Strength to Weight Ratio

I read a great article by a friend who owns ZoomPerformance, a coaching firm in Des Moines and I wanted to share this information with you. Your strength to weight ratio is the measure of a person’s strength divided by their body weight. Now, why is this so important? Generally speaking, athletes with a lower strength to weight ratio will be able to perform better with increased efficiency during a race. According to Running Times, "some sources estimate a gain of one per cent in running speed for every one per cent reduction in body fat." To put this in perspective, great gains can be made by simply managing your nutrition plan with your training plan to optimize your results. According to the author, Jenny Weber, improving your strength to weight ratio can improve:
- your overall efficiency- improve metabolic function (body utilizes oxygen more efficiently)- decrease risk of injury- speeds recovery- improve mechanical efficiency
In order to improve your strength to weight ratio you need a strong, periodized training resistance program, nutrition plan, and goals for each of the above mentioned steps. For more information, follow this link

Traits of a Coach

What makes a good coach? Is it their dependability, knowledge, leadership, trust, or personable? I want to know what you think makes a great coach - if you had to list the top 3 traits of a coach, what would they be? I'd also like to hear your experiences of a good or bad coach.

Children and Obesity

One of the biggest epidemics in America that continues to get worse is our youth and obesity. Studies are showing that the number of children overweight and obese is growing at an alarming rate and continues to get worse. Some of the causes include schools cutting back on physical education due to budget constraints, increasing popularity of video and computer games, and the foods kids are eating these days. I think the responsibility lies with the parents. Kids will emulate what kids do - if you eat well, they will eat well. Keep the fridge stocked with fruits, veggies and whole foods and stop buying processed foods, high calorie juices, and pop. Be a role model by being active - go for walks, go to the park, or join recreational clubs. If your children see you being active, and enjoy being active, they will want to join in the fun. Limit video game time and get creative with activities to keep your children active and healthy. what are your thoughts? how do you keep your kids active?

refresh motivation

About once a quarter I feel like I'm losing my focus and losing control of where I'm at in relation to my goals -- at least the things that I can control. I feel like I am drifting off the path that I intended to go and am losing my grasp. When I sense this feeling approaching I take a day off from work and have a Matt day. these days are usually used for catching up on things that are overdue (i.e. blog, budgets), and a time to reflect on what I'm doing right, what things I can improve on - whether it be in my marriage, family, raising my daughter, training, work, personal goals, etc. More than anything, these days help me refresh and refocus my motivation and drive and help me get out of a funk. It is amazing that one day can turn things around and get pointed in the right direction. It is almost like a timeout from life for 8 hours to zero in on what I need to do to reach my goals - I may not have the exact answer, but I put myself on the path to find the answer, or get the tools to find the answer.

Workout Motivations

What is your motivation for working out? If you don't have any motivation/drive to get your exercise, it will be an uphill battle and chances are you will fall off your plan. Here are my motivations - tomorrow I'll touch on the physiological/psychological basis behind these drivers:
- stay healthy
- be prepared for races
- improve on my weak areas of fitness
- escape from the everyday grind
- alleviate stress
- get more energy
- feel a sense of accomplishment
- re-discover the balance between mind and body
- better sleep at night
- general feeling of good health
What are your motivations? What is holding you back from exercise? What are your deterrents?

Off Season Training Plan

As promised, here's my workout schedule for the next 4 weeks. In week 5 I will have a recovery week in which I will decrease both volume and intensity. I have incorporated weight training 4 days a week, core plyometrics(speed, strength exercises) 2 days a week and 2 swims, bikes, and runs a week. Essentially, it is two workouts a day, one morning and one afternoon/evening. This is a lot of training, but I've built a strong enough base (foundation of fitness) that I shouldn't have any issues completing this program. It will be important that I continue to focus on stretching, a good nutrition plan, and listening to my body for any potential warning signs.

Monday - Weights (shoulders, legs) - swim (tempo workout)

Tuesday - Weights (chest, triceps, back) - run (interval-hills)

Wednesday - core, plyometrics - bike (spin class)

Thursday - Weights (shoulders, legs) - swim (intervals)

Friday - Weights (chest, triceps, back) - run (tempo)

Saturday - core, plyometrics - bike (tempo)

Sunday - OFF!

I'd like to hear your feedback and advice

2009 Goals

This is the time of year where I begin to set goals for next year and structure my off-season workout. For the past two years my goals have been more around finishing my races and improving without much structure around SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely). Having specific goals for training is motivation to continue to work hard duing the off-season and stay focused on what you want to gain during the next season. I'm not going to post all my goals for next season, but I will post my main goal - reach a tiime of 12 hours 30 minutes in Ironman Wisconsin next year. My first Ironman time was 15 hours, so my goals is to improve my time by 2 1/2 hours. I believe I can reach this goal by focusing my off-season on improving strength, speed, and aerobic threshold (faster speeds while maintaining aerobic energy system). Tomorrow I will lay out my workout plan.