As thousands descend on the sites of Spartan Races, Tough Mudders©, Warrior Dashes and races like them, we get questions about what to do to prepare for the week or day of the race. Here is what team "SPARK It Up" is doing and you should too.
* Emphasize the importance of race-week nutrition and hydration.
Be sure to begin hydrating heavily at least 72 hours before the race. This means that our Saturday group should be drinking lots of water and limiting alcohol consumption beginning on Wednesday.
Make sure that you are properly loaded up with energy; a high fiber, high complex carbohydrate diet is a must. This should begin on Thursday and carry through to Friday evening.
A bowl of oatmeal and some fruit is a great race-day breakfast especially as you will likely not eat anything
again until the first rest stop. Fortunately, the folks at the Difficult Wet-Dirt Race© takes the worry out of in-race logistics: there is no need to bring carb gels or anything like that with you during the race. There are plenty of "refueling" stations throughout the course that have water, bananas and FRS chews. Use these resources and you will have all the fuel you need to complete the race.
* Gear check.
Make sure your sneakers haven't completely fallen apart. Make sure gloves are not terribly worn. Make sure your socks are adequately hole-less. Nothing is going to suck more than getting a blister or hot spot on your skin and have to run with that for 4-5 hours.
* Gear selection.
Most of us are set on the sneakers we want to use. Most of us have gloves we like. Other suggestions might include: leggings or tights, some form of arm sleeve or a top that will cover you completely. The only bad/painful experience we had in our race last year was being covered in fine sand after several of the crawling events and then having to spend time on our hands and knees in subsequent obstacles with a hard surface. That will tear your skin up QUICK!
* Run as a team.
This is not a race; it is a challenge to the finish. If you are fortunate enough to have trained with a team, then run with the team. If a teammate falls, be there to pick them up. If you want a challenge, do your work and the work that a teammate needs help with as well. If you need help through an obstacle use your teammates. Several if not the majority of the obstacles will absolutely REQUIRE the strength and ability of more than one person. Lean on each other and we will all be successful.
Race hard. Have fun.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
A patient-friendly way to explain how the 'painful part' isn't always the problem. A Movement Econ analogy
So we are continually asked, "Hey, so how is what we're doing for my hips and my ankles going to help me? My knee is what's bothering me." Or, "When I went to PT before, they gave me a hot pack and used this sound machine to decrease my pain. Then they just gave me some exercises and none of it was as hard as this. Why aren't we working on those things?"
Well needless to say, this is not something we hear too far into treatment. After any real length of time our patients realize the method to our madness. That said, I find myself repeating a similar analogy that I find helpful and I hope you will too.
Me: Take a look at our door over there. It has three hinges. All of those hinges are in perfect working order and the door opens and closes just fine, right?
Pt: Right. Ok. So.
Me: So, let's say I remove two of the hinges. Will I be able to open and close that door?
Pt: Probably, but not for a long time.
Me: Right! It will open and close but after a little while that hinge will start to make noise, then it may loosen and once that process has started it won't be long before the entire hinge comes loose from the door frame and the door will no longer open or close at all. Makes sense, right?
Pt: Yes.
Me: So what might a person who doesn't know a bunch about doors say about this situation?
Pt: They would probably say you have to replace that hinge.
Me: YES! That's probably what they would say. Now, what would an experienced carpenter say about that door.
Pt: Replace the other hinges and the door will work better.
Me: Exactly. Now, there is still a problem with the bad hinge but until we address the what caused the this entire process in the first place we will not have completely addressed the issue. If the "fix only the painful part (aka: the obviously bad hinge)" method worked, you wouldn't be in PT for round 2.
From a purely academic stand point, this is just a way to explain regional interdependence (RI) without using those words. This construct of Movement Economics (our more patient-friendly concept of RI) we feel improves our pt buy-in and the overall therapeutic alliance.
Well needless to say, this is not something we hear too far into treatment. After any real length of time our patients realize the method to our madness. That said, I find myself repeating a similar analogy that I find helpful and I hope you will too.
Me: Take a look at our door over there. It has three hinges. All of those hinges are in perfect working order and the door opens and closes just fine, right?
Pt: Right. Ok. So.
Me: So, let's say I remove two of the hinges. Will I be able to open and close that door?
Pt: Probably, but not for a long time.
Me: Right! It will open and close but after a little while that hinge will start to make noise, then it may loosen and once that process has started it won't be long before the entire hinge comes loose from the door frame and the door will no longer open or close at all. Makes sense, right?
Pt: Yes.
Me: So what might a person who doesn't know a bunch about doors say about this situation?
Pt: They would probably say you have to replace that hinge.
Me: YES! That's probably what they would say. Now, what would an experienced carpenter say about that door.
Pt: Replace the other hinges and the door will work better.
Me: Exactly. Now, there is still a problem with the bad hinge but until we address the what caused the this entire process in the first place we will not have completely addressed the issue. If the "fix only the painful part (aka: the obviously bad hinge)" method worked, you wouldn't be in PT for round 2.
From a purely academic stand point, this is just a way to explain regional interdependence (RI) without using those words. This construct of Movement Economics (our more patient-friendly concept of RI) we feel improves our pt buy-in and the overall therapeutic alliance.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Mud Madness FREE For All!
The SPARK Physio Mud Madness Prep Course is gearing up again! Session #2 begins tonight at 7PM at our Mill Rd location in Alexandria. We had such an awesome time during the first go-round and we’re looking forward to pushing even harder over the next 10 weeks.
As a bonus for all of our friends, we’re are designating the first 2 weeks of this MM Prep Session as the “MM Free For All”. Anyone and everyone is invited to try out this training course free of charge. Have a friend who you think can hang? Tired of explaning what ‘SEAL crawls’ or ‘shrimping’ is to your coworkers? Invite them along. Who knows: they might be able to last for a workout or two!
If you or a friend is interested, feel free to reach out.
Here's to the best Mud MadnessTraining Team out there!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Mud Madness Prep Course: Weeks 9 and 10 training schedule
This is it! The final weeks of our Mud Madness training program. We're very proud of everyone who particpated in Session #1 and looking very forward to the beginning of Session #2 and our eventual race in September.
Whether or not you can join us to train in the coming weeks and months, be sure to stay tuned here for more training ideas and pics and descriptions of the drills we are performing.
Train hard. Have fun. Be safe.
Mud Madness!!
Week
#9
Whether or not you can join us to train in the coming weeks and months, be sure to stay tuned here for more training ideas and pics and descriptions of the drills we are performing.
Train hard. Have fun. Be safe.
Mud Madness!!
Week
#9
| Venue: | ||
| Base Camp: | ||
| 2609 S Walter Reed Dr, Arlington, VA 22206 | ||
| Superman Hill to Fort Barnard Park | ||
| 2101 S Pollard Street, Arlington, Virginia 22204 | ||
| Venue specific move | ||
| Time | High stepping | |
| :00 | Dyno Warm-Up | |
| :10 | Drill Circuit 1 | Stop and starts |
| High knee run | ||
| :15 | Drill Circuit 2 | High knee hurdles |
| Superman-hill sprints | ||
| Superman-hill kbell trot | ||
| :25 | Drill Circuit 3 | Vert jumps |
| High knee jumping | ||
| Turds nest | ||
| :35 | Drill Circuit 1 | Sprints |
| Bear crawls | ||
| :40 | Drill Circuit 2 | Up/downs |
| Crab walk | ||
| :50 | Drill Circuit 3 | Kbells on parade |
| Over/unders | ||
| Week #10 | ||
| Venue: | ||
| HQ: Mill Rd | ||
| 2331 Mill Rd, Alexandria, VA 22314 | ||
| Carlyle Quad | ||
| 330 John Carlyle Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 | ||
| Venue specific move | ||
| Time | Log jammin' | |
| :00 | Dyno Warm-Up | |
| :10 | Drill Circuit 1 | Sprints |
| Ramp sprints | ||
| :15 | Drill Circuit 2 | Stop and starts |
| Rope/ramp relay | ||
| Stair erg | ||
| :25 | Drill Circuit 3 | Bounds |
| Hopping | ||
| Broads and verts | ||
| Kiss of mud | ||
| :35 | Drill Circuit 1 | SEAL crawls |
| Bear crawls | ||
| :40 | Drill Circuit 2 | SEAL crawls |
| Up/downs | ||
| Over/unders | ||
| :50 | Drill Circuit 3 | Bear crawls |
| Ramp sprints | ||
| "Haynesworth" | ||
Monday, May 21, 2012
Mud Madness Prep Course: Weeks #7 and #8 training schedule
It's weeks #7 and #8 of our Mud Madness Prep course. We hope you have all had as much fun as we have during this program! Keep up the awesome work with some of these challenging movements.
A friendly reminder that if you are local to the northern Virginia area and want to train with us, Session #2 registration has just begun. Shoot us an email at info@sparkphysio.com for more details.
As we wind down this session, we will take a short break from training to allow our bodies some time to heal and ramp back up for Session #2 which WILL RUN FROM 6/18/12 to 8/25/12
Have fun with these workouts and as alway feel free to shoot over any comments or questions.
Week #7:
Week #8:
A friendly reminder that if you are local to the northern Virginia area and want to train with us, Session #2 registration has just begun. Shoot us an email at info@sparkphysio.com for more details.
As we wind down this session, we will take a short break from training to allow our bodies some time to heal and ramp back up for Session #2 which WILL RUN FROM 6/18/12 to 8/25/12
Have fun with these workouts and as alway feel free to shoot over any comments or questions.
Week #7:
| Venue(s): | ||
| HQ: Mill Rd | ||
| 2331 Mill Rd, Alexandria, VA 22314 | ||
| Carlyle Quad | ||
| 330 John Carlyle Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 | ||
| Time | Hold your wood | |
| :00 | Dyno Warm-Up | |
| :10 | Drill Circuit 1 | Rope relay run |
| Kbell trot | ||
| :15 | Drill Circuit 2 | Stop and starts |
| Rope/ramp relay | ||
| Stair erg | ||
| :25 | Drill Circuit 3 | O-bar relay |
| High knee verts | ||
| Boa constrictor | ||
| :35 | Drill Circuit 1 | SEAL crawls |
| Bear crawls | ||
| :40 | Drill Circuit 2 | Up/downs |
| Leap frog | ||
| :50 | Drill Circuit 3 | Dive bombers |
| Over/unders | ||
Week #8:
| Venue(s): | ||
| Base Camp: | ||
| 2609 S Walter Reed Dr, Arlington, VA 22206 | ||
| Superman Hill to Fort Barnard Park | ||
| 2101 S Pollard Street, Arlington, Virginia 22204 | ||
| Venue specific move | ||
| Time | Devil's beard | |
| :00 | Dyno Warm-Up | |
| :10 | Drill Circuit 1 | Shrimping |
| Muscle ups | ||
| :15 | Drill Circuit 2 | Stop and starts |
| Jungle gym work | ||
| Bear crawl | ||
| :25 | Drill Circuit 3 | Shrimping |
| Spider web | ||
| :35 | Drill Circuit 1 | Muscle ups |
| Grip drills | ||
| :40 | Drill Circuit 2 | Jungle gym work |
| Pull up hangs | ||
| :50 | Drill Circuit 3 | Mountain climbers |
| Fence up/over | ||
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Mud Madness Prep Course: Week #6 training schedule
It's already Week 6! Mud Madness (MM) training is 10 weeks long but no worries! We're going for the full 20 weeks of hard core training so that our team is prepared for what awaits.
Everyone is stronger. Faster. Tougher!! Keep up the great work SPARK It Up teammates. If you're continuing to follow us at home be sure to check in periodically if you have questions or to add input if you find another move useful in your training.
Remember: MM trainings are for those who are seeking a challenge. Marathon's are for people who have a few hours to kill.
Train on! Be safe. Make health happen.
Everyone is stronger. Faster. Tougher!! Keep up the great work SPARK It Up teammates. If you're continuing to follow us at home be sure to check in periodically if you have questions or to add input if you find another move useful in your training.
Remember: MM trainings are for those who are seeking a challenge. Marathon's are for people who have a few hours to kill.
Train on! Be safe. Make health happen.
| Venue specific move | ||
| Time | Twinkle toes | |
| :00 | Dyno Warm-Up | |
| :10 | Drill Circuit 1 | Balance beam wk |
| SLS Russians Squat | ||
| :15 | Drill Circuit 2 | Gasser Hill bear crawl suicides |
| Line drills | ||
| :25 | Drill Circuit 3 | Bulg lunges |
| Shrimping | ||
| Just the tip | ||
| :35 | Drill Circuit 1 | Skier squats |
| Bulgarian lunges | ||
| :40 | Drill Circuit 2 | Up/downs |
| Gasser Hill sled pull | ||
| :50 | Drill Circuit 3 | Line drills |
| Fireman's carry |
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