THE 10-WEEK CHALLENGE FOR RACERS
ABOUT 5 YEARS AGO, I put together The RaceDay Ready 10-Week Challenge. It was, and still is...
... a simple plan to achieve maximum fitness.
Most people scoffed.
It was too simple.
Then, I set my PR at Leadville at age 60...
... going sub-8 hours.
To date,
there are about 5 of us who have clocked under 8.
I created a sticker to share with every package we ship (see above).
Here's the reasoning.
Recored Daily:
- Weight
- Time Slept
- Workout Data
What gets measured gets managed. The simple act of recording data creates a feedback loop for us to see what happens to our bodies on a day to day basis. It's incredibly powerful...
... if we write it down.
I prefer pen and paper.
Do Daily:
- Pullups and Pushups
- Squats and/or Box Jumps
- Stretch/Yoga/Recovery
This strength work is very easy to do at home, involves large muscle groups and all the connecting tissues and tendons. Being strong with these basic movements is just incredible in daily life, and fantastic for longevity and power in endurance sports.
Stretching and yoga and other recovery techniques has obvious benefits. A less obvious one is if/when we crash being flexible will mitigate all kinds of pain and damage.
- Journal 30 minutes/day
- Read 30 minutes/day
Working on our inner game is crucial to keeping our pursuits in balance.
Journaling first thing, stream of consciousness, whatever comes to mind, is a great way to begin the day exploring our selves and state of mind. There's a great book on this The Artist's Way.
Reading something uplifting, puts goodness into our souls, leaving little room for negativity and discouragement.
- Eat Whole Foods
- Meat Sparingly
- Drink Enough
We are what we eat, and the closer we can get to food in its natural state the more that food can help us in all our endeavors. A simple rule, if we can't identify the ingredients we should skip it. Example, I know what a apple is, I can't determine what is included in an apple pie.
Keep meat consumption level to sparingly, and keep it lean.
There's a lot to be said about hydration. Don't over think it, if you're thirsty, drink. Water preferable, the purer the better.
- Consistent Bedtime
Going to sleep at the same time is crazy hard. Kids, work, spouse, friends all on different schedules with different needs. But, great sleep is a superpower to getting the most out of life, our bodies included.
NO:
- Alcohol
- Bread
- Soda
- Sugar
Ask anybody with an Ora ring what happens to their sleep and overall health with alcohol if you have any doubts on this one.
Bread can be good, but there are so many forms that are more like donuts it's just a lot easier to skip it all together as a test.
Soda and Sugar. Really, you're not really doubting these are rotten in almost every way and loaded into almost every aspect of our lifestyles.
But, what about working out... yes, sugar good there. Even then, be careful.
If you're still reading,
you're probably wondering,
how anything this simple could be life-changing.
All I can tell you is I have the thank you notes and PRs to merit at least giving it a try.
===
161.8 lbs
7 hours sleep
5 PullUps, 20 PushUps, plus some other stuff.
20 minutes stretching
120 minutes Reading/Journaling
103/107/-3 (fitness per Training Peaks)