Julia's Group - Full (Page 4)

No, you've not been sending them over and over!  There are 3 different ways to leave me a message - one is on this board, one is in my 'inspire me' and one is to "PM" me which is a private message that I will get. 

Actually another way is to just email me directly - [email protected] 

So I kinda cheated on my goal yesterday.  I did not have a beer, but instead a glass (OK, 2 glasses) of wine - Still kinda felt like I cheated on the spirit of my goal though...  I just couldn't sit through that play last night without SOMETHING

Good week y'all!

Holy Crap do I have to have to comment on this page! "good week y'all" is from someone who lives in the South - not a chica, especially a Portuguese one from New England - holy crap.

Ok - there is another thing I did not mention in the email I answered, but there is a theory that once you start clearing lactic acid from your muscles it re-synthesizes itself as ATP (energy) and your body can then use that later in your workout - a little complicated in techinical terms, but short story is that it would explain '2nd wind' in running or getting stronger/faster the longer the workout goes.

Ok -that's all I got. Good week to everyone and make sure Julia sticks with her plan, we need her getting up on stage a few times this season at the Boulder Races. Of course there is absolutely no pressure on her to do this (ha!).

Caycee - 2007-02-01 11:11 AM I have officially not hit any of my goals for the week I have a nutrition question. I am a nursing mom and am supposed to consume anywhere from 2500 - 3000 calories a day depending on my activity level. I usually eat closer to 2000 or less. So why can't I seem to lose any weight? I have been hovering around the same weight since I began my training a month ago. I feel better and look better, but am just curious if anyone knows why that might be? Cheers,

First Caycee-- If you feel better and you look better, that is what counts...not a number on the scale.  Keep in mind you probably are working out a lot more then you have been and are developing more muscles which weigh more than fat, although you will "look better!"  Second, don't cut out so many calories as you need that.  You are messing with your metabolism and your nutritional needs.  We can starve ourselves until we are blue in the face and you may never drop those additional pounds.  If you eat more quality things (yeah, the ice cream doesn't count) your body will thank you and will even process these foods a bit differently.  It is the same with some people if they work out too hard, their body won't drop the excess lbs as quickly as if they slowed down a bit...it's like a regulator and it depends on each person individually.  I can't really explain that, but someone else might be able to better.  Hope that helps.  Oh, set some different goals fro the next few days to work on and set yourself up for some success!

Caycee - 2007-02-01 10:11 AM I have officially not hit any of my goals for the week I have a nutrition question. I am a nursing mom and am supposed to consume anywhere from 2500 - 3000 calories a day depending on my activity level. I usually eat closer to 2000 or less. So why can't I seem to lose any weight? I have been hovering around the same weight since I began my training a month ago. I feel better and look better, but am just curious if anyone knows why that might be? Cheers,

I also posted some info on your 'inspire me' on this.  It's also WHEN you eat.  Again, I wouldn't worry about the # on the scale.  Percentage of body fat is a better indicator and I'm guessing that yours is going DOWN.  And don't forget that nursing a baby, your body is requiring a certain amt of excess body fat, so if you are not eating enough, it may go into preservation mode and will actually slow your burn rate.  Make sure to eat lots of carbs early in the day and lots of carbs before, during(if it's a longer workout) and after your workouts.   I honestly was down to 145 within a month of my second baby and I'm at 136 now - less than 10# in 3 years!  BUT I'm a size 4 instead of an 8...  And it's ALL MUSCLE   You'll get there too - don't rush it and don't try to crash diet because you will only lose energy.  While nursing, you body WON'T sacrifice calories it needs to feed that baby so it will sacrifice calories somewhere else.  You won't want to get up in the morning - you'll want to hibernate!  I hate to say this but Eat MORE, eat lower in fat and eat earlier in the day.  I think you're doing great!

Diane&Mike - 2007-02-01 5:08 PM Ok here is a question and it has probably been asked 100's of times but I confuse easily Is it best to eat before or after a workout?

YES!!!  So the best time to eat is before AND after a workout.  IF you are going for more than 45 minutes or so I would also plan on taking in some fuel DURING the workout.  Walking should be fine for up to an hour, but anything higher intensity, you need to replenish a few things - 1-Water make sure you DRINK during any exercise over 30 minutes or so.  2- Electrolytes especially if you are working out indoors or when it is warm out.  You dan drink Gatorade, Heed (My FAVORITE sports drink!), or you can take some salt tabs and 3- Carbs.  Your muscles can store enough for up to 30-45 minutes, but after that you need to replenish.  The trouble is that you can never take in enough to replenish what you are burning, so if you are going to run for an hour, I wouldn't wait until 40 minutes into the run to take in some fuel - do it BEFORE you start and at least every 30 minutes during your workout.  

The key to gaining strength is actually in your recovery - not during your workout.  That is why it is SO important to take on some protein as SOON as you are done.  My nutritionist recommends chocolate milk or a protein bar or a protein shake as SOON as you are done to tide you over to your next meal - which should be within an hour. 

So you ALWAYS need to eat after, should almost always eat before (or about 30' before if you want to get mostly digested) and sometimes eat during.  Hope that helps rather than confuses you more! 

I myself can not STAND Gatorade - or any of the other bottled off the shelf stuff.  I buy Hammer Heed - it's a powder (www.hammernutrition.com) that you simply mix in a water bottle and it tastes MUCH better than gatorade - much lighter and less sweet.  And just less offensive all together   Other than that, salt tabs are good, or some of the gels, goos, or block foods out there have electrolytes in them.  My favorite two training foods are Hammer Gel (Banana, Chocolate and Raspberry are my fave flavors - same vendor as Heed) and Clif Shot Bloks - which you should be able to buy in most stores.  E-crank is another gel that has high sodium.  A few of the other major brands -(Cliff, Gu, etc) make a "high sodium" gel as well.

WOW, this is a complex question!!  Well, first of all, you need to establish some heart rate zones.  The easiest way to do this is to figure out a maximum heart rate and an LT rate.  There are LOTS of ways to do this, the easiest (and LEAST accurate) is to simply go by your age.  I'm REALLY not a big fan of thatfor several reasons, but mostly because I am someone who tried that and m HR is WAY different than an average person of my age. 

The most accurate way is to actually have an blood lactate test done.  It means going to some place that offers this test and spending somewhere between $75 and $125 for the test. 

Probably the most common way is to do a 5k or 10k race and record your avg HR and establish you LT from there.  If there are no races anywhere around you, you can simply run a 5k - but it should be pretty much ALL out.  Your 5k race HR will be slightly higher than your LT. 

If that's doesn't seem like a good option, you can establish your zones by rate of percieved exertion.  zone 1 should be very easy.  Zone 2 easy - you should be able to talk easily when in this zone.  Zone 3 would be an endurance zone still, but just a bit of trouble talking while in this zone.  Zone 4 is your LT zone.  The top of this zone is your actual lactate threshold.  Zone 5 is your MAX zone.  this is a pace you can't sustain for very long and training time in this zone should be extremely limited. 

Most training plans start with a "base Phase" which is typically mostly Z1 and Z2 work, longer distance work with some Z3 sprinkled in and maybe some Z4 for VERY short times during a longer workout.  Then you might move on to a "build phase" or a "strength phase" which is exactly that - where you are building your strength.  There will be more zone 3 work here and a little zone 4 - typically where you add it hills running and biking to build strength.  Finally you'll get to a SPEED phase where you will work in some zone4 and zone 5 work - some track workouts, some serious hills with speed on the bike and sprint work in the pool with short rest intervals.  The key is, you can't just go to a strength or speed mode.  Many athletes who start off without any guidance will go out and run in zone 3 and 4 for short distances all of the time.  And while they may build fitness in their first season doing this, in the long term they won't see much progress. When you work in periodized training in phases (READ the Triathlete's Training Bible for more GREAT info) you'll see results, but you have to be patient through the base phase time. 

That's only a small start, and I cheated by hiring a coach and having an immediate LT test done, so I didn't have to try to figure my zones out for myself.  I figured out pretty quickly that I wasn't normal when I was walking at a HR that was supposedly Z3...

The key is that hopefully your PACE will gradually increase at the same HR and the same level of exertion.  You will also know when it's time to back off (if your HR is Way high or WAY low).  You might be over trained, over tired, or have an illness coming on.  Sometimes we ignore signs that we are pushing too hard.  It's happened to me several times where I finish a workout and say MAN I had trouble keeping my HR in zone 2 - and 2 days later I've come down with a massive cold.  If I see that now I start slamming vitamins and sleeping 10 hours and maybe taking a day off. 

OK, that's a start, but let me know if you hae more specific questions.  There are entire books written on that ONE little question

I hope everyone had a great weekend   I checked in on everyone's logs and it looks like some people did some great work - especially running!  Some people either didn' train much or didn't log much - which is also great for a weekend   I myself took the middle of the road.  I see some goals for this week already, but here are mine-

EAT WELL and DRINK WELL  so kinda the same as last week.  I didn't feel like I made my goal because I did have 4 glasses of wine, so instead of saying no beer, I'm going to say I can have 2 beers this week TOTAL during the week and NO WINE and more water. 

How does everyone else think they did??  And how about training, are you all feeling good, or need more motivation, or more guidance?? 

Have a great week

Anyone know how accurate spin bikes are for distances? I know we did a lot of intervals, jumps, and hills tonight and I got in my 32 miles....just wondering?  It was great having the extra time to do the extra class.  The second instructor was awesome, too bad I usually have Grad class on Mondays...I'll have to make a point to get there when I don't. 

Oh yeah, no school again tomorrow....this is freakin nutso! Frigid is an understatement!