be there when that mother is born. Telling her she's beautiful. Helping her see that, beginning with the birth, becoming a mother means embracing your true, flawed self. Real and raw. No filter. Unretouched.
When you nurse your 3-month-old back to sleep at 2 a.m., puffy-eyed, hair haphazardly thrown into a messy bun. When your mushy midsection perfectly pillows your toddler's head. When your nail-bitten fingers brush your 3-year-old's hair out of his eyes or your chapped lips lay kisses on his soft tufts. When you hold rhythm-less dance parties in the living room or sing tone-deaf lullabies before bed.
You will see your best, and worst, qualities reflected in your children -- and you find their beauty. Your beauty. You'll realize you have the strength to do more than you ever thought you could. That you're exactly who your children need. Just as you are.
You may have a birth plan, or you may not. But birth has a plan for you: once your child is born, you will see yourself as a mother. And realize you've never been so beautiful.
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Scientists have made significant strides in being able to decode thoughts based on brain activity.
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