Let me tell what I think about intensity & training.
I've been involved in sports for more than half of my 35 years living on this earth. I've been involved in competitive sports, up until the highest regional level, & now I consider myself a fitness enthusiast & I still play some games just for fun although the bulk of my activity consist of running & weights. I've always been interested in sports science & have always applied sports science in whatever sports I'm playing.
There's no right or wrong methods when it comes to training. But there are some fitness myths & urban legends I'd say, some which are totally incorrect. Some methods work for some ppl, it might not work for some ppl. Some believe in high intensity training, some dun. There are millions of studies dome by reputable institutions. But those studies sometimes are done with specific samples, & most of them are done by countries like Australia, USA, European countries which are already far ahead of us in terms of sports science. & the results for those studies normally are never concrete or set in stone, they are merely suggestions. If U read these studies U'll notice the word "suggest" & its derivatives used extensively.
Back in the early 90s the belief is that to burn more fat U have to exercise at 60% of Ur max heart rate. Then when there were more improvements in the technology, we discovered that max heart rate is not a correct benchmark to be used in training or exercising, they came out with AT or anaerobic threshold, the point where human body is in the state of oxygen-debt. Then some scientists suggest that LT or Lactate Threshold is a better benchmark. LT is the point where our muscles began to produce lactic acid. This benchmark was used by the 1996 US Olympic team in their training. so which one is correct ?
I believe that if U want quick results & if Ur an athlete, high intensity is the way to go. But I shud warn that high intensity is not for everybody, merely becoz of the punishment it gives to Ur body. & it might be very demotivating for some ppl. So for these ppl, it's perfectly okay to go slow, at 60% of Ur max heart rate. This will work for working ppl, ppl who just wanna do something to burn excess energy or fat. But the trade off is the effect might be so slow that by the time U notice it, U've began to counter the effects by eating, etc.
Perhaps the best way is to mix it up. If U study most training programs for most athletes, there are the so-called hard days, in which U really push Urself at the highest intensity. These are the days that is most effective in Ur training, Ur training under race conditions. Then there are tempo days, in which U train at a high intensity but not high enuff to match race/competition conditions. Then there are easy days, in which U go really, really easy. I believe this is the best way to maximize fat-burning & to increase endurance & lose some weight.
Livestrong.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
New Balance MR759
New for 2011 !!!
This would proly be the only running shoes I'll be able to acquire for the new season 2011. Reason being I've gotta save some money for our upcoming baby (8 months away though) & I actually have 3 active shoes from last year. More on that later.
I bought this shoe using the 30% discount coupon I got from Penang Bridge. I'd planned to use it on a new pair of heavy, durable trainer as a replacement for my Newton Neutral Racer, which has been upgraded as my half marathon race shoes. All runners will get that New Balance 30% off coupon by entering any NB-sponsored race & this is the 1st time I've used the coupon. My decision to buy my first ever NB shoes is based on the fact that NB actually makes one of the best running shoes & it doesn't actually cost tht much. I've been eager to try NB & I guess the time is right.
I've been considering a few NB models, one of them is lightweight trainer/racer 828. But what I need is actually a shoe tht can go the distance, more than 500km. So far only my Mizuno Wave Aero has ever achieved 500km or more. So after much consideration, I finally settled on the not-so-heavyweight & neutral MR759.
The 759 is categorized as a cushioning shoe in NB website. & for a good reason. The amount of cushioning is just massive. NB's best cushioning shoe is 1064 & the 759 is the lightest of the cushioning shoes at 11oz. Heel drop is massive, the heel is even taller than my retired Mizuno Crusader 2. Not really a surprise with Abzorb cushioning.
The highlight of the NB cushioning technology is the Abzorb, which is placed at the heel. These looks just like Nike's Shox elastomers, albeit maybe a bit softer. But since I'm a predominantly a forefoot striker, it's very likely that the heel cushioning will barely be able to see action. I had to search 2-3 shopping malls before finally finding the size US11 I need for this shoe. Normally I'd take a size 11.5 or 12, but the shoe fits wide, so 11 is fine for me. The wide forefoot makes this shoe feels very roomy upfront, & I had to tie my laces extra tight to prevent heel slippage. I tried to tie my shoes differently but with that lacing it felt a little tight & restrictive of my heel movement. So I decided to go with the conventional lacing.
Much thought has been given into the design of the shoe & also the outsole, signifying the wide experience of New Balance in producing running shoes. The outer part of the forefoot & inner part of the rearfoot was built with a very durable Ndurance material. The 1064 had a very thin Abzorb material at the forefoot, which aids in forefoot cushioning, but I found it too heavy & thick, which sacrifices road feel. & it's very comfortable, proly my most comfy shoes to date. The extra width, the extra cushioning all contributed to the comfort. The forefoot is thick enuff to give extra cushioning but thin enuff to allow sufficient road feel. I've yet to try this shoe for LSD runs, but I bet it's gonna be superb & proly I can go further with less fatigue.
With a pricetag of RM300 (RM230 after discount), this shoes is a real bargain. Looking forward to an enhanced running experience with the 759.
Livestrong.
This would proly be the only running shoes I'll be able to acquire for the new season 2011. Reason being I've gotta save some money for our upcoming baby (8 months away though) & I actually have 3 active shoes from last year. More on that later.
I bought this shoe using the 30% discount coupon I got from Penang Bridge. I'd planned to use it on a new pair of heavy, durable trainer as a replacement for my Newton Neutral Racer, which has been upgraded as my half marathon race shoes. All runners will get that New Balance 30% off coupon by entering any NB-sponsored race & this is the 1st time I've used the coupon. My decision to buy my first ever NB shoes is based on the fact that NB actually makes one of the best running shoes & it doesn't actually cost tht much. I've been eager to try NB & I guess the time is right.
I've been considering a few NB models, one of them is lightweight trainer/racer 828. But what I need is actually a shoe tht can go the distance, more than 500km. So far only my Mizuno Wave Aero has ever achieved 500km or more. So after much consideration, I finally settled on the not-so-heavyweight & neutral MR759.
The 759 is categorized as a cushioning shoe in NB website. & for a good reason. The amount of cushioning is just massive. NB's best cushioning shoe is 1064 & the 759 is the lightest of the cushioning shoes at 11oz. Heel drop is massive, the heel is even taller than my retired Mizuno Crusader 2. Not really a surprise with Abzorb cushioning.The highlight of the NB cushioning technology is the Abzorb, which is placed at the heel. These looks just like Nike's Shox elastomers, albeit maybe a bit softer. But since I'm a predominantly a forefoot striker, it's very likely that the heel cushioning will barely be able to see action. I had to search 2-3 shopping malls before finally finding the size US11 I need for this shoe. Normally I'd take a size 11.5 or 12, but the shoe fits wide, so 11 is fine for me. The wide forefoot makes this shoe feels very roomy upfront, & I had to tie my laces extra tight to prevent heel slippage. I tried to tie my shoes differently but with that lacing it felt a little tight & restrictive of my heel movement. So I decided to go with the conventional lacing.
Much thought has been given into the design of the shoe & also the outsole, signifying the wide experience of New Balance in producing running shoes. The outer part of the forefoot & inner part of the rearfoot was built with a very durable Ndurance material. The 1064 had a very thin Abzorb material at the forefoot, which aids in forefoot cushioning, but I found it too heavy & thick, which sacrifices road feel. & it's very comfortable, proly my most comfy shoes to date. The extra width, the extra cushioning all contributed to the comfort. The forefoot is thick enuff to give extra cushioning but thin enuff to allow sufficient road feel. I've yet to try this shoe for LSD runs, but I bet it's gonna be superb & proly I can go further with less fatigue.
With a pricetag of RM300 (RM230 after discount), this shoes is a real bargain. Looking forward to an enhanced running experience with the 759.
Livestrong.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
2011
Happy New Year !!! Well, okay, it's the 4th day of 2011 already & it may sound belated, but what the heck !! Well, as some of y'all might have known edi, the reason I'm very, very excited about 2011 is that my wife & I will be welcoming a new member to our family in 8 months' time !! Finally. After 7 pretty long & challenging years, we're gonna have a complete family. Allah knows how thankful I am for this mighty great gift. Although raising a kid in this era is no easy task, we're gonna try & be the best parent tht we can be.
Sick
Well, I celebrated 2011 with a cold. Lemme tell U tht cold is proly one illness that can really bring me down. Although in 2009, I ran the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 10K with a cold, it can really bother me sometimes. I didn't really know how it started, but I guess it was a culmination of all those outstation trips I've been to for the past 4 weeks or so, beginning with the JKTU recon trip early in December. Ending with the ascent up the pretty chilly Gunung Jerai in the final week of December, I guess I deserved the rest. I missed a couple of days of training as a result.
2011 season
I'ma have to do things slightly differently this season, as my wife's due in late August & I proly won't be able to do much for the rest of the year. So I'ma have to do all my major races before August. Last year I did some mistakes :
1. After PSKK I pretty much didn't follow a set program, everything was ad hoc
2. I put my running around my weight training,instead of vice versa
3. I screwed up big time on my weight training, resulting in an under-developed body
So to fix it this year, these are what I'm gonna do :
1. Focus on running up until May or June, around time for PSKK
2. During that period, I'ma run 4 times a week, & do weights twice, with 1 full rest day
3. I'ma try to run in 2 sessions on my running days, proly waking up early morning to do easy 30 mins, just to kick things off
4. I'ma set 2 races as my primary race to set my PB this year : the Energizer & Setia Alam
5. My PB target would be to go sub 2-hour, maybe 1:45-1:50 (very ambitious, but I'll try)
6. For PSP, I'ma focus on throwing & proly jumping event, most proly javelin, discus, triple & long jump.
7. If there's one track event I wanna do, it'd be the mile (1,500m)
8. For that period, it's gonna be 3 weights sessions per week.
Considering that my fastest 10K is 55 mins this year (distance is questionable though), a 1:45 half mara is pretty ambitious target. At that pace, I can finish the half mara in 1:56 proly. But that is my target & Ive got all the time in the world to work towards it.
My primary mistake this year was I designed my running training around my weights, which shud be the other way round. I'll refocus on weights for my field events.
Also, my wife's pregnancy means that I'ma have to train more closer to home. I'd proly have to do more weight work at home, since I have most of the equipment at home. Proly I'ma have to add some more weight plates & proly get another set of dumbbells.
Well, I hope this year will be a more successful year in terms of running. & I certainly hope our child will brighten up our lives more than ever before.
Livestrong.
Sick
Well, I celebrated 2011 with a cold. Lemme tell U tht cold is proly one illness that can really bring me down. Although in 2009, I ran the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 10K with a cold, it can really bother me sometimes. I didn't really know how it started, but I guess it was a culmination of all those outstation trips I've been to for the past 4 weeks or so, beginning with the JKTU recon trip early in December. Ending with the ascent up the pretty chilly Gunung Jerai in the final week of December, I guess I deserved the rest. I missed a couple of days of training as a result.
2011 season
I'ma have to do things slightly differently this season, as my wife's due in late August & I proly won't be able to do much for the rest of the year. So I'ma have to do all my major races before August. Last year I did some mistakes :
1. After PSKK I pretty much didn't follow a set program, everything was ad hoc
2. I put my running around my weight training,instead of vice versa
3. I screwed up big time on my weight training, resulting in an under-developed body
So to fix it this year, these are what I'm gonna do :
1. Focus on running up until May or June, around time for PSKK
2. During that period, I'ma run 4 times a week, & do weights twice, with 1 full rest day
3. I'ma try to run in 2 sessions on my running days, proly waking up early morning to do easy 30 mins, just to kick things off
4. I'ma set 2 races as my primary race to set my PB this year : the Energizer & Setia Alam
5. My PB target would be to go sub 2-hour, maybe 1:45-1:50 (very ambitious, but I'll try)
6. For PSP, I'ma focus on throwing & proly jumping event, most proly javelin, discus, triple & long jump.
7. If there's one track event I wanna do, it'd be the mile (1,500m)
8. For that period, it's gonna be 3 weights sessions per week.
Considering that my fastest 10K is 55 mins this year (distance is questionable though), a 1:45 half mara is pretty ambitious target. At that pace, I can finish the half mara in 1:56 proly. But that is my target & Ive got all the time in the world to work towards it.
My primary mistake this year was I designed my running training around my weights, which shud be the other way round. I'll refocus on weights for my field events.
Also, my wife's pregnancy means that I'ma have to train more closer to home. I'd proly have to do more weight work at home, since I have most of the equipment at home. Proly I'ma have to add some more weight plates & proly get another set of dumbbells.
Well, I hope this year will be a more successful year in terms of running. & I certainly hope our child will brighten up our lives more than ever before.
Livestrong.
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