Running, Cycling, Fitness Tips – The Inadvertent Athlete

Do Max Interval programs really work?

Do Max Interval programs really work? I’m about to find out!

You would think that a guy that just ran a marathon and a half (and the several hundred miles of training leading up to them) would be pretty lean, right? Yeah, not so much. It’s on my nerves a little, to tell you the truth. That’s why I am going to take the next 60 days to do something about it. The plan consists of optimal eating, per Dr. John
Berardi (Precision Nutrition), and Max Interval Training, courtesy of Beachbody Trainer Shaun Thompson’s Insanity program.

Interval training is one of the most common, highly effective ways to blast fat in a short period of time. The intervals usually consist of a specified period of time of high intensity work followed by the same or double the period of rest. For example, run one minute at a full sprint then slowly jog one minute. Repeat until you puke, or collapse on the ground, gasping for air. Therein lies the reason most people, outside of serious athletes, don’t do them. Most people, outside of serious athletes,won’t push themselves that hard. Although I don’t consider myself a serious athlete, I’m dead serious about burning the goo that is holding my abs captive. Shaun’s program is brutal. Seriously. It’s just ridiculous.

So, here’s the plan and perceived benefits: Eat right and pummel myself for 60 days. Take measurements & fat % at 2 week intervals. Post review and results after 60 days. Perceived benefits are: A: I get ripped B: my anaerobic threshold goes way up enabling me to suffer less at higher intensity C: Look more awesome (as if that’s possible) D: Be in the best shape of my life.

Be sure to watch for embarrassing data and humiliating confessions coming soon…

Got a better plan? I’d love to hear it! Leave a comment here or shoot me an email at gt@inadvertentathlete.com

The Cheat Meal

Tis the season for wrecking the diet isn’t it? Every where you turn, there is a plate of cookies or box of chocolate, or a dinner event with nothing on your nutrition plan to be found. Everyone wants to go out to eat, and it’s cold. The last thing you want to eat is another grilled chicken salad, right? The Cheat Meal is a trick of the pros and, if used correctly, can actually help your fat loss goals. Here’s how it works.

If you have been sticking to a lower calorie nutrition plan ( I hate the word “diet”), something nefarious starts to happen. Your body starts to adapt and slow down your metabolism. Although you may have had some initial success, your body will adapt and start to act like it used to. You will find yourself getting flabby again, even if you are working out at the same level. A good idea is to shake it up. A LOT. This is where the Cheat Meal comes in. Body builders have used this tool for decades. Eat very low calories for a week, sometimes 14 days, then have one day to re-feed. Some folks go on a full-on, no-holds-barred binge and suffer no consequences and actually benefit from it. Now, it has to be said that this day is the only one like this every couple of weeks. Every other day, it’s grilled chicken, baby!

Here is the science behind why it works. As your body adapts to a low calorie plan and exercise, you are in a constant calorie deficit, which is necessary for fat loss. Well, your body thinks that you are starving and down-regulates your metabolism to adjust for the decrease in energy input (calories). The Cheat Meal restores your body’s faith in your ability to find food so, it’s not afraid to burn it’s energy reserves (fat). It also serves a psychological purpose as well, letting you eat some comfort foods and enjoy eating occasionally.

Although, this sounds like Nirvana, being able to throw down once every week or two can be dangerous for your goals. Without the proper discipline, this can easily lead back to old eating habits. Precision Nutrition recommends eating on a 90/10 basis. 90 percent of the time, it’s lean protein and veggies, 10 percent whatever you want. Realize that this breaks down as follows: 6 meals a day x 7 days = 42 meals per week. 10 percent =4 cheats per week. This only works if your other 38 meals are flawless. If you need to know what those other meals should look like, check out this article.

As always, the key is in the planning and making sure that your are in control of your nutrition and choices. Use that Cheat Meal and have the best of both worlds; eating what you want and getting leaner. At least for one day…

Training Sick – 4 steps to recover faster

So, here I am a month away from my biggest event of the year and I get the flu. 4 weeks from now I will run a half marathon through the parks at Disney World on Saturday, then get up the next morning and run twice as far, then walk around the place for another week. Until now, everything was going according to schedule. The training plan was progressing nicely. Then, I had a rough case of something flu-like that knocked me down for a solid week. Here is what I do to minimize the damage.

1. Eat light, eat right – I never can remember the saying about feeding colds or starving fevers so, I just keep it simple. Nothing heavy, very little fat, dense veggies. Super foods like spinach, blueberries, green tea, fruit. Baked chicken, nothing fried. Eat as much as you can handle, you can’t over eat these foods anyway.
2. Stay Hydrated – It’s really important to keep the electrolyte balance when you are sick so, drink water and sports drinks. They can provide some energy if you can’t stomach food. Also, having a fever really puts a strain on your system so, give it the help it needs.
3. Try to do some sort of exercise – Do something to get your heart rate up and blood pumping. Now, by all means, don’t do anything stupid. If you have a high fever, go lie down and go to sleep. If you are fever free, move around some. Run a couple of SLOW miles on the treadmill or spin on a trainer. Try to barely break a sweat. I have found this to be crucial to the recovery process. On the day after long runs, even if I can barely walk, I make myself run a little or hobble. This helps to get blood flowing to injured areas and, coupled with good water intake, helps flush out cellular debris and other byproducts.
4. When you feel OK to train with intensity, take it easy. In my case, I missed 2 critical long runs so, the temptation was to try to make up for the missed sessions. The reality is that if I did try to make it up and cram those miles into the rest of my training plan, I would likely end up over-training and maybe injured. The best thing to do is to pick up where you are in training. If you go back and pick up where you left off, you jeopardize being in peak form for your event. For me, I just picked up with my 18 mile run after my last one of 14 miles. Now that was a pretty big jump in mileage so I ran the 18 miler a little slower than normal to make sure I didn’t overdo it. It ended up being a great run and I feel great about my training plan. Had I gone back and tried to make it up, it would have me running 22 miles the weekend before the race and I would have no time to taper or rest.

If you do it the right way, you can make the illness work for you to make you stronger. Eat correctly to minimize your down time and allow your immune system to fight harder. Do some light exercise to provoke the healing response and help flush out the illness. And maybe most importantly, drink up!