Feb22201012:35 a.m.
Toe much to bear....
How do folks! For those who logged on last week, I'm glad to say that I do indeed have a happier wife this week, I think I've gotten away with murder! My manager, on the other hand, is far from pleased. I'm sat at my computer, battered and bruised after a punishing defeat at Villa. It's a hard pill to swallow sometimes, especially when you feel that the team performed well for large parts of the game. Just to add insult to injury, I may have a broken toe; I'll be getting it x-rayed later on today.
It's really starting to throb now and considering I did it early in the second half, it made me think what a wonderful thing adrenaline is! It's amazing what the human body can achieve or withstand, when this glorious hormone is flowing through the blood vessels. You hear accounts of astounding feats of strength, like grannies lifting cars and the like, which are attributed to the adrenaline rush that comes in those fight or flight situations. Right now, I wish you could bottle it and inject it straight into my foot!!
We have recently acquired a whole new backroom staff at the club, along with the change in manager, and this included a fitness coach/dietician, Dr. Tom Little. Tom's slowly trying introduce various methods and regimes that will keep us in tip-top condition for our weekly battles. This week he calculated our body fat percentages. The two most common methods for this are bioimpedance and my favourite, the trusty old calipers! Bioimpedance involves passing a mild electric current through the body, and because fat is a bad conductor, the percentage body fat can be calculated by the time it takes for the current to pass through. The calipers method involves taking skin-fold measurements at several specific sites around the body, with what are essentially a glorified pair of pliers!!
I think this is a much more accurate method for two reasons. Firstly because there is only one variable that will change at any time, as long as you use the same equipment. With bioimpedance, a person's level of hydration varies on a day to day basis, even hour by hour, and this can seriously affect the readings. When there's more than one variable in any test, you can't attribute the result to one specific thing. The second reason is because it gave me a result of 5.5%, which means I can now have another bag of these Giant Chocolate Buttons without feeling guilty! I'll let you know how my x-ray goes, but until then, have a great week and many blessings!
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Comments (14)
Dan 'Big game saturday. Hope the toe is better.' added 22nd Feb 2010
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Cubacyclist 'Every game`s a biggie & everygame`s a cupfinal. We played well yesterday better shape & the result was flattering for Villa. The margin for error is so tight in the premiership. Good luck Clark ! ' added 22nd Feb 2010
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Choco_ 'best of luck with the toe, clark. you're right about the adrenaline thing as well. barely a day goes by that i don't see a granny lifting a car...' added 22nd Feb 2010
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aliza 'OMG I remember the scary skin-fold test from my sport science days – that was an interesting day at college, especially when I was paired up with a girl that was skinnier than a whippet. Enjoy those chocci buttons and hope it’s good news on the toe.' added 22nd Feb 2010
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fatherjack 'Clarke, not meaning to rub it in, but you seem to be on the end of some thumpings away from home and yet your home form isn't too bad. Currently it's twelve goals conceded at home but a whopping 43 conceded away from home. What would you put the away day blues down to?' added 22nd Feb 2010
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andrew_umber 'What the hell happened? I checked the BBC site and you were winning 1-0 and came back an hour or so later and you'd conceded 5! I was seriously hoping you'd win so am feeling a bit disappointed, although probably not quite as much as you! ' added 22nd Feb 2010
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anoif55 'Fingers Crossed you're in good shape for this weekend? ' added 23rd Feb 2010
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alphawoman 'Enjoy the choc buttons, loving the blog!' added 24th Feb 2010
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Dan 'Well done on Countdown. ' added 24th Feb 2010
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sam_hellens 'Stunning performance on the show today Clarke. Shouldn't you be at training though. How's the gaffer going to react if you keep winning and missing training sessions. He'll be wanting you to lose!' added 24th Feb 2010
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Footnote 'Countdown champ! http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/8536643.stm' added 25th Feb 2010
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abbi_claire 'I'm having to put countdown on sky+ series link for you clarke, I never normally watch it! hope the injury isn't serious, we need 3 points at the turf on Saturday! ' added 25th Feb 2010
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philk 'Stupid comment on MOTD last night about how you should be concnetrating on the relegation battle and not appearing on Countdown. Like Hansen, Lineker and Shearer never had a life out fo football eh? Saying that, your performance yesterday was a shocker Clarke. Despite me being a Pompey fan and glad of the three points I wish it was one of your team mates and not you - if only because I 'know' you through Real Buzz! Hopefully mate, it was a one off (I really don't think you took notice of my previous post) and I do hope Burnley pull out a few results soon. Best of luck for the rest of the season. philk' added 28th Feb 2010
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emmaleemingalwaysaclaret30 'i have just read your recent blog clarke you did have a bad game but chin up and but the past game behind you ready for arsenal. My husband and I are massive burnley fans and we have managed to get to away games as well as home games needless to say we will be at arsenal on saturday. It would be great if we could see the burnley we all know and love come out and do us proud at the emirates with you still doing your part in the back four. Chin up clarke !!!' added 2nd Mar 2010
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