Posted on

Monday, 28th May

Everyone wants to get faster and stronger, and this is a common question when dealing with athletes of all sports, and juniors who really want to become professionals in any sport, or even the person who plays sunday morning football, who just wants to improve their game and take it to another level or two.

The techniques used to make this happen can be powerful, but before this takes place, the fundamentals must be in place to allow it all to happen.

For example, if an individual is carrying a couple of stone too much, then training JUST for speed is too limiting an approach, and can encourage injury.

If you are doing a speed and agility session, where explosive moves are often called upon, then if that person is quite a bit overweight, then the tensions on the hamstrings and groins can be overwhelming. The individual has to realise that when you carry too much weight, then your body mechanics don’t run as smoothly when you are carrying little or no extra weight, and its vital to build up gradually, rather than dive into a programme that puts too much strain on the body.

So before we touch on what it requires to become faster and more agile, you have to go back to the beginning.

Adjusting one’s diet so you can lose body fat at a steady rate is the first step.

Then making sure your exercise programme is sound, and you already familiar with the basics is another great starting point.

So if you are eating well and exercising properly, then over time you should achieve decent results and you should at some time be at your optimum weight, or at least fairly close to it. This would be the ideal time to step up your training onto the speed and agility stuff.

This will make sure you progress quickly still and avoid injury along your path of self-improvement to becoming a better athlete.

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 25th May

Apologies i havent been able to post every day the last couple of weeks, but my schedule has been crazier than ever, so even the limited time i usually get to post has gone out the window so to speak!

Anyway, just like i try to encourage you to make your exercise sessions count, i’m going to try and make my posts count too!

We have a 26 degrees day today, and although the temperature may make it hot and sweaty to train, its still important not to miss exercise just because its very warm, and some simple precautions would go a long way in making the whole process a lot more comfortable for you.

Number one is not to exercise in the middle of the day when temperatures are at their hottest. This is the time of day when it really is difficult to exercise, and totally takes you out of your comfort zone. Try early mornings and evenings as much better time slots.

Number two is to drink water throughout the day, and avoid dehydration. Sipping water at regular intervals will keep your body’s core temperature constant and keep you feeling comfortable, and be able to put in a decent workout performance.

Talking about dehydration, this can be a very serious state to get in, chances are if you’re still thirsty, then you are already in a state of dehydration and should look to immediately up your fluid intake. Severe dehydration can be seen in individuals who have white around their lips, this can lead to hospital treatment so beware.

Another key measure is to exercise within yourself and dont push it too far, in fact working slightly short of your normal performance will be a good idea, and being cautious will always lead to sound exercise habits in more extreme heat!

Bottom line is be sensible, and you can still get some good workouts in!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, 30th April

One  big reason to practice functional training instead of “run of the mill” workouts is sheer range of movement and “real life” application.

You aren’t going to get as many meaningful benefits from just using machines compared to the multi-benefits of functional exercise.

For instance, a simple test i do on individuals and turn it into an exercise is simply standing up and down on a chair.

Most people can do this, some cannot however and will really struggle to get up. This shows a lack of mobility and underlying strength.

This shows a lack of strength in the core more specifically, and this will give me significant clues about the programme that needs to be prescribed.

How many people do you know who need a lift up from a chair? Quite a few i would imagine especially after the age of 50? When you think about it, this is FAR too young to be experiencing mobility problems and work needs to be immediately done on this vital source of power and movement for the body.

Every exercise i give an individual, i will be looking for “real life” benefits from it. Every workout should help the individual live a better quality of life, that’s my mission every time.

So you can i get more than a little frustrated with people whose sole focus is “losing weight”! This means the individual doesnt really know the vast and true possibilities and opportunities that correct exercise selection brings.

Yes, you WILL drop some weight, body fat from the exercises i give you, sometimes a substantial amount if needed, but appreciating the big picture will make your health and fitness programme far more rewarding for you.

 This is why i really despise weight loss clubs and their false claims. They only focus on the weight, usually done in an unsustainable way too, so in my book they will always be a total “no no”!

Enjoy your training and the many real life benefits it brings.

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 26th April

Back pain often comes from imbalances throughout the body as we have talked about a million times on here.

It can come from simple things you never even thought about in your day.

From driving and reaching over the radio all the time to one side, to lounging in the chair while watching television, the causes are more simple than you thought and can be sorted out purely through behavioural change.

I have seen nasty back situations develop from reading a book in bed on one side, doing things only on one side will eventually lead to imbalances that need to be sorted and the sooner the better.

Simply by choosing to live your life with better posture habits will count for a lot when it comes to long term back health full stop. Make sure you make this vital change today.

Other back weakness can develop through working one side of the body and ignoring the other.

For example, if you only work the thighs and never work your hamstrings, then your back will eventually suffer, as well as poor hamstring strength of course, leading to injury, pain, cramping possibly at times, and you guessed it back pain!!!

Always work both sides of the body.

If you work your chest and shoulders but fail to do a range of back exercises, then it doesn’t take a genius to work out that back weakness will likely comes your way.

If you only run or just cycle, and you don’t do any strength or core stability work, then back pain is quite common amongst most participants.

These examples should really ram home the point about doing your core stability/balance work, doing the exercises we always talk about on here that you know are so good for you, and ignorance/reluctance to change is the only thing that may be stopping you have a very strong and healthy back!

Make it happen today.

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 12th April

Back pain relief is great like we talked about yesterday, and once you are allowed to exercise again in a more expanded way, you suddenly feel “free” again.

To get to this stage though, and never to go back there again, you MUST keep your core stability work up ideally for the rest of your life, or back pain can often return in the same way as before, and sometimes worse especially as you get into your “senior” years, when re-starting physical activity suddenly seems far more daunting.

As I have said many times, “core stability” work seems the most in fashion term in fitness, and has been for a while, but unfortunately most people who train and some of those who teach exercise, do not know the principles needed to work through an all round programme to engage the muscles necessary to relieve back pain, and increase power throughout the body in general!

Core stability is more than a big exercise ball and just “sitting” on it. For a beginner it will mean light exercise learning the basics, for a professional athlete it can mean aggressive powerful movements that enhance their game.

If like most of us, you are somewhere in between, there is much to learn.

If you belong to a gym that includes only machines to do exercise, then you really are not in the most efficient and “functional” place for your body and its longer term future.

If you are doing the same old routine with machines or just run or cycle every day, then you are missing out on a considerable amount of potential progress. We talk about this all the time on here.

If you have never worked out with a medicine ball, a bosu ball, a club roller, a balance wedge, balance pads etc, then you are cheating yourself out of a body and mind that could be significantly stronger. These are not compromise exercises, they are movements that will give you the edge and take you a million miles further in development!!!

All up to you and expand your mind!!!

Twitt