I've done a pretty poor job of staying on a schedule with this blog. I think I managed 3 or 4 weeks in a row before I faltered, and that's really not a good record... I think it's a combination of a bunch of things that are tying me up right now, but no excuse is really a good one.
So, instead of doing research and putting together a really thoughtful post, I'm going to just do a personal update...
The biggest recent news for me is that I'm not playing baseball this summer after all. It was a tough decision to make, but my arm began to feel like it did in High School. That would be a good thing for most people, but for me it wasn't fun to return to that form. I had some fun with my arm going dead during practice and even waking up not able to lift my arm above 90 degrees after one game back in the day... I just wasn't looking forward to experiencing that again, so I gave it up. It sucks, but it has served to revive my interest in Ultimate.
Speaking of Ultimate... I went to tryouts last weekend for Eastern Motors, a local DC club team that I played for 2 years ago. I had a good time and even managed to place in the top 2 on 3 consecutive 70 sprints... That was a little bit of a surprise, and, I'll admit it, I haven't been running much recently and I'm still feeling it a little today. The practice went well though, and I'll be attending the Cazenovia Ultimate Tournament in NY this weekend with the team. It should be a good time, and I'm definitely feeling more of a spark than I have the last few seasons. I think it's a combination of being away for so long and finally dropping some of that excess weight (yeah, I guess 10-15 pounds really matters). I'll take some pictures and hopefully have a recap when I get back.
Golf and rock climbing have entered the picture for the summer as well, and I managed to get in the trifecta this past week. Saturday was a 6 hour round of golf at Langston with Arin, Sunday was EM's 3-hour tryout, and Tuesday was a few hours of rock climbing at a gym in Rockville. Weight training has been holding steady at 2-3 times a week, but things have been interesting since my arm issues flared up. It is nice that Ultimate doesn't cause the arm to flare up despite similar action at the elbow joint. It's really that overhead stuff I guess...
You didn't ask, but I'll tell anyway... background info on the shoulder issues:
In addition to the elbow/shoulder pain I found myself in during high school, these things may be compounded due to a little skiing mishap from 2005... I was skiing Breckenridge and found a sweet little jump in the middle of one of the blues. Joel dared me to get some air on the jump, and obviously I took him up on the dare (or else I wouldn't be writing this). I turned off the lift and pointed the skis straight downhill. I had a pretty good head of steam going by the time I hit the lip of the "jump." For air in the middle of a run it was pretty decent and I had more than enough time to make a nice "X" with my body and even reign my skis back in before landing. I remember looking down at the skis to make sure they were nice and straight before I hit the ground... well, they were, right up until I made ground contact. I flipped over the skis and threw them as soon as I hit the ground, and my shoulder slammed into the packed snow. You know that wet crunching sound your ankle makes when you roll it badly? Well, my shoulder made that noise. I'm pretty sure it's the same noise Sam Bradford may have heard against BYU; maybe not as bad... Anyway, long story over, I laughed it off until I got on the lift at the bottom and couldn't pick my arm up. So now I get random pain in the AC joint area with overhead activities and occasionally while bench pressing. It's normally not bad, but the baseball aggravated the hell out of it...
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
3rd Annual CUA Alumni Game
When it comes to club sports programs I believe it’s essential to leave things better than they were when you arrived. It’s sort of like camping… in a way. When you get to a program things generally function fine with or without you, but if you find yourself falling into some sort of leadership role it’s important to lend structure and discipline (well, as much as you can muster!) to the program to help it thrive. Last May was the final chapter in my 3 years on the Catholic University Ultimate team, and I hope I was able to do just that.
One of the things I am proud to be a part of is the annual alumni game. We started the game 3 years ago and just recently battled it out in our 3rd contest. For me, the alumni game was created as a chance to reconnect with the roots of the team through friendly competition, bring the alumni back together to relive old glory, and potentially to enjoy a bacon explosion (or two).
At this point in time however, the alumni are dealing with a serious losing streak. The alums haven’t won in, like, forever (that’s 3 years now if you’re counting…).
This year was my first shot to cleat up for the alums and I was sure things were going to be different. We graduated a solid class last year, and really looked to take it to an inexperienced student team (relatively, of course). Going into the match up we were pleased to hear that we had a strong line of returners, but we were short a few of our powerhouse players. Even without those guys we figured a win was in the cards this year.
The game started like any alumni game would... Easy drops by the alums had the Habit capitalizing on good field position, and old legs (and some younger-old legs) had some problems adjusting to the game’s speed. I think the older legs began to warm-up a bit with Habit up 3-1, and we started to play ourselves back into the game. The bad guys had more speed/athleticism at the top end, but the throws and decision-making weren’t up to par with alumni poaching, giving us several easy d's (mostly by our women) and allowing us to convert a few easy scores of our own. After weathering the early storm of unfamiliarity with each other the alums managed to take half 8-7. Our spirits were high and, despite only having a 1-point lead, we knew we were headed for victory.
Of the two halves, the second was much more dynamic. A huge layout d by the alums, some great deep cuts by Habit, alumni toeing the lines for scores, and solid offense on both sides kept the score close going late in the game.
As an interruption of the story, I thought I would just quickly mention my favorite moment from the game… Knowing this is a friendly game between the “wily” alums and the energetic youth of CUA Ultimate, I hope you can forgive me… As my position as an alum requires, I feel there has to be a certain level of craftiness to my game. It came midway through the second half when I set up for a reset pass. Jake was covering me and had a close eye on my every move. Jim had the disc on the sideline we were forced to and I was feeling a little lazy with my reset position. Instead of cutting for the disc an idea popped into my head, “great throw Jim!” was the first thing I could think of to say as I took a few steps upfield to fake a set up for the next reset. Jake immediately took 5-8 steps back towards his endzone to make sure I wouldn’t make a cut upfield. His reaction sprung me for an easy reset, as Jim had not thrown the disc and Jake had turned completely away from me, and opened up the break side of the field for an easy throw and catch for the score. Yeah, I feel a little guilty, but it was unbelievably effective…
Close after, Habit brought the score even again and we were tied at 14s. A tie there forced overtime and a win by 2 or first to 17 rule came into effect. After battling through another point the kids finally overpowered the alums and scored a pair of points to end the game at 17-15.
I wouldn’t hesitate to say that this was the best alumni game yet, and I really enjoyed losing to the future of Catholic Ultimate (well, as much as anyone can enjoy losing). This team seems to be on the cusp of something great, and I think the current regime may be able to take that next step. With Dave at the reigns of the team they’ve been able to settle into even more discipline and structure than I was able to manage, and it sounds like progress is still being made on that front.
The biggest news of the year was the success of the sectionals tournament. The men’s team had the pleasure of playing with one of the Section’s rookies of the year, Paul, and the women’s team played their first ever tournament! That’s exciting news for CUA, as it’s been a long time coming. It was one of my dreams while I was a part of the program, and I was so happy to hear that Dave and the Jess pair made it happen. I wish the Bad Habit men and women the best of luck in the future, and I hope they continue building the CUA Ultimate system for the future.
At the same time, it’s good to know that CUA will be passing along some great new talent to the alums in the future, and you know we won’t be winless forever!
One of the things I am proud to be a part of is the annual alumni game. We started the game 3 years ago and just recently battled it out in our 3rd contest. For me, the alumni game was created as a chance to reconnect with the roots of the team through friendly competition, bring the alumni back together to relive old glory, and potentially to enjoy a bacon explosion (or two).
At this point in time however, the alumni are dealing with a serious losing streak. The alums haven’t won in, like, forever (that’s 3 years now if you’re counting…).
This year was my first shot to cleat up for the alums and I was sure things were going to be different. We graduated a solid class last year, and really looked to take it to an inexperienced student team (relatively, of course). Going into the match up we were pleased to hear that we had a strong line of returners, but we were short a few of our powerhouse players. Even without those guys we figured a win was in the cards this year.
The game started like any alumni game would... Easy drops by the alums had the Habit capitalizing on good field position, and old legs (and some younger-old legs) had some problems adjusting to the game’s speed. I think the older legs began to warm-up a bit with Habit up 3-1, and we started to play ourselves back into the game. The bad guys had more speed/athleticism at the top end, but the throws and decision-making weren’t up to par with alumni poaching, giving us several easy d's (mostly by our women) and allowing us to convert a few easy scores of our own. After weathering the early storm of unfamiliarity with each other the alums managed to take half 8-7. Our spirits were high and, despite only having a 1-point lead, we knew we were headed for victory.
Of the two halves, the second was much more dynamic. A huge layout d by the alums, some great deep cuts by Habit, alumni toeing the lines for scores, and solid offense on both sides kept the score close going late in the game.
As an interruption of the story, I thought I would just quickly mention my favorite moment from the game… Knowing this is a friendly game between the “wily” alums and the energetic youth of CUA Ultimate, I hope you can forgive me… As my position as an alum requires, I feel there has to be a certain level of craftiness to my game. It came midway through the second half when I set up for a reset pass. Jake was covering me and had a close eye on my every move. Jim had the disc on the sideline we were forced to and I was feeling a little lazy with my reset position. Instead of cutting for the disc an idea popped into my head, “great throw Jim!” was the first thing I could think of to say as I took a few steps upfield to fake a set up for the next reset. Jake immediately took 5-8 steps back towards his endzone to make sure I wouldn’t make a cut upfield. His reaction sprung me for an easy reset, as Jim had not thrown the disc and Jake had turned completely away from me, and opened up the break side of the field for an easy throw and catch for the score. Yeah, I feel a little guilty, but it was unbelievably effective…
Close after, Habit brought the score even again and we were tied at 14s. A tie there forced overtime and a win by 2 or first to 17 rule came into effect. After battling through another point the kids finally overpowered the alums and scored a pair of points to end the game at 17-15.
I wouldn’t hesitate to say that this was the best alumni game yet, and I really enjoyed losing to the future of Catholic Ultimate (well, as much as anyone can enjoy losing). This team seems to be on the cusp of something great, and I think the current regime may be able to take that next step. With Dave at the reigns of the team they’ve been able to settle into even more discipline and structure than I was able to manage, and it sounds like progress is still being made on that front.
The biggest news of the year was the success of the sectionals tournament. The men’s team had the pleasure of playing with one of the Section’s rookies of the year, Paul, and the women’s team played their first ever tournament! That’s exciting news for CUA, as it’s been a long time coming. It was one of my dreams while I was a part of the program, and I was so happy to hear that Dave and the Jess pair made it happen. I wish the Bad Habit men and women the best of luck in the future, and I hope they continue building the CUA Ultimate system for the future.
At the same time, it’s good to know that CUA will be passing along some great new talent to the alums in the future, and you know we won’t be winless forever!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Rope Intervals
Here I am, late again... Two quick things before I get started: baseball season started Friday (for me, not MLB!) and I absolutely suck at skeeball.
Now, about the ropes...
I was introduced to these ropes through youtube a while back, and finally was able to try them when I visited the gym my brother works at. He had purchased a 50 foot nylon rope to torture his clients with, and I wanted in on the action. My introduction to the ropes was a combination first of amusement, then awe at the difficulty of the exercise, and finally of exhaustion.
Basically you're faced with a large rope wrapped around an immovable object. You grab the ends of the rope and swing away. Of course there are plenty of patterns to choose from, but any idiot can wear themselves out regardless of what they're doing with the thing. Basically, the rules are to just swing the things as hard and fast as you can. The best thing about the ropes is that it's low-impact cardio. Most people like to do their intervals on their feet and this tends to wear you down, as you're putting a lot of stress on the lower body. Using the ropes to break up the monotony of lower body dominant interval training and "cardio" can save your joints and keep your training interesting.
I recommend progressing the ropes through interval training. Start with a generous 15:45s, work:rest ratio for 8-12 rounds and work down from there. A good goal would be to get yourself down to the infamous Tabata protocol using a negative work:rest ratio of 20:10 for 4 minutes. If you're busting your ass through your 160 seconds of work you won't want to do another set. Yeah, sometimes the clock is the toughest workout partner you can find.
For fun, here's a video of Dave, Jim, and I doing some ropes during snowmageddon in DC this February. That guy sucking air on the vid? That's Jim. Oh, and yes, everybody loves training you can do outside!
If you can't tell by how often I link to him... I really enjoy Dan John's writing style and lifting philosophy. You can check his blog out or find him occasionally on T-Muscle. He's also got a book, "Never Let Go", that I just finished and really enjoyed. It's basically a collection of his best articles that tell the story about his growth as a strength coach as well as a person. I would definitely recommend it.
Now, about the ropes...
I was introduced to these ropes through youtube a while back, and finally was able to try them when I visited the gym my brother works at. He had purchased a 50 foot nylon rope to torture his clients with, and I wanted in on the action. My introduction to the ropes was a combination first of amusement, then awe at the difficulty of the exercise, and finally of exhaustion.
Basically you're faced with a large rope wrapped around an immovable object. You grab the ends of the rope and swing away. Of course there are plenty of patterns to choose from, but any idiot can wear themselves out regardless of what they're doing with the thing. Basically, the rules are to just swing the things as hard and fast as you can. The best thing about the ropes is that it's low-impact cardio. Most people like to do their intervals on their feet and this tends to wear you down, as you're putting a lot of stress on the lower body. Using the ropes to break up the monotony of lower body dominant interval training and "cardio" can save your joints and keep your training interesting.
I recommend progressing the ropes through interval training. Start with a generous 15:45s, work:rest ratio for 8-12 rounds and work down from there. A good goal would be to get yourself down to the infamous Tabata protocol using a negative work:rest ratio of 20:10 for 4 minutes. If you're busting your ass through your 160 seconds of work you won't want to do another set. Yeah, sometimes the clock is the toughest workout partner you can find.
For fun, here's a video of Dave, Jim, and I doing some ropes during snowmageddon in DC this February. That guy sucking air on the vid? That's Jim. Oh, and yes, everybody loves training you can do outside!
If you can't tell by how often I link to him... I really enjoy Dan John's writing style and lifting philosophy. You can check his blog out or find him occasionally on T-Muscle. He's also got a book, "Never Let Go", that I just finished and really enjoyed. It's basically a collection of his best articles that tell the story about his growth as a strength coach as well as a person. I would definitely recommend it.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
April Update
This is probably a good time to do a quick set of bullets on what's going on with me right now. I had a really busy weekend that led to a lack of great ideas for the blog, but there is a lot happening right now.
- After almost two months of waiting, I have finally received my course materials for my Understanding Nutrition I course. I began coursework this past weekend, and will hopefully find time each day to put in some reading. I think one of the books weighs in around 15 pounds...
- I will be taking a TRX certification course on Sunday. It's going to be a long day, but the TRX is a sweet suspension training tool that I already use fairly often in the gym. I've already done a bunch of my own reading/research on its uses, but hopefully the course will give me a few more ideas.
- Our first game of the Skeeson (Skeeball season!) was Monday night. We lost a close game, but I have a feeling we'll do pretty well in the league. It's pretty fun and a little ridiculous. I'm really competitive, so I'm looking for chances to practice my game. I just keep thinking about all those times I skipped over Skee Ball to play Time Crisis at the Dave & Busters...
- I am officially playing baseball this summer. I talked about joining up with a team for a bit, but now that I've paid my summer dues it's pretty official. I'm playing with the DC Bears in a local wood bat baseball league. It has been 9 years since I've played ball, but the fundamentals are coming back quickly and the recent weather has been great for it!
- One of my clients at Results has lost ~20lbs in the two months we've worked together. Awesome.
- This video is awesome and seriously made me cringe...
- After almost two months of waiting, I have finally received my course materials for my Understanding Nutrition I course. I began coursework this past weekend, and will hopefully find time each day to put in some reading. I think one of the books weighs in around 15 pounds...
- I will be taking a TRX certification course on Sunday. It's going to be a long day, but the TRX is a sweet suspension training tool that I already use fairly often in the gym. I've already done a bunch of my own reading/research on its uses, but hopefully the course will give me a few more ideas.
- Our first game of the Skeeson (Skeeball season!) was Monday night. We lost a close game, but I have a feeling we'll do pretty well in the league. It's pretty fun and a little ridiculous. I'm really competitive, so I'm looking for chances to practice my game. I just keep thinking about all those times I skipped over Skee Ball to play Time Crisis at the Dave & Busters...
- I am officially playing baseball this summer. I talked about joining up with a team for a bit, but now that I've paid my summer dues it's pretty official. I'm playing with the DC Bears in a local wood bat baseball league. It has been 9 years since I've played ball, but the fundamentals are coming back quickly and the recent weather has been great for it!
- One of my clients at Results has lost ~20lbs in the two months we've worked together. Awesome.
- This video is awesome and seriously made me cringe...
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Metabolic Resistance Training - The Complex
I brought this up last week, so I wanted to make sure we were all on the same page here. Metabolic Resistance Training, as I see it, generally consists of a full body workout combining intensity with density.
In my previous post I listed examples of this - barbell complexes, kettlebell exercises, supersets and tri-sets – but I didn’t go into too much detail. For this post, I want to provide some sort of takeaway that you can use. Keep in mind these are very general recommendations and will not be personalized to your unique situation. Today I’ll discuss the complex.
The Complex
These are interesting, fun, and they have seen a ton of hype recently. A complex is essentially a resistance circuit that is done without letting go of the implement used. With complexes you want to move swiftly through a set number of exercises (usually 8-10) without setting the weight down and without using poor technique. Due to the nature of the complex you should use a weight that is light enough to complete the prescribed repetitions on the most difficult exercise used. Complexes can be done with barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells, or even weight plates.
A basic barbell complex can look like this:
(All exercises done with 8 repetitions)
Power Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
Bentover Row
Straight Leg Deadlift
Or this:
Snatch
Walking Lunge
Good Morning
Push Press
Bentover Row
Complete the complex as quickly as possible without setting the weight down. In both complexes you would use a weight light enough to complete 8 repetitions of the Push Press, because this is generally the weakest movement involved. Complete 2-3 sets of the complex to get a good cardio/strength training workout in.
Progressing the complex is as simple as adding weight, sets, or speed. For more variations and information check out the following sites:
Complexes 2.0 - John Romaniello
Rebuild Yourself With Complexes - Dan John
Dan John's Complexes
Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training Barbell Complex:
In my previous post I listed examples of this - barbell complexes, kettlebell exercises, supersets and tri-sets – but I didn’t go into too much detail. For this post, I want to provide some sort of takeaway that you can use. Keep in mind these are very general recommendations and will not be personalized to your unique situation. Today I’ll discuss the complex.
The Complex
These are interesting, fun, and they have seen a ton of hype recently. A complex is essentially a resistance circuit that is done without letting go of the implement used. With complexes you want to move swiftly through a set number of exercises (usually 8-10) without setting the weight down and without using poor technique. Due to the nature of the complex you should use a weight that is light enough to complete the prescribed repetitions on the most difficult exercise used. Complexes can be done with barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells, or even weight plates.
A basic barbell complex can look like this:
(All exercises done with 8 repetitions)
Power Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
Bentover Row
Straight Leg Deadlift
Or this:
Snatch
Walking Lunge
Good Morning
Push Press
Bentover Row
Complete the complex as quickly as possible without setting the weight down. In both complexes you would use a weight light enough to complete 8 repetitions of the Push Press, because this is generally the weakest movement involved. Complete 2-3 sets of the complex to get a good cardio/strength training workout in.
Progressing the complex is as simple as adding weight, sets, or speed. For more variations and information check out the following sites:
Complexes 2.0 - John Romaniello
Rebuild Yourself With Complexes - Dan John
Dan John's Complexes
Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training Barbell Complex:
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Cardio: To do or not to do... And how much!
First, a question: What does cardio look like? It has many forms, but the basic idea is that it's exercise that elevates the heart rate and uses oxygen as its primary energy source. It can look like many things - swimming, running, walking - but it may not be what you're looking for.
Before you head to the gym to "get your cardio in," you should ask yourself a few questions: What is my goal? And, most importantly: Is cardio really the best way to get to my goal? Assuming that you are like most fitness enthusiasts, you're probably in it to lose a few pounds or "tone" your body (same, same). Another group of gym-goers may be preparing for their upcoming sports season. And, finally, your goal may be to run the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in April... In this post, I'm really focusing on the first two.
The people in those two groups may just be wasting their time. And, really, let's be honest, time is not something you like to waste in the gym. Today we're really going to focus on those looking to lose weight.
This subject has come up multiple times over the last week, and I wanted to get some thoughts out there. Well, my thoughts supported by those from our industry's leaders. A large part of what I use in this post is taken from Alwyn Cosgrove's "The Hierarchy of Fat Loss."
So, since you're asking, what is Alwyn's Hierarchy of Fat Loss?
1. Correct Nutrition
"You absolutely cannot out-train a crappy diet."
2. Activities that burn calories, maintain muscle mass, and elevate metabolism
The bulk of our calories burned come from our resting metabolic rate, and this is determined by muscle mass and how hard it's working. We need to maintain or gain muscle mass if we are to lose fat.
The smallest part of total calories burned comes from calories outside of our resting metabolism.
3. Activities that burn calories and elevate metabolism
This is that EPOC stuff that we've been talking about. Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption is defined scientifically as the "recovery of metabolic rate back to pre-exercise levels" and "can require several minutes for light exercise and several hours for hard intervals." These are calories burned due to an increase in demand from our body after an exercise session.
4. Activities that burn calories but don't necessarily maintain muscle or elevate metabolism
This is the least effective tool. In most people's vocab, this is simply referred to as "cardio."
Now, before you give me any credit, just remember that I am paraphrasing Alwyn here... I don't want anyone to claim that I'm stealing! Now, for the meat and potatoes part... (To keep this from getting too bogged down, I'm going to remove the studies from the work... I'll link to the full article at the bottom)
Five Factors for Fat Loss Training
1. Metabolic Resistance Training
Resistance training is vital to fat loss. This means work every muscle group hard, frequently, and with an intensity that creates what Alwyn calls "afterburn" that leaves the metabolism elevated for several hours post-workout.
Metabolic resistance training can be barbell complexes, kettlebell work, supersets, and/or tri-sets.
2. High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training (HIIT)
It burns more calories than steady state and elevates metabolism significantly more than other forms of cardio. The downside is that it flat-out sucks to do it! One reason this works so much better than steady state is due to the awesome power of the human body (9 times better in the study Alwyn quotes!). When you jog on the treadmill every day your body easily adapts to the stress. If you tear yourself a new one with anaerobic intervals beyond the aerobic threshold, your body will not adapt and you will burn fat.
These intervals are more intense than any aerobic interval. Anaerobic intervals are done beyond the aerobic threshold, where your body can no longer just use oxygen for its energy. These intervals are done in a perceived rate of exertion of 9-10 on a scale to 10.
“Interval training is like putting your savings into a high return investment account. Low intensity aerobics is like hiding it under your mattress. Both will work, but the return you get is radically different.”
3. High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training
Still within the aerobic threshold (a perceived rate of exertion of 7-8 on a scale to 10), but with a higher intensity.
4. Steady State High Intensity Aerobic Training
Just hard cardio (don't see this much...).
5. Steady State Low Intensity Aerobic Training
Moving more.... Walking to get your groceries or taking the stairs instead of the elevator are pretty common options.
From here Alywn gets into what I heard Mike Boyle call the 180 degree principle. “If you see most of the people in the gym doing something you should do the opposite.”
As I mentioned in my “Cardio Zombie” (As Kirk not-so-fondly refers to them) post, anybody working out at a commercial gym will see lines upon lines of full treadmills. According to Boyle we should walk the other way. Alwyn prescribes metabolic resistance training as his first attack against the bulge. This battle begins with time management.
That time should be allotted according to the following:
Time Available - Training Used
≤ 3 hours - Metabolic Resistance Training
3-5 hours - Add High Intensity Anaerobic Intervals
5-6 hours - Add High Intensity Aerobic Intervals
6-8 hours - Add Steady State High Intensity Aerobic
> 8 hours - Add Steady State Low Intensity Aerobic
With fat loss training the key is to do the maximum amount possible while maintaining our recovery levels. As you see in the chart, the intensity diminishes as we spend more time in the gym. Our body can recover much better from the steady state aerobic work than it can from the resistance training, so once additional time becomes available for burning calories we can effectively use it for fat loss without inhibiting our recovery.
Special thanks to Alwyn Cosgrove for the inspiration this week. I know his work here has helped many coaches and trainers understand the science of fat loss. You can find the original article here.
Before you head to the gym to "get your cardio in," you should ask yourself a few questions: What is my goal? And, most importantly: Is cardio really the best way to get to my goal? Assuming that you are like most fitness enthusiasts, you're probably in it to lose a few pounds or "tone" your body (same, same). Another group of gym-goers may be preparing for their upcoming sports season. And, finally, your goal may be to run the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in April... In this post, I'm really focusing on the first two.
The people in those two groups may just be wasting their time. And, really, let's be honest, time is not something you like to waste in the gym. Today we're really going to focus on those looking to lose weight.
This subject has come up multiple times over the last week, and I wanted to get some thoughts out there. Well, my thoughts supported by those from our industry's leaders. A large part of what I use in this post is taken from Alwyn Cosgrove's "The Hierarchy of Fat Loss."
So, since you're asking, what is Alwyn's Hierarchy of Fat Loss?
1. Correct Nutrition
"You absolutely cannot out-train a crappy diet."
2. Activities that burn calories, maintain muscle mass, and elevate metabolism
The bulk of our calories burned come from our resting metabolic rate, and this is determined by muscle mass and how hard it's working. We need to maintain or gain muscle mass if we are to lose fat.
The smallest part of total calories burned comes from calories outside of our resting metabolism.
3. Activities that burn calories and elevate metabolism
This is that EPOC stuff that we've been talking about. Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption is defined scientifically as the "recovery of metabolic rate back to pre-exercise levels" and "can require several minutes for light exercise and several hours for hard intervals." These are calories burned due to an increase in demand from our body after an exercise session.
4. Activities that burn calories but don't necessarily maintain muscle or elevate metabolism
This is the least effective tool. In most people's vocab, this is simply referred to as "cardio."
Now, before you give me any credit, just remember that I am paraphrasing Alwyn here... I don't want anyone to claim that I'm stealing! Now, for the meat and potatoes part... (To keep this from getting too bogged down, I'm going to remove the studies from the work... I'll link to the full article at the bottom)
Five Factors for Fat Loss Training
1. Metabolic Resistance Training
Resistance training is vital to fat loss. This means work every muscle group hard, frequently, and with an intensity that creates what Alwyn calls "afterburn" that leaves the metabolism elevated for several hours post-workout.
Metabolic resistance training can be barbell complexes, kettlebell work, supersets, and/or tri-sets.
2. High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training (HIIT)
It burns more calories than steady state and elevates metabolism significantly more than other forms of cardio. The downside is that it flat-out sucks to do it! One reason this works so much better than steady state is due to the awesome power of the human body (9 times better in the study Alwyn quotes!). When you jog on the treadmill every day your body easily adapts to the stress. If you tear yourself a new one with anaerobic intervals beyond the aerobic threshold, your body will not adapt and you will burn fat.
These intervals are more intense than any aerobic interval. Anaerobic intervals are done beyond the aerobic threshold, where your body can no longer just use oxygen for its energy. These intervals are done in a perceived rate of exertion of 9-10 on a scale to 10.
“Interval training is like putting your savings into a high return investment account. Low intensity aerobics is like hiding it under your mattress. Both will work, but the return you get is radically different.”
3. High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training
Still within the aerobic threshold (a perceived rate of exertion of 7-8 on a scale to 10), but with a higher intensity.
4. Steady State High Intensity Aerobic Training
Just hard cardio (don't see this much...).
5. Steady State Low Intensity Aerobic Training
Moving more.... Walking to get your groceries or taking the stairs instead of the elevator are pretty common options.
From here Alywn gets into what I heard Mike Boyle call the 180 degree principle. “If you see most of the people in the gym doing something you should do the opposite.”
As I mentioned in my “Cardio Zombie” (As Kirk not-so-fondly refers to them) post, anybody working out at a commercial gym will see lines upon lines of full treadmills. According to Boyle we should walk the other way. Alwyn prescribes metabolic resistance training as his first attack against the bulge. This battle begins with time management.
That time should be allotted according to the following:
Time Available - Training Used
≤ 3 hours - Metabolic Resistance Training
3-5 hours - Add High Intensity Anaerobic Intervals
5-6 hours - Add High Intensity Aerobic Intervals
6-8 hours - Add Steady State High Intensity Aerobic
> 8 hours - Add Steady State Low Intensity Aerobic
With fat loss training the key is to do the maximum amount possible while maintaining our recovery levels. As you see in the chart, the intensity diminishes as we spend more time in the gym. Our body can recover much better from the steady state aerobic work than it can from the resistance training, so once additional time becomes available for burning calories we can effectively use it for fat loss without inhibiting our recovery.
Special thanks to Alwyn Cosgrove for the inspiration this week. I know his work here has helped many coaches and trainers understand the science of fat loss. You can find the original article here.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
NSCA Mid-Atlantic Conference - Body Composition
I attended my first Strength and Conditioning conference this past weekend. It was put on by my certifying agency the National Strength and Conditioning Association. They are one of the leading bodies in terms of S&C research, so I was expecting big things from the 12-hour conference.
Things didn't start too well for the conference in my opinion. Well, the fact that I was the first one there says a lot... Dr. Todd Miller, GW's representative for the conference, was there to greet me, but none of the NSCA folks were. After 45 minutes of waiting, they finally walked in and started registration. Due to the delay, our first presenter started late. This was unfortunate, because I believe the first session was the best of the day.
Dr. Miller was that presenter, and he seemed to be the best prepared speaker of the bunch. He designed the Exercise Science graduate program at GW and is one of the faculty members in their program. His topic was in regards to body composition testing of athletes before, during, and after their seasons.
Here are the two abstracts he referenced in his session (as you can see, he was one of the main researchers in each):
The effects of training history, player position, and body composition on exercise performance in collegiate football players.
Seasonal changes in VO2max among Division 1A collegiate women soccer players.
Dr. Miller's main argument began with an overview of the second study. Female soccer players were found to have lost lean muscle and gained fat mass over the course of their soccer season. This could be due to the adjustment of their workout schedule and the assumption that soccer players work as hard in practice as they do in the weight room (therefore causing the coach to schedule less anaerobic sessions during the season). The change in body composition could prove to be a detriment to the athlete's performance, but injury could prove to be even more detrimental. Although no data was available to show us whether these additional sessions may make an athlete any more or less injury-prone, it does seem a good argument for maintaining performance and body composition through the season.
His second study covers the addition of an external load on the speed of an athlete. The external load would represent fat mass, and would have to be done this way to best replicate the addition of fat mass onto the body. Obviously he couldn't have shown the differences in the same athlete with less muscle and more fat, because a study of that size would just be asking for inconsistencies and it would be extremely hard to create.
It was at this point that Dr. Miller brought up a very interesting real world application of this. Thoroughbred horses are sometimes handicapped to make their races more competitive. These 1300 lbs, 3% body fat horses are only handicapped 2 pounds to slow them down by 8 feet over the course of a mile. Only 2 pounds!
The translation to humans is pretty dire. If a 130 pound person added 2 pounds of fat and didn't lose any muscle we could potentially expect them to lose up to 80 feet over the course of a mile. That's quite a difference. The football players in Dr. Miller's study lost around .25-.5 seconds in a 40 yard dash by adding 2 pounds of external load. In a high stakes athletic competition, that's a big deal.
So, the take home message for those coaches out there? Take body comps often and continue to push your athletes in the weight room through the season. Dr. Miller recommends prescribing athletes mandatory cardio sessions if an athlete's fat mass begins to rise during the season (something low-impact like the bike or elliptical). A well-designed nutrition plan and education could also serve your athletes well in this regard.
Things didn't start too well for the conference in my opinion. Well, the fact that I was the first one there says a lot... Dr. Todd Miller, GW's representative for the conference, was there to greet me, but none of the NSCA folks were. After 45 minutes of waiting, they finally walked in and started registration. Due to the delay, our first presenter started late. This was unfortunate, because I believe the first session was the best of the day.
Dr. Miller was that presenter, and he seemed to be the best prepared speaker of the bunch. He designed the Exercise Science graduate program at GW and is one of the faculty members in their program. His topic was in regards to body composition testing of athletes before, during, and after their seasons.
Here are the two abstracts he referenced in his session (as you can see, he was one of the main researchers in each):
The effects of training history, player position, and body composition on exercise performance in collegiate football players.
Seasonal changes in VO2max among Division 1A collegiate women soccer players.
Dr. Miller's main argument began with an overview of the second study. Female soccer players were found to have lost lean muscle and gained fat mass over the course of their soccer season. This could be due to the adjustment of their workout schedule and the assumption that soccer players work as hard in practice as they do in the weight room (therefore causing the coach to schedule less anaerobic sessions during the season). The change in body composition could prove to be a detriment to the athlete's performance, but injury could prove to be even more detrimental. Although no data was available to show us whether these additional sessions may make an athlete any more or less injury-prone, it does seem a good argument for maintaining performance and body composition through the season.
His second study covers the addition of an external load on the speed of an athlete. The external load would represent fat mass, and would have to be done this way to best replicate the addition of fat mass onto the body. Obviously he couldn't have shown the differences in the same athlete with less muscle and more fat, because a study of that size would just be asking for inconsistencies and it would be extremely hard to create.
It was at this point that Dr. Miller brought up a very interesting real world application of this. Thoroughbred horses are sometimes handicapped to make their races more competitive. These 1300 lbs, 3% body fat horses are only handicapped 2 pounds to slow them down by 8 feet over the course of a mile. Only 2 pounds!
The translation to humans is pretty dire. If a 130 pound person added 2 pounds of fat and didn't lose any muscle we could potentially expect them to lose up to 80 feet over the course of a mile. That's quite a difference. The football players in Dr. Miller's study lost around .25-.5 seconds in a 40 yard dash by adding 2 pounds of external load. In a high stakes athletic competition, that's a big deal.
So, the take home message for those coaches out there? Take body comps often and continue to push your athletes in the weight room through the season. Dr. Miller recommends prescribing athletes mandatory cardio sessions if an athlete's fat mass begins to rise during the season (something low-impact like the bike or elliptical). A well-designed nutrition plan and education could also serve your athletes well in this regard.
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