Are your clients suffering from Cruci-fitness??

Friday, February 10, 2012 12:03 AM Posted by Phill Wright
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A key aspect of coaching, personal training or being a fitness professional is education. Its getting the full understanding across that makes the difference. The what, the how, the why and the when. Yet the uphill struggle is that some common misconceptions are still favoured by the masses and the media. So, are your clients suffering from the beliefs of cruci-fitness...a sure way towards little results, niggling pains and injury?



Here are just 5 of the most common ill-beliefs that stand in the way of success for millions of gym goers and couldn't be further from the truth:


  1. Cardio is the key to weight loss - With many gyms kitted out predominantly with cardio machines, it's understandable why people fall into this trap. The fact is, it's easy for gyms to just plonk these machines everywhere because they're self operated and it cuts down on the need for manning. If more effective training was to be done in gyms, it would require a lot more coaching and education. Cardio just isn't the key to getting rid of unwanted fat. Running is often seen as one of the most effective ways to burn calories but this just really is not true. There is no better article to explain this than John Kiefer's 'Running Into trouble'. Well worth a read and pass it onto your clients. Resistance training develops the lean body mass that will dictate metabolism, support joints and make the body much more efficient at movement.
  2. Tunnel vision - Doing the same thing over and over again. It happens so much in gyms that we almost become blind to it. Members going day after day and week after week repeating the same old programme or even worse, the same single activity every time. As we all know, plateau is a problem but actually, in this context, the much more severe issue is the risk of injury. Repeating the same thing over and over again not only makes the body so efficient at the activity that it burns less and less calories in the process, it also leads the body towards the exercise equivalent of RSI (repetitive strain injury). Furthermore, this generally leads towards a decrease in flexibility which is another common guilty ignorance. 
  3. More is more - Ignoring recovery time is a huge sin. It doesn't take a genius to understand that exercise is stress on the body and the only reason it is beneficial is due to the way in which the body responds to this stress. And this response is only possible with sufficient recovery time and good nutrition. You wouldn't expect an ill person to recover eating crap food and having no rest. Well, the truth is, after exercise, the body is damaged. It's in a state of health below normal and will only get better on a strict course of medicinal sensibility. Ignoring the body's needs completely curbs the room for progress to take place.
  4. Quantity over quality - You may have heard the old adage 'Practice makes perfect'. Well, this may be true if what is being practised is done to perfection. If this isn't the case, the reality is 'Practice makes permanent'. There is no substitute for striving to perfect movements. 100 poorly performed squats do not outclass 1 perfect squat nor do they achieve the same results. This is an attitude towards exercise that should be embraced yet so often is ignored. The adage should be 'Practice perfection and achieve perfection'.
  5. Single planar movements - As trainers, we understand the concept of tri-planar movement. However, most commonly practised exercises and activities are rigidly set in the saggital plane. Running, cycling, press ups, squats, lunges, sit ups...all saggital. Yet most injuries occur in the frontal or transverse plane. It should be in the code of ethics for fitness professionals that we aim to educate the importance of embracing all planes of motion. This doesn't just support injury prevention but better results. Muscles are often integrated through more than one plane to other muscle groups and the only way to stimulate complete responses from these muscular networks is diverse movement.
Sound all too familiar? It's done to us to keep educating against these common myths!



A Story About Jack (of all trades)

Friday, February 3, 2012 1:24 AM Posted by Phill Wright
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by Paul Swainson
It’s early February. George is sitting at home feeling sorry for himself – his New Year resolution to get to the gym hasn’t been going well and the extra 3 stone he’s carrying is still there, hiding under the free T-shirt he got when he joined the gym a month ago. George just doesn’t like the gym, he hates all that running you have to do to lose weight and as for eating well, where do you start with all the different diet books that suddenly appear on the shelves after Christmas?
“Right, I need to do something about this” thinks George and goes online to search for one of those Personal Trainer people he’s seen on TV. He finds two trainers who do home visits; perfect.
The first is called Jack. Jack is a well qualified Personal Trainer - the list of certificates he has runs halfway down the page. He specialises in core stability, weight loss, hypertrophy, sports conditioning, injury rehab and even pre- and post-natal exercise. “Looks pretty good”, thinks George.
The second trainer is called Adam. Adam is a Weight Management Coach. He offers 6, 12 and 18 week fat loss packages which include a nutritional analysis and personalised meal plans, plus tailored exercise sessions to maximise calorie expenditure in a safe and fun way. There are testimonials from lots of clients who have lost anything from a few pounds to 5 stones with Adam's help.
Who do you think George chose to call?
It's mid-March. Rachel is sitting at home feeling sorry for herself - she's entered next year's London Marathon and started running 3 weeks ago but has picked up a couple of niggles already. Could it be shin splints? "Maybe I need some proper advice" thinks Rachel and does a quick Internet search.
She comes across a couple of good websites, one of which is Jack's again. 'Core stability, weight loss, hypertrophy, sports conditioning, injury rehab and pre- and post-natal exercise'. "Well running is sports conditioning I suppose" thinks Rachel.
Then she sees Laura's website: 'RUNFIT'. Laura offers bespoke training programmes for 5ks, 10ks, half marathons and full marathons with injury management advice. 3 of her clients have achieved personal bests in the last 2 months alone.
Who do you think Rachel chose to call?
It’s late April. Jack the Personal Trainer is sitting at home feeling sorry for himself, “why is no one calling me, I can help everyone" he thinks...


Jack of all trades, master of none. People have specific needs and want an expert who understands them. With the growth of the fitness industry and the increasing choice of trainers the public has, if your marketing classes you as a generalist you won't be seen as an expert. Take a look at the PT profile boards at your gym and see which if any stand out from the others.
Whilst specialising in one to three areas is arguably a successful strategy, the real key is to convey that perception to potential clients. Make sure your promotional material sends one clear message, rather than simply stating you are a Personal Trainer who can help anyone. If you have more than one specialism, promote each on a different flyer. You could even have more than one website to differentiate between the services you offer. This all helps to avoid 'diluting' your perceived expertise - people must see you as a master of your trade.

How NOT to swing a Kettlebell

Thursday, January 26, 2012 10:25 AM Posted by Phill Wright
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Kettlebells are a fantastic fitness tool when used properly. However, the consequence of ill-use not only wastes your time, it can quite easily lead to neuromuscular problems and injury. This video points out the two most common mistakes when swinging a kettlebell.




For more information on how to improve your technique along with coming course dates and venues, visit www.creatingchaos.co.uk 

1 Exercise To Finally Fix Posture

Wednesday, January 18, 2012 8:43 AM Posted by Phill Wright
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Posture is a well and truly cemented term into the modern psychology. As exercise professionals we're relentlessly told how important 'good' posture is to the way we exercise and how to encourage good posture as a way of living. These reminders are crucial and very valid yet it's also important to remember that modern lifestyle doesn't cater for good posture.

I'll elaborate. We sit down for a substantial portion of our lives, in fact, many of us are sat down for more time than we spend on our feet. Now, whilst reading this, you may have already adjusted your sitting position to a state that you feel is a little more aligned in terms of posture, maybe it was that very word in the title that caused the wriggle. The question is, can you hold good posture whilst sitting down? I'd argue not! You may well be able to sit in a position that looks to be tall with a degree of extension in your spine but is this good posture? I'd suggest that good posture embraces support from the muscles designed to support it. Sitting whereby hips and knees are bent at 90 degrees renders this theory an impossibility. Gluteals, transverse abdominus and a number of deep stabilisers are unable to do their job with that profile in the hips and so stability comes from elsewhere. Simply remember, looks can be deceiving.

Ok, those of you still in agreement will be still reading this. The fact is, we're not going to change the way that we live on a grand scale but we can adjust our thinking and training to focus on key areas that modern lifestyle neglects or disaffects.

We're already identifying that the gluteals are very much a victim of modern society. In terms of posture, why are they important? Well, amongst other things, the gluteals extend the hips (a necessary stage of walking). When not working properly, not only do other muscles compensate for this movement, it also leaves the lumbar spine vulnerable and weak. This has a knock on effect higher up the spine often causing tightness in the upper abdominals carrying up in to the chest and anterior shoulder area. Ramifications of poor gluteal activity below the hips can include tightness in the hamstrings, excessive tension in the knee joint and restricted mobility in the ankle.

This leads me to suggest 1 exercise that can make a huge difference; the kettlebell high pull. This exercise done properly encourages the gluteals to be the leading and driving force of hip extension unilaterally which is reflective of walking gait. It furthermore encourages a sequential extension travelling up the spine into the thoracic area providing a responsive and dynamic stretch to pectorals, upper abdominals and anterior shoulder.

I would always recommend using a lighter weight to start with but once technique is mastered, avoid being overly shy with your weight selection. The gluteals are a large set of muscles and thus require a substantial neural drive to effectively switch on. The speed of the movement will assist this but the force required to shift the load will help enormously. Given the chance, this large muscle group will opt for the lazy option and not respond...so don't let it.



Once mastered from a dead position, this exercise can be done within a kettlebell swing. Be cautious in swing, if the low back starts aching, return to the from dead variation as shown in the video.

Using a barbell is again, a further progression for this but, due to the bilateral hip extension, will not be as reflective of the contraction in walking gait.






Tag Team Training

Friday, January 13, 2012 3:23 AM Posted by Phill Wright
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Tag Team Training

The chances are, you'll have used this method of training before personally or with your clients. The question is, could you use it even more effectively to help your clients get better results?

Still unsure of what it is? Quite simply, tag team training is any format of conditioning whereby the timing for individual exercises is dictated by another activity/exercise.

Motivating clients is at the very top of the job spec for a fitness professional but there are various types of motivation, some linked with attitude and some linked with understanding. Actually making the decision to exercise needs motivation, as does going to the gym/park/class as does pushing yourself once there.

Putting the effort in once at the gym or class is where many fall down. Those without trainers to apply the big stick that almost just attend the gym without the application of effort are simply wasting their time.

So how can tag team training make a difference? Well, as you may well have experienced, people often would rather let themselves down than let someone else down. In exercise terms, this means there is a likelihood that people will work harder if the consequence of their actions directly affects someone else.

Ideally, this type of training suits 2 or more people but can be applied to one individual (I'll come onto how later). Therefore those with training partners or in groups can easily benefit from this.

Try the following circuit. The 'timer' is the station that dictates how long the other station runs for:

1. Skipping
2. (timer) 20 reps of each exercise - squats / press ups / jumping lunges / military press

Repeat 5 times with 45 second rest after each cycle

Adaptations:

Squats - use weight if possible or bodyweight to make easier
Press ups - full bodyweight if possible / off knees to make easier
Jumping lunges - stepping lunges to simplify
Military press - if not free weights, try prone shoulder press (press up whilst in the down dog position ((hips as high as possible)))

If looking to use this method of training for yourself. Complete station 2 first and take a note of how long it takes. Then simply skip for the same length of time. This way, you'll be driven by working faster to reduce the skipping duration.

Enjoy

Advanced Kettlebell Session

Wednesday, January 11, 2012 3:23 AM Posted by Phill Wright
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Whilst challenging, this session is great to develop your technique and efficiency with the bell whilst being very endurance focused.

Equipment - 1 x kettlebell (20/24kg male - 12/16kg female)

Simply alternate the kettlebell drills below with a 500 meter run (just below race pace - use slight incline if on treadmill). Each kettlebell set will include the previous kettlebell exercises, as such works as an ascending pyramid. For example 1st sequence - alt KB swings, 2nd sequence - alt KB swing both sides and then alt high pull (repeat sequence for time set). The sequence becomes longer but the duration remains set.



1. Alternate kettlebell swing
2. Alternate high pulls
3. Alternate clean & reverse lunge (step back on opposite leg to loaded side)
4. Push press (as coming out of lunge)
5. Snatch (from top of push press)
6. Thruster (Deep squat to press - after the snatch)

Enjoy, have some water at hand and let us know how you get on

Short blast workout - Sunday 8th Jan 2012

Monday, January 9, 2012 8:00 AM Posted by Phill Wright
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Phill Wright, Director, Creating Chaos

My workout from yesterday. Why not give this a go and then maybe get a client on it (or something similar).

I had to put together a quick but effective session as the Manchester derby was looming - just a shame we lost.

20 minute AMRAP - 6 REPS

Take 5+ minutes to warm up and prep your 6 stations. AMRAP = as many rounds as possible. For 20 minutes, you'll complete as many rounds of the 6 exercises below as you can (6 repetitions per exercise) in the sequence listed. Break when necessary, have water at hand and challenge yourself. Decrease/increase the listed loads as necessary for yourself.

Back squats (60kg)
Drop squats (bodyweight)
Single arm shoulder press (32kg / 6 REPS each side)
Press ups (bodyweight)
Olympic cleans (50kg)
Sprawls (bodyweight)

Let me know how you or your clients get on. Done well, it should be slightly smarting in the abdominal area...or, as they say in the US - abtastic!!
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