Category: Fitness

9 Hours a Week to Ironman Fitness

On By Sean HathawayIn FitnessLeave a comment

Enjoying life to the max is so much easier if you’re in rockin shape. Ability to play sports with friends and kids, go hiking, climb stairs, ski, not count calories and take off your shirt in the summer and know you look awesome! That’s just a recipe for better living. Most busy people, like everyone in this crazy A.D.D. world we’re living in, would say there just isn’t time. Actually there is! It just requires consistency and mental toughness and willingness to enter the pain cave.

You see the trick is not duration of workout, but intensity. There’s books written on this, but what I thought would be helpful is to share the general regimen followed by an Athlete/Trainer/Nutritionist/ Podcaster I listen to: Ben Greenfield. The guy is ridiculously busy, like everyone I know, yet he finds time to qualify for Kona Ironman and not train the 20-30 hours/ week that many believe is necessary to achieve this feat.

Some general guidelines first:

  • Each training session needs to be deliberate, planned and intense.
  • You don’t need to get the gym to do all this. I have a bike trainer at home and some basic equipment in my garage that works.  Here’s a link to a video from Nick, a guy I take HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) School classes from where he shows us how to do an intense workout with nothing more than a yoga mat on the ground (or a parking lot in this case):   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3TdayFXnwc#t=34 
  • Swimming is a necessary part of training for those with triathlon aspirations, but it can be substituted with other workouts if that’s not your bag. However, swimming is a highly effective, easy-on-the-joints way to train and everyone should know how to swim! It’s a time commitment to get to a gym with pool, so if you’re time constrained mix in a weight workout with the swim.  
  • Have FUN! 

Here’s Ben’s general routine, discussed on Podcast #260 at BenGreenfieldFitness.com

Mon: Swim 30 minutes, interval sprints. Bike to gym or at gym.
Tuesday: 30 minute run – high intensity intervals. Weight training (HIIT style).
Wed: Bike or Swim and weight-train.
Th: Run or play sports. Weights again.
Fri: Easy. Yoga, foam roller, etc…
Sat: 60 – 90 minute run. Swim Sat or Sun if time permits.
Sun: 1.5 – 2 hour bike ride indoor. HARD.

Achieve your maximum life enjoyment potential. Strong Mind. Strong Body.

Have Fun!

Sean

Training Strategically

On By Sean HathawayIn Family, FitnessLeave a comment

Last Sunday I placed 1st in my age group (males 35-39, field of 145) at the Nautica Malibu Triathlon Classic Distance #NauticaMalibuTri. After finishing I didn’t realize that I had even made the podium so we just took off – had to drive back to San Jose from LA. I would have liked a picture of me on the podium; never have had one of those. I attribute the win to a combination of great training, a good day and luck. Luck, meaning the reality is there are faster people than me, but they didn’t show up that day.

I’ve received a lot of congratulations this past week and questions about my training. One comment along the lines of “I thought triathletes spend all their time training.” I’ve been pondering this and the reality is I spend as little time possible “training”.  45-60 minutes in the weekday mornings, an approximate 10-mile run and 3 hour bike ride on the weekend. No workouts on Monday.  I’m a big multi-tasker so my morning workouts are done in my garage on a treadmill or bike-trainer while surfing among ESPN, CNBC, Bloomberg and local news.  I feel like I’m multi-tasking on my bike rides as well; I get a lot of thinking done and make a lot of decisions out there.

I have a full-time job and two daughters that keep me very busy.  My goal is that training never gets in the way of family or career.  Approached properly and strategically, it should complement those and enhance your overall quality of life. And if you stick with it and get a little lucky, you may get to climb up a podium.

Sean