Post-Workout Protocol: Cool Down and Recovery
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Photo by Chris Milliman. Courtesy of Craft Apparel.
My last post-workout training tip shed light on post workout cool down and recovery and the concept that effective training means knowing not only how to effectively stress your body, but how to expedite its rate of recovery so that it can properly absorb the day’s training stress and adapt to it/grow stronger. We often think of post workout “recovery” as something that happens in the hours and days after a given workout but pay little attention to our body’s needs in the minutes following stressful training sessions…
Big mistake.
Running by nature is a stressful activity. With every stride, we subject our bodies to quite a bit of eccentric stress. Muscles, joints and connective tissue all take a beating when we pound pavement, cross-country trails and even the treadmill. The degree of stress being imposed upon our bodies is determined by the severity of the training session and your relative state of fitness.
Generally speaking, the harder and/or longer you run, the more you stress your body, although things like weather conditions and course profile obviously factor into the equation as well (i.e. a hilly course will usually exact a higher toll than a flat course will). A highly trained, physically fit runner can typically handle more training stress than their out of shape/beginner counterpart can, which is another reason that newer runners must remember to build their training volume and frequency slowly when undertaking a training regimen.
Regardless as to whether you call yourself a seasoned pro or a rookie however, there are a few keys points to remember when thinking about post workout recovery: Continue reading 'Post-Workout Protocol: Cool Down and Recovery'»
This week’s training tip and podcast will introduce 3 multidirectional dynamic warm up exercises that will help to recruit and warm up a variety of lower and upper body musculature pre-workout. By moving forward, sideways and backwards you can effectively target the vast majority of the agonist and antagonist muscles you’ll stress during your run workout and help to enhance your run specific neuromuscular system as a whole. Although the following written overview of the 3 drills will help, you’ll want to stay tuned for this week’s podcast since the movement patterns described below are easier to understand when seen in action!
Turns out it’s not just doing memory games or working crossword puzzles that help keep you sharp as a tack as you age. Running or any kind of aerobic exercise helps boost your brain size and maintain your brain wiring as you age. Or, at least that’s what the latest research shows. According to an article in the Nutrition Action Health Letter (April ’09), about one in four people in their 80′s (about one out of three in their 90′s) has dementia. Arthur Kramer from the University of Illinois says you can “push yourself back two to three years with six months of aerobic exercise.”
