ira’s abs

Athletic Challenges and Achievements by Ordinary People

Archive for June, 2010

Isner-Mahut Match Like Running Two Marathons Or Doing Jumping Jacks Throughout 11 Hours

Jun 30

Posted by ira in diet, tennis | No Comments

While we admire John Isner winning the longest-ever tennis match against Nicolas Mahut—70-68 after 11 hours over three days, and 7 hours five minutes for part of the fifth set alone on the second day in 81 degrees—it’s the fitness, endurance and determination to keep playing by both men that impresses me the most. Even if Isner was looking and acting like a zombie with no idea of where he was and what was happening.

John Isner

How did they survive it? Here is what : Lauren La Rose wrote for The Canadian Press:

…So just what would it feel like to play that much tennis over the course of three days? Imagine expending the energy equivalent of running two marathons, says Brendon Gurd, an assistant professor in the school of kinesiology and health studies at Queen’s University.
Gurd says the intensity of tennis is probably on par with a light jog.

“It was separated by two nights, but they essentially jogged for 11 hours total, so it’s a huge demand,” he said from Kingston, Ont.

“What goes along with that is as they’re exercising, they’re using stored fuels, so they’re using carbohydrates stored within their muscles, they’re using fat stored in their fat cells, so a lot of that as you continue to exercise will become depleted.”

Lance Watson of B.C.-based LifeSport, who has been coaching triathlon and distance runners for more than 20 years, including Canadian Olympic triathlete champion Simon Whitfield, said the big difference with tennis is that it’s a stop-and-go sport.

“Eleven hours of that would just be brutal because there would be so much muscle teardown,” he said from Victoria.

“I guess for the regular person if you could imagine doing sets of jumping jacks on and off for 11 hours I think that would be a comparison.”

Nicolas Mahut

Gurd said in a rough estimate, the players were probably burning somewhere in the neighbourhood of 600 to 700 calories an hour, but those figures could potentially be higher.

Both Gurd and Watson said staying nourished and hydrated while competing is critical.

Watson said in working with Ironman athletes, a huge part of their preparation and training is becoming systematic about the way they consume calories and fluids. For example, many will set their watches to go off every 15 minutes to ensure they’ll remember to eat a certain amount of carbs, he said.

“They would be probably preparing their hydration and their nutrition for their typical length of match and they wouldn’t have probably preloaded and kept the calories coming in in anticipation of that kind of an endurance match.”

Gurd said Isner and Mahut were probably eating as many carbohyrdates as possible to stay fuelled, while also guzzling Gatorade, which is source of both carbs and hydration. Read the rest of this entry »

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Slip, Slop, Slap And Pee Clear To Prevent Heat Problems During Summer

Jun 29

Posted by ira in exercise, sports | No Comments

I recently played tennis seven days in a row and 11 out of 13 days. In these hot, humid summer months, when the temperature is often over 80 (it was 95 two days ago), my routine has been to go on the court around 7 pm and play an hour and a half or two hours until dark. Then a shower, a meal. It’s 10:30 by the time I am done, and I am tired. Too tired and sore for abs crunches and weight lifting, especially on days when I play tennis in the morning for two hours as well.

So here are some guidelines on how to avoid heat injuries (I located them on The Stretching Institute’s web site). Most obvious is to drink gallons of water, but not usually known is to avoid caffeine, alcohol and sugary, fizzy drinks like sodas and cola.

Tips for Training and Playing in the Heat.

Heat injuries, which are totally preventable, are generally defined in three stages:

Dehydration: This is the first stage—your body simply suffers from a lack of fluid.
Heat Exhaustion: This is the next step, and if not treated immediately, serious injury and even death can result.
Heat Stroke: This is the worst stage—a victim can die within minutes.

What Causes Heat Injuries?
 Read the rest of this entry »

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Abs Abound On Abercrombie’s Bags

Jun 25

Posted by ira in abs pictures | No Comments

Retailer Abercrombie & Fitch thinks its customers love abs so much that they put a set on their shopping bags:

Abercrombie Abs

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Cardio Exercise May Be As Good As Anti-Depressant Drugs

Jun 21

Posted by ira in exercise | No Comments

Here’s an article in Time Magazine claiming “that patients who undergo aerobic exercise regimens see comparable improvement in their depression as those treated with medication…Exercise boosts mood. It not only relieves depressive symptoms, but appears to prevent them from recurring. So do some cardio if you are moody or feeling depressed.

“…Smits and Otto recommend the familiar 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, like walking, five times per week, or 30 minutes of high-intensity aerobic exercise three times a week. These doses, which are regularly recommended for physical fitness, are the only ones that have been well tested for depression. “But we can’t say at this point that more wouldn’t be better,” Smits says. “Or maybe less would be better. We really don’t know.” Too few tests have been run. It is also unclear whether anaerobic exercise, like weight lifting, would have the same mood-lifting effects – or whether exercise works as well in severely depressed patients as it does in sufferers of mild or moderate depression.”

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Ronaldo’s Relaxed Abs

Jun 18

Posted by ira in abs pictures, photos of celebrities, soccer | No Comments

We’ve seen his abs before, but this is such a nice shot of them that I had to post it. He just casually slouches in a chair, and the abs define themselves so easily. Think he does any special stomach exercises? Or does he just hit soccer balls upside down all day? I read that he is the highest paid FIFA player.

Cristiano Ronaldo's abs pop without any effort

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Jason Statham’s Workout Routine

Jun 14

Posted by ira in abs pictures, diet, exercise, gym stuff, photos of celebrities, weight loss/overweight | No Comments

After admiring his physique, I bumped into this Men’s Health article about how Jason lost 17 pounds in six weeks and how he grew all his muscles. It’s an eye opener to someone like me who loves sugar and spends 30 minutes doing only abs exercises. Jason’s entire routine takes just 35 minutes. But he does it six days a week, and the pictures show he is doing something very right. I love his comment in the article: If Statham’s workout is your model, you should understand that, at times during our talk, he referred to it as horrible, nauseating, bastard, murder, nightmare, and priceless, preceding each description with the word “f–king.”

Jason's muscles pop in Transporter 3

Statham’s Secrets of Superlean

Actor Jason Statham took on a brutal new training regimen and dropped 17 pounds in 6 weeks. So, what are you waiting for?

“He’s a bit lardy, isn’t he?” Jason Statham says in his gritty British voice, chuckling. He’s referring to the man in two pictures he’s holding, a pair of classic “before” shots, one from the front, one from the back. Indeed, the man in the photos has some extra dough, and not the green kind. There’s muscle there for sure, but no definition at all. Jason Statham isn’t ripping on just anyone: He’s the guy in the photos.

Jason Statham’s weight gain came the same way it does for most of us: a few too many beers and a couple of extra servings, compounded over time. Work out hard and you’ll crave calories as fuel at the same time you loathe the millstone they can form around your middle.

“I never gave a f–k about a calorie,” Statham says. “An apple? It’s good for me. I’d have five. Bananas? Eat the bunch.”

Statham was staying active at work, filming the shoot-’em-up War, in which he has his first fight scenes with a worthy adversary — Jet Li. But the pounds crept onto his torso and hung there like the remembrance of meals past.

Now Jason Statham brushes aside the ugly photos on the coffee table in his living room and gives me a dose of his current reality: He lifts up his shirt. He’s shredded — rumble-strip abs, cords in his chest, veins in his arms.

“That’s 17 pounds in 6 weeks, mate,” he says, and then plops down on his sofa again. “And that’s working out 6 days a week for, at most, about 35 minutes a day. I’ve never, ever gotten results like this before.”

That’s a bold statement from a man who used to be on the British Olympic diving team and lists mixed martial arts (that’s UFC-style fighting) as a hobby. In fact, he sounds like an infomercial. So what’s the secret?

Prepare to sweat. And hurt. And, well, eat. But only enough to stoke your fire, not smother it.

Jason in jail in Death Race


The Workout

If Statham’s workout is your model, you should understand that, at times during our talk, he referred to it as horrible, nauseating, bastard, murder, nightmare, and priceless, preceding each description with the word “f–king.”

What follows are his general guidelines and some sample exercises. For a typical week’s complete workout, go here.

He works out every day but Sunday with Logan Hood, a former Navy SEAL that runs Epoch Training (www.epochtraining.com). Saturdays are reserved for hour long sustained trail runs in the Hollywood Hills while the other 5 days are spent at 87Eleven, a full service action film company and stunt studio located in a converted warehouse near the Los Angeles airport. Hollywood stuntmen own and train at the unique facility. There are trampolines, climbing ropes, heavy bags, barbells, kettlebells, crash pads, and a complex apparatus of pullup bars.

There are only two real rules to the workout.
1. No repeats. “I haven’t had one single day in 6 weeks that has been a repeat,” he says. “Every single day has had a different combination of exercises. Obviously, you repeat exercises over the course of 6 weeks, but you’ll never do that workout you did on Thursday the 23rd of August again. It always changes, and that’s what keeps it so interesting.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Movie Muscle Machos With Well Built Bods

Jun 12

Posted by ira in abs pictures, photos of celebrities | No Comments

These two guys put a lot of time into making their muscles pop out. I admit I have a lot of admiration for what it took to look like this. Jason’s workout routine sounded so impressive that I will post it soon. When he does pull ups in Death Race, I can relate to some of his efforts. When he strips to the waist for his girl friend in Transporter 3, I can understand why some people think of sculpted bodies as beautiful objects and forget that there are people with feelings and emotions inside. The Expendables is a new action movie due out in this August that not only has Stallone AND Statham in it, but also Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren and Mickey Rourke. Lots of macho men with muscles in this flick for sure…

Jason Statham's abs look sensational in Death Race

Sylvester Stallone in The Expendables

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Abby Is Alive, Located And Rescued

Jun 11

Posted by ira in OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES, sailing | No Comments

Abby Sunderland in happier, warmer days

After 20 hours of silence, contact was made again, and help is on the way. The boat’s mast was broken by 30-foot waves and is dragging the sail in the water. The yacht is not taking on water, and Abby seems fine. You can read all about it here.

But renowned Australian round-the-world sailor Ian Kiernan said Abby should not have been in the southern Indian Ocean during the current southern hemisphere winter. “Abby would be going through a very difficult time with mountainous seas and essentially hurricane-force winds,” Kiernan told Sky News television.

Makes me wonder why then she chose to take that route at this time? But that is part of the excitement and mystery of learning about other people’s adventures.

16-Year-Old Girl In Trouble On Solo World Sail

Jun 10

Posted by ira in OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES, sailing | 1 Comment

It all sounds so do-able, when you read about people’s heroic and victorious adventures. Kids who row across an ocean alone, climb Mt. Everest, sail around the world. But these attempts are very dangerous, and much of their success is pure luck in my opinion, often related to good weather. Let’s hope this girl is located, and that she is ok. Do you think their parents are irresponsible for letting them take off. Could anyone stop the kids from trying? You can learn more about Abby by reading her blog.

Abby's 40-foot sloop, Wild Eyes

By JOHN ANTCZAK, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES – A 16-year-old Southern California girl attempting a solo sail around the world was feared in trouble Thursday in the frigid, heaving southern Indian Ocean after her emergency beacons began signaling and communication was lost.

Abby Sunderland’s family was talking with U.S. and international governments about organizing a search of the remote ocean between southern Africa and Australia, family spokesman Christian Pinkston said. Conditions can quickly become perilous for any sailor exposed to the elements in that part of the world. “We’ve got to get a plane out there quick,” said Pinkston, adding that the teen’s family in Thousand Oaks was asking for prayers for her safety.

“They are exhausting every resource to try to mobilize an air rescue including discussions with the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Coast Guard and various international rescue organizations,” he said. The closest land is France’s Reunion Island, east of Madagascar, though the exact distance wasn’t clear.

Abby Sunderland is hopefully NOT lost at sea

Abby last communicated with her family at 4 a.m. PDT and reported 30-foot swells but was not in distress, Pinkston said. An hour later the family was notified that her emergency beacons had been activated, and there was no further communication. Pinkston said the beacons were manually activated.

Her brother, Zac, who sailed around the world at age 17, told Los Angeles radio station KNX that Abby was in a heavy storm at the time she called home. “We’re still trying to figure out the rescue situation,” he said. “There’s two boats headed out to her position, one is an estimated 40 hours, the other is 48. Right now we’re trying to figure out if there is any way faster. She’s in the middle of nowhere pretty much in the southern Indian Ocean. There’s nothing closer.” He said Abby’s boat was most likely not completely submerged because another beacon would be triggered at a depth of 15 feet.

Abby set sail from Los Angeles County’s Marina del Rey in her 40-foot boat, Wild Eyes, on Jan. 23 in an attempt to become the youngest person to sail around the world alone without stopping. Her brother briefly held the record in 2009. Abby soon ran into equipment problems and had to stop for repairs. She gave up the goal of setting the record in April, but continued on.

On May 15, Australian 16-year-old Jessica Watson claimed the record after completing a 23,000-mile circumnavigation in 210 days.

Abby left Cape Town, South Africa, on May 21 and on Monday reached the halfway point of her voyage. On Wednesday, she wrote in her log that it had been a rough few days with huge seas that had her boat “rolling around like crazy…I’ve been in some rough weather for awhile with winds steady at 40-45 knots with higher gusts,” she wrote. “With that front passing, the conditions were lighter today. It was a nice day today with some lighter winds which gave me a chance to patch everything up. Wild Eyes was great through everything but after a day with over 50 knots at times, I had quite a bit of work to do.”

Information on her website said that as of June 8 she had completed a 2,100-mile leg from South Africa to north of the Kerguelen Islands, taking a route to avoid an ice hazard area. Ahead of her lay more than 2,100 miles of ocean on a 10- to 16-day leg to a point south of Cape Leeuwin on the southwest tip of Australia.

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Marc Sokilik Is Still Standing Tall On The Winner’s Podium

Jun 9

Posted by ira in OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES, shot put, sports | No Comments

IRA—FINALLY GOT THE PICTURES OF ARIZONA’S SHORTEST SHOT PUTTER WINNING A BRONZE MEDAL AT THE SENIOR OLYMPICS IN FEB 2010. STILL THROWING IN THE 65-69 AGE GROUP UNTIL DECEMBER, AND ONLY 10 YEARS AWAY FROM THAT GOLD MEDAL AT, 80 WHEN I WILL BE THE ONLY COMPETITOR.

You can learn more about Marc’s sports background and success by visiting this site. He has been putting the shot since junior high school, and has been winning Senior Olympic medals since 2005. I asked Marc how many competitors are left standing now, and how far he threw that little lead globe? Here is his response. What a fantastic athlete this guy is. There aren’t many like him!

OKAY I AM GOING TO BRING YOU UP TO DATE:
IN THE FEB ARIZONA SR OLYMPICS I THREW THE SHOT PUT 31′ 5″
AND GOT THE BRONZE OUT OF 13 COMPETITORS IN MY AGE GROUP.
IT WAS A NATIONAL SR OLYMPICS QUALIFYING MEET SO THE COMPETITION
WAS A LITTLE STIFFER.

It sure was tougher. Last Senior Olympics competition in Arizona, he came in second with a 31 foot throw, and the gold medal went to someone who threw the shot just 31’1″

THIS PAST MEMORIAL DAY I ENTERED THE ST. LOUIS SR OLYMPICS AND DID NOT
GET ONE MEDAL, BUT HERE IS HOW I DID

SHOT PUT 4TH PLACE 31′ 5 1/2″ 13 COMPETITORS
FOOTBALL DISTANCE 33 YARDS 5TH PLACE 45 COMPETITORS
FOOTBALL ACCURACY 6 OUT OF 10 THROWS 5TH PLACE 45 COMPETITORS
SOFTBALL DISTANCE 38 YARDS 6TH PLACE 45 COMPETITORS
SOFTBALL ACCURACY 6 OUT OF 10 THROWS 5TH PLACE 45 COMPETITORS
AROUND THE WORLD BASKETBALL 6 OUT OF 15 OUT OF THE MONEY

NOT BAD FOR A BAD NECK AND BACK AND A PARTIALLY TORN ROTATOR
CUFF, BUT I CAN’T WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR WHEN I MOVE UP TO 70-74
AND BECOME THE YOUNGEST IN MY AGE GROUP.

Marc Sokolick lets another shotput fly—2/10


Another bronze for Marc at the Arizona Senior Olympics—2/10

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Frank Adams’ Innovative Tennis Swings Filmed For Possible TV Airings

Jun 8

Posted by ira in OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES, sports, tennis | No Comments

Two days ago I was part of a film shoot describing a different way to hit a tennis ball. What fun!

Frank Adams coached players for 50 years. But after three decades, he figured out a movement he calls Natural Tennis that is based on the same arm swing you do automatically when you walk down a street or catch and throw a ball without thinking. He thinks the way the pro’s hit—and amateurs try to imitate—is difficult, stressful on the joints and terribly misguided.

Dean Adams films me demonstrating an old-style swing, while Harry Moses (center) directs

Frank’s friend and neighbor, award-winning producer/director Harry Moses of documentary movie and “60 Minutes” fame, was in charge of the shoot, and I was one of the converts who briefly demonstrated my before-and-after-Frank swings. I also described how much my game has improved. Frank not only showed his innovative moves to the camera, he also taught two women who don’t play tennis how to do it the Natural Way in just 10 minutes.

The plan is to edit the two hours of footage down to three or four minutes that is presented to The Tennis Channel as a possible special or maybe a few of its One Minute Clinics. Frank’s son Dean is a professional filmmaker who is working with Harry on the editing and operated the camera.

Harry (left) and I laugh with Frank Adams during a filming break

This filming all happened hours after Nadal won the French Open. Frank has often admired Rafa’s athleticism, but claims this champion is too extraordinary to be copied by mere mortals. The injuries he and other professionals endure are all part of Frank’s evidence that the ideal way to hit a tennis ball is NOT how it’s generally being taught.

Although I have only been learning tennis seriously for three years, the first 12 months was just two hours of lessons a week attempting to hit a ball with multiple confusion. For a forehand, I had to: turn my body 90 degrees to the right, adjust my feet, extend my left arm and aim my left hand at the ball, raise my racket, bend my knees, watch the ball, swing with top spin, follow through, delay looking across the net, shift my weight to my right foot with a giant step, grab my racket at the throat with my left hand, make sure my racket hits my shoulder.

Whew! I was often exhausted. I could hardly remember to follow all these commands. My brain is just not able to recall them and direct my body to act. I have enough trouble simply watching the ball until I hit it.

Frank’s method worked for me instantly, so I adopted it. My backhand improved dramatically, and my forehand is more consistent. I am such a believer that I have also helped Frank edit the manuscript for his book and participated in the creation of multiple-exposure pictures that will illustrate Frank’s moves in print.

It’s all very exciting, and has accelerated my skills and playing level. My only apology is to my first-year coach, a young woman formerly 120 in the world who taught me the modern method so patiently and passionately. I know she thinks I have gone over to the Dark Side. But she definitely instilled in me her love of the game, the benefits of practice, and the need to jog around the court two or three times to warm up before every session.

It's a wrap! Karen Merritt (far left), Wanda Heckel and Ed Letteron were also filmed in the shoot

Some of you may remember my earlier posts about Frank’s method and that I also made simple videos of his moves that are on this site as well as on YouTube. Reaching a wider audience would capitalize on Frank’s insights as well as assist the many players who are struggling to emulate their tennis idols.

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Sports/Exercise Report for May

Jun 6

Posted by ira in archery, exercise, hunting, sports, squash, swimming, tennis | No Comments

May results set some good records. I was active 23 days, up from 20 in April, though below my record 25 days in November. Being out of town for my son’s college graduation was a welcome and happy break.

I played tennis or practiced during 17 days over 37 ¾ hours, which is up from last month’s 15 days/31 ¼ hours and is greater than my high of 16 days, though below my record of 41 ¾ hours. I was fairly tired the day I played with three different groups over 5 ¾ hours, and temperatures in the high 80’s and 90’s exhausted me. Many days I played tennis matches in the mornings and then hit balls with a friend in the afternoon. Forcing myself to fit in crunches is the ultimate challenge, and I usually failed at it.

My nine crunch session equaled my high in December. I set a new record of three sets of 450 (1350 total), up from my previous record of 1050 total in January. Then to vary my routine, I started just doing different stomach exercises for 30 minutes a session. We’ll see if I can fill in that one missing muscle, because I really only have a feeble five-pack at the moment. I was told that if you don’t change your routine, your muscles get used to it and don’t grow as much. Jason Statham’s abs still look better than mine.

There were also two squash sessions for two hours total, way below my record of 8 days and 7 ½ hours. I went bow and arrow hunting for wild turkeys four times for 19 hours and also spent two days (3 ½ hours) chain sawing shooting lanes and clearing trails in the woods. Never even took a shot though this year. Too few birds. And two few weight lift days—just two. But my wrist and shoulders are healing—even swam some butterfly laps yesterday and felt no shoulder pain.