Training Tip from Iron Girl and Fitness Magazine, and Iron Girl Gift Bag Giveaway

The webinar concluded earlier today and I've compiled notes of some of the topic discussed that stuck out to me. Much of the information I heard I've either heard before, or is available in books and magazines, but they spoke about subjects I've often thought about that have made me curious to know what an "official" perspective would be about it.

Training

Self Awareness - Developing self awareness of how your body reacts to training is crucial to your success. Oftentimes, during exercise, we'll try and distract ourselves so as to make the time pass by quicker. While this isn't always a problem, being in tune to how your body handles different kinds of training will really give you insight into how you, personally, work and handle different levels of stress. This will also come in handy during races and such.

Focusing on Technique - Instead of simply going out and running, or cycling, or whatever, it pays to focus on how you're doing it, and what happens when you change things up or try something new. No matter how minute, practice what you would like to do before you need it, like in a race.

From personal experience, when I have a curiosity on how I'd run with a different foot strike, leg stride, or whatever I look it up and ask others who would know, then when I run next I try out a few new things to see how I respond to it. If you find one that clicks, practice it over and over again to commit it to your muscle memory.

Efficiency - Practice efficiency so you can do more with less effort. Strides or intervals are a good way to quicken your stride and focus on proper technique and leg turnover. If you have an efficient form, it takes less effort to go faster or farther.

Again, personally, I found this when I adapted my stride to suit the "chi running" method of striking midfoot. I didn't feel like I was trying to constantly move my legs faster, which for me usually means I am overstriding.

Training in the Gray Area Coach Troy said that when you train in the same intensity zone multiple times a week at a moderately hard pace (the "gray zone"), your body adapts to running at a specific speed, and you won't improve. You might also increase your risk of injury, as well. While training aerobically is good for your running, training in this gray zone won't maximize the effort of your training like training at different paces would. Training at your threshold pace or above will help you improve, so try to limit the gray zone training if your goal is to get faster.

I'll bring up more points in the next post. However...

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Giveaway!

Iron Girl is giving me an extra gift bag to give to one of my readers. I'm not sure of the content, but I've been told that it includes some pretty cool stuff. (US residents only, please)

To enter:

• Leave a comment saying you'd like to enter - 1 entry


• Blog about this giveaway and leave another comment - 1 entry


• Become a follower on Twitter if you aren't, and retwit this giveaway, leaving a another comment - 1 entry

Giveaway ends Sunday, 27 June, and the winner will be posted on Monday. Good luck!