Stamina booster

[yihaoyang]

I was wondering if anybody out there have any recommend consumables (other then steriods or estrogens) from GNC or relevant in regards to stamina boosting?

I do swim a lot but recently, i am pushing to do running and swimming together by running to the pool from home, swim then run back home. The total run is about 4-5km and i make sure i do a 500 m swim at least. I am very out of breath when i run back and always tell myself not to stop, but the pace that i am jogging towards home, people might say 'you might as well walk'. When i am like a km +/- away from home, my face is already pale and gasping like a fish out of water for 5 mins! I sometimes wonder if i am pushing too hard? but i know stamina won't be built if you don't push it but i want to be Doing It Right!

I do not have any professional personal trainer etc but what i train is what the military taught me during my service previously. Any advises would be greatly appreciated, also, i HATE stitches. It is damn irritating!

[keri.lewis]

YiHao

If you're that out of breath you are pushing too hard for your current level of conditioning. (I do it too so I'm no angel) You need to train at a lower level of intensity and train for longer periods to build aerobic stamina.

I think you should aim for a slower run and build up. If I read your post correctly you are doing

• 2-2.5km run
• Swim
• 2-2.5km run

Right?

You need to pace it so you don't pass out

I would run slower, especially on the way to the pool. Then if you are feeling strong in the last Km on the way home you can up the pace a bit.

Bear in Mind I am not a personal trainer...

Build a base
They say best Aerobic training is done at around 70% of Max Heart rate. Below 60% isn't hard enough - over 80% is too hard. There is a formula for age variation on Max HR, but given the fact you are busting on the way home, you may as well just measure your pulse there when you feel you can't do any more.

Aim for about 70% of that rate as the average for most of your training sessions - if you can't hold a conversation at the rate you're exercising, you're probably training too hard.

Once that is comfortable, add to the length of the swim until your total exercise time gets to about 45 mins to an hour. Doing that 3 times a week is a solid base to build from. You'll feel better over time.

BTW Don't add too fast - it's a way of getting injured! No more than 10% increase per week. (When I did the Singapore Marathon a few years ago this was my weakness I always wanted to add too much at first - I got injured one year and couldn't run - I've had Achillies Tendon problems ever since)

Building up
You may also want to throw in some strength training buy running to the gym and doing weights or some such. Once you are reasonably comfortable (i.e. not dying on the way home) you might add a high-tempo work out - deliberatly run and swim harder than the 70% go for intervals at a higher rate of say 85% with short rests in between.

As I said build slowly - and listen to your body! If it says "today I need a rest" listen - not just laziness but tiredness.. it will be less frequent as long as you stick at it.

Crossfit and other forms of Masochism
If you talk nicely to Jerry Mobbs in Indonesia or Dave Ross in PG... they'll introduce you to Crossfit. I lack the courage myself..

Chemical Supliments..
As for the GNC range.. up to you .. eat right, and you shouldn't need them.

[yihaoyang]

Wow! Thanks Keri!

Yes I do think I should build up a little more instead of dying the way home. I am taking a break tomorrow as my thighs are a little sore from today's.

I think I should reduce the runs to about 2km each as 500m in the pool to me is also tiring. Are there any techniques when running? I heard people telling me try to breathe from nose (impossible!?), try not to pant as in breathe in and out slowly. Not to drink ice water right after your run? Ice water tasted like vintage Dom Perignon at that point!!

Thank u so much for the tables, will plan to get a Suunto heart rate monitor next week, was thinking of strapping it under my drysuit and monitor my underwater heart rate for reference?

[keri.lewis]

Quote: (Originally Posted by yihaoyang)

Are there any techniques when running?

I find one foot in front of the other - repeat as required - works quite well
Seriously - you need deeper ventilations like in diving - I find only steady mouth-breathing works for me if I am running below lactate threshold (i.e. below the level where lactic acid builds up because I am producing CO2 faster than I can expel it) I can run comfortably with even deep breathing.

On your tempo runs (and how you say you are exercising now) you exceed this threshold, and the lactic acid builds up giving you a stitch.

Therefore the theory runs:

1. build endurance just under the threshold
2. raise the threshold by doing higher intensity workouts like intervals say once a week.
3. build power with weights so you can do more with 50% muscle effort

Quote: (Originally Posted by yihaoyang)

Not to drink ice water right after your run? Ice water tasted like vintage Dom Perignon at that point!!

A lot of my Chinese friends avoid iced water - I am not sure why - I think it's in Chinese medicine concepts. It's like the concept of "heating" foods or the idea of avoiding orange juice if you have a sore throat - another one they have told me... I say if it works for you do it! After running I like to drink cold water from the fridge. Iced is a little too cold for me to get enough into me to re-hydrate. But if it works for you go for it.

Good luck - the heart-rate monitor will REALLY help with pacing the workout - maybe see you in Singapore later in the year - I'll be in transit on the way to the Philippines.

[NIMROD CHEN]

i hate running !
or at least i used to , now it's not that bad and i like the way i feel at the end of the run ,
here is how i do it :
you start with running for 15 minutes at a time at your on pace , run 5-6 times a week .
after the first week you start running for 18 min at a time , and add 3 min every week untill you reach the point where you can run 45 min without stopping .
keep in mined that 15 min is not a must , if you can only do 10 - that's fine and if after a week you find that you can do a little more that's also fine - you just need to find your comfort level and go from there .
as you go along you will find that the distance and pace are increasing .

i started with 15 min and 2 k and a week and a half later i'm at 23 min and over 4 k .

Nimrod

[gregkeller]

you can probably push a little harder than 70% of max heart rate since your workouts are fairly short. even figuring a 40 minute 5k, and a slow 10-15 minute 500m swim your workout is less than an hour, so you can push more than 70%. The idea of building a base with long steady (too many people substitue "slow") workouts is great if you've got tons of time like a pro athlete has got, but for those of us with less time for training we get more bang for our buck with upping the intensity a little bit.

You don't want to go so hard that you are shot the next day and can't workout, but you don't want to go too easy either.

Now most of my aerobic work is on a bike and if i was planning an hour workout by HR i'd probably have my HR up at about 80% of my max HR, or about 90% of my LTHR (lactate threshold heart rate), think of that as a strong tempo, bordering threshold level. I can talk, but probably not in full sentences and i don't really want to talk.

I find 70% of max HR good for much longer workouts, say 3-5 hours on the bike but much to low for an hour workout. If you don't have a HR monitor, it might be a good purchase, i don't think it would work that great in the pool, but for the runs it would be good, and i'd bet that is where you are digging your aerobic hole that's causing the last km to be so tough.

[yihaoyang]

Thanks guys! wonderful advises indeed!

Wow, Nimrod, 23 mins for 4 km is fast man! You have long legs or what?

As for the heart rate monitor, would you guys recommend a Polar or Suunto? I think both are good and usable maybe a Suunto.

I will be doing the 'conditioning' phrase this month, then up the training as i move on. I use to hate running before but now i am not sure why i like to run and sweat, i love swimming too but at my convenient hours and location, the pool is always filled in the center lanes and if i swim by the side, i always get surprised by children jumping in suddenly infront of me. Swimming is very good for building stamina too right?

[Ali Fikree]

I use creatine from time to time but as mentioned, running and intensive cardio is the best. I do cardio on Sunday and Tuesdays along with various polymetrics. I do around 75 push-ups every morning along with 75 crunches before getting ready for work.

I find early morning is ideal as I am busy in the evening and its too hot here as well. No one is up at 4:30am so the pool and running track is nice and quiet. There are also some awesome chicks running in their bikini tops too

The other days I hit the weight room and also swim which is great for an upper body workout.I focus on my back and shoulders but thats not good practice.

Have a look at Welcome to CrossFit: Forging Elite Fitness and think about signing up. Its good stuff if you can get past the navy seal stuff. They have some great workouts but also some stuff for meat heads.

I got myself a Polar F4 a while back as Sunnto is overpriced here. Also get yourself one of these THE STRENGTH BUILDERâ„¢ and TRX Force Training Kit: Fitness Anywhere

I also had one of these PowerLung: Better Breathing but lost it somewhere.

Great products and you can take the trx kit with you anywhere.

Nimrod-that is pretty fast.

[yihaoyang]

I don't think i can find any creatine over here, i will pop by my local GNC to check it out but i can't find it in public pharmacy here though. Maybe i have to order online.

4.30 am sounds real early! I am still sleeping soundly then. I prefer to exercise after work so i don't feel sleepy or tired at work, and i can bathe straight away at home.

I watched the crossfit videos but i think it does resembles military training or maybe even more then that. The powerlung thing is interesting! I never knew there was such thing, it looks like an asthma kit!

[alan_lee]

Yihao,

Creatine can be found in GNC. FYI, creatine is found naturally in meat, which comes back to the whole thing about having a natural diet. Creatine is an energy source to the muscles. When I was pursuing my MSc, creatine was the rage amongst body builders, and we did a study on the effects of creatine. To cut a long story short, creatine is useful only if the user is undergoing HIGH INTENSITY training and is useful only for the performance of ANAEROBIC training, which involves short bursts of explosive energy. So if you're looking to improve your cardio, it's not gonna help much.

I think most of the guys have already said it. Mix up your training, and most importantly, enjoy it, know your limits. Forget about the 'hard core' (aka 'brain dead') way of training, which is, you train till you drop dead. Work smart by monitoring your heart rate. Unless you're training for a race, the general rule of thumb for your runs is that if you're having a conversation during your run, you should have SOME difficulties completing the sentence.

Once again, enjoy your exercises. Running is not the only way to train (not to mention the risks of overuse injuries by just sticking to running). Do stuff that you enjoy, try new things, as long as you're working hard enough, you'll see the improvements.

Good luck