Squat! Heavy!

I recently came back home from a biz trip and while transferring flights I bought a triathlon mag at the airport. The mag was cool, lots of solid nutrition and training info.

But one thing sucked: the recommendation for strength program. It was a typical recommendation for triathletes: bodyweight lunges, step-ups, side lunges, bodyweight squats, etc. Usually 3 sets of 12-20 reps.

All these bodyweight lower body exercises are useful and necessary in training but sorry, they will not build strength. They are very useful, for unilateral work, eliminating imbalances, local muscle hypertrophy, hip mobility, etc. But they will not build any strength because the load is simply too low.

The aim of strength training is to build stronger muscles. Stronger muscles when contracting recruit higher percentage of muscle fibers and produce more power. Strength training thickens tendons. Applied to triathlon training, strength training means lower risk of injury, less fatigue throughout the race, more powerful muscles, more muscle activation, higher CNS activation.

But it has been proven both in science and in weight rooms, strength is best built in the 70-85% range of your 1RM. So if your squat estimated (or tested) max is 100kg (220lb), your best strength building poundages are between 70-85kg, give or take.

So doing endless bodyweight lunges and bodyweight squats will produce lots of useful things as mentioned above but not strength, sorry. You must lift. And quite heavy.

So, what might be a good lower body session focused on strength, unilateral work and muscle imbalances?

squat: 5 sets of 3 with 75-80%
glute-ham raises: 6 sets of 6
bodyweigt lunges: 3 sets of 20 each leg
dynamic side plank: 3 sets of 10 (for core work)


cheers :-)

Core! Core! Core!

Everybody wants stronger core. The latest buzz word.

But what is Core? And why is it so important?

(Please, please, stop doing crunches and sit-ups. They do nothing for you. Completely useless.)

Core is your front abdominal wall, your obliques, all muscles on sides of your trunk right up to your armpits, your lower back, your mid back, your lats and all the small stabilizing muscles around your pelvis. Yep, all those is "Core".

Four months ago I was super lucky because after 20 years of almost zero communication I accidentally reconnected with my university Buddy and found out he has been an Ironman for many years, logging in some insane bike volumes a week (200+km (124+m)). We discussed training and he asked me if I could give some advice on strength training. I asked him what he needed the most. He replied: "Core".

Since prescribing him some core exercises he reported back he no longer has low back pain, he is more stable on the bike, less side-to-side shifting and legs seem to be more powerful.

So ... what does your Core do? The primary function of your Core is to support your body and resist all kinds of rotations, twists and bendings. That's how people use Core for thousands of years while they drag, lift, press, push, pull, etc. Your core is a stabilizer and supporter and core exercises should reflect that.

Ironman?
Wanna run for 2-3 hours with stable hips and upright posture? You need strong Core.
Wanna bike for 4+ hours with lots of power, minimum shifting and zero back pain? You need strong Core.
Wanna swim 3+k with no back pain, whole body one strong unit? You need strong Core.

My TOP 5, feel free to comment:

1/ one-hand dumbbell farmer's walk
Grab a heavy dumbbell, keep the other hand close to your body and walk trips. 3-6 trips. Your opposite side of trunk, traps, glutes, forearms, grip, all will be on fire creating a super-strong core and not only. Go heavy.
Human:
M: 30kg (66lb) DB
F: 15kg (33lb) DB

Animal:
M: 40kg (88lb) DB
F: 20kg (44lb) DB

Beast:
M: 50+kg (110+lb) DB
F: 25+kg (55+lb) DB


2/ Pallof press
search Youtube. Keep hips stable and do not use your arms much. You should feel it in all those small muscles around your hips. And in glutes as they fight hard to stabilize your hips. Slow controlled tempo.


3/ Dynamic side plank
Fantastic for hip stability and your whole trunk. Tons of vids on Youtube


4/ Ab wheel
Put a plate on your back, will you? and do sets of 8. Men with 10kg plate of their back, women with 5kg plate. Can't do them? Congratulations, you found your weakness and can work on it now for weeks to come :-) You WILL be very sore next few days when you do them the first time. Don't panic, your body will adapt soon.


5/ Seated Barbell Good Mornings
Sit on a bench with wide stance. Bar on your back same as with squats. Brace core and bend over. Hips muscles and mid back should be worked hard. Yep, they are safe because you rotate in hips, not in lower back. Work up slowly with weights, this is not an ego builder. 5 sets of 5.


Pick two exercise and do them weekly for a couple of hard sets. Then pick another two. And so on. You get the picture. It should be hard and uncomfortable. But you know what? You will thank me after couple of weeks later after your comfy 4+hrs bike ride :-)

Cheers :-)

Powerlifting for Ironman training? Yes!

Hmmm, powerlifting for Ironman training? Yes. Let me explain. I see lots of endurance athletes complement their swimming, bike and running with a few strength movements here and there, mostly bodyweight exercises and maybe some bodybuilding work.

I believe, it is not the best approach. Bodybuilding training will increase your muscle mass and we do not want that during Ironman race. We want super strong muscles with highly trained CNS but not big muscle mass. Excessive muscle mass means more drag in the water during the swim, worse aero position on the bike and extra weight to carry during the run.

So, it is my belief, the best strength training for Ironman athletes is powerlifting style training with multi-joint lifts such as back squats, front squats, deadlifts, etc. and multiple sets of low reps. Why? Weights at your 80-85% of 1RM are the best for absolute strength building, they train the CNS greatly which you need for maximum muscle fiber recruitment and maximum power output.. Sure you will grow some muscle but not as much as bodybuilders.

Got time for only two strength sessions a week? Here you go:

Session 1:
back squats: 3-5 warm-ups sets, then 5 sets of 3 with 80% of your max squat
KB overhead press: 3 sets of 8 heavy
glute-ham raises: 6 sets of 6 (assisted)
front plank: 3 sets of 1 min

Session 2:
deadlift or Trap bar deadlift: 4 sets of 3 with 80% of your max deadlift
close-grip bench press: 4 sets of 5
DB rows: 3 sets of 8
one-hand farmer's walk with a heavy DB: 3 trips


don't believe me? Check out this guy:

@ironcowboyjames

Two time world record holder. Completed 50 Iron Triathlons in 50 days in 50 States. If you follow his accounts and listen to his podcasts you will notice he comlements his insane endurance training with low-rep powerlifting style strength training to strenghten his muscles, tendons and joints. Sorry, bodyweight lunges will not do much for you :-(

What do you think?

Ironman + Powerlifting

Well, I did it. For past 20+ years, I've been in the iron game, first few years general strength training, then powerlifting.

Now, being 43, I needed a change. I was reasonably strong and big, now I want to be strong and superfit. So I decided to train for Ironman. I am a stubborn prick and need to do things competitively so it was the obvious choice for me.

And I think I might offer the wide audience out there a unique perspective on Ironman training. If you compare training info from the 80's and 90's with current training methodologies for Ironman, you will notice one big difference. Strength training. Triathletes nowadays are more muscular and way stronger. Why? Because stronger muscles mean better muscle performance, higher muscle fiber recruitment, bigger power output, stronger joints and ligaments.

Join me in my journey where I combine strength&power with Ironman endurance training to create a perfect 40+ yrs old althlete.

If you are a competitive triathlete, well, this blog may not be for you. If you are an amateur sport junky who would like to prep for an Ironman AND be strong at the same time, welcome.

I will detail my journey, put in lots of info on training, powerlifting, nutrition and how to juggle everything together with family life and business/work responsibilities.

Let's go! :-)