19th January 2012

What is Cage Fitness?

It may sound like some kind of weird fetish carried out in a underground nightclub, but the activity ‘Cage Fitness’ is beginning to emerge as a popular and effective method of exercise. But exactly what is cage fitness?

This fast and furious fitness routine is based on mixed martial arts, and is quickly becoming one of the world’s fastest-growing combat sports.

So popular has the activity become that there are now Cage Fitness classes put on in martial arts schools and even fitness centres across the US.

The classes involve a series of quick martial arts moves taken from a variety of fighting disciplines, including boxing, karate, Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai, which provide an intense workout, despite their ‘brutal’ nature.

Cage Fitness was created by the nine times world welterweight champion, Matt Hughes, and is based on the structure of a championship MMA bout. Typically, a Cage Fitness workout lasts for 30 minutes, during which participants mimic familiar MMA-specific techniques such as squats and crunches.

This high-intensity interval training comprises of five, five-minute “rounds”, followed by a minute of rest. To help participants avoid injury, each Cage Fitness workout begins with a warm-up, which is quickly followed by a round that works the upper-body, a round that works the lower-body, and a “combo” round, designed to work the whole body simultaneously.

(more…)

5th July 2011

Top three waterproof jackets for outdoor activities in the summer

With summers being as unpredictable as they are and plagued by regular spells of rain.

If you are engaging in any kind of outdoor activities, waterproof jackets are essential.

Trion Z has investigated the pros and cons of some of the hundreds of waterproof jackets saturating the market, and come up with our top three waterproof jackets for outdoor activities in the summer.

Altura Night Vision Evo

If you are a cyclist – professional or amateur – it is vital that you wear a quality waterproof jacket. Visibility and protection are essential components of cycling gear and it is within these realms that the Altura Night Vision Evo steps in. Being bright yellow and covered in reflective trims, cyclists can be seen when visibility becomes poor. This light weight jacket also comes equipped with a removable tab so that cyclists can attach cycle lights when riding at night. This waterproof jacket not only keeps out the rain, but it also has a drop tail rear hem which helps protect cyclists from back wheel spray.

The TZ verdict? Not bad for a reasonable £79.99

The Altura Night Vision Evo is available to purchase at cyclestore.co.uk.

(more…)

20th June 2011

Three of the hardest bike climbs in Europe

Trion:Z lists Three of the hardest bike climbs in Europe! Think you’re tough enough for them?

With summer almost upon us and the Tour de France not so far away, cyclists are coming out of the woodwork fast and furious.

For any Tour de France enthusiasts or anyone who may be planning a cycling tour in Europe this summer, you may be interested in reading about the toughest bike climbs in Europe.

Alto de L’Angliru, Asturias, Spain

Being the second most mountainous country in Europe – after Switzerland – Spain could not escape from featuring in a piece about the harshest bike climbs in Europe.

Alto el Angliru in Asturias in northern Spain takes cyclists to a height of 1,248 metres, over a distance of 12.5 kilometres, with a maximum gradient of 23%.

The Alto de L’ Angliru has featured in the Vuelta a Espana, to which its severity and harshness has even resulted in the competitors of the Vuelta a Espana complaining of the competition organisers being ‘sadistic’.

This steep and severe mountain is one of the most demanding climbs in professional road bicycle racing, so don’t be disheartened if you have to get off and walk!

Monte Zoncolan, Carnic Alps, Italy

With an altitude of 1,210 metres and a maximum gradient of 20%, it is hardly surprising that Monte Zoncolan in the Carnic Alps in northern Italy has been used in the Giro d’Italia four times.

(more…)

12th April 2011

An interview with Martin Brown

Martin Brown is one of the best British power lifters in the history of the sport.

From winning the BPC British Championships in the ‘Open’ category in 2009, to winning the Overall at the 2010 British finals, Martin’s career has seen many highlights, and is still going from strength to strength.

Trion Z caught up with the ‘Blackpool lad who’s done extremely well’, to talk inspirations, nutrition and training.

At what age did you become interested in power lifting?

I have always been interested in strength since I first started training around 15 years ago. I only really started taking an interest in powerlifting around 4 years ago.

Who has been your biggest inspiration throughout your career as a power lifter?

It’s hard to say as there are so many people who given me inspiration. For training inspiration, Louie Simmons from Westside Barbell has almost revolutionised the way people train for strength sports. In terms of lifting achievements the biggest inspiration are the people who have really pushed the boundaries of what we thought was possible – like Andy Bolton’s deadlift. There are many more though, especially the people I compete against and those who hold the British records.

(more…)

15th March 2011

An interview with Mark Hines

Mark Hines is an Exercise and Human Physiologist, an author of nutrition and a lecturer of exercise physiology at the British College of Osteopathic Medicine, not to mention an ultra-endurance adventure racer.

Taking some time out of his busy and multi-faceted schedule, Mark talked to Trio Z about nutrition, a paleolithic diet and coming second in the ‘toughest and coldest race’ on Earth…

When and why did you become interested in extreme racing?

In 2005 I watched Ben Fogle’s televised attempt at the Marathon des Sables: 150-miles in 7 days across the Moroccan Sahara, and reportedly the toughest footrace in the world.  By that time I had been visiting friends in Cairo for years, and had become accustomed to spending hours walking in the Sahara.  I liked the idea of the race being the toughest, and as I was already physically active I thought it would be good to have a focus for a change.  I believed I could walk the distance without much training, and so if I could improve myself to be able to run some of it then that would be great.

It wasn’t until breakfast, the morning after finishing that race, that people were discussing even harder races.  Since then I’ve competed in the jungle marathon, run across the alps and am one of only two people to have completed the 430-mile Yukon Arctic Ultra twice.

(more…)