New phase!

Well yesterday and the long weekend Easter break marked the transition into a new phase with my pupil.

After two months of fitness conditioning we are now able to move onto the second phase of his fitness program.

Last night my pupil gave 110% to his workout goals. He was hungry for more and this was exciting and great to see. Next week will see us enter the gym domain even more to start sculpting at some target areas to achieve his goal.

It's good to have a plan that you can stick with and that can guide you so that you don't get stuck in a endless and result less rut.

For those interested in what path I have chosen for my pupil here it is.
2 months of fitness conditioning. This included jogging for cardio vascular endurance. HIIT styled sessions in the park, pulling a weighted sled timed burpee sets etc, and beach workouts for extra resistance and variance.
2 months of area specific building. This will involve an abs/core session, shoulder session and butt session. The jogging and general fitness will continue.
2 months of area specific toning. Same sessions. But with some more emphasis on toning techniques instead of building. And even more cardio and general fitness.

Along with the fitness plan we have also changed the eating lifestyle. Currently healthy food choices and healthy portions are the key. Depending on how the next few mints go will depend on if we need to change the diet any more.

Let the journey continue…

And come next week he will know a whole new level of exercise.
Check out the name tag. You're in my world now.

Physical Exercise and Cancer Treatment

Physical Exercise and Cancer Treatment

If you are currently living with cancer, there are quite a number of things you are able to do in your own home to improve the quality of your life. Even if you're receiving treatment for mesothelioma or are in remission for breast cancer, you will find that there are things you are able to do at home that will provide you with more energy and more fulfillment on a daily basis.

Eating Healthy
Eating healthier foods is essential for when you are undergoing cancer treatment or are in remission. Healthy foods, like vegetables and fruits, provide your body with valuable nutrients that are sure to help you feel better. A healthy diet is not going to cure cancer, but it definitely will supplement some of the vitamins that you need to combat side effects and function more normally throughout the day. You should also speak with your treatment physician to make sure that changing your diet is going to be right for you.

There is a good chance that your doctor already has you on a very strict diet, so make sure that you are not veering from this diet too much. You might also want to discuss healthier food options with your doctor to see if you can make changes and swaps throughout the day that will not hinder your treatment progress. Making these changes may just be what you need in order to feel better on a more regular basis.

Being Active
Being more active is also so important when undergoing cancer treatment. Regular exercise might sound difficult when you're already exhausted from treatment, but it can help to boost your weakened immune system and strengthen bones. Even going for a very light walk on the treadmill a few times a week is enough to help put you into a more active and energetic state. Even if you're undergoing treatment, there are many things you can do that will help in terms of providing you with more energy for your busy day.


Living healthy if you have cancer or are in remission can be easier than you think. Speak with your doctor and start taking the necessary steps to ensure the most successful recovery from your battle.



Guest post by Melanie B.

Supp review - beta!!

Well as I mentioned in my previous blog post in regards to Miracles, I have brought and am now trialing some good old stock standard Beta-alanine amino acid.

Sources state that β-Alanine (or beta-alanine) has been shown to increase the concentration of carnosine in muscles, decrease fatigue in athletes and increase total muscular work done. see references from Wikipedia below.

This means that essentially you should be able to exhaust your muscles beyond the norm and create hypertrophy and or endurance in your applied activity.

I went into the test a little bit sceptical as a few recent preworkout supps have left me a little disappointed as far as really not doing anything. And on the first 7 mins as I drove to gym, I felt nothing. What a waste, maybe I would feel something once the workout started. Perhaps some super strength.

But then as I almost arrived at the gym, I started to feel a tingle. My ears has a weird little itch, and then the tip of my nose. Then my arms began to tingle… and I could tell that the sup had started sinking in.

It was chest day, and I was able to push out my routine with what felt like more energy and less fatigue. I smashed my personal record for incline bench press and by the end of the workout dips and push ups were not a problem (last week was a struggle without the beta.)

Today was arms day. The routine was fresh so I didn’t have the last weeks comparison to gauge it against. However there was no problem going beyond my usual for reps weight and overall workout length of time. As you start to move your target muscle group the tingles become noticeable in those areas, it is quite a sensation, and it was not a once time affair that lasted a few minutes, it remained and sustained over the one and a half hour session.

I will continue to use this supplement and keep everyone updated on how it goes for me, long term effects and short.

OMG bring on legs day…

References below

(Derave W, Ozdemir MS, Harris R, Pottier A, Reyngoudt H, Koppo K, Wise JA, Achten E. (August 9, 2007). "Beta-alanine supplementation augments muscle carnosine content and attenuates fatigue during repeated isokinetic contraction bouts in trained sprinters". J Appl Physiol 103 (5): 1736.doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00397.2007.PMID 17690198.
Hill CA, Harris RC, Kim HJ, Harris BD, Sale C, Boobis LH, Kim CK, Wise JA. (2007). "Influence of beta-alanine supplementation on skeletal muscle carnosine concentrations and high intensity cycling capacity". Amino Acids32 (2): 225–33. doi:10.1007/s00726-006-0364-4. PMID 16868650.)

Fitness tech! - Revised 4/10/14

Everyone seems to be on their phones these days.

They make us unsociable and lazy.

They are the bane of our existence.

But they can also be a useful tool for keeping motivated and active. I've done some reviews in the past on some tools that you can use so here is another one I just stumbled across. If you are a bit of a gamer this might interest you!

Nexercise! Turn working out into a game. Earn XP and medals. This app is available for the i(stuff) and the droid.

Record jogs, weights sessions, sports matches, you name it this has it listed. From aerial rings to Zumba and even Xbox kinect, you can record all of your physical activities.

I will start using this as I can record my regular workouts and jogs and everything else in between. I'll see how the staying factor is as far ease of use, rewards and overall fun, and I shall report how I go in further posts.

If anyone already uses it let me know how it's been for you.

In the words of Mat Mac, Alright, Alright, Alright... over a year on and I am still using this app more as a timer and logger of my routines than anything else. The XP side of things is novel but I skip over it most of the time perhaps having a group of people using the same app might have some more competitiveness to it but I seem to be on my own for now. I have started looking for another app that can take this ones place. I've gone beyond needing a log system that incorporates reps, sets and weights, this I already can do blindfolded. There is something in particular that I'm REALLY looking for... but I am yet to find it. Any iPhone app programers hit me up for that idea if you think you can make it happen...

Going that bit further!

You hear about even veteran fitness individuals platue-ing and losing drive, you may even find yourself losing motivation or see your results slowing or even going backwards.

Sometimes this is purely because of your body's mechanism to adapt to change.

Your body can adapt so well that a workout that once got you into shape now leaves you unchallenged, and this is where the pitfall begins.

If you don't keep making the challenge harder two things can happen.
1. You lose motivation because the task of fitness becomes mundane. Ever played a piece of music so damn long that you can't stand it after a week or two. Yeah we all have ( if you listen to FM radio you'll know the feeling). Mental stimulus in the form of new personal best goals and achievements and taking yourself last what you "know" you can do will stop the de motivation. However it can help to have someone that with you on the journey, whether a training buddy or a personal trainer. If you do use a training buddy make sure you both strive to keep each other motivated (no slacking)

2. On the body side of things, your body becomes more adapt at dealing with what you throw at it. You get the most change either for muscle growth or fat loss by challenging yourself with each workout. Once you make it to half an hour solid on the tread mill at speed 10, don't keep doing this week after week, change it up. Try for 45 mins instead or increase the speed instead. Your body is you own worst enemy for change, cause once its made the change to cope with the routine, it's no longer effort to do the routine and you expend less energy than you did before.

So mix it up, try and break one personal record each routine you do. Don't break all of them at once, just aim for one broken every session. Change your routine regularly to ensure different muscles get targeted, and keep the challenge going.

Challenge = change and change = results!

Offering miracles.

Not sure if you all have seen this stuff around on Facebook and the like? There is always going to be this kind of stuff floating around the net offering miracles.

What is it?

Miracle supplements, guaranteed to make you fit and muscular.

See how the rock did it, see how he did it blah blah blah. Read reviews OMG it works. Really?

I read a big review from men's health two (doesn't seem to check out as a legit off shoot from men's health) explaining the miracle and how the editor trialled it and had great results from this two part supplement combo.

A little more research opens you up to a webpage that redirects to a completely different supplement web page. Then after chasing it up on google I finally found the page.

A free trial they said... Awesome I'd be up for trying it (for study purposes) but alas another problem. Free it is not.

You pay for the postage. You also only get 10 days before they start to charge you as if you are only a monthly supply of the goods (though you can cancel at anytime). But the reports say that you will see great results in a month... 4 times the free trial time... Surprise surprise.

The real secret, hard work, beta alanine and a carb cutting thermo supplement.

Wait.

These has been on the supplement market for years now. What's so great about their concoction? Ah yes the marketing.

Hell I even saw a picture of Greg Plitt on their site right next to a testimonial. Greg puts massive effort into getting his physique by actually working out. Not sure of his supplement plan but if he uses anything, he has been using it for far longer than beta force has been around.

So what's the answer? Don't sign up for this crap, you might end up paying more than you want for a supplement that doesn't work for you.

Play around with your supplements and shop around locally. Some have more effect for different individuals some have less, you may need some extras that you don't get from your diet or you may need a good placebo to trick you into giving it more effort on an off day.

But the one thing that all of these drive for is more output so that you can get the results you want.

I will start on some beta alanine soon and keep you all posted on any of the results I experience.

Work out mix

As a bit of a request from one of my readers, I have put together a Playlist (that I will keep updating in my audio travels) of workout music. Some of it is better suited to cardio workouts and some will get you pumped up for a good weights session.There is a little bit of rehash from some of my previous posts on this blog, but there is also a good amount of new stuff that has crept onto my iPod lately.If you are struggling to get some of these songs legitimate ways... utilize this link to extract the audio from YouTube.http://www.listentoyoutube.com


Enjoy!

MMSW!

That's the Motivational Music Selection of the Week!

This is one with a little bit of rock and roll to it. For those who have never seen the Blue Man Group before you are now initiated. Their heavy use of drums and percussion makes it an ideal workout tune, half of their songs from their album "Audio" are also motivational, but have no lyrics.

This one is a little different lyric wise from the actual album.

As the song suggests, "it's time to start!". So get your tunes pumping and keep your self motivated.

Feel free to suggest a song to me that keeps you motivated in the gym, on a walk, on the bike what ever you do to stay sweaty...and i might feature it in the following weeks!

Beast mode... Engage!

With the time I had away from my regular gym, and the little time I was able to spend at the gym at Port Hedland, I have come back keener and hungrier for fitness then before.

Hungry for a new goal.

Hungry to become a gym beast.

Bigger, stronger and nutritionally better!

How am I going to do it?

Change up my routine for a start.
Utilize as much down time to train and train hard!
Push my personal records in weights lifted and reps gained.
Increase my cardio vascular side of things so as not to muscle bind!

And ultimately make the gym my beast cave.

Every time I go, there will be no half ass effort.

There will be no, "early finish".

This I pledge to myself.

The routine will steal from the German 10 lots of 10 technique, high rep med weight and low rep heavy weight to engage all muscle fibers and as many compound movements for each muscle category as possible.

Cardio will consist of jogs, beach jogs some HIIT sessions with my pupil and some boxing training in my own backyard.

Watch out world, K-dawg has new steam and new direction.

The pain train is coming...waaoh waaooh!!