Jumpstarted my day off with...

Foam rolling, dynamic warm-up and some corrective exercises followed by...

A1) One-Arm Dumbbell Snatch 5x3/side @85
A2) Kneeling Hip Flexor Mobilization 4x(5x5s hold per side)

B1) Close-Grip Bench Press 3x5 @215, 225, 235
B2) Seated Cable Row w/Pronated Grip 3x8 @160, 170, 180

C1) BW Towel Pullups 5x10, 10, 10, 11, 11
C2) Weighted Dips 3x15 @45+BW

D1) Vertical Pallof Press 3x(6x10s hold) with 1" Band
--> these are a great anti-extension exercise created by Nick Tumminello
D2) Upper Trap and Levator Scapulae Static Stretches

*E) Power Curls 10x10 @315 because Chris says they're a critical exercise

Even though I'm training for long(er) distance obstacle course races you'll notice in my training logs that I'm still focusing on  developing maximal strength and power output (ex. the one-arm dumbbell snatch in today's training).  The stronger my legs/hips are, the more force I'll be able to exert into the ground in order to propel myself forward.  I'm a firm believer in using strength and conditioning workouts to enhance the physical and mental qualities needed for success, even in something like an obstacle course race or a longer-distance run.

"Research has shown that using sport alone to develop proficiency is less effective than an integrated system of sport and supplementary training" (Siff, M.C. Supertraining, 6th Edition)

 *The last exercise may have not actually happened

 -Steve

Nothing much goes on during holiday weekends. Everyone is either out of town or has a competition somewhere. Here's what I'm entertaining myself with, it's funny and there's an instant replay at the end...

Chris and I are both pretty excited about the loooong holiday weekend! Of course for us, this means we get a full 2 day weekend instead of the usual 1 day off. When we get 2 days off it feels like an eternity - those of you who always collect your standard weekend, don't take it for granted. Some of us aren't that lucky.

I was distracted during my training this morning and only had an hour total:

Pullaparts, Behind Neck Pullaparts, No-Money 2x10

Rotator Cuff Circuit

A1 Inverted Row 5x5

A2 Incline Pushups 5x5

B1 DB Curls 3x:10x10 

B2 DB Lat Raise 3x:10x10

Stationary Bike 20 min

- Sarah

Over the last two weeks I've discovered that I can't really jog comfortably for more than 10-min straight - I made it to 35 weeks jogging (that's 8 months and 3/4). So, I've been biking a lot, as usual, but want to replace the jogging with something that is a bit tougher than the bike. Enter the Stairmaster. As everyone knows, it's hard, but mostly it easily keeps my HR where I want it and will help me not feel like my heart may explode after walking up from the basement to the top floor in our house.

Here's what I did this morning:

20-min stepper

DE Deadlift 8x2 @ 115

A1 RDL 3x8 @ 115

A2 Adductor Rockbacks 3x3x:06

B1 Stepback Lunge to Knee Drive 4x5/leg

B2 Side Plank on Incline 3x:10/side

C1 Face Pulls 3x5x:05

C2 45 deg Low Back Exts 3x10

20-min Stepper

40 total minutes of stepper at 8.75 months pregnant, I felt victorious - Sarah

Real busy.  Here's what I had time for.

A1 Conventional Deads 5x6@345
A2 Plank 5x:30
Rest :45, and repeat

B1 Chins 4x5+45lbs then 3x8 just BW
B2 GHR against Purple 3x12

Yesterday, I received the following question from one of my many internet groupies:

Question: Coach Chris,

 

Despite your rather large love handles, you seem kind of strong. Have you thought about doing another competition in the future, or are you satisfied with only hitting foam roll and medball slam PRs?

 

Love,

Someone Prettier Than You

Despite your rather large love handles, you seem kind of strong.

First of all, how dare you!  Second of all, thank you!

Have you thought about doing another competition in the future, or are you satisfied with only hitting foam roll and medball slam PRs?

Yes, I should be stage ready in 20 years; until then, it's strictly power curl competitions.

Maybe I should hit you with the foam roller. 

Eric Cressey does medball slams.


Thanks, Nate...

Jerk

The work I did this morning that can loosely be called my "training:"

Foam roll glutes, upper back

Did a couple sets of band no-money

30-min stationary bike

The fieldhouse is so HUMID. I'm so big and uncomfortable now that the humidity makes things extremely unpleasant. 

Chris trained this morning (he's on a solid 2x/week training schedule), so keep your fingers crossed that he will have something witty and insightful to post. Otherwise, this is it. Sorry.

I feel big, but NOT as big as this woman. Is she carrying a 5 year old? - Sarah

I'm a HUGE fan of deadspin and today one of the guys on the site posted information on how he lost 60lbs in 5 months: The Public Humiliation Diet. If you want to read his article, click here - oh, but know he drops f-bombs and its variants about 10,000 times. So, if you don't want to read that, then don't click through.

Everyone who wants to lose weight has to get to the point where they are so dissatisfied that nothing distracts from the goal. I've felt this way for years. This guy was at that point. One of the most accurate points is #11: "I exercised, but that hardly mattered. I did 45 minutes of cardio five days a week. But I've been doing that for 14 years now... But really, the only thing that mattered was that I ate less, and within a daily routine that I could get used to."

I saw the first sign of Rolling Thunder on my way to SAPT this afternoon. Here's a link if you're in the dark as to what it's all about.

Training this morning:

45-min Stationary Bicycling

A1 BO BB Row 4x8

A2 Plank to Pushup Hold to Plank 3x5

B1 Neutral Grip Lat Pulldown 4x10

B2 Low Incline DB Press 3x12

C1 SA DB Push Press 4x6/arm

C2 Elbows-out Exts 3x10

- Sarah

 

The NY Times has a great article up discussing overtraining in youth athletics. Take a look: "For Children in Sports, a Breaking Point"

My major daily goal is to just keep moving. 5-weeks left to go.

15-min jog/walk 50-m on/50-m off

A1 BB Box Squat 3x5

A2 SL TKE 3x12/leg

B1 Banded GHR 5x10 @ red band

B2 Low DB Box Squat 4x5

C1 Elevated Side Squat 3x8/leg

C2 Band Abd/Add 3x12/leg all

D1 SL Band Goodmorning 2x10/leg

D2 Hex Hold 2x:15/hand

20-min jog/walk - same as above

15-min stationary bike

- Sarah

30-min HR intervals

A1 MB Chest Pass 4x10

A2 Seated Cable Row 4x10

B1 SA Incline DB Chest Press 4x6/arm

B2 SA DB Row 4x8/arm

C1 Shrugs 4x10

C2 Hammer Curls 4x10

D1 Pushdowns 3x10

D2 Lat Raise 3x10

That's it - Sarah

Ultrarunning is any distance over a marathon length (26.2 miles) - I was only peripherally aware this sport existed until I read Born to Run a couple months ago. The people who compete in these races are mental and physical freaks - they regularly compete in races that last longer than 24 consecutive hours.

Of all the men and women who participate in this niche sport, Scott Jurek is probably the most well known. He's won all kinds of races and set unbelievable records. Last weekend he set an American record at the 24-Hour Run world championship in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France. Usually, ultramarathons take place on long and winding trails where you're competing for the fastest finish. The 24-Hour Run is to see who can get the farthest on a 1.25 kilometer loop (partially paved, partially dirt). Scott finished second overall with a total distance of 165 miles. Read it again: 165 miles in 24-hours. Unbelievable. That comes out to a pace of 6.8 mph.

Here are a couple of articles about Scott and the 24-Hour Run:

NY Times

Duluth News Tribune

15-min low HR jog

DE Deadlift 6x3

A1 BB RDL 5x5

A2 SL Toe Touch 4x5/leg

B1 Elevated Hip Bridge 3x8

B2 SL Bowler Squat Holds 3x5x:05

15-min low HR jogging

45-min stationary bike

- Sarah

We ordered some stuff from Uline this week; depending on how much you spend you qualify for varying levels of "gifts" - we qualified for a Hall & Oates CD. There were no other options. It didn't even come in a real CD case.

Boring Training:

30-min Stationary Bike

10-min 200m repeats

I'm working on a new volleyball training brochure today... it's a big improvement over our old flyer we've been using. I'm actually using color printing! - Try to contain the oooo's and ahhhh's.

- Sarah

15-min low HR jogging

Rotator Cuff Circuit (a chiropractor once told me I have extremely strong rotator cuff musculature - that wouldn't mean much to most people, but to me it was one of the highest compliments he could have paid me)

A1 BO BB Row 5x5

A2 Low Incline Pushups 5x5

B1 High Incline DB Chest Press 3x10

B2 Wide Neutral Grip Lat Pulldown 3x12

C1 SA DB Shoulder Press 3x10/arm

C2 BO DB Reverse Flyes 3x10

Another 15-min low HR jogging

45-min stationary bike

People keep telling me to take it "easy," I don't know how to do that - Sarah

Our proud band of interns officially started today. Chris put them through several hours of learnin' and trainin' - I'm excited to have the help this summer, we will utilize them to their full capacities!

We will be coming up with an individual prank unique to each intern and will post pics. Feel free to make suggestions!

- Sarah

This morning:

A1 DE High Box Squat 7x3 @ 115

A2 SL TKE 3x12/leg @ green

B1 GHR x100 @ bodyweight - did them in 4 sets of 25

B2 Banded Squat/Abduction Holds 4x3x:05

C1 Foot Elevated Side Squat w/MB Pulse 4x6/leg @ 6lb

C2 Standing Band Adduction 3x12/leg

D1 Bird-dog 3x3x:05

D2 Face Pulls 3x12 @ green

D3 Pallof Press 2x5/side @ mini

15-min HR intervals on track

It's becoming difficult to initiate almost any movement of any kind at this point. This includes simple movements like putting on socks or shoes and non-movements like sitting.

- Sarah

Here is what I used for my daily exercise this morning:

A1 SA Incline DB Chest Press 4x5/arm - weight doesn't matter - all you need to know is the DB was light, but felt quite heavy

A2 SA BO DB Row 4x8/arm - see above

B1 Banded Pullups 4x6

B2 Incline Pushups 4x6

C1 DB Shrugs 3x10

C2 Hammer Curls 3x10

D1 Band Pushdowns 3x10

D2 Lat Raise 3x10 - my fav vanity exercise 

HR Intervals for 15-min; Stationary bike for 45-min

Tomorrow morning through the early afternoon Chris and Steve will be at Wakefield Park for a softball tournament. If you're in the area or if you'll be at the tournament, be sure to stop by our booth!

- Sarah

Gotta keep the back strong as the pregnancy winds down. I've quickly gained some weight in the last couple of weeks as the baby is striving to pack on 1/2lb per week. I'm definitely feeling it: left side of lower back has been getting sore and I'm starving all of the time. ALL OF THE TIME!

"DE" Deadlift 5x3 @ 115

A1 RDL 5x5 @ 115

A2 SL Toe Touch 4x5/leg @ bw

B1 Bowler Squat Holds 4x4x:05 @ bw

B2 Shoulders Elevated Hip Bridge w/SL leg lift 4x3/leg

C1 BB Goodmorning 4x8 

C2 Bird-dog 3x10/side

45-min stationary bike

Yes, I feel like I'm so big that I might actually be carrying a small adult man - Sarah

Jogged 20-min on the track at a pretty easy pace.

Stationary bike for 45-min while reading The Omnivore's Dilemma - very good, learning a lot about industrial food production right now.

After the cardiofest I went to Home Depot where I and several other people witnessed a man verbally abuse his wife while we were all waiting in the paint department. It was sad and made me extremely uncomfortable. Next, I went into Costco and found myself behind a Korean man who has not yet gained full mastery of the US currency. Although when a Korean speaking Costco worker came over to help, the man still seemed unwilling to cough up the extra $10 he was short. Maybe he fully understands and this is a cost-cutting ploy... in which case, I say, well done.

- Sarah

Felt, uh, not so good today.  The kids may call a day like today, "an epic fail."

Conventional Deads no belt 370x3, 390x3, 415x3

BB GM's 4x8 up to 205
Pullups 4x8

Bleacher Sprints: 15

Sister graduates this evening; not sure how that happened.  HA, I kid, I kid.  Congratulations, Ally, on surviving Nursing School!

Peace and pr's,

Chris

If you were I would probably eat you. I have been starving all day. I think I finally just filled myself up. It must have been the 100 glute-hams I did yesterday, that or the life I'm creating.

Here's what I did this morning:

30-min very light on the bike

MB Throws with different stretches mixed in between sets

A1 Incline BB Press 3x5

A2 Calf Stretch

B1 BO BB Row x100 reps at varying weights and reps

B2 Upper Back Stretch

C1 Pushdowns 3x10

C2 Curls 3x10

Done. Went home to eat.

- Sarah

Through an intricate and extended web of planning, Chris, Ryan, and Paige orchestrated a fantastic surprise baby shower for me on Saturday afternoon at SAPT. I had been called back to work under the guise of a surprise inspection from the city Fire Marshall (which, in reality, is supposed to happen any day now - so it was pretty believable). But, instead of the Fire Marshall waiting for me, I found many close friends, clients, and family members! It was really a special surprise and it meant a lot to me to see so many people give up their Saturday afternoons to help Ryan and I prepare for and begin welcoming the baby.

The highlights were: the baby bottle gatorade chugging contest, ALL the food, the amazing gifts, and the people. Oh, I want to congratulate two single, male, meat-head friends who picked out really great & thoughtful gifts - very impressive!

I felt pretty special - Sarah

Although I did not feel like doing much of anything this morning, I went forward with training as usual. This is discipline:

DE High Box Squat 7x3

A1 GHR x100 @ bw - x15, 15, 15, 15, 20, 20

A2 Banded Squat Iso Holds 5x3x:05

B1 Elevated Side Squat w/MB Pulse at bottom 4x5/leg - been noticing some undesirable postural changes so I added this in to force myself to hold an arched back with a tight chest-up position with very little load - def needed the work because holding the position was tough

B2 Seated Band Adduction 3x10/leg

C1 Bird-dog 3x5x:05/side

C2 Face Pulls 3x10

C3 Pallof Press 3x5/side

30-min jogging 200m repeats let HR drop about 20bpm before going again

30-min stationary bike on my fav rolling hills setting

- Sarah

The keyword "sapt" finally brings up our website as the #1 result on Google! This is a big day. We weren't even on the first page of results for the LONGEST time.

We're kind of a big deal - S.

I just finished a meal that will probably test the integrity and fortitude of my system in a few hours:

2 cups steamed broccoli

whole wheat wrap filled with steamed spinach, 1tbsp hummus, 1/2 cup black beans, fresh salsa

the remainder of the black beans (about 1.25 cups)

My meal had 28 grams of fiber - twenty-eight!!! I may have a rough afternoon.

Training this morning:

HR intervals 30-min including warm-up/cool-down

A1 Incline DB Chest Press 3x6

A2 SA BO DB Row 3x8

B1 Lat Pulldown + 3x6

B2 Incline Pushup Iso Holds 3x3 @ :06,:03,:01

C1 Standing DB Shoulder Press 3x6

C2 Lateral Raise 3x8

30-min stationary bike

All hail the black bean - Sarah

30-min Stationary Bike

DE Deadlift 8x1 w/standing band adduction during warm-up sets

A1 BB RDL 3x8

A2 X-Band Walk 3x10 ea way

B1 SL Bowler Squat Holds 3x:05x3 

B2 Face Pulls 3x12

10-min Hill Runs

30-min Stationary Bike

I finished The China Study this morning and will share my opinions on it in the next day or two - Sarah

Here's what I did today:

30-min Stationary Bike

45-min Jog/walk

Chris saw me jogging and made fun of my form. I don't care, I have a heavy medicine ball strapped to my abdomen. I'm moving, usually forward, and that's all I'm after right now.

No hex holds with the baby's head - Sarah

Conventional Beltless Hands Free (?) Deads: 1x5 at 345, 1x5 at 370, 1x8 at 390

Close Grip Horizontal Pressing while lying on a bench: 1x5 at 260, 1x5 at 275, 1x10 at 290

Chinups and GHR's: I think 60 of each

Jaunt around the track: 10 minutes; almost set the track on fire.


Like a hex hold except with a baby's head...

Chris

Starting today, we have a new member of the SAPT coaching team. His name is Steve and he is a recent graduate of Virginia Tech (another Hokie!). We are extremely excited to welcome him to the company and are looking forward to introducing him to everyone over the next several weeks.

If you're a Hokie, you can probably work here, too - Sarah

I guess that's what I am now, a vegan endurance athlete. Not only do I not eat any meat, chicken, fish, eggs, or dairy but I've also begun prioritizing my cardiovascular training over my weight training. I wish this were a joke, but it's not. Plus, the time I spend on the cardiovascular work has begun increasing - why? Because I like it - yeah, didn't think it was possible either. Here's what I did this morning:

30-min stationary bike

A1 Chinups 4x5

A2 Pullaparts 3x15

B1 Pushups 4x5,6,7,8

B2 Banded Y's 3x15

C1 Seated Cable Low Row 4x10

C2 Banded No-Money 3x15

D1 Banded Bicep Curls 2x15

D2 Banded Tricep Exts 2x15

Outside on the track for an easy jog: 5-min warm-up, 30-min jog, 5-min cool-down

When people see me jogging I think they have one of two reactions: "Good for her!" or "Oh my god, is that safe?!?" Most probably have the second one. Today marks the completion of my 32nd week - that is 8 whole months down. Contrary to popular belief, you don't carry a child for 9 months, it's more like 10 months. Due dates are set 40 weeks from conception. So, 8-weeks to go!

In the home-stretch - S.

Here is what I did today:

30-min stationary bike

A1 BB Goodmorning 4x5

A2 SL TKE 3x10/leg

B1 DB Box Squat 3x10

B2 Seated Band Abduction 3x12

C1 Foot Elevated Side Squat 3x8/leg

C2 Standing Band Adduction 3x10/leg

D1 GHR 3x10

D2 DB Shrugs 3x12

10-min walk/jog warm-up, 15-min HR fartlek, 10-min run 50m/walk 50m, 5-min cool-down

It was at least 99% humidity in the fieldhouse this morning, so my training was accompanied by a generous amount of sweating.

They make the Shake Weight for men, too - Sarah