6 inches

Photos Courtesy: Victah Sailer@Photorun, Richard Simonsen, adidas, Bob Karetsky

What’s the difference between Tyson Gay and his competitors? 6 inches.

Calm down – I haven’t taken investigative journalism to another level or anything like that. I have however, been observing Tyson Gay’s approach to his craft since his performance in Beijing.

After Usain Bolt obliterated the 100m record in Beijing, neither Gay – or anyone else for that matter – was ever expected to beat Bolt. Ever. And for good reason. Bolt was the athlete who stepped onto the track with his shoes untied wearing only half of his warm up gear yet still managing to clock up record times despite pulling up a good 30m before the finish line. Bolt is undoubtedly blessed with oodles of natural ability. Freakish ability to be exact.

What Tyson Gay lacks in ‘freakish’ ability, he more than makes up for with one unique quality – raw determination. It’s the kind of determination that spam filters comments like ‘You’ll never beat Bolt’. It’s also the kind of determination that comprehends “impossible is nothing” as a mantra and not a cliché. It’s the kind of determination that lends itself to the impeccable discipline required to come back from a career threatening injury to run the best 100m time for 2010.

On the 6^th August, 2010 Tyson Gay silenced the naysayers when he beat Usain Bolt in Stockholm.

Yes, Bolt can run faster and yes, Bolt didn’t appear to be on form, but the long and short of is Gay beat Bolt.

So to clarify my opening statement, the difference between Gay and many of his competitors is the 6 inches between his ears.

Is 4 Weeks Enough for a Bacchanal Body?

With 4 weeks left in the run up to Notting Hill Carnival I know there are a handful of masqueraders who are hittin’ the cardio with a vengeance in a bid to be the hottest body on the road.

The Caribbean is a ‘bodyproud’ region so whether long and lean or short and curvy, women will be celebrated over the Bank Holiday Weekend. But that doesn’t stop them from wanting to look their absolute best for Carnival.

Here’s the deal though – 4 weeks is simply not enough time for a complete transformation.

4 weeks IS enough time to enhance your finer assets though. I caught up with two personal trainers who know fitness and Carnival inside and out to get the low down on how to prepare your pins for Notting Hill.

Fat loss specialist and kettlebell freak Gavin de Souza was frank about the possibility. ‘If you are thinking of losing a significant amount of weight, you should give yourself an adequate amount of time to achieve that goal. However, a fair amount can be achieved in 4 weeks’.

Gavin’s bootcamp is a sure fire way to send the fat cells packing. Held in Clapham Common on a Wednesday (7pm) and Saturday (10am), boot camps are designed to keep you moving and to keep the heart rate elevated.

Gavin offers 5 useful tips for getting ready for Notting Hill Carnival:

1. Set a realistic, specific goal of what you want to achieve.
2. Get you nutrition correct 90% of the time. Don’t make this complicated, simply cut back on dairy, wheat, gluten, sugar, caffeine, and ALCOHOL. Aim to eat 5-6 well balanced small meals per day.
3. Drink loads of water.
4. Get Moving. Fluffing around in the gym doesn’t count. Find a high impact activity you enjoy doing and get stuck in.
5. Find a support team. Who will be jumping with you on Carnival Day? Do they have similar fitness goals? If so, motivate and encourage each other – having a support network always helps you to stick to your goals.

Spin instructor, Julian James, stresses that stamina and endurance are mandatory, especially if you’re planning to hit the warm fetes that lead in to Chocolate Band early Sunday morning.

‘If you haven’t done so already, get down to your local gym and register,’ says James. ‘Focus on cardio and strengthening those legs for chippin’ on de road, but don’t go overboard – Carnival is fun and your preparation for it should be fun too. Classes like spin are designed to offer quality cardio exercise without boring you to tears’.

For those fortunate enough to live in South East London, Julian conducts his spin class every Tuesday (730pm), Thursday (730pm) and Sunday (1pm) at FitSpace Woolwich.

See ya on de road!