Part IX: The Accessories

In previous posts I had discussed how important working out is in order to achieve your best health. In order to be comfortable during a workout it is important to have the proper exercise attire, shoes, and accessories. I have experimented with many different types of clothes and shoes while running in order to make sure I reach my maximum potential. The information I will share with you is my own personal opinion and may not fit to what you would feel comfortable in while exercising.

There are so many different types of shoes that can be used for different exercises. The most important part of any shoe is having great support. Without the support you will strain your muscles with all your body weight being pushed down into your ankles and feet. Finding the best support for your foot is difficult because we all have different stances and we distribute our weight on different areas of our feet. I have found that Nike running shoes work best with the way that I walk and run because I tend to have more pressure on the front of my foot rather than using my heel. Nike shoes have thick soles that offer good support and are light enough to not be a burden on your legs. It is also very important to have the arch of your foot fully supported because you push off the ground by stretching your arch. If the arch of your foot isn’t supported you could pull a muscle in your foot or worse, you could start to lose your arch altogether.

When I first started exercising I always wore cotton shirts and basketball shorts. These materials are heavy and absorb sweat, which leaves you smelling terrible. As I learned more about how my body moves when I work out, I decided to start wearing dry proof materials and thinner and lighter exercise shorts. These materials helped ease the terrible smell your body gives off when you sweat. The clothes also keep you cool and more comfortable as you move in them because they stretch with your body movements. Sleeveless shirts are nice to wear during the warmer months of the year but they do chafe underneath your armpits because they rub your skin with the seam of the shirt. I like to wear lightweight shorts with pockets because I run and workout with a water bottle. Plus having a place to store personal items when exercising is always a plus.

Last year I bought an exercise watch that counts calories, shows the amount of steps I take, the distance I travel and even a heart-beat monitoring system. When I get back from my run I always log the information into a notebook for future records. After each month I can analyze my progress and set a goal for future months.

Join me next week when I discuss how important music is to your workout. 

Part VIII: The Awry Journey

Have you ever planned a trip where nothing went as expected? For some reason these trips usually are the ones we talk about the most. Last year I had planned a bicycling trip with a couple of friends. We wanted to take a local trail from our hometown to the southern most point of the trail. The destination was Kankakee, Illinois, which was a nineteen-mile straightaway on the gravel pathway. I was so excited because the furthest I had run on the trail was just a couple miles south, but never to the extent we planned on traveling.

When embarking on a long bike ride it is important to have all the essentials in a backpack. I loaded my backpack with food, five water bottles, my phone charger, a camera, my cellular phone, my wallet with some extra cash, sunglasses, and a hat. I didn’t bring suntan lotion with because I had already put some on before we left. The weather was supposed to be a perfect 75 degrees, partly cloudy and a nice, breezy amount of wind. I made sure I wore my good running shoes because I knew my feet would be comfortable in them while peddling.

Preparing my bike for the trip was difficult because I had to replace both tires, clean the belt, and find a seat that wouldn’t destroy my rear-end, among other things. Once I had the bike in tip-top shape I knew I was prepared and ready for the daylong trip. I called my friends to tell them I was ready and we met at my house around 7 A.M. in the morning.

After the first eight miles our bodies already began to ache because our seats were not comfortable. We managed to get through the pain by just talking the whole way to Kankakee. The scenery was gorgeous along the route, definitely a surprise to me. When we arrived at the end of the trail we decided to look at the map and see how far away Kankakee State Park was away from the trail. It looked like the park was only one mile away and we thought that would be worth the extra distance. We traveled a good distance when we finally realized that the one-mile marker on the map was not correct. We searched our phones to figure out exactly where we were because we had taken side roads to get to the park. Finally we were able to locate the park, it was a couple miles from our location. We laughed it off and continued on our way.

Eventually we arrived at the park and biked our way through the hilly terrain ending up next to the Kankakee River. We ate lunch and said it was time to begin our journey back home. Instead of rerouting where we just came from, we decided to cross the river and find our way back to the trail because it would be a shorter distance and less confusing to get to.

We were biking along the side of a busy road for quite a few miles when we thought we had gotten ourselves lost. According to our phones we were only two miles from the trail that would take us back to our hometown. On the way to the trail we ran across a biker bar and since we were running low on water, we decided to stop in. To our surprise the bar and its patrons were very nice, the bartender even cooked us tacos. It was a rest we all needed before we finished our journey home. Along the route home we all decided to go finish our biking adventure at our local ice cream shop. It gave us motivation to actually keep moving especially since we were all so tired and sore. At this point we had no clue how many miles we had just embarked on but we were quite curious. As soon as we arrived at home we jumped on the computer and calculated exactly where we biked and how many miles we logged. The distance we traveled was fifty miles. This was an experience I would never forget because it was so unexpected and hilarious to think that we just biked fifty miles for no reason.

Please join me next week when I discuss what to buy when looking for workout clothes and accessories. Enjoy your week.

Part VII: The Well-Balanced Diet

I love food. Fruits, vegetables, breads, dairy, sweets and meats, I love all of it. The amount of food that some of us consume per day is ridiculous; in fact it’s pitiful. It’s not just how much we eat that is unfortunate, but what we eat. There have been days when I would be in a rush in the morning, quickly grab a granola bar and run out the door. Although this may seem like a healthy breakfast it is not enough to fulfill the body throughout the morning.

Dieting has become a popular form of eating healthier and in portions. Dieting should be cautioned because some forms of dieting abstain you from eating the foods and proper nutrition needed on a daily basis.

Having a well balanced diet is encouraged. This is very different from dieting because having a well balanced diet is a habit whereas dieting is a temporary lifestyle. It is suggested that we eat three meals a day as well as a healthy snack. These meals include the usual breakfast, lunch, and dinner. With breakfast being the most important meal of the day I always made sure I filled up on fruit and oats.

During my journey I decided to look into diets to find one that would work for me. The problem was I couldn’t find any diet that I liked. At this point I decided to concoct my own diet. About seventy percent of my diet was breads and dairy. I had a thought that if I took breads and dairy out of my meals maybe it would help me lose more weight. You must substitute other foods in place of what you take out of your diet in order to continue the balance of nutrition.

The substitute I used for dairy was soymilk and almond milk. It is all natural and has double the calcium that a gallon of milk has. In reality, I could take all calcium foods and drinks out of my diet and have one glass of almond milk, which would provide me with enough calcium for the day. Since most of my diet was breads I decided to take almost all breads out of my everyday eating habit. The substitute I used for the breads was whole-grain products. It satisfied my craving for bread while also providing me with the oats and grains needed for my fiber intake.

It was difficult to go out and eat or even cook at home because breads and dairy are in almost every meal. I remember going to a burger restaurant and asking for a burger without the bread. As expected, the cashier gave me a weird look and plugged some buttons into the cash register computer. Soon enough the food came out and to my surprise the cook had made me a lettuce wrapped burger complete with vegetables and extra sides. It was great going to a restaurant and having such flexibility with what I wanted to eat.

Join me next week when I discuss how biking can improve your weight loss while helping you clear your mind.  I will also tell stories from a fifty-mile bike ride that I took on accident. Enjoy your week!