Month: April 2016

Categories
Sweat

Exercise-Induced Munchies: How Not To Blow Your Diet After Working Out

Have you started exercising on a regular basis in the hopes it will help you lose weight? That’s a really great thing to do. But do you seem to feel the need to eat more now that you are exercising? If the answer to that question is “Yes! That’s what’s happening to me,” you aren’t alone. Exercise-induced munchies is a real phenomenon and can definitely derail your dieting efforts. Here’s how to not blow your diet after working out.

Recognize It Happens

Not everyone feels the urge to eat more after exercise, but it is a real issue for some people. A study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that women who worked out intensely ate more calories immediately after working out than women who worked out less intensely. In fact, some of the women ate more calories than they burned while working out.

It’s an interesting study because it shows that overly intense exercise really can cause you to be hungrier and eat more than you need to lose weight. The remedy for this is to be cognizant of your food intake after particularly intense workouts and be smart about what (and how much) you eat.

Another reason for feeling hungry after workouts—even if you don’t exercise with a lot of intensity—is that when you work out, you burn off carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Your body naturally wants to replenish lost nutrients and sends a signal to your brain that you are hungry.

Monitor Your Experiences

Not everyone who works out overeats afterward or even later in the day. But if you are working out regularly and eating a good, healthy diet without seeing the scale drop, you might be eating more than you realize on the days you exercise.

I’d encourage you to take notes about how hungry you feel after certain workouts. If you know that your 30 minutes of strength training in the gym revs up your appetite more than walking on the treadmill, make a note.

Then you will know to be extra careful about what you eat and how many calories you consume after strength training. After all, you don’t want to blow your diet by eating back all the calories you just burned off.

Know What Foods Fuel You Best

Not all food is created equal when it comes to refueling after exercise. Of course you could pig out on sugary cookies, but they aren’t the best choice. Instead choose foods that help you stick within your calorie allowance and fill you up.

Here’s a short list of good, low-calorie post-workout foods. Just keep your serving sizes reasonable.

  • Protein shakes
  • A small amount of your favorite nut butter spread on a whole wheat English muffin or small bagel
  • Bananas
  • Greek yogurt with fruit topping
  • A few nuts mixed with raisins or other dried fruit
  • Hummus and carrot sticks
  • Chicken sandwich on whole wheat bread
  • Boiled egg that you thinly slice and roll into a tortilla

Stay Hydrated

Part of exercise-induced munchies may be that you are thirsty. Make sure to hydrate before, during, and after your workout. This is especially important if you are doing an intense workout. If you are just taking a stroll around the block with your dog, this probably isn’t the source of your munchies.

Keep Up a Steady Level of Activity

If you just can’t seem to get your eating under control after intense exercise, consider backing off the intensity a bit. You can achieve the same total calorie burn by working out for a shorter time and ramping up your everyday activity level.

Do simple things like walking the stairs several times a day, taking a stroll after dinner, getting up early and working in the yard before you start your day, or even walking in place while watching television.

Categories
Wellbeing

Empathy: The Secret To Transforming Your Love Relationships

Everyone has an innate desire to be understood, to be heard, and to be validated. This is why close relationships can be so powerful. They give us the opportunity to connect with others in ways that allow both individuals to be seen, respected, loved, and really feel known by the other person. But as many of us have experienced, even burning love can cool down, and even couples who once had a deep emotional engagement with one another may find themselves feeling disconnected and dissatisfied.
As a clinical therapist of more than 20 years, I’ve sat with many disheartened couples who are confused about where their love has gone and why they don’t feel the same way about each other that they once did. There are a great number of reasons why a marriage or romantic relationship could be in distress, and I won’t attempt to solve or remedy all of them in a single article.
I will say that one thing I have seen work wonders in improving relationships and alleviating marital and personal hardship is empathy. I call it the “secret sauce” of a happy marriage. In fact, a Harvard research study from a few years ago showed that marriages were more successful when the man tried to demonstrate empathy in his interactions with his wife. Clearly, there’s something important and noteworthy about it.
So what is empathy exactly? It’s a willingness and ability to sit with another person, really listen, and reflect back your partner’s experience. Some individuals are naturally empathetic, whereas others need to work to develop it a bit more. Either way, it can be an invaluable trait to bring to a marriage. Here are some ways that you can use empathy to improve your relationships.
One of the first things to do is to listen to the emotional message in your partner’s pleas. This can be difficult because the words and the emotional message might not be the same thing. For example, if your spouse says things like, “you always come home late,” or “you never text me when you’re on your way,” it may be tempting to get defensive at the criticism.
However, I encourage you to listen for the deeper meaning in the words. It’s likely that what your partner is actually trying to communicate is “I miss you when you’re away and want to spend more time with you,” or “I’m scared that I’m not important to you.” Practice this communication skill of deciphering the underlying message, then figure out how best to respond to it.
Another good strategy for employing empathy in your relationships is to step out of your own emotional experience sometimes to fully listen to and seek to understand the other person’s. This is not easy. When a spouse is giving critical feedback, your gut reaction is likely one of trying to explain, defend, or rationalize, but these uncomfortable situations are when empathy is needed the most. Press the pause button on your own feelings, and as painful as it might be, try to see things from the opposite perspective.
And finally, show empathy by reflecting back your partner’s experience in your words. This is an aspect of active listening that can help to clarify any inadvertent miscommunication. Using phrases like “what I’m hearing you say is ____” or “you must be feeling _____” can help make sure you two are on the same page. The Harvard study showed that women were happier when their husbands were making their best effort to respond empathetically to their negative experiences. So if you’re not perfect, don’t stress! This is a skill to learn and to develop, and a marriage or close relationship is the perfect opportunity to practice.
Empathy is not necessarily a cure-all, but it is a crucial component of a healthy relationship (especially a long-lasting one like a marriage). In times of distress, practice these methods to strengthen your connections to the ones you love.

Categories
Sweat

Healthy Travels: Catch Your Flight—And Nothing More

If you asked frequent fliers to rank their worst travel nightmares, sitting next to a fellow passenger who is sick would probably rank near the top. After all, no one wants to be stuck in a confined space, breathing recycled air, while strapped into a tiny airplane seat as the person next to them coughs, hacks, and sneezes for three hours.

Sadly, this is an all too common occurrence, often resulting in us arriving at our destination having been exposed to a wide variety of germs that have the potential to ruin just about any trip. Fortunately there are a few things you can do to help avoid getting sick. Here are some suggestions to keep in mind the next time you’re on a crowded flight.

Hydrate!

Staying healthy on a long flight actually begins before you ever get on the plane. Be sure to drink plenty of water before you board since you’ll tend to dehydrate because of the dry air on the aircraft while in flight. Getting plenty of fluids will keep your throat and nasal passages moist, which in turn helps your body stave off germs that could make you sick. Continue to drink liquids while in the air, but don’t drink any water that comes from the tap in the lavatory.

Be Aware of Your Fellow Passengers

Just as you would avoid a friend or family member when they’re under the weather, it is a good idea to keep away from fellow passengers who might be ill as well. Keep an eye out for anyone on the flight who might look like they are suffering from some sort of illness and try not to come into prolonged contact with them. If the flight is relatively empty, you may be able to change seats to avoid exposure. Sometimes just putting a little extra space between yourself and a sick person can make all the difference.

Turn on Your Air Vent

Contrary to popular belief, the air on an aircraft isn’t really bad for you at all. Sure, it is recycled while in flight, but it is also filtered. That helps to remove many of the harmful elements from the cabin, actually making it harder for germs to be shared. If you want to make things a bit safer, turn on your air vent too. This will help the air continue to circulate around you, which will also help prevent the spread of germs.

Disinfect Your Seat Area

While a cleaning crew typically removes litter, newspapers, magazines, and other assorted items from an aircraft between flights, the plane only gets thoroughly cleaned once every few weeks or so. That means that germs can live on surfaces inside the cabin for hours at a time, potentially getting you sick in the process. But wiping down your immediate seat area with disinfectant wipes can help kill off harmful bacteria and lingering viruses. Be sure to pay extra attention to the armrests and tray tables, which can be a haven for germs.

Wash Your Hands

This tip probably goes without saying, but it’s as a good reminder nonetheless. It is important that you wash your hands thoroughly, using both soap and water, after using the lavatory on board the aircraft. The bathrooms on commercial airliners are well known for being a breeding ground for germs, but scrubbing your hands carefully before returning to your seat will help to keep you safe and healthy.

Bring Your Own Pillow and Blanket

Airlines often hand out pillows and blankets on longer flights, which help to make passengers a bit more comfortable in the air. But those items aren’t replaced every time the aircraft lands at a new destination. Instead, they’re folded up and reused on the next flight. That means there is a good chance that the pillow or blanket that you are given has already been used by someone else. Bring your own if you want to avoid being exposed to germs.

Hopefully these tips will allow you to avoid getting sick on your next flight and help you arrive at your destination completely rested and ready to go. After all, there is nothing worse than feeling under the weather when you’re away from the comfort of your own home.

Categories
Sweat

Spring Into Fitness

Spring has officially sprung, which means better weather (usually) and preparation for summer. Spring is the perfect time to evaluate your fitness and life goals. Use this time to renew and rejuvenate by trying out some of the tips below.

1. Clean out your closet

You might be wondering what cleaning out your closet has to do with life goals and fitness goals; my answer would be everything! When we are decluttered and organized, we tend to operate more efficiently and feel better. Go through your closets and drawers and get rid of clothes that you don’t wear, are stained, are too big, or are just out of style. This will also allow you to make room for new clothing that you will be inspired to purchase after crushing your fitness and nutrition plan.

2. Clean out your pantry

Okay, this one is going to be tough. I totally get it! But after you clean out your closet, head into the kitchen and clean out that pantry. Remove all the food that you know is not good for you. While I do believe in eating 85 percent healthy and 15 percent fun, I also know that the less temptation there is in your house, the better you will stay on track with your nutrition. Don’t just get rid of your temptation foods, check expiration dates too. We often stick something in the pantry thinking we are going to eat it, and next thing we know it’s been in the back of the pantry for years. Clean out that pantry and I guarantee you will clean up your diet!

3. Clean out your refrigerator

Ideally your fridge is always stocked with fresh fruits and veggies, but the refrigerator is another place where sometimes we stockpile foods we don’t need, aren’t great for us, or are expired and we didn’t even realize it. Trust me: Take the time to clean up some of these areas of your life and watch your motivation for sticking to your goals rise! A secret tip going forward—to enhance your tastebuds, your health, your body, and your mind, try to restock your fridge with foods that expire within two weeks. These foods lack the preservatives that negatively affect our health. Fresh foods will make sure your spring has really sprung!

4. Refresh your playlist

I don’t know about you, but nothing motivates me as much as music does. Take the time to go through your playlist and delete songs that no longer motivate you or you have played so much that you’re sick of them. Then find new songs that really get you motivated. Make different playlists for different moods. If you need ideas for playlists, I have a few free ones available for download. Just head over to my website after you finish this article to access my free music mixes.

5. Take it outside

You might know me from the at-home workouts I have created. It’s completely okay to take those workouts outside! Whether it’s grabbing your laptop or iPad and doing those workouts in the sunshine or just going for an afternoon walk, one of the best things about spring is taking those workouts into the fresh air. Throw the frisbee, play tennis, jump rope, go for a run…the possibilities are endless.

6. Find a farmers market

I don’t know where you live, but often in the spring you can find farmers markets popping up all over the place. Not only do you get out in the sunshine, but you are buying the best possible food to put into your belly. It will be fresh, local, and grown with love! This piggybacks my secret tip in No. 3 above!

7. Drink more water

As the temperature rises it will be crucial for you to up your water intake, especially if you’re getting more active outdoors.
Water for your body is like oil for your car: It helps the engine run smoothly, but when there is no oil in the car, the engine locks up! The body does the same thing—no water in the body and the body shuts down! The current health industry recommendation is to drink a minimum of eight 8-oz. glasses of water a day. Another fun tip—add chopped fruit (lemons, limes, strawberries, etc.) to give the water some natural flavor!
Spring is an amazing time of year. Do a little bit of spring cleaning and get motivated to head into summer with the best YOU yet.

Categories
Nosh

8 Lessons Learned During A Calorie-Counting Trial

Calorie counting can seem like such drudgery. When you eat or drink anything that has calories you’ve got to grab your phone or computer, look up the food, calculate how many servings you ate, and then write down how many calories the food has. That can seem like a total waste of time and energy. Before you totally give up on the idea of calorie counting, however, here are eight lessons you will learn if you give it a two-week trial.

1. The First Days Are the Hardest

Your initial few days may seem tedious, especially if you’ve never tried your hand at calorie counting. I get that it is a pain to figure out how many calories you ate for lunch, but after a few days, it gets easier.

I promise.

After the first days, you will have common foods in your database and you won’t have to search for them. You will also start to develop a better sense of calorie awareness, which will serve you well in the future.

2. Information You Gain Is Worth the Effort

My mother used to tell me that there are some things in life that are worth the effort. Calorie counting is one of those things. Monitoring and counting calories will give you valuable information about your eating habits and food choices.

3. You Will Be Surprised

You will be surprised by some of the things you learn. If you are like me, you might be surprised at how many calories some of your favorite foods have. For example, I never looked at the calories in my favorite fast-food burger.

Probably a form of denial.

When I figured out it had over 600 calories, I knew I had to say goodbye to that burger in my diet.

4. Serving Sizes Affect Calories

You can’t just write down the calories in a food without indicating how much of it you had. You might be tempted to list your morning cereal as 150 calories without measuring how much you ate. If the serving size on the box indicates 1/2 cup and you had 1 cup, you just consumed 300 calories—not 150.

5. You Might Think Twice Before Indulging

One of the best things about doing a two-week calorie-counting trial is the awareness you develop. That awareness of how many calories are in different foods can prevent you from having a second or third helping of potatoes, saying “yes” to dessert, or adding cream to your coffee.

6. Swapping High-Calorie Foods Becomes Second Nature

There are so many healthy, low-calorie substitutions you can make in place of high-calorie foods. Once you have counted calories for a while, you will see for yourself what substitutions make sense for you. Here are some examples:

  • Use Greek yogurt in place of sour cream.
  • Eat fruit instead of ice cream or cake for dessert.
  • Make your own sauces and dressings to save calories.
  • Steam or roast your vegetables instead of frying them.

7. It’s Easier With Apps

You can count calories using resources on the internet and track them using a spreadsheet or manually write them in a journal. But honestly, it’s easier to find an app to help you out. Some of my favorites are:

8. It Works

The final lesson you will learn is probably the same one I did. Calorie counting does work. If you do it long enough and are 100 percent honest with yourself, you will see results on the scale.

There are a lot of diet variations out there, but at the end of the day, calories matter. So give calorie counting a two-week trial and see what you discover about yourself and how you eat.

Categories
Wellbeing

Ditch The Girlfriend Drama Once And For All!

Remember the cattiness and gossip from mean (and likely insecure) girls in junior high? Looking back on it, we can probably see how silly it was, but it can really hurt for the young people who are actually experiencing it. Sadly, emotional friend drama isn’t always a thing of the past. Lots of adult women engage in this type of conversation and behavior, and we really need to put a stop to it. The first step to changing something is being aware of it, yet it seems like those who are swimming in their own drama don’t even recognize it! 

Although you can never control another person, I encourage you to take an honest look in the mirror to see whether you yourself act like a drama queen. We’ve all been guilty at times, so here are some strategies to dial down the drama.

Bypass the drama by being assertive and asking directly for what you’d like. So much of the tendency to lash out and gossip is because an individual is acting out of spite or insecurity. For example, if you were left out of a fun outing of close friends, you may act passive–aggressive or make subtle yet biting remarks. This could be avoided by acknowledging to yourself that you’re hurt and then expressing this to friends. Don’t get caught up in the pettiness of backbiting or emotionally guilt-tripping someone—just be up front about what you’re feeling.

Another way to ditch the drama is to keep your own feelings in check. Sounds simple, but when emotions are running high in a tense situation, it can be pretty difficult. Runaway emotions can cause us to do or say things we later regret (think of the classic angry Facebook post that gets someone in trouble), so control the situation by controlling yourself. Take a deep breath, press the pause button if necessary, hit the gym, and then deal with the issue when you’re not feeling so emotionally flooded. Don’t let your passion get the better of you—channel your feelings into something productive so you don’t react too harshly or explosively.

Next consider what your role is in social settings. Do you tend to stay in the background, or are you front-row–center? Do you get jealous when others are getting noticed, and do you wish you were getting the praise at your job instead of your hard-working colleague? 

If so, you may be bringing the drama! This might sound harsh, but the world doesn’t revolve around you. Let others have a turn in the spotlight, and practice being happy and complimentary toward someone else instead of making everything about you. Learn to share the attention, not hog it.

A huge red flag indicating drama is talking about people when they’re not there. That’s what gossip is all about. If you find yourself doing this, cut it out! You don’t want people doing that to you, so show them the same amount of respect. A good rule to follow is not to speak critically or negatively about someone behind his or her back. If you have a real and legitimate problem with another person, address it directly and one-on-one; no peanut gallery necessary!

And finally, one of the most important things you can do to rid yourself of the habit of being dramatic is to analyze yourself and your own habits. 

Cultivating an awareness of our emotions—especially the painful ones (as uncomfortable as it may be)—is key here. The truth is that drama often manifests because you are feeling “less than,” or that you don’t measure up somehow. Causing or perpetuating drama is a sign that you’re insecure about yourself and that you need to be noticed or validated. 

I know a young woman who experienced the pain resulting from drama at her job when a co-worker bashed her to the rest of the office behind her back. Word got back to her quickly, and she went straight to the source and told the co-worker she didn’t appreciate the unkind words and wished she had been up front with her instead of spilling to everyone else. Over time, it became clear that the contentious co-worker was jealous, frustrated, and disappointed with her life. This does not excuse her gossipy behavior, but it does illustrate how drama and backbiting often is used to cover up more vulnerable emotions. 

If you find yourself creating drama, dig a little deeper and investigate why it is you thrive on drama, then seek to fulfill yourself in a healthy way.

We all have our inner teenagers, those parts of our personality that haven’t quite matured yet. Let’s practice acting more like adult women than catty teenagers by being honest with ourselves about how we’re feeling, addressing problems directly, and treating others with respect and dignity. It’s time to retire the crown and stop being a drama queen for good.

Categories
Lifestyle

How To Properly Care For Your Recyclables

Did you know that the United States is one of world’s largest producers of trash? Trash is generated at an alarming rate of 1,609 pounds of trash per person per year. Over the past 30+ years the national recycling rate has headed in the right direction, with a reported rate of about 34.5 percent of households, but there’s still room for improvement.

There are so many reasons to recycle. Recycling allows us to reuse materials, which in turn conserves natural resources. It also saves water and energy, improves air and water quality, lowers pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and preserves landfill space. 

City and town recycling programs each have their own set of rules for preparing your recyclables before placing them in the recycle bin. Following your city or town’s guidelines is imperative, because facilities’ equipment and capacity vary widely from location to location.

Here are a few general guidelines to follow for recycling.

Glass

Glass bottles filled with liquid need to be emptied and preferably dried before being placed in your bin. It’s important in most communities to clean out containers and jars that contained food and grease. A simple trick to help with the cleanout process is to fill a jar with a small amount of water, place the lid back on and give it a few shakes. Once you dump the water out, the jar will be reasonably clean. This works especially well with jars used for pasta sauce.

There’s no need to remove labels on glass containers since the recycling process will take care of this.

Cardboard

To recycle cardboard it’s important to remove all other materials from inside the box, such as plastic wrap, polystyrene peanuts, and other packing materials. All cardboard boxes should be broken down before being placed in the recycle bin. Cardboard should be dry and free of food scraps.

Paper

There is a long list of paper products that can be recycled, including: magazines and catalogs, telephone books, direct mail, brochures, pamphlets, and booklets. Also recyclable are cereal, cake mix, and cracker boxes. Be sure to remove the liner and all food from boxes. Flatten the box before placing it in your recycle bin. Tissues and waxed and carbon paper are not recyclable.

Plastic

Check the bottom of the plastic container for the recycle triangle symbol to make sure the container is recyclable. Rinse plastic containers with water and crush, if possible, before adding to your recycle bin.

Not all locations require the rinsing of containers, but a problem can arise in areas that do require rinsing when the rinsing doesn’t happen. When recyclables are dirty their market value substantially decreases. This creates a vicious cycle because it reduces the amount of money the recycling service provider is able to earn, thereby decreasing the amount of money they are able to reinvest and improve their existing services.

It’s important when recycling to check the regulations at your local waste management facility before placing items in the recycle bin.

As the national recycling rate continues to rise, it’s crucial that we take the time to recycle properly to ensure that items don’t unnecessarily end up in the landfill.

Categories
Lifestyle

Get Your Bike In Gear For Spring

Spring is a great time of year for cyclists. Not only is the weather warming up at long last, but it is time to break our bikes out of storage and head back out on the road or trail for some serious riding. Before you do, be sure to give your two-wheeled mode of transportation a good tune-up in preparation for the season ahead. Here are some things you should be doing to get your bike ready for spring.

Clean It Thoroughly

If your bike has been sitting around in the basement or garage for the winter, chances are it has accumulated a layer of dust and dirt. Before you set off on a ride, be sure to give it a thorough cleaning. Take a damp cloth and an old toothbrush and wipe down the entire bike, including the frame, brakes, derailleurs, and rims. Use a degreaser on the chainrings and cassette to make sure dirt and grime haven’t built up in those important parts.

Inspect It From End to End

Next, give the entire bike a good going-over to make sure that there are no obvious problems. Check the brake pads to ensure they are not showing too much wear—or, in the case of disc brakes, that the calipers are properly aligned. Take a look at the derailleurs to see if they are shifting properly and that the chain is moving freely through the different gears. Then take a wrench and go through the entire bike, tightening anything that might have come loose while you were riding last year. This will help the bike to feel like new again and could prevent mechanical failures that might lead to an accident.

Check the Tires

Give your tires a thorough inspection before you inflate them. Check to see if the tread is still healthy and keep your eyes peeled for any cuts in the rubber, particularly along the sidewalls. If you find anything amiss, replace the tires before riding. But if all looks well, inflate them to their proper PSI level and make sure they are holding air. The last thing you want is to have a flat on your first ride of the season.

Spin the Wheels

The tires aren’t the only thing you’ll want to inspect. Give the wheels on your bike a good spin to make sure they stay straight and stable while moving. If you find that they are wobbly in any way, you’ll probably want to have your local bike shop take a look at them. Most out-of-balance wheels can be fixed by adjusting the spokes, but leave it up to the professionals to get the job done right.

Lube Up the Chain

If you’re getting ready for your first ride of the year, chances are your chain is in serious need of some lubrication. Apply bike lube evenly to the chain while you slowly rotate the pedals in a counterclockwise fashion. This will keep your bike’s drivetrain operating smoothly and should make pedaling and shifting easier. It also helps to keep dirt and grime from clogging up these important parts.

Examine the Cables

Every bike has its fair share of cables, typically running from the brakes to the front and rear brake pads and between the gear shifters and the derailleurs. Over time, those cables can come loose, begin to fray, or even break altogether. This can lead to serious problems, which is why you should examine them completely before setting out on your first spring ride. Tighten any cables that may have come loose and replace those that are damaged.

Take Inventory of Your Repair Kit

If you ride with any regularity, chance are you carry a repair kit with you on the road. At the start of the spring season, take a peek inside that kit to make sure all of the items you need are still there. If you find certain parts or tools are missing, be sure to replace them before you hit the road for the first time. You definitely do not want to run into any mechanical problems while riding only to discover that you don’t have the tools you need to fix the issue.

Categories
Sweat

Take Those Hills Like A Champ

If you’re like most runners, hills are the bane of your existence. Nothing affects your overall pace more quickly—or saps the strength from your legs more effectively—than running up and down steep hills. If you want to learn to be a good all-around runner you’ll have to learn how to tackle the challenges that come along with hilly terrain. Here are some tips to help you become a better runner on hills.

Embrace the Pain

Simply put, the best way to get stronger on hills is to run on hills. The sooner you realize that the better off you’ll be. If you’ve been avoiding certain running routes because they are very hilly, you’re not giving your body the consistent repetitions it needs to become accustomed to the demands of exerting itself while running up and down long inclines. You can rectify this by slowly adding hills to your workout routine, ramping up the number and steepness over time. This will help your body improve its level of cardio fitness and build muscle, both of which are important for becoming a better hill runner.

Improve Your Form

As with all aspects of running, good form is vital to success on hills. When going up a hill, you should keep your back straight and lean slightly forward at the hip while keeping your chest up and your head and eyes raised. This will not only provide you with proper balance, but it will also allow you to get the oxygen you’ll need as you begin to exert yourself more fully. Keep your knees moving at a steady, regular pace and point your toes at the ground, pushing off as you climb. This can provide a surprising amount of energy that will help propel you upward more quickly and efficiently.

Although running downhill is not as taxing, obviously, good form is still very important. Once again, you’ll want to lean slightly forward at the hips while maintaining a straight back. Your feet should hit the surface at the middle of the sole of your shoes, landing on the ground just in front of your pelvis. Your stride will naturally lengthen as you go down the slope, but be careful not to allow yourself to get too fast or out of control. Use the descent to catch your breath and regain some strength in your legs before picking up the pace once again.

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

A common mistake that many runners make when chugging uphill is looking down at the ground instead of watching what’s up ahead. This can have a psychological advantage in that you won’t be looking at the top of the hill, which can seem impossibly far away at times. But it also leads to poor form, which can have an impact on your overall performance.

Instead, shift your gaze to about 20–30 yards in front of you. This will make it easy to see where you’re going and will have the added benefit of keeping your head up, making it easier to breathe when your body starts to go into oxygen debt.

Run Hill Repeats

When you’re truly ready to get serious about improving your speed and strength on hills, you may want to start incorporating a workout routine that involves nothing but running hills over and over. The concept is simple. Once a week, pick a challenging hill that you are familiar with and run up and down it 10 or 12 times.

Start off by pushing yourself to the top as quickly as you can. Once you’re there, turn around and head back down to where you started. Take a short break to catch your breath between each repetition, then go at it again to see if you can beat your best time. If you concentrate just on running hills, your body will become much stronger, which can really pay off if you plan to run any races in the future.

Learn to Pace Yourself

Learning to pace yourself while running uphill is just as important as perfecting good form. It may look impressive to sprint up a steep slope, but it doesn’t do you much good if your legs are completely drained of strength and energy when you reach the top and you still have miles to go before you’re done.

The trick is to finish the ascent without completely expending all of your energy. This will allow you to quickly regain your strength and maintain a steadier pace over the remainder of the workout. It takes some time and experience to develop this skill, but it pays dividends in terms of making you a stronger all-around runner.

Categories
Wellbeing

The 4 Character Flaws You Might Be Mistaking for Love And Why This Is Dangerous

Love is blind, and this can be dangerous. When you love someone, you don’t just overlook their shortcomings, you can actually miss major character flaws that end up coming back to haunt you. So many of us find ourselves in long-term relationships that don’t work, and then we stay beyond what is healthy. Although people stay for many reasons, it’s possible that you’re being fooled by a partner who has a very strong defense system designed to trick you into seeing only what they want you to see.

These aren’t lies, or even forms of betrayal. The character traits listed here lurk way beneath the persona that has been created to hide them; they are often unalterable defects that stem from a deep historical place. These buried personality skeletons can only be seen if you know what to look for, and they usually become exposed in darker moments when the person feels threatened or that they are at risk of being discovered.

Your best strategy is to open your eyes and heart in a way that allows you to see the truth of what’s happening. Easier said than done, but once you learn what these kinds of defenses can look like you’ll have a better understanding of what you’re dealing with.

The Inadequate Person

Deep down inadequacy is one of the most painful feelings someone could have, and this is particularly true for men. Inadequacy in women often takes the form of shame, but regardless of gender, it’s always defended against, because who wants to admit that they feel inferior?  The defense against adequacy can be pretty overt and can show up as contempt or criticism of you. More mysteriously, however, it can show up as confidence and competence. Overcompensation is a common way to bury the feelings of inadequacy. You might be most familiar with this as it relates to narcissism and someone who has a “big ego.” Inadequate people are never wrong, know everything, and need a lot of affirmation to feel whole.

The Self-Deprecating Person

By definition this is the act of reprimanding, belittling, undervaluing, or disparaging oneself, or being excessively modest. Self-deprecation is a kind of self-sabotage that comes from a feeling of unworthiness, and these people use manipulation to get their own needs met. A self-deprecating person will come across as being giving or generous because they are always putting the focus on you and your needs. Their mantra is usually “don’t worry about me” or “I’m fine.” They will defer to you for everything, including where to have dinner, what vacation to take or what movie to see. Don’t be fooled however; they are storing their “giving gestures” as ammunition for when you express an overt need of your own. You’ll hear, “I do so much for you” or “nothing I do is enough.”

The People-Pleasing Person

People pleasers have one goal, and that is to keep others happy so they don’t have to feel that they’re a disappointment. In the people pleaser’s mind, you should never be unhappy because they are ensuring that you always are. They will do anything for you and will drop their own needs to make time because their only goal is to please you. This will feel like kindness and generosity on the surface, but resentment is brewing, because with every act of kindness they expect something in return. When the time is right they’ll say, “you never notice what I do for you.” If you feel guilty or like your partner is too nice, you’re probably picking up on this defense.

The Envious Person

Envy—one of the ugliest (but natural) human emotions—can easily feel like love. The envious person is “obsessed” with you because they believe if they get close enough you’ll rub off on them. They don’t just want to be like you they want to be you. Envy can feel like admiration or adoration until you start to see the truth come through. The truth shows up when they feel inferior and say things like “you think you’re so great” or “you’re the expert on everything.” The envious person is never really happy for you, and they avoid building you up because ultimately they want you to fail.

If some of these traits sound familiar you’ll have to determine whether you want to be with someone who walks through the world in this way. We all have defenses, and it’s healthy to have a few. But when you find yourself dealing with defenses that are protecting character flaws, you have to accept that these don’t change. Keep your eyes open and trust what you feel, because the only truth you need is your own.