Sexuality and Power: Learn 6 Ways Body Image Affects Us

Are you satisfied with your body?

Wow, that question opens a big can of worms. If you're seriously into fitness, the answer "no, I'm not satisfied" may come more easily as most in this category accept constructive criticism as healthy and necessary to goal attainment of a more perfect body.

Others, however, may feel differently and may either shy away from critical physical assessments or may simply say they accept themselves as they are. However, some recent research suggests something much deeper going on.

We judge our bodies mostly by how we think we're viewed by the opposite sex, according to several recent studies. And although several factors contribute to our body self-image, foremost is the desire for power over the opposite sex. Following are six ways body image can affect us according to one survey:

1) Size - Men perceive large physical size as powerful, while women see being smaller and more petite as better for obtaining power and influence over the opposite sex.

2) Satisfaction - Men generally are more satisfied with their appearance and see themselves as attractive to women, even when they're not in great shape, while women were generally less satisfied with their appearance and desiring to improve it to gain power over men.

3) Social Pressure - Women feel social pressure to look attractive in order to gain power more than men do as popular culture tends to focus more on glorification of the perfect female body and appearance.

4) Motivation - Women are generally more motivated to change their appearance by what men think, while men are more motivated by what they think of themselves, suggesting that men tend to already see themselves with the inherent upper hand.

5) Height - Both men and women agree that the man should be taller than the woman in a relationship, and that the reverse has a negative impact on the relationship's power structure, i.e. both the taller woman and the shorter man would have less power over the opposite sex.

6) Physical Standards - Women are generally less concerned about physicality and more concerned about femininity as a power lever over the opposite sex, while men were more concerned a strong physical appearance and overall presence.

Agree or disagree?

7 Reasons Why Workouts Fail You

While literally millions of people workout, very few realize true workout success. Most dabble in the gym on and off, never getting results. They quit working out, usually under a myriad of excuses along the lines of being too busy or of disappointment that "they're just not seeing results".

Below are seven common reasons why workouts fail:

1) No clear goals -

If you can't measure it you can't manage it. Too many people head into the gym with either no thought of what they're trying to accomplish or vague goals of "losing weight" and "toning up".

What to do:

Be specific and write it down. If the goal is weight loss or body fat loss, identify how many pounds or the target weight, the time element, and what you'll do every day to make it happen. If it's muscle gain, identify things like desired bicep and chest measurements or one-rep max increases.

2) Motivation is missing -

Motivation has two key elements:

a) possessing a goal that is deeply meaningful to you, and

b) feeling mostly in control of the outcome.

If motivation is missing from your workouts, examine these two factors and identify what's missing. Why do you care about your goals? Do you feel you can make them happen or do you need help?

What to do:

Take stock of why you started working out and make sure the cause matters to you, and especially that you're doing it for yourself and not because someone else thinks you should.

Also, if you feel frustrated or even helpless about your ability to achieve the desired workout outcome, get help from a personal trainer and/or a nutritionist.

3) Fear of discomfort -

Let's face it, success in transforming your body requires some discomfort. This can be pushing weights until your muscles fail, upping cardio to uncharted heart rate territory, and dieting when the body tells you it must eat.

Many people fail in their workouts for the simple reason that they can't overcome discomfort.

What to do:

Discomfort is only a state of mind. Learn to recognize discomfort as only a mental barrier to your goal. Love your goal more than you dislike the discomfort.

4) Workout uncertainty -

In sports they say that a cloudy head makes for slow feet. With working out, especially in a gym, uncertainty about what exercise to do and about proper form can result in a tentative approach that lacks the intensity required for improvement and progression toward a goal.

What to do:

Don't go it alone, get the help of a professional trainer and then become a student of how to work out. Like anything else, the more you study it, understand it, and practice it, the better you'll become at it and the faster you'll improve. This usually results in increased enjoyment too.

5) No passion for results -

High achievers in the gym get jacked up about results that can be in the form of increased muscle strength, increased muscle size, and increased muscle endurance. Those that fail in the gym usually lack a vision of their future physical states and a burning desire to realize positive change

What to do:

Visual imagery can be a very powerful force. Look at fitness magazines or fitness sites and find examples of what you want to look like. One great site for this is BodySpace on Bodybuilding.com. Learn what it takes to achieve the look you're after, visualize yourself looking like that and then only do things that will get you there.

6) Missing the diet equation -

Whatever your reason for working out, you won't get there without the proper diet and nutrition. And absolutely don't make the mistake that "cardio" will effectively substitute for diet discipline because it won't. Depending on your goal you'll need a specific calorie target and the correct mix of lean protein, low-glycemic carbohydrates, and healthy fats.

What to do:

Study some good books on diet and nutrition, especially related to fitness. Better yet, to get jump started hire a nutritionist or a good personal trainer that can teach you the right ways to eat and strategies for managing you diet under the stress of every day life.

7) Making workouts drudgery instead of uplifting fun -

If it's not fun you won't do it. Too often people see their workouts as a kind of punishment for being out of shape, and that workouts are to be endured rather than celebrated.

What to do:

Make workouts your personal time to get away from life's stresses and to work up a great endorphin release. Workout in a place you like to be in. This could be in the gym or in the garage.

If you don't like your gym, shop around for one that feels like someplace you look forward to being at. View your workouts as a fun investment in yourself where you get to move closer to that future "you".

Lighten Up! Maximize Your Results Through Perfect Form, Not More Weight

With lifting, it's about how, not about how much....

We've all seen it, and guys are the worst, wildly swinging huge weights, bodies swaying all over the place, swayed back, half or even quarter reps, then banging the weights down hard, causing everyone in the gym to look over to see if an accident just occurred.

Yep, we're talking about what I call ego lifters. These are the guys who boost their self esteem and try to impress others by loading up as much weight as they can lift off the ground or off the rack, and then make a ridiculous mockery of themselves and the exercise they're trying to perform.

The whole intent of recreational weight lifting is to target specific muscles or muscle groups, to isolate them, and to make them work through their full range of motion to exhaustion that results in hypertrophy, or growth. To accomplish these goals we need to maximize the stress on our target muscles, getting the most possible from every single rep, and, like it or not, form is much more important than weight volume.

The important basics

When performing any given resistance training exercise, we basically have the following two muscle groups:

1) Prime Movers
2) Stabilizers

The prime movers are the muscles or muscle groups we're targeting for development, and the stabilizers are the muscles or muscle groups that hold everything else in place while we isolate the prime movers. A good example is the standing bicep curl because it's one of the most popular lifting exercises and also one of the most abused.

Clearly, in a bicep curl the bicep is our prime mover. The only intent of this exercise is to develop the bicep, which means it must be isolated, or more simply not receive help from any other source. This is much easier said than done, because our brain and our bodies are programmed only to achieve the end result, which is getting the weight from a low point to a higher point, and by nature we typically use our bodies as a system to get this done, using several muscle groups and also leveraging to get underneath the weight. To achieve muscle isolation we must re-program our body mechanics.

So first let's make an important distinction between isolation (or "iso") moves and compound moves.

In isolation moves we primarily target a single joint movement, and we isolate the muscle or muscles that move only that joint. So from our bicep example, we may think of the bicep as a single muscle, but it's actually a group of muscles that move the elbow joint to a closed position, like the quadriceps, a group of four leg muscles on the front thigh extending the leg at the knee. This helps us understand the role of "prime movers" by thinking of single joint movement.

Alternatively, compound moves involve several joints in a single movement, with the squat as a great example, involving joint movement of the knees, ankles, and hips, calling on all of the associated muscle groups that move those joints. In both isolation and in compound moves, we seek to isolate only the muscles in these joint movements as prime movers. It's the range of these prime movers that we're seeking to maximize throughout the full movement of the joint.

The important role of stabilizers

Think back to our bicep curl example. If we're to isolate the bicep complex, everything around it must be stable. And lifters must build form from the ground up just like golfers build their swing from the ground up, so with lifting it all starts with posture, balance, and core strength. To understand the importance of the ground up approach, try doing bicep curls with your back against a wall so that your body can't sway forward or backward. Notice how much harder this is. Without swaying momentum, the bicep becomes more isolated and must work harder, creating greater load and maximizing hypertrophy. Now stand away from the wall and do the curl, note the need for an upright posture, a balanced stance, and a strong core to keep from swaying. This is all part of the stabilization process.

In stabilizing, holding a strong core is critical, and we do this by pulling in our stomach and by squeezing our glutes together. This activates the torso core stabilizer muscles and will keep your body from moving at the waist and will also keep your spine and your back straight.

Now do the curl standing sideways next to a mirror and watch your elbow. Does it move forward and backward with each rep? If so, you need to engage your shoulder muscles to stabilize and stop the arm sway. Put a small piece of tape on your shirt at the bottom-most elbow position and watch to ensure the elbow does not move from this spot. If you've eliminated body sway and elbow movement, then you have successfully isolated the bicep complex and are maximizing muscle load with each rep.

Get your full range of motion and cadence

Another major sin we see created by ego lifters is limited range of motion. They load up with so much weight that their entire kinetic chain, much less their target muscles, can't handle the weight, and they compensate by shortening the muscle's range of motion, sometimes by over half. This misses the opportunity to develop the muscle's full strength and mobility potential. Worse yet, shortened reps lead to shortened muscles, creating imbalances that effect everything from symmetrical appearance to potentially causing injuries.

Additionally, ego lifters tend to rush their cadence and focus mostly on the reps concentric, or contracting portion. This leaves out two important aspects of the rep: the isometric portion where we freeze and hold the fully contracted muscle, and the eccentric portion, where the target muscle is used as brake against gravity. All three repetition aspects best mimic real life application and, when used in resistance training, can best maximize the muscle-building potential of each rep. Besides, rushing through jerky reps using too much weight puts tremendous stress on the joints and connective tissues, and who wants to be forced out for weeks while an inflamed tendon or torn muscle heals?

Conclusion

We only have so much time in the gym and we only perform so many reps per set. Using proper form can maximize the strength and muscle-building impact of each rep. So assuming an exercise targeting a specific muscle runs 4 sets of 10 reps, lighten the weight so you can use perfect form on every rep, even when fourth-set failure comes. Avoid the urge to force the rep by breaking form and watch your muscles grow. Remember, when it comes to lifting it's how, not how much!

The 1-2-1 Fitness Pound for Pound Diet Plan goes LIVE !!!

3 Key Factors for Fat Loss – Part 3

Key #3:
Exercise

You will lose fat by dieting alone, but not as effectively as you would using a calorie controlled diet and exercise plan. If you just dieted, you would end up as a smaller version of yourself.

Exercise helps you to build muscle (which helps you to burn more calories and lose more fat in the process), as well as helping you feel good about yourself, and providing a way to destress. The FITT and SOAP principles should be applied to your exercise program.

The FIIT principle:

Frequency: The number of training sessions completed in a given time period.

Intensity: The level of exertion that you are training at - i.e. if you are training for basic strength you will be using 80-90% of your one repetition maximum.

Time: How long the session lasts for - i.e. resistance training should last no longer than 45-50 minutes.

Type: What mode of exercise is being performed - i.e. aerobic, anaerobic, strength, power, etc.

The SOAP principle:

Specificity: Training you in a manner specific to producing the training adaptation or goal achievement desired - i.e. you must be training for fat loss. "Specificity also relates to the athlete's sport season. As an athlete progresses through the pre-season, in-season, and postseason, all forms of training should gradually progress in an organized manner from generalized to sport specific" - i.e. if you are an athlete your off-season would be general conditioning, progressing to strength and power work, then speed, and eventually to sports specific exercises. "The more similar the training activity is to the sport movement, the greater the likelihood that there will be a positive transfer to that sport".

Overload: "Refers to assigning a workout or training regime of greater intensity than the athlete is accustomed to. Without the stimulus of overload, even an otherwise well-designed program greatly limits the athlete's ability to make improvements. Overload training principles ensure that the muscles involved in the selected exercises are those that the sport relies on and that the loads are sufficient to challenge the athlete to become stronger, larger, faster, and more resistant to fatigue" - i.e. if you are training for strength, then if you do not consistently increase weights lifted during resistance training, then you are not overloading the muscles enough to get stronger. It is only when the body is consistently pushed that gains are made.

Adaptation: Training must be continually progressing via overload; otherwise [positive] adaptations can be lost quickly and performance can begin to decline, with fitness and conditioning sometimes returning to its initial state - i.e. if there was no periodization to your training and you perpetually did the same thing, then your body would stop making adaptations and progressing.

Progression: "The intensity of the training must become progressively greater. Progression, when applied properly, promotes long-term training benefits" - i.e. this is why you must change your training program every 4-6 weeks, to ensure that you are providing new challenges and continually getting results.

The best exercise program for losing fat is one that includes weights, cardio (mostly in the form of high intensity training), and flexibility (to help your muscle flexibility and joints).

Resistance Training:

If you are a beginner, you can start off with 2-3 full-body workouts each week. Otherwise, I would recommend a 3 or 4 day split. Each muscle group should be rested for at least 1 day before training that muscle group again. This gives it plenty of time to recover before the next training session.

Exercises that you should be doing are multijoint, compound exercises, as they use more than one muscle, and are the most effective for not only building muscle, but also in burning fat, because they are recruiting more of your body to perform the exercise than isolation exercises (these are a waste of time unless you are a seasoned lifter and are looking to target specific muscle groups).

The best compound exercises that you can do are the squat and the deadlift, as they use pretty much every muscle in your body. Other compound exercises that are good to include are the bench press, shoulder press, pullups, dips, and calf raises (the only isolation exercise that's really good).

You should be performing between 25-40 repetitions per muscle group, consisting of 3 sets of 10 repetitions for example per exercise, with a 1 minute recovery in between the sets (the shorter the recovery, the lighter your weights will possibly be, which will give you a 'cardio' workout as well).

Be sure that you always use good form for every exercise; otherwise you are putting yourself at risk for injury. All reps should be controlled and with good form. It is not about how much you can lift, but how well you lift. You will get stronger as you keep at it (although maybe not so much when trying to lose fat, but this depends on the individual).

You should never spend longer than 45-50 minutes in total lifting (i.e. your session should take that long from the time you walk in to the time you walk out, excluding if you do a warm-up - and this is strictly your own preference); otherwise you become too catabolic and can end up losing muscle.

You also need to change your weights program around slightly every 4-6 weeks, just so that your body does not get used to it and stop adapting. This can be as little as changing the order of exercises in a session or the number of sets and/or reps that you do for an exercise (and it only needs to be one exercise changed at a time, small adjustments over the weeks).

Here's a sample circuit plan for a beginner. This is a very basic routine, designed to get you 'used' to resistance training and condition your body for it, building a base to work on, whilst also targeting your goals. After 4-6 weeks you will need to change your program.

Do an easy 10 minute warm-up. Select weights that you can do for said reps on each exercise (but not too much more), and use these for the entire session.

Complete exercises in order from 1-7, with minimal recovery (ideally it should be moving from one exercise to another; but if you are a beginner 30-60 seconds will be ok). At the end of one set (i.e. 1-10) rest for 1 minute, and then repeat. Stretch full-body for 5 minutes after your session. This should take ~45 minutes in total.

Every week your weights should increase (i.e. not on all sessions, but keep weights the same for a week, and increase as you can for the next week's sessions), so that you keep challenging your body.

Beginner Fat Loss Workout Program:

Barbell Squats: 2 sets of 15 reps
Romanian Deadlifts: 2 sets of 15 reps
Standing Calf Raises: 2 sets of 15 reps
Pullups: 2 sets to failure
Pushups: 2 sets to failure
Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 2 sets of 15 reps
Crunches: 2 sets to failure

I highly recommend getting a personal trainer if you are a beginner, so that you can be shown the correct technique (very important) for each exercise.

Personal trainers can be there with you for your first few sessions, to determine starting weights, as you get acquainted with resistance training. They also provide motivation, support, and a source for accountability.

A personal trainer will also assist in creating a workout for you and should offer nutrition advice.

Cardio

Whilst long, slow cardio burns calories, you require long periods of time to do it. Some even recommend doing two hours of cardio a day, or double cardio sessions, to lose fat, but it's simply not necessary.

The most effective way to burn fat through cardio is to do either:

Interval training

Cardio at a higher intensity (i.e. just going out and running as fast as you can over a certain distance, instead of 45 minutes at a 60% max heart rate).

Forget about the 'Fat Burning Zone'; it does not matter what fuel you use during cardio, as your body will burn other substrates during the rest of the day (i.e. if you burn fat during cardio it will use carbs the rest of the day, and vice versa).

If you feel that you need to do more cardio, then you can do brisk walks every other day, or perhaps a run (but no more than 30 minutes; after 30 minutes of running you are very catabolic and are likely to lose muscle, which you do not want happening). Skipping, stair sprinting/running, or rowing, are the next highest calorie burners after sprinting.

Flexibility:

Stretch for 10-20 minutes per day, preferably after you have done either cardio or weights, while your muscles are still warm, as this decreases the risk of injury. Stretching makes sure that you can move more freely and easily and helps elongate the muscles, ligaments, and tendons.

Remember that when it comes to exercise more is not always best!

You want maximal results for minimal time. You also need to remember that some of this is experimental, and about finding what works best for you, since everyone is different and responds differently to different exercise programs.

Conclusion

The first step to successful fat loss is to set a goal. Your goal should follow the principles of SMART goal-setting. Once you have set your goal, then you need to look at your nutrition.

Your diet should be individualised for you, to ensure that you get the results that you want in the timeframe that you want them. Your diet should follow the principles of adequacy, balance, energy control, nutrient density, moderation, and variety.

The last piece of the fat loss puzzle is exercise. Your exercise program should follow the FITT and SOAP principles; and include resistance training (3-4 times weekly), cardio (predominantly in the form of high intensity sessions), and flexibility (to aid your joints and muscles).

As long as you are eating right for you for fat loss, doing weights 3-4 times per week, doing cardio 2-3 or more times per week for 12-30 minutes per day (depending on the intensity; the higher the intensity the shorter you do it for!), and allowing your body to recover (this is very important; if you do too much, then your body will not be able to recover properly and you will not get the results you want, since your body only adapts and gets results in the recovery time!), then you will successfully lose fat!

1-2-1 Fitness can help you start your journey to a leaner, fitter body.

Please contact me for further information.

The Basics Of Bulking And Adding Lean Mass

While most of us are always trying to lose weight, there are some people who are interested in just bulking up; which in simple terms means eating more and training heavier in order to gain muscle weight.

There could be many reasons for this such as, a person has been dieting for a long period of time and wishes to increase size and muscle tone.

Or, a sports person that includes a vast amount of cardiovascular exercise into their routine and has suffered muscle atrophy.

Like everything, there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. I see many people who in an attempt to gain weight just start eating everything in sight, and thus, either overtax their digestive systems, thus not being able to eat several times a day, and/or simply start gaining too much body fat, as the case is for those without a hardgainer metabolism.

In order to gain quality weight, the nutrients taken in have to be of a high quality nature. While some hardgainers have such a fast metabolism that they could benefit from also adding cheat meals to their nutrition plan, the best way to gain weight is through a planned and controlled increase in macronutrient intake. By ensuring that the quality of the nutrients is high (such as low glycemic index carbohydrates, low fat proteins and high quality fats) muscle weight gain is optimized and fat weight is minimized.

However, in order for a bulk up phase to be effective, it needs to be executed properly. Otherwise, you end up gaining way too much body fat, which at the end of the day, whether you just want to look good for the beach over the summer or participate at a bodybuilding competition, you will need to lose anyways. In this bulk up/weight gain guide I'll teach you the bulking up rules to gaining some solid muscle weight while minimizing fat gains.


When To Bulk Up
First of all, bulking up is not about eating everything in sight and trying to lift as heavy as possible hoping that all of the increased weight gain will come in the form of muscle. This old school strategy will only lead to excessive fat gain. The best time, in my opinion, to bulk up is after you have been dieting for a long period of time. At this time your body will act like a sponge and absorb all of the nutrients that you give it at peak efficiency in response to the fact that it has not been getting such an influx of nutrients for a while. Also, if you are above 10% body fat, in which case you cannot see your abs, then you need to concentrate on losing body fat up until the point (at the very least) where you can see the top two rows of abs (when you have a four pack). Your bulk up plan will work even better, however, if you get down to where you can easily see your full abdominal wall (which is around 6-7% body fat for most people) as when you increase calories in this state, your body will be more primed to gain most of the weight in the form of muscle mass in response to the low calorie period that came before it.


Bulking Up Basics
Having said that, know that while most of the weight that you will gain will be in the form of muscle, some of it will be in the form of fat no matter how good your diet is. The reason for that is the fact that on a state of caloric surplus (when you feed your body more calories than what is burned) some of those calories are stored as body fat. However, by bulking up on good foods, by training hard and by starting from a low percentage of body fat, you will minimize the fat gain and maximize the muscle mass gain.

Interval Training and High-Intensity Weight Training for women reducing body-fat levels

For years, marathon cardio sessions were 'mandatory' for women who wanted to lower their body fat. These sessions were long and boring... nothing like 2 hours on a recumbent bike!

No one seemed to notice that athletes who trained using short duration, intense workouts (such as sprinters) were leaner and more muscular than athletes who did much higher volumes of cardio (long distance runners).


Part 1: Interval Training
Research now shows us that higher intensity training, such as interval training, can deliver the same results in much less time than traditional longer duration cardio sessions.

Many studies prove the effectiveness of high intensity training:

The first major study was conducted in 1985. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition determined that high-intensity training increases metabolism for up to 24 hours after training.

With lower intensity training (steady-state cardio) metabolism returned to normal shortly after the exercises session ended. (It is now an accepted fact that the rate at which you burn fat depends more on how many calories you burn in the hours following your workout as opposed to the number of calories you burn during your workout).

As recently as December 2006, researchers at the University of Guelph in Canada found that two weeks of interval training done on alternate days can increase metabolism by 36% in women.

"Short term intense interval training is highly effective in altering the ratio of lean body mass to fat without compromising muscle size." -Dr. Patrick O'Shea, (Quantum Strength and Power Training, Gaining the Competitive Edge).


What Is Interval Training?
Interval training is characterized by short, intense speed/effort increases during your cardio session, followed by longer duration 'recovery' period in which you return to your usual pace on whatever piece of cardio equipment you are using.

For example, let's say you normally run at 5.0 on the treadmill for 40 minutes. To introduce intervals into your session, you would (once you are warmed up) sprint for 20-30 second 'intervals' (at a higher speed than your usual 5.0), then reduce the speed back to 5.0 (or slightly lower) for 2-3 minutes, depending on your conditioning. This would be repeated for half of your normal cardio time (20 minutes).

That's all there is to it… It seems simple but if you've never tried it, be prepared for an extremely intense workout. Research shows that proper interval training can get you the same results in half the time of steady-state/lower intensity cardio.

This can be done on any piece of cardio equipment. The spin bike is excellent for intervals because of the ease at which you can control the speed/tension.

You should be out of breath at the end of each interval segment. If you can talk comfortably, you are not pushing yourself hard enough!

Just remember to take it easy while you are a beginner.

As your conditioning improves, you can increase intensity by:
1. Increasing the length of the interval segment.
2. Decreasing the 'recovery' time (some of my competitors sprint on a track for 30 seconds and 'recover' for only 1 minute).

Training at this intensity is only for women who are in superior cardiovascular condition. The worse thing you can do is to rush the process and burn out. I've seen this happen far too many times!


Part 2: High-Intensity Weight Training
Look in many exercise magazines for women and you will see workouts that call for 2 or 3 sets of 15 reps per set. A few sets and fifteen reps may be good for someone trying to get or stay in shape, but for someone trying to lose body fat and keep as much muscle as possible; it is not the most efficient way to train.


What Is High-Intensity Resistance Training?
Studies show that higher intensity weight training (lifting heavier weights in the 8-10 rep range) is more effective at burning calories and keeping metabolism elevated, in the hours following your workout, than higher rep training.

The key to fat loss is this continued elevation in metabolism, which continues for 16-24 hours after a high intensity workout. Lower intensity/high rep training and low intensity cardio do not keep your metabolism elevated in the hours following a workout. With lower intensity forms of training, your metabolic rate returns to normal shortly after the workout is finished.

This dispels the myth that high repetition training is the best way of getting 'cut'.

When I talk about high intensity weight training, I'm not just talking about lifting heavy weights. I'm talking about weight training in a manner that:
1. Burns the maximum amount of calories.
2. Keeps all of your hard earned muscle.

These are the two most important goals.

The best way to accomplish both of these goals is to:
1. Use weights that only allow about 8 - 10 repetitions (for most sets - but there are some higher rep exercises such as jump squats which are great for maintaining muscle size and send your heart rate through the roof).
2. Choose multi-joint exercises. These are exercises that require the use of many muscles to execute, such as plyometric pushups or walking lunges with bicep curls.
3. Group the exercises together in a circuit type fashion with minimal rest between sets - repeat these circuits multiple times. (10 minutes to 45 minutes depending on your conditioning).

This is a very demanding way to train. The heavy weights will maintain your muscle size while the choice of exercise and the circuit format keeps your heart rate high. The calorie burn is tremendous.

If you are not used to this type of training, take it easy at first. High-intensity training places great demands on your body. Proper form is very important because you will become exhausted while performing these exercises and it's easy to get sloppy and lose focus.


Conclusion
The combination of interval training and high-intensity weight training is the most effective way to decrease your body fat percentage. When performing intervals for the first time, decrease the time you normally perform cardio by 50%. Work hard and as your conditioning improves, increase the length of your cardio (interval) sessions.

The same goes for your resistance training. Reduce your normal workout time by 50% if this is your first time trying this type of circuit training. As your body becomes more conditioned, you can increase the length of your workouts. You will actually do more 'work' in these shortened sessions than you did in your longer ones.

The Top 10 Reasons To Use FULL BODY Workouts

Choosing the appropriate muscle-building workout program is important if you are to maximize the time you spend in the gym and get clear body changing results. Some people are too quick to hop onto the first program they find without really thinking through what they are looking for in a weight lifting program.

Each type of program has its own pros and cons so getting straight in your mind what each one has to offer will make the decision of which program is right for you quite clear. The following are the top ten benefits to using full body workouts.


1. Lower Time Commitment:
The first benefit to using full body workout programs is that there is a much lower time requirement to perform them. If you're someone who has something on the go every night of the week, it can be hard to fit in a four-day-a-week gym program.

Since full body workouts can be performed over the course of just two or three days a week, this allows more time for other obligations in your life.

Depending on how you structure the full body workout program you may find they do take slightly longer in the gym to complete, but when you consider the overall weekly time commitment they require, you'll still end up much further ahead than with other programs such as the upper/lower body split.


2. Increased Muscular Recovery Rates:
The second benefit of full body workouts is the increased muscular recovery rates. One main reason why some people do not get progress on their workout program is simply because they aren't recovering from session to session.

Some people cannot handle back-to-back workouts even though they aren't working the same muscle part, so for those individuals, full body workouts are perfect. You will get at least one day off between each full body workout, so they will give your muscles maximum recovery time.


3. Greater Allowance For Additional Sports Or Activities:
Third, since full body workouts only call for you to be in the gym two to three times a week as already mentioned, this also frees more time for other activities.

If you're currently also doing cardio training either for health purposes or because you want to run a 5 or 10 km, using a full body approach will give you four or five days of the week in which you can complete those activities.

Note that you will still have to be mindful of your recovery rates because exercise is still exercise and is stressful on the body, but at least you won't be forced into doing double-day sessions as you would if you were on a higher frequency lifting schedule.


4. Larger Weekly Testosterone Boosts:
When it comes to really putting on lean muscle mass, the amount of testosterone you have flowing through your body is really going to make a significant difference. The higher the levels of testosterone you have in your body, the faster you're going to be able to build muscle-mass tissue.

When it comes to influencing testosterone release through your resistance training workouts, exercises that utilise full body movements and work as many muscle fibres as possible are going to release the greatest amount of testosterone.

Since you will be making good use of compound exercises in a full body workout in order to work every muscle group thoroughly, this fact makes them ideal for accomplishing this goal. Leg exercises especially are known for this, and in a full body workout you will have at least one leg exercise per workout.


5. Easier Manipulation:
In order to prevent training plateaus, it's important that you're constantly manipulating something about your workout program. This could be the exercises you're performing, the total number of reps you are using, the angle in which you're executing the lift, and so on.

When you're on a split body workout, you're going to be using more total exercises for each workout, making it slightly more difficult to throw in new exercises to prevent the plateau.

When you're using fully body workouts on the other hand, each muscle group is only going to get one or two exercises total, therefore you can easily swap things around either from full body workout to full body workout, or from month to month.

Additionally, if you happen to become injured in a particular muscle group, with a full body workout it tends to be easier to omit the exercise(s) that aggravate the injury and replace it with others that don't.

With a split body workout though, if one major muscle group gets injured that could throw off an entire day's workout, so that will definitely put a large kink in your program plan.


6. Decreased CNS Fatigue:
Sixth on the list of advantages of full body workouts is the lower level of central nervous system stress on a week to week basis. Whenever you lift a weight, a stress is placed on the CNS. It doesn't matter if it's a biceps curl or a squat, your CNS will be stimulated.

When you're stimulating the CNS day after day after day, eventually it too begins to fatigue and the overall amount you're able to lift on a daily basis really takes a hit.

The only way to prevent this from happening is to give the CNS a complete break from training, which is accomplished quite thoroughly on full body workouts.

That day in between sessions really goes a long way towards allowing better CNS recovery, so if you're beginning to feel fatigued all the time no matter what you do (short of taking consecutive days off), this might be an indication that you should be switching to a full body workout program instead.


7. Ideal For Home Workouts:
If you're someone who is doing their workouts at home, full body workouts make for a really good option. Often equipment choices will be limited when doing home workouts, so full body workout fit nicely since they require fewer different lifts total, making it easier to complete them just with a set of dumbbells.

Dumbbells can be used to perform walking lunges, deadlifts, lying chest presses, shoulder presses, bent over rows, lateral raises, biceps curls, and overhead triceps extensions, which, when done in combination together, will make up a complete full body workout.


8. Simple Scheduling:
If you're someone who finds life crowding out your workouts on a regular basis, if you're on an upper/lower split or another type of divided workout set-up, this can get to be quite the nuisance.

You must then make the decision of whether you'll perform the workout that was missed on the next workout opportunity, or if you'll just skip that workout entirely and go on to the next. If you repeat the lost workout you're going to be behind in your overall program plan, but if you skip it, then those muscles didn't get worked as they should.

It's quite the predicament to be in and can mess up what would otherwise be a sound plan. With full body workouts though, if you miss a workout, you simply wait until the next opportunity and you'll still be hitting the full body once again.

What's also great is that at most you'll be doing three workouts a week, even if you do miss a day; if you can make it to the gym the next day you won't throw off your weekly schedule, because you will always have some point in the week where you have two consecutive days off.

For this reason, full body workouts are the most practical approach for those who have irregular schedules.


9. Ideal For Fat Loss:
If you're looking for fat loss, then the perfect choice here is also full body workouts. When you're on a fat loss diet you're taking in fewer calories than the body would ideally like, which means a lower level of recovery reserves.

Despite this fact, you still must be stimulating the muscle tissues at least twice per week in order to prevent fat loss on a diet, so cutting back on workouts entirely is not going to be an option.

Full body workouts make for the ideal fat loss workout set-up because they will get you working each muscle group at least twice a week, but won't ask too much from the body in terms of recovery.
This is an important combination because the risk of muscle mass loss on a diet is high for either not working out enough or working out too much, so the two-day-a-week full body workout program is the right compromise between both these issues.


10. Lower Levels Of Boredom:
Finally, the last benefit to full body workouts is lower levels of boredom. The more often you repeat the same activity over and over again the greater the chances that you will find boredom settling in. Since full body workouts require lower levels of frequency, they already have an advantage.

Secondly, since there are so many different ways you can set up and design full body workouts, when you do become bored, it won't take much effort on your part to renew your interest in the program.


Conclusion
So, be sure you give full body workouts a fair consideration. Many people overlook them for what appear to be 'fancier' splits, which are less effective. When done properly, full body workouts can be used to build maximum amounts of muscle regardless of what your current fitness level happens to be.

Contact me if you require assistance creating your own full-body workout.

14 Reasons You Shouldn’t Ignore – Full Squat Benefits !

There seems to be much confusion amongst trainers and trainees as to whether squats should be performed all the way down or just half way.

In most gyms today, a common instruction during squats, deadlifts, and lunges (as taught by many personal training organizations) is not to allow the knees to travel beyond the toes. Doing so will ultimately cause the destruction of your knees!

I do not agree. There are certain instances where partial range of motion (ROM) is indicated, but for the most part, I teach people the full squat for the following reasons.


Full Squat Benefits

1. It is the most primitive movement pattern known to man; our ancestors used to perform many daily functions (i.e. harvesting, gathering, hunting, cooking, eating, etc.) in a full squat position.

2. Also, in case anyone hasn't noticed, we spend 40 weeks in the fetal position (which is basically a full squat) prior to entering this world - do we come out with bad knees?

3. We should strive to train in full ROM for each and every exercise. The squat is no exception.

4. Every exercise produces stress around a joint - the body then adapts to this stress.

5. Contraction of the quadriceps, the hamstrings, and the gastrocnemius maintains integrity around the knee joint.

6. Sheering and compressive forces do occur around the knee joint (as opposed to only sheering forces that occur in some open kinetic chain lower body exercises, such as the leg extension); however, the large contact area of the patella with the femoral groove (as knee flexion increases during the full squat) helps to dissipate compressive forces.

7. Therefore, not only is the squat - as a closed chain exercise - considered a natural movement pattern with high functional carryover, but it is also a safe exercise if performed correctly (and that includes full ROM!)

8. Drawer tests are performed at a knee angle of 90 degrees because there is a greater amount of laxity in the knee joint at that specific angle. So, does it make sense to only go down half way where you are most vulnerable especially when greater loads can be used (because you are much stronger in this partial ROM?)

9. According to Ironman contributor, George Turner, the fulcrum moves to the knee joint in a parallel squat as opposed to the muscle belly of the quadriceps in a full squat.

10. Think about it, if you constantly trained in a limited ROM, the likelihood of injury increases if one day you happen to squat beyond your trained ROM.

11. Partial squats performed on a regular basis will decrease flexibility.

12. There is a low incidence of lower back pain and knee injury in Aboriginal and Oriental societies which perform full squats on a regular basis.

13. Even Olympic weightlifters who practice full squats have quite healthy knees compared to other athletes.

14. Although you may find some research that indicates full squats as potentially harmful to the knees, only one study has ever proved this to be true. However, it was performed on a skeleton - the same results do not hold true with surrounding connective tissue. On the other hand, numerous studies show the benefits of full squats.

Unfortunately, many personal training certification courses are teaching half squats as a safe version suitable for all individuals and this has now become written in stone.

God forbid that you deviate from this golden rule to do something that our bodies are meant to do!

Read this carefully: squatting should be performed in a full ROM where the hamstrings make contact with the calves (so that no light can be seen passing through your legs at the bottom position).

It is okay for your knees to travel beyond the toes (just do not relax the knees in the bottom position). In other words, keep the legs tight and try to stay as upright as possible throughout the exercise.

Conclusion
So, next time some fitness instructor approaches you in the gym and advises not to go deep while squatting tell him/her that they don't know squat and come and train with me instead!!!

The Jamie Eason Legs Workout

I have always been a huge fan of Jamie Eason and I was lucky enough to be given an insight into her workout routine.

So, here is how she keeps those legs and booty in great shape..


Jamie says:

I thought I'd share my leg workout with you.

I'm going to use the bodybuilding.com exercise database for reference pics and video. The video defaults to the male workout so just click on the female 'tab' to see me demonstrating the exercise.

Although this workout will target my hamstrings and glutes, I warm up with leg extensions to pre-fatigue my quads so that I'll hopefully use them less and engage my hamstrings and glutes more. (3x12, progressively getting heavier, 1 drop-set to exhaustion)

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/leg-extensions/f


I like to use the smith machine for my squats because I have spina bifida and can easily wretch my back. If you can do a free-standing squat, that typically engages more muscles, so go for it!

(4 X 15, first set I add 70 lbs, last 3, I use 90) I really focus on form here (slow and controlled) and push through my heels.

Use a wider stance to hit your glutes and hamstrings and a narrow stance for quadriceps.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/smith-machine-squat/f

___________________________________________________

SIMON'S NOTE:

I do not recommend using the smith machine for squats as it is not a natural movement. I spoke to Jamie regarding this and suggested dumbbell squats instead.

This is her reply:

I have used the dumbbell squats with an exercise ball behind my back, but I can't seem to go as heavy as I would like. I will say this though, exercise guru Kim Oddo taught me a while back that for those of us you have a blocky middle, myself included, dumbbell squats keep the weight off of our trunk. When I was competing, I was more cognizant of this and because I was looking for more detail than size, I always did dumbbell squats.

___________________________________________________

Next I would use the seated leg curl, going fairly heavy and pausing during each contraction.
(3 X 15).

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/seated-leg-curl/f


After the seated leg curl, I would likely do a stiff-legged deadlift.

In the video, the weight is fairly light, so I am bending rather far. Typically, I use a regular sized bar with wrist wraps and 90 lbs. I put two 10 lb plates under my toes to keep my weight back, since I only weigh 104 lbs.

Keeping a flat back, I bend to just about 90 degrees, squeezing my glutes as I pull back into an upright position. (3x12).

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/stiff-legged-barbell-deadlift/f


The split squat, or bulgarian squat, is one of my favorite leg exercises.

In the database you can find it under quadriceps, but I swear I feel it the most in my glutes.
(3 X 12, with about a 40 - 50 lb bar).

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/one-leg-barbell-squat/f


I like to finish with the lying leg curl because I can really squeeze out the last bit of effort that I can from my workout. (4 sets - 3 X 15, last set is a drop-set).

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/lying-leg-curls/m


I will often do a few calf exercises at the end of my workout as well. I like to use the smith machine to do standing calf raises because I do not fit very well in many of the standing calf raise machines.

In this video, I am using a barbell with fairly light weight, but when I do these in my gym, I use the smith machine with 70 to 90 lbs and place my toes on the base of the triangle bench (4x15).

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/standing-barbell-calf-raise/f


The seated calf raise is usually my last exercise. The seated calf raise machine is often taken, so I've opted to show you this barbell alternative.

I am demonstrating with a light weight but I usually use about 70 lbs for these. (3 X 15).

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/barbell-seated-calf-raise/f


Well, that's it.......

Thank you to Jamie for taking the time to give us an insight into the world of a fitness model.

The workout demonstrates that Jamie uses the same equipment that is found in most gyms and simple determination and hard work has given her a figure to be proud of.


If you would like to find out how you can create your own routine, feel free to contact me.

4 Female Training Myths Debunked

"I just want to lose fat around my stomach and nowhere else."

"I just want to tone my inner thighs."

"Lifting weights is just going to turn me into a man!"


I have heard these statements from women about 3,000 times. Those 3 desires have one thing in common; they are pretty much impossible.


Myth 1: Spot Reduction



Let's start off with the theory of burning fat or toning a certain area of the body. Toning involves two constituents: adipose tissue (the subcutaneous body fat) and muscle tissue. In order to appear more toned, a reduction in body fat and increase in muscle mass will have to occur.

The human body does not allow spot reducing, which would include losing fat exclusively in the abdominal area. If you were to lose weight, it would occur all over your entire body. Unfortunately, body fat is not necessarily reduced evenly.

People often have trouble areas where the fat is last to go. Women especially find this to be their stomach, legs or arms. There is not much that can be done about this aside from continuing to lean out.

A reduction in body fat occurs when a person is in a caloric deficit. This occurs with two variables: decreasing the amount of calories you consume, increasing the amount of exercise you participate in, or doing both. Resistance training is used to help build and maintain muscle tissue, while cardiovascular training is a tool used to help achieve a caloric deficit.

Here is a statement that many of you probably do not want to believe: There is no exercise out there that is going to burn fat off of your body in a specific area!
No resistance training exercise will help tone or reduce fat on top of any muscle in your body. It is a reduction of calories and an increase in exercise that will take care of that.

There is a very big misconception regarding that "burn" you feel after performing many repetitions during an exercise. Some people actually believe that is the fat melting off the body right before our very eyes!

That burn is actually caused by lactic acid, which is a by-product of the lactate system when forming adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for immediate energy.

I often see a female lying on the ground at the gym performing sets of 100 crunches. She probably assumes that burning sensation is actually helping her "toning her stomach". If you are performing a set of 100 repetitions on any exercise, don't you think it is time to move on to something a little harder?


Myth 2: Losing Your Femininity



The theory that lifting weights will cause a woman to appear bulky and manly is completely false. I used resistance training to bring my body weight up 25 pounds over the course of two years.

I must say that the actual weight training was the easy part. The difficult part included eating like a horse, because a calorie surplus is needed to gain muscle mass. I often gagged during some meals as I was pretty much force-feeding myself like a mother would to a small child eating their vegetables.

Now, I am pretty sure that most women do not force feed themselves by mistake. Extreme muscle mass gains are not something that occurs out of the blue. You have to really want it for it to happen.

It is pretty safe to say that muscle gain is much, much harder than fat loss for most people.

Another little fact that most women forget is testosterone. Testosterone is a very anabolic hormone found in the human body, males and females, which is very important for gains in muscle mass. Men usually have about ten times more testosterone than women.

Even if a woman were to put the time into eating a crazy amount, it would still be about ten times harder to look like a man. It sounds like it is fairly difficult for a woman to gain an incredible amount of muscle mass and be mistaken for a man, doesn't it?

Myth 3: Avoiding Chest Exercises

Another fairly popular fallacy is the theory that a woman should not perform any chest exercises, as this would "shrink her breasts".

A woman's breasts are an area of fat deposit just like anywhere else on her body. The breasts will shrink as body fat levels of the entire body are reduced.

Resistance exercises for the chest would not cause a reduction in size. In fact, it might help your breasts appear larger as you can stimulate growth of your pectoral muscles.

The larger pectoral muscles would help push out the fat found on your breasts and assist them in looking bigger.


Myth 4: Eating Less To Lose Weight



Most women claim to have a sound diet, but this usually ends up being in the form of a starvation diet. It probably includes skipping breakfast, eating a salad at lunch and one slice of cheese for dinner if you are lucky.

Breakfast is known as the most important meal of the day for a reason. Your body is begging for fuel, as it has not received any in most likely a good eight to ten hours. Skipping meals frequently actually slows your metabolism down as it is much more beneficial to eat five to six smaller meals spaced evenly throughout the day.

A lot of people are always confused by this as they think eating so frequently will cause them to gain weight. This simply is not true unless you eat many calories above your maintenance level.

Let's say 1,500 calories is adequate for your goal of weight loss. Instead of eating two 700-calorie meals, five meals consisting of about 300 calories would be much better. If you happen to eat 500 calories for one meal and 200 calories for another, this will not break you. As long as you finish the day with the same amount of calories and you eat several times per day, you will be fine.


There Is No Replacement For Hard Work:

I have known too many ladies who have purchased far too many fitness gadgets seen on television at 4am on any random weeknight. There are things like the famous "ab belts," which "electronically stimulate your abdominal muscles" (even I bought one of these many years ago before I knew any better).

How many people actually think a little belt will trim down belly fat without breaking a sweat at all?

I think we have struck gold here!

There isn't an overweight person in the world anymore due to this cool belt!

Wait, it is time to enter reality again as there are no tricks or gadgets that replace the hard work you have to put in to achieve your goal. It all comes down to diet and exercise, which has always been the equation and always will be.

I have thrown a lot of information at you, and you are probably wondering what you should do. Well, I hope you have realized that resistance training is an important tool you can use to achieve a better-looking body.

It is important to focus on compound movements, which use more than one muscle group. These include all variations of squats, lunges, bench presses, rows and shoulder presses.

These are the biggest bang for your buck exercises, as you are using many muscle groups. Focus on performing variations of these exercises at least twice a week for about 40 minutes, and you will reap the benefits in your physique.

Do not forget to include cardiovascular training, which doesn't have to be running on a treadmill. It is important to find an activity you enjoy and look forward to, such as hiking, tennis, swimming or even rowing a boat.

If you love the activity you perform, you are much more likely to stick to your program in the long run, which will improve your chance of succeeding.


The Importance Of Diet:

A sound diet is just as important as exercise, if not more important. Make sure to eat frequently throughout the day, but control the portion sizes.

Eating the right types of foods will definitely help your progress as well. Protein rich foods are very important, as they are necessary for recovery from your workouts. Lean meats, eggs, and whey protein are great examples.

Moderate carbohydrates should also be included in your diet, as it is your body's main fuel source after all. Whole grains are the keys here as they are much slower digesting and help keep you fuller longer.

Fat is also important for recovery and hormone production; examples of good fat sources include: olive oil, canola oil, any variety of nuts, fatty fish such as salmon and mackerel.

Fruits and vegetables also need to be incorporated as they are packed with vitamins and minerals necessary for everyday body functions. The fibre found in them promotes digestive health as well as helps keep your belly satisfied.


Contact me if you would like further information regarding diet or training sessions to help you on your way to a leaner, fitter body.

The Stacey Oster-Thompson Booty Workout

Check out this video by Pro Bikini competitor Stacey Oster-Thompson.

It is easy to follow and the exercises can easily be incorporated into your existing routine.

http://www.flexonline.com/videos/?bcpid=17320904001&bclid=1460782895&bctid=73746567001

The Best Chest And Tricep Exercises

Following on from the best back and bicep exercises I posted a few days ago, again using EMG, here are the top three chest and tricep exercises in terms of mean and peak activity.


Upper Pec

Mean: Mid Pulley Crossover
Band Push Up
JC Band Press

Peak: DB Incline Press
Guillotine Press
JC Band Press


Mid Pec

Mean: DB Bench Press
Floor Press
Fly

Peak: Guillotine Press
DB Bench Press
Fly


Lower Pec

Mean:Weighted Dip
Blast Strap Push Up
Guillotine Press

Peak: Guillotine Press
Fly
Weighted Dip


Medial Triceps

Mean: Rope Extension
Cable Extension
Weighted Dip

Peak: Rope Extension
Cable Extension
Band Extension


The form used for the guillotine press was feet on the bench, no arch, elbows flared out, wide grip, bar lowered to the neck. It's no surprise the guillotine press works much more pec than the bench press.

Looking at the entire pecs, they found much variety in movements. This jives with the old bodybuilder theory that the best workout should hit muscles from a lot of angles with different forms of resistance. We've always known the pecs respond to a good stretch, as shortened ranges of motion rarely build a nice chest.

They have long-suspected that pec isolation movements can rival compound movements in terms of pec activity. This study confirms that suspicion. Powerlifting gurus like Louie Simmons and Dave Tate have always discussed the importance of triceps specialization for a strong bench.

This experiment lends support to their recommendations.

1-2-1 Fitness Workout At Home Training Sessions GOES LIVE !!...

The Best Back and Bicep Exercises

Every guy has his own theory about which exercises are the best and which exercises suck.

Whether we're analyzing the biomechanics of an exercise (not very likely), "feeling the burn" (more likely), or simply doing a ton of sets and seeing how sore we get over the next few days (ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!), we all think we know the best movements to grow our muscles.


But do we really?

Using EMG (a tool that measures how much muscle activity is going on, with every movement that you do) a study was undertaken to establish what the most effective exercises are.

So, here are the top three exercises in terms of mean and peak activity for the back and biceps.


Biceps:

Mean: Weighted Wide Parallel Grip Pull-Up
Weighted Chin-Up
BB Curl

Peak: Weighted Chin-Up
Weighted Wide Parallel Grip Pull-Up
EZ-Bar Curl


Latissimus Dorsi:

Mean: Weighted Chin-U
Weighted Pronated Wide-Grip Pull-Up
Rack-Pull

Peak: Weighted Pronated Wide-Grip Pull-Up
Rack-Pull
Underhand-Grip Feet Elevated Inverted Row


Mid Trap:

Mean: DB Bent-Over Row
DB Elbows Out Chest-Supported Row
Prone Trap Raise

Peak: Prone Trap Raise
DB Bent-Over Row
DB Elbows Out Chest-Supported Row


Lower Trap:

Mean: DB Bent-Over Row
Prone Trap Raise
DB Elbows Out Chest-Supported Row

Peak: DB Elbows Out Chest Supported-Row
Prone Trap Raise
DB Bent-Over Row


The Best Damn Back and Biceps Workout

Based on the results of the experiment, I bet the following would be one kick-ass workout that would target the lats, mid, and lower traps as well as the biceps.

Enjoy!


Weighted Pull Up, Weighted Chin Up, or Weighted Parallel Grip Pull Up

Dumbbell Bent Over Row or Weighted Feet Elevated Inverted Row

Dumbbell Elbows Out Chest Supported Row or Prone Trap Raise

Deadlift or Rack Pull

Barbell Curl or EZ-Bar Curl


The results of the best exercises for other muscle groups will be posted soon...

Workout At Home Training Sessions Being Launched 20 March 2010

The 1-2-1 Fitness Workout At Home training sessions will be launched on 20 March 2010.

The workouts are designed for every fitness level from the beginner to the trained athlete.

E-mail me for further information and prices prior to launch date.

Another Funny Weight Training Incident

I found myself looking through the You Tube videos of funny weight training accidents and this one just cracked me up every time I watched it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_xXdiUoOmI&NR=1

It's not big and it's not clever.....

Far too often do you see guys stacking weights onto a bar and trying to push out a bench press with the worst form ever in an attempt to impress their mates.

This can only lead to an EPIC FAIL !!!!

I love this video as the guy attempts to lift a weight far more than he can handle and his form is so bad, it all goes pear-shaped.

Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYcGwMht6L8

Principles of Training

Getting the best out of your training requires a little planning. The best training programmes are built on principles of specificity, overload, progression and reversibility.

Training should be matched to an individual's needs.

By using the principles of training as a framework we can plan a personal training programme that uses scientific principles to improve performance, skill, game ability and physical fitness.

A successful training programme will meet individual needs which are personal fitness needs based on age, gender, fitness level and the sport for which we are training. A successful training programme will also include exercise in the correct heart-rate target zone.

The key principles when planning a programme are:

Specificity – training must be matched to the needs of the sporting activity to improve fitness in the body parts the sport uses.

Overload - fitness can only be improved by training more than you normally do. You must work hard.

Progression – start slowly and gradually increase the amount of exercise and keep overloading.

Reversibility – any adaptation that takes place as a result of training will be reversed when you stop training. If you take a break or don’t train often enough you will lose fitness.

In planning a programme, use the FITT principles to add the detail:

Frequency - decide how often to train.

Intensity - choose how hard to train.

Time - decide how long to train for.

Type - decide which methods of training to use.

You should also consider the principle of moderation. It is important to have rest periods which allow the body to adapt.

Exercise and Muscle Directory

The most important thing to remember when exercising is 'good form'.

I see far too many people attempting to lift weights far too heavy for them and this has an effect on their form. This can then lead to serious injury.

The Exercise and Muscle Directory is an extremely useful website to ensure that you are performing an exercise correctly.

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html