Baldy Blogs

#Baldyschallenge 2013

2012-12-27T15:34:00.001+00:00

#baldyschallenge 2012 was just a bit of fun. I challenged people to do 1 press up on New Year's Day and add one on each day and see how far they could get.

There were quite a few joining in and sharing their progress through Twitter and Facebook. I think only two or three people made it into February though!

I've been asked to do one again this New Year but I've decided to make it more useful and helpful this time, doing more of a home workout program for people to join in and start feeling the benefits from.

It'll be 5 days a week, and starting off with 14 minute workouts that include a 5 minute rest break. It's mainly for beginners and works all areas of the body and will help people to tone up, lose weight and start feeling confident again.

Each week we'll be stepping it up a bit but it still allows for you to do it at your own pace and against your own targets.

On rest days, I'll post lifestyle and nutrition tips to help you make small, positive changes to your life as you go. I'm looking forward to hearing about the results and what it's helped people to achieve.

If you are competitive, you can always post your scores and compare with others doing #baldyschallenge and if you are experienced or elite level, it's a fun bolt-on to what you are already doing! (I'll be weight training, as well as doing the home workouts).

Please let me know if you want to join in by tweeting me at @graham_lay and share with your friends who want to make a start on getting fit, losing weight and toning up!

Here's an example of one of the workouts:

Day 1 - thighs and bum

Today's workout is a bodyweight squat interval session, lasting 14 minutes.

From a standing position, feet about shoulder width apart and feet pointing slightly outwards, bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor and extend your arms straight out in from of you. Then extend back up to the standing position. Focus on pushing your bum out and backwards as you go down and keep your back straight. This is 1 squat. You will be recording the total number of squats so have a pen/pad or smartphone handy.

Set a timer to 14 minutes and do:

30 seconds of squats, 30 seconds rest.
Repeat this for 5 sets, until timer says 9:30 to go.

5 minute break - use the time to walk around, stretch, write your scores down, get your breath back and prepare for the second set!

When timer says 4:30 to go, do your second set of 5 x 30 seconds on/off.

Score = total number of squats done in the work time.

As a guide, I did 160 today (16 per 30s rep). I expect scores to range from about 50 (total beginners) to 300 (elite athletes).

My legs felt pumped and I was sweating a bit plus out of breath in the second half of each set. The idea here is not to kill yourself in week one, just go at a pace that you feel is fairly testing but not pushing yourself to the limit just yet!

You can start upping the ante when you learn more about your fitness level and are feeling more energetic and confident.

You should recover within a few minutes but still feel it in your legs for a while after. Your body's metabolism rate is raised by this type of workout, so you will continue to burn calories for some time after you've finished!

Here's a link for a video intro to the challenge, please share with friends/family/colleagues so they can decide if they want to join in too!

http://youtu.be/3X7Ljmyrq_c?a

Thanks for reading, looking forward to doing this with you all!

@Graham_Lay #baldyschallenge

Http://baldyschallenge.webs.com

Range Rover Vogue For Sale. 4.6L V8 Petrol

2012-11-07T20:37:00.002+00:00

I've decided to change my car for a newer model. It's with some reluctance that I'm selling it as it's been by far the best car I've owned - luxurious, spacious, comfortable and reliable.

2002 Range Rover Vogue (P38 model)

4.6 litre V8 Petrol Engine - 83077 miles

Rye, East Sussex, TN31 7TX

£5,745

(MORE PHOTOS TO FOLLOW!)

4WD, Automatic Gearbox
Green Exterior, Full Cream Leather Interior
Power Steering, Traction Control, ABS
Coil Spring Suspension Conversion
Electric Mirrors, Windows, Sunroof, Seats
Air Conditioning, Satellite Navigation
Radio / CD with multi-changer box, upgraded Kardon Speakers
Full Service History, 83077 genuine miles.
12 months MOT and TAX included
218 BHP, 0-62 mp/h 9.6s, mpg 17.9 - 22.9

The boot is huge and the rear seats can fold down if required. The condition is excellent throughout, very little wear and tear. The Range Rover is also the perfect winter car with immense grip, 4WD, traction control and ABS making for a safe and confident drive in snow/ice conditions.

£5,745 - the first to view will buy at this price. Same year models are selling for £6,750 - £7,000 in Autotrader. There's nothing wrong with the car, it's just that I bought it at a good price so I can justify letting it go at this price.

Tweet me on @Graham_Lay or E-Mail me on grahamlay@hotmail.co.uk in the first instance with any questions you have and leave me your number and a convenient time for me to call you back. No time-wasters, canvassers or stalkers please!

If it isn't quite what you are looking for, or it's too far away for you to consider, please share the link for this page for others.

Thank you!

BMAF Pentathlon Preview

2012-06-16T18:53:00.001+01:00

Tomorrow I've got a competition - the British Masters Pentathlon Championships at Horspath Stadium just outside Oxford.

There are 6 entrants in my category (35-39 yr olds). On paper, I am ranked 6th. I haven't trained much recently so can't expect too much of a performance, but I still have some targets I want to beat:

Long Jump - 5.00m - (PB is 5.95 in 1994, but last year 4.93m)
Javelin - 50m - (PB is 63.14m from 1994 but in recent years have thrown 51-54m)
200m - 27.5s - (100m PB is 13.01s last year - no idea how it should equate)
Discus - 35m - (PB is 32.23m set in Decathlon last year, from standing)
1500m - Under 7 mins! - (last year I did it in 7:05, hobbling to the line nursing injuries)

If I can match those targets, that will earn me a total of 2020 points. Anything less than 2000 will be a disappointment, but anything over will be a pleasant surprise. If I can try and catch 5th or 4th place, that would be awesome!!

Setting off before 9am and competing in the afternoon, will try to Tweet progress and get some video footage for the comedy value!

My match write up may be Monday if I'm home too late tomorrow,

Thanks for reading!

p.s. - Here's my write up of last year's decathlon for charity: http://grahamlay.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/decathlon-2011-uk-masters-for-rays-of.html

100m statistics

2012-06-09T23:13:00.002+01:00

Usain Bolt is widely regarded as being the fastest man who ever lived, and to some, unbeatable.

His 9.58 seconds World Record is 0.11 seconds faster than anyone else has ever run.

In the build up to the London 2012 Olympics, I thought I'd have a look at where the contenders stand in terms of track record and see just how far ahead he is of the rest of the field.

There are 3 athletes contending who stand out from the rest in terms of their PBs:

9.58 Usain Bolt
9.69 Tyson Gay
9.72 Asafa Powell

Number of races under 9.80:

Usain Bolt - 9 times
Asafa Powell - 8 times
Tyson Gay - 7 times

Usain's 9.58 is the only one time anyone has ever run faster than Tyson Gay's PB, including Usain Bolt.

Asafa Powell is the sprinter who has clocked the most sub 10.00 races ever (over 80 times!)

The current rankings for this year:

9.76 - Usain Bolt
9.85 - Asafa Powell
10.00 - Tyson Gay (first race back since injury, into a 1.5m/s headwind)

In the latest Powell v Bolt race, Powell had the better start and led up to the half way mark before Bolt came through with a strong last 30m - a sign that he isn't as far ahead as many believe.

Usain and Asafa have both run sub-10 3 times so far this year. So has Justin Gatlin who recently prompted controversy by hinting that he could be the man to beat Bolt. Yohan Blake is another contender with a 9.84 clocking this year.

Providing Bolt, Powell and Gay make it through to the final, injury free (we all hope), it could just be the most amazing race we've ever seen, and perhaps not the runaway victory for Bolt that many people expect....

Here's the second fastest run of all time - Tyson Gay after a terrible start. What could he run if he nails his start?

Six Day Diet App

2012-06-05T23:36:00.001+01:00

When I lost 14.5lbs in 6 days I was totally surprised. That was in 2009 when my personal trainer devised a diet with me to give me a kickstart. I ended up losing 3 stone in 3 months using the principles from the diet and it transformed my life.That's no flowery marketing gumph, it's a real story and one that has prompted hundreds of people to ask me to share the diet with them.

Recently, I decided I'd have a go at making an Android App to share the diet on the open market. It cost me £16 to register as a Google Developer, the Buzztouch website was FREE and helped me to learn how to go about it and download all the necessary bits n bobs. It took a couple of weeks to learn, develop and then publish the app - not too bad, only a few frustrations along the way!

Anyway, here it is: Six Day Diet App

I've charged 75p for it to help cover the cost and time involved, and hope to raise enough to invest in a Mac so I can then go on to develop Apple Apps in the future. Please share the link as i'd like to help others lose weight and change their lives and also raise enough pocket money to take the next step in my hobby of app development! :-D Thanks

6 Day Diet App - Testers Required!

2012-05-31T18:58:00.004+01:00

Some of you will remember the 6 day diet I did in 2009 where I lost 14.5lbs in 6 days.

I've just done it again and lost 10lbs, and dozens of others have tried it with success ranging from 5lbs to 15lbs. I keep getting asked - "Have you got that diet handy G?" so I thought I'd have a bash at creating an app that provides details of the diet and some tips.

It's a basic android app, and I need some people to test it to make sure it works (you can try the diet too if you want). Here's a link to the app in its FREE testing phase. Once it's ready for publishing I'll make a small charge to the general public to cover the cost of making it and hosting it.

PLEASE have a go and let me know if it works (ANDROID only at this stage).

ANDROID 6 DAY DIET APP

(hosted for free at insomnia-lounge.webs.com)

THANK YOU FOR HELPING! Let me know how it goes, any problems, etc

@Graham_Lay

How Do I Downgrade my LinkedIn Account from Premium to Free?

2012-04-23T19:33:00.000+01:00

I upgraded my LinkedIn Account to Premium a few months ago whilst I was job hunting and forgot about it until my wife reminded me that it was costing £20 per month or thereabouts.

It took me about 30 minutes to work out how to downgrade from Premium to Free and I noticed that there were hundreds of people who had posted questions and problems with how to do this.

Here's what I discovered, and how to do it quickly and easily:

Log into your LinkedIn Account.

Go to the top right of the screen where your name is and choose the drop down item "Settings"

In the box below your picture, there are options regarding your Account.

Choose "Cancel or Downgrade" and it will take you to a 3 step process for cancelling. Each step you will be reminded of the services and asked if you are sure. It was easy to do and it told me I had cancelled, effective of the last day of my current month's subscription.

Hopefully, that is that and you will have managed to cancel as quickly as me.

Let me know if you have any issues or comments below?

@Graham_Lay
(free Twitter account)

Anti-Fail - A Route For Success!

2012-03-07T18:59:00.001+00:00

Here's a simple yet effective method of brainstorming new ideas for business projects, personal development, organising great parties - whatever you want to achieve in fact!

Think of as many ways to make the business fail and write them down. Encourage your group to keep firing ideas, no matter how silly they may sound.

E.g.

"Don't make calls to our customers so they have no idea about the sale this weekend"

"Make sure the posters are wrinkled and faded, or missing!"

"Sound bored or dismissive about the party night to discourage as many people from coming as possible"

"Do nothing"

"Make change for the sake of it"

When you have exhausted your team with a long list, have a break so they can have their giggles and when they return, go through each item and think of the opposite! Work out what's possible/practical and then shortlisted your ideas for success.

You'll be surprised at how many great ideas are spawned, and best of all, from your own team members. This way, there will be a much higher buy-in rate and more success to follow.

Have fun, enjoy trying it out!

Twitter VIPS and #baldyschallenge Day 44

2012-02-13T21:32:00.000+00:00

Have you made my Twitter VIP list?

I've been using Twitter on and off for nearly 3 years now. I've enjoyed some great conversations and made some very interesting friends through it. It's also been funny, useful and interesting.

Here are just a handful of my favourite Tweeters, with a brief reason why. Please don't be annoyed if you are not listed - let me know if I missed you and why you should be on the list! ;-)

@dougielawson - Dougie - first person who tweeted me, indoor rowing pal, top geek!
@ravards - Ruby - Bonkers, funny, witty, celeb stalker extraordinaire!
@gregjrutherford - Greg - Olympic Athlete, Ginger, Pie Eater, Challenged me to decathlon last year!
@katharinemerry - Katharine - TV presenter, ex Olympian, friendly, funny, genuine top lady!
@domsdads - Robert - Chef, Twitter Pal, positive, friendly, rubbish at Words with Friends!
@iwanrunner - TV presenter, ex Olympian, overlord of #rubbishjokes, looks like Riddian, top bloke!
@deanmacey - ex Olympian, TV, decathlete, angler, looks like me but not as handsome!
@kevp - Kev - indoor rowing pal, puke-inducing training partner, Sir, wears lycra onesies!
@thunderthumbs @jowivipe @juicyjulesrocks - original twitter gang members!
@welshrower - Niall - indoor rower, shares all the interesting stuff, genuine guy, #baldyschallenger!
@thelawns - Richard - King of Twitter
@kellysotherton @louisehazel @j_ennis - Babes with 7 times the power!
@winceywillis - Queen of Twitter, ex weathergirl
@trude103 - Princess of Twitter
@lolasnu @vixter1982 @witterbird84 @27sarahjane @gothiechick @christineleith @jayneyrus - Top Birds!!
@yorkie2906 - Stu - incredible life changing loser of weight! friend met from indoor rowing

If you are following any of them - let them know they are listed here? The ones you are not currently following, perhaps follow them and tell them where you found out about them?

VIP A LIST ENTRIES

#Baldyschallenge - Day 44

On new year's day I suggested that we do 1 press up and 1 sit up and then add one rep each day. We added squats recently and are now on 44 press ups, 44 sit ups and 44 squats. Once you've done them, Tweet it using the #baldyschallenge tag and FB status update it (even though your FB mates won't know what you're on about!).

#BaldysChallenge - Day 24 and a NEW exercise

2012-01-24T07:56:00.002+00:00

For those who don't know what #baldyschallenge is, here's a quick explanation:

On New Year's Day, whilst most of the world was in bed sleeping hangovers off, I got chatting to a few people who wanted to start getting fit. It struck me that an easy way for people to get into a new routine was to start bit by bit, and gently get the body used to exercise. Mentaly, it's easy to take small steps and have lots of short term goals that get you towards your longer term goals. So I proposed #baldyschallenge.

Jan 1st = 1 Press Up, 1 Sit Up
Jan 2nd = 2 Press Ups, 2 Sit Ups
and so on, just adding 1 rep to each exercise a day.

There have been dozens of people following and doing the challenge, either as their exercise for the day, or as an extra set of exercises to their normal training.

Last night, my friend David Speed recommended we add bodyweight squats to work on the lower body. Sounds like a great idea, and not impossible for people to add in at this stage.

So, today's challenge is:

JAN 24 = 24 Sit Ups, 24 Press Ups, 24 Bodyweight Squats

Once you've done it, either like my status with this Blog Post link so that others can see you're still with us, or if you are a Tweeter, ReTweet my Tweet with this link.

If you have any comments or questions about the challenge so far, leave one below!

Stay with me people, you should really start to feel the benefits next month. Toned bum and thighs, pert pecs, no bingo wings - who needs surgery?!

#baldyschallenge Day 9 #in

2012-01-09T22:08:00.000+00:00

So it's day 9 of #baldyschallenge !

We started on New Year's Day with an easy way to ease yourself into getting fit and toning up. The plan was to do just 1 press up and 1 sit up and then add 1 rep each day throughout the year and see how far we can get.

Anyone can join in at any time, just do the challenge and then Tweet about it using the tag #baldyschallenge so you can share with and check on the others doing it. Who knows, we may get hundreds of team mates by the end of the year?

So far, those doing it (from twitter) are:

@Graham_Lay
@RealEyesIt
@domsdads
@ElGaulio
@welshrower
@27sarahjane
@athleticsmum
@JayneyRus
@ZebrafacePaint
@yorkie2906
@VikingJohnny
@christineLeith
@welshemmam

By the time we get to New Year's Eve we'll be doing 366 press ups and 366 sit ups in a day! Imagine how toned your arms will be and the six pack you'll have!!!

Come on, join in and share with your friends

9 press ups, 9 sit ups and Tweet #baldyschallenge Day 9 done!

#BaldysChallenge - You can do this!!

2012-01-01T12:07:00.000+00:00

Join me and the others who are setting out to do this challenge over this coming year!

Day 1 - 1 x sit up, 1 x press up (January 1st)
Day 2 - 2 x sit ups, 2 x press ups
and so on...

When you have done it each day, simply Tweet:

"#baldyschallenge Day 1 done!" (obviously change the day accordingly)

We are going to add 1 rep each day, so at the end of January for example, we'll be doing 31 sit ups and 31 press ups. There, not too difficult is it? Imagine how you will feel when we get to Christmas and you are doing over 300 situps and 300 press ups a day!!

This is for beginners, or for extreme athletes to add onto their existing training. You can join in at any time, but it's easier if you start now.

So come on - do your 1 sit up and 1 press up and Tweet about it using the #baldyschallenge tag so we can track others doing it with us!

BALDYSCHALLENGE MEMBERS!

GET FIT THE EASY WAY

2012 - Make it Count!

2012-01-01T09:35:00.000+00:00

Thanks for reading and sharing my blog, the support over the last year particularly for my waffling has been humbling, and a tad mystifying! lol

So, 2012 is here!

London Olympics, Queen's Diamond Jubilee, 366 leap year days, uncertainty in the global economy and instability in some key countries.

Lots going on this year but I wanted to talk about you, me, your friends, your family members, your Twitter 'mates', your colleagues, the lady down at the post office - the people around you and the things within your control.

None of us, alone, can change the climate, fix the economy, stop the wars, eliminate crime. What we can do is make small changes that will affect our lives and the people around us. Spending time and energy on matters that you can influence brings with it a renewed confidence, improved lifestyle, better relationships, success at work, etc.

It's time to focus on something, or things that you can get results from and achieve your own 'Gold Medal'. Those athletes training hard every day for years will soon be giving it their all in their bid for a medal at the Olympics. It's no suprise they are there because they have dedicated themselves to one thing and committed to doing what is necessary to succeed.

So, take some time to think about what matters most to you and make a shortlist of things you want to change or improve. Then reduce the list to no more than 5 things you want to focus on - there's no point having a list of dozens and dozens of things, you simply won't be able to focus on them all unless they are a tick list of achievable items for you to work through one by one.

For each change, set yourself goals. This is the important bit. When setting a goal - have the end result in mind and set shorter term goals to tick off along the way. For example, if you want to lose 3 stone - set yourself a realistic end goal (by 1st July for example). Then set intermediate goals of say, 6lbs lost in first month, 1 stone by end of February, 2 stone by 1st May, etc.

Remember those thermometer style charts outside churches for their roof repair fund? Do one for yourself to stick on the fridge door so you can fill it in each week and see how you are doing compared to your goals. Ideally you want to tick off the goals by the deadline you set. If you miss a deadline - adjust the remaining goals accordingly. No point falling behind and getting into a situation where it's not going to happen, you'll just get demoralised and lose conviction.

Enlist the support of people you trust. Family, friends, strangers with common goals, etc. Share your goals with these people and let them know how you are doing from time to time. The best supporters will ask you before you tell them. You'll find their support a great boost in terms of motivation yourself and sharing your success with them as you progress.

Reward yourself. Set some rewards for hitting your targets. If it's weight loss you are aiming for, don't set eating a whole chocolate fudge cake as a reward! Perhaps go out to watch a film, or go bowling, or share a nice dinner with one of your friends. If it's stopping smoking, don't reward yourself with a big fat Cuban cigar! Perhaps buy yourself a present, or better - buy a gift for someone else with some of the money you saved, or donate to charity.

These are just some tips for how to go about setting and achieving your goals. I hope it's been useful in terms of helping you to start making some decisions and improvements to your life. Whether it's to do with health, or how you treat other people, or achieving in sport or work, as long as it matters to you and you can do something about it, you can do it!

Here's some extra support for those looking to Lose Weight or Stop Smoking - I made these free websites for people to come together and help each other:

http://www.lose-weight-together.com

http://www.stop-smoking-together.com

So,whatever you decide to do this year, make it count!

All the best, and shout if you need support or motivation - @Graham_Lay

Weight Training, Commonwealth Games

2011-12-14T18:54:00.001+00:00

Still have severe doms in quads and glutes from front squats two days ago but as I can't train until Saturday made myself go:

5 mins cycle

3 x 5 x 140kg shrugs
3 x 5 x 160kg shrugs
2 x 5 x 160kg deadlift off half rack (knee height)
3 x 5 x 200kg "
2 x 5 x 160kg shrugs
10 x 110kg shrugs
2 x 5 x 70kg hang cleans
2 x 8 x 70kg bentover rows
5 x 8 x 35kg upright rows
3 x 8 x reverse flyes, varying weight

1k row 2:10/500m pace

5 mins cycle

Going to focus more on Shot Put training as I've been too varied in my training to get any decent results.

Hope to go 15m plus next year and then be in contention for Commonwealth Games in 2014. I missed out in 1994 just - Scotland asked me to throw 67m in javelin and they would have taken me to Victoria. I threw 63.14m and then two weeks after the games did 72m in training...

Tall ask, I'll be 38 when the Games cone round, but Shot put isn't quite as injury prone as javelin or decathlon so I hope I'll be able to have a good run at it, provided I don't do this too often:

Http://bit.ly/MyFunnyAccident

How Not to Power Clean! Fail

2011-12-11T22:58:00.001+00:00

This morning I decided to do some weights before a sprint rowing session.

I did some decent bench pressing and then moved on to Power Cleans. I was doing well and decided to try 105kg. I've done more than this before (110kg) so I didn't quite expect this to happen!

Haha! Oops, what a mistake to make.

Glad a few people found it funny anyway! I only hurt my wrist slightly, but it's ok this evening thankfully.

Baldy's Stats

2011-11-29T11:53:00.001+00:00

Not sure why my blog has had such an increase in views - perhaps it's just purely down to the dynamic layout design as opposed to being funny, interesting or having a loyal following!

5000 this month and a steep climb - wonder if it'll grow to 10,000 next month?

More importantly - what does it matter?! It doesn't really, but I do love stats!!!

iPhone

2011-11-22T19:50:00.001+00:00

For my birthday, my wife got me an iPhone.

Before this, I had a Nokia E63 and wondered what all the fuss is about with the iPhone. Now, I can see what it was all about. I'm still getting to grips with it but have managed to download a few apps I found and a few that were recommended to me by friends.

Within a few days, my phone now provides:

Phone
Free Video Call Phone
Camera
Video Camera
Calculator
Personal Organiser
Diary
Torch
Heart Rate Monitor
Business Reference Tool Kit
Social Networking Gadget
E-Mail
Free Instant Messenger
Games Console
Calorie Counter and Fitness Checker
Stopwatch
Weather Forecaster
Sat Nav Tool / Navigations
Radio
TV
Stereo
Sleep Inducer

It makes you wonder what all the gadgets around the house are for!

The quality of the photos is great, the speed of navigation from app to app is great, the download speed is quicker than the PC (using the same Wi-Fi broadband router).

When I received a free video call from my parents today, who are abroad, and we can see and talk in real-time for free it just compounded all the reasons why it is a fantastic piece of kit.

If you have been thinking of getting one, I'd say go for it. Just get a case to protect it. The one my wife got me is a case with a leather flap that folds down like a policeman's notebook style so it can go into your pocket without getting damaged and it's easy enough to open it up when you need (all the time!)

Birthday Blog - New Horizons

2011-11-13T15:28:00.001+00:00

Birthday

It's my 36th birthday today and it's been an enjoyable one so far. Went for a walk around the harbour at Torquay and had a bite to eat. Luckily the sun came out which made it rather pleasant. Later, a few friends are coming round for dinner which will be nice. Gone are the days of going out clubbing and having a blow-out. I've had over a hundred birthday greeting messages today which is amazing and I'm grateful for all those who took a moment or two to let me know. I am a positive person and it's great to see such positivity from the people I am acquainted with.

New Horizons

I mentioned new horizons in the title because I have made a big decision which involves work and home life. After 4 years of managing and developing the team and park at Devon Hills Holiday Village, I am now looking for a fresh career challenge for 2012 and beyond. Whilst the park still has room for further expansion, I feel it is time to move on having learned a great deal and having brought it a long way from what it was to what it is now. After all, I've been here for a quarter of my working life!

I have a lot of experience within the holiday park industry but I am not going to limit my search to the industry alone. This, for me, is the perfect opportunity to explore new avenues with an open mind. I have already had some interest shown in me from the Far East and I'm excited to learn more about that particular project as it sounds just the type of thing I could get my teeth into. Other than that, I can look at any geographical location in the UK or abroad.

The best birthday present you could give me would be to share this blog post to help put me in front of people who may be looking for a positive and ambitious manager with great experience and skills. Why would you do this? If you are a helpful and positive person, it only takes a moment and you could be responsible for life changing results!

General Management - team of 50, all aspects of holiday park management. Health and safety compliance, employment law, marketing, recruiting, training and development, product development, P&L management, cost control, business strategy, project management, complaint handling, identifying team satisfiers and dis-satisfiers, appraisal and personal development plans, culture change management,

Sales Management - recruiting, training and motivating teams of sales executives to sell high value luxury products from £25k to £150k plus all aspects of stock management, web based and direct marketing campaigns, legal compliance, budget management, performance monitoring, business network development.

Full details of my experience, qualifications and skills are on My Profile on LinkedIn

To contact me directly, my e-mail is grahamlay@hotmail.co.uk

Thank you for taking the time to read and share. I hope positive things come back to you in return, as they tend to have a habit of doing!

Who are you?

2011-11-07T22:13:00.001+00:00

Who actually reads my blog?

Over 4,000 views in the last month, never thought that many people would be interested in Baldy Blogs. It's just a middle aged baldy having a go at sport and having some quirky ideas and thoughts!

Perhaps you'd be so kind as to leave a comment and tell us how you came about my blog - that would be awesome, thanks in advance to those who do!

Rain Power - Reclaim Energy For Free!

2011-10-21T21:09:00.001+01:00

On a long car journey yesterday my mind started wandering as I glimpsed a large wind turbine. I started thinking about ways of harnessing energy from natural occurrences.

From regenerative braking in vehicles to hydro-electric power in the home, I came up with some wacky ideas!

My favourite was to collect the rain that falls onto the roofs of buildings and channel them into a storage tank. From the tank, a pipe would run towards the ground and through a turbine before it is made available as a hosepipe or into a butt. The pressure of the falling water through the pipe would generate electrical energy from the turbine that could be transferred to a storage battery and used later, reducing the energy requirements of the house/building.

How much energy it would produce, I have no idea, but I like the idea! An easy after market solution would be to fit small cheap turbines to the bottom of existing guttering.

Today, I did some Googling and found out that, unsurprisingly, I am not the first person to think of this idea. There are a few other papers, blogs and forum posts talking about the same thing. The fact that I haven't seen a DIY fit it yourself kit probably means it is not a viable option. Who knows?!

I had a wacky idea that could save fuel but I won't disclose that yet as I did a patent search and couldn't find one that mentions it anywhere so I'll try and see if it is a viable option before going down the route of getting a patent and then licensing it to Honda, BMW or Volkswagen for millions!

I'm interested to know of more ideas that could be developed - list them here if you have one? (I promise I won't steal it for profit!)

Tabata Row on the Concept2

2011-10-09T23:04:00.000+01:00

I've done Tabata workouts before on the Concept2 indoor rowing machine, and as i had limited time today thought I'd sneak in a quick session.

1k warm up - 3:54

30 x 60kg bench press (gym challenge from a friend!)

Tabatas - at 15 strokes per minute, max power. So, 8 x (20 secs on, 10 secs off), 5 strokes per rep.

99m - 1:41.0 - r15
99m - 1:41.0 - r15
98m - 1:42.0 - r15
98m - 1:42.0 - r15
97m - 1:43.0 - r15
96m - 1:44.1 - r15
96m - 1:44.1 - r15
95m - 1:45.2 - r15

Total work metres - 778m - 1:42.8 - r15

2k cool down - 9:00.0

I found it tough by rep 4 and the last rep was a killer, glutes hurting. This workout is great for when you have limited time to train as your metabolism will be high hours afterwards, helping to burn fat.

Here's how to set it up on the Concept2 PM4 monitor:

TABATA

5k row, 60kg Bench Challenge

2011-10-07T20:27:00.000+01:00

Felt weak because I missed breakfast and lunch today before the gym so chose a steady 5000m row on the indoor Concept2 machine.

5000m - 19:55.2 - 1:59.5 pace - 22 strokes / min

Got a bit shaky and dizzy towards the end which is a sign of fatigue or poor nutrition and energy levels.

Then, it was a challenge from a friend - How many reps of 60kg can you bench press in one go?

I managed 27 before my arms gave way! next time 30+

Then did some more bench pressing and a cycle to cool down.

Will rest tomorrow as I obviously need it - oh, and EAT!

Indoor Rowing Power Training

2011-10-04T21:08:00.000+01:00

Needed to get some cardio in today before weights for upper body and power tests.

5000m - 20:30.2 - 2:03 - r23 - good sweaty meters

5,4,3,2,1 - wide grip chins
3 x 8 x #15 45 deg lat pulldowns
3 x 8 x #8 reverse flye machine
15,12,8 x 50kg incline bench

100m - 16.1 - 1:20.5 - r45 - df78 (min drag test)
200m - 1:26.5 - r27 - max drag

Max r20 tests at low, max and mid drag:

30s - 167m - 1:29.8 - r20 - 483w - df100
30s - 167m - 1:29.8 - r20 - 483w - df175
30s - 168m - 1:29.2 - r20 - 492w - df139

Then went and found Mat to take a video of me doing one of these r20 30s bursts for those that asked to see what it looked like. Only thing is - can't work out how to rotate the first bit without a video editor facility that works!

Decathlon - 2011 UK Masters for Rays of Sunshine Childrens Charity

2011-09-12T23:02:00.001+01:00

Earlier this year, I was challenged to do a decathlon and I decided to go for it! The event I would enter was the UK Masters Championships for 35 year olds and above.

I also hoped that given the amount of training and hard work that would go into preparing for it, and the challenge itself, that people would find it worthy as a fundraising event for the Rays of Sunshine Childrens Charity.

I had been to a concert organised by the Rays of Sunshine for children with life limiting conditions and could see what joy they brought to those little people who so deserve it. I felt it was a particularly worthy cause to try and help as the charity co-ordinators really believe in what they do and they make a huge difference to the kids' lives.

I set about my training and looking into it to see what I thought I might be able to achieve in each event. I then had an idea of asking Olympic Heroes to set me their own targets for each event to help raise awareness. I was amazed and thrilled to get targets for all events and also for the whole thing from the greatest Decathlete of all time in my opinion, Daley Thompson.

Here are the targets:

100m - 12.80s - set by Jodie Williams. GB sprinter and World Junior Champion.

Long Jump - 5.00m - set by Greg Rutherford. GB Long Jumper and Olympian.

Shot Put - 13.00m - set by Kelly Sotherton. GB Heptathlete, now 400m, Olympic and World Bronze

High Jump - 1.60m - set by Steve Smith. GB Record holder and Olympic Bronze

400m - 62.00s - set by Katharine Merry. GB sprinter, now commentator and Olympic Bronze

110mH - 18.00s - set by Andy Turner. GB Hurdler and Euro/Commonwealth Champ, World Bronze

Discus - 32.00m - set by Louise Hazel. GB Heptathlete, Commonwealth Champion

Pole Vault - 2.80m - set by Holly Bleasdale. GB Pole Vaulter and BR record holder

Javelin - 57.00m - set by Goldie Sayers. GB Javelin Record holder and Olympian

1500m - 5:10.00 - set by Heather Fell. GB Modern Pentathlete - Olympic Silver

Total - 4500 pts - set by Daley Thompson. GB Decathlete - 2 x Olympic Champion, ex WR holder

So, after a few months of hard training and a few practice competitions....

....the time came to get myself to Oxford and get stuck in!

Day -1
The day before, I was feeling more and more excited and nervous about what I was about to do. I had been visualising each event in my head most nights before sleep to try and ensure that there were as few surprises as possible when it came to the real event. This can only go so far of course but I do believe it helped me to psychologically prepare for the 10 event ordeal spread over 2 days.

My wife prepared lots and lots of food and drinks for the journey there, the day itself and the journey home. Mostly sandwiches (lots of them), nuts, juice drinks, energy drinks, coffee, carrot cake, white chocolate. Trey Hardee, World Champion, said that eating and drinking plenty was the best advice he could give me. It was going to be an early start so it was time to get an early night and sleep as much as possible. Eeeeek!

Day 1
4.45 am - alarm clock went off signalling the start of a long and eventful day. Took a little longer than expected to get ready but set off at about 5.45am with my wife Tammy and our dog Bagel in tow. The journey was straight forward but took about 3 hours.

8.45am - Arrived at Horspath Stadium and saw people with Pole Vaults and javelins and looking rather energetic as they were jogging around and stretching. Gulp - this is it! Better go and register....

9am - The registration was simple and the officials were very friendly, in fact everyone I met over the two days was really friendly. At registration I discovered that there were 6 of us in my category, the 35-39 year olds.

So, first race starts at 10am - got time to have a little explore and then warm up.First though, the important job of putting the numbers on my vest:

The vest was the biggest the South West Vets do - Large. Obviously I am Extra large.....!

100m - First Event

I was looking forward to getting my first event done and dusted and had done a fairly decent warm up. There were lots of thoughts running through my head though -
"What if I am miles behind?"
"What if I false start?"
"Why am I even doing this?!"

Anyway, we went to the start line and I got focused. When the starter called us to our marks and then set...the gun went and I got off to a great start, BUT it was fired twice for a false start by Steve in Lane 2. I was a little annoyed as i had managed to blast off as well as I could have hoped for! Oh well, try again...

This time we were off. I got up to speed but was behind Stuart (orange vest) this time for the first 30m. I managed to get ahead of him and try to hang onto Andrew's coat tails in the lane outside me but he managed to stay ahead until the end. My right hamstring started to hurt at about 60m into it. I didn't slow down, just kept going until the line. I knew it wasn't brilliant, but at least it was completed.

13.50s - into a 2.0m/s headwind. It was blustery alright - the heat before us had a 4.8m/s headwind!

I was miles off my target of 12.8s, but even with a wind behind it would have been tough to beat it I think.

13.50 - 413 points - 4th position

Long Jump - Second Event

Having had a small rest period, it was time to prepare for the long jump. For the run-up, I just picked a marker and hd a go to see where I was with my take off foot. It was about 2 feet over the board so next time I moved the starting point back 2 feet and it was about right. This is slightly less technical than the other guys with their tape measures or measuring 72 footsteps for example!

First jump - as I hit the board, my right hamstring and my right heel hurt a lot. The jump wasn't bad, 4.93m, but I hobbled out of the pit and couldn't believe how much my heel hurt. I asked Stuart Richards why it could be and he said as I planted my take-off foot I must have slammed down my heel. Ouch!

Second Jump - I started off the run-up from the other foot so that I could try a left leg take-off instead. I hit the board ok but it felt slightly awkward jumping off the left foot and I didn't land very well. 4.82m

Third Jump - went off the right foot again. The wind had died down a bit and a fellow competitor said he'd moved his marker forward to allow for the difference it would make to the run-up. I did the same and set off for the last jump. I got a good take off and flighted much better. As I extended my legs forward for the landing both hamstrings screamed out in pain. Even worse, I'd hit the plasticine and no jumped. Someone said it looked about 5.20m so I was a bit gutted but you can't afford to sit and think about what might have been. I learned very quickly that you have to focus on what is immediately in front of you - each attempt, each event.

4.93m - 398pts - 5th. Running Total - 811 pts - 4th

Shot Put - Third Event

Now. This is what I was looking forward to! Shot put - shouldn't hurt and I should do well. In the warm up, I did a standing throw and again my right hamstring screamed at me. What?! How am I ever going to finish this with the pain so bad so early on? I decided to just try and ignore the pain, rub some ibuprofen gel in and take a couple of ibuprofen tablets and just get on with it.

The first put was pretty good, 11.80m or so. Still way down on the 13m target but at least I had some good points in the bag. I could relax and give it as much power as possible on the next two. The second went a bit to the right of the sector and I'd not quite hit it right, about 11.50m or so. On the last one, I just thought "Come on, you've got to hit Kelly's target, give it your all". I hit it very nicely and it was straight down the middle, best throw of the competition. It felt good to win an event!

12.30m - 652 pts - 1st. Running Total - 1463 pts - 3rd position

High Jump - Fourth Event

I was pleased to have climbed into Bronze position after the Shot and wondered if i could try and stay close to Andrew over the next few events to be in with a shout on day 2. As we warmed up I could see he had a lot of spring and was going to do well so it was a case of just doing the best i could do.

I came in at an early height to get some confidence and practice. I think I failed the first attempt at the opening height - a little embarrassing but I knew I'd get it on the next one so got on with it and moved up a height. As it got to 1.39m I felt pretty good - better than in Exeter when I tried it before last month. Darren said that I could attack it a bit more and get closer to the bar for more height. As we got to the 1.45m mark the heavens opened and it became slippery and hard to see properly. I managed to get it and move up to 1.48m but just couldn't get it right on the first couple of attempts. My last attempt was close - I didn't even feel it as I clipped the bar slightly, annoying because I thought I had a bit more in me.

Was good to watch the better guys having a go, and very impressive tedchniques and spring. Darren won with 1.72m, Andrew second with 1.69m and Steve third with 1.60m.

1.45m - 374 pts - 4th. Running Total - 1837 pts - 4th

400m - Fifth Event

The last event of Day 1 is the lactic killer - 400m. I was in a lot of pain from the waist down, my hips, my legs, knees, ankles, feet - the lot. I wasn't sure how to run this as I haven't done one for about 20 years. My tactic was to take it fairly easy for the first 200m and see how it felt from there. As we set off, a couple of guys came flying past me on the inside. I wasn't tempted to try and follow them. Stuart on my inside lane crept past me after 100m and I decided to take long strides down the back straight in a cruise. As we got to 200m, I felt good and coudl see Stuart starting to struggle a bit so I pushed a bit harder into 4th gear around the bend. At 100m to go I still felt good although it was getting harder and harder. I saw Andrew outside me abotu 20m ahead and I pushed again into 5th gear and saw that i was starting to reel him in. I had to work 100% all the way to the line to just pip him at the post. That was a satisfying run and I definitely put it all in - lactic headache kicked in after about 2 minutes. Time was almost irrelevant, I'd beaten Andrew and kept myself in the game as much as I could.

68.92s - 218 pts - 4th. Running Total - 2055pts - 4th

Day 1 Standings:

1 - Darren Dodd - 3313 pts
2 - Steve Wren - 2829 pts
3 - Andrew England - 2227 pts
4 - Graham Lay - 2055 pts
5 - Stuart Richards - 1640 pts
6 - Nathan Kitchen - 1521 pts

There were two mini competitions forming - Stuart v Nathan and Andrew v Graham. Darren was unassailable and Steve was too far ahead of Andrew but to far behind Darren to have a fight.

Tammy and Bagel had spent most of the day in the car, partly because Bagel was afraid of the starting pistol, partly because the weather had been rubbish - wet and windy most of the day. The journey home was a weary one and we decided that it was best if I travelled alone for Day 2.

At home, I ate a lot, had a cold shower and rubbed loads of gel into my legs but the pain was simply terrible. I almost questioned going back for the second day but the thought of all the donations and the kids who'll benefit made me slap myself out of it! I got to bed at around 11.00pm for about 6 hours sleep before getting up for more pain.

Day 2

As I thought - totally seized up when I woke up. It hurt to try and put my socks on. It hurt to sit on the loo. It hurt to walk to the kitchen. Basically, everything hurt doing anything. Ah well, it'll not last forever....

Three hours later and I got to Oxford for the registration and to find out the race times. We'd be hurdling at around 9.45am so time to do as much as possible to warm up and stretch out.

110m hurdles - Sixth Event

I haven't done hurdles except for when I used to be a Young Athlete and the club would ask me to do the 400m hurdles as it was Race 1 and the Javelin was the last event. I was a little bit afraid of them...

I had a practice and managed to get to the first hurdle with my right leg going over first. I did it a couple of times before I braved going for 3 hurdles. I found out that I would have to take 4 strides and alternate on each hurdle so right leg first and then left leg on second.

We set off and as I jumped the first hurdle, my left arm clattered with Stuart's right arm, a bit like Dayron Robles in the World Champs except I wasn't cheating I was just clumsy! Stuart said it hadn't put him off, same as me - it just happens sometimes apparently.

Back in the race, I was getting over each hurdle but also conscious that it was hurting a bit more each time as my hamstrings were being stretched out. At about number 6 I only just cleared the hurdle so I had to drive even harder to get back to the next one and keep the rhythm I'd got into. I tried really hard to drive as much as possible to catch Andrew but I just couldn't gain enough ground. He beat me by 1.5s and gained another 112 pts on me.It was starting to look impossible to catch him unless the Discus went in my favour.

21.53s - 252pts - 4th. Running Total - 2307 pts - 4th

Discus - Seventh Event

I was looking forward to trying Discus. I wondered if my Shot and Javelin prowess would transfer across to the 3rd throwing event. In the warm up I got one to come out nice and flat although it went to the right of the landing sector. On the next practice, the Discus flipped over and over. I decided not to try a spin and just do the best standing throw I could.

First throw - my hand came over as I released and the Discus dive bombed into the ground at 22m. Poor! Second throw it came out better and it was pretty good at 28m. On the last one, I wound it up and really went for a strong release and it pinged out out my hand nice and flat and soared out to 32.23m. I was chuffed to bits! Not only that I got a good one in, but that I'd also beaten an Olympian target for once. Louise Hazel's 32m was mine. Yeeha!

32.23m - 518 pts - 3rd. Running Total - 2825 pts - 4th

Pole Vault - Eighth Event

We had to travel in convoy to another stadium to do our competition. It wasn't too bad and the venue was nice. I knew that a few of the guys could do 3m and my best at 2.30m prior to this competition would mean more points lost, but then I've only done it twice before! I chose to start at the lowest height so I could practice with a few vaults. Nathan struggled and almost bottled out after missing his first attempt at 1.40m. We all convinced him to have another go and he managed to get over. That was a big achievement for him and very pleasing for us all to see him get some points and overcome his fear.

As the bar went up, I was feeling better and better. I cleared my PB height of 2.30m easily and there was more in the tank. As you go higher, you have to hold the pole futher up and this means you have to move your run up back a bit and the bar bends a bit more each time - a lot to deal with! I managed to get to 2.50m clear and then was so close at 2.60m on my third. I really got the bar to bend and got the catapult action going but wasn't able to control it. Shame because I was really starting to feel like I was getting the hang of it.

2.50m - 251 pts - 5th. Running Total - 3076 pts - 4th

Javelin - Ninth Event

I was looking forward to the javelin but also conscious that there were some big expectations on me to perform. Pressure was on - to deliver and to earn as many points as possible. I felt ok in the warm up, despite legs being on fire my arm only took a few throws to feel loose.

First throw - shuffle into 5 strides crossovers and BOOM. It flew fairly well - we had to aim slightly to the right as there was a strong wind coming into our faces from the right. 51.90m. Second throw wasn't as good - I pulled across it and it didn't fly well. 49.80m or so. Last throw was time to let rip. I gave it some power but hadn't hit it quite right and it took a nose dive at the 51m mark. If I'd remembered to bring my own javelin (which i forgot at silly o'clock that morning) it may have faired better as it is rated to 70m. the one I threw was a 50m rated javelin (flies optimally at 50m). Still - pretty happy, season's best with fried legs.

51.90m - 626 pts - 1st. Running Total - 3702pts - 4th

1500m - Tenth and Last Event

I was not looking forward to this at all. 300m and then 3 whole laps of the track. Someone worked out that for 4000 points I'd need to run 5:51. I had no idea how fast that was or what speed to try and run at! It was about 93 seconds per lap.

We set off and down the back straight I started running and someone said "this is a bit quick isn't it?". i repleid "don't worry I'll not be bale to keep this up". True enough, even before the line at 300m gone I was struggling. the chap called out our splits at the first lap which was 93,94,95.... this meant that I'd have to keep going at that pace for almost 3 more laps! No Chance in hell was that possible. I had to slow down and just try and keep going. Andrew was right behind me for the whole race - he only needed to be somewhere with me in sight to guarantee his Bronze so I don't blame him at all.

What do you think goes through your mind when you hear the bell for the last lap? I always thought "That must be a real motivator for them - only one more to go". NO. When that bell sounds it says "Oh my God - a whole 'nother lap to do!!!". it was not fun. It wasn't pretty. It was awful, awful, awful. Having said that - even though Andrew sped past me with 100m to go I didn't care, the end was in sight and when I crossed the line as sense of euphoria come over me - I'd FINISHED! Finished the 1500m and finished my first Decathlon!

7:05.32 - 67 pts (!) - Last. Running Total - 3771 pts - 4th.

Final Standings:

1 - Darren Dodd - 6109 pts
2 - Steve Wren - 4523 pts
3 - Andrew England - 3983 pts
4 - Graham Lay - 3771 pts
5 - Stuart Richards - 3237 pts
6 - Nathan Kitchen - 2826 pts

From Left - Steve Wren | Darren Dodd | Stuart Richards | Nathan Kitchen | Andrew England | Graham Lay

Summary

I now have even more respect for anyone who's done Multi Events. It's a lot harder than the top athletes make it look. I learned to focus on one event at a time, give it 100% and forget about what's to come and to enjoy it as you go along. It's tough, very tough but also very satisfying.

At the time of writing, I have aches all over and have felt whacked all day and run down (day after). we have also managed to raise £344.71 so far for the Rays of Sunshine Childrens Charity which is fantastic - thank you so much to all who donated. If you haven't yet, and would like to, it's easy to do:

SPONSOR

Or simply Text "CFAO52 £2" to 70070
Thank You!

Would I do it again? Well - there was mention of a Double Decathlon - 20 events over 2 days! That sounds like even more fun.....

Final preps for Decathlon

2011-09-06T14:41:00.000+01:00

The Decathlon I'm doing for the Rays of Sunshine Children's Charity is this coming Saturday and Sunday at Oxford. So far, £190 has been raised and there have been a few more donation pledges in the last couple of days. The target I set was £1,000 - whether it gets hit or not at least there's a few hundred pounds to go towards granting a child a wish and I'm very grateful for people sharing their support for this worthy charity.

In terms of readiness for the competition, I feel pretty good - strong and a bit more agile after a few months training, although running is my weakness and hope that my hamstrings hold out.

100m - Did 13.01s earlier in year and will be looking to go 12.8 or so. I have done some starting drills as that was where I was lacking most. Top end speed is ok but not brilliant and I must try not to over stride and reach with my front foot as that's what caused the hamstring issue last time.

Long Jump - Haven't practiced except for 3 jumps earlier this year where I no jumped, 4.85m and then no jumped. I need to spend as much time as I can getting the run-up right before the 3 attempts on Saturday. Looking to go 5.50m+.

Shot Put - Did 12.15m last week in competition and feel confident of hitting 12.50m but the target I've been set is 13m so it will require everything I can muster for an explosive action.

High Jump - only practiced once, last week. Had about 8 jumps and managed 1.45m but this isn't great for points. My target is 1.60m - I will try the Western Roll in warm up to see if I am better with that technique.

400m - I am a 500m specialist in indoor rowing, with a PB of 1:19.9. I am able to handle a minute of hard effort but it's totally down to how much lactic hits me in the legs. My strategy will be the same as for a 500m - hard start for about 7 strides and then back off into a power cruise, maintaining speed until the last 100m and then just give it everything that's left to get over the line. I smell a fly and die!

110m Hurdles - Did this once as a young teenager but haven't been able to take on a flight of them this year so am filled with trepidation at the thought of clattering one or straining my groin muscles! Target is 18 seconds, so i have a cushion of 5 seconds to cover 10m more and 10 hurdles than the 100m sprint.

Discus - I'm stronger than ever so as long as I can get a half rotation in and hit it right, should be able to go 32m - 35m I think. We'll see

Pole Vault - Having done 2.30m last week and almost clearing 2.40m, I am fairly confident about going 2.50m+ with a bit of conviction on the runway and getting the catch position right after watching the technique on the videos of my efforts (need to keep left arm straighter as I take the weight).

Javelin - feeling good, did 48m from standing week before last and 55m is surely within reach, even if I am ony able to hobble a 5 stride run-up.

1500m - Euuuchh. Horrible. Not nice. Not looking forward to it. Really looking forward to flopping at the end!

Overall - in pretty good shape. Haven't been able to do as much technical work as I'd like but still confident of doing fairly well. Injury is the concern - how will the body hold out, and how stiff will I feel on Sunday morning?!! Daley Thompson's target is 4500 points. I'm gunning for 5000...

Today's weather made me question what the heck I was doing, but I think it's going to be a bit better for the weekend. As long as it's not too cold it'll be ok. If anyone's near Oxford and wants to drop by for an hour for a giggle - it's at Horspath stadium. Cheers all