O-Run Atlanta

We had a great time at this race.  Awesome obstacles.  Hard as hell terrain. We came in 5th ot of 97 teams.  My wife spent some time talking with the creator of the race, who was very down to earth and did a lot of hard work getting this thing ready. I'm glad there are people out there dedicated to organizing events like this.  Click here for an example of one of the obstacles, or Check out their website

Starting the Whole 30 Diet Today

My wife and I felt like we needed to change things up a little after being on vacation last week.  All that heavy food made us want to eat clean for a while.  So we decided to do the "Whole 30", starting today. Looks tough, but it will also feel really good to eat right for a little while.  Hopefully it will inspire us to learn some new recipes and try some new foods.  Here is a link to the Whole 30 website.

Rigged Up Suspension Trainer: Works Fine, Costs Less

     Its always good to have some options around the house to switch things up a bit and challenge yourself in new ways.  I have wanted to get a TRX suspension trainer for a while, and though it appears to be a quality product, I wanted to improvise a little and see what it was like before I spent any money (TRX is not cheap).  What I came up with is slightly more sophisticated than a rope and a piece of pvc pipe.  I tried it out today for the first time and it works great.  The workouts you use with this type of device are great because you can easily scale them to any ability level.  Also the equipment is really easy to tote, so this kind of thing is great if you are on vacation or business travel.

Here is what the set up looked like.

Pretty simple.

     I wanted quality handles so I spent 22 dollars on some "go fit" ones from amazon.  I have had good experience with this brand in the past.  They came as a set with a 40 lb exercise band, so that was a bonus.  Below is a closeup of the handles.

     The straps I used were just an old set I have to tie things down in the truck, they are cheap.  All together you are looking at about 30 bucks or so.  I'll put a couple product links below, you can see there is some price difference between the two.  The TRX website has some good videos for workouts and setups.  This stuff is harder than it looks.  The workout I went through today was fun and it definitely hurt.

 


 

Quick Thoughts on the Afterburn Effect

     The afterburn effect simply means that your body will continue to burn fuel after your workout is over in order to return itself to a resting state and adapt to the stresses that are being put on it.  As you exercise, your body depletes energy stores and incurs small amounts of damage to the muscles and connective tissue. After the exercise is over your body must repair the damage that was done, replenish energy stores that were depleted, and adapt so that it can handle similar stress in the future.  All of these processes require the body to use more energy after a workout is over before it can return to a lower metabolic baseline.  The longer the transition to baseline, the more calories that will be burned as a result of a single workout.

     Afterburn is also known as EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), and though it does dissipate relatively quickly over a couple of hours, the effect can be shown to linger in some small amounts for up to a couple days.  As the intensity and duration of a workout increases, so does the amount of stored energy that is depleted and the amount of tissue damage that is done.  So naturally the afterburn effect will last longer after high intensity workouts and workouts that last longer.

     When designing workouts, there is a balance to be had between intensity and duration.  The longer a  bout of exercise lasts, the less intense it is likely to be.  For example, think about the intensity difference between a sprint and a long distance run.  As duration goes up, intensity must at some point go down.

     A popular way to maximize the amount of intense exercise that can be done in a small amount of time is to separate bursts of intense exercise with small periods of rest.   This is known as "High Intensity Interval Training" or HIIT, and is an excellent way to take full advantage of the "afterburn effect".  One easy way to mix HIIT into a program is to finish a workout with a Tabata Interval, which is simply 8 rounds of 20 sec maximum intensity exercise followed by 10 sec of rest. 

     

   


 

Gaining Strength Simply

If you have never lifted weights, or if it has been a good while since you have done any strength training, Developing a good base is the place to start.  You need a solid foundation on which to build. The best way I have found to go about this is through the Stronglifts 5x5 program. This program is very simple. It is comprised of only five exercises. The squat, deadlift, barbell row, bench press and shoulder press. The plan is layed out so that you perform only three of these exercises per workout. You do three workouts a week, which should last less than an hour each. Don't let it fool you though, done right, that three hours a week will be exhausting. It is one of my favorite programs simply because it is fun, and you make serious headway in a small amount of time. The point of this program is to add weight each time you go to the gym. When I am doing this program I always see strength gains quickly, which is encouraging. There is also a free app that will track your progress for you and guide you through the program. Check out the program here . They will ask for an email, but the program is legit and I rarely get any emails from them. Download the free report, don't let the hype at the beginning scare you off, just scroll down and check out the program layout. The most important part of this thing is to not get ahead of yourself. Do each lift with strict form and start out LOW on the weight, you'll be adding it on quickly enough, trust me. If you are a beginner this program will really get you started on the right track for maximum strength gains. Intermediate and advanced lifters I think will benefit from this program as well. I use it to get motivated and get my body back into the swing of things if I've been away from the gym for a while. When I plateau I move on to a different program.

The Art of Deloading, In The Gym and at Home

Deloading simply means to take it down a notch for a few days in order to let your body fully recuperate from the stresses you put on it at the gym. Without this downtime, the body and mind can become weakened from overuse. This can lead to plateaus and injury, and sap your motivation. Luckily, deloading is easy and feels good. The only problem is you have to remember to do it! While we all know we should keep close track of our workouts, not all of us (including me) hit the gym with notebook in hand. So if you belong in this group it may be easier for you to schedule your deloads on a recurring basis, such as the first or last week of every month.

Now that you have it scheduled... what are you gonna do on your deload week?
Here are some suggestions:

1. Most importantly, Earn Your Deload! Work hard on the weeks leading up to the deload week. You want to tax your body so that this time to recover takes place when it will benefit you. The point is to allow your body to fully adapt to the new stresses (higher intensity and weight loads) you have put on it. This can restore you to a baseline that is a level above where you previously were, and prepare you to reach new levels in your training. If you don't earn your deload, don't take it until you do. You don't want to defeat the purpose.

2. You have earned it, so enjoy it. Don't think of this week as downtime or regression. Instead use it to improve your form at lower weight loads, practice explosive lifts, and work accessory muscles that will help pull things together when you are back to full intensity. Give your mind a break by changing things up, and after a few days you will feel yourself dying to get back to your program.

3. Stretch it out! This is a great time to stretch. Do some yoga. Work on your balance. Use a foam roller to release any knots that you have building up. This should be part of your regular routine anyway, but I know its not as exciting and often gets left out (like a warm up and cool down). Eric Cressey of Cressey Performance compares stretching and soft tissue work to flossing. We all know we should do it and its good for us, but nobody really wants to. Also like flossing, it hurts if you haven't done it in a while. But, if you do it regularly, you are glad you did.

4. Keep in mind that deloading is also appropriate in everyday life. Take it one step further by taking it easy at home too. You work hard, take some time to relax. Treat yourself to a massage. Change things up a bit, get into a book you wouldn't normally read. Try to unplug a little, turn off the phone and the tv. These changes are good for you, will inspire new thought, and will will help your body to focus on rebuilding.

5. Eat right. Deloads are a great time to plan your meals for upcoming weeks. Find some new recipes. Nutrition is as important as exercise, so put some thought into it. Remember to give your body what it needs to support your efforts.

6. Get some sleep. You may not be as worn out at night, but doing a little stretching before bed and reading with the tv off usually puts me right out. Obviously sleep is huge for recovery and adaptation. Plus, it's sleep, what's not to like.

7. If you have vacation coming up, plan your deload for your vacation week. Work your butt off in the weeks leading up to it. Bonus, you'll be buff at the beach and you won't feel like crap if you slack a litte while you are there. Just do some bodyweight stuff (check out the earlier post on staying fit away from home), maybe a run in the morning... you're good to go.

Well, there ya go, there's no secret to the deload, at least for those of us who won't be competing in the olympics anytime soon. Ain't nothin to it but to do it.