Interval training options

This post will follow up Dan' previous article on interval training. Here are a few simple examples if you are training in the gym or outside:

Treadmill:

·         Warm-up

·         30-60 seconds maximum speed

·         60-90 seconds comfortable recovery

·         Repeat for 5-8 sets

Track:

·         Warm up

·         5-8 100 metre sprints

·         300 metre walk to recover

·         Each sprint and recovery will therefore be the length of the track

Rowing machine:

·         Warm up

·         45 second sprint

·         45 second recovery (stop rowing or slow)

·         Go to menu – select workout – new workout – intervals:time – 45:45

·         Aim for 5-8 sets @ level 7

Exercise bike:

·         Warm up

·         2 minutes at 9/10 effort (tough level) – maintaining speed between 80-100rpm

·         2 minutes at recovery pace of 5/10 (easy level) speed between 80-100rpm

·         5 sets

Summit trainer:

·         Warm up

·         3 minutes 9/10 effort above 5km/h tough level

·         3 minutes recovery above 5km/h easy level

·         5 sets

Swimming:

·         Warm up

·         2 lengths as fast as possible
·         2 lengths recovery - Repeat this combo 5-8 times

Hill sprints:

• Warm - up
• Sprint up a large hill
• walk down for recovery
• 5-10 sets

Simple But hugely effective!

Revisiting my squat programme

I wrote a previous post on goal setting. One of mine was to reach the 150kg mark on the squat for 1 rep. Currently my programme consists of the following.

• Warm up with bodweight exercises and mobility work
• Squats - building up to 6 sets of 3 reps - 3-4 minutes rest between sets
• Front squats - 4 sets of 8 reps - 90 seconds between sets

The programme is really simple but still very hard work. I'm not used to taking such long rests between sets but this is necessary when lifting heavy. Not only do you need the muscles to  recover but also the central nervous system.

I did all of my sets on 127.5kg. That's 18 reps overall. You can keep the volume up by doing multiple sets.

I will do the same routine this week but I will throw in a few single reps at the end to see how far off 150 I am! Probably quite a bit off!

 Pic of Barbell Front Squats

Oli.

 

Caveman workout!

This month I want you to try a different workout, to transform you from deskman to caveman! The same applies to all you cavewomen out there! The routine focuses on exercises/muscles that you would need to use when hunting or gathering. Do the following routines once a week, or twice if time allows:

Workout one

400 metres of the track/outside, quick pace
20 high bench/box jumps 3 sets of 10 reps
Pullups 3 sets of maximum reps
medicine ball throws 3 sets x 10 per side
Goblet squats 3 sets of 15
Dumbell clean and press 3 sets of 10 reps
Cable woodchops 3 sets of 10 per side
400 metres of the track, quick pace

Workout two

Deadlift 3 sets of 8 reps
Lunges 3 sets of 10 reps per leg
Cable press 3 sets of 10 reps
Mountain climbers or bear crawls
Farmers walk 3 x 50 metres / shrugs 3 x 10
Dumbell punches 3 sets of punching with dumbells for 1 minute
Sprints 50 metres x 5

Some of you may have heard of the Paleo diet (paleolithic). This draws on the use of Caveman foods only. All sugars, grains, dairy products, refined sugars, and processed foods are avoided. Basically, you can't eat anything that wasn't around a million years ago. Instead, organic meats, fish, veg, fruit, nuts, and seeds are eaten.

A typical day could be:

Eggs with grilled tomatoes and grilled mushrooms
snack -Apple
Beef stir fry with no noodles and lots of veg
snack - Nuts and dried fruit
Turkey burgers and salad
snack -Pineapple

 

Try this diet and exercise plan for 4 weeks and you will get a lot leaner! Email me at orm@tonbridge-school.org if you want me to take you through the routines!

Oli.

Superfoods

When I first started in the industry, one of my targets was to learn as much about nutrition as possible. I remember when I first read about Goji berries. Apparantley they are rich in anti oxidants, they have more Vitamin C than oranges and more Beta-carotene than carrots. They are also high in B-vitamins. Did they change my life? Not really..

I found the following on the internet:

The Tibetan Goji berry (Lycium barbarum) is an amazing berry originating from the Himalayan Mountains, grown on the border between Tibet and China (where they are called Wolfberries).
The berries are a respected part of Himalayan culture, and the locals celebrate an annual Goji (meaning happy) two-week celebration in the berry's honor.


In my opinion, flying a food miles around the world for my consumption is fantastic but is it really worth it? I believe health comes from fresh local produce. Fruits grown in an alotment or in your garden are full of flavour and goodness. As soon as a fruit is picked, it starts to lose its nutritional value. Then it has to travel the world, get delivered to the supermarket, and then sit on the shelf for a few days.

A friend of mine has his own chickens. The eggs he gives me are an amazing yellow colour, and I am still on the hunt for a farm where I can get raw organic milk! 6 eggs at my supermarket are £2.69!! I can get 10 large free range ones from a local farm for £1. So cost doesn't have to be an issue. Local butchers should be utilised for fresh quality meat.

My mission is to search the local area for more local produce (on a budget!). I also need to move out of my flat so I can get a garden to grow some veg!! Who needs the himilayas!

Oli.



Goal setting



If you want to progress more effectively, goal setting is a great way to help you do this. Your goals can be long-term or short term. Both combined are probably even better. If you set a long term goal of losing 2 stone in 12 months, you can then break this into monthly or quarterly targets.

I often say to myself I would like to be 14 stone. I'm currently weighing in at 13 stone. However, although this my goal, I have been very vague about my approach. Being 14 stone would be nice, but with no real plan I haven't budged on the scales. Putting on a stone through weight training is tough, mainly due to the constant food you need to consume (see Dan's previous post for tips on this). With no real structure, things can take a lot longer!

Make sure your goals are realistic. If you have slowly put on 3 stone in the last 10 years, don't expect to lose it in 3 months. Don't aim to run a half marathon in a good time, with 4 weeks training. The idea is to plan ahead. Be motivated but it doesn't have to consume your life. One of the best things to do is to write your goal down. Leave it on your fridge, or on a pin board. Another great thing to do is to meet with a member of the gym team or a personal trainer. They can help guide you and put a realistic time frame on your goal. From there they can help map out your path to success!!

I have a goal in mind to squat 150 kilograms for one clean rep. Squating has never been a massive strength of mine. My legs were always pretty skinny as a young lad. My current best is attempt is 132.5 kg, going nice and deep.

My next goal is to try and perform a muscle up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJX1pxL-NMo

I can do pullups reasonably well but I have no gymnastic training and have little idea of where to start. Dan is going to take me through some teaching points and is going to give me things to work on. This is where the value of getting another trainer's help really pays off.

I am going to post my training over the next few months to let you know how I am going with both attempts and to see if I am closer to any of my goals. Both of which I would like to do by the end of the year!!

Oli.

Eat butter

I have been eating butter again for a good few years now. Go for a natural organic variety. I also go unsalted.
A small amount of butter with each meal will actually help your body absorb key nutrients, because butter helps promote healthy bacteria in your gut. Butter is a source of butyric acid, an amino acid that helps feed the good bacteria in your gut.



Oli.

Gaining Weight

I think it’s safe to say the most common goal in the gym is weight loss however I continue to find myself being confronted by countless individuals whose goals is that of weight gain. With this in mind I decided to focus one post on a subject which is often not discussed however provides a problem for so many individuals. So if you are in such a position and really struggling to gain weight for a particular sport or some alternative reason then this post will give a good example of one potential diet to follow for constructive weight gain.

Key points to try when training for weight gain.

1.       Consume more calories per day then the total amount of calories your body uses per day.

(A surplus of 200-400 calories should be sufficient)

2.       Try to maintain a ratio of 50% carbs, 25 % proteins and 25% good fats.

3.       Try to minimize caloric expenditure where possible

4.       Keep training sessions should short 60 minutes

5.       The rest between sets should be kept to a minimum; 90 seconds or less

6.       Weight Training Exercise should not be performed for more than two days in a row.

7.       Work within a range of 6-15 repetitions when training.

8.       Training must be progressive

9.       Training must be varied

10.   The form in which you perform an exercise should be impeccable.

11.   Training must consist primarily of free weight basic exercises.

12.   Increase your protein intake to 1.5 grams of protein per pound bodyweight. Protein sources should come from lean low fat sources like chicken, turkey, 93% lean red meats, tuna, egg whites, shrimp, tilapia, mackerel, and salmon.

13.   Increase your carbohydrate intake to between 1.5-2 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight. Good examples are brown rice, oatmeal, pasta and sweet potatoes. Limit the higher glycaemic/simple carbs (like bananas) for after the workouts.

14.   Finally, make sure that you have around 15-20 grams of fibrous carbohydrates, such as green beans or broccoli, at lunchtime and 15-20 grams more at dinnertime as these will help to keep your digestive tract clean and ready to accept new nutrients, thus maximizing nutrient utilization.

15.   Increase your intake of good fats. Some fats are necessary to ensure good hormonal production and thus muscle growth. Eliminate all fats and see your testosterone levels take a dive.

One Example of a natural high calorie diet used for weight gain

Week Starting:
Breakfast	Est Calories	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
3x Large Eggs	210
3x Multi Toast	315
1x 2.5 Cups Rice krispies	260
1x 250ml Milk	130
Mid Morning Snack
1x 500ml Milk	260
1x 100g Oats	388
Lunch
1x Fish portion	250
1x 90g Rice	170
1x Cup Veg	25
1x 1/2 Cup Yogurt	75
PreWorkout
2x Bananas	210
PostWorkout
2x Bagles	287
Mid Evening Snack
1x 2 Chiken Breasts	260
1x 90g Rice	170
1x Cup Veg	25
Dinner
1x Large Dinner	600
1x 1/2 Cup Yogurt	75
Night Snack
2x Scrabled Eggs	98
total	3808

Awareness - your biggest stumbling block to weightloss

The majority of us know what foods will help us lose weight. The majority of us know that we could also do a little extra exercise to help get the ball rolling. But some of us are completely unaware of how much we consume and are obliviuos to the fact that this could be completely stalling our fat-loss.

When I get people to fill out diet diaries (being as honest as possible!), I have seen people lose up to 4 pounds in a week! This is before we have even evaluated their diet and offered them some tips to get started!
I often ask people "what is a typical day like for you". The response I always get is "Porridge in the morning, salad for lunch and fish and veg in the evening". I then think to myself, now that's a diet you should be losing weight on. It's only when they fill out a diet diary, does the picture become clearer; biscuits, large pasta dishes, deserts twice a day, alcohol, no breakfast etc, etc. Everything becomes clearer to me but also to them.

I gaurantee that if you write down everything you eat for a week, you will lose weight (if this is your goal). Or you will realise why you aren't!

Another tool that a few clients and friends are using is an application on the Iphones called My Fitness Pal. This gives you a calorie target for the day (depending on your weight loss goals). You enter your food and then it works out your daily amount. I am not big on calorie counting. But I am big on being aware of what you eat.

Alternatively, have a note pad by your bed and fill this out at the end of the day, pull up a word document and fill this in at work, type it in your phone, etc. Start writing things down and you will notice a difference, instantly!

Oli.

A product of your environment?

When we exercise, our body will adapt to the stress we put it under. However, this doesn't just refer to the gym. Our body will adapt to everything we do in our day. The reason I bring this up is due to the amount of time that people 'sit' during the day.

It is not uncommon to drive to the station, sit on the train, sit at the desk for 8 hours, take the train and car back home to then sit in front of the T.V.

Constant sitting has an adverse affect on certain muscle groups. This can be the reason for many aches and pains.

Immediately you can see the affect this has on the spin. The muscles it will affect include:

• Hips - with your knees and hips bent at 90 degrees, the hips will get extremely tight. The hip flexor muscles (if over-tight) can lead to back pain due to tilting the pelvis in the wrong direction.
• Glutes - Your bum muscles are one of the largest muscles groups and potentialy one of the most powerful. If you sit on them all day, they won't be. Weak bum muscles often lead to a weak back due to lack of support. If the bum muscles aren't strong, the back may take the strain when lifting and exercising.
• Lower back - As you round your lower back, it will stretch and relax. All the time it is relaxed and is out of use, it will get weaker. This will expose you to more lower back problems.
• Middle/upper back - Rounded shoulders can cause problems in your shoulders and neck.
• Neck - As your back rounds your head comes forward (especially if the screen is not in the best position). For every inch your head moves forward and adapts to being in this position, your head will exert an extra 7kgs (1 stone) on your cervical spine. A scary fact.

All is not lost! The gym can reverse this. The following exercises will help you get fit, strong and lean but also work the muscles that get neglected and weak due to too much sitting!

Glutes - Aim for bodyweight or weighted lunges, squats, step-ups, deadlifts, fitball bum raises, running, or the summit trainer.

Lower back - Deadlifts, Back extensions, squats, hyperextensions

Middle back - Lat pulldown, rows (dumbell, cable, machine), face pulls, cobras, deadlifts (again), farmers walks.

You should also stretch muscles that get over-tight. These include the chest, upper back, abs and hips.

You can't expect to sit at your desk all day and then at weekends wonder why your back hurts when you do the gardening, housework, play sport. This isn't the case for everyone but I hear this alot.
Why not see a gym instructor for a programme including all the above exercises and stretches for the tight areas. Get strong in these areas and avoid turning into a product of your environment!

Oli.

Intervals

For a long time now Interval training has been recognised as being great way to improve performance and help promote fat loss. Its diverse nature has resulted in it being used in some form or another by a large majority of people. The fact that there are so many different types of interval training including a vast variety of exercises on limitless pieces of equipment has really helped bring it to the masses.  

N.B It is advisable to have built up a reasonable CV base through endurance training before attempting to commence a period of Interval Training.

I am going to specifically focus on High-intensity interval training (HIIT) in this post allowing you to gain insight into one type of intervals. HIIT is a specific interval training which is intended to help progress performance and reduce recovery times with short training sessions. HIIT focuses on cardiovascular exercise (CV) which is beneficial to burning fat in a short and intense workout. A stereotypical HIIT session may vary from 10–30 minutes.

Advantages of HIIT

1)      Allows for a short effective work out on days where gym time is tight.

2)      These short intense Intervals are a very effective way to burn calories.

3)      Adds variety to your work out helping prevent plateaus.

4)      Stresses and shocks the body in new ways.

5)      Helps reduce recovery times after high intensity bursts.

6)      Great for reducing body fat; football players are a great advertisement to the benefits.

7)      Will help increase Vo2 Max and body’s overall ability to sustain higher level work.

8)      Progression maybe accelerated compared to when focusing solely on endurance work.

9)      Causes your body to use a variety of different energy systems throughout your workout.

10)   Increases the body ability to work with lactate acid present and remove it after build up.

11)   Intervals allow you to spend more time at an intense level with lower blood lactate levels.

Disadvantages of HITT

1)      Unless motivated to push hard workouts will not have intended effects.

2)      Risk of injury when training at higher intensity can be slightly increased.

3)      Requires an initial established CV base.

Different Examples of HIIT Workout

1)      30-30 HIIT Interval (Short Intervals)

    30 seconds of work @ 90% Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) /Maximum Power Output (MPO)

                                                                Vs.

                                 30 seconds of recovery @ 50% MHR/MPO

 This should be repeated for set time of 10minutes -30minutes or until you cannot maintain the 90% MHR/MPO.

2)      3min-3min HIIT Intervals (Long Intervals

                                                3minutes of work @ 90% MHR/MPO

                                                                                   Vs.

3 minutes of recovery @ 50% MHR/MPO

This should be repeated for set time of 10minutes – 30 minutes or until you cannot maintain the 90% MHR/MPO.

Differences between Long and Short Intervals

Shorter Intervals Create a Larger O2 Debt (When you train at an intense level you can't supply o2 at a fast enough rate to fuel the muscles… and you build up a O2 debt which must be repaid to return the muscles to normal) shorter interval had a greater oxygen uptake than the longer intervals. This larger oxygen debt meant it would take longer to repay this in turn means that more calories would be burned for a longer after exercising.

On the other hand longer intervals help to increase your VO2 max (Vo2 max is a way of assessing how efficiently your body absorbs transports and uses oxygen) People with a higher VO2 max will burn more calories doing the same activity as someone with a lower VO2 max. With this improved Vo2 max you will be able to push harder and get out of shorter intervals.

So try injecting some into your training and receive real benefits in many different aspects of your fitness. For anymore help or advice please feel free to approach the fitness team.

Dan Byrne

Bootcamp Update

Our new Bootcamp classes have been going from strength to strength, quite literally, since there launch on 7th June. We now have around 10-15 participants at each session which has made for a great atmosphere and there is still more than enough equipment-and indeed space- to continue this growth over the coming months.

Despite the relatively intense reputation of Bootcamps nationwide, both in terms of the outdoor exposure and the nature of the exercises performed, the sessions have been well-recieved by a varied range of our members and both of our instructors (Graham Green on Tuesdays and Emma Cotton on Thursdays) have done an excellent job of providing fun and diverse workouts suitable for all ages and abilities.

Often run in circuit-format, the Bootcamps offer a range of both cardio-vascular and resistance based exercises (and more than often the two disciplines combined!) which makes for a total body workout to compliment any regime.

So even if you don't think flipping tyres or dragging large chains is your cup of tea, why not give it a go and see if Grham and Emma can convince you otherwise!

Enjoy!