Efficient Exercise

I'm finding that I am having to work my exercise routine around when I can fit it in, and at the moment, I'm having to fit some sessions into about 35 minutes.

Normally, when designing sessions for clients, I plan for about an hour, but you'll notice from my website that I offer sessions for 30 minutes. Primarily, these are targeted at beginners, but they could just as easily be for more experienced exercisers.

So what's squeezing my time right now? I'm having to do some exercise of a lunchtime and I get an hour for lunch. It takes about 15 minutes to get to and from the gym - I walk as fast as I can on the way so that I'm as warm as possible before I arrive. It takes a few minutes to change and then it's into a few minutes warm-up. Then I get into the main routine.

If its CV I want, then I know I can do a really effective 20 minute intervals workout that'll really challenge me … although I'll need to allow more time to cool down: I don't want to be still hot and sweaty when I get back to work (I will have a shower, but if I'm still hot, I'll be sweating ten minutes after I've stopped running).

If is a weights session, I'll do a really intense total body circuit, with only 30 seconds between sets. Or I might do an up body super-setting front and back exercises with minimal rest between sets to pack it all in!  Some days I might do two short sessions rather than one long session. 

Project Handstand and the Body Fat Scales

Practical Use for a Handstand

A funny thought took me: I've got a set of scales that do body fat percentage; I often use them with clients to demonstrate that the program they are following is helping them to lose fat and not lose mass from muscle, bone or other lean tissue.

So I wondered, people stand on these scales and it calculates the percentage body fat, this is possible because the electrical impedance of fat is greater than that of muscle: so electricity flows more freely through muscle than fat.

The thing with body fat scales is that the circuit is from one foot, up the leg, across the groin and down the other leg. So I wondered whether I'd get a different answer if I did a handstand on them.

Suffering for Science

This proved really difficult. I can get into a handstand with hands shoulder-width apart fairly easily and even hold it freestanding for short periods (as long as a wall catches me initially). Narrow handstands are quite something else!

Mine are inelegant and incredibly unstable and I have to have some help!

Somehow I managed one for long enough for the scales to get my weight and do the electrical impedance test.

The Results are In!

The result? It was practically the same body fat percentage!!!

I weigh 66kg. Standing with my feet on the scales I'm 11.5% fat.

Handstanding on the scales I'm 11.7% fat.

I'd expected an even lower number than for the normal, lower body version; nearly identical was a real surprise!

Next I wondered, OK  my limbs are consistent, what happens if I have one foot on the scales and one hand and force the current through my mid-riff?

The difference isn't that great. With one hand and one foot I'm 11.9% fat.

That's quite a small variation overall and really boosts my confidence in the body fat scales: whether they are "right" or "wrong", they are consistent. I'll enjoy telling my clients about this!  perhaps it'd be fun to try the experiment on other people and see what it reveals...

Narrow Handstand on Body Fat Scales

My Favourite Form of Training

My favourite form of training is largely based around circuits - which is what most Boot Camps are based around. I'll design a set of circuits for myself and stick to them for four weeks; each week I up the volume (the amount of time) and at the end of the period I'll design a new set of exercises as a circuit with an increased intensity (heavier weights, more complex movements and higher heart-rate).

The key thing is having a plan and knowing what I'll do each session before I even get to the gym or studio. I find that if I go without a plan that I don't tend to work as hard as I should. If I have a plan and know exercise y follows exercise x, I can keep intensity as high as I need to and control my rest periods.

The other advantage is I know just has fast and far I should run or cycle and just how heavy and how many times I should lift a weight. I know that the first week of my plan shouldn't feel too tough, but the last week ought to be absolute murder! And all the while I am thinking about what the next four week period will contain.

Lastly, having a plan with consistent activities in it allows me to track progression over the weeks - and for some staple exercises to track progression over the months - and adapt accordingly when I plateaux. It can be incredibly useful to maintain some kind of diary of what you do, when, how much/long/fast/heavy and how you felt afterwards.

Essential Home Exercise Kit

Sometimes I get asked by friends and clients what kit they should buy for themselves. Really the answer depends on what you want to achieve and what you're willing to spend. However, having some stuff at home is essential where you want to workout at home and can be really useful for gym-goers on days they can't make the gym.

For myself, there are a few bits of kit that I couldn't do without:

Dumbbells

I have a set of dumbbells that take plates, so that I can adjust the weight to whatever My client is doing. This means that I can carry quite heavy weights to customer houses for strength training but still exercise areas of the body that require lighter weights. I don't bother with the ready made up dumbbells that are typically bright in colour and come on racks - I'd be too limited on what could be done. I do, however, have a spare pair of dumbbell bars so that I can use two sets of dumbbells where I want to have a rapid transition between weights - for example when performing supersets. Apart from the techie stuff I carry, the dumbbells are probable the most expensive bit of kit (about £40 in total, including extra plates); these are pretty robust and I'd be really surprised if they ever broke!

Some people prefer resistance tubes (giant elastic bands) to dumbbells; I have a set that I take out with clients when we do outdoor work that will include a lot of moving around (eg running a large loop with resistance interval stops). Some people find dumbbells intimidating, so the bands are a good alternative for them. Sometimes I use them to add even more resistance to the dumbbells! I think I paid £5 in ASDA for them, but they need to be replaced fairly regularly.

Swiss (Gym) Ball

I love working with stability balls - they get the head involved as well as the body as the exercises are a bit harder to learn and it becomes harder to maintain good form. Pretty much anything that involves a stability ball will recruit more core engagement. They are typically light (if bulky), and are therefore fairly portable. Unfortunately, it's not a case of one size fits all - I carry a medium ball, but I encourage clients to get one that suits them:

Your height Ball height
< 160cm     Junior 45cm
160 - 175cm Small 55cm
175 - 195cm Medium 65cm
195cm +.    Large 71cm

I think I paid about £7 for mine from ASDA! You don't need to fork out loads on one of these.

Mat

…and of course a mat. Few quid from ASDA or Tesco. This saves you getting sweat on the floor when dong stretches and core work; if you're really dribblesome, you might like a larger mat that you could do all your workouts on.

Other Stuff

In addition, I also have special fat percentage scales, blood pressure cuffs, heart rate monitor, agility ladder, cones, football, skipping rope, whistle, stopwatch, tape measure and loads of others goodies; but the three things I've detailed above are my favourites!