NIFS Healthy Living Blog

The holidays are a time of joy, celebration, and indulgence, but they can also disrupt our daily routines. Whether you’ve been traveling, enjoying family time, or indulging in festive foods, getting back into a fitness and nutrition routine can feel daunting. If you’re ready to refocus and regain your momentum, here are some practical tips to help you reset and thrive. 

Focus on Nutrition Basics 

Holiday treats are enjoyable, but now is the time to return to balanced eating. Start by incorporating more whole foods into your meals, such as lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Meal prepping can also be a game-changer. Preparing your meals in advance ensures you have nourishing options ready when life gets busy. Once you’ve started nourishing your body with balanced meals, reintroducing regular physical activity can feel even more manageable and rewarding. 

Start with Small Steps 

After time away from your regular routine, it’s tempting to dive back in full force. However, starting small allows you to build mental wins that boost confidence and motivation. For example, committing to just a couple of gym sessions per week or taking a daily 15-minute walk can create a sense of accomplishment. These small victories lay the foundation for more ambitious goals, helping you gradually build momentum and reestablish healthy habits. 

Prioritize Consistency Over Intensity 

Consistency is the cornerstone of sustainable progress. Even if your workouts feel less intense than before, showing up regularly matters more. Consider scheduling your workouts as you would a class or meeting. Having a set time can help re-establish the habit and keep you accountable. 

Revisit Your Goals 

Use this post-holiday period as an opportunity to reflect on your fitness and health goals. Are they still aligned with your current priorities? If not, adjust them. Setting realistic and specific goals—like improving your squat strength, running a 5K, or simply feeling more energized—can reignite your motivation. 

Stay Hydrated and Rested 

Hydration and sleep are often overlooked but are crucial for recovery and performance. After holiday travel or late nights, prioritize getting enough quality sleep and drinking plenty of water. These simple actions can boost your energy levels and improve workout performance. 

Seek Support 

If you’re struggling to find motivation, consider teaming up with a friend or joining a group fitness class. Accountability partners can make the process more enjoyable and help you stay on track. If you need personalized guidance, a Registered Dietitian or fitness coach can provide tailored advice to meet your goals. 

Celebrate Small Wins 

As you ease back into your routine, celebrate small milestones. Whether it’s completing your first workout of the year or preparing a week’s worth of healthy meals, acknowledging progress keeps you motivated and builds momentum. 

Getting back into a routine after the holidays doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By focusing on small, sustainable changes and prioritizing consistency, you can set yourself up for a successful and rewarding year ahead. The most important thing is to start—progress, not perfection, is what truly matters. 

Looking for a way to get your goals started? Try with our new fitness program, We Win Together! Start with a personalized strategy session to set a SMART goal and create weekly action plans with your NIFS staff member. Stay motivated through individual check-ins, group meetings, and support from a like-minded wellness team. Sign up today and take the first step toward a healthier, more empowered you!

With the new school year upon us, it’s time to start thinking about “back to school” fitness. Summer was a time for adventure, vacation, trying new foods, and so much more. Although all that stuff is fun, it can get us out of a routine. As a newly graduated college student, I know how much a routine helped me stay on track for my classes. One thing I always included was exercise. Having consistent workouts is the first step toward a disciplined life.

Studies show that working out consistently actually helps you stay with your schedule. When you plan specific times to exercise, you become more committed, and you can track your progress. When you see that you can stick to a workout schedule and are successful at it, you can start to change your view on other tasks in your life. When one area of your life becomes more manageable, it is easier to do the same with other aspects of your life.

Now you might be asking yourself, “Where do I even start?” Here are a couple of easy steps to making sure you create a workout routine that is a perfect fit for your schedule.

1. Make fitness a priority: If fitness is important for you, you need to make time for it. Your health should always be your number-one priority. And as a wise person once said, “If you don’t make time for your health, you will make time for your illness." If working out is not one of your top priorities, it will not happen. If you really want to get the most out of it, you need to prioritize it.
   
2. Be realistic: The key is to consistently do your best. Make sure you don’t sign up for too much. If you keep missing classes or training sessions because your schedule is too crazy, you’re going to get really discouraged when you don’t see the results you want. When starting a workout routine, start small. At NIFS we offer free classes to members throughout the week at different times (see the schedule here). This is a great way to get started, especially if you don’t know exactly where to start.
   
3. Make goals: Making goals is one of the best ways to start your workout routine. If you know what you are working toward, you’re going to work harder to get it. Make sure these goals are SMART. This means that they are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. This will help you track your progress and really see successful results.
   
4. Time it right: Make sure you go to the gym at a time that is good for you. If you have a lot of morning classes, go in the afternoon or evening or vice versa. If you're more of a morning person, make sure you get up early in the morning and work out. If you know you have a lot of schoolwork, only work out for 30 minutes. When it comes to timing everything, make sure you come up with a good plan and discern when is the best time for you.
   
5. Short workouts count, too: Everyone is busy and sometimes crazy schedules are what stop people from working out. People think that they need to train for 60 to 90 minutes straight or else they won’t see any results. Research shows that 10 to 15 minutes of training can be beneficial for people throughout the day. So, if you want to, you could do a quick 10-minute workout four times a day and you would have completed a 40-minute workout!
   
6. Come prepared: Make it a habit to pack a gym bag before you go to classes or work. This way you can go straight to the gym without any additional trips that can get you sidetracked.
   
7. Get in more daily fitness: You can get in easy workouts by just doing everyday things. For example, you can take the stairs instead of the elevator, or walk instead of taking the bus. These seem simple, but they add up over the course of the week. A study from The Ohio State University found that you can burn around 20% more calories by just altering your walking pace instead of keeping a consistent speed. You can even make sure you’re active over the weekend. Go for a walk, go for a bike ride, go hiking, or even play a game of baseball.
   
8. Be accountable, but reasonable: Some days are going to be harder than others, and you’re just trying to tackle it all. There are going to be many days where you don’t honestly have the time or energy to work out, and that’s okay! When those days happen, allow yourself to miss. But make sure you get moving the next day. Although you don’t want to create the habit of not working out, give yourself room to be human.
   

Working out does not have to be a scary or daunting thing. Make the most out of it and make it yours! Trying to balance school and fitness can be a lot, but it’s totally doable. Whether you are a student or parent of a student, do your best and keep pushing toward your goals!

This blog was written by Emily Lesich, NIFS Health Fitness Specialist. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Have you ever started an exercise program and for whatever reason were not able to stick with it? There are many reasons that you may not be able to stick with an exercise program. It might be too hard, and you are not able to maintain the amount of work that is required. Maybe your workouts take too much time, and you are not able to fit it into your schedule. Or maybe you are not seeing the results you want. Whatever the reason that you were not able to find sustainability within your exercise program, there is always a solution. The best way I have found to find sustainability in exercise is to figure out your goals, then pick your programming, and lastly find consistency in your exercise.

Figure Out Your Goals

If you are just starting your fitness journey, choose SMART goals. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based. Whether your goals are for weight loss, strength, endurance, or overall well-being, make sure that you are choosing goals that follow the SMART principle. In my opinion, the most import part of your goal is that it is Achievable. If you are not setting realistic goals for yourself, you will never be satisfied, and will be more likely to give up in the long run. If you do make long-term goals, make sure you are setting short-term goals that help you reach those long-term goals. Think of your short-term goals as rest stops on your way to your final destination.

Pick a Program

After you determine your fitness goals, the next step is to find a program that fits those goals. The best way to do this is to find a certified fitness professional to help you. There are plenty of online options, but the safest option is to find a trusted trainer that you can meet with in person. A trainer that you can meet with in person will enable you to get a program that fits your needs the best.

Lastly, one of the most important aspects of picking programming is finding what you enjoy. If you do not enjoy what you are doing, you will not stick with it for the long haul. That could mean finding a group atmosphere or a personal trainer who can keep you accountable. Whatever it is, if you enjoy it, you are more likely to return.

Stick with the Program

The worst thing you can do for yourself is to be a “program hopper.” A program hopper is someone who starts a new program and runs it for a few weeks, then switches programs. There are variety of reasons you might want to hop around from program to program. However, you will not get anything out of the program if you do not finish it. Results do not come overnight. Fitness is not short-term. Your physical fitness and health are something that you will be working on for the rest of your life. So if you are not seeing the results you want, as fast as you want, chances are you need to be patient and trust the process. If you can trust your coach or trainer, be patient and run the system all the way through.

Finding a program that you enjoy is by far the easiest way to stick with the program. Just like with anything in life, if you do not enjoy what you are doing, you are less likely to return. There are a wide variety of routes you can go in the fitness industry, including large group classes, small group personal training, and personal training. Any of these routes can be effective if it works for you!

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Finding sustainability in your exercise program is not very complicated. However, it will be challenging at first if you are venturing into something new. To find a program that works for you, first figure out your goals. Then pick a program that matches your goals the best. If you can match your preferences to a trainer, group, or program, you will be set up for success in the long run. For guidance on finding the right program for you, contact the NIFS track desk at any time to talk to a licensed professional today to help you get started!

This blog was written by Evan James, NIFS Exercise Physiologist EP-C, Health Fitness Instructor, and Personal Trainer. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Think about some top goals you have. Maybe your top goal is to lose weight. Your weight-loss journey is what I call the “Big Picture”—your target on losing weight and starting a healthier lifestyle. Sometimes the big picture can be daunting. Many might perceive this goal as too big, or virtually unattainable. But IT IS ATTAINABLE! It just takes focus and hard work.

The best way to accomplish your big-picture goal is to first make the goal SMART (more on that shortly). Then, create smaller, short-term goals that you can check off along the way. These are sometimes called action steps. Action steps will allow you to create small habits that will help you not only REACH your goal, but also ultimately maintain your success.

GET SMART

SMART is an acronym:

• Specific: Clearly identify the goal. Be concise.
• Measurable: Attach a measure to the goal such as inches or blood-work measurements (%, mg/dL, etc), minutes, or percentage).
• Attainable: Ensure that the goals are realistic and manageable. Really think deeply about this. Be honest about yourself and your lifestyle.
• Relevant: Make sure the goal is important to you.
• Time-bound: Define the timeframe during which you are aiming to achieve the goal.

Here are some SMART goal examples:

• I will decrease my mile time from 8:30 to 8 minutes over the next 4 weeks.
• I will drink 100 oz of water each day for the next 4 weeks.
• I will decrease my HgA1c by 1% in 3 months.

Create Your Action Steps

Now that you have determined the BIG GOAL, it is time to create action steps that will help you reach that goal. Think of these as mini SMART goals.

1. List 3-5 action steps (or habits) that pertain to your overall goal.
2. Explain how they will help you reach the big goal.
3. Decide how you are going to track your success with each action step you take.

Here are some examples of action steps:

Let’s use the SMART goal example from above. I will decrease my mile time from 8:30 to 8 minutes over the next 4 weeks. Here are some action steps that may help someone reach that goal:

• Run 5 days per week for 15–30 minutes over the course of 4 weeks.
• Run 4, 1-mile repeats 1 time per week until I retest my mile time in 4 weeks.
• Hire a running coach immediately to assist me in programming a customized running plan.

Questions to Ask Yourself Later

Once you’ve achieved an action step, ask yourself these questions:

• How did you do?
• How did it make you feel?
• Was it easy to do, or were you pretty challenged to stay on track?
• Does it still pertain to your overall goal?
• What worked and what didn’t?
• What needs to change?

The answers to these questions will help you determine whether you are staying focused on your goal, whether you are ready to take on or create another SMART goal, or if you need a little more time to concentrate on the one you are trying to turn into a habit.

Once you feel that you have accomplished your goal, work on another. Make changes and adjustments as needed throughout your journey. And even though these steps seem small, they ultimately lead to a large reward.

Check out this blog for an even closer look at the goal-setting process and why it's important!

This blog was written by Sabrina Goshen, NIFS Registered Dietitian. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Ramp Up to Weight Loss is a program designed to do exactly what the name suggests: ramp you up to weight loss. It’s a 16-week program that provides various tools to help you get a head start on achieving your goals. These tools include meeting with a Registered Dietitian, attending coaching sessions to help set and manage goals, and meeting with a trainer twice a week to walk you through workouts. As a weight-loss member, you also have access to the facility and group fitness classes every day. These resources are what makes Ramp Up one of the most popular programs at NIFS.

The Goal: To Teach You How to Reach Your Weight-Loss Goals

The ultimate goal by the end of the 16 weeks is to make sure you feel confident in your own abilities to continue the journey that you are on. Whether you are struggling with nutrition, knowing what to do in the gym, sleep, or stress management, this program provides resources to teach you how to handle these situations in ways that will aid you in achieving goals. We start by setting one long-term goal, then break it down into short-term goals to act as stepping stones to get there. After all of the goals are finalized, we look at what action steps can be taken to achieve them. Setting realistic goals is essential for staying on track, and reaching them builds confidence in your abilities.

Weight loss is not always an easy thing to achieve. It can be a very slow process full of trial and error, ups and downs, and frustrations. There’s not a magic solution that will work for everyone. But, by tackling weight loss from multiple angles—including fitness, nutrition, and behavior—we can figure out what works best based on the individual.

After the Program: Long-Term Membership

So, 16 weeks have passed and you’ve successfully attended all your sessions, received nutritional guidance, and mastered goal setting. However, you’re not quite ready to be on your own yet. After Ramp Up, you can opt to become a long-term weight loss member. This program never expires, and you get one session a week with a trainer, assessments every three months, and coaching sessions. You still have access to the facility and all of the group classes. It’s an extra step to help you transition into continuing the journey on your own.

As trainers, we want not only to teach you how to work out safely and effectively, but to help you build the confidence and knowledge to be able to do it on your own. Being able to independently work out and make healthy choices is essential for long-term weight loss and maintenance. By taking advantage of all of the resources over the course of the program, you can discover what helps you live a healthier life.

This blog was written by Hannah Peters, BS, CPT, Health Fitness Instructor. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

It’s time to get serious about goal setting. Setting goals can help you dig more deeply into fitness and think about what you truly want to accomplish. Goals can range from wanting to walk 1 mile to squatting 2 times your body weight, and absolutely everything in between and beyond. Everyone is on a different path to fitness, so whatever your goals may be is completely up to you.

The current trend in the fitness industry is to lose weight, gain muscle, and look like this girl or that guy that you see on social media. While there’s nothing wrong with setting a weight-based goal, we’re completely missing one major key of what working out can do for you: unlock your potential.

The Pitfalls of Rapid Weight Loss

When we set a goal of losing weight, we often lose sight of the importance of being strong and healthy, and this may lead to behaviors such as disordered eating or excessive exercise. All too often, people just want to get rid of the extra weight quickly. This mindset may encourage rapid weight loss that is not sustainable over the long term. Rapid weight loss can also lead to the loss of muscle mass, instead of fat loss, which is not desirable because muscle plays so many important roles in the body. It drives metabolism (having muscle increases Resting Metabolic Rate), keeps people strong as they age so that they can maintain their independence for as long as possible, and more.

Focus on Performance

The human body is capable of so much more than how much weight it can gain or lose—it has the power to perform. If you want to run a half marathon, you can train to run a half marathon. If you want to deadlift 300 pounds, you can train to do that. You can push the boundaries of your strength and endurance to do the things that may seem impossible right now. By going beyond what you think your limits are, you will adapt to the stress and become stronger. If you limit your goals to how much you would like to weigh, your focus is on what your body is, not what it can do.

It’s perfectly reasonable to have a weight-loss goal. There’s plenty of research describing how losing weight is beneficial for long-term health if one is overweight. However, it is rarely a linear process, and you must be prepared to face ups, downs, and plateaus. Having a goal that revolves around some type of strength or endurance feat will give you something to work toward even during the hurdles of a weight loss journey. You’ll be too distracted trying to do three pull ups or running five miles to notice those tiny, yet frustrating weight fluctuations that are a natural part of weight loss (and in general).

Beyond Your Weight-Loss Goal

Besides, the work doesn’t stop once you have reached your weight goal. The last thing you want to do is gain back what you spent months or years working toward. So if you haven’t yet set a goal beyond weight loss, now would be a great time to do so. The moral of this blog is to remind you that it’s okay to want to weigh “X” amount of pounds, but it’s not in your best interest to limit your body to a goal revolving around a number. You are capable of much more than just weighing a certain amount. Unlock your true potential by knocking down barriers and pushing the limits in and out of the gym.

This blog was written by Hannah Peters, BS, CPT, Health Fitness Instructor. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Consistency is arguably the most important component when working to accomplish goals, in or out of the gym. Without consistency, programs are unorganized, the body has a harder time adapting, and forming habits may be more challenging.

Build and Follow Workout Programming

Whatever your goals may be, they require a consistent level of training for you to reach them. One way to ensure consistency within the scope of your goals is to build a program. Programs make it much easier to stay on track because you won’t have to think about what you’re going to do at the gym today—it’s already written out. Most programs are designed to be followed for a set amount of time, typically about 4 weeks. Depending on the desired goal, the program will have a different focus—hypertrophy, endurance, strength, and so on. Each day is designed with the goal in mind, while ensuring that you are training in a way that minimizes imbalances within the body. If you aren’t following the program consistently, the chance of it working is reduced.

Theoretically, if you have a program and you don’t follow it, the body is not going to be able to adapt to the program because there isn’t an opportunity for progressive overload, which is when the amount of stress on the body is gradually increased over time, leading to increased strength and performance.

Work Toward Adaptations

Biologically, a lot of things happen in the body during exercise. Over time these reactions change the body to become stronger, grow, or run more efficiently. Different factors affect adaptations in everyone, so it’s impossible to predict when these changes will occur. But being consistent with training will increase the likelihood of seeing adaptations sooner.

Different modes of exercise elicit different adaptations. Endurance training will produce different changes than resistance training. While there are far too many adaptations to discuss in this blog, a few examples reported by the CDC include the following:

• Improved ability of muscles to use fat as energy
• Stronger ligaments and tendons
• Increased VO2 max and lactate threshold
• Increased number of capillaries in muscles
• Cardiac muscle hypertrophy
• Increased force production

Each of these changes is beneficial for different scenarios. The body is either becoming more efficient or stronger, or performance is enhanced. However, these long-term benefits are seen only after consistent training over a period of time.

Create Habits

We are creatures of habit. The more we practice something, the more natural it becomes. We experience this when we learn to walk as babies, when we learn to drive, and when we exercise. It’s normal to feel out of your element when you try something new, but the more you do it, the more comfortable you feel.

Current research suggests that to make a habit stick it must be performed for 68 consecutive days. The idea of sticking with something brand new for 68 days may feel overwhelming for some people. When taking on a new challenge, focusing on taking it day by day might be a helpful mindset. Yes, we might be aiming to create a lifelong habit; however, thinking about just starting a habit to last for years could seem daunting. Start by doing it for one day, and then two, and then three, and so on.

Once you feel comfortable with one small change, add another small change, and so on. Small changes are more sustainable over the long term and add up to form new habits. There will likely be days that your plan doesn’t work out how it was supposed to, but that doesn’t mean all progress is lost.

The Takeaway

Our bodies adapt gradually to exercise. In the end, consistency will help you reach your goals. Without it, you might not have enough structure to allow for growth. Work first on figuring out your goals, determine the best route to achieve them, and get started with one step. If you’re not sure how to get started, the trainers at NIFS can help you set goals and develop programs tailored to those goals.

This blog was written by Hannah Peters, BS, CPT, Health Fitness Instructor. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

So often in life people like to look at things as win or lose. But what if you switched your perspective to thinking of making progress by winning each day? With this simple shift, your days can be filled with more positivity and success instead of the typical mindset of losing or not being good enough.

Assess Your Current Fitness Level

So how can you take this approach into your fitness training? It starts with acceptance. Where are you at today? Maybe start by doing a simple fitness test:            

Set Realistic Fitness Goals

After you complete the test and track your results, set attainable goals in your mind. Maybe you want to increase each number by 3 to 5 reps a month from now. That doesn’t sound too bad, right? We often set ourselves up for “losing” or “failure” by creating goals that aren’t realistic.

The chance of winning the lottery in your lifetime is expected to be 1 in 175,000,000. If you set up your goal to win, how much money would you lose trying to buy all the lottery tickets just to achieve this goal? You might argue that the lose outweighs the win. The same is true in fitness training. People often think that doing more will get them to their overall desired results, but often this approach burns them out quickly, making the overall goal not attainable, and they give up on it after a short period of time.

The Mindset of Fitness Training

Here are some things to keep in mind.

“Progress over perfection leads to winning every workout!”

If you set yourself up to start at the bottom and slowly add each time you work out, you will notice progress at each session. With new growth comes new excitement. Aim for progressing in your workouts for a daily feeling of winning, instead of an overall outcome of burnout and losing.

Proper form leads to winning longer!

Practicing proper form can be a huge challenge for many people. Slowing down in general can get uncomfortable, but breaking out of your comfort zone can reduce injuries and lead to success in your fitness progress for a longer duration.

When you practice quality in addition to your quantity goals, you are making double the progress. Have you ever asked a trainer to take a look at some of your basic movements, like a pushup or squat? A lot of details go into these exercises without weight that you might not even realize, let alone the additional details you need to think about when adding weight. A Functional Movement Screen might be a great way to receive feedback about your form to help give you additional knowledge and tools for personal fitness growth.

Don’t forget recovery!

People often forget about the importance of recovery and how it actually allows us to win. Without allowing the body time to heal, you are putting negative strain on the body and brain, leading to not just physical injuries but also a lot of stress and anxiety, which also spirals into even more problems such as future disease.

Being mindful of how much stress you put your body under and balancing it out with how well you recover with days off, diet, and foam rolling and stretching is a huge fitness bonus!

This blog was written by Brittany Ignas, BS in Kinesiology, 200 Hour Yoga Alliance Certified, Stott Pilates Certified, and Fitness Coordinator. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Where did this year go? Whether it was the best year of your life, or you’re looking forward to a fresh start in the new year, you may likely have some health and fitness goals at the top of your list of resolutions. How do you make sure they aren’t just a pipe dream? Let’s find out!

Set (the Right Type of) Goals

Goals should be an obvious part of any resolution, but setting the right types of goals isn’t always so clear. To ensure that your goals are fulfilled, they need to be SMART:

• Specific: You must have a specific attribute for improvement in mind.
• Measurable: There must be some way to measure your progress.
• Achievable: Setting realistic goals is crucial to motivate short-term success.
• Relevant: Goals need to be relevant to what you want, not what you think other people want.
• Time-sensitive: You must have a timeline for your goals in order to measure success.

There are many alternatives to this acronym, but following these simple guidelines will force you to consider goals that are actually meaningful to you. Your aspirations should be just that—yours. Otherwise, the motivation to succeed becomes increasingly external, which leads to only skin-deep rewards. Successfully achieved internally motivated goals are much more rewarding in the long run.

Get a Starting Point

A huge mistake that is easy to make when goal-setting is not knowing where you’re starting. Without an accurate baseline value, you have no reference point for comparison to where you end. Don’t wait until you “get in shape” to test yourself. As painful as it can be, testing yourself at your “worst” will only make your accomplishments that much more rewarding.

We offer access to a wide variety of assessments to our members here at NIFS, and we take pride in providing feedback on your progress throughout your fitness journey. Whether you’re looking to track your body composition (body fat percentage), cardiorespiratory fitness level, movement quality, or even just your measurements, we encourage all of our members to take advantage of the complimentary assessments that we offer. After all, you can’t get where you’re going if you don’t know where you’re starting.

Retest!

After you’ve set your bulletproof SMART goals and established exactly where your starting point is, it’s time to get to work. Once you’ve reached your pre-established timeline for your goals, however, it’s time to retest! Just the same as establishing a baseline, it is absolutely vital to retest your initial measurements. Ideally your testing will be completed under similar conditions as your baseline tests, preferably at a similar time of the day with a similar state of digestion.

What is most important, though, is simply that you retest the same attributes you tested initially. There is nothing wrong with testing something new, but make sure that you’re at least measuring a value that has already been measured. Otherwise, you’ll have no feedback as to whether you were successful in achieving your goals. There truly is no more rewarding feeling than seeing black-and-white proof that you have improved from where you started. It just might be the motivation you need to stick to it in the long run.

As I said earlier, we take pride in assisting you in the goal-setting process from start to finish. You shouldn’t have to take on any goal, but especially a health-minded one, all on your own. Let us be part of your guidance toward being the best you possible in the New Year—and beyond!

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The BOD POD^® is the gold standard in body composition tracking and NIFS has it. This device accurately measures the percentage of body fat and lean body mass, enabling you to track your body composition more effectively over time.

This blog was written by David Schoch, CSCS, FMS, and Healthy Lifestyle Coordinator. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Running a marathon can be a very positive, rewarding experience or a very painful, negative one. THE CHOICE IS YOURS!

How I Got Started with Marathons

I began running as a feel-good stress release in 2009, but never knew that stress release would turn into my stressor. After my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, I turned to running at times to just get away from my daily life for a few moments and enjoy some fresh air and a good sweat. I loved this workout a few times a week.

In 2016, I was ready to set a goal. I signed up for my first half marathon, but forgot to sign up for a training plan to go with it. As my mind was set to long distances to achieve my goal, I began running more and more. Before I even completed my half marathon, I realized I was ready to do a full marathon, so I signed up spontaneously to run 26.2 miles and completed my first marathon in Washington, D.C., in February 2016. Two months later, I crossed the finish line of a half marathon, which was my original goal.

If you were to ask me how I felt about my experience, I'd honestly tell you: painful, awful, and sore. Thankfully I didn't get any injures, but like most runners, I ran a lot and neglected cross training, because I preferred the “runner's high.”

Why I Quit

I continued this training process through 2016, and by the end of that year I was done and burnt out. My body was depleted of important nutrients, my muscles were constantly sore from neglecting proper recovery, and I never knew how much mental tension I had been putting myself through by pushing my body to get what I thought was "faster and stronger."

In 2017, my running for hours had now turned into recovering for hours. I picked up a consistent yoga practice, started meditation classes, was visiting a doctor to replenish my depleted body, focused on strength with pilates and circuit training classes, and was only doing low-impact cardio. 

How I Got Back into Running—the Right Way

As I began stressing out my body less, my passion for running was still in the back of my mind. In 2018, I began running long distances again, but with newly gained knowledge of proper fuel, proper recovery, and proper cross training. It's so weird waking up not sore after a long run, or enjoying friends and family instead of wanting to sleep all the time due to fatigue, and I love it!

Practicing mindfulness is so important when setting a big goal. In society, we often want to get to the reward faster instead of enjoying the process in the present. Attempting to run a half or full marathon does not have to be a painful experience. Running a half or full marathon does not have to result in injury and burnout. The choice is yours!

Tips for Running

• Follow your training plan. As endurance picks up, so does your ego as a runner. When you get a short run, just do it and enjoy it! There will be plenty of long runs you can save your energy for to reduce burnout and achieve success.
• Warm up. Our bodies are not meant to go from 0 to 100 percent effort for extended periods of time, which is a common mistake by runners that leads to injury. Spend time prepping your muscles and your mind for success. If you remember that your goal is to get to the finish line, you'll remember to warm up so you can get there pain free.
• Cool down. Just as we aren't supposed to go from 0 to 100, 100 to 0 is just as harmful. Allow yourself time to deep-breathe and restore your muscles. When running for distance, the blood starts to pool toward your legs. Doing yoga or total-body corrective exercises and stretching will help reduce injury by properly recirculating blood to aid in healing muscles.
• Cross train. Running is a cardio-based exercise that requires strength. If you only run, you are often getting weaker because you are burning off the muscles that will support you. Adding two to three strength-only days is crucial for not just the muscles’ health, but also the health of your joints and bones.
• Know your limit. Be okay with accepting that you accomplished something amazing! If it's a hot day and your plan is to run 5 miles, but you can go only 3, that’s okay! Over-stressing the body can lead to many health consequences. Loving your body’s health as first priority will keep you injury free and a well-oiled machine.

So, don’t be afraid if your goal is to run a half or full marathon. Train with the people who have experienced the not-fun, painful part of running and want it to be filled with fun based on knowledge and past experience. The choice is yours to set your goals. The choice is yours to listen and follow your coach to achieve those goals.

NIFS Fall Marathon Training Program prepares you for the Monumental Marathon on November 3, 2018 by providing you with a 12-week training program and weekly long runs with a training coach. Training starts August 15th-November 3rd. Wednesdays 6am OR 6pm and Saturdays at 7am. Find out more and get registered today!

This blog was written by Brittany Ignas, BS in Kinesiology, 200 Hour Yoga Alliance Certified, Stott Pilates Certified, and Fitness Coordinator. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.