Is there something that you need to bring back to your training routine? What was old must now become new.
Is there an exercise - or series of exercises - that you used to perform routinely as part of your training regimen that has now faded away? For 6 months? A year? Two years?
I recently brought an exercise back into my routine that I hadn't done in about 3.5 years.
What is the secret, magical exercise you brought back? And what powers does it hold?
It is - wait for it - the SAND. BAG. GET-UP. That's right, the Sandbag Get-up - or SBGU for those indoctrinated in the ways of the SBGU.
The SBGU is awesome. The SBGU is hard. The SBGU is simple. These are three great principles for a great exercise - or series of exercises. Effective, hard, simple. BOOM - incredible recipe.
What is a SBGU you ask? Well, my friend, it's quite simple. You pick up a 40#, 60# or 80# sandbag, put it over your shoulder, lay down, and get back up. Simple right? Sure - in theory, but in practice it's a damn hard exercise that primarily focuses on your core, your lungs, your mind and your legs. And all in about 10 minutes! Put 80# on your shoulder, lay down and get back up for 10 minutes. It's effective.
Look, if this thing were an infomercial for the SBGU - you'd already have bought 3 of them - even if I told you that you have to fill them yourself. Wait, I have to buy it AND fill it up!? How do I get more of these super simple sang-bag thingys that cause me to work extremely hard?
I first learned of the SBGU through the Mountain Tactical Institute's founder and head coach, Rob Shaul (back then it was just called Military/Mountain Athlete). Rob incorporated this incredible exercise into multiple work capacity and stamina sessions and included it as part of his Operator Ugly fitness assessment, which is a series of strength and work capacity based events.
I did SBGUs often for a period of 5-5.5 years, always seeing improvement in my overall core and leg strength while doing them - and certainly improvement in my work capacity.
Well, some of it was my job. I was extremely busy for 2+ years and it takes a bit of work/coordination to lug around the sand-bag and find a good spot to use it...most regular gyms don't have a place where you can just get insanely sweaty/dusty and then leave.
Some of it was - you guessed it - they were just hard. SBGUs are very challenging...it was easy to leave them out of my programs.
The reasons I started doing them again, however, far outweigh why I stopped doing them a few years ago.
What exercise/training run/ride/swim have you stopped doing that you used to do? Is it a hill run? A hill ride? The extra 10 minutes of paddle board work in the pool?
I'm guessing you've got the time to layer those key exercises/training sessions back into your training program, and that in most cases - you SHOULD layer them back in.
If you've deliberately left something out because it's hard and slightly inconveinent...consider adding it back in as you head into the summer months of training - it just might make the difference you've been looking for.
Train hard. Train smart.
Talk to you soon.
-Ed
In the nearly 8 years that my wife and I have lived in Colorado Springs, never have we seen the amount of road construction currently taking place. Whether it’s a main road or side street, there’s no part of town missing out on the “fun”. And it’s not just re-paving or patching potholes. Whole lanes are being ripped up with miles of digging in order to replace underground pipes of all varieties.
At first, I thought all the “weed” sales (pot is legal in Colorado) might be producing the influx of tax funds for all this construction. But a running buddy of mine made me aware of a bill that had passed in the last couple years which freed up an enormous amount of funds for these projects.
Turns out the city has a certain amount of time to spend the money. Based on the number of orange cones and “ROAD WORK AHEAD” signs, it looks as though no penny is being spared.
Millions of people are about to be disappointed –– they don’t even realize it.
Maybe you’re one of them.
Right now, around the world, people are setting new ambitious health goals and resolutions.
And yet, according to Inc Magazine, approximately 80% of New Year's resolutions fail. Most of them buried in an unmarked early grave by February.
Why is that?
How is it that despite all our best intentions and genuine desire to live healthier and be fitter, the most we can hope for is a depressing 20% success rate?
So to help you kickstart your New Year with a healthy lifestyle we are going to breakdown why most goals and resolutions fail and what to do instead.
Collagen is just about everywhere.
Not just in your body, where collagen makes up roughly 25% of your total protein content, its also around you.
It’s in health food stores, grocery stores, in big plastic tubs at discount markets.
