10 Wacky Workout Tips

In the absence of anything else to say tonight I figured it would be fun to share some of my training tips/advice with you.  I am not always a total picture of health but over the years I have completed many centuries (100 mile plus bicycle rides), and last year completed a solo double century from West Warwick RI to Thornton, NH.  So I have learned a thing or two about endurance training (one is that sometimes it just sucks and sometimes it is amazing:).  If you have a heart attack from my advice, just keep in mind that I am really a dumb bastard and don't know what the hell I'm talking about - I just know what works for me.

1.  Start off slow.  For the first couple of weeks that you start to train, you need to let your body acclimate slowly.  This doesn't mean being a total puss but don't hurt yourself.  Your joints and muscles are more likely to sustain damage in the first two weeks so pay attention to them and hear what they are saying to you.

2.  Pick an activity you like.  For me it is riding the bike.  You have to enjoy what your doing or you aren't going to keep it up.  If you hate to run then running probably ain't the thing for you.  The important thing is to do something: cycle, run, swim, jump rope, aerobisize (if that is how you say it), dance, hula hoop, whatever!

3.  Be consistent.  For ex. you're better off doing three, 30 mile rides a week on a bike then suffering through one 80 mile ride done all at once.  You're able to maintain a higher level of aerobic workout when you're not exhausted, thus giving you more bang for your buck.  Work your way up to the distance you want to reach, whether it be in running, cycling...  Again, this isn't a license to be a woos but intensity of training is a key factor in your fitness.  So if you need to, be more intense for shorter time frames but just do it more often.  If you go out and ride a century in 15 hours, you aren't getting as much out of it as you could fitness-wise.

4.  Vary your workouts.  For ex. train flats one day, sprints the next, & climbs on another.  It is important to keep your workouts fresh.  If you find you are weak in one area then throw an extra workout in on that discipline.  This isn't rocket science.  If you suck in the hills while cycling, running, (Hula hooping)... you need to train more hills.  If you suck on sprints - train sprints.  Easy right?

5.  Find a partner.  Whatever your personal training activity is, it is always great to have a partner.  Ideally they should be someone you like and are pretty evenly paired with.  When there is someone waiting for you to workout with them, you are much less likely to take the easy way out and lay your butt on the couch and eat bon bons.  Also having some friendly competition can improve your workouts.  Race to the next stop sign, see who can do more squats, see who can hula hoop the longest, etc...

Some photos of my 200 mile journey north last year - after a whole year of training I still have a gut!

6.  Have a goal or mission - One of the things I try to do every year is set a pretty lofty goal for myself.  Last year, my goal was to ride 200 miles.  While I did this ride to fight pancreatic cancer and honor a close friend that passed away, I had always wanted to do a 200 mile ride so it was a perfect goal for me.  If you make your training personal, it gives you that extra incentive to kick ass.  While riding last season, my thoughts always went back to kicking pancreatic cancer's ass.  Every time I started to puss out, I would think of my friend Karen and that would give me the extra oomph I needed to get through a tough day on the bike.


7.  Be an animal!  You need to do the work and train hard to get better.  Keep track of your run/lap/hoop-spin/ride times and try to beat yourself.  I see every hill as an obstacle to destroy.  A headwind is an evil enemy to fight.  Train hard and don't waste time!

8.  Take time to recover - Recovery time is very important when you are in a serious training regimen.  If you're out doing 6 hard runs a week, your body is going to collapse on you.  If you notice that you're not able to get you're heart rate up to it's usual level, then that is a sure sign of over training.  Your body just isn't capable of putting forth the work needed to get it there - It's time to take a day off or do a recovery run/ride/swim etc.  Take it nice and easy.  You'll be back, stronger than ever the next time you train - I promise!

9.  Eat healthy - When I am training, I am much more likely to eat well.  For most of us, keeping your weight down requires a good diet and working out.  If you eat 3 Big Mac's a day, your still going to have trouble dropping any weight (I know from experience), even with a serious training regime.  Also, eating while on endurance rides/runs is very important.  I eat as much as I can stand to, and it has gotten me through many a tough spot.  As far as water is concerned, my rule of thumb on the bike is to drink whenever I see a riding partner drink.  After a while it becomes second nature.  You need to drink a ton of water to stay on top of your game.  Just 2% of water weight loss can severely decrease your ability to perform.

10.  Have fun!  Working out needs to be something that you love to do.  If not, you simply won't do it.  For me, being out on the open road with a fresh breeze in my face, an 18 pound bike under me, and the sun on my back is just about perfect!

Happy trails and no heart attacks!

Wacky Dad