Hi folks,
10 weeks to go, here is the program for next 6 weeks
Week 1
200 WU
4x 500 (75%)
100 WD
4x 300 (90%)
200WD
TD: 3.9km
Week 2
200WU
3x 700(75%)
100WD
3x500(85%)
200WD
TD:4.1km
Week 3
200WU
2x 1200(75%)
100WD
2x800(85%)
200WD
TD:4.5km
Week 4
200WU
1x4000(85%)
200WD
TD:4.4km
Week 5
200WU
2x1500(75%)
100WD
2x500(85%)
200WD
TD:4.5km
Week 6
200WU
2x1200km(75%)
100WD
2x500(90%)
200WD
TD:3.9km
Week7 onwards speedwork
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Potluck Makan/ Laos/Mersing Photo Viewing/ Team TriUmph Jersey Launch
Date: 1 Aug 2008 Friday
Venue: Yuen's house @Tiong Bahru Central
Time: 7pm
Food: Potluck
RSVP: Please email Bernard if you can make it and also what food you will be bringing
Attractions: Viewing the photos from our previous trips in Laos and Malaysia & Launch of Team TriUmph! Jersey & tour of Yuen's retro bachelor pad
Who's coming:
1) Yuen -
2) Bernard - salad
3) Eric - sandwiches
4) Yong Seng & wife - sushi
5) Weileng -
6) Diana - fried rice
7) Victoria -
8) Andrew - ice cream
9) Will - fries & nuggets
10) Bernard Ow -
11) Joo Huat - pizza
Friday, May 23, 2008
Team TriUmph Swim Program (3rd Mesocycle)
The second meso was a focused on speed and endurance.
Now the third meso will be focusing on Endurance and Tri Specific Skills
Wk 11
3.8k Time Trial
Wk 12
200WU
300 x 3 (w Sighting)
Pyramid (100/200/300/400/300/200/100Tempo)
200 x 1 (tempo)
200WD
TD 3100
Wk 13
200WU
300 x 3 (w Sighting)
Pyramid (100/200/300/400/500/400/300/200/100Tempo)
200WD
TD 3800
Wk 14
200WU
300 x 4 (w Sighting)
Pyramid (100/200/300/400/500/400/300/200/100Tempo)
200WD
TD 4100
Wk 15
200WU
Pyramid (100/200/300/400/500/600/500/400/300/200/100Tempo)
200WD
TD 4000
Wk 16
3.8k Time Trial
Now the third meso will be focusing on Endurance and Tri Specific Skills
Wk 11
3.8k Time Trial
Wk 12
200WU
300 x 3 (w Sighting)
Pyramid (100/200/300/400/300/200/100Tempo)
200 x 1 (tempo)
200WD
TD 3100
Wk 13
200WU
300 x 3 (w Sighting)
Pyramid (100/200/300/400/500/400/300/200/100Tempo)
200WD
TD 3800
Wk 14
200WU
300 x 4 (w Sighting)
Pyramid (100/200/300/400/500/400/300/200/100Tempo)
200WD
TD 4100
Wk 15
200WU
Pyramid (100/200/300/400/500/600/500/400/300/200/100Tempo)
200WD
TD 4000
Wk 16
3.8k Time Trial
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Bernard has completed Tour of Egat! :-)
Congratulations!! Bernard is a Tour of Egat finisher!!
Cover page photo, Day 2, Stage 3
For other Egat pics: http://www.thaimtb.com/cgi-bin/viewkatoo.pl?id=233310&st=31
Here's an update on the 5 Stages:
Day 1 (4 May)
Stage 1 (123km), flat with last 1km of steep slope. Avg speed: 40+kph (!)
Stage 2 (8km TT) 13min+ with strong head/ cross winds
Day 2 (5 May)
Stage 3 (81km), killer swirling and gusty winds, almost got blown off (!), last 30km super steep uphill climb (worse than Cameron Highlands), humid and hot! Avg speed: 30kph
Day 3 (6 May)
Stage 4 (150km), super tough King of the Mountain stage, rolling hills with 1250m of steep climbs, some 10km of 15% gradient hills (!), sweltering temps of max 44degC (!!), had a small crash, one tire cut, one tire punctured (!!!), last 30km had hypoglycemia, legs and hands shaking, light-headed, almost cannot complete but he made it! Avg speed: 32kph on rolling mountains, 50-52kph on flats, 80+kph on descents, max 82.5kph (!!!!)
Day 4 (7 May) (Last stage)
Stage 5, (115km), another on-going battle against strong headwinds and max 40degC temps... phew! Avg speed: 41.1kph (!)
He's done it!
Bernard has officially completed the Tour of Egat!! :-D
Cover page photo, Day 2, Stage 3
For other Egat pics: http://www.thaimtb.com/cgi-bin/viewkatoo.pl?id=233310&st=31
Here's an update on the 5 Stages:
Day 1 (4 May)
Stage 1 (123km), flat with last 1km of steep slope. Avg speed: 40+kph (!)
Stage 2 (8km TT) 13min+ with strong head/ cross winds
Day 2 (5 May)
Stage 3 (81km), killer swirling and gusty winds, almost got blown off (!), last 30km super steep uphill climb (worse than Cameron Highlands), humid and hot! Avg speed: 30kph
Day 3 (6 May)
Stage 4 (150km), super tough King of the Mountain stage, rolling hills with 1250m of steep climbs, some 10km of 15% gradient hills (!), sweltering temps of max 44degC (!!), had a small crash, one tire cut, one tire punctured (!!!), last 30km had hypoglycemia, legs and hands shaking, light-headed, almost cannot complete but he made it! Avg speed: 32kph on rolling mountains, 50-52kph on flats, 80+kph on descents, max 82.5kph (!!!!)
Day 4 (7 May) (Last stage)
Stage 5, (115km), another on-going battle against strong headwinds and max 40degC temps... phew! Avg speed: 41.1kph (!)
He's done it!
Bernard has officially completed the Tour of Egat!! :-D
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Team TriUmph Swim Program (2nd Mesocycle)
For those who have been faithfully following the Team TriUmph Swim Program both locally and overseas, we are currently at week 4 and will be entering into the 2nd Mesocycle (2nd phase) of the swim program.
Every mesocycle will feature different formats of intervals but within each mesocycle, the intervals will see a great degree of similarity and progression.
Wk 6.
200 WU
3800m (Time Trial)
100 WD
Td = 4100m
Wk 7
200 WU
500 x 3 (70%)
200 x 1 (Tempo)
300 x 2 ( 70%)
200 WD
Td = 2700m
Wk 8
200 WU
500 x 3 (70%)
200 x 1 (Tempo)
300 x 3 ( 70%, 70%, Tempo)
200 WD
Td = 3000m
Wk 9
200 WU
500 x 3 (70%)
200 x 1 (Tempo)
300 x 4 ( 70%, 80%,70%, 80% )
200 WD
Td = 3300m
Wk 10 (Death Session)
200 WU
500 x 3
200 x 2 (Tempo)
100 Wd
300 x 4 ( 70%, 80%,70%, 80% )
200 WD
Td = 3600m
Have a good day folks!
Every mesocycle will feature different formats of intervals but within each mesocycle, the intervals will see a great degree of similarity and progression.
Wk 6.
200 WU
3800m (Time Trial)
100 WD
Td = 4100m
Wk 7
200 WU
500 x 3 (70%)
200 x 1 (Tempo)
300 x 2 ( 70%)
200 WD
Td = 2700m
Wk 8
200 WU
500 x 3 (70%)
200 x 1 (Tempo)
300 x 3 ( 70%, 70%, Tempo)
200 WD
Td = 3000m
Wk 9
200 WU
500 x 3 (70%)
200 x 1 (Tempo)
300 x 4 ( 70%, 80%,70%, 80% )
200 WD
Td = 3300m
Wk 10 (Death Session)
200 WU
500 x 3
200 x 2 (Tempo)
100 Wd
300 x 4 ( 70%, 80%,70%, 80% )
200 WD
Td = 3600m
Have a good day folks!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Glycogen Supercompensation (Carbo-Loading)
For athletes participating in aerobic activities lasting at least 90mins, carbo loading can play a crucial part in increasing and improving performance.
It can increase stored glycogen in muscles to about 3 to 4 times normal levels.
The full carbo loading process is listed below
Duration: 13 days
1st-7th day - (Hard exercise daily to deplete carbo stores to get body used to depleting and using carbo stores, but eat normally)
8th -10h day - ( Cut Carbs 50% each meal for first 3 days, continue to maintain light and short workouts, the 3rd day should see you eating less then 5% of your original carbo quantity. drop in level of carbs can be made up by high fat and high protein diet to keep full)
11-13th day - (Increase carb intake back to original levels i.e. 7th day, during the 3 days, eat almost exclusively carbohydrates i.e. lower fat intake and reduce protein intake to almost zero, eat as much carbs as you can ingest 3-5 times a day)
14th Day - (Race day)
How to know you've done it right?
1. You feel stiff and heavy (it can be due to water retention because every 1 gram of glycogen stored in muscle there will be 2.7gram of water stored too)
2. You've gain 2-3kgs (all comes from additional glycogen and water stores)
With all this said, bear in mind, that carbo-loading may leave you psychologically weaker and it takes its toll on your immune system. Hence, one must be ultimately careful to look out for any tell-tale warning signs during the process
It can increase stored glycogen in muscles to about 3 to 4 times normal levels.
The full carbo loading process is listed below
Duration: 13 days
1st-7th day - (Hard exercise daily to deplete carbo stores to get body used to depleting and using carbo stores, but eat normally)
8th -10h day - ( Cut Carbs 50% each meal for first 3 days, continue to maintain light and short workouts, the 3rd day should see you eating less then 5% of your original carbo quantity. drop in level of carbs can be made up by high fat and high protein diet to keep full)
11-13th day - (Increase carb intake back to original levels i.e. 7th day, during the 3 days, eat almost exclusively carbohydrates i.e. lower fat intake and reduce protein intake to almost zero, eat as much carbs as you can ingest 3-5 times a day)
14th Day - (Race day)
How to know you've done it right?
1. You feel stiff and heavy (it can be due to water retention because every 1 gram of glycogen stored in muscle there will be 2.7gram of water stored too)
2. You've gain 2-3kgs (all comes from additional glycogen and water stores)
With all this said, bear in mind, that carbo-loading may leave you psychologically weaker and it takes its toll on your immune system. Hence, one must be ultimately careful to look out for any tell-tale warning signs during the process
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Off-road in Ubin, Sat 29 Mar 08
Taking a break from Desaru, B, E & me headed to Ubin for a leisure off-road ride.
A good chance to test out my new Scott Contessa 30 & bike handling ability *gulp*
E & S walking to bum boat
Highlights of the ride:
Just before we hit the trails, a dog sprinted past B and me and chased furiously after E for a good 20m before it (luckily) ran out of steam *phew*
Explored a couple of bike trails eg Pumpkin trail, Outward Bound trails, German girl shrine trail and trail leading to Chek Jawa.
I had BIG trouble getting upslope cos not used to the gear levers on MTB and often got mixed-up trying to change from big to small chainring and vice versa & gear shifting for the front derailer wasn't smooth urgh...
E having fun while S dismounts to push bike DOWNSLOPE :-P
Ravenous after the 2h rollercoaster bumper ride, we made a pit-stop at the jetty Chinese restaurant with plastic bags of water hanging from the steel structure (try and guess what these are for next time you go there :-P) for brunch. Having whipped up a hearty apetite, we ordered hor fun, fried rice, fried noodle, hor fun noodle and coconut drinks.
Along the way to Chek Jawa (cobra hideout area) we spotted the upper and lower jaw skull of a wild boar with teeth and one razor sharp fang still intact.
Mine is bigger than yours!
Nice specimen for my collection :-D
E & B tried biking on Chek Jawa.
B almost became a permanent beach fixture when he got sucked in by the quick-sand-lookalike mud and E had to go to his rescue (err, he rescued B's bike instead haha) Plastered with mud up to his ankles, B's DS trainers got a brand new make-over :-P
(too bad no pics!)
On the way back, we met 2 rotund 'oldies' (Patrick & friend) at the drinks stall next to the bumboat jetty, who recommended kayaking as an alternative to cycling in Ubin. They'd brought their own 8k kayak over from Spore on the bumboat that morning and had it moored at Ubin. They volunteered to show us the back lanes of Rengit in Desaru too on MTB.
Notes:
1. 1st bumboat to Ubin leaves at 8am from Changi Point Ferry Terminal (next to Changi Village hawker ctr).
2. Bumboat ticket for 1 peron + bike: $4 (one-way)
3. Bumboat ride to Ubin: about 20min
4. Spray yourselves with insect repellent prior to ride and wear arm warmers to ward off spider webs, pesky flies, and other insects
5. Remember to put and reapply sunblock
A good chance to test out my new Scott Contessa 30 & bike handling ability *gulp*
E & S walking to bum boat
Highlights of the ride:
Just before we hit the trails, a dog sprinted past B and me and chased furiously after E for a good 20m before it (luckily) ran out of steam *phew*
Explored a couple of bike trails eg Pumpkin trail, Outward Bound trails, German girl shrine trail and trail leading to Chek Jawa.
I had BIG trouble getting upslope cos not used to the gear levers on MTB and often got mixed-up trying to change from big to small chainring and vice versa & gear shifting for the front derailer wasn't smooth urgh...
E having fun while S dismounts to push bike DOWNSLOPE :-P
Ravenous after the 2h rollercoaster bumper ride, we made a pit-stop at the jetty Chinese restaurant with plastic bags of water hanging from the steel structure (try and guess what these are for next time you go there :-P) for brunch. Having whipped up a hearty apetite, we ordered hor fun, fried rice, fried noodle, hor fun noodle and coconut drinks.
Along the way to Chek Jawa (cobra hideout area) we spotted the upper and lower jaw skull of a wild boar with teeth and one razor sharp fang still intact.
Mine is bigger than yours!
Nice specimen for my collection :-D
E & B tried biking on Chek Jawa.
B almost became a permanent beach fixture when he got sucked in by the quick-sand-lookalike mud and E had to go to his rescue (err, he rescued B's bike instead haha) Plastered with mud up to his ankles, B's DS trainers got a brand new make-over :-P
(too bad no pics!)
On the way back, we met 2 rotund 'oldies' (Patrick & friend) at the drinks stall next to the bumboat jetty, who recommended kayaking as an alternative to cycling in Ubin. They'd brought their own 8k kayak over from Spore on the bumboat that morning and had it moored at Ubin. They volunteered to show us the back lanes of Rengit in Desaru too on MTB.
Notes:
1. 1st bumboat to Ubin leaves at 8am from Changi Point Ferry Terminal (next to Changi Village hawker ctr).
2. Bumboat ticket for 1 peron + bike: $4 (one-way)
3. Bumboat ride to Ubin: about 20min
4. Spray yourselves with insect repellent prior to ride and wear arm warmers to ward off spider webs, pesky flies, and other insects
5. Remember to put and reapply sunblock
Monday, March 24, 2008
Running Drills
Here are some running drills I thought will be beneficial to all
- Butt Kick(Bringing heels to butt, fast for 10-20m)
- Knee Picking (High knee lifts)
- Downhill Running (gentle slope)
- Shuffling (Stationary and Moving)(Fast stepping)
- Arm Swing
- "A" March(Like China soldier)
- Straight Leg Bounding
Do share if you have anymore!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Are you burning Fat or Carbs
Based on a reserch done for a treadmill run lab recently (Subject being me), the results below show much of my fuel at my hr is from Fat and Carbs at different hr.
HR------------FAT%------Carbs%
68% hr -------90-----------10
70%hr--------70.3---------29.7
73.5%hr------55.8---------44.2
76.5%hr------60-----------40
90%hr--------30----------70
So if you want to burn fat, you know what to do...
HR------------FAT%------Carbs%
68% hr -------90-----------10
70%hr--------70.3---------29.7
73.5%hr------55.8---------44.2
76.5%hr------60-----------40
90%hr--------30----------70
So if you want to burn fat, you know what to do...
Adaptations
Adaptations
For many of us, we train to get leaner,meaner, and faster.
But do we know what we are training for? If you've read the title you'll be pretty sure that the objective of training is for the purpose of having certain adaptations which will enhance our performance
Adapatations occur in 4 different areas
For many of us, we train to get leaner,meaner, and faster.
But do we know what we are training for? If you've read the title you'll be pretty sure that the objective of training is for the purpose of having certain adaptations which will enhance our performance
Adapatations occur in 4 different areas
- Central
- Periphery
- Biochemical
- Metabolic
Central
- Involves the Heart and Cardio Vascular system
- Improving central adaptations involve increasing stroke volume through
- Left Ventricular Hyperthrophy
- Greater Elasticity of Cardiac Muscles
- More left Ventricular filling time
Periphery
- Involves the cellular and periphery regions(off course...)
- Increase in cell size
- Increasing Cell mitochrondria (powerhouse of cell)
- increasing Mayoglobin(transport o2 from cell membrane to mitochrondria) and haemoglobin(in blood, transport o2)
Biochemical
- Increasing glycogen storage
- Increasing enzymes for all energy systems (ATP-CP, Anaerobic, Aerobic)
- Increased ability for oxidation of fat rather then carbs
Metabolic
- Increased lactate buffering capability (ability to synthesise lactate)
- Decreased rate of lactate production
- Increased lactate treshold
- later lactate inflection point (as mentioned a few articals before)
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Team TriUmph Swim Program
For those who would like to know the Swimming Training Program for the next five weeks(Base and Volume Phase), I have planned it out. For Convenience next week will be week 1.
(swim session is at 3pm Kallang Basin Swimming Complex)
WU=warm up
WD=warm down
Td =Total distance
Wk 1.
200 WU
2x700m
100WD
2x300m (70%)
100WD
2x100m (Tempo)
200WD
Td= 2800m
Wk 2.
200 WU
2x800m
100WD
3 x200m (70%)
100WD
2x100m (Tempo)
200WD
Td= 3000m
Wk 3.
200 WU
2x900m
100WD
3x300m (70%)
200WD
Td= 3200m
Wk 4.
200 WU
2x1000m
100WD
2x300m (70%)
100WD
2x100m (Tempo)
200WD
Td= 3400m
Wk 5.
200 WU
2x1100m
100WD
4x200
1x100
200WD
Td= 3600m
(swim session is at 3pm Kallang Basin Swimming Complex)
WU=warm up
WD=warm down
Td =Total distance
Wk 1.
200 WU
2x700m
100WD
2x300m (70%)
100WD
2x100m (Tempo)
200WD
Td= 2800m
Wk 2.
200 WU
2x800m
100WD
3 x200m (70%)
100WD
2x100m (Tempo)
200WD
Td= 3000m
Wk 3.
200 WU
2x900m
100WD
3x300m (70%)
200WD
Td= 3200m
Wk 4.
200 WU
2x1000m
100WD
2x300m (70%)
100WD
2x100m (Tempo)
200WD
Td= 3400m
Wk 5.
200 WU
2x1100m
100WD
4x200
1x100
200WD
Td= 3600m
Monday, March 10, 2008
Mersing Ride, Mar 08
Mersing ride has always been an attraction for me. It brings back the old memories where at the spur of the moment, we decided to go there. The first gang was Johny, Choon Wei, Bernard and me. Sometime later, Yuen did the ride too. It has not always been successful, some team member could be sick, or bonk or come to his senses halfway during the ride (and decide to quit). Later, when we had the support vehicle, David, Yong Seng, Jax, Wesley came on board. Now the faithful gang: Bernard, Sharon and me. (I am sure David would have come, but he foolishly decided that his work is more important).
So with trepidation I approach this ride. I miss the Cameron's ride, and this is my first long ride for the year. Its kind of scary doing long rides like this without the proper base. I have stopped riding for a while due to not being able to wake up early enough. I am in a process of Dismantling. Its a new concept, it means getting fat, losing all your fitness and getting really lazy for a while, post IM. I have been battling imsomnia, and other health ailments. So I thought I get my health right first, before attempting to be fit. So far, it has not work. I gotten more ill, and less fit.
Experience tells me that after the 1st day, the legs will be shot, and the return journey will be tough. So for this ride, I am going to fuel continuosly, and with proper food, and keep the heart rate down, and to feel OK on Monday reporting to work. This means no pressing. Also, I am not going to down any gels or salt tablet for this ride, and see whether natural food is good enough. (The truth is natural food is always good enough. Natural food doesn't mean that the label says "Natural". My definition of natural means something that grow on trees, and not born in the factory).
To be continued.....
To be continued..
So with trepidation I approach this ride. I miss the Cameron's ride, and this is my first long ride for the year. Its kind of scary doing long rides like this without the proper base. I have stopped riding for a while due to not being able to wake up early enough. I am in a process of Dismantling. Its a new concept, it means getting fat, losing all your fitness and getting really lazy for a while, post IM. I have been battling imsomnia, and other health ailments. So I thought I get my health right first, before attempting to be fit. So far, it has not work. I gotten more ill, and less fit.
Experience tells me that after the 1st day, the legs will be shot, and the return journey will be tough. So for this ride, I am going to fuel continuosly, and with proper food, and keep the heart rate down, and to feel OK on Monday reporting to work. This means no pressing. Also, I am not going to down any gels or salt tablet for this ride, and see whether natural food is good enough. (The truth is natural food is always good enough. Natural food doesn't mean that the label says "Natural". My definition of natural means something that grow on trees, and not born in the factory).
To be continued.....
To be continued..
Energy Systems (2)
Now that we are aware of the different energy systems in our body.
The next thing to know would be, how to train them? I will give my perspective of training from my own training philosophy.
ATP-PC system
The next thing to know would be, how to train them? I will give my perspective of training from my own training philosophy.
ATP-PC system
- ATP PC or some call ATP CP system, provides the body with energy for short bursts (2-10seconds) of activity
- Though not as critical for triathletes, it still remains a component that needs to be trained
- Swimming - Short sprints (10x 15m) Recovery 30sec to 1 min
- Cycling - Short Sprints (10/20 x 20pedal revolutions at maximal intensity)
- Running- Short Sprints (10/20 x 20/30m) with high leg lifts and toe off movement
- One must be careful to watch the length of time at maximal intensity if not the issue of blood lactate would be there
Anaerobic System
- Provides energy 10seconds to 5mins(well trained athletes)
- Any maximal activity lasting up to 5mins with 30sec to 2 min duration each interval will improve anaerobic capacity
- it is best for "wacking people" at the final leg of the race, or making an overtaking move on someone during the bike leg
Aerobic System
- Provides almost all the energy for any exercise >5mins
- Extremely critical in Ultra sports
- Depending on the heart rate stated in the previous write up, you can improve on different aspects of your aerobic component
- Bear in mind, there is an aerobic system using Carbohydrates and also one using fat, so be extremely cautious when training (watch your heart rate closely)
*I will write more about Aerobic endurance training on my next post, it will cover mainly periodization.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Energy Systems Training(1)
More often then not, we train when there are "kakis" and as age groupers we have almost complete autonomy over what training we would like to do.
As such, it become absoultely necessary to understand what are we training for.
In this post, I shall write a bit about training for performance.
Basically there are 3 Major energy systems in our body,
As such, it become absoultely necessary to understand what are we training for.
In this post, I shall write a bit about training for performance.
Basically there are 3 Major energy systems in our body,
- ATP-PC (Adinosin Triphosphate- Phosphocreatine i.e. breaking down of Phosphate bonds for energy)
- Anaerobic Glycolysis (Breaking down of glycogen to produce ATP)
- Aerobic Glycolysis (Breaking down of Fats, Proteins, Carbohydrates with oxygen to produce energy)
ATP-PC
- Lasts for 2-10 seconds depending on athlete
Anaerobic Glycolysis
- Lasts for up to 2 mins
Aerobic Glycolysis
- Lasts "forever"
Basically in good training, we must be able to train all 3 systems but in different intesity. That means that because our sport is predominently Aerobic in nature, a greater degree of training should be in the aerobic zones.
However training aerobically is not all that simple, to do so requires careful attention spent on watching our heart rate (not the best method but the most convenient). The below is a heavily simplified version of what systems we are training at different heart rates.
- At 55-65%hr we are training our aerobic Fat metabolism
- at 66-75%hr we are training our Aerobic Glycolytic metabolism (no lactate produced)
- at 75%-90% hr we are training our Anaerobic glycolytic metabolism (lactate produced)
*I will write more about lactate soon :)
Hopefully with this knowledge we can better decide on what is are we training for
Mersing Ride, 1-2 Mar 08
100% success! woohoo! :-D
Three riders attempted and successfully completed a 2 day unsupported Mersing ride (1-2 Mar):
Bernard
Eric
Sharon
Despite the bad weather forecast of thunderstorms in Desaru & Mersing, the intrepid trio headed to Desaru by the usual 7.15am ferry on Sat 1 Mar. At Changi Ferry Terminal, to B's dismay, he realised that he'd left his water bottles and museli bars back home! :-( Thankfully, he'd remembered to bring along his new digital u/w camera, so by the end of the trip, we had a photo-journal to commemorate our ride. E was also not in good health, inflicted with a sniffling cold and a persistent dry cough :-(
On the ferry, we met up with a familiar acquaintance, Pascal (from Mauritius) and his friend, who were planning to do a shorter Desaru loop ride, heading back on the 3pm ferry. Turns out that the friend was in YF's Mon class haha!
Check-in at the Spore customs side was unusually lengthy due to the island-wide man hunt for escaped JI terrarist, Mas Selamat Kastari. This caused a delayed start to our ride out from Belungkor at 8.45am.
Contrary to Desaru's infamously hot and scorching sun, we experienced pleasantly cool cloudy weather right from the start :-) Taking it real easy (newbie pace haha), in a remarkably short time considering our slow speed, we reached Bandar Penawar, our 1st top-up point in about 1h10min.
A 20min break for drinks, food (1 Carman museli bar for me, a couple of coconut buns for B) and loo and we continued on towards Sedili Kechil. At close to 10am, it started raining and we were drenched within 5min. B stopped to put on a disposable raincoat and we merrily drafted behind him as the raincoat flapped in the wind and created wind resistance training effect for B hehe...
New cycling attire?
Due to the rain, we were saved from the usual monstrously strong headwinds heading towards Sedili, but drafting behind each other on wet roads meant facing the constant spray from the wheels of the rider infront.
Our next mini stop to rest our legs was at the "beach", our usual photo taking point for new riders to the Desaru-Sedili route :-) I took a gel, while B and E ate up the coconut buns B had bought for b'fast in Bandar P.
Our next destination was E's fav chicken rice stall at Sedili Besar, where E & B had a plate of chicken rice + semi-boiled runny egg, while I had a bun + soya bean + ice milo kosong.
Egg-shell shades heh heh
E, who was feeling poorly couldn't finish his portion and went over to the next door grocery store to buy fresh tomatos to munch on instead. Bananas were apparently in short supply.
Setting off after lunch was brrr...freezing due to our wet jerseys + tights and the super cold wind cycling up the 4 deg bridge! The undulating terrain beyond was familiar and strangely welcoming with the lush greenery on our left and right. We stopped for a quickie photo as the panaromic landscape was irresistable :-)
Double-vision :-P
We quickly passed the usual "landmark" points eg the police post, Edwin+Sharon's stop, Yuen's ice-cream stop and reached the junction to Tg Leman (skipped this of cos!), then headed towards the Y-junction to turn right towards Mersing.
We stopped at a small coffeeshop (next to toy store selling inflatable supermans with wrong blue color cape!) for a short hot milo break along the way to warm our insides. As the coffeeshop's loo was too disgusting to be used, we cycled on for abit and then made a loo break at Johnny's stop, which had proper male/ female toilets.
Thereafter, we had to cycle on the shoulder of the main road with cars, buses and trucks whizzing past at high speeds but generally giving a generous berth to us cyclists. This was the most challenging part of the Desaru-Mersing route as we faced even more undulating roads for the last 50km stretch and were feeling tired and saddle-numbed already from the long day's ride.
We experienced intermittant light drizzles along the way and while the nice cool weather helped to keep us fresh and "hydrated", the wet, cold and clammy feeling increased our discomfort esp our soggy socks and bike shoes :-(
Nearing Mersing, B spotted a shop selling bananas finally! We stopped for E to buy a bunch and we ate a couple as substitutes for energy gels :-P
We slowly made our way onwards and were mighty glad when we finally crossed into Mersing at about 5.10pm, way ahead of our earlier projected time of 6.30pm :-D
E was really suffering by now, having coughed up enough flam throughout the ride to fill a 1.5l bottle I reckon, and his fuel tank was almost empty already, so we decided to have an early dinner at our regular roadside makan place. Our sumptious dinner consisted of stir-fried leafy vege, old cucumber soup, hotplate egg+tofu, stir-fried wild boar and steamed fish for a very affordable RM$60. I gulped down loads of vitamins for "recovery", while B and E drank DIY Vit-C juice + orange gatorade mix instead. E bared his torso while getting changed into B's comfy and more importantly DRY IML tshirt at the makan place :-P
It rained again after dinner but stopped shortly after. We decided to split up - E headed to Timotel hotel to check-in and wash up, while B and I went "shopping" for groceries. At the clothing shop, B ended up bying an ah pek shirt to sleep in, 2 more "mini-me" sized M tees for himself and E and berms for E. Next was groceries, then to the pharmacy to get E's cough medicine + lozenges.
Laden with big and small plastic bags, our 5-grand bikes were temporarily transformed into market bikes as we headed back to Timotel.
High-end market bike hehe
Glad to finally step into the hotel room at 8pm+ and finally got changed out of our damp attire into nice fresh clean clothes. The room soon resembled a laundrette as wet clothes, socks, shoes were strewn all around on any available surface, hopefully to be dried by the next morning. All thoughts of bike cleaning flew out the window after I sank my tired limbs onto the comfy bed (I'd requested for 3 single beds arranged dormitory style in a row, costing RM196). The guys occupied their time by watching this really crappy B-grade Stallone action flick. For supper, B and me had a small Cadbury fruit+nut choc bar each + tuna chunks from the tin (B shared with E). We'd bought apples as well but only E ate 1, claiming he was too tired to wash the rest for us haha! To prep for the next day's ride, I mixed my drinks in advance- 2 bottles of Powerbar Endurance (fruit punch flavour) + 1 bottle of orange Gatorade.
We turned in early for the nite after much discussion about carbon wheelsets (B & E highly recommend Corima wheel, as an alternative to Zipps) (I counter-offered 1.2k for a togoparts seller's offer of 1.4k for Zipp 404 clinchers and the deal fell through... oh well...), hoping to get as much sleep and rest before the next day's long ride.
E snored throughout the nite and even muttered in his sleep *groan* Being light sleepers, E and me could only snatch bits of sleep while B slept soundly in slumberland zzzz...
I woke up at about 7.10am, headed to the loo for a wash-up and got changed into my still damp cycling attire. Popped my morning vitamins to start the day, then woke B up at 7.45am. E was still sleeping so B & I went for b'fast 1st. E joined us shortly after, looking remarkably fresh for a sick man :-p but didn't eat very much as his digestive system still wasn't running too well. B'fast done, the guys changed into cycling gear, we collected our bikes from the hotel's conference room (our usual storage bike space when we stayed at Timotel) and we set off an hour later than our planned time at close to 10am. A 5min stop to fill up B's & E's water bottles and off we went.
30min into the ride, rains came pouring down *groan!* So much for our attempt to dry our clothes the night before! B stopped to put on the disposable raincoat again, this time improving on the "aerodynamics" by poking holes in it to lessen wind resistance haha... Further up, E stopped at the grocery store to buy more bananas while B & I took shelter under a nearby bustop. We groaned in unison when we realised we'd left the bag of apples in our hotel room fridge at Timotel :-(
Thankfully the rains dried up after about 20min and we enjoyed fantastic weather from then on. Clearing the 1st 50km at a real slow and easy chit-chatting pace, we stopped at Johnny's stop for a meal + loo break.
B & E ate a full plate of rice + some vege + meat dishes, while I ate a Nature's Valley Cinnamon bar + ice milo kosong. By then E has consumed more than 10 bananas from the day before and along the ride that morning! He ate another one for dessert after consuming the rice, gave one to B and a slice of pineapple to me.
We continued our ride in amazingly cool weather conditions, similar to that of Camerons :-) B & E rode in front, chatting all the way, while wheel-sucker me happily drafted the two. After about 1.5h, B & E decided to exchange bikes for fun and I continued my slow solo ride ahead.
After about 20min, B & E caught up and lo and behold, B had gotten a puncture on his front wheel! I tried to re-sell to B the spare tube I'd bought from him earlier that morning, at 50% more of the price he sold me but B was having none of that haha! B kept the punctured tube to bring home for closer examination later as we couldn't the location of the puncture. The change took about 20min (I practised how to use a CO2 canister hehe) and we upped the pace after that to make up for time. Fortunately, we were aided by strong tailwind and we reached E's fav chicken rice stall at about 2pm. Thankfully the sun was out by now and helped to dry up our jerseys abit.
We stopped for a quick 15min drink + loo break then off we went. B pulled us at 30km/h from Besar to Kechil, then E took over. Shortly after passing the Kechil bridge, E exclaimed that he'd gotten a puncture too! Apparently a nail had penetrated his tire and punctured the tube underneath. Luckily he'd brought along 2 spare tubes as well and CO2 canisters. A 15min change and off we went again. B continued to pull us for a while then E took over, going at a pace that made B and me work hard and upped my HR ALOT, despite having the help of strong tailwinds! Upslope, we were going at 26-7km/h and on flats, >32km/h! Cresting the last long upslope, we coasted downslope at 50km/h for me, then we reached the flat coastal roads.
By this time, B was feeling fatigued in the legs, having wacked on Fri morning's Joyriders ride and pulling E and me for 1.5days. My legs were also tired already and soon we were dropped while E kept up the pace. I pulled B at a measely 27km/h to reach E about 200m ahead, who had slowed down and was waiting for us once he saw we were lagging behind. We continued riding two, sometimes three abreast at about 23-24km/h until we reached the Desaru roundabout. Stopping by the roadside, we had a 15min stretch + banana break. Timecheck, we had plenty of time left to head back to Belungkor for the 7pm ferry.
Clearing the last 2 Desaru slopes was a huge relief and we cycled slowly to Bandar P., reaching at about 4.05pm. Unfortunately, our usual coffeeshop was closed, much to E's disappointment as he was looking forward to the yummy Malay style dishes he favoured. Luckily another coffeeshop just ahead was open for biz and we stopped for a longish 1h break. B ordered a chicken pao, E had fresh peeled oranges and I ate another Carman museli bar + milo kosong + soya bean pkt drink. Both ate a hardboiled egg each too. The coffeeshop's loo was rosak (spoilt) so I headed to the bus terminal's loo instead for a poo :-P
We left at 5.15pm and B led the way along the busy main road (this stretch is always my least fav part of Desaru rides). E, who'd stopped for a pee break, soon caught up with us and pulled us the remainder of the way until we reached the junction to turn right into the 16km road leading to Belungkor. I made the right turn, narrowly missing being hit by an oncoming truck (so B claims, but I thought the truck was still a fair dist away when I made the turn!).
Filled with a sense of accomplishment and happy to be nearing the end of our ride, our pace was brisk along the 16km stretch. B and I were ahead at first while E continued to ride conservatively to maintain a steady below 140bpm HR. At one stretch, B pulled me along a slight downward incline at about the 8-9km mark until we hit top speed of 50km/h then we slowed down, only to be overtaken by E!
E & B then speeded up, and ended with a last 2km time trial upslope, hitting a HR of 168bpm for E and 172bpm for B! I rode aerobically for the last stretch, spinning to cool down for the last 1km. B was waiting at the junction of the road turning into Belungkor and took my pic for the photo journal.
E had riden straight to the sea edge just to check out if the makan stall there was opened. He was still having thoughts of getting a nice cooked meal to make up for the one he'd missed at Bandar P.
Looking good after 315km
We reached Belungkor Ferry Terminal at 6.10pm (took about 54min from Bandar P. to Belungkor). Hip Hip Hooray, WE DID IT! Against odds of bad weather, B's still recovering gastroenteritis, E's sick condition and my lack of cycling training, we completed our mission for the weekend and in pretty decent time too :-D
B's fav Ramly burger stall was opened and he ordered 2 for himself and 1 for E. I muched on my dried figs haha... We got changed into dry clothes and happily packed away our wet cycling gear. My right ankle was aching badly (B suspected it was achilles tendonitis ; I suspected it was because of the long hrs of riding with a "locked ankle" due to the lack of free float offered by the Shimano ultegra pedal :-( ), not to mention my aching upper quads and sore groin!
Despite all this, we were in high spirits on the ferry home :-D
Total dist cycled: 157.5km x 2 = 315km
Av spd Day 1: 23km/h
Av spd Day 2: 24.5km/h
Total cal burnt (for me): 6000 (3000 on each day)
B burnt about 10,000 cal I think!
Three riders attempted and successfully completed a 2 day unsupported Mersing ride (1-2 Mar):
Bernard
Eric
Sharon
Despite the bad weather forecast of thunderstorms in Desaru & Mersing, the intrepid trio headed to Desaru by the usual 7.15am ferry on Sat 1 Mar. At Changi Ferry Terminal, to B's dismay, he realised that he'd left his water bottles and museli bars back home! :-( Thankfully, he'd remembered to bring along his new digital u/w camera, so by the end of the trip, we had a photo-journal to commemorate our ride. E was also not in good health, inflicted with a sniffling cold and a persistent dry cough :-(
On the ferry, we met up with a familiar acquaintance, Pascal (from Mauritius) and his friend, who were planning to do a shorter Desaru loop ride, heading back on the 3pm ferry. Turns out that the friend was in YF's Mon class haha!
Check-in at the Spore customs side was unusually lengthy due to the island-wide man hunt for escaped JI terrarist, Mas Selamat Kastari. This caused a delayed start to our ride out from Belungkor at 8.45am.
Contrary to Desaru's infamously hot and scorching sun, we experienced pleasantly cool cloudy weather right from the start :-) Taking it real easy (newbie pace haha), in a remarkably short time considering our slow speed, we reached Bandar Penawar, our 1st top-up point in about 1h10min.
A 20min break for drinks, food (1 Carman museli bar for me, a couple of coconut buns for B) and loo and we continued on towards Sedili Kechil. At close to 10am, it started raining and we were drenched within 5min. B stopped to put on a disposable raincoat and we merrily drafted behind him as the raincoat flapped in the wind and created wind resistance training effect for B hehe...
New cycling attire?
Due to the rain, we were saved from the usual monstrously strong headwinds heading towards Sedili, but drafting behind each other on wet roads meant facing the constant spray from the wheels of the rider infront.
Our next mini stop to rest our legs was at the "beach", our usual photo taking point for new riders to the Desaru-Sedili route :-) I took a gel, while B and E ate up the coconut buns B had bought for b'fast in Bandar P.
Our next destination was E's fav chicken rice stall at Sedili Besar, where E & B had a plate of chicken rice + semi-boiled runny egg, while I had a bun + soya bean + ice milo kosong.
Egg-shell shades heh heh
E, who was feeling poorly couldn't finish his portion and went over to the next door grocery store to buy fresh tomatos to munch on instead. Bananas were apparently in short supply.
Setting off after lunch was brrr...freezing due to our wet jerseys + tights and the super cold wind cycling up the 4 deg bridge! The undulating terrain beyond was familiar and strangely welcoming with the lush greenery on our left and right. We stopped for a quickie photo as the panaromic landscape was irresistable :-)
Double-vision :-P
We quickly passed the usual "landmark" points eg the police post, Edwin+Sharon's stop, Yuen's ice-cream stop and reached the junction to Tg Leman (skipped this of cos!), then headed towards the Y-junction to turn right towards Mersing.
We stopped at a small coffeeshop (next to toy store selling inflatable supermans with wrong blue color cape!) for a short hot milo break along the way to warm our insides. As the coffeeshop's loo was too disgusting to be used, we cycled on for abit and then made a loo break at Johnny's stop, which had proper male/ female toilets.
Thereafter, we had to cycle on the shoulder of the main road with cars, buses and trucks whizzing past at high speeds but generally giving a generous berth to us cyclists. This was the most challenging part of the Desaru-Mersing route as we faced even more undulating roads for the last 50km stretch and were feeling tired and saddle-numbed already from the long day's ride.
We experienced intermittant light drizzles along the way and while the nice cool weather helped to keep us fresh and "hydrated", the wet, cold and clammy feeling increased our discomfort esp our soggy socks and bike shoes :-(
Nearing Mersing, B spotted a shop selling bananas finally! We stopped for E to buy a bunch and we ate a couple as substitutes for energy gels :-P
We slowly made our way onwards and were mighty glad when we finally crossed into Mersing at about 5.10pm, way ahead of our earlier projected time of 6.30pm :-D
E was really suffering by now, having coughed up enough flam throughout the ride to fill a 1.5l bottle I reckon, and his fuel tank was almost empty already, so we decided to have an early dinner at our regular roadside makan place. Our sumptious dinner consisted of stir-fried leafy vege, old cucumber soup, hotplate egg+tofu, stir-fried wild boar and steamed fish for a very affordable RM$60. I gulped down loads of vitamins for "recovery", while B and E drank DIY Vit-C juice + orange gatorade mix instead. E bared his torso while getting changed into B's comfy and more importantly DRY IML tshirt at the makan place :-P
It rained again after dinner but stopped shortly after. We decided to split up - E headed to Timotel hotel to check-in and wash up, while B and I went "shopping" for groceries. At the clothing shop, B ended up bying an ah pek shirt to sleep in, 2 more "mini-me" sized M tees for himself and E and berms for E. Next was groceries, then to the pharmacy to get E's cough medicine + lozenges.
Laden with big and small plastic bags, our 5-grand bikes were temporarily transformed into market bikes as we headed back to Timotel.
High-end market bike hehe
Glad to finally step into the hotel room at 8pm+ and finally got changed out of our damp attire into nice fresh clean clothes. The room soon resembled a laundrette as wet clothes, socks, shoes were strewn all around on any available surface, hopefully to be dried by the next morning. All thoughts of bike cleaning flew out the window after I sank my tired limbs onto the comfy bed (I'd requested for 3 single beds arranged dormitory style in a row, costing RM196). The guys occupied their time by watching this really crappy B-grade Stallone action flick. For supper, B and me had a small Cadbury fruit+nut choc bar each + tuna chunks from the tin (B shared with E). We'd bought apples as well but only E ate 1, claiming he was too tired to wash the rest for us haha! To prep for the next day's ride, I mixed my drinks in advance- 2 bottles of Powerbar Endurance (fruit punch flavour) + 1 bottle of orange Gatorade.
We turned in early for the nite after much discussion about carbon wheelsets (B & E highly recommend Corima wheel, as an alternative to Zipps) (I counter-offered 1.2k for a togoparts seller's offer of 1.4k for Zipp 404 clinchers and the deal fell through... oh well...), hoping to get as much sleep and rest before the next day's long ride.
E snored throughout the nite and even muttered in his sleep *groan* Being light sleepers, E and me could only snatch bits of sleep while B slept soundly in slumberland zzzz...
I woke up at about 7.10am, headed to the loo for a wash-up and got changed into my still damp cycling attire. Popped my morning vitamins to start the day, then woke B up at 7.45am. E was still sleeping so B & I went for b'fast 1st. E joined us shortly after, looking remarkably fresh for a sick man :-p but didn't eat very much as his digestive system still wasn't running too well. B'fast done, the guys changed into cycling gear, we collected our bikes from the hotel's conference room (our usual storage bike space when we stayed at Timotel) and we set off an hour later than our planned time at close to 10am. A 5min stop to fill up B's & E's water bottles and off we went.
30min into the ride, rains came pouring down *groan!* So much for our attempt to dry our clothes the night before! B stopped to put on the disposable raincoat again, this time improving on the "aerodynamics" by poking holes in it to lessen wind resistance haha... Further up, E stopped at the grocery store to buy more bananas while B & I took shelter under a nearby bustop. We groaned in unison when we realised we'd left the bag of apples in our hotel room fridge at Timotel :-(
Thankfully the rains dried up after about 20min and we enjoyed fantastic weather from then on. Clearing the 1st 50km at a real slow and easy chit-chatting pace, we stopped at Johnny's stop for a meal + loo break.
B & E ate a full plate of rice + some vege + meat dishes, while I ate a Nature's Valley Cinnamon bar + ice milo kosong. By then E has consumed more than 10 bananas from the day before and along the ride that morning! He ate another one for dessert after consuming the rice, gave one to B and a slice of pineapple to me.
We continued our ride in amazingly cool weather conditions, similar to that of Camerons :-) B & E rode in front, chatting all the way, while wheel-sucker me happily drafted the two. After about 1.5h, B & E decided to exchange bikes for fun and I continued my slow solo ride ahead.
After about 20min, B & E caught up and lo and behold, B had gotten a puncture on his front wheel! I tried to re-sell to B the spare tube I'd bought from him earlier that morning, at 50% more of the price he sold me but B was having none of that haha! B kept the punctured tube to bring home for closer examination later as we couldn't the location of the puncture. The change took about 20min (I practised how to use a CO2 canister hehe) and we upped the pace after that to make up for time. Fortunately, we were aided by strong tailwind and we reached E's fav chicken rice stall at about 2pm. Thankfully the sun was out by now and helped to dry up our jerseys abit.
We stopped for a quick 15min drink + loo break then off we went. B pulled us at 30km/h from Besar to Kechil, then E took over. Shortly after passing the Kechil bridge, E exclaimed that he'd gotten a puncture too! Apparently a nail had penetrated his tire and punctured the tube underneath. Luckily he'd brought along 2 spare tubes as well and CO2 canisters. A 15min change and off we went again. B continued to pull us for a while then E took over, going at a pace that made B and me work hard and upped my HR ALOT, despite having the help of strong tailwinds! Upslope, we were going at 26-7km/h and on flats, >32km/h! Cresting the last long upslope, we coasted downslope at 50km/h for me, then we reached the flat coastal roads.
By this time, B was feeling fatigued in the legs, having wacked on Fri morning's Joyriders ride and pulling E and me for 1.5days. My legs were also tired already and soon we were dropped while E kept up the pace. I pulled B at a measely 27km/h to reach E about 200m ahead, who had slowed down and was waiting for us once he saw we were lagging behind. We continued riding two, sometimes three abreast at about 23-24km/h until we reached the Desaru roundabout. Stopping by the roadside, we had a 15min stretch + banana break. Timecheck, we had plenty of time left to head back to Belungkor for the 7pm ferry.
Clearing the last 2 Desaru slopes was a huge relief and we cycled slowly to Bandar P., reaching at about 4.05pm. Unfortunately, our usual coffeeshop was closed, much to E's disappointment as he was looking forward to the yummy Malay style dishes he favoured. Luckily another coffeeshop just ahead was open for biz and we stopped for a longish 1h break. B ordered a chicken pao, E had fresh peeled oranges and I ate another Carman museli bar + milo kosong + soya bean pkt drink. Both ate a hardboiled egg each too. The coffeeshop's loo was rosak (spoilt) so I headed to the bus terminal's loo instead for a poo :-P
We left at 5.15pm and B led the way along the busy main road (this stretch is always my least fav part of Desaru rides). E, who'd stopped for a pee break, soon caught up with us and pulled us the remainder of the way until we reached the junction to turn right into the 16km road leading to Belungkor. I made the right turn, narrowly missing being hit by an oncoming truck (so B claims, but I thought the truck was still a fair dist away when I made the turn!).
Filled with a sense of accomplishment and happy to be nearing the end of our ride, our pace was brisk along the 16km stretch. B and I were ahead at first while E continued to ride conservatively to maintain a steady below 140bpm HR. At one stretch, B pulled me along a slight downward incline at about the 8-9km mark until we hit top speed of 50km/h then we slowed down, only to be overtaken by E!
E & B then speeded up, and ended with a last 2km time trial upslope, hitting a HR of 168bpm for E and 172bpm for B! I rode aerobically for the last stretch, spinning to cool down for the last 1km. B was waiting at the junction of the road turning into Belungkor and took my pic for the photo journal.
E had riden straight to the sea edge just to check out if the makan stall there was opened. He was still having thoughts of getting a nice cooked meal to make up for the one he'd missed at Bandar P.
Looking good after 315km
We reached Belungkor Ferry Terminal at 6.10pm (took about 54min from Bandar P. to Belungkor). Hip Hip Hooray, WE DID IT! Against odds of bad weather, B's still recovering gastroenteritis, E's sick condition and my lack of cycling training, we completed our mission for the weekend and in pretty decent time too :-D
B's fav Ramly burger stall was opened and he ordered 2 for himself and 1 for E. I muched on my dried figs haha... We got changed into dry clothes and happily packed away our wet cycling gear. My right ankle was aching badly (B suspected it was achilles tendonitis ; I suspected it was because of the long hrs of riding with a "locked ankle" due to the lack of free float offered by the Shimano ultegra pedal :-( ), not to mention my aching upper quads and sore groin!
Despite all this, we were in high spirits on the ferry home :-D
Total dist cycled: 157.5km x 2 = 315km
Av spd Day 1: 23km/h
Av spd Day 2: 24.5km/h
Total cal burnt (for me): 6000 (3000 on each day)
B burnt about 10,000 cal I think!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Body Composition and Weight Management
Recently there has been alot of talk about how to improve on body composition, here are some approaches/concepts that will help you understand it better.
There are 3 approaches to improving to improving body composition
1. Energy Balance Concept
There are 3 approaches to improving to improving body composition
1. Energy Balance Concept
- Any change in body weight is due to the equation ( Energy Intake > or <>
- Positive Balance (No good/Put on Weight) Energy Intake > Energy Expanditure
- Negative Balance (Only when intending to lose weight) Energy Intake <>
2. Fat Deficit Concept
- Dietary fat is more easily stored then both carbohydrates or proteins
- The balance between the Fat Intake and Fat Metabolism is critical if one is to lose fat
- Therefore Fat Intake -Fat Metabolism = (Figure should be negative) if you are intending to lose fat
3. Low Carbs diet Concept
- High Carbs diet promotes the use of carbs and impairs the rate of fat metabolism
- Low Carbs diet are less satiating (does not depress appetite as much) and leaves you hungry after only a short while
- High Carbs diet (espicially foods with high Glycemic Index i.e. GI) are more likely to spike insulin levels which then promotes fat storage.
- The insulin spiked by the carbohydrates not only promotes fat storage by also inhibits the metabolism of fat as the body's fuel
So, what you think works for you?
Fitness
Many of us participate in exercise for better fitness/health/wellness, but did you know that there are actually 2 major types of fitness and both of them will contributed to greater overall well being and decrease the rate of the onset of aging.
They are:
They are:
- Health related fitness
- Motor skill related fitness
Components under health related fitness include:
- Cardiorespiratory endurance
- Muscular Flexibility
- Muscular Endurance
- Muscular Strength
- Body composition
Components under Motor Skill related fitness include:
- Coordination
- Speed
- Power
- Agility
- Balance
- Reaction time
Therefore it is suffice to say that if you are able to work on all these components, studies have shown that you will greatly decrease the rate of aging in your body.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Congratulations!!!
Three friends undertook the ardous rite of passage in hot and hilly Langkawi on 23 Feb and emerged as newly minted Ironmen!
They did an awesome race, testiment to the months of training they had invested and sacrifices they had made over the past year.
Congratulations to Jie Xiang, Wesley & Marcus - You Are an IRONMAN! :-D
Jie Xiang's timing:
Swim: 1.20
T1: 9min
Bike: 6.04 (Av spd 29.7km/h)
T2: 13min
Run: 4.50
Total: 12.37
Wesley's timing
Swim: 1.23
T1: 6min
Bike: 6.23 (Av spd 28.2km/h)
T2: 9min
Run: 4.56
Total: 12.58
Marcus' timing
Swim: 1.34
T1: 8min
Bike: 6.37 (Av spd 27.2km/h)
T2: 8min
Run: 5.59
Total: 14.28
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Adaptation of Aerobic Training
Abstract: The highlighting of adaptative benefits of working out at aerobic zones
Definition - Aerobic zones 60-80% max Hr. (220-age)
When doing work out at 60-80% mHr. Zones, the benefits of your training include
Definition - Aerobic zones 60-80% max Hr. (220-age)
When doing work out at 60-80% mHr. Zones, the benefits of your training include
- Increased Stroke Volume - stroke volume is critical because it is a key component of cardiac out put [ Cardiac output (Q) = Hr x Stroke Volume (SV) ] there fore with higher SV, you are increasing the gross cardiac output
- Improvement in O2 transport - this is due to adaptations such as, increased arterial and venous efficiency(arteries become more "stretchy"
- Increase in blood volume
- Increase in capillary density (more pipeing in your engine)
- Improved metabolization of fat (due to adaptations such as increased enzyme concentration or increase amts of NAD and FAD which are iron protein carriers)
- Metabolic adaptations ( enzymes, co enzymes concentration and quantity are increased, larger amt of ATP stored in muscles)
Periodization (The basics)
Abstract: Debunking myths of the no pain no gain saying
In all training, there should be
In all training, there should be
- Preparatory period
- transition period
- competition period
- transition period
In essence, speed work should only be done during the competition period (which lasts a maximum time of 1month)
Preparatory period should include, training for strength (gym workout), Slowly increasing volume of training, retaining workout at very low intensity 60-70%max Hr.
Transition period is where you do aerobic treshold work, preferably at a level slightly lower then lactate inflection point (point where lactate in blood increases exponentially). At this stage, it is most recommended to work out at 70-80%max hr
-------------
Depending on the type of race, the greatest challenge is deciding how much time should be spend in the preparatory and transition phase. more often then not, Singaporeans train way past this limit resulting in injury, overtaining illness, psychological burnout.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
I'm losing weight but not losing fat, or am i?
Here is the scenario,
A male triathlete who has 25% body weight and weighs 80kg's wants to have a 10% body fat. What is the target body weight?
Answer is 66.7kg
do some calculations first, then look below
here is how its done,
Fat free body mass = 80kg x 0.75 = 60kg
target body weight = 60kg x 1.1 = 66kg
Therefore, if you have lost weight, but fat percentile remains the same, do not lose heart! you are doing fine. All you have to do is maintain your RM (resting metabolic rate)
-Bernard
A male triathlete who has 25% body weight and weighs 80kg's wants to have a 10% body fat. What is the target body weight?
Answer is 66.7kg
do some calculations first, then look below
here is how its done,
Fat free body mass = 80kg x 0.75 = 60kg
target body weight = 60kg x 1.1 = 66kg
Therefore, if you have lost weight, but fat percentile remains the same, do not lose heart! you are doing fine. All you have to do is maintain your RM (resting metabolic rate)
-Bernard
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Desaru-Sedili Ride, 12 Jan 08
7 riders had a good adrenaline-pumping bike workout on Sat 12 Jan:
Bernard
Eric
Jie Xiang aka Jax
Marcus
David
Chris
Sharon
Weather was excellent, if abit scorching. Strong headwinds towards Sedili Kerchil made the journey there abit of a battle but soon-to-be IMers (J & M) and 2x IM B made short work of the ride, averaging 30km/h. Meanwhile, poor unfit me turtled along, with kind "escort" Eric reigning in his turbo-charged engine, accompanying me at a paltry 20km/h :P
The "Beach"
The off-seasoners (E, D, me) & feeling under the weather C took refuge at E's fav chicken rice stall in Sedeli Besar, while the super sonic trio (M, J, B) powered their way up the 4 degree highway and flattened the numerous hills beyond...
Journey back to Bandar Penawas was super! Aided by the strong tailwind, I hit a max of 54km down a long descending slope :) We had another long makan/ rest while the trio made their way back, averaging 40km/h phew!
The soon-to-be IMers
The final 16km stretch towards Belungkor had everyone (except C & me) in serious time trial mode, instigated by B and egged on by the rest. C & me didn't even have a chance to smell their dust before they vrrrroooommmmed off into the sunset...
Their efforts were roundly rewarded with an authentic Ramly burger at the ferry terminal :)
Total distance for the trio: 220km (i think)
Total distance for the off-seasoners aka slackers: 150km :D
Bernard
Eric
Jie Xiang aka Jax
Marcus
David
Chris
Sharon
Weather was excellent, if abit scorching. Strong headwinds towards Sedili Kerchil made the journey there abit of a battle but soon-to-be IMers (J & M) and 2x IM B made short work of the ride, averaging 30km/h. Meanwhile, poor unfit me turtled along, with kind "escort" Eric reigning in his turbo-charged engine, accompanying me at a paltry 20km/h :P
The "Beach"
The off-seasoners (E, D, me) & feeling under the weather C took refuge at E's fav chicken rice stall in Sedeli Besar, while the super sonic trio (M, J, B) powered their way up the 4 degree highway and flattened the numerous hills beyond...
Journey back to Bandar Penawas was super! Aided by the strong tailwind, I hit a max of 54km down a long descending slope :) We had another long makan/ rest while the trio made their way back, averaging 40km/h phew!
The soon-to-be IMers
The final 16km stretch towards Belungkor had everyone (except C & me) in serious time trial mode, instigated by B and egged on by the rest. C & me didn't even have a chance to smell their dust before they vrrrroooommmmed off into the sunset...
Their efforts were roundly rewarded with an authentic Ramly burger at the ferry terminal :)
Total distance for the trio: 220km (i think)
Total distance for the off-seasoners aka slackers: 150km :D
Monday, January 7, 2008
Pulau Punggol Barat and Timur
B and me sneak into the Punggol Islands. I once went with J, but we only managed Pulau Punggol Barat. This time we went to the Timur one. In Malay, pulau means island. Barat means West, and Timur means East.
No swimming is required. The islands are connected by a new narrow bridge.
The whole island (Punggol Timur) is covered by a huge stockpile of granite. It is meant for building HDB houses.
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