Introduction

Welcome to the Endurance Nation OutSeason Core and Swim Preparation Routine! You have been directed here via linkS on the Monday and Friday of your OutSeason training plan, days off that we will use productively to achieve the following:

1. Begin to prepare you for the race-specific upper body and core demands of long course swimming, cycling and running.
2. Develop and sustain good habits through the execution of a simple routine combined with accountability systems that we will create together, as a Team.
3. Ensure you look fabulous when you come out of your Pain Cave at the end of the OS. In the end…this is all about looking good 

Intent and Overview

Our intent here is provide you with a dead simple program that you can execute quickly, efficiently, and with a minimum of instruction and investment in fancy gear.

Also, we expect you to be smart and utilize the resources and collective experiences of the Team to help you customize this routine to better fit you. That is, we are a team of over 600 athletes and we’re putting all of you into the Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced OutSeason training plans. But those abilities have very little relation, in our experience, to your experience with and current fitness as defined by core and upper body strength.

And so these routines have been left purposely vague, particularly with regards to repetitions, because (1) you are all different and (2) you are all very smart, self-coached athletes who will pay attention to your bodies and ask questions if you have them…right?

Required / Recommended Equipment

1. Gravity — check!
2. A floor — check!
3. A towel, mat, or other padded thing to lay on the ground — check!
4. A stopwatch, to measure minutes/seconds — check!
5. StretchCordz here. Pay attention to the colors and their associated resistance when ordering. As a frame of reference, coach Rich has a set of green cords, with paddles, he purchased in 1990, straight out of a D3 swimming program. For the purposes of this OS routine you’ll only need the paddles, but as long as you’re buying these, it might be a good idea to pick up the modular set? Up to you.

Core Routine Execution Guidance and Notes

Execution Style:

There are generally two styles of executing this routine:

1. Main Set — you’ll do all of the plank exercises together as a Main Set, then the Cords as a Main Set, followed the pushups.
2. Circuit — you’ll do a plank, recover, transition to the cords, recover, then drop down and do pushups, recover, then back to plank, etc.

Which flavor to do is entirely up to you. Experiment to see which you like best, which suits your personality, workout environment, time constraints, etc.

Recovery between Exercises:

Our guidance — take the recovery you need in order to:

1. Do the next exercise with good form, and…
2. Stay within a consistent range of repetitions for each set (ie, 20 pushups for your 1st set, 20 for the 2nd, 18 for the 3rd), and…
3. Keeps the total session within a reasonable time frame. For example, 15-30′ from start to finish = Good. 30-45′ from start to finish, because you were taking tons of rest = Not So Good.

Our intent is not to thrash you. Be smart, take the rest you need to do each exercise with good form, within a reasonable total session time limit. This is not Crossfit 

Accountability and Tracking

As we said, a major objective of this program is for us all to develop good habits. And good habits are easier to create when we know that someone will be watching if we stumble from time to time, and will be there to pick us up and encourage us. So update your teammates in the Swim Chat with your progress.

Putting It All Together

This is an example of how Coach Rich would do this routine (he prefers the Circuit Style):

1. Place yoga mat on floor in front of TV, with folded towel as forearm pad, and iPhone in stopwatch mode.
2. The Daily Show or Colbert Report ready to go…very important.
3. Start stop watch, do first set of planks, stop watch, note minutes.
4. Transition over to Cordz and begin, probably about 1-2′ rest between ^this^ and the Cords. I go when I’m ready, basically. Note total reps of this first set of Cords
5. Go back over the map, knockout pushups, note total pushups of this first set. Rest ~2′.
6. Back to Planks, repeat.
7. Write all of this down on a post it.
8. On Monday of the following week, go to the Swim Chat and post results.

The Main Session — Five Weeks

Exercise Definitions and Descriptions

Planks

Front Plank:

• Begin in the plank position with your forearms and toes on the floor
• Keep your torso straight and rigid, and your body in a straight line from ears to toes, with no sagging and bending.
• Your head is relaxed and you should be looking at the floor.
• Keep your abdominal muscles engaged, and do let your stomach drop or allow for you hips to rise up.
• Remember to breath. Take slow inhalations and exhale smoothly

Tripod Plank

Begin in Front Plank. Rest the toes of one foot over the heel of the other foot. Hold this position for 15-30 seconds, then switch feet.

Leg Lift Plank:

Begin in Front Plank. Now lift one leg straight behind you to 45 degrees. Hold for 15-30 seconds, then switch legs.

Leg Lift, with Arm Lift Plank

Begin in Front Plank. Now lift left leg and right arm. Hold for 15-30 seconds, then switch.

Side Plank:

• Lie on your left side with your knees straight.
• Prop your upper body up on your left elbow and forearm. Position your elbow under your shoulder.
• Brace your core by contracting your abs forcefully as if you were about to be punched in the gut.
• Raise your hips until your body forms a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders. Your head should stay in line with your body.
• Hold this position for the prescribed amount of time while breathing deeply. That’s one set.
• Turn around so that you’re lying on your right side and repeat.

Single Leg Side Plank

• Lie on your left side with your knees straight.
• Prop your upper body on your left elbow and forearm, and place your right hand on your right hip. Tighten your core, and then raise your hips until your body forms a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders.
• Next raise your top leg as high as you can.

Bridges

• Lie on the floor with your knees bent and arms on the floor.
• Tighten your core, squeeze your lower back, contract your butt, and powerfully thrust upwards. SQUEEZE your lower back and really keep your torso elevated at the top.
• Hold the up position for a few seconds, return to the ground, and repeat.

Lying Superman

++++++++++++++++++++++

Pushups

Standard Pushups:

• Kneel down on all fours and place your hands slightly beyond shoulder-width apart.
• Set your feet together and straighten your arms and legs.
• Your body should form a straight line from ankles to head.
• Lower your chest to an inch above the floor, and press back up. That’s 1 rep.

Standard Pushups, Kneeling — if you have difficulty doing Standard pushups, start with this variation, but do your best to progress to Standard pushups:

• Kneel down on all fours and place your hands slightly beyond shoulder-width apart.
• Set your feet together and straighten your arms, keeping your knees on the ground. Your knees are now supporting some of your body weight.
• Lower your chest to an inch above the floor, and press back up. That’s 1 rep.

Military Pushups:

• Kneel down on all fours and place your hands at shoulder-width apart, with elbows tucked in tight against our body.
• Set your feet together and straighten your arms and legs, keeping your elbows in tight. 
• Your body should form a straight line from ankles to head.
• Lower your chest to an inch above the floor, with elbows close and tight to your body, and press back up. That’s 1 rep.

Military Pushups, Kneeling:

• Kneel down on all fours and place your hands at shoulder-width apart, with elbows tucked in tight against your body.
• Set your feet together and straighten your arms, keeping your knees on the floor (you are kneeling) and your elbows in tight against your body. 
• Lower your chest to an inch above the floor, with elbows close and tight to your body, and while keeping your knees on the floor. Press back up. That’s 1 rep.

Standard Decline Pushups

• Standard Pushup, but with feet on a chair, elevated.
• This transfers more weight to the front, increasing the difficulty