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By admin, 22/08/2010

Most people think cardio is the best method of reducing body fat. Unfortunately, if you are doing longer steady state cardio, your body adapts very quickly as your fitness improves. It’s great that your fitness has improved, but now your 60 minute jog is no more strenuous than going for a stroll, so you wont get the results you’re looking for. The smart thing is to shorten your workout to under 30 minutes and increase the intensity.

Here are some ideas to get you going:

• Outdoors – Hill Sprints

Select a hill around 50-150m long. Gradient doesn’t matter so much, as long as it is a noticeable hill. After a 10 minute warm up (such as walking briskly to the hill), for 20 minutes only, sprint up as fast as you can and either walk or jog very slowly back down. Repeat this for the full 20 minutes. Once time is up, you should be totally exhausted and glad it’s over! If not, you didn’t sprint fast enough! Follow this with a 5-10min cool down walk and stretch.

• In the gym – Intervals

Set the rower to around level 7 and warm up for 5 minutes by starting slow and very gradually picking up the pace to a lively level. When you feel warmed up and ready to go, perform this set of hard efforts followed by rest:

- Row 5 min, Rest 2.5 min
- Row 4 min, Rest 2 min
- Row 3 min, Rest 1.5 min
- Row 2 min, Rest 1 min
- Row 1 min.

This is a really tough workout! And you will be struggling from around half way through if you put 100% effort into each row. Follow with a few minutes cool down before you get up to stretch.

• At home – Bodyweight circuit

Warm up by doing some dynamic stretches and mobility work. Set a timer for 20 minutes and perform as many rounds as possible of this circuit:

- 10 Squats
- 10 Push ups
- 10 Walking lunges
- 10 Inch worms
- 10 Tuck jumps
- 30 seconds rest

Record how many rounds you are able to complete in 20 minutes so you can try to beat that next time. Be sure to cool down with a walk and stretch well after. If 10 repetitions of each is too much, start with 5 and work up to 10.

You don’t need to do these intense cardio sessions more than 3 times per week. Give some of these ideas a go and let me know how you find it!

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By admin, 11/07/2010

I saw a funny sight today as I was going for my morning run through Westerfolds Park. I was running the single trail next to the river but I could see up ahead on the bitumen trail a woman who looked close to 100kg on a bike barking out orders to some seriously struggling runners to keep going. I thought, hmm this is interesting. Is this the new fitness fad?

When I caught up to them, I saw the woman on the bike was a personal trainer from a well known outdoor fitness franchise. Now I have heard some good and some bad stories about this franchise but I’ll let you decide on this instance.

Now these people running were really struggling. They were going at a snail’s pace, very out of breath and with poor form that comes with doing something that is currently beyond them. I don’t know how far they had been going, but it looked like they had done the whole 5km loop of the park and were nearly back at their base. Most of them were not overweight. In fact most of them were much smaller than their trainer and I’d be interested to see how the trainer could run if she got off her bike.

I was taken aback though. I mean, it’s ok to be big when the bulk is muscle and not fat. And it’s perfectly ok to be a personal trainer of any size, but if a trainer is telling their clients not to eat junk food and to push themselves hard, I think the trainer needs to look like they do the same.

It’s a struggle for anyone to eat well 99% of the time and exercise regularly to a high standard. It can be hard to push yourself to be stronger, fitter and healthier. But if it’s your job to tell people to do that then it’s your job to be that. Walk the walk if you wanna talk the talk! Would this woman know what it’s like to give up chocolate? I can tell you I do! And I know it’s difficult to give up your favourite junk foods.

But what was she like as a trainer? Well let me tell you there were some people there that I just would not have running. With poor technique running is a pain in the joints. For people who are very out of shape, running is an advanced exercise. It is also a time consuming exercise and there are so many other things that could be done in that time to maximise the client’s ability to achieve their goals. I would recommend simple bodyweight exercises and some basic use of kettlebells and dumbbells. All these activities can be low impact while developing strength, lean muscle and cardiovascular fitness at a suitable level with room for increased intensity when the client is ready.

If you plan on getting a personal trainer, it’s important to make your goals clear. Do you want to get stronger? Do you want to lose weight? Bulk up? Reduce risk of heart disease? Take up triathlon? Beat diabetes? If your trainer is not able to help you achieve your goals, if they prescribe exercises that you are not capable of, if they cannot relate to you how they have achieved something, and how you can do it too, then perhaps it’s time to get a new trainer.

If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to ask. Take a look at my running blog to find out more about what I get up to. And drop me a line if you are interested in training with me, or even if you just have some things you want to know more about. I am more than happy to speak to you.

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By admin, 10/05/2010

Last weekend I participated in a Level 2 kettlebell workshop. It went for 4.5 hrs and was exhausting! Especially since I had already run 25km that morning!

Kettlebells originate from Russia and are an iron weight shaped like a cannon ball with a handle on the top. They have been used for centuries but only recently have become popular in the west.

Kettlebells are a fantastic tool for exercise. You can use them for general cardiovascular fitness, high intensity intervals and strength work. That covers everything, doesn’t it? They are just so versatile – you can push them, pull them, swing them, clean and jerk them and you can even juggle them! The only limit is your imagination.

They are also space and cost efficient. Instead of having 5 different dumbbell pairs, you could have just 2 or 3 different sized kettlebells to get a killer workout. They are so portable – very convenient with the handle – so you can use them indoors, in your back yard, or take them to your local park.

Kettlebells are also time efficient! This is perfect if you lead a busy life and only have 15-20 mins to squeeze in a workout. You can work up a storm in this time, which certainly beats a 1 hour gym session or 2 hour bike rike!

Due to the shape of the kettlebell, some exercises like the shoulder press, clean, snatch and Turkish Get Up are more comfortable with the wrists and shoulders being in a more stable position than using dumbbells or barbells. If you’ve had a shoulder injury in the past, using kettlebells for overhead work can improve your strength without risk of further injury, provided you have an instructor teach you correct technique.

In terms of cardiovascular fitness, kettlebells offer a low impact alternative to running, while strengthening your whole body with a low injury risk activity.

I cannot think of a single kettlebell exercise that does not work the core. That means you no longer need to do back breaking sit ups to strengthen your abs. They not only work your abs, but your back as well so you will feel more balanced and end up with great posture.

The most common kettlebell exercise is the swing. This works your whole body, but is particularly good for your glutes. Most people have weak glutes from sitting at a desk all day. A lot of runners have knee or ITB pain due to weak glutes. And a lot of people have flat bums due to weak glutes! Who wouldn’t want to improve this area? Actually the swing really works the whole posterior chain (the rear of the body), and since so many exercises and day to day activities mean we are stronger in the front of our bodies, which can cause us to walk around hunched over, it is so important to balance this out with stronger hamstrings, glutes and back to lessen back pain, improve posture, reduce sports injuries and to feel better overall.

It is important if you are going to work with kettlebells to have an instructor coach you through the movements. A lot of people report back pain from some of the simplest movements and that is because they really don’t know what they are doing. Some movements are quite technical, such as the clean and snatch, and the trainee must learn the basics with correct form before progressing to the more complex moves.

If you’re in Melbourne’s north eastern suburbs (Greensborough, Watsonia, Macleod and surrounds) I can help you find affordable, quality kettlebells and provide casual or ongoing training. If you’re not local I can point you in the right direction.

If you’re already comfortable with some of the movements, here is a sample full body workout using 1 kettlebell that should leave you in a puddle of sweat:

10 rounds, resting 30 seconds in between each round:
1 Arm swing
Clean
Squat – Press
Snatch
Repeat 4 more times with this arm, and then repeat with the other arm
30 seconds rest

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By admin, 05/04/2010

A while ago I had a chat with Al and Tina from Living Barefoot. They’ve got a podcast with some interviews of very interesting people who are high up in the barefoot and minimalist footwear world. Then they interviewed me. Check it out here.

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By admin, 10/02/2010

I’m a big fan of running in minimalist footwear. That is, shoes that offer no support, are light, and are not much different to running barefoot.

I’ve been in conversation with Diana from her blog The Other Runner. Check out what I have to say here.

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By admin, 01/02/2010

A lot of people come to a personal trainer not just to focus on fitness, but to seek nutritional advice. So many trainers sell supplements and tell you to go on the chicken and broccoli diet while snacking on protein shakes. What most clients don’t realise is a personal trainer is not a dietitian or nutritionist. We are actually not supposed to give you meal plans and tell you exactly what to eat day in and day out.

The chicken, broccoli and protein shake diet works, but is it healthy? What is in that protein shake? Is it natural? And what about other vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, pulses and a plate full of flavour? Can it really be good for you in the long term?

I subscribe to the philosophy that we should eat clean foods. Foods that are not processed, without refined sugar, and that support a healthy body. If it is edible in its natural raw state then it is generally considered a good clean food.

I advocate avoiding refined sugar, dairy, alcohol, caffeine and processed food.

So what’s left to eat? As much fruits, vegetables, lean organic meats, nuts, seeds, gluten free grains and herbs & spices as you like!

Basically I do a modified (or Annafied) version of Dax Moy’s Elimination Diet. Or click here to bypass the sign up page and go straight to the diet. He’s saved me from typing it all out. Check it out; Dax spells out what is healthy and what is not.

It’s not just a diet, it’s a lifestyle. Think about it. Try it. See how you feel on it.

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By admin, 02/01/2010

Thanks for reading my Wild Fitness blog! Here I will post articles of interest, some of my thoughts on training and provide information on fitness and nutrition to help you on your way to health!

My running blog is located at AnnaRuns.blogspot.com and that is more a snap shot of my running, which is my favourite form of exercise. I write about places I’ve been, some of my training and give a run down of the races I enter.