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FitYaf's tips for keeping up with your fitness while traveling

8/16/2013

Hey there Yaffies! I've got some good and bad news for you guys. Well, really it's good news for me and bad news for you, but hopefully you'll forgive me. Tomorrow, I'm leeeeea-ving, on a jet plane! That's right, tomorrow I'm beginning a 2-week long adventure with my family. We'll be touring in Austria, where my father's parents were born! I can't wait to trade in my lab coat and gloves for some sunglasses and a camera! While I'll be away from my normal fitness routine, I hope to be able to squeeze in some workouts while I'm there. So, instead of a workout for today's Fitness Friday, I thought this would be a great time to share with you some of my tips for 'keeping up with your fitness' while traveling. Depending on your travel circumstances, you can't always do all of these, but even if you adopt just one of these tips the next time you travel, you might find the whole 'getting back to your regular schedule' part a little more enjoyable when you return. You might also find that these tips might help make your travel more enjoyable as well! Just don't forget your workout clothes!

While I'm away, I may or may not be able to post - I've got some great guest blog posts ready to go, but I'm relying wifi for internet access, so I can't guarantee anything. I'll miss you guys while I'm gone, but I also have some exciting things in store for you when I get back. If you're itching for a workout - all of the Fitness Friday workouts are listed on my site! If you're doing a FitYaf workout - be sure to post on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #FitYafFitnessFriday - I'll be looking!

1. Use your feet as your mode of transportation whenever you can

FitYaf's tips for keeping up with your fitness while traveling

Part of the fun of traveling to a new city is learning your way around and stumbling upon things that were part of the plan for the day. As long as it's a walking-friendly city - walk around! Not only are you moving and burning calories, but you're seeing more of the city!

2. If you're a runner, go for a run!

If you frequently pound the pavement for exercise, whether you're training for a race or just getting your heart rate up, go for a run! Be sure to bring your GPS watch, or study the maps (check out Runtastic) before you head out. Sometimes hotels will even have maps specifically for runners that will list local running routes with distances and/or mile markers.

3. Rent a bike

If you want to see a city, but it's too big to walk all over town - rent a bike! Lots of cities even offer guided bike tours. Just like walking, this is a great way to take in the sites and get some exercise in at the same time!

4. Bring workout DVDs

There are many workout DVDs that don't require any equipment or too much space, so they are easy to pack and great to do in the hotel room! If your hotel doesn't have a DVD player, you're either going to need to bring your laptop or upload your workouts to your tablet or phone before you leave. If you will have your laptop, you can always try some free online workouts. Check out this hotel workout from Melissa Bender at Bender Fitness!

5. Pack some resistance bands

Another great tool that is easy to pack because it doesn't take up too much room is the resistance band. There are so many creative ways you can get a good strength workout in with resistance bands. Real Simple and Greatist offer some great suggestions.

6. Find a gym

If your hotel doesn't have a gym, you can often find local gyms that will allow you to buy a one-day or one-week pass. Some will even let you try them out for free! Plus, there are tons of boutique studios (yoga, spinning, etc) that will have a drop-in rate. You never know who you might meet and what great recommendation for site-seeing you'll get too!

7. Bring a water bottle

You'll have to wait until you're through security to fill up, but if you travel with a refillable water bottle, you know you'll always have water to drink. You won't get stuck on that 6-hour tour without anything to drink (refusing to pay yet ANOTHER $3 for a bottle of water), and you'll always have a calorie-free beverage with you to stay hydrated.

8. Ditch the idea of breakfast, lunch & dinner

One of the best parts of traveling is trying new things, especially the local cuisine. With that "don't want to miss out" attitude, you can easily overeat, which leaves you feeling overly full and not in the mood to go out and explore! While traveling, I like to ditch the idea of breakfast, lunch and dinner and just like to eat on-the-go. Maybe in Italy, you'll come a across a gelato stand, or in Greece, you'll want to sit down for some hummus and baba ghanoush. Eat when you're hungry, but don't stuff yourself - you never know when you'll stumble across something irresistible!

What do you do to keep up with your fitness while traveling?

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Life Fitness Synrgy360 Training @ Pottruck - training in all planes & asymmetric loading

8/15/2013

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A few weeks ago, a shiny, new Life Fitness Synrgy360 was set up on the 4th floor of Pottruck, where I teach group fitness classes. This thing is a playground for adults! When I saw it, my first thought was - can I get one for my basement?! After looking up the price, I realized I'm going to be just fine using the one at the gym. I was beyond ecstatic when I heard that Penn Rec was offering a training on this piece of equipment, followed up by small group training sessions and group fitness classes.

Life Fitness Synrgy360 Training @ Pottruck

Well, the training was this past Monday, and the Synrgy360 is my new best friend! It was a quick training (2 hours) led by a representative from Life Fitness, so I'm definitely not ready to lead a class tomorrow, but she provided the resources we need to get started! Not only does the Synrgy have your typical cable pulls, pull up bar and medicine balls, but it also has a TRX suspension trainer, a TRX Rip trainer, a full set of kettlebells, monkey bars, rock climbing grips, battle ropes - this list just doesn't stop!

The biggest take-home message for me was to vary your exercises to work all "planes of motion" when training for functional movement, posture and muscle balance. The Life Fitness trainer pointed out that most people tend to stay in the sagittal plane while exercising (up/down movements) - squats, pushups, bicep curls, etc. The Synrgy360 is a great tool to do exercises in those other planes as well!

mikeirr.com

Two transverse movements in one exercise on the Synrgy360

Another great take-home message was the importance of asymmetrical training, which takes the emphasis off of bilateral training (working both sides of the body together). If you're doing weighted squats with a barbell on your back, both legs are working together to push the weight back up to standing. As a result, a dominant side of the body can (and will) do more than its share of the work. Moving from a barbell to a dumbbell shifts the focus so that each muscle has to work on its own, resulting in unilateral training. When you asymmetrically load the body, your weight is now off-balance, and you'll have to engage your muscles (typically your core muscles) to correct for that.

Asymmetric Training on the Synrgy360

Rip Drive Squat

Lateral Shuffle with 180 Degree Rotation

Palloff Press

Rip Overhead Axe Chop

But, that was just the beginning of the amazingness that is the Synrgy360. There is so much you can do on this piece of equipment, I'm sure we only skimmed the surface in these two hours.

Have you ever used a Synrgy360? What's your favorite exercise to do on it?

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What's in your cereal bowl?

8/14/2013

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My name is Jillian and I am a recovering cereal addict. Before I started drinking Shakeology, I filled my bowl up with cereal every morning. Most of the time, it was with "healthy cereals" - puffed rice, honey nut cheerios, etc, you know, the ones with the least amount of calories per serving? I was a big fan of mixing cereal - if I craved the sweet/"unhealthy" kind, I would mix it with a few other "healthier" varieties, but no matter what, my bowl was always full. It was a great way to start my day, but I was always starving by the time lunch rolled around.

When I wrote about my "healthy eating" commandments, I stressed the importance of not only reading your food label, but taking note of the serving size. I'm sure you were as surprised as I was to see how one serving of cheerios didn't even fill two champagne glasses! I can't even imagine how many servings I was filling my bowl with back in the day. So, I decided to do a little experiment.

I went to the grocery store and bought Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats with a Touch of Fruit. Mini wheats are healthy, right? And they have fruit in them, even better, right?

one serving of Cheerios via Vreeland Clinic's blog

Let's start with the ingredients. The first ingredient is whole grain wheat - so far, so good. But, the second ingredient is sugar! You don't even find actual fruit until you're about halfway through the "2% or less" ingredients! How does this all contribute to the nutritional breakdown? We've got one gram of fat (with none of it being saturated or trans) and 5 grams of protein, which is great for cereal. When you look at the carbohydrates, we've got 6 grams of fiber - also good! But, as you move down to sugar, you can see that there are 10 grams of sugar per serving. You'd hope maybe some of those sugars come from fruit, but remember, the actual fruit was listed in the "less than 2%" section of the ingredients. If you compare this to a well-known "sugary cereal", Frosted Mini Wheats with a Touch of Fruit only has 3 grams sugar less than Lucky Charms! Is 10 grams of sugar terrible for you? Probably not, but are you really eating only one serving?

Now, let's look at serving size. One serving of Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats with a Touch of Fruit is 24 biscuits. Below you can see what 24 biscuits looks like in my cereal bowl. Is that how you fill your cereal bowl? It's certainly not how I fill mine! I added another serving, and my bowl STILL wasn't full! By the time I eye-balled my cereal bowl to "full", the way I would have years ago, I had 60 mini wheats in by bowl - that's 2.5 servings and 25 grams of sugar! To give you an idea of how much sugar that is - one serving of Skittles has 32 grams of sugar, one serving of Twizzlers has 19 grams of sugar and one serving of chocolate ice cream has 17 grams of sugar. Do Frosted Mini Wheats make Twizzlers look "healthy"?

Am I saying that eating cereal for breakfast is bad? Absolutely not. If you decide that you can't give up your cereal for breakfast, are there ones out there with less sugar? Absolutely! I just hope that I've stressed the importance of not only reading your nutrition labels, but paying attention to serving size as well. If you find that you take the time to measure out one serving of cereal, but now you're hungry well before lunch time, maybe you can consider adding some protein to your breakfast? Or a mid-morning snack? I don't want to recommend certain cereals over others because everyone is going to have a different priority (high protein, high fiber, low sugar, maybe even gluten free), but two brands that I LOVE for cereal are Barbara's and Kashi, but check the labels! Even some of them have a bit much of that pesky sugar!

Do you eat cereal for breakfast? What's your favorite cereal?

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FitYaf tries Skyrobics @ Sky Zone

8/13/2013

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A few months ago, I read an article about a trampoline class called SkyRobics. At the time, it was peak training for the Pittsburgh Marathon and wasn't about to risk a silly injury, and it has taken this long for me to find the time to finally try it out! The Oaks, PA location of Sky Zone offers a fitness class each day of the week, with two classes on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

My friend Jackie and I took the hour-long fitness class this past Sunday - WHAT A BLAST! When we arrived, we traded in our sneakers for some trampoline shoes - these shoes were the ultimate high tops! We started out the class with a 10-minute warmup, where we jumped around on our own personal trampoline. Once we were warmed up, we all lined up on one side of the giant trampoline area and did some drills up and back on the trampolines. We "rounced" (a mix of running and bouncing) and we bunny-hopped, and while we were waiting for our turn, we did some strength training exercises off to the side. We finished up the class back on our personal trampoline where we did some full-body intervals.

By the end of the class, we were super sweaty! I definitely felt like I got a great workout. Do I think I burned 1000 calories, like they advertise? Absolutely not, but it was fun and offered a great variety to my fitness routine. I'd definitely go back! While taking the class, I suspected I was using a lot of core muscles to control my jumping, but the next day my quads were SUPER sore!!

Have you ever been to an indoor trampoline park?

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Where do you prefer to get your sweat on?

8/12/2013

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Where do you prefer to get your sweat on?

Over the years, I have tried many things in the fitness world - I'd like to say I've done it all, but can you believe I've never taken a Zumba class? I know I'd love it - it just hasn't happened yet. There are many other things on my fitness bucket list, but only so many hours in the day. When given the choice, I prefer the group exercise setting. The energy in the room always pushes me to work harder and give 100% to the workout, but I know group fitness is not for everyone. Lately, I've notice the rise in what I like to call "boutique" gyms - studios offering one type of group fitness class, such as spinning, yoga or even pole dancing! It got me thinking - if people are going to these boutique gyms, are they not joining a "regular" or soon to be "old-fashioned" gym anymore? You know, the gym with the treadmills, elliptical machines, stationary bikes, weight lifting machines, free weights, group fitness studios and, if you're lucky, an indoor basketball court and a pool. I recently took classes at Row Zone and Body Cycle in Philadelphia, and I had to sign up for these classes ahead of time (in some cases DAYS before the class). While I generally stick to the same gym schedule each week, I know there are people that tend to fit in a workout when they have the time. For those people, what good is a class that is full by the time you decide you have the time to go? I'm wondering - how & where do people prefer to workout?

Full Gym - "one stop shopping"

First, we have the full gym, or what I like to call - one stop shopping. This place has it all - your cardio machines, your weight-lifting machines and free weights. Some of them also offer group fitness and have some "extras" such as a pool and basketball court. If you're lucky, the hours fit your schedule, it's not so crowded you have to wait for equipment to be available, and if you have little ones, some even offer babysitting! However, some people don't like "the gym" - they don't feel comfortable working out in front of others or they're working out very early or very late at night, when the gym isn't even open.

Boutique (specialty) gym

This type of gym often offers one type of fitness class or training session. They might have different classes that vary by time or difficulty level, but a yoga studio isn't going to offer a boot camp class, and a spinning studio isn't going to offer TRX. These studios tend to have some of the best instructors and experts in the area, but consequently don't offer much variety. They also tend to have the type of classes that require signing up days in advance to secure your spot.

Limited-time class

Whether you signed up for a class at a local community class or an 8-week boot camp session that meets at the local park, this type of class often helps to teach you a certain skill. You pay up front for a session that lasts for a limited amount of time. Each class has the same group of people and you build on your skill set each class. Last summer I took a class at the Philadelphia School for Circus Arts, which pushed me very far outside my comfort zone, but was an amazing experience. I'll save my thoughts on the class for another post, but there is something for everyone if you'd like to not only improve your fitness, but learn a thing or two in the meantime.

Home exercise videos

You might not like to workout in public where everyone can see, but you love to challenge yourself. Or maybe you don't have the time to get yourself to the gym and back? You like the idea of just putting in a DVD and 'pushing play'. Many home workout DVDs now come with a set of multiple DVDs and a schedule to follow so that you don't have to put any thought into what you're doing to do each day.

Home gym

Maybe you can't get out of the house because you have little ones, or maybe you're sick of waiting for equipment to be available because you're working out during peak hours. For whatever reason, you'd rather create your own workout with your own equipment by yourself. This is great because you can workout whenever you want and put on whatever music you want, all in the comfort of your own home!

Outside

Whether you'r training for a race or just like to get some fresh air, you often find yourself outside. If you're playing it safe, the only limit to your workout is daylight hours and weather, but sometimes even that won't stop you. When I was training for a spring marathon, I found myself running in some of the worst conditions - there was one particular run where I ran in snow, rain and hail all in the same run! What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

We all have different lifestyles, schedules, family circumstances and personalities, which all contribute to how we make time to get in our workouts, but I'm curious - how do you prefer to get your sweat on? What influences your decision?

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Summer Fling HIIT Fitness Friday Workout

8/9/2013

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A summer fling doesn't last that long, and neither does this Fitness Friday workout. In today's society, we pack our schedules full and barely have the time to fit it all in, but that doesn't mean you have to skip your workout. Check out this full body high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout that you can do in just 30 minutes!

Notes about this workout:

This workout alternates high energy cardio with some resistance training. If you are working out indoors and don't have access to a treadmill, substitute high knees for the sprint.
Some of the moves in this workout are high-impact. Please feel free to modify the workout to make them low-impact if necessary.
This workout is designed in a '2 minutes ON/30 seconds OFF' format. When you are ON, you want to give the exercise EVERYTHING you've got. When you're OFF, grab a drink, wipe your sweat, but walk around and keep your feet moving. The OFF section of the workout comes after each 2 minute block of work.
Be sure to stretch at the end of the workout. Check out some post-workout stretches from Health.com.
The first part of each set is 2 minutes of pure cardio. The second part of each set is broken up into 4 exercises - do them for 30 seconds each, as fast as you can (with proper form), with no break in between.
If you're unsure about any of the movements, check out the videos linked to the name of the exercise or google them before you start the workout. You want to be able to do this workout all the way through without stopping to look something up.

Summer Fling SET 1

2 minutes

SPRINT (or substitute high knees)

30 seconds each (no break)

Push-ups
Body weight squats
Tricep dips
Calf raises

Summer Fling SET 2

2 minutes

SPRINT (or substitute high knees)

30 seconds each (no break)

Shoulder tap plank - hold yourself in plank position and tap your left shoulder with your right hand, then switch
Alternating forward lunge
Crab reach (alternating)
Wide sumo squat

gritbybrit.com

Summer Fling SET 3

2 minutes

SPRINT (or substitute high knees)

30 seconds each (no break)

Burpees (with or without a push-up
Body weight squats
Push-ups
Narrow squat

womenshealthmag.com

Summer Fling SET 4

2 minutes

SPRINT (or substitute high knees)

30 seconds each (no break)

Shoulder tap plank
Tuck jumps
Knee tap plank - stant in plank position and lower your knees to tap the floor, then bring them back up to plank
Jump squats

enjoyyourhealthylife.com

Stretch

What did you think of this workout?

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Beachbody Promotions for August 2013

8/8/2013

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Hey there Yaffies - BIG NEWS! Beachbody has not only announced TWO great Challenge Pack deals for August, but they are also bringing back the Focus T25 Challenge Pack. Check out these Beachbody Promotions for August 2013.

We are on week 3 of our Focus T25 Challenge Group and we are ALREADY seeing results. This workout is great for anyone who is short on time but looking for a challenging workout! I have been told over & over - "this is EXACTLY what I was looking for"!

Focus T25 Challenge Pack

ORDER HERE

These fast paced Focus T25 workouts are jam packed with dynamic, high-intensity moves designed for maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Every minutes counts! It's not easy, but it really works, so PUSH PLAY & FOCUS for 25 minutes!

In ALPHA, you'll build your foundation of total-body fitness. Plus, there's always a modifier on screen, so absolutely anyone can do it. The BETA workouts feature new dynamic moves that take your body and your fitness to a new level. Every workout will focus on your core, so your abs get shredded too!

August Promotion: The Challenge Pack is $180 (originally $205) and will be available through August 31st! Remember - that's over $90 of savings if you were to buy these programs and products separately. Get it done!

TurboFire Challenge Pack

ORDER HERE

TurboFire is a crazy-intense and fun cardio program designed to awaken your inner athlete and help you get a leaner, sexier body—fast! This 90-day program is packed with kickboxing drills, aerobic exercises, and intense intervals perfectly choreographed to the hottest music, so you stay motivated to push hard and get awesome results.

With the TurboFire Challenge Pack, you will receive the TurboFire fitness program, one of five delicious Shakeology® flavors, and a FREE 30-day trial membership to the Team Beachbody Club, where you will find all the support you’ll need to complete the Challenge!

August Promotion: For the month of August, the TurboFire Challenge Pack will be available for $160. That’s more than $70 off what these products would cost if you purchased them separately!

Body Beast Challenge Pack

ORDER HERE

Body Beast is Beachbody’s pro-level weight lifting program that will get you a lean, strong, and hard body using Dynamic Set Training. This muscle building program is designed to transform your body in just 90 days. Worldclass bodybuilder Sagi Kalev is with you every step of the way guiding you through 12 extreme workouts such as Super Sets, Giant Sets, Progressive Sets, and Combo Sets.

August Promotion: For the entire month of August, the Body Beast Challenge Pack will be available for $160. That’s over $80 of savings if you were to buy this program and products separately!

Beachbody Fuel Shot

ORDER HERE

Kick-start your energy and recovery. Have this energy drink before, during, or after a workout to help maximize performance.

Get a near-instant surge of power. Blow past fatigue with a few sips of performance-enhancing calories. This dextrose- and maltodextrin-based energy drink is designed to drive nutrients into muscle fiber for greater strength during workouts and helps replenish the glycogen and electrolytes lost after workouts. Use daily for greatest acceleration in muscle endurance, size, and strength.

August Promotion: From 11:59 PM PST on August 14th until August 31st, you can add fuel to the fire with the "buy one ($49.95), get one free Beachbody Fuel Shot" offer.

Click ORDER HERE above for each product or e-mail me with any questions.

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The Sport of Marathon Spectating

8/7/2013

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Almost a year ago, I ran my first marathon - the Philadelphia Marathon. It was a an amazing day for me for so many reasons, but one of the biggest reasons was the friends and family that came to cheer me on. After all, without spectators, a marathon is just a run! Before the race, I analyzed the race route, checked road closures and did everything I could to help out the friends and family that wanted to watch - there was a ton of information available both from the Philadelphia Marathon website as well as other blogs and race recaps I found through Google searching. I even provided some friends with signs so that I knew what to look for - a big sign is a lot easier to spot in a crowd than one person. But even with all of the planning, I still missed seeing a group of friends at one particular spot. Since I've never spectated a marathon myself, I asked my friends to provide some tips and advice for those that want to see what this marathon thing is all about.

Good spectating takes a lot of map work before hand. You have to map out the course to figure out what roads are likely to be closed. This can be difficult, as side roads are often blocked a far distance from a main road (the police don't want you to drive five minutes down a road before you see it is closed, so they may block it several miles before the actual closed road). -Phil

Work out an estimated time to meet your runner. Ask your runner for an average pace that they're aiming for and allow for +/- 10 minutes at each spot. This allows for deviation from the estimated pace as well as time to get to the agreed meeting spot. -Josh

Don't make the finish one of your spectating spots. It takes a lot longer to get to than any other stop. Runners don't need encouragement in the last mile. They'd much prefer you to be at two stops earlier on than the one at the finish. -Phil

Make a sign! I didn’t realize how much of an impact it will have on the runners. I got tons of smiles as they ran by & I really felt it pushed them! -Kelly

***see below for some of my signs***

The Sport of Marathon Spectating - Sweat is Sezy

Kelly's sign!

The Sport of Marathon Spectating #redefinepossible

Anthony's sign

I generally try to find two to three places where I can see the runner. Turnarounds or places where runners cross their same path are great points. I also assume that it will take 10 minutes to park and walk to the course at every stop. Therefore, you have to space out the stops so that you can see the runner, walk back to the car, drive away to a road parallel to the course, drive on the parallel road, drive to the course, park, and walk. Because the runner is running in a straight line, I may have to drive three times further than the runner runs. With slow traffic and parking, it often means that I have to leave 45 minutes between stops (you need a lot of driving time at 25 mph to cover 2 to 3 times the distance of the runner plus the 10 minute park/ walk overhead). -Phil

When you get to your first spot, try to identify a unique runner every 5 minutes or so. That way on the later stops you can say to yourself "there goes the man in the dress, so in 5 minutes I should see the woman with the green hair, and it won't be long after that". -Phil

Bring a folding chair. There is lots of walking around and standing, so bring a chair that you can carry around if you want to sit. -Josh

Respect the course. It’s not fair to the runners if the spectators make the race crowded. Stay behind any barriers set up by race officials, and don't stand near any aid stations - the runners will be making a bee-line for those magical paper cups, and you don't want to get in their way. -Kelly

Get inspired! Marathon spectating proved to be both fun and motivating! It's great to be a part of the energy in an event of such magnitude. Seeing the physical/mental accomplishments of the runners is so inspiring - It makes me want to go out and achieve such a task! -Amee

Jerry, Amee & Maribeth

Ask your runner to sign up for chip-coordinated texts (if the race provides it). I LOVED how the marathon uses technology to help spectators follow their runners. Jillian’s (a.k.a. FitYaf) husband Anthony, was in charge of locating Jillian and we located her every time but once - timing is everything! -Kelly

Here are some pics of the signs I've made both for the Philly Marathon (November 2012) and the Pittsburgh Marathon (May 2013). As a runner, I LOVE a good sign. The "Beast Mode" and "Kim Kardashian" signs were fan favorites. On the Pittsburgh course, many people stopped to swipe the "on" button on the "Beast Mode" sign, and on the Philly course, a runner even stopped to take her picture with my husband holding the "Kim Kardashian" sign! [Just for the record - I watch the Kardashians and enjoy following their crazy lifestyle. Nothing against Kim or her marriage!]

I found this picture on Instagram the next day!

The Sport of Marathon Spectating - Beast Mode ON

The Sport of Marathon Spectating - Run if you can, walk if you must, but finish for Boston

The Sport of Marathon Spectating - You've trained longer than Kim Kardashian's marriage

The Sport of Marathon Spectating - Keep Calm and Marath ON

What advice would you give someone spectating a marathon for the first time? What's the best sign you've ever seen?

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FitYaf's Fitness Gadgets and Apps

8/6/2013

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Remember that iPhone commercial - "There's an app for that"? It's hard to believe that commercial is already FOUR years old! In today's world, there truly does seem to be an app for everything - and the fitness world is certainly proof of that. Fitness guru Chalene Johnson offers great advice on "How to Lose Weight with your smart phone (PART I & PART II). Although I don't have an iPhone (I DID just get an iPod touch and I have an Android phone), there are many gadgets an apps that I use to help keep up with my health and fitness. There are SO MANY out there, I can't possibly talk about them all, but here is a list of ones I use (or have friends who use) to get you started.

Check these out if you want to start taking health and fitness more seriously. Whether it’s losing a few pounds, training for that first marathon or just being more active, there's an app for you!

Garmin Forerunner GPS watch

This watch won't give you turn-by-turn directions (although the newer models do allow you to download courses), but it will tell you your current speed, the distance you have run and the time it took you run that distance. You can set goals and sync it with computer software that will help you analyze your runs. This is great for both the casual runner as well as someone training for a marathon.

Nike +

Nike Plus is an app you can download that can either be used like a GPS watch on a smartphone or with a sensor that you can attach to your shoe. Similar to the GPS watch, you can sync the data with software that will report your progress back to you. Like all good apps, Nike Plus has achievements for reaching certain fitness goals.

Fitbit

Fitbit is a wearable activity tracker that is a small, lightweight device that clips onto your clothing or fits into an elastic armband when sleeping. It tracks the number of steps taken each day, the amount of sleep one gets each night, is sensitive to movement and offers a look into the number of calories burned each day. Users can view their levels of activity in graphs, food and calorie intake and add in other data, such as blood pressure, mood, etc.

Nike+ FuelBand

The Nike+ FuelBand takes Nike + to a whole new level. It is another activity tracker that is worn on the wrist. The Fuelband allows its wearers to track their physical activity, steps taken daily and amount of calories burned. The information from the wristband is integrated into the Nike+ online community and app, allowing wearers to set their own fitness goals, monitor their progression and compare themselves to others in the community. Nike+ turns all tracked movement into NikeFuel points, which can unlock achievements.

My Fitness Pal

MyFitnessPal is a free smartphone app and website that tracks food intake and exercise to determine optimal nutrients and caloric intake for the users goals. You'd be surprised how much more you think about what you're eating when you track everything you put in your mouth. With packaged foods, you can even scan the barcode to enter in the nutritional information! This app is great for setting weight-loss and exercise goals.

Daily Burn Tracker

The Daily Burn Tracker is another free smartphone app (not to be confused with the Pro version - The Daily Burn) that can track your food intake and exercise. Like My Fitness Pal, this app is great for setting weight-loss and exercise goals. The thing I like about this app is that you can track the specifics of your workouts - not just how long you did them, but how many reps, what speed, etc. I like using the Daily Burn Tracker so I can track my fitness progress in terms of reps and weight lifted, as well as my speed while running

RunKeeper

RunKeeper is part motivator, part tracker and (long-term) part health graph. The app allows you to track your walks, runs, exercise bike rides, hikes, etc., by using the GPS in your phone. You can keep stats on each activity, setting short-term and long-term goals. It also offers customizable training plans and voice coaching. SiImilar to Nike+, users get notifications for new personal "bests" and milestones

Tempo Magic

Tempo Magic allows you to change the BPM (beats per minute) of your music AS IT'S PLAYING. You can also load playlists directly from iTunes. It's $4.99 through iTunes, but worth every penny if you use it! It's great for runners and cyclists who like to get into a cadence while running, but it's also great for group fitness instructors who want to teach at varying BPMs throughout the class. This app was my savior when I made the switch from CDs to my iPod (which was embarrassingly just last month).

Hal Higdon's Training Plans

Hal Higdon ran eight times in the United States Olympic Trials and won four World Masters Championships. He has contributed to Runner's World Magazine more than any other writer and is constantly offering tips and advice to runners worldwide. Whether you're training for a 5k or a marathon, Hal Higdon has the training plan for you (I used his marathon Novice Training plans for both of my marathons)! His Training Peaks software offers much more than a training plan, but the plans themselves are free. Also, be sure to follow him on Facebook for his "tip of the day".

DietBet

Diet Bet offers a social dieting platform that asks users to make a financial commitment to encourage themselves and their friends to hit their weight loss targets. Users create teams that compete against each other, with the person who loses 4% of their starting weight taking the pot.

Post below and let us know what fitness gadget or app YOU are using?

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Running in Philly is fabulous, Part II - Scenes from the Schuylkill River Trail

8/5/2013

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A few weeks, ago, I posted about running on Kelly Drive, along with some gorgeous pictures of the Schuylkill River. I don't get to run Kelly Drive often - I'm more frequently found a little further north on the Schuylkill on the Schuylkill River Trail. If my run is long enough, I wind up west of Norristown, towards Valley Forge, which also provides some gorgeous views, but most of the time I'm running through Conshohocken, which is mostly just trees and train tracks. Although not the prettiest of trails, I enjoy the familiarity and comfort of knowing every twist, turn and mile marker!

While the Schuylkill River Trail doesn't provide the best scenery, I've seen my fair share of oddities while pounding the pavement. There are always other runners, bikers, walkers (with and without dogs), but below is a list of some of the other things I've encountered.

Elliptigo

This traveling/moving ellipical machine is marketed for both injured runners and fitness enthusiasts. They look like fun, but they START at $1800!

Recumbent Bicycle

According to Wikipedia, riders will choose the recumbent bicycle because of ergonomic reasons - the rider's weight is evenly distributed over a larger area. They also sometimes have an aerodynamic advantage. But, I just can't help but giggle to myself every time I see one, which is at lest once per run!

recumbents.com

Horseback Riding

I don't know what the rules are for this particular trail, but I have more than once seen people riding horseback on the trail. I don't see it often, but there IS often "evidence" of the horses almost every time I'm out on the trail.

tripadvisor.com

Jogging Strollers

I'm not a parent, so I cannot fully understand the struggles that occur when you are a parent training for a marathon or even just want to get outside and exercise. But, I DO know that someone with a jogging stroller is determined to get out of the house. These strollers are common on the Schuylkill River Trail, but not as much on Kelly Drive. I consider it an extra-special treat when I see a double jogger fully equipped with TWINS!

One-legged Bike Rider

On one of my long training runs earlier this year, during a particularly grueling part of my run, I saw a man with one leg riding a bike. I was blown away by courage and determination it must have taken for this man to master this skill and ride along, just as fast as the other bikers. It inspired me to post the photo below on instagram.