SPORTSNFITNESS

OVERTRAINING: Yes, it's in all capital letters for a reason. Overtraining is one of those things that even the fittest individuals can fall victim to. According to physiotherapy.curtain.edu, overtraining (staleness) is characterized by premature fatigue, decline in performance, mood changes, emotional instability and decreased motivation. Basically the individual's body is in a chronic state of insufficient recovery time as a result of prolonged or intense exercise activity. I recently fell victim to overtraining. It is the perfect example for this blog. I had been running low on sleep for several days prior. I decided since I was feeling sluggish, I should go for a run on the treadmill even though I would've much rather taken a nap. I still felt the need to do a little something before I could go home and rest. I attempted my run for 45 minutes and finished it off. I didn't feel too great afterwards so I decided to add another 15 minutes on the elliptical. After that, ...

A very good friend of mine recently approached me regarding her current running routine. She asked me to take a look at her routine and tweak it a little bit. If you are in a similar situation take a look at some of the tips I give to Kirstyn as they may apply to you as well. Also, if other fellow runners have any suggestions, by all means add your two cents! Kirstyn's Routine: 1. Stretch 2. Run: 5 miles pace 9:45 (this is my general run) 7.5 miles pace 10:00 (I do this once a week) 10 miles pace 11:00 (I do this every other week, occasionally back to back weeks) 3. After Run: 1/4 mile walk 4. Every Other Day: 3 sets of 20 - Lunges 3 sets of 10 - Push-ups 3 sets of 10 - Leg Raises(lower ab) 3 sets of 35 - Sit-ups 3 sets of 35 - Calf Raises Issue #1: While running during mile 2-4 I get pain in my top to ab muscles. It feels like side stitch but in the center. How do I prevent/treat this? Issue #2: Also I noticed on my 10 milers I stop sweating from miles 6...