The Ultimate Gym Athlete 2014 - Functionality and Equipment

The Ultimate Gym Athlete at your gym ...

There is a lot of talk about functional fitness in the industry these days. But in World Gym Challenge it means something completely different. It is the function of the website to allow you the user to search out split timings and results for the various challenges , so that you can train with a purpose and clearly define achievable goals .

At each level of the World Gym Challenge there is a goal to aim for. Ultimately it must be the fastest down the course to become the Ultimate Gym Athlete. Yet even those who try this challenge can be the fastest in many others levels.

The World Gym Challenge allows anybody to categorise themselves into various classes, so you can be the fastest in your age group within a certain area or country. The fastest as a football player, or the fastest for a particular profession. The point being, that although overall there can only be one Ultimate Gym Athlete for the World Gym Challenge, there can be many others in your gym and around the world in varying classes. There are absolutely no limits to the category of fitness levels that can compete in The World Gym Challenge.

Embracing the best product for The World Gym Challenge

This year was the first year we used the Wattbike. Technology has moved on to a degree in Gym Sports so its important to move with it. When the challenge first started we used the Life Fitness Upright bike. It was quite common in the industry and had always produced a good result with easy readout and performance markers. However there comes a time when you cannot ignore the evidence behind innovation in creating a performance stationary bike such as the Wattbike. Accurate to its readings of a normal racing bike. It simply had to be used.

2014 saw the first use of this bike to unify absolute results. Since its conception the bike has always been a problem marker as varying cadence outputs produced varying results. Technogym bikes and Matrix bikes seemed to give different results to that of the Life Fitness Bike , so it was time to unify the challenge bike to the Wattbike . Results from 2014 to those compared to 2006 can still be valid, but 2014 saw the introduction of The Wattbike.

Matrix treadmills at 2014 event were used and these treadmills came with a mandatory 321, countdown to start the treadmill, but also allow instant speed settings to reach desired speed. They performed very well on the day with clear readouts and easy movements to the desired incline settings.

The Concept 2 rower

When pushing your body to the upper limits of its performance boundaries in such a short space of time its important to use the equipment in a gym that will ensure that limits of experience and technical ability are kept to a minimum. In this the challenge becomes more accessible to members who would not have the technical ability to perform repeated specialists movements in say weight lifting - or something that needed a good hand eye coordination like racquet sports - or a particular sense of skill in balance and power , like football. It was important to find a piece of equipment that will allow the body to perform guided only by its power input. And the Concept 2 provides just that.

The Concept 2 rower will be found in most gyms and its brand speaks for itself. Regarded as the best pound for pound multi functional piece of equipment by many experts in the field of fitness performance , the Concept 2 rower is a must for this challenge.

Set at varying distances 300 m (Novice) 500 m (Intermediate) and 750 m (Advanced) the inclusion provides a twist to the challenge that plays heavily on tactics at the halfway marker - go to fast and you will tire yourself for that latter stages, go too slow and will you catch the lead that that opponent is taking? Cool calm and level headed athletes have often been caught out. A good pace distance at the top end is about 1:45 - male and around 1:50 female - and around the Intermediate stage at around 1:55 male 2:00 female.

The Bench Press and Shoulder Press

These two stations actually bare little resemblance to the traditional lifts in the gym. Lifts in the gym have been for years designed for body sculpture and strength. Use the bench to its one rep max or create big shoulders doing delt exercises will count for little during this station. Recruiting different muscle fibres is something that has to be trained for and Ultra FIT magazine take credit for recognising this in the 90's, when they introduced fixed weight, high rep movement which produces huge amount of lactic acid. It is dealing with this surge around the body that will define a fast time in these two stations and unless you train for it specifically you will come undone during a race.

The Bench Jumps and Sit Ups

Depending on what era of the Fitness Industry we are in will no doubt play part as to whether you believe that doing these exercises are good for you or not. Since the dawn of time we have been leaping over walls, fences , trenches, river banks etc and feeling that a spring and explosive power and forward motion from the feet to the hips as an plyometric exercise. Bench jumps are not in its truest form Plyometric , but it seems to be getting caught up in that bracket. They are however a good static jump exercise, which will test the build up of lactic in the shoulder balanced with a jump and high cardiovascular endurance having just finished the sprint on the bike.

Sit ups by tradition have been used by the military as a prime movement to test particular levels of fitness namely as many as you can do in two minutes etc. The highest requirement of sit ups in the World Gym Challenge is 50. As with the plank there comes a time when it seems pointless doing fixed reps beyond a certain point for time and we believe 50 reps of sit ups for time is a good balance.

The Dumbbell Step Up

If ever there was a favorite exercise of the World Gym Challenge it is the dumbbell step up. Traditionally set at 5 risers high plus deck this beauty of an exercise positioned near the finish line , just before the bench press and treadmill will question every step. At this stage you simply cannot afford to let up, these steps have to be completed in one and will test grip strength, lactic mixed with a heart rate similar to that of a very hard run.

The step up is probably the least used exercise in a gym , but when performed correctly with hips well forward and the leg creasing at around 90 degrees, will give a very fresh alternative to the run, yet take less time and uses more muscle groups, so effectively giving you more bang for your buck in the CV dept..

The Treadmill

In the modern gym one of the pieces most used is the treadmill. It comes in for a lot of criticism and fun pointed at it because you drive to a gym to use a treadmill and then drive home again? Its so automotive! But using the treadmill correctly and testing yourself is something that few people do. Running 10 k 5 km on the treadmill is correct when people say its boring. It is! But running for short distances and setting challenges really embraces the High Intensity levels of training that are very popular.

By using the treadmill with set goals and regular routines its very easy to progressively chart your improvements over time. Maybe certain part of the muscles in the leg are not being used as much as pure running but without question the heart does not know the difference and is still pumping at increased levels according to intensity used.

Using the treadmill every day for unfixed goals and just plodding along or using the high high inclines and holding on to the side rails is a crime in today's gym. Some gyms say no grunting when dead lifting. I would say no holding on to the side rails of a treadmill at high inclines - just increase the speed at a lower incline and power walk if you have to!

The last stage of the World Gym Challenge is the treadmill and I hate to say it there is nothing nice about it. The very first step you take at this stage is a cry for help from the body within. Your training now kicks in. Have you been training hard enough in the gym? If not this is going to be a painful experience , you will have to walk at some stage as the oxygen supply within your body begins to succumb to the lactic build as your heart rate increases. Those day now spent in the gym and using the treadmill are paying off if you can cope with the stress your body is now under. If not then you need to train harder. It's that simple.

The World Gym Challenge License

The World Gym Challenge chose these eight disciplines based on what equipment was being used in the gym and what exercise would not be a fad, but stand the test of time and be expressed as commonly used without the risk of induced injury through use.

It is there as a performance marker to showcase levels of fitness that can be achieved in a gym and welcomes friends and family to take part. It is best especially when children view the example of what their parents are achieving and will try and replicate this later on when they join a gym themselves.

It does however require training at the right level of fitness. By timing yourself in the challenges it will be very evident what level of fitness you should be competing at. If you are taking the Advanced and its taking you plus 25 minutes you are in the wrong category ! You can however train for the Intermediate - get quicker and move on, but this will take time.

The three red circles - or triangular points represent years in the WGC logo. It will take roughly three years to become an accomplished Gym Athlete. That's three years to achieve your maximum levels of performance if you train adequately and regularly at the correct levels of intensity. As always it is recommended to seek help in achieving this and be injury free with no known illness's.

The World Gym Challenge is free to any member of a gym to compete in. The gym signs up for access to the database and then only qualified personal trainers with a registered result of under 20 minutes male or 22 minutes female can submit results online or a gym or event organiser that has subscribed to the website and agreed a license can run events.

Each result submitted by events or by personal trainers immediately gets posted into the Ultimate Gym Athlete Leader Board and personal folders.

If you would like to know more information about the World Gym Challenge either as a personal trainer or gym please contact info@worldgymchallenge.com

The World Gym Challenge Race Report 4 will look at the Advanced and Elite results ...