Thursday July 9th

Lots of changes going on over here! It's been a busy couple days. Last night, I gave a talk to the Kitchener Running Room's learn to run a 10km program. I spoke about the importance of cross-training, especially strength-training..it's very commmon for runners- especially first-time runners, to get in the habit of ONLY doing that for their exercise. The benefits of cross-training include:
-Reduced chance of injury: All of running performed in the sagital plane (ie. going forward) and not the frontal plane (the side to side shuffling seen in sports), which increases the chance of repetitive injury...not to mention, running is 3-4x your bodyweight in terms of impact. By using different muscles, or muscles in a different manner, you also help prevent or correct muscular imbalances. This is particularly true with strength-training, because runners tend to have weak hips and poor pelvic stability, predisposing them to problems throughout their kinetic chain.

-Avoid burnout or boredom: Eventually, even the keenest runner can dread their daily runs because of the monotony of repetitively doing the same activity.


I suggested adding at least 1 cross-training activity in a week, especially sports that move in that frontal plane (squash, soccer, football, kickboxing, bootcamp classes) while avoiding walking and the elliptical. The elliptical is actually not a great piece of equipment, but that's another blog altogether. Curious? Send me an email or post here. I also recommended at least 2x of strength-training a week. I think this really surprised the group--cardio 3-4x a week AND strength-training on top of that? After I explained the numerous benefits of strength-training for runners (any runner out there that is not strength-training is missing out on increased speed, stamina, power, and endurance!) I emphasized that strength-training can be done in 20-30 minutes in the comfort of your own home. Try performing your routine while watching your favourite show. I also pared it down to the most essential movements for runners (of course, it's good to add in an upper body exercise or two but this is less essential for running).
-VMO ball squats
-bird dog
-glute bridges
-stork balance
-clamshells

There are tons of other great ones out there, but this addresses the key muscles group to successful and injury-free running: VMO balance, transverse abdomonis, erecter spinae group, internal/external obliques, glute med, glute max, hamstrings and the ability of proprioception. Want a description on how to complete these? Email me at jess@synerjay.ca for more details.

In other 'news', my business cards are in and the website is well on it's way..probably about two weeks yet. Check back to my blog for when it's ready. I'm also having a photoshoot this month or early Aug for my blog..if you have a great idea for a cool image, I'm all ears!

Waterloo Bootcamp in Waterloo Park- $5 this Sunday July 12. If you'd like to sign up, but haven't yet, please email me. It runs from 11am-12pm, with 45 minutes of cardio and strength training and 15 minutes of education while we stretch and cooldown. This is a trial class- I'd like to offer a regular bootcamp class come Aug or Sept...if a regular $5 bootcamp twice a week interests you, please email me at jess@synerjay.ca. I"m looking into indoor facilities right now, so if there is a group consensus on preferred days of the week and time, that will help.

Last note- As I mentioned on Monday, I went to a talk Tuesday on the cleansing product line called Isagenix. I was actually pretty impressed with the main speaker's presentation... he avoided fluffy claims and cited real scientific studies and facts that I myself as a trainer know to be true, especially about hormones and weight loss. The key tenet of their line is that our world is very polluted with toxins..not only from processed chemicals we eat, but also what is in our environment and we can come in contact with (ie. cleaning products). These toxins are enrobed in fat by the body as a preventative mechanism, which is why when these products 'release the toxins' (how this is done or the mechanism behind that was not explained) the extra fat is too. What I did like as that they called this the missing link for weight loss and health, not a replacement to good ol' exercise and diet. There are many different options for the cleansing, but none of them are 'fasts'. On cleansing days, on the various packages, you drink a certain liquid 4 times a day with minimum organic food during the day. On 'shake' days, you take two shakes a day, organic snacks, and a 'sensible 400-600 calorie meal'.

I sent him an email regarding how this program would work for athletes and hypoglacemic persons like myself, who need to eat a lot and might suffer on cleanse days. I was impressed with the promptness of his reply, which suggested eating as much as I need to to feel well, but no more. There are also certain foods you avoid or enjoy, as they say, while on cleanse or shake days. A couple of local KW'ers actually stood up and gave real life testimonials, which was interesting, including two chiropractors that use this product in their practice. That's another topic though- you can become an associate and sell this product like a home business. They didn't go into much of it, except that whoever recruits you to sell it benefits from what you sell and vice versa, same as the people you recruit to sell it.

The last interesting note- it was consistently emphasized that this is real food with over 240 nutrients, it's just coming in shake or juice form.

Would I recommend it? Well I haven't tried it, so based on that alone I wouldn't. I will say the products are pretty expensive and require a lot of diligence and control around your eating schedule. I consulted with a mentor of mine, my chiropractor, and while he doesn't use it, he did say he believes it's 100% safe and effective..but perhaps there are other ways of cleansing for almost free..such as lots of water, eating organic and unprocessed foods.

That's all for now!
-Jess