On the weekend of Oct. 26 through Oct. 30, I had the chance to attend a training camp with my coach, Rachel Chapman, and the rest of the Ruthless in Pursuit crew. This was my first training camp and my first time meeting Rachel in person. So, suffice it to say, I was nervous! I decided to write up a quick post with my notes from the camp. Basically, these are my takeaways.
Friday: Day 1
On the first day of camp we all gathered at a local Duluth CrossFit gym where we all got to introduce ourselves and coach Michael Vespa kicked things off with a discussion on mindset.
I honestly haven't been this nervous going into a gathering since my first research presentation at a conference during graduate school. I still struggle with feeling like I belong in CrossFit or like I'm an athlete. I don't come from an athletic or competitive background. I was very unhealthy and out of shape until now. So that just made me feel that much more nervous. I also just look up to everyone in the group, and I aspire to reach their level one day. Finally, just like every other human, and yes, even us spooky introverts, I wanted to fit in and be part of the group. Naturally, all these nerves were for naught because I ended up having a great time all weekend getting to know everyone, chatting, joking, and having a blast.
Before we got to the AMRAP we learned about two important concepts:
- Never sleep on the basics. We discussed proper burpee mechanics where chest falls first, and we pop back up immediately. Never breath on the floor, because your weight pressing against the floor impacts your ability to breath. Then proper DB alternating snatch technique. Keeping the DB close and using more of a RDL on the eccentric to save your legs.
- Always have a breathing strategy. It’s important to maximize your breathing as much as possible. One should be thinking about and forming a breathing strategy for every movement we learn so we are able to maintain as large of sets as possible without redlining.
I'm a bit proud of myself because I already knew this, and I had already started practicing exactly what we went over, and I've been getting it right! Phew, it's always good to be validated by experts.
We then all jumped into a 25-minute AMRAP to shake off the travel, but the coaches later revealed it was also a way for them to see how well we are moving. Training-wise, things got a little more interesting on the second day.
Saturday: Day 2
We started around 9 am with a couple-mile easy Zone 2 run. I don't recall the exact distance, but the run ended at a ski hill. This is where it got fun; we had to climb the hill for 5 rounds for time. However, we were not allowed to stop running. We could slow down or speed up, but never stop running. This test was intended to push us mentally. I enjoy these types of tests, and so I fared pretty well.
One technique I followed with this, which wasn't discussed at the camp, is what I call high RPM. The idea is that if you need power and distance instead of speed, then go with a high rate-per-minute pace rather than a large stride, like you would in sprinting. This works well with steep hills, sled pushing, and long runs. During this hill run, I started in the back, but because of my technique, I was able to maintain the same pace round after round, which means I worked myself up to the front of the pack.
After the hill run, we all went to get some coffee and then had lunch together at the gym, where we learned about nutrition and its impact on strength and recovery before our next training session.
We continued with leg day during our second session, focusing on speed back squats and DB vertical jumps. The speed back squats involve performing back squats at a weight that is approximately 60% of your 1RM, as quickly as possible, followed by holding the dumbbells at your sides and performing vertical jumps to reach maximum height. The rest periods are relatively short, lasting approximately 30 to 60 seconds. This exercise is excellent for developing explosiveness and hence activating your fast twitch muscle fibers. For masters athletes, this is particularly beneficial!
That’s the second day, where I learned a bit, but I think I learned the most the third day.
Sunday: Day 3
I think this was my favorite day of the camp when it comes to training. The main focus of the day was gymnastics, which is a subject I need all the help I can get in. We started with some rowing technique to warm up and learn some new things. I went into rowing with a little too much confidence because I think I'm a pretty good rower and I've done a lot of independent research on rowing technique. However, I ended up learning a lot, which has since helped increase my rowing power and form.
We started out with a little rowing, and then one of the coaches had us gather around and had an athlete demonstrate their rowing. They had the athlete row a bit, and then asked us if we would have corrected anything about their rowing. I admitted that I would correct their forward lean as it seemed like a lot, and all my research on technique revealed that we shouldn't be leaning too far forward. But, I was wrong, because leaning forward before the pull while still maintaining flat feet and vertical shins can increase your wattage, which increases your power. Since I'm a bit taller, this slight lean forward (it's not super dramatic) has increased my power quite a bit without increasing my stroke rate, which has improved recovery.
Another point I hadn't considered before is the movement of the chain while rowing. As you row, pay attention to how much the chain is bouncing and whether or not it slopes up or down. This turns out to have a dramatic effect on wattage output. The bounce of the chain is analogous to the roughness of the current for an actual boat in the water. A really cool drill we did was to set the screen to the view showing the Force Curve like the image to the right. As you row, pay attention to the graph being generated. Now, cause the chain to bounce and look at the graph; you will notice that it has peaks and valleys. Now, row so that there is minimal bounce in the chain, the graph should look like the one to the left, which is smooth. This is an optimal force curve. Now, repeat these over some non-trivial distance like 500m. I bet your row without bounce in the chain will be better than the row with a lot of bounce. The lesson here is to keep the chain smooth and as straight as possible.
A last remark on rowing is paying attention to the slope of the chain. Pulling the chain upward will use more biceps, but keeping the handle closer to your belly button will result in the chain having a minimal slope, so you will use more lats. One isn't necessarily wrong, but given a particular workout, this may help in recovery.
After rowing, we moved on to gymnastics, where we began with one of my favorite drills: the low rings banded ring muscle up. The setup involves attaching a thick band to one of the rings and holding it with the other, creating a seat. Hop onto the band and sit in an L-sit position with your arms overhead, holding onto the rings. Then, while keeping tension, lean back, raise your toes towards the sky, pull back on the rings, and thrust your hips up, performing a forceful sit-up. If you timed it correctly, you just completed a ring muscle up, or at least 75% of one. This drill is excellent for learning hip drive and the transition in ring muscle ups. By using a thick band, you can focus on the technique without worrying about the force needed to do an actual ring muscle up, as technique is more important.
After the low rings drill, we moved over to actual ring muscle ups where we practiced and received feedback on our technique. We realized that for me, I was losing tension in my legs and core when reaching the portion of the ring muscle up that corresponds to the low ring drill. This is strange because I'm not bad at the low ring drill, but I think the band I'm sitting on helps maintain tension in my legs, so I perform better there. However, when I kip, I tend to stay loose. To address this, I learned about the towel drill, which I've been using to help me correct this issue.
The drill is simple. Take a towel, hold it between your feet, and then do a ring muscle up without the towel leaving your feet. If you bend your knees too much or lose tension in your legs, the towel will go flying. It's a great visual aid to help remind you to keep it tight.
Conclusion
That’s all my takeaways from the training camp. It was a lot of fun training with a lot of great people. Learning is the best part of all of this, and I learned so much! I’m looking forward to the next one.
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