A Little of This, A Little of That
For anyone wondering, Steve is okay, but still pretty sick. So, it looks like he won't be making his next blog post until Monday at the earliest. In the meantime, I'm taking the path of least resistance and offering up some great reads from other sources:McDonald's Happy Meals get a makeover. I, personally, have an enormous problem with McDonald's and feel guilty anytime I stop there to get a black coffee (the ONLY thing I ever allow myself to consume from them). So, I don't know if this effort makes me feel better or worse about them... probably worse, when you consider "Take Home Point" #3. Here's another article from NY Times.
Wost Call Ever? I don't know about all that, but it's definitely a bad call:
Great article on how calorie counting is ineffective and outdated. Weight loss depends a great deal on QUALITY of food consumed - if you eat nothing but unprocessed, nutrient-dense food you can eat as much as you want and will look great - that's the approach I took to losing my "baby weight." But, on the other side, we currently have a client who has lost 38lbs by monitoring caloric intake. Alexander Ovechkin being himself, I suppose:
Tips on Training for a Hike
Irony of all ironies, I had planned on writing a post about hiking for today (I’ve been getting requests) and what did Steve do yesterday?!? A hiking post… unbelievable! Maybe this week will be SAPT's unofficial training for a hike week or something. So, I'm sticking with my post for today and felt is was appropriate to post a picture of one of the hikes I went on last week - this one is in Red Rock State Park. Tips on Training for a Hike
- Single Leg Strength Work is Essential! A large percentage of training should be dedicated to Step-up and Step-down variations. This is pretty much what a hike is after all. The step-up will help you get up to the peak, but what about when you’re on your return trip and your legs are fried? That’s when the step-downs will become crucial. Having exceptional eccentric strength in a fatigued state will not only allow you to return safely, but more quickly, too! I’m afraid I may sound like I’m hopping on Mike Boyle’s anti-bilateral movement crusade with this, but I think ditching the squats and deads may be a great move for a focused time leading up to an important hike.
- Bracing Variations. As Steve pointed out in his post yesterday, hikers will usually be loaded up with all kinds of gear (think added weight) and they need to be able to easily brace and stabilize to carry the loads without undue fatigue. How can you train this in the gym? Give BB Squat Hold Variations, Mis-Loaded BB Hold Variations, Plank Hold Variations, and Band Swing Hold Variations a try. Notice the theme word for these exercises is “hold” a.k.a. isometric – a hiker needs to have an extremely strong “core” (gasp, I can’t believe I just used that word) to ensure the muscle groups that should be doing the bracing do their jobs.
- Mobility Work. This will be critical for the entire body. Especially considering that hikers often stay in a fairly upright position, so when they need to call on some extreme hip mobility to traverse certain terrain you want that mobility to be present. Otherwise, injuries will pop up.
- Lastly, if I seriously wanted to show my hiking prowess off, I would implement Steve’s HICT training. Add this in twice a week plus a long hike on the weekend.
***I'm going to get some videos up this evening, so please check back if you want to see some of the variations I mentioned!
Don't forget, if you're out of the DC/NoVA area, we can still get you prepared to destroy your next competition, event, or just life. Find out more by requesting information on our distance coaching program!
3 Training Myths Exposed, Vol. 2
(Note: the link at the bottom takes you to my most recent OneResult article) In the first volume of this series we discussed three training mistakes happening at gyms across the country. I’d, however, be flat out lying to you if I said those are the only three I see on a daily basis.
Thus, in an effort to set the record straight here are three more myths that need to be exposed. We’re all, at one time or another, guilty of doing one or more of these, so please read on, help spread the word, and let’s set the record straight once and for all.
Mistake #4: Copious Volumes of Long Distance Running
It seems when an athlete (or even your general fitness enthusiast) seeks advice for conditioning, he or she usually hears something like:
“Let’s see, ummm….just go on a long run 2-3x/week….yeah, that should do it!”
Here are three things more productive than performing copious amounts of long distance running:
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