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Butcher's
Dog! Regular outdoor fitness tips from the
canine on creatine. Cold wet nose and glossy coat
guaranteed.
Explode into spring!
If you've been dashing around like a demented dog all
winter you can stop reading now, but what if you've been
hibernating hard and the prospect of sunshine's finally
tempted you out of your warm and cosy cave? Or maybe you've
just discovered the hills and wonder how on earth you'll
ever get fit enough to storm up Snowdon without collapsing
like an old sponge cloth at the top.
Well don't panic. All the past
Butcher's Dog articles are listed below, but we also
have some general advice for easing back into the hills and
making this your most mountainous year ever.
Ease back into things...
If you've had a winter lay off, it's tempting to throw
yourself straight back into the fray. Unfortunately your
brain probably hasn't sussed that your body isn't quite what
it was, so you need to take it easy to start with. Keep the
first weekend walk shorter than you'd normally attempt, or
make sure there's an easy escape route or two if you do find
you're not going as well as you thought.
Gradually increase the length and severity of your routes
over the first month or so until you can feel your fitness
coming back into play. You'll probably feel sore after the
first couple of walks. It's nothing to worry about, though
some gentle stretching before and after the walk may help to
minimise the aches.
Don't blow too soon...
It's tempting to go storming off up the first big slope,
but try to resist the temptation. Here's why - normal
walking on the flat or downhill is a relatively low
intensity activity, climbing uphill, however, is much harder
and can increase your heart rate up to an above anaerobic
levels, think panting and burning calves.
First, if you start too fast, you'll exhaust your muscle
glycogen supplies early on in the day and be stuck with a
plodding pace from then on. Second, if you really push
things, lactic acid builds up in your muscles. The
problem with this is that until you develop a tolerance to
it, the after-products of the acid actively hinder the
ability of the muscles to take up oxygen. As a result you'll
feel heavy legged for the rest of the day. Don't worry,
things will improve if you hit yourself hard regularly, but
take it easy to start with.
Mid-week training...
If you walk every weekend, you'll soon build up some
basic endurance and get your legs used to weight-bearing
exercise, you can speed things up though, by adding some
training mid-week.
Our favourite option is running because it's cheap and
easy to do and uses the same muscles as walking. You can
find a lot of excellent basic running advice on the
Runner's
World web site, but these are our quick tips:
• buy proper running shoes from a specialist
shop
• start gently. If you have some fitness background try
20 minutes gentle running
• keep the pace gentle to start with - you should be
able to talk as you run
• try not to run on consecutive days, rest is as
important as running
• increase the time you run gradually - say five
minutes a week - or you risk injury
• stretch before and after runs to reduce stiffness and
muscle soreness
• ideally stick to soft surfaces which reduces jarring
and injury
Running's not the only option. In the gym, treadmills and
steppers are both exercises that relate to walking, same
idea, start with about 20 minutes and build it up gradually.
Cycling is an excellent supplemental exercise, it's non- weight bearing and uses the legs slightly differently, so
makes a good alternative, particularly if you don't want to
run on consecutive days.
Hills...
As you get fitter, seek out some hills. Running uphill
relates closely to walking up mountains. You're using the
same muscle groups in a similar way and just as vitally,
you'll be pushing your heart and lungs harder than on the
flat. It's a bit like running a car at higher revs and the
more you do it, the better your body will become at
sustaining a faster uphill pace. Try running at the point
where you're just starting to become breathless then holding
that level.
Rest...
Training's all very well, but rest is just as important.
If you've had a hard weekend or a hard training session,
don't try and push yourself the next day. Either rest
completely or just keep your level of activity very gentle.
Push it too hard and your body never really recovers, so you
won't benefit from your hard work. If you feel bad or
unwell, don't train and don't feel guilty about it.
Motivation...
The editor of this site has been known to visualise
himself as a dog chasing bunnies across a field during
particularly heinous treadmill sessions. That may not work
for you, but try to find ways and activities you enjoy or
you simply won't stick with them.
Different people have different methods. Some think of
their next big goal or trip and grit their teeth, others
need a training partner for mutual support - it all depends
what works for you.
If you can build exercise into your regular routine, say
cycling or running to or from work or in the morning before
breakfast, you're more likely to hang in there and stick
with it. One hot tip if you run after work is to have your
running kit ready, change and train as soon as you get in
rather than get sucked into soap opera stasis...
That's it for now...
But scroll down for our previous articles with more
detailed outdoor fitness tips and we'll see you motoring on
the mountain soon.
Woof...
The Butcher's Dog
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