Gaining Your Second Wind
Hello all, and welcome to the very 1st blog post of SANE! It’s a new year with new goals, let’s make it all happen! Today I want to talk about the process of gaining your Second Wind. By definition, the Second Wind is a phenomenon in distance running, such as marathons or road running (as well as other sports), whereby an athlete who is too out of breath and tired to continue suddenly finds the strength to press on at top performance with less exertion.
I can remember back to my football playing days, we would run 2-a-day training days with endless conditioning drills in the blazing hot sun. I possessed great football skills but somewhat lacked when it came to superior athletic abilities. There was, however, an individual on the team who had that raw athletic gift. When everyone else became physically tired, this one individual had the ability to keep going and going. Somehow, he would tap into this extra reservoir of energy that everyone else just didn’t have. With his extra push, he also motivated the rest of us to persevere through those grueling workouts. He went on to receive numerous accolades and subsequently a full athletic scholarship to a major college. I always admired him and his talent but it was years later that I discovered a valuable piece of knowledge: ANYONE can obtain that coveted second wind during times of intense fitness training. It takes hard work and dedication to a nutritious diet but it is attainable. You don’t have to be a world class athlete or genetically gifted to have that second jolt of energy to finish your workout strong!
These days I can run for miles and miles without feeling much fatigue. Usually the 1st two miles are the toughest, but almost immediately after that 2nd mile I cross a physical threshold that allows me to run stronger and harder with ease. On days that I do the infamous CrossFit workouts, even though these workouts are designed to physically drain, I often finish them with energy to spare for more exercise. I have dedicated myself to my Nutrition 1st, and watched as my fitness aspirations and goals of becoming more efficient in the gym have fallen into place. Here are some steps that I have applied in my training to get where I am today.
1. Plan your fitness. Formulate a plan of what you want to accomplish in your fitness journey. Understand your body and your limitations and strengths. Know what gains you need to make in your respective area of fitness. Record your workouts in a book to keep up with what you are trying to accomplish. Schedule your workouts for the week and stick to them.
2. Rely on your nutrition. Make sure you are getting adequate protein and fiber in your diet. Be cognizant of what you eat especially on training days. Research the types of foods that will translate into energy to aid you on those workout days.
3. If you are looking to improve your cardiovascular health, improve your ability to go harder in the gym and subsequently reach the second wind, enlist the exercise regimens of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). This is an exercise strategy that alternates periods of short intense anaerobic exercise with less-intense recovery periods. For example: You are attempting a run for 20 minutes. For the 1st minute you will run with maximum intensity, followed by 1 minute of moderate running at least 50% of your maximum intensity, and so on and so forth. So in essence its sprint for 1 minute, jog for 1 minute and repeat for 20 minutes. Do not forget to warm-up and also to cool-down.
4. Push yourself and never give up. There are times when it will be tough, days when you will feel like quitting but you must push yourself to reach your goal. The second wind transcends fitness and is also a metaphor for life’s obstacles in general. There are times in life when situations will knock the wind out of us and put us on our back. But we mustn’t stay down. Stand up, and regain your wind and keep pressing on to victory!
