Coming from a fitness background and having participated in various sports from martial arts to rugby, conventional training techniques have become a bore…period! What I mean by the conventional types of exercise are such things that you would find in your local fitness suite or centre, the fixed resistance machine that remove the stability in your exercises, the free weights section that is left as a lucky dip of exercises with no guidance, (unless you want to pay through the nose for a Personal Trainer), and then the core section, taken up by those who do the occasional sit-ups, not realising that the core is more than just that…

That’s when I met Stu Lanham, a like minded thinker that is as eager to introduce people to a different type of conditioning. In a nut shell people who take part in boxing or MMA (Mixed Marshal Arts) are arguably the most well rounded types of athlete, because firstly the cardio that a fighter must have to sustain the long interlude of expiration through the rounds, secondly the muscular endurance needed to insure that they manage to continue to produce the punches, kicks, knees, elbows and holds vital to winning the fight, and lastly the strength that a fighter must have to make and take every hit against an opponent.

Taking into consideration all the above, Room 13 Fitness & Development was born and out of this the combat conditioning class was developed. Now having called it combat conditioning, it does not mean that you have to take part in any combat yourself, it is simply just geared towards the functional strength training of those who do take part in it.

The class its self is broken up into three segments, these segments are never the same as the weeks roll on in order to reduce the forever common complaint of boredom and at the same time not allowing its participants to become accustom to the effort needed.  The three aspects of these segments however are always the focus; functional strength conditioning, cardiac technique, lactate thresholds and finishing with core conditioning. Each of the different segments relates to any and all combat sports overlapping in each aspect to give all participants of the session a well rounded work out. Before I go any further I must stress that this is not ‘Boxersize’, as much as I agree with the fact that it is a well driven and commercialised exercise circuit that is where it stops, and Room 13’s Combat Conditioning class starts…I firmly believe that our class offers people a chance to further their physical fitness to another level.

We invite any and all abilities to come along and give it a go, we already have a great mix gender class that is devoid of ego…we are here for the same reason and do not tolerate show boating or ego boasting…its all about the work and nothing else. The class runs for 2 hours, (from 7pm to 9pm) and is held at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Blackfield. All we ask is £3.00 a class, or you can pay monthly at a cost of £10 which works out out only £2.50 per session…an absolute bargain for a great work out.

Thank You,
Ross Cutting (Instructor)

Anyways, the first couple of months of 2010 has flown by with a buzz of excitement for up and coming projects and the launch of our new ‘Combat Conditioning’ class….

…but before I delve deep into those I’d like to welcome on board Ross and Andy to the Room 13 crew. I’ve had the privilege of working with both these guys for the past year and have been extremely impressed by not only their knowledge and passion for the industry; but their continual commitment to learn and improve both themselves and the services they can offer others. I’ll be getting details/character sheets up on all of us over the next couple of months, the site as I’m sure you’ll appreciate is a working progress and will continually develop as the year goes on.

Now, back to our new class…

Our ‘Combat Conditioning’ class runs every Wednesday at present from 19:00 – 21:00 at the QE2 Sports Pavilion (address can be found on our contact page). As the title suggests, the class uses techniques and conditioning drills most often associated with combat sports. This generally involves everything from good old fashioned circuits, bag and pad work, through to plyometrics and some intense functional training drills. Let me point something out, this is not Boxercise by any stretch of the imagination. I have nothing against Boxercise, I think its an excellent way to both stay in shape and vent off any pent-up aggression. However, our ‘Combat Conditioning’ class work towards building a higher level of endurance and recovery, looking at increased lactate threshold and pushing its participants that much further.

Now, that all said, it doesn’t mean you have to be involved in a combat sport to take part in the class, you just have to know that its going to be hard work. If you’re after an intense 120 minute workout drop me an email and we’ll try to accommodate you.

This really is just a quicky, I’ll be putting up a more in depth update in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here’s a new feature I’ll be adding more of as the months roll on…Training Tunes. I’m a big believer in the power of a potent tune while you’re training and here I’ll be sharing some of my favourites.

Here’s a great one to get that blood pumping, Drowning Pool and Bodies…ENJOY!!!

As a kid I was always interested in fitness, my sports of choice where Skateboarding and BMX. When I was introduced to the Rocky films by an older brother at the age of eleven, I knew then I had to find out more about this man, Sylvester Stallone and how he made his body look so amazing.

Having grown up in a family of Boxing fans, it was always part of our family discussions. My mum used to recount stories of the great Cassius Clay, whilst my brother Chris would always tell me about the great battles of Sugar Ray, the mighty Hearns and one of my all time favourites the Marvelous Marvin Haglar. For my twelfth birthday my parents got me my very own set of weights and I started straight away trying to emulate the amazing training montage that became a trade mark of any Rocky film. This then followed soon after with my own weight bench, speedball and punch bag…my bedroom had become a shrine to all things iron. Whilst all my friends had posters of A-Ha, Duran Duran and other bands of the day on their bedroom walls, mine had become adorned with pictures and news clippings of  Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, Sylvester Stallone, Mr T, Arnie and other great men that had pushed themselves mentally and physically to the max.

Unfortunately, as is the story of most young men at this period in their life, puberty was just around the corner and the inevitable distraction of girls became more and more of a priority. This soon passed and by the age of fifteen I was back on track and training. I was never 100% committed to the iron but it always played a part in training, whether it was cardio for surfing or leg work for riding.

By the age of seventeen I was living to skateboard and surf whenever it was possible. My nights where spent in the city until the early hours and my weekends where spent mostly on the west coast of England hunting and hoping for a wave or two. This as before became the routine for many years to come, life was skating, surfing and a girlfriend…in that order.

Time went on and marriage, children, mortgages became an ever increasing factor; so recreational activities took a back seat. Unfortunately at the same time I suffered a back injury which heavily restricted my movement and ability to train for quite some time…after being so active growing up this didn’t sit well. As is life’s great way of dealing you a hand every now and then, this was timed perfectly with the death of my brother Chris, the inevitable bad habits started to appear…drinking alcohol, smoking, and other recreational substances being some of the worst.

The weight soon started to hang around and bad timing being what it is once again, I went from a very active job to sitting behind a desk. Before I knew it I was several stone overweight, my cardio had fallen through the floor and age was becoming an ever increasing issue…

…enter Fatdads

I don’t know about you, but being thirty-seven and out of shape is bad enough. Having kids and trying to explain to them that they should eat healthy and be active…just makes me personally feel like a fraud. I’ve always been a believer in ‘leading by example’, whether it was managing a design team, playing a team sport or just trying to be the best you can be…put your money where your mouth is, no matter what.

Having spent the last ten years as a web designer I have learnt first hand the power of the Internet when used correctly. Now with Social Networking site like Facebook and Twitter helping people interact on a more personal level, it became obvious to me that a like-minded project dedicated to encouraging and supporting fathers in a similar position as I found myself a eighteen months ago had to be a good idea.

So over the past couple of years I’ve developed training and lifestyle principles specifically aimed at the middle aged father. Using myself as instructor, student and general Guinea Pig I’ve found what works and what doesn’t…what is realistically achievable with a family and a full time job, and what is just bloody ridiculous to undertake.

Fatdads is due to roll out in 2010 after becoming a trade mark product of Room 13…if we can encourage and support each other to become the best we can, leading positive and healthy lifestyles as a parent and father, this liberating approach to life will have no choice but to filter down to our children and encourage them to do the same…

…LEADING BY EXAMPLE!!!

Everyone at Room 13 would like to wish you all a happy Christmas and a peaceful, healthy New Year…

Well I won’t burden you with all the details, but its been a constant ‘head against the wall’ feeling for the past month or so. Dealing with constant training niggles that come with the onset of age (usual groans and moans there I guess) and worst of all dealing with narrow minded individuals who can’t see past their own goals and objectives…and at the same time, don’t care who they step on to achieve these…

…as a wise man once said to me, “…life can be a real bitch sometimes, but in that challenge holds the victory” which says it all for me. Dealing with these set backs is part of the battle and getting through it all holds the victory…

So, besides these little distractions training is back on track and everyone here at Room 13 is gunning for the the New Year. We are currently working on a couple of video projects that will hopefully be live in early 2010…

Don’t forget that you can always stay up to date via our Facebook page or by following us on Twitter.

That’s about it for now, will check back very soon with a complete update…and some handy hints to keep you training whilst enjoying the odd treat through the holidays…

Trying some new exercises, playing around with my diet and seeing what works and what doesn’t. I’ve been loosely monitoring my body stats over the past couple of months and its been interesting to see my body hydration and how it fluctuates. Its hard to not get to wound up in numbers and percentages when your trying to achieve a certain goal, whether its adding mass or loosing body fat. I’ve even gone so far as to remove scales etc from anywhere that I use on a daily basis, instead they stay in a cupboard and only come out once a week.

So thing are going well, stats where looking promising…well going the right way at least, which is always a good sign. Then, guess who pushes it that little step to far? Yep, that’s right, yours truly…

Just an ordinary morning like the rest, I’d got up at 7:00am, sorted the kids out and got them off to school. I got down the gym for around 8:45am and feeling up for a hard workout…by this time the No-Xplode was doing its thing and I was ready for tearing it up.

Warmed up, and hit the smith machine…

No just rewinding quickly, I’ve had a semi-weak lower back for sometime after numerous skating injuries and a rather lovely mountain bike prang a few years back…

So, back to the present you’d think I’d know better and concentrate on building strength in the lumber region. Nope…being the dumb fuck I can be, I fell fowl to the most common reason for injury in the gym, basically not thinking. It wasn’t ‘ego’, I don’t believe that belongs in the gym, let alone in everyday life and I try to rid myself of it on a daily basis. I was feeling strong, I had been working on my core more in the past couple of months than anything else…so just wanted to see what my one-rep max could be on dead lifts.

…at this point anyone who trains with weights regularly is now going are you fucking mad, one-rep max with a trick back, you dumb ass.

You know what? you all absolutely right, never have I been more annoyed with myself than today. I built up slowly and got to 120kgs (264lbs) easily without any twinges and tweaks, so added another 10kgs (22lbs) and again all felt good…a little pressure in the hips but nothing that got alarm bells ringing. So here I was 130kgs (286lbs) on the bar lifted with minimal problems, not at all easy, but no immediate alarming signs of potential failure. At this point I was confident I could add another 10-15kgs and be at my max.

I added 5kgs to the bar, got myself in position and started to lift…felt a slight burning in my left hip, but instead of stopping which I should of done I lifted through to straighten out. It was at three quarters of the way through the movement I know I’d made a mistake push this. Finished the movement and lowered the bar, and immediately hit the treadmill to try and walk off any start of stiffness…this wasn’t going to help.

So for the next 24 – 48hrs it’ll be hot and cold packs…and making plans for strengthening the lumber area. Your only as good as the weakest part of your body, and today I know I could have lifted heavier but the lower back wouldn’t have none of it.

Moral of the story, no matter how amped you feel when hitting the weights…keep your head on your shoulders and lift with your brain as well as your muscles…

I must admit, I was exactly the same when I was told about NO-Xplode by BSN, and if it hadn’t come from a trusted source I may well of never tried the supplement for myself. However, I started doing some of my own research and saw common thread throughout…this stuff actually works! People where admitting to amazing focus and getting dialed into there workout straight away, not having any energy dips and being able to blast through their training.

So, I had a look on the BSN website to see if this wonder supplement was available in this country and where I could get it from.  I found that the UK distributor of BSN products is a company called Trio Nutrition. On their website you’ll find a complete range of the BSN products, along with the now infamous NO-Xplode.

Now a large tub of NO-Xplode will set you back £34.99, which is by no means cheap, especially if you’re on a limited budget like most of us are. On top of this the last thing you want to do is spend that money on a product and all its hype to find that it either doesn’t live up to its legendary status or for some reason its a little to potent for your stomach…which can often be the case with these cutting edge supplements. So, thinking outside the box, the clever guys and gals at Tri Nutrion have made a sample pack available which gives you a chance to try some of their products without the cost. At £4.99 this is a great way to try out not only NO-Xplode, but a whole range of BSN products.

Needless to say I gave it a go and ordered my sample pack…

A few days later I had a delivery of a fat Jiffy envelope full of BSN goodies, ranging from the hefty ‘Hy – Pro’ bars to some awesome peanut cookies, Cellmass and the long awaited No -Xplode.

First impressions are a little daunting when you read on the back of the sample pack instructions on testing your tolerance. So, I wanted to leave testing this until I had a typical training day…which was today.

Depending on my work rota, I like to work out first thing in the morning if possible, which doesn’t give room for gathering energy from a breakfast or shake and I always tend to flat spot about 15 minutes into a workout and the remaining session becomes just a case of punching out the reps and going home for some much needed protein.

Well I followed the instructions and tested my tolerance accordingly, and all seemed to be fine. However, I wasn’t to pleased with the flavour; orange had a very medicinal tang going on, but I have it on good authority that raspberry is a good flavour to go with. After reading everything about NO-Xplode I wasn’t to sure what to expect, had a few gurgles from the stomach, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Its recommended that you take NO-Xplode 45 -60 minutes before your workout, and so after doing this I was standing around thinking “suckered once again, same old talk”…how wrong could I of been.

Its hard to explain the feeling you get once you start shifting the weights around, the pump in your muscles is just amazing. I was working triceps, notoriously one of the weakest parts of my body and a workout I never look forward to. Today it was a whole new story, I was focused and into it so hard that I really had to force myself to ease up before I go heavier then I should and injure something. It’s a struggle to put it into words the results the feeling you get from this stuff…so much so now that I’ve built it up in writing this piece only to stumble on closing…

…the bottom line was I felt stronger, lifted heavier and didn’t get the massive energy flat spot I normally get when doing weights first thing on an empty stomach. I became extremely focused at the job in had along with an energy I had never really had that early in the morning.

If you fancy giving NO-Xplode a try, why not get yourself a sample pack, I’ve listed some useful links below.

• Tri Nutrition (BSN Distributers in the UK)
• BSN Supplment samples
• NO-Xplode

Why not come back and let us know your results…

After a fairly short, but intense session of kettle bells, skipping, dead-mans walk and ab work, the aches and pains are making there presence known. I have localised pain at the base of my calves, the glutes feel like iron…real buns of steal feeling…can’t help tensing no matter how weird it feels. Worst of all are my abs; being punched in between leg raises and then having a medicine ball bounced off my lower abs and obliques is starting to make itself felt.

The thing I’ve noticed when training abs is its not the post 24 hours that is the issue, its the following 48 hours…so its going to be fun and games tomorrow. Unfortunately its that old cliche, no pain no gain…obviously its the level of pain you have to consider of course.

As twisted as it my seem, I do like this feeling after a good training session, it’s a good marker that you’ve pushed yourself that little bit further…

Rest day today and then hitting it hard again tomorrow morning…

We have some great plans for the site over the next couple of months and hope you’ll keep checking back to see what we’re up to. In the mean time we look forward to your contributions, and hope this site helps in some small way for you all to lead healthy lifestyles…

Work hard, train hard, play hard!!!