Managing Maximum Effort

"There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when it's convenient. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results." Ken Blanchard

100 burpees 7:10
summit trainer 12 resistance 30 minutes 2.64 miles

Great workout today. The burpee time improved a ton just because I did a better job managing the effort. If you are doing any high intensity cardio activity (sprinting/burpees/plyometrics) the key to maximizing performance is to keep your breathing relaxed.

As soon as you start gasping for breath you are in oxygen debt and its game over. You can keep pushing, but your performance will suck and it will be very painful. Staying relaxed and right on the edge of oxygen debt is the key. Once you get better at it you will be able to stay relaxed even though you are pushing even harder.

I added a new tech toy to the blog. If you go to the consistencywins.com website, at the bottom of each post there is now a section that says, "You might also like" and links to other posts from the blog. The only thing that sucks is I have named all my posts with just the workout date so to figure out what the post is about you have to click on it. If people like the tool I will keep it and fix the post titles, or maybe just delete it if no one uses it.

Next time you think you are strong, think of this guy. He is an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Marine named Chris West. He is doing a handstand pushup with a 100 pound bomb suit.

Yosemite

“The best inspiration is not to outdo others, but to outdo ourselves.” Unknown

Run 6 miles (river) 47:34

The training plan called for 8 miles today, but I haven't run on pavement much the last few months so I only went 6 miles to give my legs a chance to adjust.

The following blog post is written by a Truckee ultrarunner. She won the Tahoe Marathon last year, so she is no joke. She put together a post about her experiences in Yosemite Valley, and it has a ton of great pictures. I copied the link and some of the pics below. Jen and I are planning to run half dome this summer. This inspires me to get on that.

Gretchen - Yosemite by the Seasons

David Goggins Motivation

“It takes twenty years to become an overnight success.” Eddy Cantor

DB handstand pushups 4, 3, 2, 1
rower - 1 min. row/1 min. rest for 10 intervals - total distance 2916 meters

Here is a post from David Goggins' (the Navy SEAL/ultrarunner) blog.

David Goggins - The Man in the Mirror

What do your really want? Every morning when you wake up what is the first thing you think about doing. I'm not talking about work, family etc. I'm talking about personal ambition. What is it that you desire to do? Think about that. Then think about how long you have thought about doing it. Next, think about what you have done in the last year, 2, 3 or 4 years to get you closer to that goal?
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You will only truly want something when you work everyday at getting that something. What I am trying to say is that if you wake up in the morning and your true desire is to run a marathon, if you don't think about that everyday and work toward that everyday, you will never get there.
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Whatever it is that you want to do, work for it. It has to become a part of your daily life. Until then, it will remain a desire, or a goal. You have to be upfront with those around you. Let them know what you are expecting to do, what you want to do. If they don't understand or support it, so what?!? It is your goal and your desire! Do what you have to do to get there.

When you do. It will be the best moment in your life. Most likely you will find that those who truly care about you want you to succeed. They want to help you acheive. Your mind has to overtake you. You have to be in constant pursuit.
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Everyday when I see my reflection. I see a man who is not yet satisfied. What does your reflection say to you?

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Spring/Summer 2010 Training Plan

"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." John Quincy Adams

100 burpees 7:59
treadmill 4 miles 31:15

I haven't done burpees in nearly 5 months. I really wish I had done them once a week or something during the winter to keep my fitness up. It was a painful experience this morning. It was a struggle to crawl on the treadmill after that, but I did it. For more on burpees, click here.

I mentioned that I would post my spring/summer race training plan, so here it is. I have been scattered with my goals and training approach the last couple of months, so I asked Steve to help me set my spring/summer goals and put together the training plan. He is the best runner I know and I would like to do well in some races this year. Thanks for all of the help Steve.

Spring/Summer 2010 Training Plan

Goals - My biggest training mistake is I am too intense in my approach - I set short term (1-2 month) goals, work like crazy to meet them, burn out or start to get aches and pains, and then move on to the next thing. To combat this, Steve recommended I only set one or two goals that are farther out and more difficult to achieve. That way I will have to be more patient and consistent in my training and won't be able to just push hard for a short period of time to reach the goal and then move on. So I have set two goals for the end of the summer.

1. Run the Journal Jog (5 miles) at the end of September under 33:30 (6:45 min/mile).
2. 100 burpees under 5:30.

Training Plan - Steve believes you can effectively train for a race on three days a week of running. Since my goal distance is 5 miles, the core of my weekly running program will include a long run (1 to 1 1/2 hours), a tempo run (4-5 miles) and a track day. The other 2-3 training days will include rowing, cardio cross training and some weight work if I feel like it. In addition, I will do burpees and handstand pushups at least twice per week.

A typical week might look like this.

Monday - burpees/rower/summit trainer/stepmill/weights (pick one or two)
Tuesday - tempo run 4-5 miles approx. 7 min/mile pace
Wednesday - rest day (maybe handstand pushups or burpees)
Thursday - track day (400, 800 and 1600 meter intervals)
Friday - burpees/rower/summit trainer/stepmill/weights (pick one or two)
Saturday - run 8-10 miles approx. 8 min/mile pace
Sunday - rest day (maybe handstand pushups or burpees)

I will take one or two rest days per week, and vary the intensity of the workouts so I don't burn out. I typically try to post better times every time I train, but that has caused problems in the past. The core of the program is the three running days and the burpees, everything else leaves me room for variety. I can add a running day, use different machines for cross training, etc. I have had a nagging pain in my calf for a few weeks, so I will hold off on the hard track workouts for awhile. I will just substitute a tempo run in that slot.

Nutrition - I will continue to count calories using the Lose It! app on my iphone. It is easy to use and really helps me be mindful of what I am eating. It doesn't turn me into a food nazi, but does a great job of helping me think through what I eat. Currently, I am eating 2,100 net calories per day (meaning if I exercise and burn 500 calories, I will add that to the 2,100 for a total of 2,600 that day). I will stay with 2,100 calories/day until I get to around 175 pounds bodyweight (I was 179 this morning) and then increase the calories a bit so I don't lose any more weight.

Food choices will just be the obvious stuff - eat pretty clean, try to emphasize lean meats, fruits, vegetables and smart grains. As an example, for the last few days, I have been right on the 2,100 net calories, and my average nutrient intake has been 20% fat, 50% carbs and 30% protein.

There you have it. As Steve and I discussed yesterday, the key to success for me in this plan is to be the tortoise, not the hare. Steady and consistent will win this race.

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Kenyans Work Hard for Success

"The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch." Jim Rohn

Why are Kenyan's faster than Americans? Because they work harder. Check out this article from the LA Times.

Marathoner's Story is a Front Runner - LA Times

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Winter 2009 Training Lessons

"Always remember the distinction between contribution and commitment. Take the matter of bacon and eggs: The chicken makes a contribution – the pig makes a commitment." Unknown

DB handstand pushups 4, 3, 2, 1, 1
treadmill 5 miles 38:12

For some reason, I didn't get the morning e-mail for yesterday's workout. If you missed it too, here is a link - 2/22 workout

My winter strength and size experiment is officially over. Here is a summary of my lessons learned and plans for the next couple of months.

After my last goal race at the end of September my weight had dropped to 168 pounds and I felt I was too skinny. After a pretty long layoff from any strength work due to a shoulder injury, I began doing handstand pushups and started to emphasize more interval training. My running miles were less than 10 per week and I was using a lot of machines (rower, summit trainer, stepmill, etc). My thought was to focus on shorter, more intense workouts so I could gain some size and strength. I basically was hoping to look more like a sprinter than a marathon runner.

From October to December I made a ton of progress on the handstand pushups and worked hard on the interval training. I ended up just maintaining my cardio levels - no big improvement there. Then in December I started to incorporate weight workouts, primarily using the dumbbell clean and press exercise. At this time I also started to eat more, hoping to get my weight up to 180-185 pounds and see how I felt. On December 27, I did 5 single reps on the C&P with 60lb dumbells.

I got a lot stronger in the last couple of months, and gained 14 pounds from September 27 to February 21. With a bodyweight of 182 I did 5 single reps on the C&P with 70lb dumbbells at the end of a heavy workout. Also, I can now do much more difficult handstand pushups now.

So I got strong, and I definitely got bigger. I gained 14 pounds, but my pants fit the same, so I believe most of the weight gain was muscle. I did lose my six pack though, so some of it was fat. I found that while I looked better with a t-shirt on because I got bigger in my upper body, I looked worse with my shirt off because of the fat gain. I also felt slow and the more strength gains I made, the less interested I was in doing intense cardio work. The strength gains were giving me an excuse to not work hard at cardio, because as long as I was improving somewhere, I could justify being lazy elsewhere in my program. Bottom line, I was happy with my strength and size gains, but not happy with my speed, my diet or how I looked.

So what did I learn?

1. It is really hard to eat clean and gain weight at the same time. The theory is simple - eat a ton of good food. But in reality, as you get used to eating more, junk starts to slip into your diet. I am naturally lazy when it comes to food prep, and I did a terrible job making sure I had enough good food available, so I supplemented with junk.

2. I got sucked into the paleo diet concept for awhile. While parts of this diet make a ton of sense, snacking on dried fruits, nuts and jerky made me gain too much fat. Fat is good on a caveman who might not kill another woolly mammoth for a week. It is not too good on a dude who can roll by Whole Foods anytime he wants to pick up more food.

3. It is very hard to get stronger and faster (defined by running a 5k fast) at the same time. For me, I found I need to pick one and try to maintain the other. In the last 3 months I tried to pick stronger and maintain faster. I was pretty effective at it, but ended up not being terribly happy with the results.

Since none of us are getting paid to do any of this, you have to do stuff you enjoy. As much as I try to resist considering myself a "runner", I really like running and racing. As the weather gets better, I enjoy running outside or at the track much more than going to the gym. So as my first goal race approaches (Reno 10k on May 2), I am going to switch back to primarily running and use mostly handstand pushups to maintain my upper body strength. Also, I am counting calories so I can get my weight back to 175 or so. Hopefully I will be able to keep some of my muscle so the winter experiment ends up providing some longer term benefits.

I will post some more on race prep training plan in a few days.

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2/22 workout

"No one ever drowned in sweat." Dan Gable

DB handstand pushups - 1 set 3, 2 sets of 2, 7 single reps
treadmill 4 miles 31:31

I like the theme of this post: Dan John - Pushing the Limits. It recommends doing crazy athletic feats from time to time just to see what you are made of. This is a great idea.

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The lesson Ted learned is the single greatest lesson an athlete and lifter can ever learn: sometime, somewhere, somehow, you have to toss out science, toss out periodization, toss out logic, and do something that extends you far beyond what you think you can do. One of the great joys of being a parent is to discover that you can go for a week or two without truly sleeping as you care for a sick child, yet continue to work, commute, shop, and survive. Certainly, it is an act of love, but you retain the understanding that “if I have to” I can survive without eight hours of perfect sleep.
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Throughout my life, I have occasionally “raised the bar” for no real good reason. My junior year in college, I decided to see if I could squat bodyweight, Olympic squat style, fifty times. Why? I don’t remember but I kept thinking around rep thirty there had to be a good reason. From forty to fifty, I breathed up to ten times per rep, fighting off back spasms and brain fog. I entered a Triathalon once, too, just to see what would happen. After nearly drowning, I crashed then staggered for ten kilometers. But, I finished.

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78 Year Old Runner Wins With Consistency

"More powerful than the will to win is the courage to begin." Unknown

2 DB C&P 65 lb - 10 sets of 2, 70 lb - 5 single reps
exercise bike 10 resistance 8 miles 28:50

We woke up to about a foot of snow this morning, so today's workout began with 30 minutes of snow shoveling. Maybe because I was warmed up already, but the weights felt light today. It was the first time that I have been able to do reps with the 70 pound dumbbells.

This is an article about a 78 year old runner that still runs some amazing times. He runs slowly and consistently nearly every day - nothing complicated.

Ed Whitlock and the Age of Simplicity

Yet this 78-year-old man is one of the greatest age-group runners ever. In flight, his torso straightens, his limbs align, his chin comes up, and he glides over the ground. He's run a 5:41 mile in the second half of his eighth decade. He's run 6:00/mile pace for 5K in his early 70s. After a year away from racing with an arthritic knee, in September he ran a 1:37 half marathon, finishing 304th in a field of 3,411. And then there's his crowning achievement (so far), a 2:54 marathon at age 73, a time that most runners half that age would be ecstatic to call their own.
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Interested in finding out if the Whitlock way works for you? Here's what you do: "I do what not to do to an extreme," Whitlock says. "I go out jogging. It's not fast running, just that I do it for a long time. I don't follow what typical coaches say about serious runners. No physios, ice baths, massages, tempo runs, heart rate monitors. I have no strong objection to any of that, but I'm not sufficiently organized or ambitious to do all the things you're supposed to do if you're serious. The more time you spend fiddlediddling with this and that, the less time there is to run or waste time in other ways."

Whitlock also has a philosophical reason for stripping running to its essentials. "Running should be a pastime," he says. "All sports should be a pastime.

Picture of the Day

Pictures of downtown Reno in the snow today, and the patio table on my deck.

Quotes and Pictures

"Strength is a matter of a made up mind." John Beecher

Some quotes and pictures from the Consistency Wins archives:

"Success -- a willingness to do what the average person is not willing to do." Unknown

"We get stronger when we test ourselves. Adversity can make us better. We must be challenged to improve, and adversity is the challenger." John Wooden

"Running is a big question mark that is there each and every day. It asks you, 'are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?" Peter Maher

"When you think you are done, you're only 40 percent into what your body is capable of doing." David Goggins

"Act as though it is impossible to fail." Unknown

"You've got to embrace the pain, push the threshold, and feel the suck, and then you've got to muster the courage to go back six times a week." Jon Gilson

The Steve Nash Diet

"The ability to make a man go beyond the point at which he thinks he is going to die." Franz Stampfl on what coaches need

DB handstand pushups - 2 sets of 2, 10 single reps
summit trainer 14 resistance for 15 min., 12 resistance for 30 min. 2.91 miles

I was reading a column ranking NBA players (Bill Simmons ESPN), and came across this:

17. Steve Nash
Better than ever, which really shouldn't be the case because, you know, he just turned 36. We invited him to an ESPN dinner at Sundance, and he told us there were three reasons he's not aging: a no-sugar diet, a sleep journal and a steady supply of undetectable PEDs from the revolutionary Suns training staff. (Fine, I made the last one up.) He said the no-sugar diet made him recover faster after games and especially for back-to-backs. In fact, half the Suns are watching their sugar intake now.

So I did some more research, and found a bunch of info. about Steve Nash's diet. Nothing in there is revolutionary, it is basically a real food diet. As with everything else, it is the implementation that is the hard part. However, I was struck by the fact that he attributes huge fitness gains at age 36 to switching to this diet.

Here are some specifics on the diet:

Steve Nash on living sugar free

The difference was instantaneous: I slept better, I recovered from workouts more easily, and I had more energy. When we started training camp in September, we were doing two-a-days — four or five hours on the court — and I never got sore. Even more telling is the fact that this summer I traveled all over the world for my foundation, bringing team sports to war-ravaged countries. I was missing out on sleep and still training the whole time, but I never got sick. I’ve got to think it’s because sugar wasn’t wearing me down.

Decoding the Nash diet

Nash isn’t counting calories, following a schedule or cooking out of a textbook, he is just abiding by some core principles. The first and foremost is that he tries to eat organically as much as possible.

“I’m not perfect but I try to eat healthy, and I try to eat as much natural stuff from the earth as I can,” he said. “I stay away from all the processed foods, as well as pastas, rice and breads.”

The core of his diet consists of fruits, vegetables, raw nuts, chicken and fish. He also supplements by taking vitamins that you can find at any supermarket.

A typical breakfast for the team’s playmaker would be wheat-free cereal with non-dairy milk (almond milk), while lunch and dinner would be a chicken or fish salad. In between meals, one can always find Nash snacking on fruits, raw nuts and natural energy bars.
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Here as excerpt from Nash’s Facebook page on what he will eat on a typical day:
Breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day.... along with lunch and dinner. I feel if your diet is consistent and well balanced (think long term rather than short term) it isn't so important what you eat right before you play or the night before because your energy levels and recovery will be on target from the quality of your previous three to seven days of meals.
-Gluten and wheat free cereal, sliced almonds and almond or rice milk. (If you don't have the sensitivities I have look for a high fiber cereal. At least 4 grams of fiber.) I will also have a whole fruit smoothie or an apple, banana or orange. Green tea.

Lunch. A salad with grilled chicken or fish, vegetables, raw nuts and dried fruit. I will also have fruit afterwards.

Dinner. Grilled or baked fish or chicken with vegetables. Sometimes I'll have brown rice.

Again, plan ahead. If you get hungry between meals have a plan as to what foods you'll turn to and make sure you have plenty of them so your only options aren't will power or ice cream. My snack foods are, dried fruit, whole almonds or whole cashews. All natural, raw foods energy bars. Raw vegetables like carrots and celery. Whole fruit or whole fruit smoothies. It goes without saying drink water throughout the day to stay hydrated. If you feel like you need electrolytes coconut water has the highest concentration of electrolytes but if your diet is good you should have plenty of electrolytes.

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Time to Get Serious

"You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have." Unknown

DB handstand pushups - 1 set of 2, 8 single reps
rower - 1 min. row/1 min. rest for 10 intervals - total distance 2902 meters
treadmill 2 miles 16:08

I decided to punish myself this morning (more on that below), which of course meant I had to get on the rower. While the intervals hurt, the most interesting part was getting on the treadmill after all of the lactic acid build up in my legs from rowing. It was like running in wet concrete.

My friend Steve (Mr. sub 1:15 half marathon) and I were chatting yesterday. He was telling me about a conversation he had with a friend who is one of the top ultramarathoners in the country. She was saying that basically all athletic success is based on your mental strength. Both training and racing is dependent on your ability to mentally manage pain. If you can embrace pain and continually push yourself beyond the point where most people give up, you will accomplish amazing things.

This conversation reminded me how lazy and undisciplined I have become. Sure, I have been training consistently for the last few months, but it hasn't been effective. I have been weightlifting (fun, but not painful) and doing short runs (not painful) and being very lazy with my diet. I have been avoiding row intervals, sprint intervals and plyometrics (all painful) and being a mental midget when it comes to diet discipline.

I have been trying to find ways to cut corners. Using strength gains as an excuse to gain weight. Yapping too much about how I should be eating better and overanalyzing diets, but not doing anything about it. Looking for ways to keep my fitness level up with less work. Trying to improve in very small increments so it doesn't hurt, instead of improving in leaps and bounds because my mind tells my body to shut the hell up and get it done.

Essentially, I have been acting my age. Getting old doesn't slap you in the face one day, it creeps up on you over time. You start to rationalize why you shouldn't do a workout that makes your lungs burn and forces you to collapse on the floor because it hurts too much. Then you start to think it won't hurt if you eat another piece of pizza and one more brownie.

Then you hit 40 years old and tell yourself that you are still in better shape than most people your age, which allows you to feel just good enough about yourself to continue to justify lazy workouts and crap eating habits.

I have been slipping into this trap the last few months. No more. It isn't good enough if people half my age are impressed that I am still in pretty good shape. I want to be faster and stronger than them so they feel like crap because an old man just kicked their ass.

Game on.

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Almonds

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you are right." Henry Ford

Interesting post about almonds - Crossfit Arizona (I copied the whole thing below). I have been thinking of trying almond milk instead of regular milk. Maybe I will give it a shot.

Anabolic Almonds

Fiber, healthy monounsaturated fats, protein… Yawn.

Yeah, yeah, you know almonds are good for you, but here’s something really cool: In a study published in the International Journal of ORMD, one group of reduced-calorie dieters enriched their diets with almonds while another group ate the same amount of calories but consumed no almonds.

The result? The almond-eaters lost more body fat and more inches off their waists than the non-almond eaters. Remember, the study participants ate the same amount of calories.

This result may be partly due to the fact that the fiber in almonds prevents some of the calories from fat from being absorbed. “The fiber binds with a portion of the fat so that it doesn’t come into contact with the intestinal wall,” researcher Dr. Michelle Wien, explained. “It just gets flushed out of the body.”

So, almonds are sorta like that Orlistat weight loss drug and its impotent cousin, Alli, only, you know, without all the anal leakage and explosive shitting.

Dr. Jonny Bowden notes that epidemiologic studies universally show that those who eat the most nuts also tend to have the lowest levels of body fat. No, you can’t eat them by the handful all day long when in a fat loss stage, but the good fat, the protein, and the fiber content combine to make almonds super satiating (filling).

Long story short, make three ounces of almonds part of your summer lean-down or your next contest prep and you’ll lose more body fat than if you didn’t.

Also, check out this 44 year old lady doing 39 pullups - in a row! (e-mail subscribers click here if you can't see the video)



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2/16 workout

"The expression 'misery loves company' is meant for winter running. As I'm lying in bed on dark, cold mornings, it's a lot harder to talk myself out of getting up when I know I'm accountable to other people." Jason Lehmkuhle, runner-up at 2008 U.S. Half-Marathon Championships

2 DB C&P 60 lb - 1 set of 4, 10 sets of 3
summit trainer 14 resistance 1.0 mile 14:14

I posted yesterday that I would cut back on the strength work and then today I end up doing a pure strength workout. My work and travel schedule is all over the place this week so I had to switch everything around. Yesterday's posted plan still holds.

The Reno Rock n River race site has been updated and registration is open. The date is May 2. The have a 10k, half marathon and marathon. It was well organized last year and nearly everyone I know in Reno who is interested in fitness is planning on running one of the races this year. If you are on the fence, show up - you will have fun.

Rock n River Registration

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Time to Cut Some Weight

"Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach." Tom Robbins

DB handstand pushups - 5 single reps
treadmill 5 miles 36:34

I haven't done handstand pushups in awhile, partially because they were causing my elbow tendonitis to flare up (don't get tendonitis - it sucks). But I really wanted to get them back in my program, so today I did them holding dumbbells. So instead of having my hands flat on the floor, I put two fat handled dumbbells on the floor and held onto them.

The effect is it increases the range of motion about 6 inches (about half from the dumbbells and half because you are forced to keep your hands closer together). Doing them this way is very close to doing a bodyweight military press (which for me is about 180 pounds). You can tell they are a lot harder because I can do 8 reps with hands on the floor, and only one rep this way. The best part is the different arm angle is totally pain free for my elbow.

I am one of the few people that believes your exercise goals drive your food choices, not the other way around. I bet Apollo Ohno has a pretty clean diet. Does he do it to look good? No, the guy is trying to win a gold medal. When you have clear athletic goals your diet choices follow.

In my case I have been doing a lot of weightlifting lately (at least for me). As a result, I have been gaining a lot of muscle -- and eating a lot too. I hit the scale last night at 185 pounds, which is 17 pounds more than my September 2009 race weight. Most of the new weight is muscle, though I have gained some fat too.

I need to post all of this on the blog mostly to shame myself into having some eating discipline. My diet has been embarassing lately.

While the weight gain was generally according to my winter plan, I have taken it a bit too far. The added muscle and strength have been nice, but I am too slow now. I need to cut back on the weightlifting and replace it with running. Combined with losing some weight, hopefully I can speed up for my first race in 2 1/2 months.

I will use handstand pushups (which take much less time and I can easily do at home) and less frequent weight work to try and keep most of my strength up. Most importantly, I have to stop eating like a pig.

The goal by the beginning of May is to drop weight to the mid 170's, cut fat, increase speed and keep my upper body strength up. Saying it was the easy part - now I have to do it...

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2/14 workout

"Hard things take time to do. Impossible things take a little longer." Percy Cerutty

Handstand pushups - 8, 3, 2, 2
trail run 5 miles 41:39

We moved this weekend (just a couple of miles from our old house). The bad news is it is a couple of miles further from the Truckee River trail that I love to run on. That trail is asphalt, flat, and has great views of the river.

The good news is our new house is near the primary dirt running trail in Reno. It follows an irrigation ditch for miles, and has great views of the city. But there are a ton of hills and a lot of uneven ground. So even though I pushed hard today, I was slow. Hopefully running the trail this summer will strengthen my legs. I can also now do some hill sprint work, which is painful but effective.

I don't do any cycling, but I have a lot of friends that do. I came across this post about wind tunnel testing for bike fit and was amazed at what goes into properly fitting a bike. This might not apply to many of you, but I thought it was kind of interesting anyway. I bet my buddy Steve will read this and start looking for a wind tunnel today.

Bike Fit and Wind Tunnel Test

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Picture of the Day Saturday

"If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse." Jim Rohn

2 DB C&P 65 lb - 8 sets of 2, 4 single reps
summit trainer 12 resistance, 30 minutes 2.49 miles

Picture of the Day Saturday

2/12 rest day

"When you have the enthusiasm and the passion, you end up figuring how to excel." Deena Kastor, U.S. Olympic Marathoner

I don't totally agree with everything in the following post, but the parts I do agree with are things that I believe are fundamental to success in any endeavor, including fitness.

Here is the link with everything - Simple vs. Easy

Here are the really important parts:

Before I studied the art, a punch to me was just a punch, a kick was just a kick. After I’d studied the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick no longer a kick. Now that I understand the art, a punch is just a punch, a kick is just a kick.”
-Bruce Lee
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My advice is simply this: All truth is simple in concept, complex and difficult in learning and actual real-world application, and finally, a different kind of simple — elegantly simple — in mastery. Consider Bruce Lee’s quote above.
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As an example of this, what if I said that one could build a stunning body (as “stunning” as one’s genetic hand will allow), and, if athletically inclined, propel this individual leaps and bounds ahead of the competition by doing no more than this: Power cleans, heavy carries, sprints, and adherence to a Paleo lifestyle. Now, that’s about as simple as it gets in concept; however, give this “workout” a shot: carry a pair of 150 lb dumbbells — any method, it doesn’t really matter — one round of a 400 meter track. That’s it, you’re free to go home after that — or to the hospital, whichever you feel you need.

That’s the difference between a concept that’s simple, and the application thereof that is anything but. Is there any question, though, as to the efficacy of such an endeavor repeated over time? Think you’ll lose fat and muscle-up by adhering to that simple workout everyday, coupled with a sensible diet? You bet your sweet ass you will. This same idea is applicable to the Paleo lifestyle. I can’t think of a more simple “diet” concept — eat protein, good fats, fibrous veggies and a smattering of fruit; have some raw dairy if it’s to your liking. That’s it, that’s my “diet book” in its entirety.
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Movements should be basic, multi-joint, and functional (unless there is an underlying need for some sort of isolation work). Duration is the energy cycle you intend to target. Rest is simply an avoidance of overtraining. Now the problem with getting into much more detail than that is allowing yourself to bail on an entire program if, for instance, someone happens to be occupying the squat rack (probably doing bicep curls) when your “program” called for heavy front squats.
...
Your body only needs proper and targeted stimulus — it’s your conscious mind that absolutely has to have the particular exercise at the precise percentage of 1RM on this particular day. Adapt, overcome, and bust your ass at whatever you happen to be doing — even if it wasn’t in your plan — and everything else will take care of itself.
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Reach that “enlightened” point of a “kick being just a kick”.

Picture of the Day

This link is to a runner's blog and the post is titled "This is why I run". He took a bunch of pictures from his morning run. I have included one below, click on the link to see 14 more.

Tim Waggoner - Saturday Run in Pictures

2/11 workout

“…what a disgrace it would be for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” Socrates

2 DB C&P 60lb - 10 sets of 3
run 5 miles (outside) 39:40

The following post from Dan John speaks for itself. - Dan John - Show Up

Highlights:
...
If there is a key to success in sports, I would argue it is “show up.” On the internet forums, we often see the question, or one similar, “How long does it take to…learn the Olympic Lifts/get a 400 pound bench/add fifty pounds of muscle.” The answer is always the same: start doing it. Get off your butt, click off the computer and get in there and try it.
...
A young man I met at a family party (a son of a friend of a friend) told me he wanted to play football. “What school? When you do start off-season training?” He told me he “wanted” to play football. I told him to call the school the next day and ask for the football coach’s name and get going now (he was a transfer). A few weeks later, I saw him…he had lost a lot of baby fat and walked a little taller. He had been training with the team three days a week since that phone call. He no longer “wanted,” he “showed up.”
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Don’t talk about it, philosophize about it, or discuss it. Do it! Show up! Get involved. Write the check, phone the coach or whatever you need to do to get involved.
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Once you start showing up, you have to hang in there! “Instant gratification isn’t fast enough” is the mantra of most gym members. Well, the learning curve in sports is an ugly one. If I learned one lesson in coaching, it is this: “the athlete quits the day before the great leap forward.” Frustration, injuries, losing and failure are all opportunities to learn more in sports…and life. John Powell once told me that he never learned ANYTHING before two hours of throwing. He credited his lifetime best season and throw to a failure at the first world championship. It is what you do with failure that makes you a champion.

At last week’s Highland Games, I walked over to our tent after an event that nearly killed my wife. I told a fan who asked if this ‘stuff’ was safe: “If it were easy, everybody would do it.” Education systems across the United States have failed over and over whenever they allow the students to “get by;” raise the bar, raise the standards and students will soar. Lower them…give ‘em an extra chance…make an exception “this” time…make everybody “feel good” even if they don’t perform well…give them candy for doing what they are supposed to do…this is the formula for failure.

Don’t quit. Something got you on this path, stay on it. The lessons learned in the struggle, the fight, carry over into life. I used to tell my Sophomore football team: “If you quit now, you will quit in life. And, By God, I won’t allow that!” Failure begets failure, that is true, but the triumph over failure is much more important.

Picture of the Day

2/10 workout

"I race in order to dig deep within myself and see what I'm really made of." Maggie, Runner from Idaho

2 DB C&P 65 lb - 25 sets of 2 (50 total reps)

It's my birthday today, and each year I try to test myself in some way to prove that I am in better shape than I was the year before. Since I turned 38 (I know, I know - I am old) I figured I would try to do 38 reps of the dumbbell clean and press with the heaviest weight I could lift. I can barely do 1 rep with 70 pound bells, so I used 65 pound dumbbells.

I did sets of 2 with about 90 seconds rest between each set. When I hit 38 reps I still felt pretty good, so I went for 50. It took me 40 total minutes to complete. The last few reps were done on willpower alone, and I had nothing left in the tank when I was done. But I felt great, it ended up being one of the best workouts I have ever done. Total weight lifted was 6,500 pounds (over 3 tons).

I actually enjoy getting older. For one reason, it beats the other option. But seriously, I want to be in better shape than people half my age. I want to be one of those guys that makes people in their 20's who think they are in good shape feel weak and lazy. That is one of the reasons I actually enjoy getting passed during races by people older than me. It gives me something to shoot for.

Picture of the Day

Age is just a number. Herschel Walker recently won a professional mixed martial arts fight at age 47. I would be very happy to look this good at 47 years old.

2/9 rest day

"Being in shape was not my goal. My body was a tool to test the capabilities of my will." Stephen Kiesling

I have been writing this blog long enough (getting close to a year now) that I can probably get away with re-posting the good stuff from the archives. If you didn't see it the first time then great, it will be new for you. If you remember it from the past, hopefully it is good enough that you are glad to see it again.

Today's archive post is from July 7, 2009. This is probably the best video that I have posted on this blog (e-mail subscribers click here if you can't see the video).

No Excuses



Picture of the Day

2/8 workout

"You were not born a winner and you were not born a loser you are what you make yourself to be" Lou Holtz

2 DB C&P 65lb - 12 sets of 2
treadmill 3 miles 20:45

Another solid workout - body feels great. The reason you suffer through the weeks where you are aching and sore and struggling to meet your goals is for times like this when you have a ton of energy, feel strong and are actually lifting more and running faster than ever.

One of the reasons I keep this blog is to track my past workouts. Yesterday I was reviewing last year's running times. I felt like my time was slow yesterday, but I forgot I am about 10 pounds heavier than last year (by design).

I don't really think of myself as a runner, but every time I review past race results I start to get competitive and want to place better. My first race is the Reno 10k in the beginning of May. The competitive bug is taking over, so I am going to start increasing my miles run each week to get ready for the race. If I train hard - and only slow people show up - I might be able to place in my age group (I would have probably placed 3rd in my group based on last year's times).

For you runners out there, here is a link to an age grade calculator. It takes a minute to figure out how to enter the data, but after you enter your distance, time and age it gives your result in terms of percentage of the world's best times for your age group. In my experience, anything over 60% is very good.

Age Grade Calculator

Picture of the Day

2/7 workout

"Mental will is a muscle that needs exercise, just like the muscles of the body." Lynn Jennings

2 DB C&P 60lb - 9 sets of 3, 1 set of 4
run 4 miles (outside) 30:07

I know it is different for everyone, but for me, I am much faster on a treadmill than outside. I thought I was flying this morning, and I didn't even average 7:30 miles (that's about 30 seconds/mile slower than a similar treadmill run). Oh well, at least it is February, not May.

Age is just a number. This guy ran a sub 5 minute mile - at age 60!

Nolan Shaheed - Sub 5 min. mile

My favorite part - he thinks he can run faster. As I get older, I like to see people that are much older than I am accomplishing amazing things. It just shows that you can do anything if you consistently work at it.

Picture of the Day

Hidden Lake, Mt.Victoria

2/6 rest day

"Some men dream of achieving greatness while others stay awake and accomplish it" Thomas Alva Edison

I was fired up to train today, buy I feel like crap. Kind of like being really car sick without the car ride. It is frustrating. However, this will be the first time I have taken two days off in a row for a long time, so I keep telling myself this is good for me.

Here is a very eye opening set of charts about how American's eating habits have changed. Click on the link to see some amazing information.

Calories in the USA

Here are some of the facts:

In the US, the average daily dietary intake has increased by 600 calories — from 2,172 to 2,775 — over the last thirty-seven years. That may not surprise you, but the details just might.

Americans are actually eating roughly the same number of calories in five of seven food groups — fruit, vegetables, dairy, sugar and protein. However...grains and fats account for nearly all of the increase in daily calorie consumption since 1970.

How does the United States rank worldwide, in terms of daily caloric intake?

In 1970, the US had the 26th highest daily caloric intake. Switzerland ranked #1, with much of Eastern and Western Europe close behind. Thirty-three years later, the US had risen to #1.

The average daily dietary intake in the United States increased by 600 calories between 1970 and 2007. Nearly half of the increase in daily caloric intake is attributable to a single food source. Over the last thirty-seven years, the American diet has seen a dramatic increase in the number of calories from cooking oils and related salad oils.

One explanation is the proliferation of fast-food restaurants — though Americans eat about the same number of calories in nearly every other food group, today's meals are much more likely to be fried in highly-caloric oil than the same meals in 1970.

Though Americans are eating slightly more calories from sugar than in 1970, the rise is not that dramatic. Calories from added sugars peaked in 1999 at 510 per day, up from 402 in 1970. That number receded to 459 in 2007.

The big shift, however, comes in the form of sugar ingested. High-Fructose Corn Syrup has risen to 41% of Americans total sugar intake.

Of the 130 vegetable calories eaten daily, nearly 60% come from potatoes or potato chips.

One of the reasons Americans are eating more calories today than in 1970 is that price of food, when adjusted for inflation, has dropped. What is disturbing, though, is that the price of added sugars has dropped significantly more than the price of healthful foods has. This can be attributed to the proliferation of low-cost High-Fructose Corn Syrup over the last thirty years.

Picture of the Day

2/5 rest day

"The biggest temptation is to settle for too little." Thomas Merton

I have always been a power/protein bar eater. I am embarrassed to say that I sometimes eat 3 or 4 per day. I know they have a bunch of fake crap in them and they aren't that good for you, but I really am so lazy that I eat a ton of them.

Since I haven't been doing anything out of the ordinary lately with my diet, I thought I would challenge myself to work towards a more natural diet approach by following the theme of the 7 word diet: “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

The point is processed foods are bad. For me, this means replacing my power bars with things like jerky, nuts and dried fruit during the day. I am not going to try to starve myself or anything, just eat more real food.

The 7 word diet was developed by Michael Pollan in his book Food Rules. Here is a summary:

Michael Pollan's 7 rules for eating

Pollan says everything he's learned about food and health can be summed up in seven words: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."

Probably the first two words are most important. "Eat food" means to eat real food -- vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and, yes, fish and meat -- and to avoid what Pollan calls "edible food-like substances."

Here's how:

1. Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. "When you pick up that box of portable yogurt tubes, or eat something with 15 ingredients you can't pronounce, ask yourself, "What are those things doing there?" Pollan says.

2. Don’t eat anything with more than five ingredients, or ingredients you can't pronounce.

3. Stay out of the middle of the supermarket; shop on the perimeter of the store. Real food tends to be on the outer edge of the store near the loading docks, where it can be replaced with fresh foods when it goes bad.

4. Don't eat anything that won't eventually rot. "There are exceptions -- honey -- but as a rule, things like Twinkies that never go bad aren't food," Pollan says.

5. It is not just what you eat but how you eat. "Always leave the table a little hungry," Pollan says. "Many cultures have rules that you stop eating before you are full. In Japan, they say eat until you are four-fifths full. Islamic culture has a similar rule, and in German culture they say, 'Tie off the sack before it's full.'"

6. Families traditionally ate together, around a table and not a TV, at regular meal times. It's a good tradition. Enjoy meals with the people you love. "Remember when eating between meals felt wrong?" Pollan asks.

7. Don't buy food where you buy your gasoline. In the U.S., 20% of food is eaten in the car.

Picture of the Day

The "eat real food" (also known as the paleo diet) food pyramid. Pretty simple.

2/4 workout

"Nobody who gave their best effort regretted it." George Halas

2 DB C&P 60lb - 10 sets of 3, 4 sets of 2
stepmill 30 minutes 176 flights

Great workout today. I was going to try to get 38 reps with the 60lb dumbbells in a single workout next week, but I felt good today and went for it. Maybe next week I will have to shoot for 38 reps with the 65 pound dumbbells instead.

This web link is to a gym in Arizona, and it has a few good quotes and comments filtered through the site.

Crossfit Arizona - here are some of them:

"My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure." Abraham Lincoln

The devaluation of failure
Failure....it's not such a bad thing. This country was built on failure. Thousands of explorers, scientist, entepaneurers and governments fail or have failed every day. That is the only way to learn and grow. If we continue to stay in our comfort zone, our potential is never recognized. Only when you try and fail, then try again and fail and again and again, will you live up to your potential. From now on, starting today, try so hard you fail, then try again and again. Push the limits of your potential and observe what happens. I think you'll surprise yourself!

Strength is in the struggle...
There are no short cuts. You must understand that to train here. Given a choice, we will always choose the more difficult. This is how we grow mentally and physically. We train strong people not just strong bodies. Choosing the more difficult task means you may fail on the first try, as it should be. The more difficult, the more challenging. You only grow when stressed to near capacity. When weightlifting, we preach training to failure or near failure. The neuroendocrine response is stimulated most under intense loads. So goes life. We grow the most when stressed to our limits and forced to adapt, overcome and move on. When staring down two paths, choose the more difficult. Your strength is in the struggle.....

There is a direct relationship between being uncomfortable and getting results...
It amazes me how many people come, works so hard, and find ways to reduce the discomfort. Shortening the squat, shorten the range on the push ups. and so forth. Real results come when every movement is done correctly every time, no exceptions. Unless you can do each movement correctly there is no point in putting on the board. What are you keeping score of? How fast you can do the workout incorrectly? Who will you compare yourself to? You can't compare yourself to everyone who is doing it right...so just do them right even if it means you have to slow down a little, speed comes after technique.

Picture of the Day

2/3 workout

"It’s easier to go down a hill than up it, but the view is much better at the top." Motivational poster in Cheryl's office

2 DB C&P 70lb x 1, 65lb - 4 x 2, 7 x 1
treadmill 5k (3.1 miles) 21:34

I finally got a rep with the 70lb dumbbells. But I was wasted after that, so I had to cut the weight workout short because my form was getting sloppy.

If you started (or restarted) a fitness/diet program at the beginning of January, you are just about at the point where you are probably checking your progress. Have you lost weight or bodyfat? What are your measurements? Is your program working?

My advice? It is too early to check your progress. 30 days is way too short a time period to measure anything, and it isn't healthy to let your mood ride each day on what the scale says. The only question you should be asking yourself at this point is, "am I sticking with my plan?".

Here are some reasons why you might not want to play the frequent measurement game:

1. The "lose one pound per week" rule of thumb is a good one. If you are losing more than that, you are probably not eating in a sustainable manner, or you started from an overweight state and you won't be able to maintain that rate of weight loss going forward. If you weigh 150 pounds, then 4-5 pounds (the amount you would have lost in January on the pound per week program) is a small percentage of your bodyweight, and your weight can fluctuate half of that amount each day just due to hydration levels. Call me at the end of March when one pound per week equals 12 pounds.

2. After a month of dedicated diet and training, your motivation should be shifting from "I want to lose weight" to "I like having more energy, I like how I feel when I finish a hard gym session, and eating healthy makes me feel better about myself." If that transition hasn't happened, it needs to. If you are making yourself miserable with diet and exercise just to lose a few pounds, once you reach your weight loss goal you are going to quit all of that miserable diet/exercise stuff and gain the weight back anyway.

3. It will most likely take 1-2 years to achieve the goals you have set. Most people want to significantly improve their appearance and fitness. It doesn't make sense to get up at 5:00 am every morning and eat tofu just to run a mile 5 seconds faster and lose 2 pounds. You probably want to cut 30 minutes off your half marathon time, lose 20 pounds or do 12 reps with 75lbs in the dumbbell clean and press (oh yeah, that one is just me). It will take a permanent lifestyle change to achieve most of these goals. So if you are in this for the next few years, why does the first 30 days matter?

4. Most body oriented success is the byproduct of athletic goals. Think of 4 or 5 people you know that have very fit bodies. I bet the majority of them have an athletic activity that they very much enjoy doing. Maybe its running, cycling, rock climbing, or just hitting the weights at the gym. Whatever the activity, their athletic goals are what gets them out of bed in the morning, not losing weight. In addition, these people have probably been pursuing their athletic goals for years, not weeks or months. These people have an interest in how they look, but it is low on the priority scale. Setting a personal best in a race, increasing their max weight lifted or hiking a taller summit is what they care about. The fit body is a byproduct of those goals.

Think of it this way -- you are one month (or only 9%) of the way into your 2010 diet/exercise program. That means you have 11 months (or 91%) to go.

It is still winter outside, and you're just warming up. You haven't even gotten to the good part yet...

Picture of the Day

2/2 rest day

"A man’s fate is determined by what he thinks of himself." Henry David Thoreau

Jen met her goal of running 50 miles in the month of January. Now she is going to shoot for another 50 miles in February (there are 3 less days, so it actually is a bit more work to run the same number of miles). Her running program is a good one for people with busy schedules.

Her goal race is the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon in mid-July. She will run a 10k in the beginning of May as a warm up race. So at this point, the goal is to get some initial miles on her legs, and increase the training volume as the summer approaches.

Each week, she does three runs. One is a longer, slower run (usually about 5-6 miles). The other two days are tempo runs of 3-4 miles each. For the tempo runs, the first mile is a slower warm up, the middle 1 or 2 miles are fast pace (almost as fast as you can go) and the last mile is slower, cool down pace.

Once we get to March, Jen will replace one of the tempo runs with what I call a race day run. She will start with a 5k (3.1 miles), and just run it as fast as she can, using negative splits. This goes against conventional running training wisdom, but I think it goes a long way towards teaching you how to manage your body at a fast pace on race day. As we get closer to the summer, her race day runs will increase in distance, up to a maximum of 10k (6.2 miles).

With these three weekly runs as the core of the training program (one long run, one tempo run and one race day run), as she wants to increase weekly mileage in the spring/summer, she will add slower, middle distance recovery runs in between the core run days.

Picture of the Day

The start at Jen's goal race:

2/1 workout

“I want to push myself as far as I can, just to find out how far that is.” Gretchen Brugman

2 DB C&P 60lb - 10 sets of 3 reps
summit trainer 12 resistance 1.0 mile 12:38
treadmill 2.0 miles 14:21

Another blog post from the triathlete trainer that I linked to yesterday.

Chuckie V - There are no secrets - Some highlights:

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There are no secrets!

There are no shortcuts. Nor is there a hidden path to success (though there is a lonely one). There is no easy way. There are no "breakthroughs" in racing or training (and if there were, they'd only come after long spells, making them less of a breakthrough and more of a 'wait-your-turn-and-squiggle-through'). Quite simply, there isn't anything that will help your cause other than old-fashioned hard work. The harder, the better. So roll up your (compression) sleeves, losers.

Again, in training---and life---there is work and there is rest. And if you want to reach success (a level of success beyond enjoyment, which itself is vital) you will need lots of them both.

Here's how it works...
One, you apply a stimulus (i.e., a training stress).
Two, you back off (and allow for adaptation).
Three, you note your response to that stimulus (good, bad or ugly?).
Four, you apply the next stimulus (ideally a greater one, at least over time).

Done. Basic.

Now it's completely understandable that triathletes are always looking for ways to become faster. It's in their nature. There's no crime in this of course, except when they continue to look in the wrong places (my inbox, for example, or perhaps when looking to purchase a "faster" set of wheels). And, for whatever reason, triathletes seem especially adept to this. They love looking! Well then, look. The "ways" to get faster are as palpable as pineapple peelings or a porcupine's prickly things. And, to be sure, they are "ways". Methods. Means. Mannerisms. Movements. Actions. They are not "secrets".

So there you have it, for the last time ever. In training, alas, there are no secrets, not even your own. There is stress applied and rest that follows. Getting the mix right is an individual thing of course, and it depends on more than just training and rest (i.e., real life and the stress it provides, as well as weird sh!t like circadian rhythms and artsy-fartsy stuff we know next to nothing about). But the basics still pertain: apply stress, recover and adapt. Repeat. Again and again and again.

To reiterate...
You, the organism, are to apply a training stress over a given time (e.g., day/days), enough of one to "shock" the body into a new level of adaptation, particularly in the discipline where it's needed most, whether it's swimming, cycling or running (as demonstrated by your race results). This is how the human body works; we adapt to stress. And this pertains even to a guy like me, who's set his life up to avoid stress (and has managed to do quite well, he might add).

Next, the organism (you) would be prudent to back off and recover, noting the stress's effect and the time it takes to fully adapt to it. Naturally, noting the effect isn't entirely easy but it is not all that hard if you're in tuned with yourself. Unnaturally, it is also not entirely easy for many triathletes to back off and recover; they're simply too compulsive. Don't be one of these types. (But do be careful, you may stand alone.)

...
Finally, reapply the next (level of) stress. This last one is tricky, of course, because it's not always sensible to apply a greater stress straight away. This is because not only are some of us slow, we are likewise slow to adapt! This is why you must watch your response to any stress (and not just training stress) and be patient in your approach. That's why it's called progressive overload, because progress takes a while. (Oh, and if you overload too much, it takes a while longer.) Thankfully---though this is just a guess on my part---you should have already acquired this patience since you've probably wasted year after year in search of secrets.

Picture of the Day