Train Now, Live Later

Friday, 9 October 2009

Body by Science Session Session 16: Unlucky 13 Days Rest

Location: Woodcock Sports Centre, Aston University
Date: 7th October

Sixteenth BBS Big 5 session:

Session 17

*Session 16*

Session 15

Session 14

Session 13

Session 12

Session 11

Session 10

Session 9

Session 8

Session 7

Session 6

Session 5

Session 4

Session 3

Session 2

Session 1

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Lbs

TUL

Pull Down

155

1:45

155

1:48

155

1:55

155

1:51

155

1:49

150

2:13

150

1:51

Seated Row

120

1:44

120

1:42

115

2:02

115

1:56

115

1:31

110

2:02

100

2:15

3:08

Overhead Press

1:43

1:50

1:36

1:44

1:48

1:38

1:36

Chest Press

1:37

1:52

1:39

2:01

1:39

100

1:11

100

1:17

1:28

Seated Row

105

1:42

105

1:48

105

1:48

105

1:39

105

1:38

110

1:29

120

1:04

Pull Down

145

1:56

145

1:46

140

2:09

135

2:11

130

2:15

130

1:56

125

2:15

110

2:26

Chest Press

1:19

1:20

1:32 *

1:14

(1:10)

1:13

1:03

Overhead Press

1:33

1:28

1:37

1:49

1:37

1:38

1:44

80, 70

0:35, 0:25

Leg Press

340

330

2:19

330

1:42

330

1:33

320

2:14

320

Leg Press

310

2:30

300

2:01

290

3:24

280

2:12

260

250

3:02

230, 270

4.31

200

2:57

Total Time

9 mins

11 mins

3 mins

8 mins

11 mins

14 mins

10 mins

25 mins

14 mins

25 mins

22 mins

28 mins

27 mins

Rest period

13 days

14 days (8 for legs)

20 days (for legs)

7 days

8 days

9 days

11 days

6 days

8 days

7 days

8 days

Notes

No leg due to recent fell face and another on saturday. snagnation across the board. Fatigue from race? Rest period too long? Calorie deficit?

In spite of alcoholic weekend, some good progress. Could legs have benefited from the weekend laziness? Chest is blue because it's the best time on the correct machine.

Leg press only this week due to recently skipping it - but no upper body because seeking longer rest period overall. Full session next week.

No leg press because recovering from race. *Chest press not on ususal machine so may have affected time. Still feel like stagnation rules.

No leg press because race on Sat. Stagnation on all exercises suggests 7 days rest no enough. Or not enough calories?

Finally got that 4th rep with OH press. Because the chest press was in use, did leg press before chest and chest press on a different machine.

Lack of progress in pressing is mitigated by pulldown and leg success. Overhead felt better even tho TUL static

Less rest and a change in exercise order threw timings into disarray. Surprised by Overhead Press not being better

Baffling underperformance on chest and surprising improvement on legs, which may partly reflect increased intensity.

Finally finding the sweet spot for leg press. Much less rest, so not surprised by overhead press suffering.

Previous week's overhead press gains may have been due to slower reps.

First real signs of progress now that I have stability on the weights.

No leg press, hence shorter workout time. Was saving myself for fell race at the weekend.

Still finding it hard to judge the right weight for leg press.

Struggled to find right weight for leg press. Still finding the correct weight for all exercises.

Had to change weight with overhead because misjudged it.

"TUL" = Time Under Load
Red = got worse
Blue = improved
Black = weight changed or improvement did not exceed a previous best

Post Workout Nutrition: Primal/Paleo Breakfast of Champion - with mandarin and cinnamon (recipe here), 25 minutes later.

Thirteen days after Session 15 I scored a full set of reds on upper body. I didn't do legs because of the demanding fell run on Sunday and an even more demanding one planned for 3 days after this session.

The red looks pretty bad - but in each case, the regression was by less than 10 seconds, so this amounts to standing still.

I have two working hypotheses.

First, 13 days may be too much rest. I said I would try 9-10 days rest for a while, but this time circumstances dictated I had to wait 13 days.

Second, it may have been the impact of the 90-minute race three days earlier. Those mountain races really knock you sideways. Clearly my upper body muscles would not have been significantly used during the race, but as discussed in my post about a previous race, some lean muscle mass gets used up during endurance events, which I presume could be from any part of the body.

Should I just be grateful I am retaining strength under these circumstances?

Session 17 is planned for 9 days after this one and 5 days after my next fell race. So we'll get a chance to evaluate the reduced rest time under similar circumstances.

As ever, there is the posibility that operating in calorific deficit may be a factor; but for now I will remain in deficit until I reach my goal of 11% fat, during which time I will try to make the rest period the only variable that changes. ... Read more

Exercise and Weight Loss - Challenging the Unconventional Wisdom

Is diet the most important thing for weight loss because exercise simply makes us more hungry?

So we are told by the most recent thinking on the subject. This post on Pay Now Live Later explores why it may not be as simple as that and why it might be perfectly possible to lose weight with exercise if we set our mind to it...

Why Exercise WILL Make You Thin - if You Really Want it to ... Read more

Tuesday, 6 October 2009

Arenig Fawr Fell Race: a Tough 90 Minutes

Location: Snowdonia, Wales, UK
Date: 4th October 2009

Distance: 6.7 miles
Elevation: 1900 feet

Time: 1:23:49 (winner: 58:41)
Position: 55/77

Pre-race meal @ 10 am: Primal/Paleo Breakfast of Champions - with pear (recipe here)
Race start: 1.05 pm
Race finish: 2.30 pm
Post-race meal @ 2:50 pm: Sardines, mixed nuts

You know a race is tough when at any point you find yourself thinking you just don't care how well you perform. This happened to me in the final kilometre of this event.

My running partner has a Nokia phone with GPS and Sports Tracker software installed. This means I can show you the route superimposed on a satellite photo, the altitude profile, and even the speed he was travelling (see below); and since he was never more than 5 minutes behind me, this gives you a pretty good idea of my own journey.

The Race

This is a photo of the mountains of the route, taken roughly from the start point, looking South West

The start was 20 minutes walk from the car park (

), so we first had to make that journey, on which I took a few snaps of the surrounding area and wildlife:

This was the start before anyone else had arrived:

, then as the runners began to gather:

.

The race began with a 10-minute climb which everyone ran because they were fresh, followed by 5 minutes of gentle downhill. At this point my running partner, who had been running beside me up to that point, shot off ahead. I tried to keep up, but it hurt. At the time I was confused by my apparent lack of fitness - but now that I see the speed chart I see that he really was motoring.

At the 15 minute mark, and just as we were rounding the lake, the long steep ridge ascent to 700 metres started at about 400m of altitude. I think the earlier burst caught up with my running partner at this point, because I overtook him after about 10 minutes. Uphill is not his strong suit and you can see from the speed graph how how his speed plummets between 15 minutes and 1 hour as the terrain steepens.

Uphill Slog

The climb to 700 metres took about 20 minutes. After this, we covered about a kilometre of boggy, undulating ground as we headed towards the first checkpoint - this is spot on the route map where it changes direction from almost due North to almost due South.

From there it was a 25-minute uphill slog over mixed, mainly boggy ground to the 900 metre summit of Arenig Fawr. The gradient was often not quite steep enough to justify dropping to a hike, but a little too steep to easily run. Alternating between the two can be quite taxing. The last few minutes of this final uphill leg was suddenly rocky and, as you can see from the altitude graph, steep.

Downhill Cahoonas

Then began the fun. Once I had doubled back onto the main trail as the route dictates, I followed the long arcing descent to the finish. This was at times steep and rocky, but for the most part pretty grassy, with a gradient that allowed me to throw caution to the wind and go for it. You can see from the altitude chart how consistently height was lost in this section.

Both my friend and I find ourselves at an advantage on the downhill section. We fly past people who have doggedly overtaken us on the uphill or flat. I think this this is a question of guts rather than fitness. It's about being willing to take the gamble on each stride that you will find a foothold. Those who want to identify the spot where their foot will go before launching their leg seem to cover the ground quite slowly.

Clearly the gutsy strategy has to be accompanied by regular quick looks ahead because if the terrain becomes too rocky or too steep: at this point a change of pace is quickly required to avoid catastrophe. Some of the best fell runners are said to be able to cover very steep downhill terrain like a gazelle - presumably a combination of fearlessness, sure-footedness and lightness of body.

Losing the Will to Race

The final stretch of flat took about 15 minutes. It looks easy on the graph, doesn't it? You'd think it would be a relief, but it was not. When your legs have been hammered at one angle on the way up and then another on the way down, trying to maintain a decent speed on the flat suddenly seems incredibly hard and unbearably tedious. It didn't help that there were patches of calf-deep mud and bog to wade through.

This was the point at which I lost the will to win, and would have gladly waved the rest of the field through in return for an end to the suffering. Nevertheless, I kept running because I always do, and of course it did come to an end after what seemed like an eternity.

At the finish I sat and took one or two photos to pass the 5 minutes it took my running partner to materialise. The look on his face confirmed he'd had a similar experience.

This was the state of my legs and shoes:

...and this was someone else finishing:

Cakes

Finally, it was back to the car park (thankfully only a few minutes walk this time) for some food. While I dutifully ate sardines and nuts, my friend gleefully tucked into tea and cakes:

. I was a little jealous.

Footwear Issues (No Vibrams for Me!)

On the last race, I wore my Vibram Five Finger Flows and fell over several times on the grassy downhill section due to a lack of grip. This, I decided, was the reason I came in 5 minutes behind my friend in that race.

This time, my running partner found himself losing his footing several times himself because he chose the wrong pair of shoes. Fell running shoes come with varying stud depths - some are better for muddy or grassy conditions, whereas others are better for rocky terrain or trails. He chose the lightly-studded 'trail' shoe, and paid the price.

My Vibrams developed a hole shortly after the last fell race and had been returned under warranty - so I wore my old fell running shoes, an averagely studded trainer, well suited to the terrain. I did not fall over once. To be honest, I would have worn the fell shoes even if the Vibrams had been available: fell runs are just not viable in tread-less shoes. When the Treks arrive, I will try them.

In a rather apt symmetry, I came in about 5 minutes quicker than my friend on this occasion.

The Monster on Saturday

In an unusual move, given my views on over training, I am joining my friend in a monster fell race on Saturday, only 6 days after this one. The Langdale Horseshoe. 14 miles and 4000 feet.

Needless to say, I will training only upper body at my 8-minute BBS strength training session this week and will be resting for the rest of the time. I even drove to work today in sympathy for my stiff quads.

I expect to complete Saturday's race in 3 and a half hours. Whichever way you look at it, that's going to hurt. I think a concoction of egg and coconut milk will have to be taken along for sustenance for a race of that length, as recommended by David in the comments after the slightly less monstrous, but nevertheless monstrous Peris Half last month. ... Read more

Friday, 2 October 2009

Impromptu Strength Test - Has Body by Science Worked?

I went to the gym this morning just to spot my training partner, who wanted to see how his strength had been affected by our 4 months on Body by Science. He only really tested dumbbell bench press and chins, but said be felt stronger.

While there, I was unable to resist trying out a few of the old favourites myself:

Dumbbell Bench Press: 32 kilos per arm, controlled. Felt comfortable - could have done 5, as previously.

Raise-Assisted Handstand Push Up: 3 plates, one rep. Comfortable - could have done 3-5, as previously.

Chin Ups: did 3 - felt as easy as previously.

Hanging Leg Raises: did 5 - felt rusty, but could have done 10 without too much trouble.

Basketball Rollouts: 1 - did feel a little weak in terms of maintaining core rigidity when outstretched.

Romanian Deadlift: did 2 easy reps at 70 kilos. Felt no heavier than I recall for that weight.

The verdict? If I am honest, I was no stronger. However, I was also no weaker.

Yet in terms of time spent doing strength workouts, the last 4 months have seen it slashed from 30-60 minutes a week average to 10-15 minutes.

I wonder whether after 4 months away from these exercises my 'pathways' will be pretty rusty. Perhaps if I returned to them regularly, there might be gains as I readjust. Could this mean in reality a marginal strength gain?

Also, I am still getting fully 'dialled in' to the BBS protocol. If my optimal rest period turns out to be 9 days or more, as my latest experimentation is testing, then I may start to see greater gains.

The only muscle group I am unsure about is abs. They may be weaker. I suspect the workout they get during pull downs is no match for the rollouts I did previously. I could add an abs component to my BBS workout or I could decide I am not too concerned. They seem to look OK.

I was pleasantly surprised that I felt no weaker on deadlift, in spite of my BBS exercises apparently not targeting the hamstrings; but I do think the leg press pretty much nails everything from the waist downwards: I can recall my hamstrings and calves feeling wrecked after a particularly savage 2 minute leg press.

My training partner and I are busting to get back to body weight exercises, circuits and throwing iron around like thugs. But I am determined to follow through the BBS process logically and hopefully establish how it works best for me. I can then go back to other exercises, knowing BBS is always an option, perhaps to break through plateaus or to save time if my life is too hectic for longer, more frequent gym sessions. ... Read more

Wednesday, 30 September 2009

10-Minute Swim HIIT Session (including showers)

Location: Woodcock Sports Centre Swimming Pool, Aston University
Date: 29th September

6 x Front crawl length, 95% effort.

15-45 seconds rest between each length; each length took 20-25 seconds.

Total time: 6 minutes

Post Workout Nutrition: Modified Primal/Paleo Breakfast of Champions - with one plum (recipe here), 50 minutes later

[one plum because I'm on a ketogenic stint and modified because I poured the coconut cream around the cooked egg like milk over porridge rather than mixing it in during cooking.]

I didn't quite manage 100% effort this time for two reasons.

My left calf kept cramping when I really went for it.
I had a terrible night's sleep and was not quite as fired up as I could have been.

That said, at the end of the 6 lengths I felt duly violated, so I think I did the required damage!

I will now rest until Sunday (5 days rest) in preparation for another Welsh mountain race, this time a little less severe than the monster earlier in the month.

I will not be running in Vibrams this time unless they arrive in the post in the next 3 days - I had to return them because they developed a hole. More on that in a future post about Vibrams. ... Read more

Tuesday, 29 September 2009

Turd Dodging in the Clent Hills

Location: Clent Hills, Worcestershire, UK
Date: 27th September 2009

Workout: 60 minutes of light jogging and brisk hiking

Post workout nutrition: crab, avocado and steamed kale, a few hours later

This is the first time I have been to the Clent Hills. I am told it is an area of great beauty with some excellent walks - so it's a pity we elected to take the acknowledged 'beaten track'.

As a result I did a little more work on my boxing footwork than I had intended as I dodged the minefield of dog doo-doo along the way. You know you are in dog poo central when there are stools in varying states of decay to be seen.

That aside, there were some good paths of varying steepness:

, along with some great views

. At one point I did some quick running up and down a steep bank just to mix things around a bit:

. Finally, towards the end, I found a fairly steep and lengthy trail through the ferns

(this photo taken towards the top) and finished off the last 20 minutes hiking briskly up, then jogging down.

I took my heart rate at various points and it varied between 120 and 140, which is about where I wanted to be. I was conscious that I had given my legs a fair battering in the BBS Workout 3 days earlier, but they seemed to hold up pretty well. I have been sleeping quite well recently, which probably helped. ... Read more

Sunday, 27 September 2009

Body by Science Session 15: Progress in Spite of Alcoholic Weekend

Location: Woodcock Sports Centre, Aston University
Date: 24th September

Fifteenth BBS Big 5 session:

Session 16

*Session 15*