The Jeff Galloway Blog

Walking is for Everyone

In my lifetime, I have helped more than 150,000 people learn to enjoy exercise and improve their quality of life. It has become clear to me that almost anyone can become an active walker without aches and pains. All you need to start this process is the desire to feel better, and the willingness to spend 3 half-hours a week gently moving your feet and legs. As you embrace the process of improvement, you will enjoy the glow of self-confidence and accomplishment. You are becoming a physical athlete.

When you cover a certain amount of distance on foot, you receive a unique sense of satisfaction which brings us back to our roots. According to the experts, primitive human ancestors defined and nurtured uniquely human traits during constant migrations. So I imagine that the “good tiredness” of the last mile of our walk makes one feel about the same as our ancestors more than one million years ago. This is the same process experienced by athletes as they train to become the best they can be.

Walking regularly makes you feel better, inserting energy into your life. It’s convenient – you can walk from almost anywhere, on any day of the week. While you may need  to alternate walk days and rest during the first few weeks, in a year most walkers can enjoy a walk every day. Some will want to try some short running segments.

The primary goal of walking is to help you become the captain of your exercise ship, and assume control over your nutrition and mental attitude while you eliminate aches and pains. If you stay on the conservative side, you will enrich your life every day you walk.

Enjoy your walking journey. It can change your life!

• A complete guide to walking can be found in "Walking-The Complete Book" by Jeff Gallloway

 

Jeff Galloway Resources: www.jeffgalloway.com Visit the E-Shop where you will find “Walling - The Complete Guide” and other books for your running library. You will also find training tips, training groups, running retreats and more. 

Join us in Atlanta for the 2017 Jeff Galloway Race Weekend! To register or find out more information on the JG 13.1, The Double G, Barb’s 5K, Fit Kids Run and other weekend events go to: https://jeffgalloway131.com

How To Determine If You Are Overtraining

Your morning pulse is a great guide of overstress.

Recording your morning pulse – immediately upon awaking.

1. As soon as you are conscious, but before you have thought much about anything count your pulse rate for minute. Record it before you forget is. If you don’t have your journal by your bed, then keep a piece of paper handy with a pen.
2. It is natural for there to be some fluctuations based upon the time you wake up, how long you have been awake, etc. But after several weeks and months, these will balance themselves out. The ideal would be to catch the pulse at the instant that you are awake, before the shock of an alarm clock, thoughts of work stress, etc.
3. After two weeks or so of readings, you can establish a baseline morning pulse. Remove the top high and low readings and then average the others.
4. The average is your guide If, on a given day. The rate is 5% higher than your average, take an easy day. When the rate is 10% higher, and there is no reason for this (you woke up from an exciting dream, medication, infection, etc.) then your muscles may be tired indeed. Take the day off if you have a walk-run scheduled for that day.
5. If your pulse stays high for more than a week, call your doctor to see f there is a reason for this (medication, hormones, metabolic changes, infection, etc.) This could be due to overtraining.

 

Jeff Galloway Resources: www.jeffgalloway.com Visit the E-Shop where you will find “Mental Training for Runners” and other books for your running library. You will also find training tips, training groups, running retreats and more. 

Join us in Atlanta for the 2017 Jeff Galloway Race Weekend! To register or find out more information on the JG 13.1, The Double G, Barb’s 5K, Fit Kids Run and other weekend events go to: https://jeffgalloway131.com

Marathon FAQ

Question: Do any of the cross-training exercises help one run faster?

Answer: Water running can help runners improve running form. The resistance of the water forces the legs to find a more efficient path. Put on a flotation device and go to the deep end of a swimming pool (usually at least 5.5 feet deep). Move your legs in a running motion that replicates how you run on land – no knee lift, extending your leg a little forward, feet low but kick out a little in the front, and bring the whole leg behind as the lower leg moves behind you. Start with 5-10 minutes and build up to 15-30 minutes. You can do this work out on a non-running day or as a second workout on a running day.

Jeff Galloway Resources: www.jeffgalloway.com Visit the E-Shop where you will find “Galloway’s Marathon FAQ” and other books for your running library. You will also find training tips, training groups, running retreats and more. 

Join us in Atlanta for the 2017 Jeff Galloway Race Weekend! To register or find out more information on the JG 13.1, The Double G, Barb’s 5K, Fit Kids Run and other weekend events go to: https://jeffgalloway131.com

Jeff Galloway’s Giant Rubber Band

On all marathons, I carry with me this device, which is mounted to my shorts in the small of my back. When someone passes me in the late stages, my left brain explodes with a stream of negative messages, such as “Look how smooth he/she is running, and how ragged you are.” It’s easy to listen and give in to those logical messages which are trying to reduce my effort and slow me down.

But instead of believing the source of lazy and distractive ideas, I attack by throwing the giant band over the head of the individual who had the audacity to pass me. For a while, the lead may grow. During the nest few hundred yards, I fill in a great number of details, such as imagining how the tension on the rubber band is increasing cutting off oxygen supply to the brain of the person I “rubber banded.” The hope develops that he or she will have to slow down.

At some point, I must laugh at myself for believing in such a ridiculous device. But laughing helps to send me into the right side of my brain, and I relax. Limber legs turn over quicker, and I usually catch up with, or pass, the person that passed me.

The giant invisible rubber band worked again!

Jeff Galloway Resources: www.jeffgalloway.com Visit the E-Shop where you will find “Jeff Galloway Marathon” and other books for your running library. You will also find training tips, training groups, running retreats and more. Look for Jeff’s article,” The Starting Line” in every Runner’s World magazine.

Join us in Atlanta for the 2017 Jeff Galloway Race Weekend! To register or find out more information on the JG 13.1, The Double G, Barb’s 5K, Fit Kids Run and other weekend events go to: https://jeffgalloway131.com