Numbers Game

The Mathematics of Exercise

You may put your physical prowess down to hard work, you may put your sporting success down to natural ability, but really...its a Numbers Game.

The Power of One

It just takes One motion to get you started...

One step One lift One push One pull One throw One press One leap One stretch One...Nike's marketing team weren't paid gaziliions for the slogan 'Just Do It' for nothing - the sooner you stop lingering on Zero and upgrade to One, the sooner you'll achieve your goals.

As I've mentioned before...personally, training in a gym towards no specific end target is dull and boring - but it's here that the mathematics of exercise are at their purist!

Divide and Conquer

Struggling to get through that hour of pain you've set yourself? Simply divide up your workout into manageable chunks and you'll nail it in no time - work out when you're 10% through, when you've hit half way and then reduce the percentages from 50 down to 5 and you'll fly through it (distract yourself with the maths).

Go Forth and Multiply

When you've done One, do another One, then another One, repeat and repeat until the old tubby you has turned into the new fit-as-a-fiddle you.

It's obvious really but just to make it sink in, here's a simple equation to follow:

(Reps x Sets) x Frequency Per Week = Success

You do the maths.

The Hybrid Games #1

The Modern Olympics were founded by eccentric and interestingly-named Greek philanthropist Evangelis Vasileiou Zappas back in the mid 19th Century, as well as relighting the Olympic torch he also added in his own version of the Pentathlon: the Modern Pentathlon; an event which sandwiches together 5 events with seemingly as much connection as a mobile phone in the Sahara Desert - this got me thinking, what other sports could be combined to make fresh Olympic events?

Garcling

OK so Gardening isn't strictly a sport but let me tell you I've been laying paving in my garden these last few weekends and there's no shortage of lifts, stretches and reps involved - I woke with badly aching limbs last Sunday morning before going off with the lads on a 34 mile bike ride and while trying to keep up I got to thinking - this combination could be a winner...

Garcling = Gardening & Cycling

How would it work?

One idea would be to do a 5km BMX sprint, followed by digging a trench, then a 10km off road mountain bike trek, followed by chopping down a tree, and finishing in a 40km road bike race, split by a hedge sculpture challenge...now think it sounds easy?



I'm willing to offer my garden for use in London 2012 - save me the job


Sweights

Weightlifters work hard for the right to go to the Olympics and show everyone how strong they are, but once they're there they get off lightly and don't even have to place the weights on the bars themselves - but what if these lazy muscly dudes (and dudettes) did have to load the weights on themselves, and what if instead of the weights being handilly on a nearby rack, they were laying on the bottom of a pool?

Sweights = Swimming & Weights

How would it work?

Racing against the clock, the musclemen and women would have to dive for the weights, load a barbell to the required amount and then complete the legal lift before the bell rings.

Warning: You may look like a tit during training

Cliving

No this is not some random new sport where contenders round up as many people called Clive by any means possible within a set time limit (sadly), but instead works along a similar principle to Sweights...

Cliving = Climbing & Diving

How would it work?

Athletes have to climb up a cliff side, then dive off of the top in as stylish a manner as possible - how sexy a combo is this?!!

'Oh bugger I've left me climbing boots up theeeeeerrrrrrrreeeeeee'

We have a Winner!!

As you'll recall the first post on The Everyman Olympics outlined why I'm doing these challenges, whilst my second post -  The Very Exciting Subplot - focused on my competition with Carl and the race to lose a stone - this is an update on that sub-challenge, and yes ladies and gents, we have a winner!

The Weightlifting Challenge: Pumpin'

The Weightlifting Challenge for the The Everyman Olympics fell onto my lap thanks to a response to a tweeted cry for help from an Amercian I'd never met and the enthusiasm of a young woman whom during the month of May I would come to warmly regard as Coach Josie.

Note how knackered I look compared with Coach Josie!

Stepping into the gym I was nervous, not because I was about to meet a complete stranger who I'd only come to know through the internet or because I was about to be judged on how strong I was by a girl, but because I'd had a dicky belly that morning and was fearful that lifting heavy objects might have a diverse affect on my stomach muscles...infront of a complete stranger...who just happened to be a girl...who I'd never met before.