Good Riddance, Evil Strength Workouts!

Finally, I'm at the end of the really hard strength training.

Today I had no scheduled triathlon workouts, so I did my last really big strength workout today, and starting next week, I go into maintenance phase (2 sets of 12 reps).

I've been doing this strength program for 4 years, and it still kicks my ass! I use the periodization from a Mark Allen/Paula Newby-Fraser program; however, the actual exercises I do are a combination of moves I know and love from my old bodybuilding days, various books I've picked up over the years and guidance I've received from a few awesome personal trainers I've encountered. I do one full-body workout per week, and then I repeat the abs and core exercises a second time in the week. Here's the breakdown by body area of the number of exercises I do:

• Abs: 5
• Core: 8
• Legs & Glutes: 15
• Arms (Bis and Tris): 11
• Shoulders: 11
• Chest: 4
• Back: 5

So my first strength session of the week, the full-body workout, has 59 exercises in it (which I typically split across Monday and Tuesday), and then my repeat abs and core workout has 13 exercises (which I typically fit in on Thursdays). Good thing I have all the equipment in my house--it would take a LONG time to do all of this in a gym! I pretty much execute the routine circuit-style, and from week to week, I never do the exercises in the same order, which keeps my muscles alert and prevents mental or physical staleness. So for those of you who have studied my physique, you see that in reality I don't do a lot of abs work, but I certainly think my power and endurance in all 3 sports benefit from the level of strength training that I do. And it helps to keep my muscle mass up while doing all the cardio, which ultimately contributes to my lean-itude (I just made that word up). One of these days I'll get someone to photograph my upper back--it's totally cut, but USEFUL--it's what drives my ability to swim without fatigue.

The periodization I've followed this year (the beginning weeks are flexible, depending on how I ended my previous triathlon season) goes as follows, except for most of the abs and core exercises, where I always do 2 sets of 15 reps:

• 1x15, 2 weeks (my solo marathon on 10/2/2005 was in here)
• 1x12, 2 weeks
• 1x12, weights up, 1 week
• 1x12 at new weight, 4 weeks
• 2x12, 2 weeks (my solo indoor 1/2 Ironman was in here)
• 2x12, weights down, 1 week
• 3x12, 2 weeks
• 3x12, weights up, 1 week
• 2x15, weights down, 1 week
• 2x20, 2 weeks (Goofy Challenge was in here)
• 3x20, 1 week
• 2x6 Power, 2x20 Endurance (about 1/2 the exercises for a body part are at high weight/low reps 2x6; other 1/2 are at lower weight/high reps 2x20) 1 week
• 2x8 Power, 2x20 Endurance, 1 week
• 3x8 Power, 2x20 Endurance, 3 weeks

And that brings me to today! Next week and for the duration (except that I will only do abs and core or perhaps not even that during a race week, and prior taper weeks I might scale back to 1x12), it's 2x12, and that will feel AWESOME (ask Brett--he's followed my evil periodization plan).

I know I added some exercises this year, but I didn't really keep track. You've seen from my weekly workout summaries that the percent of my training hours devoted to strength isn't very high, and will go down even further as my sports volume increases, but I do believe that it builds a solid foundation that enables me to pile on the volume in the springtime with less risk of injury. Add to that the consistency of stretching I've been following, and I am very pleased with these "extras" that I incorporate into my training.

What's so funny to me is that before 1998, I was really into the bodybuilding thing, and just LOVED pumping iron. I would do about 4 hours per week, and in the summer I would take my bench and free weights out into my garage (yes, hauling all that weight down a flight of stairs and 30 feet down a driveway was a workout in and of itself), and I'd work out outside in my driveway. I loved pumping iron, and I couldn't imagine not doing it.

Then I started running, because you know, it's important to do cardio, too (I can hear all the snickering going on), but I wasn't ready to give up my beloved strength routine. Back then I did a split routine where each body part got worked twice a week, but not nearly as much abs and core work, so I figure I was doing as much or more exercises per body part as I am doing today. Once I started running, though, I scaled things back to 2 full-body workouts per week, and still carried a hefty (pun intended) load of strength work.

The thing was, if you had asked me at the time which I enjoyed doing more--running or lifting--hands down it was pumping iron. I loved the way it felt deep in my muscles while doing it--almost as if I could feel my muscles growing (which we all know isn't true--they grow only when you are resting), I loved DOMS, I just loved having muscle.

Then, the triathlon bug bit, and again I had to make a compromise to my strength training. It was tough, because not only did I not have enough time to do all the lifting I wanted, but it compromised (initially) my attempts to add more volume to my weekly workout time. So I had to scale back again. In the process, I rediscovered how much I loved riding a bike (which I had done plenty of as a kid, non-competitively), how much I sucked at swimming (here I thought I knew how, but NOOOOOO), and how running when you have all these other things to do is not so enjoyable.

Fast forward to today, though, and because I've learned how to take care of myself and how to balance the sports training with the strength training, and I've designed a strength program that works well for me with my triathlon training and racing schedule, and I have to say that I enjoy the sports more than I do pumping iron.

But there is still a special place in my heart for it, because I know that without it I would probably be a big blob of unattractive fat, which does not work for me. And while I no longer subscribe to Muscle & Fitness magazine, occasionally I will pick up Oxygen, because I just think these women who shape their bodies (to a point) are gorgeous (no, I'm not gay), and since they also do plenty of cardio, other than the weird dieting they go through for a contest, they are pretty healthy and inspirational. I read in Oxygen the other day a weight chart that was supposed to show whether your weight for your height is under, within or over where it should be. Their chart said I am UNDERWEIGHT. Ha ha. Funny coming from a magazine that is geared to women who are trying to get their bodyfat percent down to 7-8 (me, I'm a whopping 11 or 12, possibly lower, possibly higher, who knows?). Oh well, it just goes to show you there are many different standards out there.

That picture of Arnold? That's on the back of the door in my home office/gym. While I have a new found appreciation for the triathlete physique, I still have a soft spot for a buff guy with a little more muscle. Not too much, though, but Arnold? He's still a hottie in my book. And I think it's hilarious that years ago I taped "GET HARD" to that picture. I think I just came up with a new Crackhead motto: TRAIN HARD, GET HARD, GO HARD. You can interpret that how you like. Works for me!