Health and Nutrition That Is AboveNBeyond

Wow, this week we hit the ground running with 2 great posts on How To Start Running.  I’ve been running since April 1997 and haven’t considered quitting anytime soon.  With this being February, I thought this would be a great time to devote some articles on the sport of running.  Especially since, if one would get started now, by the time Summer would get here, the newbie runner would have some time invested in the sport and would be able to start  having a summer filled with running.

I know when I haven’t been running in a while.  My attitude changes, as well as my outlook.  Running changes everything for me and I  end up paying for it if I am not running.  Running is my outlet and there are those times where tuns of frustrations get dealt with during a good run.  I run any distances ranging from 2 miles up through and including 8 to 10 miles depending upon my motivation.  My favorite distance has to be 4 miles.  It’s just that I am the most satisfied after returning from a run after doing this distance.  If I do any distance shorter than 4 miles, than it’s like I missed something or was short changed.  Though, there are times I have no choice and don’t have the time to run longer runs.

For those who are a bit aggressive, be warned, there have been times that my focus changed to the point where running wasn’t fun, that I was only training to do races and it became like a job after a while.  So drops the motivation when this happens.  But, it’s what you want out of running that matters.

A lot of the times when I am running, I am also training for my next race. So, if you feel that your activity is lacking something, perhaps, you should consider kicking it up a notch and add racing to your activity. Racing an be advantageous in many ways. You can make new friends, help with your fitness goals and more. You don’t have to be a runner, to take part in racing. Biking and kayaking are other ways to get involved in racing. Not sure what to do, just google it. By adding racing to your sport or activity, you make it more fun and worthwhile to do. It then becomes more of your life than just doing it for the sense of fitness. There is also Trail Running & Racing to add even more of a spice to racing. This adds more challenges to more than just running on the pavement. Now, you don’t have to jump right into marathons or huge races. Start small, like 5k’s for running or other small courses and then build yourself up. When I started racing, I only did 5k’s for a while until I got brave to advance to 10k’s.

If you’ve never raced before and in this case, for runners, after paying your entry free, you’ll get a FREE T-Shirt or other item as suggested by the event of your choice. Usually, those who placed by age group get an award for 1st, 2nd or 3rd place finishers. Some events even have door prizes. Some races have food and refreshments at the end of the race (usually water, fruit’s & bagels).

Racing adds competitiveness to your sport and makes it a fun and exciting workout to take part in. Who said fitness had to be boring? Oh, and by the way, how old is to old to race? I was in my mid 30’s when I was a newbie to running in races.

Well, for me, my preference is undoubtedly H30 Fitness Drink for more than just one reason. While I used to sell Herbalife, this is how I found this drink and when ever possible, I still use this drink. Now, I do have a second favorite fitness drink which is Poweraide Zero. When I don’t have H30, I use this. Now for those who have a head problem with “second best”, hey, they are both great drinks! Now for the facts on these two great drinks:

Poweraide Zero

Electrolytes:  55mg Sodium / 35mg Potassium

Advantage:  Zero Calories & available locally

H30 Fitness Drink

Electrolytes:  100mg Sodium / 100mg Potassium

Advantage:  Portable (Packettes or cannister)

Now, I admit that I am partial to both of these great fitness drinks, so of course, they are my top two favorites. If electrolytes are your main concern, then H30 is the way to go.  Whenever possible, I go with H30.  It’s rather neat, all I need is a bottle of water and a packet of H30.  This is cool especially if I am away somewhere.

Regardless which Fitness Drink is your favorite and it does not have to be these two, you need to make sure that you are getting enough electrolytes with your drink of choice.  If you are not, then your choice is not worth it.  Electrolytes are critical in your choice of fitness drinks to help guard against dehydration.

Before I “got active”, I always just grabbed a soda or any drink readily available.  As I got more active and learned more, I later changed my choices to fitness drinks or energy drinks, which ever applied to the given situation.

See also:  Dehydration, Realities, Do’s Don’ts and What you should know about soda

Where do you see yourself now or in years to come? Do you look at yourself and lie? “Oh, I’m not that bad, there are those worse than me”. That’s denial if you feel that way. If you are not even sure where you stand, but want to know more about where you stand with your weight, check out this BMI calculator found on Active.com. This resource is FREE and very much worth your using, check it out. Even if you have a minor dislike or negative feeling on how you currently are, that should be enough to do something. Don’t let that small bad seed grow up into something you really don’t like. Now, if you are way past this, then consider this article your wake up call. It’s never to late to change the course of your ship. After all, what do you got to loose? Weight? Think of it this way, if you loose just 10 pounds, that is like two 5 pound weights that you just put on the shelf that you’ve been walking around with.

Now, something special, and coming soon…….

There will be a new section to Abovenbeyond4u.com to get you moving in the direction that best fits you. This section will be FREE and motivate you and hopefully excite you in taking action. Whether it be weight loss, getting active, this section is for you. There will no longer be excuses not to take action for yourself unless you really like where you are at! More information on this section will follow near to when this section becomes available.

Whether or not you have been involved with a passion, such as running, swimming, biking etc, you don’t have to continue being bored or getting nowhere. I really like to run and it’s my main fitness focus. Yes, I do lift weights, jump rope and do a variety of exercises. But, when it comes right down to it, I’m a runner.
There are times that running takes center stage and I tend to forget the rest and then return to it as I can. I’ve been active since 1997 and even I get bored now and then. When I do, I try to find ways to change things up a bit.

What I do when I need to un-bored myself is I search the Internet for ideas especially when I run out of my own. With my being one who does 5k and 10k races, I’m always trying to find some new way to mix things up a bit.

Here are some things I do:

1. I find a new running route
2. Change my indoor workouts (weight lifting and other exercises)
3. Create new goals
4. For times when I’ve had enough, I SLOW down and just do it for the fun of it

Here are some good sources to get going……

1. For suggestions or tips on fitness for women, check out Womens Health Magazine
2. For suggestions or tips on fitness for men, check out Mens Health Magazine
3. For those into running, check out Runners World