fitnessat40plus

A great week

philcamuk — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:55:03 +0000

Had a brilliant first week at fitness4less in Chesham. a great bunch of people there.
Spin classes went really well – the members seem to like my style of teaching which is good.
Just a shame I had to cancel today’s class as I can’t get in due to snow. There’s always next week though – on my birthday!

A base at last

philcamuk — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:24:48 +0000

After a number of knockbacks, I’ve finally found a base to start helping other people get fitter, lose weight and live a more fulfilling life.

I am now based at fitness4less (f4l) in Chesham.

Come February, I’ll be teaching studio cycling and circuits, all being well.

If you’re in the area, come down and let me show you the ropes (and barbells, dumbbells, dip machine, ViPR… )

Project Miami Beach has begun

philcamuk — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:10:10 +0000

All through my course, it was the running joke that my ultimate fitness ambition was pure vanity, and that I wanted to be able to walk along Miami Beach with a 6-pack and tons of pride.

Well, there is now a timescale. 11 months until we “probably” go to Miami.

11 months for a 6-pack.

Now That’s a goal!

Success – part 1

philcamuk — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 10:27:01 +0000

So, I’m now a qualified Gym Instructor. Yes, I passed. My theory exams went really well (even getting 100% in one of them) and I passed my practical. Slightly disappointed with my practical, but got some good feedback from the tutor on the day, and won’t make those mistakes again!

So the plan for the future continues apace. I quit my day job this week, and have only one more day to do on Tuesday and I’m free – free to concentrate on getting ready for when I’m qualified as a PT in December. I’m not going to mess this up!

As for my elbows – I saw a sports physio, who said it wasn’t nerves but tendons, and I mustn’t do any arm exercise that involves biceps for about a month or so. VERY frustrating!

In the meantime, I’m meant to be running a half marathon on Sunday at Blenheim Palace. Don’t get me wrong – I’m loving this heatwave, but can it take a break from 10 – 12:30 on Sunday when I’m running please? Pretty please? training got very confused, so I’m just hoping to finish. I know I can do it, just hoping the heat isn’t too much.

I’ll let you know on Monday!

The agony and the ecstasy.

philcamuk — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 11:41:52 +0000

Let’s start with the ecstasy.

Training is going really well and I’m seeing some real strength gains. Now just to see it physically, as I’m only doing this for vanity!

Also my course was really good last week. It was a different tutor, and not sure if that was the reason or not, but it all started to make sense. I DO know my horizontal flexion from my seduction after all!

I am slightly concerned about my exam next Sunday. Feeling as though we haven’t been taught what we need for half of it.

But the agony is my unhappy nerves! Because I’ve been training hard for over a year now, the nerves running down my arms are under stress. They take longer to adapt than muscles. I’m in complete agony right in the crook of my elbows, and not in a good pain way. It hurts to move my arms in almost any direction. Not good. Should I continue with Strength? I really want to as I’m enjoying the programme, and I’m getting stronger, but at what cost …

The Game Of Ones

philcamuk — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:52:14 +0000

I love and hate Strength training in equal measure.

I love it because I know it is going to make me bigger, but I loathe it because you can’t really tell how you are progressing week on week. Let me explain.

If you are running, you may be able to jog for 10 minutes, three times a week. The second week, you’ll be able to jog for 15 minutes, three times a week. The third week, it will be 20 minutes, and a little faster. Real, visible progress week on week.

With Strength training, you can only really tell at the end of the programme – 6 or 8 weeks on.
Take today:
Deadlifts – 4 sets of 6 reps on an olympic bar with 80kg – same as last week.
Chest Press – 4 sets of 6 reps with an olympic bar – 3 sets were 17.5kg each side, and one set was 18.75kg each side. Last week all 4 sets were 17.5kg, so a slight increase.
Leg press – changed machine so no comparison.
Shoulder press – changed machine so no comparison.

So in a week, all I have increased is a measly 1.25kg weight on 1 set. But I know that’s real progress, and will translate into some big improvements in 6 weeks time (providing I eat right as well – eating an apple as I type ).

As Chris says – it’s a game of ones – you’re looking for an increase in reps or weight of “1″ each week, not 50% as in the running example.
It’s just hard in week 2 to see the end.

Celebrations and Muscle Fatigue

philcamuk — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:52:06 +0000

Last night was the celebrations following the successful completion of the “cutting plan”. Chris’ Coven all went out for a fantastic night of sushi (and tofu). It was a great way to catch up and compare our experiences, as well as share which direction we are all going in now.

We hadn’t planned all to so the cutting plan together, but it just worked out that way. Now we’re going our separate ways training wise, but I think the bond will stay. I know I’m going to need the same support I got from them now as I train for Strength, as well as study for my PT qualification. Hopefully I’ll be there for them as well when they need support.

Thanks Chris for a fantastic night and great team building!

In terms of what we were celebrating – a few personal pics for vanity’s sake – Go on, indulge me!

It may not look like much, but to me it is a huge achievement and a long way from ‘chubby boy with skinny arms’.

Muscle Fatigue at the moment is not the onset of DOMS but the onset of having to know my hip flexor from my iliopsoas ( ), and all other muscles ready for a mock test next weekend, I think. And thus begins my course. A first weekend of heavy theory, but it has to start that way I guess. We did do some practical on the Sunday, but it was mainly being shown how to use machines. Again, it has to be learned before we can teach others.

The good news is we get free use of the gym and sauna/ steam room!

A New Beginning

philcamuk — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:23:45 +0000

They say life begins at 40. Well it’s sort of true for me. 40 was the year I started to get serious about my fitness, and strength. I ran the London marathon in April 2009, a couple of months after I turned 40. This was a huge achievement in itself. But particularly for the kid who was always picked last at school for games, with chunky legs and skinny upper body.

I’ve had an on and off weight problem ever since school really. Doughnuts had been my downfall. Doughnuts and mars bars. I used to smoke and eat a mars bar at the same time (to drown out the taste of the cigarette), but didn’t give up the mars bars when I gave up smoking… This came to a head in 2007 when I was the largest I’d ever been, both in weight and in waist size – the only measure I now take seriously.

I decided to do something about it and joined my local Weight Watchers group. In six months I’d lost 2 and a half stone and reached my goal weight. Brilliant! Or was it…

At the same time, I’d joined my local gym, and decided to treat myself sessions with a personal trainer. My goodness, they make you work hard! I was working out the hardest I’d ever done, but was not changing either my weight or my body. What was going wrong? Bizarrely, it was all my nutrition and my motivation. Strange to think that someone who knows all about general weight loss was getting it so wrong. And I was paying all this money, but not doing much else in terms of exercise between sessions.

I changed trainers when my first left the gym, and carried on with my same approach to exercise, albeit different exercises. Found a love for spinning and unheard of rock music (to me at least) thanks to my trainer’s eclectic taste in spinning music.

My trainer, Chris, really took time to get to know me and what I wanted to achieve, and structured a long-term programme for me to get there. I wanted to get some muscle definition – something I’d never had before. So, almost 2 years later, I’ve done 2 sets of hypertrophy, 2 sets of strength training and one serious cutting plan, with a few breaks along the way, and I’m finally getting there. I would never have got this far if it hadn’t been for the support of my partner, and of Chris. His ability to motivate and push me is second to none. He knows what buttons to press to make you try just that little bit harder. It may hurt at the time, but it’s well worth it.

Hopefully there is some difference, and I’m not just deluding myself!

I’ve still got a long way to go, and it’s back onto a strength training plan this week, so heavy weights and pasta here we come!

Along the way, I’ve become fascinated by how the body works and what you need to do and eat for proper fitness. Don’t get me wrong, Weight Watchers is great for general weight loss, and is the best weight loss programme out there, in my opinion. I feel that I need to know more.

So I’ve taken the plunge and enrolled on a course to become a qualified personal trainer myself! It all starts this weekend, and as part of my discipline in study, I WILL be updating this blog regularly.

That’s it – the new beginning begins…

My achievements in 2010 – just for the record

philcamuk — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 11:22:11 +0000

Hypertrophy	4 Feb 2010	15 Apr 2010
Squats	30kg – 4 x 12 reps	20kg x 1; 37.5 x 4
Deadlifts	15kg – 4 x 12 reps	22.5 x 4
Leg Press	75kg – 3 x 10-12 reps	190 x 4
Lat Pull	80kg – 3 x 10-12 reps	115 x 2; 125 x 1
DB Chest Press	17.5kg – 3 x 10-12 reps	22.5 x 2; 25 x 1
Shoulder Press	20kg – 3 x 10-12 reps	30kg x 4
Tricep Pushdown	45kg – 3 x 10-12 reps	60 x 3
DB Curls	10kg – 3 x 10-12 reps	12.5 x 3
Deadbug	3 x 20	1 x 2kg; 1 x 3kg; 1 x 4 kg

Strength	8 Oct 2010	3 Dec 2010
Back – Deadlifts	30kg – 2 x 6 reps; 35kg – 2 x 6 reps	45kg – 2 x 6; 50kg – 2 x 5
Chest – Bench Press	15kg – 1 x 6; 17.5kg – 1 x 6; 20kg – 2 x 6	20kg – 5; 4; 3.5; 3
Legs – Leg Press	75 – 1 x 6; 85 – 1 x 6; 100 – 2 x 6	140 – 4 x 6
Shoulder – Shoulder Press	40 – 2 x 6; 50 – 2 x 6	13.5 – 2 x 6; 16 – 2 x 6

Legs – Squats	25kg – 2 x 6; 30kg – 1 x 6; 35 – 1 x 6	35kg – 1 x 6; 40 x 1; 45 x 1; 47.5 x 1
Back – Chin ups	4 x 6	4 x 8
Legs – Lunges	17.5 – 1 x 6; 20 – 1 x 6; 24 – 1 x 6; 26 – 1 x 6	26 – 1 x 6; 28 – 1 x 6; 30 – 2 x 6
Triceps – Dips	4 x 6	4 x 8

2 week update

philcamuk — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:37:18 +0000

I’m now a quarter of the way through Insanity, and time to re-do the Fit Test. For the test, you have to do 8 exercises as many times as possible within a minute each, followed by a 30 second rest. Have I improved? Well…

Switch kicks – then 53 – now 102
Power jacks – then 44 – now 49
Power knees – then 47 – now 85
Power jumps – then 36 – now 33 (!)
Globe jumps – then 10 – now – 10
Suicide jumps – then 12 – now – 15
Push up jacks – then 27 – now 30
Low plank oblique – then 39 – now 48

So overall, a marked improvement, but must try harder with the power jumps (in my defence, I was worried about my ear problem…).

All this in just 2 weeks!