Sunday, December 28, 2014

Sunday Ruck and a new app

On my friend Morgan's suggestion I got this new app called " mapmywalk"
Much to my surprise it worked very well. Even has a pause function so I can do y squat holds and not have to factor that in to the time

It takes five minutes to walk to and from the park where I do my laps so the above is based on just the lap times. I did 12 laps averaging about 8:20 per lap. My speed was anywhere for the above  at 15 min per mile to 22 min per mile.
It was a solid walk although it was pretty chilly for California at 37 degrees at the starting time,

For the entire two hours at that pace it should have given me 5.5 miles or just under three miles per hour.

Pack weight was 40 lbs exactly. Legs felt heavy at first but then lightened up considerably as I warmed up. the squats each lap definitely help stretch things out, that's for sure.

Happy to be back at full distance and full weight.
Tomorrow I have plans for a 85 lb press workout( we'll see how many reps I can do at that weight) and some more kb hack squats.

datsit
neverquit

9 comments:

Lars said...

Rif,
I always enjoy that little peek into an, for me that is actually, athletes diary.
For myself I am not really into kettlebells but more into simple calisthenics, weighted also.
I used to run Marathons and consider myself to run hamburg Marathon here in germany again. But I am more into walking these days.do you know people who habe walked such distances in 5 hohes maximum? What would you do?

Mark Reifkind said...

Lars

you can look at the Olympic race walkers for their time, although , imo that is not really walking but running on stiff legs :)

I am into ruck walking these days so the pack and the weight of it play a big role as to how fast I can move.
without a pack I'm sure you can walk 4miles per hour so that would make 20 miles on 5 hours :)
let me know what you decide to do

Lars said...

Like you ve said, i dont want to adopt olympic techniques, i like to walk marching that is. I am more build like a frogman tough i train like them so i probably will walk-run it. I dont want to run them whole thing because i didnt feel like it is a good idea and maybe i kill my regeneration too mich training for it. Strength and them mass i builded is hard earned...

Morgan L. said...

Glad you could use the app. Try out those Ranger beads. There's no better way to develop a sense of pace, direction, and distance than by using those. It's also meditative to mentally keep track of your body.

Mark Reifkind said...

thanks morgan I counted out the steps today. next time I will use the beads as well. Now that I know the app works I will stop messing with it so much and get back to my"zone" in my rucks

my pace is pretty varied though depending on which part of the ruck I am at. just like it was back in my ultra days :)

Mark Reifkind said...

Lars with my knee replacement my running days are over. and yes running peels off muscle like crazy.

Lars said...

So whats the point of them rucking?
I mean is it not just weighted walking?

Mark Reifkind said...

lars yes, that's all it is. weighted walking, but the added weight builds strength at the same time it increases base level aerobic levels with no impact on the joints.
all armies use weighted marching as a test of their soldiers combat readiness in terms of conditioning.
a good choice for me

Mark Reifkind said...

I saw this post on the SF forum from a Cadre at GoRuck. A very interesting view of rucking

My name is Andy, I am a Cadre with GORUCK. The GORUCK Challenge is just that, a challenge. My intent is not to drive you away from an event, quite the opposite in fact! Listen to Steve! If you are an exclusive gym rat, cross fit nerd, or kettlebell athlete you are not prepared to perform at your best during a Challenge. No doubt any meat head training will give you the foundation of strength required, but rucking is different. It attacks your body in different ways. Rucking a heavy pack is like water slowly eroding a mountain. At first a trickle of water simply flows down the mountain, but over time the water penetrates and cuts the mountain. A ruck does much the same. You may possess brute strength and endurance, but over time the ruck will slowly cut into you. It cuts into your shoulders straining your neck. and back It cuts into your lower back destroying core strength. It cuts through your hips and into your knees and ankles rendering quads, hams and calfs useless. Over time the ruck will test your entire body as a functional system. But most of all it attacks your feet and willpower! If your feet are not properly conditioned, you will lose the battle quickly. If your will is weak, you will quit. I will try to convince you to stay, but in the end you will walk away and the team will suffer.

And that’s all from simply walking with weight on your back! Now add all the fun things we Cadre like to do during a Challenge and you’re truly testing your total body system!

So the question becomes, how do I prepare? Well if you sling kettlebells you’re on the right path! I’ve trained with kettlebells for years and I have found that they are the best form of total body system training. But you must supplement your training for the specifics of rucking. Just like there is no substitute for learning how to swing other than swinging, there is no substitute for rucking other than rucking! There are plenty of training programs out there. Military Athlete has a GORUCK training plan, GORUCK has a 6 week plan for free here http://training.goruck.com/the-6-week-plan/.

The best thing to do is just as you say above, sign up for a Light to get a feel for the GORUCK experience. See where you stack up. Identify strengths, weakness, and what you think your limitations are. Then come up with a plan to be better. When you ready take the Challenge. I assure you, you will not be disappointed. You WILL learn something about yourself and you will meet amazing people.

I hope to see you at one of our events.

155 x 3 x 5, 160 x 3 x 5, 20 kg swings 5 x 8/8, floor pushups 40, 35

 Thought about going back to 5x5 for a hot second then my left shoulder  reminded me why I stopped doing them before. It doesn't seem to...