CLIENT SPOTLIGHT: GWEN S.

Gwen has been training one on one with me for a little over a year now and she has made huge improvements in her training.  She started off wanting to increase her mobility and cycling strength so she could ride faster and climb better.  Through our one on one sessions and taking our Hillz n Skillz cycling classes and winter indoor spin series she has become a much stronger cyclist.  Here is her story about her latest adventure.

 

 

 

 

Lifetime Grand Fondo

It was a last minute decision. I was about to fly out for two weeks on the east coast, and my husband and I were looking for something spectacular to do together before I leave. When he discovered that he got a code for free passes to the Lifetime Grand Fondo, we quickly formed a plan. Ride the 60 miles of the Grand Fondo, visit wineries and finish with a party.

We woke up at 5am to make it to the starting line in Santa Rosa by 8am. Even at the starting line, I could immediately see it was a more serious event than my previous charity centuries: Entire teams lined up in matching kits, everyone looked lean and fit, and we even saw an occasional famous professional racer. The peleton started out at a very high pace, around 20 miles per hour, squiggling its way through the sleepy streets of Santa Rosa. The course was not well marked, so Omer and I worked hard to stay with the group we happened to be with, to avoid getting lost.

Things went well until the first climb, about 5 miles into the ride. I slowed down while the group surged ahead and I quickly found myself falling farther and farther behind, with more and more riders passing me. By the time I reached the rest stop at the end of the climb, Omer was gone and so was everyone else I started the ride with. I joined another group and kept riding.

I started calculating: 12 mph will let me finish the race in 5 hours and 15 mph will be 4 hour finish. I resolved to do my best and keep at around 15 mph for the rest of the ride. I tried to cling to groups of other riders as much as possible. But when they went too fast or too slow, I just kept riding at my own pace. After I passed the 30 miles mark, I noticed something strange: I started passing riders who have passed me before. I saw riders slow down, stop to rest or to refuel, and I just kept riding. Same steady pace, mile after mile. I felt fresh and my legs felt strong. The road was gorgeous, flowing among vineyards, mountains visible in all directions. The narrow road gently climbed and descended. Before I knew it, I was back in Santa Rosa.

 

Marin Century 2011, Great Job!

 

The city was almost familiar. I recognised the streets I rode out just hours prior. Kaiser Permenante building, where the ride started was suddenly in view. One more stop light and I was there. Break, and check the Garmin. 3 hours and 58 minutes after I started the 60 miles ride, I reached for the beer.

Thanks for reading her story, stay tuned for more NORTH Fitness success stories.

Women Need to Build Muscle

Recently I was having a conversation with a fellow fitness expert and the topic of getting women to build muscle came up. The biggest fear many women have of working out is building too much muscle, they fear they will "look like a man". Well fear not ladies! The chance of you looking like Mrs Olympia from working out 2 hours a week lifting weights is so slim I'd bet on it, well unless you are shooting up with steroids.

Now, I happen to think that women with a healthy amount of muscles look virile and vibrant,  and well very attractive.  However, if the fear of gaining too much muscle is stopping you from using heavy weights well please don't let this stop you.

Most women are not going to build more muscle than they want from lifting weights. They will build some muscle and be stronger than they were before, but it is very difficult for women to build huge, bulky, muscles. In fact, most men find this difficult as well. The bodybuilding supplement industry makes millions of dollars each year because building a lot of muscle is so difficult.

Although it is possible for women to build big muscles, it is very difficult and you would need to work out with VERY HEAVY WEIGHTS on a regular basis (5 days a week for 2-3 hours a day). I add this because I certainly don't want to perpetuate the myth that it absolutely isn't possible for women to build large amounts of muscle. The reason that most bodybuilding information for women states that it isn't possible is so that women who are afraid of building too much muscle by working out with weights will finally pick some up and work out. It is possible to build big muscles if you are a woman, however, in order to attain them it would have to be your goal to do so. It won't just happen by accident, you would purposely have to work hard to build them.

There are also health benefits to being stronger and having more muscle (these are just a few):

1. Increased metabolic rate - This is the rate at which your body burns calories at rest. The more muscle mass you have the higher your body's metabolic burn rate is while you are sitting, and sleeping.

2. Decreased risk of osteoporosis - This is because your bones need to be strong enough to support the increased amount of muscle. Bone tissue is dynamic and your bones will respond to the increased demand placed on them by becoming stronger.

3. Being physically weak isn't safe (for anyone) - The stronger you are the more likely that you will be able to defend yourself if you ever need to. Plus you will find certain tasks easier, such as carrying in the groceries, moving furniture, or whatever heavy lifting you may encounter in your everyday life.

4. Improved Balance, blood sugar control, sleep and mental health


If you don't believe me, then try gradually increasing the amount of weight you use when you work out and you will see big improvements in your muscle tone, overall appearance and even feeling energized longer, but you will not see the development of huge bulky muscles.

As always if you have questions or concerns about this topic please feel free to post a comment or contact me directly at VeloFit@gmail.com

Thanks for reading. 

The Core of the Matter

Everyone is talking about Core Strength these days.  It seems like all they want is a strong core, and beautiful six pack abs.  Well ok fine and dandy for some, but my belief is that we as humans need to have a strong core for support in our everyday activities (ADL’s) and sporting activities.  Through the strong core and a healthy diet yes you can have beautiful six pack abs, but does it make you run faster, swim more efficiently, bike longer? Quite simply, Yes. However, a more detailed explanation is needed.

Let’s begin with our ‘core’ muscles and what they consist of.  Our core consists of the muscles that both stabilize and mobilize our trunk, so these muscles include all of the abdominal muscle groups (deep, superficial, lateral, medial, superior and inferior), the gluteal group, hamstrings, low back musculature, hip flexors, and quadriceps. Below is a detailed picture of all the "core" muscles.

Basically stated all the muscles that fall between the chest and the knees are in some way involved in our “Core”.  When these muscles are all functioning properly they can provide an individual with many positive performance benefits. These positive benefits include but are not limited to injury prevention, improved balance, support of better posture; in relation to sport, it will improve your efficiency, and increase your stability and stamina thus improving your sports performance. Increasing your core strength will allow you to go further without fatiguing as quickly because you have a stronger platform off of which you can perform your activities.

Here is an analogy for you to ponder.  Imagine a tree with a trunk so thin you could wrap your arms around it, then look up the tree and notice its branches which are much thicker than the trunk.  The branches by themselves are strong indeed, but when the wind gusts up and blows the branches so hard that the trunk bows and breaks due to the weight of the branches and lack of stability in the truck.   The same is true for us, if our core is weak and our extremities are strong we can push hard or run fast but at some point there will be that one movement that puts so much stress on your core, more so than it can handle and now you have an injury.  This doesn’t sound good right?  Right!

So there are a few questions to ask.  How often do we need to spend focusing on our core muscles with strength specific exercises and what specific exercises should we be focusing on?  I wish I could give you a simple answer, but that isn’t possible because we all have different needs.  However based on what I deal with most often, that being the endurance athlete I will base my answer there.

Spending about 2 hours a week (in half hour segments to start if needed) on core strength training is ideal for an individual that might be training 10 or more hours a week. Gradually add this into your training if this is new to you however. Your training session should include upper and lower body strength training which ultimately engages the core in order to perform the exercises as well. As you improve, you can add more core specific work into your routine.

Rather than plain sit-ups, a few triathlon specific core exercises are listed below.  Give them a try who knows what improvements you may see in your next event. And, if you are looking for a fun yet challenging core only workout try (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNqD5aENR8A ) it will be a challenge I guarantee.  

Plank and hold for 30-90 seconds

Frog Plank, hold plank on hands or elbows begin by rotating right knee away from body and bringing it up toward your right elbow, set foot back in place and repeat with left leg.  Continue alternating knees till you reach 15-30 repetitions per side

Plank with feet on stability ball and begin to bring your knees to your chest by rolling your feet in on the ball.

Side Plank on the ground, hold for 30-90 seconds

Push ups

Chest Press single arm laying on a stability ball, holding a bridge with hips

Single Leg Bridge

Bridge and hold with feet marching

Dead Lifts

Front Squats

Bent Over Unsupported Dumbbell Rows

Kettle Bell Halos

Kettle bell Swings

And the list can go on and on…

So build time into your training routine to add core strength training and your improvements will not only show up in your performance but your health and longevity in the sport will increase too.

If you have questions please feel free to contact me at VeloFit@gmail.com

Stay Fit Stay Healthy with NORTH FITNESS, Your Direction to Health and Fitness!

Book Review: The Feedzone Cookbook (Fast and Flavorful Food for Athletes)

Book Review: The Feedzone Cookbook (Fast and Flavorful Food for Athletes) by Dr. Allen Lim and Biju Thomas

Who would know how to better feed hungry athletes than the chef and scientist who nourished the pro cyclists during the Tour de France?  Dr. Allen Lim and chef Biju Thomas share 160 of their energy-packed, wholesome recipes with elite and non-elite athletes alike in this amazing cookbook.

With recipes targeted specifically with food timing in mind: pre-workout, workout, and post-workout, this book covers it all using common ingredients such as rice, eggs, sugar and salt.  There are also many vegan and gluten-free recipe options.

Many of these recipes are designed to fuel hard-working athletes with high-calorie demands, and hence are unapologetically low-fat or low-calorie.  Lim and Thomas also encourage readers to use their recipes only as a foundation and to freely experiment with different ingredients to find out what works best for the individual athlete.

My favorite section of this book was the “portables,” which were originally designed to give riders an alternative to pre-packaged bars and food. Lim and Thomas discovered that after consuming only sweet, dense energy bars, cyclists would develop a bad stomach, or as they refer to it as, “gut rot.” This led to the birth of the infamous “Allen’s rice cakes” which are made from a mixture of calrose white rice (easily digested carbs), scrambled eggs, (protein), bacon (provides fat and a savory flavor), brown sugar and soy sauce.

Personally, I’ve been using Accelerade gels and ClifBar shot blocks for years to fuel me on the bike and run, so my tastebuds were yearning for something different- something sweet and savory- like Allen’s rice cakes.

I’m not a huge fan of bacon, so I opted to test out the Levi Leipheimer-approved Chicken Apple Sausage rice cakes. The ingredients were simple- calrose rice, chicken apple sausage, eggs, brown sugar and low-sodium soy sauce.

I scrambled the eggs and cooked the chicken apple sausage together with the seasonings.

Afterwards, you mix everything together with the rice and press firmly into a rectangular pan.  Let it sit for 15 minutes and then cut into small rectangular squares.

Lim and Thomas recommend wrapping them in parchment-lined aluminum foil, or Martha Wrap.  I settled for aluminum foil, which was rather difficult to unwrap with one hand while riding.  In the future, I may use snack-size Ziploc bags for ease of opening.

These fit nicely into the back pockets of jerseys, and are ready-to-eat.  For those inquiring about the food safety component, the authors write that the rice cakes are prepared normally at 7am, wrapped and left unrefrigerated in the van, and the cyclists eat them anywhere from 12pm-5pm without having food safety issues.  Also, you can store extras in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

These rice cakes were a nice change from the sugary gels and gummies, and my tastebuds and stomach were happy during my long bike ride.  I actually looked forward to eating “real food” to fuel my muscles while riding and did not have any G.I. issues.

As athletes, we are constantly bombarded with new diet trends, food products and supplements claiming to make us faster and stronger.  I admire Dr. Lim and Thomas’ utilization of real foods that can easily be purchased at a local store or on the road when traveling for a race.  Their goal in their own words- “is to optimize and thrive- to use real food as a real weapon.”  In my own words?  I would definitely want these two at my Feed Zone during a race and handing off rice cakes to me, so having this cookbook in my kitchen already makes me feel like a pro.

-Written by Julianne Kanzaki, MPH, RD