New Years Eve!!!

New Years Eve

A client asked me today, can I binge out on drink tomorrow night. My answer was yes, here is how:

- Don't consume the volume of food you would particularly eat in the day, mainly carbs and fats. The drink and no doubt the kebab on the way home will make up the rest of the calories.

- Try and stay away from heavy beers. Stick to the Whisky or Gin with low sugar mixers along with light, bottled beers. 

- Add in a high volume workout prior, burning slightly more calories than you normally would, maybe a little cardio at the end. This will make you less likely to stress about the kebab.

- Fitness doesn't rule your life. Go out and have some fun here and there. 

Happy New Year!!!

Oh and make sure to get those guns out you've been working oh so hard to grow all year!!

Jack 

New Year, New Goals!!

New year, new goals. 

With the new year approaching it can only mean one thing, new fitness goals. Just a few points to help you make these goals but more importantly succeed in them through SMART goals. 

Specific- make sure your goals are to the point. Instead of just saying I want to get better at my squat, be specific, such as I want to hit 220kg for 2 reps by June. Including facts and figures are always best.

Measurable - make sure you can monitor the goals you're setting. A diary of workouts is great for this.

Attainable- are you going to be able to reach the goal you've set. Now it's always best to set your goals higher and slightly fail, then set yourself a very achievable goal. Little goals to achieve a larger goal at the end is always a great way to go. It then doesn't seem such a huge mountain to climb and will help you monitor progress through these little 'check-in' goals.  

Realistic - this is very much the same as above. Use past training to set goals. Setting goals to high can cause demotivation and less inclined to keep pushing. Set your goals high though and don't be afraid to fall. 

Time- Managed, set yourself a time to when you want to meet your goal, thus monitoring progress and aiding motivation. This can also mean you don't spend to long on one specific goal and furthermore concentrate more effectively on a goal. 

All of the above have the main outcome of you achieving your best, mainly through tracking what you're doing, motivating you more to achieve the goals. 

Hope this helps with goal setting

Jack

Christmas Eve - Shoulders

Christmas Eve Workout

Even on Christmas Eve I still managed to fit in a workout, and what better way then hitting a little bit of shoulders. Now due tomorrow being a rest day for me and me splitting the shoulders into anterior and posterior I decided to hit them all in one for a change. This was a good decision.

As always I started off with a heavy push press. Recently watching Steve Cook and Mike Rashid I decided to do behind the neck. Reduce the weight slightly from what you'd do normally, focusing on the contraction bringing all of the shoulder and traps into the movement. Slow and steady always wins the race, so perform this slowly. Go heavy for one set at the top and then hit failure at lighter weights on the way down. 

Lateral cable raises proceed next from behind which is quite new to me, this targets the head in a slightly different manner. Superset this with a heavy upright rows and the pump was insane. 

I've recently wanted to focus more on the 3D look for my shoulders so to finish I performed 10x10 rear delt flies into shrugs, both with a slight difference. Set cables high, cross them over in a kneeing position. Pull cables down contracting traps and squeezing delts together. Overload the delts with weight and they'll grow as these are often under worked with lighter, high reps. Shrugs I used a hammer strength shoulder press machine, standing on the seat and shrugging. For some reason this targeted the traps in a unique and new way. Focus on every rep, squeezing traps together at the top. Go light as always and focus on contraction. This German Volume based training with 15 sets already performed was a great way to end the session. 

Rest for two days, them back to it on Sunday. 

Merry Christmas everyone

Jack

Keeping on track over the festive period along with Optimum Nutritions Amino Energy!!!!!

So many people go off the rails over the Christmas period and end up reversing all their advancements that they've made throughout the year. Now you don’t have to be a spoilt sport and not get involved in the festive occasion but below are a few little tips that shall keep you on track. 

Take time off!!! I’m personally one of those individuals that has rest very few a far between, along with the frequency and intensity that I train I think my body deserves a day or two off. This doesn't mean a week which carries into a fortnight and onto a month just 3 days off over the Christmas Period. As we all know rest is quite often than not more important than training itself to allow you to move forward and make gains in all training. Plus I know that over the Christmas period its very hard to get into a gym, plus I won’t probably be able to do my usual routine, train at an optimum level along with time restriction. So take some days off!!!

Quick, short, high intense workouts. So many clients say to me how they never find time to train and over the festive period this is going to be even worse for most. But, you shall still have time to fit a quick 20 minutes into your day for a quick session. No equipment just your own body weight!! A quick 3 minute warm up of mobility then 100 jumping jacks then see below for 2 quick circuits:

1. As many rounds in 15 minutes, take rest when needed.

10 Hand Release Press ups

10 jumping squats

5 burpees

20 count plank. 

2) Counting Up Pyramid, perform 1 rep on all exercises, then repeat with 2 reps, basically adding 1 rep each round. set yourself a time limit of 15 minutes and see what number you can reach.

Exercises could be: Press up variations, pull ups, Burpees, Squats, Ice Skaters, Leg raises.

Lastly eat what you want, but this doesn't mean eat for both you and 2 others. Don't worry too much about what foods you are eating, its one day!! However, this doesn't mean just keep eating and eating until you end up in a food coma. Furthermore try over the days following christmas to not snack on leftovers. If you're going to eat leftovers make it into a meal trying to split your plate 30% leftovers, 30% good carbs/protein and the remaining 40% veggies. This will therefore help you with not craving the leftovers as you're consuming some but yet still keeping on track with the rest of your plate to conform to your usual diet. 

I hope these easy to manage factors will keep you on track over Christmas, have the cheat meal more often than not and don't feel guilty but, after the day is done and dusted really try to get back on track.

One quick one from me, I wrote a review on Optimum Nutritions Amino Energy a few weeks ago and I have recently been using it in conjunction with their new pre workout after seeing Steve Cook use this. Now if you haven't yet tried this combination, you need to . You'll have the best workouts ever when feeling sluggish over the festive period!! Plus I’m sure they'll have a few Christmas Offers coming out soon to get it a little cheaper. This is a must buy!!

Merry Christmas

Jack

A week of change

This week I decided to totally mix my workouts up. If you've been following my blog I've recently been focusing on one big set for each exercise where I go max out at the most maximal weight possible. This has hugely helped with strength and size gains however, recently I've been feeling really heavy and along with a few little injuries I've been picking up I've opted for a change to hypertrophy for a few weeks. This is my routine so far for the week: 

Chest:

- Here as oppose to my normal pyramid, working up to heavy set flat bench I focused more on incline DB press. 

- Going no less than 8 reps and no more than 15 with attention very much paid towards the contraction, squeezing and engaging the muscle.

- When it comes to flies and dips really focus on maximal stretch to squeezing the muscle as much as you can. Doing flies on a bench with cables instead of DB's is always good for this as you can bring the handles together. 

- I put bench press right at the end and still managed 100kg for 9 which really shows the strength gains I've made. 

Back

-Back is always one of those muscle groups you want to hit hard yet a lot of people find it a difficult muscle group to train. A few points I used in order to get a good workout in. 

- Make sure you hit the back from many different angles, lat pulldown and a DB row just isn't enough. With all rowing exercises go close grip, body width and wide, along with some form of twisting motion. I like a shot gun based row on cables. When pulling down  from overhead try to use both close and wide grip. 

- Ensure you're contracting the muscle, much like I've mentioned when training chest you can do the same for back. Force your shoulder blades together contracting rhomboids and lats. 

- Stretch the muscle at the top of the movement. This is at its most effective when pulling from above but can also be used when using a rowing motion. Let the weight stretch the muscle prior to pulling and contracting the muscle. This will give you a much fuller range of motion ensuring the whole muscle is working at its optimum capacity.

- Lastly it's volume. The back is a huge muscle group so hit it hard. A good 20 sets utilising super sets and drop sets along the way to really burn the muscle group out. 

Legs:

Legs I haven't really changed, I'm still going heavy but no less than 6 reps. Little things just to keep it interesting are as follows:

- Pyramid up to one heavy set, then straight away dropset back down the pyramid hitting the same number of reps for the same weight you did when ascending. Take rest when needed but try to prevent this as much as possible. For example I got up to 160kg back squat for 6 then drop set straight down to 140kg for 6, 120kg for 8, 100kg for 10 and 60kg to failure. My legs were on fire after this so give it a go, just make sure you don't max out on the ascent up to your max.

- Pause squats are always great to use in your programme, helping improve you stability in your squat. Go light at the end of the sessions to see the best results trying to hit 12-15 reps with a 4 second eccentric phrase, a pause of 3 seconds then exploding up out of the squat.

- Supersets of quad and hamstring especially when it comes to the isolation work always gets a good pump. Ensure you squeeze the quads on leg extensions and the same with a leg curl.

- Lastly something I've been using is upsets. Now normally as the set goes on you drop the weight, turn this on its head and start adding weight. Now obliviously don't start at your max, start at 50% then slowly add weight. Perform 10 reps at 5 different intervals and the muscle group will be on fire. This is slightly like a cluster set, but will cause total confusion to the muscle which will always aid in growth. 

This is only where I've got up to this week, a push and pull workout left to do which I'll put up in another entry.

Keep the training up,

Jack

Optimum Nutrition - Amino Energy

Amino Energy is a supplement which can be used for anytime energy, focus and recovery. For me this was a supplement I thought was a must have and it certainly lives up to its expectations. 

Now per a serving of amino energy you receive 5 grams of amino acids, which giving a serving is 9 grams you're certainly getting you're money’s worth. 160 milligrams of caffeine from green tea is also included, pretty much the same caffeine level as having a large coffee from Starbucks, so a good old helping. Of the remaining 4 grams, 1.6 is Beta-alanine which just falls short of a recommended serving but for those of you who are looking to find a all in one supplement, this easily meets the job. 

One thing I love about this supplement is the taste. Many amino based drinks I've tried in the past are very concentrated, making me feel quite sick throughout my workout. There is no spiky or bitter aftertaste along with no dull taste reminiscent of products containing high doses of l-Arginine. The mix-ability is perfect like all Optimum supplements with no chunks or excessive foam on top, no matter what shaker you're using. 

Does this supplement help you when training is the next questions you're going to ask, and my verdict is yes. I used this as a intra-workout drink but, it can be used both pre and post workout. The effects of the stimulants are immediate within you're workout, allowing me to remain focused and centred throughout the duration of my workout. I’ve used this on every muscle group that I have trained and have noticed an increase to the endurance of the muscle, being able to lift heavier for longer which in turn has allowed for a great pump achieved towards the end of my workout. 

Amino Energy therefore is a great product for anyone that is looking for a supplement that offers versatility on a product which can be taken at any time. This products can solve multiple problems, with one solution, amino energy. It tastes great, retains focus through your workout, along with all the amino acids you'll ever need. All aspects considered its a must have product. 

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey Review.

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey Review.

Now over the years I have used many different manufactures to provide the supplements that I need in my diet in order to achieve the best results I can. After meeting up with Shaun Stafford (Optimum Athlete) and following Steve Cook on YouTube and social media I decided to give Optimum products a go. The first of these being the staple, a must in any supplement routine, a Whey protein. Not just any though may I add, Gold Standard Whey Protein. 

This powder is based on Whey Protein Isolates, which in my opinion is the best out there. They are the purest of any protein and are fast reacting in order to give you that protein hit both pre and post workout. Per a serving you'll receive 24grams of protein, along with very little fat or lactose. This allows for it to be a protein powder you can use in any type of training due to it versatility. For me this applies when cutting or trying to gain weight. This product I’ll still use just supplement around it with a change to my macros.  

The list just goes on with all the good points this protein powder offers the consumer. With some powders you always get half the shake suck together or most recently with some I have been using little lumps forming which you can never get rid of, not with this! Every shake whether it’s with milk or water you'll get a smooth, delicious shake. The taste isn't too bad either, my favourite has got to be the Cookies&Cream. Furthermore unlike other brands which end up making your shakers smell awful after, this really doesn’t. A quick rinse post drinking the shake then you're ready to go, maybe as it’s an Optimum Shaker, which I further recommend. 

The most important question you'll all want to know though, ‘is this it working?’. Well I can tell you it most definitely is. I take it upon waking and post workout and it really does the job. Due to the ingredients in contains it’s really fast acting, pushing my recovery in the right direction. I’ve also increased my volume in training along with the change to Optimum with my gains in both strength and size going through the roof, along with staying lean and ready for anything which the industry might throw at me. Therefore if you're looking for your first every protein shake or want a switch from one you've been using for years go out and buy Gold Standard Whey today, you wont be disappointed.

More reviews to come on the Optimum range so stay tuned.

Jack.

Pre-Workouts

Pre-Workouts, do I really need them?

This has been a huge discussion in the fitness industry in recent months. Are pre workouts really essential to perform at your optimum level in the gym and get the best out of your workout. There are so many different ones on the market that it can cause so much confusion as to which to buy, the ways in which they affect you and what is actually in them.

Pre- Workouts have their benefits in more ways than one, often there are a huge mixture of different ingredients that make up a normal pre-workout, so i’m going to outline a few. 

Creatine monohydrate is one of these products. Creatine Monohydrate can act to increase physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise and is ideal for sports which require high-intensity, explosive movements. This is ideal in a pre-workout for aspiring bodybuilders as it will help aid both strength and power in the compound exercises such as bench, squat and deadlift. Many often say it can also help achieve that pump in the muscle. The only downfall with creatine is it often requires a loading phase into a cycle, often requiring more than just one intake which you will receive from your pre-workout. It’s also really cheap to buy separately and following the guidelines may be a better option. 

Many pre-workouts also include your amino acids. Amino Acids are complex chemicals that are the building blocks of protein, which are required for the creation of new tissue, and the repair of existing cells. An essential Amino Acid cannot be synthesised or created by the body and therefore must be supplied from the diet. These are often taken pre workout, intra and post in order to aid growth and repair but more so to prevent your body going into a catabolic state, in other terms using muscle mass as an energy source. These can again be brought separately and much like creatine need to be used on more of a regular occasion than just pre-workout. 

The last large contributor is Beta Alanine. This is an non-essential amino acid and therefore is produced by the body, its supplemented as additional levels are required through training. It is thought to aid physical performance, increasing your exercise capacity. This can however have a few side effects such as flushes and a slight tingling effect on the body. The downfall to this product is many people often becoming immune to the effects on the amino acid after consistent use. 

This is one of the reasons why I’m not a big pre-workout fan as I really don’t feel that it does anything for me. I prefer a good helping of coffee, along with your favour song gets me more focused and ready to go every workout, every time. This for me is my pre workout routine and very much like those who take pre workouts gives you that placebo effect on your body, when actually it hasn't benefited you a great deal. One thing I tell everyone is if you want it that badly, hit your PB’s and reach your goals than you will push yourself to those dark places and not require something to do it. 

Give one and try and let me know how you get on, they work totally different for individuals and you may really notice a benefit. 

Go heavy or go home!!!!

Firstly apologies with the lapse in my regular posts, I've been really busy with work. Anyway back to the more important stuff, training. Over the last few weeks as you may have seen from my Instagram posts I’ve somewhat reduced my usual high volume workouts with a focus more to going heavier, improving strength. 

My workouts have consisted more of a focus on the compound exercises, with a few isolated exercises just to finish off the muscle group. Going heavy doesn't always mean going up to your 1 rep max or 5x5, mix it up. I use both of these however, I also like to use 7x3, 8x2 and 6x6. Give these a try, some may work better for you or work better for each exercises. I prefer using the lower reps based sets for squats and going higher for deadlifts. Whatever you do, make sure to keep mixing it up and you will be less likely hit that wall with these exercises. Record each workout to see improvement, thus motivating you with an attempt to hit your 1 rep max every fifth workout. 

Try with the remainder of the workout through isolation exercises to focus on the tempo of the rep along with contraction. This will aid both strength, endurance and bring size to the muscle. Limit this however to no more then 6 working sets. I like to add a giant set onto the end of the workout as a perfect finisher. 

One more point which I have been asked a lot on social media recently is what is a deload week? Now many people think this is where you reduce your workouts to very little weight, along with high reps, giving the muscle a semi rest week. My opinion on this however is you've taken 3 steps forward, so why take 2 steps back? Keep the weight high so that the muscle is still being hit hard, however just reduce the volume. Cutting the working sets in half is always a good option.

So there you have it, a few tips to keep you going but there shall be a few more tips coming soon.

Jack. 

Fasted Cardio

Fasted Cardio

I'm trying to cut weight for the new year as I'm off to Australia for a few weeks in the new year and I'm going to use this type of cardio. There is a lot of controversy over fasted cardio, but I am personally a supporter of it.

Why people dislike this form of cardio is they are worried about losing muscle gains. Glycogen levels are very low in the morning, causing you to have very little energy, your body starts using muscle as an energy source. To help with this I use MyProteins BCAA mix along with some maltodextrin, protecting against falling into a anabolic state and low energy levels.

Furthermore along with a fasted programme you can use HIIT (high intensity interval training). This can be completed using a variety of cardio, I prefer sprints. HIIT training is short bursts of effort with an elongated period of rest. Most people think cardio means sitting on a bike for hours but a HIIT session can be over in 20 minutes. HIIT is proven to boast your metabolism, which is the one thing which is needed to burn unwanted body fat. Another reason why I do it early, purely because my metabolism is then on fire for the remainder of the day. 

My favourite workout is 

10x60m hill efforts, 1 minute rest. 

You can cater the workout for yourself, making the effort shorter or the rest longer. Also put things such as burpees in after each effort will really get the heart rate and fat burning up. So why not try this instead of long, low intensity fat burning cardio. 

Hope this helps

Jack

How to train effectively?

How to train a effectively?

Recently I was reading in a Q&A section of a magazine and it made for an interesting read. Training effectively can mean a numerous number of things but mainly aimed at are you reaching the goal that you set out to. So the point I'm getting at is set yourself goals in training, here are a few you could set yourself. 

Strength goals - set yourself a goal of a certain exercise you want to lift more weight on, thus building further strength. The big three are always good for this. I like to go with the most reps at BW for bench, 1.5 BW squat and 2xBW deadlift. 

Muscular Endurance - you could set yourself a certain goal through time based or number of reps completed for an exercise or numerous of exercises. A circuit/crossfit WOD is always good for this. Set yourself goals and strive to beat these, this will motivate you to push yourself further and train more effectively.

A competition or event - this is the best way to push yourself further as if you're competitive like me it shall push you more and more to achieve a better result at the event. Setting your sessions round this will always mean you'll train effectively.

Nutrition - this is in my eyes the most important. If you're not eating the right foods, not just pre and post workout but daily you won't train effectively!! As you may have heard many times if a car didn't have the right fuel it wouldn't work the most effectively it could. This is the same with the food you consume. Stick to your slow digesting carbs pre workout so not to feel sluggish, with fast digesting both during and post workout. Eat plenty of fruit and veg, lean protein options with a little diary and you'll be on the right track. 

So there you have it, get training effectively. Follow this points and you won't be going far wrong. Let us know if these points help. 

Killing Shoulders, Mike O'Hearn and Rob Riches

As many of you will know who regularly read my posts I talk a lot about shoulders. This is because out of all muscle groups, this is my weakest both in size and strength. However, I recently watched a collaboration video on YouTube between Mike O'Hearn and Rob Riches which very much demonstrates a different way of training shoulders, this I then out into practice yesterday in my workout. 

The first exercise he uses is a single standing DB press. I love all standing exercises just recently because it really helps activate the core, stabilising your upper body especially when going heavy over head. Mike is explicit about going heavy in this video. You just go heavy , don't chase the pump. 1-5 is my normal rep range. He goes on to mention how the opening exercise should always shock the nervous system and the rest of the workout will feel light. Furthermore be careful with warm up sets, don't go to far, only 5 reps over 2 sets are really needed otherwise all your doing is putting strain and fatiguing the muscle before you've even hitting it with the big stuff. I really stuck by this in my recent workout and boy does it work. My shoulders were on fire and I only really went heavy for one set at 37.5kg for 5 reps. Nothing compared to Mike getting up over 140lbs for 6 with ease. The guy has insane strength and I think one of the best bodies in the game so who wouldn't take advice off him.

The rest of the workout continues with a huge focus paid on not over doing it on every set you complete, but real attention paid to the heavy sets, always to failure!! He goes on to talk about how form can sometimes be slightly comprised within reason to reach those extra few reps. Giving the press, a more so push press towards the end of a set by a little bounce from the legs. After 3 more exercises, including a upright DB row, rear delt fly and a horrible looking lateral into a front raise movement, done light with control focusing in the roundness of the shoulder, and boy did it burn, the workouts done. 

So there you have it, check the video on Rob Riches YouTube page, if it gets 2 million views then Mike has said he'll fly you out to LA to train with them, so get liking, sharing etc. Now go and kill shoulders.

Jack

Keep clean eating whilst on the move, Squats, Deadlifting and Spectre.

Recently I have been away a lot with work however as discussed in previous posts this hasn't stopped me from eating clean and the fundamental reason for this is meal prep, but also my 8 pack bag from MyProtein. 

Now this allows me to store up to 8 meals in the bag along with side pouches to store secondary items, this is where I like to put my cottage cheese, fruit and greek yogurt. This bag goes everywhere with me and allows for me to eat wherever, whenever. Its so durable unlike most bags where the zip breaks after a few weeks, this will survive the most brutal of users. Its currently priced at £29.99 in both holdall and back bag, couldn't recommend this enough, so get over to myprotein.com. 

On greek yoghurt I’ve recently just swapped to Skyr yogurt. This stuff is in my opinion the best yogurt currently on the market. It’s fat free, high in protein tipping the scales at 11 grams per 100 grams and has only 4 grams of sugar. This is a must buy!! Great as a pre workout snack and pre bed snack or even on top of my favourite banana omelettes. Get down to the supermarket where it is currently a bargain with two 450 grams tubs for £3. You can’t beat that. 

Lastly as many of the long term followers will know I’ve recently been focusing a lot more on the big compound moves. Last week was a great training week for me. If you follow me on Instagram you'll see that I managed to get out 170kg back squat for 5 reps which is a new personal record for me. For some reason training in a jumper inspired me to go heavier than normal, working my way up slowly to this weight. When I go heavy my back often gives way, however with my deadlifting routine being on point recently my lower back seems to be a lot stronger and be managed to put up bigger weight. On the point of deadlifts I managed to max out at 220kg this week, not that far away from half a ton. This was with pretty sore legs so I was really pleased. Points to note when going heavy is really bend down and use your legs more in the movement as oppose to just your back. Furthermore warm up correctly, I went up from 160kg in 10kg intervals, this really helps prepare yourself mentally when going heavy and often don't notice the difference in weight. 

http://www.myinstagramprofile.com/jacksfitnessforyou/

In other news I was inspired by a viewing of Spectre on Sunday as I got invited to the cast and crew viewing, prior to the premiere on Monday. If you haven’t yet checked it out do, you won’t regret it.

Anyway have a great weeks training

Jack

What rep range do I use?

Today being international chest day I thought what better than to train chest of course. I met up with one of my mates at the gym and over a pre workout espresso he asked me an interesting question, ‘what is the best rep range in order to building muscle?’. 

This is a point that is always being discussed and many people will tell you 10-12 reps, otherwise known as the hypertrophy range. To build strength you should be hitting 5 or below and to increase endurance aim for anywhere from 12-20 reps per the set. However, I was recently reading a study in Men’s Health which had shown you should perform no more than 8 reps if you're looking to build muscle. This ends up with you questioning what rep range should I be using? Well I’ve got the answers in order to make you hit all of this easy, based on todays chest workout. 

1. Start with your compound move of the session. For me today this was flat bench press. I warmed up to 3 working sets of 3 reps in a pyramid fashion. I then dropped the weight by 20% to hit 8-10 reps for 2 sets, then lastly bodyweight for 12 or failure. This straight away is recruiting a good few rep ranges.
2. I then like to move onto incline flies purely to flood the muscle with blood, for this I used ascending pyramids hitting sets at 15,12,10,8 and 6 reps. The last set add in a triple drop set. The first two sets you are treating more like pump sets, however the triple drop set in total will add up to 20 reps, more of what can be described as a endurance rep range. Again you have used all rep ranges, perform these with a good slow tempo and contraction, not all to failure. I’ve recently gone a lot heavier in these movements and have noticed such a difference to growth in my chest. 
3. My third exercise was incline dumbbell press again with a similar fashion to above however I ascending up in weight to then decrease back down. By this point however I was quite fatigued however still managed to push out a good weight with the rep scheme 12,10,8,12,15. 
4. I always like to mix this exercise up in my routine so today it was a competition between me and my training partner performing dips. 100 reps in total, fewest sets wins. This really pushes the muscle to failure and beyond as you can compete against one another. No matter rep ranges, a muscle pushed this hard will have to grow. 
5. The finisher today was high to low cable fly triple drop sets followed by prison press ups, reps determined by your age. Do this for three sets. This keeps things a little more interesting as oppose to the normal rep scheme you'd use. For a demonstration check out Steve Cook’s channel on youtube. He always uses them and they are great to use as a finisher. 

So there you go, a workout which demonstrates how you can target the muscle with all different types of rep ranges. This will keep the muscle guessing, pushing it in different ways but more importantly keeping things interesting for you. Fundamentally a muscle pushed to failure will instinctively grow stronger, thus bigger so don’t get to hung up on rep schemes. 

Hope this helps

Jack

I want bigger shoulders

I want bigger shoulders!!

This seems to be a goal of many recently, with a lot of people asking me how can I build boulder shoulders after seeing people like Ryan Terry and Steve Cook. It's kind of like the new chest and huge arms. 

The one thing you must remember about shoulders are that they are often secondary muscle group or stabilising muscles in most of the exercises you do, this therefore means when it comes to training them don't always use a lot of volume. Front delts get a big hammering when training chest, and even more so performing exercises with an incline.

Warm you shoulders up! Shoulders are prone to injury and if you have a recurring injury in your shoulders say goodbye to ever building big shoulders. Always spend a good ten minutes before any upper body session really warming up the shoulders, particular attention paid to the rotator cuff. 

Focus more on the lateral and posterior head, more than the front delt. As already mentioned the front delt is used often in through other exercises. The lateral and posterior will is also give more depth and roundness to your shoulders, thus making it appear a lot larger. This is in my opinion the easiest way to build size fast through isolation, high rep, low weight and focus on the contraction, squeezing the muscle. 

Lastly is split the shoulders into two workouts. This is something I'm using at the minute and absolutely love it. I do a anterior workout focusing on the push press to begin with then upper chest along with the lateral head of the muscle. The following day I deadlift heavy at the beginning, slightly using it as a secondary back day. Then I focus on face pulls and flies to recruit my rear delts, finishing with a shrug marathon. It is certainly working for me as this has always been a lacking muscle of mine. If you're cut for time add triceps onto the end of the anterior workout and biceps onto the posterior day.

So there are four easy steps you can adjust into your training in order to build bigger shoulders. Have a fab weekend. Eat clean, train hard and get plenty of rest. 

The season is upon us, let the bulking begin!!

Now as I sit and write this the dark nights are closing in, meaning winter is arriving which can only mean one thing in the fitness world, let the bulking commence. So before everyone starts eating whatever they want I thought it would be good to outline a few points with regards to nutrition.

Track your Macros:
By this I mean monitor your macros in order to ensure you're eating enough but also eating enough of the right stuff. Firstly work out your Basic Metabolic Rate then usually add on 500 calories to put on weight. You don't have to eat absolutely loads. Then add in the break down of the calories, I follow around 50% carbs, 35% protein and the remaining 15% fat. This will ensure you have carbs for energy but also a surplus to add on size with enough protein to ensure you're repairing the broken down muscle. Use MyFitness pal to track this, it doesn't need to be exact, like if you were dieting, but you'll be surprised how much food you actually need to eat.

Selection of Carbs:
Now for example say your macros allows you to eat 400 grams of carbs, this doesn't mean it can be just any carbohydrate. Try and have low glycemic based carbohydrates such as rice and oats throughout the day then both pre and most defiantly post workout opt for a high glycemic carbohydrate such as fruit or a dextrose based drink. This will help spike insulin levels and will be quickly absorbed into your system, thus helping with the recovery process. My favourite currently is a banana, kiwi and dates!!!!

How often to eat:
Now there are many different ways of consuming your calories. Some swear by eating all your food in a short period and fasting the rest, e.g. 8:16 diet. This is an option but if your sticking to a clean ish diet I can't see that this is going to be needed. I would tell many people to try and split the meals up throughout the day in three hour periods. This keeping you full and also allowing for you to be able to consume your meals without force feeding yourself. However at the end of the day as long as you're sticking to your macros it really doesn't matter when you consume them as long as you get them in.

Eating on rest days:
This is a thing that I am going to start changing in my diet and that is consuming less on rest days. Some would say this is incorrect however my body doesn't require the energy output it would need on a day which I am training and therefore believing cycling carbs in order to eat less on these days will reduce putting on unwanted body fat. Don't get me wrong you can't put on size without gaining fat but you can slightly slow the process down in order to not gain to much weight, which will be so much more difficult to lose when it comes to the summer cut. Just add this in maybe once every two weeks and see how it effects you.

Four easy puts you can input into your winter bulk. Hope this helps

Jack 

Late Night Legs

After a rather long 3 weeks away with very little training I got back late last night. With this amount of time away from a routine I was craving gym time and what could be more prevalent then kicking it off with a late night leg work out!

Now I normally stay away from training late, it's just never felt like the best time to train but last night was an exception to this. I always hit my legs with high volume beginning with back/front squat. Last night however I changed my squat slightly on advice from a video I had seen from Bradley Martyn, opting for a much closer, narrow back squat. This takes the stress away from the hamstrings and more onto the quads much like a front squat but allows for a heavier weight to be lifted. I went high volume with 8 sets of 12-15 reps, increasing weight over each set, hitting 125kg in the last set. 

Post these squats my legs were pretty much on fire but I moved onto hamstrings through variations of curls. 8 sets of 15 reps, focusing on the contraction and forcing blood into the muscle. This was very similar with leg extensions which I finished the workout off, super setting with weighted lunges. With the extensions pause at the top of the movement, when the leg is fully contracted. Dropset on each set really pushed my legs to the limited. A little finisher with tabata jump squats for 8 minutes. This is so simple but after all of the volume above was a killer.

1) Back Squat, warming up to 8 sets 12-15 reps. 

2) Leg Curl 8 sets 15 reps

3) Leg Extension drops sets, 12 reps each, weighted lunges 12 reps each leg. 6 sets.

4) Tabata Jump squats for 8 minutes.

My legs were totally busted after this workout, a fab workout. Needed a good foam roll out an stretch after this workout and they're hurting a lot this morning. Give the narrow squats a go, really worth it.

Good luck

Jack

Rugby Training

With the Rugby World Cup now in full steam I thought I’d write a quick blog on styles of training for a rugby player.

A rugby players requires the following components of fitness:

• Skill
• Speed
• Power 
• Agility
• Endurance. 

This shows the sheer amount of talent and hard work which is required to be a top end rugby player. Specific training is therefore required with rather a lot of focus on weight training and speed training when off of the playing field. 

Weight Training

Weight training in rugby is very position dependent, but below i’m going to give you an insight as to what I would use for players of all positions. Weight training would be used more in the off season, looking to develop power and sheer strength of individuals, with a shift to more speed related and  less volume throughout the season. 

Squats: Back and front squat both to be used. Chains preferred as weight will increase during the movement, more similar to powering into a tackle. Work up in a pyramid fashion to 1-2 rep max. 

Deadlifts: This is a stable in everyones routine but crucial in rugby as will retain power and speed through moving the weight. Focusing on the core, back and hamstrings. Attention paid to explosive power out of the movement. 

Power Cleans: This is the ultimate whole body power move. Once the technique has been mastered, then start upping the weight. Low reps, explosive power.

Bench Press: Upper body power is always required and this is the king for that. Again working in a pyramid fashion to heavy, low rep sets. 

Overhead Press : Power and strength in the shoulders is required in rucks, mauls and lifts in rugby, this being the exercise for the job. Work up to your 6 rep max with these, focus on fatiguing the muscle. 

Speed Training

Speed is also an essential when it comes to rugby training. Areas such as:

Hill Sprints: 6-8 flat out sprints, with high, power leg turn over speed. 

Deadmill Sprints: Don’t set the treadmill to anything, just start sprinting holding onto the sides. 10 to 15 seconds. 10 sets.

Flat Sprints: Just 60m flat sprints but use different starting positions. Flat on stomach, running backwards and turning, moving laterally and from a basic jog are all to simulate what would happen in a match. 

Rowing sprints: The king of the cardio machines in the gym, the rower. A compound exercise recruiting muscles which you didn't know you had. 10x250m to finish off a weights sessions will be perfect. 

So there you have it, a short introduction to rugby training. Apply these principles and you certainly look and feel more the part when it comes to playing on a Sunday for your local club. 

Come on England

Jack

What do you do when you have no gym?

I’m away again from the gym for the the next few weeks, might be able to get a through sessions in but won’t be able to stick to my normal routine. So if you’re in the same position what do you do? Well here are a few tips which will hopefully help you out. 

1. Make sure you keep your diet on track. I’ve mentioned this in previous blogs but this is crucial. Just because you can’t train efficiently does’t mean your diet should go down the pan. 
2. Your body is your gym!! There are so many things which you can do with your own bodyweight and this is all functional movement as oppose to hitting the dumbbell rack. Press ups, squats, pull ups (If you can find a bar) crab walks, planks are all your friends when it comes to you having no gym. 
3. Tempo of exercises is crucial in any part of your training but even more important when it comes to bodyweight. This will recruit more muscle fibres, furthermore everyone knows that time under tension is the way forward when it comes to building lean muscle mass. 
4. Quick high intense circuits. When you’re away you don’t have loads of time to dedicate to the gym, so get you’re workout done hard and fast. Early mornings are always great for this, wake up 30 minutes earlier. Then you have no excuse. 

HIIT Circuit

10 press ups 5010 tempo

20 squats

10 Hindu Press ups 5010

20 v sits

10 press ups 2250 tempo

20m crab walk.

Repeat 5 times 

Meal Prep, the easy way!!!

Now nutrition is the largest contributing factor to get in shape and more importantly stay in shape. If any of you follow me on Instagram you'll know I prep meals a lot! There are three reasons I do this.

1) I am very busy at work and I like to eat around every 3 hours so I prep them all and carry them with me everywhere I go. It also saves so much time slaving away in the kitchen!!!

2) Keeps you on track. This is the most important. As your meals are prepared you don't fall into the trap of having to buy something, risking the temptation of having a cheat meal. 

3) You can prepare the exact nutritional requirements you need. Everyone has a macro goal, meal prep makes this so easy. Just cook all the food you need to meet those requirements and then split that into the meals throughout the day. 

Tips for meal prep:

- Prep meals in two day blocks. This means you can cook in bulk, making the process so much faster. Also means you can buy in bulk. 

- Prep food you will eat cold!!! There is a wide spread of protein options, I like to stick to sweet potato and brown rice for my carb options, including veggies. Fats are through nuts, eggs and avocado. 

- Grab a sauce low in salt and sodium. Carry this with you everywhere you go, just to add a little flavour to boring food. 

- If you haven't got a fridge to store your food in then get a 6 pack bag!! These are amazing. They are totally worth there weight in gold. A must buy if you're serious about staying on track with your nutrition!!! Link below. 

So there you have it, meal prep made easy, now get gaining!!!!!!!

Jack

Keeping on Track, even whilst travelling.

This weekend was one of recovery, despite a quick arm circuit on Saturday morning, which for a change I decided to do fasted. I was in and out in under 30 minutes with some MyProteins BCCA pre and during I had a great workout. I felt great both during and post workout, mind you, when don't you training arms. For me its just that muscle group I always love to train. 

This weeks training is back to Week A, which is my heavy week. Focus on the compound exercises along with more isolated exercises to finish off the muscle group. The three weeks following I’m away for work so am going to get very little training in, however, i am determined to still keep my nutrition on track. Little tips for this:

1. Buy a SmartShaker!!!! When you're out and about and in need of a quick shake or even a snack then you can just pack your smart shaker with you. With all the little containers which you attach to the shaker you can take anything with you. Plus it saves taking extra containers around with you, meaning you don't need such a big bag. The ideal world.
2. Buy a George Foreman Grill!! No matter where you are staying there will always be a supermarket close by which means you can grab pre cut chicken, a bag of salad and some microwave rice (the healthy kind). Cook the chicken fresh on the Grill and there you have it, a great macro based meal. This means you can prep your meals even if you're away, staying on track to your goal. 
3. Protein Bars/Cookies. Now in my eyes these should never replace real food. But they can be used as a high protein snack if you're really lacking some in the day. The ones that I would recommend are MyProteins HighPro Bars or their Cookies. Both a high in protein, low in sugar, great tasting and really not as expensive as other brands. Definitely a brand I always highly recommend to clients. 
4. Lastly CONSISTENCY. Just because you're out of your normal environment it doesn't mean you can binge on food and forget about it or have cheat meals that turn into cheat days. Stay on track!! Yes by all means have the occasional cheat or not so healthy meal but try to stay on track. Good things come to those who wait and through time this consistency will give you the reward you've always wanted.

So any of you who travel a lot for work, just follow the few steps above and you'll stay on track. Have a great week of training!!!

Jack

Training at Reebok Sports Club!!!

I'm only just recovering from what was a crazy day yesterday! I had a pretty free day so decided to go and train with a old friend who lives in East London. She is a beast!! We decided we were going to do two sessions, one involving some high intense cardio followed by a weights session in the afternoon, with a trip to Nandos obviously in between!!!!

Now she called on me as she really wants to get her speed up when it comes to running. She has great speed over long distances but is lacking that quick turn of speed. Things we worked on:

1) Find gears when it comes to running. This is a must in any type of training but especially when running. It gets to the point where you can just turn it on and off, similar to a tap.

2) Stride. She's got a great long stride from distance running but over short distances, especially hills this doesn't bat in her favour. With bringing knees higher, weight shifted to the toes and a quicker drive from the calves we shredded 4 seconds off a 80m hill sprint over 5 attempts!!!! 

3) Leg Power. Over the short distances this is what you need so I took her to a hill with steps. Practiced running up the hill every other step and with the incline focused on the driving motion forward. This in turn will help with the short distance sprint work. 

After stuffing our faces in Nandos and grabbing a well needed coffee we headed to Reebok Sports Club in Canary Wharf. All I can say is wow!!!! This place is amazing, for anyone that's into their fitness it's like you're little again and you parents have just taken you into a sweet shop and said 'choose what you want'. There is just so much equipment for all different types of training. But when you have Ulisses training there and is one of the PT's what can you expect. We again focused on leg power through Deadlifts and Front Squats.

1) Deadlifts, we a focus on the power from the legs. This is the initial phase and where a majority of the momentum comes from for the lift. Really use this and not too much back. 

2) Taking the tension out of the bar. Make sure the bar is tight along with the rest of your body prior to lifting, it will reduce any jerking motion. She managed 5x5 at 105kg which I was impressed at considering she weights only 55kg. 

3) Front Squat, make sure you keep elbow high. If these drop then it will cause you to bend forward to catch the weight and therefore your form becomes compromised. 

We finished off with a few leg extensions, but after going into double figures with sets on deadlifts were pretty fatigued. 

So for any of you fitness freaks out there living in London get over to Reebok Sports Club. I cannot recommend it more!! You will never need to go anywhere else, plus the PT's are great even if you can't get Ulisses. Also there are so many people in great shape around you it motivates even more. The electronic locker system is also a huge plus!!! 

Have a great weekend 

Jack