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Bushy Park 10K (Time – 00:53:54)

4 Mar

Me and Prash with our medalsFirst race of the year, with 2 weeks of training and a busted knee, never really expected to break any records. But kicked off the season with a fairly good run of 53 minutes and 54 seconds in strong wind and rain. Bushy Park 10K is a relative easy run, no hills to really worry about and is great for first time runners. The 2 laps around the park is actually quite refreshing for the lungs. I also managed to rope in my brother-in-law to be, to run his first 10K race and he did an amazing job not only achieving a personal best but also pushing me along as I began to limp because of the knee. It was a relief to finish and had my wonderful fiancee waiting in the rain for us with a hot dog. Priceless!

Moor Park 10K (Time: 00:59:08)

25 Sep

I have to confess, I have been pretty bad with training this year, probably the worst I have been in years. I can actually feel the loss in stamina and the gain in flab, not a pretty sight at all. I did not take part in any 10K this year either and with the end of 2011 not so far away, I needed to complete a 10K. I was driving to my Fiancee’s house the other day and saw this big banner up for the Moor Park 10K, it was like it was placed there intentionally for me to see.

This event is based at Merchant Taylors’ School and the route begins and ends with a lap of the school playing fields. It is the biggest annual event organised by the Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre and every penny raised goes directly towards the provision of the LJMC’s services of support and information for people affected by cancer.

This route has a total climb of 78 metres. Taking this into account, this route is equivalent to running approximately 6.8 miles on the flat. So no chance was I ever going to beat my personal best of 49:30 here. With absolute lack of training, I came to the race today hoping and praying that I complete the track in under an hour.

There were a huge number of starters, with me being in the back, the first couple of 100 metres went very slow trying to avoid other runners in my way. The flat ground was fairly easy, but the 1Km marker was nowhere to be seen, but then all of a sudden I came across the 2Km at 7 mins, no way was I running that fast. Then we proceeded to leave the school grounds and hit the infamous hill at Moor Park Golf Club, at this point my lack of training was completely visible or should I say audible, my heavy brething drowned out the cows mooing in the background. I ended up walking up the hill while some brave souls soldiered up it without even wincing once. Eventually managed to find my pace, but after a few more start and stops, I knew any chance of  beating my personal best was nigh impossible. As I ran to the finish line, I could see the clock tick to 00:59:00, so I legged it and crossed the line at 00:59:08. I fell to the ground in a pile of mess, with an expected embarassing time, but found solace in the fact that I did complete the 10K and that too in under an hour.

Lesson of the day – Train, train, train!!!

Boxing instructional videos: Heavybag training

13 Oct heavybag

Heavy bags are one of the most important tools in boxing. Regular practice on the heavy bag aids to increase speed, power and efficiency of movement when punching. A common heavy bag workout consists of three or four rounds on the bag. The timing of the rounds vary between 2-minutes for amateurs and 3-minutes for professionals. Rest in between rounds can vary from 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Length of the rounds can be increased to over-condition the fighter for a traditional round, i.e, 3 minute heavy bag round training for a traditional 2-minute round fight.

Below are a collection of instructional videos showcasing basic Heavybag training skills from Dennythetrainer who has the best training videos on YouTube by far.

Heavy Bag Training: 3×1 minute workout

In this video you can see how effective the left jab, right cross, left and right hooks and uppercuts are all used in these videos. Learn how to work on the bag just like a champion boxer.

Heavy Bag Training: 2 Minute Workouts

The intensity is raised and Wayne demonstrates how to use the heave bag effectively. Jabs, right crosses and uppercuts and hooks are unleashed with ferocity of an animal.

Below are videos showcasing a three round heavy bag workout.

Heavy Bag Round 1

Heavy Bag Round 2

Heavy Bag Round 3

Punching heavy bag image source – sponng

Boxing instructional videos: Basics

13 Oct boxing

Got back into boxing recently, definitely one of the best cardiovascular sports around. It increases your stamina, speed, strength and coordination. Below are a collection of instructional videos showcasing basic Boxing skills from Dennythetrainer who has the best training videos on YouTube by far.

Lesson 1 – Learn the first 4 essential lessons in boxing

Learn the essentials on how to get into the boxing stance, take on the defense position and throw the jab and right cross.

Lesson 2 – Learn How To Put On Hand Wraps

Protect your hands by putting on Hand Wraps. Here is the correct way to put them on if you are a beginner.

Lesson 3 – Learn to throw the perfect Jab and Right Cross

The jab is the most thrown punch in a boxing match and in boxing training. The jab – right cross combination is the most common combination. Watch the demonstrations on how the punches should be thrown

Lesson 4 – Learn a cool combo -Double Jab & Right X

Double jab Right Cross is a classic combination used by successful boxers in the boxing match. With a solid, efficient double followed by a bone crunching right hand combination, you can be sure your opponent will be on the back foot. Dennythetrainer demonstrates this punch, whilst in the bush of Australia. Just proving, boxing training can be performed anywhere. Perfect this combination and you will be able to take on the best in the world – you will be the champion!

Lesson 5 – Learn to throw a killer Left Hook

Learn the secret to throwing a killer left hook. Dennythetrainer explains the method of throwing this mighty left hook punch which has been the key to many boxers successes over the years.

Lesson 6 – Learn the Art of Skipping

Dennythetrainer demonstrates that skipping is one of the best exercises for warming up, cooling down and when you are good at it as a great workout on its own.

Lesson 7 – Learn how to throw perfect Upper Cuts

Learn how to throw uppercuts to the body and head as Dennythetrainer takes you step by step and finishes with a demo. Do this one right and you are going to have another set of knockout puncher to your already wealthy array.

Lesson 8 – Learn how to Shadow Box and be an agile, sharp, flexible, fast, accurate boxer.

Dennythetrainer teaches you foot work, punching techniques and how you can improve posture, agility and flexibility whilst doing shadow boxing training. Shadow boxing can be used as a warm up exercise or a cool down exercise.

Boxing image source - Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games’

Cancer Research UK Run10K – Hampton Court Palace (Time – 00:49:30)

3 Oct Run10K2

Just over 10 months ago, I sat down and wrote my New Year’s resolutions for 2010. And I was committed to ensuring that I stuck to them this year. One of my resolutions was to run a 10K, this I successfully achieved when I completed the Bupa London 10K on 31st May 2010. The elation I felt when I crossed the finish line spurred me on to book myself on to another 10K – the Hampton Court Palace Run10K organised by Cancer Research UK that took place today.

Running hard

Coming in to this race I had not trained for 3 weeks due to a multitude of factors, but the race was for a good cause and I was committed to finish the race regardless of the time. And a wise choice it was, as I thoroughly enjoyed running the 10K, despite the rain and muddy conditions. To be honest, I guess the undesirable conditions definitely added to the sense of achievement and everyone was in high spirits. The route was great with varied terrain and in a lovely setting.
The Aerobics workout before the race was an excellent way to warmup and I was certainly ready for the race by the end of it. Celebrity runners included Philip Taylor (The Apprentice) and Nell McAndrew.

I will now proudly wear my Cancer Research UK t-shirt during training sessions and can’t wait to run my next race. And if you are wondering, I managed to set a new personal best of 49 minutes and 30 seconds. Half a minute faster than my first 10K  :)

Bupa London 10K 2010 run (Time – 00:50:01)

31 May medal2
My medal and I

My medal and I

YAAAAY!!!! Completed the 10K in a respectable 50 minutes and placed 1010 in my Age/Gender group and 1701 overall out of 13,000 runners which is not at all bad for my first ever run. Hobbled my way past the finish line as my old foot injury returned.

The race itself was very well organised and there was a sense of camaraderie between the runners motivating each other on and sharing laughs along the way. The course took in some of the best sights of London, including the London Eye Big Ben and St.Paul’s Cathedra. I thoroughly enjoyed my first ever race and can’t wait to do my next run as soon as my foot injury heals.

I am also extremely grateful to you all for helping me raise money for Action Against Hunger. We raised £180 in 5 days which is amazing!!! And Yes I did celebrate by munching on Nando’s chicken….. :)

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Bupa London 10K run – Niro the Foodrunner

25 May
Action Against Hunger

Action Against Hunger

A bit about me

  • A few weeks ago, the furthest I could run was to my local McDonalds.
  • I have a bit of a sweet tooth and sit right next to the Haribo drawer at work.
  • I eat what I want when I want and as much as I want.
  • I walk in to the fried chicken shop and I get handed chicken without even having to ask for it, they know me well.
  • My five a day consists of a bar of Fruit and Nut Cadburys bar, Cherry coke, Strawberry Ice-cream, Blueberry muffin, and Jammy Dodgers

Why do I want to put myself mentally and physically through this torturous run?

  • Millions of people all over the world struggle to even have a single meal a day.
  • Raise awareness about the plight of malnourished children to whom each new day is a battle to stay alive.
  • Give you a chance to donate to a very worthy cause by just sitting at your computer desks.
  • I have never raised money for charity and this will be my very first time
  • Not feel guilty when I next dig into that delicious chocolate cake

So please dig deep and donate now at http://www.justgiving.com/niro

All sponsorhip I receive for my Bupa 10K run will go to Action against Hunger, please sponsor me and help feed a child.

What your donation could help towards

£10 – One week’s supply of therapeutic milk, nutritional products, vitamins and medicine for a child
£27 – 1 complete survival kit, necessary to save the life of a severely malnourished child in less than 4 weeks
£36 – 1 mechanical surface pump (less than 7 meters)
From £350 to £2,140 – 1 hand pump (20 to 70 meters) providing permanent and lasting access to safe drinking water for around 500 people

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Solid Back workout

13 Apr Solid Back workout

When was the last time you checked your back out, well most people would not remember. Since you can’t see your back you tend to forget about it during workouts. But a strong back shapes your physique and also helps to prevent injury.

If you concentrate purely on the front muscles like your chest and front shoulders, you are at a risk of causing a muscle imbalance and end up looking grotesquely hunched as your shoulders are pulled forward.

Below is a list of Back workouts that I do once a week. I tend to do 4 sets of each exercise with the first set being a warm-up set of around 15-20 reps with a light. The other 3 sets consists of 10 reps each with a 2 minute break between each set.

Chin Ups / Pull Ups

Not only does this workout your back, it also works out your triceps, shoulders, chest, and abs (depending on how you do them). This is a very difficult workout because you have to pick up your own body weight.The difference between a chin up and a pull up is the way your palms face you. In a chin up, the palms of your hand face towards you and you work your biceps out at the same time, in a pull up your palms face away from you.

  • Start by grabbing a pull up bar with your hands a little more then shoulder width apart.
  • Hang on there while letting your lats stretch. Now pull yourself up while arching your back just a little bit.
  • Hold yourself up there for a few seconds with your chin over the bar. Now go back down to starting position. Repeat.


Deadlifts

Dead lifting is probably the best back workout you can do. Thats because it works out the spinal erectors, lats, trapezius, quadriceps, hamstrings, buttocks, hips, and forearms.

  • Start by standing in front of a barbell with your legs close to the barbell.
  • Your feet should be shoulder width apart. Now grab the bar with your hands a little bit more then your shoulder width.
  • Now keeping your arms straight, bend your legs at the same time as flattening your back. Position yourself some what like doing a squat.
  • Now pick the barbell off the floor by straightening your legs and torso. Pull your shoulders back and then lower the bar back to the floor.


Wide Grip Pulldowns to the Front

This exercise works the upper back muscles to widen the upper lats.

  • Grip bar on the wide bend.
  • Arch your back.
  • Pulldown to mid chest, sqeeze shoulder blades together.


Pulldowns Behind The Neck

This exercise works the upper back muscles for width as well as thickness.

  • Grip bar on the wide bend.
  • Tilt your head forward and pulldown to top of the trap muscles.
  • Sqeeze shoulder blades together and full stretch at top.


Reverse Grip Pulldowns

This exercise works the lower lats for both shape and thickness.

  • Grip bar with elbows tucked in .
  • Close to body arch back pulldown to bottom of chest.
  • Squeeze shoulders together full stretch at top.


Seated Cable Rows

This exercise works the upper and lower lats as well as inner muscles lower trap / lumbar.

  • Grip the bar with elbows tucked in.
  • Row back to lower abs
  • Be sure to arch but dont lean back too far then full stretch all the forward.

Bentover Barbell Rows

This execise works entire back, upper, lower and middle.

  • With a barbell, chose desired weight.
  • Begin with shoulder width grip.
  • Bend over, arch back, bend knees slightly, row bar into lower abdomal area.
  • Squeeze shoulders together, full stretch at bottom.

T-Bar Rows

This exercise works entire lats width and thickness.

  • On the T-bar machine, exercise is performed the same as bent over rows.
  • Use a wide or narrow grip,row bottom of pecs.
  • Squeeze at top with full stretch at bottom.


Machine Pullovers

This exercise works the entire lat area, top to bottom,front to back.

  • Begin by adjusting seat to where shoulders are even with pivot points on machine.
  • Place hands on bar over head.
  • Pull bar all the way down to abdominals and sqeeze.
  • Release all the way up for a full stretch.


Shrugs

  • Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart and grab a dumbbell in each hand. Your back should remain straight throughout the movement.
  • Hold each dumbbell at your side with your palms facing inward.
  • Raise dumbbells as high as possible using only your trapezius muscles. Your arms and legs should not assist in the lift. Envision trying to touch the bottom of your ears with your trapezius muscles. Squeeze for a count of one.
  • Lower the dumbbells toward the starting position in a slow and controlled manner. This is considered one repetition.

Warming Up before a workout

12 Apr Warming Up

In my blogpost yesterday, on My 10 Weighlifting tips and Techniques, I emphasized the importance of incorporating a proper warmup before any workout session. A warmup not only helps to prepare your body physically for working out but also prepares it mentally.

I start of my warmup with some dynamic stretching followed by around 3-4 minutes on the treadmill to raise my core body temperature and then last but not least workout specific warmups. My warmup takes about 10 minutes in total. So what is dynamic stretching you ask, well simply put it is taking static stretching that you normally do at the end of a workout while cooling down and adding some motion to it.

Dynamic stretching uses speed of movement, momentum and active muscular effort to bring about a stretch . Unlike static stretching the end position is not held. Dynamic stretching is similar to ballistic stretching except that it avoids bouncing motions and tends to incorporate more sport-specific movements.

Below are a few good videos demonstrating dynamic stretching that you can incorporate in your warm ups.

Dynamic stretches before a workout

Dynamic Stretching for Runners

My 10 Weightlifting tips and techniques

11 Apr My 10 Weightlifting tips and techniques

I have now been working out for just under 8 years and in this time I have learnt quite a lot about training techniques and nutrition, and I am still learning something new everyday, so some of my daily blog posts will focus on keeping fit. With this post, I would like to share some lifting tips and techniques that have aided me in my training:

  1. Warming Up
    The importance of warming up cannot be understated. Just doing 10 reps of a light weight before you do your sets is not really a warmup. A proper warm-up should increase your heart rate, blood circulation, range of motion, and neural drive to the working muscles.
  2. Avoid excessive cardio before performing lifts
    I have found that doing a long cardio session (anything more than 5 – 10 minutes) as a warmup before I perform lifts is counter-productive as my body no longer has the energy to perform efficient lifts. Cardio only warms up the core body temperature it doesn’t prime your nervous system which is essential for having a safe and effective workout. Cardio should be done at the end of your workout to assist in fat-loss.
  3. Glove it
    Wearing gloves or using grips ensure that the weights are secure in your hands. Weights are often slippery with oils from other people’s hands and losing grip of the weight is the last thing you want. You should also ensure that you have a weight belt handy when performing heavy lifts as it will help to avoid back injuries and hernias.
  4. Get in to the “Zone”
    Bodybuilders and Powerlifters tend to go into a zone, where everything around them in the gym becomes blurry. Their focus and concentration is purely on the next lift and nothing else.
  5. Start light
    Your first set should always be with a weight you can easily handle at least 10-12 repetitions. Get your body ready to do the exercise, before moving up to higher weights. If you start off heavy, you could end up with mucle tears.
  6. Visualising the lift
    Just like you train your body, you need to train your mind. Before you perform a lift, close your eyes and go through the motions of the lift in your mind. Practise your breathing at the same time. If you intend to do 10 reps, visualise those 10 reps. Now both your physical and mental self are primed to perform the lift.
  7. Breathing technique
    Your breathing technique can either make or break the lift. Incorrect breathing technique inhibits you from getting the best out of your sets.” Always exhale on exertion”. For example, when you are pushing a bench press off your chest, you exhale on the push and inhale as you bring it slowly to your chest. When you are doing a pullup, you exhale on the pulling up motion and inhale on the way down. Breathing correctly also helps to prevent internal injury such as hernia, blood vessel strain, and high blood pressure.
  8. Use correct technique
    Proper exercise technique is crucial to ensure that you are getting the best out of your workouts and helps prevent unnecessary injuries. I have seen plenty of experienced bodybuilders trying to lift weights that are heavier than what they should be lifting with extremely bad form as an ego boost or to show off to the pretty girl on the cardio machine. The best way to learn the right technique is to invest in a personal trainer and use light weights. Once you have mastered the technique, stick to it religiously, trust me it will pay dividends!
  9. Get a spot
    Spotting, is when someone supports you while you perform a particular exercise, this will allow you to lift or push more than what you would normally do safely. A good spotter knows when to intervene and assist with a lift, and will encourage you to push beyond your comfort zone.
  10. Cool down and stretch
    After your last exercise,  you need to do cool down. You could cool down by doing cardio for a few minutes. This helps in bringing your heart rate down at a slow and steady pace, which will help you avoid feeling sick after a workout.
    Once you have cooled down, you should stretch. After a workout, muscles naturally contract. Stretching helps to prevent them from shrinking. This will aid in your muscles rebuilding, growing bigger and stronger.

Happy lifting!

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