If you haven’t read my previous summary of the Vermont Spartan Beast, it might make sense to do that now. You can also check out Cameron’s article on the Super Spartan. In this article, I’ve got photos plus some description of the obstacles for you!
Three notes:
a) (more…)
Continue reading about Vermont Spartan Beast – Photos and Details
Those of you who have been reading for the past couple of months have heard about the Spartan. Cameron did his Super Spartan in Carolina in early summer and I did the 12-miler Beast with some friends in Vermont last weekend.
The Vermont Spartan Beast (photo from nuvision)
This article will have 3 sections:
- Summary/Highlights
- Lessons Learned
- Details of the Experience, with Photos
Summary
This was a 12-mile race, but like nothing I’ve ever done. It was almost entirely hills (and I don’t mean normal hills, I mean straight up Killington ski mountain not using a trail but using a narrow woods path). And it had 26 obstacles, described below.
I did this with 3 friends, and about 1/4 of the way in we split into twos. We later found out that the leading two stayed just barely ahead right up until the 3rd to final obstacle, so we all finished in a little over 5 hours.
That’s right. Over five hours.
The elite men winners did it in about 3 hours. I think, in retrospect, if we trained a little more appropriate for the terrain, and pushed ourselves, we could have done it in 4 hours. But 3 hours seems insanely fast.
The 26 obstacles involved variations of the following:
- fire jumps
- barbed wire crawls
- wall climbs
- hills
- mud pits
- balance walks
- horizontal rope lines
- sandbag carries
- sled pulls
- swimming
- oh, and did I mention hills, some of which were so steep that we were on all fours, grabbing roots and branches to keep from falling backwards?
If you failed any of the obstacles, you had to do 30 burpees. I’m proud to say that I was successful on all obstacles except one: the spear throw. I was SO frustrated when I missed that (you only get one chance).
Some people were clearly not ready for this, as evidenced by (more…)
Continue reading about The Vermont Spartan Beast – Summary and Lessons Learned
Cameron’s Spartan Experience…
Cameron did the Spartan in The Carolina’s the weekend of June 25th. Here is his first-hand account…
The race was intended to be approx. 8 miles with 15 obstacles. The fastest times were intended to be around 80 minutes. It ended up being (after adding the turns) (more…)
It’s time I come clean.
Sometimes I feel pretty dumb about fitness
I have no idea what I’m talking about when it comes to strength and conditioning.
At least, that’s how it felt after I finished a full-day fitness seminar in Boston put on by Perform Better last weekend. This was an amazing event featuring Todd Durkin (I wrote about meeting him before), Mike Boyle, and Gray Cook.
In case you don’t recognize the names, these are GIANTS in the strength and conditioning world. We’re talking about the guys who not only train pro sports teams. These guys train some of the most explosively strong athletes on the planet: American football, hockey, and more.
The day was broken into morning/afternoon: lectures/hands-on practical. So tons of knowledge was dropped before lunch and after lunch we actually were trained, hands-on, by these guys. Both experiences were amazing. Here’s what I learned from the day – there are many take-aways you can put to use yourself… (more…)
I know you have questions about how to get leaner and/or more muscular, no matter what level you are currently at in your fitness goals.
And you aren’t the only ones with your question. Most people have the same 10 to 20 questions. All that differs are the numbers.
Last week I asked you to submit your questions for me – and I got flooded!
I’ve recorded the answers in the audio below – just click the start button and listen. It’s only about a half hour or so, and I’ve got a surprise at the end. So enjoy!
Join the forum discussion on this article, or comment below.
……………
Everybody and their brother in the fitness world are writing posts about the new year. And everyone is ripping each other off, generating marginal content, and feeding cliches. Not to mention the fact that the content for 2010 is exactly what everyone wrote in 2009, which is just like 2008, and 2007… etc. Here is my send-up to all the lame post topics I’ve seen in the past four weeks…
#6 – “The Top Fitness Things I Learned in 2009″
My answer: Nothing. Seriously, there’s very little truly new in fitness. The core principles have been around for decades and new discovery is very limited.
#5 – “My Fitness Predictions for 2010″
My answer: Some people will get fatter. Some people will lose fat. Some people will gain muscle. Some will lose muscle, thinking they are losing fat. Overall, sadly, not much will statistically change in 2010.
#4 – “My New Year’s Resolution Is To Finally Get in Shape in 2010″
My answer: Resolutions are not goals. See this.
#3 – “Start Now To Work Off The Holiday Treats You Ate at the End Of 2009″
My answer: You should have started working BEFORE Thanksgiving, and you should have limited your binge eating to only Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years (3 days, not the 3 weeks many of you took “off”).
#2 – “How To Get Motivated For 2010″
My answer: If your motivation is only triggered by the calendar year incrementing to 2010, then you need some serious lessons in motivation.
#1 – “How To Make 2010 Your Best Year Ever!”
My answer: Work hard. Really hard. Excellent fitness takes hard work (physically) and hard work (mental discipline).
So, what would YOU add?
Join the forum discussion on this article, or comment below.Continue reading about Top 6 Lamest Annual Fitness Post Ideas
![Buddy McKee squatting 810 Lbs. at age 53 at the APF Louisiana Open in Sept. 09 [pic taken by Teresa Frank]](http://worldfitnessnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/buddy-powerlifting-la-09-small-300x200.jpg "buddy powerlifting la 09-small")
- Buddy McKee squatting 810 Lbs. at age 53 at the APF Louisiana Open in Sept. 09 [pic taken by Teresa Frank]
Buddy McKee hasn’t followed a typical path. It’s been an exceptional path, covering multiple sports, various powerlifting records, NFL free-agent, competitive bodybuilder, full-contact karate (before MMA was in vogue), teacher, and coach. And if that weren’t even, he even recorded a hit song he wrote and sang (#80 on the national charts many years ago). [For a more complete bio, scroll to the bottom of this article.]
Buddy is STRONG. His in-meet records are Squat – 810 lbs. Bench Press – 600 lbs. Deadlift – 622 lbs. And of course, in the gym he’s lifted even more.
He’s held various titles and records recently in the over 50 class. And, at the prime age of 54, he’s still competing and 2010 may hold a couple of new records for Buddy.
I talked with Buddy a couple weeks ago, and he was kind enough to let me record the call and share it with you!
The tool below lets you listen to streaming audio of the interview. LeanLifters will get the full MP3 download via email. (more…)
Join the forum discussion on this article, or comment below.
Three quick reminders:
1) Hypertrofreak is available at http://worldfitnessnetwork.com/more/hypertrofreak.html and anyone who comments on the forums by December 31 will get a 20% coupon. More news about the program coming in January.
2) I’m working on consolidating emails so that you get multiple articles in each email. Bear with me (more…)
