I just wanted to take a moment to clarify a training
philosophy question. Admittedly this may
be my ego speaking, but it’s a question that’s come up more than a few times so
there may be more confusion than I realized.
It’s also a topic on which I want everyone to be clear. (Well, those who actually read my stuff,
anyway…)
Last year I competed in a Spartan Race – one of a few types
of outdoor obstacle course races. I’ve
also signed on to do 3 more in 2013 (more on that below). At the TR we’ve also added a Competition
Training Small Group session to our schedule to specifically address the
training protocols of regular, non-professional athletes like us who are now
competing in ultra-marathons, triathlons, obstacle course races, mud runs,
etc.
If you’re somebody who doesn’t have the advantage of youth anymore,
has a job, family, etc. training for these events poses some major challenges. Challenges that if I may be so bold to say,
require the guidance of a knowledgeable fitness professional who can accurately
assess injury risk and improve performance simultaneously for this demographic.
The confusion has apparently been borne from my previous
discussions (lectures? rants?) where I have made a point of saying those types
of events are a bad idea for most of us.
They are.
The confusion, I believe comes not from my answers, but from
two different questions.
If the question is
the following: “Is endurance training such as distance running, biking, etc.
healthy for you or a good way to stay fit?”
The answer is an
unequivocal NO.
Any kind of long
duration training is not intense enough to force metabolic changes (which is
what burns body fat) and due to the fatigue borne from such training,
impossible to do in a correct bio-mechanical position. The repetitive movement in an incorrect
bio-mechanical position will lead to injury either chronic or acute. This is not a question of “if” it will, but
“when” it will. This is something I
believed several years ago and has been confirmed through my years of observing
people exercise.
However, if you compete in a sport where some unhealthy
occurrences are going to come up (ultra-marathons, obstacle course races,
biking, etc) it MAY be necessary to have some less than optimally safe training
protocols in your program. Therefore, if
you’re doing an obstacle course race or trail marathon, you may have to get
outside on trails for a LONG time to acclimate yourself to the style of
competition.
THIS DOES NOT MEAN IT
IS HEALTHY FOR OR WILL HELP YOU LOSE BODY FAT.
When I was training
for the Spartan Race last summer I actually GAINED body fat in the 6 weeks leading up to it. And I also have a tissue restriction in my
lower leg that still prevents normal movement in training – don’t get me
started…
The Better Question to Ask Yourself: Why Do I Do IT?
I do it, and I speak for a friend who does ultra-marathons,
because we like the challenge, we like the emotional reward, and we like
competition. We do not do it because we think
it’s a healthy habit.
Following many peoples’ line of thinking, a client could
come to me and say
“Jon, I want you to
include punching me in the face during our training sessions. Serioulsy, three or four times per session,
maybe after our core work, just crack me square in the face. I’ve seen boxers
that are in very good shape so I should be doing what they do.”
Boxers are in shape + boxers get punched = I should get
punched, right?
Wrong. They do it because it’s a necessary evil of their
competition.
Ditto for any kind of endurance training.
Whenever you take up any exercise program ask yourself “Why
am I doing this?” The answer, whether it
be improved health, fat loss, strength gain, athletic performance improvement,
whatever – should dictate the type of training protocol you undertake. Don’t get punched in the face just because boxers
do. Don’t run one gazillion miles just because
an endurance athlete does. All that does
is increase your chance of injury with no correlative increase in chance of
success.
If you’re in a competition, you MAY be able to justify some
risk in your training.
If your goal is health, fat loss, strength gain, etc. Keep it safe.
Keep it intense, but keep it safe.
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