I'm well into my fitness masterminding event just outside of Phuket and we just got back from being caught in a true Storm Force rain shower!
There's something awesome about swimming in the dark, in warm bath water being pelted by warm rain with giant flashes lighting up the sky!
What more do you want after a day of producing killer fitness product ideas and sunbathing!
However, I thought I best let you know that there hasn't been any slacking on the training as we've managed to get in a beach sprint session.
8 rounds
100m sprint on soft sand followed by a light jog or swim back to the start
Perfect interval session!
The sand provides great resistance and the soft nature of the sand whilst being friendly on the knees also forces you to develop pull from your hip flexor muscles as less force can be generated b pushing on the sand by your back foot!
Try it on your holidays this year!
Tomorrow I'm going for a double whammy of 10k beach run for Tough Guy preparation with a quick bodyweight-swim circuit like this.
Working with a partner I'll be doing the following for 20 minutes:
One person completes 10 lengths of the 10m pool at our 5 star villa.
The other person must do burpee-push ups until the swimmer is finished.
Switch and repeat for 20 minutes!
(That's the view out of our 'office')
Short, sharp and very effective.
If I can't find a partner willing to take on the challenge I'll do 10 lengths to 30 burpees continuously.
There is no reason to shy out of workouts when you're on holiday guys so stop looking for reasons not to do it!
I could easily make excuses about time (despite what you may think I'm working hard and didn't finish masterminding until 3am, last night!), the heat, the need to relax etc.
The fact is my Tough Guy race in July isn't going to change date or allow me to make excuses - it will try to bring me down no matter what!
Look for the things you CAN do when your daily routine and equipment changes!
Nature provides the best gyms I ever find and they're different every time!
Keep an eye out for more crazy workouts this week!
This post is no doubt going to leave me open to those who disagree and tell me that you should have a clear linear periodisation plan that first builds strength then converts it to power etc.
Put your toys back in the pram and your periodisation textbook back on the shelf. Science is great, real world results are better.
Just to prove how powerful this can be, I yesterday ran 8.25 miles in 58 minutes which included 8 x 50m STEEP hill climbs up and down on grass at half way and a fairly steep road hill at about 7 miles.
Whilst this is not anything that special to a 'runner' I run once per week because I have to get ready for an endurance event I am doing in July.
I hadn't run until February.
I have also maintained my muscle and kept body fat at about 7% rather than ending up like a stick thin Sunday Shuffler / Pavement Pounder.
I can also...
- Deadlift 2.5 times my bodyweight - Squat 2 x my bodyweight - Perform a single leg squat with a 32kg kettlebell - Perform 15-20 single arm push ups
This isn't a brag and there are many people who could outperform that, however the point is that people tend to believe that you can only have good endurance OR be strong OR maintain muscle.
Consider that I also have kind of bodytype which qualifies me for the Grasshopper Olympics and has had me labelled 'lanky streak of ****' by my Grandad and 'gangly' in local newspaper sports reports.
If you want to be the BEST at any of the above, then no this training isn't ideal, but the vast majority of us out there want to be capable of many things all at once - it makes life much more enjoyable and gives us much more potential!
My training philosophy is to build lean athletic bodies which, whilst they won't win bodybuilding competitions nor half-marathons, are capable of holding their own in ANY competition.
They are capable of sprinting faster than most, running 10k faster than most and looking better than most.
Clearly the need for such abilities will fluctuate but the point is you have a great base of everything so that you can be ready to specialise for any event as required.
So what does a training week look like for me at the moment?:
Monday - Anaerobic Conditioning
A challenge such as 5 rounds as fast as possible of:
30 extreme kettlebell swings 15 burpee-pull ups 10 kettlebell jerks 10 sprints across my studio No rest
Repeat until 5 rounds are complete
Tuesday - Strength
Dumbell snatch 4 x 5 reps 45 sec rest
Superset of 1 leg squat with 2 kettlebell press 4 x 5 each side 60 sec rest after press
Superset of 1 arm push up with pull up (using weighted vest) 4 sets stoppping 1 rep short of failure
Wednesday - Anaerobic conditioning
Hill 'sprintervals'
Treadmill on steep incline (or find a nice hill outside - I live in the city centre!)
8 rounds of 45 seconds at high speed - 90 seconds rest between each interval
15 minutes steady run at 75-80%
Thursday - Rest
Mobility and flexibility work )e.g foam rolling and developmental stretching
Friday - Strength
1 arm dumbbell clean and press
Superset of barbell front squat with weighted pull up 4 x 5 reps - 60 seconds rest after pull up
Superset of 1 arm dumbbell chest press with single arm row 4 x 5 reps each side - 60 seconds rest after pull up
Glute-ham raise 4 sets to 1 short of failure
Saturday - Rest
Mobility and flexibility
Sunday
Long run (at the moment due to requirements for Tough Guy event)
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This is just one week.
4 times per week is core work using varied sets, reps and exercises.
Each week certain variables will change.
I might do one arm pull up strength practice or side-to-side pullups.
I might do kettlebell snatches instead of dumbbells.
I might use isometrics and complex training (not complexes) to increase strength and power.
Sometimes I'll do more strength and less conditioning.
Please do not take this as a 6 week program or anything like that, it is purely to demonstrate how to mould strength training with conditioning without burning out.
What if I can't train that much?
If you only have time to train three times per week you might do 15 mins heavy strength work at the start of a session followed by 20 minutes conditioning.
There is no set way of training so don't get caught up in performing the same sessions every week just so you 'get better at it'.
If it hurts, makes you sweat, is balanced in terms of muscles used and gives certain energy systems enough recovery time, it will work.
I used to be one of those kids who blindly bundled into the local leisure centre gym with a list like this from Page 19 of Men's Health Issue 116.
Squat (with bad technique) 3 x 10 Leg press - hamstring curl 3 x 10 superset Dumbell press 3 x 10 with small dumbbells Bent over row (with bent back to contribute to spine fracture) 3 x 10 or until lower back hurts Bicep curls 3 x 10 supersetted with tricep extension 3 x 10
You get the message....
This was before a 30 minute 'fat burning' run on the treadmill in front of 'A Question of Sport' on the TV.
Needless to stay I stayed skinny and never really saw any improvements in ANYTHING!
All I got was overuse injuries, boredom and flack from my Mum for taking so long at the gym that I was late for tea.
10 years on I am the world's biggest fan of metabolic weight training.
Why?
1) It involves weight training
Weight training which goes beyond pink dumbbells and aerobic-style step up and press manouevres, builds lean muscle tissue.
Lean muscle tissue burns calories so the more you have the more you burn!
2) It is also based around interval training
This not only causes a release of growth hormone to help with muscle growth but when done for short, near maximal bursts of 20 seconds, it uses mainly fast twitch muscle fibres which grow thicker and faster than the slow twitch fibres which domintate in steady state cardio.
Again this means more muscle and a greater metabolic rate at rest.
Also the anaerobic nature of well-performed interval training creates an oxygen debt. In other words, your metabolic rate will increase in order to haul in more oxygen for all the necessary repair processes including cooling your body down and removing lactic acid from your muscles.
It can take around 24 hours for full restoration to occur. String three of four such sessions together over a week and you have a recipe for a permanently elevated metabolism!
The beauty of intense, anaerobic interval based training, either in traditional cardio style or using weights (I love kettlebells!), is that if you work hard enough during the intense burst, your heart rate will fall between intervals but still be high enough to be within the 'aerobic zone' as people like to call it.
So you can see how anaerobic training can improve aerobic performance but NOT the other way around.
3) It is exciting and can be based around time challenges, repetition challenges etc
This means every sessions can and should be different - the key is intensity!
The variety means you are much more likely to stick to such a program.
4) You can perform such sessions anywhere and with any equipment.
Again the focus is on intensity rather than the monotonous repetition of having to perform 3 x 10 barbell back squats with 5kg more than last time, every week for 8 weeks.
5) You are more likely to develop different elements of fitness by combining power and strength work with anaerobic endurance thus becoming more athletic than the guy who may have big thick muscles but can't jump over a stray cat due to poor agility.
You may not become a specialist in any of them but you will have low body fat (if you're nutrition is right) and be a much healthier and athletic individual!
You'll also find that your aerobic endurance capacity gets ramped up at the same time with no real focus on it!
If you want to be a champion 10k runner you need to do long runs - fact.
Those who want a lean, atheltic body need metabolic weight training - fact!
What you thought you knew isn't working to have a think about opening your mind!
