Mapping a Route to Fitness

Springtime fitness tip of the day: Go sit at your computer.

No, I'm not suggesting you slouch there all day moving nothing but your fingers. But exploring some online resources can help your outdoor cardio exercise, whether you're a walker, runner or cyclist.

Basically, these Web sites do for your body what sites like MapQuest and Google Maps do for your car: let you plan, measure and map your fitness "trips." In fact, some of them make use of the Google Maps technology to let you locate, create or share routes anywhere from Dupont Circle to San Francisco to Tuscany. (Hey, an exerciser can dream, can't she?)

Here's a rundown:

Log on to http://www.walkjogrun.net, and you'll see a map of the United States and a space to type in a location name, address or Zip code. Want to go for a lunchtime run in downtown D.C.? Enter Zip code 20036, and -- voila. Zoom in further with the "+" scale.

Because 20036 has been heavily trod by folks who spend lots of their non-running time at a computer, you'll notice a bunch of existing routes marked by numbered yellow diamonds. Check them out (you'll find brief descriptions on the right of your screen), and you might find exactly what you want.

But maybe you want to craft your own route, or compute the miles covered and calories burned on a route that you've walked or run. In that case, click on "Create a route," and then click on the starting point on the map. Make sure to use the key at the bottom of the screen to enter your weight and pace so you'll get customized data about your workout.

Then build your route with additional clicks. As you do, you'll see your distance and time being tracked on the right of your screen. (If there's a curve along your route, you'll have to use several clicks to break it into small straight segments.) You can reposition the map by using the directional arrows or by holding down the left button on your mouse and dragging. When you're done, you can save your route. (Creating a free account is optional, but you'll need it to record changes to your route.)

Much of the technique is the same at http://www.mapmyrun.com, which is somewhat more cluttered but offers some fun options. When you log on, you'll see a map of much of the world. (Go ahead, check out all the bike routes in Sydney!) As you map your route, you can opt to see changes in elevation along the way. And if you register (free), you can create and maintain an online training log.

You never know where in the world you'll land when you call up http://www.sanoodi.com. Once I was greeted with the map of a route in Kalamazoo, the next time with a route in Spain. (Had a different spot in mind? Enter it in the search field.) Sanoodi also ventures beyond the run-cycle maps to show you routes for activities from kayaking to cross-country skiing.

One site that's not powered by Google Maps but that's very helpful for cyclists is http://www.pedaling.com. It offers more than 1,000 routes in the United States and Canada. You can specify not only the location, length, hilliness and type of environment you want, but also the amount of traffic you'll tolerate.

Finally, to keep yourself honest about how much activity you're logging, you may want to look at http://aarp.getfitonroute66.com-- and not only if you're of AARP age. You register (again, free), choose a classic Route 66-era vehicle as your marker, and then use it to track your workouts as you make your virtual way along that legendary highway. Each minute of exercise you enter equals one mile. No, it's not scrupulously scientific, but it's kind of fun. And if it gives you a quirky incentive to get up and exercise, I'm all for it.

Speaking of which, it's time to get off the computer. Grab your route and go. ·

Lennie Magida is certified as a personal trainer by the American Council on Exercise. There's no Moving Crew chat today. Catch our online fitness discussion next Tuesday and write to us anytime atmove@washpost.com.

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Fitness Epiphanies -- and Things That Hold Us Back

It's two weeks into 2007, and chances are you've already broken your new year's resolutions. We know how it goes.

Now that Redskins football is over, we recall with regret the number of pigs-in-a-blanket that we ate in a futile but spirited effort to cheer on the team. So we make the same promise to ourselves that we do every year: to start working out.

Right. Just as soon as Joe Gibbs leads us to the playoffs.

The problem is that a new year's resolution -- essentially a glorified to-do list -- frequently isn't enough to inspire dramatic life change. Lasting change has to come from a deeper place.

Ed Ingebretsen, director of training for Results, The Gym, believes motivation stems from two emotions: fear and desire. We are afraid life will get worse if we do nothing, although some research suggests that's not enough to get many of us moving. We fervently hope we can reverse that course.

There are some lucky people who seem as though they're born with such drive. Like, say, Yankees player Derek Jeter or boxer Laila Ali. But for many of us, inspiration is more elusive. It comes in a flash, like an epiphany -- a moment when we have run out of excuses and are forced to make a decision.

"You have to get to a certain point in your head, and then it's for real," said 36-year-old Jennifer Brandel of Arlington, who has long struggled with her weight. "You'll actually do it."

For Brandel, that point came about a month ago, when she realized that she had only one pair of pants left that fit.

"It's so disturbing when I walk by a store window or any reflective surface, and I think, 'Who is that chubby girl? Oh, my God, it's me,' " Brandel said.

She signed up with a personal trainer. Already, she has noticed a change in her posture and mental state.

"You have your worst moment, and that's it," she said. "You're done with the wavering."

Ingebretsen said he can spot many clients seeking that moment of inspiration when they walk through the health club's doors for their first consultation. Some get it; some don't. But those who do see results, such as one guy who walked in unable to do a push-up and six months later had lost 75 pounds, Ingebretsen said.

"That moment of desire, unencumbered by other things, may not happen again soon," he said.

A co-worker of mine has started taking prenatal yoga classes even though her baby bump is only now becoming visible. She had been a little suspicious of the classes before -- would it be too touchy-feely? -- but then she had her epiphany. A friend had exercised heavily all through her pregnancy, including intensive Brazilian butt-lifting classes. When she finally went into labor, her doctor watched her push in amazement.

"What have you been doing?" he marveled. My co-worker was sold. She signed up for her first prenatal yoga session shortly after that.

My epiphany came in 1999, in Paris, where I was partying as hard as only a college sophomore unleashed in the City of Light with her girlfriends could: We piled on the booze, cheese, street crepes oozing butter and Nutella. We teetered on ridiculously high heels. We partied so hard once that two of us almost missed the bus back to our guest house.

She -- a former gymnast and a formidable swimmer -- sprinted to the stop, arriving just before the bus began to pull away. I huffed and puffed behind her, my lungs unused to powering anything more strenuous than a brisk walk from a parked car to the mall.

That's when it hit me: I needed to get in shape. I was 19.

My self-assessment shouldn't have come as a surprise. Growing up, I was always picked last for kickball, and my high school math team didn't require any physical exertion. Sure, I had occasionally pumped soup cans to the TV show "Body Electric" and even bought a Jane Fonda workout video. But I rarely broke a sweat -- and it never bothered me until that moment when I realized the bus, not to mention my life, was passing me by.

So I decided to start working out. It began with a weekly aerobics class at my college gym, where at first I thought I would pass out mid-grapevine from the shock. Eventually, I added ballet and hip-hop dance classes and jogs around the park.

Seven years later and 15 pounds lighter, it has snowballed into an AIDS marathon and twice-weekly sessions with a personal trainer. Finally, I can cross "start exercising" from my new year's resolutions.

Now, if only I could stop eating Popeye's. ·

Tell us what inspired you to change your life and get in shape. Entries should be 200 words or less. Send them tomove@washpost.com. No fitness chat this week. We'll be back online Jan. 23.

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Fitness in a Time of Mold and Pollen

Okay, so you're buying tissues in bulk these days. You're coughing and sneezing, cursing the pollen count and -- maybe worst of all, if you're a committed jogger like me -- having your usual hour's run come to a wheezing halt after 20 minutes.

Ah, spring in Washington. (Our motto: "Even if you never had allergies before, you'll have 'em here." Comes in a close second to "it's the humidity" in local folklore.)

But maybe it's not allergies you're battling. Maybe it's something more serious: asthma. I've been fighting the condition all my life and never knew it until a few years ago, when those abortive runs were diagnosed first as signs of exercise-induced asthma and later allergic asthma as well. For me, April really is the cruelest month, when I'm longing to run outdoors and finding it almost impossible.

Many adults (like me) grew up when only those really dire cases of choking were recognized as asthma, and our symptoms were brushed off as "sensitivities" or "sinus problems." But asthma is the most commonly undiagnosed condition in the country, according to Washington immunologist Henry Fishman, and it kills 3,500 to 5,000 Americans every year. In fact, you may have both allergies and asthma: Fishman says that 80 percent of asthmatics have allergies, and 20 percent of those diagnosed with allergies have asthma as well. And since asthma can be progressive, the season of the AQI (air quality index, for the uninitiated) should signal that it's time to consult an expert.

But Fishman does encourage asthmatics and allergy sufferers to exercise, once the doctor gives the okay. "It's good for the brain, good for the heart, it's good for the bones and good for the soul."

For springtime exercisers, it's particularly important to know your enemy. Fishman, who has consulted on numerous radio, TV and Web site programs, says an asthma attack begins when the trigger allergen is breathed in or when the nasal passages are cooled or dried out. So while it seems a no-brainer to shift to indoor exercise during allergy season, it's not that simple. Some asthmatics react to swimming, for instance: Mold or water-borne pollen brushes the nose, which is being cooled by the water, and . . . boom, asthma has you spluttering.

(Parents, you'll want to pay double attention: Asthma is the most common chronic illness in children, but many teens become asymptomatic. Their asthma has not disappeared; it has just gone underground and may reappear later. So talk to your child's coach about any coughing or sluggishness; better yet, take the kids to a doctor before signing them up.)

Regardless, listen to your body when you exercise. If the pollen is only an annoyance, that's one thing. If you feel faint or have trouble working out, cease and desist. "It is possible to run through an asthma episode," Fishman says, "but it's a terrible idea. . . . Macho and asthma don't mix." Six-time Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee would agree; she ignored her diagnosis for 10 years until a near-fatal attack in 1993.

Meanwhile, limit irritation. For mild allergy symptoms, an over-the-counter decongestant or antihistamine may help. (Fishman likes loratadine [Claritin, Alavert] and cromolyn sodium [NasalCrom].) For more-bothersome symptoms, consult your doctor: Fishman is adamant that no OTC asthma medicine is safe.

His other recommendations for allergy-challenged exercise enthusiasts: Take medication 30 minutes before a workout, to give it time to get into your system. Wear a mask or bandanna. Head out early -- around 5 or 6 a.m. (before sunlight activates tree and flower pollen) -- or late (after it has closed down). Run after rain, which washes pollen out of the air, or even through it.

Here are some tricks I've picked up: Wear sports goggles or a headband to prevent sweat from dribbling pollen into your eyes. Look for running gloves with terry cloth backs; they're good for wiping runny noses while capturing the pollen so you can't spread it around. Wash your hands the minute you walk in the door. Deposit your exercise clothes directly into the wash.

Even if you don't generally wear eye makeup -- this works for men, too -- buy a jar of hypoallergenic makeup remover pads and clean your eyelashes, where allergens nest; eyedrops are soothing, too. Use a saline solution or nasal spray as you get into the shower. Resist opening the car windows; pollen will stick to your dashboard and upholstery for a long time. Turn on the AC and adjust the thermostat instead.

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The Stuff of Fitness

Like any community, the fitness village works best when everybody shares. So we were pleased that many of you responded to last week's column about some of the more curious new products at a fitness trade show with your own reports about the stuff that makes your workouts more fun, effective or bearable. Your input is especially illuminating since here at Crew HQ we tend to use whatever is lying around -- paperweights, traffic cones, congresspersons in recess -- to get our exercise.

Bernard Tate of Manassas swears by kettlebells -- free weights that resemble cannonballs with handles on top. Despite their simplicity, they require caution: The design practically invites users to swing the weights around (for example, while raising it overhead for a shoulder exercise), increasing the chances of whacking oneself.

Alas, you still have to lift the things to get any benefit. Poke around on Google and you'll learn that kettlebells constitute a kind of underground Russophilic religion in the strength training world. Converts rave about how kettlebells build functional strength, lean muscle and explosive power. For basic information, visit http://www.kettlebell-training.com . For a view from the religion's orthodox wing, including photos of some pretty hard-core exercises, visit http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler78.htm .

Regular runner Jeremy Weiss of Arlington swears by (and undoubtedly sometimes at) his Garmin Forerunner , a wrist-worn GPS (global positioning system) device that measures pace, distance, rest intervals, calories burned and, in the advanced models, heart rate. The device lets you map and save routes and -- marking a seriously disturbing fitness trend -- includes an imaginary jogging partner who will let you know if you're behind (or ahead of) pace.

Like much GPS technology, the device often loses its signal in forests and, alas, you still have to actually run. (Sensing a trend here?) Basic model from $115; check it out at http://www.garmin.com/products/forerunner101/ .

Phil Kotiza of Oakton cited his Concept 2 rowing machine , which he credits with helping him shed 50 pounds in 15 months. (Note to those seeking motivation: He started with just five minutes per session.) Rowing machines provide an all-body workout with minimal impact on knees, hips, ankles and other joints. One caution: Use proper form to avoid back injury. (Technique and product information available at http://www.concept2.com ).

Think Kotiza couldn't have lost all that weight with one machine alone? You're right: He also uses an "old-fashioned 27-inch TV" that he parks in front of the rower.

Like your toys simple and portable? Kelly Metz of Derwood endorses the jump-rope.

"I used to travel to far-flung places for my job, some of which didn't even have hotels, let alone workout facilities," Metz told us, and then bragged about skipping twine in Congo, Indonesia, India, Barcelona, Berlin and Sao Paulo. We love the jump-rope because it offers a quick, efficient cardio workout with only one real caveat: If I am staying in the hotel room below you, take it outside.

Want to tell us more about, or ask about, your workout routines? Join us for our legendary, or at least occasionally amusing, live chat today 11:30 a.m. at http://www.washingtonpost.com .

-- John Briley

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