Welcome to The Body Mechanic’s training program for the Can4Cancer Walk.
Continue with these daily habits
- Buy a fitness tracker (like a Fitbit or a Garmin) to track your daily steps. Aim for at least 10,000 steps /day, even on days when you are not doing training walks.
- Download the Strava app on your phone and use it to track your training walks.
- Strava is a GPS app which will track your time, distance and elevation and also map your walk.
- Take the stairs, not the lift. If you are on escalators walk up and down them rather than standing still.
- Set an alarm/warning on your computer desktop every 30 minutes to stand up and walk around. Even 30 seconds makes a difference to your health and your body.
- Try to cut down up any junk food -snack on fruit or nuts between meals rather than biscuits or chocolate.
Use the “Little and Often” training philosophy
- Our bodies adapt to exercise gradually. If you do too much, too soon, that is when things usually go wrong. In this training program we are using the “little and often” approach, but because this is your third month of training, the long walks in the weekend are getting longer.
- By training frequently, you will be able to gradually increase the distance of the walks letting your legs and your cardiovascular fitness improve and adapt.
The Long Walk
- Try making your long walk in the weekend on a trail if possible, like the Manly-Spit track for example. The trails tend to be slightly more challenging in terms of hills, but they are also a lot more interesting than pounding the pavement, so the time will pass quicker and the walk will be more enjoyable.
Training Program
- Here is the training program for August. As you can see the length of the long walks is gradually increasing, but the other walks remain at a consistent distance to help you create a routine which you can stick to.
- e.g. A 4km lunch time walk on Tuesday, Walking 1km each way to and from the train/bus on Wednesday, A 3km lunch time walk on Friday, leaving you time and energy for the long walk on the weekend.
Nutrition Tips for 21km Can4Cancer walk
- Recovery Nutrition is essential
Always eat a meal / snack within 30 minutes of finishing all exercise/sport. This is the best time of the day to include carbohydrate in a meal, be it fruit, vegetable or starchy carb, or whole grains. You also need some protein at this meal to help with muscle repair. Not eating after training will compromise glycogen replacement, result in fatigue and potentially immune system issues.
- Should you eat before exercise?
If you are training first thing in the morning it’s ok to do so on an empty tummy for up to 75-90 minutes. However, if you feel better with a something in your tummy choose a carbohydrate snack such as small banana or apple, or some fresh dates (2-3), or slice of toast.
- What to eat during long training sessions and on event day
If you are exercising for longer than 90 -120 mins you will benefit from taking on board a small amount of fuel (carbohydrates) to help your body perform at it’s peak. This could be a banana, some dates, a sandwich, an energy bar, or sports products such as gels/bloks/sports drinks.
- Hydration
You need to drink 1.5 Litres of water per day, plus replace anything lost from exercise. For each hour of exercise you need to add another 600mls. Dehydration can lead to fatigue, weight gain and headaches.
- Eat Real Food
Athletes need to eat a nutrient dense diet with good quality protein and fats, and healthy carbohydrates. Make time for meal preparation and be organized for the week ahead. Do not rely on packaged and processed foods.
Protein – fish, eggs, meat, dairy, legumes, soy, nuts and seeds
Aim for 1gm protein per kilo of body weight per day
Carbohydrates – Vegetables, Whole grains and a small amount of Fruit
Healthy fat – Oily fish, Olive Oil, Avocado, Butter, Full Fat Dairy, Coconut, Meat
This nutrition information was written by Sports Nutritionist Tamara Madden from www.madonnutrition.com. If you want specific help with any aspect of sports nutrition you can contact Tamara directly via her website.
Stretches and Exercises
The most likely areas to get tight during this walking program are your calf muscles, gluteal muscles and your hips. Watch this video for some pointers on exactly what stretches to do and when to do them.
