Will Cockrell

Shaniah Jones was 13 the first time she saw people playing rugby. She thought the same thing most Americans think. It was strange, she remembers. I hadnt even heard of rugby. Theres all these weird rules, you cant pass forward . . . but I thought it was awesome. I wanted to play. As a ninth grader at Freedom Prep high school in Memphis, she was watching boys from her own neighborhood compete in the <a href="https://memphisinnercityrugby.org/" id="b33611f0-58a5-33f6-ac4f-9592107272eb"> Memphis Inner City Rugby league </a> (MICR). As soon as MICR added womens teams the following year, Jones (above, with the ball) signed up, and shes been playing ever since. Now 18, she is a three-time state and one-time national all-star.

With one of the worst child-poverty rankings in the country, Memphis is not new to the idea of sports as salvation. This is serious hoops country, after all, and as in the rest of the South, football is religion. But rugby speaks to these kids, ages eight to 21, in a way other sports dont.

In rugby, they see a sport that has all the physicality of American football and the flowing athleticism of basketball but also an element of camaraderie. Its inspiring, says Jones. Even if you hurt someone, you help that person out. Its not about being selfish.

Memphis kids are special, says Shane Young, who cofounded MICR back in 2012, when he was just 22. Theyre resilient and talentedtheyve done so much with so little. And they are making history on and off the field in their communities. Young, who played rugby growing up in New Jersey, moved to Memphis to work as a teacher. He says he had always dreamed of passing along through coaching the same leadership and organizational skills hed gained. Young had no idea the sport would catch on the way it has in his adopted home city. MICR now has 14 teams that serve more than 250 kids in the most underrepresented neighborhoods of one of Americas most segregated cities.

I loved that women were playing it, because American football is a male-dominated sport. And the fact that its played without pads just made them look so strong.

The womens teams, in particular, have emerged as some of the most dominant in the country. I loved that women were playing it, because American football is a male-dominated sport, says Jayla Hampton, a junior who plays with the Soulsville Charter School team. And the fact that its played without pads just made them look so strong. Young says the lack of pads may be another reason rugby caught on here. Football is one of the most expensive sports a kid can get into, whereas all you need to play rugby is a mouthguard, a ball, and a patch of grass. And the return is tenfold. The physicality is a tremendous release of energy and stress, he says. You learn a lot about yourself rucking and scrumming.

For Hampton and Jones, theres more to it than the physical. I love the bond we have, says Jones. Whether its rugby, school, or personal issues, it created this bond. However, both young women cant help sharing the thing that excites them most during an actual game. For Hampton, its running with the ball. Im pretty fast and I see space, she says. Jones, who graduated this past spring and hopes to coach with MICRwhile also getting her nursing degreewould not be the player she is without amore ruthless answer: On the field, its tackling, for sure.

Rugby Could Be the Next Big Youth Sport

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BylDcfDHCmB/" id="518c0e68-00fc-31d7-a54d-34144e8428b1"> View this post on Instagram </a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BylDcfDHCmB/" id="814c67e5-dfed-380c-aa5b-f16080d3a880"> One of my favorite trails at home. </a> A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kilianjornet/" id="ae65f085-ee9f-3bcc-ac13-4f539a24c4f4"> Kilian Jornet </a> (@kilianjornet) on Jun 11, 2019 at 11:08am PDT

1. Know the Difference Between Training and Exercising Johnston says that if you want to get fitter for a specific endurance event or objective, you must train mono directionally, meaning that all your training hours are in service of that event. And these workouts are often far more measured than your typical gym session or spin class. While non-specific exercise will keep you healthy, it wont necessarily make you any faster or fitter. And overdoing it is the most common culprit. For people who love exercising, the workout is the event, says Johnston. So the problem is theyre often trying to break that PR every time they walk into the gym.

2. Learn to Love Low Intensity Workouts Johnston says that we humans are actually built for the sort of long low-intensity efforts that only engage our aerobic system (upping the intensity engages the anaerobic system). From an evolutionary survival standpoint, it was a great benefit to be able to go days without eating, to run long distances, then still be able to chase down animals. Generally speaking, Johnston defines low intensity work as what many fitness trackers call zone 2, or a pace at which you can breath through your nose and/or carry on a conversation. For many, it feels too easy. He is quick to point out that it means something different for everyone, which is why serious endurance athlete should land on their personal heart rate zones through a series of tests (see below).

Kimberly Strom running in the Swiss Alps.

3. Monitor Your Heart Rate the Right Way Johnston says that while heart rate is actually an imperfect method of measuring effort, its the only method weve got and so you should do it as accurately as possible. Wrist monitors simply do not work for serious training, he says. The technology is just not there yet and they typically read high. Instead, Johnston recommends a chest strap monitor. He says that power meters-the type cyclists attach to their bikes-are even better, but they are not yet available for foot-powered efforts. 4. Find Your Low Intensity Zone Figuring out ones low-intensity heart rate zone actually starts with suffering through some brutal high-intensity work known as a lactate threshold test to determine your average maximum heart rate. While the old formula of subtracting your age from 220 is eerily accurate, Johnston says it is not good enough for serious athletes. Personalized tests show you exactly where your body physiologically transitions from aerobic to anaerobic work, he explains. The easiest way to determine your lactate threshold, he says, is by going as hard as you can for 30-60 minutes. Your average maximum heart rate throughout that effort is your lactate threshold number and other zones can be determined using that. ( <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__uphillathlete.com&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=B73tqXN8Ec0ocRmZHMCntw&amp;r=Cnn2s_pYzMyHbUUoIV6Jrr_ACNNzL1Ueqe4qxOX2cto&amp;m=LkQQYrNUxKT-it4OsSBLiSF7tWHGdISNKrjsnZt_qGY&amp;s=LIwvdVbQZ3SP2pmUFAr5OrNZAU7t08-JYqBsHKNGJpI&amp;e=" id="7f0de16b-9590-3339-aa55-1ee03183b518"> uphillathlete.com </a> is a great resource for more details on threshold testing). For those who need even more accurate numbers, there are lab treadmill tests that measure oxygen flow and even tests in which blood is drawn during exercise.

5. Use Your Time Wisely The endurance events most people train for last a couple hours or longer, which is why your workouts need to prep your aerobic engine for hours not minutes. People who start taking endurance training seriously usually stop going to spin class or crossfit, or whatever else they're doing, says Johnston. Instead, they replace these workouts with less intense but longer workouts, even if just 20 percent longer. Low to moderate intensity workouts are really key, he says. And you should find at least one day - perhaps a weekend - for a really long run or ride. Johnston points out that its no coincidence that all the best endurance athletes in the world seem to do about 80 percent of their training in this low intensity zone. The main stimulus to the aerobic system is the frequency and duration of exercise, he explains. Most endurance athletes train twice a day because they need to constantly be stimulating that system.

6. Never Up Intensity to Make up For Duration The gross misconception that has been popularized in the fitness industry is that high intensity cardio for shorter durations has the same benefit as doing 10 miles of easy running, says Johnston. He explains that the two metabolic processes respond to completely different stimuli and actually have zero crossover. So, while HIIT work (high-intensity interval training) will certainly make you better at high-intensity activities, it could in fact make you worse at running a marathon or cycling 30 miles.

7. Remember Three Rules For Success Johnston points to three keys to success in endurance training: Consistency (you cant be missing workouts); a gradually progressing workload; and what he calls modulation. Your program has to have hard days and easy days, or hard weeks and easy weeks, he says. It has to have this modulation in the training load to give your body a chance to absorb and adapt to the work that's been done, and to prepare your body to do the next load of work.

8. Become Fat Adapted Johnston calls this diet hack one of the simplest training prescriptions to implement. Becoming fat adapted means getting your body more used to using fat as fuel. He says that those doing a high volume of training often have somewhat depleted glycogen stores, which means the muscles go looking for fat-this is a good thing since fat is something we all have readily available. This causes your muscles to become much better at breaking down fats and using them for fuel, he says. What Johnston recommends, even for those who train less than 10 hours a week, is to do low-intensity workouts in a somewhat fasted state-such as in the morning before breakfast-to jump start the fat adaptation process.

9. Do Not Ignore Power Completely Strength and power are key for not only getting faster, but also for anyone who is fighting gravity, such as trail runners, cross-country skiers, cyclists, and mountaineers. Therefore, its key to include some sprint work to train the neuromuscular firing patterns to produce more power from the existing muscle mass. Johnston says sand dunes are the perfect venue for hill sprints. "Hill sprints are a great leg strengthening workout for runners, he says. One of our favorites is to spring up a very steep sand dune for 10 seconds then walk back down while resting 2-3 minutes between each sprint. Johnston says to start with six sprints and progress to 10-12 in a single workout, once a week. Your legs will feel like jello after, but within a few workouts you will notice your easy running pace picking up."

Former elite cross-country ski racer Scott Johnston has quietly become the leading expert in lung capacity. And his new book, coauthored with elite runner <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kilianjornet/" id="4c637523-ff10-3096-a783-32cbea3db1e3"> Kilian Jornet </a> and famed alpinist Steve House, <a href="https://www.patagonia.com/product/training-for-the-uphill-athlete-a-manual-for-mountain-runners-and-ski-mountaineers-paperback-book/BK800.html?dwvar_BK800_color=000&amp;cgid=root&amp;isSea...

9 Training Tips from Kilian Jornet, Trail Running's Top Dog

Hitting the climbing wall for a workout can seem ultra-challenging and intimidating, but that doesn't mean it's only for the likes of Alex Honnold, the pro climber who was the subject of last year's acclaimed documentary Free Solo. Rock climbing can be an exhilarating workout for anyone, which is exactly what I'm learning right now.

Im only eight feet off the ground on the rock wall at Cliffs of Id, a climbing gym in Los Angeles, but my adrenalines already pumping. But its not because of the height, and its not because I feel like some gravity-defying Spider-Man.

Its because every muscle in my body is firing to keep me glued to my perch. If my grip or my back or my core relaxes, I slip. Its a full-body workout as challenging as anything Ive ever done in the weight room-which may explain why climbing gyms are as packed as weight rooms these days.

Build Strength and Muscle With Rock Climbing

The number of climbing gyms in America has steadily increased, and climbing is a fast-growing fitness trend. Its inclusion in the 2020 Olympics and the anxiety-inducing Oscar-nominated Free Solo are now inspiring even more curiosity. Meanwhile, climbing facilities themselves have evolved from dank warehouses into temples of functional fitness, full of people who are simply there for a fun, hard workout. Some come for simulated adventure, but many come for the community, too. All leave with a buzz.

I dont go camping; Im not the stereotypical man-bun climber, says Cliffs of Id trainer Eddie Tsang. But I love the problem-solving aspect of rock climbing, and you can almost feel the neurological pathways firing between your brain and your muscles.

Tsang goes on: When you climb, your body spends a lot of time under tension. Youre thinking about what grip youre going to use on a hold, about how youre going to shift your weight in one direction, what kind of counterbalance to use, all while keeping your core engaged. Tsang, 38, is an attorney by day who also climbs and teaches TRX and bodyweight bootcamp-style classes at Cliffs of Id. The former break-dancer and high school wrestler infuses the basic movements of climbing into his classes because, as he puts it, its a smarter workout for building strength while maintaining functionality.

<h1> How Climbing Reshapes Your Body </h1>

Karl Buchka, 32, is an engineer at SpaceX who discovered climbing at Cliffs of Id but now works out at Sender One, which is closer to his home and office. Sender One is co-owned by top climber Chris Sharma and has the highest walls in southern California. Buchka, an elite hockey player in high school, says that before he found climbing, he dreaded getting back into shape.

I had put on about 20 pounds and got to a point where I knew I had to start doing something, he explains. But the idea of picking heavy things up and putting them down again bored me to tears. Its the first time Ive ever felt excited to go to the gym. Climbing was an exhilarating alternative, and the workouts have transformed his body. Once I lost the weight, I had to buy new clothes, he says. Once I got really into climbing, I had to buy another set of clothes.

Buchka says muscle mass just started popping up out of nowhere, the result of the intense anaerobic bouldering workouts he was doing. Bouldering-climbing short routes, or problems, that are low enough that they dont require ropes-is the more accessible discipline, since it does not entail as much gear or technical know-how, or a partner. But its also a far more strenuous workout than roped climbing, because, while shorter, the routes are harder.

It demands powerful bursts of strength and delivers a sustained full-body burn as you try to keep yourself from dropping off the often-overhanging walls. Our bodies were made to climb-made to extend, push, and pull, says Tsang. People are looking for a way to utilize all these muscles that we otherwise wouldnt use.

As I ascend the wall, I keep reminding myself its all about technique, which basically means using muscles that arent as obvious. Its often said that if your arms are getting tired, youre climbing incorrectly. I keep this in mind as I try to hang, rather than pull myself into the wall, and as I relax my arms by propelling myself upward using my legs. The only way I will make it to the top is if I disperse the work through as many muscles as possible instead of powering through with pullups.

As Buchka points out, the resulting six-pack almost feels accidental. It does keep me pretty lean and strong, he says. But its the analytical mind-body element that is really stimulating to me. The fact that Im getting this full-body exercise is almost completely incidental.

Ironically, Buchka does also lift heavy things these days-but its in service of bouldering. Ive fallen in love with climbing, so I do other exercises to be better at it, he explains. Hitting those opposing muscle groups is useful for injury prevention and taking things to the next level.

Tsang agrees that climbing coupled with complementary exercises such as dynamic kettlebell moves or TRX training-both of which are available at most climbing gyms these days-is the ultimate workout. Here, he outlines four circuits that climbers use to boost strength and power.

These are the exercises climbers do off the wall to increase their power, improve their mobility, and prevent injury. Theyll build stabilizing strength for nonclimbers too.

The foundation of total-body tension begins with hollow-body holds, a favorite of gymnasts. Add a dynamic anaerobic move like mountain climbers to mimic the core-centric movements of climbing. Alternate between them as a HIIT Tabata. Repeat 8 times for a 4-minute routine.

Hollow-body hold: Lie on your back. Press your lower back into the ground. Extend your arms behind you. Raise your straight legs and shoulder blades a few inches off the ground. Hold for 20 seconds. Rest for 10 seconds.

Mountain climbers: Turn over into a pushup position, arms straight. Pull alternating knees up toward your chest and then back out again, as many times as possible for 20 seconds. Rest 10 seconds.

When climbing, you pull yourself upward from odd angles. Hone that ability with the Frenchie pullup variation.

Frenchies: On a pullup bar or large climbing holds, pull up so your chin is at hand level; hold for 3 seconds. Lower until your elbows are at 90 degrees; hold for 3 seconds. Lower again to 120 degrees; hold for 3 seconds. Thats 1 rep. Do reps until failure. Repeat for 3 sets.

One of the best ways to hone your grip strength is to simply grip things in challenging ways, and you'll do that throughout any climb. Even if you train forearms in the gym, this will feel different and build new levels of grip strength.

Weighted spool: Attach a 10-pound weight to a dumbbell handle with a thin piece of rope a few feet long. The weight should fall just above the floor when your arms are held out straight in front of you. Hold a side of the dumbbell handle in each hand, palms facing the ground. Twist the bar up, spooling the rope until the weight reaches the bar. Unspool slowly. Repeat till failure, then rest 1 minute. Do 5 sets.

Rice-bucket drill: Kneel in front of a five-gallon bucket thats three-quarters full of dry rice or sand. Do each move for 20 seconds. Stab your open hands in the rice and make fists. Pull your hands out. Stab your straight hands deep into the rice and spread your fingers wide. Pull them out. Stab your fists deep and rotate them in circles, going in each direction for 20 seconds, then going back and forth.Grab fingerfuls of rice. Grab and release handfuls of rice as quickly as possible.

Build the posterior chain needed for climbing. Do reps for 20 seconds, then rest for 10. Do 2 minutes per side.

Kettlebell clean + lunge: Grasp a kettlebell on the ground with your right hand, knees bent and hips hinged. Stand explosively and pull the kettlebell to your right shoulder. Immediately step back with your right leg, bending your right knee. Stand up, and lower the kettlebell back to the ground. Thats 1 rep.

There's a good chance you'd love to build ripped abs and bulging arms, just in time for beach season. But that doesn't mean you always want to do it in the gym. Sometimes, you'd much rather avoid dumbbells and barbells on your journey to more muscle, and that's where the climbing wall comes in.

These Rock Climbing Exercises Will Build Meaty Forearms and Ripped Abs

All the while, Mills was taking stock of the tools he was employing to achieve such great success and began sharing them through speaking tours and his wildly popular first book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Be-Unstoppable-Essential-Actions-Anything/dp/0884485307/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1VVW2MYT6HV7W&amp;keywords=be+unstoppable&amp;qid=1554399968&amp;s=gateway&amp;sprefix=Be+Unstop%2Caps%2C116&amp;sr=8-1" id="22072454-9c57-3b69-a0b6-fbff0e2a8bf1"> Be Unstoppable </a> . His second book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unstoppable-Teams-Essential-High-Performance-Leadership/dp/0062876155/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2/135-9762329-6582348?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_i=0062876155&amp;pd_rd_r=892dbb1a-5701-11e9-afa9-5fd63f932696&amp;pd_rd_w=SAzwN&amp;pd_rd_wg=5aONO&amp;pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&amp;pf_rd_r=SBGA3R85TKVP43Y7VXBS&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=SBGA3R85TKVP43Y7VXBS" id="b60862f3-3ec9-3670-a84a-cea0b7f0a99a"> Unstoppable Teams </a> , was just released this month and he once again uses his experience leading the most elite fighting force in the world, as well as his success as an inventor and entrepreneur, to extoll the power of working for the greater good-for the people and the goals that are beyond just ourselves. For Mills, the physical and mental are inseparable. Here, he shares some of the heady wisdom that is behind his success in training, in business, and beyond.

<h1> Make Friends With Your Enemy </h1>

When I started rowing as a teenager, I loved making the boat go fast, but I hated the ergometer [rowing machine], says Mills. But I had to make friends with it if I wanted to be good at rowing. Over the years, Mills even created a name for the place he goes to face that which makes him most uncomfortable: The Pain Cave. Its a place where you really look inside yourself, he explains. I always pictured this wall, where I dont know whats on the other side. Id push myself mentally - make a mental game of it - unsure of what was going to happen when I reached the other side.

<h1> Ruin a Perfectly Nice Day at the Beach </h1>

There are few images more iconic than that of a group of soaked and sandy Navy SEALS, shivering as they get pounded by frigid surf. Mills remembers those days well, but also remembers how he and his team would turn the beach into a gym. Its the perfect place for a run, swim, burpee drill, he says. Mills says they would start by putting a couple buoys out in the water, just past the surf. Then they would run a short sprint to the water, swim out to the buoys and back, then run to the start and do a set of 20 burpees. Then repeat 3 to 10 times.

<h1> Use Balance to Build SEAL Strength </h1>

When Mills was leading a platoon of SEALS in the 90s, his commanders told him there would be a group of civilian exercise physiologists following his team around, observing their workouts. They actually started whispering things to us, literally while we were working out, about how to correct our movements, he remembers. Mills and the other SEALS were used to doing old-school bodybuilding moves, using muscle isolation, but very few opposing exercises. Wed do a thousand situps, but zero back extensions - wed have super strong abs but weak lower backs, he remembers. We were creating muscle imbalances and thats when we started doing more functional training, with equal and opposite muscle reactions.

As a SEAL, Mills was often forced to improvise with what he had around him, when it came to keeping fit. But he insists the only thing you really ever need, anyway, is your own body. The large majority of SEAL training was done on what we call The Grinder, which is nothing more than a large square of asphalt with a pair of white fins painted on it - its not rocket science, he says. We would do lunges, jumping jacks, burpees - grab a tree limb, do some pullups, and youre working most muscles there. When I lived in a 12 story apartment building in Spain, I was training to climb Mt Elbrus in Russia. Id just put 50 pounds on my back and run the stairs. Mills says the Perfect Pushup was in fact born when he used towels around his fists to allow them to rotate naturally as he pushed away from the floor.

Mills remembers there being two types of guys in SEAL training: those who had been in team situations that required dedication and arduous hours of athletic training in pursuit of something greater- water polo players, wrestlers - and those who stayed focused only on the task in front of them. The problem is, when that task changes, the team members in the second group had trouble adjusting. The team athletes were the ones that said okay, I don't care what they throw out me, he remembers. The others would train for a test, then, when the test changed or got harder, these guys would freak out. Mills says that it was a sense of working toward the greater goal and for the team that helped guys succeed.

<h1> Take the Pyramid Everywhere You Go </h1>

Its my all-time favorite workout, says Mills of this routine that involves three simple moves that you can do anywhere, any time. Mills favorite pyramid includes a pushup, a squat, then a pullup. You simply start with one of each and work your way up to six of each, and then back down again. We call it a double tap six, says Mills. And you cant do them fast-everyone wants to jump through it, but you need to do each movement slowly.

<h1> Start Doing Bucket-List Workouts </h1>

Mills says he hates going to the gym without any purpose, but its still important to keep fit. So, now he chooses a grand goal in the future - right now its mountain climbing, as he recently ticked off Denali and Elbrus, the highest peaks in North America and Europe, respectively - and all his workouts are in service of his goal. I started training for life bucket list experiences and these days I climb a mountain a year, he says. I've just really enjoyed putting some weight on my back, going outside and doing some long active meditation workouts.

<h1> Make Work a Little More Like a Workout </h1>

In the short time it took him for Mills to do this interview, he cleaned up his entire backyard. When I sit, I'm just not nearly as energetic or creative, he explains. I have a standing desk - I actually spend the majority of my time standing - and I do a lot of professional speaking now, which is like an athletic event. I wore my heart rate monitor on stage during an hour-long keynote recently and in that 60 minute period, my average heart rate was 129, and I burned just under a thousand calories. Mills says that if he is really feeling stuck hell take it a step further and go do an actual workout to get the endorphins flowing again. I just go for a walk or get on the ergometer, he says.

<h1> Keep Your Finger Close to the F*ck-it Button </h1>

Mills says that in every aspect of his life, there are moments when it is smarter to stop processing and move on. When Im writing, for instance, or inventing a new product, I have this f*ck-it button in my head, he explains. Every time I'd stop and ask wait, is that a run-on sentence? Boom, f*ck it. Keep writing. Its used when you just decide to move on and look at something later - and you can apply it to anything in life.

<h1> Use the Negative to Inspire You </h1>

Alden Mills demonstrates the perfect pushup.

For all the self-help BS out there that says to always think positive, Mills has found an equally effective motivator in the negative. He calls it an Outcome Account and its a quick survey of exactly what will happen - how he will feel and who it will effect - if he does not accomplish a particular goal. I do also think about how I will fee if I accomplish something, but when I was in some of my lowest, weakest moments, it was the negative that inspired me more than the positive, he explains. It was thinking about hearing people say I told you you wouldn't have made it.

Former Navy SEAL and inventor of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Fitness-Pushup-Elite/dp/B008DNAJ5M/ref=sr_1_3?hvadid=174269461802&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvlocphy=9067609&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvpos=1t1&amp;hvqmt=b&amp;hvrand=9696439180736747559&amp;hvtargid=kwd-3483739602&amp;keywords=the+perfect+pushup&amp;qid=1554399922&amp;s=gateway&amp;sr=8-3" id="f5ce6a83-8aae-3f00-ad92-079cc043e757"> the Perfect Pushup </a> Alden Mills has found success in so many different arenas in life that its clear h...

10 Fitness Secrets From Alden Mills, the Creator of The Perfect Pushup and a Former Navy SEAL

Alden Mills says that in the short time it took him to do this interview he cleaned up his entire backyard. When I sit, I'm just not nearly as energetic or creative, he explains. I have a standing desk - I actually spend the majority of my time standing - and I do a lot of professional speaking now, which is like an athletic event. I wore my heart rate monitor on stage during an hour-long keynote recently and in that 60 minute period, my average heart rate was 129, and I burned just under a thousand calories. Mills says that if he is really feeling stuck hell take it a step further and go do an actual workout to get the endorphins flowing again. I just go for a walk or get on the ergometer, he says.

10 Fitness Secrets from the Creator of The Perfect Pushup and a Former Navy SEAL

1. Music is an Essential Workout Tool

Hamiltons new book opens with a quote from the pop-punk band Green Day, and he later writes that music opens up new channels and reroutes energy. Its pretty clear that sound plays a huge role in the rhythm of his life and his workouts. Sound is an enormous part of energy and movement and music can become as essential as hydration, he explains. You can use music to wind you up and get you going, or to help sustain - I use it a lot for endurance type stuff - or even to help you drift off. Hamilton does admit there is a time and a place for tunes: Doing something like riding giant surf, it can be a distraction.

2. Saunas are the New Ice Bath

Not long ago, some studies coming out of Finland alerted Hamilton to the benefits of heat in aiding recovery and hes been adding sauna sessions to his workouts ever since. He now prefers it over ice. Sure, we gravitate to ice because it's more pleasurable, he says. If you've been running around and you're hotter than snot and feeling beat up, you're like yeah numb me. But Hamilton learned that the hormones you produce in heat are actually more conducive to recovery. All my boys and I hit the sauna for at least 15 minutes after we train.

3. Burpees and Headstands Are Perfect Movements

Laird Hamilton has tried thousands of different exercises and even invented quite a few. While he says he loves any exercise that reflects natural movement patterns, there are two moves that were essential to him when he started out and will remain essential the rest of his life: Burpees and headstands. I like combining a burpee with a hindu squat [in which your arms swing while lowering] and a pushup - those have been around since Genghis Khan, he says. And while Hamilton says any type of inversion is important, he likes plain old headstands. Inversion is phenomenal, even if it is just for minutes at a time, he explains. In fact, if you can't be inverted for minutes at a time then I would question the functionality of your circulation.

4. We Are Meant to Feel Fear

In Liferider, Hamilton delves into the balancing power of death. If you make it so nothings dangerous and there is no death, how does life feel? he asks in the book. Of course, Hamiltons perception of risk is vastly different than the rest of us, but he feels it should still always play a part in our workouts and in our lives. Even if its just mountain biking a little faster than normal, or into conditions that are a little more slippery, that moment of alertness is really important, he says. That emotion and chemical reaction is very good for our health - we were meant to experience that.

5. Breathing Right is Everything

Breath control is not just for surfers. In Hamiltons elite training program, XPT, he always points out the connection between the heart and the lungs, and up to two thirds of XPT training is cardio based. He says that most of us are under-oxygenated, most of the time. First, we try to get people to understand that the nose is the breathing instrument of the body, not the mouth, says Hamilton. We had been breathing through our noses for thousands of years and only in the last 200 years, we stopped. When you use your mouth you scrub your CO2 and absorb less oxygen. Hamilton recommends regulating your workout effort according to your ability to breath through your nose. The ultimate thing is to become more tolerant to CO2, which means that you'll be able to run faster and breathe less - youll be more efficient.

6. Coffee Can Be a Performance Enhancing Drug - If Done Right

Going back 20 years, I was drinking espresso with ghee [clarified butter that originated in India], says Hamilton. Ive always had this fascination with combining good coffee with good fat. Hamiltons fascination has to do with harnessing the energy-boosting effects of caffeine, but as a slow drip. After years of experimenting - and with the help of his partner Paul Chek - he came up with the ultimate coffee creamer that he now sells through his superfood company. When caffeine and the right fat bonds, youre time releasing the caffeine, but also feeding the brain, he explains. It's a perfect combination - focused sustained energy with no crash, and you're satiated.

7. Meditation Doesnt Have to Be Mellow When it comes to meditation - something Hamilton has long promoted - he recommends not getting hung up on things like sitting still or serenity. For Hamilton, meditation is anything that focuses the mind. In fact, any time you are in what he calls flow - which can even happen during exercise - you could be in one of the highest forms of a meditative state. Its called active meditation and it could actually happen during a super intense situation, says Hamilton. Its about the ability to shut everything else out and bring us to a state of presence.

8. Take Your Workout Outside, Whenever Possible

In his new book, Hamilton notes that moving through nature triggers deep mechanisms that control stress and regulate heart performance. As one of the most famous watermen on the planet, its no wonder Hamilton believes in the power of nature while pushing ourselves. Hamilton points to things like better oxygenated air near trees and the fact that green has been found to be a soothing color. However, he says its even more primal than that. Its where were from, he says. Just being barefoot on natural ground, grounds us electronically.

9. Food is Fuel

Long before Hamilton created Laird Superfood, he had some pretty strong feelings about how we should be eating to optimize performance. He admits that his rules of thumb are not all his own, but he has curated the wisdom of others over decades to zero in on the eating habits that match his incredible output. Stay away from white sugar, white milk, and white flour, and if you can't pronounce it, don't eat it, he says. And if youre really active, Hamilton suggests you always look at food as fuel, and then to match that fuel to the time and intensity of a workout. However, he does caution against relying on a regular diet alone for all the nutrients you need: We have to seek out ways to find the nutrients we're not getting because food is simply not being grown the way it used to.

10. Working Out is Not Optional

Anything that has to do with your health and wellness should be a lifestyle, he says. Dont do things for a few months - make it the way you live. Hamilton says this goes fr the way we eat as well. With all the fleeting exercise fads that come our way, he says the ultimate test of whether a workout is good or not is whether it can be done at any age. If a kid can't do a version of the workout, and if older people can't do a version of the workout, then I would quit - I would question the validity of it, he says.

At 55 years old, Laird Hamilton has evolved into much more than a big wave surfer and fitness icon-entrepreneur, author, trainer, superfood scientist-and his latest book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Liferider-Heart-Body-Beyond-Ocean-ebook/dp/B07DT1B78S" id="5aeb8931-7ac0-3891-ae3a-e2f9afb05603"> Liferider: Heart, Body, Soul, and Life Beyond the Ocean </a> delivers hard-earned wisdom in all of the above. Some things never change: Hamilton will always be a guy who hates wearing shoes and a...

How Fitness Icon Laird Hamilton Stays in Shape at 55!

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