Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner Workout

If you had to guess one day a year where you would expect to take in an excess amount of calories it would probably be Thanksgiving Day. So instead of just surrendering to the inevitable I snuck in this quick workout somewhere between the point where the 30 second lip sync performances at the parade started to irritate me and the beginning of the dog show (wouldn't want to miss that!)

Warm Up:
20 Kettlebell Dead Lifts
10 Single Leg Dead Lifts (right)
10 Single Leg Dead Lifts (left)

3 Rounds:
10 Kettlebell Front Rack Squat (right)
10 Kettlebell Swings
10 Kettlebell Front Rack Squat (left)
10 Kettlebell Overhead Press (right)
10 Kettlebell Overhead Press (left)
10 Pushups

Finisher: 
3 Rounds (as little rest needed)
20 Kettlebell Swings
20 Pushups

Cool Down:
45 minute walk with the dog.....ironically this was Rex's (my boxer) warm up for the dog show!

We can always find a little time if it is important to us!

Beat the Week: How to Get the Most out of the Next 7 Days.

It's Sunday, and since the clocks have been turned, the only day that I can wait for the sunlight to peak through my windows as a sign for me to wake up. I will usually get up, make some coffee and take the first cup outside to get some air then come back in and start breakfast. A nice start to the day!

Sunday however is not only the last day of the traditional weekend but the first day of the next calendar week, Instead of waiting for New Years think of it as getting 52 brand new starts every year!

How often should I exercise a week is one of the most common questions that I will hear on a week to week basis. My answer is normally as much as your body is going to allow you to, taking in to consideration your current conditioning. Here is a more simple approach....Beat the Week.

A week has 7 days in it, an unbalanced number. Get in 4 days of exercise and you have beaten the week, get in 3 days and the week has beaten you! These bouts do not have to be super intense, you do not have to make it to the gym but put aside 10-15 minutes to get it done. After you read this article jump into this little routine if you are stuck on what you should do.

Ideally you would have a dumbbell of kettle bell but if not go with the Body weight substitute.

3-5 Rounds

10 Goblet / Body weight Squat
10 Renegade Rows / Push up with shoulder tap
10 Walking Lunges
10 Kettle bell(or dumbbell swing) / Double or single leg hip bridge

Knock out 3 rounds, pop in the shower and you have started to Beat the Week!

Ready for War?....How Focused Can You Say You Are?

I’ve been paying attention to the 2015 Rugby World Cup and what has shaped up to be a huge final match between the All Blacks of New Zealand and the Wallabies of Australia. Here in the States the World Series of Baseball has begun, the NBA has just kicked off and we are midway through the NFL season but if you are from “Down Under” your full attention will be on this one match that has shaped up over the last few weeks.

Prior to the start of each match the All Blacks perform a ritual unlike any other professional team in the world. The group comes to mid-field, faces their opponent and goes into a series of aggressive chanting, movements, and facial expressions. The ritual is known as the Haka and is a tribal war dance unique the the country of New Zealand.

The Haka is intimidating, impressive and adds to the aura around the All Blacks and their gaudy record in International play. The All Blacks do not have a losing record to any national team in the world and as a matter of fact a large number of countries have never defeated the All Blacks.

What jumps out at me the most when I see this pregame ritual is the passion and intensity that the players bring to this. In most American sports pregame is a very casual time for most players. Watch Odell Beckham Jr. on the New York Giants and you would think he was getting ready for a street ball game. Don’t get me wrong I love Odell but is he getting ready for war as he is showcasing his one handed grabs?

I can’t help but think that this intensity and ability to focus in the moment has more than just a little to do with the ability of the All Blacks to be so dominant. What would a fraction of that focus do for our ability to attain the goals we were chasing? Being a better father, husband, an overall human being, having financial success, success in school, health and fitness related goals would all be right there for the taking. We would dominate our lives! Sounds pretty amazing to me.

So where is your focus right now on the task you have to perform in the next 80 minutes (the time it takes to complete a rugby match)? Is it as serious to you as life or death? Should we perform our own little war dance when we get out of bed in the morning? Maybe. I didn't learn how the game of rugby was played by the All Blacks. What they remind me of, is that everything I ever want is right here - all I have to do is stare it down and remain relentless with my focus.

Training Log 9/19/15

Last night after the usual chaos that occurs once the kids get back from school followed up by some car problems my wife, I was able to get to the gym to on my sport kettlebell technique. The one thing I’m learning since my current style with the bells is modeled after the RKC is that I have to do the exact opposite of what I think I should do. So I am trying to just do as I’m told.

We worked for about an hour on the Long Cycle Clean & Jerk. Starting with 1 minute cycles and working up the weight to 3 minute cycles with appropriate rest in between. The amount of volume is going to give me the opportunity to work on the subtleties of the sport as well as build some endurance.

This morning I followed up with a short but effective workout to help improve my strength endurance and to maintain some power. I also put some focus on improving the grip as that is going to be instrumental If I plan on being effective.

3 Rounds

1. Back Squat X 20 @ 135lbs
2. Jump Squat X 5 (loaded w/ 10lbs)
3. Single Arm Swing for 1 Minute (two sets with the left hand (non-dominant) 1 with the right)

There was zero rest in between exercises, followed by 3 minutes rest at the end of the round.

I took the 45lb plates off the bar and finished the workout with  2 set of 1 minute plate pinch grips which pretty much finished the grip off but my hands feel pretty good .

How Often Should I Exercise? Some Advice for Longevity

“How often should I exercise?” is one of those questions I wish I had a dime for every time I’ve been asked. Here are some other questions that fall into the same category. “Should I be lifting weights?”, “Should I add in some cardio?”, “What about yoga?” and “Do those DVDs work?”.

Just recently I read an article that about the regions around the world with the longest life span and their similarities with each other. Two things were apparent with regards to their fitness routines. The people in these regions did not belong to or go to gyms and also they hand greater hand strength than the average person in other areas. How do these people with greater than average life expectancy and no physical fitness routine have better than average hand strength, a good indicator of overall strength?

The Nine Longevity Hot-spots 

The answer lies in the lifestyles of the people in these areas. The majority of the areas would be considered rural or at least separated from the conveniences of the rest of the world. Walking is a way of life and not a form of exercise and most likely daily chores are being performed as a means of supporting themselves such as agriculture, fishing, and gathering. When you spend most of your day walking, digging, chopping and carrying objects from one place to another the end result is that you are going to be pretty fit and pretty strong. All this and an excellent diet to boot leads to this extended life expectancy.

Here in our country, we have gyms on every corner, modern medicine, a cure-all for every ill. specialized care programs for the elderly and yet we live shorter, less productive, less enjoyable lives. We elect to invite a number of stresses into our lives that impact our health such as long commutes, long hours at work, constant communication with others through wireless devices, horrible dietary choices and dietary guidance but decline to invite in the positive stress, eustress, of physical activity.

If we are physically capable of lifting your butt off the couch, standing on two feet and walking to your car to drive ourselves to a local chain restaurant while the items in the “crisper” drawer of the refrigerator rot away, we are capable of engaging in some form of exercise.

So here is the special formula, we need to do engage in some type of activity every day, we need to make the right nutritional choices every day, we need to get out of your comfort zone to gain some strength and endurance so we are not winded after walking from the back of the parking lot to the store entrance.

There is a process here that takes a lifetime, it’s not meant to be fixed in 21 days, 6 months or any other time period you may have been lead to believe. Those people living those long healthy lives also tended to be happier than average, Small changes over time lead to big results, you deserve to be happy too!

Sunday Morning Training: Asymmetrical Workout

We all have a dominant side of the body and one that is less often used. Your dominant side will be the side that you normally use for daily chores, writing, lifting grocery bags, opening and closing doors and lots of things you do without even realizing it. If you are right handed, try brushing your teeth with your left hand!

Now while the dominant side may be stronger, it may also be less flexible and more susceptible to injury. To balance out these discrepancies you can perform a number of corrective exercises, incorporate unilateral lifts to your workout (using one leg, or one arm depending on what movement is being used) or using asymmetrical lifts.

In an asymmetrical lift you'll be receiving assistance from both side of the body but the load will be offset causing the non dominant side in the lift to self correct in order to maintain form.

I own a single kettle bell weighing 24kg (54lbs) and I have mentioned before a single kettle bell can accomplish a wide variety of tasks. Today I used it to do the following workout.

5 Rounds:

10 Single Arm Suitcase Dead Lifts (10 right,  10 left)
5 Front Rack Squats (5 right, 5 left)
10 Push Ups (to balance out the core) 
5 Single arm Swings (5 right, 5 left)  

I moved quickly between the movements in the set and took 1-2 minutes after to recover. Give it a shot. If you don't own a kettle bell you can use a dumbbell or other suitable tool you can control with one hand.

Recovery Workout 9/4/2015

I have on the “shelf” for about the past 1½  weeks due to a virus that was causing me fatigue, accompanied with fever, headaches and body aches. While your body is in a state of distress when you are sick it is always recommended that you avoid intense physical activity. You want to have all of your body’s resources going into your recovery.

I was feeling well enough this morning to get moving again and perform a quick routine. My kettle bell was the tool of choice and I did a short but effective workout.

I started out by placing the kettle bell deeper back that normal in the deadlift start position. Reaching back and grabbing the handle, then holding the position for about 10 seconds making adjustments to my posture was corrective and needed since I spend a good amount of time this past week either sitting or lying down. I did this about 3-4 times

I performed 3 sets of 10 deadlifts with the kettle bell. I then checked in with the swing by performing 10 sets of 1. The set of 1 allowed me to ensure that the hike and initial drive was powerful and 10 sets was enough to make any corrections i felt were needed. I then did some conditioning work doing 5 sets of 12 swings with 30 seconds rest in between. keeping each swing powerful this was much more taxing than I anticipated.

I procrastinated but I got moving and am happy I did, hopefully I can find some rhythm and flow in the upcoming week.

Details:

Deadlift Postural Hold: 3-4 sets 10 seconds each

Kettle Bell Deadlift: 3 sets of 10 @ 24kg(54lbs)

Kettle Bell Swing: 10 sets of 1 (10-15 seconds rest) @ 24kg(54lbs)

Kettle Bell Swing: 5 sets of 12 (30 seconds rest) @ 24kg(54lbs)

8 Reasons You Gained Weight This Summer. (And What You Can Do About It!)

September marks back to school season and summer is coming to an end. With that, it brings a time of change with everyone getting back into a routine again.

September is also statistically the second busiest month of the year in the fitness industry because people are looking to lose the weight that is gained in the summer. Even though you might not realize it yet, you are more likely to gain weight during the summer, even if you feel like you're outdoors and more active. These are the typical reasons for weight gain:

1. You went on vacation. That all inclusive cruise or resort gave you the green light to dig into the buffet table. Hey you wanted to enjoy yourself.

2. Being the social creatures we are, invitations to BBQs happen every weekend. What’s another hot dog among friends

3. That street fair, carnival or county fair you went to was serving fried dough and meat on a stick and that's what you ate.

4. Take me out to the Ball Game, buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks. I’ll also have one of your over priced alcoholic beverages. You are more likely to consume alcohol at events, graduations, BBQs or having a few after work.

5. You’re more likely to eat out, skip meals and fall into bad habits with disrupted routines.

6. Because your schedules and routines were disturbed it was harder for you to fit your exercise in.

7. Your metabolism slows during the summer time. During the colder months your body needs to work harder to stay warm.

8. The heat of the summer was an excuse not to be outside and be active..

You can’t go back and change those choice you made over the summer so there is no use getting upset or beating yourself up over it. What you can do is start to make better choices starting today. I usually recommend picking one thing that you can change and do that one thing 100% for at least one week maybe more. Once it becomes a habit you can then pick another area you would like to make some changes in.  Creating solid habits is what will drive your success, inconsistency is the enemy.

Let’s start now because before you know it the next big wave of temptation will be here, the holiday season. Are your choices going to bring you closer to your goals or further away from them?

Team Continuity: Be A Team Player!

What was the last great team you were part of? Maybe it's been a while, maybe you’re on one now and maybe you never have. The team idea has been severely diluted in the last decade or so, some people older than me may say it’s been going on longer than that. I’m pointing to the constant promotion of self in the media, through sponsorship, social media, video games, sports apparel, the list could grow much longer.

I enjoy watching college and amateur athletes,  you tend to see more of the team concept being practiced in this area. I visited Notre Dame over the summer and if you can't get a sense of team when you walk into the game day locker room of Notre Dame Stadium you should probably stop reading this right now.

At the High School level this team concept should come before any one player, it’s how team win games. now maybe once in a blue moon a team is blessed with such a talent that his or her abilities drive the team's success but it’s rare and the sports where this is applicable are few. In baseball you have to bat 9 guys and one guy can’t play every position on the field. In football there are even more 11 guys on the field all with important roles for contributing to success.

I was taken back a little when I attended my son’s football practice yesterday afternoon. I sat up on the bleachers and watched as 25 committed guys stood in the heat, during their last days of summer vacation with helmets strapped on listening to their coach strategize for this weeks opponent. Of to the side was one player, with his helmet off, sunglasses on and chatting it up with an ex player from last year.

My first thought was, “where the hell did he get the sunglasses?”,”did he have a special pocket in his practice jersey?”. My second thought was how was the coach letting this happen doesn’t he realize that this type of behavior is poison to a team at this level?

This was a player who had a good amount of success last year, I guess he felt he had the right to take this day lightly. I wondered if any of the new unproven players would be given the same treatment, probably not.

If you’re a coach please do not allow individuals to become the focus of your team. If you’re a teammate that sees this happening, don’t let it fly. But more importantly, if you are that person with the natural abilities to excel in what you do, take responsibility for your talent and make your team as strong as it can be.

Functional Training Shouldn't Mean "Light Weight": 5 Exercises to Go Heavy On

For me the term functional exercise is a bit of an oxymoron. Every exercise you do should have some translation to what you are doing day to day or you shouldn’t be doing it. For some the term functional may invoke images of lots of body weight work, light lifting, maybe some crawling around on the ground. While some of this may be necessary, once you have mastered the basics you should be cleared to do what your body was made for and that includes performing work and moving heavy stuff!

Here are 5 exercises that you should be loading up on a regular basis to build a strong body.

1. Dead lift: This one is elementary and should be on the top of everyone's list. If someone tells you that you shouldn’t be dead lifting, find out why immediately and then fix that problem.The dead lift taxes almost every muscle in the body and will be the movement that you will be able to move the most amount of weight on.

2. Walking Lunges: More dynamic than a traditional squat since you will be moving, which challenges your stability, you will also have to decelerate your body weight moving forward to put you in a good lunging position which challenges your muscles in ways stationary squats cannot.  By holding dumbbells down at your side you’ll begin to load this exercise and keep your center of gravity low. I like you use the reference of two 5 gallon buckets of water which will weigh around 35 pounds as a starting point when proper mechanic are in place. Take 10 steps down and back.

3. Farmers Walk or Heavy Dumbbell Hold: After you pick that heavy stuff up most of the time you will have to move it from point A to point B. A farmers walk will load the the trunk, arms, legs and train the grip. When a challenging weight or distance is applied the heart rate will jump and is a great substitute for your typical cardio. Get the benefit of training an unbreakable grip with some heavy dumbbell holds at the end of a training session. Grab a set and see how long you can hold on.

4. Overhead Press: Superior to the bench press in terms of function since it loads the entire body, You’ll find you yourself pushing weight overhead more often on a day to day basis than laying on your back pressing something up. An adult male should be able to press his body weight for 1 rep overhead. If you can’t do this your two options are get stronger or get lighter.

5. Dumbbell Rows: I would suggest doing these one arm at a time and without the benefit of having a bench or some other piece of equipment helping to support your body weight. Split your stance ,go heavy, stay as strict as possible but use a little body english to help with the last few if needed.

Group these movements together for a great workout:

5 Sets

Farmers Walk: 100’

Dead lift: x5

Overhead Press: x5

Walking lunges:10 steps each leg

Dumbbell Rows: x5

Recovery Tip: Homemade Heat Compress

From time to time aches and pains will pop up whether they be from training, sport or other daily activities. Many times one of the remedies we turn to is a cold compress to reduce swelling and numb pain. Most of us have either an ice pack or just plain old ice we can put in a ziploc bag to accomplish that. Other times the remedy will call for a heat compress and you are less likely to have one of these handy around the house but you probably have what you need to make a homemade heat compress in a few easy steps.

1. Find a mismatched sock in your sock draw (everyone has one of these somewhere.)

2. Fill the sock with 1-2 cups of rice. (add a spice such as cinnamon or mint for an aroma-therapeutic effect.)

3. Pop the sock in the microwave for about 1 minute and apply to the area that needs heat

Are You Up for the Challenge?

An uncommon phenomenon happened this past weekend, I was able to spend a Saturday night with my wife completely free of children and wake up in the morning in that same state of delirium.

We spend our last free weekend, and really one of our only, in Lake George, NY enjoying the carnival like atmosphere of the village on Saturday night and waking up Sunday morning to do some “”back to school” shopping in the outlet centers located there.

We made a stop in the Reebok outlet. Reebok is a huge sponsor for the Crossfit brand producing athletic apparel and footwear specific to the sport. When I walked into the store a local crossfit gym had set up a display near the entrance. There were barbells, plyo boxes and other apparatus, it immediately grabbed my attention and naturally I levitated towards it to see what was going on. The promotion was “do 5 burpees and receive a $30 coupon for a $100 purchase”. Pretty much a no brainer, I would have done them even if there was no offer.

I looked at the leader board and the current score to beat was 22 burpees. I looked at the coaches and jokingly remarked, “It’s 11am and the most burpees you’ve been able to get out of anyone is 22?” Well I wanted to see if we could do a little better than but I wasn’t going to do it alone. I asked one of the coaches there if he’d like to join me. We are now turning a leisurely shopping experience into a competition. I would probably go shopping a bit more if this were always the case.

After setting up some ground rules for the way the burpees would be graded we agreed to put our max effort forth and perform a continuous 1 minute of burpees. I kicked off my flip flops, the buzzer sounded and we set off on a torrid pace. Between the two of us we complied 73 burpees in the 60 seconds! We stood up congratulated each other and shared a laugh.

Now here is the twist. I didn’t have to think twice about doing the 5 burpees for my coupon or even engaging in 60 seconds of intense work, that’s become my norm. What’s not normal is the passerby-ers that even though they were set on spending well over $100 would not put forth the effort to get the coupon. At the register someone was being rung up and had a total of $104, they said, “Hey do 5 burpees you’ll save 30 bucks.” The answer was no; unbelievable! One guy passing by when asked if he would do the 5 burpees said, “Why the hell would anyone want to do that!” Mind you we are in a store whose primary product is apparel for exercise!

I shared this experience with members of the gym I work at, Higher Choices Personal Fitness in Lagrange, NY. They thought it was absurd, some of the members took a poke at themselves and said even they would have done the work.

Well that’s the point, if you are taking care of yourself on a regular basis, if you are committed or even semi-committed to a fitness routine you are going to be up for the challenges that life throws at you on a daily basis. You’ll have the energy to get everything done that need to get done, if curve balls get thrown at you then you’ll be able to handle those as well.

So ask yourself and be honest, are you up for the challenge or are you going to let opportunities continue to pass you by?

Vacationing from Fitness Over the Summer?

If you are like me your daily routine get turned upside down once Summer arrives and school lets out. The kids are home, they are looking for things to do, places to go and all your free time gets sucked into the black hole called summer vacation. When I was a kid summer vacation lasted forever, now I look at the calendar and say, "I don't have time to do anything!"

Your routine at the gym or other fitness routines may suffer from this schedule change. It is not uncommon to see individuals get away from what they were doing so well just a month ago and go on a "Fitness Vacation" for a few weeks. They return frustrated feeling that all their hard work has been lost and are starting from scratch.

The situation may not be as grim as you have made it out to be. The residual effects of training stay with you even after you have stopped training (kinda makes sense right since you are training for your life that happens outside of the gym.).

Your aerobic endurance and maximal strength will maintain maintain its self up to 30 (+/- 5) days, while strength endurance be be maintained 15 (+/- 5) days before you will notice considerable declines. So stop using the time you have missed as an excuse to continue to keep you away from what you want to be doing in the first place. You'll be back in the saddle in no time at all.

Kids, Competition and Coming to Reality

Every kid competing in team sports or other areas of athletic competition has at some point had the dream of moving on to the “next level”. Where that dream takes them is up to them. That next level dream might be just becoming a starter, getting more playing time, or more recognition for their talents among their peers. But for some the dream consists of college scholarships, olympic trials, and professional competition. This mindset is awesome since it encourages self improvement and the realization of the work that needs to be done in order to accomplish just about anything worthwhile. However, along with every kid that is dreaming and competing there is normally a parent right there with them, offering support along the way.

A phenomenon that I have observed in the last few years (mostly because my children all compete in competitive sports at their own levels) is not just the parents that put their children on a pedestal (parents you should do this by the way, they are your kids and should be special to you) but the organizations that promote pushing kids along.

Look around at all the camps, travel teams, tournaments, and other competitive venues that are billed as a “must” if there is any chance of future success for your child. Then take a good look at the price tag that comes along with those programs. They are often absurdly priced but we’ve been conditioned to believe that it is the price you have to pay for success.

I took four years of Latin as a foreign language in high school and I still cannot put one sentence together in that language. I did have a very eccentric teacher which made the class interesting even though I struggled the entire time. He told us stories of his brother that made his way to the top of his field in journalism becoming an editor and a writer for a well known national magazine. His brother did not have the advantages of going to Ivy League schools or having connections along the way. The moral of his story was always “It’s not where you go, it’s what you do when you are there.” and the what you do was to work your butt off.

If your child is involved in some form of competition it is safe to assume they have an interest in it, maybe that interest was sparked by your interest or past involvement with said activity. You may be aware of talent levels of past and present athletes, maybe you even know of a few that received scholarships, went on to gain recognition or the professional arena. Those numbers are extremely slim.

Don’t lose hope yet though and don’t feel that all your efforts have been for naught. I know what it’s like to have children involved in these programs. As I write this I am sitting in a hotel room in South Bend, Indiana because my 10 year old daughter is competing in the week long National Baton Twirling Association annual championships held at Notre Dame. It’s ironic because Notre Dame was the school I dreamt of going to to play football at as a kid myself. My daughter is talented in what she does but she has her strong points and weaknesses just like anyone else. She is extremely athletic. I love watching her pick up any sport and just be a natural at it. Her sport however requires showmanship and presentation, not her strong point but I think you need that first skill first and then you can work on the fine points.

If you have a child that you can honestly say possesses the talents or has that athleticism required for their sport, pursue their success as much as you can but do not force it down their throat it will get spit back out at you. If you feel you are at a dead end or need some direction, here are a few suggestions.

1. Get an Honest Assessment: This will not come from your current travel team or competition coach. Remember the absurd costs you pay to their programs, for the most part they want to keep you in their program for their own success and  recognition. Go somewhere else, a competitor or someone you believe will be unbiased.
2. Take a Step Back: This may come in the form of taking a break. A 12 year old that has true talent isn’t going to miss any opportunities because they did not participate in the “Late Summer Pre Season Semi Annual Classic Tournament”. Or maybe this comes in the form of competing at a level that will restore confidence. Having confidence is huge in kids, make them believe that they are able and 9 times out of 10 they will show you they are able.
3. Have Fun: Remember why they are involved in this stuff in the first place. Your 8 year old does not see their next competition as a major step towards getting a D1 scholarship. To them it is just fun or at least it should be. If it's not your are 100% wasting your time.

Prepping for the 2015 Tri-State Spartan Sprint

Thousands of participants in yesterday and today's heats will have already completed the Tri-State Spartan Sprint by the time you read this. The Tri-State Spartan Sprint is the largest obstacle course racing event in the world! Here is some helpful information that I have learned over the last four years of racing that has made race day more enjoyable and less stressful for me.

This week you will be receiving email updates from Spartan Race to confirm your registration, start times and packet pick up procedures. Pay attention to them, print a copy out for reference and have it with you on race day. There is also options to hold this info on your smart phone but I wouldn't solely rely on that and you want to bring as little as possible with you once you leave your car and enter the event area. I will cover some tips on want to bring and what to expect on race day later but first I want to go over how you should approach this week.

1. Begin your hydration process now! Getting enough water in your body during this week will limit you exposure to dehydration and cramping on race day. There are only two (2) water stations on the course and they will feel like they are an eternity apart.

2. Stay on top of your nutrition. Just as you can feel the effects of one bad meal after you eat it your body will respond well to positive inputs rather quickly. Even if you haven't been on top of what you've been putting in your body the last few weeks, make that commitment to do so this week, you'll want to in order to perform optimally.

3. Get Familiar with you Apparel. If you have purchased new shoes, shorts or a shirt specifically for this event, train in it this week. You do not want to find out at mile 2 that your shoes are causing you a blister or your other apparel is uncomfortable or causing chaffing.

4. Deload! This is not the time to cram in a bunch of workouts and go 110% in training. If you have been using a training log, dial your effort down to around 50-60% of what you have been doing. This will give your nervous system time to recover and your body to rest. You'll be stronger and feel fresher on race day.

5. Be Boring. If you can try to make Saturday the most boring day of your life. Sit, relax, read a book. Do not decide to watch the entire Rocky series in an attempt to get "pumped up".  Your body has a limited reserve of adrenaline, save it for when you'll need it.

As far as race day is concerned here are some tips.

• Show up around 90 minutes before your start time. This will give you time to park, check in, get inside the event area. enjoy some of the activities going on at the event. There will also be some practice obstacles that may want to try. This should also be the last time you put any type of solid food into your stomach.
• Wear in only what you need to race in leave as much as possible in your car. If you must carry in items there is a bag check for a cost. There is a hose of station to freshen up after the race, leave your clean clothes in the car.
• Approximately 30 minutes before the start is  the time to start warming up. You should know where you have to be for the start of the race at this point, find a spot to go through your warm up and I would suggest running some moderate intervals to break a sweat and get the heart rate up, the first obstacle is a steep hill, if you hit that cold you will be hurting half way up.
• Some items you may want waiting for you in your car would be a towel, food, drinks, water to wash off with, a change of clothes and perhaps first aid supplies such as band aids, first aid spray and some aloe vera gel.

All you guys are ready to complete the course and do well following these suggestions will make your experience that much better! See you race day!