Doing Kettlebell Workouts Like Jason Statham

Decided to change my approach to fitness and muscle building and a pal down the pub said that  Jason Statham is a kettlebell fan. He makes some great films and is a real action hero. His height and choice of clothes always seems to make him look less bulky and strong than he really is though.

So, I have a 16 kg kettlebell (thinking a 12 kg one may have been a better choice) and I am doing 2 arm swings, 1 arm swings, squats, high pulls, cleans, squat jumps and figure 8's.

Great fun and very tiring.

The other day I also started helping my brother with some house removals. That is real work. Knackered now!

Bruce Lee Abs Workout

Bruce Lee was a God amongst us mere mortals. He was a man of steel, but steel that flowed like water. He was a living Wolverine. Every muscle was toned to total perfection. Especially his abdominals. His amazing 6 pack.

Bruce Lee's abdominals were so well defined you could lie Bruce down on the floor and stand slices of toast in between them.

Bruce trained his abs relentlessly. Every day he did core exercises, either as part of a martial arts workout or bodybuilding / weight training.

A lot of the exercises Bruce did are no longer recommended due to back problems. But he loved standard military style sits ups, Roman chair exercises, as well as crunches and weighted abdominal exercises, hanging leg raises and side bends.

But getting abs like Bruce Lee is not just a matter of training like him. You need his genetics too, and eat like him, and have his willpower. I lack all of that myself. I binged tonight. I want to be fit, but I obviously just do not want it that much at the moment.

If you look old, it is because you are!

People that look younger than others the same age as themselves tend to live longer. Natural deaths occur sooner in people that look like they have had a hard life.

Even adjusting for their real age, sex, and the environment in which they grew up, the perceived age of the twins was linked to their physical and mental agility and with the ability of their cells ability to replicate, a key sign of ageing.

Prof Kaare Christensen from the University of Southern Denmark, who led the study, said that the findings could prove the usefulness of comparing a person’s real age with how old they look as an indicator of their overall health.

“When assessing health, physicians traditionally compare perceived and chronological age, and for adult

patients the expression “looking old for your age” is an indicator of poor health,” the authors of the research write.

“Our study indicates that this practice, which has existed for decades if not centuries, 14is actually a useful clinical approach especially given that in a clinical setting perceived age is based on an array of indicators in addition to facial appearance.”

The research points out that many lifestyle habits which are bad for overall health, including smoking, sunbathing and eating junk food can also cause people to look older.

The findings were published in the British Medical Journal.

You Fatties Gotta Get Fit Innit!

So, you wanna get fit 'cos you're a bit fat, but you love your burgers and cheese sarnies, so what do you do? Well, you gotta get off your backside and sort yourself out, workout, eat well, pump iron like your names Arnold Schwarzenegger, run like you are Usain Bolt, smack a golf ball about a park like your a Tiger in the Woods.

But how? Learn how on the web. Head over to Linkpedia and check out their health and fitness section. The directory includes information websites, personal trainers, gyms and fitness stores. Oh, and just found this list, its a bit slow to load, but a few tasty treats.

Sandwiches and Chocolate Brownies

Just had a lunch meeting with company directors, and my diet went out the window again. There was a huge array of sandwiches on offer, which meant that the wheat-free diet suffered in a major way. Then there were some very tasty chocolate brownies. I ate four. I could have had to be polite, but instead had four, as I am a fat pig.

On the bright side (of this week) my kung-fu master contacted me yesterday to ask when I will be training again. I have yet another cold at the moment, but hope to get back into training soon. Not everyone has the opportunity to learn the five point exploding heart technique from a kung-fu master, so I really should attempt to prove myself worthy and get my ass back in the swing of things.

Maybe tomorrow if I feel better.

Bruce Lee Fitness and Diet

There is no doubt that Bruce Lee is still the greatest martial artist of all time. Van Damme, Norris, Jackie Chan, Jet Li - they are all good. They all have their own unique styles and they have all produced some great films. But for dedication, and athletic appearance, Bruce Lee is still the best.
If you want to learn more about the man, how he ate, how he worked out, then head over to MotleyHealth.com, as they have a few good articles on Bruce Lee.

Time to get fit and lose weight, again

God damn it, it's 2009 already, and I am still a lardy ass. My biceps got bigger, which disguised my beer belly a little, but they seem to have shrunk once again. Maybe due to lack of quaffing.

Talking of quaffing, Terry Pratchett has Alzheimers, that is sad news. Was that new news in 2008? I think so. Great writer, hope he stays well long enough to write some more disc world novels.

So, what will I be doing in 2009 to get myself in shape? Maybe I will drink Wu Yi tea and eat Acai berries. Then again, maybe I will get real and realise that these are just stupid marketing tricks that dumb witted nonces fall for. I mean, how can drinking tea and eating berries make you lose weight? What a load of bull. Just because Oprah Winfrey endorses these products does not mean that you can throw all logic out the window. Instead, drink PG Tips and grapefruits. This will help you lose weight just as well. In fact, grapefruit boosts your metabolism, so that will actually help.

I may start the MotleyHealth daily weight loss diet. Here it is:

Breakfast: Start the day with muesli and a grapefruit
Morning snack: Cottage cheese makes a good morning snack as it requires not preparation.
Lunch: Extra hot mince beef chilli, with extra kidney beans. For dessert eat a fat free yoghurt.
Afternoon snack: If your energy levels start to wane, grab a bag of pistachio nuts and munch your way through them. This should keep you going through to dinner. Have a whey protein shake too.
Dinner: Soup of the day, followed by baked salmon served on a bed of watercress and rocket.
Post workout (any time of day): Whey protein shake.


Wish me luck. String Vest really wants to get fit and lose some belly fat this year!!!!

Beer Belly Boys Build Big Biceps and Lose Belly Fat

I was walking along the high street a few weeks ago and noticed my reflection in a shop window, and was shocked at how large my gut had got. I had noticed that my belt was a bit tighter, in fact I may have even loosened it a notch or two, but I really failed to notice haw fat I had got. So, I thought, Stringvest, you need to do something about this, you fat bastard. So what did I do? I hit the gym. And how did I train? Did I run, skip, row, swim? No, I lifted weights.

You see, I have a theory. In men, beer bellies are really the norm, onlt freakishly thin guys have six packs. So my master plan was thus: to build up my biceps and shoulders, to make my gut look smaller. If people see my huge arms (and biceps seem to be almost as easy for me to grow as a belly) then their gaze will not fall so rapidly to my fat beer belly. So I dedicated the next few weeks to working my biceps, triceps and shoulders to build my upper body. I decided to do a little research, and came across an article on how to lose belly fat. Already I see good results, my arms are bigger, and my gut has even got a little smaller due to me following the rules in the said article. So things are moving in the right direction. Already I have managed to tighten the belt, and maybe in a few more months I will be back to my old slim self.... maybe!