The squat (as shown by my lovely stick man figure here) is a great example of a Keystone Ability (click here for more info).  But if you don’t believe me, listen to what an actual Knight of the Realm has to say on the matter…

Strength Training with Pressups

“New and important guidelines” have been released today about recommended physical activity levels for people in the UK.  Click here to read them and see how you compare.

Here are just a couple of my thoughts…

• It recommends aerobic activity (remember the golden rules of aerobic activity:  Get out of breath, Stay out of breath, Do it often) AND ALSO muscle strengthening activity.  And I know I sound like a sexist bastard when I say this (but I was brought up surrounded by women, my closest friends are women and i train a hell of a lot of women), but ladies!  Pick up some heavy-arsed weights!  Please!  In 50 years time, I do not want to be pushing you round in your bathchairs because your bones have crumbled away through osteoporosis, because you wrongly thought you would get “bulky” if you picked up anything heavier than you bloody handbag!  Click here to read everything I have written about getting stronger.

• It recommends “vigorous intensity” activity each week.  This is more than just a gentle stroll…it means something that really works you hard and pushes you out of your comfort zone.  Remember, “hard work” are not swear words.

These new  guidelines also include the following points:

• “The intensity at which we exercise is key, and light activity such as strolling and housework is unlikely to have much positive impact on the health of most people. For aerobic exercise to be beneficial it must raise your heartbeat and make you sweat.
• The more exercise you do, the better. Everyone should do a minimum of 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise but that really is the minimum for health benefits. If you can go beyond 150 minutes, you’ll gain even more health benefits.
• Sedentary time (time spent sitting down to watch TV, use a computer, read or listen to music) is bad for your health, even for those who are achieving 150 minutes of exercise a week.”

In other words, it is saying that we should improve both our Background Activity and Peak Activity levels (click here for more information).

And finally, how many of us do you think are meeting the old recommendations of 30 minutes of activity at least 5 times a week?

• England: 40% of men and 28% of women
• Northern Ireland: 33% of men and 28% of women
• Wales: 36% of men and 23% of women
• Scotland: 43% of men and 32% of women

If you are interested in getting some real health and fitness benefits from your training, contact me for some coaching!

Strength Training with Pressups

“New and important guidelines” have been released today about recommended physical activity levels for people in the UK.  Click here to read them and see how you compare.

Here are just a couple of my thoughts…

• It recommends aerobic activity (remember the golden rules of aerobic activity:  Get out of breath, Stay out of breath, Do it often) AND ALSO muscle strengthening activity.  And I know I sound like a sexist bastard when I say this (but I was brought up surrounded by women, my closest friends are women and i train a hell of a lot of women), but ladies!  Pick up some heavy-arsed weights!  Please!  In 50 years time, I do not want to be pushing you round in your bathchairs because your bones have crumbled away through osteoporosis, because you wrongly thought you would get “bulky” if you picked up anything heavier than you bloody handbag!  Click here to read everything I have written about getting stronger.

• It recommends “vigorous intensity” activity each week.  This is more than just a gentle stroll…it means something that really works you hard and pushes you out of your comfort zone.  Remember, “hard work” are not swear words.

These new  guidelines also include the following points:

• “The intensity at which we exercise is key, and light activity such as strolling and housework is unlikely to have much positive impact on the health of most people. For aerobic exercise to be beneficial it must raise your heartbeat and make you sweat.
• The more exercise you do, the better. Everyone should do a minimum of 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise but that really is the minimum for health benefits. If you can go beyond 150 minutes, you’ll gain even more health benefits.
• Sedentary time (time spent sitting down to watch TV, use a computer, read or listen to music) is bad for your health, even for those who are achieving 150 minutes of exercise a week.”

In other words, it is saying that we should improve both our Background Activity and Peak Activity levels (click here for more information).

And finally, how many of us do you think are meeting the old recommendations of 30 minutes of activity at least 5 times a week?

• England: 40% of men and 28% of women
• Northern Ireland: 33% of men and 28% of women
• Wales: 36% of men and 23% of women
• Scotland: 43% of men and 32% of women

If you are interested in getting some real health and fitness benefits from your training, contact me for some coaching!

Your average gym monkey

I work in a gym, but I don’t think I am your average gym monkey (at least I hope I’m not).  I am not interested in isolating muscles and “maximising the burn”.  Instead, because of my background in Karate, I am more interested in being able to move in strong, powerful, fast and well coordinated ways.

The human body is the most sophisticated, versatile and amazing gadget we will ever own.  Forget your iPad.  As sexy and funky as it may be, it is nothing compared to the body you are living in right now.  So I think everyone should be able to move it properly and get the most out of it.

I was chatting to my friend the other day.  He was telling me about some resistance machines he had used.  They had little flashing lights that guided how you should move, how far and how fast.  Now, I can see how that kind of thing may be very nice and quite useful for absolute beginners, but personally, I would hate it!  Maybe its just me, but I would much prefer to know what I was doing and why, rather than following mindlessly, sheep-like, a machine that was set for the lowest common denominator.

Talk about setting your sights low!  Which sounds best to you:

“I want to be the best I can be”

or

“I want to be bearly adequate”.

So, here are a few basic movement patterns that we should all be aware of, and should be able to do well, every day of our lives, whether you are in training or not:

Push (or press)

This is when the force in a limb is moving away from the body.  Examples include:

• Pressups - the arms are pushing away perpendicular to the body.
• Shoulder Press - the arms are pushing away parallel to the body.
• Leg press – legs are pushing away from the body.
• Punching – arm is moving away perpendicular to the body.
• Kicking - the leg is pushing away from the body.
• Throwing a ball – the arm (and ball) is travelling away from the body.
• Tug of war – the legs are pushing the body away
• Climbing stairs – the leg is pushing away from the body and down into the floor.
• Standing up from a chair – both legs are pushing away from the body into the floor.

Pull (or row)

This is when the force of the limbs is moving towards the body.  Examples include:

• Seated row - arms are pulling the weights towards the body.
• Rowing in a boat – arms are pulling the oars towards the body.
• Pullup - arms are pulling he body towards the bar.
• Tug of war – the arms are pulling the rope towards the body.
• Picking up a suitcase – arm is pulling the case towards the shoulder.

Twist (or rotate)

This is when the torso or limb moves around its own axis.  Examples include:

• Throwing a baseball – the body “winds up” before the throw, then “uncoils” during the throw.
• Swimming freestyle – the body and head twists as you take a breath.
• Throwing a hook punch – the body rotates to generate the power of the punch.
• Swinging a golf club - the body rotates as the club swings around.
• Using a corkscrew – the forearm twists to screw it into the cork.
• Passing a rugby ball to the side – the body twists to the side to increase the range of the pass.
• Reversing a car – the body/head turns on its axis so you can see behind you.

Stabilise (or not move)

This is not a “move” as such, instead it is the deliberate prevention or stopping of a movement.  I use this mostly in core training.  Examples include:

• The Plank - preventing your belly from sagging in the middle.
• Squat or deadlift - stopping your spine from slumping forwards.
• Tug of war – keeping your spine strong and still so it does not collapse and fold in the middle.
• Using a corkscrew – the other hand has to keep the bottle still while the screw is being twisted.

As you can see from some of the above examples, in a single act (eg, tug of war, using a corkscrew) different parts of the body can be doing different moves at the same time.  And things will only work properly if you coordinate all these different moves.

Pec Fly

A prime example is a guy I was helping in the gym.  Now this guy was very big and very strong.  He was showing me how good he was at the chest press and pec fly machines, and he could do almost twice as much as I could!  But he wanted to join the army, so obviously we got round to doing pressups….

…he couldn’t even do 1 of them.

He had been training his individual muscles for ages!  And his individual muscles were very very strong.  But they couldn’t work together for toffee!  He didn’t know how to stabilise his mid-section while pushing with his upper body, and so his belly would crumple half way through each pressup.  If I was being harsh, I would say his muscles were fantastic…but his body was useless.

And I don’t want that for myself or the people I train.  I would much rather fantastic muscles and a fantastic body.  Or am I just being greedy?

So if you come train with me, you won’t find many bodybuilding routines involving “back & bicep” and “chest & tricep” days.  Instead you will learn how to make your body fitter, stronger, healthier, more capable of moving well…actually doing things in your everyday life.

As Alfred said to Batman:

“What’s the point of all those push ups if you can’t even lift a bloody log? “

Contact me today by clicking here or leave a comment below!

Last summer I did my best to explain why everyone (including women and the elderly) should do weight training in order to get stronger (click here).

Well, The American Journal of Medicine have published a report that backs me up!  They say:

“Our analyses of current research show that the most important factor in somebody’s function is their strength capacity. No matter what age an individual is, they can experience significant strength improvement with progressive resistance exercise even into the eighth and ninth decades of life.”

They also say that even people in their 30′s can show declines in strength if they don’t work to keep it.

And one recommendation they make, is:

“Incorporating full body exercises and exercises that use more than one joint and muscle group at a time, such as the leg press, chest press, and rows. These are safer and more effective in building muscle mass.”

Woman strength training – www.gubernatrix.co.uk

Just the same things as I recommend for people (click here and here).

But I still think half the people I talk to will run a mile if I mention weight training and the other half will only ever want to do bicep curls and tricep kickbacks

If you know one of these people, please “share” this article with them using the buttons below.  Or better still, contact me for some proper training!

Seated Row – Good

Name:  Seated Row

Also known as:  (If you know these by any other name, please leave a comment below).

Main muscles used:  Upper and lower back.

Other muscles used:  Biceps, back of the shoulders.

Top tips:

• Sit tall.
• Keep your back straight and push your chest out.
• Hands should be a bit wider than shoulder width.
• Pull with your shoulder blades and elbows.
• As you pull, squeeze your shoulder blades together at the back.
• Think of drawing your elbows back as you pull.
• Keep your shoulders down throughout the move.
• Start and end the move with straight arms.

Seated Row – Bad

Common mistakes:

• Slouching forwards when sitting.
• Letting your shoulders hunch forwards at the beginning and end of the move.
• Leaning waaaay back when pulling.
• Hardly moving your arms at all and making the arm move very small.
• Pulling with your arms, instead of pulling with your shoulder blades.

Comments:

Seated Row – Good

The basic rowing move should be one of the fundamental parts of anyones training programme.  Doing it properly helps keep the back half of the body strong and when done properly, can help improve peoples posture.

It also helps keep shoulders healthy by balancing the huge amount of “pushing” exercises that most men do (to give themselves nice pecs).  Too much pushing and not enough pulling is a recipe for injured shoulders.

Front Squat – Good

Name: Front Squat

Also known as: (if you know this by any other name, leave a comment below).

Main muscles used: Legs.

Other muscles used: Bum.

Top tips:

• Rest the bar high up on the front of your shoulders.
• Keep the bar as close to your centreline as possible.
• Keep your back strong, tight and straight at all times.
• Think of pushing your chest up and out.
• Bend at the hips by pushing your bum backwards, then bend the knees, so you squat low.
• Squat as low as you can, while keeping your low back strong, tight and straight all the time.
• Keep your body much more upright (vertical) when compared to the Bodyweight Squat.
• Think of pushing the floor away from you, and stand up straight again.

Front squat – Bad

Common mistakes:

• Letting the chest collapse forwards and down.
• Not holding the bar high up on the shoulders, but letting it slump forwards to the elbows.
• Bending forwards and not keeping your whole back strong and tight.
• Failing to bend at the hips and pushing the bum backwards.
• Only making it a very small move and not squatting low enough.

Front Squat – Good

Comments:

Most of the teaching points for the Front Squat are similar to those of the Bodyweight Squat.  The main differences are that because you are holding a weight in front of you, the body ends up much more vertical.

This in turn, makes the Front Squat much more of a front of the thigh (quadriceps) dominant move.

When people come into the gym I work at during the day, I often encourage them to find/bring a training partner.  This one simple thing has many benefits for people who exercise recreationally or just train hard.  Just some of these benefits include:

• Increased enjoyment leading to increased frequency of training.
• Increased enjoyment leading to increased consistency in training.
• When you are not in the mood, they can get you going, so you don’t “fall off the wagon”.
• Encouraging each other to new personal bests (PB’s), and to try just that little bit harder.
• Checking the form of one another, keeping your standards high.

"It's all you bro! It's all you!" Spotters should only touch the bar to pass to/from the exerciser, or if there is danger of injury.

But I have noticed a few bad things that can come with a training partner also.  Try to avoid these whenever possible:

• It can change from a training session into a social chat, so neither of you end up doing any work.
• You and your partner have totally different goals, and you both end up compromising each others workouts in an attempt to stick together.
• Neither of you know what you are doing, so you pass bad habits onto each other.
• You are halfway through your resistance set, and your partner “helps” you move the bar.

This last point is particularly bugging me at the moment.

A spotter/partner should not touch the weight unless you are in imminent danger.

I am currently seeing way too many young lads “spotting” their mates, by physically helping them move the weight from the start of the set!  If you need help from the start of the set, you are using too much weight.  Put your ego in check and reduce the weight on the bar.

The set ends the second someone else touches the weight.

So definitely use a training partner (I’m rubbish without one).  Especially if you find motivation a problem.  But avoid the few pitfalls that can come with them.

As always, if you need help with your training, just contact me and maybe I can help.

“The British Army is rolling out an ‘improvised’ fitness guide to all soldiers operating in isolated spots away from main bases.“

Click here for the video.

Keeping fit without expensive equipment. Image from http://ukforcesafghanistan.wordpress.com/

I absolutely love this kind of “guerilla” exercising.  You don’t need a gym full of expensive machinery to get you fit and healthy.  All you need is your own bodyweight, the environment around you and the indomitable will to do it (click here for examples).

Having said that, I would be doing better exercises than some of those shown on this video…but I think it is clear that they were taking the piss for the cameras!

Some people have been surprised when watching me coach clients.  They have expected a hard, rip-roaring sweat session…pushing people to the max like some drill sergeant.

And to be honest, sometime that is my job.  Sometimes I do need to push people out of their comfort zone in order to get them to their goals.

But the main part of my job is not simply getting people to do more (a sweat session).

It is getting people to do better (a technical session).

And in these technical sessions, the emphasis is not on going harder/faster/stronger.  Instead it is on easing things up, looking at what we are doing and understanding more.  These sessions can include:

• Simply learning how to move properly.
• Learning what joints do what, and when they should and shouldn’t be used.
• Learning a new move/exercise.
• Re-learning an old move/exercise.

A prime example for these technical sessions are my Exercise Clinics (click here).  This is where from a physical point of view, it’s a quite easy session.  But we work hard on improving the way people perform basic and complex moves.

And quite often, during these Clinics, I get someone coming up to me and saying something like:

“You’re not working very hard.  I thought you were that fitness bloke”.

Well, there is time and a place for working hard, and there is a time and a place for getting things right.  You need both of these things to improve, and it is my job as a coach to make sure people do both.

So depending on a number of factors, including:

• Who you are.
• Your training background.
• Your specific goals.
• Your currant fitness/conditioning levels.
• Your personality.

A training session with me may be an all out balls-to-the-wall beasting, or it could be a physically easy “technique” session, working on improving your biomechanics and movement skills.

A beasting will improve you in the short term…but the Technique Clinic will improve you in the long term.

So if you are interested in improving the way you exercise, or want to know the best way to do things for you, contact me (click here) today for one of my Exercise Clinics.

Enjoy!

And feel free to “share” this with your friends, using the buttons below…