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  

Wacky Movie Review "Truth Be Told"

     Hey all!  I was  asked to review an upcoming television movie for Fox Family Night called "Truth Be Told".  I am not a huge fan of television but I figured it would be fun to give it a try.  Of course I was pretty psyched that someone even cared what a knucklehead that calls himself Wacky Dad thought about a movie!  I was pretty skeptical about the movie though.  I am really a tough critic.  My wife can't even stand to watch television with me since I am always complaining about the programming.  
     Ok though - back to the movie.  I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.  I thought the plot was very well thought out, the roles where very well acted, and the characters fully developed.  For me to make it all the way through a TV movie, it has to be something worth watching!  And I have to say, this was.  I don't want to give away the story but basically the movie comes down to the fact that two adults told a lie that they thought would better their lives and other peoples lives.  In the process they involved children as conspirators in the lie.  The movie has plenty of love, drama and humor and I believe it would appeal to everyone in the family, including the kids.  One of my favorite things to do with my kids is to snuggle up, pop some popcorn and watch one of our favorite flicks.  I will definitely be watching this movie with the kids on premiere night - Saturday, April 16th on FOX at 8pm/7ct.  
(Plus, the promise from FOX that the commercials during their Family movie nights will be kid friendly sure allows this Wacky dad to relax a little more.  I won't have to answer any questions like, "Hey dad, what is Viagra? or "How do you get this herpes thing?" - AWKWARD is right and so not a discssuion I want to have with an 8 and 3 year old) 
Click here to watch the movie trailer.  (Cast: Candace Cameron Bure, Ronny Cox, David James Elliott)
      While watching I started thinking about what Fox named the movie "Truth be Told' and how I feel about lying and just how important it is for us to teach our kids the importance of telling the truth.  Many of my blog readers have heard about "The Treatment" (click the hyper link and read Wacky Tip #1 for an explanation).  Lying is an offense that definitely earns my girls the treatment.  The best way that we can teach our kids not to lie is to follow my old Marine drill instructor's method and lead by example.  Lets face it - if you lie, your kids will follow suit.  Any time I have lied in my adult life, whether it was professional or personal, it has come back to bite me in the butt.  There are many things that I consider lying.  One of the ways we can lie to our kids is to say we are going to do something with them and then not follow through.  In our busy lives it is easy to make promises and then get busy and not fit it in.  I really try to make a point to follow through on the promises I make to my girls.  Following through on these little promises builds trust.  I'm not a big proponent of the white lie stuff either.  Either it is or it isn't.  Truth is generally black and white.  Hell I'm not perfect but I try to convey these facts to my kids in my own simple way - and that is by maintaining an honest relationship with them.  They may not always like the truth that dad represents but they sure seem to respect it.  Aside from the little slip ups every now and then my girls have become truthful little buggers and that makes this old Marine a happy camper.
     Ok I'm off my high horse now!  Take 2 hours out and watch a movie that will entertain you as well as emphasize the fact that to you and your kids that honesty is always the best option!  You can also check out "Truth Be Told" at www.facebook.com/familymovienight.  
I think all of my readers know me by now. If the movie sucked I would tell you! And of course now you know I never lie!


“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of P&G and received a movie kit to facilitate my review and a gift code to thank me for taking the time to participate.”




Honestly,

Wacky Dad