Losing fat & training:sucking it up

 This could be real 'training life' saver - a way to squat!

 

Here is a little training update - Today I actually measured my waist (Oh yea! Feeling that bodybuilding pump dudes - actually I was measuring someone else & it came up :-).  I am at 29 inches around the waist, which is down by around a 1 & a half inches.  I did zero cardio, so you want the secret?....ok here's what I have been doing.  Basically I filled my plate with huge amounts of mashed potato (mashed with a whole avocado, a little soya milk & some raw spring onion mixed in - also a protein source & veggies), besides that I've been having a whole coconut every day or two (& of course all my other meals).  Just ignore the fact I'm an outlier & high fat &/or high carbs ramps up my metabolism to a ridiculous degree.  I can up my calorie intake & I can lose fat.  Sure my weight stays the same, or goes up a little, but I can eat a lot more & lose fat.  So, to be honest my 'eating system' would make 99% of you dough-boys...I was honestly not bothered about fat levels, actually the opposite.  I've been focussed more on trying to get my head around my limitations & 'sucky' exercises.
Today I found a way to squat!  That may not sound like a lot to you, but at the moment I fighting against some functional scoliosis - that is a muscular imbalance that pulls the spine over, it is not the permanent kind, but something you get if your back muscles get REALLY jacked up - I've had it on & off for a couple of years now.  I have tried a few therapies to sort it out, but basically it is finding that 'key' that will balance out the issues & things will get back on track (I can go into this more if you like, but we'll leave it there for now).  I think a lot of the reason the issue has lasted this long is that you need to do a load of 'sucky' exercises to help fix it.  I'll be frank, in training terms I am a 'meat & potatoes' type of trainee.  Give me squat, deadlift, bench, shoulder press, row & chin & I'll be happy.  Alternatively give me planks, side planks, shoulder bridges & endless stretching & I am unhappy.  That is just the way it is with me, so I have not been 100% happy going to the gym to hit a load of planks for time, then stretching out like a yoga guru.  At times the mood hits me I will 'just test out' something heavy & be back to square one, so today I decided I really had to get this fixed by 2013 so I can go for goals of seriously increasing my deadlift & possibly trying out Olympic weightlifting before the joints get too worn to consider it.  So, I have been playing around with versions I might like better of these exercises.  I have been doing planks in all four directions off of a bench (I hook my feet under a squat rack safety bar set at the correct height & do timed holds facing directly upwards, facing directly downwards, to each side & I experimented at also doing them with the body at 45 degrees, so think facing 10 O'clock, 2 O'clock, 4 O'clock, 7 O'clock, those were tough I had to learn how to support my weight at the unusual angles, I barely managed 30 seconds the first go), so I've got those to work with.  I'm going to include more things like ab roll-outs as those are kind of interesting, maybe work up to standing as at the moment I am on the knees.  As I mentioned earlier (see picture at the top) I also found a way to squat.  I own an ironmind squat squat hip belt which is an awesome tool, but the only way I've found to use it is to drag two benches together & use a loading pin in a rack, it's also tough getting up on the benches with the necessary weight (for a guy with back issues this causes REAL issues), today I experimented using bands & a jumpstretch platform, using this method doesn't involve climbing with weights around your waist onto a pair of benches, I did get stuck at the bottom as I underestimated the strength of the bands a little, but once I had that sorted I could do it ok.  Sure, the 'weight' ('tension' if you want to be more accurate) is a little light at the bottom, but the top it is tough & zero back involvement, also lightening up at the bottom is kind of good for now as I have issues towards the bottom, so I can live with that for now.  I will still keep trying out various weighted versions on the belt & see if I can get a floor based version that works, if I do that will be included in a month or so.  I'm also practising the position at the bottom of the snatch (a snatch squat stance with a stick for timed holds at various heights) & once I get better at those I'll begin including a 'snatch squat press' (think of being at the bottom of a weightlifting squat - rock bottom - then using a snatch grip pressing a very light bar overhead.  Again this will NOT be for strength, but kept light so you are doing what would be a form of dynamic stretching.  That won't be for a while yet. 

For the stretching I'm honestly still not sure of the best way to go?  Maybe I'll have to buy a yoga video or something?  I hate stretching, it's slow, it's dull, you don't lift big metal stuff..it's really no fun for me, but it needs to get done.  I suppose 'sucking it up' is all about that.  Lifting heavy isn't so much about sucking it up if you want to do it, but stretching is all about it to me as I really loathe it & so I really do not do enough of it (or sometimes ANY of it!).

So, my training hasn't been heavy or consistent enough, but that will change from today (well the consistency, the heavy will have to wait a few more months).  I will be hitting things very regularly, until the end of the year.  It won't really be heavy weight training for a while yet.  I need to get the all-clear on the back before I can even consider a bar on the back or heavy overhead work, but stuff like inverted rows (Australian pull-ups to some of you), bodyweight pull-ups are ok, but weights around the waist causes too much traction & can cause issues, but I may test out a weight vest later in the year, that might just be ok as the traction moves from waist focus (which is bad for me right now) to shoulder traction (which is fine), I can also do push-ups, bench press (without an arch), ab work (flexion style) will be there as well as even with a bad back (no offence to Dr McGill here) flexion seems to be good for my back in moderation.  I've not got anything like a programme right now, nor really a progression pattern, which is very unusual for me, I'm still trying to figure out exactly what works & what doesn't, so this is an ongoing experiment.  I am really hoping the experience will make me better at coaching others & it certainly has given me a better perspective on people when they say they hate doing stuff.  The answer isn't always "I hate doing stuff, so do something else", sometimes the answer is "suck it up".   If you have a goal & that goal involves  doing a small part of 'sucky stuff' to reach the 'good stuff', then you either forget the goal or wade through that sucky mess you hate & drag yourself towards that good stuff on the horizon!  So, my answer to that has actually changed, like Captain Kirk, I always thought you could avoid the decisions you wanted to avoid (star trek reference!), but sometimes you have to take the hard, long windy route to get to your goals & this is one of those times.  My goals will hopefully be met in 2013, but from now until then I have a serious battle to fight.  If I truly want to make those goals I have to strip off & wade through the 'mess' of stretching daily (or several times daily), doing boring timed holds, grasp the brief pleasure with the band squats & a very few other selected exercises that will be my 'bread & butter' for a few months (I'm using a lot of very un-vegan references on this today, sorry!).  So I'll be 'sucking it up' for those months, but even after that I think I'll have to change to include a lot more of these things to keep myself healthy as I push towards a three times bodyweight deadlift & possibly an experiment with some Olympic style weightlifting (assuming I ever find a coach in the area that's any good & not just some guy who did a weekend course & got a 'cert' to teach O-lifting...really?...oh yea, there are a load of them out there!).

I thought you might be interested in what was going on as I've been kind of quiet of late about my actual goals & thought this might help you if you are going through issues of some kind.  Hopefully we can all work towards a 2013 that will give us awesome results!  So, if you know you have been avoiding stuff you should be doing, let's all get down doing the stuff that needs to get done.  Time to suck it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vegan Health & fitness magazine

Is a new magazine produced in the US.  I've seen the first issue & it's pretty good.  We need a magazine like this, so if you can support this by subscribing then that would be great.  Paper copies are available in both the US & now UK!  In the rest of the world you can still enjoy the magazine in e-magazine format.  As a member you get the magazine & access to the members area of the website.
To get the magazine or to just a peep into some of the first issue pop over to here & see what all the fuss is about!

REVIEW: The Naked Warrior by Pavel Tsatsouline

I read this book in a day! That’s not because it’s especially short, but it was a compulsive read! I’ll start with the one annoying feature. Pavel’s sales pitch is being ‘the Russian’, so selling to the American market, he uses words like ‘Comrade’, & has phases like ‘the Party line’, a play on the old USSR communist ideology (which was actually about as communist as ex-British Prime Minister Margret Thatcher!), but I digress. Yes, he does do a lot of that ‘commi-talk’ which I don’t enjoy really & actually made me take him less seriously than I should have for a long time.

With that said on with the book. The idea sounds almost overly simple. Take 2 bodyweight exercises & focus on those to build strength. In this case he uses the one arm push-up & the pistol (a pistol is a one leg squat with the non-working leg stuck out in front – you kind of look like a pistol, hence the name). This doesn’t sound like it would be a very long book, nor would that many find that interesting (unless you want to do those specific moves), but it’s actually not about those moves as such! What it’s actually about is how to display strength using various techniques of breathing, body tension & movement cues. This is why this book will work for many athletes, whether they are weightlifters, powerlifters, athletes or fighters. Yes, you are learning 2 movements in this book, but you can apply this knowledge to ANY lift & many athletic endeavours (any that require strength). It is a technique book, not an exercise book & so the rules found in here can be applied to a whole range of strength-related activities.

I read convict conditioning only the other day & this is another bodyweight book – in this case whereas Paul Wade was against the use of external load at all, Pavel has the view that you can & probably should mix both weights & bodyweight to get the best of both. I think I agree with this idea. Also Pavel is focussed upon building strength for the word go with low rep work, Wade starts with more high rep & works towards strength, a view that Pavel thinks is incorrect ‘you can’t build strength from muscular endurance exercises’ sums up Pavel’s view of training. I do tend to side more with Pavel than Wade on this, but that is purely my personal preference rather than absolute knowledge. I know that harder low rep stuff is more exciting to me than pumping out 50 reps of something, so accept I am biased & I do know some people who can do both high reps & high strength moves (like many push-ups & some strict one arm push-ups), but did one build the other or did they learn one, then learn the other? I’m not sure?

So, if what you are after is learning a one arm push-up (or you could even try the one arm/one leg push-up) & the pistol (with bodyweight or weighted both are covered) then this book will be for you. If you want to learn some of the tricks that allow you to display maximum strength in your sport then this will be the book for you.

The book is called the ‘Naked Warrior’, so it is saying you can do it anywhere, anytime & need no equipment, but given the choice I would have added the one arm chin-up to the mix. I know that ruins the whole ‘no equipment’ rule as you need something to chin from, but then you’d have a more rounded out program in my view. That is the ‘big 3’ of the bodyweight world, yes, there are harder exercises, but everyone understands that a one arm chin is hard, a one arm push-up is hard & a pistol is hard, if you can do them with good form then you have got to be considered ‘strong’ by any honest standard of strength. Hence I think you are missing something without the hard pull that a one arm chin-up gives you. That is my only gripe really, I’d have included that as well.

I did enjoy the book (barring the whole ‘comrade’ stuff I mentioned at first), as I said I read it in one day & found it a clear guide to some techniques we can all include into our training whatever our field.

That’s about it, it’s a good read, it’s useful & you will probably learn a trick or 2 that will increase your strength if you add them in to your training.

If you're interested in the book you can pop over to dragondoor & get yourself a copy.

Workout nutrition

Most of the information for this has come from the books “Power Eating” by Kleiner & “Nutrient Timing” by Ivy & Portman & I recommend everyone who has an interest buy both these books.
Studies have shown that there is a correct way to design your nutrition during training for size & strength as well as post exercise.
I thought we split this into two sections. First I’ll do a bit about nutrition during exercise.
OK, let’s first look at some things that happen when you train with weights (this occurs to varying degrees whether you train purely for strength, size or some combination):

ATP levels decrease
Muscle glycogen is partially depleted
Cortisol levels increase
Insulin levels decrease
Blood flow to muscle is increased
Protein degradation is increased
Muscle damage is increased
Immune system is suppressed
Acute inflammation response is stimulated
Fluid loss is increased

You have 4 main goals that you want to accomplish:
Sparing protein & glycogen
Limit immune suppression
Minimise muscle damage
Pre-preparing the body - so you recover (become anabolic) more quickly after your workout

Let’s look at them one by one

First sparing glycogen & protein:
By sparing glycogen you can workout harder before you deplete stores of glycogen. In one study a glucose based beverage gave an average of about 40% improvement over water while a carb/protein drink gave a massive 57% improvement over water 1



BCCA’s have been shown to be used as a fuel source, thus supplementing will spare muscle mass & one study shows that even adding protein to a carb drink given before training can increase protein synthesis after exercise 2

Cortisol appears to be the main issue when it comes to immune suppression. It would seem that higher levels of cortisol lower the concentration & activity of many immune system components. So, by keeping cortisol low while you train, you lessen the suppression of your immune system. In one study they compared a number of immune system functions & cortisol levels with & without a carbohydrate drink during training 3. Cortisol can increase by as much as five times during exercise, so you do risk immune suppression if you don’t take advantage of this fact



The next point is to reduce muscle damage. Now we all know some muscle damage tends to encourage muscle hypertrophy, but remember all damage must be repaired before any muscle increase can occur. Carbs again lower the biochemical markers of damage & one study showed this was by almost 50% 4
Supplementation with vitamin C, vitamin E & BCAA’s may also minimise muscle damage. One study found that although vitamin C & E didn’t enhance performance, they did decrease the levels of CPK an important indicator of muscle damage 5
So, in effect you’ll be pre-preparing the body for a quicker recovery by doing the above. Now, let’s get onto specifics, how much do you need. The numbers below can only be a guideline as we’re all different. Try it out, but you may find a little more or less of something makes all the difference to your training.
I’d stick with a simple carb have 20-26 grams (my choice is red grapefruit juice, it’s a high glucose fruit with all the extra bonuses you get by consuming fruit).
5-6 grams of protein (soya, pea, or hemp isolate is a good choice here)
1 gram of BCAA’s
30-120mg vit C
20-60 IU of vit E
If you sweat a lot or are doing duration cardio, then I’d also add some electrolytes, but don’t worry normally unless you want to:
100-250 mg sodium
60-100 mg potassium
60-120 mg magnesium
If you find it hard to add the vitamins, you can just have a C & E vitamin pill before training (split the pill & have the rest with you post workout drink – post workout nutrition to follow in a later post)
Sip this drink throughout your workout slowly.

1 Ivy, J.L.,P.T., Sprague, R.C.., et al., “Effect of carbohydrate-protein supplementation on endurance performance during exercise of varying intensity,” International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise metabolism, 13: 388-401, 2003
2 MacLean, D.A., Graham, T.E., and Saltin, B., “Branched-chain amino acids augment ammonia metabolism while attenuating protein breakdown during exercise,” American Journal of Physiology, 267: E1010-1022, 1994
3 Nieman, D.C., “Nutrition, exercise and immune system function,” IN: Clinicals in Sports medicine, Nutrtional Aspects of exercise. Eds. Wheeler, K.B and Lombardo, J.A. Vol. 18, 1999, p 537-538
4 Bishop, N.C.,A.K., Rand, L., et al., “Effects of carbohydrate and fluid intake on blood leukocytes to prolonged cycling,” International Journal of Sports Medicine,17: 26-27, 1999
5 Peters, E.M., Goetzsche, J.M., Grobbelaar, B., et al., “Vitamin C supplementation reduced the incidence of post-race symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection in ultra marathon runners,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 57: 170-174, 1993 Rokitzki, L., Logemann, E., Huber, G., et al., “alpha-Tocopherol supplementation in racing cyclists during extreme endurance training,” International Journal of Sports Nutrition, 4: 253-264, 1994