Did pull ups and push ups this morning before breakfast. Did a total of 40 pull ups broken into 10 sets followed by 120 push ups broken into 6 sets. Obviously, it took more sets than usual [probably] due to not having eaten yet today.
Read more...Failed on breathing squats. Followed with supersetted pull ups and dips.
Squats: 5 @ 135 lbs (warm-up)
Squats: 19 @ 200 lbs (failed on 20)
Pull ups: 10 (broken)
Dips: 20 (broken)
Pull ups: 10 (broken)
Dips: 20 (broken)
Today was a difficult day... I didn't seem to have the energy that I usually do. I knew I was in trouble from the get-go, when the usual 'easy' going first 5-10 just wasn't so easy. Even so, what's really irritating is that I failed on the absolute last rep. At that point, I couldn't feel my arms much anymore, and was having trouble keeping my breathing under control. Still, I went into the hole, got a ever so slight bit of upward momentum and BOOM, I'm done. I just didn't have any more to give for the finale. Sucks. I'll be trying to get 200 lbs again next round, but it looks like a more realistic goal for me to be hitting may be more along the lines of 205-210 lbs for 20 reps.
In preparation to ride the Whitney Classic with my brother-in-law, I read up a fair bit on nutrition for endurance sports.
Here's a basic article about endurance nutrition from Hammer Nutrition, perhaps the best in the business for ultrarunning, cycling and triathlon stuff.
My executive summary of what I feel are the more important points:
1. fluid intake between 16-28 oz. per hour depending on heat and rider weight. even if you're sweating a ton, the body can't absorb more than 28 oz./hour.
2. the body can't absorb as many calories per hour as it is burning, so it doesn't help to take in lots of calories. you can only absorb 300 cal/hour and replenishment beyond that needs to be done post-exercise.
3. avoid simple sugars, complex carbs are much more effective fuel because the body is limited in how many simple carbs it can process. So Gatorade actually isn't ideal here. (Nor is it good as a "healthy" drink for people who aren't engaged in intense exercise, as I wrote recently.) Note that I am not critiquing Gatorade in general.
4. exercise over two hours requires protein, or muscles start to break down because the body is digesting them to get sufficient protein
5. soy (or rice) protein is better during exercise. Whey protein is quickly absorbed and better for recovery, and its use during intense exercise can result in problematic byproducts.
6. liquid fuels are preferable to solid fuels during exercise, because they are easier to digest
As applied to Graham's and my riding the Whitney Classic: Since we weren't riding close to aerobic threshold on the event, the liquid-fuel criteria is less important. And anyway, I see Tour de France riders taking in energy bars pretty regularly, so they can't be that bad even for higher-intensity cycling. We did energy gels, a few bars, and Hammer Nutrition's HEED sports drink, along with some protein supplement, and also ate some fruit at rest stops.
Basic squats strength workout. Warmup with one set each of abs on glute-ham machine, and reverse hypers.
Four sets of squats: Tim 8x135, 5x225, 5x225, 3x245. Jason 225, 275, 315, 315.
Then weighted dips and pullups, and upright rows.
Tim 5 sets of 4-6 reps on weighed dips @ 35#, 4 sets of 4-5 reps on weighted pullups @ 35#, 2 sets upright rows at 95# (Jason 2 sets at 115#).
Finished with two sets apiece of 35 reverse crunches, which Tim had to complete in 3 segments per set.
Breathing squats followed by supersetted pull ups and dips today.
Squats: 5 reps at 135 lbs. (warm-up)
Squats: 20 reps at 195 lbs.
Pull ups: 10
Dips: 15
Pull ups: 10 (broken, kipped 8-10)
Dips: 25 (broken)
As per the game plan, I completed 20 reps at 195 lbs, and I'll get to do 20 at 200 lbs next time. My goal of 20 reps at 225 lbs is getting closer. Interesting tid-bit too, is I'm actually going deeper into my squats than I was originally with these sets. Not that I've really been focusing on that one way or another, that's just the way it's been happening. Adaptation perhaps?
In recent years, sports drinks have scored a major coup in terms of marketing and perception among the general public. Sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade are designed as specialized beverages for athletes to refuel, rehydrate, and replenish electrolytes, during or directly preceding/following athletic activity.
But from a marketing angle, athletes are a small group, especially if they are only consuming the product during or directly before/after activity.
However, if average-Joe and Jane are buy sports drinks "because they're a healthy beverage" then the market is much, much larger.
Habitat Halloween Century in Durham, starting at Durham Bulls stadium and heading into countryside north of Durham. Weather was comfortable, a light misting rain (with accompanying road grit) for the first ~4 hours, eventually clearing with warm and humid conditions (but dry roads) for the last ~3 hours.
Thomas, Adam and I took the ride at reasonably comfortable pace, completing the Century in 5:55 riding time (16.9 mph average speed). My legs never had much zip, and I was at comparable strength to Thomas and Adam (although Thomas was probably the strongest of us three). Felt like strength-tiredness was my limiting factor. My legs were feeling pretty tired going into the last 25 miles, and we traded pulls for most of the way back, into a vicious headwind. Eventually some of my pulls were quite slow compared to Thomas and Adam, but in the last few miles I had more in the tank than either of them, probably because I had conserved (and really had had no other option).
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