Kids Fitness Needs

Both of my kids have spent much of their childhood involved in soccer. As parents we like it, because there's a lot of cardiovascular activity, and with outside coaches, not as much room for parental interference, er, involvement, as some other sports.

Unfortunately, a recent study by the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine, indicated that youth team sports often don't provide the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity. Typically, most travel teams meet once or twice a week for practice, along with one or two games. Bottom line, kids, no matter the sport, should be doing something on the other days as well to meet prescribed fitness needs.

The study examined 200 youth baseball, softball, and soccer players, ages 7-14, in San Diego. Only 24% met the prescribed 60-minute per day goal! The soccer players fared the best, and boys tended to be more active than girls.


One of the problems was the structure of the team's practices themselves. The study found that
kids were "moderately or vigorously" active, only 46% of the prescribed practice time. In other words, there was a lot of standing around, watching a skill performed by one player or a coach, rather than having everyone practice a skill at the same time.

The key for coaches is to stay away from the dreaded "lines" so common from the days of our Phys Ed classes, and keep everyone engaged in small groups.

Gym classes can help make up the gap needed to fulfill the "60 minutes a day" recommendation for kid's health, but many schools have cut back on P.E , which is often limited to one day per week.

As parents, it's our job to pitch in and fill up the gap. Ride a bike with your kids, take a hike,
do something that engages them. while keeping it fun for everyone involved. It does take an effort at times, but it's worth it!

Plantar Fascitis

One of the most common running-related injuries is Plantar Fascitis. It's also very slow healing, primarily because every step we take aggravates the source of the pain!

The plantar fascia are a long, thick band of tissue that attaches to the front and bottom of the heel, and extends the length of the foot to the bottom of the toes. Fascitis is inflammation of the Plantar tissue.

Too much running (or walking), running on hard surfaces, excessive body weight or a tight Achilles tendon are some of the reasons for Plantar Fascitis.

If you have extreme heel pain when you take your first steps when getting out of bed, you probably have it. The pain genrally eases through the day, and returns at night.

Pain relievers like Motrin, Advil, and Tylenol help ease the effects of Plantar Fascitis. Heel pads and well-cushioned shoes and sneakers also help. Cortisone can also relieve the pain.

Plantat Fascitis can take six months or more to heal. Stretching the achilles can help. My favorite is hanging the back of my feet off the edge of a step, holding low for 30 seconds, streching to my toes for 10 seconds or so, and back down. Since I have tight achilles (an aging thing, I'm sure), I make sure I do this stretch just about every day, but especially after running. Like many injuries, try to do the things to prevent getting Plantar Fascitis. It's much better than recovering from it!

Job Stress and Women's Heart Health

It has been long acknowledged that a stressful job, or the fear of losing a job, increased the risk of heart attacks in men. A recent study by the American Heart Association reports that the same effect is felt in women, who now comprise half of the workforce.

Entitled the "Women's Health Study," he research involved over 17,000 participants over a 10 year period. Women with demanding jobs and with little control of them were nearly twice as likely to have suffered a heart attack as those with less demanding jobs, and more control. The high-stress group had a 40 percent higher risk of overall heart problems, including heart attacks, strokes, or clogged arteries requiring surgery.

Women who were were worried about losing their job had higher blood pressure, cholesterol, and body weight. Stress contributes to heart issues by releasing "fight or flight" hormones, that brings about inflammation and raises blood pressure.

No surprsie, exercise was one of the remedies prescribed to lower risk factors, both for its physiological effects and its ability to clear the mind and improve one's mood.

The report also suggested limiting work you need to bring home, spending time with friends and family, and making sure there is some "me time" incorporated into every day.

There is still some inequity in the workplace, with women less likely to have positions of authority. Generally, the less authority and control of your situation, the more stress you have. The more stress you have, the more likely health problems will follow.

Turkey Trot 2010

Due to a busy Fall work schedule, and a hamstring injury suffered doing 400-meter repeats
at the track in August, I have not run a race since the Avalon "Run From The Sun" 5-K in mid-July.

I finally had a Saturday morning free, and competed in the 20th annual Somerset County
Park System's Turkey Trot 5-K at Colonial Park in Somerset November 13th.
It's rare when I pre-register for a 5-K, but I did this time when I heard the weather would be
unseasonably warm for late fall, which is the way I like it.

Sure enough, the day before the race, I could barely make it down the stairs due to a tight achilles on my right leg, the same one that suffered the hamstring pull in the summer (all probably related, I know!).

As is tradition, I didn't run the day preceeding the 5-k, but lifted weights and stretched the achilles between each set. Magically, it did start to loosen up!

The morning of the race, it still felt good, and my warm-up was fluid and easy. As I ran the Avalon race in 20:12, anything under 20 minutes would be considered a good race for me, right now.

This is a low-key gathering, and there are no splits given. I glanced at my watch at the mile point, and thought it read 6:27, slower than I would have liked. I felt strong, though, and started picking off runners, one-by-one.

I missed the two-mile marking, but felt mentally focused and was still passing people at a steady rate. My strategy was to stay fairly strong until the last turnaround on this figure-eight course, which was about a half-mile to the finish.

Picking it up more, and breathing heavily, I passed a middle-aged runner and felt I probably was in good position to win my 50-59 year age-group. There was a high-school runner just ahead of the middle-aged guy, and I picked it up to pass him as well, about 400 meters from the finish line.

About 100 yards from the finish, you turn left, and sprint up a small hill in the parking area. With way more spring in his legs, the high school runner did catch me, but I crossed the line in 19:53, good for first place in the 50-59 division, and 17th in an overall field of about 400. I won a 15-lb (frozen) turkey!

I felt encouraged with my effort, and it was a good way to come back from my minor injury, and finish the racing season for 2010. Now, I'll be mostly hitting the treadmill for speed work,
and preparing for the Rutgers Unity Half-Marathon in April. At least, my head is in the right place!

Benefits of tea

Tea - so soothing and indespensible when we have a cold. Energizing and calming, at the same time. Tea has certainly grown in popularity, with numerous flavors, decaffeinated varieties, and indisputrable health benefits. I still enjoy my two cups of coffee in the morning, and then switch to tea for my hot drink fix after that. After a meal, I always feel tea helps with my digestion.

You will often here discussion on the benefits of green tea versus black tea. Acutually, all tea comes from the same plant, with the different varieties dependent on the processing of it.

All varieties of teas have antioxidants in them. Catechin is the ingredient that studies show reduce the risk of diabetes and some forms of cancer.

Green tea contains the most Catechin, and is the best variety to lower LDL, or bad, cholesterol, and for preventing colon cancer. Most dietary experts feel that black tea is just as beneficial for you, overall.

Green tea is more popular in Asia, so studies there report good health benefits from green tea. Black tea is more prevelant in the United States and England, so medical reports from there tend to favor black tea.

Whatever your preference, keep tea as a key part of your diet and you won't go wrong.

New York City Marathon

My brother-in-law, Andy, will be making his initial marathon effort at the November 7th ING New York City Marathon. Andy is in his early 40's, ani is a former college swimmer and rower. He's been putting in his obligatory 20-mile runs on the weekends, has set a very realistic goal, and I think he's going to do fine.

I've run New York twice in 1979 and 1991. I alawys tell people, if you run one marathon in your life, make it New York. The sights and sounds are awe-inspiring: the massive start on the Verrazanno, the "rush" you feel off the bridge; various ethnic neightborhoods of Brooklyn; the massive crowds along First Ave. in Manhattan; and the rolling, long-awaited finish in Central park. There are thousands of Europeans and people from all over the U.S. in the race, and there's a great sense of comraderie at the pre-race expo, and the entire weekend.

I was in college and ran a 2:52.11 in my first effort, a time I was somewhat disappointed with at the time, but increasingly proud of as the years past. The qualifying for Boston was a stringent

2:50 at that time, and it was agonizing to run that hard, for that long, and just miss. Thankfully, I attined my goal of qualifying the next year at Jersey Shore with my personal-best of 2:43.06.

During this era, I was running anywhere between 70-100 miles a week, of mostly distance.

Twelve years later, I was running much faster at every distance leading up to the marathon,

with a bersonal-best 1:18 half-marathon at Jersey Shore in October. However, i wasn't runnning nearly the mileage, with just one long run of 15 miles preceding the marathon.

My first-half was great that day, clocking a 1:22 as I approached the Queensborough Bridge.

On the incline up the bridge, my quads tightened up as never before, or since. Simply, it felt like I had a knife sticking out of each thigh. I jogged, walked, and shuffled through the final 13, with a finishing time of 3:06.

For a variety of reasons (kids and family, mostly), I haven't run one since. The 15-20 mile weekends runs don't take that long, in and of themselves. But I found myself not wanting to do anything else afterward, which interferes with training clients, kid's soccer games, family visits, and the other things that encompass my weekends at this stage in my life.

One half-marathon a year is is good for me right now, and I'll be happy rooting for Andy in his journey!

Concussions and Sports

A few years back, the New York Mets found themselves in some controversy. Ryan Church, an outfielder, had suffered a concussion during a game in San Francisco. They had Church fly back with the team (a dehydrating six-hour cross-country flight) and were generally thought to have rushed, and ultimately impeded, his recovery. Learning from their mistakes, they were much more careful when high-priced outfielder Jason Bay suffered a similar injury this year, shutting him down in July for the rest of the season.

Concussions (an injury to the brain that leads to headaches, dizziness, nausea, loss of memory and balance, and hearing impairments) are the most common head injury in sports. Obviously, contact sports like football, hockey, soccer, and wrestling are the most likely playing fields where concussions occur, but they can be from a bike or skiing accident just as easily.

Recovery from concussions is tricky. The symptoms can last for days or weeks, and can go away and come back. While recovery times greatly vary, the majority of people have no permanent damage from a single concussion.

Besides physical rest, it is important not engage in too many brain-taxing activities while recovering from a concussion. I have a relative who (with the cooperation of school officials) had to limit his high school workload and postpone his SAT's due to a concussion suffered in a basketball game.

A blow to the head during recovery from a concussion can cause "second impact syndrome"

with more serious consequences than the original injury. Professional athletes (hockey player Eric Lindros comes to mind) who have suffered multiple concussions often have to cut their careers short.

In conclusion, don't rush back into activities until cleared by your Physician!

"Hands-On"CPR

Most Americans have learned CPR at some point in thier life: high school health class, lifeguard or counselor training, etc. For many people, it was many years ago. They remember a confusing process of head tilts, nose squeezes, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and chest compressions. I take it every two years now, and despite doing the class at least 20 times in my life, still need the refresher every time I take it.

Good news - The Arizona Dept. of Health Services just published a new, large study that more adults survived cardiac arrest when a bystander gave them continuous chest presses to simulate heartbeat, compared with traditional CPR with mouth-to-mouth breathing.

Lead author Ben Bobrow said "Anyone who can put one hand on top of the other, lock their elbows and push hard and fast can do this. No risk, no fear of causing harm. We want to take away all the reasons bystanders do nothing when they witness another person collapse."

Experts feel tat many people shied away from doing CPR because of the risk of germs with mouth-to-mouth, as well as the general "yuck factor."

Of course, having an AED on premesis is even more effective, but short of that, compressions are simple and more effective than the old method. With all that being said, the more training you have, the more confident you will feel, and you are likely to be more competent when an emergency arrives. It's worth the three hours and $40 or $50 to get certified in CPR/AED rescue. Call your local American Red Cross or American Heart Association for more information.

Running Tips from Erin Donohue

The June issue of Runner's World's "Follow The Leader" column featured former New Jersey high school standout Erin Donohue of Haddonfield.
Erin dominated the girl's track scene in New Jersey in the late 1990's, and is now one of the top runners on the national road-racing circuit. One of the interesting things I remember about her in high school is, that besides dominating the middle and long-distance events on the track, she was one of the best in the state in the javelin, as well as a standout basketball player!
Her training tips were all things I subscribe to as well. The first was to prepare for hard workouts the same way you do for a race. "Getting comfortable with the routine reduces the nervousness you feel on race day," she observed.
I tell beginning runners this all the time. Experiment with what you eat before a hard workout, so you won't haave any stomach issues in a race. Also, try to make your warm-ups the same, so you can judge how loose, tight, fresh or fatigued you are at the start of a hard effort.
Regarding core work, Erin often times her sets of pushups and crunches and does multiple sets, rather than going one set to total failure. This adds an aerobic element to her strength work, and, I mght add, insures better form.
Finally, she often over-dresses for her workouts (as do I), explaining that "warm muscles perform better than cold muscles do." People at my club often laugh at how much clothing I wear when I go for a run, but I've found that my times are faster when I'm sweating more, and my body is looser.
Everyone has to experiment to find out what works best for them as far as race prep, and
body temperature when training. Some like it hot, and some do not. I found myself in agreement with Erin Donohue's tips, and that's why I pass them along!

Preventing Diabetes

I've read more than once that genetics will pre-determine 50% of future problems. In other words, let's say you do everything right: diet, exercise, don't smoke, moderate or no drinking, etc. That total up to 50% protection against major illnesses like Diabetes, Multple Sclerosis, Cancer, or Heart Conditions. Genetics, like it or not, is the other 50%.

Diabetes is one of the things that runs in my family. Diabetes is a condition in which the body is unable to regulate the level of sugar/glucose in the blood. As this relates to fitness; the higher percentage of body fat, it takes a larger amount of insulin (which is released by the pancreas to control sugar levels in the blood) to keep glucose level within a normal range. The kidney works to filter the blood sugar as well, but when the blood sugar reaches too high a level, the kidney cannot reabsorb all of it.

This is a pre-diabetic state. At this point, diet and exercise and weight loss can help regulate the blood sugar levels. If a diabetic state is reached, medication must be taken to increase insulin

production, or additional insulin must be administered to the body. Obviously, you want to do everything to avoid this.

Diabetes causes damage of small blood vessels, which can lead to blindness, kidney failure,

strokes, or heart attack. The best way to prevent is through diet and exercise. If you are pre-diabetic, a consultation with a nutritionist is a good idea to get a detailed "do's and don'ts" concerning your diet.

Krav Maga

One of the things I always preach about fitness is variety. Anything you do too long, at the same intensity and duration, will get stale. With that precept in mind, I have been taking classes in self-defense this summer that I found very interesting.
I consider it no-frills self-defense: a variety of punches, some kicks, blocks, and a bunch of body weight exercises mixed in for "fun." It's actually basic Krav Maga, the martial art system invented by the Israeli Defense Forces in the late 1940's, that blends styles from many other martial-arts disciplines. At its essense, it's about responding quickly to an attack, using whatever method creates the best opportunity for you to repel it.
Drills we do include lying on the floor, holding off some one, getting up and attacking; Fighting off two attackers at once; evading someone rushing at you; etc. You can practice with a friend with just a pad and a pair of boxing gloves. Think of any attack scenario and ways to thwart it:
fingers to the throat, fingers to the eye, kick to the knee, anything! Practice the moves you feel most comfortable with, and hopefully, if you ever need it, you would have the confidence to
defend yourself.
One thing they say in class: fight as if a family member, not you, was being attacked. Think about it: you'd protect a family member with anything and everything you have: that's the essence of Krav Maga!

Like Wine, Life Improves with Age

I ran across an interesting article this week about a very important aspect of fitness: mental fitness.
Despite widespread belief about mid-life crises and old-age depression, life does seem to get better with age. Good news for someone approaching his 52nd birthday in September!
A Gallup poll of 340,000 adults from 18-85 came up with these results: feelings of well-being were fairly high in college-age respondents; fell sharply at 25 and stayed around that level to 35; dropped even lower from 35-50; and then kept improving right up until 85.
Interestingly, the pattern of responses weren't affected much by factors like unemployment, marital status, children living at home, or gender, although men scored a bit higher than women throughout the lifespan.
Breaking it down further, "stress and anger" were highest in the younger age groups, "worry" increased steadily until middle age and then dropped, and "sadness" (a component of those clinically or chronically depressed) was fairly steady through adulthood.
On the other side of life's seesaw, "enjoyment" and "happiness" dropped slightly from the youngest respondents to the mid 50's, then rose to previous highs around 70 before staying steady.
The study was conducted by Stony Brook University in New York and published originally by the National Academy of Sciences.
The conclusions drawn were that older people gain "increased wisdom and emotional intelligence, and are more effective at regulating their emotions than younger people."
I find as I age, I am increasingly reflective, and probably a bit more philosophical about the natural ups and downs of life. Put another way, when you're young, your driving in the fast lane:
which is more exhilerating, but also involves increased braking and the occasional full-scale wreck. I'm riding in the middle lane now, silently cursing out those speeding by me, but content not to race them - lengthening the life of my brake pads as they become more worn down!

Exercise and Alzheimer's Prevention

Probably the scariest disease is Alzheimer's. First the short-term memory goes, and you're forgetting phone numbers and where you put your keys. Eventually, family members become unrecognizable, you lose control of your bodily functions, and your mind just totally fails you. A nightmarish end for anyone.

A book by Harvard University psychiatrist John Ratey titled "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain states that "exercise, even begun in middle age, can push back the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's by 10 to 15 years."

Ratey cites research that indicates the regions of the brain associated with cognitive functioning improved with exercise, particularly the hippocampus, which is associated with memory and learning.

Other researchers back up Ratey's thesis, although many believe that any activity that involves functioning of the brain, like crossword puzzles or interesting books, will have similar effects. Social interactions like clubs or religious services also were mentioned. Social isolation and depression, along with alcohol, are certainly factors that can speed up the onset of Alzheimer's.

Logically, when I'm on a run, particularly outside, my mind opens up, and I know I am thinking much more clearly. Inside runs on the treadmill don't have quite the same effect, although I feel great mentally after either one. Innately, I know I am helping my mind as well as my body. Most science seems to back this up!

Aging and Muscle

In a recent "Dear Dr. Donahue" column in the Star-Ledger, the letter-writer was a 65-year-old man in good health. He described himself as 5-10, 145 pounds, with a trim build. The writer's complaint was a lack of muscle tone. He described his flesh as "wobbly like a bunch of marshmallows." He also said his skin was like"crepe paper on his legs." He wondered what he was going to look like if "he managed to live another 10 or 15 years."

Dr. Donohue's advice was realistic and sound. He explained that you can't expect to have the same muscle tone and size that you had as a younger man. The body enters a cataboloic state as we age, shrinking muscle, but not fat (depressing, I know!). From 30 to 40 years on (depending on your body's unique make-up) there is a diminished level of testosterone being produced.

Muscle training can slow the process, or if you've previously been sedentary, even reverse it. As great as cardiovascular training is (and I swear by it), you have to incorporate some resistance (push-ups, pull-ups, bands) or weight-lifting exercise into your program to delay the slowdown in testosterone production.

Dr. Donohue recommends getting a physical and Doctor's approval before starting a strength-training program, and to vary the exercises (the muscle confusion concept). I agree!

Avoiding Shinsplints

I've been very lucky to avoid injuries through my 35-plus years of running. Aside from unrelated eye surgery, there have been only a couple of things that have sidelined me from running for longer than a week.

One of those was a nasty case of shinsplints that occured in my first season of track & field in college. I was real enthusiastic about increasing my training miles after my first marathon (back in 1977) and, sure enough, developed sharp shooting pains down the front of my lower legs that sidelined me for over a month.

Medically known as medial tibial stress syndrome, shinsplints are a dull, aching pain along the inside of the shin. The most common cause is a sudden increase in training miles or intensity, frequent at the start of a cross-country or track season, or when someone is prepping for a half or full marathon. Basketball players, volleyballers and gymnasts also can easily pick up shinsplints, and even walkers who may be wearing very worn shoes, or who over-pronate (foot rolls inside) when they land. Poor running form, in general, certainly can be a factor, and muscle tightness (which leads to imbalanced strides).

Total rest probably would heal shinsplints the fastest, but if you developed them in the first place, you are obviously someone engaging in physical activity, and you don't want to stop.

Try lower impact activities like rowing, cycling, or swimming, and you won't lose cardiovascular fitness.

When you get back to running, build back up slowly, with no more than 10% increase in mileage per week. Keep the cross-training in the your repertoire, and buy new shoes. Try to stay on softer surfaces like a high-school track or boardwalk.

If you feel the symptoms coming back, listen to the signals your body is sending. If the shinsplints develop further, the condition can turn into a stress fracture, and totally ruin whatever you were training for in the first-place. Listen to someone who's been through it.

Firecracker 4-Miler

Every Fourth of July, the Cranford Jaycees host the Four-Mile Firecracker run, through Nomahegan Park and the surrounding thoroughfares. It draws a large (1200 this year) and competitive field, with many top college runners making it ones of their summer tune-ups.
I'm happy to say, I won the 50-54 age division this year in 25:36 (6:24 mile average). Up until the last mile, I was happy with my pace: 6:25 at the crowded first-mile mark; 12:28 at two, and
19:02 at three, when the race enters the final stretch through the park. I lost it a little mentally in the last mile. I knew I couldn't go sub-6:00, to break 25:00, and I "settled" into a little slower pace (and noticed I was losing my form) as a few people passed me between the three and three-and-a-half mile marks.
Once the finish came into sight, I restored my pride and got it back together, with no one else
out-kicking me over the last half-mile. Lucky I did, too, because the second-place finisher in my age group was only about three seconds in back of me.
I was happy to win and have my name called for the medal and nice technical T-shirt they gave away. I mentioned to my wife later, though, that I'm rarely totally satisfied with my race
effort, this one included. If I didn't "lose it" in the last mile, I probably would have knocked another 10 to 15 seconds off and not been passed by the first woman (and others) in the park.
The million dollar question: Is that quest for perfection the thing that drives me to achieve these minor victories? If you're content with your effort, can you push yourself as hard?

"ReRun" Mile at Monmouth Park

My son, Max, and I participated in an unusual, but fun and rewarding, race on June 27th. Called the "ReRun Mile" at Monmouth Park in West Long Branch, it was a one-mile race along the outside perimeter of the track at the "Shore's Greatest Stretch."

I placed third in a small field in the pedestrian time of 6:47, while Max took an age-group award in the 13-19 division with 8:24. The surface was interesting: not quite sand, but much looser and softer than the dirt on a baseball infield. Easy on your legs, but nearly imposssible to get much spring!

The race benefits charities for thoroughbred adoption, a very worthy cause, in my book. The hosptitality and amenities were first class, and runners and their families can spend the rest of the day at the track, which we did. In its second year, I would expect the race to pick up greater numbers every year. It's one I would look forward to doing again!

President's Cup 5-K

On the the third Monday of every June, the Sneaker Factory store in Millburn hosts the President's Cup 5-K. It's held at 8 p.m., through the downtown, and attracts some of the best runners in the state. Maybe the free Sam Adams drafts have something to do with that!

I traditionally have run it with my son, Max. He's 13 and has run occasional 5-k's with me since age seven. I planned to accompany him again this year, but he decided to run with his good friend, Kyle, instead. Max would be running his first race on his own, and I would be "free" to do my own pace.

It's been a long time since I had been less confident for a race. My last two competitive outings had been somewaht disappointing, time-wise, and I was beginning to accept that, nearing 52, I was just slowing down. My left leg was also feeling very heavy, probably from favoring it over the past two months after tweaking my right hamstring in the Rutgers Unity Half-Marathon. Planning to run this race "easy," I ran a hilly eight-miles the day before, at a pace (again) slower than I would have liked. I also jumped in our community pool for a mile swim (felt good), and did a 10-mile bike ride with Max later that afternoon. My own Father's Day Triathlon! Basically, I felt an injury coming on, and the resulting self-flagellation for doing something I wouldn't recommend to others.

As these scenarios always go, I ended up running one of my better races in a while; a crisp 19:30 at an even 6:18 pace. Why? I think, because my expectations were low, I was more mentally relaxed than in races where I put too much pressure on myself. I also focused on just running a respectable first mile, and then took it from there, breaking the race down to small increments (traffic light to traffic light, even!). Once I got past two miles in 12:39, I knew just one more decent mile (holding it together for six-plus minutes), would bring me back to where I wanted to be in these mysterious tests against oneself.

At the finish, I met up with my wife, and waited, somewhat anxiously, for a few minutes, to see Max and Kyle finishing up under 27 minutes. We skipped the Sam Adams, but celebrated with

some pizza at La Strada's, and headed home full and content.

Creatine - Pros and Cons

I've always loved weightlifting and long-distance running, two seemingly contradictory activities. Done properly, and with the right goals in mind, they actually can supplement each other.

In my early 40's, I went through a stretch where I really concentrated on building up my absolute ( one-rep) strength, and hit a personal best of 240 lbs on the bench press, at 148 lbs.

bodyweight.

I also was taking creatine at the time, and feel (perhaps psychologically) that it helped my strength gains. I've since turned my focus back more to running and endurance-type strength training (like pull-ups and push-ups) and have taken creatine periodically during this period. It hasn't resulted in better absolute (one-rep) gains.

My conclusion: the strength trains I made were much more I byproduct of the way I was training, rather than the creatine.

Creatine is an amino acid compound that is produced in our bodies. In fact, our body produces the overwhelming majority of creatine stores one would have. It also can be obtained through diet, mostly red meats and fish. Creatine supplements are completely legal, and available at health food stores and elsewhere.

Creatine functions as an energy source, and is thought to improve short bursts of high-intensity exercise, like sprinting or heavy weight-lifting. It is not considered beneficial for long-distance or endurance events.

Since creatine supplementation only became popular about a dozen years ago, not much is known on it's long-term effects. Adverse reactions among users include muscle cramping, muscle strains, dehydration, and diarrhea, according to a recent article by Dr. Dennis Cardone of Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick.

It is recommended not to exceed the manufacturer's recommendation as far as dosages of creatine. It will not have any greater benefits, and can increase some of the negative effects mentioned above.

Dr. Cardone's article in The Star-Ledger (May 25, 2010) only recommends creatine be taken under supervision of a physician. He advises adolescents and children to stay away from it.

I would agree there, and as far as my own experience: it didn't hurt, but I'm not sure how much it helped.

Exercise and Arthritis

I'm 51, and I've noticed that my knees creak every time I get up off the floor. Do I have arthritis? Possibly! What am I doing about it? Exercising!

Arthritis (translation: joint inflammation). Almost everyone will get at least a touch of it, if they live long enough.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form. Basically, our joints (where bones meet) are covered with a spongy, cushioning cartilage. Over time, the cartilage can wear thin and tear. That creates the bone on bone senstion of osteoarthritis, which leads to stiffness and mild to severe pain.

When people have osteoarthritis, the inclination is to stay away from exercsiing the affected area. That's a mistake: rest will weaken the muscles surrounding the joints, and make the arthritis worse.

The American Council on Exercise recommends low-impact activities like swimming, cycling, or rowing. Don't go crazy, intensity wise, but exercise often, and make sure you warm-up and cool-down with each session. Judge how your body feels afterward: if you have musculoskeletal pain more than two hours after a workout, reduce your intensity even more the next time.

Always try to maintain proper body alignment when exercising, poor posture can exasperate

arthritis!

Rheumatoid arthritis also affects the joints, as well as other body organs and tissues. Joint inflammation, stiffness, swelling, and deformity can all be sympotoms of this disease. Exercise can still help, but medical care is a must.

Stretching Benefits

Stretching is one of the most enjoyable, yet controversial, aspects of fitness. I personally love to stretch after a hard run or strength training session, and that innate urge is reecognized by most fitness experts as correct: strech when the muscles are warm and the body is heated.

There are runners and lifters who never stretch and consider it a waste of time. I always feel that stretching shouldn't cut into your workout session, but is a great enhancement at the end.

A study just published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research reported that stretching can greatly enhance your strength as well! Using groups of volunteers who followed an eight-week strength training program (three days per week), half of the group also added two 10-minute stretching routines at the end of their sessions. After eight weeks, the flexible group nearly tripled their muscle strength, considerably more than the non-stretchers.

The rationale: Stretching, like weight-lifting, creates tiny tears in your muscles; as your body recovers and rebuilds, the tissue becomes stronger!

Try to incorporate full body stretches after every workout, with extra emphasis on the body parts most affected by that day's run or lifting session. It feels good, and you'll get stronger, too!

Bob Beckert Run 2010

The seventh Bob Beckert Memorial Scholarship 5-K Run, previewed in an earlier post, was held under hot, muggy conditions on June 6, 2010. I've run every one of the Beckert runs, which benefits a Scholarship in his name at Watchung Hills High School.
On a rolling course, with a steep, 300-yard climb to the finish in the high school parking lot, the race has a lot of small-town charm. Many of the participants were friends of Bob Beckert or know his children, and most of the runners know each other, as well.
I use it as one of the tests of my fitness level as I (like everyone else) age year-to-year. Now that I'm 51, I've been in a new age-group category the past two years, and am usually able to garner an age-group medal in most races I run. I'm happy to say I won my age-group here as well, but my time (20:12) was the slowest I've recorded at the Beckert Run.
After any race, good or bad, the analysis begins. Here, the conditions were actually excellent for me: Unlike most other runners, I thrive in the heat. Although I had a restless night of sleep before the race, I was in a positive mental state and not overly stressed about the event. My race strategy went the way I like it as well -- start off steady, no hyperventilating, and no one passed me after the first half-mile.
Yet, my time was 20 seconds slower than last year. Possible factors: three weeks of lost training after the Rutgers Half-Marathon on April 18, when I tweaked my right hamstring in the fourth mile; a smaller field in the race, with no one directly ahead or behind me over the second half of the race; no splits, which means I could have slowed down without realizing it; and finally, my advancing age.
I've never believed in aging. A part of me feels as if I'm 51, and have been running anywhere between 20 and 100 miles a week for the past 35 years (as well as weightlifting, rowing and cycling). I should be faster than a 18- or 25-year-old. However, I realize 99% of professional or Olympic athletes are 35 or under, and there has to be a legitimate reason (or many) for that.
All in all, I'm thankful for how well I am still doing (placing sixth overall in a field of 200), and grateful every day that I still have the ability to do one of the things I most enjoy.
Every race is the end result of an experiment of training, rest, diet and motivation. I'll let you know how the next one goes!

Beginning Swimming

Once Memorial Day hits, the backyard and community pools open up, and this creates many opportunities for fitness. Swimming is non-impact and a great way to get fit without too much stress on the joints. The water is a natural coolant for the body, so you can work hard in the heat. Mix in a couple of different strokes, and you'll work just about every muscle in the body!
Many moons ago, I was a lifeguard at Monmouth College. In the lifeguard training, we finished each session with 20 laps, mixing in in freestyle, breaststroke, sidekicks, and elementary backstroke. Good workout! I also would do quite a bit of training in the ocean to prepare myself for some triathlons.
Believe it or not, once you get past the waves, the ocean water had better buoyancy than the pool, and I would do laps between the lifeguard lines for a prescribed time period. In ocean swimming, the hardest part is fighting against the current on your way back to shore, especially when your fatigued from your workout. I always gave a "heads up" to the lifeguards on what I was doing before I went out, which is a good idea for many reasons.
Swimming burns a ton of calories (500 to 700 an hour). Water is also 800 times denser than air, so each stroke is a little resistance workout for your body. While all the muscles are recruited, key elements are the shoulders, glutes, hamstrings, arms, and the entire core. It was a long winter! Take advantage of the of the warmth and jump in!

Bob Beckert Memorial Scholarship 5-K

This time of year, there are many opportunities to test your fitness in local road races. I find the races to be not only a test of my fitness level, but a reward for the sometimes grueling and occasionally boring aspects of training. Don't get me wrong, 99 to 100 times I feel better, mentally and physically, after a run than before it. But a workout like five one-mile repeats at race pace on a treadmill? Usually, the endorphins kick in because you're done!

One of my favorite local races is the Bob Beckert Memorial Scholarship 5-K at Watchung Hills High School to be held June 6th 10:15am, the Beckert Run traditionally attracts a crowd of about 300 runners. That's enough to have someone near you at all times (a motivating factor in keeping your pace), but not be crowded at the start, or time consuming in registration.

The race is mostly flat to rolling, with one exception - a steep incline up the parking lot at Watchung Hills to the finish line, about 300 yards ahead. Usually, your lungs are heaving at this point of the race, and the quadriceps can turn to stone up this short, steep dash to the finish. Many of the Watchung Hills track athletes participate in the race, which benefits a scholarship fund at WHRHS in Bob Beckert's memory. To pre-register for the race, download a form at http://www.bestrace.com/

Getting Started

The expression the "the first step is the hardest" is certainly true about exercise. Often, the people who need it most are the least likely to start a program because of fear. The anxieties are many, and some, quite legitimate. Getting hurt, feeling out of breath, looking like a beginner, and embarrassment of being around others who may be more fit -- all of those things have been recognized as real concerns, but can be addressed.
First, get clearance from your doctor. Chances are he/she will be thrilled that you are are trying to improve your health.
Secondly, pick the option you like best (walking, running, cycling, swimming, weights, yoga, etc.) and start off slowly and sensibly. For any of the cardiovascular options, increase your mileage duration about 10% per week, and slowly pick up the pace as you go along.
Figure out if you're a person that gets energy from a group, prefers exercising alone, or perhaps, likes doing it with a friend or spouse. Again, a lot comes down to personality. Think about whether working with a coach or Certified Trainer might be an option. Indoors, outdoors, private studio, health club or YMCA-type facility? Competitive or non-competitive? What gets your juices flowing?
Once you have that game-plan down, make sure you have the proper equipment to get started. Most often, it's just a pair of sneakers that are comfortable and appropriate to the exercise you've chosen. I recommend making that purchase from a qualified retailer who may be able to figure out your foot's landing pattern: pronator, supinator, toe or heel striker.
If you want to take out your old bike, make sure it's tuned up, and the brakes and tires are in operating order. Then, you're ready to go. And remember: The hardest step is the first one out the door!