Sportlyzer

Millions of people make the same New Year’s resolutions every year. Getting fit, losing weight, and eating healthy are always among the Top 10 of these promises. Sounds nice but sadly only 12% of these millions actually reach their goals.* The aim of this post is to help you make a New Year’s fitness resolution that will actually stick.

Before we talk about goal setting, there are two important pre-conditions we must recognize:

1. A person should maintain a specific activity for at least 6 months to make it a natural part of his/her everyday life.
2. Active recreational athletes are mainly motivated by the upcoming race and the feeling of fun/enjoyment/relaxation they get from their workouts.

Now let’s use the SMART principle** to build the architecture for an effective New Year’s fitness resolution.

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My New Year’s fitness resolution

MY 1^st WORKOUT IS ON ……………………………….

(Today would be perfect – don’t  procrastinate, just get started. It feels so good after your Christmas meals.)

I WILL ATTEND …………………………………………………… RACE ON ……………………………………

(If it’s not your usual distance, don’t choose an epic quest like an ironman triathlon or an ultra-marathon – these are unlikely to come true. For beginners a Nordic walking event, a 5K or 10K running would be a smart choice. You can always upgrade your goal once you get fitter. You can add more races here, but to make exercising a regular habit, 7 months from the start would be a perfect time for the last race in the list.)

TO GET READY I EXERCISE AT LEAST ………… TIMES AND ………… HOURS EVERY WEEK.

(To get fitter it is recommended that you exercise at least 3 times a week for a total of 2.5 hours. However, if you’re overweight and you have been totally inactive until now, 3 shorter sessions adding up to 1.5 hours per week is a smart start. Make sure you keep a training diary to keep your goal in sight.)

THE GOAL OF EVERY SINGLE WORKOUT IS TO FIND OUT WHAT I ENJOY MOST ABOUT EXERCISING.

(The easiest way to avoid routine is to alternate the structure of your workouts, routes travelled and friends you work out with. Take note of what you enjoyed about your workouts. Later you can figure out the pattern of your key motivators.)

DATE AND SIGNATURE: …………………………………………………………………………………….

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Now write your own resolution, sign it and hang it somewhere you will see it every day. On your fridge might be a good idea. You have made a fitness promise that you can keep, and the good thing is that it’s about having fun and enjoying. Better health, weight-loss and other benefits are added for free.

Footnotes:
* Source: http://www.quirkology.com/UK/Experiment_resolution.shtml
** The SMART principle advocates that successful goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely.

Tõnis Saag Founder and teamleader of Sportlyzer.com

Without a doubt there is a marathon for everyone. To prove it, we have collected 1000+ running marathons and half marathons into our 2012 race calendar.

Once you have chosen your race, go and give a try to Sportlyzer’s smart training planner. It is designed by sports experts to give everyone access to training planning secrets that drive pros to success.
If your favorite race is missing here, please post it in the comment field below and we’ll add it to the list.

Tõnis Saag Founder and teamleader of Sportlyzer.com

Why is PLANK the most used core training exercise in the world? The answer is obvious – it’s simple, powerful and doesn’t need extra gear. Learn here how to do it right! 

Lie with your face down with your forearms on the floor pointing straight forward, palms on the ground, your feet together and your spine in a neutral position. Your feet should be touching or no more than an inch apart. Lift your body up on your forearms and toes, keeping it as straight as possible. Your head is relaxed and you should be looking at the floor. Keep your torso straight and rigid and your body in a straight line from head to heels. Don’t let your hips/knees drop, your butt raise, and don’t shift weight to one forearm. Hold for 30 sec to 3 min.

(Sportlyzer’s training planning engine coaches you to better race results or just helps you get started with your trainings. Core training plays an important role in Sportlyzer’s philosophy, because a well stabilized, solid body improves your economy, speed and power, and helps avoid injuries.  Get your free coaching now!

Tõnis Saag Founder and teamleader of Sportlyzer.com

We couldn’t be happier to announce that we just launched visualized training cycles. Now you can see your progress through your training cycles and get explanations what kind of trainings really matter during different parts of your preparation. There is also a small teaser in the pic below about what’s coming next .

This is another step towards our vision that it’s not just the race that matters, but every training, every week, every cycle is a small goal that helps understand why and how to train.

Sporltyzer’s sports scientist Jarek Mäestu wrote a great article about preparing for races where he also explains the theory behind Sportlyzer’s algorithms. The article was published in Runaddicts blog and we think it’s a must read for all endurance enthusiasts.

Tõnis Saag Founder and teamleader of Sportlyzer.com

In just a few days we will launch series of core training exercises we’ve been working on since the beginning of this summer. Many of you have probably seen core training excercises as part of Sportlyzer’s training suggestion. The aim of the new series is to offer our users a better knowledge of core training in general and, of course, an opportunity to learn, how to do those exercises correctly. The sample exercise below gives a slight peek, how it’s gonna be.

Tweet or share this post in Facebook and you’ll be the first one to see it!

Helen Kalberg Marketing Manager of Sportlyzer.com

Sportlyzer released new design which, in addition to improved usability, teaches users to see the specifics of their workouts, and therefore learn how to train smarter. Four main updates are given below and there are many things still in progress.

• Detailed workouts
• Daily training suggestions
• Bar for weekly training load
• Heart rate zones and your ideal weekly balance
• Data export

Click here for detailed description.

Helen Kalberg Marketing Manager of Sportlyzer.com

Enough of long texts! Today we start a series of articles about exercising all visualized as infographics. The series starts with the basics of training physiology and moves on to training according to heart rate. Our first infographic explains why exercising raises your heart rate, makes you gasp air and how it improves your physical fitness.

 Download your own copy of the infographic.

Tõnis Saag Founder and teamleader of Sportlyzer.com

Teams of 3 have to complete 3 times Ironman Triathlon distance within 3 weeks. It’s the team effort that counts – the split and order of distances and activities doesn’t matter. Team members’ workouts will be summarized and the challenge winner is the team with the best total time.

Each team has to complete the following distances:

o Swimming: 7,2 miles/ 11,58km;

o Cycling: 336 miles/ 540,75km;

o Running: 78,6 miles/ 126,585km.

Start: Monday – July 18^th,

Finish: August 7th.

Do not hesitate! Register now at hello@sportlyzer.com and get the taste of an Ironman’s competition! (Team name and participants’ names required.)

Read about the prize and rules and/or join with the Facebook event.

Helen Kalberg Marketing Manager of Sportlyzer.com

Sportlyzer’s very first challenge was concentrating on finding the most inspiring sports challenge. We were very happy to see that the Garmin Forerunner 405cx certainly found the right owner – Judith is an outstanding example of the inspiration we were looking for. But better read yourself and see if she inspires you, too!

Please tell a few words about yourself.
I live in Spain, I’m 28 years old and I work as a surgeon. I’m rather a restless soul and I love to practice all sorts of sports. However, running is still my favorite.

When and why did you start running?

When I was a kid, I had lymphoma. I managed to beat the illness at the age 7 and for faster recovery I was forced to adapt healthy lifestyle. I started running in a small club in my city and very soon running became my lifestyle.

In your challenge you said your goal is to run every day. Please describe your average weekly training routine.

I try to run every day. I try following a training plan provided by my trainer, but due to my work it’s sometimes quite complicated. Twice a week I take a longer run (about 10 miles). Rest of the week I either run shorter distances, fartlek (1000m), or I go to gym.

Would you rather prefer to run alone or work out with friends? Would it be important to you if you could see where and when your friends are training?

I prefer to train with friends and colleagues; it is much more fun if you share the effort and suffering. Sometimes it’s complicated because the pace is not the same. However, we try to start and finish together. If we don’t manage to organize a common training, I’d still like to keep my eye on my friends’ progress. That is one of the reasons why I like Sportlyzer.

Do you sometimes struggle with training motivation?

Of course it’s hard sometimes. Especially during winter or when I arrive late from work, completely exhausted. There have been times when everyone has gone home by the time arrive to the club– I’m all alone, and so tired I can hardly start… Then, sometimes, I’m unable to find enough motivation for a training.
But diseases like cancer change your attitude towards life and living. I try to enjoy life as much as possible – to travel, experience things and simply “LIVE it”. This is my main motivation.

Did you use any devices before you won Garmin Forerunner 405CX? If yes, which one?

I used a watch and heart rate monitor already before and I have no complaints, but I believe my new Garmin helps to maximize my development, especially in combination with IPhone and Sportlyzer.

Have you ever tried to use an online training diary? If yes, could you please describe its main values for you?

I haven’t used any online training diaries before but I planning to start using Sportlyzer regularly because I believe it offers the values I’m looking for: to find support from other athletes, tips, routines, control of my progress, and of course, personal advice.

Sportlyzer is specialized in training planning and training advice. Which kind of advice would you like to get from a virtual coach?

Mostly I’m interested to know if my training load matches with my parameters and how not to train with too low or too high loads. I also like the idea of an online coach who is easily able to analyze the data from my devices and give me an advice based on this data.

What would you suggest to people who have just started running?

I suggest that you first do a medical examination to rule out pathology, buy good shoes and hydrate sensitive areas that may become irritated. Definitely read and talk with people who know the first practice for problems with stiffness, aches, etc. Follow a training plan – it will help you to improve faster and achieve your results without major set-backs. Give Sportlyzer a try – it gives you a good plan for beginners as well as advice what to do and not to do.

Helen Kalberg Marketing Manager of Sportlyzer.com

About a month ago we published an article about how to match your Suunto HR monitor with Sportlyzer. Now it’s also possible to upload Suunto HR monitor files via Sportlyzer‘s workout entry.

You can’t yet upload files directly from your Suunto heart rate monitor (but we are working on it!).  For successful upload you need to the data in Excel file (.xlsx) which you can export from Suunto’s online community movescount.com.

Helen Kalberg Marketing Manager of Sportlyzer.com