Victory is mine - no PR's for lifting or running but a win none the less!!!!
45 reps and a sub-20 5K = FIRST PLACE
Full race report to follow.
Friday, May 28, 2010
PUMP AND RUN - Go time!
The pump and run is TODAY. This challenge has gotten me back in the weight room for the last 10 weeks – wow it has been that long. I have not been overdoing but I have been making a true effort. I have been lifting the 70% of my body weight one day a week – to complete failure for multiple sets. The other bench day I would lift closer to 90% of my body weight - two plates. These sets were not always to failure but they were demanding. One day a couple of weeks ago I even tried to see what my maximum lift might be – it was not pretty – about 205 lbs. I thought I was a bit stronger than that. I have noticed that I have a lot of endurance when lifting. If you give me 90 seconds recovery my lifts don't drop of as much as others. Now actual strength - that is another matter.
This competition has also made me very aware of my weight – I have been diligent – I feel like a prize fighter having to meet weight.
The competition rules are as follows:
RULES
This event will start with a weigh-in at the field house. Participants will bench press a percentage of their body weight as many consecutive times as possible. Time deductions will be awarded for each repetition completed.
The 5k run will take place 10 minutes after the last lifter has completed their lifts. 5K times will be recorded and bench press time deductions will be calculated. Overall finishing time will be calculated and winners will be awarded.
Female participants will lift 50% of their body weight and Male participants 70%.
Time Deductions per Repetition
Male/Female 39 and under 20 seconds
Male/Female 40-59 25 seconds
Clydesdales (200lbs) /Athena (145lbs) 27 seconds
Male/Female 60+ 27 seconds
So the race / competition will take place today at 5:30PM at the Oak Grove High School – I imagine the temperature will be scorching.
With the competition taking place at 5:30PM I am sure that the temperature will be a factor – scorching I imagine. There is also a chance of thunderstorms!
I have some pretty aggressive goals for myself. I have not run a 5K since last March (14 months ago) and I am not sure where my 5K pace is located. I hope that there will be a few rabbits for me to chase. I have had success in the past if I can hold someones shoulder. My last 5K was also a PR at 19:09 - I would love to see 18:5X!
I weighed this morning and I am pushing my upper limit for for my bench press. I weighed in at 158 lbs - this is a good weight for me but the 70% rule will put that at 110.6 lbs. I have done all of my 70% sessions at 110 lbs. The weigh in will be crucial to success.
Furthermore, I lifted on Monday afternoon and my counts were totally off – like 20% off. I need a lot of things to come together to put up my best time.
If you are in the area you should really come out – there is not late fee registration or anything! See Flyer.
This race will be a lot of fun!
The competition rules are as follows:
RULES
This event will start with a weigh-in at the field house. Participants will bench press a percentage of their body weight as many consecutive times as possible. Time deductions will be awarded for each repetition completed.
The 5k run will take place 10 minutes after the last lifter has completed their lifts. 5K times will be recorded and bench press time deductions will be calculated. Overall finishing time will be calculated and winners will be awarded.
Female participants will lift 50% of their body weight and Male participants 70%.
Time Deductions per Repetition
Male/Female 39 and under 20 seconds
Male/Female 40-59 25 seconds
Clydesdales (200lbs) /Athena (145lbs) 27 seconds
Male/Female 60+ 27 seconds
So the race / competition will take place today at 5:30PM at the Oak Grove High School – I imagine the temperature will be scorching.
With the competition taking place at 5:30PM I am sure that the temperature will be a factor – scorching I imagine. There is also a chance of thunderstorms!
I have some pretty aggressive goals for myself. I have not run a 5K since last March (14 months ago) and I am not sure where my 5K pace is located. I hope that there will be a few rabbits for me to chase. I have had success in the past if I can hold someones shoulder. My last 5K was also a PR at 19:09 - I would love to see 18:5X!
I weighed this morning and I am pushing my upper limit for for my bench press. I weighed in at 158 lbs - this is a good weight for me but the 70% rule will put that at 110.6 lbs. I have done all of my 70% sessions at 110 lbs. The weigh in will be crucial to success.
Furthermore, I lifted on Monday afternoon and my counts were totally off – like 20% off. I need a lot of things to come together to put up my best time.
If you are in the area you should really come out – there is not late fee registration or anything! See Flyer.
This race will be a lot of fun!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Why I (YOU) need a triathlon coach. (overview)
Yesterday I was perusing the blog-o-sphere and came across a question that I have asked myself many times. Matty O over at Staying strong and positive was questioning a training plan that he has been following (for a couple of days anyway). He wrote, “I feel that the training sessions I was doing before I started this program were MUCH more well rounded and intense than this program recommends. … Do you typically add more mileage or time on your workouts across the board? I feel that I am slacking pretty hardcore now and yet I say, this is what the plan says I need to do???”
I have written a number of training plans for myself and for others. But when it comes down to following the training plans I always want to add more – more intensity, more volume, more speed, more reps – you get the picture.
This is so short sighted. As self-trained athletes we only see the workouts in front of us. When I have used generic training plans I have rarely even looked past the current day much less the current week. I certainly have not looked at the entire training plan. I do not take into account all of the thought that has gone into the plan. Even in the simplest of plans there should be a base, build and a peak to prepare you for your A priority races.
Now when I follow my plans I always forget (disregard) why I have put these steps in place. I have a group of cyclist that I love to go out and hammer it. I have a group of runners that I love to go out and smash it. It is hard for me to have the discipline to not DO IT ALL – everyday. It is hard for me to take recovery into consideration. I have a bias when it comes to my training. I believe that I know best on a day to day basis but I am not looking at the big picture.
The times that I have followed a training plan, and I mean really followed a plan has been few and far between. But this is where I have seen the most progress. This is where I have done the best. It takes discipline and trust to follow a structured plan but the rewards are great.
To be fair, Matty O has only been following this plan for a couple of days and it may indeed need a lot of tweaking. It would appear that his current fitness is greater than the new plan recognizes.
It would be much easier to rely on a coach to make these training decisions for you. A coach can put an end to all of the second guessing. They can tailor the training plan to your lifestyle – your strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes. You just have to get up and just do the workout. The training and the workouts are the easy part.
A good coach should provide the following (I did a quick brain storming session and put these in alpha order - I will elaborate on these in coming posts):
I have written a number of training plans for myself and for others. But when it comes down to following the training plans I always want to add more – more intensity, more volume, more speed, more reps – you get the picture.
Time to get a pair of coaches shorts
This is so short sighted. As self-trained athletes we only see the workouts in front of us. When I have used generic training plans I have rarely even looked past the current day much less the current week. I certainly have not looked at the entire training plan. I do not take into account all of the thought that has gone into the plan. Even in the simplest of plans there should be a base, build and a peak to prepare you for your A priority races.
Now when I follow my plans I always forget (disregard) why I have put these steps in place. I have a group of cyclist that I love to go out and hammer it. I have a group of runners that I love to go out and smash it. It is hard for me to have the discipline to not DO IT ALL – everyday. It is hard for me to take recovery into consideration. I have a bias when it comes to my training. I believe that I know best on a day to day basis but I am not looking at the big picture.
The times that I have followed a training plan, and I mean really followed a plan has been few and far between. But this is where I have seen the most progress. This is where I have done the best. It takes discipline and trust to follow a structured plan but the rewards are great.
To be fair, Matty O has only been following this plan for a couple of days and it may indeed need a lot of tweaking. It would appear that his current fitness is greater than the new plan recognizes.
It would be much easier to rely on a coach to make these training decisions for you. A coach can put an end to all of the second guessing. They can tailor the training plan to your lifestyle – your strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes. You just have to get up and just do the workout. The training and the workouts are the easy part.
A good coach should provide the following (I did a quick brain storming session and put these in alpha order - I will elaborate on these in coming posts):
Accountability
Belief
Confidence
Goal Setting
Information
Knowledge
Mentoring
Motivation
Objectivity
Organization
Personalization
Purpose
Race strategies
Race weight management
Responsibility
Restraint
Sounding board
Structure
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Eating on the road
While the title of this post could easily be about gels and sports drink while cycling it is much more mundane. It is actually about driving. You see this past weekend I took a short trip to my father’s house. He lives in east Texas about 6 and half hours away.
Now I know that I am a snacker when I am bored. So to combat this practice I usually bring a ton of good foods with me for the ride. By good foods I mean baby carrots, fat free refried bean burritos, maybe some granola bars, etc.
I have eaten so many baby carrots while driving that I have even coined a term for it – carrot belly. This is when you have eaten 2 pounds of carrots in as many hours. I swear my skin is an orange tone and I have a slight belly ache.
The problem is that when I am bored I will eat. I eat non-stop. So even though I pack these good nutritious foods they are gone before I hit the highway.
I mean, I will eat the snacks and lunch in the first couple of hours. One time I was travelling to see some friends back in the Midwest. This time I had to fly and the airport is about an hour away. I had a couple of fiber one bars during the drive and another couple while at the airport. Due to some non-act of God the flight ended up being cancelled. By the time I got my airfare refunded I had consumed 12 fiber one bars – 100 + grams of fiber in about 3 hours. I was unpleasant to deal with.
So this time I took a different route. I would be driving for about 6 and half hours on Saturday and the same amount of time returning on Monday. I dug around the refrigerator before I left and I grab a single grilled chicken breast. True to my nature the chicken breast was gone in the first 2 hours. But I had nothing else to eat and I did not stop. This was enough. I did not need all of the snacks.
On the return trip I did not pack anything at all. I had a good breakfast before leaving my father’s house and I was not hungry until several hours later. I did stop and have a subway sandwich. Calorie wise, I did much better than in the past.
Sometimes planning ahead is not the right answer.
I have eaten so many baby carrots while driving that I have even coined a term for it – carrot belly. This is when you have eaten 2 pounds of carrots in as many hours. I swear my skin is an orange tone and I have a slight belly ache.
The problem is that when I am bored I will eat. I eat non-stop. So even though I pack these good nutritious foods they are gone before I hit the highway.
I mean, I will eat the snacks and lunch in the first couple of hours. One time I was travelling to see some friends back in the Midwest. This time I had to fly and the airport is about an hour away. I had a couple of fiber one bars during the drive and another couple while at the airport. Due to some non-act of God the flight ended up being cancelled. By the time I got my airfare refunded I had consumed 12 fiber one bars – 100 + grams of fiber in about 3 hours. I was unpleasant to deal with.
So this time I took a different route. I would be driving for about 6 and half hours on Saturday and the same amount of time returning on Monday. I dug around the refrigerator before I left and I grab a single grilled chicken breast. True to my nature the chicken breast was gone in the first 2 hours. But I had nothing else to eat and I did not stop. This was enough. I did not need all of the snacks.
On the return trip I did not pack anything at all. I had a good breakfast before leaving my father’s house and I was not hungry until several hours later. I did stop and have a subway sandwich. Calorie wise, I did much better than in the past.
Sometimes planning ahead is not the right answer.
Monday, May 24, 2010
4 essential elements of multisport
You can’t open a magazine or view a website without being bombarded with the latest and greatest supplements. They have names like Xplode and Ripped Freak (yes that is a real one) They tell you to drink this to recover faster. To take this to drop body fat. And to take this one for unlimited energy. While some of these items might improve your fitness that is only after you have everything else in order. Here are the essential elements to better yourself in multisport.
1. Water – You have to have this one. Proper hydration is important. You just can’t perform well, especially in the heat, if you don’t take care of your water intake. You really do not need the sports drink unless you are working out extremely hard and for more than an hour. The shakes and sports drinks are not as important as the advertisements would have you think. While they won’t hurt you they can provide a lot of sugars that your body probably does not need. Sports drink after a vigorous workout of more than an hour is not going to be a problem but you do not need to be sipping on the stuff will walking around the mall. Drink up – Hyponatremia (water Intoxication) is probably not much of a risk for most of us.
2. Food – You have to fuel the body. Performance will suffer if you work out on an empty stomach. Food is also important for post exercise recovery. Try to eat real food. This means items that do not come in a box. That’s right – fruits, vegetables, whole grains. If the food does come in a box pick the one with the fewest ingredients. Something like oatmeal is a good choice – 1 ingredient – rolled oats.
3. Exercise – You have to tax the body. You need good solid works that have structure and overload the body. There is no replacement for a solid workout from a solid training plan. You only want to work the body hard enough to adapt.
4. Sleep / recovery – The body needs time to adapt from the training load that you have provided. The muscles do not grow during the workout session. In fact that is when they are damaged. Your body needs rest and recovery built into your training plan in order to become stronger. When training hard, a nap or a few extra hours of sleep is probably better than waking up early for another strenuous work out.
Get all of the basics down. Once you are seeing results and making gains then you can start to think about supplements. They still won't do what they claim. There are not any short cuts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)