7 Running Injuries and How to Avoid Them

Common Running Injuries and How to Avoid Them - Health.com S
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XHome >> Diet & Fitness >> Cardio Workouts >> 7 Running Injuries and How to Avoid ThemYour Running GuideGearTraining TipsWorkouts 7 Running Injuries and How to Avoid Them Logging lots of miles? Here's how to sidestep the most common pain-related issues. Pinterest BadgeTwitterStumbleUpon badge avoid-getting-hurt-runCredit: Getty Images

prev1 of 9nextReady, set, run!

by Alyssa Shaffer
From Health magazine

Running can be life-changing?a near-instant stress buster, a proven calorie blaster and a chance to impress yourself. But it also has a drawback: About half of all runners will get injured, according to Reed Ferber, director of the Running Injury Clinic at the University of Calgary, in Alberta, Canada.

It's not inevitable, though. "More than half of all injuries can be avoided just by listening to your body and preparing it better," says Lisa Callahan, MD, co-director of the Women's Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery, in New York City. That means wearing proper shoes, staying strong and addressing aches early. Here's how to run pain-free.

Next: Runner's knee

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Yoga Poses for Anxiety, Pain, and More

Yoga Poses for Anxiety, Pain, and More - Health.com S
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XHome >> Diet & Fitness >> Yoga & Pilates >> Best Life Now >> Yoga Poses for Anxiety, Pain, and MoreBest Life NowNutritionWell-BeingBeautyYour Shape Yoga Poses for Anxiety, Pain, and More A quick-and-easy yoga routine that will leave your mind and body refreshed. Pinterest BadgeTwitterStumbleUpon badge mcgee-yogaCredit: Jay Sullivan

prev1 of 5nextSoothe your mind and body

From Health magazine

Try this quick routine created by Health's yoga guru, Kristin McGee. It's designed to fight anxiety, ease backaches, cool hot flashes, and power up your libido.

Next: Child's Pose

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Most Popular16 Ways to Lose Weight Fast More11 Reasons Why You're Not Losing Belly Fat More24 Fat-Burning Ab Exercises (No Crunches!) MoreBest Superfoods for Weight Loss More10 Ways to Soothe a Sore Throat MoreThe Top Fat-Burning Foods More Healthy & HappyDiet & FitnessFood & RecipesBeauty & StyleHealth A-ZHealth.comHealthy & HappyDiet & FitnessFood & RecipesNews & ViewsHealth A-ZHealth MagazineSweepstakesHealth MobileVideosSite MapAbout UsContact UsFree NewslettersHelpAdvertise with HealthSocial Media Terms and ConditionsClick here for current ABC StatementHealth SpotlightHealth Magazine Customer ServiceSubscribeTablet EditionGive a GiftRenew Your SubscriptionStay Connected to Health.comSign Up for NewslettersBecome a Fan of HealthGet Health Twitter UpdatesGoogle+Subscribe to RSSJoin Healthy Voices

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The Truth About Low-Carb Diets

fear-carbs Does a plate of pasta strike terror in your heart? A burger in a bun make you break out in a cold sweat? You're not alone. These days, we're skipping the bread basket in record numbers (the volume of bread, buns and rolls sold in U.S. stores fell by 9.1 percent between 2006 and 2011) and shunning starchy vegetables. It seems like a new low-carb eating plan bursts on the scene every few months. And nearly one in three adults report that they're cutting down on or completely avoiding gluten, according to market-research firm NPD Group. "Carb-phobia has really taken over people's minds," says Kim Larson, RDN, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

But here's the thing: Eliminating carbs is risky business. "It's preposterous," says David Katz, MD, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center and author of Disease-Proof. "All plants are carbohydrate sources, so eating no carbs means eating no plant foods, period." Carbs are important for your brain and body; the right ones even reduce your risk of disease.

Yet the misconception that the fewer carbs you eat, the better persists among health- and diet-minded Americans. "Everyone is jumping on this bandwagon," Larson says. "But the science just does not bear it out." In fact, studies now suggest that going low-carb for a long period of time may be harmful to our health.

Related: The Truth About 10 Bogus Health Trends

You can't live without carbs
While many of us think of carbs as bread and pasta, they're in any food that comes from a plant, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds and legumes. "It's a huge, diverse class of foods," Dr. Katz explains.

To make carbohydrates, plants trap the sun's energy inside molecules of glucose—a simple sugar—then connect the glucose molecules together (sometimes along with the other two basic sugar building blocks, fructose and galactose) to create longer carb molecules such as sucrose and starch. When you eat that plant, your digestive system breaks the longer carbohydrate back down into glucose, which travels through your bloodstream into your cells. The cells process the glucose, releasing the captured energy and using it for fuel.

dont-eat-pasta Far from being poison, then, glucose sparks life. "If you're in a hospital and they need to get some energy into you, they'll use a glucose drip," says Joanne Slavin, PhD, professor of food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota and chair of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on Carbohydrates. Dr. Katz adds, "If you don't have enough glucose in your blood, you're dead. It's that simple."

While you don't have to eat carbs to get glucose into your blood (your body can manufacture it if needed), "carbohydrates are the most efficient fuel source that we have," says Heidi Schauster, RD, a nutrition therapist in Boston. Low-carb advocates (most famously Robert Atkins, MD) point out that your body can also use other fuel sources, such as protein or fatty acids, to power itself. But many experts say that this method of converting fats into so-called ketone bodies, known as ketogenesis, is much less efficient than using glucose for energy. And when too many ketone bodies are produced, the body is in a state of ketosis. "Ketosis can be tolerated for a short time, but in severe cases it could have very serious effects in the long term for the brain, as well as the kidneys, liver and skeletal system," Dr. Katz says.

Related: 11 Women Who Lost Weight Eating Healthy Carbs

Besides providing much-needed glucose, plants are our only source of dietary fiber. Like other carbohydrates, fiber is composed of many bonded sugar units, but human enzymes can't chop it up, so it passes relatively unscathed through much of the digestive tract. And it benefits you in many ways. "People who eat more fiber have less cardiovascular disease," Slavin says. "They also weigh less and gain less weight over time."

You probably know that fiber helps move food through your body, keeping you regular. In addition, some forms of fiber (including resistant starch, found in bananas, lentils and many other foods) are prebiotics, a type of carbohydrate that feeds the growth of "good" bacteria in your gut.

Not to mention, skipping carbs could mean falling short on essential nutrients. "Cutting out whole grains eliminates a good source of great nutrition, such as zinc, magnesium and B vitamins," Larson says. Steer clear of fruits and vegetables and you miss out on many vitamins and powerful antioxidants. These nutrients play a critical role in keeping us healthy long-term. "When we look at population-level studies of people who live well across the span of a lifetime," Dr. Katz notes, "they almost universally eat diets high in good carbohydrates."

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Your Half-Marathon Training Guide

half-marathon Running just might be the most convenient workout going. You don't need to be a skilled athlete, and there's no fancy equipment involved; just lace up your sneaks and go. It's also one of the most efficient ways to blast fat and burn calories—about 600 an hour.

Sure, walking has its benefits, but research shows that running kicks its butt when it comes to shedding pounds. One recent study of 47,000 runners and walkers, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., found that the runners burned more calories and had a far greater decrease in BMI over a six-year period. The joggers who started out heaviest (those with a BMI over 28) lost up to 90 percent more weight than the walkers did.

Dropping pounds and toning up are hardly the only benefits of this killer cardio workout: You'll also reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, boost your mood, temper stress and build muscle, especially in the lower body and core. You don't even need to dedicate a lot of time to reap these rewards; do 20 to 30 minutes, three to four days a week, and you'll see significant improvement.

Ready to hit the road? Here's a plan for experienced runners. And it's smart to add in one day of cross-training (think cycling or swimming) to rev up calorie burn and help prevent injury. Soon enough, you'll feel as if you were born to run.

Your stats: You run three to four times a week for at least five miles nonstop.

The goal: Boost your overall performance—speed, endurance and distance—over the course of 12 weeks, then challenge yourself with a half-marathon.

Your coach: Andrew Kastor is coaching director at Asics L.A. Marathon and head coach at Mammoth Track Club in Mammoth, California.

The plan: In Week 1, run three to four miles at an easy pace (think 5 on a scale of 1 to 10) on your first day; four to five miles on Days 2 and 3; and five to six on Day 4. In subsequent weeks, keep doing one easy-pace day, and vary half-mile-long to mile-long speed intervals. The detailed schedule also tells you how to add in race-pace workouts, so you can hold your speed for longer distances.

HERE'S YOUR GUIDE: Expert Half-Marathon Training Plan

Train smarter!

1. Buddy up
Face it, sometimes you just don't feel like going for a run, especially when you've been seriously challenging yourself. Having someone by your side is a great way to make the miles more tolerable and maintain your performance. "When you train with a group or pack, you almost always run a little harder or faster," says Kastor. Grab a friend or find a new jogging pal at buddyup.com or the Road Runners Club of America (rrca.org). Choose partners who are a bit better than you; you want a challenge but don't want to get burned out or injured.

2. Take the plunge
Kastor, who works with many elite runners (including Olympian Deena Kastor, his wife), recommends a cold bath right after a hard workout. "It helps reduce inflammation by constricting the blood vessels, so there's less blood pooling through the muscle tissue, and you're not as sore the next day," he explains. Massage can speed recovery, too: Give yourself a five-minute rubdown using a foam roller; roll slowly up and down your legs, butt, shoulders and back. You can also alleviate soreness by gently pressing into the area with your fingers.

3. Write down your goal
You're amping up your workouts—pump up your motivation, too! Jot your goal time for the half-marathon or just 13.1 on a sticky note, and post it onto your mirror. As Kastor puts it: "Seeing that number will remind you to make the best choices for your body."

MORE: 7 Tips for Running Your First Race

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Think Yoga

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Walk Right

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