Ade's Crosstraining story
(Adrian Clift, Future Fitness)

Having unfortunately finished my swimming 'career' when I was nineteen because of illness (ME), I decided to get my backside back into exercise and the gym at age 23 years, mainly to further rehabilitate myself from the illness. After a couple of years worth of steady improvement and after qualifying as a Personal Trainer and Health Consultant via the Premier Training Academy, I set up my own business and started training other people on a private basis. The guys that I first trained were mostly into the bodybuilding exercises (they all wanted to be Swartzeneggers) which also seemed like a good idea to me and so my physique became part of my business card, so to speak.

I suppose I was in my best shape during 1995-6 when I had a bodyfat percentage of 3.4%, a chest floating around the 45" mark and a waist that measured just 28" (those were the days). So physique wise, I looked the business (felt like absolute crap mind you). I looked good and that was the main thing at the time. During the end of 1996 I decided to be a 'clever Trevor' and bulk myself up a bit, mainly as an experiment to see just how much genetic potential I had for putting on muscle mass. After consuming enough food over six months to feed everyone in a small city for several years, I had managed to peak out at just under 16 stones. It was great, none of my clothes fit me, I couldn't get my seventeen and a half inch arms in any of my short sleeved shirts, as they would cut the blood off. I couldn't see my feet, because my 50" chest got in the way (mind you, at least it meant that I didn't have to look at my 37" waist line).

During this period of 'bulking up' I had travelled to Sutton Coldfield with Abi Handley (who I was training at the time) to watch the Tropicana Cross-training Championships, which I had read about in one of the bodybuilding or fitness magazines. It was a tremendous competition, a brilliant atmosphere and it turned out to be the year that Robert Volpe won by just one second, having come from well behind to finish at 25kph on the 6% incline 800m treadmill. Another thing that springs to mind during that competition was a young 'pretender' that after having shouted to his supporters during the 20 chin ups, 'How my doin?' Then proceeded to do the last three one handed. The 'How my doin?' line sounds better in Welsh for some strange reason. The young pretender was one Hywel Davies (wonder what happened to him?).

This competition had inspired both Abi and myself to have a go the following year, which was great, except for the fact that I now had the task of shedding the excess weight. I managed to do it over a four and a half month period prior to the comp and so weighed in at a lean mean 12 stone 5lbs with my body fat back to under 6%.

OK, so we had done all this training and we were both in good shape. Abi had always been in reasonable shape fitness wise, but needed to work on strength (she couldn't do more than 2 chins when we started!).
Anyway, Abi went down the course first and really out did herself, finishing with a fantastic time and a fourth place finish. Feeling very proud of both her for her achievement and myself for having trained her, it was now my turn to shine (or not as the case may be).

…. and so, off I go like a rocket, reaching the halfway point just eleven seconds slower than Hywel. Pretty impressive, well it would have been if it were a five event race as opposed to ten. Unfortunately, that's where it went a bit wrong and after spending almost two and a half minutes on the hip flexor machine, I suddenly realised that I could not lift my legs to do the step ups. I literally had to drag my left leg off of the step.
Now in training I had been banging out the bench press no problem however, when your body is that shot, you suddenly realise that it is not so easy. I managed to make it to 15 reps before I had to stop, after which my left arm would not straighten and reps were not being counted. The funny thing I'll always remember, was a lady watching along side the bench press who continually said to her friend, 'aah, bless him', every time I failed to do another rep.

Having eventually squeezed out the last rep in five and a half minutes (that must be some sort of record?) I staggered over to the treadmill where I preceded to 'run'/walk for a further six and a half minutes for
the 800m, nearly falling off the back of the machine twice. I still have all of this on video tape and watch it from time to time. It's a very humbling experience!

The motto of this story:
It would have been very easy to quit (as many did) but I still compete in competitions and have since placed in the top 8 at the Tropicana event. (Abi actually went on to win it the following year.) Cross-training is a true test of character, it never gets any easier because as you improve, you just push yourself harder and harder. We can't all be Champions, but I believe from first place to last place, anyone who competes in cross-training events is a winner!!