Archives for July 2015

Ten thousand hours

Zoey · July 29, 2015 · 2 Comments

You might have heard of the theory of 10,000 hours. It’s the idea that it takes 10,000 hours or about 10 years of deliberate practice to become great at something. This theory has been called into question in more recent times, arguing that deliberate practice only accounts for about 1/3 of improvement. Which frankly is annoying because it’s such a poetic theory. The 10,000 hours theory is far more comforting than practice is important but so is a whole bunch of other random stuff that you can’t control. The interesting thing that the critics did find was that the theory was more applicable to stable environments where the rules don’t change, like fitness, as opposed to breaking into the music industry.

In the original 10,000 hours study they separated out practice from deliberate practice. What that meant was that it’s not enough to just go through the motions, you have to be active in it and be actively seeking ways to improve, seeking critique to improve and making adjustments to maximise the benefits you are getting.

Last week I got an email from my crossfit gym saying that since May 2014 I’d attended 110 classes and wasn’t that cool given all the running I do in addition to those workouts. And yes, I did think it was A) very cool and B) very cool that I go to the kind of gym that sends me emails like that. Which got me thinking as to how much running I had actually done in that time and it was about 3,000 km. On a good week, I do about 13 hours of running, strength, crossfit and pilates. That means I do about 56 hours a month and 675 hours a year. And that’s a considerable amount. For fitness benefits the optimal amount is about 7.5 hours per week. You still get those fitness benefits if you do more, but you don’t get much more fitness benefits than you do at around 7.5 hours a week. It’s recreation for me, so it’s not really about the fitness benefits exactly. But even at an optimal level of training for fitness you are looking at around 400 hours in a year.

Which is why I love looking at it in terms of 10,000 hours or 10 years. When you look at people who are at the top of their sport, they are often people who have been athletes since they were in school. For ultra runners, they’ve often been building up their mileage for decades. And you could look at that and be intimidated by it. But for me it gives me great peace of mind. Because I don’t have to look at what I’m doing in terms of this training cycle or this year, I’ve got the bigger picture to think of. So I’ve been running since 2011, but I wouldn’t call it deliberate practice until I got to 2014. So really, up until now is just the beginning part of my story.

Beyond that I think I like the idea of 10,000 hours so much because you can’t do something you dislike for 10,000 hours. It’s not a quick fix 12 week program. It’s not something that you can grit your teeth through and get to the other side with. It’s a huge part of your life, or it will be so you have to really love it.

The other part I love about it is of course as a running coach. One of the things I love about running is that it is a really stable environment. The rules don’t really change. And you will receive whatever you put in. And then some. It’s generous that way. And so for running at least, I think the 10,000 hour rule holds true, or at least it should, for the sake of poetry.

For running coaching sign up to Far and Fast today.

The wife and the mistress

Zoey · July 24, 2015 · 2 Comments

The thing about training for strength and endurance is you can’t. I know it’s not fair, but you can’t. That’s not to say that endurance programs don’t have a strength component (they do) or that strength programs don’t have a cardio component (they do) but you have to pick one. Endurance training doesn’t work with strength building because you tend to burn through any muscle gains. But you can include strength so you maintain your existing levels at least. And if you are looking at pure strength building your only running is going to be sprints.

I’ve seen many a new runner on body building forums complaining about why running doesn’t build muscle the way strength training does and why endurance training is counter-productive to strength. And I totally get that. When you really enjoy both, it is hard to choose. And the conundrums are endless. I have to run first because I find it hard to run afterwards, but if I run first, I probably won’t be at full strength for my lifts.

So you do have to prioritise one. And it is hard. The struggle is REAL. I loved doing the short distance running because that was well suited to my strength training with Move It Elite, and in that time I was consistently getting PBs for my lifts, especially some of the strict ones that I’ve always been weak on. But I missed my long runs. I realised now that I’ve started doing them again that I have so many ideas and thoughts that just never had a chance to come to the surface when I wasn’t running long. And particularly at this time of year, it is just beautiful running weather. Where I live the winter is pretty mild and so it’s crisp and lovely. Summer on the other hand, I struggle to love running. When you have to get up at 4am to get your window of not 30 degrees but still disgustingly humid it’s a hard discipline to love.

It can feel like you are always cheating on one. Which is why I’m now working off a seasonal plan. I’m doing one last marathon training cycle this year to take me up to the Melbourne Marathon, and then I’ll switch back to short distance and strength building. A fact I am sure I will thank myself for when it is 26 degrees at 5am and the humidity level is at an all time ewwwwwwwwwww level.

So I guess you can have both, just not at the same time.

7 Lies You Are Being Told About Weight Training

Zoey · July 22, 2015 · Leave a Comment

1) You shouldn’t lift weights because you will look like a body builder

This is perpetrated everywhere and would be laughable if it wasn’t so pervasive. And it’s perpetrated by athletes who should know better too! There’s a story about Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was a competitive body builder that people used to tell him they didn’t want to look like him and his response was don’t worry, you will never look like me.

You can take that and quadruple that for women. It is really hard to build muscle, so the idea that you could become accidentally ripped is pretty ridiculous. People often imagine fitness models when they think of weight training but the reality is that they have put an insane amount of work into their bodies and it’s designed to look that way for competitions but it’s not sustainable or healthy beyond that.

When people start to work on their fitness, they often want their body to look strong and fit too. And that is exactly what weight training does. But how it looks, is always up to you. And if your aim is to put on significant muscle, you are going to have to fight for it.

2) High Reps = toning, Heavy weight = bulking

False. There is no toning vs bulking it’s all just muscle building. As long as you are doing high reps/low weight to failure point or high weight/low reps to failure point you are going to be achieving muscle building – so it’s much more about what you enjoy doing. Although high repetition is probably more advantageous if you are developing your endurance fitness.

3) Exercise is about calories and weights don’t burn as much as cardio

Because calories. This is a common misconception. Because cardio burns the more calories it is of more value than weights. But the thing is muscles are calorie hogs. They burn more calories. So a good weight training program will turn your body into a calorie burning furnace, all day, every day. So unlike a cardio session where the calorie burn is done when the session is over, you have a calorie burn that is happening all the time.

4) It’s not as much of a workout

It’s as much of a workout as you want it to be. Exhibit A.

5) You need special equipment or you need to go to a gym

I have dumbbells and a barbell but for ages I used water bottles or bottles with sand in them or cans. You don’t need any special equipment at all.

6) You aren’t strong enough for weight training

In the beginning you start with mostly using your own body weight and you build on that. Anything can be adapted to any level so there’s no reason not to get involved.

7) You don’t have time

The best thing about weight training is that it is so easy to do at home with kids. Admittedly, my planks are a little harder if you have a four year old sitting on your back – but it’s a great way to get a workout at home and have the kids involved as much or as little as you like. And it’s very flexible because you can do it early in the morning or late at night.

Do you have any others that you’d add to this list?

Sign Up for Move It Beginner, Move It Bootcamp or Move It Elite and get started now.

Melbourne, here we come!

Zoey · July 20, 2015 · 1 Comment

Last year I had the chance to run the Melbourne Marathon course. I was running with a friend so I was able to enjoy the atmosphere. I used to live in Melbourne but that was over fifteen years ago now, so I had no real idea where I was half the time, but I really loved the course. You get to go through all different parts of the city. It’s such a picturesque course. You are surrounded by the Spartans and it was a great day. As I was running the course I was thinking I could run this every year. Now you can’t always control what you can and can’t do. Injuries and life happens. But it’s a nice idea. And this year I’m hoping to stick to it.

We are really happy to have a huge contingent of our Operation Move crew heading down to Melbourne for the festival. You have loads of options – the 3km walk, the 5.7km run, the 10km run, the half marathon and the marathon. And they are all on the same day so there’s a good chance we’ll be able to meet up on the day and probably grab a carb-loading dinner the night before. If you are looking at signing up for an event – the password is OpMove.

If you would love to sign up for an event but are nervous about going it on your own – we have a whole heap of options to support you.

Operation Move Memberships – full access to Far and Fast Running Coaching and Move It Elite Personal Training including a custom plan that integrates running and strength.

Far and Fast Coaching – Custom plan, private Facebook coaching group and daily access to coaches.

Custom training plan – an email consultation to develop a custom plan to get you to your event in great shape.

People enter events for so many reasons. And they are all fantastic reasons. Sometimes it is to keep motivated and have a goal, sometimes it is to hang out with friends. Sometimes it’s to strive for a personal best. And when you are doing something like that don’t be afraid of setting an ambitious goal. There is no shame in aiming high and falling short, because you will still end up somewhere amazing.
But whatever your why, it will be a beautiful reason in Melbourne this year. And we really hope to see you there.

Healthier with Hivita.

OperationMove · July 3, 2015 · Leave a Comment

We’re more than a little bit excited to let you know about our new brand partnership with Hivita.

Now that Zoey and I have been using the products for well over a month we wanted to share with you some of the benefits we have been experiencing, as well as tell you a bit about how YOU can benefit from our new friendship as well!

When you train at the level we do, it is imperative to be on top of your nutrition. The fact is though that sometimes cheese, chocolate and ice-cream are also imperative to your life and it may be at the expense of other nutrient dense foods, so it is always good to have a quality back up plan.

To be perfectly honest I’ve come and gone with supplements and vitamins over the years, but since I have committed to taking my Hivita products every single day I do think they’ve had a positive impact on my health and wellness. Certainly when the flu ravaged my family a couple of weeks ago I got through unscathed and I’m pretty sure my Vitamin C with Zinc played a part in that! We love that Hivita is Australian made, owned and formulated too.

Something else I am prone to banging on about each Winter is my eternal battle with Seasonal Affective Disorder. In a bad year it can wreak absolute havoc on my head and whilst running and hence being outdoors in the elements more has made a difference, there are other things that can help as well.

I’ve had low vitamin D levels (like most women) for the longest time. Running through the sunnier months has improved that but keeping those levels high through the grey of Winter is really important. Having tried any number of Vitamin D supplements over the years I’ve been really happy with the offering from Hivita and when I had some bloods done very recently my D levels had been maintained which is a bit excellent.

We’ll be talking more about the range over the coming months because there are so many products that are perfect for women who like to move and really help support your health. We did want to mention the Liquivita for Kids however as supplements for the little ones have been a bit of a hot topic in recent times.

The advantages of a multivitamin in liquid form for kids are obvious. And despite all the ‘perfect parents’ we’ve seen lately carrying on about how children should be eating better and fed a perfectly nutritional diet therefore not requiring supplementation, we feel like this is a good addition to help support children’s health.

I will add to that, that those parents can take a flying leap at themselves.

I have an autistic child who presently limits himself to about 5 foods. This is FAR from unusual for many kids both on and off the spectrum for a number of reasons. And aside from that sometimes life just does not allow us to create perfectly balanced meals for our children.

So if those people want to come and cook dinner at my place each night and watch it go uneaten by at least one of my kids they are welcome. In the meantime I will be grateful that I have a means of getting SOME goodness into his belly in a form that he will tolerate. Especially when that supplement has no artificial colours or flavours and no added sugar.

Our Operation Move members, along with our Far & Fast and Move It Elite coaching clients have all been gifted with a goodie bag full of great Hivita products. We’re thrilled to have Hivita helping us support our people the way they do best and we have a special offer for ALL OpMovers who might be keen to try out the range.

Exclusive Operation Move Reader offer:

30% of all purchases at Hivita before 31/08/2015 plus free shipping for orders over $50. Just enter code OPERATIONMOVE at checkout.

AND for any OpMovers who are coming to the Gold Coast Marathon weekend events on July 5th, come and find either Zoey or myself and we will let you know how you can pick up your VERY OWN Hivita goodies to try, with thanks to Hivita for their generosity and support!

We will be around the event for most of the day after completing the half marathon, look out for the Operation Move singlets!