Thursday, September 30, 2010

Youth Basketball: Getting Ready for the Season

My son used to play football and was in top physical condition prior to basketball tryouts each year. The last two years my son has played on the golf team. He can walk 18 holes over a 5 hour period carrying clubs on his back, and he can swing a club 200 times (range work, practice swings and actual shots) with no problem, but golf is not exactly an intense aerobic workout.  


I have been wanting to get into better shape and my son wants to prepare for the grueling basketball season, so we decided to do the Couch to 5K program together. This is a program designed to help new runners get off the couch and onto the roads. The goal after nine weeks is to be able to run a 5K or about 3 miles.


I downloaded the app on my iPhone. This app makes management of the program easy. Much easier than the running. The program is a three day per week regimen of walking and running and the mobile app helps you track of your progress.


For example, the first run consists of a 5 minute warm up, followed by a 60 second run and a 90 second walk. You repeat this 60s run/ 90s walk combination 8 times. This is followed by a 5 minute cool down walk. This equates to 8 total minutes of running and 22 minutes of walking. 


The app tells you when to walk and when to run. You can listen to your ipod music while you are running. I just listen to my son talk about life and the lady on the app who tells me what to do.


I have to say the first day and the second day were surprisingly doable. I am still skeptical that I will eventually be able to do the 5K after the 2 knee surgeries that I have endured, but I am hopeful.


I am also tracking my weight, caloric intake and exercise (calories burned) on www.livestrong.com. My business partner started doing this and lost 24 pounds in 8 weeks, so I have first hand knowledge that it works. 


The Livestrong site lets you pick a weight loss goal. I picked 2 pounds per week. It then calculates the amount of net calories you can consume each day to reach your goal. At my age, weight and normal activity level, I can eat 1309 calories per day and still lose 2 pounds per week. It is really easy to track.  Their data base has all the food options and exercise options and the associated calories. I am finding that it is not easy to eat only 1309 calories per day. 


The program certainly makes you aware of how many calories are in certain foods and the exercise needed to burn it off. It does note seem fair that it takes Many people are not disciplined to track their food each day, but if you do it for two weeks the learning will benefit you.


The Main Point


Technology can help you live a more healthy life. The healthier you are the more likely you will be able to keep up to your athletic kids.

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