So - yesterday lunchtime I was about to head to the gym but developed a stomach ache. I was fasting (I hadn't eaten since the evening before), but this was no hunger. I skipped training and the pain developed in to the afternoon like a tight knot.
It was most acute at 1900hrs and so I retired to bed. I slept soundly for the next three hours awaking at 1000hrs feeling pretty much better.I figured I would stay in bed, continue the fast and see what the morning brought. Sleep was quite good but I kept waking a few hours before dawn as my body felt refreshed. I had slept enough.
This morning I was on a double fast - which saw me down to 82kg. I felt absolutely fine - no hunger pangs or any discomfort. At lunchtime I felt absolutely BRUTAL! I knew I was in really good shape and psyched to hit the gym. All on the back of a comfortable 40 hour fast (this is a record for me I think). The results below pretty much amazed me. They were much more than I was expecting.
I took longer rests as the gym was busy and there were several acquaintances in there who I ended up chatting to. I ended up with around 5mins rest between sets of pistols - punctuated by the ICMLs.
Warm Up (5 mins)
Main (50 mins)
1. Rowing (Medium 1x500m 00:01:42)
2a. Pistols (8x52kg/38kg, 8x52kg/38kg, 8x52kg/38kg, 8x52kg/38kg)
2b. Ice Cream Maker Lever to Skin the Cat (8, 8, 8)
3a. Planche Press Ups (8, 8, 8)
3b. Wall Walk/BackBridge (15s, 15s, 15s)
4. One Arm Chins (12x37kg/33kg, 12x37kg/33kg, 10/12x37kg/33kg)
Bolded are improvement figures and are followed by my target figures. I would not be inclined to do many 40 hour fasts but can see them fitting in to a bi-monthly or quarterly pattern (probably the latter as I consider this an outlier event - and TBH, I would have trouble eating 40 hours worth of food in my feeding window). Another use would be to break a plateau. Going in so light, psyched and energised clearly has a payback.
I am also starting to see that despite earlier reservations about micro managing my numbers (sets, reps and weights), and simply going by instinct and perceived exertion, I have got way more gas in the tank.
I figure that Inner-Asclepius (IA), wants to keep some headroom (in fact quite a bit of headroom), if he can. Maybe in case we get jumped by a lion en-route home after a successful hunt (the smell of a fresh kill being carried by some comparatively slow and weak hors-d'oeuvre), must have been very enticing. Focusing on the numbers is allowing me to work harder and really drill down to IA.
Great session. Really happy with it. Totally psyched. :)
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Sunday, 28 March 2010
Gears
Sooner or later all 'movements' tend to thrash themselves to death on the rocks. Like all groups that reach a maturation stage, paleo seems to be splintering. It happens in all activities.
Take sports. I like rock climbing. The mountaineers originally looked down on rock climbers (the latter being viewed as preparation for the former). Rock climbers split in to aid climbing and 'trad'. Trad-heads looked down on aid climbers (the 'whack and dangle' brigade). From the trad movement came sport climbing (with bolted routes and rehearsal of moves on the rock). Tradders preferred their own 'onsight' ethic. More recently has come the development of bouldering in to a unique discipline. Route climbers asked how anything so small as a boulder problem could be worthwhile.
In between have come several climbing shades of grey - preinspection of routes/working of climbs/pinkpointing, redpointing, headpointing, use of chalk, indoor climbing (is it 'real climbing' etc...) and competition climbing - which have all served to divide the sport at some level.
It is a natural consequence of maturation. As an idea, philosophy or movement becomes more mature, different themes are explored and ideas are mined to their logical conclusion (if not beyond). Sport, politics, science and religion all suffer from this to some degree.
I can see a signs of a similar split appearing in paleo. As people become more familiar with it, and have their own unique success, we get more gurus. Their way is the only way. Now me, I reckon we are all false prophets.
I don't blame these self anointed 'gurus' nor the more modest contributors who clearly do offer leadership in the paleosphere. There are plenty of people out there who are putting out fantastic information and this should be recognised. But the part of the problem is the desire of people who want to be lead. They want to follow paleo-by-numbers. They want to be told what to eat, when and how much. What exercise, when to do it and how much.
I bloody hate car-analogies. If you are driving a car, let's say some vintage sports car, would you contact the guy in a SUV behind you when to fill up with gas or when to change gear? Nope! You are going to respond to the needs of your own car not his. Your are going to watch your fuel gauge and listen to the revs of your own engine. You know the basics - your car needs gas and oil. Listen to the revs and change gear accordingly. When behind the wheel of your 'classic' don't be asking SUV-guy for details. Like I said I hate car analogies.
Take sports. I like rock climbing. The mountaineers originally looked down on rock climbers (the latter being viewed as preparation for the former). Rock climbers split in to aid climbing and 'trad'. Trad-heads looked down on aid climbers (the 'whack and dangle' brigade). From the trad movement came sport climbing (with bolted routes and rehearsal of moves on the rock). Tradders preferred their own 'onsight' ethic. More recently has come the development of bouldering in to a unique discipline. Route climbers asked how anything so small as a boulder problem could be worthwhile.
In between have come several climbing shades of grey - preinspection of routes/working of climbs/pinkpointing, redpointing, headpointing, use of chalk, indoor climbing (is it 'real climbing' etc...) and competition climbing - which have all served to divide the sport at some level.
It is a natural consequence of maturation. As an idea, philosophy or movement becomes more mature, different themes are explored and ideas are mined to their logical conclusion (if not beyond). Sport, politics, science and religion all suffer from this to some degree.
I can see a signs of a similar split appearing in paleo. As people become more familiar with it, and have their own unique success, we get more gurus. Their way is the only way. Now me, I reckon we are all false prophets.
I don't blame these self anointed 'gurus' nor the more modest contributors who clearly do offer leadership in the paleosphere. There are plenty of people out there who are putting out fantastic information and this should be recognised. But the part of the problem is the desire of people who want to be lead. They want to follow paleo-by-numbers. They want to be told what to eat, when and how much. What exercise, when to do it and how much.
I bloody hate car-analogies. If you are driving a car, let's say some vintage sports car, would you contact the guy in a SUV behind you when to fill up with gas or when to change gear? Nope! You are going to respond to the needs of your own car not his. Your are going to watch your fuel gauge and listen to the revs of your own engine. You know the basics - your car needs gas and oil. Listen to the revs and change gear accordingly. When behind the wheel of your 'classic' don't be asking SUV-guy for details. Like I said I hate car analogies.
Saturday, 27 March 2010
Extraordinary Humans: Obesity
Trashy cable sometimes turns up good TV. LivingIt tonight featured a program called "Extraordinary Humans: Obesity". There was some very interesting animations and graphics along with slightly more 'progressive' interpretation of obesity that the usual 'calories in vs calories out' line:
- Documentary using high-tech animation to travel inside the bodies of overweight individuals. By investigating the astonishing internal mechanics of these people, the programme explores just how their bodies differ from those of average-sized people.
Most of the usual players were there ghrelin and leptin - and also some more 'exotic' drivers - namely Cushing's Syndrome which affects Cortisol (the stress hormone).
Something I found quite interesting was the observation that normally obese males put on abdominal fat. Now Sumo wrestlers, whom we assume to be obese, put on subcutaneous fat. The latter is more accessible to the body as a source of energy and provides a protective layer against impact. Hormones and genetics nicely combining and illustrating the complexity of the issue once again.
Win Hill
Today I embarked on an 18 kilometer walk through the Peak District taking in the superbly named Win Hill and Lose Hill. It was the first real test of both my Vibram Five Fingers and fasted-rambling.
Despite a mild tension in my right hip towards the end of the walk (a historic issue), the fasted state proved to be non-detrimental and there were no significant problems. I never felt hungry nor short of energy.
The Five fingers made crossing wet ground tricky, and on some section my feet were cold, but I was wearing shorts and maybe leggings would do the trick in reducing heat loss. It was windy on the summits and along the ridges and you quickly cool down your extremities. Hands and Vibramed feet in particular.
On reflection I can feel the effects of toe independence on my foot. Where the toe joins the foot I can feel the effects of exertion. I took a Methuselah-esque V5F shot on the summit of Win Hill overlooking Ladybower Reservoir.
My confidence in both my footwear and the nature if fasted rambling is that I propose to undertake some further walks of a greater intensity in the near future in both V5F and fasted.
You know it is odd to feel like this. In my carb-driven days walks would be little more than a snack-fest. Like the modern marathon, regular refeeds would be second nature. No more. I just tuck in to my fat stores as if by magic. I am not particularly hungry tonight, but as and when my body wants more fat, I am sure it will manipulate my fat stores as required. And the amount my body needs to replenish the fat? Well sure, my body will manage my hunger according. This is nothing short of amazing.
The afternoon was punctuated by a Lau Gar grading and then some car washing. I say 'car washing' but it was a soapy water fight with the kids that involved cleaning of cars as a byproduct. Great fun for us all. Now if only this game would transpose to pot washing.....
Despite a mild tension in my right hip towards the end of the walk (a historic issue), the fasted state proved to be non-detrimental and there were no significant problems. I never felt hungry nor short of energy.
The Five fingers made crossing wet ground tricky, and on some section my feet were cold, but I was wearing shorts and maybe leggings would do the trick in reducing heat loss. It was windy on the summits and along the ridges and you quickly cool down your extremities. Hands and Vibramed feet in particular.
On reflection I can feel the effects of toe independence on my foot. Where the toe joins the foot I can feel the effects of exertion. I took a Methuselah-esque V5F shot on the summit of Win Hill overlooking Ladybower Reservoir.
My confidence in both my footwear and the nature if fasted rambling is that I propose to undertake some further walks of a greater intensity in the near future in both V5F and fasted.
You know it is odd to feel like this. In my carb-driven days walks would be little more than a snack-fest. Like the modern marathon, regular refeeds would be second nature. No more. I just tuck in to my fat stores as if by magic. I am not particularly hungry tonight, but as and when my body wants more fat, I am sure it will manipulate my fat stores as required. And the amount my body needs to replenish the fat? Well sure, my body will manage my hunger according. This is nothing short of amazing.
The afternoon was punctuated by a Lau Gar grading and then some car washing. I say 'car washing' but it was a soapy water fight with the kids that involved cleaning of cars as a byproduct. Great fun for us all. Now if only this game would transpose to pot washing.....
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Volume Wk4 W/O2
Monday's session had added upper body content - and I am 'feeling it' this week - hence resting last night and working out tonight instead. This, coupled with some severe Horse Riding Stance action in my Lau Gar sessions, means I need to adjust my work load.
Tonight will be of an upper body focus and that will be it for the week. I have a big walk planned on Saturday morning so need to keep some gas in the tank for the hills.
Warm Up (5 mins)
Main (40 mins)
1. Sprinting (1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s)
2. Ring Routine to Chins/RopeClimb (8, 7, 7)
3a. Frog Planche (5x2, 5x2, 5x2)
3b. Cuts to Splits (3x3, 3x3, 3x3)
3c. Fingerboard - Large Rungs (5x1, 5x1, 5x1, 5x1, 5x1)
There was no place for handstands in this routine. It was dusk and starting to drizzle when I began to train. The sprints felt good. I felt light and springy on my toes. The rain made it all very elemental.
The ring however, kicked my ass. Not so much the main ring routine - indeed the (tucked) back levers felt slightly more solid. But the chins at the end felt very tough. On sets two and three I had to cut reps. The planche work also felt tough. The tuck planche success of my recent GTG approach are a distant memory. I couldn't tuck for toffee today. The shoulders are clearly tired. Same story with the fingerboard. There was no chance of getting off the big rungs today.
I feel like I have a mild cold coming on (Man-Flu?). Some movements felt harder than they should, and one or two felt easier. I need to listen to my body and adjust. Four weeks (which means about ten or twelve workouts), to go until deload. Reckon I will keep at it, knowing that a rest/deload phase is imminent. I just need to make sure I don't go overboard and pick up an injury.
I enjoyed tonight's workout - particularly the sprints and the main ring routine itself, but there are signs!
Tonight will be of an upper body focus and that will be it for the week. I have a big walk planned on Saturday morning so need to keep some gas in the tank for the hills.
Warm Up (5 mins)
Main (40 mins)
1. Sprinting (1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s)
2. Ring Routine to Chins/RopeClimb (8, 7, 7)
3a. Frog Planche (5x2, 5x2, 5x2)
3b. Cuts to Splits (3x3, 3x3, 3x3)
3c. Fingerboard - Large Rungs (5x1, 5x1, 5x1, 5x1, 5x1)
There was no place for handstands in this routine. It was dusk and starting to drizzle when I began to train. The sprints felt good. I felt light and springy on my toes. The rain made it all very elemental.
The ring however, kicked my ass. Not so much the main ring routine - indeed the (tucked) back levers felt slightly more solid. But the chins at the end felt very tough. On sets two and three I had to cut reps. The planche work also felt tough. The tuck planche success of my recent GTG approach are a distant memory. I couldn't tuck for toffee today. The shoulders are clearly tired. Same story with the fingerboard. There was no chance of getting off the big rungs today.
I feel like I have a mild cold coming on (Man-Flu?). Some movements felt harder than they should, and one or two felt easier. I need to listen to my body and adjust. Four weeks (which means about ten or twelve workouts), to go until deload. Reckon I will keep at it, knowing that a rest/deload phase is imminent. I just need to make sure I don't go overboard and pick up an injury.
I enjoyed tonight's workout - particularly the sprints and the main ring routine itself, but there are signs!
Monday, 22 March 2010
Volume Wk4 W/O1
This week I am aiming for a BAB structure. But as I did not complete the supplementary exercises on Friday, one or two upper-body extras are included in this workout:
Warm Up (5 mins)
Main (35 mins)
1. Rowing (Easy 1x500m 00:01:50)
2. Pistols (8x44kg/38kg, 8x44kg/38kg, 8x44kg/38kg)
3a. Ice Cream Maker Lever (8, 8, 8)
3b. Planche Press Ups (8, 8, 8)
4. Wall Walk/BackBridge (15s, 15s, 15s)
I began with an easy row. Just feeling the movement and stretching out. I kept the workout quite short but with quality rests of three minutes.
The Backbridges felt great. My shoulders and back felt quite supple. Arching off a higher platform for my feet is obviously assisting.
I could have done more ICMs and PPUs but it is as well to just stick with the prescribed reps adn sets. There will be time again to step it up next week.
The pistols were done with 48kg - well over my itended amount. Again, I could have done a bit more so on Friday I will add a set.
I got 'recognised' by someone today - my reputation precedes me. She approached me looking at my V5F and said "You must be the Jumping Man". This was a new one on me. I thought I was Handstand Guy and Backbridge Man. She approached me again later to discuss some finer training points. I saw using kettlebells and doing snatch work and Turkish Get Ups - so we had quite a bit in common.
Tonight I will get on my fingerboard and complete the following:
5a. Ring Cuts (3x3-way)
5b. Fingerboard (5x1, 5x1, 5x1, 5x1, 5+ x1)
* Update: The first set of rungwork was on large rungs. The next set was on medium rungs and the last three sets on small rungs. I will aim for all sets to be performed on the small rungs next time.
Warm Up (5 mins)
Main (35 mins)
1. Rowing (Easy 1x500m 00:01:50)
2. Pistols (8x44kg/38kg, 8x44kg/38kg, 8x44kg/38kg)
3a. Ice Cream Maker Lever (8, 8, 8)
3b. Planche Press Ups (8, 8, 8)
4. Wall Walk/BackBridge (15s, 15s, 15s)
I began with an easy row. Just feeling the movement and stretching out. I kept the workout quite short but with quality rests of three minutes.
The Backbridges felt great. My shoulders and back felt quite supple. Arching off a higher platform for my feet is obviously assisting.
I could have done more ICMs and PPUs but it is as well to just stick with the prescribed reps adn sets. There will be time again to step it up next week.
The pistols were done with 48kg - well over my itended amount. Again, I could have done a bit more so on Friday I will add a set.
I got 'recognised' by someone today - my reputation precedes me. She approached me looking at my V5F and said "You must be the Jumping Man". This was a new one on me. I thought I was Handstand Guy and Backbridge Man. She approached me again later to discuss some finer training points. I saw using kettlebells and doing snatch work and Turkish Get Ups - so we had quite a bit in common.
Tonight I will get on my fingerboard and complete the following:
5a. Ring Cuts (3x3-way)
5b. Fingerboard (5x1, 5x1, 5x1, 5x1, 5+ x1)
* Update: The first set of rungwork was on large rungs. The next set was on medium rungs and the last three sets on small rungs. I will aim for all sets to be performed on the small rungs next time.
Friday, 19 March 2010
Volume Wk3 W/O3
The big change here is pushing the last set on the Deadlifts (not to failure), and pushing the last set on the fingerboard (to failure).
Warm Up (5 mins)
Main (35 mins)
1a. Deadlift (5x88kg, 3x107kg 3/1x120kg)
2a. HSPU/Press/Snatch (12x14kg, 12x14kg, 11/12x14kg)
2b. One Arm Chins (12x33kg/29kg, 12x33kg/29kg, 12x33kg/29kg)
The deadlifts felt quite easy and I did three on the last set rather than 1. I am going to have to ramp the weights up a bit. Although I fell short of one rep on the Dumbell Press, on the One Arm Chins I rocked in with 33kg rather than 29kg. (Thinking back, I think I have messed up on my weights last week and was doing much heavier weights than I should have. That is the problem of trying to offset weights on the fly when fatigued). Big gains anyway.
I spent the afternoon helping out in Captain Kid's school. I managed to 'amaze' a few kids in her class with a magic trick called The French Drop. (My one and only magic trick). I have been using this for about thirty years and is amazingly simple and convincing (the effect is that you make small items like coins disappear and then reappear from behind someones ear).
The formal syllabus was art. Specifically the art of Henri Rousseau and his jungle paintings in particular. I assisted where I could but art is not my strong point. However, I ended up drawing an elephant for one of the kids. Then another. Then another and so on. As elephants go, the drawing were a bit rubbish (rubbish for an adult at any rate)...but in the kingdom of the blind and all that..... At the end of the class a lad came up to me and said that he thought I was a better artist than Henri Rousseau! Made me laugh. Then I made a coin disappear right under his nose.
A few onlookers who had been queueing for an elephant saw the coin disappear and that was it. Pandemonium. The kids pursued me like the living dead around the classroom murmuring "magic" and "elephant", thrusting pencils, paper and 'things to make disappear' at me as they advanced.
Great fun all round. I'd love to go back and help out again - not least with a games lesson. It'd be a good learning opportunity for us all.
Warm Up (5 mins)
Main (35 mins)
1a. Deadlift (5x88kg, 3x107kg 3/1x120kg)
2a. HSPU/Press/Snatch (12x14kg, 12x14kg, 11/12x14kg)
2b. One Arm Chins (12x33kg/29kg, 12x33kg/29kg, 12x33kg/29kg)
The deadlifts felt quite easy and I did three on the last set rather than 1. I am going to have to ramp the weights up a bit. Although I fell short of one rep on the Dumbell Press, on the One Arm Chins I rocked in with 33kg rather than 29kg. (Thinking back, I think I have messed up on my weights last week and was doing much heavier weights than I should have. That is the problem of trying to offset weights on the fly when fatigued). Big gains anyway.
I spent the afternoon helping out in Captain Kid's school. I managed to 'amaze' a few kids in her class with a magic trick called The French Drop. (My one and only magic trick). I have been using this for about thirty years and is amazingly simple and convincing (the effect is that you make small items like coins disappear and then reappear from behind someones ear).
The formal syllabus was art. Specifically the art of Henri Rousseau and his jungle paintings in particular. I assisted where I could but art is not my strong point. However, I ended up drawing an elephant for one of the kids. Then another. Then another and so on. As elephants go, the drawing were a bit rubbish (rubbish for an adult at any rate)...but in the kingdom of the blind and all that..... At the end of the class a lad came up to me and said that he thought I was a better artist than Henri Rousseau! Made me laugh. Then I made a coin disappear right under his nose.
A few onlookers who had been queueing for an elephant saw the coin disappear and that was it. Pandemonium. The kids pursued me like the living dead around the classroom murmuring "magic" and "elephant", thrusting pencils, paper and 'things to make disappear' at me as they advanced.
Great fun all round. I'd love to go back and help out again - not least with a games lesson. It'd be a good learning opportunity for us all.
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