The Root Hog Sled - A Beast

I had a great workout today. Went into the gym and did a few movements that I haven’t done in quite awhile. The first being a seated leg curl using the Keiser Functional Trainer and a Valslide. That really hit the hamstrings great. I rest-paused all the reps and aimed to get 30 total across 3 attempts a leg. I fell a bit short, somewhere between 20-25 reps for each leg. This will allow me to attempt the same weight next time in aims of increasing repetitions. Remember, progression is key! If your using the same weight or getting the same amount of repetitions – that is not progression, that’s stagnation.

I then ended up doing some single leg stepup’s onto a high plyometric box. Ended up using 160lbs and scratched out around 6 reps per each leg, and then I dropped to 120lbs and aimed to get 20 each leg, but I actually only got around 9 each. I fell quite short and will drop the weight significantly next time around. I was just eye balling the weight since I haven’t done these movements since I started the “Shred Down”.

My last movement was a calf raise utilizing a leg press machine. I only aim for 12 repetitions for this movement but it’s really the TUT (Time Under Tension) that gets this workout. I perform a 1 sec concentric, a 5 second eccentric, and a 15 second stretch at the bottom of the movement with my foot in dorsiflexion. After 4 minutes (12 repetitions), your calves will be on fire.

It's a love/hate relationship

Finally, to finish the session with the cardiovascular component, I wanted to do something a bit different than my LSD (Long Slow Distance) runs lasting an hour. I set a goal to do 30 minutes of what I coined “Prowler Cardio”.

I set my watch to 30 seconds of “work time” and 15 seconds of “rest time”. I actually only loaded the horns with 45lb plates on each (totaling 90lbs) and it still is one hell of a workout. Truth me honest, I didn’t just do prowler the whole time, as I am fortunate to have a bunch of other tools at my reach.

I also ended up using the new sled, The Root Hog for a variety of pushes, pulls, and drags. I would alternate between either the prowler, or the root hog, or a kettlebell swing. None of this work was intended to “build muscle”, rather it was simply used in order for me to increase my heart rate, and keep me moving. It was one hell of a workout, let me tell you.

Cereal - The Whole Reason I Train

In the end, I reached 30 minutes of hard interval cardio and got to walk out the gym beat up from all the pushing, pulling, lifting, and swinging. If your looking to mix up your workout, start thinking about how you can use the weights around you (in a cardiovascular fashion). Don’t be so constraint to just running, or biking for your cardio. There is plenty of things a person could do to gain anaerobic/aerobic fitness. Sprinting, Hill Running, Tossing heavy objects. Who knows – Be Creative!

Lastly, a perfect post workout nutritional meal. 40 grams of whey isolate and 93 grams (75 grams of carbohydrates) of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I end up mixing my protein with water. I know a lot of people who complain about that and say water + protein is disgusting, but I’ve never drank my protein shakes with milk so I’m not missing out on anything. Until next time people!!

I’ve been putting some serious miles in with my Vibram FiveFinger Flow’s and let me tell you, buyers remorse has NOT kicked in. Actually, I find myself looking forward to future purchases of VFFs. For a nearly 200lb manchild to run barefooted on cement is no easy feat for regular athletic shoes, one would also suspect that it would be twice as hard as running it barefoot. However, this is not true. I’ve found it’s actually peaceful and quite easy to run in them.

The Vibram FiveFinger KSO's

I went for another hour long run in my gorilla feet, frog feet, or ninja shoes (as my athletes call them) and let me tell you, it’s a much different run. Christopher McDougall’s book “Born to Run” thoroughly details the history of running shoes, orthotics, and different opinions from running coaches to doctors. Ultimately he explained how we were born with god’s natural and perfect gift of feet was (and always had been) meant to be barefooted.

One thing you might experience while running barefoot is some painful calves after your run. This is to be expected because your running gait will dramaticly change. No longer will you be overstriding and landing on your heal. While running barefoot your gait will be much shorter and you’ll be landing on the spongy sole and ball of your feet, the location nature first intended us to land on.

Seriously, I have probably over-blogged about Vibram FiveFinger’s and the book “Born to Run”, but do yourself a favor and atleast pick up the book. I’m not even a runner (at all) but I loved this book from front to cover. It’s not a boring book that details running biomechanics but rather it’s an awesome book filled with vivid stories, philosophies and humorous scenarios and tales about running lore. Check it out immediately. You will not be disappointed.