June 29, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Swim Reports
A much different vibe this morning…less dazzling and more contemplative.
The rain had stopped by the time I reached Orange Ladder North, and Lake Michigan lay motionless and undisturbed. But for the occasional “whoosh” of a passing car on Lake Shore Drive, everything was shrouded in silence.
The water was a crisp 59F and stunningly clear. I kept my eyes closed for about five minutes during the swim and focused on breathing deeply and fully experiencing the “floating” sensation. If you’ve never done this, you’re in for a real treat. It’s a trance-like state that’s generated by the sensory deprivation effects of weightlessness combined with total darkness. And it’s one of the most profound levels of relaxation you can experience.
Dragonfly
June 28, 2008 / by srhernan / Make A Comment / Filed under Fitness & Training
I ditched an endurance training bike riding session this morning in favor of two very valuable activities:
1) 9+ hours of sleep
2) Power Law Workout
Why are they valuable? Because both activities significantly increase the levels of human growth hormone (hGH) in your system without increasing your stress hormone levels.
Naturally-generated hGH is a fantastic substance. It enhances your immune response, brings you greater resistance to disease and infection, and bolsters your energy, strength, and stamina. It also stimulates muscle mass growth and improves bone density.
Both strength training and endurance training stimulate the production of hGH. However, activities such as heavy endurance training, prolonged gym workouts, and anything “cardio” (i.e. spinning and treadmill workouts) actually increase stress hormone levels and down regulate hGH as well as testosterone. And elevated stress hormones make you insulin resistant, which leads to overeating – or eating more junky carbs such as Gatorade and most other “sports drinks.”
And the same thing happens whenever you skimp on sleep, too. This explains why you crave that $5.00 iced coffee/dessert abomination first thing in the morning.
Bottom line, do yourself a favor every so often and devote a weekend (or weekday – just call in sick) morning to sleeping in and then hitting the gym on an empty stomach for a Power Law Workout. Learn what it feels like to spike your hGH levels naturally.
I guarantee you’ll never look at your old workout routines the same way again!
June 27, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Fitness & Training
Believe it or not, swimming in cold water can actually have a significant positive effect on your mental health. While there has always been anecdotal evidence of this, some neuroscientists are actually beginning to uncover the physiology behind this phenomenon.
Check out this podcast when you get a chance:
June 23, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Great Lakes
June 22, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Swim Reports
It’s official. Summer has finally arrived! Now if only the water temperatures could catch up…
I opted to go wetsuit-less in favor of just my swim jammers and the thermo shirt. This set up worked beautifully last year at this time. However, the lake was still pretty bracing – at least at Orange Ladder North. I’d estimate that the temperature was around 57F. Tops.
For the first time this season, I experienced a significant immersion shock. I hit the water and my heart rate shot up quite unexpectedly. My first thought was “I REALLY should be wearing a wetsuit. This is WAY TOO COLD…” Since I didn’t bring mine this time, I was tempted to kibosh the whole swim. But I realized that this anxiety was being generated by the immersion shock effects (i.e. the rapid heart rate and respiration). So I took a couple of deep breaths and did the dive reflex exercise, and these things took the edge off of the nagging sense of unease.
I kept a pretty intense swim pace and felt fairly warmed up by the five minute mark. But my extremities were getting numb halfway through the swim. I “sprinted” the last 50 meters and clambered up the ladder immediately because I knew that I was in for one doozy of an afterdrop - and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
The afterdrop was the most intense I have experienced thus far. I kept spilling my post-swim tea because I was shivering quite vigorously for the first five minutes out of the water. And if I needed any external validation on how cold the water was, I got it from the Ochoas. They thought the water was ridiculously cold as well.
But it still didn’t keep them out of it!
Solstice sunrise
Summer squall over the lake
June 20, 2008 / by srhernan / 5 Comments / Filed under Fitness & Training
** NOTE **
I am currently consolidating all of the dietary and consumption recommendations (along with a lot of other really great stuff) into a forthcoming new media project, Power Law Fitness. Please refer to this site for the most up to date information on this topic. Thanks!
June 16, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Great Lakes
Since we got “stormed out” yesterday, I figured I’d take advantage of a night off of training to complete the beach report and cleanup for Ohio Street Beach. Surprisingly, OSB was not as littered as I expected. I collected three large bags of trash and had some fun conversations along the way with the handful of beach goers.
Two young women actually came all the way from Frankfort, IL just to watch the sunset from OSB. They try to do this at least once a month even though it’s a real hike for them to get here. Amazing what we city dwellers take for granted…
June 15, 2008 / by Steve / 2 Comments / Filed under Swim Reports
If you want more adventure in your life, you need to get up before 6:00am. If you wait until later in the morning, the rest of humanity has already started imposing their structure on the day – and you can easily get caught up in their routines without even being aware of it.
Not so for those of us who brave the uncertainty of daybreak!
The surface water temperature at Ohio Street Beach came in at 62F, but that was right at the edge of the beach. I’d estimate that the average temperature was probably in the 57F range (definitely wetsuit worthy). There were more early risers out at OSB this morning, but we only had a short window of time to get in any swimming.
A nasty storm front rushed in around 7:30am and put on quite a show for those of us who sought shelter in the pedestrian tunnel. As I write this, it’s clear and sunny once again. So if you slept in today, I feel sorry for you, because you missed out on nature’s fury at its finest.
Yikes!
Close encounter with an American Kestrel
June 14, 2008 / by srhernan / Make A Comment / Filed under Fitness & Training
Not sure how to start out your day? Toss all this into a blender:
1 banana (frozen)
3 strawberries (frozen)
1 cup of lowfat plain yogurt
1 cup of apple juice or water
3/4 cup of Grape Nuts cereal
1 heaping tablespoon of “natural style” peanut butter (i.e. no trans fat or high fructose corn syrup)
1 heaping teaspoon of raw honey
This should tide you over until late morning and prevent you from splurging on junk food. (Advanced Class: You can also use this two hours before a big workout or as your “race day meal” – just ditch the Grape Nuts.)
Remember: a muffin at Starbucks is just an overpriced piece of cake.
June 13, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Tips & Techniques
Take a look at this graphic:
Notice that the skin on your upper torso has the highest number of temperature receptors, followed closely by your head which has the highest concentration of them.
In humans, our core body temperature is controlled by the hypothalamus, a structure in the brain that monitors the temperature of the blood as it passes through the brain. The hypothalamus also monitors the external temperature through input it receives from temperature receptors in the skin.
The key is, your brain adjusts your core body temperature based predominantly upon feedback it receives from the temperature receptors in your torso and head.
In more practical terms, if you expose your head and trunk to colder water – even for a brief period – prior to your swim, your hypothalamus will send impulses to several parts of your body that will better prepare you for tolerating the water temperature. It will instruct your glands to secrete adrenaline and thyroxine which will increase the metabolic rate in your liver and other tissues, and it will stimulate rapid skeletal muscle contractions (i.e. shivering).
Bottom line – you will turn on the “heat generation switch” in your body that will make it much, much easier to get into the water.
