R.Y.B.O. – A.T.S.

Winter comes early, and lasts long, in Syracuse, NY.  Usually, by the last week in October the first flakes of snow have fallen.  Those harbingers of winter don’t disappear until sometime in April.  In between are over five months of cold, grey bleakness.  

I bring this up because I witnessed the first frost of the year this Saturday.  The Farmer’s Almanac is forecasting a harsh winter.  In anticipation, I fished my winter running clothes out from the depths of my closet. 

In the fall of my freshman year, after the crew team retreated from the boathouse on Onondaga to the tanks and weights in Archbold Gymnasium, we began the first of four winter training cycles I experienced at SU.  The freshman crew team had (thankfully) shorter workouts than the varsity team, but we were aware of their workouts because they were posted, each day, on the wall outside of Head Coach Sanford’s office.

At the bottom of each workout, after the weights to be lifted, minutes in the tanks to be rowed and stairs or miles to be run, were the letters ATS.  I assumed those were coach’s initials until I realized his name was William E. Sanford.  It wasn’t until I became a varsity oarsman the next year that I discovered those letters stood for And Then Some.

ATS was Coach Sanford’s shorthand for some additional calisthenics.  ATS was always the same:  100 pull-ups, 100 push-ups, 200 back arches and 200 sit-ups.  It was the athlete’s option to determine what order, or how many sets, it took to reach those numbers, but we held each other accountable to complete those exercises.

As I talk to other runners I am hearing common themes.  “My racing season is over.”  “I am taking some time off.”  “I’m running fewer miles.”  “I’m trying to figure out my next race and what I want to do to prepare for it.” 

This all fits the concept of periodization which is the systematic planning of athletic or physical training.  It involves progressive cycling of various aspects of a training program during a specific period.  It is a way of alternating training to peak for racing season. 

I am in the recovery phase of my training.  My training volume is still pretty high, but the intensity is not.  In addition, I am doing some calisthenics to help build core strength and general fitness.  I have my own daily ATS ritual:  10 pull-ups, 120 lunges, 20 push-ups and 1 minute planks.  This won’t lead to a Schwarzenegger-esque body, but even after one week, I feel a fullness in my muscles. 

Thinking of the spring will help me through the winter months.  There is a cheer Syracuse crews gave as we pushed off from the dock on our way to race - R.Y.B.O.  I’ll let your imagination come up with what those initials stand for, but it is PG rated. 

You can adopt a variation as you head out for your next race - R.Y.B.O.