Carrying Hydration During Exercise

Always carry water with you when you walk/run even if you are just going a short distance. Building good hydration habits early on will set you up for successful longer distances later. Walkers and runners should be able to drink water or sports drinks when needed during exercise. If you don't carry your own water, you can drink only when water happens to be available en route. The uncertainty and inconsistency of available water increases the risk of dehydration and overheating. Always wear a hydration belt/backpack or carry a hand-held bottle during training and during races. Experienced runners and walkers always carry their own hydration.

Carrying a water bottle in your hand is not the most comfortable way to carry water. It restricts your arm movements, creates a weight imbalance, and it is easy to drop a water bottle when your hands get sweaty and/or tired.  There are many convenient, comfortable and affordable solutions for carrying hydration during exercise.

HYDRATION BELTS
A hydration belt is the most popular hydration solution. They are priced about midway between a hand-held system and a backpack with lots of options and price points. Various configurations of hydration belt are available with a single bottle or multiple bottles. My personal preference is a belt that contains 2 bottles and has a roomy zipped pouch. I like the two bottle configuration as it gives the option of having water in one bottle and a sports drink in the other for longer distances. Some people prefer a 4 bottle system so they can distribute the weight more evenly around the body and others prefer one large bottle. Belts with plastic clip closures are more expensive but tend to be a better fit. The Velcro belts are cheaper and will do the job so if you are on a budget, a Velcro closure could be a good option. When you first wear a hydration belt it may feel strange and a little uncomfortable but you will get used to it very quickly and after a while you will not feel quite right without it! Our personal favorite and one we recommend to WalkAthletes is the Fitletic, iFitness Hydration belt (available from Fitletic, Amazon and some running stores). It is very comfortable belt and conveniently has the water bottles and pouch situated in the front (and, in case you are wondering, we have not been asked to recommend or review this product and we paid full retail price for the belts we use).

HAND-HELD HYDRATION
If you feel that a belt would be too restricting or uncomfortable a hand-held hydration system may be preferable. It consists of a hydration bottle that fits into a holder that is strapped onto your hand. It allows you to carry a bottle without having to grip it in your hand. Most hand-held hydration systems include a pocket for carrying essential items such as a phone, keys, and ID. it is a more economical solution than a belt or backpack and for shorter distances may be a great solution.

HYDRATION BACKPACK
A hydration back pack is the most expensive option but also enables you to carry more fluids. This can be useful if you are doing long miles and cannot refill during your walk/run. Some people prefer the backpack hydration system over a waist belt as they find it more comfortable.  The backpack hydration systems can make you feel hotter as it like adding an additional layer of clothing to your back but it is a personal choice. I would recommend that unless you are planning to do long miles that you start with a regular hydration belt and upgrade later if necessary. 

Whatever type of system you decide to purchase, select one with a zipped pocket (not a Velcro or button closure pocket) for security. Make sure that the zipped pouch is large enough for your phone, ID and keys.

Hydration systems are available from general sports stores, specialty running stores and online. You can find them in some big box and department stores too but remember that if it is really cheap, there is a probably a good reason. You usually get what you pay for!

CARING FOR YOUR HYDRATION BOTTLES

You should wash your hydration belt bottles after every use. Wash them by hand in hot soapy water and make sure you remove and wash the tops well (use a brush to scrub them). If you don’t wash your bottles after each use mold and bacteria may start to grow on/in them and can make you sick. The same goes for hydration backpacks. The bladder must be removed and washed thoroughly after every use to keep it clean and free of bacteria and mold. Some brands can be washed on the top shelf of a dishwasher when you first buy them if they smell a bit “plasticy”. Check the manufacturers instructions to make sure it is safe to do so. Do not set the dishwasher to heated dry as the bottles will likely melt.

 

Making the Commitment to a Healthy Lifestyle

Step One: Get Started!

Committing to a new fitness program & adopting a healthy lifestyle can be a difficult adjustment, especially in the first few weeks. Changing any habits or routines which require letting go of old, familiar ways of doing things is challenging for most people. Despite what you might think, it is not the fitness program itself that causes the angst; it is the adaptation to change. Whenever we change what is familiar to something unfamiliar it takes time to adjust and feel comfortable with what is new (both physically and mentally.) It doesn’t matter if the new situation or activity is a fitness program, healthy eating plan, job, residential location, or a change in relationship or family status—the unfamiliar can be disconcerting. Changing routines and priorities takes us outside our comfort zones which can be exciting, scary, exhilarating, terrifying and amazing all at the same time. Until the new routines become “normal”, they may feel like they don’t quite fit properly in your life yet. The good news is that after a few weeks of practicing and living with new routines, habits or priorities, they will start to feel normal. They will be inside your new comfort zone. For exercise to become a habit, all you have to do is get started and take it one step at a time.

If you are not convinced yet and you still believe that adopting a healthier lifestyle and committing to regular exercise is more challenging than making any other activity or habit change, you can test this change theory for yourself. All you have to do is choose one of the following 3 activity changes and stick to it for 3-4 weeks:

1.      Change your computer mouse to the other side (use it with your non-dominant hand)

2.      Switch eating utensils to the opposite hands

3.      Use a pen to write with the opposite hand

When you first start, the activity will feel uncomfortable and more time consuming than usual. For example, if you chose option 1, it may take you ages to get the mouse pointer to the correct place on the screen before you can click. If you chose option 2, you may have to eat much slower because you feel uncoordinated using your fork, knife and/or spoon in the wrong hand. If you chose option 3, you may find that trying to write with your non-dominant hand is more challenging than expected. You may not even be able to write anything legibly when you first start. With any of these options, you may become frustrated because of the extra time it takes to complete the activity in a way that is unfamiliar and uncomfortable for you. It is challenging having to think about and carefully control each action. It feels uncomfortable because you have no physical muscle memory or mental auto-pilot where your body and mind know what to do without you having to consciously think about it. If you stick to the new way of doing your chosen activity for a few weeks it will start to feel just as comfortable as the old way. If you keep switching back and forth between the old and the new, the new way will never start to feel “normal” because you are continually reinforcing the old way as being the normal, comfortable way of doing things.  Changing to a new healthy lifestyle and fitness program is exactly the same. You have to give it time so that you can become adept at the new way of doing things.

Step Two: Have Fun!

Once your newly adopted lifestyle starts to feel normal, familiar, and comfortable, it becomes an integral part of your life. It helps define who you are. It is no longer something you have to “make time for” in your busy schedule; it is already a part of your everyday schedule. It is a fun and rewarding part of your life. The most common excuse given for not exercising is “lack of time”. In reality, we can always find time to do the things that are part of our everyday routines because those are our top priorities. For example, you will find time to shower, eat, sleep, go the bathroom, take care of your kids, go to work, make dinner, and participate in specific hobbies or social events. Whatever is on your “priorities” list, you will get done no matter what. Free time is the time that you have left over after taking care of priorities. You have a lot more free time than you think and you have control over what you do with it. If you don’t think that is true, start to keep track of what you do each day. Keep track of how many hours you spend watching TV, playing video games, messing about on the computer, chatting with friends, or other activities and hobbies. You may think that you need all these activities to relax but, with practice, you can switch one or more of the less healthy activities for new ones that will also be relaxing—like swapping some TV time for exercise time or exercising while you watch TV. 

The hardest part of starting a new health and fitness program is mentally making the commitment to start. Once you have completed week one, each week will become easier than the last. The day will come when you realize that you cannot imagine NOT doing this because it has become such an important and integral part of your life. Your health and fitness will have moved from your free time (nice to have) list to your priority (must have) list.
Positive change takes commitment and courage. Once you get past day one, you just have to keep going. Take it one day at a time. Forgive yourself when you falter, let it go and get right back on track.

Lace Locker Product Review

The folks at Lace Locker asked us to review their product and provided us a free pair of Lace Lockers for us to try. This review is an honest and unbiased opinion of the product. 

In the past, we have used other products for securing laces. Those were designed to replace tying of the shoelaces and included a quick-release and tightening mechanism for fast loosening and tightening of shoelaces (some are used with elasticated laces that also speed up the time it takes to put on and take off the shoes).  Lace Lockers are not designed for the same (quick-release) purpose. They work very differently. 

The Lace Locker product is used with your regular shoelaces. It is designed to keep your shoe laces tied and secured. You open up the lace locker slide it behind your laces, fold it in half to secure it, tie the laces and then fold and secure the sides of the Lace Locker over the tied laces. This prevents the laces from coming undone and also stops the laces from bouncing around and hitting you on the lower leg while you walk or run.

  

 PROS

• You don’t need to double knot your laces. They won’t come undone!
• They stop your shoelaces from flapping/bouncing around.
• If you like to keep your laces tight, these will work. They prevent slipping/loosening of laces.

CONS

• The instructions are hard to read (tiny print and blurry images). 
• These did not work well for us with “bunny-ear” tied  laces (using loops to tighten the fit at the ankle.)
• Adjusting laces takes longer. If you need to loosen or tighten laces, or remove and replace your shoe, the Lace Locker adds complexity and time.

In summary, if you need to be able to quickly adjust the tightness of your laces or put on and take off your shoes fast, this is not the product for you. If you want to stop your shoelaces from coming undone and/or stop them bouncing around, this product will do the trick!

Lace Lockers cost approximately $8-$10 (at time of writing the review) and are available from www.lacelockers.com.  

It's Never Too Late to Get to Know Your Feet

If you are athletically walking regularly for exercise, you are racking up a lot of mileage on your feet and your shoes every year! Taking care of athletic feet needs more than a nice pedicure every couple of weeks!  You need to make sure you are wearing the right type of shoes for your feet. This means you need to understand your arch type and your gait and how those correspond to the types of athletic shoes available.

FINDING YOUR ARCH TYPE
The first thing you need to determine is your arch type. There are three arch types.
1. Flat
2. Normal
3. High

You can find out what kind of arch you have by using an electronic arch pad found in running shoe stores and some sports stores like Sports Authority, or you can do the “wet test” at home. To do the wet test, you need two pieces of absorbent paper that are larger than your feet. Newspaper works well, or you can use a dark colored craft paper. Get a bowl (also larger than the size of your foot) and fill with 1-2” inches of water. Remove your shoes and socks. Dip one foot into the water so it wets the bottom of the entire foot and place the foot on one sheet of paper with your weight on the foot. Remove your foot by lifting it straight up and immediately take a photo of the image on the paper. Repeat with the other foot using the other piece of paper. Use the image above to determine your arch type. If you use an electronic pad, take a photo of the image of your feet so you can refer back to it later if necessary.
IMPORTANT: Don’t assume that you know what type of arch you have without verifying it. Many times people tell me what kind of arch they have and 8 times out of 10 they are wrong! If you wear the wrong shoe for your arch type you could be setting yourself up for all sorts of problems. 

DETERMINING YOUR GAIT (PRONATION)
You also need to determine your gait. This can be done by having someone knowledgeable about gait watch you walk or run. You can also review the wear pattern on the bottom of your current shoes or bring them with you to the store so a shoe specialist can look at the wear pattern (ideally, you should do both). If the shoe store performs a gait analysis by having you run or walk on a treadmill so they can film you, do not let them bully you into doing it barefoot. The way you run or walk will be very different barefoot than it will wearing shoes. It is best to wear your current running/walking shoes for the treadmill analysis. If you do not have running shoes with you, then put on a pair of neutral running shoes at the store for the treadmill analysis. Then after you have selected a shoe, do the treadmill analysis again wearing the shoe you intend to buy to make sure it does cause problems with the way you run or walk.
A piece of advice - Don’t get freaked out if a shoe sales associate tells you that you pronate. EVERYBODY pronates. “Pronation” refers to how the foot rolls inwards to distribute your weight as it cycles through each step. This rolling inwards motion as the foot progresses from heel to toe is the way that the body naturally absorbs shock.
There are three types of pronation:
1. Neutral (or normal) pronation
2. Over-pronation
3. Under-pronation (Supination)

Neutral pronation
A neutral pronator initially strikes the ground on the lateral side (outside) of the heel. As the weight is transferred from the heel towards the midfoot, it will roll towards the medial side (inside), distributing weight evenly across the foot. At this stage the knee will generally, but not always, be positioned over the hallux (big toe). A neutral pronator has good shock absorption. The wear pattern on shoes will be fairly even across the bottom of the shoe. A neutral pronator will do well with a neutral or light stability shoe. People with normal arches most often, but not always, have neutral pronation.

Over-pronation
As with a neutral pronator, an over-pronator initially strikes the ground on the lateral side (outside) of the heel. As weight is transferred from the heel to the midfoot, however, the foot will roll too far to the medial side (inside), such that the weight is distributed unevenly across the foot, with excessive weight borne on the hallux (big toe). In this stage, the knee will generally, but not always, tracks inwards. An over-pronator does not absorb shock efficiently. The wear pattern will show more wear on the medial side of the shoe towards the big toe. An over-pronator requires a shoe with good medial support to prevent the foot rolling too far inwards. Wearing the wrong type of shoes can exacerbate ankle and knee problems. People with flat arches are often, but not always, over-pronators. 

Under-pronation (also called Supination)
An under-pronator, or supinator, also initially strikes the ground on the lateral side (outside) of the heel. As weight is transferred from the heel to the midfoot, the foot will not roll far enough in a medial direction. The weight is distributed unevenly across the foot, with excessive weight borne on the little (pinky) toe. In this stage, the knee will generally, but not always, track to the outside. An under-pronator does not absorb shock efficiently. The wear pattern will show more wear on the lateral side of the shoe towards the rear of the shoe in the heel area. An under-pronator requires a neutral, cushioned shoe and should never wear any shoe with motion control. People with high arches often, but not always, under-pronate.

You are now more knowledgeable about your feet than 80%+ of the population. This will give you a huge advantage when discussing your athletic shoe needs with sales associates.

It is never too late to get to know your feet!