Mix it up! (Part II)

Doing different sports is extremely fun, and it helps you to improve your fitness levels rapidly without the risk of injuring yourself. But it can be complicated and not very practical, if you have a very busy agenda.

So, how can you add the needed variety to your training without making it so complex?

Quick answer: Focus each workout you do on a different and specific physical ability.

Yes, you are right! Quick answers are not always clear answers. So bear with me while I try to explain this into greater detail.

The following is key information for those of you who really want to optimize your recovery times, so you can train constantly to improve your fitness very rapidly.

The basic physical abilities

Your body is a Perfect Machine, full of organs and complex systems that work all in synchrony to keep you enjoying Life.

Muscles, glands, arteries, lungs, brain, tendons, heart, senses, hormones, and million other precious parts working together as a perfect team. From the macro body parts to the infinitely small cells and intracellular parts, all work together and have different responses according to what you do (and also to what you think and how you feel).

You knew that already?

Well, what you might have not considered before is that these DIFFERENT RESPONSES can be used to your advantage.

You can optimize your recovery by consciously stimulating your body just in a certain way each time, so while some body systems work fully, the others are resting a bit.

Now you want to know how you incorporate this into your training program, right?

Simple! 

The best way is by dividing your training to develop the basic physical abilities:

1. Endurance

Represents your ability to repeat a movement for long periods of time. When you train your endurance, you are working at a low intensity level, so your breathing is under control and your muscles are moving constantly but without much force.

This is the main ability needed in sports lasting more than 2 - 3 hours (i.e. marathon, long distance triathlon, hiking, etc).

2. Speed

Represents your ability to move fast. When you train your speed, you are working your muscles at a high intensity level, but not against heavy resistance. What you are focusing is on developing the ability of your muscle fibers to contract and relax sequentially really fast, and at your command.

This is the main ability needed in sprinting, like running or swimming 100 meters.

3. Force

Represents your ability to lift or push great weights or resistance for short periods of time. When you train your force, you are working your muscles at a high intensity level, but in such short periods of time that you have time to catch your breath.

This is the main ability needed in sports like Olympic weightlifting.

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If you train all three basic abilities, you not only become a more rounded athlete, you also allow your body to recover more properly.

Although it is much better if you ask the help of an experienced Coach to prepare a training program for you, you can plan a very simple program for yourself by alternating the following in your training:

Endurance: train very easily and continuosly for at least 45 minutes (much more if you want to and have the time). Examples are walking, jogging, elliptical machine, biking or swimming easily. Never gasping for air or with burning muscles!

Speed: do quick and short intervals of 10 seconds to 1 minute of cycling, swimming, running or any other movement you want to become fast at. Recover your breath in between intervals and keep repeating them until you are able to move with good form and agility.

Force: either work with weights or body weight exercises, or use heavy resistance in your sports. For example, you can run uphill, or use paddles for swimming or heavy gears in cycling. Don’t do it for too long and concentrate on pushing hard with your muscles. If you are completely out of breath, stop and start again only when you are fully recovered. Your muscles must do most of the work, not your lungs!


Play with these different kinds of challenges.
Test yourself in various ways.
Learn how you react under different circumstances.
Have fun with the different sensations.

The variety of the experiences will keep you motivated and injury-free. Both conditions are needed to train consistenly. And as you already know, it is only through consistent training that you become Superfit.

Mix it up! (Part I)

You know already from the previous post that too much training without proper recovery is only detrimental and can be even harmful to your health. And you also know that you need to train constantly and with increasing effort levels to produce fast results.

So, how do you combine the two things?
How do you train more without hurting yourself?

Very simple answer: train AND recover all the time!

This means that any good training program has also recovery designed within it. And the best training programs are the ones that consider the optimization of recovery a priority.

I know, I know....you want to know how to do it by yourself, right?

Here's the trick: Mix things up!

If you train different body parts, do different sports, and use different intensity and duration levels, you will be always taxing mainly one area of your body while the others are recovering.

Sounds obvious, right?

But how many people you know that go always for that same 30-minute run, at the same pace and at the same place? I bet is the same people that show little or no results. Even worse, I am sure those same people complain about pain in the knees or ankles from exercising. 

So now let's see in greater detail how you could avoid that same mistake. 


Different sports, different body parts

What is your favorite food?
Would you eat it at every meal, every day?

Most probably you wouldn't, but if you would, that same food would become very soon your most hated dish. Your mind and body will reject it as the lack of variety would not only make your eating very annoying, but you will be also lacking many important nutrients.

Well, it is the same for training. If for example, you only do a certain run all the time, it will become annoying very soon and you will lose the desire to be active. Even worse, you will be stimulating only some of your body parts exactly in the same way, while completely neglecting others.

At a certain point, this constant and repeated movement in the same body part becomes too much, and you end up with extreme pain or even injured.

Thus, the best way to avoid it is to use different body parts and play different sports. This is called "cross-training" and it is the best injury-prevention medicine you can use. By the way, it is fun, too!

If you are not competing in a specific sport, you can keep doing different things all the time. Go hiking, biking, running, swimming, climbing, kayaking, play tennis or basketball, do weight lifting, and whatever comes to your mind and feels appealing to you.

The more variety you add, the better.

Be creative and follow your instincts!
Be adventurous, too!
Your body will be trained AND recovered properly.
And your mind and spirit will be refreshed, too!

But even if you are focusing in just one sport because you have some race in mind, add some cross training to your program to avoid injuries. For example, if you are preparing for a running marathon, a swim or bike ride can keep your cardiovascular system working at top level, while you give much needed rest to your lower back, knees and ankles from the constant running impact. Even if you do not swim or bike, you can always walk uphill to challenge your cardiovascular system and activate different muscles (i.e. glutes), while you avoid the hard impact on your knees (ask somebody to pick you up at the top or come back down walking very slowly!!!).

OK, that's it for the first part.

But before leaving, just one quick final tip: If whatever you are doing is hurting badly and acutely (especially in the joints), stop doing it! Do a different movement or do a different sport, until your pain disappears.

I know from experience that this final tip, unfortunately, will not be followed by many.

But I am writing it for the SMART ones like YOU!

Pain is an alert signal telling you that you need recovery time in a certain area. And extreme pain is a loud alert signal telling you that the area is damaged already and needs greater recovery time.

Don't be a hero!

If you are in pain, keep training, but focus on a different area.

Listen and respect your body!

At least if (like me) you want to be able to enjoy the beauty of sports and the outdoors for all the rest of your life.