Whip it good

Doesn’t everyone just love the age old debate, which skipping rope is best to skip with?  Well, I’m not here to tell you definitively which rope is best for you, but I can give you an insight into what i like and what i don’t so much. 

So, let’s start with....the rope itself.  Many a folk will argue that buying a certain rope is the key to being able to skip easily.  I agree to a degree, however not everyone wants to spend loads of money on a rope, nor do they want to be able to jump rope like a pro-boxer.  Basically anything that will enable you to do a complete revolution whilst jumping over it will benefit you.  You can always make it more challenging by attempting double unders (two revolutions in one jump), single leg skipping, backwards, crossovers...and the list goes on really.  I’m sure if you checked out http://www.skippingaustralia.org.au/ you will be filled with wonderful skipping ideas and exposed to some serious skipping athletes!

So, let’s look at a few different ropes i have been exposed to in my time...starting with the one I currently use and love...this rope also happened to be used by the “Fittest Man on the Planet” – Rich Froning Jr at the 2011 Crossfit Games.

RX Jump Ropes

This rope reatils for about $35US, so it is not cheap.  However, if you are into your skipping an dlove doing double unders...get around it!  I used to find it was my forearms and/or shoulders that fatigued well before my lungs gave way, but not with this baby.  Be mindful of the size before you order though as they are not adjustable.  Check out..http://store.rxjumpropes.com/brands/Rx-Jump-Ropes.html if you want to buy one and review the sizing lesson on Youtube to get it right.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4d6ZrPLqAo&feature=player_embedded  Once you have bought one, you can always order different size cables at a much more reasonable rate.

The rope i used to use before the RX jump rope was  a

Cable Speed Rope from Fitness Town in Canada

I was and still am a big fan of this rope.  It retails for about $20CAD and is adjustable.  This rope is probably a good transition rope for someone wanting to learn double unders, but allows you to still feel the weight of the rope as you bounce effortlessly between each jump.  Be careful though as the cable can leave severe whip marks ...see below..  There are also variations of this rope which have a plastic covering on them rather than the exposed cable.  Fitness Town also sell ropes equivalent to the RX jump rope, unfortunately though i haven’t tried one so can’t provide my input.

Damage from a Speed Rope...

Of course there are much cheaper options too if you don’t want to spend $20 odd dollars on a rope.  Rebel Sport, Kmart and even the supermarket and local milkbar sell skipping ropes.  There is also the option of finding some old rope in the garage and jumping over that too. 

So, if you want an inexpensive, simple exercise that can be performed in a park, home , sidewalk or even indoors then skipping is worth your time.  You can skip without having to seek out a coach.  It develops and enhances coordination and rhythm between hands and feet movements.  It strengthens your bones and increases your stamina, endurance, reflexes, balance and posture.  It can make you more vigilant and alert and can be practiced by all age groups and genders.

It also allows you to increase your heart rate without having to run and doesn’t require a lot of space.  In order to avoid boredom, frustration and fatigue, aim to alternate from single skips, to double unders, one leg, high knee, side skipping and the list goes on!  Just a warning, skipping can be hard work on your achilles and calves and of course some joints, so be sure to warm up and stretch after jumping rope and ease into it if you are a beginner.

Enjoy and happy skipping!!

Happy Chicken Fitness....my PT business

Well folks, it is probably safe to say I fell into the Bermuda Triangle and went MIA for some months.  Apologies for that! 

I have been kept quite busy and somewhat distracted by completing my Personal Training certification as well as starting my own business...yes that’s right.. I thought I would join the small business owner category and start my own Personal Training business called HAPPY CHICKEN FITNESS!! 

So, I am getting busier training clients and the technical side of the business is up and running (well sort of), the website is still “under construction” and will hopefully be up and running in no time ...just another thing to find time for. 

I knew starting my own business would be somewhat daunting and challenging, let alone spending forever preparing the business plan, deciding on a business name and then having to go through the ordeal of registering the business name which no-one else has used, sifting through the pages and pages of logo designs that designers around the world had put together for me.  Check out DesignCrowd  http://www.designcrowd.com/  or 99 Designs  http://99designs.com.au/ if you are looking for various designers to put together designs for you.  It is as simple as putting together a business brief and choosing how much you want to pay for the design and presto...designers start emailing them in.  Great websites!!

What however, I wasn’t prepared for with starting my own business was the mental cycle of “am I going to be one of the 2/3rds of small businesses that fail”?  How do I manage not to fall into that percentile?  Well, after doing some ever trustworthy soul searching on the net, i found the following which perked me up a bit.....

“Despite what is commonly thought, relatively few small businesses fail. Over the 2 year period 1994-95 and 1995-96, an average of 23 200 small businesses or 6.1% ceased operating in Australia. Less than 10% of these closures were due to bankruptcy proceedings (in the case of unincorporated businesses) or companies being liquidated. The other businesses closed down for reasons such as the owner retiring, seeking a different lifestyle or dying.

The failure of Australian businesses fell significantly during the 1990's. It is estimated in 1999-2000, there were 3.6 failures per 1000 enterprises."

Now it is pretty safe to say that this is old data, BUT just what i needed to read.  Just a bit of light reading, LOADS of encouragement and uplifting from friends and family and I was mentally back on track to make my business a success.  That’s not to say I still don’t have days where I think “what the heck am I doing?! Ha!) 

In the short time I have been a personal trainer I have successfully attracted many wonderful committed clients who I can’t thank enough for taking me on as their trainer.  They provide me with laugher and enthusiasm every day and make me so proud and pleased to finally be working in the career I have been searching for all this time...I know...cheesy!  

I have also recently done some marketing and business development and now the flood gates have opened.  Enquiries are coming thick and fast and my calendar which was once bare is now filling up.  Now I need to ensure I am leaving time for myself to train and stay in shape to ensure I always practice what i preach.  I'm pretty sure I won't have a problem finding time to workout myself though! 

So a big THANK YOU to all my family, friends, colleagues and clients for all the support you give me and my business, Happy Chicken Fitness !

Boxing is Back!

Boxing came back into the training program today.  I haven’t done it for a while after I stopped going to the Contenders Boxing Gym in Vancouver, Canada to take on Crossfit. I found I couldn’t fit the time for both, but after having another hit out I’m definitely going to reintroduce some sessions into my program if I can find a willing partner?! Anyone in Perth fancy it?  It is a fantastic way to work your core, arms, pecs (chest), lats and rhomboids (back muscles).  Let’s not forget all the supporting muscles with each punch too and i'm talking about legs as well! 

For those of you in Vancouver, Canada check out the Contenders Boxing Gym.  It’s a great facility and the trainers there are all very knowledgeable and professional.  They cater for the absolute beginner all the way through to pro fighters.  They are sure to give you a good hard workout.....here is the link...  http://www.contenders.ca/. If you drop in, please say hi from me!  For those of you in Perth, i’m more than happy to show you the ropes and introduce you to boxing.  Just give me a shout.

The workout I took myself and my partner through was a short sharp session alternating being the pad holder.  We warmed up with technique for 10 minutes with air punching and then moved on to light punching against hand pads.  For those of you out there thinking you get a break holding the pads, you are far from correct.  Being a pad holder requires a lot of effort and brain power.  Coordinating punch sequences and yelling them out to your partner in order not to get punched in the head can be difficult.  Being the pad holder is almost as hard work as being the boxer.

We then moved on to hard hitting.  We did a lot of 30 seconds to 2 minutes of 50, 75 and 100% sequences of both jabs, cross, hooks to the body and face, upper cuts, ducking, weaving and not to mention the constant bouncing around on the balls of your feet.  It was a great session and a really great way to blow off steam if you have had a hard day at the office!

Plyometric Training

Today was a day for focusing on a different form of training that I used to do back in my basketball, soccer and AFL days.

Plyometric training is a form of resistance training usually taken on by athletes looking to improve their sporting performance in their chosen sport.  Plyometrics can be referred to by some as being similar to that of an elastic band.  It basically involves storing the energy in the lengthening phase of an exercise to make it contract quickly.  It is often used by athletes and coaches to bridge the gap between strength and power.

Before jumping into Plyometric training one needs to assess a few things first.  Posture, injuries and the strength of an athlete will greatly determine the level of plyometrics undertaken.  As plyometric exercises usually mimic movements in sport like running, jumping, throwing this sort of training can greatly benefit  athletes in their chosen sports. 

Exercises such as:

• Single leg hops or jumps
• Stair or box jumps
• Squat jumps with or without weight
• Side to side jumps or single leg
• Ice skater on ground or Bosu ball
• Clapping pushups
• Uneven pushups
• Weighted pull-ups
• Medicine ball situps
• Russian twists
• Drop and catch pushups
• Mimicking a throwing or kicking motion with a cable machine or bands, etc

All in all Plyometrics are a fantastic way to keep your workouts interesting and fun, but be sure they are kept within your abilities.

Primal Pairs

Sorry all, I have been locked in a cave they call a new course and have also had a week off training to try and give my shoulder a bit of a break.  I seem to have been doing a lot of pushups lately and shoulder work putting a lot of undue stress on my already precious shoulder.  I crushed my AC joint (acromioclavicular) back when I was about 22 and never did rehab.  It has come back to bite me on the butt now!  So if there is a lesson for you it should be, listen to your physio and do your boring mundane exercises, even if you think they are not doing anything.   Something I am presently working on correcting.  Better late than never!!


 Anyway, my week off training was leading up to my very first Crossfit Competition, not ideal timing but what can you do!  This was called the Primal Pairs and was quite obviously a competition in pairs.  I competed with a friend of mine Alecka in the women’s division.  We added a quirky element to the games by dressing up in Triathlon suits.  For the first WOD we added a swim cap and goggles, the second WOD we added a bike helmet and the third WOD we added a sun visor.  Unfortunately there were 4 WODS and we hadn’t come prepared for a 4^th leg so we stayed the way we were.

WOD 1 – Suicide with Weights

One plate beginning at 5 then 10, 15, 20 and 25kgs was placed on every 10m line along 50m of the athletics track.  In pairs, the first athlete had to sprint to the 50m mark and pick up the 25kg plate and sprint with it back to the start line, place it on the ground (not drop it) and the next athlete will then race to the 40m line, pick up the 20kg plate and bring it back to the start line and tag the other athlete.  This would go on until all the plates were compiled at the start line ...THEN....you had to return all the plates in the reverse order they were collected in.  This whole exercise was for time.

WOD 2 – Partner time

This WOD was compiled of 3 difference exercises.  

2.1 The first exercise was to piggyback, yes, piggy back (not fireman carry or any other method) your partner as far as you could in 45 seconds.  If you dropped your partner or fell over you had to stop where you fell off.  You would then swap and your other partner would carry you for 45 seconds.  The total number of cones passed between you both was your score.

2.2 The second exercise was to do a human wheelbarrow race with your partner. Ie. You hold your partner’s legs while they walk on their hands as far as they can in 45 seconds. Once again, if you drop you have to stop where you are, swap positions with your partner and then continue on in the same direction you were travelling before, except now the wheelbarrow is to go backwards.  So effectively you are walking backwards holding your partners legs while they walk on their hands backwards(still facing the ground). Once again, the total number of cones passed between you both was your score.

2.3 The third exercise was throwing and catching a bean bag as far as you could.  Each partner had 3 attempts to throw the beanbag and have their partner catch it.  The more cones you could throw the beanbag passed and have your partner catch, the more points you got.  If you were unsuccessful in catching any beanbags, or the beanbag went out of your allotted lane, you received no points.
The total number of points for this WOD is all three exercises accumulated.





WOD 3 – Rowing & partnered power cleans

This WOD required that the pair row 2km between them (each partner must attempt the row at some point) and then complete as many two man power cleans (both people holding on to the bar at the same time and power cleaning together) as possible in 10 minutes.  It was for total points.  If you completed the 2km row you received 2000 points (1 point/meter) and then 1 point for every power clean successfully completed, hips locked out and elbows in front of the bar.

WOD 4 – Backwards Running, Chest to Overheads, Rope Jump, Burpees and Forward Running

This comprised of both partners running backwards together for 400m around the track.  Then the pair had to complete 200 chest to overhead barbell raises with a 20kg bar. It could be broken up however you liked.  Once the chest to overheads were complete, the pair had to complete 150 jumps over a rope about knee height.  Then, 100 burpees between the pair jumping on to a plate and hips fully opened out.  To finish the WOD it required both people to run 400 forwards around the track to the finish line.
Alecka and I were coming 2^nd after the second WOD but unfortunately dropped to 8^th place overall.  We were very happy with our performance and can’t wait for the next competition.  We have a lot to work on between now and then.

Thanks Alecka for being my partner...you were awesome girl!!!