There’s always time to exercise: once you adjust your mindset and expectations, you can get a workout in every day. Inevitably the realities of life will interfere with your ability to hit the gym or trail; sometimes that extra hour of sleep is more important. Often exercise isn’t a priority, especially when compared to work or family. That being said, we often skip a workout simply because we haven’t made it a priority or didn’t plan for it. Not every workout is skipped because a more pressing, unforeseen obligation arose. Sometimes, we just don’t feel like. First, you should try to plan your workout the night before. If you have a decent idea of what your schedule is the next...
Starting in 2017, to get a perfect score of 300 on the Marine Corps physical fitness test (PFT) a male must do 23 pull-ups, 115 crunches in 2 minutes, and run 3 miles in 18 minutes. Females must do at least 10 pull-ups (or 70 seconds flexed arm hang) and complete the run in 21 minutes. Many Marines can hit the max pull-ups and crunches. However for most, the run has always been the barrier to a perfect score. A recent study by the Marine Corps found that only 4% of men and women were able to run the 3 miles in 18 or 21 minutes, respectively. Running 3 miles in 18 minutes is difficult. It seems so unattainable...
Which is better, high intensity interval training (I’ll call it Crossfit for the sake of simplicity) or traditional lifting? Obviously there isn’t one answer to this question; and good luck trying to convince someone who has their mind set on one way or the other. The answer is depends on your individual goals. If you have the genetics for it, you can do either and see results as long as you keep working out. For a lot of us, however, if you stick to one routine, whether it’s lifting or Crossfit, you’re going to plateau. I did traditional lifting for years throughout high school and college. I eventually transitioned to Crossfit. One thing I noticed is that when I first...
Whether you’re outside or on a treadmill, running is an excellent form of exercise. Many runners dread the treadmill, but sometimes circumstances leave you no other choice. If you have the option of doing either, in my opinion there is no substitute to road running. I’ve done extended stints on the treadmill before, usually during the winter months when my usual routes are covered in snow and ice. After a couple months of fast-paced, high intensity treadmill running, I’ve found myself struggling to keep a good pace during my first few road runs. While you can achieve a high level of cardiovascular exertion on a treadmill by getting your heart rate up, you don't use your leg muscles the same...
