How To Train For A Marathon | A Military Perspective
It doesn’t matter what time you can run for the distance, the fact that anyone takes the initiative to run one is a champion, period. The marathon is tough, regardless if you have a set time and have trained hard for it or if this will be your first. I wanted to write a detailed post on some key strategies that can assist you in attacking the classic 26.2 mile distance. I have had a love-hate relationship with this race since I began running marathons back in 2002. I ran the 2002 New York City Marathon as a part of an Armed Forces Team that was running for Lung Cancer Research. We were to start in last place, wait for every runner to cross the start line and than, and only than, were permitted to start the race. What happened than, running out of fuel and not hydrating properly, is something that I have dealt with even to this day. Has it happened to you? If it has, you have landed on the right post. 
Physical Fitness Motivates, Bonds Afghan and American Women
Over the last few years, physical fitness has become a focal point for Airmen readiness across the U.S. Air Force. Here, at the Afghan air force compound, nine female AAF members and one American advisor are also making it a point of emphasis in their military training and daily lives.
What began as an idea, quickly turned into reality after the group of female AAF members noticed a lack of programs geared towards women at the base fitness center. After making several inquiries, the group and U.S. Air Force Capt. Vanessa Vanden Bout, a Force Support Squadron advisor belonging to the 439th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, began collaborating on how to start a regimented fitness program with an emphasis on changing their lives both physically and mentally.
NikkiFitness 100 Push-up Boot Camp
I have helped a lot of people with push-ups. Some needed to pass a physical fitness test, some wanted to be able to do push-ups off their knees, and some just wanted to have smoking arms.
My plan to get anyone to do 100 push-ups in a single training session is this:
Get in shape:
If you can’t do 10 push-ups on your toes in a plank position, then start doing this routine on your knees, with hands wider than shoulders, so that as you lower, your elbows line up over your wrists like a field goal post formation. Then work up to doing 2 on your toes, and 8 on your knees, then 5 and 5 until finally you are strong enough to do 10 push-ups at a time on your toes.
THEN.…
A Proven Training Technique That WILL Get You Racing Results
I spent the day doing military land navigation, than did a 9 mile ruck march (ok, 8.6 miles) back. It was a long day but I kept asking myself on the march home, “what is a training tool I could write about that would really help someone improve”. If you have a goal in mind, if you are military, I touched on this in my last post ‘5 Battle Hardened Ways to Drastically Drop your 2-Mile PT Test Time’, than training at your goal race pace is a tool you have to implement. If you have a set time goal in mind. What must you do to run at that pace? I try to keep in mind that visitors to this site may not be runners at all but simply eager to improve their race times.
THE BEST RUNNING TIP FOR BEGINNERS
Focus on what race you want to run, what time goal you have and practice running at that pace. We all have goals. I am speaking more on time goals but if you have a fitness goal in mind or simply just to go out, have fun, and run a 10K or marathon with no time goal in mind, more power to you. I applaud you. That is something I have longed to do for sometime. Racing, competing and being a serious athlete sometimes takes you away from the pure enjoyment of the sport. As I have grew older (oh how I wish it was the other way around) I have learned to keep the same mindset for training but to relax more. Your race pace is going to be the most likely effort you can hold for the duration of your chosen distance without going too anaerobic.
5 Battle Hardened Ways To Drastically Drop Your 2-mile PT Test Time
Service members are already athletes as it is. Running is one of the best activities you can do for your body. You can keep your heart rate up and burn roughly 100–115 calories per mile. The greatest benefit is it keeps your body burning a higher calorie number for a few hours even after you are done with your workout. What I don’t see enough of, at least in the Army, as it pertains to preparing for the PT test, is enough running. Running does become easier and you can learn to enjoy it, if it is part of the PT test you dread. I see many Soldiers who, obviously, have the ability to drop a great deal of time off their 2-mile run time but the majority of their time is spent lifting weights and running far too slow to gain any real benefit to prepare for an all-out 2-mile run. I am a huge advocate for weight lifting and the benefits that come from it. Weights should be incorporated into your exercise plan to maintain a balanced training regiment but lifting for an hour and jogging for a mile and a half every morning is not going to bring your run time down. Here are a few tips I suggest you try.
The Best Bodybuilding Supplements For Pre-Workout
A good soldier would not begin battle minus the correct ammunition; so why would you enter a fitness center before you have loaded up with the proper nutrients? Drive your workout routines with vitality, recuperate quicker, as well as build muscle by preparing your system with a potent sports supplement mixture prior to your exercise routine.
Use Caution With New Running Shoe Technology
In 1974, Bill Bowerman, a co-founder of Nike, created one of the first modern-day running shoes, the “Waffle Trainer,” in an effort to create a light-weight shoe that could grip the road.
The shoe launched a revolution in running shoe design and may have triggered the explosion in popularity of distance running throughout the United States in the 1970s and early 1980s. Innovative shoe designs multiplied out of demand for more foot cushioning and motion control as people from all walks of life took up running. Shoe mid-foot arch construction grew rigid, and heel cushion material was heightened to correct running form and, presumably, prevent injuries.
Staying Fit: Beyond The New Year’s Resolution
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — It’s that time of year again, when we all promise that with the New Year will come a new and improved version of ourselves via the infamous “New Year’s Resolution.”
Most New Year’s resolution abiders swear to stick by their new routine, especially when it comes to staying fit or getting back into shape. However, as the year trudges on, those resolutions seem to fade as quickly as they began.
2012 Fitness Trends That Are Good to Last!
Fads and trends different, and I am here to help you navigate those New Year Resolutions. You won’t see the Shake Weight here (fad) but you might be able to see your toes past your belly if you check out some of these NikkiFitness Fave 2012 trends and the national TV segment I did about them on Fox and Friends:
Is Your Shampoo Causing Low Testosterone?
Many men are concerned with how to overcome low testosterone.
Did you ever think that a key factor may be located in your shower?
You see, hidden deep within all those words you can’t pronounce on the ingredients label of your shampoo bottle is a host of chemicals known as “xenoestrogens”.
These are synthetic forms of the female hormone estrogen but, unlike natural estrogen, these chemical-based “mutant estrogens” are very difficult for your body to dispose of. Instead, they’re trapped away in your fat cells and disrupt the natural balance of male hormones, literally transforming men into women (no kidding!).
The results can be symptoms like increased body fat (especially in the chest area, commonly known as gynocomastia or “man boobs”), lower sex drive, loss of muscle tissue, and even sexual problems like erectile dysfunction (E.D.).
So what can you do about it?
Motivating Strategies to Make Lasting Changes
Now that the New Year is under way, many of us are thinking about our goals for this year – health-related and otherwise. Maybe you told yourself, “I will work on eating healthier or getting to the gym more after the holidays are over”. Well, the holidays are over and it’s time to turn those thoughts into actions. Remember that motivation is paramount in making lasting behavior changes. Think about what it is that motivates you to make changes – whether it is to look differently, feel better, or to improve an aspect of your health.
New Year, New You? Dominating Your Fitness High Ground
So, it’s that time of year again! The New Year is here and you’re beginning to realize the holiday parties and eggnog have taken their toll on your waistline. Or maybe you’ve just been suffering from too many hours in the office and too few hours in the gym. Never fear! The New Year is all about making a fresh start and setting out to reclaim your sleek physique. After all, it’s tough to dominate your high ground when you’re too busy holding down the couch.
You can be sure that you aren’t alone in your quest for fitness and a new you. This January, millions of Americans will crowd gyms determined to get themselves back in shape. Unfortunately, by March, things will return to normal as folks find themselves frustrated or bored with their workout programs and inevitably fall off the fitness bandwagon.
Believe me, I speak from experience here. There’s no doubt that getting into shape or back into shape is hard work. I’ve set those goals and committed myself to a new routine only to find that within a couple of weeks, my excuses of why I shouldn’t go to the gym irrationally outweigh the good reasons I should. But I’ve also triumphed, sticking with a training program to reach a fitness goal and experienced the satisfaction that comes with knowing I’ve done something both difficult and worthwhile.
With that in mind, I’d like to share a few tips, 10 of them in fact, to help you get started and stay on a fitness program in 2012.
8 Hard Core Abs Moves for Your 6 Pack!
Recently, Time Out New York Magazine asked me to create a New Year’s abs routine inspired from my Hard Core Abs DVD (Amazon and www.nikkifitness.com).
Here are the step by step moves and is a link to a FREE 5 minute demo of my video. The best part? Your whole body gets a workout while every move chisels your core. Get crunching!
New Year, New You
If health and wellness is what you want in 2012, here is your plan.
The key is to set goals that are realistic and specific, and having a set time period as your goal will help you stick to a new fitness regime. Write down your plan of action for every day, week, etc. Make sure it is something you can measure and not just the end goal, but the milestones along the way.
I have a wall calendar that I only use for recording and planning workouts, so that is my first to do list each day and I can track my progress and plan cross-training routines like jogging, muscle and cardio interval workouts, yoga and more.
Start with a plan that you think you can accomplish or exceed. (Walking for 30 minutes at a time. Then running for 20 minutes and see how many times you have to stop and walk each time. Eventually work up to running for 30 minutes and so on. It can also be benching a certain amount of weight each week.)
Pre-Resolution Workout for Holiday Travel
We talked about the Challenges of Thanksgiving travel, food and fitness, and less than a month later, her are bombarded with holiday travel and parties again. Avoid making your New Year resolution about fitness if you just spend half an hour per day working some fitness into the fun. Here are some moves and video from my Fit Travel Workout DVD in an interview I did with New York 1 News. The video was shot around the world, from Chicago to China, so you can see all the places Santa will be visiting soon.… but you won’t have his belly!
Fit For Duty: Operation Breaking Barriers
No gimmicks or money back guarantees; just hardcore strength training workouts that target the entire body. Plus, in our Train Smart Stay Strong” segment, CDR Dave Keblish rehabs a torn hamstring.
Ready For a Winter Workout?
For many, working up the motivation to exercise is a workout in and of itself. A desire to hit the gym is often trumped by excuses, soon forgotten about, and regretted later. It is understandable — there is work to do, children to take care of, spouses to support, and not enough time in the day. However, according to staff at the Dover Air Force Base, Del., Fitness Center, there is one excuse that should not be a deal-breaker — “it is too cold.”
“Whenever the temperature drops, so does people’s motivation to exercise,” said Airman Jerome Reed, fitness apprentice with the 436th Force Support Squadron. “[However], with the right preparation, working out in the winter can be a safe way to stay fit.”
Proper planning before the workout
A healthy cold-weather workout begins before heading out the door. The first step is to dress for the cold. Clothing should be warm without over-heating the body during rigorous exercise. When in cold temperatures, the body must work overtime to keep its core temperature up. More energy spent keeping the body warm means less energy for exercising. Dressing in layers helps trap heat at the skin’s surface, thereby keeping muscles warm and limber.
Maintainers Use Intense PT Program to Get on Track
Former Air Force flight surgeon and world-renowned aerobics expert Dr. Kenneth Cooper famously proclaimed that “fitness is a journey, not a destination.”
When the 1st Maintenance Squadron tallied 75 physical fitness test failures in February 2011, Staff Sgt. Bradley Domes, the unit fitness program manager, brought Cooper’s mantra to the table to make changes in Airmen’s waistlines and lifestyles.
Domes and Staff Sgt. Eric Thomsen, the unit’s head physical training leader, developed an intense physical training regimen for the unit, transforming mundane self-paced exercise into explosive, multi-faceted group workouts. The “hardcore” sessions include test fundamentals, such as push-ups and sit-ups, to more inventive activities, including sled pushes and parachute sprints.
The circuits are designed to be intense, but informative, teaching Airmen challenging, but fun new ways to work out to improve their total fitness.
“I designed these circuits to help show that you don’t just have to run, do push-ups and sit-ups to get a work out,” Domes said. “We still have to do them, but there are other options.”
NikkiFitness Holiday Gift Guide
Three products that make working out better: NikkiFitness Holiday Gift Guide
Listen: Some people love the sound of their heart pounding, the birds chirping, the treadmill whirling. Others like a distraction to get the through their workout.
If you need audio help to get you through those extra few minutes at the gym or on the run to shed those extra pounds, try listening to audio books! While print books can be too difficult to scan while moving about (I personally think that if you can read a book or magazine while on the bike or treadmill you are not working hard enough!), audio books let the narrator do all of the work, while you enjoy the benefits of an enthralling story and extra calorie burning!
Kettleball Training
Though simple in design, hundreds of years old and made for counterbalancing grain harvest scales, the kettlebell offers benefits to those who want to build muscle and enhance their cardiovascular
system – fast.
Often endearingly described as a cannonball with a handle, the kettlebell offers unique training benefits by engaging the entire body in exercises such as the swing and the clean-and-press, along with more than 300 other work-outs.
The kettlebell not only works the body’s main muscle groups, but can be very cardiovascular intensive as well, all the while enhancing dexterity and balance.
