School Dayz...

Big training day today, with a long chest and abdominal workout, broken up with a 90 minute indoor soccer match! I even scored 5 goals! I treated the soccer as an interval workout, with lots of short bursts of sprints and running around. I worked very hard, focussing on the running which I hope will give my legs that edge come Sunday when running the C2S with the wifey...

The Nerdy Part

So, today after much research, which is always an ongoing event for me, I've decided to write a post about supplementation. I know that this subject is confusing for many people, and so I have decided to write about a few elements of supplementation that are relevant to me. I'm going to talk about Protein, and touch upon Amino Acids. I'm going to try to not get too scientific (which will be harder than it sounds), just keeping it as a sort of Dummy's Guide....

Supplements are a minefield. Linger too long and you could literally blow your mind with all the information, advertising and forums out there. EVERYONE has an opinion it seems. Well, being protein deficient and very active (these days) I have been guided by others, namely the professionals whom I interact with, to develop a base understanding of the supplements that I've taken. I like to be informed. Every day is a school day for me! Before I get into this, my post is not a be-all and end-all, just my research to date on protein (mostly) and its uses...but not all proteins, just so we're clear!

So, here I go...stepping onto the minefield....KA-BOOM!

Protein

Protein is a macronutirent found in food, such as meat, dairy products, nuts and beans. It's made up of amino acids. Amino Acids are the lego-bricks of lean body tissue, and promote healthy bones, skin, hair and muscles (to name a few). It is best to try and obtain the bulk of protein intake via whole foods, it can be very difficult to achieve with a modern lifestyle - which is why Winnie and I are turning to the more Paleo / Raw / Wholefood way of life. 

In other words, for the most part people often need to supplement Protein. I was diagnosed by the PW as protein deficient not so long ago and that started my research. Diet is key, I hear it all the time. Supplementation is almost essential for intake of aminos on the fly, if you have a hectic life or lack the discipline to eat like a Superhero (or RAN Physical Trainer).

Protein supplements come in almost any imaginable variation, but when it comes down to it what are the main types of Protein? Well, not all protein sups are the same....typical. Protein supplements are classified into a multitude of types. I'm just gonna discuss Concentrates, Isolates, and Hydrolysed Whey Protein, and Casein.

Whey Concentrates are probably the simplest and most inexpensive protein source. It's pretty common, and I understand it to be a good place to start if you're a newbie. It can be hard to digest and can cause bloating and gas (not good for you or your friends). It's fairly versatile since it can be a snack source, used pre and post workout for boosting protein.

Whey Isolates are fast absorbing proteins. They are generally a little more expensive than concentrates. Isolates are good for folks who are maintaining a low carb diet since they usually contain less sugars and carbs (if any). They're really good pre and post workout, and since they absorb quickly they supply essential recovery nutrients to the muscles to assist with repair and growth.

Hydrolysate Proteins are the most expensive source of protein. It is also the highest quality available. They provide highly absorbable peptides that can have a really significant impact on muscle repair and growth. These are the fastest absorbing proteins. Hydrolysates are kinder on your digestive system too. They are very good when used as pre and post workout supplements.

Casein Protein is a little different. It takes a lot longer for casein to breakdown (anywhere from 5-7 hours to fully breakdown), which makes it ideal for overnight use. Since it takes so long to breakdown and absorb, your body works through the night absorbing and utilising the protein, while you rest. Since it takes so long to breakdown, casein protein is excellent for during the day, since it clots in the stomach leaving you feeling full-up! Casein is often thicker in consistency and as you drink it you feel like you're drinking a filling meal. Casein will deliver nutrients over a long period of time, which is great for daytime use.

There have been many a discussion targeting whether to use Whey or Casein proteins, the advice I was given, and currently adhere to, is that its beneficial to use both. Use casein at night or for meal replacements when not training to deliver more sustained and controlled absorption of nutrients.  Use Whey as your pre or post workout shake to get fast absorbing nutrients to your muscles quickly. Using both in conjunction with a nutritious whole food diet and you're onto a winner.

Peptides?

We're talking good peptides, not the doping kind that cause sporting scandals. Di and Tripeptides are found in all Hydrolysate Proteins, but what are they? Well, they're the reason hydrolysates are most expensive! Scientifically however, Peptides are the bonds that hold amino acids in their chains within protein. The longer the chains, the slower the breakdown and absorption of the amino acids. 

Since hydrolysate proteins are produced from purified protein sources, each hydrolysate is a complex mix of peptides and chains (of different lengths) of free amino acids. Absorption kinetics of different hydrolysate proteins is based on the proportion of di and tripeptides.

Research (not mine) shows that the only type of peptides that are absorbed intact through digestion are di and tripeptides. This is because they are shorter chain length peptides and therefore do not undergo hydrolysis before they are absorbed. This is good because the hydrolysates with lots of di and tripeptides are absorbed faster than other proteins with more complex amino chains. What this means is that due to rapid intestinal infusion, the aminos from the protein gets into circulation much faster than regular free aminos. This also means that there will be a more abundant supply of amino acids in circulation that are available for muscle growth and repair. Hydrolysate Protein containing these small chain aminos with di and tripeptides allow for much greater levels of blood aminos and mixed muscle protein synthesis than casein protein. Again, another reason why it is so much more expensive. 

Scientifically, its a superior product, but you may want to ask yourself if its necessary for you. If like me, your body struggles to synthesise proteins, or you're lacking in amino acids, it may be a great place to investigate further. My advice is to do your own research, but bear in mind that all manufacturers are selling the best type for you...ahem. Well, you and advice from your professionals is the first port of call, I suggest. 

Think before you Drink. 

Gymania...

Catching Up.

Over the past week or so  I've done a fair amount of training, in one form or other. I've cycled, run, climbed a crap-load of stairs, and I've trained in the gym quite a lot. I've been eating cleaner too. My body really notices when the slightest whiff of gluten passes my lips, I've had some accidental slip-ups, and I've even eaten some supposedly GF meals that've made me sick too. My body responds quicker the more time off gluten I have, so being clean means I notice the traces now...interesting times. Still, I mostly fuel my body with good nutrients and train pretty hard, so I'm happy I'm making progress.

I Love this. Charry.

Riding to Work

On top of the occasional run to work, which is pretty draining since I do the stair-master workout as part of my daily routine on my ship, I've started riding my road bike to work. It's around 10-11km depending on the route I ride, but its a great way to start and finish my day. Plus I beat the traffic and get to add the kilometres to my legs a different way!

My Gymania

It's awesome being back into a regular workout routine. I've missed it. But now I'm training hard, gaining functional strength and seeing minor changes all the time. My gym-focus is back with a renewed vengeance and its helping me get my body ready for marathon time.

I've changed my routine more regularly to keep myself on my toes. I've thrown in abdominal workouts at the end of my weights sessions (instead of during the rest sets), so I can rest, hydrate and prep for the next set, since I've been going a little heavier.

I've continued to utilise dumbbells, barbells, cables, med-balls and my favourite of the moment kettle bells. I'm planning on utilising my TRX onboard my ship (if possible) and I'm going to try doing "cardio intervals" during intra-workout in the gym too.

I've recently joined Fitness First, they look after members of the Defence Force, and have some really good flexible options for people like me. I get to train with Winnie and that just makes me very happy. Our workouts are always fun and its nice to spend that quality time together being healthy :)

Tonight, I concluded a fairly progressive Shoulders workout, with an abdominal blast. I actually managed to rope Ms Cheezo (one of my colleagues on my new ship, and good friend of Holmie) into doing it with me. We did Figure 8 crunches, Med-ball throw and catch sit-ups, overhead v-sits with kettle bells, heavy kettle bell standing side crunches - all 3 sets of 10 (or more). 

It was fun to repeat this workout, its one that Winnie and I did on the weekend at the gym too. Although, Ms Cheezo did find the med-ball to be a little challenging, throwing, catching and sit-ups all at once! It was a laughter inducing experience.....LOL.

Don't Stop Believing....(or training).

Well, Hello there! 

It's been a while.... 

...Since my last post, but rest assured I'm well and truly on my way to fit (and working hard to avoid the fat). Since my last post I've been overseas on my honeymoon with the wifey, joined my new ship (based in Sydney at last) and I've been preparing for the first milestone run of my running season - The Sydney City2Surf (C2S). In 2 weeks time, I'll be running alongside the wifey, hopefully in my new ship's team colours.

Preparation....

The key element for any event is the preparation. I've been working on endurance and distance, clocking up the kilometres for most of this year, so recently I've been working on speeding things up. I've been gradually pushing my 3km running time down and just yesterday I pushed it down to 13 minutes. I'm not sprinting the 3km, I'm striding it out running at around 4:20 min/km. I'm doing this to increase my running power. 

I've also been doing quicker 10km runs (its 10k from my house to my ship), which demonstrates how the speed training is helping too. I've incorporated more legs into my compound gym routines. Until recently I've been unable to train everyday, or even regularly in the weights room, so starting this week I'm applying the pressure (on myself) to finish work a little closer to a normal time, hit the gym and either run or cycle home...in fact I'll probably alternate between the rides and the runs... My gym workouts are more intensive, but i'm not 'building' at the moment, I'm burning the fat, tuning my muscles up for the running and having fun with my workouts...I'll keep you posted. For example, yesterday I managed a shoulder burnout and a good chest workout, with some abdominals weaved in too! I wanna try and keep my workouts during the week under 60 minutes - the plan is to keep moving all day, work my muscles in the gym for an hour then run (another hour) or cycle (around 30 minutes) home, this is intended to given my body a feeling of working at different levels for extended periods, so come long run days and marathon event day my body doesn't burn out too soon. I am trying to train smart, not just running and burning up all the muscle mass. I'm trying to strengthen with gym and diverse sports activities, create muscle memory and strength through a variety of runs to have more muscle control and endurance to go the distance at BSM. 42km is a long time to keep running, and I want to be prepared.

This also means learning to fuel myself before, during and post activities to allow my body's output to remain consistent for the duration. I'm still sampling liquid/gooey gels, and solid gel blocks for during, I still supplement with protein and glutamine post training, but I've been avoiding pre-workouts since I left Cerberus. Now, I just try to eat better and stay hydrated - I'm working on balancing electrolytes and loading with healthy carbs (quinoa, corn cous cous, rice and GF pastas), which is really helping!

My new ship has lots of stairs, and is a very large vessel (approx 200m long). I reckon that I'm ascending and descending the 12 deck levels, and covering literally tens of kilometres just walking around the ship! My quads and hammies are getting a really good workout and stretch, which is helping to add the 'hill climb' element to my training - albeit by means of walking intervals.  

My current daily activity

Planning....

I'm using the C2S as a training event for the Blackmore's Sydney Marathon (BSM) in September, and I'll be ramping up the distance, adding hills, speed and timed intervals to prepare for the marathon. It's T minus 8 weeks until race day, thats 56 days. I'm hoping to set up a link to get some sponsorship (for a charity I'll nominate soon), so look out for that.

14 Days until C2S, and 56 Days until BSM. There plenty more time to prepare, but time is certainly flying by. I've not been posting because I'm trying to maintain focus, and keep my training moving. In terms of preparation and training, I actually have less than 56 training days left, so its more like 40 training days, incorporating 2 rest days per week. Time to knuckle down then...

This kinda sums up winter run training....

Day 93 - Core Blimey!

Core Strength

Why do we all work so hard on 'core strength'. Core strength and Abdominal Strength, two very different things...I intend to get to the bottom of this.

Abdominal workouts, do exactly as prescribed - they work your abdominal muscles. These are not to be confused with core strength. Core strength does way more for your body.

Core work incorporates literally dozens of muscles, and improves strength and flexibility in your hips, pelvis, lower back, and abdominals. There are many reasons why a developed core is better than just developed abdominals. Such as:

Agility

Core muscles allow you to react faster, with greater strength. Core strength also lets your body distribute stress evenly, absorbs shock more effectively and contribute to your balance, coordination, flexibility and self awareness.

Power

Believe it or not, performing Squats and Dead Lifts with proper technique will develop your core, increasing your power but most importantly it will stabilise and protect your lower back. This type of conditioning develops your muscles, via your core, to allow your body to develop a good foundation for heavier weights and prevents injuries.

Posture

A good core workout will centre your spine and this will enable you to stand and sit with better, more erect posture. I've noticed huge development for my own posture in the past 90-odd days. The main thing here, is if you want a 6 pack or good looking abs, then posture development strengthen the lower back. You even appear taller / slimmer!

Weight Loss

Strong core equals less fatigue and reduced effort in performing daily activity. This reduced effort and fatigue directly translates to more available energy to put into gym time, running, cycling etc. You'll also be at a reduced risk of injury when you're carrying less weight, and reduced risk of exhaustion because you have the additional energy to sustain you!

Way More than a 6 Pack

I've realised from the women in my life, that strong cores as a foundation mean gym work is made far easier. I didn't realise that such a large portion of the male population don't even consider core training, and solely focus on muscle development. This often means the obliques, lower back, hips get less of a workout (if at all) and often just get pounded with heavy weights! It is the recommendation of most fitness professionals to develop core strength FIRST, to gain strength and stability to allow you to do the muscle building activity later.

But Why?

When is Core Strength useful to me, and why haven't I been doing it...Well, I actually have been. I was bashing away in the gym, decided at about 10 weeks (if I recall correctly), that my workouts would include more endurance (abs between weights), and that my weights workout since week 8 (I think) have been predominantly compound instead of isolated. Endurance training and working in the abdominals intensified and added some spice to my weights regime. Compound training added the base core work, required me to drop to smaller weights and develop better technique. I stuck with it, and now I feel particularly strong, in comparison to this time a year ago. I feel fitter today, than ever before. Good reason to kick start your routine into adding more core and compound training? I think so! 

Core strength is integral in my marathon and triathlon goals. It is pivotal in my overall development since I need to maintain a strong core so I can pound my body over 42km. I need to load my muscles with memories of endurance, strength training and the kilometres in my legs. All of this contributes, and as my core has developed (slowly), I've noticed that my running technique has improved. I was omnipresent this evening as I straightened my posture, well noticed that it was more erect as I put a swift 5km on the treadmill.

WOD

My Workout Of the Day, as created by me, was to replicate this core strengthening, and keep my legs from taking a break.

I started with 30 minutes of abdominal weights training, focusing on core alignment, and not just the abdominal workout. I then proceeded to do a 30 minute core crushing kettle bell circuit. I transitioned between medium and heavy bells, and worked different parts of my core. I also included a swift 5km treadmill run, which had me running at around 5min/km, for 25 minutes. My heart rate peaked at 143bpm and I focused on twisting my core muscles and keeping a straight posture as I ran. It felt good!

My WOD - Part 1 Abdominals: (3x15reps)

1. Standing Weighted Cable Pulldown Crunch
2. Kneeling Weighted Cable Pulldown Crunch
3. Palof Press
4. Landmine 180's
5. Plate Twists
6. Plate Side Bends
7. Kettle Bell Figure 8 Crunches

Part 2 Kettle Bell Circuit: (30second intervals x 3reps) - Odd Numbers Heavy, Evens Medium Weight

1. Goblet Squat
2. Around Body
3. Bent Over Row
4. Figure 8 (in bent over position)
5. Single Leg Dead Lifts
6. Windmills
7. Shoulder Press
8. Half Get Ups
9. Step Ups
10. Squat Swings

Treadmill Run: 5km, 5min/km, 25 minutes

Stretches, Side Plank Pulses, V-Sits, Figure 4 Abs & Thigh Crunches to finish me off.

Day 92 - Balls, Bells and Bars...

Variety 

The spice of life and the means to staying focused on my journey from fat to fit. I like to mix things up, and apparently, its good to do so. This week, being the crazy last week of my leadership course is a bit messy and getting into my normal routine is getting harder as the week progresses toward graduation. I decided to mix it up again tonight....but why?

Variety, or, the quality or state of having different forms or types can be important within a strength and conditioning program. Triathletes and cross-fitters tend to need a variety in their program to develop different physical qualities. My variety of strength, endurance, speed, stamina....run, swim ride and sports seems to be the go here!

Athletes must incorporate variety in their regime to become more complete. There is no single exercise or piece of equipment that will create the complete athlete. In order for muscles to increase strength, the workload must be greater than normal. I've noticed that since I started mixing things up, even as early as when I started to train for triathlon (instead of just running) I got stronger sooner. By overloading the muscles, your body adapts by growing stronger. Once the body adapts, a new stimulus is required to continue the reaction. Workload must progressively increase to make gains in strength and endurance.

Variety is a method of adding tools to your toolbox to facilitate your progression.

Tuesday night football..

Almost certainly its harder to play, or more intensive to play indoor football on a full size court with less people. Tonight there was 5 of us! 3 on 2 was the order of play - so lots of running and stop/start sprints, changes to direction was in order. For the first 30 minutes my game was all over the place. Mr Peds reckoned my skills were better when I took a few moments to stop and think, prior to taking shots or passing. This actually seemed to be true...I missed, hit the post and crossbar...I hit the ball wide by the narrowest margins and somehow couldn't find the back of the net. On taking those moments to think, I went from hell to high scoring! I even knocked 3 long-range (from our goal area) shots into their net! I really started to score all over the place, even nut-megged the keeper three times. Such fun.

After 75 minutes I was pooped, needing to change the pace for gym time!

Bells and Bars...

Tonight I opted for the mammoth session - Back and Arms. I reduced the number of exercise variants, but pushed hard to make the ones I was doing count. My dead lift technique has definitely improved, and I feel stronger for it. My rows were all a good show of my developing back strength. I concluded back with 3 sets of 3 unassisted chin ups...and my gosh I was trying hard!

I moved into Biceps and then Triceps. I was feeling the burn by now, 45 minutes in and that was my cue to finish off with a kettle bell circuit. Qinno joined for a bit and we did some basic run throughs. I've been intensifying the kettle bell circuit and 15 minutes is pretty tough....for me!

After all the hard gym work, I think my back deserves a good relax on the foam roller tonight. Looking forwards to that!

Day 87-91 - Kettles, Bars, Bricks and What?

Bells, Balls, Pucks, Weights and lots of sweat.

Another mad-crazy week, filled with multiple workouts. It has been a busy week work-wise too (hence my lack of posts).

I've done some interesting preparations to enhance my training for the marathon; working on core and strength with weights workouts, endurance with kettle bells and agility, power and speed with run sessions, and triathlon brick training sessions.

Thursday I put myself through a 45 minute kettle bell workout, targeting all of the major muscle groups. I also chucked in some barbell training to deepen the efforts on my core muscles. After, I did a triathlon brick. This particular brick involved a 20 minute spin, with a cadence of 100rpm. This speed and duration meant I could knock over a 10km spin, I averaged about 28kph, which is a nice speed for me. After the spin, I jumped onto a treadmill to do a quick run. I was running at 5:40 per km for 28:24, and that allowed a good 5km run at 10.6kph.

Saturday, I did a 35 minute intensive (no rest) kettle bell workout with my amazing wife, at the Bond Street Fitness First. I got a real good sweat on and had fun training with Winnie. It is the favourite part of my weekend. Winnie and I always train so well together, she truly is my soul mate and training buddy!

Today was a great day for leadership training. Today our instructor (Leut. Johno) took us to the gym to play 'handball - It's good to be king' and a 30 minute deck hockey game. I was team captain for team blue. I picked an awesome squad and we actually won 4-1! Two games that we can play with our sailors at sea, both pretty fun, full-on activity.

Deck hockey is a sport that has been played on ships at sea, since the 1800's and I would like to think that I could keep that piece of history as I progress my career. Here's hoping - and my new ship has a pretty massive deck!

After the 60 minutes of team games, I headed into the gym. Working out with Qinno was a good change of routine. We did a good hour of chest and some shoulders - working hard, and using a spot is a nice way to push yourself! After this workout I got stuck into a 30 minute cardio-strength burnout using my new favourite toys - the kettle bells. I incorporate step ups and box jumps to build on the cardio and agility.

Day 86 - Faster, Faster!

As I woke this morning I could tell that my body was in need of a little rest or a slower pace today. Today's leadership classes were fairly sedate and that provided the well needed recharge. As the day proceeded, I realised that I was gearing up to do my first proper speed session after work.

Speed Sesh...

My Speed Session, can be reviewed in detail on this link: Speed Session: 3 x 1km and there you'll see I ran off the beaten track (well its a gravel path around the back of the Creswell gym, and what you can't see is the gradient of  the slow climb I was running on. This was an added element into the session that wasn't necessary, but a challenge regardless.

I planned, and executed 3 sets of 1km fast runs. By fast, this is my slightly faster than race pace, which really got me going. The distance, although low, is actually far enough to give me a good workout.

Overall, with warm up and cool down I covered a mere 3.46km in 20:10, which yields an average pace of 5:50min/km, but if you look more closely the average included the warm up and cool down! A true test of how hard I was working was my heart rate. I was working with a training effect of 3.2 (improving category), which meant an average heart rate of 149bpm (81% of max), and a peak heart rate of 170bpm (92% of max) - which is pretty good. Lap times were:

Lap 1 - 4:39:80

Lap 2 - 4:15:00

Lap 3 - 4:32:60

On completion of this training session I felt smashed, yet exhilarated for completing the running exercise. I had a good cardio and run training session, that had me out of my comfort zone for a few moments of each set - the hill that leads up to the main gangway (main gate).

After I had quickly recovered from the running, I started a new element to my training, Kettle Bell workouts, done my way.

I covered pushups, goblet squats, military shoulder press, one leg dead lift, kettle bell swing, Floor chest press, pirate ships (kettle bell's version of landline 180s), floor pectoral fly, and some abdominal work. My abs are still so sore from the caving yesterday.

Today I learned that rest, planning and a new routine does help keep you motivated, challenged and interested in what you're doing.

Oh and go the Blues...NSW finally win Origin!