Great workout to prepare for obstacle racing

If you are like me and many others who are taking to the obstacle racing scene, here is a great workout you can do in the gym (of course you can improvise if doing outdoors).

I want to forewarn you this id a brutal workout, and is only intended for those who have been working out regularly and have no injuries or nagging aches.

You'll want to make sure you get in a good warm-up, doing some Rowing on the Concept 2 machine for 5-10 min., and then follow that up with some dynamic stretching for another 5-10 min.

Make sure you have access to a water fountain or have a water bottle close by as you will be sweating a lot and burning lots of calories.  The workout will take you between 15-30 min per set, depending on your fitness level.

I recommend that you do 3 sets of the following exercises, but id that is too easy (you must be an animal) then try for 4-5 sets. However, if after 2 sets you are already fried, don't attempt a 3rd set.

Workout:  3 sets total
1/2 mi. Run at moderately hard pace
10 Burpees 
10 Burpee Pullups 
20 Box Jumps (18-30" box)
30 Bicycle Crunches
30 Squats (bodyweight)
20 KB Swings
20 Walking Lunges (10 per leg) holding DB's in each hand
10 Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press
REST 1-2 MIN
Repeat

Then after completing the workout, finish with some core exercises...3 sets, 30 reps each
If you don't have a TRX, just do the side planks on the ground

TRX Side Planks w/ Hip Drop
Crunches
Med Ball Russian Twists
Plank (30 sec)

I would love to hear your feedback on how the workout went for you.  Please leave a comment in the comment section below.

Best nutrition purchase you'll ever buy

So have you heard of Nutri Bullet?  It's probably one of the greatest nutrition items currently on the market.  I heard about it from a friend of mine, and was sold on it after he quickly made me a drink.

I enjoy eating fruits and veggies, but admit I probably don't eat enough veggies.  Why?  Well I hate to admit it, but manly for the inconvenience of having to cut them up.

Yes of course you can but them pre-cut, but then again there is a price to pay for that.  Plus, I like to buy as fresh as possible.  So I buy produce in it's most natural state as possible.

Ingredients:  1/2 Apple, 1 Cup Kale, 1/2 Banana, 1 Tbsp Dried Goji Berries, 1/4 Cup Walnuts, 2 Small Carrots, 1 Celery Stick, 1/2 Scoop Protein Powder, 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed, and 1/4 Cup Organic Pineapple Juice

Introduce the Nutri Bullet...a high powered smoothie making machine.  It's a simple way for those who don't eat enough fruits or veggies to make a smoothie without the hassle of cleaning up a big mess.  Yes, like most blenders, or juicers, there is a lot of cleaning to do after making the drink.  With the Nutri Bullet, you add your ingredients, screw on the blade, start chopping/blending, unscrew the blade, rinse the blade with water and then enjoy your drink.

everything added with 3/4 Cup water

ready to mix 

Start to finish takes about 1 min.  Who doesn't like simplicity.  So far I have recommended 3 people to try it and they have all purchase their own unit and love it.  It's time for you too to give it a try and see for yourself the beauty of eating healthier at a low cost and simple process.

finished product 20 seconds later

When I purchased mine they were offering a "Buy 1 Get 1 Free".  So I paid $120 and received 2 complete Nutri Bullet units.  That is much cheaper than you will pay for any juicer (and you get all the fiber, unlike a juicer) or VitaMix machine.  Of course, it comes with a recipe book full of great ideas, or you can always make your own.

I have had a veggie/fruit smoothie everyday, mostly as my mid-morning snack.  As a result, I have eaten much more spinach and kale (about a 10 oz bag a week) than I have in the past.  I keep one unit at work and one at home.  

Now I am not advocating that you stop eating your veggies or fruits raw, but this is a simple way to just add more of them in your daily diet.   

Elevated Sports Performance/Bend Broadband Cycling Team to Co-Sponsor Movie Night at McMenamins March 20th

As part of COTA's efforts to raise funds and awareness for the Central Oregon Trail Alliance, they frequently present Movie Night's at McMenamins here in Bend, OR.

On March 20, Pine Mountain Sports and the Elevated Sports Performance/BendBroadband Team will be sponsoring the film "Half the Road", a documentary about the passion, pitfalls, and power of women's professional cycling.  The film will air at 9pm in the Old St. Francis School Theater in McMenamins.  The cost to get in is $5, a very non-expensive price to pay to support a great cause.


                                          Trailer from Kevin Tokstad

The Elevated Sports Performance/BendBroadband Team will be in attendance during the film for a"meet and greet", so stop by and meet the only all-women's mountain bike team in Central Oregon.  There are several members of the team with high hopes of turning professional within a year or two.

I started the Elevated Sports Performance Women's Mountain Bike Team to bring more awareness to women's cycling and try to bridge the gap of equality between men's and women's cycling.

Look for the team to be hitting the local races starting in April.

Sample workout

A few days ago I asked the question which type of workout you like most.  I also mentioned that I would post a sample workout of the type of workouts I like to do.  Keeping workouts creative while strength training can be the secret for some to keeping them on path of reaching their goal/s.  No matter your goal, have a purpose each time you go to the gym.  My goal is training for obstacle races.

Here is a sample workout that you can try on your own, just be warned that it is not going to be easy.    

Make sure to get in a good warm up of at least 10-15 min. of dynamic stretching and some light thera-band exercises for the shoulder (internal/external rotation, flexion/extension).

Workout:

5 sets of the following, without any rest between exercises:

x5 Pushups

x10 Squats

REST 1 min.

3 sets of the following, with 15-30 sec rest between exercises:

x20-sec Sprint

x8 Barbell Bent-Over Row

x8 Barbell Overhead Press

REST 1 min.

3 sets of the following, 15-30 sec rest between exercises:

25-sec Sprint

Barbell Curls

DB Triceps Press

REST 1 min.

3 sets of the following with 15-30 sec rest between exercises:

30-sec Sprint

Barbell Power Cleans

Barbell Upright Rows

REST 1 min.

2 sets of the following with 1-2 min. rest between sets:

x30 Burpees

                                                                                       

Which workout do you like better?

Everyone, or I should say most everyone, has some sort of goal when going to the gym or out their door to do an exercise routine.  Working out doesn't mean that you have to go to a gym to pump iron, or run on the elliptical machine.  There are plenty of things you can do using mother nature's equipment...hills, rocks, logs, etc.

So when you DO workout, what type of workout do you enjoy most?
a.  Heavy weights, strength workout
OR
b.  High-Intensity cardio/strength workout

This may be a trick question for some of you.  If you are like me, I like a and b; a little bit of both mixed together.  I enjoy turning up the volume on the stereo and listening to some heavy metal (Iron Maiden, old Mettalica) and lifting some heavy weights, then going immediately to a high intensity movement (ie:  a 20-sec sprint, Swiss Ball mountain climber, split lunge jumps, box jumps, or battling rope slams.

Swiss Ball Mountain Climber

I don't particularly like just doing one or the other, even though each has it's benefits depending on your specific goal.  However, my philosophy on training is that you mix in a little (4-8 weeks) of each type of workout.

Periodization training will accomplish this goal of training all aspects of strength, power, and muscular endurance.  If you are an endurance athlete you will want to spend more time in the muscular endurance phase of training, however if you are a football athlete, spending a good amount of time in strength and power phase will benefit you most.

Because I am no longer training as a professional athlete to compete in cycling, I enjoy doing a combination of training like a football player and also like a soccer/basketball player.  Mixing strength with powerful anaerobic moves, and having the endurance to do that for a long period of time is a great feeling.  There's nothing better than pushing around some good weight working full body movements and doing this for 1-1.5 hours, either in a gym or outside in the elements.

In a few days I will post a sample workout of what I like to do during my time at the gym.

So, what kind of workout do you like?