Morning Cuppa: Caffeine for Performance Enhancement

by Coach Matt Gawors

Caffeine is a ubiquitous drug that can enhance the body’s chemical processes. When most people think of caffeine, a picture of a mornin’ cupoa joe pops into their mind. When most think of the use of caffeine, so often it is a substance to get jolt of energy in the sleepy time morning or mid-afternoon.

Athletic Performance


But what about caffeine use in athletic performance? Can it be used efficiently? Is it a necessity? Is the use that effective? Yes, Yes, and YES! Major studies have been done on the effects of caffeine on athletic performance and these are some results from Active.com:


“The average improvement in performance is about 12 percent, with more benefits noticed during endurance exercise than with shorter exercise (eight to 20 minutes) and a negligible amount for sprinters. More benefits are also noticed in athletes who rarely drink coffee, hence are not tolerant to its stimulant effect.”

Recovery

Caffeine can not only be an effective tool in athletic performance, but athletic recovery as well. Because caffeine speeds up chemical body processes, it inherently speeds up the time it takes for the body to repair itself from previous workouts. Additionally, Caffeine can increase the effects of carbo-loading for race weeks. Read Caffeine used as a Recovery agent for a more in-depth analysis.

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Legality

But is this legal in endurance sports? Again, Yes! In the ITU, USAT,as well as USATF rules it explicitly states that Caffeine is NOT a banned substance and can be used in competition.

How about ethically? Is it wrong? This is a matter of opinion but I believe it is not wrong. Caffeine is widespread, available to everyone, and is generally not harmful (extra high doses can trigger anxiety attacks and such).

According to the New York Times, “Caffeine, which is legal under International Olympic Committee rules, is the most popular drug in sports. More than two-thirds of about 20,680 Olympic athletes studied for a recent report had caffeine in their urine, with use highest among triathletes, cyclists and rowers.”

Dosage

So what is the proper dosage of this drug? Studies show that fewer than 2mg of Caffeine per kg of body weight has no athletic enhancing effect while over 6mg of Caffeine per kg of body weight actually hurts athletic performance.

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Source

Where to get it? Your first thought is probably “coffee.” While this is easily the quickest and cheapest way to obtain caffeine, studies show that caffeine in coffee may not be utilized as effectively as other sources. While this may be true, other options include eating 1000 calories of 90% dark chocolate (I love chocolate but let’s not get carried away), tea, or caffeine pills. Personally, I’ll take a few more ounces of the joe’ to compensate.

How to use caffeine efficiently?

When used on a regular basis, the effects of drugs on the human body tend to diminish over time. This is no different for the use of caffeine. Those who use it as a wake-up call every morning are going to see less pronounced effects.

While I haven’t found any studies pertaining to the tolerance effect of caffeine, I recommend scheduling it’s use sparingly (not daily) based on trial and error experience. I find that the athletic enhancements of caffeine diminish greatly after using the drug three or more days a week. Use caffeine twice a week on Lactate/Aerobic Threshold and VO2 Max days to enhance training performance. Three weeks before an “A” race, use is cut down to once a week to break tolerance levels so there is a greater effect during race week.

Schedule caffeine use on days with higher carbohydrate intakes for maximal carbo-loading. A study from the Journal of Applied Physiology (July 2008) found that glycogen levels were substantially higher with carb/caffeine ingestion as opposed to just carb ingestion. Most endurance athletes would call this glycogen storage “carboloading.”

Example for a Build week in Triathlon

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
90min Ride 90minSwim	2 Hour VO2Max Run	90min Run 90min Swim	2.5 Hour LT Ride (Long Sets)	90min Ride 60min Swim	60min Swim	2 Hour Weighted Run
	Caffeine		Caffeine

Running Smart: Hydration and Nutrition

by Joe Geronimo

Long before I was inspired to be a runner I never really drank, water that is. To be honest I cannot even tell you why. I've been running now for almost three years and my hydration habits are horrible. Research shows that an average male weighing 200 pounds needs 70 ounces of water per day to replace just every-day water loss. That does not include any extra effort or exercise. I can tell you this I don't think I've drank 70 ounces of water on a hot summer day. Throw in my running routine and it's a potential date with disaster.

I have a rule, its my own and I think it needs some modification to say the least. If I was running or racing anything less than a half marathon I would not drink water during. I never liked the "sloshing" feeling. After my run or race I might have a 16/20 ounce bottle of water and that is pretty much it, then it was "beer me!" Like I've stated I really have not been a water drinker. During the New York City marathon I carried no water but did make it through a few water stops along the course.

Over the past year I have been battling muscle injuries in my lower half, hip flexors, glutes & calves. I attribute a lot of this to my change in running shoes. I went from a stability shoe "i.e.. Brooks Adrenaline" to a more minimal drop neutral shoe as in the Brooks Pure Flow. I'm a big boned guy who hits the pavement hard when I run so I believe that lack of stability did some damage. It also didn't help that I rarely took a day off over the past two years and I ran 99% of my runs hardcore with barely a slow run. Yes I over-worked myself and I am paying the price. Fall 2013 through winter 2014 I was running 200+ miles a month in bitter cold temperatures before I fell to my injuries. My last race, the 2014 Binghamton Bridge Run half marathon, I was in so much pain I think I was crying crossing the finish line.  Recently and I mean in just the past few days I've been looking at how I am truly feeling. Muscles constantly tired, achy and sore. It hit me like a freight train, "hey dummy something else is going on here." I thought to myself: I wonder if my lack of hydration is play an integral part of my issues? After some online research, conversations with my wife, friends and trainers pointed me in the direction of hydration as a huge culprit.  

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Over the past several days I have been working very hard at hydrating myself and as of today I feel pretty darn good. My muscles don't ache and I feel quite considerably less sore than they have in a long time. This revelation of hydration came to me after my long run this past Sunday, don't ask me why. Over the last 20 years my nutrition had been terrible. This is why I weighed over 300 pounds before making some life changes. I never met a drive thru I didn't like or a foot long sub that was too big, pass me a 55 gallon drum of soda with a side of fries. In 2012 I ditched the Whopper with cheese so to speak for a more thoughtful and healthier lifestyle and it changed my life forever. I won't bore you with the details but a 3 ounce serving is VERY small. I've never been really good with nutrition.  How could I be? I work for the railroad and we were on call 24/7 365 with only a 2 hour notice to come to work. We'd work 12, 13, 14 hours a day, rest for 10 hours, and right back at it. We were zombies and I remember packing enough food to make sure I could stay awake for those long hours. Sometimes that wasn't enough and we'd find a Mickey D's or a diner. That poor nutritional lifestyle finally caught up with me and I needed to make a change. Finally, I have managed to keep my weight down with good choices and exercise. Lately though I have had this idea wrestling around my head that since I'm a runner I can eat whatever I want, WRONG! I've let things slide as of late, eating way to much candy (damn you chocolate & peanut butter), pizza, burgers, beer, etc. I love my family to death but I know when we all are together its going to be days of eating like crap.  Hey, we're Italians and we like to eat. It takes my body a full week, yes 7 days to recover from an eat-a-thon. I've gained several pounds over the last 9-10 months using this "I'm a runner" mentality and its time for me to get back on track. Its ok to enjoy that burger, pizza, beer and so forth but I am now making it a once in a while deal rather than more routine as it has been.

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Feb 8, 2015

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I'd like to ask you this, do any of you struggle with hydration or nutrition? If so I would love to hear about it.

Cheers!

Joe

Why Run the Mile? The Parade Day Mile!

By Coach Michael Cordi

Brooks Johnson was one of the best distance coaches in the USA. He coached Stanford University and National Teams. I remember he used to say, “Speed kills …. those who don’t have it."  Johnson was coaching runners at the highest level of the sport who wanted to win NCAA, National, and Olympic and World Championships. But his philosophy can be applied to any runner at any level who wants to improve.

There comes a point in any runner’s journey where “just finishing” is no longer the goal.  You’ve finished your 5K, 10K, ½ marathon, marathon. Now what? How about getting faster? Setting PR’s? Beating that Age Group Ace who finishes just in front of you every time you race?

To achieve your goals you need speed. A recent article posted on the Confluence Running Beginner’s Running Facebook page suggested that racing a mile might help you run a faster marathon!

Race a mile? Isn’t that intensely painful? Don’t young college age studs run that real fast?

Well, yes but so do thousands and thousands of Age Group runners all over the nation in all-comers track meets throughout the winter, spring, and summer. Just check out results posted on the Fingerlakes Runners Club and Triple Cities Runners Club web sites and you will see that, yes, anyone can and should race the mile.

Why?

I can tell you from personal experience. I used to be an 800 runner and I loved the mile. I could run 2:00 for the 800 and breaking 5:00 for the mile was a walk in the park. But there was a catch, I was young, real young, and had natural speed in my legs. I started my running career as a cross-country and track runner and had the natural speed of anyone from 14-20+ years old.

Then, I stopped racing on the track, I stopped running short repeats and I lost my speed. So, last fall I decided to go back to my roots and train for and run some 800’s and miles. I admit I’m not as fast as I used to be but I noticed something really cool. When I would go out for an easy 6 miles, what used to feel easy at 7:50-8:00 pace now felt like I was barely moving along at 7:20-7:30 pace!

What happened?!

I’ll tell you what happened - I got some speed back in my legs. You see the key to running to your personal potential is leg turnover- how fast your legs turn over from stride to stride. I was propelling myself along the ground faster than before with less effort because my legs have speed. After 15 years of neglecting that part of my training I actually felt fast again!!!

A lot of my Team Confluence friends will tell you that last fall I swore off any race longer than 5K. I just wanted to race fast (and I have to admit, being ranked #1 in the USA in my AG in the 800 for a few weeks got me excited).  But back to the easy runs. I got thinking (as I watched a 13:15 5k runner run his first ½ marathon in 60:51, one of the fastest times ever by an American): Hmmmm maybe I could run a faster ½ marathon because I have this new found speed in my legs!! I mean if I could “jog” 6 miles in under 47:00 on a cold and windy day after a long day on my feet at school, maybe I can run a decent ½ marathon!!!

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How do you get this speed?

It’s easy (ok, it’s painful but the idea is easy) you train for and race a 1 mile run. Check out local opportunities- the TCRC will offer meets in the spring and summer with runners of all abilities so no one has to be intimidated.

Parade Day Mile!

Coming up March 7 (www.paradedaymile.com) is a 1 mile race down Court and Main Streets right before the Parade! Confluence is bringing back this event from a few years ago for good reason - it’s fun. I know - I’ve done it. Running by thousands of screaming parade goers is a riot.

Bring your friends and sign up - if you’re 21 you get a free beer at the finish! Set a goal to run a mile March 7 and to get there add some speed to your weekly routine. You’ve never done it? It’s easy (ok, it’s NOT easy but figuring out a program is). Keep your mileage where it is (World Class Milers run mega miles, like 100+ per week). So, don’t decrease mileage, just add a couple workouts twice a week.

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Space in the Parade Day Mile is limited!

Don't miss out on the fun! Space in the Parade Day Mile is limited to 500 runners, and we expect it to sell out fast! With cash prizes for top finishers, awards for best costume, and the screaming crowds of spectators, this is going to be an awesome race.

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Speed Work in Disguise

Frank Shorter, 1972 Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist and the guy who got this whole running boom thing going once said, “Hills are speed work in disguise.”

Warm up, cool down 1 mile, 2 miles, whatever suits you. I recommend hills once a week. Run up and jog/walk down. Over and over as much as you can/want to/have time for. Find a hill- roads, grass, sidewalk, it doesn’t matter. Keep it short (you want speed) 50-100 meters and do it. Or, you can run hilly courses- go out and run how ever many miles you want and make sure you go up and down as many long, short, steep, gradual hills as possible. Lucky me- Endwell is great for that!

Go Fast!

Then, once a week try something shorter than you’ve likely done. I think the perfect distance is 300 meters with whatever recovery interval you feel is appropriate for you and your level of fitness. Find a track run 300 repeats.

The time you should run? Honestly, don’t worry about it, you’re new to this plus the weather might not cooperate. But, as a guideline figure out the pace you can do (or think you can do) for a mile. Use one of those running calculators if you have to, but find a time. Let’s say you think you could run 1 mile in 6:00. Now comes the math- divide- 6:00 is 1:30 per 400 and it’s 1:08 for a 300.  If we're talking hitting an 8 minute mile, then you're looking at 2:00 per 400 and 1:30 for 300.  There you go - easy math.

Think like a Kenyan

No track? There’s snow on the track? The local high school team is practicing? Run them on the roads? You don’t how far 300 is on the roads? Run for your target time then rest. Then run some more- however many you can based on your ability and time constraints. Many of the great Kenyan runners come from an area with no track, so they improvise - no excuses. If there’s a secret to Kenyan success it’s that they make no excuses they just do what it takes.

I do them at 5:00 am - I am very lucky to live on a block that measures 409 meters around and it’s flat. I also live at the bottom of a hill that is about 150 meters long. Lucky me, again.

The point is, you can do them. Your time for the repeats doesn’t matter and do not overdo it. What you’ll notice is that fairly quickly your legs will start moving faster with no extra effort.

If you like it (I LOVE speed work) add in some 200’s and 400’s - all at mile pace.

One other thing that anyone can do, anywhere are 100 meter strides. At the end of your run, you do four or so 100 meter “runs” at about the effort you would race a 5K.

This is Important

At the end of a workout you should not feel all sore and tired (that’s for Gatorade commercials). You almost feel refreshed, like you just did something good for your body (because you did)!

You’re training your legs to run faster. These workouts WILL make you a faster runner at every distance (including the marathon) and you just might find that you like the shorter races more.

Running and racing is about a lot more than just finishing. It’s about finishing at the limits of your own personal potential be that a ½ marathon in 1:00 or a 2:00. Getting faster is fun and rewarding and completing a tough speed workout is a great feeling.

Change up your running and gain some speed and you can run the classic distance the 1 mile run! See you on Parade Day!!!

Eating Healthy is LAME!

by Matt Gawors

Nutrition, like exercise, is considered by many to be lifestyle, not a means to an end. What’s great about lifestyle is it can shift, but only in small increments. The human body craves nutritious and healthy food and good quality exercise. Yet because of the way we have evolved, it is easy to be self-destructive with the foods and activity patterns of modern society. I would like you as the reader, not to be defensive towards the ideas listed here. Read them, learn them, and even apply them if you wish.

I have been living a low sugar/carb, natural diet for a few years now. I stay away from most processed and high sugar foods. Though last week I visited my Aunt’s house in long island and fell away from my normal diet. She makes the greatest chocolate chip cookies known to man and just like crack-cocaine, the high of getting one is all about getting more. After eating about 12 cookies, I became nauseous (like I usually do) and felt sluggish for the next 2 days. It's easy to realize how un-healthy certain things are when you don’t have them often. But how can you move to a healthier lifestyle? It’s not as easy as a magical transformation or going cold turkey from all un-healthy foods… It’s about small lifestyle changes.

Below is a screen shot of a healthy lifestyle presentation I made for increasing athletic performance. The graph stresses the importance of taking small steps to change your lifestyle. You will notice you become stressed when your lifestyle shifts toward the less-healthy, you also become stressed (temporarily) when your lifestyle shifts to a healthier state. Only when this new stress dissipates and becomes part of your normal lifestyle should you include another healthy habit and stress the lifestyle again. (Athletes, does this sound familiar? Stress the body, rest, stress the body, rest)





How to: Try using the following steps to make small lifestyle changes healthier and happier living!

The LAME Method

Limit – Every 2-3 weeks, limit intakes of damaging nutrition. Find one “un-healthy” staple of your diet and greatly reduce your intake. Some examples would be Soda, Fast-food, or other processed foods that may be high in added sugars, hydrogenated, or partially hydrogenated oils. This goes for activity as well, for instance, you could limit TV to two hours instead of three.

Add – Every 2-3 weeks, increase your intake of healthy nutrition. Find a healthier food to try to regularly add to your diet. These can include fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, olive oil, eggs, or even daily goals. Goals could be shown as “eating a fresh vegetable/fruit at every meal,” or eating a healthy non-sugar/carb-heavy breakfast every day. You can commit to add a 15-30 minute slow walk around the neighborhood after meals. These smalls decisions will add up over the weeks and months and slowly develop your lifestyle without stress.

Maintain – After your 2-3 week lifestyle shift ends and a new cycle begins, try to continue with the small lifestyle changes you had made recently and try to incorporate another cycle of changes with those. If you haven’t become completely accustomed to the new changes that were made, don’t incorporate anything new but take another week or two and get used to what you changed. It’s not perfect, but what lifestyle is?

Enjoy – You may find that over time you can’t imagine how you lived without the new changes. Your changes hopefully become routine and easy to remember over time. Just remember, it’s just a series of small, slow steps to healthier living. But the most important factor is to ENJOY what you are doing. If you don’t like tofu, try eggs, if you don’t like zucchini, try a cucumber instead. Tastes, preferences, and abilities all vary and there are endless possibilities to living healthy! Eat, Exercise, Enjoy!

Drills, Plyometrics, and Running Form

As most weathered athletes have heard, we do drills to increase our running economy, power production, and agility.  Though many of us don’t understand WHY we do these drills.  We go through the movements, have a picture in our mind, but can’t quite put two and two together of there specific purposes.  With 16 weeks to go before the Binghamton Bridge Half Marathon, form training is essential.  This article will attempt to put a clear understanding of the purpose of drills. 

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Running speed is a combination of (Stride Length) x (Stride Rate).  The following drills allow for an athlete to develop different sections of his or her stride.  While not all the drills directly relate to a particular variable (Length vs. Rate), many of the drills increase general running economy and allow for a passive movement to be graceful.  

Passive Movements

"Increase Efficiency = Increase Stride Rate"

Unlike common perception, almost all movements of running should be passive, except for the push off phase.  These first few drills allow the runner to learn these passive motions in an active way.  The stride rate not only requires higher speed of passive movements, but the ability to “fire” and contract  muscles quickly. 

Drill                                           Focus                                                              Purpose

Learn how to do High Knees	This drill focuses on driving the knee forward	Form Movement
Learn how to do Butt Kicks	Drive the heel of the foot toward your butt	Form Movement
Learn how to do Egg Shells	Fire your legs up and down as quickly as possible	Muscular Adaptation

Bounding

"Increase Strength = Increase Stride Length"

(3 Variations)    

Bounds

Learn how to Bound.  This drill allows for an Athlete to develop a longer stride length.  Without worrying about stride rate, the athlete can focus on taking the longest stride per step possible.  This drill needs to be practiced properly as an athlete can develop an “overstride” which can lead to inefficiencies and injury.

High Skips

Learn how to High Skip.  High Skips are a variation of the Bounding technique where an athlete develops the push off phase of running.  The over exaggerated arm swing allows for a higher jump and therefore requires more strength on impact yet can develop a stronger push off phase. 

Swims

This drill is a variation of Skips and is used by many jumpers.  The only subtracted difference is there is no “skip” phase between push offs.  This drills focuses on force production rather than stride length, or rate.  This bounding drill requires and develops the most strength.  

Active Movements

"Sustains Momentum = Increase Efficiency"

 

Straight Legged Bounding

Learn out to Straight-Leg Bound.  While this drill does not focus on stride rate or length, High Kicks allow for an athlete to better understand how their foot should make contact with the ground.  The foot should have a constant “pulling” motion rather than the usual “stop and go” impact that usually occurs with most runners. 

Falls

Learn how to use the Falling Drill (“Segway” drill in Video).  This drill teaches an athlete the proper lean for running which is usually a neglected part of running education.  As described above, running is almost an entirely passive motion.  The proper lean forward recruits and allows passive motions to take place more efficiently. 

Tip: While on a treadmill, lean on the forward handle while running.  This will allow you to practice the forward lean while running without feeling uncomfortable and unsafe.

Backwards Running

Learn how to use the Backwards Running drill.  With this drill an athlete can more easily experience and recognize the “falling” motion that should be felt when running forwards. After the feeling is learned, the athlete can apply this experience of “falling” or consistent momentum when running regularly. 

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Conclusion

We may do drills regularly, and may even execute them properly, but we don’t always actively think of each drills purpose.  We passively execute drill after drill without consciously thinking about what we are developing.  The next time you do your drills, actively think about what you’re doing to properly execute and learn the required movements and adaptations.  Tune in week to week for more information! 

Short Days and Frozen Snot: Surviving Running Through the Winter

by Dan Young

Winter has arrived! It’s cold, and it feels windy, there is never any light, and when there is light, the glare burns your eyes out of their sockets. Maybe I just have sensitive eyes. In any case, it’s time to find what makes us runners. Running isn’t fun this time of year, and it’s not easy either. Let’s tackle the problems one at a time.

First of all, it’s cold (not really the defining winter thing, but it’s first anyway). Your fingertips hurt, the wind cuts through your soul, your ears may be covered by a hat, but your nose is going to have problems, your legs itch when warming up after your run or else you wore pants (who wears pants?), and you feel bulky wearing enough to not die. So, solutions: gloves, a windproof jacket, a hat, there is no solution (you are doomed to a cold nose every winter), depends on your attitude on pants, and finally I suppose you could move south. Or run on a treadmill (hint: this is not a solution to anything). Let’s face it, I just named three pieces of clothing and then doomed you to eternal misery. Nobody wants to wear the same thing over and over and over again for a whole season, so really there are no solutions here at all. Moral of the story: you need to decide what makes you a runner.

Second, the days are short (this is the defining winter thing, in case you were wondering). So, you could run early, but then you run into the “it’s really really really really really really really cold” issue. And it’s dark. You could run in the middle of the day, except you probably have other obligations then, so that is a no go. Finally you could run at night. When it’s dark. And cold again. This is another lovely picture I have painted for you. Moral of the story: you need to decide what makes you a runner.

Next problem: your nose runs (this is pretty much unrelated to winter, except that it happens a lot during winter) all the time. When you are running, and still when you have finished running. I’m not even going to pretend this time. This is always going to be a problem. We can jump straight to the moral of the story: you need to decide what makes you a runner.

The final problem (ha, that’s funny, this is just the last one I’m going to mention) is the weather/clothes relationship being very finicky (also not really winter specific, but let’s face it, you wear shorts and a t-shirt in the summer and are good to go). If you wear the wrong clothes, which were the right clothes when you decided to run, then you get all sweaty and freeze your butt off. Or if your clothes are now to light, you just freeze your butt off from the start. Woo! It’s about time to get to the point now, so moral of the story: you need to decide what makes you a runner.

Now is the bit where I am supposed to wrap this up for you all, but I think everyone has a pretty good idea where this is going. There is some reason, or set of reasons, for each of us that gets us out the door. That reason is your best friend this time of year, and there is no such thing as a bad reason. I have a pair of things motivating me, my goals for next year and the changes running makes in my life. My winter will have two parts, first, running because all I can think about is running next year, and second, thinking about running next year which makes me want to run. This is going to be a fun time. I hope to see you all out there over the winter. Stay warm, and always have tissues at your run’s end.

10 Ways to Keep Off the Holiday Pounds (While Still Having Fun!)

It's that time of year again!  Those days between our Thanksgiving feasting and our New Year's binging that are full of delicious holiday treats, perhaps alcohol-laden beverages and holiday parties with lots of snacks.  This is the time of year when most of us put on a nice layer of padding that, while it may keep us warmer in the winter months ahead, none of us are too happy to see.  Who wants to give up our holiday fun and festivities when it really comes down to it, right?  So many of us rationalize our way into a bigger pants size every year.  Well, not this year!  Here's your guide to make it through this holiday season in the same pants size, while still having fun!

10.Plan Christmas Activities That Don't Revolve Around Eating

Cookie-making is an obvious and fun activity for Christmas, but the temptation is there to eat as many as you possibly can, especially during busy days where it's hard to find the time to cook healthy meals. Instead of spending days baking all kinds of calorie-heavy treats, consider doing some holiday crafts instead!  A hand-made ornament for the tree or hand-made Christmas cards are lovely holiday gifts that can be made in place of the traditional cookie plates.  Pinterest is a great resource for all kinds of holiday craft ideas and many are very simple and fun to do! Here are some craft ideas for your family to try together:

• paper snowflakes 
• making origami ornaments
• dried fruit ornaments
• stringing popcorn for your Christmas tree

9.  Take Advantage of the Snowy Weather

Despite the groans and complaints when the snow starts to fly, those of us living in areas that are lucky enough to get snow have the advantage of variety in our outdoor environment. Since variety is the spice of life, let's take advantage of it!  Whether it's going downhill or cross country skiing, winter hiking or snowshoeing, making a snowman or just taking a walk out there in our winter wonderland, getting out there in the snow to be active will not only burn calories from the act of doing whatever activity you've chosen, but just being out in the cold can burn calories simply by way of the body needing to heat itself.  Beyond that, being cold can increase your metabolism overall!  So go ahead, get out there and take advantage of the natural metabolism boost that you can gain from cold climates. 

8.  Go Caroling!

Taking a walk with a group of friends and singing Christmas carols is a quintessential Christmas activity that has mostly been lost in this day and age.  It not only gets you outside, which as we've already discussed is great for burning calories and boosting your metabolism, but walking is a great calorie burner, as well.  According to About Health, 

"A rule of thumb is 100 calories per mile are burned for a 180-pound person and 65 calories per mile for a 120-pound person"  

They also have a handy calculator for figuring out exactly how many calories you could be burning on your walk.  Most of all, you're creating fun holiday memories with your family and friends.

7.  Take a Walk (or Run) to Enjoy the Christmas Lights Instead of Driving

During this time of year, most of us venture out at least once to take a look at the Christmas light displays our neighbors have provided.  Why not take the opportunity to walk or run to see the Christmas lights instead?  In the Binghamton area, we have a group run planned to go enjoy Christmas lights as a group, but there's no reason you have to wait for someone else to plan this.  Don't forget that you'll want to dress in bright colors and reflective gear so that you're visible to drivers at night.


6.  Start Your New Year's Resolutions Early

There's no reason to wait that extra couple weeks to start in on your New Year's resolutions.  In fact, starting them immediately and then boosting your resolve when they New Year rolls around will encourage you to have at least a month of consistency with your resolution and more likelihood of keeping it up, long term.  It takes about a month of consistency to make a lifestyle change become a normal part of your life, but make sure to set reasonable goals.  Instead of broad or vague resolutions like "stop eating sugar" or "lose 10 lbs", try creating positive and smaller goal steps like "eat 5 kinds of vegetables per day".  It can also help to have a progressive plan where you add additional small goals over time to progress to your goal instead of trying to dive in headfirst.

Most areas also have a "Resolution Run": a 5k race planned on New Year's day (or sometimes New Year's Eve).  Starting a couple weeks ahead can give you a head start on being able to complete or compete in such an event.  Why not sign up now to keep you motivated to keep the calories down and the exercise up through the coming weeks?

5.  Sign up for That Event NOW, Not Later

I know, I know, most of us are a little short on cash this time of year.  Despite that fact, signing up for a spring event, whether it be your first 5k or half marathon, a triathlon, or a relay with your friends, it can be enough to motivate you to be mindful of your eating and exercise over the coming weeks and bring you through the New Year without a lot of weight gain. Remaining healthy is always an excellent use of your money.

4.  Think "Less" not "None"

It's a huge bummer to get to a holiday party and think "I'm not allowed to eat any of this."  Holiday willpower is hard enough, but add in an alcoholic drink or two and and suddenly it's completely out the window.  Instead, at that Christmas party buffet, consider just taking half a spoonful of the things you would normally want to eat and then mindfully savor every bite.  According to Mireille Guillano, author of the book French Women Don't Get Fat, the key is not to avoid the delights that life brings along, but to take a small amount and savor it slowly and fully.  Where we Americans tend to just shovel delicious things into our mouths faster, Guillano suggests taking tiny spoonfuls and focusing on really enjoying the flavor while it's in your mouth instead of immediately swallowing it in order to shovel in the next mouthful.  Mindfulness in eating can really slow you down and keep your calorie intake lower while still enjoying all your favorites this season.

3.  Eat a Healthy Snack Before Heading to That Holiday Party

This is really standard but great advice that we all need to remember during the holidays.  Arriving to a holiday party hungry is just inviting overindulgence.  The best way to combat this is to fill your stomach with some healthy alternatives before you go.  It doesn't need to consist of a full meal, but a healthy snack before you go can go a long way to help you wait a while before starting in on the buffet, while also making you more capable of serving yourself smaller portions. 

2.  Alternate Calorie-laden Drinks with Water

Most of us forget that calories taken in liquid form are still calories, but they can really pack a "punch".  Alcohol, itself, has 7 calories per gram.  That's more than carbohydrate or protein have, and nearly as many calories per gram as fat!  Most favorite holiday beverages, like egg nog or punch, include fat AND sugar in them, as well as alcohol.  Instead of continuously enjoying your favorite beverages at the holiday party, start with a tall glass of water, and then alternate a glass of your favorite calorie-laden drink with a glass of water.  Not only will this help you cut back on your calorie-intake, but it'll stave off the holiday-hangover, while still allowing you to enjoy your Christmas favorites.

1.  Use Exercise to Reduce Holiday Stress 

We all have it, this time of year: Holiday Stress!  With so many holiday preparations and parties, many of us become stressed out and exhausted by what is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.  We forget that we need to take time for ourselves.  It's important to carve out time in your busy schedules to de-stress.  Whether it be a scheduled yoga class, a consistent group run, or just some time by yourself out in nature, it's important to think of yourself so that you can be relaxed and present for everyone else this time of year.

Your turn to share: What are your tips and tricks for keeping off the holiday pounds?