"Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors.
Try to be better than yourself."

--William Faulkner

Here at A Crazy Idea we truly believe the importance of a balanced and healthy diet as well as regular exercise. Below we have created simple exercise regimes you can follow, either to get you up and active, or running schedules you can follow to get you fit in order to partake at any level in the Intertrust Cayman Islands Marathon on December 3, 2011.

Our exercise schedules come in three forms: Beginner walker, Beginner runner and Novice runner and will be updated each week.

Week 4: September 8 to September 14, 2011

Each week A Crazy Idea will provide a suggested schedule of activity for those individuals who are looking to get a little bit crazy and dwell outside their comfort zone as they prepare for and complete their first Half Marathon (13.1 miles).

Before we go any further we would first like to advise everyone following our program to consult your physicians before starting the fitness routine. Your health is of the utmost importance and not to be neglected. Regular exercise can help control blood glucose levels and body weight. It can reduce the risk of heart disease as well as strengthen bones and muscles and even though moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking, is safe for most people, health experts suggest that you talk to your doctor before you start any exercise program.

Week 4: Too busy and too tired

We are now just over 12 weeks away from this year’s Intertrust Marathon and the Crazy Idea people are still working diligently to recruit people to get outside their comfort zone, to get active and consider signing up for the December 4th event. Over the past few weeks if I had a quarter for all the various excuses I’ve heard not too enter I’d have raised a significant sum for the Cayman Islands Diabetes Association already. This week I am going to address two of the most commonly heard excuses used for not making your health a priority “I’m too busy to exercise” and “I’m too tired to exercise”.

For those of you who are “too busy to exercise” you’ll be happy to know that you are among the majority that use this most commonly cited excuse for not exercising. However, research also shows that those who exercise regularly are just as busy with their jobs, families and other responsibilities as those who don’t. Still think you are too busy? Not everyone may have the time to train for a 100 mile run or even want to for that matter but a recent article in the BBC summarized the research of the Lancet Study and showed that just 15 minutes of exercise a day can boost life expectancy by three years and cut death risk by 14%. To put what you can accomplish into perspective, in 3 years our newly added third runner, Gerry Martinez, lost 180lbs, achieved a fitness level that allowed him to run 100 miles and significantly decreased his pre-existing health risks. It is easy to be “too busy” to exercise or to put off exercising until life slows down but unfortunately life doesn’t work that way, and it rarely slows down. If there is one thing I’ve learned during my time in Cayman there is always a deadline around the corner, a birthday to celebrate, a visitor coming to the island, a social event to attend or a leaving due for a departing friend. There is always something going on and because of it I’ve learned to become creative when scheduling my exercise. Luckily each day has 24 hrs. Some days I exercise in the morning before work or a midday weekend social. Other days I scoot to the gym on my lunch hour and most days I exercise in the evenings. I’ve known co-workers who would get their daily exercise by running or cycling to and from work. You need to find what will work best for you. You’ll also notice the schedule I provide each week is time based. That is no coincidence. If I ask you to walk/run 3 miles on a Wednesday the time to complete that work out would vary depending on a number of variables (i.e. how you feel that day, how intense you plan to train, the weather outside, etc.). However, by asking you to walk/run for 30 minutes you know in advance exactly how long you are going to train for on that given day and exactly how much time you need to set aside on that day. It is up to you to make it a priority. One final point, before moving onto those who are “too tired”. While you may be busy trying to organize your daily schedule you’ll have noticed your health has no social calendar. Those of you who have dealt with an untimely illness, such as while on vacation, can attest to that. Your health certainly doesn’t wait for life to slow down or for a deadline to be met and if it is not made a priority it has no qualms about slowing you down.

Many evenings I’ll come home from a long day at the office, both tired and stressed, and wonder how I’m going to muster the energy to get through my scheduled daily work out. Thankfully past experience has taught me that while I may not feel like exercising the moment I walk through my front door I know that once I have a quick snack and start my work out I’ll soon forget how tired and stressed I am. In fact, I almost always feel significantly better after I’ve exercised and appreciate the fact that I ignored the luring calls of the couch. Yes, my couch does speak to me but the pick me up that comes from exercising is far more comforting than my couches supportive cushioning. It’s a fact that exercising will make you feel less tired and once you start exercising on a regular basis you will have more energy ALL the time. Exercise is also a great way to relieve stress which if not dealt with can have a negative effect on your health. High levels of cortisol (the “stress hormone”) is known to contribute to impaired cognitive performance, blood sugar imbalances, high blood pressure as well as increased abdominal fat to name but a few of its side effects.

Please don’t forget to join us at the Wednesday Night Running Club. We met every Wednesday at 6 pm outside World Gym. There are no membership fees and it’s a great opportunity to get fit, socialize with others and learn valuable training tips from the more experienced athletes. We look forward to seeing you there.

Until next week don’t stop running!

Check out James' article in the Compass this week here:

www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2011/09/08/Too-busy-or-too-tired-are-no-excuses/

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .