Why Vitamix? And More on Strength Training

Pretty funny that I only got one comment on that last blog. Not that I ever generate tons of comments as it is, but one is possibly an all-time low. Did I leave you guys speechless by telling too much about my personal life? Hahaha. Probably best to stick to the triathlon theme, eh? Well, you'll still get bits and pieces of the personal stuff too, turns out my new sherpa is coming to Portland with me next week! Speaking of Portland, I also found out that JetBlue is waving bike fees for the month of July in celebration of the Tour de France. I made flight res with them without knowing this would be the case, so needless to say I'm pretty stoked that I'll be saving a few bucks.

Yesterday I was an easy day with only a swim. Taper mode is in full effect, and, yup, I'm feeling all those nasty taper feelings. I was comforted by shortening my work day to enjoy some sunny beach weather... sitting on my porch, listening to Jack Johnson-esque music and sipping on a beer that screamed Oregon, of course (see my ocean view?)....Not that best ocean view haha, but I can walk across the street for this view. It's gearing up to be a busy and beautiful holiday weekend here at the beach.

~~~

Anyways, enough fluff, onto the main point of this blog! I want to answer a couple questions I got recently on the Vitamix and Strength Training...

1. Why is the Vitamix so great? ~Austin and SixTwoThree

I'm not going to go too infomercial/testimonial on this one because Vitamix ain't giving me anything for free, but I will tell you my top 5 reasons why I think this blender is the bomb.

1. It can blend anything to your desired consistency in mere seconds. I think it could even blend rocks if you wanted. Nut butters, raw beets, tough raw veggies, etc. You wouldn't believe how the toughest things turn into smooth liquids instantly. No chunky, grainy, un-blended crap in your drinks. I was using a temp blender at my new place before the V-mix, and my carrot cake smoothies were grainy and chunky, yuck. Plus, I had to leave that blender running for so long just to get something to happen. The V-mix is usually 30ish seconds, always less than a minute, for any smoothie I make.

2. You don't lose anything. This is a good argument for a V-mix over juicers... Juicers spew out the veggie/fruit leftovers, but V-mix leaves you the whole fruit/veggie to consume. With strawberries and apples, for example, you can even leave the greens on and the core/seeds all in there. No prob. Nothing gets left out. And you never get weird seedy chunks in the drink.

3. Diversity of what you can make. Of course smoothies and juices are the most frequent, but there's also ice cream/fro-yo, soups (leave it on long enough and it literally makes the soup piping hot), nut butters, baking batters (pancakes, cookies, cakes, pies, brownies), adult drinks (haven't tried that yet to be honest haha), etc., etc. I use it to make my mashed cauliflower (healthy version of mashed potatoes), and it does it 10x better than even the food processor. Great for my black-bean brownies too.

4. Easy to clean. There are only two parts -- the base/motor and the blender. You never have to unscrew anything or try to clean hard-to-reach crevices or parts. It easily rinses out. My old blender had like eight parts, some small and annoying, and you'd have to individually clean each piece after every use or risk mold, it was such a hassle. The V-mix just needs a quick and easy rinse. Heck there are times I don't even use soap/sponge, just a good rinse.

5. Longevity. I use the V-mix one to two times a day for the most part, and apparently these things are supposed to live long and strong. They're often used in commercial/business settings for that reason. So instead of having to replace a so-so blender every couple years, invest in a good one that lasts forever. I have the same philosophy when it comes to buying my tri gear.

So there you have it... my love for the V-mix in a nutshell. Now let's just hope Vitamix reads this and does something for me in return ;)

Second question....
2. When during the week do you add it? I really need to build more muscle but I'm not sure about the best time to add it in the schedule so that it doesn't negatively affect swim/bike/run training. Thanks!! ~Jennifer

For starters, I wrote a post a while back on strength training related to your question.

Strength training will not negatively affect your SBR. Yea, there might be times when you don't swim as well because your arms are fired from X workout, but simply adding in one or two strength training sessions a week will only make you a stronger triathlete in the end. That said, you're probably in-season right now so starting a strength routine is going to leave you more sore than if you'd been doing it for months. So, start slowly... go with one session a week (separated from your SBR if possible) and build up. Plus, I recommend talking to a professional who can guide your program, tell him/her that you're training a lot for triathlon. Strength training is really fun once you get into a routine, I personally love that it breaks up the monotony of SBR.

When it comes to me, I hate to say it, but I don't have much rhyme or reason on how I operate on the day to day with my workouts, SBR or strength. Maybe it's because I spend so much time planning my athletes' schedules, so planning my own workouts comes second to that. Instead, I go into each week with specific goals for each sport, strength training, overall volume and intensity (i.e. base vs. recovery vs. build week), but that's about it. No set-in-stone daily workout plan. I just get 'er done based on my knowledge of what I should be doing that week, and hitting numbers I need to hit (whether that's power on the bike, mileage in the run or hours overall).

So how does strength fit in? Personally, I try to get in 1-2 strength training sessions a week when I'm in season (like now), and 3-4x all the other times of the year (offseason, transition phases, early base building, etc). Inevitably I probably strength train a little bit more than that simply because I work at a gym and am constantly pushing weights around, demonstrating exercises, etc. But when I do my own focused sessions, they're usually in the mornings before my swim, bike or run workout. Otherwise, I'll do the swim, bike or run, and then not strength train until hours later. If I'm doubling up, I always have a hearty protein/carb shake after strength even if I'm not that hungry... do not want to lose any muscle mass or weight. With my athletes, some come to me for strength training, and I usually try to separate those appointments from their scheduled swim, bikes and runs, or at least have them strength prior to SBR or many hours after SBR.

Sometimes I incorporate strength into a swim, bike or run. Swim -- get out and do pushups/situps/squats/lunges, swim with a T-shirt, etc. Bike -- during trainer sessions, get off and do a round of something, even rowing, several times throughout the workout (those are some of my fav workouts, btw!). Run -- is in the gym, work in lighter-weight deadlifts, squats, TRX stuff, upper-body, anything!


Bottom line is every triathlete should be doing a little strength training year round. The idea is that you want to always be stimulating your body in new ways to prevent stagnation and a plateau, while building a resilient injury-resistant body that will hammer SBR for a long, full season. Of course, SBR over and over will make you better at SBR, but throw in strength training and you'll get even better and be more likely to avoid injury. Planning-wise: Don't do as much when you're in season (1-2x a week of maintenance work). It's in the offseason or early in the base phases when you want to hit strength training hard.

Last but not least, here's a simple but good workout that combines strength and running, especially good if you're looking to utterly FRY your hamstrings. I did this last week, and it left me the most sore I've ever been in the hammys (the most sore I've ever been overall was after Bikram yoga, when I was getting so hot and lose that I stretched way beyond my means and was toast for days).

Strength/Running Routine:
3 rounds...
50 abmat situps
50 Romanian Deadlifts with Oly bar (45 lbs)
800m sprint

~~~

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July weekend. I know I'll be sticking in Laguna Beach... there are literally signs around town advising people to avoid driving. Looks like I'm stuck... rough ;)

Strength Training Questions Answered

First off, thanks for all the nice comments/messages regarding my last post. My dad is a rockstar -- by Friday night he already had several job offers/opportunities! They love him!

Anyways, onto a long-overdo blog post that goes back to an old post and the questions associated.... Time to give some answers to Patrick, Ryan, Chloe, Aimee and anyone else who gives a sh*t ;) It's a mega post, so maybe you should read just one Q&A per day lol.

#1) Do you strength train year round? ~Patrick Mahoney

A: Yes, I strength train year-round. However, what I do varies greatly; I do different volumes and intensities of ST depending on the phase I'm in for triathlon.

Here's how it breaks down: Offseason (aka transition), prep and early base phases are the best times to hit the weights hard. It's during those times when training is more general and about increasing fitness, not triathlon-specific training. Doing ST in such phases will prepare you to dominate once your in-season ;)

Even now, in January, it's not too late to get going if you haven't already. If you're not that experienced with ST or it's been a while, start with lighter loads and generally do 3 sets of 10-15 reps. Add weight as you improve. Eventually do certain exercises with heavy loads in which you're only able to do 2-5 reps / 3-6 sets. You WANT to lift heavy weights whether you're male or female – it's that type of lifting that will increase your strength and power that will translate to the bike especially, but also run/swim – and it won't make you overly buff (watch out, I'm going to repeat this a lot).

Additionally, body-weight exercises such as pushups are great, and working on muscular endurance is good too, specifically do 2-3 sets of 12+ reps – just please don't choose such light weights that you could lift them all day without fatigue. That's a waste of time.

Then as season progresses and gets into the build and competition phases, that's when it's time to decrease ST and increase sport-specific workouts for triathlon or whatever endurance sport it is. For example, you can still do your pullups and ring rows to help your swimming but replace those ST session with more session in the water – only swimming itself will make you a better swimmer. The strength training is just an "accessory" of the sport. Not to mention, S/B/R workouts themselves can be used as ST workouts to build/maintain muscle, i.e. hill repeats, intervals, paddles during the swim.

Bottom line: a) When you're in season, do ST as maintenance, for injury-prevention and to keep from losing muscle; if you're not already ST'ing don't start a crazy new ST plan in the midst of the season in hopes of increasing muscle mass, etc. – that's a recipe for overtraining or some sort of disaster. b) In offseason/prep phases and/or after your main A race is over and you're on a break... that's when you should hit the weight room big time.

I could ramble on for hours on this topic... but I think my next to answers (esp the fourth) do a decent job at elaborating and giving more specifics as to "what to actually do in the weight room."

#2) Q: Would you agree that strength training, ideally, has a lot of compound movements/involves more than one muscle group? If we agree on that (say generally, agree, as I know there may be benefits of isolation), what are your thoughts on these? ~Ryan Denner (pt 1)

Yes, certain ST exercises are multi-joint and utilize multiple muscle groups (aka compound, total body, etc), but many are not – know the difference! Triathletes will benefit most from compound exercises, such as those that load the spine (back or front squats), Olympic lifts (cleans, jerks, push press), etc. However, learning the technique of many compound exercises is a difficult process and takes time. Make sure you're doing such exercises correctly before adding heavy weight to prevent a crazy injury – aka seek professional help.

As for single-joint isolated exercises, I generally do not recommend these unless you're in rehab, addressing a weakness and/or correcting a deficiency/imbalance. hands-down I recommend doing mostly compound/multi-joint stuff because you want to get the most bang from your buck – you don’t want to spend 5 million hours in the gym doing silly little things like wrist curls and leg extensions – yuck.

For example: doing a leg curl (single-joint isolated exercise that works hamstrings) may seem worthwhile but it’s pretty lame (and boring) in my opinion. Instead do a deadlift and work hammys, other parts of the leg, shoulders, traps and core – even arm muscles get an isometric workout.

Bottom line: When considering isolated vs. compound movements in relation to triathlon – are you every just working your bicep in triathlon? Just your quad? Just your deltoid? No!!! So why waste your time in the gym doing exercises that target just one muscle? Triathletes should do exercises that use the motions/movements you use in triathlon, and should work in multiple planes even though our sport essentially just goes in one direction (forward). That said, isolation exercises are great if you’re injured or addressing a specific issue.

#3) Q: [Should I do] Do primarily lower body training (ie. legs) before/after a swim workout (which primarily works the upper body)... Do primarily upper body strength training after a bike and/or run and/or bike/run (say that 3 times fast!) workout ~Denner (Pt 2)

Ideally, you should do strength training as a completely separate workout from endurance, but if you have to combine, try to do the bulk of ST first. Next, yes, I think targeting different areas for the ST vs. endurance is a great idea to some extent. But going back to what I just said about compound exercises, that might not always be doable....

Most my ST sessions and what I recommend to others are full body to some extent. I rarely do just upper body (UB) or just lower body (LB) or just isolation exercises. I may specifically target LB or UB in a session, but even in that case when doing multi-joint LB-specific exercises some “minor” muscle groups of the UB activate to help the “major” muscle groups (like I mentioned about deadlifts above) and vice versa. That said, your arms will probably feel better swimming if you do squats, box jumps and deadlifts rather than a crapload of pushups, pullups and slam balls beforehand.

(I combined the final two question with one answer)

#4) I'm finally getting back into the gym. It's probably been over two years since I've ventured into the world of weight lifting/classes. Anyway, do you have any good book or web site suggestions for 'triathlon friendly' workouts? I'm not trying to bulk up, but just focus on the core and to define. ~Chloe

#5) I'd like to start a strength training routine now over the winter and was wondering what type of exercises you suggest? I'm a triathlete...if that helps ~Aimee

A: Hopefully I'm not too late answering these. The most basic way to answer these questions is by saying: Do exercises that mimic the movements of the sport.

As a triathlete you’re better off choosing a handful of exercises and doing them in circuits that have 4-6 rounds and last 20-30 min, as an added bonus add in a short run (200-400m), jump rope, rowing or some cardio component lasting 1-2 min per round. Circuit training is great because it keeps your HR elevated, that aerobic training component is great for triathletes. But please, I'll say it again, just don't choose a weight that's so light you could lift it all day long – make it somewhat challenging (i.e. you're dying after anywhere from 8 to 15 reps)!

With heavy lifting, however, things change. Doing a circuit isn't the best idea because you need time to recover after each set. Heavy lifting meaning so heavy that 2-6 reps are all you can take, and it's usually a compound exercise (Oly lifts, DLs, squats, push press, etc). You NEED to “fully recover” between sets to get the most benefit and to maintain good technique – rest 30 sec to a couple minutes between sets depending on the load. For example, when I’m deadlifting 150 lbs, I probably rest a minute or so after each set.

of course, the major concern I haven't mentioned yet: "I don't want to bulk up!" Trust me, when it comes to ST, I promise that as long as your endurance training is high, you won't "bulk up," especially girls... we just don't have what it takes hormonally speaking (unless you start taking freaky supplements). Look at me, I lift pretty heavy weight very consistently and ST in general 2-3x a week. Do I look like a bodybuilder?

What will happen when an endurance athlete strength trains: The combo of ST and endurance will cause you to gain some lean muscle mass and shed fat, which will make you look more ripped and defined but not “bodybuilder buff.” Endurance training of 8+ hours a week surely prevents that. Plus, due to the wonders of physiology, endurance athletes tend to build “smaller condensed” muscles and don’t really get extreme hypertrophy like a bodybuilder (various reasons for this, and I could babble on but will stop while I’m ahead lol). As a side note: to ensure such results don’t take steroids or any weird drug/supplement and you’ll be just fine.... super sexy/ripped/powerful fine ;)

Getting into specifics:

1. I told you I'd repeat this concept a lot: If you're new to ST start off with lighter weights but don't be afraid to add on more weight and lift heavy loads as you improve – lifting heavy will directly translate to an increase in power and strength; thus, you’ll race faster, be injury resilient and be more fatigue resistant. Using weights that you can lift 100x in a row nonstop really isn’t going to do anything, and it won’t “increase endurance.” However, 100 pushups, situps or [fill-in-the-blank body-weight exercise] – that’s a different story.

2. I'm a big proponent of free weights vs. machines. Free weights add an element of balance and coordination that isn't required with machines. That said, if you're completely mew to ST, might want to start on machines and work your way to free weights.

3. Whatever your program includes, be sure to warm up with non-weighted functional movements plus light weights of the exercises you’ll be doing. Once you’re warm a routine should go in order: the hardest and/or multi-joint/total-body exercises first, then medium-level stuff and finish with the easiest exercises like situps or planks. For example: Deadlifts, knee 2 elbows, band squats, renegade rows, pushups, abmats. Harder/multi-joint/total-body exercises generally require more technique and force production, so you're best off doing those when you fresh (another reason why to ST before endurance exercise).

4. mix up your routines. Doing the same thing over and over will lead to stagnation. Don't get me wrong, I do heavy deadlifts and squats at least once a week, but my circuits, the loads, when/how much I do varies greatly (and also with the training phase).

Last but not least…

Some of my favorite ST exercises:

Lower body-specific

Deadlift (DL)*

Romanian deadlifts (RDL)*

Back squat*

Front squat*

Goodmornings*

Sumo squats (extra wide stance)

KB swings (common mistake to avoid: Arms should not rise above shoulders when thrusting the KB up. Arms should finish at a position that’s parallel with floor, NOT overhead)

*key heavy lifting exercises to increase LB power/strength

LB with or without weight:

Box jumps/step-ups

Single-leg squats and/or DLs

Glut bridge

Side leg lifts

Lunges – reverse, front, side, multi-directional, walking, etc

Split-leg lunge jumps

Lateral squat walks with resistance band just above knees

Upper body-specific

Inverted ring rows (Olympic rings or TRX)

Ring pushups

Pullups (variation: band or jump pullups – even I can’t do many “real” pullups)

Overhead slam ball

Pushups

Bent-over row with Olympic bar

Bench press

Regular and reverse fly

Med ball chest throw

Total body

Push press

Hang clean (I’m still learning these)

Split Jerk

Burpees

Inverted hamstring with reverse DB fly

Overhead squats with resistance band around whole body (essentially you stand inside “the perimeter" of the band keeping arms straight/behind the head; this one is a lot harder than it sounds)

Pushups with elevated feet (in Olympic rings or TRX)*

Pikes*

Knee-to-Elbows*

Renegade rows*

Rowing machine

Sledgehammer swings (yes, I’m serious… not practical to do at most gyms, but my gym rocks)

*extra emphasis on core

Core-specific

Planks / side planks

Abmats

KB Can Openers (lay supine, hold KB overhead and lift lifts up/lower down)

Core twist with med ball or weight

Plank march (rotate lifting each leg and/or taking steps in circle)

Overhead med ball toss + situp with partner

Bicycle situps

NOTE: the exercises I list all use free weights, body weight or bands; they ARE NOT the typical machine exercises (i.e. lat pulldowns, leg curl, etc). As a personal trainer and frequent gymgoer, I find that machines cause people to be lazy and just sit there between sets. I like a ST routine that keeps you moving and doing unique things.

For further reference, here's a great website that has detailed info on exercises of all types and the muscles they work, plus info on anatomy, exercise testing, etc... ExRx.net

Go big!

Concurrent endurance & strength training: Why the order matters

I started a really good post on running stuff, but then I got a great question from a guy who read an article of mine in Triathlete Magazine about the benefits of strength training; essentially he wanted to know if it's a bad idea that he strength trains right after teaching a 45-minute spin class. Plus, I had a great comment on a recent blog regarding the topic of concurrent training (i.e. combining your endurance and strength training into one workout session, and what the order should be). So, I decided to post part of the reader's question and the answer I gave. (If it's not obvious, I'm pretty passionate about these types of topics, which is why I'm willing to sit there and right a novel-ish email to a total stranger lol).

Ms. Prazak,

I have a question for you concerning your Run Less, Lift More, Race Better article in Triathlete magazine for August.... I was reading this article and came across the part of "keep em seperated". So I wanted to get your opinion on something:

I have become an avid triathlete the past two years, and i have started my base to prepare myself for my 70.3 training I have in May. I am a fitness instructor (spin and core stuff), and then I train 6 days a week on top of that. My typical schedule on a Wed and Friday is teach a 45 minute spin class and then I lift weights right after for 30-45 minutes. When you say "avoid strength training right after heavy endurance exercise", would a pretty laid back 45 min spin class (i do push myself and sweat, but it is nothing compared to my typical bike training) be considered "heavy endurance"? I understand that I shouldnt go on a 10 mile run and then lift weights. But what are your thoughts on lifting after a 45 min spin class?

Thank you for your time.

--------------------


My response (which I sort of edited since I sent the email haha):


Hi Ryan,

Thanks for the email. There are several issues with concurrent endurance and strength training, so I'll try to tell the whole story of why this even matters and give you some recommendations on how you should structure your training...

Why it's NOT good to strength train after endurance exercise:

First off, there are issues of fatigue with concurrent training. You're likely to be more fatigued if you strength train after endurance and therefore your technique might suffer. If you're lifting relatively heavy weights, that could be a big problem. The fatigue may also prevent you from lifting to your potential so your strength workout won't be as quality as it would be were you "fresh." Some reasons for that may be: 1) lower glycogen levels post-endurance (even just 45 min of exercise), which impairs the anabolic (muscle growth) response of strength training; 2) endurance --> neuromuscular fatigue --> slowed muscle recruitment --> impaired rate of force development --> impaired power (no bueno). Now, all that said, if a 45-min bike isn't that big a deal for you, I'm sure it's not terribly detrimental to ride then lift (more on this below).

Secondly, with concurrent exercise there's hormonal/chemical issues. Endurance exercise prior to strength will suppress protein synthesis, which negatively interferes with gains in strength, power and hypertrophy, meaning you're not getting the max potential benefits from your strength workout. An enzyme called AMPK is released with endurance exercise, and AMPK inhibits markers of muscle growth, specifically a protein called mTOR (result: less protein synthesis is going on = your strength workout isn't reaching its potential). This effect can last up to 2-3 hours; the longer/harder the endurance exercise, the longer the effect.

However, strength training will not negatively affect your endurance capabilities; i.e. aerobic capacity and muscular endurance are not negatively affected with concurrent training. So lift away and you'll still be an aerobic machine. Plus, strength training is beneficial for triathletes/endurance athletes for a million reasons, and don't worry you won't bulk up as long as your endurance workouts are legit. But that's a whole other topic...

The bottom line:

It's best to separate strength and endurance training into two separate sessions hours apart when possible. But if you can't, there are two ways to go:
1) do the key workout of the day first so your most fresh for that, i.e. you get the most out of it.
2) do strength then endurance (for the reasons above).

~~~

Now, practically speaking:

Personally, I am forced to combine the two all the time due to time constraints. Most times, I like to do a short warmup (i.e. 10 min functional movement, 5-10 min treadmill), then a strength circuit, short rest, then endurance -- with quality nutrition throughout. But I switch it up if I need to be fresh/focused for the endurance workout. For example, I'm working hard on running technique these days so I'll sometimes do a 30-50 min easy/moderate run then strength train. (Described that workout in a recent post.) That said, I never do strength training after a long and/or hard run (hour+) or long bike (1.5+ hours).


I say, if the endurance workout is less that 60 minutes and not a total ball-buster, I think it's OK to do strength afterward without too many detrimental effects, though it's not ideal. Just rest about 10-20 minutes between and get in good nutrition during everything & after -- primarily glycogen, but protein too.

However, you might want to consider doing your strength first because it sounds like the spin class isn't that big of deal for you, and the strength is the focus. Thus you'll want the most gains from the strength and even 45 minutes spinning might elicit some fatigue, lowered glycogen, inhibition of protein synthesis, etc. So maybe try switching it up and see if you notice a difference!

Another option is combining lower-body endurance exercise with upper body strength, and vice versa. The inhibition of protein synthesis is localized to the muscles you use in the endurance workout, so if it's a bike ride, your legs release the AMPK, but your upper body will be relatively unaffected.

Hope that helps!

~Tawnee

My "Training" Week... Noodle Arms

My arms hate me right now. Being that I'm "off" most lower-body workouts for a while, and being that I'm obsessed with exercise--yea, I said it--I've done a lot of swimming and upper-body strength training this week. I can do moderate-intensity rowing (can't push off too hard w the knee) and some hip/glut/leg exercises too so it's not completely out of balance.

Anyways, I thought I'd provide a glimpse into this past week -- i.e. what sort of training you can do with a knee injury, or another leg injury for that matter.* It's major mellow in terms of endurance training, but it's enough to make me feel like I'm still doing something:

MONDAY
1. Yoga class
60 min with crazy instructor who puts together some haaaard routines.

TUESDAY
1. Masters Swim
6 a.m. "hearty breakfast" of 3,000 yds with some decent pulling sets
2. At-Home Stuff
30 min of yoga, PT exercises, foam rolling

3. Strength Circuit Routine**
10 min functional warmup

The Meat
20 minutes of as many rounds as you can do...
5 "jump" pullups
10 pushups
15 air squats (allowable for me because non-weight-bearing and modified to quarter squats on some rounds)

I did 19 rounds + a warmup round so 100 pullups, 200 pushups and 300 squats. My arms were sore forever. I really thought I wasn't going to be able to do one more pushup toward the end. My legs were unaffected by air squats (i.e. that's not enough to make me sore).

WEDNESDAY
1. Hour Swim
Main set of a lot of 200s, w last 15 min kicking focus, yardage-lost count?

2. Strength Circuit Routine
15 min / four rounds of...
10 knee-2-elbows
15 side leg lifts in side plank position
30 split-leg situps
20 bridges with weight
10 single-leg bridges
10 supermans

3. At-Home Stuff
30 min of yoga/stretching + foam rolling


THURSDAY
1. Strength Circuit Routine
10 min functional warmup
500 meter row

The Meat
25 minutes as many rounds as you can of...
10 ea. DB plank row***
20 split-leg situps
10 ea. single-arm shoulder press seated on floor (sitting on floor incorporates a lot of core, hip and leg strength/stability)
250 m row

I did 7.5 rounds and 2,300 m of rowing all together. On sore arms. Ouch.

2. At-Home Stuff
yoga/stretching, PT exercises (including my fav- lateral walks with band), foam rolling

FRIDAY
1. Lake Swim (my favorite!)
3,000 m with main set of 2 x 1200
4 x 2 min kicking in place at the end

---
That's where I'm at now. Over 10k of swimming and rowing alone already. More swimming on tap for this weekend even if my arms are less than stoked on that. They'll just have to suffer along.

I also didn't piss off my knee with any of this stuff, and it feels a lot better than it did last weekend. But don't worry, I'm still not going to go do anything stupid.




---
*If you have a knee or leg injury, please consult an expert/your doctor before doing any of these exercises or workouts above.

**Strength-circuit routines are meant to be done at high intensities with little or no rest for the full duration. It's all about fitting in as much work as possible.

***DB plank rows = get into plank position and hold dumbbell in each arm. Lift DB bringing elbow up, one arm at a time. Basically it's a bent-over DB row but in plank position so major core activation.