eBookDigital Original (Digital Original)
Related collections and offers
Overview
Women’s fitness pioneer Kathrine Switzer has been on her feet for over fifty years. She knows how running or walking is the fastest, easiest, and least expensive road to fitness for women of any age. For women over forty in particular, it’s vital to fit an exercise regimen into their busy lives, and ensure they can stay active and healthy for many years to come.
No matter how inexperienced or old you are, Switzer will guide and ease you into a new exercise schedule, making the time you give yourself the best part of your day—and your future life. Recommendations for shoes, clothing, injury prevention, nutrition, motivation, and finding the time in your life will keep you exercising safely and comfortably. For women over forty, Switzer’s expert running and walking programs are specifically designed for you, enabling you to keep healthy and enjoy life to the fullest for decades to come.
“For many over-forty women, this book will be a passport to the best years of their lives.” —Joan Benoit Samuelson, Olympic gold medalist and US marathon record holder
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781626812239 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Diversion Books |
| Publication date: | 09/01/2018 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 196 |
| Sales rank: | 494,186 |
| File size: | 7 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Getting Out the Door
There is an expression among even the most advanced runners and race walkers that getting your shoes on is the hardest part of any workout. If you've been finding it hard to start running or walking, don't feel alone. Everyone faces this problem at one time or another.
Don't put off starting to run or walk anymore. Embrace it. Make it a priority. The best way to start is to choose a date on your calendar: Running/Walking Day! Get psyched. Prepare for it. Call some friends and say, 'Let's go for a walk [or run] on Tuesday!'
Maybe you just want to do this quietly for yourself. Or maybe you've been inspired by a local charity walk/fun run that is close to your heart. Maybe you'd like to do this to honor someone you love. Either way, you've just set your first goal. You didn't think it would be this easy, did you? Well, it is and it isn't. Following are some things you should do before you literally step out the door for your first run or walk.
Making a commitment to exercise, getting a pre-exercise physical, determining your level of fitness, and setting a goal helps ensure that you've chosen the right path for yourself and that you are starting at the proper level. There are also tips on such fundamentals as breathing, cool downs, warm-ups, stretching, and measuring your aerobic capacity (that's your ability to transport and use oxygen; it's a real measure of fitness).
Think of this information as the foundation for your workout. Once you've built it, then it's time to start running or walking.
Make a Commitment to Running or Walking
No matter what your ultimate running or walking goal is, you first have to decide that you want to make exercise a part of your life. When you've done that, everything else follows naturally. You'll find time for running and walking in your busy schedule. Family and friends will respect your undertaking and not interfere with your decision.
In a larger sense, making this commitment means you've opened a door to a more proactive and self-reliant lifestyle. Your workout is just one step. It can give you the power to reshape other areas of your life as well.
Get a Physical Before You Start
Your body goes through a tremendous number of changes after forty. Adding exercise to the mix, particularly if you've never done it before or for a long time, increases that burden. Before starting to run or walk, have a physical exam and tell your doctor you are planning an exercise program. Even though running or walking is probably one of the best things you can do for yourself at this time, you may have some heart or high blood pressure problems that need monitoring if you exercise. The same thing is true if you are on special medications.
When you are forty-five, fifty-five, or sixty-five, your bones and muscles are very different from those you had at twenty- five, so your doctor may recommend some testing before you start an exercise program. For example, if you are in menopause, the doctor may suggest a bone scan to determine your bone density, which will measure your vulnerability to osteoporosis. Your doctor may discover that you have muscle or bone weaknesses and recommend that you begin your exercise program more modestly — walking for several months before considering running. The doctor may also recommend stretching or strength-building exercises that will prevent injury when you start to exercise. She or he may also suggest that you alternate running or walking with swimming and stretching, for instance, as the new sensation of pounding on a hard surface might be too much in the beginning of your training for uninitiated joints, bones, and muscles.
A pre-exercise check-up is also a very good baseline indicator. You can start measuring real physical improvement from this time. It's also helpful to have a doctor who shares your desire for self-improvement. If you are getting a less than enthusiastic response from your doctor about your exercise plans when there is no real physical reason for objection, it might be the right time to consider seeing a different doctor.
There is another important reason for having a check-up. Beginning to run or walk signifies a change in attitude toward your health and well-being and who controls it. Starting now, you are taking charge of your physical well- being. When I was growing up, most women forty and over traditionally took a passive role when it came to questions of health. They learned just to obey doctor's orders without questioning them or feeling they had the right to be a part of the decision-making process regarding their health. If you have that attitude, this visit to the doctor could change that old relationship forever.
The good news is that no matter how old you are, the body is always regenerating itself. Since exercise makes every organ, muscle, and bone better and stronger, every day you exercise is an opportunity to improve your body as it re-creates itself!
A personal note
I've known some women who constantly complained about being tired but wanted to begin a fitness program. As a result of their pre-exercise physical they found out that they had been anemic for years. By taking iron supplements and changing their diet, they started down the path of complete fitness — inside and out. Others use this time to make sure they include an annual mammogram and pap smear in their exam. You should, too.
Determine Your Level of Fitness
What shape are you in? Perhaps you are what's known as a weekend warrior — a woman who plays sports on the weekend but never at any other time. Or you don't participate in organized sports, but you are a wife, mother, and worker, so you're constantly active and on the move. In order to determine your fitness level more accurately, consult the following lists. Here are some measurement tools to help you evaluate it. If you see yourself on both lists — you smoke but are not overweight — go with the list that best reflects your overall level of activity. If you are still unsure about your fitness level, start at the earliest stage of the program. You can always move ahead if you're able to handle that level comfortably and need a greater challenge.
You're a real beginner if:
• You smoke.
• You just quit smoking.
• You've never done any systematic exercise.
• You haven't exercised systematically for ten years.
• You're more than 25 pounds overweight.
• You commute to work and have a desk job.
• You get tired shopping.
You're an intermediate beginner and in better shape than you think if:
• You've never smoked, or you quit at least five years ago.
• You walk to work.
• You are not overweight.
• You are constantly moving on the job, even if it is technically a desk job.
• You do outdoor things, including gardening.
• You can be on your legs shopping for two hours and not think about it.
• You choose to walk instead of driving to do errands if you can accomplish your chores in about the same amount of time.
You're an advanced or above beginner if:
• You play sports or do other fitness activities, such as tennis, golf, swimming or aerobics, fairly regularly.
• You spend a lot of time on your feet each day moving around.
• You choose active vacations that involve activities like hiking, skiing, and bicycling.
• Besides being quite active, you read a lot about women's health, fitness, and sports.
Set a Goal and Write It Down
Establishing a goal gives focus and commitment to your efforts. Putting the goal on paper gives it a significance beyond those easily set — and just as easily broken — New Year's resolutions we all make.
At the same time, don't hesitate to alter your goal if circumstances change. Perhaps a new job or family responsibilities make it impossible to keep your original goal. Instead of abandoning it completely, simply make the necessary adjustment.
Be realistic about your goal. It's great to have dreams, but don't be a fantasist. Make it high enough to push yourself, but not so ambitious that it can't be reasonably attained. If you start with a modest goal, when you reach it you can set another, higher one, to strive for. Pretty soon you'll have a record of accomplishments — and that will feel great.
If you're unsure about how to set an objective, here are some worthwhile goals for different levels of fitness:
• To walk or run three times a week for twelve consecutive weeks.
• To walk or run three to four times a week until you can easily complete a 5K (5 kilometers or 3.1 miles) distance and enter a local fun run or race.
• To gradually replace smoking with exercise by cutting out a cigarette a day and replacing it with a brisk walk and deep breathing.
• To lose half of your excess weight over the next year by running or walking three times a week and maintaining your program.
• To follow a program and be able to walk or run a 10K race (6.2 miles) in six months.
• To compete in your age group in an upcoming race or meet.
• In addition to your regular running or walking program, to incorporate extra physical activity in your normal day. For instance, take the stairs instead of an elevator, walk rather than drive to do local errands, walk or bike with your family or friends rather than going to the movies. Write these changes down in your running or walking log.
• To become a thirty-minutes-a-day runner or walker.
• To become a forty-five-minutes-a-day runner or walker.
• To complete a marathon.
Have fun with your goals. Dream of what you can be and where you want to go and then use your goals to take you there. And don't forget to congratulate yourself when you reach a goal. Let everyone know — share the glory and accomplishment. Besides feeling good about yourself, you may inspire someone else.
TIP
It's easier to replace one habit with another rather than to give up something. When you give up something without replacing it, you feel deprived and resentful, even when it's a bad habit. For instance, running or walking temporarily suppresses the appetite and raises your mood, just as smoking or binge eating does for some people, so exercise works well as a replacement activity. Soon it will be a new habit.
Keep a Running or Walking Log
You can buy a fancy logbook for this purpose or use a school exercise book, a desk diary, or a calendar posted on your refrigerator to record your goals and your exercise activities. Write down your running or walking schedule, and then record the exercise you have done each day. Keep notes on how you felt during your workout, what you saw, or any things you want to add to your routine, like the weather, your diet, the shoes you wore and your monthly cycle (if you still have one!). Check your actual workouts against your goal to see how you are progressing. Writing notes gives you a concrete assessment of how much you are actually doing. If you don't write it down, it is very easy to fool yourself into thinking that you are doing more than you really are. (We all do this, so be honest, and be realistic.) By the same token, you may be surprised by how much you've accomplished.
Running and Walking: How Do I Breathe?
Every beginner asks this question, and after a week of walking or running, she never thinks about it again. The best advice is not to think too much about how to breathe, just walk or run and let it happen naturally! Here are some hints to help you breathe more easily:
• Breathe through both your nose and mouth. You need all the air you can get. Air is 21 percent oxygen, and oxygen energizes you.
• You shouldn't feel totally out of breath when you run. If you do, it's usually a sign that you need to adjust your workout. Perhaps you're running too fast or talking too much. Maybe you're too excited or anxious about something. Or maybe you are just going uphill. If you become winded, slow down or stop until you get your breath back. Then start again, this time at a more moderate pace.
• Getting somewhat breathless is actually an important part of training. You need to push slightly to expand your lungs and develop more breathing capacity. Also, the process of moving with less oxygen forces the body to produce more red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout your system. When you move faster and feel breathlessness coming on, back off a little and slow down without stopping. When you catch your breath again, you can start to pick up your pace. The combination of pushing and then relaxing is excellent training. Soon you will go faster and farther. There even will be periods of time when you'll feel you can walk briskly or run forever and never be breathless.
• Don't worry about taking air in — think about getting stale air out. A forced, hard exhale with your hands over your head several times during a workout always feels refreshing. It also relieves side aches, called stitches.
• Is there really a 'second wind'? It seems like magic, but it's a normal occurrence. Just when you are walking or running along and feeling utterly breathless, you suddenly begin to feel better and can breathe normally. There is nothing mysterious about it. What's happened is that you have slowed down very slightly so that you are getting enough air again. The difference between easy and not so easy running is often imperceptible to a beginner. This happens to elite racers, too, who get a second wind when they adjust their pace and get their body warmed up to accommodate the work load. You can get your own second wind by simply slowing a bit. It feels a lot better than having to stop.
• If you really feel you're having trouble breathing through your nose, ask your doctor to check the inside of your nose for obstructions, such as a deviated septum or polyps. This kind of problem can be corrected, and you'll feel much more comfortable while running.
TIP: The Awful Stitch
This cramp in your side, just under your last rib, can be as mild as an ache or as sharp as a knife point. Very common in children and beginners, it also afflicts elite runners. It hurts! Causes vary: starting a workout at a too- fast pace, erratic breathing, gas, constipation, eating too soon before exercise, or gulping down water during exercise. One way to prevent stitch is to breathe from the belly, not the ribs. To practice this, lie on your back with a book on your tummy and breathe so the book goes up and down. Try to maintain this breathing style during your next walk or run. To get rid of a stitch while exercising: slow down or even stop; put your hands over your head and make a forced hard exhale. Do this several times until the stitch goes away. Squeeze and massage the affected area.
Priming the Pump: The Warm-Up
The purpose of the warm-up is to start blood circulating and prepare muscles for the work ahead. It may also help prevent injuries because cold, tight muscles are not ready to respond to new work. A good warm-up also makes the workout a lot easier because running or walking on tight muscles can be uncomfortable. And it's especially important if you exercise early in the morning, when muscles are tightest.
The more intensive the performance, the longer and more thorough the warm-up should be. Elite athletes spend an hour or more warming up for an event that may last ten seconds! But for you, the warm-up should take only a few minutes and can be mostly incorporated as part of the walk or run itself.
BASIC WARM-UP: Take a few minutes to lean into a wall and stretch your calves and Achilles tendons. Slowly bend over and hang loosely. Lie on the floor and slowly and gently stretch your hips, lower and upper back — basically, the first four stretches pictured below. Then, start walking slowly; swing your arms in gentle windmills; shrug your shoulders and roll your head. Stop and bend from side to side, gently bend over and hang from the waist; straighten up slowly, and walk again, very slowly at first, gradually building your speed until you're into your regular workout, whether you are walking only or building up into a run.
Towel-Off: The Cool Down
At the end of your running workout, slow down and begin walking; at the end of your walking workout, slow down and start to amble. Easy exercise helps remove lactic acid that has built up in your muscles from your harder work — lactic acid causes soreness. Walk until you've completely caught your breath, swinging your arms, etc., as you did in the warm-up.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Running & Walking for Women Over 40"
by .
Copyright © 1999 Kathrine Switzer.
Excerpted by permission of Diversion Publishing Corp..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.