8 Intense seconds for weight loss and "spot reduction"

Get this for interesting: I was listening to the news on the radio yesterday and heard about some new research regardng weight loss.

Scientists at the University of NSW and the Garvan Institute have devised a workout that burns three times the amount of fat than a longer, less intense workout.

Basically, they found that their specific brand of interval training prompts the body to click into a metabolic response that allows more fat to be burned under the skin and within the muscles.
The study was conducted on 45 overweight women over 15 weeks, and it put them through a 20 minute cycling regime in which they sprinted on a stationary bike for eight seconds followed by 12 seconds of cycling lightly.

The study results showed that the women on the 8 second interval training progamme lost three times more weight as other women who exercised at a continuous, regular pace for 40 minutes.

The study also showed that the system produced "spot reduction" in thighs and buttocks for the women, and the hope is that it also help spot reduce for men in the chest and abdominal areas.

Insulin resistance was also affected significantly (dragged down by 32%), which is a good thing for Diabetics

Sounds too good to be true, and I'm sure we'll hear more shortly.

So now:

1. spot reduction may be possible after all - and what woman or man wouldn't like the thought of that??!
2. Much of the fitness industry that has survived for so long on the premise of the "Fat Burning Zone" will have to rethink it's marketing
3. I have more work to do to find out more about this research and report back

Australian Youth Olympic Festival 2007

For the last few daysI've been working as the Team Manager for the NSW sailing team taking part in the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF 07).

18 different sports are included from Badminton to Hockey to Sailing to Short track speed skating, Figure skating, Swimming, Athletics and Rowing. Competitors are from all around Australia as well as those from nearly 20 different nations. It's a big event.

Conducted by the Australian Olympic Committee, the event aims to provide potential Australian Olympians with an Olympic experience so that they are better prepared for the real experience when they are selected as Olympic representatives.
So far I'd have the say the AOC is doing a great job of replicating the experience.

There is lots of excitement around the event for the young competitors and this, wasn't without good reason. The event includes a Team reception during which Flag bearers for each country were announced, a spectacular Opening Ceremony, fantastic competition and a full Medal Ceremony.

The accommodation was far better than anything I experienced at an Oympic Games, but the fact that (for at least the sailors anyway) there wasn't enough food or water supplied and competitors were expected to go for long periods without food or water being handed out to them was also very Olympic style. For all of their first day of the event, sailors had breakfast supplied before 7am, and lunch consisting of sandwiches and juice wasn't supplied until roughly 1 pm. 6 hours without food or water tested a number of the sailors and some took matters into their own hands by "liberating" a few boxes of Powerade and water for sustenance.

When all was said and done it was an amazing experience for the young sailors I was involved with, and the insight into Olympic Games life was very real. I hope they took the lessons on board and are now better prepared for what potentially lies ahead of them. The only sad part was once agian seeing that the event does have a big business side to it and while the competitors are there for themselves, the organising authority takes full advantage.

When all was said and done, the NSW Team had a great time and finished just outside the medal count in fourth place after battling it out in the bronze medal final with the Kiwis.

The Voice

Have realised that I'm struggling with looking after myself and am wondering why...again.

It's usually pretty easy for me to get myself up and moving...as long as I don't think about it too much and start having conversations with the voice in my head that can, it seems, so easily convince me that it's really not worth it at all, and besides it's uncomfortable and I won't have enough time and really should be doing something else and my shoes aren't right anyway and my knees hurt today,..... I know I'm not the only human on the planet to experience this, but I do wonder if it will ever stop some days.

Of course when I get up and get out and move it's just what I needed and makes me feel soooo good. How is it that the anticipation is so energy sapping when I KNOW that moving feels so ENERGIZING??? Go figure the logic - if there is any! ( and I know there isn't).

Strangely enough there seems to be in each of us a "Saboteur" and a "Cheer Squad" (Maybe we're talking Devils and Angels here, but I'll leave that for someone else's blog) .

I've got to get my "Cheer Squad" yelling louder! In fact, so loud that the Saboteur has to leave town. The best way I find to do this is to reset my Goals and have them clearly on display and "in my face" - it helps me refocus and have less time for the Saboteur and more fun with the Cheer Squad. Ha haa!

Cool Tech!

Guess what I just found as far as great technology goes? A really neat little GPS device that talks to you while you're training and gives you feedback about your speed and elevation a few other parameters. I will HAVE to get one of these and let you know how it goes. It's called ADEO and is only little - 2 inches x 3 inches and just over half and inch thick. Simlar to the size of an iPod. Looks like you can wear an arm band with it or mount it on your equipment. More updates later and you can find info here: http://www.satellitefitness.com.au/

20 in 10 days diet.

With so many people around me on their New Year resolution diets, I thought I'd share a great experience I had recently.

About October or November last year I finally got sick of what I call "running into my own body" everytime I moved. To be fair I had deliberately and lazily grown bigger.

Deliberately put on 10-12 kilos (depending on the day) to to be a competitive weight for my boat; and Lazily chose to eat more than usal and do less than usual in order to put the weight on quickly.

In the 5 years prior I'd had a lot of trouble putting on weight (muscle or fat) much to the frustration of myself and my team mates at the time, so I figured I'd just get the job done and worry about the make-up (and changing it) of the weight over time.

Then of course I let my job in the way of my life and found myself with a lot of unwanted fat and wanting to get rid of it yesterday.

So I did it - I went searching the internet for information in the vague hope that somewhere would be a quick fix to my problem.

I didn't spend much time at SmartShape (too sensible for my frame of mind at the time) and my apologies Matt, but I did find a diet programme that looked almost like it was sensible (along with loads that were just CRAZY). Sensible.... except for the bit where it "promised" 20 pounds of weight loss in 10 days.

Can you BELIEVE I actually paid the USD 27 for the programme??
I can. I was desperate - what did you expect me to do???

As it turned out it was a Good Thing to do. The programme advises sensible (and restricted - you better believe it, baby!) eating and warns you to visit your Doctor about taking it on about 20 times before you get to the menu part.

The food is all normal, and over the day the diet is balanced, including red and white meats, fish, eggs, vegetables and fruit and toast. It notes the total energy, protein, fat and carbohydrate make-up of each meal (which sometimes just doesn't add up) and there is some good after-diet advice. The (after diet advice only momentarily and potentially borders on 'faddy' with regards to when to eat certain foods, but it was a minor glitch in the scheme of things - maybe Matt or someone else will have something to say about it?

Does it work? Best USD 27 I've ever spent - I can't promise it will work for you, but a friend of mine (who must have been as desperate and crazy as me at the time) and I tried it with some pretty astounding results:

I lost 4.5 kilos in the first four days and after that I had to stop because my body and it's IBS revolted and punished me for eating pretty much everything I knew I shouldn't.

I was wrapped! Every morning (of the first four) I fitted into my clothes better and had to race to the scales to check if I was imagining things! 5th morning was a bit of a downer, but I knew it was coming and just Wooo-hooo-ed about the 4 kilos in 4 days!


The Wrap up:

Was it hard to stick to the restricted diet. YEP!
Did it work for me. Absolutely YES.
Did the weight stay off? Absoloutely YES.
Was I motivated to continue and get rid of the rest of the self inflicted "Baggage"? Oh YEAH!!
Would I recommend it to my clients? Hmmm - after all my years dealing with dieticians and nutritionists as an athlete and with my own Sports Science and coaching education, my logic says that it would be irresponsible of me to (a) undertake a programme promising nearly 10 kilos of weight loss in 10 days and (b) recommend it to anyone, but I think it would also be irresponsible of me to not provide the option after giving my clients my honest opinion of the programme. You can check the web site out at http://www.20in10days.com/ if you're interested. Or you can ask me more first.

Of course you don't get to see the diet before you pay for it, but if you're not satisfied with it, they'll give you your money back in not much more than an instant - fantastic customer service that I've personally experienced!!

SmartShape Web site - Weight Loss Tips, Tools and Training

Speaking of New year Resolutions this is typically the time lots of people set themselves goals for better fitness, weight loss and quitting smoking. And loads miss their targets because it's so easy to get caught up in the "interesting" promises of speedy quick-fix "solutions".

Do yourself a favour: get some proper info to help you move towards your goals and resist being caught up in all the marketing hype and false promises that you know are out there and that you'd love to believe. A friend of mine sent me a link to Matt O Neill's SMARTSHAPE web site this morning as we chatted about lots of things. Now there is a site with a genuine interest in people and in educating you how to manage yourself as far as weight loss goes!

It's easy to get around and full of Weight Loss Tips, Tools and Training delivered in Matt's no-nonsense friendly and informative style. My favourite section of the site is the "Surveys - Read and Do" link - it's really interesting and informative : Great Job Matt! ..And I highly recommend this site to anyone interested in learning more about nutrition and weight loss. Take a look at SmartShape .

Happy New Year!!

And here it is..ALREADY.... 2007 has made it and more importantly so have we!
I can't help feeling for the first time in while that change for the better is in the air and I LIKE it. I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions much but last year I've set myself some promises for this year and the first one is to Keep all the promises I make to myself. When I think about it now, I don't need much else while I'm achieving that.. Happy New Year!!