Check Out RunnerDude on Fitter U Fitness Blog!

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Yuri Elkaim during the Runners Round Table podcast on Stretching. I've followed Yuri on Twitter and often check out his blog, so it was cool to actually talk to him a bit over the phone. For those of you not familiar with Yuri, he's a former professional soccer player, author and fitness/wellness expert. He's also the founder and owner of Total Wellness Consulting, hosts a blog Fitter U Fitness, and has written Eating for Energy and Nutrition for Runners as well as articles in Beyond Fitness magazine, Impact magazine, and Fitness Business Canada magazine.

Keep an eye out for my review of Eating for Energy in the near future.

Yuri asked if I'd like to contribute a monthly guest post about running to Fitter U Fitness Blog. A chance to write about running and fitness?! Of course I said, "Yes!" When you have a chance, check out my first post "Moving on Up...8 Great Tips for Improving Your Running." While your there, be sure to check out Yuri's other posts on the blog as well as his other publications and services.

The Athlete's Guide to Yoga

The more I read and the more I begin to practice what I'm reading, I'm becoming a firm believer in whole-body strength including a strong core, balance, flexibility, and the mind-body connection. Developing all of these areas helps build endurance as well as provide you with a built-in "back-up" system, because each area supports the other. A strong core supplies the energy and supports the legs. Flexibility and balance helps prevent injury. Having a strong mind-body connection helps a runner become more aware of his/her body, knowing when to pull-back or push-through without injury. I'm also learning how important breathing is to the endurance athlete.

Yoga is a time-honored discipline that helps pull all of these areas together. Through Twitter, I've befriended the creator of two new tools for athletes. Sage Rountree is the author of The Athlete's Guide to Yoga (Velopress, 2008) as well as the DVD of the same name from Endurance Films. Sage really knows her stuff. She's a registered yoga teacher as well as a certified USA Triathlon and USA Cycling coach. She's also a runner having run everything from 5Ks to the half-ironman to the marathon, including Boston, with a PR of 3:39.

I am a complete novice to the practice of yoga. I began my first yoga experience a few months ago reviewing the DVD, Yoga for Runners and got hooked. I'm still a novice and have a great deal to learn, but the added flexibility and breathing control that I've gained so far have been very helpful in my running. That's why I was so excited to have learned about Sage's book and DVD.

For many, myself included, yoga can be somewhat overwhelming and intimidating because of the way it's often portrayed on TV—the meditating guru in a contortionist pose that you know you'll never be able to achieve. Well, like many things in the media, that's not a realistic portrayal of yoga. There are many beginner-level yoga classes, books, and DVDs available the will help you get started.

I was immediately drawn to Sage's book because I knew it was geared for athletes. In the preface of her book, she says she hated her first yoga class. With this kind of honesty, I knew right then, this author could relate to the runner and wannabe yoga student. We runners often can't see the point of doing something that doesn't involve aerobic exercise or strength training. Why do we need yoga? I stretch after I run. It will take precious time away from my training.

There are some good books available on yoga for runners and athletes, but The Athlete's Guide to Yoga goes a step further. This book explains how incorporating yoga into your training routine can benefit your overall strength, flexibility, and endurance. Not only does it explain the benefits of flexibility, strength, balance, injury prevention, and mental training, it shows you how to incorporate it into your training routines.

If you're a triathlete, you already know how hard it is to get in the needed training for the three events (swim, bike, run), so trying to add strength training and yoga into your already busy weekly training routine can seem daunting. Sage does the work for you by providing sample weekly workout charts including the strength and yoga elements for the base period, building period, and the peak period weeks of your triathlon training. She also provides similar workout charts for runners training for the half-marathon.

The book provides a wealth of photos showing each pose and the content is written in a very user-friendly tone. I'm a bit dyslexic with following directions so, if I can figure out the poses and be successful in completing them, just about anybody can.

Another added benefit is the home routines provided at the end of the book. Sage has provided several routines for warm-up, core -strengthening , cool-down, restorative, etc. This handy guide provides miniature photos of each pose in the routine as well as the page number in the book where more information can be found regarding each pose if needed. I actually ended up pulling this section out of my copy of the book and I use it as a quick reference when doing the various routines.

A sample DVD is included with the book which provides a preview of the full DVD version of the book. The sample DVD actually provides a complete warm-up & cool-down routine. The full DVD version mimics the book in its simplicity and non-intimidating ease-of-use. One great advantage of the DVD is that you can use the preset yoga routines that are provided or you can arrange the segments on the DVD to create your own personalized workout. Almost like having your own personal yoga instructor.

I highly recommend you try out Sage's book, The Athlete's Guide to Yoga and the DVD. A whole new world of strength, flexibility, and focus will be opened up to you that will definitely benefit your running. Look for her new book, The Athlete's Pocket Guide to Yoga, coming out soon!

Yoga For Runners

Mike, a running buddy of mine was telling me how great yoga is, especially for runners. I had heard about the benefits of yoga—flexibility, relaxation—but had never given it much thought, especially related to running. After my conversation with Mike, I kept thinking about yoga, so I decided to do a little research.

There are several different branches of yoga, each with its own unique focus. Hatha yoga emphasizes concentration and consists of gentle stretching and strengthening exercises. Pranayama yoga uses breathing exercises and breath control to enhance vitality and energy. Mantra yoga uses the concentrated repetition of a word or phrase to aid in the control of the mind.

Many people choose yoga as a means of relaxation which is often hard to achieve in today's fast-paced, hectic life. So, it's not surprising that many modern-day stress-reduction techniques are based on yoga principals. Relaxation definitely bodes well for your health. Research shows that regular participation in mindful exercise such as yoga produces positive effects on people experiencing hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, pain, anxiety, and depression.

There's a lot more to Yoga than relaxation techniques. The regular practice of yoga can improve your performance in other activities (i.e., running). Knowing this, I began to wonder if there were any yoga programs specifically designed for runners. I was very delighted to find Yoga For Runners: The Essentials, a DVD produced by Christine Felstead. Christine was a runner for over 20 years. She began to wonder if something was wrong with the fact that she could run for miles and miles but couldn't bend over to tie her shoes. She decided to give yoga a try. She was hooked. It profoundly changed her life. So much so, that she became a yoga instructor.

Christine has created a wonderful yoga program specifically designed to meet the needs of runners. Her program helps offset the negative effects of running—stiffening of the joints and muscles. It also helps reduce injury as well as cut down on recovery time from racing, endurance running, or just an intense workout. Not only does the program increase a runner's flexibility, it also strengthens muscles in the body that aren't used in running, improves breathing, and deepens the mind-body connection.

The non-intimidating video is divided into four segments—Foundation, Lower Back, Hamstrings, and Hips. Each section presents a series of yoga holds, movements, and breathing techniques. Christine does a great job of describing how to do the various holds so that the novice can digest it all with ease and not feel overwhelmed. Knowing that flexibility-challenged runners may need some modifications to the various holds, Christine provides tips to help make many of the moves more comfortable. The fact that the other participants in the DVD are runners as well as Christine herself being a runner, made me feel confident that they understood me and my needs as a runner.

Whether you're new to yoga or have had some yoga experience, Yoga For Runners: The Essentials is perfect for any runner wanting to improve his/her overall conditioning and flexibility. I highly recommend you check out the Yoga For Runners website and order your own copy of the DVD. Yoga For Runners instructors can be found in Ontario and Alberta, Canada as well as in London, Italy, and Chattanooga, TN. Maybe I need to participate in one of her teacher training programs, so we can get more classes down here in the good old USA. Thanks Christine! (To order your own copy of the Yoga for Runners: The Essentials DVD, see the "My Picks" carousel under the Runner's Market on the right side of the blog.)