Monday 31 January 2011

Amanda’s success on the 3-2-1 diet plan

Amanda is a rugby player that I know via Twitter (@singbo7, http://openside.amandasingh.me). Little did I know, she had read about the 3-2-1 diet plan I posted on my blog, and decided she would give it a go. As you will read, she had AMAZING success. A BIG thank you Amanda, for sharing this with us. Here is her story...


Using the 3-2-1 plan advocated by Melanie Ryding, I lost 4kg in 2 months and reduced body fat by 3%.

I'm a female rugby player and have been looking to put on size. By size, I mean muscle, not fat! But I have struggled with getting my nutritional balance right, and suffered a lot from fatigue, especially after games.

My training program is reasonably intensive, with a typical offseason week consisting of 10 - 12 sessions, as follows:


Typical week training:
. 5 strength or power sessions (upper and lower body)
. 1 acceleration / speed and agility session
. 1 - 2 aerobic endurance session
. 2 - 3 anaerobic endurance sessions (typically tabata intervals or Crossfit sessions)
. 1 field / skills session

Towards the end of last year, I scaled back my training a little to freshen myself up mentally. I was still working hard in the gym because my primary focus was on building size and I basically kept up the same eating habits. I went from 67.5kg to 72.5kg, and although some of this was muscle, a fair proportion of it was fat.

In November, I planned a trip to the US to play in the
New York Sevens Tournament. The week before I left, I stayed with my mum, who had lost 7 kilos on Weight Watchers and suddenly realised I needed to fix my nutrition. My endurance and strength were good, but to improve as a player, I had to get my body composition right and optimise the way I fuel my body.  

Two days before I left, I came across Mel on Twitter and read her 3-2-1 article. That very night, I wrote a nutrition plan for myself based on it and never looked back.

Firstly, I followed the plan as best I could while travelling, which wasn't too hard, 'cause I made a shopping list and planned my meals (although there was recourse to McDonalds on occasion!) I found I lost 2kg in 2 weeks, although some of this was muscle bulk because I had no gym access.


Here are the main changes I made:

·       scheduled in a training session before breakfast every day (except Sunday, my rest day). This may be anything: a gym session, a tabata or other endurance session, or a skills session;
·       increased the size of my breakfast (usually a small amount of cereal, some whey protein isolate and a piece of fruit);
·       ditched artificial sweeteners, most specifically, Pepsi Max. For the past ten years, I'd get through two cans of diet cola a day. This was a big change for me, but I think it's been critical.
·       drank a lot more water. I find water usually satisfies those hard-to-define cravings that I would normally have attempted to satisfy with a muesli bar.
·       prepare snacks on Sunday for the entire week. I make up packages for morning tea each day, usually 20gms of beef jerky and an apple. Since I've already exercised, had a good breakfast and eaten a good snack by 11am, the rest of the day is a breeze. Being prepared helps me avoid less good snacks that I'm prone to eat when I'm tired.
·       snack on peanuts, fruit, ham or light crackers with cottage cheese. I like to prepare a mix of sultanas and nuts so they're always handy.
·       eat two pieces of 85% cocoa Lindt chocolate every night for dessert just to keep me happy!


Importantly, I now consider eating to be refuelling, and this has had some pretty amazing consequences. I will usually try to do some sort of exercise before each meal, even if it's just a set of pistol squats or one-armed pushups (in
Greasing the Groove style). Nowadays, I don't even feel hungry unless I have exercised!! I was amazed to see my teammates rush for food when we got off the plane in Darwin last week - I wasn't even the slightest bit hungry!

There are two more points I ought to mention. In my third week on the 3-2-1 plan, I set myself a challenge: complete five Sufferfests in seven days. For those of you un-aquainted with the
Sufferfest training videos , they're well worth checking out if you want a challenging workout for your indoor trainer and are as mentally difficult as they are physically taxing. Five in a week was a significant mountain for me to climb. And as it turned out, I added an actual mountain to that training load, with my dad asking me to run Mt Majura with him for my sixth very intense endurance session for the week.

Despite this increased training load, I performed extremely well: hitting PBs for each Sufferfest session AND two PBs in the gym! I was gobsmacked. This 3-2-1 thing was a winner in my book, especially considering my previous problems with fatigue.

The second thing I should mention is that I changed the way I perform my resistance training. Instead of going to failure each set, I now aim for the highest volume of quality work I can possibly perform. Because I did so well with the Sufferfest challenge week - where I scaled back my gym sessions a little - I am certain now that my previous train-to-failure methods were contributing to my fatigue.

I find I have much more energy in general now and recover from individual training sessions more rapidly. I feel so much better and I feel my performance is still improving, and this is due in large part, I am sure, to the 3-2-1 nutrition plan. I am now 68.5kg and leaner than I have ever been, meaning my muscle bulk is pretty near peak, too. This is a pretty good size for my rugby goals, and my performance in the recent Darwin 7s indicates I am faster and more powerful, with stamina comparable to any Wallaroo player.


A big thanks to Mel for posting her thoughts on the 3-2-1 plan!!

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If you have any questions or if I should clarify any points, please let me know!

Cheers,

Amanda Singh
Mischief Rugby

Read her blog here: http://openside.amandasingh.me/


Have you tried the 3-2-1 diet yet? How did you get on? Share your story with me and be the next guest blogger... info@melanieryding.co.uk

Sunday 30 January 2011

Strength & Conditioning – the verdict one month on

It has been around a month since David Sutton (@PerformTrain) and I met for our initial strength and conditioning session. Read about the initial meeting here and read about David Sutton’s philosophy on Strength and Conditioning here (or here for mobile version excluding the powerpoint file)

What have I been doing?
David assessed me during our initial visit, and said that my weaknesses lie in my unilateral balance (ham strings and hip flexors mainly). He gave me a new list of exercises to do, with the aim of strengthening these areas, first mastering the technique before adding more weight during the next visit. These simple sounding exercises started off feeling almost impossible to me! (3 X 6)
·       Split squat, without weight
·       Single leg bridge
·       Stand from seated (on 1 leg)
·       Leg side raise
·       Step / stick squat
·       Split squat, with weight (dumb bell held on chest)
Also added was some upper body exercises that I already did, with slight variation:
·       Clean and jerk
·       Front squat
·       Straight arm pull down
·       Chin ups (with as little assistance as possible!)

How is it going?
Well, I have found massive improvements in the execution of the exercises, so much so that I asked Steve Casson when I met him recently, to check my execution because it seemed to be getting to easy! I can now easily get up from seated using one leg, when before I was finding it almost impossible. I recently asked my husband to demonstrate how well he could do that exercise, because I felt so proud of myself. It was only when he did it with ease that I realised how unique my weaknesses were. I had assumed that because I found it difficult, that must be normal and everyone would find it difficult!
I have found that my weight has decreased by a further 4 pounds and my body fat percentage and BMI has decreased by 0.6% I have changed nothing else, and have continued to eat as per the 3-2-1 diet plan. I know that this change cannot be solely attributed to strength and conditioning as there are many more variables that could come into play, but I definitely feel there has been a more significant change in my body shape and composition since I switched from weight training to strength and conditioning training.

What does this mean to my performance?
It’s a bit too early to say, but I definitely have noticed that my ham strings and glutes are much more engaged when I am running, and running up hills seems to zap my energy much less than it seemed to before. When I concentrate, I have found that the load on my quads when both running and cycling feels less imbalanced.
I look forward to hooking back up with him, for the next instalment of instructions!

Saturday 29 January 2011

Kevin Currell, on Nutrition for performance


The information in this blog is taken from a presentation done for my triathlon club  by Dr Kevin Currell, Senior Performance Nutritionist, English Institute of Sport/British Triathlon.

Kevin’s main philosophy on dieting has 4 main elements: Performance, it must be evidence based, individualised and simple.

Main performance fuel in diet:

Fats: enable the immune system to function properly, provide the building blocks for muscle, important energy source
Vitamins: key nutrients to support a strong immune system
Minerals: support repair within the body and help prevent injury, key nutrients for the body to cope with training
Antioxidants: help the body cope with the stress of training, stimulate metabolism and recovery
Protein: provides the building blocks for muscle
Carbohydrate: the main fuel during any exercise

How to fuel recovery:

ENERGY recovery: fast release carb, protein
e.g.

Boiled Rice + Chicken + Tomato
Sauce
•Jacket Potato + Tinned Tuna
•Bagel + Cooked chicken breast
•Pasta Salad + Chicken Breast

MUSCLE recovery: Protein, carb, antioxidants
e.g. running. Inflammation and muscle breakdown is up, immune function and carb stores are down. Running is stressful!

Post run food e.g.
Protein: This helps to repair the muscles quickly and effectively.
Proteins are the building blocks of the muscle.
• Antioxidants: Help the body to cope with the stress put on the body
• Good fats: These also help the body to cope with the stress put on
the body
• Carbohydrate: Provide the fuel for the muscles to repair themselves

Pro Inflammatory foods
• Foods high in saturated fats
• Cakes and pastries
• Crisps
• Chocolate
• Butter
• Cream
• Sausages
• Pies
• Sweets
• Chips

Anti Inflammatory Foods
• Fish
• Fruit - especially berries
• Vegetables
• Nuts and seeds
• Wholemeal pasta, bread and rice
• Porridge
• Spices
• Herbs
• Olive oil
• Dark Chocolate

OPTION 1 e.g.
500 ml Recovery Drink– Immediately after
running
Handful nuts + dried berries and yogurt –
within one hour after running
Option 2:
500 ml Milk – Immediately after running
Glass Cherry Juice + Peanut butter recovery
bar – within one hour after training
Option 3:
500 ml Whey Protein Berry Smoothie –
Immediately after training
Handful of nuts – winthin one hour after
training


SLOW recovery: protein, slow release Carbs, good fats, antioxidants
Slow recovery means Less Stress, Better Weight Management, More Nutrients, Don’t eat carbs on their own!

E.G. slow recovery meals:
·       Salmon fillet and cous cous + salad
·       Chicken breast, brown rice, roasted veg, olives
·       Stir fry beef, pine nuts, noodles and roast veg
·       Chicken and Quinoa risotto and salad, balsamic olive dressing
·       Prawns + wholemeal pasta, roast veg, tomato sauce
·       Chicken breast, wholemeal pasta, pesto

SLOW CARBS:
Breakfast Cereals
No Added Sugar Muesli
No Added Sugar Granola
Jumbo Porridge Oats
Shredded Wheat
Weetabix

Breads
Wholemeal Bread
Rye Bread
Burgen Bread

Main Meals
Wholegrain Pasta
Brown Rice
Sweet Potato
Cous Cous
Quinoa
Chick Peas
Lentils

Snacks
Fruit
Dried Fruit
Oatcakes
Rice Cakes
Vegetable Crisps
Dark Chocolate

FAST CARBS:
Coco Pops
Crunchy Nut Cornflakes
Cornflakes
Branflakes
Special K

Bread
White bread

Main meals
White pasta
White rice
Potato (eat only if steamed or mashed)

Snacks
Sweets
Crisps chocolate

What’s What in the food groups?

Carbohydrate
Pasta
Rice
Bread
Cous Cous
Quinoa
Potatoes
Muesli
Porridge
Choose wholegrain options where possible

Proteins
Beef
Pork
Chicken
Fish
Turkey
Milk
Nuts
Tofu
Ensure a good protein source in each meal

Fats
Handful of nuts
Tablespoon Olive Oil
Tablespoon of Ground Flaxseed
Medium Avocado
Handful Olives
Hummus
Fish
Add good fats to at least two of your meals per day.

Vitamins
Fruit
Vegetables
Have 8-10 portions of fruit and veg
Minerals
Nuts
Red Meat
Fish
Wholegrain Foods
Fruit
Vegetables
Have 3-4 portions of red meat

Antioxidants
70% Cocoa and
above Dark
Chocolate
Cinnamon
Blueberries (and most other types ofberry)
Olives
Spinach
Walnuts
Balsamic Vinegar
Berries are an excellent antioxidant.

Pre exercise eating guidelines:

Try and have a main meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner) within 3 hours of the start of training.
Carbohydrate based meals
Avoid meals high in fat

If you have not you need to have a sugary snack in the hour before you train e.g:
Banana
Cereal bar
Toast and jam
Malt loaf

Pre swim snacks could include: Sports Bar, Muffin, Flapjack, Pancakes, and English Muffins

Recovery: timing is key. Some food within 20 mins, and a main meal within 3 hours


My Thoughts:

Its interesting because someof the principles outlined here are ones that I already adopt within the 3-2-1- diet plan that i already operate. For example:
  • I eat main meals within an hour or so of training
  • I eat a piece of fruit before my early morning training
What i am still learning, though, is the food groups, and how the combinations work together. As i wasn't at this talk, but recieved the notes / info afterwards, I wasn't able to ask my usual barrage of questions! So internet research and reading it will be I think! Lots to learn still!

Cereal Bar

Friday 28 January 2011

GB Triathlete Melanie helps launch SWIMFIT

Thursday 27 January saw Waendel Leisure centre in Wellingborough launch its new SWIMFIT programme. 

In assiciation with the ASA, Waendel Leisure centre hopes to engage and enthuse local recreational swimmers back into swimming as a form of fitness.


Melanie and Bernice introduce SWIMFIT to new swimmers
 Developed by swimming experts at the ASA, Swimfit, powered by British Gas, Swim Fit can be your FREE online and pool-side club, providing you with a gym style work-out programme for the pool.

GB age group triathlete, Melanie Ryding, was in the main pool introducing the programme to enthusiastic swimmers. Many had never tried this kind of structured programme before, and after some coaching, saw the clear benefits from a properly structured pool training sessions.

British Gas Swimfit engages you in swimming based on your motivation for working-out, whether you are seeking to maintain your health, shape up and tone your body, reach your peak fitness level or compete at swimming competitions.
 
If you have any doubts as to the benefits of swimming as a form of exercise, here are a few reasons:
Its a great form of stress relief, it is easy on the joints, it's a perfect low impact all body workout and water is denser than air, therefore you can work harder!

Feedback from the participants was very positive. Many had not tried a structured swim session before, some thought that this kind of thing was only for 'proper swimmers' and some thought they simply weren't 'good enough'. With a few more barriers broken down, hopefully more people will come to realise the benefits of structured swimming, and the beauty of SWIMFIT is it is accessible to everyone of all abilities.

Waendel Leisure centre SWIMFIT sessions and information can be found here. Look out for the cards next time you visit your local pool, pick one up and have a go! You can even register online and track your own progress. Find out more information about that here.



Thursday 27 January 2011

Justin Daerr on Hill running

This is from IM Talk episode 245. I found the discussion they had on hill running very interesting, but I know podcasts aren’t everyone cup of tea, so I thought I would transcribe the gist of the conversation and add a few thoughts.
Justin has been given a hills session by a listener Richard Swan. He tried it out then discussed his thoughts. The basic session was this:
10 min warm up,
6 x hills (1.2km long) run at a HARD pace. (reps can be increased)
Warm down, 20 mins.
Justin says he believes that hill running is one of the best things to do all year round to keep yourself strong and fit. This kind of work out will bring your form on. You would do this leading into a race, 4 – 12 weeks out perhaps. He imagines the effort here should be close to threshold. It could be a little tough as an off season workout, however. A MODERATE pace uphill would be better, create a heavier load on the legs in prep for the tougher sessions pre season.
He consulted Alan Cousins for advice. He was told that hill running is used to recruit fast twitch fibres you need to increase load on your legs. Your cadence is going to be slower on hills. The load is increased on each leg when running up hill. To do this on the flat would mean increased pace.
What is the benefit of hills? Don’t beat yourself up with fast pace but recruit your fast twitch muscles through hill running, so when you come to transition to fast pace running on the flat, you have been training the right muscles. He says he tried to look for scientific research, but studies are scarce.
What intensity? He says there are a few ways to approach it. Off season, it would be fartlek, focus on form not effort. Another type would be to run at a good clip, 1-2 mins max. Any more – you would lose form due to lactate build up. Make sure you have good recovery so you can maintain the pace and effort.
IDEA: Initial run – carry a rock, good effort, not all out, drop rock 1 min up, then aim to keep hitting it, if not, you started off too quick.
6 weeks before a race should you do hill reps? YES! He says he incorporated it 6 week before ironman, 2k hill, 8%, 3 – 5 reps. his HR would be a tempo run on the flat, AT threshold. Make sure you have a nice surface to run on – perhaps grass, softer surface to get down the hill. Treadmill workouts can be a bonus – you don’t need full recovery to get back down the hill.
Preferred gradient? What’s best? If you are doing something for power, or short, then use a steeper hill. Most coaches prefer 4 – 6%.
What should less experienced athletes know?
People seem to think they should be destroyed after a session with ‘intervals’ in the title. Set the distance. Is it sustainable? If not, the next time you need to back off to maintain the quality of the workout.
Hill running, may be initially taxing if you haven’t done it before, may be tiring in a way that you didn’t think it would be.... i.e. you may be slower than you think, higher HR than you think. Be flexible and alter the workout so suit.
MY THOUGHTS:
·       I like the rock idea, it would get me away from being obsessed about numbers!
·       I hadn’t really thought of hill running as an easier way to do the same training as sprints!! But logically, I guess it is, you are putting more load through your legs because you are having to fight gravity to drag your sorry ass up that hill, are you not!!?
·       Intensity balance seems very logical and is already what I do. More intense speed work closer to the start of race season