New Years Day saw my good mate Ray from WattBike pop round to the MH Personal Training Studio to put me and Steve through our paces with a few tests. We carried out a 6 second Peak Power Test, Submaximal Ramp Test and a 30 second Power Test. Both Steve and I have just started training for our very first half Ironman in June so we are hoping this data will help us work to the correct Heart Rate and Power Zones, from the look of the course we are going to need all the help we can get!
For those clients interested in knowing their own specific data I can create a client user account so we can monitor the progress relevant to them.
A couple of days later we carried out the 20 minute Lactate Threshold Test, what a horrid test that is, just thankful my lunch stayed down!
The video below shows us both being put through our paces for the last test of the morning, jelly legs all round!
3 years ago I became a Personal Trainer and on a professional level it is the best thing I ever did , I had always been working in the fitness industry since the age of 18 but I would be the first to admit I never really challenged myself enough with regards to my training. In 2014 for the most part I was having tests done due to painful gut issues which affected everyday life, without going into too much detail it affected me both physically and mentally and it wasn’t until being given the all clear at the end of 2014 that I decided I needed something to focus the mind and push the body, so I decided to set myself the goal of doing a challenge a month throughout 2015, in the end I got a bit carried away and ended up doing 17 challenges. The main premise being that I wanted to do something each month I had never done before, throwing me out of my comfort zone.
It has without question been a much better year for me, my body does feel like it’s been through the wringer this last month and I’m carrying all sorts of injuries, the stomach has been much better and the mind has been focussed and sharp (well sharper than it has been in the past!)
This wasn’t the only reason I wanted to do this, I was hoping to inspire my kids and anyone else who might have looked at it and thought, that looks fun, I’ll give that a go. There is nothing better I feel than trying something new, getting out in the fresh air, getting muddy, sweaty, feeling challenged, feeling alive. The challenges themselves some people would look at and think that’s not that hard I could do that, I’m not suggesting that I have done anything as remotely epic as rowing the Atlantic, Swimming the Channel or an Ironman (that’s to come) they are just small challenges that anyone can do if they really want to but still give you a great sense of achievement.
I now have clients who have taken part in their first Triathlons, friends who have joined me on some of the challenges along the way, I even signed my wife up for her first Tough Mudder this year (kind of as a ‘surprise’) and she loved it and didn’t want to kill me afterwards which is always a bonus, and now wants to do her first Half Marathon next year.
So it’s coming up to that time that everyone makes New Year’s Resolutions that generally only last until Feb, personally I think scrap all that, change the mind-set now, start planning now, if you really want to change start the process now. The challenge does not have to be an obstacle course race, it could just be to lose weight, get stronger, just feel healthier whatever it might be that you choose to do, the main points are to stay focussed, listen to your body and ENJOY it!
January: Set Park Run PB 21:55
February: Brutal Events 10k (Video below)
March: Brutal Duathlon (first Duathlon)
Reading Half Marathon 1:48 (first Half Marathon)
April: New Forest Cycling Sportive (69 Miles)
Cycle Ibiza (first time cycling the Island, 2 days, video below)
May: Bournemouth Cycle Sportive
Super Sprint Triathlon (First ever triathlon)
Tough Mudder (first ever obstacle race, video below)
June: Coniston Triathlon with a difference for Sporting Footprints, Kayak/Hike/Cycle (video below)
Saturday 21st November saw another event, this time at Wembley Stadium, and it was freeeeezing! I had assembled a team of 7 of the South’s finest (!) and we completed the Men’s Health Survival of the Fittest. This was another obstacle race with a distance of 10k, mainly involving water (read river) obstacles and stairs, slides etc. Perhaps the hardest thing to contend with for most people was in fact the cold weather, around 4 degrees and a biting wind made gripping on to things with numb fingers a challenge, but that’s the point of it right !?
My GoPro video of the day is here, that leaves just one challenge left for 2015, bring on the GRIM 8 !
N.E.A.T stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis and is a body process which includes all your physical activity throughout the day excluding your “formal” workouts.
Things like walking, shopping, standing and even fidgeting all contribute to burning calories by the process of NEAT.
If your job involves sitting at your desk all day and not moving much your NEAT level is low causing you to burn fewer calories than those with a more active job by as much as 350 calories. Short of changing your job there are little things that you an include into your daily routine to help increase the amount of calories you burn through NEAT.
Here are a few ideas you can try to bring into your lifestyle:
Take the stairs instead of the lift.
Stand or pace more instead of sitting.
Get out of your chair and walk around, stretch, do some bodyweight exercises throughout the day.
Try to spend some more time outside, and less timein front of the TV, surfing the net, playing on the computer, or aimlessly scrolling through your smart phone.
If you have kids, get as much physical activity with them as much as possible.
Where possible just WALK MORE!
All these things can help burn more calories, improving your health over time if adopted into your daily lifestyle.
If you read my previous blog posts you would know that this year I have set myself the task of completing a challenge (sometimes 2 or 3) a month for 2015. Challenge number 14 of this year was to ride the L’etape London Sportive. This was a 115 mile ride starting at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, heading through London up to Saffron Walden before returning in a loop back to the Olympic Velodrome where we would finish with a sprint lap around the Velodrome itself (not as I had previously thought a lap of the Velodrome track!)
It was a great route, not very hilly considering the mileage but well organised and great fun and one that I completed with my good mates Neil & Ray.
This year sees 3 more challenges before the training for 2016 begins this winter.
Much has been said over the last few (and more) years in the fitness and nutrition industry regarding ‘healthy fats’. Particularly the headline grabbing ‘fat won’t make you fat!’
Well it can, eat too much of of any food and it can make you fat.
These 10 Brazil nuts are a great source of vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and contain mono-unsaturated fatty acids.
They also contain 231kcals.
So be careful if you are worried about body composition as it would be quite easy to over eat on these, ploughing through a whole pack in the false knowledge that it’s ok I can eat as much as I want because it is ‘healthy fat’ !
In early September, along with my wife and a group of friends we entered an event called Rough Runner. This was a 10km course on Clapham Common. The race itself is based on the TV classics such as Takeshi’s Castle, Gladiators and Wipeout. Some of the obstacles were quite challenging and a few aching muscles the day after. The Travelator was great fun, although the people who face planted would probably tell you otherwise!
Over the last few years the term ‘Mindfulness’ has become more and more apparent. With our busy and stressful lives where just stopping to think feels like its going to take up too much of our precious time we are looking for ways in which to relax and unwind.
What is mindfulness?
Mark Williams, professor of clinical psychology at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, says that mindfulness means knowing directly what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment.
Professor Williams says that mindfulness can be an antidote to the “tunnel vision” that can develop in our daily lives, especially when we are busy, stressed or tired.
“It’s easy to stop noticing the world around us. It’s also easy to lose touch with the way our bodies are feeling and to end up living ‘in our heads’ – caught up in our thoughts without stopping to notice how those thoughts are driving our emotions and behaviour,” he says.
“An important part of mindfulness is reconnecting with our bodies and the sensations they experience. This means waking up to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the present moment. That might be something as simple as the feel of a banister as we walk upstairs.
“Another important part of mindfulness is an awareness of our thoughts and feelings as they happen moment to moment.
“Awareness of this kind doesn’t start by trying to change or fix anything. It’s about allowing ourselves to see the present moment clearly. When we do that, it can positively change the way we see ourselves and our lives.”*
A US Study found that just four days of 20 minutes per day mindfulness training improved working memory and the ability to sustain attention and a recent review of nearly 50 scientific studies found that mindfulness was as effective as anti-depressants in helping depression, nut with no side effects.*
On a personal level I started over a year ago with an App called Headspace and put aside 10 minutes a day at the end of the day to give it a go. I have been very slack recently in using it but I recommend it for anyone wanting to try and unwind a bit more and become more ‘mindful’ without the need to sit there cross legged, humming away whilst getting frustrated because you are not in a ‘Zen-like state’!
Triathlon is the fastest growing sport in the UK and in April of this year I decided I wanted to enter one or two, as a newbie to Triathlons, the swim was always the one I was going to struggle with as I hadn’t swam properly for years and even then wasn’t very good at it. so when I decided it was time to enter my first event, the swim was my main focus to improve on. At first I could only swim 25 metres of the Pool before becoming out of breath and thinking I was going to drown, it seems that bike and running fitness does not transfer across to swimming!
Gradually over the next few weeks I become a bit stronger then decided it was time to take my first foray into the lake. This I don’t mind admitting filled me with dread. I initially went up to Tri20 Centre in Burghfield and spoke to the extremely helpful guys there and got fitted for a wetsuit I then tentatively got into the lake (which was 16 degrees at this point) and swam about 10 metres before getting out and heading home. I was happy Id at least just got in the lake that day. I then set small goals such as swimming to the first buoy then getting out, then swimming to the second buoy before resting on my back and swimming on, eventually I managed a whole 750m lap with out stopping or resting. It may not have been quick but I got round. I now much prefer lake swimming to that of the pool.
The lake at TRi20 at Reading Lake Hotel
Fast forward 2 months and I have now completed my first longer Triathlon, the distance of this requiring an 800m swim in the lake at Dorney I have now managed to swim 1500m without stopping which sets me up nicely for my first Olympic Triathlon in September.
When I mention to people that I have started entering Triathlons I often get a reply that they would love to do one but can’t swim very well or hardly at all. My response is always the same you can do pretty much anything if you persevere at it, have patience and perhaps even hire a good coach at least for a few sessions. Swimming is very technical so unless you are one of the lucky ones its not going to click over night. Im still working at it and have a long way to go but am determined to give it my best and improve as much as possible.
On Saturday 13th June, a team of 9 plus an amazing support crew set off on a Triathlon with a difference. This one started with a 4 hour hike up the ‘Old Man of Coniston’ mountain, which tested the legs a bit especially on the descent. After the hike it was the turn of the upper body and we kayaked across Coniston Water, 2 men to a kayak and of course it ended up getting a bit competitive, Oxford-Cambridge has seen nothing compared to us lot!
Cramping
The final leg of the Triathlon involved 2 laps around a very hilly route, totalling 50 miles and 4200ft elevation. A few of the guys suffered from painful leg cramping which left one of the team flapping around on the road like a fish out of water until the cramping subsided. The whole challenge took around 7 hours and the main reason of course was to raise money for a fantastic charity
.
Sporting Footprints
Sporting Footprints was set up to raise money for sport, lifestyle and leisure equipment and opportunities for the families that use Bluebells Holiday home in Hampshire. Bluebells is funded by Sebastian’s Action Trust and is the first purpose built holiday home for families of children with lifelong and life limiting illness. Through challenges and fun days in the last 3 years Sporting Footprints has been able to fund Specialised wheelchairs, sensory equipment, music/art therapy, family days out, dry suits , memorial books, remembrance garden and cinema tickets.
If you would like to sponsor us or any of our team for this challenge you would be allowing us to continue to support these special families.
Total
For this challenge alone so far we have raise over £3000 for Sporting Footprints and Sebastian’s Action Trust and the figure is still rising.
My video of the day is here, feel free to watch and perhaps get inspired…
