gym advice – Page 7 – Never Give Up PT

MacGuffin Reps

It’s a long standing joke between me and my trainees that I’m a rubbish counter. I’ll often say 6 and, whilst under stress, the trainee will shout ‘That was seven!’

The truth is I don’t particularly care what number rep it is.

When asked about how many sit ups he did each day, Muhammad Ali said,”I don’t know because I don’t count until it starts hurting.”

My job is to give my client a target, for example a 12 rep set, with a weight that they will begin to ‘struggle’ at about rep 8/9. If they start to struggle from rep one, we’ve gone too heavy or not allowed enough rest period from the previous set. Having a number in mind what you would like to achieve is good as far as having a target, but it isn’t essential to your overall goals.

In my own training I call my reps a MacGuffin. Within the film industry this term is used to describe a character or an object that keeps a plot in motion without having any significance in the outcome of the movie. Think about the briefcase in Pulp Fiction and, even the much loved character in Star Wars, R2D2 was called a MacGuffin by George Lucas. Neither had a bearing on the outcome of the movies that they were in, yet were present throughout their films that they appeared in.

To follow the plot, the viewer thinks that they must pay attention to the object or the character. Indeed, as I train, I recognize that my MacGuffinesque reps won’t define the outcome of my workout, rather the weight and quality of those reps will. Yet I understand the need to to have them there. And if I do as an experienced trainer, most of my clients will need their MacGuffin too.

The important thing to remember is that the weight and the quality of your reps is what will get the best results. During your programming you should go through a variety of reps, sets, weights and rest periods anyway. This can help in avoiding a plateau. But one rep is going to better than 10 rushed reps with poor technique. The reason for poor technique is that you have not perfected your first rep at the correct weight. Get that wrong and the rest of your set is not going to get you the results that you want and in some circumstances will cause injury.

I have mentioned in a previous post about an older gent gym goer that generally trains at the same time as me. I’ve called him Hannibal because he is strapped up like Dr Lecter as they wheel him out of his prison cell. The only thing that is missing is the muzzle. The strappings, I’m concluding from experience, is because of his previous injuries. He will pick up the heaviest weights and quarter rep twenty times. Had he performed at a sensible weight and completed 8 perfect reps then I would imagine that he would have swerved many of his injuries.

But perfect reps aren’t sexy or cool. R2R2 isn’t sexy, it is just a character that provides a platform for the heroes. Harrison Ford was the eye candy. The briefcase in Pulp Fiction wasn’t cool but it was written into the plot for very little purpose. Samuel L Jackson was cool.

Not sexy (but my Henry hoover has a thing for R2D2)

The weight that I choose and the time I have my muscle under tension with that weight is my leading actor. My leading actor will play a significant part in the climax of the movie. Without the leading actor the movie could not have a satisfactory ending. The reps count just happens to be a part of the script and, if you’ve got the star cast in place, won’t have any bearing to the final scene.

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Meditation And Me

Sat alone or in good company in a safe space can be a perfect time to think, contemplate, dream, breath…

(sigh) I need to breath. When the weight becomes too unbearable to carry, my breathing makes it lighter. Every single breath. Inhale deeply my hope . Exhale sharply my worries.

I meditate to let it all go and bring in new challenges and restored belief to my life. To keep me grounded. To allow a vision into my future with past thoughts disabled and to think of my mortality.

My wife has just come back from a weekend retreat to the Madhyamaka Meditation Center near York which was, by all accounts, a great way to reset the mind. I’m hoping to go soon so I will tell you of my experiences when I return. Although this is Buddhist practices I am happy to engage with this type of meditation. I’m not religious. I’m very much an atheist and a weekend retreat to any religious facility won’t change that. However, there are many rules, practices and beliefs that an atheist humanist will live by that run parallel to many religions. Being kind to one another, being charitable, treating everyone equally, not focussing on materialistic things should all be stuff that we live by, religious or not. And meditating, perhaps something similar to prayer, is another that I choose to do.

Yet, my meditation is not asking anyone else or anything for help or advice. I’m asking myself for strength, clarity, a direction and sometimes closure.

When we lived in Leeds most of our friends where we lived were Christians. I guess as we became friends with one couple with a child of the same age it opened it up to begin friendships with their circle of friends too. I was often left a little jealous at what a great community they had formed with family gatherings, fêtes and trips. We were often invited and we attended some events so my envy didn’t stem from exclusion. It was simply that they had a bond and a belief together that was mightier than what we had with them. In my mind we would always be the outsiders.

As a kid I would pray for my family to live forever, or to do well in an exam, or for Charlotte who sat at the front of my class in Maths to at least look at me. I remember praying for Liverpool to win the Premier League too. Perhaps if God does exist he thinks that I did wrong so he put Pep Guardiola in the Premier League to punish me.

But that was my only experience of praying to a God and, just like with the bond that our friends had, there were slight envy towards those who prayed and felt reassured by it.

But I can’t pretend to believe in a God and my ‘spirituality’ only extends as far as science can offer an explanation. Whilst many religions believe in some sort of afterlife or reincarnation, my intrigue lies with the physicists who claim that our ‘energy’ continues after death. And if we are to believe the first law of thermodynamics then energy cannot be created nor destroyed. Energy can be transformed from one form to another or from one place to another but the total energy will remain unchanged. Therefore, every bit of heat, vibration and every wave of particle belonging to each and every one of us will be a part of the universe forever.

My method of meditation calls upon this energy. Sometimes I need to ask myself to find this energy to find the strength at certain times in my life. Perhaps this is how people feel in prayer? As a theist believes that there is a God out there to give them strength, I believe that there is energy and my moments of meditation is a chance for me to find it.

Traditionally, mine and many others methods to meditate will be to find a quiet place and focus on breathing. This is how I was first taught to meditate. Yet over the years I have found that the gym is also a perfect place. This might seem absurd to people. After all, we think of peaceful environments, not listening to grunting men and Dua Lipa blasting out of the speakers. But there are similarities to meditation and training. And the term ‘training’ is important here, as when we workout we are training our body to breathe correctly as well as the mechanical movements that we ask of it. We repeat the process over and over. The same motions, time under tension and our breathing techniques are practiced to give you change, strength and confidence in ourselves. To master it you need to practice for years. Training the body works alongside training the mind. Therefore I often train in a half meditative state. That is my focus. Oh, and in no way do I think I’m superior when I say ‘to master it you need to practice for years’. I’m not a master despite my experience. I’m a student and probably always will be.

The only times I truly appreciate my breathing is during training and meditation. Which is crazy when you think that this important function keeps me alive!

Whatever your beliefs, I think that we can all agree that finding your space and your time away from the daily grind is important. It might be in a church during prayer, in the gym or a quiet room at home. Moments of calm can give us a little bit of energy to find our strength to carry on. It becomes YOUR time. And if your life seems out of control sometimes, I’d schedule it in to your diary as a very important appointment. An appointment that you cannot afford to miss.

Magnifying Glass

Have you ever walked into a fitness class and wanted to just turn around and go home again? The participants all looked keen, fit and ready for an hour of Burpees. Have you ever felt out of your depth going into a fitness class?

I have…and I was the bloody instructor!

In my early days as an instructor I would walk up to the class hall repeating in my head,”I’m the instructor. I’m the man! I know what I’m doing!”

And of course, I did know what I was doing but it didn’t stop the nerves. It didn’t stop me from scanning the room and thinking, ‘Most of these are younger than me, they look fitter, they all know each other.’ Lots of fitness class attendees are hardcore who book their classes early, stand in the same place with their equipment at their feet, ready for the instructor to enter. My first class felt like I was walking into a western saloon bar. The doors creaked open, the music paused, everyone stopped talking and looked towards me. Only it was nothing like that. It was my own anxieties playing out a completely different story.

I have learned to take away the magnifying glass when I teach a fitness class now and I no longer have these insecurities. The nerves will always be there. If the adrenaline stops I might as well as look for a different job. I need the participants to feel my adrenaline. That’s the exciting bit.

But this magnifying glass was something that was with me in every aspect of my life. Everybody else had a better life than me. They were happier, better dressed, had better jobs, more money. And when social media came along and I looked up my old pals from previous jobs and school…you guessed it, they were all more successful.

I had to do something about how I felt about myself. If I were going to be a success without comparing myself to anybody else then I needed to address this magnifying glass. And by success I mean a good dad and husband, a job I enjoyed and somewhere to live and prosper. Success is not a jet set life to me. If our potatoes grow in the garden this year that is a success story!

Our magnifying glass makes anything appear amplified. I often saw everything in anxiousness and fear but now I look for hope, happiness and confidence.

Poet Alexander Pope wrote, “The greatest magnifying glasses in the world are a man’s own eyes when they look upon his own person.”

I stopped looking at everyone else and looked at me. My own dreams, my own aspirations, my own successes and my own life. The magnifying glass is always there, I just need to know where to direct it.

If you are apprehensive about entering the gym or going to a fitness class for the first time, put the magnifying glass firmly on yourself and focus on how fabulous YOU are.

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Starting Your Week The Right Way

Our days are often played out at a hundred miles an hour. When we begin our working week it speeds through so quickly we can look back and regret not having time to commit to your workouts, talk to friends, give your granny a call or prepare nutritious food.

We can make it slightly easier for ourselves if we plan our week. Going into a new week without a plan could be the reason why you don’t stick to a nutrition plan or an exercise routine. Here’s my top tips to get you focussed on your week ahead!

1. Batch Cook.

I would recommend dedicating a couple of hours a week to batch cooking. In this time you can make two or three different sauces that can be used at a later date. I have plenty of takeaway tubs that have been saved over the years that make perfect containers for this. It means that, even after a busy day, you can still create a nutritious meal with little fuss. Just defrost your sauce and add the veg, meat, pasta etc. My favourites are bolognese, curry, chilli and macaroni cheese.

2. Plan Your Workouts And Stick To It.

“I might go to the gym if I have time” usually means you don’t have time. Something crops up or you create a reason not to go, so you don’t get round to going. Make it easier for yourself. A workout doesn’t have to be in a gym. I often post 10 minute workouts on my training app and run programmes that work around an individuals lifestyle. https://www.trainerize.me/profile/nevergiveup2/?planGUI

Planning workouts with a partner or friend with similar fitness goals works because you are able to keep each other motivated and you are less likely to cancel and let them down. Hiring a good PT also adds accountability.

Also, never underestimate going for a walk. This might be the perfect way to start a fitness journey if you can plan and stick to regular walks throughout your week.

3. Avoid A Sunday Night Syndrome.

Sunday night syndrome is also known as anticipatory anxiety. It’s a very real thing to many people. If you get the feeling of dread as you think about entering a new week then try these techniques…

a) Practice meditation on the Sunday evening (or whenever your week is starting). You don’t have to be a Buddhist Monk or spiritual to be good at it. There are some very good apps or YouTube guides that will talk you through it. Just find a quiet place and think about controlling your breathing. Visualize the positives in your life and how these can contribute to your week ahead.

b) Look forward to an event by booking a treatment such as a massage or a spa. Having an enjoyable activity to focus on can get you over difficult times in your week.

c) Avoid alcohol before your week begins. Although you might think that a few drinks on your Sunday evening is relaxing and helps you cope with your anxieties, it actually has the opposite effect. Sleep can be more unsettled, your food choices are not as good and your emotions are in less control. Alcohol can lead to you believing that things are worse than they actually are.

4. Give your granny a call as part of a Sunday night routine. Once you’ve prepped your meals, put the lycra in your gym kit and had a moment of calm, not only will your granny appreciate the call but you will feel a whole lot better for doing it. After all, once you’ve heard about Derek from number 63’s dodgy hip and Maureen from bingos arthritis you’ll feel so much better about yourself!

The Test

My eldest came out of the school gates looking very pleased with himself. He ran towards me waving a piece of paper shouting “Daddy daddy, I got 10 out of 10!”

At the beginning of the week he had been given ten words to learn for a spelling test today. As well as my wife and I going through these words daily and his teacher teaching them he was well prepared for a test.

Schools, higher education and any learning environment have a similar system. We learn, practice and revise until we are tested on the subject. When you leave education, however, I find it a very different experience. Life gives you the test first, and then you learn the lesson.

Imagine my son having the test first and then learning the words after? It seems unfair, right? Ah, and yet our experiences in life are full of these examples.

What I try to provide as a Personal Trainer is a platform in which to learn, develop and achieve. An individual’s fitness journey has, admittedly, moments of enduring the test before knowing the lesson. In some ways that helps us deal with the challenges of success and failure. If we knew how to do it we’d already be doing it, so learning from life’s tests is a part of the process. And the process isn’t a smooth, linear path.

My job is not just to bask in the glory of a trainee’s goal being achieved like a PB or a weight loss target, but it is to navigate us through the difficult times. That’s not easy to do on your own. It’s doubly difficult when, even though you’ve put the hours in and worked with a plan in place, things still don’t go smoothly. Yes, you get given the words, you revise like mad, and you don’t always get full marks in your exam.

The problem is when you get given the words to learn, you revise like mad, don’t pass the exam and you give up. A few months pass by and again you get given the words, work hard and study but still don’t quite make the grade. Before you know it you are a year older and you are still stumbling through the tests, quitting, starting again…the cycle continues.

This, for me, is where the role of a coach is vital. There’s plenty of people that will count your reps on a rocking ab machine. But a coach will provide knowledge, technique, expertise, experience and the ability to get you to your goals. Even when the test becomes tough, they know what to do to get you through to the other side.

My son might only get 9 out of 10 next week, even if he works hard in his revision. But that in itself is a lesson. How I react to it and how he dusts the disappointment off is the difference between his future success and failure. If he learns how to deal with that disappointment it becomes even more important than learning the word he got wrong.

Life is ironic. It takes depression to know happiness. It takes stress to understand calm. It takes failure to recognise success.

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Negative Reps

In an earlier article I discussed the three types of muscle contractions during exercise. Of course, all three have a huge bearing on how well we progress in our training goals of strength, hypertrophy, fat loss or endurance. But when it comes to those exercises that just seem to be a little too tough to master, I may have a solution…

…the negative rep AKA eccentrics.

Eccentric movement is the lengthening of the muscle. This is commonly seen as the lowering of a load such as bringing the bar to your chest in a bench press. Performed by experienced resistance trainers to work through a plateau or to challenge their muscle fibres, negatives can be a great inclusion in your training programme, especially for the exercises that you just can’t seem to master.

Pull Ups

Because the pull up is one of the most common exercises that I hear people say is one that they find extra difficult, I’m going to use this as my example. Pulling your own body weight up can be one of the most difficult exercises to do. A mistake that I see regularly with a pull up is the lack of core engagement. To an extent, you can get away with poor core engagement on many exercises. You won’t get the results that you want and injuries are much more prevalent in those who do not engage their core during exercise, but moving a weight from A to B is still possible. Performing pull ups, however, requires full engagement of your core to be able to do it. The best way to practice this is through negative reps.

Core Engagement

Your core can be described as everything but your arms and legs.

Some of the most common ways that I have heard in how to engage the core is to brace yourself as though you are expecting a blow to the abdomen. Another is to imagine squeezing an orange under your arm pit. And for your glutes, you just need to squeeze the hell outta those butt cheeks! Try them now… no-one is looking!

Negative Rep Pull Up

Standing on a box below a pull up bar, grip the bar and get into a flex hang position as pictured below. You should breath in at the point of your flex.

Hold this position for a few seconds (each practice you want to be able to hold for a little longer) and slowly lower yourself into a dead hang position (arms fully extended) whilst breathing in.

Legs can be controlled easier if your feet are locked together, as above. Flailing legs can distract you from your core brace, grip and breathing.

Once you have completed one rep you can come down from your dead hang and repeat the process. Practicing these negative reps will create grip strength, core stability, confidence and time under tension which will all contribute to your progression onto full pull ups. The only thing that will make you fail will be your lack of patience, so don’t allow it.

A pull up is a classic gym exercise that not only looks impressive it confirms your technical skills and your strength, but to get there sometimes we have to put in the hard yards. So my advice?

Stay positive, go negative!

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Understanding Muscle Contractions

Understanding muscle contractions are important if you are on a fitness journey that includes muscle growth, strength, fat loss, mobility and sports specific training. Once you understand the basics of muscle contraction I am convinced that you will speed up your ability to meet your goals. And I say basics because you don’t need to be a fit pro, a scientist or professional athlete to know your own body. Hopefully a little bit of reading of articles that leave out the jargon can help you to understand. So let’s jump straight in!

Your muscles perform three types of contractions when you exercise.

* Concentric

* Eccentric

* Isometric

A concentric movement shortens the muscle to force an object to move. Think of the bicep curl. As you force the weight towards your shoulder your bicep shortens to create a squeeze.

An eccentric movement lengthens the muscle and stretches the muscle fibres. Imagine the lowering of the weight during a bicep curl or the squatting part of a squat or leg press. This phase of the rep is regarded as the part that induces the most muscle growth as the muscle fibres are fully activated in lowering a weight under control. This is where delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) are most like to occure and specific eccentric training is a popular training phase for many athletes.

An isometric movement is a contraction that does not require muscle to lengthen or shorten. Think of a plank or wall sit. There are no reps that use concentric or eccentric movement. These are particularly useful when sparing the joints from discomfort or injury but still strengthening the muscle.

Developing an understanding of these muscle contractions will give you a greater appreciation of time under tension (TUT). Powering through 12 reps in 15 seconds is fairly straightforward. However, this is not the best way to train. Once you imagine the muscle lengthening and shortening through repeated exposure to the load of the weight then you can create a clear ‘mind to muscle’ pathway. You begin to think about each rep rather than just move a weight from A to B and it might need you to cut out the ego lift and go lighter. Just because you’re benching 100k doesn’t mean your muscle has gotten much out of the process. If you aren’t in control of your muscle contractions then your target muscle is unlikely to feel the need to change.

I ask my online trainees what their rate of perceived exertion (RPE) is after each exercise. As I’m not physically stood next to these clients I cannot see how easy or difficult they found the activity. If they are rating their workout at around 5/10 I would ask them to slow the tempo of each rep before adding more load in an attempt to challenge them to a high exertion level.

TUT and muscle hypertrophy

Earlier I mentioned time under tension as a significant factor in muscle development. Longer TUT will create a more challenging experience and much more rewarding for muscle hypertrophy. If I were to learn French for ten minutes a day I would get much less knowledge of the language than if I were to learn French for 30 minutes.

So, if I were to complete a set in ten seconds I would get much less chance to elicit muscle growth than if I were to complete a set in 30 seconds. Every rep and set is an opportunity for muscle growth. Moving a heavy object is easy. Thinking about it requires muscle engagement.

I hope that this article helps. I have tried to remove unnecessary jargon as I believe that resistance training should be enjoyed by everyone and we shouldn’t need a physiology degree to do it. And not just do it, but do it to ensure you get the benefits from it!

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Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

My eldest must think I’m obsessed. At 8 he has certainly got a natural talent for football and he is always keen to have a kick about in the garden in-between matches and team training. He will often just want to take shots at me which is fine as I firmly believe that doing the bits that you enjoy the most is what keeps us interested. But I do try to get him to do the bits that aren’t really coached yet at his age.

Throw ins at under 8’s is a classic example. A throw in is usually a foul throw (which the ref allows due to their age), the length of the throw is week due to poor technique and the decision making in who to throw it to is questionable.

Passing is another example. Instead of trying to ‘Messi’ it past 5 opposing players in his own penalty area (8 year olds don’t like to pass) I want him to make good, confident decisions on when to pass and create openings.

To master these he needs coaching and, although I’m not an FA coach, I do know how to coach.

One piece of advice that I can take into any type of coaching, expert at it or not, is to repeat the process over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. And when you think you’ve mastered it, repeat it again.

We move on too quickly. Either because we think something is accomplished or because we haven’t discovered a purpose for continuing.

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My eldest also brings home words to learn for a spelling test at the end of each week. It’s the same process. Tying his own show laces, eating foods that are nutritious but he doesn’t yet like the taste of, crossing a road, learning French all need repeating to be good at it. Despite some freakish ability by some people to have a natural talent at something, the rest of us have to work bloody hard to be good at it. And even then, don’t think that those with a natural talent don’t practice hard at what they do. They do, but what they do is just their knack. Their ‘thing’. We’ve all got a ‘thing’, we just need to find it. But if we are to persue different interests or to progress in certain areas then the chances are you will need to practice like mad to be any good at it. My son has a tendency to move on too quickly. Perhaps most kids do. Just because he has read his ten words for his spelling test doesn’t mean that he knows them.

I’d love to play guitar. I’ve even bought a couple in the past that look great as ornaments. Actually playing it will require time, patience, practice and repeating. I don’t do that. My excuses are time, my natural abilities aren’t good enough and getting blisters on my fingers. I know that I would be able to play a little if I stopped with the excuses. Maybe I’d never be Ed Sheeran, but I would learn the chords and be able to enjoy playing the guitar and far quicker if I hired a teacher.

My excuses for not playing guitar are exactly the same excuses that I hear on a daily basis in the gym.

Time, not good enough and injuries.

But me playing guitar or not isn’t affecting my health. Learning the chords won’t help my body fat percentage go down. Breaking into the intro to Smells like Teen Spirit won’t make me look and feel better in my clothes and my mental health won’t be any clearer if I can play the theme tune to Coranation Street. So I haven’t found my ‘why’. I haven’t found my purpose to playing guitar, therefore my motivation for doing it, as great as it would be, just isn’t there.

Passing a football through cones isn’t as exciting as smashing a ball into the top bins past his dad, but my son will develop and understand the game much quicker. And if he sees his work pay off on the pitch in a game then he will want to practice even more. He will want to repeat the process that allowed him to make the pass, shot, dribble or throw that won the game. Hopefully he discovers his reason for playing football. It might make him feel good. He might enjoy being part of a team. He might enjoy the buzz and excitement on match day or he might know how important exercise is to his physical and mental health. As long as he knows why he keeps going back for more he will keep progressing.

For best results I can’t help repeating certain movements for my clients to perform. Yet despite the repatition it is important to keep the reason for doing it fresh in their minds and also creating new challenges.

Yes you can squat, now can you squat deeper?

That is a good bench press, now create a slower eccentric movement for time under tension.

You can perform 10 reps, now do 12 reps.

Exactly the same for my eldest at football. You scored with your left foot, now can you kick the ball with you right foot. It is still football. It is still repeating the process, but now we have a new challenge to consider. And it will take time. Practice and time. Lots of it.

Remember your reasons for doing something. If it is so important to you then you will continue the process and you must repeat, repeat, repeat until your body and mind knows exactly what it is that you are wanting from it.

If it’s important enough to you then you will achieve it. You’ll never give up!

Hannibal Lecter

Because I don’t know anyone’s specific goals in the gym I don’t randomly start telling them what to do. Even as a PT in the gym where I train and I suspect poor form or an alternative exercise might be useful I don’t approach a gym member and start telling them what to do.

If I get into conversation with somebody and we talk about training then I might offer advice if they want it. But otherwise I don’t intrude on their workout. Perhaps that’s bad practice for a PT who runs his business by people joining him for PT. My first day as a PT at Pure Gym I remember being told to go around and correct people’s form to get business. That lasted 5 minutes. I’m not a salesman. And anybody who trains in such gyms will probably know what I mean. You’re on the tready, earphones in trying to get a PB and Todd (that’s what his name badge says) tells you to go incline to work your quads. Todd, who needs to move around in the shower to get wet, can do one. When you’ve achieved your PB, go up to him and ask him what the names of the quadriceps are called. See if he knows.

Today, I didn’t have Todd approach me. He wasn’t even a PT. He was an old school weight lifter of about 70 years old. He had obviously lifted for a number of years but his body fat percentage meant that I couldn’t see his hard work. That’s fine. That’s what he does. He does what he does and I do what I do. So why did he want to disrupt my workout?

I had just finished a dumbbell press and he asked me how many reps I had just done.

“Ten” I replied. He laughed and told me that I should do double that amount. I laughed back and explained that I am currently staying in a specific weight and rep range for a few weeks. He then proceeded to lift something very heavy for a few half reps, barking and seething with each one.

His shoulders, wrists, knees and elbows were heavily strapped and he had a very tight lifting belt on. Had he been wheeled in with a muzzle he would’ve reminded me of Hannibal Lecter.

In the hour and half that I trained he hobbled over to at least ten different people and tried to instruct on their form, give advice or make quips on their previous set. Yet, without meaning any offence, Hannibal was pretty crocked. The straps give me the impression that there’s joint issues and wearing a belt during lat raises tells me his lower back must be weak and in pain. He might have lifted for many years and I hope he enjoys his workouts, but he didn’t inspire me to follow in his footsteps.

If I’m strapped up in 20 years time then I’ve not been training correctly for the past 20 years. But the old school training was a ‘lift heavy or go home’ sort of attitude. Rep ranges, splits, time under tension and nutrition isn’t really something associated with old school training.

I hadn’t seen Hannibal before. Perhaps his gym had closed, which isn’t unusual these days. The spit and sawdust gyms are being priced out by cheaper national gyms offering not just a gym, but swimming pools, fitness classes and in some cases squash courts, saunas and steam rooms. And the past two years has seen lots of small businesses suffer. The old school trainers are slowly making their way into the mainstream gyms.

Todd approaches people because he is trying to earn a living and build a career. Hannibal is doing it because he thinks he knows more than you from talking to some bodybuilder in 1970. I’m sure there will be a Todd or a Hannibal in your gym. You might have spotted them already. Todd will give up eventually and as for Hannibal, just throw him some fava beans and a nice Chianti and he’ll be on his way.

The Leg Press

If I were asked (which I am almost daily) what exercises are best for reaching a particular fitness goal my answer almost always involves using free weights. Free weights enables us to move in a non linea way which not only helps in avoiding joint pain/injuries but works the target muscles much more efficiently. Simply put, your muscles need to use more energy when working with free weights.

But that should not mean abandoning the resistance machines altogether. With a well constructed training programme they are still a very useful component in reaching fitness goals.

And one of the most useful of them all, in my opinion, is the leg press. In this article I will attempt to state my case for the leg press machine!

The leg press has one major advantage over the standard squat and that is foot position. Indeed, we can place a bar on the back or on the front side of the shoulders and we can can alter our foot position slightly during squats, but we can’t emphasize these positions quite as easily as with the leg press.

If you are uncomfortable with performing squats then I would suggest keeping them to body weight only or using lighter kettlebells or dumbbells. Squats, after all, are fantastic exercises. But if you want to either add weight or isolate different muscle groups in your legs then the leg press will allow you to do this with confidence.

Just like your arms, shoulders, chest and back your legs need to be worked not only by using compounds but with a variety of isolations. Below is an image to help you understand how your foot positions can help target different muscles in your legs… including your glutes!

Here’s another couple of pointers for performing the leg press…

* To grow Spartan legs you will still need to perform squats and deadlifts with heavy weights. Just like growing every other body part, skipping the free weight compounds for the easier adaptions won’t get the muscle growing for myofibril hypertrophy.

* People often use the leg press because they are suffering from back pain and therefore leave out the squats. But the leg press can cause back issues too if you lower the sled too low with very heavy weights as this can cause your glutes and lower back to lift from the seat, putting your lumbar disks at risk of injury.

* Never lock your knees. Not only will it take the tension from your target muscle but it will put the pressure onto your knees.

* And here is a very contentious one that might have the purists grumbling! But I see no issue with placing your hands on your knees at the lowest point of the sled. Why? Just like when you use a spotter to help you through a sticking point in a rep or when you perform a heavy set, you’re spotting yourself by placing your hands on your knees! It is only cheating if you use your upper body to assist in the push. Cushioning your eccentric rep is similar to your friend guiding your forearms on a chest press.

The bottom line is that the free weights section plays a huge part in our progression within our fitness goals, but resistance machines such as the leg press will complete a well rounded programme. Working your lower body is an essential part of any fitness goals as this is where most of your largest muscles are found, with the gluteals being the largest of them all. So make sure that squats and leg press are a part of your routine!

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