The Phoenix Extreme Gym X Training Challenge 2013
Phoenix Solutions in Evesham provided the venue for the penultimate event in this years X Training Series. Organised with slick military precision by Stuart and Annette Leng,who together made sure that hard work and experience created the ideal venue and race planning to provide a challenging course to the UK Gym Athletes who had travelled from all over the UK to compete.
Phoenix Solutions was a well equipped modern gym, stacked with latest equipment including a gravity treadmill , Reebok multi function frame and Star Trac fitness and Life Fitness equipment. It very generously supplied fresh fruit and meals for all those who turned up; some from as far as Scotland with much needed fuelling before or after the event.
The course had ten stages and would take the competitors anywhere between 20 to 30 mins to complete on average and from the the very first stage to the last would be a maximum effort. This is the nature of Gym X Training to push yourself to the extreme levels of fitness in the shortest possible time.
The Results ...
Adavnced |
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Intermediate |
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Beginner |
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 The WattBike ...
On hand was Eddie Fletcher , one of the UK's leading Sports Physiologists and Sports Scientists, who played a influential role in training and development of the WattBike, who lent his skills and the WattBikes on the day to record some crucial data from the performance of the gym athletes who took part.
The distance to cover ranged form 1 km to 2 km depending on the level you entered. "
The trick here was peddle as fast you can in a lighter gear as not to 'mash' the legs for later stations" said Eddie later. Still some very impressive stats were taken from what is considered the best upright bike on the market.
Alternate Squat Thrusts ...
An ingenious board with a convex curve made sure that the feet crossed over the line at all times and no sliding or floating could take place. Everybody had to complete more or less the same range of motion. The fastest for 120 (60 each leg) was Tracey Davies in 44 seconds.
  
The Shoulder Press ...
In Gym X Training there is massive lactic build up and none so more in this crucial link to the shoulder press and Alternate Squat Thrust. The emphasis on maintaining a shoulder dominant prone position while completing the alternate Squat Thrusts is bad enough , but then to go straight into the shoulder press is very taxing because one is isolated movement the next is a push movement and the reason that weights in Gym X Training are relatively light and the reps many. Fastest male of the day - Charlie Patton 40 at 25 kg at 38 seconds - fastest female - Tracey Davies 40 at 15 kg - 43 seconds.
 
 The Rower ...
More or less every gym has one and the rower features constantly in Gym X Training for one very good reason. It is the king of exercise and no such more then in this sport. The rower is just one of those pieces of kit that is faultless. Its movement pattern and intensity are unrivalled with any other equipment and makes this a very tactical stage of the race. Go too fast and you will not recover sufficiently - go too slow and you will see your opponent edge away from you. What do you do? In my experience the energy used to go flat out would be wiser in the closing stages and most gym athletes perform just under their cruise mode - around 1:45 pace and 1:55 pace for the advanced male. Fastest row of the day Bing Cosby with 750 m in 2.54 and Advanced female Tracey Davies with 3:07
Bench Jumps ...
Probably the most traditional and controversial exercise in Gym X Training. These jumps are fixed at the shoulder and taxing once again on the shoulder but hit the cv system too. It is either by maxing out your heart rate or building too much lactic in the shoulders that people stop. Its a very unique exercise and is carried out in many formats - with a bench or just on a floor . Either way they are here to stay and in this challenge, just before the box steps is energy and strength sapping. Alex Woods performed 120 jumps in 1.14 and Gwen Fennell in 1.23 .
 
Step Ups ...
  A personal favourite of mine in training. Step ups are a necessary evil - quite boring to watch for the spectator but nothing really drains you as much as facing your competitor and having a battle of minds in not stopping.
The step up when performed properly with hips well forward on the upwards phase is again an ultimate exercise - ok boring possibly, they lack the shaz of doing pull ups, but when you look at the muscles used and energy systems covered, then it soon starts to dawn on you that the step up with weights is actually be an ideal choice to include any in Gym X Training Challenge.
The fastest step ups on the day 80 x 2 x 12 kg d/b advanced male 2.27 and female 80 x 2 x 8 kg d/b 2.46.
The Box Squat ...
The surprise of the day and who would have thought it? As I heard this comment in the changing room "Those box squats were really hard, I really wasn't expecting how hard they would be" And I think the sentiment summed up the exercise perfectly. They are a silent assassin and will kill your legs. because lets face it, you have just been leg dominant on the rower - the bench jumps - the step ups and now the Box Squats - its relentless and a perfect body weight exercise. On the day there were two variants to this challenge which were acceptable to the judges the Sumo Squat and the' Russian Box Squat' as I named it with its similarity to the famous Cossack Dance.
  
Sit Ups ...
  Sit ups are the ugly fashion statement of the fitness industry. For years they have been used by the military for fitness tests and considered to be a abdominal movement test. Its probably somewhere in the middle (literally) flexion from the hips tied in with CNS memory pattern will enable you to do these movements - not what the abs actually look like. You can have the greatest six pack on earth and not be able to do this station if you haven't trained for it. This really is the test to see if you can perform these reps and execute a movement pattern that in truth if you trained well enough will give you a bit of a breather before the Treadmill.
 The Treadmill
Now here we have the king of controversy, The treadmill. Heard many times .. that ain't running ... how can it be running the floor moves and not you ? And probably the best way to answer this is try the Treadmill during the running phase. Because I can guarantee you if you haven't been running in training, you will be walking on this station. Simply put its a mixture of both of which a necessary skill is needed and that is controlling the heart rate. As soon as you reach near 95% mhr its only a matter of time before you slow down or start walking.
At various levels of incline and distance, the Treadmill now is at the mercy of the competitor and at this level its relevant what brand of treadmill you use. Life Fitness have been reliable throughout my experiences in gym sports .. unfortunately with some of the lesser brands the treadmill has been known to trip out which is a disaster for the competitor and the one element in Gym X Training that is reliant on technology and equipment being put to the test. Love it or hate it - this is the station that dreams are made on or crushed. And tactically where probably the most ground can be made, but it is the hardest phase. Having said that if the rower was at the final hurdle, you can split hairs because your heart does not understand exercise it understands the need to supply oxygen around the body and when its all used up .. you have to stop or ease down. Welcome to X Gym X Training because the final phase in this competition is the Bench Press and the chances are your heart rate is near maximum.
The Bench Press
Waiting for you is the Bench Press on completion of the Treadmill. Again weights are quite low and reps high because we know your heart rate is maxed out and even the smallest weight at this level will seem like lifting an elephant. It is here where all the training is brought together for that final drive of pushing your body to its absolute limits - and make no mistake, you are there. Doug Harrison commented that just after the Bench press is heart rate was reading 199 ... What's your max I asked? .. 199 was his reply !!
So there you have it, now you have to ask is Gym X Training for you gym? Its taking the elements of the what you do day in and day out and putting it all to the test, not just on one phase of training - but literally everything you can do. It unravels the jigsaw and fits it all together. Gym X Training is the ultimate experience and will get you fitter quicker then any known method in a gym. Why? Because currently there is not a sport for gyms. And secondly you will have the results in performance to prove it.
Setting the right balance ...
Much of what has been said today is based on evidence of those who perform at the very top level, who have spent years training, but they all started somewhere. Its up to those who organise events to set the right levels of exercise. As long as you enter competitions that are relevant to your level of training then there is no reason why anybody who visits the gym cannot enter a Gym X Training Challenge, that means you , the Beginner , who may just be wondering what to train for next?
 Summary ...
If your gym would like to be involved in creating its very own Gym X Training Challenge for its members , there is nothing really stopping you please contact info@worldgymchallenge.com and I will be happy to discuss creating a unique challenge for your gym and give you the ability to publish results as soon as you finish the competition online and into personal folders for all of your gym members.
Much is said of Tough Mudder events and Tough Guy and its the experience of competing and pushing yourself as herd mentality through boundaries of pain and torture, battling elements of cold , rain or blistering heat. yet the final station on Gym X Training is all of those but under the scrutiny of fellow racers, family and friends ... is it for you ? Could a Gym X Training event be your next challenge?
Retention is a dish best served to the members and their results ....
  
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