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THE 7 DAILY HABITS OF THE FIT AND HEALTHY

2/27/2014

As I spend 90% of my time either learning, coaching or advising on health and fitness, I have often wondered in simple terms what the fit and healthy have in common that everybody else doesn't. Yes I know they eat well and exercise but that's a big generalisation and though true it doesn't explain what they actually do everyday without thinking.
So what is a habit? According to the Oxford English dictionary a habit is;- 'A settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.'
So these habits are done everyday without thinking, it's instinctive. Now if it's alcohol, smoking, cocaine or even worse then one can see how the power of habits can be to the detriment of your health ... and so healthy people use the same psychology but they use it to the benefit of their health.
It's a lot easier to have habits than it is to force yourself to go to the gym or force yourself to refuse another glass of wine ... and so it's habits that we need to have in our everyday lives to make it easier to be healthy. I asked many fit and healthy people in researching this article to find out what they all had in common on a daily basis. What did they do without thinking? - a habit - and came up with these 7.

The Protein/Vegetable Breakfast Habit.

They all ate breakfast, hungry or not and they all knew how much protein they had for breakfast. I've heard the 'unhealthy' say this is too anal and obsessive but to healthy people its easy and takes about 5 seconds to calculate. They know what nutrients they consume every morning because they do it everyday, its just like brushing your teeth, its simple ... and takes no effort at all. If you educate
yourself with what is a healthy breakfast, how hard can it be, just eat it?

The Water Habit.

They all knew how much water (approx. 3 litres) they had per day. If you have a half litre jug, glass or bottle... or all three, then 6 of those in the day and your done. Again its easy if you think about it. I know I drink a litre in the morning before leaving the house with my various green drinks, probiotics , fish oils, etc, everyday. I always have another half litre at the café with my coffee. So I've already had half my daily quota before 9 am! I don't think about it because its a habit.

The Supplements Habit.

Everyone could real off a list of daily supplements. The majority of these were the same too; Fish oil, Green drinks, Probiotics, Zinc, Magnesium and Vitamins ... and Whey protein, BCCA's and Glutamine in their workout shake. Again no effort required for them to tell me what they were.

The Exercise Habit.

This was interesting. Before I asked the question they would tell me how many days a week they exercised. It wasn't, 'let me think about it'. It was, '5 days a week' or 'every morning' or 'I do weights 3 times a week and sprints twice' or 'I run every other day and do weights twice a week'... or I cycle about 80k's per day' ... Amazing, because it was a routine habit and although the nature of the regime varied the amount of exercise per week was a known quantity to each person despite age or
gender.

The Shopping Habit.

This may surprise you ... and I don't mean they all go looking for the latest designer pair of shoes! They all eat clean 90% of the time but they do this by the way they shop. If you only ever buy healthy fruit and vegetables, fish and meat... and no Coke, packet foods, tinned crap, bread, pastries, biscuits or alcohol, then that's all you have in your house. They only have clean foods in their fridge so that's all they ever eat. They also plan ahead on journeys, knowing where to get the right food.
Now I will admit the hard part is socialising because if you go to a restaurant or someone else's house for dinner then you are in their hands to a certain extent. So what do the fit and healthy do. They plan. I want to know what time we will eat and what food will be served. If its late, which is something I never do, I will eat before I go out and then I can select the healthy food options without pressure. Most healthy people do this and when it comes to alcohol we have water. I know many people think this is boring but for the record I find everyone who stands around drinking for an hour before dinner incredibly tiresome.

The Medicines Habit.

They don't take any. They never visit a chemist ... seriously. Fit and healthy people live a healthy lifestyle so why would they A) need to, or B) want to go to a pharmacy (or drug store). They may, due to some unforeseen problem have to, but they will go to any lengths to avoid it and usually they find they don't need anything and will get better without any drugs at all. Indeed as Voltaire said, The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease' and Deepak Chopra - 'We like to tell our patients that the body is the best pharmacy in the world and is capable of making wonder drugs.' having the ability to heal itself if you feed and take care of it in the right way. Indeed this is how most placebo's work as the body believes its healing and so it does. I know some people who unfortunately live in the pharmacy believing drugs are the only answer to their problems ... they seem unaware that a healthy life style is the real answer.

The Attitude Habit.

They all believe that health and fitness is available to all and their entire focus is primarily the belief that health brings happiness. Literally hundreds of studies show that exercise relieves depression, Alzheimer's, Diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, Arthritis, Dementia, the list is endless. This belief is an habitual thought and it dominates every moment of their lives. It is not just a positive attitude, it is a fundamental principle and it is shared with their loved ones, friends and families. As a friend of mine always says to me when bidding me goodbye - 'Stay healthy.'

Now I know others may disagree or want to add to this list, so please comment below and finally try and adopt, if not all these habits, then at least some and ....'Stay healthy'

PS, One of my coaching friends, Richard, mentioned the 'Sleep Habit'. You have to get your 6-8 hours of quality sleep per night for all the other habits to work effectively.

RUNNING THE CANYON

RUNNING THE GRAND CANYON

RUNNING THE GRAND CANYON
As most of you know I intend to run the
R2R (Grand Canyon North Rim to South Rim) in October. The goal is simple
however the preparation and planning is a little more complicated. The number one way to train for something like this is to run on equivalent terrain or what is known as specifity training. The obvious flaw in this
particular statement is that there is only one Grand Canyon and finding an
equivalent training ground is virtually impossible. Therefore as I live in
Europe I had only one option which was go to the Big GC and do a practice run there ... and that is exactly what I did. Sue and I spent a few days in Monument Valley in Utah, another fabulous, mystical place, before going on to the Grand Canyon
in Colorado. For those who have never been it is impossible to describe, it is
quite simply 'Awesome' and I mean that in the truest sense of the word.
I decided that I would run down to Indian Gardens and back. This is about 2/3rds
down from the South Rim and a steep gradient of 3500 feet. There and back
its about 17k. The trail guides say this should take between 6-9 hours ... but I
was going to run it of course. I thought this would be a good initial test to
see what is involved, the R2R is 2.5 times longer and about twice the
elevation.
I didn't sleep well the night before probably due to jet lag and nervous anticipation. There are so
many warnings about entering the Canyon and even a book called 'Death in
the Canyon' (which to date has recorded over 700 deaths) and so by the
time I was ready to go I was absolutely terrified!
I had breakfast at 5:30 am at the Lodge (this is America folks) and just before sunrise I
set off into the unknown. It was very cold with ice and snow on the trail making
it a little tricky. I really didn't know what to expect because it is so unique so I just
ran it my normal way. I did prepare as if it was an ultra and took 2.5 litres of
water, gels and all the usual stuff that I would take on the R2R itself. As I
always say to my clients you should train for an event exactly as you would do
it on the day.
       Its very, very steep but the trail was wide enough not too panic too much about going over the edge so I
went quite fast ... and of course within 15 minutes my face was in the
dirt. I hit a rock, fell and cracked my knee open, not a good start. It was
very bloody but otherwise okay and for the rest of the day hikers would comment
on it and ask if I was alright. I would of course shrug and act as if it was
just a scratch. I didn't slow down after this I just focused more. About half
way down I began to get a little concerned about how tough it would be coming
back up but pressed on marvelling at all
the beauty around me. It is breath-taking as you descend through millions of years of erosion resulting
in giant, vividly coloured rock faces. It makes you feel very
small and insignificant, 'We are stardust', I thought to myself.
        I zipped along the switchbacks and as I
passed 3 female hikers, one shouted out; 'You sure know how to
intimidate a girl!' I laughed and continued down whilst trying not to get
too over-confident (which apparently I am prone to do). I could now see
Indian Gardens way in the distance on the valley floor below and
though it looked really close, it wasn't. This is also something that
happens in the canyon, its very deceptive. As my quads ached a little at this
point, understandable as they weren't used to this sort of treatment and
constant pounding, I eased back. I drank and ate as I would do for any long
event, as I hadn't carb loaded (because carb loading is bullshit), trust me. I
passed a few hikers coming back up and soon I could here voices, which was weird
as I thought I was in the middle of nowhere but I actually I had
arrived at Indian Gardens which is an extremely basic campground with about
20 trees for shade and more importantly a water tap. There were a few tents
and people were slowly waking up and chatting about there adventures,
it was quite surreal and very rock and roll. At this point I stripped of my
woolly hat and two layers of clothing, filled up my bottles and got ready
for the big climb back to the top, it looked somewhat daunting; 3500 feet
straight up! I'd gone from freezing to quite warm, even though it was only
February but they do warn you about this. It was only a few more k's to the
river and though tempted I kept my discipline as I had never climbed out of the
Grand Canyon before and figured I should respect its magnitude.
I took off really quick though as the first few yards are easier and flatter;
consequently I nearly ran straight into a wild deer - scared the hell
out of me.
I used my poles to power hike and then ran when
I could. Within half an hour I passed the hikers I'd seen earlier who were
going back up. This filled me with confidence as one shouted 'Tell me you
haven't just gone to the Gardens and back?' ... 'Yep', I replied
with feigned nonchalance. I have to say I felt very strong and really kept up a
good pace which surprised me as I have had quite a few injuries of late and
was worried about a relapse. After about half an hour I encountered a mule train
coming down and so I stood to one side to let it pass (Canyon etiquette). The
lead rider shouted 'Howdy, have a great day'. Brilliant, I was loving this
and tough as it was I just kept powering onwards and upwards, it is
relentless but you just stay focused and keep going. I just felt very
grateful the whole time, it is a stunning place. Within about 500 feet from the
top I started to tire a little and my thoughts floated off to how I might feel
in October after maybe 7 or 8 hours of this. As I reached the trail head on the
South rim the sun suddenly hit me as fortunately I had been in shade nearly
whole way up, I felt fantastic. The guides say 6-9 hours, I had done
it in 3.5 hours including my change around at the bottom.  I looked
back across the canyon to the North Rim ... roll on October.
     Technical facts
Distance - 17 k, Elevation
- 3500 feet, Water consumption only 1.5 litres including electrolytes, 2
gels, 1 shot blocks, 3 S-caps(not really necessary), 1 cliff bar. My gear was 2
running vests plus a cold weather running top, woolly hat, neckerchief, gloves,
camel back, side bottle, telescopic poles, rolled up rain top, compression
socks, Cascadia 8's shoes, phone (didn't work- no signal), torch,
whistle.
  Final thoughts
I could easily have run a lot further though I doubt
faster, my quads and hamstrings ached a bit but the big surprise was that I
ached in my hip flexors which I don't normally get; guess I have to stretch even
more than I do already. The weather, though cold, was perfect. I realise that
the compounding effects of going Rim to Rim will require me to be in superb
shape and I will need to run a lot more severe gradients in training. The
biggest danger I can see is that if you twist or break something you are in
deep trouble. My friend Gemma asked me if I'd figured out an exit strategy if
something goes wrong ... apart from a $10,000 helicopter rescue I don't actually
have an answer. This is what makes it so dangerous, there is very little room
for error if you want to run it in one go. It was an invaluable experience and I
learned a lot, preparation is everything and come October I will be ready.

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THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF SHEDDING FAT FAST

2/9/2014

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Last week I touched on the ambiguities of ultra running and made the contentious point that as a sport it's not particularly healthy, though you need to be super fit to do it. I received quite a few emails asking me to explain in more detail what I meant by this. Now obviously it's a lot healthier than sitting at home by the TV
eating pizza and chips but all things are relative.
So to be fit, lean and healthy what sport do you do? There are a myriad of choices and obviously it helps to choose the one you love the most; however, for this article let us consider what the average person assumes is a 'runnable' distance and an effective 'doable' speed when it comes to running for fun and running for fat loss. Apparently Usain Bolt has never run more than a mile, ever, whereas Killian Jornet considers a 4 hour trail run, whilst climbing 3000 feet, a short morning jog. Now these guys are specialists and at the elite of there sport and we are all free to make whatever choice we want but if we want to be lean, healthy and fit, what do we do?

   I had a client who couldn't run 50 yards without feeling sick and nauseous. He had to stop and walk after just a few seconds, he was clearly not fit or healthy but he wanted to be. He was also nearly 50% body fat and had been diagnosed as clinically obese. If we take, (let's call him Dave) as the most extreme example, what can running do for him, in fact what did running do for him?

In the USA more people are exercising and specifically running than ever before and yet obesity levels are rising at
an alarming rate and the UK is not far behind. I just read today that nearly 70% of the UK population are overweight or obese. Why? Well the answer is simple - Too many people are eating too much of the wrong food. Remember that nutrition is the key and no amount of running is going to make you slim if you eat poorly ... and unfortunately a great many people eat poorly. To put it bluntly if you think you eat a healthy diet but are overweight, you don't.
   However let us assume for the moment that you are aware of healthy, clean nutrition and you practice it
everyday; what is the best exercise you can do, from a running perspective,
to help you to achieve your goal? Below is a list of the good and the bad of long distance running, anything
from a half marathon to a 100 mile ultra mountain
marathon.
Positives

1) Increase in
cardiovascular health.
2) Decrease in resting heart rate. Fitter due to
aerobic conditioning.
3) Improves emotional well being and mood.
4) Release of negative energy due to endorphin release.
5) Teaches the body to burn a limited amount of fat for energy enabling you to run
longer.
6) Flushes out harmful toxins.
7) Full body workout.
8) For beginners in the first few months, you burn fat.
9) Strengthens
the heart, bone density and muscles.
10) Running in nature.
11) Increase endurance capacity.
12) Mental strength.
Negatives
1) Repeated extreme exercise or long-distance racing can cause a build up of scar tissue on the heart which can
lead to the development of patchy myocardial fibrosis in up to 12% of marathon runners. The effects of “chronic exercise” can also include premature aging of the heart, stiffening of the heart muscles, and an increase in arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation. However to put this in perspective an article in the New England Journal noted that of 11 million participants in marathons and half marathons across the USA in a 10 year study only 59 runners suffered a cardiac
arrest. That's one death in 260,000 runners and half the death rate in non
runners, and less than swimming. Basically the main danger is for endurance
athletes who run over many years.
2) Many hours of training can have a negative effect on other commitments.
3) Risk of overtraining and therefore injury.
4)The best health outcomes are actually found far below
the exercise levels of even casual endurance athletes. A 15-year observational
study of 52,000 adults found that the highest degree of survival and health was
found from running less than 20 miles per week, in runs of 30 to 45 minutes over
three or four days, at about an 8 to10 k per hour pace. The benefits
decrease at amounts greater than that.
5) Catabolism of lean muscle mass, if not adequately supplemented.
6) Build up of free radicals.
7) Increased cortisol due to stress of running long distances and as a result an increase in fat.
8) Boredom.
Yes there are obvious contradictions but nevertheless these are the facts. Now lets look at running short distances.
Anything from 40 metres to 800 metres
Positives
1) Improved body composition ( compare a sprinters body to a marathon runners body)
2) Shorter training times (Can be as little as 4 minutes, though normal training time is 20/30 minutes)
3) Can be done anywhere.
4) The number one exercise for fat loss due to EPOC.
5) Increase in Human Growth hormone (slows down ageing process).
6) Feeling energised (due to endorphin release).
7) Less chance of repetitive stress injury.
8) Healthy cortisol release.
9) Increases lean muscle mass.
10) Increased fitness and health.
11) Easier to practice good running form.
12) Increase in endurance capacity.
13) Reduces blood pressure.
14) Improves mental health lowering the incidence of depression.
Negatives

1) Possible injury in untrained runners.
2) Perceived difficulty i.e. Mentally harder.
Now there are overlaps of positives for all cardio training, as you would expect but the negatives are clearly minor in
sprinting and the positives are obvious; strange then that most people choose to do long slow jogging. The reason must be because it is perceived to be 'easier'. If your goal is fat loss and improved body composition but you prefer to jog then my advice would be to go for a run and then do interval sprinting during your run, say 30 seconds fast, 30 seconds slow
x 8 and then continue on with your jog, at least this way you get the best of both worlds.

And what of Dave who couldn't run at all? As I mentioned in a previous blog he lost 17 kilos and 18% body fat and
gained 6 kilos of lean muscle mass in 12 weeks and can now run 100 metres in 15.6 secs and 400 metres in 1 min - 29 secs. He did weight/resistance training 2 times per week and sprint training 3 times per week (and ate clean 80% of the time). In 3 months he never did one long slow jog and never ran more than 800 metres .......... and that is how
you shed fat fast ... and, in a balanced, healthy, effective way.

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THE 7 DAILY HABITS OF THE FIT AND HEALTHY

RUNNING THE CANYON

THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF SHEDDING FAT FAST

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THE 7 DAILY HABITS OF THE FIT AND HEALTHY

RUNNING THE CANYON

THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF SHEDDING FAT FAST

THE BLOG PAGEPhil's popular blogs are now read in 50 countries worldwide. Here is just a small selection of over 200 blogs which you can read by clicking on the link below.

Archives

Categories

THE BLOG PAGE
Phil's popular blogs are now read in 50 countries worldwide. Here is just a small selection of over 200 blogs which you can read by clicking on the link below.