Three ways to get lean & athletic

There’s a lot of ladies and gentlemen that want to look better.

Let’s be real for a second.

Being overweight, weak in poor health tends to result in the following:

• Low Self-Esteem
• Illness
• Mental Strife

Hopefully you’re someone that values getting lean & athletic.

Or at least wants to train in a way that will get you to a better physical and mental place.

1 – Skipping (jump rope) & Snatches

Keeping things simple with these two movement starting out will have you strip fat and become more athletic.

Perform a 45-60min session of either Snatches, Jump Rope or a combo of the two.

I’d suggest the hard-style snatch because it’s more focused on ‘muscle’ than it’s counterpart in the sport stye of kettlebells (girevoy) which is about movement efficiency.

When it comes to jump rope aim to skip at a pace of 100 single revolutions every minute.

This will equate to roughly 11.8METs per min.

MET’s are metabolic equivalents.

There was a lot of work done on these however the short version of it all essentially boils down to they had a chap (around 75kg in his early 30’s if memory serves) perform an assortment of tasks in a very controlled fashion so they could work out how much energy in kcal was being used to perform them.

I’d take this with a large pinch of salt though when you use MET’s to work out you kcals burned.

Buffering in a 50% inaccuracy could be wise for some.

Meaning if the MET equations for jump rope say you’ve burnt 400kcal, note it down as 200kcal.

People often over estimate how much they burn and eat more to compensate, then get frustrated when the scales don’t move or body composition doesn’t improve.

Don’t be one of these people.

Anyway here’s an equation for the above regarding the jump rope.

MET x Your Bodyweight x 7 / 400 = kcal rate
kcal rate/time spent training = kcal burned

So for myself and a 30min skipping session

11.8 x 75 x 7/400 = 15.4kcal
15.4 x 30min skip = 462kcal burned (231kcal is we but in a 50% buffer which seem more accurate)

Time to move on.

2 – Sandbag Series

Fill a sandbag with a starting load of 30-50% of your current bodyweight.

From here you will proceed to perform on of the following series for 45min 3-4 times per week.

Complete all the reps before moving on, aim to repeat each full series as many times as possible within the time frame.

Series 1 – Clean > Squat > Press – 1/3/2 – keep rest to a minimal 10-20 sets is good.
Series 2 – Clean to Bear Hug Walk, Row – 20m walk and 10 rows – build to a 1600m carry for the session.
Series 3 – Bear Hug Squat – sets of 10-20 reps – aim for 200 total reps.

3 – Brutal Barbell Basics

There’s nothing better than the basics.

This is the training protocol:

5-5-3-3-2 the first 4 sets are a ramp to a heavy double for the day.
1×20 using 60-70% of the daily double.

Here are the pairing for the lifts (to be done in the order listed):

• Press & Power Clean to Front Squat – Day 1
• Bench Press & Deadlift – Day 2
• Squat & Yates Row – Day 3

It ought to take no more than 30min to complete both lifts, once done you can add in uptown 30min of skipping at the end of a session for some simple aerobic work.

Of these three options to become learn & athetic I’ve tried them all.

The order they’re written is how you would set them up in a training cycle.

Cycling them in 6 week blocks works well as it allows for adaptation to occur and progress to be made while not having people become bored.

The first will help build a foundation.
The second get your strong and functional through an odd object.
The third allows for something familiar that builds a lot of raw strength.

Once you return to the skipping & snatches you’ll be ready to attack them and break your old PB’s.

Give this a go if you’re looking for something that actually works.

Remember you can also reach out to me if you have any questions to ask.

Enjoy,
Ross

3 reasons why you should add Push Press to your training.

1 – It allows you to handle more weight overhead, and even boost your volume in a strict pressing set by adding in a couple of extra push presses at the end.

(Plus it’s less technically than the jerk or push jerk)

2 – You can work on overload eccentrics with it which will have potential carryover to your strict press.

3 – Sporting benefit. The PP is multipoint movement, it has a quarter squat, a jump and a press, very useful for athletic goals.

When it comes to this lift you will find it can make for a great addition to your overhead or pressing sessions.

I would advise doing it first due to the high technical component required, unless you’re doing push jerks as well, in which case do those first, then push press, then finish with strict.

Here are a couple of method for you to try for planning push press 3x per week.

Day 1 – Monday – 50 reps in as few sets as possible
Day 2 – Thursday – 5x2x90%, this is just hard
Day 3 – Saturday – 30/30 (30 sec PP, 30 sec rest), for 30min

I’d chuck in some chins/rows, lateral raises, face pulls as accessory work as well.

Try this with dumbbells, barbell, kettlebells or odd objects, it’s quite fun.

Don’t forget to train legs as well 🙂

Enjoy,
Ross

 

Lift, Lift, LIFT!

“I want to be big and strong”

 

^^ A sentence many a man has said over the years and continues to say to this day.

 

“I want to be lean and strong”

 

^^ Something I’m pleased to announce more women are saying, it seems there has been a shift in them saying ‘I just want to be skinny’ to now learning the benefit of being lean and strong, it’s great to see.

 

While it is only my opinion, I feel everybody should be strong.

 

I’m not talking about record breaking strong, just strong enough to stay healthy and stave off the effects of ageing on the body.

 

These sports all centre around lifting:

 

– Weightlifting (olympic lifting)

– Body Building

– Powerlifting

– Strongman

– CrossFit (some may not like this one)

 

Did you know lifting weights can have the following positive effects on the body:

 

– Improved bone density

– Ligament/tendon health

– Delayed sarcopenia

– Hormonal benefits: Higher testosterone, better insulin regulation, more growth hormone, lower cortisol to name a few

– Lowers body fat (great for improving health)

– A higher TDEE (total daily energy expenditure, more calories burnt in a day)

– Increased strength for sport/daily life

– A boost in confidence

– Looking better naked (the most important benefit, obviously)

 

Those are only some of the benefits, there are numerous more.

 

Personally I’d say the mental improvement is the pivotal one as this can have the biggest impact on a persons life in a very positive way.

 

However….

 

If you’re not an athlete and lift for health/confidence you should do it because you enjoy it, not because you feel you have to, that’s the secret to balance and long term sustainability.

 

Don’t eat yourself up if you miss a session, chalk it up to life and sue it as a rest day, that way you’ll be more motivated when you get to go in, excited to train in fact. Keep this in mind and you’ll find you don’t fall out of love with training.

 

What if lifting isn’t for you?

 

That’s cool, find soothing you do enjoy, here are some other options for improving strength and all achieving all the other benefits mentioned above:

 

– Calisthenics: bodyweight/movement training, loads of fun

– Martial Arts

– Gym Classes

– Track & field

– Kettlebells (sport or hard style)

– Climbing/outdoor sports

 

There are almost endless options.

 

Find something you enjoy, training shouldn’t be a chore.

 

Now go, have fun and make progress.

 

Ross.

Do You Really Need That Specialist Exercise?

Walkouts, Partial Reps, Banded Moments, Movements with Chains, Lockout Reps, Board Pressing, the list of specialist exercises is numerous but do you really need them?

Too many people get caught up in doing things they have no real need for. I am guilty of this on the odd occasion but found that it only severed to hinder my progress in the long run because there was no need for the specialist movements.

You will find these types of exercises common for high level power lifters but they serve little purpose for us normal folk. If I had to give people some variations of lets say the big 3 I would suggest the following:

– Pause Squats

– Front Squats

– Box Squats

– Paused Bench

– Narrow Grip Bench

– Pressing Overhead or High Incline

– 1/2 – 1 inch Deficit Deadlifts

– 2-4 inch Block Pulls

– Snatch Grip Deadlift

– Overhand Deadlift

That’s pretty much it. While it’s nice and quite fun to try some of the specialist exercises there is little to no need unless you’re squatting/deadlifting 3xbw and benching 2xbw. The variations I’ve suggested will be more than enough to help keep you busy for months if you rotate them properly.

Do you need some guidance on a program too?

Warm Up Sets x4 at 3-5 reps (40,60,70,77%)

Week 1 – 10×1 + 70-80% back off AMRAP set -10min

Week 2 – 5×2 + 70-80% back off AMRAP set -10min

Week 3 – 3×3 + 70-80% back off AMRAP set -10min

Week 4 – 2×5 + 70-80% back off AMRAP set -10min

*increase weight and start over.

*2 lifts per day – EG Squat/Row, Deadlift/Press

*Lower body would work better with this programs set rep progression.

*Upper body = Volume or Ramping, try 8×8 on the volume with only 30 seconds rest on upper body pressing/pulling movements or Ramp up to a 3-5RM (meaning you do 3-5 reps and add weight each set until you hit technical failure, then you’re done).

An example day might be as follows:

Workout 1 – Squat/Pull Up

Warm Up Sets – Paused Squat x4 at 3-5 reps (40,60,70,77%)

A1 – Paused Squat – 10×1 – 100kg + 80kg AMRAP (10min time limit)

B1 – Pull Up – 8×8 – Wide Grip Body Weight/Weighted or Pull Down

*Optional C1 – Ab Roll Out – 1×12

Workout 2 – Deadlift/Press

Warm Up Sets – Overhand Deadlift x4 at 3-5 reps (40,60,70,77%)

A1 – Overhand Deadlift – 10×1 – 100kg + 80kg AMRAP (10min time limit)

B1 – Press – 5RM Ramp Start with Overhead Press and hit 5RM (You can alternate your Pressing movement to your own personal desire, one day might be overhead press, the next time around it might be bench and so on.)

*Optional C1 – Ab Roll Out – 1×12

A weeks training might look like this:

Monday – Workout 1

Tuesday – Workout 2

Wednesday – Off

Thursday – Workout 1 – Front Squat/Pull Down Neutral Close Grip

Friday – Workout 2 – Snatch Grip Deadlift/Incline Press

Saturday – Off

Sunday – Off

Repeat last weeks exercise selection, keep weights the same on SQ/DL but move on to week 2’s reps (5×2).

There is nothing stopping you from adding in a sprint day on Saturday or some CV just regulate the intensity so that is doesn’t disrupt your recovery and adaptation phases.

In the world of lifting it’s best not to try and run before you can walk. Learn the basic movements and learn then well, then once you’ve started to hit the upper limits of your natural strength (around 3xBW SQ/DL & 2xBW Bench) then it will be worth adding in some specialist exercises to help you past your sticking points.

Enjoy,

Ross

Build A New Body: Part 1

There are a great deal of programs floating around on the internet and today i’m going to give you another one to consider.

This will be one of several programs I will be writing for you that will help create a 12 week training cycle to help you add lean mass, strength, strip fat and feel much more confident because of the results you will achieve.

Today’s program will consist on what you will ideally be looking to do for the first 3 weeks of your training block. It will help you build a good foundation of lean mass while starting to bring up your base strength in preparation for the next 3 week block, here is what the basic outline of what the primary goals of each will look like:

Weeks 1-3 – Hypertrophy/Strength

Weeks 4-6 – Hypertrophy/Strength

Weeks 7-9 – Strength/Conditioning

Weeks 10-12 – Strength/Conditioning

The first 6 weeks is based on building the foundation, then the second 6 weeks will be about utilising/realising the strength you’ve gained from your newly built muscle to it’s full potential while also adding in some conditioning style work to help keep you lean and feeling ‘fit’ don’t worry if you think they will contradict each other, they won’t if programmed properly and the correct volume/approach is used.

So now you’ve got the basic idea shall we get started?

4-4-4 is the first method you will be using is based around the following:

– 4 Workout days per week

– 4 Exercises per workout

– 4 Sets with varying rep ranges

The days you workout are down to you, that could be Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday or whatever.

As for exercises you will want to cover the full body in as little movements as possible, I will give you two guideline workouts A/B where you will hit all the major muscle groups, here they are:

Workout A –

– Front Squat

– Snatch Grip Deadlift

– Bent Over Row

– Supinated Grip Pull Up

Workout B –

– Press – Shoulder Width

– Bench Press – Medium (narrow is you want more triceps, wider if you want more chest)

– Dip

– Face Pull – Pronated Grip W/Thumbs Facing You (think you’re hitting a double bicep pose when pull to your face)

*You can do which ever day you want first, it’s down to personal preference.

Now it’s time for the rep/set scheme I will recommend for you.

– 12,10,8,6

– Use a 4-1-1-1 tempo (4 second eccentric, 1 second pause, 1 second concentric, 1 second pause)

Suggested loading:

– 12 – 65%

– 10 – 70%

– 8 – 75%

– 6 – 80%

A very simple descending pyramid that will help you begin to build a base. As for a warm up I would advice doing what you need to do so that you feel mobile and ready, remember a good mobility routine will help you stay injury free and improve your performance and overall life for that matter (There are lots of options on YouTube, you’ve got a great book called Becoming a Supple Leopard and much more to get ideas from).

I can’t tell you your weights but the suggestion I have given will be a good starting point, but remember the stronger you get the higher these numbers will go, not only % wise but also because you will be able to lift more. Start off light so you have somewhere to go, if you start too heavy you will stagnate and can even get hurt if you’re not careful.

The above program is designed to be followed for 3 weeks, then you will move on to the second 3 week block which I will get uploaded in due course.

You will obviously need to know about nutrition as well, here is a good starting point for you:

LBMx 17-19 = Muscle Gain Caloric Range

Protein – LBM x1 = Grams per day, multiply this by 4 to get calories of protein for the day.

Carbs – Protein x1-3 = Grams per day (depending on style of training/overall daily activity, desk jockeys use x1, site workers use x3 and people in the middle use 1.5 or 2), multiply this by 4 to get calories of carbs for the day.

Fat – What ever calories are left divide them by 9 to get your fat in grams for the day.

Example Equation:

175lbs x 19 = 3325 total cals

175lbs x 1 = protein 175g x4 = 700 cals

175g x 2 = carbs 350g x 4 = 1400 cals

3325 – (700 + 1400) = 1225 cals

1225/9 = 136g fat

So these example calories/macros would be:

3225 Total Cal

175g Protein

350g Carbs

136g Fat

Get the idea?

*Eat mostly single ingredient whole foods to get the bulk of your calories, doing this will sort out your micronutrients without you having to worry too much. think 80/20 – 80% single ingredient foods 20% what ever you fancy. Just keep the callers correct and the overall macronutrient ratio sold and you can’t go far wrong.

Breakfast/AM – Fat/Protein

Snack/AM – Fat/Protein

Lunch/PM – Complex Carbs/Protein

Snack/PM – Complex Carbs/Protein

Dinner/PM – Complex Carbs/Protein

Post Workout Protein/Simple Carbs – regardless on time of day.

This will be a good place to start, you can make adjustments according to your own persona needs as you see fit.

You now have the first 3 weeks and some basic ideas for nutrition, it’s time to get in to the gym and start working (Y).

Enjoy,

Ross

Yesterdays Results

Morning Guys,

Building is the aim, but with all the set and rep ranges out there which one should you use?

There was the famous 6×6 & 8×8 that was used by Vince Gironda

Or the hugely successful 7-5-3 Wave Loading System found under the tutelage of Charles Poliquin

You even heard stories of how well people did on Dorian Yates’ ‘Blood & Guts One Set to Faliure’

Some even did phenomenally well on the very simple 4×8-12

But the truth is that all of the systems work, lets be honest and accept that if they didn’t work they wouldn’t be spoken about.

The hardest part isn’t finding a set/rep scheme that works, it’s finding one YOU can stick with for the long haul, in our society of quick fixes and instant gratification we want to add 30lbs of lean muscles, drop 50lbs of body fat and look akin to a Greek God all by last week.

Sadly life doesn’t work that way. If you want to build some decent lean muscle you will need to be prepared to put in the hard work, eat adequately and have everything pretty much on point. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a life but you must understand that the more effort you put in and the more sacrifice you’re willing to make the faster and less time you will need you will achieve your results (which could still be in the years in most cases).

Now the obvious points are out of the way it’s time to give you some options to help you on your way to a better you.

The rotation of set/rep schemes will be set using a 3 days on 1 day off rotation until you have done the particular set/rep scheme 4/5 times (this will last mean each set/rep system will last around 3 weeks or so) with a total of 4 different rep/set options to go though. The main exercises will stay the same for all 4 mini blocks, as for assistance work you can add in some DT (Density Training) that should take no more than 10min and the chosen assistance movements can change every 3/4 workouts if you feel the need, but remember a change is only needed if you have become stagnant on that particular exercise.

Parameters for the mains lifts:

First 5 Workouts (weeks 1-3):
Reps/Sets: 10,8,6,20
Loading % of 1RM: 70%,75%,80%,60%
Tempo: 6-1-1-1 and 2-1-1-1 for the 20 rep set
Rest: 90 Seconds

Second 5 Workouts (weeks 4-6)
Rep/Sets: 6×6
Loading % of 1RM: 75-80%
Tempo: 4-1-1-1
Rest: 30 Seconds

Third 5 Workouts (weeks 7-9)
Rep/Sets: 5×5
Loading % of 1RM: 80-85%
Tempo: 3-1-1-1
Rest: 90-120 Seconds

Forth 5 Workouts (weeks 10-12)
Rep/Sets: 5,4,3,2,1
Loading % of 1RM: 82,85,87,90,92%
Tempo: 2-1-1-1
Rest: 120 Seconds or as needed

The main lifts will be comprised of the following:

– Squat (Front or Back)
– Bench Press (Incline of Flat)
– Deadlift (Overhand only)
– Bent Over Row (Supinated Grip)
– Press (Military or Behind Neck)
– Pull Up (Weighted or Body Weight)

Now it’s time for the interesting part, the workouts themselves.

Based on 3 working days you will only be required to do 2 movements per workout, plus 1-2 assistance movements if you feel the need.

Day 1:
A1 – Squat
B1 – Pull Up
C1 – Dumbbell Curl (5-10min on timer, do as many reps as possible in the time limit)

Day 2:
A1 – Bench Press
B1 – Bent Over Row
C1 – Skull Crusher (5-10min on timer, do as many reps as possible in the time limit)

Day 3:
A1 – Deadlift
B1 – Press
C1 – Lateral Raise – Do one set of C1 followed by C2, minimal rest between transitions.
C2 – Face Pull or Reverse Fly (5-10min on timer, do as many reps as possible in the time limit)

Day 4: Off

Repeat.

The above is a very simple progression that will help you build some quality lean muscle tissue while keeping things fresh and interesting. as I mentioned above you can change your assistance exercises as you see fit but try to keep the main movements the same as this will help with the accumulation f overload stimulus.

One benefit of these workouts is that they won’t take long to complete, perhaps 40min tops meaning that you will have lots more free time to spend with friends and family, eat lots of good foods and because the workouts are so short you will look forward to your next one, unlike some other extreme training programs that kill your motivation to train.

You will also need to make sure you’re eating enough, if you want my opinion on how to make a educated guess then do the following:

LBM (Lean Body Mass) x 17-19 = Daily Calories

LBM x 1-1.2 = Protein in Grams for the day x4 = calories from protein.
Protein x 1.5-3 = Carbs for the day (1 if you’re a desk jockey. Use 2 if you’re somewhat active at work and 3 if you’re job is very physical) x4 = Calories from carbohydrates.

Daily Calories – (Protein Calories + Carb Calories) = Calories of Fat per day, divide this number by 9 to get your daily grams of fat.

Now go and make some progress.

Enjoy,
Ross

The Mind Mouth Connection

The hardest part about any ‘diet’ is the psychological aspect.

Lets be honest, if you’re told you can’t have something you will invariably want it more.

Sever restriction in your food choices can lead to some serious mental disassociation with food and lead to eating disorders.

How can you avoid this?

Don’t restrict yourself… Pretty simple really.

However, there is something worth remembering, that people often forget and that is to make sensible choices.

What is a sensible choice? Is there such a thing?

Eating more Meat, Veg, Whole Grains (if your guts don’t suffer that is) & drinking plenty of Water, what as a child we would have seen our grandparents doing more often than not. Obviously that’s not to say they didn’t enjoy cakes, ice cream and other such delights a few days each week but the majority of the time they filled their plates with what could be call ‘foods found in nature’ as opposed to ‘foods made by man’ this often served to achieve the following:

– More Protein Consumed

– More Fiber Consumed

– More Water Consumed

All of those 3 help to improve your overall health and how you feel throughout the day. While we can indeed fill our bellies with various sweet treats and have minimal damage to our waistline (provided the necessary energy balance is achieved) it would more than likely leave us feeling pretty crap.

Personally I see nutrition as a battle of wills. If you don’t follow someones nutritional beliefs then you’re wrong and you’re going to die and forever burn in hell, nutrition sounds a lot like religion…

Back to the original point.

Overthinking what you ‘should or ‘shouldn’t’ eat can lead to some serious problems, there are lots of us who have been in this position. This is why IIFYM or Flexible Dieting has helped so many people, it has given them the freedom of choice once again, but as with anything the real concept has been lost in the shroud of media hyper and 1000’s of instgram pictures leading people to believe that the only things that are eaten by following this style of eating is Cakes, Chocolate, Ice Cream and Pop Tarts, but this is simply not true.

Why all the posts of these foods then?

Who wants to put up pictures of what they eat the majority of the time (meat & veg) when a sweet treat is far more pleasing to the eye.

If you speak to anyone who follows these approaches you will find that they eat lots of foods from various sources, but all of them eat a good amount of Protein, Fiber and drink plenty of Water. Nutrition isn’t hard for the average person, it’s just made hard.

If you’re ‘diet’ is causing you psychological issues because of a ridiculous list of foods you can/can’t eat then the best option is to walk away from it because it’s doing you no favors and you could end up in a very bad place.

Eating what would be considered as ‘children’s foods’ for the lack of a better term (sweets) as the majority staple of your diet will do you no favors in terms of your health, but not having them in your life for those times you fancy them can be much worse mentally in the end. If you find you’re craving something sweet then go and have a small amount of it, chances are the reason you’re looking for a food of that ilk is because you’re cortisol levels might be excessively elevated, or your serotonin is a bit low, or maybe it’s just another way of your body telling you it needs some more energy because it hasn’t had enough. Who really knows, just listen to your body on that one.

It’s always better to have a bit of what you want than to forgo it and end up binge eating another day which will lead to larger psychological issues down the road.

Use some common sense and you will find that you don’t go far wrong, or alternatively hire a nutrition coach to help you.

Simple.

LOSE 4 INCHES OF BELLY FAT IN A WEEK!

Now I have your attention, I have an important message for you.

You’re being LIED too.

Everyday you see the stories of ‘ 6 week success’ that companies and some individuals spout out and how you can achieve the same results, all you have to do is buy their products and you will be endowed with the knowledge you need, but sadly this is all bollocks. Lots of the photos are either photoshopped, stolen from people who have taken years to achieve their results or the results of shall we say ‘Enhancement’ (steroids).

I hate to be the one to say it, well… Actually I don’t.

If you see a head line that claims any of the following:

• Lose X amount in X.
• Gain an inch to your arms in X.
• Fat Loss without exercise.
• Pack on muscle in just X weeks.

Basically anything that sounds too good to be true usually is. I understand how desperately people want results and for things to be better/sorted but life doesn’t work that way, trust me. You should always believe half of what you see and less of what you hear.

What is seen in the clever marketing campaigns is nothing more than smoke and mirrors, like that used by the magicians of old it’s all a clever act to get you to part with your hard earned cash. But guess what, it works, again, and again…. and again.

There is no quick fix, magic pill or secret to success.

Okay, there is a secret list of things to do and I’m going to give it to you for free.

Seriously…

FREE!

For the more dedicated and goal driven person:

1. Set a goal.
2. Plan out how to achieve said goal (yourself or by hiring a coach)
3. Establish your individual caloric/dietary needs.
4. Begin exercising (lifting weights) 2-4 times per week – Goal dependent.
5. Begin exercising (steady state cardio) 2-5 times per week – Goal dependent.
6. Keep multiple dairies – Training, Nutrition, Progress.
7. Work hard and be consistent.
8. Enjoy the journey, it’s going to be a long road. Remember this is a life style change, not a quick fix.

If that list seems confusing here is a much simpler one that will cater for the general goal of ‘look and feel better, while increasing confidence’:

1. Eat more protein from whole foods.
2. Eat more fibre from whole foods.
3. Eat less refined/man made foods.
4. Move more – Ideally 3 sessions of vigorous exercise (weights+cardio) per week should be enough.

Don’t believe everything you’re told and blindly follow like all the other sheep, be different, after all, being different is something that sets us apart from he rest of the animal kingdom.

Hard work, patience and consistency is what achieves results, not quick fixes.

Enjoy,

Ross

You’re Not Training Hard Enough…

Morning Guys,

You’re not training hard enough.

No, you’re not.

If you were then you wouldn’t be looking of rate next best program, you would be slowly and steadily making progress.

I have noticed that lots of people seem to be training much LONGER but not HARDER.

While this is only my opinion and lots will disagree, if you spend more than 45-75min in the gym then you’re not working hard enough, period.

In my opinion if you can train ‘hard’ for longer than that then you’re not training hard enough or you’re on some form of PED (steroid) because there are very few exceptions to this rule.

Why between those times?

Depending on the length or warm up you need (some people need up to 30min with all their pre mobility etc), once you’re body feels ready you start lifting and pushing yourself.

What does hard work feel like?
How should your reps feel?
How should your breathing be when running (cardio training)?

Reps –

Lets say you’re doing 6 sets of 6 reps, the first 2 sets of 6 should feel easy ish, the next two you will want to be struggling to get 6 and the last two you should only get 4, perhaps 5 reps out and those should be a struggle. This is coming close to hard work.

Alternatively you could go in with the ind set that even on your first set the 6th rep should be a fighting struggle to achieve (I like this mind set).

Cardio –

You shouldn’t be able to hold a conversation. Simple.

Too much chatter when CV training means you;re not working at the correct intensity, you should be abel to get out maybe 3-5 words or single sentences, but if you can talk almost normally then you need to be working harder.

This all sounds quite logical doesn’t it?

You’d be surprised at the amount of people who have ‘pseudo intensity’. What is it?

Pseudo Intensity is when people are working hard ish, but they often hold a lot back, this is why allows them to stay in the gym for upwards of 90min and sometimes even 3 hours.

There is a simple equation I like to remember, it goes like this:

Hard Work + Consistency = Results

Okay, there are some nuances to that but the general ethos is solid.

Now stop faffing about and go do some proper training!

Enjoy,
Ross

Mobility, it’s not just the name of a scooter.

Today it’s time to talk about technique, or more importantly your ability to preform correct technique.

There are lots of compound exercises that require certain amounts skill, but that’s not really in question that often because the average gym goer forgets one crucial element,  most compound exercises also require adequate mobility to be preformed correctly.

Before I move on let us establish what mobility actually is.

Mobility, or joint mobility, is the ability to move a limb through the full range of motion with control, people often get mobility and flexibility confused.

Mobility is based on voluntary movement (squatting to full depth for example) while flexibility involves static holds (touching your toes) and is often dependent upon gravity or passive forces. Mobility demands strength to produce full-range movement, whereas flexibility is passive and not strength-dependent.

It is possible to have good mobility without being especially flexible, after all, someone who is able to perform a full overhead squat won’t necessarily be able to do the splits. Just as someone who is flexible can have poor mobility, i.e., control. Of the two, mobility is more important. It is better to be inflexible with good mobility than flexible with poor mobility.

Mobility isn’t just required for lifting weights though. having good mobility will also improve your quality of life too. In an ideal world you would wake up every morning and perform a mobility routine to help prepare your body for the trials of the day. it doesn’t have to take long, 5-10min is more than sufficient and you can do it while your breakfast is cooking.

Here is a sample routine that you can do at home and before your workouts each and everyday.

• Rocking Ankle Mobilization (walking on the inner/outer portion of your foot for 20 meters per side)
• Quadruped Crawl (bear crawl) 20 meter
• Squat with chest expansion and arm swings
• Squat hold with shoulder dislocation (sit in a deep squat and hold a towel in both hands and try to take it fro the front of your body over your head and touch your lower back)
• Spidermans  (also called a low lateral lunge from side to side)
• Reverse Lunge

Bonus: Static Stretching

*Hip Flexor Stretch (rear foot elevated on sofa or chair, push hips forwards)

* Door Frame Chest Stretch (have your elbows at shoulder height and lean through an open doorway)

There are lots of mobility routines available on YouTube and other such websites, the one above is a simple suggestion, i would do some research and find one that works for you and takes less than 10min to do each day.

Enjoy,

Ross