Two Minute Tuesdays: Warm Up like you Workout

A bit late on the post, but the Youtube video did go up yesterday evening to be fair. Clearly the message here is that anything we do in the warm up should not counter act what you're teaching in the skill sections of class.  I like to hit my athletes intermittently with skill work and dynamic mobility focusing on the hamstrings and hips. Its even a really good idea to get your athletes returning to a couple pieces of skill work post Run WODs. This will ingrain good mechanics beginning to the end.

SD Wall Round Two

Well, another busy weekend and triathlon in the books, but with all that going on did you think I would forget about round two of our SD talks? Of course not. Before the start of the race today, I was telling Lindsay that I think the number one reason I race triathlons or compete for that matter is that I am able to turn it all off when I'm out on the course. It's an environment when things just change and you have however long the race or competition lasts to be in your own head.What current opportunities do you have to be in your own head? Have you thought about that?

Hope round two of the SD wall gives everyone a few new key points to keep moving forward on developing that vision. Check it out!

Perfecting Pacing

One of the most difficult things in endurance sports and life for that matter has to be pacing. There are only so many repeats in a workout, only so many miles in a race and only so man hours in a day. If you mess it up, it's over. Wait until the next workout, race or day to try again. Think about it like a car filled with premium gasoline. Yes premium, start thinking about yourself as a nice car not a broken down one. Confidence folks. Anyways, one of two bad things can happen when you pace wrong either theres too much left in the tank or you burn up your fuel and combust before getting to your destination - meaning in a 400m workout your third repeat goes from 1:20 to 1:35 or worse. Is it really that important to maintain consistency? Shouldn't you always run as hard as you can?

I try to explain pacing to my athletes right before every Endurance class when we're deciding on levels. It can be quite difficult to grasp especially when starting out. What I do know is that it takes experience and it takes "feel" from the athlete. I'll continue to express to my athletes that if their going outside the 3 - 5 second window they may as well shut it down. Either the technique is failing or their pacing was screwed up from the first repeat. Shutting down a workout doesn't make you a bad person. It actually means you're running smarter not harder. Learning experiences are key so that you don't repeat the same mistake the next time or worst case on race day. If we draw this back to life isn't it fair to say that people burn themselves out working too much? How about the flip side, those people who never seem to have any sort of drive in life and muddle their way through?

Perfecting pacing is done by...

1 - Practice ... How many times have you done 400m repeats? How about with people or by yourself or in a race?  There's always a difference in the environment whether its the weather or running with different people. When you can practice in all dimensions and constantly vary where and how you do things you can make adjustments. Depending on the athlete the next step would be to dial down the rest periods.

2 - Caring... Do you care that you completed 21 Thrusters and 21 Pullups in the first minute and half of Fran, but ended up with a total time of 8 flat? CrossFit, Life, Running - you name it they're activities that require pacing. To perfect it, you have to not only care, but practice. Recognize why your combusting or holding back. Make a change.

3 - Listening... How's your posture feeling? What about your cadence? Are you breathing heavy? Listen to the signs and symptoms of fatigue or mis-pacing just like you would when you get sick. When your training you're the only person out there whose getting the "real time" feedback. Pay attention as much as you do when that first cough or sniffle comes on. Mis-pacing is just like getting sick.

Isn't it cool that if you're doing these three things within your life you're probably a pretty awesome person too? Pace your workouts as you would anyone you come in contact with on the street. Practice, care and listen. It's that simple...

Great video from B Mack - this one's a classic on pacing!

Two Minute Tuesdays: Cadence is Critical

Growing up your track coaches most likely once said "pump your arms and stride out, stride out" when they wanted you to pick up the pace or go faster. Well it turns out they told you wrong folks. Pumping your arms just wastes energy with no benefit attached. Striding out? Well that'll probably leave you with an overuse injury or better yet, off your feet unable to make it to your starting line. No one wants to be sidelined or inefficient so that's where cadence becomes critical.

This week's two minute run technique video highlights the importance of cadence so that your utilizing maximum muscle elasticity and ground reaction force. There s no need for your muscles to be contracting the way they have been when you get tired! Pick those feet up. Be efficient.

Get that metronome folks. Just about as great of an investment as a lacrosse ball. Big thank you to Athlete Nahuel who debuts on the Less Miles blog tonight. This dude knows how to keep his cadence up! We'll keep you posted on his huge 5K race coming up on the fourth of July.

The SD Wall Begins

Yesterday evening, my girlfriend and I took a trip to Home Depot and scored the coolest paint ever, chalk board paint. Did you even knew that it existed? Ya I'm not kidding, paint a wall and a chalk board is formed. Lindsay has been pretty obsessed with getting some for a while so we finally pulled the trigger. I've been wanting to do some self development quick video with a CrossFit spin for a while and it seems the chalk board paints going to come up clutch because as of this morning the SD Wall is born. Our goal at CFHH and of the less miles blog is to provide perspective for athletes and coaches everywhere in doing so we all become awesomer. 

This weekend and along with the next few we'll be discussing the importance of defining a vision for not only your training, but your life. Too often folks speed thru this world without giving it a second thought. At the end of this three part series, my hope is to motivate each of you to create a compelling vision of who you want to be and why that's important. Realistic and inspiring plans will provide the framework for you to improve your health, training, and life...

Cancer Prevention: Reap the Mental and Physical Benefits of Fitness

It's a scary thing. Knowing that you can train consistently, eat right and do all the right things and still come down with a disease that can be life threatening. In this day and age typically folks follow certain lifestyle behaviors that lead them to an unfortunate condition such as heart disease or lung cancer. Lifestyle behaviors such as smoking cigarettes, chronically being sleep deprived, consistently remaining under stress or eating highly processed foods to name a few. But what happens when you do everything in your power to be healthy and you get news that you have cancer?

I've never personally been affected or had a family member diagnosed with cancer, but about 7 months ago one of our star athletes Shannon front desk extraordinaire came down with a rare form of cancer called synovial sarcoma: cancer of the soft tissue. It's a rare type that was found in her right leg. Thankfully after two knee surgeries the cancer growth had been completely removed. It only had to be about 3months after her surgeries that she was able to come back full force CrossFitting like a pro again.Quite impressive.

I think things like this can sometimes get lost in the shuffle. I mean how was she able to bounce back so quickly? Pure luck? I'm one of those people that believes the universe always balances itself out. If you treat people how you would want to be treated and work hard everything will work out. Not only does Shannon have an incredibly positive personality, but she was psychologically prepared to take on this challenge. Speaking with Shannon in depth about this she quoted "I couldn't have done it without my experience of pushing thru things in the box and the incredible community supporting me." In the early spring, our owners Dayna and Head Coach Craig launched a fundraising cook out at the Boardroom (local bar in Hilton Head) and the entire community came out. We can't fail to mention they both worked the bar that evening utilizing their many years of solid experience. It wasn't surprising the support and I say not surprising because I've been apart of CFHH for a long time now and that's the best part of this place. The strength in the community and people we have who walk thru our doors every day. It was enough strength to help Shannon pay all her hefty medical bills.

CrossFit Hilton Head makes you...
#1 Grateful - grateful for the community, people and supportive environment
#2 Confident - confident enough mentally that you can run your first 5K, achieve a body weight snatch, that first marathon or even beat cancer
#3 Most importantly Humble - humble for the fact that there will always be another challenge and if you work at it and want it you can get there. The last piece is when you get there you don't feel obligated to tell anyone, but yourself..

My experience with illness is limited, but what I do know is that those who have the most successful recoveries seem to be strongly associated with major mental, emotional or physical behavior changes. Some people get better by radical lifestyle changes and others by calling on their optimism and belief. You can't control an experience like cancer or a life threatening disease. All you can do is control the factors above and I strongly believe that CrossFit will make any person more prepared.

Check out thoughts from Melanie B, guest blogging today as she wrote a great article on the benefits of fitness during and after a diagnosis of any kind of cancer...

Cancer Patients Should Reap the Benefits of Fitness

Doctors are beginning to emphasize the importance of physical fitness in the recovery and quality of life of cancer patients. This growing trend is due to a number of studies that have found regular exercise to help improve appetite, mood levels, and energy levels in cancer patients.

While cancer patients may be reluctant to improve their physical fitness when they are still sick, the benefits are becoming increasingly clear. Some hospitals have even developed programs that can be tailored to fit the needs of the individual patient, depending upon their current level of physical fitness and where they are in their cancer treatment. Even patients with cancers like lung cancer and mesothelioma have seen results with tailored workout routines.

Sleep quality

Getting more fit can help you sleep better at night. Some of the medications or treatments you may be on could be negatively impacting your sleep quality. Regular exercise can help you sleep longer, deeper, and more continuously at night. This can help your recovery, since your body needs restful sleep in order to heal properly.

Energy levels

One of the the most common side effects of cancer treatment is fatigue. Studies are not showing that exercise can actually increase energy levels and therefore help combat fatigue in cancer patients.

It is important, however, to make sure that you do not overdo it. You want to engage in moderate, regular exercise and listen carefully to your body as you proceed. Any signs of pain or soreness call for a period of rest to allow your body to adjust. Some muscle soreness is to be expected, particularly if you have led a sedentary lifestyle until now.

It is imperative to speak with a doctor before beginning your workout regimen. They will be able to create an appropriate routine, which will be beneficial for your current condition and diagnosis. They will also be able to recommend many different forms of low impact exercise that you may enjoy, two examples being swimming and yoga.

Swimming

Swimming is a great type of aerobic exercise, particularly for older patients. The strain on your muscles and tendons is not as great as certain other forms of exercise, as the water will support your weight. Low impact exercises make it less likely that you will be injured or aggravate any existing joint pain caused from treatment.

Yoga

Yoga is increasingly employed in hospital settings to increase flexibility, endurance, mood, and energy level for patients. If your hospital does not offer yoga, you can usually find yoga classes being offered in your local community. Be sure to disclose your physical condition beforehand, so that an appropriate type of yoga will be recommended for your special needs.

No matter what form of exercise you begin with, it is important to take the step to get active. Every little bit can help and go a long way throughout your journey.

All Comes Back to the Technique: Proper TT Position

Isn't it weird after that first week of CrossFit you realize that almost all of it is boiled around solid technique? For the majority of folks who workout, it's really not something you think about. After about 6 months of starting CrossFit 3 years ago, I realized that in order to get better I'd have to dial in on the technique. The first 3months are always really cool for anyone because their adjusting to the training style and they see big gains. The question is what do you do when those big gains slow down? Are you willing to face the "skill" work?

Today I want to pull our attention to the Bike as we've got great group of Less Miles athletes training for the annual Beach Bum Triathlon series on the Island. If I were to start with any triathlon this would be the one. On On Tri does a great job of putting this event on and its entirely on the beautiful HHI beach off of Coligny circle. Better yet the distances are mangeable, 400m swim, 6mile bike (beach cruisers allowed) followed up with the typical 5K run. Did you know the top ten above and below 40 years old get Monkeys? Probably the coolest award ever.

We're going to talk TT position meaning Time Trial position. This is pretty much the standard for most triathletes and technique I am still working on to this day. If you're a road cyclists or a mountain biker some of these same principles will apply, but with a few adjustments. I have CrossFit Endurance and Power, Speed, Endurance to thank for all these helpful hits on the proper bike mechanics. I also attended Doug Katona's bike seminar, which was a huge eye opener. Who knew there was so much to biking?

Normally I like to start with the proper position, but let's go thru the common faults first.  I'll then breakdown what any good coach would do is coach you on "what to do" verses "what not to do" ...

1) Rounded Back - we can't all be Lance Armstrong. The position he gets into isn't the norm. Make sure when your cycling you keep midline stability and above all get a proper fit on your bike. It's really the most important factor as everything from there will affect your body position.

2) Head lift - tons of pictures of me doing this at races branching out my neck like giraffe. Keep the head slightly down and your eyes forward. I've also learned shades are a nice addition so the pebbles don't spring up into your eyes. Sprint triathlons? not a necessity.

3) Too Far Forward - if you sit too far forward your going to put unneeded pressure on the upper
body and it can compromise your speed because of the positioning with your legs.

4) Too Far Back - biggest thing here is that it will lead to inefficiency of your pedal stroke and stress you'll be placing now will be on the lower back. Not good if you have to get off and run a marathon.

5) Hands to Far Forward - you'll fatigue a lot quicker and reduce your power output. CFE has a great suggestion, if you're doing 3 bikes per week do one out of every three rides on a trainer verses the road. All the PROs spend a great deal of time on their trainers.

6) Shoulders Up - strong upper body is important yet if your shoulders stay tense and are too far up it'll put stress on your cervical spine.

Check out Doug Katona a leader in teaching cycling mechanics...

Now let's sum it all up to make it easier..

Above all good time trialist's establish proper position from getting on and spending a lot of time on the bike. This doesn't mean you have to bike every day, but practicing that smooth 3-4 O'Clock stroke can pay dividends with your fluidness when it comes to pedaling. They also learn early on to do two big things...

a. Get Slightly Forward in the saddle so it's visible and
b. Minimal upper body movement as Doug mentioned.Only pull out of POSITION if there is a super steep climb or sharp curve. Most importantly, keep that back flat and relaxed.

We had our first bike workout with our CFE team this evening as the Beach Bum. Out athletes did quite well and picked up a few of these tips (many of which haven't been on a bike in a while). I think the coolest part about being a coach and an athlete is that your costantly learning. When you teach something you only get better at it and it takes a lot of reps.The most exciting thing for me is seeing someone accomplish something for the first time. I'm sure most coaches can agree.

“One of the most important keys to Success is having the discipline to do what you know you should do, even when you dont feel like doing it.”All comes back to the technique...