T-bar row self-challenge

In March last year, I attempted a T-bar row challenge in the gym.  The idea was to stack up all the weights that were available in my gym (40 kgs in all) and do 5 reps of a one-armed T-bar row.

Here's the video from that attempt:

I did complete the five reps on the left hand, albeit with a break (my palms got really sweaty).

Since that time, I've been through a big down-phase in my workout routine, and only in the last few months have I been slowly recovering my former strength.

So my challenge for next week is simple - to repeat the same workout, but with 10 reps for each hand.  This time around, I will be using wrist straps to eliminate the strain on my wrists and the pesky palm sweat.

I'm going to do this early next week, and have one of my gym buddies shoot a video of my attempt.  Will post the video, whether I succeed or fail.  Wish me luck!

[Update 25th April]  I still haven't been able to hit the gym this week... thanks to a training I've been attending.  But this challenge is still top priority - will update this space soon!

[Update: 30th April] Completed the challenge!! Shall post the video in a few days

Alternate push-up styles to return from a gym break

This year, December has been surprisingly heavy work-wise.  For some reason, all of our clients and prospects have asked for a million deliverables before they go on leave.  Thanks to whirlwind of activity at work and a personal trip out of town, I wasn't able to hit the gym for almost 10 full days.

When I got back to the gym this Monday (my usual chest day), I decided to try something different.  Instead of using the bench press to hit the chest in isolation, I opted to do a series of push-up variations so that I'd hit more body parts than just the chest.  Here's how my workout turned out to be:

• 2 sets of regular pushups: This is more like a warm-up
• 2 sets of spiderman push ups (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKBeHALPsSU): The unevenness of the weight distribution hits the obliques in addition to the chest.
• 2 sets of scorpion push ups (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_26f6HTbYn8 0:34 to 0:47): This one does a fantastic job of hitting your core and stretching out your quads.  And the raised leg makes for greater stress on your chest.
• 2 sets of dumbbell push ups (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0h1wmPf7YY): One needs to do this using round dumbbells and not hexagonal ones.  Since the round dumbbells tend to roll, one has to make use of shoulder muscles just to stabilize the dumbbells, thus making this exercise double up as a shoulder workout.  A precaution: this workout can strain the wrists.  It helps if this is the last workout so that the wrists don't get strained any further.

So, I did each of these sets with 12 repetitions. So that makes a total of 8 x 12 = 96 push ups.  With all the rest breaks, I was wrapped up in a matter of 20-25 minutes.

I think that made for an effective workout, especially since I was getting back from a break :)

What does not kill you...

... makes you stronger

And this is especially true for a fitness routine, provided:

• You are giving yourself adequate rest between your workouts
• Your nutrition is aiding the strengthening process
• Your workout program is holistic, i.e. you're not injuring one body part for the sake of strengthening another.  Examples of not following this principle include workout routines that cause RSI
• You are pushing yourself to the maximum each time you work out.  This is the principle of progressive overload.  There are exceptions though: one shouldn't train to failure when hitting the tendons (e.g. with pull-ups, chin-ups)

Yes, there are prerequisites to every fancy rule.

Avoiding the "side-effect" syndrome of fitness goals

A comprehensive fitness program should produce results in the following three parameters:

• Strength
• Endurance
• Flexibility

Any results outside these three parameters are mere side effects.  Let me repeat: any results outside these three parameters are mere side effects.  And I am not implying any negative connotation when I use the term side effect.  Some of these side effects include changes to posture, immunity levels, body fat level, weight, sleeping patterns, appetite, etc.  As one can see, the list of these side effects can be really long.  And classifying these side effects as a positive or negative depends on the individual and their context.  E.g. weight loss may be a good thing if you're just coming off a holiday season during which you've binged a lot.  But it is probably not a good thing if you're already in the underweight zone on the BMI scale (or any other metric that you're following).

Now, it's quite common to see ourselves setting goals focussed exclusively on these side effects: in fact, it's usually one of the reason people start to hit the gym, isn't it?  Typical comments one gets to hear from newcomers is, "I need to lose at least five kilos before my cousin's wedding."  This is short-term mentality at its best.

If you are following a fitness program that is focussed on any of these side effects while compromising on the three fitness parameters listed above (strength, endurance, flexibility), you're doing yourself more harm than good.  In fact, even if you are focusing on one of those three parameters while compromising on the other two, you are doing your body a disservice in the long run. So, please set yourself holistic fitness goals, and follow a program that does not compromise on these three parameters. 

Comments welcome.


[Update: Retitled this post]

Too busy to work out?

If you are, check this athlete out:

More about Rohan Murphy is available on wikipedia.  One snippet that caught my eye was that he won bronze at 2006 IPC World Powerlifting by lifting 127.5 kgs, and he's all of 56 kilos!

I'll probably never gain that kind of upper body strength, but may I be damned if I don't even put in the effort to get fitter.

On Fitness Goals

People (usually the overweight ones hitting the gym for the first time) often set themselves a goal that goes like,

I need to lose 5 kilos in the next month.

Instead, how about setting a goal such as:

I am going to hit the gym 20 times in the next month.

Isn't setting an effort-based-goal (the number of times to hit the gym) better than an end-result-goal (the targeted weight loss)?  I think so, and here's why:

• Control: Your achievement of the goal is pretty much under your control.  You know what you need to do in order to hit the gym 5 times this week (reduce the time you spend at office, cancel that dinner, etc.), but you can never really control all the variables it takes to hit your weight loss target, which for all you know, may be completely unrealistic. 
• Testing your commitment: We've all heard stories of  people who take up a fitness program only to give up within a few short weeks (months if they're lucky) simply because they were unable to meet their "target".  The usual suspect for such a discontinuation is their lack of commitment to their fitness program.  Setting a goal around the effort one is willing to put in helps you test how committed you really are.
• Course-Correction: You'll know early enough if you're taking any short-cuts and can take corrective action. If you find that all of your gym sessions are lasting less than 15 mins, you know you're not being true to your objective. But with the weight loss goal, it gets more complicated.  Just because you lose 1kg in one week does not mean you're on-track to meeting your weight loss objective.
• Sustainability: The goals around effort are more sustainable.  It's realistic and sustainable (but probably not easy) to extend the goal to say, I'll hit the gym 20 times per month for the next 12 months.  Try doing that with the weight loss goal.  
• Fine-tuning: It's also easier to fine-tune the goal statement around your effort:
  I will hit the gym 20 times in the next month to have 15 weight training and 5 cardio sessions.
  But it's almost funny to hear someone say,
  I will lose 5 kgs, of which 4 kgs should be body fat, 0.5 kg water, and 0.5 kg lean muscle.
  Perhaps expert body builders can set themselves goal statements like this, but then the keyword is "expert".

I believe that the goals around weight loss / fat loss / body tone should be set up after one has set up a sustainable fitness program.  So before you set yourself goals around end-results, do set up realistic goals that will help you enjoy and stay committed to your fitness program.  Without that, achieving your end-results will simply not feel rewarding enough, and definitely not fun! 

Would love to hear what others have to say.

But walking is the best exercise!

This is my third attempt with weight training, and at 10 months, my longest attempt so far. And I'm glad of the progress I have made this time: I certainly don't feel like a beginner any more - I can talk the gobbledygook of GH and leptin levels, and the differences between a stiff-legged deadlift and a Romanian deadlift :)  But I'm also not an expert - there have been plenty of occasions where I have overtrained, and experienced soreness for days.

The typical beginner (and I could count myself as one when I started) encounters many problems when starting out with bodybuilding - there isn't adequate time to devote to the activity, form is always an issue, minor injuries keep occurring, the list goes on and on.  Beyond these, an issue that pops up is that one's support structure (friends, family, etc.) is not always supportive of an individual's weight training.  Even my doctor said, "You don't need weight training, cardiovascular endurance should be more than adequate."  Another common comment I keep hearing is "Walking should be enough.  It's the best exercise!"

Walking is the best exercise - Really? Best for what? Can one set a goal saying "I'll walk till the strength in my shoulders improves"? How does walking help improve the flexibility of the neck?

I'm not trying to make fun of walkers or cardiovascular exercises.  In fact, I enjoy both running and cycling  - I don't run very regularly, but I love doing a 25 klick cycle ride as often as I can. But doing a cardiovascular activity in isolation can do the body a lot more harm than good.  Let me elaborate:

• Running long distances hurts the knees [google for the phrase "joggers' knee" - it will flood your browser with a zillion results] - Seasoned runners know they have to complement their running with specific exercises for the glutes, hamstrings, and the back, in addition to the pre-run stretches
• Cycling is a great exercise, but can take a toll on the back.  It's unnatural for the body to be crouched down for long periods, and this leads to muscle fatigue.  Ultracycling.com lays out some resistance training tips for cyclists (and swimmers).  Even Lance Armstrong's training program mentions a few points on weight training - I would assume this includes hyperextension exercises for the back.

Now, walking may not be as intensive as running or cycling, so the wear & tear takes longer to appear, but as I sarcastically mentioned earlier, it can not help the body parts that it doesn't work out: walking can not help improve upper body strength and flexibility.  

So, here's my opinion: it helps the body more if a cardiovascular activity is done as part of a more comprehensive fitness program that ensures:

• Coverage of as many muscle groups as possible
• Increase in strength of muscles and joints
• Increase in flexibility of the overall body
• Endurance [the cardio will probably take care of that]

Now, body building isn't the only option to meet the above criteria. Other options include calisthenics, yoga, and pilates, to name a few.  So, pick one, and give your body the full-fledged fitness regimen it deserves. And please don't let others brainwash you by saying, "Exercise X is the best exercise."

Workout lessons (learned the hard way)

Some lessons I've learned while weight training, especially in the last few months:

• The back and legs have the largest largest muscle groups in the body, and working them out (even for a short duration) not only strengthens these muscles, but also affects the body's overall physiology. More experienced weight trainers refer to this effect as the GH boost.  Lesson: If one can work out for only two days a week, it should be for the back and legs, instead of the chest, biceps, shoulders, etc. [but one should work out more often to include them as well]
• If the body is excessively sore after working out, it helps to feed on some carbs. Carbs do aid in recovery, and can help get back to the gym the next day. Of course, it helps if the carbs are not made of refined sugars :-)
• Compound exercises work out more muscle groups than isolation exercises, and a lot of them end up hitting the core muscles.  Again, if stuck for time, compound exercises are the way to go.