REAL SPARTAN WARRIOR (win entry to a Spartan Race in the UK or a signed copy of "Natural Born Heroes".

When the word Spartan is mentioned you may think of the movie 300 where Gerard Butler frolics around sporting killer abs, a badass beard and destroying everything in his path.

All those attributes totally kick butt however aren't necessarily pre-requisites for entering a Spartan Race. They now have added a junior course and you'll see men and women of all shapes, sizes and ethnic backgrounds compete.

One common site at the finish line is smug people bearing a finishers medal and walking (or hobbling) away with the greatest sense of achievement.

Our Spartan team were 10 strong, 7 of which females.  One had never entered a race of any sort and said it was up there with the top of her all time achievements.

The team attended my HIIT class workouts which involved box jumps, burpees, crawling, Kettle bells and TRX training to get them up to pace with the course demands.

The Spartan Sprint medal is great and everyone should be proud of this... But... there is a slightly annoying itch knowing there is still a Super and a Beast to conquer the trifecta and missing medal parts.

With upcoming events in South Wales, Scotland and Manchester there is plenty of opportunity bag the trifecta!

 http://spartanraceuk.uk/ use code: BLOGGER15 for 10% off any UK race.

So what does it take to be a Spartan Warrior?

I attended a book launch in the week of the race for Christopher McDougall's new book "Natural Born Heroes". Christopher speaks passionately about natural movement, the role of fascia (connective tissue), elasticity and momentum which was music to my ears. How we've learnt in the past to use our fascial slings (meridians) to our advantage in order to survive and display heroic acts on limited fuel during wars and critical events. Training muscles individually may gain hypertrophy (muscle growth) but in hindsight can cause imbalances or even injuries which sap you dry of energy when it comes to performing functional movements such as climbing, throwing, jumping, lunging and running.

Christopher introduced the Parkour Generations team onto the stage performing crazy flips, hangs, jumps and advanced movements from a makeshift scaffolding frame. Now to most this seems impossible but to them it was effortless and performed without breaking a sweat. This is due to loading the body, training the mind and respecting certain mechanical rules and disciplines to create a efficient and smooth display of athleticism.

I had a light bulb moment and went home to watch youtube clips of Parkour athletes hopping up 10 foot plus walls and how a military rope climb technique means you load your whole body from feet to fingers reach the top without relying on just your grip strength and upper body. All this information is key to completing each obstacle at a Spartan Race without having to do burpees.

It's no surprise to see Floyd Mayweather Junior adding hours of woodchopping to his preparation for his recent fight!

I've been taught and inspired by some of the best in the industry including Michol Dalcourt (inventor of the Vipr) to Randy Hetrick (inventor of TRX and ex Navy Seal) and Phil Richards (world class Rugby, Boxing and Football conditioning coach) they all agree that total body dynamic training and work capacity are key to any successful training plan.

Randy Hetrick TRX

Michol Dalcourt VIPR

Phil Richards Performance

Thanks for reading, get out there and attempt new movements and challenges, keep your body guessing... Hell summer is near (in the UK) now is a better time than any!

GIVEAWAYS

Reebok Spartan Race UK are giving one of my lucky readers a free entry towards a UK Spartan Race.

To enter follow follow @lukedmarshall and @spartanraceuk on instagram. Take a photo of yourself doing a Spartan style workout using #realspartanwarrior

I also have 2 signed Copies of Christopher Mcdougall's new book "Natural Born Heroes" thanks to Profile Books as part of the giveaway.

I will judge best photo's and winner will be announced on Instagram. 

AROO!

Are YOU a SURVIVOR!

At Move Three Sixty we take enormous pride in our ability to maintain optimal health at every possible level, so it was no surprise when I mentioned the Men's Health Survival of the Fittest obstacle race in London that other team members would pursue.

Soon enough Diagnostic Nutritionist Hannah Richards and fellow Elite Trainer Kazz Azim were signed up.

THE MOVE THREE SIXTY EXPERTS

Hannah Richards Co-director and Diagnostic Nutritionist at Move Three Sixty
Athletic Background: Competitive Hurdler

Kaz Azim Elite Trainer at Move Three Sixty
Athletic Background: Combat Athlete

Yours Truly: Elite Trainer at Move Three Sixty and Luke Marshall Performance
Athletic Background: Rugby Athlete

I managed also to bully five clients to sign up, across the board we had a group of fairly experienced runners and gym goers though they didn't know what to expect and knew they had their work cut out for them.

THE BUILD UP

HIIT CLASSES

HIIT operates twice a week at the Move Three Sixty gym. Tuesday bright and early 6:45am and Saturday at 11am. HIIT workouts (High Intensity Interval Training) became an essential element of the conditioning program. People who attended regular sessions gathered amazing  results in both fitness and strength using a diverse range of equipment such as battle ropes, kettle bells, club bells, TRX and body weight drills such as reptilian crawling, plyometrics and speed training. 

Power Stepper (lots of stairs at Wembley).

Harness Speed Work

TRX Single leg work 

PRIVATE TRAINING

Solid Hip Extension and Stabilty (bring the Gluts)...

Dead-lifting variations

Man Makers (brutal total body exercise)

TRX Muscle up to low Push Up

                                      

Each individual religiously trained with a trainer twice a week building the required strength for race demands. Outside of the workouts they were advised to perform some run training which included Fartlek and hill sprints.

Obstacle races are mostly around 80% running so it is imperative to add these sessions to the planner.

THE RACE

Arriving at Wembley Stadium to be confronted by towering obstacles, water pools and hay bail hurdles the nerves inevitably kicked in.

The banter from the group was thrown generously in my direction for signing everybody up. You could see the very height of the infamous WALL OF FAME as we glared towards a finish line that seemed comparable to escaping Alcatraz as we discussed the mission ahead.

Fortunately Claud Serjeant (Co-Director and Rehabilitation Therapist at Move Three Sixty) joined to cheer us on, take photos (and act as physio). Claud had been working on my injured foot (from a fall I had in the summer) for a handful of sessions leading up to the race. Having him on site to tape it gave me a huge boost in confidence towards the race.

Claud Serjeant working some magic for a pain free race!

Soon enough we were at the start gate staring down the line of hay bails that emerged in the distance... The grey and dull skyline suited the occasion as we bolted for the hay trying not to trip over the herds of people galloping around us, we eventually were able to stretch the legs out but it wasn't long before flights of stairs and weighted objects were thrown in our direction. There was no escaping now!

                                     

Once settling into the race we came across some less traditional obstacles but with some serious novelty value such as a giant slippery slide lubricated with wash up liquid, basketball hoops, bouncy castles and a rave room YES thats right a DOOF... DOOF... RAVE ROOM! (smoke machine, strobe lights and techno music blasting) to some less favourable obstacles such as a kilometre of stream water that ranged from knee to waist deep... it was super cold and yes a bit pungent in smell.

After the water struggle, a run though a grassy muddy field and a lengthy road run you could sense the finish line as Wembley Stadium came into sight again. The race however was far from over as some of the more physically demanding and challenging obstacles piled up ahead. 

By now we were battle hardened and nothing was going to stop us, not even the 8 foot WALL OF FAME... 

On the overground back to London everyone had a massive smile and were super high on endorphins. There were tweets and emails in the following weeks over which obstacle event to sign up to next. 

These events are truly addictive but I will say put in an intensive preparation program as I saw a few people carried off on stretches. Look after that body "One Body One Chance"....

5 Gym Gold Nuggets

1. Crush the bar.

No matter what the lift wether it's flat bench, dead-lifts or cleans upon first touch of the iron rod get a grip as if you're trying to crush a soda can. This excites your nervous system, and causes receptors/motor units to prepare your body for the lift.

                              

2. Attitude is a choice!

I've trained a few athletes/clients who've come to me saying they're having a below par (sh#t) day. The thing is if you have one of these days on match day you still have to rise to the occasion. Best thing to do is rate your day with a percentage, let's say it’s a 60% day, make it your best 60% day possible... You could go for the same program thats been set out on that given day but lessen the volume of work.

You never know might just surprise yourself!

3. What is your Underlying Motive!

This is probably the most important factor to acknowledge in terms of getting the best results possible. I see so many clueless zombies approaching the gym with no goal, no motive or direction. You have to want and know the end result you’re trying to achieve. 

The most common answer I get is "I want to tone up and lose weight" ummm hello, slap yourself immediately! 

Here's some real motives:

My husband left me, I have low self confidence and I want to look great at my best friends wedding in 4months. (ok that took some digging). 

I want to walk again. (She did)! (after 6months and medical practitioners had written her chances off).

I feel insecure in the changing rooms around other players and I want to improve my athletism so I don't get cut from the team. 

Soz not soz...

4. Always Build Strength and Fitness on a Solid Foundation.

If you have achy joints, dodgy posture, muscle imbalances, reoccurring injures etc You need to work on these areas before trying out complex lifts (such as olympic lifting). This is where many people have failed. Depending on your training age (how many weeks, months, years) you’ve been an athlete or gym goer it is detrimental you do the preparatory work before complex lifting.

A good trainer will always work on form, muscular imbalances and corrective needs prior to flogging a dead horse so to speak!

5. Let Food be thy Medicine.

Fats, Carbs and Protein are all essential nutrients for your body and the way it functions so cutting back will leave you feeling terrible.

Drink plenty of water and ditch the carbonated, sugary or caffienated drinks.

Keep it simple and try to prepare your meals a day ahead so you don’t over indulge or cause mindless eating.

You know what real food is: things that grew in the ground, on a tree, came out of the sea, ran on the land, or flew through the air.  Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts are all great examples of REAL food.

On top of that, you know what crap food is: food that comes from a drive-thru window, a vending machine, box, bag, or wrapper.  If it has an ingredient list longer than A Game of Thrones, it’s probably not good for you.  If it started out as real food and then went through fourteen steps to get to the point where you’re about to eat it, it’s probably not good for you.

10 week transformation

Week 1 of 10 week Transformation

I freaking love my job... I meet people from all walks of life whom all have unique goals and motives for hiring a personal trainer. More than anything I love a challenge. As much as it’s a job for the trainer to plan in order to get results you need a dedicated client that is willing to put in the hard yards and commit to the set plan. When the going gets tough, fatigue sets in you have to remind one of the goal/ end result to ultimately create a NEVER GIVE UP ATTITUDE leaving no room for failure.

Everyone responds to training differently depending on genetics, lifestyle, hormones, sleep patterns, nutrition, stress and age. If you can iron out a few of your vices (namely late boozy nights and junk food) nest up at a decent hour and you might have a chance of succeeding in the gym. Always sort your health out and stress levels before loading physical stress to your system.

Diego (pictured) he loved a night out, his stress levels were rather high and he mainly focussed his workouts on cardio-vascular activities such as running, boxing and classes at his local gym. 

Together we set a challenge of 10weeks to get him ripped and beach body ready. To add a little competitive twist we got his workmates to each pay £100 towards an office biggest loser competition (highly competitive environment) 11 people signed up and the weigh-in commenced. The winner was the person who had the biggest percentage loss of body-fat. (Trainers out there reading, I highly recommend this type of competition in your facility) I’ve never seen the gym so busy!

To Diego's surprise in the first 3 weeks I told him he needed to raise his calorie intake (good calories), ditch the cardio for now and focus on getting strong.

We utilised heavy compound lifts tapering to some isolated muscles in a split program of Anterior Chain/Posterior Chain and Total body dynamic training. 

Example Anterior:

Front Squat. 5/5 (sets/reps)

Flat Bench

Incline Press 

Arnold Press

TRX standing Triceps

Staggered Push ups

Example Posterior:

Conventional Dead lift 5/5 (sets/reps)

Hammer Grip Chins

Kneel b/o Rows

TRX Low Rows

Reverse Flies

21s Curls.

Example Dynamic: A brutal total body circuit which could consist of whatever is available to you on the day. It could be a Modified Strongman session, hill sprints or bringing a piece of equipment like a kettle bell to the park and attempt as many exercises as you can. What I want out of this session is to shock the nervous system and the result is a training stimulus you won’t achieve from conventional gym training.

You can include these as an example.

Sled drags/pushes

Kettle bell swings

Battle ropes

Box jumps

Tire Flips

Leopard Crawls

Prowler

Farmer Walks

After that training block he'd already packed on a solid 1.5kg lean muscle and shed from 14.5% body fat to 9% even though he was eating a lot more than usual of quality food.

Skin-fold Callipers to ensure a subjective result.

As you can imagine we were both happy by the results so far but we had a long way to go and I didn't want him to lose motivation or fall off the rails. 

I told him to keep doing what he was doing nutrition-wise but we were going to formulate a new training block. This time we went for more of a 8/12 rep range and more total body including super sets to failure.

KB front squats

Joining in on the fun!

To push him along I competed with him during a few of the Dynamic Circuit Training...

Some weight Ab work for icing on the cake in the final week!

Row intervals (Game face).

In the final training block Diego started to deplete his calorie intake in order to lose the last bit of  body fat. We figured if he got to around 8% there was no chance he'd lose the comp.

The session plans in the final weeks were intense, we were super setting and added some blasts of boxing/rowing/sprints etc in the sessions with limited rest periods.

                 

So there you have it he now struts the beaches sporting the bod from god! The hard work paid off and he’s £1100 richer. Final Body fat was Just below 8%. Well done champ!

TOUGH MUDDER - More than just a race!

Driving LONDON SOUTH 2013 Tough Mudder bound blasting "eye of the tiger", fist pumping out the window, adrenalin pumped, sporting neon yellow vests and headbands-

We were most certainly in full "fight or flight" mode! 

Months of hill sprints, reptilian crawling, burpees, battle ropes, chins and built up running/cross fitness (not to mention gym based training) we were well equipped challenge ahead!

2nd week training plan, it progressed in volume/intensity throughout the weeks!

Our 14 odd comrades left the comfort of our people movers to what seemed a festival environment only to hike a couple of miles towards the TM registration point.

 It felt like a scene from a world war II movie 

Flesh wounded, fatigued, limping war veterans covered in mud were heading in the opposite direction and us, the fresh recruits, hearts pounding, anxious but exited for the challenge ahead!

I unfortunately bumped into an old Ozzie battler "G'day mate how are ya" bearing 2 pints of cider, muddy facial make up - sporting a grin that reached his ears, he winked and muttered  "YEEEUP glad I'm standing in my shoes and not yours"

 "Nuff sed... Lets do this shit"!

We could hear distant commands, AC/DC blasting and constant Hoorahs, as the 2:15pm soldiers lined up for battle!

Tough Mudder is a  badass 12mile obstacle course of rolling hills, rough terrain, and 21 obstacles to face along journey to the prized Orange Headband that sings VICTORY!

Army tankers offering the sense of military presence 

Deceptively hard yakka, down to a mud pit and inclining up (no time for claustrophobia)!

Funky Monkey

Electro Shock Therapy :/

Everest, some flew, some reached and slid back down, strategically placed after 11miles legs were well heavy!

 The more desired/fun obstacles being; Walk the Plank, Funky Monkey, Island Hopper, Everest and Cage Crawl...

 To the dreaded

• Electric Eel (crawling through a low barrier with threads of electric cables which are capable of paralysing body parts).
• Arctic Enema (a skip bin full of icy cold water, then forcing you to duck under a barrier which causes a severe case of ice-cream head ache and borderline hypothermia).
• Electro Shock Therapy; Good news is you can see the finish line, bad news....  Erm- Electricity! It sent some people face first to the mud as if to be shot by a sniper!

The true sense of camaraderie made the whole TM experience worth while, I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fresh challenge, it offers everything from team cohesion, mental toughness and physical exertion.

Ultimately after 2hrs being crowned with the trademark Orange Headband you've now earned bragging rights in the office for months to come "Hoorah"!

BOOM!!!