How to Record Exercise Results Objectively

Do you record your exercise results? Although there are a plethora of benefits associated with keeping a training journal, most people don’t bother. Without seeing figures indicating your strength, fitness and body composition, how can you possibly evaluate the results that you are obtaining from your training?

If you cannot accurately assess your training results, it is not possible to confidently determine how effective a training and/or dietary programme is.

Although we could discuss in detail the benefits of maintaining a training journal, this has already been discussed extensively within this blog. This article takes this discussion one step further by discussing the necessary approach to record your results in an objective manner.

Objectivity guarantees a measurable and more accurate method of assessing your progress. Almost any exercise can be measured and your job in recording your exercise results is to find a way to measure your performance.

Having said that, it is never possible to record your results in a completely objective manner. No matter what exercise you are performing, there are many variables that we cannot possibly account for – whether that be exercise technique, different machines, different terrain, temperature, stress, mindset, nutrition etc. Although these factors may affect your performance, it is still worth recording your results to remain goal orientated and to ensure progress toward your goals.

Measuring Weights Objectively

Measuring your weight training is so important to assess muscle, strength and endurance development. The most common form of objective resistance training recording is based on repetitions and weight lifted, for example:

x reps @ y kg

This is the most fundamental and universally accepted manner in which to record your weight lifting results. Of course, comparing results recorded in this manner assumes that the execution, equipment, exercise load and recover times remain fairly constant from week to week.

But what happens when you’re not using an arbitrary weight? If you consider the exercise, there is almost always a way to make it as objective as possible:

Pushups: Count the number of repetitions performed. If you’re unable to perform a full ranged pushup, use an object underneath you during the exercise to assess your distance from the ground. Record this height along with your repetitions.

Theraband standing rows (a Theraband is an elastic band used to for resistance): Measure the distance from the object to your body, along with your reps. The longer the distance, the greater the resistance.

Measuring Cardiovascular Exercise Objectively

If you’re chasing after a fitness goal, or just want to stay motivated with your cardiovascular exercise, recording your cardio results in an objective manner can be highly advantageous.

Your results are most easily recorded by noting down one (or a few) particular variables when using an exercise machine at the gym. For example:

1. If you’re running on the treadmill for 30 minutes, you may record your total distance score.
2. If you’re performing an interval training session on the bike, you may record your total calorie expenditure, or distance score as an indication of progress (assuming the levels remain consistent in between workouts).

This is fairly easy to adapt and can be very motivating when striving to set new personal best’s.

But what happens when you don’t have access to gym equipment?

A common scenario is when you’re going for a run – how do you compare your performance? Again, you need to minimize the number of variables. So, if you are able to maintain the same running track, focus on reducing the time taken to complete that circuit.

It is important not to rely on your heart rate monitor’s calorie expenditure to gauge the effectiveness of a workout. The calorie score provided here is calculated as a result of your heart rate. Because your heart rate can be affected by a number of factors apart from your exercise intensity (stress, sleep, nutrition, time of day etc.), the calorie total will not be an accurate figure to assess performance.

So the key concept is to isolate one variable and use it to measure your measure progress. This can be applied almost universally and will serve you well when evaluating the effectiveness of a training approach.

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The Best Type of Cardio Exercise for Weight Loss

Although weight loss is not exclusively affected by cardio exercise alone (weights, dieting, sleep etc. will also affect weight loss), this form of exercise can have a profound effect on shedding the extra kilo’s.

Cardiovascular exercise has the unique ability to raise the heart rate substantially and increase the energy expenditure of your body for a period of time during your workout. It can also induce additional calorie expenditure after your workout has completed. Furthermore, cardiovascular exercise has the ability to improve your level of fitness, so in subsequent workouts you can expend even more energy within a given period of time.

But when it comes down to the different formats of cardiovascular exercise, what is the best type of cardio for weight loss?

If we were to consider the science exclusively, interval training has been demonstrated to result in significantly more fat oxidation (or fat loss) as compared to steady state cardiovascular exercise (or maintaining the same level of intensity for a prolonged period of time). A classic example of this was in a classic 1994 study lead by Angelo Tremblay, where it was demonstrated that a high intensity interval training cardio workout was far more effective at breaking down fat tissue, relative to an endurance based exercise group. In fact, the interval training group only exercised for a quarter of the time that the endurance group exercised at and managed to lose nine times more fat weight!

We have written a comprehensive article on this topic and if you would like to find out more about this 1994 study, please read “The Fat Burning Zone”.

Science has shown time and time again that interval training is significantly more effective for weight loss as compared to steady state exercise. Does this necessarily mean that interval training is the best cardio for weight loss?

Certainly not!

No, I am not dismissing the very conclusive science that has been conducted in this field. I whole-heartedly agree that interval training is a highly effective approach for fat oxidation. That being said, an even more important consideration is how consistently you undertake the cardiovascular exercise.

Interval training, while extremely rewarding, is physically and mentally demanding. It requires 100% effort and as such can be extremely discouraging to anyone who doesn’t particularly enjoy exercise. Interval training will only be effective if it is completed on a regular basis – as the cumulative effect of multiple cardio workouts is what results in significant amounts of weight loss. If you thrive on a challenge, then this may be for you. If however you cannot sustain a consistent approach with such a full-on exercise format, then it may be far more effective to undertake a lower intensity training regime.

Another major consideration is your fitness. If you are particularly unfit, or have minimal recent exercise experience, it is unwise to initiate training with a high intensity approach. This can place far too much physical strain on your body, resulting in a lowering of the immune system and an excessive amount of fatigue following your training session. Doing “too much” can be quite counterproductive, so it is important how capable your body is of handling the physical workload that you wish to subject it to.

When it comes down to the best cardio for weight loss, you need to be smart and be consistent. Sporadic workouts are not going to yield fantastic results. Doing too much (or too little) is also not going to result in an optimal degree of weight loss.

Begin with a moderate approach if you do have limited exercise experience and then gradually increase the intensity as your fitness improves. A gradual approach is generally more effective in regards to sustainability and thus long-term and significant weight loss.

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AST Sports Science Max-OT Program Review

Many years ago AST Sports Science, a large international supplement company, released an online training programme entitled “Max-OT”. Interestingly, it was Max-OT that initially got me excited about bodybuilding.

During my 2005 BodyBlitz competition, I often trained in a similar manner to the Max-OT program for both cardiovascular and resistance training. Though this was certainly a highly effective approach to training, within this review let’s touch on various key area’s of the programme as to determine the suitability in assisting you toward your bodybuilding goals.

What is the Max-OT Training Program?

In a nutshell, it is a high intensity bodybuilding programme.

The weights programme relies on a low repetition range of 4-6 to failure. It also relies heavily on large compound movements (that utilise multiple joints).

The cardiovascular aspect to the training programme is also high intensity. It is based on interval training and is a gruelling approach to losing fat.

The nutritional recommendations are heavily reliant on AST Sports Science supplements – particularly the world-famous AST VP2 (that we sell in our supplement store).

Does the Max-OT Program Work?

Probably the most common question is whether or not the training programme works. It shies away from the more typical text-book 8-12 reps for hypertrophy and goes right down to some very heavy loads at 4-6 reps. Though fitness text books generally recommend this for strength training as this targets the type IIbx muscle fibres, AST Sports Science argues that the type IIbx muscle fibres have the greatest potential for volume growth.

While individuals may respond differently to varying training programmes, I personally did experience some good hypertrophy results at such a low repetition range. After all, practically all my training prior to and during the BodyBlitz challenge consisted of 4-6 or less reps to failure.

The cardiovascular training is based on interval training. High intensity interval training is an extremely effective format of exercise to maximise oxygen uptake efficiency and fat oxidation following the conclusion of your workout. High intensity interval training can also have various carry-over effects to hypertrophy, many of which were noted in an article that I wrote for Australian Ironman, Cardio & Bodybuilding – Good for Muscle Growth?

Would Max-OT be Suitable for Beginners?

When I first began the training (back in 2003), the website did state that Max-OT was suitable for people of all experience levels. Though from both my personal and professional experience in the industry, I disagree with this completely.

For intermediate to advanced trainers, yes, a 4-6 rep range can be a highly effective form of training as part of a periodised training plan. I do however believe that there is a significant safety issue with beginners who attempt to lift such heavy weights at 4-6 reps to failure. Lifting these loads with underdeveloped proprioception, coordination, balance and stability can easily result in quite serious injury. I personally experienced this on numerous occasions when I was starting out, with (fortunately) minor injuries to my lumbar spine (on multiple occasions), calf and shoulder (on multiple occasions). With poor exercise execution and ineffective control of the weights being lifted, such a high-risk training programme should be avoided.

General Observations about the Max-OT Training Program

The Max-OT program was obviously created as a marketing strategy to promote the AST Sports Science supplementation range – it doesn’t take a marketing guru to figure that one out. Throughout the programme you will read numerous references to the superiority of the AST Sports Science supplement range. Personally I do believe that the AST range is a very high quality brand – but they can tend to overdo the sales pitch on the website every now and then.

The nutritional programme that was developed for Max-OT was in my opinion extremely unhealthy being heavily reliant on AST Sports Science supplements. There were regular servings of supplements throughout the day; of seven meals, only one does not contain any protein based supplements. I believe that the protein intake is excessively high, especially for someone who is new to bodybuilding.

Overall, the programme is quite a good one that I have enjoyed personally. It is a marketing campaign – and an extremely successful one at that. If you are a beginner, I would recommend to stay well away from it until you develop a foundation from which to build upon. Having said that, the AST VP2 is an excellent quality protein powder which can aid you toward your health and fitness goals.

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High Intensity Exercise – Do You Need To Train Hard For Weight Loss?

If you’ve seen The Biggest Loser, you’ll observe overweight individuals slogging it out in order to shed phenomenal amounts of body weight. There is no doubt that they experience weight loss results, often in the order of multiple kilograms per week. Though this approach is generally considered to be an unhealthy and unrealistic approach to weight loss amongst many fitness professionals, such a television show does imply that high intensity exercise is a necessary practice to lose significant amounts of weight. This assumption is simply incorrect.

If you’ve been following our articles over the past few years, you’ll be well aware of our stance on the intensity of your workout. In a general sense, the higher the intensity of your workout, the greater the physical, mental and emotional benefits you will obtain. Pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone will result in greater personal development both on the outside and on in the inside, for it requires great inner strength, determination and focus to consistently undertake high intensity workouts.

However if you fall within the wider general population who do not enjoy testing their physical and mental limits through high intensity exercise, a demanding exercise regime can pose a significant hindrance to obtaining long-term sustainable results. Personally, I have seen this happen a number of times in the past through my professional experience in the industry. A classic example is where a client has been pushed too far outside of their comfort zone resulting in them feeling nauseous or even vomiting. Such an experience puts somewhat of dampener on the whole “exercise experience”. So rather than exercise being associated with the great feelings of endorphin release and self-achievement, it is instead regarded as uncomfortable and nauseating.

Ask any person who has achieved an amazing health/fitness feat what a key ingredient to their success was. One important factor is likely to be consistency – for anything that is worth accomplishing requires a continual and dedicated approach toward the ultimate goal. This would be true for anyone whether they have lost a large amount of weight, competed in a bodybuilding competition, won a transformation competition, competed as an athlete at an elite level and so on. A repeated approach toward a particular goal over the long-term will almost ensure success (with the right approach of course).

Therefore, if you are someone who loathes high intensity exercise, a lower intensity approach may be suitable if this will enhance your likelihood to exercise on an on-going basis. It is far more beneficial for your health to exercise at a low to moderate intensity for a few times a week than to engage in exercise at a high intensity sporadically. Though the results may be greater from a high intensity session relative to a low intensity session, the long-term results will only be greater if you are consistent in adhering to an appropriate routine.

To lose weight, you require an energy deficit by consuming less calories than what is expended. While this can be accomplished through diet alone, it is of much greater benefit to incorporate an exercise routine to accompany an appropriate approach to nutrition. This will aid in boosting your immune system, avoiding muscle atrophy (or breakdown), improving self-confidence and self-esteem, enhancing your cardiovascular fitness, improving brain function and so on. Of course, since energy is expended during exercise, undertaking a workout will also facilitate weight loss by encouraging an energy deficit.

The take home point – no, high intensity exercise is not a requirement for weight loss. So if you do not particularly enjoy working out, try something that you feel more comfortable with in order to develop a routine. Some movement is better than none at all and this will form a foundational routine from which you can build upon in the future.

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Ramsgate Gym – Innovative Fitness Review

Finding a good quality gym can be a tough task. Large companies and franchises are taking over the gym industry leaving many of the smaller gyms to become less prevalent within this industry.

If you’re not one to sign up to a large gym brand and desire a higher level of service and community, then Innovative Fitness (a Ramsgate gym) may be right up your alley. Ramsgate is located not far from Rockdale and Hurstville in Southern Sydney.

Ramsgate Gym Overview

Innovative Fitness has been around for twenty years and in November last year, new management took over the gym in Ramsgate. It located on Rocky Point Road with ample parking behind the gymnasium, with a car-park and on-street residential parking.

The gym itself is a large open plan layout with plenty of space and equipment available. It is a senior friendly gym, providing a generous seniors discount too. One of the key attributes of this gym is that it is relatively quiet in the mornings and throughout the day, unlike many other larger gyms in Sydney that can become quite crowded. Prior to 5pm, it is not uncommon for there to be less than 5 other people in the entire gym. After 5pm on weeknights, the gym does become busier as with your typical Sydney gym (though still less crowded than with some larger chains).

The gym has both female and male bathrooms and showers with a seating area at reception.

Exercise Equipment Available at the Gym

This gym is fully equipped with an array of equipment. The new management has recently began to purchase new machines to replace older equipment. I have been advised that more new equipment is on the way.

Weights equipment that is currently available includes:

• Power Cage
• 2x Smith Machines
• 2x Bench Press
• Incline Bench Press
• Decline Bench Press
• Incline Leg Press
• Flat Leg Press
• Standing Calf Raise
• Seated Calf Raise
• Hack Squat
• Leg Extension
• Seated Leg Curl
• Lying Leg Curl
• Seated Chest Press
• Seated Shoulder Press
• Lat Pulldown
• Seated Row
• Machine Row
• Assisted Pullup/Dips Machine
• Dips Bars
• Cable Crossover
• Pec Deck
• Standing Row Machine
• Roman Chair Apparatus
• Platforms/steps
• Dumbbells ranging from 1kg to 64kg
• Multiple Olympic barbells
• Multiple pre-loaded barbells
• Multiple flat and incline benches
• Standing hamstring curl
• Various other cable machines

Cardio equipment includes:

• Treadmills
• Crosstrainers
• Step Machine
• Magnetic Bikes
• Spin Bikes
• Recumbent Bike
• Rower

The gym also has an impressive range of boxing equipment, including multiple boxing bags and speed bags. Further, they have gloves, focus pads and skipping ropes available for use.

Below are some photo’s of the gym:

Service at this Ramsgate Gym

Service in gyms varies widely and this is often a function of the size of the gym; typically the larger the gym, the lower the level of service. One key advantage about this Ramsgate gym is that the staff are very friendly and knowledgeable and will not hesitate to assist you when required. This is especially good for seniors who do require some assistance on the gym floor.

Innovative Fitness Opening Hours

The opening hours for this Ramsgate gym are excellent compared to other gyms in the area. They are as follows:

Mon-Fri 6am-9.30pm

Saturday 8am-1pm 4pm-8pm

Sunday 9am-1pm

Ramsgate Gym Pricing

For a Sydney based gym, the pricing is extremely competitive. Their rates begin from $4.95 for a casual session, which is less than 20% of the casual rate of some larger chains. They also have membership rates which work out extremely cost effective for unlimited visits.

Contact Details

Innovative Fitness is located at 322 Rocky Point Road Ramsgate 2217. They can be contacted on (02) 9529 5300.

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Should You Lift Weights to Lose Weight?

It’s widely accepted that reducing the amount of calories that you consume will help you to lose weight. Further, performing aerobic exercise is also well known to help with weight loss.

Yet what about weight lifting? Resistance training is commonly associated with gaining weight or building muscle. It is assumed that the bodybuilder will spend time in the weights area of the gym, while all people seeking to lose weight will stick to the cardio machines.

So is this assumption true? Definitely not.

Weight lifting can have some profound benefits for weight loss in a number of manners. Although lifting weights is necessary to develop significant amounts of muscle, this is only possible when your lifestyle and diet are aligned with weight gain. If you live in a manner that encourages weight loss, lifting weights will further encourage progress in this regard.

The reason for this comes down to an energy balance. This is the basic and widely accepted equilibrium of calories on versus calories out. Under normal circumstances, if you consume more calories than you expend, you will gain weight. Conversely if you consume less calories than you expend, you will lose weight. Whether or not you weight train does not change the “rules” of this law by any means.

How does weight lifting help you to lose weight?

Weight lifting can assist weight loss in a multi-faceted manner:

1. Weight lifting expends calories during the workout

Any form of movement requires energy. Lifting weights will expend energy (measured in calories, or kilojoules). The more intense your weight lifting workout, the more energy that will be expended.

When we consider the calories in versus calories out equation, it makes sense to increase your calorie expenditure to encourage an overall energy deficit. Both weight training and cardiovascular training are effective ways to do this.

2. Weight lifting induces a state of recovery, requiring additional calorie expenditure after exercise

When you lift weights, you place stress on the muscles being worked. In effect, you are damaging those muscle fibres (which is why you may be quite sore a day or two after weight lifting). It is your body’s job to repair that damaged tissue. This process of repairing your muscle requires significantly more energy than would otherwise be utilised if no exercise were performed. Thus, this time of recovery will require a significantly heightened degree of calorie expenditure.

Recovery can take up to 10 days following a weights workout. Not a bad investment for less than an hour of your time!

3. An increased amount of muscle increases calorie expenditure

Muscle burns far more calories than the equivalent amount of fat tissue. Thus, muscle is termed as “metabolically active”, meaning that it has a significant influence on your metabolic rate. An increased amount of muscle mass means that you will be burning additional calories each day.

1kg of muscle mass will burn somewhere within the vicinity of between 50-200 calories per day. The precise amount is not known, as many studies will quote different figures based on their findings. However if you are carrying additional muscle mass, you will be burning more calories if you were to sleep all day long. Your body needs to burn this energy just to maintain this muscle. Resistance training can assist in some muscle development to help with weight loss.

4. Being stronger means you are likely to expend more energy through physical activity

Lifting weights can aid your strength. If you are stronger, you will have the ability to lift heavier weight. This means that you will be expending more energy lifting this heavier weight, thus further aiding with your weight loss endeavours.

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Finding Alternative Weight Exercises in a Busy Gym

If you’ve been into a commercial gym during peak time, you’ll be well aware of the crowds in the weights room. Even during off-peak times, you can be waiting quite a while for a particular piece of equipment. I personally remember waiting up to half an hour for the squat rack because I really wanted to perform some sets of squats!

Apart from being frustrating having to wait for a piece of exercise equipment for an extensive period of time, it can also impede your workout effectiveness by lowering your heart rate and extending your workout time.

So when you have a training programme to follow (professionally written or otherwise), yet are stuck in a situation where you cannot complete the exercises – what do you do? In most situations, it’s usually best to substitute the exercise for a similar motion.

By performing a similar exercise to the one that has been prescribed in your training programme, you will be working similar muscle groups. Of course, there may be subtle differences between the movements, however you are still going to obtain a similar benefit from the resistance training programme.

Let’s run through some examples. Barbell squats are on the training programme yet there is a queue for this apparatus and you do not wish to wait. My first port of call would be smith squats. It is a very similar motion and will thus recruit similar muscle groups (primarily overloading the quadriceps and gluteals). The drawback of the smith machine means that less core control and balance is required (as the machine assists with this). So if your a primary target of your training is to work on your core control, you may wish to opt for another leg alternative such as dumbbell squats or lunges.

Another popular example could be the bench press. This is a very popular weights exercise which is commonly in use during peak times. It is not safe to be lifting very heavy weights without a bench press rack available, so using a barbell on a flat bench is out of the question in this situation. Unless you have available a squat rack that can be utilised as a bench press rack by setting it up with a flat bench, you’re probably best to go with a smith machine or a flat dumbbell chest press. The smith again requires less stability, while the dumbbells will require more stability and provide a slightly different motion to the standard barbell chest press.

Now for a back example – the common lat pulldown. If you are not lifting particularly heavy weights, you may be able to substitute this for a standing cable lat pulldown, using the cable crossover machine. However this would obviously not be viable with heavier weights, as you need to keep your body grounded. An alternative could be a wide grip pullup, which does follow a similar motion to the lat pulldown.

Ultimately, if you’re a patient person, or just enjoy the ambiance of a gym, then by all means wait for a machine. However be aware that an extended exercise training session’s duration will detract from the level of intensity, which will thereby detract from your results. Being flexible with your training when necessary is a great asset, which will not only enhance your results, but also keep your training interesting!

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Is Boxing a Good Cardio Workout for Weight Loss?

If you’ve ever seen someone do boxing for exercise, it may have crossed your mind that it would not be nearly as effective as a leg based cardiovascular workout. After all, you’re not carrying your body weight  around – you’re just moving your arms! Don’t be fooled – boxing can be very demanding!

As a personal trainer, I regularly undertake boxing sessions with clients. A common question I receive from clients is whether or not boxing is a good workout for weight loss. Well, that’s before I put them through a session!

Boxing is a highly effective cardiovascular workout. Although you’re not moving your legs, you are moving your arms through complex compound movements repeatedly. This elevates the heart rate significantly and will put you out of breath very quickly. The increase in heart rate means that your body is suffering from an oxygen deficit – the goal of a cardiovascular based workout. This means that lots of calories are being expended. Considering that a calorie deficit is a prerequisite to weight loss, boxing is going to be a highly effective workout in this regard.

When seeking to lose weight, keep in mind that intensity is going to be directly proportional to weight loss. The higher your intensity, the more energy that is expended and hence the greater the energy deficit created. The added benefit of a high intensity workout is that it has the ability to stimulate a significant amount of fat breakdown after your workout has concluded. The reason why you are feeling so exhausted is because your body is readily sourcing nutrients to repair itself from the highly demanding workout – often much of this energy is sourced from body fat.

To make your boxing session intense, switch the drills up. You can try:

• Different styles of punches (eg. jabs, crosses, hooks, uppercuts, high punches, low punches etc.)
• Intervals
• Incorporating other cardio work
• Switching between punching and strength-based exercises
• Varying between a punching bag and focus pads

Variety encourages intensity – so mix it up!

Also, boxing is a highly effective workout if you do injure yourself and are unable to use your lower body. This form of cardiovascular exercise is a very useful tool with knee injuries (a very common injury).

Be sure to give it a go – boxing is a lot of fun as well as a highly effective cardio workout for weight loss.

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How to Improve your Strength and Power

On January 7th, I wrote an article that discussed training for a specific event. This article is a follow-up to the sledge hammer experiment I undertook from the date of writing that article.

The Rationale Behind Improving Your Strength

Let’s recap what we discussed in the event training article. Strength is not a function of muscle size. Your strength on one particular exercise also does not indicate how strong you are in another, completely foreign movement. There are a number of reasons for this, including:

1. Exercise technique; as the way in which you execute the movement indicates how efficiently force is generated, or your strength
2. Muscle conditioning; if your muscles have been trained specifically for strength and power, they will be able to produce a greater amount of force in a shorter period of time
3. Brain conditioning; your brain determines what muscles are recruited, how/when they are stimulated and in what proportions. Effective power generation is therefore a result of finding the optimal balance of muscle groups being recruited.

The combination of these three factors will aid greatly in strength and power generation. Here are some other important factors that will play an important role include:

1. Mindset; your mood, confidence and general mental state will affect your performance.
2. Hormonal levels; an imbalance in hormonal levels may affect power output.
3. Nutrition; good nutrition will ensure that muscles are well recovered and have readily available nutrients for optimal results. Nutritional supplements can also aid in performance.
4. Flexibility; being extremely inflexible may inhibit good technique, whereas being too flexible could encourage energy loss throughout the motion.
5. Sleep; being well rested will aid in force potential.
6. Health; your general health will impact the amount of force you can produce.
7. Recovery; if you are well recovered, your muscles will be able to generate force effectively.
8. Temperature; an excessively hot or cold day will hinder performance.
9. Hydration; being poorly hydrated will inhibit strength and power output

So to obtain an optimal power and strength output, all of the above factors must be taken into consideration.

The Test-of-Strength Experiment Results

On January 7th, I declared myself a guinea pig as I set out to improve a previously dismal score on the “Test-of-Strength” amusement park game. This is the machine that you have to hit with a sledge hammer. As you may recall from the training for a specific event article, my previous best score was 83 (out of a possible 150). This score was not high enough to warrant even the smallest prize (a slinky).

Although I initially set out to train for only a few weeks, there were a few obstacles in the way (rain causing the game to be closed and a weekend trip away). So my training period was extended to be seven weeks. During this seven week period, I implemented various strategies including:

1. Practising hitting technique/aim by using a sledge hammer and a boxing bag (laying down). The sledge hammer was wrapped in towels as to not pierce the boxing bag surface.
2. Training specifically for strength with my resistance training programme.
3. Implementing specific exercises into my weights programme that mimicked various aspects to the sledge hammer movement.
4. Supplementing with creatine.
5. Implementing various recovery techniques (nutritionally and physically) prior to the second attempt.

The cumulative effect of all my training resulted in a final score of 131. This was an improvement of 48 points, or a 58% strength increase in just 7 weeks of training. I was quite happy to have won the second biggest prize (a stuffed toy!). Actually, let me rephrase that; my girlfriend was very happy to have won a blue pony!

This is a very dramatic improvement in a short period of time, especially considering my training history. Untrained persons can expect far more profound strength improvements because their muscles have not been conditioned for strength/power output previously.

I can say with certainty that this score of 131 was not the highest possible score that I could have accomplished on this day. The reason is because I had been practising with a boxing bag on the ground, so I had trained myself to hit a target at approximately half the height of the target at this amusement park game. Further, the sledge hammer was substantially lighter and shorter than what I had been practising with. These factors alone meant that my training wasn’t as specific as what it could have been. Force output could have been enhanced had I considered these factors, or had multiple practice shots to “re-calibrate” my brain for the adjusted conditions.

Having said that, I am very pleased with the results that I obtained and would rate this experiment as a complete success. I will now have no hesitation in attempting this test-of-strength game next time I visit Luna Park (but just for fun next time!).

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Why Don’t People Put Their Weights Back in the Gym?

And now for the beef of the week! It’s not often I blog with a beef, but I feel that this is a very important topic for discussion from both a safety and a general consideration point.

Why don’t people put their weights back in the gym?

Today I was training in my usual gym, performing a weights session. I walked into the weights area and there were dumbbells spread all over the ground. The EZ bar had been left unattended on the ground with 20 kg on it. The squat bar was left with 80kg on it. The smith machine had 60kg left on it. The 25kg dumbbells were in the 17.5kg dumbbell position, the 35kg dumbbells were in the 20kg dumbbell position and the 7.5kg dumbbells were no where to be found (all four of them). And this isn’t even a big gym!

For years I have pondered upon the ultimate question, why people do not put their weights back in their correct position in the gym. Wouldn’t our weight lifting sessions be a blessing if we didn’t have to dodge obstacles, send out search parties for missing equipment and perform inter-set sets when unloading someone else’s weights?

From a safety point of view, it is critical. All it takes is for one person to trip over a dumbbell to hurt themselves. Further, they could trip over something and fall into someone performing an exercise, causing a severe injury. Further, it is very dangerous leaving very heavy weights around for someone else to put away. It’s not uncommon to see someone leave hundreds of kilograms on a piece of equipment for the next person to unload. This is a major safety issue when the next person is quite weak and cannot handle a 20kg plate in a safe manner.

It also should come as common sense that this is common courtesy for fellow gym patrons. Be bothered to put the weights back in their correct place, it really isn’t that hard.

Ultimately it is the gym’s responsibility to ensure that the weights are in their correct place for OH&S. Some gyms are better than others (my regular gym isn’t all that great, yet the gym where we train clients is excellent). I really think that whilst we should be diligent in returning our weights to their correct places, so too should the gyms that we train at.

If you have any thoughts on this matter, please post it up in the comments section below!

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