Evening folks, hope you have had a great day, its been beautiful here in London, a great day to be outdoors training in the awesome parks we have here!
Just wanted to take a moment to introduce you to a great fitness concept I recently got introduced to......
Created by top strength coach Rannoch Donald, the 100 Rep Challenge is as simple as it sounds. Each and every day you should aim to perform 100 perfect repetitions. The repetitions can be done with a single exercise or split up into several different exercises. You can use one or two very long sets, or many shorter sets, it doesn't matter. Just get 100 perfect repetitions done per day.
Over the course of a week that is 700 repetitions which will go a long way to replacing the daily wood chopping, hunting, farming activities of our ancestors! As well as burning energy you will be building movement skills, strength and stamina, a winning combination!
It is important to note that the 100 Rep Challenge is not intended to replace your workouts, it is merely a baseline level of activity that we should all strive to achieve on a daily basis. What a great concept!
I have been giving it a shot in recent weeks using a variety of calisthenic movements, kettlebell drills and resistance cables. Normally I do my 100 Reps first thing in the morning when I wake up to get the blood flowing, it is a great way to blow off the cobwebs of a nights sleep.
Here are some of my favorite combination's so far.....
25 Kettlebell Swings (Right Hand)
25 Double TNT Chest Press
25 Kettlebell Swings (Left Hand)
25 Double TNT Rows
50 Bodyweight Squats
50 Push Ups
10 Push Ups
10 Kettlebell Swings
10 Bodyweight Rows
10 Climbers
15 Push Ups
15 Kettlebell Swings
15 Bodyweight Rows
15 Climbers
There are limitless other possibilities, be creative and come up with your own versions of the 100 Rep Challenge and make them a fixture in your daily life!
In the meantime I strongly recommend you check out the 100 Rep Challenge Website for some ideas and inspiration. There is even a facebook page with over 1000 members......join in and get involved!
Here is a link to an innovative blog article written by Brad Pilon which provides an alternative food pyramid to the grain heavy one we are indoctrinated with. Have a look and see what you reckon. I think it has plenty of merit.....
"Just 20 minutes exposure to the sun should produce the necessary
daily dose of vitamin D to keep us healthy. But half of Britons – and up to 1billion people around the
world – are not getting enough, the researchers say"
The above statement is taken from the front page of the Metro Newspaper earlier this week and you can check out the full article by following the link below.......
In addition to enhanced Vitamin D production there are many other reasons to get yourself outdoors into the fresh air on a more regular basis, examples of which can be found in an old blog post I wrote titled The Benefits of Outdoor Fitness Training
It is not hard to sell the benefits of sunlight, fresh air and the outdoors to most people but if you are in the minority of folks who stay locked away indoors you are probably doing your health a great disservice!
This week I finally succumbed and purchased a pair of Vibram Five Finger shoes. I have been meaning to try these unique trainers for a while but something always held me back....probably the fact that they look utterly ridiculous in comparison to your traditional trainer!!
The main reasoning behind my decision to finally get a pair was nagging knee pain. After a nasty rugby injury and three surgeries my right knee has never quite been free from flare ups but recently it has been particularly troublesome. I started to notice the flare ups would often coincide with long spells walking around in my outdoor trainers so I decided to take action and see if some barefoot shoes would help!
The basic concept behind Vibram Five Finger trainers and other barefoot shoes is to get back to the way we have evolved to walk and run......on our bare feet. After all for most of human evolution shoes have simply not been around and certainly not in the modern styles we now get them in.
The Vibram Five Finger is supposed to allow you to replicate barefoot movement as closely as possible without actually going barefoot and suffering the potential cuts and abrasions that would entail.
The Theory
Your foot contains an intricate network of muscles, connective tissue and joints, not to mention hundreds of thousands of nerve endings all of which are cramped together and greatly restricted in your typical thick soled shoe where your foot is held rigid and detached from the ground by a thick layer of padding. As a result your feet cannot function as they should, become weaker and lose dexterity. It is kind of like walking around with boxing gloves on your feet for most of your life!
Walking and running on shoes that prevent your foot from working effectively can alter your gait and throw your body out of alignment. Eventually this misalignment can manifest itself in the form of muscle and joint pain.
In a nutshell this is why I have made the switch to Vibrams and am willing to put up with being called The Gruffalo by my training clients for the time being. Look out for future posts where I will keep you updated on my progress in the Vibrams and see if there is any substance to this barefoot hype!
As if hill sprints were not tiring enough Gymless Fitness client Jon Mount has discovered a devilish new location to perform them which includes 15 metres of steps at the top of the run! Jon has been using the hill and stair combo to build up his pre-season conditioning in preparation for the rugby season ahead where he hopes to help his side to a title winning campaign after two seasons of play-off agony!
Here Jon describes where you can find this awesome hill sprint location, if you live in SW London then get down there and give it a shot!
"See the pic below, you can just
about
make out the footpath on the diagonal between Buckhold and Merton Road.
Its about 70-80m in total I reckon - finish off with about 15 metres of
steps. Did 8 last night and nearly died"
For those who want a better understanding of how their hormonal system works and where it can potentially go wrong then check out the following video article produced by the Precision Nutrition Team.
Since hormone levels effect so many physiological factors in your body including mood, energy levels, sex drive and fat loss/storage it is an important area to keep in check! Educating yourself in the basics of endocrinology is the best place to start that process and this video does a good job of doing just that!
I stumbled across a great article this morning written by John Robbins which follows on extremely well from yesterdays blog post on energy drinks!
Check out the opening paragraphs......
Now here's something you wouldn't expect. Coca-Cola is being sued by
a non-profit public interest group, on the grounds that the company's
vitaminwater products make unwarranted health claims. No surprise
there. But how do you think the company is defending itself?
In a staggering feat of twisted logic, lawyers for Coca-Cola are
defending the lawsuit by asserting that "no consumer could reasonably be
misled into thinking vitaminwater was a healthy beverage."
As with many other energy drink manufacturers, Coca-Cola just uses the power of massive marketing budgets to mislead people into buying what is in fact a really low-grade product. Don't fall for the same trap.........
Most energy drinks are packed full of nasties that might give you a brief sugar rush but will do nothing for your health or waistline. A typical energy drink is loaded with high fructose corn syrup, artificial colorings, manufactured electrolytes and other weird chemicals.....not a healthy concoction!
If you are looking for a healthy alternative to energy drinks pre/during/post exercise then check out an excellent alternative straight from mother nature....Coconut Water
On a lighter note you have got to check out this hilarious youtube video sticking with the topic of energy drinks, it is genius!
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