Back running!!

Hi.

When I stared this blog in July 2013 I was having hip problems and was unable to run. This continued until September 2013, and have been back running since then.

My training has been progressing well, consisting mostly of long and short interval repititions (400m-1km) and hill sprint sessions, aswell as the usual longer recovery runs, core circuits and plyometrics.

I have done a couple of races to start the season (off a very limited preperation, not ideal) and have ran some ok times considering. I ran 1:54.5 for 800m on the weekend, but compared to my PB of 1:50.8, I'm still a fair way off where I need to be.

I will run a 1500m soon, but think I need a few more months of solid fitness and specific track work before I run some big times, and hopefully finally beat my PB of 3:42.8 from 2006.

Brutal 75 repititions weights session.

I tried this workout for the first time yesterday and today woke up sorer than I ever have in my whole life. The workout isn't just a killer physically but it takes a big
mental effort to get through it with perfect form and 100% effort. It would be easy to slacken off and start using poor technique or limited range of motion. You really have to concentrate, push yourself hard and really want it.

Yesterday I was training my legs and a bit of core (as I can't currently run due to a hip injury (as of 07/2013) I'm doing weights instead).


Here's how the workout goes.
Choose an exercise and a weight that is your 20 rep max, that is you fail at the 20th repetition. Once you've completed the 20th rep and are fatigued, rest for no more than 10 seconds, then perform as many reps as possible until you fatigue. Continue this cycle of reps/10 seconds rest until you hit 75 reps total. After about 40 reps you'll only be able to perform 5-7 reps before you need to rest again. Have your quick 10 second rest and go again. Your muscles will be screaming at you by now! Once you hit 60 you'll probably only get 3-4 reps out before you have to rest. Keep going. Even if you can only do 1 or 2 reps at a time keep going until you reach 75.

This is a great workout to help you burst through any plateaus or just to mix up your training. A lot of websites and blogs claim that it's a great one for the calves, as if you're not genetically blessed in that area they will struggle to grow.

Complete 1 set of this per muscle group, back it up with solid nutrition and recovery and you'll soon get the results you're after. Next session try for 80 reps, then the next session go for 85. Keep progressing this way until you hit 100 reps, then the next session increase the weight but cut back down to 75 reps again, and work your way up to 100.

Thinking about it I reckon this would make a great running interval workout... Sprint flat out for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds, go again for as long as possible, rest 10 seconds and repeat until you reach your target, whether that be 75 seconds, 2 minutes, 5 minutes.

Give it a go!

*Note - I was only able to do another leg workout 6 days later I was so sore. So give yourself at least 3 days rest inbetween these workouts, even more if you were as wrecked as I was! 

Cardio Training... For fat loss and skyrocketing fitness.

While it is true that steady state physical activity, let's say running, does have it's benefits, if your aim is to improve athletic performance or decrease body fat, or if you want a killer workout but are rushed for time, then high intensity interval training is the way to go. Steady state running is great for your recovery days, if training for an endurance event, injury rehab, are a complete running novice, or as a rest from hard interval sessions... You cant train flat out everyday! Unless you want to get injured or sick!!

What is interval training? Interval training is best described as periods of hard work followed by periods of rest/recovery, this is repeated a number of times throughout the training session. This repeated stress causes high levels of fatigue in the body which, if allowed the appropriate rest, recovery and nutrition, forces the body to adapt to meet these repeated stresses. 2-3 intense sessions per week is best.





HIIT or high intensity interval training is great for a number of reasons:

1. Boosts metabolism to enable your body to heal itself after exercise and to provide energy for your building muscles which ultimately helps to blast away fat. ... even while you're resting! Your body is using your fat stores to provide energy to repair and build muscle.
2. Great for fitting in a quick but thorough workout. You can do a great session in 15 minutes!
3. Increases your speed and efficiency at higher speeds, as your heart, lungs, circulatory and respiratory systems and muscles are overloaded by the faster speeds compared to steady state running.
4. Increases your VO2 max and lactate threshold, which are vitally important if your aim is to run/swim/ride faster. Basically this means you can go faster for longer.
5. It's great for your heart, helping to increase it's stroke volume (amount of blood pumped per beat), decrease resting heart rate (beats per minute), which increases it's cardiac output. In summary this means the heart can pump more blood around the body with less effort. Just like number 4, you will be able to go faster for longer and with less effort.
6. As a by-product of number 5, it can help to reduce cholesterol in the blood and artery walls.
7. Time goes much faster when performing intervals as you're completely focussed on the repetition you're currently completing. 20 minutes of intervals are over before you know it.
8.  It can provide a great physical and mental challenge.
9. You are only limited by your imagination as to the session you decide to perform. If you want to work on your sprinting speed, do short reps (less than 20secs), with long recoveries (up to 5mins). If fat blasting and aerobic fitness is your goal perform medium reps (30secs-2 minutes) with shorter recoveries (30secs to 1 minute). If your training for an endurance event than the previous session is great but you may want to do longer reps (5-10mins) with very short rests (1-2mins). You never have to repeat the same session!

A great example for an elite runner would be 10 x 1km (in 2:45) with 1 minute jog recovery. This means the athlete performs 10 repetitions of 1km hard efforts with a pre-determined target time (say 2mins 45secs). Each repetition is followed by a recovery of 1 minute of slow jogging. Now, although the athlete is performing 10km of hard work plus approximately another 2km during the recoveries (total of 12km), the training effect this athlete will get is much greater than if they were to simply go for a 12km jog. An elite endurance runner will only do this type of session twice per week.

Note however that all training sessions should begin and end with a thorough warm-up and cool-down.

----For mere mortals some great sessions would be:

- Jog 5 mins warm-up.
- Stretch all the main muscle groups.
- 10 x 30seconds hard, 1 minute walk recovery between repetitions.
- Jog/walk 5 mins cool-down and stretch again.

- Jog 5 mins warm-up, stretch.
- 10 x 15 secs flat out, 90 secs slow jog recovery between repetitions.
- Jog/walk 5 mins cool-down and stretching.

- Jog 5mins warm-up, stretch.
- 2-3 x 10mins at threshold pace, 3mins recovery between sets.
- Finish off with 3 x 100m sprints.
- Jog 5 mins cool-down and stretching.
* Threshold pace is a pace that you could maintain for approximately 60 minutes. If you are getting lactic acid in the muscles you are going too fast. If you can talk to your training partners then you're going too slow!

As with all types of training gradual progression is the key. Don't start training like an Olympian if you haven't gradually built up to it or you will undoubtedly get injured and sick. If you are new to exercise you could complete the above sessions but rather than focussing on the speed of your repetitions, it would be best to jog the repetitions and walk the recoveries. 

Beach Ready Abs

A question I hear a lot is "Tim, how did you get such amazing abs? Can I touch them?" Joking! No, what I hear is... "what are the best exercises I can do to get a 6 pack?" My answer, most the time I tell them (in a very careful, friendly manner) that they probably already have amazing abs, they're just covered by a layer of fat (see I have to be careful how I word it, as even lean people may not have a visible 6 pack, and I don't want them in any way to think they're fat). 


In this case you need to decrease your overall body fat percentage and in time you will reveal a beach ready set of abs! Of course it's always a good idea to do ab and core exercises as strength in this area helps perform other training lifts and intervals and also prevents injuries by strengthening all the stabilising muscles for every movement, especially the spine and pelvis.

So, whats the best way to get a Peter Andre 6 pack? Lose overall body fat and strengthen the ab/core muscles.








----------TRAINING----------

To lose the body fat a combination of HIIT (high intensity interval training) plus weight training is your staple workout plan. 4-5 days per week (depending on your experience level) performing an intense session of either aerobic running/cycling/swimming/rowing etc and also weight training sessions comprising of relatively heavy lift will have you burning through your fat stores and boosting your metabolism. This doesn't have to be on the same day, and it's even best if it's not, as long as on 4-5 days per week you are performing a HIIT session.

----------DIET-----------

This must be combined with a clean, healthy diet. Restricting as much as possible refined sugars, unhealthy fats (vegetable oils, fried foods, fast food) and carefully restricting your carbohydrate intake, along with eating plenty of quality protein with each meal, will see you with ample energy throughout the day along with the vital protein needed for recovery and muscle building. Healthy fats found in most nuts, fish and avacados etc are also vital for proper functioning of many of the bodies systems, so don't think all fats are bad... the right fats are essential!

OK we've discussed HIIT and touched on diet (msg me to discuss in more detail) now we can talk about ab exercises so that when you do lose that stubborn layer of fat you will reveal abs you'd only ever dreamed about.

----------AB EXERCISES---------

2-3 times per week include 2-4 ab exercises at the end or in the middle of your other weights sessions. I usually do them at the end or during my recoveries of other upper or lower body exercises. My favorites revolve mostly around medicine ball throws/twists, full sit-ups and plank holds.

Here's a sample of a session I might do:

Full sit-ups with a twist - 2 x 40reps with 1 minute recovery.
Med ball v twists - 2 x 60, 1 min recovery.
Med ball throws to a partner - 2 x 20, 1 min recovery.
Plank hold - 2 x 90 seconds, 3 min recovery.

Image: V-twist with a medicine ball.



Of course feel free to create your own session. This is just one of many that I have done recently. 

Stick with a plan similar to this and in no time you'll be looking like these guys:

Haha, just kidding... you won't need the fence!

Paleo diet 3 month trial

In April 2013 I decided to go Paleo. Eating like a caveman. If it wasn't around 10,000 years ago, then I couldn't eat it!

This meant I could only eat it if it was once running around, swimming, or was plucked from the ground or  plants/trees. No gluten, sugar, processed foods and dairy, basically no processed junk that really isn't food anyway, but is just well marketed science experiments that passes for food. I did this in an attempt to cure myself of my exercise induced asthma,  which can really hinder my athletic performance in races. Its always my wheezing and lack of oxygen to the lungs that limits my performance as opposed to lactic acid in my legs as most people get. From online studies I discovered that dairy, gluten or sugar can cause the undesired inflammatory responses in the body that causes asthma (aswell as a host of other medical conditions that a doctor or nutritionist might not even know is caused by food allergies), which is inflammation and construction of the airways.

So, for 3 months I cut out all gluten (wheat, oats, barley), sugars, refined processed foods and dairy.

The first week I found it tough, I was getting cravings, mostly after dinner as I was always used to having some chocolate or a small treat after dinner, so I struggled to turn that signal off. It's not that I was still hungry, it was eating out of habit and boredom which I needed to stop.

After 2 weeks I wasn't craving sugar but strangely simple things like toast, bread and cheese, oh I did have a craving for cinnamon donuts too.

After about 2 months all cravings were gone and instead I wanted raw vegetables as a snack- carrots, capsicum, celery etc. My asthma when running was noticeably improved too, so it's either triggered by gluten, dairy or processes dairy foods, which I now need to work out. I was able to stay on course by basically engaging in a battle of will power. I figured if I gave in then I was weak (which is also how I push myself in training and brutal physio sessions) so I kept pushing on to test my will and to prove to people who said I wouldn't last 1 week wrong.

When I went back to normal food after 3 months I really didn't enjoy the sugary foods. I never used to eat much junk and most people would say I was very healthy, but just things like nutella on toast and the odd piece of chocolate and nutritionally limited cereals. These things tasted different now. Really not appealing at all, and i felt really unhealthy after eating it. In my first run my wheezing returned suprise surprise! I also felt a lot more bloated and gassy and sometimes dizzy after eating something high in sugar. I'm going straight back to paleo- No bloating, no feeling dizzy, no gas.

Example paleo meals I ate:

Lots of stirfrys with beef or chicken and heaps of vegies (see pic).
Paleo pastas.
Omelettes.
Steak and vegies.
Tuna and salmon salads.
Fruit and vegies as snacks.
Homemade paleo almond flour biscuits (see pic).
Sweet potato chips.
As I'm a distance runner I did allow myself a few typically not strictly paleo carbohydrate foods - brown rice, corn thins.

I really enjoy these foods. Delicious recipes and to me are now much tastier than sugary processed foods.

If you have a medical condition, asthma or get sick or run down a lot, give paleo a shot for at least a month and see how you feel. I bet you'll feel much much better!

All the best with it.

Post-workout nutrition.

When it comes down to what to eat following a training session it really depends on what your fitness aims are. I would class you in 1 of 4 groups:

1. Training for general health and fitness.
2. Training for weight loss and to tone up.
3. Training to gain muscle mass.
4. Training for athletic improvement.

**All groups should be eating loads of vegetables and salad, ideally with every meal, yes even breakfast! Healthy leftovers are the best breakfast. The cereal companies have it drilled into our heads that we need grains to start the day. This is false as they spike insulin and blood sugar levels, leave you hungry after a few hours, and contain little protein, vitamins or minerals.


1. Training for general health and fitness.

A balanced diet is essential for you. A good mix of lean protein, healthy fats and clean carbs is fine for you as your aim isn't to gain muscle or lose weight.

Meal ideas:
- Lean meat with sweet potato and vegetables.
- Whole wheat pasta with vegetable sauce and lean beef mince.
- Chicken stir-fry with egg noodles and vegetables.

2. Training for weight loss.

If you aim is to decrease body fat it is essential to limit fat and carbohydrate intake, this includes after training. A high protein meal straight after training is essential with a small amount of clean carbs and healthy fats. The protein allows your body to rebuild muscle tissue and recover for the next session. The healthy fats are necessary for a number of functions in the body including cell repair and lowering cholesterol. You will receive all the carbs you need from fresh vegetables. Carbs provide energy for the above functions to occur. A protein shake post training with no/low carbs is a great idea to aid recovery and build muscle tissue.

Some meal ideas include:
-Tuna or salmon salad with avacado and almonds.
- Lean chicken breast with vegetables.
- Lean lamb steak with sweet potato and vegetables.

As fruits are high in fructose, sugar, limit your fruit intake as this is just more carbs that your body will use as energy, instead of the fat you are wanting to burn. Fruits do contain essential vitamins and minerals so 1 piece a day is ok along with a multi-vitamin supplement.

3. Training to gain muscle mass.

If this is your aim then eat away, but stay healthy! You need lots of quality protein (minimum 2g of protein per kg of body weight per day) to rebuild muscle and clean carbs to provide energy for recovery and muscle building ASAP after training, within 30 mins if possible is ideal.  You need more carbs than someone wanting to lose weight as you are wanting to gain muscle mass and this wont occur if your heavily restricting carbs. Avoid unhealthy fats and refined sugars but still eat ample good fats, as they are essential for many functions in the body. Have a protein shake before, during and after training, preferably one containing whey protein and branched chain amino acids (bcaa's) to aid and speed up muscle building and recovery.

Meal ideas:
-Lean chicken/port/steak with brown rice and vegetables.
- Lean meat with sweet potato and vegetables.
- Tuna or salmon salad sandwich on wholemeal bread.
- For a quick snack - Protein shake, a banana and a handful of almonds.


4. Training for athletic performance.

You need a similar diet as someone looking to build muscle mass. You need quality protein to recover from training and rebuild muscle tissue and you need clean carbs to restore glycogen stores following training. Also, do not skimp on healthy fats. See above for meal ideas. Athletes involved in heavy endurance training can afford more fats and carbs as their aim is recovery and ample energy to train and compete. Do not cut carbs if you are NOT looking to lose weight! You need energy to train, compete and recover.


ENERGY SOURCES

Protein- Lean meats, fish, nuts, eggs.
Clean carbohydrates- Brown rice, wholemeal breads and pastas, vegetables, potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruit (contains high amounts of sugar).
Healthy fats- Nuts, avacados, seeds, fish.

No matter what your fitness goals are try to eat a meal within 30mins of training to maximise recovery and muscle uptake of protein and glycogen. Also a protein shake is a great way for your body to get fast digesting protein  following a workout.

TNT Personal & Group Fitness

Hi, welcome to my health, fitness and athletic training blog!

My name is Tim Norton and I'm a National level runner and personal fitness trainer from Melbourne, Australia.

On this blog I'll be posting training sessions, nutrition advice, photos, progression of my training squads and much, much more.

If you're interested in training with me or for any advice email me at t_n2018@hotmail.com

I hope you find my blog useful, let me know what you think!