Category Archives: Fitness

How to de-clutter your training – Part 1

Comments Off Posted by on September 20, 2012

Have you ever thought about how many people in the world workout/train trying to look, feel and function better? Ever wondered how many of those people actually see results? The answer to that question is, not many. Only a very small percentage of people who workout regularly actually get results and chances are very high that you are not one of those people.

Genetics and laziness – the two greatest determinants of success or failure – aside, one other aspect that influences the extent of your results is, shockingly, ‘doing the right thing’. This doesn’t really say much because ‘doing the right thing’ can be very different things based on who it comes from. That said, every great mind, every seasoned master, every passionate soul, every legit being will tell you that in order to be successful, you need to focus on the things that matter the most. Like how focussing on family, good health, education etc., helps with a better future, focussing on a simple set of effective training tools helps with awesome results.

Here are my top 4 tips to de-clutter and simplify your training.

Kill the fluff.

The problem is always fluff. All day everyday in everything. Fluff causes undue anxiety, confusion, overdoing and, eventually, failure. Fluff here is ‘the flashy but unnecessary’. In all walks of life, there is such fluff. Being very attractive, it confuses, mesmerizes and captivates you forcing you to forget the basics and fall prey to ‘fads’.

The solution is to fight the temptation to do what you want and focus on doing what you need to do. Stated differently, quit doing something because it looks fancy and focus on exercises that matter. It doesn’t matter if your goals are to lose weight or get strong or perform better athletically or look awesome naked. Without mastering the squat, the hinge, the push, the pull and the run (which are the most basic human movements)  in one form or the other, you’re getting no where close to where you want to be.

While performance seekers ‘get this’, that isn’t always the case with people who train to look good. Understand that, in the raw sense, your looks are a visual representation of your physical capabilities (of course assuming your nutrition is fairly on target). Today, I can do about 20 pullups and can deadlift double bodyweight and what do I look like? I look like someone who can do 20 pullups and can deadlift double bodyweight. If I want to look like that guy there who can do 30 pullups, well, I need to train and become capable of doing 30 pullups. What I’m trying to say is, you’re not going to look like a greek God(ess) just from walking on a treadmill and lifting 2kg dumbbells. Awesome looks result from great capabilities which result from simple but hard work.

Summary: 80% of your training should be squatting, hinging, pushing, pulling and running in their most basic form. The remaining 20%, call it ‘f*ck around time’ and do whatever it is that floats your boat.

Worry less about what you use and think more about how you move. 

It doesn’t matter if you work with barbells or kttlebells or dumbbells. It only matters that you don’t work with the Shake Weight that you do the right movements. Not exercises, movements.

The only requirement is resistance and that can be generated from any object that obeys the laws of gravity, be it the oh-s0-awesome looking kryptonite coated pink colored dumbbells or a beat up paint peeling kettlebell or a backpack with a bunch of books in it or a rock or even your own body. What you need to focus on is not the tool (equipment) but understanding and mastering the movement. If you can’t do 10 perfect pushups, you have no reason to even glance at that monster bench pressing 300 lb. If you can’t do a single pullup, you’ll only waste time curling iron. If you can’t activate your hamstrings when doing a hinge, bedroom time isn’t going to be too much fun lifting heavy loads off the floor will only beat up your lower back. If you cant bend down and touch the floor, rest assured that you will hurt your spine sooner or later.

Summary: Change the way you look at fitness. Forget what equipment you use. Remember that training is all about moving efficiently and without that you’re just wasting your time. Nothing more and absolutely nothing less.

Keep that intensity high.

It isn’t about how long you train for or how many reps you perform. It is about intensity. The higher the intensity the lesser the time you should train for and the better the results. When training for strength, it isn’t just your muscles that are fatigued. Your Central Nervous System (CNS) take a beating too and the more you let it recover the better you will be able to recover and hence, the better you’ll be able to train in the long term. Too much work too frequently will only result in mediocre results and plateaus and overtraining and, almost undeniably, injuries.

Summary: Rest plenty between sets where plenty = time taken for complete recovery of target muscle group/movement, but work uber hard during each set. 

Rehabilitate everyday.

I believe everyone is injured at all times. An injury needn’t mean only an injury in the traditional sense but also an incapability. Not being able to touch the floor, in my opinion, is a bigger injury than a strained muscle and needs more attention than a traditional injury would. Keep in mind that training is about working on aspects that need work. If you have a painful joint, then you need to dedicate time to rest, rehab and recover until the joint is back to normal before worrying about doing anything else with it. Similarly, if your mobility is compromised, you need to dedicate time to work on that. If you’re super mobile but weak, then strength and stability should be your focus. You get the idea.

Summary: See what needs work and take time everyday to work on it. Most rehab and mobility work takes 15-20min per day and results in a drastically better quality of life. 

In part 2, I’ll write about the same 4 topics, but will get more specific about who needs to do what, when, why etc.

Peace out.

Fitness ,

De-cluttering training and nutrition

10 Comments Posted by on September 17, 2012

It’s been a long time since I blogged and today seemed like a perfect day to do so. One thing I’ve been thinking about is how I started writing this blog as a way to record my experiences with health and fitness and how it slowly moved away from that and became an information dump of sorts (while helping thousands of people, of course). Considering how busy lazy I’ve been to keep this blog alive and thriving, I think, like everything else in life, it is time to get back to the basics. Make a plan and stick with it. And here is my plan.

Start writing.

Just so we’re clear, this post won’t have any amazing insights about nutrition or links to studies that prove that a certain food is a superfood/poison or how training exactly 17.32 minutes after waking up will help you lose more fat. Posts like this might very well be boring for many, but they are what I need to write and read.

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My battle with fitness related progress has always been because of the ‘switch’ mentality. I’m an all or nothing kind of guy. When it comes to training, I’m in it or out of it. Moderation never works for me. In other words, I walk into a training session either to dominate the session or I explicitly half-ass it or don’t train at all. And honestly, most of you are like me.

I approach, not just training sessions, but even training programs with this mentality. When I start a training program, I’m super excited looking forward to everything about the program and start off with a bang. With time though, my excitement drops and I see myself crawling to the finish line. What is interesting here is that I do stick with the program entirely and I get the results I’m looking for, at least most of it. What I lack is the motivation to keep going beyond the finish line. The problem is not the lack of commitment or lack of variety in the program. The problem is the finish line. The problem is that there is a finish line.

It took me years to understand that fitness never ends. There is no such thing as ‘completion’ when it comes to fitness. Programs, be it a self-conducted one like Starting Strength or a professionally conducted one like The Quad, are short spurts of intense effort providing you visible results. But the point of such programs is to lay a foundation on which you can build on and continue your never ending journey towards fitness.

This all or nothing mentality worked well for a good chunk of time but, like everything else, it got old. It became harder and harder to psych myself up before each training session, to stay committed and focussed to my oh-so-ambitious goals and, most importantly, to make continuous progress.

I decided to fix this once and for all. So here is what I did – I came up with rules to de-clutter my training and nutrition and hence, life. Simple small rules that will help declutter my fitness-life. Here are the rules.

  1. Push, pull, squat, hinge and run. Waste no time on fluff.
  2. Forget equipment. Forget muscles. Focus on movements.
  3. Train hard. Keep total volume low.
  4. Do some form of rehab work everyday.
  5. Stop being a brat and sleep.
  6. Eat protein with every meal.
  7. Keep starch to a minimum on rest days.
  8. Eat more organic produce.
  9. As an immediate response, say no to junk. You can reconsider later.
  10. Supplement wisely.

Details about each one of these rules and how they have helped me stay strong and in great shape without dedicating too much time or sanity to follow in the upcoming posts.

More soon.

Adios!

Chapters from my book of life, Fitness, Nutrition , , ,

Don’t put up with nonsense.

Comments Off Posted by on August 27, 2012

Say you’re ready for a post paid cell phone connection. You look into the available service providers and compare what each one has to offer. Some are more expensive than the others while some are more useful to you than the others. You read up details on the plan, pricing etc., and find one that you think is best suited for your needs. You pay up. Get your SIM card. Load up your trusted smart-ass phone. You’re ready to rock n roll!

Once you start using the service, you realize that calls drops pretty often. You don’t think much of it ‘cos you talk when you drive and there seems to be no real pattern to call dropping. Then you realize that your internet is spotty. You’re unable to send emails with any attachments. Slowly, you realize that not all your messages are being delivered and that you’re not getting your emails on time on the phone.

You try talking to customer service, but other than using phrases you’ve always wanted to use, like “Put your supervisor on the line!” and “Are you kidding me??!”, nothing much comes out of it.

Initially, you make do. You adjust. You find work-arounds. Kind of like being lazy to fix the time on your clock but knowing how fast or slow it is and ‘calculating time’ each time. You don’t send out emails at specific times, you are always ready for dropped calls, you use the internet as much as you can when it is available etc. But eventually you need to understand what is actually happening.

The service that you subscribed to and pay for, is not working for you. And what do you need to do when such a situation arises? You need to man the f**k up and fire that service provider and find a new one. Simple common sense right? I mean, why would you ever want to continually pay for something that is clearly not working for you? If you’re paying for a service to help you accomplish certain tasks (in this case, being connected) and if it doesn’t work for you, you fire that service and find something else that works. No-brainer right?

So then, please tell me why you stay on a training program that doesn’t give you the results you desire? Why work with a trainer who doesn’t deliver what he/she promises? Why donate money to a gym for years and years when you either don’t use it or get no results out of it? When you find out that what you’re doing isn’t working for you, isn’t time to make a change? To find something that truly works for you?

So here is what you need to do – Look at yourself or your performance today and compare it to data (photos, numbers etc.) from a few weeks/months/years ago. If your goal was to get better (stronger or faster or leaner or healthier) and if you haven’t gotten any better, you’re only getting worse. Not everything works for everyone. But something works for everyone. And it is on you to find your something.

So, stop being lazy and don’t put up with nonsense anymore. Be adamant about wanting the best. Be diligent in finding the best. Be religious about working with the best. Become your best.

Adios.

Fitness, Listening To Your Body, Observations

Don’t be an idiot

7 Comments Posted by on June 19, 2012

So about 5 weeks back, I came home from The Quad and brought along with me a pair of pushup handles since I had twisted my left wrist pretty bad while doing some non-training related activity. Due to the messed up wrist, I wasn’t able to do many traditional moves and hence was working within what I could do without aggravating the injury. That night was upper body day and so I decided to do a simple push-pull combo. This was the workout…

Repeat for a total of 10 rounds.

  • 5 pushups @ BW + 70lbs
  • Rest 90 seconds
  • 5 bent over barbell rows @ 135 lbs
  • Rest 90 seconds

I usually try and do more pulls than pushes to even out the chronic anterior-posterior imbalance we all suffer from, so every other round, I added in 10 pullups. So overall it works out to be 50 pushups @ BW + 70lbs, 50 pullups @ BW and 50 rows @ 135 lbs. Being 145 lbs, this is a fairly intense workout but by no means crazy. The goal was exerting optimal power within the constraints of proper technique. If at any point of time my technique was compromised in any exercise I decided to stop the step.

The loads felt light and I kept knocking each rep out of the park. Rest periods were perfect and I felt strong overall. At about the 5th set, as I continued to feel great, I very subconsciously decided that I was going to kill this workout. That is when shit hit the fan.

I reached the 8th round and as I was doing my 4th pushup, I felt some discomfort on my right shoulder (possibly from overly compensating using my right side due to subconsciously trying to reduce load on the left wrist). I consciously ignored it and went on to do my final and hardest rep. I grit my teeth through the pain and completed the set in style but after the set, I felt considerable stiffness on my right shoulder. I did some basic shoulder mobility work and expected to feel better. Since I didn’t feel too much better after the mobility work, I decided that for the 9th and 10th rounds I would not do weighted pushups but would do bodyweight pushups instead. Painful and uncomfortable as they were, the last two rounds were  already“step-downs” from my original plan and, in my head, I “needed” to do “at least” this. Not doing the last two sets was not an option (at that time).

So I did about 25 pushups in each round and successfully completed the workouts with 40 pushups @ BW + 70lbs, 50 pushups @ BW, 50 pullups @ BW and 50 rows @ 135 lbs.

I woke up the next morning with an overly stiff and painful shoulder and since then have been nursing that shoulder till date. While I’m not in pain anymore, I’ll tell you I’m well away from feeling a 100%. This messed up my training pretty badly. I’ve met 4 different physical therapists, spent over Rs 8000, taken two non-consequetive weeks completely off from training and am only now slowly getting back to training with a plan.

One rep! Just than one damn rep! If only I had stopped before that rep, I would not have had to suffer for more than a month. I’m such an idiot! Right?

I’m an idiot alright, but it wasn’t that one rep that caused the damage. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t that set or that workout or even the workouts before that. I wasn’t overtrained or fatigued. I wasn’t lacking focus or sleep. I wasn’t eating junk and was by no means weak.

So then, what caused the damage? Honestly, my attitude. My attitude towards training is what caused all this havoc. Let me explain.

Like most fitness enthusiasts, I have a tendency to get carried away when I workout. Though I have solid goals defined for each mesocycle and for each workout, I tend to forget those and get lost in the moment. I try to kill every single workout. If you have been training for a while, you’ll know that’s a recipe for disaster and if you’re brutally honest with yourself, you’ll realize you do it yourself!

In this specific case, my goal for the quarter was strength. Not max pushups or fat loss but strength. And for me to get stronger I need to train very consistently. And for me to train consistently, well, I need to stay injury free. So, though, at that time, that last rep seemed like it was taking me towards my goal of getting stronger, by doing the rep I injured myself which has set me far far away from my goals.

What do I need now? Rehab? A new training plan? Some postural alignment? Sure. I need all of these. But most importantly I need a change in attitude. I need to look at training as training. I need to focus on the big picture. I need to not be penny wise pound foolish. I need to train myself to work towards a larger goal be it strength or long term injury free living or general health.

Similarly, very very similarly, it isn’t that one week binge that made you fat. It isn’t that one cheat meal that made you “fall off the wagon”. It isn’t that diet that made you sick of health and fitness. It isn’t that trip you had to make that messed up all your efforts.

It is your attitude. It is your attitude towards transformations and fat loss and health. Let me break it down further.

  • If you think you can eat junk tonight and “burn it off” tomorrow either by doing some extra reps or extra cardio, you need a change in attitude.
  • If you think you can “go on a diet” and lose in 6 weeks what you have gained in 6 years, you need a change in attitude.
  • If you think eating well for 3 days gives you the leeway to stuff your face on the 4th day, you need a change in attitude.
  • If you think you can just moving your arms and legs for a few minutes three times a week and saying no to cake once a week will fix all your health problems, you need a change in attitude.
  • If you think the people who look awesome or perform at a high level or live forever just put in a few weeks of work, you bloody well need a change in attitude.

To help you and I change our attitudes, I’ll present here the most inspiring thing I’ve ever heard.

Understand that health or fitness or looking awesome or reversing a disease is a long term effort. You are not going to sport those sexy abs with a 6-min abs program. You’re not going to become an awesome athlete with half-assed mobility work. You are not going to lose (and keep off) those extra 20kg by going on a diet for 2 months. You are not going to live to see your great grandchildren by eating at pizza hut every other day. You are not going to reverse diabetes by replacing sugar with splenda. And we are not going to get anywhere with an attitude that undermines real work.

We are only going to achieve all this by possessing one thing – consistency. Consistent effort leads to sustainable long term results. Period. Be it aesthetics or performance or blogging or cooking or meditation or even life in general, consistency results in excellence while inconsistency results in mediocrity.

And just to be sure you and I got the message, I’ll say it again…

Don’t be an idiot. Focus on the big picture.

Adios!

Chapters from my book of life, Fitness, Observations , ,

The two paths to fat loss heaven

1 Comment Posted by on June 11, 2012

I know I owe you guys one more post in The Gluten(free) Myth series, but I’m in the midst of some gluten based experiments and will need a few more weeks to collate my findings and create a post out of it. Thank you for your patience. 

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Sure there is plenty of talk about not focussing on fat loss and instead focusing on health and welness and blah blah. All that is awesome but truth is that most people today can benefit from some fat loss. That being the case, why do most people struggle to get the chub off? Well, ‘cos most people half-ass the efforts. They either do the wrong thing or do things wrong. Let me explain.

I have already discussed in detail about what the right thing is here, here, here, here and everywhere. If you have any questions about what the right thing is wrt fat loss, read up first. So, moving on from doing the right thing to doing things right, there are two ways, and only two ways, to getting lean.

  1. The crazy way
  2. The not-so-crazy way

And the best thing about these two ways is that they are both legit and they both work marvelously and one is no better than the other. It all depends on which is better suited for you.

The crazy way, and my preferred way to fat loss, is nothing short of an all out battle. You lock (in your goals), you load (up your eating and training plan) and fire!

This is for you if you…

  • Have a legit goal. Eg. You need to lose a few pounds and look good for an upcoming event or you need to drop weight for a competition.
  • Are truly disciplined and can commit to a not interesting (but not necessarily boring) food life for a period of 12-16 weeks.
  • Enjoy training and can commit to 4-5 days of focussed training per week.
  • Are bold enough to say no to yourself or anyone else who tries to get you to deviate from your nutrition or training plan.

And this is what you need to do.

  • Set a (short term) goal. Based on what your bodyweight is, figure out your optimal rate of fat loss (per this article) and come up with how much weight you can lose in 12-16 weeks. For instance, I’m about 150 lb (68 kg) at 10-12% BF and if I want to get lean, I’d aim to lose 5-6 lb (2-3 kg) in 12 weeks and hope to end up at about 146 lb (66 kg) at 8% BF.
  • Come up with a training plan or find someone who can help you with one. You don’t need anything fancy. The basic movements for strength work 2-3 times a week, sprints or sled drags or hill sprints 1-2 times a week and 50-60min of super low intensity cardio (i.e. walking or enjoyable swimming) everyday is all you need. You can follow a plan like the “how to look awesome naked” plan or a few 4 week plans like this one or create your own plan.
  • Come up with a nutritional plan you can sustain for about 3 months. As a general rule for fat loss, up the protein and fat and eat carbs (starch and fruit) only immediately after your workout. About 1 gm of protein, 1/2 gm of fat and 1 gm of carbs per lb of target bodyweight is a good place to start. Eat more (protein) if you’re losing more than you should and eat less (carbs) if you’re not losing enough. For more read the “free stuff”.
  • Have a cheat meal every other week. The term cheat meal, here, means eating foods that aren’t allowed in your 12-16 week plan OR eating more of the allowed foods. Figure out what you need (the dessert cheat for sanity or the excess calories for more energy) and do it.
  • Do nothing more and do definitely nothing less. Stay true, real true, to the plan for a short 3-4 months. Make no deviations. Grab the bull by the horns and get shit done!

The not-so-crazy way, is by contrast a chilled out, gradual and slow approach. You set some basic ground rules and go about living your life.

This is for you if you…

  • Have a vague goal. Eg. You need to lose some weight or you need to improve your health/fitness.
  • Are not dedicated enough to stick to a very strict training regimen or nutritional plan for more than a few days.
  • Don’t really enjoy working out but do it ‘cos you need to lose weight (or improve your health etc.).
  • Are prone to “falling off the wagon” fairly easily when tempted or hungry or stressed.
  • Are 50+, not athletically inclined and are doing this purely to stay healthy/pain free.

And this is what you need to do.

  • Set a (long term) goal. For eg. decide to lose 5-6 kgs in the coming year. If you lose 7 don’t eat a restaurant and if you lose only 4 don’t jump off a cliff.
  • Forget training plans and find a way to increase your activity level. You don’t necessarily have to join a gym or sign up for any programs, but make some lifestyle changes. For eg. find someone who will walk with you 3-4 days a week, swear to never use the elevator/escalator, carry your groceries, swear to not take the car for anything under a 15min walk, find a sport you like and play twice a week, do some home workouts with involve just bodyweight squats, pushups, lunges etc, or create your own training plan as instructed here.
  • Forget diets and nutritional plans and set yourself some food rules. Eat dessert only once a week and limit yourself to a small portion. Always leave the table when you’re still a tiny bit hungry. Eat more vegetables and meat and less starch and fruits. These 10 simple food rules will do the trick real well.

And here are some special cases…

  • If you are grossly overweight or clinically obese or have anything more than 25 kg to lose, you definitely want to go the not-so-crazy way. Your run is a marathon and you need to tackle it appropriately.
  • If you are just a few pounds away from reaching your happy body, then the crazy approach is your friend. Suck it up for a couple of months and you’re good to go.
  • If you’re an athlete (or wannabe elite athlete) capable of controlling your bodyweight fairly well, then the crazy approach it is.
  • If you’re considering making a chance in your parents’ lives by helping them shed some weight, the not-so-crazy way is definitely what you want to consider.

As complicated as you want fat loss to be, it really is that simple. Not easy but truly very simple. The reason most people fail in their fat loss efforts is not because they chose the wrong diet or wrong workout program but because they choose the wrong approach (for their type). Sure there is no way to say which exact type you are, but the key is to try both. If you have tried one and that didn’t work, maybe you should give the other approach a shot.

After all, insanity is nothing but doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result each time. So mix it up a little and instead of wondering if the grass is greener on the other side, hop in and check it out for yourself.
Adios!
Fitness, Nutrition , ,

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