Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Want more energy at AND after work? Exercise at the office!

As a trainer, I have the luxury of being in a fitness faclilty at least twice a day. It is never a hassle for me to go to the gym as I am already there. To tell the truth, I only work out in a gym two times a week. All the rest of my workouts are done at home with bodyweight and kettlebells. My typical day starts at 6 or 7am and ends between 7 and 10pm. The best way I have found to keep my energy up from morning to evening is by utilizing a number of mini-workouts throughout the day. This concept is easy to apply at the office as well!

The fact is, human beings were not meant to sit for most of the day. Our bodies and minds do not react well to long periods of inaction. Remember, it was not that long ago we were hunting for our food and living exclusively off the land. The modern computer workstation is a very new development in the long history of the human race. Our old lifestyles included daily use of our bodies, performing tasks we now no longer have to. We have "evolved" into a more intelligent and technically savvy race but have not kept appropriate pace with our body's need for movement and change. Just as we learned new work habits by accepting computers into the workplace, we must also learn new health habits by finding ways to incorporate exercise into an increasingly busy day.

Starting with my favourite example, modern exercise science has proven our hearts essentially cannot tell the difference between 30 minutes of steady exercise or 10 minutes done at three different times daily. Exercise science has also proven we get stronger by doing more lifting more often and with long breaks in between sets. Additionally, we DO NOT have to exercise to total failure to get results. In fact, minimizing and managing fatigue provides greater strength gains, less injuries and a much higher level of skill. A great thing has happened here! By chance of evolution, our bodies are able to maintain a high level of fitness using less exercise time than we ever thought possible. Now, please tell me you can't find the time...

Now that we know what we know... Lets get into how to use it.

I propose you think of your exercise in two phases: Strength and Conditioning. Since Strength must be practised as a skill, we can do much of the necessary maintenance during the day while at work. Tough upper-body exercises like one-arm pushups and single-leg squats are ideal but anyone can begin at the least with pushups off the wall and simple bodyweight lunges and squats. Low numbers of repetitions are done multiple times per day to ensure maximum volume with minimal fatigue. The great part is, the low reps will not make you work up a huge sweat and risk offending anyone in the office : )

The major benefits to your day have yet to be discussed. Since the three previously mentioned exercises require all major muscle groups to work in a dynamic or supporting role, our proper postural habits are revisited many times per day. Let's also not forget that these movements get us up and out of our unhealthy seated position. Blood washes through the affected areas and the warmth of working muscles gives our bodies and minds a fresh burst of energy. Your body never has the time to feel lazy as you keep waking it up! At the end of your day, you leave the office feeling at one with your body and ready to enjoy your evening. After all, you deseve it.

Feeling strong after work, you now need to look after your heart. Since interval training has been proven to be just as beneficial to the heart as long medium paced exercise, we can get our Conditioning in 20 minutes or less. One way to do this is hill running. Start walking up a moderately steep hill to begin with and as your conditioning improves go to a jog, run and finally sprint. Walk back down and do as many as feel comfortable in 15-20 minutes. The distance up the hill should be about one city block. Intervals really make you sweat so you will see why I recommend strength training for the office. To start, do your interval training 3 times per week.
As you can see here, you only have to dedicate 60 minutes per week outside of work to get all the conditioning you need. Add a bike ride, squash game, walk, hike, jog, ultimate game, fitness class or anything else you enjoy a couple times per week and you are all set!

Phew! What was meant to be a short post sure became a rather long one...

Every now and again I feel I have to point out just how easy it is to be stronger, healthier and happier.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Wing Tsun Vancouver February Seminar - Day 2

The main event of Wing Tsun Vancouver's first 2008 seminar!

Last night, we began again with a section from the Chum Kiu (Second Form). This time it was section 5, including the WT sidekick! As on Monday, we continued the forms training pretty much non-stop for the better part of two hours. Again, the intense focus on a few key movements meant we were able to really get into the precision performance of each part. The more tired you became, the more powerful was your performance. Sounds like the opposite should be true, I know... : )

After a short water (and smoothie) break we were treated to a performance of the Siu Nim Tau (First Form) and the Chum Kiu by four of my younger kung fu brothers. Watching Edmond's whip-like arm movements reminded me of why I named him "Wooden Arms " Chow... ouch!

Then for me and the other 1TG testing Trainer Team members it was time to finish the last 45 minutes with some blindfolded Chi-Sau (sticky arms training). It is amazing how your technique can go South once you are unable to see! Old habits come out again and it can feel like you have jumped back a few years in your training. Once I got a bit more used to it, I was better able to feel where my body was in space and thus increase the rate of self-correction. There is definitely more blindfolded WT training in my future. In fact, I plan to add this method to my weight training as well. Thanks to Brian (2TG) for being my Chi-Sau partner! You can check out his Wing Tsun blog HERE.

Check out some photos from last night, including Nilo's trademarked Leung Ting face. The picture is a bit blurred from the intensity of his death-stare...













Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Wing Tsun Vancouver Seminar - Day 1

Last night, Sifu Ralph at Wing Tsun Vancouver treated us to three hours of hard work as a "warm up" to Wednesday nights main event. We started with almost two full hours of section 3 and 4 of the Chum Kiu. Apart from a few minutes of instruction, we were performing the sections basically non-stop. It was quite amazing to spend such a long time on just a couple sections. Such intensive and focused practise of just a few movements reminded me of the Siu Nim Tau (first form) Chi Kung (energy work) and in fact seemed to provide similar results. The main difference being the speed in which we performed the movements. The more tired you get, the more able you are to relax and truly get into the loose and whip-like Fak-Saus, heavy Fook-Saus and anchored footwork!

After we finished the form work, it was on to applying what we had just learned. Being so in tune with your body after such a forms warm up, the WT applications were able to be performed at a much higher level. Since real "performance" is the name of the game, this method of training is, in my opinion, a must! In fact, I just got up and ran through the whole Chum Kiu and it felt very different today... : )

Sifu had us spend the last 15 minutes kicking and punching just to make sure we were all soaked with sweat again in case it had dried off from the forms warm up...

I noticed a definite change in my conditioning and did not get as tired as I thought I would. Attributed this to the kettlebells! Is there nothing they cannot do? In fact, I am considering writing my 1TG theory paper on kettlebell training for Wing Tsun since this is only one of many KB training benefits for WT.

Looking forward to Wednesday night! Will post some pictures on Thursday.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

To rest or not to rest: that is the question.

As a trainer, I often talk to people about the importance of consistency in their workouts. Little progress can be made if workouts are few and far between as the body has to get used to exercise all over again. Gains made are lost, and it can be quite discouraging to constantly feel as if you are starting again from square one. In order to stay motivated, it is important to feel as if progress is being made.

On the other side of the coin, equal importance must be placed on avoiding overtraining and the unavoidable occurrence of plateaus. Overtraining leads to the same kind of soreness, chance of injury and loss of motivation you get from lack of consistency. The old adage "no pain, no gain" should be relegated to the back of your storage locker along with those neon tops you wore in the 80's! In order to stay consistent and continue to improve, it is crucial to listen to your body and give it a break when it asks for one.

In fact, it has been proven that backing off from your normal training routine every 4 to 6 weeks translates to bigger gains and is a surefire way to bust through plateaus. Have you ever wondered why some people reach a certain personal best and then never move on? The answer is more than likely that they do not give their muscles and central nervous system the rest it needs to regenerate and then form new and improved patterns. Olympic and Powerlifters often employ a training style known as cycling, where they work up to a personal best then drop down to just above where they started and again work up to a new PB. The lowering of intensity lets them again concentrate on proper form and technique and thus form new and improved CNS patterns, allowing them to avoid plateaus, overtraining and the resultant loss of training time. As regular exercisers, we should take a page from their book and do the same. As you can see from the above example, backing off does not mean doing nothing. It means lowering the intensity for a week or two and then working up to a new level of strength and health!

Try it. It has worked for me every time!





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