How to train for something you’ve never done before

My company is doing a triathlon.

It’s optional, but pretty much everyone, of course, has trepidation about doing the race, which is why I offered up the relay option (teams of 3, with each person doing one leg of the race). The main point, yes, is just to get people moving, but I was really hoping to get more people to commit to doing the complete sprint distance race. It’s a great thing to train for because it requires commitment and discipline, and is by no means easy, but it’s a sight easier than doing a marathon, for example—and people train for those all the time. But, like I said, happy that people are getting out and doing something.

5 Reasons You Should Train for a Race

Nothing is more frustrating to me than talking to people about getting in shape, or wanting to start exercising more, and as soon as I bring up the idea of training for a race, being met with a “no, I don’t think so… [and, insert waffling here].” Honestly, even if you don’t think you can do it, training for a race of any kind is an incredibly rewarding experience—even if the only thing you take away from it is being relieved at having finished. But you might surprise yourself.

How to work out when all you have is yourself

You don’t need to have a gym to get a good workout. I do happen to have a gym membership; I really like it and would encourage you to get one. But I know that sometimes it’s just not convenient to where you work or live, or you just don’t want to spend the money, or you’re not anywhere near the gym. That’s happened to me on occasion, whether I’m traveling, or I only have an hour before I have to be somewhere and the gym is not an option. When that happens, I usually get annoyed and don’t have a good workout because I’m just pissed off at the world and just say, “screw it.” First tip: don’t do that, because it’s not good for you and it doesn’t burn any calories. The extra calorie burn from the elevated heart rate is negligible and will NOT counteract that bowl of ice cream you will definitely have to calm yourself down. Believe me, I know.

Why I don’t believe in “leg day”

Given the fact that I just posted about how awesome squats are, the title probably comes as a shock. But that’s not what I mean. I mean that I don’t believe in the philosophy of “only-work-one-specific-muscle-group day.”

Triathlon Training for Amateurs

This is probably the best place to start for my first post, since it’s mid-January and I’m a full week into training for this season’s race line-up.

I, like most people, have a full-time job, and it takes me an hour of commute time each way. I also have a great live-in boyfriend, who travels a lot for work, and when he’s actually home I want to spend as much time as I can with him. Both of these things mean that I’m not a fan of waking up at 5am to go to the gym. I bet most people aren’t.