One Personal Training

You only get out what you put in!

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:02:00 +0000

You only get out what you put in!

This holds true to a lot in life, but is particularly profound concerning your body, it's health and well being. If you are constantly burning the 'candle at both ends' well the next cold or flu strain will be knocking at your door, similarly if you train half-heartedly, or eat well only occasionally you just won't get the results you're looking for.

Knowing how much or how little to do can be a balancing act. If you do too much you can overtax and over-stress your system, and this may not be in one particular area, it can be work, play, exercise, home stress, collectively all these different stressors can and will make something give. Conversely as mentioned above if you do too little you just won't see the results you're looking for.

The key is knowing that there is an inverse relationship between volume and intensity. Volume is the amount of an activity which can be measured by time, weight and repetition. Intensity is the exertion at a higher percentage of the activity. Basically the lower the intensity the higher the volume and therefore the higher the intensity the lower the volume. The aim for most people should be the latter, "get in, get out!" and "keep it short but simple" are ways to think about keeping the intensity high and the volume low.

Most of our clients at One PT train with us between 1 and 2 times per week. Their workouts comprise of movement and joint preparation, postural work, structural work, energy system conditioning and then range of movement work. All of it is necessary and all of it is good for you! However some of the components aren't ball busting and can be quite remedial. The components that require you to make and effort are the structural and energy system components. This is where you'll be lifting and shifting weight, this is the time to work up a sweat and leave nothing behind.

It's to time to put in so you get back!!

Thoughtful Tuesday - 27

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:12:00 +0000

Hey all so I'm in to the start of my second week of the carb cycling and so far so good I am pleased to report. So far this week I have managed to lose 1.5lbs, which probably doesn't sound a lot but it is just perfect for what I want. Losing around 1lb a week would be great as then I'm pretty sure it will all be coming from my fat stores. If I had more to lose in the first place I would hope for slightly larger losses week on week but I don't so this is perfect. So last Tuesday I was 87.3kg and I am down to 86.6kg. If by next Tuesday I could be around 86kg then I would be very happy indeed. I took my measurements on Thursday so I will take them again this Thursday and give you the results next week. I'm hoping for some good results!

So the actual diet, how is it going? Surprisingly enough not too bad at the moment. The main thing I'm struggling with is to make sure I get everything in. I'm making it so far but it's still a little tough. Need to get more organised me thinks. Things should be better this week though. As for my workouts, this time I have changed things round a little bit to incorporate two more circuit based sessions. These are still weight based but designed more to ramp my heart rate up and have very little rest. I really don't like them! I mean I think I would almost prefer to grab a spoon and dig a hole in my leg than do them, but I know they will do me good so I'll keep up with them! With that I'm still keeping in 3-4 more strength orientated days to make sure I keep hold of my muscle, I want as little wasted as possible. So I'm still lifting heavy and regularly for the majority of my sessions.

So first week done and things are going well, they will get harder as the diet gets tougher but at the moment I'm happy. I might not be so next week!

J

Joslyn's Blog Spot - Peanut Butter and Chocolate Power Balls!!

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:55:00 +0000

Lots of clients ask for suggestions on healthy snacks to eat on the go! And courtesy of a client who has a six-pack and two young boys (just in case anyone had any excuses stored up), I've managed to get hold of a handy little recipe book from Solgar Vitamins. It's called 'Whey of Life' and has tons of great recipes including, breakfast, smoothies, savoury dishes, savoury dishes, and sweet treats, all made with protein, and free from bad fats, sugar, and lots of other nasties. (It does recommend soya as an alternative to milk, but they can't be perfect)

Anyway, I thought I'd share one of the fab recipes with you, the perfect snack...are you ready!!

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Power Balls:

2 tbsp organic, salt-free Crunchy Peanut Butter
1 tbsp runny organic honey
3 scoops of plain or chocolate flavour protein powder
1 tbsp of ground flaxseeds
1tbsp of Solgar Omega Advanced Blend (or any oil with the ratio 2:1:1 - omega 3:6:9 respectively)
1 tbsp organic cocoa powder
1-2 tbsp chopped nuts
apple juice or rice milk, 1-2 tbsp if needed to bind the mixture

Combine all of the ingredients, excepting the apple juice and chopped nuts in a bowl. Work together with your hands to form a firm paste similar to the consistency of marzipan. Add a few drops of the apple juice or rice milk if necessary to bind. Form into 8 round balls the size of a walnut. Roll the balls in the chopped up nuts, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. DE-LIC-IOUS!!

14 Week Transformation

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:52:00 +0000

Hello to all, the sun is out and I'm currently finishing my 3rd week at 'One' and I'm ashamed to say I haven't trained since the 15th Feb!..
From Monday I will have exactly 14 weeks till my brothers wedding in Italy and there you have it - My motivation.
I will be training 5 days a week with 2-rest days In-between. My goals are varied between Sports Conditioning (back onto cricket again) and looking to put on some lean muscle mass.

My current weaknesses are my legs from numerous injuries and Arthroscopies so I will be looking to incorporate legs into at least 2 days of training including 1 strength day.

For added motivation I will be adding a Blog with my progression throughout these 14 weeks to keep you all updated with my progression including my measurements and skin folds changes.

My weeks training will look like the following:

Monday - Legs & Back (6-8 Reps)
Tuesday - Chest (6-8 Reps)
Wednesday - Legs Conditioning (12-15 Reps and Dynamic Stretching)
Thursday - Shoulders and Arms (6-8 Reps)
Friday - "The 300 Workout" which consists of the following.
- 25 pull-ups
- 50 deadlifts at 135 pounds
- 50 push-ups
- 50 box jumps with a 24-inch box
- 50 "floor wipers" (a core and shoulders exercise at 135 pounds)
- 50 "clean and press" at 36 pounds (a weight-lifting exercise)
- 25 more pull ups for a total of 300 reps

The idea behind the 300 Circuit is to complete the 7 exercises at your quickest time possible whilst maintaining good form. Throughout the 14 weeks I will be able to perform each exercise more efficiently with less rest times, and there you have it - Progression!

Wish me luck!

Scott

InTake vitamins - eat food!!!

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:32:00 +0000

I was on my way to work, people watching and listening to music and read the title over someone's shoulder ... I know, I know I should not be reading over the shoulder, not very nice is it?

"Stored vitamins go off in a week" the Metro says, talking about how all the supplements can turn into candy if stored in bathroom or kitchen cupboards. Researchers say how the moisture gets into the vitamin and supplement bottles and destroys them.

Before we think about that, it may be worth having a closer look at what vitamins are and how they work and whether supplements actually do what it says on the tin in the first place.

In the late 19th century a German scientist Justus von Liebig thinking he cracked the mystery of human nutrition, discovered macronutrients existed (protein, carbohydrate and fats) and also created a meat extract in a form of bouillon and the first baby formula based on cow's milk, wheat flour, malted flour and potassium bicarbonate - both of which were meant to be meal replacements or substitutes. According to Liebig probably even a better option to real, natural food. Soon after doctors started noticing that babies fed solely on that formula were not developing as well as those fed proper food, which therefore led to a conclusion that there was something missing in Liebig's formula. As a result in 1912 the vitamins were discovered. They were the first set of micronutrients to be discovered by the Polish biochemist Kazimierz Funk (what a man!). The name comes from 'vita' for life and 'amines' for organic compounds organised around nitrogen.

Vitamins were firstly separated from foods and then synthesised artificially in laboratories. Soon they became the magic molecules able to cure diseases, promoting growth in children and long life in adults. The research has even gone as far as claiming that vitamin C in citrus fruits and beta carotene in some vegetables prevent cancer. The research was based on people eating fruit and veg. Scientists knew that there is vitamin C and beta carotenes in those decided that it must be them actually preventing cancer. But knowing that citrus fruits are not purely made of vitamin C molecules and veg are not purely beta carotenes, there comes a question of whether it is vitamin C or beta carotene on its own or a combination of different chemicals that deserve all those claims?

Scientists insist on testing nutrients rather than foods. Fair enough it will be hard to test a fruit or a veg, however that's what we - human beings eat. We do not eat nutrients ... unless we take supplements - artificially made synthetic equivalents of what we find in fruit and vegetables. Which have also been proved to have little effect. Okay they may support, but they will not replace healthy, balanced diet! An important thing to realise and remember that there are hundreds of other chemicals and compounds in each fruit or vegetable rather than just carbohydrate or a specific vitamin. They all interact and work together to have a specific effect on human body. For example Michael Pollan in his 'In Defence of Food' (which I quoted a few times before) gives an example of garden thyme, which has at least 35 different chemicals in it. So imagine ingesting all that every time you eat foods flavoured with thyme. Supplements never come in the same composition of actual fruit and vegetables. Therefore cutting long story short, make sure you eat a good variety of foods (not nutrients!!) and you will be good to go!

On another note, there are also fortified foods like spreads and margarines with added vitamin D for example. The fact that most of population lacks in vitamin D, made scientists add its synthetically created substitute to loads of foods. To start with, stuff like margarine is no good for us as it's man made not natural and our bodies do not really recognise its structure. Secondly how do we know whether we solely need vitamin D for proper bone growth and repair or whether it is vitamin D combined with other chemicals. We do not ... And here we come back to Liebig's formula and macronutrients, then Funk's vitamins which were thought to have solved nutritional mysteries. Now we have antioxidants, carotenes, flavonoids and all sorts of other chemicals which are not fully known yet. And whether we will ever actually know how all the chemical reactions and correlations work for us I am not sure! We may be discovering them step by step but the main thing is to make sure we take in enough goodness through real tasty food and then worry about supplementing as and when needed!

Happy Friday and till next time :)

Marta

My Ideal Training Week...

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:48:00 +0000

For the first time in years I'm happy with my training and the progress I'm making with it. I've finally found the consistency and time to be able to do what I want and more importantly what I need to do to progress towards achieving my goals.

I have a Kettlebell Sport Competition in just under 3 weeks, so I currently need to specialise for that. But as soon as that's finished I've worked out my perfect training template. I've chosen activities that I believe will compliment and balance each other well. The plan is to be able to move as well and as efficiently and athletically as I can.

All the activities that I've chosen are things that I've already been participating in this year. My training week will look like this:
Mondays-
i)Weightlifting session including Snatches and Clean & Jerks
ii) Parkour (Free Running) session
Tuesday's-
Rest
Wednesdays-
Weightlifting with some Kettlebell Sport Lifting;
Thursdays-
i)Metabolic conditioning
ii)Trojans Kettlebell Session
Fridays
- Weightlifting
Saturdays
Metabolic Conditioning

The aim as alluded to above is to be as athletic and all round fit as possible. Now 'Fitness' is very specific, marathon runners are fit for running marathons, weightlifters are fit for lifting weights, sprinters for sprinting, however most of these athletes are so specifically fit that they can't do many other things outside of the their discpiline. I want to be at a certain level of conditioning whereby I should be able to do anything at short notice.

A decent test of fitness (conditioning is a more appropriate term) that I've come across is a 3 part test. The three parts are the dead lift, the pull up and the 5minute snatch test.
The dead lift tests maximal strength
The pull up tests relative test
The snatch test tests strength endurance.

I have a Kettlebell Sport Comp in a couple of weeks. As soon as that is done with, the plan is to test the above 3 and then commence my ideal training week. From her eI should be able to with a few weeks of specialisation compete in anything whether it be Olympic Weightlifting, Kettlebell Sport or saving the world!

Thoughtful Tuesday - 26

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:49:00 +0000

Okay so having got rid of whatever was affecting my kidneys and have now finished my 2 month bulking (which lasted 4) it is now probably time to concentrate on my food and start to shed a couple more pounds.

So with that goal in mind I am going back on my carb cycling. Now I should probably say that I almost naturally carb cycle anyway but with not much accuracy in what I'm getting in so basically I'm going to be stricter in what I'm eating. Oh joy!

So this is going to work by having a high, medium, low and very low days during my week, probably on an 8 day rotation so no week is the same. Also I will only have 1 high carb day every 8 days in order to really restore my glycogen levels. Plus on that high day I'll only be getting in protein and carbs, I will keep the fat to a minimum. So this can also be seen as a bit of a "cheat" day, now I won't go crazy, probably one or two meals on that day will be more indulgence type foods :-)

I think this style of eating is a generally good way to go, this is because it's not quite as tough as a proper low carb diet plus you are constantly getting in differing amounts of calories and different types of calories too. Your body should never be 100% comfortable with the amount of food it's getting in because it is constantly fluctuating. The only norm will be the amount of protein and the rough timings of the meals. Now the meals, the majority of my carbs are going to be consumed in and around my training, from more starchy sources, most of the others will be from fruit. I'll also be getting plenty of green vegetables but they won't count towards anything so I can eat as much of that as I like. This really comes in handy when the calories start to drop! So typically there will be 3 protein and carb based meals, the other 3 meals will be protein and fat based meals. When I say fat I mainly mean oils, like olive, fish and coconut oils, plus nuts and fish in general.

That's about it, I weighed myself this morning and I was 87.3kg. I haven't taken my measurements yet but I will and will have to keep an eye on everything and change things accordingly.

Wish me luck!

J

What are you thinking ... ?

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:56:00 +0000

Probably one of the most intimate questions you can ask another person...

Was sitting on the tube on my way home yesterday sipping on a lovely latte (yes I was drinking coffee! - my first one in a week though, not number 5 in a day, will explain why later) people watching as usual and thinking to myself ... 'what are they all thinking?'

I generally tend to people watch quite a lot and think quite a lot at the same time too. As if you didn't know that yet ;) Any time I get a chance to do it whether on the tube, doing my shopping, walking down the street or even training you. It's absolutely unbelievable how many out there look deep in misery ... Why don't you just go and jump off the bridge if life really is so unbearable? Ok, ok I know it's a bit harsh but really ... be honest with yourselves! Are all the problems and worries bothering us real issues that have the right to affect our lives and way of thinking that much?

I overheard Jos talking to one of you yesterday about far East cultures and people generally being happy with what they have. Have you noticed that the more we have the more we want and the more we worry about everything and nothing ... the vicious circle starts here...

So, going back to my lovely coffee yesterday. I walked out of the studio heading home and popped into pret for a little snack to stop me from chewing off my arm before getting a chance to cook my dinner. Smiley as usual started chatting to the guy there who at the end offered me a coffee, and all that just for being that tiny bit more positive than the usual pret customer. From then on even though the weather was unbearable, people on the tube started smiling back at me (well those that I managed to get to look into my eyes ... another well forgotten thing in this world) and my mood, even though I was absolutely shattered after another busy day just sky rocketed. Had a wicked evening and now I feel even better as it's FRIDAAAAAY :)!

Now ask yourself 3 questions:

Till next time.

Marta :)

Joslyn's Blog Spot - Barefoot running video

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:38:00 +0000

Hi all, I hope you are well. Here's a little video clip for you about barefoot running and how natural it is. With the marathon just 9 weeks away, I'm not about to toss my Nike Air Pegasus aside, but the following video is interesting food for thought...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/video/2010/jan/27/running-barefoot-injuries-trainers

First Blog

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:55:00 +0000

My First Blog

Hello to all... My name's Scott Boxer I'm the new trainer here at One Personal Training. I moved across from Victoria at the start of the week and am very much looking forward to working with many of you.

A little about myself:

I qualified in Personal Training, Circuits, Sports Massage & Rehabilitation and Nutrition with Premier Training when I was 18 and haven't looked back since! I live outside of London in Essex so I (like many of you) commute in each day. I play cricket for a small village in Essex during the season (10 weeks and counting) but until then I can only watch England beat Bangladesh (fingers crossed) and hopefully hold onto the Ashes later this year (fingers and toes crossed)!

Since an early age I suffered from injuries and set back in my training but rehabilitated and pushed forward, set backs will come and go but its how you respond to these set backs? Let them push you back or push forward and fight towards your goals?!

As many of the trainers will tell you there is an endless amount to learn when it comes to the Human body, Nutrition and Training which is why I still thrive on what I learn every day.

Anyway, that's enough about me. I'll be looking forward to meeting more of you in the very near future and finding out more about yourselves.

Until next time... Have a great relaxing weekend!

Scott

Exciting times!

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:18:00 +0000

Excitement, excitement!

What am I so excited about you may want to ask ... well February is nearly gone, can you believe this? That means that we are all nearly two months into our New Years resolutions and training goals. I must say the last two weeks have been extremely rewarding. Being a personal trainer there really isn't much more you can ask for than a happy, results achieving clients :)! Another great thing is that the spectrum of your achievements is so vast ... absolutely amazing feeling.

So what has been happening over the last few weeks? Here is how well some of you have done so far ...

... starting from our monthly measurements and weekly weigh ins the most amazing so far was 17.5cm lost (on the usual 8 measurements - neck, left and right arm, chest, waist, hips and left and right thigh) together with nearly half a stone (3kg) less on the scales an 8.8mm dropped in the skin fold measurements (4 sites - triceps, biceps, sub scap and supra iliac) - and all that in only 4 weeks!

Moving on to new programme routines and structuring training, loads of beaten PBs (personal bests) on all the big lifts like squats, deadlifts and bench presses.

Some of you have got some serious wind under their wings and booked in for their very first charity race ... bring on the just giving link so we can sponsor!

A couple of you have massively improved their flexibility and proprioception, smashing through toe taps, scorpions and all those little annoying things that you could not get just right for a while.

Old suits that have been sitting in a wardrobe being too tight are fitting back on again.

New eating habits and even more important thinking - it's all about attitude!!!

The list could go on ...

What about me then? Well my first big 2010 goal is getting closer and closer. 100kg deadlift by the end of March. I am already on 90kg and going strong! Also did the liquid diet which you all know enough about already. Put my training back on track and of course run up the mighty Gherkin in 8.03min - way below what I was aiming for (10min).

Really and truly fantastic job everyone! Keep it going and we will go far together, but remember it's all up to you in the first place!

Happy Friday and have a wicked weekend.

Marta :)

40 Days of Lent: Don't Give Anything Up!

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:19:00 +0000

It may just be my Roman Catholic upbringing but every Lent, just like Roman Catholics all over the world I give something up for 40 Days in memory of the time Jesus fasted in the desert before he returned to Jerusalem, was arrested and later sentenced to death then crucified. The idea is that you give something up, make a commitment an act of discipline in memory and tribute to Jesus' time in the desert.

Normally I'll give up alcohol, caffeine or sugar. Last year I gave up all three. However this year I'm deciding to to commit to something instead. Rather than give something up I'm going to take something on. Something that I feel will be good for me, something I've been meaning to do for a while. Something that will require a certain amount of discipline and commitment- otherwise I'd already be doing it!

So for everyday for 40 Days this Lent I'm going to do a a Sun Salutation (Yoga sequence). 40Days is just under 6weeks, and that's the amount of time that it generally takes to form a habit. So who knows hopefully it may be something that will continue long after Lent has finished.

So that is the challenge from now until to Easter why don't you commit to something everyday. Find something that you know will be good for you in the end, something that you've been putting off starting for a long time, something that won't be easy, that will require discipline.

Use this time to improve yourself!!

Let me know how you get on.

Thoughtful Tuesday - 25

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:37:00 +0000

Okay so I've decided to get back to my training at the moment. Yesterday was a bit of a "not exactly sure what I'm going to do" kind of day. It was legs day so squatting was a definite. Basically my brother and I walked in to the gym which was refreshingly quiet for once. and there was 100kg on the squat rack with no one squatting. We both looked at eachother and almost simultaneously said "GVT?"

Now I'm sure most of you don't know what GVT is so I shall explain. GVT stands for German Volume Training. It is a training system of a standard 10 sets of 10 reps on a weight which should be around 50-60% 1RM and the rest should be between 60-90s. (they're lifting a little more than me!)

So we had a quick warm up and then went for it on the back squat, we were keeping our rests to around 60s, sometimes a little over especially towards the end when our sets were naturally getting longer. I think the whole workout took us 17mins. That's 100reps on 100kg in 17mins. This is by no means easy and it's very demanding on a lot more than your muscles. It is, however, extremely good at getting a large amount of work done in a very short period of time. Lets just say that today I'm walking at a slight slant!

On another note I made some almond bread the other day (although I think I got the mix slightly wrong and it came out more like cake) I'm still perfecting the recipe so I shall report back when I get it right. It will be a great substitute for our poor excuse of "normal" bread. It's a fantastic low carb alternative, plus it's stacked full of fibre and good fats. Win win in my book!

Speedy yummy food for all :)

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:14:00 +0000

Here she is again, another Thursday another food orientated blog :)

As promised last week, today I am going to share some ideas on how to quickly get some decent food in you and seriously there's no excuses ... I have been practicing for a while and know from my very own experience that it is really and truly not that difficult.

So what do I usually have for breakfast? Well ... as most of you know I need to be up at around 5am most mornings, and yes I do have time to have scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, sometimes even mushroom and tomatoes with a bit of rye bread toast. It takes me no more than 15 minutes to cook and eat it and I am in no rush. To be honest it should take me at least 15 minutes to just consume it, however talking about getting up at 5 or 4:45 makes a difference ... Having same thing (or an omelette) over the weekend is a completely different story when some times I just let myself enjoy my brekkie for much longer. Remember it's all about tasting, chewing and actually experiencing your food that makes it worthwhile and allows your body to absorb and digest all the goodness.

If you're running around like mad or eating on the go it really does not matter how god your food is as you will simply not absorb the nutrients properly as being under stress the energy that should be spent on digesting is being used on keeping your body going.

Ok, breakfast out of the way. Lunch and dinner ladies and gentlemen. And here we go again, no time no time no time ....
Eeeerm ... is 20 minutes really that much? The longest it takes to make a decent dinner is an hour and as I said last week that's when the meat sits in the oven which does the job for you, while you are free to do whatever you fancy.

So ... get some ogranic chicken breast/legs or thighs (DO NOT REMOVE THE SKIN!!!), season with salt and pepper and some other spices of your liking, put it in a ceramic or other heat resistant dish, drizzle with olive oil and some honey and off we go in the oven. Steam/ boil or fry some veggies and dinner is ready. Make some more and take to work with you. Remember to put some (real) butter on your veggies as it will help to absorb all the fat soluble vitamins. And if you want to go even further why not sprinkle some parmesan on top to make it even tastier ... mmmmmm lush!!

Other options are steaks (a beautiful picture of which you have already seen) or maybe some burgers (organic mince with chopped onions and an egg all mixed together with salt and pepper, I like to add some parsley to it too or marjoram to get even better flavour) and a big salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Again really quick, nice and easy and yummy as hell. How do I cook it? Either roast in the oven, grill or fry. And remember if you fry your meat, do it in real butter or coconut oil as these fats are being used in your body straight away as energy (short fatty acid chains that is).

Fish would be even easier as you just throw it under the grill or steam it and boom done in 10-15minutes.

So believe me or not, there is really no excuse now not to cook your own food or tell me there is not enough time in the day to do it. And also treat yourself to some me time. Lock the kitchen door, put on some music and enjoy while you can we might not be here tomorrow after all ;)

Happy weekend (not long to go now, wooo hooo!)

Marta

PS All the pictures are of my food. Beef mince burgers with salad, late breakfast at work - eggs with mushroom and courgettes, with some smoked salmon of course and grilled salmon fillet with veggies.

January Review

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:24:00 +0000

Wow February already, how are all your plans for 2010 coming along? How are all of my plans for 2010 coming along? Well

I have made some inroads towards achieving some of the weightlifting, kettlebell sport and strength training goals.

In Weightlifting I have been to a Weightlifting Club on three consecutive Mondays and just by having people watch me and make corrections to my technique I have already improved my Snatch. As a result I will be doing this every Monday.

With my Kettlebelll Sport lifting I have been putting in the volume with the 32kg bells. I have been reasonably happy with the progressions but have not really gone all out yet. I will be testing myself at the end of this month and will be competing a month after that on the 21st March. I still have a lot to do before the comp, so I had best not be idle.

To make sure I am on track I have also decided that I will make a weekly and monthly review just to check in on my progress.

In the meantime check on your goals for the year, take stock and see where you are at.

Thoughtful Tuesday - 24

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:26:00 +0000

Following on from Jos's blog yesterday I figured I would outline my day of terror running up that ridiculous building! (I can't moan too much as it was my idea!!)

Okay so this is pretty much how it went

Woke up at 9.00 and was already feeling a bit nervous. Had a shower to waken and liven myself up.
Got a message from Marta saying how she was excited at 9.40. I replied not so in kind!
Had my first number 2 at about 10.00
Breakfast was just after, an old Italian breakfast of egg yolks with sugar, sounds nasty but damn it's tasty! With a protein shake
Had my second number 2 at about 10.20
I was now running late so drove to the studio
Met the guys at 10.55, had third and final number 2 (I was now as light as I was gonna get!)
Jogged over to the Gherkin and thought that this was a really stupid idea!
Checked in and started to calm down a little bit, we went through a little warm up
About 5 mins before the go we had another little warm up with everyone else and then started to get in line to start the torture.
Mike and I were ready to get going, nerves had completely gone now and we set off to the cheers of the girls.
Started passing people by the 4th or 5th floor (they were girls)
By the 10th floor I was thinking that this was A LOT harder than I had thought
By the 11th floor I realised the steps are higher than what we were practicing on, oh crap
Had to slow down, the pace was too much for these steps, probably by the 19th floor we were going half of what we had started at
30 something floor, slowed right down. "not far to go now" was shouted out by a marshal, I wanted to show them how I was feeling! Not far to go yeah if you haven't climbed 30 odd floors!
36th floor, Mike shouted "lets get a jog on"
36.5th floor jogging stopped
37th floor, jog back on for the photo finish
Death was about to ensue, St. Johns Ambulance man asked me if I was okay and apart from the lungs being on fire, my legs about to collapse and me wanting to vomitt everywhere I replied very politely "yes I'm fine"
Crawled in to the lift to get my rewards at the top of the Gherkin
Mission accomplished!!

I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who supported us and who are still donating, thank you very very much. It was emotional!

Joslyn's Blog Spot - Ouch!!!

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:40:00 +0000

First of all, a huge thank you to all of you for sponsoring us in the crazy task of hauling ass up the gherkin!!! We've been in training for four weeks for it and yesterday we did it!! We were all feeling pretty good beforehand but remained slightly dubious about just how long it was going to take!! Some people were making wild claims about four minutes to the top, whilst others who train regularly seemed to have completed it in fifteen minutes!! We just didn't know! Anyway, I'm sure all of the guys will give you their individual accounts of it...here's mine.

*First thoughts on Sunday morning - 'this was a crap idea!!!!!'
*2 hours before the climb - fuelled with carbs and hoping to digest them properly with the nerves
*45 minutes before the climb - feeling emotional with the team, just feeling really proud!!
*30 minutes before the climb jogging to the gherkin - that building looks (bleep) massive...back to 'this was a crap idea' thoughts!
*20 minutes before the climb - speaking to NSPCC about nearly reaching our fundraising target...positive thoughts of 'this is bloody worth it'
*10 minutes before climb - final nervous wee!
*30 seconds before the climb - cheering Jamie and Mike as they go off first
*GO!! - first few flights feeling good
*Flight 5 - why are my legs already tired?...crap!!...these stairs are taller than the ones we've been training on!!
*Flight 6 - oh pants...am I gonna walk this??
*Flights 7-20 passing people, trying to be supportive with you can do it remarks etc...
*Flights 20-28 Combo of two-steps walk and pull body up by bannisters, and single step jogging...more of the former...
*Flight 29...10 more to go...legs burning...heart racing...pass more people...
*Flights 30-37 nearly there, God this hurts, nearly there...
*Flight 38...thank (beep) for that!!!!!
*Two minutes post-climb...get papped...not really feeling in the photographic mood, breathing is a challenge!!!

*Five minutes post-climb...can string small sentences together
*Thirty minutes post-climb...realisation that we haven't had our complimentary glass of champagne
*Thirty minutes and one second post-climb...sprint up to top floor for glass of bubbly
*Thirty five minutes post-climb...happily nibbling on free mars bar from goodie bag
*Forty minutes post-climb...blaming mars bar for the fuzzy feeling in my head and not...erm champagne!!

It was an awesome day, and weirdly...I'd do it again!!

Good bye cyber food!

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:45:00 +0000

Well oh well, after 3 weeks of torture I entered the transition period. Not quite like Jamie as I am not fully back to normal food. I am now having two meals a day instead of one. How I missed having breakfast is simply unbelievable ... It's been purely blissful experience over the last few days having been able to finally taste and chew a solid meal every morning. Eggs, smoked salmon and a small piece of rye bread, some veggies (tomatoes and mushrooms) in addition ... mmmmmmmm!

So how did I find it you may ask... Well as I have been talking to some of you, my body got much leaner! I think I can say that I have not been that lean before. However I would never ever recommend it to any of you (I've said it before and will if I am ever asked again). Purely because it has not been designed for ordinary training people wanting to lose body fat. Simple! It's being used by body builders to strip off that fat before competitions. And if they want to go through it, fair play to them but the side effects are nasty and you need to be VERY strict and stick to it (including diet plan, workouts and transition period). Hormones are all over the place as even though there are fats included in the plan (fish oils and, flax seed and peanut butter) there is no cholesterol which is a very important building block for hormones, including testosterone and serotonin (feel good hormone) to name but a few. My body just not felt right. Terrible mood swings, elevated stress levels and I have not been sleeping very well either. Even though training has been going strong I could not continue for much longer. And to be honest there is no need to. Don't get me wrong, I am happy I did it. As I said it's been a great experience in getting to know my body even more so I can share my experiences with you wanting to get rid of some lipids happily living around your hips and waist.

Saying that there is no need to carry on I mean it!! You need to understand that in order to lose body fat, appropriate nutrition is key. Exercise will keep your metabolism going, start the process, make you feel better and make your body more capable, but if you train hard for an hour and then go and have a nasty take away for lunch what is the point in the first place? I am ranting on again, I know but food is responsible for 60-80% of what you are going to achieve trying to change your body. And as I said last week it is entirely up to you what you are going to do with it. And really there is no need to go and buy your lunch in a local caff or have cereal for breakfast to save time. Making decent brekkie in the morning will not take more than 10 minutes and healthy lunch and dinner could be anything between 20min up to an hour (and that is when the chicken sits in the oven and you can do whatever you want while it roasts). Enough for today. And I know what I am going to do next week ... look out for some simple, natural and really yummy ideas for breakfasts, lunches and dinners ... next Thursday ... watch this space :)

Have a wicked weekend and think about us on Sunday as we climb up 1037 steps of the mighty Gherkin ...

Marta :)

Thoughtful Tuesday - 23

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:02:00 +0000

So this weekend I stopped my semi-liquid diet and reverted back to normal eating. I'm still going to have a shake in the morning and probably one more during the day. A couple of reasons for this is that I want to ease myself back in to things and also well it's just nice and easy to have a shake! I have really enjoyed not spending money on going to places like Eat, I end up spending a small fortune each day which is silly. So I've decided to bring some things in. So seeing as I love my eggs I thought I'd find a way of having them. What I've got is very simple and straight forward. All you need is one of those cup cake baking trays, you know the ones with about 12 scoops in them. Then you need to lightly fry up some spinach, add some garlic, onions, whatever you want really. Once they are done you need to pile them up in to the baking tray scoops. Then whisk up some eggs and pour the eggs over each of your vegtable mixtures. Place the tray in a pre-heated oven and leave them till cooked. How long I'm not sure as I'm going to try it out tonight so will let you know, but it won't take long! Then you'll have lots of nice little frittatas to take to work to snack on during the day!

On another note, as I'm sure you know we are running up the Gherkin for the NSPCC this Sunday and would be very greatful if you could sponsor us if you haven't already.

Thanks!

Joslyn's Blog Spot - Would you do it for your kids?

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:42:00 +0000

Happy February everyone! I trust you all got the year off to a good start and for those of you that train with us to lose weight, I hope you are riding on the coat tails of losing a pound or two in January!

I came across an interesting article in a January issue of Time magazine about how human evolutionary changes can can be passed from one generation to the next and not over many generations, taking millions of years. This means that we need to be a lot more conscientious about how we treat our own bodies as it may be passed directly onto our children.

So how come all of a sudden we can appear to be able to change genes overnight? Well the genes themselves don't change, however genomes can. A genome is all the genetic material contained in an organism, including its chromosomes, genes and DNA. Are you still with me? Just a bit more science. Attached on top of genomes are epigenomes, and these have the ability to tell your genes to switch on or off. It is through these epigenomes that environmental factors such as stress and poor diet can be passed from one generation to the next.

Let's have a look at what can happen. A paper publised in 2006 in the European Journal of Human Genetics noted that of 14,024 fathers in a longitudinal study tracking parents and their children, 166 of them started smoking before the age of 11. In turn, their sons had higher body mass indexes than other boys by the age of 9. In the Dutch journal Acta Biothoretica Dr. Lars Olov Bygren writes of the Swedish town of Overkalix during the 19th and 20th century. Boys who enjoyed the fruits of overabundant winters, going from near starvation to gluttony, produced grandsons who died on average 6 years before those that endured poor harvests. When socioeconomic variations were taken into account, the difference in lifespan jumped a whopping 32 years!

Both of these epigenetic changes resulted from extreme environmental stressors: boys smoking before the age of 11; and excessive food supply in the case of Overkalix. Once again, it's important to note that these changes don't change genes, but merely send a message that switches them off. If the environmental stressor is removed, the DNA will revert back to its original code. Lasting change, it is believed for now, takes place slowly over many, many generations via natural selection. And so the epigenetic change is a temporary one, albeit long enough to affect the life of your child and your grandchildren.

For us, this means that our current health isn't just about us risking our own lives. Our poor health habits can be passed directly onto our children, and their children. I can't think if a better excuse to ensure that you keep yourself in good health, as we have more than just ourselves to answer to.

Exercise of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:36:00 +0000

Inverted Rows

Inverted rows, modified pull ups or fatboys as we sometimes them call in the studio are one of the best back exercises that will build excellent strength in the major muscles of your back along with your biceps. They're also a great postural exercise as they, like all horizontal pull exercises, work to strengthen the muscles around your scapula which often become weak from poor posture.

To perform inverted rows set up a bar in the squat rack and lay under it. You want the bar to be inline with your chest at a full arms length away. Place your feet on top of a stepper so that when you grip the bar you body will be completely horizontal.

Grip the bar with a wider than shoulder width grip with your palms facing your feet. Begin lifting yourself by bending at the shoulder and elbows until the bottom of your chest touches the bar. The aim is to keep you body as straight as possible during the entire movement. As your chest touches the bar breathe out and squeeze your shoulder blades together hard. Focus on keeping your body as straight as possible, contact you abs and don’t let your hips drop.

If you're finding it to difficult to lift yourself or keep your body straight you can regress the exercise by performing it with knees bent and feet flat on the ground.

Next week: Power Cleans.

Mike.

image courtesy: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_gEyOuw7eZkA/SAVMyva1aEI/AAAAAAAAAEU/c11OiJCzZkY/s1600-h/inv_row.JPG

Getting thrown around like a rag doll!

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:42:00 +0000

I have a mate who runs a the strength and conditioning at a Brasilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts- if you've been watching Big Brother it's what Alex Reid does but isn't apparently very good at?!)gym in North London. The day started off with 'some conditioning' which consisted of a progressive warm up including jumps, press ups and burpees, followed by the conditioning component which was 4*6minute rounds of pain!

The 6 minute rounds were made up of 6stations where you just moved from one station to the next. The stations included:
- Bulgarian Bag Swings
- Heavy Bag Slams
- Barbell Wood Chops
- Band Pulls and Rotates
- Overhead Ball Throws
- Med Ball Pres Ups
There was no rest between the stations and each took a minute.

I was knackered by the end of the first round, by the fourth I wasn't sure if I was going to pass out, throw up or both. It took my 15minutes to regain composure, which was fine because this was when the No Gi (no pyjama suit) class started. This consisted of practising certain techniques against an opponent. This was quite advanced for me and I kept tying myself in knots.

After 30minutes of the technique session it was time for 4 rounds of sparring which were 5 minutes long each. I did OK in two of the rounds, in the other two I got thrown around like a rag doll. One of the guys was the world No Gi champion and he just easily disposed of any attempt I made to exert any type of force on him.

Overall I had a completely knackering yet enjoyable experience and I will go back for more!

I CAN DO IT ...

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:00:00 +0000

This week I found myself, yet again, thinking a lot about how our brains and minds work in terms of achieving what we want to achieve and getting where we want to get. I also spoke to some of you about how powerful thinking about those things is.

Thinking differently is what sets the human race apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Frontal cortex in the brain allows the capability for finding new pathways of experience. The size of the human cortex is also the largest out of all mammals, therefore offering the mental powers of self observation and contemplation.

Now, what does it actually mean? It is pretty simple and obvious, however really hard to acknowledge for some 95% of the human population ... WE ARE ALL SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR OWN DECISIONS. And even though there are certain circumstances in life such as accidents that we are not in total control of, the decision of whether we are going to live a decent life is purely down to us. And by living a decent life I do not mean being able to splash out a small fortune on things we don't really need but actually being in sync with our own bodies and minds, knowing our abilities and being aware of the fact that no one else but us can decide how we feel and what we do each day ...

It may be high time for some of us to contemplate some of the negative thoughts and pre-programmed patterns we are carrying around with us. An important thing is that SELF has no negative thoughts about ITSELF. All thoughts and feelings of anger, sadness, fear, guilt, hate etc, are past perceptions and projections of experiences we went through in our life ... it almost looks like a magic trick that whether consciously or not other people can play on us, keeping us from realising how powerful we really are.

A really important thing to realise is that that neurons that fire together also wire together creating patterns. A real life example will be if we're constantly thinking we are unable to do something, eventually our bodies will believe in that seriously limiting our abilities to achieve what we originally wanted. Second but even more important thing is that the human cortex CAN re-wire creating new wiring patterns. What that means is that no matter what you think we are able to break the pattern and start acting/thinking differently. Remember my very first blog I posted back in October when I joined ONE? There is a way of breaking the vicious circle some of us tend to get stuck in. We just need to accept that this is entirely our decision that we are 100% responsible for!

Have a look at this video and even though some of it may sound a bit like preaching, what I would like you to have a look at is how the neurons actually work, and how they can re-wire to change the old patterns.

Think about it over the weekend ...

"EVERYTHING CAN BE TAKEN AWAY FROM A MAN ... EXCEPT THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE ONES ATTITUDE IN ANY GIVEN SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES"

Viktor Frankt (holocaust survivor)

Till next Thursday

Marta :)

Thoughtful Tuesday - 22

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:57:00 +0000

So I'm entering in to my 4th week of this diet and to be honest I have relaxed it a bit at the weekend, because, well I wanted a bit of a life! I'm still strict during the week but the weekend I'll eat a bit more. Now my weight has pretty much leveled out which I'm not too fussed about. What has been interesting is that my arms and chest have gotten bigger while their skin folds have gone down. That's a nice little bonus as that is a clear indicator that I've put some muscle on. I'm not too surprised at that fact seeing as my numbers all round have been going up on all major lifts, bench, deadlift, squat, pull ups. That's for both repping and weight. So I'm not at all surprised that I've put some muscle on. I guess if you followed the normal way of thinking this would be impossible as I am in a calorie deficit so how can I be getting bigger and stronger?! Well I actually think that the answer to this is very simple, as long as you time your meals and macronutrient breakdowns right in order to maximise recovery and repair then there is no reason why you can't grow at the same time as losing body fat. This is hard to do for sure but it is possible.

Now on to the not so good news. Like I said I relaxed the protocol at the weekend, now I say relaxed, when throwing it out of the window would probably be a better description! So anyway, I didn't over eat or anything but the majority that I did eat wasn't the best choices and of course there was the booze. What is interesting is where this, albeit temporary fat went. I lost skinfolds everywhere except around my waist line. Now I find this interesting for a couple of reasons. Firstly it shows to me that when there is a hint of bad food/booze going in to my system it goes to my tum (and probably lower back) no surprise there. Secondly, like I said I didn't over eat at the weekend, if anything I didn't eat that much but it was all the wrong stuff, on top of that there was a fair amount of booze. So that just goes to show that you don't always need to eat too much to put on body fat in your "preferred" storage sites. It's all down to choice. Similarly you can probably over eat, in a sense, of the right foods and not put on body fat.

So it really is down to choice, just make sure that 90% of the time you make the right one and you'll be fine!

J

Joslyn's Blog Spot - An afternoon with the GB 2012 hopefuls...

noreply@blogger.com (ONE) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:23:00 +0000

Last Wednesday afternoon, I got the opportunity to meet some of the GB 2012 hopefuls and have a chat with them about their training, nutrition and their advice on how to stay motivated.

I met sprinters, hurdlers and pole vaulters, all incredibly lean, and all incredibly focused. My first, chat was with Joey Duck (200m). I think what Joey had to say stuck in my mind the most of all of the girls. With incredible focus on making it to 2012, Joey has no problem keeping herself motivated, however when I asked her what she would say to somebody who struggles to keep themselves fit, she replied "Don't do it to change the way you look...do it because you love it." It makes sense. If you love something, you have no problem doing it, and the aesthetics come as a given.

(No, I'm not jealous that not only is she an amazing athlete, but tall, pretty, and really nice to boot...truly...not jealous)

Next there was Perri Shakes-Drayton (Hurdles) who seems to take everything in her stride. Her advice to stay motivated is just to never forget what it feels like when you hit victory. She said, once you have that feeling, everything is worth it.

(Again, tall, pretty, talented...I'm over it!!)

All of the girls have a fantastic balance of training: circuits; sports specific drills; and plyometrics. I was most jealous of Kate Dennison (Pole Vault) who gets to do acrobatics and gymnastics as part of her training programme! Similarly, food is their fuel, and rest is a necessity.

I think what struck me the most about the girls was the sheer intensity of their drive complemented with an unbelieveably calm exterior. They know where the want to get to, so they do what they have to do to get there, it's as simple and as complicated as that.