Tag Archives: Personal Training
Fellow trainers, this ones for you.
Filed under Fitness, Nutrition & Health
Infinity Wars, Methods in Madness & More.
Filed under Fitness, Nutrition & Health
Some variety is good, too much isn’t.
I’m sure you’ve all heard the classic line of “You need to change up your training to keep the body guessing” or something along those lines.
While having some changes in your training program is good for novelty and staving off the boredom, too much change too often will leave you without any real progress due to a lack of suitable adaptation.
Look at is this way; if you want to get better at a certain skill you practice that skill over and over and over again, the same is true fro lifting weights/training, you need repeated and sustained efforts to adapt and progress, chopping and changing every session won’t provide too much in the way of progress.
While you might not like that fact is it very much the case.
Take a look at people who do an ever changing amount of classes, they shift their excess fat and build some small amount of muscle (this is great btw), however past that point they end up looking no better because they don’t want to buckle down and stay with a training program for longer than a couple of weeks.
It’s a common issue that everyone falls victim to.
Now it is worth noting that some people do indeed need change every 2 weeks in there training, however those people are usually genetically gifted and 9/10 times you’re not that person, you’re the one who needs to stay consistent to a program for at least 12-16 weeks, sorry, that’s how it is.
When all that is said and done these words are only simple bits of advice, you can do what ever the hell you want, in the end it makes no different to me personally. If you’re happy with your training and your results then fill your boots, however if you’re not then you’d do well to take this on board.
You will often find the most successful training programs are often the most boring.
Enjoy,
Ross
Filed under Fitness, Nutrition & Health
The Tricksters Pages…
Filed under Fitness, Nutrition & Health
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?
Filed under Fitness
Build A New Body: Part 1
Filed under Fitness
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
Filed under Fitness
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:
- Set a goal.
- Plan out how to achieve said goal (yourself or by hiring a coach)
- Establish your individual caloric/dietary needs.
- Begin exercising (lifting weights) 2-4 times per week – Goal dependent.
- Begin exercising (steady state cardio) 2-5 times per week – Goal dependent.
- Keep multiple dairies – Training, Nutrition, Progress.
- Work hard and be consistent.
- 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’:
- Eat more protein from whole foods.
- Eat more fibre from whole foods.
- Eat less refined/man made foods.
- 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
Filed under Fitness
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
Filed under Fitness