18.09.08
Friday Fun - Bill Bailey Cockney Compilation Music Video
When I first started to watch this, I thought it was going to be rubbish, but it’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen for quite some time:
This one is good too, foreign sirens:
17.09.08
UK Gladiators Application
As I mentioned last week, I applied for Gladiators series 2 on Friday. The application took about 3 hours to complete starting from scratch, including finding all the bits so of personal and medical information I needed as I needed it. E.g. name, address and contact number of my Doctors.
Half the application detailed typical stuff around personal details, although there were a few oddities such as asking for educational achievements. I’m not sure how that’s possibly relevant, unless there’s some potential for more entertaining TV there?
And that really is the rub with these applications I think. At the end of the day, this is a TV show that’s longevity is dictated by its ratings, which basically means they want entertaining competitors. I predict that as the show goes on, the competitors selected will become more and more extreme in an attempt to forestall the inexorable ratings slide.
The second part of the application was all about personality and so obviously is the hardest bit to fill in (insert personality related joke here!). These were the pertinent questions:
- What clubs do you belong to?
- What was your greatest sporting achievement?
- What would your Gladiator name be?
- If there was a film of your life, which actor would play you?
- What is you ambition in life?
- What is your proudest achievement?
- What are your three greatest fears?
- What would winning Gladiators mean to you?
- What’s the most embarrassing thing you have ever done?
- What is your biggest regret?
They are all pretty tough, you don’t want to come over as too obvious, e.g. putting down Brad Pit as the actor to play you, or picking a Gladiator name that has been used before, and yes I did check the history of American gladiator names to be sure!
As with the ESA Astronauts application, if there’s demand for it, I will post my answers up here once there is no need for me to be coy, i.e. I either get through or don’t. So if you want to see them, let me know…
STOP THE PRESS:
I’ve been invited to try out in Manchester next Wednesday!!
I’ll let you know how it goes…
14.09.08
Crossfit Certification - Day 2
At the risk of sounding like Bill and Ted, day 2 of the Crossfit Certification at Manchester was another totally awesome day. The day started off with a lecture from Todd on the 3rd set of the 9 core Crossfit movements: Deadlift, Sumo Deadlift High Pull (SDHP) and the Medicine Ball Clean, followed by practice outside.
After was an open floor Q&A session with Coach Glassman. I’ve read a few things online about Coach, but Greg is in reality a most unassuming man. This is me with Coach, he was very gracious to pose for so many pictures.
For someone who heads up an international exercise movement with an estimated 300,000 followers, he’s surprisingly modest about his achievements. I took several key points away from the session, which covered a whole host of topics:
- Glassman is not precious about the Crossfit way / WoD (Workout of the Day) He actually hopes one day someone will show that they have a better, more efficacious approach than the WoD!
- There were various conversations about other approaches and variations of Crossfit, for which Greg was completely happy to entertain the idea and watch the experimentation of people doing it. Of course his reaction was simply this: If some other approach is better, let’s see it do well at the Crossfit Games. Then I’ll take notice.
- He admitted to making mistakes with the WoD’s on occassion. E.g. 400m of 10 lunges + 15 reps of 35kg Push Presses. Sounds tough but doable? It took Greg Edmundson (a Crossfit poster boy) over an hour to finish it! Coach described it as “An Abomination!” lol
(I can laugh cos I didn’t have to do it.) - There was talk about the future of Crossfit and where it can go and Greg made the point that they have more ideas than they have staff to cope with them.
- I was also surprised to learn that Crossfit Inc has only just turned a profit for the first time this year. Bare in mind that Crossfit, it terms of what Greg Glassman has been doing, is coming up 30 years old now! That’s one hell of a gestation period.
- On a Crossfit note, Glassman really stressed the point that the heavy days, e.g. the 5 x 1 rep Dead lifts etc, are *really* important to the Crossfit methodology, and shouldn’t be considered easy or rest days. They really should be absolute max strength days.
One thing that I really came away with was simply this: Greg Classman has a great manner about him, he’s an unassuming but capable orator, who engenders trust and loyalty in those that listen to him.
After lunch was a lecture by Nicole Carroll on nutrition and recommended Crossfit diet: The Zone Diet. In case you can’t guess, I’m the not the pretty one on the left! 
The Zone diet stuff was nothing new to me, I’ve been on it for 18 months after all, but it was interesting to see some of Nicole’s slight variations on the Zone prescription in terms of things like the frequency of cheat days and the minimum blocks to prescribe for small people.
There followed the main workout activity, which included 5 stations:
- Push Press practice
- Medicine Ball clean practice
- Kipping pull ups and rope climb technique
- Muscles ups
- And the main workout of the day: 30 - 20 - 10 each of Thrusters and Burpees. To coin a phrase from Crossfit Manchester coach Karl Steadman: That sucked a fat mans arse!
Later Todd talked again about general Crossfit methodology, the ways to combine the 3 main types of workout: Weightlifting, Gymnastics and Mono-structured (running, rowing etc). It included topics on the 3:1 work to rest day ratio vs the 5:2. Also an example of how to scale a WoD for different ability levels of Crossfit client.
Ultimately that was it. There were photo sessions and plenty of time for questions of all kinds to all people and I don’t believe anyone went away with anything they wanted to ask unanswered. All together, the weekend was great, and that’s all I can say about it. If you get the chance, you should go on a Crossfit cert. This is the Crossfit Manchester crew with all the Crossfit Coaches: Greg, Nicole, Todd, Jimmy and Andy:
Crossfit Certification - Day 1
WTF am I doing up at 3am on a Sunday morning when I should be tucked up in bed fast asleep? I’ll tell you:
After being woken up by the cat puking up on the landing floor, my head is buzzing with all things Crossfit. Spending a full 9-5 day at a Crossfit Certification being lectured and coached by some of the best Crossfitters in the world, has a tendency to do that to you. It was always going to be good, but there were 2 great surprises.
First was that it wasn’t Annie who came over, but Nicole Carroll who has more excitable energy than any human has a right to:
The second a great surprise was that despite what I had been told last week, Crossfit Founder, Coach Greg Glassman himself flew in at the last minute, just an hour before we started.
Now I’ve seen both Carroll and Greg on the many videos that are on the main crossfit site, but seeing them in the flesh and hearing them give the lectures first hand is a totally awesome experience, one that I won’t forget for a long while. On top of that were Andy, Jimmy and Todd (one is Navy Seal Officer, the other a US Marine Corp Captain I think, but I forget which. Nice guys to know!)
There are 70 people on the certification, from all round Europe: Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and even as far away as South Africa. Plus the trainers from almost every affiliate in the UK. The day started with the obligatory introductions and then we got straight down to a “What is Crossfit and Why do we do what we do?” given by Greg Glassman, and if anyone should know, the guy who invented it should! If you don’t know, the core elements of Crossfit are:
- Functionality
- Intensity
- Variance
2nd up was Nicole Carroll who took us through the first 3 of 9 core Crossfit exercises:
- Squat - Front Squat - Overhead Squat
- Shoulder Press - Push Press - Push Press
- Deadlift - Sumo Dead Lift High Pull - Medicine Ball Clean
Afterwards we went outside and worked through the squats with PVC pipe.
After lunch, an afternoon lecture from Greg again on “What is Fitness” included a great run down on: the history of Crossfit; how Greg started off as a “Bike riding, weight training, gymnast.”; the creation of the Thruster; and the invention of the infamous Crossfit Workout named Fran.
Another lecture on the 2nd set of 3 core exercises followed another stint outside in surprisingly glorious British sunshine with the poly pipes.
Lastly the obligatory workout was done for time, in teams of 3:
- 200m run
- 30 air squats
- 30 kettlebell swings
3 hours down the boozer in the evening topped off a great day. Although my 3 hours sleep tonight is not going to help day 2 that’s for sure.
I suspect I’ll be blogging about Crossfit even more in the future.
EDIT: See here for Manchester Crossfit Certification Day 2
11.09.08
Friday Fun - Gladiators and How To Do The Jedi Mind Trick
Gladiators UK 2008!
Thank you for taking the time to fill out the Gladiators application form.
Your application referance [sic] No. is 5106
If you have not heard from us by the end of October 31st then unfortunately your application has not been successful this time.
I’ve applied for series 2 of Gladiators, woot! :) If not an ESA Astronaut, then maybe a Gladiator Slayer? Some of the questions were tricky, but I’ll blog about that on another post. Back to Friday fun:
I‘ve always wanted to know how to do the Jedi Mind Trick:
08.09.08
Crossfit Certification this weekend in Manchester
Next week I’m attending the first ever Crossfit Instructors’ Certification being held outside of America, and I have to travel exactly 1.1 miles from my front door to get to it at Crossfit Manchester!
Interestingly I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it though. One the one hand, it is in itself an exciting event. The Crossfit certification is bringing together Crossfitters from across Europe and I believe as far afield as South Africa, which in itself will be great. Getting couched by Crossfit HQ trainers like Annie Sakamoto will also be totally awesome. Or course getting my Level 1 cert will be a great achievement (assuming I pass) considering my lard arsed past.
However that is tempered by several things. First there’s the fact that I already enjoy excellent Crossfit coaching from Mark and Karl, the www.CrossfitManchester.co.uk Level 2 Crossfit coaches. So I strongly suspect whereas for many who attend who have only been Crossfitting off the website, I probably have less to learn. That’s not meant to sound condescending, but I simply wouldn’t have stayed at Crossfit Manchester for the last 18 months, if I didn’t think that the quality of the coaching was among the best I could get. If I had just been going off the website myself, I’m reasonably sure that myself taught technique would probably be appalling.
Additionally there’s the slight trepidation of 2 full on days of workouts and the slight fear that I won’t be up to the fitness standard, especially judging by how much I still ache from Barbara on Saturday! Finally there’s the disappointment at the news that Greg Glassman himself won’t be attending, which we’d all be told he would be. Whilst I have no doubts that the coaching will be world class, it would have been great to shake the hand of the man that invented Crossfit and personally thank him for the life altering changes it has had on me.
Still it’s going to be great I’m sure. In preparation, Crossfit HQ has sent me all the Crossfit Journals all 70 of them! I’ve already read the last 2 years worth, but some of them have some great articles. As someone who has suffered 15 years of knee pain, had been told by Doctors to stop doing exercise till it was better and was extremely worried about any form of exercise when I started Crossfit, the following article snippet was particularly apt (my highlights):
By Mark Rippetoe - He has 28 years experience in the fitness industry and 10 years experience as a competitive powerlifter. He has been certified as an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist since 1985 and is a USA Weightlifting Level III Coach and Senior Coach, as well as a USA Track and Field Level I Coach.
Anyone who says that full squats are “bad for the knees” has, with that statement, demonstrated conclusively that they are not entitled to an opinion about the matter.
People who know nothing about a topic, especially a very technical one that requires specific training, knowledge, and experience, are not due an opinion about that topic and are better served by being quiet when it is asked about or discussed. For example, when brain surgery, or string theory, or the NFL draft, or women’s dress sizes, or white wine is being discussed, I remain quiet, odd though that may seem.
But seldom is this the case when orthopaedic surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, or nurses are asked about full squats. Most such people have absolutely no idea what a full squat even is, and they certainly have no concept of how it affects the knees, unless they have had additional training beyond their specialties, which for the professions mentioned does not include full squats. Because if these people knew anything about squatting, and the difference between a full squat and any other kind of squat and what they do to the knees, they would know that “full squats are bad for the knees” is wrong and thus would not be making such a ridiculous statement.
….
Now, this is not to say that doctors, PTs, and nurses haven’t been exposed to knee anatomy. They have, but they have not, as a rule, been exposed to correct squatting, and thus they have no idea how the movement is related to knee anatomy. The fact is that the knee and hip anatomy actually dictate correct squatting technique. Smart as these people are, you’d think that they could figure this out, and thus derive correct technique, the way we ignorant, uneducated lifters have. But I guess you’d be wrong if you thought that.
Hahaha, Rippetoe is famous for his no nonsense blunt approach to life and this article is indicative of the great quality content the Crossfit Journal contains. It used to be delivered as an emailed pdf each month, but they have just changed this to a subscription based website.
On the subject of knee pain though, I never did get a satisfactory answer as to the cause of mine from the several consultants, x-rays, MRI’s and exploratory surgery I had. All I know is that for 15 years I’ve been unable to kick a football, or walk down stairs without fearing my knee would give way and I’d fall over. But within just 3 months of Crossfit, all that went away. I’ve had np knee pain for over a year now and I have no fear of any knee effecting activity or exercise. All hail the mighty Crossfit, and bring on that cert!
05.09.08
Friday Fun - Wingsuit Flying Video
One day I hope to be brave enough to try something like this, it looks awesome:
02.09.08
Zone Diet Update
I’ve not done a Zone Diet update post for a while, but that’s not because I’ve stopped following a Zone Diet plan. As I mentioned on my last zone diet post, I had sort of reached a plateaux and got “stuck” if you will around the 13st0 (182lb / 83kg) mark and about 17-18% body fat. You may recall that I started the Zone in March 2007 at just under 15 stone and 30% body fat (my waist was 43 inches at the widest point). I set myself a 12 month goal to get to 12st7 (175lbs / 80kg) at 15% body fat. Clearly I didn’t make it.
Of course getting stuck was entirely of my own making, as I’d become complacent, no longer weighing food but measuring my zone blocks by eye only. My alcoholic intake was also far too high (being measured in bottles of wine per week) as were my occasional chocolate treats. The sad reality was that “occasional” was getting ever more frequent, like 2-3 times per week, and “treat” was probably more accurately described as typically 3 different chocolate bars each time!
So 3-4 bottles of wine a week + 8-10 chocky bars a week + of course Friday curry night, it’s no wonder really I wasn’t losing any weight. It is however a testament to the zone that I wasn’t gaining any either. All that changed 4 weeks ago though…
4 weeks ago I started working full time for my new client in London and so have been working away from home and preparing every meal for just myself. The main consequence of this is that I’m rather lazy about what I eat. That doesn’t mean sandwiches and take aways, that means lots of cold meats, fruit and nuts.
Yes there are the exceptions to spice things up, like shallow fried fillet steak (cooked blue of course) with cream cheese… for breakfast! Hmmm yummy. It’s not that extravagant either. For a typical 4 block breakfast, take just 3oz of steak, quickly fry it with a minimum of olive oil (with a bit of salt and pepper and herbs to taste), smear some cream cheese (lowish fat) on the top when done, have with a cup of milk, an apple and a peach (or similar). A very quick and very zone meal.
You could legitimately argue that the cream cheese is not the best choice for a fat source and you’d be right. Everyone has to find the right balance in their diet and personally I like a sauce of some kind with my steak, 3 tea spoons of Philadelphia Light fit the bill for me. You go ahead and have nuts instead if you want to.
Anyway, back to the point: I’ve also pretty much knocked the chocolate on the head completely and only have a drink a couple of times a week now. So 4 weeks of much more strict zoning and guess what: I am now at my target weight of 12st7 with a waist measurement of 35 inches (and 8” loss) which according to the charts in the back of the Zone books, puts me at 15% body fat exactly… I’ve made it! I’m finally at the target I set myself.
So great, I’ve done it, time to come off the diet, right? That’s what “diets” are for aren’t they, for losing weight, then abandoning when you’re done? Sounds silly doesn’t it? And indeed it is.
It’s a shame that the Zone is called a “diet” at all, but it is for obvious reasons. The word diet simply describes the food you eat. Everyone reading this blog is “on a diet” whether that’s a conscious weight loss one, or an unconscious one of pie and chips, being dictated by cooking programs on TV and what the super markets currently have on offer.
I’m not “on a diet” in the common vernacular in that it’s a temporary thing to be discarded when an arbitrary weight is reached. Rather I have permanently altered the way I eat: I eat a balance of protein, carbs and a little fat with each meal and I’ve almost completely removed what I call Junk Carbs from my diet (starchy carbohydrate sources designed to simply bulk up a meal, e.g. bread, pasta, rice, wheat, cereals). Let’ call this a Zone Eating Plan and dispense with the word Diet altogether. This has resulted in a weight loss of 2.5 stone, a loss of 8 inches off my waist, and a drop from 30% body fat to 15% percent.
BUT this leads me to a small dilemma: clearly I have yet to reach a steady state whilst following a Zone Eating Plan, unless of course its effectiveness is offset by eating chocolate and drinking too much wine! As a result, if I continue to eat the way I have in the last month, I fully expect to continue to lose body fat. Here’s the rub though, several people have said to me that I shouldn’t lose any more weight, but it occurs to me that everyone who has said this is (if I can be crude) fatter than I am and so I wonder if there are (conscious or unconscious) ulterior motives behind their statements. What is an ideal target to aim for now?
I consider body fat percentage to be the better measure, rather than absolute weight, as it takes into account muscle vs fat. But now that I’ve lost half the fat I started with, what next? I still don’t have a six pack… maybe some vanity can be afforded now that I believe I have the tool to expose it? I say expose because Crossfit has given me the muscle definition already, it’s just currently hidden behind a (now not too thick) layer of stomach fat.
Or perhaps I should consider weight? More on this another day but I am going to be entering the Northern British Masters Weight Lifting competition next year and the closest weight category boundaries areat 77k and 85kg, so I’m within range of the lower 77kg category. Maybe that would be a good target?
The issue here is that I know I work well with a target in mind, as my Dad is fond of saying, “Aim at nothing, and you’ll hit it every time!”. So which target should I set?
29.08.08
Friday Fun - And I thought the last batch of computer animation was realistic!
This is jaw droppingly amazing!
26.08.08
Finding a Crossfit Friendly Gym in London
Since I started working in London, I’ve been hunting for a good Gym. I define a “good” as:
- one which has some Olympic Weightlifting bars
- the space and the will to let people use them for Olympic lifting (Snatch and Clean & Jerk)
- has Crossfit style equipment: rower, dumbbells, kettlebells, pull up stations
- close to my flat, i.e. around Farringdon, Clerkenwell, Islington, Euston or the City
- Not exorbitantly expensive.
After spending some time scouring the web, I collated the following list of gyms. It’s included here along with my notes on the ones I visited, over 2 sodden nights pacing the streets of London in the evenings. Obviously the prices were what were given to me at the time:
A. UCL Bloomsbury Fitness Centre http://www.uclunion.org/leisure-fitness/bloomsbury/index.php 020 7679 7221
3rd Floor, 15 Gordon Street
£255 for annual offer anytime membership or 3 months for £115
£200 for off peak offer anytime (excludes 11am – 7pm Mon-Fri) or 3 months for £85
Free induction. “Baz: we have rubber dumbbells ranging from 2kg-40kg and 2 Olympic bars with range of discs on a squat rack and bench press. Unfortunately we do not have kettle bells.”B. City University, http://www.city.ac.uk/studentcentre/saddlers/join/prices.html
No Oly bars “Free weights to 48kg”
Annual: £370.00 Monthly: £37.50 Direct Debit: £32.50 £6.00 single visit
5 free weight stations. Pull up station. 3 rowers, some bars but narrow, not full length.C. MAXIMUMS GYM LTD 82 ST JOHN STREET ISLINGTON LONDON EC1M4JN
Wasn’t there !D. Juno, 61 Turnmill Street, London, EC1M 5PT. 020 7250 3489
Was women’s only Gym, but now appears to have closed.E. THE CURZONS GYM 55 GRACECHURCH STREET CITY OF LONDON LONDON EC3V0EE - 020 7621 0911
Didn’t visitF. The Fitness Exchange, 9 Devonshire Sq, London, EC2M 4WY. 020 7626 3161
Didn’t visitG. Vie Health Club, 122 Clerkenwell Rd, London, EC1R 5DL 020 72788070, viehealthclubs.co.uk “comprehensive free weights area”.
6 free weights areas, some detachable bars, £63/month + joining free of zero to £100 depending on how they’re doing.H. Aquaterra Premier Gyms, 1-11 Ironmonger Row, London, EC1V 3QF 020 7253 4011
Big swimming pool but small gym, only 2 free weight stations.I. Slim Jims, 1 Finsbury Avenue, London, EC2M 2PF. 020 7247 9982
Didn’t visitJ. The Health Studio, 1 Pardon St, London, EC1V 0LR. 020 72531223
Actually called Drakes. Personal Training only. Very small place.K. Chariots, Fairchild Street, London, EC2A 3NS. 020 7247 5333,
Didn’t visitL. CUTLERS SQUASH & GYM CLUB LTD, 020 7614 4275, LAMBS CLUB, 1 LAMBS PASSAGE, ISLINGTON
LONDON EC1Y8LE - 020 7614 4275
Didn’t visitM. CHAMBERLIN & GRANT LTD 1 FINSBURY AVENUE CITY OF LONDON LONDON EC2M2PF - 020 7247 9982
Didn’t visitN. KINDER GYM (UK) LTD 20 LINCOLNS INN FIELDS CAMDEN LONDON WC2A3ED
Didn’t visit, suspected it’s a kids gymO. Citypoint Club, Citypoint, 1 Ropemaker Street, London, EC2Y 9AW. 020 7920 6200
Didn’t visitP. Body Reform, Cousin Lane, London, EC4R 3TE. 020 7283 3728,
Didn’t visitQ. Fitness First Plc, 60-63 Bunhill Row, London, EC1Y 8QD, 020 7490 3555
Wouldn’t let me in to see the place as there were “no membership consultants available”.R. Holmes Place Plc, 33 Bunhill Row, London, EC1Y 8LP, 020 7448 5454
Now Virgin Active. 2 Oly bars with possibly the room to use them, however rather light on available weights to use them. Don’t think there was enough for a decent dead lift for example, not without using every weight in the place!
£83/month for a 12 month contract.
£89/month with no contract, but can use any Virgin Gym (bar a few exceptions).
£40 joining feeS. LA Fitness. 20 Little Britain, St Pauls, London, EC1A 7DH. 020 7600 0900 http://www.lafitness.co.uk/
Swimming pool, some free weights but all metal plates. 10 rowing machines.Club Peak (12 month) RRP: £46 / month
Web offer: £40 / month (12 month contract)
Pushed a “Quick Start” booklet at £30T. Virgin Active, 333 Goswell Road, London, EC1V 7DG, 020 7014 9700
Didn’t visitU. VIRGIN GYMS LTD, 9 CHEAPSIDE, CITY OF LONDON, LONDON EC2V6AT
Didn’t visitV. 121 GYM 160 CITY ROAD LONDON EC1V2NP, 020 7336 0466
As their name suggests the 121 Gym offers a personal trainer service for its members. Appointments must be booked in advance and each session costs £40. They are located within the Complete Health Care Centre.
You may notice that the first 2 gyms are University gyms. This is a great tip as many people don’t realise that University gyms are typically open to the public too. Not only are they generally cheaper than “normal” gyms, their off-peak times are the wrong way round too. Given that students are typically in the gym during the day, when they should be in lectures(!) and in the bar in the evening, their off peak time is evenings and weekends, which makes them even cheaper. UCL for example is currently £200 for a years off peak membership!
However, on Thursday last week, I found the hidden gem: Bethnal Green Weight Lifting Club, which is less than 2 miles away from Farringdon. Not only do they have 3 pukka weight lifting platforms, 10 Eleiko Oly bars, loads of Eleiko weights, plus they have rowing machines, about 10 power lifting stations, loads of dumbbells. I need to confirm it, but I understand the cost will be £40 for a 13 week term at 1 night per week. That’s a bargain!
But even that’s not the best bit, I went this Tuesday evening and was coached in my lifting by the current British Olympic weightlifting record holder in the Snatch and Clean and Jerk and the 2002 Commonwealth Snatch gold medal winner: Giles Greenwood. His over 105kg weight record is 180kg (396lb) Snatch and 207.5kg (456lb) C&J. Just to put that in perspective, I can’t even lift 180kg off the floor, let alone throw it over my head!
On top of that, I also met Patrick Atteridge, a former British, European and World Masters Weightlifting champion and Masters Olympian. For example, again in 2002 Pat won Gold at the World championsips. Pat was telling me that Bethnal Green Weightlifting club has produced 241 champions in the 80 years it’s been open!
So basically, I’m as happy as Larry. I can do all the weightlifting I want, coached by champions, on my doorstep, it’s cheap as chips and I may get to introduce some of them to Crossfit too, you never know.