Not quite feeling the penguin...

Ok, this post is a little less intense than the last:

Last Thursday I had quite a big meeting regarding progress so far with my PhD. The intention was to tie off any loose ends and present a decent conclusion for all my work up to date, obviously I was busy. Add to that the fact that another avenue showed potential and my week got a lot busier, Thursday came and went well and I put in extra effort to finalize something before my supervisor was off on holidays for two weeks. That was a mistake, it backfired and she basically suggested that due to the efficiency that I'm working that it would be reasonable for me to transfer from mphil to the full on course in two weeks time on her return, just before I'm off windsurfing for two weeks. B*llocks, two very busy weeks for me then. I'd hope I might be able to justify a trip to Ceuse as a mate had emailed asking whether I fancied it, its not my favorite place but at least the weather is a tad more reliable, anyway thats a non starter now.
The following weekend we visited my family which was good and I finally got a proper drive of the new car, it's a nippy one for sure but it's not thrilling to be honest, more of a rep mobile. Oh and the mpg is cr*p compared to the previous Audi.
This weekend we visited Nat's family for a company bbq which was fantastic and a great laugh however I'm always put in a difficult position at these events. Basically Nat and I aren't fussed about drinking so we offered to drive, her younger brother said the same and seeing as though he's ensured on the 7 series (much more room), we took him up on it. We arrived and he started drinking like a fish, thankfully the heat caught up with him and he got so de-hydrated he switched to water and several hours later was surely fine to drive. I've got to admit however that I'm not really that comfortable getting in a car with any of her family with their lax attitude to the alcohol limit, not to mention an over enthusiastic teenager in a 350 bhp monster. His driving was appalling and (as with Nat previously) seems to understand very little about driving at a reasonable pace, there are some do's and some definite don'ts. Cars DO NOT like you decelerate or brake mid corner, its a terrifying feeling.

Due to all of this gallivanting I haven't been as consistent at the gym, I did chest today and despite feeling a little pre-cold in the back of my throat I did fairly well. I arrived late again which means the workout was rushed, I need to stop doing this. Tomorrow will be a back day unless Dobbin calls and has a sensible suggestion for going out somewhere, with this heat though I can't really think of a suitable afternoon destination that appeals.


On another more geeky note I got sick of this laptop taking an age to boot and generally breaking more often than it ought to so I had a crack at installing Ubuntu, it wasn't a straightforward process but I'm getting there now and this is the first post under the new OS and I've got to say that everything works much quicker and of course its all free with excellent support! It'll be interesting to see how these distro's develop in the future.

Skimming the Fat - a method to get lean!

***Warning - None of this post is written by a qualified individual. Please seek advice from a suitable party before considering any change in diet or lifestyle as it may severely affect your health and well being.***

Myths:
Firstly let's dispel some myths about body fat. I've read (on some of the better climbing forums) people claiming body fat percentages as low as 4%, whereas this is not impossible, I have NEVER seen a single climber who would actually live up to this claim. Bruce lee (pictured below pulling off an impressive front lat spread) was rumoured to have reached the fabled level of 5%, but in this picture he is far off this level and once again I believe this could be a myth propagated by fitness magazines and the general media knowing very little on the subject.
At around 15% body fat (in males) the abdominals begin to show definition, below 12% you start to develop a decent cut and shape around most of the central abdominal muscles. Below 10% further definition continues especially on the surrounding areas such as the Serratus (fingers of muscle which span from the side at chest level into the upper abdominal region). 8% and you're starting to look like an anatomy chart. Finally the hallowed ~5% , at this level striations are apparent and the body will have obvious vascularity (I'm not talking about blue lines under the skin here, I mean veins like somebody draped a power cord over your muscles). Dorian Yates is pictured below at what is probably around that level (N.B. Being this low is NOT good for you and is generally only carried out for short periods of time, it's also very unsustainable).

Now this brings me back to climbers; who do you know that has that kind of definition, separation and vascularity (even just on the muscles that we mainly stress in climbing)? Ignore what the machines down at your local gym tell you, or the free hand held device you were given when you spent £50 on petrol at Tesco's, even ignore calliper measurements, the mirror never lies.

Another Myth I wish to dispel is spot reduction of fat. It is impossible! The only way crunches vaguely help you loose body fat around your stomach is by increasing the vascularity of the muscle group, thus allowing it more blood supply and more potential for fat oxidisation/mobilisation.

Why?
The climbing press has recently highlighted its concerns as to the health and well being of some top climbers, suggesting that a few may have dietary conditions such as Anorexia and are using unsafe weight loss techniques to ensure a high power to weight ratio. It has also been suggested that this is particularly common in female competition climbers who find it much easier to loose weight than to gain the equivalent power. I can't really comment on whether or not this is true. Stevie Haston has backed up the point with a few examples from his own experience.

The problem with the above (apart from the serious health implications) is that weight loss does not differentiate between muscle and fat. It is much harder to loose fat and retain lean body mass (LBM) than it is to just loose weight, this is apparent in celebrity culture where the latest person in the limelight will crash diet and look like a walking skeleton.




The methods generally used to achieve this look slow down the metabolism and as soon as the person returns to a normal diet, a high amount of body fat is instantly gained. Obviously it's not wise for anyone to employ such tactics, especially sports people who will swiftly loose any hard earned strength gains.

Short term manipulation of body composition can however be beneficial and help in gaining that elusive goal, more to the point it can be carried out in a safe manner, allowing lean body mass to be retained.

Diet Types:

A brief look at 3 main diet types:

The Bulk - A high calorific excess is taken in daily, allowing for swift gains in muscle size due to increases in muscle and also each muscle gaining a large covering of fat. A bulk is usually followed by a cut in which the fat is lost, as well as some of the muscle gains.
The Lean Bulk - A smaller calorific excess is taken in daily, gains are slower but the increase in body fat percentage is also much slower. This method usually negates the need to cut. If this is not the case the cutting period is greatly reduced. Personally this seems like a sensible method for climbers during strength phases.
The Cut - A calorific deficit is taken in daily (200-300Kcals below maintenance), teamed with an exercise plan and clean eating this will lead to a decrease in body fat percentage.

Clean Eating
Before starting any of the above it is essential to eat 'Clean' for the first few weeks. Clean foods consist of (but are not limited to):


Carbs:
Wholewheat/Spinach/Beetroot Pasta
Brown Rice
Porridge Oats

Protein:
Eggs
Chicken
Pork
Beef
Lamb
Tuna
Salmon
Mackerel
Cottage Cheese

Fats:
Olive Oil
Eggs
Nuts
Meat


Vitamins & Minerals:
Most veg, preferably green leafy


EFA's (Essential Fatty Acids):
Mackerel
Salmon
Cod
Flax Seed
Nuts
Fish Oil Supplements

Complex carbs are in, low GI foods, leafy veg and good protein sources. Empty calories are avoided, simple carbs, sugars (fructose, so fruit is out) etc. The only place these are relevant in a cutting diet is post workout (PWO) Simple carbs such as Dextrose are found in many recovery shakes. (If you must sweeten things such as porridge oats use a natural sugar such as honey, set seems to be sweet so you'll use a little less)
No alcohol!

The Method
Find out your calorific maintenance level, for women this is usually around 2000 Kcals and for men 2500 Kcals. Subtract 200-300 Kcals from that and you have your daily aim. The deficit can be further reduced (to around 400-500 Kcals) at a later stage if progress is slow. It is important to never dip below 1400 Kcals per day as this will stall your metabolism and make it cling to your body fat until the bitter end, you have been warned.

Your daily intake should be split into six equally spaced meals, the first of which should be a complex carb such as porridge oats and the last of which should be a slow digesting protein, this prevents your LBM being used as an energy source as you sleep.

The rest of the meals should consist of a protein source and if at all possible some kind of green veg. (Malc wasn't far off with steak and broccoli)

Using a website such as fitday.com (i'm sure a uk version exists), plan your meals for the next day aiming for a split of 50% protein, 30% Carbs, 20% Fat (NOT SATURATED FAT!). Aim to hit your target amount of calories and to split the calories evenly throughout the day.

Cheating
As the above is very restrictive it is often wise to allow a cheat meal. People have different methods of cheating, some allow one meal a week, others 2 meals a month. Some even allow themselves a whole day per week! Whatever you choose to do accept that this will slow down progress however it is likely to prevent you from having a complete dietary lapse and loosing all of you're effort up to that point. Do not take cheating to the extreme as you know plain well three Donner kebabs is overdoing it.

Hydration
Drink lots, more than you usually do by far.

Exercise:
(Not applicable if you're climbing regularly)
Of course the above won't really do a great deal if it's not partnered with a decent exercise schedule. Try to keep sessions short (especially when lifting weights, 1 hour max) and hard.
Aim for 5-6 days a week and ensure one full rest day.
To help speed things up cardiovascular exercise can also be utilised. Do not undertake steady state cardio, instead carry out High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) 2-3 days a week for no more than 15-20 mins. It has been suggested in various publications that this can be undertaken before breakfast, do not do this, it's been shown to weaken the immune system.

HIIT: 5 mins warm up of chosen exercise e.g running
followed by 15-20 mins
30 sec's Sprinting (Ensure this is roughly 90% of your maxiumum effort at every interval)
60 sec's Light Joggging

It may be tempting to do more, don't. Rushing things will inevitably lead to doing something wrong.

Supplementation:
Supplemetns are exactly that, supplementary. If the basics aren't right these aren't going to make a great deal of diference.

Thermogenics - work by briefly increasing the metabolic rate, people experience mixed results and these are not suitable for some people to take *CHECK THIS WITH SOMEONE WHO KNOWS*. They also make you sweat a lot.
Sesamine - Is an extract taken from sesame seed oil. It has been shown to help mobilise stubborn fatty deposits. Some people experience total loss of sexual desire while taking this product.
Fish Oils - A common household supplement in this day and age. When stacked with Sesamine results are increased.
Green Tea - As in the drink, has been found to help in fat oxidisation, the problem is that to get a useful dose you need to drink a hell of a lot of this stuff (7 cups per day). As many people don't find this practical or hate the taste (Clipper seems nice to me and fair trade, unbleached etc.) it is available in tablet form. These tablets often contain caffeine.
Protein - You might find if you are undertaking a cut it's hard to get in enough protein within a day. Protein shakes obviously can help this, pick the right one preferably low in simple carbs. Some companies have developed bedtime formula's to allow convenient access to slow digesting (Cassein) proteins.

Supplements usually aren't cheap, shop around a lot and avoid Holland and Barrett like the plague (for most things anyway). Myprotein.co.uk supply a good range of sports and health supplements at a reasonable price, it seems to me that taste is often compromised compared to the bigger brands.

Guaging Progress
Don't use the scales to measure progess, your daily weight will vary depending on all sorts of factors, even more so if you're a woman. Use a mirror or take a photograph, 4-6 weeks later take another and compare.

In the end:
If you've been bothered to carry out any of the above revel in your new found lean self and hopefully that elusive tick. After this re-think your diet, where to next?

***Climbers reading this: It is unlikely that any of the above is at all applicable, go out and climb instead. I can promise you it will be more fun!***

***Warning - None of the above is written by a qualified individual. Please seek advice from a suitable party before considering any change in diet or lifestyle as it may severely affect your health and well being.***

Gym Class Hero

Friday was a rushed day, Nat was finishing work early and I needed to catch a train up to Wakefield before we could dash up the M1 to my folks. Despite this I still managed to squeeze in my scheduled back session, I've changed it up a bit now so that the first exercise is weighted wide grip pull ups. Previously I've had to balance two weights on their ends and then pick the top dumbbell up with my feet and commence pull-ups, it's very difficult to try hard when you have to worry about keeping the dumbell in place. A gym monster pointed out that the instructors have a dipping belt which you can attach plates to but that they keep it hidden so that it doesn't go missing. This obviously makes it a lot easier to focus on the pulls instead of anything else.
Later on in the workout gym monster was searching out the same dumbbells as I (him for chest press, myself for bent over row) but they've gone MIA and the new sand filled ones are so huge in diameter that your range of motion is cut down severely. In the end I cut the weight down and supplemented it with heavy cable rows (i've kind of dropped this exercise now as the stack isn't huge and its a 2:1 pulley set up). After I finished I looked up to find the monster looking shocked he then commented "You're shifting a lot of weight for your size". YES! Dobbin and I have discussed many times the fact that lots of people in their youthful climbing stages seek out recognition then eventually grow out of it, myself included (That might put me right in the firing line). It seems i've not yet passed that stage in lifting, although I don't think it was in the same manner, more about someone confirming the progress that I think i've made.
Since rambling on UKB about diet, fitness etc. I've had a massive barrage of request for more info regarding the diet side of things, instead of writing three (not quite that massive) seperate emails all saying vaguely the same thing I thought it would be better to type it up as a blog post. Before I do, bear in mind that i'm not recommeding this to anyone as a way to better their climbing or saying that it's appropriate for them, neither have I utilised it for climbing gains. It's just a methodology, something that interests me and thats enough.

Hot Fun Failing

Wednesday came and once again Ben convinced me to go out. I fancied the Cornice and the team (Dylan, Lucy, Ben and I) were intending to head down that way. On arrival at Rubicon questions were thrown around about its current condition and as I wasn't overly psyched to get back on HFC after being spanked last time I volunteered to go for a run.
I returned a flash later confirming that it was in a questionable state, dark lines from the lower break meant that it didn't seem worth it, Damn. So after belaying people for a while I finally got back on HFC in the blazing sun, some new beta from Dave Hessledon, traverse left in the break, right foot up really high on tiny little spike, left foot in obvious big hold and a big twist I hit the crimp, WOW progress, I then proceeded to flail on the next moves greasing off time and time again before lowering off for more belay duty. My second attempt was much more productive, failed at the start and then straight back up to the crimp, greasing off. More beta from Dave and Ben led to a great top sequence, LH crimp, RH sidepull, RF high on obvious hold, rock over to little edge up and right, LH takes sidpull as a backhand, sag further right and fall onto the jug. At first it felt very hard to hold the crimp but as conditions improved it looked more and more feasible.
At the end of the day I had 2 or maybe even 3 goes climbing straight through Kudos (hard way, tick!) to the crimp, hitting it and then slipping off, i'm sure if I get matched on those two then i'm in. The first of the 2 or three attempts was so shaky, everything I hit, I hit completel wrong but surprisingly I still shook my way up to a decent height before getting a bit too excited and not really committing to the move in the same way as I do on the dog.
Its funny how things change, the first time I went on this route I didn't really get on well with it, everything seemed unpleasant and a tad stretched but now I really like it. REALLY like it. The sequence flows nicely and I just love the top moves. Hopefully next time its in the bag, I'll go a bit later on though to ensure cool temps. oh Ben and Dave both did HFC, Ben maybe even deserves half a grade extra (or maybe less?) for his in-efficiency on the lower wall ;), he was rewarded with a pint of absolution at the Red Lion, a good pint it was to.
One thing which had me nervous during the night was someone who's name I will not mention forgot a quickdraw and had an absoloute mare of a time trying to thread through without one. Not a great spectacle to watch, it was pretty worrying at times with conflicting information being shouted up.
Tonight I had my very own nightmare; the passenger side brake light went on the Punto and typical fiat design means that it isn't such an easy job, or at least not on the HGT. So off to the works via halfords, I then began what I thought would be a nice quick and easy process in the car park. Panels off, stupid tool thingy (plastic of course) over hex shaped bolts screwdriver through tool and twist, remove rear speaker unit, subwoofer and housing (all standard I might add), find next bolt (not shown in manual), drop rear light assembly out, disconnect, unbolt and unclip, replace bulb then do all in reverse, all for one bulb. The car has a flathead screwdriver in it as standard, shame Fiat didn't think to use flat head screws throughout...On a positive car related note a change in driving style has yielded 62.1mpg over the last few days which isn't a bad average really.

Link For Ed
sorry if I was continually talking this evening, that coffee was a little strong!

Car P*rn

I forgot to mention that the traffic jam to and from the Grand Prix could quite simply be described as a petrolhead's wet dream. Ferrari's were common as muck although a 599 Gtb Fiorano that parked next to us was simply stunning, black with gold callipers and tan leather. A Lamborghini Murcielago Superleggera in lime green wasn't exactly shabby either. The best car however goes to the....


Bugatti Veyron, simply amazing and the first time I've ever seen one in the flesh. It would have been better if it had come flying past spoiler up and wasn't idling in traffic but never mind. Last time we were in Dunkerque we had that honour from a Porsche GT3.

/End car bore

Incline Bias

Fridays are usually quiet in the Gym around 15:00 but I arrived a little later and found it ram packed full of Taxi-Drivers who seem to work out daily before starting their evening shift. Naturally, both smith machines were taken. I managed to scavenge a bench and decided to start out with Incline Dumbell Press, originally a weakness that I targeted. On all other push/chest days I've been doing something that causes the upper chest pre-fatigue but on Friday it was its time to shine after all of the hard work on the flat bench (where gains are coming thick and fast, strength wise anyway).

I started with a few light sets making sure not to press too high in order to keep the stabilizer muscles (triceps in this case) from collapsing before my chest in the latter sets. Then it was time. I picked up the 22's, which are large and unwieldy and slumped onto the bench wrenching them up onto my knees (I need to kick them back with my knees to avoid injury). The first set feels easy, the second was a bit of a tussle, the third, well that was hard. An acquaintance rushed over to spot me and urged me on in exactly the same manner that you do to someone trying hard on a problem (Today Ned, nice one btw). The weights crashed to the floor, exhausted I carried on with the rest of the workout. The rest of the workout followed in a similar manner. PSYCHED.
On another note it seems like I've been going to the gym long enough and consistently enough to be considered a regular. The sometimes hostile feeling free weights area is now a lot more friendly, the positive thing about all of this is that I can now benefit from a wealth of experience.
I spoke to Dylan on Friday as well, he's building a board, not to far away from here which could be great, he didn't entertain the idea that I still wasn't really climbing, but honestly I'm not, not in the same way at least. I go out now and again but I'm putting in about 90% less effort than for the previous few years that's for sure.
Nat dragged me to Cliffhanger today so that she could see the standard of the women's final, I was really impressed my Mina, bit of a dark horse there and she obviously thrived in front of a crowd as at the works she hasn't ever seemed to climb that well, or not when I've seen her anyway. Ned won the men's which is a monumental effort.

The PUMP!

Not the pump that climbers experience, No! This is a completely different kind of pump. After working hard in the gym blood is trapped within muscles due to contractions and small tears. This gives the muscle a large pumped like look and its size increases massively (for 15 mins of hard earned mirror time).
Last week after a days worth of climbing I ended up round at a mates house for Steak and Broccoli which had been hastily purchased about 15 minutes before. After devouring that we started discussing Crossfit, Bodybuilding etc. before upsetting the female members of the house by trying to perfect a Frank Zane vacuum pose.
Anyway to the point: Some people have scoffed at the fact that i've made any muscle gains and today I was severely tempted to take a piccie to prove my gains before realising just how much stick i'd get for it. I think i've posted this before but here's Arnold's opinion on the pump:


My 'Push' (Chest, Shoulders, Tri's) Workout has now been perfected and delivers every time:

Flat Bench
15 Deg Incline Dumbell Press
Gironda Dips
Seated Arnold Press (A modified shoulder/military press for those who haven't heard of it)
Seated Lateral Raises (tilt at top to ensure rear-delt is fully engaged, like pouring a jug)
Tricep Split Pushdown

Although its taken me a while to get that workout sorted i'm considering changing to two superset workouts, the main problem being that its much harder to fit climbing in as a clear rest day would be needed the day before rather than being able to get away with a Chest workout etc.

Two posts in one evening...I must be bored.

Last Week in Review...

Lazy Post:

Mon
Went out to Rubicon with Jon to aid in the re-bolting of The Dangerous Bro's and Hot Fun.

Tues
Semi rest day, Chest session thrown in for good measure.

Wed
WCJ Cornice with Dobbin, warmed up on Brachiation Dance and made a right hash of the start, didn't feel totally warmed up so had a quick blast on Rumble, I was quite annoyed to find the in-situ draws were on a bolt I can't reach near a cruxy move, I climbed down and grabbed the last draw and then swung around getting it in and clipped. Fell off 2 moves further on. Pulled on and went to the end falling again after hitting the hold on the dyno. Clobbered my Knee.
After this I got re-involved with Monsterosity. I made progress on the dog and went for a few trial redpoints throughout the day, the first of which was foiled by an in-situ draw sticking open mid crux, the second by a badly placed heel. Damn. Dobbin went up and down Freemonster but was having a less than brave day and didn't manage to tick it despite looking cool as a cucumber.

Thur
Rubicon, Hot Fun, tired/skin sore. I didn't do too well to be honest and the upper section seems stretched, I found a good way for taller people but it seemed a little goey with my sequence. Rob said that when he did it it was very cold which helped on the poor holds. Must try harder.

Fri
Absolutely knackered.

Sat
Supersetted my two workouts together, it felt awesome and the pump generated was incredible.

Sun



Grand Prix! What an amazing sound...We were lucky enough to be at the end of Hangar straight just before cops so plenty of overtaking action and plenty of people getting out of shape.



The outcome couldn't have been better, Kubica spinning off and L.Hamilton winning with over 60 seconds between him and No. 2. The drivers championship looks like it will be very interesting during the final phase of the season. The tennis was really good as well a British Junior Champ and a legendary battle between Federer and Nadal.

Gym Rant #2

Well where as over on Doyle's blog you get Sunday sermons I'm going to continue in my tradition of ranting:

I've now spent quite a lot of time reading about various aspects of lifting weights, diet etc. Due to my slightly obsessional nature, thinking that if I can extract one piece of useful information (i.e. relevant to climbing) then the amount of time (wasted?) is completely justified.

So here it is, things that bug me when in the gym:

1. Cardio Bunnies - Do yourself a favour, jump off the treadmill and do something else. You run for hours and hours on end burning massive amounts of calories but somehow your ass is still a little saggy when you get in the pool. Look up the definition of skinny fat and see why. Look at marathon runners vs. sprinters which has more definition?

2. The buzz words "Toning up" - There is no such thing as Toned, the word you're looking for is muscular and its governed by one simple factor; bodyfat percentage.For people who wish to achieve this ifting weights in the higher rep range is no good ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A WOMAN! You have 10x less Testosterone than the average man. Muscle gains are slow so that "Toned" look is a long way off.

3. Chrome Weights - Why on earth does anyone think that its sensible to use the same 2lb shiny dumbell for chest, biceps, tricpes etc. it's just not logical is it?

4. Disco Muscles - Why do people do endless sets for their chest and biceps but nothing else? I guess so that their T-shirts bulge in all of the right places. Get out more.

5. Abs - Everyone has ab's the fact is that the vast majority of the population have a tyre covering them. Doing crunches will not give you visible abs. Loose bodyfat and hey presto superman abs.

6. Personal Trainers - Now some are clued up so I won't be too swooping but some blatantly aren't. Would you take financial advice from someone who is broke? Of course not, so why take fitness advice from someone who is clearly unfit and not at all muscular. I see people at the gym every time with a PT who costs £40/hour. I once heard him tell somebody that Bench was really hitting his Biceps...maybe on a 400kg lift your stabilizers will be struggling like mad but 40kg? I think not. Spend your money more wisely: Buy a book, or just read all of the free articles on various fitness forums. Ignore articles in the general press (see number 7).

7. If it feels too easy or too good to be true then it probably is. You will not change your physique by standing on a vibrating plate, nor will you get rid of the 100 curries worth of fat hanging from your outer thighs by walking gently more than likely you won't make any gains unless you make dietary changes or even more importantly lifestyle changes despite what you read in Hello magazine. PT's, don't help in this matter and more than likely will tell you what you want to hear, after all if the sessions are too grueling then people won't come back.

8. Now this one is directed at climbers. You will NOT 'bulk up' simply by starting to do weights (unless you have awesome genetics, foley you're in the wrong sport). In order to gain mass/weight (preferably lean) you need to eat the right things at the right times. I know of very few climbers who would take their diet to a decent and clean level of commitment at which they would make noticeable mass gains and hence hinder their climbing performance. Personally despite being very commited to adding muscle to my chest (due to constant back pain since my car accident) I have only managed to make meagre gains. So climbers, if you've thought that your overdeveloped back warranted a slightly less than concave chest, jump to it!

9. Isolation exercises - Why oh why does everyone target isolation exercises and by that I mean things that hit one specific muscle. If you're a novice and want to see decent gains then go COMPOUND, Bench, Squat, Deadlift, Pendalay Row. That's it (Ripptoe's Starting Strength)

10. Last but not least - FORM IS OF THE HIGHEST IMPORTANCE. It may make you feel better to pick up the largest dumbbells for your bent over row or dumbbell press but if you're not using them throughout a full range of motion then you're just wasting your time (That is unless you're specifically busting through a plateau using half reps [the same applies to ballistic motion swinging weights]). Chances are by doing this you're not even hitting your target muscle groups, the standard being the standing barbell dumbbell curl, idiots end up doing a swing motion that involves their lower body, hips and upper back (this does not make it a good Compound exercise). If this is you and you doubt me then use a preacher bench or arm-blaster, I'll be impressed if you bust out one rep of the same weight.

Now this might all seem a bit rich coming from a skinny runt who has zero qualifications in this field. So be it, it certainly beats a whingey post.

Oh and one more very important point:

11. Please please do NOT wear running shorts into the sauna, I really don't like having to tell people that their c*ck is hanging out. It's not a comfortable situation for anyone.