How To Do Hill Sprints in Iraq
Dear Friend,
Hope you had a great weekend. Don't know
about you, but I had three mothers to pay
respects to: My wife, my mother and my
mother-in-law (who lives with us and helps
with the children - a Chinese tradition). Let
me tell you, come sundown I was one tired
puppy.
But I'm back this morning with some high-
powered QnA:
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Matt,
First of all: Congratulations Dad!!!
Second of all: Combat Conditioning Rocks!!!
I have a training methodology question for you.
Some trainers prefer the peaks and valleys method
where you time a peak to occur around an event you are
training for. Others prefer more of a straight ramping up of
your training, just pushing harder and harder in order to
continuously gain. What are your thoughts/preferences?
Keep the daily emails coming and thanks for a great program.
Tim Beyer
Coram, NY
M.F.: Tim, here's the deal: Hitting peaks and valleys, or going
into and out of a plateau is a natural part of training. You can strive for
continuous and constant improvement year round, but don't
kid yourself. When it comes time for a special event, the emotion
of it alone can be all you need to hit a peak or break a previous
personal best. I prefer to train regularly, but am not preoccupied
with turning each workout into the "best I ever had." I set targets
and goals, let the emotion rise for the occasion - then "hit it."
This doesn't mean that I am not trying to improve year round.
I am. But when you're going for a national or world title, a
helluva lot more goes into the equation.
Unfortunately, most people don't understand that plateaus are
a natural part of training. When many people get stuck, they double
their efforts - literally trying to force an improvement. The master
continues to train, unaffected by sticking points. He understands that
he will get through it and be on to the next peak (and plateau) much
faster if he simply stays focused on the right actions.
Matt,
Congrats, again! You now have what the Italians call a "Rich Man's
Family (that's one boy and one girl)." As a father of a 6 year-old boy
and a soon-to-be 3 year-old girl, I can attest to the truth of the fact
that "Daddy's girl" will have a profound effect on your life, from this
moment forward! There's nothing like it. Kinda like the effect Combat
Conditioning has, only with a bit less hufing and puffing. Maybe.
Its great to be blessed. Soak it up, Matt, and God bless you and your
family.
Bill Bean
Albany, NY
M.F.: Bill, thanks for kind words. Never heard the "Rich Man's Family"
quote before. Very nice. Reminds me of the client I trained in California,
who was also Italian. One morning I awoke to see bird poop on the windows of my office. She thought it was great and said, "My father always told me that this is a sign that more money is on the way." Great way to turn what
I thought of as negative - into a positive. All the best.
Mr. Furey,
I have been receiving your fitness tip emails and have purchased several
of your fitness and grappling videos- all great materials! I was wondering
what your opinion is on the use of Body Mass Index (BMI) to determine an
individual's "ideal weight." I personally don't beleive a single number determined
by ONLY height and weight a valid measure at all. My own BMI says I am
overweight, yet I can run 10 miles, train in TKD, tai chi, and grappling four
times a week, and can pound 20 year olds into the dust with those killer hill
sprints of yours (I am 34). How can BMI be trusted? I think I can guess what
you would say about BMI - a lot of BS- but there are many folks out there who
trust it and judge themselves by that scale. I don't expect a personal response,
but I am sending this to perhaps give you an idea for a fitness tip updates I receive
regularly. Hope to read what you have to say soon! Congratulations on the baby!
Charles C. Reed
M.F.: Charles, your assessment of my opinion is correctomundo. The Body Mass
Index is for the ignorant doctor and patient who haven't quite opened their eyes.
Por ejemplo, in Dr. Al Sears January 2004 newsletter "Health Confidential for Men" -
published by Agora, he gives the height and weight chart for Brad Pitt, Michael
Jordan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and so on. Based upon the BMI, all of these men
are either "obese" or pushing the envelope toward obesity. Never, and I repeat,
NEVER - judge your condition or health upon the Body Mass Index. It is retarded,
and that's being kind.
Dear Mr. Furey,
Congratulations on the birth of your wonderful new baby girl! Since
your family is a wonderful mixture of Irish and Chinese, I recommend
celebrating with rice wine, tsing-tao beer, guiness stout and bushmills
whiskey; to be followed the next day by 1000 hindu squats and pushups!
No, make that 2 days after!
Regards,
Mark Pretz
Delta, CO
M.F.: Great idea - only problemo - no time for the party. I'll hammer out
the squats today.
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******************************************
Matt,
Understand leaving the family. I've been away from my family for sometimes
now fighting the war in Iraq. Six months last year and now for another 10
months. I would like to run up hill but, here in Iraq there are no hills just
flat ground. Do you have any alteratives to running up hill?
Sgt Maj Carlos R Bustamante
3rd Civil Affairs Group
Camp Fallujah Iraq
M.F.: Sgt. Maj., when you have no hills, you can do sprints on flat ground.
But better yet are bear crawls. If you do these as fast and hard as you can,
you may find them more beneficial than hill sprints. Key is doing them on
soft ground or indoors on a carpet or mat. You may get strange looks when
on all fours - but the results will be well worth it. Anyone who thinks it's easy
is welcome to try. Best of luck to you over there.
Matt,
I just ordered your Combat Conditioning program a few days ago and
I'm anxiously awating it's arrival. I wanted to ask a quick question
regarding the hill sprints so I can begin the program before my materials
arrive. First, when beginning, can I use any size hill or does the size
play a factor? Second, how long should the distance of the sprint be?
Last, how much rest between sprints do you recommend?
Yours In Health,
Martin Hahn
M.F.: Martin, length of hill is generally about 70-100 yards (meters).
You can sprint a shorter length if that is all you have. Each sprint lasts
15-30 seconds. Walk back down hill to recover. Then hit it again.
If you're looking for places with some killer long hills, where you can run
them but NOT sprint them, go to Cincinnati, Ohio; Los Gatos, California;
and Ashland, Oregon. Those are three places I have visited with hills
that never seem to stop.
Well, that's it for now.
Kick Butt - Take Names!
P.S.: Don't forget about flexibility. Gotta keep those joints and muscles
loose and limber, especially after a weekend. To remove those kinks,
knots and cramps, sprint on over to Combat Stretching
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