Creating Cardio Outside of the Gym this Winter

Wintertime prompts some adjustments in the way you conduct your day. Where there’s snow, it’s likely that your snow shovel is within plain view upon walking into your garage. Where there’s freezing temperatures, you wouldn’t dare drive without gloves for fear of frostbitten fingers. Unless you’re located in fair weather regions, the frigid season also brings out some creativity when it comes to getting in the proper amount of exercise.

The start to 2014 is as good a time as any to be loyal to your gym membership, but before you get your limbs tangled into knots with dumbbells, take to the outdoors.

According to Active.com, snow-surfaces and icy obstacles might put your personal trainer’s workout to shame. Amongst the seasonal sports to take part in during winter, snowboarding and downhill skiing burn 429 and 432 calories per hour, respectively. Topping that with 468 calories burned per hour, is sledding. That’s right, the activity of your snowsuit-wearing childhood is enough to burn off any amount of hot chocolate, so don’t feel guilty about the extra marshmallows.

Just before the festivities of Christmastime, my family and I packed our lunches and our ski gear for a day at Powderhorn Resort atop the Colorado Mesa. Legs quivering, and heart racing, the end of a ski run will make you aware of neglected muscle groups without the machinery of your local gym. “[Skiing is] a great all-round way to keep both the body and the mind healthy and fit for anyone willing to give it a try,” according to Fitday.com.

Take the hesitation out of working out in the winter and roll it down a snowy hillside. Cold weather will not be the villain in achieving your fitness resolutions. Take your cardio to creative limits this season, but don’t forget your extra pair of socks. 

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Winter Trail Runs: Pollock's Bench

Feasts of the festive season may be coming to a close, but your lack of motivation for running in the cold is unwavering. With many weeks between New Year's resolutions and the warmth of spring break, there's no sense in waiting for 'ideal conditions' for running.

If there's snow on the ground, taking to the streets for a run during the winter is a daunting task. Instead of hurdling icy patches on neighborhood sidewalks, try out your favorite local trails.

This week, I took to a trail that my soles have long ago memorized - Pollock's Bench. In my hometown of Fruita, Colo., there are a host of trails in the fingers of the Colorado National Monument. Laden with a layer of snow, the trail relieved me from jumping over ice and mud. You might have to work a little harder to trek through the snow, but it's worth it if you think back to that second helping of grandma's dessert last week.

Winter isn't exactly our ally in running endeavors. But with moisture-wicking layers and a handful of regular running regions, you can make your own ideal conditions.

Running Tip: Dress as if it's 10 degrees (F) warmer than it is outside, and you'll be more comfortable during long runs.

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Songs to Add to your Workout Playlist

Ankle-high socks, moisture-wicking shirts, knee-high socks, single or double-knotted shoes. When it comes to running gear, I’m not one to have very many stipulations. In fact, I only have one stipulation and that is: I will not run with headphones in, thus I do not run with music.

Because of this, I often daydream of an alternate running universe where running with headphones isn’t so bothersome for me. In celebration of this alternate universe, I’ve recently made note of a few songs that I’d add to my running playlist if I had one. These songs may never accompany me on my own runs, so perhaps, they’ll find a home with you.

For a quick pace: 212 by Azealia Banks

For the fast runner, or the runner with a short stride, I imagine this might be your anthem. With quick beats to set your stride to, this upbeat hip-hip anthem will help you keep pace, as long as you don’t mind Banks’ potty mouth.

For the casual run: White Teeth Teens by Lorde

If you’re not racing the clock, or the setting sun, Lorde’s smooth vocals and secondary instrumentals might be the perfect background noise for your run. This young, Kiwi has a knack for poetic lyrics and a calm, raspy tone that might not be enough to get you pumped up, but it’ll keep you engaged as you make progress along your pre-destined or impromptu path.

For the classic runner’s sole: Real World by Matchbox 20

With an ever-present guitar strum, this ‘90s hit from Matchbox 20 might encourage you to wear a scrunchie or that throwback pair of neon Nike running shorts once belonging to your hip dad. Don’t stop yourself from singing along, either. It could help with your ability to control your breath. 

Theoretically speaking, I would think that a workout playlist of any kind should match the tempo you're trying to keep. Faced with a uphill slope, fatigue, or ideal weather, the music you listen to should aid in keeping you going. As for me, I'll continue singing the choruses of songs in the confines of my own mind.

Check out this article, "The Top 10 Workout Songs for November 2013", from The Huffington Post. They weigh in on the best tunes to listen to during your run with artists ranging from Rihanna to the U.K. band, Bastille.  

Happy trails.

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Bleachers to Bruises: Rugby fan joins CSU Club Team

With fair skin and a likeness for wearing dresses when the weather permits, McKenzie Kimball is getting accustomed to showing a couple bruises as a rookie on the Women’s Rugby team at Colorado State University. After years of adoration for the sport of rugby, the Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism senior has traded her fandom for a team jersey.

Growing up, Kimball spent her childhood in Silverthorne, Colo. and her adolescence in Fruita, Colo. With a small town upbringing on either side of the state, her interests were shaped by her surroundings. In Fruita, like many other regions of the United States, rugby is a lesser known sport alongside football and soccer. Her first exposure to rugby took place in Silverthorne, but it wasn’t until her collegiate career that Kimball would don a pair of rugby cleats all her own.

During her first year at CSU, Kimball walked out of the rugby interest meeting in a fit of intimidation. Two years would pass before she deeply considered joining the team.

“It’s the sport that tough girls play, and one that people have respect for but its always on the outskirts,” Kimball says of rugby. Though she was content with her involvement on campus, and with her academics, Kimball says she entered her third year at CSU “ready for something that really scares me and pushes me out of my comfort zone.”

Seated in an office chair, the rugby newcomer can’t help but to look approachable as she hugs her right knee to her chest and swings her left leg rhythmically. It seems like a misplacement to imagine Kimball with her pixie-cut, blonde hair out on a field, where physicality has few limitations. She admits that she had her reservations, as well.

Up until her first game, a scrimmage against the University of Wyoming on the CSU intramural fields, Kimball can’t recall having any “physical responses to stress”.

“I fell silent about an hour before the game,” Kimball says. “Typically, I’m reserved before games and the like, but I was thinking ‘shit what did I get into?’”   

After about 60 ‘scrums’—where teams vie for possession of the ball by pushing against their opponents in a head-to-head huddle—her mentality began to change.

Like a mass of humming bees from flower to flower, the two opposing teams are in constant motion whether the ball is or not. As a forward on the team, Kimball is continuously at the center of the swarm with a few specialized roles. If she’s not following allowing with the referee’s cadence of, “crouch, bind, set” to dig her cleats into the ground towards the ball in a scrum, Kimball is helping lift the jumper in the air in a lineout to catch the ball.

“I was surprised that I could actually lift and tackle girls,” Kimball says between giggling. But the surprises didn’t stop there.

Aside from her ability and budding love for the sport, Kimball was equally surprised by the amount of camaraderie within the women’s rugby team.

“There aren’t very many of us, which is part of this sport,” says Kimball. “It’s a family. They want to know about you and support you like a family does”.

Nov. 3, signified the end of the fall rugby season for the CSU club team, with a loss to the University of New Mexico. With a record of one win and two losses, the team looks forward to a spring season that will begin again in the New Year. As the snow makes its last flurries for the winter, the women on CSU’s rugby team will play one last game against Air Force Academy, and begin preparing for regionals and nationals according to their season performance.

“I don’t really have much opportunity to rest, or to think about stuff which is kind of good because it forces me into a rhythm,” Kimball says with an intonation that suggests she’s realizing more about herself as she finishes her sentence.

“Leaving my first game, I was exhausted. It was really fun, it was terrifying, it was brutal, and it definitely made me fall in love with the sport”.

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Recover, Rest, Re-charge: Post-run care

Sweat drips from your temple and onto the sidewalk below as you slow your pace into a walk—a movement that suddenly seems foreign for your body. Finishing a run, and stopping the time on your stopwatch does not always indicate the end of your workout. In order to stray away from the soreness and lactic acid build-up that has haunted you time and time again, try implementing some variation into your cool-down process.

One of the best ways to supplement your stretching routine is with a foam roller. Like an inanimate masseuse, the foam roller can target most any body part you’re experiencing soreness with. Most often, I put my ankles on the roller, holding my body up with my arms, and roll up to my hamstrings. Additionally, the foam roller is good for treating shin splints.

As a long-term recovery method, you can elevate or ice your legs. Elevation can promote blood flow back up towards your heart, and “eliminate waste products”, according to, “Your Best Rest”, from Runner’s World.  This article also suggests bags of ice, or ice baths (up to 15 minutes) to reduce inflammation and achy joints.

Bettering your recovery routine makes for genuine strides and more productive training. 

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Polygamy in Shoe Brands

Have you run the one you love into the ground? When your favorite pair of running shoes has reached its maximum mileage, it might be time to try, not only a new shoe, but a new brand on for size.

From triple knotting shoes to listening to the type of music that could only belong to pre-teens during a warm-up, runners have the most unique of quirks. Yet, there’s something to be said about the inherent and obsessive shoe quirk within runners. If there were a set of norms—commandments, if you will—in the running subculture, they might include matters such as, he who eats pasta on the eve of race-day shall perform best, and running brotherhood is to nod at passersby on trail runs. Of these, the tenth commandment of running would likely read, thou shall commit to one brand of running shoe and never turn back.

Come race day, Andrew Goodman, a collegiate runner at Colorado State University, sports racing flats belonging to the College’s athletic sponsor, Under Armour. During training, Goodman admits that for four years he, too, was an offender of commitment when it comes to running shoe brands. Up until the summer of 2013, he pledged his feet to a certain Nike Pro shoe from season to season and he’s gained the run-down pile of shoes in his closet to prove it.

Up until now, you have probably dipped your foot into the pool of a couple of different brands looking for the right one. No doubt, a process reminiscent of Cinderella’s own shoe wear, runners have been dabbling in the wrong fairy tale plot.

Megan Price, a 39-year-old career woman, says running is both a release and helps her refuel her mind. "I've learned, though, that if I want to use running as my primary release, I have to take care of myself," Price says. "Whether that means taking days off, or equipping myself with the best gear, you can't enjoy something when it gives you pain."

“Runner’s have to know that the shoe is going to be your best friend or your worst enemy,” says Thomas Hecker, Doctor of Podiatric Medicane at the Orthopedic Center for the Rockies (OCR) in Fort Collins, Co. As a practicing doctor on the biggest team at the OCR, the Foot and Ankle team, Hecker has gained years of insight in his foot injuries amongst runners.

“Be it injuries blisters, it’s all the same in the eye of a runner,” Hecker says. “They want a brand that they know is going to take care of them, and I have to coax people into seeing why different shoes will help them perform better”.

Although the fourth commandment in running may read all pain is curable through an ice bath, not all commandments can stand the test of time. A runner’s most valued tools are the feet. And when the only shield you can offer them is a shoe, concerning yourself with optimal fit versus renowned logo will allow for longer trail runs and many more race days ahead.

“Every little thing I can control, I want to control. It’s a mental aspect and I want to know that my shoe is a good fit when I get on the line and race,” Goodman says.

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Fourth Meal: 3 Great Snack Ideas

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee on any morning is enough to pull you from your bed to the kitchen. After your senses have been shaken awake and your bed-head has started to lay flat, however, you might not crave a hot cup of Joe. In order to get a midday fill of energy, open your cabinets to one of the following snacks.

1. Hummus on wheat crackers: A mini meal, hummus with your preferred wheat cracker, like Wheat Thins or Triscuits, will give you an appropriate dosage of protein and fiber. This is a heavier snack that can help you re-energize if you have a more intensive workout on a particular day. (280 calories for 3 oz. hummus and 8 crackers)
2. Popcorn (Unbuttered or lightly buttered): For the salty snack-lovers in need of something filling and low in calories. (80-100 calories for 2 cups, popped)
3. Fruit Popsicles: If salty is your second choice, and you’ve got a sweet tooth to satisfy, reach for a store bought or homemade fruit popsicle. For a homemade recipe, use your favorite low-sugar lemonade or juice and mix in sliced fruit for a more filling snack. (75 calories for every 3 oz.)

For a complete list of 25 snacks for a runner's appetite, check out this article from Runner's World. 

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Don't stay Still During your Warm-up

No matter if you prefer distance or sprints, every runner will face injury or extreme fatigue at some point in the road. Some runners stand by the claim that stretching after a run is much more rewarding than before. This is becoming a more popular belief after research has surfaced on more active warm-ups being the most beneficial to serious runners.

While stretching after your workout might be much more relieving for your legs, there is a great amount of warm-up taking place in your most valued muscles when you take pre-emptive action. While stagnant stretching may be a habit, more active warm-ups before your workout, like high-knees, jogging, and fast skips.

According to Bill Roberts, Sports Doctor at Runner’s World, stretching can be a waste of time before your race. You should choose actions that will lightly raise your heart rate and mimic the motions you will make during your run. As mentioned in his article, Roberts says that flexibility and stretching is important, but is too much of a motionless warm-up to prepare you for your run ahead.

Check out Bill Robert’s article here. 

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Energy Gels vs. 5 Hour Energy

After weeks of training and getting your fill of carbohydrates, you’ve found yourself at the starting line of a race. You’ve gone about your pre-race routine as according to plan, but what about a pre-race energy boost?

A shared concern amongst runners is concerned with the best way to get some energy for the beginning of a race, after the adrenaline wears and before you’ve gained a natural running rhythm. Two of the most common energy boosts for runners have been energy gels or goos, or quick doses of liquid energy shots such as 5 Hour Energy. While both are very common, there are many running experts and dieticians that are discouraging liquid supplements and pushing runners towards gels. Take a look at the quick facts below, and remember to consume your preferred boost about an hour before the start.

1. 5 Hour Energy Critique
• With high levels of caffeine, this supplement is best for people who regularly consume caffeine (Run Smart Project)
• Because it’s intended for regular day use, the kick start only lasts about 5 minutes during race time (Endurance and Sustainability)
• Too few calories (4 calories) for a runner to burn into energy
• Serves as a good motivator to go for a run, but not for enhanced performance
2. Energy Gels Critique
•  With high caloric intake, gels help you avoid the lethargic and tired feeling during a long run
• Replenish glycogen and calories burned during a run
• Won’t make your muscles feel less fatigued or sore
• Take long to digest and get into the bloodstream, where they replenish calories and glycogen, so always take with water. (Running Competitor)

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Running into the Fall Season

Better than your mere commute to work or school, setting out on your own two feet during this time of year exposes you to the most scenic of seasonal transitions. While running atop yellowed leaves and rain dampened concrete can encourage you to run further and discover more, there are some precautions to take into consideration.

Firstly, autumn days can be rainy days. Before departing for your run, plan a route for yourself with higher ground or sidewalks so as to avoid soggy socks. According to Active.com, a website centered of wellness and fitness, another area of potential problems lies with early sunsets. In order to avoid doing your workout under the dim, city street lamps, commit to a time during the day where you can get your mileage in. This will also benefit your training routine, giving your body consistent periods of rest and cardio from day to day.  

The after-math of a summer run can often resemble a crime scene. What with articles of clothing strewn across the concrete where you lay panting and squinting into the sun, the outline of sweat surrounds you like the chalk outline defining what would be your lifeless body if it weren’t for your frantically beating heart in your chest.

Thus, the cooler conditions brought forth by the fall season give runners more incentive to lace up their shoes for a run and spend less time with their head in the freezer afterwards.

Go out and run further than the summer sun allowed in month’s prior. Follow trails illuminated with the colors of your neighborhood trees. Find rhythm in the in-and-out breaths you take of crisp, cool air because that’s the only constancy you have in these ever-changing seasons. 

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Stoplight Stop-n-Go

Although autumn is known for making your favorite trail runs a muddy mess with the rain and snow, there’s one less reason to shake your fist at Mother Nature as you transition from trails to concrete this year. Jogging in place is proving to be a health benefit for more than the average housewife during Oprah. Whilst waiting at stoplights, running in place is sure to shield your muscles from tightening in the cool weather that lies ahead.

Now, you can do more than your typical calf stretch against a stop sign while waiting for traffic to pass. According to an article published on LiveStrong.com, jogging in place will help maintain a working heart rate and allow for a mid-workout stretch. Not only can you avoid tension in your Achilles tendon and in your calves from the stop-and-go nature of running through city streets, but you will continue to shed calories while waiting your turn at the crosswalk.

You’re not alone if you’re resistant to begin a running routine for the chillier months. So combat Mother Nature’s winter coat by jogging in place at stoplights, and save the treadmill for the severely snowy days.

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Seven Minutes in Action

There are countless ways to stir up trouble for you and your bank account during summertime, and you have to be ready for any spontaneous opportunity that may come your way. Whether you find yourself lost in the “Related Videos” tab on YouTube, road tripping with friends (all of whom sing off-key), or bonding with your trustworthy friend, Franzia, there are few excuses for dullness. That being said, there is little time to fret over a workout schedule.

Summer is ripe with spontaneity, as well as temperatures that can only be explained as Mother Theresa’s menopausal hot flashes. While neither of these conditions makes it easier to coax yourself into exercise mode, there is a speedy, seven-minute workout to save you time at the gym or in the heat without losing the burn of a thorough workout.

All you need for this workout is a dumbbell or plate that is challenging for you, a stop watch, and an open space. The goal is to work quickly to complete three sets of four exercises within seven minutes.

The Breakdown – 1 Set

1. Over-head lunges (30)

• Holding your weight directly overhead, lunge forward with your left leg so that your right knee touches the ground. Come back up to a standing position and repeat for your right leg. Alternate legs for 30 repetitions. Remember to keep your weight above your head for the entire 30 repetitions.

2. Mountain climbers (20)

• In a push-up position, bring your left leg up as close you’re your left hand as you can, then back down to your right leg. Alternate between your right and left legs for 20 repetitions. When you get into a rhythm, you might begin to bounce—try to minimize bouncing and keep your body parallel to the ground. You should feel toning in your hamstrings.

3. Side-to-side Planks (10)

• Starting in push-up position with your arms fully extended, turn your body to the left so that your left foot rests on top of your right and raise your left arm to the sky. Bring your arm down, and turn into push-up position. Repeat this, facing the right side now, and continue for 20 repetitions. Remember to put your feet on top of one another for a full rep.

4. Standing Squats (30)

• To finish, stand with your feet at shoulder-width, toes facing forward. With your arms raised in front of you, or to your sides, lower your butt until your quadriceps are parallel to the floor. Tip: keep an upright back and don’t look down at the ground.

Aside from learning just how quickly seven minutes passes, you’ll also gain high-level cardio and hints of muscle definition in your quadriceps, hamstrings and biceps. Chip away at that layer of stored sweets and mixed drinks you may have gained thus far into summer.

Though you may not complete three sets of these exercises on your first attempt, don’t succumb to couch potato-ism. With a workout like this one, it’s easy to set a goal for yourself because it is divided into separate movements.

Don’t get me wrong, I am an offender of talking myself out of workouts, as well—ask the local TCBY employees. Yet, this seven-minute burn will prove to you that efficiency is not always positively correlated to length of a workout. You’ll find that this routine gives you an adequate mixture of cardio and muscle pinpoint movement.

Mix this shortcut into your weekly workouts for those days when you can hardly pull away from the chilled mojitos or the shaded patio.

Clarity brought forth by Cardio

The uneven cracks in the sidewalk always move perpendicular to my stride when I run. I can tell which lawns are tended to most regularly, and where the uneven dirt paths collide once again with the unforgiving concrete.

When I run, I have surrendered to the habit of looking down at the path ahead of me. For this reason, I recognize my regular running peers more certainly by their shoes and laces rather than their sweat-covered faces. For a number of years, as a distance runner, I’ve plotted my route before starting the stopwatch on my wrist and I take off at a jog only looking up at streets signs or passersby. At the beginning of this week, however, I uncovered a trail run interconnected with several other unexplored paths that had my sights set on the horizon, rather than the ground; up, rather than down.

The trail to Horsetooth Rock

On the western flank of Fort Collins lies an outdoor playground. Horsetooth Reservoir sees travelers in search of water sports, picnics, biking, jogging, boating, etc. At the foothills, just east of the Reservoir is Spring Canyon Community Park. Laden with just enough toddlers and far too many dogs, this is usually the point at which I turn around on my runs. Yet, just beyond this oasis of kids and canines, the Spring Creek Trail (west) connects with the Fossil Creek Trail. As opposed to Spring Creek, the Fossil Creek trail is not paved and has several branches from the main path suitable for mountain bikers and runners alike.

Nestled between the foothills and park, Fossil Creek trail winds amongst the knee-length brush and nudges you along the dark green tree line of Horsetooth Park. Like arteries to a heart, the fingers of the Fossil Creek trail dart around Dixon Reservoir, where fishermen whisper song lyrics either to themselves or to their potential catches.

Dually, the terrain was all but flat. By no means, was it a hill tempo run, but I cannot praise this area enough for the rhythm it urges runners to find in order to keep pace.

There are so many opportunities within running; be it for pleasure or with a competitive heart. Steve Prefontaine, running legend and Olympian said, “Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative.” It’s the creativity within running that I’m just uncovering.

As the sun ducked behind the foothills on a run the other night, the grasses around the thin trail on Fossil Creek remained a glowing orange. Crickets were fooled by the setting sun and began their nightly song. And I was able to watch this all in focus, and the whir of my running feet was now in my periphery.

What a fool I’ve been looking down for so long.

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