Tough Mudder Training: You're Doing it Wrong!

I have to say, SAPT's internship program absolutely rocks. We've got awesome interns and they regularly reinforce their awesomeness by rising to pretty much every challenge thrown at them. Our 400-hour interns, Goose and Josh, have been impressing me for about a full year now, beginning with volunteering hours at the Mason weightroom. Here's another great post from Goose:

With my first Tough Mudder coming up soon the topic of training has been on my mind. For those of you who’ve never heard of it, the Tough Mudder is a 10-12 mile military style obstacle course with 20-25 obstacles spaced out throughout the course. Some of the obstacles include: climbing ropes, scaling walls, crawling long distances, submerging your entire body in 34 degree water, running through fire, and being electrocuted.

I asked people what they were doing to prepare and a shocking majority simply answered with running distance. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a track guy and love running but this is not the best way to prepare for a Tough Mudder. With so many obstacles spread out throughout the course you’re doing a lot of starting and stopping not running 10 miles at once. People get too worried about the total mileage and don’t even think about what sets the Tough Mudder apart, the obstacles!!!

Here is where people go wrong:

1. Way Too Much Running Volume!

Like I said before, people are getting too caught up on the 10 to 13 miles part of the race. The largest distance between obstacles is no longer than 800m which means its lots of stop and go. People would benefit more from doing sprints than 10 mile jogs. Having speed endurance to run fast between obstacles while everyone else jogs will get you to the front of the pack real quick. Some of the obstacles also involve sprinting up a slippery slope and running over a wall. Speed training will benefit individual more than slow repetitive miles.

2. No Strength Training

As I previously stated, people somehow forget about the obstacles! Climbing, crawling, scaling, all of the above take strength and mobility. How are you going to complete theses if you can’t do a simple pull up??

As I explained in my previous article, lifting will make you stronger and run faster! The Tough Mudder is really a prolonged power event with some jogging in between, not an endurance event. Lifting and mastering your bodyweight should be on top of that priority list.

3. Too Much Too Soon

With individuals being in charge of their training and with the mindset that “the more you do the better you get” we’ve got a recipe for disaster. People like to jump right into running way too much or lifting way too heavy. The thought of a prep phase to get the body ready to go gets thrown out the window because we want results NOW! This leads to injury and/or mental burnout if they somehow survive their training. The plethora of knowledge floating around on the internet doesn’t help either. The average Joe seeking a good running and lifting program could end up on an Olympic marathoner’s training plan and Jim Wendler’s 5-3-1 powerlifting program. That’s going to end well ß*sarcasm*

If there is one thing you learn when you’re an injury prone individual, like me, is to listen to your body! The way your body tries to tell you things is with pain signals and soreness. If you go run 10 miles after not doing anything for 6 years and can’t get out of bed the next day, that’s your body calling you an idiot! It may be cliché but slow and steady really does win the race. A well thought out training progression will get you much further than putting yourself through a hell week of training.

4. HR Monitoring

A simple way to gauge your training intensity is getting a heart rate monitor. You might be thinking, even if I get a HR monitor I don’t know what the numbers mean! Don’t worry I’ll explain it through some simple vocab and math:

• First we want to find your Maximum Heart Rate and Resting Heart Rate:

Max HR = 220 – Age

Ex. Max HR: 220 – 22 = 198 bpm (beats per minute)

RestingHeart Rate (RHR): take a couple of minutes to site down and relax. Next find your pulse on your neck or wrist and look at your watch. Count the number of beats for 60 seconds and that is your RHR. A healthy RHR can range from 40 to 80 beats per minute depending on your age and gender.

•Now we need to find your Heart Rate Reserve (HRR):

HRR = Max HR - RHR

Ex. HRR: 198 – 62 = 136

• Almost there! Now we find Target HR. This is where it get a little trick so stay with me. We do this equation twice, once with 60% and the other with 80%.

Target HR: (HRR x 60%) + RHR

Ex. Target HR: (136 x 0.6) + 62 = 143.6 <--- rounded up 144 bpm

Target HR: (HRR x 80%) + RHR

Ex. Target HR: (136 x 0.8) + 62 = 170.8 <--- rounded up 171 bpm

• There we go, finished! So now we have our Target HR range between 60% and 80%. This simply give you an indication of where your HR should be when training. If it goes over the range you’re going too hard, if it goes below you’ve got to step it up a bit.

*This calculation is a close estimate of your Target HR, depending on your conditioning level it may be higher or slightly lower <--- (not likely)*

5. Improper Recovery

Recovery, this is something that gets overlooked by athletes and average Joes alike! All they think about going hard in training 24/7 but are their bodies ready for it? If you went hard yesterday is your body ready to go again? Did you refuel correctly? Get enough sleep? Bro do you even foam roll?

3 simple but effective ways to enhance your recovery:

• Eat Right!

This may sound like a broken record but eating right really is the best way to refuel. Throw the “recovery drinks” out the window! Fruits, veggies, grains, lean proteins, and of course the staple of any healthy diet: PB&J!! ;)

Quick note on carbo loading. STOP WITH THE CONSTANT CARBO LOADING!!!!! There’s a time and place for everything. Carbo loading was designed to increase the amount of glycogen in the muscles leading up to competition! Glycogen = energy, you’ll get all the glycogen you need to train from a healthy diet. Leave the carbo loading for what it was meant for, competition time.

• Soft Tissue Work!

Foam rolling, sports messages, lacrosse ball smashing, voodoo floss bands! Yes it’s uncomfortable and yes it hurts but nothing worth doing was even easy/painless! Soft tissue work not only enhances your muscle and joint recovery, it prevent injuries, and it gets rid of those nagging aches all over your body! Tony Gentilcore wrote a great article explaining why even “tough guys” should do soft tissue work. So I repeat my previous question. Bro, do you even foam roll??

• No More Recovery Beers!

Sorry guys and gals! No more brewskis with the broskis to celebrate that hard WOD you just did. Don’t give me that “research has shown a beer a day is good for you” crap! That’s like saying a cigarette per day keeps the doctor away, sounds legit right???

Don’t listen to doped up Arnold people! And don’t get me wrong I enjoy a nice cold one just as much as the next guy but training is a commitment. How do you expect your body to perform for you if you keep shoving crap like that into it every day! I’m a big believer in you are what you eat/drink, guess what this guys been drinking:

Below is Big Joe, one of out clients here at SAPT. He proves that age is just a number by being stronger than an ox! He qualified for The World's Toughest Mudder which is a 24hr long Tough Mudder. Less than 5% of people who compete in TM qualify for this event, he is one of them and he also lifts heavy objects!

Enough said.

Running Faster... It's Not Just for the Guys.

Today's post goes along with the string of themed posts about our new running program we're launching next week. Yes, that's right, a running program. But not just any ol' running program where you plod seemingly endless mile after mile. It's called RunFast... a simple name that explains exactly the purpose of this program. I strongly recommend reading the other blog posts this week, if you don't already, as they're stellar.I'm a Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Or, the title I prefer, Jedi Training Master. Either way, my job as an SAPT coach is to strengthen the bodies and minds of our trainees to support excellence in life (aka: cultivating Jedi Skillz). As SAPT athletes know, I advocate incessantly for hoisting heavy things on a regular basis and eating your vegetables. While I know the a solid strength foundation is essential for success in life, I also know that training the cardiovascular system (outside of a lifting session) is essential for across-the-board excellency. Most of you, I'm willing to bet, immediately thought of running for miles or hopping on an elliptical...

This post is specifically aimed at my ladies out there who think high intensity training for running is either a) for football players or other male athletes or b) inferior to long-distance running (eliptical-ing) for body composition changes. Both are incorrect suppositions.

*Note* I know I have a lot of distance runners who read this blog. I'm in no way advocating that you cease your running; however, I do think you'll benefit tremendously from training the other energy systems mentioned in Goose's post from Monday and cultivating a higher rate of force development.

So, convince me Kelsey, why should I step outside the cardio box and perform sprints, hill sprints, shuttles, and other such bouts of heart-pounding exercise?

1. They teach your body to produce force faster- Remember that Rate of Force Development thing? Ladies, if you want to run faster (and this means during a competitive sport, like soccer or lacrosse, too) you need to push off the ground harder (this propels your forward further) and increase your stride frequency (more steps per unit of time). There's an old adage, "Train fast to be fast." Training at a slower, continuous pace will NOT cause the adaptation in the muscles required to produce that burst of energy needed in sprinting down the field or court. What about sports that don't run much, like tennis or volleyball (only a few steps in each direction)? Training for power will make those few steps explosive and get you in contact with the ball sooner. Therefore, unless you're a cross country runner.... stop. the. slow. speed. stuff.

Excellent point.

2. It trains your phosphagen and anaerobic systems- As Goose laid out in his post, these two energy systems are responsible for the quick, explosive, and often the first movement, in sports. Every sport requires the use of these two systems to some degree; therefore, in order to maintain a high level of force output throughout a game or match, it's terribly important to keep these systems up to snuff by challenging them through training. An example to train the phosphagen system would be a short, but all-out, hill sprint lasting around 10 seconds or less. For anaerobic training, shuttles of 25-50 meters, or a burst of activity lasting 30-45 seconds or so. The cool thing is, the more developed these two systems are, the longer your body can rely on them for energy. This translates into the ability to produce high outputs of force for sustained amount of time, aka, sprinting further at higher speeds. Strong girls win right?

You'll also win lightsaber duels.

3. Higher intensity training is superior for body composition changes and maintenance- *This of course assumes you're eating a clean diet with lots of vegetables, lean proteins...* Without going into the physiology of it, high intensity exercise is a great way to raise your metabolism (even for hours after the activity is over, depending on the intensity) which leads to favorable body composition changes. Not only that, but high intensity exercise is muscle-sparing, meaning you maintain your hard-earned muscle mass (and ladies, we need all the help we can get in that department!). Long distance training tends to decrease muscle mass. Again, with a solid weight training program and carefully managed physical stress levels, a long distance runner can be perfectly healthy. However, from a body composition standpoint, it's more efficient for us non-runners to perform high intensity training. Plus, it's also quicker than spending 45 minutes on the elliptical... I'd rather to hill sprints for 15 minutes.

Want a visual? Look at the difference in body types:

Marathoner vs sprinter

Also, have you ever stood at the finish line of a marathon? How many people are limping? If body composition is on your list of goals, high intensity, short duration, cardiovascular training is the way to go!

No thanks....

4. Most people don't train this way- if 99% of the people are doing something in the gym, it's a safe bet that it's not the best nor most efficient way to accomplish your fitness goals.  'Nuff said.

If a TV is involved, you're not working hard enough.

Hopefully the above reasons are enough to convince you to step outside the standard "cardio" box, both from an athletic and body composition standpoint. Even my long-distance runners, train for power and watch your times decrease!

because he employed high intensity training...

Lifting & Running = Monster Benefits - An Intern Post!!!

This week we're going with one theme: RunFAST. This is the new program we've been developing that we'll officially take the lid off of on Friday. I have to acknowledge, we're offering something totally new, so we're gonna take it slow and start with a post a bit more traditional in terms of the usual SAPTstrength banter. But check the blog every day this week. We've got 5 killer posts lined up.

For the first RunFAST post, one of our interns has written a fantastic post describing in detail the benefits of lifting for ALL TYPES OF RUNNERS (yes, you distance folks can enjoy this, too!).

Why should you listen to this guy who I just admitted is an intern, well, he's a special intern. His name is Gustavo Osorio (or Goose from here on out) and he just graduated from George Mason. Goose was a member of the track team and a stellar decathlete who very recently repeated as CAA champion! Pretty cool, right? This guy knows his stuff. I learned a few things myself and, given that I was his strength coach, that means he really knows some awesome details about high-performance.

I opened up comments again, so please post your thoughts and share with friends. Here we go:

Lifting And Its Benefits For Runners!

“Strength is the foundation for excellence,” this is a mindset I’ve come to respect and adopt for myself after my short time here at SAPT. When you think about it a strong body is a health body, one capable of efficiently moving in any way and letting a person’s athleticism truly shine. Strength is without a doubt the foundation for speed and agility. This concept that may seem foreign to many runners because of all the myths regarding resistance training and running. Many runners and even some running coaches are under the impression that hitting up the weight room once in a while will only result in injury, getting “bulky”, and losing that speed they’ve worked so hard to achieve. When, in reality, a well-structured resistance training program can make the body bulletproof, make your muscles more efficient without bulk, and boost the training effects of your running workouts (aka make you faster).

Myth #1: Lifting (squatting and deadlifting) is bad for your back. Don’t do it!

When performed correctly and with the appropriate assistance work squats and deadlifts can help you build a bulletproof back, glutes, and hamstrings. All three of these muscle groups also happen to be three of the most common sites for sprains and injuries on runners. Coincidence?? I think not! When running you’re lower back acts as a shock absorber, while the glutes and hamstrings are used for force production to propel the body forward. If an individual doesn’t strengthen these muscle groups and continues to constantly hammer them with more running eventually the muscles breakdown from overuse and an injury occurs.

On the other hand, if an individual strengthens these muscle groups they reduce their chances of injury and increase the work load their body can handle. This means they’ll be able to put in more work on the track during practice and, when meet day arrives, fast times will be run!

Fun fact about elite runners, whether it be a sprinter or a distance runner, is that they have some type of year around resistance training program implemented into their training. When you get to the Olympic level and everyone is tenths of seconds away from each other, keeping your body healthy through resistance training makes the difference between being an Olympic medalist and not making the final.

Myth #2: Lifting will make you bulky and slow

A big fear amongst runners is that resistance training will put on too much “useless” muscle for them to carry around. Truth is, a resistance training routine will make you bulky and slow ONLY if you completely stop running and if you have no idea of how to make it sport specific. Just because you’re lifting weights doesn’t mean you’ll turn into the hulk overnight (or ever... let's be real here) but it can make your muscles more efficient at what they do. By training your energy systems through lifting you’re running can be exponentially enhanced. Think of your body as a car and that the energy systems providethree different types of fuel it runs on. These BIG 3 are: the phosphagen system, the anaerobic system, and the aerobic system.

The phosphagen system provide the equivalent of jet fuel for the body. It gives you tons of energy but it burns out super fast! How fast you ask?? Well it gives you enough for 6 to 10 seconds of all out exertion. It provides the energy for the beginning of every race and it is the most dominant energy system during short running event, 60 meters to 100 meters. It is also involved in any sport that requires any sudden bursts of speed and explosion such as basketball, baseball, football, and volleyball. This system is primarily trained through plyometrics and lifts that require high force production at high speeds.

The anaerobic system gives you a mix between jet fuel and regular gas, it still yields a high amount of energy and manages to last a bit longer, between 1 to 3 minutes depending on the intensity of the event. This system is the most dominant for the 400-800 meter distances.It is also involved in sports that require prolonged bouts of speed and some endurance such as boxing, wrestling, lacrosse, and soccer. This is a tricky energy system to train because it requires a mix of power training, muscular strength training, and some muscular endurance training.

The aerobic system gives the body the same effect gas would in a car, it doesn’t let you go blistering fast but it give you a constant stream of energy to keep you going for miles. This is the dominant system in athletes who compete in endurance events such as triathlons, marathons, long distance swimming, and cross country skiing. This energy system can be trained through circuit training and low weight/high rep/low rest lifting.

**WORD OF CAUTION: Train a certain energy system through lifting does not mean you’ll necessarily get faster. When you integrate a lifting program on to a running program correctly the two can complement each other quite nicely. However if all you do is lift aerobically and then expect to go run a marathon you most likely won’t finish.**

Myth #3: Lifting has no positive transfer to running.

Another great benefit of resistance training is the improvement in something called your Rate of Force Development (RFD). [Side note: Kelsey did an amazing job of going into great detail on RFD, if you haven’t read her posts I strongly recommend them! Part 1 and Part 2.] Basically what that means is how fast your muscles can produce a high amount of force. This is beneficial to runners and all athletes because producing higher amounts of force at a faster rate enable you to move faster. Through training this can help optimize your stride length (amount of distance covered per step) and increase your stride frequency (how fast your feet hit the ground) both of which will also make you faster.

This last bit is something most people often neglect, but it makes a world of difference in their running. Aside from improving energy systems and Rate of Force Development lifting can be used to improve running posture. When performed correctly the squat and the deadlift teach people to brace their core and to properly align their back so it’s in the neutral position. A lot of people can go through an entire running career (like myself) without ever realizing that this has a massive positive transfer to running.

The two pictures above demonstrate how the body should be aligned during the deadlift and squat. If you take a side picture of yourself you should be able to draw a straight line from your hips to the base of the head.

Let’s take a look at Tyson Gay coming out of blocks. You can make a straight line from his hips to his head, JUST like a squat or deadlift! Coincidence?? I think not!  By keeping his back in a neutral position and bracing his core he is getting the most propulsion out of the power he is putting on the ground. By keeping his core rigid (not tense) all the force being placed on the ground is not lost or being absorbed by an arched or hunched back. Same thing would happen if you lifted with a rounded back, the spine would absorb a lot of the force going up (deadlift) or down (squat) instead of letting your legs and glutes do the work.

Now take a look on the right at Carl Lewis, he is in the Maximum Velocity phase of the 100 meters which means he is trying to maintain his top speed for as long as possible. The line from the hips to the head is still there which means he is getting the most out of the force production. But that’s not all! Notice how his hip are neutral and not anteriorly rotated, his butt isn’t sticking out. This allows him to get a higher knee drive, cover more ground with his stride, and keeps him from kicking his leg too far back. A great way to teach this to people is the finishing position in the squat and the deadlift often referred to as the “lock out”. And like the squat/deadlift lock out phase if his hips were too posteriorly rotated, too far forward, he would put his back out of alignment and sacrifice kick back range of motion.

RunFAST - SAPT's Secret Program Development

I’ll be honest, I’ve got a secret... it’s about a new program SAPT is developing. We’ll actually be launching all the info about it next week, but I’ve got to let on about it at least a little! I’m simply way too pumped up and have had a little too much coffee to keep this under my hat any longer.

It’s so exciting and will introduce yet another innovative, high-octane training method to the area via our resident performance coaching geniuses at SAPT.

This is the type of program that is born from those really special places that foster high-levels of both creativity and respect. An incubator for ideas where art and science merge. The type of place that values quality, service, and creativity above all else. That’s where these kinds of innovations come from.

The program is called RunFAST... that’s all I’m going to mention, as I think the name tells enough.

And, I have to also tell you this new innovative approach we’ll launch next week is just the tip of the iceberg. I wish I could let on about all our projects. But, for the moment, I’ll simply leave you with SAPT’s Big 3: Purpose, Vision, and Mission. Read into them as you like...

Our Purpose: Strengthening bodies and minds to support excellence in life.

Our Vision: People of all ages, abilities, and resources will have access to, appreciation for, and engagement in regular physical fitness training that will lead to improvements in all aspects of daily life.

Our Mission: To develop, research, and share our comprehensive approach to physical fitness training that fosters long-term engagement, promotes excellence in life, nurtures human relationships and inspires the lifelong pursuit of health through exercise.

Please stay tuned to next week on the blog... we’ll be devoting the whole week to RunFAST details!

Mental Monday Video Interview: Heather Kampf

Huge thanks to Heather Kampf - professional runner for Asics and Team USA Minnesota - for doing this interview! 

10 Reasons You Should Swing Heavy Bells

So, I forgot to post on Wednesday. Sorry folks! To make up for it, I present this: As the title states: Swing. Big. Bells.

Me and Natasha, just swinging around.

1. Glute strength- Do you want a strong butt? Of course you do, that's why you read this site. Swings are fantastic glute builders. The glutes are the most powerful hip extensors so it makes sense to perform exercises that force the glutes to extend the hips... hmmm, sounds like swings huh? The powerful snap of the swing carries over into other lifts such as the deadlift and squat. The glutes also play in vital role in sprinting and jumping. So if you want to be the Athlete-Of-Steel, you needs buns of steel. Swing it baby!

Gotta build the wheels if you want speed!

2. Upper back strength- During the swing, the upper back is essentially holding an isometric contraction to maintain the "chest up" postion throughout the swing. The lats are working hard to keep the bell close to the body (so it doesn't go flying away and pull you with it). The rhomboids and the teres major and minor are doing their duty of keeping the shoulder blades down and back and keeping the humerus in it's socket (kinda important). Guess what? Chin/Pull ups require those muscles too.

All my ButtKamp Ladies are swingers (the G-Rated kind, not the other kind) and ALL my ButtKamp Ladies' have improved in the pull up/chin up. We now have 2 women who are able to do a body weight chin up...(Suzanne, above, is one. The day after this, she nailed it!) pretty awesome! Personally, I've noticed an marked difference in my pull up strength, both my 1-rep max (weight on my waist) and my total rep max (how many I can do) have increased. With all the work the lats and upper back do in the swing, I don't think it's a cowinky-dink. Once again, the upper back strength also carries over to the big girl/boy lifts: squats and deads. Try performing either with a weak upper back and you'll find yourself stapled by the weight.

3. Injury prevention/rehab for lower backs- I professed my love and belief in swings for back rehab on Wednesday. The nature of swings, strengthening glutes, upper back, the spinal erectors, and core muscles, perfectly align with the needs of most back-pain sufferers. Most of us have, weak glutes, upper backs, cores, and spinal erectors. I know mine were (thus part of the reason I have injuries). While I can't claim that swings will heal any injury, they can at least prevent further injury (or injury if there isn't one present) and build up the muscles that protect the injury.

4. Grip strength- When your forced to grip a heavy weight while it's moving, you're going to build up some pretty strong hand and forearm muscles. One of my weak links in the deadlift (and pull ups) was my grip. I found this out pretty quickly once I started doing high rep, heavy swings. My forearms were on fire and my grip often gave out before the rest of me did. If you like picking up heavy things and walking around, swings will help build up an iron grip so you can pick up heavier things and walk around even more.

Keep on walkin'...

5. Cardiovascular and muscular endurance- Don't like running? Me neither. I do love to swing though. Swinging is excellent for building up cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance (the ability for muscles to produce sub-max force over an extended period of time). Don't believe me? Try this: do a ladder of 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Take a breath for every swing you do. How do you feel? Oh wait, I can't hear your over you pounding heart and labored breathing...

I see too many people talk while using this...

6. Core strength and function- During the swing, the midsection must remain tight not only to protect the spine, but also to transfer the force of the glute contractions into the bell to swing it. The core has to also be able to relax slightly so you can breathe throughout the workout (pretty important piece of exercise, that breathing. Generally, you inhale on the way down, brace on the way up, and breathe out forcefully at the apex of the swing.) and immediately brace for the next cycle of contraction as the bell swings forward. For those with back pain, sometimes the core muscles aren't firing in the right order. Swings help retrain the muscles in this sense.

7. Joint-Friendly conditioning- As mentioned, swings are pretty safe for those with back injuries (most of the time anyway). They're a perfect conditioning tool for those with cranky knees, ankles, and shoulders (mostly). They're also good introductory training for deconditioned individuals as they're scalable to individual strength and fitness levels. Unlike running, which essentially is thousands of one-legged hops, swings have very little negative joint impact (the elbows can take a beating if the upper back isn't doing it's job though so be prudent!) so it's less likely that you'll sustain an injury and want to quit exercising.

Done...

8. Leanness- This is more anecdotal than factual, but swinging promotes leanness better than any other form of conditioning I've run across (outside of regular sprint sessions, which can take their toll on the system physically as they're pretty stressful). Coach Dan John has spoken of the power of the swing to help athletes/trainees maintain a lower body fat percentage and I've noticed in myself as well. It's not going to be the magic bullet, but for those who train hard and eat pretty well, the addition of swings can help pull the body fat down a bit without too much stress to your system.

9. Overall strength- Swings involve the whole body, in case you couldn't tell from the above points. If you want to increase your strength, add some of these in and you'll be amazed at the carry over into the rest of your workouts/activities.

Hagrid-like strength in a little body

10. Self-Defense- If swings help build up the glutes and hamstrings, which are the primary movers and shakers of sprinting, should you be attacked by zombies or some other terrifying creature, you'll be able to scamper away pretty darn fast. Or, if you're brave, just swing your bell at them and let go. 60+ pounds to the face will mess any body up. Pretty sure Kathy could take down any foe.

If those didn't convince you then, well, I have no words.