Day 85 - Warrior Training End of Phase 3: Performance Phase

My performance phase from my Warrior Training schedule went very well. The goal of the performance phase is to take or build upon strength gains from the previous phase, and make the muscles more performance-based or functional.

I used the Post Activation Potentiation (P.A.P.) workouts from P90X2 to accomplish this goal. I will be focusing more on upper body performance during my 'bridge' program between Warrior Dash and Tough Mudder, as Warrior Dash has some more basic obstacles and is more running-focused. So, because of this, I was mostly focused on not only increasing my leg performance for running, but also preparing my feet for running in my Vibram Five Fingers.

I have mentioned this in previous posts that I am intending on running both the Warrior Dash and Tough Mudder in my Vibrams due to the amount of mud involved in both runs. I feel that the Vibrams will keep my feet as mud-free as possible.

I was able to get up to 8.5km in distance in my Vibrams. The Warrior Dash race is only 5km or so, but I am needing to prepare myself for the 18km distance of the Tough Mudder.

A notable adjustment here with my schedule was that I used P.A.P. Upper twice per week for the first 2 weeks of the Performance Phase, but then swapped the workouts out for P90X2 Chest, Back, and Balance as well as a modified Shoulders & Arms MC2 routine from Tony Horton's 1on1 series. I did this so that I could build more upper body strength rather than performance.

I now head into a recovery week leading to Warrior Dash on the 21st of July. During this week I plan on doing a couple light runs, some stretching, some foam rolling, and just general rest and recovery. I think many people oftentimes overlook the importance of recovery, and feel as though they need to work hard right up to an event. In actuality, you have to give your muscles time to actually repair and recover. This recovery period varies depending on the event you are training for, but a good rule of thumb is to allow 5-7 days recovery.

Last year when I ran Warrior Dash, I will admit that I was a bit cocky heading into the event, and did the "Base & Back" routine the very day before the event, which left my legs very fatigued the day of. This year I am not making the same mistake and plan on 'peaking' for the event at the right time.

I will be taking as much video as I can at this year's Warrior Dash and post it next week so stay tuned!

Also, let me know if you have any questions regarding any of the training that I haven't addressed here.

Quote of the day:

"Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."
~ William B. Sprague

Day 38 - Warrior Training Revised...Again!

Anybody who stays up-to-date and current with health and fitness related news knows that the landscape of what is considered 'right' or 'best' is always changing. Case in point, my own personal training adventures this year.

I originally posted my schedule for my Warrior Training, back in March, detailing my training for Warrior Dash this year (my 2nd Warrior Dash).

Fast-forward a month or so, and I made some revisions to the above schedule to include training for Tough Mudder, an event I will be competing in 4 weeks after Warrior Dash. My revised Warrior Training schedule works just fine, although I have mulled over a few details with it for weeks now ever since I posted the schedule.

Combine my own dose of obsessive compulsiveness with the fact that I just finished reading an interesting book recently, and you get my revised, revised schedule.

The book I am referring to is called "Speed Trap", written by Charlie Francis. I will cover this book in more detail in a future blog, but to summarize very quickly here; the author of the book was Ben Johnson's trainer throughout the 80's leading up to an historic victory over Carl Lewis in the 100m final at the '88 Seoul Olympics - a gold medal that would later be stripped away.

Anyways, despite the information surrounding this historic event, there is also a lot of information shared by the author on training for sport (in this case sprinting), and the importance of recovery.

Charlie discusses the need for recovery, and how most individuals, when training for performance, tend to think that 'more is better' and that working hard will yield good results, therefore working harder will yield great results.

I can appreciate the line that must be approached, yet not crossed, when it comes to performance training, and although I am not training for a 100m sprint final, I understand the need for proper recovery during sport-specific training.

The changes made to my schedule affect "Phase 3" of my schedule leading up to Warrior Dash, and then the bridge program during the weeks between Warrior Dash and Tough Mudder.

The goal here is to use the post activation potentiation workouts, combined with some run training to maximize my performance gains right before Warrior Dash, and then 'maintain' those gains leading into Tough Mudder. I have also added in a few more runs (some easy, some more challenging) to increase my aerobic capacity due to the length of the Tough Mudder race.

My goal is to train hard on the days that I have workouts scheduled, maximize my potential in every single workout, and then allow my body to recover on my recovery days.

The schedule:

Phase 3
3 weeks
Wednesday June 27th - Tuesday July 17th 2012

Day 1 - X2 P.A.P. Lower
Day 2 - AM: X2 P.A.P. Upper; PM: 5.5km Run
Day 3 - Yoga/Relief/Recovery
Day 4 - X2 P.A.P. Lower
Day 5 - Run Training
Day 6 - AM: X2 P.A.P. Upper; PM: Hockey
Day 7 - Off/Recovery

July 21 - Warrior Dash

22 - Off/Recovery
23 - AM: X2 Chest, Back & Balance and X2 Ab Ripper; PM: Hockey
24 - Insanity Plyo Cardio Circuit
25 - Shoulders & Arms MC2 and X2 Ab Ripper
26 - AM: Yoga/Relief; PM: 5.5km Run
27 - X2 Base & Back and X2 Ab Ripper
28 - 10km Run
29 - Yoga/Relief/Recovery
30 - AM: Asylum Speed & Agility; PM: 5.5km Run
31 - Asylum Strength

August 1 - Asylum Game Day and Overtime
2 - Yoga/Relief/Recovery
3 - Asylum Strength
4 - 15km Run
5 - Yoga/Relief
6 - Asylum Vertical Plyo and Overtime
7 - Asylum Back to Core
8 - AM: Asylum Strength; PM: 5.5km Run
9 - Asylum Speed & Agility
10 - Asylum Game Day and Overtime
11 - 5.5km Run
12 - Yoga/Relief/Recovery
13 - Asylum Vertical Plyo and Overtime
14 - Asylum Final Fit Test
15 - Yoga/Relief/Recovery

16 - Light Run

17 - Yoga/Relief/Recovery

18 - Yoga/Relief/Recovery

August 19 - Tough Mudder!

Quote of the day:

"The best motivation always comes from within."
-Michael Johnson

Day 33 - Post Activation Potentiation Question

Tyler, I just finished the 1st week of P90X2/ Phase 3 and I have to admit, both P.A.P. workouts are awesome but my question is: did you add an extra workout during Phase 3? Don't get me wrong, the workouts are tough but I feel like I'm missing something, hope that makes sense. Can I add like an AR routine or maybe a cardio workout? Also, I thought for sure I'd very sore after the P.A.P. workouts but not really, I'm sore but not like I thought. Sorry for going on & on about it but I was just curious. Thanks!

I think the unfortunate part of individuals going from P90X to P90X2 is that they are conditioned to "go, go, go". Keep in mind that P90X2 is about increasing performance, not necessarily about getting the biggest biceps, or having the slimmest waistline. 

Sure, doing P90X2 can help you "get in shape" but it is more targeted towards those who are already in "good shape" and just want to take the next step. Having said all of that, sometimes, especially when it comes to Post Activation Potentiation, less is better. The body is actually being conditioned in new ways, not just your muscles and ligaments, but your central nervous system as well, so there needs to be a fair bit of down-time or rest in between.

As for soreness, your muscles get sore when you damage the muscle fibers themselves. Similar to what I mentioned above, if you have a good to experienced level of fitness, your DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) may be limited when doing something like P.A.P. The reason for this is that you are taking already fit muscles, that are strong and pliable and making them fast and explosive. You are essentially taking those muscle fibers and making them perform better, not necessarily growing them to make them any bigger or stronger.

I did not adjust the P90X2 Phase 3 schedule my first time through as I wanted to experiment with myself to see what sort of results/advancements I would see from P.A.P. Turns out, I ended up increasing my explosive power from my legs tremendously! I would stick with it for now, you only have a few weeks at this phase.

Quote of the day:

"There's no such things as coulda, shoulda, or woulda. If you shoulda and coulda, you woulda done it."
-Pat Riley

Combining Plyometric Exercise with Other Training

Plyometrics are an effective form of exercise for specific needs, but should only play a part in a total-body exercise program. This blog will discuss the idea of effectively combining plyometrics with other exercise types either on same days or opposing days.

Plyometric Exercise and Resistance Training

By combining different training types in the same day, athletes are generally not recommended to combine heavy resistance training and plyometrics of the same body parts in the same day. Instead, by splitting upper and lower body training can become effective and efficient. For example, one day, an athlete may want to use high-intensity upper body resistance training, and should therefore only use low-intensity lower body plyometric training. The opposite of that would be the next day where the individual would then perform low-intensity upper bod resistance training and highly intense lower body plyometric training.

There are, of course exceptions to almost every rule. In one instance, an athlete could greatly benefit from combining some resistance training with plyometric training. An example of this would have the athlete using about 30% of their 1-rep maximum load in their squat jumps.

Another exception to the rule would be for highly trained individuals only. In this case, by using complex training known as "post-activation potentiation" (P.A.P.), an individual would use a weighted resistance exercise immediately followed by a plyometric or explosive exercise. Research has shown that these "complexes" are highly effective at recruiting high-threshold muscle motor units.

Plyometric and Aerobic Exercise
It should be noted that plyometric exercise, when used as power training, should be used before, and separated from aerobic exercise. However, by understanding the needs of specific athletes (basketball, soccer, hockey players), one would understand the need for the combination of plyometric exercise (anaerobic power) with aerobic conditioning, so the two forms of exercise can be combined, but the aerobic exercise can limit some of the power benefits gained from the plyometrics.

-Tyler Robbins
B.Sc. PTS