A Day training in the life of a PT

So today I have a few bits and pieces going on.
Had a great seaside based boot camp this morning, another client at 12 then a further 2 later on finishing with another boot camp.....all great stuff and fantastic to be helping people reach their goals.

In terms of my own goals, well, I have taken the decision not to run the Seaford half marathon this coming Sunday. I have not taken this lightly but with my cold still lingering and a sub par performance last weekend it would be foolish to push the limits when not fully over it. In addition the course is a hilly off road circuit so the chances of a PB are minimal...........I have bigger fish to fry, another 10k on 17th June and that will be my next goal........to improve on 43 min 15.

Training wise well, its a low intensity high mileage week for me.

Yesterday was my longest run to date, 18.5 miles off road over 3 hours. Easy pace, tired legs at the end.

Today's Training:-
6 Mile off road easy run, heart rate 120 - 130BPM working on flowing freely, running softly and getting some o2 into the legs.

4 hours later and a spot of resistance work as follows:-

Super Set 1
Barbell Front Squat 40 - 50kg for 5 sets of 10 reps
Bulgarian Bag Spins 17 - 20kg for 5 sets of 10 reps each way.
Rest 60 seconds between pairings

Super Set 2
Gymnastic Ring Push Ups 12 to 15 reps
Wide Grip Chin Ups 5 - 8 reps
Rest 60 seconds between pairings

Finisher
Bulgarian Bag Spins 17kg * 5 sets of 10 each way with 30 seconds rest between each.

Drawn out Death.......Push Ups on the Bulgarian Bag - 
Perform 10 reps
Rest locked out for 15 seconds
Perform 8 reps
Rest locked out for 15 seconds
Perform 6 reps
15 seconds
4 reps
15 seconds
2 reps

Done.

I will finish off later with a few sets of kettlebells with my boot campers, swings, cleans, presses, windmills, turkish get ups are the order of the day.

Looks a lot of training but in actuality the intensity for all of this is fairly low.

12 miles off road planned for tomorrow before a rest day on Friday.

Short Running Specific Kettlebell Workout

Ive been sat on the lap top all day writing pages for my upcoming Kettlebell Workshop for Runners and Cyclists. I kept telling myself "just 30 minutes more" and before I know it the day has nearly gone.

Still, the work is done and so I thought I would squeeze in a quick kettlebell session.

I am in the middle of a high mileage (50) running week this week so really need to watch my supplementary training and make sure it's not eating too far into recovery.

Here's how it went:-

Warm Up
12kg Bulgarian Bag - Various mobility drills

Then Bulgarian Bag Spins 12kg
25 spins right/25 left/25 right/25 left - no rest just to get the pulse a bit higher.

Kettlebell Swings
16kg * 60 seconds/60 sec rest
20kg * 60 sec/60 rest
24kg * 60 sec/60 rest
28kg * 60 sec/60 rest
28kg * 45sec/60 rest
28kg * 30 sec/DONE.

2 minutes rest.

Double Kettlebell Squat to Strict Press
16kg * 2 * 10 reps /60sec rest
16kg * 2 * 10 reps /60sec rest
16kg * 2 * 10 reps /60sec rest
16kg * 2 * 10 reps /60sec rest

2 minutes rest

Kettlebell Snatch Tabata
16kg * 20 seconds work/10 seconds rest * 8 rounds (4 minutes)

I hit 9 reps each work period to total 72 reps.

That was it for now as I am filming some kettlebell exercises later too followed by a very easy 5 mile recovery run to do later.

Then I think it will be time for a rest!

2K Row - Learning about the Mind

So today I decided to have a good training session with a mate of mine.

A few weeks back we had a training session together and both attempted a 2000m row for time which was my first attempt at the distance and finished in a time of 7min 31.

We both ear marked today as the day we were going to hit the 2k row again with a view to getting under the magical 7 min mark.

I hadn't done any rowing since the last attempt over a month ago and I was hard pushed to say I was looking forward to the challenge.

Anyway, I set the damper to 8, plugged in some suitable tunes (Lamb of God - Walk with me in hell and Slipknot - People = Shit) and got on with the task in hand.

The first 500m passed with an average time of 1:43 and 750m rapidly loomed. By now the legs were burning and thoughts of "shit this is hard" were starting to creep in.

Casting them aside and listening to the music in my ears with more intent eased the pain and the 1000m barrier was broken. "Shit only half way" and feelings of REALLY wanting to stop were almost over whelming.

Focus on the music Matt and keep going just 100 more strokes to go was what I told myself.
Before I knew it there was 500m left and that's when I realised my error. I failed to set the display to show projected time with strokes per min being displayed. School boy error!

Trying not to panic while seeking to being the time down to sub 1:45 again for 500m seemed impossible.
The last 200m were an all out sprint, it was hurting, my quads, hamstrings and glutes were on fire, couldn't breathe and all I could do was watch the seconds tick away.

7min 02 and a world of pain and lactic acid was the result - I wanted to lie down, I wanted to walk round, I wanted it to stop..........and as a good friend of mine reminded me only yesterday "Everything passes".

15 minutes later we decided the best cure was some deadlifting and other fun and games and as it was Friday, why the hell not?!

Deadlifts/Double 16kg Kettlebell jerks
60 * 10/ Jerks * 10
80 * 10/ Jerks *10
90 * 10/Jerks * 20
100 * 10/Jerks * 20
110kg * 10/Jerks * 30

Single Arm Kettlebell Snatch Tabata (20sec work/10 sec rest - alternate hands)
9/9
9/9
10/10
10/10reos each work period.

Job done.

It just goes to show, you can learn a hell of a lot about yourself through exercise, especially when it's really pushing the limits.

I will attempt the 2k row again next week, strike while the irons hot, while the memory of the internal dialogue is fresh and while my awareness of my shortcomings remains in the forefront of my mind.

I will not be beaten next time........

Legs, Bums and Tums - Done Properly!

Tonight I had my advanced boot campers experience their very first LBT focussed boot camp - done my way!

This is how it broke down:-
Warm Up -
Moblity Drills, Squats, Lunges, running etc

Round 1
10 kettlebell in a line 1 metre apart.
Jump over each bell, run 30m and perform 10 burpees, run back 40M and keep going round for 4 minutes constant.

Round 2
Double Kettlebell Squats 5 sets of 8-12 reps. Try and pyramid weight each set.

Round 3
Double heavy kettlebell walking lunges 10 reps out, 10 reps back.
"Rest" in plank position for 30 seconds
Complete 3 sets.

Round 4 - Plyometrics
Broad Jump Burpee 10 reps
Walk back, rest 30 seconds -complete 3 times

Deep Broad Jumps 10 reps forward, walk back, rest 30 seconds - complete 3 times.

Deep jump squats 5 reps, rest 40 seconds, complete 5 rounds.

Round 5 - "Core"
15 minutes of kettlebell windmills working up to heaviest weight possible for 5 reps.

Example:- I completed 16kg * 5/5, 20kg*5/5, 24kg * 5/5, 28kg * 5/5

Job done - I took part in this tonight and my glutes and legs are smashed. If you are going to do a LBT class, THIS is how its done and done well.

Sunday Work Capacity Session

Today I was due to run but have developed a little inflammation of my posterior tibial tendon through breaking in some new orthotics so running was out.

Instead I chose to do a tough 30 minute work capacity session using weights, slam balls and kettlebells.

Here is how it went:-

Exercises:-
Barbell Front Squuat 40kg
Gym Ring Push Ups
Proper Slam Ball Slams 11kg
Single Arm Kettlebell Clean (between legs) 20kg each arm
Single Arm Kettlebell Jerk 20kg each arm
Suspension Trainer Rows

Each exercise was performed back to back for 12 reps.

The goal of the session was to complete as many rounds as possible in 30 minutes resting minimally.

Result:-
5 rounds and 1 additional set of front squats.

This was a hellish workout, pulse rate was at 85 to 90% max after the first round and stayed there for the duration. The time actually flew by and I was glad to be on my own as it allowed total focus without distraction.

Resistance and Metabolic Conditioning Training

I was due to run 9 miles today but a pesky little foot pain that materialised at the end of yesterdays intervals told me it better not to run.

So rather than take a complete rest day I decided upon some resistance work that I thought I may not have time to fit in, but now I do!

Warm Up
Mobility Drills with Bulgarian Bag - 100 reps or so

Then
Bulgarian Bag Spins 12kg * 100 reps constant.

Strength Set - All Belt Less
Deadlifts superset with Push Ups on handles of Kettlebells.
60kg * 5 with 10 push ups
80kg * 5 with 10 push ups
100kg * 3 with 10 push ups 
120kg * 2 with 10 push ups
140kg * 1 with 10 push ups
150kg * 1 with 10 push ups - this was about my limit today on the deadlifts.

Met Con 1
Deadlift 60kg * 15 reps
Double 16kg Kettlebell Push Press * 15 reps
Rest 60 seconds
Complete 5 rounds.

Met Con 2
16kg Kettlebell Swings * 20 reps
Rest 15 sec
24kg Kettlebell Swings * 15 reps
Rest 15 sec
32kg Kettlebell Swings * 10 reps
Rest 30 seconds
Then back to the 16kg bell and complete 5 rounds.

 The two met con workouts were good fun.

While the 60kg deadlifts were faily light coupled with the push presses each work set had the desired effect.
60 seconds recovery didnt allow full recovery which maintained a high heart rate for the duration of the work set.

The second met con was very nice indeed. None of the rest periods allowed much recovery and by the end of 5 rounds I was ready to stop.

All done and dusted in 45 minutes - just how this kind of workout should be.

Suspension Movement Trainer Review

As a personal trainer who spends much of my time training clients outdoors or in their own homes I am always on the look out for portable equipment that is effective and can be used in a variety of training environments.

One such item is the new Suspension Movement Trainer from www.wolverson-fitness.com

I have been a strong advocate of suspension training with my clients now for some time as it offers a multitude of benefits including:-

• Increased muscle strength and endurance
• Increased stability, mobility and coordination
• Increased cardiovascular conditioning
• Increased core strength
• Increased metabolic rate
• Increased potential for fat loss
• Increased Flexibility (GREAT for assisted stretching!)
• Highly portable and brilliant for those who spend time travelling or on holiday.
• Simple to use, easy to set up yet outstanding for a total body workout.

In the past I have owned and used various systems including the most well known design on the market.

I bought one of the original Active Strap Trainers from Wolverson Fitness as their design offered thinner, less aggressive straps and a dual anchor point system which meant the straps can be set up like gym rings meaning much less forearm friction when performing push ups etc. In addition the dual strap anchor point means that single arm/leg work can be performed easily without having to double up straps.

Their latest Suspension Movement Trainer offers several advantages over the original AST including:-

• Re moulded ergonomically designed handles which includes a genius foot retention system.
• Steel rings to stop wayward straps flapping about.
• Superb value for money considering the improvements
• Super strong, bomb proof construction that will last for years!
• Interchangeable anchor points for both indoor and outdoor use.

For me, the last point is one of the trainers real highlights. The new system is supplied with two super strong webbing straps that act as anchor points and can be looped around trees, branches, goal posts and railings for outdoor training.

The strap length is easily adjustable using their pinch and release mechanism that is simple yet highly effective. Such is my faith in the mechanism I regularly perform full body weight chin ups without any slippage what so ever.

Some of my favourite exercises on the Suspension Movement Trainer include:-

• Push Ups with feet suspended, Atomic Push Ups, Clap Push Ups
• Leg Curls, Pistol Squats, Jump Squats, Skater Lunges
• High Rows, Low Rows, Single Arm Row with Rotation
• Squat Thrust to Push Up, Close Grip Push Ups, Tricep Extensions and Curls.
• Ab Jack-Knives, Alternate Jack-Knives, Hip Thrusters, Superman, Superman Squat.

Exercises can be strung together to form a circuit or combined with sprints, kettlebells, Bulgarian Bags, Slam Balls to deliver an incredible workout that will get your blood pumping, muscles burnings and body energised!

I can safely say that the new Suspension Movement Trainer from www.wolverson-fitness.com is one of my favourite pieces or portable kit that is super strong, built to last and can really make a huge impact on how your body looks, moves and feels.