So yesterday I started my foray into Crossfit Endurance WODs. First let me say that I am very impressed with the website and how helpful it is.
http://www.crossfitendurance.com/
CFE recommends that you crossfit 4-6 times per week with 2-3 CFE sport specific WODs (for a single sport athlete). Generally it seems as though they also recommend 3 days on and 1 day off rotation. So I am going to try to do this. Since late December I have been crossfitting with my affiliate WODs (Crossfit Asheville!) 3 times per week, with various other exercise the rest of the week (paddling, hiking, running - see my post from yesterday about running- a handful of 5ks, 10k and 12k but nothing routine). I feel like with the Shut - In Ridge Trail run I have a goal on the horizon so I am going to try and crossfit 4x per week and do 2-3 CFE run specific WODs in preparation. I also need to find a good race to do late summer/early fall.
So back to yesterday - I crossfitted in the morning with CFA and then in evening did a CFE WOD that was called a 4 2 1 interval. It was a great workout but my legs felt like jello afterwards, which I think is the point. I was not running on a track so had no way to keep track of my distance, next time I may use a treadmill or go to the UNCA track.
4 2 1 Intervals:
On 4 mins, off 3 mins
On 2 mins, off 30 secs
On 1 min, off 3 mins
On 2 mins, off 30 secs
On 4 mins, DONE
Today I crossfitted at home with the strength and conditioning WOD posted on the CFE website - it was awesome! Plus all I needed at home was a kettlebell and a yoga mat.
At the top of every minute for 15 minutes complete the following until failure to complete it within the minute:
4 clapping push ups (not sure if I did these right)
8 KB swings (I only have a 20 lbs KB at home and have graduated to the 35 lb at CFA, so instead I did single arm swings 4 on each arm).
12 air squats
I got in my 15 minutes and was at about 43 secs each minute to complete the above.
Tomorrow, friday morning I crossfit with CFA and it will be my first time doing 3 on so we'll see how it goes!
May 13, 2010
May 12, 2010
Becoming a sprinter?
Since starting Crossfit last October I have reduced the time I spend running in both the frequency and in duration. I have always thought of myself as a runner, never a sprinter. First let me define "running" in my terms - Running for several consecutive miles at a time. By running, however, I really was really jogging - based on the definition put forth by my coaches at CFA (see below).
This simple understanding of jogging (I lump running into this) versus sprinting, versus walking has totally changed my outlook on fitness and exercise physiology.
And here is why:
CFA's definition of Jogging -
Let me clarify Jogging. This is the act of repeatedly running consecutive distances of 2 or more miles at a pace slower than 8 minutes/mile.
Coach Corey also adds that -
If you aren’t running that fast (8 min pace or faster) you should speed up and shorten your distance.
Just to clarify a couple more definitions -
CFA's definition of walking-
Walking was meant to carry us for incredible distances by using very little energy. The mechanics and loading mechanism shows just this. Using muscles are TAXING to our metabolism and thus walking uses very little of them. It instead places the forces on our bones, ligaments, and cartilage. Because walking is a relatively slow cadence and there is little vertical movement the tissues handle it easily and without issue.
CFA's definition of sprinting -
Sprinting is meant to carry us short distances extremely quickly by using a great deal of energy. Sprinting uses every muscle in our body to its fullest potential and is burns a great deal of energy. In doing so it saves our joints and bones by loading the muscles in a shock absorbing manner because otherwise the bones and joints would break down beyond repair. Thus, sprinting and walking look entirely different and should be used for different purposes.
CFA's take on jogging (what I used to call running) and why it is actually bad for you:
The problem with Jogging is that people often speed up their walk instead of slowing down their sprint to move greater distances. Elite 100m sprinters and elite marathoners look nearly identical in their mechanics. Hell, elite marathoners are essentially sprinting for 26.2 miles; running faster for the first mile than most can for only one. Speeding up the walk leads to the two issues that make jogging terrible. It increases injury rates by increasing a load on a movement not meant to handle that load. Walking does not spare joints but is safe at low loads. Jogging is not low load. It also does not burn energy at a greater rate than walking and not NEARLY as much as sprinting. By hardly loading the muscles, jogging does not increase energy burn from walking by an appreciable rate compared to sprinting. This means, you don’t “get into shape” any faster than walking for the same distance.
This problem of jogging is similar to what blogger Mark Sisson calls chronic cardio. Chronic cardio is the trap that many people fall into. We think that if we run for 1 hour we will be getting a good workout in. And if we go longer then all the better because we think we are burning more calories and fat, which must mean we are getting more fit, right?. But that's not what happens. What happens is that we run for 1 hour 5-6 days a week and we start to suffer from musclo-skeletal injuries (knee, ankle, shin and foot pain). This ultimately gets us nothing but frustration and misery. Not to mention that we have not improved our running pace or overall fitness by much. Has this happened to anyone out there???
How can we get out of this chronic cardio trap? What Crossfit Asheville has allowed me to realize is that by using sprinting intervals we can increase our fitness and prepare ourselves to run that 5k or 10k or 20 miler more so than continuing to do chronic cardio. How is this possible? Physiologically sprinting trains both our aerobic and anaerobic capacity, which will translate into better performance in your next race or first race.
Since starting Crossfit and incorporating sprinting and tabata intervals I have run my fastest mile, sub-7 and my fastest 5k and 10k and I have stopped running long distances for training entirely. I have experienced no pain in my feet or knees during or after those races. (The pose running technique which the CFA coaches teach is also responsible for some of this - it helps to reduce impact on joints and tissue.) My goal will be to take this training and apply it to an endurance event as a grand experiment into fitness and exercise science. My goal is to finish the Shut -In Ridge trail race (18 miles) with a decent time and to feel strong and great during and after. I have run this distance before on trail with a similar amount of elevation gain and loss but I felt like crap for days afterwards. Coach Corey has told me to check out Crossfit Endurance, which is a type of crossfit in which the WODs are focused specifically for the endurance athlete. We will see how my training goes - I hope to post updates here - the race is not until November so in the meantime I will keep up my Crossfit Asheville workouts and start to slowly incorporate some of the Crossfit Endurance WODs. Wish me luck!
This simple understanding of jogging (I lump running into this) versus sprinting, versus walking has totally changed my outlook on fitness and exercise physiology.
And here is why:
CFA's definition of Jogging -
Let me clarify Jogging. This is the act of repeatedly running consecutive distances of 2 or more miles at a pace slower than 8 minutes/mile.
Coach Corey also adds that -
If you aren’t running that fast (8 min pace or faster) you should speed up and shorten your distance.
Just to clarify a couple more definitions -
CFA's definition of walking-
Walking was meant to carry us for incredible distances by using very little energy. The mechanics and loading mechanism shows just this. Using muscles are TAXING to our metabolism and thus walking uses very little of them. It instead places the forces on our bones, ligaments, and cartilage. Because walking is a relatively slow cadence and there is little vertical movement the tissues handle it easily and without issue.
CFA's definition of sprinting -
Sprinting is meant to carry us short distances extremely quickly by using a great deal of energy. Sprinting uses every muscle in our body to its fullest potential and is burns a great deal of energy. In doing so it saves our joints and bones by loading the muscles in a shock absorbing manner because otherwise the bones and joints would break down beyond repair. Thus, sprinting and walking look entirely different and should be used for different purposes.
CFA's take on jogging (what I used to call running) and why it is actually bad for you:
The problem with Jogging is that people often speed up their walk instead of slowing down their sprint to move greater distances. Elite 100m sprinters and elite marathoners look nearly identical in their mechanics. Hell, elite marathoners are essentially sprinting for 26.2 miles; running faster for the first mile than most can for only one. Speeding up the walk leads to the two issues that make jogging terrible. It increases injury rates by increasing a load on a movement not meant to handle that load. Walking does not spare joints but is safe at low loads. Jogging is not low load. It also does not burn energy at a greater rate than walking and not NEARLY as much as sprinting. By hardly loading the muscles, jogging does not increase energy burn from walking by an appreciable rate compared to sprinting. This means, you don’t “get into shape” any faster than walking for the same distance.
This problem of jogging is similar to what blogger Mark Sisson calls chronic cardio. Chronic cardio is the trap that many people fall into. We think that if we run for 1 hour we will be getting a good workout in. And if we go longer then all the better because we think we are burning more calories and fat, which must mean we are getting more fit, right?. But that's not what happens. What happens is that we run for 1 hour 5-6 days a week and we start to suffer from musclo-skeletal injuries (knee, ankle, shin and foot pain). This ultimately gets us nothing but frustration and misery. Not to mention that we have not improved our running pace or overall fitness by much. Has this happened to anyone out there???
How can we get out of this chronic cardio trap? What Crossfit Asheville has allowed me to realize is that by using sprinting intervals we can increase our fitness and prepare ourselves to run that 5k or 10k or 20 miler more so than continuing to do chronic cardio. How is this possible? Physiologically sprinting trains both our aerobic and anaerobic capacity, which will translate into better performance in your next race or first race.
Since starting Crossfit and incorporating sprinting and tabata intervals I have run my fastest mile, sub-7 and my fastest 5k and 10k and I have stopped running long distances for training entirely. I have experienced no pain in my feet or knees during or after those races. (The pose running technique which the CFA coaches teach is also responsible for some of this - it helps to reduce impact on joints and tissue.) My goal will be to take this training and apply it to an endurance event as a grand experiment into fitness and exercise science. My goal is to finish the Shut -In Ridge trail race (18 miles) with a decent time and to feel strong and great during and after. I have run this distance before on trail with a similar amount of elevation gain and loss but I felt like crap for days afterwards. Coach Corey has told me to check out Crossfit Endurance, which is a type of crossfit in which the WODs are focused specifically for the endurance athlete. We will see how my training goes - I hope to post updates here - the race is not until November so in the meantime I will keep up my Crossfit Asheville workouts and start to slowly incorporate some of the Crossfit Endurance WODs. Wish me luck!
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