Finished a workout. Checked my email and twitter and found someone had sent me the following quote! Right on time , noolmusic!

Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever. Lance Armstrong

And wonder of wonders my wife worked out with me. This is a wonder because I’ve asked her numerous times to work out with me in our near 20 year relationship and it has been a rare thing. Also, she actually asked me if she could work out with me about a week or so ago, maybe even two weeks ago and we just got to it. I’m looking forward to continuing this journey together. We started out with the introductory Turbulence Training workout for sedentary people.

Intro Level Workout Week 1 Day 1 Workout A
All of the exercises are done in superset or circuit fashion.
Warmup A) Lying Hip Extension 2×5
Warmup B) Kneeling Pushup 2×5
Warmup C) Stability Ball Leg Curl 2×5

1A) Lying Hip Extension 2×5
1B) Plank 2X15 secs

2A) Bodyweight Squat 2×10
2B) Bird Dog 2×5/side

3A) Kneeling Pushups 2×8
3B) Side Plank 2×5 secs / side

4A) Stick-ups 2×10
4B) Ab Curl-up 2×6

She did everything the same as me except the kneeling push-ups where she did 2×5. She did great! We followed this with Beginner Interval Workout A on our stationary bike w/ arm-pump handles.

Minute by Minute     Type     Perceived Intensity Level

1                                     Warm up                    3 out of 10

2                                     Warm up                   4 out of 10

3                                     Warm up                   4 out of 10

4                                     Warm up                   5 out of 10

5                                     Warm up                   5 out of 10

6                                        Hard                       8out of 10

7                                        East                       3 out of 10

8                                        Easy                        3 out of 10

9                                        Hard                         8 out of 10

10                                     Easy                           3 out of 10

11                                     Easy                           3 out of 10

12                                     Hard                           8 out of 10

13                                     Easy                           3 out of 10

14                                     Easy                           3 out of 10

15                                     Hard                           8 out of 10

16                                Cool Down                   3 out of 10

17                                Cool Down                    3 out of 10

18                                 Cool Down                   3 out of 10

19                                 Cool Down                  3 out of 10

20                                 Cool Down                  3 out of 10

Next workout is on Monday. Tomorrow and Sunday we’ll do some light exercise like walking for 30 minutes or so.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Mine was great. In fact, I just got done eating a little slice of apple caramel walnut pie and blueberry crumb pie for breakfast. Delicious! Breakfast of champions.

Due to Thanksgiving, I changed my training around a bit this week to make sure that I would still able to do all my workouts. That meant that Wednesday was the dreaded tempo run that I failed so miserably at in the first week of training. I tried my best not to overthink this run or get too nervous about it. More importantly, I knew that I could do it. And to make things even better, I didn’t have to work that day, so I could wake up leisurely and go to the gym.

As soon as I got there, I wonderfully thought of lots of reasons why I didn’t want to do the run – my back hurt a bit from Monday’s Jillian workout, my hamstring was kind of sore, I hadn’t eaten every much beforehand… coming up with excuses is something that I’m really good at it when I really put my mind to it!

I decided to stretch beforehand to give myself some time to ease into the run (i.e., time to procrastinate). It actually turned out to be a great idea because I chatted with a couple of trainers who were also stretching, which was a good way to take my mind off of whether or not I’d be able to do the tempo run. As I am writing this, I am realizing how ridiculous all of this is (it’s just a run!), but it definitely shows that running can be completely mental for me sometimes. Anyways…

My tempo run was supposed to be a 1 mile warm-up, 3 miles tempo pace (8:34-8:56) and 1 mile cool down. I did the warm-up and cool down at 10:00 min/mile pace. For my tempo pace, I decided that I didn’t need to go at the fastest pace. Even though I’m sure that I could have gone faster, I figured that proving to myself that I could do the run within the range was more important, so I chose an 8:49 min/mile pace.

It was GREAT! Not easy, but comfortable hard.

When I was done, my immediate thought was that I didn’t want to do that for longer distances. But I pushed that thought aside and was just happy that I finally had a successful tempo run. Woot!

My legs were pretty tight after the run, so I stretched for a long time afterwards and did some foam roll action (proud, Megan?!). I know that I will have bad training runs from time to time. I just need to remember that there will be more good ones than bad.

I actually would love to go out for a run right now, but it’s pouring out by Chris’ house. After all the chowing down yesterday, I could definitely use some exercise. I’ll figure something out.

If you’ve watched my videos at all, you will know I have a stretched Labret. Mine sits at around 00g, which is about 10mm.

Stretching a labret, is a little bit more involved than stretching an ear. It is alot more taboo, it is alot more in your face (if you excuse the pun). So certainly making sure it is what you want before setting off will leave you in a good frame.

So, how do you do it? Well, its not like you can walk around with a taper hanging out of your mouth is it? So, its almost the same in certain traditions, but you have to edit the rules slightly.

I started by getting mine pierced straight to an 8g. Hurt like hell, made my toes curl, but it eliminated the original and first stage shitty stretches. You can also get it scalpelled,  pierced and stretched, or dermal punched. Scalpelling is good, if you want to get a big size instantly, but obviously you’ve got the pain threshold thing again. Pierced and stretched is what I got, and as I said it was pretty painful, dermal punching is normally for cartilidge piercings, and the best way to think of it is, its a surgical hole punch. Does exactly what it needs to, and it’ll put a hole instantly through your lip, or any part it touches.

Right, so you have your lovely freshly pierced hole, how long do you wait? Lips are a little bit different, they’re used ALL the time, every day, even when you’re asleep. I waited nearly 8mths before stretching mine, but I have to say, when I did do the initial stretch, it was incredibly easy. I’d say if you went with the more permanent options of punching and scalpel, then i’d wait nearly a year as the healing times is so much more due to the ferocity of the method used.

So, HOW do you stretch a lip piercing? I assume this works on Medusa (philtrums), Snakebites, cheeks etc..

Say you’re starting at your baby sizes of 14,16,12g then the best method I can recommend, is pull on them. Sounds crazy huh? But honestly, wear horseshoe style rings, or Ball Closure Rings, and pull at them. This will eventually start making the lip loosen up. Don’t buy externally threaded jewellery when stretching lips, as it can tear the hole, and having a swollen lip with piercings in it is uncomfortable as hell. Internally threaded jewellery is more expensive but much much better for the release of your piercing.

When I stretched my snakebites (R.I.P) I went from 1.6mm to 2mm fairly easily. Same from 2mm > 2.4mm was easy enough. But that initial stretch to 3.0mm was hard. As it went from being a .4mm stretch, to a .6mm stretch. Doesn’t sound like alot, but when you think of the increase of the hole in % its huge. Its nearly a 35% increase in the diameter of the hole. The method I used was dead stretching, which again if you go back to the first post, is the use of jewellery to increase the size of the diameter, basically pushing through bigger jewellery. You can get labret studs upto about 8g I believe. And then you may have to goto glass, or septum bullets. I’ll post images below of appropriate lip related jewellery.

I hope this information helped a bit!

And finally

The Times has had a number of good running articles in its Health section. JT pointed to “Why Exercise Makes You Less Anxious.”

I came across one on stretching. I’ve always felt a tad guilty, although not guilty enough to do anything about it, about the fact that I don’t stretch. But it seems that one wants to avoid “extreme” tightness in the hamstrings but strive for some tightness.

Gretchen Reynolds in the Times: “Phys Ed: How Necessary Is Stretching?“:

The inflexible men were more economical than the women, and for both men and women, those with the tightest hamstrings had the best running economy. They also typically had the fastest 10-kilometer race times. Probably, the researchers concluded, tighter muscles allow “for greater elastic energy storage and use” during each stride. Inflexibility, in other words, seems to make running easier.

For years, flexibility has been widely considered a cornerstone of health and fitness. Many of us stretch before or after every workout and fret if we can’t lean over and touch our toes. We gape enviously at yogis wrapping their legs around their ears. “It’s been drummed into people that they should stretch, stretch, stretch — that they have to be flexible,” says Dr. Duane Knudson, professor of biomechanics at Texas State University in San Marcos, who has extensively studied flexibility and muscle response. “But there’s not much scientific support for that.”

In fact, the latest science suggests that extremely loose muscles and tendons are generally unnecessary (unless you aspire to join a gymnastics squad), may be undesirable and are, for the most part, unachievable, anyway. “To a large degree, flexibility is genetic,” says Dr. Malachy McHugh, the director of research for the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York and an expert on flexibility. You’re born stretchy or not. “Some small portion” of each person’s flexibility “is adaptable,” McHugh adds, “but it takes a long time and a lot of work to get even that small adaptation. It’s a bit depressing, really.”

In the end,

“Flexibility is a functional thing,” Dr. Knudson says. “You only need enough range of motion in your joints to avoid injury. More is not necessarily better.” For runners, extremely tight hamstrings and joints have been found in some studies (but not all studies) to contribute to overuse injuries. But somewhat tight hamstrings, as the Nebraska Wesleyan study showed, can make you more economical. Some degree of inflexibility may make you a better runner.

A couple of weeks back there was a discussion on stretching on the Runners Round Table. There was a bit of nomenclature trouble; what Yuri Elkaim referred to as “active stretching” would be what I would call a “drill.” (Here are some good drills from Pete Magill.) “Passive stretching” is what I at least think of as “stretching.”

The USATF is doing a study on the efficacy of pre-run stretching (although one wonders when the results will be distributed). Like many runners, I’m not big on stretching. I don’t do it. I need to improve my core work, but that’s different.

Of course the Times seems obsessed with Christopher McDougall and the Tarahumara tribe. One can’t have everything.

Thanksgiving Bonus

if you are gauging, or are thinking about gauging your ears, first read this article: a guide to stretching.  i disregarded multiple sites that explicitly said to go slow, and stop if there is major pain/bleeding…so i may have messed up my right hole a little.  i dunno, it was bleeding a lot and i may end up with some blow out.

i didn’t have anything as bad as this with the smaller sizes, so maybe it’s something you have to be more careful with as you go past O.  which makes sense…

For those of you who haven’t seen this lecture yet by Dr. Doug Richards…it is well worth your while.  He presents the current state of the literature surounding stretching.  Doug Richards from the Physical Education & Health department at University of Toronto St. George –> Stretching: The Truth. (Follow the link)

For an even more in depth literature review, I suggest the Ian Shrier chapter in ‘Evidence Based Sports Medicine’ by Domhnall MacAuley and Thomas Best

Here Are stretching techniques for certain muscles:

Calves
Upper calf: With your hands on a wall, slide your right leg back two or three feet and lean forward onto your left leg, knee bent. To stretch the right calf, straighten the right leg and firmly press the heel onto the floor or ground while letting the hip come forward. Point the toes of your right foot forward, not out to the side. Lower calf: Slide your right foot forward a foot and bend the knee as much as possible while keeping the heel pressed firmly down on the floor. Repeat both stretches with the left leg.

Runner’s lunge, for hip flexors
After completing the last stretch, place feet shoulder-width apart, then bend your knees and bring your hands to the floor beside your feet. Take your left foot back until the leg is fully extended straight behind you (your right shin should form a right angle to the floor). Press back through the left heel to stretch the back of the knee. Push up from your fingertips to allow your chest to “open” and face forward. From this right-leg lunge, go to exercise#5, but be sure to come back to a left-leg lunge followed by a final minute or two in the “dog pose” before going on to exercise#6.

Quadriceps
With one hand on the wall for support, use the other to grasp your foot behind you. Keep your standing leg firm (keep the quadriceps taut) and stand up tall. As you draw the heel toward your buttocks, press the bent knee forward without actually letting it move too far in front of the standing leg’s knee. Gently tuck your tailbone forward at the same time, which will increase the sensation of lengthening in the quadriceps. Repeat with the other leg.

Knee / iliotibial band
Put your hands on your hips and cross one foot over the other. Tighten your quads, then inhale and stretch your torso up. On an exhalation, bend forward at the hips (not the waist), coming down as far as you can. Rest your hands on the floor or on a support for balance if needed. Once down, “pull” your feet toward each other without actually moving them, to engage the iliotibial band. When you come up, keep your back straight. Repeat with your legs crossed the other way. Lastly, uncross your legs and repeat the forward bend with your feet placed hip-width apart, quads taut. Again, pull feet toward each other without moving them.

Downward facing dog pose
From the lunge, go straight into this all-purpose stretch, which is great for the hamstrings, calves, shoulders and lower back. First, take your right foot back and place it next to your left foot. Place your feet hip-width apart and your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor. Bend your knees and lift your buttocks up high so that your pelvis tilts, making the lower-back arch.

Next, press down firmly with your hands (particularly the inner edges from the base of the index fingers to the thumbs) and visualize your spine and torso lengthening. Slowly straighten your legs, keeping the buttocks high while lowering your inner heels toward the ground (they don’t have to touch the ground). Release your neck and let your head hang freely. Breathe evenly while keeping this pose for 1 to 2 minutes. Finish by lowering your knees to the floor and sitting back on your heels.

Hamstrings
While lying on your back, draw your left knee into your chest. Clasp your hands around the back of your thigh and press your thigh into your hands. Keeping the thigh taut, slowly extend your left foot to the ceiling until your leg is straight. Press your heel to the ceiling (point with the heel, not the toes). Keep the right leg extended, with the right thigh pressing down and toes pointing up throughout the stretch. Switch legs and repeat. Variation: Do this stretch with a strap or jumprope around your raised foot, which makes it easier to keep the leg fully extended.

Thread the needle / the piriformis
For a great  outer hip stretch, lie on your back, bend your knees and bring your feet to the floor near your buttocks. Place the outer edge of your left foot on your right thigh near the knee. (Let your foot cross beyond the thigh if you’re tight.) Wrap your hands around the right thigh or shin and draw it toward your chest. Keep your head relaxed on the ground, or support it with a towel. For a deeper stretch, gently press your buttocks downward until your lower back arches slightly. Switch legs to stretch the right hip.

Legs up the wall
Elevating your legs is one of the quickest ways to rid them of fatigue. To get into position, extend your legs up the wall and let the full weight of your back release down into the floor. Get your buttocks as close to the wall as possible, backing away until your lower back is fully supported on the floor. Close your eyes and breathe quietly for up to 5 minutes. This position will gently stretch the hamstrings and lower back, and it’s a restful way to end your routine.

“yoga is just stretching”.  No, Yoga is yoga, just stretching is just stretching. 

Now,  I will explain in a way that makes sense to me: Yoga is a way of going about things.  Yoga is systematic, yoga has other parts other than the physical postures (asanas).  I’ve spoken about the Eight Limbs of yoga before; they are what makes Yoga not “just stretching”.  Some people who know that I practice Yoga ask me “do you practice Yoga everyday?”  My initial response is “no”, because what they’re usually asking is if I practice postures; if i do the yogic exercises.  That is what I am answering “no” to.  In the beginning, i would have meant “no”, entirely.  Now, after studying and learning more about Yoga, i find that I am answering “no” about postures, but the real answer is “yes, i do practice yoga everyday”.  Now that i know that, i find myself answering in that way, and if i feel that it is welcomed, I’ll explain.  The beauty of Yoga is its philosophy, its path; to get you to your truest self, to help you to happiness, to help you to detach; not let yourself become so attached to anything, to control the fluctuations of the mind, to come to peace. 

How do you practice Yoga, how do we practice Yoga?  Why is it just not stretching?  Because of the philosophy.  Because of the Eight Limbs; Yamas (restraints), Niyamas (observances), Asana (postures), Pranayama (breath practices), Pratyahara (sense withdrawal), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (enlightenment).  Because of these Eight Limbs, because of the other things going on, that is what makes it different.  In Yoga, we practice non-competitiveness. We learn to look into ourselves, and watch our own progress and make sure to not push ourselves beyond our limits, beyond our edge.  We appreciate what others are doing around us (whether that is postures or at work), and if we get jealous, we work on not being jealous.  we work on being happy for those that we feel are excelling, we don’t use that as a way to feel bad about ourselves and push ourselves past where we are.  If you push yourself past where you are, you could hurt yourself and that is not practicing the first Yama (restraint) which is Ahimsa (non-harming), and it is not practicing a few of the Niyamas (observances) such as, Santosha (contentment), or Tapas (discipline).  This is what makes Yoga, Yoga.  It may seem like a lot to be thinking about while you are practicing postures or just living life, but when you chose to live a yogic lifestyle, and you begin to understand these Eight Limbs, you start to realize that they all just lead to the next, and they are so complimentary to each other that they just become common sense and second nature.

If you are not practicing the postures (asanas) every day, but you are observing the restraints (yamas) and observances (niyamas) then you are practicing Yoga.  If you are practicing the postures (asanas) but you steal, or are a bully or you lie then you are not practicing Yoga, you may be doing Yogic postures, but Yoga is more than it’s postures.  if you think that you are better than anybody else; superior in some way, not seeing the divine in everybody, then you are not practicing yoga, even if you practice postures everyday…that is my understanding.

But we should talk about the postures.  as far as the Asanas (postures), the physical, it is also strength-building, and massage.  There are postures we do that absolutely build strength, strength of body and of mind.  It is the strength of the mind that is my favorite part.  When you stand in Vrkshasana (Tree Pose), you are strengthening your legs, you are strengthening your core, you are strengthening your arms, and you are strengthening your mind.  How are you strengthening your mind?  By focusing.  Balance postures are such a wonderful and immediate way to see if you are focusing, it’s a wonderful time to practice Pratyahara (sense withdrawal).  When you work on balance postures and your mind is wondering, you will find pretty quickly that you will fall out of the posture.  When you focus, when you are concentrating on what you are doing, the posture, you will stay in it longer.  This sort of practice affects your focus for the rest of the day.  The more you practice something, the better you get at it.  So, you find yourself having trouble focusing on a project at work or during a conversation, just remember  how you focused in Tree Pose and do that, bring it into your life, not just on the mat, or wherever you practice your postures.

So, do i practice Yoga everyday?  Yes.  do i practice postures (asanas) everyday, no.  I know that since i began my journey on the Yogic path, i am more truthful, more content, more observant, more calm, more understanding, more a lot of things.  And, again, yoga helps with yoga.  I used to get mad at myself for not practicing the postures everyday, then i realized that went against the principles of yoga, and that Yoga is so much more than the physical.

I hope this explains some of the difference

namaste, kory

And we have an answer … Stretch properly!!!
by Darren Brown
The more appropriate question would be … to stretch statically or dynamically? Over the past year, we at Rogue have tried to pass on tips about some of the non-running work that you can do to improve your actual running. There has been the introduction of strides, foot drills, recovery, core strength, etc. One of the more important, but also most overlooked and frequently skipped tasks we have introduced is our rope-stretching routine. The rope stretching routine we have introduced in two different forms and while the motions are the same for each, the way you complete the stretches varies … and matters!
The first form is dynamic stretching, used primarily for pre-run warm-up. Dynamic stretching consists of multiple repetitions of a stretch, held for a short duration, usually lasting no more than a second or two, while avoiding a bouncy or jerky movement. The sought-after result of stretching in this manner is not actually as its name implies however. You are nottrying to stretch your muscles to a completely relaxed and loose state. You are instead simply trying to get the muscles warm by providing them with extra blood flow, preparing them for the exercise ahead. By using this form of stretching, you are allowing your legs to keep the natural bounce and “pop” (as many runners call it) that allows us to run more explosively and, as the attached study now shows, efficiently.
The second form of stretching is static stretching. This stretching is primarily used post-run or pre-bedtime. Anytime that gaining recovery is the main purpose for stretching, static stretching is the right choice. Static stretching consists of fewer repetitions of a stretch, held for a prolonged duration, and lasting upwards of 30 seconds. As the stretch begins to settle in its hold, it is appropriate to deepen the stretch slightly by placing more tension on the muscle group you are working. This can be done within a repetition or from rep to rep. Static stretching loosens muscles and allows them to flush out and recover quicker and with greater ease which is great for post-run, but can be detrimental to efficiency pre-run.
By stretching more appropriately, and more frequently, it is an easy way to see your overall running improve without actually putting in more miles. While the debate remains as to whether stretching “prevents” injury or not, one fact has been proven (as seen in the following article) … stretching the correct way not only improves performance, but stretching the wrong way will actually decrease performance.

Week from Sunday November 16th to November 22nd
Not such a good week. I guess I overdid the aerobic walking, especially after weeks of mainly sitting in a coach. I developped a cramp under my left foot which doesn’t make it easy to do much walking. Podologist said I should take some rest, until the cramp subsides and if it doesn’t, I should check out with the guy who made my insoles and see if they don’t have to be corrected. I might have to resort to indoors exercise, like biking…

I only picked my camera for a walk last Saturday

Here’s my report
Monday: 15mn + 25mn aerobic walking, 10,000steps, one-hour Feldenkrais lesson
Tuesday: One-hour stretching class, 6,000steps
Wednesday: 8,125steps, 26mn aerobic walking
Thursday: 10mn stretching and a lot of couch potatoeing
Friday; One-jour stretching class, 20mn aerobic walking, 7,013 steps
Saturday: 10 mn stretching, 9,985steps
Sunday: 5,120 steps

Neil posted earlier about the benefits of stretching. Moral of the story: stretching and flexible muscles are good. I stretch, but consider myself intensely inflexible. If you feel the same consider taking YOGA with Ethan next semester! It meets twice a week in Teagle, and will be very sweet. You have to take a gym anyways, you’re going to be in Teagle anyways, two birds with one stone, anyone?

I’m excited to be a part of a unique Holiday Escape event hosted by Rivercity Pilates in Coralville on Friday, Dec. 4. All you have to do is show up, and bring a friend or two (or more). You’ll get some complimentary refreshments and get a taste of the good life in your skin, in your body and of course, in your photos and more!

So mark it on your calendars now before you get sucked into the holiday shopping craziness!