Strength Training

OK so over the winter I decided that I would focus on running speed and strength. Especially leg strength, which will help me with cycling strength later on. At the moment I dont have my bikes with me so I cannot throw down with a bike on a trainer, but this makes for a good alternative in the meantime. So following this thought process, I decided to take on ....THE TWO HUNDRED SQUAT CHALLENGE!!

Doing the initial test I found that I was fairly weak at these, so I believe its a great area to build up on and improve. Lets see how it goes, so far the first week was easy. However, I know this wont last.

Help Haiti, Help yourself!

As mentioned in my earlier post I have been mulling ideas for supporting the releif efforts in Haiti. My search has brought me to one charity that I have supported in the past through volunteering locally. Its habitat for humanities, and personally I cant think of a better way to help those in Haiti, who have lost their homes, than by at least providing a safe shelter.

Habitat is addressing shelter solutions for low-income families affected by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010. Habitat’s ability to respond effectively to this disaster will require support from donors, corporate partners and other community organizations.

More information is available on their website

So here is what I propose:

HELP HAITI AND HELP YOURSELF

$30/30 minutes

I am offering a 1/2 hour consultation to anyone who donates $30 or more to Habitat for Humanities' Haiti efforts. All you need to do is forward to me the confirmation of the donation that you receive from Habitat, it should be dated from today January 23, and after. Send the confirmations to my email: javier@opironmultisport.com

I am doing this from now to February 15

So Who am I? This from my Coaching website


(www.opironmultisport.com)
Javier Gomez - Triathlon Coach, USAT Level 1 Certified

Javier has been a Triathlete for a number of years, having raced dozens of triathlons, most recently Ironman Lake Placid. For the past 2 years he has been a coach and has lead the beginners triathlon program for Race with Purpose (www.racewithpurpose.org). Javier also coaches individual clients with a variety of experience levels.

Ideas of what you can achieve with a one hour consultation:
setup a rudimentary plan for the year, get feedback about your training, ideas for workouts, learn how to prioritize your races, get feedback about your current plans and refine them.

These are just some ideas. More to come-

A Time for Action

So much of my life this past few months has been about recovering and simply dealing with my own personal issues in my life. It has in fact forced me to put aside those things I love to do like triathlons and coaching, simply to be able to garner the energy to make it on a daily basis. It has been a time of inward focus.

But as Winston Churchill once said "Evil wins when good men do nothing".

There is now a true tragedy going on in Haiti, and it is in Biblical proportions. There are so many efforts going on by Governments and organizations that it is so easy to think "someone else will take care of it". But that is dangerous, if we all take that train of thought then the assistance that this country and its people needs will falter.

I started coaching through Race with purpose, an organization that brought athletes and a need to help the world together. This concept really worked for me, who has always volunteered at various things throughout my life. Lately the programs and the organization has been dormant. It seems to me the time as come to shake the cobwebs off, and start taking action.

I have been communicating with Adam, the founder and head coach of RwP, to try and figure how to respond to this. It was nice to see he had his own wheels turning around this problem as well. Lets see where this leads.

Strength Training

Now that I am fully recovered from my surgery, I am now working to get back into shape and setup my fitness for hard training. I have decided to start with a Strength focussed month to establish a good strength base.

Basically I started last night with crunches and scissor kicks for core, and calf raises, lunges and pushups for strength. This is a light routine for the first week and will buildup over the next few weeks. One indicator though that I direly need this, is that the Lunges truly hurt. I had to pull back on these or risk injury.

I made sure to stretch afterwards because I felt incredibly tight after the workout.

This workout felt good and I feel I will enjoy these workouts due to the short amount of time required.