Another "Say No To Cardio" Blog Post

If you have spent 5 minutes on fitness sites out there....you are bound to come across at least one article/blog/banner/subliminal message stating that most cardio is almost useless and there are 1001 better ways to spend your time.

While Im no expert...i must agree 101% with the statement that you should just say "no to slow boring cardio". Its a waste of you time and energy...and these are things that most people dont have a lot of to waste. So whats the alternative? What should you be doing instead. Well thats what I wanted to discuss,

I must admit...in the past I LOVED CARDIO! Not for the "weight loss"...but more for the fact that it cleared my mind after a hard day in the office. And so for a long time...i would do 3-4 cardio sessions per week. 3-4 sessions of what most people classify as "slow boring cardio". Typically i would do a 6-8 run in about 30-40 minutes...with no incline.

But over time...i realised a couple of things:

1. I wasnt really toning up
2. I wasnt really improving in terms of distance/speed

So with a bit of a push from my trainer...i started to look at HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). This was usually a session of 8 x 1minute hill sprints with 1 min recovery in between. After my first session...I felt like i was dead!  At that time I was still doing the "slow boring cardio" as well. But I kept at the HIIT...and you know what!? My cardio performances were improving...considerably! I was able to run faster for longer periods of time with more incline. I started looking into HIIT more and more...trying different workouts....and slowly my "slow boring" cardio sessions were replaced with either HIIT sessions or weights sessions.

Now at about this time...I started to really take a serious look at the workouts i was doing in the weight room and realised that there was also problems here too (but thats for another post). To cut the story short for now...I started to structure my weights session much better also.

Over a short period my body fat dropped...considerably. I found I was much more toned and performing better all over. At this point I started to seriously read up on why HIIT was so much better and why "slow boring" cardio gave such limited results. Suffice to say that when I started to read up on the two methods of cardio, and what effect they had on the body... I could plainly see that HIIT was definitely the way to go.

Basically a HIIT session is shorter than a regular cardio session...but in a HIIT session you will always have your heartrate up much higher than you ever would in a regular session. HIIT sessions will hurt, your mind will be constantly telling you to stop/slow down/go lie down in the change rooms...but you have to push on because its then you are getting the awesome results! The only negative to HIIT is you will probably get a few strange looks from the other people doing their boring cardio...but if thats all you need to worry about...then you will be fine!

When I was doing regular cardio, my body fat % was around 12%, after I was doing HIIT for a period of time, my body fat % was down to 9%

Im going to make this a two part post...here I have just talked about my experiences, but in the next post about cadio, I will drill more down in to the reasons why HIIT cardio is so beneficial from a scientific perspective!

Carlton's 2010 Fixture

Well the AFL have released the fixture for the 2010 season and it has very few surprises for Carlton. This always stems from the fact that the AFL will always play Carlton against the big sides twice every season - the likes of Collingwood, Essendon and Richmond. Im surprised why Richmond have the season opener as their home game since it was their home game in 2009 season opener...a bit annoying for me since I will most likely have to upgrade to a reserved seat.

Reading on the AFL site, they have raised the following interesting points in relation to the 2010 draw

0 - the number of matches Fremantle will play at the MCG next season
2 - the number of top-eight clubs from 2009 North Melbourne and Port Adelaide will play twice
3 - the number of times Essendon will travel interstate (the fewest of any club)
4 - the number of matches to be played on a Monday
5 - the number of top-eight teams from 2009 Essendon and Collingwood will play twice
7 - the number of times Geelong plays at the MCG (the same number as Skilled Stadium)
14 - the number of matches St Kilda plays at Etihad Stadium
19 - the number of matches Carlton and Collingwood have on free-to-air television
20 - the round in which Geelong and the Western Bulldogs first meet in 2010
21 - the round in which six clubs first meet next season

I have to admit that Im happy with the large number of games Carlton has on free to air...but in reality I will be at most of those games anyway...but its still nice to see.

For the full fixture...have a look at the following link

Basically Carlton are playing Rich, Bris, Ess, Geel, Coll, West Coast and Freo twice. Lots of games at Etihad and 5 interstate games. The start of the season will be quite tough...but the middle/end will be a an easier run, although i would prefer not to be playing in WA in the final round...but at least its only against Fremantle

Fast and Slow week...

Well this week has been up and down...and it has reduced my enthusiasm for blogging...but Im going to try and look past the events of this week so far and get back into action again.

So firstly...this weeks workouts. This is the last week before I go in for shoulder surgery and while the regular person would probably have little motivation, I have been giving it my all in every session for the week. Monday night was a mixed session, worked the whole body. The session went as follows:

1. Back Squat
2. Deadlift
3. Standing Calf Raises
4. Chinups
5.  a) Close-grip Cable Pull Down b)Bent-over Barbell Row
   
6. Cable Woodchop
7. Hanging Knee Raises
8. Jackknife

Probably not one of my better organised workouts, but I still did max weight and high sets on most exercises. Since I didnt make it to the gym on Sunday, opting for a run around the tan, I had to incorporate all the body into the one session.

Tuesday was out of the gym, took the dog for a good walk...which was before things started falling apart.

Wednesday was PT session....one of my last sessions with JL before I have surgery and he moves overseas. My shoulder has been giving me considerable more pain of late and it so turned out that on Wed night JL decided  to add all the exercises that put extra strain on the old shoulder...so that made things that much harder. The session turned out like this:

1. Front Squats (HEAVY)
2. a) Dips b) Decline DB Extension
3. a) Chinup w/Tucks b) Bent-over Plate Rows
4. Inverted Strap Rows w/Feet on SB
5. Bench Press w/Resistance

I have been asking a lot of question to my PT lately and on wednesday one of the big things I was interested in was knowing when is the best spot to put "chinups" in your workout. Im a fan of doing them as the first exercise in my workout, since they are one of the more challenging exercises and I can belt out more when Im fresh. But I was interested in any advantages of doing them later in the workout. JL suggested that a good alternative is to keep them as the first exercise, but also add them in at the end, so you are doing them twice in the workout. It doesn't make a lot of sense to only do them near the end of you workout as you will be fatigued and wont belt out many and will display poor form. Also it is widely recommended that you complete your Compound exercises early in the workout and leave Isolated exercise towards the end. I follow this rule almost every session and it has seen great improvements in my workouts and results. Chin-ups have probably been one of my biggest improvements in terms of exercises, so after surgery when Im back in action, I will be interested to try this out.

Finally tonight I did a Painful Arms workout...

1. Dips 10x10
2. a) Cable Tricep Overhead Extension b) Cable Tricep Pushdown c) Pushups (4 x10 on each)
   
3. Incline DB Curl 6x10
4. Hanging Knee Raise 4x15
5. Reverse Crunch on SB 3x10
6. Jackknife 3x12

 The superset for Triceps was a total killer...so I will definitely do that more in the future =D

Another thing i consciously tried tonight was more sets. Instead of the standard 3 sets, I did more sets, but same reps. Working out the right rep/set range is a work in process and I will need to play more to work out the right setup for my body, but for now, doing more abs exercises cant hurt =P

I have been talking a lot about workouts lately...so Im going to have to break from tradition in my next blog entry and talk about Groovy...

Love and Life

Recently i read an article posted by Charles Poliquin titled "The Myth of Discipline". Poliquin is one of the worlds leaders in Strength Training and has been involved with many professional athletes and Olympians throughout the world. I really enjoy reading his ideas and advice since he isn't the type of trainer who is affected by the what the latest crazy is in the world of Training.

This particular article initially gave me the impression it would be focusing on peoples work ethic in the gym and how more things than discipline play a role. I was pleasantly surprised when I finished reading the article. To summarise, Poliquin basically says that the most powerful factor is Love. Love is what drives us, what motivates us. You are the result of what you love most. When we are faced with a choice...its ultimately love which drives us...not self discipline.

Charles then goes on to 8 tips for escaping the myth of discipline. Some of the points that jumped out me were...

2. Love is the greatest creative force of the Universe. Use it wisely.

6. What you appreciate appreciates. Whenever you make a truly loving choice, say to yourself ‘Thank you for taking care of me in a loving way”. The more you talk to yourself like a loving parent, the faster you will grow. Let’s say, for example, you just did a single on the squat with a load you didn’t feel like doing. Say: “Wow! I am impressed with your strength of mind, that’s why you are a champion”. By documenting and rewarding your successes, they will grow in magnitude and frequency. Whenever I meet a goal, I reward myself with positive things like a vacation or a new piece of equipment. When I get something better, I make the choice of giving away the old piece to someone who will appreciate it. Living a clutter free life allows for more growth.

While I dont agree 100% with every point...what he says draws some parallels to my life as a Christian. In Matthew 22:37-39 it says:

Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

While I could write all day long about the teaching of "love" throughout the Bible, I think this verse highlights how significant love is and should be to each of us. The fact that Jesus states that it is the first and greatest commandment should underline that point.

But simply we can look at our everyday life, what we do with our free time, what we fill our mind with. We spend time with the people we love, we read about the things we love, we talk about the things we love. Before I was a Christian, I loved to read books about crime fiction, I loved to watch action movies, I loved to play and watch sport...so naturally these were the things I commonly spoke about. Once I was born again...that changed. I loved God and this was what I filled my life with...so naturally this was what i spoke about.

So while the article by Poliquin is directed at people who have a problem with discipline in their fitness lifestyle, the key points can also relate to other areas of life. When I have a choice between reading a fiction book or reading the Bible...its not discipline that will make my choice, but my love which will drive my decision. Some people will say to me "you are very disciplined to be able to go to gym so frequently and work so hard"...but its not actually discipline but more a love for working out and keeping my body looking good.

Wednesday night PT session

Wednesday night was PT night...and as usual it was an intense session...but Jackson seems to always be able to lift the intensity to another level. The session panned out as follows:

1. Pullup 5x10
2. Underhand BB Row 5x10
3. BB Upright Row (Deadlift start) 3x10
4. Cable Pull Down 3x10
5. BB Step Lunge x3
   
1. Alternate legs x10
2. Single leg x20 (10 each leg)
6. Dips 3x10 
7. Hanging Knee Raise (with resistance) 2x10
8. Crunch on Bosu 2x10
9. GetUps on Bosu 2x10

I was feeling good after the first set of Pullup/Rows...the Black Powder was working overtime tonight...but the final three ab exercises really put me away...I came very close to throwing up tonight...but as I always say...it just meant i was working hard!

My tips to people new to Mac

Well I have had my MacBook Pro for almost a 3 weeks and I have surprised myself on how fast I have adapted to OS X...since I have always been a Windows person. I have even begun forgetting shortcut keys on Windows when I venture onto a different machine.

Some of the standout features for me coming from Windows to Mac are:

1. Speed of startup - I know its a new machine, but its just amazing how quick Macs boot up
2. Application installation - No more "please restart your machine for changes to take effect..." Installation of applications on OS X is just so simple...even my Mum could do it with no hassles
3. Ease of configuration - Having a fair bit of experience with Unix in the past, Im not one to shy away from the command line when needed. But I must comment on how easily configure Macs are

But what I really wanted to make mention of are some of the best tips I have discovered since I bought my MBP. There are countless pages out there with various tips for Mac...and I know im adding to those, but I just wanted to outline some of the tips I found most useful!

Combining PDF pages in Snow Leopard
When using OS X, you dont actually have to install a PDF reader like Adobe, there is an application pre-intstalled called "Preview". This allows you to quickly view PDF's and images on your Mac. One of the other useful things it allows you to do is create new PDF's from existing ones. 
For example by selecting various pages in the side bar of the preview and the dragging your selection to the desktop, you will have created a new PDF with only the selected pages in it. Also you can drag other PDF pages into your PDF and restructure the page order by playing with the side bar

Spring-loaded Folders in Finder
Click and drag the item you want to move to the volume or folder that contains the eventual destination. Hover the item over this volume or folder and that v or f opens. Drag it to the next folder and hover until that folder opens. Repeat until you reach the destination folder and then let go of the mouse button. The item drops into the folder.

Show hidden files in Finder
This is a commonly asked question, how do i show hidden files in the Finder. All you need to do is open the terminal and execute the following:

defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

Then restart the finder and you will see all your hidden files/folders

See more information when clicking top bar
When you click on items in the top bar (ie. Airport, Bluetooth... etc), you see a list of options. But if you want to see a more detailed list of options, hold the "option" button as you click on the option and you will see a list with more information


Organising your Spaces
As you are working across multiple spaces, you may find that they are getting out of control you feel the need to organise things. To do this open up the Spaces screen and hold the "Command" key and then use the arrow keys to move around the spaces you want to collect the content from. This will allow you to collect the content from the different spaces and have it all in the same space

Screenshots
There are a few different options for taking screenshots, the main ones are:

1. Command + Shift + 3 - Whole Screenshot
2. Command + Shift + 4 - Current Screen Screenshot
3. Command + Shift + 4 + Space - Select which screen for Screen Screenshot

 Dictionary
Select a word on the screen, the press Control + Command + D and the dictionary will open up for that word

I know a lot of these tips would be useless for people who have been using Mac's for a long period of time, but for me a first time Mac user, they stood out so far. Im sure as I have more fun with my MBP I will have more things to talk about later   
   

Mondays workout and exercises for fat loss

Last night i was back in the gym after my intense legs session on Sunday. I focused on upper body last night, in particular back and shoulders...my workout looked like this:

1. Chinups
2. Incline BB Bench Press
3. Seated Shoulder Press
4. Seated Cable Pull Down
5. Bent over BB Row
6. BB Bicep Curl
7. Cable Rows
8. Hanging Leg Raise
9. Jackknife

Unfortunately things on my mind distracted me towards the end of the session so I failed to belt out a full set of Jackknifes, but I was still feeling pretty good after the Hanging Leg Raises

But this brings me to a post I read on JCD Fitness about 3 Exercises For Ultimate Fat Loss and it really resonated with me...

Basically the JC talks about the abundance of sites out there that claim they have the "BEST" workout for losing weight...but in actual fact they are all talk rubbish!

There are some key compound exercises that you should be doing regularly (Squats, Deadlift, Bench Press...) but doing these alone will have no impact your fat...if they did, all those massive guys in the gym would be totally ripped...but they arent! And thats because the thing that will ensure you lose fat is your DIET!! Simple isnt it...create a calorie deficit and you will burn the fat...by doing these exercises! People can try out all these wonderful workouts all day long, but if they dont monitor what they eat, it will have little effect.

Looking at my own personal experiences...for a long period i was doing a high level of cardio and a number of workout sessions per week...but there was little change in my physique! When I finally woke up to the fact i was just wasting my time, I started watching what i ate, in particular around my workouts. I started planning my workouts in a way I would be working in the most efficiently and not just going to the gym for the sake of it. I cut out sweets and oily foods, and increased my intake of fruit, vegetables and lean meats. It wasnt easy by any means...but you know what...I started to see some serious results! I was seeing weekly gains in my lifts and my cardio was improving also. And the key indication of my progress - at the start of the year my body fat % was above 12.5% ...now its just above 9%. That didnt come from only doing Squats and Deadlifts though.

So hopefully people will remember this next time they see an article titled "Best workout for losing stomach fat"...the workout is only as good as your diet!

Sunday workout...back and abs and good form

Well this morning i was still recovering from my big session on Friday, so the only body part that I could do a solid session with was my legs...



Lately I have been doing a huge amount of exercises in the area of Back Squats and Deadlifts...my current max for Deadlift is at 180 kg...so todays workout looked as follows:

1. Back Squat (8x60kg, 8x90kg, 8x90kg, 8x90kg)
2. Barbell Lunge (3 sets of 20x40kg)
3. Straight Leg Deadlifts (3 sets of 10x70kg)
4. Calf Raise (3 sets of 10x106kg)
5. Machine Leg Curls (3 sets of 8x67kg)
6. Hanging Leg Raises (3 sets of 15 reps)
7. Reverse Crunches (3 sets of 10)
8. Jackknife (3 sets of 12)

This brings me to the big point I like to reiterate...its is extremely beneficial knowing exactly what muscle areas you are working with each exercise. Its not until you full understand this that you can focus on engaging these muscles when doing the exercise. This was something i was guilty of in the past and not knowing this information can lead to poor form and ultimately injuries.

An example of this is with Back Squats: when the weight gets harder, you maybe inclined to squat with your heels off the floor...this is a big No No!! This puts stress on your knees & impairs stability. You need to learn to take the weight through your body and this starts with pushing through your heels.

So its important to make sure you understand the proper method of doing the exercise and ensure you actually do the exercise with good form in every rep. As soon as your form deteriorates you need to stop before you injure yourself.

Solid Arms Session

Knowing what to do on the day that falls between PT sessions is sometimes a hard task. So last night I queried my PT as to what i should do today...and his answer was "Arms" -


Now arms are one body part that in isolation i dont give a lot of time to. I spend a lot of time working on my abs, shoulders, back and legs...but arms fall to the end of the list.

Now the particular workout i did was as follows:

1. Dips - 10 sets of 10 reps
2. Lying Tricep extenstions - 3 sets of 10 reps
3. Incline Bicep curls - 10 sets of 10 reps
4. Standing Hammer curls - 3 sets of 10 reps
5. Hanging Leg raisese - 3 sets of 15 reps
6. Plank (arms on bench, feat on SB) 3 x 1min
7. Inverse rows - 3 sets of 10 reps

Not as long as my regular workouts...but i assure you that by the end of the session my arms were totally spent!! Also instead of doing 3 sets of 80-100% intensity, I'm doing 10 sets at 60% intensity. Im still reading about the benefits of this, but my PT is giving me more info each time I have a session with him. Once I have the full picture of the benefits on this approach I will outline it.

But it was all worth the pain...because i followed the session up with a delicious EyeFillet Steak at Squires Loft....makes all the effort worth it!

Now i get to look forward to my PT session tomorrow which will no doubt leave me in a state of pain!

Recent Gym Activity

Well its about 3 weeks till i go in for my Shoulder Reconstruction...so the knowledge that I will be out of action for up to 3 months has spurred a big motivation spike in relation to hitting the gym!


Now its been just over two years since I started working out with Jackson and in that time I have seen some pretty amazing progress! But lately I have been really focussing on the healthy eating side of things. Its one thing to hit the gym, its another thing to eat properly. A lot of people go to the gym regularly, but dont see much in the way of improvements. There is an abundance of blogs out there that talk about this in details so i wont go into that in too much detail.

But in relation to my own progress, at the beginning of this year i had a Body Fat % Test. I was happy with my result then, I was just over 13% body fat. Referring to references on the web, the recommendations are as follows:

Description	Women	Men
Essential fat	10–12%	2–4%
Athletes	14–20%	6–13%
Fitness	21–24%	14–17%
Acceptable	25–31%	18–26%
Overweight	32-41%	27-37%
Obese	42%+	38%+

Now Im quite partial to sweet foods, so i was happy to be positioned in the Athletes range...but Jackson felt i could get down to 10% or less...so I embarked on the journey of healthy eating and better gym workouts. After 6 months...I did the test again...and i was pleasantly surprised to see my fat percentage is down to 9%!! Jackson was amazed...I guess all the hard work does pay off.

So I just wanted to share a few of my more valuable tips:

1. Cut out the sugar!! If you want anything that resembles a "six pack" at all... you need to cut down the sugar foods as much as humanly possible. The "six pack" will be worth it!
   
2. Dont go to the gym without a plan!! This was something i did a lot in the past and it makes the workout almost useless. And to take it to the next step...you should have your whole weeks worth of workouts planned ahead. This will ensure you cover all areas of the body appropriately and have enough rest.
   
3. Dont waste your time with boring Cardio! This will sound ridiculous at first...even for me it sounded strange. But doing slow boring cardio has very little benefits. A much better thing to do it HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). Just spend 10 minutes googling HIIT and you will find a wealth of knowledge. It wont be easy...but it will well be worth the pain. I will probably talk about this more in the future as I think the benefits of HIIT are amazing!!
4. Understand what you are doing. Its one thing to know you "should do Back Squats/Deadlift/Chinups" etc....but you should also know "why" and "what muscles" you are working. It sounds really simple...but its something that i didnt really pay attention to at first. When you truly understand what you are doing, then you will be able to work to your full potential

Well these are just a few of my tips...I will definitely spend more time talking about Gym in the future.