After completing the Super Spartan and the Tough Mudder in 2013, my goal for 2014 is to earn the Spartan Trifecta badge and complete my 3rd Tough Mudder. I have been on a good training routine for the last year to accomplish what I did but I see areas for improvement and that is what I am sharing with you in this blog.
Looking forward, I need to improve my upper body strength, especially when it comes to pulling myself over walls and climbing ropes. I also need to continue to work on leg strength as the thought of carrying a 60 pound sand bag up and down ½ mile of Killington mountain scares the hell out of me.
Currently, I go to the gym 4x per week. I don’t do Crossfit and I only do Total Body workouts once per week. I have a problem with Total Body WODs and Crossfit since they are Total Body workouts. I understand the need to work all of my muscle groups in synch as those are “natural” exercises and body motions but I have a contrarian theory. That is if you look at yourself “naturally” you will notice that you have major muscle groups (chest, biceps, quads, etc.) that are anatomically larger and built to provide a great majority of your strength. Not focusing on these groups means you are not maximizing your strength potential. The connecting, or stabilizing muscles that a Total Body workout targets should be considered their own muscle group. Additionally, targeting one major muscle group each day at the gym means that you can come back the next day and let one muscle group rest while working another until failure. A Total Body workout does not allow you to do this.
So, this week my workout schedule looks like this:
Monday: Chest & Back weightlifting day at the gym
Tuesday: Leg weightlifting day at the gym
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Arms & Shoulders weightlifting day at the gym
Friday: Kettlebell day at the gym (Total Body)
Saturday: Long run. Due to the weather outside in the northeast this may shift to some low intensity, long duration (2 - 3 hour) cardio.
Sunday: Rest
I identified a weakness in my current routine is lack of focus and goals. Currently, I do 5 sets of an exercise, increasing the weight used each set while decreasing the number of reps. The purpose is to get the best of both worlds. The first set of 15 reps at a lower weight contributes to conditioning while the 5th set of 6 reps at my max weight addresses strength. I like this system but I think that I can do better by being a little more focused, thus the change.
Obstacle Course Racing is a new sport I don’t think that the perfect training regimen has been established. Everything that I have read concentrates on building some strength but more endurance. The most glaring deficiency is that the same routines are practiced year round. Especially, Crossfit. As noted above, I have identified my weaknesses so a canned WOD does not work for me since those are for everyone with no regard to experience level. Not everyone who follows the Spartan WOD has the goal of completing the Beast in VT.
Professional athletes in established sports break up their training routine with different goals for different “seasons” during the year so I am doing the same for my 2014 OCR schedule. My first race is the Spartan Sprint on June 1st and then the remaining 3, and most challenging, are the Super Spartan in early September, the Spartan Beast in late September and the Tough Mudder in mid October.
Identifying my schedule allows me to break apart the year into different seasons with different goals. The first third of the year, January through April, is my “Off Season” with the focus on building strength. My “Regular Season” begins in May and continues through August where the focus shifts to conditioning without losing strength gains. This should set me up for my “Playoffs/ Championship Season” where the goal is keep limber and active while saving myself for 3 grueling events within a 6 week time period. The final season, late October through December, is a “Rest/Reflect/Reprogam Season” where I will continue to work out but also use this time to think about what I did right during the year, what I can do better going forward and try out new things.
Let me show you how this plays out on a regular workout schedule:
Off Season - January through April
Goal: Increase strength by 25%. I know what my max weight for each exercise is today and my goal will be to increase that weight by 25% on each one. I also need to be able to knock out pull ups like I am getting out of bed in the morning.
Strategy: Low repetitions (max 5) of heavy weights
Finish workouts (60 minutes total time working out) with Tabata. I won’t completely ignore conditioning but will feel very comfortable using the heaviest weights possible during these routines. I can put together Tabata routines that focus on Core exercises or Burpees with weights.
Regular Season - May through August
Goal: Focus on conditioning while not losing strength gains. Increase reps while not lowering max weight.
Strategy: Start at a lower weight on the first set and increase weight each set doing AMAP reps at each weight until I hit my max weight on the 5th set. My weekend long run will include driving out to a mountain/hill area about ½ drive from my home to do trail and hill running. This is sport specific training since the Spartan Sprint, Super and Beast are all on mountains. I will also incorporate other high intensity cardio body weight outdoor exercises to my weekend routine once the weather clears up.
Playoffs / Championship Season - September & October
Goal: Complete 3 grueling events (Super, Beast & Tough Mudder) within an approximate 6 week time frame.
Strategy: Keep limber. Keep active. Allow myself to recover from the last event while resting up for the next. If I am prepared then I am prepared. If I am not, then I am not. No time to push myself for improvement now. Save myself mentally and physically for the events.
Rest/Reflect/Reprogram Season - November & December
Goal: Look back at the accomplishments of 2014 and set 2015 goals and strategies for achieving them.
Strategy: Enjoy. Decompress. Look forward. This is what I have been doing recently and the genesis for this blog post. These past 2 months I have tried some new things. Some worked and some did not. I started with Tabata routines and I see how they can contribute to my goals so I will be incorporating them into my routines. Same with Kettlebell. I also tried 2 monthly challenges that, although challenging, did not address my personal goals and thereby were a distraction of time and energy.
Keep up with my daily workouts here: 365tothebeast.blogspot.com
