So you don't know what to do with your hands

Dec 24th

" A mind troubled by doubt can not focus on the course to victory."

Arthur Golden


WOD

For time 150 burpies

time: 14:10

slow pace but continuous. Calf's were cramping up on the last 50 reps.







Someone asked me the other day what I thought of running on the treadmill with hand weights. "Maybe once to to say you have done it, I replied". Now I asked, " what is it you are trying to do with the self imposed multi-tasking of running and resistance training". Well their answer was to add more cardio stress for a more intense workout. I did not suggest that maybe you have the wrong carido exercise, but they seem to be bent on treadmill as their exercise of chose. I advised that the addition of weights to the hands as you run will only provide a very small increase in heart rate and can cause some upper body overuse injuries if the weight becomes heavy or they are used for long cardio sessions.


If you are running or walking with weights you can throw your natural running or walking form and for minimal cardio increase. If you goal is to increase your heart rate, then walk faster or on a higher incline, which will see a greater increase in pulse rate than adding hand or wrist weights.


The addition of weights will always require increase in size as your body adopts. When this happens and you go from 1lb to 10 lbs weights, you now are putting a lot more stress on the arms and shoulder's. I have read of people developing bicep injuries and upper arm stress fractures running with hand weights or dumbbells.



When I ran on road and long distance competition, I never saw anyone train with hand weights while running. If there was any value in running with hand weights they of all people would use them. However, when we did long distance trail running, we used plastic bottles attached to the hands with drink, so it was available and you can use the to protect your hands as you fell to the ground tripping on stones and logs. (I always fell hands first so a haft full plastic bottle of water made a great hand cushion).



Dr. Schwartz of "Heavy Hands" fame and the book of the same title, invented a more comfortable devise to hand screw on weights as you get stronger. He started this fitness promotion in the early 80's and still today promotes this activity. He has few converts except for the uninformed or newbies to fitness who don't know any better. It will not hurt you if you only use them infrequently but it has limited value.

The late Mel Stiff stated that from his vast knowledge of strength training, that using hand weights for aerobics is of limited value to the cardio system and all most no value for basic strength training.

Now it you want to add stress to your cardio training, I have a few suggestions:

• run up any long ski run( not in winter of coarse) when you get to the top look down and start you decent. Do not look at your pulse rate monitor as you will not believe what you see.
  
• Farmer walk: take two heavy Kettlebells 40kg or 100lb dumbells and deadlift them then walk as long as you can until the skin rips off your hands. Don't look at your pulse rate as you will be more concerned with just standing. If you can make a 100 yards you are doing good. See if that don't count as Heavy hands



• run up the Empire state building stairs as fast as you can. 1,860 steps try this and see if your increase your heart, cardio guy! You won't need hand weights and you will need your hands to pull yourself up by the railings.
  
• take two 16kg kettlebells and do 5 sets of 20 reps thrusters. You get good cardio and your will have your hand busy.



• Take a 24kg kettlebell and snatch lift it as many times for 10 mins. don't even look at you pulse as you can not read it anyway from your breathing. Yes your hands will feel heavy and sore.
  


• Take a 20lb medicine ball and do "wall balls" for 150 reps and see if you have good cardio activation.



• row 2000 meters on a Concept II as fast as you can at less than 8 min pace if you can. If you can walk after, you did not push your self enough.
  
• Perform any number of Crossfit WOD with a 4o lb X-vest on. Don't even check your pulse rate. You may experience what they call "robo" or heavy body.



• run a 5k or 3.1 miles in less then 21 min or less and see if you need heavy hands to get you heart rate up.



• Take a 12-16kg kettlebell and perform a of exercises for 15 minutes without the kettlebell leaving you hands. See it that don't feel like Heavy Hands!