We’ve Got Your Back (Your Abs and Butt, Too)


I always feel like quitting before the end of a run. Why?

Quitter. Kidding! This is partly a physiological response called central fatigue and it happens to everyone. You’re going strong, your brain is producing serotonin (a happy-making chemical) and then—bam!—serotonin overload. “Any cardio you perceive as tough can trigger this reaction, telling your body to put on the brakes,” says Jean-François Perrier, Ph.D., associate professor of neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen. What to do? Perrier suggests adding “endurance days” of longer, slower cardio, which may train your brain to release less serotonin. And sometimes it’s not the serotonin: Your brain is saying, “Enough!” In that case, drape a towel over the treadmill monitor or leave your GPS home. You won’t fixate on your stats, so you’ll be more likely to go the distance.

How can I fit in fitness? I have no time. Like zero.

I hear ya. We’re all in the same boat. A simple trick that helps me is to equate daily exercise with brushing my teeth. You brush every day, probably twice, but I’m guessing you never stress about squeezing it in. Treat your workout the same way. Make it the gotta-do on your schedule, then plan everything else around it. And that doesn’t have to mean an hour at the gym. I’m all about quickie kick-your-own-ass routines with little to no equipment in 20 minutes max, even in a postage stamp–sized space. One of my favorite calorie sizzlers: Do 10 jump squats, then 20 jumping lunges; repeat five times. For bonus abs firming, finish that off with a one-minute plank. Go!

What’s the better postworkout way to refuel—a drink or a snack?

If you plan on chewing your snack (please do), your stomach doesn’t really know the difference. Teeth can mash up a solid until it’s more or less the same consistency as something you suck through a straw, so it absorbs almost as quickly, say SELF contributing experts Willow Jarosh, R.D., and Stephanie Clarke, R.D. That said, don’t eat or drink garbage. Guidelines from the pros: Keep it between 150 and 200 calories. Even if you killed that Spin class, pass on the sugar-bomb smoothie. Do eat or sip within two hours of exercise. Wait longer, blood sugar dips, hunger strikes, and you eat back the calories you busted your butt to burn. Last, make your snack about a 2 to 1 carb-protein ratio. That only sounds like scary math; it’s actually the perfect balance of carbs to refuel muscle and protein to rebuild it. Eat half an apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter, or 1/2 cup of lowfat cottage cheese and a banana, or swig an 8-oz glass of lowfat chocolate milk—they’ll all prime your body for your next great workout.

KEYWORDS: Fitness Tips
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