How to structure a program for all around progress.

There are a lot of different ways to structure a program, typically because of the specific needs of the person it is for, however for those of you who want to achieve the following:

– Strength
– Fitness (improved CV/VO2 Max)
– Better Body Composition (lose body fat & increase lean muscle)
– Improve Mobility/Flexibility
– Aquire Skill
– Improve mental health

This simple structure idea will help you plan your workouts to achieve all of the above.

Program Design 101:

– Warm Up – 5min
– Mobility – 10min
– Strength &/or Skill Element – 20min
– Metabolic Conditioning Section – 15min
– Flexibility Enhancement – 10min
– Warm Down – 5min

Looks simple enough, doesn’t it.

Here is what a workout might look like:

– Skipping
– www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8QxbtcA5hU – Routine example
– A1: Deadlift, A2: Press 5-3-2-5-3-2-5 – Reps dictate the weight
– B1: Loaded Carry 20m, B2: 400m Sprint – AMRAP in 15min
– www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia5ZTVQnsBw -Routine example
– Foam rolling & short meditation

You will notice the workout is nothing special, however it covers multiple facets of fitness for those who want an all round package, rather than an ultra specific one.

How does it all work?

Skipping allows for a nice warm up and also some skill/coordination practice, as does the mobility routine example.

The strength is set in an example of a 5-3-2 wave to allow for muscle potentiation, both exercises hit the major muscle groups of the body. When the metabolic section beings you will gain more strength from the loaded carry along with power/CV/endurance/fat loss from the sprints.

Finally you have a nice example stretching routine followed by some gentle foam rolling and meditation to bring clarity of thought and lower the stress of life.

What is written above isn’t gospel, it’s an example, a good example mind you but ann example never the less. You can adapt it however you see fit.

Enjoy,
Ross

Are you lying to yourself & others?

Do you eat as well as say you do?

If the answer is yes then chances are you have a respectable level of body fat, good overall health and and above average level of performance (if you train or play a sport that is).

If the answer is ‘yes’ but only to keep people off your back or look good to your peers then chicness are you have slightly most body fat than you’d like, your health is 100% and you’re perfjoamcne could be better. Meaning your answer is really a no.

One thing to understand with nutrition is that it’s okay not to be perfect, you an have the things you like so long as you’re not eating them excessively/putting yourself in a large caloric surplus (unless that’s your goal, then knock yourself out).

People will lie to look good, however they’re not fooling anyone, not really. They don’t even fool themselves.

If you struggle or have always struggled with nutrition then as from some help.

Here are a couple of tips to help you along your journey, if you want more, just ask for them.

1 – Change your environment.

You have control, you have the power to choose, take responsibility and do what is right.

2 – Don’t follow the crowd.

Just because the crowd is going one way it doesn’t mean you have to as well. Do some research, make an informed decision, remember that you’re in control.

3 – Set yourself up for success.

Set small practical goals that you can achieve that will create a positive mindset for progress and success, for example, start by reducing your portion size by eat off of smaller plates. A large plate will call to be filled, why not fill a smaller plate, you’ll eat less overall calories and still feel as satisfied.

The main message is to remember how you look, feel and perform is all down to you. Do everything in your power to be the best you can be, if it’s not in your power then get help.

Simple.

2 Things you can learn from the selfie crew at your gym.

If you were to look around your gym in your rest periods, what would you see or rather how many people would you see taking selfies?

 

Probably quite a few now because that is how the modern gym snowflake rolls. After all, it is important that they get their daily likes on the gram otherwise they’ve not achieved anything and the insatiable need for gratification will go unquenched, this can’t be allowed to happen.

 

While the endless selfies and gym videos might annoy you there is actually something you can learn from this and even apply to your own regime to help you in your route to achieving your goals.

 

Here are the two things you can learn from the selfie crowd:

 

1 – Taking videos is a great way to check your form and sharing in groups for feedback and tips to improve the quality of your lifting.

 

2 – Photos are excellent in tracking your overall progression, just don’t post every single one of them.

 

Bonus – The culmination of videos, process picture and selfies can actually serve are a great reminder of who far you have come in your journey, how much you have achieved and why you must be proud of all your effort, hard work and achievements.

 

From a business standpoint it can also help bring in clients and inspire other people who are perhaps starting where you did to stay the course because they will be there in the end.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

5 Steps to Uncomplicated Training

Nothing fancy today, just really simple advice to boost your performance and make training fun again.

Here we go:

1 – Select 3 lifts per workout, ideally all free weight movements with at last 2 being compound. Spend less time of faff.

2 – Set a rep goal of 25-50 reps per movement.

• If you want more muscle use higher reps and less sets – 4-6 on main lift, 6-8 on the second and 8-12 on the third.
• If you want more strength use less reps and more sets – 1-3 on main lift, 4-6 on second and 6-8 on the third.

3 – Train 3 days per week using a full body training method, unless you can afford the luxury of more, in which cause you a 3 on 1 off rotation in which cause use Pull-Push-Legs – you could do PPL if you wanted to do 3x per week but you’d have to program correctly for maximum effect.

If you can only train 3 days per week and want to use Pull=Push-LegsL

• Pull + Light Pressing lift in-between each set
• Push + Light Pulling lift in-between each set
• Legs + A full body lift such a clean/press, loaded carry etc.

4 –  Walk, Jog or Run? None of them, SPRINT!

Aim for 5-10 30-60 second rounds of all out sprinting at the end of a session for maximal VO2 Max benefit, you can also swap this for battle rope work, Strongman style loaded carries, medleys etc, jus make sure it’s an all out effort every round.

5 – Keep workouts between 45-60min. You can workout hard or work long, not both, you may as well go in, work hard and get out, this will give you more time to spend doing other things you enjoy or extra time with your family.

Simple but far from easy. Work hard and you’ll get results.

Enjoy,

Ross

 

Basic Mastery, Baby Steps.

“Progress is steeped in a mastery of the basics.”

Let’s face it, it’s true not matter which way you cut it.

Here, an example for you:

When you were born did you have the ability to walk straight away?

No, no you didn’t. You first had to master gaining conscious control and awareness of your limbs instead of look at your foot and thinking “What is this, can I eat it?” before sticking it in your mouth as babies do.

Next up was perhaps rolling over and pushing yourself off the floor, swiftly followed by flailing all your limbs around like a fish stranded on dry land, then on to sitting up by yourself along with other various nuances. Eventually that combination gave you the skill required to crawl.

After getting used to crawling around you start to grab on to anything to lift yourself up and stand, not long after this with some unsteady first steps where you fall down, then you get back up and try again, you keep trying, never giving up – funny how the only thing you lose as you age is the desire not to give up, ironic really, what helps you survive as a child is the very thing you hide from as an adult; effort and preserving at a given task until you succeed.

Could you imagine if babies had the attitude of most adults? They would never walk, ever.

Eventually, after many a failed attempt, SUCCESS!

You can now walk and from that day you were unstoppable, except for doors and other such baby restricting implements.

The point is this, without mastering the basics as a child you’d not be walking now, the same goes for achieving results in the way of fitness, health and aesthetics. You must first master the basics of nutrition and weight lifting form, you must also have the enthusiasm and determination of a child striving to walk. If you have those 4 elements then you’ll find you leave plenty of people in the dust with the outstanding results you achieve.

Just remember, once upon a time you didn’t give up, you didn’t let yourself get defeated or fall victim to the thought of “I can’t do it” you simply mastered the basics and kept going, if you approach you life with this attitude you will find it’s a far more successful one and by logic a happier one too.

Enjoy,

Ross

2 Truths you won’t like.

Morning all,

Today you’ll find a short post that has two irrefutable truths that no matter how much you’d like to believe don’t apply to you, they do.

1 – Energy balance is responsible for weight maintenance – a sportive balance means weight gain, a negative one means weigh loss.

2 – The body needs certain amounts of vitamins and minerals to perform daily functions, biochemical reactions and not die.

If you think these don’t apply to you because you are a truly unique individual then you should donate your body to medical science immediately because you’re either a genetic abnormality or the next wave of human evolution.

Don’t agree with this?

Here are some resources for you to educate yourself with:

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-energy-balance

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-vitamins-minera…

Don’t be ashamed of looking or wanting to look good.

First there was fat shaming.

Now there is fit shaming and everything in-between.

It is true that some people are happy being the way they are, be that overweight, underweight or something else. We are told that we should support these people and accept them for who they are, which is fair enough. If people are truly happy, who are we to judge? Exactly, we’re not.

However…

If a person wants to improve their self image or shift unwanted body fat and build an impressive frame of lean muscle they are meant to allow themselves to be the subject of scrutiny. Why? Because someone else is jealous that they didn’t have the mental fortitude to achieve such  goal? No, of course it wouldn’t be that, after all, those who preach equality need to accept others for who they are so they must obviously be a person who will accept anyone without question as well.

Maybe the cause of a persons concern is because they feel that someone else putting their body under too much stress is harmful for them and they’re only thinking about protecting them.

^^ Maybe, but chances are that’s not the case.

Chances are people start taking digs because they are jealous and a bit lazy, not always but typically.

It is funny that in a world where we are told that everyone must be accepted equally that is only true if it doesn’t make someone else feel bad about themselves.

A fit person, for example, must accept people of all shapes and sizes without question, but that courtesy is not reciprocated because they make that person feel bad, so they should feel bad as well.  You will find you can make jokes about fit people with no repercussions, but do that about someone who is overweight and you’re suddenly the scum of the earth.

Can you see the problem here?

We live in a world of double standards, there is no getting away from that, there is only accepting it, which you can choose not to do, but it doesn’t change the fact that is is true, no matter how much you wish it.

Over the years a small amount of wisdom and tolerance for other ignorance has been acquired and as such here is some simple advice for all: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” some of you may recognise that sentence, now you have the choice, you can either enact it and remember that if you make a joke at a persons expense you should expect one your way too, no crying or looking for a safe space, it’s time to toughen up.

Some final thoughts.

All people, never be ashamed or let yourself be lead in to feeling bad about how you choose to look by people trying to bring you down, it’s your choice and that’s all that matters. You’ve got the same right to look how you choose just as other people have the right to look they way they choose. Have mutual respect for the majority and ignore the minority who are just assholes.

Enjoy,

Ross

The problem with your nutrition is you.

“You are in control. There is only choice and consequence, both of which you have a unique influence over. Once you make the decision, accept all that comes with it, excuses are a weak persons way of trying to jerk responsibility. Don’t be that person.”

 

A fairly harsh thing to hear, however it is worth sharing because no matter which way you look at it, for the majority of situations (exceptional circumstances/situations excluded) it is 100% correct.

 

It is sad to see a great many people struggle with nutrition, they get so confused about what you ‘should’ be eating and in what amounts and we understand this but we are not the ones who need to change our mindset, you are.

 

The first step to freedom from nutritional worry is simply taking responsibility. Be accountable for your own choices and actions. If you eat an entire cake, don’t make an excuse, accept it’s happened and move on. If you do this on a regular basis accept that as well as the fact that the reason you’re perhaps a few lbs overweight is your fault.

 

It seems in the modern world everyone wants an excuse to elevate guilty of their poor choices or bad behaviour. While this might be acceptable for children who perhaps haven’t yet learnt any better, it’s not for adults.

 

No one said nutrition was going to be easy but that doesn’t mean it has to be something that makes you feel bad, it’s not the food that makes you feel guilty, it’s the fact that you have done something you probably shouldn’t. Remember that.

 

Before you start looking for fad diets and quick fixes you need to focus on some personal growth and taking responsibility for all the actions that you have had 100% influence over that have lead to you being in your current situation. Once this is done you can start making a plan to move forwards.

If you struggle to do this on your own and need help, ask for it.

Ross.

1 or 2, which are you?

There is only so much you can write about training, nutrition, mindset and fitness in general.

 

You will find that there is very little information that hasn’t been covered by someone somewhere at some time in either a book or on the internet.

 

Given this fact, why are there so many people who are still clueless?

 

Worrying, ins’t it.

 

There are a couple of reasons:

 

1 – Information overload.

 

2 – They just want information that agrees with their current beliefs of how achieving their results should work, which hasn’t in all the years they’ve tried.

 

^^ No2 = Confirmation Bias – https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/confirmation_bias.htm

 

Reason one is quite simple to overcome, all one needs do is take some time to run a couple of searches on top training/nutritional writes in the fitness industry, chances are their stuff will be credible.

 

The second reason is much harder to change because it will effect a persons beliefs and dent their ego. However an easy and quick way to deal with this is to simply ask this: “Have you gotten the results you want doing what you want to do?” – Typically they say no, simple.

 

Which type of person are you?

 

Do you just get overwhelmed or do you look for confirmation of your own individual bias?

 

Seek the truth, not just the truth that is most pleasing or convenient to you.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

Can you answer this simple question honestly?

Why do you do what you do?

Can you answer that very simple question with honesty and an answer(s) that you, yourself believe to be true, or will you answer it based on what you have been told to think by others. Just take a minute and think about it.

It is not uncommon for people to sit glazed over when that is asked of them. After all, how often do you get people questioning why you do things, or more importantly asking you to ask yourself why you do things. We think we know, we think they are our own choices, yet when we really sit and think, it becomes apparent that for most people that is not the case.

Often times we simply do the things we do because somewhere along the line we were told that’s how it had to be, how we had to be, how it all ‘should’ be.

Most of you will live other peoples dreams and spend your life wondering why you never feel fulfilled.

If we take the example of losing weight, a term that is not right for a lot of people, the correct term is FAT LOSS. You can cut of an arm and lose weight, you might not be happy that you;ve lost and arm but you’ve lost weight so you can’t complain, right?

Apologies, back to the point.

People look to lose fat because they think they should based on what they have been told by others, read that is written by others, seen in others and consider is the only acceptable course of action by others.

Can you see the problem.

A person will start out on a journey of self improvement based on the opinions, beliefs and values of someone else, they are doing it for someone else, not themselves. Is it any wonder people fail at so many things that they never really wanted. No, it isn’t.

When it comes to achieving a goal, you need three things:

– Commitment
– Consistency
– Hard Work (or work ethic)

Although those three things are important, if the goal of desire is not of your own choosing in the first place you will find more reasons/excuses to give up because you don’t really want it.

Your goals must mean something to you, they must be yours and yours alone. Do it for you, know why you’re doing it and tin doing this you will finally get that fulfilment you’ve been searching for.

Ask yourself again, why do you do what you do?

Enjoy,
Ross