Author: Steve Born
Athletes tend to focus on training and neglect recovery, specifically the critical step of refueling as soon as possible after each workout. We tend to think that a hard workout deserves a nice reward. Do you usually first go for a shower or relaxation after a hard workout? Are beer and pretzels your favored post–workout snack? If so, remember that a hard workout has left your body in a state of utter depletion and physiological vulnerability. However, it’s also in a state of prime receptivity, ready to absorb nutrients. Taking those few extra minutes to properly refuel is one of the most important things that you can do to improve your race day results. In fact, properly refueling your body immediately after your training session is as important as anything you did in the actual workout. When you give your body what it needs as soon as possible after exercise, it will respond wonderfully in the following ways: Continue Reading »
Stevie Cullinan, of the Hammer sponsored Team Waste Management, races during the Redlands Classic. Photo - Brian Smith
Author: Jim Bruskewitz
Gains in strength, power and endurance are adaptations to stress (training). If the stress remains constant, there is no need for further adaptation and improvements are followed by a performance plateau and eventually an involution or decline in performance. Continue Reading »
Author: Steve Born
When exercise goes beyond two hours, we generally recommend that athletes use a “carb + protein” fuel (Sustained Energy or Perpetuem), either as their sole fuel from beginning to end, or as their primary fuel (roughly 2/3 – 3/4 of the time). The reason for this recommendation is that once you hit that second hour and beyond, a small percentage (roughly 5–15%) of their energy requirements will be fulfilled from protein. If you don’t provide some in the fuel mix, at least part of the time, your body has to cannibalize the lean muscle tissue to obtain the amino acids it needs to fulfill that small percentage of its energy requirements. Continue Reading »
Author: Jim Bruskewitz
If you’ve discovered training with electromuscular stimulation (EMS), you’ve no doubt found that you can cut your recovery time down significantly and increase the training load that you can absorb. We all wish we could recover more quickly, fit in more high quality training, and enjoy the increased fitness that results. Athletes find that the Globus Muscle Stimulator active recovery program is an easy and effective start to using EMS to improve their performance. Once the unit is charged, the pads placed, and the program started, the Globus Muscle Stimulator does the rest. It is programmed to flush the muscle beds of the metabolites that remain after training and make room for a fresh supple of oxygen rich, nutrient laden blood. Fitting the active recovery program sessions into a typical training week is easy. Since this program is used to enhance recovery from training, it can be used after any training session with positive results. Since the active recovery program has so much utility, it is generally the most used program. Continue Reading »
Owen Gue stays focused heading into a corner. Photo - Angela Nock
Author: Jim Bruskewitz
I speak with many athletes using E-stim (Electro Muscular Stimulation = EMS). We discuss training with the Globus EMS units and the conversations are just like conversations I have with athletes for whom I write training plans. It isn’t easy to feel as though you’ve fit all the pieces together to produce a plan that yields optimal results. One of the challenges of designing a training plan that does or does not include EMS training is that we are capable on any given day of enduring a training load that is larger than one we can absorb and recover from in time to do it again quickly. What makes it all the more challenging is that we don’t know if we have stepped over the line of doing more than we can absorb until later-a day or two removed from a workout or collection of workouts. Everything may seem to be clicking along in a way that bodes well for a great performance only to find that we “get off track” and “lose our edge”. Of course experience with getting off track teaches us what we shouldn’t have done and that’s valuable information. It doesn’t do much for the frustration we feel when our good intentions leave us bent over to pick up the pieces instead of rolling smoothly toward achieving our goals. Continue Reading »
No research has conclusively arrived at an recommended daily intake for fluids, but about 0.5 – 0.6 fluid ounces per pound of body weight makes a more accurate standard than the “eight glasses a day” commonly recommended for everyone. Multiplying your body weight in pounds by .5 to .6 will give you the figure, in fluid ounces, that you should aim for daily to maintain regular daily hydration needs (that is, in addition to your exercise-induced needs).
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By Phil Grove
Five days in a row of perfect weather is pretty rare in Northwest Montana, but that’s just what the campers of the 9th Annual Highline Hammer were treated to at this year’s event. Besides lucking out on the weather, these 24 folks received some soon-to-be world-famous Montana hospitality while pushing their legs to the limit all weekend long. If you’ve never made a trip to come see us, the Highline Hammer is the perfect excuse to put your worries aside and focus on the important things in life – good friends, great rides, and amazing food! Continue Reading »
Author: Jim Bruskewitz
Let’s take a practical approach to E-stim training. Those of you that train with E-stim certainly use the active recovery to maintain frequent, high quality training. The Globus offers many strength training programs that can do as much for your training as the active recovery does. These benefits are real and quickly felt. Here’s a very basic and powerful approach that I know from personal experience works extremely well. Continue Reading »
So, the racing season is almost here and you’re getting pretty fit… with the exception of those last few stubborn pounds that just don’t seem to want to leave. How do you shed those remaining “hard-headed” pounds without compromising your training? It’s as simple as cutting starch out of your evening meal and replacing it with copious amounts of vegetables and salad. Eat normally throughout the day, then for your evening meal, just consume protein, salad and vegetables. The vegetables will provide all of the carbs you need to maintain glycogen stores. You may feel a little hungry before bed, but do this regularly (not necessarily every day) and watch those love handles evaporate.
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