RSP

Training

After a few weeks of just general strength work on my legs, I commenced a back squat program last week on my front verandah - 'Russian Squat Program'. As the name suggests, it was formulated by a Russian native. People in that part of the world are renowned for their physical exploits & they have a healthy worldwide respect in the field of strength & conditioning. The 9 week program is designed to put around 5-10kg on your back squat and I would be happy with a gain of 5kg. The focus is strength gains in contrast to hypertrophy (muscle gain).

At a body weight of 76kg my current 1RM (one repetition max) is 130kg. Solid compared to most in the general population. Compared to those who I wish to compete against in CrossFit competitions, underdeveloped and weak. A common denominator with elite Crossfitter's is that they all have a very strong back squat. With the physical limitations I currently have with my upper body I am really determined to get a good strength gain in my legs. The next 9 weeks is a big opportunity. The long term goal for this movement is to get it up to double my body weight i.e 150kg+. That would be a respectable achievement.

Aside from my back squat program, I have completed a few high intensity conditioning sessions during the past week. Hill sprints, stair work & skipping have all got a go. None of these have exceed 10 minutes after a good warm up. I am really mindful of not destroying myself with excessive metabolic conditioning work. If you want to get strong, rest & nutrition are as equally as important as the lifting. In any event, I hold my condition fairly well, my shortcomings are all around the strength fields. As I say to you - you cannot say you are fit if you can't lift your body weight likewise you can't say you are fit if you can't run 5km without stopping. We should be looking at becoming a 'generalist'. Generally capable at everything. By working on our weaknesses, we avoid overuse injuries, develop new skills & improve our overall fitness/body composition 10 fold.

Below are some of the sessions I have completed during the past week:

105kg (80%) x 2 reps x 6 sets

105kg (80%) x 3 reps x 6 sets

105kg (80%) x 4 reps x 6 sets

If you might be wondering 105kg is 80% of my current 1RM which is 130kg


Nutrition

I hope you have enjoyed my recent postings on facebook. I have posted photos of what I consumed on a particular day last week. Granted, some of the plate presentation was a little ordinary but, I want the focus to be more on the quality of food consumed. It was all organic wholefood that I am sure your great grandmother would have recognised.

We are all busy, some more so than others and sometimes nutrition becomes a bit of an after thought. I can appreciate that getting quality food in consistently is a huge challenge. However, you cannot really develop your fitness and improve your health by eating low quality food on a consistent basis. Nutrition is one of the pillars of developing elite health so we have to give it great respect.

If you are being a slack ass with your nutrition or you are making poor choices on a regular basis - do not beat yourself up. Do not try and make big adjustments with your intake and for god sake do not 'diet'. Focus on each day and the effect the food you are consuming has on your performance at work and at training.

A simple adjustment we can attempt to make each day is to try and consume more wholefood V's processed food. Anything that is grown (fruit/veg) or can be killed (animal) should be consumed more than anything in a tin, box or packet.  If you haven't trained in a while you are not going to dive into a heavy conditioning session, the same applies with nutrition. Don't go too hard too soon. Make small but consistent steps in changing your attitude towards nutrition. You are going to go off the wagon from time to time. It is natural, it happens. Acknowledge it, get back on the wagon and try to make a better choice next time.


Enjoy the week!

Nicholas

Mind Gym

We are constantly reminded about the physical benefits of regular movement. Reduced risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, bone disease, high blood pressure. Additionally there is a spike in energy levels, increased life expectancy, improved sleep and a better chance to reproduce. I have only tipped the edge as well. So for many of us why is getting out on the training track so hard? Although seemingly aware of the physical benefits many of us find it difficult to make training apart of our lifestyle on a consistent basis.

The physical enhancements are undoubtedly important but, in today's post I wanted to look at the mental benefits of training. In my view these are often overlooked. Whilst our physical gains may plateau from time to time do not underestimate the mental impact regular training has on our life.

For anyone that has taken part in either of my one-on-one or group sessions knows that they are generally of an intense nature. I am constantly harping on about range of motion, technique, counting your repetitions, finishing past the cone, going through to the last minute etc, etc that even I get sick of the sound of my voice.

Your mind and your attitude really govern the 1% things I have mentioned above. It is important to bring your body to a session but, it is also important to bring your mind. Legendary American football coach Vince Lombardi said 'Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all of the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing'.

Take what you will from this transcript but the message I got is that we are what we repeatedly do. In fitness until you truly engage your mind than you are not really going to reach your potential. If you cut corners on the training track how do you think you will react when it gets difficult in your job or in any other area of your life? My workouts are a breeze compared to some of the struggles/stresses I am sure some of you have to overcome each day.

On the flip side the benefits from not dogging a movement, cheating on a rep and going right through to the last second might seem small at the time but, in the big picture are immeasurable. When we do have to make the difficult decision at work or at home which road do you think you would take? By engaging our mind in our workouts we develop the confidence, clarity and steely focus to attempt and overcome things in the real world that seemingly were well past our capabilities.

We can't always be physically at our best. We can however, bring a great attitude and a willingness to engage our mind in every aspect of the workout. Do this regularly and watch for the improvements right across your life. The choice is yours.


Have a great week!



Nicholas

'Da Juice'

Hi people,

Hope the start of the working week has been a kind one to you.


The whether is certainly warming up & yesterday's conditions in Sydney reminded me of my time in Dubai. Uncomfortably humid with a very warm breeze.  I ventured out at 4pm to do some sprints - big mistake...1.5 hours after my 20 minute session I was still red faced, 'desert mouthed' and sweating profusely.  In order to combat dehydration we must look at drinking around 3% of our body weight or 2.5L of water each day. It is annoying to continually have to go to the bathroom but, I would rather the discomfort of this compared to the discomfort of feeling light headed, fatigued and full of toxins. Water really assists in flushing out all the toxic food stalls in our body and it often stems hunger pains. Drink, drink, drink!!!!

Food

I am going to undertake a 48 hour experiment with an associate of mine. We plan on living on freshly squeezed fruit & vegetable juice with an emphasis on more vegetable than fruit in each juice (I will also have water). It is going to be interesting to see how we feel - energised, fatigued, light headed, sleepy, alert? I think I will feel all of those things at different times.


The core reason behind it is to give my digestive organs & internals a bit of a rest. Call it a mini detox. I really believe that if you want to shift body fat than your digestive organs have to be working to the fullest. Like any good car you want all parts of your engine working for you.

Vegetable juice acts as an internal soap that helps clean our small and large intensines. It also allows our kidneys and pancraeas a bit of a holiday. Being a liquid vegetable juice it very easy on the digestive system which allows energy for other things like processing stale food in our colons and digestive tract. In addition it is full of nutrients and minerals that are absorb into our blood stream instantly and boosts our immune system.

Looking forward to reporting on my results in my next blog.

Fitness


As stated in my opening post my training of recent times has been interrupted by some upper body injuries. I have some issues with my elbow, neck/shoulder and finger. I have been relatively injury free since my days playing Rugby League so these set backs are a little frustrating.  Although frustrating it has enabled me to give myself a rest and also a chance to re-evaluate my approach to training. I have also had an opportunity to get back into some yoga which has been very interesting. What has become apparent to me and maybe is because I am getting older - the more you train the more rest, rehab/prehab & stretching you have to do. All work and no maintenance is a recipe for injury.

I have been trying to keep my lower body active without stressing my upper half out and interfering with the healing it requires. I will be starting a 'russian squat program' on Wednesday but, for the past few weeks have started to gear up the legs with plenty of low rep (1, 3, 5, 7's) sessions.


Here is a snap shot of what I have been up too the past couple of days

Monday 15/11/2011

10 rounds
30 Double Unders
100m sprint

Time: 10:12

Tuesday 16/11/2011

Strength

Back Squat

1,1,1,1,1,1,1 - @ 115kg

Conditioning

3 rounds

40m weighted lunge walk (20kg)
20 box jumps (75cm)
9:49


Enjoy the day and looking forward to seeing you on the training track!


Nicholas

Welcome

Hello people!

Welcome to my first blog post. The aim of this blog is to give practical commentary and information on two things I am passionate about - food & fitness.

Hopefully you have all viewed my website www.organicks.com.au or are a fan of my facebook page
OrgaNick's Fitness. In many ways this will be an extension of these two mediums but, I will also attempt to give you an insight to my daily training and nutritional entries. I also plan to post videos that will helpfully inspire you to improve your fitness levels but, above all improve your HEALTH.

At the moment my training has slowed down due to a number of upper body injuries sustained both here and whilst on tour in Iceland. However, I can report I am healing well and expect to begin full training prior to Christmas. Until then my training will be based around improving my leg strength and I will be undertaking a squat program of which details will be provided. To maintain some conditioning I will be also sprinting regularly to complement my strength work with a diet of 100m, 200m & 400m intervals on the menu x 2 per week. There is always something you can do, even if one part of the body is out of order.

Until my next post - stay strong, eat clean and be kind to one another.

Nicholas