I found this gem in the stacks of UWO.  I’ve been on the look out for swim workouts.  Generally I don’t find it hard to make up sessions but sometimes it’s nice to have a few go to lesson plans.  This book: Swimming Going for Strength and Stamina, has 60 workouts!  Thats over a years [...]]]>

I found this gem in the stacks of UWO.  I’ve been on the look out for swim workouts.  Generally I don’t find it hard to make up sessions but sometimes it’s nice to have a few go to lesson plans.  This book: Swimming Going for Strength and Stamina, has 60 workouts!  Thats over a years worth of black line staring!

The book is a general overview of swimming.  I read through it briefly.  It has the usual stroke basics, how to setup your season, and it covers all four strokes.  Honestly, there are much better books out there that talk about these topics!

Bottom Line

What Swimming Going for Strength and Stamina does well is setting up manageable, easily to reproduce, workouts.  It’s an old book, published in 1988 so that means you can find a cheap copy on amazon.

Up for discussion is a scientific book about running.  But first, a little background about Salazar.

Alberto Salazar was a running star at practically every level: track, road and cross country.  He’s most recognized by his three straight victories at the NYC marathon; 1980-1982.  Since then he’s coached athletes at the Nike facility [...]]]> Book Review

Up for discussion is a scientific book about running.  But first, a little background about Salazar.

Alberto Salazar was a running star at practically every level: track, road and cross country.  He’s most recognized by his three straight victories at the NYC marathon; 1980-1982.  Since then he’s coached athletes at the Nike facility in Oregon.

The book includes basics like what you need to start running to the scientific aspects of how certain workouts improve the specfic energy system in your body.  Salazar also shares workouts, which is my favorite part of any book.  From basic 5K training right to a marathon.  One of his most interesting points is, he believes that you should undertake a minimum of 20 miles of weekly mileage before taking on a 5K race.  Salazar also recommends a minimum of 2 years of running before tackling a marathon.  Something that is not very common to hear. 

What I liked about the book is he talked about “training systems” in your body.  So what level of effort you need to expend to make physiological changes in your body.  This scientific theme was throughout the book. But not so much as you couldn’t understand the terminology. 

Overall I liked the book.  Before taking it back to the library I copied the workouts so I can plan for next years training.  Pick it up if your tired of reading beginnier books that seem to be plentiful.

Book Review: Run With the Champions 

“Training Programs and Secrets of America’s 50 Greatest Runners”.

This book has written exerps from the top 30 men and 20 woman runners of the 20th century.  Inside, the runners are ranked by Runner’s World author Marc Bloom.  These include runners like Steve “Pre”fontaine, Bill Rogers and [...]]]>

Book Review: Run With the Champions 

“Training Programs and Secrets of America’s 50 Greatest Runners”.

This book has written exerps from the top 30 men and 20 woman runners of the 20th century.  Inside, the runners are ranked by Runner’s World author Marc Bloom.  These include runners like Steve “Pre”fontaine, Bill Rogers and Lynn Jennings.

What makes Run With the Champions interesting is the book reveasl actual workouts  from each of these world class runners.  Some are quite amazing, like Gerry Lindgren, who ran 50 miles a day for 6 weeks.  Why?  To prove a physiologist wrong (he thought no runner could do more than 90 miles a week).  Others are more “normal” with 100 mile weeks or basic track work. 

It’s great to see the differences between all the athletes.  There were no duplicate training regimes!  Especially in the speed work.  Some athletes enjoyed monsterous track workouts.  Others, chose running on golf courses or steady intervals on trails.  Again, some of the training programs are revealed which makes this book a gem for those who want to know what the pros do.

If your interested in how some of the greats ran, pick up this book.  You can find it Amazon for under $10 which is a steal!  It’s a great bathroom book as the stories are 3-4 pages long!

About 5 years ago, phytochemicals were the newest word in the health industry world.  Boasting its life saving qualities that will save humans from a common cold to cancer.  Now, with more research being done, phytochemicals have lost a bit of their steam. 

Before the product review, what are phytochemicals?  Phtyo means from [...]]]>  

About 5 years ago, phytochemicals were the newest word in the health industry world.  Boasting its life saving qualities that will save humans from a common cold to cancer.  Now, with more research being done, phytochemicals have lost a bit of their steam. 

Before the product review, what are phytochemicals?  Phtyo means from plants and chemical, is a chemical.  They are physiologically active compounds found in plants that are non-essential nutrients.  So basically it’s plant chemicals that the body is already has (essential nutrient is one that must be obtained from food).

PhytoBerry ($35) is a powdered supplement that can be added  to a protein shake, morning oatmeal or just plain water.  It contains a whole host of different extracts: rosehip, white tea, grape seed, just to name a few (see table below).  From the ingredients list, there really isn’t anything that can be pointed out as “bad for you”.  In fact, most of the supplements that make up this product have at one time, had research supporting their health benefits.  This has given it the label of “Super food” because of its intense blending of nutritionally favorable ingredients. 

Since phytochemicals can be eaten in real fruits and vegetables, having a supplement like this becomes obsolete.  However, if your a person that has a tough time eating a variety of fresh produce, especially fruits in this case, then this could be a good product to have. 

Bottom Line

What seems like a dynamite combination of ingredients, PhytoBerry would be a good product to have where fresh fruits are not readily available.  If you already eat a balanced diet with some variety, consider saving your money for more essential things such as organic produce and meat.

Labelled as “Organic Fuel” for the mind, body and soul, Steaz Energy drink, is just another can full of sugar except costs twice as much ($1.99).  This product can be found in the organics section at your grocery store.  Over 80% of the ingredients are organic so there allowed to market it as such.  However, [...]]]>

Labelled as “Organic Fuel” for the mind, body and soul, Steaz Energy drink, is just another can full of sugar except costs twice as much ($1.99).  This product can be found in the organics section at your grocery store.  Over 80% of the ingredients are organic so there allowed to market it as such.  However, most of the organic matter is cane sugar.  The advertised “Green Tea”, “Yerba Mate”, “Acali” and “Guarana” fill out the rest of the can in minute concentrations.

Steaz has a surprsingly light taste which isn’t surupy like pop or other energy drinks.  It is comparable to a carbonated light ice tea.  With 80mgs of caffeine.

If your looking for a perk after drinking this, stick to Red Bull.  After finishing it, there was no energy crash that comes with drinking other caffeinated sugary products.  Which in the case of working out, is a plus.

Bottom Line

Steaz provides a good tasting drink but without a huge kick.  At $2 a can you may be better off sticking to a coffee or tea.

what was the format (was it planned or wung)?

- we had a [...]]]>
I just returned from sunny Wintergreen, Virginia, soaking up the rays and doing some cycling. Because there were so many things I could talk about, I got some people to send me questions asking about the trips particulars.

what was the format (was it planned or wung)?

- we had a master planner that put together our routes. Known for the Blue Ridge parkway, we didnt want to spend all of our time on it, as there was other roads to ride. the general consensus was 100-150k rides, with some climbs and rolling terrain. there was much planning beforehand, checking out gmaps, mapmyride, as well as actually getting local road info

where’d you go

- based in wintergreen, we headed NSEW. going EW meant crossing valleys and other hill ranges. going NS meant either on a ridge or in a valley. highlights included Batesville, Lynchburg, HWY 56, and the blue ridge parkway

what was the biggest hill/day

-biggest day 175k, we devoted our “rest” day to a 22k climb, the PEAKS OF OTTER, Va

good eats?

- to keep costs down, we bought communal food. local foods included wineries, brew pubs (many) and pizza. no crazy food delicacies.

what would you have done differently

- harder days, less mileage which would allow more time to be a “tourist”

of all the places you could ride, why travel to Virginia?

- relatively close, cheap, “epic” riding

ok … two days is ok, but why ride for 8?

- a cycling holiday? the personalities on the trip planning dictated that it would be mainly a cycling vay-cay. which means the majoirty of what we would be doing would be riding

what sort of people should you look for to spend a week riding?

- simply if you like being outdoors, and riding then do it. distances will vary based on terrain. most of the people on our trip were using the time to build for the summer, but you could easily cut out 50%

how would you research a place to ride?

- if you like hills, hit up google earth and look for hilly terrain i think you find a place that may be interesting and start doing research. do you like moutains? cape breton then? wanna go there in march, dont pick cape breton, and go somewhere more south. pick a spot and hit google search!

what were the three most important things to take?

- money, a plan, and food. money to buy food. a plan on where to go for food, or vistas, and food to make it to the destination. i also had “anti bonk” pills which came in handy

how would you rate the overall riding? Would all levels find something to do?

- Virginia was hilly. but anyone who can ride up a hill would be able to do the trip. how much climbing you do it up to you, and you have to plan accordingly. wanna do 10,000′+? you can do it, wanna do less, it might mean you have to adjust your habits. the routes we had were definetely the hardest id ever done. the blue ridge parkway was certainly worth it

What would you consider ESSENTIAL for your accommodation? (ie.
kitchen/washer dryer/espresso machine)

- depends on your comfort level! a trip last year consisted of a motel room. I think if your going to spend more than 2 days in a location things like a kitchen, comfortable couches and a washer and dryer make life a lot more enjoyable. something i always bring is my coffee press. you can usually find a local roaster.

Finished Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald last week.  Picked it up in California so I’m not sure if it is available in Canada yet.

The book is about how to eat (no kidding) for a better performance.  Fitzgeralds writing style is a bit wordy but I think anyone could get into it.  That [...]]]>

Finished Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald last week.  Picked it up in California so I’m not sure if it is available in Canada yet.

The book is about how to eat (no kidding) for a better performance.  Fitzgeralds writing style is a bit wordy but I think anyone could get into it.  That is unless your already a sports nutritionist, then I think it would be a boring read since you should know most of the material.

This book is about taking your training to the next level by paying more attention to what you eat and more importantly, when you eat.  Fitzgerald goes over all the basics of what a protein is, why you shouldn’t eat junk food and a plethora of other topics.  Its the breakdown of the composition of the meals you should be eating  (and when) that is the message of the book.

What I liked about the book is that he has examples of other athletes daily diets.  Simon Whitfield (triathlon), Ryan Hall (runner) and ultra marathoner Scott Jurek.  There only one day snap shots but its interesting how each athlete has some general similarities with the carbs/protein/fat breakdown. 

If your a cheapskate or don’t have the time to read it, his whole summary can be pretty much be seen on page 145.  Its Fitzgeralds food timing schedule of when to eat around your workouts.  He gives 5 examples of daily workouts, morning, lunch time, afternoon and 2 workouts a day (morning and night).  There general, so it doesn’t tell you exactly what to eat as in a recipe but it gives you the breakdown of the marconutrients. 

Overall I thought the book was worth the $20.  There are a few recipes in the back that make it worth the price.  If your interested in taking your eating to the next level check it out.