Friday, November 30, 2007

Sunday 2nd December 2007

Location: Jacobs Ladder
Time: 3:00PM
Workout: KB Complex Initiation with a twist

The twist being after the following sequence once down and up the ladder then repeat for 3 times

10x One-arm KB Swing (each side)
10x RTW (both directions)
10x Figure 8 (front-to-back)
10x Figure 8 (back-to-front)
10x Goblet Squat
10x Push Squat
10x Standing Halo
10x Deck Squat
10x Half-TGU (each side)
10x Windmill (each side), alternate arms and do One-arm Snatch to switch sides
10x One-arm OHS (each side)
10x Get-up (each side)

Notes:
RTW: ‘round the world, or waist if you prefer
Figure 8: assume partial squat, pass KB between the legs
Push Squat: start per Goblet Squat, push KB forward to full arm extension as you descend Standing Halo: grab KB by horns, pass it around the head
Deck Squat: description here: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/scni13a5.htm
Half-TGU: search within the site for pictures (Half turkish get up)

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Health and Strength Links - 14th November 2007

~ Non-Sexy Training and Nutrition – “Testosterone runs a lot of “sexy” new training articles. Trouble with that is the essential stuff, stuff like progression, energy system work, the 90% rule, and supplements, often gets forgotten. Not so with this article.”
~ Keith Wassung’s Strength Training Program: Timed Total Tonnage – ”Keith Wassung has a 710lbs Squat, 480lbs Bench Press, 700lbs Deadlift & 355lbs Overhead Press at 220lbs body-weight. He walks the talk.”
~ Eating Your Greens Could Prove Life-Saving If A Heart Attack Strikes – “A diet rich in leafy vegetables may minimize the tissue damage caused by heart attacks, according to researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Their findings, published in the November 12 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that the chemical nitrite, found in many vegetables, could be the secret ingredient in the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet.”
~ Try Adding These Superfoods To Your Thanksgiving Dinner This Year – “Tired of spinach, bored with broccoli? Experts say there's a new generation of superfoods that promise to do double or triple-duty when it comes to preventing illness. At the top of the list kiwi. “In a recent study, kiwi was found to be one of the most nutritionally dense fruits out of 27 fruits,” says Stephanie Dean, R.D., dietitian with Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas.”
~ The Important Role Of Natural Foods! – “There is a particular body of research by two nutritional pioneers which provides some amazing insight into just how import raw, unprocessed foods are to our overall health. Learn more about them right here!”
~ Spotlighting teen's weight fuels unhealthy eating – “Overweight adolescents may be more likely to continue practicing extreme eating or weight-control measures when their parents focus too much weight issues, study findings suggest.”
~ Personal Health: Chronic Pain: A Burden Often Shared – “When people experience unrelenting pain, everyone they live with and love is likely to suffer.”
~ Playing With Steroids – “Whenever a steroid story breaks, the first person they call is Dr. Charles Yesalis. Oddly enough, based on the interviews over the years, we've been led to believe that Dr. Yesalis is rabidly anti-steroid. We may have been wrong.”
~ Cancer Risks For Overweight Women – “Half of all cases of womb cancer and a type of oesophageal cancer in women are caused by being overweight or obese, according to a new report published online in the British Medical Journal . This study provides the first reliable evidence on the relevance of being overweight or obese for a wide range of cancers in women in the UK today.”
~ Fish And Omega 3 Linked To Mental Skills – “A Norwegian study has found a link between eating fish and improved mental skills in older people, a Dutch study found a link between higher omega 3 in the blood and lower mental decline, while a New Zealand study found a link between omega 3 levels in the blood and better physical health, although the link to better mental health was less convincing. All three studies are published in the November issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.”
~ Advice To Eat Complex Carbs And Avoid Sugar Supported By New Research – “Eating too much fructose and glucose can turn off the gene that regulates the levels of active testosterone and estrogen in the body, shows a new study in mice and human cell cultures that's published this month in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. This discovery reinforces public health advice to eat complex carbohydrates and avoid sugar. Table sugar is made of glucose and fructose, while fructose is also commonly used in sweetened beverages, syrups, and low-fat food products.”
~ Exercise found to ease chronic pain of fibromyalgia – “Regular walks and stretching exercises can help ease the chronic, depressing pain of fibromyalgia, a mysterious ailment with no obvious cure, researchers said on Monday.”
~ Beta carotene protects memory in study – “Beta carotene taken as a dietary supplement for many years may protect against declines in memory, thinking and learning skills that often precede Alzheimer's disease, researchers said on Monday.”
~ Easy Weight Loss by Dr John Berardi – “All day long, all across the web, folks are posting questions about why they're not losing weight, why they're not gaining weight, why their body comp isn't changing. They're frustrated, confused, and feeling helpless. However, I believe that for the majority of them, if they just made things simple, progress would follow.”
~ Beauty of BOSU – “Half a stability ball has the whole fitness world convinced. A wobbly sphere that was sliced in half, the BOSU® ball yields results—whether you jump, sit, step, get into plank pose or do pushups on it. Try these tips from Equinox trainer Kristen Gagne.”
~ Chronic pain: where does it come from and why? – “Often, injuries carry an aggravating side effect: pain. More and more frequently, pain is not just a temporary result that will go away, but becomes a permanent factor that affects people’s lives. Jane E. Brody of the New York Times reports that chronic pain often changes a person for the worst and can lead to anxiety, fear, anger, and depression.”
~ Dieters Who Eat In Response To Emotions Versus Social Situations, Lose Less And Regain More – “Just in time for the start of the holiday eating season – a new study finds that dieters who have the tendency to eat in response to external factors, such as at festive celebrations, have fewer problems with their weight loss than those who eat in response to emotions (internal factors).”
~ Boosting Vitamin D May Have Long-Term Benefits For Inflammation, Aging, New Study Suggests – “There is a new reason for the 76 million baby boomers to grab a glass of milk. Vitamin D, a key nutrient in milk, could have aging benefits linked to reduced inflammation, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.”
~ Taking Care Of Your Skin Starts From Within – “The old adage “you are what you eat” not only applies to our overall health and nutrition, but how our skin looks and feels as well. As the largest organ in the body, our skin can benefit from the same nutrition we get from foods that have a positive effect on our heart and other major organs. In fact, new research suggests that eating foods rich in protein and certain vitamins and minerals might provide valuable anti-aging effects.”
~ Strategies to curb your hunger while you lose – “Everything from stress to hormones to people, places, and situations can kick your appetite into overdrive. The good news: Whatever the cause, you can beat your hunger pangs. Health.com offers up the latest stay-full strategies from the experts.”
~ Do you know how many calories your workout burns? – “Find out if you're working as hard as you think you are with the Calories Burned Calculator.”
~ Sunshine 'helps to keep you young' – “A healthy dose of sunshine may be the secret to staying young, British scientists have revealed. Vitamin D is produced naturally by the skin in response to sunlight and may help to slow the ageing process and protect against disease, according to the study.”
~ The nature and nurture of muscles – “Some of the truly fascinating insights into talent and greatness emerge from the realm of human musculature – how our skeletal muscles are initially formed, the attributes of different muscle fibers, and the different ways muscles can be transformed by activity and training.”
~ A Beautiful Snatch – “Whether you're a bodybuilder, strength athlete, or football player, learning the snatch can take you to a whole new plane of development. This article is chock-full of helpful videos that will have you snatching in no time.”
~ Personal Best: Pregnant Exercisers Test Limits – “Advice on when, how long and how much to train is all over the map.” I've trained two women through eight months, and each was back to their pre-pregnancy weight within a couple of weeks of giving birth.
~ High Fat Diet Changes The Body Clock – “US researchers have discovered that a high fat diet can change a mammal's body clock and thereby disrupt a range of behavioural and physiological processes, including those controlled by genes that switch on and off at certain times to keep the body's metabolism, storage and use of energy in balance.”
~ Ostrich, and the 7 other foods you should be eating – “We've heard it all before — eat your spinach, your broccoli, your whole-grain pastas. But there are a whole host of other good-for-you foods that most of us aren't eating.”
~ Caveman diet found to be the best choice to control diabetes – “Now, in the first controlled study of a Paleolithic (stone age) diet in humans, Lund University, Sweden, heralds the simple diet of the caveman as the “best choice to control diabetes 2”.”
~ Exercise Away Heart Failure – “Exercise can spur the growth of new cells to mend weakened muscles and spur the growth of blood vessels in people with heart failure, according to two new studies.”
~ Experts play the heavy on news of chubby perks – “Being overweight may not kill you, but it could lead to obesity, U.S. health experts cautioned on Wednesday in response to research suggesting that being a bit heavy does not raise the risk of death.”
~ Stretches that can help sciatica pain – “According to an article from spine-health.com, most types of sciatica will benefit from a regular routine of hamstring exercise, especially hamstring stretching.”
~ Hell on Wheels – “'You're a worm — a gutless worm, with puny legs to boot.' And that's just Rob Fortney talkin' to his kids about their leg development! Imagine what he's going to say to you, you weak little douchebag.” Aside from the bad lede, this is a good leg training article.
~ Hesfit 30 minute muscle routine – “By altering load, rest periods, and movement selection, you can achieve the results you want in as little as 30 minutes per day. Fat loss, sure! Strength gains, you betcha! In this article, I’ll give you some ideas on packing on some lean muscle mass in 30 minutes or less.”
~ Antioxidants Abound In Ripe Fruit – “Fall, the season of colors: Leaves turn red, yellow, and brown. The disappearance of the color green and the simultaneous appearance of these other colors are also signs of ripening fruit. A team led by Bernhard Krautler at the University of Innsbruck (Austria) has now determined that the breakdown of chlorophyll in ripening apples and pears produces the same decomposition products as those in brightly colored leaves.”
~ Key To Good Health May Be Concentrating On Food Not Nutrients – “In a recent academic review, a University of Minnesota professor in the School of Public Health has concluded that food, as opposed to specific nutrients, may be key to having a healthy diet. This notion is contrary to popular practice in food industry and government, where marketers and regulators tend to focus on total fat, carbohydrate and protein and on specific vitamins and added supplements in food products, not the food items as a whole.”
~ Research Links Diet To Cognitive Decline And Dementia – “Research has shown convincing evidence that dietary patterns practiced during adulthood are important contributors to age-related cognitive decline and dementia risk. An article published in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences highlights information on the benefits of diets high in fruit, vegetables, cereals and fish and low in saturated fats in reducing dementia risk.”
~ Cause Of Insulin Resistance Discovered By UCSD Researchers – “Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have discovered that inflammation provoked by immune cells called macrophages leads to insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. Their discovery may pave the way to novel drug development to fight the epidemic of Type 2 diabetes associated with obesity, the most prevalent metabolic disease worldwide.”

Friday, November 9, 2007

2 week Mass and Strength Building Program

No boot camp for three weeks as I work through this program with Stef. Ill start posting daily reflections in the comments as I work through this

Day 1 AM
A1) Back Squat, 5 x 4-6, 40X0* tempo, rest 100 seconds
* That's four seconds down, no pause, explode up, no pause, then repeat for the next rep.
A2) Leg Extension (I will probably find a replacement such as straight leg deadlift or sissy squat), 5 x 4-6, 5 x 4-6, 40X0 tempo, rest 100 seconds
Note: Those A1/A2 designations mean to perform one set of squats, rest, perform one set of leg curls, rest, and repeat until you get five sets. Then move to the "B" exercises.
B1) Barbell Rows 5 x 8, 4010 tempo, rest 100 seconds
B2) Dips 5 x 8, 4010 tempo, rest 100 seconds

Day 1 PM
A) Snatch Deadlift on platform, 10 x 6, 5010 tempo, resting 3 minutes between sets
B1) Seated Dumbbell Press, palms facing each other (semi-supinated), 5 x 6-8, 4010 tempo, rest 100 seconds
B2) One-Arm Dumbbell Rows, 5 x 6-8, 2011 tempo, rest 100 seconds

Day 2
A1) Front Squats, 5 x 4-6, 40X0 tempo, rest 100 seconds
A2) Dumbell Lunge 5 x 4-6, 40X0 tempo, rest 100 seconds
B1) Close-Grip Pronated Pull-ups, 5 x 6-8, 3011 tempo, rest 100 seconds
B2) Incline Dumbbell Press 5 x 6-8, 3110 tempo, rest 100 seconds
Rest 2-3 Days before repeating Day 1


Crucial Points
• Each set goes balls to the walls!
• Not counting warm-ups, take each set to concentric failure. In other words, don't do a set of 8 with a weight you can rep to 15. Do sets of 8 with a weight you can only lift 8 times.
• If you have to decrease the weight every set to get the required number of reps, decrease the weight by no more than 5%.
• If you choose your own exercises, remember that all the movements you use have to be "most bang for your buck" exercises. Every exercise should involve at least two joints or more. No dumbbell flyes, kickbacks, or other Men's Healthexercises done with pursed lips.
• Don't worry about direct arm work. You'll gain plenty of arm size without direct biceps and triceps work during this program if you choose to use dips, chins, and presses.
• Now, if you want to use different exercises — heals-elevated squats, front squats the next day, zercher squat, etc. — that doesn't matter.

Wednesday 7th November 2007

Place: DNA tower

Workout:
Team A: Harness Sled Sprint with Sandbag Zercher Hold, Sprint 10m, 10 clean and throws (or press) with the sandbag repeat for 50m
Team B: Tabata Interval Kettlebell Swings alternating with Parallette push ups
Switch for 2 Rounds of each interval

DNA tower Sprint / Sled Pull, Sled Push Relay Race
Two Teams
1st person on each team runs up DNA tower Back Down and Tags the 2nd member for a 3-round 10m sled pull/push
Repeat 3 rounds then switch exercises for another 3 rounds

Notes:

Fn hard

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Hotel on Park Lane

I feel like I'm walking around a giant Monopoly game when in London and it is therefore a little strange to be staying in a hotel on Park Lane; the Sheraton in case you were wondering.

First order of duty after checking in was checking out the 'fitness facility' or whatever they happen to call it. Admittedly my hopes were not high after seeing the meagre description & photo on the website (click on the third picture under features and activities). But it was a little better than expectations, at least they had some weights:Other than the dumbbells which range from 2kg to 20kg in 2kg increments and the bench, there are some cardio machines - 1 stepper, 2 treadmills, 1 incumbent resistance cycle, 1 regular resistance cycle and 1 cross trainer. I think these machines are the deluxe ones where you can watch tv if you press the wrong thing on the lcd... evidence to follow.

Then there are a selection of lifefitness machines such as chest press, leg curl, leg extension and something akin to lat pulldown.

This is what I have to work with, no obvious way to perform pullups and no oly bar.

So, here are my tools, I am taking suggestions for some workouts that I can do with or without this gear. I'm thinking lots of pushups, dumbbell thrusters, presses, etc.

I'm planning to check out the local parks for a bar or bodyweight equipment.

Monday, November 5, 2007

Paul



Name: Paul
Alias: Grover
Occupation: Business Analyst
Age: 26
Bodyweight: 66kg
Comments: Training hard since about March 07 and not hard enough before that, harder today than yesterday and harder again tomorrow.



Benchmarks








1RM Deadlift130kg (197%)17/05/2008
1RM Bench Press75kg (114%)28/10/2007
1RM Squat100kg (152%)03/11/2007
1RM Military Press50kg (76%)03/11/2007
1RM Chinup30kg (45%)12/12/2007
Slosh pipe overhead hold4:0425/04/2008
'Heat the Pan' 1, 2, 3, 46:3703/03/2008




Short Term (29/12/2007) Goals








MovementGoalStatus
Deadlift100kgDone.
Bench PressBodyweightDone.
Squat (Deep)BodyweightDone.
Clean & Jerk60kg
Done.
Chinups15 unbrokenDone.
Pullups15 unbroken
Done.




Long Term (19/10/2011) Goals









MovementGoalStatus
Deadlift3xBW











Bench Press2xBW











Squat (Deep)2xBW











Clean & Jerk1.5xBW











Chinupssingle hand











Pullupssingle hand











Handstand pushupsunassisted













I'm working on the short and long term training plans to meet the goals, hopefully the long term goals will need to be adjusted soon...

Sunday 4th November

Place: NextGen Gym Spearwood

Training: Strength Circuit

12x Deadlift @ bodyweight +
12x Pull-up +
12x Ring Dips +
12m KB Bear Crawls
Max Rounds (aim for 12)

Notes:
Unforgiving this circuit an adaptation from Sparrows Dozen from GymJones- after three rounds we knew we were in trouble to get to 12.

Stef - 9 Rounds
Damon - 8 Rounds
Rod - 7 1/2 Rounds






Saturday, November 3, 2007

Effective Goal Setting for Strength Training

New article on Integral Strength Pod discussion from a friend of mine

http://pods.zaadz.com/integralstrength/discussions/view/200845

Your motivation as well as your progress depends in a large part on your ability to set effective goals. If you set goals that are too easy or too difficult you’ll find your desire and motivation wane and sometimes dissapear entirely. Smart effective and thus motivating goals have 5 basic parts - all of which have an important impact on motivation for your training.


Let’s start with the need to set specific goals. Ambiguity isn’t motivating. When you’re pursuing a nebulous cloud, such as “get stronger,” you’re not sure if you’ve arrived at your goal or not. From one perspective, you might have become stronger, but from another you haven’t. This ambiguity in the end dissipates your focus, stunts your motivation and leaves you wandering around often without much aim. Setting specific goals means writing down what you intend to achieve with as much detail as possible. So instead of setting the goal of “getting stronger” you could set the goal to perform 3 specific exercises - say chest press, leg press and seated row, using only these 3 machines at your gym. Then you would want to choose a weight and a number of repetitions that’s challenging for you.

This leads to the second important aspect of smart effective goal setting, your goals need to be measurable. If you can’t measure the goal you’ve set, you need to make it more specific. Having a goal that you can measure your progress towards and ultimately see if you accomplished your goal is critical if you’d like to foster your motivation. If your goal can be objectively measured you can be accurately assessed, evaluated and thus gauged on your progress (or lack there of). So if you set a goal that’s measurable you can have a day of reconing with yourself - you can see - that is objectively measure - did you accomplish your goal?

This day of reconing is the third important aspect of setting highly motivating goals. Your goals need to have a clear deadline. Without a clear ending point, your energy and motivation dissapates. You’ll end up saying to yourself, “well, it will take me a little bit longer to achieve that goal…” It probably won’t be long until you forget about your goal and simply start focusing on something else until you get distracted from that aim. With each day your focus wanders about your motivation is seeping from you like a that slow leak in your bike tire. It won’t be long until you’re standing still wandering what you’re going to do. Giving yourself a clear deadline focuses your mind on the goal at hand. As your mind focuses on the goal your energy and motivation to accomplish what you’ve set out will steadily build leading up to your goal. Instead of tapering off, you’ll begin pursing your goal with more vigor, focus and energy as your deadline approaches - the closer the deadline, the more motivated you’ll become.

The fourth aspect of effective goal setting is being realistic. When you set your goals you’ve got to be realisitic. If you’d like to leg press 500 pounds 12 times by next friday but you’ve never done more than 300 pounds once, you’re setting yourself up for failure. When you choose a goal that’s too hard or right next to impossible you’ll find your motivation to achieve it dissappearing. Similarly if your goal is to leg press 500 pounds 12 times in 3 months, but you can do 500 pounds 8 times right now you’re goal is too easy. If your goal is too easy it isn’t realistic in creating a real challenge. Choosing a goal that is realistic means finding the right challenge - the right tension - to push you, to ignite your motivation to fully engage in to your training with focus and a serious purpose.

Finally, smart effect goal setting needs to be recorded. You can’t have this all living in your head. You must write down your goals being as specific as you can. You’ve got to write down exactly how you’re going to measure your goals and the deadline within which you’ll work diligently to accomplish your goals.

Follow these 5 steps for smart effective goal setting and you’ll find your motivation naturally swell in its power, aim and focus. Along with it, you’ll be swept forward with continual movement forward towards achieving your goals. That doesn’t mean you’re not going to come across setbacks, sticking points and other difficulties; however, these are simply the critical stepping stones from which you’ll stand to take the next step forward towards your goals.

Summary: The 5 Aspects To Effective Goal Setting
1. Be specific.
2. Make your goal measurable.
3. Be realisitic.
4. Give yourself a clear deadline.
5. Record your goals and the path to achieving your goals.