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Exercise helps fight weight gain. A healthy diet and regular physical activity may lower your risk for breast cancer. Maintaining a healthy weight may also lower your risk for breast cancer.

This year we are proud to provide the team with fitness tips and a training plan to get into shape. Never run a race before? Want to improve your time? Our fitness coordinator, Stefanie, will help whip you into shape! On this page are some fitness tips and a training plan, but for a more personalized plan, please contact stefanie@babesforacure.com.

Beginners

This plan can be followed by anyone who has never ran a 5k before, or for those of you who have walked the race in the past and want to try to run it this year!  

TIP 1. As a general rule for starting off in an exercise plan it is important to know the importance of stretching! Before/After exercising isn’t the only time you should stretch. It is recommended you stretch throughout the day (like when you first wake up or after taking a hot shower) so that your muscles can stay loose throughout the day. 

TIP 2. Most people think that since they should exercise they can eat more food. In general this is true, but you have to remember this doesn’t mean an extra handful of chips! Stick to foods with lots of fiber and energy, like apples, or celery and peanut butter. You will find that if you stick to high fiber, low fat foods you will have more energy to push yourself harder during your workouts. 

TIP 3. Most beginners tend to start off strong and then over-workout to the point that they end up giving up. Remember to start slow. It might take awhile for your body to get used to a workout routine, but by going slowly your body won’t go into “burn-out” mode. 

Intermediate

This plan is recommended for those who exercise regularly and for those “weekend” runners who run every now and then but stick to the bike/elliptical and would like to be able to increase their distance for running (ex: run 3-5 instead of the usual 1-2). 

TIP 1. If you tend to stick to the elliptical or bike most days of the week try mixing it up with running every other day. Even if you can’t run the full 3 miles at first try putting the treadmill on a lower speed and a higher incline (or find a big hill outside) and do that in between the times you feel like you need a quick breather. 

TIP 2. Do you like coffee? If so, one thing runners like to do before running is have a SMALL cup of joe before the race or training. This helps keep the blood flowing and gives you a little boost of energy before you start your workout. It also helps open your lungs up to increase the amount of oxygen your body takes in! 

TIP 3. When was the last time you bought a new pair of running shoes? If it was just last month, then make sure you break in your shoes really well before the race otherwise you can end up with blisters. If you haven’t bought new shoes since Britney Spears was on the Top Charts list then it’s time for you to get some new ones! Make sure that they are a good fit for your shoes, don’t go for fashion! The better the fit, the better you will run. 

ADVANCED

This plan is for active runners who are interested in working on increasing their mileage and decreasing their time. I wouldn’t recommend this plan for beginners or middle-intermediate runners only because it might be too hard to start off with and could cause “burn-out”.  

TIP 1. To help increase speed it’s important that you not only run but also focus on weight training. Most women think that weight training is for men and are afraid to bulk up, but if you train the right way you can actually increase muscle mass while looking leaner. Plus the more muscle your body has, the more calories you burn, even while at rest!  

TIP 2. With all the new health fads around it is important that you stick with ALL 5 major food groups. Carbs are good for a runner to eat because it is what helps provide the energy you need for your workouts. Make sure you aren’t eating “empty” carbs though. Trade white rice for brown, plain potatoes for sweet potatoes, white pasta for whole wheat pasta, etc.  

TIP 3. Interval training is more important than you may think when it comes to helping shave time off of your mile. You should do interval training AT LEAST once a week. When doing interval training you should never sprint more than a mile, and never rest more than you just ran. For example, if you sprint ½ a mile, then rest for no more than ½ a mile. If you sprint ¼ mile then rest only ¼ miles. If you want to decrease your time for a 5k then practice sprint interval training for no more than 4 miles at a time. Make sure you always do at least ½ mile warm up and ½ mile cool-down (these should not count towards your training goal).