ROUGH RULES
Mark Hatmaker
- Train outside whenever possible. Yes, I know that you can't take all gear outside, but some can go with you (kettlebells, a weight plate or two) and some can be improvised (ledges or branches for pull-ups for instance).
- Variability is key. If the courses are never the same why should our workouts be familiar? Yes, there are standard elements and events common to most courses, but invariably these elements are mixed-and-matched in different sequences, placed at different intervals, et cetera. Every foot placement as you run through a ravine filled with unsteady rock must be carefully considered, not so with the usual run on a track, through a neighborhood, or (Lord, help us) on a treadmill. Your brain can go on auto-pilot with these smooth predictable runs. Let's let variability put our heads back in the game.
- Move effectiveness and efficiency to the top of your standards chart. It is common to benchmark our progress with two metrics "How fast?" and/or "How heavy?" as in "What's your best 5K time?" or "What do you bench?" I'm not telling you to throw these metrics away as they do provide some quantitative value but I urge you to start considering the quality and or effectiveness of your movement as you confront training tasks. Sure, perform the tasks as quickly as you can, lift as heavy as you can, but please also keep an eye on quality and efficiency. Assess the somewhat intangible nature of movement quality and always ask yourself can I adapt or innovate here to be better?
- Intensity. Quality study after quality study demonstrates, that when it comes to conditioning, you get the most bang for your buck if you go for broke. That is, all-out sprints provide just as much (in some studies more) aerobic improvement and fat loss as longer runs (in some cases very long runs) of lesser intensity. A few high intensity lifts of heavy weights beats hands-down lots and lots of reps with lesser weight. In busy lives where training time is limited this is great news as it means we can get more done in less time. The bad news, the intensity we are discussing is some serious boundary pushing stuff. More good news, intensity is scalable, meaning, what's a fast sprint to me may be a trot to you, or what might be a heavy thruster to you might be a cakewalk to me. Your job as the owner of your own bad self is to find your own redline and work to that threshold and not anyone else's. That will give you the improvements you need. [For all the scientific skinny on intensity see the aforementioned resources.]
- Intervals or Matched Distance. When it comes to these events there are two schools of thought when it comes to running, one is "If the event is three miles long make sure you can run three miles." Makes mucho sense when you hear it but...how does this jibe with the research on intensity that all seems to support intervals being equal to or superior to long distance training in their conditioning effect? Still confused? Here's the good news, these courses are all intervals. Sure, a particular course may be three miles long but...that three miles is broken up into intervals by what? Well, obstacles, of course. These events are not straight running events, they are intervals (albeit it some of them longer intervals than others) punctuated by tasks that have nothing to do with running. So with the intensity/interval research in mind and the fact that these course are all intervals our training will reflect the "it's all intervals" approach for the most part. If you just love to run long-distance, don't let me stand in your way-add inches, yards, or miles to the distances prescribed in the Menus. Run to your heart's content, Runners; everyone else, just rest assured, intervals will save you some time.
Places to Go, People to See
As some of you know I try to leave the homestead as little as possible, but this year is an anomaly as we have upped our seminar/playtime. Below you will find a listing of some of the most recent additions to the schedule.
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We'll be in Germany in May--details to come.
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Of course we'll be at the Annual Karate College in Radford, VA on June 28th & 29th. We'll teach 3 general sessions + 1 certification course. To register for Karate College http://www.thekaratecollege.com/TheKarateCollege.com/Karate_College.html
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We'll be on the roster at Martial Arts on the Mountain--September 19 (5PM start) thru September 22nd (11AM).
Myself, Boyd Ritchie, Carlos Cummings, and John Miller will be presenting classes in MMA, Boxing, Catch Wrestling, Sambo, (and if time permits) an optional Challenge/Obstacle Run.
Four days of training, feel free to room on the campground (rooms and meals provided, crew--beat that).
Cost: $250
To register or for more details contact Coach John Miller
coach@grapplingsports.com
540-354-9356
http://www.facebook.com/events/126726897501640/
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Of course, we'll also offer our Annual Tennessee Boot Camp in November-details to come.
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We hope to see you at one of these events--if you'd like to have us come to you, check out our Pitch An Adventure info in the side bar and if you've got some adrenaline in your neck of the woods that strikes my fancy we'll be there.
RAW Subscription Update
For our current and considering RAW Subscribers, beginning with volume 123 (January 1st, 2013) we will begin unveiling The Combination Man Home Study Course in which we (finally) present in an ABC/1-2-3 manner the steps from, 0-120 MPH how to become the best Boxer-Pugilist, Shooter-Stuffer, Par Terre Wrester-Submission Technician you can be.
Each volume will tied-in to the inTENS PREMIUM CONDITIONING SERVICE (free to subscribers), will be accompanied by a printed syllabi of drills for gym use, and will then be keyed to a foundation text (The Combination Man) that will be released at a later date. In other words, some good methodical let's get better stuff coming your way.
