INSTAGRAM: @joycinho
TWITTER: @rjsports1 @joycinho @rjrugbyleague
SPIRITUAL TWITTER: @JoyceParanormal
FOLLOW MY SPORTS, FITNESS & SPIRITUAL JOURNEY:
INSTAGRAM: @joycinho TWITTER: @rjsports1 @joycinho @rjrugbyleague SPIRITUAL TWITTER: @JoyceParanormal
0 Comments
My six weeks Strength-Conditioning & Running training camp regime - September / October 2017 !!8/10/2017
INTRODUCTION: Due to being made redundant by my previous job on 30th August and not starting my new job until 16th October, over the past 6 weeks I have had some time in between jobs and I thought, what a perfect opportunity to get myself super fit again. I re-joined the gym again in January this year after having almost 2 years away from a gym. It's something I have been wanted to do after losing my fitness the back end of 2016. Much to my surprise, it has taken me longer than I thought it would to gain the fitness progress I found so easy and quick to come back in my late 20s. Maybe that's just the fact I'm in my early 30s now and the fact that I've never had such a long period of inactivity in competitive sports and even regular training. With having these 6 weeks off work, I wanted to see how fit I can get within that time and also give me a head start so I can get into a really good shape and maintain it until I start my marathon training early next year. I would like to have got the half marathon distance under my belt before the year is out if I can. CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE Before I show my training plan, progress and results from my 6 weeks training plan, below is a little bit of background about how I came quite inactive with a long rest period over the last year and a half. After the London Marathon 2016, where I once again earned a 'Good For Age' qualification place for 2017 and 2018, I decided, after running the marathon five years in a row, 7 marathon's in 5 years, I wanted a break from it. I still intended to stay active and run other regular races and distances, keep up with my football etc but I ended up been very inactive and didn't run a race for a whole year, until the Leeds Half Marathon 2017. With starting a new job in August 2016 and other life changes, my sports and fitness took a conscious back seat for me, while I did still train sporadically and try to keep myself fit, I was the least active I had been since I had a 2 year break from competitive sports between ages 18 and 20. I missed out on a race last year due to a virus, after struggling for fitness in football and struggling for form, not enjoying it as much, I actually announced after the season of 5 a side last autumn, that I would retire from all forms of competitive football, however I u-turned my decision and changed my mind a month later. As if I could ever quit competitive football at 31 years old and still usually the fastest player on the pitch with plenty to offer? I think of years of pushing my body to its limits, I kind of started to stop enjoying it as I once did. I think I just needed a good break from it all and recharge my batteries, both physically and mentally. I had already quit the gym in autumn of 2015 so my conditioning and strength definitely wasn't where it was and I was not 100% happy with how my body looked but at the start of 2016, I was in really good running form and although I didn't get the race time result I wanted from the London Marathon, I achieved a PB for 20 miles in that season and was officially the top 513th fastest runner in the U.K. over the 20 miles distance and my second PB after the age of 30, so I was very fit in terms of my endurance and core strength. This 6 weeks training camp has given me a good challenge and also a great intensive way to get back to being able to push myself to my limits again and get back to feeling super fit. I miss that feeling I got a few years ago at my peak when I was 27-30 years old where I just felt invincible - running marathons under 3 hours, comfortably, running PB's after PB's, scoring loads of goals in 5 a side football, winning man of the match awards, walking out of the gym with defined abs, I miss that feeling and all the euphoria that comes with it. MY GOAL: My goal was to get as fit as I can during an intense training plan over 6 weeks, training 5 days a week - Monday to Friday with weekends off. I was specifically working on strength and conditioning and working on getting 'running fit'. I was planning on alternating days between training in the gym and training outdoors running. Along the way, although I was not specifically planning on focusing on how toned, ripped or big my body got - I was planning on taking some progress photos of how my body changed and improved over the 6 week camp. TRAINING PLAN: My 6 weeks training camp regime I have been doing during most of my sessions has been a pretty mixed up bag to be honest. It's a strength, conditioning and running training camp: So Monday to Friday I was training every day, with the weekends off. One day in the gym, the next day outdoor running. I have been alternating every day to mix it up. When I'm out running on the roads I have been mixing the sessions up between 5k runs, 10k runs and intense hill training. The first 2 weeks, I was alternating between 5k and 10k so I knew I was ready for the Kirkstall Abbey 7 (miles) trail & road race which I ran on Sunday 17th September. I have only recently started running again after my Achilles injury and I wanted to ensure I got the 6-7 miles distance under my belt. In the gym I have been working on general core strength work and a complete mix bag just for general strength and conditioning. With each session in the gym, I begin with with a bit of upper body weight training to keep toned and build a bit of strength up top. Weight Training: 3 sets of bicep curls 3 sets of hammers 3 sets of lat pull down 3 sets of back pulls on bench 3 sets of chest press 3 sets of shoulder press machine finishing 3 sets of shrugs Core Strength Training: Standing Russian Twists - 30 twists Mountain climbs - 3 sets of 50 Russian Twists (using Gym Ball) - 2 sets of 50 Sit ups - 3 sets of 30 Abs crunches (using Gym Ball) - 2 sets of 20 Abs Roller - 2 sets of 50 Leg / Cardio work: Jumping squats - 20 Bench jumps - 2 sets of 20 jumps Bulgarian Bag: 12kg Jumping lunges - 16 jumps Stepper - 2 sets of 100 steps The Cardio work and extra Conditioning work: 3 or 4 rounds of boxing on punchbag Bike work - light cycling with resistance intervals 3 sets of explosive interval work on water Rowing Machine Some sessions I may miss boxing and bike and do an Insanity or P90X virtual On-Demand fitness session on the gym big screen to keep mixing it up and to keep my body guessing Muscle Recovery work on my calfs and Achilles using Foam Roller to finish off Above: highlights and clips from my 6 weeks training camp PROGRESS & RESULTS: CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE Fitness & Strength: I have felt my fitness improve dramatically and I'm really happy with how fit I feel now. I already had a bit of a head start due to training atleast once a week in the gym since January, so I was pretty fit already but no where near where I wanted to be. I have massively improved my cardio and recovery fitness and in particular from certain workouts in the gym. I always finished my gym sessions off with a boxing session on punchbag. Some days I would go for cardio endurance, with one long round, for example a 10 minute round and some days I would finish off my session with 4 rounds of 3 minutes with 60 seconds break. Boxing has really improved my cardio fitness and my general conditioning. At the start of the camp, I was absolutely knackered after one round of hitting the bag but now I often add an extra round on or do some more core work after, and doing a 10 minute round was unthinkable at the start of the camp. I know my technique on the punchbag is not great, but I throw a lot of combinations and I put loads of explosive energy into my workout and it's benefited my fitness so much. Having just 60 seconds recovery between rounds is great too. My interval sessions on the water rowing machine has been great too, so good for recovery. One of the best cardio fitness workouts for me has been the Bulgarian bags. I use the Bulgarian bag (12.5kg) when I do my 100 sittings of explosive speed steps and wow, I'm really blowing after, it's really good for conditioning legs and calfs and cardio especially. Explosive jumps over the bench has been a great workout too, so good for cardio and legs, it's hard but love it. Not sure that exercise is great for my ankle joints though, so need to be careful when executing. My strength has been improving a lot, although I'm not working on building size or bodybuilding and lifting heavy weights, I wanted to build my upper body strength but not to the point it would effect my running and elusiveness. I know it has improved as at the start of the camp I was lifting as low as 12kg and 14kg bicep curls etc and now lifting as high as 16kg. Shrugs I started off on 18kg and now 20kg. Lat pull down I started on 45kg and now 60kg, resistance bench press, started on 50kg and now 60kg. Not massive gains but that wasn't my goal, I was wanted to build a little strength for my upper body, most of my strength work has been going into my core area. My body weight exercises have improved, in fact I get more from my intense press-up regime than the resistance bench press. My muscles ache so much more after a home chest workout, body weight exercises when done intensely are so beneficial. My core strength is really good after the 6 week camp, I can do well over 100 abs rolls for fun, planking is always tough but finding it much easier now, Russian twists I smash and all my other core exercises have improved. Football: I also played my first game of football for 6 months (after my Achilles injury) during the 6 week camp. I played indoor football and I wasn't sure how match fit I was until I played. It wasn't a competitive match but the guys I play with take it serious and all play really competitive. I felt like I hadn't been away to be honest, my fitness was great so I know it won't be long until I'm fully match fit and playing competitive again. I felt a bit rusty though, took a bit of time to get the timing and accuracy back, but I did. Running: My running has felt like it has been improving progressively but without having the races and the fact I don't use a stopwatch to time my training runs I'm not sure exactly how my progress is really going? I did run my 2nd race in a year and a half, at the end of my 2nd week of the 6 week camp. I ran the Kirkstall Abbey 7 Mile Trail Race dressed as the 'Mad Monk' for my running club Kirkstall Harriers. I wrote a blog about the race - you can view that here - KA7 MAD MONK RACE BLOG CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE I've been alternating my training between 3 regular runs. A 5k, a 10k and an intense hill session. I definitely feel like I'm getting faster but I am some way off the 18-19 min 5k's and 36-38 mins 10k's I was running a few years ago. But at 32 years old and having a year off running, drinking and eating a lot of sugar and not looking after myself in the way I did previously I think it is always going to be harder to see the quick results I saw before. I think the hardest thing for me is that over the last year and a half since I ran the London Marathon, I am finding it harder to push myself to my limits. Having a year or so off running races, where I was always competitive and pushing myself I think I have got used to not having to push myself and push my body. At the moment when I was trying to push myself to my running limits it's hurting and I'm finding it hard to push through the pain barrier. I was that used to it before I had forgotten how painful it was and I just need to get back used to that again, which may take some time. I have been there done it, worn the t-shirt and having done that for years, pushing myself to my body's limits, I have nothing to prove to anyone or myself, no one can ever take those race times, PB's and medals away from me. I think a big part of this is desire, do I still have that desire to push myself to that same level anymore or do I now want to run races at a more comfortable speed rather than to my limits? This is something I will find out about myself over the next year. I'm running the London Marathon in 2018, on a 'Good For Age' place with the fast amateur club runners, I need to find in myself if I still have that desire to run and dedicate myself to the level I did a few years ago, I guess only time will tell. Above: highlights of my gym, training and sports comeback in 2017 after a year of quite a lot of inactivity. Body Image: In terms of body image, I am definitely not happy with the results over the last 6 weeks, particularly since I have also been regularly training most weeks over the past 6 months. I felt I had a bit of a head start as I was already fit generally. From these 6 weeks I do feel really strong in my legs and upper body and physically really fit, I'm starting to run faster again in training and the muscle is there but I have struggled to get anywhere near that ripped body I achieved and maintained comfortably between ages 25-30. It's not from lack of trying though, I've really been pushing myself in the gym and on the roads but I think it's more down to the fact I'm a bit older, I'm approaching my mid 30's now and metabolism slows down as you hit 30 and it's harder to keep that extra layer of fat off. Physically I feel really fit and I'm really happy with my results over 6 weeks but image wise, no, I have found it hard to get the toned look, never-mind looking anywhere near as ripped and built up as I did a couple of years ago, but I know I have tried my best and physically there's no more I can do in that sense. CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE Above: picture of my body conditioning during my physical peak years as an athlete, all pictures between the ages of 27 and 30 years old. In terms of my diet, although I have been eating a lot better than I was at the end of last year and the first few months of this year and I've not been drinking as much alcohol or sugar, it's something that now I'm in my 30s, not eating clean means it is going to be hard to get that super ripped look I had in my mid to late 20s. If I want to get anywhere near that look again in my mid 30s, I'm going to have to eat almost 100% clean. I do like my food and I'm not sure that now, I have that desire anymore to take away my cheeky snacks. Don't get me wrong, my diet isn't that bad and I eat quite a lot of protein for muscle recovery, I eat good carbs for energy and plenty of fruit, but it's the snacks on the side that don't help me. CONCLUSION: I know that I have reached and past my peak as an athlete and reached my physical natural peak, I believe I was at my all-time natural peak physically at 28 years old. At 29 I feel I peaked in terms of performance, using my physical condition and experience in sports. At 30 I do believe my conditioning was at an all-time high. Between 27-30 I was at my peak. I do believe however that although I am past my best, I am far from past my sell by date and when I am in full training I am very fit, I have just accepted that I am past my best. I definitely have a few more years at my twilight of my fitness years before I begin to go on the slippery slide down the decline so I know I can still achieve some things but it's more having time to achieve things I would like to achieve as I have a lot more other things going on in my life now where as 2, 3, 4 years ago I had so much more time on my hands to put a lot of my efforts into training and competing in sport. So I hope to prove at next years London Marathon comeback race that I can still achieve 'Good For Age' or 'Sub 3-Hour' times. Ultimately, although I do feel like I'm now super fit again after my six week training camp, I don't have any results or competitive performances to prove this to myself but I just love the feeling of getting back to my super fit self again, even if it was just to prove it to myself again. One thing I know though is that I need to improve my diet, the muscle is there but at 32 going on 33 I am finding it harder to get that ripped look and keep the excess fat off my abs and chest, something I never struggled with 2 or 3 years ago. I guess that's what happens when you hit your 30s and your metabolism slows down, mine certainly has this last few years. Naturally I have bucket loads of energy which really helps me but I think I've also got to put into consideration that my body isn't as fresh as it once was. I've been playing competitive sport almost every year, almost all year round since the age of 8, that's 24 years, not to mention running half marathons since I was 22 years old and 5 'Good For Age' pace marathons in 5 years, that's miles on the clock in itself then top that with over 900 games of competitive football / 5 a side. It all adds up and takes it out of your body eventually - years of wear and tear. Although I have pushed myself in sports and in the gym and trained really hard, I've not always lived the lifestyle away from sport and that eventually takes it out of your body I guess. But overall I feel great at the moment. Above, Tough Mudder 2014 when I was 29 years old. In terms of all of my sports and fitness achievements I'm now in a place where I am content and I have achieved some ambitions several times over such as becoming a 'Good For Age' marathon runner five times and reaching over 1,000 goals in football and other achievements. However I always like to keep challenging myself and although I definitely don't have the same desire to dedicate myself and push myself to the same limits as a few years ago I still have some goals. I really do want to run the London Marathon again before I start declining too much and run another 'Good For Age' time. My next goal = starting my new job then tackle the London Marathon 2018 and stay injury free... Through my running I have raised £3,882.87 for different charities. I'm going to announce which charity I will be running for early next year. Thank-you for reading my latest sports blog.
FOLLOW MY SPORTS, FITNESS & SPIRITUAL JOURNEY: INSTAGRAM: @joycinho TWITTER: @rjsports1 @joycinho @rjrugbyleague SPIRITUAL TWITTER: @JoyceParanormal In 2015, Richard quit the gym after 4 intense years and after running his 5th London Marathon in 5 years in 2016, Richard was worn out and decided to take a rest from the Marathon, which lead to an unplanned whole year of inactivity from competitive running. In the same year Richard announced he was to quit competitive football, however made a u-turn in that decision. This video contains some clips and highlights of Richard's fitness training comeback year in the gym in 2017 aged 32 - getting prepared for the London Marathon 2018 and other sports events. FOLLOW MY SPORTS, FITNESS & SPIRITUAL JOURNEY:
INSTAGRAM: @joycinho TWITTER: @rjsports1 @joycinho @rjrugbyleague SPIRITUAL TWITTER: @JoyceParanormal A few clips of me fitness training in the gym from two different sessions in early to mid 2017
Look out for a 2017 fitness training & sports highlights video later this year..... INSTAGRAM: @joycinho TWITTER: @rjsports1 @joycinho @rjrugbyleague FACEBOOK: Richard Kennedy-Joyce (joycinho) Richard Joyce (rjsports) CLICK ON SOCIAL MEDIA ICONS TO VISIT MY PROFILE PAGES RJ Sports TV: Clips of Richard Joyce from his fitness training session on 4th April 2017 aged 326/4/2017 Clips from a fitness training session of mine in the build up to Leeds Half Marathon 2017 in May, which will be my 11th Leeds Half Marathon in 11 years and my 19th half marathon in total. I'm looking to run under 1:30:00, not anywhere near my fastest in recent years but I will be quite happy with that time at the moment.
INSTAGRAM: @joycinho TWITTER: @rjsports1 @joycinho @rjrugbyleague FACEBOOK: Richard Kennedy-Joyce (joycinho) Richard Joyce (rjsports) CLICK ON SOCIAL MEDIA ICONS TO VISIT MY PROFILE PAGES After going on for 2 years away from the gym, as promised to myself and talked about in many of my recent blogs, I have re-joined a gym after a year and a half away. After losing my desire and motivation in 2015 for certain types of training in the gym, particularly weight training, I have now got that hunger back. 3-4 years of pushing my body in the gym (mates Home Gym & Virgin Active) my body really did need a rest, particularly my upper body but now I have that hunger back. I miss seeing my abs defined, I miss having that ripped upper back and v-shape, I miss being toned and most of all I miss feeling fit and strong. I know that I am probably past my physical athletic peak, I think I know that myself, I've not quite got that same explosiveness, speed and athleticism as I had at 27,28,29 years old, but as I hit 30 my strength and conditioning hit a whole new level and although I have been fairly inactive over the last 2 years, at 32 years old I am ready to get super fit again. Now I am in my 30's, I know my body may not look as 'chiselled' as it did in my late 20's, naturally we have more body fat in our 30's and naturally my natural weight is heavier than a few years ago - but I think now, in my early 30's and with the experience I have in knowing my own body and what works and what doesn't - I can feel that for the next few years I can really be the strongest and most powerful I've ever been. Athletically I may have peaked, but strength and power wise - I think there is more to come and I haven't started massively declining yet - im naturally fit and that will always be on my side as when I train - I train to push myself to my limits. BELOW ARE A FEW CLIPS ON RJ SPORTS TV OF MY FIRST TRAINING SESSION BACK IN THE GYM I thoroughly enjoyed my first official training session back in the gym and I felt I did okay. Over the last year or so I've been focusing on home workouts, mainly core strength and don't get me wrong they benefited my abs and core but I have been no where near the condition I was in at Virgin Active. I started off with good intentions and had some good home equipment but I think I was kidding myself deep down, I knew my conditioning was not where it should be and maybe that showed when I struggled the last 5 or 6 miles at London Marathon last year. I still qualified for 'Good For Age' and the London Marathon for another 2 years but my conditioning wasn't good enough. I know my body better than ever now and I now weigh almost 11 stone (football once a week being my only major form of exercise recently) and I've been eating far too much sugar and being quite lazy. That's all out of my system now and I'm ready to push my body again. I'm beginning my early sessions with working on a bit of everything, getting that overall fitness and strength back - then once I'm happy I have a good solid foundation I'm going to start isolating muscles and particular types of training. Since last Saturday when I had my induction, I've had 4 training sessions and have all been amazing - I've also done my first ever 'virtual classes' which was great fun, P90X and Insanity - very energetic and tough with short intervals (see pictures below). I'm both excited and happy with the gym and it's pretty quiet which is good too, it's a gym that is free for residents at my apartment I live at with my beautiful fiancée Katie and I'm excited about building my body back up again in this gym. Click on the gallery below of some of my previous peak conditions so you have an idea of what type of body I'm looking to achieving: Thank-you for reading...
FOLLOW MY SPORTS, FITNESS & SPIRITUAL JOURNEY: INSTGRAM: @joycinho TWITTER: @rjsports1 @joycinho @rjrugbyleague SPIRITUAL TWITTER: @JoyceParanormal RJ Sports TV: New Richard Joyce 'Joycinho' sports and fitness training highlights from 2015-2016 !!2/6/2016 A brand new sports highlights video released on RJ Sports TV of Richard Joyce (aka Joycinho) competing and training in sports from 2015-2016.
Look out for the 2016 Marathon Season video soon... FOLLOW MY SPORTS, FITNESS & SPIRITUAL JOURNEY: INSTGRAM: @joycinho TWITTER: @rjsports1 @joycinho @rjrugbyleague SPIRITUAL TWITTER: @JoyceParanormal BACKGROUND: To begin with, for those of you who don't know what Tough Mudder is, it is a 12 miles obstacle assault course FULL OF MUD, usually with around 10-20 obstacles. Tough Mudder is the biggest obstacle course event in the world, they have challenges, races and events all over the world. On August 3rd 2014 I completed my first ever Tough Mudder (Yorkshire Tough Mudder course), as part of a team of three of us under the banner of 'Boots Mudder' and this year, on Sunday August 2nd I am due to complete my second Tough Mudder (at the same course) with so far, a team of five of us, under the team name of 'Swamp Monsters'. After completing Tough Mudder last year, I'll be going into this year's event as a 'Mudder Legion', which indicates this is my second Tough Mudder. After every Tough Mudder you finish, you are awarded with a different colour headband which all indicate your experience as a 'Mudder'. My headband from last year is orange, I am expected by the Tough Mudder organisers to wear this at this year's Tough Mudder which indicates to the other competitors and the organisers that I am a 'Mudder Legion'. Being a Mudder Legion, I will be expected to do a couple of different and tougher challenges to first timers. Out of the five of us who are competing, I will be the only one to have completed a Tough Mudder, so my experience will come in handy. We are doing the same Yorkshire Tough Mudder as I did last year so I will know what to expect on the assault course and can warn my team-mates. My friend Jonny who is also competing this year, was a spectator last year and filmed some of the obstacles so he will also have an idea of what to expect. CLICK BELOW TO VIEW MY BLOG ON MY TOUGH MUDDER EXPERIENCE LAST YEAR: My debut Tough Mudder: Yorkshire 2014 MY TOUGH MUDDER TRAINING PROGRESS: Since around mid May time, after a week or two rest after my tough marathon season, I got straight back into the swing of things, training hard, particularly working on my core strength and upper body but mixing it up with plenty of cross training and plyometrics. Tough Mudder requires a blend of different physical qualities such as muscle endurance, long distance running, explosiveness, core strength, balance, swimming, lifting, climbing, oh and of course mental strength. It is a true test of fitness, so I have ensured that in my training I have really mixed it up and tried to work a little bit on all areas and all over my body. I have recently started playing competitive football again after a two months rest (to avoid injury during marathon training) which is giving me my intense cardiovascular fitness and the explosiveness I need, I've been doing all sorts in the gym, working on intensity levels and short recovery times to get my body used to that intensity needed during certain obstacles. I will go into more detail about all the forms of training I have been doing and their benefits a bit later. But for me, the important thing at this stage of my training, which is in full swing now, is my strength and conditioning and ensuring I don't 'peak' too early. Looking back I think I made the mistake of peaking a bit too early in my marathon season and I tapered down a bit too early. I'm working on mixing up my training to keep my body guessing so I reach my peak strength around the time of Tough Mudder. I'm away on holiday twice in July, which may disrupt my training a little bit but Tough Mudder is exactly a week after I get back from a holiday to Kos, so if I am in peak condition just before I go on holiday, the week rest will be just perfect for my body to be relaxed and recuperate just in time for the big challenge. My training is going perfect so far, injury free and I'm performing on every form and method of training to a high standard I set myself and right now I feel the strongest I ever have done, at the age of 30, I wasn't sure I could top how strong and fit I felt at 28, 29 when I was at peak fitness but every time I train 100% for a period of time I just seem to keep getting fitter and fitter - I love muscle memory! MY TRAINING & SPORTS EXERCISES & BENEFITS: Plyometric - Box Jumps: This is probably my all time favourite training at the moment. I usually do anything from 30 to 50 jumps 100cm high. I jump to the floor from a 20cm height then bounce up explosively to 100cm high. On top of that I then do another 5; 100cm jumps from standing still, working on power as well as explosive speed. 100cm is very high and I tend to get quite a bit of attention in the gym when performing this, I love it when people start watching as it makes me push myself even harder because you can easily make a fool of yourself if you don't quite make it to the top of the box, it has happened before and believe me, it hurts your shins. That pressure makes me leave no stone unturned. Pull Up Bars: There are several exercises I perform on the pull up bars, all very good for my ability to hold my own body weight, which is crucial during many of the Tough Mudder obstacles. I usually do 3 sets of 8 wide grip pull ups, which really works my upper back, lats and biceps. I also do 3 sets of inside pull ups, working my biceps hard and I usually perform dips until failure while leaning slightly forward. This not only good for my triceps (which I don't work on enough to be honest) but also by leaning slightly forward it works my back and chest. Leg Raises: This exercise is one of my newer methods of training and I must say, despite how tough it is, it is definitely one of my favourites, especially for the results I see and feel afterwards when I recover. Using the hanging bars on the pull ups and dips bars, I do a variety of leg raises, which all work my lower abs very hard. I usually do 3 sets of 15 leg raises, 2 sets with side to side hip movement and one straight leg raises. I also do hanging leg raises to failure, which is quite a new one for me but I'm noticing huge benefits to my abs and core. This will help me when having to swing myself up on hanging bars and monkey bars at Tough Mudder. Monkey Bars: As a diamond Virgin Active member, I get to use any Virgin Active gym, so generally I use the one in The Light in Leeds City Centre after work, as it is convenient, but occasionally I will use the Kirkstall Virgin Active not far from where I live. In that gym they have a mini Cross-Fit section where there are monkey bars and other hanging bars, all great for Tough Mudder and obstacle course training. When I train at the Kirkstall gym, I always have a go on the monkey bars, I love them, they really work on your whole upper body strength and ability to hold your own weight and swing, it works on upper body athleticism and make you more acrobatic (something I wish I maybe got into when I was younger - gymnastics type fitness). Balancing Ball - Core: I do several exercises using the big inflatable gym balls (65cm round), all which work on maintaining balance whilst performing core strength exercises. I usually do 25 to 30 leg raises holding the gym ball between my feet, then I straight away do a 60 decline second plank off the gym ball, then 50 mountain climbers integrated with a moving plank with the ball, then 50+ sit ups leaning back onto the ball, keeping my balance - it's all very intense and really gets my sweating, believe me - absolutely love it - no pain no gain. Abs Roller: I've only recently started regularly using the famous 'abs roller' and I wish I had respected this exercise a long time ago if I am honest, it is so good. It's very tough when performed correctly and my whole core, particularly my upper abs and all the little muscles in and around my upper torso can be aching for days, I love it. I usually perform 3 sets of 20, so 60 rolls in total. It gets me sweating, it's pretty intense when performed correctly. What I like about these core exercises is that they are cardiovascular workouts as well as strength sessions. Russian Twists with Weighted Gym Ball: There are many exercises that can be performed for your core strength with this piece of gym equipment. I usually perform 60 Russian twists with my legs raised using my bum to balance and slamming the ball down each time, it particularly works my lower core and upper legs, so good. Boxing and Skipping: Boxing is something I do a bit of just to mix up my training a little, it gives you a different dynamic and for me I just find it great for extra big of speed, power and explosiveness in my upper body. If I don't have anyone to hold the pads for me I do a few rounds punching the wall (with my padded gloves on of course haha) and I will also do a few intervals of high skipping. If I have someone to hold the pads for me I get a much better workout because I can use the different angles which work my lats and back and shoulders. With Jonny last week we both did 6 rounds each, it also gave us a great cardiovascular workout, my hands were still shaking days after. Skipping is so good, I just do little skipping intervals outside in the garden and I find it really intense, I think that may also be due to my high jumping relentless style of skipping, I think I need to learn a much better rhythm, that's probably why I have never been able to dance like my mate Luke Redfearn in the night clubs ;-) Weight Training: I'm not very big on my weight training anymore to be honest, I feel much stronger now than when I used to weight train three times a week when I was 27,28. For me it's all about being athletic but I feel power and strength comes from great posture and well developed core muscles and explosiveness in the legs. I do feel that it is always good to do some weight training though and for me, my chest is one area I feel I get more benefit from training with weights instead of just doing press ups off my own body weight. I tend to do random sets of press ups when I am bored at home, both wide press ups and standard press ups but I can only get so much strength from that. When I am in the gym, at the moment I am lifting 40kg plus the weight of the bar on the smith machines - 3 sets of 8 on standard bench press, then 30kg plus weight of bar - 3 sets of 12 on incline, I don't go too heavy on bench press as bulking too much effects my speed for running and football. Other weight training I do are shrugs, usually I lift 20kg weights either side with both arms which strengthens my neck area, I also occasionally have a session off the pull up bars and do biceps curls instead, although the weight varies. I feel it is always good to do a little bit of weight training as I say, especially for my chest area. Running - intensity and hills: Although I am not working on my endurance runs at the moment, I am going out on my 5k to 6k intensity hill training runs. I run flat out, hard and include every single hill along the 'Normans' in Kirkstall, if you know Kirkstall well, you will know how steep these hills are. This training is so good for my mental strength and my explosiveness, all attributes that will help at Tough Mudder. I already have my endurance from recently finishing the marathon season (London Marathon in 2:58:00) so it's not something I feel I need to work on for Tough Mudder. Football: I've recently started playing competitive five a side football again, three games so far, and although I have felt a bit rusty after two to three months off, I'm getting my speed and athleticism back, which will all come in handy at Tough Mudder. I'm also currently playing regular 11 a side football, although it isn't competitive it is a pretty decent standard and is great for intensity endurance. Tyre Lifting: Tyre Lifting is something new to me that I've recently added to some of my training and I find it is great for legs and core, it's great for giving strength in lifting heavy objects from the floor, using primarily the strength of my legs, which I think may be called upon at some point during Tough Mudder. Power Plates and Foam Rollers: As some of you may know from some of my previous blogs, I have had injury problems with both of my calf muscles over the last couple of years, I feel they are definitely a bit fragile but I have been working hard on the conditioning of my calf muscles over the last six months in particular and it is definitely paying off. I'm massaging them on the foam rollers and performing calf raises for strengthening on the vibrating power plates in the gym. I'm now starting to get the confidence to sometimes train without my calf compression socks. Other Mentions: One form of training I feel I probably should maybe do more of for Tough Mudder is 'SWIMMING', after all there will be times I may have to swim in muddy pools of water. However, I can swim and I am confident it is something that I can get away with not working on. Although swimming is relaxing and calms my mind, I do find it a bit boring swimming, I go through phases with swimming, but it is usually something I do to keep my cardiovascular fitness ticking over when I can't run due to injury. I've probably missed out some exercises I also do but these are the main ones that I feel are benefiting me most for my Tough Mudder training. I feel my core strength and conditioning is currently the best it's ever been and I am proud of that, see my current condition and progress below: RJ SPORTS TV: New sports video compilation: JOYCINHO - 80s born 90s kid 00s party lover 10s fitness peak: I created this video to document the evolution of how I was born in the 80s and brought up in the 90s, went through a period of partying hard to evolving to become at my fitness peak in this era. Just a bit of fun, to my current favourite old skool house tune - 'Let me love you for tonight'.... Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed my insight into my sporting world....
FOLLOW MY SPORTS, FITNESS & SPIRITUAL JOURNEY: INSTAGRAM: @joycinho TWITTER: @rjsports1 @joycinho @rjrugbyleague SPIRITUAL TWITTER: @JoyceParanormal |
AuthorJoYcInHo No7!! Archives
January 2024
Categories
All
|