Record-setting powerlifter and triathlete,
Rachel Cosgrove.

Click here to read part I of Rachel Cosgrove’s profile.

Question: It seems that the nutrition approach for power lifting and endurance sports would also be contrary to one another. How do you reconcile those different eating regimens?

Cosgrove: Actually, they’re not really that different. For both sports you need to fuel your body with healthy foods throughout the day. I would also recommend a post workout shake for both. Triathlon is much more dependent on your nutrition during the race while powerlifting does not even tap in to your blood sugar. I try to eat healthy 90 percent of the time and when I am cycling or running I may use a sports drink or Gu’s during my workout and then finish with a recovery shake. When I am doing a deadlift workout I will have a shake when I finish my workout. The nutrition principles are not too different at all. For powerlifting you want to be the lightest you can be and still be the strongest you can be and guess what? For triathlon, you also want to be the lightest you can be and still be the strongest you can be. So, both sports benefit from keeping your body fat at a lower level while your strength is up. You don’t have to be “big and bulky” to be a powerlifter.

Question: Since The Outdoor Journey mostly covers short course events (lasting less than four hours), we typically look for ways to increase speed during these races. Some say that speed work has little relevance and power development through weight training has even less relevance to improving one’s times. The rationale is that to get faster on the swim, bike or run, you must do more swimming, biking, and running. How do you respond to that?

Cosgrove: Why are men faster than women? It never fails at every race, the men come in before the women. What one thing do they have more of? They have more strength, more muscle and more power. If the only difference is strength than adding strength does help increase speed. If every step you took your muscles were able to produce more power because you have been training them to in the gym doing squats or lunges, you would be faster. Now, I am not talking about bodybuilding strength training. I am talking about functional programs that will transfer directly over to running, biking, and swimming.

Also when you think about it, running or biking is doing a resistance training exercise over and over again. Running is a one leg plyometric jump. On your bike you are pushing and pulling over and over again. How can you say that you can’t come up with an exercise that would benefit those movements and get you stronger at those movements when they are such simple movements done in the gym? I am not saying you can or should try to replicate running or biking in the gym but the action can be improved by increased strength in these simple movements. You still need to run, bike and swim.

Question: Some enlightened coaches who do advocate weight training espouse light weights and high reps, while a rare few espouse the benefits of the heavy, explosive-style movements found in Olympic lifting. Where does your coaching philosophy fall?

Cosgrove: There is a place for all types of training depending on where the athlete is weak and what they need to work on but for endurance athletes who are generally already good at higher rep endurance work and need to work on more power I would tend to use lower rep, heavy explosive movements and leave the higher reps for their endurance training. You can’t replicate running, biking or swimming in the gym so that is not the goal. Endurance athletes still need to go out and do their endurance training. The goal in the gym is to get strong, explosive, and powerful.

Question: Let’s back up six weeks from one of your races. What is the frequency of your weight training leading up to a race?

Cosgrove:Right now I am about two weeks out from the Olympic distance world championships and I am lifting weights twice a week. I will lift twice a week right up to the event.

Rachel at the Pacific Grove triathlon

Question: What are some of the biggest mistakes you see newbie triathletes make?

Cosgrove: Not having a plan and doing too much. Most endurance athletes think doing more is better so they keep adding on more and more volume and never sit down and plan out how they will peak for their race. Most of them could use more recovery and more of a plan.

Question: If a short-course athlete could do one thing to improve his or her race-day performance, what would you suggest for the swim, bike and run?

Cosgrove: This is tough to generalize. Every athlete is different. Most endurance athletes could definitely benefit from adding in strength training to increase their power. You can also use strength training to increase lactate threshold and build up a tolerance to lactic acid. This would help them to surge when they need to surge ahead which is extremely important in a sprint distance race since most of the race is spent at their lactate threshold.

Question: I noticed that you promote your services specifically to women. Do you work with male triathletes?

Cosgrove: Yes, I do work with males as well and have had a few male clients. Also when I coach for Team in Training, it is coed. Either way, I love helping a client accomplish their goal whether it be to complete their first triathlon or qualify for Kona. Tell me your goal and I’ll do everything I can to get you there. As a coach there is nothing better than seeing your athlete cross the finish line for the first time or qualify for Kona or win their age group. Whether they are male or female, seeing them accomplish more than they ever thought possible is why I do what I do and love what I do!

Your can learn more about Rachel Cosgrove at www.rachelcosgrove.com and also at www.inspirefemalefitness.com.She has just released a new book “So You Want To Train For a Triathlon” which is available in her online store. I’ll be sharing my review of the book this Friday.

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Rachel Cosgrove puts the multi in multisport.

Question: What is your athletic background and how did you first get into triathlons?
Cosgrove: I have always been active. I started going to the gym with my dad and learning about weight training and cardio when I was about 12 and then I was a cheerleader in high school. I went to college and studied physiology with a minor in exercise and health sciences. Throughout college I was on the dance team and lifted weights and did cardio, but I did not get into triathlon until much later, which is unfortunate because I went to school in Santa Barbara, California where it is a great place for triathletes to train. Looking back, I can’t believe I didn’t get into it sooner while I was living in there.

I started doing triathlons about eight years later after being married for six years when my husband, Alwyn (click to read Alwyn’s great piece “Why endurance athletes lack staying power”) was diagnosed with Lymphoma. That same week he was diagnosed, a flyer came in the mail for an organization that trains people to complete their first triathlon while they raise money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society called Team in Training. I had always been active but had never thought about doing a triathlon but this seemed like a great way to fight these diseases while my husband was fighting. When he was diagnosed I felt completely helpless, there was nothing really I could do to make it better. At least if I trained for and raised money for the cause I would feel like I was actively doing something to fight these diseases while he was fighting. Little did I know I would get hooked on the sport of triathlon.

Question: How is Alwyn doing now?

Cosgrove: He is in complete remission and doing great! He kept a very positive attitude right through everything and never gave up and fought the entire time. He definitely inspires me and after watching what he had to go through nothing seems hard. Training for an Ironman is a piece of cake compared to a stem cell transplant. He is coming up on two years this summer in complete remission.

Question: What role, if any, does strength training play in your triathlon training?

Cosgrove: Since I started triathlon with a strength training background I went into the sport a lot stronger than most triathletes. I was not about to give up my weight training of which I am a big believer in the benefits for triathletes. The benefits I experienced because of my strength initially were:

1. Climbing hills on my bike came super easy to me. Anytime we would hit a hill I would fly up it using the strength in my legs. I could also surge ahead when I needed to.
2. No injuries. Of all my triathlete friends I would say I get the least injuries. They are all constantly complaining of a sore knee or hip or ankle but I believe since my joints are all surrounded by muscle and are strong that I have not had problems with injuries. I also am able to undo some of the imbalances the sport creates with my programs.
3. My abs look better than most triathlete’s!. Yes, adding some core/strength training into your schedule will give you better pictures at your races. I believe weight training can be used to burn fat better than triathlon training since your body adapts so quickly to triathlon training. So, if you want a six pack when you cross the finish line, weight training is the key.

Question: When you mentioned imbalances, what are some of the most frequent imbalances that you see with triathletes?

Cosgrove: Most triathletes are very quad dominant and have tight hip flexors. They need to focus on switching on their posterior chain to use more of their glutes and hamstrings and stretch their hip flexors. Also from swimming the rotator cuff tends to be a common place for injuries. Performing exercises that strengthen the back and stretch the shoulders and chest are helpful.

Rachel trains for strength in preparation for her
record-setting deadlift AND triathlon.

Question: You have what I would consider a true multisport background. Most people who call themselves multisport athletes are really just endurance athletes using different forms of locomotion. However, you race competitively in triathlons and just set a powerlifting record in the deadlift. How do you balance those very different training systems in your life?

Cosgrove: I always like to have a goal when it comes to my training. I am very goal oriented. Strength training and sports such as powerlifting are actually more natural for me than triathlon. I have to work much harder at training for a triathlon. In my triathlon strength training program I had deadlifts. Deadlifts are an excellent exercise to strengthen the posterior chain, plus holding the bar is recruiting the muscles in your rotator cuff and of course your core is working. so a deadlift is an awesome full body exercise to use when training for a triathlon. Especially because most triathletes are very quad dominant.

I naturally am pretty strong and have been lifting for a lot longer than I have been doing triathlons. One of the trainers who works for me is a powerlifter and he said I was doing enough weight that if I worked on it, I would be competitive at a powerlifting competition. I tend to be competitive and once I heard that there was a powerlifting competition in the area I decided I would continue working on increasing my deadlift while I was training for a triathlon. So, that’s what I did.

When I showed up at the powerlifting competition I had no idea what to expect but I had a great time and ended up winning and setting an American record with a deadlift of 297 lbs. I pride myself on being able to set a goal and accomplish it rather than be a single sport athlete. I enjoy competing and bringing out the best in myself whether that be through powerlifting, triathlon, 5K’s or figure competitions. This is also what I love to do with the clients I work with. I always like to challenge myself. Currently I have my sights set on the Triathlon World Championships in June and I will continue to have some form of deadlift in my program but I won’t be pushing it to the levels I did at the powerlifting competition. Most triathletes don’t spend enough time getting stronger. I probably spend too much time because it comes easier to me.

Question: You mentioned deadlifts, which is considered by many to be THE exercise of exercises. How would you recommend triathletes incorporate deadlifts into their training program? High reps? Low reps?

Cosgrove: Most triathletes have endurance but need strength so I would say error on the side of lower reps. It is hard to give a general recommendation but I would definitely say when a triathlete is in the weight room their goal is strength without building a lot of bulk. Hypertrophy happens in the 8-to-12 rep range so I would say they should stay under this in the 4-to-6 rep range to increase their strength without increasing their size.

Question: How big a role does nutrition play in your training?

Cosgrove: I think nutrition is a huge part of anyone’s training. Get the basics down first which includes eating every few hours, only eating fruits, veggies, protein and whole grains and drinking enough water. Once you are eating healthy every day, then we can talk about performance nutrition such as using a recovery shake which I would say is the most important part of performance nutrition. Having a shake during and post workout will improve your recovery and enable you to train harder next time. Everybody is different when it comes to nutrition so this is something you have to practice. I have a saying: “Nothing New on Race Day!” You should not try out a new drink or a new supplement on race day. Practice. Practice. Practice. Especially for half Ironman and Ironman distances, your nutrition can make or break your race.

Stay tuned for part II tomorrow…

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Tomorrow we get to meet a remarkable woman. One who embodies what I consider to be the true multisport lifestyle: endurance, power, and a great set of abs.

Watch the video above as Rachel Cosgrove sets a new California and U.S.A. Powerlifting record in her division in the women’s deadlift. (Note: the video is a bit distorted for some reason.)

Dig this…she’s also competing in the World Triathlon Championships in two weeks.

Starting Tuesday, I’ll share a two-part interview (read Part I and Part II) with Rachel to learn her secrets for power and endurance and on Friday, I’ll review her new book on triathlon training. Should be an educational week ahead folks, so stay tuned!

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Question: What led you to transition from SEAL to personal trainer?

MacLaren: What led me to a career as a personal trainer was actually a combination of experiences over the years. For starters I took notice in the SEAL Teams and other Special Forces units who got injured, and who didn’t, and what their training programs were. I look for patterns in everything I see, hear, and think, and there were such obvious differences as to what type of training program appeared to make a difference in performance in that environment.

After getting out of the Navy, I started to work in the gym that I belonged to more out of boredom than anything else. Initially I ended up working with your average amateur bodybuilders on contest stuff and I really hated that at the time because as much as I admire the consistency and effort of bodybuilders, it just wasn’t my interest personally. Personal training was really just getting going in those years and I was also really ignorant in so many areas of mechanics and performance so I just didn’t have the fun in the business that I do now. We did the best we could, but back then compared with the knowledge I have available today, I can take an athlete in a year to the place that it took me four or five years to get to back then. If you have the knowledge, training today is safer and faster than it ever has been before. Unfortunately the knowledge seldom makes it to the amateur or college athlete level. The old habits of exercise and physiology programs are slow to change so often times the training information that athletes come to me with is older than they are.

The area of study that most influenced my understanding of training was actually biological psychology. Bio-psych is the study of the chemistry of our psychology but even more than that it is the chemistry of everything that happens in our bodies. Neurons and other stuff may bore some people, but those areas of research always thrill me to learn more about. When I really began to study the chemistry of psychology, I adjusted much of my thought on how to train people for performance and to minimize injuries. The results were almost immediate and I began coaching and training clients and athletes to entirely new levels in just weeks. It was at this point that training began to get really fun for me and I have truly been in love with the field of performance and rehabilitation ever since. I never get tired of testing and evaluation biomechanics, V02, muscle balancing, and endurance levels. I could literally do it all day every day but I find most often that if people don’t hurt enough yet, they are often slow to change their programs and awareness.

Question: What has been your experience working with triathletes?

MacLaren: Yes I have worked with triathletes. Since Los Angeles is such a center for sports and athletics, they are always crossing my path. I have a little saying though when I work with triathletes: People in the gym are often ignorant of proper training methods but triathletes are obstinate!

A triathlete will have great information right in front of him and still continue to do the very same thing that he and his friends have always done. I will take ignorance in a client over obstinance anyday! I laugh every time I say it but it still rings true every time I’m sitting around a bunch of triathletes listening to them talk about being stuck on some plateau and hearing about their programs, so I am always happy to get out whatever tips and training methods that will help their speed and minimize injuries.

Question: With the triathletes and their obstinacies, what are they typically hung up on changing?

MacLaren: I actually shouldn’t talk about an entire group of people as being obstinate because it’s more of a joke than anything, but the point I was making is that often times when athletes get very, very involved in their sport and it requires a large time and effort commitment, it is easy to lose sight of the basics that create progress. I find this when working with fighters as well. So much time is spent in one environment that the foundation of mechanics and endurable strength can fall by the wayside and lead to a much greater increase in injury potential.

Question: What is it with endurance athletes and their aversion to strength training? How do you work to overcome their belief that all they need to do is more running, biking and swimming?

MacLaren: I think much of the aversion to strength training comes from a s simple lack of understanding of what is occurring during strength training. I definitely grew up in world where the gym and working with weights was sold as the way to get bigger. Stronger sure, but the magazines all sold strength training as the way to bodybuilding and conversely running in general was still thought to be a sport that involved mostly the lower body. It wasn’t until I started lifting weights at 18 years old that I realized how much faster I became as a runner when I started to incorporate weight training. If we consider that isolated resistance training is really about increasing efficient neurological function then strength training suddenly begins to make very good sense. Running coaches around the country now realize this even if they do not fully understand biomechanics and the left/right imbalance that is caused by the way our brain hemispheres function.

There is an inherent problem in using your sport itself as your training method. Running for example does very little to balance out your strength and it do even less for those areas of the body that support our running stride but are not directly utilized in our running itself. I often use the expression that running is not training its practice for your sport. The same would be true with cycling, it is practice for your sport and although we all accept the term training I like to differentiate between practicing my sport and actually breaking down the motions of my sport and training each individual muscle and nerve area with the objective of creating maximum efficiency when I go out for those runs or long rides.

I have a good friend who trains for triathlons pretty consistently and he is pretty good overall. This friend of mine and I go riding on occasion and although I ride about once every two months, lately I easily breeze by him in almost any environment. I should tell you that I am not a great cyclist by any means but the reason that he cannot compete with me is that he is simply not strong enough to use the mechanics of his bike to his advantage. Now project this concept forward to the run and imagine what his additional level of fatigue is doing to his performance on his run.

I have long since stopped offering advice or opinion to athletes unless specifically asked and even then only if I really feel that they can and will use the information I would offer them. I work with triathletes every year who have been out there killing themselves in their training programs and wondering why they are not getting faster. As soon as I get them in the gym it becomes so obvious that they are simply not strong enough and not bio-mechanically aware enough to perform anywhere near their potential. Whether they can understand this or not is simply up to them and I often suggest that they simply try it a new way for three weeks. If they don’t find that they are faster and better recovered then they are welcome to go back to their old way. Notice that I am not talking about months to improvement but weeks! That is the beauty of a scientific and highly efficient program, the response comes week to week.

I often joke (half seriously) that if you cannot look in the mirror and do an alternating dumbbell biceps curl and have both arms doing the exact same thing and taking the exact same path throughout the range then there is no point in even thinking about having great mechanics on the road. Next time you go to the gym take a look at people doing biceps curls and watch how many people have one arm coming straight up and one arm turning out to the right or left as they come up. That will tell you all you need to know about their mechanics because that imbalance is systemic and you will find it in their shoulders, hips, knees, and feet.

Our brains are not built for balance, they simply will not do it! We must always be breaking down motions to their most basic elements to even attempt to achieve some sense of balance in our strength, form and endurance but it will never happen completely and we will always have to be working in that direction. For every ounce of your body that is off balance there is that much energy being used to try to get it to go in the direction you want it to go in. Form is simply how much of your whole body is supporting you in doing exactly what you intended it to do and endurance is how long you can hold the most efficient positions throughout the range and over the distance.

Question: Looking around at many triathlons, there are quite a few body types and much to most people’s surprise, a fair share of overfat triathletes. Many entered the sport to lose body fat and even after a few seasons of hardcore endurance training, are still carrying around too much flab. Is it diet, type of exercise, or just plain ol’ genetics that keeps these individuals from losing the fat that would not only improve their performance, but make them look better in their Speedos?

MacLaren: I say this a lot. We can always out-eat our training program. The average human body can digest and utilize about 50 grams of carb per sitting, 30 grams of protein and about 30 percent of their meal in fat. If you have ever wondered why you hear that you should eat several smaller meals per day? This is it in a nutshell.

The body digest and utilizes food but it has limits as to how much and how often it will do it with a high degree of efficiency. So what happens when we eat 250 grams of carbs in one meal, or a big steak with 75 grams of protein in it? The bulk of the remaining carbs and protein is broken down, re-assembled and stored as fat. Bummer I know, but that is the way it is.

For the average person who eats the bulk of their calories every night after 6 p.m., they are killing the benefits of fat burning that they worked so hard for all day. This type of eating also tends to adversely affect performance so eating large meals kills your race times as well. Utilizing the science of eating is simply the difference between just showing up and setting a PR in your events.

All things being equal it’s the science of your training program and your nutrition program that will leave you injury free and performing at elite levels. Your genetics play a factor of course but they are what they are so some of you will find that at 10 percent bodyfat you look ripped, while others still have a bit of a belly at 10 percent and will need to bring it much lower, at least for a time, to have the ripped look you want. By the way, being ripped is not for everyone and at 6-12% bodyfat, most athletes will find their highest level of performance. That being said, there is no single magical fat percentage number. It will vary from athlete to athlete and VO2 Max, muscle mass, body structure, height, gender, injury history, and age. All of these factors play a part in how we perform at the end of the day.

This is a great question because it touches on several areas that are often debated at length in the fitness community. In the end, body fat is a math issue. Calories in and calories out over time equals body fat percentage. While there are heart rates and training time lines that have higher fat per calories burned than others, the overall concept is still calories in and calories out. There are several theories on body types and fat burning and how much fat a particular body type should have to perform at peak levels but there seems to be no doubt that carrying “excess” fat is in conflict with performing to an athlete’s potential. This would be particularly true in the running phase of a triathlon since we are actually lifting our weight off of the ground and that is the limiting factor in speed and endurance. The mechanics of the bike seem to neutralize some of the excess weight factor and this appears to be true in swimming as well that there is a buoyancy and energy processing factor in swimming and fat percentage of swimmers that does not appear to have the same negative effect that carrying excess fat on a run has. Notice here that I use the words, “appear” and “seems” because no matter how many tests are done in these areas, the findings are still theoretical and are not reproduced in every test group. In the end training is ALWAYS theoretical and I never assume that anything is actually known.

Fat on humans can show up in different ways. One athlete might carry more visible fat around the middle while another might carry more visible fat around the hips and thighs while at the same time having clearly defined abs. For each of these cases it can be a real challenge to eliminate those “problem areas”.

Over the years of testing VO2, AT, AET and RMR in all types of bodies and activity levels, I have found that there is somewhat of a pattern in fat deposits and VO2 max, but only in the most general sense. Most of the athletes I have tested with a VO2 Max over 60 Ml/Kg have had a pretty even fat distribution overall and this pattern does leave me thinking that plain old genetics play a very large factor in how we lose and gain fat. In the end we could always lose more fat if we simply did the math and ate and trained accordingly, but the end does not always justify the means.

For instance, I work with a female athlete who is just barely five feet tall. At 104 pounds she still has a hip and glute area fat percentage that is noticably higher than the rest of her body. I never like to see an endurance athlete down around this weight because in my view there is nothing but pain and injury coming for an athlete who is this close to 100 pounds. However, this client very much wanted to lose as much fat as possible in her “problem areas” so we did a bit of a test.

Bodyfat does not seem to come back in exactly the way it comes off and I have a feeling that this has something to do with the amount of time it took to develop the fat percentage to begin with but for the people who have a very hard time with certain areas, while being very lean in others, you will most likely have to go well past what is attractive to you overall to remove the fat in those hard to reach areas and then come slowly back up in fat percentage until you are satisfied with your overall look. What this means is several months of your friends saying things like, “Hey are you ok? Do you have an eating disorder?”

For most people this method is uncomfortable and can be detrimental to your race performance so I often suggest doing the best you can and paying great attention to your calories in/out and pro/carb/fat intake levels per meal and per day and practicing some acceptance of your body type. Not easy I know, but we all can’t be built like the Soloflex guy or gal.

Question: You coached Tom Jane, the actor from the movie “The Punisher,” through a remarkable physique transformation. Can you briefly describe where Tom started in terms of weight and body fat and where he ended up? What would an endurance athlete be able to learn from that case study?

MacLaren: Thomas was an interesting client in that I begain working with him with only nine weeks to go before the beginning of his film shoot. He had been training for some months but just not in the way I would have recommended for his body type and the role he was about to play.

The first week was a bit of a challenge since we did not know each other and I am not sure how thrilled Thomas was at being assigned a trainer since he had one already and with only nine weeks to go to lose five inches on the waistline and add inches to arms, chest and back. I enjoy this type of work and I often joke that I am the “emergency trainer” when your race or film is coming up rapidly and you are just not getting what you want in your current situation, but it is extremely difficult on the client or athlete because a major body transformation in nine weeks is very difficult on a body. Thomas and I did a few workouts together and as always, we faced the “well my other trainer says” conversations which is normal and my answer is always very simple: “I am not here to tell you that your other trainer is incorrect, I am simply going to tell you what I suggest and why and you will do what makes the best sense to you.”

When a safe, but average, program turns into a scientific and highly effective program the results are week-to-week so you will know immediately that you have changed your program for the better. Thomas walked into the gym on week two with an entirely new idea now of what potential was in him that was just not being released on his other program. That next Monday, Thomas turned on like a light switch and became the most intense workout machine that I have ever seen. This is where it really got fun for me in that I now had a client who I could work out the most minute details of his training and diet and he would be follow them to the letter. I joked often at the time that not even NASA had the science in their programs that Thomas Jane had in his and week to week the results showed.

Two weeks later the guys from Marvel comics called and said, “My God John, what are you guys doing to make such a change in two weeks?”

The real problem was that we were going for maximum fat loss while trying to avoid losing major amounts of muscle mass and there are limits to how much fat a body can lose per week without seriously increasing muscle loss and those limits are set by 100,000-plus years of evolution so we are stuck with them. They can be manipulated somewhat but not changed. Because of this Thomas lifted in a very isolated, heavy, almost bodybuilder, type program on a four-day week. You will hear many bodybuilders tout the 6-day per week heavy lifting program, but if you are dieting and lifting in a non-anabolic enhanced program, I wouldn’t suggest 3-on-1-off for your lifting program.

So what’s the moral of the story that athletes might take from all of this? One, your success will not be found alone. I find this to be true in all of life. At least find a partner in your training program but research and develop all areas of your training program.

Two, never accept or expect that your training program is good enough. All programs are worth constant examination and because it worked for your buddy does not have any bearing on how it will work for you.

Three, you always have 10-30 percent more in you than you currently realize. I can take almost any athlete on the planet and find a 10-30 percent improvement in performance if they have the will power and can follow a program. There is ALWAYS a way to get more out of a body. I was at dinner not too long ago with the CEO of very large health product company and he is very much into triathlons. I listened to him talk about his training program and he is obviously a hard working and talented athlete. When he finished I told him to consider just spending two weeks with me because I would be interested to watch his increase in performance. I actually offered it at no charge because the value in increasing his awareness, given his position and influence, would have potentially benefited countless athletes and that is worth far more to me than money.

I watched his eyes glaze over and the story of how he really wanted to stick with what he was doing because of this or that reason and I was again reminded that you can’t give information away to certain people and that everyone has their own timeline for gathering that information.

To contact John MacLaren to find out more about his programs, you can reach him at john@maclarenmethod.com or at www.getfitla.com.

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So what does physique transformation have to do with endurance athletes? Well, MacLaren is also a former U.S. Navy SEAL.

Got your attention now?

For those who don’t know, SEALs are those amphibious special warfare operators who are put through what is considered the most grueling military training in the world. Attrition rate through their Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL program is often near 80 percent. They do a lot of swimming, running and calisthenics as part of their conditioning…which leads to many a male triathlete fantasizing that he has what it takes to be a SEAL.

I talked to John to find out what it does truly take to be a SEAL as well as his work with triathletes and how his unique background influences his coaching philosophy.

*******

Question: Let’s go back to the beginning to set the stage. What was your athletic background growing up?

MacLaren: As a kid I was so skinny that I could watch my heart beat! I spent most of my time in sports running 5K and 10K races and cross country skiing in the winter in New Hampshire. I remember my dad buying me a shirt when I was 12 or so and on the back it said, “I may be slow but I’m ahead of you.” It was a joke of course but I never could wear it in a race for fear that someone would run on by me out of pure motivation and annoyance brought on by reading my shirt!

I loved running and if I even had a spare 25 minutes I would throw on some shoes and run for 20 minutes. In high school I spent my time in track and cross country and I was pretty fast but even in those days you had to break a 4-minute mile if you were going to be anyone in high school or college. I just could never get past that 4:03 and 4:04 barrier. I ran 10Ks for one of the Navy Teams when I first went into the Navy but very rapidly I found out about SEAL Training and couldn’t resist heading in that direction.

Question: Since you were a track and cross country runner, and admittedly skinny, how did you go about developing the strength you needed to make it through BUD/S?

MacLaren: When I first began working out I don’t think I could have put 10 pounds on the bar to do a bench press. I was at my first duty station in the Navy and I had a good friend who was a competitive bodybuilder down there and one day I confided in him how sick and tired I was of being so skinny. He said very simply, “I’ll bet you have never worked out before.”

I said, “Yes I have. It just sucks!”

But his response was that if I worked out for more than 30 days in the gym I wouldn’t ever stop and he was right. Thirty days later I was hooked and running my fastest 10K times ever for the Navy team. What I didn’t realize at that time was how much my lack of strength and upper body conditioning was slowing me down. By the time I got to BUD/S a year later, I had a great strength foundation for that age and it made all the difference in training.

Question: How would you compare the physical training you did in the SEALs to that of an age group triathlete?

MacLaren: BUD/s training and triathlon training, hmmmm this is an interesting question. SEAL Team training is more about the individual than it is about the training itself. I have known a ton of pretty tough and endurable guys in my life and it often surprises me how many of them drop out of BUD/s training in the first several weeks. Certainly they were physically capable as they often were your football stars, triathletes or a variety of other assorted sports fiends. But still they bail because it is just not them and if you ask them, which I have, they will give you a variety of reasons as to why they found it too difficult. So it would appear that they have many reasons, but in the end I wrap it all up under the umbrella of lack of desire for that type of lifestyle. In a nutshell a body can do amazing things and our mind has to constantly decide what it will allow it to do. The body will last far longer than the mind will allow itself to go in most cases and when it doesn’t, the body just cramps up or passes out and that is that.

To speak to triathletes specifically in relationship to their training and BUD/S training, there are some major differences. First off, BUD/S has an underlying mission of keeping you cold, wet and miserable as long as it can and as often as it can. Whenever I have trained for triathlons I was typically riding my really sexy bike, or spending an hour or two in the water at a time or off on a run staring at smoking hot chicks on the Strand, so overall it was just more fun to train for triathlons. Not to say that triathlon training is easy because as you all know, it isn’t. It’s just that the objectives and the whole theme of BUD/s training are different than the objective and theme of training for tri sport races.

I will say that, in my opinion, being a good runner can make BUD/S training so much more livable and that is great news for the triathletes who might consider BUD/S. BUD/S training is just a lesson in pain for the guys out there who would rather have bamboo shoots driven under their nails than go for a 5-mile run. You never have to run fast for more than 4 or 5 miles in BUD/S and although we did it in jungle boots, if you like running races then most of your group training runs are cake for you while they are misery for those low V02 max non-runners around you.

Many triathletes in days of old had a tendency to be notoriously weak in the upper body area (and lower actually) and while that trend seems to be shifting since some triathletes have discovered the wonders of weight training. It takes a fair amount of pull-up and upper body strength to make it through BUD/S. You will tend to carry up to 80 pounds or so on your back and be out there blazing trails all day or night until your shoulders bleed or somebody quits and after a while in training nobody quits anymore so you just bleed.

So, that being said, do I think most triathletes could make it through BUD/S?

Hell no! Most everyone wouldn’t make it through the program and that’s just plain old statistical data based on years of watching every kind of individual go through the program. Most people quit, simple as that. It’s not that I think BUD/S is hard, and in fact I don’t think anything you are in the mood to train for or accomplish is hard, but that’s just the way I think and not everyone would agree with me. I have to imagine that training for and winning the Ironman is hard but yet people do it every year and a lot of other people finish well so it’s obviously not too hard for them in their minds. I have a general belief that anything a few thousand people on the planet can do, I should be able to do if I am interested in it. I was interested in BUD/S training so I did it.

As far as me competing in an Ironman? I am only interested in watching the race and am truly an almost professional level spectator. So watch for me cheering you on out there!

To be continued on Wednesday…

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You can have your soothing wind chimes, I’ll take the beautiful sound of clanging dumbbells any day.

In fact, you can shove your Prozac, your Xanax, your meditation, your Dr. Phil, the equally sophomoric Secret, your comfort food, and your whining. Instead, take this pill, the one that weighs 45 pounds and is made of solid iron. It won’t sedate you and it definitely won’t deaden your feelings, but it’ll flatten that thing gnawing on your soul.” - T.C. Luoma, T-Nation

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In addition to bodybuilding, she’s an accomplished personal trainer in Idaho Falls, Idaho, mother of four children, and is a regular contributor to the online bodybuilding magazine T-Nation. She’s built such an amazing following of women, and men, who seek her advice on how to reshape their bodies, that I thought she would be able to impart some sound advice to us multisport athletes who are looking to shed a few winter pounds and get leaned out for the racing season. If you think weight training has no value, keep reading to see the remarkable results she got for a couple of local triathletes. Also, if you haven’t read my review of Jen’s audio series, Fat Loss Pros, I would suggest you take a look and consider adding the series to your training library.

Question: If an endurance athlete wanted to lose 15-20 pounds before their race season starts in May, would you advise they cut down on cardio, or stop all together, and focus on weight training and nutrition until the weight is lost? Many of us would go through withdrawals if we could get in any swimming, biking, or running during the winter months. Yet, for most of us, those activities don’t seem to have a significant impact on melting that stubborn body fat.

Heath: The first thing I tend to find with these types of athletes is that they simply are not eating enough to shed unwanted fat. High volumes of cardiovascular exercise don’t hurt one’s mission to lose excess body fat, if food intake is adequate and proper times are selected for exercise and the intake of those foods. This would include cardio and weights. Let me give you an example of a personal triathlete client of mine.

Jane was performing three hours per day on biking, swimming, and/or running. This was 5-6 days per week. She was also weight training two times per week with moderate weights. She is 5’ 7” tall, and at the time weighed 160 pounds with a body fat percentage of about 26 percent. She was eating about 2,000 calories every day, mostly consisting of carbohydrates and a little protein. Basically, she was just in a vicious cycle of starving. It was time for a change.

When I looked at all of this in December, I immediately upped her food consumption. At 160 pounds and approximately three-plus hours of activity per day, she was entitled to roughly 3,500 calories for her body type and metabolism to maintain her weight. Her goal was to increase muscle mass and lose fat.

I increased her weight training to three days a week with specific instructions to lift heavier weights. I decreased her cardio to two hours per day, four days per week, which was, and is, plenty for a seasoned athlete. I allowed her to eat 3,000-plus calories on the days she weight trained. The new macronutrient breakdown still allowed for lots of carbohydrates. Most importantly though, it added in much needed protein and necessary fat calories in order for proper bodily function. The objective was to get her body to process all that food into muscle. In order to keep fat at bay, I had her eat around 2,500 calories on her long cardio days to keep her at a slight deficit, thus enabling some fat loss during the week.

Remember, I started with her in December and she had until June before her big race. Jane’s results were amazing. She added much needed muscle mass and shed lots of unwanted fat. She ended up weighing in at 150 pounds with 15 percent body fat (loss of 19 pounds of fat and a lean mass gain of nearly 11 pounds). The body composition changes were great for her self esteem, but the here’s the real kicker: Her added strength and leaner body enabled her to take first in all of her races. She was stronger, and more powerful. Each stride of her run had just a little more power, each stroke of her arms and kick of her legs just a little more propelling, and each revolution of the pedal just a little more forceful. Her improved body produced improved times. That was the real bottom line.It takes both cardio and weights to build that much needed muscle to produce the force and speed that is necessary to be an explosive and dynamic athlete. Once those activities are in check, the nutrition must be created to compliment that. Starving and endless endurance work never produced a powerful and lean athlete.

Question: When it comes to reshaping an endurance athlete’s physique, which is going to be most effective? Cardio or weights?

Heath: Lifting weights hands down. It is important to raise metabolism in order to reshape the body. If you want to see muscles, you have to grow them and reduce fat. You can’t grow muscles with endless hours of cardio nor lose fat by that same method. Cardio has it’s place, but in excess or all by itself, it will not yield results.

Question: For our athlete wanting to lose that 20 pounds, would you suggest high reps and lighter weights so they can continue to build some form of aerobic endurance?

Heath: The bottom line is this: Bigger muscles are more powerful, both in terms of lifting weights and and general conditioning. That transfers over to when someone competes in a race. The amount of conditioning already performed from the regular biking, swimming, and running is more than enough light or non-weighted activity. Lifting “pink dumbbells” in the gym for a million reps is not going to enhance either body composition or decrease in time during events.

Just like Jane, women all over who compete in these types of events should start lifting heavier and getting more serious about how much food they are consuming and when. I mean, if I told you that you can shave seconds off your race times, add muscle, lose fat, and look more the way you wanted to, wouldn’t you be willing to make those changes? What have you got to lose, right?

Question: As a coach, what is the biggest challenge you have when working with individuals who want to shed those extra pounds?

Heath: For most of my female clients, getting them to eat enough is my biggest issue. If a woman comes to me, chances are she knows from the way I market myself that I only have clients who lift weights, but the nutrition thing can be a challenge. They are only eating 1,200 calories a day and mostly carbs and wonder why they are skinny fat. In most instances, when I address this, the problems are swiftly solved.

Question: So, is there really a difference in the sexes when it comes to losing fat and gaining muscle?

Heath: I am sure that deep down scientifically there is a difference in the sexes when it comes to muscle building. Testosterone and growth hormone levels, age, and other gender-related factors always will have their say in a person’s ability to gain muscle. However, for the most part, I have found that there are both males and females who are “hard gainers.” They tend to be the ectomorphic types, and it does not tend to be gender related. Conversely, I have found that most women, if they are wiling to take a few selected effective supplements, and really be willing to eat enough (most men are and most women aren’t!) then unless they are genetically challenged in the muscle building department women have just as easy a time gaining muscle as men.

Question: Most triathletes spend 7-15 hours per week running, swimming or cycling with little to no strength training movements. Yet, many have a hard time losing those extra pounds (fat). Should they add more hours, more intensity, or do something different altogether?

Heath: One of two things needs to happen: Either their activities (cardiovascular) need to be cut back or they need to eat for their activity level. Either way, weight training must be fit into the mix, or body recomposition will not happen.

I have another friend who competes in triathalons here locally. She came to me at 5’8″, training three hours a day, weighing 125 pounds, and only eating 1,400 calories a day. She was killing her metabolism. I took away five hours of cardio and replaced it with weights and increased her food intake to well over 2,000 calories a day. She gained much needed muscle (yes, added scale weight!), increased her strength, and all of her times improved. She looked better then she ever had and won her division in her races that summer. It just goes to show you…

Question: Chalk another series of victories to paying your dues in the Iron Temple! What role should supplements play when people are trying to redefine their physiques?

Heath: Most supplements are over rated, but I do like peri-workout shakes and things like beta-alanine for recovery methods. Creatine and Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) are also a must for building the body. I always take a multi-vitamin and a fish oil.

Thermogenics are okay, but I prefer people not to take things like ephedrine. Hot-Rox Extreme is ephedrine free and has a good track record for increasing thyroid output and overall energy and performance. There are a few select other supplements, that depending one’s goals, are good. It’s about timing and balance. No one factor will build a body including taking excessive supplements.

I supposed I could go on and on about each individual supplement and what they all do…(laughing)

Question: Just how important is nutrition when it comes to getting “shredded?”

Heath: It’s pretty much everything. When in a caloric deficit, muscle loss is a huge risk. The deficit creates the fat loss, and the macros and the timing of those macros in conjunction with heavy training (in most cases) prevent the muscles from disappearing. As far as supplements go, this is a time where they become much more critical, because a lot of the nutrients from food that build and maintain muscle are at a low, therefore the need for good supplementation comes in.

For more information about Jen, you can visit her online at www.jenheath.com

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Multisport athlete, meet the Jump Squat.

Jump Squat, meet your next victim.

Jump Squats are a staple of athletes trained under the tutelage of Steve Ilg. He uses them to develop power in his athletes, from mountain bikers, triathletes, trail runners, marathoners, rock climbers, fitness moms and anyone in between.

When I first looked at the Jump Squat in my training plan many moons ago, I didn’t think twice about it. “How friggin’ hard is it to jump up and down?” I reasoned.

So, I gave it a try and 60 seconds later I thought I thought I had blown a lung and my non-responsive legs had turned to a burning mass of quivering Jell-O. The next morning, I could hardly walk as the muscle fibers in my quads were fried. The day after that, I couldn’t walk up the stairs, nor could I sit down without a lot of groaning. That’s when I discovered my glutes had been shredded as well.

Over time, I grew to have a twisted love affair with Jump Squat. To be honest, I held off doing them for a while after that first session. I didn’t particularly appreciate the pain. Plus I felt like all of that jumping up and down in the manly, free weight section of the gym made me look like Richard Simmons with a jalapeno-spittin’ gerbil shoved up his ass.

Over time, I became less self-conscious about my Jump Squat antics and just got the work done. Soon, I started to feel stronger and more powerful.

However, I didn’t fully appreciate those new super powers until I got on the bike during my first triathlon in 1993. The Nautica Triathlon in Malibu (I believe it went by another name back then) is right on the coast and is chock full of nice rolling hills. Those hills freaked me out the first time I saw them when I drove the course the night before. You see, we don’t have rollers in Las Vegas…just long, gradual inclines and declines. Real hills were a foreign concept.

That night I tossed and turned fretting about those damned hills. I worried about embarrassing myself, or worse, not finishing, because those hills were going to kick my ass.

Turns out, I kicked their ass. The only time I passed anyone that day was going up a hill. It amazed me. It also frustrated the crap out of me to be passed on the down hill, but shit, I was just a machine going up the hill.

That’s when I truly fell in love with the Jump Squat.

What are plyometrics?
To understand the Jump Squat you need to know where it came from. It belongs to a family of exercises known as plyometrics. Plyometrics are explosive movements designed to build muscular power. As we all know from high school physics, power is the ability to move something from point A to point B lickity split (yes, it’s a scientific term).

Let’s take the Jump Squat and compare it to the regular old Barbell Squat. With the Barbell Squat, you will typically move somewhat slowly during the repetition. Perhaps four seconds to squat and 1-2 seconds to return to the standing position. In this type of exercise, your focus is on time under tension. You want your body to move a heavy weight over a relatively long period of time.

With the Jump Squat, our goal is the opposite. We want to move the weight as quickly as we can. We’re talking fast twitch, Bruce Lee-type explosive movements.

The Multisport Mutant Steve Ilg and the guy who introduced me to Jump Squat and other plyometric nasties, shows how they are used to quickly launch his 45-year-old body from point A to point B. Nothing like testing your plyometric fitness a few stories above the deck. Notice there is no rope. This is the Jump Squat put to practical use.

It works like this: Let’s focus on the quadriceps (the group of four muscles on the front of your upper leg) during the squatting movement. As you lower yourself to the ground, your quadriceps are elongated (eccentric contraction). The quads contract (concentric contraction) as you return to the standing position. There is only so much force that the muscle fibers can generate in a standard concentric contraction. If you elongate the muscle just before the concentric contraction, you get a nice little rebound effect called into play which is known as elastic energy. The shorter the time between the eccentric contraction and the concentric contraction, the greater the elastic energy and the faster you can haul your ass from point A to point B.

In addition, there’s a neurological component involved with plyometrics. I won’t go into the details here, but just know that doing plyometrics inhibits your body’s sensors that tell you to “Whoah….put the brakes on there Hoss. I don’t want us to do too much work and pop a nut.” The beauty of this amazing collection of cells and parts we call our body is that the stretching action that occurs from the plyometrics triggers this neurological component. How the body works is sooooo friggin’ cool.

But, enough of the science. Let’s go Jump Squat!

How to Jump Squat
Used with permission from Steve Ilg’s “TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION“: Take a standing position with your feet spread apart, just wider than your shoulders, with your toes pointed just slightly outward. Interlace your fingers behind your head, and keep your elbows wide. Do not push your head forward.

Drop into a half squat and explode upward as high as possible. As your feet leave the ground, focus on leading from the heart to keep your spine as upright as possible. The moment your feet contact the ground, explode upward again. Repeat for the required number of reps.

…(You are primarily working) fast-twitch fiber development, hips, thighs, core postural muscles, and (the) increase of pain threshold (ego slaying).

Wholistic Notes: Do not overattenuate the landing; land nearly flat-footed then jump as fast and high as possible. Imagine doing this movement with bare feet on a ground of redhot coals! As the reps go on, your upper body will want to collapse — don’t let it. This is key. Work those postural muscles. Allow pain to come. When everything is comfortable, we get complacent.”

When to Jump Squat
There are several ways to incorporate Jump Squats in to your training program and Total Body Transformation will give you some examples. One basic way to start is to just add them to your leg training day when you’re in the gym. Start out with two sets of 30-seconds jumping with a 30-second recovery between sets. Rather than add more sets, work on adding more time. If you can go a full 60 seconds for three sets, you’re a stud.

You may also want to incorporate them in the middle of your track sessions, or even take a “plyo break” during one of your longer runs and crank out a couple sets. However you do decide to use them, make sure you’re warmed up first. You don’t want to be doing these with cold muscles and joints.

One last reason to Jump Squat
If you don’t want to Jump Squat for the pure power it develops, do it for the aesthetics. Especially for you guys with flat asses. My wife could always tell when I wasn’t doing Jump Squats. In her words, “Your ass disappears. Start doing those jumpie things again.”

Find your edge and dance upon it,

hak

Photo credits:

• Steve Ilg bouldering this past week in Flagstaff, Arizona courtesy of Steve Ilg. Photographs by Bill Galen. Steve’s notes that accompanied the photos–(middle photo) With air beneath the britches, i set up, keeping my spine elegant, hips open; just as in my professional descriptions of performing Jump Squats, then, without losing eye or chi contact on the key hand hold, i visualize, KNOW that i have ‘already done it,’ and…(right photo) JUMP! now, you see, if you’ve been doing this for as long as i have (and are still alive) you realize that in m(om)ents like these, you need the fast-twitch, strong, clear, committed, explosive expressions of body/mind fitness which Jump Squats impart!

• Steve Ilg executing the Jump Squat by photographer extraordinaire, Wayne Williams of Sherman Oaks, California, www.WayneWilliamsStudio.com

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It’s still about who can go the fastest. They give medals for the first athlete to cross the 5K/10K/marathon/ultra marathon finish line; not the athlete who crosses it and can keep on going.

There’s a reason it’s 26 miles and 385 yards. There’s an end point. And whoever gets there the fastest will be the winner. Traditional endurance training programs reflect that fallacy. They are based around a lot of mileage to increase your “endurance.”

As a sports scientist, let me break this down. Endurance in my field is the ability to maintain a constant sub maximal output to maintain a lower percentage of your max output. In other words, your ability to run/bike/swim slower than you are able to, for longer periods of time.

So if your ability to run fast (at maximal speed) merits a hypothetical “score” of 100 units, you may be able to run a 10K race at 70 percent of this, or 70 units.

Typical endurance training involves you running at this 70 percent for long periods of time, hoping that somehow, when it comes to race day, you’ll be able to run at 75 percent!

This will never happen. If you can run a 6-minute/mile, and you train for 12 weeks running 3-4 miles at a time at a 6-minute/ mile pace, what do you predict you’ll run on race day? That’s correct…a 6-minute mile. You’ve trained for 12 weeks and produce the same speed you were capable of before you trained.

Real world example: I was hired to conduct the strength training portion of a program for some of the L.A. Sheriff’s Department as they prepared for the annual law enforcement Baker to Vegas relay run. I was given a copy of their running regime, written by a TOP name in the endurance training field and was actually very disappointed in what I saw.

First off, the volume in my opinion was excessive; with the team running seven days per week. But more surprising was the QUALITY of those sessions. There was one fartlek workout per week for speed, and one hill workout to develop strength, and therefore speed. The other FIVE workouts were all listed as “slow pace,” “easy pace,” and “moderate pace.”

I asked one of the runners for his personal best mile pace for the five-mile section he was running. He was running a 5:30. After reviewing his training log, we established that with all this volume, he was averaging a 7-minute mile pace in training. His goal? To run a 5:15 pace. How on earth are you going to run a 5:15 in competition, when your average pace in training is a 7-minute mile?

Where is the speed going to come from if you don’t train for it? Needless to say we revamped the training program and he was successful in reaching his goal.

Here’s the modern system: If you can maintain 70 percent of your max pace –If I raised that max pace to 120, even without any direct endurance training, that 70 percent would now be 84 “units.” Because you built more “power” in your running engine, we automatically increase your capacity to run long at a submaximal pace.

Example: Max speed: 6-minute mile. Running a 7-minute mile is cruising…you are working way below your limit. But if your max speed was a 5-minute mile, then running a 6-1/2-minute mile would be even easier than the first example.

So if we accept that endurance is all about maintaining a lower percentage of your max output, then increasing that max output is the key to increasing your endurance.

Modern endurance training should begin with high intensity work, not slow low intensity work.

Still not a believer? Consider the following:

One recent study, which is soon to be published in the U.S., concluded that 10K running performance could be predicted from a combination of 300m time trial performance and plyometric leap distance; both of which have explosive power as a determining aspect.

Hmmm…the ability to predict an “endurance” time based upon a speed and power component. Interesting.

Another study done by researchers in Finland several years ago showed that 5K run time could be significantly improved by supplementing run training with explosive power and speed sessions.

Training Routines
With the above philosophy in mind, there are several high intensity methods that we can use to train for any endurance activity.

This month we are focusing on the triathlon. Triathlons used to be primarily aimed at retired swimmers or runners. But now, triathlon has some into its own. It’s an Olympic sport and has its own subculture and training methods.

Here’s our “dummies guide” to triathlon training:

1) You must get technical preparation for the swim event. Running and cycling are probably easier for you in that you know what to do. The swim event will require some more work.

2) At some point, you need to train at least two modes on the same day. The hardest part of a triathlon for many is getting off the bike with your legs dead and having to run. You need to train for this unique sensation.

3) There is no need to do the full distance in training PHYSIOLOGICALLY. We prepare the body to handle the full distance, and based on science, we know that it is possible. However for PSYCHOLOGICAL reasons, a lot of athletes like to “know” they have the conditioning to do the entire distance and like to schedule a practice “event” prior. There is no harm in this, but psychologically on race day you’ll be a wreck anyway, so in our opinion it offers little benefit in the real world.

All distances and modes in the below examples can be adjusted. Feel free to substitute swimming for running, etc.

Diminishing rest interval method
Here’s the premise: Split the distance you are running/biking up into three-four periods (if you are running three miles, we’ll use one mile).

• Run that first distance (one mile) as hard as possible.
• Rest for at least 50 percent of the time it took you to run the mile (we are looking for almost full recovery).
• Repeat for two more sets (until you’ve covered the full distance).

Perform twice a week. Each week, reduce the rest interval by 30 seconds. So by week four, you’ve cut two minutes off your rest time.

Here’s the concept: You can run a six-minute mile. But when you do three miles you average 21 minutes or a 7-minute mile. If we prepared you by running only three miles, we only reinforce that slower speed. So running three miles trains you to run at the slower speed.

With this method we work on the quality, the speed of your run. We maintain a much higher speed, and a much more intense workout, and develop the endurance by cutting back on the rest period as opposed to slowing down the pace.

Sprint Repeats
Select a 60-meter area, straight as possible.

• Starting at one end, sprint maximally to the 60-meter mark. This should take under 10 seconds.
• Turn and jog back, taking approximately 20 seconds.
• Perform a total of four circuits to complete one set (this is approximately two minutes).
• A session should be as follows: three sets with a one minute rest between each (nine minutes); rest for two minutes and repeat for a total of a 20-minute workout.
• This is not for the faint hearted.

Obviously this workout can be performed over a longer distance; just maintain the ratio between work and rest periods, and understand the concept: We are trying to develop our ability to go long, by increasing our capacity to go hard.

Going at 70 percent of 100 m.p.h. is still faster than 80 percent of 70 m.p.h.

About the Author
For the past 16 years, Alwyn Cosgrove has been committed to achieving excellence in the field of fitness training and athletic preparation. Specializing in performance enhancement, Alwyn has helped countless individuals and athletes reach their goals through sound scientific training.

Born in Scotland and initially exposed to fitness training through an intense competitive sport martial arts background, Alwyn began reading and studying any training related material he could get his hands on. This led to formal academic studies in Sports Performance at West Lothian College and then progressed on to receiving an honors degree in Sports Science from Chester College, the University of Liverpool. Alwyn is also certified with distinction as a strength & conditioning specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Alwyn has also been a professional member of the International Sports Sciences Association, National Academy of Sports Medicine, the American College of Sports Medicine, the British Association of Sports And Exercise Sciences, Kingsports International Australia, USA Weightlifting and the Chek Insitute over the years.

A former Taekwon-do international champion, Alwyn has utilized his personal experience as an athlete and combined it with the advanced theories of European Sports Science and the principles of modern strength and conditioning systems.

Through the years in this field Alwyn has been recognized as a specialist in Athletic Preparation by The United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and has studied extensively each country’s different approaches to athletic preparation.

During his career as a strength and conditioning coach, Alwyn has worked with a wide variety of clientele, including several Olympic and national level athletes, five World Champions and professionals in a multitude of sports including boxing, martial arts, soccer, ice skating, football, fencing, triathlon, rugby, bodybuilding, dance and fitness competition.

A sought after “expert” for several of the country’s leading publications including a regular in Men’s Health magazine, Alwyn is available to develop physical preparation programs to take you to a new level of development.

Alwyn’s web site can be found at www.alwyncosgrove.com and his blog at alwyncosgrove.blogspot.com

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I’m talking about a different sort of iron here. One that is heavy and you move from point A to point B. One that makes you strong.

Strong like bull!

My personal mission is to slap every endurance athlete with a barbell until they start incorporating strength training in their life. Now, I didn’t plan to make this Iron Week, it just worked out that way. Yesterday, I shared a great interview with Tony Gentilcore on why endurance athletes should get off their bikes and into the Iron Temple.  Tomorrow, I have another big name in the iron game stopping by. Feel fortunate my friends, because I have some great info coming your way.

I don’t know what’s cooking for Friday yet, but I’m sure synchronisity is at work here and something will show up.

Find your edge and dance upon it.

hak

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