About This Site. This site is the website of motivational speaker Craig
Harper. A constantly updated, one-stop
information, inspiration, education and motivation
station. Unlike many similar sites, it is a totally
free resource for anyone who is serious about moving
from mediocre to amazing in any area of their
personal or professional life. With hundreds of
articles covering a wide range of subject matter,
great interviews with cool people and inspirational
video posts, there's more than enough brain-food to
keep you busy for hours. Okay, days!!
Enjoy.
Click play above
to
see one of Craig's weekly segments on national
television. (9AM with Kim & David - Network Ten)
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Public Speaking Workshop
- Craig Harper
If you've ever
thought about becoming a professional speaker or
improving your public speaking then this is the workshop
for you.
Life Coach & Mentor - Craig Harper
If
you are interested in maximizing your potential,
stepping out of that 'holding pattern' and being
privately coached by Craig click here.
Business & Career Coach - Craig Harper
If your a personal trainer, gym owner or studio owner who is interested
in growing your business and/or your career, then mentoring with Craig
could be a valuable part of your overall success strategy and
professional development journey.
Body Composition Analysis
- Craig Harper
Craig's
Qualified Exercise Scientists can provide you with a
complete Body Composition Analysis in just 30
minutes.
Fattitude
- Craig Harper
While many books focus on food,
Craig Harper teaches that creating life-long change is more about the
dieter, than the actual diet. This book is perfect for people who have a
history of 'almost' getting in shape.
In this entertaining presentation, Craig discusses the
notion of Renovating Your Body - once and for all. Many of us have a curious
ability to be able to get in shape for events (weddings, parties, reunions
and birthdays), if only we'd get in shape for life.
Food, Exercise, and Lifestyle
Diary -
Craig Harper.
If you're serious about your training,
nutrition, and lifestyle - Craig Harper's training diary is an invaluable tool.
This article takes a take a look at
how we might go about turning ourselves into a lean,
mean, fitness machine via some serious endurance
training, namely, the triathlon.
I think everyone should do at least
one triathlon in their life-time. We can’t all get up on
stage and flex our guns with the big boys and we can’t
all play elite level team sport or get in the ring with
Anthony Mundine, but most of us can train for, and
complete, a short course triathlon if we know what we’re
doing, we do it the right way, and we’re consistent with
our training; lots of fun, lots of fitness, a bit of
pain and lots of satisfaction.
I’m not sure why, but Aussies seem to
be disproportionately good at this sport. For a country
with a relatively small population, we consistently
crank out some amazing athletes… but hey, we do that in
most sports, don’t we?
Just recently Michellie Jones took
out the women’s section of Hawaii Ironman, while
Chris McCormack came in second for the blokes. Four
other Aussies also finished in the top ten: Kate Major
(6th), Luke Bell (7th), Belinda Granger (8th) and
Melissa Ashton (9th).
Well done girls and boys.
With events ranging from entry level,
very short course affairs to the ultimate endurance
event that is the Hawaii Ironman, there is
something for everyone, no matter what end of the
fitness spectrum we’re at.
Distances
Triathlon distances vary greatly but
most of us mere mortals will start with (and possibly
finish with) a short course event.
Swim Ride Run
Short (Sprint) Course 200-500
mtrs 10-20 km 3-8 km
Olympic Distance 1.5 km 40 km 10
km
Ironman 3.8km 180 km 42.2 km
BENEFITS:
Physical:
What I love about triathlon from a physiological
perspective is that we create a fantastic, broad fitness
base because of the training variety; we don’t become
conditioned for one event (as we do in many sports).
With triathlon training we not only drastically increase
our aerobic and muscular endurance but the swimming and
cycling also improve our overall strength…. not
forgetting the fact that triathletes have pretty amazing
bodies! The cross training also helps us avoid injuries
(not that triathletes are without injury) as the
swimming and riding training doesn’t have the impact of
‘running only’ events or sports.
Psychological and Emotional
While some might say that hard-core triathletes are
mentally unbalanced, the truth is that, like many
sports, training for triathlon is a great way to help us
manage our stress and deal with the rigors of life,
increase alertness and mental sharpness and, for some,
help overcome depression.
Sociological:
Triathlon is one of the most social sports and the fact
that we’re often training with our mates will help us
stay focused and doing what we need to do. If the
enjoyment factor is up, then so too will be the program
adherence.
Guidelines and Precautions
• Ease into your training.
• Swim, ride and run at a level that suits you.
The following program is a generic
program designed to suit someone who is coming from a
training base of zero or almost zero. If you’ve done
nothing since your under-ten grand final then you may
want to head down to your GP and get re-acquainted
before you turn yourself into an elite endurance
machine.
This ten-week program should have you
cherry ripe to throw yourself into your first foray into
the world of (short course) triathlon.
The Program
WEEK
RUN
BIKE
SWIM
INSTRUCTIONS
ONE
3 x 10-15 mins
2 x 30-45 mins
2 x 10-20 mins
Jog (don’t run), walk when
you need to and graduate the intensity as you
feel able. Take breaks in the pool if you need
to and graduate the time and decrease the rest
as your fitness improves.
TWO
3 x 15-20 mins
2 x 45-60 mins
2 x 20 mins
Keep the intensity low but
increasing the duration a little
THREE
3 x 20-25 mins
2 x 45-60 mins
2 x 20 mins
Again, keeping the intensity
low but increasing the duration a little
FOUR
3 x 25-30 mins
2 x 45-60 mins
2 x 25 mins
A little more volume, picking
up the intensity next week
FIVE
3 x 30 mins
2 x 45-60 mins
2 x 30 mins
Increase the intensity a
little in the run and bike but not in the
SIX
3 x 30 mins
2 x 45-60 mins
2 x 30 mins
Keeping the volume the same
but stepping up to moderate intensity
SEVEN
3 x 40 mins
3 x 45 mins
3 x 30 mins
Starting to get serious. Eat
well. Recover well and listen to your body
EIGHT
3 x 40 mins
3 x 45 mins
3 x 30 mins
Up to nine session; hard
core.
NINE
3 x 45 mins
3 x 60 mins
3 x 30 mins
Last hard training week.
Volume up, intensity up.
TEN
2 x 30 mins
2 x 45 mins
2 x 20 mins
Backing off the intensity and
volume in week ten, getting ready for the big
day. Don’t train the day before your event,
maybe a walk or some light activity.
Putting it all together
For the first four weeks
(depending on how you progress) keep your training
sessions for each discipline (run, ride, swim) separate.
We’re not trying to nail our transitions or get
too tricky at this stage; we’re just creating a fitness
base that we can build on. If, however, your timetable
and the realities of your life dictate that you need to
do back-to-back sessions, make sure that you keep the
intensity low to moderate, stay hydrated and listen to
your body.
For weeks one to four your schedule
might look like this:
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Run (am)
Ride (am)
Swim (am)
Run (am)
Ride (am)
Run (am)
Swim (pm)
Feet up
Weeks five to six:
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Run (am)
Ride (am)
back-to-back
Active recovery
(walk, stretch
Swim (am)
Run (am)
Ride (am)
back-to-back
Active recovery
(walk, stretch
Swim (am)
Run (am)
Feet up
Weeks seven to nine:
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Run(am)
Swim(am)
back-to-back
Active recovery
(walk, stretch
Swim(am)
Ride(am) back-to-back
Run(am)
Ride(am)
back-to-back
Recovery
Ride(am)
Run(am) Swim(am)
Feet up
Week ten (the big one):
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Run(am)
Swim(am)
back-to-back
Bike (am)
Swim(am)
Easy bike(am)
Easy jog(am)
Recovery
Triathlon
What does low, moderate and high
intensity mean?
Knowing where your heart rate (HR)
should be during a training session can be tricky, and
while there are generic guidelines and suggestions, it
needs to be stated that ‘perceived intensity’ (how hard
you feel you’re working), varies from person to
person. In exercise-science we use a scale called the
Perceived Rate of Exertion. Often we find that
two people working at the same, or similar heart rate,
feel like they’re working at completely different
levels. So it’s not wise or responsible for anyone
writing a general program (okay, me) to set specific
target heart rates for training.
However, the following might be
helpful:
Max HR formula: 208 – (Age x 0.7)
So, if you’re thirty years old your
(suggested) Max HR would be calculated like this:
208 – (30 x 0.7)
= 208 – 21
= 187 Max HR
Most of your training should be
completed somewhere in the vicinity of 70% - 80% of Max
HR, which means that typical training HR range for a
thirty year-old would be between
131 and 150.
Remember: this is a general guide only!
If you don’t have a heart rate
monitor it wouldn’t be a bad addition to the training
bag. These days you can pick up a reasonable monitor for
about a hundred bucks (they’ve come down in price over
the last few years).
Gauging your progress
Progress can be gauged by:
• Decreased recovery time (return to resting HR
quicker)
• Decreased post-exercise soreness
• Increased training intensity and quality
• Run, ride and swim better!
• Increased overall energy levels
• Decreased resting HR
Post-Event
After the event give yourself a few
days before you throw yourself into anything too
vigorous. If you compete on Sunday have Monday and
Tuesday off and, if you’re up to it, go for a light run
on the Wednesday.
Now all you have to do is get on yer
bike and start!
Motivational
Speaker - Craig Harper Craig Harper is one of Australia's most respected
motivational speakers and educators. Some of Craig's recent clients include:
"We had our annual
conference over the weekend of the 23rd and 24th Feb, 2008 and we had
Craig Harper as one of our presenters. He was wonderful, funny and
professional, and he got our message through to the staff in a positive
and fun way. He was loved by all!"
DVD
- Renovate Your Body - Craig Harper
In this entertaining presentation, Craig discusses the
notion of Renovating Your Body - once and for all. (Also
available on CD).
Fattitude
- Craig Harper
While many books focus on food,
Craig Harper teaches that creating life long change is more about the
dieter than the actual diet.
Food for thought
- Craig Harper
In this book, Craig Harper
walks the reader through his 21 rules to Permanent Weight Loss.
So you've decided you want to get in shape (again)
- Craig Harper
Imagine a pocket-sized fitness book that takes just twenty minutes to
read. Craig Harper addresses the REAL getting-in-shape issues.
DVD
or CD - Renovate Your Body - Craig Harper
Alinta
Telstra
ANZ Bank
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
National Australia Bank
Corporate Express
Pricewaterhouse Coopers
Department of Infrastructure
Department Planning and Community Development
Simplot Australia
Porter Davis Homes
Rothschild Merchant Bank
Royal Children's Hospital
Fernwood Fitness Centres
Flour Daniel
Brivis
Sensis
Western Water
South East Water
For more information on booking Craig click
here.Some nice words about Craig:
"We had our annual conference over the weekend of the 23rd and 24th Feb, 2008 and we had Craig Harper as one of our presenters. He was wonderful, funny and professional, and he got our message through to the staff in a positive and fun way. He was loved by all!"
Ally Memic, IMCD, Australia