The Hurt Artist: My Journey from Suicidal Junkie to Ironman

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Here’s a sample workout for an off-season, stabilization-oriented strength protocol for endurance athletes. I’ve also included a playlist of instructional videos for each exercise. Emerson says a man is what he thinks about, all day long,” said Niemeyer, 38. “All I had thought about from the time I woke up until the time I went to bed (was) how I was going to get high, how I was going to get money to make it work. I couldn’t just remove that. I’m sitting in a cell thinking, ‘What am I doing to do with my life?’ That article seemed like, ‘Well, that’s something, right?’“ The idea that the creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time… Substance abusing writers are just substance abusers —common garden variety drunks and druggies, in other words.” - Stephen King, writer

Make sure to inhale (typically on the deceleration phase) and exhale on the contraction. This respiratory exchange is important to oxygenate the blood and tissues as well as establish a smooth rhythm.An addict is someone who uses their body to tell society that something is wrong.” - Stella Adler, actress

She takes me down a couple of notches. She’s a professional athlete and one of the top women in the country, but she identifies herself as a speech and language pathologist first. Our key objective as athletes is to safely close the gap between our current performance and our potential. Intelligently applied strength training schemes greatly diminish the risk of injury, and enhances performance. We’ve all heard plenty of swim anecdotes and philosophies. Here, we have focussed on the science. Exercises The incidence of injury and pain among swimmers has steadily risen since 1974 when only 3 percent of swimmers complained of injury. By 1980 that number had risen to 42 percent. By 1994, that number had risen towards 50 to 69 percent of swimmers complaining of shoulder pain 1. The incidence of injury is higher in elite swimmers than “non-elite”swimmers. Non-elite swimmers reported shoulder pain 32 percent of the time, compared to elite swimmers experiencing injury 50-69 percent of the time 2. Improved rate of force development (RFD) by introducing low-level reactive training loads; this makes an athlete more effective in the water, on the bike and when running because they are able to produce more force at a higher rate of speed.

Columnist Holly Bennett reviews the new book The Hurt Artist–My Journey From Suicidal Junkie To Ironman.

I got sober. I stopped killing myself with alcohol. I began to think: ‘Wait a minute – if I can stop doing this, what are the possibilities?’ And slowly it dawned on me that it was maybe worth the risk.” ― Craig Ferguson, television host sets of 8-10 reps. Make sure to anchor the feet flat with a split and staggered stance. Rotate through the pattern using the hips and trunk as well as the arms and shoulders. These rotary patterns are crucial. 4. Reverse Fly/Shoulder Press Shane: I moved here in 2007. It was like coming home after a long wandering. I was born just north of Boulder in Loveland, Co. Reverse fly: 3x 12 to 16 reps. Go until you achieve a muscular burn plus 2 more reps. DO NOT SHRUG the shoulders in any way. Prison is a place to reform yourself. All you have is time. If you can use that time to your advantage, you can really create a new life. In the beginning of me working out, there were no facilities. I was really out of shape. My liver was still swollen. I was really toxic. I was overweight. It was hard in the beginning to walk up stairs.

Over rotating (during breath cycle): can be caused by poor timing, and diminished activation of the shoulder musculature. Many distortions occur during the breath cycle.Let the repetitions guide your selection of load (weight). Choose a weight or load that will allow you to perform the desired number of repetitions and sets without causing injury. Generally prepare the body’s systems for increased demands/loads that will be applied in the Strength Phase (second phase). Let the repetition scheme dictate the selection of loads. In other words, if you cannot perform the desired amount of repetitions for the exercise then then there is too much load. This is an easier approach than trying to calculate percentages of maximal load. There are many schools of thought on how to organize strength training programs. In the coming series I’ll organize the training into three phases:

The participants in these and similar studies utilized either heavy weight-low repetition schemes or plyometric protocols both with significant rest intervals between sets. Here we will be combining elements of plyometric/ballistic training with heavy weight training so that we can achieve the adaptive responses of both modalities. It will be important to take longer rest between the sets than in past phases, as the loads are more demanding. In this phase we must fight the urge to organize the workout as a “circuit”, which is more aerobic in nature. Instead, we want the anaerobic benefits that come with combination of load with adequate rest between sets. This strength phase is organized by grouping a strength pattern with a more explosive pattern in a series of “super sets”. Again, we get plenty of aerobic training with the swim, bike, run; not taking enough rest between these sets will just make the athlete tired and miss the objective. Rules of the HWT/Reactive PhaseBOULDER — Shane Niemeyer decided to become a triathlete when he was under arrest in a medical unit at the Ada County Jail in Boise, Idaho, days after a failed suicide attempt driven by heroin addiction and hopelessness. People always want to ask me about my drug problem—I never had a drug problem; I had a self-esteem problem!” - Gloria Gaynor, singer Almost any motion the body experiences is transmitted through the core system. Anytime you move a limb (in any way), turn your head, or engage in any physical activity, the core is involved to some degree. Your core functions primarily to absorb, redirect and transfer forces throughout the body. While your hips can produce tremendous amounts of force, the spinal column and trunk are more effective at providing stability and transfer of energy instead of generating it. Benefits of Core Strength Training I have come to believe that caring for myself is not self-indulgent. Caring for myself is an act of survival.” - Audre Lorde, writer and womanist