Warming Up before a workout

With the cold weather well and truly landed here in London I thought I would write a quick message about warming up. In my eyes the most under used tool when it comes to training, many will run over to the mats at the end of the session to have a quick flex in the mirror, attempt a few stretches whilst trying to chat up the new girl to the gym but when do people really take the time to warm up? Very rarely!!!

So why should we warm up? Think of your muscles like rubber bands. If you spend all day sitting at a desk, hunched over a keyboard, those rubber bands have gone almost completely unused.  Now, combine this lack of movement with some cold winter weather, your bands are now extra tight and constricted.  Then, go to a gym and immediately start lifting heavy weights or sprinting really fast then those cold, unstretched rubber bands get pulled apart very quickly and will snap. Other factors include the improvement of blood circulation around the body meaning you'll be able to achieve that shirt bursting arm pump you've dreamed off but furthermore your muscles and joints are ready for maximal flexibility. Which means the correct form can be performed on each exercise with maximum results along with minimal risk of injury.

So how should you warm up? Well the generic choice is a piece of CV equipment in the gym for 10 minutes. This I strongly advise against. Many gyms and PT's do this purely because it covers health and safety regulations. What I like to do with clients or even when warming up myself is play some sport. The sport of choice for me has got to be basketball because it promotes lower limb mobility along with mobility at the shoulders whilst raising your heart rate improving circulation. It's a fun game, played with 1-10 people in a small space and really gets you moving quickly. Try it before your next workout, just remember it's your warm up and not your workout so don't become too competitive.

 I also like to warm up key areas before I begin training that certain muscle group. Many people begin with just a lighter weight on the first exercise of the workout which I do also but the more and more you train, heavier weights your lifting, the more you need to focus on areas, for me this is shoulders. Here is the quick shoulder mobility circuit I'm currently using before every upper body workout:

* Scapular retraction  - Hang both arms down while grasping very light dumbbells, 5kg max. Now, bend the arms at a right angle as if you are nearing the top of a row (an exercise that targets the back - this is like a one-armed row but with both arms). Keeping that angle, draw the shoulder blades together, squeeze them, hold, and relax. Your arms do not bend more nor extend during the movement; you are solely focusing on the scapula. The range of motion will only be a few inches or less.
* Lateral rotation  - Lie on your right side. Keep your left arm along the upper side of your body. Bend your right elbow to 90 degrees. Keep the right forearm resting on the table. Now roll your right shoulder in, raising your right forearm up to your chest. Lower the forearm slowly. Repeat the exercise for 10 - 20 repetitions. Then do the whole exercise again with your left arm.
* Windmills -Simply straighten both arms then rotate forward 10 times, then reverse and rotate backwards. Start with small, slow circles and eventually increase the size of the circles and speed of rotation as your joint becomes accustomed to the drill.
Repeat this three times with attention always paid to form and tempo and that's you're warm up done. With the colder temperature outside the warm up is crucial but no matter the temperature I'll always do the same. It's a real investment for a much more efficient workout.

Give this a go!! Happy Dunking

Jack

New Year, New Goals

When Big Ben sounded and London's skyline lit up with fireworks it sparked the beginning of 2017. A new year means new resolutions and for the keen gym geeks out there it often means new goals in the gym. It's key to set these goals so they'll challenge you but also be achievable and realistic for you to complete.

I've spoken about this in previous posts but goals should always be SMART, meaning they're Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and with a Time frame. These are the fundamentals when it comes to setting goals that will keep you motivated and push you to become a better you.

Another important factor is to understand why you should set up goals. Now for me they set up the direction of my training by focusing my attention towards goal-relevant activities and away from goal-irrelevant activities. For example, if a marathon runner sets out to improve cardiovascular fitness, running economy and muscular strength then he should focus on improving these areas, something towards their goal. They should not focus on other tasks such as their clean and jerk. Yes aspects of this may somewhat help in running but is it still relevant to running itself? This approach will allow you to focus on the most important aspects of training and in essence, ensure your training is as efficient and effective as possible.

As I mentioned earlier on the post motivation is huge in any type of training and the way you set your goals can help with this. Goals allow for an easy assessment of performance and enable you to learn more about your training abilities which can subsequently help to replace boredom with challenge. As you start achieving your goals you will build your own self-directed motivation and replace fear and tension with focus and confidence. These factors combined often lead to more rewarding training.

My last point is set both short and long term goals in order to see success. No goal is too big in my eyes but you must set short term goals in order to achieve this. So, set one long term goal encompassing all that you want to achieve but within this set short term goals. These could be daily, weekly or monthly but something which when put together with others will help in achieving that long term goal.

For me goal setting is an extremely powerful technique for enhancing performance that can be applied by absolutely anyone ranging from elite athlete to recreational gym-goer. Goals help you to establish your ultimate destination, they offer a prudent method of identifying the roads you can take to get there, and indeed, they let you know when you have arrived. It is important to consider the different type of goals and how these can be implemented into your training regime so that you remain focused on your gym goals.

Happy New Year one and all.

Jack

Pull Ups give you wings

Following a video I put up on Instagram @jcdpersonaltraining I thought I'd write a quick blog on pull ups.  In my eyes the one exercise then anyone looking to stay in shape should master. Performed correctly they are the most effective exercise for isolating your posterior chain and growth to your back. Here is a quick break down of the fundamentals when performing a pull up.

Full range of motion : this is the most crucial and something I tell so many people when performing a pull up. A full stretch at the bottom of the rep to a squeeze and full contraction right up to the traps at the top of the rep. Doing this, you will recruit so many more muscle groups and strengthen the posterior chain as a whole. When people add weight to the pull up the range of motion seems to diminish, ensure this doesn't happen. Don't add weight until you are strong enough to using the full range of motion.

Tempo and contraction: This is where the growth occurs. Many neglect tempo for weight, now both have their benefits but lifting lots of weight with little or any form is going to do nothing, as tempo, no matter the weight, will always stimulate the muscle no matter weight, within reason. With a pull up tempo is crucial on the lowering, otherwise known as the eccentric phase. People believe that you only benefit from the pulling element of the movement but lowering your body under control will help with becoming stronger and aid with growth. Anything you have better control over you're automatically going to be stronger at, so don't neglect this. Contraction follows on from this ensuring through each rep as each muscle takes over from the other you're getting the most out of it. Focus on feeling each muscle, squeezing that muscle pulling to bring you closer to the bar. This is where tempo is needed to really feel this, so don't neglect either.

Alternative Exercises: What if I can't do a pull up? Well firstly I would recommended jumping up to the bar and lowering yourself under control, aim for a 4 second count. This will stimulate the muscles needed to perform a pull ups, with perseverance you'll be able to do a full pull up. I wouldn't really recommend using the assisted pull up machines instead use a heavy duty band looped on to the bar putting your foot on the band and then perform the pull up. Depending on the band this will decrease your overall bodyweight, as you become stronger use thinner, not so strong bands and soon you won't need assistance. I recommend this over the machine as it allows for imbalances and a more realistic, functional and closest movement to the pull up itself.

So don't neglect the pull up and if you use the exercise correctly it can aid in giving you a killer back and the better wings than red bull. Head over to my Instagram @jcdpersonaltraining for videos and be sure to follow for more advice.

Happy New Year

Jack

Christmas Tips

Christmas Eating

With Christmas fast approaching us the huge food shops have begun to ensure Christmas Day is bigger and better than last year. A bigger turkey, tastier Christmas pudding and the best mince pies money can buy. This does not help those who want to stay on track with their diet over the festive period in an attempt to beat the New Year diet. Here are a few tips to stay on track over Christmas yet still get the most out of the day.

1. A quick run or HIIT session Christmas morning. I know this sounds crazy but to get your metabolism really firing before a day of consuming your bodyweight in food get out and do some exercise. No more than 30 minutes is needed. Run 5 minutes to a local hill, 10 minutes of sprints followed by tabata squats (4 minutes, 20seconds work, 10 seconds rest), run back then cool down all before it's time to open the presents. Target the legs, with these being the bigger muscle groups a higher volume of calories shall be burnt, meaning you won't feel guilty having another Yorkshire.
2. Christmas lunch is always the bigger meal of the day so reduce your portion size on the other meals. Cut your breakfast in half, this will mean you'll be less full for when the main lunch arrives and you'll have those extra calories to eat at lunch without feeling guilty!!! Whatever you do, don't feel guilt for overindulging, it's the worse thing you can do. If you want something, eat it, it's one day. The more and more you crave it, when it comes to eating it you'll overindulge more because you feel like you've earned it.
3. Stick to the spirits. The festive period is a time to get merry but for those of you who want to stay on track as much as possible alcohol can be one of your biggest demos. Alcohol is branded by many experts as empty calories with the biggest protagonists being beer and wine so I personally would always advocate on sticking to spirits. Whisky has always been my choice as it's a drink that you can drink without the need of mixers as these can boast the calorie count. Gin with slim lime tonic and vodka with soda are both great alternatives.

So there you have it, three simple tips to keep you and your diet on track over the festive period.

Have a Merry Christmas

Jack

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