Creating Chaos - For Fitness & Sport Professionals

Are Gyms Getting it Wrong?

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:31:00 +0000

I worked away this week and at times where travel is extensive, you have to be quite disciplined to squeeze in the chance to do some exercise. The irony being that when driving a lot, your body is in a greater need of movement with the sedentary nature of travelling yet often, there is less time than normal to fit it in.

However, I managed to find out where the nearest gym was and just about had time for 30 minutes of exercise which is enough time to fit in a decent session. Without naming this large commercial gym, their name claims to put fitness before everything else. Well, after Wednesday's visit, I'm not completely sure that I agree.

On stepping into the gym, I was pleased to find out that I could just pay for a one off session without being a member. £10 seemed on the pricey side for a single visit but that could be just my yorkshire-ness. I was pleased just to make the most of the time. However, I was rather surprised that I didn't have to complete any health forms, waivers or sign up documents, simply pay £10 and hand over my car keys in exchange for use of a locker.

Now, this particular chain isn't known for it's lavish facilities so I wasn't expecting to be stepping into the training arena for the GB Olympic team. But paying £10 for a single visit, you expect there to be a certain level of facility to justify the cost.

The club itself was a peculiar set up, the main gym area immediately ahead as you walk in, the weights area in a hidden room that I almost missed and a studio to the far side of the gym area. With little time available, I had a quick scout about to orientate myself and see what was available. Stepping briefly into what was an extremely crammed and busy free weight area, the level of hostility as a young male struck me immediately. As I opened the door and walked in, every single testosterone-fuelled guy turned and looked at me with little if any facial expression, not the most welcoming response.

I decided to warm up on a rower. 3 were available and my first choice seemed to have a poorly oiled chain making it awkward to get a good rhythm so, with the neighbouring rower being free, I jumped across. Oddly enough, the same issue remained, I'm not sure entry fee was used heavily on maintenance or equipment replacement.

As someone who trains instructors, even without trying to, I found myself taking note of what the gym instructors were doing. It was of no great surprise that these instructors had their t-shirt sleeves rolled to reveal a little more upper arm and spent most of their time chatting up the opposite sex.

I ended up putting myself in a little corner of a matted area and piecing a circuit together with a couple of dumbbells and a few other bits that had seen better days. The matts weren't particularly clean but generally training outdoors, a little dirt tends not to bother me. Half way through my circuit, a group of anteriorly focussed and rather oddly shaped men came and did some sort of 'ab' blast next to me. Whilst not eavesdropping, it was clear that their crude and very audible conversation was aimed at a number of females nearby on cardio-based equipment. If I could hear their comments, I was sure that many others, including the subjects of the conversation were aware of this. Yet somehow, it seemed to be the norm and was almost acceptable.

I tend not to visit gyms very often, mainly as and when I'm teaching courses or running events. Having started OutFit a few years ago, this less than satisfactory experience left me feeling rather smug which may come across a little odd.

Whilst OutFit may not be taking over the world anytime soon, I know for certain that our members feel comfortable and at ease when they come to sessions. I know that our instructors are all helpful and put members' needs first. I know that we always welcome new members and don't intimidate or present an image of superiority. I know that our session area is always free from litter and our equipment is in good working order. I know for certain that we don't tolerate sexist behaviour.

In an industry where constant research and headlines highlight epidemics of ill-health, you'd think we had a moral obligation to breakdown any and every barrier that could potentially stand in the way of someone participating in physical activity. However, it still appears that some organisations are concerned with celebrity endorsements and attendance metrics.

Q - How can the industry move forwards without listening to our customers?

A - We can't!

No-one Wants Personal Training

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 10:39:00 +0000

by Paul Swainson, Functional Master Trainer

That’s a pretty disheartening statement if you’re a Personal Trainer. It’s also one of the common reasons PTs (especially those new to the industry) give when they’re struggling to find clients. What’s even more disappointing is that it’s true - most people really don’t want Personal Training, because very often they don’t understand what it is, and when people don’t understand something, it’s very unlikely they will buy it.

So what’s the solution? As with many things in our industry, a change of mindset is required – if people don’t want PT, offer something they do want!

Think about what the average person understands by ‘Personal Training’. They probably think of military style instructors making people sweat, or perhaps celebrities being put through their paces in a glossy magazine. Or maybe if they go to the gym they have seen the trainers there doing fancy, complicated exercises with their clients. These ideas are all focussed on the process of training, but is this what people want? Or do they really want a flatter stomach, or more toned arms, or less flabby thighs, or to have more energy? These are the results of training and have emotion and therefore motivation attached to them.

Think about the common headlines you see on the cover of fitness magazines – “get big arms in 4 weeks”, “the 3 best moves for a six-pack”, “melt away fat in 10 seconds a week” (okay I made that last one up, but it wouldn’t surprise me to read it somewhere). They are all carefully written to appeal to what people desire: quick, simple RESULTS.

Now I’m not suggesting you make outrageous claims like those above, but if you can find out what result someone is seeking, and can provide a specific solution to achieve it, you have something people actually want.

So imagine, or better still, go and talk to, your potential clients. Find out what they want, what they need, and why (this market research then doubles up as a perfect rapport building exercise). Then structure your services and marketing around what you discover. For example, male clients may want to ‘bulk up’ in order to look better. So you could offer 'effective mass gain' training. Female clients may want to lose body fat so how about designing a 'body sculpting' programme. You could even market yourself as a ‘body transformation coach’. If your clients are simply looking to take an hour out of their
day to de-stress, put together a ‘chill out’ package involving gentle exercise, stretching and relaxation techniques. This way you’re not selling Personal Training, you’re selling the results people are looking for.

Is CrossFit at risk of harming?

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 15:17:00 +0000

Is CrossFit at risk of harming?

The purpose of this blog is to simply ask questions and generate discussion, not to slate a mode of exercise. It's worth me pointing out that personally, I think the type of training that cross fit tend to prescribe is fantastic high end stuff that, for someone in great condition without injury, is ideal for high intensity days. Predominantly compound movements, Olympic lifting, kettlebells, suspension conditioning, bodyweight and a lot of 'on your feet' training. The question is more over how much of a well balanced conditioning programme should this type of training make up?

I think that before being able to answer this question, there are some key considerations to look at:

Recovery process - recovery is an individual thing and generally, the more conditioned your body is, the better able it can recover from exercise. We're all familiar with DOMS and this can be a useful indicator for how your muscles are repairing post-exercise. However, the are some more subtle recovery processes that the body must go through that are vital for repair and progress. Sympathetic and parasympathetic response to exercise aren't as apparent and overload of the nervous system can be extremely dangerous leading to chronic fatigue syndrome. Yet initially, early symptoms can appear as temporary and deceivingly positive improvements in both performance and resting health. Read here for more about some thing you may find rather interesting.

Technique - Many of the exercises used are technique based and whenever this is involved, it can often mean that performed well is full benefit and performed badly is destructive. Technique should always be mastered prior to putting the exercise into a challenge based setting where people will be pushing themselves to the limit, often resulting in quantity prioritised over quality. Due to the sheer variety of methods used within cross fit, a lot of expertise and experience is required. In essence, an experienced strength and conditioning coach is needed at each cross fit gym yet to become a level 1 coach, only a 2 day course stands in your way. Furthermore, some of the suggested form on exercises is rather questionable - watch this kettlebell swing video for example:

Competition - Motivating a work ethic within a training session is generally a positive thing and I'm sure that you agree. However, competing to be quicker or lift heavier or beat others in every single training session is not just counter-productive, it's mentally and physically draining. Training in the very sense of the word is preparatory and should be gearing towards something or heading in a certain direction. Each session should be piped with focus but performance is only one component. Constant demand of competition can have severe long term psychological repercussions. Most high level performance athletes have sports psychologists as well as coaches, managers and team mates at their disposal. This support network is not only critical for their success but also vital in terms of managing the psychological demand of performing again and again.

Cult culture - This point isn't really aimed at Cross Fit itself but the way in which people follow it and it seems to be a common theme within fitness. Maybe a reflection of how we as people commit heavily to things when they become part of our belief system. There are some fantastic philosophies within cross fit and the way the system operates but to enjoy these, it isn't necessary to become a cross fit monk or a disciple. Whilst creating exclusivity, cults tend to become detached and intimidating from an external perspective which isn't the most welcoming from those contemplating.

So, returning my original question, is cross fit at risk of harming?

The Big 49er - a beast of a session

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:45:00 +0000

Every now and again I like to up the ante when it comes to training. One of the those sessions where a third of the way through and your starting to question your own sanity and wonder whether it's actually possible. Yes, even trainers get those sneaky demons of doubt, we just know that feelings can often be little porky pie merchants and no-one likes listening to pork pie merchants.

Anyway, enough of the classic British Meat Pie. Although incidentally, you deserve one if you complete this circuit and it won't undo all the goodness you've done (as long as it's not a ginsters)

Instruction: 7 sets of 7 exercises with 7 reps per exercise (7 each side if unilateral exercise)
Equipment: 2 x Kettlebells (ideally 24's for men / 16's for ladies but go with what you feel comfortable with), pull up bar

Exercises:

Reverse Lunges (2 x kettlebells with farmers grip)
Pull Ups (Body-row if unable)
Double KB swing (2 x kettlebells)
Burpees (with a press up)
Front Squat (2 x kettlebells)
Roll back to stand
Double push press (2 x kettlebells)

James perfectly executing the double push press

It's as straight forward as that. Those keen mathematicians will identify that I've called it 'The big 49er' and whilst the circuit completes 49 sets (not to mention 343 reps), I was only using 48kg for the loaded exercises. My justification is that I lost a kg in water through the circuit so I was carrying the extra weight (even if only for the start)

Let us know how you get on and leave a comment.

In terms of calorie consumption, why not take a look at this article that reveals some rather interesting results from kettlebell specific workouts. Not just the calorific effect but the anaerobic demand and effect on VO2 max. Finally some solid evidence that shows how much more effective kettlebells are than many other forms of conditioning, especially with the bridge between both cardio and resistance.

Whilst the components of this circuit differ, the common ground is that all the movements are compound full-body exercises and therefore will not be too dissimilar in terms of demand, certainly not with the substantial weight.

Are we doing enough to clear up BMI confusion?

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 09:56:00 +0000

Last week, I was given the chance to go down to London and take part in a photo shoot for the Mail on Sunday. Sadie Nicholson, a freelance journalist wants to help the masses understand how useless Body Mass Index (BMI) is and is running a column showing a number of individuals and how their BMI doesn't really correlate with their state of health.

It really got me thinking, are we doing enough to challenge the validity of BMI?

Personally, I'm average height for a male and I weigh around 80kg. Based on this, I come out at 25.5, which according to the BMI scale, makes me overweight. All this despite me having body-fat of 10%.

This is very common place for active individuals with muscle weighing more than fat and it seems that within the sport and fitness community, the shared opinion is unquestionably against BMI and any sense of validity that it brings. Whilst my predicament of being "overweight" doesn't leave me having sleepless nights, it may well cause someone else considerable stress and concern.

The challenge is, it is still embedded within the syllabus for many courses bringing people into the fitness industry, BMI still proves of great importance in the medical world and the surgical world with often substantial implications based on the score. How can this be if the measure does not take body composition, skeleton shape, muscle mass, physical disfigurement or body fat into consideration?

So, my question is, is there anything else that you can be doing to help educate clients or your circles how BMI simply isn't valid? Interestingly, it doesn't actually tell us anything about Body Mass at all.

Of Mice & Muscle

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 08:48:00 +0000

If you're not familiar with the John Steinbeck classic then it's well worth a read. With two main characters, the book follows the tragic story and relationship of George Milton and Lennie Small, two misplaced ranch workers. George, an intelligent yet cynical man and Lennie, a man of great stature and strength yet limited mental abilities.

The two characters highlight a classic paradox that currently resides within the fitness industry. George represents an athlete who may not have all the resources in the world but knows how to make the best of the tools he does have. Lennie however represents people with excess muscle mass that don't understand or aren't able to use their physical capacity, those with an abundance of dumb muscle.

In a world that seemingly places a greater importance on appearance over functionality, perhaps it's not so surprising that the fitness industry is filled with large proportions of muscle bound enthusiasts that don't necessarily have the ability to use their physical capacity to it's potential.

The reality is that you don't need to be the size of a bull to have fantastic strength. If your goal is to have to walk sideways every time you step through a doorway then maybe lots of dumb muscle is what you need. However, if you want to really explore what your body is capable of then you don't need to bulk up to become larger than a fridge. You will need a certain lean content as there is an irrefutable relationship between muscle size and available strength but muscle is more capable than you may think.

As a guide to work towards, these following ratio's are very possible:

For men -

Pull up - your bodyweight
Overhead press - your bodyweight
Bench press - 1.5 x your bodyweight
Squat - 2 x your bodyweight
Deadlift - 2.5 x your bodyweight

For women -

Pull up - your bodyweight
Overhead press - your bodyweight
Bench press - your bodyweight
Squat - 1.5 x your bodyweight
Deadlift - 2 x your bodyweight

These ratio's are very much great targets for people serious about developing strength but remember, strength doesn't have to mean size. The fastest car isn't necessarily the biggest car! So, why not calculate what the above targets are for yourself (and maybe your clients) and give it a go?

Of Primary Importance...Yes and No!

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:30:00 +0000

Guest blog by Harriet Swainson

"Be careful about reading health books. You might die of a misprint." Mark Twain

Of Primary Importance...Yes and No!

The word protein is derived from the Greek word, proto, meaning 'of primary importance' and this is an apt description. It is an essential part of our diet. It contains all of the elements required for life: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen.

Protein is a crucial ingredient for our body to carry out its normal functions:

the build up of structures: without protein, many structures within the body would be fluid. There are two distinct types of structural proteins: fibrous (fundamental to cartilage and other connection tissue, hair and nails) and motor (used to spontaneously move and convert chemical energy into work).

as enzymes: enzymes catalyze chemical reactions. Enzymes carry out most reactions involved in metabolism, as well as manipulating DNA in processes such as DNA replication and DNA repair.

Antibodies: antibodies are protein components of the immune system whose main function is to bind antigens, or foreign substances in the body, and target them for destruction.

Protein is of course also vital for our muscles. However, despite the misconception, simply stuffing your body with protein, manufactured or natural, is not the best way to amass those abs or bulk up those biceps.

Put simply, to build muscle you need to give your body a reason to grow. Overloading your muscles with weight training stimulates adaptation, and it is in the recovery period that growth occurs. Protein is commonly consumed after a workout in the knowledge that it will speed up the time it takes for the muscles to recover, allowing you to get back into the gym more quickly to create more overload. Of course, protein is important for repairing muscle tissue, but this is not the only effect it has on the body and filling up on protein at the expense of other food types is not the way to go if you want to stay healthy.

When protein is broken down, acid is produced. To deal with the increase in acidity, our bodies try to compensate by using two alkaline substances, sodium and calcium. Initially the body uses its sodium supply and then calcium is taken from the bone. Essentially, too much protein can lead to calcium deficiencies, kidney stones, water retention and dehydration as well as an excess intake of calories and overall stress on your heart (not to mention bad breath).

Protein cannot be stored. If too much is taken into the body it cannot all be fully broken down and is therefore broken down into waste products. When passing through the kidneys the additional acid increases the risk of kidney stones developing and also causes damage to the kidney bringing about water retention.

So, if you increase your intake of protein, you also need to balance that with more carbohydrates and essential fats as well as your fluid intake. Obviously more food means more calories which means that you need to ensure that you're doing enough exercise to prevent fat gain. Don't forget though, this doesn't necessarily mean calories in equals calories out. Each one of us is different and we all need to work out our own balance when it comes to food intake depending on your metabolic rate which will be affected on a daily basis by all sorts of things such as stress and hormones.

(For more information, take a look at our Effective Nutrition for Weight Management course)

Movement Screens - What are you actually assessing?

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:51:00 +0000

As coaches and fitness professionals, one of the first steps with any new client is finding out their current state in terms of posture, stability and movement. Crucial information if the exercise programme developed is going to have any realistic relevance to their current physical state.

The common movement screens include squats, lunges and hurdle steps. All completely valid assessments that each gives a unique perspective but are we missing anything? In our experience, there are some major ignorances that the industry can often forget when conducting movement screens with clients so here's a couple of top tips to helps make your movement assessment as accurate and useful as possible:

Whenever you mention the word posture, clients (who sometimes don't realise they're doing it) pull their shoulders back, puff their chest out and stand the head tall. You're not wanting to assess whether or not they can stand to attention but get a snapshot of how they hold their body. Get your client to jump up on the spot a few times or march on the spot for 10 seconds with their eyes closed before settling; then look to start observing posture. An immediate photo is the easiest way as this can be studied for longer as well as being referred to for benchmarking and raising your client's awareness.
Asking a client to perform a familiar movement isn't necessarily giving you the information you want. If you ask a client to squat, they'll then go on to perform their own interpretation of a squat. This could be based upon their own personal experience which may not be the technique that you're personally looking for. Bearing in mind that for decades, squats have been taught as feet parallel, hips down to level with the knees, knees no further forward than the toes etc. Instead of basically assessing their cognitive association of the term squat, simply give a command instructing the movement sought e.g "With your feet flat, take your hips as near to the ground as possible and then return to standing"
There is a fine line between testing the body's ability to perform movements and then testing the local strength or endurance of the musculature. If you're looking to test just movement then no more than 3 or 4 repetitions of the movement should be performed. Persisting beyond this will challenge stamina which is a completely different assessment. A de-conditioned individual or athlete would likely demonstrate fatigue, affecting movement performance and rendering any observations as limited.
Demonstrations are useful but if possible, screens should be done without. For showing new exercises, demonstrations are vital and should always be used but movement screens bring out individualities of movement. Everyone has their own unique natural alignment and again, giving instructions for the movement will help profile your client towards giving their most natural preference towards approaching that movement. A demonstration would then start to assess your client's ability to accurately interpret a visual representation, potentially obscuring their own natural performance to mimic your technique.

Hopefully this has given you a couple of pointers on some very key considerations when conducting screens and postural analysis as well as asking some questions. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences.

Are your clients suffering from Cruci-fitness??

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:03:00 +0000

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:

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.
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.
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.
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'.
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)

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:24:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:25:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:43:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:23:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:23:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

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!!

False Grandeur of the Fitness Industry

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 09:21:00 +0000

They say love your job and love your life. Well, I do love working in the fitness industry having changed careers in 2007 and I most certainly love my life. It was a big step for myself and a huge leap of faith initially as I went straight into self employed Personal Training having never sold a thing previously.

My previous background was rather specialised in a very different direction as an Arabic Interpreter and Intelligence Operator for the Forces. My interviewer when I first stepped into PT was right when he said that the skills from my previous experience was going to prove highly useful although at the time, I didn't fully share that confidence. I just knew how to be me and have stuck with that ever since.

As an industry, fitness is relatively juvenile and still finding its feet with regulation only being fully in place for around 10 years. Research is constantly unwinding and rewriting our methods and practices. With such radical changes constantly hitting industry professionals, one of the most crucial fundamentals of maintaining our credibility is professionalism and integrity. Ensuring that our practices and guidance are honest, factual and proven. In my mind, one of the most frustrating observations is the over-glorification of specific trains of thought.

Of course to advertise and market effectively, there needs to be engagement that creates desire but there becomes a point when morally, a more factually based analysis would leave readers with a much clearer understanding and without false expectations. Making such grand statements can leave other commercial organisations feeling the need to equal or surpass their marketing promise resulting in a significant disparity between a customers perception and the reality.

A much more impartial reflection of innovations is key for clarity and an absolute must on the part of regulatory bodies and industry leaders.

Finally, to maintain industry-wide integrity, a level of professional respect is needed, I'll elaborate. There are methods of conditioning and practices within the industry that I don't fully agree with. In fact, there are some modes that I feel cause more damage than good. However, without clinical research to back my argument, I am merely expressing my opinion. Irrespectively, to maintain my own integrity, I should demonstrate a degree of respect and acknowledgement for the subject of my discussion. The number of times, blogs or articles begin with "I'll tell you the real truth about..." or go on to slate certain trains of thought is quite surprising. Especially with a clear absence of clinical back up. What they really mean is "here are my thoughts on..."

To progress the industry and demand the respect from our counter-industries, a certain decorum is vital from all parts, regulatory bodies, awarding bodies, training providers, fitness professionals and indeed anyone representing the fitness world.

Listening to your body

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Fitness professionals and enthusiasts are well aware that recovery is the key to enjoying the benefits of exercise. My question is, do professionals know how much recovery is needed to actually allow the body to compensate from the damage it has just been exposed to? How can you confidently know that the body is ready for another training session, be it intense or moderate? Of course, general feeling can be a useful barometer for knowing whether you're ready to slog it out again but the truth is, it's the nervous system that should be listened to in order to discover recovery time.
The two arms of the autonomic nervous system; sympathetic and parasympathetic. In simple terms, the sympathetic is like the accelerator pedal in your car, speeding up your body, internal systems and function; whereas your parasympathetic is like your brake pedal, slowing things down.

At any one time, they are both in operation providing balance and maintaining healthy function. Exercise generally arrives in conjunction with the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system and the PNS allows us to fully recover. However, do we accurately know when this has occurred or is it guess work?
Many athletes tune into their resting heart rate as an indicative measure of recovery on the notion that a return to a normal resting heart rate represents recovery. Sounds simple enough right? Well, unfortunately not. Sympathetic overload (i.e. overtraining) can be identified by a lowering in resting heart rate which may appear initially as a positive adaptation to exercise.

Another way in which athletes tend to manage recovery is by their planning. Typically having a light training day or a total rest day after a heavy or intense session. Is this enough? Whilst theoretically it makes sense, the body's response to training isn't always predictable. Sometimes the nervous system takes longer to recover from varying degrees of overreaching in training, not even considering muscular recovery.

My point is, periodisation of training programmes isn't enough. Careful and continual monitoring of training responses is absolutely necessary to allow the body sufficient time to recover. There are more accurate and simple methods of monitoring responses so that you as trainers and clients are able to be more selective about when to train. We're looking forward to launching our advanced fitness testing course in 2012 which covers much more on this.

Are you motivating your clients?

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 19:09:00 +0000

Phill Wright, Director, Creating Chaos

As personal trainers, the very top of our job descriptions reads 'motivational'...but the question is, are you actually motivational. To be able to accurately answer this question, you'd need to be able to answer a couple of questions:

How are your clients motivated?
How do you motivate clients?
How do you tailor your style to fit each of your clients?

Knowing how your clients are motivated is absolutely paramount. It's very difficult to motivate someone without knowing the true things that actually drive them. Some people are motivated by achievement and reaching goals, others are driven by having recognition and approval from others. Read more on these. The reality is that we all show different elements of each in different environments. Understanding how your clients are driven in terms of health and fitness could make your life a million times easier when keeping them going.

As trainers, we have dozens of tools in our toolbox to draw upon. Which ones do you draw upon to assist your clients? Here's just a few ways in which you can offer continued purpose and drive to your client's journeys:

Applause - regular recognition and encouragement for their efforts
Training - not just the work load of exercise in their programme but also the process of learning. Be it about exercise, nutrition or lifestyle choices. After all, in an ideal world, your clients wouldn't need you would they?
Milestones - marking significant points in their journey with rewards (these don't need to cost)
Enjoyable environment - making sure sessions are enjoyable. If sessions are just hard work and not enjoyable, your client will attach un-enjoyment and possibly even suffering to their perception of exercise. Not a great idea and unlikely to increase the likelihood of clients exercising without you there
Themed sessions - To mark achievement, allow your client to decide on the content of a session (within reason) based on what they most enjoy
Social gatherings - ideal for group fitness environments. Getting clients together can forge new friendships and help boost confidence levels
Train the trainer day - Let your client train you. (Only if you're confident being having the roles reversed) This can be a really powerful tool. Not only will it let them get their own back, it will build huge rapport, show them that exercise can be just as hard for others as it is for them, build confidence, highlight how much they've learnt...the list goes on!!

So, going back to the original questions, how do you motivate clients and how do you tailor your style? Spending time in the initial consultation working out how clients are driven and how you can support this will make monumental differences to how positive, focussed, enthusiastic and determined your clients are. Even if this doesn't come straight away, spending time as your relationship with clients continues adding to your understanding of their motivational hot buttons, you can only step closer and closer to keeping them happy, loyal and adding to the successful projects of your port folio.

Functional training does not exist – Part One

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 09:47:00 +0000

Paul Swainson, Master Personal Trainer

Functional training does not exist. For some that may be a controversial statement, for others it may be something you’ve heard before. By way of explanation, the specificity principle would suggest that to be truly functional, an exercise must match the actual function (let’s say a tennis serve for example) in terms of movement patterns, energy systems, environmental conditions, etc. Therefore by definition the only ‘true’ functional exercise is the sport or activity itself, e.g. an actual tennis serve. Indeed if you are training for something, it is necessarily different in quality to the actual function - any exercise that simply tries to replicate the movements or environment in a given sport is training for function. Even practicing the sport itself may not be classed as true function if we take psychological influences into account – the effects of motivation and state of mind on performing a tennis serve will no doubt be very different on a practice court behind closed doors compared to centre court at Wimbledon in front of thousands of spectators.

So functional training is to a large extent a contradiction in terms, although the term persists as it is commonly used to describe training for function which is the next best thing to actual competition and so is arguably the best practical form of training for sports. All we can do is try to make the gap between training and actual function as small as possible, all the while making sure we are enhancing that function more than we would by simply playing the sport.

So how do we do that? We need to replicate the physiological, psychological and environmental conditions of an activity or sport as closely as possible. However we have established that the psychological conditions of competition are as yet impossible to recreate because if you’re not competing, you’re not competing! Environmental conditions can be replicated by, for example, training indoors or outdoors depending on the sport, on the same surfaces (grass/tarmac, etc) or in the same climate.

This leaves us with mimicking physiological conditions which the fitness industry has made leaps and bounds in over recent years with for example, the increasing use of whole body, integrated multi-planar movements.

What is interesting then, is that one of the most easily replicable physical aspects of sports is typically not factored into training. Almost all programmes will feature a series of individual exercises (even if they are integrated multi-plane ones), performed for a set number of repetitions. Yet in everyday life and sports the same movement pattern is not repeated 8, 10, 12 or 20 times in succession (e.g. a tennis serve is not performed more than twice consecutively unless the player is double faulting continually – and why would you want to get good at that?!). Granted there a few activities (e.g. walking, running and cycling) where a single movement pattern is repeated continuously, but what actually happens in most sports and activities is a variety of movements, in multiple planes, occurring in sequence. In tennis, a serve could be followed by two or three fast side steps, followed by a forehand, then perhaps a two or three step forward sprint. Would there be some functional benefit therefore, in recreating these biomechanical and metabolic demands on the body as closely as possible in training?

In Part 2 of this article, we will look at how we can incorporate such an approach into training to add a new dimension to function.

Functional training does not exist – Part Two

In part one of this article, we looked at how training, by definition, can never be truly functional as we can never perfectly recreate the physiological, psychological and environmental conditions of, for example, a sport without performing or playing that sport itself. The best we can achieve is training for function.

We also identified that almost all sports involve a complex sequence of varying movements in multiple planes and so the traditional sets and reps training format may not be the most relevant approach.

Primal Flow^TM aims to tackle this aspect of functionality, by linking together multiple patterns of movement over set time periods, rather than doing multiple repetitions of single patterns. The patterns reflect the vast range of movements the human body is capable of, from the simple (e.g. pushing, pulling, flexing) to the more complex (crawling, rotating, rolling).

Exposing the body to the endless possibilities of movement available allows it to move out of its comfort zone which in turn promotes adaptation and improvement in strength, endurance, injury resistance and conditioning.

This means Primal Flow ^TMnot only has huge potential within sports performance, but also offers a unique new method of training for general fitness. The use of sequenced movements reduces the likelihood of pattern overload associated with traditional training methods, and as the system means that just body weight is a sufficient load for even experienced exercisers (just ask the Leeds Rhinos rugby league team how they felt after a Primal Flow^TM session!), it’s a practical and free system for anyone to use. In addition, the use of multiple movement patterns recruits more muscle mass, leading to greater metabolic demands, which means accelerated fat loss and increased muscle tone.

Borne from a simple concept, Primal Flow^TM is the most revolutionary training approach to hit the fitness industry for years. Once you learn the philosophy behind the system, the number of original exercises and programmes you can design will be limited only by your imagination.

For more information, contact Creating Chaos, keep an eye out for taster workshops or get ahead of the game and book onto the next Primal Pattern and Functional Movement Specialist course – be one the first trainers in the world to be certified in the next generation of training technology.

Does being Pregnant mean getting unfit?

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:09:00 +0000

Jenny Wright, OutFit director

Back in August I had some fantastic news – I’m pregnant!

As well as being overjoyed and extremely excited, I also felt a little scared. What will happen to my training? Will I get fat? Will I lose all my strength? Will I have to stop doing all the things I enjoy?

When I was past 12 weeks and able to tell others my good news, the next question after “when is it due?” was “so when are you going to give up all the exercise?”

The common train of thought amongst people is that pregnant women should be wrapped up in cotton wool and shouldn’t do much more than go for a gentle walk in terms of exercise. I knew that this couldn’t be right – pregnant animals in the wild don’t stop hunting, pregnant women in the olden days continued to work and hunt, and pregnant women now in developing countries continue to do manual work, walk miles and look after their families. Why should it be different here?

Those of you who know me will know that I am quite into my training (that’s probably an understatement). I enjoy being physically fit, and typically would train 2 to 3 times a day in a variety of ways – running, kettlebells, bodyweight circuits and hockey to name a few.

When my husband and I decided to start trying for a baby, I wanted to be as prepared as possible for what was about to happen to my body, and the changes I would inevitably have to make. I am fortunate in that I work in the fitness industry and therefore I have a number of experts and resources to go to.

To my surprise however, most trainers and instructors were very cautious about advising me about training during pregnancy. And those that had studied it were men and obviously could not fully understand the changes that occur to a woman during pregnancy.

I could only find articles stating that “you should not lift heavy weights”, “you should not over exert yourself”, “you should not raise your heart rate above a certain level”, “you should not do any balance work” and so on. What about the things I could do?

So I looked overseas for my information. I found a few blogs by fellow female kettlebell instructors in America who had continued to train during pregnancy and had a trouble free pregnancy and gave birth to a happy, healthy baby. This gave me hope, although being a bit of a geek; I still wanted to know the science behind exercising whilst pregnant.

I found a brilliant book by Doctor James F Clapp called 'Exercising Through Your Pregnancy'.

In it he details the research that has been done on the effects of training whilst pregnant (surprisingly little until about 30 years ago when he set up numerous research programmes), he described the physiological changes to the body that happen during pregnancy, and the effects of exercise on the body and the effects of exercise on a pregnant woman. The benefits of continuing to exercise are numerous, and mostly positive additive benefits to those which naturally occur to a pregnant woman.

A lot of the changes that occur during pregnancy make the body extremely efficient – more oxygen intake, more efficient at getting rid of heat, better heart rate regulation. All of these changes also occur to women who regularly exercise. Combining exercising with being pregnant adds positively to these effects; it improves the supply of glucose and oxygen to the baby (provided the mum eats adequately and regularly).

The fitter, stronger and healthier you are, the easier labour may be, the stronger the baby will be, and the easier it will be to get back to pre-pregnancy size and fitness.

there are certain things that need to be said here. My body is used to, and has been used to for years, the types of training that I do. It is not a good idea to start an exercise programme or new types of training when you’re pregnant; and if you feel any pain or have any complications during pregnancy – always consult your doctor or midwife before continuing training.

The most important thing to understand is that it is not the time for pushing myself, or trying to beat personal records; I must listen to my body and if I’m feeling tired/exhausted/any pain, then I must stop or not try to train. I also must fuel my body properly – it’s not a case of “eating for two” (you only actually need an extra 300 calories a day, and this is only from 6 months onwards), it’s a case of eating healthy, nutritious foods that will enable the baby to develop and grow, but also sustain me through my training.

I am now 18 weeks pregnant, and I have continued to train most days throughout. I tend to do 20-30 minutes of kettlebell and bodyweight circuits in the morning before work, and then a long run including hills sprints or intervals with the dog after work.

If I feel too tired – I don’t train. The only thing I have stopped doing is playing hockey due to the physical nature and contact of the sport. I understand that when bump gets bigger I will have to slightly change and tailor my training to accommodate it. But unless I have any complications during my pregnancy – I will continue to do what I love doing. If I can’t train for some reason – I know that it is only for a few months, and most importantly – the baby now comes first. Nothing is more important to me than being able to give birth to a lovely healthy little boy or girl – that is something no amount of exercise can ever take the place of.

A Beastly, Body-Crunching Belter of a Session

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:20:00 +0000

Now and again, those at Chaos HQ are able to get together, share some ideas and put themselves through some fairly challenging sessions. Just a week ago, that's exactly what happened resulting in a destructive session, now for the faint hearted.

Summary: 2 circuits, each completed twice through and containing 3 stations. (Ideal for 3 or more people, station 1acts as the timer)

Circuit 1:

Run 40 meters, hop 40 meters (20 meters each side), bear crawl 20 meters
High pull to squat catch (30lb sandbell)
Sprawl - down dog / ascending Kettlebell push press each side (20kg Kettlebell)

Circuit 2:

Walking lunge 20 meters, frog walk 20 meters, skater 20 meters
Potato lunge to ipsilateral lunge (30lb sandbell)
Hindu press up / ascending snatch each side (20-24kg Kettlebell)

Enjoy and be sure to leave your comments - only once you've given it a go!!

Suspension Training - Magic or tragic?

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 21:30:00 +0000

I was asked last week to give my thoughts on a particular brand of suspension training kit...you may be familiar with it and it got me thinking.

I've used this particular type of training a bit, years before this popular brand brought this type of training into the mainstream. As with many types of training/new products in the fitness industry, a good slice of marketing, healthy scoop of PR and some strategic endorsement is followed by what can potentially be called mass hysteria. The question is, in this instance, is it justified or is it just another example of a fickle industry desperately seeking the next great thing?

Why?

Able to target specific body parts to focus on
If used with good technique, the greater demand for proprioception will increase the training effect, engaging more muscles and to a greater intensity
Excellent to target particularly weak or phasic areas
Versatile to allow numerous variations in the movement pathways
Durable and robust
Assist in balance and progression towards exercises that may be currently unachievable

Why not?

Expensive
Require specific anchor points
Impractical for large group work
Require an ability to control inner core units much greater than the normal demand of activity
Increased stress and tension placed upon joints and supporting musculature
Difficult to fit into complexes or sequences of movements
Can encourage dependency on the support offered if used to aid balance or range of movement
Encourage single pattern repetition

My general thoughts are that suspension training kits can form a very useful although small component of a balanced fitness programme providing individuals are already at a good stage of physical fitness. However, exclusive exercise programmes based upon suspension training are limited due to the lack of integrated body movement possible and the significant requirement for the body to work around the kit and not visa versa. We look forward to hearing your thoughts

Follow this link to get your hands on excellent quality and reasonably priced fitness equipment

Helping clients get more from exercise

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 08:07:00 +0000

As fitness professionals, we're all passionate about the importance of doing exercises properly. It can be a constant challenge trying to both educate and help clients move and perform better.

Generally speaking, there are two main issues that can occur with technique when performing exercises:

Poor pattern pathway - This would be typified by the client not being able to perform the movement cleanly or very well. Within a personal training setting, the risk of this causing injury should be quite low as the personal trainer will be able to pick up the poor quality of movement and regress the exercise accordingly.
Poor neuromuscular firing sequences - This is where the driving muscles aren't performing optimally, commonly observed in synergistic dominance whereby a synergist performs more of the workload than it is designed too. Another example sees synergists firing before the agonist. This problem has a much higher risk of leading towards injury as the problem isn't always visually apparent.

So, how can you combat against this? Even if you haven't done in depth courses on corrective exercises or muscle testing and strategies, there are still things you can do before large compound movements to wake up the appropriate drivers, stretch out tonic areas and get the most from the exercises:

I'm not the biggest fan of isolated exercises because of the obscure ways of modern lifestyle, they are necessary. Before performing large compound exercises, stick a set or 2 of exercises specifically isolating the agonist. Considering the type of predominant fibre within the agonist will help you identify appropriate exercises to stimulate the correct response
Embed stretches in between sets (possibly into recovery periods). Most of us fall down when it comes to stretches and what better way to do them than to use up recovery time. Focus on tonic areas within your client and specifically, areas that can distort the quality of the compound exercise. For example, tight hip flexors generally create poor squat patterns.

For more on how to get people moving properly, the Primal Pattern course covers screening and the advanced kettlebell course covers Bi-Functional Grouping which equips trainers with a complete training system to maximise training effect, transferable for weight loss, strength gains and hypertrophy.

Beastly Partner Workout

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:12:00 +0000

A lot of trainers ask what type of training we do when we're not delivering courses, running workshops or bootcamps. Here's a little monster that Jenny and I did last week:

Session aims: Complete endurance and strength
Load: Phill 24kg / Jen 16kg KB's

5 min warm up (dynamic stretching)

1.a - Kettlebell complex (double swing / single swing / high pull) 10 each side (T)
1.b - Reverse lunges

2.a - Kettlebell complex (single arm swing / high pull / snatch) 10 each side (T)
2.b - Medicine Ball overhead reverse lunge

3.a - Snatches - 10 each side (T)
3.b - Primal Flow (reverse lunge to knee drive / sprawl / adducting kick through)

4.a - Full pyramid 1-5-1 reps (squat / press up / pull up) (T)
4.b - Long cycle (remain on one side until 4.a at pyramid peak)

5.a - 5-10 minutes stretching

(T) = timer - this station dictates how long the partner station lasts

Enjoy - be sure to leave some comments once you've given it a go. Pick up more on complex circuits on our Kettlebell and Advanced Kettlebell Instructor courses.

How well do you know your clients?

noreply@blogger.com (Phill Wright) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:43:00 +0000

Being a successful personal trainer requires a lot of things including good knowledge, confidence, expert skill set, the ability to improvise and constantly being flexible. However, perhaps the most important tool having longevity with your clients and the ability to develop and maintain rapport, sometimes referred to as the softer skills.

There’s one thing for certain, not all personality types get on and that needs bearing in mind. If your instincts tell you that the connection isn’t quite there then they’re most probably right. Rapport is something you can work on but if there is nothing to build on in the first instance, it could prove quite a painful journey.

So, how can you improve rapport? Here’s some steps to help you make significant steps towards improving rapport with clients:

Take an interest in them and their life - Yes, clients will generally pay an interest in you but it’s your job to take more of an interest in their life. A challenge as a personal trainer is to brush off the stereotype of being self obsessed and voyeuristic. Being more interested in your own reflection isn’t going to help this. The medical screening should be not even scratching the surface of how much you want to know about your clients.
Step into their world - Learn how your client paints a picture of the world and become more in tune with it. Understanding your client’s perception will help you understand them better, show empathy and be able to set more appropriate targets and focus to their programme. Learning your client’s values will help you understand what is important to them and picking up on the type of predicates they use will help. Predicates are descriptive words that give you clues as to how someone sees things. For example, “I see what you’re saying” is a common statement but indicative of a more visual frame of mind. Most of us use a variety of frames frequently but over time, you can build up a picture of the most common frames your clients use. The key then is to speak back to them with the same type of language / terminology. This doesn’t mean you should converse parrot-fashion, more favour their type of language with how you speak. This will make more sense to them and help develop rapport.
Regular assessments and time to reflect - We’ve all been guilty of thinking that every second spent with clients should involve them sweating and us dictating, but is this really an ideal situation. Irrespective of how busy your clients are, you need to make time to reflect, review and take stock of progress. I believe it’s an honest mistake as the urge stems from wanting to give clients as much as possible within the time spent together. However, it’s a little like driving at night without the lights on - rather dangerous and you’re not too sure where you’re heading. Always take time out for this. A lot can be done remotely but it’s a crucial part of the process and will constantly keep you in touch.
Master of nothing - Avoid falling into the trap of thinking that you need to know everything as the trainer. Be confident with your areas of expertise but also know your boundaries and always sign post clients to the best resource(s) where possible. If a GP told you to see a foot specialist, you wouldn’t insult him/her for not being able to solve it themself. Trying to be everything is tiring, unnecessary and it’s potentially a legal suit waiting to happen.
Make your clients feel special - You’re the best placed person to decide how this might be but everyone likes to feel the receiving end of being treated well. It could be a birthday card/gift, it could be giving them a bottle of water at the start of a session, it could be greeting them showing how delighted you are to see them. Meeting them as you would a friend doesn’t take much effort but will fill your client with a sense of comfort, relax them and make them feel as though they belong in your company.

Please add your own tips and thoughts on what works well to develop rapport with clients