The Ultra-Distance Experiment: Abort Mission

I’m now ten-weeks into my training plan and to be honest I’ve crashed and burned.

My plan was to train for the 69-mile footrace with a low-volume training plan by supplementing running for strength training, stretching, good nutrition, etc.

I’m 100% confident you can train for this type of race with just three runs per week, but to be honest I’m struggling.

Having done a couple of races like this before I understand you will experience some level of exertion (understatement). This is how fitness is created. I’m also aware of how I would feel in myself and that’s not happening either.

The truth is my life has changed. With little William on the scene my focus has shifted. Every time I go out I’m in conflict. It takes time to train for a race like this (even on a low-volume training plan) and being away from him and EJ is a challenge.

I think the other major factor is my body just isn’t responding the way it used to. I attribute this in-part to disrupted sleep (sleep is important for recovery) although William is very good. But more importantly to the fact my time is no longer my own any more. It’s easy to overlook the latter but I have found this to important in the past.

Please understand I wouldn’t change anything nor some type of self-pity, excuse-making confession. I just know in myself if I continue to train the way I am it will only get worse and I will be doing myself an injustice when it comes to the race.

My training loads are relatively small in comparison to what I was doing last year - I still haven’t run over 15 miles on a training run?! Last year I was up to 20hrs a week with a combination of swim, bike and run and at the very most I’ve done in the last six-weeks is 7hrs which is small fry in comparison.

I think this is both psychological and physical. I’m just not bouncing back from the training as quickly and this has become a problem.

With only ten weeks until I race I have decided to check my ego at the door on this one. I am abandoning my low-volume approach and stepping onto a plan I know will get me the fittest I can be in just ten-weeks.

I will now follow a standard marathon program and run five times a week. I still intend to run the high miles in the last four weeks and despite only a short amount of time to prepare I will still be on the start line in great shape.

I guess what I want to portray in this post is that overcoming obstacles is not solely the domain of my clients who employ me to get them in shape - we all face challenges when we are trying to get fit.

Life has changed - I just need to roll with it and adjust.

I’m running in the Reading Half-Marathon this weekend. I originally planned to get round in about 1hr 25mins. I think realistically I’ll be doing more like 1hr 35mins.

Come along if you fancy cheering me on.

If you fancy sponsoring my BIG race in June I’m doing it for a great charity. Get over to my Just Giving page and donate now.

www.justgiving.com/steve-keywood

3 Steps To Getting A Flat Stomach

The sun is out, the sky is blue and my phones ringing off the hook.

Amidst this warm weather and recent surge in interest I felt it was only right to tell what you all want to know....

HOW DO I GET A FLAT STOMACH???

In my opinion you need to look at three key areas...

Reduce Body Fat (not Weight!!!!!)
THIS IS DIFFERENT TO WEIGHT!!!!! I’ve said it. You can lose weight and still be fat. This is why you need to do it correctly. You NEED perfect combination of diet and exercise. You must balance blood sugar to stimulate fat loss and I’m sorry this has nothing to do with calorie counting. Choose the correct sort of food and cut the wrong sort of food and you’re part way there. Plenty of fresh whole food is the way to go. You must also use higher intensity exercise to stimulate fat loss. This will give you the maximum metabolic boost and make you a body fat burning machine.

PLEASE NOTE: Unless you reduce your body fat you have no chance of getting a hot and toned stomach. No amount of sit ups can help if you still have a layer of flab over the top!!


Improve Posture
Your posture is important. If you have a slumped forward alignment or you suffer with an anterior pelvic tilt (common with mums) you will need to stretch/ strengthen the tight/ weak offenders. This can easily be done with a little bit of coaching. If you are doing it yourself then its a bit more complicated.

Try this (it might not work...) Find a mirror. Take your cloths off (...trust me I’m a personal trainer) Stand with 60% of your weight on your heels, make sure you’ve got arches in your feet (you might need to press more weight to the outside of your feet), loosen your knees (so they are soft not bent), and tip your tailbone under so you pelvis is neutral, pull through the top of your head to lengthen your neck slightly and gently tuck your chin in. Draw your shoulders down and back and abracadabra....

Chances are you’ve got a flatter stomach already! Standing properly and moving around in better alignment will instantly knock inches off your middle and will make you look lean and toned (it will also feel weird). Check out the change in tonality of you stomach. Good, right?

Like I said its a little complicated but essential if you want a flat and toned stomach.

PLEASE NOTE: Please DO NOT get naked in public. It’s frowned upon. Apparently...


Improve Muscle Tone
You need to apply the 600 rule to exercise. You cannot do this by running or using the cross trainer. :-(

You need to get every muscle in your body working (this might include a grimace or a smile if you are working at the right intensity!) This will activate your nervous system and ‘prime’ your muscles to be ‘more ready’ - this is what muscle tone is all about.

If you work every muscle in your body every workout you will get ‘toned’ (I don’t like that word so much...)

Press ups, squats, lunges, walkouts, burpees... They all help in this one.

PLEASE NOTE: Doing a few sit ups won’t help.


There you are three steps to a flat stomach.

PLEASE NOTE: You can work on all three steps at the same time if you have a good exercise plan. :-)

The Wall: Check Out This Video...

My training hasn’t gone to plan so far. I have been really struggling BUT this week I met up with by buddy Aran and he gave me just the kick I needed to get back into it.

Aran is a top bloke and a service user of Link Leisure - the charity I’m raising money for.

Check out the video clip we made here

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/steve-keywood

Read All About It: National Press Got It Wrong!

The phrase never let the truth get in the way of a good story has never been so apt. William and I have been featured in not one but two newspapers this week.

I’m training for The Wall, a 69-mile ultra-distance race, and with the demands of training being far inferior to the demands of motherhood I have been opting to take my partner in crime with me to keep me company.



However, contrary to what The Sun wrote yesterday I’m not doing it with him in a backpack - that would be insane! He is actually strapped safely into a running pram...



This kind of coverage is brilliant but please don’t overlook one of the reasons I’m doing this - I want to raise money for Link Leisure. Check out my Just Giving page for more details.

Get In Shape. Fast.

You are about to see the birth of a new dietary phenomenon.

Supported by the latest research, the practice of food restriction for extended periods of time or ‘intermittent fasting’ seems to be beneficial for improving body composition, health and everything in between.

Seemingly contradicting everything the average person has ever been taught about healthy eating, the advice on this one seems to be not to eat every couple of hours to avoid being hungary, but to go from anywhere between 18 and 24 hours without a meal and then continue to eat like normal.

It works on several different levels. Let’s be honest, if weight loss is your goal reducing your calorie intake by intermittent fasting will obviously be beneficial. You don’t need to be a genius to understand this concept! A sharp reduction in calories will lead to weight loss...

But the reason it works might be more complex. Supporters of fasting suggest it has hormonal benefits too. Research indicates regular intermittent calorie restriction over a six month period lead to improvement in disease markers such as blood pressure and inflammation. Seeing as inflammation is a major contributor to the aging process and disease it could therefore be assumed it will reduce the effects of aging and help you live longer.

Contrary to popular belief, the practice of fasting is not actually a new phenomenon. Most commonly seen in religious practices, cultures have fasted since the dawn of time.

I have to admit I was a skeptic at first. I’ve helped many people get in great shape by following the ‘eating smaller meals more frequently’ method. I also had an issue with what I perceived as an ‘extreme’ nature of this dietary protocol. However, when practiced the reality is quite different.

After taking advice from some of my peers I tried intermittent fasting starting initially with partial fast or as one of my more astute clients said ‘ just missing breakfast?!’ and then a couple of days later went for a full 24hr fast. The results were surprised me. It was easy to do and I felt fantastic. I have also had several of my clients try it and they like it too.

By stopping eating at 6pm the night before (or after dinner) you simply drink lots of water and can either go through until lunchtime the next day (18hrs) or dinner (24hrs).

Fairly simple, right? Please beware though this is not for everyone. If you do have a history of eating disorders or are diabetic you should avoid this. Needless to say you should seek medical advice before making changes to you diet...

You can find lots of advice on intermittent fasting on the internet but one of the best (and free) resources is from Precision Nutrition. You can find it here.

For the muscly-mary’s who think they will lose there imaginary lats by skipping meals you could visit Lean Gains to understand how you can maintain your ‘muscle’ during a fast.

Or as I did check out the original source - Brad Pillon - and his book Eat Stop Eat.

Whatever you do. Read about it first. Understand it. Then if you think it’s right for you try it.

Intermittent fasting will probably be popular this year. Remember, I told you first!