Have you ever wondered if there was some place where you could eat, sleep, train, and think like a Spartan warrior hero? Well look no further. Go to the Steve Maxwell Greek Odyssey training camp.
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| Which took place.. Here. |
Set in the remote Greek island of Ikaria, one of the world's few blue zones, our senses were bombarded with a cacophony of new impulses. A merry gang we were, ranging from trainers, therapists, exercise enthusiasts, and general Maxwell aficionados. Our days consisted of training, eating, philosophizing, and of course chillaxing in the sun.
Needless to say, much merriment was had, and we all learned a lot. Steve has a way of saying things as they are, unadulterated and with sometimes brutal honesty, but often things you need to hear.
It was personally, for me, a fantastic health re-set. Rehabbing out of a knee injury, increasing hours at work, and general fatigue and poor lifestyle choices had left me a little.. ahem, soft around the edges. Being around Steve and my training brothers and sisters fixed that pretty quick and within the week I had abs again!
In addition, I was lucky enough to be accepted into Steve's online coaching program and he's been kicking my butt through the interwebz ever since.
I would be remiss to not share some of my insights from the week, and with this blog I hereby shareth my humble musings unto thee; 10 lessons learnt from my Greek adventure.
1. Don't train for performance, train for health
The pervading paradigm in the fitness industry during the 80s and 90s was the pursuit of physical aesthetic beauty at the expense of internal balance, structural integrity, or joint health. The current trend toward "Functional fitness" and the pursuit of performance goals are just another form of self gratification and vanity, and has average Joe's training like athletes. This invariably leads to joint degeneration, inflammation, tendinopathies, and the list goes on. I should know, I see these things first hand on a daily basis in my physiotherapy practice.
Lesson number 1: You must train for longevity and health, with performance a close second, and a beautiful, healthy, functional body with be yours.
2. Joint mobility is king
One of the keys to training for health and sustainable performance is the improvement of joint mobility. Few training systems incorporate this neglected aspect of health. The focus has instead been the amount you can bench press and not how long you can sit in a deep, asstothegrass squat. We performed daily joint mobility drills in Ikaria and I still do now on a daily basis, sometimes for 10 minutes, sometimes up to an hour, combining soft tissue techniques and stretches, and I haven't moved this well since I was a kid.
Lesson number 2: You must practice joint mobility daily for a minimum of 10 minutes.
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| Compensatory yoga. Because you're worth it. |
3. The beauty (and practicality) of training outdoors
What happened to us as a species? We went from running barefoot in the forests while wrestling bears and having naked fistfights with lions, to sitting behind a desk, wearing a suit, playing angry birds on a smartphone, and pressing buttons on a keyboard trying to connect with other people in an increasingly disconnected world. We only leave the rat race to spend time on the hamster wheel to nowhere in order to burn off all the processed, fatty, junk we eat and mildly compensate for our sedentary lifestyles.. Ok, rant over. For a more elaborate exposition on my views on this subject, check out this article.
Anyway, the point is, get your butt outside! All of the training in Ikaria happened outdoors, and it wasn't only fun and spiritually uplifting, it was damn tough! You don't need a rowing machine and Olympic lifting platform to get a great workout. In fact, you don't need anything at all.
If you live in a city or a cold place (like I do) just try and get out whenever you can and go for a run, cross country ski, yoga session, etc.
Lesson number 3: You must, whenever possible, train your body and mind with nothing but the sky above your head.
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| Lifting stones like a BOSS! |
4. The power of camaraderie and the pack mentality
Coach Maxwell reinforced one rule during our treks, hikes, and training sessions: "No one left behind". The individual trainee with a customized program will always make the best progression but in many respects, the group training model has great benefits. Newbies in the fitness game get a chance to be pushed and challenged while advanced trainees can still get a great workout, and gain the benefits from the pack mentality.
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| The Maxwell Pack |
Humans are social animals, and the gains from training as a group go far beyond the simple physical adaptations we all so desire. We learn to work as a pack, a group of individuals training together to improve themselves and help each other improve as well. It provides healthy alternatives to socializing in a group, and a chance to connect with others who share the same interests.
Lesson number 4: You must occasionally train in a group or with a partner, and help each other get the most out of your training.
5. The importance of lifestyle choices
Ikaria is a blue zone. Blue zones are areas of the world with the highest number of centenarians on the planet, and Ikaria boast some of the most long-lived people on earth. But you know what? there are no gyms in Ikaria, no beefcake dudes pumping iron by the beach, no protein shakes, and no elliptical machines.
People just relax, do things in moderation, laugh, and drink some wine. In our never-ending quest to improve our minds and bodies through working out, we often forget that what's even more important are lifestyle choices. You're not going to lose weight stuffing your face no matter how much cardio you do. Lifting weights are not going to cancel out your smoking habit, and sleeping less than six hours per night will mess you up no matter how much ecological, organically fermented spirulina seed juice you drink.
Lesson number 5: You must prioritize lifestyle choices before anything (even training!) and try to focus on making better decisions.
Ikaria is a blue zone. Blue zones are areas of the world with the highest number of centenarians on the planet, and Ikaria boast some of the most long-lived people on earth. But you know what? there are no gyms in Ikaria, no beefcake dudes pumping iron by the beach, no protein shakes, and no elliptical machines.
People just relax, do things in moderation, laugh, and drink some wine. In our never-ending quest to improve our minds and bodies through working out, we often forget that what's even more important are lifestyle choices. You're not going to lose weight stuffing your face no matter how much cardio you do. Lifting weights are not going to cancel out your smoking habit, and sleeping less than six hours per night will mess you up no matter how much ecological, organically fermented spirulina seed juice you drink.
Lesson number 5: You must prioritize lifestyle choices before anything (even training!) and try to focus on making better decisions.
6. Timed static contractions are awesome
During our week on Ikaria, we experimented with a training method referred to as "Timed-Static Contractions". Originally designed to train people with injuries, they also provide an awesome training stimulus for trainees at any level.
Those interested in trying it out can check out this link, but the basic tenet is as follows. Basically, you hold a static contraction during a movement, say, halfway through a deadlift. During the exercise, you slowly increase the intensity of your contraction, slowly at first, but then more and more. You need to eventually take the contraction to the limit and only stop short of turning your brains into puree through your ears.
Warning, not for the faint of heart.
Lesson number 6: You must try Timed Static Contractions at least once in your life. Just make sure you know what you're doing and don't get herniated in the process.
During our week on Ikaria, we experimented with a training method referred to as "Timed-Static Contractions". Originally designed to train people with injuries, they also provide an awesome training stimulus for trainees at any level.
Those interested in trying it out can check out this link, but the basic tenet is as follows. Basically, you hold a static contraction during a movement, say, halfway through a deadlift. During the exercise, you slowly increase the intensity of your contraction, slowly at first, but then more and more. You need to eventually take the contraction to the limit and only stop short of turning your brains into puree through your ears.
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| Getting my biceps assaulted by timed static contractions. |
Warning, not for the faint of heart.
Lesson number 6: You must try Timed Static Contractions at least once in your life. Just make sure you know what you're doing and don't get herniated in the process.
7. The law of diminishing returns, as pertains to fitness
The Law of Diminishing Returns states that "in all productive processes, adding more of one factor of production, while holding all others constant, will at some point yield lower per-unit returns". Put in workout lingo, this equates to plateauing during your training.
When you train in a progressive manner, the gains come fast and steady for a beginner. This is referred to as linear progression. At some point however, the gains from linear progression are exhausted and you have to do some pretty weird shit to get better.
Almost all sports are specializations, and in order to be the best at something, you have to pay a price. Tennis can be a healthy activity but professional players often get something called lateral epicondylitits, aptly named, "Tennis Elbow". Strength training is essential and healthy up to a point, but professional strongmen and powerlifters are riddled with inures Sure, they're strong, but are they healthy? That's debatable.The fact is, how strong do you need to be? Coach Maxwell says that if a man can deadlift double bodyweight (which is pretty damn strong), he's as strong as he ever needs to be. I'm inclined to agree. The emphasis should be on balance. I would rather be able to deadlift 200 kilos rather than 250, and still be able to run, jump, climb, and roll around on the floor like a drunken monkey.
Lesson number 7: You must train for a balanced physique, and not spend time specializing unless your livelihood requires it or you gain some existential pleasure from it.
8. Intermittent fasting
I won't go into a lot of detail on this topic as the interwebz is rife with info about this. Check out leangains for more info, but during our stay on Ikaria, I rarely touched food before 12pm, and that was often after training for hours. Did I go into "starvation mode"? No. Did I get mad blood sugar rushes? Nope. Did I cry like a little baby? A little.
The net result was me losing weight, feeling great, and improving my athleticism dramatically. The traditional paradigm of eating six to seven small meals a day makes no sense from an evolutionary perspective. Why would we get fatter and weaker when we don't eat when our ancestors would often face long periods of fasting and lack of nutrients only to eat lots of protein in one sitting. Doctors will still tell you that you can only take in 30 grams of protein in a meal. I can be sure of one thing, our ancestors who thrived on several small meals a day and couldn't digest more than 30 grams of protein per sitting did not survive long in the unforgiving prehistoric landscape.
Lesson number 8: You must (unless suffering from an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia) generally eat less, and occasionally practice fasting.
I won't go into a lot of detail on this topic as the interwebz is rife with info about this. Check out leangains for more info, but during our stay on Ikaria, I rarely touched food before 12pm, and that was often after training for hours. Did I go into "starvation mode"? No. Did I get mad blood sugar rushes? Nope. Did I cry like a little baby? A little.
The net result was me losing weight, feeling great, and improving my athleticism dramatically. The traditional paradigm of eating six to seven small meals a day makes no sense from an evolutionary perspective. Why would we get fatter and weaker when we don't eat when our ancestors would often face long periods of fasting and lack of nutrients only to eat lots of protein in one sitting. Doctors will still tell you that you can only take in 30 grams of protein in a meal. I can be sure of one thing, our ancestors who thrived on several small meals a day and couldn't digest more than 30 grams of protein per sitting did not survive long in the unforgiving prehistoric landscape.
Lesson number 8: You must (unless suffering from an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia) generally eat less, and occasionally practice fasting.
9. The value of MetCon and strength endurance
When I first started to train properly, I was thoroughly indoctrinated by the strength training mafia and considered all other forms of training pointless. This suited me well, as I tend to be geared toward fast twitch muscle fibres and have always been pretty strong. That's fine but.. My conditioning sucked!
I was given a pretty rude wakeup call on Ikaria when we had to run, hike, and perform circuits emphasizing muscular endurance. I started strong, but gassed out quickly! Referring to our law of diminishing returns, I realized that I was trapped in my own dogma and had previously disregarded anything but strength training.
However, metabolic conditioning, running, and other forms of cardiovascular exercise are essential in any program! For me, a typical endomorph who can put on weight just by thinking about cinnamon buns, its essential to curb my fat gains. Also, it can be (if done correctly) quite energizing and improve performance in strength exercises.
Lesson number 9: You must add some form of metabolic conditioning to your routine to develop a balanced physique and all-round fitness.
When I first started to train properly, I was thoroughly indoctrinated by the strength training mafia and considered all other forms of training pointless. This suited me well, as I tend to be geared toward fast twitch muscle fibres and have always been pretty strong. That's fine but.. My conditioning sucked!
I was given a pretty rude wakeup call on Ikaria when we had to run, hike, and perform circuits emphasizing muscular endurance. I started strong, but gassed out quickly! Referring to our law of diminishing returns, I realized that I was trapped in my own dogma and had previously disregarded anything but strength training.
However, metabolic conditioning, running, and other forms of cardiovascular exercise are essential in any program! For me, a typical endomorph who can put on weight just by thinking about cinnamon buns, its essential to curb my fat gains. Also, it can be (if done correctly) quite energizing and improve performance in strength exercises.
Lesson number 9: You must add some form of metabolic conditioning to your routine to develop a balanced physique and all-round fitness.
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| Ancient Greek MetCon ciruit |
10. The spiritual joy of movement
No, I don't mean expressive dance and laughter yoga (although I'm not adverse to trying!). What I mean is that during our week, I had a chance to express myself through movement. We ran, walked, lifted, swam, climbed, and crawled, doing so in a beautiful, largely uncorrupted environment. Besides the obvious physical and mental benefits from this, I was filled with a sort of quasi-spiritual bliss. A detachment from my daily work, reps and sets, appointments, and analytic thinking. The focus was on being present and aware, on creating an abstract stream of thought that blended the physical and mental.
And I was reminded of something; that movement is life, and is one of the greatest forms of expression. Humans tend to separate movement from our mental processes by going to work in a digital world, while relegating movement to its 45 minute timeslot in the gym three times a week. We are constantly moving. Be aware of that.
Lesson number 10: You must move as much as possible, and be aware of your body as you do.
Conclusion
I guess I had some normal expectations from this trip; training, learning, socializing and relaxing. Also, being on Ikaria, I thought I would somehow find the fountain of youth and learn some trick or secret to longevity. There are, unfortunately, no shortcuts. The fountain of youth is not a destination or object, it is a process. You must do the correct things for your physical body to be healthy, but it all really comes from the mind and spirit. What are we training for? What kind of life do you want to lead? And why should we do what we do? These questions arose in me, and in essence got me one step closer to the fountain of youth. During my contemplation, surrounded by my training family, I gained something truly valuable; a deep sense of peace.
And that for me, beyond all others things, is the key to everlasting youth.
Thanks everyone for an awesome time! See you next year for more fitness shenanigans!
No, I don't mean expressive dance and laughter yoga (although I'm not adverse to trying!). What I mean is that during our week, I had a chance to express myself through movement. We ran, walked, lifted, swam, climbed, and crawled, doing so in a beautiful, largely uncorrupted environment. Besides the obvious physical and mental benefits from this, I was filled with a sort of quasi-spiritual bliss. A detachment from my daily work, reps and sets, appointments, and analytic thinking. The focus was on being present and aware, on creating an abstract stream of thought that blended the physical and mental.
And I was reminded of something; that movement is life, and is one of the greatest forms of expression. Humans tend to separate movement from our mental processes by going to work in a digital world, while relegating movement to its 45 minute timeslot in the gym three times a week. We are constantly moving. Be aware of that.
Lesson number 10: You must move as much as possible, and be aware of your body as you do.
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| Feel the flow |
Conclusion
I guess I had some normal expectations from this trip; training, learning, socializing and relaxing. Also, being on Ikaria, I thought I would somehow find the fountain of youth and learn some trick or secret to longevity. There are, unfortunately, no shortcuts. The fountain of youth is not a destination or object, it is a process. You must do the correct things for your physical body to be healthy, but it all really comes from the mind and spirit. What are we training for? What kind of life do you want to lead? And why should we do what we do? These questions arose in me, and in essence got me one step closer to the fountain of youth. During my contemplation, surrounded by my training family, I gained something truly valuable; a deep sense of peace.
And that for me, beyond all others things, is the key to everlasting youth.
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| Super Youthful Happy Ikaria Pose! |
Thanks everyone for an awesome time! See you next year for more fitness shenanigans!
