Melbourne Boot Camp

It amazing how the Body will quickly acclimatise to the cold weather. At boot camp this morning, it was a balmy 10º with the general consensus amongst other Fitmates that is was a warm morning.

Every year when the mercury drops, the first couple of weeks of cooler weather in the mornings are greeted with “Grrrrrr” and “why am I hear”, yet after the warm up, the layers of clothing are slowly removed with everyone in either T-Shirts or singlets.

Similarly if you have an extremely hot summer with a continued spell of above 30º temperatures that we experienced last year, as soon as the weather changes to cooler temperatures of 18 – 20º, people are reaching for the jackets.

Alternatively an 18 -20º day during winter will have everyone reaching for the T-Shirts. There have been numerous studies that have shown how the body acclimatises, there was one study that prepared scientists going to an Antarctic base camp in 1993 by having one group sitting in an ice bath before they left while the other group made the usual preparations. Guess what, the group who sat in the ice bath adjusted more easily to the colder temperatures and experienced a lower rate of illness.

So while training in the cooler weather may seem unappealing, Boot camp training is not so bad after all.

It’s 5.30am and it’s time to go boot camp training over winter, it’s cold, wet and miserable and you’re feeling very unmotivated, so is it really that bad?

Fortunately for people who live in Melbourne, we have very little rain so while this is disastrous for our reservoirs and water catchments, it’s great for fitness training.

So next time you’re thinking, mmm, should I or shouldn’t I, just think about how much better you will feel after the session.

As I always say, the hardest part of any early morning fitness program is putting your feet onto the ground, after that it gets easier.
Just treat your boot camp or outdoor fitness session like a business appointment.

I meet a senior partner from a law firm who was a keen cyclist who road 250-300km per week which included a daily commute from his house 18km from the Melbourne CBD.

Like most of us, stuff happened and what was a healthy lifestyle quickly turned into a life of long working hours, deadlines and before you know it, something has to give, well it’s your health and fitness goals.

This person was in his 50′s with his stomach girth in excess of the 100cm waist measurement for men (85cm for woman) that places him in the high risk category for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

After chatting to him, there really was the time to ride to work, to do the weekend bike rides and to lead a healthier lifestyle but it was more about the lack of motivation.

Well after our chat, he was so confident about getting back onto the bike that I gave him some home work, I would call him in a weeks time to follow up on whether he successfully got back onto the bike.
Well to his credit, he had ridden to work 3 times and enjoyed a further 2 rides on the weekend but like all good starts to achieving goals it’s a marathon not a 50m sprint so as Mr Lawyer acknowledged, its about maintaining the momentum, something which is particularly hard.

I was speaking to the owner of a reasonable sized baker, not one of the franchised varieties about gluten free bread. Mr baker informed me that while there is plenty of talk about people buying gluten free bread, other than those people who suffer from Celiac Disease disease, those people being financially constrained would generally go for the cheaper option.

Upon showing me his recipe for gluten free bread, it had all the good stuff in there, potato & rice flour, eggs, yeast and some other ingredients but nothing artificial. The interesting fact was the ingredients list of the “pre made” gluten flour that he users when some of the more exotic flours are unavailable. Using all the good ingredients makes the bread relatively more expensive than a cheaper pre mixed “Bakers flour & Bakers yeast” varieties.

It contained several preservatives that were “potentially unsafe” such as E282 Calcium Propionate or another chemical (which I can’t remember) that is also potentially unsafe, that is an extract from bleached timber (referenced my my “additives” iphone app).

Nutrition Application from iphone

Using this premixed variety was cheaper than using all the non chemical based ingredients. From his own observations people who were suffering from financial hardship would seek cheap food alternatives. As funds were very limited to buy wholesome foods. a cheaper alternative and would resort to the highly manufactured, highly processed breads that contained very little nutritional value with heaps of chemicals and additives to aid shelf life, colour, consistency, flavour and taste.
Why pay $3 -$4 for a loaf of bread from a good bakery with healthy ingredients when you can go to one of the big supermarkets and pay under $2.

Unfortunately our modern societies has heaps of additional costs that we incur on an ongoing basis, such as our monthly mobile phone and internet bills, upgrading electronic devices regularly, flat panel TV’s, computers, computer software, kitchen appliances, clothes, the latest shoes, eating out, takeaway etc, costs that weren’t there 50 years ago.

Ultimately something has to give and unfortunately it’s our health with the cheapest food option being the only solution to save $$$ but if this a high price to pay for your health??

With energy drinks, caffeine and other stimulants consumption on the increase, are re we turning into a sleep deprived overworked society?
With the latest revelations about The AFL’s acceptance of caffeine loading by AFL players, is this setting a good example for those who look up to these players for inspiration.

Unfortunately energy drinks represent the strongest beverage growth segment worth a staggering $593 or 23% of the impulse market in 2009, with only soft drinks representing occupying the number one spot for highest market share according to Neilsen data

Just look at the growth in coffee on recent years, the good old international roast has been replaced with a cappuccino or latte on the way to work. Even McDonalds, not to miss out on the coffee revolution has European style coffee at there drive throughs and restaurants. (I’m yet be be convinced you can produce a great coffee from a manual)

The most disturbing trend are the number of children consuming energy drinks like there having a soft drink. Suddenly the regular 250ml energy drink such as V and Red Bull has grown in size.
Not to be out done Coke Cola released there own brand called “Mother” to appeal to the youth market, with a mega can at 500ml at a whopping 32mg caffeine per 100ml or 160mg of caffeine.

The real concern is that consuming this level of caffeine on a regular basis is not great for your health. The promotion of these products are so wide spread that even when you fill up at your local petrol station there are advertisements for these types of products.

The most disturbing part of our over reliance on stimulants is why.
Are we trying to gave it all, family life, friends, the McMansion, all the conveniences of modern life, mobile phones, home computers, video games, Internet accounts, stuff, new cars, long stressful hours in the office to pay for this stuff or the time spent using these new acquisitions.

Well something has to give and it’s your health, so are we on stimulant over consumption mode to squeeze more onto the day?