(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best individul sports books

Most importantly Listen to your body. I can promise you that you are pushing yourself hard enough but you may also be pushing yourself too hard. Here's some advice to improving your 5k times since you asked:

• try to run every day. Get used to running as many days that are possible but remember to slow down and not push yourself too hard so that you exhaust your legs. This is building an aerobic base which you will be extremely grateful for when you start working on your anaerobic workouts (hill workouts, intervals etc.). If you have a hard time running a set distance in miles (I do) just do a set amount of time (20 min, 30 min) and don't give a hoot about your pace just listen to your body and how you feel. This game is about gradualism and there is no shame in going slow.
  
  
• Rest days are necessary if you think they are necessary! You are the big kahuna in your training program!
  
  
• Be careful not to burn yourself out. There is a thing called pushing yourself too hard and everybody can do it no matter the fitness level. Typically though (and I can say this because I have fallen into this trap) it's people who don't want to accept their current fitness level. You may be a 10:00 miler but think you're a 9:00 miler but you won't improve until you accept your current fitness state. Be honest with how you feel and you will notice improvements within a couple weeks.
  
  
• No smoking. Weed/cigarrettes/whatever. Smoking damages your lungs which decreases your cardiac efficiency. If you like the herb though invest in a vaporizer. Your body will thank you. Other substances like alcohol or harder stuff which I won't mention will stress your body out so be mindful of your indulgences.
  
  
• Control your breathing. I used yogic breathing excercises such a as pranayama to get control of my diaphram. The amount of air you can intake is proportional to your cardiac efficiency. The burn you feel in your legs when you sprint is from lactic acid build up due to lack of oxygen (because your cardio [oxygen intake for your muscles] can't keep up with your muscle contractions, this is how you burn yourself out, aka acidosis) learn to read your body and how fast you can go comfortably for a set distance. "i can run 3 miles at an 8:00 pace if I push myself. At the end of my run my heart rate is 33 beats per 10 seconds so that's about 198 BPM"
  
  
• Improving cardio fitness is all about your heart rate efficiency. In the beginning of accruing a large enough aerobic base, let's say 40-50 miles a week (this depends on how serious you want to be can be less but the larger the base, generally, the faster you can go think of a pyramid /\), be mindful of your heart rate and check it at the end of each run. This will help you later and is just fun to guess when you track it enough. Personally and from the advice of my cross country coaches it's best to get your base in before you do things like hill workouts or intervals.
  
  
• During your aerobic base period make sure to change tempo and distance (within reason). Vary it up and do days at faster pace for less distance and days at a slower pace for longer distances. Keep your heart guessing and it will respond and improve
  
  
• stride outs at the end of a run are very useful to get your form down and to get that heart rate raised. this is not a sprint ( I do like 4 - 8 40 meter lengths at 75% with a recovery jog in between)
  
  
• NUTRITION IS SO IMPORTANT. Carbs are your friends! Simple sugars before you run and after you run ( I like to have a few dates before a run and a nice slice of watermelon after [it's just the best on a hot day]). Simple sugars before hand so you have easy to burn energy for your run and simple sugars after your run so can accelerate the recovery for your muscles (sugars clean out lactic acid buildup from your run and this decreases your recovery time from your runs) and of course within an hour or two after your run make sure to get a nutritious meal with a good source of protein.
  
  
• Okay I have mislead you. The most important thing is to enjoy yourself! If your runs are a chore you are less likely to continue and less likely to improve your times! I use it as a release. There's a saying that goes something like, "Running; It's cheaper than therapy."
  
  Resources:
  Healthy Intelligent Training guidelines from an olympic caliber coach Arthur Lydiard I reccommend this book, though it doesnt' give you a training schedule it explains how to, most efficiently, improve your times and achieve your running goals no matter the distance
  
  How to Use Fitness to Create Mental and Physical Strength for Life - Brendan Brazier is pretty great. The thrive in 30 series is easily digestible and full of fantastic information for the athlete within
  
  What is VO2 max? nice summation of the physiology of high performance excercise
  
  Metabolic acidosis lecture (Warning! Techincal!)
  
  Natural running form
  
  
  I hope this post can give you something to take away! Though I have given you information that you may feel is beyond where you want to go these principles will help you achieve whatever your goal is in the quickest and most efficient manner. Don't be intimidated this is all about fun and challenging yourself in a healthy way!

tl;dr: I think you can improve a lot just with more knowledge. I reached APA7 pretty fast, despite a shitty stroke and bad habits, by just absorbing a ton of books, videos, and websites. I had to work on execution and fixing those habits to reach APA9 speed. At no point did I ever become any kind of serious tournament or money player, it's very possible to improve without doing those things, despite what "they" say. But there's a limit to how far you can go on knowledge only, you WILL need to practice and spend hours at the table, and you will need to enter pressure situations if you want to perform well in tournaments, league, etc.

--------------------------

● Playing better players is a bit overrated - you don't just magically absorb someone's skills by playing against them. I'm not saying it's bad, but find people that are willing to teach and answer questions... don't just hit balls with someone and be their rackboy.

If you figure watching the better player shoot will help you learn, then you can double your learning by just watching 2 better players shoot against each other.

There's a lot to be said for shooting people who are very close to your level, or just a hair better. You both learn together, and (hopefully) talk things over and figure stuff out. And you both feel like you can win, which is important. It makes things more competitive. A lot of people improve simply because their ego can't tolerate losing to 'that one guy'.

● People will also tell you that you need to just enter a bunch of tournaments, or gamble. That's only half-correct. Tournaments train one specific skill - handling pressure. They don't teach you stuff like advanced cueball control, or how to compensate for english, or how to aim a kick shot. You don't get those skills just because you paid your $20 and now you need them to win.

● So how do you get better? Well, there are two areas where everyone could stand to improve - knowledge and execution.

Of these two things, knowledge is much easier to get. You can get it from the internet, books, or by watching and talking to those local pros. It's free/cheap, and takes very little effort... there's no reason you can't max out your knowledge ASAP.

The trick is to make sure you get correct knowledge, because the pool world is unfortunately full of bad info. I wanna recommend some books which I know are good, because the info is easily tested and confirmed, and that's exactly what I did in a lot of cases.

Byrne's Standard Book of Pool and Billiards - comprehensive explanation of all sorts of useful concepts, explanations of how the balls will react on certain shots, and why, and how to take advantage of it... lots of specific shots to master... safety and runout strategy... pretty much everything you could need.

The 99 Critical Shots - If you want specific shots to practice, and a lot of the same useful info, but much shorter and cheaper... this is for you. As a 6 you maybe know most of this, but I bet you don't know all of it, and you can get a copy for $1.50.

If you feel like reading is for losers, you can learn off websites too -

Everything on Dr. Dave's website and videos is outstanding. Tested and proven both on paper, on video, and in the real world. http://billiards.colostate.edu/pool_tutorial.html ...see also http://billiards.colostate.edu/threads.html ...and http://billiards.colostate.edu/pool_secrets_gems.html .

Or, just watch his videos - it's great to actually see the info put into action: https://www.youtube.com/user/DrDaveBilliards

These tips I think are just about right for someone around your speed - https://www.reddit.com/r/billiards/comments/6oo5e7/tip_compilation_various_tips_kicking_systems/

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As far as execution goes, you do need to spend hours on the table. But before doing anything else, you want to first make sure you have good fundamentals and a normal, textbook stroke. I can't say it strongly enough:

IF YOU DON'T FIX YOUR BAD HABITS NOW THEY WILL FUCK YOU LATER.

I had several that I needed to unlearn, and they still screw up my game to this day. I wish I could go back in time and learn how to stroke straight, not spin the cue ball all the time, and develop a correct stance. Don't be me, get your bad habits and stance issues under control now. Everything after that will come much easier. Don't hesitate to pay for a lesson from a pro instructor to have them go over your stroke and fix any problems they see. If you don't wanna spend money, you can video yourself and try to evaluate it, or upload it here and we'll give you some feedback.

Other key things that helped me learn how to execute better:

● Get out of your comfort zone and try new things. Don't just stick to the shots you know, try new shots. That doesn't mean try 2-rail banks every time you step to the table, I mean try "new" shots that you know you need to master, but haven't yet.

For example, maybe you suck at jumping and this situation comes up where you're hooked on the 5. You might be tempted to just kick it, but you KNOW any pro player will jump this ball and make it. So suck it up and try the jump, even though you suck at it. You need that practice. Don't chicken out and kick just because you're scared of missing and losing.

Whatever shots you hate and you're tempted to avoid, make yourself do them. Hate shooting the CB off the rail with heavy inside spin? Of course you do, we all do. But there will be times when you have to do it, so when the situation comes up, don't avoid it.

● Practice while you play. When you shoot with friends for fun, don't just stick to the safe comfortable stuff because you're worried about losing. You gotta make self-improvement a higher priority than winning every rack. If you miss and lose, so what? It doesn't cost you anything.

You might think "I don't need to try that spin shot right now, I'll just hit 50 of them when I go practice on sunday afternoon". Don't kid yourself... most people don't have the discipline to do that. They either don't practice at all, or do it for a few weeks and then lose interest, or they forget about that spin shot they said they'd practice. Even if you DO practice religiously, you will probably spend far more hours playing than practicing. Don't let those hours be wasted by refusing to learn new skills.

● If you do drills, do them with a specific purpose. Don't ever just hit balls without a goal. You're too advanced for that to help you much. Work on a specific shot... rail cuts, thin cuts, long straight shots, position drills, banks, whatever. And keep track of your results, so you know if you're improving or not. For example, don't just bank 50 balls and say "ok I practiced banks". Keep track (you can use your phone) of how many you made out of 50. Is it more than you made last week? Or 5 weeks ago? If not, why not?

● If you miss a ball, set it up and shoot it again, and don't just shoot it until you make it once. Shoot it until you make it several times in a row.

● Always be paying attention to your fundamentals. Even if they're already pretty good, bad habits can creep in if you don't pay attention.

● Be careful of laziness and wishful thinking. I explain more on that here: https://forums.azbilliards.com/showpost.php?p=2429822&postcount=16

● For the jump specifically from 6 to 7, I'd say mastery of inside english and uncommon position routes is crucial. You gotta get good at moving the cue ball along the safest path. Good pool is identifying 10 potential fuckups and identifying the solution that should prevent at least 9 of them. That sometimes means moving the cue ball with funky english or more force than you're comfortable with.

Here are some example shots that hopefully show what I mean. Some may disagree with the routes or say "I'd do this instead" or "you could totally do the other route here" or whatever... that's fine, focus on the theory more than on whether everyone agrees which route is best.

https://pad.chalkysticks.com/97d8d.png

https://pad.chalkysticks.com/6d4f3.png

https://pad.chalkysticks.com/1bee7.png

https://pad.chalkysticks.com/2a00b.png

...ok, this thing is long enough. If you made it this far, I guarantee you'll be a 7 in less than 24 hours, or your money back :)

You may find this book useful. Or you can do some research here, here, or here.

Here are some hikes that fit what you're looking for. I'm going to assume "mild" elevation means under 1500 feet of gain.

• Bodenburg Butte (Palmer) – 3 miles total, 900 feet of elevation. Popular short, easy hike, offers nice views of the valley and mountains. Can be done as a traverse or there-and-back. Either way is fine.
  
• Thunderbird Falls (Eagle River) – 2 miles RT, 200 feet of elevation. Pretty easy hike. No mountain vistas, but a quaint waterfall at the end
  
• Eagle River Nature Center (Eagle River) – Large network of trails with low elevation gain. Anything from half-mile loops to multi-day hikes. Mostly through spruce and birch forest, with some great mountain views thrown in. If you’re here, at least do the Rodak Trail.
  
• Baldy (Eagle River) – 3 miles RT, maybe 1000 feet of elevation. Popular hike, but not as well-traveled as Flattop, although it’s easier with similar views.
  
• Flattop (Anchorage) – 3 miles RT, 1200 feet of elevation. Most popular hike in Anchorage. The last section is one step shy of rock climbing. I find the rock scramble a little frightening, but lots of non-hikers do it.
  
• Rendezvous Peak (Anchorage) – 3.5 miles RT, 1500 feet of elevation. Popular hike, but you’re probably better picking Flattop or Wolverine if you’re looking for something in the area.
  
• Tony Knowles Coastal Trail (Anchorage) –No elevation. Easy, paved multi-use trail. It’s a nice place for a stroll. Nice views, easy to get to. Just walk as far as you want and backtrack, assuming you won’t do the 11-mile planet walk.
  
• Winner Creek (Girdwood) – About 5.5 miles to the hand tram and back from Alyeska Resort. 250 feet of elevation. Fairly easy. No mountain vistas, but a nice stream, and a fun hand-tram. Can be done as a traverse (if you get a ride at the other end near Crow Creek), or backtrack after doing the hand tram. If 5.5 miles is too far, start at Crow Creek Mine, and just walk to the hand-tram and back.
  
• Byron Glacier (Girdwood) – About 3 miles round-trip. Very little elevation change. Fairly easy. Good views of a mountain valley and Byron Glacier.
  
• Portage Pass (Whittier) – 2 miles RT to saddle, 4 RT to lake. 600 feet of elevation to saddle, plus another 700 feet if you go down to the lake. If you’re into Whittier and enjoy hiking, at least hike up to the top of the saddle on Portage Pass for views of Prince William Sound and Portage Glacier. Hike all the way to the lake if it looks enjoyable and you have time.
  

Some suggestions for things you can do in Toronto to prepare:

• Buy the book Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills which will give you a basic understanding of the skills, gear, and systems used in the mountains, including a lot of the lingo you'll hear.
  
  
• Buy the book Training for the Uphill Athlete which will give you a good understanding of how to train for the mountains. They also have an older book Training for the New Alpinism, but it has a slight bias towards technical climbing. Both are very similar and both would teach you what you need to know. The stick figure version is do a LOT of very easy trail running (slow enough to converse in full sentences) and work on general strength (lots of core work). Gradually increase the amount you are doing and then start to mix in things like carrying a heavy pack up a steep hike or stairs in the months leading up to your climb. Their website uphillathlete.com has a lot of good info, and premade training plans if you just want to drop $50 and be told what to do.
  
  
• Train lots based on the above.
  
  
• Get really good at backpacking. You'll want to be very comfortable doing an overnight trip with minimal gear. This isn't strictly necessary since some routes can be done car-to-car, but many mountains will involve at least one night camping on the mountain so being good at overnight backpacking trips will really open up a lot more options.
  
  Once you are "mountain fit" and have the basic book learning done, there are a couple of ways to actually get on to a mountain. One way is to take a multi-day course offered by a guiding company that includes an ascent of a mountain. This will cost in the ball park of $1000 for the course itself, plus travel to get to the mountain. This teaches you many of the skills you need and gets you onto big routes quickly, but costs more.
  
  The other way to is learn the basic skills of crampon usage, self belay, self arrest, camping in the snow, etc. by finding people willing to show you. A common source of those people are climbing clubs (the Mountaineers in Seattle, Mountain Ascent Association in California, I'm sure there are plenty in Canada). This also gives you a way to meet people to climb mountains with in the future. You could also take a 1-2 day skills course from a guide company, these will generally be cheaper (~$200-400) but probably won't involve a summit climb and you'll still have to figure out how to find people to climb mountains with in the future. Then once you have those basic skills you start small and easy and build up your skillset yourself over multiple trips to the mountains. This takes way longer to get to big impressive mountains, but many people get more satisfaction out of climbing a mountain if they aren't relying on a guide to get them there safely. You could probably do a lot of this early learning in the Whites as mentioned elsewhere in this thread before moving on to the ranges with bigger routes.
  
  One thing I like to do is pick a goal mountain that you really want to do. I personally love climbing climbing the Cascade volcanos so my first goal mountain was Mt. Rainier. Lots of stuff in the Rockies, both in the US and Canada, the Sierra in California, Coastal range in Canada. Just find a mountain that inspires you. Hard to give recommendations since there are just so many options if you include all of the US and Canada and its largely personal preference of what you are looking for.
  
  If going with the first option of taking a mountaineering course, often you can find one that includes your goal mountain and you are done, move on to a bigger goal mountain. :)
  
  If going the second route, research the common/easiest route up that mountain and see what skills you need to climb it. Then find some routes that teach you the skills you need but don't have but are still within your comfort level and go climb them. Rinse and repeat. I think the hardest part here is finding people that are just a little more advanced than you are to do these routes with and learn from them. As you do more climbs your network of people to climb with will grow.

Welcome to the sub. Wow lots of questions here.

First off the part you're going to most want to change is the lack of runs during the week. The more time on your feet, the easier a marathon will be. That said xtraining is very helpful (especially if you're injury prone) but just not as useful as actual running.

Hanson's is a solid plan, especially if you know the time you'd like to run the marathon in, and it's a reasonable goal. Other common plans that people have a lot of success with are:

• Hal Higdon (variety) -- these are mostly used for just finishing, rather than really racing or excelling at the marathon distance. If you're past that point I prefer the other available plans to his advanced stuff
  
• Fitzgerald 80-20 -- This is based on the latest science and training that elites are using but has 3 levels of plans based on how much time you want to run per week. It also encourages the use of a heart rate monitor for some runs.
  
• Pfitzinger Advanced Marathoning People get results on these, but they are hard and the lowest mileage plan runs 5 days a week and peaks with a 55 mile week (88km). This is probably not for you but does a good job explaining the physiological reasons for various training.
  
• Jack Daniel's Running Formula -- a great book for all distances and all plans can be scaled based on how much you run per week.
  
• FIRST aka runn less, run faster. This is a controversial plan but the crux of it is you run 3 quality runs per week (1 speed day, 1 long day, 1 LT day) and you crosstrain hard the other days. I haven't heard of people really improving from a good result to a great result with this, but among beginning runners it certainly seems to yield good results and it seems tailor made for triathletes.
  
  
  
  The most generic Best practices are:
  
• Consistent training over time trumps everything else (i.e. deal with those injuries early).
  
• More miles > less miles up until an absurd point or when it gets you injured
  
• Long runs are important
  
• do some speed work but not too much (80% easy miles, 20% hard)
  
  Also try reading the Order of Operations in the sidebar.

>I see the whole run 15 min, then 30, 45 plan you have written out. I suppose that could work, I just have a different view I guess.

Arthur Lydiard's view on training > than your view on training

>The more all around fit you are (having tone in your arms, hips, quads, strong core) makes your body use it's energy more efficiently

Those things are all second to having a strong aerobic base.
Running lots of miles will make you use your energy more efficiently.

From Keith Livingstone's book Health Intelligent Training.
>The purpose of this phase was to systematically build the aerobic capacity to the highest level possible before commencing faster work. The biggest stimulus to the development of aerobic capacity is often uninterrupted time spent at higher aerobic or sub-threshold levels: especially with regard to the development of the very fine blood vessels in the running muscles (the capillary beds) and the muscular walls of the heart itself.

>While it's an established fact these days that repeated intense exercise bouts well over the level of the anaerobic threshold can stimulate "growth factors" in capillaries supplying skeletal muscle, (as long as sufficient recovery time is allowed between intense exercise bouts) it's also an established fact that the prolonged "acidosis" and muscle trauma that accompanies such exercise can be detrimental.

>More recovery time is required that could otherwise have been spent doing productive aerobic training, without such "down time." Even mild acidosis has been shown to disrupt the body's aerobic and anaerobic energy systems, the nervous system, and the function of cells. Training too intensely is like playing with fire. Aerobic training is safe and predictable. There is certainly a place for more intense work, later, when the time is right.

>...The trick was to do as much strong aerobic running as possible while improving week by week but not so much that general fatigue would result. Lydiard found that the best way to balance the weekly schedule was by varying the distances and efforts so the the athlete was always able to absorb the training and come back for more. The axiom here was Train, don't strain.

>...The running muscles would greatly increase their capillarization, their mitochondrial density, and their levels of oxidative enzymes. The maximal oxygen uptake and the anaerobic threshold would be pushed up as high as possible in the given time, without being pulled down by anaerobic running.

>The body would utilize more fats as fuel, sparing carbohydrates, and excess body fat would drop away, leaving the runner as a lean, mean, running machine.

Now I'm not trying to say that you should just neglect all around conditioning but running is the best way to get better at running.

>having tone in your arms

Tell that to Murray Halberg, a rugby injury left his left arm crippled but he was still able to win a gold medal at the Olympics in the 5000.

>Your comment on the cross training saying it is better than nothing...I take it further and say cross training 2-3 days per week and running 4-5 is better than running 7.

If someone can already run 7 days a week like wazoot is already doing, then it is better to continue running 7 days a week as long as you are smart about it and run easily when you have to, you will see much more improvement from running more. Everyone needs a day or two off of running every once in a while and doing some kind of cross training(I go biking) on those days is better than sitting on the couch and eating potato chips.

I ran a 4:36 as a high school athlete. I'm training to run a sub 5:00 minute mile again as a 40 year old. I'm not an expert by any means, but I am attempting to do what you're doing (and have done it in the past.) Here's my take:

> would love opinions on the estimation of time from 6 to 5 based on my situation

A 6:00 minute mile is roughly a VDOT of 48. A sub 5:00 mile is roughly a VDOT 60. A rough rule of thumb is a VDOT point every 6 weeks. So you're looking at committing to this goal for a little less than a year and a half, if you're average. More if your train suboptimally, you are older, or not particularly gifted at running. Less if the opposite of those things are true. Understand that this is a rule of thumb, and it will vary wildly from person to person.

Understand also: a 5:00 mile is SIGNIFICANTLY faster than a 6:00 mile. The difference between a 9:00 and a 6:00 is pretty big too - however, progress from 9:00->6:00 is not uncommon -- 6:00 is just a hair beyond a truly novice time for a healthy male. Perhaps you had prior conditioning that came back quickly, like if you were a soccer/football player, but had spent a few months being sedentary. If that's the case, you may find 6:00->5:00 substantially harder. Or, perhaps not, and running is just your thing - if it's the later you may get to sub 5:00 quicker with really hard work.

If you look at male high school runners, most athletes probably won't break 5:00 until the end of their second year of both cross country and track. However, it's not uncommon for a really gifted freshmen to break 5:00 after only a few months of quality training.

> But if I keep it up improving with runs 3 times a week, how long would you estimate that I hit 5 min?

Here's a blunt answer: possibly never. Not while running 3x and a few km a week, and not with a home grown training method.

I'd suggest if you want to achieve your goal you need to be following a real mile training program. That will involve at least 30 MPW (~50km), with a frequency of at least 6 days. There are a number of problems with what you have planned, but the biggest I see is the lack of lots of easy mileage. That lack of the base mileage has two issues: 1) you won't be doing enough for your aerobic conditioning (and racing the mile still relies predominantly on your aerobic capacity), and 2) the lack of a base in conjunction with a lot of higher intensity running is a recipe for injury. No matter how talented or hard working you are, you won't hit your goal if you are constantly fighting off stress fractures and tendinitis.

I won't say it's impossible to hit your goal the way you're approaching it, again, maybe you're a gifted runner with terrific balance who can train like that, avoid injury, and make progress. Of this I'm certain though: no matter how gifted you are, you will make much quicker progress following a mile training program than you will with your home grown plan.

My recommendation would be that you get yourself a copy of Jack Daniel's running formula. It's pretty much the bible for middle distance training as far as most HS and college coaches are concerned, and there is several great mile training programs in there. If you want to get an idea for what the program looks like I'd be happy to rip you a few pages of the 30 MPW program, though either way the entire book is worth reading.

I hope that helps, good luck!

The acceptable house rules may vary from place to place. If you are alone in a lane, enjoy it! But mostly like you may need to share. In some places sharing means each stay to half of the lane, only 2 people per lane. In other places, sharing means going in a circle around the lane, that way 3+ can share. In the later case, hopefully people are near your pace, but more diligence is needed to know when to pull over and let faster people by. (Stop at the walls, not the middle.) Can also ask the lifeguard on duty what the lap rules/practices are.

You can also do a workout with sets in a lap pool. I know it was something that I was concerned about when I got back into swimming a few years ago. I used a book that provided some structure for independent training, Swim Workouts for Triathletes. I found it pushed me to do better distance, but not too much on speed.

My other suggestion for you, join a masters program. They provide the structure you've had in the past. Your speed/pace doesn't matter, there are people of all levels. My masters team has people that do training sets of 100 Free anywhere from 2:30 to 1:00. This has helped me get faster and swim better distances. For reference, when I joined last year, my 100 yard training pace was 1:45, now sitting around 1:30. I also tried out open water swimming and absolutely love it. I swam a 1 mile and 2 mile "race" last summer. Super fun! The other fun part of a masters team, it is pretty social. I've met some awesome folks of all ages since joining.

get this book for everything you could ever want to know about bike control

http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Mountain-Skills-Brian-Lopes/dp/0736056246

i wish i had started learning how to wheelie, manual, bunny hop and jump earlier (I still am learning to manual and bunny hop). sounds scary, but i'm talking, like, 1 inch off the ground jumps is all you need to learn in the beginning to really learn better control over your bike, which translates to better control at other points on a trail and being more comfortable moving around in the cockpit. it's by no means the only factor in bike control, but it helps a lot

i've been riding for a little over a year, and i just wanted to hit the singletrack as often as I could, so i skipped spending time learning those things early on- i just sat in my saddle on the ride up and then got out of it on the way down, but it took me a long time to get used to moving around and feeling comfortable in the cockpit, which i would have learned earlier if i had started learning the stuff i mentioned earlier on. the more comfortable you are moving around on your bike, the more comfortable you will be pushing your bike's limits as you progress

I won't go quite as high as /u/george_i, but I think a person is prepared to start training for a marathon:

• Run 35 mpw for 4 weeks
  
• Run at least 4 days a week
  
• Can run without stopping for 90 minutes
  
  There are plans that get people to start on less, but chances of someone bonking on the final third increase. Just scan through the race reports. I'm not saying person X will or won't start regretting their life choices but if you want to decrease your chances of bonking out- A run more, and B run more often.
  
  Also I don't like how many "novice plans" place too much mileage on the long run. People cite Hal Higdon as a running prophet, but 50% of your weekly mileage for a single run session is too much, especially when that run can last over 3 1/2 hours. The distribution of mileage, the weekday runs are more about active recovery than building aerobic capacity. Personally, I wish more first time marathoners read Daniels, appreciate the flexibility he offers as far as scheduling, and structure plans around his 2Q or 4 week cycle plans. These plans aren't designed around people who finish slower than 1 standard deviation of a courses' average finish, but part of the point of having a better base is to prepare you to finish closer to or higher than the mean.
  
  Take a few more months in preparation, build up a better base, run more, enjoy running more.

Ones I have read and recommend:

Jack Daniels
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F0X7U2S/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Pfitz
https://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Marathoning-2nd-Pete-Pfitzinger/dp/0736074600/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510544635&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=Pfitinger

Yessis
https://www.amazon.com/Explosive-Running-Science-Kinesiology-Performance/dp/0809298996/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510544911&sr=1-1&keywords=explosive+running

Noakes
https://www.amazon.com/Lore-Running-4th-Timothy-Noakes/dp/0873229592/ref=pd_sim_14_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3QK52ZDHZVX4K6QW383Q

Fitzgerald (one of several)
https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Training-Runners-Revolutionary-Endurance-ebook/dp/B000VMHHBW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510544985&sr=1-1&keywords=brain+training+for+runners

Ones I have not read but have heard good things about:

Hansons
https://www.amazon.com/Hansons-Marathon-Method-Your-Fastest-ebook/dp/B01C6FBGHW/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510544663&sr=1-3&keywords=hansons+running&dpID=51L6b5-M7OL&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch


Bill Squires
https://www.amazon.com/Speed-Endurance-Bill-Squires/dp/0977250504

Peter Coe
https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Running-Successful-Racing-Training/dp/1852239972/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510544703&sr=1-1&keywords=peter+coe&dpID=51lmDYFDyLL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

There is also an out of print (I think) book by Arthur Lydiard that is really good. And for that matter, I am not sure I linked the correct Bill Squires book. One is really good, while the other is an awful, watered-down version.

I have a pretty similar background. I ran in high school, then DIII in college, quit running for many years, got back to it as a pre-masters/masters runner. People kept asking me questions, so I started coaching for free. Then on a spare weekend, I got certified as a USATF level 1 coach, which is really fun. I really recommend it, since you're a T&F fan.

So. . . In the process of taper I've been arming myself with info on planning the next couple of cycles. (Happy to report that I STILL have not filled in any training beyond a few weeks of recovery post-Boston!) Tying up Healthy Intelligent Training on Lydiard principals at the moment.

One thing stuck out with me was a statement (below) re: VO2 max training. As an endurance monster, average runner - re: not a speedster it really stuck out to me. I looked back at the VO2 that I did do this training cycle and I would say as soon as I hit interval times around that 5min mark - my recovery for that type of workout was definitely on the high end. I bailed early in the 3 x 1600m so I can't speak to the after effect ultimately but that would have put me in the 6:45-ish range for each interval had I executed it well. And that might very well have been too much based on this.

To the more experienced and coaching type folks: Merit to applying this type of 'max time' principle to VO2 work akin to the 'diminishing returns on LR greater than 3hrs'? It seems logical to me . . .

>The most effective work bouts or intervals for running appear to be longer than 2 minutes or shorter than 5 minutes, with equal or shorter recovery, depending on fitness. Any longer than 5 minutes at VO2 max pace and it’s too near being a race in intensity, without the adrenalin, to have training value.

Livingstone, Keith (2012-03-01). Healthy Intelligent Training, 2nd Ed (p. 149). Cardinal Publishers Group. Kindle Edition.

PS I totally think we should do a Symposium on the 'Running Laws of Diminishing Returns'.

Yeah, I could see that they are really into heart rate monitoring, but I haven't ever liked the idea of using a heart rate monitor.

Reading Training Essentials for Ultrarunning has really convinced me I'm better off without heart rate though. He goes into great detail, but it basically boils down to the fact that RPE (Rated Perceived Exertion) is more accurate for running in proper training zones than heart rate. Heart rate can be elevated for a number of reasons that don't mean you need to run slower, and worst of all, fatigue can actually depress your heart rate making you train too hard when fatigued, which is even worse!

Hence my curiosity about the Stryd. That seems like it might be a more accurate alternative to heart rate. Not sure, but even on hills its running power meter might be as accurate as speed + laps on a track.

> if you get a road bike, you will find it easier to transition to longer rides if you want to.

I see this advice here all the time, and I'm not sure I understand it. Yes, it's true that some people who get into cycling decide they want to do long rides. But I don't think everybody does, and it always seemed to me that buying the bike you need now, rather than buying a bike that's not optimal now but you might hypothetically need later (or not) is a poor way to go. I commute (about 30 miles a week or so) and ride my bike to do errands and get some exercise. I'm feeling good three months into a car-free lifestyle, and losing weight, but I have neither the endurance nor the interest to tackle really long rides. If that changes in the future, I can always buy a different (or second) bike.

OP, given your description of your riding goals, I'd be inclined to go with a hybrid bike. I have the women's Specialized Vita and it's perfect for the kind of commuting you're describing. Comfortable, not-too-aggressive riding posture, plenty of gears for hills and such, and putting a rack, panniers, fenders, etc. on it was no big deal. Plus, it wasn't that expensive, so I can save money for another bike if I decide I want one later. There's a men's version of this basic bike, but I forget what Specialized calls it.

I'd also highly recommend reading Just Ride, by Grant Peterson (who's apparently been in the bike business forever.) He argues that a lot of the biking technology, best practices, and conventional wisdom out there trickle down from the world of racing, and may not necessarily be good advice if your riding habits have a different goal than racing. I don't agree with everything he says (he's a bit down on cycling as exercise) but reading this book really helped me shift what I was focusing on in my gear choices and riding habits. I may not be fast, and I'm definitely not riding 100 miles in a weekend, but I'm enjoying my bike a lot more.

Sounds like you're a relatively new rider, welcome to the wonderful world of cycling!

The first bit of advice I can give you is to just ride. Get some clips, ride a lot, ask a lot of questions, and have fun.


Upgrades:

• pedals & clips
  
• new crank set
  
• individual parts for style or weight
  
• play around with different gear ratios
  
• saddle
  
• lighter wheels
  
• always replace chainring, cog and chain at the same time
  
  There's probably more but that should do but also read this book by Grant Peterson, it's a real good perspective to help get over the hump that you need better and just enjoy yourself.
  
  Just Ride: A Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761155589/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_7ADExbKENM577

99 Critical Shots is overrated and one of the worst books for a beginner in 2018. Before you jump down my throat, remember that being old and popular doesn't make something good.

It was a good book in 1977.

I'll let Bob Jewett point out the issues (page 13). He's much more generous than I am—I honestly don't think 99CS worth reading considering the wealth of other excellent material that's available.

Better books would be Illustrated Principles, Byrne's Standard, and Byrne's Complete Book of Pool Shots. Even PYBP or Science of Pocket Billiards would be better.

99CS is outdated and surviving largely on nostalgia, and personally there is not a single piece of information in the book that I didn't learn better from somewhere else.

Actually it gives some 100% incorrect information at least once, regarding rail shots. I literally had a guy defending it by saying "well beginners won't understand the complicated truth so the (incorrect) rule of thumb is fine." Right then is when I realized that some fools will defend the book because they think they should, rather than on its merits.

Don't be that guy.

Rant: Over

PoSM is easily the best book ever written on the mental game.

Kinda funny, the best and the worst right next to each other.

> In short, any rep range will build some strength, hypertrophy and endurance.

I think this is an incredibly important statement. As a runner for over 30-years now I've had many people tell me things like "yeah but that's just building endurance" which is totally false. As I got in to better running shape my speed and strength naturally increased as well. No, running 5-milers isn't the most efficient way to train for the 100m but yes your speed at the 100m will increase (up to a point) as you get in to better distance shape.

Citation: https://www.amazon.com/Daniels-Running-Formula-Jack-ebook/dp/B00F0X7U2S

I haven't read it, but I would check this one out: https://www.amazon.ca/Koerners-Field-Guide-Ultrarunning-Ultramarathon/dp/1937715221

I have read "Daniels' Running Formula" which is very very good: https://www.amazon.ca/Daniels-Running-Formula-3rd-Jack/dp/1450431836/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469153523&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=Daniels+runnnig

I also recommend "Advanced Marathoning" which is a better all purpose "how to be a runner" book than Daniels, but a bit less scientific.

Both have training plans for beginners. And like people mentioned: getting good quickly is easy... it's not getting hurt that is tough!

Slow down. When you train, challenge yourself to move smoothly, instead of quickly. You'll train a faster response by learning to move smoothly through your techniques than by rushing through the individual strikes and then having to pause and reset between each component. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. Internalize that. Learn to slow things down.

Read. Pick up some Krav books if you haven't already; they're invaluable for reference. I use Complete Krav Maga and Black Belt Krav Maga by Worldwide, but there are several variations out there. Pick up Meditations on Violence by Rory Miller, as well. His insights are sobering and will help you learn to be a better fighter. It'll also strip away some of the ego you will inevitably start to develop a few months in.

Train with people who are better than you are, regardless of size or gender, as frequently as you can. You probably already know who these people are. Train also with people who are bigger and stronger than you are. Understand the difference between the two, and learn how it changes the dynamic.

And take care of your body. We don't talk about this enough, but your technique means nothing if your body is too weak from overtraining or undertraining or poor diet or lack of sleep to keep going to class. Make sure you're fueling your body so you're not getting injured.

And welcome to Krav.

For your mornings, there's a few options for shorter hikes in the front range. Flattop mountain from Glen Alps Trailhead might be tolerable in the morning (crazy crowded on a nice summer evening). Near Point is another good, relatively quick hike.

For your several days free, I'd recommend shelling out a few bucks for 55 Ways (Amazon link), it will save me typing and the inevitable omission of good suggestions.

I will say, if you're on a moto, you pretty much gotta head out toward Glennallen, past the Matanuska Glacier and Lion's Head.

I've only been there once, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

If you are planning to do any backpacking, I highly recommend this guide: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0762772549?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

It has a bunch of hikes in it, and some very handy indexes (by length, by strenuousness etc) so that you can find you perfect activity.

Be aware of the fact that you have to book campsites through a pretty complicated process, so you should get on that right now.

If you like looking at plants or tracks and figure out what they are, this field guide is excellent. They also have it in the park book stores:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1560375558?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Don't buy or rent bear spray. You can go to any of the back country offices and the park rangers will give you bear spray for free, under the condition that you bring it back to one of the back country offices in the park (honor system).

There are some plans in the following two books:

1. Relentless Forward Progress
   
   
2. Hal Koerner's Field Guide to Ultrarunning
   
   I personally didn't follow any plan but made sure for the training to be specific - on trails similar to what I expected in the race and with similar elevation gain per mile. I focused on back to back long runs on weekends, a lot of climbing, and less on the distance. I don't think I ever did more than may be 45-50 miles per week for any of my 50 milers or 100K races but made sure to hit close to 8,000-10,000 ft of gain per week on my peak weeks.

Make your diet your foundation - your progress will be hindered without good nutrition.

MyFitnessPal is popular for seeing exactly what you're putting into your body. It's geared for weight loss, but still handy for anything nutrition-related - I use it to help manage a disease. It can even generate menu plans for you if you just want to set a target but not plan. The food database is massive, and you can add your own stuff to it as well if you have favourite meals or recipes.

For books, there's You Are Your Own Gym (challenging even at the basic level), Convict Conditioning (easier, but ramps up) and Building the Gymnastic Body. All three include all or mostly body weight exercises, and tend to be referenced a lot by body weight fitness enthusiasts. My personal preference is for the first book, but ymmv.

I also like Nerd Fitness, which includes a lot of home-based stuff.

EDIT: Greasemonkey will allow you to grab scripts to use with MyFitnessPal and alter it for specific types of diets and info, if you want to. I've seen scripts for keto, paleo and a few others. Not required, but kind of a cool option. The database also includes user recipes for all kinds of exercise/diet plans that you can add on.

That's a good recommendation. I’ve liked all of Beneville’s work, but his first book, “Passing the Guard,” remains my favorite. It was impossible to get until he came out with the second edition reprint.

While putting together this list, I was surprised by how many BJJ books from the past 10 years are out of print. Half of Kid Peligro’s books are unavailable, and you’ve probably seen used copies of “The Gracie Way” going for $50-100 on Amazon. Talking with Marshal Carper, a writer for Victory Belt who did Marcelo’s new book, he talked about how little longevity martial arts books get and how rare reprints are.

I am putting together a similar list of recommendations for DVDs, but there are so many advertising “from white to blue belt” that it’s going to take me a while to sort through them and make my final decisions. Roy Dean’s set is good though, and what I’ve seen of Kesting’s Roadmap DVDs is good too, but they are out of stock now.

You might really like this book Training for the Uphill Athlete. It really does a great job covering the physiology of endurance sports. It's a followup to New Alpinism and it's more targeted for running and skiing. It talks a lot about targeting aerobic adaptions, why you need to slow down to gain those improvements, heart rate training, and a lot more.

https://www.amazon.com/Training-Uphill-Athlete-Mountain-Mountaineers/dp/1938340841/

Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere
http://www.amazon.com/Aikido-Dynamic-Sphere-Illustrated-Introduction/dp/0804832846

Probably the best single book that explores both the history and philosophy as well as techniques. The authors did an excellent job couching the peculiarities of aikido within a martial context with elements of budo. The illustrations are unique with vectors tracing the subtle directions of force. If you have martial arts experience, you might be able to understand them better than someone with no experience, and help you understand what's going on in videos.

But really all of this is just supplement to real training. No one can truly start with books or videos.

Congrats on making more time to run and getting into the trail and ultra scene. I would encourage you to get out as many races as you can in a volunteer, crew and pacer role and learn from others in the sport. Be patient in your progress. remember endurance training (and ultrarunning) takes years and decades to build. SO, just be patient with progress. there are a number of good books an resources out there including my book and blog as well as ultrarunning magazine.

I highly recommend the book in the side-bar it goes over lots of little tips like this about weight distribution, when to brake, lean, etc. The book is really a great help in learning to ride safely while pushing your abilities.

Obviously, some great information is available in books about hiking [Yellowstone] (http://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Yellowstone-National-Park-Regional/dp/0762772549/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419281883&sr=8-1&keywords=hiking+yellowstone) and [Grand Teton.] (http://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Grand-Teton-National-Park/dp/0762772557/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1419281883&sr=8-5&keywords=hiking+yellowstone)


My most valuable tip is to avoid the big Park campgrounds while you're camping before your backpacking trip. Canyon, Norris, and Madison campgrounds etc. are all expensive, crowded, and usually sold out. Even in GTNP Colter Bay, Jenny Lake and the other Park campgrounds are the same. And don't even think about trying the hotels. The trick is to go to Forest Service campgrounds which are cheaper, and less crowded, and you can usually get in without a reservation. Check out the lesser known [Pacific Creek] (http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/btnf/recarea/?recid=71493) campground, and [Sheffield campground] (http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/btnf/recreation/camping-cabins/recarea/?recid=71503&actid=29). Also, if you drive up the road labelled on Google as 'Ashton Flagg-Ranch Road' in GTNP just a few miles south of YNP, there are a handful of maintained campgrounds that are basically empty- probably because they don't appear on any map or website. I just found out about them in a single paragraph in a guidebook that I picked up.


If you choose to Hike Cascade Canyon in GTNP, I recommend saving a few miles by taking the ferry across Jenny Lake. In fact, I believe the first shuttle of the morning is free one way to start your hike.


I recommend Falcon guides to help you plan your backpacking trips from there. My final advice is that it is really cold at night year round in that area. A sleeping bag that is as least zero degree is necessary, and in May you can probably except snow storms, and trail closures due to snow.

For my first 50-miler, I used Hal Koerner's plan that can be found in the back of his book--and also with a quick Google search.

Basically, his plan had me doing an hour of running each day (6-9miles) during the week. And, then the weekends were back-to-back long runs.

I usually run everything under 12miles at about a 7min/mile clip. On the weekends, I'd find my way to the trails and work on slowing down and just covering the mileage, but even then, my pace was no slower than 10min/mile.

Since I live in such a flat location, I told myself I would run faster each run to make up for the lack of elevation & altitude training. And, it worked. I got to the start line on race day and felt amazing. I finished that day and my legs still felt really great (I had other issues, but it was due to my poor eating). If you need a race recap, here's mine.

I would highly suggest Hal's plans, as I just used his to attempt my first 100-miler in September. I had to quit at mile-77 with a pretty badly sprained ankle, but my legs were feeling great. I really think his plans are quite good. I'm modifying his 100-mile plan right now to take another shot at 100-miles in December.

Hey OP, I know this is late but the book you used, "Building the Gymnastics Body: 7 Summits!" is that the same as building the gymnastics body: The Science of Gymnastics Strength Training? I plan on phasing my barbell workouts to gymnastics because that seems more fun. Thanks in advance!

I love Aikido, I'd choose it for sure. A good book on Aikido for you to read is "Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere"

But if Judo was available I'd definitely look into that as well

Check out the works from Robert Byrne, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrne_(author), if you would enjoy reading and watching instructional materials about pool. I don't know if there's anyone on the planet who knows more about the game than he does.

Here would be my recommendations:

Byrne's Standard Video of Pool Volumes 1, 2 and 5. (3 and 4 are trick shot videos so they're not that important). The only issue is that only 5 is on DVD. 1 and 2 are on VHS and you'll need to grab them used off Amazon or Ebay.

If you want to read I would suggest Byrne's New Standard of Pool and Billiards

These are the materials that helped me, hopefully they can help you too. Good luck!

Read a book about marathon training. My favorites are:

Advanced Marathoning

Daniels Running Formula

Hansons Marathon Method

Even if you don't ultimately decide to use the plans from these books, you will gain a much better understanding of the principles behind proper marathon training, which will help you to make good choices when picking a plan.

I'm a runner who lifts, though I still haven't found my optimal balance between the two. I tend to focus on lifting in the winter, and running in the warmer months.

For lifting, I've had good success building a base with SL followed by Texas Method, though I've found my upper body numbers tend to stall quickly. I think I need more volume to keep making progress. When it comes time to up the number of running days I'm considering making a switch to 5/3/1 or another 4 day split because last summer I found my legs couldn't handle rep maxes on Friday, followed by long runs on Saturday. I just wasn't recovering fast enough.

When it comes to running, everyone always plugs Higdon and his plans. I agree they're good for beginners, but once I had a couple of races under my belt I really learned a lot from Daniels and Hudson & Fitzgerald. I think both books are really worth it it you're looking to become a better runner.

Local Alaskan here. Mid-May can vary a lot in terms of weather so you need to be prepared for winter-summer hiking. We've had multiple feet of snowfall at sea level in May, so you can imagine how it is at elevation. Here's the most popular local guide for Southcentral Alaska:

http://www.amazon.com/55-Ways-Wilderness-Southcentral-Alaska/dp/0898867916

My favorite spring hike is Crow Pass but it's not really a full week trip, more like 3-4 days tops depending on how slow you take it. Spring is good for that one because you ford a river and the height should be low.

Yes, buy a foam roller.

Also, doing jiu jitsu specific drills will certainly help in live rolling. Consider picking up

Andrew Galvao: Drill to Win: 12 Months to better Jiu Jitsu

I'd agree. I don't think anyone would be perfect at a low level. Specifically at level one we're even instructed that aggression can make up for a deficiency in technique. And of course after the 2 hour workout and the hour plus of drilling before we test, well, things can get a little sloppy... I really don't think you start seeing 'perfect' until the brown/black level, and I'd venture that holds across disciplines-not just for krav.

I can't say at what point my instructors would or wouldn't fail anyone, but perhaps KMW has a different standard for their level one students? Or maybe it is a different curriculum for that test?

I would be interested in seeing the list of techniques your organization (which is it, by the way?) tests for at level one. Ours is pretty much exactly what's in the yellow belt section of this book (great book by the way, I'd definitely recommend it): http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Krav-Maga-Self-Defense-Techniques/dp/1569755736

There's also a printed sheet my studio makes for each level that I have lying around somewhere... (I'll try to dig it up tomorrow).

Some of the names and movements differ from organization to organization.

However, the book "Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere" does a pretty good job, in my opinion. It's been a great reference and people from many styles have recommended it to me in the past, so that says something, I think.

Just pay attention to whatever your style says is the "correct" way to do something, because that varies. :P

You're using your muscles differently that you are use to as well. Your road riding style is constant effort for long distances, where mountain biking is a lot of peak effort for short distances alternating with constant effort on the flats and lower pedaling effort on the downs.

You probably do some of the same things climbing and descending on the road, just not as pronounced as leaning forward on climbs and back on descents. Then there is turning which involves a lot of body movement on the MTB.

Generally I sit on extended climbs, but stand on short steep climbs since they usually follow a fast, short down and I'm already in the "attack" position.

If you haven't already, check out the book by Lee McCormick and Brian Lopes, Mastering Mountain Bike Skills. It's a pretty good read and helped me improve my mountain biking skills.

Oh I’m sorry. I wasn’t clear I was referencing Drill to Win by Andre Galvao

Drill to Win: 12 Months to Better Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu https://www.amazon.com/dp/0981504485/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_d62GDbCB9BCB3

To piggyback off of this...here is a great interpretation of Lydiard's periodization. Also, the definitive book about Lydiard training (that reads more like a training plan a la Pfitz and Daniels) is Healthy Intelligent Training. Highly recommend (plus it's got Craig Mottram on the cover so you know it's good).

The techniques behind Lachlan and Danaher's insanely tight triangles definitely have some universal principles. Ryan Hall also popularized the hamstring curl method. However I think Neil Melanson's book Mastering Triangle Chokes covers their variations in really great detail. It won't break the bank like Danaher's dvd. It also came out in 2013 so it goes to show that this information has been out for a while now.

Lot's a great wisdom in here to keep riding fun. — https://www.amazon.ca/Just-Ride-Radically-Practical-Riding/dp/0761155589

There's a book out there called Passing the Guard. It's excellent and is absolutely worth the money. The authors talk a lot about theory and the finer points of technique, and there are some obscure techniques in there that most people probably haven't seen.

I think that like everything else, the best choice is going to depend on your build and style and what he's used to defending against. Also, is this gi or no gi?

Running with the Buffalo's. A story about a Colorado college Cross Country Team. It was really good. Even for people who aren't runners, its a good read. Does a great job of explaining the hardships and torture that semi pro runners put themselves through to achieve success. It also has a great sense of achievement for the characters and the reader can feel it each page of the way.

http://www.amazon.com/Running-Buffaloes-Wetmore-University-Colorado/dp/0762773987/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301885478&sr=8-1

All of Yellowstone is amazingly varied! We did the Ribbon Lake trail on our last day, and it brought us through all of the different landscapes in less than 10 miles. There's also the Boiling River trail, which (if it's open) is a place where you can swim in the river, heated by the geyser run off. Sentinel Meadows brought us to the most amazing geysers and waterfalls, too.

We bought the Falcon guide, and it was great. Cell service is spotty, and when our planned trails were unexpectedly closed we were able to use it to find backups, as well as navigate the actual trails.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0762772549?keywords=falcon%20guide%20yellowstone&qid=1457027586&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

I second dinot2000's comment. Split your time between the two parks. Also, I'd recommend staying in more campsites (two, or three, maybe four?). Yellowstone and Teton are big BIG parks, and summer traffic is horrendous. Staying in one spot all week will really limit or access to the park.

There are a bunch of day hikes that are manageable for young children, and the visitor services provide many fun activities for children as well (google Junior Rangers and Ranger led hikes, fishing, rafting, horse rides, carriage rides, ect). I'd recommend picking up this book. It breaks down the hikes into quadrants, and then into difficulty. Each hike includes a detailed description. It's the best yellowstone book I've found.

That early in the season some roads still may be closed (Dunraven Pass, Beartooth Highway) But if they're not, I definitely recommend taking a ride up those roads. The view is spectacular.

Feel free to ask any questions. I've lived inside and near the park for years.

This book

Though designed for triathletes, it actually has a wide variety of workouts. I found it great at offering a structure and variety. I did about every workout in the book before I joined a masters team.

Best part about the book, it can get wet! So can bring it poolside.

Try to get a curriculum list, which you can then use to look up youtube videos that demonstrate each listed technique. Sometimes you'll find a video from a different federation which will offer a variation on how your federation does a particular defense, which is always cool.

For KMW there is a book. The curriculum was heavily updated recently, so I would expect to see a new edition soon with all the updates. Still most everything KMW tests on is in it.

I'll sometimes browse through it at night to recap a technique we did that day, or to look up something I haven't done in awhile.

Not much else though. The best stuff is on Youtube, like AJ Draven's series he does for KMW.

Former 400: 52, 800: 156, 1609: 427 runner here.

I'm guessing your season starts in about March so I wouldn't make any big changes. Running miles in the morning can be useful if you're prepared for it. I'd be interested in what your mileage is before recommending doing morning runs.

Calisthenics is a great idea, getting more speed is always a plus. Coach jay johnson is great for strength training for running. http://coachjayjohnson.com/

I'd make the calisthenics apart of your weight lifting routine. Also be careful with the weight lifting if you are inexperienced. Lifts that are good for the 800 are important to do properly. Squats, cleans etc. I'd stick to box jumps, weighted step ups, calf raises, air squats, lunges (weighted or not weighted), push ups/pull ups.

Sleep, i'm sure you've heard it but this is pivotal.

Stretching is another one that can get overlooked.

I wouldn't do anything to crazy 2 months out. But after your season is over I'd take a look at some different training books. Jack Daniels book or peter coe's book and take some advice from those.

https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Running-Successful-Racing-Training/dp/1852239972
https://www.amazon.com/Daniels-Running-Formula-3rd-Jack-ebook/dp/B00F0X7U2S/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485570976&sr=1-1&keywords=daniels+running+formula

Ok. Well, he probably knows better than me.. If he was an olympic trainer/athlete, he should know what to use better.. This was also a useful resource for me, that your trainer should know and use if he really is an olympic athlete; https://www.amazon.co.uk/Building-Gymnastic-Body-Gymnastics-Christopher/dp/0982125305

1.) Everything I'm taking is from this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Intelligent-Training-Principles-Lydiard/dp/1841263117/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382049219&sr=1-1&keywords=lydiard

2.) According to this book, when you run too fast for your current fitness level, your body produces lactic acid which puts your body in a state of "Acidosis." This acidosis negatively affects your aerobic endurance and the rate that your muscles recover.

So, that doesn't mean it's bad to run faster than aerobic speed, it just means that you can only train at hard, fast paces for a limited amount of time before it makes you less fit. I had two team mates that ran an 18x400 with a 1 minute rest and they averaged 64 seconds per 400...they ran 4:42, and 4:44 in the 1600 season. In contrast, in 2011 I saw Sam Chelenga do 12x400 at 65 seconds just a few weeks before winning nationals.

I'm trying to condense a lot of physiology into the basic idea that you need to practice being relaxed while running fast and hard in training, so that you have an extra gear to give in your races.

Galvao has a book which includes both solo and partner drills - http://www.amazon.com/Drill-Win-Months-Brazillian-Jiu-Jitsu/dp/0981504485

Jiu-Jitsu Brotherhood has a video of solo "animal" movements that I love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNJk_OEO5MU

The other thing I do when I'm off the mat for awhile is to keep watching videos of the basics/fundamentals while I'm out so at least I have rehearsed in my mind what all the details are for the stuff I already know how to do. I really like the videos by Saulo Ribeiro, Xande Ribeiro, and Ze Mario for this purpose, but there's plenty of free stuff on YouTube if you're not looking to invest in a DVD set.

I can't much comment on minimal bike touring, but I can suggest this book by Ray Jardine. It details his method for hiking the US triple crown (about 12,000 km) with something like a 10 pound base weight.



He suggests things like a tarp instead of a tent, a quilt instead of a sleeping bag, and dozens of other things. Might be worth a read for some ideas.

Good resources for white belts:

Free Books

Stephan Kesting's A Roadmap for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Nick “Chewy” Albin's Focused Jiujitsu

Christian Gruagart's The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Globe Trotter

Free Videos

Bruce Hoyer's Mindset for Learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Charlie from the Plaza's White Belt BJJ

John Danaher's The 3 Most Important Jiu Jitsu Techniques for a BJJ White Belt

Stephan Kesting's 16 Most Important Techniques for the BJJ Beginner

John B. Will's 36 Core Techniques

Matt Serra's four-volume BJJ Basics

Nick “Chewy” Albin's White Belt Tips

Inverted Gear's White Belt Questions, Black Belt Answers

Stephan Kesting's How to Beat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent Sample Clips

For Pay Books

Saulo Ribeiro's Jiu-Jitsu University

Renzo Gracie and John Danaher's Mastering Jujitsu

Kid Peligro's The Essential Guard

Neil Melanson's Mastering Triangle Chokes

For Pay Videos

Jason Scully's Grapplers Guide, my review here, another review

Rener and Ryron Gracie's Gracie Combatives

https://www.amazon.com/Swim-Workouts-Triathletes-Practical-Endurance/dp/1934030759/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523529405&sr=8-1&keywords=swim+for+triathlete


I really liked this book before I joined a Masters program. Good structure and nice planning.

I’m not the FKT holder, I reposted this from r/ultralight. In the comments of the original thread, he does go into his training routine and mentions this book.

That said, I am embarking on my own E2E in a couple days so you can wish me luck!

She'll want to be a good recoverer and come back stronger than ever. Get her this book, to ease in to as appropriate: https://www.amazon.com/Training-Uphill-Athlete-Mountain-Mountaineers/dp/1938340841

There are things you know you know... 1+1=2

There are things you know you don't know... square root of 1 is?

Then there are things you don't know you don't know... I wasn't even aware there was a hiking trail going from ME to CA.

Yeah, it can be hard finding out that 3rd one. As a college student have they taught you how to google?

I'm not joking: https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+hike+the+pacific+crest+trail

> Any tidbit of advice

Yes, read the PCTA's FAQ which answers all your questions... https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/thru-hiking-long-distance-hiking/thruhiker-faq/

Read Ray Jardine's book: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Backpacking-Jardines-Lightweight-Hiking/dp/0963235931

Read the 1000's of other books on how to backpack.

Watch the tons of hiking "movies". https://www.backpacker.com/stories/the-best-books-movies-about-thru-hiking (that is a tiny portion of all the content out there)

Read the dozens of posts on this very forum posting gear lists (aka "shakedown") for their upcoming thru hikes: https://www.reddit.com/r/PacificCrestTrail/search?q=shakedown&restrict_sr=1&t=year

Read this forum's sidebar of links. One of the most helpful ones are these annual surveys of thru hikers: https://www.halfwayanywhere.com/pacific-crest-trail/

I would give this a read. Came across a copy in my university library a few years back. The phrasing and writing style is a bit esoteric for my tastes, but if you're looking to get into Aikido for the long haul, soaking in the philosophy and lifestyle as well as the techniques, then I think it's worth having a look at.

To what I understand, Aikido will serve you quite well as you age and become less able to perform in more striking-centric disciplines.

Running for My Life-Lopez Lomong Amazing true story from being one of the Lost Boys of Sudan to Olympian.

Running with the Buffaloes-Chris Lear A look inside one of the countries premier cross country programs

Two Hours-Ed Caesar History of modern marathoning and the quest to go under 2 hours.

The Science of Running-Steve Magness For if you want to take your training to the next level!

I was in your shoes 25 years ago, and picked up Byrne's standard book of pool and billiards, and it was excellent. I have given copies out over the years to friends who wanted to learn. I still own a copy myself. Check it out: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0156005549?pc_redir=1411030730&robot_redir=1

• Jiu Jitsu University by Saulo Ribeiro
  
• Drill to Win: 12 months to better BJJ by Andre Galvao
  
• Mastering Jujitsu by Renzo Gracie and John Donaher
  
• Passing the Guard by Ed Beneville
  
• Marcelo Garcia video clips

Yeah, a quick ultrasignup search for central Ohio only gave me two spring ultras and they were both closer to Cleveland.

I've read both of those books. I like Powell's more. Koerner is obviously a great runner but his plan was intimidating to me when I read it. Krissy Moehl has a "beginner ultra" book, too, but I haven't read it. I just read Jason Koop's book as well. That's more about specific ultra training than the other books. My advice is really to just keep reading and running. The more knowledge you have the better off you'll be.

They just did a new printing and it's like 27 bucks now. I grabbed it just because I know at some point I'm going to want to get dope with it, and this is the cheapest it's gonna get. Did finish my first triangle in ages though, so thumbs up.

https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Triangle-Chokes-Submission-Grappling/dp/193660809X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496117512&sr=8-1&keywords=mastering+the+triangle

The whole asshole thing is possible. I'm super friendly, but I'm sure there's a handful of people who only took away negative impressions of me from short interactions, and if I was famous they'd remember "Oh yeah so and so is a dick," whenever I was mentioned.

Consider reading the below while watching. Great for beginners, but anyone would learn a lot from it, and it will really help you understand what you're watching for.

http://www.amazon.com/Byrnes-Standard-Book-Pool-Billiards/dp/0156005549/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344037432&sr=1-1&keywords=byrne+billiards

Read this book. It's over there on the sidebar even. There's good stuff in there. Don't target fixate - trees are not magnetic, you should not run into them. Have fun! Oh, and don't wear spandex.

I had the same question recently. Apparently you can get it in your local library. I personally wanted to own it.

The Trail Life version is (from what I’m told) an updated version of Beyond Backpacking. Which you can get USED for around $10.

Here:
Beyond Backpacking: Ray Jardines Guide to Lightweight Hiking https://www.amazon.com/dp/0963235931/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_KECMDb5JW62JC

It’s worth getting. Even just for the first few chapters about Rays take on the compounding gear philosophy: lighter gear let’s you travel further which in turns changes your gear needs enabling you to carry less and in turn hike even further and more comfortably.

(Tbh IMO the book should be required reading for r/UL whether you agree with everything in there or not).

I started at 46, relatively fit but a complete non-runner. I ran a 70K ultra less than a year later and now I'm training for a 100K. Consistent training and injury avoidance are crucial. It helps that I don't care much about my speed, so I'm content to do most of my training at an easy pace. But I have no trouble keeping up with friends in the local trail running club.

Edit: Check out Hal Koerner's new book. I can also recommend Relentless Forward Progress for training advice and Running Through the Wall for inspiration.

I grabbed Galvao's Drill To Win last Christmas, and it sounds like it's right up your alley. It's filled with daily drills specifically designed to augment your BJJ.

http://www.amazon.ca/Drill-Win-Months-Brazillian-Jiu-Jitsu/dp/0981504485

http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Immutable-Principles-Brazilian-Jiu-Jitsu/dp/1514109328

Great read with several metaphors to consider (IE rolling as a chess match) as well as breakdowns of different core principles (position, posture, pressure)

Jiu Jitsu University is a great starter book as many have suggested, then i'd highly recommend going on to the Guard series by Ed Beneville and Joe Moreira. They are comprehensive and incredibly detailed, the only trouble is finding them on sale at a decent price.

http://www.amazon.com/Passing-Guard-Brazilian-Jiu-Jitsu-Techniques/dp/0972109765/ref=pd_sim_b_2

Another good option: Swim Workouts for Triathletes: Practical Workouts to Build Speed, Strength, and Endurance (Workouts in a Binder) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1934030759/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ZNy6xbPRZRBBQ

Check out Neil Melanson’s book “Mastering Triangle Chokes”.

His setups are awesome, but the biggest take away for me - and this applies to all sub setups, not just triangles - is his philosophy of giving your opponent a problem to solve. Their reaction to solving that problem will have them give you the setup.

Here’s Neil demoing this - hand choke setup for the triangle.

Ryan Hall calls this “your money or your life”. The hip bump triangle is an example of this. The hip bump forces them to post, to prevent getting swept. Posting puts their arm a long way from their body, giving you the leg-through triangle setup.

Anyone who has been doing bjj for more ham a few months will recognize undisguised and unforced setups a mile away, and shut them down.

This is the early edition I have, which is the one I'm referring to in terms of historical context. Years later he released an updated edition of it with some changes and a different title. If I remember right, it's less focused on PCT planning and more about taking his philosophy on any trail. Then years later he released a version of that one with color photographs and a few more updates and a new title. So it depends on if you want the version with historical interest or the one with more updated info or the one with updated info and color photographs.

I submit Mastering Mountain Bike Skills as a complimentary book.

One book to keep your bike in shape and another to help you get the most out of it.

It is mostly contained in the books I've read. I have been out of the backpacking scene for a while so I may be a bit rusty on the exact details and perhaps his methods have fallen out of favor. Some of his weight cutting techniques are a bit extreme by my taste such as only taking an umbrella and tarp instead of rain gear and tent. However, my father and I cut quite a bit of weight in our week long trips. We were starting with packs around 40 pounds and wearing big hiking boots and eventually got to around 20-25 pounds and would just wear a nice set of running or trail shoes.

Some of his books:

http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Backpacking-Jardines-Lightweight-Hiking/dp/0963235931

http://www.amazon.com/Trail-Life-Jardines-Lightweight-Backpacking/dp/0963235974

This site mentions him and a quick Google search with his name and 'water filter' brings up quite a few references as well: http://www.the-ultralight-site.com/water-purification.html He's by no means an end-all authority but the ultralight backpacking he pioneered was pretty widely known.

I highly recommend Galvao's book on movement and strength drills. http://www.amazon.com/Drill-Win-Months-Brazillian-Jiu-Jitsu/dp/0981504485

While you'll need some coaching from upper-belts at your school to critique your movement (it's hard to see/feel if you're doing them right), you'll be able to design a script of drills for yourself to fix all of your jiu jitsu shortcomings.

As a Christian, I am obligated to mention the Bible.

Complete Krav Maga is very good as well: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Krav-Maga-Self-Defense-Techniques/dp/1569755736/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334774982&sr=8-1

Before the snowfall I was doing a lot of trail running. Now that winter is full on I'm doing a lot of road running with some snowshoe running & snowshoeing up mountains in the Adirondacks thrown in on the weekends. My 50k training plan I based off the Ultraladies 50K training plans.

As for the reading, I'm devouring Jason Koop's Training Essentials for Ultrarunning. I'm usually reading nonfiction, Sarah Vowell's crass style and her blending of history and memoir make for entertaining reads. I'm looking forward to getting into her Lafayette in the Somewhat United States.

Paulo Guillobel book is awesome! Paulo Guillobel

Thanks for the advice, and as for learning Krav on your own-- There is a book available written by Darren Levine, called Complete Krav Maga that I have have, which is great; especially for review. Darren does a great job thoroughly going through the curriculum, but like anything else, could never match having an instructor. I'm sure teaching yourself some of the level 1 techniques, such as basic combatives and proper fight stance correctly is possible. However, any of the more advanced techniques such as ground fighting and especially weapon defenses/combatives, having a teacher's supervision is crucial.

Let me give credit where credit is due then:

Grant Peterson's Book "Just Ride"

If it's the only thing you do -like a Strava-denizen- then yes:

http://semiprocycling.com/the-dangers-of-long-term-endurance-exercise

http://breakingmuscle.com/cycling/cycling-might-be-bad-for-bone-health

http://www.amazon.com/Just-Ride-Radically-Practical-Riding/dp/0761155589

Are there any Krav Maga books that you would recommend?

I used to do Tae Kwon Do (for fitness, flexibility etc not self defense) I am looking to get back into something but with more of a focus on self defense.

How about:

http://www.amazon.ca/dp/1569755736?tag=kramagtorfigf-20&camp=213385&creative=390985&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=1569755736&adid=0FEAABCS2DVJZEMH21MH&

I used this book http://www.amazon.com/Building-Gymnastic-Body-Gymnastics-Strength/dp/0982125305 for some calisthenic training and a big part of the strength training is isolated holds (holding a levered position for a duration of up to 15 seconds) to build up strength.

yep, its game changer

This one's good too One of Saulo's black belts Paul Guillobel wrote it.

The workouts in Daniels Running Formula are all time-based, that was what got me doing it. An added bonus I've realized is that running by time means you don't have to run the same routes consistently, you can change it up as much as you want and still get the same workout.

Look into a masters program/team. They take people of all levels, so don't be fooled by the masters name.

If you don't want to join a masters team or there isn't a swim team nearby, look into books or online workouts that cater to multiple weeks and variation. Before I joined a masters team, I was using Swim Workouts for Triathletes. I know you mentioned, you won't or can't do triathlons, but this book provides nice structured swim workouts.

I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Running with the Buffaloes -- this should easily make it into your top 5.

Is this the same book? "Building the Gymnastic Body: The Science of Gymnastics Strength" http://www.amazon.com/Building-Gymnastic-Body-Gymnastics-Strength/dp/0982125305/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1346615451&sr=8-2&keywords=Building+the+Gymnastic+Body

The book has a 1 star review that confusingly says that it's a good book and well worth the money.

http://www.amazon.com/Building-Gymnastic-Body-Gymnastics-Strength/dp/0982125305

I'm can't be bothered to argue this in-depth.

Dead-lifting static weight provides an insight into what I'm saying. You crouch in order to initiate the movement, right? Well, on a bike, you need limbs/back bent or you can't ride well.

Can you imagine surfing standing bolt upright? No way, doesn't make sense. For one thing, you'd be right at the end of your range of movement, and you're be unable to adapt to sudden forces. For another thing, the taller you're standing, the "tippier" you are. You're much less stable.

Actually, we're not talking about "slouching". Look at the legs of someone on a snowboard or doing martial arts. They stand under tension.

Can you link me a photo that demonstrates the correct riding position, as you see it?

Anyhow if you're really not comprehending this basic point, I'd recommend either this book, or this other book, or this video. If I don't convince you I would urge you to see what the experts have to say on the subject. If what I have to say comes as a surprise to you, I guarantee 100% you'll up your game with any of those instructional sources.

Running with the Buffaloes was an inspiration for me.


https://www.amazon.com/Running-Buffaloes-Wetmore-University-Colorado/dp/0762773987

This book helped me tremendously. It's not over-complicated and teaches you pretty much everything you need to know. I'm not a pro, but it seriously boosted my game. http://www.amazon.com/Byrnes-Standard-Book-Pool-Billiards/dp/0156005549

Time to hit the pool! Google TI or "Total immersion" swimming, get goggles and cap, and check out "Swim workouts in a binder" http://www.amazon.com/Swim-Workouts-Triathletes-Practical-Endurance/dp/1934030759/

Swimming can be great cardio, it's low impact and doesn't put weight on your joints.

After you get your doctor's permission, of course.

If you're into NCAA XC, you should check out Running With the Buffaloes. I'm (obviously) biased as fuck, but it's a great read, even if you aren't a CU fan.

Hal Korner's Field Guide to Ultrarunning has some shorter plans for 50k up to 100 miles. I used this book as the basis for my first 100-mile training. ( https://www.amazon.com/Koerners-Field-Guide-Ultrarunning-Ultramarathon/dp/1937715221)

Also, Krissy Moehl's Running Your First Ultra has some good, long-term plans. ( https://www.amazon.com/Running-Your-First-Ultra-Customizable/dp/1624141420/ref=pd_sbs_14_img_0/135-5115591-8160359?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1624141420&pd_rd_r=062b53c6-91ad-4cc2-a0c6-9225587ac7ea&pd_rd_w=jBSfT&pd_rd_wg=aenPJ&pf_rd_p=5cfcfe89-300f-47d2-b1ad-a4e27203a02a&pf_rd_r=HAZJPT342BYJYTMBPYP9&psc=1&refRID=HAZJPT342BYJYTMBPYP9)

Complete Krav Maga is the book that I have, and very good it is too.

Here's another short one that makes for good beach/vacation reading and slow mental marination: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Immutable-Principles-Brazilian-Jiu-Jitsu/dp/1514109328/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=D0DXFH28CDMJWW032VEG

That White Belt to Blue Belt book helped me form some good training habits (like keeping a journal); this one articulates core principles in BJJ. For me this was important, because it's hard for me to remember all the details of every move and technique that the prof. teaches in class, and this book provided the skeleton on which all these techniques hang. Often before, I wouldn't understand the point of certain details of techniques and sequences, but after reading this, I had a much more solid conceptual framework that helped me "fill in the blanks" on things that I didn't understand before or details that I straight up forgot from other techniques.

So it's helped me make more sense of a lot of stuff that I've seen, specific, actionable areas in which I was/am weak, and understand new stuff much faster.

Grab Jason Koop’s book, Training Essentials for Ultrarunning: How to Train Smarter, Race Faster, and Maximize Your Ultramarathon Performance

To make things easy here it is.

My girlfriend was a track athlete in college, one her favorites was Running with the Buffaloes, which follows the 1998 season of the University of Colorado's men's team. She said the book absolutely blew her away.

For concepts, I liked Paulo Guillobel's
Mastering The 21 Immutable Principles Of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu


http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1514109328/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

It's a short book all based on concepts

I highly recommend getting Mastering Mountain Bike Skills.

I'd highly recommend Koops book which touches the subject.

I think my problem was actually the opposite of what you describe, although the crux of the issue is the same. Trying to take in all of the calories via tailwind wasn't digesting well for me as things got hot (so intake slowed), which then meant I started lacking in electrolytes and actual fluid intake.

​

So now when it starts getting hot (or right from the beginning if it's a really hot and muggy morning) I switch to putting plain water in my bottles, taking salt stick electrolyte chews regularly (but not as regularly as their dosage suggests, that's too much salt for me), and then getting calories from a variety of sources (gu, chews, pretzels, etc.). Learning how to adjust exactly how much I take in of each of these variables is still a learning/experience process, although there are general guidelines: https://trainright.com/iaaf-statement-nutrition-analysis-ultramarathon-runners/ to use as a starting point.

​

Being able to tweak each of these variables independently helps me immensely the longer and hotter the runs get. If any particular source of calories isn't working well I can swap it out without any effect on hydration and/or electrolytes. And vice versa. The tailwind approach is great when things are going well, but it can quickly have a cascading effect because instead of just "oh I'm not getting enough calories" it is actually "oh I'm not getting enough calories or enough electrolytes or (potentially) enough water." Or as you said it could be too much of one of those things.

​

Jason Koop talks quite a bit about all of this in his book Training Essentials for Ultrarunning if you're looking for something to read: https://www.amazon.com/Training-Essentials-Ultrarunning-Ultramarathon-Performance/dp/1937715450

I've been playing for years. Few things that helped me... other than constant practice.

Read this: Byrne's Book of Pool and Billiards
This book explains tons of different 'pool' games, as well as theory and whatnot.

Watch this:Pool Hall Junkies If your not pumped for playing pool after watching this, you should just quit now.

I'd take what I say with a pinch of salt since I have no professional experience in this space. Could explain why you understood half of what I said. I may have only made half sense! ;)

Anyway, EB does give you reading material and a brief rational behind why he programs the week and quarters into the way he does. I don't think there is much on Zones. Well, he uses colours to denote intensities. So similar to a Zone based system. Zone intensity systems have mixed definitions. I was referring to the classic and popular 1-5 system. Where 1-2 you can still hold a conversation, 3 you are hitting your aerobic capacity limit, and 4-5 you are hitting your lactic threshold (anaerobic zones).

​

As to books, this isn't crossfit and is heavily geared towards endurance based training but I am currently reading this and loving it as it breaks down a lot of what goes on internally when you start to slow down: "Training for the Uphill Athlete" - https://www.amazon.com/Training-Uphill-Athlete-Mountain-Mountaineers/dp/1938340841

Has anyone checked out Training for the Uphill Athlete? It's geared towards running and skiing, but I wondering if it's also useful enough tool for backpackers before I drop $20 on a copy.

I have and throughly recommend the following:

Jiu-Jitsu University

Drill to Win

Advanced Brazilian Jiujitsu Techniques

I too agree with /u/DieRunning. I would only add you could always pick up Hal Korners book, Field Guide to Ultrarunning. He gives some quick tips along with two training plans.

http://www.amazon.com/Koerners-Field-Guide-Ultrarunning-Ultramarathon/dp/1937715221

I highly suggest reading this book: http://www.amazon.com/Koerners-Field-Guide-Ultrarunning-Ultramarathon/dp/1937715221

It will provide you with way more information than I can. It even has training plans.

But, my advice to you is: just focus on finishing. It is your first ultra distance race, there is no need to go out super hard. Also: eat fruit, peanut butter, and other simple foods while training. These foods will be available at the aid stations during the race.

https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Triangle-Chokes-Submission-Grappling/dp/193660809X

Ask, and ye shall receive. It was out of print when i first looked for it, but last week, this appeared in my Amazon feed. New editions, ~$26.

Sitting beside me while I'm in work today;

x1 Blue Belt.

x1 Ankle brace/sock thing.

x1 Manto Shorts.

x1 Grey Lidl (or maybe Aldi) Rashguard/Compression top.

x1 Black Lidl (or Aldi) Spats/Compression leggings.

x1 Red T-shirt.

x1 Black tracksuit pants

x1 Red Flipflops

x1 Gumshield

x2 Grip tape

x1 Padlock and key

x1 1L bottle of water

x1 Mastering Triangle Chokes

x1 Bag of Jelly babies.

x? Multiple plasters of various sizes

x1 Pair of runners

Only difference is if it's gi or (tonight) no-gi.

https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Immutable-Principles-Brazilian-Jiu-Jitsu/dp/1514109328/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1502287280&sr=8-2&keywords=Jiu+jitsu+book


Mastering The 21 Immutable Principles Of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: The Ultimate Handbook for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Students

was a good read. Kinda quick but has a lot of decent info in there for us white belts.

https://www.amazon.com/Training-Essentials-Ultrarunning-Ultramarathon-Performance/dp/1937715450

​

This is the only one I know of by a coach. The other ultra books are usually by elite athletes, which, while interesting, usually only offer up what has worked for them (which is not always the best idea for amateurs/not always backed up by data).

I second corduroyblack's advice. If you want some reading material to review techniques between classes, I recommend Complete Krav Maga and Black Belt Krav Maga.

Again, nothing beats practice, and you won't learn by reading alone.

All the data says pepper spray is more effective than guns in bear attacks, so I'd lose that right quick. Second, read Ray Jardine, Justin Lichter, and Andrew Skurka.

http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Backpacking-Jardines-Lightweight-Hiking/dp/0963235931/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1341345684&sr=8-2&keywords=ray+jardine

http://www.amazon.com/Trail-Tested-Thru-Hikers-Insights-Backpacking/dp/0984855009/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341345701&sr=1-1&keywords=trail+tested

http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Hikers-Gear-Guide/dp/1426209207/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341345724&sr=1-1&keywords=andrew+skurka

You will find every suggestion we could come up with on here and more. Personally I find ponchos to be a shitty option, and sleeping bags and quilts are very nice. If you're on the Kenai, you will want a bugproof shelter, too.

Yup. You can read the reviews on Amazon for it which say the same thing:

https://www.amazon.com/Building-Gymnastic-Body-Gymnastics-Strength/dp/0982125305/

Neil Melanson's Mastering Triangle Chokes

​

Hopefullly its cheaper somewhere else then Amazon: https://imgur.com/a/5UExkq9

​

For those who dont want to hit the link:

Amazon has it listed for: 3,214.79

Front shocks are a waste of money and needless weight for the kind of urban riding that I do.

As for true off-road mountain bicycling, Grant Petersen in his book "Just Ride" suggests that they are not necessary there, either, and I tend to agree. You are better off using skills to avoid bumps and obstacles. But I'm not a mountain bicyclist, so what do I know?

https://www.amazon.com/Byrnes-Standard-Book-Pool-Billiards/dp/0156005549

Byrne's New Standard Book of Pool and Billiards


Tor Lowry YouTube

Here is the mobile version of your link

Just Ride: A Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike [Paperback]
http://www.amazon.com/Just-Ride-Radically-Practical-Riding/dp/0761155589

Just Ride.

Running with Buffaloes

https://www.amazon.com/Aikido-Dynamic-Sphere-Illustrated-Introduction/dp/0804832846

Fly into Anchorage armed with this book: http://www.amazon.com/55-Ways-Wilderness-Southcentral-Alaska/dp/0898867916

So I was drafting a blog post on books this weekend. Copypasta:

Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide - Andrew Skurka

Ultralight Backpacking Tips - Mike Clelland

Lightweight Backpacking and Camping - Ryan Jordan

Trail Life: Ray Jardine's Lighweight Bapackpacking

Beyond Backpacking: Ray Jardine's Guide to Lightweight Hiking

http://www.amazon.com/Drill-Win-Months-Brazillian-Jiu-Jitsu/dp/0981504485

Check out this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Drill-Win-Months-Brazillian-Jiu-Jitsu/dp/0981504485/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345999434&sr=1-1

Are you male or female? I'm an adult male that wants to take gymnastics classes. What should I look for in picking a gym and instructor? Are the horrible wrist pushups really necessary for building up the wrists? Have you read Building the Gymnastic Body by Coach Sommer? If so, what did you think of it?

Never Gymless

Building the Gymnastic Body

Convict Conditioning

These all have routines in them. Or you can ask at /r/bodyweightfitness.

Complete Krav Maga - Darren Levine

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Krav-Maga-Self-defense-Techniques/dp/1569755736/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312127017&sr=8-1

And my instructors are a part of Krav Maga Global, but their website doesn't give too much info:

http://krav-maga.com/exclusive-krav-maga-training/grading-system

Grab your self a book..

http://www.amazon.com/Swim-Workouts-Triathletes-Practical-Endurance/dp/1934030759/186-7165363-8813231?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

( This particular one is all free-style.. but you should get the point )

This Book gives some structured workouts

https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Triangle-Chokes-Submission-Grappling/dp/193660809X?crid=291V4UUD7YK9K&keywords=neil+melanson+mastering+triangle+chokes&qid=1540698197&sprefix=neil+melan%2Caps%2C203&sr=8-1&ref=sr_1_1