Results matching “Bird”

Biphasic sleeping update - Test articles

Sleeping polar bear and cubIt's now been a little over two months since I switched to biphasic sleeping, and I have no regrets at all. It's great.

Before taking a quick look at a few observations I've made over the past month or so, a quick mention of another fitness enthusiast who's taking the plunge : Eric from Ultimate Health & Conditioning. He's recently completed the second day of the new routine, and from my own experience I'd say another 4-5 days should see him past the most difficult part - the all-important first week. Once your body adapts, it's all good.

Incidentally, he's taking the naps much earlier than I am (around 1-2pm rather than around 7:30pm); which may fit better into a typical 9-5 work schedule. At least if you can take a 1.5 hour lunch.

Now, a few things I've noticed lately :

The 90 minute sleep cycles are shortening
Despite the fact that the original article that drew me towards biphasic sleeping discussed the 90 minute sleep cycle, I've found that the cycle length is gradually shortening. I'm not quite sure how short it can become (and still contain all of the expected phases), but it currently stands at around 75-80 minutes. The experiences of Glen Rhodes suggest that it won't move much below 75, but I'm keen to see just how individual that figure is.

The most notable side-benefit of this is that the alarm - which is always set for multiples of 90 - is there simply as a backup, and is rarely heard. As you'll see in a minute though, it's still set religiously.

Alarm still set
I still set the alarm on both naps and core sleep. The main reason for this is that the quality of sleep - although usually extremely high - varies. This may be due to local temperatures (it's getting warm here, even at night), an excess of caffeine (I occasionally forget there's a nap coming up, and grab a coffee in the late afternoon), or stress (either physical or mental). Having the alarm present actually increases the quality of sleep at these times. One less thing to worry about.

No more on vs in
During the trial period (the initial 30 days) I discovered that differentiating the naps from core sleep was best achieved by lying on top of the bed for naps, and climbing into it for the core sleep. I no longer mark this distinction, and climb into bed for each sleep period. My body seems to have adapted to the change well enough to wake in time on most occasions (and the alarm is always there in any case).

Oversleeping and a simple fix
I still oversleep on the nap occasionally (perhaps once per week). This isn't usually more than an additional cycle or two, and the quickest way to get back on track seems to be :

  • get up and do something for a few hours
  • go to bed no later than 5am and sleep for a further two cycles

I arrived at this after experimenting with various combinations of nap/waking period/core sleep. Even a night of monophasic sleep. The result was that this combination worked, yet any other combination left me feeling incredibly tired for much of the following day. Eric, I'm curious to see how you handle a similar situation - especially as you have a much longer period between the nap and core sleep.

Tired by 7pm
Over the past few weeks I've noticed that I'm now tired by around 7pm; at least as tired as I would've been by midnight when on monophasic sleep. The nap, however, completely resets this, and following 75-80 minutes' sleep I feel refreshed and ready to start the day. Again.

In case you're wondering, this rejuvenated feeling only lasts 4 hours or so, which is one of the reasons I switched back to evening naps following the week-long trial of the afternoon variety.

Overall, it's working well. No plans to change.

LAHF: home-made chinning bar - Test articles

Hanging pull-up barThis looks great - Jim's latest DIY addition to the home gym, the Hanging Pull-up Bar. You'll never look at the rafters the same way again.

The value of failure - Test articles

Tony BuzanDavid Hinchliffe briefly looks at the value of failure (in cricket training - although this could apply to anything), as per Tony Buzan's teachings. Definite food for thought.

Injured man visiting doctorAs part of this month's series on injuries, Run to Win's Blaine Moore takes a look at the importance of visiting a doctor following injury. Interesting stuff.

Blood pressure gaugeThe BBC mentions an interesting study (the findings of which were recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association) on the value of systolic blood pressure as an indicator of heart disease. The study found that a low systolic reading (the top number, a measure of the pressure in the arteries when the blood is being forced through them) at the time of hospital admission was correlated with a high death rate (in heart patients).

Jump squatIan Middleton takes a very interesting look [.pdf, 160kb] at the determination of weight to be used in sets of jumping squats. Among the questions asked (and answered) :

  • should the athlete's bodyweight be included in calculations?
  • can the Smith machine be reasonably used?
  • what does recent research suggest?

If you're adding jumping squats to your program, make sure you read this one.

Military pressing - Test articles

DipsVia the Diesel Crew : a great Navy Seal bodyweight video [streaming, 8.6mb .flv download via KeepVid]. I'll never look at dips the same way again.

Thumbs upQuite a few fitness and strength blogs have passed this way over the past couple of years; here's a quick look at 20 of the best. Enjoy.

    Toffe's Gym
  1. Under the Bar
    Although I've been building web sites for the past 9 years, it wasn't until I came across Kris Lindqvist's Under the Bar that I realised a fitness blog could be such a wonderful resource. Featuring over 3 years worth of workout logs, photos, videos and superb writing - as well as a beautiful outdoor gym - this is the definitive workout blog. If you haven't already seen it, head over there now.

    Grab the feed.


  2. Mark Reifkind
  3. Rif's Blog
    Kettlebells, conditioning and martial arts. A good one.

    Grab the feed.

  4. Ken Black
  5. The Other Side of Strength
    Kettlebells, grip work, strongman training, powerlifting - a great mix.

    Grab the feed.


  6. Muscle Ventures Podcasts - iTunes
  7. Muscle Ventures
    Muscle Ventures
    is a project started by Bud Gibson and Nancy Arnold, which is following their bodybuilding progress through various training regimes and competitions.
    Subscription (free) is available either from the site or within iTunes (a quick search for 'muscle' will track them down).

    Grab the feed.


  8. Chris Dorr
  9. Strength News
    Strength News is the online strength home of Iowa's Chris Dorr, photographer, budding strongman and regular podcaster. Well worth checking out.

    Grab the feed.


  10. Lean and Hungry
  11. Lean and Hungry Fitness
    Jim Biancolo is a fitness enthusiast in every sense of the word. The title of one of his posts last year, Low-Tech, High-Effect (a link to a Ross Enamait video which itself is well worth downloading), neatly summarises his training philosphy. Definitely worth a read.

    Grab the feed.


  12. Tom Furman
  13. Physical Strategies
    An eclectic fitness and health mix, courtesy Tom Furman. Very interesting.

    Grab the feed.


  14. Smitty
  15. Diesel Crew blog
    If you're into strongman feats, amazing grip strength and great articles you're probably already familiar with the Diesel Crew. Take a wander over to their blog, pull up a chair and make yourself at home.

    Grab the feed.


  16. Vern Gambetta
  17. Functional Path Training
    Take a wander over to Functional Path Training, the blog of renowned sports and conditioning coach Vern Gambetta. There's some fascinating stuff on there.

    Grab the feed.


  18. Sam Arsenault
  19. Tales from the Milk Drinker
    Fredericton's Sam Arsenault is defenitely a powerlifter and strongman to keep an eye on. Although originally scheduled to be a helper at a recent Strongman contest in the nearby Acadian Festival, he was quickly inspired to try out a few of the events and enter the contest himself. That's enthusiasm.

    Grab the feed.


  20. Blaine Moore
  21. Run to Win
    If you enjoy running, you'll love this. Blaine Moore discusses everything from training to injury recovery. A great read.

    Grab the feed.


  22. Stinn preparing to deadlift
  23. Stinn's workout blog
    This is a great workout journal, detailing Canadian powerlifter Ryan Stinn's increasing strength over the past 2 years. Videos and competition notes round out the picture. A very good read.
    Grab the feed


  24. Jamie deadlifting
  25. Blood and sweat
    This is very much a 'from the trenches' workout blog. Superb.

    Grab the feed.


  26. Vern Gambetta
  27. Iron Sport
    The Iron Sport Gym is the home-away-from-home of Steve and Joe Pulcinella, as well as a number of local weightlifters and powerlifters. The blog - as well as the gym itself - is definitely worth a look.

    Grab the feed.


  28. Ultimate physique
  29. Ultimate Health and Conditioning
    As he says on the site:
    This site is about functional strength, balance, agility, endurance, nutrition and general health. I’m not following a specific agenda. I’m not anti-supplement, or anti-weights, or anti-anything. I don’t give a shit how you get healthy and fit, just that you get there.

    Superb stuff. Well worth checking out.


    Grab the feed


  30. Ultimate physique
  31. Golf Fitness Boot Camp
    For those integrating golf and fitness, Brian's site BKS Golf is an excellent start. His blog, which follows the progress of the BKS Golf fitness bootcamps, is also a great read.

    Grab the feed


  32. Neil McTeggart
  33. Neil McTeggart
    Check out the blog of Belfast personal trainer Neil McTeggart. As you can see from his training notes (bp:155kg sq: 180kg dl: 220kg) he knows what he's doing.

    Grab the feed


  34. David Hinchliffe
  35. Harrow Drive
    Before the Australian cricket team makes amends for last season's less-than-inspiring performance, check out the blog of cricket coach David Hinchliffe - Harrow Drive. Whilst a Harrow Drive (also known as a French Cut, particularly in this part of the world) is something you usually want to avoid, the site isn't. Great stuff.
    Grab the feed


  36. Powerlifting Watch
  37. Powerlifting Watch
    Jon trawls the numerous powerlifting and bodybuilding forums so you don't have to. Powerlifting Watch presents the threads that contain references to current events in the powerlifting world, questions on all things related to training or competition, and a splash of humour. A great site.

    Grab the feed


  38. ScrumTruk
  39. MyoQuip blog
    MyoQuip are makers of the superb ScrumTruk. If you've ever watched a game of Rugby, you'll see how closely this replicates the action of a Scrum. If you've tried one of these, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Looks like a great bit of gear.
    Grab the feed

Charles StaleyIf you're already a fan of Charles Staley's EDT style of training, you're probably quite familiar with the notion of the 'PR Zone'. Otherwise, here's a quick summary from the man himself :

a discrete 15-minute period of time where you complete as many total reps as possible with two opposing or "antagonistic" exercises

In this case, the two exercises are thrusters and chin-ups, to be performed as follows :

  • after warming up, select a 10RM for each exercise
  • perform sets of 5 with very short rest breaks (10-15 sec) until fatigue starts to really kick in
  • drop down to sets of 4,3,2,1 with longer rest breaks as needed

The goal for future sessions : simply to increase the number of total reps within the allocated 15 min (without directly training to failure). Sounds like fun.

Jim Wendler deadliftingCritical Bench chats with Big Jim. He's an interesting guy.

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