FBF #40 - Fitness Tip

Fitness Tip of the Week:

The 10 Minute Jaunt - What it has done for me, and how it can help you fit in quality exercise...

Every now & then, I just get BUSY. Busy with work, busy with computer stuff for my business, and I just don't get out like I want to for a quality run.

This has happened not only recently, but throughout my career as a trainer. I really discovered the benefit of something I call the '10 Minute Jaunt' in my 2nd year of personal training & sports performance training.

I was training a large number of athletes, around 40, at the start of summer in June. To take up even more of my time, I was also running for the seat of Mayor in the town of Cooperstown, ND. I'd try to do door-to-door campaigning in my off-time in the afternoons & evenings. Plus the weekends, too. I had about 2 weeks to try and cover every single door (apartments, too) in town. I was also trying to train for 5K runs in the summertime, plus getting ready for my 2nd season of XC coaching. I would wake up at 4:30am, get ready for my run by 4:45am and get out of the door.

I'd run for only 10 minutes, trying to cover a 1.5 mile route in around 10 minutes, following the hard-easy principles of running at easy pace and at a race-pace level. I'd be back by 5am to shower, eat breakfast, and get ready for my workday at 6am at the club. My dog loved the quick runs, too. I think he got used to these short-burst runs so much, that he'd run so darn quick for the first 2 miles of a longer run, he would almost run-out of energy for the rest of the run. I think I had the fastest 1 mile dog in town!

Somedays I'd make my workouts shorter and just do 1 mile efforts for time. It would take 6 minutes or less, but my heart rate would be up really high, causing me to feel just as tired as 20 minute easy run. (By the way, with all the time I saved, I had extra time to continue campaigning for Mayor. I won the election, and you guessed it, celebrated it with my dog the next morning with another 10 minute run! Those 10 minute runs came in handy once I began the full-plate of tasks that a small town mayor had to be involved with!)

Now, I'm not saying that every workout needs to be 10 to 15 minutes worth of exercise, but if you find out you are most certainly short on workout time, everybody seems to have an extra 10 minutes around. Just make it count and don't willy-nilly your way (that means going so slow you hardly get your heart rate up there) through a workout.

I've always experienced a nice boost in mood with these types of workouts, too. Its a nice side-effect.
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Happy Holidays!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Stay Strong & Endure!

Rick Karboviak, CSCS
Speed Dial Coach

PS: Get your free 2007 "New Year's Resolution Solutions"Guide by visiting http://speeddialcoach.com.