Category: Treadmill

8 signs you're a gym rat

1/24/2014

When people you know see you outside of the gym, they don't recognize you

You schedule your day (and possibly life) around your favorite group exercise class, which sometimes includes stay up until midnight to sign up online.

You know your "friends" by their workout routine and favorite brand of sneakers, but you may not know their names

After a long and tiring day at work, you still go to the gym because you're afraid people might notice if you're not there

You shower more times at the gym than in your own shower at home - you even have a favorite shower stall at the gym

You have at least on one occasion scheduled a date that involved working out

You wouldn't consider booking a vacation at a hotel that doesn't have a gym

You keep extra gym clothes at your desk or in your car just in case the opportunity arises

Are you a gym rat? How do you know?

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What's playing on my iPod - Winter 2014

1/16/2014

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It's time for another round of "what's playing on my iPod! Check out these tunes straight off my brand new 2014 running playlist! I'm still rocking my Fall 2013 playlist too - I can't get enough of Katy Perry's Roar!

Timber, Pitbull Featuring Ke$ha
Bounce That, Girl Talk
Wake Me Up, Avicii
Mike Will Made It, Featuring Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa & Juicy J
Royals, Lorde
Shoes for Running, Big Boi
The New Workout Plan, Kanye West
Run the World (Girls), Beyonce
Radio Stereo, Duck Sauce
On Top of the World, Imagine Dragons

What's your favorite song to run to this season?

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FitYaf's 2014 Kickoff Fitness Friday Workout

1/10/2014

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We're 10 days into 2014, and goals and resolutions are still fresh on everyone's minds! In the spirit of '14, I've put together a brand new Fitness Friday workout for you!

Notes about this workout:

Some of the moves in this workout are high-impact. Please feel free to modify the workout to make them low-impact if necessary.
Go through the workout twice for a full 30-minute workout
Be sure to stretch at the end of the workout. Check out some post-workout stretches from Health.com.
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.

Cardio - 14 minutes

Choose your favorite cardio workout:

running
walking on an incline
power walking
spinning
rowing
stair climbing

FitYaf's 2014 Kickoff Fitness Friday Workout

The '14's

Push ups

Squats

Squat jumps

Tuck Jumps

Lunges - 14 on each side

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My first class at Unite Fitness cross-training studio

1/8/2014

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I recently started working with a company called FiTMAPPED, which is a comprehensive, fully searchable directory of fitness studios and gyms in NYC, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles, and NOW Philadelphia! I'm so excited to be involved with such a great community and help them get the word out about different options for keeping up with your fitness. Part of what I'm working on is putting Philly gyms - big and small - on the "fit map".

What better way to learn about gyms than to try them out on my own! My first stop on my Philly Phitness tour (see what I did there?) was Unite Fitness at 12th and Sansom, right in Center City. I've been wanting to try out this gym ever since I befriended Anne Marie Everhart on Twitter while training for the Philadelphia Marathon. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take Anne Marie's class, but I rallied up some of my favorite fitness friends and signed up for Juliet's class the day after Christmas. The class is designed so that you spend 25 minutes in the cardio room where you can choose from the stationary bike, treadmill or rowing machine, 5 minutes stretching, 30 minutes strength training, where this particular class featured exercises for your legs, back and biceps, and 15 minutes of yoga/stretching. At the end of the class, we'll have worked out heart, muscle and mind!

My first class at Unite Fitness cross-training studio

My friends and I chose the treadmill for our cardio workout, where we alternated between different levels of sprinting and hill work. While I often do speed work on my own, I never do hill work, especially on a treadmill. Although I KNOW the benefits of the hill work, I always choose something else to do instead. I really like how I was challenged throughout the 25 minutes - whether you're trying to burn calories to lose weight or take time off your next marathon, these types of workouts are going to help!

After some light stretching, we moved into another room, where we worked our legs, back and biceps. The workouts were setup in circuits, where we tried to see how many rounds of each circuit we could do in a predetermined amount of time. This part of the class seemed to move quickly, and before I knew it, we were on to yoga. I generally don't love yoga, but it was basic and quick, and just what I needed to stretch after my hour-long workout.

In general, I don't love it when the instructor for the class doesn't do the workout with the class, but I do understand that often in these small studios, instructors are teaching more than once class per day, and it would be impossible for them to do every class. After class, Juliet was happy to talk to us about membership and class-pack options, and also showed us how to use resistance bands to help with pull-up training! I have never used them before, but can totally see how helpful they can be! The studio even has lockers for you to use to keep your stuff safe during class! Overall, I had a great workout and I look forward to going back. I like the concept of the workout - it really touches on so many pieces of effective movement. While I wouldn't benefit from a membership, since I can realistically only make it there about once/week, I think it'd be a great option for anyone who needs a little push to help meet their goals! There are different programs you can sign up for, both nutrition- and exercise-based too!

There is also a location in Mount Laurel, NJ, and rumor has it there will be more popping up soon!

Have you ever tried Unite Fitness?

FOLLOW ME ON MY PHILLY PHITNESS TOUR:

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FitYaf's 2014 Fitness Goals

1/6/2014

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Happy New Year everyone! I took a break from blogging over the holidays, but I'm back and ready for a great year! I wasn't really planning on setting any goals for the year (I tend to think more in the shorter term when it comes to goals), but last week I attended a New Year's run at Philadelphia Runner (which wound up being a 5k in the snow), and as part of the after party, we declared our 2014 running goals. I had some running goals that I've been thinking about for a while now, so I decided to declare them loud and proud (and throw in some extras for good measure). After all - sharing goals with the world is one of the best ways hold yourself accountable, right? I bring to you both my running AND fitness goals for 2014!

1. Run a 5k in under 25 minutes

I'll be doing a modified version of this workout 2-3 times/week: How far can you run in 30 minutes? (doing the workout three times before going to the next level). I'll also throw in some speed workouts for good measure. This goal is a little bit of a "cheat" goal, since I'm already pretty close!

2. Run a half marathon in under 1 hour and 50 minutes

I'm hoping that my weekday training (goal #1), will help me meet this goal. I haven't had many long runs since the Philly Half Marathon, but starting this week, I'm going to change that. I'm signed up for the Philly LOVE Run on March 30, so this will be my first chance to tackle this goal. It'll be 3:25 off my last half marathon, so it's a little bit of a stretch for me, but dream big, right?

3. Run 1000 miles in a year

I came up with this goal, on the fly - after saying it out loud, it sounded crazy, but after doing the math, I realized it's really not THAT daunting of a goal (on average less than 3 miles/day). With my commute to work, I do walk quite a bit, so I am also going to keep track of my walking, in case I need to steal any of these miles to hit my total!

4. Do 5 pullups in a row

Last year, I was able to complete my first unassisted pullup EVER! It felt amazing, but I haven't really focused on my pull ups since. Every once in a while, I'll check in with the pullup bar to make sure I still can do a pullup (I can), but I want to work more on this so that I can do 5 in a row!

5. Consistently use 10kg total for the biceps track in Bodypump

Every time I run a challenge group, I make it a goal to do a bodypump bicep track with 5kg weights on each side. Each time I meet this goal, my arms feel like they might fall off, and I drop my weight when the challenge is over. I'd really like to strengthen my biceps to the point where this weight selection in the "norm" for me. It's going to involve some strength training outside of Bodypump, so I'll start with my favorite P90x workout - shoulders, biceps and triceps.

What are your health and fitness goals for 2014?

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The treadmill chronicles

11/15/2013

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This morning I completed my last run before the Philadelphia Half Marathon this Sunday. Just like when I was training for both marathons, I did most of my training for this race on the treadmill. I know there are some runners out there who would never be caught dead on a treadmill and will tell you why running on a treadmill isn't really running, but it works for me. Especially this time of year, daylight hours are limited, and sometimes 5:00am is the only time I can get in a solid run. I love doing intervals and speed work on the treadmill, and I truly believe that treadmill running has contributed to my ability to run at an even pace.

While I mostly run on the treadmill at my apartment complex, I sometimes run other places, and I've noticed that each treadmill feels different and contributes the overall feel of my run - have you ever noticed this? I realize some of this must be mental, but I'm also wondering if there's some scientific explanation to it also. I've put together this list of things I've noticed that affect my treadmill running.

Treadmill quality

Call me crazy (you wouldn't be the first one), but even though I can set a cheap treadmill and a super nice gym-quality treadmill to the same speed, running always feel more pleasant and "easier" on the nicer treadmill. The better quality treadmill is smoother and it just feels like I don't have to put in as much effort to hit the same speed.

runningtherealworld.wordpress.com

Size of the room

I've run in treadmills in all kinds of rooms (even on a cruise ship, which is a completely different experience), and the size of the room and the placement of the treadmill can make a huge impact on my run. If I'm in a small room, and the treadmill is up against a wall or in the corner, mentally, the run feels tougher. When I'm in a huge gym with tons of treadmills, it doesn't even matter how close together the treadmills are, but the air flow is better, it doesn't get as stuffy and I just feel better while running.

Ability to watch TV

Although I typically run with music while running outside, I can also run with no music or while talking to a friend. When I'm inside on a treadmill, the ability to watch TV can make or break my run. It doesn't need to be something super interesting (at 5:00am, it's a recap of last night's shootings/robberies, the weather and the traffic, or that time when a women was rescued from in between bleachers at Wilmington University), but it's just something to take my focus away from running.

happyorhungry.com

Time of day

Hands down, the time of day makes the most impact on my treadmill running. When I get up at 5:00am to run, my joints may be a little stuff, and I'm just plain tired. No matter where I'm running, it can feel like a struggle. Treadmill running at 5:00pm? It's a completely different type of exercise.

What do you prefer while running on a treadmill?

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A Fitness Friday Survey

11/1/2013

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I have good news and bad news for you Fitness Friday lovers. The bad news is that I don't have new workout for you today. The good news is that I want to give you more of what you want! My Fitness Friday workouts have ranged from little challenges that you can incorporate into your workouts to shorter high intensity interval training workouts to longer full body workouts. I want to know what you like best! Take a second to vote and let me know what you want to see! And don't forget, you can always access my Fitness Friday workouts by clicking HERE.

Challenges

A Fitness Friday Survey - FitYaf Pushup Challenge

Other challenge workouts:

How far can you run in 30 minutes?
Body Blitz burpee challenge

Short workouts

A Fitness Friday Survey - FitYaf's Fitness Friday Tabata Workuot

Other short workouts:

Low Impact HIIT
"Insane" HIIT
Gym Rat workout

Full Body Workouts

A Fitness Friday Survey - FitYaf's Body Blitz style workout

Other full body workouts:

Body Blitz dumbbell workout
BOSU workout
No equipment necessary

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What's Playing on my iPod - Fall 2013

10/1/2013

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Some of my favorite running songs are "oldies" and classics, but lately I've been itching for some new beats. This Fall, I'm listening to current music. My taste is a little all over the place, but it keeps me guessing and helps me play around with my pace while running. Sometimes there's nothing like a song that is brand new to you to help you forget about your aching legs.

FitYaf's Fall 2013 Running Playlist

What's on your playlist this Fall?

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FitYaf's Fitness Friday treadmill workout: How far can you run in 30 minutes?

9/20/2013

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After the Pittsburgh marathon and a well deserved week or so off from running, I was ready to get back in the game, yet I was lost without a training schedule. I didn't want to start yet another training program, but I wanted to be able to keep running and progress with my speed. While I value speed workouts, I don't like to do more than one/week, so I invented a little game for myself called HOW FAR CAN YOU RUN IN 30 MINUTES? My weekday morning runs are typically on a treadmill, where it's very easy to control my speed. Below is a breakdown of my workout, which I do 2-3 times/week. I go up in total distance 0.01 miles almost every time I do the workout. That might not sound like a lot, but that's about 0.1 miles/month and a whole quarter of a mile in less than three months!

Notes about this workout:

It's suggested that you start at a comfortable speed. This doesn't mean it can't be challenging, just something you know you can do. If you'd like, try out your comfortable 30-minute run a few times before getting started.
The breakdown for the workout is a semi-aggressive way to approach this. If you need to, break each mile down in 0.2 miles (or even 0.1 miles), that is okay! You'll still progress and get faster! You may also want to start out with the breakdown below, but as you get faster, make smaller changes.
Feel free to repeat any of these before moving on to the next.
Warm-up with about 5 minutes of walking or light jogging before starting the workout.
Don't forget to stretch when you're done! Check out active.com for some great post-run stretches.

FitYaf's Fitness Friday treadmill workout: How far can you run in 30 minutes?

In 4 months, I went from 3.30 miles to 3.60 miles. Even better, I'm noticing progress in my longer run speeds too! Post below with YOUR progress!

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Fitness Friday - Gym Rat workout

9/6/2013

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I love great workouts that you can do with no equipment - running outside and body-weight exercises are great examples. No matter where you are, you can do these workouts, leaving you with very few excuses for not working out. I was able to do some outside running and hotel-room exercises while I was in Austria and Germany for two weeks, but by the time I got back I realized I REALLY missed working out with other people. As you know, I'm a group-fitness fanatic, but sometimes even being in the gym with other people is enough interaction to motivate me to work harder and get STRONGER! For this reason, I bring you today's 'Gym Rat workout' for Fitness Friday! If you have this equipment in your basement, well then - you beat the system... Otherwise, get to the gym and SWEAT!

Notes about this workout:

This workout alternates cardio with resistance training. You can make the cardio section as high or low impact as you want.
The resistance training portion of the workout involves using a barbell - this doesn't have to be a lot of weight, just something you're comfortable lifting, but is still challenging. You can even use body bars.
Be sure to stretch at the end of the workout. Check out some post-workout stretches from Health.com.
The workout as written should take about 10 minutes to do - you can repeat it as many times as you want to match you fitness ability (suggested repetitions below)
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.