Survival of the Fittest

On a bright and early morning in Minneapolis this week, my dear friend Ham Sandwich (practically her real name) asked me if I'd like to join her for a weighted sled workout at the University of Minnesota.

For no better reason than I had already been awake for hours due to jet lag, I somewhat cheerfully agreed. After all, I've had a soft spot in my heart for brave wolf-pooch White Fang and his Iditarod race since fifth grade when the reading teacher (my mom) read the book aloud to us and cried. (The fact was, she cried every single year -- it was part of the the lore of Mrs. Sinkler's classroom.) I mean, the dog's heart did burst in the end, but how bad could the training be? Errr ... right?

A short while later, Ham and I descended upon the hockey arena, where we met up with our former Valkyries' rugby teammate Sara Wiley, associate director of strength and conditioning at the U and 2008 NSCA collegiate strength and conditioning professional of the year. 

Here, Wiley explains how sled training benefits athletes and the general fitness population alike.

AFTER A DYNAMIC WARM-UP consisting of loose skips (2X20), backwards running (2X20), power skips (2X20), knee hugs (1X20), Spiderman lunges (1X20) and Cook hip lifts (1X8ea), Wiley presented us with our workout.

PART 1: PUSH-N-PULLS
Work in a 1:1 work ratio with your partner (i.e., your rest time is her work time and vice versa -- no additional breaks). Please note that weights should be adjusted according to your fitness level and ability. Rules of thumb are that it should be difficult, but not so difficult you can't maintain good form.

PULL - 1/2 arena (approx 100 yds) - 105 lbs.
PUSH - 1/2 arena - 70 lbs.
PULL - 1/2 arena - 105 lbs.
PUSH - 1/2 arena - 70 lbs.

Here, Kristin Zdanczewicz (the aforementioned Ham Sandwich) demonstrates how to do a weighted sled pull; note that Wiley is giving form tips in the background, such as keep your chest up, ankles dorsiflexed, knees driving and core tight.

 

And here,  Zdanczewicz demonstrates a weighted sled push; note again that Wiley is giving form tips in the background, such as keeping your arms locked out (if possible), core tight, and your momentum going forward rather than grinding downward. (My sincere apologies for the pervy-sounding breathing on this one -- I would have liked to have waited a bit longer after finishing my 1/2-lap pull before taping again, but I couldn't! We were working 1:1!)



PART 2: PUSH STRIP SET
Do this all-push series consecutively with no rest in between lengths. Distance = a 50- to 60-yd straightaway; cover ground as quickly as possible. Collapse in a puddle afterward. I mean stretch afterward.

First length: 105 lbs. (then strip one 35-lb. plate)
Second length: 70 lbs. (then strip another 35-lb. plate)
Third length: 35 lbs. (then strip the remaining 35-lb. plate)
Fourth length: weight of sled only; go for speed

Pseudo-demonstration/explanation in the video below.



IF YOU'RE INTERESTED in going in with some friends to purchase one of these bad boys for yourself, Wiley mentioned Gilman and Elite FTS as reputable companies to purchase from (the latter being less expensive, though still a couple hundred bucks).

Got any sled-training experiences to share? 

After finishing a Tabata Protocol burpees workout during a recent trek to Italy, my training partner and I noticed a couple beach vendors having a laugh at our expense. We invited them to partake, and they made it through about a minute before hightailing it back to the safety of the sand.

Lesson learned: Burpees are no laughing matter, silly as they look.
 



Just a quick lil workout to get your heart pounding: Four minutes of doing burpees 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off. That's it.

For more on the method behind the mad mad Tabata Protocol, see "The Tabata Tune-Up" in the March 2008 archives at experiencelifemag.com.

For another suggestion for incorporating burpees into your life -- in a big way -- check out the One Hundred Day Burpee Challenge, the brainchild of a handful of motivated women from the New York Rugby Club.

Andrew Heffernan's article on how to properly train your core -- without doing a buncha crunches -- is the No. 1 most-read article on the Experience Life website right now.

Read "Core Essentials" to find out what core training is and isn't, and to discover (or rediscover) five top core-strengthening exercises.

(Photo credit: Phils Room)

I've got a thing for butter beans, and it's been ages since I've been able to find them in a grocery store (word has it they're mainly a Southern thing). Some people say butter beans and lima beans are the same thing, but those people are crazy.

Butter beans are bigger, blonder and more tender -- which is perhaps why they've inspired at least four different songs available on iTunes (compared to lima beans' two), including one called "The Ballad of Butter Beans." In other words, people really, really like 'em. 

So imagine my delight when I came across this sight the other day. I filled my cart with cans of this treasure (no I didn't), to the point where little kids were pointing at the "bean lady" (no they weren't). But I did make a tasty, simple butter bean salad today.

Butter Bean Salad
One can butter beans, drained
Olive oil
Splash of raw apple cider vinegar
Walnuts
Salt
Chili powder

You figure out how much of each to use -- I'm no food chemist. Now someone get to writing a new song! 

Find out how to grow your own butter beans here.

While researching hip stretches for an upcoming article in Experience Life, I came across a post from Dan Lorenz, MS, PT, ATC/L, CSCS, called "Low-Back Pain and Hip Motion Correlation." Though it's a pretty dense read -- OK, it's a really dense read, my eyes bled -- the takeaway could prevent a whooole lotta low-back pain.

Lorenz sorts through the mounting evidence that pain in the low back and sacroiliac (SI) joint may be a result of hip rotation deficits, and determines that many of us lack internal rotation of the hips.

Here's a good stretch to improve internal rotation:



BEYOND IMPROVING INTERNAL ROTATION, Lorenz emphasizes the role that the local lumbar stabilizers, such as the multifidus, play in low-back pain.

What in god's name are local lumbar stabilizers, you may ask? They're the muscles primarily responsible for stabilizing the lower spine. Important job ... and unfortunately, too many of us suffer the consequences of switched-off stabilizers.

How to -- ahem -- turn them on again? An apology, for starters, along with some good music, flattering lighting and isometric core exercises such as the plank. (Doesn't it always come back to the plank?)

For more on the topic, read "In Search of Stability," available in the March 2008 archives at experiencelifemag.com.

(Photo credit: cobblucas)

While I was back in Minnesota a couple weeks ago, I worked out at the Life Time Fitness in Highland Park. My friend and former Valkyries teammate Robyn Wells is a personal trainer there, and at my request, she put me through several fabulously grueling workouts that included lots of exercises I hadn't done before.

In the first video below, Robyn introduces herself and just briefly describes the warm-up sequence she had me do. (No exercise demos in this one.) Oh, and she may seem sweet and innocent, but in reality, she is a ruthless taskmaster. In a good way.



Update: I've been asked a couple times how much I was lifting, just to provide a point of reference. (Though it should be noted emphatically that you should find a weight that you can manage safely, regardless of whether it's more or less than anyone else's.) I used 75 pounds, which should have felt light to me but didn't all the way through because I'd been a slug in the weeks preceding this workout. As a result, the speed of my hang clean wasn't up to par, and I should have placed more emphasis on that. So ... oops.

In fact, if any fitness experts out there have additional form critiques, please, please put them out there to help anyone else about to wrestle The Bear.

Sooo ... it's been a while. So long, in fact, that I had trouble remembering my log-in information for Survival of the Fittest. (But that could also be the "notable" cognitive decline that sets in by age 27 -- and I left that marker behind a while back.)

My apologies for the absence! Life has been a titch more hectic than usual, and I found myself needing to scale back in some areas to just keep my head above water. But, I've been stockpiling post ideas, and I'm ready and eager to emerge from hibernation. If you're still there, I'd love to hear what you guys have been up to lately. (Comments! Comments! We love comments!)

Allow me to kick off my return by unabashedly ripping off some noteworthy linkyloos from other blogs:

"Inspiring Business With Sport": Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi Worldwide (the Lovemarks company), offers four reasons sport is important to people.

He examines the idea from the angle of the fan, but I would posit the same values apply to athletes themselves. My favorite was No. 4: "Sport inspires radical optimism," and offer "a story, a purpose to commit to and defend." Love it.

Weighted Single-Leg Squats: A good video demo from Michael Boyle. Yes to single-leg exercises! Regardless of age.




Wait ... why single-leg exercises instead of unstable-surface training? From Josh Hillis, RKC: "For all the people that are ... addicted to BOSU balls and stability balls: Doing single leg squats and deadlifts on stable ground is usually a more sport-applicable way to build stability than doing two-leg squats and deadlifts on an unstable surface. How many sports and how often in real life are you really standing on an unstable surface? Surfing, maybe? On the flipside, you have most of your weight on one leg all the time." (For more info on the topic of unstable-surface training, see my interview with Eric Cressey, MS, CSCS, author of Maximum Strength: Get Your Strongest Body in 16 Weeks with the Ultimate Weight-Training Program.)

"How to Fix Shin Splints": Tony Gentilcore posted this long-and-worth-it video from DieselCrew.com on treating shin splints. The protocol involves stretching the calves, improving dorsiflexion, inversion, and eversion, and doing soft-tissue work and ice massage. It's fantastico. (I've been taking an Italian language class -- impressed?) 


 

"Mr. T Takes Up Rugby": As part of a simultaneously disturbing and uninspired marketing campaign for Snickers called "Get Some Nuts," Mr. T attended a practice with the Saracens Rugby Club in England. He mostly just stands around saying gruff, nonsensical things -- and not a single pitiable fool tried to tackle him -- but still. The video seemed like something I should share. (Note: You must be at least 12 to watch it. Unclear why.)

(photo credit: Mike Lietz)

Sometimes I feel like the dog in this video. Meaning, I do things that don't make a lick of sense.

Like when I might, hypothetically speaking, peer into the refrigerator late at night at the fresh, delicious blueberries that are sitting beside the weeks-old fudge and think to myself, I choose fudge.

Take also Survival of the Fittest. I love it here (in no small part because of the highly entertaining and thought-provoking comments y'all leave for me), yet it's been three weeks since I've blogged. I have, however, made plenty of time for bad Christmas movies.

Part of it's the SAD season, part of it's the hectic schedule, but part of it, I think, is that sometimes you just can't trust yourself to make very good decisions.  

So instead I'll provide links to a few of the things I *considered* writing about during the past three weeks. Here ya go, Linkyloos for Y-O-U.

IN THE CASE OF TENDINOSIS, the old adage "no pain, no gain" holds up when it comes to eccentric exercises; here's a good blog entry on the topic by Bill Hartman. (Yet more on the topic in the Experience Life article "Tendon Trouble.")

LET JOHN BERARDI read you a "Bedtime Story" about nighttime catabolism (and how to fuel your muscles while you sleep). More on protein from Berardi here.

I THINK I'VE MENTIONED this Tony Gentilcore blog post about how to choose a high-quality fish oil, but it bears repeating. Because accidentally supplementing with heavy metals is really not the idea. (To read about heavy metal poisoning, check out "Weighing Heavy Metals.")

DO YOU KNOW what your gallbladder does? I don't have one anymore, and sometimes I miss it. You know, just because. Oh, Gary, we had some good times over goat cheese, didn't we?
 
THORACIC SPINE MOBILITY. Yes, I'm harping on that topic again (see previous posts here and here), but it's important. And because EL just published this article on the topic in the new Jan./Feb. issue.

I RECEIVED A PRESS RELEASE announcing a new Facebook app that "allows users to see what they would look like at their target weight. You upload a photo of yourself, specify how much weight you'd like to lose, and WeightView sends you back an image of yourself at your target weight." No, I will not provide the link; something about it strikes me as a Very Bad Idea. (But if you want to become Facebook friends, I am down for that.) 

What do you think about this app: harmless or potentially problematic? Got opinions on other topics in this post? And, whatcha doing for New Year's Eve?

Driving through downtown Minneapolis for a meeting this morning, a sign caught my eye. "More 'Bang' For Your Buck," it boasted. My first thought was that the quotes around the "bang" must have been misused. (OK, so my first thought was closer to, "That sounds dirty.")

But no, those quotes meant exactly what they said -- the sign was in the window of a porn store.

Ooooh, baby, the fact that they were used correctly made my day because of the rampant overuse and abuse of the poor little guys. (Picture all the people you know who use even air quotes incorrectly.)

Which got me thinking about how powerful and effective quotation marks can be -- when used properly. Which in turn got me thinking how true that is for all manner of things, especially within the realm of fitness.

We have so many techniques and tools at our disposal: kettlebells, free weights, interval training (think HIIT and Tabata), steady-state cardio, yoga, Pilates and so on. But, as with quotation marks, our tendency is often to wield them improperly, overusing them or using them exclusively.

We wage huge arguments on behalf of one workout technique or another, but the thing is, no one technique or tool is the end-all-be-all answer to getting or staying in shape. Sure, what you're doing now will work -- until your body adapts and you stop making progress.

The solution, it seems, is simple: You have to mix it up when it comes to intensity level and activity choice -- hard, easy, body weight, free weights, mind-body exercise, circuit training, interval training, running, biking, swimming, soccer, rowing, golfing, rugby, etc., etc., etc. -- to get the most bang for your buck. (Perhaps also to get the most "bang" for your buck.)

How do you vary your fitness routine?

(photo credit: iamtimmo)

(After an MCL sprain, bruising can make its way to the surface of the skin. I'm not sure why I appear to be so happy about this phenomenon. Photo credit: Kelly White)

I spent the past 10 days in Dubai with the US women's rugby 7s team, and during a tackling drill on Friday, a teammate crashed against the outside of my planted leg. I felt a twinge in my knee and went down immediately.

On the bright side, I didn't hear a pop, the pain was fleeting and I felt reasonably sure my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was still intact. (That's the biggie that requires surgery and a looong recovery period. See the Experience Life article "Weak in the Knees" for more on ACL injuries in women and how to prevent them.)

The team doc, Lisa Bartoli, administered an anterior drawer test to be sure my ACL was indeed intact (it was), and then she checked my medial collateral ligament (MCL), the ligament that prevents the knee from buckling inwards. Though it was still stable, the inside of my knee felt tender (recall I took the hit on the outside of my knee), and she diagnosed a grade 1, bare-minimum MCL sprain.

What is an MCL sprain? 
Basically, that just means I damaged a few fibers in the ligament, stretching or tearing them. Mild tenderness, little to no swelling -- within a few days to a couple weeks, with proper care, my MCL would heal itself.

A grade 2 sprain, on the other hand, would have meant I'd have damaged more fibers, felt noticeable laxity in the joint and encountered more swelling. A grade 2 sprain still stitches itself up, but takes a little longer.

A grade 3 sprain is a complete tear of the ligament. Even then, surgery is rarely required -- MCLs are crafty like that -- but the recovery period stretches into the six-week range.

How do you treat an MCL injury?
The standard protocol after an MCL injury is standard R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression and elevation), though there's plenty more you can do, such as ultrasound, strengthening exercises and acupuncture. 

Luckily, one of Bartoli's specialties is acupuncture, so for the next few evenings, she rigged up my knee with needles and electrical stim. Though on the day immediately following the injury, my knee was stiff, sore and bruised (you can kinda see the bruise in the snap above, thanks to my mad Photoshop graphics), by day 3 the pain had disappeared.

Though I'm sure treatment effectiveness depends on the person, acupuncture tends to work miracles on me. (Here are some theories on how acupuncture speeds healing.) Even so, I'm taking it easy this week, catching up at work and enjoying time at home.

Bring me up to speed -- how have you guys been? What have I missed while I was gone? And, what are your favorite treatment modalities (and for what injuries)?