My Olympic Workout Week
by Yuri in Train Like a Pro, Yuri's Workouts
As I’ve mentioned a few times already, I’ve really been bitten the Olympic fever. I don’t know if it’s because the Olympics are taken in my home country – Canada – or that we’re getting 24/7 coverage of the games? All I know is that I’m hooked and inspired.
Since I still like to consider myself a high level athlete in my own little world, sometimes I like to imagine training and competing as if I were in the Olympics. So this week, I decided to spice up my workouts with some more sport-specific athletic training sessions.
(side note: actually, now that I say that, most of my workouts are athletic in nature – oh well)
Lower Body Power Workout
On Tuesday, I hit the gym and was pumped to crank out some great lower body exercises. My legs were feeling good so I wanted to push myself on my squats – after all, the benefits of squats for athletic performance are well known.
So after a comprehensive warm-up I proceeded to do this following superset workout:
1a. Front Squats – 3 x 8 reps
1b. Kipping Pull-ups – 3 x 15 reps
2a. Back Squats – 3 x 6 reps (here I pushed myself to test out my low back since my squatting accident in Deceember – still not as stable as I’d like but it’s almost there!)
2b. Hanging Leg Lifts – 3 x 8 reps (maybe not the best combo with squats considering it causes core muscle fatigue – but I did it nonetheless)
Once this strength component was complete, I finished off the workout with some explosive plyometric exercises which included:
- squat jumps – 3 x 4 reps
- speed skater lateral jumps – 3 x 8 reps
- ski tuck lateral hops – 10 seconds @ 100% : 30 seconds recovery x 3
It was an awesome workout and it definitely got my body ready and strong for my next workout – a 56-minute hill training run!
Hill Training Workout
After giving my body a day off to recover (one of the most important elements of any training program) I felt doing some hill training interval runs. My legs felt great from the previous workout on Tuesday and I really wanted to push myself aerobically and anaerobically. What better way than by running hills?!
So I grabbed my iPod, loaded up Treadmill Trainer Hill Runner 1, and jumped on the treadmill. I completed 3/4 of the 79 minute hill workout and boy did I feel amazing.
In case you haven’t yet used this running workout (I highly recommend it!), it involves interval runs of varying intensity and duration while running on a 4% incline. Not an easy feat.
Not only did I sweat up a storm and feel amazing for the rest of the day but I also noticed much less leg stiffness than I normally do after many of my “level-surface” runs.
I have a theory that because incline running forces you to run with better technique – such as foot striking with your mid-food instead of your heel – there is more muscular work done by the calves, quads, hamstrings, and glutes, and less force transmitted into the passive structures of the body (ie. the joints).
This is just my theory but I’m going to test its validity.
Although I’m not an Olympian these 2 workouts really pushed me as if I were. I have to say that after being inspired by the numerous Canadian champions like Scott Moir, Tessa Virtue, Jon Montgomery, and many others, I was pumped up to train harder than ever.
Watching the winter games this time around has also given a much deeper appreciation for the physical (and mental) of all these sports.
Figure skating – a sport I could never get myself to watch – has really impressed me. Watching Virtue and Moir win the gold the other night really highlighted how much strength, power, stability, endurance, and mental focus this sport requires. I have a newfound appreciation for the sport.
How about the aerial jumping?
Those guys (and gals) are crazy! Talk about spatial awareness, lower body strength, and sheer guts. It’s unbelievable.
I could go on and on about every winter sport but my conclusions are all the same – these sports require an immense amount of preparation. If I can do my part to push my body to my limits, that’s all can I ask for. And that’s really all any of us can ask for, right?
It’s about improving every day and realizing your full potential. We may not all be Olympians but we can certainly pretend we are!
Go Canada!
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