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Archive | Health and Wellness

Cupping, Should Runners Try it Too?

By on October 17, 2016 in Guest Perspective, Health and Wellness, Injury

screen-shot-2016-10-17-at-12-09-42-pmThe 2016 Rio Olympics brought new light to an old treatment–cupping. The world stared as athletes like Michael Phelps proudly displayed his petechia for the world to see.

Petechia is the medical term for the purplish bruise that can form with certain types of cupping techniques.

After seeing so many Olympic athletes with bruises this year, the rest of us were left wondering about this trend of using cupping as a medical treatment or sports enhancement treatment. Does cupping really work? Can I utilize cupping as a self-treatment method for common running related pains? Continue Reading →

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Replay Episode: How Heart Rate Training Works

By on September 30, 2016 in Health and Wellness, Heart Rate Training, Podcasts

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Today we bring you a special replay of one of our most popular episodes from 2013. It’s a nuts and bolts kind of topic so get ready to learn a lot!

Maybe you have a heart rate monitor (HRM) that you never use or use a heart rate monitor and get frustrated because you don’t fully understand how to go about using this training method.

In this post I want to cut through the clutter and tell you how to get started with heart rate training. You will learn:

  1. What to know before you start heart rate training
  2. Three ways to find your ideal training zones
  3. The limitations of heart rate training

Ready, set, go! Continue Reading →

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InsideTracker Review

By on August 19, 2016 in Guest Perspective, Health and Wellness, Review

N-O_7ZQb_400x400Even as my health has improved, I wasn’t sure about my overall outlook. InsideTracker’s report reveals my successes and guides me on where to improve.

By Henry Howard

I began running about five years ago as a way to improve on my health and cross “finish a marathon” off my bucket list. The side benefits have included eating a healthier diet and eliminating soda — with the exception of a rum and coke from time to time. Continue Reading →

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How Running Changes Your Brain –Interview with Dr. Wendy Suzuki

By on June 12, 2016 in Health and Wellness, Interview, Podcasts

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Wendy Suzuki has a PhD in neural science and is a researcher at New York University. She’s author of the book Healthy Brain, Happy Life.

We talk with her about the effects of running on the human brain, hippocampus growth, brain plasticity, memory, reward centers, the power of affirmations, meditation and more. Continue Reading →

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The Productive Person’s Daily Energy Plan

By on November 18, 2015 in Health and Wellness, Motivation

Photo on 12-1-15 at 7.59 PM #2Our last two podcast episodes were about how busy working professionals find time to train.

Each runner we interviewed has discovered the energizing power of a morning workout. Without it, they would not be as focused and productive in their work.

This reminds me of a book I recently finished reading called, The ONE Thing by Gary Keller.

There’s a section in the book that will give you a helpful framework for managing your energy. Continue Reading →

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How We Stay Healthy While Traveling to Marathons 

By on November 2, 2015 in Health and Wellness

How we get to most marathons. I've tried telling Angie that two 26.2 stickers is redundant.

How we get to most marathons. I’ve tried telling Angie that two 26.2 stickers is redundant.

We’ve spent a lot of time on the road this year traveling to marathons.

We’ve literally driven from one coast to another (and seemingly everywhere in between).

Most of our trips are by car and include the whole family. Here’s how we stay healthy (and sane) while traveling across the country with our kids. Continue Reading →

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How to Prevent and Self-Treat Shin Splints

By on September 12, 2015 in Guest Perspective, Health and Wellness, Injury

ShinSplints_ArrowsThe term shin splints, also known as an anterior compartment syndrome, refers to pain along the shinbone (tibia), the large bone in the front of your lower leg.

Shin splints can be excruciatingly painful to the point that you may struggle to walk or run. They are typically caused by inflammation in the anterior muscle of the lower leg known as the anterior tibialis muscle.

This is the primary muscle needed to lift your foot. Shin splints are often considered an over use injury and unfortunately, are relatively common in runners.

Discover the common causes for shin splints and implement these strategies to prevent and self-treat shin splints. Continue Reading →

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What Every Entrepreneur Should Know About Running

By on August 13, 2015 in Guest Perspective, Health and Wellness

photo-1431578500526-4d9613015464Pat Flynn does it. Barack Obama has a tumblr page dedicated to it and Oprah has even been known to dabble.

They know the secret to running a successful business and it’s not just dominant thought, connections and amazing sales copy.

You can mastermind all you like and have the best social media presence in the world, but if you want to stay on top of your A game, you need to look after number one.

Running, whether it’s for just 15 minutes a day or endurance training for a marathon, will give you more benefits than you think. Continue Reading →

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12 Strategies to Prevent and Self-Treat Muscle Cramping

By on June 16, 2015 in Guest Perspective, Health and Wellness, Injury

RunningInjuryOnCalfMuscle cramping and spasming can significantly derail your best intentioned race plans.

A muscle cramp or spasm is a sudden, involuntary, and typically severe muscle contraction.

Thankfully, it’s very rare for a muscle spasm or cramp to permanently damage the muscle. However, the cramp or spasm can produce mild to excruciating pain. The pain can be very short lived or linger for days after a severe episode.

Unfortunately, muscle cramping can affect your performance. Common causes of muscle cramping include overexertion, prolonged immobility, dehydration, and electrolyte imbalances. Continue Reading →

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Low Back Pain Prevention for Runners

By on May 14, 2015 in Guest Perspective, Health and Wellness, Injury

StandingBackExtensionsLow back pain (LBP) is one of the most prevalent medical conditions treated in the United States and throughout the western world.

It is also the most common source of pain for runners. Runners often suffer from low back pain due to prolonged sitting and weak core muscles.

LBP can be safely self-treated if you handle your pain and symptoms quickly. In this post you will learn how to implement prevention strategies during exercise in order to avoid episodes of LBP. Continue Reading →

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10 Questions About Pregnancy and Marathon Training

By on March 31, 2015 in Health and Wellness, Safety

photo credit: Michael Hollander; Flickr Creative Commons

photo credit: Michael Hollander; Flickr Creative Commons

Many women have asked me if it’s possible to safely run and train for a marathon while pregnant.

This is a very important question and I’ve thought about dedicating a whole podcast episode to this topic.

Well, lo and behold I was recently invited to speak about this on the Run Run Live podcast. A big thanks to Chris Russell for having me on the show! You can hear me on episode 4-308.

Chris sent over 10 really great questions about pregnancy and running that he wanted me to tackle during the interview.

Here are the answers I gave based on my own experience of running through two pregnancies and the science I’ve read on this topic. Continue Reading →

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Athlete Overcomes Back Surgery to Run Half Marathon

By on December 30, 2014 in Guest Perspective, Health and Wellness

Alex_Johnson_blogrunA cold race day in Indianapolis gave way to a series of heart-warming moments for Louisville man and his girlfriend.

By Henry Howard

When Alex Johnson arrived in Indianapolis for the Monumental Marathon on Nov. 1 of last year, he was greeted by an unusually cool fall evening. Race-time wind chills were around 20 degrees for Johnson, who was running his first half marathon, and his girlfriend, Taryn Scampoli, who was running the full.

“I’m not a cold weather runner, or cold weather anything, so I was not in a great mood the morning of the race,” admits Johnson, who lives in Louisville, Ky. “However, I also kept in mind that the previous three months had all led to this morning, and that there was one goal to the day, and that being to cross the finish line. As the race started, I turned my music up loud, latched on to each next fastest runner I could find in the pack, and leaned forward.”

While Johnson trained three months for his first 13.1-mile race, his quest was actually years in the making. Continue Reading →

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