BUILDING UP YOUR CONDITIONING LEVELS & OPTIMIZING CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH

Hey Team...

Today we are talking about performance....

As you all know, I am an avid daily gym-goer...

And, as a result, I am a witness to some pretty awful training...

Well, let me correct that, some "lazy-training"....

Last week I was working out at Equinox Gym, and was training next to a Personal Trainer who was working with a client...

The Client was looking at the squat rack, and looking at himself in the mirror...

Before doing his set, he stepped back from the rack, looked at himself again, and told the trainer how disgusting he feels that he "has not lost any weight"...

Now, this did not stop him from wearing the skin tight t-shirt, but it did make him think...

The trainer actually gave him a look like he hears this from his clients all day long...

(which he wanted to take no responsibility for)....

But then the client said, "I have no discipline or self control... especially when it comes to eating cheese and drinking at a party"....

WOW.

Truth is out...

This guy is lazy...

He has not guts...

He has no control on his OWN THOUGHTS, DESIRES, AND EMOTIONS...

That to me indicates a greater need beyond the trainer... 

Some true self-exploration and maybe even some psycho-therapy....

Now...we can all relate to this in some way... but we must remember we are in control of how we look and feel...

And with that .. I was speaking to one of my clients, Brandon and we talked about taking him to "the next level"...

You see, Brandon has been really getting after it for the past year and a half... and he is what I call.. "A GRADUATE OF STANDARD CARDIO"..

What does that mean?

It means, that besides warming-up, cardio machines like an elliptical will have virtually zero impact on his ability to improve his conditioning levels...

Now they will help him maintain and burn some calories, but to get to the next level, he needs to hit heart rate elevations and work with intervals these machines are not optimally used for....

No what do we do?

We get him outside.....

Using a simple conditioning drill on a track...

I call this drill "RUNNING THE STRAIGHTAWAYS"....

1. Go to a rubber surfaced track

2. After a warm-up, begin this 30 minute program

3. On the track, you will run the straight-aways and walk the loops (turns).

4. Each lap, increase your speed on the straight-aways...

5. By the end, these will look like 40-50yd. Sprints

6. Repeat this Program 3x Per Week...

What is great about this program, is after you have built your base indoors, this will allow you to increase your conditioning levels while providing you plenty of rest..

This rest allows shin splint and stress fracture risk to decrease as well...

Especially when you compare it to DISTANCE RUNNING early in the season, 2-3x per week....

So if you are somebody who is in a "plateau"... get off the gym equipment and start heading outdoors... 

You will expend more energy, challenge your body in a different way, and be dealing with the elements....

#trainlikeapro

COACH DANA CAVALEA

Coach Dana Cavalea is the former Director of Strength and Conditioning & Performance for the New York Yankees.

He now spends his time traveling the world speaking and consulting c-suites and their companies, teams, and organizations on how to activate themselves physically and mentally to improve productivity, value, and contribution(aka winning).

To speak with Coach Cavalea about activating your workforce, visit his site at www.danacavalea.com where he offers speaking, consulting , and team-building services.