Be Healthy and Relax

Have you ever thought about how old your running shoes actually are?

Or, do you just purchase new workout shoes when you notice that the tread is wearing down?

If these questions sound even slightly familiar to you, it might be a good time to learn a little more about the lifespan of running and workout shoes. We may think that they are great until the time our toes see sunlight, but this is never the right way to judge when to replace your old “kicks”. Without a simple understanding of how much use our shoes actually get, you could be leading yourself down a very painful road to injury.

This past year I participated in three half-marathons and faired, well, we’ll say average. Having never ran this amount of distance before (13.1 miles), I did not exactly know how to gear up for the race. At this time, all of my runs have been no more than 7 miles at the most, and all using the same Asics 1120′s that I’ve had over 6 months. That may not seem like a long time when you think of shoe age, but that would be about the equivalent to pushing 80 years old for someone who runs and uses them consistantly. This, unfortunately, I did not know and paid dearly after completing the 13 miles. After the blood began to calm down throughout my body, I felt my knees aching more than I’ve ever felt before. I spent the next week icing and heating them two or more times daily. Not until later did I find out that my problem was my shoes.

Up until this incident, I judged when I should purchase running shoes by how they appeared. If my shoes were not too mangled and somewhat resembled the shape in which I remembered buying them, I would not spend the $80+ to replace them. Now, knowing just a few qualities about running and exercising shoes and implementing a few tricks, I am able to avoid injury and feel much more healthy as I workout and complete my future half and full marathons.

Here are a few quick things to keep in mind when it comes to your shoes:

• The MAXIMUM lifespan of a shoes is roughly 400 miles or six months.
• Switching between two pairs of shoes during workouts will increase their lifespans.
• If you replace your shoes before a race or event, allow at least three weeks to break them in.
• Keep a journal of how many miles you run during the time you use your shoes.
• Purchase inserts for your shoes to help with stability and comfort.
• Don’t judge when to purchase shoes by the wear of the tread. The tread doesn’t normally wear much until you need to buy new shoes.
• Save change in a jar or set up a shoe fund for every six months.
• If your previous shoes have treated your body well, stick with ‘em!

Photo credit: Matt Wolfe (These are his shoes, the most frugal man in the world.)

We always thought it was a child’s pastime, just something for the playground. Now, times have changed and many people are starting to dig out that old jump rope from the closet. Sure we might have not touched a jump rope since grade school, but if a kid can learn it and enjoy it, so should we! There are tons of benefits from jumping rope, we just took them for granted as kids. What may look like a fun game for them is actually one of the easiest, most fun way to keep yourself in tip-top shape. Read on about the various benefits and reasons why you should get back into this long-lost hobby!

• Burns 1,000 calories per hour. Jumping rope proves to be one of the most efficient and calorie-burning exercise out there. It burns more than jogging for an hour at 8 mph and even cycling at a vigorous pace of 20 mph for an hour. You can’t beat that for just some hopping some rope.
• Tones your whole body. With this simple workout, you’re strengthening and toning your arms, legs, trunk, and back. This creates long and lean muscles in all of these core muscle groups.
• Great warm-up, cool-down, or fun time. Since it gets the blood moving very quickly in your body, it’s a great all-around exercise. Boxers around the world have this down. Before any fight or workout, they jump rope and get everything working and warmed up before continuing with the next exercise.
• It’s easy to learn. Sure you may have been great at it as a kid (or never if you were me), but if you lost the ability, it’s a very easy exercise to pick up and relearn. Even if you do only get a few jumps in before messing up, if you keep at it, you’ll definitely start feeling a sweet sweat coming on.
• You find your balance. Since this exercise is all about keeping a rhythm, you’ll also find that rhythm in your head after working out. Once you get a groove while jumping rope, your mind calms and you can jump rope for hours. You’ll never notice your getting the best workout because it will become so fun for you!
• Cheap, cheap, cheap! You thought that running was the cheapest sport out there because all you had to buy were shoes; now there’s a new first place winner. Head down to the local sports store and pick up that $5 jump rope, you’ll never regret it. Since jump roping is also very convenient, this makes it a very spontaneous type of exercise. Buy a rope and hang it in the garage, you’re bound to use it eventually.
• Improves skills in other sports. Since jumping rope creates such a balance and rhythm in your body, that ability translates to skills in your other hobbies. Sports such as golf, skiing, swimming, and playing tennis all require you to find a constant rhythm and balance. Jumping rope will help you strengthen those qualities.