My Blog

Buzzerman

Q1 What initially started me on my Triathlon journey?

I was terribly overweight at 24 years of age and around the 24 stones mark and really unhealthy with a very very unhealthy lifestyle. I was drinking far too much, eating all the wrong things and generally sitting around outside of work doing nothing except negative things. My body fat percentage would have been at the very least 50-60% which looking back now was totally unacceptable.
At the weekends I turned to Alcohol which gave me a temporary release after working long hours during the week.
My work life and social life balance were totally out of sync. I was stuck in a job that I did not enjoy and so the repetitive life cycle of mood swings, Ups and downs of depression brought on not only by my job but also my bad habits continued.
It was obvious I had to make changes and fast but where did I start? I had tried so many times before often losing the weight quickly then putting it back on and sometimes more. The real change came when my son Ciaran was born. It had such a spiritual impact on me that the changes seemed to happen really quite quickly and naturally. The reality was that I make the changes or suffer all kinds of Illness’s and diseases associated with obesity and alcoholicism and being terribly overweight. Possibly even death. Or even worse all of the above and then death, and to die an early death through no fault but my own and missing out on the important things in life was too much to bear.


Q2 What was my first Exercise/Diet Programme and how did it work?

Well my first exercise and diet plan would have been much like many of yours. Cut down the alcohol during the week, Exercise at the gym and eat as little as possible!, Needless to say not only did it not work I often bonked out with no energy failing flatly on my face not understanding why my plan wasn’t working and eventually giving up. It just didn’t make any sense so many times and often I would just crash and I had no idea why. Why did I lose weight then Plateau? And why did I then just run out of energy and motivation? Usually in that order. The problem is quite clear now and because of my failures I have learned what works for me and what will work in most cases for everybody. Starving yourself and trying to exercise won’t work! Not for long anyway. It’s more about a permanent change, the long haul not the short haul, the full on lifestyle change that lasts for the rest of your days. You have to mentally accept that the changes you have made are for good and carry on then the body will respond. It’s that simple. The calorie deficit should never be more than 500cals or the body responds by going into famine mode, it’s really a fine line between too much and not enough on both ends of the spectrum, Exercise and cutting calories.



Q3 How long have I been exercising?

Well I have been training using the gym and running on and off now for around 16 to 17 years. I have played Rugby for my local club up until around just over 5 years ago when I found a new sport which I totally love and commit myself to which is Triathlon, I love the sport so much I commit most of my time to improving each season by way of training sessions focused either on Strength and Conditioning Triathlon Focused or Swim, Bike, Run and even quite often all 3 disciplines during any given day on my programme. When I entered my first triathlon I was 19 stones. It was an Olympic Distance Race which is 1500mtr swim, 26 Mile bike and a 10k (6.2 mile) Run. I finished just about last place but that didn’t stop me and from that first race I was totally hooked. In fact my feelings about Triathlon are as strong today if not stronger than that very first race finish!

Since that first race I have continued to improve at a huge rate of knots. I have finished One Ironman Race which involved a 2.4 mile Swim, A 112 mile bike race and a Marathon 26.2 mile Run to finish. That race was tough but I had a terrific first Iron Distance finish at 12hrs and 48mins. A very respectable time considering I was near 17 stones.
I have finished numerous Half Ironman Races finishing last season many times top 10 in my class with many races sub 5 hours best to date is 4hrs 40mins.
Lots of Olympic distance races with my best finish of 2hrs 17mins. I came second In the Full Boar super sprint in 2012 and finished the Belvoir Cross Country Marathon twice. The first time I came 24th in 3hrs 59mins and this year 2013 finished 19th in 3hrs 52. Still at around 90kgs I finished well within the runners and considering I am not a runner still a good finish.




Q4 What is my current Training & Exercise programme Volume?

This year 2013 I have decided to do another Ironman. Infact I am doing UK Half Ironman in June at Wimbleball and the Anglian Ironman in July which is long course so the training volume will be really quite huge.
For now training is between 12 and 20hrs per week building to 25 to 30hrs which will cover approximately 6 to 8 miles of swimming, 100 to 200miles of cycling and 30 to 50 miles of running per week. I will also be doing one or two gym sessions and lots of recovery sessions involving self massage with plenty of stretching. My current Mesocycle is a Two week build and One week recovery increasing 10% by volume weekly respectively.

This year 2013 because of my great finish at Northampton and my fast Half Ironman finishes my aim was to try and race for great Britain in my age category but due to an injury early during the base period of training in November 2012 I have had to change my goals. To lose 6 or 8 weeks during such an important time can have devastating effects later in the season so I have decided to concentrate on long course this season and hopefully add a good finish time to my resume. I feel a good time is well within my capabilities especially with three sub five hour half distance finishes to my name.


Q5 What does the future hold for me within Health & Fitness and Racing?

Well as far as health and fitness is concerned my aim is to keep expanding my knowledge. From April I will be a fully qualified level 2 Triathlon Coach, I will also be doing my Level 3 personal Trainer award as well as a few other courses to do with exercise and fitness and hope to get them out of the way this year. I want to continue to personally improve in the gym environment not only as an instructor but as a good role model and continue to help people achieve there goals and targets as I have.

Working in the gym and coaching athletes for me is more like a hobby not a job. I am thoroughly enjoying it so far especially offering help and seeing people improve both mentally and physically. It really is a pleasure.

As for racing, well as long as I continue to improve at my current rate of knots I will be happy. Stalling or going a little stale is not what I want to be doing. Getting faster and stronger across all disciplines is my goal. Triathlon is not so much about being fast at one particular sport as many athletes are but rather being consistent. A more rounded Athlete will always finish stronger and in better shape than an athlete who is better at only one or two disciplines within the sport. So many times I hear things like “I don’t like swimming or cycling and I am not very good at it so I will just take it steady” Time is time and every second you lose in a race you can never get back. Much of the same can be said about life!


A couple of personal Notes:


I feel many of our social and personal problems can be tackled with sport and exercise. Relieving ourselves of stress through exercise is a terrific feeling and can really alter our perception of things and outlook on life. It allows us to break our problems down and tackle them step by step. As a community we need to not only do more for ourselves within exercise and sport but also for others around us especially those who are not so fortunate and get them involved!,



Walking into the gym or a coached session where there are athletes in top shape for the first time can be daunting enough and if you’re overweight and in poor shape it really can be quite a humiliating environment, I know because I have been there. You have to be able to stand up and be strong, Give it a shot. People may look stare and talk that’s just the way people are. Sticks and stones and all that stuff! Once you have made that first step it gets easier. The first step is the most difficult one towards changing your life. People often ask me what was the most difficult thing about finishing an Ironman Race well I’ll tell you in all honesty!, Getting my *kitten* off the settee in the first place to attempt the damn thing was the most difficult thing, Once the decision had been made I was up and running so to speak. I often hear comments from people in the gym and it makes me chuckle, Things like “I can’t do it!” Or “It hurts” or “I can’t be bothered” I laugh because I have used these excuses my self. In order to change our life we have to change our outlook on life, we have to set ourselves challenges and succeed. Realistic goals as small as I am going to try and run constantly on the treadmill for 5 or 10 minutes or bigger goals like I am going to run a half marathon. Whatever your goal as a coach I am here to help you reach those goals but I can’t do them for you, I can offer advice and support throughout your journey but as far as doing the exercise and training is concerned that part is down to you and you alone. Remember making life changes can be difficult at first but once you have decided to make those changes then your away! I promise when you see the changes start to happen and realize really how easy it can be once motivated you will be amazed with yourself. A positive mental outlook is all that’s needed!

Jamie Harman

minizebu

My goodness! That is quite a lot of information!

It is clear that you have worked very hard on your fitness and your successful weight loss is commendable.

I think perhaps that a more concise description of your program might have gotten more responses. I wish you continued success.