Week 1, Day 1

This is the first session of (if everything goes to plan), a 20-week project. I will call it, Project Firebird. I am putting all my sessions up on the blog, with a view to writing up a full article on my training at its conclusion, to give the fitness enthusiast a truer understanding of what my principles are and better yet, a demonstration on how I apply them. Hopefully I will learn a thing or two also.

I won’t get into the details just yet, save for a couple of points, that is, I am starting relatively light, to build momentum, and I have selected the exercises and lifts according to my own needs, which I could also reasonably assume my clients to perform under similar needs.

A1 Double Kettlebell Clean & Press, 16kg’s x (1,2,3)
A2 Double Kettlebell Front Squat, 16kg’s x 2

Perform A1 and A2 as a superset, every 4 mins for 8 Rounds.

B One-hand Swing, 32kg x 15/15 (L)

My Self-Repair Kit

Apart from good nutrition, adequate sleep and appropriate stretching, the following items are invaluable in helping me restore my physical performance, and ought to be a part of any athletes or trainee’s arsenal of restoration devices.

PVC pipe (foam roller on steroids) – There are many benefits to using foam rollers. I consider foam rollers primarily as tools for a highly individualized self-massage experience. I prefer deep massages, with a lot of pressure, and foam rollers generally feel unsatisfyingly soft for me, so I substitute with a PVC pipe. They can be picked up from any decent hardware store and shouldn’t cost more than $30.

I use it when I need large areas covered, and they can also move a lot of muscle tissue around. Areas like legs, arms, shoulders, back, and hips, are very easy to work. But be careful, keep away from or at least limit the pressure used to minimal over joints or bony protuberances. Generally, stick to manipulating muscle tissue with this beast.

Tennis ball – This is great for getting at smaller muscles like rhomboids, external shoulder rotators, Quadratus Lumborum (those little fan shaped muscles either side of at the base of the spine), hips, hands, feet, and are also great for focusing on trigger points with precise pressure.

If the PVC pipe is an artillery assault on your soft-tissues, then the tennis ball is a sniper shot to specific points of hypertonic musculature and adhesions. It’s an individual thing; some people prefer using a golf ball, or a baseball, but for me, I find I get the best results from using a tennis ball.

Kettlebell – The first kettlebell I ever purchased was around 8 years ago, and is a 16kg classic design, which I still use, mostly for mobility and rehab-type stuff. Most people either use too much weight or not enough when it comes to mobility, but the 16kg is just the right weight and size for practicing all the major kettlebell lifts without demanding too much from me. It really allows me to focus on technique.  Other lifts like One-Leg Deadlifts, Turkish Get-ups, Goblet Squats, Bent Presses, RKC Arm-Bars, Windmills, Bottoms Up drills are a staple in my recharge routines.

Another inexpensive restoration mode is contrast showers. It’s basically as the term implies, simply alternate between hot and cold water. I generally don’t like specifying lengths of time as it can vary considerably from person to person. I usually adjust the shower until it’s as hot as I can tolerate, then, as I’m adjusting to the heat, I will adjust the shower until it’s as cold as I can tolerate, then again, as I adjust to the cold, I adjust back to the hottest temperature I can tolerate, and I do this back and forth a couple of times.

To refresh yourself and stimulate your nervous system, finish with a cold shower, and doing the opposite, finishing with a hot shower, will relax the nervous system. In light of that, think about what temperature you will use at different times of the day.

Do ease into it, especially if you only ever have hot showers and generally don’t swim much, as the drastic temperature change does shock the body, and usually results in catching a cold.

And there it is- a very economical yet very effective toolkit. With smaller kettlebells priced under $100 these days, this whole kit can be assembled for less than that, and if you practice injury prevention, restoration, correctives or rehab, you will definitely get your money’s worth. It is also something that may take time to learn, and to personalize it to your needs, but even starting out you can expect to recover from training a lot quicker, feel less sore afterwards, and generally enjoy better movement from the use of the above tools.

It's never too late...

The holiday season is almost upon us. With only a couple of weeks left to get all the gifts sorted and final holiday preparations being decided, the added stress of getting into shape or worrying about getting out of shape can leave most cramming in as much training in what’s left of the year or at worst, delaying any training or diet plans. You can worry about that after the holidays, right?

It’s easy to overindulge during the holidays, and there ought to be no guilt associated with this, as everyone deserves a break, but the new year rolls around quickly and resolutions will require pondering, then action. Most will only act for a couple of weeks and then quit. The holidays then turn into another round of expectation of change and yet, is almost always followed with failure.

But that’s about to change. Start envisioning your desired goals for next year, write them down, maybe even make a plan or two, and then start now. That’s right, start now.

Why would I start now when there’s only a couple of weeks left until the new year? I’m stressed enough as it is, and I’m not too out of shape. I just want to relax. It can wait.

I hear you. But there’s no such thing as waiting for the right time. Start now with what resources you have. The majority of people simply want to look great and fit into their old clothes, and you know what? You can. It’s a matter of habits. Small changes made on a consistent basis will yield the desired results. Take a walk couple times a week. Replace a couple of meals with healthier alternatives, or simply add a nutritious meal when you would normally skip a meal. Do you need to overhaul your diet? No. Can you make one or two changes? I’m pretty sure you can. Easy steps.

Getting started is the most difficult part. If you have the momentum now, why wait? Use it now.

I want you to realize it is never too late to start making positive changes in your diet and life, even if you will be tested during the holidays. When the new year rolls around, you can pick up where you left off, rather than having to start at the beginning. Keep your vision, believe, expect you will manifest your vision and keep going.

If you would like some suggestions as to what you can do now to get started, or if you have any questions, then please get in touch with me.

Random Thought on Decisiveness

The above image (apologies for stealing off the internet), titled “Shrike on a Withered Branch”, represents much of its creator’s personal attributes eloquently, efficiently, and most importantly, sincerely. However, it does a great disservice to the original painting, losing some of its subtle details and delicate but decisive brush strokes. You may not realize this, but the main branch, on which the bird rests on, was painted with a single brush stroke. How sure was the artist in their own skill and mastery of the brush, or anything else for that matter? The artist was definitely not in two minds when they painted this piece. It is almost aggressive in its execution, yet it seems balanced; displaying efficiency- both in technique and content, and a subtle, complete understanding and awareness of its totality with an almost singular focus of subject. Painted in monochrome India ink, sometime in the 1600’s, it still perfectly conveys the artist’s personality. You should not be surprised it was painted by one of the greatest samurai to have ever lived, Miyamoto Musashi.

With that, my random thought was that many people display indecisiveness, or doubt the decisions they do make. Napoleon Hill, once observed successful people are quick to make decisions, yet reluctantly, if at all, change their decision, whereas unsuccessful people take forever to decide or continually change their decisions, and never fully commit to it. This seems even more true in the world of health and fitness. How often do people generally change their workout routines? Try new diets and quit? Doubt their own fitness or diet approach every time they hear of someone else’s approach or opinion? Allow magazines to deepen their personal doubts?

To those who are very decisive, the above line of thinking is definitely alien, but there are a lot of people who live exactly this way. If all this sounds familiar, and you’re finding it difficult to come to a decision, try this; listen to your instinct and go with your gut decision, and leave it to play out. That means, stick with a diet and see it through; commit to a strength program and give it your honest all; learn to form your own educated opinion; or in general, envision your desired outcome, back yourself and go after it. In the gym it means sticking to a routine and not bouncing from one routine to another every couple of weeks, or worse, not really designing a routine in the first place.

It comes down to one question, what are your goals? Clarify them, write it out. Make the decision that you will obtain your goals. Judge your results by your goals. Did you or did you not achieve your goal? What were the results? What can you do better next time? If nothing else, decide on what you want and then act on it. Don’t worry too much how you’re going to do it, just remember that it’s a process, and that you’ll find the answers you need along the way. Making decisions is a skill, and like any other skill, needs practice to refine and eventually to master it.

Kettlebell Open Training Sessions

How can a cannonball with a handle get you in the best shape of your life? Or bulletproof your body, making it impervious to hard-living and developing resiliency? Or literally forging a physique that demands respect? Are you ready for people in the street to stare with envy in awe at your statuesque definition?

The kettlebell has revolutionized training and fitness in general, and has also nicely proven to be a really great tool for physique transformation. Its intelligent application yields results far in excess of what can be achieved with bodyweight or other implements alone, and can do so in an efficient manner.

As with anything, its indiscriminate use can also lead to poor results at best, and injuries at worst, or completely demotivate and lead you to believe it is just another fad, and that you can never attain your fitness goals.

Correct kettlebell technique develops strength safely, and has excellent carryover to other modes of training. But it can be difficult to find a knowledgeable trainer. I don’t like knocking other trainers, because there are plenty of them who are great at what they do, but I have found the majority of trainers simply do not know how to coach correct kettlebell technique, nor can they get the most out of the uniqueness of kettlebell training. Most simply think of it as a dumbbell, which is a pity, because it’s good for so much more.

As such I will be running ‘open’ kettlebell group sessions. The basic idea is you can rock up whenever you like, and workout or practice with kettlebells. I will coach everyone who turns up. As it is an open session, it will be a case of first in best dressed. You can show up and just ask me questions on training if you like, or you would like a specific lift demonstrated, or you might like an effective routine to help you reach your training goals. You can drop by for ten minutes or stay the whole two hours. If only one trainee shows up, then they effectively have personal training for the price of a group session. If many trainees show up, we’ll determine what to focus training on. Think of this as learning a skill, much like martial arts, and not just ‘working out’ in a park.

I think this is a fun and exciting way to train, and is a great way to escape the monotony of group training. It also has the flexibility of scheduling. You don’t need to show up at a specific time. Come along when it suits you.

Please refer to the Group Training page for details.

Hope to see you there.

70%

Ever wondered how sometimes you put in more than 100% and you seemingly get nowhere in your training, and you plateau? Or when every other person in the gym isn’t training as hard as you do but they seem to make more progress?

Let’s take a look at stress and recovery. The result you want from your training is to trigger a physiological adaptation in response to specific stress you imposed upon your body.

So what is stress and what does recovery mean? Stress can be the load you lifted, the energy you expended during your run, the mental and emotional energy you invested in a thought or event. Basically, anything that produces tension and/or strain in your body. As mentioned previously, you should be stressing your body in a specific way to produce a specific adaptation, which is also why you need specific goals for your training. Saying you want to get stronger is not enough. Adding 20kg to a squat in 6 weeks is specific. Back on track, every time you impose stress on your body, it needs to recover. Think of your body digging a hole into your recovery resources- the more and greater the stress the deeper the hole and your body has only finite resources from which to recover with. Sleep and nutrition are your main forms of recovery. There are also active recovery- exercise somewhat unrelated to what you were focusing on. If you did a heavy session at the gym lifting weights, going for a brisk walk for 15-20 mins is active recovery. Going for an hour long run is not. Active recovery is also performing the same movement but with considerable less stress, that is, with a lighter weight or effort.

So what it comes down to is managing stress and recovery. As the great weightlifting authority Vladimir Zatsiorsky says, “Train as heavy as possible, as often as possible, as fresh as possible…” and to do this there are several methods which you can use to your advantage.

The most important method you can use is training to 70% of your ability. This figure seems to be a recurring theme in many widely varied approaches. Steve Justa calls it the target zone, where he feels most strength is gained, at 70% intensity, or 70% of your 1 rep max. Who is Steve Justa? Only some guy who wrote the book on functional and endurance strength over a decade it became trendy. Look up his feats of strength, his words literally carry weight.

Most powerlifting programmes on average train at approximately 70% also. Though there are a lot of lifts performed from 50-90%, and on occasions at 95% intensity, you will find the intensity averages around 70%.

Training by some marathoners also revolve around the figure of 70%, although in this case, intensity refers not to 1 rep max but a percentage of the time it takes to a run a race distance. So if you can run 10km in a certain time, 70% for your training equals 7km of your race time.

Other methods include auto-regulation. You basically regulate yourself. This is done by creating rules for your lifting. If your rep speed starts slowing down, you’re starting to push into your recovery-ability. Or if your form starts getting sloppy, again, you’re pushing into fatigue. Three bad slips of form when you usually have perfect form means it is time to quit your session and come back another day. To maintain perfect reps is training within your recovery means. Otherwise you might be pushing into mild overtraining. If you do this every session, you are digging a massive hole in your recovery. Injury and compromised immune function are around the corner, all which eat into your training time and derail your training efforts. Productive training is consistent training.

So how can these methods be utilised in training? Try limiting yourself to 70% of your best efforts.

If you can lift a certain weight for 10 reps, only lift it for 7. Next session add a tiny amount of weight, like 5% or 2.5kg, whichever is smaller. Then hit 7 reps again. If that was easy next session add a tiny amount of weight. If 7 reps went up, add weight in the next session. If you don’t hit 7 reps then it’s too heavy. Either back track and use a lighter weight, or try again another day, but your training for the day is done. Every month or so try for a max attempt. See how many reps you can get. If you happened to lift it for 14 reps, this is now your new 100%. Here you have two options. Either calculate your 70% reps from this, which will roughly be 9 or 10 reps, or you can increase the weight that limits you to 10 reps.

This applies for other sports also. Distance orientated sports? Sure, in training cover only 70% of your race distance, or only do 70% of your best time. If your time is 2 hours, only go for an hour and twenty mins or so. The 70% figure doesn’t just apply to a once only training event. You could have two training sessions in the week, one with 60% intensity and the other performed at 80% intensity, to arrive at an average training intensity of 70%. Over the weeks or months, try to cover 70% distance in a shorter time, or cover a longer distance in the same time.

Again, this approach can be applied to any sport or event. Adapt it to your needs as you see fit, and let me know how you go. 70% training is optimal training. This is what the turn of the century strongmen called ‘reserve strength’. I guarantee that your training will be much more enjoyable, and most importantly, you will be pleasantly surprised at the results you produce when it matters.

Core Training

Almost everyone whether they’re training or not desires abs and a core sculpted of bronze and possess godly strength, but seems that there aren’t many who have an actual clue how to go about it. Going by the general consensus you would assume a healthy dose of situps and crunches will harden the guts, but things aren’t always what they seem.

The good news is that you can expect to develop abs of steel. The bad news is that you gotta change how you think about training the core. I say bad news because most people are very defensive about changing dearly held beliefs, irrespective if they’re right or wrong.

Training the core correctly will increase your usable strength and physical capacity for work. In old muscle speak, it builds great muscle coordination, that is, movement quality. Also, I won’t go into it here, but trust that quality core training is supremely beneficial for preventing injuries also.

The basic function of the core in movement terms is, in conjunction with the spine, to serve as a solid foundation for the arms and legs to propel the body or to propel an object. It becomes apparent that situps and crunches involve flexing the torso, hence become unsuitable. They still train the core, just not in the most beneficial way. The torso needs to act as a stabilizer, not as a prime mover, which is how most people train their core.

Then which exercises fulfil this function? Basically, the exercise or movement that we’re looking for involves force acting off-centre to the body’s centre of mass, whether the force is external resistance or body leverages. A one arm press will work your obliques and QL’s better than twisting situps. Why? Since the weight is off-centre, you’ll find that if you don’t stabilize with your core, the weight will topple you. Try a one arm dumbbell bench press. Now perform a regular bench press with a barbell. A lot easier to balance yourself with the bar isn’t it? Your torso also doesn’t move, rather you are moving the weight.

Here’s a list of movements that will train the torso efficiently;

Unilateral or single-handed exercises
Farmer’s walks
Suitcase-style deadlifting
Turkish Getups
Goblet Squats holding the weight or kettlebell arm’s length in front of you
Walking whilst holding a weight overhead
Squats
Deadlifts
Use kettlebells instead of barbells or dumbbells

Or if you’re real tough, push or pull a car with one arm only, then alternate hands.

Effective ways of programming core training is to alternate your main lift with a core-challenging movement. You could also leave it for the very end. It doesn’t really matter, just practice these movements by not going to failure. You want quality.

Feel free to use your own movements, as long as your torso isn’t moving, and the resistance forces your limbs to adjust to keep your balance.

It seems excessively simple, but that’s pretty much all you need for an iron core.

Sensible Supplementation

Please be aware that this article is intended as a general discussion on supplementation. If you are following a nutritional plan or advice prescribed to you by a medical professional, then you are encouraged to continue following it, as this article is not meant to replace medically prescribed advice.

Now, first things first, what is a supplement?

According to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), it defines dietary supplements as products “intended to supplement the diet”.  There are also categories of supplements, some of which are; meal replacements, protein sources, amino acids, carbohydrate sources, pre- and pro-hormones, biochemical/energy metabolites, herbs, vitamins, minerals and such.

Second, what is the best supplement to use? Is there a supplement that is the best? When do you need to use supplements? When most people start supplementing it is usually post-exercise supplementation. Here I will attempt to set things straight in a general sense regarding post-exercise supplements, rather than getting into the details for each nutritional approach and desired outcome. Consider this general advice as the building foundation of your supplementation. Once you get the hang of it, you can go further in-depth should you choose to later on.

A discussion on supplements can get very deep very quickly. Just about everyone and their dog seem to have an opinion on supplements and arguments to justify their claims as to what, why, and how they supplement their nutritional approach and why it’s the only way to supplement. To make it worse, there’s also growing number of products out there with as many varied approaches that it leaves most with a headache trying to work out what’s what. Fortunately, if one takes a step back, and sees the forest of principles from the trees of products, there are good odds of finding exactly what you need. The principle in this context being the post-exercise window of opportunity for nutritional uptake and the products, well, that’s self-explanatory.

As the nature of this advice is intended to be foundational, I will reduce the advice to post-workout supplementation. Pre-workout supplementation can be considered as building on the following foundational advice and is therefore beyond the scope of this discussion. This also includes BCAA’s, stimulants, L-arganine, Glutamine, and other more complex or advanced supplements being pushed by body building product manufacturers. These products I would consider additional to what is presented below, which can be considered bare bones.

Post-workout

Consider this as the time period of roughly an hour after you complete your training session, the “window of opportunity”, where your body is more readily processing of nutrients. It is popularly accepted that the first 30 minutes after a session is the critical time period for intake of nutrients, especially for protein and carbs. Now, it would be great if everybody worked as uniformly as one another, but we don’t really. We work on gradients, continuums, processes that whilst being the same for everybody, take place over different time periods. Your level of conditioning, substrate availability, metabolic efficiency, intensity and nature of work carried out, are all dependant on the individual context. Make use of this window of opportunity by;

·         Consuming a blend of protein/carb meal or shake within say, 45 minutes, for arguments sake. Some prefer to sip on their post-workout protein shake during the last 15 or so minutes of their workout whilst some prefer to shower first and then consume their protein shake 20 minutes after the conclusion of their workout. Experiment with time frames and determine what works best for you, but ideally, try to consume your post-workout meal or shake as soon as you can.

·         This can be either a protein shake, a small meal, a sports bar, or fruit if that’s all you have available. Either way, you’d want 25-30 grams of protein minimum, and maybe twice that, 50+grams in carbs. Be aware of digestive lead times. A meal in liquid form will digest much quicker and replenish your tired muscles and systems more completely, than say a chicken and potato dinner, which could take too long.

Glucose

It is also a good idea to supplement with glucose, especially if you’ve had a torrid weights session or an endurance event. Glucose is an important carbohydrate and key source of energy for the body, and a primary source of energy for the brain. Amongst other important functions, glucose is also a precursor to vitamin C production. Glucose supplements are widely available, and can be found in most supermarkets. Try to find a glucose product which is 100% glucose. Generally 10-15grams per serve is an effective amount. Most commercial post-workout shakes already contain glucose so keep this in mind.

Vitamin C

Ascorbic acid is an essential nutrient in humans. It is an antioxidant, and is a cofactor in various enzymatic reactions, including collagen synthesis. There is ongoing debate as to recommended daily intakes, but it is generally accepted one can take up to 10grams daily without harmful effects. I have found that Calcium Ascorbate, or non-acidic Vitamin C supplements to be most beneficial. 1gram post-workout is a good starting point for supplementation.

Fish Oil

Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, or in other words, good fats. Its benefits range from reduction of inflammation throughout the body to maintaining cardiovascular health. It is also recommended for high blood pressure. Generally, one or two capsules a day, even in healthy people, will have its benefits, especially if consumption of fish is not a regular part of one’s diet. It is also recommended by some individuals to assist hypertrophy programs. As such, one capsule in the morning, one post-workout, and one at night seems like an insurance policy of sorts.

Creatine

Creatine is naturally produced in the body from amino acids, whilst some creatine is derived from animal sources, mainly meat. Creatine is part of the phosphocreatine system, which regenerates ATP from ADP, or simply, it helps with energy production. There are many creatine based products, but the one to start with is the basic creatine monohydrate. A generally accepted method of taking creatine is to use loading dosages after which maintenance doses are used. It is also recommended that creatine use is limited to 8-12 weeks. Given that it easy to misuse creatine, I would recommend taking 5grams with each post-workout shake only. This would serve two purposes, it allows recovery through replenishing stores of creatine used from the workout, and idiot proofs any confusion regarding dosages. It may take longer to saturate the muscles with creatine, but it has been found that this method is still beneficial, and can generally be maintained for longer than 12 weeks. I have found it also has the benefit of increasing water intake in individuals who generally don’t drink enough water. This could also be a drawback for some.

It must also be mentioned that anybody with concerns as to the use or side effects of creatine supplementation should seek advice from a medical professional.

You will generally only need creatine once your training begins getting serious or you find you have a tough time recovering.

Post post-workout

Generally, try to consume a solid meal within 1 to 3 hours after your workout, to maintain post-workout anabolic conditions. Consume creatine and glucose with your post-workout shake. The fish oil and vitamin C you can consume with the meal following the post-workout shake.

For those trying to lose weight, I have to mention this. Even if you are training to lose body fat, do not make the misassumption that by starving yourself or restricting food intake after a workout that you are increasing fat loss. Whilst your body may rely more on body fat stores, it cannot replenish energy or nutrient stores used in the workout. All it will lead to is degeneration of your body, and the transformation of your physique if pushed hard enough, to resemble that of prisoners in hard labour camps who are forced to work without food. There is no need to punish anyone with this kind of nonsense.

There you have it. Sensible use of supplements during the post-exercise window of opportunity will help you get the most out of your training, and whether you are training to improve sports performance, or transforming your physique, it will efficiently take care of a lot of your nutritional requirements.

Hopefully the question of what to supplement with and how has been clarified, or at the least, the number of choices for you to make has been simplified. If you have any questions or suggestions do not hesitate to comment or get in touch with me.

Assume Total Responsibility

What does that mean exactly? It is acknowledging that you created your life, your failures and successes, and anything else in it, and that you refuse to blame anyone or anything else for the things that went wrong. You accept this 100%.

How can you benefit from this? If you accept that you created all your successes and problems, then it’s likely that you can recreate them also. Usually, most people don’t know how to recreate whatever successes they may have, yet, they’re all too successful at recreating the failures or the wrong things, and that usually comes down to apportioning blame in the wrong place.

Now, some may argue that they encountered a problem where some external event or person completely stuffed them up, and they couldn’t prevent the bad results from occurring despite their best efforts. This is true for all of us. Everyone has encountered such events, but it’s a matter of how you respond to the experience. It all comes down to choice. Do you bog down or get on with it? By choosing to blame external causes, it robs you of the chance to learn, to correct any mistakes, to solve problems. These are valuable skills, but many choose not to practice these skills when the opportunity arises.

And so it is in fitness. The amount of excuses is almost comical. If it’s not your trainer, then it’s the program you’re on, or your spouse, the kids, the weather, the gym, work, stress, money, injuries, it’s uncomfortable, dirty, too hard, you don’t know what you’re doing, they don’t know what they’re doing, can’t be bothered… whatever. The real reason for not losing weight, not gaining weight, missing sessions, eating unhealthy, missing meals, poor routine selection, poor technique in exercise, injury, laziness, apathy, lack of commitment, or anything else, is simply the individual not assuming full responsibility. Everyone has an excuse, except for winners.

It’s now time to act.

So, just how badly do you want to improve; real bad, or not really? Does it matter? The idea that you need to be fully pumped up and passionate about going after your goals is a misconception. The fitness industry is all about selling dreams, a lifestyle a lot are intimidated by. It doesn’t have to be this way. As long as you have your goals and sufficient motivation to do something about it, then you’ll be right. You can deal with any problems when they arise. Educate yourself. Do not rely solely on what others say. Use your common sense. If you only have a fraction of your time to invest then so be it. Trust in the long run that you will achieve your goals. If you’re not getting results don’t just automatically blame someone else, ask, or work out why not.

Yes, it is difficult, but so is everything else. Is it not difficult to think back after years that you could have done something but chose not to? Is it not difficult to be angry with yourself for having let things slip away from you? Is it not difficult to accept frustration and mediocre results? I know I’d rather the difficulty of striving toward goals, than the difficulty of dealing with the lingering bad taste of the “could’ve beens”. Remember, it is hard work, and sustained, persistent effort will get you what you want.

Dare to dream, don’t give up till you reach your dreams, so do something about it. You are the only one responsible for your achievements.

Building the Aerobic Base - LSD

Who needs long slow distance training? Unless one is in exceptional shape, or has an insufferably high self-opinion of their conditioning, then that basically means everyone.

For the most part, training is conducted with a view to improving many qualities at once. This is known as the conjugate method. It is also the main programming system used by the majority of trainees whether they realise it or not. Seems everybody is training for strength, increased cardiovascular capacity, improved movement patterning, greater flexibility and so on. The body is under great stress to adapt favourably, and it can be difficult to set up a training system where the many qualities being trained do not interfere with the development of the other qualities. It is always wise to train efficiently. In this case, that means using the lowest intensity and the least volume that will achieve results.

So how do we apply the above philosophy to our training? If the aim is to generate results in the most efficient manner, then focusing on the characteristic that will yield the greatest gains will be most optimal. For the majority of trainees, and some athletes, the greatest gains come from building a solid fitness foundation. The aerobic system is that foundation. 

The body utilises three modes of energy production- aerobic, anaerobic lactic, and anaerobic alactic. The aerobic system is the one we use the majority of the time for low intensity work, and lasts hours. The anaerobic system takes over when the intensity picks up, and usually lasts for a minute or two before fatiguing. And the anaerobic alactic system is for all out, maximal intensity efforts, and lasts for ten to fifteen seconds. Together, they represent the continuum that is energy production, and contrary to popular belief, the aerobic system functions continually, even when the body is calling upon the more powerful systems.

Cardiac output is stroke volume multiplied by heart rate. It is basically how much blood your heart pumps. Exercising with too much intensity or with an overly high heart rate means that the heart can’t fill to capacity to force an increase in stroke volume. The benefits of increasing stroke volume are a lower resting heart rate, increased work capacity at high heart rates and an increased efficiency for recovery. To increase cardiac output, training should be at a heart rate where it can fill the heart maximally on every beat, and can be sustained for an extended time.

This means;

·         Perform low intensity exercise- walking, jogging, swimming, calisthenics etc.

·         For durations of 30-90mins,

·         At heart rates of 120-150bpm.

LSD training can be performed several times a week, although you would want to get in at least one session per week. Mixing LSD with other modes of cardio during a training week is also beneficial.

The good news is you don’t have to train at 100% every session. It’s not an excuse either for slacking off, but there is a role for easier training. Sensible programming lets you build up a base of conditioning without compromising gains from developing other fitness qualities at the same time.

The Functional Bench Press

Some people are divided as to the benefits of bench pressing. They say the regular flat bench is;

·         Not “functional”, as you are lying down, and you normally don’t encounter this position in sports and in most life situations, and therefore has little carryover.

·         Also, due to the scapula- or shoulder blades, being essentially trapped against the bench, they can’t maintain the normal movement they exhibit during pressing movements.

·         The real clincher is the evidence that points to the excessive numbers who injure themselves whilst bench pressing. The amount of trainees suffering pec and shoulder injuries on the bench press makes it seem inevitable that if you bench, then at some stage you will be injured.

Let’s address some of these concerns.

·         The bench press is as functional as any other exercise or lift. If you are trying to isolate your pecs by curling up on the bench like a dying cockroach then you won’t find much carryover to any other useful activity. Plant your feet. I’ll explain how to bench properly in a moment.

·         You are supposed to fix your scapula with the upper back muscles. Even on mundane push ups your upper back needs to stay rigid. You need to press from a firm base; including strong activation of the lats. If not, your pressing power will diminish and can lead your shoulders into an unsafe position. Connect your arms to your body. Balance your upper body strength development with good technique and don’t neglect working on your upper back strength.

·         Most trainees injure themselves on the bench due to overly ambitious weight selection and poor technique. How many times do we see the buddy doing barbell rows while the bloke on the bench is pressing? Or another trainee squirming under the bar as they struggle to put up their eleventh rep?

Seems the common theme here is technique, and usually the absence of good technique. This is also what separates the powerlifter from the usual gym rat. How else do these lifters put up several times their bodyweight on the bench, and suffer fewer injuries? Powerlifters also use more sensible rep and set schemes, and cycle the weights. More on that another time.

Let’s review the technique.

·         Lie down on the bench, expand your chest, draw the shoulder blades together, pull the shoulders toward your feet, and plant your feet.

·         Brace your whole body, force your feet into the floor, as if you are doing a bridge, and unrack the bar. Your choice on the grip; close grip forces more work onto the triceps, whilst a wider grip forces more work on the pecs.

·         Pull the bar down to your sternum with the lats. Think of a barbell row.

·         Pause the bar on your chest for a second. Don’t relax with the bar on your chest, but stay tight.

·         Flex the lats, glutes and your abs hard, and squeeze the weight of your chest. Imagine the bar is stationary and you’re pushing yourself into the bench.

·         Imagine the bar is connected to your elbows, push from your elbows until lockout.

A couple of tips;

·         Be aware of the suicide grip. What’s a suicide grip? You’ve seen them, trust me. It’s the thumbless grip, where the bar kind of rests on the palms. It does nothing for your power, and can be really hazardous to your health. Grip the bar like you mean it. The proprioceptors in your hands let your body know to increase the tension elsewhere, therefore lifting more and increasing safety.

·         Keep your wrist in neutral position. Don’t let them hyperextend. Project the force of the barbell straight down your forearm. Position the bar over the heel of your palm.

·         If you are having trouble connecting the lats, tighten your grip, and imagine you are trying to bend the bar.

For those worried the bench press overly develops the lower pecs, therefore giving the appearance of sagging breasts, switch from the regular flat bench to an incline bench press. You might not be able to lift as heavy, but your pecs will have a more aesthetic look, that of a greek statue of antiquity. Or supplement your bench routine with lots of incline dumbbell presses. This has the benefit of upping your regular flat bench numbers in the process.

Think of performing a standing military press, only lying on a flat bench. The military press demands full body tension, for safe and effective pressing. When benching, apply the same full body tension.

It’s easy to knock something as having little benefit if it is applied incorrectly- take the squat as another example. Learn, and master the technique, develop your skill, and you will earn your rewards of increased upper body pressing strength and increased performance in your sport.

Efficient human enhancement

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

How many reps or miles does it take to achieve your fitness goals? The answer- not one more than is absolutely necessary. Anything more would be a waste of your effort, right?

How do you know where to draw the line? For starters, clear and specific goals will determine the approach. The question to ask is; how much, and by when? It needs to be measurable. At the end, there can be no uncertainty, was the goal attained or not? Once you have a clear and specific goal, the means towards the end will reveal itself.

Now, with the sheer mass of information available, how do you decide exactly what it is you need to achieve your goal? Search for the most efficient solution. An effective trainer or coach can help. Recognize that your body has finite capacity for work and recuperation. Efficiency is training only enough to trigger the adaption required to achieve the goal. If that means three sessions per week, and you want to train five times a week, then those extra two sessions are unnecessary. Or you might be doing eight exercises in the gym, but you may only need two to increase performance in a certain sport, then what will those extra six exercises do for you?

Training to failure is also inefficient use of your time, unless you’re a bodybuilder. Why train your body to fail? Observe that all Olympic athletes train pretty hard, but never to failure. Top level athletes train optimally, to trigger the necessary adaptations for increasing their performance. The key word here is optimal.

The Firebird approach to performance is this; efficient human enhancement. Do no more than necessary to obtain optimal performance. Identify and bring up your weak links. Enhance what needs enhancing. Everything else, leave for the moment of truth, for competition.

Sounds like an effort, why not just mindlessly exercise, then go home? Simply, what standard do you want to hold yourself to? Mediocrity, or high-achievement? Not many are happy with mediocre results, yet not many are prepared to do anything about it. The less time you waste in training, the more time you can spend elsewhere. Efficiency is the mark of high-achievers.

Vague goals produce vague results. Be specific. Dream to achieve and then do what you need to do.