Studio Update

F.I.S.H. Ltd Personal Training Studio's client list is growing at an alrming rate - and all without any major advertising campaign!

Derek and Melody are both almost up to capacity, so it's good news that Mark Jobbins has come on board as a new trainer. Chutz starts with us in July once he's finished his YMCA qualification.

If you are looking to lose weight or build muscle - or both - we can help you with optimal programmes for weight training and nutrition, boxercise and outdoor training. We also offer technique master classess for those new to resistance training, or those who wish to advance their own training knowledge and effectiveness.

We also now stock all the nutritional supplements that we personally find the most effective.

If you are a Personal Trainer looking for a facility in which to train your clients, or if you wish to build muscle, tone up, lose fat - and keep it off - then please give us a call on 07871760054 or email fishtraining@yahoo.co.uk.

Deadlift Technique

The Deadlift is one of the most productive exercises, one which involves most of the posterior chain muscles. Like the Squat, the Deadlift can evoke a huge anabolic response when performed correctly and with the right loading and tempo. It's also great for developing the core, again if performed correctly and at an appropriate load. I once even used Deadlifts, with lighter weights, to rehabilitate a lower back problem.

It's worth starting your Deadlift practice using the split grip -one hand over and one under. This prevents the bar from rolling at heavier weights.

The start position involves placing your feet under the bar shoulder-width or wider for stability. The bar should be touching your shins and should remain close to, or touching, your legs throughout the range of motion.

Grip the bar, one hand under, one hand over, keep the arms locked out, shrug and try to retract the shoulder blades. Hold your abdomen tight. Ensure that your lumber spine is arched, and that it remains arched when lifting and lowering. The arch involves maintaining, or even slightly exagerrating, the natural curvature of the spine.

Start the lift with the legs by extending the knees (starting to stand up). The arms do not move - think of them as hooks simply holding the bar. As the bar reaches the knees begin to straighten the lower back. Reverse the move to lower.

It's fine to set the bar down in between reps and to take a second to re-set physically and mentally.

A good tempo (if using 6-8 reps, which I think is optimum once you've mastered the technique, but depending on your goals of course) is 3 seconds to lower the weight, 1-2 seconds to lift, with about a second to re-set.

At very heavy weights you will need to create a block - this involves breathing in to fill the lungs and holding the breath during lifting and lowering, making sure you breath at the top and bottom positions. This will increase intra-tohracic pressure and help prevent forward roll and damage to the lower back.

I generally use Deadlifts at the start of my back routine (usually 3 sets of 6-8) as this means I get to hit the quadriceps and hams twice during the week. My legs and back workouts are therefore spaced as far apart as possible each week.

Chutz & Del's Training Log

Due to a niggling knee injury I suggested a drop in weight for squats so that we can revise perfect form and increase the reps from 6-8 to 10. I think I've been unconsciously shifting my centre of gravity very slightly towards the balls of my feet when using the heavier loads and so we've dropped the weight by nearly 20kg and have started really focussing the weight through the heels. The increased time under tension and the marginally improved form has already shown some good results.

Deadlifts are back - we are working in the 6-8 rep range and I'm currently up to 100kg for 8 reps. We both achieved a 1 rep max of 130kg. Chin ups are improving - I'm now doing 4 sets of 8 and Chutz is up to 4 good reps per set.

The best workout of the month, however, was the new chest routine. I like to change the routines every 4-6 workouts, but with chest we've been stuck on straight sets of 6-8 reps for some time, purely because it's been so productive. Last week, however, we trained a bit heavier, but the real breakthrough came on Wednesday when we moved to heavy drop sets of 4-5 reps, drop the weight 5kg and perform 1-2 more reps and repeat once more. We followed this with some incline work, flyes, cable crossovers and then a few sets of incline psychoblasts (slow, continuous tension sets). The results are already quite marked.

We've finally finished phase 2 of Winning the Arms Race. The strength gains in triceps have already transferred to bench press but the heavy dips have taken their toll on the rotator cuffs.

To recover fully we've taken a few extra days off this week with a view to going even harder next week.

Winning the Arms Race

Phase 2 is drawing to an end. We've both exceeded the programme expectations for preacher curls and dips and look set to hit the goal for hammer curls on the last workout next weekend.

Giant Sets

We've decided to add the odd giant set to the end of our workouts. A giant set invloves multiple sets targetting the same muscle group - in this case shoulders and traps. It's gruelling but generates a lot of lactid acid, which should help with growth hormone production and fat burning.

Losing Fat & Toning Up

The majority of our clients want to lose weight and tone up. Occasionally we get clients who want to bulk up with muscle, which, whilst having its own challenges, is often a lot simpler.

Weight loss in theory is actually rather simple: ensure that energy out is greater than energy in. Basicaly this means become more active and reduce caloric intake accordingly.

Some clients want to build muscle and lose fat at the same time - a very tricky task. To build muscle you generally need an excess of calories. The trick is to change the proportions of macronutrients in the diet and to time the intake of proteins and carbohydrates (carbohydrates should generally fall either side of training and, besides the post workout recovery drink/snack, should generally be low GI.

The fastest way to achieve that lean, defined look is to use specific loading parameters and time under tension (with incomplete rest between sets) in order to create high levels of blood lactate. This triggers a huge growth hormone response, and growth hormone not only helps us build muscle but also burns fat.

Optimal nutrition, effective training, and adequate rest (combined with increasing incidental exercise, such as walking to work) will ensure the best results.

The problem comes with adherence and motivation. Often, overweight clients are not entirely truthful about what they are eating (and drinking). If they are training well but go home and drink Coke and eat sweet foods or foods high in saturated fat they are likely to be disappointed with their rate of progress, and disappointment leads to despondency with training.

It is sometimes not enough to encourage clients to keep a food diary. Many will only make progress if their nutritional needs are spelled out for them - daily, easy to follow, menu plans. With some clients, appropriate supplements may make the nutritional side easier or more effective.

Generally, for those wishing to lose weight and build lean tissue, I recommend L-Carnitine (especially just prior to training), L-Glutamine (before and after training), Branch Chain Amino Acids (before and after training), a good quality whey protein, Conjugated Linoleic Acid, Essential Fatty Acids, and (for those who need an extra boost), a thermogenic supplement (i.e. Maximuscles Thermobol or Muscletech's Hydroxycut).

It's also important to protect the immune system with vitamins A,C and E and zinc and magnesium supplementation. Drinking soluble vitamin C (high potency) during training helps to blunt the effect of cortisol, thus preserving lean tissue.

Nevertheless, no matter how good the exercise programme and the nutritional advice, many clients simply lack the discipline to stick with it. Training not only needs to be effective, for some people, it also needs to be fun, and varied. If you don't achieve adherence in your clients then they may get short term results before returning to old habits. Long-term changes come long-term repetition of the desired behaviour. Is it better to have the "perfect" programme which the client won't adhere to, or the mitigated programme which keeps them coming back for more. At some point, perhaps after months or even years, the client may be ready for the most efficient way to train, but until then it's important to meet their psychological need for variety and enjoyment, leading them all the while towards better and more effective ways of training.

Training Variety

We've seen a lot of training variety this week at FISH. Del and Chutz continue to pound away with optimal loads and are sowing great results. Meanwhile Joshua has been easing into German Body Comp twice a week with a third session of free-style training incorporating core stability work and boxing.

Melody has been getting into heavier weight training whilst using boxing to great effect with her clients.

There have been three new starters at FISH this week, one of whom can already perform a couple of chin ups. Another new client starts tomorrow and yet another next week. We've had a few people off with sickness who are due to return to training next week as well.

Mark Jobbins looks set to join the training team and Chutz is commencing the YMCA Gym Instructor course in June with a view to starting work at FISH shortly after qualifying.

Chutz & Del's Training Log

My left knee has been playing up since moving on to heavy squats. As a result we've dropped deadlifts for the week and will be moving on to higher reps with squats whilst dropping the weight by 20kg.

Today's chest workout, however, was one of the best yet. We both hit personal bests in terms of time under tension at optimal loading. The felxibility of the current training split allowed us the option of focusing solely on bench press today - at varying inclines- and we ended up with 8 excellent sets.

The arms are responding well to the "Winning the Arms Race Programme" - I'm up to 14" biceps (from 13) and Chutz is up to 15-8.

The 6-8 rep protocol seems to be still reaping benefits for upper body but legs may have to return to 8-12 reps whilst the knee recovers.

Persoanl Training Difficulties 1

One of the factors sometimes overlooked by Personal Trainers, and I have been guilty of this, is that of adherence and readiness to undertake a particular programme of exercise.

I tend to work very scientifically. After the initial sessions, which focus on technique and adaptation, I tend to formulate a programme designed to achieve optimal results most efficiently. Generally this involves compound exercises such as bench press, military press, squats, dead lifts, leg press, lat pulldowns (or chins for those who are strong enough), dips (again if strong enough), bar biceps and a triceps exercise (often pressdowns unless the client can perform dips or lying extensions).

I usually start with fairly high reps for safety reasons and to perfect exercise technique. Gradually there is a move towards lower reps and more sets. At some point there is a shift to a split routine in order to accommodate the increased work load.

Coupled with this is an optimal nutrition programme. Those clients who have managed to adhere to both elements have shown dramatic improvements within weeks.

However, most clients are not ready to train this way. The majority have only just reached the "action" stage of change. They still need motivating, they need to feel good, they need variety, fun, and progressive achievement if they are to keep coming back.

I'm never really comfortable with this. I tend to work on the premise that the client should get the best results for their money. The downside, though, is that is the client isn't meeting all their other, psychological needs, they will never move to the all-important "termination" stage, where they become exercise junkies. If they don't enjoy the sessions, or if they work too hard at first, they simply won't continue. This situation is bad for them - they'll soon return to old ways, and bad for the trainer - your ex-clients will generally inform others that they tried training with you but it didn't work.

In the early stages of training almost anything will bring some results. Therefore I think the emphasis should be on variety and enjoyment. If the trainer is particularly attentive, they can tune in to what works for the client and make changes accordingly. As long as the trainer keeps records of the session progressive overload can still be planned for.

In summary, it is not always the best approach to plan only the most efficient programme of training. The client has to be ready for this, and some never are. Perfectionism is great for those who are ready, but in the early stages, at least, variety, fun, and motivation are the keys.

Chutz & Del's Training Log

Finally the effects of the virus have passed. The intensity of the German Body Comp routine was impossible to maintain during the illness and so we switched temporarily back to a four day split routine for mixed strength and hypertrophy. The results have been quite encouraging and the workouts more enjoyable as there is a degree of flexibility. Generally, though, we have been sticking to a 6-8 rep range. The chest workout has involved 4-6 sets of bench press at varying inclines. Squats have been, for us, heavy (80-90kg) and deadlifts are between 90 and 100kg. We have continued with the second phase of the "Winning the Arms Race" workout but have had to replace overhead pressess in the power rack for triceps pressdowns due to a lack of safety pins. The good news is, however, that the pins have now been manufactured and should be with us this week.

The week at F.I.S.H.

Theo is on holiday for Easter and so we've taken a bit of time away from the studio this week. Theo and Derek spent the day, and a fortune, at Drusillas on Monday. Tuesday saw us at Gordon's leaving do (from the hospital). A group of work colleagues joined us at the Prince Albert for the weekly "jam night" where Melody and Derek performed a few songs and broke their usual nutritional rules and had copious amounts of beer and wine.

On Wednesday, the F.I.S.H. uniforms arrived along with the latest consignment of protein bars and shakes.

Business continues to pick up - Melody has started two new clients today and some old faces look set to recommence training next week.