As competitive athletes, we have a hard time taking it easy. The comparison of the glory days and what you are capable of plays into every workout. The frustration, the pain, the feeling of staring eyes as you gasp for breath, or are walking instead of running. All the while, you are screaming in your head:

As athletes, we have all been sidelined from an injury and then taken it easy when getting back into our sport. But what if you weren’t injured? What if you were on a break, and perhaps it lasted a few years?

As competitive athletes, we have a hard time taking it easy. The comparison of the glory days and what you are capable of plays into every workout. The frustration, the pain, the feeling of staring eyes as you gasp for breath, or are walking instead of running. All the while, you are screaming in your head:

“You don’t know what I have done.” or,

“I am better than I look right now.”

“Maybe it is just me, but don’t even get me started on carrying around the weight gain!”

My dear friend, Kathey, has a saying (and don’t quote me), “I am thankful and lucky enough to be able to do the sport that I love,” or something close to that.

As someone that is awaiting a knee replacement and barred from running, I would love to be that lucky. This pending surgery was the beginning of the derailment of my triathlon training. Why would I continue to train in a sport when I can only compete in two-thirds of it?

It wasn’t until a few years later that Swim/Bike events gained popularity and even reached more extended events. By then, I was already out of swim shape and doing other sports and loving it, which made it easier to move on and not dwell on what I was missing in my athletic life.

Returning to Your Sport After a Break

So, you’ve decided to end your chlorine-free skin streak and evenly tanned quads, but where on earth do you start? It is such a daunting task.

But remember that you can only eat an elephant one bite at a time.

Start by leaving the Garmin at home. Yes, I said it, so get over it. It would help if you did this for a month or two to find a rhythm of training again and to get enough recovery time.

Please go easy, slow, and don’t kick your ass for letting it all go and having to start again. It’s time to take the pressure off and enjoy the feeling of moving.

I had taken a couple of years off from biking for a million lame excuses, which I didn’t think would ever happen. I moved around a lot, and my new town is full of miles of trails that were screaming for some cyclocross bike adventures.

It’s hard to find words to describe the feeling of riding a bike again. The best part was the newness of a different kind of ride and the lack of previous experience and feelings associated with an old bike.

It made the low miles I was riding seem okay somehow. It gave me forgiveness for not riding 60 miles out of the gate.

Time to put the excuses away, my friend, and get at it. We are in this together, and I will be your accountability partner.

Take time, don’t rush the mileage, and be consistent.

Now is the time to take advantage of the pandemic and lack of races to start training. Fall in love with the sport again.

The post Returning to Your Sport From a Break Is Daunting, But Doable appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

When I have asked this question of others, the typical response that I receive is always a resounding yes with little thought to a bigger picture. Their passion for the sport drives their response. They would never look at anything else to feed their need to train and compete.

Many sports rely on the main events to fuel the continuation of other activities. So, what will they do now? The costs associated with hosting a race is expensive despite the opinions of those paying the high race fees. Logistically canceling a race still costs money. Some venues, city fees, and local businesses involved require money down and contracts signed.

Sports Are Big Business

They also have a business to run and bills to pay and will need to collect. Contractually, some host cities may not offer another year, so there is the race relocation to consider.

Are the costs associated enough to come from a slush fund or contingency plan without affecting the bottom line?

As a former race director for a non-profit triathlon, we would have been okay for many small costs that were paid upfront, but we wouldn’t have the same expenses as a branded race.

Let’s assume that the big races will survive on some level, even if it is not the same as 2019.

After you have thought about the financial viability and potential issues with venues, ask yourself this question. Can you continue to train for races that aren’t happening? Look inside and assess the matter.

Have you fallen into the quarantine 15 weight gain or haven’t been able to swim at all being landlocked and no pools open? There is a potential here to not race again until 2021.

Make sure you let that sink in. Can you continue to train for another year without ever testing your fitness or enjoying swimming?

Do Something Else

If you are still reading, then I’m guessing you might be ready to hear this. Do something else:

• Take up a hobby or a new activity to stay active.
• Now is the chance for a restart.
• Find the passion again for something fun without the competitive edge.

Imagine purely enjoying something without being constrained to a watch.

• You said you wanted to do more yoga.
• You wanted to read more.
• Try out a new sport that you previously didn’t have time for, like paddleboarding.

Do It, and when you do, something magical will happen.

You will find new joy, give your body a rest from training, and return to your favorite sport with new vigor and enthusiasm. Re-ignite your passion, and then you can say that your sport can survive the pandemic.

The post Will Your Sport Survive the Pandemic? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Cheating in sport is as old as the dawn of time. We all grew up hearing the news of a fallen superstar athlete cheating their way to infamy, but usually it was always performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) that were the issue. Sooner or later people always get caught. Even Lance Armstrong was found out after many years of testing and denial.

We are now in the age of the common man cheating as well. Sure, you can argue that the average Joes use PEDs but don’t get caught. It just isn’t logistically possible for some events to test every single athlete—especially when the back-of-the-packers are not gaining anything by getting juiced. No one cares. Right?

With all of the technology these days you have to wonder how people get away with it. It’s also this technology that allows the cheater to figure out ways to do it—the new age Lance Armstrong effect, if you will.

A timing chip helps us see our race times and if we have completed the legs of a race by crossing the electronic timing mat. It is not uncommon to have a timing mat or chip malfunction, therefore the athlete’s results will miss large chunks of time.

This then becomes a welcome opportunity for athletes to cut the course. We all know a guy that knows a guy that has done that. There is no way to know if a mat is out, but cheaters aren’t known to be honest so they will cut the course and blame the electronics. I suppose it makes them look good to their online peers and haters to look like they performed well.

This year there was even a story of a woman that gave her timing chip to her hubby and he finished the race for her. She even collected the finisher’s medal! That has to be a step up from being a “race bandit” if we are establishing a scale of deception.

Keep It Legitimate, Please

I once saw the great Bart Yasso speak about some incredible running races he was a part of. While I was in awe of the first Death Valley running race, it was the story of a marathon in a jungle and that has merit here.

He spoke of the indigenous children hitting them with colored dirt at certain parts of the course and when you crossed the finish line they checked to make sure you had all the colors. If you didn’t you were disqualified. Simple, yet effective.

Do we need to go back in time to ensure that people are honest? Do you care? As someone that has spent hours physically and emotionally training for races and events only to have my hard work undermined by someone that just wants to look good and get the medal at all costs, it is upsetting, to say the very least.

The only up-side is that there are internet junkies and journalists that are now hunting for race cheaters and calling them out—a bit of social media school yard justice right there.

In a conditional pension scheme, athletes have to pay a fraction of their proceeds from sports into a fund from which they can draw only well after their careers and if they have never been caught doping. Theoretically, this fund has two important advantages over conventional anti-doping policies such as bans and fines. It does not lose its deterrence effect when athletes approach the end of their careers (unlike bans), and it can deal with the widespread problem that drug cheats are often only found out much later when the detection technology has caught up with doping practices.

–Wu et al., 2020

I’ve often wondered what the modern day solution is to this dilemma, maybe it’s a Garmin Connect report to race directors and finishers stats provided that there is no service area coverage issues or tunnels and overpasses.

Perhaps a Strava-like app would work since most people carry their phones during part or all of their race and the submission of their entry to ensure accuracy.

Whatever the solution is I feel that cheating isn’t diminishing but escalating in its ingenuity. Between PEDs, course cutting, chip tampering, and the extremely common bike drafting, we are reaching epidemic proportions. So, let’s be part of the solution an not just cover our eyes.

Reference:

Wu, Q., Bayer, R.-C., & Lenten, L. J. A. (2020). Conditional Pension Funds to Combat Cheating in Sporting Contests: Theory and Experimental Evidence. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 101537.

The post Why Is There Still Cheating In Sport? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Best defined as someone that constantly asks for advice yet always does the complete opposite of what you were told to do. In this case, you asked a large demographic of people and chose the easiest way.

Do you ask “strangers” on the internet about your training? Do you post videos and solicit technique advice? I bet you are even the type to follow the sheep with the ideals that suit you best. The comments that allow you to slack off or the path of least resistance. Congratulations you are an askhole!

Best defined as someone that constantly asks for advice yet always does the complete opposite of what you were told to do. In this case, you asked a large demographic of people and chose the easiest way.

And going against the popular opinion here… professional athletes are not always the best people to ask. They are gifted in their athletic ability, coached by a qualified expert in the field and can only speak for what works for them. That does not make them a coach.

Accredited and valuable coaches don’t become that way with a weekend course and spend their entire career learning. From courses to reading journals and studies, to being a guinea pig or working with other coaches and groups to help you be the best you can be.

In my 17-years of coaching there are still things I am learning and passing on. I use science-based principles for the many successes of my athletes. Don’t even get me started on subscription-based generic robot programming!

Now before you take Karen’s advice that works for her and yet could potentially injure yourself do some research into whether Karen is qualified enough to give you free social media coaching with no background into your fitness level and capabilities.

Not all experienced trained coaches cost an arm and a leg, some of us do it for the growth of the sport. You might even find one that will help you with just your technique. Welcome to the digital age that you don’t need to be in the same zip code.

Can we agree to end some of the social media madness and focus on building the machine to have the healthiest, strongest and fastest season yet? I am cheering for you!

The post Don’t Be an AskHole appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Stop the resistance band insanity! The Instagram famous fitness models will show you plenty of exercises using a resistance band and tell you that it will tone your body parts. Can we check their credentials first and see if they are even educated enough to know what they are talking about?

After 16 years in the fitness industry, I have seen some crazy things that make no sense but that doesn’t mean they were useful or necessary. The problem I have now is the number of people that use these asinine bands because someone “fit” on Instagram told them to.

Do not mistake my disdain of bands at the local gym over the prescribed therapeutic practice by a trained physiotherapist or athletic trainer. My highly educated athletic trainer friend Kathey uses them for her patients in cases like shoulder rotation rehab. So, if someone exceptionally smarter than I agrees with me in their usage, that works for me.

It Matters How Bands Are Used

In my personal training practice and years of teaching yoga, I have used bands for assisted stretching both for the muscular benefits and to help with certain yoga poses. You are going to ask me about using them for assisting with pull-ups, aren’t you?

Well, bands have a use for that too, but in moderation. It’s easy to start off with them and work the form and muscles of a pull-up when you are brand new to pull-ups. But what happens when you have been doing them for months and can’t figure out why you aren’t progressing in your pull-ups. The band is keeping you from getting better.

There are other ways to build the strength for unassisted pull-ups. Try jumping pull-ups in the early stages and whenever you have high reps to do at your CrossFit box. Pull-up negatives are a fantastic way to engage the lat muscles and build crazy strength but don’t be discouraged when your negative hold is only for 0.00001 of a second. Don’t forget your supplementary weight lifting exercises to build your back strength.

Now, let’s discuss the reason why you think you need to use them besides to look like you are up to date with the latest fitness trend. Please keep in mind that you can’t spot reduce those pesky saddlebags so sidestepping with them around your thighs will only create a tightening of the gluteus medius and/or IT band.

There’s a potential injury from an excessive tight muscle waiting to happen. But wait, you could develop those muscles and make that area even bigger than you think it is now! I have never known anyone that will compliment you on how big your outer thighs are.

Some of the other moves I have seen defy logic considering that they decrease the range of motion of the muscles they are supposed to be strengthening or they are completely useless for the exercise that you are doing. Not to mention the fact that you get inconsistent tension using a band to actually build strength.

There Are Better Options

There is a reason that dumbbells, cables, and bodyweight exercises have been around for eons and are still used today—they work.

So, ditch the bands before you realize they aren’t doing what you want and that the Insta-fit culture is just out to chase followers and likes. And don’t forget to choose your fitness professional by their education, experience, and sound advice.

The post Ditch the Bands appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Since hill work is stressful, adaptation, progression, and periodization are of the utmost importance. A healthy dose of hill running can be a valuable component of your weekly training program.

There is no doubt that if a runner regularly hits the hills, they get stronger, more powerful, and ultimately faster. I am all about speed! However, you should vary the structure of your hill program throughout the season.

Since hill work is stressful, adaptation, progression, and periodization are of the utmost importance. A healthy dose of hill running can be a valuable component of your weekly training program.

Outdoor Versus Indoor

The answer to the age-old question of outdoor hill training or treadmill hills is that they both have their place in a good running plan.

The advantage of running on a treadmill is that you can dial in your workout specifications precisely, there is reduced impact, and you can focus on your running form. If you are trying to keep your heart rate down during base training, you simply select a speed that keeps your heart rate in your desired zone.

Treadmill hill workouts allow you to adjust the pace and incline to create just the right amount of stress for your workout. It may be hard to find a very long hill with a steady incline in your area, but the treadmill can create the terrain you need.

It is important to not start off your hill program with too steep of an incline, as your body may not be ready for it. With the treadmill, you can record and progress the incline slightly each week. The resistance on a treadmill remains constant, which is important for building muscular endurance.

Hill Training Progressions

An important component of the base period is training your aerobic energy system. This means sustaining lower intensities. Hills will obviously drive your heart rate up but that does not mean you should eliminate hill work during base season.

In fact, this is the best time to build sport-specific strength. As your season progresses, intensity and specificity should follow along.

The following workouts are in order of progression:

Hill Climbing

Walk to run faster? Don’t doubt it. Walking fast on a steep incline can get your heart rate up almost as much as a slow run and there is less impact and eccentric load. It is a great way to strengthen the glut, hamstrings, and calf muscles for tougher work to come.

Hill walking can be performed during the transition phase and early base training. Without the high impact of running, a steeper incline can be used. I prescribe this to all my athletes no matter how seasoned.

Base/Endurance Hill Intervals

This workout has a bit more structure. I recommend starting out at a base aerobic level and progressing to a higher aerobic intensity towards the end of your base and into the meat of your training.

Hill running intervals of 5-20 minutes with 5-10 minutes of recovery between efforts, up to two times per week, will build muscular endurance. Pace and/or incline must be adjusted to keep your heart rate in the right zone.

Although you will run at a slow pace, you will feel fatigue accumulate over time. This is a good workout for the treadmill but it can definitely be performed outdoors, with a little planning.

Steady Hill Intervals

For these intervals, intensity is increased to the top of, or slightly over, your aerobic zone and you will need to hold a more narrow range in the zone. Because this workout is more exact, it again may be easier to perform on the treadmill.

Start with intervals of 5-20 minutes with 5-10 minutes of recovery between efforts, up to two times per week.

Fartlek Hills

This is one of my favorite workouts to prescribe. It is a good introduction to higher intensity training to come. On a hilly course, you will push hard on the uphill sections and run a relaxed pace on the downhill.

This is not a very structured workout and is best performed outdoors. Fartlek hills build strength, power, and aerobic capacity if performed at a high intensity. As you progress with fartlek hills you can add in more intensity. Adding a 5-10 second sprint to the top of a hill is a good example.

Hill Bounds

Bounds utilize a springing motion, with plenty of power at takeoff. Picture leaping from point-to-point using a long stride as you climb a hill. You want to work on producing quick, explosive power of 50-75 meters.

Recovery is a slow walk back down the hill. Usually, 4-8 of these will be enough. Perform this workout no more than once per week.

Hill Sprints

Now we’re talking! Love/hate this workout. This is hill speed work with no heart rate prescribed so leave the HRM at home. On a hill of approximately 100 meters, start off at a moderate pace and build to a sprint.

In the last 10 seconds, sprint as hard as you can to the top of the hill. I prescribe this work out no more than two times per month in the race preparation period. I may prescribe several sets of 3-4 hill sprints.

Recovery between sets is 10-15 minutes of easy running. Recovery between efforts is a slow walk back down the hill. You may also perform hill sprints on a trail or soft surface to promote lower leg strength.

Hill Strides

These are a technique drill. Many runners slow their stride rate and lengthen their stride as they attempt to power up a hill. The exact opposite should take place. Count your strides going uphill.

Your stride rate should be around 30 right foot strides in 20 seconds. Work on a short, fast, efficient uphill stride and use your arms to create lift. You should perform these in all periods of the season.

Hills Will Benefit You

Remember that hill work is a combination of strength and power training and you must let your body acclimate gradually and recover in between workouts. If you experience any calf or Achilles area pain, stop immediately and take a few days off.

Do your self-care to manage the pain and recover quickly. Do not resume training until you are pain-free. In between your hill training workouts on the treadmill do not run on an incline for your longer runs as it can increase your injury risk.

Well-planned hill work will help prevent injury and strengthen your tendons, joints, and ligaments, but only if the stress load is not too much too soon. Overall fitness cannot be rushed and hill work is no exception.

The post Become a Blazing Fast Runner appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

“Life got in the way.”

How many times have we used that excuse because we didn’t race the way we wanted to? Maybe we had a DNF or maybe even a DNS. We blame life for it. Let’s face it, you didn’t do the work. You made up flimsy excuses to skip a workout and as a result, you had an awful race. As a single woman, I have a lot of good excuses to get out of just about any situation, but it doesn’t help my ultimate goals.

“Life got in the way.”

How many times have we used that excuse because we didn’t race the way we wanted to? Maybe we had a DNF or maybe even a DNS. We blame life for it. Let’s face it, you didn’t do the work. You made up flimsy excuses to skip a workout and as a result, you had an awful race. As a single woman, I have a lot of good excuses to get out of just about any situation, but it doesn’t help my ultimate goals.

Find Your Weakness

I am going to ask you to look inside and see what you are avoiding or afraid of, but first, we need to find the weakness. Review your training data and find where you have been purposefully avoiding doing the work for the past 3-5 months.

Let me remind you that the avoidance of running won’t make your running better or stronger. Did you really want to walk the whole run portion of your triathlon? I can almost hear the time slipping away from you and your race happiness fleeting.

With enough scrutiny, you may find what type of workout you avoid most. Don’t forget to include your pre and post-race nutrition, rest, and recovery since they are critical to training and overall success.

Do you binge drink and eat a lot of high garbage calories after a training session or beforehand? Do you get enough sleep? How is your training/racing hydration and nutrition? There is no point in doing all the physical work to undo it all with poor nutrition and lack of adequate sleep.

Look Within and Make a Plan

Armed with some new information you have uncovered, I’m asking you to look inside yourself and see what is actually holding you back. A large percentage of the population sabotage themselves for fear of success, the fear of being good and some have just lost motivation. There is a multitude of reasons why but be honest with yourself. Let’s make some changes to achieve the goals we set for ourselves.

The last step in this journey is to make a plan. If the sport is what you truly love and want to give it your all, I suggest spending the first part of the offseason training for the love of the sport and leave the Garmin at home.

Just enjoy the feeling again. Find a new coach, join a masters swim club, take up trail running to reignite the passions. If you are feeling that your blockage is you that is keeping you from your goals, find a source of motivation.

There are several motivational biography books from incredible authors, find a mentor, or a training/accountability buddy. Reach out to me and I will be that buddy! As always, if you think you need the assistance of a professional to help you dig deeper please do so, thankfully that is something we can all do without the stigma attached.

The post Set Yourself Up for Your Best Race Season Yet appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Athletes in general are tough. We don’t like to show weakness. Our non-athlete social circles think we are crazy and awe-inspiring. But it’s okay to break, and it’s okay to ask for help. I recently found myself mentally weighed down with a lot of personal issues, and didn’t feel I could talk about them or I would seem weak. My tendency is to keep it inside and figure it out on my own. Recently, I admitted on social media that I was struggling, and asked for coping strategies. What I got instead was an outpouring of love that showed me it was okay to be vulnerable.

Source: Bev Childress

Despite feeling loved by friends and acquaintances, I was still underwater with my issues and thoughts. I needed to snap out of it before it took over and sent me to a very dark place. I needed to find some clarity, and find the best way to re-center myself emotionally. I tried three methods, and today I’ll share them with you, in the hope that someone who is similarly struggling may find them useful. You can try all three, but you may find just one of them the most appealing, based on your personality or how you are currently feeling.

Part 1: The Tough Cookie Workout

This workout is just my style. I love an ass kicking. No music allowed for this one. You’ll be working too hard anyway.

• 10min warmup including easy run, dynamic active stretching, and some pickups
• 20 x 100m all out sprints
• The rest interval is the walk back to the starting line
• 5min easy jog and static stretching

Without music as a distraction, I felt trapped in my thoughts and struggled to stay on task. By the seventh round, I wanted to quit, but I convinced myself to at least finish at 10 rounds. On the 11th round, I accepted I couldn’t cure my mom’s cancer. By round 15, I acknowledged that it wasn’t my loss that she didn’t want to include me or my kids in her life all these years; it was hers. By round 20, it was more of a cry fest then a sprint. I couldn’t keep the emotions in anymore. I had pushed myself past my mental barriers.

The simple brutality of this workout helped me overcome the guilt of my reactions, and the feelings of being inadequate. I released all of those and more. I had fresh insight on other areas as well, like my active yet dismal dating life. While all those sprints left me broken mentally, emotionally and physically, I left with a sense of freedom and peace. I gave forgiveness to all those that hurt me, occupied my mind, distracted me, and gave me undue stress.

This may not be way to cope for you, and that is okay. I have two other ideas I tried, if sprints aren’t your thing.

Part 2: Channeling the Inner Swami

The analogy of life being like a roller coaster is fitting. But how we handle those ups and downs makes all the difference. Everyone knows that alcohol is not the answer, even though we all check to make sure. After the physical and emotional release of my sprint beatdown, I decided to take a more spiritual approach with less physical demands.

My background includes being a yoga instructor for almost 15 years. I teach a clinical type of yoga, using it to really stretch out and stay flexible. But this time, I would go deeper into my yoga practice and include some meditation.

The spiritual connection I sought required somewhere quiet, where I would feel safe and happy. For me, it’s the outdoors. There are many places I love, but only one would do for this exercise. Picture this: an easy hike through a beautiful forest to a stream of cool, clear water. You can see the water flow around and over the rocks, weaving its way through the landscape of trees, and reflecting the blue sky and fluffy white clouds. There is a small, wooden foot bridge spanning across it with a railing on one side. I sat on that bridge, back resting on the rail, and soaked up the sun while watching the water flow towards and underneath me.

The part of yoga that I don’t practice often is the meditation. Everyone who knows me will tell you that I am too wired to sit still and be mindful. But this is what I needed to do, and I want you to try it. I will guide you through what I did. Just sit comfortably, close your eyes, and breathe slowly through your nose. Breathing is the focus, but the sound of the moving water helped me relax.

• Imagine your breathing as the exchange of energy.
• The inhale is bright, golden light energy, like the sun. When you breathe it in, it fills you with golden light. It relaxes your muscles, makes you feel peaceful, and quiets your mind.
• The exhale is the release of bad energy. It’s dark and draining. Every time you exhale, you can feel it leaving your body, almost watching it being drawn out and expelled through your nose.
• Inhale the warm, bright, energizing light; let it fill your body, getting into every nook and cranny, chasing away the stale, stressed, negative energy. Feel its power replenishing your soul.
• Exhale the darkness, the stress, and feel the weight of it leaving your body as you become heavy with relaxation. Each exhale brings you closer to tranquility and harmony.
• Inhale the beauty of the energy. Let it smooth your worries from the inside; let it fuel your quest for happiness and calmness; let it fill you to ward off the dark energy. Use its power to keep you grounded and mindful.

Repeat this process until you feel relaxed. Once I got there, I just let the sun shine on my face and listened to the water with my eyes still closed. I didn’t try to solve any problems, but rather made peace with the things that were beyond my control. I looked for perspective on how to be happy moving forward, and was thankful for all the great things in my life.

Although I wasn’t broken and crying like the last workout, I had an pleasant calm come over me. The weight of the world was off my shoulders. I sat a bit longer, watching the water, before heading home, ready to tackle what could come.

I dare you to try this quiet, subtle approach for mental clarity. I want to hear if how it went for you. Be sure to take a second to thank yourself. Thank your body for its hard work, your mind for its focus, and your spirit for its presence.

Part 3: Pick It Up and Put It Down

Stepping out of our own head can be one of our greatest challenges. My first method broke me and reduced me to a blubbering, sweaty puddle. The second was a spiritual connection, in which I found some peace and freedom from the weight of my issues. Now I wanted to tackle the more physical, primal side of it. I also hoped to achieve some personal physical growth.

Anyone who lifts weights can tell you that it’s excellent therapy. The rush of endorphins, the muscle pump, and the gains can be addicting. For those that lift heavy weights consistently, it can also be frustrating. Trying to break through a plateau can be exhausting.

My head can be like an attic full of mice, so I chose to do some heavy deadlifts to try and silence the noise. Deadlifts demand a lot from your mind and body, and for me, are the most rewarding to complete. They feed the need to be strong and make you feel like a badass, while blowing out everything else in your head besides the lift.

As the weight gets super heavy, you will probably need to drop the bar, so you’ll need access to a gym with bumper (rubber) plates. Dropping a heavy barbell that you just picked up off the floor is all part of the therapy.

I can type out the best way to deadlift with great form but it’s better to visually see the cues.

Here’s the workout:

• Warm up with some light cardio, and do your mobility to get loose. Include some very light weights in movements like good mornings.
• Start your deadlifts at about 50% of your 1RM. If you don’t know what that is, then start as light as possible and then add 5-10 lbs at a time. Be sure your form is perfect before you add more weight!
• Perform reps until your form starts to falter, then stop. Increase the weight on the bar and repeat.
• When it starts to get good and heavy, drop reps to 1 or 2 at a time.
• This is where it gets spicy. When you are near your 1RM, you’ll know it from how you feel. Do you have one more rep? One more pound? If you do, go for it!

If you end up with a new max deadlift, congratulations! Being successful makes you feel a strength you haven’t had lately. I had one of those moments in this workout, like I had put on my Superman cape and was ready to take on the world. The act of pulling the heaviest weight you have ever pulled off the floor is draining, in a good way. Every muscle in your body has to work to lift it.

You might have to consciously think about pulling harder, or you might not be thinking at all. There is a rare occasion where you start pulling and it gets really, really hard to do, and you start to doubt yourself. Finishing that lift is the most empowering action out there. It quiets your doubts, and teaches you the success of overcoming negative thoughts.

That moment, for me, is when I felt the doubts of my overall strength wash away. I could handle everything my life was throwing at me. There was a sense of pride, and even a smile. Not everyone will get it, but who cares? They’re your battles; conquer them in your own way.

If not, the workout will still have done its job. Failing at doing better than you have before will upset you. This will either make you cry out all the stress, or make you so mad that you forget all the other worries. Sometimes that means more crying. I am one of those.

Whichever way you chose to help free you from the mental prison, do it in a healthy way. No one can take care of you but you. You can’t do any good for anyone else if you don’t take care of yourself. Most of all, don’t ever be afraid to reach out for help. I am always here to listen.

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Having poor running technique can be painful and costly. The gadgets and gear to help correct you can be overwhelming, the costs of therapy for issues related to improper running form can be astronomical, but most of all running in pain robs us of the joy of the sport. Let’s get you running more efficiently, in less pain, and with an added bonus of running faster.

Classic signs of poor running technique include, but aren’t limited to, lower back pain, knee pain, and shin splints. Typically these symptoms are due to heel striking where your foot makes contact on the ground first and then you follow through with your body which creates huge amounts of impact on your body as a whole. This type of running is very common and can be a challenge to correct. With the help of gravity and some work on your part, we will move you to running on your midfoot and change your center of mass to reduce some of the intense impact that heel striking can produce. There are some drills and tips to help you correct the heel striking which will also have you running faster with less effort by using gravity to work in our favor.

Before you begin any drill, start by finding the feeling of being on your midfoot. You can do this by standing flat foot, keeping a stable midline, arms at your sides, then just lean forward without bending at the waist. Lean from the ankles and shift your weight towards the ball of your foot. Be sure not to lean too far so you can keep your alignment. Leaning too far will make you break your form and put your foot out to keep you from falling on your face. The feeling you get having the weight on the ball of your foot is where you want to be. It’s this small lean that we want to keep while executing the drills and subsequent running.

Ball of the Foot Drills

The biggest part of breaking free of the heel strike during running is to get used to being on the ball of the foot or midfoot. Depending on who you ask, it is the area forward of the arch, before the toes. For these drills, it’s best to keep the following in mind:

Why? It’s an important drill to teach us where to land while running and how to fall forward.

How? Stand upright with tight midline, neutral hips, and correct posture. Be sure to look forward and not at your feet. Start by hopping in place while maintaining your starting posture. Hop in place 10-20 times then add a lean from the ankles. Feel your weight shift to the ball of the foot and hop forward 10 times. Be sure to be aware of the feeling. Repeat 2-4 times more. Be sure to let your heel kiss the ground.

Wall Drills

These drills teach you how to fall into the forward movement as well as how to pull the foot off the ground using the hamstring without pushing off.

Wall Leans: Facing a wall, stand with straight posture, stable midline, shoulders relaxed, and hips neutral. Extend your arms straight out and fall forward into the wall maintaining a fixed body. Keep looking straight ahead and not at the ground. Run in place and be sure to pull feet off the ground.

Back to Wall Drills: Stand with back to the wall with feet a few inches out from the wall. Posture is straight and your body weight is on the ball of the foot. Pull a foot of the ground using the hamstring and make a figure 4 posture (notice in the video) and then return your foot to the ground and back on the ball of the foot. Any push off with the foot instead of lifting will result in hitting the wall behind you. A good practice is to execute 20-25 pulls per foot.

Common mistakes with these drills is breaking at the hips where your butt is back and your chest has dropped forward. Your knees could be too high up, pulling foot too high and letting the back foot trail out behind you instead of under you.

Gun Drill (aka Charlie’s Angels)

This drill helps with the feeling of falling forward without breaking at the hip while maintaining a stable midline.

To do this drill, resume your standard body position—correct posture, hips neutral, shoulders relaxed, knees slightly bent, and looking forward. Extend arms out in front of body and clasp hands while keeping arms locked out. Begin running in place by pulling feet off the ground in the figure 4 posture while maintaining locked out arms. Keep the midline tight and with no breaking at the waist. Fall forward at the ankles and run while keeping your arms from shifting side to side.

Common mistakes for this drill are things like breaking at the hip, high knees, your foot trailing out behind the center of mass, keeping your knees low, and instead of pulling the foot up you are doing “butt kickers.”

Partner Fall

This drill will get you comfortable with the degree of lean needed without worry of falling on your face. You will learn the amount of lean needed to obtain optimal forward movement.

Partner #1 stands in the new standard figure 4 position while partner #2 supports their body weight at the shoulders to keep them from falling. Partner #1 runs in place with midline stable, looking forward, making a figure 4, and pulling their feet off the ground using the hamstring. At the time partner #2 feels the commitment to the lean and technique they let go and move out of the way. Partner #1 continues with a quick very short test run while maintaining form.

The most common mistakes done here are that partner #1 leans too severely or fails to hold correct posture by breaking at the hips. Be sure to maintain the lean from the ankles and look forward.

Be sure to video yourself while you working on your technique to ensure you are getting into the right position, leaning from the ankles, and your legs look like a figure 4 and not a butt kick.

Use These Drills as Progressions

Once you put together these running drill progressions you will be ready to test them out on the road. Don’t rush it and reduce your mileage to start. Remember while doing your drills and your runs to get your heels down to save from blowing out your calves. You will be amazed to not only run with less pain but to also use gravity to run so much faster with little effort.

The post Running Drills to Cure Heel Striking and Shin Splints appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Throughout the review period of six weeks there were new people that popped up but those were all about an hour away but that is not useful for me or anyone else in my area. I did have a brief DM conversation initiated by Pedro in Miami, who works for the app, so hardly a new friend. Still in its infancy, the app did not find anyone in my area who shares my interests. So, I reached out to a few friends in some metropolitan areas in Canada and the US and asked them to test it out for me.

Ottawa, Boston, Dallas, San Diego, and NYC all answered my call. While in different geographical areas the results were very similar, no connections, no new friends. For those of us more ‘mature’ users, the common thread was that when they did see someone in a joint sport, the other user was young. While designed for meeting like-minded athletes, and not romantic connections, the general feeling was that seeing a more broad base of ages would be helpful in making connections with athletes of a similar age.

Not a Large Enough User Base

To give you an idea of the overall group consensus about the Bvddy app, one review response I received read: “Largely, the app was filled with empty spaces where gregarious people were supposed to be—and the promise of social interaction was quickly replaced with a sense of void that is often found in our left and right swipe society.”

To help with the sporadic user base there should be some consistent advertising and promotion in the form of hosting sporting activities at local rec centers and gyms to get the word out. I do think there is an opportunity here to get sports enthusiasts connected and involved in games or matches that they may not know about otherwise. Yet, without more broad based promotion, the app will continue to be of little use to millions of amateur athletes.

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Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to find someone who does the same sport. But is your sport the only passion you have? I want my significant other to have a healthy activity they do with zeal, and it would be great if it was something that I could be a part of. But that doesn’t mean we have to share an obsession with triathlon.

For my part, I love everything about the outdoors, so my person needs to be the same. To be honest, I spend more time playing other sports outside than training for triathlons. Bonus points for someone that will go for scenic bike ride, or hit a trail on their mountain bike.

Athletic Compatibility Isn’t That Important

The most important attribute in any athlete’s partner is support. The ongoing understanding, unwavering encouragement of your passion, the willingness to learn and be a part of your devotion to the sport. You should be equally willing to back whatever fuels their spirit. Isn’t that a more important quality than your relative race times?

What is most important to you that doesn’t involve your sport? That might be a better starting place when evaluating potential partners. Chances are, it will also drastically improve the quality of your dating life and ensuing relationships. Rather than discounting someone because they don’t swim, bike and run; you should think about what they can bring into your life to enrich it. Who knows, maybe you’ll learn to love a new sport with an amazing person. Best of luck out there!

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How Heart Rate Holds You Back

If I say to you I want you to sprint 400m, you will sprint. It will be hard, and you will recover, and with enough sprint training you will get faster. If you do the same thing following the numbers on your monitor, you will slow down to stay in the zone. You are holding back, when you could be doing better. Doesn’t sound very productive to having a stellar race season. 

Another example of a heart rate monitor letting you down is when you’re tired or aren’t feeling well. The monitor says you need to pick it up to stay in the zone, but you just can’t. Next thing you know, you are ignoring that your body is telling you that you need to rest, and pushing yourself hard to get into or stay in zone, and now you are injured.

What Does Your Body Say?

Before monitors were invented, there was a thing called rate of perceived exertion (RPE). It’s free, pretty basic, and easy to use. The RPE scale is an excellent tool. You can use a simple scale of 1 for easy and 10 for all-out effort. With my athletes, I tend to use percentages in the upper range of 70-100%, or words like easy, hard, sprints, time trial effort, or all-out effort.

For base training, go slow and easy when starting out in your program, then train at a perceived exertion up to 70% effort. After a month or two, when you feel like you are into the swing of it, then it’s time to open the throttle.

One of the great things about ditching the monitor is that you smash through plateaus by pushing harder. The fitter you become through quality over quantity training, the more you can push and blow through your old PRs. It also adds longevity to your programming. You can use the same training program year after year, because it is based on your exertion, and not judging you on your fitness level. Just remember to leave your ego at the door, and be honest in your assessment of your training effort.

Give it a try. Repeat one of your track workouts, and base it solely on how you feel. Of course you will track your time, but I want you run based only on how you feel. Be honest. Then write down your results and compare. It also works for the bike and the swim. It’s time to get away from the chain keeping you from kicking some serious butt on the race course. 

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