Author: Jonathan Wong, Singapore Personal Trainer And Fitness Expert
Ask The Coach No.02
Casey Chua asked: "Is it possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time without supplements".
My Answer: Yes it's possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time without supplements.
Fat loss and muscle gain are separate systems in your body. But your training, resting and eating must be VERY good to do this (and even more so without supplements). You will need to have great nutritional habits (read the articles on my site) and you will probably need to cycle your carbohydrates and calories according to your daily needs.
"Phinix" asked: "I refer to your blog on 2.4km training. Can you give a template on what to train for the 2.4km.
- What is the distance typically cover a training session if we are training for 2.4km using short sprints.
- What intensity are we using?
- What is the rest interval between sets.
Your reply is greatly appreciated & anticipated"
My Answer: Wow that's a lot of questions! ok. Remember I said the 2.4 is a SPEED event. In fact everything is a speed event. Even a marathon. Nobody gets the prize for running for "longer" time...only faster time over a fixed distance! As a personal trainer in Singapore I get to work with a lot of guys preparing for their IPPT.
As for the 2.4 you first need to set a target time. lets say 10 minutes. That is 105s per round of the track. First of all you need to be able to run 1 round in 105s or else all other training is meaningless. In general you want to be fast enough first. Then try to maintain that speed for a longer time.
So if my best time is currently 90s for 1 round, I would run 6 rounds at 80% of that (approximately) with 1:2 rest ratio cutting that down to 1:1. When I can do something with 1:1 rest:work ration i.e. 90s rest after a 90s 400m run, then i try for a faster speed. this should set the intensity and rest timings.
Like I mentioned in the blog, this training doesn't have to be running. You can do this with other things like dumbell/kettlebell swings, burpees, squat jumps, lunge jumps, jumping jacks, mountain climbers (please google these if you don't know what they are). This gets your body used to heavy output for the 10min that you need.
Depending on your fitness level (low fitness start earlier) 3 weeks out start running the actual race distances 2x a week. Run at the correct PACE for meeting your timing. If you can't maintain that pace don't worry. Try to maintain it for a longer portion of the distance the next time out.
Feel free to paypal me some of that IPPT money when you get your award:)!
Leang Wen asked: "Hi, can i ask you where you get your knowledge from? I'm impressed with your knowledge regarding training and it's related injuries (stuff like tightness in certain muscles which could adversely affect performance).. can you point me in the right direction regarding such knowledge? thanks!
My Answer: Thanks for the kind words. In this area, as in many things, we stand on the shoulders of giants. As a personal trainer In Singapore I have found that there is little to zero mentoring in this new field of human performance and fitness.
Most courses are woefully inadequate and too easy to pass. Most talented people also don't join this field. In fact many consider "personal training" a job for people who couldn't get a "real job". I want to change all this.
The best possible way is of course real life mentorship. The next best way is reading. I have spent thousands on education, many of the books I have read are not available in Singapore and are in fact medical books costing 70-100 USD.
But so what? Books are great! They force you to think, they force you to absorb knowledge and distill it into information that helps clients achieve their goals.
I always suggest people buy books rather than borrow them, there is a greater sense of ownership and desire for the knowledge in the books when you spent your money on them.
There is no real shortcut. Read, experiment, decide what works and what doesn't. This means that I have spend money on books which are practically useless. I didn't waste money, I used it finding out what doesn't work. That is valuable as well.
Haw Yng asks: "Hi Coach Jonathan, I have an injury in my left shoulder and there is tightness when i raises my arm. I'm not sure if it's the rotator cuff injury. As my ippt is coming, i have to train for my chin up (I can't do any at this point in time) and this injury is hindering me.
Is there any help u can give me regarding the injury as well as tips to training for the chin up. "
My Answer: Firstly I am not a medical professional. If there is serious pain, shooting down your shoulder or up your neck, you NEED to see a doctor. As a person dealing with fitness, I can help with inefficient movement but not acute pain. However from my experiences, shoulder problems are very common. Most of them start with scapular issues. Either it's rotated up or down, or it's not positioned correctly on your ribcage. The scapular is the "base" of movement for your upper arm. If it's not moving correctly, arm movement will hurt.
If things hurt when you raise your arm, it is possible that the scapular does not rotate upward like it should when the arm goes up. This traps the tendon of your rotator cuff muscle the superspinatus causing pain. But its impossible to say over the net without taking a look and assessing your scapular function.
Ryan asks: "I am currently doing a program called
Rippetoes created by Mark Rippetoe, a strength and conditioning coach and former
powerlifter. It consists of 2 workouts
3 x 5 Squat(back)
3 x 5 barbell bench press
1 x 5 deadlift
3 x 5 squat
3 x 5 military press
3 x 5 power cleans( or bent over barbell/pendlay rows)
MY question is, since the author encourages those who have no experience with
O-lifts to do pendlay rows instead, will the squat help me to sprint faster and
jump higher? My sprinting is terribly slow, and i wish to improve on that in
addition to gaining size and strength, which is what this program promises."
My Answer: All kinds of strength training will make you a faster sprinter. Especially in the first 10m which are critical for all sports. I don't really recommend pendlay rows because they require skill in keeping your lower back tight while allowing your upper back to relax. There are safer exercises that give the same benefits.
If you can't do full o-lifts yet, that's ok. Do the Clean pulls and snatch pulls. they are fine as well, and you keep the entire upper body tight which is easier and safer to do than trying to be half loose and half tight.
And yes such a program will work to get size and strength. But your diet must support it with massive amounts of healthy, natural, nutrient dense food.
Written For www.CoachJon.com Singapore Personal Trainer & Fitness Expert
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