My blog has moved

As of June 2015 my blog posts will be in the Supportersize web site, please visit supportersize.org/blog

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Posture Training

Good posture affects both your physical body as well as your emotional and mental well-being. It is very important during exercise, having good posture has many benefits. By positioning the body correcting while sitting and standing, there is even pressure on the spine, its muscles and ligaments. Having good posture can reduce physical stress on the body.

Art of Manliness published excerpts from FM 21-20, an Army field manual from 1946 that includes the physical training program used by GIs during WWII. I love how simple and appropriate it is.

This series may offer you practical suggestions on exercises to incorporate into your own workouts, or simply inspire you to get in shape and embody the kind of strength and fitness that would make your grandpa proud!

We Did Not Evolve to Sit at Desks All Day

While I exercise 5-6 days a week, most of the rest of my week is spent at my desk.  The information age (the age we’re in today) is easily the worst. Within the digital world we can get almost anything we want with very little movement required. All it takes is a quick Google search and a couple of clicks. In under an hour, dinner is on your table without you having to do a lick.

As a quick test, try this now: Standing feet shoulder-width apart, can you reach down and touch your toes without bending your knees? If not, you've lost one of the most basic movement capabilities you should have as a human.

Jonathan Mead has a great post with some great advise and routines to improve ourselves.

First Half Marathon Since I Was Diagnosed with Cancer

Twenty months ago I was diagnosed with Lung Cancer stage 4, and last week I was proud of myself for participating in the fist half marathon trail run since my diagnosis. I am training for the 2015 Transrockies event and as part of my training I am participating in races that are getting longer and more challenging.

This race is a hardy test for trail runners of any level, The North Face Endurance Challenge New York winds along the western shores of the Hudson River and through the craggy foothills of the Catskill Mountains. There were plenty of rocks and challenging terrain along the course to keep me engaged. It was a lot of fun and I learned that I still have work to do on my strength and nutrition leading to my summer race of 56 miles over 3 days.

This is what Supportersize is all about

Training for Transrockies 2015

My week is filled with physical activities between soccer, yoga, trail running and surfing. But this year I took a new challenge; participate in the PepsiCo Transrockies Run3, a 3 day trail run in Colorado, 58 miles, 8,600 feet elevation gain. I decided to take this challenge upon myself to promote my non profit, Supportersize which organizes physical activities for people with Caner.



To prepare for this event I retained a coach, Jacob Puzey of McMillan Running which hopefully can help me prepare for this unusual event. I am very excited, about the training and about the event itself, and hopefully the attention I can get for Supportersize, it is so important to get people who live with Cancer active.

How Exercise May Aid Cancer Treatment

I registered to participate in the Transrockies 2015 as a way to draw attention to a very important (to me) cause - promoting exercise to people impacted by Cancer.
This article in the New York Times is a great story with some facts about what I know from personal experience.

Getty images

Running for Life

Ariella Gintzler wrote a great article at #Trailrunnermag. It's great not because it is about me, but because it really captures what my family and I are going through, living with cancer and trying to build a momentum behind the non profit I founded #Supportersize that provides free outdoor and exercise events and physical activities for people living with cancer.

5 ways to measure your running success – beyond the PR

I just realized that I started running around the age of 13, that is 37 years of running! Initially it was a way to stay in shape for another sport I was focused on; until the age of 21 I played volleyball semi professionally and running was part of training. Later I just ran on regular basis to stay in shape until I was 38 when I picked up Triathlon, at which point running was the sport.

Now, again, running is a way to stay in shape and support my battle with cancer.  Ashley Marcin lists in this article few other ways to measure your running success.


Photo credit: João Lavinha / Foter / CC BY

Running Gear and 5 unusual suggestions...

One of my favorite things about running is that it is cheap, and very simple to execute - get dressed and go... but I also love the gadgets! I love the data: how many miles I ran this week, elevation gains, how many hours I trained last week and so on. I started recording data on Mapmyrun.com shortly after I was diagnosed with cancer and went through surgery and chemo therapy. I wanted to follow my progress towards recovery and regaining my fitness. 

JASON FITZGERALD wrote a cool article here about the topic.

Photo credit: Ran Yaniv Hartstein / Foter / CC BY

What makes a trail runner?

I started running trails several years ago, after I stopped competing in Triathlons and before I was diagnosed with Cancer. Trail running is a great way to stay in shape, get a whole body work out and get in touch with nature. I am now training for The PepsiCo TransRockies 3 Day Run, a multi-day point-to-point trail running race which allows athletes to access and traverse wild and fantastic scenery.

I decided to do this to build awareness to the non profit I founded which helps people with Cancer get active and stay in shape. This article is a great review of what is so great about trail running.

Photo credit: spyjournal / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Marijuana, Cannabis, and Weed - what does it have to do with trail running?

I became quite familiar with the benefits of Marijuana while going through Chemotherapy. None of the medications prescribed by the Dr. were as effective as weed in fighting the nasty side effects.

Now I learned that it has great impact on Trail Runners, read more in Scott Dunlap's great post on Cannabis and Trail Running. There is a running club called "Run on Grass" great name....

Training, Radiation and a great Indoor Cycling for People with Cancer

Image by Alex Vachon

The past few weeks started with radiation to my brain to eliminate few stubborn lesion and ended with a great Indoor Cycling event, organized by the non profit I started after my diagnosis - Supportersize. The event was awesome, we had about 40 people in the room and the instructor, Kristen James served the perfect combination of inspiration, motivation and hard work.

Image by Roni Chastain

The idea behind Supportersize is to organize outdoor (and indoor when weather is too much for most folks) physical activities for people affected by Cancer and their families. I decided to participate in the 2015 Transrockies Trail Run to build awareness to Supportersize and motivate people with the disease to go out and be active, "Get busy living..." I am telling my story in this blog.

So far, two months into my training, I was challenged quite a bit: started with a nasty calf muscle injury that took three months to heal, and as I was getting better I had to undergo targeted radiation to my brain which added another layer of fatigue, but I am over these two set backs and hopefully moving full steam ahead, just need the trails to get uncovered from 2ft of snow.

Fitness Benefits of Snowshoeing

Weather in NY has been horrific lately with all the snow and freezing temperatures but I wanted to keep training for the 2015 Transrockies event, which meant I had to find ways to get out and continue my outdoor trail running. 

I picked up a pair of snow shows that my wife purchased last year and went out on the trail, it was an awesome day. Just for the kick I looked for some data on the benefits of snow showing, and loved what I found, check this out

5 Tips To Keep Hiking In The Winter

Winter this past two months has been brutal, I never stopped exercising outdoors but going on a trail with that much snow and ice is too much.

I like Casey Schreiner's ideas, although it is probably a lot easier for him writing from South Cal... Read More Here.