Putting the Time In

When you train for the long stuff, it's about getting time in on your feet.  Anything you can do to increase that time, no matter how small, helps.

I was once told by a veteran adventure racer (Eco Challenge, Raid Gauloises...) that the trick to going long is to spend as much time on your feet as possible.  Get your body adapted to it.  Stand whenever you can, walk whenever you can and simply adapt to being on the move.

Today's run is a small one, but it's part of a larger puzzle, the one that will take me through what will most likely be the longest run I've ever done.

Strength as a Practice

Little efforts, stacked back to back will add up to a large return.  If you are a musician, the time you spend practicing pays off.  First you get the basic notes down, then you get the timing, then you work on the expression.

Lifting can be very similar to practicing an instrument.  Neglect the practice and you will not sound very good.  Or in this case, strength would be the music you are playing and your weakness (or not) simply a sign of how much work you have put into the practice.

Pick 3 to 5 movements and learn them over the next few months.  Practice them.  Look at your training session as a way to move the weight more efficiently.  Treat your strength and conditioning sessions as practice sessions.  Wave load the weights (lift moderately heavy), and don't worry about a specific number.  Some workouts will be tougher than others, and some you will wonder where your strength came from.

I would recommend the following 5 movements types:

• Deadlift (any variant)
• Squat (any variant)
• Press (bench, log, shoulder)
• Explosive movement (kettlebell snatch, power clean, atlas stone)
• Bodyweight movement (pull-up, leg raise)

Practice these movements at every workout.  Do 2 sets of 5 reps for each movement.  That's it.  Do this for 2 to 3 months and come back playing some awesome strength music.  

This approach is directly inspired by the "Easy Strength" book written by Pavel and Dan John.  Well worth the read.  I've done the program and saw a huge jump in my weighted pull-up strength.  Might be time to do it again!

So practice.  Make noise.  Clang weights.  Get strong.

Get Your Kids Moving!

It's not always about "Me Time" when it comes to lifting and training.  If you train out of your garage, make it a point to include your kids now and then.  You have an opportunity to connect with them and to instill a sense of fun with training.

How should you start?

First, don't make training an event.  Don't make it a big deal.  It's just something you do.  It's what all humans do (right?).  Apart from digging into the socio-economic reasons why we need physical training to augment an otherwise sedentary existence, let's assume for now that training and physical activity is simply something we all need to do, like drinking water and using the toilet, if you miss doing either, bad things happen.  Hell, Socrates knew it was the right thing to do, and he didn't even have the internet.

Second, remove the idea that some forms of physical movement are punishment.  Burpees and running are often used by coaches to punish players that aren't paying attention.  Maybe that's not a bad thing, but now these guys think running is for when you've done something bad.  There's a reason so many people hate running.

Third, make it fun, at your own expense. This week's video is of my nephew (also a dad) pushing a couple of noisy kids down the sidewalk.  The prowler wasn't on the whiteboard today, but it was on the list of todo's for the kids, because this is not the first time they've been on the "sled".  It's fun and whoever is pushing is getting a crazy hard workout.

Getting your kids involved with training is a great way to connect with them and to help instill a lifelong love of physical culture.

Here are a couple final tips for training with your kids:

1. Keep it safe.  Keep it light and body-weight oriented.  Push-ups, plank-hold contests, pull-ups and broad jumps are fun ways that will tax your kids stamina, get them stronger, and keep it relatively safe.
2. Keep your own training expectations low.  Don't expect to do a full set of Smolov squats if your kids are around.  Don't expect to be able to focus on your deadlift when one of your progeny is yelling: "GO MR. MUSCLES! GO MR. MUSCLES" a few inches from your face.
3. Set aside time just to train with your kids.  Make it a weekly thing.  At least twice a week will make an impact.  Today's schools have such a minimal emphasis on physical education that they're lucky to get more than one day a week of "play-with-the-parachute"

That's it for this Sunday.  Hopefully your training is going well.  Next week I will talk about setting up your garage with the basics and how to get the most out of your space.

Making Gains While Sick

Yeah, making gains while sick... it doesn't really happen.

Wednesday night, I picked up a cold from one of my kids.  Hit me hard on Thursday.  In bed all day, and even walking down the hall to get water was an effort.  Friday morning I was able to function enough to open the garage gym to train a couple clients.  Still no workout for me though.

Saturday I was able to do some bench press and move relatively heavy weights a few times.  Had to flip the switch from groggy to THE GROG, and was able to hit a near PR weight (10lbs shy).

What helped me the most (besides this AWESOME woman I am married to) was sleeping when I needed to sleep.  For single parents that don't have options, I don't know how you guys do it.  Here is my best advice: Rest and recover when your body asks for it, eat good solid foods that are nutrient rich.   Don't be a hero thinking that you just need to suck it up.  Actually you do need to suck it up, but not when you're trying to recover as fast as possible.  Asking your body to build strength, fight off a virus, and raise kids at the same time doesn't work.  You make yourself weaker.

Don't get weaker.  Rest, drink water, eat right.

Today's Strong Sunday workout:

• Log Press 5-3-1
• Yoke walk: 
• 100 feet x heavy, heavier
• 200 feet for 50% of target weight
• 300 feet same weight.