The interesting thing about goals is they often seem to get shifted around due to the normal happenings in life. Dates move, targets get revised, and life happens; examples include projects coming up at work or a vacation getting scheduled. Heck, even an unexpectedly sunny day can overcome that day’s motivation to train. This is where the value of competitive events comes in.

Having a planned competitive event scheduled (or series of events) puts hard fixed dates to your goals. The dates don’t change because you strained your quad or your little sister is getting married. What you do is figure out how to deal with these things within the confines of your fixed schedule, because there is no flexibility to your goal.

In addition to created firm dates you have to live by, it also provides additional focus and motivation to your training goals and objectives. Having that event looming in the future clearly defines what you’re working to achieve. It is not some loosely defined goal, and this clear goal provides the sharp crisp focus and purpose to your training plan. This purpose feeds one’s motivation.

Now there are those people who just have that incredible level of consistency and dedication to continuous improvement. It may be easy to question why these people would need to rely on this method to provide the clarity and motivation to their training. The truth is they don’t; they need it for another reason. Oftentimes people truly training at this level are doing so due to some behavioral issues, such as compulsive or addictive behavior patterns.

With this type of behavior pattern, it can be nearly impossible to get the person to occasionally down-regulate their training, which is needed to maximize their results.Personally, I fall into this category and things like major surgeries, vacations, births of children, or career changes make little to no effect on my training. It is only the competitive event that forces me to down-regulate my training so I can “realize” the results and achieve the recovery needed before my next training cycle.

Regardless of your sport participating in competitive events are a key piece in maximizing your potential and keeping you moving forward and progressing. Benefits include:

• Clarity of goals
• Inflexible dates forcing you to accommodate them (not the other way around)
• Motivation
• Forced down-regulation and “realization” periods

What’s your next event?

The post Are You Training In A Void? Why Competition Helps appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Affiliate Owners

These days, there are fitness competitions every weekend of the year, and each of them need judges. At the local throwdown level, everything is somewhat relaxed. I used to be super-strict and uptight as a judge at these things, but I get it a bit more now. When the aim is to meet up with like-minded friends and blow off some steam, it’s up to you how you do things.

But bear in mind that this is where athlete-judge relationships are formed, so a general vibe of respect towards judges goes a long way. In fact, a disagreement between an athlete and judge quickly sours the air at competitions like these, so it’s in everyone’s interests to create a home-grown, grassroots culture of respect

There’s probably something to be said for the way athletes speak to coaches, too. As a coach, you don’t have to get your class to shout “YES COACH” when you ask them a question or provide “motivational consequences” of burpees for every misdemeanor (though it’s worked for Coach Burgener). But helping athletes to understand respect in sporting situations is part of growing them as an athlete, especially those for whom this is their first competitive sport.

Event Organizers

Any organization that runs sporting competition has a responsibility to invest in judges. I don’t mean money, at least not necessarily. If you want your judges to be exemplars, then show them the respect that you want your athletes to show them. Look after them. At bigger competitions where more is at stake, set a budget for your judges just like you’d set a budget for everything else that ensures the event runs smoothly. That doesn’t mean a free t-shirt and some food when on duty. Go a step further and make sure they have enough time to eat the food. This usually means having enough judges to switch out and give breaks.

Do everything you can to make sure your judges are well rested. That means helping with accommodation, travel, or whatever else you can do to ensure they are focused on the task at hand. It means not getting them up at the crack of dawn to hold a judges briefing. It means proper live training, away from the event and the competition floor, where judges can feel comfortable enough to ask the stupid questions. If you can’t do that (or even if you can), maybe take them out for dinner. You want a united team right? Make them feel like one.

Your judges are your public face. Show the athletes that you care about their wellbeing and welfare, and I’ll be damned if athletes don’t treat them with more respect, too. If judges are treated as disposable by the event organizers, there to serve a purpose at the weekend only to be discarded straight afterwards until the same time next year, then they will also be treated as disposable by athletes.

Judges are the glue of the competition. [Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.]

Athletes

An athlete in any competition must understand that the judge’s decision is final. Not right or wrong, just final. There’s nothing you can say or do that will change a decision. It’s also the responsibility of the organizers to make sure that is true whether the decision was in favor of or against the athlete. Rules are rules are rules, no matter how they fall.

I have a tattoo on my back. It’s a quote from the Rudyard Kipling poem, If:

“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same”

These two lines are inscribed across the wall of the players’ entrance to Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, where the Wimbledon Championships are held. I suppose that’s a very British sentiment in a way: to be reserved when it comes to emotions. But I’m not talking about cultural differences here. I’m talking about being a good human. Whether judges are paid or unpaid, volunteers or not, is irrelevant to how they deserve to be treated.

I’ve found that the true champions, the folks truly at the top of the game, are humble and polite. I don’t think it’s a coincidence they are champions of their sport and of the people. Good people attract good people. And a focused, no B.S. team of good people is a recipe for success, sporting or otherwise. It’s always the “wannabes” who are ignorant and rude. Same in life.

Judges

Without you, nothing works. So it’s your responsibility to be as prepared as possible. Get an early night before competition day. If you want respect, don’t turn up stinking of stale booze from the night before. Make sure you have read and understand any materials presented to you beforehand. If you don’t have any, ask for them.

Listen and learn at the briefings. Ask the stupid questions before it’s too late. Each competition will have unique rules but the basics are simple and universal. If you’re unsure of yourself, it’s your responsibility to make that known to the organizers. Speak with your head judge. He or she will advise you. Call him or her over if you need to during the event. This is not a time or place to be shy. Take any disputes to your head judge. He or she has got your back. Be prepared to back up your decisions and focus on the facts.

You are the law. If you’ve done the prep work, then stand your ground. Stay focused on the task both on and off the competition floor. Don’t talk shit with your mates about the athletes on a break. You are impartial, and you must remain that way until the doors shut at the end of the weekend. Be professional, and you will be treated professionally.

Spectators and Ringside Coaches

This one is simple. Be respectful. You may be a coach, or a judge, or an athlete, or all of the above in another setting. But right here, right now, you are a spectator. Back up your athlete or team by all means, but show respect to the judges who helped your athlete. Because, that’s exactly what they did, no matter whether you deem their decisions “helpful” or not.

If you have a problem, take it up with the head judge or organizers, respectfully and in private. But understand these guys have a competition to run, and they need to make sure the rest of it runs smoothly. So accept what they have to say with grace and professionalism. You are an extension of the athlete you are supporting, and a guest of the competition. Behave like both. Represent yourself, your athlete, and your gym as you know you should. In almost every other sport there are consequences for spectators or coaches who cause trouble. If you do, you should expect the same.

We Can Do This

If we all understand what’s expected of us, and step up our game where necessary to deliver a consistent message to each other, and a consistent experience to the athletes, we can all enjoy the sport for what it is, and enjoy competitions for what they are – a chance for true champions of both the sport and the scene to shine.

The post Don’t Judge the Judging: Do Something About It appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

#1: What Is Your Motivation?

Before deciding to fully invest yourself in contest prep, think about the reason you want to compete. The demands of contest prep are not for the weak of heart. With the growing trend of competing in bikini, physique, figure, and bodybuilding, many competitors step on stage with good intentions, but for the wrong reasons. Think peer pressure, social media influences, or a feeling of obligation.

Physique is a subjective sport, and you put in a lot more resources in than you ever get back. Be motivated to get on stage for the right reasons, such as self-improvement, embracing the challenge, and pushing your training.

#2: How Is Your Mental and Emotional Health?

The majority of competitors consider their physical health before they begin contest prep, but few people consider the importance of a healthy mind. Unfortunately, mental and emotional health are often taken for granted by both athletes and coaches. Contest prep can lead to serious repercussions in these areas, such as a negative relationship with food and self-esteem issues. If you struggle with extreme emotions or a poor self-image, it is likely these issues will be magnified during contest prep, not resolved.

#3: What Are Your Ultimate Goals?

Think about not only why you’re competing, but also what you want to get out of the experience, from the prep process to your time on stage. In a subjective sport like bodybuilding, it can be challenging to gracefully accept negative feedback and critiques from a group of judges after you’ve worked relentlessly for weeks to achieve your best body possible. Embrace your body and be content with the package you’re bringing to stage, knowing you did everything you could to build the best physique possible.

#4: How Will You Balance Priorities?

When you take on your first contest prep, it can be challenging to balance priorities. Depending on your style of diet and training, contest prep can feel like a full-time job. This can be difficult if you actually have a full-time job, along with family demands and career responsibilities.

Like anything in life, when contest prep is in the spotlight, everything else can temporarily fall by the wayside. This can impact your family, social life, work and school. Determine what is most important to you in the long run so you can avoid tunnel vision when preparing for your first show.

#5: How Will You Balance It All?

Everyone has daily demands outside of contest prep. It’s crucial to figure out how you’ll be able to balance it all before you start investing your time and money into a prep. How will you make your sessions fit around your daily work, school, and family demands? When will you prep meals and find time to eat throughout the day? Fail to plan, plan to fail. You have to find a way to make it work in advance.

#6: Are You Prepared for the Costs?

The competitive bodybuilding lifestyle isn’t cheap, especially for female competitors. Take time to map out a budget and assess whether a show is financially feasible and responsible. Avoid any surprises. Take the time to price out the costs of:

• Organization memberships
• Registration fees
• Competition suit, shoes, and jewelry
• Contest tan
• Hair and makeup
• Travel expenses
• Coaching fees
• Other costs such as nails, photo shoots, added food expenses, etc.

The costs can add up quickly, and if you don’t set a budget it can be easy to go overboard, even at the novice level.

#7: What About the Hidden Demands?

With more and more Instagram fitness models and social media #fitspos, it’s easy to focus only on the positive aspects of contest prep and bodybuilding lifestyle. But social media doesn’t paint a true or honest picture of the demands and struggles of a contest prep program.

“Be motivated to get on stage for the right reasons, such as self-improvement, embracing the challenge, and pushing your training.”

Do your own research about what it takes to build your best physique. Educating yourself will help you understand what sacrifices must be made to be successful so you can avoid any surprises. For many people, the benefits of competing don’t always outweigh the negatives in terms of social sacrifices, food restriction, and more. Figure out what you’re willing to give up to compete.

#8: How Will You Choose the Right Coach?

Enlist the help of a professional to aid you in making the best decisions for your body and mind. This is especially important for new competitors. Research multiple coaches and get to know their coaching styles. Interview them like you would anyone you’re hiring for a job. Some competitors need more emotional support, while others prefer to work independently, and different coaches cater to different needs.

Hire a coach who knows what he or she is doing and has the credentials to reflect their experience. Don’t hesitate to ask about their education and experience, as well as contest prep history. Consider contacting previous clients to get an honest interpretation of their experience.

#9: How Is Your Support System?

There will be some days during your prep when you want to give up completely and never see another chicken breast again. Without a proper support system to give you the tough love and motivation you need, days it can be a challenge to push through those rough days on your own. Keep your support system close throughout your prep. Fill it with friends, family, and fellow competitors to encourage you and help push you when you need it.

#10: Are You Prepared for Post-Competition?

You’ve heard it a million times, but one of the most important things to think about before competing is what your plan is for after the competition. Many competitors experience post-contest rebound and rapid weight gain. Having a post-contest plan will help you ease back into a balanced lifestyle without the potential emotional and physical turmoil that can occur after the stage experience.

Be Honest With Yourself

Honestly assess each of these questions so you understand your decision to compete. You will be better able to make the smartest, healthiest, and best choice for you and your body and ensure a positive contest experience.

When done in a happy and healthy way, the contest prep process will teach you about yourself, your true abilities, and your true strength. It will transform you physically, mentally, and emotionally. Good luck!

More like this:

• Bodybuilding Basics: Navigating the Federation Puzzle
• Your Addictive Personality Can Wreak Havoc on Your Diet
• From CrossFit Athlete to Physique Competitor – My Fitness Journey
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post 10 Things to Consider Before Your First Physique Competition appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

When talking to people who have a passion, you can see their eyes light up as they discuss their project. That’s exactly what you see happen when AJ Richards, the CEO of Rush Club, talks about his organization.

Two competitors get ready to throw down on stage for the audience.

Part fight club and part functional fitness on a premier stage, the events can only be described as a spectacle in the greatest sense. From the athletes’ entrances (similar to an MMA bout) to the high-quality venues that offer a unique atmosphere for the patrons, this promotion is about to take the world by storm.

What Is Rush Club?

You haven’t heard of Rush Club before? Well, you might have heard of a few of these names that have graced their stage: Josh Bridges, Noah Olsen, Sam Dancer, Jon Pera, Elisabeth Akinwale, and Camille Leblanc-Bazinet. Within a little over a year, this small organization has showcased some of the best athletes in the functional fitness realm.

This is how Rush Club works:

• Only two athletes for each workout (match).
• Each match has the athletes go head-to-head in a single elimination functional fitness competition.
• Most matches are completed within ten minutes.
• Athletes learn what the workouts are thirty days prior to the competition.
• There are classes for both men and women, including additional weight and master divisions.
• The winner of each division, both male and female competitors, earns the incredibly designed belt and the bragging rights.

With some of the names mentioned above, it is no easy feat to become the champion of any division. But beyond their stats and resumes, what draws the audience is following the athlete’s stories as they get ready for their bouts. In the weeks leading to each event, Rush Club features the athletes through their social media accounts. The audience gets to see the athletes at the weigh-ins the day before the event and at the press conference. And that’s what makes the format so unique. Rush Club is a one-of-a-kind experience due to the athletes being the center stage attraction.

“Part fight club and part functional fitness on a premier stage, the events can only be described as a spectacle in the greatest sense.”

Yes, the workouts are grueling and tough, but it’s more about the stories and the personality of the athletes. Although many different functional fitness competitions have heats of many athletes competing all at once, Rush Club is distinct in having only two athletes featured at a time. I can’t help but remember rule number five of Fight Club: “one fight at a time.”

With each match building to the main event, it highlights the athlete’s progression to the title bout. Because the “card” is built just like a MMA card, each event highlights several weight classes divided between men and women. Once an athlete wins a match, they are eligible to move up in the rankings of their division. And when an athlete goes on a winning streak, it makes it possible for them to challenge for the title.

The Sunglasses and the Beard

The Rush Club environment helps athletes show their personality and unique physicality. When looking at the athletes, we see distinct characteristics. Some athletes just have the x-factor. For example, look no further than Kawika Henderson. Sporting his iconic sunglasses, stylized beard and broad smile, he is easily noticed wherever he goes. Following him on social media, you can track his progress on his pizza diet. (Seriously, go check out his pizza diet. You will see just as many pictures of his food as his training regimen.)

Kawika Henderson is a charasmatic fan favorite.

I asked him about his training for the competition and he said, “I’m test running a program called Barbell Empire. The program is really based on lifting heavy every day. Its emphasis is on: how do you feel that day, proper form, increased muscle endurance. I do a metcon every day.” Kawika also has had a left shoulder injury, but he trains smart by always incorporating mobility, stability drills, and strength exercises in his workout regimen.

Throughout the competitions, we get to witness the highs and lows of each athlete. Every fan of sports loves to see the hero rise from the ashes, and with Rush Club, we get to see this up close and personal. Kawika was the first heavyweight champion in the men’s division, but at Rush Club 003 he came into the competition as a replacement athlete with less than a week’s notice. And the man he was set to face off with was none other than Jon Pera, a multiple CrossFit Games competitor.

With less than six days’ notice and coming back from the flu, Kawika gave the match his all. Although he did not win in the match, he was given a lot of credit for coming in on short notice and giving such a great performance by everyone – from the athlete he went up against (Jon Pera) to the crowd cheering throughout the entire event and the CEO AJ Richards.

Kawika told me that not only is he excited about competing again, but with a full month to prepare, he’ll come back stronger than ever. And after seeing him throw down a few weeks ago during the CrossFit Open (improving his position more than one hundred spots over the previous year) and qualifying for the nationals in strongman, I know the sky is the limit for this athlete.

Strength Will Prevail

On the flipside, Rush Club showcases a female heavyweight champion who couldn’t be different from former college football player Kawika. Her name is Sara Urban, and I can see why she has so many fans. Without either a high school or college sports background, Sara came in and won the Rush Club belt.

Underdog Sara Urban came out of nowhere to win the Rush Club belt.

Sara mentioned to me that she didn’t initially have plans to compete. “I started doing CrossFit to get in shape. I didn’t play division I sports or anything like that. I was 260 pounds and I did it for my health.” Since she is now competing, Sara keeps a balanced view of her weight and nutrition. “I keep an eye on it, I’m conscious of it, but it doesn’t control me,” she told me.

When asked if she changes her training with the upcoming competition in mind, she responded:

Not really. My coach William Black, [husband of Shannon Black, an athlete from DC Brawlers] has me doing Olympic lifting three times a week and conditioning three times a week. I do think about the cycle time, but I don’t do the workout [announced for the match] at max effort. I go through the order of the motion, though. My goal is beyond just going through the motion: not full capacity, but definitely full effort.

Sara said she might do portions of the next workout that was announced for Rush Club, just to test drive the feel of the event, but she always puts a special emphasis on strength. “Strength will prevail. Everybody can run. Not everyone can move weight proficiently,” she said.

“Yes, the workouts are grueling and tough, but it’s more about the stories and the personality of the athletes.”

Outside of the competitive matches, there’s a strong camaraderie among the athletes of Rush Club. Sara related one her funniest memories when she was hanging out with the other athletes: a spontaneous donut run at the first event, driving in a van with Sam Dancer and Nikki Carlin. She described thinking back and wondering what the staff of the donut shop thought of all these buff people rolling up to a donut shop, ransacking it, and rolling out. Even when they’re not in competition, these athletes are true teammates, and they have a bond that comes from supporting each other throughout the event.

The Spirit of Competition

And that’s why it’s great to see each athlete come out of the tunnel and onto the match platform. All the hard work and practice done behind the scenes, in basements, and in garages throughout the months build to this moment when they perform under the lights. That’s what’s it all about.

And when you see the athletes waiting, in the calm before the storm, ready to pick up their barbells, it makes a smile spread across your face as you get a glimpse at what some of these athletes put themselves through in order to become the Rush Club heavyweight champion.

Check out these related articles:

• I Have a Dream (Team): When Winning is the Only Thing That Matters
• Know Thyself (and You’ll Know How to Train)
• Training Tips for the Average Joe From 3 CrossFit Pros
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of EMOM Photography.

The post Rush Club: a Peek Into the Functional Fitness Underground appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

RELATED: A Look at Our Love-Hate Relationship With Competition

Put Your Mind Where Your Mouth Is

I’ve seen loads of armchair critics over the years. Men and women – who have never had the guts to sign up for anything even as competitive as a fun run – who have the temerity to offer an opinion on how a professional fighter or quarterback should have performed in a given situation.

Theodore Roosevelt even made a speech about this:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

As people who have put their money where their mouth is and signed up for something that terrifies them can attest, it is only when you doubt yourself the most, when you have the most to lose, that you ever gain real knowledge of yourself. In this dark place, you’ll find more out about yourself in seconds than you ever could in the safe confines of a gym over the course of years.

“[I]t is only when you doubt yourself the most, when you have the most to lose, that you ever gain real knowledge of yourself.”

The Thing That Makes Competition So Valuable

The thing that makes competition so valuable is that there are both physical and mental barriers to overcome. The physical barriers are obvious – run a certain pace, lift a certain weight, or beat a given opponent. But the mental barriers can be deeper and almost invisible until start time.

This past weekend, I was standing on the start line of a half-Ironman (Challenge Shepparton) and the weather was far from typical of Australia at this time of year. The rain was coming down sideways, with winds up to 45km/h. Standing there, freezing and miserable with the prospect of a long day ahead, I wasn’t even sure I was going to start.

As ever, my girlfriend, Shannon, had her game face on, which gave me a lot of courage. The thing I love the most about triathlon is that once the gun goes it is all you. You succeed or fail based solely on what is between your ears. And when her wave left twenty minutes before mine, I was left pondering whether or not I’d continue.

RELATED: What’s Your Game Face?

It Never Always Gets Worse

Endurance athletes have a saying: “It never always gets worse.” So I decided to do the swim and see how I felt after. The start of a long race is not much fun. There are a lot of people in not much water and you’re guaranteed to get a few feet or fists to the head. It’s easy to panic and many find they swim far worse in a race than they do in the pool, and it’s all because of how they frame it.

“The thing I love the most about triathlon is that once the gun goes it is all you. You succeed or fail based solely on what is between your ears.”

With my poor attitude at the start line, I didn’t want to get beaten up too badly, so I hung back and allowed the faster guys to go ahead, leaving me a bit more room to swim. When the rare contact did come, I reminded myself to breathe and relax and not worry about it.

I knew the race opened up after a few hundred meters and that I’d have space to swim then. I made the first leg of the swim and was feeling good. My body had warmed up, the water was pleasant, and I realized I was passing people. In the space of a few minutes, I had gone from wanting to chuck my toys out of the pram to wondering whether I could beat my previous swim record.

RELATED: 5 Essential Points of Preparation for Your Triathlon Swim

That Dark Place Is Never Far Away

But that dark place, where the seeds of doubt grow, can be a second away at any time. A kick to the head, dislodged goggles, a mouthful of seawater, and a relaxed effort can be turned on its head.

I’ve watched the same thing happen in MMA. I remember a big-name fighter, who had won a UFC title, dominating in a fight for two of three rounds. But in the third round, he started to doubt himself and his opponent took the win with a TKO in the dying seconds of the match. Afterward, he told reporters he thought his opponent was invincible, as he had hit him with everything he had and still hadn’t been able to knock him out.

RELATED: When Losing Is Actually Winning 

Isn’t that odd? He had been winning the fight easily, but felt like he was the one struggling. Meanwhile his opponent, who looked like he’d been beaten with a shovel, kept a good mindset, stuck to his game plan, and came out battered but victorious.

Testing Your Will at Your Worst

It’s only in competition and at events that these incidents happen. Yes, you can have tough training sessions surrounded by your friends and push one another, but nothing matches the adrenaline and stress of competition. Only in battle can you truly test your will. They say that iron sharpens iron, but I would rather think of it as the metal of the sword strengthening the mettle of your will.

One of the reasons I like the RKC so much is that we test you at your worst. The standards – when done in your own gym, when you’re fresh and rested with no one critiquing you – are not that hard to achieve. But after three days, with an instructor standing so close you can feel the weight of his or her stare on you, it’s a different matter.

“They say that iron sharpens iron, but I would rather think of it as the metal of the sword strengthening the mettle of your will.”

I’ve seen plenty of people claim they can meet RKC or SFG standards, but who have no idea what it is like to test with hands bleeding or be forced to perform perfect technique after thousands of heavy swings. When the pressure is applied, they appear to wilt under scrutiny, and not surprisingly, fail to meet the standards.

I believe that only at the limits of your physical capacity can you ever really learn about yourself and grow. When every cell inside you screams to quit, but your mind forces them to keep going, in that moment you will find out more about yourself than any self-help book could ever teach you.

Sign Up For Something That Scares You

That means if you ever plan on reaching your potential as a human being, you need to deliberately find things that scare the crap out of you. Each time you stretch the mind and teach it to endure, to suffer, and to overcome, you’ll be learning about yourself and growing as a result.

“Sign up for something today that scares you to death just thinking about it.”

Meanwhile, the armchair critics, those who would judge you for trying to reach higher and further, will cast judgment on you. But that judgment is borne of their insecurity and their anger at themselves for never having had the nerve to attempt something that challenged them. It’s sad that while your dark place may only last a few minutes in a race or competition, theirs will last a lifetime

RELATED: Project Mayhem: Sign Up and Tell Complacency to #$@% Off

Sign up for something today that scares you to death just thinking about it. An ultra marathon, an Ironman, a CrossFit competition, a weight-loss challenge. Along with the obvious physical benefits gained from training, what you’ll learn about yourself is something far more valuable and will last you a lifetime.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post The Dark Place of Competition (Where We Learn and Grow) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Weightlifting does not really have a competitive season followed by all athletes. Some parts of the year are busier than others, but that depends on whether you are novice or elite, or a junior, senior, or master. Even so, training does not stop. It’s a twelve-month activity.

Those accustomed to competing more often will want to get on the platform more often than they should. Two or three months of steady training with no competitive testing can feel constraining. Therefore the question that arises with newcomers is, “How often should we compete?”

There is no single answer to the question of how often you can compete. The answer depends on your chronological age, training age, and skill level, as well as the interdependent relationship between the three.

The Question of Chronological Age

Quite apart from the question of when the youngster should begin serious weight training, let’s assume that they have begun and are in decent physical condition to consider competition. Starting at the low end of the age range, pre-pubertal children should not be concentrating on serious competition at all. If they do any weightlifting training, it should concentrate on the learning of technique. There is no better time to do this than when a child is young, supple, and able to learn kinesiological skills easily.

In order to do this, the athlete can practice the Olympic lifts with light weights and should also be heavily involved in good-old general physical preparation. My fellow Breaking Muscle coach Bob Takano and others have developed technique dominant competition protocols that are suitable for younger or less experienced competitors.

On the psychological side is where we have to be a little more careful with children and teens. Some youngsters take to a competitive environment easily. Others, usually the more anxiety-ridden ones, will take a little more time. For the latter, a competitive career should wait until appropriate confidence is built up. Otherwise too many failures on the competitive platform will discourage these athletes.

The Relevance of Your Training Age

By training age we mean how many years the person has been seriously training for the sport. With the varying ages of sport commencements of different athletes, the differences between chronological and training ages can range considerably from one person to another. A fifteen-year-old with four years of training will be more ready for competition than a nineteen-year-old newbie.

The main principle to remember is that novice and fairly inexperienced competitors should compete more often than competitors. There are several reasons for this. One is that the lifter has to learn how he or she reacts in competition. This is especially true if the athlete demonstrates more competition-related anxiety. These athletes should compete more often to desensitize themselves to the pressures of competition.

Another reason to compete often in the early stages of training is due to what many call “the novice effect.” You make more progress in the early stages than in the later stages of training. This is yet another manifestation of the law of diminishing returns. At this early stage of your career, you will make improvements quickly. You will also want to frequently test your results on the score sheets. For many athletes this is the most solid proof of progress – seeing it in writing. In my junior years, we often had only two or three competitions per year. This was not often enough for us, as the time between meets caused us to would unlearn anything we might have learned in previous competitions.

With less experienced athletes the personal records come frequently. However, the higher you go, the harder the records come and the longer it takes to effect a training adaptation. This means that for more seasoned athletes competitions will have to be less frequent. At that stage of the game, frequent competitions only disrupt training so care must be taken not to compete too often.

How to Peak for Competition

There are exceptions to the rule of not competing too often, of course. Every good rule has an exception. One example occurs with club competitions. A club may be invited to a meet and may need their star lifter to compete to give the club a better chance of taking the team trophy. But what if it’s the wrong time of year for our star athlete to compete? Should he or she disappoint the team and stay at home?

No, that’s not necessary. What such lifters often do is enter the competition and use it as a workout. They will lift just enough to accomplish the team’s objectives. Neither the lifter nor his training schedule will be seriously stressed. In fact, many times in that situation, the athletes will do a more substantial workout after the competition whether in the warm-up room or back at the home gym.

This all points to the concept of peaking for a competition. If your training is periodized so that you come to peak condition for select competitions, then the frequency of such peaks should be limited by your skill level. Participation in other events may occur, but they should not be considered real competitions. No peaking is done for such events.

One concept that’s been lost over the decades is the idea of a “tune-up” event. This was an event held about six weeks prior to a major peak, but where the lifter tried to lift as much as he could, but did not push himself and did not peak. The idea was to get used to competition again, especially after a too-long layoff.

This is a good idea for those athletes to whom weightlifting is not their main sport. Perhaps they are engaged in some other seasonal sport for a certain part of the year and then regularly return to Olympic lifting in their off-season. It is wise not to jump into heavy competition right away. A tune-up meet after a month or so of training is ideal. The lifter can then work up to a real peak later.

CrossFitters especially should remember not to combine training efforts on the same day or at least do the weightlifting competition first. I saw an example of this recently where a CrossFit lifter had some time to kill before lifting in a major competition. He decided the ideal way to kill that time would be to do a CrossFit-style Olympic lift workout. After all, he hadn’t had a good WOD in a while.

Umpteen reps of the snatch were followed by umpteen reps in the clean and jerk, and that was followed by major fatigue. This was finally followed by the weightlifting competition and a disappointing result.

He will know better next time.

Maybe.

Photos “DSC07573,” “DSCF4919,” and “DSC01789” by Yasunobu HIRAOKA Attribution-ShareAlike License.

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This week’s collection of articles addresses topics that are relevant not just to the athlete, but to all of us who live in a world where failure and success both happen. Competition is one of the tools we have for learning how to navigate life, in and outside of the gym. It is where some of us find our motivation – not in a base sense, but in a truly useful sense.

Competition and Motivation – Editor’s Picks of the Week

3 Things I Learned While Sitting Out the CrossFit Games Open

Coach Michelle Baumann couldn’t participate in the Open this year the same way she has in years past – she’s got two little buns in the oven! But by stepping aside, being a teammate, coach, and supporter, she learned new things about CrossFit, her community, and herself.

Things Are Changing in the BJJ Competition World

Coach Sam Spiegelman has been on the Brazilian jiu jitsu scene for a long time. And he’s seen some important things change in the realm of competition. If you plan on hitting the tournament scene, then you should read his advice on how to be prepared.

The 4 Paradoxes of Boxing (and Fighting)

Boxing, and the fighting arts as a whole, are full of conflict. Not just conflict between the two fighters in the ring, but conflict within themselves and even within the technique they are practicing. Coach Eric Stevens walks us through the biggest contrasts in boxing, and also shares how they are relevant to our lives.

Athletes Have More Mental Toughness – In and Out of the Gym

One of the qualities employers in the “real world” like about athletes is the mental toughness that comes from years of training, learning, and competition. And that toughness isn’t just about being hard, it’s about great qualities like hope, optimism, and perseverance. Coach Craig Marker explains.

Taking Home Gold (Athlete Journal Entry 13)

And speaking of perseverance, athlete James Kearns has had a heck of a training and competition season so far this year, with a lot of ups and downs. But this past weekend his hard work and dedication paid off at the Boston Open.

Why Winning and Losing Matters and the Dodo Is Extinct

Not everyone can come in first place. That’s just the truth. Yet, many school systems are trying to take winning and losing out of the equation. Does it actually help? Are there important things we gain from competition that involve the acts of winning and losing? Coach Dresdin Archibald explains his thoughts on the matter.

Photo courtesy of CrossFit LA.

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The phenomenon of willpower is connected to various psychological qualities that can be brought to bear as driving motives. These include persistence, stubbornness in pursuing goals, the will to win, firmness in overcoming obstacles, resoluteness, courage, and discipline. (Come to think of it, this sounds a lot like my old Calvinist minister’s favorite sermon).

Long-Term and Short-Term Challenges

Well-planned sport training of any type and the associated participation in competitions serves as a good means of developing just such motive qualities. Everyone strives for some specific goal. Its attainment is generally achieved with the overcoming of various challenges. These can be seen as both short-term and long-term. The short-term difficulties involve the learning of technique and the advancement of sport results. The long-term ones involve the securing of a championship.

In the early stages of your training you run into the need to master the complex technical movements in the two Olympic lifts. However, the more stubborn you are and the more persistently you work, the faster you will master this technique, thus attaining your short-term goals. In long-term training, more work must be done with maximum effort, lifting maximum weights. The weight of your work sets gradually increases and more nervous energy is required in order to complete training. This is where willpower is especially needed, when lifting the weight is no longer as much fun as it once was. It is now simply hard work.

Four Ways to Develop Willpower for Weightlifting

1. Do Maximum Effort Exercises

The most common is the lifting of limit weights requiring maximum effort while mobilizing great physical and psychological energy. At those times, you must possess courage and resolution. These qualities are developed through specialized exercises that force you to produce maximum effort. This may include various jumping exercises, such as jumping up onto box horses, over chairs, and various other obstacles. In so doing you face a success versus failure situation. You are either successful at the jump or you are not. There is no heart balm at all for coming close, you have to succeed. The legs must be conditioned to make repeated all-out efforts, as they will be doing most of the work in weightlifting.

2. Use the Height Gauge

Another method is to lift maximum weights for several sets at the end of the training session when you are most fatigued. This is a good time to use a height gauge with a few sets of pulls. Do a set, hitting the gauge lever on every rep. Then do another set, and another set, and another set. Make sure the lever is hit each time. It will get more difficult with each set, but push yourself to keep hitting it even though you are getting progressively more tired. Adjust the weight so you just barely hit the lever on your last lift. That will develop willpower.

3. Go Slow and Heavy

There is also another method more familiar to powerlifters. That is the slow lifting of heavy weights while keeping the bar under control at all times. Squats and deadlifts are best for this. The weight is heavy, and your body is straining in all places, including the legs, the back, the shoulders, and especially the hands in the deadlift. All you want to do is let go of the bar and your misery is over. Instead, you drive yourself to continue through the lift. Do them for heavy singles or do them for reps. Either way, it is an excellent way to develop willpower.

4. Do Max Reps in a Given Time

Back to the two lifts, you can concentrate on their speed aspect instead of their strength aspect. Here you can take a certain high percentage of your best lifts and do the lifts as quickly and as the correctly as possible. One way is by doing heavy singles, near 100%. Do a lift, catch your breath, and then do another. See how many you can do in a certain time period. This creates a whole new world of personal records, consisting of doing your maximum number of reps at a given weight in a given time. Again, great for developing willpower. Done at considerably lower intensities this is also a great one for CrossFitters.

The Importance of Competition and Coaching

Since we all train so that we can eventually lift in competition, it is important that the young lifter compete often. Having great courage in the training hall is one thing. Having great courage on the competition platform is quite another. Different lifters will show different quality in this regard. Some are simply gym lifters who cannot put it together when it counts. others are what we call “money lifters” who can. In competition, you are not only lifting near maximal weights, but you may also be forced to do so after one or two failures at such a weight. This forces you to learn how to mobilize your willpower in order to overcome yourself. The lifter must learn to keep his cool in such a stressful situation. He not only has his opponents to worry about, but may also have himself to conquer most of all.

Naturally your coach has a role to play in developing your willpower. The trainer must use his knowledge coupled with various teaching methods such as persuasion, explanation, encouragement, and even censure. As you develop, it is important that your coach leads you to a certain degree of independence when it comes to matters of willpower especially.

You can easily see how the quality of willpower interacts with other necessary qualities a successful lifter must display. An important quality is affective stability, a fancy term for keeping your cool under pressure. If you cannot stay calm during the pressure of competition, then it will be difficult to express any degree of willpower to overcome your opponents. This is especially important under conditions of the fatigue.

The Element of Fatigue

This reminds me of another famous quotation from the great football coach Vince Lombardi: “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” When you are tired you are more likely to want to give up. That would be so easy. Just give up and the misery will be over. It is wise at such a time think about your opponents. Do you think your opponents are still fresh as daisies? No, they are just as tired as you are. They want to quit as well, if the truth were known. It is at this time that the weightlifting competition is decided not necessarily by who is stronger, but by whoever has more willpower to overcome that last, and don’t forget, heaviest clean and jerk.

World records, especially in the clean and jerk, are set not when the lifter is fresh, early in a competition, but at the end. Very seldom are world-record jerks set on the first attempt and rarer still on a second. They are generally set on third attempts after an entire stressful competition. While the total number of lifts, both warm-up and competition lifts, is nothing compared to the volume of a training session, it is done under much more stressful psychological conditions. It is here and not in the training hall that you come to terms with quality your willpower.

References:

1. Vorobyev, A.N., “A Textbook on Weightlifting.” J. Bryant, Trans. Budapest, Hungary: International Weightlifting Federation. 1978.

Photos courtesy of Jorge Huerta Photography.

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But you also may not even know a time like this existed. During the late 1990s there was hope and anticipation for the new millennium and what would it hold for our kids. Would they go down the same path as the Y2K bug or would they continue to carry the evolutionary dreams of humanity? Experts collaborated and decided to rewrite the textbooks (although looking back now, I bet they wish they could rewrite the history books). It is quite obvious that the resulting experiment went horribly wrong and what now seems to be an accepted practice has proven to be a miserable failure.

I am talking about the “effort for participation” theory, which states that kids should not be made to feel like they came first or last, won or lost, or passed or failed. This theory said kids should be made to feel that participation is more important than competition, and what matters most is the effort they put in. While this statement does have truth and I wholeheartedly agree with reward for effort, did anyone stop to think about the kids who actually tried hard and were encouraged to do their best? The kids who gave their all because they were motivated by the idea of receiving a first place ribbon for their work?

According to the National Institute of Health, 40% of kids who grew up in this era believe they should be promoted every two years regardless of performance. Apparently they received so many participation trophies that they justify and warrant this type of thinking. Now, can we call these people lazy? Well here’s a statistic that may just answer that. In 1992, the non-profit Families and Work Institute reported that 80% of people under 23 wanted to one day have a job with greater responsibility. Ten years later only 60% felt this way. And we can guess how it might trend from there.

So why did the “experts” take this approach? Well according to psychologists, counselors, and many textbook warriors, it was believed that the stresses of winning and losing were way too much for kids to handle and they should not be judged or scored on their performance, but rewarded for their efforts. While this may be all warm and fuzzy, it has created a generation who believe that no matter what happens they are entitled to the accolades of winning because they made the effort to participate. Can this type of attitude be beneficial for the advancement of technology and individual sporting accomplishments? Let’s take a closer look at some sporting greats past and present.

One athlete that comes to mind is none other than Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan. Would he have become so great if he weren’t dropped from his high school basketball team? Would the world have ever witnessed perhaps the greatest basketball player to ever live if he was kept on the team because he was entitled to it? Michael Jordan defied all the odds, and while I don’t think every kid can be like him, I am sure there were millions of children around the world who were inspired by his journey to greatness and used this as motivation to work harder for their goals.

In this regard, you also can’t overlook the feats of soccer giants Manchester United. For over twenty years they have dominated world soccer and produced some of the greatest players ever seen. When Alex Ferguson was asked what makes his team so successful he replied, “We can’t handle coming second.” A statement so true and simple that it epitomizes the driving force behind every athlete’s motivation to win. They simply can’t handle coming in second. Participation is not enough. What makes these athletes and sporting teams so great is that they push the physical and mental boundaries of training to be better than their competition. These are the same boundaries pushed academically by doctors and scientists to find cures and medicines for some of the world’s most crippling diseases. I would hate to think what would have happened if these geniuses had been rewarded simply for effort and were not pushed to their absolute limits of human potential.

Kids should “participate” in sports, but they should also be encouraged to try to win. “Try” being the operative word. Trying to win may be more important than the act of winning. But when we take away a child’s desire to try for something than what does he or she have to strive towards? Perhaps I can sum it up best in the words of great NFL coach Vince Lombardi:

The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel – these are the things that endure and these are the qualities that are so much more important than any of the events that occasion them.”

There’s only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything. The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will. The score on the board doesn’t mean a thing. That’s for the fans.

If you’ll not settle for anything less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your lives.

Last year Time magazine wrote an interesting article, The Me Me Me Generation, outlining what society had hoped to achieve with this 1990s experiment. Only now are we starting to see the results of the “effort for participation” theory, which in my books would be handed a big fat “F” for fail but unfortunately we can’t do that anymore, so we must settle for a simple “E” for effort and “P” for participation.

Let your kids participate and compete. The score will take care of itself.

References:

1. National Institutes of Health, ”NIAMS Kids Pages.” Accessed 04/02/14

2. Families & Work Institute “Families & Work Institute Research & Publications.” Accessed 04/02/14

3. Stein,J., “The Me Me Me Generation,” Time Magazine. Accessed 04/02/14

Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 2 by Steve Lipofsky at basketballphoto.com [GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Carl Lewis was stunned. He let Johnson get in his head, and he didn’t run his race. He ran, but not to the level he was capable of. If you study the footage of the race, you can see Lewis actually look over to Johnson’s lane, not once, but two times. Clearly, Lewis wasn’t focused on the task at hand, but instead on an individual over whose performance he had no control. It ultimately affected his performance in the end. He still placed third, but Lewis didn’t get the gold medal he was hoping for that day.

Elite sprinters, like Carl Lewis, are some of the most focused athletes on earth, with the possible exception of competitive weightlifters. Here was a man who was able to train year-in, year-out for four years, with the only goal being a gold medal at the Olympics. His event lasted fewer than ten seconds. There was no room for error if Lewis wanted to achieve his goal, yet he lost focus and missed it. If an elite athlete like Carl Lewis can lose his focus in competition and project it on another individual, it’s not surprising that it other “normal” people do it so frequently. But why? And at what cost?

The Trap of Comparison

It doesn’t take much digging to figure out why we focus on other people instead of ourselves, especially in fitness. All it takes is a trip to the local health club and you’ll see a wealth of body types and sizes, as well as differing strength and fitness levels. There will probably be your stereotypical “beta” males with imaginary lat syndrome who like to wear their wife-beaters and hats backwards. There will also be those who spend an eternity doing “cardio” on an elliptical. Then, there are some genuinely strong and lean individuals, and your (potentially steroid-riddled) bodybuilder types who make you do a double take when you see them. It’s impossible not to compare what you look like to someone else in this setting. But you don’t have to let a simple comparison negatively effect your performance.

Comparisons happen in my part of the woods all the time. Just last week, a female client sat her weight down and dropped her jaw in awe of another individual who was squatting more than her. It wasn’t expressed verbally, but an obvious comparison was being made. I quickly helped this client to focus on her task at hand, which was her own set of goblet squats. “Watching so-and-so won’t make you get any stronger,” I said. And therein lies the problem. If we always focus on what other people are doing, how and when will we know if we are improving given that the only thing we notice is that someone else is better than us? Because I’ve got news for you, Walter Cronkite – someone else will always be better than you. Genetics, upbringing, education, and our accumulation of decisions allow for an infinite amount of possibilities and permutations when it comes to how awesome you become at life.

My Own Battle With Comparison

The most humbling example from my life came the year after my hamstring injury. As a freshman in college I had some sizable expectations to live up to. I had a great high school track career and was looking to improve upon it. Even though I had four lifetime bests in four different events in my first collegiate meet, continually meeting my expectations wasn’t in the cards. The following meet I completely ripped my left hammy coming off the corner of the 200-meter dash. I was out for the rest of the season, and was only able to start seriously training again in the fall. The toughest pill to swallow was that guys who I could beat handily the year before were literally running rings around me at practice. I had lost a good chunk of my speed and strength, and was consistently turning in times that were well below what I was running as a freshman – in high school.

To say it was frustrating is the understatement of the year. But that’s not the point. I could have let that frustration get to me and given up after that season. But I chose to put my head down, grit my teeth, push through the pain, and focus only on what was directly front of me on that track – the finish line. I forced any person in the lanes next to me out of my field of vision and focused only on what I was doing. Maybe it was my ego’s way of maintaining its sanity, or maybe it was because I knew deep down that no matter what I did then (or ever, for that matter) that somebody else would always be better at it. Once I accepted that fact, I ran for the sheer joy of it. Talk about a paradigm shift.

The Real Measure of Success

I never did become a champion in college. I did, however, improve upon my lifetime best in the 400-meter dash. Over three years after that initial hamstring tear, as a senior, I bested my previous time in the 400. I wasn’t the best on the team, but I was the best I’d ever been at that point in my life. If that’s not success, than I don’t know what is.

The other guys out there on the track no longer mattered because I had found a sense of inner peace and focus that I had never previously possessed. I encourage everyone reading this to question why you train, like I did with track. Do you have kettlebells on the brain? Or iron in your blood? Do you have an unwavering love for chucking around heavy things in general? Do you like the social aspect of training? Or do you do it in fear of something, such as disease, weight gain, or your doctor? Or maybe you only train with the goal being to look better naked in the mirror. (It’s okay – we all want that.)

Because regardless of your reason, the bottom line is only you can do the work that will make you better. Comparing yourself to another human being with a different set of genes, a different diet and sleep schedule, and a different set of circumstances than your own is like comparing apples to oranges. You can do it, but it’s not going to get you anywhere. You have no control over what that person does, but you have every control over what you do- the food you eat, the sleep you get, the exercise you perform. That is what matters.

Don’t waste time worrying about what the other guys are capable of doing. The realm of fitness is just a metaphor for life. Time on this earth is precious. Spend your time improving in the areas you care about, so you can live a longer, healthier, stronger life. The next time you see your buddy Jill do pull ups or Steve squat twice his bodyweight, it’s okay to think, “That’s impressive.” But follow that thought up with, “Now, let’s see what I can do.”

Carl Lewis photo by KUHT [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Photos 2&3 courtesy of Shutterstock.

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These six articles have been written by coaches who have put themselves and their clients through this process countless times. Take advantage of their collective experience and wisdom to help prepare yourself for battle.

The post Competition Preparation: 6 Articles to Get You Ready For Battle appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

So if the best coaches and athlete sin the world struggle to get it together come game day, what chance do you have of getting it right if you’re on your own? The following are some of the key ways I have used to prepare myself for everything from military recruit training to Ironman to the RKC.

1. Start With Strength

Strength is a basic motor skill and can be used as the base layer for a lot of other physical skills. Dr. Leonid Matveyev stated that, “Strength is the physical foundation for the development of the rest of physical qualities.” Charles Staley talks about it being the bottom rung of the ladder, from which speed, power, and other forms of athletic explosive strength can be derived.

Many endurance athletes shy away from strength work, fearing that it will make them heavy and slow. It boggles my mind that this is still the case when there are studies around like the ones the Norwegians did in 2008 and 2010. These researchers found that a 4x4RM half squat program done three times per week improved endurance in their sport. (This protocol also increased strength, but unless training brings actual improvements in race times it is a waste of time, so only the improvement of performance matters.)

Joe Friel, noted endurance author, states that all endurance athletes need strength work prior to the season, and that all females and older men need it year round. I’ve personally found when dealing with the training load needed for any event that the stronger I am the more resilient I am. This resiliency comes into play in more than just my endurance activities, as well.

When it comes to getting ready for an RKC event you need to focus on strength first. While you will put in a lot of volume over the weekend, if you can’t press a 24kg bell for more than a few reps, how do you plan on being able to do it all weekend? You need to be strong enough to lift it, not just for a few reps for testing, but all weekend so that you can get to the testing portion without being too fatigued.

This is what happens with beginner runners, too. They lack the leg strength to do many hills in a single run. Each hill requires significantly more strength to run than flat ground. A one-percent gradient increase will see either a drop in speed by 0.82kph or they’ll need to burn some matches and increase their oxygen consumption (i.e. work harder) by 2.6ml/kg/min.⁴ If you’re already running near your redline you may not be able to increase effort by that much, so some extra running efficiency via increased strength may help.

2. Periodize

While strength is great, you need to remember what it is you are training for. If it’s a weightlifting meet of any kind then you’ll want to end up at your 1RM so you can lift heavier than you have previously. But for many others – like those attending RKC or off to run a Spartan Race – you’ll want to do what is called reverse periodization.

Physical ability is very specific. There’s this little old thing called the SAID principle – specific adaptation to imposed demand – and everyone forgets about it. They see a small increase from an aspect of training – it could be strength, it could be anaerobic training – and then they forget that they need to focus on the goal event.

Let’s use the RKC as an example. Test weight for men is a 24kg bell. Once you’ve been through step one and gained the strength you need to press it, now you need to work on the strength endurance to press it many times over the course of a three-day weekend. So the final lead in to the event should include plenty of strength endurance training, not just maximal strength work.

It’s at this point those who focus solely on maximal strength start to lose their way. Have you even seen what happens to someone really strong who is only used to doing a single rep at a time when they’re asked to do one hundred snatches? I have, and it’s pretty funny to watch a man with a 700lb deadlift unable to complete the snatch test because he ran out of grip endurance. That’s a lack of focus on the end goal.

The same goes for when people enter a Spartan Race. There will obviously be all sorts of obstacles and challenges, but one of the main ones is all the hills that will be encountered. Let’s suppose they’ve built up their maximal strength with the 4×4 program. That’s great, but if their event is going to last two or more hours what are they supposed to do for the next hour and fifty minutes once they’ve exhausted all their strength? They need some reps in training.

I’ve spent a number of years working my legs in the five-rep range and always wondering why I seemed to run out of steam. But a recent change to using sets of ten or even higher has seen some good changes in my ability to keep pace later in an event, or maintain pace after multiple hills. If you’re training for an endurance event then you need to step away from low reps and get some higher reps in closer to your event.

The opposite is true for the weightlifters. They’ll start with higher reps to slowly build tolerance and work on some form with lighter loads before heading towards their projected max closer to a meet. Start with what you need to accomplish your goal and make sure you’re doing that exact form of training near your event, not accidentally doing the polar opposite.

3. Don’t Test It

It is normal to feel stress before your event. Everyone worries that they haven’t done enough. In many cases it’s true, but you can’t gain fitness in the last days, only tire yourself out. I’ve received text messages from athletes only days before a competition telling me how they felt great and as a result they did about double what I’d told them to do in training. Then come game day they fell flat. They left their peak in the training room. No one wins medals for training.

As you taper and rest up before your event, the body and mind become restless. Used to a certain level of activity and fatigue, you start to feel ten feet tall and bulletproof. Your times come down and your lifts go up – all because you trained right. But in the last few days resting is your priority and not training. So, are you resting properly, too? Now is not the time to play a game of pick-up basketball and hurt yourself or dig a new garden bed. Now is the time to put your feet up, sand down your calluses, or whatever is specific to your event, and rest. Don’t blow all your hard work by being undisciplined for a few days prior to the big day.

The good thing about signing up for an event, any event, is that it forces you to focus on a few things. After your event is a great time to either assess how your plan worked and change things around, or find some new goals and start working towards them following the same plan. I like to break my year into two halves, one that I know I’ll need to mostly train indoors for, and one when the weather is beautiful and I’ll want to be outdoors. The indoor part of the year is a perfect time to build strength and bulletproof my body for the beating it will take over summer when I log a lot of miles. As summer gets close, my training shifts to speed and strength endurance work to get me ready for whatever challenges grab my attention.

References:

1. Støren O, Helgerud J, Støa EM, Hoff J. (2008) Maximal strength training improves running economy in distance runners. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 Jun;40(6):1087-92.

2. Sunde A, Støren O, Bjerkaas M, Larsen MH, Hoff J, Helgerud J. (2010) Maximal strength training improves cycling economy in competitive cyclists. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Aug;24(8):2157-65.

3. Joe Friel, The Cyclist’s Training Bible (Velo Press, 2009).

4. Jim Gourley, Faster: Demystifying the Science of Triathlon Speed(Velo Press, 2013) 144.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

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