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If you’re ever on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, take time away from the beach to hike Oahu’s many trails. Each are beautifully unique, providing you access into the mountains or a path to breathtaking views. One of the most unique hikes you’ll ever experience is the Koko Head Crater Trail. Created by the military during World War II, this trail is a perfectly-straight line up the face of an ancient volcanic crater. The higher you go, the steeper the trail becomes.

The trail is actually a former tram railway, where you’ll step on 1,050 railroad ties.  Due to the extreme slope, each railroad tie is essentially a stair, providing a relatively safe, but exhausting climb to the summit. As the slope increases, each stair is substantially higher than a normal, seven-inch stair that you’re used to. Plan on 12-18” of gain with each step as you approach the top. Our Strava recorded a 49% grade for the entire top section of the rail trail. Forty-nine percent.

You’ll definitely want to feel each railroad tie, safely below your foot, before you transfer your weight and step up. We loved the stability and light-weight simplicity of our DayLite Hikers, protecting our feet from the scorching-hot surface of the old railroad ties, while providing the flexibility needed for our feet to feel their way to the top of the climb. The ankle support and protection of the DayLite Hiker was also a huge advantage, as we asked our legs to do things they normally don’t do.

There is one short section where the railroad ties are elevated. Don’t look down as you cross 50’ above the ground, stepping from one railroad tie to the next! This section of the trail is one of the flatter parts, and it will be over before you know it.

Facing south with some head-tall vegetation, the trail is very exposed. We recommend an early-morning start to beat the heat and beat the crowds. Take more water along than you’d normally hike with. We’d definitely recommend a pack-mounted hydration system, since you’ll almost-certainly be scrambling on all fours on certain parts of your trek.

Take several breaks going up—especially as you near the top. It may take you 20-45 minutes but it’s worth every step. Once you arrive at the top of the trail, explore the concrete remains of the World War II mountain-top military installation. You won’t be at the summit, but you can easily get there by climbing another 50-75 feet of elevation as you walk along the concrete structures and the connecting dirt paths. Known as a pillbox, these WWII-era, concrete structures are located on strategic viewpoints throughout the island, and are the destination for several dozen trails.

The view at the top is spectacular, with 360-degree views of the surrounding area. Most impressive is the view of the trail itself, as you see a straight line descending below your feet back to the parking lot. In 0.7 miles of climbing, you will gain nearly 1,100 feet of elevation, and the return walk is as simple as putting one foot in front of the other.

The Koko Head Crater Trail is easy to access, located near Hanauma Bay and the city of Hawaii Kai. Parking and the trail are free, but are quickly growing in popularity. Get an early start, stay hydrated, and be prepared for a unique experience that your legs will never forget.

@WildAcroDuo

Chris & Roxy

The content of this post does not constitute and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions or concerns you may have about your health or a medical condition.

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There is no shortage of race training plans, strength-building exercises, and recovery plans out there for runners. If you’ve ever followed us on our journey, you know that we think the physical aspect of running (and especially racing ultramarathons) is important…but your mental side is key too. Finding the balance in training those two for a big event is a Ted Talk and a half itself. We want to dive into what happens outside of your running program. Depending on how you handle it, what you do outside of just your running can be the difference between hitting the podium and pulling from the race.

Instead of just telling you to stretch properly and practice positive self-talk, we want to share resources and tools that have had a big impact on both our training and our lives overall.

1. 7 Way Hips Mobility Routine

We heard about this from Ryan Flaherty who is known as the “Savant of Speed” and has trained all kinds of professional athletes specifically looking to increase their running speed. It’s a nice short routine (it takes about 5 minutes). We like to do this after a run to force our bodies to move and strengthen in different ways and explore different ranges of motion. Overall, it’s helped our hips to feel strong and stable while running. 

2. Alo Moves

Anyone who follows us will know we are big advocates of yoga. But we, like so many people, find it tough to always make it to a studio for a yoga class. Alo Moves offers all kinds of yoga classes, which makes it easy to pick something to fit your schedule. The routines help you either stretch out your hips and quads, build some stabilizer strength, or even just zone out and let yourself flow through a regular vinyasa class. We’ve been members for over 4 years now! 

Another huge benefit of regular yoga is the strength work involved. An athletic therapist friend of ours explained to us that many long-distance runners risk injury when they are pushing their limit and their bodies start to fatigue. Once this starts to happen, their form will go and it’s only a matter of time before they’re at higher risk for injury. By incorporating strength work in your weekly training, you’ll be able to hold that good form even when you’re starting to fatigue. 

3. Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins

In need of developing some mental strength? This book could help you. It’s not for everyone, as Goggins is pretty frank in a lot of cases. However, hearing his journey about going through a rough childhood, extreme obesity, and ultimately becoming a Navy SEAL and running ultramarathons, is a great lesson in mental toughness.

4. Thera-Gun

While this recovery tool is a bit on the expensive side, it’s one we’ve found worthwhile. We’re still advocates of tools like a lacrosse ball, foam roller, and roller sticks for most of our recovery routes, but the Theragun can be great for digging into very specific areas that are hard to pinpoint. This includes things like tibialis, or anywhere along your forearms, and especially deep hard to reach spots around your hips). One, albeit slightly spoiled sounding, the benefit of this tool is it’s easy of use! When you’re exhausted from the day of work and training and don’t feel like rolling around the floor, the Theragun can be used while you’re sitting on the couch watching a movie, or laying in bed. 

5. Ice Cold Showers

If you have the mental stamina to take your entire shower ice cold–go for it. That being said, you’ll still reap the benefits of a cold shower even if it’s for a shorter amount of time. Take your regular shower in warm or hot water. Right before you’re about to get out, crank the water as cold as it goes, whether it’s for 10 seconds or several minutes. Feeling uncomfortable? That’s the point. The simple act of turning the water cold can develop mental fortitude. You know it’s going to be cold. You know it’s not going to be comfortable. You’d rather stay in the steamy shower and take the easy road. But if you can find the courage to turn the water cold, you start to exercise that muscle in the brain that can choose to go down the hard road. Having the courage to face discomfort is key during running, whether it be during a race or just during inclement weather.

There are so many of these hidden gem resources, and we’d love to hear what the Xero community has found to have the biggest impact on your training regime.

Happy running!

Melissa & Jonathan Sinclair

The content of this post does not constitute and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions or concerns you may have about your health or a medical condition.

Parallel bars that are low to the ground are known as parallettes. Though they might not appear to offer anything special at first glance, these little, low bars are an amazing tool.

Wrist pain is one of the most common issues associated with floor exercises like planks, L-sits and handstands. Since parallettes allow your wrists to maintain a neutral position during these and other exercises, they offer a great way to work around (and possibly help eradicate) any issues that may plague your wrists. Additionally, squeezing parallettes while practicing these exercises creates more tension in your upper-body, which can facilitate a greater mind-muscle connection. This will help incur greater strength gains, especially with regard to your grip, core and shoulders.

Elevating your hands with parallettes makes many exercises more accessible than when they’re performed on the ground. Oftentimes, beginners lack flexibility and/or core strength. Having extra clearance beneath your body can make just enough of a difference to help you nail your first L-sit. You can also adjust the width of your parallettes to suit your individual proportions, which you cannot do with affixed bars.

Here are 3 exercises you can try with parallettes:

1. Plank Knee Raise

Grasp your parallettes with your body fully extended and toes on the ground like the top of a push-up. Keep tension in your abs, legs and glutes while maintaining a straight line from your heels to the back of your head. Carefully lift one leg in the air and raise your knee as far toward your chest as possible. Pause briefly with your foot still off the ground, and then return to the start position. Repeat with the opposite leg, being mindful to stay in complete control of your movement.

You might be surprised by how much you feel your abs the first time you try this exercise. Anytime you remove a contact point during a plank, your abs will have to pick up the slack.

2. L-Sit

Grab your parallettes with your torso upright and your shoulders and hips directly above your hands. Your feet will be flat on the floor with your knees bent. Press down into the handles, point your elbow pits forward and allow your upper back to round slightly so that you can spread your shoulder blades apart, being mindful not to let your shoulders shrug up toward your ears. Lift your feet off the floor and extend your legs away from your body until they are parallel to the ground. Your body will resemble a capital letter “L”. You may point or flex your toes. Either way make sure your feet remain engaged. You may find yourself swinging or shaking a bit on your first attempts. This is normal and should minimize with practice.

If you aren’t able to perform the exercise with both legs fully extended, you can try keeping one leg tucked and one leg straight. Alternate which leg is tucked on each set.

3. Parallettes Handstand

Place your parallettes near a wall. Grip them so your hands are positioned approximately 6-8 inches from the wall. With your elbows fully locked, kick your legs into the air until your heels come to rest against the wall. If you’re having trouble kicking up, it can help to think about getting your hips over your hands rather than focusing on your legs. Either way, don’t let your elbows bend. Hold this position, then come down as gently as possible. With continued practice you will learn to rely less on the wall until you are able to perform a freestanding handstand.

Many people will find it helpful to look in between their hands while performing this hold, though others will prefer to keep their head in a neutral position.

For more information, check out my new book, Next Level Strength.

–Al Kavadlo, @alkavadlo

The content of this post does not constitute and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions or concerns you may have about your health or a medical condition.