Coach Robb’s Swim Drills: Body Balance

Coach Robb (coachrobb.com) illustrates some drills that you need to implement into your swim workout to avoid your hips dropping in between every stroke. Once you implement these drills, you will avoid the sinking hips syndrome and improve your efficiency in the water immediately (as illustrated by a lower stroke count with less effort). To order the second edition of his popular swim workout manual, please send an email to robb3@earthlink.net and put in promo code YTV1A in the subject line to save 50% off the normal price of .00 for this manual. This manual will instruct you on how to swim with little effort, minimize your risk of injury and provide you specific workouts to help you achieve your personal training goals – from weight loss & fitness to fast swimming for open water swimming in a triathlon.

Coach Robb’s Swim Drills: Getting Tall In The Water

Coach Robb (coachrobb.com) illustrates the law of hydrodynamics and a few drills that you can do to improve your body position in the water in between your swimming strokes. Remember, it is about how well you maintain your momentum in between strokes that allows you to move through the water. Once you master this concept, you will be more productive at establishing body balance (and avoid the sinking hip syndrome). To order the second edition of his popular swim workout manual, please send an email to robb3@earthlink.net and put in promo code YTV3A in the subject line to save 50% off the normal price of .00 for this manual. This manual will instruct you on how to swim with little effort, minimize your risk of injury and provide you specific workouts to help you achieve your personal training goals – from weight loss & fitness to fast swimming for open water swimming in a triathlon.

Coach Robb’s Swim Drills: Breathing Made Easy

Coach Robb (coachrobb.com) illustrates drills in the pool that you can implement into your swimming sessions to improve your ability to breathe without losing your body balance/body position in the water. To order the second edition of his popular swim workout manual, please send an email to robb3@earthlink.net and put in promo code YTV4A in the subject line to save 50% off the normal price of .00 for this manual. This manual will instruct you on how to swim with little effort, minimize your risk of injury and provide you specific workouts to help you achieve your personal training goals – from weight loss & fitness to fast swimming for open water swimming in a triathlon.

free running,gimnastic part 1

Joe Eigo doing free running and gimnastic… ======================================= ======================================= don’t forget to subscribe(If you want….)

The 10 Commandments of Training

By: Joe Friel

The following is a adapted version from The Cyclist’s Training Bible¹. Friel’s philosophy is that you will get a better return for your time and energy invested by training efficiently. When these guidelines are incorporated into your training and thinking, your racing results will subsequently improve. Although this comes from a cycling book, the principles are broad enough that they can be applied to other sports training as well.

Commandment 1—Train Moderately

Train within the limits of your body’s strength, endurance, and speed most of the time, and don’t try too often to find these limits. This means that you should finish most of your training sessions feeling like you could have done more. It’s okay to stop a session earlier than you may have initially planned. This is important because your muscles will contract forcefully only so many times before they refuse to go hard again. No amount of willpower will replenish your depleted glycogen stores, so slowing down becomes the only option. If your physical limits are encountered too frequently and over a long enough time, then your body’s ability to adapt is exceeded and your recovery becomes significantly delayed.

One of the biggest mistakes we can make is to do the easy days too hard and the hard days too easy because we haven’t adequately recovered, so we can’t go hard enough. If you look at the top performing athletes, you will see a great difference between the intensities of hard and easy days. This is how you become fitter. If you have high intensity all the time, no amount of strength of character and willpower will speed up the body’s cellular changes. We best adapt when the stresses are slightly increased—even the old rule of thumb of no more than a 10% increase in training volume per week may be too much for some.

When you develop carefully, especially with intensity, eventually you will get stronger and you’ll also have more time and energy for other pursuits in life. As an athlete, you will get far more out of your workouts (both physically and emotionally) if you enjoy your training than if you are constantly on the edge of overtraining.

Commandment 2—Train Consistently

Because the human body thrives on routine, it is important to develop a training pattern that mostly stays the same from week to week—regular activity promotes growth. Of course, this doesn’t mean to do the same workout every day, week after week—variety also brings positive change.

Breaking consistency often results from not adhering to the Moderation Commandment. Overdoing a workout or week of training is liable to trigger injury, illness, burnout, or fatigue. Our fitness level is not stationary—we are either improving or getting worse. When we frequently miss a workout, this equals a drop in fitness. However, we shouldn’t work out when ill. Sometimes, taking a break is necessary.

Instead of having a “more is always better” attitude, instead, adopt the following: “do the least amount of properly timed, specific training that brings continual improvement.” Of course, this does not mean that we shouldn’t do hard workouts or that it isn’t necessary to occasionally find our limits and resultantly experience fatigue. Problems arise when we don’t know when to back off, when to rest, and when to do less than planned. The “more is better” philosophy will inevitably lead to burnout, overtraining, illness, and injury. Training consistently, not extremely, will lead you to your best fitness level and your best racing performance. The key to consistency is rest and moderation.

Commandment 3—Get Adequate Rest

Here is a truth that many athletes understand intellectually, but not emotionally: without adequate rest, you will not improve. It’s not when you are working out that you improve your fitness, but during rest that the body adapts to the stresses of training and grows stronger. As you increase the level of training, the need for rest also accumulates. Simply put, you will not improve if you don’t rest, and more specifically sleep, enough. During sleep, the body mends and grows stronger because human growth hormone is released in spurts. When we cut back in sleep (which all too often happens when life gets in the way—we often either get up earlier or go to bed later to fit in another workout), it takes us longer to recover and our consistency in training suffers. We raise the risk of injury and illness because damaged cells take longer to heal. Glycogen stores aren’t fully replenished between workouts, leading to decreased endurance performance over several days. Ultimately, burnout is imminent. Most athletes need at least 7-8 hours of daily sleep (Juniors need 9-10 hours per night). We can do this by including naps during the day, or if this is not possible, simply go to bed earlier. Again, establish a routine.

Commandment 4—Train with a Plan

Few self-trained athletes do this, but it is a fundamental part of improving in almost any endeavor of life. Some athletes follow a plan they found in a magazine, but as soon as the new issue comes out, they abandon it and follow a new one. Often, you will improve if you follow a plan—any plan, even one of poor design. Just don’t change it.

Realize, however, that all plans can be changed and that yours won’t be set in stone. Expect that something will come up and get in your way—a cold, an overload at work, travel plans, etc. —and have some flexibility to cope with the many factors that will get in your way. Don’t be upset when something comes up that will interfere with the plan, and change the plan to fit the new situation.

Commandment 5—Train with Groups Infrequently

We at amateur-athlete.com believe in the value of social networking and connection, especially when it comes to training with others, as we believe that there can be a real advantage to training with others…sometimes. Riding in groups provides experience with race dynamics, develops handling skills, and allows you to enjoy others’ company by making the time go by faster. However, what can often happen is that the group will cause you to ride (or run or whatever) too fast when you would be better off doing a slow and easy recovery ride, and conversely, will go too slow when you should be hammering. Other times, you will need to go shorter or longer or do more hills than what the group wants to do. Further, group workouts can often degenerate into unstructured races at the most inopportune times.

Smart and structured group rides are difficult to find, and sometimes you may need to create your own. During the winter base-building phase of your training, try to find a group that rides at a comfortable pace. For the spring intensity-building period, ride with a fast and challenging group, just as when racing. Also, on a safety note, avoid big packs that are unsafe and take over the road.

Commandment 6—Plan to Peak

For your most important competitions, your season plan should bring you to a peak. These are your “A” races. Each peak may last for up to a couple of weeks, which you can do two or more times in a season. Your “B” races are also important, but you will only rest a couple days before these, not taper and peak for them. “C” competitions are simply tune-ups to get you ready for the A and B events. You should use these to get experience, practice pacing, to gauge fitness, or even as a social event. Between your peaks, still race, but the emphasis will be on re-establishing endurance, speed, and force to prepare for your next peak.

Commandment 7—Improve Weaknesses

Most cyclists spend too much time working on what they’re already good at—that is, if you’re a good endurance rider, but don’t have much speed, you’re mostly doing endurance work. Same thing goes for good climbers (spending most time on the hills), and sprinters (doing intervals). What is your weakest area? If you don’t know, ask your training buddies—they’ll most likely know. Then spend more time working on that area. Understanding your “limiters” is critical for you to successfully race.

Commandment 8—Trust Your Training

When it comes time to race, few of us trust our training. When the big race nears, we often fear that we haven’t done enough, so we train right up to race day. Don’t. To be fully ready to race, it takes 10 to 21 days of reduced workload, depending on how long and hard the training has been. To do better, cut back before big races. Trust me (and your training).

Commandment 9—Listen to Your Body

We must listen to our bodies to train smarter and get faster. Cyclists (and other types of athletes) who train smart always beat those who train hard.

Commandment 10—Commit to Goals

The decisions you make, often without even thinking, will have an impact on how you ride. In order to race faster and stronger this season, you need to train differently and may even need to make some lifestyle changes. Think about what may be holding you back—too little sleep? Eating too much junk food? Not enough time spent in the weight room during the winter to build greater force? Perhaps your training partners are holding you back.

Establish your goals, and look at how they relate to your lifestyle and training. Conclude that if you need to make changes, you can do it. Only you can control how well you race.

Racing at your best level requires a 24/7/365 commitment that is not just training-related. The higher your goals, the more your life will need to revolve around eating, sleeping, and working out. We need to eat the right amounts of nutritious foods to fuel our bodies for training and help speed recovery by replenishing depleted energy and nutrient stores. Eating nutritious foods provides the right building blocks for a stronger body. Working out and sleep have a synergistic effect on your fitness.

To be fully committed to your sport, you must become a student of it: read all the (reputable) books and websites you can; talk with coaches, trainers, and more experienced athletes; ask questions, though remember to be a bit skeptical. There is a lot of (mis)information out there that does not have solid scientific backing (hence the reason for this site!). Keep a training log, which can help you remain focused on your goals and monitor your fitness. The log should include details of your workout and also perceptions of effort, stress signals, race results and analyses, signs of increasing or decreasing fitness, equipment changes, or anything else you feel may be important to keep track of.

Though, keep in mind that everyone has only x amount of time and energy she/he can give toward the sport. Sometimes, we need to establish what we want to do versus what we need to do—our responsibilities, like jobs, families, etc. cannot and should not be forsaken just to ride a bike. We must restrain our passion, or else we’ll quickly alienate others who aren’t equally as zealous.

¹Friel, Joe, The Cyclist’s Training Bible, 3rd Edition, pp. 12-18 2003, Velo Press, Boulder Colorado, 2003.

How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise

 

It is possible to lose 20 lbs. of bodyfat in 30 days by optimizing any of three factors: exercise, diet, or drug/supplement regimen. I’ve seen the elite implementation of all three in working with professional athletes. In this post, we’ll explore a variation of the “slow carb” diet as used by Dean Karnazes, an ultramarathoner famed for completing 50 marathons on 50 consecutive days in 50 different states. The most impressive part of this, for me, is that he did so, not with the typical anemic marathoner build, but with a well-muscled mesomorph body.

In the last six weeks, I have cut from about 180 lbs. to 165 lbs., while adding about 10 lbs. of muscle, which means I’ve lost about 25 lbs. of fat. This is the only diet besides the rather extreme Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD) that has produced veins across my abdomen, which is the last place I lose fat (damn you, Scandinavian genetics). Here are the four simple rules I followed…

Rule #1: Avoid “white” carbohydrates

Avoid any carbohydrate that is — or can be — white. The following foods are thus prohibited, except for within 1.5 hours of finishing a resistance-training workout of at least 20 minutes in length: bread, rice, cereal, potatoes, pasta, and fried food with breading. If you avoid eating anything white, you’ll be safe.

Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again

The most successful dieters, regardless of whether their goal is muscle gain or fat loss, eat the same few meals over and over again. Mix and match, constructing each meal with one from each of the three following groups:

Proteins:
Egg whites with one whole egg for flavor
Chicken breast or thigh
Grass-fed organic beef
Pork

Legumes:
Lentils
Black beans
Pinto beans

Vegetables:
Spinach
Asparagus
Peas
Mixed vegetables

Eat as much as you like of the above food items. Just remember: keep it simple. Pick three or four meals and repeat them. Almost all restaurants can give you a salad or vegetables in place of french fries or potatoes. Surprisingly, I have found Mexican food, swapping out rice for vegetables, to be one of the cuisines most conducive to the “slow carb” diet.

Most people who go on “low” carbohydrate diets complain of low energy and quit, not because such diets can’t work, but because they consume insufficient calories. A 1/2 cup of rice is 300 calories, whereas a 1/2 cup of spinach is 15 calories! Vegetables are not calorically dense, so it is critical that you add legumes for caloric load.

Some athletes eat 6-8x per day to break up caloric load and avoid fat gain. I think this is ridiculously inconvenient. I eat 4x per day:

10am – breakfast
1pm – lunch
5pm – smaller second lunch
7:30-9pm – sports training
10pm – dinner
12am – glass of wine and Discovery Channel before bed

Here are some of my meals that recur again and again:

Scrambled Eggology pourable egg whites with one whole egg, black beans, and microwaved mixed vegetables

Grass-fed organic beef, pinto beans, mixed vegetables, and extra guacamole (Mexican restaurant)

Grass-fed organic beef (from Trader Joe’s), lentils, and mixed vegetables

Post-workout pizza with extra chicken, cilantro, pineapple, garlic, sundried tomotoes, bell peppers, and red onions

Rule #3: Don’t drink calories

Drink massive quantities of water and as much unsweetened iced tea, tea, diet sodas, coffee (without white cream), or other no-calorie/low-calorie beverages as you like. Do not drink milk, normal soft drinks, or fruit juice. I’m a wine fanatic and have at least one glass of wine each evening, which I believe actually aids sports recovery and fat-loss. Recent research into resveratrol supports this.

Rule #4: Take one day off per week

I recommend Saturdays as your “Dieters Gone Wild” day. I am allowed to eat whatever I want on Saturdays, and I go out of my way to eat ice cream, Snickers, Take 5, and all of my other vices in excess. I make myself a little sick and don’t want to look at any of it for the rest of the week. Paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc.) doesn’t downregulate from extended caloric restriction. That’s right: eating pure crap can help you lose fat. Welcome to Utopia.