Day 132 - Tough Mudder Tactics: Mud Mile

There seems to be a slight discrepancy in what obstacle I actually competed in at Tough Mudder Toronto. The differences? Not a whole lot, but allow me to explain. The obstacle on the Tough Mudder course map, not to mention the sign leading up to the obstacle on the course had it titled as "Mud Mile".

Slosh through up to a mile of waist-deep sludge as you try not to lose your shoes in the mud. Balance and coordination are required if you want to make it through this obstacle without face-planting… but what’s the fun in that? Real Mudders eat mud for breakfast. On some courses, Mudders will encounter obstructions throughout Mud Mile that require them to fully submerge in the mud to slosh onward.

By reading the descriptions, however, it turns out, the obstacle in question at Tough Mudder Toronto was actually more similar to "Dirty Ballerina".

Leap with the grace of a black swan muddily over our 4-foot-wide mud pits. 4 feet may not sound challenging at first, but the tracks of leaping Mudders will erode the mud pits into wide, jagged-edged muddy gaps. Should your inner ballerina stumble, as she often can, you’ll find yourself submerged in a mud pit and calling your teammates for an assist.

So again, what is the big difference? Not a whole lot, either way, you are trudging through mud. To be honest, I have a bit of a fear for sinking sand, or in this case, sinking mud, so I was glad to see that the obstacle as actually more similar to "Dirty Ballerina".

As you see in the description, there are 4-foot wide 'trenches' dug out, and your goal is to leap over a series of them. However, I ran the 9:30am heat on Sunday morning, so there was already 14k+ people who clamoured through this obstacle the day before. So, instead of nice, square, dug-out trenches, the obstacle was more of a series of muddy mounds that had been worn down and rounded off from all of the folks the day before.

This made it essentially impossible to leap over each trench. Instead, I climbed up and over each mound separating the trenches. The trenches were full of water and mud, so I ended up getting quite muddy by the end of this obstacle.

Because this turned into more of a climbing event, rather than a 'leaping' event for me, total-body strength was definitely required to get in and out of multiple trenches. Each trench, I would say ended up being well over 7-8 feet wide at the widest points, and at least 4 or 5 feet deep. It took a bit of patience and coordination (and strength) to climb out of each trench, as they trenches were deep, and the slopes were muddy.

In summary, you may want to change your strategy on this obstacle depending on when you are timed to run the course. If you are one of the first heats on the first day of competition, you may be able to get away with 'leaping' over each trench. If, however, you race later in the day on day 1, or race at all on day 2, this may become more of a climbing obstacle rather than trying to jump over each trench.

Quote of the day:
“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”
- Pablo Picasso

Day 131 - World's Toughest Mudder

I got an e-mail yesterday from Tough Mudder. My 2 hour, 15 min time at the Toronto event placed me in the top 5%. That means I am invited to the "World's Toughest Mudder". If any of you have looked into this, you know that it is one crazy-ass event!

If you haven't seen, Tough Mudder invites all if their top 5% competitors to the World's Toughest Mudder which is an 8-10 mile course, with tougher obstacles, and you are to complete as many laps as you can in 24 hours. Oh yeah, and its in New Jersey...in November, when it is cold as hell!

World’s Toughest Mudder is the culminating event of the 2012 Tough Mudder Event calendar and takes the concept of being a Tough Mudder to a whole new level. This extreme competition puts the world’s most hardcore Mudders through a grueling 24-hour challenge designed to find the toughest man, woman, and 4-person team on the planet. When the mud settles on November 18th, a select few winners will have bested 500,000 other Mudders worldwide for the right to call themselves the World’s Toughest Mudders!
I was honestly thinking about doing it, but a number of things would have to fall into place to make it happen, so it looks like I will have to pass for this year. It would take quite a monetary investment on my part to fly down to New Jersey, stay the weekend, buy lots of gear (wetsuit, gloves, shoes, etc.) Anyways, I figured it would be fun to go and just experience the event, maybe do 2 or 3 laps and then call it quits, but I will have to pass, unfortunately.

Quote of the day:
"In order to succeed you must fail, so that you know what not to do the next time."
~ Anthony J. D'Angelo

Day 130 - Tough Mudder Tactics: Hangin' Tough

I found Hangin' Tough, as well as its close relative Funky Monkey, to be two of the most 'fun' obstacles on the course. Hangin' Tough is one of those obstacles that I felt my upper body training really helped me complete with no problems at all.

Swing Tarzan-style across a series of hanging rings suspended over a pool of ice-cold water. Rings are placed 4 to 6 feet apart. It is important to maintain momentum and coordination while swinging across this series of rings. A strong grip and precise coordination are required to complete this obstacle successfully.

There are a number of factors that fell into place to allow me to complete this obstacle problem-free. Yes, my intense training that involved extensive upper body work (resistance training including lots of pullups) helped me swing from one side of this obstacle to the other, but there were other factors that helped as well, including a bit of luck!

I heard that some of the rings may have been greased up, making them extremely difficult to keep a grip on. Not only that, but this obstacle came almost immediately after Cliff Hanger so it was entirely possible that the rings could become wet and muddy. 

Fortunately for me, I was part of the very first heat on Sunday morning, and I also tried to get out to a fast start, so there were not too many people in front of me leading into this obstacle. That may have also improved my chances of getting from one side of the obstacle to the other without taking the plunge!

To train for this obstacle, you could of course set up some swinging rings in your backyard, but most people probably don't have that kind of disposable income. If you have a gymnastics background, that would definitely help. But how about this idea? Head on over to a local playground, and see if there are any monkey bars or rings there that you could practice on. Better yet, plan a running route that goes through/near said playground, so you can run there, and swing away, unleashing your inner Tarzan!

I practiced a bit on some monkey bars close to where I live, but most of my training for this obstacle was done by the pull-up/chinup training I included in my regimen. That also allowed me to improve my grip strength, which can help tremendously here.

Quote of the day:

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

~ Wayne Gretzky

Day 129 - Tough Mudder Tactics: Cliff Hanger

The Tough Mudder obstacle Cliff Hanger has to be one of the most varied obstacles one may encounter on their course. What I mean by this, is that how large and/or difficult this obstacle is, is entirely dependent on the natural geography and location of the event you compete in.

Cliff Hanger is an obstacle all about teamwork and camaraderie: a 40+ foot cliff of slippery mud angled at 45-degrees. The Cliff always begins with good intenions: a muddy sprint up onto the slope and transitions into a crawl with handholds and footholds in short supply. Beware if you attempt this obstacle alone, your futile verticle scramble will likely turn into an uncontrolled slide back down into the mudpit below. Successful Mudders will form a chain link of fellow participants slowly inching up the slope. If you want to train for Cliff Hanger you should find the biggest hill near your house, measure it, then drive until you get to a hill twice as steep.

Training for an obstacle such as this will also therefore vary depending on the event. Tough Mudder Toronto took place at a ski resort, but luckily enough, Cliff Hanger was not situated on a ski hill, or else things may have been much more difficult than what they were.

I guess you could practice climbing up muddy hills, but unless you know the entire layout of the venue you will be competing at, this obstacle will probably have you approaching it blind.

I personally found this obstacle (or lack thereof) to be one of the easiest on the course that I ran (Toronto). It was a pretty small hill, with pretty decent foot and hand placements to traverse. It was a bit slippery, but did not take me long to get up, and I certainly didn't need teamwork. As I said though, this could be vastly different based on where you compete.

Quote of the day:

"Success often comes to those who have the aptitude to see way down the road."

~ Laing Burns Jr.

Day 128 - Vibram FiveFingers KSO Review

I purchased a pair of Vibram FiveFingers KSOs towards the beginning of 2012, but I wanted to take them for a full ride in a number of situations before I wrote my review...so here goes.

Barefoot Running

After competing in my very first Warrior Dash last year, I decided to finally pick up a pair of Vibrams. I have debated and researched the topic of barefoot running for a while now, but it was after competing in Warrior Dash, and my scheduled runnings of both Warrior Dash and Tough Mudder this year, that I decided to finally give barefoot running a shot.

I remember my running shoes getting absolutely caked in mud during some of the obstacles last year, causing my feet to feel like cinder blocks throughout. I felt a 'minimalist' approach may be the way to go!

Wearing my Vibrams over the past number of months, I have definitely turned a few heads from curious onlookers. One of the questions that I continue to hear time and time again is, "Do those shoes have a lot of padding in them?"

Simple answer, no. But that is the point.

Whether you believe in the barefoot running 'craze' or not, one thing is for certain. Human beings have been running in their bare feet (or thin soled shoes) for many, many, many years. Some may even argue that the human foot and surrounding anatomy is one of, if not the greatest architectural wonders of the human body.

The idea behind barefoot running is that it your body automatically corrects for bad habits that form from running in cushiony shoes. Many folks who run in traditional running shoes have a slew of injuries related to their running form, also known as their 'gait'. The theory, at least, is that many of these injuries are directly related to the shoes we are wearing that, ironically enough, are supposed to protect us from injury!

I am not trying to sell you on the idea of barefoot running, I have made my decision for myself, and you should too. I am not a biomechanics specialist, just someone who has taken an interest in this very topic so I think if you have an interest in this topic, then you should look into the subject some more yourself.

I will recommend a few resources, however. Firstly, there was a tremendous documentary on how running has been such a large part of human history on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation titled The Perfect Runner. I am sorry, but I think only those readers that reside in Canada can watch the program. Also, Born to Run is a great story of ultrarunners, which also touches on barefoot running.

Either way, this is a review on the Vibram FiveFingers, so let's get back to the topic at hand.

Uses

It is entirely possible that folks who decide to purchase minimalist shoes may never strap them on to go for a run. I have used my Vibrams for a number of things now, including going for hikes, going for walks, running, yoga, lower body resistance training, upper body resistance training, athletic training, etc.

The reason why I chose the KSO model was because of the versatility. I knew that on top of running, I would be using my Vibrams for a number of other things, like those listed above, so I felt that the KSOs would suit my needs best.

Pros

I personally found that one of the best aspects to buying Vibrams was the ability to wash them. I have now worn mine nearly every day since purchasing them for one reason or another, and they get dirty. So, rather than them staying dirty, I literally just throw them in the washing machine, let them air dry, and they are good as new in a few hours!

Another reason why I love my Vibrams so much is their versatility. I mentioned this above, but I literally use mine for nearly everything I do. Running, yoga, resistance training, walking on the beach, etc. Since I wear them for so many things, my feet have become stronger and stronger, so I have no fears wearing them while walking on all types of terrain.

I personally get pretty sweaty hands and feet when doing stretching/recovery workouts as well as yoga, so it is nice to have the Vibrams on to maintain good contact with the floor, maximizing the postures or stretches that I am in.

Lastly, and one pro that some may dispute, is that my feet have arguably become stronger from wearing this type of shoe. Rather than cramming my feet into an over-supported shoe, I walk, run, and play the way nature intended my feet to be, and I can do so with my Vibrams on with little fear that things like rocks or broken glass will injure my feet.

Cons

These have zero arch or foot support. There I said it. I know that is unusual for many people, and I have tried to address this issue in the paragraphs above, but I am sure some people will still scoff at the idea that they need foot support in their shoes in order to be comfortable. That is fine, so maybe these shoes are not for you.

Some folks may find these shoes, *ahem*, how should I say..."ugly". I personally find them to be very 'cool' looking and have absolutely zero fears wearing them in public, but I can see how some folks are turned off by them. That is fine, you may never wear these suckers in public, just use them in your home or when exercising, and nobody has to look at your gross feet.

There is definitely an adjustment period to wearing Vibrams. The adjustment period is shorter, the younger you are, as your feet will still be 'supple' and have many of its elastic properties you are born with. The beautiful part of the human foot, and surrounding structure, is the natural 'springiness' and shock absorbing properties involved. Most people, however, become too reliant on padded shoes and arch support, weakening their feet, and therefore making them shy away from minimalist shoes. I know, it is an ironic vicious cycle.

Overall Impressions

I really, really enjoy my Vibrams. As I said, I use them for nearly everything I do, especially when it comes to physical activity. I wear them until they stink and are covered in dirt, then I throw them in the washing machine and they come out looking (and smelling) like new.

I am very impressed with the overall quality of these shoes. I have worn them numerous times during various types of workouts. They have been used in my home gym, working on endurance, athleticism, and agility. They have been used on the roads and sidewalks around my home town. They have even been trudged through gravel, sand, mud, and water, yet they still look and feel brand new (after a wash of course!).

It took some time for me to build up some foot strength in order to run longer distances, but I have done well, and listened to my body and now have run as long as 16km 'barefoot'.

I guess the only unfortunate part about now owning my Vibrams and becoming accustomed to them is that I won't be able to use them as much once the snow flies!

Overall, I give the Vibram FiveFinger KSOs a 9/10!

Quote of the day:
“If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up.”

- J.M. Power

Day 127 - Tough Mudder Tactics: Underwater Tunnels

Underwater Tunnels is a pretty straightforward obstacle. I imagine that at some events, you will actually need to swim to complete it, however, at Tough Mudder Toronto, the small lake that was used for this obstacle was shallow enough that swimming wasn't necessary.

Bob underneath rows of floating barrels as you battle the frigid water temperatures. This obstacle requires mental grit, as extreme cold can be as challenging mentally as it is physically. Focus on breathing, and move quickly through the water to complete the Underwater Tunnels and warm up once you are ashore. You can prepare for this obstacle by swimming in ice-cold bodies of water, or taking cold showers. Try to regulate your breathing and control your heart rate in order to acclimate your body to cold water conditions.

In order to train for this event, I would be prepared to swim. Most Tough Mudder events, to my understanding, do not have enough swimming involved in their obstacles to warrant serious training, but being able to swim should at least be an initial trait you possess.

Other than that, there is not a whole lot extra you can do to train or prepare for this event.

Quote of the day:

“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him.” 

- Sidney Greenberg

Day 126 - Motivation Saturday

More from Arnold. Like him or hate him, this video has a great message. Enjoy your Saturday!

Quote of the day:
"Real difficulties can be overcome, it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable."
~ Theodore N. Vail

Day 125 - Tough Mudder Tactics: Berlin Walls

Tough Mudder Toronto actually had 2 sets of Berlin Walls. The first set was approximately 8-10 feet high, whereas the second set was at least 11 feet high, probably closer to 12 feet. (Sorry, I don't really remember the exact heights)

This obstacle relies on teamwork. Scale three 12′ wooden walls with the help of your teammates, strategically placed for when you are at your weakest during the event. While some Mudders have worked up the strength to ascend the walls alone, most need a boost from a fellow Mudder — they got your back, literally.

To properly prepare for these walls, or to at least be able to complete them on your own, you are going to need some upper body strength. I highly recommend preparing by using pullups - wide front pullups to be more specific.

Tough Mudder really tries to stress the importance of teamwork at their events, and it may be entirely necessary for you to use someone else's helping hand to get you over both sets of walls, but I am here to tell you that it is also possible to do it alone!

For those readers who are not familiar with my training or follow me consistently enough, let me explain a little about myself.

I am 5'11", 174lbs (heading into Tough Mudder Toronto). In my final fit test prior to the event, I was able to crank out 30 pullups in a minute. I am honestly not trying to brag, just letting you know what level of fitness I am/was at in order to complete these obstacles on my own.

Both sets of Berlin Walls have a very small ledge about 2-3 feet off the ground to at least get you closer to reaching the top of the wall. On the first set of walls, I was able to reach the top of the wall quite easily by standing on the ledge. At that point, I really had no issue at all pulling myself up and over.

The second set of walls were a completely different story, however. From the ledge, I was unable to reach the top of the wall, so a jump was required. The problem with this is that the second set of Berlin Walls were towards the end of the course, and my legs were pretty toast from all of the hills, especially my calves!

I had to run from a few feet back to get a bit of forward momentum, transitioned into upward momentum to reach the top of the wall. Once I was able to grip the top of the wall, I could at least pull myself up to the point where I could swing my leg over, followed by the rest of my body. You can see me traverse the higher Berlin Walls starting at the 3:09 part of the video below.

Quote of the day:
"Diligence is the mother of good luck."
~ American Proverb

Day 124 - Tough Mudder Tactics: Arctic Enema

Well, what really can I say about Arctic Enema that isn't already explained by the photo above? A picture truly is worth a thousand words...

I would have to say that Arctic Enema was one of the obstacles I was fearing most coming into Tough Mudder. The thought of jumping into ice water is definitely something that has never crossed my mind before signing up for this event.

This obstacle is all about mental grit. Many athletes use ice baths for recovery, but you’ll have a difficult time relaxing your muscles in this frigid dumpster. First you must bravely jump into Big Mudder’s floating iceberg abyss. Once submerged, find the mental and physical strength to swim through the ice, under a wooden plank and pull yourself out on the other end before you become hypothermic.

I will say, now that I have completed Arctic Enema, that it wasn't as bad as I was originally fearing. Sure, it was cold, and sure, I had troubles getting out of the bath because I was already freezing up, but I went in with a strategy and felt it helped me quite a bit.

The obstacle is a giant ice bath in a shipping container. At the half-way point of the lane you swim in, is a wooden divider with barb wire above it, forcing you to dunk yourself all the way under in order to reach the exit. Course organizers are constantly pouring more ice into these baths, so you can be guaranteed to have a nice, chilly bath when you get there. To make things even more fun/interesting, they throw in some colouring to make the bath look like a big ol' Slurpee.

In my opinion, the only sensible way to do this obstacle, and the way I did it, is to get in and out of the container as quickly as possible. The wooden divider at the half-way point is very easy to get to from your initial jump into the bath. From the starting platform, I jumped as close to the divider as I could, and allowed my momentum to carry me under the divider without coming up first.

Once I was under the divider and out the other side, I came up above the water, and moved to the exit of the container as quickly as possible. All in all, I was in the bath for probably less than 10 seconds.   Despite the short amount of time I was in the water, I still felt the extreme temperature difference, especially once I got out and started running again.

For more tips/advice, the official obstacle video from Tough Mudder is great as well. I like the analogy of pulling off a bandaid.

Quote of the day:

“If not us, who? If not now, when?”

~ John F. Kennedy

Day 123 - My Future Plans

I am in the process of recovering from my first ever Tough Mudder a few days ago, and also planning my future fitness goals.

I have had a very regimented schedule for pretty much all of 2012. At the beginning of the year, I was wrapping up my round first round of P90X2. After that, I jumped right into a mass phase where I had some pretty good success packing on some muscle mass.

April 19 2012

Next, I moved into a performance-based training schedule to prepare for Warrior Dash and Tough Mudder. Heading into Tough Mudder, I honestly felt like I was in the best overall shape of my life. I have been an athlete all of my life, competing at fairly high levels of competition in soccer and hockey (and other sports), however my level of fitness would generally be geared towards the sport I was to be competing in.

August 16 2012

For Tough Mudder, and something I will touch on in future blogs, my goal was to be as efficient as possible in many different facets of fitness and energy systems in my body.

Needless to say, I have been very regimented in my training, and diet as possible throughout the year. So I feel as though my fitness plans, at least for the next little while, is to be as opposite to that as possible.

I will still attempt to follow a structured schedule for the coming weeks, however my training goals will be far from structured. My Tough Mudder training was very specific in its periodization. I wanted to first put on a bit of muscle mass, then increase the performance of said muscle so that it could perform as highly as possible.

Now, my goals are to be a bit more 'primal' if you will. I am definitely going to step back a bit in regards to my cardio training. 2012 has been a year full of aerobic cardio, which is fine when I am training for an endurance event like Tough Mudder, but now that I no longer have a specific event to train for, my cardio training will be utilized much more efficiently with interval training - or in other words, higher levels of effort, shorter overall workouts.

Back to the 'primal' ideal, I want to lift stuff...heavy stuff. Most specifically, heavy weights. My resistance workouts will be targeted towards building a bit of hypertrophy, but to also maintain/increase my overall strength. With all of my cardio and performance-based strength training this year, I have no doubt lost a bit of my strength gains, as is the case when you don't lift as many heavy things!

I really enjoy watching the movie "Pumping Iron". For those of you who haven't seen it, you can actually watch the movie in its entirety on Youtube. It follows the bodybuilding phenomenon of the 70's, most notably Arnold Schwarzenegger in his heyday. Sure, these guys were 'roidin', but how else do you suppose you build muscles that large?

Anyways, watching the movie not only gives me a new appreciation for how much of a complete animal Arnold is, but also cracks me up at how funny/playful of a guy he is. Every time I watch the movie I get inspired to go lift heavy things! I will link part 1 of the movie below, you can then continue on to find the other 11 parts on Youtube if you wish! 

For my schedule, many of you who follow my blog, or my youtube channel know that I really enjoy the Beachbody workouts. Tony Horton is of great inspiration, displaying how much is possible physically, even into your 50's.

I really enjoy using home-workout DVDs, mainly because the timing of the workouts keeps me from dawdling, and spending an entire morning working out. More often than not, especially recently, I find myself modifying or adjusting the workouts so much that I don't even watch them, it is just nice to have something on my workout room tv and some background noise.

So having said that, I have decided to really branch away from the Beachbody workouts as I am using quite a few modifications and concoctions of my own.

One of the main reasons for this is that I feel I want to build a bigger chest. I consider myself a 'hardgainer', and nowhere on my body is it harder for me to put on mass than on my chest. Because of this, I have created a couple different workouts so that I can attack my chest twice a week.

Day 1 - Chest & Back and Core
Day 2 - Plyo Legs
Day 3 - Shoulders & Arms
Day 4 - Core and Yoga/Stretching/Recovery
Day 5 - Chest & Shoulders
Day 6 - Sprint Training
Day 7 - Recovery

This will be my schedule for the next 4 weeks. I am currently planning on starting this schedule this upcoming Sunday (August 26th). If this schedule looks new or unusual to you, I will provide more details on each of the workouts towards the end of the 4 weeks. They may need some refining or adjustments to them, since they are new to me as well. I will check back in a few weeks to give you full details on each so that, if interested, you can add them to your repertoire as well.

I will of course keep you updated as I go, so stay tuned!

Quote of the day:
“Defeat is not bitter unless you swallow it.”

~ Joe Clark

Day 122 - Tough Mudder Tactics: Kiss of Mud

Over the next several days, I am going to spend some time going through each of the obstacles that I completed at the Tough Mudder Toronto event. I will give some advice on how I handled the obstacle, as well as give any hints/tips that I may have learned from others doing the event as well.

The very first obstacle at Tough Mudder Toronto was Kiss of Mud.

Eat dirt as you crawl commando-style under barbed wire set 8 inches from the ground. This obstacle is true to it’s name – Mudders must belly-crawl through mud in order to avoid getting snagged by the barbed wire above. On some courses, the Kiss of Mud is set on an uphill, increasing the level of difficulty. To prepare for this obstacle, start crawling in any mud you come across, or, do our Tough plank series (alternating low & high planks – fast!).

This obstacle is pretty straight-forward. You will more than likely get some cuts and scrapes on your elbows, knees, and potentially hips because you are crawling through mud, so rocks and stones are a definite possibility. Having said that, the more worrisome factor is that you are trying to stay beneath the barbwire above you.

To become efficient at the army crawl, I would definitely add some low and high planks to your training, as well as some low plank and high plank walking (movement while in plank). There are quite a few obstacles in Tough Mudder that will have you army-crawling, so this will definitely be something you will want to be fairly good at.

Quote of the day:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

~ Mark Twain

Day 121 - Tough Mudder Toronto/Barrie Synopsis

Well, I am back from my first ever Tough Mudder, and I have to admit that it was a blast!

I ran in the 9:30am heat on Sunday (first heat of the day), so I was able to get out at the front of the main pack and literally had zero wait time for any obstacle - I have heard this can be a complaint of many Mudders.

I finished in the top 30 in my heat, at a 2 hour, 15 minute clocking. My wife (who was timing me) said that the 2 lead guys came in at around 2 hours 6 minutes. I am very happy with my time considering I overheard the course average this weekend was 3 hours, 30 minutes.

This Tough Mudder was held at Mount St. Louis Moonstone ski resort, just north of Barrie, Ontario. This event was titled as 'Toronto', although Barrie is actually a good 90 minute drive north of Toronto.

Since the event was held at a ski resort, there were hills...LOTS of hills. I am sure anyone who competed in this event this weekend will comment on just how tough this change in elevation was. Slightly shorter course, measured at just over 16km (just over 10 miles), but the hills definitely made up for the slightly shorter distance (when comparing to other Tough Mudder events).

In fact, on the bus ride back to my car, I overheard a couple of guys talking about the course. They had run the Tough Mudder in Cleveland, and although the course was a bit longer, they both felt that the Toronto event was head and shoulders above Cleveland in the difficulty department...because of the hills. So, Toronto Tough Mudders, feel proud to know that you completed this ridiculously tough course!

I will spend more time this week blogging about my training, what I felt worked, what I would have changed/improved, as well as other things like tips/tricks on the obstacles, and what equipment I would recommend.

Having said that, I will post a few overall thoughts/impressions from the tremendous event today:

- A gentleman on my youtube channel commented on my training video the other day saying that these types of 'mud runs' are a joke, and not worth my time. All I would like to say, is that this course was certainly no joke! I am not an Olympic athlete, but I train hard and found it to be very challenging. Some of the obstacles were fairly easy for me, but I trained my upper body just as much as my lower body. Not only that, but I feel as though no matter what event you enter, it is entirely what you make of it. Sure, you are not 'officially' timed in Tough Mudder, but if you have a desire and a will to compete, you can make nearly any event challenging and a worthwhile endeavour!

- The MC that runs the starting gate was awesome. For those of you who have watched any of the Tough Mudder videos on the internet, you may have seen him pumping up the crowd before each race. It is the same guy who travels around MC'ing each TM event, which is great, because this guy is passionate and gets the adrenaline pumping!

- The obstacles can be very challenging for most people. As I said, I will spend some time this week detailing all of the obstacles I completed, as well as what tips/tricks I found useful to complete them - yes, I did EVERY single obstacle, and did not fall on any of them (Funky Monkey, Hangin' Tough, etc.)

- Getting electrocuted is a son of a bitch. I had a very small inkling of what it may be like based solely on getting 'shocked' from static or accidentally sticking my finger too close to an electrical socket, but I swear to you, this was NOTHING like what I thought I was prepared for...WOW

- Ice water is ice water. Move quick! Again, more on that later this week.

If you have any questions/comments/concerns regarding Tough Mudder, please do not hesitate to e-mail me or write on my Facebook wall.

Quote of the day:
"Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
~Oliver Goldsmith

Day 120 - Do you take a pre-workout supplement?

I personally don't. Even though I workout first thing in the morning, I stick with good old caffeine to, as I like to call it, "Shake out the cobwebs".

I know many people, however, that take a pre-workout supplement to help them wake up, and 'pump up', for their workouts. The active participant in many pre-workout supplements is 'NO' or nitric oxide. I actually did a bit of undergraduate research on NO, on my way to my B.Sc. in Biochem. But enough about me.

In a round about way, it is NO that is involved in the chemical reaction targeted in erectile dysfunction medications. How does that relate to pre-workout supplements you ask?

Nitric oxide is a powerful vasodilator, meaning it relaxes your blood vessels. This is theoretically ideal for body builders as it could therefore increase blood flow to the muscles.

Having said that, I came across a very interesting study from Mississippi State University that has found that pre-workout supps may very well be useless.

"In the current study, acute AAKG supplementation provided no ergogenic benefit, regardless of the subjects' training status", the researchers concluded. "Based on the current study an acute ingestion of AAKG is not recommended for healthy individuals to increase maximal strength and muscular endurance for resistance training exercises."

I recommend you check out the ingredients label on your pre-workout supp if you take one, and see if it contains any form of arginine in it. If so, you may be better off with a cup of coffee without all of those other ingredients.

I have tried many different types of pre-workout supplements myself, and to be honest, I definitely noticed a difference. I felt 'buzzed' after taking them. Having said that, I cannot honestly say that I noticed any difference in my workouts or performance. Maybe that 'buzzed' feeling was my body feeling the shock of so many ingredients in one beverage at once!

Quote of the day:
"If you think you can or you think you can't, either way you are right."
~ Henry Ford

Day 119 - Motivation Saturday

Well, tomorrow is the big day. I am participating in my first Tough Mudder. I have trained hard for the event, and am really looking forward to it. Stay tuned for a full synopsis of the event in the days following.

Quote of the day:
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 118 - Tough Mudder Training Final

My final training progress video leading up to my first ever Tough Mudder. I will provide follow-ups after I complete the event with tips on how to prepare, how I made out in the event, as well as other tips/tricks. Stay tuned!

Quote of the day:
“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.” 

- Napoleon Hill

Day 117 - Google Maps Pedometer

I get questions all the time from folks asking how I track my runs. I use Google Map Pedometer from trails.com. It allows you to set "way-points" on a map, detailing the distance from point "A" to point "B"...and C, D, E, etc.

The best part about this map, in my opinion, is that you can map distances even when you are trail running or cycling, away from your traditional road system. Just click along the route that you take, and voila, the map calculates your distance traveled in either miles or kilometers.

I hope this helps!

Quote of the day:
“In any situation, the best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

Day 116 - Tough Mudder Toronto Course Map

I have received the course map for the Toronto (Barrie, Ontario) Tough Mudder this weekend. I have been studying the information on the Tough Mudder website regarding each obstacle, but if any of my readers have any other information or tips they want to send my way, be my guest!

I will do my best to have a synopsis of as many of the obstacles as I can post-race, but "Electroshock Therapy" may cause me to forget a thing or two!

Quote of the day:
“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”

- John Wooden

Day 115 - Nutrient Timing for Resistance Exercise Part 3

Part 1 the other day covered nutrient timing prior to exercise, and how it effects performance.

Part 2 dealt with post-exercise nutrition and how it effects recovery.

For those of you who may have missed part 1 or part 2, I came across an absolutely amazing article in the Strength and Conditioning Journal titled, "Nutrient Timing for Resistance Exercise" written by a team of PhD and CSCS certified individuals. This is probably the single-greatest resource I have come across detailing what is referred to as "nutritional timing" when it comes to resistance training, so if you are interested, pick up a copy for yourself!

Part 3: Net Protein Balance

Think of your body as a construction site, with tissues constantly being broken down and either repaired or replaced. This is known as having a 'negative' net protein balance.

Having a negative net protein balance, or in other words, a catabolic state, is stimulated from resistance training, but also occurs when the body is at rest. Tissues are being broken down due to misuse, or in the case of resistance training - use, at all times.

The focus of individuals who wish to positively grow their muscles, or induce an anabolic state, should be of great interest, especially when resistance training.

The diet is therefore of great interest for those who resistance train, as the goal of improving one's muscles to improve size and/or strength plays a key role.

When discussing post-exercise nutrition, it should be noted that carbohydrates are important to not only return the body to pre-exercise levels of glycogen (energy stores), but have also been shown to reduce muscle protein breakdown.

Having said that, individuals should consume sources of amino acids/protein following exercise in order to feed the body the proper building blocks to reduce muscle protein degradation, but to also stimulate muscular growth.

What types of protein are best? The article says:

Whole-protein sources (including whey, casein, and soy protein sources), when ingested either before or after an acute bout of resistance exercise, also significantly improve net protein balance by increasing rates of protein synthesis. In one of these investigations, it was reported that whey protein was superior to soy and casein in its ability to incrase protein synthesis (approximately 22g of each type of protein was ingested after resistance exercise). Surprisingly, even though soy is lower in quality than casein, they found that of the 3 protein sources, casein resulted in the lowest net response in protein synthesis. The authors suggested that this was a factor of the slow rate of digestion induced by casein. Therefore, after resistance exercise, it may be ideal to select a protein source high in BCAA content (whey) that is also fast digesting in nature.

Okay, so following exercise, it is best to consume either a beverage or meal containing some protein. So how much is ideal? I have seen many personal thoughts tossed around from individuals over the years, who claim to know the 'perfect amount' of protein. This article has an opinion of its own:

Research conducted at McMaster University sough to answer this question by giving male subjects (with at least 4 months of resistance training experience) 5 different amounts of protein in a randomized crossover design. Immediately after a lower-body resistance exercise bout, the subjects consumed drinks containing 0, 5, 10, 20, or 40g of whole egg protein. After consuming the whole egg protein supplement, protein synthesis was measured for the next 4 hours. Mean mixed muscle protein synthesis was maximally stimulated with 20g of whole egg protein (meaning that ingesting 40g of protein offered no additional benefit than 20g of protein in terms or maximizing protein synthesis rates). In terms of relative dosage, this amount of protein was equivalent to 0.23g of whole egg protein per kilogram of body mass.

Although a snack or meal containing amino acids/protein is highly recommended following resistance exercise, it should be noted that research shows that a mixture of protein and carbohydrates is the optimal scenario for post resistance-workout nutrition as the carbohydrates aid in reducing protein catabolism, replenish spent glycogen stores, not to mention the protein aids in tissue anabolism.

Quote of the day:
"To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first."
~ William Shakespeare

Day 114 - Nutrient Timing for Resistance Exercise Part 2

Part 1 the other day covered nutrient timing prior to exercise, and how it effects performance. Today will cover nutrient timing following exercise.

For those of you who may have missed part 1, I came across an absolutely amazing article in the Strength and Conditioning Journal titled, "Nutrient Timing for Resistance Exercise" written by a team of PhD and CSCS certified individuals. This is probably the single-greatest resource I have come across detailing what is referred to as "nutritional timing" when it comes to resistance training, so if you are interested, pick up a copy for yourself!

Part 2: Recovery After a Resistance Exercise Bout

Carbohydrate and Muscle Glycogen Resynthesis

It is no surprise that muscle glycogen levels become depleted from a resistance training session. The level of depletion is entirely dependent on the work being completed, however. In any respect, an athlete who trains multiple times a day, or even multiple days in a row, should be interested in post-workout nutrition.

In order to maintain performance, an individual should approach post-exercise nutrition as a chance to re-fuel their muscles to prepare for the following workout. Keep in mind that for muscle glycogen replenishment, the goal is to maintain a high level of performance. A discussion on protein synthesis can come later.

To return muscle glycogen levels to 90% of pre-exercise values, the article explains:

Given that 1 g/kg/h was as effective as 1.5 g/kg/h, it can be concluded that 1 g/kg/h is sufficient for resynthesizing skeletal muscle glycogen after resistance exercise to levels reaching 90% of pre-exercise values. After this dosing schedule, a 180-pound individual would ingest about 82g of carbohydrate immediately after and then again 1 hour after their resistance exercise workout (totalling ~165g of carbohydrates within an hour after completing the resistance exercise workout).

Carbohydrate Plus Protein and Muscle Glycogen Resynthesis

This category takes things a step further as the subject of protein synthesis is added to the goal of restoring muscle glycogen levels.

The authors discuss findings from studies looking at various types of post-workout beverages including carbohydrates only, carbohydrate/protein/fat mixes, as well as placebo beverages (calorie-free).

To be honest, I have heard many individuals discuss the idea that dietary fats should be avoided in post-workout recovery beverages/meals, as the fats can slow digestion. This appears to me to be common thought/practice amongst many in the fitness industry, however, the authors of this article present findings that refute that belief.

Another interesting aspect of this study is the inclusion of fat calories in the post-exercise beverage. It has often been suggested that adding fat to the post-workout recovery beverage should be avoided because of its potential to slow down the digestion and absorption of ingested carbohydrate (which may suppress the rate of skeletal muscle glycogen resynthesis). The finding of this study indicates that adding fat to the post-workout carbohydrate-protein beverage does not negatively alter the rate of skeletal muscle glycogen resynthesis. In further support of this position, when subjects were given a post-endurance workout beverage containing carbohydrate, protein, and fat (even up to 45% of the calories being derived from fat), it was reported that the added fat content did not alter muscle glycogen resynthesis or glucose tolerance the next day.

Protein/Amino Acids and Muscle Damage

Part of the reason or need for a post-exercise recovery beverage is to suppress muscle damage and decrease DOMS (delayed-onset muscle soreness). Resistance exercise causes micro trauma to muscle fibers in order for the body to repair the damage, returning the muscle to a stronger state.

It really should be no surprise that supplementing resistance exercise with protein/amino acids should be encouraged to elicit muscle repair.

Recovery from a bout of resistance exercise includes replenishing skeletal muscle glycogen, reducing muscle soreness, and attenuating serum markers of muscle damage. Ingesting a carbohydrate-protein beverage after resistance exercise will replenish skeletal muscle glycogen. Also, BCAA supplementation taken in conjunction with resistance exercise has been shown to enhance recovery by suppressing both muscle soreness and damage.

Protein or amino-acid supplementation is often thought of as only being useful to those who resistance train. It should be noted, however, that endurance athletes could also benefit from a sufficient dosing of protein in their diet to maintain current levels of muscle tissue and reduce the catabolic effect chronic cardio plays on their bodies.

Quote of the day:
"I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else."

~ Winston Churchill

Day 113 - Shutting Things Down

Asylum's Strength has caused me a bit of trouble in the past, so I try and make sure I am careful, but it has bitten me again.

I hurt my back on the first round of "Jump Squat Rotations". The exercise where you hold a dumbbell between your hands, crouch down so that your elbows touch your knees, then jump while rotating. I have had troubles in the past with the dumbbell rotations.

For those of you with lower back problems or may have troubles in the future, it is exercises like these that can be dangerous. Traditional heavy squats where you have a barbell resting on your shoulders is far safer in my opinion because you are adding weight to your frame down your centre of gravity. Attempting to add too much weight with exercises where you are just using dumbbells can be dangerous, especially the moves in Asylum, because the weight tracks out in front of your body, placing additional stress on your lower back. (I hope that makes sense)

Anyways, my back isn't too bad *knock on wood*, after I felt my back tweak a bit, I finished the workout, making sure I was very careful with any exercises involving the back, but I can definitely feel some tightness, so of course I skipped Overtime. These past few weeks of training has been tough on me, and my back just adds to the list of a few other little nagging injuries I have (left elbow, muscle tightness in my neck/trap) so like my wife said, maybe this is the last straw for my body telling me to shut things down.

So...no more Asylum for me before Tough Mudder. I am planning on doing 1 more long run, my final Asylum Fit Test, and some very light cardio work/stretching/foam rolling throughout the week.

Quote of the day:
"We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once."
~ Calvin Coolidge

Day 112 - Motivation Saturday

8 days until Tough Mudder. I would by lying if I didn't admit how excited/scared I am for this event. Excited to conquer this event, but also scared for the mental and physical toll it will take to complete. Here are videos of (arguably) two of the craziest obstacles Tough Mudder has to offer.

I couldn't find the official video on "Shock Therapy"...I need to stop watching these...

Quote of the day (very relevant):
"If you’re going through hell, keep going." 

~ Winston Churchill

Day 111 - Nutrient Timing for Resistance Exercise Part 1

I came across an absolutely amazing article in the Strength and Conditioning Journal titled, "Nutrient Timing for Resistance Exercise" written by a team of PhD and CSCS certified individuals. This is probably the single-greatest resource I have come across detailing what is referred to as "nutritional timing" when it comes to resistance training, so if you are interested, pick up a copy for yourself!

I am not going to copy the entire article obviously, but over the next few blogs, I am going to include a few snippets and details from the article here on my blog to not only inform all of you, but to also try and convince you to pick up a copy of the article for yourself (if possible).

Part 1: Enhancing Performance in Individual Resistance Exercise Training Bouts

Carbohydrate

During resistance training, our muscles use and expend muscle glycogen. That is the primary fuel source for strength training. I have personally seen many debates regarding whether or not to supplement prior to a resistance training session with carbohydrates to enhance performance. Here is what the article has to say:

Despite this depletion of skeletal muscle glycogen, the majority of studies in which supplemental carbohydrate was ingested before a resistance training bout did not report improvements in resistance training performance. In the limited studies that reported a performance-enhancing effect of pre-exercise carbohydrate supplementation, it should be noted that the resistance training workouts were not of a practical nature and did not resemble workouts that are conducted in a typical athletic strength and conditioning program.

It should be noted that certain individuals feel the need to consume something prior to a resistance workout in order to avoid "bonking". For most individuals (such as myself), training on an empty stomach (early morning for example) should not be a problem as your muscles and liver store plenty of glycogen to sustain energy levels for a resistance training session.

On the other hand, if you believe that you "hit a wall" towards the end of your workout, you may want to either try consuming a small amount of carbs prior to a workout, or consume proper amounts of nutrition following a workout. It is the post-workout nutrition that allows you to sustain energy levels for following bouts of exercise.

Protein/Amino Acids

This is also a common debate amongst fitness enthusiasts. Many believe that supplementation of branch-chain amino acids (BCAAs) prior to exercise will enhance performance during a training session. Turns out, however, that only 3 of the approximately 20 amino acids are oxidized for energy (leucine, isoleucine, and valine), and going beyond that, they are oxidized for energy at levels below carbohydrates and fats.

The authors reported that the BCAAs had no effect on resistance exercise performance. Because of their limited role in oxidation during exercise and their inability to improve acute resistance exercise performance, amino acids should not be ingested before a resistance exercise bout, with the belief that they will improve the performance of the subsequent workout.

Keep in mind that the authors of this article clearly state that pre-workout consumption of BCAAs should not be used with the belief that they will improve performance, however there may be some validity to ingesting protein prior to a training session to reduce/reverse the catabolic effect.

Carbohydrate and Protein Supplementation

Similar to ingesting either carbohydrates alone, or protein alone prior to a workout, a concoction including carbohydrates and protein together yield no measurable benefits on performance.

In summary, it appears that ingesting carbohydrate alone, protein/amino acids alone, or carbohydrate plus protein before resistance exercise does not improve the performance of the resistance exercise workout in terms of total amount of weight lifted during the workout. In contrast, there are favorable outcomes resulting from carbohydrate and protein supplementation in terms of enhancing adaptations over time and on recovery.

Today's blog covered a good portion of pre-workout nutritional timing, Sunday's blog will then be targeting post-workout nutritional timing.

Quote of the day:
"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure."
~ George Edward Woodberry

Day 110 - Walking is Only the First Step...

A study published in USA Today this morning discusses the fact that more Americans are getting more active with walking. Walking is a great way to stay active, it is not enough activity to meet the requirements adults are recommended to meet to stay healthy.

Step 1 of my "Grow Younger Every Day" list is all about this very fact. Too many people feel as though simply 'staying active' with moderate activities is enough to stay healthy, although vigorous exercise is what is really required to keep a healthy cardiovascular system and ward off cardiovascular diseases.

The current government recommendation is adults should get at least 2½ hours (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity each week, such as brisk walking (fast enough that you get a little winded), or 1¼ hours (75 minutes) of a vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, such as jogging or swimming laps, or a combination of the two types, to get the most health benefits from exercise. This activity should be done in at least 10-minute bouts.

Don't get me wrong, I always try and promote as much activity as possible amongst people, regardless of the intensity level. Having said that, the reason why I promote activity is that everyone needs to start somewhere, but intensity is the name of the game and eventually everyone should try and increase the intensity, as well as the duration of their exercise to consistently challenge themselves.

If you are new to exercise, not only do I try and promote moderate activity to start, I actually recommend it as I believe that everyone should start off slow. Once you start to get in better shape, however, you should look for new ways to challenge yourself and up the intensity.

Quote of the day:

"The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."

~ Chinese Proverb

Day 109 - Your Guide to Sets and Reps (Recovery Time Too!)

Any training program should begin first and foremost with setting a goal or goals. Last year, I blogged a 7-step approach to program design. If interested, you can start here with Step 1: Needs Analysis

If you want a quick, straight to the point guide to sets and reps, refer to the image above, while I explain each "Training Goal" below, along with applications of each.

To begin, however, as I said before, you should start at square one, and decide on what your training goals are. Secondly, you should determine either your 1RM (1-rep maximum) or 10RM. If you look around online, you can find many different ways of calculating such a thing. You can choose to either test yourself to determine your 1 or 10-rep maximum, or you can try various testing procedures to estimate your 1RM or 10RM.

Testing your rep maximums is not necessarily imperative, but it can be helpful to accurately choose proper resistance to hone in on your repetition goals listed in the table above.

If you decide to calculate your 1RM, you can then follow this table to aim for specific reps:

%1RM - Number of Repetitions Allowed
100 - 1
95 - 2
93 - 3
90 - 4
87 - 5
85 - 6
83 - 7
80 - 8
77 - 9
75 - 10
70 - 11
67 - 12
65 - 15

So, a quick example on how to use this table: If you can bench press 250 pounds 1 time, you should use 218 pounds for 5 reps. Make sense? Good, let's move on.

What training goal should I aim for?

Hard to say, that is usually up to the individual, but for most folks who are just looking to "get in shape", usually the hypertrophy and muscular endurance categories are mostly used. Both of these categories allow for a fair amount of strength increase, but also allows folks to burn calories, etc.

Strength training and power training (for the most part) is targeted for specific sports and athletic performance. Not only that, but as I will explain later, strength and power training repetition goals should only be used by experienced resistance-trained individuals, done with safe, proper, equipment, monitored by a certified strength and conditioning specialist, and be performed as "core exercises".

Strength vs. Power Training

I don't intend on making this a science lesson, so I will do my best to explain this in simple terms. Strength is the amount of force a muscle or muscles can generate to move a load or weight. For example, an individual may be able to max out their bench press at 250 pounds. By lifting that 250 pounds, once, they can generate a lot of strength to move the weight up one time, but the repetition may be slow.

Power, on the other hand, is being able to generate force at a much higher rate. For example, an individual who can bench press 250 pounds, 1 time, would want to drop down in weight, in order to press the weight at a faster rate.

Strength training can be valuable in many facets of athletics, however, in many cases, power is far more valuable to perform better. Let me use this example, because of the recent events at the 2012 London Olympics. Usain Bolt has very strong legs. I am assuming he uses strength training to make his legs strong. Having said that, there are many individuals who have just as strong, if not stronger legs than he does.

The difference here, is his ability to generate force, or power. He is able to generate a tremendous amount of power to propel himself down the track.

"Core" vs. "Assistance" Exercises

Strength and power repetition ranges are intended to be done by "core exercises". A core exercise is one that recruits one or more large muscle areas (chest, shoulder, back, hip, thigh), involve two or more primary joints, and receive priority when one is selecting exercises because of their direct application to sport.

"Assistance exercises" on the other hand, usually recruit smaller muscle areas (upper arm, abdonminals, calf, neck, forearm, lower back, or anterior lower leg), involve only one primary joint, and are considered less important to improving sport performance.

Summary:

Strength - High-load, low-repetition training to improve overall strength of the muscle(s) being trained. Should mainly be targeted by "core exercises". Long periods of rest between sets to allow full recovery of muscle fibers in order to produce maximum amount of force every subsequent set.

Power - High-load, low-repetition training similar to strength training but designed to increase the overall explosiveness of the muscles. Also designed to be targeted by "core exercises" only. Also intended to have long periods of rest between sets to promote full recovery.

Hypertrophy - Higher repetition goals when compared to strength or power training. Shorter breaks as well, as the intention is to cause a higher metabolic demand in the muscle fibers to promote muscular growth.

Muscular Endurance - Low rest periods, higher rep goals, lower loads. Ideally used to improve the aerobic efficiency of the muscle fibers. Should be used by endurance athletes to improve muscular efficiency. Not intended to improve overall strength or power, however.

Quote of the day:
"The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work."
~ Richard Bach