Today's Workout and Why

Today I did a workout commonly known as "Cold Start". This is when you do a workout without an adequate warm up. The more you race, the chances are greater you will over sleep you alarm one time in your race career. Or you may misread your start time(this happens all the time in the even the NYC tri, a very well run event). Or maybe you got stuck in traffic. Any way you can show up late for a race. This is training for it.

The workout is a little easier with biking than the other 2 sports. With Cold Start in swimming and running you really can only push so hard cold due to discomfort. You should only do this if you are comfortable with going hard even after a warm up. Some people have low pain tolerance and will probably be sore the next day ans during the workout. Everybody else just keeps their gripes to themselves.

I have a friend who took a wheel back to his hotel room to repair it before a National Level race. While in his room his coach called and said they had moved the start time. Without a warm up he won. He was able to do this because he can handle some discomfort in an effort to achieve a goal. He would train without warm up periodically just to train himself to handle the stress at race time, but he was very connected to his body.

So here is the workout:

From a "Cold Start" do a 20 min effort with one of the best hills around that you can find thrown in,
5 min rest,
20 mi effort rolling terrain,
5 min rest,
5min effort,
3+ min recovery.

It was a great effort and a fast 58 min ride. You can extend the final recovery and you can do any warm up you want besides biking for this bike workout.
I try to do a cold start swim here and there but rarely a cold start run.
Enjoy and be safe. You still cannot go all out until you are a little warm even if you try.

Only if you want results from your workout

How long have you been going to the gym? How much do you spend every month? The gyms around here range from $9.99/month to $220/month for a good gym with a pool. I paid about $120 for P90X and $120/month for my Shakeology. I do a hybrid workout of P90X, triathlon Training and Crossfit. I know that everybody in most of those groups has one gripe or another about that.

The CrossFit guys can be a little intense for me and a little Black and White, they certainly challenged my comfort zone with their energy. You will not find a better, broadly fit group of people. Some are great triathletes who do well, podium finishes. I just do not have a Box with a schedule that works for me.(I do not like to do Olympic Lifting without someone there watching my form) Certainly close to CrossFit athletes are some of the people who have done....

P90X and followed their eating plan. Sticking to a program for 90 days, especially one as well designed as P90X will get you results. But you have to challenge your comfort zone during your workouts (Do your best and...). If you use the light band all the time, you will never progress to the pull up bar. If you don't do the Plyometrics and the Yoga X, with good effort, then you will not get the results over the long haul. You can replace your cardio days in P90X with...

Triathlon training. I like to compete in triathlons of Olympic distance and shorter but like Xterra(off road Triathlon) the most. I still do 5 or 6 triathlon workouts a week. The swimming Biking and Trail running are great for my head.

This may not be the optimal way to train for Triathlon, or do P90X, or do CrossFit so here is the trade off: I look awesome! The CrossFit gives me the intensity to go hard during my Tri workouts. Combine that with the P90X programming of YogaX, Ab Ripper X, and Plyometrics, I have the stamina and strength to go the distance in my races and preserve much of the muscle lost to Endurance training and its effects on your hormones (low testosterone, high cortisol). I have pushed myself further than I thought possible and have the energy to do so.

You can start at any level, just be smart about your training and take recovery time and recovery workouts. Follow a healthy eating plan and ask for help if you need it.

Today is a day for Change

Today choose to change the way you eat. Try some new vegetable like Daikon Radish, Baby Zucchini, or Radicchio.
Look on a website like www.epicurious.com or www.gourmet.com for a recipe to cook your new veggies. Do not give up if you do not like a new vegetable the first time you try it. Sometimes a new flavor can be a little shock to our system and, unless it has been engineered to taste great, will require some getting adjusted to.
Here is a salad that I like to make:
2 cups Baby Spinach - chopped large
1/2 head of Radicchio - cut into ribbons
3/4 cups carrots - chopped small
1/2 cup Daikon radish
1 handful Fresh Parsley - chopped fine
1 cup Grape Tomatoes - halved
1/4 cup Slivered Raw Almonds
Handful of Tart Cherries

This salad has some bitter leaves(radicchio, daikon) in it but a fair amount of sweet flavors to add balance. Play with the ingredients a little until it fits your palate.

I make this salad often, sometimes I put goat cheese in it if I need a few more calories for the day. Leave out the cheese if you are trying to lose weight.

Add a small amount of a low fat dressing, measure to be sure you are eating properly.

Enjoy and share it with your friends

Until you commit...

Life can push you around and make you feel more than a little crazy. Often our fitness and our health can fall by the wayside. It is up to you and only YOU to make the decision to stick with your plan.
Make a commitment to yourself. Check in with your commitment every day and every week to make sure you are staying with your decisions. Tell your friends so that you have support on your journey. Take pictures and measurements for your before and after. Your life and the lives of those around you hang in the balance. Your health is your choice. you decide how you will live the rest of your life - making healthy choices or making the same choices as before.
Choose to make healthier choices today.
Choose now to make healthier choices tomorrow.
Choose to be happy where you are and where you are going.
Choose exercise over TV and the computer.
Choose to bring your family along for the ride.

www.revcoachandy.com
www.getfitnyc.com
myshakeology.com/tricoachandy

Confessions of a Sugar Addict.

I know you think that when you are healthy that you spend your whole life focusing on being healthy. I was lucky for the most part. I had discipline if you count the 80/20 Rule. 80% of the time I was focused, 20% of the time I was a schlub. I would eat scones, candy, and muffins whenever I wanted, justifying it with leading an otherwise healthy lifestyle.

There are sugar abusers and savory abusers, each has its drawbacks. Sugar throws off the hormones by causing the body to store fat and savory is often the delivery system for saturated fat. The whole abuse of food is a lose/lose. Moderation is the key.

On my best days I would still crave sweets, and a bite of chocolate early in the morning leads to more bites of chocolate later in the day. Even eating salads, healthy carbs, adequate protein, and healthy fats would still not be enough.

Here is the thing: I put out a lot of energy and have a physical job as a trainer and multisport coach. I get about 6.5-8 hours of sleep per night but I was still always hungry or craving sugar because something was missing in my diet. I found what was missing with Shakeology. I am not sure what in Shakeology put back the missing pieces but it did. It was like a key that locked the door on my sugar cravings. Now if I crave sugar it is usually emotional, and that is easier to address than an unnamed craving for something missing in your otherwise stellar diet.

I cannot tell you how much Shakeology means to me in my training for races and my otherwise hectic schedule, but I do not want to go a day without it. It stabilizes my mood(probably because i am not eating as much sugar), gives me energy without caffeine, and has reduced the bloat in my belly. I am able to absorb the stresses of working out 2 or 3 x/day and commuting from client to client. I have not lost weight by using Shakeology but that was not the goal. I have lost body fat and feel more energy for my clients and my family.

www.myshakeology.com/tricoachandy
www.revcoachandy.com

Million mile Mondays

Lets start the movement. Million Mile Mondays: 200,000 runners to run 5 miles. 50,000 cyclists to bike 20 miles. Or 10,000 cyclists to bike 100 miles. Use your Garmin to measure and upload to Map My Ride or Map My Run.
Lets get America moving.

www.revcoachandy.com
www.myshakeology.com/tricoachAndy