What is the point of running marathons?

Honestly, up to today, I still don't see any point of running a marathon(s). Be it 10k, half marathon or even a friggin 42km. Like, seriously. What is the point? Can somebody tell me?

I can't think of anything else besides the "personal satisfaction" and some health factors. Maybe you can hit 10km in your first marathon, got excited, and you wanna see if you can achieve 21km in your second marathon in within "your targeted time". 

Ok. Maybe you stamina will be like, superb compare to others. So what? What do you get at the end of the day besides stamina and personal satisfaction? Marathon runners will always ended up with not-toned, non-hour-glass shape, compare to those who sprint or even lift weights.

In health benefits wise, I believe any kind of sports can improve your fitness level, as long as you keep your heart pumping during workout. But I guess, at the end of the day, it depends on individuals' goals and targets. Yes, I admit that I'm biased here, and I'll choose weights over running any time. Any time at all. 

It's because I see the benefits of lifting weights, which definitely improve my physiques which running can't give. I might not be able to run as good as the runners, but I'm definitely much stronger than them. Plus, when you see a woman lift weights like nobody else, you'll get the attention which will boost up your confidence automatically. 

Weights over running, peeps, weights over running. 

The Types of Muscle Fibers

I came across a website that talks about muscle fibers. And surprisingly, it is kinda interesting to learn about it. Some previous blogger wrote about it but I had a hard time understanding it, but this website makes things rather easier to understand. Or maybe I'm just too dumb to understand complicated things :P

So now I know why some people can run longer without panting while some can lift weight more than the others. Our body consists of two types of muscles fibers - Slow Twitch and Fast Twitch (type I and II).

Slow Twitch muscle fibers are usually used in endurance training which requires a lot of stamina, such as marathon, swimming and etc. This muscle fibers do not increase in size, hence you'll see a lot of marathon runners or other endurance athletes look rather slim and with no definitions.

These people mostly train with high reps and light weights for better conditioning as slow twitch muscle fibers do not increase in size. They also tend to have higher ratio of these type of muscle fibers, which explains why they are better runner than others. The down side of it is that, they might have to work double hard if they want to build muscles at the end of the day.

Marathon runner

Fast Twitch (type I and II) muscle fibers are used in all the explosive training such as sprinting or other explosive weight trainings. These muscle fibers, though cannot increase the amount, can increase in size. Hence these muscle fibers are put in good use during weight training. They tire easily but are capable of much more powerful contractions.

Fast twitch fibers are further classified into two subdivisions: type I and type II.   Although considered a fast twitch fiber, the type I fibers are often referred to as an "intermediate" fiber type, since they have the potential to be explosive, but also posses a degree of aerobic ability. Type II fibers on the other are the most explosive, powerful muscle fibers in the body, and have no aerobic ability.

The best way to train these muscle fibers are definitely through low reps and heavy weights in order to activate them. These people with higher ratio of Fast Twitch muscle fibers will definitely gain muscles faster than those who have lower ratio of it, and will definitely excel in explosive movements ie sprinting, relays, and etc.

 

Relay runners

Now I know which type of muscle fibers I have more compare to the other, and that explains why I still can't run like any other marathon runners. But I believe, maybe I can still strike a balance between endurance and muscles, probably 70% muscles and 30% of endurance. I mean, it's not like I wanna be a marathon runner or whatnot, but I just wish that I can last for about an hour when it comes to do explosive trainings.

But wanna know what I think? I'd prefer to be a sprinter than a marathon runner. It just bores me to death if you ask me to run for 10km.

What about you? Which muscle fibers do you think you have more?

Sometimes their comments are just plain stupid

I dunno whether to feel insulted or take it as a compliment when someone said, "Are you a guy?" *rolled eyes*

And I always hear these type of stupid comments at, yup, the beloved commercial gym. I know it's rare to see a woman deadlift (a merely) 55kg and squat 60kg (which I don't think it should be something to be proud of coz I've still got looonnnnggggggg way to go) but come on! Women don't dig insults. Women dig praises! You can tell a guy that he squats like sissy and deadlifts like a baby and guys will still be ok with that. In fact, they'll improve and come back stronger than before. Unlike men, women (I dunno about others but it applies to me), hates being "challenge" and I don't think it's just the right way to motivate a woman by telling them that their bodyweight squats sucks. (happened to my previous trainer, who thinks that by bringing me down will motivates me) Or giving stupid comments like they look just like a man. Just like Jason Ferruggia said, guys respond well to criticism. Girls don't.

Anyway, I always corrected these dumbasses, that instead of saying that I look like a man, I'll say that I have a strength like a man, but body like a woman. They must be plain blind for not noticing my obvious curves. I'm not bragging but these fuckwits sometimes really just get on my nerve. It's so obvious that they dunno shit.

Oh. And another common comment from them, which shows how shallow-minded they are, is, "Man! You look so small! How the hell you carry that weight?"

Don't challenge me, bro, don't challenge me.

It's a lonely world here

The problem with some people is that, if you do things that is uncommon or unusual, they'll say that you are doing something wrong. Or that they'll say that you are a freak, for repeating the same thing everyday without fail.

That's what happened to me at the gym. Regular gym goers know what my first workout will be. I always start with squats. Then on with dealifts. Then some assistance workouts. Nobody does that routine other than me, and maybe these 2 other guys. I observe the way they do their workout and it's exactly like mine! I have a strong feeling that they are doing Strong Lifts 5x5. The difference is that they increase their weights in every sets. I thought you are suppose to load up in your next training and keep it that way in the 5 sets? Hmmm.... But anyway, it's the feeling that other people are doing restless workouts with their trainers while I doing my 5x5 routine. It feels pretty darn lonely, if you asked me.

Like I said in my previous post, it's not because of what people comment about my routine, but it's what I feel. Ok, yes, I might have gotten stronger and I can tell you confidently that I can beat 70% of the guys there with my squats' weight. It's not because I'm good but it's because they never train on their squats before. However, in terms of cardiovascular and endurance, I feel like that I'm not improving any. Hence the morning outdoor workout with my friends. The routines are really cool. Not as tough as the OBC (Original Bootcamp, coz I lasted 3 sessions only and it was friggin' early ok?) but at the same time, I'm feeling all my muscles being worked on. So it's really a great feeling.

On to the diet. I'm feeling definitely, particularly "lonely" over here when it comes to diet. You see, nobody does the diet unless they are needed to. Like me, I might have a beach trip soon sometime in Oct, so I need to look real good in my bikini. Like real good. Hence the crazy diet. No rice, no sugar, no coffee.

Surprisingly, I can live without coffee. When there's no coffee, there's no sugar also, because that's the only drink that I need to have sugar with. Other than that, I usually drink water only. So who would want to have such crazy diet with you, even though you always hear your friends saying, "aiya... I need to diet lah."  and then the next day, you see them indulging in beers or pancakes or McD. Who, I ask you?

No one.

Plus, the fasting month is coming. I can bet you that there'll be big feasts in this 1 month, given the fact that I have tonnes of Malay friends. I have even turned down a house warming invitation last week. Their meals were pizzas, jelly and KFC. It's not that I dislike the food, hell no, but it's because I'm on diet. So better avoid than having the food shoving onto your face right?

That's why it's a lonely world here. Ya hear me?

Away

Hi peeps. I will be away from tomorrow onwards until next Wednesday. So that means no training for the entire (almost) 2 weeks. Hopefully all those walking and walking will help to burn some calories :p

In the meantime, my diet sucks for the last 2 weeks due to functions and trips. Hopefully I can catch up on my diet after I come back. No more holiday for me, but I am definitely looking forward to it. Clean diet! Yeeehhhaaaaa!!!!!

Ciao peeps. Don't miss me. :)

A newbie shouldn't have such a big head

Recently, there's this young kid at the gym (not a trainer but works there) who is obviously (duh!) a newbie, who is so damn proud of his growing body, trying to comment on my training regime. Whenever I do my deadlift, he'll go, "Huh? You are doing deadlift again? Why do you wanna just target on your glutes?"

This, at one point, shows just how much he knows. He only know maybe 10% of it. If he's a senior, he wouldn't have said that and instead, showing some respect on my workout. Deadlift not only targets on your glutes, but also your back, legs, arms, shoulder and traps. That is why it is one of the King of Mass Gaining exercises, besides squat.

Most of the time, I'll just ignore what he says but last night was a bit too much. It was non-related to my workout, but he said I was stupid, T.W.I.C.E. It was just a conversation, and do you really need to say that I'm stupid?

Obviously he's the joker in the buff suit. Let me tell you why.

1. He ran from Sunway Giza to The Curve, to and fro for 30 mins, before his strength training workout. He thinks it's correct. Hell no!

If you do a rigorous cardio of 30 mins right before your strength training, you'll worn out easily and you won't be able to lift heavy, mainly because you have already used up all your energy earlier. So you will not be able to perform well and lift heavy. So when you can't lift heavy, will you be strong? Unless you are training for marathon or that day is your cardio day, then by all means run. Otherwise, it's not a good training programme on a strenght training day.

Always do the compound exercises as the first workout before anything else.

2. I have never seen him do any compound exercises ie squats, deadlifts, bench press. He does a lot of bicep curls, some flyes, and more bicep curls.

First of all, bicep curls is just a cosmetic workout. Meaning, it'll just make your biceps look bigger but no quality. It'll not make you any stronger by just doing it. There are sooooo many of these guys at the gym who looovveeeeeeeesssss to do bicep curl, while watching themselves in the mirror, looking at how big their biceps are. When you concentrate more on your biceps at the mirror than the quality of your training, obviously you are not recruiting any muscle fibers which leads to muscle growth.

Doing bicep curls also does not focus on your overall strength, which is why this is categorised under isolated muscles workout. You practically just focus on your, yeah, biceps.

Wanna train your biceps? Go and do pull-up. Any kinds of variations pull-ups. That's pure strength.

3. I rest longer whenever I do my deadlifts or squats of 5x5. Whenever this kid is around, he'll say, "How can you rest too long? It's not recommended." Again, I don't give a damn on what he says, coz obviously, he doesn't know anything, and probably doesn't read. *shrug*

Whenever you are doing your strength training or powerlifting, it's important to rest enough in between sets and not be greedy, according to Pavel Tsatsouline and re-posted by KevL. Pavel said "Power loves rest and does not tolerate rushing. You may feel that you are completely recovered in 2 min. but take a full 5 anyway." 

Again, unless you are training on endurance, you'll want to rest enough in between sets.  

Enough 3 good solid points for me to know that he's just an empty shell.

Here's what I think

"You shouldn't do slow, steady-paced cardio for more than 30-40mins because it will increased your cortisol and can caused muscle loss."

"This workout is too much coz it's definitely affecting your CNS."

"You can take carbs within 3 hours after your workout."

"Low carb on non-workout/less-intensity workout day, high card on workout days."

"Must count your calorie to make sure that you don't overeat."

"Sometimes, you gotta do HIIT. Sometimes you do slow-paced cardio."

All the above has their own truth in it. It really depends on individual's experience. For me, I usually will do some research on some issues, then sometimes discuss with my fitness junkie friends, then I'll usually try it on myself. But sometimes, the "experiments" didn't last long enough for me to see the results.

For example, I've tried carb cycling before. I knew that on the low-carbs day, I was feeling so pooped out during my training that it has actually stopped me from trying it again. But on the other side, my body shape has changed. I was actually feeling lighter, slightly leaner and I love what I saw in the mirror. So does that mean the theory is wrong?

I don't think so. I will just need some adjustment on this diet and I'm good to go coz this diet is really working for me. So are all other famous fitness enthusiasts around the world said. Look at this guy, Kane Sumabat. His diet is very high in protein and fats, but yet he can still do advanced trainings. It's all in the mind, and I gotta train my mind to think differently.

I'm still in the midst of doing HIIT, but my trainer told me that, I should combine both HIIT and slow-paced cardio into my workout. He even suggested me to run for 45mins and not less than that. Which is why, I ran for 30mins last night.

I also know that functional training for 1hr works best for me. Otherwise, how do I manage to gain 1.7kg muscles in withint 2 months time? Something somewhere must be working right for me. And as far as I remember, I did mostly functional training with my trainer for the last 2 months.

My point is, don't believe what you read. Do it, experiment it, and you'll know what works best for you and your body.