The Outside Blog Fitness Feed

Lab Rat Workout: Lateral Jumps

The News Team — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:19:52 -0500

Outside's Lab Rat, Nick Heil, shows you how to do lateral jumps, which test your lower body's plyometric strength--the explosive power you need in your legs for ball sports, running, and cycling.

--Aileen Torres

Lab Rat Workout: The Inchworm

The News Team — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:50:29 -0500

How strong is your core? Watch Outside's Lab Rat, Nick Heil, teach you how to do the inchworm exercise, and you'll be able to gauge where you're at; plus, build up core strength in the process.

--Aileen Torres

Lab Rat Workout: The Perfect Pull Up

The News Team — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:30:56 -0500

Outside's Lab Rat, Nick Heil, shows you how to do the perfect pull up, with an overhand grip.

--Aileen Torres

Lab Rat Workout: Assisted Pistol

The News Team — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:53:14 -0500

Outside's Lab Rat, Nick Heil, shows you how to do the assisted pistol, a low-tech workout that will strengthen your legs for multiple sports.

--Aileen Torres

Don't Try This at Home: Lindsey Vonn's Workouts

The Powder Feed — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:17:21 -0500

In the name of giving ass-kicking skier Lindsey Vonn as much play as possible in the pages of Outside magazine and on this website, may I present to you a window into her workouts. Ok, boys, now you try to balance in a tuck on an exercise ball…

--Kate Siber

SUP and Women's Health Event

The News Team — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:40:46 -0500

On January 9, 2010, the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, Hawaii will be hosting "STAND UP for Women's Health and Fitness." The event will be a free a free lesson in Stand Up Paddling, and will also include information about making healthy lifestyle choices and breast cancer awareness. Plus, hula! To register for the event or get more information, go to Standuppaddlingfitness.com.

-- Lisa Lombardi

Top 10 Fitness Trends

The News Team — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:58:25 -0500

The American College of Sports Medicine has released its annual survey of the top fitness trends. Here are the top ten for 2010:

1. Training with certified, experienced fitness professionals
2. Strength training
3. Children's fitness/fighting obesity
4. Personal training
5. Core training
6. Fitness programs tailored to older adults
7. Functional, everyday fitness
8. Sport-specific training
9. Pilates
10. Group personal training

Check out the full survey list here.

--Aileen Torres

Running Man: Meb Keflezighi on Letterman

The Running Man — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:25:58 -0500

Meb Keflezighi, the first American winner of the New York City Marathon since 1982, was on Letterman last night. The topic: The top 10 things that go through your mind while running a marathon. Here's the clip.

Running Man: Meb Makes History at NYC

The Running Man — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:35:39 -0500

Running back in the pack with 40,000 marathoners, I was probably one of the last people to learn that American Meb Keflezighi won the New York City marathon this morning, and I couldn't be more excited for him, and the sport of running in the U.S.

This is a historic win -- and by no means an easy one. Mary Wittenberg and the New York Road Runners assembled one of the toughest fields in the marathon's history. Most of the eyes were on Ryan Hall, since he has the fastest PR of the American field, but Meb is an Olympic medalist and always a contender in any race. We've already known that the Americans can run with the best in the world. But Meb's incredible effort today shows that we can beat them. I mean, he out-kicked Kenya's Robert Cheruiyot, the "king of Boston," over the final three miles. Wearing a USA singlet. Pointing to the USA on his chest as he came to the line. Amazing.

Born in Eritrea in 1974, Meb has been living in the U.S. since his family immigrated in 1987, when Meb was 13. He came up through the public school system (San Diego High School), ran cross country and track, and went on run at UCLA. He became a citizen in 1998, and finished second at the 2004 Olympic Games, and his silver there, and Deena Kastor's bronze for the women, showed the American marathoners were a force to be reckoned with. Meb finished second in the 2004 New York City Marathon, third in 2005, and third at Boston in 2006. But a win at a major race has been elusive for the Americans. No American had won NYC since 1982. Now Meb's got it, and so do we.

Hall finished fourth, an amazing showing as well. Among the men, there were six—six!—Americans in the top ten. And on the women's side, American Magdalena Lewy Boulet finished 6th.

On Friday, when I asked the international elites what they thought about their American competitors, South African star Hendrick Ramaala put it this way: "They just have to believe."

And now, who among us doesn't?

—JUSTIN NYBERG

Photo courtesy New York Road Runners

Running Man: Is the NYC Marathon the World's Greatest Race?

The Running Man — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0400

Since seeing firsthand the spirit New York puts into its marathon, and hearing the marketing slogan over and over, the question has been on my mind: Is the New York City Marathon the world's greatest race? I want to hear what you think.

The evidence for:
*The prestige. It's one of the five most important marathons in the world, along with Boston, Berlin, London, and Chicago.

*The size. Among those, and all marathons in the world, the NYC Marathon is usually the largest, with over 37,000 finishers.

*The venue. It's held in the streets of one of the largest cities in the world.

*The openness. It's a democratic race. It's not just for elite pros, like the Tour de France. In addition to many of the world's best, there are about 40,000 regular runners and joggers like you or me. And not just the faster ones. There is no qualifying time--unlike Boston, which only lets in relatively speedy recreational runners. And since it's running, it doesn't involve expensive gear or any equipment more complicated than a pair of shoes and a lot of grit. Whether you're Edward Norton, Alanis Morissette, Anthony Edwards, Olympic speed skater Dan Jensen or the Prince of the Netherlands, Christiaan Michiel (all of whom are running this year), you are just one of the pack.

*The lack of barriers. There is very little separation from the event and the rest of us. There are very few barriers along the marathon course. The stars are within reach. This morning, as I warmed up for the race in Central Park with about a thousand other runners, I stopped and shook hands with Ryan Hall, who was just one of many people doing their last pre-race run. I also spotted American stars Dan Browne and Jorge Torres doing light jogs and strides, simply more faces in the crowd. A woman running next to me gushed that she had just spotted Lance Armstrong warming up.

*The crowd. There are an estimated 2 million spectators along the course, making it one of the largest one-day crowds for any sporting event in the world.

*The world field. It's is truly international, with over 100 countries represented. There are about 195 countries in the world, depending on how you count them, so more than half are represented in New York.

*It does not involve motor vehicles, or horses.

The case against:

*It's not the oldest marathon — besides the Olympic event, that's Boston. And a few people from Beantown is sure to bristle at the suggestion that the Big Apple's 40-year-old contest would have surpassed their legendary, 113-year-old race in glory.

*It's not the largest footrace. The Bay to Breakers in San Francisco has the world record there, with over 100,000 participants.

*It is not the fastest major marathon course. Right now, that honor goes to Berlin, where the world record has been broken the last three times. London is right up there, and Chicago is close. Boston, New York—not so much.

*It's grueling. But if greatness is defined by extreme of human endurance performed en mass, it's not even close to the podium. See Badwater, RAAM, etc.

*The Olympic Marathon certainly has the toughest field in the world (especially when Haile shows up), and nothing carries more weight than a gold medal.

*The Tour de France. Hey, that's a pretty great race.

Sound off. Let me know what you think.

—JUSTIN NYBERG