Issue #48: Visionbody EMS goes Ultra Running
How to run a 185K Ultra Race and recover like a pro with Visionbody EMS. Ultra Racer Johannes explains his EMS secrets and training routine.
“Can you imagine waking up, preparing your backpack, putting on your shoes, and running 185 km with a cumulative elevation gain of 3,500 meters over a time of 35hours?”
This is what awaits our Head of Training & Education, Johannes, in the Trail Menorca Camí de Cavalls, one of the longest trail races in Europe and one of the most attractive challenges you can face in these days.
Anyone who decides to sign up, train, and of course set off from the starting point in Ciutadella, immediately secures their status as a #LEGEND.
The atmosphere is quite thrilling as a hundred or so spectators, surrounded by horses, the most iconic animals in Menorca, gather in the very center of Ciutadella to vociferously send the runners on their way, which makes for a very stirring spectacle that will make your hair stand on end.
What lies ahead? A course that hugs the coastline and involves 185 km of beaches, rocky terrain, road, track…and suffering. The island of Menorca is not flat by any stretch of the imagination. Camí de Cavalls will severely punish anyone who underestimates it. You will encounter some breathtakingly beautiful places, but on the flip side, you will also tackle several stretches that will take a severe toll on your legs.
Why Ultra Running?
I started endurance training in 2016 when I lived my life in a “comfort-zone-bubble”. I had everything. Nice House, awesome Job, cool cat, and a long-legged 21year old girlfriend. So no worries at all. I became what I call now “civilized”. This means that I reached a material climate and start to do nothing at all. My mental end of living.
But I thought that this was the ultimate goal in life…?
But something inside me was bored from this “lazy men’s lifestyle”. So I decided to do something that would wake me up from this “civilized dream of life” and bring me back to my baseline. Just me, myself, and I. In pain. No way out. All emotions break free and what is left is my inner silence. Me, alone with my thoughts.
Why?
Because you can see who you really are when everything is going sideways. Remember where you have been in Feb/March 2020 and how you were reacting to the outbreak of the corona pandemic!? We all faced a moment of complete uncertainty and were trying to get our shit together. No matter if you were rich, fat, a loser, a winner, or an elite athlete. We saw what our true attributes of behavior were in this decisive moment.
This is why I wanted to test my limits. And what's the best laboratory for this kind of experiment?
Right, Ultra Endurance Races!
So, I immediately signed up for the next IRONMAN in 2016 which was at that time 3 months away. I had no endurance experience, never did a race longer than 10k, and had no clue how to train for such an event. Everything I knew was that I wanted to test my limits. No matter what!
And from this point on my Ultra Running Journey got started...
Ever since I did 3x IRONMAN, 16x IRONMAN 70.3, 3x Marathons, 3x Ultra Running Races (15-24Hours), 1x Survival Race for 48hours, Mallorca 312Km Bike Race, and several smaller races.
Am I an endurance junkie?
I do not think so. I am just testing my limits from time to time and leave my easy lifestyle for a while. But I also have times where I was living a regular life at home with 30min workouts from time to time and felt happy too!
So I think my ego can also handle less training… ;-)
What is Ultra Running all about?
If you would ask me like this: First of all it’s about running/walking for a long, long time…:-)
But let’s take a look at what the sports science says about Ultra Running:
Ultra races are contested over two different types of race modalities, either over a set distance or a set time. Examples of the former would be 50km, 100km, and longer events while illustrations of the latter would be something like 6hr, 24hr, and multi-day events. Both are gaining popularity with the masses and bring their own unique challenges to the racers.
Races are organized on a) trails where athletes get to enjoy the serene environment of a forest. b) track when athletes do not have to venture too far from their start/finish areas and are always within visible region. c) road where athletes can enjoy their road running days and run through both quiet and busy streets.
Some ultra races are a combination of two or more of the available terrain, and some also span a few stages and are run over a course of days.
What kind of Training should you do?
To increase aerobic capacity, gradually building to 15-20 hours/week over the first six months of training. ( I only have six Weeks…;-)))
Heavy emphasis in the first six months of training, with significant base workouts continuing until race day.
Consistently add 5-10% distance or time to your weekly total, focusing on running in your aerobic zones.
Work up to being able to run comfortably for three to four hours.
“At first these runs felt embarrassingly slow, but I was able to recover better after every workout. But as a result, you will be able to start racking up greater training volumes, because I wasn't thrashing me during every session.” - Johannes
Another important factor is…Yes, STRENGTH TRAINING!!!
Why? Because during such a race your muscle breaks down. If you ever did an endurance race or a 10-21k run. What was the feeling at the end? Did you lack of breath or did your muscles feel extremely sore? How was your posture at the beginning of the race and at the end? Most runners look like they fall apart after a tough race. Their posture broke down because the body was not strong enough to keep up with the distance.
Despite the fact that endurance athletes need to train their endurance, they also need to train their strength and muscle 2-3x per week!
Here, legendary strength coach Mark Rippetoe explains why strength training is so important:
Strength is the ability to produce force with your muscles against an external resistance, like those with which we interact in our environment as we go through our days, living our lives productively.
Endurance training is directly antagonistic to the creation and retention of muscle mass. The muscles grow stronger by growing larger. Running is not a test of strength, so running does not build or maintain muscle mass. In fact, running/ cycling/ ellipticalizing directly competes for the muscle resources that maintain their size and strength.
Strength is the basis of your interaction with the environment – the most fundamental aspect of your physical existence. Your balance is a function of your ability to control the weight of your body and your position in space. Coordination is similar to balance in that the ability to control your body in space can be developed to a higher level when you're strong enough to control it better.
Strength training works in two separate ways, that are actually impossible to separate. First, the exercises teach your nervous system to more efficiently use your muscles. Untrained muscles are reluctant to participate fully when asked to contract, and one of the ways strength training makes you stronger is by teaching your nervous system to call more of your muscle fibers into contraction when you work against a load.
Strength training builds bone density far more efficiently than any other type of exercise. Just like muscles, bones adapt to being loaded by getting stronger. In the case of bone, this means they get both denser and bigger the more they are loaded. For both active athletes and older people, this means that strength training is the best way to injury-proof yourself from the consequences of an impact or a fall.
And what has EMS to do with strength training?
That’s simple: EMS is an effective strength training concept with a minimum amount of time and better results for runners because the body does not have to lift heavy weights, but gets the same results as with weights!
What is wrong with weights? Nothing, but the joints and the muscles are way more affected with weights than without them. So why put extra stress on a system that needs in general more recovery?
EMS is the best solution for strength training in endurance runners because…
it activates more muscles (about 90%)!
Put less stress on the bones, joints, and ligaments!
Faster recovery times!
Better results in strength gain which is important for the power output of your foot strike!
teaches your nervous system more efficiently to connect with your muscles
You can take it anywhere with you which makes it a super convenient training tool!
How do i use EMS in my training regiment?
I train every day, 7 days a week..
7x running per week between 30-150min
1x Bike Ride of 3+ hours
3x per week strength training 20-45min each
5-6x recovery sessions 20-30min each
Running is my sport so I do this most of the time. I use EMS 2x per week for my strength training which lasts no longer than 20min and almost every day for massage and recovery.
My strength training is a circuit style training with 5-6 Basic Human Movements:
Lunges
Dips
Hip-Hinges
TRX Rows
Hollow Plank
Bear Crawls
Each exercise 45-60s and 3-4 rounds. The training program is adjusted like this…
STRENGTH - 20min - MEDIUM - 8s Impulse vs. 4s Pause
My recovery sessions look like this…
Wearing the PowerSuit and lying on the Sofa watching Netflix…love it! Why can training not always be like this… :-)) Because we won’t be able to run an ultra marathon ;-)
Easy Walking for 20min
Moving gently around with movement flows inspired by yoga & pilates
Stretching
For my 5 recovery sessions, I always take the following adjustments…
WELLNESS - 20min - MEDIUM - 10s Impulse vs. 5sPause
How can I as a “regular fitness joe” use EMS?
No problem at all! Principles are the same, only the level of training is just different.
When you run a 5k or 10k your body also needs recovery which the Visionbody PowerSuit is awesome for!! Just put the suit lying on the sofa for 20min and enjoy the gentle impulses of the recovery programs that slow down your body and mind. It’s also perfect after a tough day in the buro!
Strength training is something most people do not enjoy. With the Visionbody EMS PowerSuit, you can choose the training you enjoy the most! Just start the strength training Protokoll and train the bodyweight workouts of your favorite Youtube Fitness Trainer!
And what about flexibility? We all face these days/weeks when work is killing our motivation or cut our time in the gym. 2x per week with our EMS Suit and you will be just fine training-wise. And let’s be honest: Two times per week is for everybody totally possible! So Visionbody EMS is a super convenient training tool that suits perfectly to your daily routines.
Finally, I can say that EMS is the most efficient training method to release lower back pain and burn stubborn body fat with only 2x 20min sessions a week.
If you want to know more about our Training with EMS then take a look at our Homepage or watch our Youtube Channel!
Enjoy your fitness journey and live the vision of your best body!
Johannes