Aiden Jones Weightloss and Fitness Gym - Biggleswade.

Aiden Jones Weight Loss & Fitness

The Old Print Works,

Church Street, 
Biggleswade SG4 0TA

01767 316367 
www.aidenjones.co.uk


With the Easter period upon us, I decided to have some time away from the hustle and bustle of London and head back home to the parents in rural Bedfordshire. Like many of us this means spending time away from the gym; luckily for me a new gym has just opened up in Biggleswade. It is owned and managed by Aiden Jones.
Aiden was the first person that really inspired me into what fitness is all about way back in my early teenage years. Punishing me through early morning circuits before school, to sampling boxing at the weekend, which really cemented the fundamentals and discipline into my training. His approach, attitude and professionalism drove me to become passionate about what I have now turned into, pushing yourself to the limit to make it all feel worth while. This I can tell he has instilled into the gym, but more importantly the trainers around him.

The gym is located in the town centre, with a two floor layout catering for the cardio and a smaller weights area upstairs, with a more dedicated weights area downstairs with two racks, along with an array of dumbbells up to 40kg. This leads onto a small outdoor area where you’ll find tyres, ropes, pull up bars and punch bags, perfect for when the weather gets slightly warmer and you want to train outside. This gives you so many options when training from your functional based training outside to a more so bodybuilding type training inside the gym. The equipment had some new aspects I hadn't come across before featuring the Watson ‘thick grip bars’. Unlike the normal conventional barbell the thick bars take pressure off of the wrists and placing it directly on the biceps when performing any curling based movement. The gym also has a ‘Poliquin Bar Extreme’ allowing different grip options for you to perform various exercises, from the bicep to different heads of the tricep. I found this best when training chest, as it really promotes activation across the whole chest which is often lost when performing your conventional bench press. So the gym certainly didn't disappoint on equipment or space.

If you're really new to fitness, or want to get out of the same old routine then this place is a must, the knowledge base is second to none. If Aiden or Nick (one of the head trainers) doesn't know then it really isn't worth knowing. Their depth of knowledge from Rehab training through to strength and conditioning is of the highest standard and this knowledge has been passed on to all trainers. There are junior guys just starting out as PT’s who really are excellent, with me witnessing this first hand through them training a young boy with autism. He was totally engaged through the whole session and you could see the rapport they had with each other.
The atmosphere however is the subject I wanted to mention the most. I have seen this first hand in London where cleanliness and a pleasant place to train being neglected, this gym cannot be faulted on these elements. I never saw a disc weight out of place, a dumbbell un-racked or a treadmill left still on an incline. This straight away puts you at ease and really helps you get on with your workout. Jack, one of the young PT’s was keen and always happy to help, buzzing around making sure everything is running smoothy. Nick and Joe were there to provide a more advanced understanding on certain areas, with this support available it has allowed such a wide range of age groups to attend the gym, each of them educated to a high standard due to the superior team that works in the environment.

I observed during the time I spent there, that everyone is always utilising the piece of equipment to its full potential, focusing on things such as form, tempo and the muscles which the exercise is being concentrated on. This is a rare sight in gyms of today; even the younger guys using the gym are doing the fundamentals of training, the compound exercises, with great form and perfect execution of each exercise, as oppose to consist bicep curls in the mirror.

This gym is what more should aspire to be like and what is being lost as more and more become commercialised. Its showing how fitness can be fun, enjoyable, yet gruelling at times but with the final goal met at the end, a better you. The gym is a testament to Aiden and his staff and I can’t praise them enough, I just wished I didn't live so far away. If you're in the area, check out this gym!!!

Happy Training 

Jack 

You can't always have great workouts

You can't always have good workouts. 

Today was one of those workouts where I really was just not firing. Heavy deadlifts to begin with 6x3 at 220kg and it was a struggle, into an normal hypertrophy back routine and I just really wasn't feeling. What do you do in this situation, here are my 3 tips:

1) Spend to long in the gym trying to have a good workout. Throw in a quick few supersets or a circuit for that muscle group. Keep everything at a high intensity. Don't try to keep pushing on through the normal routine, thinking you're going to hit the reps and lift the weight you normally would. Get in and get out. 

2) Push yourself beyond where you normally would, running the risk of injury. Because you're not getting that pump don't then start loading up the bar with more weight, pushing the body beyond a point you normally would. This will end up leading to injuries as if you're mind isn't in it then, your body most defiantly won't be. An injury will put you much further back than one bad workout!!!! 

3) Change the muscle group you're training. So many people end up doing this when faced with this situation. I promise you now you'll end up just getting the same results, wasting another good workout, another day. Just follow point number 1 and cut your losses. 

Just remember training is a mental game, not always a physical game. If you're minds not in it neither will the body. A bad workout is only once in a blue moon and use the points above which will help you get the best out of these days. 

Hope this helps and more importantly happy training. 

Jack

Arm Assault

Train arms heavy and high volume. 

Yesterday was arm day but due to various commitments I had very little time to dedicate to the gym so I thought I'd mix my workout up slightly different to usual. 

1) Pre Exhaustion. This is something I've somewhat kept out of my programmes of late as I've been really focusing on lifting as heavy as I can with the first exercise, but I thought I'd put it in, beginning with the 100reps challenge on the cables. 10 reps at whatever weight is selected by a partner with no rest in between. 10x10 basically. I didn't have a partner but opted for a weight range and just kept changing the pin within that. I did the same with reverse curls then moved on to close grip bench putting 65% of BW and aimed to hit 100 reps in the fewest amount of sets possible. This brought a pretty insane pump and really made me feel warm and ready for the workout ahead. Check out Mike Rashid online for arms where he brings a much more descriptive meaning to it. 

I then moved on to heavy compound skull crushers followed by barbell curl. I opted to pyramid up until I found my 5 reps max then performed 5x5 at 90% of that focusing on a tempo of 4240. This tested the muscle group in a different way to normally pyramiding all the way up to the top weight yet, still encompassing the blunt trauma training that I've been following of Mike O'Hearn recently.  

Then I moved on to super sets of triceps followed by biceps for a slightly different effect. Close EZ curls into incline skull crushers at 45 degrees, really trying to stretch the tricep out as much as possible. Then hammers and DB curls followed for the biceps, hitting no more than 10 and still going heavy, followed by a variations of push downs using upsets, instead of the normal drop sets. Focus to be paid of the squeeze as you contract the 3 heads, not fully locking out at the elbow to keep full tension on the triceps. Reverse push downs I really focused on here to really engage to long head, don't be afraid with this to take the weight down. 

Lastly to push the muscle beyond failure I focused on them individually. A single cable curl, focusing on the twist and squeeze, using the other hand to aid with forced reps once failure had been achieved. Then single cable kick backs into push downs to really finish of the triceps. Go for anything over 15 reps for 3 sets, this shall really finish the arms off. 

And there you have it, In and out in under 45 minutes, limit your rest and you'll gain an insane pump and tear down that muscle tissue.  

Happy Training

Jack 

Sports Massage - MSH Wellbeing

I've been getting a lot of pain in and around my upper traps recently which has pushed in the last few days into my neck. This I think is because of the heavy volume of deadlifts I've brought into my programme of recent. I therefore decided to book myself in for a massage at MSH Wellbeing in Islington. I'd heard some great things about it so knew this was just the place.  Sometimes a sports massage is needed to get rid of all those knots where the muscle fibres haven't quite built back together in the correct manner, upper back and traps is often an area where these are prolific. These are mainly where people don't quite stretch/ form roll the correct way. 

MSH is just a small walk from Angel station on the Northern Line and is a must place to visit if you're in the London area and looking for a high class deep tissue massage. The place is really quiet (hard to find in London), relaxing, every facility you'll ever need along with excellent customer service. There isn't forms after forms that you have to fill out on arrive, just all about you and getting the best treatment to meet your needs. A quick discussion with your therapists, who I was lucky enough to get Arturo, on key areas and away you go. 

The hour was all that was needed with a real focus on the areas where I was mainly concerned about and I came away feeling loose and ready for a ever testing leg session this afternoon. 

If you're really getting stiff in between workout and DOMS that never go away then a sports massage really is essential. Get down to MSH where they do regular deals, it's  worth its weight in gold. 

Happy Training

Jack

Crossfit and 16.3

Today I decided to do 16.3, for those of you who don't know this is the lad test test in a string of workouts for the Crossfit open. CrossFit Games  then proceeds to the open regionals for those who qualify then off to Carson for the actual games. 

Now CrossFit is a training programme which builds strength and conditioning through a variety of different workouts. In these workouts many aspects of fitness are covered from gymnastics, to  weightlifting and as far as a triathlon based workouts at the games. Games you may ask? This is run every year in Carson where all the top CrossFit athletes from around the world take on events over three days to determine the fitness man and women on earth. Prior to this there are regionals and a open so anyone has the opportunity of going. Some of the professional athletes such as Rich Froning, Dan Bailey and Stacie Tovar who are ones that I personally support are in ridiculous shape and could step on stage with professional bodybuilders and wouldn't look out of place. Now with the rise of CrossFit so has the criticism of the sport, mainly because its all about doing things as quick as possible, with form sometimes leaving a little to be desired. Kipping Pull ups is an aspect which has got the most grief due to the swinging phase of the movement, as oppose to just pulling straight up, with many other exercises being adopted with a variation for Crossfit. Check these out online, some of them can be very useful, all down the individual on preferences.

CrossFit I occasionally include in my programme as either a cardio based workout or something strength related just to mix my workouts up. Now today workout Being 16.3 (as it's the 16th CrossFit games) was quite advanced with snatches and muscles ups but below are a few you could try if you're just starting out.

Jacks cardio burner!! 

400m Row
15 Box Jumps

12 burpees
8 clean and press (half of BW on bar)

 

5 rounds in the shortest time possible.


Murph - As quickly as possible.

1 mile run
100 pull ups
200 push ups
300 squats
1 mile run

Fran - Quickly as possible.

Thrusters (Front squats to push press)
Pull ups

Rounds of 21,15,9.

Give these a go and post you times in the comments below.

Jack

How do I become a Personal Trainer?

I get asked this question a lot by clients, from mates or even people that just see me with a ‘Personal Trainer’ T-shirt on in the gym. The one thing you need on paper is the minimum of a course which allows you to personal train. I would always opt for Level 3 Reps, as this is one of the most recognised in the industry. For me though this is only the basis to any PT, there are so many other factors which must be addressed. 

You must have passion for what you're doing. In order to get the best out of your client you must really be able to understand what they're going through, being passionate about the task you've set them shall motivate them more, in turn both you and them receiving the best session. Don't forget its not just them you are trying to benefit from the session but also yourself through experience, experiments and overall satisfaction. 

The knowledge of the industry has to be high due to the fact that a majority of PT’s now are self-employed. This meaning you have to set up your own company, manage your accounts as well as largely gathering all your own clients. Nothing is given to you on a plate. Your knowledge of fitness must be of the highest standard! Clients will come to you from all different walks of life, some with no knowledge themselves as to what to do, some maybe be PT’s themselves and are looking for a new and adventurous way to mix up their training. You must always think out the box, be doing something new with the clients. So many people just go through the same ritual of 4x10 on every machine in the gym with their client. This will get them no where, I promise. You must be willing to mix it up, bring new equipment into the gym, use HIIT, Giant Sets, mini circuits, bodyweight exercise. These are all things that people will not fully push themselves with when training alone but are quick, simple and hardcore for many, because an hour will soon pass you by. 

Lastly you've got to look the part yourself. My worst experience I have ever had was a PT eating a chocolate bar whilst training a client!!! It comes down to the saying ‘to talk the talk you myst be able to walk the walk’. Don't get me wrong you don't have to look like your just about to walk on stage of the Arnold Classic but you must look the part, someone for your client to inspire to look like. You've also got to be at the level where you can demonstrate the exercises with ease and not be struggling when demonstrating a clean and press with the bar. 

So there you have it, three steps to becoming a personal trainer. Its a hard industry to make it in and stay in but so rewarding in the long term. Good Luck