Full Throttle Fitness - The W.O.W Factor

First session of the year and no holds barred. Coach Skala saw to it that those who had eased up off the training over Christmas duly repented. A sick kettlebell starter. Her part of the class was a truly character defining piece. Brutal.

Never one to be out done, Cj Swaby finished everyone off (literally) with a rather tasty body weight piece, which had him question even his own sanity. The team challenge was the icing on the cake, and after a few moments of recovery to collect our broken and scattered selves, we scuffled along the snow filled roads of Clapham for some highly nutritious pukka tukka.

The W.O.W factor? Well here's what we got up to in the Full Throttle Fitness Workout Of the Week (W.O.W).


Full Throttle Fitness: Main Session

Warm up: Joint Mobility & Dynamic movement pattern warm up


Coach Skala's Section

Format

Kettlebell Piece followed by a 90 second static hold (as active rest).

Choose one of the following as your static hold.

1) Plank

2) Double Kettlebell Rack Position

3) Dead Hang (bottom position of a pull up)

4) Hand Stand (against wall or unassisted)



Holds can be varied through workout. But one type of hold must be kept for the duration of the 90 seconds.


A)
*Single Arm Kettlebell Clean & Jerk x 3 minutes per arm
(*Kettlebell Clean & Press is an alternative)

Static Hold of choice x 90 seconds

Then Straight into....

B)*Single Arm Kettlebell Snatch x 3 minutes per arm
(*Dumbell snatch was used as an alternative)

Static hold of choice x 90 seconds

Then.....

C)Single Arm Kettlbell Swing x 3 minutes per arm

Static hold of choice x 90 seconds

Then.... REST! 3 - 5 mins (believe me, we needed it.)


Coach Cj's Section

Format: Tabata protocol 20:10

Perform exercise flat out for twenty seconds, then rest 10 seconds. This equals one round. Complete 8 rounds.

Complete 8 rounds per exercise. Rest 45 seconds in between sets of exercises.


A) Out and back shuttle sprints

B) *Burps (think burpees without the jump).

*So its basically an explosive press up straight into a deep squat position then spring back down into the press up.

C) Gironda Crunches

The Finisher (Just for fun)

Then as the team challenge we partnered off with someone of similar weight, picked them up and shuttle ran across the room twice. Our choice of lifts were one of the following;

1) Fireman's Carry
2) Bridal Carry


Try this workout of the week and let us know how you get on. In the coming months we'll be filming what each session looks like so you can get the correct idea how each workout is done if you want to try it yourself. Have you got the W.O.W factor?!

Get Fit (Or Die Trying!)

4 Minute Mile G-Trainer Challenge (Part 1)

On May 6th 1954, Iffley Road Track in Oxford, Roger Bannister made history. Witnessed by a capacity crowd of 3,000 spectators Roger Bannister did the impossible. On what was considered very low mileage training by today's standards, Sir Roger Bannister ripped apart the world record for the mile. He roared home in a breath taking time of 3 minutes 59 seconds. The bar had been set to new heights in the World of Athletics.

The question was, could I, Cj, knock out a 4 minute mile on the G-Trainer Mile Club Challenge, at Balance Physiotherapy? Moreover could I do it on 19 days worth of training? Some would question my sanity, and in retrospect, its a valid question. Since October, my training had consisted of metabolic training (if you've been following my Metabolloxed posts you'll know what I'm talking about).

Workouts have been characterised by compound lifts at 65%+ 1RM max with 15 - 30 seconds rest, or combined with body weight exercises. Short Kettlebell sessions were also stirred into the mix. The bottom line? Intense work load with little rest periods, limited to 45 minutes workout time. The odd recovery run (2 - 3) times a week was thrown in.

On 1st December I received an invite by Jonathan Lewis at Balance Physiotherapy inviting me to the G-trainer challenge. It ignited an idea, which then caught fire. 4 minute mile at 85% bodyweight? Ok,lets do this! I began training in earnest.

Last week I had my V02 Max test done at Pro V02 in Fulham (will post more soon). I did not reach my V02 Max, but my Peak V02 placed me up in the top 90th percentile. Good news, it was official, I was in great shape. I decided to continue to work on short intense intervals as Sir Roger Bannister had done for his Challenge.


On Saturday 19th December 1pm, I trotted down to Balance Physiotherapy for my 4 minute mile attempt. Watch below to see what happened.

The Elusive 4 Minute Mile Attempt



I didn't find this attempt cardio-vascularly challenging as you will see from the video clip. It felt more neurological. Being able to turn over my legs at that speed, sustaining that cadence for that length of time was not easy. I could feel the impulses dampening, at times it felt as if I was tripping over my feet.

One thing is for certain, 4 minute miles is a serious pace, I have a new found respect for Roger Bannister who did it at 100% of his body weight. It highlighted to me that up to a certain point, running is more about skill then fitness. Economy and efficiency of movement. But more about this in part 2 of this post, as I, Cj, turn Chi / pose runner.

Metabolloxed - Full Throttle Fitness

This week Allan Fallro and Lil-Marit Overik from MaxPuls Fitness Studio, Norway, joined us for a short, sharp and intense session. I first met Allan and Lil-Marit on the IKFF Kettlebell course in 2008. Lil-Marit powered ahead on the women's strength endurance challenge set by Steve Cotter, while Allan, Jonathan Lewis and I, went head to head on the men's challenge (a sore spot to this day ; )

Taking a break from their Fitness studio, Boxing club and security work, Allan and Lil-Marit were over in chilly old London, taking in the sights. But even on Holiday - there is always time to train!






The Session Blueprint


Warm up: Joint Mobility & Dynamic Movement (lead by Jonathan Lewis)


Main Session Part 1

Body Weight Circuit

A) 7 stations x 45 seconds each

Rest 30 seconds

B) 7 stations x 45 seconds each

The seven exercises were changed the second time around the circuit. Everyone threw an idea into the pot for the stations.

Rest 1 minute


Main Session Part 2

Timed Kettlebell Complex (select moderately heavy weight)

2:30 x 3 sets (30 seconds rest between)

The Complex

Hand to hand swings x 6
Clean
Press
Overhead Squat

= 1 Rep

Complete 3 reps. Alternate continuously for the timed piece.
Complete as many sets as you can in the allotted time.

Job done we washed up and went across the road to cafe secondum in clapham, to take on board some quality nourishment.

Thanks to Coach Skala, Tim Joseph, Bradley Skeete and Mitch for rocking up and joining in on a great training session and locking it down!

Metabolloxed - The Sequel

Here we go again! Its been a long while since I've had some fun with the tire and sledge hammer. With today being Thursday (Thors-day) I thought it only right that I honour the Norse God with my own hammer time action.

With the sports science theory firmly parked on the bench (never been a big fan of theory - I prefer fact). I got on with the 270 rep protocol that I used last week. Here's how it went down.




Warm up: Joint Mobility


Main Session

Section A (The "warm up")

Single Arm Kettlebell Jerk (24kg) x 10 minutes (5 minutes per arm)

1 minute rest

Single Kettlebell Snatch (24kg) x 6 mins (3 miutes per arm)

2 minutes rest then.....


Section B

Sledge hammer slams onto truck tire (12kg) x 10
Burpee off the tire onto floor and land on tire x 10
Pull ups x 10

Cycle x 3 = 1 Set (no rest between each cycle)

Complete 3 sets

Rest 1 minute between sets

Total: 270 reps

Tasty? Well, put it this way, my grip was smoked and I felt like I could use my lats as wings by the end of this session!!

Are You Taking Care Of Your Star Player?

How you doing? No. Really. How YOU doing? Complete health should not just be about how fast you can run, how much you can lift, how far you can reach. Its also about personal and mental well being.

Too many people worry about pleasing others first, or subordinate their needs to make others happy. Look, when people are in a good mood they like you, when they are in a bad mood they don't. Be a little bit nicer to yourself, after all you can't give what you don't have. Do what works best for you. This may sound selfish and yes it is - self interest. However that doesn't necessarily mean that its at the expense of others. Hence the importance of having the right team if you are going to be the star player.

Not every one is going to make it to the FA Cup final or the play-offs. That's just life. But you can put yourself in with a good chance to achieve success. Having the right people on your team that know how to play their position is a wonderful wonderful thing. There is no point in having a soccer team consisting of only strikers. Mark my words, you will come unstuck. Surround yourself with the right positive people that love what they do (and this is key) but to do this they have to know what makes them happy, what makes them tick (self interest). As Star player and MVP its imperative to consciously put yourself in the right environment to help you grow. Take note: roses do not grow in concrete. The right conditions, the right environment. You see where I'm going with this right?

Everyone should be the star player of their own team. So ask yourself, how are you doing? Then ask "Hows the team doing?". If needs be, give the team a pep talk, see if everyone is playing the right position for them, if not, make changes. Hell, transfer some players if you need to! Its for their own good and yours (who knows, they maybe on the wrong team, thinking they're stuck in a career long contract). Besides there are finite spaces on any one team, and you may draft another valuable player in return.

I'll leave you with this thought from Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach, if you haven't read it, I'd strongly suggest you take it in.

"Are they also special and gifted and divine? No more than you are, no more than I am. The only difference, the very only one, is that they have begun to understand what they really are and have begun to practice it."

Play on player.

Metabolloxed? Sure Enough!

Ribs healed? Check. Strength cycle complete? Check. Shoulder rehabilitated? Check. Time to bring on the extreme conditioning.

I was at South Bank Gym in Vauxhall, and decided to spice up some metabolic training. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Luckily my endurance outlasted my enthusiasm. If you spotted a sweating, weeping, tattooed mass in the corner of South Bank gym last week - that was me, Cj, regretting my decision.

Here's what I got up to

Warm Up

Joint Mobility + Dynamic movement

Main Session

A) sub 7 minute mile repeats x 3 (1 minute rest in between)

Then straight into

A)

1) Burpee onto 50 inch plyometric box (and jump back down into burpee) x 10
2) Bear Crawl x 10 reps (set a distance of about 10 - 15 feet)
3) Pull ups x 10 reps

This equals one round.

3 rounds = 1 set.

Complete 3 sets


Rest 90 seconds - 1minute between sets.
No rest between rounds

Cool down and stretch.

This workout was interspersed with praying, and frequent bursts of profanity. But in a weird sort of way, I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.

Try it. You might like it!

If you're up for some Industrial Strength style metabolic training, why not come down and join us for the Christmas special at Balance physiotherapy in December.

The Art Of Movement

To flow seamlessly from one movement to another with complete bodily control would be included in my definition of athleticism. The ability to express your body without being restricted in your range of movement is something to aspire to, and something that Scott Sonnon achieves so well. Sometimes your body is all the gym equipment that you need. Welcome to the art of movement.