Personal Training in Liverpool Street

3 Tips for Changing Your Body Composition

Changing your body composition involves altering the amount of muscle and fat you have in your body. In modern society, favourable body composition changes are often described as an increase in muscle and a decrease in body fat. This allows you to accentuate the parts of your body that are conventionally appealing.

I’ve made it known in the past that I have misgivings about training with an excessive focus on body composition. I’ve written about fitness transformations and the effects of a negative body image on motivation. As a result, I mainly focus on strength training and gym habits on this blog.

However, I accept that there are many people who want to change their body composition regardless. I accept that I cannot simply tell people they’re wrong for wanting bigger arms or a smaller stomach.

If you’re going to do it, it’s important that you do it in the healthiest and most efficient way possible. Here are several things to consider before you embark on changing your body composition.

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What Is Functional Training, and Should You Be Doing It?

Functional training has been a very popular term for as long as I’ve been a trainer. It’s having a surge lately, thanks to some very popular coaches on social media claiming that they provide more “functional exercises”, or calling themselves “functional fitness trainers”.

Unfortunately, as with many terms in the fitness industry, the exact definition as it relates to your workouts is pretty broad. In order to get to the truth of things, I’m going to talk about three groups of trainers that existed when I started out as a PT…

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Quick Post: How to Pick a New Personal Trainer

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If you’ve set some new goals for the new year, then you might be considering hiring a new personal trainer. While I’d love for everyone in the world to come and work with me, I accept that you may have to browse elsewhere. Personal trainers come in as many varieties as there are varieties of people, so it’s important that you find one who is a good match for you.

Too many people start with a new personal trainer based solely on diary availability, or because they were automatically assigned to a certain trainer by the sales rep they met with. While these arrangements can work out well (especially if the sales rep really cares about their gym members), it fails to take into account the “personal” element of personal training. Here are 3 other things you should consider when choosing your new trainer.

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Quick Post: How to Pick a New Gym for the New Year

At the time of writing, we’re staring down the barrel at 2022. You might be thinking about getting into a new fitness routine, and a new gym membership might be a part of that.

It might seem prudent to pick the closest gym to your home or workplace, but there’s so much more to finding the gym that suits you best.

Here’s a list of what to look for in your new gym.

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Equipment

This one may seem obvious, but the equipment in your new gym will have a major influence on what workouts you can do. It is well worth thinking about your training plan before signing up to a new gym.

Tips

  • Gyms that are full of resistance machines and treadmills may seem like a safe place to start your training due to their ease of use. But keep your eye out for other challenges that you can progress towards as you gain confidence.
  • Free weights tend to attract a very passionate crowd. Make sure there are enough dumbbells and barbells available – especially if you’re planning on squatting at 6pm on a Monday. If your gym only has one squat rack, you will definitely be disappointed. If you can, have a trial of the gym at the time you’d usually expect to train, to see how busy it gets.
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How to Improve Your Front Squat Form

In part 1, I explained why I think the front squat is such a useful exercise. There’s just something impressive about the leg and back strength required to squat deep whilst refusing to be buried by the weight that’s resting on your chest. I also discussed the step-by-step approach to performing the front squat, and highlighted the importance of good front squat form.

I also mentioned that there are many aspects of the front squat that require your attention in order to master the exercise. There are many potential weak links that can limit the front squat, including the wrists, upper back, and general squat mobility issues. This guide will cover how to adequately prepare each aspect of front squat form for the best squat workout possible.

The cross-grip front squat may be less stable than the Olympic-style version.
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How to Front Squat: A Step-by-Step Guide

I’ve covered squatting in my two-part guide previously, but the front squat offers enough distinct challenges (and benefits) that I thought it was worth going over it separately.

The front squat, as the name suggests, is a way of squatting with the bar on the front of the body as opposed to on the back. This alters the weight distribution of the exercise, which typically leads to a more upright, knee-dominant squat compared to a back squat.

Olympic-style Front Squat
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Introduction

This is one of my favourite lifts. It trains lower body strength through a large range of motion, and also challenges the muscles of the back to remain upright with a weight bearing down on your shoulders. In my opinion, this makes it a useful exercise for a myriad of sporting and “real-world” tasks that require you to keep a rigid trunk (core), as well as carrying things – not to mention the act of squatting itself.

The front squat will also improve certain specific exercises such as cleans.

Hang Cleans
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How to Get on The Fitness Bandwagon (and Stay There)

Lots of us have a hard time staying on the exercise bandwagon. We have periods of time where we train really hard or consistently, followed by periods of little to no exercise.

Despite what your favourite Instagram-mer says, some of this is actually totally normal. Life moves through peaks and troughs, and any responsible training programme should follow those same fluctuations. If you find yourself adopting an all-or-nothing approach that is preventing you from making any progress over a long period of time, it might be time to make some changes.

Note: Of course, not everyone trains for a specific goal and may not be looking for “progress” per se – you may just be exercising to move as opposed to getting stronger. That being said, I still think the changes I have listed below could improve your relationship with exercise.

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The Do’s and Don’ts of Managing Your Injury

There has never been a better time to get injured. Yes, injuries can be scary and painful, but our understanding of injury mechanisms has never been greater.

There are so many resources out there that provide a clear route back from injury and advise you on how to manage pain.

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My own understanding of injury management has gone through somewhat of a revival in recent years. Looking at the way best practices have changed regarding injury reads like a Hot or Not:

HotNot
Understanding that pain is a complex emotion influenced by a variety of factors.Thinking that all pain is linked to a mechanical fault in the body.
Helping people expand their comfort zones by graded exposure to different challenges.Using “corrective” exercises to “fix” an issue.
Viewing medical scans as the final authority in injury diagnosis.Understanding that many “injuries” picked up in scans are also present in people with no symptoms.

It’s safe to say that injury and pain are too complex for me to discuss specifics here, and you should definitely consult with healthcare professionals if you need help managing pain or injury. However, here are some general principles I’ve learned from other professionals, client experiences, and my own injuries.

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Which Halloween Monster Do You Work Out Like?

Step aside, Buzzfeed. You’re not the only one who can do a personality quiz.

A personality quiz is a great way to pass the time. That’s especially true as the weather gets colder and the days get darker. But when was the last time a personality quiz taught you something about your training? More importantly, when was the last time someone used Halloween monsters to talk about your training?

Well, look no further. This short quiz will delve into your training habits to see which Halloween monster you have the most in common with. Not only that, but each answer tries to pinpoint the area of your training you could stand to improve upon to unlock that next level of training goodness.

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The Ultimate Halloween Personality Quiz…

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3 More Fantastic Fitness Finishers to Cap Off Your Workout

Here are three more fitness finishers you can try for your workouts. As before, I’ve explained what elements are important in each workout so you can customise them to your needs and gym layouts.

If you missed the last post, I discussed my definitions for fitness and conditioning there. I also provided three other example workouts, so if you’re looking for more fitness inspiration you should check it out.

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