Alternative Training

Alternative Training (e pluribus unum)

Training is always an evolving topic. There’s a long standing school of thought that the best way to train for sport X is to DO sport X. Basketball, running, climbing, racecar driving. Of course, we all know the concept of cross-training. This has become the new school utility tool of training. Crossfit is a hugely successful brand based on this concept.

I’ve been in both of the above schools of thought. Generally it makes sense to me that if you’re active, especially in a goal oriented manner you will progress. It’s not always possible to progress in all directions simultaneously, but what if we could?

About a year ago (mid-December 2016 to be exact) I wondered this. I had become infatuated with Tim Ferriss @tferriss. I live in a small community of superhumans high in the mountains of Colorado. I have always aspired to be like them, despite being a mortal. Partly for this reason I had never been exposed to Tim’s work before, but began to devour it.

The ‘4-hour’ paradigm continued to fuel an awakening I (have continued to) experience. The ultimate origin is likely my first daughter, now 4. An early read on this journey was Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad. The financial information was incredible. Most of all the last line of the book kicked me in the ass: Take Action!

Since then I have chosen to take control of my life. It is not an overnight process, but as a five year plan of family, business, health and wealth building we (my wife and girls) are finding success. A few of my tools are: goalsetting, motivation, and alternative training techniques.

This will be the first in a long series of posts regarding (mostly) techniques I have learned, applied or developed from Ferriss’ 4-Hour Body. #4hourbody

Originally my plan was to run a 25k with minimal running to train for it. My theory was this: If I apply the Slow-Carb Diet (SCD) and Occam’s Protocol I could get the ’20-lb reshape’ that Tim talks about. I wanted to burn 10 lbs of fat, and replace it with 10 lbs of muscle. I was already somewhat fit but we had our second daughter in February 2016 and work and life takes its toll.

Per a Dexa scan I had over the summer I sat at about 18% body fat. For a 36 year-old who had never cared about what he put in his body, raised on fast-food and soda, I thought that wasn’t too bad. My biggest concern was the deposit of ‘bad fat’ around my abdominals. It was small (comparatively), but I know that is a particularly unhealthy place we usually build fat.

I asked myself if small changes could make big differences. Mid-December I jumped off the Slow-Carb cliff. I’ll write a detailed post about the experience. Let’s just say I had to tighten my belt after the first week, then again the next.

After a couple weeks of that, I began on Occam’s protocol. I had not seriously weight trained in 2-3 years, and it took a little bit to get into it. (Again, I will create a detailed post of my experience.) In short, I added a lot to my starting weights.

My theory was: If I had more pounds of muscle carrying less pounds of fat, I couldn’t run slow. Everything was going in the right direction. The biggest snag my training plan hit: The race was cancelled. Not exactly, it was taken over by another organizer, and moved to October (from May).

I couldn’t find another run to fit into my schedule but kept on training. The overall results of my combined tactics: I ended up gaining about 5 lbs. I maintain closer to 15% (or less) body fat. I am lifting 2x/week aiming for a Max deadlift of at least 385 lbs.

A recent small change (focusing on my Cadence) has helped me run some of my fastest splits in many years. Last week I turned 2 miles in 15:39. Keep in mind I live at 8700’, am 37 years old and the week before I focused on Cadence I was running those same 2 miles in 17.5-18.5 minutes.

This is just the first installment of a web of posts I will create regarding my training thoughts, strategies, personal application of the 80/20 rule, and Minimum Effective Dose. What alternative strategy has yielded the best results for you? Leave a comment!

Interested in more Alternative Training? Check out my posts on Slow-Carb Diet, Occam’s Protocol, NOBLE running form and more!