H-Town Run Tourist
5 ways to get the upper hand on your 2020 fitness goals
Dec 28, 2019, 6:09 am
H-Town Run Tourist
Jovan Abernathy is an international marathoner and owner of Houston Tourism Gym. To claim your free tour, contact her at info@tourismgymhtx.com. Follow her on Twitter @jovanabernathy. Instagram @TourismGymHtx. Facebook @TourismGymHtx
January is the time that everyone is thinking about getting healthier and losing weight. What new fitness goals do you have for 2020? I am often asked for tips to getting a jump on goals. Here are some tips on how to get ahead of the curve on your 2020 fitness season.
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Personalize your workout clothes.
Do not be afraid to be yourself in your workout clothes. If you think of the outfits that you wear the most, your workout clothes should be in the top three. If you have new fitness goals, you will be spending a lot of time in your workout clothes. Don't be afraid to personalize them and add colors. Make sure that they are appropriate for the activity that you are doing and that everything fits right. You will be suprised at the difference this will make in your attitude towards your workout.
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Replace old running shoes with new ones.
People who are new to fitness often miss the importance of this one. Shoes wear down and go bad over time. Even if they are not being used as often as you think, the material that the shoes is made of goes bad. It makes me cringe when I ask someone when was the last time that they got new shoes and they reply with 5 years. YIKES! It is time to replace the shoes. Your whole body will thank you for it.
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Get an accountability partner.
I do not know many people who are so disciplined that they can do everything alone. Even if you are, who wants to? That is no way to live. An accountability partner is a perfect workout complement who can keep you on track and can help you step up your game and set higher goals. Do not be surprised if you see your goals achieved much faster. Just chose wisely.
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Keep track of your metrics.
I do not care how you do it. You can invest in a pencil and a notebook labeled workouts, download an app, or buy a device like a FitBit that keeps track of all that, just keep track of something. Honestly, i say do it all. I have found some books of my workout notes in my closets in the past and have found them useful. It would be useful to track sleep while you are sleeping though.
Cross train with your running.
Choosing one or two more exercises helps with so much. You do not get bored. Choosing an activity that helps develop a different muscle group or skill like yoga for flexibility, strength training, and boxing for cardio and balance. Either way, it keeps it interesting and you get to meet a different set of people with different interest than your runner friends.
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Start taking supplements.
Maybe you are still young and can get revved up naturally. However, if you are anything like me and need a little help, a supplement is just the thing that your need to get going and see some results. Confused with all the choices? Start with a multivitamin. This will give you some energy and is the building block of all other supplements. It will keep you from being sick from gym born illnesses like the flu. Next to add, are fish oil pills, calcium pyruvate, and alpha lipoid acid are a great combo. That is not even getting into creatine and all that.
Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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