Jodie Robertson Competes at Olympic Marathon Qualifiers
Hiring/firing your trainer/coach??
Monday, 23 January, 2012 19:02Written by mnark01
Professionals Only!
Today in the fitness industry we’re in the midst of a personal training boom. There are many imposters out there that may be disguised as fitness professionals. As a consumer you want to be sure that you are getting the service you deserve for a fair price. Considering that there are about a thousand different certifications that one can complete in order to become a fitness professional I will focus on some specifications to look for when evaluating your options. Although a bunch of nice letters(NASM,RKC,CSCS,CPR,NSCS) following a last name are a necessity of proof of certifications, that doesn’t guarantee a true professional. There are plenty of fitness professionals out there that carry many certifications and have many years of experience that don’t measure up. Below, I will give you some options to consider both prior to, and in the early days of your new personal training experience.
Prerequisites for your future trainer/coach:
1. Certifications
2. Professional Experience
3. Progressive Philosophy
4. Passion and Drive
5. Education
Warning Signs:
1. Your trainer drinks coffee while they work
2. Your trainer works out with you
3. Your trainer’s focus is on themselves
4. Your exercises are randomly prescribed
5. Your trainer watches tv while you workout
6. You have no established goals or tracking measures
7. You are still doing crunches on a regular basis
If your personal trainer is showing any of those previously mentioned warning signs, it’s time for a real professional!!!
It’s been years in the making but the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials has come and gone. We are hours past what has been the biggest race of Jodie Robertson’s running career. For most runners, this type of event is something you may only get to watch on television or be a spectator at. From my vantage point as a running coach I am just fortunate to have crossed path’s with Jodie and have been able to assist in the journey. We walk away today with a new marathon PR of 2:42.31 and a 57th place finish against the best marathoner runners the United States has to offer.
The top three go to the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the rest complete the day with having had a growing experience and hopefully a new personal best.(We got both!) Considering all of the adversity and circumstances that have been overcome in the past six months we are nothing but satisfied with our results. It’s these results that will prepare us for a much more ideal run at these trials in four more years. When that time comes we will be much more prepared and seasoned from our experiences. We will have solidified ourselves at the shorter distances and built up ourselves progressively and appropriately. We will be much more of a player in this same race in four short years!
Following an extensive evaluation of past training, medical history, and movement assessment we were able to quickly identify a few variables that had led us to this point. Common training errors, bio-mechanical asymmetry and joint instability would all be responsible for these circumstances. Injuries always happen for a reason and are an integral part of high level athletics. It’s how you manage and learn from your injuries that makes the champion. ” See you in 2016!”
How do you refuel from your exercise or endurance events? Is your post exercise nutrition something that you take seriously? Do you replenish your glycogen stores adequately following your more demanding workouts? Do you give your muscles the optimal energy sources to regenerate and rebuild from exercise?
It’s all of these questions that you must ask yourself if you are truly serious about combining training with performance. Far to many athletes train hard and don’t compliment that with the right balance of recovery nutrition. The more you ask of your body, the more energy resources needed to facilitate the desired adaptations. It’s these adaptations that will provide the catalyst for improved performance.
Kettlebell Intensity
Your caloric energy requirements may vary, depending on which activity or exercise you choose to utilize. A intense kettlebell workout can burn upwards of 600 calories in as little as thirty minutes of interval training. By combining some staple kettlebell moves you can be assured to get the cardiovascular and strength benefits all in one workout. These workouts can be very intense in nature and place a different type of demand on your energy resources than that of longer lasting, sustained effort types of exercise. The demands here are primarily on that of your fast switch glycotic/cp systems. Short duration, high intensity exercise draws from theses reservoirs while longer endurance events not so much.
The recipe below is an example of a great healthy recipe that is balanced with all nutrients with a focus on your carbohydrates and proteins. With this recipe you may find that you want to add a bit more pasta than it calls for. If weight loss is your main objective I would leave it alone and enjoy.
Chicken Creole Recipe:
Nutritional Info
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 255.4
Total Fat: 4.5 g
Cholesterol: 77.0 mg
Sodium: 652.4 mg
Total Carbs: 20.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.3 g
Protein: 33.3 g
This quick Southern dish contains no added fat and very little added salt in its spicy tomato sauce.
Ingredients:
nonstick cooking spray as needed/olive oil
4 medium chicken breast halves, skinned, boned, and cut into 1″ strips*
1 can (14 oz.) tomatoes, cut up**
1 cup low-sodium chili sauce
1-1/2 cups green peppers, chopped (1 large)
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1.Spray a deep skillet with nonstick spray coating. Preheat pan over high heat.
2.Cook chicken in hot skillet, stirring, for 3-5 minutes, or until no longer pink. Reduce heat.
3.Add tomatoes and their juice, low-sodium chili sauce, green pepper, celery, onion, garlic, basil, parsley, crushed red pepper, and salt. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
4.Serve over hot cooked rice or whole wheat pasta.
* You can substitute 1 lb. boneless, skinless, chicken breast, cut into 1-inch strips.
** To cut back on sodium, try low sodium canned tomatoes.
Yield: 4 servings–Serving Size: 1-1/2 cup.
When considering nutrition for endurance events we will find that the demands are much different from those mentioned above. The link in the last sentence has some great guidelines to check out when it comes to nutrition and endurance. When you consider the fact that a weekend twenty-mile run could easily burn an excess of 2000 calories. It’s these valuable glycogen stores that have been significantly reduced or even emptied that must be replenished. Without proper refueling your body will not have the ability to adapt and rebuild from your exercise bout. In exercise lasting over sixty minutes it’s always recommended that you have some sort of energy source with you on your run.
These portable fuel sources will help keep your glycogen stores balanced and keep you moving. In these longer events it will be critical to draw from your stored fat reserves for serious sustained lower intensity exercise. These levels of intensity will require more energy than your glycogen stores will be able to provide. Your body would much rather prefer to rely solely on your carbohydrates for energy on any given day. It’s only when we push the body’s physiological limits that we must get accustomed to fat metabolism and it’s value as a power packed energy resource. Below is a great recipe that has some fabulous refueling qualities from your endurance events. I would double the prescribed starch requirements of the recipe and have a handful of almonds for dessert. This will assure that your body has been given the needed nutrients to adapt optimally. Carbohydrates, unsaturated fats, proteins, and all the appropriate hydration will have been considered. “You will be ready for your next workout in the morning!”
Seafood Pasta Jambalaya
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup chicken breast meat, cut into strips
16 (21/25 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails removed
1/2 cup crawfish tails
1/2 cup sliced andouille sausage
1/3 cup sliced yellow onion
1/4 cup sliced red bell pepper
1/3 cup sliced green bell pepper
1/3 cup sliced zucchini
1/3 cup sliced yellow squash
1 cup diced Roma tomatoes
1 quart Andouille Cream Sauce, recipe follows
4 cups cavatappi pasta
8 tablespoons sliced green onion
1/2 teaspoon chopped parsley leaves
Directions
Heat butter in a large saute pan. Add chicken, shrimp, crawfish, sausage, onion, and bell peppers. Saute to cook shrimp and chicken, over medium heat. Add zucchini, squash, and tomatoes, and cook 2 minutes. Add Andouille Cream Sauce, toss well and bring to a boil. Cook cavatappi in boiling water until al dente, drain well. Pour pan contents over pasta, and toss with the sauce, pull shrimp, chicken and crawfish to the top. Evenly sprinkle green onion over pasta. Sprinkle parsley around rim of bowl and serve.
2/3 cup crushed tomatoes (recommended: Machacado’s)
2/3 cup cold water
1/3 ounce chicken base
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons blackening seasoning
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/5 ounces jalapeno jack cheese, grated
Add the oil into a saucepan and place over moderate heat. Add the diced onion and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, mix well and continue to saute 2 additional minutes. Add the andouille sausage to the pan and saute for 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and mix well to thoroughly combine. In a mixing bowl using a wire whisk, combine the water, chicken base, cornstarch and heavy cream. Add the liquid to the onion mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 8 to10 minutes over moderate heat. Add the dry seasoning and mix well to incorporate into the sauce. Add the grated cheese to the sauce and blend well. Allow the sauce to simmer for 2 additional minutes or until all the cheese has melted.
If you think you’re injured, plan to be injured, or are actually injured then this article applies to you. With the multitude of different running injuries that you may come across I will try to shed a little light on this complex topic. For those of you that think that injuries are a random act of god I beg to differ. These setbacks that often delay training and in some cases stop training altogether could have been avoided.
Pictured above is Arizona’s freshman sensation Lawi Lalang of Kenya who went undefeated this year in his first year of collegiate athletics in the U.S.A. Mr. Lalang tore up the LaVern Gibson 10k National Championship course in Terre Haute, Indiana with an unchallenged 28.44.1.( 3 seconds off Sam Chelanga’s cr) A spectacular performance that indeed was the culmination of many factors that came together on the right day. Of course, being born and growing up training in the Nandi Hills of Kenya helps quite a bit to start! What do you think was probably a key factor in completing an undefeated cross-country season at the NCAA Division 1 Level? I would bet that Lawi Lalang was able to remain rather injury free in the 2011 season campaign.
If they are in fact an injury, all injuries happen for a reason! That’s a fact that none of us can deny but can only attempt to be as proactive as possible to minimize the effects of these injuries. In the chart pictured above are numerous external variables that can contribute to the beginning of an unfortunate injury cycle. The beauty of this is that these external variables are all controllable and can be adjusted by the athlete. What’s missing from this chart is the ever so critical influence, that our musculoskeletal system plays in all of this. If our muscles and joints are not working together in our locomotion patterns we then are in trouble.
The problem with most injuries is that they could have and can be prevented! When we take out all of the external factors that lead to injury and focus on our own body and how it functions we then can really get down to business with injury prevention. As we treat common running injuries and conditions with our NMS System of assessment and exercise prescription we focus primarily on these internal variables. By using different methods of muscle activation techniques and functional assessment we can identify, isolate, and recommend the correct exercise prescription to the athlete. It’s this strategy of targeting your own body’s asymmetry and musculoskeletal dysfunction that can keep you, Lawi Lalang, and the rest of us as injury free as possible.
