Hello Summer!

Yep. It's hot... we know. Drink more water, find shade, keep your cool, wear more deodorant, we'll all be fine.

Here's a fun little run/swim/bike/row workout for you. Pick ONE sport only.

4x  - 6 minutes all out effort and 2 minute recovery.

Warm up really well. Practice pulling drills and hopping on your forefoot. Your goal is to maintain form as long as possible. If your form falls apart, slow down/stop and fix it before continuing. Poor form is why we get hurt. Don't tolerate it!

Here's a fun gadget that makes these types of workouts easier: Gymboss. They put out a free iPhone app, but it's a pain to use and I hate sprinting with my iphone as I feel like crushing it when my lungs start burning.

Also, a metronome comes in really handy for pacing. I like to set one at like 184-186 bpm (92-93bpm/foot) and let that set the tempo for how my feet move. As long as your PULLING your feet and not skating, you'll appreciate it.

ANCESTRAL HEALTH SYMPOSIUM is coming to UCLA. It's all about evolutionary medicine. It's going to be interesting for sure. It is sold out from what I understand, but perhaps some of you have some sort of connections or leverage and can attend. I assume this will be well documented though, so we'll stay tuned.


** Addition: If you're looking for a tempo trainer for swimming: http://www.triathletesports.com/Finis-Tempo-Trainer-p/616323254619-15b4.htm  ... I've never tried this one though.. anyone have any experience?

Only if you're up to it..

This weekend..

If you spoil this for the on-ramp people. I'll make you do it twice consecutively. Not kidding.

Hard to kill, again!

Let's see if the frequency method helped anyone..

Workout:
Death By Pushups*

Rest

Then 5 sets at the max number with a 1 minute recovery.

*Protocol: Every minute, on the minute, add an additional pushups to be completed within the minute. So every minute there is one more pushup to do and a little less recovery. Make them count and keep them looking good. Be honest with yourself. Your score is the last round you SUCCESSFULLY completed; not the one you failed on. Don't sell yourself short, commit and go big.

Post your score and whether it was an improvement. Get sum!

Go Fast!

I feel like we should take advantage of the empty campus this week. Seems like a waste not to. Any ideas?


20 minute tabata:

Run, bike, swim, row for 20 minutes with 20 seconds ON and 10 seconds off..

Record total distance. Go fast, go hard, have fun!

Day off

So in case you weren't aware, there will be no training sessions tomorrow, Friday 6/10 because of graduation stuff going on. So go and have fun and enjoy yourselves. Do it!

Mobile Mobility and Frequency.

The site works on mobile devices. Not sure what that means. I clicked a button and now it's mobile. Yay!

So we have 4 days off after today. For some (me) this is a welcome break from exercise. I love taking days off from lifting heavy things to appreciate the strength gains I worked hard for in various recreational activities. I surf, swim, play volleyball, hoover ball, and whatever else sounds fun. being strong helps to say YES to any and every activity and it helps to then go do other things when you're done and not need a recuperation period. Anyone who snowboards or skis knows what I'm talking about. Rob, stay away from the basketball court, I suggest a new activity, like badminton. So go have fun!

For those who need something to do (perfectly understandable) you can do some mobility wods. Days off are perfect times to work on mobility since the joints are free to move unloaded. Check out http://www.mobilitywod.com/ and dig through the archives to find something that addresses what you think you may need work on.. I suggest hips on one day, shoulders on the next and knees & ankles on another day. It's good stuff and you'll be better having done it. Trust me.

For those that want a little something more. Let me introduce you to the frequency method. The frequency method is best done with calisthenic movements like pushups, situps, or pullups, where form and strength breakdown rather quickly but higher-volume sets can be done.

Here's the protocol:

Lets use pushups as our example.

Do ONE set of as many pushups as you can, with PERFECT form. No time limit.

Let's say you cranked out 20 PERFECT pushups and on 21 your core gave out and your hips dropped. So we'll use 20 as our baseline.

You then take 60% of your baseline, in our case that gives us 12.

So, throughout the duration of a full day, you do 5 sets of 60% of your baseline (12 pushups). So lets say you're awake for 15 hours, the every 3 hours, you drop down and crank out 12 PERFECT pushups. It shouldn't be hard since you can do 20, but over the 5 sets, the stress will slowly but surely creep into your muscles.

Here's the kicker: every week or two, add a pushups to your performing sets. So, maybe in 8-10 days you bump up to 13 pushups performed 5 times in a day. The idea here is that if your 60% increases, then your 100% should follow suit. It keeps growing.

You can honestly do this every day for the rest of your life and enjoy the gradual, yet long-lasting strength gains aquired from this. Many swear by this (myself included, along with millions of serving military personell) and you don't have much to lose. It's very safe and won't damage your joints like doing max sets over and over again might. I suggest mixing it up and doing pushups on one day, situps on another, and chinups or something else on the third and cycle those 3 for a few months and see where you're at. Either way, everyone will think you're a stud when in the middle of a workday, you regularly drop and crank out sets of perfect pushups.


So there's 3 different ideas of how to spend your weekend. Please keep us posted on your progressions and how your training goals are coming along.

Enjoy your weekends!

What Are You Training For?

It helps to have a MOTIVE in order to stay MOTIVATED to train. That means you should all figure out what you're training for. And NO, a shape doesn't count. Neither does looking good in a bikini or a dress. That's not what we do here. That's what you can do in your kitchen, not under the bar. And I'm not about to train someone who's reasons are nonsensical. I urge you all to find something you like competing in: golf, botche ball, darts, basketball, cage-fighting, alligator wrestling, BASE jumping.. whatever. Then transfer your daily training into those activities.

Just ask Paul Babbin about his experiences at the tough mudder race. He had to bear crawl, and wade through mud and crawl through pipes, jump over things, and even run occasionally. The first thing he tells me is how much HIS training hard has transferred into HIM being a better competitor. He didn't just "endure" the race, he PERFORMED. Well done Paul, and others who I didn't mention.

Here's something for you all to do this week:

20 minute AMRAP:
- SPRINT 200 meters (half lap)
- 20 Situps

Go fast, go hard, earn that sweat.



here's some reading for the nerds out there;

The barefoot running debate: Born to run, shoes & injury: the latest thinking

Why Shoes Make "Normal" Gait Impossible

It's Not That Hard, People  Evolution of the food pyramid.

FORGET THE FAT-BURN ZONE  This may be a repost, but I really like this one.

Enjoy!

Continuing continuation continuity.

The program will continue in perpetuity (fancy word from Aaron). As of right now, everything will stay the same until July 15th. At that point, it looks like you'll have to re-enroll. So stand by for further details. We'll give them to you as we get them.

Thanks

Translation: Stop emailing us with questions about it! We'll keep everyone posted.