Wholistic Fitness

Namaste Noble Fitness Warriors!

“Hills make all men brothers.”

WF Maxim

oooof.

i’m back from Hill Intervals. it was…idyllically intervalic. here is what i did: hooked up with Steve Marlowe and cruised our bikes for 25 minutes over some hilly terrain toward my interval loop circuit as we chatted about the TOUR DE FRANCE. then we did 3 sets of Hill Intervals. All were done Seated. Focus was not on heart-rate but rather bodybuilding. That is, each set is designed to impart new neuromuscular fitness into the powerchain muscles (hips/thighs/midsection). This was done very specifically over the course of three grueling sets: Set #1 For Hamstrings: pull up on the pedals using only the hamstrings. Set #2 For Quadriceps: stomp down on the pedals using only the frontal thigh. Set #3 For Glutes/Abs: pedal in as complete circles as possible merging the pulling up on the pedal through the top of the pedal stroke into the pushing down and finally scraping through the bottom transition before pulling up again.

i love this particular Hill Interval Loop course (i have many around here) because it is composed of 3 brutally beautiful stages which, when combined, equal 3.5 miles and about 10 minutes of total hell/heaven. Phase 1 begins with a 1.5 miles of gentle uphill which is rode in Zone 2 heartrate, this serves as a psychological transition and warms up the specific body/mind play for Stage 2. TIME: about 3 minutes. SPEED: about 15 mph.

Stage 2: 1.5 miles of 14-17% in your face uphill. hot, steep, unrelenting. this is done at Zones 3/4 with every fiber of your being focused on either pulling, pushing, or merging. it ain’t pretty. TIME: 4-4.5 minutes. SPEED: if you see 7 mph on your computer, you’re doing great.

Stage 3: 1.5 miles of a scintillating, curvaceous downhill through some extraordinary homes. these hills are fully loaded with shade trees and lots of very pretty young moms pushing their babies in strollers wondering why the hell you keep doing laps around them. TIME: less than 1 minute. SPEED: 50.0 mph. yes, that’s five-zero as in fifty.

TOTAL WORKOUT TIME: 1 hour, 7 minutes.

try it. you’ll love fearing it.

HIGH PERFORMANCE NOTE: those of you who are competitively racing should crank off two, instead of one, sets of each. i used to do three of each when i was racing.

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last evening

some sort of little bug flew into my glass of wine

witnessing his feeble floundering

i saw a past incarnation of myself

drowning in wine

unable to lift myself

from the world sensual intoxication

so i reached into the zinfandel

to rescue him

it took a while

and ruined my wine

but perhaps

i saved not only this insects life

but maybe a future one

of my own.

who rescued whom?

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USCF Coach Ilg’s Dharma Takes on the TOUR DE FRANCE:

Prologue:

It’s obvious to those who meditate and know the Way of the Dharma.

David Millar’s chain “coming off” within the last few meters of the Prologue was not a “mechanical failure” but rather spiritual teachings from the Dharma. Millar is a talented but emotional cyclist so, the UniVerse is going to keep testing his sincerity to work on his weakness; mental equanimity. Millar also carries the karmic potential of the team he chose to sign with: Cofidis. Cofidis is the team that canceled their sponsorship of Lance Armstrong as he was “dying” of cancer in the hospital.

Stage 1: the crash within a kilometer of the finish was a manifestation of the Race Director’s greed. for monetary reasons, he chose to accept far too many ‘first time’ Tour riders…something like 55 out of 180 riders will be riding in their first Tour de France. that is way too many Tour rookies. the first week will be very dangerous as was made manifest on Stage 1. Lance must be very careful and his teammates must guard him extraordinarily well in this opening week.

the same type of greedy decision was made by a race director of a famous race here in the US that resulted in me crashing at 40+ mph when a lower category cyclist was allowed to race with us and looked down at his speedometer while foolishly riding too fast at the front of the peleton…thirty of us went down hard and several to the hospital.

racers who are not GC (General Classification) contenders should know better to stay out of the way during the final kilometers of a major race like the Tour de France.

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Dear Coach…

got the new Program Update. wow!

wonderful stuff! you are like the Miles Davis of program creations. a truly brilliant Coach.

– Q

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Dear Coach,

i never thought of myself as SERVING, being able to SERVE, there was this BELIEF that i needed to TAKE…my work with WF has given me an overwhelming sense of GRATITUDE for all who come this WAY…i thank you very much for TRUSTING in me so DEEPLY…i weep with such joy that it is shining through me lighting my PATH…

– Humble Heiko

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Dear Coach –

I’m going to be placing my Sunrider order on Monday. We had a hard time placing our second order online so we’ll order by phone. Can you recommend any products that help to speed the recovery of broken bones?

� ESE + JOI

RE:

I was not very mindful on Friday and I broke my foot. It’s unbelievable, considering how active I am.

� what matters is how calm you are inside

not how active you are on the outside.

RE: I was sitting at my desk working at home and my cell phone rang in the other room. I JUMPED up to get it, and my foot had fallen asleep. I was wearing UGH clogs and I twisted my ankle, breaking my foot. Very lame!!! It’s pretty ironic, because my parents have been telling me to slow down, and I didn’t listen. Now, I’m forced to slow down.

� i call this an example of the

Humor of the Universe.

a classic example of how the Universe teaches us what we need to learn most.

RE: I can still do my weight workout, and I’m going to check out the ergonomic bike at the gym for some cardio, but I’m going to have to practice restorative yoga to keep up my practice.

� it will become a Blessing in dis-guise

if you choose to make it so

RE: I was thinking about you and Thich Nat Hanh who have the beeper and phone meditations. I was doing the phone meditation a few months ago, where I would allow the phone to ring three times before answering it, and notice my breath, my thoughts etc… but I got away from it. It’s definitely time to revisit the practice.

� Teachings come first with a whisper on the spiritual journey. then, if we keep ignoring Her subtle hints by prioritizing the outer instead of listening to the inner, He will keep ramping up the intensity of the Teachings until they take on the guise of catastrophe or crisis. count your Blessings you got away with a broken foot. now, your job in meditation is to examine WHY the Universe is asking you to GROUND yourself…what are you doing that the Universe needs to GROUND you by showing you a broken foot? take this into your meditation room (but don’t try sitting in full lotus with a broken foot!).

now, more than ever, are wonderful opportunities to find out that your Workout is Everywhere…

love and Godspeed in your learning,

ilg

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Coach-

Happy Independence Day! I am writing because I think I touched something

special this morning. Today was my 30 minute zazen day – the longest

session yet. The first fifteen minutes were fine, although I was plagued

by a little voice (my ego mind?) saying “it’s been way longer than 15

minutes…I bet you forgot to turn on the timer…take a look at your

watch…c’mon). To my great chagrin I did look, and found that it was

going to go off in 15 seconds. Ooof.

However, when I reversed legs, something amazing happened. At first, I

felt a very painful tingling in my foot and ankle. That same little voice

was screaming “c’mon…it shouldn’t feel this way…stretch your legs out

for a minute…c’mon). This time I pushed that little voice out of mind

and focused on my breath. Then the pain subsided and was replaced by a

joyful, warm tingling in my feet and hands. As I continued to settle into

my breath, this tingling began to work its way through my entire body. At

the same time, I began to feel tremendous heat build up in my gut and

start to radiate outward. Towards the end of the session my whole body

felt full of the most positive lifeforce imaginable. I thought it would

end when I stood up, but for several minutes after my session I felt

incredibly joyful and more full of life than I think I ever have. I

looked in the mirror and felt…perfection.

Thank you-

Allan

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Steve,

Thank you again for your beautiful work.

Love….Kelly