Why Everyone Needs to Squat

5/26 - The hot tub and Stick did absolutely nothing. Stairs are challenging and I demonstrated a squat for a client and nearly ripped my inner thigh in half. Another lost day at a critical time.

5/25 – Horrendously sore. So out of practice. Hot Tub and using TheStick!

5/24 – For a large part of my training I have been more active in my recovery, which includes rest, foam rolling, and some stretching. I would have thought that this kept me loose and that I would hopefully increase my flexibility as a result. I was dead wrong. Brian A posted a challenge on facebook to squat 15,000 pounds in one week. I thought this was a lot, until I talked to Tony. Tony helped me realized, that at my level, this was not an inordinate task. So, I decided I could just do it all in one day. My first squat felt like I was ripping my quadriceps down an imaginary seem running from my knee to my hip. I am not even sure I got all the way down for my first few simply because my muscles were not loose enough to do so. I have NEVER had this kind of tightness before. Needless to say, I continued on and got looser as I kept squatting. But this goes to show that running is not enough. Well, to be more fair to running and runners screaming in anger, running on flat roads is not enough. Running on a continually flat surface (and a little hill is still a flat surface) limits the range of motion that the legs cover, simply out of necessity. Even running at a very fast pace does bring the knee much past the hip or decrease the angle of the knee to less than 90 degrees. The Boston Marathon has the famous Heartbreak Hill. In the world trail running and ultraendurance racing, the change in elevation of Heartbreak Hill does not even cause a blip on the screen. Running up some craggly hill with rock and trees makes the legs function in a much more dynamic way. It also creates a fair amount of lateral movement not needed or used in most peoples day to day running. So for those of you that trail run (and a well paved trail through the woods does NOT count), keep doing it. For those of you that love the roads, add some squats in to make sure you stay flexible. If you need to learn how to squat look of Squats and Mark Rippetoe. Taking advice from anyone else is usually a far cry from what a real squat should be. Oh, and using those stupid little smith squat racks doesn’t count either. I see a lot of people doing squats on those these days. Get a pair, but a barbell on your back, and move up and down!

Squat 15000 lbs.

Mostly sets of 10 @ 105.

Rain Rain, Go Away

5/23 - Basically back to normal and the weather seems to be opening up. Take another rest day.

5/22 – Raining again. Both myself and the dogs are getting cabin fever. I know that there are runner’s out there that run regardless of weather, but, here is the thing. I am not a runner. I run for clarity and I run for postural balance and I run because everyone needs to be able to run. I do not wake up at 4:30 and pound out the miles. I do not measure my week by the amount of miles I have ran. What I really like to do is “pick things up and put them down.” But, to that effect, running is wonderfully honest. You can’t cheat running like you can cheat other forms of fitness. I can get a great workout done in 20 minutes or less that increases my cardiovascular endurance, my strength, and my flexibility, but if you are going to run farther, you need time. So in that, running is very humbling. If you run some decent times at a marathon, you HAD to have put in hours of training.

5/21 – Worked today, which was super. Very tired when I go home, which sucked because it was the only sunny day in a long streak of rain. Take a nap. By the time I get up, its raining again. I am seeing now that opportunities in life need to be taken as soon as they happen. Don’t wait for anyone or anything.

Back at is, Sort of

5/20 – Another off day. Spend some time stretching in and out of the hot tub. I did not know this, but I love hot tubs. If any one reading this is wondering was to get me for my birthday, get me a hot tub!

5/19 – Still not feeling great, but have a cameo from Greg S at the TCC. In honor of his presence, we run what I think was 4 miles. Actually felt pretty good but I was amazingly stiff from being so sedentary. I also think we ran part of the 30 on 30 course, the part that runs from my house into Hartford. If this is the case, I may need to wear fingers in. Glass was EVERYWHERE. I am usually not freaked out about glass because it is usually sparse. Between the glass and massive construction, the route was downright dangerous.

Run 4 miles. About 40 minutes.

Down for the count

5/18 – Back at work, but still out of it. Very tired, but finish out a longer day (for me at least). Exercise is absolutely out of the question.

5/17 – Truth be told, I am the biggest sissy when I am sick. I will workout until I bleed when I am healthy, but ask me to get the remote when I am sick and you may as sign my death sentence. Sleeping, all day. This could not have come at a worse time.

Where did that come from???

5/16 – I am officially sick. Congested, tired, weak. I somehow make it through the day in a haze of medication only to go home and crash. Much of the prior events are making sense now. I either overtrained myself, making by body weak, or I was battling something while working out, which has a severe effect on my ability to recover. This partially explains the ridiculous soreness as well as the dizzy feeling, both of which are very atypical for me. Can’t blame it all on being sick, but it was a huge contributor.

5/14 and 5/15 – Wow. So sore. What is going on? I feel completely wrecked. I am basically hobbling around the house trying to get chores done. I am very tired and generally lethargic. I did make it to Parkour with Kasi on Saturday, which was awesome, but disturbing. Disturbing for two reasons. 1 – We were the only grown ups there and the kids were doing crazy stuff we could only dream of doing. 2 – We practiced flipping to a crash mat, which was awesome, but left me feeling amazingly dizzy during the movements and even for the next 2 hours. By Sunday evening my throat is killing me and I am congested.

5/13 – Sore. Not terribly sore, but my hamstrings took more of a beating than I would have liked. I would think with all the squatting and running that they were being sufficiently worked. It seems that squatting really elongated and stresses the attachment point of the hamstring at the hip whereas swings get you right in the meat of the hamstring. This is where I am achy to say the least. Take a full day of rest including some time in the hot tub, which has become my new best friend.

5/12 – Decided to do what I thought would be a light workout with John. The program is below. By any standard, this should have been easy. I first considered doing CrossFit swings (overhead) but instead tried to just swing harder and faster. I quickly paid for this. Doing anything for a minute is hard, and I forgot this. John creeped ahead of me, possibly by a round or two. I did keep a standard of quality for each movement, which certainly changed what was going on. Afterwards we jogged across the river to an awesome Corefit park there and did random crawls, muscle ups, flipping things on the bar. Just fun. On the way there and back (which was less than a mile) my legs felt like lead. Trouble brewing.

AMRAP of 12 minutes

20 Swings @ 24k followed by 1 minute of:

Jumping Jacks

Burpees

Mountain Climbers

Jog in Place

Time for 1 minute does not start until you start moving, but can rest during set as needed. Swings are to eye level.

Because I Can

5/11/11 - DM: "Accept suffering in myself and others."

Gymnastics play! Basically spent a lot of time on my head and flipped over. More like playing around than a workout out.

5/10/11 - DM: "Relax"

So Sore. Big time rest.

5/09/11 - DM: "Find a way to drink more water" (thanks Kasi!)

So I ran a very fast 3.1 miles with Kevin and Brian. Few. Then decided I had the time, so why not do more? Ran the 7 mile loop to Elizabeth Park and back. On my way I passed a lot of people. Not unusual. What was unusual was the amount of people with canes, walking disabilities, or people otherwise varied from a fully functional healthy living. So I am struggling finding a way to keep going and wondering why the hell am I doing this ridiculous run. Then I see these people and think, because I can. I run because I can. People talk a lot about genetics and how this person just has good genes. But what good are they if they don't use them? Most athletes say that its 10% genetics and 90% effort. So, I am running because I still can. Who knows what will happen? What if I can't run someday? Do you use everything you have?

3.1 miles fast. 7 miles slow. Maybe 2 hours. Shockingly long. Tiring.

5/08/11 - DM: "Enjoy what you have"

Mowing, yard work, lots of time with the dogs.

5/07/11 - DM: "Find time for what you want"

No Idea?!?!

5/06/11 - DM: "Live a little"

Irony

5/5/11 - DM:"Stand tall and breathe" Another chance to work on my physical stress. I had the pleasure of going for a run with Tina (aka Krystina). 3.1 mile loop in about an hour. As she struggled along, i kept telling her to "Stand tall and Breathe" On a positive note, that run felt easy. A month ago it was a struggle to say the least.

3.1 miles - 1 hour

5/4/11 - DM: "Laugh and smile" This is mostly in response to the constant physical stress I am feeling. A start for me to let go of things and maybe relax my shoulders enough to help my posture. Funny enough I unknowingly smiled at someone at the gym as they passed by. He commented on how it was nice that someone around the TCC was smiling because everyone seemed to be so down.

Rest

5/03/11 - DM: Let perfection go.

Some wild hip activation stuff courtesy of Scott Sonnon. Wow. Sucking wind

Then

About 3 miles with Gregg then about the same on my own. Ran through the river, literally. Awesome. Took about two hours in all and I am sure a lot of that was due to mud. Feet were way to sensitive. Need more time on the roads.

5/02/11 - Still needed more sleep. Hangovers suck. Excellent workout.

Some 95# Hindu Squats

Some 95# Rotating Lunges

Some 95# Side Lunges (wholly glutes batman!)

Plank on Rings

Pushups

Jump Rope

DM: I Am.

Out of Body Experience

5/01/11 - DM: I am not my thoughts.

HUNGOVER! Greasy foods, water, and a nap. Also the return of anxiety and stress that were absent in my drunken blur last night. I spent a lot of today reflecting on the movie A Peaceful Warrior. One of the quotes I like is "The brain is a reaction organ, just like any other organ. People are not their thoughts."

4/30/11 - DM: Be Present.

Woke up after a terrible night of sleep to help out Brian at Rugged Fitness. Moved a whole bunch of weight and did a lot of manual labor. Not a workout really, but not a lazy day either. Had an amazing dinner prior to going out and getting absolutely rocked off of delicious Martinis and Rock Band. After dinner I had some sugar. I know, not in the deal, but I truly wanted chocolate. Not sweets, but specifically chocolate. The darker the better. Then I started thinking about why am I not doing sugar? I do eat more than I thought, but its far less than most. Easter brought me more chocolate than I can shake a stick at. So, from here on out, it moderation. If I crave chocolate, I have some. No other crap though. And not in massive quantities like any of us can and have done in the past.

The DM came from reflection to something said to me. They told me they had an out of body experience recently. As I thought about this, most of my meditation is about being in my body. Its about being aware of my tension and breathing and presence. I think most people live their life in an out of body experience. Most of the advances I have seen in clients are simply because they become aware of their body. And most successful and long standing practices of movement (yoga, tai chi, qiagong, most martial arts) create a huge space for self awareness and body control. I thought about this as I laid down for a nap and I could feel my tongue pushing the roof of my mouth and my right hip holding on tighter than it needs to. People would be healthier if they could spend only a few moments remember what it is like to be in their body. After all, you are your body. One in the same in reality, but often separated conceptually.

4/29/11 - DM: Perfection is not a goal.

I was able to work with my small group today. It was an interesting class and the room was hot. The major theme was just a lot of movement and a high heart rate. When class was done I continued with some jump rope, pullups, and then a lot of plank work on rings (which is stupid hard), pushups, and some good mornings. An excellent 1.5 hours of work. It was followed up by an awesome meditation in the hot tub. I realized that I am always trying to make things perfect, but perfect is just an idea, it can never be attained and is never achieved and can only be recognized and not created.

Small Group Class, 1.5 hours, end with push focus.