I wrote a blog recently about my fat loss exploits as I got ready for my Charity boxing match.  As regular readers of my blog will know, I’m not afraid to experiment on myself and will often try training and nutrition plans on myself.

Recently I have decided to invest in researching some of the best plans out there for those of you interested in serious physique transformation and sports performance gains.  Last week was No Nonsense Muscle Building by Vince Del Monte.  This week I’m reviewing Jason Ferruggia’s ‘The Renegade Diet.’

Since this review is all about a nutrition plan I thought it would be important to set the scene with a blog on some of the key topics.  At the bottom of the blog you can see my review of The Renegade Diet.

I should say that as far as nutrition goes, I am not a dietitian or nutritionist- I consider myself to have an advanced understanding of the basics.  This is what I wish for all my athletes to have too.  Nutrition- just like fitness- shouldn’t be complicated if people follow the basics but it can get confusing.

Perhaps the biggest thing that can be confusing is the debate about the best way to lose fat.  I was always told that if you want to lose fat you just need to create a calorie deficit- eat less calories than you normally do and you will lose fat.  It doesn’t matter what foods you eat or when you eat.  But more recent thinking challenges this.  And if you understand this basic principle you will be ahead of most people in the fat loss queue.

Nutrition Basics: A Calorie is Not a Calorie

What is a Calorie

Calories are simply a unit of energy, but they are a great mystery to many. They are not the enemy dieters often think they are. We need calories from food and drink to run our bodies the same way a car needs energy from gasoline and your refrigerator needs electric energy to keep your food cold.

A kilocalorie (kcal, often pronounced kay-cal) is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1000 ml of water by 1˚C. A kilocalorie is 1000 calories.

1 gram of Carbohydrate = 4 kilocalories

1 gram of Protein = 4 kilocalories

1 gram of Fat = 9 kilocalories

The argument for A Calorie is a Calorie

Your body weight reflects your energy balance. If you consume more calories than your body uses, you will gain weight. Likewise, you will lose weight if you consume fewer calories. Body weight is not, however, an indicator of nutrient adequacy or the nutritional quality of the diet.

Weight management is a simple game of maths, these folks argue. To maintain your current weight, you need to consume the same number of calories your body burns each day.

To lose a pound, you need to create a caloric deficit of approximately 3,500 calories.

Whether you create that deficit by eating less fat, less carbohydrate, less protein or a little less of everything is immaterial.

Now for a new way of thinking

For those of us who are willing to think beyond the calorie, a greater understanding of the effect of food on the body can enable us to lose weight without putting ourselves through grueling calorie-controlled diets.

As far as my ‘principles’ go, they are based on the work of Charles Poliquin, John Beradi and Mike Rousell.  They all recommend sound principles that take into account nutrient timing and nutrient type– rather than just focusing on calorie amount per se.

The Type of food is important- nutrient type

In reality, the way that different types of food influence the chemical reactions within our body has a huge impact on how many of the calories your consume will ultimately be converted into fat.

Protein:

Let’s start with protein. Its primary function is to make your body fit and strong. Protein is not a good source of energy — it has to go through a process of synthesis to be turned into glucose, while the rest is lost in the urine. Furthermore, a higher percentage of calories are lost during the digestion of protein when compared to fat and carbohydrates. On a theoretical level, this effectively means that eating 100 grams of protein will make you no fatter than eating 80 grams of carbohydrates.

Proteins (and fats for that matter) have a greater effect on your satiety meaning they make you feel fuller for longer.

Carbohydrates:

The trouble will carbs especially the processed forms is that they are easily ingested and they spike your blood glucose levels- which has the opposite effect to protein. It makes you feel hungry again.  But what’s worse is that in the presence of high glucose levels the body will use insulin to convert the excess glucose into fat.

For a great review of the topic on how to improve your insulin sensitivity read Nine Things that Improve Insulin Sensitivity.

But before I sound like I am joining the army of people who say you need to eliminate all carbs except vegetables it is important to know your target audience- if you are an athlete training hard and often they will have greater energy needs ahead of high intensity sessions and starchy carbs are the best form of energy for this- and they may be having in excess of 300g carbs per day on hard training days, and half that on easier training days.

But for your general fat loss client who has more than 15% body fat will need to have only 50-100g per day most days and a maximum of 100g per day.

Scientific Evidence Against Calories In, Calories Out

Here’s a question for you- would someone eating the exact same amount of calories as another person but with a far greater consumption of carbohydrates experience the same amount of weight loss?

Answer: probably not- it seems the key to weight loss is a diet low in carbs.

A number of recent studies have concluded that a diet low in carbohydrates can result in greater fat loss when compared to alternative (yet calorically comparable) diets.

In 2003, a study conducted by Green et al. at Harvard University observed participants over twelve weeks as they followed one of three diet regimes:

1. A low fat diet
2. A low carbohydrate diet with the same amount of calories
3. A low carbohydrate diet with 300 more calories per day

The first group lost 17lbs on average, the second group lost 23lbs and the third group lost 20lbs. Greene concluded that, “There does indeed seem to be something about a low-carb diet that says you can eat more calories and lose a similar amount of weight”.

In fact, the study proved the calories in, calories out argument wrong in two separate ways. Firstly, diets with identical calorie amounts resulted in drastically different outcomes. Secondly, the third diet’s total excess of 25,200 calories compared to the other two diets should have resulted in a net weight gain of 7.2lbs, as opposed to a loss of 3lbs (compared to the first diet) or a gain of just 3lbs (compared to the second diet).

In 2004, a study conducted by Yancy et al. for the Annals of Internal Medicine concluded as follows:

Compared with a low-fat diet, a low-carbohydrate diet program had better participant retention and greater weight loss.

So what you eat (rather than simply how much you eat) can not only affect your weight, it can also affect the likelihood of you sticking to a particular eating regime.

When you eat is important- nutrient timing

The Rules:

I have known the rules for years but chosen to break them.  But for many people who are training recreationally for general fitness and health these rules are not widely known or applied correctly.

The basic rule is eat complex carbohydrates when your body is more sensitive to insulin.

1. Breakfast
2. After a workout (can be a post workout snack and 1-2 post workout meals)

At this time you can have a portion of complex starchy carbohydrate (such as oats, potatoes, cereals, pasta etc) and/or a simple sugar.  Usually any sugar would come in the post workout snack (such as a shake, sports drink or piece of fruit etc).  The starches would usually come in the meal after the workout.  Where athletes are looking to maintain lean mass they will usually have a single meal containing starches.  Where they are looking to increase lean mass they will have the two post workout meals containing starches.

The rest of the time your carbohydrate intake should come from green leafy vegetables primarily and fruit in moderation.

Training day: 300g carbohydrate

So on a training day you would probably expect your meals with starches to be around 60-80g carbohydrates per meal and a total amount of carbohydrates to be around 250-300g per day.

Non training day: 180g carbohydrate

Because you would only have 60-80g at breakfast you can expect to eat less starches on this day

Renegade Diet Review: Intermittent Fasting

The Renegade Diet takes the concept of nutrition timing to a whole new level- and introduces a concept know as ‘Intermittent fasting.’ So rather than having carbohydrates at breakfast (Rule 1) it seeks to extend the fat burning process for as long as possible by only having carbs in the evening (Rule 2 above).  Rather than allowing you breakfast, you skip it completely!

Perhaps surprisingly it is encouraging you to eat your starchy carbs in the evening (when your insulin sensitivity is lowest!!!) But the caveat is that this method of eating works best if you have a workout immediately before the feasting period!

In my opinion this will not work as effectively for professional athletes training multiple times per day with several high intensity sessions planned in the day/week.  But for the hard gainer who is typically training once per day in the weight room to bulk up, or the average Joe looking to lose fat this is well worth a look at.

Check out the new REVIEW video I have recorded below of the Number 1 On-line Fat Loss and Muscle Gaining diet plan- The Renegade Diet.

Click ‘PLAY’ Below to Watch My Full Renegade Diet Review!

In summary, I DO RECOMMEND IT.  It is a good product that is worth the investment and is actually something that will work.  So much so that if you would like to go ahead and purchase a copy then I would like to put together a bonus package, give you a bunch of bonuses and FREE Training that you can download if you purchase using my link on this page.

Purchase your copy of The Renegade Diet and get these FREE BONUSES

Everything in the video below is FREE TODAY if you purchase No Nonsense Muscle Building via the link on this page!

Follow the Steps Below to Claim Your FREE Bonus Pack!

1. Close down the Renegade Diet Website if you have it open in your browser and then clear the cookies in your browser.

This is important, if you don’t then I won’t be credited for the sale.

     2. Then click on the link below to re-open the Renegade Diet website and make your purchase.

Click HERE to Purchase The Renegade Diet!

  3. Send me a copy of your order number or receipt that will be sent to your email address you entered when purchasing to [email protected] so I can verify your purchase.

  4.  I’ll respond to your email asap, and instantly send you the download link to your FREE bonus package.  I normally reply extremely quickly but please do allow me a few days to reply in case I’m extra busy.  Also check your junk folder for my reply, as sometimes my emails can get lost in there!

Hi there,

It’s been a while since my last Blog but I was waiting for something worth sharing and I think this Blog will certainly get us all thinking.  I had a great morning at a workshop organised by Kirk Bowyer of Creating Athletes and the East Region Lawn Tennis Association.

LTA East Region Strength & Conditioning Workshop: April 29th

Kirk along with Sarah Hylton and Arran Peck from the LTA put together a great morning which included an on court Tennis practical session, then we had a presentation from Damien Bowyer of Norwich City FC and finally a Skype Q&A with Allistair McCaw.  I’ll save the Allistair McCaw Q&A for next week’s Blog!

Below is a summary of some of the key take home messages.

Movement session with Sarah Hylton and Arran Peck:

This session was designed to get the S&C coaches to think about on court exercises we could use to help augment a tennis skill by targeting improvement in some of the physical qualities associated with the sports skill.

What’s important now- WIN?

For some S&C coaches this type of on court session may be outside of their comfort zone- especially if they don’t understand the movement demands of the game of Tennis.  I think that it is important to respect that as S&C coaches we will make some long term improvements in KINETICS (Think: More force) by doing all the great work we do in the gym with squats, deadlifts and lunges etc.  But I also think there are some ‘quick wins’ that we can make NOW if we can appreciate how to better express a movement by coaching the KINEMATICS (Think: Correct positioning of the joints). So it is always useful to think about the ‘now’ too.

Scenario 1: Lateral movement out wide: ability to recover quickly

S&C Intervention:

We broke down Agility- which is being put under the microscope here into it’s subcomponents.  This is not an exhaustive list.  These are just examples:

• Strength (isometric, concentric, eccentric)
• Power (explosive, reactive)
• Dynamic Stabilisation (proprioception)
• Coordination

As a group we came up with a few drills to develop the physical component- working at the high end of movement demand and regressing back to the appropriate level of challenge.  It was felt recovery could be enhanced if the athlete could push back with outside leg more explosively.

Example:

Starting with the highest challenge first

1. Assisted band work- where the athlete is being pulled into the position which challenges the deceleration component and they have to push back against resistance.
2. Lateral ice skaters- back and forth- with or without a vertical single leg hop included
3. Lateral ice skater- with a ‘freeze’

Controversial topic: Flexibility in Tennis

We also discussed Flexibility related to wide movement.  This is the moment where I am going to raise a topic for discussion- do current and future stars of the game need as much flexibility as Djokovic- current world number 1 in Tennis to be as great as him?  I.e. should younger players (and current pros) be looking at him and saying that I need to be that flexible?

Here is my thought on the subject- a degree of flexibility is required for all sports- some sports need more than the average amount and other sports may even benefit from a degree of stiffness around certain joints.

As we will see in the Injury Prevention presentation which I discuss below, it is definitely worth monitoring the length of muscles around certain joints- especially during Peak Height Velocity.

But ask yourself this, when Federer was dominating the sport of Tennis at his peak were we all looking at him and thinking that players needed to be as flexible as him? No we were talking about his unbelievable grace and poise of movement.  Is there in fact a tactical reason why Djokovic allows himself to get into defensive positions where he has to hit on the reach compared to Federer who you may argue finish points sooner before he is ever on the run.

Scenario 2: Lateral movement out wide: ability to load leg

How could we encourage the athlete to load his thigh more? And drive up into the shot.

[My personal opinion is that we can go down the wrong path here if we start putting too much emphasis on loading excessively- particularly on fast hard courts as it can disturb the natural sequence of the kinetic chain.  If you are almost ‘waiting too long’ you can lose the energy you built up in the legs and can hit the ball too late. But as a principle of loading the legs to hit a shot yes- I would like to see our younger players getting into the sort of positions you see Mr Federer in above]

Example:

Starting with the highest challenge first

1. Medicine ball throw (dynamic)- where the athlete moves with the ball into the position first and then throws the ball back.
2. Medicine ball throw (static)- where the athlete is stationary whilst they throw it to the coach
3. Weighted vest / resistance band- where the athlete has to work harder with the legs to overcome the vertical resistance (vest) or lateral resistance from the band

Scenario 3: First Serve- ability to load leg

I hold the opinion that we can find ourselves going down the wrong path if we try and be too specific in overloading the serve action.  I have read Mark Kovac’s journal article: 8 Stage Model for Evaluating the Tennis Serve: Implications for Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention.  For those of you interested he has also followed up with some great seminars which are available online where he describes:

a) the importance of getting the hips back to properly load the legs- and the related single leg squats and lateral band walk exercises we can do to develop the lower extremities

b) the serve acceleration phase- in terms of a shot putt type action rather than a typical baseball type throw and the associated shoulder exercises we can do to condition the upper extremities.

There are no doubt benefits to strengthening the body to help with the serve.  The group came up with some jump progressions which emphasised a hip back start position.

Example:

Starting with the lowest challenge first

1. Squat jump (no counter movement) to jump to a knee height box
2. Counter movement jump to box
3. Side on counter movement jump to box with quarter turn in air- so you land in same position as exercise 1 and 2

Injury Prevention Presentation with Damien Bowyer, NCFC Academy

Here are a few key take home messages:

• Football Clubs can expect 88% player availability across season with a typical pro experiencing two injuries per season

• Youth football is associated with higher occurrence of non-contact injuries which coincides with rapid changes in stature and mass at the time when there is also increased exposure to training and competition.
• Injury Prevention Strategies must be multi-faceted

• S&C sessions are informed by Movement Competency Screening which is conducted 3 times per year and follows a progressive strategy as players progress through their athletic development

• Pre Peak Height velocity (Movement competency based) strength programme versus Post Peak Height Velocity (phased implementation of strength/power/plyometric programme).  Damien acknowledged that some athletes move better under load and so may be introduced to load sooner. This represents a departure from their original philosophy of not loading until after PHV.

Question mark for me over whether 20-30 minutes three times per week is enough but I acknowledge that this is built along side units of activation and warm-ups.

• Use of Mathematical algorithms with good validity/reliability to predict time and length of PHV.

• More regular monitoring of flexibility during Peak Height Velocity (calf, hamstring, hip flexor/quad)
• Modification of loading during periods of rapid growth

Summary:

Hope that has got you thinking about your own programmes.  Let me know your thoughts.

I have just come back from my second workshop with Biomechanics Education, ‘Spine Biomechanics.’

This workshop focused on core stability which is an area I was more familiar with than the previous workshop on Pelvis Biomechanics.  One of the key questions that raised my interest was,

Should we be doing core stability?

It’s a good question.  But before we can answer that question we need to first ask, ”what exactly is core stability?”  Do a web search for core stability and you get 13,000,000 results.

Definition of Core Stability #1

Search for a definition on Wikipedia and you get, ”Core stability relates to the bodily region bounded by the abdominal wall, the pelvis, the lower back and the diaphragm , spinal extensor muscle and its ability to stabilise the body during movement. The main muscles involved include the transversus abdominis, the internal and external obliques, the quadratus lumborum and the diaphragm, erector spinae and multifidus lumbar.

It is the action of these muscles contracting together upon the incompressible contents of the abdominal cavity (i.e. the internal organs or visera) that provides support to the spine and pelvis during movement.

Definition of Core Stability #2

Muscles stabilising or supporting a body segment statically or dynamicall while other muscles carry out a movement involving other joints (Siff, 2004)

What might you see on the Internet?

Type in core stability in Youtube and you’ll see thousands of various sequences posted by Personal trainers and S&C coaches.  I too have done it, but I’m now looking to be more targeted with my prescriptions to my clients.  Not all clients need and will benefit from being given the same exercise prescription.  I have always known about the progressions from stable to unstable and unloaded to loaded and static to dynamic etc but today I have developed my thinking further and I am better able to see how I can develop the base of the pyramid by integrating the Biomechanics Education Model into the Suppleness section of the APA Training System.

A note on Rectus Abdominus

Traditionally we focus on the role of rectus abdominus as a spinal flexor. But actually its main purpose is to create tension to stabilise the spine when performing tasks that require spinal stabilisation.  This is due to the fact that the Tranversus Abdominus (TA) inserts into the Rectus Abdominus.

This type of training for the Rectus Abdominus became known as ‘Anti-Extension’ training and from that sporn other exercise series with the same aim- to resist the shear forces that act on the spine during dynamic motion:

Anti-extension: Full Kneeling Band Anti-Extension Overhead

• Anti-extension
• Anti-flexion
• Anti-lateral flexion
• Anti-rotation

Anti extension: Ab wheel: roll-out

There are a lot of exercises which have spun off this concept, the most popular ones being:

• Planks
• Pallof press
• TRX fallout

Anti-extension: TRX fallout 

Myths- Hollowing versus Bracing

I’ve been involved in the health & fitness industry since 1998.  Prior to the latest buzz of anti-extension exercises when I was first involved in it core stability was all about hollowing.  I even bought a pressure biofeedback unit so I could see if the client was doing it well.

The rational was that TA and Multifidus were most active during hollowing- the muscles once considered as the most important muscles in the core.  But as we discussed today with Rachel at Biomechanics Education, if only one group or muscle of the full range of stability muscles is not functioning correctly, then the trunk is unstable.  (Chollwewicki and McGill, 1996, O’Sullivan et al, 1997, 1998, Allison et al, 1998).

So now the focus is on ‘bracing.’

During daily life, 10-25% of Maximum Voluntary Contraction (MVC) is often enough to stabilise the spine.  In the exercises which we discussed for core stability we might start at that level of contraction but the effort could go up as we progress through the exercises.

What about holding your breath?

Something I learnt today is that it is generally advisable to practice both holding your breath AND not holding your breath in training during core stability exercises.

I had always been taught- I say taught- I mean informed through the videos I had seen- that you are only effective at stabilising your core if you can maintain the bracing without holding your breath, so it was refreshing to hear you can practice both.  And what’s more it is entirely appropriate to hold your breath when training at higher intensities (Cholewicki, 1996).

What about Sit ups?

Sit ups and crunches- here’s the thing.  everyone- even the man off the street who has never set foot in a gym will be able to tell you that the best way to get a six pack is to do crunches- right?

In the 1980s all everyone was doing was crunches- in the 1990s and early 2000s it was hollowing- mid 2000s it has been anti-extension exercises.  This loss in interest in crunches and sit ups- at least in the sports conditioning community- was in part influenced by research  from McGill and the like who demonstrated that the compressive loads on the spine during crunches (~3500N) exceeded its safe amount of load of around 2400N.

It was then shown that there were even more compressive loads on back extensions (greater than 4000N) on a Glute Ham raise and even more when doing them on the floor when you lift up both the legs and the arms (~6000N)

Back extension on Floor

[Author’s Note: the following is my opinion and not the opinion specifically expressed or discussed by Biomechanics Education]

I personally feel that there is always going to be a risk:reward equation to factor in when making any decision on the most appropriate exercise prescription.  But when someone is playing sport or has a physical job that DEMANDS these type of compressive forces then you have to be conditioned for them.

Am I saying do 300 crunches every night to get a six pack?? Of course not- besides that alone wouldn’t achieve that goal it even if it didn’t put a lot of compressive force on the spine.  But that’s for another blog.

But I am saying that if you play sport you might want to consider adding them in to your programme at some point because spinal flexion, side flexion, extension and rotation all happen in sport.

So going back to the question I asked at the beginning, should we be doing core stability?

Here’s the case for Yes….

There is clearly quite a strong theoretical basis for doing core training.  It is commonly believed that core stability is essential for the maintenance of an upright posture and especially for movements and lifts that require extra effort such as lifting a heavy weight from the ground to a table. Without core stability the lower back is not supported from inside and can be injured by strain caused by the exercise. It is also believed that insufficient core stability can result in lower back pain and lower limb injuries. Equally core is often inhibited in cases of Lower back pain (LBP). Whether the core weakness caused the LBP or the LBP caused the core weakness is another story!!!!

But…..here’s the case for No

There is little support in research for the core stability model and many of the benefits attributed to this method of exercise have not been demonstrated. At best core stability training has the same benefits as general, non-specific exercise.

1. Kriese M, et al Segmental stabilization in low back pain: a systematic review. Sportverletz Sportschaden. 2010 Mar;24(1):17-25. Epub 2010 Mar 16
2. Rackwitz B, et al Segmental stabilizing exercises and low back pain. What is the evidence? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Clin Rehabil. 2006 Jul;20(7):553-67
3. May S, Johnson R. Stabilisation exercises for low back pain: a systematic review. Physiotherapy.2008;94(3):179-189
4. Ferreira PH, Ferreira ML, Maher CG, et al. Specific stabilisation exercise for spinal and pelvic pain: a systematic review. Aust J Physiother 2006;52:79–88
5. Macedo LG, Maher CG, Latimer J et al 2009 Motor Control Exercise for Persistent, Nonspecific Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review PHYS THER Vol. 89, No. 1, January, pp. 9-25
6. Lederman, E. The myth of core stability. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. 2009.

But overall my answer is Yes and here is my reason Why.

Biomechanics Education Three Steps to Stability

If just doing ‘Indirect’ core work such as Deadlifts, Squats, Pull ups, press ups etc (which clearly place high demands on the core) was enough then I wouldn’t have some of the issues I have been managing for the last 15 years.

You see I have been managing some low grade discomfort (not LBP) which has caused muscle spasms in my QL, adductors, hip flexors etc over the years.  I have concluded I have a rotated pelvis which happened after a over zeolous squat in the smith machine when I was 20.  That caused a functional leg length difference and ever since it created some ‘issues’ both above and below my pelvis.

So when I do core work there are usually some form of compensations at work.  This has lead to imbalances and as a result if I just did indirect core work I’d be still compensating.  Only by determining where the imbalances are and working on them with DIRECT core work can I begin to return my body to normal function.

I’m not going to give all the good stuff away.  Rachel wouldn’t be happy but I will say this much.  The Biomechanics Education system develops core through three layers.

1. Core Stability- bracing exercises
2. Muscle ratios
3. Functional stability

Here’s some basic information on the Muscle ratios for me when I tested it today:

So you can see that there are clearly some imbalances.  I didn’t meet the target for spinal extension of 162-seconds, but even more noticable is how far below my time is for spinal flexion.  So clearly I CAN make a case for doing more spinal flexion work in my specific case and also a little more emphasis on the Right side bridge (side plank).

Here’s me doing the spinal extension test

For  more information head over to Biomechanics Education.

P.s here’s the latest boxing circuit I did this week.  Absolutely brutal. About 30-40 minutes all together.

Circuit 1: Upper body

0.5kg dumbbell -100 shadow punches (left jab, right cross)

1.0kg dumbell- 80

2.0kg dumbell- 60

3.0kg dumbbell- 40

4.0kg dumbbell- 20

30/20/10 Tricep dips- with 15-seconds between before moving on to the 2.0 and then 10 reps

25 Medball slams with 4kg Medicine ball.

This circuit was repeated 3 times with 1-minute rest between circuits.  Circuit 2 was shadow punches but they were crosses and Circuit 3 was uppercuts.

Circuit 2:

30/20/10

Round 1: all exercises 30 reps

1. Squats

2. Calf raises

3. Split squat jumps

4. Step ups

5. Med ball slams

6. Burpees

After 1-minute rest repeat.  Round 2 was 20 reps.   Round 3 was 10 reps.

Well that’s enough talk from me for one day! Enjoy your training.

In this blog I will give some updates on my movements over the last few weeks starting with my visit to London to attend the Pelvis Biomechanics two-day workshop with Biomechanics Education.  Then I will give a few more updates on my training progress.

Biomechanics Education

I first met Rachel and her Biomechanics Education team at the elite Sports Performance Expo 2015 on June 10th.  I was quickly sold on the power of the training system as I was given some almost instant relief from some long term hip discomfort that I have been managing for 14 years.

I have made a few educated guesses that when I was 20 I had a major trauma to my pelvis during a weight lifting exercise where I squatted too much on the smith machine.  I think it caused a pelvic dysfunction known as a rotating pelvis and a functional leg length discrepancy.

After getting sciatic nerve pain and later significant hip discomfort with various muscles appearing to go in spasm I had almost given up going to see physios and osteopaths to perform various joint manipulations and soft tissue manual therapy.  It was relieving the discomfort but never removing it.

But when I went to see one of the Biomechanics Education Coaches the Expo they quickly assessed I had a functional leg length discrepancy (using Downing’s sign test) and gave me a static lying down leg press muscle release to release the piriformis.

After a few days of doing the muscle release I felt noticeable improvements in my discomfort.  So I started to read up more on Biomechanics education.

Take a look at the website here

This week I decided to take the leap and commit to doing my Biomechanics Coach Diploma.  There are five 2-day workshops and the first one was ‘Pelvis Biomechanics.’

I like the modular system that then informs our screening and exercise correction programmes.  I like the way that the screens allow you to biomechanically evaluate your client and provide client specific, corrective exercise.  As you can here in my video below, it’s the client specific corrective exercise intervention that I was looking to learn more about to make me a superior fitness professional without needing to train further in clinical /therapeutic practices.

Martin Haines- Founder Intrinsic Biomechanics Systems gives his views here on a classic debate- are my knees rolling in because I have weak glutes?  We discussed these topics and other ones like it on the workshop and the moral of the story was to not be fixed on one line of enquiry.

I have learnt loads more about Functional Anatomy and debates like the ‘week glutes’ one above are clearly not so black and white when you know that there are several reasons why a major muscle may not be ”functioning properly”.  It’s not so easy to just say a muscle is weak- it may be inhibited by a spasm of a synergistic muscle such as piriformis or a tightness in the thoracic spine.

I am now learning not to accept the commonly held assumptions about what a test positive test shows you- look a little deeper and challenge the status quo.

Boxing Training

As a result of feeling better than ever in terms of managing my level of discomfort it has come at the best possible time.  I have always struggled to perform dynamic exercise such as high intensity running, sprinting, jumping and so forth.  So ordinarily I would be cautious about really ‘going for it’ with my boxing training.

However, the last couple of days have felt pretty good.  I wrote about my planned training in the last couple of blogs, the most recent one here.

In that blog I spoke about how I was going to train Local Muscular Endurance

Local Muscular Endurance

This week I did Variation 1 on Monday and Variation 2 on Wednesday. I did hypertrophy (weights) on Tuesday and a run today (see below).  I will do Hypertrophy again on Friday or Saturday.

Variation 1:

Jump circuit (more emphasis on Power)

1.  Barbell squat Jumps for 8 reps
2. A ten-fold jump from leg to leg for 2 repetitions
3. Kettle bell squat jumps for 8-10 reps
4. Double leg half squat jumps for 10-12 reps
5. Jumps on a box 40-50cm high with a double leg take off jump for 4-6 repetitions
6. Six-fold jumps (2 on left and then  2 on right-6 take offs on each leg) for 1 repetition.

Comments:  With these six exercises you can comfortably get through them all with minimal rest between in under 2-minutes.  I was taking 1-minute rest between circuits and did two circuits.  Next week I will do three circuits.

Variation 2:

Weights circuit (more emphasis on Strength)  30-60 sec on: 1-min off, with aim to get pulse down below 140 bpm in the 1-minute rest.

1. Barbell squat
2. Bench press
3. Straight leg sit ups
4. Bent arm chest flyes
5. RDL
6. Barbell side bends
7. Barbell pullovers
8. Supinated grip bicep curls
9. Barbell bent over row
10. Barbell overhead press

Comments: I chose to do each exercise for 60-seconds and have 60-seconds between exercises.  I felt 60-seconds was a bit too much rest so I might go for 40:20 to make it harder to recover.  I gave myself the target of hitting 30 reps in as many of the exercises as possible.

Cardiovascular Endurance

Today I did 400m repeats on the track.

I did each repeat with 1-minute rest between them.  As it was the first running session (apart from 5-a-side football for several years) I decided to take it easy to get in to it.

Rep 1: 2:00 mins

Rep 2: 1:47 mins

Rep 3: 1:38 mins

Rep 4-6: 1:38 mins (50m fast-50m slow alternating intervals all the way around the track).

My goal:

In training to Run 6 x 400m all under 1:20 and as a time trial do four laps in under 6:00 minutes, two laps in under 2:50 minutes and 1 lap in under 1:15 minute

Finally:

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