EIE Reflections

Visit Bonnie at Venice for gymnastics or Mccoy at VBC at 8pm

Go to swim night at Culver City Plunge at 7:30pm

Prehab

Bird Dogs w/ 5s Hold
Plank Saws
Foam Roll T-Spine (upper back) + keg Drill

Warm Up

50′ Walking Lunge
10 Cossack Squats w/ light kettlebell
50′ Low Bear Crawl
10 Stiff legged windmills (5 ea. leg)
50′ High Skip
10 Goblet Squats

Cool Down

Perform mobility, strength, or leave early to meal prep for your new goals OR:

Accumulate 1′ hollow hold or hollow rock
Calf Stretches x 1′
Foam Roll Thoracic Spine x 1′

Fitness

Strength

20 minutes or 3-4 sets:

Turkish Getup x 1-2 reps each arm
Alternating Pistols x 3-5 reps each
One Legged Box Jumps x 10-12 reps each

Notes:  More experienced athletes should be working up to a 1RM for the TGU.  Scale the pistols or add weight as needed.  Try to perform all the box jumps without letting the other foot touch the ground.  Use a height that you feel safe with.

Conditioning

5 sets against a 2 minute running clock:

Run 400 meters
Max Effort Muscle-ups or Chest to Bar Pullups

Rest 1 minute between rounds

Notes:  Prescribed is MU on rings.  Scale the run distance as needed to provide about 20-30 seconds of effort on the second movement each round.  Perform Bar MU and use a band if needed to ensure full range of motion for whatever movement you perform.

Advanced – Active Recovery Day!

Two sets of:

25 Meter Finger Tip Drag
(FTD: Drag your fingertips along the surface of the water as you recover. This drill encourages high elbows.)

Rest 20 seconds between each 25 Meter efforts

Four sets of:

50 Meter Thumb to Thigh
(TT: Brush your thumb along your thigh as you finish your arm stroke. This promotes a longer finish and proper hand position.)

Rest 30 seconds between 50 Meter efforts

Two sets of:

25 Meter (½ length closed fist, ½ length swim)
Rest 20 seconds
(Closed Fist: Ball your fist up and swim – helps you feel the water with your hand when you un-ball your fist.)

Two sets of:

25 Meter Kick Only
Rest 30-45 seconds

50 Meters Pull Only
Rest 45-60 seconds

50 Meters
Rest 45-60 seconds

50 Meters
Rest 45-60 seconds

50 Meters Pull Only
25 Meter Kick Only
Rest 2 minutes

Two sets of:

25 Meters @ 70% effort
Rest 15 seconds

Two sets of:

50 Meters @ 70% effort
Rest 30 seconds

Two sets of:

25 Meters @ 100% effort
Rest 30-45 seconds

100 Meter Warm Down

Mobility and Maintenance:

Choose 1-2 Thoracic Mobility Drills and spend 5-10 minutes with them
Choose 2-3 Lower Body Mobility Drills and spend 10-12 minutes with them
Choose 1-2 Upper Extremity Mobility Drills and spend 5-10 minutes with them.

– AND/OR –

Body work from a licensed body worker (ART, Graston, acupuncture, etc…)

I have been seeing a Rolfer weekly and have seen measurable improvement in the mobility of my structure and quality of movements (like running, airdyne, walking). I highly recommend finding a body worker with knowledge of both myofascia and human movement.

Inflammation Maintenance:

This could be a lot of things, but think in terms of compression, contrast baths, salt baths, castor oil packs, etc….

Don’t forget the role diet plays in inflammation! Drink your fish oil and eat your veggies. I have also found EMS (electro muscular stimulation) to be quite effective as well.

Nutrition Preparation:

Ensure that you have quality foods prepared in the appropriate quantities to fuel your efforts for the remainder of the week.

A slow cooker is key to making sure you have plenty of good foods (especially meat) convenient with little effort. You can get 7 quart hamilton beach models on amazon for about $35. If you struggle with your nutrition or planning for the week, set up an appointment with me for help.

Mental Restoration:

Different for everyone – could be meditation or could be gathering with friends; the key is to engage in activities that make your life full and help you recharge your batteries.  

Now that the official EIE challenge has ended, it is time to reflect and react! Did you reach your goal(s)? If so, congratulations! How can you apply the same systems or practices to achieve a new goal? If you didn’t achieve your goal, why? Did you set an aggressively optimistic goal? If you did, thats great. Was your improvement upon retesting satisfactory? If not, did you work with a coach to create a plan, and did you follow it? If not, how often did you skip your extra work or cheat on your diet? How could you have created a better routine for yourself that fits into the context of your life?

Now that we’ve reflected, lets react. First step, set a new goal. Yes, A single goal. Only set multiple goals if they have synergies. For example, I want to do my first strict pull up and I want to lose 5lbs. With the lessons this EIE challenge has taught you, how will you create a new and improved plan of action or system to achieve your goal? Will you ask one of our experienced coaches for help this time around? Will you create a more realistic plan that you will stick to for 6 weeks instead of being gung-ho and burning out by day 3?

My suggestion is set a goal, share the goal with a coach for feedback and a plan, share the goal with people in your class and hope to be held accountable to put the work in before/after your regularly scheduled exercise. Lets raise our collective level of fitness skills every day!