To the ladies that workout...something I learned!

I have been working out and running for a long while now but really running and completing races in the last 3 years. My coach last year kept saying you are not working hard enough you are not exceding your maximum excertion rate! I always ignored him thinking, Im not going to pass out doing this...this is for fun.

Well...I have always had a decent pace of about 9:30-10 min/mile. Recently I decided to step it up and see if Coach Adam was on to something, so I now do speed intervals on the road and on the mill, I also do hill workouts (atlanta is very hilly) and I work out at a pace that Im out of breath and pushing myself, definitely exceeding my maximum exertion rate...well I have to say I have never been stronger, healthier and I am down to my low weight...even though as a runner training for a marathon...you usually don't lose weight...if anything gain a pound or two.

My point is, for years I have been working out and running and not exerting myself hard enough. If I started to feel my heart race or started to breathe too deeply I slowed it down. Well now I am running through deep breathing and I have not only shed a few pounds but I also picked up my pace more than a minute per mile. I find running easier and more enjoyable. I give myself easy "long" runs but picking it up a few days a week has made a BIG difference. I have applied this same theory to my spinning as well...I leave there a sweaty mess...but it works!

So my point is...if you are at the gym, and you are not sweating, slightly out of breath during cardio and tired...you are not working out hard enough. Hey if you are there you might as well do it right! I hope this helps even one person out there

Re: To the ladies that workout...something I learned!

Thanks for the advice and good for you for working out so hard. I have started doing the Jillian Michaels DVD this week and she says "dont call it in" I want you to feel it and its true if you set the time aside to work out you may as well get the full benefit even if you feel you are going to die

Re: To the ladies that workout...something I learned!

Thanks for the advice!

A good exercise that my trainer does with me is interval training, but not steady intervals. It really works your heart and increases your speed for longer runs. So this is how it works, and you should change it every time (these are the speeds that I use and you should do what you are comfortable with):

after your warm up:

2 minutes on 5 mph
1 minute on 3 mph
1 minute on 6
2 minutes on 3.5
2 minutes on 6.5
1 minute on 3
1 minute on 7
2 minutes on 3
3 minutes on 5
1 minute on 7

You get the idea. Just go up and down for various times. He said that it really works your heart and trains and pushes you to go faster.

Re: To the ladies that workout...something I learned!

So true! And this also applies to weight training. I add on weight just about every week, even if it's just a small increment. You won't get stronger and fitter unless you challenge your body.

Re: To the ladies that workout...something I learned!

This makes sense. Thank you so much for sharing.

Re: To the ladies that workout...something I learned!

Thank u for sharing this.

I always wanted to be a "runner" but I get on the treadmill and 3 miles could take me 1/2 hour or more b/c I'm so afraid to push myself due to fear of passing out, chest pains etc etc. I feel wimpy but at the same time I can stay on the treadmill and go up to six miles or more sometimes...but running & walking when I get tired. It would be so much easier if I could just run the whole thing.

I guess its good to hear that I just need to push myself despite my fears of collapsing!!

Message edited 4/25/2008 10:03:10 AM.

Re: To the ladies that workout...something I learned!

Posted by robynfs

I have been working out and running for a long while now but really running and completing races in the last 3 years. My coach last year kept saying you are not working hard enough you are not exceding your maximum excertion rate! I always ignored him thinking, Im not going to pass out doing this...this is for fun.

Well...I have always had a decent pace of about 9:30-10 min/mile. Recently I decided to step it up and see if Coach Adam was on to something, so I now do speed intervals on the road and on the mill, I also do hill workouts (atlanta is very hilly) and I work out at a pace that Im out of breath and pushing myself, definitely exceeding my maximum exertion rate...well I have to say I have never been stronger, healthier and I am down to my low weight...even though as a runner training for a marathon...you usually don't lose weight...if anything gain a pound or two.

My point is, for years I have been working out and running and not exerting myself hard enough. If I started to feel my heart race or started to breathe too deeply I slowed it down. Well now I am running through deep breathing and I have not only shed a few pounds but I also picked up my pace more than a minute per mile. I find running easier and more enjoyable. I give myself easy "long" runs but picking it up a few days a week has made a BIG difference. I have applied this same theory to my spinning as well...I leave there a sweaty mess...but it works!

So my point is...if you are at the gym, and you are not sweating, slightly out of breath during cardio and tired...you are not working out hard enough. Hey if you are there you might as well do it right! I hope this helps even one person out there

Re: To the ladies that workout...something I learned!

It's so true. Fitness is based on an overload principle. You need to challenge your body in order to keep producing results.

Re: To the ladies that workout...something I learned!

This is absolutely true and some very good advice.

I've been going to the gym for about 10 years now, and just this January I started with a personal trainer. She has the same approach as Robynfs. I never in my life ran for more than 5 minutes in a row - I'd do walk/jog intervals, and at my fittest I'd do one minute walking, 2 minutes jogging for about 35 or 40 minutes. Well, the first time I worked out with my trainer, she had me jog at a 5.6 for 10 straight minutes, no break. I was like, "are you nuts?! I can't do this." And she asked me, "how are you going to change your body if every time it gets hard, you slow down?" She was right. I was teaching my body that every time the going got tough, I'd make it easier. And that's why, even if I was thin, I was never strong or really fit and it was so easy to put the weight back on.

Well, that first day I thought I was going to pass out, but I did complete 10 minutes at a 5.6. And I kept at it for a week or two, and it was hard, but it was only 10 minutes so I saw it through. Then I tried 5.6 with a 1% incline. Then a 5.7. Then a 5.7 with an incline. And so on - as soon as I could complete 10 minutes and feel like I was good to go for an eleventh minute, I'd up the speed or intensity. Now, my 10-minute "speed drills" are at 6.6 mph, and I do that twice a week, and twice a week I run outside for 30-35 minutes. I can't believe how quickly I improved! And it's because I've been pushing myself and not stopping when it gets hard. It's like when you do bicep curls: if you can do 3 sets of 15 reps with an 8 pound weight, do you keep on using that 8 pound weight? No way. You move up to a 10-pounder. You use that for however many weeks it takes until that is do-able, and then you up the weight again. Same goes for running. And after 10 years, I never made that connection until my trainer showed me.

The hard part is knowing your limit. It takes a few tries to understand your body and know when it's uncomfortable but okay to keep going, and when you're really done. But you have to remember that you're not going to get stronger if you slow down when it starts feeling hard.

Re: To the ladies that workout...something I learned!

Posted by robynfs


So my point is...if you are at the gym, and you are not sweating, slightly out of breath during cardio and tired...you are not working out hard enough. Hey if you are there you might as well do it right! I hope this helps even one person out there