Hey Runners, Your Yoga Questions, Answered

Photo by Ali Kaukas for Wanderlust

Photo by Ali Kaukas for Wanderlust

As runners we often approach our grueling sport with a one-track mind. Most runners have been told that incorporating yoga into their running regime can yield extreme benefits. Muscles that profit from a yoga practice include hamstrings, hip flexors, quads, abdominals, IT band, glutes, lower back, and even your feet. You could say the benefits are innumerable. But how to bring yoga into your running routine if you’re new to the practice? Here are some common questions runners have when it comes to incorporating yoga into their weekly sweat sessions.

Why should runners practice yoga?

Not only does yoga elongate your muscles, but it also aids in muscle recovery and helps prevent injuries (and helps tremendously with stiffness)—all crucial for runners. If you’re seriously into running, why not do all you can to reduce your risk of injury? It’s no secret runners are prone to injury.

What if I don’t have a lot of time for yoga?

If you already log a lot of miles during the week, finding even more time for yoga may seem impossible. This is a question Cari Merriam with CorePower Yoga gets a lot. If you’re short on time and looking to create more flexibility in your legs, hamstrings, quads, and calves, Cari suggests forward folds, half splits, standing splits with jivamukti squats, pyramid pose, extended hand to big toe pose, Lord of the Dance pose, and downward dog crossing one heel over the other—holding each for 3-5 breaths. Modify as needed.

You can also make time for yoga right when you wake up with these five morning yoga hacks.

To read this full article, visit Wanderlust to see the rest of tips.

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Happy Half Year! How to Set Half a Resolution

photo via Wanderlust.com | Sasha Juliard

photo via Wanderlust.com | Sasha Juliard

 

“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” – Bill Copeland

It seems like just yesterday we were clinking champagne glasses and setting a slew of semi-unattainable New Year’s resolutions—most of which have probably fallen by the wayside.

Oops. 

But fear not: You aren’t alone.

According to a study from the University of Scranton, only eight percent of people actually achieve their New Year’s resolutions. We’ve all had that feeling of looking back on the year and feeling like we didn’t accomplish anything, like we let time fly by and now we’re ending the year exactly where we started it.

Consider this your mid-year reminder and motivation so 2015 doesn’t become one of those years.

Six Months is Perfect

While it may no longer be a true New Year’s resolution, there’s nothing stopping you from creating a half-year resolution. The next six months can bring forth a lot of change. In fact, six months is probably a more attainable timetable than a full year.

“Six months is a great round number because it’s enough time to make a big impact, and check in and adjust course when needed. Checking in every month, and at the three-month mark, is a great way to steer yourself toward success,” says Sally Anne Giedrys, an ICF-credentialed life coach with Whole Life Strategies Coachingspecializing in reinvention.

To read the rest of this article, visit Wanderlust to see all the tips we share.

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Hey Runners! Your Yoga Questions Answered

Photo by Ali Kaukas for Wanderlust

Photo by Ali Kaukas for Wanderlust

The Blonde Side is proud to announce we recently snagged a by-line over at Wanderlust talking about the most common questions runners have (like myself) when it comes to yoga.

As runners we often approach our grueling sport with a one-track mind. Most runners have been told that incorporating yoga into their running regime can yield extreme benefits. Muscles that profit from a yoga practice include hamstrings, hip flexors, quads, abdominals, IT band, glutes, lower back, and even your feet. You could say the benefits are innumerable. But how to bring yoga into your running routine if you’re new to the practice? Here are some common questions runners have when it comes to incorporating yoga into their weekly sweat sessions.

Why should runners practice yoga?

Not only does yoga elongate your muscles, but it also aids in muscle recovery and helps prevent injuries (and helps tremendously with stiffness)—all crucial for runners. If you’re seriously into running, why not do all you can to reduce your risk of injury? It’s no secret runners are prone to injury.

What if I don’t have a lot of time for yoga?

If you already log a lot of miles during the week, finding even more time for yoga may seem impossible. This is a question Cari Merriam with CorePower Yoga gets a lot. If you’re short on time and looking to create more flexibility in your legs, hamstrings, quads, and calves, Cari suggests forward folds, half splits, standing splits with jivamukti squats, pyramid pose, extended hand to big toe pose, Lord of the Dance pose, and downward dog crossing one heel over the other—holding each for 3-5 breaths. Modify as needed.

You can also make time for yoga right when you wake up with these five morning yoga hacks.

Can you practice yoga and run in the same day? Is one better to do before the other?

Short answer: It depends. “This is dependent based on what type of yoga you are practicing,” Cari says. “A good rule of thumb is to do active yoga postures to engage core and warm up large muscles groups prior to running. For example, if your routine prior to running includes active postures like crescent lunge, warrior II, chair, squats, or lunges, after you run you want to incorporate more passive stretching—think half splits, runners lunge, supine figure four, forward folds.”

Other than stretching, how can yoga improve my runs?

April Jackson, co-founder of the fitness and lifestyle consultancy Sweat Everyday, gets this question a lot. “Yoga can benefit a runner’s gait through the balance and stability they work through in the yoga practice. Balance and stability improves the runner’s posture, allowing for a smoother stride and improved gait,” she says. “Yoga also helps runners improve their breathing by using diaphragmatic breathing, which helps runners improve aerobic endurance, allowing them to runner farther.”

Cara Gilman, a Massachusetts-based running coach and yoga teacher, agrees. “Yoga brings balance to your overworked muscles and provides the strength you need to support your running so you can do it more efficiently. Yoga is also strategic in helping you learn to meditate and focus yourself in the mental game of running, allowing you to challenge and push yourself,” she says.

Click here to see the full post on the Wanderlust website (and check out all their other amazing articles related to fitness and wellness!).

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Drink More Water Challenge

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This looks gorgeous and time consuming, but it's EASY as PIE

This looks gorgeous and time consuming, but it’s EASY as PIE

With the New Year comes the obvious resolutions – things you plan to do all year (yeah right!) that benefit you in many ways. Health-related resolutions are usually at the top of most people’s list, as they should be.

I recently saw this 30-day Challenge on The Every Girl to encourage people to drink more water (8 eight ounce glasses a day) and it’s something I want to pass along.

The Every Girl challenges talks about all the advantages of water – hydrating your skin (your body is 60% water), it keeps you fuller and satiated longer (avoid those hunger triggers), and it’s zero calories! Win-win-win.

During all my travels, I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy many spa visits. Spas are known for providing an incredibly relaxing environment, but they also seem to have the best tasting water on the planet. And it’s usually a pretty simple process: find a fancy looking pitcher (I got a cheap one from Target), pour in filtered water, add ice cubes and cut up some fruit. It’s really that simple. I like adding lemon and lime together and on the next pitcher, I’ll add strawberries.

It makes drinking water more pleasurable and it’s just as healthy. When you add fruit to your water, it can usually last up to a week (but you should be drinking the entire pitcher in a day or two), so it’s easy upkeep.

Here is a list of ideas for making your own infused water from Nutrition Stripped:

  • grapefruit + sage//rosemary//mint//basil
  • lemon + mint//cilantro//basil
  • lemon + lime + cilantro
  • lemon + ginger
  • Meyer lemon + tangerine + pear + hot green pepper + cilantro
  • lemon + orange + ginger
  • blood orange + ginger + basil
  • cucumber + lemon + lime + mint//basil
  • cucumber + grapefruit + sage//rosemary
  • cucumber + watermelon + mint
  • carrots + apple + lemon + ginger
  • carrots + pomegranate + sage
  • honeydew + cantaloupe + watermelon + sage//mint
  • watermelon + mint//rosemary//basil
  • cantaloupe + blood orange + lemon
  • pear + rosemary//sage
  • banana + nectarine + basil
  • blackberries + raspberries + strawberries + mint
  • strawberries + grapefruit + sage
  • apple + plum + blueberries + mint//sage
  • cherries + lime + mint

On a personal note, sage and basil make me want to vomit, so of course I’ll avoid those. So give it a whirl, and Happy New Year to you all!

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Sculpt for Success Challenge

10384465_10154963057455176_4849447991817767667_nMy gym (Sculpt Fitness here in Houston) is starting a brand new challenge on January 12th, and I wanted to share it with my readers who are looking to get fit and toned in the New Year.

It may seem a bit pricey to some of you, but it’s really worth it once you see how dedicated the trainers are to helping you meet your specific goals. It’s for six weeks of training and so much more and it’s well worth the investment. Also, did I mention you can actually win money doing this challenge?

Here are the details: Here’s your chance to start the New Year off right and finally reach you weight loss goals. Sculpt for Success is a 6-week weight loss challenge where teams of 4 compete for the highest percentage of weight loss to win.

You will be guided by dietician Marla Doughty of the Blonde Pantry and the expert trainers at Sculpt Fitness to give you the Roadmaps to success!

  • Each team has a private coach
  • Weigh-ins and optional measurements to chart results
  • Nutrition seminar and kickoff workout
  • 4 private group workouts for Success participants only
  • Private Facebook group
  • Nutrition and Fitness Roadmaps in addition to daily checklist
  • Accountability and Motivation from team and coach (you are not alone in this)
  • Weekly fitness tips, recipes, and more…
  • Top team wins at least $1200 in cash to split; Top individual wins Spa Day!
  • Wrap party where winners are announced and we all celebrate our successes.

If you don’t have a full team, we can set you up with one.

Sign up now until Jan. 5 for the Early Bird rates!

Early bird Sculpt clients: $250 | Early bird Non-Sculpt clients: $300

After Jan. 5: Sculpt clients: $300 | Non-Sculpt clients: $350

To sign up for the challenge, either send me a message or email Heather @ StudioSculpt.com and I’ll see you there!

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Now THIS is a FUN Run

This is DEFINITELY a fun run (Photo: Women's Health)

This is DEFINITELY a fun run (Photo: Women’s Health)

The first time I ever realized you could “draw” a shape while running using the Nike+ app was during the She Runs LA Nike “virtual” 10k Brandi Garcia invited me to.

Since I wasn’t in LA at the time, each person who signed up virtually for the 10k was given a letter to run in the shape of. Talk about a lost blonde in a pair of New Balance.

It was pure comedy. I literally ran up to a stoplight at Rice Village, made a left, then made a quick right, then ran diagonal through a parking lot and continued on in a rampant manner. I still don’t even know what letter I was instructed to create (although I think it was an “F”), but by the end, it was barely legible.

Anyways, there was this recent article in Women’s Health where a woman is doing pretty much the same thing, but better. As pictured, one of her runs looked a lot like male goods, but my favorite (at least the one most suitable for my mom who is probably reading this) is the middle finger she drew in honor of saying FU to cancer for her best friend.

So I plan to implement this awesome picture-drawing in upcoming runs – not exactly sure what I will attempt to draw, but who’s in with me? Comment on this post with some picture ideas I can run to.

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Hit the Deck

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Meet your new at home trainer: a deck of cards (via Splie Fitness)

Meet your new at home trainer: a deck of cards (via Splie Fitness)

This isn’t my first time writing (and raving) about Splie Fitness. Although based all the way in South Lake Tahoe, my girl Tara (owner and instructor) still has me sweating to her demands all the way in Texas. Here’s her latest idea, via Instagram.

According to the easy game to get your sweat on all you need is a deck of cards. You can use just your body weight for these exercises, or add weights if you’d prefer. Grab a deck of cards and start flipping them over one at a time.

♠️ = lunges

♦️ = push ups

♥️ = squats

♣️ = plank rows

Whichever number is on the card, you’ll do that many of each exercise. Go through the deck once and then switch the movements to 4 new moves. You should be good after two times through. Be creative the second time through. Exercises you can incorporate in the second round can include: tricep dips, frog jumps, burpees, mountain climbers, ab exercises like bicycles, bridges – the list is endless.

Try this next time you’re at home or at a hotel and a gym and weights aren’t readily available.

What games have you played to help with your fitness routine?

 

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Violet FitBit, available exclusively at Target!

Violet FitBit Flex - exclusively at Target

Violet FitBit Flex – exclusively at Target

I am absolutely in love with the brand-spanking new Violet FitBit, available exclusively at Target – and it’s only $99.

It tracks your workouts and calories, but a feature that has helped keep me on track is the sleep tracker. I have never been a good sleeper (sad, right?), and this feature helps me understand that aspect of my day/night a little better.

The FitBit Flex is a slim and stylish wristband that is with you all the time – and it’s flexible (as the name indicates) so it’s comfortable and isn’t bulky and in your way. You can wear it in the shower, the pool, you name it, pretty much anywhere so it very accurately tracks your movements.

During the day, it tracks steps, distance, and calories burned. At night, it tracks your sleep cycle and wakes you silently in the morning (if you set the alarm). This silent alarm feature is pretty handy if you don’t want to wake up your partner, because it simply vibrates on your wrist.

Another GREAT feature, especially for someone like me who travels a lot – the battery lasts for at least five days. I don’t usually have to travel with the charger (although it’s very small), but it’s one less thing I have to worry with on a hectic work-trip.

A simple double-click on the band will cause the dots to light up (if it lights all the way across – congrats – you hit your goal!), which helps you see how you stack up against your personal goal or any friends you allow into your network. It’s the motivation you need to get out and be more active. I set my goal at 13,000 steps/day – I’m not sure where that ranks on the average female scale, but if I find myself at 11,000 steps and the day is coming to a close, I take my pup on a longer walk or just do something extra to get there. That’s what staying fit and getting healthy is all about – those extra steps you push yourself to take.

Using my FitBit Flex during a LA workout with Chris Carter, linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers

Using my FitBit Flex during a LA workout with Chris Carter, linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers

Like most of these trackers, the FitBit Flex comes with free online tools and a mobile app that allows you to set goals and follow your progress through awesome graphs and charts when you log food, workouts and much more.

Want to read more reviews and see the press surround the FitBit Flex? Click here.

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Alpha: Product Review

Alpha monitoring my heart rate on my left wrist

Alpha monitoring my heart rate on my left wrist

If you follow me on social media, it’s no secret I’ve been busting my rump to get back in shape. I’ve been going to Sculpt Fitness anywhere from 4-6 days/week and I’m seeing great results, thanks to their instructors that literally make me think I will drown in my own sweat.

Recently I received a MIO Alpha watch to use during my workouts. I’ve never really gotten into the whole heart rate thing, mostly because I thought it involved math and all these crazy wires and velcro straps and all that seemed like nonsense for a workout.

How it works: Algorithms are applied to the pulse signal so that the heart’s true rhythm can be detected even while running at performance speeds. It is also designed with simplicity in mind, which is perfect for us blondes (or basically anyone who would rather focus on the workout at hand rather than functions and buttons).

Function aside, it’s actually cute too. There is no cheststrap or wires or anything we usually associate with heart rate monitors. After working out I sometimes have to run errands, the watch stays on. It’s perfect.

It also goes with my outfit if I’m rocking a sporty look or traveling, it doesn’t need to just be worn in the gym. And I love the tag for this product: Train with Heart.

And The Blonde Side isn’t the only one that loves this new advancement in sports technology. Check out all the other rave

My Alpha goes perfectly with my Tiffany & Co bracelet

My Alpha goes perfectly with my Tiffany & Co bracelet

reviews media has recently given it.

The key thing you will need to figure out on your own (if you don’t already know) is what your ideal heart rate is, so you can help set a targeted heart rate. Here is an article in USA Today that is specifically meant for women to help determine their heart rate. The formula is basically to take 88% of your age and then subtract 206 from that number. Again, I’m not good with math, so go figure your own out!

I won’t lie, I did have a little difficulty setting it up, but I’ve never been good with directions. Once that is set up, you’re ready to run. Or climb. Or TRX. Or spin. Or whatever you choose. Your Alpha will track it, so you’re good to go.

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Exercise your rights. Or just plain exercise.

Tara (owner of Splie) & Jayme of The Blonde Side

Tara (owner of Splie) & Jayme of The Blonde Side

Red, white and blue, in a three-way conjunction are my absolute favorite colors. I often say I’m obsessed with America and it may sound silly, but it’s true. I’m obsessed with our country and our freedom and the overall good people that I like to think exist everywhere that make our country so amazing.

This morning I joined a great group of women in South Lake Tahoe at a local fitness studio, Splie (pronounced SPLEE-AY) for a Freedom Ride. I had no idea what a Freedom Ride was, but I knew I was in need of a good spin class to sweat out the toxins and keep myself in semi-bikini shape.

Tara, the owner, encouraged us to wear red, white and blue on the studio’s Facebook page by saying: “It’s how we roll. Red, White and blue ride this Wednesday.”

Wearing her own TEAM USA tank from the leader bike, Tara told us to “ride for something bigger than us, like the blood shed for our country,” and during rest breaks shouted out U.S.A. trivia and facts to encourage us and remind us just how lucky we are to live in this great country. She reminded us that because of what so many brave men and women have fought so hard for so many years, we have freedom. All while sweating up a storm, no less.

“We have the right to live equally,” Tara shouted from her spinning pulpit. “And to add resistance [to our bikes],” she demanded.

The 60-minute ride was a fierce combo of celebrating our freedom (hence the #FreedomRide) and our heritage and patriotic nature, complete with this playlist of varying genres:

The gals from the #FreedomRide at Splie Fitness

The gals from the #FreedomRide at Splie Fitness

Beastie Boys: Fight for your Right

Bruce Springsteen: Born in the USA

En Vogue: Free Your Mind

Metallica: Nothing Else Matters

John Mellencamp: Pink Houses

Jimi Hendrix: Star Spangled Banner

Alicia Keys: Sleeping In My Bed

Brad Paisley: Camouflage

Foo Fighers: My Hero

Kenny Chesney: Freedom

Xtina: Fighter

Miley Cyrus: Party In the U.S.A.

When Xtina’s Fighter came on, Tara reminded us that sometimes we have to fight for our freedom.

In 1848, in New York, women began the long struggle for the right to vote. In 1920, 72 years later, their voting rights were recognized across the nation.

As Americans we are fighters (just like Xtina said) and we fight for our freedom. Remember those that put their lives on the line for us each and every day.

Needless to say, I got my patriotic butt kicked today. And I loved every minute of it. Thanks to those who have and are fighting for our Independence every day.

Exercise your rights. Or just plain exercise.

[This blog post was part of the 2013 Women’s Health Magazine Action Hero Blog. To see that original blog, click here.]

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FREELANCE + SPORTS + TRAVEL + FITNESS
COPYRIGHT 2019, THE BLONDE SIDE
CREATED BY JAYME LAMM