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I NEED STRENGHT-FLEXIBILITY TRAINING DISCIPLINE!! HELP!!

Juan VergaraJuan Vergara
in General Training Discussions

I know I need to gain strength and flexibility!!! Primarily to minimize injury and second, to maximize performance!!! I KNOW!!!! But somehow I have not been able to develop the discipline to do so in the same (VERY DISCIPLINED) way I swim-bike-run!!!! Any INSPIRATIONAL ideas/routines to share with this AG 50-54 ... soon to become 55-59 .... in need of strength and flexibility ??? 

Comments

  • Jess WithrowJess Withrow

    Juan, I know EXACTLY what you mean!  I'm taking some very *focused* time off from S/B/R to do just that.  Too many injuries in the past three years, and I needed to take a step back and really WORK on my weaknesses and imbalances.  



    SO!  I am 4 weeks in to Operation Rebuild, and was just telling JW last night that I should throw up a post - but I doubted that anyone would be interested!  



    Here's what I'm doing:  



    1)  No swim/bike/run for the time being.  None.  I am in self-imposed triathlon jail.  I hyperventilated for the first few days over the thought of lost fitness and set-back, but my sights are set on long-term gain and I've come to terms with it and am committed to it.  



    2)  Light (LIGHT!) strength training, primarily focused on where I need it the most.  Glutes, back (rhomboids, lats, lower traps... &nbspimage, hamstrings (quads were overpowering hammies... &nbspimage.



    3)  Working with a Physical Therapist to build a home exercise program.  This is all pretty specific to me and might not necessarily apply to you, but here it is:

    4)  Yoga.  I was of the, "Oh-my-gosh-I-am-so-bored-I-hate-this-all-I-can-think-about-is-everything-else-I-should-be-doing" sort.  I'd tried yoga before, was totally unimpressed and didn't see the benefit when I felt I could just do static stretching at home.  I felt like I was wasting my time.  Then my sports med guy convinced me of the benefits of actively flowing through the postures (asanas) and creating heat in the body to improve the stretch.  A-HA!  Yes!!!  This was something I always told MY patients - muscles are like taffy...  Warm taffy will always stretch better than cold taffy.  So I committed to two weeks of solid yoga practice at a dedicated yoga center, and I'm discovering amazing benefits:

    • Standing balance postures work every small muscle in the foot and that chronically weak glute med...  I think every triathlete can use some work here!
    • Core work - moving through a vinyasa flow requires a lot of core strength IF you do it properly.
    • Hip flexors - postures like high lunge and pigeon REALLY work tight hips.  After four weeks of consistent practice, I have noticeably better hip flexibility.  It still needs a lot of work, but...  Patience and Discipline, right???  
    • Forearm/shoulder strength.  Try a Forearm Down Dog (also known as Dolphin pose):  http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/2462  If this isn't great for building positional strength for someone who spends HOURS in aerobars, I don't know what is!  Trust me, this is MUCH harder than it looks and, in my opinion, harder than doing a forearm plank.
    • Shoulder/chest openers.  Swimming and cycling - we spend a LOT of time rounded forward and shortening our pecs.  A LOT.   
    • I can finish an Ironman, yet it HURTS to hold a Warrior II for 60 seconds.  Actually, my entire body has been feeling the effects of yoga the past few weeks.  I've always thought of myself as strong, but yoga actually kicked my butt for the first few weeks.   

    This is just my "personal journey," as they'd say in yoga-speak.  I'm in a place right now where I need to take a break and switch gears, though, so it's been a welcome distraction for me.  I can't stress enough how important it is to find a yoga center, where yoga is the sole focus, versus attending a yoga class at your local gym.  Enormous difference.  The difference in room temperature alone (70 degrees F at a fitness center/gym versus anywhere from 85 degrees to 105 degrees F at a yoga center) has been enough to keep me going back day after day.  I've found the classes to be challenging while building strength and flexibility, AND helping me focus on proper body alignment (mirrors are helpful for this, but if there are no mirrors I'm not shy about telling the instructor at the beginning of the class that I need help making sure my pelvis is properly aligned...  they really welcome this!).  

    Hope you find what you need!  





  • Yvette MetzYvette Metz
    This is EXACTLY what I have been searching for all morning!  I know somewhere in EN there is a place to sign up for this type of training, just cant find it. 
  • Yvette MetzYvette Metz
    found it: http://members.endurancenation.us/Store/InjuryConsultPlanService.aspx
  • Al TruscottAl Truscott

    Here's a seven minute workout requiring no equipment I try to do 4-5 times a week, preceded by 7 minutes of stretching:

    http://lifehacker.com/these-12-videos-show-the-proper-form-for-a-7-minute-ful-499199366

    I have an app on my iPad which ticks off the seconds for me, and reminds me the order in which to do the exercises. I also add some dumbbells at the end for bicep curls. These can be done ANYWHERE, hotel room, beach, whatever, no assembly required. If it seems too easy (try it first!), you can go 2 -4 times through for a half hour sweatfest.

     

  • Juan VergaraJuan Vergara
    Thanks all for the input.
    Questions for Master @Al
    1) when you say 4-5 times a week which days have you found are best? (as in SWIM only, or RUN only, or BIKE only days i mean). And dose that apply for you both for OS and race prep periods?
    2) what's the name of the iPod App you mention?
    Tks again
  • Al TruscottAl Truscott
    Juan ... There are a number of free apps which basically serve as a stopwatch and remind you of the order of exercises. The one I picked is called Seven. I searched "seven minute workout in the app store. One good thing about it ... It keeps going even if I'm listening to iTunes, or listening to my news radio app... Siri just pops in an days, "Next, crunches." It will also keep track of how many circiuts I do on which days, and be set to remind me at a specific hour if I haven't already done a set.

    I've found that it's hardest to do this on the days I do the ahorter, high intensity interval bike and run wkos. Long rub& bike...easier. Swim ... A bit harder for some reason.
  • Brenda RossBrenda Ross
    I'm with Jess. Invest in seeing a PT or Personal Training who can do some testing on you and give you exercises that address your individual weaknesses.
  • John StarkJohn Stark

    Good stuff!  I am using my tenacious 10 year old son to motivate me.  We have started using our TRX in the garage and I will supplement with some gym classes.  Mostly working on upper body as I am starting my bike pre-OS stuff now and don't want to fudge my FT work.

    Go get 'em, Juan!

  • Paul HoughPaul Hough
    This year I have invested in a Personal Trainer to correct some core issues that were impacting my running. It doesn't hurt that she is 27 and very easy to look at. Yes, I know she could be my daughter; but I don't have any problems getting motivated to go, and it has made a difference in my core strength.
  • Jess WithrowJess Withrow
    Paul!!! Dirty old man!!! ;-))))
  • John StarkJohn Stark

    Pics or she isn't real.  

  • cgres123cgres123
    I know I need to gain strength and flexibility!!! Primarily to minimize injury and second, to maximize performance!!!

    I hate to be the party pooper in this thread.

    There isn't any evidence that I know of that supports stop training in your disciplines of SBR and doing XYZ that will help you SBR.

    There is evidence to support that stretching before of after doesn't mean a thing, you can still get hurt either way. There is evidence too that YOGA is great for yoga and doesn't bring any fitness benefits to the table of SBR.

    If you make a left turn in life to do other things fine just understand you are detraining.
    You may come back in a few months and have muscle memory enough to start again, not start over, just picking up way far from where you left off and you will have to start training again.


  • Coach RichCoach Rich

    Juan,

    I've recently begun upper body strength training because I've just lost a lot of strength over the years and I want to get stronger, for purely personal vs performance reasons. I'm talking upper body, maybe lower back strength. 

    The routine I've developed is two runs per week where I run from public park to public park hitting the kids playground to do pullups and pushups. It tie Riley to a fence, bang out 11 x pullups, drop down and do 27 pushups...then run to the next park. About a 4.5-5 mile loop which includes 3 parks for 6 x of these sessions (I hit each park twice). I have a plan to add to those numbers each week and maybe introduce some other stuff. 

    When I get home I then lay down, do some stretching on my left hip (the one I injured in my Feb crash), about 8-10' of core work, done. 

    Very time efficient and kinda fun. 

  • rlh2000rlh2000
    I think trading in SBR for core/flexibility/strength is at the extreme side of the spectrum, but I would definitely support the core and flexibility stuff from an injury prevention standpoint. As a PT, when someone tells me what their injury is, I can almost always guess what will be tight or weak. One of my favorite bits of the job is showing the uber fit person just how weak they are in a specific area. However, that doesn't get you too far. To use myself as an example, I have extremely weak glutes and am extremely hamstring dominated, just minimally using my glutes in biking and running. After a nasty bout of IT band issues a couple years ago, I strengthened my glutes like whoa. But I didn't relearn the movement patterns so I never used that newfound strength. Clamshells, hip abduction, etc are all great exercises for strength, but you need to learn to activate the muscles functionally to get rid of incorrect movement patterns to truly prevent injury and possibly have performance gains. That is much harder than pure strength, and would highly recommend getting some insight from a very good PT.
  • Juan VergaraJuan Vergara

    @Al, do you usually train strength/flexibility before or after BR???

  • Al TruscottAl Truscott
    Before ... I used to stretch after, but now that I do the strength routine before, I stretch the same time. Not after because I m too tired.
  • MattAaronsonMattAaronson
    Juan, a couple of thoughts:

    1. Some good input here on the actual routines people use (recent thread): http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/13056/Default.aspx

    2. It sounds like your problem is disclipline not knowing what to do. I hear you on that. Personally I don't like doing these kinds of exercises -- I don't find them fun or rewarding like the triathlon sports, and the linkage to injury prevention and endurance is not obvious. To motivate me to keep doing them over the past ~18 weeks of marathon training I put them as scheduled workouts on my TrainingPeaks calendar. If they were missed, it shows as missed, the same way that a missed bike or run would show as missed. In other words, I embedded them into my plan as any other workout. For me that is key. Once they are "extra" or "optional" they will start to fall by the wayside.

    3. Pick exercises that require very little overhead and no special equipment. I can do mine after a run or before bed in my bedroom. Of the two routines, I can do one of them quite easily in street clothing, and the other in street clothing in a pinch.

    4. Structure a routine that is short enough to not add materially time-wise to any day on which you do it.
  • susanosusano

    @Rachel,

    I have been going to PT for about 7 weeks now and have been doing the exercises- the PT explains that I have weak glute and that one of the reasons my hamstring is so tight is because I overcompensate with it (I always thought I had weak glutes).  How does one go about re-teaching the glute to do its job vs. just strengthening those muscles?  I have done my fair share of clamshells, 1 legged bridges, etc. and what you wrote makes me nervous as to it just being a waste (other than I have less of a flat butt now ).  Any advice would help, although I imagine you would recommend I put that question to my PT.  Thanks!  

  • rlh2000rlh2000
    Susan- not a waste at all! You have to have the strength to be able to use it! It's just that that alone doesn't fix the problem running. The progression would be to more functional movements, like single leg squats, lunges, just more standing stuff. I also like plyometrics. It is always possible to cheat with other muscles, but when you are doing single movements, you can focus on firing your glutes. Same goes for when you start running, it doesn't magically happen, you have to focus on firing the muscles. Things like running uphill and some zig zag bounding can force you to use your glutes more, but you really need to tune in to your body. And yes, talk to your PT :-)
  • Juan VergaraJuan Vergara

    7 MINUTE WORKOUT IS THOUGH!!! I started using the app recommended by @Al (below) and (a) the app is great (b) this is serious business!!!

  • Brenda RossBrenda Ross
    Nice job Juan.
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