Sprint Triathlon Update

I think you can see me shivering.

Well folks, I didn't drown!!!!

It was super cold and foggy race morning. Me, Rich and Kate arrived just in time to set our bikes in the transition area and prepare as best we could.  Kate made the very smart move in wearing a full wetsuit, Rich wore a tri suit and he lent me his light wetsuit top. I may have frozen to death had I only wore my skin and tight trunks as the water temp was 60 or so degrees and the air was slightly colder.

Last in the water but not last out, good enough for me.

                                                                           Rich and I did quite well coming in Fourth place in the male teams category and 14th overall, unfortunately that was out of 4 male teams. Our times per event were much better than our total time showed due to us not rushing during transitions. Rookie mistake.
Here's the breakdown.

My swim came in at 11+ minutes, Rich a low 8 and Kate right behind him by a few seconds.
Rich and Kate are both great swimmers and I am not so good. I actually swam out of the area and added a good 100 extra meters to my swim, woops.

My lovely wife Kate aka Killa Kate.

Biking was the event I knew I could make up some time. I pride myself in the fact that I could keep up with the guys riding $5,000+ bikes. My bobo $200 bike and I held our own and only 2 of those high end guys got past me. I came in at 22m, Rich also 22m and Kate 26m.
I caught and passed Kate by this point and waited for her so we could run together. Kate's partner Marrisa got called in to work and couldn't make it to the race so Kate was a little bummed (Marissa was too) and I wanted to run with her and just have fun.
Running together actually motivated both of us to run faster due to our competitive nature around each other. I came in at 12m, Kate 12+m and Rich 11+m.

That's not much sweat for me

Update- 11-1-11
I've been asked the distances by a few people and here they are. 375 meter swim, 6.25mile bike, 2.5k run.

Overall I couldn't be happier with the race results. I'll train harder next year and take gold or at least improve upon my current times by 10% in each, yes that's a lofty goal but I'll do it.
Thanks to my partner Rich Power for filling in for my original partner. He has a fight in a few weeks, check your local provider.

Genius-
Side note, I caught a bad stomach bug and was in severe pain for the last 24h after the race. Keep your mouth shut when swimming in the bay here in San Diego I guess.

Sprint Tri Training

I want this bike that can apparently ride on water.

Life is good folks. I have been pretty dedicated to training for the upcoming Fearless Races Sprint Triathlon and keeping all the fighters busy with strength training. Though there has been a slew of moderate to almost bad injuries keeping training interesting to say the least, I have adjusted every one's fitness routine to work around these pretty standard annoyances. Combat sports are hard on the body for those who don't understand why injury would be a part of training, it's an unfortunate side effect of elite level training in any sport, for that matter. Back to the point.

Training for a sprint tri- (sprint tri-s are roughly half the distance of a normal tri)
I trained for 8-10 weeks for this one and it should be noted this is my first sprint tri and/or triathlon for that matter. I may be one of the worlds worst swimmers and also have never been an endurance style athlete.

Week 1-
Assess your weaknesses. Swim 10 laps for time, bike 6 miles at least a 14mph average, run 2-3 miles in less then 8.5 minute miles. Not all on the same day necessarily, if you can do all these on the same day you're ready for your sprint tri, keep doing what your doing and take a nap.
I was very weak in the swimming and fine on the running and biking.

Weeks 2 through 6-
Start working on your weakest areas while doing "bricks" of your stronger areas. A "brick" is back to back of any of the 3 parts of your tri. I commonly brick bike + swim + bike or bike + run.
Don't over work, do a brick every 3 days and work your weakest area 2-3 days a week. Use of intervals in all areas actually helps gain stamina better then going longer, so mix them in.
- Biking 4-5 days a week easy pace with occasional intervals 4-9 miles a day.
- Swim 2-4 times a week for 30-40 minutes taking all the breaks I wanted.
- Walking 1-2 days a week 3-4 miles. If you run once a week walk twice and vice verse.
- Running 1-2 days 1-1.5 miles in a brick with biking 8 min miles.

Weeks 7 through 10-
All the same training as weeks 2-6 just turned up the speed and distance as much as possible.
- Biking 4-5 days a week easy pace with occasional intervals 8-12 miles a day.
- Swim 2-4 times a week for 30-40 minutes taking breaks only after 4 laps and for 10 secs or less.
- Walking 1-2 days a week 3-4 miles.
- Running 1-2 days 1.5 miles in a brick with biking 8 min miles.

I noticed biking got really easy just because I was doing it almost every day. Swimming gained slowly but I'm much better than I was, still not even close to a confident swimmer. I will let you all know how this training payed off, if I don't drown of course!

Genius-

Power + High Heart Rate Circuit

Circuits are fun and fun'ction'al.

I very rarely have my guys do the same exercises as each other on the same day let alone the same circuit. Last Friday that all changed. I started the morning with Cosmoe (7am) then Cyborg (9am) and Jake (10am). I wanted to get Cosmoe's heart rate up without doing boring cardio. My plan was to do complex power movements with speed and lower than usual weight with high repetition in a circuit. I made said circuit and Cosmoe made it look easy, like he does, but was sweating his ass off so I knew I had to keep it. None of these guys complained but I saw the look of "f-u you coach" in their eye's. It was so nice, I had to see it thrice! We will be doing these every Friday for the next 8 weeks.

Lateral step up and over. Do this w/o the smile and fast!

Warm up circuit:
3 rounds.
Lateral speed step up and over x 25
Bosu air squats slow and controlled x 8
Swiss ball push ups 3secs down and up x 8
1 min break-

Swing a dumbbell if no kettlebell is available.

Circuit of doom:
5 rounds.
Cable high low hop sweeps x 12 each side
Burpee with jump to pull up x 5-8 (jump high so you have a shorter pull up)
Dumbbell/kettlebell swing x 8-10
Barbell stop and go flat bench press

Give it a go , if you have any idea what any of these exercises are....Those who don't shouldn't do them without supervision anyway.
Genius-

The Lap Band Debacle

Let your new life Begin, Call 1-800-GET-THE-F*@#-OFF-THE-COUCH

Seriously?!?!
Living in LA, I saw 30 of these on my way to work every day. Notice the one in the background?
What kind of a world do we live in where you can fatten yourself up with irresponsible eating habits and then risk your life with surgery to slim back down. I'm sure the Lap-Band is less life threatening than liposuction and gastric bypass. I don't however think that any quick fix to a major problem is a positive thing, no matter the limited risks. Yes, obesity is a huge problem here in the States and is killing 112,000 people annually.....damn! Can we seriously stop playing the "it's genetic or glandular" game. I haven't been 7-11% body fat since becoming an adult but have been active while eating more or less healthy, that's genetic. I'm healthy and strong but don't look like the athlete I am. Some people will simply have to work less to achieve more, that's life not a reason to throw in the towel.

Matter of fact, the Lap-Band simply regulates the amount of food you can eat without pain. This means you could simply eat less and have the same results while beating the underlying physiological problem.

Lap band + suck it in + tanning = Healthy? NOPE!

     






You can't truly feel like you've changed unless you change your diet and get physically active. It's going to be hard but nothing worth having comes easy.

It really is that simple.
-Genius


Side story about me,
I recently changed my diet after gaining weight due to recovery from shoulder surgery. When I was able to workout again combined with the diet, I lost almost all the fat I had gained while putting on a good 10lbs of lean muscle. I was mildly depressed during the 8 months of healing and only being able to ride a stationary bike or go to physical therapy and took it out on my stomach. By controlling my diet and pushing myself in the gym, I got my mojo back. I'm continuing my quest to become the best overall athlete (in the WORLD) I can be and have the healthiest body to carry me to this goal. Keep working folks, nothing had easily is worth having!(similar quote above, I know)

Training Hard Pays Dividends.....?

There's a fine line between hard work and over worked.

The idea of hard work paying off is as American as apple pie. However, the idea of hard work in the gym needing to be "hard" may be a bit of a fallacy. Allow me to explain.
You must put in "work", hours on top of hours of practice is necessary to achieve any goal. I try and teach all my clients technique over volume or "quality over quantity". Training and performing at the level pro athletes do is by definition super human. The methods used to get them and  keep them pro athletes must, in my opinion, follow these broad guidelines:

1. Cause no injury due to: (A) Bad form (B) Fatigue (C)Lack of Knowledge

"I saw it on youtube so it must be good." Not so much.

(A)  The main thing to pay attention to is the lower back. Keep your butt out-chest out- chin neutral- shoulders back- low back with a slight curve inward- slight bend in the knees. ALWAYS!
(B)  You do need to push through barriers like fatigue, but not on technical lifts. Simply use less weight, explosiveness or risky movements and add reps or time once tired.
(C) "I saw it on youtube". This is fine for an educated trainer that understands the human body. I find more videos with horrible form online than with mediocre to good form.

2. Know your client:
 Know their strengths and weaknesses. If you notice toe drift or open scaps, these are huge issues in the con category and you should work on correction. Transversely, if you notice they are using a movement or exercise perfectly but too often, it may be time for a temporary change to promote growth.

3. Make them rest when it's time to rest:
 Sleep is more important than protein. When doing circuit training, sprint drills or tabata style training, upon completion of the round, the athlete should rest for a short period.

Look, you can work yourself to death if it makes you happy but, finding the point of maximum gain for minimum strain should be the goal of every Smart athlete, period.

                                                                           Genius-

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