It's been a while since my last post, mainly because I slacked off for 3 weeks whilst in the UK and Malta, recovering from a chest infection.  So getting back home and still not really well enough to do anything, until our already booked session with Melbourne Altitude Training.

Thanks to the team at OCRVIC for organising today, as this is definitely the kick start I needed to get back into the swing of exercise, since I was slowly running this risk of losing my fitness mojo and still not feeling well, finding more excuses. 


Easily located in South Melbourne, we were ready to try something new, until we got the briefing.  Oz introduced himself and told us the benefits of Altitude Training including improved overall performance and how it can get faster results.

Starting to get somewhat nervous, especially having the restriction of breathing, where thoughts start going through your head about feeling constricted, or not being able to breathe at all.  It really is a nerve wracking experience, so I was pleased once we got started with an outdoor run (to be honest when they said we were going for a run, I thought we were going for a seriously long run, so was secretly pleased when we were just running to the end of the road and back).  

We then had to go on the bike (or rower), partnered up, whilst one was on the bike, the other person was doing wall walks.  Now if you haven't done this before, think about getting into a plank, with your feet next to the wall, walking your hands towards you, you then start walking your feet up the wall. This really is a killer on the shoulders and core.  We then finished off with another run, this time running up the road and back again with a medicine ball, since we had activated our upper body with the wall walks.  This was to get us warmed up and the blood flowing, preparing us for the altitude training room.

Of course being newbies the altitude level was set to the minimal amount.  We were then paired up, while one person was on the stationery bike the other person was doing 100 lunges whilst holding a band (something like doing the YMCA, but just only doing the Y) while holding the band with the one leg.  At this point i think the realisation that this was not going to be an easy session.  I think Oz, just liked seeing the pain and determination on our faces as we were trying to get through the reps.  

Whilst on the bike, Oz came around and monitored heart rate and oxygen levels, in which I discovered that I don't actually breath during exercise.  Hhmm (a little bit worrying!).   You do have to think about your overall breathing techniques, otherwise we would run the risk of fainting or being sick.

The next thing was working in teams of two, one person had to do 20 15kg slam balls whilst the other person did 30kg dead lifts,(x4 sets) usually this wouldn't be an issue but being in the altitude room doing these, you felt like you were working so much harder at everything, the sweat just poured off you and you really had to concentrate just to finish the sets.

Our torture had not finished there, we were then split into two groups, one heading out onto the main floor, whilst the other team stayed within the altitude room to complete AMRAP workout:

• 25 x calories on the rower
  
• 15 x 12kg Kettlebell swings, guys were using 24kg
  
• 10 x box jumps (images of Allyson breaking her hand kept going through my head, really not a good thing to think about whilst doing these)
  
• 5 x burpees
  

The workout we did doesn't seem like much, especially in comparison to what we normally do, but doing it at MAT really does makes you re-evaluate your training and especially your breathing, you have to think about it, and you have to breath, otherwise you run the risk of going a little bit delirious.  You had to listen more carefully at instructions, but sometimes it still didnt really compute, I normally suffer from exercise brain (when I start to going a little lopey during exercise, which is now connected with my lack of breathing) so it became even harder to understand instructions.  I can understand the benefits especially with oxygen levels, breathing and improving your overall fitness performance.   It will be great if we could get in a session once a month, just to monitor overall progress.

Click here to check it out.

Regardless if your travelling domestically or internationally, you can always squeeze in a workout before you head off. This time as we were heading off to the UK, and the flight was not until midnight, I actually managed to get in two sessions. When your stuck on a flight for 24 hours, to get some movement in before we left is just what I needed to do.

Fitting in a strength and conditioning class first thing in the morning and then heading out for a run in the evening. Of course this did help with the flight being so late, but even if your flight is earlier you can get something in. This has to be one of the benefits with living in Melbourne and it only taking 30-40minutes to get to the airport, as we soon discovered after arriving in the UK, getting stuck in traffic and travelling back home adds another 3 1/2 hours to an already long journey.