Healthy Pikelets For Hungry Kids

Healthy Pikelets for Kids Afternoon Tea

If your kids are anything like mine, they are starving when they come home from school, and want to grab the first thing they can lay their hands on that looks vaguely like food.

Pikelets are awesome for afternoon tea. You can whip them up at the last minute, and give your kids a wholesome snack.

Here are a few hints for making extra healthy pikelets.

Use wholemeal self raising flour instead of white flour. It takes longer to digest than white flour, it’s lower on the Glycemic Index (meaning it doesn’t spike their blood sugars as much as white flour), and it will keep them feeling full for longer
Add nut meal to the flour. I usually have almond meal or hazelnut meal on hand in the fridge (keeping it cold helps to stop the fats in the meal from going rancid). About a 60/40 flour to nut meal mix seems to keep the consistency fairly easy to handle-the more nutmeal, the heavier the pikelet will be, and it gets a bit tricky to flip sometimes.
Use yoghurt instead of milk. Add a pinch of carb soda. The yoghurt reacts with the carb soda, just as buttermilk would, making for a nice thick pikelet. Of course, if you happen to have buttermilk in the fridge when, at the last minute, you decide to make pikelets for arvo tea, go ahead and use it. If you use youghurt, you will probably need to add a small amount of milk to get a smooth batter.
Remember to add an egg!
Mash a banana and add it to the batter. The sweetness in the banana means you won’t need to add sugar to the batter, nor anything sweet on top once they pikelets are cooked. [If your kids aren’t used to eating sugar free, you may need to add sugar to the batter, and gradually reduce the amount of sugar you add with each batch. They’ll soon get used to it.]

How quickly do you lose fitness?

How much fitness do you lose when you stop training

You Can Lose Fitness When It’s Raining

I remember telling a friend a very long time ago, that you still get fat on the weekend, as she shovelled piles of peanut butter on her toast, telling me it was the weekend so it didn’t count.

It’s a bit the same with training and rain. You can still get unfit when it’s raining you know, just as you would get unfit if you stopped running due to injury, illness, or misadventure! And it’s still just as hard to get that fitness back.

Here’s a quick run down on what happens to your running fitness when you stop training, and how quickly you can get it back.

00:35- Fitness levels and fitness loss

1:05-Training break impact on 30 min 5km time

1:50-Training break impact on 25 min 5km time

2:34 – Training reak impact on 20 min 5km time

3:20-How long does it take to get your fitness back?

The Right Sports Bra For Runnning

Many of us will spend literally hundreds of dollars, and many hours getting the right running shoes, but when it comes to a running bra, we sometimes go for the “home brand” option.

Whilst you don’t have to pay a fortune to get hold of a good sports bra, (nor to get hold of a good running shoe for the that matter), you do need to spend some time making sure you get a good fit.

Watch this video from Moving Comfort for some great tips on what’s important in a sports bra for running.

Tips For A Perfectly Fitting Sports Bra for Running

Cup Size

Scoop your breasts into the cups. They should be completely held within the cup, not bulging out over the top or at the sides under your arms.
Wrinkling or puckering of the fabric in the cup indicates the cup is too big

Band
The band is the foundation for support, so it’s important to get the band fitting correctly. It should be quite snug, and should not ride up at the back. If it rides up, it might be that it is too loose, or the straps need adjusting. Make sure you can take a deep breath, comfortably.

Underwire
The underwire should sit on the ribcage, underneath the breast. It should sit flat against your breastbone, and not poke or pinch.

Straps
It seems obvious, but straps should not slide up or dig into your shoulders. If they need to be so tight that they dig into your shoulders, to be able to offer the support you want, it may be that you have an ill fitting band. They should have very little stretch, so as to help prevent up and down movement of the breasts.

Reference: http://movingcomfort.com.au/help/fitfinder

Running in the Cold

It’s Woman Vs Winter

So, you’re alarm’s just startled you awake and you’re wondering why. It seems awfully cold when you stick your hand out onto the wrong side of your beautiful doona cocoon. Come to think of it, there’s no light sneaking in through that slit in the curtains. Not much seems to be happening at all out there. And it’s cold. You ask yourself again precisely why it was you thought it would be a good idea to get up early and run.

You could just stay in bed another 30 minutes, another hour…but then, the day might overtake you again like it did yesterday, and you won’t get a run in at all. You could forget about that promise you made to yourself in April about maintaining your fitness over winter. Or, you could rug up and get out there, and feel absolutely awesome for the rest of the day, and very likely the next day as well!

It is hard sometimes to get out running on a wintery day, but mostly, once you’re out there, you don’t regret it. I don’t think I’ve ever said to myself “I wish I hadn’t done that run”. Have you ever regretted going for a run? (Not counting the time you trod in dog poo, or fell over in front of the local rugby team).

Maintaining Enthusiasm

To help keep you enthusiastic about running in the cold weather, you can try a few tactics such as

Run with other people – it makes it more fun, and if you’re running with others, you’re more likely to turn up
Run somewhere beautiful when you can run during the day
Have a goal in mind such as a race in August or September
Have a goal such as running a certain number of times /kms/minutes per week or month.
And it’s always a good idea to remind yourself how good you feel after a run.

Making Winter Running More Comfortable

Here are few practical tips to make your winter running more comfortable

Gloves. Great if you’re running in the early morning particularly. Polyester, sweat-wicking fabrics are good for well, not getting sweaty hands inside your gloves, but they won’t be very wind or water resistant. Gloves with insulated uppers and weather proof membranes are good for poor weather conditions, but you might find they get a bit hot. Some lightweight polyester gloves are probably going to be enough for you during our Sydney winters. You’ll probably find after 20 minutes or so you want to take them off, so make sure you have a pair you can stuff in a pocket or in the waistband of your tights

Tights. Wear them. Full length, tucked into your socks. I’m amazed at the number of people who turn up to running training in ¾ running tights and complain about the cold! Enough said I think.

Beanies. Sartorially inelegant, but they have two uses. Obviously, they are pretty handy for keeping your head warm, and they’re also great if you suffer from ear aches when you run in cold weather.

Headbands. If you don’t want to go the full beanie look, grab a headband to cover your ears if you’re an ear ache sufferer. Just a little bit of warmth around your ears can really make a difference

Lip Balm will not only help keep your lips succulent, you can apply it round your nostrils and around your eyes to help prevent the aging effects of wind burn.

Hats are really good for keeping the rain out of your eyes. Few people really love running in the rain, so you’ll usually have the streets and parks to yourself on a rainy day. Running in light rain can be really beautiful. On cold drizzly days I pretend I’m in the Blue Mountains where it’s supposed to be cold and drizzly. Somehow it makes a difference.

Wear reflective clothing. You’re more likely to be running in the dark in winter, so make sure your clothing has some reflective strips on it so that you can be seen. You could also run with a light, which of course will not only help people see you, but it could be useful to see where you’re going!

Warm up a bit before you leave the house. Do a few calisthenics, star jumps, running on the spot, push-ups, running up and down your stairs several times. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can warm up, and it makes it a lot easier to get out the door. And on that note, running during winter will help you warm up for the rest of the day. I’m freeze most days in winter until I get out and move.

Run into the wind on the day out. If you can work it so that you have the wind blowing into your face on the way out, you’ll find that the sweat you’ve worked up won’t chill you as much on the way back, with the wind blowing from behind you.

Wear less than you think is necessary. About a layer less than you need to be comfortable at the start of your run is the best bet. You’ll warm up quickly, and if you have too many layers on, you’ll either have to run with something tied around your middle, or run feeling too hot. Either way, you’re likely to get sweaty. Eventually, that could leave you in a cold sweat for most of your run.

Wear a wind resistant shell. You’ll always find running in windy conditions more pleasant if you have a light, wind resistant jacket. Often you don’t need much more than a t-shirt underneath (and some pants would be good I guess).

Use the hairdryer on your feet. If you can’t stand the thought of getting out there because your feet will freeze, warm your shoes and your feet up before hand with your hair dryer. If you’re driving to the start of your run, have your car heater on your feet.

Change quickly post run. Get out of your wet or damp, sweaty clothes quickly. Take a change of clothes with you if you’re not finishing your run at home, and get out of your damp sports bra, as well as changing your top.

Don’t let the winter cold numb you. Be open to the possibilities of winter running. Let the cold sharpen your senses. Experience your world a little differently. Embrace the cold weather. It’s winter after all, and it doesn’t last too long in Sydney. Before you know it, you’ll be complaining about the heat!

If you need a little company for your winter running, join our winter running groups. Your free trial is available now!

Sleep, Recovery, and Fitness

Get fitter in your sleep

When you follow a well planned training program over a period of time, your body gets fitter. Most people would acknowledge that. Exercise=fitness. Full stop. Right? Not necessarily.

One of the really important components of fitness, and one that gets overlooked way too often, is recovery. And one of the really important components of recovery is sleep. I’ve written before on how chronic sleep deprivation can inhibit weight loss, and in fact cause us to gain weight, but today I wanted to look at how sleeping helps you to get fitter.

But firstly, we need to look at how training gets you fitter.

A guy named Hans Selye described how the body responds to the stress of exercise, using what he termed the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). Basically, the body goes through a set of specific short term responses, and longer term adaptations, after being exposed to a stressor. The body goes through three stages in response to a stressor. Exercise is one such stressor.

Stage 1: Alarm or shock. This is the immediate response to the stress of exercise, and can include feeling flat, sore or stiff and a bit tired. The fitter you are, the greater the stress needed to induce this shock phase. Hence, it’s really important to have a training program that takes into account your individual fitness level.

Stage 2: Adaptation or resistance. The body responds to repeated bouts of training. It thinks, “Crikey, if she’s going to keep doing this to me, I’d better do something about getting stronger”. The body equips itself with the tools to survive further stress of the type you are imposing on it. This can include nervous system adaptations, hormonal changes, and tissue building, just to name a few. You need to have stressed your body sufficiently in stage 1, for adaptations to take place in stage 2.

Stage 3: Exhaustion. This is the stage you never want to reach. It’s simply put, over training. Too much training and not enough recovery. There’s just too much stress for the body to be able to adapt.

The Role of Sleep In Recovery

For anyone at least partially serious about their fitness, harder training is a double edged sword. It can be the key to greater fitness, but can also send your body over the top towards injury and illness. Exercise can cause heaps of stress to joints and ligaments, muscles, the nervous system, and the endocrine (or hormonal) system. And yet, it’s the stimulus your body needs to signal it to get stronger to make itself better able to cope with that stress of exercise.

Recovery takes place anytime you ease off with your workload. You can still actually be exercising whilst you are recovering (most training programs will include a recovery every 3-5 weeks where you ease back on your training-and if yours doesn’t, it should), but it’s when you’re at rest that the greatest training adaptations take place. Sleep is the ultimate rest period in which your body can adapt to all your hard training.

During sleep, hormones such as the rejuvenating Human Growth Homone (HGH) reach their peak. Your immune system gets a recovery boost when you’re asleep, and neurotransmitters in the brain are replenished. There’s an amazing amount of biochemical activity going on inside your body when you are asleep.

Human growth hormone is important for well, yes, growth. It’s also linked with fat loss, muscle tone, immune health and the firmness and elasticity of your skin. Mostly, when HGH receives a natural boost, it’s a good thing, and sleep causes HGH secretion to peak. So, if you’re not getting enough sleep, you’re not getting the maximum levels of HGH your body can produce, and directly adversely effecting your performance.

The other really critical thing sleep promotes is the replenishment of neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemicals which transmit signals from a neuron to a target cell in the body. They regulate quite a few physical and emotional processes, including mental performance, emotional states, and the pain response. All of these are important for physical fitness. If your neurotransmitters aren’t working effectively, you won’t get much done in any part of your life, let alone your recreational exercise.

With your neurotransmitters under functioning, you’re likely not to be in a great emotional state to train. Day after day you’ll be having “one of those days” where you just don’t feel like you can do much of anything. You wake up just knowing that exercise isn’t going to happen today, unless you have someone drag you kicking and screaming to your workout.

Of course, it’s very easy for me to say get more sleep. If insomnia isn’t an issue, often it’s just a case of not being in bed for long enough that prevents us from getting enough sleep. Turn off the TV, shut down social media channels, and get to bed. And make sure all your electronic devices are on the other side of the door!

If you’re keen to give your training a boost, find out how online coaching can help.

Should you run when you’re sick?

It’s winter. The mornings are cold, the early evenings are dark and we get the odd drop of rain or two. Throw into the mix a cough and a runny nose, and you have the perfect storm for an excuse to miss a session….or do you?

Everything in moderation they say, and it’s the same with exercise when you’re feeling a bit run down. If you have an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), that is, your symptoms are above the neck – sore throat, runny nose, congestion-you should still be able to get a workout in, but at a lighter intensity than normal. (Make sure you tell your trainer if you’re a bit under the weather).

When you shouldn’t work out

It could be a good time to put your feet up if your symptoms are below the neck (chest congestion and coughing, vomiting, diarrhoea), or ir you have a high fever, muscle aches and widsrpread fatigue. If your symptoms indicate an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) – congested nose, sneezing, sore throat, then you’re most likely good to go, albeit at a reduced workload.

Note that you should stop exercising if your symptoms get worse as a result of exercising.

If you’re looking for information about exercising with an injury, I’ve written an article on managing and working out with overuse injuries

Guidelines for exercising with a URTI or gastrointestinal upset

Day one: No strenuous exercise or competitions if you have URTI symptoms like sore through, coughing, runny or congested nose. No exercise at all if muscle/joint pain and headache, fever, or general feelings of fatigue, vomiting or diarrhoea.

Keep the fluids up, try not to get wet and cold, and keep your general stress to a minimum.

Day Two: If you have a temperature greater than 37.5 degrees C, or if your coughing has increased, or you have vomiting or diarrhoea, no training.

If you have no fever of feelings of fatigue, just above the neck symptoms, light exercise is fine. 30-45 mins with heart rate under approx. 120 beats per minute

Day Three: If you still have a fever or gastrointestinal symptoms, see a doctor.

If your doctor puts you on antibiotics, you should ask not to be prescribed antibiotics from the quinolone family if possible, as they can increase the risk of tendinopathy. Hopefully, you would not have to take the medication for long enough for that to be an issue, but if it can be avoided, you may as well ask for something else (and make your doctor once again curse the inventor of the internet!)

If you don’t have a fever or general feeling of fatigue and weakness, and your initial symptoms haven’t worsened, you can progress to moderate exercise with your pulse under 150 beats per minute for 45-60 minutes.

If your symptoms have remained the same as they were on day 2, keep the exercise light.

Day Four: See your doctor if your symptoms are not getting better. Don’t try to exercise.

If your symptoms continue to improve, keep the exercise light to moderate for a few more days.

Some Additional Thoughts

Monitor your response to training whilst you are sick, and if your symptoms get worse, drop the training load back to very light, or discontinue exercising until the symptoms improve.
If you have had to stop exercising as a result of illness, take the same number of days to get back to pre-sickness fitness, as you have taken off from exercising. So if you’ve not exercised for 5 days due to illness, allow yourself at least 5 days to gradually get back into it.
And don’t stress, it doesn’t take long to get your fitness back.

References:
Position Statement Part two: Maintaining immune health Neil P. Walsh1, Michael Gleeson2, David B. Pyne3, David C. Nieman4, Firdaus S. Dhabhar5, Roy J. Shephard6, Samuel J. Oliver1, Stéphane Bermon7, Alma Kajeniene8. http://www.medizin.uni-tuebingen.de/transfusionsmedizin/institut/eir/content/2011/64/article.pdf

Ronsen O. Prevention and management of respiratory tract infections in athletes. New Stud Athlet 20: 49-56, 2005

SMH Half Marathon Team

We had a great day for the SMH Half Marathon 2015.

This year we had quite a few teams entered into the SMH Half Marathon relay. A great way to experience the race without having to run the full distance. I think all of our relay runners have done a half marathon at some time, but just didn’t have the fitness for the full distance this time round.

And there’s nothing like being on a team to bring out the best in a person. I think all of our relay runners had planned to take it a bit easy, given their fitness levels, but ended up giving it their all on the day.

It wasn’t only the relay runners who exceeded expectations. Nearly all of our runners posted times which were better than they expected, which is awesome. And I have to make special mention of Peter Sewell, who cracked 4 mins per km for the first time in a half, to come in 102nd overall, and 2nd place in the male 50-59 category.

Here are some pics from the day for you to enjoy.

[wppg_photo_gallery id="1"]