RUNNING

I like to run. Hard. I don't think I know how to run very slow. Even when I was very serious about running and ONLY running, I never ran my long runs slow enough. I will run slow for a bit and then get bored, take off, and run it entirely too hard. I actually run so hard that I need to stop to walk. I only walk for a short minute though. Then I take off again. What the hell?

I just got back from a really good run. A mix of small inclines and flats through the surrounding neighborhoods. Once I got warmed up, I was ready to go. Coming back was WAAY quicker than going out, which is good.
Negative splits are good.
Barefoot running is good.
I am getting faster.
I think I like Crossfit Endurance.
I know I love kettlebells.
I like running.
Starting to LOVE running.
Freedom.
On my feet.
Ramble....Ramble....
Can you tell I'm tired?
I need food.

BEANS...mmmmm:)

BORN TO RUN Insight

I just finished reading Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. The book is awesome and I highly recommend it. Although I had started running again before reading the book, now that I'm done, I feel a new inspiration for running. Normally, running for me has been about pushing through the pain, testing the limits, doing the grind. After reading this book, I think my outlook has been skewed. While running is and can be about all of the things listed above, those things don't have to be a struggle. The pain I've experienced is increased exponentially by my anxiety about its onset. As soon as I start feeling some of that pain associated with running hard, my anxiety jumps through the roof..."How long can I deal with this? Can I deal with this? Do I want to deal with this? Holy crap, its getting worse!!". I end up talking myself into feeling pain and paying attention to it. What the hell? Once in awhile though, I GET IT. The pain is comfortable. I LIKE IT. I've relaxed into it, and I am no longer afraid. This enjoyment happens when I pay attention to the beautiful things about running. I get to experience a lot of nature and a lot of the area I live in by running. I get into a fluid stride, a rythm of movement. When I start to pay attention to these things, my anxiety drops and the pain becomes a pleasure. Its not even pain anymore. The running isn't a grind, its a pursuit. I am testing the limits and breaking through new barriers each time I go out, which is beautiful in itself.
Thats the message Christopher McDougall is trying to convey. Running is not a means to an end, but an end in itself. Running for the sake of running. Running as a part of life. This is my new view on running. Every part of it is enjoyable. No pressure, just have fun.

Below is a video from Barefoot Ted, one of the runners in the book. An overview of the Copper Canyons and some of the runners that ran in the first Copper Canyon Ultramarathon.

Strength Day

I've been trying to get more running into my weeks. I'm trying the barefoot running thing and it seems to be working out. I have gradully increased my mileage and avoided any injuries so far. Although I'm running more, I still want to keep a base of strength (or strength-type training). For me, that looks like this...

All with the 24kg kettlebell:

Clean and Press x 5,4,3,2,1 r/l

Swings x 10/10 , 30 secs rest x 5, 20 secs rest x 5


Swinging Planks - 20 sec on / 10 sec rest x 8

Thats it. I'm still trying to figure out how much I can strength train while trying to effectively increase my mileage while running. Eventually, if you push them too hard simultaneously, they both hit a wall. I will continue to try and balance work and recovery while maintaining at least a base of strength and power endurance (ala VO2Max VWC) and cardiovascular conditioning (ala running and VO2Max VWC). We'll see how this works...

FEED THE MACHINE

I want to talk about post-workout nutrition. So often do I find that people train hard, yet ignore good nutrition. Your body doesn't improve WHILE you workout, it improves when you recover. Post-workout nutrition is the primary step to that recovery (ina ddition to adequate sleep, sunlight, and eating well). Also, you WILL NOT "gain back what you just lost" if you eat immediately after working out. Your body doesn't work like that, sorry:) E-mail me if you want a rant on why that just isn't so.



So, you've trained hard for the past hour, you are finished cooling down, and now you need to eat. Notice I didn't say WANT to eat, I said NEED. You may not have the best appetite after training, but it is essential that you find SOMETHING that you can stomach within the first 30-60 minutes after training. Why 30-60 minutes? Because thats when your insulin sensitivity is at its peak (after about 90 minutes they are almost back to normal levels). Why is this important? Because insulin is responsible for shuttling all that post-workout nutrition right into your muscles. Insulin grabs onto glucose (from your bloodstream) and packs it away into the muscles that you just trained. Oh yea, it also carries amino-acids with it, allowing your cells to start building new proteins (i.e. - NEW MUSCLE). This is important even if you are not training to build big muscles, because this process allows your muscles to adapt to the training you just performed, to give you new capacity (i.e. - MORE ENDURANCE).


Ok, now that you know the basic science behind it, lets apply it. Ideally, and this goes for endurance athletes as well as strength athletes, you want a 1:4 ration of protein:carbohydrates in your post-workout meal. This ratio applies to the number of grams of each (they have the same caloric value per gram). So, if you eat 20 grams of protein, you want 100 grams of carbs. Get it? Good.



Now, the TYPE of carbs and protein should be considered. You want a FAST-DIGESTING carbohydrate, and an EASILY-ASSIMILATED protein. This basically means sugar and whey protein (I suggest whey because it is easily found as a supplement and in most dairy products). You could also use egg whites if you have a whey allergy. If you are allergic to both, then do some research and find something you can eat after training (any supplement store should have some options for you).
As for the carbs, any carb with a high GI value will work. Some of the best are bananas, pineapple, white bread, etc. You can work out the amount of each of these foods that you eat based on the above ratio and your specific caloric needs.

Some ideal post-workout meals that I like to use) are:

- A banana and a cup of milk
- A cup or two of CHOCOLATE MILK (yes, it is one of the BEST post-workout meals, even for a serious athlete, and no, it will not make you fat)
- Ricotta cheese and Jelly on white bread

Let me know if you have any other suggestions / input. Hope you enjoy;)

Winter Games

Today is the last day of the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. I was able to watch a good portion of the Games. My favorite event has to be the Biathlon. I think that the intensity of this sport is unrivaled. Full-on cross-country ski race then stop to shoot accurately at a target over 160 feet away, all while having a heart rate near maximum!! The breath control and shooting accuract required to be successful is unbelievable. Check it out at www.biathlonworld.com.

Here is the Final Medal Count for the Games (for the top three finishers):




United States
Gold - 9
Silver - 15
Bronze - 13
Total - 37

Germany
Gold - 10
Silver - 13
Bronze - 7
Total - 30

Canada
Gold - 14
Silver - 7
Bronze - 5
Total - 26

WAY TO GO UNITED STATES!!!

I want to give a round of applause to all of the athletes that competed in the Olympics. Your talent and commitment is undoubtedly the highest of any. Great jib to everyone who competed!!

I also want to highlight my favorite group of athletes, those from Lake Placid (the best place on Earth). They are:



Haley Johnson - Biathlon (comeskiwithme.blogspot.com)


Tim Burke- Biathlon (timburke.us)


John Napier - Bobsled (http://bobsled.teamusa.org/athletes/john-napier)


Bill Demong - Nordic Combined (http://skiing.teamusa.org/athletes/bill-demong)


Lowell Bailey - Biathlon (www.lowellbailey.com)


Andrew Weibrecht - Alpine Skiing (http://skiing.teamusa.org/athletes/andrew-weibrecht)

I am biased, but the above athletes are my favorite:)

Check out the rest of the Olympic results and the amazing competitiors here:

http://www.vancouver2010.com/

Again, congratulations to all the athletes on their hard work, determination, and guts to make it as far as they have. I look forward to hearing about the future success each of you will have in your careers.

San Antonio

I am blessed to have a Mother-in-law who loves to fly us down to San Antonio to visit her. We've been there a few times in the past couple years and every time she has something new for us to do. Here are some pics from the last trip we took...


On the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio!!


MMMMMM...Cookies in Boerne (pronounced "Bernie").


In Fredsrickburg, a Cowboy town in the Texas Hill Country.


Good food in Austin...


Above the Casa Rio restaurant on the San Antonio riverwalk. I highly recommend this place for authentic Mexican food.

Backpacking!!!

We went backpacking a few months ago (obviously, by the look of the warm weather). It was Samantha's first time backpacking, or even sleeping in the woods!! She did awesome:) The whole thing is so simple. You carry your whole life on your back, for however long you are hiking. Your days are: Eat, walk, sleep, eat, walk, sleep...SOOO fulfilling. Here's some pics, enjoy:)

Travelling...

Since I've posted last (and even before that), I've done a bit of travelling, mostly to Lake Placid. Hence, my lack of blog posts (in addition to mass amounts of school work). I have been training, albeit sporadically, depending on when I get home from the hospital and how many hours of sleep I can cram in. As far as the training, I'll get to that in a later post because it is very exciting and I know that all three of you (my loyal readers) are very interested in what my training has been like. For now, here is a slide show of some High Peaks adventures...


LAKE PLACID Summer!!!


This is the summit of Whiteface mountain. Whiteface is THE mountain to ride in the ADK's. This is in the summer on a pretty foggy and rainy day. We drove up most of the mountain, then walked through a tunnel that went straight into the mountain leading to an elevator taking you to the summit.


Here is Lake Placid (the actual lake) from Whiteface summit. You can see (from left to right) Buck Island, Moose Island and Hawk Island.


This is along Route 73, between Keene Valley and Lake Placid.


Here's Samantha on a rainy morning in Lake Placid. This is at the best place in the world to get coffee, AKA the COFFEE BEAN, right on Main Street Lake placid, overlooking Mirror Lake.


Here's me approaching the summit of Cascade Mountain. That was an awesome hike. Short, steep, and great views.


My beautiful wife having fun on the top of Cascade. The temperature was 20 degrees cooler at the top than it was at the bottom!!!


A morning on Mirror Lake.


A paddle board and a swimmer doing laps in Mirror Lake. We were there exactly one week after the Lake Placid Ironman. Everyone was still geared up for triathlon. Each morning I saw numerous swimmers doing laps in Mirror Lake in the Ironman course.



LAKE PLACID Winter!!!


Here is my brother, Dan and Brother-in-law, Shannon, on the observation deck on top of Little Whiteface.



Here is part of what you see from Whiteface Summit. Unfortunately, on this day, The Slides were not open to ride. I look forward to a trip up to LP when they are open, because I recently converted back to skiing (from an 8 year hiatus). It will be fun to do some backcountry skiing after riding a snowboard for awhile:)



Shannon. Man of the hour, 24/7/365 :)


So the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery has this s'mores dessert where you roast your own mallows over a sterno flame...unbelievable. They also brew my absolute favorite beer, UBU Ale. Also, their New England Clam Chowder is the best thing since sliced bread. Whenever we go there its UBU Ale and Pretzel Nuggets, New England Clam and French Onion...done.



Did I ever tell you that I LOVE the Olympic Center?


Outside the Speed Skating oval.


Winter hike on the Whiteface Landing Trail.


It's not Lake Placid without the toboggan:) Dan and Lauren on Mirror Lake with their sweet ride.

4x7 No Intensity Day

So, usually I take this day off. I'm not going to lie and tell you that I do my joint mobility, etc. just like I'm supposed to. I've always had a hard time doing the easy stuff. However, today I feel as though I need some kind of joint grease.

So, without going into extreme detail...

VARIOUS JOINT MOBILITY EXERCISES, HEAD TO TOE - about 12 minutes worth

Oh yea...

Pullups x 9,9,7,6,5

Back to the Earth

I have been reading a book by Tom Brown, Jr. titled Awakening Spirits. The book is about a Native American man called Grandfather (aka Stalking Wolf) and his journey around the world to find the spiritual truths that exist among all religions. If you are new to my blog, you will soon find out that I am no stranger to religion, and I have a deep faith in God. This book is enlightening to say the least, and I highly recommend it to anyone, not just those of faith.
Awakening Spirits reveals the power of the eartch and how getting close to the earth and away from the materials will bring you closer to God. God lives everywhere, but when we are dstracted by things of the flesh, our vision of God becomes clouded and skewed. Retreating from these things of the flesh (physically or mentally) will help you move closer to and have a deeper relationship with God. The book shows breathing exercises and meditation sequences that one can use to transcend the distractions of our busy world and ultimately walk the razor's edge between the world of the flesh and the world of the spirit. A walking meditation, so to speak. Check out the book at the link to the Tracker School in my links section. It will change you...

4x7 Heavy Day

I decided to uae the classic lifts for this round of the 4x7. I was getting tired of the long cycle. Well, I love the long cycle, but I think my body was getting tired of the repetitive motion after more than 6 months of doing strictly the long cycle. I would make decent progress and then school would get extremely busy, so my workouts would take a backseat. School has slowed recently and my workouts have picked up. Let's keep this trend going...

Pullups x 9,8,7,6,5 - with varied grips

16kg Double Short Cycle x 3 min @ 10 RPM

16kg Snatch x 5 min @ 10 RPM

24kg One Arm Jerk x 4 min @ 10 RPM, one hand switch

24kg Swing x 4 min @ 25 RPM

Prasara Spider Monkey Flow x 2

EAT A TON:)

Moderate Day 4x7

I want to focus on kettlebell lifting for this round of the 4x7. I'm still deciding if I want to use the classic lifts or the long cycle. I'll let you know tomorrow after training:) I've used the 4x7 protocol before, and it's genius. Here is the link to Scott Sonnons blog outlining the basic 4x7: http://www.rmaxinternational.com/flowcoach/?p=224
You can use that basic outline and apply it to any type of training, so have fun:)

My training for today was this:

Pullups w/ varied grip / 8,8,7,6,5

Clean and Press (Double 24kg KBs) / 5x1, / 4x4

Pistol Squat / 5/5 x 3

Prasara Spider Monkey Flow x 3

I'm Back;)

I haven't written in awhile, but I have been training. It's been a sporadic mix of Prasara Yoga, Kettlebell Lifting, and a lot of standing and walking at clinicals.
The kettlebell lifting has been mostly Long Cycle C+J with the 24 and sometimes with my two new 16's.
I have to say, double long cycle is extremely grueling. I enjoy the pressure that the long cycle puts on my body. Everything has to be in sync during the set. The bells have to land in just the right spot every time. If they don't, you start to struggle to keep them in a relaxing place. Every small movement (shuffling, shifting, fidgeting) becomes a physical and mental inconvenience. Breathing becomes essential to survival. Scott Sonnon has demonstrated a technique called "survival breathing". He describes it in his Foundations of Kettlebell Lifting DVD series. I won't go into detail here because its too complicated and would probably just confuse you.
Here's a sample of his work:

BEEN AWHILE

Wow, it has been awhile since I posted on this blog. I started another blog for awhile...you can find it here: http://gymanimusgs.blogspot.com/.

Since my last post on this blog, I got married, started Sonography school, and missed a whole lot of training. Today, I hit the weights again for the first time in 2 weeks. Sometimes these little breaks are needed, to refresh you and remind you of why you train.

32kg:

Jerk: 5/5 x 3

Swing: 12/12, 10/10, 10/10

L-Pullups on Rings: /4 x 3

Pistols: 3/3 x 3

Prasara Yoga: Spider Monkey, from the Series'A' Flows, I ran through it a few times, just learning the sequence and proper flow.

I did Intu-Flow movements between exercises, doing the movements that applied to the joints I felt were being stressed the most.

Here's some eye candy for you:)

Sunday and Monday Training...

I have been training everyday, just not blogging it...kinda busy with some stuff;) Here's my training for Sunday and Monday:

Sunday:
30 x Handstand Pushups
40 x Ring L-Pullups
50 x 24kg Swings
60 x Situps
70 x Pushups
70 x Squats
All done for time...but I forgot to look at the stopwatch when I finished. I think it still might be running...

Monday:
AM - Row 3k, Run 1 Mile
PM - Bouldering at NJ Rock Gym. Samantha completed her project from two weeks ago. She's small, and the problem was really reachy, so she had to figure out ways to make it work for her. She completed it at the end of the night, when she was extremely fatigued. Great job:)
I found a new project to work on...a V5 crimpy, power, pumpy, beautiful problem. I think my fatigue played a huge roll in me not completing it, but next time its getting ticked off the list for sure.

GYM ANIMUS IS OFFICIAL

Gym Animus is now up and running! We are still fine tuning and adding some more content, but the site is up and very functional. Please visit www.gymanimus.com. The blog will soon be only on www.gymanimus.com as well as the daily workouts. Some articles are on their way. As of now, my contact will be email using andy@gymanimus.com. Thanks for checking it out. Drop me email and let me know what you think.

Still Training...

Sunday:
Crossfit's "Fran"- 95lb Thruster and Pullups - 21-15-9 reps of each for time. 12:21

Monday:
Morning: 5k Row: 21:43
Evening:
Row 1000m warm-up
Snatch Grip Deadlift
135/5
225/5
245/5
265/5
275/4
315/4

Pullups
5 x (1,2,3)

Renegade Row
50lbs/3 x 5/5

Back to the BLOG

Haven't posted in awhile, but I've been keeping up with my training. Here's what I did this past week:

MONDAY - Bouldering at NJ Rock Gym. A super-strong bouldering gym that really tests your technical and physical climbing skills.

TUESDAY - Crossfit's "Nate", a new "hero" workout that they posted last week. I was excited to try it because I went out and made rings for myself, and the workout uses rings.
4 ring pullups (I did them L-sit style)
4 ring dips
4 handstand pushups
8 32kg KB Swings
as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes
I got 8 rounds, swinging my 7th rep as the timer went off. The workout originally calls for 2 muscle ups instead of the pullups and dips, but because of the height of my basement ceiling where I have my pullup bar, the rings were hung pretty low, to allow room for the dips. This caused me to start the pullups from a dead hang L-sit position, not allowing the "kip" that I needed for the muscle up, hence the pullups and dips.

WEDNESDAY - Morning- 6500m row, split into two sessions, 2500m before and then 4000m after a PT session.
Afternoon- 3 rounds, 21-15-9 reps of: 225lb deadlift and ring pushups
I did the 45 reps of each in 13:21. Great workout, will definitely do it again.

A Pulling Day

I trained a client in the morning at the YMCA, and I had her on the rowing machine, so...

I rowed 3000m in 14:56.

It wasn't a furious pace by any means and I definitely could have done it faster. I had never really rowed before, and part of my workout was me trying to figure out the correct technique. I think I got it on some strokes and definitely not on others. Great training session though.

At night I went climbing at the gym. It's the first time I've been there in over a year. All the gymnastics-type exercises and the pullups that I do really helped me on the wall. The kettlebells helped me to "relax under tension" and be more movement efficient, like in a long snatch session. I really only got pumped a few times, and I definitely surprised myself with my bouldering skills. I flashed a bunch of V4's, which isn't bad at all for not climbing for a year...

Kettlebell Triathlon and Snatching

On Tuesday I did a nice workout with the 24kg. I couldn't decide which exercise to focus on, so I did them all, triathlon style. All with the 24kg:

Long Cycle C+J/ 6 minutes, hand switch every 5 reps, @ 8 RPM

Rest 2:00

Snatch/ 6 minutes, Hand switch every 10 reps, @ 10 RPM

Rest 2:00

One Arm Jerk/ 6 minutes, hand switch every 5 reps, @ 10 RPM

P-Bar Pushups/ 3 x 10


Cool workout and really fun. The snatches were the hardest part I think. The pace was the "fastest" and the rest was always in the top position, never in the rack, where it's easy to relax. I will probably do this workout again sometime soon.

Yesterday I did some Olympic Lifting with Dustin again. We both did some snatching, trying to work on our technique. I think by the end of yesterday, we have a pretty good base to start from, although I'm sure both of us have a TON of work to do.

Barbell Snatch
20kg/8
30kg/5 x 2
40kg/4 x 2
50kg/1 x 2

Bench Press
225lbs/1
245lbs/1
260lbs/1
270lbs/1

Dynamic Pushup
/8 x 2
Feet On Box/5 x 3

The snatches were awesome. It's a great movement overall, with a nice overhead squat built right in. The hardest part is locking yourself into the overhead squat once you get under the bar. I lost the bar on a few attempts, and dumping it was an awesome feeling...
The bench press was a 1RM attempt for me. Dustin was curious, because he hadn't maxed in awhile. When he was done I got curious because I never bench press...ever.
I don't think a 270 pound max is too bad...
The dynamic pushups were done with two bumper plates stacked on the outside of my hands, in a fairly narrow position. You do a pushup, explode up onto the plates, and then do another pushup. Walk your hands back down into the starting position and do another rep. The "feet up" version was done with our feet raised onto a 12 inch ply-box.