A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to head down to Asheville, NC to work with ChiRunning Founder Danny Dreyer. Along with a few other instructors, I was assisting assisting at a workshop. It's always great to see how different groups adapt to the ChiRunning and ChiWalking form. There's always a different "a-ha" moment for everyone.

When we wrapped up, I asked Danny to do a short video clip for my Instagram feed. I wanted to get his number one tip for new runners. His answer was using a metronome.

There are many reasons to use a metronome. When I started focusing on running form, it was a big help in getting my cadence to a more consistent place.

Check out Danny's article on the subject at ChiRunning.com. If you have any questions on how to use a metronome, don't hesitate to give me a shout!

The Quickest Way to Improve Your Running with a Metronome
by Danny Dreyer

Your body thrives on rhythm… your heart beat, your breath rate, your love for dancing, are all based on rhythms in your body or that you've established in your life. The more rhythms you establish, the better your body likes it.
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When you're body has a rhythm to follow it doesn't work as hard. It knows what to do and when to do it. If you go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning, your body experiences a rhythm... "now I get to rest, now it's time to get up."

With the weather finally starting to get cooler throughout the days, it's safe to say fall has moved in. This can be a great time of year to focus on improving your running, fitness, or just overall health. With the cooler temperatures, it's easier to get out and run for longer periods of time. With spring races still over 25 weeks away, the added stress of upcoming events also fades from front of mind.

With this cooler season also comes the holidays. With the holidays comes lots of delicious comfort foods. The pumpkins, squashes, ciders, sweets, and spices are just as much part of this season as are our family and friends. And, if you have a soul, there's no doubt you're looking forward to indulging in a sugary cornucopia of carb overload!

I don't blame you... that stuff's awesome! BUT - what if you could minimize the damage and still hit the sweet, spicy spot you're looking for? It is possible! And, while I'm not saying to skip the pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving or Christmas, I am saying scale back during the week. Make the smart choices as often as possible so that it's okay to dive into the pie when you're really celebrating.

Here are 3 of my most recent favorite fall creations. Warning, these are MY creating, and I'm not a chef! But, I think they're delicious, simple, and don't make you feel like you're missing out!

3, Three Ingredient Fall Inspired Recipes

• Holly Pumpkin Pie Cannoli
• Spicy Bone Broth Sip
• Pumpkin Protein Crunch

You may have heard me talk about ChiRunning before (I mean, it's like all I do!).  When I'm first describing ChiRunning to someone that asks me what it is, I usually say something like: "ChiRunning basically helps you learn to set up your posture correctly. Once you've got posture down, you can lean into gravity and use your core muscles to help lift your legs as you "fall" down the road with minimal effort needed from your quads, hams and calfs."

Because we place such an important focus on the core, I like to have my runners practice a number of strengthening exercises. My favorites are listed below, as well to a link from ChiRunning in which Danny Dryer gives a bit more background on these exercises and how to properly perform them.

Practice these on your own, a few days a week and give me a shout if you have any questions!

Best,
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-Coach Ken

Best Core Excercises for Runners

1. The Ball/Chair Exercise: This exercise does a number of things for your core and for fine-tuning your pain-free Chi Running technique. From practicing the one-legged posture stance, to feeling pelvic rotation, to stretching hip flexors and quads – all while strengthening your core.
2. The Bridge Exercise: This exercise strengthens your core and helps add stability to your pelvis so that it can maintain holding a level position. Danny suggests working up to 10 reps and holding the position for 10-30 seconds each.
3. The Leg Lift: Danny demonstrates this simple exercise and shows the how-to’s of doing it safely. By practicing this, you will strengthen your lower abs, which will support the leveling of your pelvis in all areas of your running technique.
4. The Butt Walk: Don’t let the name deceive you! This exercise will strengthen your core while teaching you to rotate your pelvis and hold your upper body still at the same time.  One of Danny’s favorites!

Read More & See a Video Demo

As runners, walkers, fitness enthusiasts, and or simply those passionate about becoming the best versions of ourselves, we often place a lot of emphasis on diet and exercise. Usually, that exercise is centered around a goal of weight loss, building bigger arms, or developing a more defined midsection. I'd be willing to go out on a limb, and bet that most of us don't give much consideration to our feet, even though we're on them every day!

Check out these tips from Danny Dryer on keeping your feet healthy, and capable of carrying you through all your journeys!
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Performance... What types of feelings does that word conjure up for you? Maybe it's excitement as you prepare for a new event or activity. Maybe it's it's pressure, as you feel the need to meet other's expectations. Or, maybe it's something in between.

We ChiRunning instructors have our own thoughts around the term, and believe that the concept of personal performance can be one of your strongest motivators! Check out this week's ChiRunning blog from Danny Dryer on the subject!

Personal Performance for ChiRunners
by Danny Dryer

The term “performance” in athletics has been usurped by top athletes and has become riddled with so many innuendos that the term itself can scare off the athlete and the runner in you.

However, the concept of personal performance can be the best kind of motivation. Personal performance asks you to listen deeply to your own self and do what feels good for you and for your body. When you focus on personal performance, you stretch yourself, make that extra effort, and find the place within yourself that wants the best.

Here at ChiRunning, we particularly like this definition of performance, found at dictionary.com:

per•for•mance – noun: The manner in which or the efficiency with which something reacts or fulfills its intended purpose.

In the injury-free ChiRunning technique we encourage you to focus on “the manner in which” and “the efficiency with which” you fulfill your “intended purpose” to run, without running pain or running injury.

Read More...

As promised yesterday, on Snapchat (@kcp487), here's a quick overview of my "Pyramid Interval" ride. It's fairly simple to follow, makes the time go by unbelievably quick, and will give you a killer workout! Intervals like this will help you develop awesome speed, power, and ability to recover quickly. For each of the following interval periods, your goal is to go "all-out," for the interval, then strive to make a full recovery during the down time.

For your intervals - hit them hard, with resistance. They should feel like a 9 or 9.5 out of 10 on the rate of perceived exerciton scale. Work them with resistance! I'd rather see you pushing 75-85 rpm, with a high power output over going 120+ rpm with low power.

The workout

• ​Warm up for a good 10-15 minutes using moderate resistance and a cadence of 80-90.
• Interval :30 / Recovery 2:00
• Interval :45 / Recovery 1:30
• Interval 1:00 / Recovery 1:00
• Interval 1:30 / Recovery :45
• Interval 2:00 / Recovery :30
• Interval :30 / Recovery 2:00
• Interval :30 / Recovery 2:00
• Interval :30 / Recovery 2:00
• Interval :30 / Recovery 2:00
• Interval :30 / Recovery 2:00​

Congratulations on another great effort in the Race this year!  Again, we threw the team together in a short period of time and won the competition!  We rode a total of 266 miles, which was around 15 or 16 miles more than our closest competitor. Our race was actually against last year's total mileage, since no other team was even close to us overall.  

The day started with Ken Presutti, who is a Beach Body coach and spin instructor at Mecka Fitness, in the saddle.  I informed Ken that he was expected to do 12 miles even though he didn't train for the event this year.  He did not disappoint!  He cranked out 12.1 and 11.9 on his first 2 rides, even though his seat dropped 3 times!  Too much bouncing, Ken!  The Pitt Football team was staring at him in disbelief and videoing him as he cruised along.  Things got a bit hot when he took off his shirt and fired up the team of mostly ladies next to us!  I told them there was no way my shirt was coming off!  I rode second and actually had my best mileages ever, despite the fact that I didn't train much either.  I rode 11.2 and 11.0 in my first 2 rides.  We were already up over 3 miles at this point.