Irongeezer    A Guide to a Healthy, Active, and Fit Lifestyle    Irongeezer

Cliff "Irongeezer' Eggink and Tatjana "Irongeezelle" Eggink at the 70.3 Ironman World Championships, November 2009 ABOUT US - - irongeezer.org - IronBoomer.com - irongeezer.com  Cliff & Tatjana retired in January, 2010 as USA TRIATHLON Level I Certified Coaches. Cliff also retired in 2008 as a USA Cycling Certified Coach. Cliff "Irongeezer" Eggink was born in 1936 and is a six time Ironman triathlon competitor.  He has earned two Ironman podium finishes in the 65 - 69 age group, and two Ironman podium finishes in the  70 - 74 age group. Tatjana is a professional educator, an American Senior Fitness Association Senior Personal Trainer,  and has completed several Ironman Triathlons. They are avid triathletes, hikers, kayakers, swimmers, cyclists, runners, and cross-trainers. IRONGEEZER.ORG Cliff & Tatjana Cliff Before you start your 5K/10K training plan, set a goal." Goals are not merely words, thoughts, and ambitions. A goal is defined as the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve. And there you have it....the inherent detail that often gets missed when a person has a good intention to set and achieve a goal. Thinking it and saying it do not cause the goal to be reached. The "missing link" is the plan. Planning is the absolute key to succeeding in virtually any arena. Source: Dr. M. Pisciottano. If you are new to running, irongeezer.org recommends that your goal for your first 5K should be to FINISH the event, feeling good about yourself, and what you have accomplished. If you are in 10th place or last place, it just doesn't matter. Have fun and finish, even if you walk the entire event. The beginner 5K & 10K training plans below are permanent. These plans will be posted here thru 2016. Refer to them as often as you like. Just put this site in your "favorites." Tell a friend to join you here! No sign in - No ads by Google - No spam - Free You should be walking, bike riding or doing some form of activity before staring this beginner level program. We think you should be walking at least 20 minutes per day, four to five days per week. Discuss a "get off the couch" program with your doctor. Irongeezer.org. You should also be cross-training, several exercises are listed on the "home page" of this site. Review them and pick a set that you like. This plan is a record of what we did. We are not recommending that you follow this plan. Your plan is up to you, your doctor, and your coach. POST YOUR TRAINING RECORD IRONBOOMER.COM Another free service if your are using our Running Plans Post you daily workouts on the wall - IronBoomer.com is an affiliate of Irongeezer.org Ask Training questions Meet others in training This is new - Make it fun - Just click on facebook > > > > BASIC TRAINING PLAN FOR YOUR FIRST 5K AND 10K RACES. First 5K Week Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun 1 off 30 min. walk or jog off 30 min. walk or jog off 30 min. walk or jog off 2 off 35 min. walk or jog off 35 min. walk or jog off 35 min. walk of jog off 3 off 40 min. walk or jog  off 40 min. walk or jog off 40 min. walk or jog off 4 off 45 min. walk or jog of 45 min. walk or jog off 45 min. walk or jog of 5 off 1.5 mile jog off 1.5 mile jog off 1.5 mile jog off 6 off 1.75 mile jog off 1.75 mine jog off 1.75 mile jog off 7 off 2 mile jog off 2 mile jog off 2 mile jog off 8 off 2.25 mile jog off 2.25 mile jog off 2.25 mile jog off 9 off 2.5 mile jog off 2.5 mile run off 2.5 mile jog 30 min. walk 10 off 2.75 mile jog off 2 mile run off 2.75 mile jog 40 min. walk 11 off 3 mile jog off 2 mile run off 3 mile jog 40 min. walk 12 off 3 mile ez run off Combo 2 mile walk & run off rest 5K race enjoy! Your first 5K, 12 week build up program. Beginners should not be afraid to walk. If at any time you feel over worked, try a walk-jog combination. As an example, you could jog 5 minutes, walk 5 minutes, jog 5 minutes etc. If you would like more information on this, contact us. Irongeezer.org recommends that you wear a heart rate monitor when you train. Buy one, read the instructions, and use it. If you want to take more than 12 weeks to prepare for your first 5K, simply repeat any of the weeks until you feel like progressing. You should be active (walking, biking, running or some kind of activity 30 minutes per day minimum) before starting this program & clear it with your doctor. First 10K 8 week buildup program after having completed a 5K race. Week Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun 1 off 2 mile jog off 2 mile jog off 2 mile jog off 2 off 2 mile jog off 2 mile jog off 3 mile jog off 3 off 3 mile jog off 3 mile jog off 3 mile jog off 4 off 3 mile jog off 3 mile jog off 4 mile jog off 5 off 5 mile jog off 2 mile run off 5 mile jog off 6 off 5 mile jog off 2 mile run off 5 mile jog 30 min. walk 7 off 6 mile jog off 2 mile run off 5 mile jog 40 min. walk 8 off 4 mile ez jog off 2 mile jog off rest 10K Race enjoy! If you want to take more than eight weeks to prepare for your first 10K, simply repeat any one of the weeks at any point in the schedule. Always check with your doctor before starting any new activity or increasing your activity. A portion of these programs are based on Paddy Savage's first-timers' program in Hal Higdon's "How to train."

13.1   Half Marathon This 10 week plan for a 13.1 mile half marathon is a record of  our training. Our goal was not to win the race, but to do well within our age group, and enjoy the event. All training is done using a heart rate monitor. Most training is at an aerobic level. Week Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat sun 1 0 0 8 0 3 0 10 2 0 2 10 0 3 0 11 3 0 3 0 3 0 0 12 4 0 6 0 0 2 0 10 5 3 0 2 0 4 3 14 6 0 3 0 3 3 0 10 7 6 0 0 6 0 6 15 8 2 0 6 0 3 0 12 9 4 3 0 10 0 0 3 Race 3 0 2 0 0 1 13.1 The mileage may seem low compared to other plans you have looked at. Our main sport is triathlon, so while training for this event we continued to swim and bike on a regular triathlon training basis. Before starting this plan our fitness level was where we could complete a full marathon.  The plan above is what we did. We are not recommending that you follow this plan. Your actual training plan is up to you, your doctor, and coach. This table will be posted here thru 2016. Always check with your doctor before starting any new exercise activity, or increasing you present activity.  26.2 Marathon From Honolulu marathon organizers. One day per week rest. If you need an easy day, walk. You should have completed a half marathon before starting this program. Week 1: Run 5 miles one day, 4 miles one day and 3 miles on the remaining days.   Week 2: Run 6 miles one day, 4 miles one day and 3 miles on the remaining days.   Week 3: Run 7 miles one day, 4 miles one day and 3 miles on the remaining days.   Week 4: Run 8 miles one day, 5 miles one day and 3 miles on the other days.   Week 5: Run 10 miles one day, 5 miles one day and 3 miles on the other days.   Week 6: Run 11 miles one day, 5 miles one day and 4 miles on the other days.   Week 7: Run 12 miles one day, 6 miles one day and 4 miles on the other days.   Week 8: Run 14 miles one day, 6 miles one day and 4 miles on the other days.   Week 9: Run 16 miles one day, 7 miles one day and 4 miles on the other days.   Week 10: Run 16 miles one day, 8 miles one day and 5 miles on the other days.   Week 11: Do the same workout as week 10.   Week 12: Run 18 miles one day, 8 miles one day and 5 miles on the other days.   Week 13: Do the same workout as week 12.   Tapering off   Week 14: Run 9 miles one day, 8 miles one day and 5 miles on the other days.   Week 15: Run 8 miles one day, 5 miles one day and 3 miles on the other days.   Week 16: Jog 3 miles every other day. Run the marathon.   Note: Keep in mind that 16 weeks is a fairly short training period, especially if it’s your first time. If, by week 12, you think you could end up like Phidippides, don’t do it. There will be another race. Keep training and wait it out. Eventually you’ll be ready. Source: Honolulu Marathon organizers. How to measure your exercise intensity! Exercise intensity is a measure of how hard you're exercising. Here's why it matters — and how to measure it.You may have heard people talk about exercise intensity. But what does it mean? And more importantly, how do you measure it? Consider these simple strategies for monitoring how hard you're exercising. Exercise intensity definedThe intensity at which you exercise reflects the amount of oxygen your body uses to do an exercise and the number of calories you burn while doing it. In aerobic exercise — such as walking, swimming or cycling — intensity translates into how hard the exercise feels to you. As a general rule, moderate-intensity exercise is best. If you exercise too lightly, you may not meet your fitness or weight-loss goals. If you push yourself too hard, you may increase your risk of soreness, injury and burnout. Moderate-intensity activity decreases these risks and may even increase your odds of continuing your exercise program in the long run. Measure your exercise intensityModerate-intensity exercise should feel somewhat hard for you. Watch for these telltale signs: You're breathing faster. You're developing a light sweat. You're feeling some strain in your muscles. You can also use the talk test. If you can carry on a conversation of brief sentences but you can't sing a song, you're probably exercising in the recommended moderate-intensity range. Do the mathIf you'd rather get more specific, use your heart rate to measure your exercise intensity. When you exercise as hard as you can, your heart beats at its maximum rate. If you're a healthy adult, strive to exercise at your target heart rate — between 60 percent and 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. If you have an irregular heart rhythm or you're taking medication that affects your heart rate, ask your doctor about the best way to measure your exercise intensity. Here's how to calculate your target heart rate:Subtract your age from 220. This is your maximum heart rate. Determine the low end of your target heart rate by multiplying your maximum heart rate by 0.6. Determine the upper end of your target heart rate by multiplying your maximum heart rate by 0.85. So how do you use this information? While exercising, check your pulse. To check your pulse over your carotid artery, place your index and third fingers on your neck to the side of your windpipe. When you feel your pulse, look at your watch and count the number of beats in 15 seconds. Multiply this number by 4 to get your heart rate per minute. To check your pulse at your wrist, place two fingers between the bone and the tendon over your radial artery, which is located on the thumb side of your wrist. When you feel your pulse, look at your watch and count the number of beats in 15 seconds. Multiply this number by 4 to get your heart rate per minute.  Reap the rewards If your heart rate is within the range you calculated above, you're exercising at about the right level. If your heart rate is too low, pick up the pace. If your heart rate is too high, back off a bit. You'll get the most from your workouts if you're exercising at the proper intensity. Whether you gauge your intensity by how you're feeling or how hard your heart is beating, know that you're doing what it takes to maximize your workout. Source: Mayo Clinic

Always check with your doctor before starting any new exercise activity, or increasing you present activity. RUN - 18 Strength Exercises Runners Can Do at Home by Jay Wind Runners need strength, including the upper body, abdomen, and lower body. Strength keeps you going longer, faster, and . . . well, stronger. You need arm strength to push you along, chest and abdominal strength to carry you when you’re tired, upper leg strength to climb hills, and lower leg and foot strength to push off on each stride. Both short distance sprints and longer distance races (mile, 5K, 10K, 10M, marathon, ultras) require strength. Many runners ignore strength-building exercises, to their detriment. I’m certain one factor that’s kept me going all these years is that I’ve been lifting weights since I was 14.   You can buy dumbbells or disk weights, or fill a couple of plastic jugs with water or sand. A gallon of water weighs about 8 pounds.   Here are 18 strength-building exercises you can do at home.   1. Forward Swing. Stand upright with a weight in each hand. Alternately swing each arm from the center line forward, emulating a running stride.   2. Reverse Swing. From the same position, alternately swing each arm from the center line backwards. This arm swing is more efficient for faster running.   3. Upright Fly. Stand with your arms at your side. Bring the weight up with your arms fully extended. That’s harder, yes? Work on it until it isn’t harder.   4. Chest Fly. Stand with your arms fully extended. Bring the weight toward your chest. That’s hard, too.   5. Waist Curl. Stand with your elbow tucked into your waist. Bend your arms slowly toward your chest, one at a time. After the two harder fly exercises, the curl is actually fun.   6. Military Press. Stand with the weights at shoulder height. Raise one at a time or both as high as you can. Since strength is built by contracting or extending a muscle against resistance, stretch into the sky to increase the strength- building effect.  7. Overhead Curl. Stand with the weights overhead. Curl your arms backwards and forwards. You can go all the way from behind your neck to between your legs. Go slowly, keeping the trajectory under control.   8. Bench Press Without a Bench. Lie on your back with the weights at your shoulders. Lift the weights high. Stretch into the lift.   9. Lying Flying. Lie on your back with your arms extended. Lift the weight a little above the floor and explore your range of motion from high above your head to near your knees, all in the plane of your body.   10. Bent-leg Sit-ups. Lie on your back, feet together and flat on the floor, knees up, back flat. With the weight on your chest, raise your head and chest about 30 degrees -- not all the way. Relax. Repeat 25 to 100 times. Now bring your knees to your chest and do 25 to 100 more. Now extend your legs and point your feet toward the ceiling and do 25 to 100 more.   11. Oblique Sit-ups. Put your legs down, back in sit-up position. Raise your head and chest about 10 degrees. Twist to the right; re-center; twist to the left; re-center; and repeat 25 to 100 times.   12. Squats. For runners, perhaps the best strength exercise of all. Stand with legs spread wide. Balance the weights on your shoulders. Scrunch straight down towards the floor. Rise up. You should feel the burn in your thighs. Repeat 10 to 20 times until fatigued.   13. Lunges. Stand upright with one foot a long stride in front of the other. Balance the weights on your shoulders. Strain forwards. Strain backwards, shifting all the weight from front to back. Repeat 10 to 20 times until fatigued.   14. Splits. Stand in the squat position, upright, legs apart, weights on your shoulders. Lean all the way to the right, stretching the tendons on the insides of your legs. Re-center. Lean all the way left. Re-center. Repeat 10 to 20 times until fatigued.    15. Toe Raises. Stand upright with the weights on your shoulders. Raise your whole body from your toes. Repeat 10 to 20 times. The first few repeats are easy, but they get progressively harder.   16. Dips. Use two banisters or other fixed supports at arm level. Support yourself with two arms. Now let yourself drop and pull yourself up. Your resistance is your body weight. If you can find bars high enough so you can lift yourself clear off the ground and dip, even better.   17. Chin-ups, Pull-ups, Clasp-ups. I have a chin-up bar at home, don’t you? Put both hands around the bar and enclose it with your thumb. Raise your whole body from the floor until your chin is level with the bar. Drop down and do it again. With your hands pointed away from you, it’s a chin-up; with your hands pointing toward you, it’s a pull-up; with your hands together and the bar in the middle between both thumbs, it’s a clasp-up.   18. Push-ups. Back on the floor, face down. Put your hands directly under your shoulders. Touch toes to the floor. Push up in one smooth motion, with a straight line from your nose to your toes. Repeat until fatigued.   Note the three classes of weight-lifting workouts.   1. Doing large numbers of repeats with light weights and not much break is essentially an "aerobic" workout.   2. Doing two or three sets of 10 repeats at each station is a "toning" workout. 3. Doing three repeats of the most you can possibly lift, then adding a rack until you can lift no more, is a "catabolic" or "breakdown" workout. Body- builders do breakdown workouts about once a week and take 72 hours to recover afterwards. After aerobic and toning workouts, most runners need 48 hours of recovery--every two days. The statement "No Pain, No Gain" is literally true. The pain of a strengthening workout means you are pushing your muscles to their maximum. Don’t go beyond the point of pain; find the edge where you can work uncomfortably but acceptably. Then take a full two days to recover before lifting again. The recovery process makes you stronger.  “No pain, no gain?” In Irongeezer’s opinion, the maxim “no pain, no gain” is only applicable, if your goal is the catabolic workout. Most of us, including me, benefit from non-catabolic workouts. If you are new to weight training, you can benefit from these exercises, even if you are only using your own body weight as resistance. This runners workout will be posted here thru 2016, refer to it as often as you like.

Irongeezer    A Guide to a Healthy, Active, and Fit Lifestyle    Irongeezer

Irongeezer policy: Irongeezer.com, Irongeezer.org, IronBoomer.com, Irongeezelle.com, TriRenaissance, & Irongeezer & Associates policy. We do not sell or share your personal information, nor do we contact you, unless you have requested us to do so. Irongeezer.com & .org does not give medical advice. Always check with your doctor before starting any new activity or increasing your present activity. We and/or contributors to these Web sites will not accept liability for any injury, illness or death which results from application of advice or information contained in these pages. It is the viewer's responsibility to ensure that they are in a state of health which will enable them to safely undertake any strenuous exercise. The viewer is personally responsible for ensuring the safe application of any information described in these sites. We do not claim to possess the professional or academic qualifications of subjects presented on these sites. The information results from our own experience, or experiences we have read or been told about. Irongeezer™, IrongeezerSays™,IrongeezelleSays™, and Irongeezelle™ Trademarks of Cliff & Tatjana Eggink. Cliff Eggink is the original irongeezer™. Tatjana Eggink is the original irongeezelle™. © 2000 - 2010 Irongeezer and Associates. All rights reserved.