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A study at the College of St Catherine in Minneapolis found that up to 70% of recreational runners suffer from leg injuries or stress fractures. Most of these are caused by weak or tight muscles in the hips and can be corrected by adding strength and stretching moves to your routine!!

GET OUTSIDE!!

While the gym makes an awesome place to get your strength training – enjoy the cooler weather and get outside.

Take the kids hiking, go running, go for a walk — AND I MEAN ANYONE!!

My inlaws just left and we hiked a bunch when they were here — they are almost 70 so I mean ANYONE!!

There are some great places in Douglas County to hike including:
- Sweetwater – you will see me there every Saturday morning doing my weekly LONG run as I prep for the full marathon on Thanksgiving Day
- Cochran Mills – this is technically Fulton County but extremely close and a hidden gem!
- Clinton Farms – lots of singletrack if you like that and wider trails if you prefer that — lots of variety and never gets old

There are also lots of other options in and around the County and surrounding area so while gas is tight — why not get out and enjoy what we have right here!

Hiking outside adds variety to anyone’s personal training routine so I really encourage everyone to get some variety and get out and enjoy!!

Well, The ING Marathon is this weekend!! I know a lot of you are running the 1/2 marathon. I am running the marathon and I am excited to get out there. I have been training with some friends and I think we are all ready to just GET IT DONE.

So hydrate up, carb up, get a massage — whatever your pre-race routine is and I will see you there bright and early Sunday morning.

Are you itching for some weight loss. Lots of people this time of year hit a wall of reality about their resolution to lose weight and start to badslide. TRAGIC. Because after 30 days, your new habits are starting to be just that — HABITUAL.

So if you are starting to feel a bit frustrated with your results so far, remember that you did not gain weight in a few weeks so it is going to be a longer ride. And you are making progress. I have one client, John, who is a shell of his formal self. So much so that he was on the cover of the local Douglas County newspaper. He looks amazing and is great at realizing that this is a lifelong commitment.

If you are not feeling committed yet, then try kicking it up a notch for the next 2 weeks. The best and easiest way to kick up your workout is to increase your cardio. It will make you feel powerful and stronger so add 15 minutes to your daily workout, or add a weekend run (feel free to join me and my running crew at Sweetwater at 8am on Saturday morning), add a walk with your spouse after dinner, try going for a bike ride on all the great trails we have around here, call up a friend for tennis or sign up for a league — see what I mean — try something new or something fun and watch your resolve come back.

Well I started a bit of a running group here in Douglasville with a few friends and it has turned into a regular Saturday event. Every Saturday morning — now that is cool.

Yesterday morning when it was below 30 degrees, I seriously thought that I would be out there running all alone but NOPE — running club as usual. THAT is the commitment that you need to have. Commitment to work out even when it is cold, even when it is UNFUN, even when you would rather sleep in. The key with working out, group fitness classes, weight lifting is to be consistent. It is better to work out every day for 30 minutes than to TRY to work out for an hour and only actually do it once a week.

So simple advice, COMMIT — and your body will get in shape.