As the weeks have gone by, 2 to be exact, the training sessions at Harvard Stadium are beginning to take its shape. The trial period has come to its end. The word is out and the group is building. I have taken two and turned it into six. Now before the group training began, I was running Harvard stadium in preparation for the Spartan Race Fenway Time Trial. Knowing that the stadium is no more than 1/4 mile from my apartment, I had to jump on the situation. All the training I put in before Fenway paid off 10 fold. I mean, who wouldn’t love the opportunity to sprint up stairs and run 1/2 mile laps inside an empty stadium? Its a place where a lot of opportunity lies to train in a variety of fashions. The Colosseum gives us Stairs, Sprints, Sandbags and Sweat.
The Stairs are long, and by long I mean – getting from row 1 to row 2 involves a little power behind your step. The stadium has short stairs – perfect for some quick agility moves. Luckily I was able to design exercise circuits that would allow the group to utilize all the features Harvard has to offer. Luckily, I was able to put Nele Schulze and Keith Glass through the grind before the group started growing more heads. Unfortunately they’re beasts, so getting them to the breaking point took a little effort. As athletes we’re always looking for a way to push the boundary of what we’re capable of. As Keith Glass, he’s looking for a way to keel over from pure exhaustion.
Our nights begin with a quick warm up, nothing to exhausting at first. Our chatter picks up as we joke around waiting for the others to arrive. There is a little breathing room in the beginning, but that goes away in a hurry. Starting at Section 36, we travel down 10 sections one after another. I usually decide what exercise will be executed at the top and what will be done at the bottom. Regardless by the time we hit section 6, the burn sets in deep, our legs lock up, and someone is lying down somewhere catching their breath (usually that’s me) . We always tend to joke about how we don’t push it hard enough, but if you were to look around the group you’d see the damage has been done. Now something to keep in mind is that its only the beginning!
The WMDs, Weights of Mass Destruction, come out of duffel bags, rucks, and cars. The bigger the group the more variety i have to use when bringing these items into play. Let the Circuit Begin! Agility laps up and down the entrance to the stadium. The entrance to the stadium has your standard stairs. I don’t like to keep things simple, so bringing one of these sandbags for the journey up and down 6 entrances for 3 or 4 laps will usually do the trick. While someone does that, there are 4 other exercise stations starting up simultaneously. I’d love to reveal all the tricks but you’ll have to show up to learn them. Its a 4 exercise circuit and each station is being done 3 times before the switch.
Now i’m sure you’re thinking.. well what else? BUT WAIT there’s more! The turf is open and extremely nice to run on. 40 yard Sprints with some goodies thrown in the mix before after and during. 10 sprints with little to no rest. For those who can’t do sprints for whatever reason, I had Rob Bonazoli doing laps around the field with burpees and push ups till you feel the need to vomit.
I’m trying to design these training sessions to target the weak spots of all of my participants to build on them and eliminate the problem. Keith wants speed – we work on speed. Nele wants strength – i throw in strength. The possibilities are endless. I’m finally a part of a community where the people are amazing to work with. They’re appreciative and thankful. In my eyes there is no reason to not continue doing these sessions, even through the winter. There has been nothing but positive feedback about it from all of the Elite Athletes involved. I’ve used this quote before and I’m tired of people saying they’re not Elite when they show more heart than most..
“To Be Elite isn’t about racing or placing. Being Elite is about the Heart you have put into being where you are. The Determination that got you there. The Motivation to continue down the road to Reach the Goal you desire.”
Motivation. Determination. Inspiration.
For Today’s Workout of the Day check out my Blog on Reload Fitness’ Facebook page and website.
All Are Welcome.
Monday – Harvard Stadium 7pm. section 36. Bring Headlamps, & any weights you want to incorporate.
Join Spahten Elite Fitness group on facebook for more updates and information on ALL of our training sessions. http://www.facebook.com/groups/329812747125591/
Never saw a more dedicated, challenged hungry group of people than the Spartans