Skins & Respro mask on the move.

I apologize for the poor quality. It was a 1:15 hill training run. I was tired and winded.

















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Skins Review.

So today I got my new skins.



If you don't know about skins here is the basic idea. They are compression clothing that help increase circulation (both oxygen and blood) to working muscles. This helps you not only push a little harder, or fade a little later. It also helps you recover faster. I am not going to go into all the Independent studies you can find those at skins.net, I am going to tell you how they help me train. What I notice am I faster, do I recover better, etc.

Why is working harder and recovering faster good. Well if you can add a small percentage of performance into your workouts you become stronger, faster, healthier. If you recover faster, you can get and move at higher rate of performance than someone who hasn't fully recovered from the last workout.

As someone who is training for an Ironman, a marathon runner, I push my body to my limits. I workout allot and if I am doing a 15kl run, a day after a 60kl bike and I have not recovered fully. I see the affects. I watch what I eat, I train hard, now I am going to add compression clothing to the mix.

Keep in mind I am not expecting to be a competitive Ironman. That is not the point. If you think compression is only for elite athletes you are wrong. The recreational athlete will probably see a bigger return in the use of skins. Why? A professional athlete puts all there time into training. They have spent years training, they have big bucks behind them, they have physiotherapist, nutritionists, coaches, sports massage, they take away any inhibition of performance. That is to give them every advantage to get them to perform at there peak.

I am a guy with a brain injury, who works part time, is married and doesn't have the same amount of time to put into training and recovery. I just don't have the time. I have a whole life outside of my Ironman training. The use of skins should help me get the most out of the time I do have.

I have received from the great people at skins. Thank you David Decker and Jaimie Fuller and all of the skins team.

I work at a shoe store and one of my co-worker and fellow cyclist had purchased two pairs of the skin socks.


I laughed at him, until I put them on. I actually put them on to make more fun of him. As I got busy I forgot to take them off. I noticed nothing overwhelming except that I was able to add some depth to my stretches (I have an IT Band issue) and I noticed an increase in the feeling in my feet. It was a "hard to explain" experience. I wound up taking both of his socks.

I played the DVD that comes with the skins, and I started to do my research. I was blown away. I saw the studies, the published papers and the reports. I then contacted the company and they supplied me with Sport Long Tights Pants and the Long Sleeve Shirt, a pair of the Half tights for training. I also received a pair of the recovery long pants.

So today I am going to jump on my bike and wear the pants and the shirt, and report later. I want to spend a few days using them to see my performance gains.

I also want to mention that I have had a great experience dealing with skins. They were responsive, eager to help and took the time to find out my specific needs. A special shout out to Jaimie Fuller for all his help. Without him this would not have happened. I will also be putting a skins sticker on my helmet!!

Thank you Skins.

Ironman Training continues

How do you know your workouts are HUGE? When during a "recovery" week. I only had an 1 hour and 20 minute swim. A 2 hour hill bike, and a 1:15 run with hill drills. This is a recovery week!! At least I don't have weights to do!

Trying to fit everything on top of my Brain Injury Program at GF Strong. and working at Foot Solutions not to mention any kind of social life is getting crazy.

I have a dentist appointment on Friday, and what I am doing is getting up early and planning my bike ride there! There is something really wrong with me, and I love every minute of it.

Before my injury I wasted so much time playing video games, watching TV, wasting time. Now I still do the same things but instead of wasting time, I am training for a freakin Ironman!! Totally increadible.

Not bad for a guy who was never supposed to walk or talk again!

Ok I need to go to bed. It's 12:15.

An Update on 7Systems

I have just finished my first month's supply of 7Systems endurance sport supplement.




As a triathlete and training for an Ironman I find I am hyper aware of my diet. It is not that I am some super aware person. I am not a super health freak. It is the fact that the intensity of the training forces you to be aware of your energy input and output.

With the increased effort and stress I put my body into with the bike rides, the running and the swimming, not to mention work, family, social obligations etc. I push my body pretty hard. I belief I have to be extra careful with my diet, not only to make sure I have enough gas to finish, I also need to fill up all the resources I am depleting in my system. I tax my body pretty hard. I need to make sure I keep my fridge full.

As I stated before what I liked about 7Systems was that it had everything I need in one container. Could you find all the ingredients elsewhere? Probably. However you would not find them at one store. You would have to spend allot of time researching the ingredients (trust me I have) You then need to figure out how much you need. As an athlete (that still sounds weird to me) You have extra needs. These needs are not normally added to the ingredients list on the vitamins and supplements you find at the grocery store. They are prepared, and marketed for the averages. I am not average. So how do I know I am taking the right amount?

One of the things I also like is not having to spend the time pulling out all my vitamins and supplements every day. Making sure I take them at the right time, etc. I mean that's no big deal. I do like the convenience of the "one package daily" that 7Systems offers.

I have been using them for 1 month. During this time I did get the flu (not the H1N1 ;')) and I found that I got over it faster than my friends and co-workers. I have noticed a few little things. That while I did get a sore throat the other day. It never got to the point that I needed to take anything for it.

I have made some other changes to my lifestyle recently including following the Thrive Diet so my body is going through some changes.

In a nut shell, I like 7Systems because of the ease of use. The fact that I trust I have all the right ingredients. It is more specific for the needs of someone who is pushing themselves hard physically. I also really like the company. I will update this as I continue my usage.

Running with my Respro Mask.

Running Drills today. Warmed up for 20 minutes, then did this set 15x - 30 sec strong effort/30 sec walk. Rest of run is back to easy.

Super hot today. Knee is feeling way better. Finally over my cold, although my throat is still a little raw.