Personal Training in Liverpool Street

Your Guide to Understanding Core Training

Core training is one of the most frequent topics that new clients mention during consultations. Unfortunately, when you dig a little deeper into people’s motivations for training their core, the answers you get can be quite wide-ranging.

“My back feels weak.”

“I think a stronger core will make me better at my sport.”

“I have bad posture.”

“I want a flatter stomach/six-pack.”

“I get back pain.”

These are very different goals that require very different approaches, but by grouping them all under the umbrella of core training, it’s easy to get the wrong impression about what core training actually entails.

This also means that well-meaning trainers (or not so well-meaning marketing departments) can have you chasing your own tail by performing their version of core training – which is not necessarily the type of training that suits your goals best.

Unfortunately, this misunderstanding of core training types can lead to your results being lost in translation. Crunches probably won’t fix a bad back, learning to brace properly on heavy squats isn’t going to give you a six-pack, and juggling knives on a swiss ball won’t improve your tennis serve.

In order to avoid disappointment and get better results, it’s important to know exactly what you’re trying to achieve and how to go about it.

Core Training Types

Table of Contents
(more…)

Continue ReadingYour Guide to Understanding Core Training

Quick Post: How to Deload to Improve Strength

If you’re training to build strength, sooner or later you will need to deload. The aim of a training deload is to reduce the amount of training stress whilst preserving enough of a training stimulus that you still get results.

The combination of relatively heavy loads, big ranges of motion, and consistency will take its toll over time. This can manifest in tiredness, decreased strength performance, or in an overuse injury. However, if you deload too much then you can end up bored, and may even lose progress. Here are some pointers on making the most of your training deload.

Deload
By Victor Freitas on Unsplash
Table of Contents
(more…)

Continue ReadingQuick Post: How to Deload to Improve Strength

Quick Post: Can I Train Core Strength By Squatting Heavy?

Several studies have looked at the activation of core muscles (around the abdomen and lower back) during heavy lifts like squats and deadlifts, in comparison to isolated core exercises like bridges and supermans. The findings usually suggest that core muscles reach higher levels of activation during the heavy lifts than they do during core-specific exercises. This has led many to conclude that there is a secret weapon for improving core strength or getting a six-pack: just lift heavy.

Back squat core strength

Unfortunately, there are a subset of coaches for whom just lifting heavy answers everything. Want more muscle? Just lift heavy. Want to get faster? Just lift heavy. Want a six-pack? Just lift heavy.

(more…)

Continue ReadingQuick Post: Can I Train Core Strength By Squatting Heavy?

3 Ways to Boost Your Pullup Progress

Training to get your first pullup is a fantastic goal. It requires all-round strength and a mastery of your bodyweight. It also has real world applications, should you ever find yourself in a Cliffhanger-style situation.

However, getting that first pullup can be a frustrating journey too. Many people struggle to overcome the major hurdles that come with gaining the strength – and skill – to perform a brand new movement.

Through my time of helping people get their first pullup, I see the same mistakes being made time and again. Luckily, they have simple fixes.

Want more help with your pullups? I have specific online programmes for pullups and deadlifts. These are made with all experience levels in mind! Fill in the contact form at the bottom of the blog if you’d like to know more.

Table of Contents
(more…)

Continue Reading3 Ways to Boost Your Pullup Progress

Is Perfectionism Harming Your Fitness Journey?

Note: I am not a mental health professional. In writing today’s post, I have borrowed very heavily from GoodTherapy’s page on perfectionism. You should check this page out if you’d like to learn more. My sole aim is to discuss how perfectionism can be counter-productive to a person’s fitness journey, or harmful to their wellbeing. This blog should not be mistaken for mental health advice.

Table of Contents

What Is Perfectionism?

Perfectionism is broadly defined as the need to be, or appear to be, perfect. It is a personality trait that can be linked to conditions such as anxiety, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and orthorexia nervosa. There are many forms of perfectionism.

Perfectionism may not seem inherently bad. Many successful people display perfectionistic traits, and the pursuit of perfection is socially acceptable – even glorified – in many fields. However, perfectionism becomes problematic when you:

  • Are fixated on the end result of a task only;
  • Are unable to complete a task unless the end result will be perfect;
  • Take an excessively long time to finish something that others can do relatively quickly, because of the desire to make it perfect;
  • Use perfectionism as a way to protect against shame, judgement and fear of failure.
By Christian Erfurt on Unsplash
(more…)

Continue ReadingIs Perfectionism Harming Your Fitness Journey?

Quick Post: Why You Should Be Wary of Body Transformation Photos

No, not those transformations.

On any given social media platform, it’s hard to avoid coming across someone’s body transformation photos. The most prominent examples will often show people having lost considerable amounts of weight, or gained muscle, between the before and after photos. You can’t even get on a train at certain stations without seeing huge banners showing people’s before and after photos!

These images can elicit multiple feelings – envy, inadequacy, or the pressure to buy a certain product. The images might also tempt you to undertake a transformation of your own. These feelings are normal – it’s what the images are designed to do, after all. However, here are some things to think about before you let these feelings sway you.

Table of Contents
(more…)

Continue ReadingQuick Post: Why You Should Be Wary of Body Transformation Photos

Quick Post: The Best Gym Kit For Strength Training

I’ve previously made some recommendations about the gym kit I’d recommend for strength training, and I thought I would consolidate it into one place. There are a lot of gym gadgets out there, some of which are useful and some of which are little more than gimmicks. The kit I’ve recommended won’t just help you lift more; it will make your strength training sessions more effective. They also make great gifts for that special gym-goer in your life.

Note: I’m not affiliated with any of the brands featured.

Weightlifting Shoes

These shoes have a built-in wedge at the heel, giving a slight elevation that allows you to get your knees further over your toes. This is great for squatting and Olympic lifting variations where you need to keep your torso upright whilst sitting low. They’re also more stable than the average shoe, as the heel is pretty solid.

There are some mobility-fanatics out there who will say that everyone should be able to squat ass-to-grass whilst being barefoot. This simply isn’t realistic for everybody and shouldn’t put you off buying weightlifting shoes – but you should probably work on your ankle mobility too.

Ankle Mobility
(more…)

Continue ReadingQuick Post: The Best Gym Kit For Strength Training

Quick Post: How to Deal With Your Sore or Weak Lower Back

It’s fairly common to feel like you have soreness or weakness in your lower back, without a specific injury or problem that you’re aware of. Here are some steps that can help you resolve this problem.

Why is Your Back Sore/Weak?

Some back issues simply require a change in lifestyle, while others may need prolonged support. It’s important to understand which is which. It might be worth seeing a qualified professional about your pain.

It’s easy to assume that lower back pain can last forever, and that having back pain makes you fragile, but this often turns out to be incorrect. Pain is not always an indicator of severe damage; many of the back conditions we fear the most, like degenerative disc problems, are present in people that have never reported pain.

Your first step on the road to managing your weak or sore lower back is getting a better picture of what’s going on in the first place. If you can manage your misconceptions around back pain, you can manage your plan for recovery.

(more…)

Continue ReadingQuick Post: How to Deal With Your Sore or Weak Lower Back

The Ultimate 7 Exercises for a Strong Back

When I started in the gym, the main focus was on the muscles on the front of the body; these were easiest to see in the mirror. But now, we’re living in the age of the strong back.

Training for well-rounded back strength should encompass the following areas:

  • The back of the legs (hamstrings);
  • The bottom muscles (glutes);
  • Lower back muscles (the erector spinae, among others)
  • A wide range of upper back muscles.

Why a Strong Back is Important

  • Strong hamstrings are often recommended for building knee resilience and hamstring injury prevention;
  • A strong lower back and glutes will prepare you for daily lifting tasks and reinforce many of your compound exercises;
  • Upper back strength can help with posture and support the lower back.
  • It’s just really satisfying to be strong in these areas!

The muscles of the back comprise a variety of movements, angles, and functions, so your back training has to be well-rounded. A lot of back exercises will also take a toll on your grip, so pepper your back training exercises across multiple workouts and cycle them between training programmes.

The Best Exercises for a Strong Back

Table of Contents
(more…)

Continue ReadingThe Ultimate 7 Exercises for a Strong Back

Quick Exercise Formats That Will Make You Strong

It’s frustrating when you do everything you can to get to the gym but there still just isn’t enough time to complete every aspect of your brand-new gym programme. In these moments it’s important that you don’t give up, and it can be useful to have a back-up plan for when you only have 20-30 minutes to train. Social media sites are drowning in HIIT workouts designed to exhaust you in 30 minutes or less, so let’s focus on how to perform a quick strength workout instead.

Table of Contents
Squatting shoes
(more…)

Continue ReadingQuick Exercise Formats That Will Make You Strong