Applied Mastery

How to run a sprint

Wow.  This is just beautiful to watch.

The guy is just in the zone.  And just like in the Olympics, he seems to slightly ease off the gas near the end, and STILL sets a new world record.

Keep it fun

I have a confession to make.  The confession is that lately, I just haven't been interested in strength training.  Not sure why, but I just haven't been into it, can't get motivated for it, and find myself coming up with every lame excuse in the book to avoid it.  No bodyweight stuff, no sprints, no kettlebells, no nothing.

So, what do I do?

Well, I've found myself on my mountain bike more than ever.  For some reason, I've been obsessed with getting out on the toughest trails in the area for 2-3 hours in the 95 degree heat down here and doing full-tilt hammerfests.

I've been pushing myself on very technical double black diamond expert level trails, falling all over the place and hurting myself, and pushing my endurance well into the red zone.

And I've been loving it.

And I think that's important.  If you get into a rut, or lose some motivation in terms of diet or exercise, then find something that you think is FUN, and do that.

Everything goes in cycles, so the bodyweight workouts, sprints, kettlebells, or whatever, will come back around into the rotation -- at just the time you need them to.

That's how it works.

Rhodiola

I've experimented for years with various nutritional supplements and herbs, and generally have come away less-than-impressed with a lot of what's out there.  Sometimes this is because of the low quality/potency of commercially prepared herbal compounds, and sometimes it's because there just isn't the science behind the substance and its reputation was based mainly on hype.

One herb I can highly recommend to you however, based on both personal experience, as well as science, is Rhodiola.

I'm not going to get into all the specifics of what Rhodiola is useful for (there is a ton of that material already out there), but suffice to say that if you're an active, busy person, and put yourself out there in the world and are exposed to any kind of mental or physical stress, there is a good chance this herb may prove to be an outstanding addition to your toolbox.

I encourage you to spend some time researching Rhodiola, and give it a try for yourself.

Some exercise equipment you might like

There are certainly enough pure bodyweight exercises out there to keep us all amused.  However, sometimes a little bit of variety can be just what the doctor ordered.

Check out these 2 pieces of equipment.  Highly recommended.

First, the Ultimate Body Press.  Make sure to check out the videos.  Ultimate Body Press

Second, is the Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar

One nice thing about both of these devices is that they are easily transportable and take up very little space.

Note:  I have no affiliation with either of these 2 manufacturers, and receive nothing from them (or anyone else for that matter) in the way of compensation if you decide to purchase from them.  I just like their stuff.

Top 5 ways to get healthy and improve your life

I'm feeling blunt and direct today, so let's get right to it.

Would you like to get healthy, lean, energetic, happy, and more productive?

Here are the best and most direct ways I know of to accomplish that:

1. Strength train twice per week.  I like mainly bodyweight routines and (more recently) kettlebells.  Use whatever approach you like -- but do the research.  Do the appropriate due diligence.  Don't just do it because some "personal trainer" at your local Bally's said so.  Know why you're doing the kind of strength training you're doing.
2. Reduce your carbohydrate consumption to between 50 - 75 grams per day.  As much as possible, keep it closer to the 50 number.  Doing this will basically force you to eat real food, rather than processed garbage.  See my friend Marc's site and also Zen to Fitness for a great variety of details and ideas on how to accomplish this.
3. Clearly define your life philosophy, what you stand for, and what your mission is (short as well as long-term) in life.  Clarity is crucial.  We all need a compelling reason to get up everyday.  When you have all of your high-level guiding principle's and objectives in place, all of your short-term/daily/tactical plans will automatically fall into place.
4. Get enough sleep.  Seriously.  Don't overlook this area.
5. Learn the power of focus.  As I've written about before, I think the ability to focus and concentrate is one of the highest achievements and skills one can strive for and develop in this life.  Most people don't have it, and can't do it, which (in my opinion) is a big reason why most people aren't getting what they want out of life.  Spend some time researching this important area -- you won't be disappointed.  Developing this one skill alone, will set you far ahead of your competition.

Vincit qui se vincit.

Superslow bodyweight routine experiment

Yesterday I did a little experiment that I've been looking forward to for a few weeks now -- an attempt to incorporate some of the superslow/slow-burn/power-of-ten/etc concepts into a bodyweight exercise routine.  I've recently purchased and read Body by Science, by Dr. Doug McGuff, and it's certainly an interesting and well-written volume.  I was very curious to see how/if some of these concepts could be effectively applied in a bodyweight routine.

Let me also preface my comments by saying right up front that I don't believe there is any "one way" or "perfect approach" to exercise and/or strength training.  I just don't.  I think variety and randomness are critical to producing physical adaptability, and there just isn't (and never will be) a single method that can provide that.  Hey, maybe I'm wrong, but that's what my gut tells me.

Anyway, that's my opinion on the matter, so let's get into the workout.

Here was the routine I did:

• push-ups (approximately 10 seconds down, and 10-15 seconds up) unti failure.  Continued pushing as long as I could after failure.
• chin-ups (approximately 10 seconds up, and 10 seconds down) until failure.  Continued pushing as long as I could after failure.
• dips (10 secs down, 10 secs up) until failure.  Continued pushing as long as I could after failure.
• Squats (same as the others - 10 secs down, 10 secs up) until failure.  Continued to push hard for 5-10 secs after I initially failed.
• Lunges (same as above).
• Planks.  I did 3 separate planks for as long as I could hold each one.
• Burpees.  I just threw these in at the end and did as many as I could without passing out.  These things are just an amazing beat-down, which I thought would be a nice way to end the whole routine.

I tried to move from exercise to exercise as quickly as possible, with no break to speak of.  The whole thing took around 14-15 minutes I think, and I was sucking wind pretty good at the end.

Thoughts: 

• It's not easy to perform the superslow thing with bodyweight exercises.  I found myself (oddly) getting almost impatient/agitated initally doing the push-ups, and rushing some of the reps.  I had to force myself to slow things down.  Maybe this happens to everyone initially doing this kind of routine, weights or no weights -- not sure.
• I started sweating almost immediately.  Much more quickly than usual.
• Heart rate took a while to get up high, but once it did it was running pretty fast for a while after the routine ended.
• It's a very odd sensation doing the slow reps -- very hard to describe.  Very "uncomfortable" I guess I would say.
• Continuously breathing is imperative, but there is a trick to learn how to do it while executing the slow reps.

Summary:  Another tool to add to the toolbox, as well as an interesting experience.  I'll be interested to see how my recovery from the routine progresses through the week, and how it affects my next "standard" bodyweight routine.  At some point I may also head over to one of the approved facilities here in Florida and maybe try out a standard/non-bodyweight workout on some of the machines with heavier load.

Anyway, have a good week and I hope everyone's training is going well.

P.S.  Next up for experimentation:  Kettlebells.

One more crank

Mountain biking is probably my favorite recreational activity.  A nice two hour XC ride on some twisty fast single track is really hard to beat in my book.  Getting out into nature, checking out the wildlife, getting big lung-fulls of fresh clean air are music for my soul.

Once in a while however, I like to head over to one of the more technically challenging parks and put myself to the test on some really difficult gnarly terrain.  Terrain where the penalties for a mistake can be high.

When doing this kind of (some would say silly) activity, I've been struck again and again over the years about one aspect that has a direct parallel in everyday life.

What I mean is, there have been many times I've been at my limit physically on a steep climb, or some other challenging obstacle, and find myself about to fail "again" at the same point of a trail where I've previously run out of stamina or skill or whatever it might be. 

And I'll feel the habitual pattern start to kick in where my mind says "ok, just put your foot down and walk up the rest of the hill -- this is too hard for you".

Now, a lot of times I'll go with that, and take the easy way out.  Those are not however, moments I'll cherish or remember.  Nor should they be.

Sometimes, however, my mind will rebel against this "easy way out" pattern -- and I'll be overcome with conviction -- almost to the point of anger -- and I'll give the pedals "one more crank".  And then another.  And another beyond that.

And so many times when I do that -- one more crank -- it is absolutely amazing how that was all the impetus I needed to tip the scales in my favor and be able to complete the trail or obstacle.  E.g., that one little point on the trail, which I'd conditioned myself mentally and physically to believe was "just too tough", turned out to be able to be beaten with just a little bit more conviction....and one more crank of the pedals.

And this same exact principle plays out in daily life all the time.  Whether it be a business scenario or whatever the case may be, these kind of situations will appear at regular intervals and present us with a fork in the road.  To the right is "I'm going to stay where I am" street, and to the left is "I'm going to push myself to new levels" road.  And it's not paved, and there's hardly anybody on it.

Which way do you usually head when you hit the crossroads?

High intensity bodyweight exercise and mountain biking

About a month ago, thanks to one of those idiotic/infuriating plastic packages that toys come wrapped in these days, I sliced the index finger on my left hand wide open.  And I mean wide open.  The gash was 5/8's of an inch long, and all the way through all of the skin in the center of the cut.  Suffice to say, some work needed to be done to clean/glue/bandage/immobilize the finger.

As a result of this mishap, as well as some family travel issues, I was forced to stop mountain biking for about 4 weeks.  This took a little getting used to at first, since I generally ride at least 4 days per week, and sometimes 5 or 6.  The only workouts I ended up being able to perform during this time were various high-intensity bodyweight routines (some of which I've alluded to here). 

Also, I wanted to turn this "negative" event into a positive, and use the time to experiment in a more controlled way with Dr. Doug McGuff's approach, which in a nutshell involves 1 seriously difficult resistance workout per week.

The majority of the cyclists I talked to about this were all concerned about the typical fears you'd expect:

• You'll lose your endurance
• You won't be as fast
• You'll lose your power on the climbs that it's taken you a while to acquire
• Your timing will be off
• Etc...

Well, not only were those fears unfounded, but you can now count me even more firmly in the camp of the believer's of Dr. McGuff. 

On a hot day, on a single-speed mountain bike with a 32x17 setup, I found that after a month off the bike, and only a single high-intensity workout per week, that I was:

• Faster than ever before
• Plowing over rolling, sandy terrain without anywhere near the same level of fatigue I experienced previously.  Huge improvement.
• Even sharper with my timing, aggressiveness and line selection
• In possession of much more power and endurance on steep climbs (thank you hindu squats)
• Less fatigued (in fact, I wasn't fatigued at all) at the end of the ride than I would have previously been.

And I have no doubt that these same benefits will show themselves in my other recreational activities as well.  And we haven't even talked about the cardiovascular and metabolic benefits...

Good stuff.

Bodyweight exercise variations

Today I thought I'd provide a list of some very useful and "lesser known" bodyweight exercises.  Some of these really pack a punch, so make sure you start off slowly with any of the exercises you haven't tried before so you get a good feel for how they impact your body, recovery, etc.

It's crucial in my opinion, to keep your exercise program diversified and interesting.  If it's not, it'll only be a matter of time before it falls off the radar.

I won't put any detailed description of the exercises here (there are plenty of people who've already done it on youtube), but if you aren't familiar with any of these, I encourage you to do a little research and give them a try.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Frog Push-ups
• Diamond Push-ups (also called close grip push-ups)
• Boot-strappers (also called heel stompers)
• Sandbag carries
• Wall squats
• Star Jumps
• Hanging towel pull-ups
• Mountain climbers

Also...

I'd like to put in a good word for another exercise, which isn't particularly "uncommon", but is something that isn't done nearly enough -- sprints.  I think sprinting is one of the absolute best exercises you can do, on so many levels.  Start out slowly, and do 3 or 4 50-yard sprints to start - at about 75% of your top end output.  Get a feel for them.  They will put some stress on your body if you haven't done them in a while, but over time you'll re-condition your body and the benefits will start coming in.

30 minute bodyweight routine

Based on the popularity of my quick bodyweight workout example, I thought I'd describe another one of my favorite routines -- this time a workout that takes about a half hour.  This is a great one if you have a little more time, and/or want a little bit more of a beatdown.

Here's the circuit:

• Push-up ladder up to 12, and then back down.  20 second rest between each pyramid level.
• Chin-ups -- 1 set of as many as you can do *slowly*.  E.g., 10 seconds pulling yourself up, and 10 seconds letting yourself down.
• Pull-ups -- same as above -- 1 set of as many as you can do slowly.
• Dips -- 3 sets of 10 (or as many as you can do).  Use a couple of chairs to do these if needed.  Rest 30 seconds between sets.
• Hindu squats -- 5 sets of 25.  30 second rest between sets.
• 1 set of 25 Burpees
• Crunches -- 2 sets of 50.  15 second rest between sets.

That's it.  Simple and effective.

For busy people, this one routine done once per week will keep you in better condition than probably 99.99% of the population of the planet.

Combine this with a paleo/primal eating program, and you're set for life.

Notes:  For those who aren't familiar with a push-up ladder, it's pretty simple -- basically you start and do 1 push-up.  Rest 20 seconds, then do 2 push-ups.  Rest 20 seconds, then do 3 push-ups.  Continue doing this all the way up to 12, and then back down again all the way to 1.  If you've never done this before, you may think it's not going to be that difficult.  You may re-evaluate that thought as you progress up into the ladder, depending on your level of conditioning.

If there is any part of the routine that you can't do, for example the pull-ups (you're in a hotel room, and there isn't anything to do a pull-up on), then substitute 25 Burpees for that exercise.

Also, make sure you keep yourself hydrated before/during/after this routine.