3-Day Coaches’ Favorite Training Tunes and 3-Day Prep

It’s official. Our first 3-Day of 2019 is less than a month away! Can you believe it?! That means that some of you have less than 30 days to get your training up to speed and hit your fundraising goals. But don’t panic! We have your back, with all the best in training and fundraising advice from our 3-Day blog…and your coaches!

To start, we have a brand-new playlist on Spotify with all of your coaches’ favorite training tunes. These are the songs that get them moving when they need that little bit of extra motivation to train.

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To make sure you’re training safely, read all the posts from our Healthy Living blog series with American Bone Health and Amgen. This series was designed to prepare your mind, body and bones for the 3-Day. Beyond that, you can find more tips about healthy living here, plus advice and support to keep you on track for the 3-Day and beyond.

Once you’ve got your training well in hand, we know fundraising will still be on your mind. In order to make the most of your fundraising efforts, check out the latest from our blog:

You should also reach out to your local coaches! Have you connected with them on Facebook yet? They all have their own pages and are amazing resources for all your 3-Day needs. They will also be posting about upcoming event deadlines like online check-in and more. You can see all their pages here:

Before you know it, it will be time for the 3-Day, so everyday counts! We can’t wait to welcome you back to our 3-Day family once again ?

Top Ways to Make the Most of Your Next 3-Day Training Walk

The weather is getting warmer. The days are getting longer. It’s training walk season! It’s an exciting time, but training walks are also an important part of your 3-Day experience. They ensure you’re as ready as possible for your 60-mile journey, giving you time to bond with teammates and keeping you moving during these gorgeous spring and summer months. Here are some simple tips to make the most of your next training walk.

Make sure you’re prepared: Our blog is chock full of posts on the best ways to plan your training walk, including this highly informative one from Coach Liz. She recommends using the 3-Day training app, Google Maps and more tools to make sure your walk goes smoothly.
Do your research: Going for a walk may not seem like a scientific endeavor, but with a little research, you can find ways to optimize your walk. Thanks to our ongoing “Healthy Living” blog series with Amgen and American Bone Health, we have learned about the intricacies of getting your feet and legs ready in the right From improving your stance to increasing your flexibility, little changes can make a big difference.

Check the weather: Is it going to rain? How hot is it going to be? Different weather conditions can drastically change how your walk is going to go. Check in advance!
Look at the calendar: There are tons of training walks already planned by your coaches and local training walk leaders, so take advantage of those! Join one of the walks that are already happening, to meet people and get tips for your next walk. Check both our training walk calendar at The3Day.org/TrainingWalks and our local gatherings calendar at The3Day.org/Calendar.
Get some good tunes going: Nothing fuels a walk like some fun music! And we have the perfect playlist for you. Our Music Monday playlist on Spotify is made from songs that you suggested to get you moving when you need inspiration.
Make it themed for extra fun: Who doesn’t love an excuse to dress up and be silly? We have some easy theme ideas to add some flair to your training.
Set up a schedule: This is super easy with the 3-Day Training App, but you can also use your own system. Scheduling training in advance will help you stay on track leading up to your 3-Day and makes it more difficult to skip a day.
Add teambuilding into your walk: Grow your team while you train! Ask every team member to bring someone who’s not yet signed up for the 3-Day to the training walk and use it as a chance to show people the 3-Day spirit. You can also incorporate a teambuilding activity at the start or end of the walk to really get people excited to walk to together…and maybe add some new members to your 3-Day family!

Post about it on social media: Don’t forget to share photos! Use #The3Day and #Commit3Days on all social media so we can see your smiling faces ? Also make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get more training tips, alerts about training walks and more cool 3-Day info.
Always stay safe: You don’t have the awesome Safety Crew with you on your training walks, so it never hurts to add an extra safety reminder!

For tips about healthy living, click here for advice and support to keep you on track for the 3-Day and beyond. Thanks to the support of Amgen and in partnership with American Bone Health, the Healthy Living series was designed to prepare your mind, body and bones for the 3-Day.

Healthy Living: Preparing Your Mind, Body and Bones for the 3-Day

Thanks to the support of Amgen and working in partnership with American Bone Health, we are excited to provide you with a special series of emails, blogs and additional resources that will help prepare you for this life-changing event, as well as year-round health. To catch up on all of the blogs and emails about Healthy Living, click here.

Why You Should Add Load To Your Workout

Special Guest Contributor: Wendy Kohrt, PhD

We often hear that weight-bearing activity is critical for bone health, but many people don’t know what that means or how to achieve it. If you watch children play, they’ve got it right! Running, jumping and cartwheeling are the kinds of activities that help them build their bones.

Weight-bearing, or weight-loading, activities stimulate bone building by triggering the cells to take in more calcium and other minerals and, ultimately, to increase bone mineral density. In contrast, “unloading” the bones — prolonged bed rest, for example — result in loss of bone mineral density. While normal daily activities are sufficient in preventing the harmful effects of unloading, significant “loading” is still needed to increase bone density.

Researchers measure load in multiples of body weight. For example, when we stand, the gravitational load on our bones equals our body weight. Walking generates loading forces that are 1- to 2- times body weight. Running or jogging adds even more load — say 3 times body weight. To improve bone mineral density, you need to consider higher impact activities that add 4+ times body weight, like jumping or strength training.

Always start with loading activities that are right for you. As you train to walk in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day, work to increase your walking stride. If you are running, consider adding higher-impact activities. Weight or resistance training is beneficial to muscles and with enough load, it can stimulate bone building as well. Avoid excessive loading to prevent injury.

If you have low bone density or osteoporosis, talk with a professional who has been trained to work with individuals at risk for fractures on any activity that will add load to your bones. Use proper form and body mechanics to protect your spine.

The 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate physical activity every week. For bone health, the guidelines advise strength training for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. Doing many repetitions with light weights is not the way to go. To add enough load on the bones, the muscle you are working should fatigue within eight to ten repetitions or fewer.

Be safe and smart with your training and remember, loading up your workouts will keep your bones going strong for the 3-Day and beyond!

Dr. Wendy Kohrt received her Ph.D. in Exercise Science from Arizona State University and established the research group Investigations in Metabolism, Aging, Gender, and Exercise at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. She is a national leader in aging research focused on the prevention of disease and the maintenance of functional independence.