Month: March 2017

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Loot to Crave, Volume 1

This is going to be a recurring feature here on Iron Rogue, where I share the kind of gear and merchandise that gets me drooling.  I was going to use the word ‘booty’ rather than ‘loot’, but I thought it might attract the wrong kind of audience.

 

 

noun: booty

  1. valuable stolen goods, especially those seized in war.
  2. synonyms: loot, plunder, pillage, haul, prize, trophy, spoils, stolen goods, gains, ill-gotten gains, profits, pickings, takings, winnings, swag, boodle, the goods

 

N.B. As of this writing, I have no official relationship with these brands.

 

  • IAMRUNBOX – This is the kind of product I have been waiting a long time for.  I have commuted by bike, run, inline skate and even cross-country ski.  I have since changed jobs, so my work isn’t as close, but as my running mileage increases and the weather improves, there’s a chance I might return to my old mischievous ways.  If you want to run with a backpack to work, some of the key issues are:
    • Securely keeping a laptop (no bouncing or impact)
    • Keeping your clothes from getting too wrinkly
    • The pack bouncing up and down and generally hitting and hurting you

This is the first product I’ve seen actually try and address these issues.  They don’t seem to have a big North American presence, but they do ship worldwide.

  • NAK Fitness Swim Goggles – I first saw these on the Instagram feed of Heather Rose Scott, who I swear is some kind of triathlon/yoga superhero.  It’s like, if Wonder Woman devoted herself to the swim/bike/run lifestyle instead of fighting crime. goggles-collectionlarge-600x600 Anyway, if she endorses it, that would probably be good enough for me.  I currently swim my pool workouts with a pair of cheap speedos, and I race with the expensive Sable optics, but those are getting a little old and would probably be wearing down and should probably be retired.  These have a nice tint (according to the testimonials) and are on the softer side so that they don’t leave you ‘racoon eyes’

 

  • Smovey – Another exercise gadget?!  This one caught my eye somehow – most of the demonstrated exercises seem to address the shoulders – especially in terms of mobility and stability.  That’s important to me not only as a swimmer, but as someone who experiences shoulder pain and has issues in and around my thoracic spine.  C72Ym7QXQAI6IYkThe device also promises to penetrate “the meridians through the palms of your hands and harmonizes the flow of Qi (energy) through the 3 Yin meridians and the 3 Yang meridians, providing an exceptional healing effect while working out.” Now I’m more on the skeptical side when it comes to non-traditional Western medicine and science, and a full-on debate about Eastern medicine and similar practices is beyond the scope of what I want to talk about here.  My rule of thumb is this: if the supposed alternative benefit isn’t at the exclusion of a more mainstream Western medical benefit, why not? The vibration and instability can give the muscles (especially stabilizer muscles) an extra boost of challenge – that’s the cake; any ying/yang benefit to meridians gets to be the icing.

These are also produced in a factory in Austria by people with “mild physical and mental limitations,” – as a special needs parent I can’t help but applaud that.

 

  • Tap2Tag – If you’re out on run or bike, you tend to pack light and you frankly might not have all the ID and emergency contact info you need.  This wristband uses NFC technology (a wireless link found on most cellphones – think Bluetooth, only shorter range) to transfer whatever info you need to a first responder’s cellphone at the push of a button.  6-bands_col_match_650x650_optIt’s customizable so if you want to list allergies, or multiple emergency contacts, no problem.  We don’t like to think of our exercise pursuits as being risky, but being prepared for a worst case scenario might be something you end up being grateful for.
  • Niche Wipes – There are several ‘baby wipe’ type products for wiping the sweat off your body when a shower isn’t available, but these are by far my favourite. 2pack1-300x300 Simply put, they smell (a little) manlier and they are also man-sized.  My current employer is a small company and there is no shower (nor enough room to avoid co-workers all day) so when I can commute by bike (or whatever as mentioned in point #1), it’s good to be able to wipe the sweat off – and I mean all off.  I’ve used competing products and I run out of wipe before I run out of sweaty back, and I appreciate not smelling too feminine.  These are actually made for men.

 

If you want to see me give more of these a test run (or have other suggested gear/products you’re curious about) please send me a big bag of money 😉

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Swim Analysis Via Data – A Tridot Check-In

Here lies Axel “Iron Rogue” Kussmann.  Loved by the best of us, barely tolerated by the rest of us.  Drowned in the moonlight, strangled by his own bra died by exhaustion.

This training program may be too much for me; in fact, I’m nursing a pulled right calf muscle as I write this (a Finding Nemo frozen gel pack stuck under a compression sleeve).  When I wake up tomorrow I’ll know how bad it is.  When I look at the weekly totals it doesn’t seem that bad (though those don’t include warm-ups – the calf got yanked trying to do “butt kicks” for my run warm-up), but you’ll see there are 3 workout days, which apparently is due to me designating Thursday as a day off.

 

I’m not posting to complain though – that’s not the informative writing I strive for, but to tell you about a cool feature of the Tridot system.  When I was putting in initial data like age, height and weight, I also filled out a questionnaire regarding my swimming.

 

Based on these answers and stroke rate (which gets updated from Garmin data), Tridot has diagnoses me as a combination of different types.  I am:

  1. An “Overglider” (55%) – “As an Overglider, you’re likely over thinking your swim form and trying to stay streamlined at the expense of generating propulsion. Swim speed is Distance per Stroke (DPS) x Stroke Rate (SR)–not just DPS. It’s likely you’ll see solid improvements by focusing more on increasing your stroke rate and generating more propulsion even if you sacrifice your streamline a little. Remember that the most streamlined gliding position doesn’t have any propulsion. Make the mental shift from pursuing only form to pursuing fitness too. Work on your prescribed drills, and you’ll find the right balance.”
  2. An “Overkicker” (30%) – “As an Overkicker, your able to swim at least at a moderate pace and may not perceive the ‘need’ for much form improvement. However, with a little more emphasis on generating propulsion form your front quadrant and reducing your kick you’ll be able to swim further, faster, and with less energy. Focus on each of your prescribed drills and be open to re-thinking and re-learning how you swim.”
  3. A “Lightweight” (25%) – “As a Lightweight, you’ll need to really focus on your ooomph and confidence. You may not have much experience in the pool, but that won’t be true for long. Focus on making small improvements each session. Try to relax in the water and focus on strong execution of your prescribed drills. Much of your improvement will come from having a positive mindset as you go into each session. Swimming is not ‘natural’ for humans. It’s learned. You can learn to be a great swimmer!”

The percentages reflect a degree of confidence in the diagnosis, which is why they don’t add up to 100%.  The other types (which aren’t a match for me) are:

  • “Tarzan” – “As a Tarzan, you’ll need to learn to rely less on your strength and athleticism and more on skill and technique. As you execute your prescribed drills, learn to work with the water rather than fighting against it. Focus on reducing drag and having a long, balanced body position. Relax and let your body glide through the water. Improving your swim form can take time. It’s often not a matter of more effort, rather it’s patience as you repeat the movements (drills) over, and over, and over until they come naturally. “
  • “Swinger” – “As a Swinger, you’re already a relatively fast swimmer. Understand that the Swinger form isn’t a ‘lesser’ form than the Classic. You can achieve great results with either. The amount of ‘form correction’ you’ll want to pursue will be relative to your fitness and results. If you’re already turning in strong swim performances and are not experiencing shoulder pain, you may not want to change too much. Work on your prescribed drills as a Classic would to maintain and refine your form not overhaul it.”
  • “Classic” – “As a Classic, you’re already a very strong swimmer. You’ll always want to watch that bad habits don’t creep in and impact your form. Don’t take your swim form for granted and neglect doing the drills that are prescribed in your swim sessions. As a triathlete, you will do well to spend time working on open-water skills such as sighting and drafting.”

I’ve noticed they put a lot of “sink-downs” in my warm-ups.  These are for getting more comfortable in the water – you empty your lungs and let yourself sink down to the bottom.  These are to be immediately followed by swimming a short interval.  I think the idea is to get me more used to swimming with less air in my lungs – I’m probably spending a lot of time getting more air in than I strictly need and it’s hurting my stroke rate.  I also recently got to play with my head position; looking less up seemed to help me be more efficient but the stroke data didn’t look radically different over the short intervals I got to play with that aspect.