"De-load" to Reload

In athletic terms, you sometimes have take one step back to move two steps forward. Whether you are a weekend warrior or aspiring "pro", there comes a time when you just need to take the foot of the accelerator otherwise you are inviting illness or injury as well as the subsequent layoff.

Rest days or rest periods are always better if they are premeditated. Instead of taking a day of because you feel like you're on the brink of exhaustion, voluntary periods of less exercise can pay off in the long run.

Health and fitness guru, Mark Sisson, outlines this subject in a broader sense on his blog. Click here to read this great post.

Get Strong on the Sly

In his latest essay, Dr. Phil Maffetone outlines how to create strong muscles and bones without going to a gym, or even setting aside a specific time period for pilates/weight training/plyometrics.

Rather spread it out over the course of your day:

http://philmaffetone.com/slowweights.cfm

The "100-up"

Christopher McDougall, acclaimed writer of Born to Run, has an impressive blog full of anecdotes and interviews from the barefoot running community.

A lot of the "barefoot" or "minimalist" methods that appear on his site can be applied to normal runners, especially with the view to working on proper running form.

Here is a link to one the simplest and most effective running drills of all time; the "100-up."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by-rbM101XE&feature=player_embedded

Balancing Act

Here is a great piece by that guru of health and fitness, Dr. Phil Maffetone. Quite possibly the definitive account regarding the subject of muscle imbalance.

http://philmaffetone.com/muscleimbal.cfm

Supercharging Recipes from an Ultra-Runner

Scott Jurek is one of the central characters in Christopher McDougall’s masterpiece Born to Run, which chronicles the lives and times of various ultra-endurance runners, culminating in a race against the Tarahumara tribesmen of Mexico.

Scott Jurek (right) running with a Tarahumara tribesman.

The true meaning of "Holistic"

http://philmaffetone.com/mythofholistichealth.cfm

Jonathan Vaughters confession

I've followed Jonathan Vaughters' career since the mid to late 1990s, when he rode for US Postal and subsequently rose to prominence in professional cycling. His monthly articles in Cycle Sport UK magazine were (and still are) amongst the best literature about the sport ever published. Always intelligent and pragmatic, "JV" is now taking a lot of heat for confirming what has been an open secret for many years now; he doped.

His stories of riding for a small Spanish team in 1994 sponsored by the Opus Dei are legendary, including the tale of his disgruntled manager burying his bike in his back garden for three weeks after an argument over tactics!

The founder of today's Garmin/Sharp professional cycling team, he has always struck me as somebody who was way too intelligent to be a pro cyclist. The following piece confirms this.

A great read indeed:

http://www.bicycling.com/garmin-insider/featured-stories/jonathan-vaughters-talks-doping-reform?page=0,0

Cupping Therapy

It looks disgusting and rather painful, but is clearly effective.

Go to the following YouTube link to see Mick Gilliam perform cupping treatment on multiple Ironman and ITU World Champion Chris McCormack:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEbfX7-MAqE

Old School is still very cool

http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/on-the-run-1979

An Interesting Piece on Doping in Sports

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/fitness-matters/

Overdue Coverage for SA Medal Contender

Finally, the mainstream SA media gives Durbanville's Richard Murray the respect he deserves. To put Murray's win this weekend in Hamburg into perspective; he beat pretty much the entire field of male triathletes who will line up in London in August with a 14 minute 5km run off the bike.

Think about that!

With two World Series podium places already in 2012, this guy is the real deal.

The Benefits of Working Outside

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-you-should-work-outside/

Primal Forest Workout in Belgium

This Belgian fellow combines his athleticism, intuition and creativeness to produce an entertaining and highly functional body-weight workout:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHJG28JfAmA

"Foot" for Thought

Mark Sisson is a former 2:18 marathoner and 4th-place finisher at the Hawaii Ironman World Championships. He is also the founder of http://www.marksdailyapple.com and authour of The Primal Blueprint, promoting a healthy and balanced lifestyle aligned with the way our forefathers lived in prehistoric times.

An avid endorser of barefoot exercise, check this short video where Mark explains the benefits of "going minimalist" when it comes to footwear:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-resource-guide

New Gym in Hout Bay

http://www.velocitysportslab.co.za/

Who Needs a Watch?

"I leave the hotel room for a run and check the clock before I leave. I then say to myself, okay, I am going to go and run for 1 hour. When I come back I try and see how close to that hour I actually was. I take no watch with me nor do I set any preconceived pace." Chris McCormack: 2 time Hawaii Ironman World Champion; 1997 ITU World Champion.

http://www.chrismccormack.com/2011/03/20/keep-it-simple/

Reflexology - Part 2

Reflexology Boards

Reflexology is nothing new, but seems to be an often forgotten form of therapy.

A great product is an actual reflexology board, which I've been using for the past two years. I swear by it. Whether watching TV, ironing or staring at the sunset, a 10 minute session on the board dissolves all the aches and pains associated with endurance sports.

 Available from registered reflexologist, Pat Moolenschot: 021 794  5917

Raynard Tissink - Man Van Staal

Another year and another Ironman World Championships come and gone in the lava fields of Kona, Hawaii.

Kudos to our own Raynard Tissink for finishing in a solid seventh place, cementing his place in the world elite of Ironman professionals. Considering the sacrifice and expense of just getting to the Big Island, this is no mean feat, with Raynard almost missing the event due to an illness picked up in the final few weeks.

Imagine taking your kids out of school, basing yourself in a foreign land, training all day and racing every other weekend only to succumb to a bug days just before the race of the year. 

Having the courage just to start the race and “go with the flow”, Raynard gutted it out with a solid 2:56 marathon leg to once again finish in the top ten.

Respect!

Primal Gym in Sweden

Read more about this on Jonas Colting's blog as he prepares for the Ultraman World Championships in November.

http://coltingblogg.com/2011/10/04/forelasning-i-boras

Although the blog is in Swedish, it is legible if copied into Google Translate.