Ultra-fit issue 21-8 by Mat Harding

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ultra-FIT MAGAZINE

Health + Fitness for Men + Women

Lose Vol.21 No.8 September 2011 £3.99

lose weight + burn fat

weight

+burn fat Latest VoluME twENty oNE NuMbEr EIGht

Nutrition News

SpORTS SpecIAL

www.ultra-FITmagazine.co.uk

✱ cycling ✱ Athletics ✱ Rugby ✱ cricket ✱ Warm ups ✱ Training plans & tips www.ultra-FITmagazine.co.uk

Tips to get the most from your training Strength Training

How to make every rep count

How to Maximise Your Recovery cycle:

Time Trials + Hill climbing

Rebecca

Romero A unique Olympian

ultra-FIT - your 24/7 personal trainer

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contents Volume 21 Number 8 September 2011

on the cover

Model: Rebecca Romero Photo: British Cycling

Regulars P8 Body & Sole P14 ultra-FIT InTeRvIew Rebecca Romero looks to 2012

P22 FIT KITCHen

2011 Sports Nutrition News

P25 InnovaTIon

Tomorrow’s fitness products today

P36 GeT ouT THeRe

Nik Cook Time-Trials and Hill Climbs

P40 GeaR TeST Recovery Products

P44 undeRSTandInG FITneSS

Features P18 ulTRa-man Dean Karnazes

P52 vIKInG FITneSS! The Valhalla Festival

P54 weIGHTy maTTeR Exercise and Nutrition Do’s and Don’ts

P57 SPoRTS SPeCIal Sports Specific Warm Up

P60 RuGBy CondITIonInG P62 PIlaTeS FoR CyClInG

Joint Support Nutrients

P65 elITe aTHleTeS

P47 new! Ready FoR eveRyTHInG

P68 FInal oveR

By Last Man Standing Rajko Radovic

ultra-FIT SEPTEMBER 2011

Jade Johnson and Joice Maduaka Cricket Training

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P81 enter the ultra-FIT cover model search 2011 P96 Subscribe to ultra-FIT and be in with a chance to win a luxury break P98 nexT ISSue Page

P72 Indoor rowIng TraInIng Plan P76 MagIc TaPe! Kinesio Taping

P78 coachIng P88 hoMe gyM TraInIng and ForMula 1! P92 STrengTh TraInIng by nuMberS Make every rep count

Workouts P26 beST exercISeS youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never done! P30 buIld a greaT back P48 PerFecT your PuSh uP P82 advanced Powerclub workouT

SEPTEMBER 2011 ultra-FIT

THE ultra-FIT INTERVIEW

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ultra-FIT SEPTEMBER 2011

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Romero A unique sporting talent By Guy Holland

Rebecca Romero blasted her way to the pinnacle of her ‘new’ sport in just two years. Off of the bike she’s able to drop down a few cogs and interviewing her is a thoroughly relaxed, pleasant and refreshing experience. Rebecca is one of the very few who has won Olympic medals in two different sports cycling and rowing.

here’s literally no evidence of the cold hearted, steely eyed, selfabsorbed focus associated with great champions. The desire and indeed necessity to put a foot on your opponent’s throat when they are down is hard to imagine in this mild-mannered and utterly self-effacing woman who doesn’t find it easy to explain her sporting success. Far from being arrogant about scooping the very highest sporting honours, she often sounds bewildered by it. And when asked about her formative sporting prowess at school she simply recounts tales of failing to get into county sides, “Because I was a bit too appalling!” Yet only a few years later Rebecca was openly disappointed with an Olympic silver medal, taking the view that, ‘You don’t win a silver you lose a gold’. So the drive and desire to train, compete and succeed must burn brighter within Rebecca than most for she is one of Britain’s greatest ever sportswomen and a uniquely successful Olympian.

Olympic rower to Olympic Cyclist Following her quadruple skulls silver medal at the Athens Olympics she avenged the Olympic defeat by taking gold at the rowing World Champions shortly afterwards. But that is

barely the start of the Rebecca Romero story. She switched sports entirely in 2006 and became a cyclist. And remarkably she even transcended her rowing exploits by becoming a cycling double World Champion and then claiming the ultimate prize when she secured a famous 3,000m Individual Pursuit cycling gold

medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. To put this in perspective - no female Olympian had ever medalled in two different sports (let alone achieved a gold). Two men have achieved the feat but they did so in Water Polo and Swimming which, even to the uninitiated, can be regarded as closely related! Rightly feted for this extraordinary achievement of becoming the only British Olympic cross-sport medallist, Rebecca became an authentic national sports star and the press column inches, plaudits, awards, personal appearances and TV and radio commitments soon stacked up. However, like many athletes Rebecca is not a natural exhibitionist and finds press and public attention often uncomfortable - even when it’s almost always well-intentioned. I suspect that she might have been happiest to win her Olympic gold medal but for only her family and friends to have known. She was certainly not ungrateful and did her best to keep everyone happy, but being back in the saddle was where she wanted to be and training and competing with renewed focus and direction should have meant a return to normal life for an elite international athlete. But Rebecca is a cyclist and things are not quite that straightforward in the world of two-wheeled pedal power. In fact the years since her Beijing triumph have been the hardest of her sporting life. She explained, “As an Olympic and World gold medallist most people understandably think you are well set and looked after to some degree by your sport, but it just hasn’t been the case. In my particular situation things began to unravel almost the moment I left the winner’s podium at Beijing. Nobody should be given an easy ride (forgive the pun) whatever they’ve won and we must always fight for our places on the national team and to improve our performances. Since Beijing I’ve expected nothing less than having to train harder and compete better to

SEPTEMBER 2011 ultra-FIT

THE ultra-FIT INTERVIEW

Rebecca

ultra-marathon

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ultra-FIt SEPTEMBER 2011

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Karnazes By Caroline Sandry

Dean Karnazes aka ‘Ultra-Marathon Man’ is an extraordinary human being, having run the deserts of the world, run 350 miles across Australia, swam the San Francisco Bay and ran across America!

met Karnazes on a typical drizzly London day and the first thing that struck me was his aura: This man literally glows! You would notice him from across the street - although not particularly tall or unusual looking, he stands out from the masses with a super-defined body, tight, glowing tanned skin, bright eyes and radiant health. If ever an advert for running was needed this man is it! CS: So, how did you become UltraMarathon man? Have you always been a runner? DK: I was always active and I loved to surf, but hadn’t run for 15 years and was a bit out of shape cardiovascular-wise. The turning point came on my 30th birthday. (Karnazes is now 48 years old) I was out celebrating and drinking too much tequila, and I just decided to go for a little run!

CS: So after a spontaneous 30 miles, what came next? DK: Next, I ran a 50 mile race and within less than a year I had run a 100 mile race.

I stumbled out of a bar… drunk, and decided to run 30 miles that night to celebrate my 30th birthday!

CS: Was this the drunken tequila run that I have read about? DK: (laughing) Yes… I stumbled out of a bar… drunk, I will admit (!) and decided to run 30 miles that night to celebrate my 30th birthday!

CS: You are remarkable in that your body can cope with such intensity. Is this something that has come from training or is it part of your uniqueness? DK: (laughs) I think it’s a combination of a training effect and it’s hereditary.

CS: So with no training and a few drinks inside you, you ran 30 miles? How did that feel? DK: I hated it! It was painful and horrible, but also magical - I got back some of that magic that I had felt running as a kid and I wanted to bring something intense and challenging back into my life.

CS: Tell us about Badwater the 135 mile race across Death Valley DK: I have done Badwater nine times now. It’s a crazy run! The first year I did it I collapsed! I had severe dehydration and nausea – I passed out and couldn’t complete the race, but I went back and finished it the following year.

CS: Not only did you finish, but you won that race! DK: I don’t say I won …. rather that I survived as the fastest! CS: So how did you turn it around from passing out one year to winning the next? DK: I learned to listen to my body a little better: I learned the tell-tale signs of dehydration and how to regulate my electrolyte intake versus just fluid. There’s no scientific measurement, but I could tune in to it better. CS: Tell us about the four deserts… DK: I have run the four deserts of the world – that’s the Atacama, The Gobi, The Sahara and Antarctica. Many people don’t realise that Antarctica is actually a cold desert. These races were 6 day self-supported races, so I had to carry my own gear. CS: How many Calories would you burn a day? DK: Roughly 7000-8000. The problem is that you can’t take that much food on board, so it is more a question of managing your atrophy (muscle loss). If you carried enough food, you wouldn’t be able to lift your pack. My strategy is to bulk up in advance knowing that I will lose muscle weight during the race. CS: How do you bulk up? DK: It is very strategic: I work with a trainer (former Navy Seal Officer). We have a body weight resistance routine of which one cycle is 20 – 25 minutes. It is designed as a whole body workout, challenging macro and micro muscles. I do 5 – 6 of the cycles per day (in fact Dean had just completed a run and this routine before we met, using a door frame as a finger pull up!) I also had my office built so that I work standing up! I never sit, I type and make calls standing and bounce up and down on my toes. You should try it! You feel great at the end of the day instead of feeling tired. In

SEPTEMBER 2011 ultra-FIt

ultra-marathon

Dean

back woRkout

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build a

Great back By Patrick Dale Workout Pics Model: Romain Girbal Workout Pics Photography: Simon Howard snhfoto.co.uk

ultra-FIt SEPTEMBER 2011

Part 2

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PeRfeCT PUSH UP

Perfect

PushUp T

hat humble but oh, so effective exercise the press up (or to those Stateside the push up) has been the staple of fitness regimes as a recorded exercise for over a century. The Perfect Push Up takes the basic exercise and imparts on it a new dimension, one that will in turn take your upper body training to a new dimension. The information in this article will enable you to construct a personalised workout, using the Perfect Push Up.

Schedule

How to get started: 1. Using your Perfect Push Ups complete as many reps as possible, with good form and without stopping. Record the number you achieve to determine your 1 Set Max (1SM). 2. Using the Routine Grid find the number closest to your 1SM in the left hand column. If you scored 12 for example, then you would select the 10 row for your custom workout.

Workout Routine To really get your push up fitness on the go, you’ll perform the 2min NAVY SEAL based drills. Refer to your 1SM in the Routine Grid. If you achieved 10 regular push ups, then your

Day 1 Max 1 Regular 1 Wide 1 Close Day 8

Day 2 Off

Day 3 1 Regular 1 Wide 1 Close

Day 4 Off

Day 5 1 Regular 1 Wide 1 Close

Day 6 Off

Day 7 2 Regular 1 Wide 1 Close

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Off

2 Regular 1 Wide 1 Close

Off

1 Regular Chair 1 Regular 1 Wide 1 Close

Off

1 Regular Chair 1 Regular 1 Wide 1 Close

Off

Day 15

Day 16

Day 17

Day 18

Day 19

Day 20

Day 21

2 Regular Chair 1 Wide 1 Close

Off

2 Regular Chair 1 Wide 1 Close

Off

Re-test your 1 Set Max

Get ready for your next workout!

workout will be 8,6,4,2 reps. So you perform 8 regular push ups, then rest, then 6, then rest, then 4, then rest and finally 2. This has to be done within 2 minutes. At your own pace throughout your day perform 2min drills to complete your wide and close grip push ups (and chair variant - where applicable - see schedule). If you find it difficult to complete your reps then perform push ups from on your knees – see exercise descriptions.

Your Perfect Push Up Routine Grid Complete all workouts within 2 Min 1SM

Regular

Wide

4,3,2,1 (knee push ups)

8, 6, 4 ,2

8, 6, 4, 2

14, 10, 6

21, 12, 8

26, 12, 8

30, 16, 12

ultra-fIT SEPTEMBER 2011

Perfect Push Up Technique Head - Neutral position – ears in-line with shoulders and spine Back - Straight in line with neck, hips and legs Hips - Rotate toward floor Abs - Contract abs – pull naval toward spine Legs - Straight, knees in-line with hips Pace - 2sec per push up, 1 sec down, 1 sec up Breathing - Breathe in on the way down and breathe out on the way up. Counting out loud on the way up will help you breathe out.

Did you know? Push Up was first used as a recorded term for the exercise between 1905 1910 in the US Press Up was first used as a recorded term for the exercise in 1928 in the UK

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ThePushUps PeRfecT PUSH UP

1Regular Hands slightly wider than shoulder-width Technique Tips Align your chest with the top of the Perfect Push Up handles on the way down

MID

DOWN

2Wide Position Set hands two shoulderwidth distances apart Technique Tips In the down position your elbows should point straight back

DOWN SEPTEMBER 2011 ultra-fIT

do’s and don’ts

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weighty matters ExErcisE and nutrition do’s and don’ts

Get the most from your fitness and nutritional efforts by avoiding non-productive exercises and self sabotaging dietary habits. Get the results your commitment to fitness and exercise deserve by following our simple ‘don’t do that, do this’ advice. 54

ultra-Fit SEPTEMBER 2011

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✱ Bottom line – forget the single-joint isolation-type exercises, at least 80% of the time and focus on compound exercises. They are far more effective and provide a much more effective workout.

don’t Isolate – Integrate

Contrary to popular belief, isolation exercises do not target individual muscles. Muscles work in synergy with other muscles to achieve the desired joint action. Even the leg extension and triceps push down, champions in the world of isolation exercises, work four and three major individual muscles respectively plus numerous minor muscles. So much for muscle isolation then! Isolation exercisers isolate joints and not muscles. The aforementioned leg extension and triceps push down involve movement around a single joint and should, more accurately, be described as single joint exercises rather than isolation ones. The main point is that, despite our valiant attempts to train muscles in isolation (we can’t) by performing single joint exercises, this is not how your body was ‘designed’ to work.

don’t drink your calories – eat them

With the exception of water, virtually everything you consume contains calories. A calorie is a unit of heat and is how we measure the energy in our food and drink. The thing is, when you drink your calories, they don’t really register in the satiety centre of your brain – the hypothalamus. For example, if you consume a large sugar and cream laden iced coffee drink or supersized soft drink, your stomach doesn’t recognise this as food. The liquid is transported so quickly out of your stomach and so it doesn’t register with your hunger centre and subsequently, doesn’t fill you up. This means that the mocha malt frappuccino coffee with whipped cream you just gulped down containing 500 plus calories does not affect your appetite and subsequently you won’t adjust your eating pattern to offset the large number of calories you have just ingested. Bad news for your waist line! The best way to avoid this problem is to eat and not drink your calories. ✱ Bottom line – drinking your calories can often lead to over-consumption of energy, leading to insidious fat gain. Stick with calorie free beverages as food is more filling.

don’t use the Smith machine – use free weights

When asked why they use a Smith machine, most people answer that they do so because it is safer. And while the Smith machine does indeed mean that you are less likely to drop a weight across your chest for example, it is not the safe option that many people believe. The Smith machine is a barbell that is guided by rods so that it can only move vertically. With a flick of your wrist you can lock the bar off so that it will not descend any further and you can also set the machine so

that bar will not drop below a specified height. While this means that you can’t drop the weight on yourself, the straight-line travel of the bar can cause potentially serious problems. The most common exercises performed in a Smith machine are the bench press, squat and shoulder press. When performed with a regular barbell, the path through which the bar travels in all of these three exercises is not

You are much better off using a power cage or competent spotters and avoiding the Smith machine altogether if you value your joints actually straight but an arc. Because the bar only moves vertically in a Smith machine, your body has to accommodate this arc by shifting around the weight whereas in the free-weight version, the weight shifts around your body. Forcing your body to shift around the weight places an inordinate amount of strain on your joints, which can lead to long-term injury. You are much better off using a power cage or competent spotters and avoiding the Smith machine altogether if you value your joints. ✱ Bottom line – while the Smith machine may reduce your chances of suffering an acute injury, you are much more likely to suffer a chronic injury as a result of longterm use.

don’t wear a weight belt – strengthen your core

Weight training belts are designed to provide your lumbar vertebrae with support, or that’s the theory anyway. In fact, weight belts work by helping to create intra-abdominal pressure or IAP for short. IAP is how your body stabilises your spine from within by increasing pressure within your abdominal cavity. Basically, by pushing your stomach out against the resistance offered by the belt, you increase IAP and help stabilise your spine from within. So far so good... The problem is, your body learns habits very quickly and so if you wear a weight belt every time you go to lift something heavy, your abs will press out against the belt to increase IAP.

SEPTEMBER 2011 ultra-FIt

do’S and don’tS

No amount of leg extensions will increase your running or jumping ability. Set after set of side lying leg lifts will do very little for your butt. The best way to train these muscles, all your muscles, is using compound or multi-joint exercises. Multi-joint or compound exercise target large groups of muscles and generally replicate how your body works naturally. Good examples of multi-joint exercises include squats, lunges, dead-lifts, pull/chin ups, press ups, overhead presses, Turkish get ups and kettlebell swings. You can work your entire body using just a handful of compound exercises and be happy in the knowledge that your body will function better as well as look better.

POwercLuB TrAining

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Advanced

Powerclubs Written and modelled by Ben McDonald

here are numerous ways to advance Powerclub training you could increase the weight of the club, use two clubs, increase the complexity of the movements… the list goes on. However, for this workout we will use hybrid sets and on occasions two clubs. Hybrids string movements together, movements which flow into each other. One movement is performed for its designated number of reps and then the next without rest until a complete pattern is done.

Last issue (21-7 - August) we introduced Powerclub training to you via a beginner’s/intermediate’s routine, now we up the ante with an advanced workout.

1. Hybrid One a. Frontal swipe

Basic club positions

Leverage position

How to perform: ✱ Start with your elbow pointing upwards with the barrel of the club behind your body pointing down to the ground ✱ Powerfully extend at the elbow and adduct at the shoulder to bring the club out and down ✱ Let the club come across your body whilst flexing slightly at the hip ✱ Perform a side hip ‘snap’ to drive the club back to the start position

Torch position

Shoulder park position Order position

The workout

Warm up with a couple of minutes of CV work and then perform functional movements for all body parts such as marching on the spot and arm swings. Cool down with held stretches for all body parts. To perform one set of each of the hybrids do 10 reps of each movement consecutively. Do 3 sets of each, taking 1-2 min rest between each set.

ultra-FiT SEPTEMBER 2011

Hybrids string movements together, movements which flow into each other

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4 powerclub training

b. Transverse swipe

How to perform: ✱ Start with feet hip-width apart with the club over one shoulder ✱ Quickly extend at the elbow and shoulder, driving the club over the shoulder and diagonally downwards towards the outside of the opposite leg ✱ Rotate the torso and extend the elbows to complete the movement and aid deceleration of the club ✱ Perform a hip snap to drive the club back to the start position

c. Mill

How to perform: ✱ Start in the order position with your feet a comfortable width apart ✱ Allow the barrel of the club to fall towards the mid-line of your body to begin a downward swing across your body to the outside of the opposite leg ✱ Grip the club firmly and drive from the opposite hip pulling the shoulder and club upwards into abduction whilst keeping the elbow extended ✱ Swing the club like a pendulum until the arm and club are just above shoulder-height ✱ Drop the same side hip and shoulder whilst turning away from the club ✱ Slightly allow the club to fall behind the shoulder into the top point of an ‘arm cast’ ✱ Drive the arm forward over the shoulder back towards a typical order position, but immediately cycle it into another inside pendulum ✱ Repeat and develop a rhythmic motion

d. Reverse mill

How to perform: ✱ As above but in opposite direction

SEPTEMBER 2011 ultra-Fit

home training

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home training:

Formula 1 route to success! How can home gym users avoid the ‘boredom trap’, which so often scuppers even the best training intentions? andrew hamilton, just back from Lotus Renault GP racing team’s headquarters, explains… By andrew hamilton BSc hons mrSC aCSm

uried in the heart of the rolling Oxfordshire countryside is the headquarters of the Lotus Renault GP racing team. But this is no cottage industry; the technology and engineering used to develop the fastest circuit cars on the planet is so advanced that even Boeing aviation are interested in sharing ideas on a number of subjects with various engineering departments. I was at Lotus Renault GP to talk to some very lucky competition winners about home fitness training; especially how to get the most from your home equipment and help prevent boredom from setting in. What’s the

ultra-Fit SEPTEMBER 2011

connection you might ask? Well, it just so happens that those very nice people from Matrix Fitness who make a whole range of top-notch cardio and strength equipment and equip Lotus Renault GP’s ‘fantastic Human Performance Centre’ or HPC for short (see box overleaf) also offer a range of home fitness equipment under the ‘Horizon Fitness’ brand.

F1 demands The physical demands on a Formula 1 racing driver are well documented: sky-high heart rates, sauna-like cockpit temperatures, Gforces through bends, acceleration and

braking that would render most human beings very sore! But of course, while that lot’s going on, the driver also needs superb hand-eye coordination, razor sharp reactions and information processing abilities that easily surpass the best fighter pilots. Hardly surprising then that Formula 1 drivers need to develop and maintain the highest levels of physical fitness and agility and that’s exactly what the Lotus Renault GP’s HPC is designed to do. Lotus Renault GP’s philosophy, however, is very much a team one – all of the 500 or so employees (mechanics, engineers, design and technology, support staff etc) are seen as

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Basics of home training Before discussing how to use your home CV equipment, let’s start with some basic rules of home training. These are: ✱ Choose equipment that’s enjoyable to train on even if it costs a bit more (because if it doesn’t feel good to use, you’ll eventually end up not using it!); ✱ Create a pleasant training environment (see box below); ✱ Understand the basics of exercise and set some achievable goals;

The training environment Your training environment is important. No matter how fancy the equipment, if you try and train in a dingy, smelly garage, it’s going to be far less enjoyable than in a light, airy, fresh training room! Here are some guidelines that you should at least think about implementing in your own home training environment: Try to avoid cluttered or cramped spaces where you risk tripping over objects or just feel very confined. If possible try to create a dedicated fitness room; Place your equipment near a window, which will provide you with views, natural light and good ventilation; Exercising indoors inevitably makes you get very hot very quickly – use a large cooling fan during training! Music, music, music! Study after study has shown that you can train harder and longer for less perceived effort when listening to music. Whether it’s an MP3 player, or dedicated room hi-fi system, don’t forget your tunes! Make your training easier by placing handy shelf/hooks for drinks/towels near to your CV equipment. TV/reading racks can also help and lots of green plants can help create a more natural ‘outdoor feeling’ when training indoors.

Home TRaInInG

playing a part in getting its F1 car around that track as quickly as possible – so all are encouraged to become members of and use the HPC regularly. Very few of us are lucky enough to be able to train using state of the art fitness facilities such as those at Lotus Renault GP. The good news however, is that even modest home gym users can still make great progress with their fitness. Fantastically equipped hi-tech gyms are great of course, but if you don’t have access to such a facility, don’t worry - it’s surprising how far a bit of thought and planning can take you. As part of my day at Lotus Renault GP, I met some lucky Matrix Fitness competition winners, who had been invited along to the team’s headquarters courtesy of Matrix to learn the secrets of how to install and use home CV fitness equipment for maximum benefit and enjoyment – secrets that are shared below!

Inside the Lotus Renault GP Human Performance Centre The HPC is housed in a light and airy purpose-built gym, which stands separate from the rest of the facilities at Lotus Renault GP. Matrix Fitness has equipped the HPC to the very highest standards. The strength equipment includes the Matrix G7 single station machines, which use converging and diverging motions to closely replicate the body’s natural movement, a unique incremental weight system and electronic counters that automatically track repetitions, activity time and rest time. Cardio-wise, Matrix has fitted CV machines from its ‘7xe’ range. Not only are these built to the highest standards, they also offer dazzling 15inch integrated touch-screen LCD consoles plus FitLinxx wireless transmitters, which enable users to electronically track and store all their activity on both the 7xe and G7 equipment. Other facilities include new ‘My Ride’ stations used in conjunction with LIVESTRONG S-series Indoor Cycles, Krankcycles for upper body endurance, a range of free weights and mats and (very importantly), the expertise and skills of the HPC’s training manager Daryl Coombes, who is on hand to offer personal advice to all those seeking to build their fitness and well-being! ✱ Use different training workouts for variety and effectiveness. Okay, assuming you already own some CV equipment (for example, treadmill, bike, stepper, rower and so on), how can you make the best use of it?

Understand exercise basics If you understand the basics of what you’re doing and why, you’ll be more motivated and make more progress. Crucial to this is the use of a heart rate monitor (HRM). HRMs can tell you how hard/easy you should be training, are useful for structuring your workouts (for example, interval training) and allow you to monitor your fitness gains and provide valuable motivational feedback. To use a HRM successfully, you also need to understand the basics of aerobic training (see box on opposite page), which is something we’ve often discussed here in ultra-FIT.

Types of aerobic workout All too often, home fitness users just climb aboard and work away at a single pace. Not only can this be boring, it will soon lead you onto a ‘fitness plateau’, where you just don’t make any more progress. Steady state workouts - a constant effort in one of the zones above for a given amount of time – have their place but there are other alternatives, including: Intervals – a regular variation between harder and easier efforts during which the heart rate fluctuates between zones; Fartlek – random bursts of harder effort within a steady state workout, leading to a fluctuating heart rate;

Pyramid – an overall rise in effort followed by an overall decline. In these, your heart rate rises from easy into hard or very hard/intense zones then returns to ‘easy zone’ Combination – one or more of these types combined into a single workout! The key to successful home training is not to rely just on one type of workout but to vary your workouts for mental stimulation and physical progress.

Workout examples So what kind of workouts can these principles produce? Well, the options are quite literally limitless, especially when you start combining different training modes in the same workout. However if you’re stuck for ideas, here are a few to get you started:

1. Interval training workout (using heart rate) ✱ Warm up then spend 10min at your aerobic pace as above. ✱ Up your pace/resistance to increase your heart rate by 15-20bpm for 2min (do not allow your heart rate to exceed 85% MHR). ✱ Drop your pace/resistance to drop your heart rate 15bpm below your aerobic pace for 1-2min to allow recovery. ✱ Repeat steps ii and iii 4-8 times. ✱ Warm down with 5-10min of easy aerobic activity and perform held stretches (up to 30sec for major body parts) ✱ Variations – try altering the ratio of work to recovery periods; try longer intervals at less intensity or shorter, more intense intervals.

SEPTEMBER 2011 ultra-FIT

STREngTh TRaining

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numbers Strength Training by

Make Every Rep Count! By Pat Dale

trength is often defined as the ability of your muscles to exert maximal force and is expressed as your one repetition maximum or 1RM. The fitness training ‘law’ of specificity states that if you want to get stronger and increase your 1RM you need to lift maximal weights. While this is true, it’s also true that there is more than one way to skin the proverbial cat! Developing strength using 1RM weights is a valid system of training but it is not without its disadvantages. Firstly, your 1RM changes from day-to-day. Your 1RM is as much about your psychological and nutritional state as it the condition of your muscles. This homeostatic variation means that true 1RM training can be a very hit or miss affair. Another drawback of training with your 1RM is that this type of training requires three to five minute recoveries between sets. This means that in a workout where you perform 15 maximal effort repetitions, typically totalling around 60 seconds of work per training session, you’ll spend between 45 to 75 minutes resting! That’s a lot of wasted time. Safety is also a concern with 1RM training. A failed repetition can mean a very severe injury. With this training programme, you never reach true muscular failure and subsequently will never be in a position where you might fail to complete a repetition. This programme will increase your 1RM in a number of key lifts in a time-efficient way which avoids all of the problems of true 1RM training. This is done by performing clusters of submaximal repetitions using 90% of your estimated 1RM every 30 seconds for between three to six minutes in total. Yes, that’s right – you’ll develop 1RM strength by performing sets that are typically shorter than the average rest periods used in traditional single rep training!

threshold muscle fibres at the same time as possible. The more muscle fibres you can recruit simultaneously, the greater amount of strength you will be able to demonstrate. This programme by repeating a relatively high volume of slightly sub-maximal efforts teaches your nervous system to recruit a greater number of muscle fibres at the same time and essentially ‘teaches’ your muscles to become stronger. Despite not involving any true 1RM training, this workout has resulted in 1RM improvements in everyone who has tried it and in some cases improvements have been by as much as 25% in a four week period.

Caution Although this programme uses sub-maximal weights, the loads you will be lifting are still fairly heavy. If you are currently training with light to moderate weights I suggest spending a few weeks gradually increasing the weights you use and lowering the reps. After a period of performing sets of five to eight repetitions, you will be much better prepared to embark on this programme.

Before you start... Your first job before starting this particular programme is to establish your current 1RM. This is ideally done during the week before you start the programme proper. While you could do some true 1RM testing this is not essential. It is possible to estimate your 1RM quite accurately using a maximal rep set with a moderately heavy weight. I suggest doing one estimated 1RM test per day during the

Warm up by performing two to four progressively heavier sets of the first exercise. Once you feel ready, load the bar with a weight you believe will cause you to reach form failure in the five to eight repetition range. After a good rest, perform as many repetitions as you can with this weight. Stop one rep shy of full failure. This is important for safety. I don’t want you getting pinned by the bar because you are unable to complete a repetition. On completion use the following calculation to discover your estimated 1RM. Make a note of your results in the box provided below and then calculate 90% of your estimated 1RM – this is your training weight. Round all figures to the nearest 2.5kg, as this is normally the lowest weight increment available if you have access to 1.25kg plates. Reps performed x weight x 0.0333 + weight = Estimated 1RM x .90 = Training Weight Example 8 reps x 65kg = 520 x 0.0333 = 17.32 + 65 = 82.3 (call it 82.5kg) x .90 = 74.25kg (call it 75kg)

Estimated 1RM

Training Weight (90%)

Example

82.5kg

75kg

Dead-lift

Bench Press

Why this programme works

Pull up/lat pull down

Strength is as much about neurological skill as it is muscle size. To lift heavy weights, you have to learn to recruit as many high-

Squat

Military Press

ultra-FiT SEPTEMBER 2011

Estimating your 1RM

Exercise 1

preceding week. This way you can give each exercise your all. If you want to do more tests in a single day you can, but avoid overlapping exercises i.e. do not try to test your squat and your dead-lift on the same day or your bench press and military press. A good performance in the former exercise may well result in a poorer performance of the latter.

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A note on pull ups

The Programme This programme consists of a full body workout that is to be performed twice a week on nonconsecutive days for example, Monday and Thursday. Warm up thoroughly with some light cardio, dynamic stretches and sub-maximal sets. For example, if your intended training weight is 75kg perform 10 x 40kg, 5 x 50kg and 3 x 60kg. Rest 60 to 120 seconds between warm up sets. This ensures you reach your training weight warm, ready, but not fatigued. Once you are warmed up, load the bar with the appropriate weight (where appropriate) and with an eye on the clock, perform your first repetition. Although the weight is quite heavy, you should have no problem performing your repetitions in perfect form. Try to lift the weight as powerfully as you can and then lower it

form. You might be able to get one or two more reps if you bounce, jerk, swing or otherwise cheat the weight up but I don’t want you to risk injury by doing this. Stop your set when you feel your form is about to break down. Make a note of your rep count (see table below for how to record your information). If you performed more than 12 repetitions, increase the weight slightly for your next workout. If you failed to reach six, reduce the weight slightly. If you managed between six and eight, leave the weight the same and strive for more repetitions next time. Once you reach the point of form failure, take a few minutes rest, warm up for your next exercise and repeat the process for each exercise in turn. It should take you no more than 60 minutes to complete the entire workout including warm ups.

Repetitions Performed

<6? Decrease Weight 12>? Increase Weight

Dead-lift Bench Press Pull up/lat pull down Squat Military Press

The Exercises

The exercises in this programme have been specifically chosen on merit. They replicate common everyday and sporting movements, work a multitude of muscles at the same time, will develop inter-muscular coordination and basically provide you with a lot of ‘bang for your buck’. As this is an intermediate/advanced workout, I have to assume you are familiar with these exercises. Rather than provide you with detailed explanations on how to perform each one, I’ll bullet-point some technique pointers so you perform each exercise as well as possible.

Dead-lift

If exercises were awarded medals for the amount of muscle they recruited, the dead-lift would be on the podium right next to the clean and the snatch. Dead-lifts work your legs, glutes, lower back, upper back and forearm muscles. If more people performed dead-lifts on a regular basis, the world would be a stronger place indeed! ✱ Wear shoes with low/no heels and thin soles – running shoes are not appropriate footwear for dead-lifting ✱ Keep your shoulders above your hips at all times ✱ If you use an alternating grip, reverse your hand position rep by rep ✱ Keep your chest up, your shoulders back, your back slightly arched and your abs tightly braced at all times ✱ The dead-lift is NOT a squat with the weight in your hands. The majority of the movement should come from your hips and not your knees

If more people performed dead-lifts on a regular basis, the world would be a stronger place indeed! SEPTEMBER 2011 ultra-FIT

STREngTh TRAInIng

If you can do more than a few pull-ups you will need to fix a weight around your waist using either a chin/dip belt, a piece of rope or as I prefer, an old judo belt. Factor in your bodyweight so you get the most accurate 1RM estimate. If for example, you weigh 75kg and you use a 10kg weight, base all your calculations on 85kg. If you are unable to perform pull ups with added weight, stick with the lat pull down machine.

under control. Although your intention is to lift the weight quickly, the magnitude of the load will mean that the velocity of the bar is quite slow. Regardless, by TRYING to lift the bar as fast as you can, you will recruit the maximum possible number of muscle fibres – the very key to the success of this programme. On completion of your first rep, set the weight down and take a rest. Don’t get too comfortable though as you will be performing another repetition very shortly! As soon as the next 30 seconds comes around, perform your next rep. Again focus on lifting the weight with maximum velocity. Continue to perform a repetition every 30 seconds. This does not mean you get 30 seconds rest between reps but you start each repetition at the 30 second point! Continue to perform one repetition every 30 seconds until you get to the point that you cannot complete another repetition in good

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