huge, colossal, massive, enormous, gigantic, very big, very large, great, mammoth, vast, immense, tremendous, mighty, monumental, epic, monstrous (www.oxforddictionaries.com).
I can ace this…..
When
I first saw the training program, I said awesome, 3 days a week is great. My
coach Ben laughed and said "No, 3 days on and 1 day off,
continuously". The physical training is the hardest I have been pushed in
my life. What a shock! Mentally this is
the hardest to grapple with, as I’m a very active person and quite fit and
strong (well, I thought I was). The quad workouts have been an absolute killer.
Sumo wide-legged dead lifts, front squats, back squats NOS to failure, lunges…
My
initial three-day program (Milos sets) was aimed
to stimulate the maximum amount of muscle fibres. The program consisted of
compound exercises performed explosively and with heavy weights and are multi-set,
meaning that one exercise is performed after another with as little rest in
between sets (strict 10 seconds).
Sweat, spew, tears
On
more than one occasion I felt overcome with emotions. A mixture of feeling
exhausted, not having any air or energy and an absolute burning pain. On my
third session I was doing a hamstring exercise which involved pushing my quads
into a pad and lifting myself upright, whilst holding a weight plate. My quads
were burning from the day before (it hurt to walk, get into the car, to sit
down on the toilet, to get up,) and I really did not know how I would survive
the session. As I lifted myself up (quads pushing into the pads) it felt like a
fiery rod was entering my quads and slicing them off. Sweat was dripping from
my forehead, beetroot red face and I felt my eyes fill up with tears. Ben was
standing there, watching, not giving in to my pain or whinging. The voice
inside my head said "don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, suck it up". My
ego took over and somehow forced the tears back inside and let out loud
screams/grunts and forced myself up for the full set. I surprised myself and
didn't know where that inner strength came from.
Ben mentioned to focus on the intention, to concentrate on the specific muscles I was working out at the time. It was much easier
with some of the smaller muscle groups, where I used less weight. This drew
some parallels to my yoga and meditation practices, whereby you focus on
something intently and turn off all other distractions (mindfulness). When it comes to quads, this is a work in
progress for me.
Giant sets
Just when I had gotten used to the first 3 weeks of
training, the program changed again in the fourth week. I didn’t know whether
to be excited or scared. I came to realise it is normal to feel utterly
destroyed when being introduced to a new program with DOMS for days. This was
something I was NOT looking forward to each week. Nevertheless, this is part of
the journey and I am determined to do the best I can. As Arnie Schwarzenegger said “the
resistance that you fight physically in the gym and the resistance that you
fight in life, can only build a strong character.” This new program was now a four-day work out.
As the name suggest, giant sets cane one muscle group with great volume
usually with four or more sets. Each quad workout (without fail) makes me feel
wobbly, dizzy, sick and so sore. It’s a feeling which completely overwhelms you
psychologically and physically. All of you who train quads intensely, know
exactly what I’m talking about. I’m interested to hear your experiences. I have never vomited from exercise and I
intend to keep it that way, haha. Charles Poliquin posited that the high
lactate levels you produced during the giant sets, stimulated high levels of
growth hormone. More information can be found in these 2 articles:
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| Backward sled pulls |
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| On the way down, ass to grass |
Skippety doo da
By the fifth week, Ben advised me to start incorporating some cardio
several times a week, to help trim down my legs. Sweet! I love boxing and
thought this was the answer to the cardio requirement. I find boxing (pad-work)
mutually satisfying and empowering. I enjoy getting pumped up each session with
a boxing partner and encouraged to work harder. By the same token, it’s
extremely rewarding to guide and motivate your boxing partner to push and work
that little bit harder each time and share in their progress.
Ben said “what fitness model do you know of, who does boxing, you need
to run or use a stepper”. Running……I could think of nothing more boring. I
don’t enjoy it. I did attempt to run around the Albert Park Lake (mainly to get
a tan). I completed it but was jogging so slow that even a hunch-back pensioner
overtook me. I began doing short intense
boxing sessions at 6am, followed by 10 minutes of interval running
(begrudgingly) on the treadmill (or
steep inclines) or cross-trainer, several times a week, in addition to the
weight training in the evening. Give me boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, marathon
yoga sessions with endless warriors and salutes, swimming, rockclimbing, sled
pulling, prowler pushing, tyre flipping,
over running any day. I’ve made the challenge of running a mini goal, “you
don’t have to be great to start but you have to start to be great” (Zig
Ziglar). I have entered into the Melbourne Colour Run around Albert Park Lake,
with my fabulous boxing teammates. It may sound crazy but when I practice Yoga
warrior and salute poses, my mind is very in tune with my body and I actually
feel hip flexors and quads burning. I am working to translate this practice of
mindfulness to all other types of exercise.
Roll, roll, roll your boat
At the end of each workout, I spend approximately 30 minutes stretching
and mobilising. This includes traditional stretches, a foam roller, power bands
and getting in to tight places/big muscles with a hard lacrosse ball. I am
hypermobile, so I do need to be careful. I learnt about the importance of
mobility and various mobilisation techniques in Crossfit. Limit soreness and
tightness through increased blood flow and flexibility and reward your efforts
with a quick myofascial release. There are some great youtube clips online
showing mobility with lacrosse balls and foam rollers.
Take aways:
1) Focus on the intention/
specific muscle you are working on.
You will be surprised at your improvements and gains once your mind/body
connection is in tune.
2) Work with a quality coach (as I have said before). Pay attention to the tempo and focus on form
before weight. Align your body correctly and move smoothly through each
exercise. Poor form can prompt injuries and slow gains.
3) Keep challenging muscles by slowly increasing weight
or resistance each week.
4) Mobilise, mobilise and mobilise
at the end of each session! Roll away injuries (without the cost of a
masseuse).
Like my page:
www.facebook.com/pages/Larissas-Fitness-Model-competition-journey/
Like my page:
www.facebook.com/pages/Larissas-Fitness-Model-competition-journey/
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