Do you smile while you run? CFSBK’s Endurance Program coach Michael O. does!
- CFSBKer Eric L. is competing in Strong Like Beast 2014 today. Get after it, Eric! Let us know how it goes!
Sunday Alternative Programming
We are hosting Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength Seminar and all normal in-house group classes are cancelled, including open gym. We are offering three track workouts located at the Red Hook running track. If you are not already signed up, please check the availability of each class HERE.
Your group class membership will apply for any of these classes.
10am Track WOD
11am Track WOD
12pm Track WOD
Running Training Tips from CFSBK’s Endurance Program Coach
- Trunk Posture and Mobility: One of the initial things that the program tackled was making sure everyone was set up for success from pelvis to ribcage. Too often runners get obsessed with when their foot strikes the ground and the positioning of their arms (which are both also important to focus on eventually). But Michael says that if you first are picture-perfect in your trunk, everything else falls into place. The most important part of consistent running form is great pelvic and spinal stability, so the team worked for a few weeks on getting that all aligned.
- Shorter Intervals with “Open” Form: “Before we start running big 800s and miles, we need to first make sure all the running muscles work and work together,” Michael explains. An often overdone mistake of endurance training is stacking miles on a 70-80% active muscular system. If you increase volume from 30 to 40 miles in a week, the increase usually comes with less muscle activation and thus overloads the imbalance. By letting runners hit a bunch of short “sprinting” type efforts with a big and open form (hills, neuromuscular efforts, shuttle runs), Michael’s crew did their best to get a 90-100% muscular activation for any muscle that helps you run… so, ALL OF THEM!!
- Learn the True Meaning of Low-Intensity: Michael believes the most important piece of training is understanding that going all out plays a very small role in increasing one’s endurance (unless you’re heading to the Millrose Games next year). “When I ask our athletes how their run was after one of our full sessions and they say ‘not too bad,’ that’s a great feeling as a coach,” he says. The idea is that not every run should leave you gassed and starving for air. Just as in CrossFit, you shouldn’t walk away from every workout feeling like you blacked out. Michael encourages his endurance crew to hit their longer runs slowly but with great form, which improves their posture over time. If a runner spends all their time in a redline zone relative to capacity, that runner is much less likely to notice or have the strength to improve their form.
- Slowly Integrating More Refined Skills: “About two to three weeks ago, our group was looking good enough that we could start thinking about smaller components of the running form,” Michael reports. Those pieces involve ankle placement and application, and hamstring usage and synchronization with the hip flexor. The group is now integrating some intricate drills into their training, which will slowly meld into their form.
Have questions for Michael about running or about joining CFSBK’s Endurance Program? Hit him up at michael.olzinski [at] gmail.com or at the Red Hook running track today. And good luck to all our Brooklyn Half runners on the remaining weeks of your training!
_________________
13-year-old 142kg Clean and Jerk hookgrip
Dogs Annoying Cats With Their Friendship tastefully offensive
Boz vs. Ro CrossFit
The Light Therapeutic Intelligent Life
