Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Burning off the holiday excess!

Got on the scale first thing this morning and I was down to 176.8. Only 48 hours before that I weighed 182.6. So in that time I went back to my regular eating habits and did an intense 21 minute tabata and dropped 5.8 pounds. I would guess much of my added weight was water and just excess garbage hanging around waiting to be burned off. So as easy as I put it on, I took it back off. I was never really concerned.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Getting Primed!

I did an intense 21 minute tabata to get back on track yesterday during my lunch hour at work consisting mostly of jumping rope, air squats, ab roller and spinning the Bulgarian Training Bag. I felt pretty good considering it was my first day back at the gym in a while. I was all set to do another lunch workout when I realized I had a chiropractor appointment during my lunch hour today so I will take today off and tomorrow morning do my kettlebell/burpee workout. I was pleased this morning when I got on the scale and weighed 179.8. It was a nice one day drop. It is amazing how easy it is to lose when you drop the bad holiday eating and go right back to a regular healthy routine.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Back From Christmas Break

Spent Christmas week visiting the in-laws in New York and New Jersey. It was a fun eventful week but exhausting. It is nice to be back home before the new year.

New additions to my exercise arsenal from Christmas include a Garmin 405 GPS watch which I will review here in a week or so and some Brooks running clothes for the colder weather.

I plan on doing more running in 2010 and want to compete in the 2010 Charlotte Grand Prix Series put on by Run For Your Life. It is a series of 9 short races where you accumulate points for each race based on where you finish in relation to the fastest runner. They have cash and prizes for the overall winners and the top winners in each age bracket. I thought I would give it a go in the 40-44 category. If I actually do more running to train this year I am thinking I could be quite competitive. The Garmin 405 watch and the new running clothes should provide me with some good motivation.

My diet went into the hopper while I was up north. I got on the scale this morning and weighed 182.6. I haven't been over 180 pounds since early last year. I was fairly good as far as meals but went crazy on the desserts - cheese cakes, chocolate mousse cake, moose munch and other assorted goodies containing lots of sugar, chocolate and caramel. It has been non-stop since Christmas eve dinner.

I did not exercise since December 17th other than trying out my sister-in-law's Total Gym 14000 with a few brief exercises. That version of the Total Gym is a top of the line solid home version. I am not an advocate of spending lots of money on expensive gym equipment but I have to say it is a great way to work the entire body. I will talk more about it in another post.

So here it is the 28th and I have lots of work to do to get back in shape. Time to go burn some fat and build some muscle in the the gym.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The Power Runner Machine


My boss told me about his gym, The Fitness Factory over in Plaza Midwood in Charlotte, NC, and a machine they have there called the power runner.  Looks like a pretty great machine to improve power and speed.  Wish I had one of those!  At $1732 plus shipping I will use my hypervest as a poor man's version.  Maybe one weekend I may head over to the Fitness Factory and try it out.  The picture above is courtesy of BodyBuilderFitness.com

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Progress!

I had to do a quick workout this morning as I had to get to an early dentist appointment so I did a ten minute jumping routine on my mini-trampoline. Whenever I am pressed for time, the mini-trampoline is a great way to get moving. I will run in place, do jumping jacks, jump and kick, jump and punch, perform jump squats and jump side to side just to name a few things.

After ten minutes of jumping I was warm and ready to do my Pistol routine. I started with doing my usual descent first on my right leg and rolling back and coming up on both legs. After ten on my right leg I felt ready to try to roll up back on just one leg. I have tried to do this in the past but never was able to do it without collapsing back down on my back. With my right leg, I did it on my second try and then did three more to make sure it wasn't a fluke. This boosted my confidence - I was making real progress. It felt great!

Next I did ten on my weaker left leg rolling up on both legs. Then the moment of truth - rolling back up on my left leg. My first two attempts were unsuccessful. Back on my butt I landed. For my third try, I got all psyched up and did it! It wasn't pretty but I got it done. I tried it again and failed but then did two more successfully. With my left leg it requires more focus on getting the momentum to rise. I expected my left leg to be weaker so I am still very pleased with the progress.

I think at this point I will roll up only on one leg for my routine as I think I have graduated from both legs. I will work on getting it smooth and easy as I was doing on two legs. Once I am fluid at descending and rising on only one leg, I will try to roll back and hold the bottom position which I think will be my biggest challenge. I am going to also practice just holding myself in that bottom position either holding a weight or just holding onto something to keep me balanced. This feels good and I want to keep the momentum going.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Countdown To My Black Belt Test....

My Tae Kwon Do (TKD) 1st Degree Black Belt test is finally here this Saturday at Karate Charlotte. I have been learning (TKD) now for over 2 1/2 years and can't believe that I am finally ready for the big test. It will consist of a 2 mile warm-up run, two board breaks (a run jump side kick and a back elbow) as well as sparring and my 50 step form called POWER. I don't consider myself a great martial artist but I feel I have benefited from the training. My flexibility has improved through the training but I still don't feel I am as flexible as I should be but overall I am happy with the results.

My workouts this week will focus on keeping myself as ready as possible for the test and will do lots of punching and kicking to prepare in these final days. Today during lunch I put on my 10 pound hypervest on and I brought my Spri resistance tubes and did some resistance kicks and punches and worked on my pistols. I also threw in some side shuffles in middle stance with the resistance tubes and did some burpees and some work on the speed rope to get my heart rate up. I rotated among the exercises with very little rest break and worked up a pretty intense sweat by the time I was done. I always feel great after my workout using those tubes and the vest.

As a side note, I think I have the down movement of the pistol accomplished. It is holding at the bottom is where my trouble is and I know I don't have the strength to push back up either. I will now work on balance and control at the bottom of the movement and also working on getting back to starting position and will keep performing the down movement. It actually helped using the hypervest for my first 5 reps and then doing the other 5 reps sans the vest. I am still happy with my progress with the pistols and will keep pushing forward. I will get this yet - even it takes me a few months! I remember the first time I learned how to do spinning kicks and how I could hardly spin and lift my leg to kick. I looked like a total klutz. Now they are easy and use them in sparring. It just took some time and practice. These pistols seem even more daunting to me than the spin kicks but I am confident that I will get there.

Pistol Update - Still Struggling But Not Giving Up

Everyday for the past week, excluding Thursday, I worked on the lowering movement of the Pistol and then rolling back and coming up on both feet. I notice I can lower myself much slower and controlled now but near the bottom I just collapse and roll back mainly due to not being able to balance on one foot. I have also started practicing holding the bottom position separately. This will likely be my biggest issue as it takes everything to try to balance on the bottom but just cannot do it yet on one foot without holding onto something. I wonder if a career of sitting at a desk has ruined my posture in a way so that I will not ever be able to balance like that.

Regardless, I will keep practicing each day and not give up at least for now. I do feel I am improving each day but if I get to a point where I no longer see any gains I will call it quits and maybe try to master the one-armed push-up. I now do 10 reps on each leg for the pistol once a day on the way down. I am no longer doing sets but may do a few reps in the morning and a few in the evening each day.

Starting in your forties to do these little feats of strength is not easy but I will keep plugging away!

Monday, November 30, 2009

4 Minute Workout for $14,615

A while back I saw an ad in the back of magazine (I think it was Forbes) while I was skimming it in a waiting room.  The ad boasted this machine that looks something like a metal version of Santa's sleigh and was called the ROM.  This machine, as the ad read, would give you a complete full body workout in just 4 minutes a day and the cost was a whopping $14,615!  Now I know there are some expensive gym machines on the market but this one is out in the stratosphere.  On the ROM's website they actually defend the price.  They are perhaps going after the wealthy readers of Forbes who have no problem throwing $14,615 at an exercise machine if it will save them time.  For myself, I find the price quite ludicrous.

To be fair, I haven't tried the machine and it may in fact provide an excellent 4 minute workout.  I do believe that you can get a great workout in 4 minutes as it has been proven with the tabata.  A tabata is 4 minute workout where you perform high intensity work for 20 second segments and rest for 10 seconds so in a 4 minute period you will have done 8 high intensity segments and 8 rest segments.  If that sounds easy to you, buy a jump rope and a Gymboss Interval Timer and jump as fast as you can for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds and repeat this process seven more times.  I highly recommend the Gymboss Interval Timer as it lets you program dual intervals and beeps and/or vibrates after each segment.  Other great exercises for tabata are kettlebell swings, thrusters, burpees, and sprints (running or on a stationary bike).  Be forewarned, if you are not used to doing intense exercise you may have to work up to the 4 minutes.  It is not as easy as it may sound.  If you are not breathing heavily after the four minutes you probably did not work hard enough.  Using a heart rate monitor can help you see exactly how hard you are working. Do this workout 5 days a week for 6 weeks and you should see some great results.  Even if your results are only half as good as the $16,415 contraption, you just saved yourself quite a bit of money getting in shape.

For more in depth information about tabatas click here.



Buy the Gymboss Interval Timer

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Getting Better

Feeling better today.  Luckily I never felt bad enough to miss a day of work.  All that is left to get rid of is an annoying cough that started today.  I am going to the mountains of western North Carolina and may do some hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains with my son or I just may take it easy and pig out.  A few days off from intense exercise should be good for me.  I will return this Saturday and will re-start my pistol program.  In the meantime. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Sick Again...

It is a rare day when I don't feel well enough to exercise.  This is one of those rare days.  Feeling weak, sniffly and my eyes are burning when I look at the computer screen.  I think I will get home and get to bed early.  I hope this passes quickly.   One of these days I will get back to that pistol routine!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Pistols Update...

This weekend would have been days 2 and 3 of my pistol training but yesterday, Saturday,  I woke up extremely sore in both my legs especially my quads and every stabilizer muscle around my knee.  I decided to give it another day or so before getting back.  Saturday, I went to my karate class but did nothing else.  Today, Sunday, I am feeling a bit worn out so I thought it would be best to rest and start the week fresh. 

I guess it just goes to show how intense single leg squats are compared to normal squats.

Friday, November 20, 2009

The Road To My First Pistol - Day 1

I did my first day of pistol training at my company gym by performing 3 sets of ten on each leg of the eccentric portion of the pistol (squatting to the floor) and then doing a deck roll back on to both of my feet.  My second set for each leg I used a 15 pound dumbbell in my hands.  This added some stability but I am nowhere close to controlling the movement all the way down.  I can lower myself without crashing hard on my back and butt, but I do not have the balance, stability, flexibility or strength to get more than halfway down as I slowly fall backward on my butt and back.

Tomorrow will be the same workout.  We'll see how my legs adapt.  One of the positives from this workout is that I am losing the fear of falling backward while lowering myself on one leg.  It is a tiny victory but a victory nevertheless.  It would have been completely disappointing to not have been able to perform the movement.

I will be ecstatic when I could do just one pistol after 15-20 days but will give myself as much time as I need to achieve my goal.  It looks like I am not as young as John Sifferman whose blog post I am using to accomplish this goal so I will give myself more time than he needed which was only 11-12 days.  Less than two weeks does not seem realistic to me but who knows.  I will follow his plan to a tee and if it takes me longer - so be it. 

The Pistol

The single leg squat or "the pistol" as it is called is one of those exercises that most people struggle to perform including yours truly.  It is a true test of balance, strength, and flexibility.  If you are weak in any of those areas - I am sure I fall short in all three - your muscles will immediately give you the vote of no confidence and you will find yourself on your back or your butt crawling off the floor.

I have tried a few methods but never committed to a daily routine to actually master the pistol.  In the articles and demos that I have tried no method seemed to have a logical daily progression that would work for me until today when I found this article in John Sifferman's blog.

What I like best about John's method is that I am starting where he started.  His post includes a video and and he writes how he progressed with daily practice from where I am today - I can lower myself on one leg to a certain point and then I collapse down to my butt and onto my back -  to twelve days later where he can now perform the pistol - and more than just one repetition!  I am going to give this a my best effort every day and track my progress here in my blog.  It should be fun.  I will be away during Thanksgiving and since this only requires my body and no extra equipment I can practice this anywhere anytime.

Monday, November 16, 2009

5.5+ Mile Trail Run At Renaissance Park

You have to love the weather in Charlotte, NC in the Fall. Today it was in the 40s when I took my son to the bus stop at around 6:40am but by lunchtime it was in the low 70s and sunny with humidity in the mid-50s. They say Charlotte is one of those places where you can actually run an Air Conditioner and a Heater in the same day.

It was so beautiful out that we did the 5.5+ mile. Felt good but started getting a bit tired towards the end - perhaps it was the kettlebell snatch workout I did in the AM before work...

24KB Kettlebell
Reps 12-10-8-6-4-2
Snatches each arm and dips

Not a bad way to start the week! Feels great!

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Running My First 5K In Vibram Five Fingers

The day of the Matthews 5K finally arrived. It is my first 5K since July 24th and my first wearing my Vibram Five Fingers KSOs. I had slowly built up mileage on them over the past couple of months and felt confident I was ready to wear them to race. At this point going back to regular running shoes is not an option and my only other option would be to wear my Puma H Streets however with those I have to wear socks and I end up with some blisters. The plus side of wearing the Five Fingers was no socks and no apparent blisters. To be fair it was in the 50s when I ran today and not in the 80s-90s which is usually when I get blisters so the jury is still out on the blister factor. I wanted to get a few more road runs in before this race but it just wasn't happening.

The race only had 57 participants. The July 4th race back in 2008 at the same Matthews location drew almost triple that number. I am thinking perhaps the recession and other local competing races were reasons for the low attendance. With that said it was easy to get near the front at the starting line. In the first minute or two I was actually keeping pace with the leaders. We turned a couple of corners and the distance between myself and the leaders(only four or five guys) started widening. Three guys passed me early as the gap was widening. Two of them looked like they were around my age so I knew I had to keep a strong pace to stay in the top three in my age bracket. The front runners looked much younger than me so I was not concerned. The other guy that passed me was pushing one of those baby buggies and keeping a heck of a pace but luckily he too looked younger than me. This race used 10 year age groups so I was in the 40-49 which is extremely competitive even in a small race. I ended up passing one person, a 14 year old, somewhere in the first mile. In the second mile a tall guy with blonde hair passed me. He looked younger so again I was not too concerned.

I remained close behind the blonde guy when we came to the crucial part of the race - the big long downhill into the big long uphill which comes just before mile marker 2. I conserved lots of energy on the downhill and was getting ready for the uphill when I noticed Blonde Boy was not moving that quickly up the hill. I thought I would give it a go at speeding up and passing him. I tend to enjoy running up hills so I slowly kicked it into gear. For a few seconds I was neck and neck with Blondie and when he didn't seem to be accelerating I turned on the juice and regained my lead. He was not able to catch me after that.

After that there was nobody to pace with as the distance between myself and those in front of me had grown quite wide. Two of the guys in front of me were within eye shot but I knew it would take a major sprint to catch them and not knowing the course that well I was not sure how much of the race was left so I conserved for most of the last mile. Another factor in the last mile was knowing where to turn. The course was not well marked and I was thrown off a couple of times. The police were not very helpful about directing the runners either. Twice I had to ask which way to turn as I approached corners. One runner I spoke with after the race missed a turn. During the race, a police man told me I had made a right turn down the wrong street. Some turn markers would have been nice. The street I turned down ran parallel to the correct street but the confusion certainly didn't help my time.

I hope to run the 5K at the Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon in December. Overall my time of 22:52 was good for a ninth place finish overall and 3rd in my age group so I'll take it and start training for my next race.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Powerbocking


I stumbled onto these through a link on Inov-8. I have not seen these in the U.S. yet possibly due to the cost which is upwards of $269. It is described as a portable trampoline/pogo stick and it enables you to run 20 mph and stride 9 feet and jump high and do pretty neat tricks. Rather than explain, here is a great article courtesy of gizmag.com.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Mud Race Update

Here is an event coming up for those looking for a mud race challenge. THE WARRIOR DASH They are holding these all over the country and you enter as an individual. The challenges on the site look pretty cool. The one I will be attending will be in the Southeast in Mountain City, Georgia on May 22, 2010.

My next event with be the Matthews 5k at Stumptown Park on November 7th.

Friday, October 23, 2009

My Aching Feet!

After 3 runs on the road under my belt in 10 days with my Vibram Five Fingers, I thought I would try running my favorite trail in Renaissance Park which is just under 3 miles. My longest run was this past Tuesday which was just shy of 2 miles so I figured a run on dirt with under 3 miles shouldn't be too bad.

I went out to the park with my friend Terry from work and let him take the lead on the single track as I figured I would be slower having to watch out for anything that stuck up out of the ground. My first challenge was gravel which was painful but not excruciating. Other challenges were roots and the fallen leaves that hid acorns and other matter. My cardio was fine but towards the middle of the run I was cringing at ever bad step. By the time it was over, my feet hurt and still hurt today but I can walk just fine but I am reminded with each step. The road runs were actually way less painless. The good news is that the pain is just soreness in my feet and not much else so a day or so of healing and I can try it again.

I dread doing the run again next week but I have read in this article that the more you run barefoot (technically I am not barefoot but I am as close as I can be in those Vibram shoes) the more your feet toughen up. It should only get easier. This run was definitely the most painful thing I have ever put my feet through but if it makes them stronger and makes me a better runner I will keep doing it.

On another note, my co-workers had a good laugh at my expense over my Vibram Five Fingers. I am used to their ribbing as most of the things I do are rather unconventional. I am sure they think I am a nut (and perhaps I am) but I truly believe the evidence of how barefoot running is better for you that I just don't care what they think. I was never very comfortable in running shoes so this feels right in my mind.

My goal is to run the 5K in Matthews in my Five Fingers on November 7th. With a couple more weeks to go and at least 4-5 more runs I should be more than ready. I will have more updates leading to the event.

Friday, October 16, 2009

The Hypervest

I have been asked about my weight vest by some people at my karate class so I thought I would do a quick review. I bought the medium 10 pound hypervest from HyperWear.com as a birthday present to myself back in early September. I have used it in my karate classes and use it in my workouts and have recently started running with it. So far I am quite pleased and I am starting to notice greater leg strength. It is easy to put on and take off and it fits me perfectly. I like that it can be hidden under a tee shirt or my karate uniform. The best feature to me and the reason I bought it is that it does not bounce on my shoulder like other vests when I run and I still have a full range of motion. It also seems to dry very fast after I sweat in it and hang it up.

The only negative thing I have to say about it is that adding and removing those little weights. I doubt I will be doing that very often but I do want to wash it every now and then. The model I bought had five pounds preloaded and I had to manually add the additional five pounds of little weights. Using the installation tool that was supplied was not as easy as they made it look in their video - perhaps due to the newness of the vest. Maybe it will get easier to add and remove the weights now that it is broken in. I will post an update when I finally wash it. By no means is this a deal breaker for me. The pros definitely outweigh the cons and I highly recommend this vest if you want to add an extra challenge to your workouts.

If you want to buy one, please use the link below and type in hyper3 as the coupon code to get a 3% discount...

HyperWear.com

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Running Journal - Days 1 and 2

I decided to run in the Matthews Rotary Club 5K on November 7th. I plan to run this race in my Vibram Five Finger KSOs. I have been wearing them regularly for about a month now and I have gotten used to them. They feel more like a glove on my foot than a shoe. Yesterday morning I took them out for my first run. I decided I would do about 8 minutes for starters. I am going to slowly adapt my feet to to the 5k distance. I also wore my 10 lb. hypervest to add an extra challenge to the short run. I felt good but my thumb toe on my left foot was bugging me but not enough to stop. This morning, it was raining and about 56 degrees and after warming up in my garage I decided to to do a mile with my Five Fingers and weight vest again. The good news is that I am not sore at all today and my feet feel fine. The run went well. I enjoying the coolness of the light rain as I ran. I felt more stable in the Five Fingers on the wet pavement then I probably would have in regular running shoes. I did the route from my driveway to the exit of my community and back (slightly over 1 mile) in 9:54:92. Tommorow, I will do the run without the vest and see how I fare.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Friday Lunch Workout 10-9-2009

Maybe it is the weather (rather overcast and gloomy) or maybe the fact that my diet has been less than perfect but this week's Friday workout which was identical to the workout last Friday, October 2nd was rather lackluster. My Airdyne bike number was 3.10 which was .10 less than last week. Not a major deal. My overall time was 42 minutes and 10 seconds which trailed last week time of 41:37 by 33 seconds. Also not a major deal but from a psychological standpoint I like improving each week.

So what was different this week? One big change was I split up the 30 and 25 rep segments into smaller segments in the 3rd and 4th rounds and resting briefing in between each segment. That rest time probably made the difference as I did feel solid during the exercises. On the bike I didn't push hard where I should have. I needed to keep my RPMs around 5000 and in my last 2 minute round I was struggling to crank out 3000 RPM at certain points. I started my first round strong but things diminished afterwards. I am thinking the strong start may have made helped wear me out sooner.

Nevertheless, there is always next Friday and I am determined to beat 41:37!

Friday, October 2, 2009

Friday Lunch Workout - 10/2/2009

My original plan was to do an intense 25 minute tabata during my lunch hour at work today when I realized I forgot my handy gymboss interval timer. Instead, I created my own workout - a sort of crossfit style workout and used my watch to time myself...

4 rounds of....

2 minutes on the AirDyne Bike - Yes we actually have one in our gym
30 spins right with the Bulgarian Training Bag (BTB)
30 spins left with the BTB
25 Box Jumps (using a Reebok Step with many boosters)
25 thrusters with the BTB
10 burpees

After the 4 rounds I ended with 2 minutes on the bike for a total of 10 minutes on the airdyne. It took me 41:37. The first two rounds I wore my 10 pound medium size HyperWear Weight Vest. The last two I did without the vest as I needed more energy to get through the workout which was kicking my butt. The bike odometer read 3.20 when I was done. I will try to beat that number next time. I also kept losing my grip on the BTB doing the second set of swings on the last couple of rounds.

It was the thrusters and burpees that really knocked me out. My last set of thrusters I had to split into two sets with a small break in the middle and I had to break my momemtum on burpees on the last few sets to get to 10. So all in all there are plenty of areas to improve.

I think I may make it my regular Friday workout.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Labor Day Weekend

I have always loved Labor Day weekend. My birthday, September 2nd, usually falls on or near it so we usually celebrate it over the long weekend. This year it fell on the Wednesday before the weekend. Labor Day weekend is also the first 3 day weekend after the long summer here in Charlotte, NC where the weather is getting a bit cooler - at least in the morning and the evening.

This Labor Day weekend lived up to my expectations. I did my usual karate class on Saturday, tried a really good Cuban Restaurant, Carlos Cafe, down in Rock Hill, SC and later that day my wife and I bought my son Jack his early 8th birthday present - a new 20 inch mountain bike.

Sunday, Jack was up early dragging my wife and I out of bed to go bike riding. We hit the McMullen Creek Greenway by about 9:30am over in Pineville and rode the length of it and back. I was impressed my son handled the route with no complaining at all about being tired. He loved every second and wants to do it every weekend.

Monday was the best of all. Our handyman came by and installed my ceiling mounted pullup bar (I will have a review in an upcoming post). I did a short workout as my garage was starting to get really warm and then did some jumping on the trampoline with Jack.

This morning I got up, got Jack off to his school bus and came back home for one of my favorite workouts in my garage - after the typical crossfit warmup. The workout consists of single arm kettlebells swings and burpees (25 reps / 20 /15/ 10 / 5). I haven't been doing much kettlebell in the summer as my garage is too hot and the sweat and the kettlebells destroy my hands. It doesn't matter how much chalk I use, my hands get torn apart. Now the mornings are cooler it is back to the kettlebells. I used a 24kb for the swings and I have to say I forgot what a great heart pumping working switching between swings and burpees can be. So I banged out that workout in about 20+ minutes and then got my butt ready for work.

Stud Bar Pull Up Bar

Monday, August 31, 2009

Everything You Need To Know About Marine Mud Runs

I did another mud race this past Saturday with my friends over at John Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. We previously did one at Belmont Abbey College in Gastonia, NC back on August 1st. Mud races are growing in popularity as they offer the fitness crowd a challenging alternative to typical road races.

If you have never done a mud race, it is lots of fun as long as you are in reasonably good shape and don't mind getting dirty. By reasonably good shape I mean being capable of jogging for the better part of 5 miles and being fit enough to withstand some obstacles and challenges during the race. The challenges can vary from race to race but usually include pushups, wall or rope climbs, duck walks, low crawls, fireman carry a teammate, squats and lunges. If that is not enough, some of these challenges may have to be performed in a mud pit with Marines barking commands at you. My best advice is to be prepared for anything as the Marines are always looking for new ways to challenge you. The more functional your fitness level the easier it will be for you. It is a fun event for both men and women to test their fitness, practice some teamwork, get all muddy, and just have a great outdoor workout.

Most mud races are set up by Marine organizations or by former Marines. The proceeds from the events usually go to help the families of wounded or fallen Marines - so the races are for a great cause.

As for rules and requirements, some mud races require you to have a set number of team members while others are more flexible allowing varying team sizes. Teams can be all male, all female or any mix of both. In most cases, team categories are set by Student, Community, Commercial, Military, and Public Safety. Unlike typical running events, there are no age group or male/female categories. One of the rules is that teams must stay together throughout the race so it is important to find teammates of similar fitness and running pace if you plan to do the race competitively. Teams must also have matching uniforms and a team name. Some teams get very creative in these area. Some events offer prizes for the most creative team uniforms. For those less creative, it very easy to find inexpensive matching shorts and shirts for the event at Walmart if you are on a budget or just pressed for time.

The best gear that I would recommend for a mud run would be skin tight compression sprint or running shorts. I would advise against wearing baggy shorts or any shorts with deep pockets as they tend to get very heavy with mud which can be quite uncomfortable. Baggy clothes make for a tough time in the mud and after you leave the mud pit. As for shirts, any shirt with water wicking material works fine. The tighter the fit the better - think Under Armour or one of the less expensive competitive brands that you can find at Walmart or Target. As for footwear many wear regular running shoes but I would recommend a trail running shoe. Trail shoes are durable are made to deal with all kinds of terrain including mud, grass, roots and dirt and can be cleaned easily. I have a pair of Salomon trail shoes that I used for numerous trail runs and adventure races including the two mud runs this year and they are still in great shape.

As for other gear, some people recommend ear plugs as some races may have your head fully submerged in the mud and I have heard stories of spending over a week to get all of the mud out of their ears. There are usually enough water stations along the course to keep you hydrated and snack stations to replenish electrolytes after the race. I usually choose to bring my own small cooler with my own drinks and snacks. There are usually a few places to hose off after the race and I would recommend bringing a couple of towels and a change of clothes as well as a plastic bag to put your muddy clothes. In my two races I have not have any clothes ruined by the mud.

As I mentioned earlier, teams must stay together during the race and therefore it is a good idea to know the fitness level of your teammates and it would be an even better idea to train together as a team at least a few times before the event. Doing 3-5 miles runs and some functional exercise workouts will pay dividends on race day. The worst time to learn about your teammates shortcomings is on race day.

So get a team together, have some fun and get dirty. The next mud race near me is in Columbia, SC in mid-September.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Lunch Workout 8-21-2009

I tried doing my version of the Crossfit Death Row workout today - 12 minutes each round with 45 seconds full guns / 15 seconds rest with a two minute rest interval after each 12 minute round. Before Myrtle Beach I could do three 12 minute rounds but today felt like crap during the second round. I even had a small cramp in my side which never happens to me so after the 26 minutes I called it quits. I also didn't have any umpph to really pump the airdyne to rpms much higher than 7000-8000. On good days I can really crank it to 10000. Maybe it is because it is my first workout like this since early last week and it may be because I added more intense upper body but all I know is I did not feel my best. I have been stretching my calves alot and don't seems to have any more stiffness in the right calf that was bothering me.


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Thursday, August 20, 2009

Lunch Workout 8-20-2009

Did a 20 minute (40 interval) mostly core tabata using the ab wheel and the bulgarian training bag as well as the more traditional bodyweight ab exercises. I also threw in a few rounds of air squats and some bag spins and grip exercises as well. Felt pretty good today.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Lunch Workout 8-19-2009

My first day back from vacation and I thought I wouldn't push it too far so I did a 25 interval tabata. Tabatas consist of intervals of 20 seconds of hard work and 10 seconds of rest. It may sound easy enough but try doing your intervals on an Airdyne bike going full guns for the 20 seconds and you will get smoked very quickly. Ten seconds is not a whole lot of time to recover either.

For this workout I alternated 5 intervals on the Airdyne with 5 intervals of thrusters using the 26 pound Bulgarian Training Bag. I usually try to do 20 minutes worth (40 intervals) but being that it is my first day back I stopped at 25 intervals which is twelve and half minutes.

My Vacation Is Over - Time for a new blog

After six great days in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with friends and family I abruptly find myself sitting in my cubicle in a daze. I am still not fully awake as my body and mind are still used to the vacation schedule of sleeping from 2 am to 10 am.

I decided during my vacation that whenever I didn't feel like working I would write about stuff so I started this blog. So if you are bald, fit and over forty or just fall into one of those categories I promise I will cover useful topics you can relate to so stop back daily.