Fighting... fighting... fighting...

I am consciously trying to change my view of Burpees... but it isn't working! I HATE THEM!
As soon as they come up during a homework I think I cry a little inside and dread the thought of them.

BUT... and this almost hurts to write... BUT they are possibly one of the most important parts of the Spartanfam method for me!
They are the one part that challenges me, makes me work really hard, uses a wide range of skills to control them and develops more than just a toning of leg muscles! They help improve balance, coordination and that little gyro part of our brains that keeps the electrical signals processing properly and improves our aim along with all-round agility.

I think my reaction times are getting faster... but even with a reasonably controlled diet the fat still isn't shifting.

I recently did a fitness test which told me I was 'over weight'... my BMI was in that nasty zone above the accepted norm and I couldn't deny it either.  I know I've a bit to lose - but to learn that it was was over 10kgs was a bit of a scare!  I don't want to be fat and this tyre isn't proving easy to shift at all!

Spartanfam does seem to be improving my general well-being but I need to be doing it more and on that part I am failing miserably.

Tonight my wife and I are heading to Seoul for the opening night of a Latin & Salsa Weekend.  It will be the first time in 2 years that we've really got to go out dancing and we've missed it - I used to dance 6 nights a week and was very trim - now I need to find that bug again and apply it to something else until we return home where there is a more vibrant salsa scene and I can at least get out once a week.

To keep you going with the homeworks here is Week 6!

Its a nice one this week - and again, no need for a gym - just get out there!
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Bit of a break... cost me dearly!

Right... vacation/holiday time is over, extra classes are over, English Camp is over, and school is back in full swing.

And so is SpartanFam training!

I didn't get the chance to post towards the end of July due to workload but I did get to keep doing my homework so that wasn't so bad... but when I was away on vacation (as they like to refer to it here) there was too much unhealthy food such as delicious beef burgers (not the fast food kind) consumed which didn't do me any favours!

I also didn't do ANY training while I was away... and walking up a dormant volcano didn't really count as a proper hike.

So, since I hadn't posted on here, and had missed a full 2 weeks of doing any Spartan training I think it is only appropriate to go back to doing the week 5 Homework and continue from there!

Week 5's Homework includes 6 small sets with 15 or so reps in each set and since it is short it is simple enough to repeat the whole homework twice.  Today is ideal for me to kick back into this as I am sat in school with no students as they have been told school is cancelled due to a typhoon going by - so I am free to do it as much as I want!

So, you have Press Ups x 15, Tricep Dips x 15, Sit Ups with Punches x 15, Squat Jumps x 20, Full Plank to Half Plank x 15, and those dreaded Burpees with back of hand to floor x 20.

I am really seeing the work from the Tricep Dips showing through in my arms... plus I have been doing Traditional Korean Archery for the last month too and that is a whole workout for the chest in itself so my upper chest is doing quite well but I need to work harder on my core as the fat isn't shifting yet... though I guess if I work it off slowly then it is more likely to stay off too!

Here's the video - have a go and don't forget to follow @Chakabars on Twitter, check out his blog for more ways to improve your Spartanfam performance and leave a comment if you are following the SpartanFam Method too to let me know how you are getting on!
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And into Week 4...

It is gettting easier... slowly but surely I am getting there (I think).

I didn't get to do as much exercise as I had wanted this week - this is not an attempt at making an excuse, there isn't one, it is me saying that this week I failed to do my homework as much as I should have!

But... School has finished for the summer - so I only have 2 weeks of summer camp to go before I finally get a week off (heading to Japan... possibly the most expensive place on the planet!!! DOH!) before being thrown back into school again.  The good side of camp is that I don't start school until 11am and hopefully will be finished by around 4pm (fingers crossed) so I have more time to do exercise!

So, Week 4's homework, this week it is delivered by Portia Freno:


Again - 15 reps of each exercise and repeat the whole sequence!

Oh, I also got a yoga mat for school last week... needed it purely to stop my clothes getting dirty, and also a pair of cheap gloves for the same reason - the floors aren't all that clean as the boys clean them themselves and do less than a half job! lol!

If you are reading this blog and trying it out too then please post a comment to let me know how you are getting on!
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Week 3 has started!

I missed the chance to post on Thursday... an old project of mine has come back into life a little and I am using my spare time to try and kick start it again - its mainly for male salsa dancers (though there is a bit for females too)... but this blog isn't about that stuff so I'll move on.

The tension in my arms has started to settle - my shoulders don't feel as painful any more - but it did almost get to a point last week when I felt like I was damaging myself and almost struggled to put clothes on! I just decided that I should ease off a little (I was getting in up to 5 blocks some days) and take my time - this is a change in lifestyle not just a change in body shape!

I also realised that I forgot to upload the week 2 homework video! Doh! So, I will add that to the post sometime over the weekend.

My wife did pass a comment to me that I looked thinner this week, I wasn't so sure either but maybe I am losing a bit of weight or tightening/toning up a little too as some of my Co-Teachers and students made comments too.  That might be one of the good things about Koreans - they are highly pass-remarkable! If they think you look fatter then they say it, if they think you look thinner then they tell you too!

So, the SpartanFam Homework for Week 3:


The planks I am looking forward to... I know I need to lose the weight over all of my body but the bit that stands out to me is my belly and I want to increase my core strength and tone that bit up! AHhooooO!

I am becoming a bit more optimistic about this whole process too - and as the school term is dragging to a close and I will have a little more free time (especially in the mornings) I hope that I will be able to really take full advantage of the nice weather (albeit rainy season for the next week or so and getting every more hotter [no lower than 23oC at night!!!]).

I'd love to have Chaka shouting in my ear though to keep me going even more!
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Ouch... think I might have damaged myself!

Yes... from the title you'd easily be able to guess that I am in a little pain today but it is self-inflicted which makes it even worse!

I was going to put it down to the 'Walk-to-Press-up' move which is ten times harder than doing a straight 15 press-ups - but it isn't its fault. Its from my activities on Saturday.

I guess I can't really just leave it there! lol! I might have to elaborate a little (though some people might scream, "No, Colm... Stop! No... we don't need the details!", but it isn't quite what you might think! lol!

The weather here in South Korea is glorious at this time of year and during the working week you miss most of the beautiful sunshine as you are locked up teaching - so at weekends you are supposed of makes the most of it!  So, on Saturday we headed south of our little city to go to a shooting range just inside the remit of the next province.

We packed some drinks into the car, got some fuel and then headed off - not really knowing where we were going or how much it would cost but it was a lovely afternoon out!

We got to shoot Korean Police issued handguns, did some air-rifle shooting (very sensitive triggers!) and I ended the day with some clay pigeon shooting... ergo the pain!  The kick from the shotgun didn't feel that bad at the time but by bedtime I had to put Deepheat on it (actually it was Tiger Balm) to ease the tight muscles.

Jumping back to today then... well the aforementioned 'Walk-to-Push-up's are virtually impossible and although I've tried to work through the pain it virtually locks out my shoulder at times too.  If I was at home I would consider getting a quick massage but out here it is tantamount to endorsing someone to deliver GBH on you so it isn't an option.

Burpees and Squats are becoming easier (still a little dizzy after them) but otherwise grand! No visual improvements that I can see yet... but it is only the second week and with both a change in diet and doing these exercises I hope that by the end of the summer I might have visibly improved a little.

By the way... Coconut Water isn't nice - or at least to my Irish palette anyway! Real coconut milk - YES - but the water stuff isn't easy to drink at all, even mixed with berries and oj!  It might be the brand I have (I hope it is) which is from Australia but I'm not going to find out until I finish the 10 bottles we have left! lol!
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To upload or not to upload... that is the question.

I'm on my 5th day of the Spartanfam method and to be honest I am feeling it!

I can really feel my muscles getting tighter - especially in my upper arms; specifically the back of my arms and on the side of my chest up at my armpits.  Girls - I think if you have 'bingo-wings' then this may help work it off a bit!
I am definitely finding the Burpees and Squat Jumps the hardest part - not for difficulty but because I get dizzy doing them... though it is starting to go away as I become more concentrated on them and am choosing points to focus on rather than panning my whole vision from the ground up and down again.

My wife had asked me whether I was going to post a before pic for readers to view - and I did think about this for quite a while (though admittedly I was leaning towards a No from the outset).
I came to the conclusion that since I want this to be an honest blog about my progress I would openly admit that I don't want to put a picture of myself right now up online! At least, not one that shows my flabby belly in all its undefined glory! But that's not a cop out...

I don't want to post an image which basically says, "Look at me and my fat", because I am embarrassed by it and I don't want to show the world me... right now... just as I am trying to do something about it.

Instead I think I will post the pic when I feel I can show clear, visible results - or at least when I don't feel ashamed about what I have done to myself.

So, I will post 'before' and 'after' pics later down the line - possibly by the end of the summer (if I can keep working hard at this).


As for the exercises themselves - they are easy (bar the dizziness) though the Pull-ups are proving small challenge to me... doing them in the doorway is quite easy, no matter how far forward I put my feet without falling. Yet trying to do full Pull-ups is a killer, I just can't do more than 2 before something just giving out.
I think I might do a double dose of them in a doorway to see if I feel something... (after the Press-ups and Bench-dips I almost feel as if my arms are getting bigger so I want to feel something from the Pull-ups too to help me know that I am doing them correctly).
Or maybe I am bonkers and missing something... perseverance at the full Pull-ups might be a better option (and I have found a doorway in school to allow me to do them there too!).

Ok... 3 days of Workout Week 1 left... lets push it!
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Hello & Welcome

Hello and welcome to my blog!

This page will serve to track my progress, my ups and downs, the advances and failures that I experience over the next number of months as I undertake a new lifestyle of training to improving my health and fitness.

So, what is this SpartanFam Method?
Well, SpartanFam is a  method of body weight training that was developed over a number of years by Chakabars Clarke; an ex-soldier who was told that lifting weights wouldn't make him that strong... so he found another way - a way to train anytime - anywhere - using simple equipment or (in most cases) NO equipment at all!
There is no need to take protein shakes or weight supplements to boost performance or body weight either - just open space and something to hang off!

AND THAT'S MY CHALLENGE!

I need to change my health and SpatanFam is possibly the best way to do it!

I do have a gym membership but after getting sick and losing both the confidence and will to go I think I had slipped back into a depressing view of myself.  I am not happy with how I look at present - trying to stave off a middle-aged spread that crept up on me over the last 18 months and that I need to shift!
I know that back in the UK I wouldn't necessarily be called 'Fat' but that doesn't make it ok... so the training has started.

But what about me? Am I a normal guy? Eat normal food?
The answer to that depends on what you think is normal!

Most of my life I was a bit of a skinny rake of a lad.  I was never fat, I could eat anything I wanted without it mattering, my metabolism was high!  I was sporty in Primary school but much less so in Secondary but still could run quite well (though long distance wasn't my cup of tea! I didn't have the stamina).
As my life concentrated more on my choice of study at Uni (Music) it meant I spent less and less time doing physical activities but more time running from pillar to post for rehearsals, gigs, events, organising things.  I was an active member of the Uni and was physically able to lift, move and keep going even for allnight events.  Back then I was skinny!

When I eventually moved home (Belfast, N. Ireland) I was just getting on with life when I was dragged along to a Salsa class.  This ended up changing my life really as not only did I take to it like a duck to water but I ended up teaching Salsa across Ireland, North and South, as well as in the UK from time to time.  I would have 4 classes a week during the evenings, eating on the go, enjoying the life and making new friends everywhere I went.  It also introduced me to my now wife.

We got married in June 2010 and it was the lead up to it that initially let my centre spread gain ground! (Not that I am saying there is anything wrong with getting married... it was just me!)
Coming up to the wedding date I was cutting down the number of classes I was teaching, this was because our Honeymoon wasn't going to be a short one.  We planned on spending 3 months travelling around Europe before going to work in Malawi for another 3 months... which did work out to an extent.  We spent 3 months in Spain, working, having fun, making fantastic new friends and living it up in the warmth that it had to offer.  While we were working at a residential camp the food didn't leave much to be desired but it was very high in carbs which we needed to keep going in temperatures that ranged from 30 - 40 degrees Celsius.
Going to Malawi, Africa, also kept the heat going but it lacked the physical demands needed to keep healthy.  We weren't eating much but we weren't doing much either.  As my wife took a bad reaction to her Anti-Malarial drugs we ended up leaving early and returning to Belfast for 3 months before extending the Honeymoon further by heading to South Korea to teach English... where I now am... different food, different culture... different view of bodies!

I am 34 years old, have 32 inch waist (which used to be a 30 when I came to Korea), I don't smoke, I don't drink alcohol, I love ice-cream and really good food, I don't snack during the school day but most days I don't get a breakfast either due to teaching classes before the school day even starts.  I know I could do with eating more veg and more fruit - and I will do so! I've upped my water intake too to about 2.5 - 3 litres each day... I just hope it helps!

So, what about this SpartanFam training?
Well, here it is... I'm starting at week 1 and although I am using the SpartanFam method as my core training I am also back at the gym too for 1 hour after work each day.  I figure the SpartanFam method can be used throughout the day - EVEN in the gym - as although it is summer here (30oC regular temp which is due to go up as we get into July and August) we are expecting the Monsoons to come - normally only here for 2 weeks but this year Summer got hot really early so the rains may last longer and training outside isn't possible during floods.

If you want to try it too - the check out the Week 1 Video here or watch it below!
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