Back in training.

It's been a while, 3 weeks in fact since I last trained Charlie. Being self employed, he has to take work as and when it's offered to him and as a consequence training can be a bit sporadic to say the least.
Charlie has for the last 3 weeks been working a job over at Donnington park demonstrating the Toyota Auris. He was team leader and as a consequence had to work excessive hours. I gave him quite a comprehensive workout schedule which was to be undertaken within the hotel complex where he was staying. However, it would appear that swimming was the only exercise he managed due to the excessive hours and the resulting tiredness.
Charlie arrived back just in time for round 4 of the Trofeo Abarth championship.
He qualified well on the Friday setting himself up for a third place start.
Charlie's pace is certainly on the up as he finished in a good third place closing the gap significantly on his second place rival.
Starting from the same position on the Sunday, Charlie once again finished with a third place podium finish.
OK, on to the training, we met at the Nene centre at Thrapston. I decided to bring along my TRX suspension trainer with a view to moving our training outside of the gym. For today however, we set up in the meeting room as the studio was full of pensioners! It was quite a warm day and with no aircon in the meeting room, it wasn't going to be pleasant. 5 minute warm up on the rower done it was time to get TRX,ing.
Now, this is something that Charlie has never done before and as a consequence balance was very much an issue.
We started with some squats. I told Charlie to move from the hips first and sink into a deep squat whilst maintaining a neutral back position. This is fairly easy to accomplish with the TRX as it enables you to lean back into the squat as you can use the straps as a counter balance. In between sets I had Charlie perform push ups on the floor. 3 sets in I decided to try Charlie squatting minus the TRX to see if Charlie could maintain a neutral spine. The majority of people I come across perform a sub standard squat, either rounding their back, going all knocked kneed, raising their heels of the ground at the deep squat position or falling backwards at the deep squat position. Charlie was in the falling backwards camp. Spine was good as was the knee positioning so compared to most it was pretty good. A bit of work on flexibility should help matters as will simply practicing the squat more.
Next up, I decided to throw Charlie in at the deep end and demonstrated a suspended lunge. Now this is where you place one foot into the hoop of the TRX (see my picture) and then bend the leading leg down to an angle of 90 degrees. These require strength, co-ordination, balance and good proprioception skills. Its a great test of a persons ability in all these areas and Charlie needs more work in all four.
This is something that is never addressed in machine training. There is never a need to address issues of balance, co-ordination or proprioceptive skills. As a means of making you more functional for everyday life, they are worthless. Contrast that with the suspended lunge. Now here is a proper skill to learn. We will persevere with these and get them down to a fine art. That's proper training, learning a movement patten which benefits you in a way which will benefit you in real life, Its challenging in a way machine training could never be. Strength is just one aspect of a good programme, the TRX suspension trainer challenges strength, balance, co-ordination, proprioception, core stabilisation and has cardiovascular benefits when performed as a circuit.
Once we had done a few wobbly lunges and Charlie had finished cursing, we moved on to some hamstring work. I demonstrated a suspended hamstring curl (see photo)
Charlie struggled to keep his hips of the floor with this on so this is something else to work on. Core next, and once again the word suspended comes into the equation, this time TRX suspended crunch. Once again this was very challenging for Charlie. The TRX really will highlight any weaknesses in the bodies kinetic chain as the body is worked as a whole unit and not as a bunch of individual body parts.
Back on familiar ground next, the rower.
This was to be a quick one as Charlie was already fatigued from what we had already done. So it was a quick Tabata row. This is basically 20 seconds all out effort followed by 10 seconds rest. We repeated this 10 times totalling a 5 minute workout.
This seems, on the face of it, pretty easy, but as Charlie will testify it certainly isn't. It's quick yes but also very painful. The goal was to get as close to 100 metres as possible during each 20 second work period. Charlie managed the following:
Row 1: 101 metres. Row 2: 97 metres. Row 3: 93 metres. Row 4: 92 metres. Row 5: 84 metres. Row 6: 88 metres. Row 7: 86 metres. Row 8: 87 metres. Row 9: 90 metres and finally Row 10: 89 metres. A good set of results, especially considering the leg work prior to the row.
Tabata training, despite being very quick will have a long lasting effect on the metabolism. This is because the body tries to maintain an equilibrium. The re-oxygenation of tissues, clearance of lactic acid, glycogen refuelling etc and anything that upsets that delicate balance will have a strong metabolic effect. This is in contrast to a steady state run whereby the body is coping quite well with the stresses involved and as a consequence recovers much quicker. So as regards to bang for your buck, Tabata workouts are straight out of the top drawer.
OK, session all done. A slightly frustrated Charlie invites me back to his house for tomato soup which was very nice and it's always good to see his girlfriend Zoe.
Next up, some kettlebells, great!
Oh, one final thing. As I understand it, Charlie's sister Vicki reads this blog, so a big congratulations to Vicki and her partner on the news that they are having a baby. I hope all is weel and you are enjoying your pregnancy.

Latest progress

It's been a long time since I posted a blog on Charlie. Why? well for one thing, work seems to be getting in the way. Charlie has been training but largely out of hotel rooms, on his own with programmes set by myself.
An incident in a Brussels hotel didn't help. Charlie tripped up on a step and unfortunately broke a bone in his big toe. This resulted in a plaster cast. This occurred just a week before round 4 of the Trofeo Abarth 500 championship!! not good.
However, to his credit, Charlie made Fridays testing session aided by myself as his chaperone. He performed very well and was quite competitive throughout the 4 half hour sessions.
On Saturday, things didn't go so well. Charlie was one of three drivers to receive a drive through penalty due to a particular line being taken through a corner. This resulted in Charlie finishing in 5th place, his worst result so far this year.
On Sunday, starting from third position, Charlie had an incident with another driver on the opening lap. This resulted in a spin and unfortunately a collision with a tyre wall. Charlie managed to get back on to the track but seem to lose a bit of pace. The end result was a 4th place finish, not a disaster but overall a weekend he would rather forget.
This week Charlie and his girlfriend Zoe have gone to Donnington park on a job involving the Toyota auris. This is three weeks away from home and no training with my good self.
I have set him up a weights programme which he can carry out within the hotel complex.
I have also lent him a Concept 2 rower logcard which I have pre-programmed with 3 different types of workout. One is a tempo session consisting of 3 x 10 minute bursts on the rower with a 4 minute rest in between sets.
The second is an interval session consisting of 8 x 300 metre sprints with a 2 minute rest in between and the third is a mixed session consisting of 5 x 6 minute segments with each 6 minute segment broken down into 3 further segments as follows:
Segment 1, 3 minutes at 2.20 pace
Segment 2, 2 minutes at 2.05 pace
Segment 3, 1 minute at 1.50 pace.
This then repeats itself 5 times over.
There is a forth session which he can complete after his weights workout.
This is a Tabata blast on the rower and consists of a 4 minute warm up and then 10 x 20 second flat out blasts followed by 10 seconds active rest repeated 10 times. This is then followed by a 3 minute cool down. Total time, 12 minutes, but performed with gusto, this will leave you feeling exhausted and your muscles full of lactic acid.
We have made arrangements for me to come up to the hotel at one point to really beast Charlie through a workout and perhaps a meal and a chat after.

30 minute killer row. and a new PB for me

First up, congratulations to Charlie as he is currently leading the Trofeo Abarth 500 championship, Awesome job Charlie, proud to be associated with you, professionally and as a friend.

Charlie completed a particularly brutal session today. It's one of my personal favourites and basically consists of the following:
A 30 minute row broken down into 5 x 6 minute segments. Each six minute segment in then divided down to a 3 a 2 and a 1 minute segment. I then have to establish a pace for each segment. for example, when I perform this row my pace for the first 3 minutes is 2.00 per 500 metre pace the second 2 minute segment is 1.50 and the final 1 minute is at 1.40. You then repeat this a further 4 times. It's quite deceptive at the start because the opening pace feels quite easy. However by the time you reach the third interval the opening 3 minutes becomes especially difficult particularly when it follows the fast 1 minute segment.
The pace's I set for Charlie was as follows:
2.10 for the first 3 minutes
2.00 for the 2 minute segment
1.50 for the final 1 minute segment
This is only 10 seconds off my pace so was always going to be tough.
It went as follows:

Number 1: Total distance: 1492 metres, average pace: 2 minutes
Number 2: Total distance: 1490 metres, average pace: 2 minutes
Number 3: Total distance: 1456 metres, average pace: 2.03 minutes
Number 4: Total distance: 1176 metres, average pace: 2.33 minutes
Number 5: Total distance: 1038 metres, average pace: 2.53 minutes

My heart rate interface is currently missing but Charlie was hitting 190 on my polar watch at the end of the last 3 intervals.
The drop off in the final 2 intervals were due to an extended rest within the opening 3 minute segment. This maintained the quality of the final 2 and 1 minute segments. This was to be expected as the parametres I had set were always going to be tough.
The downside of this is that Charlie always feels as though he comes up short, Never feeling satisfied with his efforts. So, I put him right and explained to him that I deliberately set the parametres high, actually slightly beyond his capabilities. This stops him becoming complacent and keeps him determined to push himself to the max. It wouldn't work with every client but with someone as competitive as Charlie his mind set is such that he will push, push, push to his max to try and achieve whatever pace I set for him. Less competitive clients respond better to easier parametres which they can achieve with each and every row. Setting parametres beyond there capabilities wouldn't fire them up, but just demoralise them.
This doesn't happen with Charlie, he gets a bit pissed that he fell short of the pace that I set but it just fires him up further for the next time.

On completion of his row, he stepped outside for some much needed fresh air.
I, mean while prepared myself for a fast 1K row. I told Charlie earlier in the day that I was going to start posting some times up on Concept 2 ranking site, starting with my strongest distance of 1000 metres.
I had been dreading this all day since when I commit to something like this I know it's going to hurt.
Having someone there to support you is a great motivator, also being in the gym environment helps. My previous best for the 1K was 3.04.06
So, logcard was in rower, warm up was done, 1000 metres dialed up on the monitor, Charlie ready and waiting to support me.
I finished off the first 200 metres at a 500 metre pace of 1.29.02
second 200 metres in 1.29.08, so at close to half way stage on target for a sub 3 minute finish, but, alas, this wasn't to be. Of course it wasn't, just not realistic at the moment. The third 200 drops to 1.31.08. At this point Charlie is desperately encouraging me to stay in the sub 1.30 area but I am working flat out and I have no response. The forth 200 metres averages 1.33.08. I glanced at the section of the monitor which calculates your finish time and I see I'm on target for a new PB, getting excited now, just 200 metres left, that's just 20 more strokes and the job will be finished, although the pain won't be since that's when it's at it's worse just as you stop, that's when you realise just how smoked you are, gasping for air and realising just how much lactic acid you have causing through your veins.
Final 200 metres, I actually pick up the pace slightly as Charlie insists that I don't sink below 1.35. I respond and pick up slightly. Last 100 metres, gasping, aching, desperate for it to be over, watching desperately as the metres come down, 50, 40, 30, 20 ,10, finally it's all over, 3 minutes never felt so long.
I check my time, it's 3.03.06, a new PB. The sensation of a new PB elates me but I am so, so exhausted I just want to flop off the rower and die. Now here's the thing, the recommendation is that you never, never bring intense exercise to a dead stop. Passive recovery is very bad for the heart. It causes the blood to pool in your extremities and the heart has to work extra hard to compensate. So I get to my feet as soon as possible and walk around for a bit. Charlie congratulates me and pats me on the shoulder. I manage to utter
'thanks Charlie' in between desperate gasps of air. About half an hour later I am coughing like mad, a phenomenon known as racers cough. It's an irritation of the wind pipe caused by the forcefull exhalation of carbon dioxide of the lungs. It lasts about 2 hours and then clears.
Later, when I enter my time on the Concept 2 website I realise I am heading up the ranking for my age group for that distance by a full one second. At this point it suddenly becomes all worthwhile.

A run, a row, and a messed up video!!

Hi everyone (or is that too optimistic, maybe no one's reading me)and welcome to my latest blog on the progress of racing car driver, Charlie.
Two sessions to report on in this blog and a misdemeanor with a video camera (sorry Charlie, have to get it off my chest)
First up, a 5 mile steady state run. Joining us today was Charlie's lovely girlfriend, Zoe. Instead of the usual location (Palmers race track) today our starting point was Charlie's cottage. The planned route was 5 miles with several hills incorporated into the run.
The run was completed in 51 minutes with an average pace of 10.02 minute miles. Charlie's heart rate averaged 165 so he was clearly working hard throughout. Zoe did extremely well and is clearly fitter than she realised.
Once the run was complete, we stretched out in the garden.
So, overall, a good session and thankfully, both of my puny calves held out (god bless em)

The next session I would like to talk about was an interval row which was carried out in Charlie's Garden.
We decided to repeat a previous row and I therefore set the rower up for 8 x 250 metre rows with a minute and thirty seconds rest between each set.
Things weren't overly positive at the start with Charlie proclaiming that he was tired. Nonetheless, he decided he would try his best.
After a thorough warm up, Charlie set off on his first interval. He set a blistering pace and averaged 1.39 per 500 metre pace. 3 seconds quicker than his last first interval.
Second interval was 1.40.6, again, quicker, this time by one second.
Third interval was 1.41.4, slightly slower but unfortunately Charlie is reporting a slight lower back problem and states that he can't pull as hard as he would like.
Intervals 4-7 are all off the pace in comparison to the previous session.
Interestingly though, Charlie's heart rate is a good 9 BPM lower than that last session which is very encouraging.
I could sense however that Charlie was not overly pleased with his performance at this point ( some 4 letter expletive's were a bit of a clue )and he therefore decided to absolutely give it his all on the last set.
The final set was polished off in in 1.42.4 which was 2.6 seconds quicker than set eight from the last row.
So, overall, a good session with 5 slower than before but 3 quicker but more importantly, a lower heart rate throughout.

OK, on my arrival at Charlie's, I asked if he would mind video recording me doing an RKC ketllebell snatch test. Now for those of you who don't know what that is, it involves swinging a 24KG kettlebell behind you between your legs with one arm and then aggressively firing it upward above your head to a locked out position. The RKC ( Russian kettlebell challenge ) states that you must do this 100 times within 5 minutes. It's full on test of one's strength and cardio endurance and is extremely tough to do. The idea was to post the video up on you tube and also add it to my kettlebell nation blog site.
OK, thoroughly warmed up, I'm ready to go. Charlie does the intro (very good) and sets me on my way. He counts the reps for me as I progress through the test.
Starting on the right hand, I perform 20 snatches and then make the transition to the left hand and perform another 20 reps. Back to the right for another 15 before switching again to the left.
70 reps in, I'm really feeling the strain but confident of a strong finish. Back to the right for 15 leaving the final 15 on my left side. 100 reps done, thank god for that, the hell is over, I'm breathing extremely hard and state for the camera that I'm feeling great having done the test in 4 minutes and 30 seconds.
I don't know what it is but there is something very primal about swinging a kettlebell. Given a choice of a gym full of resistance machines costing hundreds of thousands of pounds or a couple of kettlebell's to play with in my back garden, the choice would be obvious, the kettlebell's please. Trying to convince Charlie of this is proving difficult but hopefully with some perseverance on my part, I will convert him.
Once slightly recovered I step over to Charlie to review the footage.
10 seconds in, the video suddenly rotates to portrait shape and Charlie gleefully announces with a hint of 'aren't I clever' in his voice, that he rotated it so as he could 'fit me in better'. Yea, 'brilliant' that Charlie, well done. Now everyone has to rotate their screens on there side to view the footage!!!. When I told him that he had f*##*d it up, he looked mortified, bless him, of course, I played it down, not wanting to upset him further. OK, grumble over and the reality is that it just doesn't matter. We will do a re-shoot next week and I now have an excuse to post it up here so as you can see exactly what it is that I'm talking about.

Next session is on Thursday. This will consist of a weights session followed by a swim. My front crawl is not good and as a result Charlie has agreed to reverse our roles for a bit and give me some instruction.

Charlie and his first tempo session.

Charlie completed a mid-week run whilst up in Manchester this week.
He completed a 3 mile run clocking in at 27 minutes therefore averaging a none too shabby 9 minute mile pace.
On his return, we agreed to meet up at the Nene leisure centre in Thrapston. Charlie is more familiar with this centre than myself as he swims here regularly.
Charlie was eager and ready to get cracking on the rower and so I quickly set it up for 3 x 10 minute rows with a 3 minute rest in between. I initially suggested 4 minutes but Charlie wanted to stick to three. I think he came to regret this later.
OK, The appropriate drag factor dialed in (130) and we're off and running.
Plan is to do each session at an average pace of 2 minutes per 500 metre.
First 10 minutes polished off at an average 1.59 pace per 500 metre, Heart rate is peaking at 172 during this first session. The rest arrives none too soon for Charlie as the full force of tempo training starts to bite and cause it's effect.
Reasonably well rested we're off again. First 300 covered in 1.58 average leaving some reserve time in the tank. By the time we get to the end, Charlie is looking very tired and to be honest the intensity is such that he is really pushing into his anaerobic zone. His end heart rate was 178 on this second session. With a max heart rate of 190 Charlie is working exceptionally hard at 93% of his current Heart Rate Reserve.
Second session done, there is some chat of adding an extra minutes rest but we soon dismiss this and decide to stick to the plan.
OK, third session up, Charlie's off at a good pace, maintaining 2 minutes per 500 for the first 3-400 metres. As we near half way, fatigue is really kicking in, his heart rate already peaking at 179-180. This is very intense stuff and I check regularly that Charlie is feeling OK. Now averaging 2.02 pace as we break into the final few minutes. A final big push from Charlie as he hits the final 30 seconds.
That's it, all done. Final heart rate 181 and an average of 2.02 for the third session. Charlie removes himself from the rower and goes outside for some fresh air.
I join him and he tells me that he hates the rower but also loves it. I totally understand this attitude towards the rower as I have the same relationship. I never get this from other forms of CV and ultimately it makes an intense session the most satisfying once you've got your breath back and can reflect on your efforts.

A brief explanation of various forms of cardio

Steady state:

As the name suggests, It's steady cardio at a predetermined level.
Heart rate is generally steady and not usually above 75% heart rate reserve.
There will be a residual rise in heart rate as you progress through the exercise and get warm. This is the bodies various processes kicking in to control your temperature (sweating basically)

Tempo training:

Lactic acid is constantly being produced by the body whenever you are active.
This is an entirely natural byproduct of energy production. Note, It is a by-product
of energy production as opposed to the commonly held believe that it is a waste
product. Ordinarily, the lactic acid produced whenever you perform any activity is recycled and then used over again as an energy source. Basically it's production is more than matched by its recycling and as a result there is no build up within the
body. Once lactic acid production reaches the point whereby the body can no longer
recycle it quickly enough, a build up will soon become apparent. This is the intense
pain that you feel whenever you work flat out on an exercise. It will literally stop your muscles from contracting and is designed as a protective mechanism to prevent
your muscles from destroying themselves!! The pain you see when Olympic rowers
compete an event is a great example of lactic acid build up.
Tempo training is the point at which you're keeping your lactic acid production just the right side of it's removal and as a result there is no build up.
This is a very intense form of training which should be sustainable for periods of 10minutes. A typical example would be 2-3 x 10 minute sets on the rower or other piece of equipment. Typically, depending on your fitness level this could be up to 90% of your heart rate reserve.
A once a week tempo session will certainly benefit anyone looking to increase their fitness.
It will take some experimentation to find your level, and as your fitness level increases so will your lactic acid tolerance levels increase.

Interval training:

Interval training is designed to increase your tolerance to lactic acid.
Here you are deliberately training the anaerobic system. (meaning without oxygen)
By pushing very hard in the work interval, you are effectively producing more lactic acid then your body can deal with. This then disperses (re-cycles) during the rest period. You then go again, repeating the procedure roughly 5-10 times.
Different ratios can be used, for example a 1-1 ratio (as an example, one minute on
followed by one minute off or 30 seconds on followed by 30 seconds off) or a 1-2 ratio where the rest is twice the duration of the work interval or vice-versa.
This, as well as tempo training is a very effective method of increasing your fitness level and is particularly good at stripping body fat due to the long lasting after burn effect whereby your metabolism remains elevated for up to 24 hours afterwards.
Another point I would like to make is that as you get fitter, so your body gets more
efficient at using body fat as an energy source and as a result sparing muscle
glycogen (a carbohydrate used as an energy source).
A once a week interval session should be included within the training schedule of any athlete looking for a big increase in their fitness.

Latest training progress.

Training has been a bit inconsistent lately due to Charlie's various commitments.
At the weekend, he was over at Oulton Park racing a 630bhp Mitsubishi Evo in an event series known as time attack. This isn't head to head racing but a time trial event. From what I heard from Charlie, a lot of fun was had and he had a pleasing result.
On his return, he had to drive over to Germany to do a sales pitch. This took place on Tuesday but he managed to get back by Tuesday evening So, as you can see, very busy.
Anyway, on to the training. Charlie came to my house today for a rowing session due to the fact that the immediate vicinity of his garden had become invaded by builders!!
I set the rower up on the decking in my garden and set the following programme:
4 minute warm up followed by 8 X 250 metre sprints with one minute, thirty seconds rest in between and then concluded with a 2 minute cool down.
One of my failings so far (hopefully there aren't many more) is a lack of data recording from our sessions. Charlie, being a racing driver, loves data. He likes to gauge progress by comparing one week's workout to the next. So, with this in mind, I am now recording each work interval and various other details.
Charlie's workout today was extremely good and shows massive improvement from where we started. He rowed, with gusto, the following:

------------TIME---500 METRE PACE---END HEART RATE

Interval 1----51.2------------1.42.0 ----------------------172
Interval 2----50.7------------1.41.4-----------------------176
Interval 3----49.6----------- 1.39.2-----------------------181
Interval 4----50.4----------- 1.40.8-----------------------185
Interval 5----50.7----------- 1.41.4-----------------------185
Interval 6----52.2----------- 1.44.4-----------------------185
Interval 7----52.0----------- 1.44.0-----------------------185
Interval 8----52.3----------- 1.45.0-----------------------185

Anyone who knows rowing will know that this is extremely good for an individual who only started to row about 5 weeks ago. Well done Charlie. We had the rower set at a drag factor of 130, which on my rower is level 5.

A word about drag factor.
I would like to explain a little bit about 'drag factor' and what it means.
Drag factor is the amount of resistance at the flywheel. A higher number means a heavier resistance, a smaller number equals a lighter resistance, so far, so good.
Everybody has a rowing intensity that suits them best. Big, strong individuals can tolerate a higher resistance whilst smaller, lighter individuals will row more efficiently on a lighter setting.
It's all down to personal taste.
Now, how do you know what the drag factor is of each machine? Unless you row on the same machine every time, you will inadvertently being rowing with a different drag factor as you swap between rowers. This is because dust accumulates within the flywheel housing effectively blocking the flow of air in and out of the flywheel. Therefore the less well maintained machines will have less resistance at any given intensity level. For example, on my well maintained machine at home, the drag factor at level 10 is 190. On the not so well maintained machines at my local gym, the drag factor on level 10 is 90!! Therefore you can't just select 5 on one machine one day and assume that level 5 on a neighbouring machine the next day will be the same intensity.
To display drag factor on a model D machine simply press 'utilities' and then 'display drag factor'.
Then row a few strokes and the drag factor will be displayed. Make a note of the number that feels right and then when you row on a neighboring machine simply repeat the procedure and set the intensity with the sliding adjuster to match that number. You are now rowing at a consistent drag factor and should see improvements in your performance as a result.
The trouble is, with a particularly badly maintained machine (which appear in most gyms) you may find that even on level 10 you can't get a sufficiently high enough drag factor. This particular problem affects me at my local gym where the level 10 drag factor is only a pitiful 90. My preferential drag factor is 130.When this happens it's time for a gentle word in the ear of the gym manager to organise a service.

5 mile run

This blog is primarily aimed at Charlie's fitness progress but I feel it's totally relevant to include a brief summary of any races that Charlie has partaken in.
Therefore, a brief word about Charlie's success over the weekend.
A long day for Charlie on Friday. Up at the track first thing for qualifying for Saturdays race. Charlie secured a sixth place start for Saturday.
In the race itself he made a cracking start and made up two places on the opening lap.
This is where he stayed for the duration coming home in forth place.
On Sunday, the cars line up according to their best lap time on the Saturday, so a second row position for Charlie. Charlie ran in forth for most of the race but gained a third place spot after the car running in third had transmission problems.
So, overall, a great weekend. In fact one that sees Charlie sitting in second position in the championship. Well done Charlie. Charlie invited me to his local afterwards for a celebratory drink with his girlfriend and some friends which was nice. Oh, nearly forgot to mention, I managed to thrash him at skittles, Having never played it before, I'm not too sure if he's just rubbish or I'm really good!! or maybe a combination of both.
OK, On to the training. We arranged to meet today at the Palmersport track. There was a trackday in progress and as a result the place was infested with Impreza's, GTR'S,Caterham's etc. Not a problem, we just chose to run along the access road instead. Five miles was the target as a steady state run. I decided to run as well hoping my calves would take the strain after my injury. We set off at a brisk 9 minute mile pace. 3 miles in, my calves were killing!! Don't quite know whats wrong here but a gait assessment and new running shoes are imminent. Grabbing my bike after three and a half miles, I caught up with Charlie and we continued for the remainder. There was some talk from Charlie about doing 4 miles but I wasn't listening. OK, all done, this is what we logged:
Miles: 5.09 Elapsed time: 49.09 Average pace: 9.39 minute mile. No heart rate monitoring was done. A good result with Charlie working hard.
I had a couple of kettlebells in the car and showed Charlie a couple of exercises that we will be trying shortly. I hope he's up for this as I am a strong believer in there effectiveness.
Please see my other blog, Kettlebell Nation for more information.

Have rower, will travel.

A busy schedule this week for Charlie. A racers life can be very hectic. Effectively holding down two jobs is not an easy process. Charlie is self employed (although I'm not entirely sure in what capacity) So, between his job, the work he does at Palmersport, his racing and all the various promotional work he does, it can be a stretch to fit in the training.
Fortunately, Charlie appreciates that his fitness is a vital part of the process and does give me his full commitment. He needs it as much for a psychological boost as well as the more obvious fitness benefits.
It's because of these time restraints that I'm prepared to do what is necessary to accommodate his needs.
So, as a result of this, my Concept 2 rower was duly loaded up into my boot and carted off to his house.
Once offloaded, we set up in his garden and I programmed the rower for the same session as before. This was the first time Charlie had rowed fresh and not following a weights session. We wanted to ascertain how much 'quality' we were losing by doing the weights first. Charlie's 'average' on the last session was 200 metres work intervals at a 500 metre pace between 1.43 and 1.50. Today he managed a pace between 1.40 and 1.45 for the 200 metre sessions, quite an improvement.
This raises the question, what should you do first, weights or cardio. Personally, I try whenever possible to separate the two. This is all very well when you can train 6 days a week as I do but simply not practical for the average trainer who doesn't have the time (Charlie) or the motivation to do so.
I believe that if you have no choice, then weights should come first followed by cardio. A high intensity cardio session will leave very little in the tank to enable a good quality weights session. I believe you can still have a quality cardio session following weights as long as you allow for some recovery time between the two.
But, as I've already stated there will be compromises whichever combination you choose. Rowing after a heavy leg or back session with weights will be particularly difficult and is probably best avoided if you plan to do a heavy interval session.

So, back to the training, interval session complete, I pack my rower back into the car and congratulate Charlie on a quality session, and, yes, he looks exhausted.
The rest of the week will just be swimming as before as we have a race coming up at Silverstone this weekend.

First race, Destination,Oulton Park

As promised , I am now producing a weekly blog on the progress of Charlie.
Charlie had his first two races over Easter weekend. As a result of this we decided it would be best if he just used the pool for his pre-race training.
On to the race itself. The first race in a series of fourteen, two at each venue with the first at Oulton park and culminating at Spa in Belgium.
Charlie qualified in fifth place. This was a good result as testing has been minimal up to this point and he had only tested in the wet. Out of fifteen starters, Charlie finished in a fantastic second place. Up on the podium for the first race is a great result and we were justifiably proud.
This meant starting second on the grid for Mondays race. This was another close fought battle with Charlie having to settle for a just off the podium forth place finish.
So, overall, a great start to the season especially when you consider the last time Charlie raced was five years ago.
OK, on the the training. Wednesday was the day we chose to meet at Bedford Autodome for a run around the track. Due to an error on Charlie's part, he still had an hour of work to do when I arrived. He apologised but it was actually to my benefit.
Charlie works at the circuit frequently during the week helping out at the various corporate days organised by Palmer sport. This can be anything from driving and instructing the participants to logging various forms of data. Within 10 minutes of arriving, I found myself sat in a Palmer Jaguar JP1 (see forth picture) next to a very lively fellow named Mark. Three laps later I arrived back in the pits exhilarated.
The cars run close to 300 BHP with a fantastic power to weight ratio. 0-60 in a tad over 3 seconds is certainly something worth experiencing but it was the cornering speed which made me appreciate just how tiring and intense the full race experience could be.
Fun over, fare paying customers now off the circuit, it was time for the run.
4.3 miles was the planned route taking in a combination of the various circuits.
I chose to use my bike as I am still rehabilitating from a calf injury.
Charlie completed the run in 39 minutes and forty six seconds which was an average of9.19 minute miles. This is a considerable improvement on his first run whereby Charlie completed a 4 mile run in 44 minutes averaging an 11 minute mile. Well done Charlie.
Next session, we were back at the Pembo centre in Rushden. Charlie chose to train very early (9am)and seemed to suffer as a consequence. We trained very hard on the weights and initially it was all going well. Improvements were made on the press ups with 3 sets done (supersetted with lunges)totalling 25,20 and finally 15 reps.
As we then progressed through the session it became obvious that Charlie was suffering and the nausea finally got the better of him resulting in a quick visit to the toilet to revisit his breakfast.
Session terminated midway, we've agreed to an extra rowing session either at my house or his Saturday evening (gym is shut)We are both determined that no sessions will be missed and will make amendments whenever we need to.
Early morning sessions may now become mid-morning sessions to see if that alleviates the problem.

Third session.

Charlie completed a mid-week run on his own at the PalmerSport circuit at Bedford Autodrome, the location of our running from now on. No more traffic, pot holes curbs pedestrians etc. I was suffering from a pulled calf muscle so had to wimp out.
On Friday we met at the gym for another session. Because I hadn't trained all week, I decided to join Charlie for some of the weight training.
Charlie is already exhibiting some strength gains, most evident in his press ups where he managed 20, 16 and then, somehow 17 reps.
Weights done it was onto the rower. This is where I can really push Charlie and it's also where he likes to be pushed.
I pre-programmed the rower for a warm up and then 8 intervals of 200 metres effort followed by 1 minute 20 seconds rest. a slight progression from last session. The intervals were polished off at 500 metre pace times between 1.39 and a 1.50.
This was a tough session with Charlie's heart rate peaking at 190 BPM and rarely dropping below 160. Charlie worked hard throughout unfortunately suffering from a stitch by the fifth interval.
Session done, we parted company and headed home.
Now that training has become quite well established I will produce weekly blogs from now on featuring significant progressions and highlights from the previous weeks training.
As there is a race fast approaching, Charlie has decided he just wants to swim for a couple of sessions. Its a bit easier on the body and will help in Charlie's preparation.
Once the race is done, I will probably throw some kettlebell training into the mix just to add interest and another dimension into his training.

Charlie's second gym session

Charlie arrived at the gym clearly up for it today, quite a contrast to the last session. Illness gone, energy levels back up, mentally readied for a tough workout.
Straight on to the rower for a 5 minute warm up. Heart rate up to 140, a one minute tail off and straight in to the weights room.
Lunges are up first. Using body weight only Charlie performs 30 reps total. With no rest, straight into a set of press ups, 20 reps, not too bad. a minutes rest and we're in again this time with some dumbbells. More press ups, quick rest and then a final set. The sweat is on, breathing hard, so far the session is going well.
Next up, a superset combination of bicep cable curls, with a rope to emphasise the forearms and triceps pressdowns. Moving swiftly between the two exercises leaves Charlie's arms very tired. High reps are once again the order of the day to emphasize endurance over muscle growth.
Arms thoroughly worked, we move on to dumbbell shrugs. Here we once again do 3 sets of 20-25 repetitions.
That's the brunt of the weight training done. This will evolve over the coming weeks and months as Charlie's conditioning improves.
From here it's in to the studio for some abdominal and core work before we hit the rower. We do some rotations on a stability ball whilst holding a 5 kg plate in the approximate position of a steering wheel. The idea here is to work up to multiple sets of 100 reps. Once a certain level of conditioning is achieved, a medicine ball will be introduced under Charlie's feet to further de-stabilise him and increase the recruitment of the core muscles. A few sets of planks later and we're back in to the cardio suite for an interval session on the rower.
I programme the rower for 10 intervals of work to rest ratio of 1 to 2. 30 seconds of work followed by 1 minute's rest.
First set in Charlie averages 1.47 per 500. Second set he hits 1.45, which is none too shabby. Subsequent sets fall between 1.46 and 1.47 per 500 metre. Heart rate peaks at 180, sweating heavily, breathing heavily, job done.
10 minutes stretching back in the studio in the middle of a very noisy spin session and we're finished. All in all a great session. Charlie seems very pleased with his efforts and thanks me for pushing him hard.
Next up a 5 mile steady state run on Wednesday.

A nauseating second session

Today was our first gym session. I've arranged a deal with my local gym which enables me to bring clients in to use the facilities which is great.(thank you Shane from the Pemberton Centre, Rushden)
So, Charlie's back from his trip to Scotland and we meet at the gym at 8.40am.
On my arrival, Charlie give me some worrying news that he has had some sort of bug and as a result has had frequent trips to the toilet and not been eating properly.
Despite this, he wants to press on.
First up, the rower for a 5 minute general warm up.
Charlie sets off at 2.10 per 500 metre pace. He is wearing his heart rate monitor but as it's a warm up, I don't bother to really check it. This was a mistake. Charlie doesn't appear to be overly exerting himself but once the warm up is over, we check the HR. It's a way too high 170BPM. Twice resting heart rate is a better target for a warm up. The higher than expected HR is definitely due to his illness.
Feeling nauseous, Charlie wants to carry on so we head to the weights room. One set of lunges and press ups later and Charlie simply can't carry on.
He apologises but I tell him there is absolutely no need to.
Charlie is basically running on empty. Quite simply you can't train so soon after an illness, especially a stomach bug. It's counter-productive. Charlie needs to recover fully so as to replenish his glycogen stores and get his strength levels back up.
So, not a great start and I didn't get to unleash my workout on him.
On exiting, Charlie informs me that he will be in touch once he is fully recovered.
Next week, if all goes well, we should be training 3 days. A long endurance run and twice in the gym.

Charlie's VO2 max and first run

Met at a freezing rugby pitch today to start Charlie on the road to super racecar ready fitness.
First up, a VO2 max fitness test so I can ascertain Charlie's current cardiovascular fitness level. We run a mile, record the time and end heart rate and reveal a VO2 max score of 46. This is pretty good and puts him in the excellent category of most reference value tables. These however are based on average people and so aren't being applied here. The aim is to get Charlie's VO2 max up into the 60's.
So much goes on in a physiological and psychological sense when involved in the pressures of a tight race and therefore a lack of fitness is just another distraction that we could do without. By the time we are finished, this aspect is something Charlie won't even have to think about allowing him to concentrate purely on winning his race.

Once Charlie's heart has recovered to approximately twice his resting heart rate we start the session.
Today is a steady state run, keeping Charlie to about 70 to 80% of his heart rate reserve. this is between 152 and 164 BPM.

Heart rate reserve calculation
220-age=maximum heart rate
Maximum heart -resting heart rate=heart rate reserve
(Heart rate reserve x training%)+ resting heart rate= target heart rate

1.5 miles into our run, Charlie is peaking above 164bpm but feels fine so we press on. We rest at 2 miles (half way point)and allow Charlie' heart rate to come down to twice his resting rate.
Then, on we go. another mile and a half in with Charlie's heart rate hitting close to 170 we rest again.
On to the final mile. Charlie is determined to finish strong and suggests we sprint the final section. With this his heart rate peaks at 190.(so much for the 164 max, but this man is keen)
OK, job done. We've covered 4 miles including the fitness test mile. Our average pace was just over 11 minutes per mile and we completed the run in 45 minutes.
This steady state aspect of our training will be performed once a week and will either be a run, bike ride, or swim.
We will have two sessions in the gym which will consist of strength endurance weight training and interval sessions on the concept 2 rower. Core stability will also be included within these sessions.
Charlie has a busy seven days ahead of him now but once that is out of the way he will commit to the three day a week programme progressing to four days a week in a few months time.(not sure he knows that yet!)