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Born to Run...Just Maybe
A while back, my friend Blake lent me the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, pressing it into my hands and urging me to read it right away. It was that good, he said. But...it was a book about running. Like, really, really far -- not just marathons, but ultramarathons. Races that can go on for days, and last 50 to a hundred miles (or more).
This sounds like sheer lunacy to someone who considers running farther than 200 meters at a time to be a hardship. I get that a lot of people find their bliss during a daily run, but for me, running just feels crappy -- and not in the hurts-so-good way that marks an effective workout.
On top of that, it seems like every runner I know suffers from chronic injuries, further confirming my hunch that my own body simply wasn't designed for distance -- thus, mega-races weren't a topic I was super hype to read about. So, I avoided this book. (Just as, when it comes to avoiding that type of training, my endurance is excellent.)
But after finishing Malcolm Gladwell's latest, What the Dog Saw (a fabulous compilation of previously published essays, by the way), I was again left facing Blake's book. An impending weekend trip and one haphazard packing job later, Born to Run took to the skies with me...and never touched the ground again.
The thing is a fast and furious account of human evolution and innate function; the superior biomechanics of barefoot running; the history of the modern running shoe (and the prevalence of injuries caused by our kicks); lessons from the Tarahumara, a reclusive tribe of "Running People" in Mexico; the author's experience with overcoming injury, an insider's look at the sometimes-rowdy ultrarunning community (and how big a d-bag they think Dean Karnazes is); vegetarian super-fuel; and an epic, precarious 50-mile race through dangerous terrain.
Whether or not you take all of McDougall's messages and, ya know, run with them, it is an utterly fascinating love story about running, and reading it had a curious effect on me: It actually made me want to run. Or
rather, to learn to run right, so that I might someday enjoy the act.
Don't get me wrong: It's not as if I'm about to enter a marathon, let
alone an
ultra. (Seriously, let's start with a mile.) But for the first time, I
can see why someone might want
to...and how we might even be born to do so.
Some Highlights:
- Running shoes are evil, because they 1) encourage us to land on our heels instead of the fat, fleshy padded midfoot, and 2) let the small muscles of our lower legs and feet atrophy. The word's been out on this for a while, but he does a great job making the case against shoes, nonetheless.
- We run hurt because we run wrong (again due to this heel-striking business). With a lot of work and the right
running coach, however, it's possible to learn to run without pain. Check out ChiRunnning and the Pose Method.
- According to some scientists, humans have evolved to run great distances -- a skill that came in handy for running after prey until it collapsed (a technique called persistence hunting). It has to do with our breathing patterns, our ability to sweat, our lack of fur, our big ole butts, our Achilles tendon and a notch in the back of our skulls that cradles a head-stabilizing ligament that many other animals are missing. (For more details, read Chapter 28.)
- Running should be joyful; an expression of life itself. Ugh, I'm not going to do his writing justice, so here's what McDougall says: "[Throughout our history,] distance running was revered because it was indispensable; it was the way we survived and thrived on the planet. You ran to eat and to avoid being eaten; you ran to find a mate and impress her, and with her you ran off to start a new life together. You had to love running, or you wouldn't live to love anything else. And like everything else we love -- everything we sentimentally call our 'passions' and 'desires' -- it's really an encoded ancestral necessity. We were born to run; we were born because we run."
- And this, which I found incredibly powerful: "[T]here was some kind of connection between the capacity to love and the capacity to love running. The engineering was certainly the same: both depended on loosening your grip on your own desires, putting aside what you wanted and appreciating what you got, being patient and forgiving and undemanding."
- You can make a super-effective homemade energy drink called iskiate by dissolving chia seeds in water with a little sugar and lime juice. Recipe here, and video below: www.nomeatathlete.com/tarahumara-pinole-chia-recipes.
Further Reading:
-Washington Post book review: "Running, the Natural Way"
-Seed Magazine: "The Running Man, Revisited"
-Wired: "Born to Run But Crippled By Shoes"
-Christopher McDougall's blog: http://chrismcdougall.com/blog
-Barefoot Ted's blog: http://barefootted.com
-Born to Run fan site: http://borntorun.org
How to Make Iskiate (the Chia Energy Drink):
Confession: I'm a CrossFitter
More than a month ago, I posted a somewhat vague entry hinting that I'd found an
exciting new way to push myself out of my fitness comfort zone, and
then I promised to talk about it in greater detail the following week.
Well,
I lied. If you're a regular reader (as regular as you can be when your
writer is this dodgy), you already know I do that sometimes, especially
when the Next Post is supposed to be Important. There's never enough
time to make that Next Post as eloquent and organized as I want to be,
you see, but it takes me forever to get to the point I'm ready to splat
it onto the page however it lands, just to get it over with. We are now
to that point, however -- welcome.
LET'S START WITH SOME
BACKGROUND: I've played rugby for one million years. Give or take. It's
something I've tried to retire from several times, but I could never
quite kick the habit. (Damn you, rugby, I can't quit you.) Mainly
because I wasn't creative enough to figure out what else to be, if not a rugby player.
But I don't want to be tackled every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (and sometimes Sunday) for the rest of my life, so after Keystone's fall season ended, I decided -- again -- to try quitting. And this time, I had a crutch. A crutch called CrossFit.
If you're not familiar, let Wiki tell you what CrossFit is:
In short, the emphasis is on creating complete, balanced athletes -- fitness generalists, as opposed to specialists. The idea is, train for everything, so you can do just about anything you want to pretty darn well.CrossFit is a strength and conditioning fitness methodology that promotes broad and general overall physical fitness. CrossFit combines weightlifting, sprinting and gymnastics. CrossFit says that proficiency is required in each of ten fitness domains: cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, agility, balance, coordination and accuracy. It defines fitness as increased work capacity across all these domains and says its program achieves this by provoking neurologic and hormonal adaptations across all metabolic pathways.
CrossFit athletes run, row, skip, climb rope and carry odd objects. They frequently move large loads quickly over long distances, using powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting techniques. CrossFit athletes also use dumbbells, gymnastics rings, pull-up bars, kettlebells and many bodyweight exercises.
Sounds delightful, no? It is.
It is also, however, a fitness methodology that's often heavily criticized within the strength and conditioning community for its constantly varying, seemingly random programming; its inclusion of movements normally done in low-rep sets (Olympic lifts and plyometrics) in higher volume; and its sometimes-relentless insistence to go harder, harder, harder -- even if you shouldn't (yet).
Those things are true, too...in some CrossFit facilities. Best I can tell, it's a case of quality control -- with somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 affiliates and counting (each of which pays an annual fee in exchange for the right to use the name), CrossFit headquarters has struggled to keep tabs on what exactly each gym is doing in the name of CrossFit.
Another source of the controversy, it seems, is CrossFit's outspoken founder, ex-gymnast Greg Glassman, who's more than willing, it seems, to cut ties with those who take issue with his approach. For more, T-Muscle author Chris Shugart does a well and balanced job of checking out the trend in "The Truth About Crossfit."
THE POINT IS, "CrossFit" isn't executed the same way at all facilities. Some wield it well, others not so much. The facility I haunt, CrossFit 215 in Philadelphia, uses its powers for good. The programming exhibits a strength bias (which means, along with the workout of the day, clients follow a periodized weight program); the coaches are well-versed and encouraging; and everywhere you look, there are fun toys to play with (bumper plates! kettlebells! rings! pull-up bars!).
It's like a playground for adults, and since I began in earnest this January, I've realized several things: 1) I hadn't done handstands in far too long (and I'd never done a handstand pushup prior to walking through the doors of 215). 2) I should have been doing more pull-ups. Waaay more pull-ups. There's something eminently satisfying about being able to do them. And also knowing you can do them. 3) I hadn't moved serious weight in forever, and I was missing out: Olympic lifting is some of the most fun you can have in a gym. I had no idea what I was capable of, and the idea that I'm in the process of finding out is nothing short of thrilling. As is the feeling of setting new PRs regularly.
[Zach Mariacher, Micah Macbeth, Angie Brambley and Jay Ross demo handstand pushups.]
And yet, it's not all success all the time. There are plenty of exercises I haven't yet mastered (stoopid muscle-ups!), much potential I haven't tapped and workouts I'm downright terrible at (namely, anything lasting over 16 minutes). Which makes every breakthrough mean that much more. It's rewarding work because you're acutely aware, every step of the way, that you earned it.
Technically, you don't even need a facility. CrossFit workouts are available for free on most affiliates' Web sites, and also on the CrossFit mainpage (www.crossfit.com). Meaning, you can do CrossFit workouts at any gym, any time. Say, for instance, at your local Life Time Fitness (the fabulous publisher of one Experience Life magazine). ;)
But for many, the point is not the workouts themselves, or the accompanying results. It's the sense of community that comes with gutting out a hard workout with your peers, picking each other up during the toughest spots (sometimes literally, sweatily), and bonding afterward over your shared survival.
[Friend Angie Brambley and myself postworkout...OMG that was hard.]
And that, friends, is why I'm hooked. It's become my new rugby precisely how rugby became my rugby to begin with (ya dig?): the people. I cherish the camaraderie of every class.
OK, that's not the entire truth. I cherish the camaraderie, and the tacit agreement that we are all trying to beat each others' asses in the workout of the day (or WOD, as they're called), even as we encourage and push each other. It smacks of sport, and that's exactly what it's becoming.
ALONG WITH THE IN-CLASS COMPETITIVE VIBE, local, regional and national CrossFit competitions have increased in popularity over the past few years, snaring crossover and newbie athletes alike. Each competition consists of several WODs, and the winners are those who complete the most reps, use the heaviest weight or have the fastest time, depending on the set-up. The best of the best compete in the CrossFit Games, an international competition that takes place each July.
I didn't intend to start competing. I even managed to avoid the first in-house competition my gym had. But eventually, through a mixture of peer pressure and curiosity, I decided to give it a try, signing up for the PA/MD/DE sectionals event in mid-March. (It was right around that time I posted here on the value of experiencing discomfort.) I excelled at the short, power-based workout (tied for third!), then absolutely suffered through the longer workouts, finishing squarely in the middle of the pack. Though I finished 11th overall (out of 35 women) and won a bid to move on to the next round of competition -- not bad for my first time out -- it was a humbling experience. To even watch some of the feats of athleticism exhibited that day was impressive and enviable, and it made me want more. Even though I was downright average at two of three workouts. Perhaps because I was average. Because there was much room for improvement, there was much room for success. This was not only something to do, but something to once again be.
I'm not sure I'll ever be a good CrossFitter. But I am pretty sure I want to find out.
[Jumprope double-unders with a 15-pound weighted vest during one of the PA/MD/DE sectional workouts...fun for the twisted.]
215 has entered a team (consisting of three men and three women) into a regional competition in May. I'll probably document our adventures here at Survival of the Fittest. Below is a photo of our first outing, where we won the Cup of the Beast at CrossFit Dover in Delaware.
[From left to right: Terrence Fenningham, Becky Geiss, Micah Macbeth, Angie Brambley, Jay Ross and myself.]
Call it a tangent or call it a sidebar, but here are some of the pros and cons of CrossFit, as I see it:
Pro: I'm always having to defend the CrossFit portion of my training regimen (it's a great opportunity to have conversations about what it is, what it isn't and how widely facilities and programming vary).
Con: I'm always having to defend the CrossFit portion of my training regimen (it can get old if someone is just looking for an argument).
Con: Some call it a cult. CultFit, to be exact.
Pro: If it is, it's a really cool one where you get to talk about workouts and nutrition to your heart's content, all while wearing LuluLemon pants and American Apparel t-shirts.
Pro: I get to see what I'm made of.
Con: I don't always like what I see. It is, in places, pretty flimsy stuff.
Con: Many female CrossFitters wear pigtails, which I abhor.
Pro: My side ponytail and Jersey-Shore-esque bump (which are no less ridiculous) fit right in.
Pro: Daaaang, you start to look and feel good.
Con: You have to start carrying your facility's cards on your person at all times for baristas, strangers in bathrooms (emphasis on strange) and anyone else who asks where you work out and what type of training you do.
Con: Much in the way every article about rugby mentions blood, every article about CrossFit mentions puke.
Pro: Misunderstood cultures tend to be more tightly knit (triathletes, rugby players and CrossFitters are all peas in slightly odd pods).
Additional Reading:
The New York Times: "Getting Fit, Even If It Kills You"
The Wall Street Journal: "Fitness as a Full-Time Pursuit"
MSN Health and Fitness: "CrossFit: The Fast, Furious Workout Craze"
Men's Journal: "Get Fit or Die Trying"
Muscle & Fitness: "Sweat Storm"
CrossFit: "How to Start"
Below is a video shot during the Cup of the Beast competition and compiled by Tim Moyer, owner of the bangin' performance gym Aspiring Champions Elite in King of Prussia, Pa. Tim managed to edit out most of the bits where I look really tired, which makes him A-OK in my book.
If you have experiences with CrossFit-style workouts, questions, more pros and cons to add to the list, contentions or the like, speak up in the comments.
Sufferfest 2010
In searching for fitness-technology ideas for Experience Life's October tech issue, I posted the question "What fitness tech can't you live without?" on Twitter. A rugby-playing Australian blogger named Amanda claimed an iPod loaded with The Sufferfest could not be topped.
Now, a disclaimer: I'm not super fitness-tech savvy. I don't often embrace it, either because the item or app in question smacks of gimmick, or because it doesn't jive with my own fitness interests. To wit: I rarely do cardio on traditional devices such as treadmills, stationary bikes or rowers. Most times, my cardio involves weights, and even then, I can't keep earbuds in place. I feel like I'm missing out on some coaching point, or I get paranoid about catching my fingers on the wires. In short, I may not be the best person to vet fitness tech ... which is where all of YOU come in! (Please leave comments here with your ideas or shoot them to jsinkler@experiencelifemag.com.)
In any case, preparing for the October issue (yes, I know it's only March) has brought some interesting ideas across my desk, and The Sufferfest definitely qualifies as one. (Their motto: "I'll beat my ass today to kick yours tomorrow." Hearts and flowers for that.)
WHAT IS THE SUFFERFEST? Training videos. Really upbeat, motivating and sometimes downright harrowing training videos created by cyclist David McQuillen that feature footage from some of the world's foremost cycling races, all strung together to form a workout. You feel like you're actually in the race, wearing the exceptionally unstylish garb and chasing down Lance Armstrong. You're encouraged to pass other cyclists, and instructed when to push yourself and when to ease off the pedal(s). It's as simple as downloading said videos to your iPod, hopping on a stationary bike, and immersing yourself in the competition. At just under 10 bucks a pop, the price may seem a little steep (hill climb joke!), but the company has paid for rights to use all the footage, so there's the good-guy factor to consider.
McQuillen saw Amada's Tweet and sent me a download to check
out, and check it out I did. I was absolutely transfixed by the images and the music -- to the point I may have to seek out a stationary bike in the near future. I don't think watching them at my desk is having the desired metabolic effect....
Check out a clip for yourself. And don't forget to leave your own fitness tech ideas for me in the comments!
Wil Fleming's Complex
Wil Fleming, CSCS, IYCA, co-owner and director of sport
performance at Force Fitness and Performance (www.beforcefit.com)
in Bloomington, Ind., has been using Robert Dos Remedios's new, super-fantastic book, Cardio Strength Training: Torch Fat, Build Muscle, and Get Stronger Faster, to create some pretty
amazing complexes of his own. In this video, he demonstrates his
latest -- with, it should be noted, impeccable form, so if you give this a go, make sure you do the same. (Warning: Not for beginning lifters.)
Using a barbell and a clean grip, do four rounds of the following, resting a minute to a minute and a half after you've completed each round. Use a weight for which you can complete all the exercises without pausing to adjust poundage in between. Afterward, lie on the ground and gasp for air.
10 Romanian Deadlifts
10 Bent-Over Rows
10 Hang Snatches
10 Shoulder Presses
10 Step-Ups (5 per leg)
10 Roll-Outs
A bit more about Wil:
He
was an All-American hammer thrower at Indiana University, where he
still holds the school record in the event. He was ranked in the top 10
in the United states from 2006 to 2008, and ultimately completed his career
at the 2008 Olympic Trials. Prior to that, he lived and trained as a
resident athlete at the United States Olympic Training Center as an
Olympic Lifter.
I had the pleasure of completing one of Dos
Remedios's killer circuit workouts alongside Wil at the Perform Better Summit in
Long Beach, Calif., this past August. The man is *springy.*
If you give this workout a try, please share your experience in the comments!
Losing Exercise: Don't Do It
It seems that every few months, an article appears disparaging the value of exercise for weight loss. The latest is "Why Doesn't Exercise Lead to Weight Loss?" from the Health section of the The New York Times.
The article posits that because a study of 58 obese subjects who did 12 weeks of aerobic exercise at 70 percent of their max heart rate (i.e., steady-state cardio) -- without changing their diets -- resulted in, on average, just a seven-pound weight loss over that time period, exercise doesn't play much of a role in weight loss. (Never mind that an unmonitored diet means the tendency to disproportionately increase food intake once you start exercising was also unmonitored.)
Writer Gretchen Reynolds also points to a study on the "afterburn effect" -- the tendency for the body to burn an elevated number of calories for hours after a workout -- that concluded afterburn was a bust. Yet strangely, the type of exercise used in the study was relatively low-intensity -- an hourlong cycle at just 55 percent of aerobic capacity.
What makes this strange -- and noteworthy -- is that it's usually high-intensity activities that are thought to trigger the afterburn effect.
As someone working for a publication that strives to provide both depth and breadth of information, this sort of half-picture presentation is disturbing to me. When did journalists set exercise up as the antidote to terrible eating habits? The kind of thing that maybe we shouldn't bother with if we aren't seeing dramatic weight loss no matter what we're eating and drinking? When did we stop differentiating between different intensity levels of exercise? Between cardio and weightlifting, and their many subsets?
Perhaps, rather than renouncing the role exercise -- that vague catchall -- plays in weight loss, we should focus on the synergy that occurs when you make specific lifestyle and exercise choices. Rather than make sweeping generalizations and dismissals, let's dig into the details about what type of exercise has what type of effect, and the impact eating nutrient-dense foods has in supporting our fitness goals, regardless of how much and in what ways we're moving. The devil -- and devil dog -- is in these details.
There are a huge number of places to get great fitness information, on the web and otherwise -- and most of the people providing said information work in the trenches of the fitness industry, so they're witnessing firsthand what works (and doesn't). A few of my favorite sources that have covered the topic of fat loss (I'm positive I'm overlooking quite a few -- my apologies!): Alwyn Cosgrove, Leigh Peele, Mike Roussell, Robert Dos Remedios, Sara Cheatham, Michael Boyle, Josh Hillis, Jason C. Brown, Pamela MacElree and Craig Ballantyne.
The last time this happened -- August 9, to be exact, when Time published the hysteria-inducing article "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin" -- a number of reliable fitness experts crafted thoughtful rebuttals. My favorite was by Tom Venuto, author of The Body Fat Solution.
I think it applies nicely to this more recent article, as well -- take a few minutes to read it, and see what conclusions you draw about the role exercise plays in weight loss: "Why Time Magazine Owes the Fitness Industry a Big Fat Apology."
UPDATE: To read a response from Pilar Gerasimo, editor in chief of Experience Life, click here.
(photo credit: LAYeiser)
Mush! Weighted Sled Workouts
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?
Everyone Loves a Burpee
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.
Uncomfortable Excuses
During an especially grueling circuit workout Monday night, I took note of my threshold for discomfort for the very first time. Or at least, I took note of it more consciously than I ever have before.
It was a repetition-based circuit, meaning we had to complete a certain number of reps of each exercise before we moved on to the next. This is my favorite type of circuit, because the faster you get through the workload, the sooner you're done. And, it adds a little competitive zing to the class (which, let's be honest, is the real reason I like it).
There were eight exercises in total; four for the upper body and four for the lower body. Half the class started on the upper body and the other started on the lower body. I started on the upper body, and moved through the exercises pretty steadily, though I took a couple mini-breaks along the way to catch my breath and take a swig of water. In retrospect, I didn't even think about it -- feel a little burn, take a little break.
AS I GOT TO THE FINAL THREE EXERCISES, however, I noticed that a woman in the other group was already on her second-to-last exercise, and I became enraged. Not at her -- I'm no Christopher Carter -- but at myself. I suddenly realized I'd been backing off automatically whenever I hit a certain subconscious, predetermined point of exertion, and I was lagging behind because of it. Don't get me wrong: Backing off can be a good thing, if you're gasping for air and seeing black around the fringes of your vision. But I wasn't anywhere near that -- in fact, upon checking in with myself at that moment, I had to admit I was only mildly uncomfortable.
Why was I holding back? What was I worried was going to happen if I pushed myself harder?
Well ... I was just afraid of being more uncomfortable, frankly. And once that truth burbled to the surface, I couldn't deny that it was an awfully wimpy excuse. So, I decided to find out what would happen if I didn't ease off, and I got after those final three exercises like nobody's business.
The verdict: not that scary, after all. Also, I finished first in the class, ahead of the woman who had no idea we were competing. (Yesssssss! A most satisfying victory.)
UPON CONTEMPLATING MY EXPERIENCE LATER, I was reminded of several things I've read over the past couple years (and that might have helped me earlier, if I'd have been paying closer attention).
1. ONE OF THOSE THINGS WAS EAT, PRAY, LOVE author Elizabeth Gilbert's experience meditating among mosquitoes, and her determination to transcend. If you recall, what started as a miserable experience ended with her achieving a whole new level of enlightenment.
2. ANOTHER WAS THE WORK OF BYRON KATIE, who recommends addressing negative self talk with a few questions about what the truth really is. I didn't realize how very applicable these were until I revisited Helen Cordes's 2004 article for Experience Life, "Coming to Terms," which I've excerpted below.
When confronted with an uncomfortable situation, Byron recommends asking yourself:
- Is what I'm saying to myself true? (In my situation, the statement to question would be, "I'm too tired to continue exercising at this level.") Think carefully about the answer and don't simply accept what you've said or been told in the past. She says you may come to realize that it's your interpretation of the fact that is causing you the most pain.
- How do I react when I think that thought? What do you feel emotionally, and what do you feel in your body when you let these statements inhabit your mind? How do you typically treat yourself when you think each of these thoughts? Make a list of your resultant attitudes and behaviors. Ask yourself: How do I live when I believe this thought? Two good follow-up questions: Can you see a reason to drop the thought? Can you find one stress-free reason to keep the thought?
- Who or what would I be without that thought? What would you be like, and how would you feel if you were not hostage to that thought and the resulting feelings? Imagine that you didn't have the ability to think the thought as you stand in the presence of that situation.
3. THE LAST WAS RESEARCH ABOUT THE HIGH-INTENSITY WORKOUTS TABATA AND HIIT. Both are super-effective fat-blasting, endurance-boosting, mitochondria-increasing interval workouts performed at maximal or near-maximal intensity, and I've been researching, writing about and even doing both for some time now. (See "The Tabata Tune-Up" in the March 2008 archives, and keep your eye out for an article on HIIT in the December 2008 issue of Experience Life.) Yet while we all understand the definition of "maximal" -- giving it everything ya got -- it sinks in much more slowly from an operational perspective. How often do we really experience what that feels like physically? In my case, except when I'm playing rugby, it's more often near-near-maximal. But that's not going to be good enough anymore.
In the end, I got a great workout and made what I hope will prove to be another breakthrough in my training -- although I was rewarded for my efforts with a nasty case of delayed-onset muscle soreness. But hey, no pain, no gain, right?
What do you do to push past self-imposed limits during workouts?
(photo credit: Vlastula)
Sprinting Into the Darkness
I've been following a new running and lifting program over the past couple weeks, and it's been a bit daunting. I was feeling better and better about my fitness, but the sheer volume of some of the anaerobic sprint workouts is ... well, I can't talk about it yet, I'm still too traumatized. I'll just say that one of the sprint workouts lasts four and a half hours. (As one of my rugby teammates put it, "I've never been so sore for so many consecutive days before." Agreed.)
The workout below, which I did the other night, does not last four hours -- or anywhere close -- and is positively delightful in comparison.
On a track, do the following:
8x100m, 100m walk recovery after each
7x150m, 100m walk recovery after each
6x200m, 100m walk recovery after each
IT HELPED THAT my significant other, a cheery sort who says things like "Raisins are nature's candy," taught me to count to 10 in Italian during the recovery periods. It also helped that it was pitch black outside.
Once I determined there were no hurdles in my path, I started tuning into my body more than I tend to during daylight hours. I experienced the biomechanics of my gait in a way I haven't before; probably in part because I'm usually quite literally looking ahead to the next steps.
A number of coaches have told me I don't get enough hip extension when pushing off my back leg (for more on running gait, click here) -- in other words, I put in a lot of work up front and don't follow through before I'm moving on to the next thing -- but on this night, my hips loosened their chokehold on my legs and each stride felt complete. I felt like I was gliding.
Turns out I'm not the only one saying lights out on my workout. The 2006 Runner's World article "Run to the Dark Side" explores a subculture of runners who prefer to do it in the dark. And there may even be some science to back them up.
"... [S]ome athletes may benefit from evening workouts, [according to] recent research among a group of swimmers whose performance peaked between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Although the responsible mechanism isn't yet understood ... there are several potential contributing factors.Which means it's possible I didn't just feel faster -- I might have actually been faster. Too bad we don't play many night games.
One is body temperature, which tends to be higher later in the day and has been linked to increased strength and reaction time. Another is the release of two hormones important for energy metabolism, cortisol and thyroptopin, which are at their highest levels in the evening."
When is your favorite time of day to work out and why? Have you ever worked out in the dark?
[photo by Eric Setiawan]
Revisiting Elisa Au's Favorite Workout
I've posted this workout once before, but I thought it was worth a revisit. My apologies if you've already been there done that, but for those of you who are new, welcome! Feel free to sign up for blog updates via email or RSS feed (see the toolbar at right). I mean, it's easier than trying to remember to check back, and laziness can be a powerful motivator.
The dilly is that the June issue of Experience Life, featuring once and possibly future karate world champ Elisa Au on the cover, just dropped, and I was reminded all over again how impressive her achievements are. (To see for yourself, check out the accompanying article, "Solid Gold Champion.")
And lucky us, she caved (pretty easily, may I say -- she's not as tough as she looks) when I asked her to share her very favorite workout with us. So here it is -- Round 2.
FROM ELISA:
I'VE CHOSEN EXERCISES from my training in karate and with my personal trainer, Corey Shackelford. These exercises do not require any equipment -- they rely on your body weight for resistance and focus on the core muscles, which are most important for a strong body.
You can definitely start with fewer reps if the moves are unfamiliar to you. Or, you can add reps and sets in order to challenge yourself.
1. Warm up! [For an article on the benefits of warming up and cooling down, see "Gradual is Good" from the March 2007 issue of Experience Life.]
2. Charlie's Angels Lunges -- Lunge sideways with your left leg, feet parallel, arms straight out and parallel to the ground in front of you (in a gun-shooting position). Twist your upper torso to the left so that your arms rotate 90 degrees, then back to starting position. Step up and repeat on right side. 10 reps on each side.
3. Burpees -- Squat down and place hands on the floor, shoulder width apart. Kick your feet back into a push-up starting position. Bring feet back under you and immediately jump up in a star position (arms and legs all extended). Repeat 15 times. [For a video demo of how to do a burpee, click here.]
4. Arm Shuffles -- Start in push-up position. Shuffle your arms so that your body moves clockwise like a hand of a clock. Try to keep your feet at the middle position as your arms move from 1 to 12. Do 2 times clockwise, 2 times counter-clockwise.
5. Superman -- Lay on your stomach. Lift your legs and arms off the ground and hold position for 30 seconds to a minute. [For pics, see here.]
6. V-Ups -- Lie on your back. Lift your legs and arms/shoulders off the ground to create a V-shape with your body. Lower your arms and legs without letting them touch the ground. Do 15 reps. [Pics here.]
7. Plank Positions -- Place elbows/forearms on the ground, feet in push-up position. Be sure your shoulders are directly above your elbows so that all body angles are 90 degrees. Hold this position for 1 minute. Point right arm straight ahead, parallel to the ground. Hold this position for 20 seconds. Switch arms and hold for another 20 seconds. Repeat with extended right and left legs, each for 20 seconds. Lastly, extend right arm and left leg, hold for 20 seconds, then switch to other side for the last 20 seconds. You will total 3 minutes. [See a basic plank pose here. You got the rest through the description, right?]
For the next three exercises, use small pieces of tape stuck to the floor. Mark 5 points like the 5-side of a die. The outer points should be about shoulder-width apart on all sides.
8. Hourglass -- Start on the bottom two points with feet shoulder-width apart. Jump to the middle point to bring feet together, then jump to the top points to get back to shoulder-width position. Jump back to the middle point, then back to starting position. Repeat 15 times.
9. Figure 8 -- Keep your feet together the entire time on this one. Start at the bottom left corner. Hop to the middle point, then to the upper right point. Continue on to the upper left point, middle, bottom right, then back to the beginning at the bottom left. You have made a figure 8. Repeat 8 times this way, then 8 times the opposite way.
10. Around the World -- Stand on the middle point with one foot. Hop to the bottom left point then back to the middle. Continue to the top left then return, top right and return, bottom right and return. Repeat in this clockwise position 5 times, then 5 times counter-clockwise. Repeat with other foot.
11. Cool-down and STRETCH!
~Elisa
Elisa Au's World-Champ Workout
So ... no one outside the Experience Life staff knows this yet, but former -- and possibly future -- karate world champion Elisa Au will be gracing our cover in June. Now you know, too. Shhh.
A little background: Au (pronounced "Ow" -- go to town on that one) is the only American woman to have won a world championship, and remains the only person in the world, male or female, to win more than one world title at a single world karate championship. The only person in the world. Can you imagine being able to say that?
If you want to read more about her, check out the links here, here and here. (Highlight from the last one? She recommends people not try the fictitious "crane technique," pictured at right, from the movie Karate Kid.) There are lots more articles about her, but I've grown weary of pasting the links. These days, she's training in Chicago, where she owns and operates three martial arts schools with her spankin'-new husband, John Fonseca (no slouch himself when it comes to karate accolades -- to see a video of Fonseca, click here).
I interviewed Au several weeks ago, and before we hung up, she promised to share her favorite workout on my blog. (A very, VERY big thank you to her for sharing!)
HERE'S THE WORKOUT SHE SENT ME over the weekend -- if you try it out, please tell us how it goes in the "comments" section! I tried (albeit half-heartedly) to find photos or video demonstrations to go with at least some of the exercises below, but if you're having trouble figuring one out, post your question(s) in the comments.
FROM ELISA:
I've chosen exercises from my training in karate and with my personal trainer, Corey Shackelford. These exercises do not require any equipment -- they rely on your body weight for resistance and focus on the core muscles, which are most important for a strong body.
You can definitely start with less reps if the moves are unfamiliar to you. Or, you can add for reps and sets in order to challenge yourself.
1. Warm up! [For an article on the benefits of warming up and cooling down, see "Gradual is Good" from the March 2007 issue of Experience Life.]
2. Charlie's Angels Lunges -- Lunge sideways with your left leg, feet parallel, arms straight out and parallel to the ground in front of you (in a gun-shooting position). Twist your upper torso to the left so that your arms rotate 90 degrees, then back to starting position. Step up and repeat on right side. 10 reps on each side.
3. Burpees -- Squat down and place hands on the floor, shoulder width apart. Kick your feet back into a push-up starting position. Bring feet back under you and immediately jump up in a star position (arms and legs all extended). Repeat 15 times. [For a video demo of how to do a burpee, click here.]
4. Arm Shuffles -- Start in push-up position. Shuffle your arms so that your body moves clockwise like a hand of a clock. Try to keep your feet at the middle position as your arms move from 1 to 12. Do 2 times clockwise, 2 times counter-clockwise.
5. Superman -- Lay on your stomach. Lift your legs and arms off the ground and hold position for 30 seconds to a minute. [For pics, see here.]
6. V-Ups -- Lie on your back. Lift your legs and arms/shoulders off the ground to create a V-shape with your body. Lower your arms and legs without letting them touch the ground. Do 15 reps. [Pics here.]
7. Plank Positions -- Place elbows/forearms on the ground, feet in push-up position. Be sure your shoulders are directly above your elbows so that all body angles are 90 degrees. Hold this position for 1 minute. Point right arm straight ahead, parallel to the ground. Hold this position for 20 seconds. Switch arms and hold for another 20 seconds. Repeat with extended right and left legs, each for 20 seconds. Lastly, extend right arm and left leg, hold for 20 seconds, then switch to other side for the last 20 seconds. You will total 3 minutes. [See a basic plank pose here. You got the rest through the description, right?]
For the next three exercises, use small pieces of tape stuck to the floor. Mark 5 points like the 5-side of a die. The outer points should be about shoulder-width apart on all sides.
8. Hourglass -- Start on the bottom two points with feet shoulder-width apart. Jump to the middle point to bring feet together, then jump to the top points to get back to shoulder-width position. Jump back to the middle point, then back to starting position. Repeat 15 times.
9. Figure 8 -- Keep your feet together the entire time on this one. Start at the bottom left corner. Hop to the middle point, then to the upper right point. Continue on to the upper left point, middle, bottom right, then back to the beginning at the bottom left. You have made a figure 8. Repeat 8 times this way, then 8 times the opposite way.
10. Around the World -- Stand on the middle point with one foot. Hop to the bottom left point then back to the middle. Continue to the top left then return, top right and return, bottom right and return. Repeat in this clockwise position 5 times, then 5 times counter-clockwise. Repeat with other foot.
11. Cool-down and STRETCH!
~Elisa
"Fight Gone Bad"
My friend Kathy (strange to call her anything but "Sausage" -- aren't rugby nicknames great?) pasted a link to this CrossFit workout in a comment she left in response to my last post.
She says, "I just read the article in the mag on [the Tabata Protocol] ... never thought 4 minutes could be so painful until I met a workout called 'fight gone bad.'"
Indeed, I would not want to meet this workout in a dark alley.
Originally designed for mixed martial artist B.J. Penn, with the metabolic demands of ultimate fighting in mind, "Fight Gone Bad" is an intense, five-minute weightlifting, plyometrics and cardio circuit that's repeated three times, with a one-minute break between rounds (just barely enough time to be able to breathe again ... sort of). So, 17 minutes total. If you live that long.
After watching the video of the workout, I can see how the first five minutes could do you in. And I have yet to make it through one four-minute Tabata round on the treadmill (although I have muscled through it on the stationary bike now). But still ... does anyone else want to work out right this minute?
It looks like you can rig up a similar circuit at nearly any gym (that is, you don't have to be at a CrossFit facility) as a way to build your work capacity without courting your slow-twitch muscle fibers -- fast-twitch types, rejoice!
UPDATE: As I was perusing the workout and exercise list at CrossFit.com (some really amazing stuff there), I came across a Tabata version of the "Fight Gone Bad" workout! See the video here (complete with music from Culture Club).
Two Legitimate Excuses Sprinters Can Use to Get Out of Running Distance
A few weeks back, my friend Angie proposed that a group of us do the Leprechaun Run here in Philly this past Saturday.
Without really digging into the race description -- aside from noticing that the proceeds benefited the Special Olympics -- I agreed. I saw a "5" and assumed it was a 5K.
I was wrong.
A couple days before the race, as I was filling in my entry form, I noticed that, in fact, the race was five MILES -- not kilometers -- long. Oops? Considering my longest cardio session since I've gotten back into fitness has lasted 23 minutes (and 37 seconds), I found this bit of info quite alarming.
But the other option was a two-mile walk and, well, there was pride to consider. I mean, I could run five miles if I wanted to ... I've just never wanted to before. Right? And anyway, wasn't I supposed to be building up my aerobic base?
I think it's worth noting here that Stubot (of Pull-Up Challenge "fame") declined the race invite, replying "Distance running isn't really appropriate rugby training, so I don't want to weigh myself down with the wrong muscle fibers. I don't even know what that means, actually."
Ah, prescient Stubot.
While I slogged through the race in just under an hour, in the future I will arm myself with one of the following two excuses. I mean reasons. OK, excuses -- but they're good ones.
Legitimate Excuse No. 1: Sprinters don't need to build an aerobic base.
Literally the day after I sent in my race form, Vern Gambetta, director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems, blogged about the notion of "Building an Aerobic Base" as it relates to sprinters.
There, the pretense I'd been laboring under mocked me. His first sentence sums it up: "For some strange reason, the myth that you must build an aerobic base for sprinting still lives."
Hold up -- that's a myth?! That myth is the only reason I signed up to do five miles. (That, and to benefit the Special Olympics, of course.)
It was my understanding that I was still in base-building mode, which all types of athletes have to muster through at the beginning of a program, and that later I'd be able to switch over to more fast-twitch-focused workouts.
But no. To drive the point home, later that same day Gambetta posted "More on 'Aerobic Base,'" with detailed support from Jack Blatherwick, PhD, the conditioning coach for the NHL's Washington Capitals (not to mention former conditioning coach for the U.S. Olympic Ice Hockey team, including the 1980 "Miracle Team").
Five highlights of Blatherwick's argument:
Legitimate Excuse No. 2: Doing nothing assists recovery just as much as doing "active recovery" (often a clever name for a long, slow run).
> For sprinters, of course the most important base would be speed -- in concert with strength and power. It is a waste of time -- and perhaps counterproductive -- to train with long slow distances. Aerobic/cardiovascular fitness is essential for all young athletes, of course. The important question is how to acquire it.
> Regarding team sports that require skill and athleticism, the mistake made by many fitness coaches is to "compartmentalize" the training into separate workouts -- aerobic endurance, anaerobic power, anaerobic endurance, skill, agility, strength, etc. etc. etc. Of course in a game, all of these attributes are required at the same time, so we should be looking for more ways to incorporate the various elements into "integrated workouts."
> ... anaerobic interval training is highly aerobic, and can be a more intense cardiovascular workout than what fitness gurus would call a "cardio" workout. College hockey players doing six weeks of dryland training composed of "anaerobic intervals" for quickness and power made greater gains in aerobic and cardiovascular measures than if they had trained with aerobic distances for the same period
> There is a neuromuscular consequence for everything we do -- including endurance workouts. This means we are forming habits at all times -- physiological habits that might be very difficult to break.
> ... it is obvious we should rethink our compartmentalized approach and add "overspeed practice." This means pushing the team out of their present comfort zone -- to perform skills and make read-react decisions at a faster pace, using appropriate intervals. Then, as the training season progresses, increase the length of the intervals and total length of the overspeed practice. This approach certainly does not include long, slow distances, because "slow" is not part of the mission.
It might be a stretch, but there is at least some data to support this statement. As long as you are part of a small, elite population of athletes, that is (specifically, a young, female, elite soccer player). But sometimes, I think research is about hearing what you want to hear. (Hellooooo, placebo.)
Bryan Chung, MD, founder of the blog Evidence-Based Fitness, dissected the 2008 study "Neuromuscular fatigue and recovery in elite female soccer: Effects of active recovery" from the journal Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise in his recent post "Rest vs. Active Recovery." (Active recovery is performing submaximal exercise to promote recovery from intense training sessions/games.)
The study compared the recovery times of two groups of soccer players who played two games, 72 hours apart -- one group did active recovery, and the other recovered passively.
Turns out the researchers didn't find a bit of difference between the two groups.
While Chung noted plenty of flaws in the study, his bottom line was "... you can probably do whatever you like best, whether it's sitting on the couch, or getting some active recovery in, feeling relatively assured that it's probably not going to hurt you. [C]ertainly, this study draws attention to question whether active recovery, though theoretically sound, is actually any more beneficial than passive recovery."
Yes! I've always despised -- and skipped, in large part -- the 30-minute "recovery run" the day after rugby games. (I really hope Martha Daines isn't reading this post.)
And now, happily, I will continue to do so. If you take issue with that, see Excuse No. 1.
Tabata No. One
I think you can do just about anything cardio-related for one minute. You may not want to, but you just have to buck up, have heart, dig deep and git-'er-done. (Or so go the platitudes.) So four minutes didn't seem like too big a stretch, especially when discussing a cardio workout in its entirety.
Ever since we published "The Tabata Tune-Up" in the March issue of Experience Life, I've been itching to try it. Big results in less time? I'm in -- it just so happens I'm eager to hurry my progress along (within the parameters of training smart, of course). Sure, in the article we're up front that it's tough, but how tough could it possibly be?
Ah, well, yes. Post-Tabata cardio workout No. 1 -- done on a treadmill at 12.1 mph, 2 percent incline -- I'm here to report that four minutes can stretch on for some time. Especially when one's vision is getting ever-so-slightly black around the edges.
I made it through two and a half minutes on Friday night, but I'm not (that) ashamed. Or rather, that's not the end of it. Tabata No. 2 tonight.
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