Deeper Strength

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The Mind Behind the Muscle

I’m not sure what the meditative term is for it but these days I’m sort lingering over, examining,  and re-learning the details of strength training that I thought I learned a long time ago.  Picking up heavy objects in a lot of ways is very simple stuff.  But similar to sitting quietly and focusing on the breath, lifting those heavy objects can provide an opportunity for deep thought and detailed examination of many things.

From a neurological perspective, lifting weights is no different from dancing, painting, learning to juggle or singing.  We think then we act on our environment and we create something.  Initially we may struggle with the basics of these activities.  We must think hard in order to perform the task at hand.  We are learning a brand new skill–just like learning to walk or ride a bike.  With repetition the neuronal connections between the brain and our limbs strengthen and we can perform our task with relative ease.  If we choose, we can perform our task in a sort of autopilot mode: not thinking too deeply; mostly going through the motions.

We have another option.  We can dig deeper into our task and explore it.  If we continue to concentrate deeply we can develop an amazing connection to what we’re doing and have a rich, vibrant, and meaningful experience in the process.  This is where I am in my weightlifting.

Visualization

Our connection to the strength process can and should occur even when we’re not touching a barbell.  I’m talking about visualization, and it’s a technique where we create a vivid mental image of our performing a task.  Interestingly, our brain doesn’t know the difference between imagining the task and actually doing the task.  Our nervous system lights up as if we’re doing said task and if done correctly, the result may be a new personal record.  An athlete–an Olympic weightlifter for example–using this technique will sit quietly and imagine himself effortlessly lifting a tremendous weight.  Every detail is imagined: the fit of the clothing, the feel of the floor under his feet, the lights, the grip of the bar, everything.  Eastern European athletes have used this technique for decades to great success.

Perfect Execution of the Perfect Set

Now, going into the lift, we should be focused on the task like an animal on the hunt.  Now’s not the time to be thinking about groceries, our job, Christmas shopping, or the guy next to you admiring his biceps while he does silly little machine half-curls.  The proper mindset has us in a hyper-alert state with an electric-type charge running to every cell in the body.  This is a rapturous, invincible feeling.  And it is a blissful state of mind.  The set has been rehearsed during visualization and there’s no doubt about moving the poundage.  The only thing left is to do it.

Re-Examining the Basics

I learned how to squat, bench press, deadlift, press overhead, row dumbbells, etc. a long time ago.  I thought I knew everything about these traditional lifts.  Over recent months I’ve returned to these lifts with much greater concentration.  Part of this comes from my experience with Z-Health where we emphasize the learning of the very basic joint-by-joint foundational movements that make up our larger movements such as running, pulling, pushing, etc.  Plus I’ve been reading work from some strength training greats: Pavel Tsatsouline, Marty Gallagher, and most recently, Mark Rippetoe.  These men have decades of strength coaching experience under their belts.  Their books, Power to the People, Purposeful Primitive, and Starting Strength have provided me with details and insights I could have never imagined on my own.  So I’m returning to these basic exercises with very new eyes and a fascination I’ve never felt before.

Back from DC, Rested & Ready

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I had a great time in the DC/NoVA area this past week.  (Though the traffic there was bad enough to cause a desperate sort of insanity that simply doesn’t exist here–unless you’re caught up coming back from the slopes I suppose.)  I laid off the weights but got in a couple of runs including an excellent track workout with a former client.  We went 2×800, 3×200, and 2×100.  Running at sea level was nice and wearing the Vibrams on a track was incredible.  Can’t wait for further track workouts in those things.

New Eating Pattern

I also finished Marty Gallagher’s Purposeful Primitive and it’s given me some good ideas to play with.  I’m going to take some ideas from the Warrior Diet and change up my eating just a bit.  I’ll focus my eating on one large main meal in the evening, instead of consuming several small equal-sized meals throughout the day.  I may have some fruit in the morning, a salad with protein for lunch, then post-workout I’ll consume a protein/carb drink, and for dinner, it’ll be a massive bunch of clean food: raw vegetables, more fruit, protein and plenty of healthy fats.  I want to get stronger and get lean, so I don’t plan on cutting calories, but I’ll consume them in a different pattern.  This is similar to changing up a workout.  This method of eating is actually ideally suited to holiday feasting.   I won’t go into all the hows and whys of the Warrior Diet but I’ll just say it’s an interesting concept and I’m curious to see what happens.  I’m not following the Warrior Diet to the T but I’m adapting the general ideas.

New Workout

I’m on a quest to deadlift 500 lbs. at some point in the next few months.  I also want to be fully prepared to ski and I want to keep some portion of a running base in place for more spring running.  I’m doing a 4-week block.  I’ll build in intensity for three weeks then back off the fourth week.  I’ll lift three days and probably run twice.  Sprint work on the track will be my main running workout.  One day of skiing may replace a run day or lifting.  It should look something like this:

  • Day 1: 3 working sets of 3-6 reps; add weight each week
    • barbell clean & jerkbarbell high pulls
    • barbell deadlift or kettlebell swings
    • Romanian deadlift
    • one-arm dumbbell row
  • Day 2: mid-distance run or rest
  • Day 3: Sprints in the morning then lift later in the day
    • Sprints: I’ll start with 1x800m, 2x400m, 2x200m, 4x100m
    • Lifting: 4 working sets of 3-6 reps; add weight once I complete 4×6 sets; execute lifts in different order each workout
      • bench press
      • back squat
      • pull-ups
      • hanging knee ups
  • Day 4: off
  • Day 5: 5-8 working sets or 1-3 reps
    • Deadlift HEAVY: I’ll work up to heavy single sets using 90% or more of my max
    • Hanging knee ups

I may need to play around with the sprint day.  I want to be fresh and soreness free for sprints.  I won’t run them all out.  I’ll treat the sprints like my lifts in that I won’t max out every workout but I’ll still work at a high intensity.

Other Info

Post-workout nutrition will be vital.  I’ll drink a big protein drink made with organic whole milk and I’ll probably eat an orange or banana.  We’ll see what happens.  I’m also using creatine daily.  Z-Health joint mobility and nerve glides are indispensable daily tools for feeling and moving my best.  My old running injuries are 99% gone.  Finally, I’ve been making use of my health club’s hot tub after workouts and I’m loving it!

Thoughts on Getting Stronger

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Get Strong!

I’m reading Marty Gallagher’s Purposeful Primitive right now and it’s fascinating.  If you’re a fitness professional or someone who’s dedicated to exercise, then I suggest you check it out.  It’s all real-life stories of Marty’s time in the trenches of big-time weightlifting.  He profiles various elite strong men such as Paul Anderson and Ed Coan, bodybuilders such as Bill Pearl and Dorian Yates, and other freakishly strong individuals.  Most interesting to me are their methods to getting stronger–and it’s all fairly simple: Lift Heavy & Use Perfect Technique. Barbells and dumbbells are the tools for the job. Lifting more is the task, not exhausting the muscle with 10-15 reps.


Go pick up something heavy!

Similar to Pavel Tsatsouline’s advice, lifting heavy for a very few reps–five and under–is the ideal way to get genuinely strong.  There should be one very high quality “top set.”  That is, there should be a few warm-up sets performed on the way to one all-out maximal effort set.  Stop a rep or two before failure.  The technique must be perfect.  Lifting heavy can be dangerous.  Going to out-and-out exhaustion is a good way to get injured.

This concept is in contrast to many of the popular gym classes in which participants lift very light weights for an endless number of reps.  This won’t make anyone stronger.  It may not necessarily be bad but it’s probably not the best use of your time if your goal is a) getting stronger or b) looking stronger.  Now, this strategy can turn bad if you lift to the point of utter fatigue and your technique fails.  From what I’ve seen of some of the “sculpting” classes and such, technique is not a prime concern of many instructors.  “A few more reps!” does seem to be the primary concern though.  But guess what, “a few more reps” won’t work any miracles for your physique, but if you’ve hit the failure point then those extra reps may well push you to the point of pain and possible injury.  That may mean no exercise for you for a while.

Very few exercises are needed to create more strength.  Squats, bench press, deadlift, overhead pressing, and various rows are essential.  Complicated pulley machines are useless except to sell gym memberships.  Plastic inflatable objects like BOSUs and Dyna Disks are junk that have more in common with kids pool toys than strength and muscle building implements.

Typical Gym Mindset

Whether we admit it or not, the main reason we’re in the gym is to look good–to look strong.  Physique building developed from the old-fashioned strongmen–those guys with the funny bathing suits, handlebar mustaches, and who could hoist hundreds of pounds overhead with one hand.  These guys were strong number one.  The impressive physiques were a nice byproduct of their ability to perform.  But most gym goers aren’t actually interested in being strong.  The cart has become far more important than the horse it seems.

It’s quite funny to observe our modern fitness center environment.  I often see people working really hard doing easy exercises!  Popular ineffective waste-of-time exercises include partial range pec deck flyes, hunched over triceps extensions, and the always famous 50 reps of 1/4 inch wiggle cruncheson an odd, overly technical crunch machine.

These complex machines actually make exercise easier.  Balance and precise control is eliminated from the process.  Most of these popular machine exercises are done while seated or lying down.  Sounds comfy right?  But why come to the gym for easy exercise?? These machines allow for half-hearted effort disguised as hard work.  Further, machine exercises tend to promote poor posture: forward head, hunched shoulders, tight hip flexors.  This is the opposite of tall and strong.  This is no way to achieve a strong physique!

Getting Strong is Fun.

My reading has caused me to rethink not only how I train myself but also how I train my clients.  For a while now I’ve scaled back on the number of exercises I’m using and I’m focusing on training in that strength zone of 3-5 reps–maybe up to 8 reps–and avoiding failure at the end.  Turns out lifting heavy objects does some cool stuff.  First, it’s quite safe.  Using perfect technique and working only to exertion but not exhaustion is the ideal way to avoid pain.  Ending the workout just when fatigue begins to set in means we avoid aggravating the nervous system.  Plus, knowing that you could’ve done just a few more reps means you’ll be raring to go at the next workout.

Further, picking up heavy objects does good things for our brain.  Again, whether we really want to admit it out loud, some part of what drives us into the gym is self-image and/or self-esteem.  We want to like ourselves more.  Be it through physique change or performance goals, we exercise to make ourselves proud.  So lifting heavy is a great way to feel a sense of accomplishment.  As the weeks go by and the poundage goes up, you can’t help but get excited!  And somewhere along the line you might accidentally create a better looking you.  What more can you ask for?

Three-Week Kettlebell Workout: Power Endurance/Strength

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In case anyone’s interested in a medium-term workout, here’s the one I’m doing.  I’ve spent a good bit of the past several months deadlifting and side pressing.  To a large degree I’ve followed one of the programs out of Pavel Tsatsouline’s Power to the People.  So now I want to convert some of that strength into power–and I want to generate power repeatedly–i.e. power endurance.  So here’s what I’ve designed.  Follow along if you’d like and please let me know your results.

Pre-Workout:

All workouts are preceded by a combination of Z-Health Neural Warm-up Levels I and II.  I mobilize various joints such as feet and hands, knees and elbows, hip, shoulders, pelvis and spine.  I want to wake them up fully before I start to generate a lot of force.  I want to make sure each individual joint is read to go before they start working together.  Next comes the warm-up and workout prep.

The warm-up involves body weight movements that resemble the workout movements.  The workout prep consists of the main lifts I’ll use for the day but with a light load.  Here’s how the workout might go:

Body weight goblet squat: 6 reps

Lateral lunges: 6 reps

Crossing lunges: 6 reps

Rotating T: 6 reps

Cross-crawl patterns: 20-40 reps

Get ups, light swings, snatches, presses, high pulls

The Workout, Week 1:

– Monday
1) One-arm snatches: 5 each arm followed immediately by
Swings: 20 two- or- one-hand
Repeat 3x as fast as possible.  You track my heart rate and the time it takes to complete this circuit.  This will show your progress.

2) Clean & press + pull-up ladders: 1, 2, 3 x 3 sets
Here’s how this works. Clean and press a kettlebell for one rep on each arm then do one pull-up.  Next, clean and press for two reps each arm followed by two pull-ups.  Then perform three cleans and presses each arm followed by three pull-ups.  Perform this process three times.  Rest between sets as needed.  This isn’t a race like the previous circuit.  Use perfect form!  No hunched struggling pull-ups.  Use an assisted pull-up machine or a partner if you need help.

– Wednesday
1) Double kettlebell snatches: 5 reps followed immediately by
Swings: 20 reps
Do this circuit once only.

2) Repeat Monday’s clean & press + pull-up ladders x 3 sets

– Friday
1) Repeat Monday’s snatch and swing circuit twice.

2) Repeat the clean & press + pull-up ladders x 3 sets.

Week 2:

Perform the same snatch and swing circuits but move up in weight if the circuits become easy.  As for the clean & press + pull-up circuit, you’ll add one set.  This means that you’ll do 4 x 1, 2, and 3 reps.  (You did three sets of 1, 2, and 3 reps in week 1.)

Continue to use perfect form.  Stop early if you need to.  Don’t go to out-and-out failure.  The work should be challenging but not impossible.

Week 3:

Week three is essentially the same.  You may need to move up in weight on the snatches and swings.  Stay with three sets on Monday, one set on Wednesday and two sets on Friday.  Experiment with one- and two-hand snatches and swings.

Add another set to the clean & press + pull-up ladders.  So that’s 5 x 1, 2, 3, reps.

Simple right?  Shouldn’t necessarily be easy though.  Following this workout I plan to return to deadlifts, various overhead and side presses, and the overhead squat–and who knows what else?!

Strength Training for Runners: Part II

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These make you faster. Lift them. Don't run with them.

In Part I of this post I discussed some of the evidence and ideas behind the idea that distance runners benefit from explosive movements and heavy strength training.  In Part II I’ll discuss some of the exercises and workouts which you might incorporate into your current program.

First, when we talk about strength or “resistance” training programs we can think of several methods including plyometric or jumping exercises, weights, hill running or running with parachutes attached to the runner.  This discussion will focus on jumping exercises and weight exercises.

Jumping Exercises

Also known a plyometrics, these exercises include but aren’t limited to the following:

Be careful with depth jumps.  Impact forces generated from landing off of a box can be enormous depending on the height of the box involved.  Think of box height like you would weight on a bar.  Start with a low box and work up to higher boxes.

Weight Exercises

These are total body exercises employing barbells.  Avoid machines like leg extensions and leg curls.

Frequency

Plyometric and strength work should not be used more than three times per week.  Rather than simply pile this work on top of your endurance work, two sources (here, here) suggest replacing 20%-30% of endurance training time with explosive or weight training.  The point being that you don’t need to spend very much time doing this work in order for it to be effective.

Reps & Sets

– Bounding: You may think of bounding in terms of distance or reps.  This is short duration/short distance.  For example, bound the length of a basketball court or for 20-30 yards.  Or bound for up to 10 reps.  Start with two sets and add one set per week up to 10 sets.  Recover fully between sets.  THIS ISN’T ENDURANCE WORK.

– Box jumps, power step-ups: Go no higher than 10 reps.  Use the same set scheme described above.  Recover similarly.

– Depth jumps: Again, be careful.  Go no higher than six reps per set and no higher than 10 sets.  Recover at least 30 seconds between jumps and recover fully (up to three minutes) between sets.  Only use depth jump workouts once per week.  Progress to depth jumps only after several weeks (2-3) of jumping and bounding.  Don’t start with depth jumps.

– Weight exercises:

Lift heavy and always use perfect technique.  The rep range is 1-5.  Work to the point where you know you can get one more rep and stop.  (For more on this topic, read Train to Success Part I and Train to Success Part II.)  You may get more reps just get them in subsequent sets.  Use as few as two sets when you begin and progress over the course of weeks to as many as 10 sets.  (10 sets of 2 reps for instance.)

A good method of tracking your lifting is to multiply weight x reps x sets.  For instance: 200 lbs x 3 reps x 5 sets = 3000 lbs.  If you’re doing three workouts per week then you can add the totals together to get your weekly score.  Follow the 10% rule for running with your weight program, that is add no more than 10% per week either through weight or volume to your weekly score.  You may use the same scoring method for your jumping work.

Jumping or weights?

You could use an infinite combination of jumping and/or weight exercises but why not keep it simple?  For example, you could use one jumping exercise exclusively for all workouts for one to three weeks then use one weight exercise exclusively for the same amount of time.  Take a week off then start over with new exercises.  The research suggests that it doesn’t take a lot of time or many exercises to get the results you want.

Workout intensity should build over the weeks.  Take a break then start over at a slightly higher intensity than where you previously started.  Your workouts may vary during the week.  Don’t set your workouts in stone.  Depending on how you feel you may use higher or lower volume (reps and sets) or you may vary your intensity (weight).   All of this variation is known as known as periodization.

Is it working?

The research suggests these methods work to increase running ability.  One way to make sure you’re progressing is to test yourself.  This is fairly easy.  Select any distance you want (1 mile for instance) over a standard course.  Run the mile each week and track your time, average heart rate and rate of perceived exertion (RPE).  If you are progressing then your run time may decrease, and/or your average heart rate may drop, and/or your RPE may drop.

What else?

Remember to taper your gym work as you would your running work.  Don’t start a new strength program in the middle of your season.  Start this program before the competition season.  Workouts should be brief and robust.  Done correctly, these workouts should not negatively impact your run workouts.  To that point, strength workouts should be separated from your hard running workouts.  Both your strength workouts and your runs should be high-quality.

Engage in some sort of dedicated joint mobility program before, after and possibly during your workout.  Z-Health is a fantastic method to prepare your body and nervous system for hard work.  Addressing joint mobility and joint awareness will keep you pain free and performing at your highest potential.

Don’t lift weights in your running shoes!  They’re not made for that.  Running shoes put your heel up on a wedge which may promote hyperextension at your low back.  Further, the squishy cushioning will impede proprioception or your sense of how to interact with the ground.  Choose a flat-soled shoe preferably with a thin sole.  The Converse Chuck Taylor is a good choice as are Vibram 5-Fingers.

(Are you sure I won’t bulk up???)

YES!  If you could bulk up you would’ve already bulked up.

In conclusion…

It may seem counterintuitive that distance runners can benefit from heavy weight lifting and explosive jumping exercises.  These things don’t much resemble distance running!  However the evidence is in and it’s growing.  Don’t waste your time in the gym doing high-rep/low-weight lifting–stuff that feels like endurance work in other words.  Leave the stuff that feels like endurance work… for… well… endurance work!    Use your time in the gym to build strength.

Strength Training for Runners: Part I

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Many runners I speak with in the gym believe that in order to improve their running, they need to lift weights in a fashion that’s similar to running.  That is, they believe lifting very light weights for many many reps (thus creating an endurance-like situation for their muscles, heart and lungs) will lead to better performance.  Conversely, many endurance athletes see no reason to lift heavy weights.  They often believe they’ll become muscle bound and/or injured.  (Besides, when was the last time the winner of a 10k stopped to deadlift for three reps?)  The fact of the matter is, runners–both sprinter and distance runners–will benefit from lifting heavy weights and/or explosive movements.  There.  That’s what I have to say.  Now let me explain…

Strength is  your friend.

Strength is like money: No one ever complains that they’ve got too much.  (Please let me know if, after a race, the 2nd place finisher said to the camera, “I’d probably have gotten first if I’d just been a little weaker.)  Stronger muscles will propel you faster and/or further.  Our view of endurance however may clash with our view of strength.  They may seem like two very different concepts.  We may think that endurance is strictly a heart & lung thing.  Strength and endurance aren’t that different though.  Strength and endurance are very strongly linked.  And for the endurance athlete, improving muscle strength will also improve his or her endurance.

Several studies have indicated strength training increases endurance performance in cross-country skiing, running (here, here, here) and cycling (here, here, here).  Explosive exercises and very heavy strength training (1-5 RM) have been researched and shown to improve running economy, anaerobic power, and lactate threshold.  (Further discussion and references can be found here and here).   Thus, exercising in a fashion that’s very different from running–that is a very few seconds of explosive movement and/or lifting very heavy objects a few times will benefit an activity done at a much lower intensity for a much longer time.  So while it’s obviously vital to engage in your endurance sport of choice in order to improve in that sport, the addition of the right strength training protocol will increase your performance.  What’s at work here?

Physiology

Endurance performance is more than just the heart and lungs.  Several sources (here, here) have suggested that neurological and muscular factors play important roles in endurance performance.    We know this because several of the above studies show an increase in performance with no improvement in VO2 max.  That is, the heart/lung function didn’t improve–but something did!  Improvement in running economy is indicated in several studies. 

We should consider a couple of effects of explosive and heavy weight training.  First, the muscle fibers used in running are likely made stronger via these methods.  Thus muscles can generate more force and a more powerful stride.  Second, more muscle fibers may have been drawn into action, again making for a greater ability to drive forward during stride.  The results from either of these situations is that we should be able to use less energy to run just as far and as fast as before–AND we should be able to run farther and faster period.  Great!

What about muscle and weight gain?  

Many runners are worried about gaining weight from lifting too much heavy weight.  The fear is reasonable in that any sort of weight gain will likely slow down a distance runner.  (The right amount of new muscle mass in a sprinter however may be beneficial.)   The reality is though there is nothing for a runner to fear from lifting heavy.   There are several reasons.

First, putting on lots of muscle is mainly a function of eating.  To put on mass, one must eat like a grizzly bear: several sizeable meals per day (not just snacks), gobs of meat, lots of all sorts of food.  This sort of eating can’t be done unconsciously.  There must be intent

Second, we have the genetics issue.  It’s very likely that people gravitate to endurance running because they’ve been dealt a hand of genetic cards that facilitates running.  This same hand of cards DOES NOT facilitate growing large muscles.  Thus there is often a self-selection process that sees certain people participate and excel in endurance sports while others may tend toward strength-and-power sports or bodybuilding–activities that in order for the participants to excel, require large amounts of muscle mass. 

Third, explosive and heavy strength training doesn’t build big muscles.  (Huh?)  These methods are far more stimulating to the nervous system than they are to actually growing bigger muscles.  That is, we’re looking at getting the brain to cause more muscle fibers to fire in order to create an explosive movement or lift something heavy.  A different process is at work for growing muscles, and this process is better stimulated by lifting moderate weights for roughly 8-15 reps. 

To give a further example, if we look at sports involving weight classes (boxing, wrestling, martial arts, weight lifting, power lifting for example) we see that many of these athletes need to get stronger without gaining weight.  Otherwise they’ll end up in a weight class in which they can’t contend.  These folks need to get stronger but not bigger.  (Sound familiar?)  How do they do this?  They lift heavy.

Next, I’ll discuss workouts based on these factors.