Final Prep for the Broad Street Run 10-miler

My favorite race is coming up on Sunday and several of my clients are giving it a shot. Today I am sharing with you the final instructions for them as they prepare for Sunday. Remember, if you have an upcoming distance race I can provide in-person or online training plans to help you reach your goals.

I hope you had a good final long run this past weekend. For the rest of the week you should do moderate total body workouts until Thursday and one last relaxed run on Friday. No more than 3 miles. If you want to do a light run on Saturday that is fine to but that is just to stay loose. None of your workouts this week are going to impact your overall fitness or time enough to make a big difference on Sunday. You really just want to continue to feel “ready”. That means well-stretched and active.

Things to remember for Sunday.

1. Eat something small in the morning. A piece of fruit, energy bar like a Clif Bar, or a small portion of yogurt/granola. It should be something you eat before other runs. Rule #1 – you don’t want to try something new on race day!!
2. The weather looks good for Sunday. High of 68 but you’ll be done before that kicks in. Better to underdress. You’ll warm up soon enough. If you go long sleeves make sure it is breathable and comfortable.
3. Arrive early. Packet pick-up should be the day before so you’ll have all your stuff. But you want to get there early enough to find parking, your corral and get warmed up. There is a suggested warm-up below. Also, the porta-potty lines are LONG so you want to make sure you save about 20 minutes to stand in line if you need to go before the race.
4. 30,000 people is a lot. You will be moving slowly the first mile and a half through no fault of your own. If you are really focused on your goal time then try to start at the beginning of your corral or in the corral before your assigned one. That way you “should” be with people who are faster than you and they won’t hold you up. If you start too far back you’ll have a frustrating beginning.
5. There are digital timers at every mile marker. Remember to note the time as you go under the start line (if you start in a middle corral it could be 15 minutes before you get under it). Subtract that time from the time on the digital display to know how you are doing.
6. Run toward the center of the road. Running on the side of the road for long distances can cause your knees and ankles to hurt because of the slant in the road.
7. After you settle in to your rhythm and your goal pace, find 4 or 5 people up ahead who are at that pace and either match them or if you’re feeling spunky try to catch them gradually. Every mile maker find a new group of 5 people up ahead to follow. If you pick the wrong person and they are not going fast enough just pass them by and find someone else up ahead.
8. Don’t wait to eat and drink. Get water within the first two miles and continue throughout the race. It is hard to over hydrate with the little cups they give you but it is easy to under hydrate and then you can’t catch up. I don’t drink well while running so I step to the side, drink and then start up again. It only takes 5 seconds to do that.
9. When you enter the Navy Yard you’re not done. There is still a quarter to a half mile to go. It’s easy to get the feeling that you are finished but resist the urge to coast.
10. Enjoy the atmosphere. There will be people lining the streets, bands playing, the mayor will be out near city hall. Take it all in. This is the funnest 10 miles you’ll ever run!!

I hope you have a great run! I’m excited for you! Let all of your energy out. Broad Street always feels easier than any other distance run. I’m going to be in New Orleans for the Jazz and Music Fest or I would be running too. I’ll text you later Sunday to see how it went.

Warm-up

I suggest a full body warm-up prior to the race. You should get your heart rate elevated a little and open up your lungs before your first stride. Go through this once when you get there and then a couple more times as the race approaches.

10 arm circles forward and back

10 torso rotations with your arms out to the side

20 body weight squats

25 jumping jacks

20 high knees

20 pushups (yes, you’ll be the only one doing pushups to warm up but we need to get your heart rate up, your upper body moving and your core muscles activating)

Be well,

Paul

Paul Dziewisz
Active Personal Fitness
www.ActivePersonalFitness.com
267.626.7478

Fat Loss Tip of the Week from Active Personal Fitness

This week's tip talks about a short cardio interval workout that will burn calories, amp up your heart rate and give you a great post-workout calorie burn. All you need is 10-15 minutes and some room to move.

Head outdoors to a park or a local track. You can also do this on a treadmill, elliptical or indoor rower.

1. Start a clock.

2. At the beginning of every minute go as hard as you can for 30 seconds.

3. Rest for the remainder of the minute.

4. Begin the next round at the start of the next minute.

5. Repeat for 10 to 15 rounds.

You can measure your progress on a track or at a park by stopping your run and restarting at the same spot. The more distance you cover the more work you've accomplished.

If you are a beginner, then power walk for 40 seconds and rest for 20 seconds each round.

If you are advanced, then sprint all out for 20 seconds and rest for 40 seconds each round.

Be well,

Paul

Paul Dziewisz
Active Personal Fitness
www.ActivePersonalFitness.com
267.626.7478
"You give us the effort...we'll get you the results."
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Your Pushups For Charity questions answered

We are less than two weeks away from the Central Bucks Pushups for Charity Challenge. If you haven't registered already now is the time to reserve your spot.

When is the event?

Saturday, April 16th at 10am

North Branch Park on Park Ave. in Chalfont

(adjacent to the New Britain Township Bldg)

Who does it benefit?

All proceeds go directly to the Wounded Warrior Project, a national organization that provides assistance to severely wounded veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. WWP is a designated 501(c)(3) charity by the IRS and your donation is tax deductible.

What do I have to do?

As many pushups as you can do in 90 seconds. That's it...90 seconds. We don't care if you can do 2, 20 or 50. The top 5 scores from your team will determine the winning team. If you're not in the top 5, no problem, you won't hurt your team's score.

Do I have to ask my friends for money?

No. You need to donate or fund raise a minimum of $50. We do want to raise as much money as we can so we encourage you to raise funds by asking your friends, family and co-workers to donate on your behalf. But if you want to put up the $50 out of your own pocket then go for it.

How do I signup?

Register at the event website www.PushupsForCharityCentralBucks.com.

What if I just want to donate?

Donations can be made online at http://wwpproudsupporter.kintera.org/pushupsforcharitycentralbucks. Click "Sponsor Participant". Search for the name of the person you want to sponsor (use my first and last name if you want to make a general donation to event) and then fill out the information requested.

Or write a check made out to the "Wounded Warrior Project" and either hand it to the participant you want to sponsor or mail it to Paul Dziewisz, 645 Patrick Place, Chalfont, PA 18914.

What can I win?

The winning team will receive a $150 gift card for a team party at Skyline Tavern in Chalfont. The second place team will receive a $100 gift card to Skyline Tavern. The prizes for the top fundraiser and the top individual pushup champion have yet to be revealed but think dinner for two at a great local restaurant and you'll be close.

I'm out of town, how can I participate?

No problem. Take a video of yourself doing pushups for 90 seconds and post it to YouTube. Send us the link at getfit@activepersonalfitness.com. Your pushups will count for team event and we'll gladly accept your donations.

What if I have more questions?

Call Paul at 267.626.7478.

Be well,

Paul

Paul Dziewisz

Active Personal Fitness

www.ActivePersonalFitness.com

267.626.7478

"You give us the effort...we'll get you the results."

Me and Serena Williams

On Wednesday Serena Williams tweeted “bad day” to her Twitter followers.

Serena has won 13 major tennis championships. She is a successful business person in the fashion industry. Her endorsements contracts are huge. What could be so bad?

“It’s a blood clot in your lungs.” That’s what they told me in the spring of 2006. The medical term is pulmonary embolism but at the time it didn’t register in my head. It should have. My father-in-law had died from a post-operative pulmonary embolism ten years earlier.

For me, it started with what felt like an upset stomach at noon on a Friday. It was uncomfortable enough that I left work early that day (I was a corporate cubicle dweller at the time). By 6pm I thought I had pulled a muscle in my left rib cage. It was plausible; I had worked out that morning and could have strained something.

By Friday evening I had tied the pain to my breathing. Deep breaths equaled searing pain in my ribs. Shallow breaths meant the pain wasn’t so bad. Being the stubborn, indestructible guy that I think I am, I went to bed.

By morning, at the urging of my wife, I headed to the emergency room. Every moment ratcheted up the pain level. In at 10am, put through a battery of tests including x-rays, blood tests, physical exams, more x-rays and finally six hours later a CAT scan.

Even after the CAT scan the nurse came into my room and prepared to release me. They hadn’t found anything. It must be a muscle strain.

Then 30 minutes later things changed. A small embolism was found in my lung on the last scan. Quickly I was put on a blood thinner and whisked up to a hospital room where I spent the next 5 days bed ridden while the Heparin dissolved the clot.

“Bad day” indeed.

Serena was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism last week and is likely to face a minimum or 6 months on a blood thinner, perhaps a lifetime. This is not good news for an athlete. The regular intense workouts, the hours spent on a hard court surface and the occasional scrapes and falls that go with it are not great for someone who, once cut, can’t form a clot due to their medication.

Add the endless travel of a pro athlete and she has many obstacles to overcome to regain her footing as a great tennis player. (Airline travel was likely the cause of my clot. If you don’t move around regularly your blood will pool and the risk of a clot increases.)

However, I'm proof that a fully active lifestyle is possible. Six months of blood thinners and I was allow to stop taking them. I had no family history and no risk factors for forming clots. I get up and walk around on any flight that lasts more than an hour. I ride my bike fast, mix it up on the tennis court occasionally, hike with the dogs and stay moving like I did before. That clot changed my life in other ways.

That small clot is largely responsible for a dramatic turnaround in me. I used that bad day as a wake up call. My life changed significantly over the next several months. I chucked my corporate career, re-committed to be fit and healthy, and started my personal training business. I’ve never felt better and never loved what I do as much as I do today.

Hopefully Serena's bad day is just that, a single day that she will fully recover from.

Be well,

Paul

Paul Dziewisz
Active Personal Fitness
www.ActivePersonalFitness.com
267.626.7478

The Cycle of Quitting

I ran across an article yesterday by Suzanne Evans, a business coach. I don't know Suzanne but her article resonated with me. Her "Cycle of Quitting" doesn't just apply to the business world. It also applies to people trying to lose weight, get lean and get healthy. I've gently re-written her article below to talk specifically about fitness but the crux of it is hers. You can see more of Suzanne's articles here.

There are two types of quitting:

1) Giving up

2) Walking away from something harmful or hurtful

I get a bird's eye view of - THE QUITTERS. I know some would say we should talk about the winners, but I must say I probably learn more from the quitters. The winners show up, suck up, cry, stomp, celebrate, and then rinse and repeat over and over. Every successful person who has lost weight or gotten fit that I have EVER worked with, mentored with, or been a colleague to has had the exact same formula.

The quitters are a bit more interesting. They are very creative and it is interesting where and how "quitting" shows up. Now remember the #1 reason exercisers fail is they stop- yep-stop. I have been watching the 'quitters cycle' for a long time and I know when it starts to creep up on people and kick in. I think it would be useful for people to see a lineage of how it starts and how they might stop themselves, as well as see the difference between something needing to come to an end and just quitting.

It usually appears like this...

Second guessing ~ fear ~ blame ~ projecting ~ overwhelm ~ blame ~ action ~ (the quitting) ~ relief ~ second guessing ~ fear and over again

Fascinating, right? I am using it as a paradigm for myself to catch me and where I am falling into the cycle - you can honestly use it for anything - the gym, your business, a relationship, etc. So, I don't want you to be a quitter...frankly, seeing people give up on their dreams daily can sometimes overwhelm me and blind me to the people actually living theirs, but I know you are out there. I know you are striving and working and living your gifts.

Here are a few tips to stay in the game, even when you would rather throw in the towel:

1) Have a clear vision of exactly what you want - relationship, money, freedom, environment, and spiritual. If you have a clear vision in writing and in your view, it is harder to let that vision go or the dream die.

2) Get real. One of my mentors says... "It is simple, but it is not easy." Success is hard work. No one ever won the Oscar, Gold Medal, Nobel Peace Prize, or lost 50 lbs by half ass showing up. And don't fool yourself....are you thinking you are working hard or are you spending a lot of time around thinking about succeeding and processing your next step.

3) Get good advice. The people around me won't let me quit. Surrounded yourself with a circle of influence. I have a tribe of tough and loving go-getters who want the same goals as you and will hold you accountable. When you want to stop, take a moment and remember that giving up on yourself is also giving up on them.

4) Care. I know you have gifts to share. Your life experience has value and people are meant to be transformed by your connection and your talent. Care enough to keep going. Care enough to share and keep going.

If you do what you love and you love people while you do it there is no reason to quit. Stopping is not an option. See you at the finish line!

Be well,

Paul

Paul Dziewisz
Active Personal Fitness
www.ActivePersonalFitness.com
267.626.7478

Why Your Workout is NOT Working Out

Are you getting the results you expect from your exercise routine? As a trainer I ask prospective clients this question all the time. Many of them respond “no”.

I’m not one of them. I get the results I want. My fitness level has soared over the last two plus years. In fact, I am nearly as fit now as I was when I was on the rowing team in college 22 years ago. And in many areas I blow that scrawny kid out of the water. How do I know? I measure my progress all the time (I even blogged about self-assessment).

My 2000 meter row is close to my college time and my squat, deadlift and overhead press are far better now then they were back in the day.

“But you’re a trainer, that’s why you’re fit.” I hear that all the time. The assumption is I hang out in a gym all day and do pushups. Actually, that’s not even close to the truth. I’m a small business owner so on the days when I can make time to workout it has to be short and sweet (I’ve also blogged about my workout routine).

So how did the 180 lbs college guy add 27 good pounds without the help of supplements, vitamins, or drugs (legal or illegal). I figured something out. Effort = Intensity = Results.

And I learned to get uncomfortable.

More than that, I determine that every workout must give me 4 distinct feelings; humbled, exhilarated, defeated and triumphant.

Why humbled? If you do not feel inferior in the face of your workout (even if it is just momentary) then you are not choosing a workout that is challenging enough to get results. At some point during every workout I say to myself “I’m not sure I can get through this.” That is not a sign of weakness. That needs to be a fact. You have to doubt your ability to finish. That’s when you know you’re working out hard.

Why exhilarated? In the face of feeling humbled I rise up and keep going. Do I take a short break, catch my breath, curse at my list of exercises? Yes. Do I continue to work until I am done? You bet. Sometimes the workout beats you up. That’s the humbling part. But when you beat up the workout you’ll get that overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and exhilaration.

Why defeated? I measure every workout. How long did it take? Was I faster than last time? How many circuits did I finish in 20 minutes? Was it more than last time? And just when I feel good about myself I make sure I find out how long it took the elite athletes and how many circuits they finished. I think I’ll never reach their numbers.

Why triumphant? In the face of a challenging workout that you are not sure you can finish, in comparison to elite athletes who crush your times and results, I am able to see steady progress. I completed the workout. I did it faster than I ever had before. I am stronger, faster, more agile and healthier than last year or last month or last week. And that feels AMAZING!!

Be well,

Paul

Paul Dziewisz
Active Personal Fitness
CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
NASM - Certified Personal Trainer
Website | Facebook | Blog
267.626.7478
"You give us the effort...we'll get you the results."

Lessons in the 'Fierce Urgency of Now'

Yesterday, President Obama awarded 15 people the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor our country can bestow. I watched the ceremony and was moved. These noble people picked themselves up and then helped others do the same. I've pulled some short bios from the President's remarks. Find some inspiration....

As President Obama said, these people are "the best of who we are and who we aspire to be.”

John Adams – In 1970 he and a small group of unpaid attorneys and law students setup an environmental law office with some old desks, chairs and file cabinets. The group became the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Sitting at the same desk for 36 years he said “if people want to protect the environment we’ll support their efforts…if not, we’ll play hardball.” With more than 1 million members they have acted as the planet’s lawyer.

Maya Angelou – As a girl she suffered trauma and abuse that led her to literally stop speaking. She found a voice in poetry and writing and inspired millions with her words. She taught us “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived. And if faced with courage, need not be lived again. Lift up your eyes upon the day breaking before you. Give birth again to the dream.”

Warren Buffet – At age 11 he invested all of his savings in 6 shares of City Services Perferred at $38 per share. The stock dropped sharply but he stayed the course. 70 years later he is not only one of the world’s richest men but one of the most admired and respected. He now devotes the vast majority of his wealth to those around the world who are suffering, sick or in need.

Gerta Klein – She spent 3 years in concentration camps enduring a 360-mile death march and weighing only 68 lbs when she was found by American forces. Now an author, historian and champion for tolerance she said, “I pray you never stand at any crossroads in your own life. But if you do, if the darkness seems so total, if you think there is no way out, remember to never ever give up.”

Rep. John Lewis - “If not us then who? If not now, then when?” is the sign posted above a doorway in Nashville where students refused to leave lunch counters 50 years ago. Now a civil rights leader and considered the conscience of the U.S. Congress, he understood change could not wait for some other person at some other time. His life is a lesson in the fierce urgency of now.

Tom Little – An optometrist from New York he spent 30 years with his wife Libby in Afghanistan serving the children of the region and giving them sight amid the horrors of warfare and repeated invasions. Amid the recent conflict he was ambushed and murdered last year in a senseless act of violence. He was a true humanitarian.

Silvia Mendez – As a young schoolgirl in California her parents fought a landmark school segregation case to allow Latinos into public schools. That case in 1946 paved the way for the historic Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Constantly told by her mother that she is every bit as good as anyone else, she has made it her mission to spread a message of tolerance and opportunity.

Stan “The Man” Musial – A Hall of Fame baseball player who lost one of the prime years while serving in the U.S. Navy. Musial was the first player ever to earn $100,000 and then insisted on a pay cut when he did not perform up to his own high standards. He remains an untarnished pillar of the St. Louis community to this day and happens to be one of my dad’s favorite ballplayers as a kid.

Bill Russell – Cut from his basketball team in junior high, he led the University of San Francisco to two NCAA championships and in 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics his team won 11 NBA titles. He stood for civil rights and marched with Dr. King and stood by Muhammad Ali. He became the first African-American to be the head coach for any major sports team. I his words, “I am not a basketball player. I am a man who plays basketball.” Bill Russell was the consummate teammate and defined what it meant to be a winner.

President George H. W. Bush – His 70 years of public service included being a decorated Navy pilot, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., CIA Director, Vice President and eventually the 41^st President of the United States. A champion of service to others and to country he continues to lend his efforts to aid Haitian earthquake relief. His humility and decency reflects the very best of the American spirit.

All of these people took a stand for themselves first and then took a stand for others. All I ask you to do is take a stand for yourself. What are you waiting for?

Be well,

Paul

www.ActivePersonalFitness.com