Hi Girls,
I'm sorry for taking so long to get another blog written up for you all. Unfortunately I have bad news- I have failed in my bid to make it to this years Olympics. The week leading up to the trials was fantastic and I trained better than I ever have before, which made me feel very optimistic going into the trials.
Priscilla and I travelled to Birmingham on the Thursday afternoon and then just relaxed in preparation for my 800m preliminary heat on Friday night. The qualifying was tough- only the winner of each of 4 heats plus 4 fastest losers to make the final. I found myself in heat 4 running at 9:45pm in cold windy conditions. I went out hard, got into a good position and then hit the front with 200m to go. I was caught with 40m to go but finished in 2nd in 1:50.32s which was enough to take me through the the final and a big relief. I then had an iced bath back at the hotel followed by a room service dinner as it was midnight by the time we got back. I slep well and woke up feeling great for the final.
Because I had no Olympic standard time going into the final my last roll of the dice was for the race to go out really fast and then for me to win it in an Olympic standard time. Unfortunately this didn't occur and the race went out extremely slowly followed by a sprint for the finish over the last 200m in which I finished 5th and out of the top 3 places which were in with a chance to make the team.
It's been a long journey to the trials and I have some great memories from this trip, but this morning I am left wondering what might have been. My racing in England and Morocco just didn't go right and it makes me feel sad to think that what should have been a legitimate shot at making the games has ended up fizzling out like this.
However life goes on and I am really lucky for the life that I have. I have had the opportunity to dare to dream that I could have made it to the Olympics and I am proud of what I have achieved.
As I write this Priscilla and I are about to head up to London for a few days of R and R and a mini vacation so we are very excited for that. It's time now to relax and take some time away from running before deciding where I go from here and what new goals I will aspire towards.
I will be back to coach all of you starting next Monday, 21st July so I look forward to seeing you then :) Best wishes to everyone.
Cheers,
Coach Tim
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Work Out of the Month - July
Starting this month we will be posting a work-out of the month. These work-outs are performance based, which means they are designed to push you to perform and therefore increase your fitness. Competition is a great motivator, whether it is against another person or against yourself. Use these work-outs to discover your perceived limits, your ability to push past them and your ability to reach new levels of performance and fitness.
The ultimate goal of the work-outs is to maximize power, which means, increasing weight, and/or distance and/or decreasing time(Power=Load x Distance/Time), but please remember form must come before speed and weight. First learn to do each exercise correctly and then practice doing the exercise with speed and with weight. Call or e-mail us if you have questions.
Have Fun and GET TO IT!*
Warm-up: Before starting the timed work-out warm up your body with a 10 minute jog or speed walk, 10 push-ups (modified if needed), 10 arm circles each direction, 10 squats, 10 calf stretches (per leg), 20 Butt kicks, 20 forward kicks and 10 more squats. Now for your first…
WORKOUT OF THE MONTH!
This workout consists of 4 rounds of 4 different exercises, each performed for one minute. Each of the 4 exercises is done consecutively with no break in between. You may stop as often as necessary, but the clock keeps going. The goal is to do as many repetitions as possible of each exercise within the minute allotted for the exercise. At the end of each 4 minute round take a 1 minute break.
Push-Ups Full range of motion (Chest touches the ground, then arms fully extend.) with a straight body line from the heel through to the ear. Bodyweight is supported on hands and toes. Modifications: The higher the hands are placed the less difficult the push up - Hands on a bench - Hands on a table - Hands on a railing - Hands on a wall.
OR:
OR:
Jump ups or Step-UpsFor both jump up and step up use a full range of motion. That means bringing your hips up and forward to reach your full height on the top of the step. For a standard height use a park picnic bench or something about 18 inches high. Box Jumps: jump up then step or jump down. (If you are not familiar with box jumps try the step ups for this workout (see below). Make sure the landing surface is stable and not slippery. Most exercise steps are not suited to jumping.)
OR:
OR:
Step-Ups: For the best performance I recommend switching feet on top of the step as this creates less downtime between steps. Any combination of stepping up and down is acceptable. You should do an even number of repetitions or time on each leg. Modifications: Use a lower step or even a curb.
OR:
30 Foot Line Touch Measure or pace off 30 feet, marking both ends. Run to the far side and touch your mark with your hand, run back to touch the other mark with your other hand, continue for the full minute. Turn right off of one mark and left off of the other. Count each touch as 1. *Make sure your shoes and chosen surface are suited to the task (not slippery).
Air SquatsFull range of motion is lowering your hip crease to below the top of the knee and rising to full extension of the hip, reaching your full height. Modification: Reduced the depth of your squat.
Repeat the exercise circuit four times with a one minute break in between repeats. Have a partner record your reps for each exercise. Count your total (all 4 rounds) reps for each exercise and post the total of each exercise on our blog www.cqbootcamp.blogspot.com. Please count only the repetitions with full range of motion or list the total as “modified”.
The ultimate goal of the work-outs is to maximize power, which means, increasing weight, and/or distance and/or decreasing time(Power=Load x Distance/Time), but please remember form must come before speed and weight. First learn to do each exercise correctly and then practice doing the exercise with speed and with weight. Call or e-mail us if you have questions.
Have Fun and GET TO IT!*
Warm-up: Before starting the timed work-out warm up your body with a 10 minute jog or speed walk, 10 push-ups (modified if needed), 10 arm circles each direction, 10 squats, 10 calf stretches (per leg), 20 Butt kicks, 20 forward kicks and 10 more squats. Now for your first…
WORKOUT OF THE MONTH!
This workout consists of 4 rounds of 4 different exercises, each performed for one minute. Each of the 4 exercises is done consecutively with no break in between. You may stop as often as necessary, but the clock keeps going. The goal is to do as many repetitions as possible of each exercise within the minute allotted for the exercise. At the end of each 4 minute round take a 1 minute break.
Push-Ups Full range of motion (Chest touches the ground, then arms fully extend.) with a straight body line from the heel through to the ear. Bodyweight is supported on hands and toes. Modifications: The higher the hands are placed the less difficult the push up - Hands on a bench - Hands on a table - Hands on a railing - Hands on a wall.
OR:
OR:
Jump ups or Step-UpsFor both jump up and step up use a full range of motion. That means bringing your hips up and forward to reach your full height on the top of the step. For a standard height use a park picnic bench or something about 18 inches high. Box Jumps: jump up then step or jump down. (If you are not familiar with box jumps try the step ups for this workout (see below). Make sure the landing surface is stable and not slippery. Most exercise steps are not suited to jumping.)
OR:
OR:
Step-Ups: For the best performance I recommend switching feet on top of the step as this creates less downtime between steps. Any combination of stepping up and down is acceptable. You should do an even number of repetitions or time on each leg. Modifications: Use a lower step or even a curb.
OR:
30 Foot Line Touch Measure or pace off 30 feet, marking both ends. Run to the far side and touch your mark with your hand, run back to touch the other mark with your other hand, continue for the full minute. Turn right off of one mark and left off of the other. Count each touch as 1. *Make sure your shoes and chosen surface are suited to the task (not slippery).
Air SquatsFull range of motion is lowering your hip crease to below the top of the knee and rising to full extension of the hip, reaching your full height. Modification: Reduced the depth of your squat.
Repeat the exercise circuit four times with a one minute break in between repeats. Have a partner record your reps for each exercise. Count your total (all 4 rounds) reps for each exercise and post the total of each exercise on our blog www.cqbootcamp.blogspot.com. Please count only the repetitions with full range of motion or list the total as “modified”.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Question of the Week
"How do you keep pushing hard in class when your mind is telling your body "your tired, just quit, this is too difficult, cheat!" ?
This is a fantastic question, get to the bottom of this one and you will have amazing results on the way to reaching your fitness potential!
The answer is very individual and must relate to your own sense of motivation, willpower, competition, fun, stubbornness, accomplishment...
Here are a few ideas from the front.
1) Keep it light!
a) No brain, no pain. One of my favorites from my early days of training!
The idea here is to justify in your mind that it is just fine to suffer and to struggle forward toward the impossible.
Realizing that in some way it is funny, crazy and the harder you push the more amusing it is.
2) Get competitive! a) Pick someone or everyone in the class to compete with.
Try to finish runs before them, be first to start the next exercise, use more range of motion in an exercise, use heavier weights, do more repetitions etc. If you know your competitor well enough, you can let them in on it. Although it is not necessary a friendly competition will push you both to continue improving. As many people are not motivated by competition please refrain from the "I kicked your butt!" dance around their mat. Not to mention this would prevent you from starting the next exercise!
b) Compete with yourself.
Run faster, further without walking, tell yourself you will just continue to the finish of this exercise, that you can do one more rep etc. Stay in the moment and do your best with each exercise. Track your timed workouts to follow your improvement.
3) Try mind tricks! a) Alter the importance of the exercise.
You think you cannot press your dumbbells overhead one more time. Imagine it's your baby you are lifting to someone on the roof to save her from a rising flood!
Can't run any faster? What if someones life depended on you getting to help in time and every second really counted!
It's too hot? Would you stop running from the wild rhinoceros out on the Serengeti, imagine the scenario to test your will.
Imagine you are at the Olympics and if you can hang on and give just a bit more you will have the Gold medal.
4) Just do it! Kudos to Nike for that one.
At some point we just have to buck up and do the work. Yes it is hard, if it wasn't the results would not come. Unless I were to make the mind tricks portion very real to you, you will have the choice to decide how much you can do, how hard you are willing to push and what you will allow to steal your progress.
Realize that most progress towards your goals happens outside of your comfort zone. Otherwise you would already be there!
This is a fantastic question, get to the bottom of this one and you will have amazing results on the way to reaching your fitness potential!
The answer is very individual and must relate to your own sense of motivation, willpower, competition, fun, stubbornness, accomplishment...
Here are a few ideas from the front.
1) Keep it light!
a) No brain, no pain. One of my favorites from my early days of training!
The idea here is to justify in your mind that it is just fine to suffer and to struggle forward toward the impossible.
Realizing that in some way it is funny, crazy and the harder you push the more amusing it is.
2) Get competitive! a) Pick someone or everyone in the class to compete with.
Try to finish runs before them, be first to start the next exercise, use more range of motion in an exercise, use heavier weights, do more repetitions etc. If you know your competitor well enough, you can let them in on it. Although it is not necessary a friendly competition will push you both to continue improving. As many people are not motivated by competition please refrain from the "I kicked your butt!" dance around their mat. Not to mention this would prevent you from starting the next exercise!
b) Compete with yourself.
Run faster, further without walking, tell yourself you will just continue to the finish of this exercise, that you can do one more rep etc. Stay in the moment and do your best with each exercise. Track your timed workouts to follow your improvement.
3) Try mind tricks! a) Alter the importance of the exercise.
You think you cannot press your dumbbells overhead one more time. Imagine it's your baby you are lifting to someone on the roof to save her from a rising flood!
Can't run any faster? What if someones life depended on you getting to help in time and every second really counted!
It's too hot? Would you stop running from the wild rhinoceros out on the Serengeti, imagine the scenario to test your will.
Imagine you are at the Olympics and if you can hang on and give just a bit more you will have the Gold medal.
4) Just do it! Kudos to Nike for that one.
At some point we just have to buck up and do the work. Yes it is hard, if it wasn't the results would not come. Unless I were to make the mind tricks portion very real to you, you will have the choice to decide how much you can do, how hard you are willing to push and what you will allow to steal your progress.
Realize that most progress towards your goals happens outside of your comfort zone. Otherwise you would already be there!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Question of the Week
"My major goal of boot camp was to lose weight. I've been in it about 6 weeks and have only lost a couple of pounds. I've been eating really well and just thought I would have lost more. Have I reached a plateau? Am I gaining muscle and that's what's keeping the weight on?"
Answered by Matthew Johnson, Nutrition Director for CoreQuest Fitness
This is a very common question and there are multiple reasons why a person may not have lost weight even though they are now exercising more regularly and eating "better." In a second here I will run through some of the more common possibilities and recommendations of how to deal with them.
But first we need to step back and look at our goals. Is weight loss a goal? Should it be? For some people losing pounds on the scale is a perfectly fine goal, especially if they are considered "overweight." However a goal that I find many people find more useful and meaningful is how they look in the mirror. That is because when many people say the want to lose weight, what they really mean is "I want to look better naked!" While the path a person takes to get there will probably be very similar to the losing weight goal. The outcome measured (usually pictures) is much more meaningful. So before getting caught up in the number on the scale sit back and think about what your true goal is. If it is looking better in the mirror consider taking a set of pictures (usually in a bikini, or underwear with a front, side and back shot) and updating them at least monthly (I recommend weekly) to asses yourself along the way.
Now that we have our goals straightened out I will cover the most common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight (or look better naked).
THE PROBLEM: Replacing burned calories. Often when people start an exercise program and do not think about their nutrition they replace their calories burned by simply eating more. It is natural to do so and takes a concious effort to make sure that the extra burned calories are not replaced.
THE SOLUTION: Create a structure to your day and monitor your nutrition. I would recommend following the sample week laid out in the nutrition packet (if you don't have a copy email us for one). Make a pact to yourself to follow the plan exactly as outlined for 1 month.
THE PROBLEM: Gained muscle mass. People that have just recently started exercising after taking time off usually gain an appreciable amount of muscle when the start exercising again. Then when a person may have lost 3-5lbs of fat, but gained the same in muscle will be at the same place on the scale they were before they started exercising.
THE SOLUTION: Take pictures! While you will not see a change on the scale you will see a change in pictures, or dress size. Having your body composition taken as well can elucidate the amount of muscle gained and fat lost, however I find it is much more motivating to see a positive change which in the case will come from taking before and after pictures.
THE PROBLEM: Not exercising enough: Changing a persons body is not an easy task, in fact research shows that people have the most success when they are exercising 7 hours or more per week if their goal is weight loss.
THE SOLUTION: Get moving! boot camp is a fantastic way to get going, but even if you are attending 5 hours of class per week a walk on one of the two other days may be what you are missing. To many people this is a bummer, but it's the truth.
THE PROBLEM: Everything else. There are a myriad of other issues that can arise and are individual to the person.
THE SOLUTION: Email one of us! Especially if it is on the nutrition side I am available for email or phone contact. We can usually very quickly come up with a game plan and then check-up regularly. So shoot me an email at nutrition@contracostabootcamp.com
Each week we will be taking one persons submission and using it to talk about how to become more successful. If you want to submit annonymously use this link: Submit Your Question otherwise just e-mail me liesbet@contacostabootcamp.com. We will not include your name if we use your submission.
Answered by Matthew Johnson, Nutrition Director for CoreQuest Fitness
This is a very common question and there are multiple reasons why a person may not have lost weight even though they are now exercising more regularly and eating "better." In a second here I will run through some of the more common possibilities and recommendations of how to deal with them.
But first we need to step back and look at our goals. Is weight loss a goal? Should it be? For some people losing pounds on the scale is a perfectly fine goal, especially if they are considered "overweight." However a goal that I find many people find more useful and meaningful is how they look in the mirror. That is because when many people say the want to lose weight, what they really mean is "I want to look better naked!" While the path a person takes to get there will probably be very similar to the losing weight goal. The outcome measured (usually pictures) is much more meaningful. So before getting caught up in the number on the scale sit back and think about what your true goal is. If it is looking better in the mirror consider taking a set of pictures (usually in a bikini, or underwear with a front, side and back shot) and updating them at least monthly (I recommend weekly) to asses yourself along the way.
Now that we have our goals straightened out I will cover the most common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight (or look better naked).
THE PROBLEM: Replacing burned calories. Often when people start an exercise program and do not think about their nutrition they replace their calories burned by simply eating more. It is natural to do so and takes a concious effort to make sure that the extra burned calories are not replaced.
THE SOLUTION: Create a structure to your day and monitor your nutrition. I would recommend following the sample week laid out in the nutrition packet (if you don't have a copy email us for one). Make a pact to yourself to follow the plan exactly as outlined for 1 month.
THE PROBLEM: Gained muscle mass. People that have just recently started exercising after taking time off usually gain an appreciable amount of muscle when the start exercising again. Then when a person may have lost 3-5lbs of fat, but gained the same in muscle will be at the same place on the scale they were before they started exercising.
THE SOLUTION: Take pictures! While you will not see a change on the scale you will see a change in pictures, or dress size. Having your body composition taken as well can elucidate the amount of muscle gained and fat lost, however I find it is much more motivating to see a positive change which in the case will come from taking before and after pictures.
THE PROBLEM: Not exercising enough: Changing a persons body is not an easy task, in fact research shows that people have the most success when they are exercising 7 hours or more per week if their goal is weight loss.
THE SOLUTION: Get moving! boot camp is a fantastic way to get going, but even if you are attending 5 hours of class per week a walk on one of the two other days may be what you are missing. To many people this is a bummer, but it's the truth.
THE PROBLEM: Everything else. There are a myriad of other issues that can arise and are individual to the person.
THE SOLUTION: Email one of us! Especially if it is on the nutrition side I am available for email or phone contact. We can usually very quickly come up with a game plan and then check-up regularly. So shoot me an email at nutrition@contracostabootcamp.com
Each week we will be taking one persons submission and using it to talk about how to become more successful. If you want to submit annonymously use this link: Submit Your Question otherwise just e-mail me liesbet@contacostabootcamp.com. We will not include your name if we use your submission.
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