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Aerobic or Anaerobic? The Right Way at the Right Time
Most athletes exercise anaerobically the majority of the time rather than aerobically. Aerobic exercise (not aerobics, such as an “aerobics” class) is when you are exercising within a specific heart rate zone (a certain intensity). Please see the Sock Doc Training Principles for a thorough understanding of aerobic, anaerobic, interval training, and strength training. Anaerobic
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The Aerobic Lifestyle: Your Ticket to Superior Health and Fitness
Do you live aerobically? It’s not just about the training. It’s about your entire day—your entire life. You can keep your heart rate within the aerobic zone, but if you’re an athlete under a high amount of stress, eating poorly, and not recovering, you’re going to be anaerobic, not aerobic. The consequences of injury, illness,
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Out of the Gait: A Sock Doc Review of Running Gait
The interest in minimalist and barefoot running shoes has shifted runners’ attention from banging out long training runs or speed work to something more fundamental: how to naturally improve one’s form. This is not as easy as it sounds, since it involves more than knowing where your foot lands. To help shed light here, Zero-Drop
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Lick the Salt to Kick the Competition
Come every racing season, there is a good amount of news about decreased sodium concentration in the body, also known as hyponatremia, and most talk about how to eat and drink before, during, and after training (exercise). As simple as it sometimes sounds, most people get confused by the contradicting information. Eat more salt? Use
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Diet vs. Gait: What You Eat Affects How You Run
In this second part of the series on gait, I examine the importance of nutrition. Good form requires the right kind of fuel. For Part 1, click here. You’d be surprised at how rapidly one’s gait begins to fall apart when the gas tank is low. Often, a runner has a fluid motion in the
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Your Best Training Partner: The Heart Rate Monitor
From the weekend exerciser to the professional athlete, heart rate monitors are the ideal way to make your workouts much more effective, thereby increasing your fitness level while creating a healthier lifestyle. In my opinion, everybody should wear a heart rate monitor every time they exercise. A heart rate monitor allows you to monitor your
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Get It Right to Race Faster: Nutrition Before, During, and After the Race
What you eat before, during (if the race is long enough), and after a race, as well as during exercise, will have a profound effect on your performance and recovery. Eating the right types of food before your race can help as much as eating the wrong type of food can hinder. Depending on the
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Warning Signs and Symptoms of Overtraining
LISTEN TO THE WARNING SIGNS OF OVERTRAINING! Understand the early warning signs of overtraining and overreaching—too much anaerobic exercise, too much total stress, or both—and slow down before you are forced down from an injury or illness.
Natural Athletic Training & Fitness
These articles offer natural athletic training and fitness information and injury-free training techniques and tips. Aerobic and anaerobic athletic training philosophies are discussed as well as unconventional topics such as minimalist (barefoot) running and the dangers of stretching. Achieving a level of desired athletic fitness involves more than just working out. Training needs to be much more specific for optimum athletic fitness whether you’re trying to swim faster, run further, or lift heavier. Athletic training isn’t only dependent on the amount or type of exercise but a lifestyle adaptation where your overall health plays an important role, especially the need to rest and recover properly.