the f word

I’m told, by my FT 60 that this is to be an easier training week.  I wasn’t really all that sure why cause last weeks’s stats were down on what I considered to be an easier week, although I have smashed my training and body in the last few weeks.  No wonder it’s telling me it’s time to dial it back.

I’m grumpy as anything today and consequently saying the f word quite a lot.  I could eat the face off anyone who annoys me.  And nearly everyone is annoying me in one way or another.  I’m just grumpy.  This girl at work is an idiot.  She’s an idiot at the best of times but today she’s being particularly annoying (perhaps I’m perceiving that she’s more annoying cause of my lowered bullshit tolerance level) today, and she’s doing it on purpose.  FARK!!  Just laziness, and immaturity – she would rather ask for help before looking herself of trying to do whatever it is that she has to do. 

She’s 16, so I guess that explains the immaturity.  She quit school and moved out of home just a few months ago.  Her father also died earlier this year, and I’m not completely compassionless to that; I’m sure that it would be one of the things that I would most struggle to deal with; but that’s no reason for her to leave school.  Her english, and spelling, is terrible.  She really should be at school still, learning to spell and speak english properly.  I cam so close to telling her that she had the english of a 10 year old when she was pronouncing badminton ‘bat-minton’.  Idiot.  She’s a classic case of an occa who needs more education.  She also needs to be corrected when she says the wrong words, like ‘how are yous’.  Yous is not a word.

Anyway, she’s annoying me today, so much so that I needed to come to the other shop to get away a bit.  I think I’m also annoyed at my own performance last night.  I drank too much and didn’t sleep at all well.  Not cool.  We spent all weekend fencing – tearing down one fence and putting up a 6 foot colourbond fence in its place.  It was hot all weekend, and save for little bits here and there we were out in the sun all weekend.  Although I didn’t really do that much work with the crowbar I still felt as though I was tired – and in need of a drink last night.  The frosty beers were good too.

gym rules

I was at the gym this afternoon and greatly unimpressed at the quality of the gym members.  It was full of teenagers.  Ok, so not full of teenagers, but you get the point.  Most of them wandered aimlessly.  The girls doing cardio and the boys, trying to be big strong men in the weights section.  The clientel of the gym I attend isn’t indicative of the sort of gym that I want to attend.  I want to go somewhere where people work hard.  Where people sweat and swear and occasionally bleed – I want to go somewhere where there is passion for what it’s about, for health & fitness, for proper exercise prescription and somewhere that people go to work hard, not to chat on their phones.

One young girl walked past me and looked, judging me from the fact that I am a little overweight and that I wear a mohawk.  She was chatting on her mobile; wandered over to a reclined exercise bike then proceeded to spin her legs, without any urgency on the lowest possible setting.  There was absolutely no intention to work hard.  She wasn’t carrying a towel, or a waterbottle.  She didn’t put the phone down to either set up the machine properly or put in the ‘workout’ that she wanted to do.  Then she proceeded to have a conversation with the girl on the bike next to her; all the while still on the phone.  I could have taken the phone off her and beaten her about the head and face with it.

It wasn’t the fact that she judged me that made me mad.  I don’t care.  She knows nothing about me, she means nothing to me.  She’s just an idiot.  But she was rude and off putting to probably the majority of the members there, and more to the point, taking up a machine doing something virtually worthless.  I just wish that they would get the hell out of the gym unless they’re there to do things properly.

LSD Vs HIIT explained

How confusing right?  Actually no.  There are many ways to do cardio, & all of them have a valid place in any fitness or weight loss program – what sort depends on your goals.

 LSD (or Long Slow Distance) is cardio performed over a longer period at a lower heart rate, generally between 60 & 70% of your Maximum Heart Rate.  It has long been thought to be ‘the thing’ to burn fat & get you to your weight loss goals.

 Then HIIT came along.  HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is cardio performed in short bursts at near 100% effort, with recovery periods in between.  Sounds hard right?  Well, simply put, it is.  Yes, it’s tough, but it’s also a sure fire way to significantly improve your fitness & rev up your results.

 LSD is great for those with bad joints, heart conditions & special populations.  Basically the more overweight & less fit you are, the more LSD would be the right thing to start you off with.  Yes, LSD does burn a greater percentage of total calories as fat, but it takes a long time to get there.  With today’s hectic lives we lead, do we want to be in the gym for any longer than necessary? No.  Didn’t think so.

 HIIT sessions are generally well over and done within 30 minutes – if you can stick it that long.  I said it was tough.  For more detailed reading on HIIT check out Cardio and Programming which is a bit of a summary of a guest blog written on the Robertson Systems website by Mike Boyle.  It’s an eye opening article and well worth a read.

 The maximum intensity bursts increase your heart rate  & intensity and kick up your calorie expenditure.  HIIT also has a greater ‘after burn’ effect than LSD; so you’ll keep burning calories longer.  HIIT pushes your metabolism through the roof and you get super fitness benefits to boot.  HIIT is just the ticket for anyone who gets bored easily, is short of time or likes to push themselves.  Although you’ll burn less fat as a percentage of your total calorie expenditure than with LSD, chances are your total calories will be about the same as, or even above your LSD session.   Just in half the time. 

 The graph below illustrates my point.

 

 

The sessions explained:

LSD Session - 40 minute walk – 4.50km (6.7kph). Average Heart Rate: 62% (121bpm).

Total Calories: 230              Fat Percentage: 50                 Fat Calories burnt: 115

Sessions to burn 1kg fat? 39

 HIIT Session - 30 minutes interval running, 45:15. Average Heart Rate: 93% (181bpm). 

Total Calories: 447               Fat Percentage: 20                 Fat Calories burnt: 89

Sessions to burn 1kg fat? 20

The workout LSD workout was 10 minutes longer, but burnt 217 less calories, despite the higher percentage of fat calories burnt through the session.  Why’s this important?  Weight loss is all about calorie balance – the more you burn the more you lose!  Simple.

So while LSD might be better know, and more commonly recommended for fat loss, unless you have some medical or physical condition stopping you from performing it, interval training is the way to go to achieve better fat loss results.  While the HIIT session used for illustration purposes might have  been extremely tough and only applicable to trained subjects; members of the general public will see greater fitness and fat loss results if a few harder intervals, or hills, are added into their program.  Gradually increase the amount of intervals, or hills in their program until they are performing higher intensity work for approximately a third of their workout time and go from there. 

A cautionary note before you jump in too deep - this is a personal account of two workouts performed by a highly trained client.  This blog is in no way a recommendation of workouts to be performed, or a prescrptive service to members of the public.  Perform all HIIT training with caution; and with a well qualified personal trainer if possible.

Chavs, big-mouthed D-Listers & a marriage.

That media-hungry slapper Jade Goody is back in the spotlight again. Granted, it’s not overly spectacular that she’s got cancer and is going to kick it pretty soon, but one would think that anyone reasonable would want to go out with a bit of dignity; not bloody splashing their ‘poor me’ sob story all over the papers. No, not the big-mouthed-racist-chav I’m-famous-for-being-famous Jade-bloody-Goody. I can not stand her. She’s a big-mouthed slapper, who really is the chav of chavs who just happened to be accepted into D-list ‘fame’ when she was on Big Brother. Her ensuing success is nothing to do with her talent (or what would appear to be lack of) – pure publicity. Today her publicist got on the radio; and I would have thought that Radio One would have had better things to broadcast; saying she wanted to make as much money as possible for her boys. Fair enough. I can see her point. But then in the same breath this numpty said she’s being so open about her illness to promote awareness to other women & that her stories have prompted an increase in women & teenage girls having smears. My arse she is concerned about that. It’s all about the money and the celebrity status for her. And it’s sad that people have so little in their lives they’re increasingly interested in this sort of bollocks. But that’s the reality of the celebrity obsessed culture that is Britain. Not that I’m knocking Britain…I wouldn’t dream of doing that. Just; you know.

Speaking of chavs, Rushmere was full of them today. I actually saw three girls walking along the side walk in those god-awful velor tracksuit bottoms. Purple and Hot Pink no less. Chavs. They sit about the shopping centre drinking cider from the can, & smoking giant splifs while looking generally raggedy, untidy and trying to look intimidating; all the while free loading off the public system. It might be completely inaccurate & big-headed, but I feel increasingly ‘better’ (for lack of a more apt word) than a lot of people I see about on the street – maybe just cause I actually look in the mirror before I go out, even just to the shops; and cause I get around to brushing my teeth more than once a week. Is that me having standards? Or is it that I do have standards, but they may be too high (say brushing your teeth twice a day – credit crunch & all) and henceforth I’m just plain judgemental if people can not meet said expectations and standards of dress and behaviour? Are we at finishing school?

Giving off done…I’ve spent the majority of the evening playing on my latest acquisition. A brand spanking new Advent 4211C netbook. It seems to be quite class, and I can confidently say that, with some adjustment & getting used to the smaller screen size, my fingers being more mashed together when I type and having a single control button for the finger panel, I could love the thing. It’s all very dinky and quite a sexy piece of kit. At 120G memory I‘m hoping that it stores enough of my photos and files to get me home. It seems quite handy, and relatively speedy, compared to the brick of a laptop I’ve had before. Here’s hoping the little thing lives up to my expectations.  I can not wait to see what it can do on the fly!

In other news, Mrs U & I are getting married. Decided over pints at Mary’s and only out of a her getting me to stay. ‘This is going to sound so gay…’ was the most common statement of the night coming out of her mouth and was frequently followed by some comment along the lines of ‘I cried this morning in the shower when I thought about you leaving’ or ‘I’m going to be heart broken when you leave’. So I simply suggested that for me to stay she’d have to marry me. Apparently would be no bother whatsoever, despite her already being married to Mr U. Although there would be none of the business…just a marriage of convenience. Would suit me down to the ground, just as long as I had the Army girl to keep me company on cold, lonely nights. Mrs U is now referred to as ‘Wifey’ or “Alpha Wife”. Clearly I should recognise my place and stay put.

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It’s just not cricket

The ‘experimental’ video referral system has my head done in.  It’s just not cricket to challenge the call of the umpire.  You accept decisions as they come; and you, as a player, realise and accept that the good come with the bad.  It happens to and has happened to all of us at some stage.  I’ve been on the end of some really really bad decisions; but there have been times when I haven’t walked.  As a bowler I hate when it happens to me, that someone doesn’t walk, but that’s also part of the game.  The majority of the time I would walk – it’s the honesty of the game – and I would always try to walk.  I do remember times when I haven’t; and it’s usually come from being overly worked up and competitive. 

I just think the video referral system is out of order.  It’s out of order to question the decision of the umpire; and where do you draw the line.  Catches, LBW…  When does the thrid umpire step in; or not step in.  I just think that it’s just not cricket. 

Concerns that technology would undermine the role of the on-field umpire have proved misplaced. Player referrals are a radical departure from the game’s traditions, but we have seen both teams conduct themselves responsibly on the field when requesting reviews.

How does this work when you look at a dismissal such as when Brad Haddin knocked the bails off with his gloves yet said nothing.  That’s just not cricket either.  I was so proud and happy at the sportsmanship displayed when Gilly walked, and continued to do so after the 2003 world cup.  It shows integrity.  Especially to walk when it’s contrary to the umpires decision.  That’s the way cricket is supposed to be played. 

So Australia has finally managed to pull their fingers out and win a match.  It’s a start I guess; but is it enough to pull them out of the disasterous slump that’s engulfed them this summer.  I can not believe their form.  Their loss to South Africa was the first home series loss in 16 years.  And not just the test series.  The one day series as well.  What are they doing?  Where are the problems?  I didn’t see the cricket, at all, and to be honest I just haven’t heard a lot about it.  Just that we lost.  Something that the English team were particularly pleased with.  After being bowled out for 51 by the West Indies I think they’ve their own thing to worry about.  I was watching today in shock as wicket after wicket fell.  I simply could not believe it; but what a performance by the West Indies!

Obviously the loss of senior, outstanding players such as Gilchrist, McGrath, Langer & Hayden have significantly influenced their capability as a team.  Yes, Haydos was still there, but surely the strength of Australian cricket should be able to somewhat compensate for the loss of 4 of the senior players.  Why was there never a problem when those 4 players came into the team.  Is it that Neilsen isn’t as ruthless as Buck was.  Is it that Buck was good enough a coach to get an inexperienced team through those times.  Were younger, more inexperienced players subjected to a better ‘blooding’ strategy.  I don’t know what the problem is; and what the answer is; but

Understand me

Last night, shift 2/2, I consulted with a woman who simply has a huge arse.  She’s huge legs.  She’s been ‘conditioned’ by years of pump, step and spin.  I hate these classes.  Particularly pump.  It’s neigh on impossible for an instructor to monitor the technique of every individual in the class; yet strangely they incorporate a high percentage of overly technical movements such as squats.  Squats, pulse squats, lets fuck up your knees, then your lower back & switch off your glutes & create pressure through your pelvis.  WTF?!

So many people these days have bad knees.  It’s probably the most common complaint that I hear in the gym.  Why?  I think somewhat it’s related to weight – but the majority of people that I would see in the gym wouldn’t be overly obese.  Fat yes.  But not hugely obese.  Is it lifestyle?  Current trends see us driving everywhere, leading lazy, inactive lives.  Obviously this contributes significantly to weight & obesity; but does it also have a significant impact on joint function?

This woman was nearly ridiculous.  First I tried to get her into some simple VMO activation & control exercises.  She failed to understand just how I could do it but she couldn’t.  All the while I was talking to her about it though she continued to thrash away at her quads, lacking the ability to step back, slow down & do a half contraction.  Why is this?  How does she not understand? 

I told her if she wanted my help, and was serious about losing weight she’d have to do a full week food diary, and be 100% accurate in what & when she ate.  She giggled.  I sensed that everyone could see my head drop & I said flat out “if you’re not honest with me, I’ll know, and I can’t help”.  I hope she gets it; I really do; but I can’t help but feel that she’s going to fuck it up.  I’m not sure she’s serious.  I’m not sure she’s really serious enough to justify me putting in the effort that I usually do…

So here are the rules for getting my help with things.

1. Honesty.  For my programs to work I require 100% honesty in our consultations.  From food diaries to exercise habits & attitudes to commitment.  Don’t tell me you’ll do it if you aren’t 100% committed to the program.  You’re wasting your time.  Don’t waste mine.

2. Commitment.  If you’re not 100% committed to the program it WILL NOT WORK.  I don’t know how I can make this clearer.  Eat what I tell you, when I tell you.  Train how I tell you.  Don’t tweak the program.  It’s how it is for a reason. 

3. Effort.  The programs I prescribe are not easy.  They’re not designed to be easy; they’re designed to work.  BUT they will not work without you putting in the effort to make sure they’re completed.  Effort is the key to all results.  It is the be-all and end-all of the program.  Effort in everything from the training to the eating to the day to day committment to create a better life. 

4. Faith.  The programs I prescribe are different.  Probably unlike any that you’ve ever experienced before; and unlike any that you will ever experience again.  They’ve been put together through a very thorough process of trial and error; of gaining the knowledge then applying it; seeking out limitations & exploring possibilities that might creat better opportunities for success.  For the programs to work you have to have faith that success will come.  When the road begins to get rough, committment and consistency are the key to overcoming obstacles.

 

 

 

 

Absolute Rubbish

Reading a blog that’s apparently related to mine…shoulders perhaps; but the guy writes rubbish.  Absolute rubbish!  Check it out here: http://prabakars.wordpress.com/2008/08/22/weight-loss-exercise-programs/

Mr Prabakar12 recommends long slow, low intensity exercise as the best way thing for weight loss program.  His reason.  It burns a higher percentage of fat.  Yes, low intensity exercise performed over longer periods will result in a higher percentage of caloric expenditure coming from fat oxidation, but real world application of this is meaningless when you consider that short bursts of high intensity training will burn, in total, more calories.  Weight loss is all about achievig a caloric deficit.  I.e. expending more calories than you intake.  More calories expended means more weight loss.  Simple.  For this reason I always, always prescribe a program of 1. High intensity, short duration interval training followed by 15 – 20 minutes of moderate activity. 2. Strength training. and 3. Diet modification – eat less, more. 

To prove my point lets look at 45 minutes of exercise.  Low intensity training may result in a 300cal expenditure with, lets say 50% of those calories coming from fat sources.  Therefore, 150 calories will come from fat.  In order to burn the caloric equivalent of 1kg of fat with this form of exercise, you will need to do 30 sessions.  On the other hand, high intensity interval training of the same duration will burn, say, 500 calories at approximately 30% fat.  That’s still 150 calories burnt from fat sources but to burn the equivalent to 1kg of fat you only need to do 18 sessions.  Statistically speaking, this would then mean that low intensity training is NOT more effective for weight loss as one effectively has to exercise for 22.5 hours to burn 9000 calories (1kg of fat), rather than having to exercise for 13.5 hours when doing so at a higher intensity.  Exercise output over the equivalent time period should be the baseline measure for exercise effectiveness.

Right, so now the key factor for actual, proven fat loss results.  Real world application of the two different protocols are of course extremely specific to each individual.  If someone is heavily obese, unfit or suffers any of the numerous contraindications to high intensity exercise then yes, they should start out with low intensity, longer duration exercise.  Their weight loss will not be too heavily affected by performance at higher intensity, however they will enjoy the exercise more and should be progressed to harder work and effort levels as their fitness increases.  For the fitter members of the population, a carefully designed, well thought-out exercise program will see both weight loss and more significant improvement in their fitness than low intensity exercise.  Of course, adherence to the program is affected by a number of factors, including duration of workouts.  I for one know that I would prefer to workout for a shorter period of time for more results, or to get the same results in less total time.  I endorse and practice quality over quantity.