Johnson Fitness & Wellness Blog
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Coaching
Exercises You Should Be Doing, But Probably Aren’t: Windmill Stretch
Now that you’ve mastered Squats and Pushups, let’s focus on the Windmill Stretch. While this is more of a stretching-type exercise, it also goes a long way in improving overall mobility and is a great way to self-assess your own movement on a daily basis. Most people cringe when they think of stretching and, I’m the […]
Wellness
Yoga Poses to Prevent Low Back Pain
To avoid low back pain, the demands of running require a strong core, good spinal mobility, and open hips and sacral joints. Adding these yoga postures into your running cool-down or including them in your active recovery workouts will build the strength and flexibility that is needed to maintain and efficient running form and avoid […]
Coaching
How To Train For Your First 10K
Training Plan For Your First 10K The 10K distance is the perfect race for those who want to run a little farther than their usual 2-3 miler, build their running endurance and push their limits beyond a 5K. Start from where you are. In this post you’ll find a training plan that is geared to […]
Coaching
How To Do Push-ups
While the exercise for this week’s “Exercises You Should Be Doing, But Probably Aren’t” may be one of the most common exercises on the planet, it’s also one of the most butchered. So I thought it would be appropriate to go a little more in-depth as to what constitutes a proper push-up. Most people have […]
Wellness
7 Yoga Poses To Help You Recover From Low Back Pain
The first portion of this blog series focused on rehabilitative postures to lengthen and open places that cause pain in the low back. When your muscles and fascia have open and aligned sufficiently to release compression, the phase of recovery is directed at maintaining that healthy position while introducing movement. This trains your body to […]
Coaching
How to Use Incline on a Treadmill to Boost Your Calorie Burn (3 Workouts + Infographics)
The slap in the face of 37 chilly degrees during my morning run has me contemplating switching to treadmills for a few days each week. Running on treadmills has it perks, beyond the obvious benefit of being indoors during colder months. They’re a helpful tool if you want to improve your natural running pace or burn more calories […]
Coaching
How to Run on a Treadmill
There’s no doubt that running on a treadmill is a bit different than running outside but, if done properly, treadmill running can have just as many benefits (if not more) than running outside. One of the great positives to treadmill running is that it is safe! No uneven terrain, no need to be worried about […]
Wellness
Stop Low Back Pain with These Yoga Moves Especially for Runners
If your low back is aching, you’re not alone. Approximately 80% of the population experiences low back pain at some point. Runners can be especially challenged by low back issues for many reasons, including the core stabilization required to hold the spine in a healthy position during running, as well as the tightness that running […]
Wellness
Mental Health Series: Why Self-Care is Important
The classic struggle It’s the classic struggle of finding balance between work and life. While we know that we need to recharge, it’s easy to feel like a hero when we spend all of our time working and caring for others. Our American ideals of hard work and emphasis on achievement make it easy to […]
Motivation
Active Vacation Series: What’s Happening in the Race Scene
It’s never been a better time to be a runner. Whether you’re thinking of getting started on a running program, or have been running for years, there is a plethora of fun races to strike the match of motivation. Here are some of my favorite running race trends. Themed Races These races tend to hover […]
Coaching
Use Yoga to Improve Your Run: Part II
In part I of this series we talked about how to strengthen the hamstrings with yoga to improve your running. Read on for Part II as we discuss hamstring stretches. As a complex muscle group comprised of three separate muscle segments, the hamstrings are particularly prone to imbalances that are impacted by our repetitive daily […]
Motivation
Climb Every Mountain, and Everything Else in Your Life Too
This article is the first in the Active Vacation Series. One person’s finish line is another’s mountain summit. Mountain climbing and hiking is one of the fastest growing sports and it’s easy to understand why. It combines the motivation of a challenge with the scenery of the great outdoors and requires travel to beautiful destinations […]
Wellness
Barre Workouts You Can Do At Home: Part II
In Part I of this series, Joli explained the benefits and history of Barre workouts. Here she gives us a basic workout you can start doing at home today. The “fold-over” series Adding barre exercises to your home workouts is a powerful way to specifically target the glutes and core. Barre instructor and international instructor, […]
Wellness
Barre Workouts You Can Do At Home: Part I
One of the hottest trends in fitness right now is a fresh take on an old classic … barre workouts. Offered by boutique studios around the country, these workouts emphasize precision and the development of long, lean muscle by building on the techniques of yoga, pilates, and dance. Using a few simple props and the […]
Coaching
Three Treadmill Workouts to Improve Speed
I’m transitioning my running to the treadmill this season and wondered how I can work on my speed. Do you have any tips or a workout you would recommend? Thanks, Amy Kudos to you. The treadmill is an effective and safe way to continue your running workouts as the weather shifts to the winter. It […]
Motivation
Harness Psychology To Beat Motivational Struggles
Do you find that you’re super motivated to exercise and eat well for a few days, only to have your motivation fizzle out once reality sets in? That’s because willpower is a limited resource. The key to staying motivated for the long-term is to build healthy habits and systems that force you to stay on […]