I've moved!

Hey guys, I've packed up, and moved my Killsession Musings to another blog, please follow me over at wordpress via the link below. I'll be leaving this blog up for any who still wander in, but all traffic will now be directed, thanks :)

https://killsessionmusings.wordpress.com/

What Motivates Clients? Your Stories!

Sean

Wow, good question.  The immediate response for me is that I want to like what I see in the mirror each morning.  Having been overweight to some degree for most of my life being "in shape" represents a huge positive achievement, something tangible that says if I work hard and am consistent and dedicated, I can improve myself.   It is a revelation to go shopping and realise I can buy a tight fitting shirt to look good in when the baggy style has always been my friend.

I like the positive reinforcement when a friend or colleague I haven't seen for a while says "hey, you're looking good" and I can modestly reply "yeh, I've been trying to eat healthy" or "I've been working out".
Kara referred in another post to "social capital", and while I have never thought of it that way I think there is a definite respect amongst my friends/colleagues/peers when you can honestly say that you're trying to look after yourself when my peers are working long hours, eating bad food and drinking too much.

On a short term reward scale, I look forward to breaking old personal records and setting new PR's.  I've never consciously experienced that endorphin rush that people talk about from exercise but sometimes I will go home after a big session on a massive high that can last for days and feel incredibly enthused about working out - best two examples were after one particularly intense boxing cardio/HIIT workout and the first time I squatted 100kg.  I felt great!

So maybe it's about ego and self respect for me?  I like being fitter but my lifestyle has never really required much in the way of fitness and I haven't really spent much time worrying about long term health issues.

Eloise

Brutal honesty that will make me sound like a complete superficial prat to follow:

I figure if you're a girl with a fairly tight body, then you don't ALWAYS have to worry about how the rest looks (i.e. face and hair), because y'know, at least you have your hot body to fall back on (you can insert some discourse on superficial image-driven society here to make me sound more intelligent and like this has any scientific backing). Some days my hair looks crap, or I didn't get enough sleep. If I can still wear a tight dress and rock the bust-waist-hip measurement aspect, then it's better than nothing.

What else... Oh yeah, I like being able to outdo boys at things. It's fun when you can do more push-ups than them. It's a lame little quasi-feminist notion of mine, even though actual "fit" boys can kick my butt. I take what I can get.

Other dumb things: Sometimes my friends and I get a bit drunk and bitchy and rag on fat people (I know, I know...). If we get fat, we can no longer share this immature joy.

I'm better in bed when I'm working out more (or at least less lazy)

If I'm in better shape I have a better chance of running for the bus and ACTUALLY making it, instead of looking like a loser and running and NOT making it, and standing there hating life.

Yes, these are the things that consume my mind on a daily basis. A nice mix of vanity and concern for my overall health and wellbeing :) 

 And finally, and perhaps more frighteningly, Cherie!

Hmmmm....being strong enough to Javelin-launch a 50+kg barbell at your head when you call me "Chezza"?

A Model Was Told She Was Too Fat?

Regarding body image and society, what is acceptable and what isn't? Who's responsible for the 'ideal type', and who isn't? Why do I ask? Because of this story regarding Australia's Next Top Model:

"Alissandra Moone, 18, who at 57kg is considered underweight on the Australian body mass index, was "stunned" when her size became an issue on Foxtel's top-rating show.

Judge Alex Perry has openly criticised Moone's body, likening it to "overstuffed luggage", and the clash is set to reach a head on tonight's episode."

The headline is attention grabbing for sure, but immediately we can see this story for sensationalising a seemingly innocent event:

"Perry this morning took to Twitter and Channel Nine's Mornings with Kerri-Anne to answer his critics, saying it was "incorrect reporting".

Responding to people tweeting their anger over his comments, Perry said:

@AlexPerry007@bekskins bek, watch the episode, I was referring to her posing skills in a confined space, NOT her size. Alex ;i-)"

The article continues on not even addressing the photographers position:

"The model at the centre of the controversy, Alissandra Moone, yesterday said: "It's a very bad message to be sending to young girls who watch the show. 

"It's harsh. It's stupid. And it's out of touch. I understand it's a reality of the (modelling) industry but this is a TV show and they should have a responsibility to censor that kind of thing.

"I know this has happened to other girls in the past but I was shocked when he (Perry) said I was too fat.

"I'm only a size eight. There's going to be a lot of young girls watching this who are bigger than me, and how's this going to make them feel?""

The defense raised by the photographer above, if focused on, would have reduced the force of this article, as such it is simply overlooked (which isn't to say his comments were admirable). But why, is it overlooked?

Factual reporting is key when discussing issues of bodyweight, when an incident, such as this, is obscured to push an agenda, it reinforces negative bodyweight stereotypes. As we see, the article itself is aware there is a problem, and indeed addresses the issue of public perception of women's weight:

"The average dress size for most Aussie women is a 12 to 14, while the most recent Mission Australia youth survey showed body image was the most serious concern facing young people between 11 and 24 -- above bullying, drugs and family conflict."

We are left to ask the question: "Is body image for women such an issue because of personal preference?" Or "is it an issue (to whatever extent, remains to be determined, by an article with greater investigative depth than this) due to the media, and their pushing of an archetypal body image?" The former may indeed be dependant on the media, it would be admittedly difficult to differentiate correlation from causation. If it is the latter, and I'm making a case it is, at least in the instance of this article, which distorts seemingly 'innocent' remarks about a model's pose, into a witch hunt. The authors of this article share a burden to promote healthy ideas, not biased sensationalism.

As we  continue, we see again here:

""I understand it's probably a reality of the industry but no one likes to be told they look fat - regardless of what job you are in," Moone said. "I have never thought of myself as fat. I am a health freak. I go to the gym and eat well."

A spokeswoman for the ButterFly Foundation, which is aimed at educating and supporting people with eating disorders, said: "The (fashion) industry has a responsibility for portraying women of all healthy sizes and in playing a strong educated role in the contribution they make to the serious issue of negative body image."

As the article states this girl is underweight, and above, that women and their bodyweight represent a serious concern. We have to ask; if this model is so underweight why is she being modelled on T.V., where she is easily turned into an 'ideal type'? I agree with Moone when she states above, that an underweight girl being labelled as overweight, will passively have all over 57kg women looking at themselves in the mirror asking "if she's getting called fat by professionals, what am I then?" It might be one thing if this article was based on factual reporting, but as we can see, it isn't. It is fabricating an issue, which helps to reinforce the stereotype.

It's not only the fashion industry which bears a burden to accurately portray women and women's issues, it's also the media proper, which reports on the various fashion industries, who should report on those events correctly, and to portray healthy attitudes towards women. Not to simply offer faux sincerity to circulate articles, which end up reinforcing the very stereotypes the article is morally outraged against.

Reference
Australia's next top controversy - size 8 model bullied for being too fat. New.com- Retrieved 5/09/2011-
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/television/australias-next-top-controversy-size-8-model-bullied-for-being-too-fat/story-e6frfmyi-1226129310943?newscomautrack=news-newsfeed-1

Your Thoughts On Running.

Here's a response to my blog on the "dangers" of running the other day, I thought it had some positive things to say about running, that I might not have included thus far. So as not to seem too strident, or unwilling to listen to reason I thought I'd include Emma's thoughts. Enjoy!

Yeah, I guess runners are a bit nuts...  I don't know the area that the race was being held in, but I'm guessing it's no run in the park.  I really want to do the Wall of China Marathon one day.  It sounds absolutely hard core.  I find that pretty appealing :-p.

You do have a very good point that running is bad for people.  I know that running is absolutely hideous for people's bodies.  I haven't found anything else that gives me the same sort of buzz exercise wise though.  Crossfit is pretty good but not quite the same.  My PT reckons that running appeals to people with addictive tendencies.  I can understand this.  It's the whole buzz after a really hard session, but also a massive sense of achievement when you finish a set number of kms.  So many times you just want to stop, but you finish anyway, it's kind of fulfilling.  Definitely best in moderation though to avoid injury.  All runners I know are in 1 of 3 states, not injured and running well, injured and not running, or running after returning from injury :-p.

Destination: Abs (Redux)- Wk5.

Hey guys, no training diary blogs for a couple of weeks now, sorry about that, but there has been very little to report. As far as my back goes, I've had no body issues at all, and now that I'm in this new phase, I'm lifting heavier weights which is nice. As you'll see below, I've basically stopped doing intervals in the conventional sense, as in boxing, X-Trainer etc, I've replaced them with sled pushes and pulls, with moderately heavy weight. Why? It's functional strength work which will keep more muscle mass than simply sprinting or boxing will. I actually walked out pumped after doing these, and they're hard as hell!

These were my measurements as of the 28/08/11, for my previous measurements, see here.

Height- 185cm                    
Weight- 92.1kg
Bodyfat Percentage (skin folds)
Tricep- 19mm
Bicep- 3mm
Subscapula- 16mm
Supraillium- 19mm
Total- 57mm
Bodyfat Percentage= 20.47%.
OMRON= 18%

Girths
Arms Relaxed- R- 35.3cm, L- 35.5cm
Thighs- R 60cm, L 62cm
Chest- 103.5cm
Waist- 91.5cm
Hips 103.5cm

As you can see, I'm down just under 2% BF, and 1.5kgs, with only slight decreases in girths, which is nice, not much I know, but if I keep this up for the next couple of months I should start to get to a place I'm pretty happy with. My goal is to get as close to 10% as possible, I've planned to do this for 6 months, but have no problems going over. I'm not doing anything drastic, I'm not crash dieting, I'm still eating 7-9 meals a day, eating all the time really.  I've just cut out the junk, kept my protein levels high, and focused my weight and interval training to a higher intensity. I'm feeling no fatigue, or over training symptoms, in fact, I feel great!

 Here are some comparison photos from my first week til now, as always, I report, you decide!
 

So hopefully from these few pictures you can see some modest change in appearance. True, it's only been 5 weeks, and my Calories have not been dropped to an extreme level (not yet anyway). As any of you who train at CBD would see, I'm always carrying a smoothy around with me (with my bottle of water, and my file, yes I'm a dork!)

Alternating Set System
Day 1- MRT- Phase 2	Set	Rep	Rest	Wk1
A1: Dynamic Lunge	3	8*ea	60	17.5kg,20kg,20kg
A2: BB Pushpress	3	8*	60	45kg,45kg,45kg
B1: SLDL	3	8*	30	45kg,45kg,45kg
B2: NG Chins	3	8*	30	BW,BW,BW
C1: Jacknife (Feet on Fitball)	2	10	0	1,1
C2: Hanging Knee Raise	2	12	30	1,1
Day 2- HIIT
5-10 min warm up				Sled Pushes/Pulls with 70kg
1 minute on	7			1,1,1,1,1,1,1,
90 seconds off	7
Cool down 3-5 mins
Day 3- MRT	Set	Rep	Rest	Wk1
A1: DB Reverse Lunge	3	8*ea	30	20kg,22.5kg,22.5kg
A2: BB BO Row	3	8*	30	60kg,70kg,80kg
B1: DB Jump Squat	3	8*	30	15kg,20kg,22.5kg
B2: DB Incline Press	3	8*	30	25kg,27.5kg,30kg
C1: Pallof Press	2	12ea	0	80kg,80kg
C2: Rollout	2	12	30	8,10
Day 4- HIIT
5-10 min warm up				Sled Pushes/Pulls with 70kg
1 minute on	7			1,1,1,1,1,1,1,
90 seconds off	7
Cool down 3-5 mins
Day 5- MRT	Set	Rep	Rest	Wk1
A1: Dynamic Lunge	3	8*ea	60	20kg,20kg,20kg
A2: BB Pushpress	3	8*	60	50kg,60kg,60kg
B1: SLDL	3	8*	30	45kg,45kg,45kg
B2: NG Chins	3	8*	30	BW,BW,BW
C1: Jacknife (Feet on Fitball)	2	10	0	1,1
C2: Hanging Knee Raise	2	12	30	1,1
Day 6- HIIT
5-10 min warm up				Sled Pushes/Pulls with 70kg
1 minute on	7			1,1,1,1,1,1,1,
90 seconds off	7
Cool down 3-5 mins

Diet's been good, I've been going pretty hard on the bacon and eggs, but apart from the fact that they're fried, they're not affecting my fat loss (hopefully), I only eat one piece of (low fat) bacon, one egg, and one sausage, it's about 3-400 Calories. Apart from that no deviations, no junk, no alcohol (apart from that one night out). Feeling good!

Diet
Monday- 3200 Cals	T-S- 2600 Cals	Sunday- 2100 Cals
Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
Oats/milk/30g pro powdr	Egg/whites/Spinach	Smoothy
Protein- 39g	Protein- 32.5g	Protein-29g
Carbs- 41g	Carbs- 1.5	Carbs- 45g
Fat- 8.2g	Fat- 13.4g	Fat- 4g
Total- 415 Cals	Total- 260 Cals	Total- 429 Cals
Morning Tea	Morning Tea	Morning Tea
x2veg sausages	Chicken/Mixed Vegetables	Egg/whites/Spinach
x1 multigrain bread	Protein-46.5g	Protein- 32.5g
butter	Carbs- 13.5	Carbs- 1.6
glass hi-lo milk	Fat- 18.2	Fat- 13.4g
Protein- 43.3g	Total- 420 Cals	Total- 260 Cals
Carbs- 31.5
Fat- 18g
Total- 473 Cals
Post Sleep	Post Sleep	Lunch
Vegetable smoothy	Vegetable smoothy	Chicken/Mixed Vegetables
Protein- 46.6g	Protein- 46.6g	Protein-46.5g
Carbs- 37.9g	Carbs- 37.9g	Carbs- 13.5
Fat- 3g	Fat- 3g	Fat- 18.2
Total- 411 Cals	Total- 411 Cals	Total- 420 Cals
Before Work	Before Work	Afternoon Tea
Smoothy	Smoothy	Vegetable smoothy
Protein-29g	Protein-58g	Protein- 46.6g
Carbs- 45g	Carbs- 90g	Carbs- 37.9g
Fat- 4g	Fat- 8.2	Fat- 3g
Total- 429 Cals	Total- 429 Cals	Total- 411 Cals
Post Workout Shake	Post Workout Shake	Dinner
x2 up n go/30g protein	x2 up n go/30g pro	Chicken/Mixed Vegetables
Protein- 45.1g	Protein- 45.1g	Protein-46.5g
Carbs- 55.7g	Carbs- 55.7g	Carbs- 13.5
Fat- 8.3g	Fat- 8.3g	Fat- 18.2
Total- 517 Cals	Total- 517 Cals	Total- 420 Cals
Post Workout Meal	Dinner	Evening
tofu/glass hi-lo milk	Chicken/Mixed Vegetables	Bacon and Eggs
Protein- 39.2	Protein-46.5g	Protein- 42.7g
Carbs- 36.4	Carbs- 13.5	Carbs-3.9g
Fat- 22.7	Fat- 18.2	Fat-28.9g
Total- 432 Cals	Total- 420 Cals	Total- 404 Cals
Before Work
Smoothy
Protein-29g
Carbs- 45g
Fat- 4g
Total- 429 Cals
Protein-276.2g	Protein- 268.9g	Protein- 233.6g
Carbs- 292.5g	Carbs- 198.6g	Carbs- 113.1g
Fat- 68.2g	Fat- 73.6	Fat- 70.2g
Max Total- 3109 Cals	Max Total-2460 Cals	Max Total- 2200 Cals

Long Distance Running Kills.

Vincent Maudieu, 30, collapsed just metres from the finish line at about 10.15am after running the half-marathon at the City to Surf yesterday.

Paramedics at the event attended to the French man for 15 minutes before transporting him to Royal Perth Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Reference
http://www.perthnow.com.au/city-to-surf-marathon-marred-by-death/story-fn8ou527-1226124023102

And

FOUR runners have suffered serious burns after a bushfire swept into the race route and trapped them in a gorge during an ultramarathon event in WA's Kimberley region. Two women, aged 36 and 24, are in a critical condition at Darwin Hospital, having suffered burns over 60 to 80 per cent of their bodies.

Two men, aged in their 40s and 50s, have suffered burns over 10 to 20 per cent of their bodies and are in a serious condition following the incident about 5pm (WST) yesterday. They will be flown from Kununurra to Perth today.

 The race has been called off.

Ms Hill said the four people had been competing in the Kimberley Ultramarathon when a bushfire trapped them in a gorge at El Questro Station near Kununurra.

The Ultramarathon, part of the Racing the Planet Series, was being staged over 100km of outback between Kununurra, the Gibb River Road and El Questro Wilderness Park, from September 2 to 4.

Sport Minister Terry Waldron said last month that the race, which would attract 100 competitors from 30 countries, would be a "fantastic opportunity" to showcase the region to the world.

On the event's Facebook page today, organisers said the race had been cancelled with all competitors removed from the course due to bushfires in the area.

Reference

http://www.news.com.au/top-stories/marathon-runners-trapped-in-bushfire-horror/story-e6frfkp9-1226128705128#ixzz1WrQmjDEN

What Motivates Me? A Guide To Finding Your Own Motivation.

In wondering how to motivate my clients, I asked myself: "what motivates me?", and it's an interesting question. What does, intrinsically motivate me, what basic assumptions am I working under, that make me go through the rigmarole of the training life, the difficulties of lifting weights, doing intervals and dieting?

For me, it comes down to 2 ideas; (a)  the first 25 years of my life, especially my teen and early 20's, were spent eating junk food, drinking and generally punishing my body, and mind. I used to eat, 6 meat pies over a day, and the only liquid I would drink, by the gallon, was soft drink. When I diverted from this, it was to eat McDonald's, KFC, and still when I diverted from this, I drank booze! I never exercised, I stayed up all night, I did nothing positive to and for my body. This has put a fear in me about my latter days, am I going to get bowel/esophageal/stomach etc cancer at age 40 because of the crap I've done to myself?

Maybe. It's on the cards.

(b) I also, from about age 12, went absolutely spastic for comics, I own a modest collection of about 10,000 (don't ask how much money I spent on them!). What does this have to do with motivation? I grew up, as a skinny little dweeb (no wonder why when you look at the above eh?) who emulated muscle, the power, confidence and general appeal I took from that made me want to get involved with weight training, but I didn't know how.  Fortunately I worked with a big guy, who took me under his wing, let me train with him, and immediately, my inner geek, fan boy was addicted.

Trying to look like an action hero? That was for me.

These 2 driving principles, the desire to avoid an early death, and the desire to emulate the action heroes I grew up with, are what, at my core, motivate me. Don't get me wrong, I want to be healthy for health's sake, I enjoy learning about training etc, this has become my life, but the reason I get up at 5am to come to work, to train you guys, and to train myself, and to get better at it, starts from those two basic, intrinsic desires, that I'm barely conscious of anymore.

If you're wondering how to motivate yourself- ask yourself- what motivates you? At your core, what basic assumptions keep you where you are, from your goals, and from the body you want.

If you feel like sharing, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Dan Barker On Having A Purpose-Filled Life.

A little positivity for you guys, on this, the first day of spring, with new hope and a warm summer to follow!

Do you want a purpose-filled life? Find a problem to solve... Purpose is mainly about finding solutions. If you are trying to eliminate a threat to survival or to enhance the opportunities for a quality life, you have purpose. Find something you hate and work against it. Find something you love and work for it. Hunger, natural disasters, inequality, oppression, unfairness, predation, disease, invasions, aggression, racism, sexism, cruelty to animals, pollution, endangered species, political corruption, corporate greed, unsafe working conditions, exploitation- these are all worth fighting. The toil to gain scientific and historical knowledge; or the exercise of creating beauty, art, music, literature, theater, and architecture; or the efforts put into sports, entertainment, cooking and gardening- all these are worthwhile, useful and purpose-filled activities, and you can probably think of more. (Barker, The Good Atheist: Living a Purpose-Filled Life Without God, pp. 36-7, 2011)

Barker D. (2011). The Good Atheist: Living a Purpose-Filled Life Without God. Berkley, California. ULYSSES Press. pp. 36-7.

Articles For Women.

It's been a while ladies, and for that I apologise, hope you enjoy the small collection of articles I could find for you!

• Strong AND Feminine

• Summer Bikini Blast | Kettlebell and Body Weight Workout

• Beautiful Badass Profile - Part 2

• 5 Steps For the Perfect Bath (Yes, Really.)

• The Easiest 20-Minute Date Meal Ever

• Top 5 Exercise Considerations for Postpartum Weight Loss

• Q&A: What are the Healthiest Wines?

• Positive-Negative-Positive Cue

• Weight Training / Kettlebell Workouts for Women & Six Pack Abs Secrets Revealed by Neghar Fonooni

• Train Like a Girl Weekend

• Random Thoughts August 2011

• Eat This: Meatza & Fajita Bowl

• Three Methods of Intermittent Fasting

• Improving Your Self-Discipline with Your Training

• Helping Your Clients to Change Part 2: The Window Shopper

• Perfect Snacks for Kids Who Play Sports (and How to Convince Them to Eat the Healthy Stuff)

• The World’s Most Powerful Women?

• Women’s Equality Day through a Brown Lens

• Why I Participated in SlutWalk D.C.

• No Room for Old Men

• Stereotypes and Self-Assessments

Articles.

Hey guys, sorry for the paucity of articles blogs lately, they actually take a serious amount of time to put together, but you'll be happy to know this and an articles for women blog are up.

• A Scientific Approach to Fitness: Applying the Hierarchy of Knowledge

• Earning the Right

• Good Reads for the Week

• For Your Viewing Pleasure: Take 44

• Squat and Deadlift for Mass Question Answered

• Fittness Professionals: 10 Elite Coaching Strategies and 6 Must-Read Coaching Books

• Mediterranean Salad

• The Hidden Benefit of Barbell Training

• Dress For Success

• My Three Years as a Vegetarian

• How to Run a Successful Training Facility

• Make Coffee Work For You

• 2 Weeks to Shredded

• Homeopathy and "plausibility bias" versus science

• Haunted by memories of the consequences of not vaccinating

• Is Saturated Fat Intake Associated with Heart Disease?

• 5 Core Exercises to Spice Up Your Training

• Free PDF of Spinal Flexion Review Paper

• Chemotherapy and Exercise

• N.O.-XPLODE….A Short Review

• Eleven Tips for Career Success

• The Vault is Open

• Why the Top Priority of Vegans Should be Human Extinction, Not Veganism

• Good Reads for the Week

• For Your Viewing Pleasure: Take 45

• 5 Simple Ways to Retain Your Personal Training Clients

• Even Coaches Need Coaching

• How to Keep Your Gym from Failing (My Story)

• Core Exercises are Glute Activation Exercises

• Eleven Tips for Career Success

A Note To All You Silly (And Dangerous) Anti-Vaccination People Out There.

There is a lot of scare tactic nonsense going on at the moment about the SV40 vaccine (see here to see what the CDC has to say on that), and vaccines in general. Generally spread by purveyors of pseudoscience based on shoddy research, bad science and conspiracy theory nonsense. Vaccinations save lives and are, on the whole, considered safe. Here are the conclusions of a report done on the safety and effectiveness of certain vaccines.

The committee was not charged with making recommendations, and it did not pinpoint any particular areas for continued research. Much research already occurs to determine the safety of vaccines for the populations for whom they are recommended (emphasis added). However, there is much to learn about the human immune system, autoimmunity, and the effects of genetic variation, all of which may influence how people respond to vaccines.
Vaccines offer the promise of protection against a variety of infectious diseases. Despite much media attention and strong opinions from many quarters, vaccines remain one of the greatest tools in the public health arsenal (emphasis added). Certainly, some vaccines result in adverse effects that must be acknowledged. But the latest evidence shows that few adverse effects are caused by the vaccines reviewed in this report.

 Reference
(2011). Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality. The Institute of Medicine. Retrieved 29/08/2011. http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Adverse-Effects-of-Vaccines-Evidence-and-Causality/Report-Brief.aspx?page=2

Notes On 'Trick Or Treatment'- Chapter 3- Homeopathy by Ernst & Singh.

Sorry for the length between posts on my look at this book, they're involved and I've had my head in other things. This week we investigate homeopathy and its efficacy.

Definition

"A system of treating illness based on the premise that like cures like. The homeopath treats symptoms by administering minute or non-existent doses of a substance which in large amounts produces the same symptoms in healthy individuals. Homeopaths focus on treating patients as individuals and claim to be able to treat virtually any ailment, from colds to heart disease." (Ernst & Singh, p92, 2008)

Homeopathy, according to Ernst and Singh has gained huge popular status in the last couple of decades (p93), and they suggest that from this a kind of argument from popularity is occurring whereby people use (and promote) it simply because it is popular.

The authors trace the beginnings of homeopathy to Samuel Hahnemann who used a Malaria treatment, as a cure all tonic, working under the assumption "if I take something that cures me of illness it will make me feel even better if I'm not sick". This, however made his health decrease, moreover, it led him to experience some of the symptoms of Malaria. This gave a Hahnemann a thought, that what if he experimented with other treatments to see if he got the same results? He did, and he did.  He, by reversing the logic of his experiments came up with an ultimate principle: "that which can produce a set of symptoms in a healthy individual who is manifesting a similar set of symptoms". (pg95) This bizarrely led Hahnemann to the conclusion that he could improve remedies by diluting them (to this day it still remains a mystery why he came to this conclusion).

Hahnemann was not without his merits, he tested his hypothesis on others, administering daily doses (in an experimental procedure he called "provings") to several healthy people, who were asked to keep detailed diaries of their symptoms. This gave Hahnemann some figures with which to work from, he argued that the identical remedy given to a sick person could relieve the same symptoms (p96).

Homeopathic procedure
This is where it gets interesting, and well, bizarre (more so?), Ernst and Singh explain the procedure to accrue homeopathic remedies:

"If a plant is to be used as the basis of a homeopathic remedy, then the preparation process begins by allowing it to sit in a sealed jar of solvent, which then dissolves some of the plant's molecules. The solvent can be either water or alcohol, but for the ease of explanation we will assume it is water...After several weeks the solid material is removed- the remaining water with its dissolved ingredients is called the mother tincture. 

The mother tincture is then diluted, which might involve one part of it being dissolved in nine parts water, thereby diluting it by a factor of ten. This is called a 1X remedy, the X being the Roman numeral for 10. After the dilution, the mixture is vigorously shaken, which completes the potentization process. Taking one part of the 1X remedy, dissolving it in nine parts water and shaking again leads to a 2X remedy. Further dilution and potentization leads to 3X, 4X, 5X and even weaker solutions- remember that Hahnemann believed that weaker solutions led to stronger remedies." (Ernst & Singh, p97, 2008) 

There was a reason I put such a long quote up, I want you, the reader, to fully appreciate just what homeopathy is and what it sells you (at a high premium). Ernst and Sing accentuate their point:

"A 4X remedy, for instance means that the mother tincture was diluted by a factor of 10 (1X), then again by a factor of 10 (2X), then again by a factor of 10 (4X), and then again by a factor of 10 (4X). This leads to dilution by factor of 10x10x10x10, which is equal to 10,000... homeopathic pharmacists will usually dissolve one part of the mother tincture in 99 parts of water, thereby diluting by a factor of 100. This is called 1C remedy, C being the Roman numeral for 100. Repeatedly dissolving by a factor of 100 leads to 2C, 3C, 4C and eventually to ultra-dilute solutions.

For example, homeopathic solutions of 30C are common, which means that the original ingredient has been diluted 30 times by a factor of 100 each time. Therefore the original substance has been diluted by a factor of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,0000,000,000,000,000. This string of naughts may not mean much, but bear in mind that one gram of the mother tincture contains less than 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules... The bottom line is that this level of dilution is so extreme that the resulting solution is unlikely to contain a single molecule of the original ingredient (emphasis added). In fact the chance of having one molecule of the active ingredient in the final 30C remedy is one in a billion, billion, billion, billion. In other words a 30C remedy is almost certain to contain nothing more than water. (emphasis added)" (Ernst & Singh, p98-9, 2008)

Again, sorry for the long quotes but for me personally that should be the end of this post, what more do you need to know about homeopathy?

Ernst and Singh continue mentioning that some homeopathic pharmacists stock 100,000C remedies which means they've diluted 30C remedies "already devoid of any active ingredient" further by a factor of 100, another 99,970 times, this costs money, upwards of 1,000 pounds! (p100)

Obviously from a scientific perspective there is no reason a homeopathic remedy should work (apart from the placebo effect). There are some ad hoc theories given by homeopaths to describe how it works: some suggest that the remedies have a "memory" of the original ingredient (p100), Hahnemann proposed that a "vital force", something close to a spirit, determined a persons well being (p105), they have also been known to hold a pendulum over a shortlist of possible remedies to determine which one to use (p104) . The authors continue explaining just what homeopathic remedies have been suggested to be effective on: diarrhoea, coughs, headaches, to arthritis, diabetes and asthma, from bruises and colds to cancer and Parkinson's disease (pg100).

Both DARPA (U.S Defense force), scientific studies and even James Randi have tested the efficacy of homeopathy, with no positive results. In 1999 Dr Andrew Vickers meta-analysed 120 research papers on homeopathy and found no reproducible effect (p125). In fact James Randi is still offering his $1million dollar prize to anyone who can demonstrate its efficacy, no-one has. Randi also ingested sixty-four times the dosage of a homeopathic sleeping remedy before a meeting of the U.S congress and "didn't even feel drowsy." (p126)

Conclusion
If you want to drink water please use filtered bottled water, if you want to get medical treatment, see your doctor!

Reference
Ernst E., Singh,. S. (2008). Trick Or Treatment. New York, New York. W.W Norton & Company. Pp- 93,93,95,96,97,98,99,100,104,105,125,126.

A Night Out.

So I went out drinking Saturday night, a work thing, and it constituted my first consumption of alcohol in 2-2 and a half months, and I gotta say... I don't miss it.

And I don't see why it's such a big deal.

I don't want to seem indifferent, I've certainly had my share of boozy nights, but I wonder why this is a part time obsession for Australians. I'm not a moral arbitrator of course, ultimately I don't mind what you do with the body you inhabit, the only people I have to regulate on this issue are the people who pay me to do so (and family members and loved ones?).

Having a night out, I was very aware that I felt like shit, even when drunk, and I came to the conclusion that alcohol allows people to romanticise; they romanticize the booze itself, their feelings when on it, their own lives and the emotional angst they may feel. And I worry that's where the feedback loop is, the encouragement, the reward. Alcohol becomes about escapism, about flying free from the imprisonment of the day to day, of the mundane so to speak.

But it's fake, it's an illusion and you pay for it, with your liver, mind/brain and most importantly, to me as your trainer, your bodyfat percentage levels.

The crap I ate over the weekend is sickening, I put myself back a few weeks with my eating habits from that night out, I feel lethargic, tired, de-motivated.

Therein lies the self fulfilling nature for habitual drinkers, is it your life that's keeping you down? Or the alcohol? A vicious cycle of drink, feel like crap, feel depressed, drink to escape that.

I don't envy anyone in that cycle, but for anyone who is willing to admit they may just be, there is hope, and it's a hope I've offered throughout this blog. Training, focusing on self improvement, your diet, these yield positive results and positive self reinforcement. Change the cycle, from drinking, self sacrifice, emotional angst, helplessness, to; positivity, training, feeling invigorated (endorphins), seeing results (confidence), repeat!

The first step is the hardest, realising alcohol is a problem that keeps you down, the second step is easy, removing elements in your life that allow you to get into that comfort zone: friends, habits etc, the third step is easiest: get in the gym and make healthy choices with your food!

Wow, doesn't this sound like a sermon, coming from an atheist!

Dialogues Between Shmoopy's.

Here's an interesting dialogue (re: email exchange) between myself and my uber brain girl

Kara

"Interesting dialogues blog, wonder how much class and pop culture/conspicuous consumption issues play a part in these kinds of questions generally."

My reply

"Class- definitely, pop culture- hmmm I'm unconvinced (is this a media= action thing? Refer to the porn blog), conspicuous consumption (hiding your drinking habits?)- I'll wait to comment until I understand..."

Kara

"I think being on a 'weird' diet is definitely a form of capital in today's society. People are always following celebrity diets and I think that can become a form of status among the pop culture literate. People who are like that wouldn't feel their friends wont like them cause they eat crap."

My reply

"I do too, it seems not in these instances, or perhaps cause I'm not a celebrity?"

Kara

"Hehe maybe but still alot of people would value being on a diet whatever it is, in terms of the status it would give them in front of their friends."

My language is pretty simple but I find what Kara was saying an interesting insight into the psychology and group mentality by someone whose perspective is of the larger cultural kind. My big brain girl!

The Conditioning Research Blog On Sitting In A Chair All Day.

This is for all my clients who spend all day at the computer!

"Our bodies were not built for life in a chair and it is no surprise that research has highlighted the danger that so much sitting poses to health. Scientists have found that time spent sitting was associated with increased risk of mortality. Those who sat “most of the time” were more likely to die during the following 12 years than those who “almost never” sat, even after controlling for age, smoking, body weight and physical activity[2]. Even if they exercised, people who sat for over 6 hours per day had a higher risk of death than those who sat for under 3 hours per day[3]. Sitting watching television for an average of 6 hours a day could shorten life-expectancy by almost 5 years[4]." (Conditioning Research blog, 2011)

See the full article here, complete with other studies.


Reference
Conditioning Research. (2011). Sitting and Health. Retrieved 22/08/2011. http://conditioningresearch.blogspot.com/2011/08/sitting-and-health.html

Destination: Abs (Redux)- Wk3.

Sorry I missed last week, I don't want to simply post week to week if I have nothing particular to say. With that mindset in, well, mind, how am I progressing? To be honest, the results are coming slow, I look better in the mirror than I do on the scales. I'm feeling leaner, the clothes are loose, but the scales say I've actually put on almost a kg (with a reduction in BF of about 1%), I haven't done any serious assessments, simple OMRON and scales at the moment. I've got a major assessment coming up next week. It's insane the weight difference I feel and see from high to lower carb days (sometimes a difference of 3kgs), which messes with your head, but my goal is ultimately to keep as much muscle as possible, so doing it slow is fine (after all I want to look good around December, a considerable amount of time away).

Training is solid, back is feeling good, no pain or discomfort. I've been semi regularly doing my foam rolling and stretching. I've been trying to increase the weight, but it's really f-ing hard doing 15 rep sets with any moderate weight, increasing it just makes you want to die! HIIT is fun as always, especially the boxing, I really like the way I feel during dieting phases, I like the diet restrictions (as much as I constantly crave Nandos and nachos), and I like how clean and healthy I feel. You enjoy food more when you're not just eating crap all the time. Psychologically, I get far more enjoyment out of a piece of chocolate now, than I did eating a whole bag of malteasers before, not hard to see why.

Assessment next week guys, complete with photos and measurements, eep!

Alternating Set System
Day 1- MRT- Phase 1	Set	Rep	Rest	Wk3
A1: Fr-Squat Psh Press Cmbo	3	15	30	40kg,40kg,40kg
A2: Seated Cable Row	3	15	30	65kg,65kg,70kg
B1: DB Step Up	3	15ea	30	10kg,10kg,10kg
B2: Pushup (on Fitball)	3	15	30	15,15,15
C1: Glute Bridge	2	15	0	1,1
C2: Plank	2	60s	30	30s,30s
Day 2- HIIT
5-10 min warm up				X-Trainer
1 minute on	5			1,1,1,1,1
2 mins off	5			5min cooldown
Cool down 3-5 mins
Day 3- MRT	Set	Rep	Rest	Wk3
A1: Deadlift	3	15	30	60kg,60kg,70kg
A2: DB Alt Military Press	3	15	30	15kg,15kg,15kg
B1: DB RFESS	3	15ea	30	12.5kg,12.5kg,12.5kg
B2: Wide Grip Pulldown	3	15	30	75kg,75kg,75kg
C1: Landmine	2	15ea	0	25kg,25kg
C2: Rollout	2	15	30	8,10
Day 4- HIIT
5-10 min warm up				Boxing
1 minute on	5			1,1,1,1,1
2 mins off	5			5mins cooldown
Cool down 3-5 mins
Day 5- MRT	Set	Rep	Rest	Wk1
A1: Fr-Squat Psh Press Cmbo	3	15	30	40kg,40kg,40kg
A2: Seated Cable Row	3	15	30	75kg,75kg,75kg
B1: DB Step Up	3	15ea	30	15kg,15kg,15kg
B2: Pushup (on Fitball)	3	15	30	15,15,15
C1: Glute Bridge	2	15	0	1,1
C2: Plank	2	60s	30	30,30
Day 6- HIIT
5-10 min warm up
1 minute on	5		-
2 mins off	5		-
Cool down 3-5 mins

Diet has been good, for days that I've been feeling a bit naughty, I've been having (low fat) bacon, sausage eggs (as in x1 strip of bacon, x1 egg and x1 sausage which comes to about 350Cals, all protein and a little fat). I would recommend this to my clients who are on high protein diets, I would advise, however, not to have this type of meal with any carbs at all, no bread, no drink (other than water), its just too high in fat.

The diet took a massive hit over the weekend, after my night out on Friday (some thoughts on that coming in another blog, prepare for a rant people!). Nachos, large meals, ugh! And I have an assessment this week! Grr!

You really do realise it's the large portion sizes that contribute so much to the excess bodyfat, since I've been keeping most of my meals at about 400 Cals I've noticed the belly fat drip off. That would be another piece of advice to my clients, get rid of those gorging, large meals, you want to feel satisfied by the end of the meal, not sick.

Other than this past weekend, I've been on track with diet, eating right, for the first time in a long time. There is some debate about counting Calories, I used to be against doing it, and many professional coaches are, but I think it's worth doing at least once in your life (and by counting calories I simply mean working out your daily intake X your Physical Activity Level -  500-1000 Cals to drop weight, not weigh all meals etc). This way you get to see, objectively what you need to be eating, people often think they've got a pretty good hold on the Calories they're supposed to ingest in a day, I've seen people get it so wrong it's crazy, on both ends of the scales (I've seen girls eating 1500 Cals over what they're supposed to and guys eat that much under!). This is what you see most often with so called "hard gainers", they think they're eating a lot when in actuality, they're eating nothing, or binging and starving. The point is to consistently meet Calorie targets, with the adequate mix of protein and carbs.

Diet
Monday- 3200 Cals	T-S- 2600 Cals	Sunday- 2100 Cals
Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
Oats/milk/30g pro powdr	Egg/whites/Spinach	Smoothy
Protein- 39g	Protein- 32.5g	Protein-29g
Carbs- 41g	Carbs- 1.5	Carbs- 45g
Fat- 8.2g	Fat- 13.4g	Fat- 4g
Total- 415 Cals	Total- 260 Cals	Total- 429 Cals
Morning Tea	Morning Tea	Morning Tea
x2veg sausages	Chicken/Mixed Vegetables	Egg/whites/Spinach
x1 multigrain bread	Protein-46.5g	Protein- 32.5g
butter	Carbs- 13.5	Carbs- 1.6
glass hi-lo milk	Fat- 18.2	Fat- 13.4g
Protein- 43.3g	Total- 420 Cals	Total- 260 Cals
Carbs- 31.5
Fat- 18g
Total- 473 Cals
Post Sleep	Post Sleep	Lunch
Vegetable smoothy	Vegetable smoothy	Chicken/Mixed Vegetables
Protein- 46.6g	Protein- 46.6g	Protein-46.5g
Carbs- 37.9g	Carbs- 37.9g	Carbs- 13.5
Fat- 3g	Fat- 3g	Fat- 18.2
Total- 411 Cals	Total- 411 Cals	Total- 420 Cals
Before Work	Before Work	Afternoon Tea
Smoothy	Smoothy	Vegetable smoothy
Protein-29g	Protein-58g	Protein- 46.6g
Carbs- 45g	Carbs- 90g	Carbs- 37.9g
Fat- 4g	Fat- 8.2	Fat- 3g
Total- 429 Cals	Total- 429 Cals	Total- 411 Cals
Post Workout Shake	Post Workout Shake	Dinner
x2 up n go/30g protein	x2 up n go/30g pro	Chicken/Mixed Vegetables
Protein- 45.1g	Protein- 45.1g	Protein-46.5g
Carbs- 55.7g	Carbs- 55.7g	Carbs- 13.5
Fat- 8.3g	Fat- 8.3g	Fat- 18.2
Total- 517 Cals	Total- 517 Cals	Total- 420 Cals
Post Workout Meal	Dinner	Evening
tofu/glass hi-lo milk	Chicken/Mixed Vegetables	Bacon and Eggs
Protein- 39.2	Protein-46.5g	Protein- 42.7g
Carbs- 36.4	Carbs- 13.5	Carbs-3.9g
Fat- 22.7	Fat- 18.2	Fat-28.9g
Total- 432 Cals	Total- 420 Cals	Total- 404 Cals
Before Work
Smoothy
Protein-29g
Carbs- 45g
Fat- 4g
Total- 429 Cals
Protein-276.2g	Protein- 268.9g	Protein- 233.6g
Carbs- 292.5g	Carbs- 198.6g	Carbs- 113.1g
Fat- 68.2g	Fat- 73.6	Fat- 70.2g
Max Total- 3109 Cals	Max Total-2460 Cals	Max Total- 2200 Cals