10%

 fitness, Free Weights, Injuries, Losing weight, Recovery, Runner's Knee, Running injury, safety, sore muscles, starting over, training, weight loss, weight training  9 Responses »
May 282013
 

10off

There’s a rule in the running and cycling world called the 10% Rule. If you haven’t heard of it, you can read more here.  The short version is that it’s a good rule for athletes or anyone new to exercising to abide by to prevent injuries. “This guideline simply states that you should increase your activity no more than 10 percent per week. That includes distance, intensity, weight lifted and time of exercise.”

It’s a good rule to follow, even if you don’t think you need to follow it! As a general rule, I tried to abide by this but I wasn’t always perfect. I think in my case I have the tendency to think that my abilities remain at the same level even if I take some time off. A good example of this is biking. Last winter I went to spin class once a week to keep some kind of base going to make the return to biking easier. It was a good thing but doing 15 miles a week in a spin class is totally not the same as biking outside. I was smart and didn’t attempt to ride to work from home (25 miles round trip) until I thought I was ready. That meant I biked from the half-way point for a few weeks and then decided I was good. It went alright last year.

This year it was not quite as successful. Not only have I NOT gone to spin class at all this winter, but I really wasn’t biking at all the gym either AND I’d been dealing with an injury for months. About a month ago I rode my bike to the gym and back and was ecstatic that there were no issues. It was only about 5 miles roundtrip. A week later I thought I could bike to work. I totally wasn’t thinking about the 10% rule and dismissed the fact that I’d been injured all winter long. I did 11 miles roundtrip which is DUH like 50% increase instead of 10%. Ooooooops…

Totally dumb and totally probably the reason I’m in the state I’m in now.

I see so many mistakes out there like that. I follow a bunch of runners on Twitter and there was one that had a stress fracture and couldn’t run for 6 weeks. That person immediately went out and ran 10 miles for their first run after 6 weeks off! I cringed as I read that tweet and crossed my fingers that they would be ok.

I know I’m not alone in this dilemma. You feel good, you want to push yourself, you think you can handle it…and then you get a setback. What I should have done was gone for a 6 mile bike ride that next week and then the week after 7 or 8 miles…and then eventually I’d be up to the 11 miles I had fast forwarded to.

When I saw my knee specialist he reiterated the importance of the 10% rule and gave me specific instructions on how to follow it.

6 weeks - no lower body activities

Week 7 - start from the beginning. This means I will probably get on the spin bike at the gym and do 5 minutes with very little resistance.

Week 8 - If week 7 went well, increase the time to 6 or 7 minutes. 

And so on, and so on. I can do that. I think. I’m going to try to, anyway. In the meantime, I’m applying the same rule to the other activities I’m doing. I tend to be “GO FULL SPEED” intense in everything I do. If there’s something I like to do, there’s no half-assing it, there’s no middle road and I need to learn to stay in that middle road for a little bit longer.

I seem to do really well with the 10% rule when it comes to weight lifting. The perfect example is the triceps kickbacks that I do at the gym. I started with a 5 pound weight. I did that for about 2 weeks and then went up to 8 pounds. The following week I was up to 10 pounds, where I stayed for two weeks. I realized I was just squatting in my comfort zone and I needed to increase the weight again so I went up to 12 and then 15. I’ve been at 17.5 pounds for a few weeks now and will be attempting 20 pounds soon. When I try to use the 20 pound weight, I will decrease the reps from 10 to 7 or so for the first few attempts. Just to see how I do. For some reason I mastered the 10% rule when it comes to weight lifting–but not anything else!

If you’re just starting out with your fitness, START SMALL. Don’t spend an hour doing your first workout session! That won’t be effective and most likely you’ll be too sore to do much else for a week. Work up to it! If you’ve been inactive for a long time and want to start walking, you don’t sign up to walk a half marathon your first day, right? Check out the Couch to 5k Program for a gradual plan.

So what about you? Do you follow the 10% rule?

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Be Safe

 bike ride, Cycling, Cycling, cycling tips, Portland, safety, springwater corridor  20 Responses »
Aug 232012
 

Every once in awhile, I read something in the news that hits home and reminds me how important safety is. It’s easy to go about the day without giving it much thought. Over the last few months there have been a few incidents on the Springwater Trail here in Portland. The most recent was that a woman was pushed off her bike by a strange man:

“My wife was pushed off of her bike on spring water east of Powell Butte. Around 8:30 PM 8/6/12. Thought the community should know. She was not robbed. She got back on her bike and rode off. Two white males in t-shirts and jeans.”

I’m glad she was okay and not assaulted or robbed. It’s scary because I bike the Springwater all the time. I told myself I shouldn’t be worried because she was biking at night–something I never do–but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be more cautious when I’m out by myself.

Safety Tips

A lot of the safety tips are common sense things. For example, if you get a flat tire out on your bike, pull over somewhere that looks safe with people around and not a dark alley.  Biking at night is not for me. It’s not safe and I avoid it. Sometimes people can’t avoid riding at night because it’s their only form of transportation. Have a good, bright light on your bike and be safe!

The following are some more tips that I’ve been told or discovered along the way.

BIKE PUMP

Something that sticks with me in regards to cycling safety is a tip that Michael shared with me. He told me that we should have the lightest bike we can afford and the heaviest bike pump we can find. Why? Because a bike pump can be used as a weapon if need be. Every once in awhile, Michael reminds me to “always take your bike pump” on rides. Not just for flat tires, but self-defense. It’s a good trick and there have been a few times where I rode by some sketchy people on the Springwater and I was glad I had my bike pump just in case. Another reason: dogs. Luckily this hasn’t happened to me, but some cyclist friends have told me stories of dogs chasing them and trying to bite them. Bike pump.

SHOES

A few years ago I finally made the transition to clip-in cycling shoes. When I was shopping for them I knew I wanted mountain biking shoes. Sure they were heavier and bigger, but they were also shoes I could walk in. At the time, it was because I wanted to be able to walk in my cycling shoes in case I got a flat tire.

 

But shoes like these are also something I can RUN in if I need to. The other kind of cycling shoes are smooth and flat on the bottom and so slick I can barely walk, let alone run.

PEPPER SPRAY

I bought some runner’s pepper spray awhile ago and I have no idea why it didn’t occur to me to also carry it on my bike. Just in case.

Updated to add: If you work somewhere it might be an issue, be sure to talk to your boss about carrying pepper spray on you.

BE ALERT

The line of work I’m in makes me cynical, hyper aware at all times and suspicious of strangers on the street. Sad, but true. Because of this, I am always aware of what’s going on around me. I look around, I pay attention to people around me, I try not to listen to my headphones too loudly when I’m out walking or running.

SHARE

Tell people where you are biking and how long you expect to be gone. Same goes for all activities you do alone–hiking, running, etc. It’s just a good idea.

AVOID SKETCHY PEOPLE

Don’t ride near sketchy people. Easier said than done sometimes. There are parts of the Springwater Trail that are the places the Portland homeless camp. I’ve never had an issue with someone on the trail but you just never know.  I do my best to bike through these areas as fast as my legs will take me.

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It’s funny, I’ll bike on the Springwater trail alone, but I would never ever run there by myself. A lot of my friends feel the same way.

* * *

My goal for this post was not to scare people or be super paranoid, but it’s something to think about. Practicing safe biking and running habits is always a good idea, even if the area you are in is safe.

QUESTION: What are your safety tips?

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