Running to Think

It has been a while, I know. We've been quite detached from the mainstream, from the blog, email, news, twitter... Even away from people. But we did it for a good cause.
We are familiar with awkward mixes with our training schedules, food and beverage.
Mixing our skills, however, has gone even further, providing us with fresh ideas that only needed to be realised.

When a man loves a woman, says a famous song, can't keep his mind on nothing else.
That is so true and it also applies to us. When an engineer, who is used to run the long distance meets a sport addict and nutrition expert, who is used to coach people and spend hours at the gym, the mix is even more powerful and awkward. And amazing!!

Dear friends, it's with extreme pleasure that I hereby introduce you our sister website iamsofit.com. I know you will think that it's just another website.
Nothing more wrong than that.

iamsofit.com is a project we are finalising, to provide sport and nutrition in a new flavor, with new tools, concepts, strategies and schedules. All of this in a personalised way!
Are you familiar of those gyms in which you get the same plan of your overweight cousin who barely knows what a kettlebell is? Forget about it.

Don't let me say more.

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Just the time to warm up the engine and get a test drive.
Then we are ready to run.
Fast.

Stay fit!

Hi folks,
I hope you enjoyed the holidays with your dear ones, moments to cherish fully. I wish you the best for the years that come. May this year be filled with love, family, health and ofcourse physical activity!

I spent my holiday abroad. Francesco and I planned to go to his hometown Molfetta, in Southern Italy. I got in contact with his culture, his family, their habits, and their food. Food so delicious that I literally lost my character and determination to say no, once in a while. Do you want to know how this ended up? With a weight gain, of course.



A brief analysis of the aforementioned gain is reported below.

1. Eating more - caloric intake counting is math. No magics. 
2. Eating different types of food, more fried stuff, more cheese, pizza, pasta, etc.
3. Skipping breakfast due to the fact that I had enough from the day before - which basically slows down one's metabolism
4. Drink some more alcohol than I usually do (or well, don't)
5. No gym at my disposal to burn some calories 

I address these 5 points as responsible of my weight gain. Of course, my determination to change my condition as soon as possible is back. Here is my plan for the next two weeks.
Feel free to adopt my strategy to improve your condition after holiday.

1. Drink a lot of cold water
2. Eat 5 times a day (every 2 -3 hours), of course in smaller amounts
3. Eat carbs only for breakfast and lunch
4. Prepare healthy juices and smoothies with no added sugar
5. Eat more proteins
6. Avoid snacks such as chocolate, candies, ice cream, cookies and the like
7. Hit the gym 4-5 times a week to perform some interval as cardio and weight lifting in order to sculpt the body

This will help us to find the normal weight again. A bit more motivation and dedication are needed especially at the beginning. Don't give up because it will worth! Just be patient for next 14 days.

In addition, here is a delicious, light and easy-to-make recipe that can contribute to your weight loss.

 Time to make: 5 min preparation + 12 min boiling the wheat = 17 min

 Ingredients:

1. Roquette
2. 100g Roquefort cheese
3. 75g of wheat (type Ebly)
4. 1/2 green apple
5. 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6. salt/pepper

Believe it or not, Christmas is over. And with Christmas also candies, chocolate (a bit less for those who already abuse sugar on a daily basis), cakes, sugar, fat, pasta, fish, meat, panettone, bread, cakes and cakes and cakes.
Every year I prepare myself for the toughest period of the year, that they refer to as Xmas. I even strategically try to lose weight around November to get below my regular threshold by December and be "normal" by January. It never works.
How can it work with a mother like mine, Italian from the South, who already thinks that I am sick just because I am fit.
Holidays are nice, cakes are awesome. But we are runners, aren't we? We need to crash our legs on the road and how could that be with a belly always full and hours and hours spent to digest?
The best way to stay fit in such conditions is of course to control yourself at the table, which, I know, can be extremely hard to accomplish. In the common case of failing in such an attempt, I found that some more cardio is always the best solution to save what can be saved. Slow-pace long-distance running allows one to burn fat slowly and steadily and should be done every day for the whole period of our dangerously unhealthy holidays. That is the price to pay for some slices of that cake we really cannot say no to.
I survived my holiday with 1 kg more on my weight. Not bad, considering how much fun I had at the table. My trick was in one word, cardio.
Do not draw any conclusion right after your holiday. Everybody is different and metabolism varies as well, as side effects of eating and the number of days after which you actually realise of your, well, new condition.  In order to assess the damage that you inflicted to your own body after so much food, you should wait one full week and keep your fingers crossed. Easy gainers are usually those who fall into depression when they end up on the scale. Caroline is one of them. Do not panic though. Easy gaining usually means easy losing. Moreover that extra weight that really annoys you could be water kept by your body due to salts and sugars, not just fat. Again: cardio is the answer.

What does cardio mean?

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Monday: 1h slow pace run + stretching
Tuesday: 45' slow pace run + stretching + 5 times sprints at 90% max on 100 mt + stretching
Wednesday: rest
Thursday:  1h slow pace run + 5 series of 20 crunches for abs. + stretching
Friday: 45' slow pace run + 15' faster
Saturday: 45' slow pace run + stretching + 5 times sprints at 90% max on 100 mt + stretching
Sunday: 1h slow pace run

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After this week of recovery, you not only should get back to your usual weight but also get ready to start your regular running schedule (with interval trainings and the like) or to your daily physical activity.

Happy 2015!