Fresh New Fit: Swimming Laps...

by Cool J in Minneapolis

All these snowboarding pics...what about the RUNNING, Cool J?

It's true. I barely ran in Big Sky! It was all snowboard, snowboard, snowboard, all day, every day. We would head to the mountain right away every morning, and be there until the lifts closed. The long days on the mountain, combined with a few late nights, meant that I just wasn't feeling an early wakeup. I mean, it was vacation, right?

I did finally made it out of bed once early enough to head out for a run. I was rewarded by a gorgeous snow-covered view.

 The run was hilly and challenging- slick and uneven, but oh so refreshing.

I made up my long run on Monday when we returned to Minneapolis. Tuesday was a hard workout at the Metrodome (that makes three times we went to the Dome this year- read about the other times HERE and HERE). Then Wednesday was more running.

By Thursday, I started to wonder if I was setting myself up for injury. I took a rest day, and then ran easy on Friday. My IT band didn't seem to be bothering me though, so I wasn't too worried. I figured the cross-training in Big Sky must have been good for it! I was ready for my 16 miler on Saturday.

Unfortunately, my IT band was not ready for a 16 miler. Around mile 12, I started to get that knee-buckling pain (Erin and Abby, I know you know what I'm talking about!) I tried pushing through, but it was hurting so, so bad. I told the other girls to go ahead and let Dusters know the deal, (they are all the best- thanks ladies!), and then I managed a run/walk for the last 4 miles. It was ugly and disheartening.

I spent Sunday icing, foam rolling, and then a 90 minute Moksha yoga class. Today, I went to see Dr. Jenna Boren at Uptown Natural Care (She's the best. And she just ran a 2:42 marathon last weekend- check it out HERE!) Jenna did soft tissue massage on my IT band, and then did an ultrasound. We went over some exercises that I should do at home, and discussed my injury. She seemed to think it was actually the snowboarding that may have triggered the pain. She said it could have been all that torque on my hip from constantly turning. She also thought it could have been the weight of the board when riding on the lift. When on the lift with a snowboard, your back foot is unstrapped, and the weight of the board is all hanging from your left foot, pulling on your knee- lots of strain on the ol' IT band!

She did think that I should be fine to run today, but I decided to be cautious. Instead, I headed to the gym to swim instead.

SWIM? Yes. Swim. I'm not sure if I have swam laps since I broke my ankle in 2008! Back then, I would hobble out to the pool on my crutches, take off my velcro boot, and get in the pool. It was all I could do, and it kept me sane.

But it had been awhile. Clearly, my gear left a little to be desired.

I'm pretty sure that is the same one piece suit I wore as a lifeguard in high school. Yikes! And I am not the same size as I was in high school. I may have been pushing the line with the family appropriate  rule...time to buy a new suit!

Do you want to see a true Failed Fit?

Yes?

Here it is.

AHHH!!!

Scary! Failed Fit!

Despite the failing gear, and the failing look, I was able to swim hard for a good forty-five minutes (with some breaks). I definitely could tell that it had been awhile when I got out of the pool- I felt a little light headed! But according to "Fitness For Weight Loss" I burned about 400 calories. Swimming was a zero impact cardio full body workout. I felt it in my core, my back/shoulders, and my legs. I'd say swimming is definitely a Fantastic Fit!

I was happy to be able to get in a workout, even if it wasn't running. I hope Jenna is right, and that this IT band issue is a temporary one, and fingers crossed that it soon will pass.

Guest Post: Fitting Fitness: How to Balance Your Love of Concerts with Training for a Marathon

Guest Fit by Mason

Let's welcome Mr. Mike Mason to the blog!

Mason and Jess at Amore Victoria

Mason is one of our most loyal readers. He also monitors the blog closely for grammatical errors. We appreciate it! You may have seen his name and face before, as he has appeared on the blog many times; for example, he joined us for the "Fresh New Fit: Crashed Ice" last January (read it HERE), and then most memorably, he was the winner of the "Finalize My Fit" contest to Guess the Dress (read it again HERE)

Mason has run many marathons and has been a member of the Calhoun Beach Running Club for many years.

And most importantly, he's a great friend! So we were very happy when he offered to do a guest post from the male perspective. Another thing you need to know about Mason, is that he is an AVID concert-goer. So how do you balance all those concerts with all those marathons?

Here's his advice.

"When I was asked to make a guest contribution to this blog by both Cool J and LL, I was a little hesitant. For those that know me, it is clear that I am no expert in fitness and even less of an expert in fashion. But I reluctantly agreed to write something if I could think of a good topic for this audience. Thankfully, it took me less than a few minutes to think of one.

The topic of music and fitness has been covered ad nauseam, for example best playlist for long run, workout, etc.  My focus is on a different issue for runners: attending concerts.

I have attended my fair share of live concerts here in the Twin Cities. We are blessed with a large variety of venues for seeing your favorite band. Before getting serious about running and marathon training, a late night concert would never pose an issue, but once I started getting serious about running, late night shows and the resulting lack of sleep had a definite affect on my training.

The Rosebuds at 7th Street Entry

What is a music lover to do? Well, after years of trying to make my marathon training and love of live music mesh, I think I have found a way to “make it work”. (That takes care of my obligatory fashion reference.) Here are a few tips that may help you enjoy your favorite bands or live music in general without derailing your training.

1. Consider the Venue: 
First, if you are looking to catch some live music and are not looking to catch a particular band and you want to get home at a reasonable time consider the venue.  Attending a show at the Cedar Cultural Center will get you home in time to rest up for your regular Saturday morning long run. On the other end of the spectrum is the Turf Club, where the show is likely to end when you typically are getting ready for your morning run! Even if you are not in the Twin Cities area, just ask around to friends that are frequent concert attendees in your area to get a feel for the various venue’s reputations.

2. Be Sure to Use Your Facebook and Twitter! 
Second, follow the venues you frequent on a regular basis or where you know where your band will be playing on social media. Venues now-a-days have wised up on increasing their social media presence to bring in concert goers. One positive side effect of this development is that venues will frequently post the set times for when the acts are expected to hit the stage. The accuracy of the times can be suspect at times, but they are usually a good gauge. This is especially the case if you want to check out one of the opening bands and are not concerned with the headliner. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for the set times via the social media site. Sometimes they will respond, others times they don’t, but it is worth a shot.

Phantogram at First Avenue

3. Skip the Encore!

The final tip is one that becomes more acceptable with age, but maybe controversial for the hard core music fans out there: skip the encore. The hour is starting to get late, you’ve enjoyed the music and are happy that you got your money’s worth of music, but you have an 18 mile long run in the morning. Do you risk missing an epic cover by your band that no one was expecting when they hit the stage for a second time? Might the lead singer jump out into the crowd and serenade everyone as he or she walks the floor? These are all things that need to weigh into your equation, but more often than not, the benefit of getting a little extra sleep, not dealing with the crush of people trying to leave the venue, and not waiting in line to pay for parking on your way out will win out.

4. Don't let Marathon Training Ruin Your Fun!
That being said, sometimes you’ve got to say “Screw it!” and enjoy the show until the lights come up!

Thanks Mason for your expert advice for balancing concerts with marathons!

Creating Fits: Two New LL Necklaces

By Cool J in Minneapolis

You know what else I love about hanging out with LL in Montana?

Necklaces!

I returned with two new accessories, courtesy of LL Originals.

This green and gold number! 

Green and gold...Packer colors?

And she also gave me the below gray and gold necklace, which paired perfectly with my Madewell Gray Sweatshirt dress. Yes, Minneapolis has a Madewell store at the Southdale Mall now. Check it out! This dress is casual and so, so soft. I feel like I can accessorize it with lots of bold colors...or original necklaces made by LL!

Thanks LL for the two new great accessories!

The Right Fits: Photo Dump....

By Cool J in Minneapolis

So I wrote about snowmobiling as an exercise (I vote no, definitely not exercise!) and LL wrote about whether skiing or snowboarding was a better workout (I actually think skiing looks way tougher!)....but there's still lots of random pics to share from our fun long weekend in Montana. They don't really fit into either fitness or fashion, so let's just call this a photo dump.

Besides, I just returned from a work happy hour for a coworker who is getting married in a few weeks (Congrats lady!) so I'm feeling lazy...Enjoy!

Buffalo charge in Yellowstone! 

Hot cocoa stop in Yellowstone

Elk along the river

Selfie on the slopes...

LL testing out the Old Faithful waters..

LL and Cool J- together at last!

Fitting Debates: Skiing vs. Snowboarding

By LL (in KC)

So which is a better workout...snowboarding or skiing?? I'm sure there are many of you on each side of the debate! Last week, Jess pondered on Facebook whether skiing or snowboarding burned more calories. On our most recent trip to Big Sky, this was also a topic of discussion. Both Jess and her husband snowboard, while my husband and I ski. We were on opposite sides of the debate. 

{Jess and D-Man boarding in Big Sky}

{My husband and me skiing in Big Sky}

We all agreed that beginners definitely burned more calories because they work a lot harder (i.e., snowplowing). But given a snowboarder and skier, both at the same ability level, which would burn more calories?

After some research, this is what I found.

Muscles Worked
Skiing - Skiing targets the lower body. In particular, skiing will work the thighs, butt and hips. Skiing works to tone the muscles in these areas.  Good core stability is also necessary to keep the upper body still, but still allow the legs to move beneath. The steeper the slope you are skiing, the harder the workout.

Snowboarding - Snowboarding targets the muscles in the back and abdominals from twisting during turns. In addition, core muscles are worked when getting up from a fall. Calf muscles work from the heel-to-toe motion. Here, snowboarders are burning more calories on flatter slopes as they have to work harder to move.

Calories Burned
Both skiing and snowboarding involve periods of intense effort and burn well in excess of 1,000 calories a day out on the slopes. An adult weighing approximately 150 calories burns around 350 calories per hour (an hour of vigorous effort...not including breaks and sitting on the chair lift. However, I found one resource that said that if both the boarder and skier remain upright (no sitting on the slopes, boarders!), a snowboarder will burn approximately 20 more calories than the skier throughout the day because when standing upright on a snowboard you are constantly active.

Most sources that I found discussing this matter - whether snowboarding or skiing was  a better workout - said that same thing: they are equal. Both are great workouts, burning a similiar amount of calories. The primary deciding factors are the terrain and the length of bouts of vigorous activity. So it looks like a draw...

Fresh New Fit: Snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park

By Cool J in Minneapolis

Hello readers, we're back! LL and I both returned to our respective cities today (Kansas City and Minneapolis) after a wonderful ski trip in Big Sky, Montana.

LL will be sharing with you all the joys and fitness from the slopes. We had three days of skiing (snowboarding for Dusters and me, skiing for LL and her husband) on the mountain, split up by a day touring Yellowstone National Park via snowmobile. Stay tuned for some great pics in LL's upcoming post!

Back to the snowmobile tour. In the winter, regular cars are not allowed into Yellowstone National Park. You can only tour the park by foot, cross-country ski, snowmobile, or one of these Snow-coaches.

My sister and her daughter on the Snow Coach tour in 2010

I took the snow coach tour of Yellowstone 3 years ago with my sister and her daughter (who was 7 at the time). It was a nice way to see the park, but unfortunately, you were inside the bus for the majority of the tour. 

This year, with both of the Right Fits' better halves also participating, we decided to do the snowmobile tour. On a snowmobile, we could be outside in the fresh air!

And then we could be right up close with the bison. Seriously. 

So, the four of us signed up for a tour through Rendezvous Snowmobile Rentals. Rather than spend the extra money for each of us to have our own machine, LL and I both rode on the back of our husbands' machines. 

We had the option to rent clothing and equipment, but we all decided just to wear our ski/snowboarding clothes. We did, however, have to rent the snowmobile specific helmets.

Failed fit?

Snowmobiling in a national park, that doesn't sound very "green."

As my brother-in-law so kindly pointed out, snowmobiling through Yellowstone has been a "thorn in the side of conservationists for years," and I did feel a little guilty participating in this activity. Yet the number of machines allowed into the park each day is highly regulated, and only guided tours are allowed in the park, and these guided tours are only on the groomed trails. If you want to just drive your snowmobile "free-style" you can do so in the surrounding national forest, just not in the actual Yellowstone National Park. I was also very impressed by our tour guide. He was very knowledgeable about the wildlife, the history of the park, as well as very adamant about respecting nature and the park. Before we encountered the bison herds, we knew exactly how we were supposed to act, and everyone on the tour was respectful of the space between us and the wildlife.  In the summer, there are hundreds of thousands of cars in the park. In fact, our guide said the crowds at Old Faithful are 5 people deep, whereas when we were there, there were only a handful of tourists. I have to think that the emissions in the summer must be worse than the snowmobiles.

Approaching the bison with respect

The tour went from the west entrance to the park to Old Faithful and back. I have to admit, Old Faithful was actually a bit of a letdown. We waited 90 minutes for it to "go off", and due to the weather, it was just a big steam spray...I do find all the geothermal activity pretty fascinating, but I found some of the other sites within the park much more interesting. I guess the great thing about Old Faithful is that it goes off every 60-90 minutes (it's reliable..hence the name!), whereas most of the other geysers were more sporadic and unpredictable.

Old Faithful

I found the other geothermal sites to be much more fascinating.  The fountain paint pots were a highly acidic (basically, at the level of battery acid) pond that bubbled and burped. The picture doesn't do the pots justice, but our guide explained that a curious tourist hopped the fence and stuck his boot tip in the pots years ago, only to have to finish his snowmobile tour with no boot (it burned off). Read more about this area of Yellowstone here.

Silex Springs was a hot spring- measuring in around 202 degrees. 

For a heart-breaking story, read about Ronald Ratliffe, who jumped into Celestine Pool at this same spot in Yellowstone to save his dog. They both died.

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/hotspring.asp

Silex Spring

Another geothermal feature in Yellowstone

So, this is supposed to be a fitness and fashion blog. Where is the fitness in a snowmobile tour?

I wondered the same thing. Is snowmobiling exercise? 

It definitely did not seem like exercise for LL and me, as we were merely riding on the back of the machines. However, we both had sore legs and backs from getting thrown around a lot throughout the six hour tour. But what about for the D-man and LL's husband?  As drivers, were they getting a workout?

They both claimed that even though it was fun to drive the machines, it was not a workout. Yet, as a Minnesotan, I have heard many others say that snowmobiling most definitely is a workout. I decided to do a bit of research, and found many sources that stated that snowmobiling is a workout. Really?

According to an article in "Wellness for Life",  snowmobiling can burn upwards of 300 calories an hour. I shared that statistic with Dusters, and he was very skeptical. Maybe the high calorie burn statistics are from when you're "free-riding", versus riding at 35/mph on groomed trails.

But still, he must have been burning some calories. According to the article, "even groomed trails are not straight and flat, so the driver has to maneuver the machine by leaning side-to-side around curves. And don’t forget—there’s no seat belt holding the driver or a rider in.  Both of these factors lend themselves to using a lot of abdominal and back muscles.  The arms and shoulders get a workout whether you’re the driver or a passenger hanging on.  Legs—especially the inner thigh muscles or adductors—are used in addition to the hands to stay on the machine."

Whether a calorie burn or not, I was glad that we did the tour. I am unsure if I'll ever be in Yellowstone in the summer, so it was cool to see it in the winter. And it was a great way to give our legs a break from skiing/snowboarding the previous two days! 

Thanks for stopping by readers

 from The Right Fits!

Fresh, New Fit: A Full Day On The Slopes!

Hello from Big Sky!

LL and I had a full day on the mountain, ending of course with a beer/après ski!