Day 8.135 Southbound

We resumed our infamous Super Eight's yesterday. I will give you the protocol again in case you have chosen to forget, which a a lot of people do.

These are done indoors on stationary bicycles, the more data collected, the better.

Warm up for twenty minutes with occasional increases in power and alternating positions (standing and sitting). Make sure you are hydrated and fully committed to the drill. The latter is crucial for a successful session. We definitely want to HTFU on these.

Pick a gear/cadence ratio that will provide you with optimum output as measured by your RPE, rate of perceived exertion. If you have access to power and heart rate data, they are useful in obtaining our goal:

30 seconds all out. Seated as hard as you can with as much focused energy as you are capable of generating. That is the goal.

Rest and recover, backing down gear and pedal speed, for 90 seconds.

Repeat 8 times.

These absolutely kill. You might never make it past one. They are not for the faint of heart Or lung, or leg.

You will be asked to keep the level of maximum intensity at 100% for the duration of the sets. You will fail. These are almost impossible to maintain at max 8 times. Your power will decrease as muscular and cardiovascular fatigue increase. We affectionately refer to this natural phenomena as power 'heading south'. This happens to everyone. From Chris Froome all the way down to me.

The important part is your effort. When your power is on the bus to Tiera del Fuego, or boarding a 737 for a mach-one escape, you must be strong and keep your effort (RPE) on high alert. You have to keep your output at, or near, 100% as long as possible. This is a huge test of your physiological acumen, or what is known as mental toughness.

A great one-two punch. Power up, confidence up, toughness up, strength up. T-count up.

We do these demanding drills once a week (0530 on Wednesdays) for 8 weeks, and then take 8 weeks off. 

The 8's have been shown to increase testosterone by more than 2,000%. A great organic way to keep your body running at optimum levels.

I have condensed the article by Dr, Mercola to list his 9 ways to increase your T levels (should they need raising).

These are a terrific way to miss that Southbound bus or get bumped from the flight, very good things in this context.



1) Lose weight
2) High Intensity exercise
3) Zinc
4) Strength Training
5) Vitamin D
6) Reduce Stress
7) Eliminate Sugar
8) Healthy Fats
9) Whey protein supplement