School is back this week for us too and that photo was taken at Vivi's open house (dry run for the little kids), which means there's a great emphasis for Vanessa and I to be up and ready before Vivi wakes so we can have some time to ourselves before the day starts and be prepared to hit the ground running when the little bunny wakes.  

Remember this quote?

The best way to ensure you'll have a great day is to prepare for it.  You know this.  

You also know there's a high cost when you simply wake up, without having planned and prepared and expect to present your best self to your day.  

The same goes with training.  Everyone needs to make time for self-care, otherwise they risk presenting their worst self to the world.  

One thing many people like to do for self-care is to run.  Put on your sneakers and go!  Can't get much simpler than that. 

However, did you know that you need to get in shape to run, not run to get in shape?  If I told you come exercise with me and said, "we're going to do 1500, as in one-thousand, five hundred plyometric bounds" (jumping from 1 leg to the other), would it sound enticing?  But that's, roughly speaking, how many bounds runners make in a 1-mile run.  

We jump hurdles (2-legs), 5 at a time and we hop hurdles (1-leg), 3 at a time in boot camp, to focus on quality and reduce risk for injury.  That's one way we help our athletes (members) get in shape to run.  We focus on landing softly and quietly to gently absorb the impact with the muscles and not with the bones.  This teaches proper deceleration and breaking as well as force loading, transfer and explosiveness.  

The other main way, we prepare for running is with a proper warm up.  Running without a proper warm up, means you go right into 1500 bounds without properly preparing your body.  You'll eventually get in shape, but will you get hurt first.  I'm not going to live my life in fear and neither should you, so if you want to run, run.  I'm also not going to take unnecessary risks when the costs are known and much is dependent on my ability and durability to perform.  So if I run, I warm up first.  It feels good and makes my run or sprints more fun.

Running with a proper warm up, counts towards cardio minutes, counts as exercise, does have a short term cost of decreased running performance for 1-6 weeks, but enhances run performance for weeks 6+ and helps to increase your odds you make it to 6 weeks + without an injury.  It also allows you to transition from ice cold, sitting on your butt not moving, to explosive, plyometric bounds on inconsistent and unpredictable surfaces, more gradually which benefits you physically and mentally.  Many if not all athletes use the warm up as their get focused and fired up time.  

Like Sam I Am, from Green Eggs and Ham said, "try it!  And you will see.  You'll like it..."

Prepare to win or prepare to fail.

Coach Mike

p.s.  here's a run warm up video and exercise list for reference.  

p.p.s.  if you want a custom tailored warm up routine, program, training plan, based around how you move, your goals and your unique situation, reply and let me know.

p.p.p.s.  also, all month is guest month at boot camp.  if you know someone who'd love what we do and can do what we do, invite them.