Category Archives: Uncategorized

I haven’t had a good combo workout in a while so I decided to drive up to Santa Fe on Wednesday and tear it up. While I didn’t exactly accomplish that, it was still a great day to get outside and a nice workout.

I was reminded of how technically terrible I am on the mountain bike, how much I love trail running (even though I do it several times a week), and how important snow conditions are to my skiing happiness.

Oh, and how essential proper intra-workout nutrition is. I never thought I’d be too lazy to run by the store for food, but that’s exactly what happened. And I suffered because of it.

Don’t bonk. It’s an interesting feeling in a masochistic sense, but overall not a fun experience.

5) I really, really enjoy beer. I’ve tasted well over 100 in the last year. I guess it’s not a huge number, but considering that a year ago I hated beer with a passion (and couldn’t even tell you what a craft beer was), I’m pretty proud of this.

6) Spending time in the outdoors has enriched my life in ways that I can’t even begin to describe. I won’t dare try to convert to words what the outdoors has done for me, but needless to say it’s been wonderful. I’m calmer, happier, and more adventurous than ever.

7) Your network, the people that support you, is invaluable.

8) Meeting friends in a new city, without the help of school, is pretty rough.

9) I’m sure there are tons more, but these are the ones that immediately come to mind.

Over the last couple years I’ve seen these things on and off. They seemed neat, but a little out of my price range at the time. I’m also a pretty careful buyer, and even more wary of the multitude of “fad” fitness items floating around out there.

But, I cracked. And I now own a TRX.

I gotta say, this thing is absolutely fantastic. It’s by no means revolutionary, but offers a load of options for regressing and progressing exercises. I can use this one piece of equipment to perform the same exercise with myself and several clients, simply changing angle, grip or stance to vary the difficulty. Considering this, it’s a hell of a lot easier than owning 10 different kettlebells for a number of clients at different levels.

I’m still learning the moves, and more importantly how to cue them, but I’m definitely enjoying it. The TRX is now a staple in all of my programs, and I’m thinking it will remain that way for years to come.

Sundays used to be my lazy day – hang around the apartment, eat, relax. Now it seems they’ve become my long workout day.

This Sunday actually IS a lazy day, hence the blog post. But last Sunday’s workout (above) definitely wasn’t: 90 minute hike, 90 minute snowshoe, 40 minute snowshoe run, 25 minute run, total elevation gain and loss over 6000′.

These long workouts serve several purposes. 1) They make me feel alive and take me out of my comfort zone, 2) They let me consume stupid amounts of calories post-workout, and 3) They’re the most enjoyable thing I do.

After a week full of road running and bodyweight workouts, these extended ‘mountain workouts’ are a breath of fresh air. Throw something a little wacko into your routine now and again; you won’t regret it.

I ran across a post about this on Nick Tumminello’s blog the other day and thought I’d share my version. Every professional in this field has a handful of “go-to” exercises that they use with most or every client/athlete. Here are mine:

1) Dumbbell Swings – Or kettlebell, depending on the day. They get the heart rate up, incorporate both hip and shoulder mobility, and load most of the major muscle groups. Hard to go wrong with that.

2) Pullups – *THE* upper back builder. And with all the variations out there, it’s impossible to get bored with them. 

3) Cable Twists – I rarely see people performing rotation exercises; that alone is enough to justify this pick. They’re beneficial, tough, and feel good.

4) Romanian Deadlifts – A super functional movement that teaches proper bending mechanics, RDL’s are great either alone or as a supplemental exercise to aid the deadlift.

5) Split Squats – A pretty fantastic squat alternative that uses single leg movement and has many regressions and progressions.