This is our new blog detailing our daily adventures, mountain bike racing, endurance sports, and maybe even some cooking (that's Anne's domain!). We will share our experiences with life, training, and most importantly, being a team-both in marriage and in our sport.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Road Work
I've been riding the road bike A LOT lately. It's not that I'm taking a turn in my attitude toward mountain biking, but rather that I'm refining my training approach a little bit.
A few years ago, when doing my first dedicated mountain bike racing season, I was super fit. I rode quite a bit, quite often, and raced decently well. The one thing holding me back at the time was my technical ability. Fast forward a few years to present day, and the one thing holding me back is precisely the opposite: FITNESS!
After that first year of mountain bike racing, I dedicated myself whole-heartedly to becoming a better technical rider. I was dead set on gaining speed through sections of course that had previously slowed me down. I, like always, went a bit overboard with it and got into more super techy trail riding and some downhill as well. It was a good thing for my bike handling and overall skill, but now it's time to get back to work on getting in some hours on the road bike.
The road has been two things for me so far. First and foremost it's been a change of pace. I get bogged down sometimes in my training (like most people, I'd imagine) and need to mix things up occasionally. For me it's not just riding in a different environment (i.e. the road), but rather riding a different bike altogether. Equipment means a lot to me and in diversifying what I'm literally on, it has a big impact in my overall attitude towards getting out and getting motivated. I'm a head-case, I know, but hey, that's me!
So the last couple of weeks have consisted of probably about 90% road riding and about 10% mountain biking. With our next race coming up in about a week, I'm going to transition back to the dirt a bit more for this final week to fine tune my trail skills. I'm positive they haven't gone anywhere, but one thing is for sure-when I hit the trails now, I'll be much better for it from a heart and lungs point of view!
A few years ago, when doing my first dedicated mountain bike racing season, I was super fit. I rode quite a bit, quite often, and raced decently well. The one thing holding me back at the time was my technical ability. Fast forward a few years to present day, and the one thing holding me back is precisely the opposite: FITNESS!
After that first year of mountain bike racing, I dedicated myself whole-heartedly to becoming a better technical rider. I was dead set on gaining speed through sections of course that had previously slowed me down. I, like always, went a bit overboard with it and got into more super techy trail riding and some downhill as well. It was a good thing for my bike handling and overall skill, but now it's time to get back to work on getting in some hours on the road bike.
The road has been two things for me so far. First and foremost it's been a change of pace. I get bogged down sometimes in my training (like most people, I'd imagine) and need to mix things up occasionally. For me it's not just riding in a different environment (i.e. the road), but rather riding a different bike altogether. Equipment means a lot to me and in diversifying what I'm literally on, it has a big impact in my overall attitude towards getting out and getting motivated. I'm a head-case, I know, but hey, that's me!
So the last couple of weeks have consisted of probably about 90% road riding and about 10% mountain biking. With our next race coming up in about a week, I'm going to transition back to the dirt a bit more for this final week to fine tune my trail skills. I'm positive they haven't gone anywhere, but one thing is for sure-when I hit the trails now, I'll be much better for it from a heart and lungs point of view!
Friday, May 9, 2014
Run what ya know!
Just a quick post for tonight, but this thought struck my mind as I've been riding the past few days. One of the most important parts of success, whether it be endurance sports or whatever, is being confident in the knowledge and experience you have.
Recently, I've been listening to a lot of people around me. People that have their own plan, their own way, and their own methods of personal success. I've been in this game long enough to know a thing or two, and shouldn't always be so easy to follow someone else's lead. I've needed to be more true to what I know and confident in the information I've gained and stick to it.
In other words, what I'm trying to explain is that I've recently tried new things, new equipment, and new methods in training and racing that have been against what I've normally stuck with over the years. The results have been less than desirable. I'm encouraged that I was able to try new things, but at the same time disappointed that I didn't have faith in what has worked for me.
The bottom line is this: Know what works for you and what's comfortable when the going gets rough. Don't stray from your path because someone else has something else that works for them. Instead, be confident in what you've used, what you've trained with, and what you know to work. In the end, what works for you will work for you and what works for him will work for him. Or her...
Recently, I've been listening to a lot of people around me. People that have their own plan, their own way, and their own methods of personal success. I've been in this game long enough to know a thing or two, and shouldn't always be so easy to follow someone else's lead. I've needed to be more true to what I know and confident in the information I've gained and stick to it.
In other words, what I'm trying to explain is that I've recently tried new things, new equipment, and new methods in training and racing that have been against what I've normally stuck with over the years. The results have been less than desirable. I'm encouraged that I was able to try new things, but at the same time disappointed that I didn't have faith in what has worked for me.
The bottom line is this: Know what works for you and what's comfortable when the going gets rough. Don't stray from your path because someone else has something else that works for them. Instead, be confident in what you've used, what you've trained with, and what you know to work. In the end, what works for you will work for you and what works for him will work for him. Or her...
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Cruise Control
Not really though. Since last weekend Anne and I have spent some time trying to focus on recovery but not really getting in enough sleep. It seems our beloved dog, Lucky, is hell bent on waking us up in the middle of the night scratching around in the kitchen for some unknown reason. I'm a heavy sleeper so Anne is usually burdened with having to answer Lucky's call, but lately it's been so bad that both of us have had to take turns attending to the pup. It's like having a kid already!
Anyway, I managed to get out on the road bike this past Thursday for the first time since we've relocated to VA. In a word: Magnificent. I started to become less and less a fan of the road bike back when we were on Long Island, first and foremost because of the boredom. And secondly, it was just damned dangerous with all the crazy drivers there. Down here though, the roads are beautiful (not only scenic but actually paved well!) and the drivers seem to have a much better attitude toward cyclists. That's still to say, there are some douchey drivers and sure fire assholes out there, but pound for pound, Virginia drivers seem to be a whole lot more pleasant than Long Island drivers.
The ride took me out to some of the beautiful country roads, dipped down into Charlottesville for a water stop, and back out to our home in Earlysville. It was around 100k and while I enjoyed most of it, I worked hard for the pleasures. Having relied on the mountain bike for my fitness and training since arriving down here, I saw the holes in my game when I got back on the road. Knowing it will make me much stronger in those long races this year, I'll plan on adding 1 or 2 road sessions a week from here on out for sure. It's the brick and mortar of what will hopefully build a strong house when the next 100 mile race comes up at the end of this month.
That's about it for now. Both the Pikes are looking for an early night to rest these tired bodies. Time to make it happen!
Anyway, I managed to get out on the road bike this past Thursday for the first time since we've relocated to VA. In a word: Magnificent. I started to become less and less a fan of the road bike back when we were on Long Island, first and foremost because of the boredom. And secondly, it was just damned dangerous with all the crazy drivers there. Down here though, the roads are beautiful (not only scenic but actually paved well!) and the drivers seem to have a much better attitude toward cyclists. That's still to say, there are some douchey drivers and sure fire assholes out there, but pound for pound, Virginia drivers seem to be a whole lot more pleasant than Long Island drivers.
The ride took me out to some of the beautiful country roads, dipped down into Charlottesville for a water stop, and back out to our home in Earlysville. It was around 100k and while I enjoyed most of it, I worked hard for the pleasures. Having relied on the mountain bike for my fitness and training since arriving down here, I saw the holes in my game when I got back on the road. Knowing it will make me much stronger in those long races this year, I'll plan on adding 1 or 2 road sessions a week from here on out for sure. It's the brick and mortar of what will hopefully build a strong house when the next 100 mile race comes up at the end of this month.
That's about it for now. Both the Pikes are looking for an early night to rest these tired bodies. Time to make it happen!
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Cohutta 100 and Stuff
This past weekend the Mrs. and I headed down to Ducktown, TN for the Cohutta 100. Neither of us had ever been to Tennessee, so in addition to the race, I was pretty interested to see what, exactly, part of the "real" south was all about. Without going too far into detail, it was pretty chill. The people were nice, things were a bit slower, and overall, the area itself was absolutely gorgeous. However, I'm sure when the summer comes around things can get downright awful with the heat and humidity. Still, for our purposes this past weekend, the warm temps and gentle breezes were more than welcome.
I don't have much in the way of an actual race report, but here's what I can tell you: This race is damned hard-14,000 feet of elevation is no joke! I have to admit, I really didn't expect much from this course. Both Anne and I had been told that it was pretty much a gravel road race, as friends who'd done it before explained to us in the weeks before the race. Yes, the course if predominantly gravel vs. single track, but in no way did that make things easier on your legs or the rest of your body.
The start of the race climbs up a paved road for about a mile or so before dropping you into single track for what I believe was about 12-15 miles. After that, you're out on the gravel for probably about 30-40 miles before you hit the turn around loop, consisting of some more double and single track before you turn back to retrace your route back to the start of the race. The most difficult part of the race comes immediately after that turn around loop in the form of a steep climb on a gravel road you had just descended. It's steep and at times loose making it pretty darn difficult to hammer up. You have to stay consistent (or at least "I" had to stay consistent-better riders might not have had to!) in your pedal stroke or else risk loosing traction on the chunky bits of rock and gravel.
After returning on the long ups and downs of gravel, you finally come to more single track about 7 miles from the finish. This is primarily downhill, but you're so beat down at this point it might as well be up. Any bike skills and technical ability to ride a hard tail mountain bike smoothly over rocks and roots was severely diminished by this point. I pretty much just rammed the bike through every obstacle and limped my way home, finishing in just over 9 hours and coming into 22nd place for the Open Category.
Initially I was pretty bummed out about my result. Had I been as fit as I was in the past, I believe I would have managed at least 45 minutes to and hour faster on this course. But, with all the events that have happened in the past months, and not being able to amass more than about 10 hours of training a week at most, I have to say I'm actually impressed with how I did. My hope is that in about a month's time, I can race the Mohican 100 in a much better place and improve my fitness to the next level.
As for Mrs. Pike, she killed it. I can't give an accurate and detailed account of her race, but what I do know is that even with the limited training time that we both had, she's getting closer to me in finishing time at these 100 mile events. The first one we did together, Hampshire 100, she finished about an hour and twenty behind me. On this on it was just over an hour! I better start upping my game or else the taunts from friends that my wife is faster than I am will be true! Anyway, she kicked ass and finished 5th overall for the women, collecting a nice prize package from the race organizers.
My first and final impressions of the race could not have been different. I'm not a big fan of racing gravel roads on my mountain bike because I'm a snob and to me it's not real mountain biking. In a race like this though, it damn sure is. We were in the mountains and we were riding bikes. That's really all anyone needs to know. Cohutta was a true test of character for me, and I'm happy to say that though I might not have finished where I wanted, I can sleep at night knowing I really did give it my best shot.
In the days since arriving home Sunday, both Anne and I have been back to work. Physically, for me, the emphasis has been on recovery and allowing my body to absorb the ass-kicking Cohutta laid down. Because of our limited training time and the fact that we're still settling in to new jobs and a new home, I need to make the most of every minute of training and resting that I can when I'm not at work or doing some other "real life" stuff. Therefore, I took both Monday and Tuesday completely off from anything. I got out for a 30 minute trail run yesterday and will get back on the bike today.
As I mentioned before, the next stop for us will be the Mohican 100 in Ohio at the end of this month. I don't know a whole lot about the course but that it's hilly and smooth. It will all depend on work, but after Mohican I'm thinking switching my focus for a bit to the shorter stuff and racing a little bit more true XC stuff in and around Virginia. There is a ton of racing here and I'm excited to get my teeth into it after some longer efforts. After that I'll probably return to racing the 100's, with Wilderness 101 at the end of July and Shenendoah 100 at the end of August. Pretty excited for the things to come!
I don't have much in the way of an actual race report, but here's what I can tell you: This race is damned hard-14,000 feet of elevation is no joke! I have to admit, I really didn't expect much from this course. Both Anne and I had been told that it was pretty much a gravel road race, as friends who'd done it before explained to us in the weeks before the race. Yes, the course if predominantly gravel vs. single track, but in no way did that make things easier on your legs or the rest of your body.
The start of the race climbs up a paved road for about a mile or so before dropping you into single track for what I believe was about 12-15 miles. After that, you're out on the gravel for probably about 30-40 miles before you hit the turn around loop, consisting of some more double and single track before you turn back to retrace your route back to the start of the race. The most difficult part of the race comes immediately after that turn around loop in the form of a steep climb on a gravel road you had just descended. It's steep and at times loose making it pretty darn difficult to hammer up. You have to stay consistent (or at least "I" had to stay consistent-better riders might not have had to!) in your pedal stroke or else risk loosing traction on the chunky bits of rock and gravel.
After returning on the long ups and downs of gravel, you finally come to more single track about 7 miles from the finish. This is primarily downhill, but you're so beat down at this point it might as well be up. Any bike skills and technical ability to ride a hard tail mountain bike smoothly over rocks and roots was severely diminished by this point. I pretty much just rammed the bike through every obstacle and limped my way home, finishing in just over 9 hours and coming into 22nd place for the Open Category.
Initially I was pretty bummed out about my result. Had I been as fit as I was in the past, I believe I would have managed at least 45 minutes to and hour faster on this course. But, with all the events that have happened in the past months, and not being able to amass more than about 10 hours of training a week at most, I have to say I'm actually impressed with how I did. My hope is that in about a month's time, I can race the Mohican 100 in a much better place and improve my fitness to the next level.
As for Mrs. Pike, she killed it. I can't give an accurate and detailed account of her race, but what I do know is that even with the limited training time that we both had, she's getting closer to me in finishing time at these 100 mile events. The first one we did together, Hampshire 100, she finished about an hour and twenty behind me. On this on it was just over an hour! I better start upping my game or else the taunts from friends that my wife is faster than I am will be true! Anyway, she kicked ass and finished 5th overall for the women, collecting a nice prize package from the race organizers.
My first and final impressions of the race could not have been different. I'm not a big fan of racing gravel roads on my mountain bike because I'm a snob and to me it's not real mountain biking. In a race like this though, it damn sure is. We were in the mountains and we were riding bikes. That's really all anyone needs to know. Cohutta was a true test of character for me, and I'm happy to say that though I might not have finished where I wanted, I can sleep at night knowing I really did give it my best shot.
In the days since arriving home Sunday, both Anne and I have been back to work. Physically, for me, the emphasis has been on recovery and allowing my body to absorb the ass-kicking Cohutta laid down. Because of our limited training time and the fact that we're still settling in to new jobs and a new home, I need to make the most of every minute of training and resting that I can when I'm not at work or doing some other "real life" stuff. Therefore, I took both Monday and Tuesday completely off from anything. I got out for a 30 minute trail run yesterday and will get back on the bike today.
As I mentioned before, the next stop for us will be the Mohican 100 in Ohio at the end of this month. I don't know a whole lot about the course but that it's hilly and smooth. It will all depend on work, but after Mohican I'm thinking switching my focus for a bit to the shorter stuff and racing a little bit more true XC stuff in and around Virginia. There is a ton of racing here and I'm excited to get my teeth into it after some longer efforts. After that I'll probably return to racing the 100's, with Wilderness 101 at the end of July and Shenendoah 100 at the end of August. Pretty excited for the things to come!
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Tons of Changes!!!
Ok, first of all, I'm going to stop making promises to update this blog on a regular basis. The total truth is that there just isn't enough free time in the schedule currently to do a regular update. It doesn't' mean that we're forgetting about our 1 or 2 loyal readers, it's just real life. With that said, I hope that each update is exciting and worth the few minutes anyone who fancies reading it might have spent out of their life!
So the biggest and most important change for the Pike's has been our recent move to Charlottesville, VA. It is without a doubt everything and more than we thought it would be. As with any move, the initial weeks can be tough, but things are now seemingly coming around to where they should be. Our jobs are great, our boss and coworkers have been awesome, and the riding has been equally impressive.
Riding and race-wise, we've secured some great bikes for the year. Both Anne and myself will be on Raleigh Bicycles for this upcoming race season of 2014. Our weapon of choice is the Talus 29 Pro, a full carbon hard tail 29er with a badass XTR build. Ours both come in at around 21lbs stock! We're super happy and thankful to be on such awesome rides this year!
So all in all things are shaping up to be a pretty good season. We had two XC races lined up, one in Virginia and the other on Long Island, in the month of March, but unfortunately, because of a family issue and the crazy weather (can you say snow!?) we've had, they both had to be missed. In one regard it was a good thing as I don't think either Anne's or my fitness is where we want it to be. BUT… it would have been nice to gain a bit of race experience, and therefore fitness, from the two. Oh, well… Up next will be the Cohutta 100 at the end of this month. This will be our first real test of the year and hopefully in four weeks time our fitness will come 'round. Here's hoping to get in some long rides in the beautiful Virginia countryside!!!
So that's it for now. Can't promise when the next update will be, but let's hope it's soon! (and perhaps from my better half!!!) Later skaters!
So the biggest and most important change for the Pike's has been our recent move to Charlottesville, VA. It is without a doubt everything and more than we thought it would be. As with any move, the initial weeks can be tough, but things are now seemingly coming around to where they should be. Our jobs are great, our boss and coworkers have been awesome, and the riding has been equally impressive.
Riding and race-wise, we've secured some great bikes for the year. Both Anne and myself will be on Raleigh Bicycles for this upcoming race season of 2014. Our weapon of choice is the Talus 29 Pro, a full carbon hard tail 29er with a badass XTR build. Ours both come in at around 21lbs stock! We're super happy and thankful to be on such awesome rides this year!
So that's it for now. Can't promise when the next update will be, but let's hope it's soon! (and perhaps from my better half!!!) Later skaters!
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Damnit
Injuries have a funny way of sneaking up on you when you don't want them to. I've been running "kinda" steady for the last week or so. Nothing more than really about 40 minutes at a time. I've been taking things fairly easy (for me) and have been careful not to do too much too soon. I've even gone as far as to limit my running to 2 days on, 1 day off.
Everything was going along swimmingly until yesterday. About 3/4's of a mile into what was only going to be about a 30 minute run, my calf seized up and forced me to hobble back home. It's not the first time I've dealt with this same injury, and it's equally as frustrating as the first time it happened about a year and a half ago. At that time I was SUPER irresponsible with my volume, and begged for the injury. This time though, even being decently careful, it snuck up and bit me in the ass.
Oh well, such is the life of an athlete I suppose. The good news is that I did come back home and get a wicked workout on the rollers. Nothing fuels a hard, "kick your own ass" indoor bike ride like being angry that you can't do something you wanted to. For me, running is not the end goal. It was a cool thing that I was enjoying in order to gain some different fitness and loose some lbs without having to change too much of my human trash can diet. Now though, I'll really have to batten down the hatches a bit more when it comes to what I shove in my mouth (something I really should have been doing all along!) and get to work on pedaling the bike to nowhere inside the house until the snow and ice subsides.
Another positive note about this injury is that it took place a couple weeks out from our trip to the UK and Spain. While it doesn't' bother me much when cycling, this will allow it ample time to recover so that it's 100% gone (hopefully) from my cycling when we touch down in Spain. That's going to be a great opportunity to build something for the coming season, so I absolutely don't want anything to come in it's way.
That's it for now. Off to conquer the day and hopefully find some kind of inspiration to get on the trainer a bit later. Nothing says awesome like riding your bike inside...
Everything was going along swimmingly until yesterday. About 3/4's of a mile into what was only going to be about a 30 minute run, my calf seized up and forced me to hobble back home. It's not the first time I've dealt with this same injury, and it's equally as frustrating as the first time it happened about a year and a half ago. At that time I was SUPER irresponsible with my volume, and begged for the injury. This time though, even being decently careful, it snuck up and bit me in the ass.
Oh well, such is the life of an athlete I suppose. The good news is that I did come back home and get a wicked workout on the rollers. Nothing fuels a hard, "kick your own ass" indoor bike ride like being angry that you can't do something you wanted to. For me, running is not the end goal. It was a cool thing that I was enjoying in order to gain some different fitness and loose some lbs without having to change too much of my human trash can diet. Now though, I'll really have to batten down the hatches a bit more when it comes to what I shove in my mouth (something I really should have been doing all along!) and get to work on pedaling the bike to nowhere inside the house until the snow and ice subsides.
Another positive note about this injury is that it took place a couple weeks out from our trip to the UK and Spain. While it doesn't' bother me much when cycling, this will allow it ample time to recover so that it's 100% gone (hopefully) from my cycling when we touch down in Spain. That's going to be a great opportunity to build something for the coming season, so I absolutely don't want anything to come in it's way.
That's it for now. Off to conquer the day and hopefully find some kind of inspiration to get on the trainer a bit later. Nothing says awesome like riding your bike inside...
Monday, January 27, 2014
Time to move the ball
Time to get the ball rolling.
Been a bit of a down time here in terms of writing on the blog I'm afraid, but for that we've got tons of fun stuff happening! First and foremost is our move to Charlottesville, Va. coming up in March. Both Anne and I have been offered jobs at Blue Ridge Cyclery and accepted. We'll both be working in the shop as full time employees, and happy to know that we'll have full medical insurance too! Finally we won't have to worry about getting patched up after crashing our bikes!!! :)
Also going on, before we more down to Virginia is a trip over to the UK to see family, combined with a mini training camp/friend visit to Southern Spain. It'll be great to get over to the UK to see family (of which Anne hasn't had a chance to see in nearly a year!) and it will of course be AWESOME to get out and ride bikes in the sunshine of SPAIN!!! Getting a chance to get into the sun and warm temps on two wheels will be a welcomed thing, especially after all the snow and cold temps that have been thrust upon us here in New York these last few weeks. I think at this point our only concern is going to be how much it's gonna hurt "earning" fitness there…those mountains are plenty bigger than anything we've ridden in a while!
In the mean time things are just moving along. We're putting our heads down to work and get as much done before our trip and our move, so being efficient (Anne's strength!) is of great importance. Training has been a bit hard lately with the snow, but for me personally, I'm enjoying a bit of running time and a break from pedaling. It's always a good idea to challenge yourself in different ways, and running usually helps me keep off any additional weight I gain as a result of being a human garbage dump. My feeling is not only does it keep the body fresh, but the mind as well. Heading out for a run in sub freezing temps is often a lot easier than strapping the bike to the indoor trainer and pedaling nowhere for hours on end.
So that's the haps for now. We'll try and keep the blog updated as and when time allows. We've got a lot of exciting things planned for the coming months, so surely there will be some interesting content here in the near future. For now, stay fit and get ready to hold on-it's gonna be a hell of a ride!
Been a bit of a down time here in terms of writing on the blog I'm afraid, but for that we've got tons of fun stuff happening! First and foremost is our move to Charlottesville, Va. coming up in March. Both Anne and I have been offered jobs at Blue Ridge Cyclery and accepted. We'll both be working in the shop as full time employees, and happy to know that we'll have full medical insurance too! Finally we won't have to worry about getting patched up after crashing our bikes!!! :)
Also going on, before we more down to Virginia is a trip over to the UK to see family, combined with a mini training camp/friend visit to Southern Spain. It'll be great to get over to the UK to see family (of which Anne hasn't had a chance to see in nearly a year!) and it will of course be AWESOME to get out and ride bikes in the sunshine of SPAIN!!! Getting a chance to get into the sun and warm temps on two wheels will be a welcomed thing, especially after all the snow and cold temps that have been thrust upon us here in New York these last few weeks. I think at this point our only concern is going to be how much it's gonna hurt "earning" fitness there…those mountains are plenty bigger than anything we've ridden in a while!
In the mean time things are just moving along. We're putting our heads down to work and get as much done before our trip and our move, so being efficient (Anne's strength!) is of great importance. Training has been a bit hard lately with the snow, but for me personally, I'm enjoying a bit of running time and a break from pedaling. It's always a good idea to challenge yourself in different ways, and running usually helps me keep off any additional weight I gain as a result of being a human garbage dump. My feeling is not only does it keep the body fresh, but the mind as well. Heading out for a run in sub freezing temps is often a lot easier than strapping the bike to the indoor trainer and pedaling nowhere for hours on end.
So that's the haps for now. We'll try and keep the blog updated as and when time allows. We've got a lot of exciting things planned for the coming months, so surely there will be some interesting content here in the near future. For now, stay fit and get ready to hold on-it's gonna be a hell of a ride!
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
To Train or NOT to Train...
Dave here…
One thing that I think is a HUGE factor, particularly as the season winds down to and end and a long season of training takes its toll on a body, is training when you're not feeling well. There's a fine line between benefit and taking a turn for the worse when a slight illness arrives, and you've got to think with your head over your heart.
Today I'm sick. It's been brewing for a few days and I'm not at all surprised it's got to this point. Anne and I did a long ride this past Sunday, and I put in a lot of threshold work toward the end (in the 5th and 6th hours). It felt great at the time and I'm sure I've benefited from the effort, but I didn't allow enough time for my body to actually absorb the training. Monday I hopped back on the bike for a recovery ride, which was all well and good, but Tuesday, still not feeling up to it, I got back onto the road bike for some hard, steady-state work. I knew from the get-go that the body wasn't feeling up for it, but I pushed on anyway. All my times were off, my heart rate was probably way too high (I don't know for sure because I wasn't wearing a HR strap), and I just generally didn't feel like being out there. Looking back, of course, hindsight is 20/20 and I can see that had I just chilled out a bit, I wouldn't be in the predicament I find myself in now.
With the final race of our season coming up in a little over a week, it's time to shut things down for today. I'm being pro-active in NOT being active and hoping that my body will come back around in time for a training session tomorrow. At this point in the season, the cards are already pretty much in place. Not a whole lot will happen in the time left before the race, and my only hope is that I'm smart enough to realize that for me, it's probably better to go into it being a bit more rested than trying to be a hero right now.
Nevertheless, even with this little illness, I'm feeling overall strong on the bike and looking forward to racing. Getting back into endurance mountain biking this year has been great, my only wish being that I'd planned it over last winter instead of hopping on the wagon mid race season. Still, it's great to be back doing something I love, and I'm super excited for what's to come next season. There's a lot in the plans and when it's finally cemented, things are going to be lots of fun next year.
One thing that I think is a HUGE factor, particularly as the season winds down to and end and a long season of training takes its toll on a body, is training when you're not feeling well. There's a fine line between benefit and taking a turn for the worse when a slight illness arrives, and you've got to think with your head over your heart.
Today I'm sick. It's been brewing for a few days and I'm not at all surprised it's got to this point. Anne and I did a long ride this past Sunday, and I put in a lot of threshold work toward the end (in the 5th and 6th hours). It felt great at the time and I'm sure I've benefited from the effort, but I didn't allow enough time for my body to actually absorb the training. Monday I hopped back on the bike for a recovery ride, which was all well and good, but Tuesday, still not feeling up to it, I got back onto the road bike for some hard, steady-state work. I knew from the get-go that the body wasn't feeling up for it, but I pushed on anyway. All my times were off, my heart rate was probably way too high (I don't know for sure because I wasn't wearing a HR strap), and I just generally didn't feel like being out there. Looking back, of course, hindsight is 20/20 and I can see that had I just chilled out a bit, I wouldn't be in the predicament I find myself in now.
With the final race of our season coming up in a little over a week, it's time to shut things down for today. I'm being pro-active in NOT being active and hoping that my body will come back around in time for a training session tomorrow. At this point in the season, the cards are already pretty much in place. Not a whole lot will happen in the time left before the race, and my only hope is that I'm smart enough to realize that for me, it's probably better to go into it being a bit more rested than trying to be a hero right now.
Nevertheless, even with this little illness, I'm feeling overall strong on the bike and looking forward to racing. Getting back into endurance mountain biking this year has been great, my only wish being that I'd planned it over last winter instead of hopping on the wagon mid race season. Still, it's great to be back doing something I love, and I'm super excited for what's to come next season. There's a lot in the plans and when it's finally cemented, things are going to be lots of fun next year.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Maintenance Time!
Loyal readers (I know there is SOMEONE out there), as you can tell, we're doing a bit of upkeep on the blog. Not sure what the final format will be, but this space will be changed to accommodate our most newest thoughts, ideas, and generally anything related to what it is we do-most notably, endurance mountain bike racing.
Both Anne and I will be posting here on a consistent basis. Hopefully having a "partner in crime" on this blog will keep things up to date a bit more than they have been in recent past.
Anyway, we're both looking forward to sharing some of our adventures and we hope that whoever is interested in reading about a crazy and wacky couple will enjoy it!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
So this is what it feels like...
Training hard on the bike(s) for the first time in I can't remember when. It's not like i've been unfit in my time away from endurance training. I've done plenty of strength training and trail riding. I wasn't off the bike for anything more than a few days, but still, it was not focused, "time in the saddle" type training.
It feels good to be back. I'm still a bit hesitant though as I don't want to give up my (to me) much more fun trail riding, full of jumps, drops, and technical sections. I will say though, there is an aspect to feeling very fit that drives me to push a bit more and scratch the itch of longer distance XC racing.
So the race schedule, even though small, looks right now that it will include 2 Xterra races (the first of which is next weekend), and a 6 hour endurance race in late November. The Xterra's will be nice little tune ups, nothing overly long, just more for fun, with the 6 hour race being the focus. The last time I did said race I came in fourth. With the way things are going, I'll be disappointed with anything less than that. My technical skills have grown in leaps and bounds, and by the time late November comes around, I'll be just as strong if not stronger from a fitness point of view than I was years ago when I raced.
One of the oddest things, from a training standpoint is how quickly my body has adjusted to riding for extended periods of time. I've lost a pretty substantial amount of weight in the last few weeks, and I'm looking "skinny" like an endurance racer again. When I last raced seriously, I was 168lbs. This past spring I was tipping the scales at about 205lbs. I'm not about 180lbs 'ish, and feeling faster by the day. Fun to see that my body is following in line. Almost as if saying, "Ok, if this is what we're gonna do..."
Equipment wise I'll be rocking a Niner Air 9 29er XC hard tail for my adventures. It's odd riding such a big bike after being used to the long traveled, 26 inch wheeled variety for the last couple years. While I enjoy the smaller wheels and the more cushioned ride much more (not to mention I feel like I ride those bikes much better), there is nothing better suited for XC riding and racing that a 29er, hands down. I'm not going to say I love the big wheels, but it's a necessary evil for what I'm choosing to do.
So that's about it for now. I've just been stuck into my training, working as much as I can, and trying to keep my wife happy. :-) Hopefully the future will hold more time for writing and sharing some of my adventures as they happen. Time to head into work!
It feels good to be back. I'm still a bit hesitant though as I don't want to give up my (to me) much more fun trail riding, full of jumps, drops, and technical sections. I will say though, there is an aspect to feeling very fit that drives me to push a bit more and scratch the itch of longer distance XC racing.
So the race schedule, even though small, looks right now that it will include 2 Xterra races (the first of which is next weekend), and a 6 hour endurance race in late November. The Xterra's will be nice little tune ups, nothing overly long, just more for fun, with the 6 hour race being the focus. The last time I did said race I came in fourth. With the way things are going, I'll be disappointed with anything less than that. My technical skills have grown in leaps and bounds, and by the time late November comes around, I'll be just as strong if not stronger from a fitness point of view than I was years ago when I raced.
One of the oddest things, from a training standpoint is how quickly my body has adjusted to riding for extended periods of time. I've lost a pretty substantial amount of weight in the last few weeks, and I'm looking "skinny" like an endurance racer again. When I last raced seriously, I was 168lbs. This past spring I was tipping the scales at about 205lbs. I'm not about 180lbs 'ish, and feeling faster by the day. Fun to see that my body is following in line. Almost as if saying, "Ok, if this is what we're gonna do..."
Equipment wise I'll be rocking a Niner Air 9 29er XC hard tail for my adventures. It's odd riding such a big bike after being used to the long traveled, 26 inch wheeled variety for the last couple years. While I enjoy the smaller wheels and the more cushioned ride much more (not to mention I feel like I ride those bikes much better), there is nothing better suited for XC riding and racing that a 29er, hands down. I'm not going to say I love the big wheels, but it's a necessary evil for what I'm choosing to do.
So that's about it for now. I've just been stuck into my training, working as much as I can, and trying to keep my wife happy. :-) Hopefully the future will hold more time for writing and sharing some of my adventures as they happen. Time to head into work!
Monday, July 1, 2013
Rest Day
Pretty self explanatory really. Rested today. Put together a solid three days of riding at the end of last week so, as my custom in the past, Monday is a day to catch up on life stuff and give the legs a rest in order to prepare for more training to come. Did I totally need it today? Probably not, but I think it's a good habit to get in the mode of taking at least one full day of rest-weather I feel I need it or not.
Tomorrow is back on the XC bike.
Tomorrow is back on the XC bike.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
False Start
Not exactly the start I wanted to get off to regarding my endurance training. I've gotten in a couple good road rides the last few days, a sluggish run, and an ok weight training session, but my lack of adequate rest has already created a bit of a road block. Simple fact is, you can't train what you don't recover, so I had to take a bit of a step back this morning and sacrifice good free time I planned to use for training in favor of getting some well needed rest. Once I've got the sleep part of things figured out, I'm sure I'll hit the dirt spinning.
On an exciting note, I should be getting my new (new to me anyway) race rig tomorrow. Though I said I'd never straddle another 29er, I'm getting a great deal on an Orbea Alma Carbon bike from a really good friend. The frame is a smaller size that I'd usually ride, but in checking out the geometry and fitting standards on the Orbea website, it should just about fit. Either way, the deal is so good it's not worth passing up, even if after getting it I need to make some other arrangements to get a larger frame. Nothing like getting some new wheels!
Focus wise, it's really interesting swapping over, back to endurance. The good thing, as I see it, will be that I'll be fitter for any downhill/enduro races that I do. In addition, my bike skills are the best they've ever been, making for what will be an interesting combo if I can get my fitness back to where it used to be. After my last stint in XC racing, I realized that though I was fitter than most other racers, my skill were seriously lacking. In fact, that's what got me into the whole downhill thing. I had so much fun trying to improve my skills for XC, I fell in love with DH and just kept it moving from there. Now though, in deciding to pull off a piece of the pie from every angle, it's going to be a whole new ballgame.
At the end of the day, I'm just at my happiest when I'm riding bikes. I've got a long travel bike, a dirt jump bike, and (soon to have) and XC bike. Why in the world would I choose to limit myself to riding and racing just one???
On an exciting note, I should be getting my new (new to me anyway) race rig tomorrow. Though I said I'd never straddle another 29er, I'm getting a great deal on an Orbea Alma Carbon bike from a really good friend. The frame is a smaller size that I'd usually ride, but in checking out the geometry and fitting standards on the Orbea website, it should just about fit. Either way, the deal is so good it's not worth passing up, even if after getting it I need to make some other arrangements to get a larger frame. Nothing like getting some new wheels!
Focus wise, it's really interesting swapping over, back to endurance. The good thing, as I see it, will be that I'll be fitter for any downhill/enduro races that I do. In addition, my bike skills are the best they've ever been, making for what will be an interesting combo if I can get my fitness back to where it used to be. After my last stint in XC racing, I realized that though I was fitter than most other racers, my skill were seriously lacking. In fact, that's what got me into the whole downhill thing. I had so much fun trying to improve my skills for XC, I fell in love with DH and just kept it moving from there. Now though, in deciding to pull off a piece of the pie from every angle, it's going to be a whole new ballgame.
At the end of the day, I'm just at my happiest when I'm riding bikes. I've got a long travel bike, a dirt jump bike, and (soon to have) and XC bike. Why in the world would I choose to limit myself to riding and racing just one???
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
And here I am again...
I can't even begin to share the adventures I've been through on this blog just yet. Everything has been a blur for about the past three months but the speed seems to be slowing to a comfortable pace. Things are getting settled and new adventures are on the doorstep of beginning.
I've decided to throw my hat back into the endurance mountain biking ring once again. Following Anne around to all of her races has got the endurance bug biting me in the ass once again. I won't go the triathlon route again just yet (not quite ready to get back into the water), but I'm excited to get back onto the bike and put in some miles in the dirt. The plan isn't to focus ONLY on endurance though, as I'm still quite keen on racing enduro and downhill before this years season comes to a close. Maybe it's silly to be a jack of all trades on the mountain bike, but I can't see (in my head anyway) any way in which I'd be at a specific disadvantage. My bike handling skills are back up to snuff, and I've spent two years working almost exclusively on riding fast down hills. Now I've just got to get back into that pedaling thing.
I'll write more as I've now begun "formal" training, and update more regularly before the first endurance race, the Wilderness 101 (NUE series)-which was oddly my last endurance race completed. Looking forward to the new journey!
I've decided to throw my hat back into the endurance mountain biking ring once again. Following Anne around to all of her races has got the endurance bug biting me in the ass once again. I won't go the triathlon route again just yet (not quite ready to get back into the water), but I'm excited to get back onto the bike and put in some miles in the dirt. The plan isn't to focus ONLY on endurance though, as I'm still quite keen on racing enduro and downhill before this years season comes to a close. Maybe it's silly to be a jack of all trades on the mountain bike, but I can't see (in my head anyway) any way in which I'd be at a specific disadvantage. My bike handling skills are back up to snuff, and I've spent two years working almost exclusively on riding fast down hills. Now I've just got to get back into that pedaling thing.
I'll write more as I've now begun "formal" training, and update more regularly before the first endurance race, the Wilderness 101 (NUE series)-which was oddly my last endurance race completed. Looking forward to the new journey!
Thursday, April 4, 2013
And the beat goes on...
Not much in the last days. Great workouts and lots of "life stuff" going on. Looking forward to the warm weather and FINALLY being able to spend some time with my beautiful fiancee Anne, who will be here on a visit while we wait for her visa to come through. We haven't seen each other since January 3rd, so this reunion is well overdue.
Today will be a rest day from exercise, but not from cleaning and preparing the house for her arrival. Women, funny as it may seem, often have a different definition of what constitutes a clean home. Now that I'm closing in on my last moments as a bachelor, my window of chaotic living (my apartment being dirty) is coming to a fast close. It's been a good run, but now it's time to harden up and CLEAN UP.
Today will be a rest day from exercise, but not from cleaning and preparing the house for her arrival. Women, funny as it may seem, often have a different definition of what constitutes a clean home. Now that I'm closing in on my last moments as a bachelor, my window of chaotic living (my apartment being dirty) is coming to a fast close. It's been a good run, but now it's time to harden up and CLEAN UP.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Such a busy day I forgot I worked out!
In these days of trying to grow my business and prepare for the future ahead, more times than not I'm trying to find inventive ways to fit in a workout in the midst of running back and forth from wherever to wherever. Just about every day of this I remember my workout, not always because of how hard it was, but merely for the fact that it's a HUGE priority in my life and I ALWAYS make time for it. Today though, the workout just sort of fit in. It wasn't the "event" of the day, but rather just another cog in the machine of movement that went into making today what it was.
I had to get in something quick. By the time I got into the gym I had about 30 minutes to not only warm up (which I almost never do), but also complete a tough workout, and get changed and ready to meet with my next appointment. Long story short, after a quick warmup of some push ups, sit ups, and pull ups, I completed the following:
3 rounds of 2 minutes work, 1 minute rest of:
5 Burpees
5 Pull ups
6 Sandbag shouldering (alternating)
3 rounds of 2 minutes work, 1 minute rest of:
Sandbag getups, alternating sides on the "stand"
In comparison to the workout I did Saturday, this looks like nearly nothing (at least to me). But, and that's a big "BUT", when done to max effort, this little nugget becomes quite the female dog. It's easy enough to allow you (me) to continue work without interruption, yet tough enough to let you know you really did something by the end. Also, it's convenient in the way that it takes up little time as well as uses little equipment. Nothing but a pull up bar is necessary, and if that's unavailable, sandbag bent over rows can be substituted. Simple, basic, and unconventional-everything that I believe in!
When I first found kettlebells I thought that would be it for me. I loved them (and still do), but have found a real gem in sandbag training. There's nothing else that I've ever come across in all my years of being in the fitness industry that challenges you in a similar way. To me, sandbags are the closest thing to grappling (or wrestling) as you can get-and THAT, my friends, is one of the hardest things you can physically do. When you actually "fight" another human being, you're bringing yourself to entire new levels of strength and conditioning. It's no wonder that combat athletes are some of the fittest people in the world. The human psyche, in most instances, doesn't quit. Our survival instincts kick in and we're literally fighting for our lives. Pain and "the burn" kind of become secondary when someone is trying to choke you unconscious.
So, with sandbag training, you're "fighting" that dead weight in a similar manner as you do when grappling. It's moving an object that's got it's own idea of where it wants to go. No dumbbell, barbell, or even kettlebell demands the absolute control of a sandbag. While kettlebells are a close second, they are still second. Long live king sandbag!
I had to get in something quick. By the time I got into the gym I had about 30 minutes to not only warm up (which I almost never do), but also complete a tough workout, and get changed and ready to meet with my next appointment. Long story short, after a quick warmup of some push ups, sit ups, and pull ups, I completed the following:
3 rounds of 2 minutes work, 1 minute rest of:
5 Burpees
5 Pull ups
6 Sandbag shouldering (alternating)
3 rounds of 2 minutes work, 1 minute rest of:
Sandbag getups, alternating sides on the "stand"
In comparison to the workout I did Saturday, this looks like nearly nothing (at least to me). But, and that's a big "BUT", when done to max effort, this little nugget becomes quite the female dog. It's easy enough to allow you (me) to continue work without interruption, yet tough enough to let you know you really did something by the end. Also, it's convenient in the way that it takes up little time as well as uses little equipment. Nothing but a pull up bar is necessary, and if that's unavailable, sandbag bent over rows can be substituted. Simple, basic, and unconventional-everything that I believe in!
When I first found kettlebells I thought that would be it for me. I loved them (and still do), but have found a real gem in sandbag training. There's nothing else that I've ever come across in all my years of being in the fitness industry that challenges you in a similar way. To me, sandbags are the closest thing to grappling (or wrestling) as you can get-and THAT, my friends, is one of the hardest things you can physically do. When you actually "fight" another human being, you're bringing yourself to entire new levels of strength and conditioning. It's no wonder that combat athletes are some of the fittest people in the world. The human psyche, in most instances, doesn't quit. Our survival instincts kick in and we're literally fighting for our lives. Pain and "the burn" kind of become secondary when someone is trying to choke you unconscious.
So, with sandbag training, you're "fighting" that dead weight in a similar manner as you do when grappling. It's moving an object that's got it's own idea of where it wants to go. No dumbbell, barbell, or even kettlebell demands the absolute control of a sandbag. While kettlebells are a close second, they are still second. Long live king sandbag!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Easter Nothing-day
First and foremost, Happy Easter! Now that that's out of the way...
Happily deciding to do no exercise today. I got a bit cocky last night and blew things out of the water with a combined kettlebell/sandbag/bodyweight interval workout. I piggybacked the workout from the website www.mymadmethods.com, an AWESOME site, focusing on unconventional training-something I'm hugely in favor of. As I get into my 30's now (save the sighs for later), I'm putting more and more of a precedence on functional training and strength. It's paying off as I've never felt more "all-around" fit before.
For years I've been focusing any training I do toward a specific athletic event. Be it, ice hockey, lacrosse, football, MMA, triathlon, cycling, mountain biking-whatever, I've trained to mimic the movements in those sports and strengthen my performance on the field/trail/road/etc. With my athletic career coming to a close (figuratively speaking-it's not like I'm getting paid to compete. I'll compete for fun now and for the challenge, but I wouldn't say it's the overwhelming priority at the moment) I'm switching the focus to training for life. Everything I do in the gym is dedicated to making me a healthier and happier individual for the LONG TERM. For example, I lost a lot of strength when I concentrated on endurance sports. Yeah I was strong on the bike/run, but I was no good at picking things up and putting them down. Even if you're not a meathead, you've got to admit that many of the tasks we face each and every day in life involve picking up objects and putting them down. It's inevitable. Therefore, moving into a different phase of my life-one that will be focused more on building a life and family with my future wife, as well as all the things that come along with that, it's going to be important that I be a strong individual in ALL aspects, not just in riding a bike.
Going back to what I said before, never feeling so well-roundedly fit in my life is really defined as being a jack of all trades. To me, the importance of physical strength, mixed in with stamina (or endurance) is huge. Yeah, it's impossible (if you want to be at the highest level of either the endurance game or the strength game) to have both. People will argue with me, but you've never seen a Kenyan marathoner in a powerlifting contest have you? And likewise, you don't see those big dudes and girls in the Olympics with hundreds of kilos over their heads winning the local 5 or 10k right? Anyhow, for the vast majority of us "regular" folk, having a good combination of both is perfectly achievable and in many more ways, much more of an advantage as we progress further in life. Longevity is much more likely with a healthy body that can perform all the tasks put before it, than with a body designed specifically for one, and only one purpose.
Accordingly so, this is the workout that I did last night. Again, it's one that has modified from an existing workout. I added in some sandbag work to mix things up, as well as made it into an interval workout so that I could use my new Gymboss (www.gymboss.com) timer. Sometimes new toys give you good ideas! The workout is meant to be done Heavy and paced well. DO NOT SUBSTITUTE FORM FOR WEIGHT! Here goes:
5 rounds of 30 seconds at each exercise followed by 15 seconds of rest before moving on the the next. Take 1-4 minutes to rest between rounds. 1 round consists of:
-2 Hand Kettlebell Swing
-1 Leg Alternating Deck Squats
-Sandbag Cleans
-Air (Hindu) Squats
-Double Kettlebell Cleans
-Alternating Low Lunges
-Kettlebell Figure 8 (Slingshots) to hold
-Sandbag Shouldering (Alternating)
-Clapping Pushups
-Kettlebell Snatch (left)
-Kettlebell Snatch (right)
-Long Cycle Double Kettlebell Clean and Jerk
All together this workout should be, if done to 5 rounds, 30 minutes of actual "work". Of course your heart rate will stay up for the entire duration, and I won't get into the science of that, but if you're fit, you'll find the "work" to be WORK, and the "rest" to be REST. You can adjust the rest periods accordingly (15 seconds can be more or less, that's just what I suggest and used), but remember that the idea here is heavy weight paced accordingly. Again, if you're fit, the 15 seconds should be ample time in which to recover from the previous effort.
For me, this workout felt great. I completed the 5 rounds in good shape and didn't feel overly cooked by the end. This, of course, is a sign that I'm nice and fit. I was honest with myself about the weights, actually surprising myself with the amount I could use for the duration of the workout. I was fully prepared to be humbled with my original choice of weights, but was happy to find that I never broke form.
Today, as stated before, will be a rest day. I pushed hard at times this week, taking my normal "once a week" rest day, but am feeling a bit more like I need another day in which to rest my body a bit. These strength and conditioning workouts are much different than the traditional weightlifting and endurance work I've done the last few years, so I tend to be a bit more on the cautious side when programming my weeks. In all, though, I'm stoked with where I am and looking forward to continuing this trend.
Happily deciding to do no exercise today. I got a bit cocky last night and blew things out of the water with a combined kettlebell/sandbag/bodyweight interval workout. I piggybacked the workout from the website www.mymadmethods.com, an AWESOME site, focusing on unconventional training-something I'm hugely in favor of. As I get into my 30's now (save the sighs for later), I'm putting more and more of a precedence on functional training and strength. It's paying off as I've never felt more "all-around" fit before.
For years I've been focusing any training I do toward a specific athletic event. Be it, ice hockey, lacrosse, football, MMA, triathlon, cycling, mountain biking-whatever, I've trained to mimic the movements in those sports and strengthen my performance on the field/trail/road/etc. With my athletic career coming to a close (figuratively speaking-it's not like I'm getting paid to compete. I'll compete for fun now and for the challenge, but I wouldn't say it's the overwhelming priority at the moment) I'm switching the focus to training for life. Everything I do in the gym is dedicated to making me a healthier and happier individual for the LONG TERM. For example, I lost a lot of strength when I concentrated on endurance sports. Yeah I was strong on the bike/run, but I was no good at picking things up and putting them down. Even if you're not a meathead, you've got to admit that many of the tasks we face each and every day in life involve picking up objects and putting them down. It's inevitable. Therefore, moving into a different phase of my life-one that will be focused more on building a life and family with my future wife, as well as all the things that come along with that, it's going to be important that I be a strong individual in ALL aspects, not just in riding a bike.
Going back to what I said before, never feeling so well-roundedly fit in my life is really defined as being a jack of all trades. To me, the importance of physical strength, mixed in with stamina (or endurance) is huge. Yeah, it's impossible (if you want to be at the highest level of either the endurance game or the strength game) to have both. People will argue with me, but you've never seen a Kenyan marathoner in a powerlifting contest have you? And likewise, you don't see those big dudes and girls in the Olympics with hundreds of kilos over their heads winning the local 5 or 10k right? Anyhow, for the vast majority of us "regular" folk, having a good combination of both is perfectly achievable and in many more ways, much more of an advantage as we progress further in life. Longevity is much more likely with a healthy body that can perform all the tasks put before it, than with a body designed specifically for one, and only one purpose.
Accordingly so, this is the workout that I did last night. Again, it's one that has modified from an existing workout. I added in some sandbag work to mix things up, as well as made it into an interval workout so that I could use my new Gymboss (www.gymboss.com) timer. Sometimes new toys give you good ideas! The workout is meant to be done Heavy and paced well. DO NOT SUBSTITUTE FORM FOR WEIGHT! Here goes:
5 rounds of 30 seconds at each exercise followed by 15 seconds of rest before moving on the the next. Take 1-4 minutes to rest between rounds. 1 round consists of:
-2 Hand Kettlebell Swing
-1 Leg Alternating Deck Squats
-Sandbag Cleans
-Air (Hindu) Squats
-Double Kettlebell Cleans
-Alternating Low Lunges
-Kettlebell Figure 8 (Slingshots) to hold
-Sandbag Shouldering (Alternating)
-Clapping Pushups
-Kettlebell Snatch (left)
-Kettlebell Snatch (right)
-Long Cycle Double Kettlebell Clean and Jerk
All together this workout should be, if done to 5 rounds, 30 minutes of actual "work". Of course your heart rate will stay up for the entire duration, and I won't get into the science of that, but if you're fit, you'll find the "work" to be WORK, and the "rest" to be REST. You can adjust the rest periods accordingly (15 seconds can be more or less, that's just what I suggest and used), but remember that the idea here is heavy weight paced accordingly. Again, if you're fit, the 15 seconds should be ample time in which to recover from the previous effort.
For me, this workout felt great. I completed the 5 rounds in good shape and didn't feel overly cooked by the end. This, of course, is a sign that I'm nice and fit. I was honest with myself about the weights, actually surprising myself with the amount I could use for the duration of the workout. I was fully prepared to be humbled with my original choice of weights, but was happy to find that I never broke form.
Today, as stated before, will be a rest day. I pushed hard at times this week, taking my normal "once a week" rest day, but am feeling a bit more like I need another day in which to rest my body a bit. These strength and conditioning workouts are much different than the traditional weightlifting and endurance work I've done the last few years, so I tend to be a bit more on the cautious side when programming my weeks. In all, though, I'm stoked with where I am and looking forward to continuing this trend.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Keep Calm, Everything is Fine
Lots going on this past week. Work, though not too busy is still the first "taker" of my time. Of course not in a negative way, just a real way of leaving me with less time to pursue "hobbies". Still managed to get a lot done, and with Anne coming in less than a week, this is a good thing.
There's some house-stuff to get done: Sheetrock, flooring, painting, and tiling all to get started, in addition to just THROWING SHIT OUT! It's all a big cleanse though, and having a chance to "begin" my life with someone who I love is a great motivating factor. I've found in my life that when things really matter to me, they have a way of getting done in the timeliest of fashions. Maybe there's something to that...
So, in an effort to keep this short (and God knows I've got enough to keep me busy and updating my blog isn't exactly one of them!), that's about all that's going on. Lots of work to get done, trying to exercise, ride my bike, and skateboard if I can (although exercise IS a priority and time WILL be made for at least 30 minutes no matter what!). So that is all. It was a short one, but hey, at least I got one up here!
There's some house-stuff to get done: Sheetrock, flooring, painting, and tiling all to get started, in addition to just THROWING SHIT OUT! It's all a big cleanse though, and having a chance to "begin" my life with someone who I love is a great motivating factor. I've found in my life that when things really matter to me, they have a way of getting done in the timeliest of fashions. Maybe there's something to that...
So, in an effort to keep this short (and God knows I've got enough to keep me busy and updating my blog isn't exactly one of them!), that's about all that's going on. Lots of work to get done, trying to exercise, ride my bike, and skateboard if I can (although exercise IS a priority and time WILL be made for at least 30 minutes no matter what!). So that is all. It was a short one, but hey, at least I got one up here!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
You know you're tired when...
...you're crankier than a 2 year old teething; you crave sugar all day; and all you want to do is sleep, even after getting a full night's sleep the night before. I am all of the above today and have, in keeping with being smart (some of the time anyway), decided to take the day completely off from exercise. That is, of course, with the exception of doing some "physical work" while teaching my kettlebell class later this evening.
If there's one thing I've found with the higher intensity weight training and unorthodox methods that I've been using lately, it's that you've got to make sure your programming is intelligent. It's an absolute MUST that you layer workouts correctly and a MUST that you take ample time to recover. The problem, in my opinion, with programs like CrossFit, is that they do not (in many cases) program accordingly. Clients get burned out, injured, or just plain unmotivated to kill it every day. For a highly motivated person, burnout might take longer, but regardless of anything, the body is going to break down.
I'm getting the hang of this myself. As I alluded to in yesterday's post, I'm finding these high intensity workouts to be quite useful given my lack of time and general rushing around type of lifestyle. Things will eventually settle down, but I'm learning a great lesson in terms of my own fitness goals. I'm now more well rounded than I've been in a while-combining strength and muscle while still maintaining a certain (albeit less) level of endurance. For me, and for my goals this season, it's a worthwhile compromises. Enduro races combine the best aspects of DH racing and XC racing, all on the same mountain bike. You'll ride a lot, so I'll need the "legs", but the real races is on the declines, and that's where the extra muscle will come in handy.
So all in all things are going good with my personal goals. I've been big into making whole food juices (more on that in another post), and my diet in general has not been this good since I can't remember when. I'm noticing much greater energy levels as well as recovering much better from these workouts. I'd always thought that protein was the most important part of muscle recovery, but now I'm convinced that on the whole, getting in veggies and fruits in ADDITION to solid protein is equally important. When these stars align, things are gonna be groovy.
If there's one thing I've found with the higher intensity weight training and unorthodox methods that I've been using lately, it's that you've got to make sure your programming is intelligent. It's an absolute MUST that you layer workouts correctly and a MUST that you take ample time to recover. The problem, in my opinion, with programs like CrossFit, is that they do not (in many cases) program accordingly. Clients get burned out, injured, or just plain unmotivated to kill it every day. For a highly motivated person, burnout might take longer, but regardless of anything, the body is going to break down.
I'm getting the hang of this myself. As I alluded to in yesterday's post, I'm finding these high intensity workouts to be quite useful given my lack of time and general rushing around type of lifestyle. Things will eventually settle down, but I'm learning a great lesson in terms of my own fitness goals. I'm now more well rounded than I've been in a while-combining strength and muscle while still maintaining a certain (albeit less) level of endurance. For me, and for my goals this season, it's a worthwhile compromises. Enduro races combine the best aspects of DH racing and XC racing, all on the same mountain bike. You'll ride a lot, so I'll need the "legs", but the real races is on the declines, and that's where the extra muscle will come in handy.
So all in all things are going good with my personal goals. I've been big into making whole food juices (more on that in another post), and my diet in general has not been this good since I can't remember when. I'm noticing much greater energy levels as well as recovering much better from these workouts. I'd always thought that protein was the most important part of muscle recovery, but now I'm convinced that on the whole, getting in veggies and fruits in ADDITION to solid protein is equally important. When these stars align, things are gonna be groovy.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Update
Sorry goes out to all two of my blog readers! It's not that there's been nothing happening, it's just that there's been TOO MUCH going on to actually concentrate on updating what I'm doing from day to day. This bums me out a bit because I haven't been taking the time to exercise my brain-muscles and write as much as I'd like to-but it'll get better...at least I hope!
I've really been killing things with work. It's a funny thing, but when you get motivated and put your mind into something you enjoy and have a passion for, success is just a happy bi-product. I love what I do and I love learning more and expanding my repertoire. I've made the decision (as suggested in a very interesting blog I read on the RCK-Russian Kettlebell Challenge-website) to concentrate my personal training efforts on one specific form of exercise. Due to my sports background and love of "skills" training, I've migrated to bodyweight training and "unconventional" methods and tools to get people fit in a "real world" sort of way. Functional training is a term that's thrown out way too much in the fitness industry (one of those ever-happy BUZZ words people like to use but don't know the true meaning behind). It's my belief that for true functional training, and training that will help you when the zombie apocalypse kicks off, unconventional methods such as sandbag, kettlebell, steel club, and sledgehammer training (in addition to a host of other "primal" things) will help you much more than any dumbbell, barbell, or fancy machine you'll find in your local health club. Yeah, this isn't for everyone and I don't want it to be. I'd much rather spend my time truly improving the quality of people's lives rather than helping them just to look good in a bikini by doing exercises that have little to no real world value.
The happy bi-product of all this wacky training-swining clubs, kettlebells, sandbags, etc-is that you not only get a great workout, but you get fit in a useful way. And, of course, you WILL wind up getting an attractive and desired physique, based on the fact that you're using your body as it's MEANT to be used! Pretty easy and simple to understand really.
So, as not to continue on my "Personal Training Manifesto", other than working and developing a new angle on my personal business, I've been changing my lifestyle as well. With more work comes a bit less time to ride my bike. I still have the desire to rock up to some races this season, so training time has to be utilized as effective as possible. For me right now it's all about quality, not quantity. I'm not actually getting out on the bike as much as I'd like, so using my sandbags, kettlebells, and other tools, I'm attempting to mimic the skills I'll need for riding and racing the specific races I'll be choosing. There's absolutely no substitute for true trail riding, but some amount of fitness can be gained off the bike, and that's what I'm banking on. Between the weather and my time constraints, I'm really only getting on the bike for a handful of hours a week. I can usually fit in a good gym workout on most days, so combining those two facets of training must be spot on. I'm not experiencing much of a decline in skills or fitness, so I believe I'm doing the job right.
That's really about it. Looking back at what I just wrote, it's a bit of a shock to believe I couldn't have updated this blog in over a month! Didn't take much time and pretty much gave a decent summary of what I've been up to in less than 10 minutes! Pure laziness!!! Anyway, hopefully I'll get a bit more of a chance (and not be so lazy) to update thing a bit more. This blog has never been about people actually reading, but rather an outlet for me to get what's on my mind out into the universe. Best to all!!!
I've really been killing things with work. It's a funny thing, but when you get motivated and put your mind into something you enjoy and have a passion for, success is just a happy bi-product. I love what I do and I love learning more and expanding my repertoire. I've made the decision (as suggested in a very interesting blog I read on the RCK-Russian Kettlebell Challenge-website) to concentrate my personal training efforts on one specific form of exercise. Due to my sports background and love of "skills" training, I've migrated to bodyweight training and "unconventional" methods and tools to get people fit in a "real world" sort of way. Functional training is a term that's thrown out way too much in the fitness industry (one of those ever-happy BUZZ words people like to use but don't know the true meaning behind). It's my belief that for true functional training, and training that will help you when the zombie apocalypse kicks off, unconventional methods such as sandbag, kettlebell, steel club, and sledgehammer training (in addition to a host of other "primal" things) will help you much more than any dumbbell, barbell, or fancy machine you'll find in your local health club. Yeah, this isn't for everyone and I don't want it to be. I'd much rather spend my time truly improving the quality of people's lives rather than helping them just to look good in a bikini by doing exercises that have little to no real world value.
The happy bi-product of all this wacky training-swining clubs, kettlebells, sandbags, etc-is that you not only get a great workout, but you get fit in a useful way. And, of course, you WILL wind up getting an attractive and desired physique, based on the fact that you're using your body as it's MEANT to be used! Pretty easy and simple to understand really.
So, as not to continue on my "Personal Training Manifesto", other than working and developing a new angle on my personal business, I've been changing my lifestyle as well. With more work comes a bit less time to ride my bike. I still have the desire to rock up to some races this season, so training time has to be utilized as effective as possible. For me right now it's all about quality, not quantity. I'm not actually getting out on the bike as much as I'd like, so using my sandbags, kettlebells, and other tools, I'm attempting to mimic the skills I'll need for riding and racing the specific races I'll be choosing. There's absolutely no substitute for true trail riding, but some amount of fitness can be gained off the bike, and that's what I'm banking on. Between the weather and my time constraints, I'm really only getting on the bike for a handful of hours a week. I can usually fit in a good gym workout on most days, so combining those two facets of training must be spot on. I'm not experiencing much of a decline in skills or fitness, so I believe I'm doing the job right.
That's really about it. Looking back at what I just wrote, it's a bit of a shock to believe I couldn't have updated this blog in over a month! Didn't take much time and pretty much gave a decent summary of what I've been up to in less than 10 minutes! Pure laziness!!! Anyway, hopefully I'll get a bit more of a chance (and not be so lazy) to update thing a bit more. This blog has never been about people actually reading, but rather an outlet for me to get what's on my mind out into the universe. Best to all!!!
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