Training for triathlon & Tough Mudder 04/27/12
Since my last blog post about my training preparations for the triathlon, my schedule has been pretty crazy! However, that is great since that means I’ve been working hard and I’ve had the opportunity to train martial arts or do personal training with many people.
Overall, I have still managed to make progress in my training. I have gone swimming, which actually went much better than expected. I do need to swim more frequently but the initial feeling was good. I swam 1.75km (little more than a mile) with little breaks here and there. I will never be a fast swimmer and it is the weakest part of my triathlon but if I can get through it the same way or a little better than my first (and only so far) triathlon back in 2009, I’ll be happy.
I finished that tri in 2 hours and 34 minutes so you can imagine those 4 minutes have been bugging me. Therefore, one of my goals this year is to do an olympic tri under 2 and a half hours.
My plan is to run the Bolder Boulder on May 28th, do the tri on June 2nd and Tough Mudder on June 10th. The main goal is Tough Mudder so the other races are goals as well but will act more like good training sessions. Between this and the fact that my first tri was at sea level, I have no idea what to expect doing one here. I also gained much more mass since then which means more weight and more water & wind resistance. Nonetheless, I have no doubt I can break 2 and a half hours but it will probably be my next triathlon, which is in September. The Sunrise tri on June 2nd will be more of a practice round to see what my level is at the moment and what needs to be adjusted.
During the last few weeks, these training sessions are the ones that stuck out to me:
- 2 rides back to back: I rode with friends first and afterwards, I rode with my wife. The goal was simply to do more miles and get my body adjusted to the feel of the bike.
- A tempo run at the Boulder Creek Path which hurt but I wanted to see how my legs would feel as I normally run much slower. I do need to do more of these but my schedule has been limiting.
- A 3 hour ride to Lyons and Hygiene with a good amount of climbing for me (try to ride up 205lbs + bike and you’ll understand). We still managed to get an average speed of 17.1miles/hour which was satisfactory at this early point of my training.
- On April 16th, I went running (slow) for about 45 minutes and did a bike ride by myself. Both felt great and the feeling is coming back (thank you muscle memory). Especially the ride was fantastic as it was windy and I had an average of 18.1miles/hour.
- The biggest cardio workout so far: a bike ride to Carter Lake for a total of 3.5 hours at an average speed of 18.5miles/hour. This was a great ride and a very important workout since it will boost my endurance and I didn’t encounter any major problems.
In between these sessions, I did martial arts, cross training, hiking, tennis and some shorter rides/runs. This week has been a bigger challenge as I have not had as much time to do long cardio workouts so I am hoping for this weekend.
My goal for next week will be (in addition to my regular activities):
- A long run
- A shorter fast run
- 2 swimming sessions of 2km each
- A 3 hour bike ride
- A 2 hour faster bike ride
Even though training may not always be easy, find that motivation and satisfaction. That’s what will keep you going!
By Sander Vanacker, owner, head instructor and personal trainer of Define Defense Martial Arts & Personal Training.
Define Defense in Boulder, CO
- Modern Martial Arts
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu & MMA
- Self Defense Classes & Workshops
- Personal Training
- Cross Training / TRX Classes
1805 11th Street Suite B
Boulder, CO 80302
(720) 340 6254
Info@DefineDefense.com
Training for summer & Tough Mudder: April 6, 2012
It is April 6th and I have less than 2 months before I do the Sunrise Boulder triathlon and about 2 months before doing Tough Mudder. My training at Define Defense has paid off well and my overall cardio, strength and muscle endurance are satisfactory.
It is time however, to start doing more miles to improve my cardiovascular endurance. I would advise to start of with training many miles and then work up the intensity once the races approach. However, with my work this was hard to accomplish so I trained hard during Cross Training / TRX classes, martial arts and weight lifting until now, which I will keep doing (it is so hard to sit out during classes, I always end up participating in most of them).
On Monday, I decided to wear my heart rate monitor during our Modern Martial Arts class to analyze the intensity of the class. During these classes, everyone works at their own level and will not be compared to one another. I tend to push myself pretty hard and wearing the heart rate monitor was also an extra motivation.
As you can see, my average heart rate was 149bpm and max was 175bpm. That is a pretty high average for me, meaning I pushed myself hard. Please note that everyone’s data would be different and you cannot compare your data to anyone else’s. My absolute maximum heart rate would probably be around 195bpm. This would be accomplished by going all out for a short period of time. During martial arts class, you want to sustain efforts for a longer period of time.
During the warmup, my heart rate elevated pretty quickly. About halfway through, we did some drills and when I was holding the bag for my partner(s), my heart rate dropped. The last part of the class had a higher intensity again and my heart rate stayed pretty much around 170bpm the whole time.
We did push ourselves pretty hard. Some classes will be cardio based and others will be technique based. They are not always this physically challenging and everyone works at their level, working on their strengths and also weaknesses. It does show you, that this class was a great workout and doing this will absolutely improve your cardio, muscular strength, endurance etc.
On Wednesday, I made my first real bike ride of the season. Because I raced back in Belgium, bike riding is a lot of fun for me and has a lot of memories. Therefore, I enjoy doing it and I want to continue to test myself, for example with triathlons.
I did not have an abundance of time so I only rode the bike for a little more than an hour to test my legs. I was pretty happy with the results. My average speed was 18.7mph with an elevation gain of 651 feet and an average heart rate of 145bpm. I held a pace I knew I could keep up but it was still challenging for my legs. I realized my cardio is great but the specific movements to cycling was hard for my leg muscles. This means I simply have to do more miles and train more specific to my goal (triathlon). Specific training to your goal is very important, for any sport. If you do a swimming race, you have to swim and if you do a running race, you need to run. However, cross training does have a very important role in all training.
This weekend, my goal is to ride 2-2.5 hours and in a few weeks, do bike rides of about 4 hours, once or twice a week. I am fortunate to have the experience with the bike and having a good overall foundation to work from. For beginners, I would not recommend increasing the work load like this.
Finally, on Thursday my wife, dog and I went to hike up Mount Sanitas and Dakota Ridge. Hiking is a great workout to work on your training base or foundation. As you can see, the average heart rate was only 122bpm but it is still challenging for the leg muscles when you have elevation differences. It is enjoyable and a good variation in my training. If I was competing with the bike, I would not be hiking too much or consider it a workout in season. But since I am only doing these races recreationally, I do consider this a workout and an aid to my training, especially for the Tough Mudder race on June 10th.
In between these workouts, I of course worked out more. I did some running and cross training, weight lifting and walking. These were simply some interesting notes on my training progress and heart rate data.
Heart rate data is very individual and do not base your performance and especially training program on someone else’s information. If you are interested in building a better training program for yourself, contact us and we can assist you in doing so.
By Sander Vanacker, owner, head instructor and personal trainer of Define Defense Martial Arts & Personal Training.
Define Defense in Boulder, CO
- Modern Martial Arts
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu & MMA
- Self Defense Classes & Workshops
- Personal Training
- Cross Training / TRX Classes
1805 11th Street Suite B
Boulder, CO 80302
(720) 340 6254
Info@DefineDefense.com
About Modern Martial Arts & Our Curriculum
Traditional martial arts are very rigid and more often than not unrealistic and ineffective. That is why we created our own program and curriculum by combining the elements that DO work and put them together. Our program includes everything from striking, kicking, armlocks and chokes standing and on the ground, takedowns, throws, self defense, weapons defense and grappling. It was our goal to step away from the one sided traditional practices which are outdated and offer something better... much better. You'll be more diverse and better skilled when you train Modern Martial Arts with us.
Only techniques that meet our standards and we believe are practical in a real situation were accepted and made it into the curriculum. Once you master our entire program, you will be a very complete martial artist because you are know what to do in all these different situations. If you combine the Modern Martial Arts with the No Gi Brazilian Jiu Jitsu program, you will learn everything you need to know for competition and MMA. However, that is a decision you make for yourself, depending on your goals.
Our Modern Martial Arts program offers the best of many different styles, for example:
- Karate
- Muay Thai
- Krav Maga
- Japanese Ju Jutsu
- BJJ
- MMA
- Kickboxing
- ...
Not only will you be learning more effective techniques, you will also experience strength and conditioning classes, enjoy complimentary yoga classes etc. Creating our own program and curriculum makes our program and clients more open minded towards learning more skills and evolving with martial arts/self defense instead of being stuck with a firm skillset that has been the same for decades or centuries.
Underneath you can see our curriculum, which has all the belt ranks and test requirements (excluding the amount of classes needed to test).
As you see, our curriculum is very strong and well rounded. Every single attack has 3-5 self defense escapes (not shown) so you won't get stuck in a situation. Testing is not mandatory as some of our clients simply come to get in shape or to learn how to defend themselves, compete etc. Other clients do want to get higher ranks and reach that black belt. If you look through the curriculum, you will see our black belts earned it as they master a great amount of skills and also learn to be critical towards what is effective and what is not. We do NOT want to teach our clients anything that is ineffective as this gives false confidence and can put you in serious danger.
Our black belt curriculum is available to view in our facility (degrees 2-6) and includes physiology, coaching, CPR and much more.
At Define Defense, we guide our clients and teach them the best way we can to make them the best martial artist possible.
Modern Martial Arts Curriculum at Define Defense LLC.
Martial Arts & Fighting
Originally, martial arts was developed to increase the chance of survival. Later on, it started to be used as a sport, in competition, as an art form and more. Mostly, the code of honor and respect was central and utterly important for the practitioners. Of course, there are always bad apples and all human advancements are always used for good and bad causes (think about samurais who valued honor vs. ninjas who were spies and mercenaries).
Some of these traditional martial arts styles are still widely practiced but unfortunately are also very outdated. This will be a ongoing discussion but someone practicing Tai Chi, Karate, traditional Judo etc. will learn many techniques that are simply not functional in a real life situation. This does not mean however, they are less worthy as an art form or for personal development. For self defense, these and many more styles are very overrated and sometimes even useless.
On the other side, martial arts has also evolved over the last decades. Think about Mixed Martial Arts. This is the ultimate competition martial arts form and has proven itself over and over again. For self defense reasons, it may also not be 100% effective though (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will not work with multiple attackers, an MMA fighter will not know how to defend against a knife or gun attack…)
The issue with this progress is that the self defense aspect is often overlooked and the honor and respect are mostly forgotten. The ratings have gotten so important that most fighters talk badly about each other and have very little respect left. There are exceptions, think about Georges St. Pierre, who has very strong values and is also one of the best martial artists and fighters in the world.
Martial arts and fighting overlap each other, no doubt about it. For me, it is your personal attitude that shows which one you are. You do not have to be mean or disrespectful to be a good martial artist AND fighter. Talking badly and insulting others only shows a bad attitude (and fear?) Honor and respect are extremely important in our facility. We respect our friends, instructors and teammates. We push each other and ourselves and test each other during training to become the best we can be. But there are no egos, disrespect, insults or anything else.
Our clients have different goals. Some want to become a martial artist to defend themselves, other want to get in shape and others want to compete. But we only train martial artists… that are really proficient in what they do, whether it is being prepared for protecting themselves/other or testing themselves in competition. Many martial artists can become fighters but not every fighter can become a martial artist. You will gain a huge amount of knowledge and skills to reach your goal and at the same time, you will gain friends and have fun.
Define Defense focusses on being the best studio in Boulder and offers a modern approach to martial arts, which consist of the most effective and realistic ways in martial arts. But we have also not forgotten about honor and respect. These are values that should never be forgotten. We don't practice traditional martial arts by any means but these values are timeless. We train individuals to better themselves and learn martial arts so they can feel safer, better about themselves or compete. We respect everyone's goals and do everything we can for you to meet those.
Some new pics
Our new website
We are pleased to tell you we have expanded our programs and class times. A few changes we have made:
- We have revamped our website at www.DefineDefense.com for your convenience
- We have added an adult Modern Martial Arts class (9 classes + 3 circuit training classes for you to join now!)
- We have added a women's self defense class (now 6 instead of 5)
- The women's self defense program is $250 for 2 months of unlimited classes and includes a pair of gloves (to ensure protection of the wrists).
- A new Brazilian Jiu Jitsu program will be launched this Monday, this program offers 8 BJJ classes throughout the week and also offers 3 circuit training classes, free of charge. All new clients joining the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu program will receive a $50 gift certificate to redeem with their membership. This offer is valid until July 31st.
- Joining both Modern Martial Arts and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will also be possible with our Platinum Program for only an additional $20 per month, please contact us for more information
- Define Defense has partnered up with Max Muscle Sports Nutrition in Boulder. We are happy to inform our clients that they will enjoy a permanent 15% discount on all products and every new/existing client of the Modern Martial Arts/BJJ program will receive a $75 gift card to Max Muscle!
- You will also find all our videos and pictures on our website and we are adding more every week
- A new blogging website is on its way and don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Please note that the revised schedule goes into effect Monday July 27th!
Define Defense is also having custom printed rash guards made to wear underneath your gi or for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. These help you stay cool and prevent mat burns. We will be ordering these in black and silver, short and long sleeves. However, if you are interested in purchasing rash guards, please let me know so we can order appropriately to ensure we have your size and color. The rash guards will be available for only $40. For more info, please feel free to contact us.
The Define Defense team hopes these changes will positively affect your training and we strive to continue to provide a fun and professional training setting.
Thank you for your support and we hope to see you again soon!
Sander Vanacker
Owner / Head Instructor
Define Defense Martial Arts & Private Training