What floats your boat?

Wow, it has been a long time since my last post! So, here goes.... Today is October 11th, many athletes have completed their final "A" race of the season; I have 12 athletes doing the Des Moines Marathon on 10/16, two athletes heading to Austin 70.3 on 10/23, one athlete doing Ironman Arizona, but the other 22 athletes are done for the season. Most of us are "A-Type" personalities so I know they are asking themselves, "What's next?" We all need a break from our primary form of exercise/racing yet we need to keep active and feel like we are not losing muscle memory and/or fitness.

It is my goal for the next 10 weeks to post a blog about a new form of exercise that I have discovered to be beneficial for "off-season" conditioning. All this in hopes that you find something that "floats your boat" for the long Winter ahead in the Upper Midwest. That's not all...in addition to the blog post, I will be challenging my readers to a little weekly competition. This week, it is all about TRX training. Never heard of TRX? It isn't necessarily new but not every gym has TRX, or has it readily available without paying an additional fee. Basically, TRX was developed by/for Navy Seals, so right away you know it is gotta be tough! What looks like two relatively harmless nylon straps hanging form a ceiling, pull-up bar, or tree is an awesome alternative to standard strength training.

There are countless number of exercises that can be performed on a TRX unit. You can focus on shoulders, legs, back, arms, but it seems like every exercise hits your core. Just type in "TRX" in youtube to view thousands of exercises. My personal favorite is called the "TRX Challenge", which consists of two exercises; apollo pushups and rows. The challenge is quite simple, do as many apollo pushups as you can then take 1 minute rest, finish with as many rows as you can do. Each person gets a number like 28/14, 30/26, with the ultimate goal of calling yourself a 40/40. Take a look at this video to see how it is done properly, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySUML66q_4k.

For all my peep's in Des Moines, come join Coach Loran on Wednesday at Noon or 5:30pm or Friday morning at 5:30am to take the TRX Challenge. Enjoy a FREE general strength class with Coach Loran at Maximum Fitness, which is located at 8850 University in West Des Moines (just West of Des Moines Golf Club).  Email me your TRX Challenge result to coachloran@gmail.com. Each week's winner receive a sweet American Apparel Team IronWorks t-shirt.

Father & Son

During our men's group discussion this morning we engaged in a great conversation into our roles as Fathers, what is meant by true unconditional love, and how to encourage our children to pursue their passions. I can not think of a better video than this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZlXWp6vFdE&NR=1

"Never, never, never give up!"

When life gets tough remember the words of Winston Churchill, "Never, never, never give up!" Enjoy this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM5A1K6TxxM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

FOOD, keeping it "real"!

Hey, I have been thinking a lot about nutrition this year; With a little help from Andrew Long I have made just a couple tweaks to my own personal food consumption, which have noticeable performance improvements.

Keeping it simple:

• Chia seeds, take a look at the first three reasons for eating Chia seeds; http://www.nutsonline.com/cookingbaking/chia-seeds/premium.html. Read the book "Born To Run" as they are highlighted as a great natural supplement for endurance athletes.
• Coconut water, more potassium than a banana, zero fat, zero sugars, 5 essential electrolytes, and gluten-free. Basically, this has become my sports drink without buying Gatorade. Read this...http://www.knowledgebase-script.com/demo/article-320.html
• Bob's Mill hot breakfast cereals, they score a 94 on the NuVal chart (100 is a perfect food). Only takes 4 minutes to make, can load with fruit, and tastes great.

Feel free to ask me or Andrew any food related questions.

Coach Loran

Recovery, we all need it!

R-E-C-O-V-E-R-Y

Random thought for this week is about getting better through doing less, huh? Rest days, stretching, icing, compression socks, and nutrition all come to mind but as you know me, let's keep it simple...

• Rest days...we all need them, please take one complete rest day each and every week. Rest day means exactly that no no running, swimming, biking, lifting, etc. Listen to your coach, take a rest day and watch your workouts improve! We are not 25 years old anymore..we may look 25 but our bodies don't respond to stress like they use to!
• Stretching, icing, and compression socks...three things all lumped together. Want to have a great workout tomorrow? Then spend 15 minutes after today's workout doing the right things! So, I can hear you now, "Coach, I don't have 15 minutes at the end of the workout!" Try it once and you will be hooked, right after the workout spend 5 minutes doing some dynamic stretches (more on that to follow), jump in a cold shower (really cold shower) for 5 minutes (or if you have the luxury of time, take an ice bath at home for 8 minutes, http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sampleworkouts/a/Ice-Bath.htm), then gradually turn back on the hot water, and finish your workout by slipping on a pair of compression socks to keep the blood flowing from your feet to your heart. Never heard of compression socks? Read this... http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-240-320--13079-0,00.html. Compression socks come in different sizes, colors, brands, and $ amounts. My favorite socks were purchased at Walgreen's, yes Walgreen's for $15.
• Nutrition, this is a slippery slope with lots of opinions but no one will disagree with the need for food and hydration within 30 minutes of finishing a workout. Let's keep it simple, PB&J and chocolate milk. Really, chocolate milk? I know you ca understand the old fashioned peanut butter & jelly, but read this... http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/superfoods/chocolate-milk-after-workout/

Have a great week!

Coach Loran

Wednesday night suffer-fest workouts

Sally and Einstein engage into a healthy discussion about Ironworks Wednesday night suffer-fest workouts. http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/8288265