Strength Training

There is always a lot of debate in the world of endurance sports about the benefits of strength training.  There are those that say specificity is key and to get better at swim, bike, run you should use your time swimming, biking and running.  Then there are those who say that weight training can help on reduce the volume needed in endurance sports to get the same or better performance.

I am of the camp that says weight training if done properly and woven properly into a training regime will produce benefits that sole S,B,R will not.  Those benefits being reduced overuse injuries due to your body being able to handle more with it being stronger, less over training, possible more power to unleash in the water, on the bike and on the run and finally a better overall physique.

If weight training is good enough for Lance it is probably good enough for me.  That is a joke because Lance is a phenomenon and we cannot really compare what he does and extrapolate that to ourselves.

In closing I am going to start incorporating some basic workout stuff, crossfit and running into my weight lifting 2 times a week.  This way I accomplish some easy running and build some strength.  I say if you like lifting do not give it up and if you have time and know how to lift properly it really won't hurt and it will get you off the trainer and out of the water for a little while.

Day 5 of 32 Day Challenge

Well we are on Day 5 of Spinervals 32 Day Challenge and I may not still be eligible for finishers medal but I am really enjoying the challenge.

Coach Troy is doing a very good job of mixing up the workouts so that we are not trashed each and everyday. I have been adding extra running and it seems to be going ok as well.  I am doing one speed workout a week to make sure I maintain that and one long run a week with my wife and son in the baby jogger for SAUs (Spousal Approval Units).

It is great having so many people going through the same workouts day after day and it is rewarding to be able to post successes and reassuring to know that in failure people are there to pick you up.

Starting Friday the 9th through Sunday the 18th Coach Troy is going to separate the men and women from the boys and girls.  That stretch coming up is extremely daunting and it is going to mentally and physically going to take a toll but again knowing that others are suffering makes it just a bit more bearable.




Picture from Coach Troy's Blog but might as well be my DVD collection as I now have over 20 Spinervals DVDs.

Day 1 of Spinervals 32 Day Challenge

Well Day 1 could have definitely started better.  First, I had to wake up at 3am and help the wife get up to get some things done she needed to get done for work. Second, about 30min before I was supposed to wake up again and do my Threshold Test I woke up in pain from one of the worst and totally unexplained calf cramps I have ever had.

So, dejected I had to scrap the threshold test as it would have done me no good to plug away at it with a bum calf. So, instead I chose to do an aerobic day which is Day 2 of the challenge. Being that my morning was ruined with a sore calf I decided I would use my lunch break and hammer away the stationary bike in Zone with some cadence changes and a few zone 1 spins.  Below is a picture of me midway through my lunchtime Zone 2 aerobic base building ride.

Yes the picture is bad but my phone needs to be relieved of its duties soon.

Tomorrow morning I am set to knock out a threshold test.

So, I think I have already failed the challenge and its day one, but with the baby, my wife's schedule and my own schedule I do not think I would have hit all the workouts anyway.  This though does not stop me from continuing and seeing what % of the workouts I can hit over the next 31 days.  My realistic goal is to miss less than 4 workouts.  I will also do my best to not conveniently make those missed workouts be Tough Love and Hardcore 100.

Well lets hope the body recovers from the random cramp and I can put up some decent numbers tomorrow morning.  Hoping to have my Threshold around 250 watts which is 4% growth over my test 2 months ago.