Exercise for Kids!

I’m always blogging about my running achievements, and my turbulence training, so I thought I  would give you a change of scenery and talk about the fun activities my girls, Robyn (9) and Holly (8) take part in!  I’d also love to hear what your little monkeys get up to, so please leave a

Exercise for Kids!

comment!

The Great Outdoors

When I’m out running, the girls often join me on their scooters.  They often race me, and always beat me, they are quick little monkeys!  The girls absolutely love these little scooters, one of the best Christmas presents they’ve ever had!  And a bargain too, only £35 from Decathlon!  Of course, they also love the park, Holly is getting very adapt at the monkey bars!

Activ8 Gym Sessions

The girls attend our local leisure centre once a week for their Activ8 gym session.  The sessions mix cycling, aerojam, teen combat, athletics and dance together with great music, all in a scaled down junior weights gym.  They always have great fun at this class, and think it’s great that there are mini machines just for them!

Run, Jump & Throw Club

The girls also participate in the local Run, Jump & Throw Club, run by North Lanarkshire Council.  These clubs were designed to help kids develop their athletics skills and fitness in a fun environment. The programme offers a variety of running, jumping and throwing activities all year round under the supervision of top coaches including former athletics star Yvonne Murray.  The girls think it’s great that they have an award winning coach and were delighted to see Yvonne’s Olympic medals.

Inside Fun

The girls love playing Wii Dance, this always gets them hot, bothered, and works up a sweat!  Great fun if the weather is not so nice for outdoor activities!

Since I’ve been working out, the girls have definitely shown more interest in exercise, and healthy foods! Holly always shouts out “bam!” when she flexes and when we were in Tesco the other day, Robyn turned and said to me “Mum, check out my tri!”.  I wonder where she gets that from!  They love messing around in my “home gym” and take great pride posing, as you can see!

Exercise for Kids!

BAM!

Yay Baby!

DOUBLE BAM!

Did somebody say babyguns?

Please leave a comment, I would love to hear about the activities your own monkeys take part in, suggestions also welcome for more indoor fun and games too please, as winter is definitely here, frost on the car this morning!

Thanks for reading, Betty x

The Dreaded Runner’s Stitch & Tips On How To Avoid!

By Chris Curtis, http://www.running-coaching.co.uk/

A stitch can really cause you problems when you’re running.  Try out these tips the next time you are running and avoid the dreaded stitch!  Please share any tips that have worked for you by leaving a comment!  Thanks, Betty

What is a stitch?

A ‘stitch’ is a spasm of the diaphragm – a large, flat muscle that separates the abdominal cavity from the lung cavity. The diaphragm is involved in breathing. During light breathing (that which we do unconsciously, for example) it’s really just the diaphragm moving up and down to expand and contract the lungs. When we start breathing harder, the rib cage and surrounding muscles also get involved. Now, because the diaphragm forms the ceiling of the abdominal cavity it also serves as an attachment for many organs. The liver, for example, hangs from the diaphragm. In fact, the liver is often the culprit in a side stitch. The liver is a large organ and the heaviest one that is suspended from the diaphragm. When we run, the vertical motion of running causes the liver to tug downwards on the diaphragm (you may have noticed that we rarely get a stitch when we swim or bike, and that’s because there is little or no vertical motion involved with these two activities, therefore the liver isn’t getting jerked around). Combine that with the extra effort of heavy breathing and the diaphragm will often spasm, giving you pain.

Tip No. 1 How to Get Rid of a Stitch

Most (but not all) stitches occur on the right side because that’s where the liver typically resides. The trick to fighting off a stitch is to change your rate and pattern of breathing. When you get a RIGHT sided stitch you need to EXHALE (breath out) when your LEFT foot hits the ground. It is difficult to consciously breathe, so you will have to think about this while you’re running. Once you start to breathe in this pattern, the stitch should subside. It works in the majority of runners.

Tip No 2. How To Get Rid of a Stitch

If you are persistently getting stitches, consider how you run – particulary your vertical displacement. This is the amount of up and down motion in the body during each stride. If you watch elite runners, there is very little up and down motion when they run. You can see this clearly if you watch from the side. Some new runners bounce up and down with each stride. Not only is this inefficient and can cause and injury to the legs, it is also a potential cause of stitches.

Tip No. 3 Help Prevent a Stitch

Aside from that, we don’t really know a lot about them. There has been some suggestions that certain foods can trigger a stitch – milk being a particular one but try the suggestions above.  Make sure you are well hydrated, and eat an hour before running, but nothing too heavy.

If all else fails, try to run a little more slowly for the bulk of your running and build up your running fitness gradually. As your running fitness increases, so generally do the incidents of stitch. 

Thanks again to Chris Curtis for this article, who is a UK Athletics Level 3 coach for road-running, marathon and sprints.  He is also a qualified Police Personal Safety Instructor and Public Order Trainer.  You can find out more about Chris on his website at http://www.running-coaching.co.uk/

Thanks to STVCumbernauld for the image.