Posted on

Sunday, 16th March

Since we have become the opposite of gyms who just encourage their members to spend just endless hours on the treadmill and bike, it’s always vital to tell you why.

The variety in the gym has never been greater, and there is a strong reason for doing every one of these new and old exercises.

Every exercise has an energy cost.

Walking slowly has a relatively low energy cost, whilst doing sprints full tilt up hills has a very high energy cost.

Flipping tyres has a high energy cost, whilst pedaling at low intensity on a spin bike will have a low energy cost.

It stands to reason that if you doing a number of high energy cost exercises in your workouts, you are going to get much better results than most people who go through the motions at most other places.

This is not to say that you have to do every single toughest exercise there is, in every workout! That is wrong and often dangerous and counter productive.

Thinking about your exercise programme though is vital, and to constantly question yourself if you are really getting the best out of your training each time is a very healthy place to be.

There is a chart on the whiteboard showing what methods and equipment you are using, and how your results are developing.

Chances are that if you are employing all the things available to you in the gym right now over the course of a week, and using them on different days and getting better on them by the week, then over time your results are going to go through the roof-this is afact.

You may be tired to start with getting used to new movements, but the overall result will mean you become a much better athlete!

Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday, 12th March

Methods of training can vary but one overall aim should never change-you should always aim to get progressively better.

This is a true measure of success and it’s not age dependent.

We have people in their 70’s and 80’s who want each year to add to their quality of life, through their exercise and nutritional programme and make it happen through steady progression in everything they do.

This state of mind encourages success.

I have met people who have been 35 years of age, and ready to give up on their bodies and want to somehow coast it to retirement! I kid you not!

This state of mind develops I think because they see so many other people doing it.

Changing your life for the better is not always easy, and many people’s experience of exercise is just walking into a gym and staying on a bike or treadmill at low intensity for 30 minutes or so. This is not going to be successful in really turning your body around and making you much stronger, much more flexible and more balanced.

Any exercise is great but surely we are capable of achieving more with your variety in exercise. The sad thing is most gyms put a load of machines in a room and expect you to figure out the rest? This is totally unacceptable in my view and you are paying a lot of money to have a guess on what you should be doing.

Not only is this unlikely to give you a good result, but it’s plain dangerous.

Before starting any exercise programme, make sure you have a solid plan that’s going to take you where you want to go. Also, make sure that plan is constantly updated to suit your progress as you go along.

Everyone develops at different rates, so your plan will change quickly along the way to suit your new found abilities.

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 7th March

Jason has asked me a good question on whether it was best to train in the evening or the morning. There are good pros and cons for both, but whatever you decide, its crucial you do what suits you, and exercise the time which you can actually do the most in a week!

Pro’s for working out first thing in the morning are;

1. you get it out the way early, meaning nothing is likely to disrupt your training such as something coming up later in the day.

2. you burn fat straight away training before breakfast, as you wont have any food in your system.

3. training early sets you up for the day! You will feel energized all day long and not feel more tired as some people would imagine.

4. the gym is quiet very early in the morning, you will not have to wait for equipment and you have plenty of room to move around.

5. it’s a good change, mixing around your training times can stimulate your body into fresh gains, and take you totally out of your comfort zone!

Negatives would be;

1. With no food in your system, your performances are likely to be not quite as good.

2. It takes time to get used to training first thing in the morning, I am used to it now, I do it every day at 5am and now I love it, but it took a while!

3. Your body is not fully warmed up that early in the morning, it can take a while to warm up especially on winter mornings, and this can be an issue avoiding injuries.

4. Your motivation can suffer. Its not always easy to get up at 5am for a session, and your mood will vary especially when the honeymoon period has come and gone.

5. It can affect your social life, getting up early every single day to train will mean you hitting the sack far earlier, and your bed times may differ quite a bit with the rest of your household.

I train people all times of day, and everyone performs super well, and theres no science to say one time is better than the other.

Whatever you decide, just make sure you keep hitting the sessions no matter what!

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 28th February

If you like to hit certain records all the time in the gym, or in sporting events, then don’t expect to hit them higher all the time without peaking for them, and giving yourself a day’s complete rest (at least) before attempting them.

This is also why most if not all the members of the gym who play sport never train on a Friday, or do very light sessions before a game on a Saturday. This is all about delivering your very best performance on a Saturday and game time.

Since the variety of exercise you now do in the gym will be vast, the overall effect to start with will be to make you more tired than normal because it will be the culmination of many different efforts over demanding exercises.

This is just your body getting used to different movements that require a different amount of energy levels.

Also, the training we do over a week requires three different energy systems due to the different lengths of time we spend doing different exercises, as well as the differing intensity levels we like to use too.

Research has shown time after time though, that if you are prepared to put the effort in doing well thought out exercises to suit your needs and performance levels, then with the amount of rest factored in too, then you will be able to smash through your previous personal bests!

All of this shows there is methodology used in your training, rather than just a “hit and hope” mentality that never works for anyone longer term, and increases the chance of injury greatly.

You need to make sure you plan is right, hitting all the right areas, and making sure your performance gets constantly better!

Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday, 26th February

Moving in straight lines is a thing of the past in terms of training, or at least it ought to be!

When you think of your regular weight training, you will usually move in straight lines in a fixed movement. Most people know I regard weight training as extremely important, vital in fact and that will never change but there are other options you need to do in ADDITION to this form of strength training.

The same with running in straight lines like someone will typically do in a sprint or on a long distance run especially. Sprints are great and one of the most productive techniques you can use and are vital in my view.

Longer distance running can be ok but is often at a cost to your joints, especially for those with poor running styles and poor running shoes and not changed often enough (every 500 miles or 6 months in general).

If you are not doing speed and agility, then you need to start doing it however slow you may start. It will only get better and with the right instruction it will get rapidly better.

All the recent additions in terms of equipment to the gym (over the last 7 days) are very much biased to you becoming much better at handling your own bodyweight and becoming more free in your movement.

These movements are also intended to mimic everyday life experiences in all that you do, as well as copying multi-sports movements.

This will lead to your core becoming a lot stronger again, and being ready for any eventuality in life that comes your way in movement terms.

Anytime you need full instruction on this new equipment let me know!

Twitt