In my earlier posts I set out a number of goals to achieve by xmas. Xmas has been and passed and I am still no nearer to completing most of my goals.
I cannot say if I have lost my target amount of fat because it has been so long since I got on some scales. However I do feel that I have lost fat since I can see and feel less. This has been because I have shown restraint in my diet which I previously did not. However I am still not being as stringent as I planned which will change.
There is no way in hell I could do a set of 100 press-ups or 12 pull-ups. I think my best at the moment would be 25-30 press-ups on a good day and 6-8 pull-ups. This will change. I have got in to a slack routine of cutting corners, being waited on, putting in a half arsed effort and playing too much XBOX (a recurring theme). I think it goes without saying that I have not being hitting my target of 3 exercise sessions a week. If I had I would be closer to my goal, but I am not. I have been doing some exercise here and there but nothing regimented enough to see real gains.
A real step forward is that I am in the process of creating a training plan that is based on my 5 week rota pattern. A standard week-by-week plan just isn't suitable because of my work times. A different shift pattern every week would make the same routine almost impossible. So I am planning for this and making compensations where they must but maintaining a consistant regime is the key. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
I have began to realise that a number of psychological factors have played a big part in my being and coming to terms with them ans handling them is not easy. Some days getting out of bed is a chore. My health and social lifw have suffered greatly because of this and my work is beginning to be effected too. This needs to change and with the support of my friends and family I will get there.
I also have a new means of combating my problems and that is getting back into sport. I have been asked on numerous occassions to start playing rugby again. I am currently getting full details about this so I can make arrangements with work and include it in my plan. More regular updates to follow.
Monday 26 December 2011
Tuesday 18 October 2011
The Bigger They Are....
Just been on a run with my older brother. It was only 3.5 miles from start to end but my god what an ordeal!! He sat quite a moderate pace for me at the start but eben still my lack of physical activity in recent times shone through yet again. I managed the first mile or so at this pace but that was it. After the first mile my calves were burning red hot and a long down hill section adjitated my ankle. From then on I could only manage a few hundred yards before I had to walk the pain in my calves off. My cardio was not too bad as I never really felt like I was gasping for air. It was just my lack of muscular endurance that stopped me from reaching this point.
I got my heart rate to what felt like 160BPM which I know I can handle for over 20mins as I do this on the exercise bike at work regularly. But this that is on a bike so the pounding on the legs doesnt come into it. From this I have learned that a need to address my running technique as I appear to be making things harder for myself than needs be. The first thing my brother picked up on (and always has) is that I take really small strides for a man of my size. So what I need to do is extend my stride but not too far as to feel unatural. This will take some trial and error Im sure but it will pay dividens in the long run. The second point is that my body positioning when running down hill in particular is putting more and more pressure on joints as I am trying to stay bolt upright instead of relaxing and leaning into the hill. I know I do this because even on a flat section I can tell that I am rigid and feel unrelaxed, like everything is very serious. It also tires my shoulders and biceps out from holding a stoic pose when running other than my legs. I just need to loosen up and I know it will become easier. The thrid and final point is that I sound like a herd of elephants stomping through as I run. This will be combination of an uneasy running technique and the extra weight gain. Obviously I can blame some of the pain in my calves on the extra weight on my joints from rapid weight gain and inactivity.
The run has only spurred my on to get better at running and obviously fitter. I am feeling first hand the difficulties that are coupled with being over weight and running. I now see that there is no need to have a little extra weight as stored energy. Not in this day and age when food is so easily available wherever you go. So it is my goal just to drop as much fat as I can and not really focus on the total weight Im at. This is because when I do gain muscle it would obviously bring up my total weight. To help quantify this I will do my best to make monthly use of a Bio-Electrical Impedance machine to got my total body weight but more importantly my body fat %. When I was at my peak of fitness, rather amazingly just before I injured my ankle, I was at 8% body fat. Which may seem a lot but when you consider that most other males who had the % analysed when I had mine done were all PT's, sportsmen and students alike they were getting around 15% and they were in great shape.
I can also feel it in my heart (lungs, legs, head and arms!!) that my recovery time which was once my main physical advantage over most people has not hit rock bottom. I used to be able to do 5mins rolling at BJJ and be fine to go again for another 4 or 5 rounds with only 1min in between. Now 5mins rolling would have me in A&E on a breather!! I first need to work on a base level of fitness and the technique issues before I can get into more intense training to aid recovery. My answer to this will be volume.
My training value at the moment is still too low. I will now make sure that there is a minimum of 3 cardion sessions a week done. As well as daily physical exercises that can be down around the house like press-ups and pull-ups. Through sheer volume of training I will see the base level of fitness increase to a level where I can complete I run without needed to walk the burn off!!
I got my heart rate to what felt like 160BPM which I know I can handle for over 20mins as I do this on the exercise bike at work regularly. But this that is on a bike so the pounding on the legs doesnt come into it. From this I have learned that a need to address my running technique as I appear to be making things harder for myself than needs be. The first thing my brother picked up on (and always has) is that I take really small strides for a man of my size. So what I need to do is extend my stride but not too far as to feel unatural. This will take some trial and error Im sure but it will pay dividens in the long run. The second point is that my body positioning when running down hill in particular is putting more and more pressure on joints as I am trying to stay bolt upright instead of relaxing and leaning into the hill. I know I do this because even on a flat section I can tell that I am rigid and feel unrelaxed, like everything is very serious. It also tires my shoulders and biceps out from holding a stoic pose when running other than my legs. I just need to loosen up and I know it will become easier. The thrid and final point is that I sound like a herd of elephants stomping through as I run. This will be combination of an uneasy running technique and the extra weight gain. Obviously I can blame some of the pain in my calves on the extra weight on my joints from rapid weight gain and inactivity.
The run has only spurred my on to get better at running and obviously fitter. I am feeling first hand the difficulties that are coupled with being over weight and running. I now see that there is no need to have a little extra weight as stored energy. Not in this day and age when food is so easily available wherever you go. So it is my goal just to drop as much fat as I can and not really focus on the total weight Im at. This is because when I do gain muscle it would obviously bring up my total weight. To help quantify this I will do my best to make monthly use of a Bio-Electrical Impedance machine to got my total body weight but more importantly my body fat %. When I was at my peak of fitness, rather amazingly just before I injured my ankle, I was at 8% body fat. Which may seem a lot but when you consider that most other males who had the % analysed when I had mine done were all PT's, sportsmen and students alike they were getting around 15% and they were in great shape.
I can also feel it in my heart (lungs, legs, head and arms!!) that my recovery time which was once my main physical advantage over most people has not hit rock bottom. I used to be able to do 5mins rolling at BJJ and be fine to go again for another 4 or 5 rounds with only 1min in between. Now 5mins rolling would have me in A&E on a breather!! I first need to work on a base level of fitness and the technique issues before I can get into more intense training to aid recovery. My answer to this will be volume.
My training value at the moment is still too low. I will now make sure that there is a minimum of 3 cardion sessions a week done. As well as daily physical exercises that can be down around the house like press-ups and pull-ups. Through sheer volume of training I will see the base level of fitness increase to a level where I can complete I run without needed to walk the burn off!!
Saturday 15 October 2011
New Skills
After a full day of lessons and practice I am now a certified recreational level snow boarder. It was a really long day and I burned some serious kcals through training for 3hrs. It is such hard work on the lower body and core. Constant strain on the quads, hamstrings and glutes. The glutes get trashed!! Not only from none stop work but from falling flat on them too.
Made the most of the time training by running up the slope every time to get on it faster to get more practice and get a bit more phys in. I am definitely feeling the gains of my training even in such a short period of time. My legs are becoming more muscular as they feel more toned already. It is a massive moral boost to be feeling benefits already. It just spurs me on to do more and keep up the variety in the training.
I also may be starting swimming once a week because lets face it you have to search high and low to find a better workout than swimming. Obviously MMA circuit training is a close second but I think I need to get some more muscular strength and endurance before I can cross that bridge properly. Definitely going to focusing on fitness training rather than bulking up. What is the use in muscle if its for show? Not to mention the fact that a functional muscular body looks a lot better than someone who just goes to the gym and does bicep curls all day!? I have now subscribed to a new magazine "Train Hard Fight Easy" which is an MMA training magazine to give me a few more training tools and ideas to use. I am now more and more becoming a believer that variety in training is definitely the key to keeping results and gains coming so the body cant easily adapt.
Made the most of the time training by running up the slope every time to get on it faster to get more practice and get a bit more phys in. I am definitely feeling the gains of my training even in such a short period of time. My legs are becoming more muscular as they feel more toned already. It is a massive moral boost to be feeling benefits already. It just spurs me on to do more and keep up the variety in the training.
I also may be starting swimming once a week because lets face it you have to search high and low to find a better workout than swimming. Obviously MMA circuit training is a close second but I think I need to get some more muscular strength and endurance before I can cross that bridge properly. Definitely going to focusing on fitness training rather than bulking up. What is the use in muscle if its for show? Not to mention the fact that a functional muscular body looks a lot better than someone who just goes to the gym and does bicep curls all day!? I have now subscribed to a new magazine "Train Hard Fight Easy" which is an MMA training magazine to give me a few more training tools and ideas to use. I am now more and more becoming a believer that variety in training is definitely the key to keeping results and gains coming so the body cant easily adapt.
Friday 14 October 2011
Weekly Update
I know its been a while but I have been keeping on top of things. All this week I have introduced 2 press-up pyramids a day into my regime as well as using my grip master again. As a result my hands are crampy as buggery!!
The weeks events began on Monday with a run from home to Sir Jacks and back which is round trip of just under 7 miles. Not bad considering 3 miles nearly killed me the other day. The main down point with the run was that with my new trainers not being worn in for very long at they were eating through my feet by the time I got to the tan yard. So I had to have a couple of stops along the way to give myself a breather from the pain. I will also own up to having to walk from Sir Jacks to just before Wicko comp to ease the pain a bit. I then ran my heart out as far as could with only 1 stop near the stag because of the pain the blisters with giving me. My cardio was not too bad at all, in fact I was suprised and impressed that I didnt have to cop out because of poor fitness. Fair enough we were going at a pretty slow speed but then it was 7 miles!! When my shoes are worn in properly it is my goal to do the run again without stopping no matter how long it takes me.
I have also discovered snow boarding!! This was on Tuesday. It is totally awesome, not too great cardio obviously although I did run up the hill every time rather than walk to get a bit more of a sweat on. It was really a muscular workout on the legs obviously since 99% of the work done is down there. Your quads and thighs are under constant strain and its also a great core workout as the balance needed is obviously pretty high. Especially when you have got to be half squating with your hips forward most of the time!! I did level 1 lesson which is obviously pretty basic but I am off to do level 2 (possibly 3) and hit the slopes later today (Friday).
So not a world of exercise being done obviously but with my friends birthday in Leeds Tuesday till Wednesday and my brother getting home yesterday I haven't honestly had chance. So making up for it with a myriad of different sports/exercises for all round fitness. The long road continues and it is becoming more and more interesting each time I exercise.
The weeks events began on Monday with a run from home to Sir Jacks and back which is round trip of just under 7 miles. Not bad considering 3 miles nearly killed me the other day. The main down point with the run was that with my new trainers not being worn in for very long at they were eating through my feet by the time I got to the tan yard. So I had to have a couple of stops along the way to give myself a breather from the pain. I will also own up to having to walk from Sir Jacks to just before Wicko comp to ease the pain a bit. I then ran my heart out as far as could with only 1 stop near the stag because of the pain the blisters with giving me. My cardio was not too bad at all, in fact I was suprised and impressed that I didnt have to cop out because of poor fitness. Fair enough we were going at a pretty slow speed but then it was 7 miles!! When my shoes are worn in properly it is my goal to do the run again without stopping no matter how long it takes me.
I have also discovered snow boarding!! This was on Tuesday. It is totally awesome, not too great cardio obviously although I did run up the hill every time rather than walk to get a bit more of a sweat on. It was really a muscular workout on the legs obviously since 99% of the work done is down there. Your quads and thighs are under constant strain and its also a great core workout as the balance needed is obviously pretty high. Especially when you have got to be half squating with your hips forward most of the time!! I did level 1 lesson which is obviously pretty basic but I am off to do level 2 (possibly 3) and hit the slopes later today (Friday).
So not a world of exercise being done obviously but with my friends birthday in Leeds Tuesday till Wednesday and my brother getting home yesterday I haven't honestly had chance. So making up for it with a myriad of different sports/exercises for all round fitness. The long road continues and it is becoming more and more interesting each time I exercise.
Tuesday 4 October 2011
Out With The Old
A little late on the post but I did do more running on Sunday. It was a horrible experience kicking off with a gradient gaining around 100m in about 800m. It was really hard going not just for my heart but my shoes were the main cause for concern!! They were killing me!! After half a mile my feet were beginning to blister and was getting worse and worse with each step. This didn't help my stature with little bro as he was cruising along have to wait for me. Not surprising given my previous life style. But good news is after having a gate analysis and purchasing a better fitting and more suitable set of running trainers its time to hit the pavement and burn through some miles and kcals.
A baby step at a time, I want to be doing a 4 mile run in around 30mins again before Xmas. Plenty of little targets to keep me entertained.
A baby step at a time, I want to be doing a 4 mile run in around 30mins again before Xmas. Plenty of little targets to keep me entertained.
Saturday 1 October 2011
Testing The Waters
Before I went for a run this morning, for the first time ever I felt apprehensive about the whole thing. Not from fear of the unknown, it was a fear of the inevitable. I knew exactly how the run would go and I was not looking forward to it.
I didnt bother with breakfast because I wasnt too hungry. Mistake number 1. My piss was like syrup because I havent really being drinking too much at work. Mistake number 2. With the choices being fizzy pop, which I wont have anymore, tea which I'm sick of and water which we can all agree gets boring.
So I set off and right on que I was huffing and puffing in no time. I was acheing all over after 5mins and during the first incline I had to walk up the last few yards. The run I did was about 3 miles-ish which I used to get done in about 25mins on a bad day. Today it took me a miserable 30mins.
I didnt feel bad after run. Dont get me wrong I was hurtin' real bad, but I felt alot better for it. When the endorphins kicked in after a shower I was buzzing. Why did I ever stop???
As long as my bike is still in working condition it will be a cycle tomorrow. I will have to favour the bike over running because I dont want to try my luck and knacker my ankle again. Hopefully on the bike I can keep going for longer and its easier to manage speeds etc even on a gradient. If there is no post tomorrow, feel free to give my a boot for slacking off. But I have promised myself I will do it and I know I will.
I didnt bother with breakfast because I wasnt too hungry. Mistake number 1. My piss was like syrup because I havent really being drinking too much at work. Mistake number 2. With the choices being fizzy pop, which I wont have anymore, tea which I'm sick of and water which we can all agree gets boring.
So I set off and right on que I was huffing and puffing in no time. I was acheing all over after 5mins and during the first incline I had to walk up the last few yards. The run I did was about 3 miles-ish which I used to get done in about 25mins on a bad day. Today it took me a miserable 30mins.
I didnt feel bad after run. Dont get me wrong I was hurtin' real bad, but I felt alot better for it. When the endorphins kicked in after a shower I was buzzing. Why did I ever stop???
As long as my bike is still in working condition it will be a cycle tomorrow. I will have to favour the bike over running because I dont want to try my luck and knacker my ankle again. Hopefully on the bike I can keep going for longer and its easier to manage speeds etc even on a gradient. If there is no post tomorrow, feel free to give my a boot for slacking off. But I have promised myself I will do it and I know I will.
Friday 30 September 2011
Initial Targets
I have trained up until not so recently all my life. But through sheer amount of injuries I realise now that it was not as effective as it could have been and obviously wasn't too great safety wise. Holding certificates for being a PT this should not have happened and I have learned from the error of my ways. My new goals are progressive, straight forward and quantifiable so there is nowhere to hide. The time frame for these first stepping stones is to keep them in place by Xmas.
TARGETS
1. To be training at least 3 times a week no matter what type
2. To loose 7.5kg bringing my total bodyweight down to 85kg
3. To perform a set of 100 consecutive press-ups
4. To perform a set of 12 consecutive pull-ups
5. To dead lift 100kg 10 reps with perfect form
6. To lower my resting heart rate from 70 to 65
All these targets can be completed without the luxury of a gym which I know is not a necessity. I will need to buy some more weight plates for at home but still technically not a gym. And with just under 3 months to go I will be hard pressed to meet all these goals. But if they were easy what would be the point?
In my first feeble attempt to shed the weight as of this second I will no longer be eating the stuff that I love the most but hates me, crisps, biscuits, ice cream, cakes, pastry, chocolate bars and I will be dramatically cutting down on the fizzy pop to only when I have no over real option. As for alcohol I only drink when I go out out but to help I will go out less and drink less when I do.
Wish me luck.
TARGETS
1. To be training at least 3 times a week no matter what type
2. To loose 7.5kg bringing my total bodyweight down to 85kg
3. To perform a set of 100 consecutive press-ups
4. To perform a set of 12 consecutive pull-ups
5. To dead lift 100kg 10 reps with perfect form
6. To lower my resting heart rate from 70 to 65
All these targets can be completed without the luxury of a gym which I know is not a necessity. I will need to buy some more weight plates for at home but still technically not a gym. And with just under 3 months to go I will be hard pressed to meet all these goals. But if they were easy what would be the point?
In my first feeble attempt to shed the weight as of this second I will no longer be eating the stuff that I love the most but hates me, crisps, biscuits, ice cream, cakes, pastry, chocolate bars and I will be dramatically cutting down on the fizzy pop to only when I have no over real option. As for alcohol I only drink when I go out out but to help I will go out less and drink less when I do.
Wish me luck.
Opening Statement
Lets get the excuses out of the way first shall we. I haven't really trained in over year. Last June/July I took a tumble Thai boxing and injured my ankle real bad. Could barely walk on it and decided to do the Great Yorkshire Run with the help of a lot of pain killers and a few tears along the way pure for the fact that I had already paid to do it!! (Note to self = stop being tight!!) Due to this I obviously made my ankle worse and it is only recently that the twinges and aches have stopped.
So in April I joined the gym. Hit it regularly for about 2 months. My shifts at work changed so I copped out of it. Instead of changing how I trained to fit around everything else since life goes on I just cut the training out. Couple this with a job in front of a computer, free lunches and a lot of visits to the cinema which almost always accompanies either a Nando's, TGI Fridays or a big back of popcorn and fizzy pop and you can probably guess what has happened. I am now 20lbs heavier than I have ever been and something tells me that none of the extra gain is muscle!! Also during the summer I had a lads holiday in Magaluf which was mint!! But did involve a lot of drinking meaning more dead calories. And 2 weeks in Egypt with fizzy pop and food always available. And who the hells wants to go running in 40+ degrees heats?! Played a bit of water polo and when a game of water rugby broke out I then took it upon myself to smash my wrist in to the point that I haven't really been able to open a door with my left hand since. Its on the mend and I anticipate to be training back on it in 2/3 weeks. I have been doing some hard cardio in the gym at work but it has been sporadic so not much progression has been made.
Long story short I have had my reasons for not training and then other times I have just fobbed it off to play XBOX360 or it was just easier to go out for tea after work rather than do something before going out. But for the first time in my life my shorts are tight and dig into my stomach so I know its gone too far since before I needed to wear a belt to keep them up!!!
I dont have to look far for inspiration. Fitness is all around us, I get Mens Fitness magazine every month for new ideas, action movies are filled with muscle icons and I love watching the UFC and am in owe of their fitness and physiques. But my real inspirations are closer to home, my 2 brothers. My eldest has always been an amazing athlete. Always fast, always fit and a bit of a hard bastard I will have to admit. And when he became a royal marine I have never been more proud or envious of him. He is as fit as an Olympic athlete and he can do press ups until the world stops turning. My younger brother grown literally from strength to strength. Doing what I advised to train hard, eat well and plentifully, he is now in amazing shape after his stint body building through doing as a say fortunately not as I did. A family chain is only as strong as its weakest link and I cant even bench my own bodyweight, not by an even bigger margin that I have gained almost 20lbs of not so solid fat.
I weigh in at 92.5KG by far the heaviest I have ever been and it is now going to come to an end. Not tomorrow, not next week or for a stupid new years resolution. This blog is my way of coming clean and publicly naming and shaming myself for not practising 1 little bit what I preach. Unless I say there is going to be a gap in the blog by a few days you know I have soon come of the rails. And I hope that everyone who looks at this will give me a good kick up the ass if I dont pull my thumb out of it!!
So in April I joined the gym. Hit it regularly for about 2 months. My shifts at work changed so I copped out of it. Instead of changing how I trained to fit around everything else since life goes on I just cut the training out. Couple this with a job in front of a computer, free lunches and a lot of visits to the cinema which almost always accompanies either a Nando's, TGI Fridays or a big back of popcorn and fizzy pop and you can probably guess what has happened. I am now 20lbs heavier than I have ever been and something tells me that none of the extra gain is muscle!! Also during the summer I had a lads holiday in Magaluf which was mint!! But did involve a lot of drinking meaning more dead calories. And 2 weeks in Egypt with fizzy pop and food always available. And who the hells wants to go running in 40+ degrees heats?! Played a bit of water polo and when a game of water rugby broke out I then took it upon myself to smash my wrist in to the point that I haven't really been able to open a door with my left hand since. Its on the mend and I anticipate to be training back on it in 2/3 weeks. I have been doing some hard cardio in the gym at work but it has been sporadic so not much progression has been made.
Long story short I have had my reasons for not training and then other times I have just fobbed it off to play XBOX360 or it was just easier to go out for tea after work rather than do something before going out. But for the first time in my life my shorts are tight and dig into my stomach so I know its gone too far since before I needed to wear a belt to keep them up!!!
I dont have to look far for inspiration. Fitness is all around us, I get Mens Fitness magazine every month for new ideas, action movies are filled with muscle icons and I love watching the UFC and am in owe of their fitness and physiques. But my real inspirations are closer to home, my 2 brothers. My eldest has always been an amazing athlete. Always fast, always fit and a bit of a hard bastard I will have to admit. And when he became a royal marine I have never been more proud or envious of him. He is as fit as an Olympic athlete and he can do press ups until the world stops turning. My younger brother grown literally from strength to strength. Doing what I advised to train hard, eat well and plentifully, he is now in amazing shape after his stint body building through doing as a say fortunately not as I did. A family chain is only as strong as its weakest link and I cant even bench my own bodyweight, not by an even bigger margin that I have gained almost 20lbs of not so solid fat.
I weigh in at 92.5KG by far the heaviest I have ever been and it is now going to come to an end. Not tomorrow, not next week or for a stupid new years resolution. This blog is my way of coming clean and publicly naming and shaming myself for not practising 1 little bit what I preach. Unless I say there is going to be a gap in the blog by a few days you know I have soon come of the rails. And I hope that everyone who looks at this will give me a good kick up the ass if I dont pull my thumb out of it!!
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