Spring Power Training

By Rick Morris

The spring season is a time of growth, renewal and resurrection. Trees that were in hibernation through the winter months burst once again to life with new growth. Spring flowers whose seeds lay sleeping in the ground resurrect themselves into blooms of majestic colors. All of nature, which seems to rest during the cold winter months, once again becomes active, strong and powerful.

Nature is not alone in taking a long winter slumber. Most of us become less active during the winter season. Cold weather, snow, ice and rain make it harder to stay active outdoors. Our social schedules also take up more of our time with holiday shopping, parties, dinners and get-togethers. It just becomes harder to find time for our daily exercise. The weight gain and fitness loss problems caused by less exercise are compounded by our increased calorie intake from the massive amounts of delicious, but not so healthy holiday foods were are constantly around at that time of year. The double whammy of less exercise and more calories takes its toll on our weight, fitness level, body fat percentage and body image.

In a recent study, Dr. Yunsheng Ma of the University of Massachusetts Medical School solicited the help of 593 male and female volunteers. Ma recorded and analyzed the seasonal variations of the study participants food intake, physical activity and body weight. The report showed that the body weight of the volunteers was at their highest during the winter season. Not surprisingly, the participants also reported that their activity level was at its lowest level during that same winter season. And, as you would expect, the study showed that the volunteer’s highest activity level was in the spring. This is almost certainly due to a reaction to the winter weight gain and the warmer spring weather encouraging more exercise.

Bathing Suit Blues

We have all been there. Male, female, tall, short, young or mature – it does not matter. We put on a little weight over the winter, but it’s really not a big deal. Then, as the weather warms up, we try on our bathing suits, shorts and tank tops. Now it is not just a big deal, it’s a catastrophe. Last summer we looked sleek and toned in those outfits. Now we look flabby and out of shape. Our appearance in bathing suits and other skimpy summer clothing is one of the primary springtime exercise motivators. The anxiety caused by the fear of even trying on a bathing suit can be overwhelming for some. A recent survey showed that 52% of the participants surveyed feared trying on a bathing suit more than having dental work done. This anxiety is also present among top level athletes. In another study, researchers at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro questioned sixty-two female swimmers from 7 different college swim teams. Over half of the participants believe that there are weight pressures in swimming and 45.2% feel anxiety over appearing in a revealing swim suit.

While the two studies quoted used only female participants, the male population is not exempt from concerns about their appearance in shorts and bathing suits. It is true that in the past males had been much less concerned with body image than females were. But - with apologies to Bob Dylan – “the times, they are a-changing.” Just as female models represent today’s ideal female body, male models and actors are influencing our ideas about the most attractive male body image. Men see buff, ripped bodies with six-pack abs on the movie screen and in magazines and want to achieve that look for themselves. Many of today’s men break into a sweat at the thought of appearing in public in their shorts and tank tops.  As a result of this new attitude among men, fitness club membership is soaring.  According to American Sports Data, a record 8.5 million men belong to gyms and they spend 90.8 days per year in the club. Women spend 9 days less per year working out.

Spring Into Action

So, we know why we put on a few extra pounds during the winter months and we know that both men and women are concerned about it. The important question is – how can I lose that extra couple of pounds and firm up my body quickly? After all – warm weather is here and I want to look good in that swimsuit!  Take your lead from the season and SPRING into action. Look around you. The trees explode with leaves, blossoms and color. Grasses and wildflowers spring out of the ground. It all happens with high energy and power. You should do the same thing. Don’t react passively. Exercise with high energy, develop your power and you will achieve the best results.

Fat Burning Zone or Power Zone

Exercising in the “fat burning zone” has become the popular training strategy in recent years. Your fat burning zone is a range of exercise intensities that elicits the highest percentage of fat burning during your workout. There have been many studies completed for the purpose of determining the average fat burning zone. Most of them agree that the typical fat burning zone is between 65% (easy pace) and 80% (moderate pace) of your maximum heart rate. Those paces are roughly equal to 50% to 74% of your VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen your body is able to process). The “power zone” exercise intensities range from 81% of MHR (moderately hard pace) to 95% of MHR (hard pace). When you increase your exercise level to the moderately hard or hard “power zone”, your fat burning rate plummets and carbohydrates supply more and more of your energy

Since your fat burning ability prefers the low to moderate exercise intensity levels of the fat burning zone, it is easy to see why this mode of exercise has become so popular. However, there is a major flaw in that thinking. While the “fat burning zone” method does burn a higher percentage of fat, it does not take into consideration the total amount of fat burned or the total number of calories burned. The same research that shows low intensity exercise burns a higher percentage of fat also tells us that higher intensity exercise burns more total fat and more total calories.

Suppose that two runners of equal fitness levels run for 30 minutes. Runner A is running at a speed of 6 MPH, which is at 65% of their maximum heart rate (MHR) and in the “fat burning zone”. Runner B runs at 8 MPH, which for this runner is 85% of their MHR and in the “power zone”.  Runner A will travel 3 miles, burning around 300 total calories. At 65% of MHR, about 50% of their calories are coming from fat. So, runner A is burning about 150 calories from fat. Runner B is covering 4 miles and burning approximately 400 total calories. At 85% of MHR, fat is supplying about 40% of your energy. At that level, runner B is burning 160 fat calories. As you see, even though runner B is exercising in the power zone, he or she is burning more total calories and more calories from fat than the runner in the fat burning zone.

Calorie and fat burning ability is not the only advantage to the power zone. Power zone running requires more work from your hip, leg and trunk muscles. That extra work will result in more lean muscle mass. More lean muscle mass means you will have a higher metabolic rate and will burn even more calories.

Building Your Power Base

It would not be a good idea to head out your door and start power running right away. You need to condition your muscles for the higher intensity activity. This is especially true after a long winter hibernation. You muscles actually start to “detrain” and grow weaker after just a couple of weeks of rest or decreased activity. You will need to gradually strengthen them again before you really take off with your power running.

Here is a six week program that will build up your power base. The program uses highly efficient treadmill circuit training and starts with two weeks of general strength building and endurance base building. This two week period will build up your overall strength and rebuild your endurance to a point at which you can begin the second two week period of running specific strength. This second period of training will build upon your general strength gains with exercises that are designed to improve the strength of your running specific motions and muscles. This two week phase will also include hill running to further build your running strength and endurance.  The final two week training period uses plyometrics and high speed running to build your power level. Power is sometimes confused with strength. Strength refers to the maximum amount of force a muscle can generate. For instance, a person that can bench press 200 pounds is twice as strong as someone that can bench press 100 pounds. Power, on the other hand, includes an explosive aspect. Power is the product of strength and speed. For the mathematicians out there the equation for power is: power = (force x distance)/time. For example, two athletes each can bench press 200 pounds. One person is capable of performing a full bench press in half the time that it takes the other athlete. That person has twice the power as the slower athlete.

Power is best improved through the use of plyometrics and power running. Plyometrics improve the explosive potential of your muscles through the use of exercises which involve a powerful muscle contraction in response to a loading or stretching of the muscle. This action is very similar to shooting a rubber band. The rubber band is stretched or “loaded”. In response to that loading, the rubber band contracts explosively and is shot to its target with a lot of power behind it. Plyometric exercises will train your muscles to react much as the rubber band does.

Perform each of these power workouts three times per week. Do not do these routines on consecutive days. Your muscles will need some recovery time between these intense workouts, so you should exercise at an easier pace between the power workouts. A good recovery day workout would be running between 2 and 4 miles at an easy pace with no strength training.

Week 1 & 2 General Strength Circuit

1. Set your treadmill at 1% elevation and run at an easy pace for 5 minutes

2. Do one set of 30 body weight squats. Place your hands on your hips with your feet about shoulder width apart. Slowly lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor and return to the starting position. Always keep your knees behind your toes during this exercise

3. Set your treadmill at 2% and run at an easy pace for 5 minutes

4. Do one set of 30 one-leg-calf raises on each leg. – With the treadmill turned off, stand with your toes on the edge of the treadmill frame. Your heels should be off the edge of the frame. All of your weight should be on your exercising leg. Slowly raise your heel so that you are standing on the toes of your exercising leg. Slowly return to the starting position. Do 30 of these exercises using each leg.

5. Set your treadmill elevation and run at a moderate pace for 5 minutes.

6. Perform 50 abdominal crunches – Lying face up on floor with your knees bent or on an exercise ball, slowly curl your upper back up off the floor or ball. Pause and return to the starting position.

7. Set your treadmill elevation at 2% and run at a moderately hard pace for 5 minutes.

8. Perform 25 lunges on each leg – Stand with your feet together. Take a long step forward with one foot and bend your knee. Slowly lower your body until the thigh of the lead leg is approximately parallel to the floor. Slowly return to the starting position. Do not allow your knee to move ahead of your toes.

9. Set your treadmill at 2% elevation and run at a moderately hard pace for 5 minutes

10. Lower the treadmill elevation to 1% and cool down with 5 minutes of easy running.

Week 2 & 3 Running Specific Strength

1. Set the treadmill elevation at 1% and run at an easy pace for 5 minutes.

2. Do one set of 30 one-leg-squats on each leg. - Place your hands on your hips with your feet about shoulder width apart.  Place the toes of your left foot on a bench or step. Slowly bend your right knee and lower your body until your right thigh is parallel to the floor and return to the starting position. Most of your weight should be over the heel of your right (exercising) heel. Always keep your knees behind your toes during this exercise. Do 30 repetitions of the right leg and then switch leg positions with your right toes on the bench and your left leg forward. Do 30 repetitions on the left leg.

3. Set the treadmill elevation at 3% and run at a moderate pace for 5 minutes.

4. Perform 20 bench step ups on each leg – Stand on a high bench or step with most of your body weight on the heel of your right foot. Your left foot should be held loosely above the bench. Slowly and with full control, lower your body until the toes of your left foot just touch the ground. Then raise your body back to the starting position by straightening your right leg. After 20 repetitions, switch legs and perform 20 repetitions with the left leg.

5. Set the treadmill elevation at 5% and run at a moderate pace for 5 minutes.

6. Perform one set of core strength exercises – Lay face down on a mat in a prone position. Support your body with your weight on your elbows and toes. Keep your body very straight with your pelvis “tucked” in. Hold this position for 20 seconds. Now lift your left arm and right leg off the floor. Your body should be supported only by your right elbow and left toes. Hold this position for 10 seconds, and then return to the starting position with your body supported by your elbows and toes. Next, lift your right arm and left leg off the floor. Hold this position for 10 seconds and return to the starting position. Keeping your body straight, hold the starting position for 1 minute.

7. Set the treadmill elevation at 8% and run at a moderate pace for 3 minutes.

8. Perform 40 one leg calf raises on each leg.

9. Set the treadmill elevation at 10% and run at a moderate pace for 1 minute.

10. Lower the treadmill elevation to 1% and cool down with 5 minutes of easy running.

Week 5 & 6 Plyometrics and Power Phase

1. Set the treadmill elevation at 1% and run for 5 minutes at an easy pace.

2. Perform 50 One-Leg-Hops in Place on each leg – Use the same starting position at the one leg squats, with the toes of one foot behind you on a bench and your weight over the heel of your lead foot. Hop quickly on the lead foot 40 times. Try to hop as quickly as possible. Switch leg positions and perform 50 hops on the other leg.

3. Set the treadmill at 2% and run for 5 minutes at a moderate pace.

4. Perform 30 vertical leaps. Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart. Quickly drop down into a bent knee position and the explosively jump straight upwards. As soon as your feet touch the ground, quickly repeat the jump. Try to feel “springy” and light on your feet.

5. Set the treadmill elevation at 2% and run for 2 minutes at a hard pace.

6. Perform one set of core strength exercises.

7. Set the treadmill elevation at 2% and run for 1 minute at a very hard pace.

8. Reduce your speed to a moderate pace and run for 2 minutes.

9. Increase your speed back to a very hard pace for 1 minute.

10. Increase the elevation to 4% and decrease your speed to a moderate pace. Run for 2 minutes.

11. With your treadmill elevation at 4% run for 1 minute at a hard pace.

12. Increase your treadmill elevation to 5% and run for 30 seconds at the fastest pace you can maintain.

13. Decrease the elevation to 2% and cool down with 5 minutes of easy running.

Congratulations! At the end of this program you will have restored your fitness level and built up your power base. You are ready to move forward to even higher levels of fitness and are on the road to meeting any of your fitness goals.