It sometimes amazes me what people will where when they are doing their workout programs. Today in the gym I saw a man wearing moccasin slippers; this has been one of the odder fitness shoe selections I've seen in quite a while but by no means the weirdest. When I was working in a gym I spotted a woman lifting weights in open toed high heels...no joke. Not only does this look ridiculous, as there really is no need to make such a fashion statement pumping iron, but it is dangerous for a couple of reasons. First, I'll guarantee she isn't able to do all of her moves with the proper form and she is setting herself up for an injury, and secondly if she were to drop one of these dumbbells on her foot she is looking at a nice set of broken toes.

There are other poor fitness clothes choices for when you are working out; I've seen people running in jeans and a belt, I don't even want to think about that kind of chaffing. No doubt that will burn a bit when they go to later take a shower. And while I give them props for getting out there and doing their workouts, should they be wearing the right kind of gym clothing they would not only be more comfortable but their workouts would improve too.

Take for instance someone wearing jeans, they aren't going to be able to get a full range of motion and their strides will be shorter than they should. Instead were they to wear a pair of running shorts they would improve their efficiency, in turn have better form, and thus be able to run faster. Proper fitness clothes could make the difference between cutting a workout short too; if you are wearing hot jeans and cotton shirts that are absorbing and retaining all of your sweat and body heat you could be left stiflingly hot after only a few moments. With clothes that instead breathe and that are made out of a moisture wicking material you could go longer without being left overheating and with huge pit stains.

When it comes to shoes, while I love my Converse they aren't for running. They lack the necessary support that your foot needs. This is especially true if you overpronate and you will soon find yourself with an injury, whether it be knee pain, shin splints, Achilles problems, plantar fasciitis, or another form of tendonitis.

You can still infuse a little fashion and personal flair in your workout clothes; there are plenty of lines that are geared towards just that. Still, while you are working up a sweat your main focus should be at doing your best to then get the very most out of each workout.

Way to go for all of you who have finished Week 6 of the running training program and are back for more! The last week we began to add in training elements that were outside of strictly running with weight lifting being the first. Another very important aspect to focus on is proper running form. This will not only make you more efficient and then faster but help prevent injuries. The less excess energy you waste on poor running habits, like crossing your arms in front of your chest or over striding, the easier it will feel to increase the pace.

The goal for this week is to pick one aspect of your running form that needs to be improved and focus on that single thing for the last five minutes of every run. That means if you need to adjust your stride length, for each of those five minutes do a 10 second stride count and try to hit 30. Test yourself and see how close you can get. You only want to tack one thing at a time, and then slowly integrate that change to not only make it easier (you don't want to be thinking of a zillion things you need to fix) but it will also prevent you from getting hurt. As you shift your form you will be noticing different muscles working and you don't want to overload them all at once and wind up unable to get out the door next time.

Monday: Strength training with five minute warm-up (think of form!)
Tuesday: Shorter interval workout for 35-50 minutes (with a warm-up and cool-down have the middle 20 minutes alternate between one minutes hard and one minute easy)
Wednesday: Easy run for 40-55 minutes
Thursday: Strength training with five minute warm-up (think of form!)
Friday: Longer interval workout for 35-50 minutes (with a warm-up and cool-down have the middle include three to four sets of 3 minutes hard, 2 minutes easy, one minute hard, 2 minutes easy)
Saturday: Easy run or cross train for 40-55 minutes
Sunday: Long run 40-70 minutes easy

Keep it up you guys; you should be feeling stronger in those workouts and be sure that the days of your easy days you allow yourself to recover. Don't go too fast or hard or you will be left overly fatigued on the more important workout days.

Week 8

We've all seen them, the hunched over, the gigantic striders, their arms flailing akimbo; yes when it comes to different running forms and styles it seems we are all as unique as our appearances. Yet there is a 'model' running form that has been shown to be most efficient and if you were to look at the best runners in the world there you would find that many of them do resemble their competitors. This is because their techniques have proven to be the best to get them the fastest times possible; they don't waste any excess energy on unnecessary movements and everything is streamlined and moving forward.

While not everyone will be able to run as fast as the Olympic caliber runners, we can take steps to at least mimic their proper running form. This includes holding your arms at a 90 angle bent at the elbow and then moving on the same plane frontwards and back. You shouldn't be crossing your arms in front of your chest, having them held up so close to your chest that you don't get much movement at all, and you don't want then to be down swinging by your thighs. Concentrate on lifting them up to be about even with your beast bone in front and then when they swing back think of hitting about where you would have a pocket on your shorts.

Proper running form is also going to mean that you are standing up tall to not only allow for the most lung capacity but you will also be slightly tilted forward to help propel you that way. You want to think about being erect and then slightly tipping your pelvis inward so that your butt isn't sticking way out in back. Your legs then should work in a sort of cycle motion with your knees lifting up and then back to then push off. You want your foot to ideally land directly below you for the maximum power for each push off. Everyone will have a different stride length, but you want to aim to get as close to 180 strides per minute to be the most efficient; this works out to about 30 strides each 10 seconds. (One stride is a full complete cycle on a single leg, not each step that you take.) Count your strides and try to adapt accordingly; if you are overstriding and leaping while you run you will be wasting a lot of effort as you will need to claw forward before your foot even pushes off. Similarly too many short strides aren't going to give you the most power for each lift off.

Finally, one thing you need to keep in mind for the perfect running form throughout is to RELAX. Don't clench your jaw because this will likely cause you to tense up and raise your shoulders. Relax your shoulders and let your arms swing freely. If you find this happening take a deep breath, shake out your arms, and return to the correctly position. Adapting your running form is tricky and takes a lot of time because at first the changes won't seem natural. But if you target one specific thing to focus on in your runs, master that aspect, and then move onto the next eventually you will be looking more and more like those professional runners who make it seem almost effortless. But don't be fooled, they are working just as hard as you!

Thanks for coming back for more and great job for finishing week 5 of the running training program. Hopefully the speed workout and longer interval session went well and that you are learning to gauge your paces. An important thing to remember is that as with any kind of sport or regular workout routine you always want to be stressing different energy systems and then challenge yourself to improve. Along with that there are many things you can incorporate into your program that while they may not be running they will translate over into faster times and better performances. This includes weight training, dynamic drills, stretching, plyometics, flexibility drills, form work, and core work. That may seem like a lot to digest, but those are just some examples of the many different training techniques that you could sprinkle in throughout your training weeks and months. Yet at the same time you don't want to add in everything all at once, and there's no need to necessarily add in all of those things and it depends on your own unique goals that you can then pick and choose what is most important and what you have time for.

The goal of this week is to integrate a weight lifting routine that will hit every major muscle group in your body. This will increase overall fitness, get you leaner and meaner, but in terms of running it will give you more power. You will want to do this routine twice this week and eventually we will increase that to three times a week. This week will still have a speed workout day and another day geared towards building your endurance.

Monday: Strength training routine with a five minute cardio warm-up
Tuesday: Speed workout for a total of 35-50 minutes (start with a warm-up and then you will do sets of one minutes hard, one minute easy, 30 seconds hard, one minute easy; you will do a total of three to four sets and then finish the run as a cool-down)
Wednesday: Easy run for 35-50 minutes
Thursday: Strength training routine with five minute cardio warm-up
Friday: Easy run or cross-train for 35-50 minutes
Saturday: Longer workout for a total of 35-50 minutes (start with a warm-up and then between three and four sets of 5 minutes hard followed by three minutes recovery jog; finish the run as a cool-down)
Sunday: Long run for 40-70 minutes (go very easy)

We have changed the amount of times for the intervals to get you used to going at different paces. For the speed session really work on blasting the shorter 30 second intervals and on the longer day aim to work on being able to still start out at a level 8 in terms of effort (from one to ten) but as you progress try to pick up the pace so you finish faster than you started. Finally, we will keep the length of the long run the same this week and be sure to take it easy so that you recover from the hard workout the day before. Get after it and be sure to check back for more updates throughout the week!

Week 7

While I myself am much happier to be logging those miles or doing cardio rather than lifting weights, I know that in neglecting strength training I'll be missing out on all of the benefits that it brings. There is of course the fact that weight lifting is the best way to build muscle mass which will in turn give you the tone and definition that you want but also boost your metabolism because a pound of muscle burns many more calories than a pound of fat. What's more is a gym weight lifting session is going to elevate your metabolism even higher for the hours after your workout in the after burn effect; you could end up burning more calories throughout the day after a bout in the gym than a run outside. But outside of that, regular strength training will improve your performance in other areas whether you be a long distance runner, cyclist, high jumper, basketball player, or football player.

By building up that core strength and muscle mass you will be more powerful and strong as well as less likely to wind up with an injury. Weak muscles are prime contenders for a strain or pull and you can avert time off with regular weight lifting routines. You don't need to go into the gym and throw around huge amounts of weight, although you can if you are looking to specifically bulk up and build mass, but if you are looking to lean out and get toned up you can do lower amounts of weight with a higher number of repetitions.

For those taking part in the running training program series, this upcoming week we will begin to implement a specific weight lifting training program a few times a week. This will improve your overall fitness level and eventually make you a stronger runner. Yet if you aren't doing the running series, you can still take advantage of a great strength program that will hit all of the major muscle groups. You can begin with with doing one or two sets of fifteen repetitions for each exercise and then build yourself up to doing a third set. You should aim to incorporate weights into two or three days that you head to the gym. Finally, you want to do the series as a circuit meaning that you will do one exercise immediately followed by the next in the group without resting and then complete all of your sets; then with limited rest move to the next group. This will keep your heart rate up and you will burn more calories throughout as well.

Group 1:
* Leg Press machine or standing squats while holding weights
* Hamstring curls (on machine or do leg lifts while laying down on your stomach)
* Single leg lunge (be sure to do 15 reps for each leg and to make it harder you can hold weights)

Group 2:
* Lateral pull-downs
* Dumbbell press on bench
* Calf raises

Group 3:
* Bicep curls
* Tricep kick backs
* Side raises with weight (standing up and holding weights in both hands raise your arms up at your sides until they are at shoulder level and then back down)

Group 4:
* Seated Russian Twist with weight (sitting on the edge of a bench, lean back and raise your legs up bending at the knee so you are balancing on your tail bone; holding a weight, contract your abs and alternate pivoting your torso to the right and left side while keeping your lower body stationary)
* Crunches (do them either on the floor or on a ball)
* Back raises (lying down on your stomach, lift your upper body off of the ground and then lowering back down)

I thought with all of the recent attention being drawn to certain celebrities, or those who claim to be celebrities, it was worth addressing the whole plastic surgery issue. I myself have seen far too many Dr. 90210 episodes to venture going under the knife, but apparently that is becoming more and more of a rarity. I'm not saying that I think I'm better than anyone who has had plastic surgery, but I would be lying if I didn't point out that depending on just what the said surgery was I may think of them in a different light.

There are countless tales of the model looking to enhance her butt and then dying on the table. Others undergoing risky augmentations in countries with more lax medical licensing laws who either wind up with botched jobs or never wake up at all. I feel it is sad that there are those willing to die for vanity. Yet it isn't always necessarily vanity, but insecurity that is the underlying issue. A lot of talk has steamed back to Heidi Montag of the infamous Speidi relation, and I would say there are definite insecurity issues there. No one is perfect, and to chase that ideal is something common with many people afflicted with one addiction or another other problem. Obsession with anything can become all consuming; it is the case with eating disorders, substance abuse, over eating, addiction to these surgeries, and even addiction to exercise.

Exercise is something completely healthy and should be incorporated into everyday life, but as with anything it can be taken to the extreme. Working out to be healthy and overall fit and fierce is one thing, but punishing yourself and doing it solely to lose weight or look a certain way isn't going to make it enjoyable and in the end you may not ever wind up with the results you crave. There are always 'trouble spots' that you will be critical of yourself over and in the end are you going to be unhappy in your overall life if you don't look like the 'ideal' you have set up in your own mind? Workout because of the way it makes you feel inside and that joy it brings after having accomplished something you didn't think you could have ever done. There are few times that I am more proud of than when I've finished a race or particularly daunting workout and have had a personal best time or surpassed my own expectations.

Especially with the growing number of surgeries that are geared to chiseling out that Adonis body that you don't want to work for at the gym or stick to a balanced diet for, I think it's sad people are looking for the easy way out. Skipping the gym and excising solely on KFC and Dunkin' Donuts but getting the fat sucked out of their body in an attempt to remedy the situation isn't the way to go.

Of course there are people who have every reason to go under the knife; they have lost so much weight in order to be healthy they need the subsequent extra skin removed, children born with deformities, you're met with a horrendous accident and your face is damaged, and there are far less extreme cases in between. But I think surgery should be a kind of last resort because you need to ask yourself if it really will make you happy. If so, then go forward, but if you are chasing an ideal that may never be achieved there is something else that is bothering you.

I'm always surprised just how much of a difference running outside is versus on the treadmill. The standard rule of thumb is that in order to more accurately mimic the outside environment on the treadmill, factoring in the amount of air resistance you'd meet, you should put the treadmill at a grade o 1.5%. Yet it still seems to me that even with this incline running on the treadmill is easier; I find myself able to go at a faster pace with less of an effort when compared to outdoors.

This could be attributed to a few reasons: 1- on a treadmill you're always going to be landing in exactly the same position. There are no variances in terrain, your footfalls are pretty much repetitions of the last because you aren't stepping on a rock, curb, or any other number of things. 2- you are always at the same cadence that you program into the treadmill. Outside you will inevitably always be running at a different speed as you naturally speed up or slow down whether you are making a turn, trying to make a light before it turns red, or getting chased by a rabid dog. Outside there are variable that will not allow you to be running dead on a specific pace like you can on a treadmill. 3- you do use different muscles on a treadmill because of the way the belt works. You're quads are taken completely out of the equation because the belt runs in a way that it will pull your leg backwards and then you will be heavily relying on your hamstrings to do all of the work. Outside you use both your hamstrings and your quads.

And so it seems that while convenient, running on a treadmill is not going to necessarily equate to the same times you would run outside. I'm not saying this is the case for everyone, there are those that swear by treadmill training and there was the woman from Alaska who won the US marathon trials a few years back after having to do all of her runs inside due to the weather. I guess the point is that if you are actively training and planning to race outside, a few runs on the treadmill isn't going to hurt, and it can prevent an injury if the outside conditions are much too icy or hazardous. Yet at the same time bear in mind that there is a difference, even if it is more subtle to some people; and when you do get back outside you want to keep that in mind. Usually after prolonged bouts of treadmill only running the first few times outside will leave you a bit sore because of the different muscles you use.