Hi again, well month 1 is now done. It took a bit longer than expected as I has Laser Eye Corrective surgery done, which went fantastically well, but lost 2 weeks of training. I made some progress still despite the break and am looking forward to cracking on with Month 2 of fitter u fitness.

For the record my stats last month were:
Weight      188lbs
Waist         98cm
Body fat    26.2%
BMI            26.8

And today, 11^th June 2010 they are:

Weight      182lbs
Waist         95cm
Body fat    23.8%
BMI            26.1

I didn’t lose as much as I’d hoped but that’s probably due to the 2 week break.

So month 2 Starts tonight with Fat Blaster 1 and will still doing the Treadmill Trainer programs every other day as well.

I’ve not really looked too deeply into nutrition other than cutting out bread and potatoes and trying to eat as much veg as possible and getting as much protein in.

I’ll update soon with how Month 2 is going but don’t plan on weighing myself for another couple of weeks at least.

Cheers

Craig

Headed towards Weeks 3 and 4  on FitterUFitness with all engines firing, and……..BAM! a hurdle.

On a high raw diet, I have been thrilled to NEVER get sick. Well, until 2 weeks ago! I can be an “all or nothing person”, and when I do things, I tend to put my heart into them, it can be hard to find a balance. Achieving more balance in my life is on my “to do” list.

Week 3

Feeling poorly but ignoring what my body was trying to tell me, I  just kept pushing and juggling. I started week 3 with my Push Pull Swing workout, followed by the killer core with a friend. (I heard her say “I hate you Yuri” ! This made me smile, it meant she was feeling it. Im after  awesome arms and a great back so I really wanted to do the Chest & Back 1 and  Arm Sculpter 1, but, it wasn’t to be.  I had lost my “groove” it had left the building, and I didn’t know what to do.

So I ran, I just plugged my ipod in, turned on Interval Training 1, and I ran. The intensity wasn’t there,  but my body did what it could.  My Beautiful friends bought me raw mushroom soup to work, and I fed my body juicy fruits the rest of the week.

Week 4

I had planned on increasing intensity further this week, leading up to month 2 FitterUFitness, but, I just didn’t seem to have it in me. All I wanted to do was sleep this week, but I couldn’t get time of .  I listened more closely to my body,  it told me to sleep and run! I didn’t follow the FitterUFitness program this week, I did manage a heavy legs session (my dodgy knee survived), and I ran on the treadmill for 20 min bursts, (again, my knee survived)!  I only managed about 4k’s max, but it felt good to just move.

Finally, I gave in, fell asleep in my clothes, and slept on and off for 2 days! When I really woke up, I ate watermelon and grapes, put my trainers on, headed outdoors, and I ran…..Im only starting back running, so Its not  far or fast, but I am running again. I ran to the beach, it took 20 minutes, and I felt like I could have run forever!

Was my groove back? not all of it, but nearly.

So I didn’t achieve what I wanted the last 2 weeks, but I learnt a few things to help me long term

Listen to your body

Its ok and vital to rest when needed

A hurdle is just a hurdle, don’t bash into it. Go around it, step over it and Leap it when you can!

So, Im going gently into this week. Ive  decided to repeat week 4 FitterUFitness, do at least 1 secondary workout and Im aiming for cardio at the intensity that I can. Next week Ill start Month 2 and I cant wait

If all else fails, I will just run……..

Have an awesome week everyone and Keep on Keeping on!

Hello to all out there and welcome to what will hopefully be the first of many posts as I embark upon the fitter u fitness trail.

Like a lot of people out there I’ve been led on by claims of getting the most fantastic body in the shortest possible time and most of the time what you end up with is a re-hashed exercise program you could have probably found on the internet for free anyway.

I first came across Yuri Elkaim whilst I was looking for a decent running program to help me improve on my normal plodding runs around the compound out here in Baghdad where I work and discovered his Treadmill Trainer programs. I’ve been doing these for just under 3 weeks now and his training methods have made a very noticeable improvement to my running.

However, my main aim from fitness training has always been to lose weight, gain strength and add definition. So I needed a decent strength program to work alongside my cardio training.

I looked closely at the 12 week fitter u program, which was very well laid out, but decided to go with the fitter u fitness option because of its longevity, it’s ongoing and gives you new workouts every month.
At the end of the day it took more than 12 weeks to put this weight on and will probably take more than 12 weeks to get it off! Plus the first month is free which is my favourite price!!!!

For the record my stats at the minute are:

Age            41
Height       5ft 10in
Weight      188lbs
Waist         98cm
Body fat    21%
BMI            26

I have just started on this journey on the 29^th April 2010 and I must admit the Total Body Conditioning circuit on Day 1 was actually a lot tougher than I thought it would be for a half hour workout!! and I also used a lot less weight than I imagined I would as well due, I think, to the compound moves involving virtually the whole body!

My primary goal at the minute is just completion of the first months training. I know a very small goal to begin with but very attainable. After that it’s getting a beach body by August when I’m off to Egypt on holiday, roughly about 12 weeks away so I’ll be hoping I’ve made quite a transformation by then.

I’ll be back regularly with a bit more detail on what I’ve been doing in training each week.

Hopefully if people want to leave any comments or are starting something similar at the same time as me and want to share training tips etc you’re more than welcome to get in touch.

Catch you all next week after Week 1 is out of the way.

All the best

Craig

The new Treadmill Trainer running programs are finally up and ready.

These new workouts are amazing, to say the very least. To give you some more insight into each one of the new running workouts, I’ve put together the following video.

Watch it and then head over to check out the new workouts for yourself.

Okay, so you’ve just bought a new pair of shoes, a headband, and as many sports drinks as you can get your hands on. You are pumped about getting into running, and as you head outside, you get excited about getting out there and pounding some pavement.

Then you realize that you have no clue what to do.

Hey, it’s okay. We all have to start somewhere, right? If you are new to the sport of running, realize that how you start determines if you stick to it or not. Fortunately, these workouts are very beginner-friendly.

Below are a few running workouts for beginners that make the following assumptions:

- You are new to running, in that you haven’t consistently run before as a part of an exercise program.

- Your aerobic endurance is either nonexistent or low.

- You have time to run at least three times a week for at least 30 minutes at a time.

- You are interested in endurance, not speed.

Now, on to the workouts.

Workout # 1: The Walk/Jog/Run

This workout is a must for the true beginner, because it gradually ramps you up to higher levels. Start off by walking for about 5 minutes at a decent pace. You should start to feel a little out of breath, but not too tired. Then, start jogging at a slightly faster pace for 5 minutes.

Then, speed it up a bit and run for 3 minutes. Go back to walking and repeat the cycle. Do this three times a workout, three times a week (every other day). After Week 1, take a minute off of your walking time and add 30 seconds to your jog and your run. Do this for three weeks.

Workout #2: Your First Mile

This workout will help you get to that first mile, a great milestone (pardon the pun) for any runner. After three weeks or so of doing the first workout, run half a mile, then jog (preferably) a half a mile, three times a week. Do this for two weeks.

On your sixth week, run 3/4s of a mile and jog a mile two different times. On your third workout that week, guess what you’re going to do?

Run your first mile! Exciting, I know.

Workout #3: Stepping Up

After completing workout #2, you are ready to start putting on some miles. We’ll say this is Week 1 of your actual running program. For Week 1, run 1 mile three times (every other day). For Week 2, run 1 mile twice a week, then run 1.5 miles on your last day. For Week 3, run 1.5 miles three times, every other day. Then, for Week 4, go the distance: Try to run 1 mile at least 4 times that week. Go for 5 days if you can make it.

If you follow these running workouts, you can gradually and safely build up your endurance. You’ll be winning marathons and stockpiling medals in no time.

I hope you enjoyed my previous video where we discussed 4 of the biggest challenges standing in the way of many runners and exercisers.

I also showed you (convincingly I think) that interval training is by far the most effective to train if you want to start running, run faster and longer, and burn more  fat.

Today’s video is going to build on the theme of interval training workouts. Specifically, I’m going to show a lot of great tools and strategies to help you create your own interval running workouts as well as the “anatomical” components of an interval training running workout.

So without any further ado, get comfy and get ready to learn.

Enjoy the video…

[flashvideo file=http://www.mytreadmilltrainer.com/videos/TTpromo2.mov /]

*If the video is a bit choppy, simply hit “pause”, allow it to load for a few seconds, then hit “play” once again.

=> myTreadmillTrainer.com

As usual, I’m always interested in hearing your feedback. Please take a second to leave a comment or question below. Thanks.

A lot of people want to know how to run faster, how to start running, or how to prepare for an upcoming race. Unfortunately, many people go about achieving these goals in the wrong way.

In this video, I’m going to show you 4 big obstacles that holds runners/exercises back from achieving their goals as well as a specific type of training that will help you become a better runner…more quickly and safely than you could imagine.

Enjoy the video…

[flashvideo file=http://www.mytreadmilltrainer.com/videos/TTpromo1.mov /]

*If the video is a bit choppy, simply hit “pause”, allow it to load for a few seconds, then hit “play” once again.

=> www.myTreadmillTrainer.com

** Let me know what you thought of the video (and topic) by leaving a comment below.

By Thad McLaurin “RunnerDude”
RunnerDude’s Blog

Race day fueling can make or break a race. Use the following tips to ensure that you’re properly fueled before, during, and after your race.

1. You’ve probably heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that’s even truer on race day. Make sure your breakfast is high in carbs (i.e., bagels, toast, English muffins). A little protein is fine such as an egg, yogurt, or peanut butter, but stay away from excessively fatty foods (i.e., bacon, sausage). The extra fat may not settle well in your tummy during the race, plus the fat (especially saturated fat) isn’t going to provide your muscles much fuel at this stage in the game.

2. Be sure that whatever you eat, it’s something that you’d normally eat prior to a run. It’s a good idea to test out various breakfast foods throughout your training. This way you get a good idea of which foods work best providing you the fuel you need as well as which ones may have adverse affects. Never, Never, Never eat something on race day that you’ve never before eaten prior to a long run (even if the sales guy at the marathon expo promised his energy bar was the best pre-run snack you can eat… Don’t do it!).

3. If you’re race has you traveling to a different city, be aware that your hotel may not have the breakfast foods you need or it may not prepare them in the same way to which you’re accustomed. Avoid this dilemma by either packing the foods you’ll need or purchasing them from a local grocery store once you get there. It’s also very helpful to book a room that has a mini-fridge so you can keep your water and sports drinks cold.

4. Be sure to hydrate starting the day before the marathon. No need to overdo it, but sipping on several bottles of water throughout the day will have you well hydrated. The morning of the race, be sure to drink water with your breakfast. Then drink your last glasses of water or sports drink about 2 hours prior to the start. This will give it plenty of time to pass through your system, giving you time to void any extra before the start. Then drink some more about 5-15 minutes before the start.

Just like the food, only drink liquids you normally drink before running. Don’t all the sudden decide to try a sports drink before the run, because they’re handing them out for free. Also, find out prior to beginning your training what the provided sports drink will be for the race. If it’s something you normally use, that’s great. If not, then you’ll have time to either get accustomed to it or make alternate plans on how to pack your own.

5. Ever notice how the elite marathon runners rarely ever use energy gels or other carb-loaded products that we often pack for our long runs? One of the biggest reasons they don’t need that extra fuel is due to the fact that they’re finishing their marathons in around 2 hours. If you’ve properly carb-loaded, your body can store about 2000 calories of glycogen.

Those 2000 calories will last for about 2 hours for elite runners and about 20 miles for the average runner. Since most elite runners finish between 2 and 2.5 hrs, they don’t usually completely deplete their glycogen stores. However, most average runners complete the marathon in the 3-5 hour range. When do most runners hit the wall? Around mile 20. That’s because their glycogen stores have been depleted.

So, to avoid bonking, switching to a sports drink about 45-minutes to an hour into the race will help. The use of sports gels can also help. But, don’t wait until you start to feel fatigued to use them; then it’s too late. Timing of gels is different from runner to runner, but one gel every 40-45mins works for most runners. Be sure to test different types of gels as well as how often to take them during your training, not on race day.

6. After-race refueling is just as vital as pre-race fueling. Your muscles have been depleted of their glycogen stores. Those glycogen stores are not only needed as fuel, they’re also needed for muscle repair. It’s important to get carbs into your body within about 30 mins after your race.

A 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein is a good rule of thumb. A bagel with peanut butter is a good choice and believe it or not, so is lowfat chocolate milk. If eating food is not appealing that soon after a race, downing a sports drink is a great choice.

=> CLICK HERE FOR MORE RUNNING NUTRITION ASSISTANCE.

Psst…

Don’t tell anyone but I’m in the process of developing an arsenal of new Treadmill Trainer running workouts.

One such workout is a running fitness test – similar to the 12-minute run (or Cooper test).

So I thought, it’s been a while since I last ran a 12-minute run, why not hop on the treadmill and give her a go. I would normally run a cooper test on a 400 m track but I live in Toronto and right now it’s about -10 degrees. I’m not one of those hardcore runners who runs outside no matter what.

The treadmill is just fine for me.

I started with a 10-minute progressive running warm-up to get my body warm and ready for running “all out”. I started the warm-up at about level 5.6 and finished at level 8.5 .

I was now ready to run my butt off. I think part of the reason why I wanted to do this test was that Toronto FC just did their pre-season fitness testing last week and the thought of that made me think of the good old pro soccer days.

I still love training like I’m playing.

But now as a coach, I guess it’s pretty cool to be fitter than some of the early twenty somethings on our U of T soccer team.

Alright, let’s get back on track.

The 12-minute run fitness test is very straightforward.

You run as hard as you can for 12 minutes and then note the total distance that you covered during that time.

From that distance, you can extrapolate what your VO2 max is by using the following equation:

(Distance covered in meters – 504.9) ÷ 44.73

So How Did I Do?

I thought you might ask that.

I didn’t do too badly. I covered 2720 meters in 12 minutes. That’s just under 7 laps on a 400 m track. Considering that I only run about once per week right now, I’m actually pretty happy with that.

In fact, the best I’ve done on the Cooper test (way back in the day) was 8 laps (or 3200m). That’s not easy.

So based on the 2720 meters that I covered during the test, my “estimated” VO2 max works out to be:

=> (Distance covered in meters – 504.9) ÷ 44.73

=> (2720 m – 504.9) ÷ 44.73

= 49.5 ml/kg/min

At my fittest, I believe my VO2 max was about 65 ml/kg/min. That would correspond to a 12-minute run distance of about 3400 meters or about 8 and 1/4 laps on a 400m track.

The 12-minute run is one of my favourite aerobic fitness tests to use because it is so easy to administer and extrapolate indirect VO2 scores from. It’s a good test to do about every 6 weeks to monitor your progress.

I encourage you to give it a shot.

Oh, and don’t forget to tell me how you scored.

By Thad McLaurin “RunnerDude”
RunnerDude’s Blog

The 5K has quickly become one of the most popular race distances. This may be due to the short distance the most people can walk making it a perfect distance for fundraising events. But don’t let the short distance fool you. A 5K (when raced) is a tough race. There really is no easing into a 5K race. It’s pretty much all-out-effort from the get-go. And that’s what makes a 5K a 5K—fast, furious, and fun.

All race training contains basically the same elements—building a base, sharpening or fine-tuning, and tapering. Where the differences come in to play is in what and how much to do in each of those three stages.

The Base

During the base stage, your main purpose is to develop a certain aerobic and endurance fitness level. Kind of like a baseline of data for a research project. The base work will prepare you for the more intense workouts later in your training. This step is often neglected, especially by newbies to the sport who just decide one day to run a 5K. Ever known people who decide to run a race on a whim, go out for their first “training run,” blow out a mile at breakneck speed and then can’t move for a week? Not surprised, huh? Well, their determination was dead-on, but their training wasn’t. They blasted out a mile from ground zero. No base. Don’t underestimate the power of a strong base. Not only does it prepare you for more intense workouts later in the game, it also helps prevent injury from too much too soon.

Towards the latter half of the base building phase the number of runs can increase as well as the speed and the distance. Still not at break-neck-speed and no formal speed work, but the ante can be upped, so to speak. This is a great time to build strength as well. Even though the 5K is considered an endurance event, it’s a fast race. You’re going to need some speed. To gain speed you’re going to need strength and increased VO2 (the amount of oxygen your body takes in and utilizes).

A great way to begin increasing strength and VO2 during the base building stage is through hill work (up- and down-hill) and fartleks. Uphill repeats are a great way to build leg strength. A simple workout of several uphill repeats (letting the return downhill jog be the rest interval) will do wonders to strengthen those quads and hamstrings. As a separate workout, try some downhill repeats. Downhill repeats let gravity help you feel what it’s like to run at a faster pace. Be careful though, the downhill grade doesn’t need to be more than 5-7%. You don’t want to risk tripping and falling.

Fartleks are basically informal repeats without the track. Fartleks are simply bursts of speed thrown into a regular run. So, during a 4- or 5-miler, throw in a burst of speed, then pull it back down to the original pace for a while, then ramp it back up. Sometimes you may hear a fartlek referred to as a “pick up.” A workout may call for a 7-miler with 5 x 3-minute pickups. That just means to through in five 3-minute bursts of speed during your 7-mile run. This makes for a great speed workout. The length of the speed burst can be marked by time or distance. You can run fast for 30 seconds, 1-minute, 3 minutes, or you can use landmarks and decide to run fast to the next corner or the next mailbox. It really doesn’t matter. The key to a fartlek is ramping it up, pulling it back, ramping it up, pulling it back.

This informal speed work gradually helps increase your VO2 Max. In other words it helps your body begin to be able to take in more oxygen and use that oxygen to fuel the muscles. It also helps to push out your lactate threshold. Intervals during the next stage will help push out the lactate threshold even more, but fartleks are a good start.

Sharpening

When you sharpen a knife, you take a dull blade and using various tools, shave off tiny bits of the blade to make it as sharp as possible so that it can do its job properly. The sharpening phase of race training is very similar. The dull blade is your base training. That blade has all the elements to run, but you’re probably not going to run very fast or very far without a little fine-tuning or sharpening. It’s during the sharpening phase that you’ll begin to trade in some of your regular runs for some more specific workouts—intervals and tempo runs.

During the sharpening stage, it’s a good rule-of-thumb to rotate “hard” and “easy” days. A typical week may begin with an easy 4- to 5-miler on Monday and an interval workout at the track on Tuesday. Wednesday could be an easy run or maybe some cross-training (cycling, elliptical machine, row machine, etc.). Thursday a tempo run (running just below race pace). Friday a rest day, easy run, or cross-training. Wrap-up the week with a long run of 6-10 easy miles. Yep, long runs can benefit a short race like a 5K too! Take Sunday as a rest day.

If you’re looking to improve your 5K time, the best way to do it is through interval workouts. World renowned running coach Hal Higdon says, “To improve speed, you sometimes need to train at a pace somewhat faster than your race pace for the 5-K, about the pace you would run in a 1500 meter or mile race. Run 400 meters hard; then recover by jogging and/or walking 400 meters. Before starting this workout, warm-up by jogging a mile or two, stretching, and doing a few sprints of 100 meters. Cool down afterwards with a short jog.” You can Google “5K training” and you’ll find all kinds of fancy interval workouts. But, I’ve learned that what Hal say’s is the best advice. You simply need to run weekly intervals (400m works well) at a slightly faster-than-your-5K race pace in order to get better.

Tempo runs are another great way to improve speed and endurance. Basically a tempo run is a regular run with one big fat fartlek in the middle. Start out with an easy mile, then ramp it up to just below your 5K race pace. Hold this pace for the majority of your run and then pull back and finish up with an easy last mile. Start out by doing something like a 4-mile run consisting of 1 easy mile, 2 tempo miles, and 1 easy mile. Eventually work your way up to a 7-miler consisting of 1 easy mile, 5 tempo miles, and 1 easy mile.

The Taper

Oh the glorious taper—the time for you to rest and allow your body to mentally and physically prepare for the race. Basically, the last week before race day is about 50% or less of your normal weekly mileage. It’s fine to do an interval or tempo run early in that last week, but day three before race day should be reserved for an easy run or a rest day and the two days before race day should be for rest.

=> CLICK HERE to get the ULTIMATE 5K TRAINING PROGRAM