May 17, 2017 · 8:18 am
“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)
– CrossFit (some may not like this one)
Did you know lifting weights can have the following positive effects on the body:
– 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
– 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.
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
– 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.
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September 18, 2015 · 9:08 am
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
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