Thursday, July 30, 2009

Not Tonight!

I should be beginning week 7 of the Couch-to-5k tonight. It's "supposed to be" cooler. Actually, it feels cooler today compared to yesterday... but then it's only noon-thirty. Not gonna' happen.

At the beginning of my last session I noticed that I was beginning to have some lower back issues. I already knew why & I knew where it was headed. Since running that session "in the dirt" the lower back & pelvic ailments I suffered from last year have returned with a vengeance.

Currently I'm needing to suck down Ibuprofin every four hours or the pain reaches the point whwre I cannot stand erect at all. I stretched last night & it helped... but the heat prevented me from doing as much of that as I would have liked. So tonights plan is to stretch... very long stretch... very long stretch again... drink a few beers... very long stretch again... then ice the crap out of it!

I already know exactly what to do & I know exactly what's going on. My glutes are reaching critical mass... becomming so tight that they're pulling my hips & pelvis out of alignment. So I probably need to be stretching in the morning and evening every day for a while. That & I need to start strengthening my back with deadlifts, squats & whatever else I can manage.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Interval Session Eighteen...

I have no idea what the temp was yesterday. It was supposed to reach 97... and apparently it was hot enoughthat none of the local thermostats were functioning. I had some errands ot run yesterday afternoon so I didn't get out to run until nearly 5:30 PM. Hotter or cooler at that time of the day?

The McMillin trail was blocked. There's a construction crew working in the evenings doing some cabling & they had the trail blocked about 1 mile down from the trailhead. I elected to go to the river trail instead. The river location was PACKED. There must have been 60 people down there trying to cool off. Kids, dogs, moms & fat, beer guzzling dads.

One thing I did to counter the heat was pick up two extra bottles of Gatorade. I chugged one on the trip down to the trail. This actually seemed to work very well. After Sunday mornings run I was drinking water all day & never felt re-hydrated.. I ended up feeling sick at work on Monday; headache, stomach problems... not fun. Monday afternoon I chugged more water... & two bottles of Gatorade. Felt better almost instantly... so it's not just the liquid that I'm losing...

After yesterdays run know that I need to buy some trail running shoes. My lower back & hips are killing me right now because of the additional stress from my shoes slipping on the dirt. I'll probably make that purchase this weekend.

The run was good! This time it was a full 25-minutes. I actually started out slower than I usually do. My feet kept trying to pick up the pace... but this was difficult because of the aforementioned slippage. So... yeah. I badly need trail shoes if I'm going to continue running down there. It was great though. If it wasn't for my back... & the fact that it's already over 80 degrees outside... I'd be feeling fantastic. It's the end of week six. So I should be running a full "5k" in another three to four weeks... depending on how hard I push this last portion of the program. The weather shows few signs of cooling off though. I don't trust the 5-day forcast. They were saying that it would begin cooling on Thursday & now we're hearing that it's going to be 100-degrees again.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Interval Session Seventeen...

[I'm not counting Friday's run as it was a makeup for not having done anything for the previous week. So we're back on track on the Couch-to-5k as of today...}

Wow! I didn't set the alarm last night... but I still managed to wake up around 7:30 AM. This put me at the trailhead & actually moving by 8:45 AM. This session was the usual 5-minutes warm up with two ten-minute running session, a separator or 3-minutes & then a short 3 or 4-minute cool down.

It felt GREAT! I felt much lighter on my feet than in previous sessions & I suspect that this was due to running the river trail on Friday. I think that the extra resistance added some leg conditioning. I just felt like either my legs were stronger or my body was lighter. (Same thing I suppose. A different description of the same sensations…)

So I think I’m going to begin running that river trail occasionally for the extra conditioning. It definitely works the legs hard. I might pick up a pair of trail running shoes… but I’m wondering if that will partially negate the effects of running on that surface. The trail shoes have the knobby soles & I imagine that they give a better grip & offer a bit more control & forgiveness on and & such. We shall see.

I'm glad that I decided to get down there arly. It's beginning to heat up. I rolled through Puyallup at around 8:30 & it was 69 degrees. I think it was in the low 70's while I was running. There was a steady breeze so it was very comfortable. I got done just in time because by the time I got back home around 10 AM it was climbing to the low 80's already.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Friday's Run...

I hadn't run in a week... due to various excuses. I was feeling extemely tired & hadn't been sleeping well for several days (at least I didnt feel as though I'd been sleeping much at all). So I decided to run Friday afternoon... in 80-degree heat. I also felt that since I had been slacking,I'd be better off running the recovery session from the previous week once again. It's not too difficult, but there's enough actual work in there to get me ramped back up.

I also decided to try a different trail on Friday. Further south, just outside of Orting there's a trail that runs adjacent ot the river. The trail actually extends for several miles south without encountering any streets or similar obstructions. That part worked out well. Since it isn't paved, there are no bicyclers & very little pedestrian traffic. While I did see a few groups enjoying the river, I only saw two other peopl eusing the trail for exercise & both of these women were just setting ot as I was heading back.

One issue I do have is that due to the trails makeup, it's like running on a combination of sand and marbles. There's "gravel" that runs between pea-sized all the way up to rocks the size of the average fist. I appreciate the additional give in the ground... but I could definitely tell that my legs were having to work much harder than on the paved trail that I've become accustomed to. YOU can't run in a straihgt line either. You have to be watching for potholes, dips and larger rocks. Another up side however, is that being next to the river it felt cooler. I took some photos with the phone today & will post them later when I have a chance.

I took Today off & as much as I feel like doing nothing agin tomorrow... I WILL be running. In fact, my plan is to be up by 8 AM & try to get to the trail before the heat really kicks up. The heat makes these sessions tougher but I just feel so much better during the week when I get the exercise in on a regular basis.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

I've missed running...

I slept horribly Sunday night. I could barely keep my eyes opened so I went home Monday afternoon & tried to nap. No luck... too hot. I was feeling a bit stressed from work as well. The run would have done more for me than napping which I couldn't manage anyhow. I worked late Tuesday evening & didn't get home until nearly 7 PM. I blew it off tonight. I was actually thinking that I had some things to take care of this evening... then remembered that I'd rescheduled for the weekend. That's too bad because it had cooled off somewhat today. The temperature is supposed to rise over the next three days & be back up around 90 by Sunday.

I haven't been up to Woodland Park yet to view the Krav Maga classes. I was hoping to make it up there this week but I really need to run so that's what I'll be doing tomorrow night. Viewing the class will have to wait. They have the online schedule updated & the new classes begin tentatively on September 23rd. I'm still very interested in checking the course out. The extra time means that I can keep working on the fitness level. I should be well into running full 5k's by then. I may even begin stretching the time & distance out.

Running the 5k's will be fairly easy but two 10k's per week may actually be more beneficial for me. I'd be able to fit in some strength training then as well. I really need to start up on the strength training... and abdominal work! I'm getting the fat down fairly quickly... but you can't really tell because of the abdominal atrophy.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Gee... I90 West is open again...

Here's what I was greeted by on the commute home. The westbound span has been closed down for the last week or so undergoing... "repairs". The accident occurred only a feet hundred yards in front of me. In fact, as I rounded the corner coming out of the westboung Mercer tunnel, you could still see the spray from the bags of concrete mix (or whatever it was) that had fallen off the back of one of the vehicles.

I90 Crash 2

One interesting thing I noted about this was that while the accident blocked about 2/3 of the westbound lanes... most of the people in the front of the line pulled to the shoulder... AND STOPPED! No... they didn't get out to run over & help. They just stopped on the shoulder to look at the carnage, effectively blocking traffic & making it more difficult for the police & fire vehicles to get to the accident.

I90 Crash 1

You can't tell it from that first photo... but there's at least one more vehicle in behind that semi. It looked like there were two. One is partially underneath the pickup. The other is pinned ahead of it between the semi & the jersey barrier.

The guy in the cone truck in the second photo had been in the right hand lane. He movd over & for a moment I thought that he was trying to get around me to pass. (Some others were... ) He ended up pulling up behind that frame wreckage, turning on his rack lights & coning off the area to clear the debri. Good job guy! (No... it's not a DOT truck. It was some contractor that happened to have cones & a directional light rack on his truck.)

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Interval Session Sixteen...

(This is covering Saturdays session... Too busy to write yesterday evening & this AM.)

The first session of week six. It was a "rest" session to recover from week 5 - session three. That was the solid 20-minute running session.

This days leg was fairly easy: 5-minutes of walking, 5-minutes of running... repeat for thirty minutes. I covered quite a bit more distance Saturday. I estimate that I actually went an additional 1/4 mile over what I usually do. This puts me much closer to an actual 5-kilometer distance. I think I've been hitting somewhere around 2.4 miles on the usual trip. Todays was closer to 2.8 miles.

Once again it was the legs that were wanting to give out. I've got the pace down now so I'll have to start working on more conditioning; both with the running sessions as well as slowly beginning to re-integrate the strength training into my regimen.

The runnig sessions are beginning to feel like the weight training session in that those that I want most to skip, end up being the best of the lot. You end up feeling tired... but this is different that feeling the fatigue that I usually have mid-week. The job is slowly draining the life out of me. I don't think it's that I'm not getting enough nightly rest. I think it's that I need to increase the amount of exercize I'm getting.

Some of the very hot days really take it out of me. I started using Gatorade rather than plain water & it's made a HUGE difference. With the water I wasn't feeling like I was rehydrating... even after sucking down around a gallon per night after my runs. If I suck down a pint or so of the Gatorade before the run & then finish the quart afterwards I feel great. Not an endorsement really... I'm just pointing out that for me, the combination seems to work better than water.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Interval Session Fifteen...

Tuesday was day three of week 5. I was still stiff & sore from the run on Sunday but because I didn't want to get into the traditional "I'm okay to skip, skip, skip... Hey I haven't worked out in over a month!" pattern. Only when I actually began that session & turned on the MP3 player did I realize that the sessions was going to consists of the warmup, followed by a solid 20-minute run & then the cooldown... which seemed to be about 90-seconds long. They said at the beginning of that recording "You'll really see how far you've come." No kidding. After 10-minutes I was thinking "Yeah! I can do this!" After another 5 minutes & I wanted to kill myself. I had to force myself to quit looking at my damned watch because it appeared to not only have stopped, but to be running backwards!

I made it through... & the worst part of it was... MY QUADS! My legs were what wanted to quit! Not my heart, not my lungs... my legs. So I now know what my weak link is... & I can begin working ot fix this. This is what hhas me wondering how much additional exercise I can do. Will squats help with this? Should I be doing a full-body routine, two to three days per week?

I'm still looking at the 5x5 & contemplating making changes so that I can adjust it to fit the CrossFit criteria. I'd basically be doing teh squats one day, then bent over rows, then probably drop the OHP's & high pulls & combine those by doing the clean-and-press. Of course, the ceiling in the basement is too low as is the top of my power rack... so I'd need to either do these with smaller plates... or do them outside.

I'm over half way through this program & I have to say that the system makes it fairly simple. I have to assume that this 20-minute session is probably the worst of it because the sessions are only 30-minutes long to begin with. So adding the additional 10-minutes of running over the next four weeks won't be much of a stretch. I'm already running for 2/3 of the alotted time.

7 Easy Ways to Improve Your Squat

[For Greg M.]

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com


The ability to squat safely and effectively is an important arrow in the lifter's quiver- properly performed, squats dramatically improve your strength, power, mobility, lean bodymass, and as my friend Father John Peck might add, a big squat also improves your "gym cred." The downside? Only one: if you're long of limb, they can be difficult to master. Here then, are 7 tips that have served me well in my 20+ years of teaching the squat:



1) Weightlifting Shoes:

Only those with ideal leverages can squat well without proper footwear. My clients are almost uniformly amazed at how much better they can squat with proper lifting shoes. You'll get more depth and better stability. Instantly.

If you watch any weightlifting meet at the National level or higher, you'll never see an athlete wearing any other type of shoe- ever. In my experience, about 7 out of 10 "problem squatters" find their cure through better shoe selection alone.

Click here to learn more about Weightlifting Shoes now...


2) Warm-Up With "Wall Balls:"

I first discovered this drill through the Cross Fit community, and we use it extensively as a warm-up at Bed & Barbell. I find it to be not only the least "invasive" way to warm up the whole body, but also a great way to hone squat mechanics prior to getting under the bar.

Your initial reps can/should be shallow- as you start warming up, start sinking the squats deeper and deeper. Try 3 sets of 10 reps using a progressively heavier ball with each set.











Click here to get Medicine Balls now...


3) Overhead Squats:

If back squats are currently the most difficult drill you do with a bar, overhead squats might move them down to second place. No need to go heavy with these- a wooden dowel or a 25-pound aluminum bar will be plenty for most people at the beginning.

Overheads are fantastic for thoracic mobility an also for teaching how to "sit between your feet" as opposed to "folding over."

Try overheads as a secondary warm-up drill, done after wall-balls. If you've always had mobility issues on squats, you'd be stunned at the difference proper shoes, wall-balls, and overheads will make. And I've still got 4 more tips to go!












4) Wall Squats:

I learned this drill from my friend Pavel Tsatsouline. It's a great way to improve hip mobility and to learn how to push the knees outward during the squat. The video below shows you how- use the wall squat as a warm-up drill or as a discrete practice drill.












5) Front Squats:

The primary value of front squats is that they teach you how to stay more upright. The video I've included below shows how to assume an Olympic style "shelf" which is more stable than crossing your arms. Front squats can be used as a way to incorporate variety into your lower-body program, and/or as a dynamic warm-up for back squats.






















6) The Wet Ice Cube:

Here's the greatest cue for learning low back "set:" Stand normally and vividly imagine how your posture would change if someone came up behind you and touched your low back with a wet ice cube. You'll find that your low back arches big-time, and simultaneously, your chest pushes forward and up, while your shoulders pull down and back. That's the position you're looking for.


7) Box Squats:

I'm not referring to the infamous Westside Barbell box squats here, but rather, using a box or a bench as a target that you touch with your glutes at the bottom of your squat. This not only helps beginners to link "the known to the unknown," it also helps to regulate consistent depth and offers feedback on bilateral symmetry.

Simply descend under full control, touch the box lightly, and ascend back to the starting position. Note: you can also use a box with overhead and front squats.


Now Go Apply These Tips!

If you never thought you could achieve a great squat position, I challenge you to apply all of these tips simultaneously. I promise you'll surprise yourself.


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About The Author

Charles Staley...world-class strength/performance coach...his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.

Click here to visit Charles' site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with "Escalating Density Training," Charles' revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.

http://www.staleytrainingprograms.com

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Interval Session Fourteen

The sessions are getting kicked up a notch. Today it was two 8-minute running segmens with a 5-minute waslking "erst" interval in between. I think that I actually preferred todays session over the previous ones. There were only two running segments. It seemed like it was easier for me to focus this way rather than with the multiple broken running portions.

It rained while I was on the trail. It started about 1/4 of the way into the run & came down hard eough to get me good & wet. It was unpleasant... but it did manage to keep me cool. I regretted not wearing the Under Armor, which I had considered very breifly. The stuff I have is for cold weather though so it may have been to hot once I started moving. I suppose I'll hae to start shopping for some type of rain gear.

No shin pain at all today; walking or running. My quads did the majority of the work & I can feel it there & in my calves. I'm going to be sore tomorrow morning. Still, today I felt far closer to running a full 5k session than I have before.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Interval Session Thirteen

It's the beginning of week 5 of the Couch-to-5k. Yes, I took a few extra days off. Right now I'm regretting it... not because I feel like I slipped... but because I want to get it over with. Actually, I feel pretty good.

I did this session on the treadmill. I got home late from work & didn't feel like making the trek to McMillin. This treadmill is... well seasoned. It feels too danged narrow for one thing. It's also been used at this house mostly as a storage shelf... which hasn't done the life of it's inner mechanisms any good.

I did manage to hit the BPM's pretty close today though; especially on the 3rd & final running segment. The one significant problem that I had was that the machine seems to speed up after a while. So 3.3 MPH turns into 3.9 MPH instantaneously. HOW EXCITING! I don't know if I'm going to use it again. On teh one hand it felt "easier" but it was also awkward and unnatural. I kept having to adjust my gait & stride & was was constantly looking down to make certain I wasn't going to step wrong.

I took the extra days because I'd managed to screw my sleep schedule up again thanks to the four-day weekend I elected to enjoy. I got very little sleep Sunday, Monday or Tuesday nights. I could barely stay awake at work Monday & Tuesday.

This obviously pooched my plans to travel up to WoodladPark & check outthe Krav Maga class, but I can probably make it next week... if I don't end up working late again.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Problem With Periodization

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com

I know, I know, I've written about this a lot. But the subject is deserving of ongoing discussion. After all, periodization is frustrating- on the face of it, the premise is both compelling and logical. Dig a little deeper though, and the problems become evident.

To illustrate, I'm sharing a question that was recently sent to me from a trainer in Australia- I'll keep his identity private since it's not germane to the subject at hand:



"Hey Charles, I'm training a Muay Thai fighter, he has had 18 fights. Wants to fight in about 18 weeks. I was planning to do some periodization for him. Was thinking EDT for the first 6 weeks: Core routine from Muscle Logic: Dumbbell Snatches Left/Right side, Squats/ Pullups, Dumbell Turkish Get-Up, and abdominal work.

Then the next six weeks I was going to introduce kettlebell work, more speed/power work etc. Increasing speed & power component as we get into the 2nd and 3rd six week blocks. As you probably know, Muay Thai fighters need to keep their weight down, and cut a bit of weight as they get close to fighting. What do you suggest to keep the program challenging and interesting with a strong weight training component without him gaining too much weight (even if it is all muscle?)"


Of course, the first problem (in this case) is that I don't know the fighter's relative strengths and weaknesses. So my response will be only generally useful at best. But with that said, this question illustrates what is perhaps the primary decision facing you when you're thinking about how to assign workloads over a period of weeks: do you assign one type of work for a while (let's say 3-4 weeks for the sake of this discussion), then another type of work for a while, and finally, a third type of work for the final phase of training.

Or…

Do you basically decide what type of work is needed most, and then just keep doing that type of work for the entire training cycle?

Or is there a third option?


"Traditional" Periodization

The first option is how most people think of "traditional" or "classical" periodization. After all, the very word "periodization" is rooted in the work "period," and is defined as breaking up a long period of time into several shorter periods of time, each with a distinct character and/or objective. Now this approach hinges on two important premises, otherwise you'd never even consider using it:

#1: Jack Of All Trades, Master Of None: One important premise of the traditional approach is that if you try to improve a number of athletic attributes simultaneously, your efforts (and results) will be diminished. And this is a valid point.

#2: The Development Of Some Attributes Can Form The Foundation For The Development Of Other, More Specific Attributes: To cite an example, the development of muscular hypertrophy can help to maximize the acquisition of maximal strength during a subsequent cycle. This is because all else being equal, a thicker muscle fiber can produce more force than a thinner fiber. So the idea is you first make the fibers thicker during the hypertrophy phase, then train the nervous system to recruit those fibers more effectively during the subsequent maximal strength phase. Again, a valid premise for the traditional approach.


Before There Was Traditional Periodization, There Was…

I thought it might be worthwhile to consider how athletes trained prior to the advent of periodization. And as you might have guessed, athletes basically just practiced their sport event, whatever it happened to be. Fighters fought. Runners ran. Weightlifters lifted the heaviest weights they could, all the time. SO what premises (if any) was this approach based on? I'd submit two:

#1: Training consisted of the most specific activities possible. The principle of specificity rules.

#2: No better option had been developed (yet).

OK, so there you have it: 2 approaches, both with valid conceptual underpinnings. What I haven't yet mentioned however, is the down-side of both approaches, so let's explore that right now…


The Downsides

Problems With The Pre-Traditional Approach

Whenever you employ highly-specific means over long periods of time, you risk neural accommodation, psychological burnout, and overuse injuries. You also lack a procedure for taking advantage of advantages gained through more modern approaches to load-distribution. No foundational progressions, no deload cycles, and so on. Another problem as I discussed earlier is that you still have the jack of all trades problem.

Problems With The Traditional Approach

Interestingly, the traditional approach solves all of the problems I just mentioned, but in the process, new problems arise. The most troubling of these problems is the lack of continuity that plagues the traditional approach: time and energy spent on developing one attribute (for example, hypertrophy) is wasted, because said attribute deteriorates during the subsequent phase where attention is re-directed toward the development of a new attribute. As I've mentioned in the past, it's like learning Spanish in first grade, French in second grade, and Italian in third grade- you never get bored, but you also never make any real progress.


Toward A Better Approach

Interestingly, the best approach to periodization may be a cross between both approaches - a concept that I've never seen anyone else write about. It's an amalgam of the "serial" approach and the "concurrent" approach. In other words, you use a multi-stage, serial progression against the backdrop of a high degree of specificity. The best of both Worlds.

Let's look at how this might look for the sport of powerlifting. Using the oldest approach we covered earlier, if you had 18 weeks to train for a meet, you'd go as heavy as possible, using sets of 1, pretty much every workout, unless you were sick or injured.

Using the second approach, you might do general fitness training for the first 3 weeks, then work on hypertrophy for 6 weeks, maximal strength for 8 weeks, and finally a deload on the 18th week.

What would a "better" approach look like?

First, you'd always put the lion's share of your energy into the 3 competitive lifts. You might (and probably would) perform a handful of "assistance" lifts to bring up weak attributes that can't be addressed purely by working the competitive events. These attributes might include things like injury rehab, hypertrophy, speed-strength, or work capacity. As competition nears however, less-specific work recedes to free up resources for more-specific tasks.

If recovery is needed, it is not obtained by switching to non-specific tasks or lower intensity brackets, it's facilitated by lowering training volume. In other words, instead of performing 6x2 with 90% on the bench, you might perform 2x2 with 90%. As a powerlifter, you must live and die by the 3 competitive events. They always take priority over everything else. The only exceptions to this rule are as follows:

1) One or more of these 3 lifts causes or exacerbates an injury which now must be addressed.
2) One or more of these 3 lifts is no longer a primary weakness. An example of this might be a lifter with an exceptional bench but a poor squat. In this case it becomes prudent to redirect resources away from bench training and toward squat training.

Finally, any approach worthy of being called "better" must be capable of "turning on a dime:" as the weakest link is improved, it is no longer the weakest link, and a new weakness becomes the new weakest link. Your training approach must be flexible enough to address this reality at any given time.

The approach I've outlined is how all smart athletes train, and it's how all smart trainers and coaches train their athletes. All successful training systems utilize the principles I've discussed above, even if you don't know it, and even if the people using those systems don't know it.

I hope this article sparks your creative thinking on the subject.


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About The Author

Charles Staley...world-class strength/performance coach...his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.

Click here to visit Charles' site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with "Escalating Density Training," Charles' revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.

http://www.staleytrainingprograms.com

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

... and a lot of other stuff as well...

I'm enduring yet another slow week at work. The "plan" appears to have been delayed yet again. I'm not taking any more vacation time... & I'm actually not even sure how much of that I have remaining. My prediction is that we'll begin getting busy in August... which is when I was planning on taking a full week off. That's entirely predictable.

The crew has been chopped down somewhat. We lost our immediate manager, one of the testers in our immediate team, a build engineer & several other contractors. No one here seems to have any information as to the future of the team, the product or anything else relevant. I'll just continue to work this contract as long as I can. After that I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I don't know if I really want to take yet another pay cut (that 15%) and still manage the horrific commute from the south end to Redmond. If I've already saved the money for the EP course, I may just dump the testing contracts altogether & opt for something mundane to keep cash coming in.

Right now I'm looking at ways to finance the self-defense training. The Krav Maga is cheap enough. In fact I think that no matter where I study, I'll be looking at around $100 per month. As I wrote earlier, Krav Maga of Seattle has no beginners’ classes until mid-September. Their summer classes are advanced students only. I still think I'm going to be checking that out. They're running these classes outdoors at Woodland Park beginning Thursday the 9th. I may even sneak the video camera up there & try to film some of it. I still want to see what type of training they have going for the advanced students.

All of this repeated posting regarding the self-defense training options is due to more than scheduling. It's a tough decision. (Sadly, this is making me violate one of my own rules about DOING SOMETHING!) The Kali training simply doesn't seem all that practical on its face. The more I review what they offer... and while it may be a great school... the system(s) complexity honestly makes it seem virtually useless for my purposes. Dedicating an entire year to a system that may require at least that amount of time in order for a student to absorb even the most basic of techniques is pointless when the purpose is to become fluent as soon as possible. Of course, since the weapons & empty hands techniques of the Silat, Jun Fan & Kali are taught as a single block I may actually benefit from it greatly. It's difficult to make such a decision from teh outside & the school requires a one-year committment.

If I had two or more years to devote to training then it may be a viable solution. Another factor that is influencing me is how the training & system are approached. I'm more convinced than ever that it is almost a sport. Certainly the inclusion of the Thai boxing wrestling... & the often mentioned connections to MMA are clues as to the focus of the instructors. It's a common mistake. Here to there's an over emphasis (IMO) on boxing type skills. I would love to be able to study this in depth... but I'm not certain that I can afford to do so.

This parallels one of my (many) concerns about KMAA facilities; High kicks, boxing techniques - closed fisted strikes being emphasized to the apparent exclusion of open hand strikes - & the apparent infatuation with "sporterized" contests.

The other attraction of the KM training is the conditioning; both physical & mental. The highlighting of multiple attacker & crowd scenarios is going to be a VERY practical aspect for me to have if I make it through the protection training successfully. They approach this differently than Combato does.

I'll have the deposit funds saved within another week or so. I'm currently less than $100 from that goal. That leaves roughly an additional $3k to be saved between now & my training date... which I do not have yet. The 2010 schedule will likely not be posted until October.

Between now & the actual training date, I want to be able to have as much training time as possible. I may choose to enroll for a date in the fall of 2010 for this reason. It would enable me to train in KM or Combato for an entire year... and give me some additional time to save emergency & travel funds.

Regarding the physical conditioning, I'm sticking well to the Couch-to-5k program. I rarely "skip" days & when I have it hasn't been an extended delay. I'm beginning to see the longer-term effects of the running. I don't think it's as effective a form of aerobic training as martial arts but it is working nonetheless. It's one aspect of training.

I'm looking forward to getting through this & then being able to augment the standard running with the more challenging Fartlek sprinting intervals. I badly need to insert some strength training in my routine though. I also need to adjust my diet as I'm getting back into unhealthy habits again. That and once again having the afternoon power naps sneak up on me is wearing me down. I mentioned likely needing to adjust the training schedule to allow for additional rest days; as it is, I'm currently running three days per week. At this point I cannot see myself adding three strength workouts on top of that. I'm not at that level for fitness yet. (This is somewhat amusing because I'm working with some people who barely manage a single "workout" per week. I suppose it's about priorities but it's been my own personal experience that one day per week is useless for anything other than inviting an injury. This frequency of training doesn't modify or even maintain any level of health or fitness. Unless a person is extremely unfit & this is their starting point, it's simply ridiculous.)

Ultimately, this will end up being my own CrossFit regimen. This was only partly intentional. While I've written about the need to do things this way... the fact is that I'm simply recognizing what types of training I NEED... that is, the areas of fitness where I'm lacking & attempting to apply a fix to these problem areas.

Then there will be the problem of adequate time... & the problem of adequate energy. At this moment I'm not feeling very energetic at all. I allowed myself to skew my sleep schedule over the break I took for July 4th... & now I'm paying the price for that stupidity. If I train for two days per week in Krav, run two days per week & do some form of strength training on another two days... that pretty much blows the week save a single rest day. This will DEMAND realistic adjustments in my sleep & eating habits. Oh joy...

The EDT Fat Loss Solution: Lose 1/2% Fat Per Week With NO Dietary Changes!

By Alwyn Cosgrove, CSCS and Charles Staley, MSS
http://www.staleytrainingprograms.com

Since the inception of the Escalating Density Training system, one of the most common inquiries we receive at the office is "When are you going to write about EDT for fat loss?"

How about right now?

As it turns out, EDT is perhaps the simplest and most effective training technique available for body composition training. I was recently talking to my colleague Alwyn Cosgrove, owner of Results Fitness Training in Newhall, California has been using EDT-inspired training programs to facilitate rapid losses in bodyfat with his clients for several months now.

In fact, Alwyn claims an average loss of 2% bodyfat per month with no dietary changes at all. However, there is a price to be paid for quick results, and this program does exact a heavy toll. Cosgrove joking refers to it as "Rambo training" it’s not for wussies. I agree, but at the same time, this is about as fun as hard work can be. Have a look:


The Program

This EDT cycle is simple, brief and yet quite brutal. You’ll perform (3) 15-Minute "PR Zones" where you’ll attempt to accumulate as many total reps as possible and then improve upon that number every workout (see "EDT Loading Parameters" for more details).

Each and every workout you know how long it’ll last and you also know exactly what you need to accomplish. It’s that simple. Here’s your program, make exercise substitutions if equipment or injury restrictions warrant.


Monday

First PR Zone (15 Minutes)
A-1: Chins
A-2: Hack Squat

Rest: 5 Minutes

Second PR Zone (15 Minutes)
A-1: Rows
A-2: Seated Leg Curl

Rest: 5 Minutes

Third PR Zone (15 Minutes)
A-1: Overhead Press Machine
A-2: Incline Board Sit-Ups


Wednesday

First PR Zone (15 Minutes)
A-1: Dips
A-2: Back Extension

Rest: 5 Minutes

Second PR Zone (15 Minutes)
A-1: Incline Press Machine
A-2: Leg Extension

Rest: 5 Minutes

Third PR Zone (15 Minutes)
A-1: Flat Dumbbell Bench Press
A-2: Reverse Trunk Twist on Ball


Friday

First PR Zone (15 Minutes)
A-1: Dumbbell Deadlift
A-2: Push Press

Rest: 5 Minutes

Second PR Zone (15 Minutes)
A-1: Preacher Curl
A-2: Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extension

Rest: 5 Minutes

Third PR Zone (15 Minutes)
A-1: Standing Lateral Raise
A-2: Prone Ball Roll


COSGROVE: Note that you can also reduce the rest periods between PR zones thereby further increasing the density. I also prefer to have a bigger rep "buffer." In regular EDT, I allow 20% more reps before I increase the loads.

In Fat Loss EDT, I don’t increase the loads until you perform 30% more reps. I think the higher volume helps with fat loss (this assumes a good load selection initially). Another rule I use is that the eccentric phase should be controlled, the concentric should be accelerative.


EDT Loading Parameters

For those not yet familiar with EDT’s unique loading parameters, here’s the nuts and bolts:


Escalating Density Training is based on the concept of doing more and more work from workout to workout. Therefore, it’s critical that your exercise biomechanics (i.e., technique) is consistent on every workout. If you perform strict curls on one workout and loose form the next, you aren’t really doing more work (for the arms at least!)


I recommend 10-15 minutes of light to moderate cardio, followed by 10-15 minutes of light stretching on ìoffî days for the purpose of promoting active recovery and reducing soreness.


Each workout in this cycle consists of (3) PR Zones of 15-minutes duration separated by a short (5-minute) rest periods. In each PR Zone, you’ll generally perform two exercises, for a total of 3-4 exercises per workout.


In each PR Zone, you’ll typically perform two antagonistic exercises in alternating fashion, back and forth, using the same weight for all sets, until the PR Zone has elapsed.


After warming up the first exercise(s), select a load that approximates a 10RM for each exercise. Ideally, the weight used for each exercise should be equally difficult.


Sets/Reps/Rest Intervals: This is where EDT is truly unique. Most people will find it most productive to do higher repetition (but not maximal effort) sets and shorter rests at the beginning, and then gradually progress to fewer reps per set and longer rest intervals as fatigue accumulates.

As an example, you might begin by performing sets of 5 with very short (10-15 second) rests. As you begin to fatigue, you’ll increase your rest intervals as you drop down to sets of 4, then 2, and as the time limit approaches, you might crank out a few singles in an effort of accomplish as many repetitions as possible in the time allotted.



NOTE: Do not perform early sets to failure, or even near failure. My recommended starting point is to do 1/2 of what is possible (e.g., 5 reps with a 10RM weight) at the beginning of the time frame. As the time limit approaches however, you’ll find yourself working at or near failure as you attempt to break your rep record.



Progression: Each time you repeat the workout; your objective is to simply perform more total repetitions in the same time frame. As soon as you can increase the total number of reps by 20 percent or more, start the next workout with 5 percent more weight and start over. Similarly, if you manage to improve upon your last performance (for the same workout) by 40 percent, then you’ll increase your weights by 10 percent on the next workout.



PROGRESS ACCELERATION TIPS:
I like amino acids as the post workout meal – an hour later I have a shake with fiber when training for fat loss.

Aerobics: avoid like the plague – they cause you to lose muscle, and they help you to become more efficient at burning fat. So how would you like your fat burning machinery to get smaller and more efficient when you are trying to lose fat ? Thought so.

For the EXTREME RAMBO HARDCORE ADDICT: Do EDT using hybrid lifts – see below. Another very cool yet brutal tip is to do TWO 15 min periods in the workout but perform TWO EDT workouts per day. Brutal but it’ll carve you up.


Day One:

First PR Zone (15 Minutes)
A1 Alternating max lunge
A2 Seated Cable Rows

Second PR Zone (15 Minutes)
B1 Step Up
B2 Push up-prone tuck combo

Third PR Zone (15 Minutes)
C1 DB Squat and Press
C2 Close Grip Pulldown


Day Two:

First PR Zone (15 Minutes)
A1 Bulgarian Split Squat
A2 Push Press

Second PR Zone (15 Minutes)
B1 SHELC
B2 Seated Row to neck

Second PR Zone (15 Minutes)
C1 Good morning squat hybrid
C2 Incline Db Press


Day Three :

First PR Zone (15 Minutes)
A1 Deadlift
A2 Pullover

Second PR Zone (15 Minutes)
B1 Lateral Lunge and touch
B2 Arnold Press

Third PR Zone (15 Minutes)
C1 DB Swiss Ball Crunch
C2 Bent Over DB Row


Fuel For EDT

To maximize the effectiveness of this EDT fat-loss program, employ the following nutritional strategies:

1) Reduce consumption of refined carbohydrate (breads, pastas, white rice, potatoes, grains, cakes, cookies, etc.) to a bare minimum, especially later in the day.

2) Virtually all meals should contain a fiber source, expect for post-workout meals, which should ideally be a fast-absorbing protein/carb shake. Check out a cool product called Fiber Smart. This is a unique, dietary fiber made from flax seeds and other top quality ingredients to support proper function and health. It also contains Acidophilus and Bifidus to promote a health bacterial balance and amino acids to support a healthy digestive lining.

2) Eat every 3 hours for a total of 5 to 6 meals per day. No exceptions. Schedule meals as if they were appointments with yourself, because that’s what they really are when you think about it.

3) Calculate or estimate your lean body mass (total weight - fat weight) and eat one gram of animal-source protein per pound of lean bodyweight per day, divided into 5 or 6 meals. For an individual who weighs 200 pounds and is 15% body fat, this would mean 170 grams per day, which would equate to 5 meals containing 34 grams of protein per meal.

4) Hydrate! My recommended water intake is 60 percent of your bodyweight in pounds, converted to ounces, per day. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, drink 90 ounces of water per day.

5) Watch out for "hidden" sources of fat and sodium such as various salad dressings and condiments.

6) Educate yourself on the caloric value of what you eat. If you’re not losing weight (fat) you’ll need to eat slightly less calories, and/or increase caloric expenditure (via exercise). There may be some trial and error at first as you learn more about how many calories you’ll need to create an energy deficit. COSGROVE: this is key. Violate this rule and you are toast.

7) Develop strategies to cope with difficult situations, such as family get-togethers and going out to eat. COSGROVE: Fast food? Yesó it’s called grilled chicken sandwich. Fries, no.

8) Virtually all breakfast cereals are to be avoided - they almost always contain high levels of calories, sugar and non-existent protein and fiber content - the worst possible type of food. COSGROVE: the only cereal you can have is oatmeal. Nothing else.

9) Some saturated fat is OK, but it’s easy to take in more than you realize - be careful with salad dressings, condiments, grilled meats, fried foods, Chinese food, gravies, etc.

10) Stop analyzing everything to death and get down to basics - it’s not that difficult to figure out how to eat right. Which brings us to...

11) Staley on "simplexity": OK, let’s get down to brass tacks here - EAT LESS! I’m often asked about the fat loss value of various foods like grapefruit, cider vinegar, etc. My patented response is "Any food will make you lose weight- if you eat too little of it."

A little trick is in order here - the next time you feel hungry, instead of giving in to it and feeling deprived, tell yourself "OK- this is good - it’s a sign that I’m doing the right thing." Trick yourself into believing that being hungry is desirable.

12) Here’s what Cosgrove has to say about cheating:

If you cheat: DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT change your next meal. I see many clients who overeat at one meal and then under eat at the next meal as a kind of "payback." All you did now was screw up TWO meals.


If you cheat: get right back on track. A lot of people think after cheating - I’ve blown it - so I might as well REALLY blow it! Let me ask you - if you get a flat tire do you get out of your car and slash the other three? Hey, you have a flat tire - might as well have four, right?


13) Cosgrove on hunger: Hunger is a sign that your body is lacking in energy. At this point your body will use stored fat as a fuel source. It’s a good thing. While I agree with Dr. Eric Serrano that calories are not created equal - it’s tough to argue that eating less calories will cause anything other than weight loss. It’s the law of thermodynamics.


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About The Author

Charles Staley...world-class strength/performance coach...his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.

Click here to visit Charles' site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with "Escalating Density Training," Charles' revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.

http://www.staleytrainingprograms.com

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Interval Session Twelve...

Wow. Reality check. The end of week four. That's hard for me to believe, really. I had a good session today. I have to say though that my legs really are getting a workout. I made it to the trailhead at around 9:30 AM... and it was already nearly 80 degrees. I really do need to get a CamelBak unit. I felt a little n=better hydrated today but it was the AM. An afternoon run in that heat would have been brutal.

I'd invested in some new shoes Thursday evening. I bought a pair of Asics Gels & they worked great today. So the old New balance pair thta I was wearinf daily went into the trash & the previous pair of Asics are now relegated to the daily wear slot. Supposedly the shoes need to be swapped out approximately every 100-miles or so. The old Asics didn't have that much cushion to begin with.

I got clipped twice today by cyclists. The first guy never even acknowlegded me. The second guy turned uis head & mutter "Watch where you're going." Excuse? You were overtaking me, MORON! I hate them. It's not the mom-n-pop cyclists. It's the wannabee "racers". The speed limit on that trail is supposed to be 10 MPH. most of those clowns try to do 15 to 20 MPH. Virtually NONE of them utter any warning when they're passing. I'm toying with the idea of running with an Escrima baton in my left hand.

Other than that, it was a good session. I think I get a little further down the trail every weeek. My pace & gait seem to be evening out & picking up a bit. Ultimatly, I don't really care about the distance. I'm more interested in maintaining the length of exercise. As I've said, my legs are too short to match the BPM that they provide on the MP3's. Try to match it while walking forces me to skew my stride & aggravates the shins. Trying to do so while running would wear me out prematurely. I've made that mistake the other times that I've attempted to begin a running program. I want to take my time on this one & actually work my way up so that I can do some decent road work a few times per week.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Interval Session Eleven...

Wednesday afternoon was the second session of week four in the Couch-to-5k training. Once again I was at the McMillin trailhead. The weather said that the temperatures were in the mid-70's. It felt more like the mid 80's to me.

Again I noticed that the cardio & respiratory are adapting well. Even my shins & calves feel like they're getting used to transition & running. However, one thing I have to mention: My quads & hamstrings are getting HAMMERED! I know why. It's because I've adjusted my gait to prevent the slamming on each step. So my quads & hamstrings are taking up the slack & getting a lot more work due to the flexing. So... by the time I finish a session, I feel like I've done squats & deadlifts. I've actually gained back around 10-pounds due to the legs getting this workout.

This means that I'll need to maintain a full stretching program every day of the week. Not just as I do before and after the runs. I'm going to need to be doing the full gamut of stretching including the glutes, back, hams, quads... all of it. I'm going to need to do it every single day. Otherwise my upper legs & glutes are going to become so tight that I begin having lower back & knee issues all over again.

On another note, I’m actually looking at one other local martial arts \ self-defense school. This one is the NW Kali \ JKD Academy. They teach an amalgamated system of Jun Fan Gung Fu (KJD), Kali & Silat. This is a fairly complex system. The Filipino systems traditionally teach weapons first, as the movements between weapons & empty hands are closely related. This particular school is very closely tied to the Inosanto Academy in Marina del Rey California. This school is actually located very close to home. It's around a 10-minute drive as opposed to 40-minutes into Seattle. This makes actually getting to the classes much easier! If I can get home, I can get over there in time to train. On occasion, the evening drives may cut it close as I'e had a few times where I barely made it home by 6 PM. I may have to change at work, but teh "uniform" is sweats & T-shirts so that's not an issue really.



They offer three classes per week; Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays. Also, the JKD, Escrima & Silat are taught as a single block of instruction due to the crossover of techniques. Along with strikes & grappling there's plenty of trapping, sweeps & throws. All of this is a combination of boxing (Western and Thai kickboxing), Jiu Jitsu, wrestling and the traditional martial arts systems of China, the Phillipines, Indonesia and others. It is an extremely comprehensive system.

My real concern here is that with such a complicated system, there tends to be a longer initial period before such techniques can be useful for self-defense. This is much different from Krav Maga or Combato. Ultimately however, it is the mind set that makes the most significant difference regarless of what system one studies. I already... or still... have the basics from Combato down. Training those along with the other techniques... and again, keeping that basic mind set... should serve me fairly well. I'm fairly certain that the workouts here are as brutal as the Krav Maga sessions. These guys seem to focus on the incorporation of ones fitness level being tied to the technique training. So assume three solid cardio sessions in there as well.