1 Minute, 1 Mile

Image Found on Pixabay done by alan9187

     Running. “It’s healthy.” “It’s good for you.” “It’s not so bad once you get used to it.” These make it sound like liver. Then again, some people like liver. We know that running is an excellent exercise. We also know that, due to our increasing use of technology, we have become less active.

     I can hear you now, “What do you mean ‘we’? Do you have a mouse in your pocket?” No, I do not have a mouse, there are a heap of medical and health statistics. According to the CDC, going back as far as 1991, people ranging in age from 18 and up were found to be more and more sedentary. At a rate of 58%, people have been moving less. It has only gotten worse.

     What are we going to do? Busy schedules that are packed full. Commuting times that are unbearable. Meetings with school administrators and teachers. What can we do?

     1 minute of running per day. Really. 1 minute of running per day. According to the researchers at the University of Leicester who studied data from a variety of sources on more than 2,500 women, just one minute of running a day was beneficial. The researchers used information from the UK Biobank and the University of Exeter. Researchers found that one to two minutes of moderate to high intensity aerobic activity like running was bringing about positive results. The results showed a 4& to 6% increase in bone density and an overall improvement in bone health.

     Let’s consider what the risks of a sedentary lifestyle and benefits running just one minute a day look like:

Health Effects of Sedentary Lifestyle 

     Caloric expenditure and health outcomes 

     Contribute to anxiety and depression

     Increased risk for cardiovascular diseases

     Increased obesity

     Decreased musculature

     High cholesterol

     Increased risk of diabetes

     Increased risk of cancer

     Increased risk of stroke

Benefits of fast, short runs

     Improve cardiovascular fitness 

     Time compatible with most schedules

     Can be done daily

     Strengthens heart

     Prevents heart disease

     Less depression

     Lowers body weight 

     Lowers cholesterol 

     Lowers risk of cancer

     Lowers risk of diabetes 

     Lowers risk of stroke

     When talking about this with people, it was found that almost everyone responded with, “It takes me longer than the run to get ready for it.” That was the most common response. Another consideration is the likelihood of doing just one mile. One mile, that is all. Most people who are just starting out will be able to do a mile in about 15 to 20 minutes. While that is longer than the one minute just talked about, that is not a large amount of time invested. US Dept of Health advocates 150 minutes, 2 1/2 hours, weekly of exercise. How many people hit that goal? According to what we have seen so far, not very many.
     Running one mile can be a great workout. A beginner is going to finish that mile somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes. That time is not going to stay like that for long. Oh, no. Running one mile is short enough of a distance that, as mentioned, you can run it as hard as your body can handle it and recover enough to run it again the next day.

     In time, if you keep up with this, you will find running to have become easier. Walking around stores much easier. Your doctor will see your cholesterol levels going down, too.

     This type of running can even fit in if you are already going to the gym and working out. While it will push you and burn excess calories, it will not take too much out of you and ruin your weight lifting. You will be able to burn a few extra calories, cut some bodyfat, build your wind, and still pump up your lifting numbers. What is not to like?

     This is an ideal way to begin a running routine. Running daily becomes something you look forward to. If you are challenging yourself to go a few seconds faster each day, it becomes a game. Get your kids involved and you have a competitive game going. Set rewards or trophies for who can take the most time off their run in one week or who has the fastest mile. Have fun. Make it fun. The more you do this, the less time you spend doing it as the mile run gets faster.

     It takes about 21 days to make a new habit stick. On another blog, I’ve written about making habits stick and you can read about that here if you are curious.

     By the end of one month, you’ve built a one-mile habit. Now, harping on the creativity, make that mile into a Tabata or wind sprints. Tabatas are a form of training that was developed by a Japanese sports scientist and Olympic coach. If you want the details, this post is a good source. The down and dirty is you download a Tabata Timer. This timer will count 4-minutes off in 20 and 10 second intervals. Run like your life depends on it for the 20 seconds then jog or run lightly for the 10 seconds.

     The other easy option I’ve used for running the mile is doing it in 100-meter sprints. 

The quarter mile track is usually marked off in four 100-meter increments. Run the first 100 as hard as you can. Lightly run or jog the second 100 meters. Keep alternating 100-meter blocks until you have finished the 1600 meters. 

     Running 1 mile in as many different ways as possible will serve you well. It is short enough to not interfere with the rest of your training, get silly with it. Run it once, then beat your time. Daily.

     Do wind sprints.

     Run it with the kids and race with them. Make bets to see if they can beat “the old man.” Then win.

     Talk to your doctor about this before you start, though. Make sure that your heart can handle changes like this. You do not want to have anything seize up on you, so make sure that your physician agrees that this is safe for you to do.

     Oh, yes, both the Tabata and wind sprints will hurt if you do them right. That is what they are supposed to do.

     However you choose to add and run the Daily Mile, add it. Rain, shine, cold, or hot it’s only one mile. Anyone can do one mile. Too easy.

     Train hard.

     Train smart.

Chin-ups, Pull-ups, What's the Difference?

 What is the difference? Does doing one or the other really matter? There are differences and doing one or the other does matter. It’s in how the exercises engage, strengthen, and develop different groups of muscles. These are two movements that challenge you to lift your entire body weight to complete. Not push-ups. Not lunges. There are others, yes, but chin-ups and pull-ups are probably two of the most widely recognized and hardest to perform.

I am sure that most of us are familiar with lats and biceps; however, each exercise brings different muscles into play in different ways. Additionally, there are a number of smaller supporting muscle groups that come into play for each exercise, too.

Both are compound exercises, that is they involve multiple muscles at one time. In each you are going to pull your chin up over the bar. In many standards, clearing the bar with your chin is adequate, for a deeper and more functional range of strength bring your shoulders up to bar height.

The differences between the two begin with the grips. Pull-ups are overhand, palms facing away from you while chin ups are underhand with your palms facing you. The most complete range of motion is from arms being completely straight to elbows directly under your shoulders. This would be with the bar at about your shoulder. This fits with the definition as set by the American Council on Exercise.

Grip width can be changed to change the angles at which you are working the muscles. A wider grip is generally more difficult than the standard shoulder width grip. A narrower grip engages other muscles making this grip a bit easier.

Pull-ups hit a number of muscles. The largest of which is the latissimus dorsi or lats.

In the forearm the muscles worked are the brachialis and bracioradialis. These two are near the elbow. They help to stabilize and move the forearm.

Of course, the biceps are engaged in this.

Chin-ups engage more muscles than pull-ups. There is overlap. Chin-ups involve the lats, brachialis, and brachioradialis muscles. They also involve biceps, as do pull-ups; however, chin-ups activate biceps to a greater degree. Additionally, if you lean back a little at the top of the movement you can activate more of the muscles in the scapular (shoulder blade region).

By leaning back, pinching your shoulder blades tightly together, and bringing your sternum up to the bar you can best complete the scapular muscles.

The more muscles you engage the better the exercise event is going to be. Consequently, the better your results will be. Make it a point to change your grip in order engage more muscles and from a variety of directions.

Here are some of the government and military standards as a baseline:

US Army Rangers minimum of 6 in 2 minutes

US Secret Service is based on age with no time limit;

                20-29 – 7

                30-39 – 6

                40-49 – 4

                50 and up – 2

                Women of all ages have to complete 2

Marines range from a minimum of 3 to maximum of 20

Neutral Grip

Grip width aside, there are a number of variations on forms. By changing the style or form you use you can avoid boredom, continually surprise your body and keep it growing, and challenge yourself. Since you are already familiar with chin-up, pull-up, and varying the width of the grip on these, let’s take a look at some of the others.

Neutral – Using parallel bars, like on monkey bars, so that your palms are facing each other.

            Commando – Similar to the Neutral, but with a single bar. One repetition counted by pulling your to touch each shoulder once to the bar.

Behind the Neck – This should only be attempted if your shoulders are strong enough to support you through the entire movement, otherwise you are liable to tear or strain the tissues in and around the socket joint of your shoulder. Take a wide grip on the bar. When you pull up lean forward so that the bar goes behind your neck. It should touch you neck on the trapezius as far down to your shoulders as you can manage without straining your shoulder joints.

Other than those, there are cheat techniques like kipping to assist in getting more reps out than you could normally do. While those kinds of cheats are fine, I don’t use them. Here at the Basement Gym there isn’t the physical room for that. I have to curl my legs up at my knees as the ceiling is barely seven feet. I do, however, use negatives to burn out when positive muscle failure has been reached.

Pull-ups and chin-ups, like push-ups, lunges, jump squats, and squats, can be done most anywhere. All you need is a place to put up a proper bar. In addition to my basement area, I have one of those doorframe contraptions that holds itself up. It also has two handles for the neutral grip that are good for dips. This thing is worth more than its weight in gold. You can find one for around $20 at most large department stores and outlets.