Training Plan for 2012/13 - This time it's personal.

Over the past few weeks I've slowly been ramping up the training, and this week the morning sessions have kicked in. Geez how I hate them. Getting up at 6am has never been my strength, and to do so just so I can fit in some painful pullups and thrusters isn't exactly the sort of inspiration your mind needs at that time. But still, it's gotta happen...

Part of what I'm hoping will help will be a good training plan. I learned a lot from last year about the balance between doing all I can and overdoing it, as well as refining it in terms of what sort of exercises I do when, to help balance it out and focus on my weaknesses.

So, this is what I'm proposing for the 'intense' training period which I think I'm about to enter (with 4 months to go)

• Cycling - 3-4 days a week, 30+km each time. This is my work commute so I usually don't push too hard, but I'll be making sure to include some solid sprinting work up some choice hills.
• Circuit/Boxing - Mon/Wed evenings respectively. These are the sessions after work with the trainer, so they're good solid cardio and muscular endurance sessions. Intensity varies, but good regular sessions.
• Strength morning sessions - I've realised that a lot of my work last year was more 'muscular endurance' than 'strength', and that's what let me down - especially in the upper body. So Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning will be 30 minutes of focused strength work. Think pull-ups, shoulder press, bench press... you get the idea. Few reps, heavy work.
• Lunchtime sessions - Monday and Wednesday will be jogs (including some upper body work), Tuesday and Thursday will be more interval work. 
• Jogs - Weekends we'll fit in some decent jogs, including some off-road group jogs as time and commitments allow...

 Of course, planning is the easiest/funnest bit. Doing will be trickier...

Training Evolution - yet another Tough Mudder program

After several weeks of being brutalised by our trainer's program we were literally begging for a new program. So weary were we of pyramid running programs and endless bridge walks that we ignored his maniacal laughter and warnings of 'this will be tougher' and were just desparate for something new and different...

And this weekend it arrived:

SESSION ONE

10-12 KM CONTINUOUS RUN/WALK

Use a Mixed terrain course, try to run the whole way but it is ok if the occasional walk is needed.  Does not need to be completed at a fast pace.

SESSION TWO

4 x 1km TIME TRIAL.

Complete each rep as fast as you can. Record your time and whatever time it takes, give yourself that amount of recovery before the next one. I.E 1:1 ratio.

SESSSION THREE

BODY WEIGHT/RUN

SPRINT 200M, COMPLETE 10 PUSH UPS, 10 BURPEES, 10 SIT UPS

Repeat 8 times and rest on a 1:1 RATIO.

***** REMEMBER to record all times so that you can see progress and push harder next session.

STRENGTH PROGRAM

(Should be completed 2-3 times per week, on same day or alternate days to running program)

FOR EXTRA WEIGHT- Wear a back pack that weighs between 5-10 KGS

Must be tightly fitted and firm across back.

SQUAT JUMPS

WALKING LUNGES

NEGATIVE CHIN UPS (Jump to hold chin above bar, lower your body as slow as possible and then let go and jump up again)

BRIDGE WALK AND PUSH UP

STEP UPS

MONKEY BAR SWINGS FORWARDS/BACKWARDS

AB crunch

Prone bridge

***PAIR these exercises together do maximum repetitions of each and give 2 minutes recovery between each set.

Do 3 sets of each pair. Record your repetitions.

To be honest, we were all a bit relieved to see it, and enthusiastic to give it a go. It looked good, and less 'tedious and painful' than the previous. But something dark lurked in the background.

Today we tried it - taking Session 3 as our starting point. It looked neat, short, tidy.. And indeed we finished the whole set in about 26 minutes. But heck - what an agonising 26 minutes it was. Amazing how something that looks so simple on paper could be so ridiculously painful.....  I can just hear our trainer chuckling to himself from here....

Another Tough Mudder training program

Well, now our personal trainer's had a crack and added in his own program for us to follow in preparation. When we received it this morning I think we all took a big gulp:

PART 1: RUNNING PROGRAM

SESSION ONE

Choose and oval that is between 400-500 metres in distance.

Run 1 Lap - walk half

Run 2 laps - walk half

Run 3 laps -Walk half

Run 4 laps – Walk half

Run 3 laps -Walk Half

Run 2 laps - Walk Half

Run 1 lap - Walk recovery to finish.

BASED ON 400 metre oval

TOTAL DISTANCE covered: 7.8kms

TOTAL DISTANCE RUNNING: 6.4kms

- Walk must be recovery, take it nice and slow to lower heart rate.

- The ‘run’ part must be done at about 75% of maximum speed.

RECORD TIMES!!

SESSION TWO

4 x 800mtres

1:1 RATIO (rest as long as it takes to complete the previous one)

Do at 80 – 100% of maximum speed.

RECORD TIMES.

SESSION THREE

Choose a mixed terrain course which you know is about 8- 10 kms in length.

For the duration of the course, change between a jog a sprint and a walk.

Record times.

PART 2:BODY WEIGHT PROGRAM

(Should be completed on same day or alternate days to running program. Aim to complete 2- 3 times per week)

Choose a park or a play ground which has a chin up bar or monkey bar.

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING EXERCISES AS FAST AS YOU CAN.

100 x SQUATS

50 x Push Ups

50 x Walking lunges

Bridge walk 10 mtrs x 20

2 SETS with 5 Minutes recovery between sets.

45 Degree arm hang. 3 Minutes continuously.

Record how many times you fall to the ground

2 SETS!

Yikes. That in itself looks pretty tough, and then I'm combining it with the TM workout three mornings a week, plus one night of circuit training and one night of boxing, AND cycling to work. I'm up for the challenge, but the word 'overtraining' is starting to haunt me. Guess I'll just watch myself carefully and see how it goes.

Outside's Tough Mudder training plan

I stumbled upon this training plan from Outside magazine - and was heartened to see it's not too dissimilar from what I've created for myself...

Looks good, and nicely achievable with the current lead-time for Tough Mudder Melbourne... Perhaps I'm on the right track after all!