Shin Splints, Blisters, and PT [Merged]

[paracowboy]

Attitude Again:
Some of you youngsters out there need to realize that this ain't no movie. I don't mean to preach again, I just see a lot of young guys going into this with visions of grandeur and thinking it's gonna be like some damn TV show. Sorry, kids. They're not gonna start handing out the black nomex and MP5's when you get here. They're gonna hand you some wore out 70's era kit with a heavy ruck and a worn-out rifle. When that kidney pad on that ruck digs a hole in your back and your feet have been wet so long that they are cracking and bleeding, think back about the big adventure. Think I'm being dramatic? If you stay the course, it WILL happen. Reality is a cold slap in the face. If you want some good photos, take some shots of your feet after a few days of trenchfoot on the move. That'll be something to show the grandkids. This ain't TV, guys. It's not high adventure. Most of the time it just sucks.
The point of this post is so you can get your head right for what is to come. It's not about nomex, velcro and MP5's, guys. It's about jumpin', humpin', freezing', walkin' and hurtin'. The new guys on here always say, "I know that" but I really don't think you do. But you will. I promise you that. The thing is, you can't quit. That's it. It's that simple. Never quit. A man who quits must be shunned. He sets a precedent of weakness that may drag others down with him. Other cherries may quit too. The quitter never thinks about others and the extra weight they will have to carry in his absence. He doesn't think about the extra shifts that his section will have to cover off. He only thinks of himself.
Bein' an Infantryman is persistence. Never quitting. Ignoring pain, hunger, exhaustion, fear, and doubt. No warm and fuzzies, no hero's accolades, no cookies, just pain and sweat and suffering.  You just have to fight the pain. Fight through to the other side of it. Become one with it. Endure. Outlast. Overcome. Ruck up, lean forward, and hump! Time to heal later.
Everyone thinks about pullin' the trigger, and bein' the he-ro. "Lookee here, everybody! I'm bustin' caps!" Well, sorry tough guy, but pulling a trigger is easy. Humping a ruck is when you find out who will be on the ambush to pull that trigger. That's the Infantry. Slogging along under a heavy load with your buddies. Being part of a team. Let's look at that again: Being part of a team. The men you are with at the end of a long hump are good men. The men to your front and rear in a chalk preparing to jump from the sky are good men. The men to your left and right in a trench system in -1, 000, 000 degree weather at EndEx are good men. Tested men. Training is good for more than just teaching you the skills you need. It also weeds out quitters, before they can get you killed.
The other side of the coin are those granola-munchin', tree-huggin' types who think that they're enlisting to hand out soap and blankies to the Third World. Sorry, again. That's not what Canada does. Despite the propaganda you've had shoved down your throat the past decade, that is not 'Peace-keeping', and it most certainly is not what we do overseas. We don't pose for cameras cuddling babies, and we're not constantly surrounded by smiling happy people. When you go on a tour, you will be in a different country where the majority of the populace are indifferent to your presence, a small percentage welcome you because of your money, and a small percentage will actively try to kill you. Thing is, that small percentage will be on BOTH sides of the conflict. You are in the middle of both warring factions. Just to make it more interesting, you are an Occupation Army, so a number of the indifferent population will support those who are trying to kill you. Then, you have the bandits, thugs, slavers, drug runners, local law enforcement, politicians, and other criminals whose businesses you are hampering. Add to that the branches of several different terrorist cells, and you can begin to understand that (oh my!) Canadian soldiers regularly face death from violent forces. And Canadian soldiers regularly deal death. So, if you're not willing to kill for Peace; if you don't honestly believe that Truth, Justice, and the NHL are worth committing cold-blooded murder for, maybe you shouldn't join our little club.
I didn't type all that shit out to demean any of you. I have better things to do with my time. I'm trying to help you. If you don't wanna listen, don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out. You can accept that and learn something or you can move along. I don't care either way.

Oh, yeah: The grey man. The grey man is a very important concept or attribute. You must blend in, not stand out in the crowd. DO NOT DRAW ATTENTION TO YOURSELF. That means keeping your mouth shut and doing what your told. Look like the rest. Doing what your told to the best of your ability. Being PART OF THE TEAM. That is the grey man. That is why so many of you wannabe's, civvies, and cherries get slapped down on these sites. That is why you get chewed out in person. If you want to be a hero, don't enlist. If you want to be part of something greater than yourself, to become PART OF THE TEAM, sign the line. If you need recognition, or attention, the Infantry ain't for you. If you have an ego that needs gratification, and you can't place the interests of others before your own, this ain't the place for you.
If it were easy, anyone could do it. It ain't, and they can't.

 

[The_Falcon]

good posts paracowboy, however one comment.  Yes you need to learn to ignore discomfort and some types of pain (especially on ruckmarches).  From my experiences dull, throbbing pain can be ignored and "usually" indicates nothing more serious than some muscle soreness that a little A5-35 or tiger balm will fix.  Sharp/stabbing usually idicates something more serious like an injury that requires medical attention/diagnosis/treatment.  Continuing on with this type of pain is ill advised, as you will become ineffective and a liability to your teammates.  I would think it would be better to gone for a short while to get treatment rather than continue on only to aggrevate the injury to the point that you will be gone for a much longer stint, and possibly do long term damage.  

My little story, When I first started in the reserves 6 years ago, I had no problem doing ruckmarches, but 1 year after I joined I started noticing that I would start to get this sharp pain in my calves after a couple of clicks.  I figured heck, its a weekend ex, I will just put up with it.  Well as the years progressed the distances that I needed to go before I would start felling pain were getting shorter and shorter.  I always put it off, as I just need to do more training/stretching etc.  Finally it got to the point were just that just going 10 meters at a brisk pace and I was in agony.  It litterally felt like my calves were going to burst like a ballon.  This is the point I sought treatment.  I was told I had Exertional Compartment Syndrome, and I tried non-invasive therapies, and was assured by my doc that if got orthotic insoles it would help to alliviate my problems.  So I got the insoles.  At the same time I found out about taskings for Athena Roto 3.  I got on and went to pretraining. The orthotics did not help.  I could not keep up with the rest of the group during our ruck marches,  The base MO, excempted me from marching, which did not sit well with my platoon or company commanders until they had a chat with the MO and did there own research.  They quickly changed there minds, when they realized that I had a serious problem.  I was sent down to a clinic in Toronto that did specific testing for my condition, just to confirm that yes I did have it (my doctor never sent me for this initially).  I did the test, which showed that yes I had ECS, and yes it was pretty bad.  The Doctor who performed the test wrote in his report that because my case had gotten so bad my only option left was surgery as all other treatments had failed.  So I was medically RTU'd from pretraining, and placed on a restricted medical category.  I have had the surgery, and I think it worked, but I will see what the surgeon thinks, I go for my 3 month post-op visit next week.  Until he says it worked I can't go to the base MOs and change my med cat, which means I am severely limited in my employment options.

The morale of this story,  don't ignore serious pain. It could very well mean you have a problem thats needs sorting out ASAP.  You don't wanna get told you can't go on tour cause you require surgery for a problem that could have been fixed long ago, if you had sought medical advice.

 

[paracowboy]

quite true. You gotta learn to differentiate between 'hurt' and 'injured'. If you're 'hurt', you can suck it up and soldier on. If you're 'injured', you need to suck back and seek medical attention.
As you put it quite well, "dull, throbbing pain" is usually indicative of being 'hurt'. "Sharp/stabbing" pain is generally indicative of a potential injury.
The trick is for cherries to figure out when they're 'hurt' and when they're 'injured'. Just as nobody wants anything to do with a quitter, you also gotta find that line between 'Hard' and 'Stupid'. You don't want to find it by looking back. Having jumped with cracked ribs, and marched on a broken ankle, I can tell you that from experience. It just takes much longer to heal. It doesn't make you Hard, it makes you Stupid. (Although in my defence, I was told both times that the injury in question was something far less than it actually turned out to be.)

 

[Gunnar]

And if you want to know more about ECS, you can look here:

http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1996/04_96/edwards.htm

 

[Island Ryhno]

Hey Paracowboy, this is fantastic stuff you have going here, keep up the good work. A word about something you mentioned way back in your earlier posts about muscle weighing more than fat. That's not actually the case, of course a pound of muscle and pound of fat are...well both a pound. What that(statement) means is that muscle is more dense than fat.  A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat, but muscle mass is more compact and only takes up 1/3 the space! And of course muscles burn up calories and fat doesn't. Thanks for all the good info.

 

[The_Falcon]

And if you want to know more about ECS, you can look here:

http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1996/04_96/edwards.htm

Thanks for posting that, I lost my links to all the ECS info I have gather.  Even with all the medical terminology it is fairly straight forward.  The Base MO in Meaford (where I did my pretraining), knew quite abit about ECS.  He told me that they had sent 5 soldiers from the battle school there, down to Toronto for the pressure tests, as the had ECS as well. Not to hijack this thread or anything, but anyone reading this tread who exerpiences sharp pains in their calves (not the shins), when they run or march, you should be speaking to doctor.  The Doctor at the clinic told me that they have seen a number of army guys for ECS testing, and it was thier opinion that the Mark IIIs are contibuting factor.  So get checked out. 

Paracowboy, couldn't have put it better.  Hurt and injured are not always the same (Reminds of the line in GI Jane).  And I think there are quite a number of people who need to learn the difference between hard and stupid as you said.  Keep up the good work.

 

[paracowboy]

A word about something you mentioned way back in your earlier posts about muscle weighing more than fat. That's not actually the case...

I know, but it sounds better, if you know what I mean. It seems to make sense to people more than going into detail about mass and density and weight. A pound of feathers and a pound of bricks both weight the same, of course. But, I'm trying to get a message across in the simplest terms so that it reaches the broadest spectrum.

And, on that note, I think I've pretty much answered all the basic variations of the pms and e-mails I used to receive. I've covered PT, ruck marching, foot care, and attitude. I think this thread is done, unless other BTDTs have something to add.

 

[paracowboy]

maybe one last point, to hammer it home. Let this sink in.

to all you recruits: Listen up. Quitters are a disease. They are weak, and weakness is contagious. You let a quitter's mentality into your head, and it will destroy you. Then, it will destroy your section. The DS will smell the weakness, and they will go into a feeding frenzy. They will turn up the Suck so high, the knobs will twist right off, baby. One person will quit, then another, and another, until only a few days into the course, over 10% of the class will quit. A week or so later, with the stench of weakness still there, nearly HALF of the class will quit. It all starts with one quitter. He quits, and then all the other weak ones see how easy it is to give up on oneself. Quitters must be shunned, once they refuse to accept encouragement.

Quitters will always have an excuse: "oh, my back/knees/>insert bodypart with an untraceable problem here< gave out."  Or "the staff hated me". Blah, blah, blah. It's all part of the same physical ailment: a lack of spine. Quitters are invariably too weak-willed to face the truth, and so will go to extraordinary lengths to lie to themselves. Lying to others is as natural to them as breathing. Dishonesty and weakness are part and parcel of the same character flaws, and neither can be tolerated in the Army.

Never, EVER, quit - no matter what. I don't give a rabid rat's @ss in a rolling doughnut what you do in life. Not everyone is cut out to be a soldier. In fact, very few have the parts. But whatever you do decide to do with your life, don't quit. Stick it out, and see it through - because there is nothing on Earth worse than a quitter.

And there is nothing on Earth better than over-coming what you thought was impossible.

 

[GNR]

I have to agree with PARACOWBOY, never quit.
If you are incapable the staff will toss your butt to the sidewalk, they don't need your assistance.

Don't mistake your fear for failure.  The course staff doesn't want you to fail, they want you to overcome and achieve what you thought wasn't possible.

 

[NavComm]

maybe one last point, to hammer it home. Let this sink in.

to all you recruits: Listen up. Quitters are a disease. They are weak, and weakness is contagious. You let a quitter's mentality into your head, and it will destroy you. Then, it will destroy your section. The DS will smell the weakness, and they will go into a feeding frenzy. They will turn up the Suck so high, the knobs will twist right off, baby. One person will quit, then another, and another, until only a few days into the course, over 10% of the class will quit. A week or so later, with the stench of weakness still there, nearly HALF of the class will quit. It all starts with one quitter. He quits, and then all the other weak ones see how easy it is to give up on oneself. Quitters must be shunned, once they refuse to accept encouragement.

Quitters will always have an excuse: "oh, my back/knees/>insert bodypart with an untraceable problem here< gave out."   Or "the staff hated me". Blah, blah, blah. It's all part of the same physical ailment: a lack of spine. Quitters are invariably too weak-willed to face the truth, and so will go to extraordinary lengths to lie to themselves. Lying to others is as natural to them as breathing. Dishonesty and weakness are part and parcel of the same character flaws, and neither can be tolerated in the Army.

Never, EVER, quit - no matter what. I don't give a rabid rat's @ss in a rolling doughnut what you do in life. Not everyone is cut out to be a soldier. In fact, very few have the parts. But whatever you do decide to do with your life, don't quit. Stick it out, and see it through - because there is nothing on Earth worse than a quitter.

And there is nothing on Earth better than over-coming what you thought was impossible.

Paracowboy, you are so right!

I suffered from shin splints after my first week at bmq. I went to MIR and they gave me some motrin and showed me a few stretches. When I returned with my chit to my instructors, one of them gave me a few more stretches to do. He was awesome! He suggested I do those stretches at every opportunity - which I did. I didn't miss any pt (other than my trip to MIR) or other classes over it and my shin splints went away.

Quitting wasn't an option for me. On the other hand there were a few whiners who every time they had a little bump they'd be filling out a VR. They did bring down the morale and I was glad that once they made that decision they were gone very quickly.

I was sent home after week 6 (very dissappointed) because I failed a PO. I am being recoursed for January. Nine people were sent home the day I was and one of them kept on saying *that's it, I'm never coming back". It made me so mad! I told her with that attitude she should just stay home. I never doubted I would be back and next time I'll be ready. My unit is keeping me busy and getting me ready for my return to bmq in January. I'm even more pumped up now than I was before!

Failure is a lesson. I believe we learn more from our failures than if we just breeze through life. Everything is possible, even joining the navy at age 45

 

[paracowboy]

ya see, kids? It's about FORM as much as it is about NUMBER. 1,000 bad push-ups doesn't equal 1 good one. It carries over into everything we do. 1,000 un-aimed rounds will not equal 1 well-aimed shot.

Now, on to today's lecture. I actually watched a few youngsters run past my PMQ today, while sipping a cup of tea (I was havin' the tea, not them. Just thought I'd clarify that.) And I looked, really LOOKED, at the difference between these li'l puppies draggin' arse, and the Sgt. leadin' them with a big grin on his face. It's all in the form, and the efficiency of effort. As well, it's the fact that the body is used to it, and the mind is conditioned to shut off. But I can't help you with that. It comes with time, or it doesn't come at all. So here's what I CAN help you with: Running Form.

As I've said before, you gotta relax everything above the waist. Tension in the upper body robs the lower body of energy. Unclench the hands, let the fingers hang loose, let the wrist hang loose, let the elbows relax. Loosen the shoulders and neck, even let the jaw hang a bit.
How loudly are your feet hitting the road? You should barely hear them. Pretend you have to run quietly. This will make you land on the middle of your foot, not the heels or toes, and give you a shorter stride, which will give you greater stability and a quicker stride. If you land on your heel (like I do, too often), you are extending your foot too far out to the front. Your heel is acting like a brake, after all, that's how you stop isn't it? By pushing your leg out that far, you are using too much energy, and losing stability by not having your foot under the centre of gravity. You are using too much energy because your body isn't stable, and it recruits other muscles to stabilize you. Focus on running 'softly' (like ninja!), and thrust backwards. It's weird at first, kinda like shuffling, but it works.
When I say "Thrust backwards," I mean to pull your foot backwards, the instant it makes contact with the ground. You should feel like you're barely skimming the earth. Rather than having the foot land, stop for an instant, then push off, as most non-runners do, your foot should barely touch the ground before it's in the air again. (Think "light," think "soft," young grasshopper!) This way, you're propelling yourself forward, not pausing then exerting backwards thrust. The less time your foot is in contact with the ground, the less energy is being wasted.
Too many recruits and FNGs look like dogs romancing footballs when they run, all bent over at the middle. This is a result of weak abdominal girdles. You have to strengthen the abdominals, obliques, lower back, and core. Otherwise, you sorta 'fold' when you run, wasting energy. Pretend that there are wires holding your shoulders and head upright. This straightens your spine out, without causing undue tension, giving you less wasted energy and more breath. Push your hips forward a bit. Think 'tall'.
Having said that, you also want to lean forward slightly, as I wrote earlier. You get the illusion of having momentum on your side. This also helps to shorten your stride, by having your feet impact closer to your body and under your centre of gravity. Now, the difference is , you're not leaning your upper body forward, you're leaning the entire body forward.
When you breathe, let your body find it's rhythm, and breathe from the diaphragm, not the chest. Push air out with the diaphragm, don't try to suck air in with the lungs. The body will draw all the air in it needs on its' own, if necessary, it will knock you out to do so. By forcing the lungs to expel air due to constriction from the diaphragm, you force the body to draw in more air than it would by trying to suck air in. (I don't know if the explanation makes any sense to you, but...just do what I tell you damnit!)
Don't bounce. If you're bouncing, your stride is too long, and you're wasting energy. You want to move forward, not upwards. Imagine that you have something over your head, and if you bounce, you'll bonk your melon. This will help keep your stride smooth, and prevent bouncing.
If you find that you have some, or all, of these bad habits, don't try to correct them all at the same time. Your brain will over-load, and you'll start tripping over grid-lines. Work on one at a time. Run on a treadmill, in front of a mirror. It'll allow you to observe your own form. It'll also help you to see if your body is moving asymmetrically. If one arm moves faster, is bent more, or swings more, you have an imbalance in the Force. The weaker side will lead you to injuries. Work on improving that side with strength movements.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Hey Paracowboy (& co. with all your responses),

A good discussion and a lot of practical info and advice on running here. I run several times a week and love it. However, I have one problem with running...I could run a marathon on grass or trails, but I get shin splints within minutes of running on pavement. My question about BT is: what kind of surface do you have to run on?

Thanks,

Mighty Mouse

 

[NavComm]

Hey Paracowboy (& co. with all your responses),

A good discussion and a lot of practical info and advice on running here. I run several times a week and love it. However, I have one problem with running...I could run a marathon on grass or trails, but I get shin splints within minutes of running on pavement. My question about BT is: what kind of surface do you have to run on?

Thanks,

Mighty Mouse

In Borden we ran mostly on pavement (which was what started my shin splints). Sometimes we ran on trails and up sand hills. The problem for me was not enough warm ups, so I just started stretching every opportunity I got in case pt was the next class. The shin splints improved and I was able to run a lot farther.

Paracowboy I'm happy I could prove your point about form.....I think  :-\  Although at this moment, I wish it had been some other recruit I was talking about  :crybaby:

 

[paracowboy]

I have one problem with running...I could run a marathon on grass or trails, but I get shin splints within minutes of running on pavement. My question about BT is: what kind of surface do you have to run on?

I'd like to tell you that it's mostly trails and grass. But that would be lying, and I try very hard to never tell those. At least, it was mostly pavement when I went through (pavement being a new invention). Any FNGs fresh from Basic able to provide some more up-to-date info? Or maybe Jungle is willing to chime in?

Some stuff for shin splints I did that helped: 1) place a towel on the floor in front of you. Place a heavy book on the opposite end. Now, pull the book towards you by 'scrunching' the towel under your toes. Curl your toes like they were fingers scooping a handful of peanuts of the bar. Repeat until the book is touching your toes.

2) Place a weight or heavy book on your toes. Lift your toes towards the ceiling. Lower and repeat.

These will help strengthen the thin sheath of muscle running along the front of your shin.

 

[paracowboy]

i remember in grade school my PE teacher told use that sprinters would more their feet like you described, soft and light, as well as lifting their knees up higher to the point of looking dumb

yes. Sprinters focus on bringing their knees "up" rather than "forward". Which is one of the reasons I recommend hill and stair training. Sprinters also focus on bringing their heels "up" on the press off on each stride. They train often by kicking themselves in the arse with their heels as they step. Watch some sprinters warm up before a race. They bring their knees up to their shoulders, and their heels up to their butt cheeks. That's the form they need for explosive speed, and it's the form every runner should emulate (to a lesser extent - it would be exhausting to do that for more than a couple kilometers. The sprinters themselves are exaggerating the form they will use in their race.)

 

[scm77]

I can definately speak about how running lightly helps.

I use to run heavy, my feet would pound the ground.  One of the coaches on my football teach noticed this and worked with me before and after practice for a couple weeks helping me improve my form and run lightly. Doing stuff like kicking myself in the arse with my heels and lifting my knees real high while slowly jogging, like paracowboy just mentioned.

After 2 weeks of work, (3 days a week for 15 minutes before and after regular practice), I took 8 10th's of a second of my 40 yard sprint time - from 5.2 seconds to 4.4 seconds.  That may not sound like all that much but it's a huge improvement.  I went from one of the slowest people on the offense (excluding the fat lineman) to the second fastest.

I also noticed after I learned to run lightly that my legs didn't ache nearly as much after practices and games.

 

[paracowboy]

Below is a post from a while back. I'm putting it in here, because it has some extra detail on running that I've neglected to put in this thread, and it emphasizes the importance of rest and recuperation.

there is no "best exercise" as it all depends on your fitness goals. However, wannabe's, for your purposes, I'd recommend the basics - running, push-ups, sit-ups, and chin-ups. I say this for a couple reasons:
1) they work the entire body, and will help you burn fat and gain muscle in short order;
2) these are the movements you'll be required to perform when (if) you actually get in. The sooner you teach your body to adapt to these demands, the easier you're gonna find PT when (if) you actually get to an Infantry Battalion.

Start with performing sets of 25 push-ups, 25 sit-ups, and chin-ups to failure. Do many sets. Rest about 60 seconds between sets. Do them often. Don't go to failure every day. Do a few on your off-day just to move the lactic acid through the muscles. Do a coupl'a sets every day, but not to failure all the time. This is over-training. Take a day off once in a while. Mix it up, too. One day, spend an hour just puttin' 'er to yourself: do dozens of sets, resting only 30 seconds between. The next day, do a set of push-ups, chin-ups, and sit-ups every hour. The next day, do nuthin'.

Running, hmmm, your goal is going to be completing 10 kms in 40 minutes. You need to build up an aerobic base, so you want to divide your runs into 3 categories: long runs, sprints, & hill runs. Do one of each on a day, dividing your program into a 4-day cycle.
Day 1: long run. Don't worry about distance, go for time. Run for an hour to 2 hours. This is just to adapt your body to actually running. Relax your upper body completely, let your feet skim the ground. Shuffle. Just don't stop.
Day 2: Wind sprints/Fartleks. Find a known distance. Football fields are excellent. Sprint for 50 metres, jog for 100. Repeat. Go for approx 40 minutes to an hour. Work your way up to 100 metre sprints, 50 metre jogs. When sprinting, concentrate on lifting your knees, & the faster your arms move, the faster your legs will move.
Day 3: hills. Find a hill (or better, several). Run up it (them). Do it for about an hour.
Day 4; off. Do nothing. Nada. Nema.
Periodically, go for a 10 km run. Your times should decrease exponentially.

Diet: don't get caught up in the fads. Eat healthy. Stay away from junk food. That's it. Your body needs all the fuel it can get. FUEL, not crap. Proteins, fats, and carbs, Your body needs them all. Drink water. NOT pop. Water. Don't try to guzzle a gallon down at one time. Your body can only absorb 400 ml (.5 a litre, .5 a quart) at a time. Keep a water container nearby, and drink some every 15 - 30 minutes. Stay hydrated. You should be pissin' clear, or a light straw colour.

Rest: sleep. Sleep 8 hours a night. Your body needs to recuperate. That's when you get stronger. During your sleep. The time you are resting is the time your body is using to rebuild itself stronger in order to deal with the added demands you're puttin' on it. You don't rest, your body stops feeding on the fat and starts feeding on the muscle. The entire
body goes into a catabolic state. It stops feeding on fat, because it believes it need that stored energy for bare survival. You actually make yourself weaker by over-training. So, take a day off once in a while. But don't make it the same day, all the time. Unpredictability, as much as extra exertion, causes adaptation.

Remember - the last reps, and the last steps are the ones that make you stronger. The hard ones. The ones that make you think you're going to die.

When you think you can't do anymore, do more.

 

[paracowboy]

Intensity
Okay, I've neglected an important point, troops. Intensity. Say it with me: In-ten-si-ty. And not the kind flashing out of my smouldering hazel eyes.
It is the intensity of your workout that will cause you to get stronger, or to improve your endurance. The intensity of your workout depends on several factors, including the number of sets and repetitions, the overall weight lifted, and the rest between sets. Or, for cardio, the number of miles covered, the amount of time it took to cover those miles, and the speed with which you covered those miles.

A muscle will only strengthen when it is worked beyond its normal operation. When it is overloaded. And since they adapt to stress placed on them, overloading must be progressive if you want to see improvement. That means, the more you can lift, the more you must lift. The more klicks you can cover, the faster you have to cover them, etc. (Using the guidelines in the paragraph above.)

Intensity components (weight/distance, duration, frequency) are somewhat inversely proportionate to one another. F'r example, if one component is decreased, increasing one or both of the other components may make up for this loss. For example, by training each muscle group every 4 days instead of every 3 days (decrease frequency), the number of exercises or sets may be increased (increase duration), or the amount of weight may be increased. Or all three, or any variation thereof. The same for running (which we all recall, I hate). Instead of running every second day, you decide to run every 3rd day. But, you decide to run further than usual, and faster, thereby increasing distance and duration, but decreasing frequency.

So, the key to fitness gains is INTENSITY. It doesn't matter if you lift 845 lbs for 10 reps for 3 sets if that doesn't push your body to overload. It doesn't matter if you run 35 kilometres in 30 minutes if that isn't difficult for you. (Absurd examples, I know, but you get my point.) The key to strength/endurance gains is in the last few reps or meters. The ones that you don't think you can do. Those are the ones that cause your body to adapt to the new demands. So, working out for an hour isn't doing you any good if it isn't causing your body to grow stronger. Running all day when you aren't getting your heart rate up is not going to improve your aerobic fitness.

A progressive intensity program seems to be the key factor in strength and/or endurance development. Weight training intensity also seems to be the key component for fat loss. Not only can anaerobic activity utilizes calories for several hours after training, but muscle mass increases calories expended at any activity level, even during rest. In other words, the more muscle you got, the more fat you burn, even doin' nuthin'.

What I'm getting at, here, kids, is the need for you to recognize when you're not pushing yourself and kick yourself in the arse. If you aren't breathing hard enough, add weight, shorten rest time, run faster. Not every workout should end with you puking.

But a few should.

In time, (and the more intensity you put into your PT, the shorter the time), you will find your workouts easy, and you will meet your goals faster.

 

[Jungle]

Just to add to the running techniques: When beginning on a cardio program, one should concentrate on "slow long distance" for example: 5 km in 30 min, or 10 km in 60 min. Doing this for a while will help the body prepare for more demanding exercises: INTERVALS !!!
There are two kinds of intervals you can (or have to) do: (not sure about the translation here) muscle endurance and aerobic power. Muscle endurance consists of sprinting a known distance, for ex. 100m, then recovering (jogging) 300 to 500m. By the time you sprint again, you should have fully recovered from the previous one. So basically, it's about one (sprint unit) to four (recovery units).
Aerobic power is two (sprint units) to one (recovery unit) so your cardio system is continually working up, without recovering. In both cases, repeat 4 to 6 times.
You need to do both occasionnally... on top of regular "fat burner" (slow long distance) runs.
And don't neglect upper body !!!  8)

 

[The_Falcon]

Just to add to the running techniques: When beginning on a cardio program, one should concentrate on "slow long distance" for example: 5 km in 30 min, or 10 km in 60 min. Doing this for a while will help the body prepare for more demanding exercises: INTERVALS !!!
There are two kinds of intervals you can (or have to) do: (not sure about the translation here) muscle endurance and aerobic power. Muscle endurance consists of sprinting a known distance, for ex. 100m, then recovering (jogging) 300 to 500m. By the time you sprint again, you should have fully recovered from the previous one. So basically, it's about one (sprint unit) to four (recovery units).
Aerobic power is two (sprint units) to one (recovery unit) so your cardio system is continually working up, without recovering. In both cases, repeat 4 to 6 times.
You need to do both occasionnally... on top of regular "fat burner" (slow long distance) runs.
And don't neglect upper body !!!   8)

Actually what your suggesting are both HIIT, with one allowing for more rest than the other.  Both would improve your muscular power/endurance and increase your ANAEROBIC capacity as well.