The 4-Hour Body_ An Uncommon Guide to Ra - Timothy Ferriss [165]
ULTRAENDURANCE SHOES FOR TRAIL RUNNING
Inov-8 X-Talon 212 (www.fourhourbody.com/talon212) Of all the shoes Brian recommended, these are my favorite.
Inov-8 F-Lite 230 (www.fourhourbody.com/f-Lite230)
Inov-8 is a small manufacturer and will likely run out of stock, but there are other mainstream options: for trail running, get a low-profile shoe like the La Sportiva Crosslite; for asphalt, use “racing flats” like the New Balance 205.
ULTRAENDURANCE SHOES FOR ASPHALT AND HARD SURFACES
Inov-8 F-Lite 220 (www.fourhourbody.com/talon220)
Inov-8 F-Lite 230 (www.fourhourbody.com/f-lite230) These shoes appear above and are multi- purpose.
End of Chapter Notes
23. This substrate-based training approach is not universally accepted. Proponents of the Central-Governor theory, for instance, posit that the altered metabolism is the effect, not the cause, of the improved exercise performance, which is brain-regulated. To learn more about the Central-Governor, The Lore of Running and Brain Training for Runners are good sources.
24. In a given interval workout, the “rep” duration shouldn’t deviate more than 2–3 seconds. For example, if running 4 × 400, times of 1:27, 1:29, 1:30, 1:28 would be better than 1:20, 1:25, 1:30, 1:33. Learning to pace precisely is part of the training.
25. Go to http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/ and double-click to set start and finish points.
26. For the OCD runners: Alternatively, and this is Brian’s preference, you can slow your speed slightly. In intervals, as a hypothetical example, this could be done by aiming to hit 200-meter repeats in 40 seconds each, as opposed to an original 37-second target.
27. If I wanted to then get aggressive, I could target a 19:29 5K, which would extrapolate to a 3:10 marathon, qualifying me for the Boston Marathon. To determine how your times at one distance translate to another, Google “McMillan Running Calculator.”
28. The aforementioned Badwater ultramarathon.
GETTING STRONGER
EFFORTLESS SUPERHUMAN
Breaking World Records
with Barry Ross
Do as little as needed, not as much as possible.
—Henk Kraaijenhof, coach of Merlene Joyce “Queen of the Track” Ottey, who won 20 combined medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA KORET ATHLETIC TRAINING FACILITY
Pavel performing a Zercher deadlift with 315 lbs. as electrodes measure muscular activity. (Photo courtesy Prof. Stuart McGill PhD and Spine Biomechanics Lab, University of Waterloo, Canada)
Pavel Tsatsouline was punching me in the ass.
It’s not every day that you have a former Soviet Special Forces instructor punch you in the butt cheeks. But it was the second day of Russian Kettlebell Certification (RKC), and we were practicing constant tension, one of several techniques intended to increase strength output. In this case, we spot-checked each other with punches. Pavel, now a U.S. citizen and subject matter expert to the U.S. Secret Service Counter Assault Team, wandered the ranks, contributing jabs where needed.
Two hours earlier, Pavel had asked the attendees for someone stuck at a 1-rep maximum in the one-arm overhead press. He then proceeded to take the volunteer from 53 lbs. to 72 lbs. in less than five minutes: a 26% strength increase. Translated into more familiar terms, this would represent a jump in one-repetition max from 106 pounds to 144 pounds in the barbell military press.
There were dozens of such demonstrations throughout the weekend, and each was intended to reinforce a point: strength is a skill.
Not only is strength a skill, but it can be learned quickly.
I didn’t realize how quickly until several months later, when Pavel introduced me to a curious sprint coach: Barry Ross.
Reducing the Irreducible
In 2003, Allyson Felix was a 17-year-old high school student.
In the space of 12 months, she broke all of Marion Jones’s high school records in the 200 meters,