New Book Released

My new book "Foundations for a Better Physique" has now been released and is available either as a paperback or download from www.lulu.com

The book cuts through all the confusing information about training with weights to give you the best method, in my opinion, of training your whole body whilst preserving structural balance.

The book describes the six core exercises in great detail and tells you how to periodise your training for optimal results.

Invaluable information on motivation, rest, recuperation, training variables, and diet is also included along with record sheets for diet, training and physical measurements.


Paperback costs £6.25 and download £1.50

Progression in Resistance Training

You must have noticed the guys in the gym who always train hard, always train heavy, and always train the same. You may also have noticed that, no matter how long you have witnessed their training, they also always look the same.

There may be a number of reasons for lack of progress: inadequate nutrition or rest; poor timing of nutrition and supplementation; inappropriate exercises. Often lack of progress can be ascribed to poor knowledge, poor technique, and a lack of variety.

The body is a lazy organism. It is concerned with the conservation of energy and assiduously tries to cling to homeostasis, maintaining its biological state within pre-set parameters. Unless muscle fibres are stressed to the point of overload there will be no incentive for them to grow. If they are taken to the point of momentary muscular failure (or beyond, as with forced repetitions) the signal to grow is even greater (in the latter case up to 30% greater). To ensure muscular overload is progressive, leading to bigger gains, there are a number of variables that can be manipulated. For many recreational bodybuilders, however, it is always about increasing the weight at all costs.

In addition to poor exercise knowledge, poor form, and an ignorance of specificity, the other contributing factor to training plateaus is lack of variety.

If you perform the same routine week in, week out, there will come a point when you cannot increase the weight without sacrificing form. Your body will also quickly adapt to a particular way of training. If it is no longer taxed it will cease to develop.

In order to increase the intensity of a workout there are a number of variables that can be manipulated: resistance (weight), repetitions, rate (speed), rest (in between sets) and range of motion. Experiment with each of the “5 Rs”. Cut down your rest in between sets. The muscles won’t be fully recovered and will fail earlier in the next set. Move through a full range of motion (fully extend the arms at the start point of a biceps curl for example); sometimes pause along various points in the range of movement and allow the muscles to statically contract; exploit peak contraction positions; slow the movements down, control the negative. Sometimes use faster movements; sometimes work with heavy weights, but only if you can maintain good form. Experiment with high intensity techniques (rest-pause, supersets, pre and post-exhaust, negatives, static contraction etc). If you increase the intensity you may need to reduce the volume. Mike Mentzer advocated short bursts of extremely high intensity training using very heavy loads (with perfect form) and then leaving the gym to start the recovery and growth process. Dorian Yates, six times Mr Olympia, successfully exploited this type of training philosophy but there is, for the recreational bodybuilder, a caveat: Yates suffered his share of major injuries, including a detached tricep, and when Frenchman Francis Benfatto experimented with heavy training he seriously damaged his pectoral. If you use high intensity, don’t use it exclusively. Vary your training.

Don’t allow your workouts to become totally random, however. Follow a basic programme that gradually progresses resistance (consider using step loading cycles for 4-6 weeks). Intersperse your regular training with sessions of high intensity work. Don’t be afraid to modify your routine every 4-6 weeks. Listen to your body. Keep notes of how you respond to different approaches and mix your approaches. Francis Benfatto, who recently staged an incredible comeback at the Australian Grand Prix, makes the comparison between training and music:

“You don’t play with just one note of music, and we bodybuilders can’t play just with weights. We must play with technique, reps, speed, machines, dumbbells, barbells, inclines, declines, supersets, giant sets – everything. We must push our bodies with new things all the time so we can always progress.” (Flex, September 2006, p118)

With a combination of good nutrition, adequate rest, clear goals, exercise knowledge, good form and variety you will continue to make gains. Don’t be one of those people who always seem to be in the gym, always train hard, and seldom change their physiques. Think about what you want to achieve, study the most effective exercises and learn correct form (consider having a session on technique with a personal trainer who has knowledge of bodybuilding), manipulate the “5 Rs” and experiment with high intensity at intervals. Don’t worry about what everyone else is lifting. Focus on form – it’s all in the execution not the ego.

Personal Trainers

Personal Trainers sometimes come in for a great deal of criticism in the bodybuilding magazines.

Sometimes this is due to the almost delusional beliefs of the writers in their own expertise. Often, however, their remarks have some validity, although they are seldom qualified.

Years ago, anyone could claim to be a personal trainer - the industry was not regulated. Generally, these days, trainers have to train for about a year (some organisations offer intensive, fast-track, training that takes only 3-4 months).

The training itself is rather good and involves practical and theory tests. However, it is possible to become qualified and yet have no commitment to the ongoing training, reading, personal practice, and experience that are essential to becoming an effective, safe, and reliable trainer. The Register of Exercise Professionals goes some way towards remedying this by insisting on continuous education accreditation, but even this does not make up for a lack of true passion for training knowledge and practice.

There is another caveat when it comes to personal training: some of the big gyms employ fitness instructors (who possess a level 2 qualification that implies competence in gym inductions and in formulating a basic gym programme) and then pass them off as personal trainers. These companies have their own training packages which they offer to customers as "personal training" and are shameless in doing so. Often these same gyms encourage genuine personal trainers to practice on their sites for an extortionate rent but then proceed to undermine their businesses (often the trainers are sub-contractors) by selling their own products, which are facilitated by level 2 gym instructors. The customers are short-changed (some would say defrauded) and the level 3 trainers are under-cut and often go out of business.

There are, nevertheless, some extremely effective trainers, but you have to know what to look for.

Essentially, a good personal trainer is 100% attentive. This means that they listen to their clients, particularly in the setting of SMART goals, and that they also watch their clients at every moment, identifying errors in technique or gauging intensity and when it is time to stop a set or exercise due to technique starting to deteriorate.

The trainer should have a good knowledge of muscle and lever functions and attachments and should be able to identify the most effective exercises for a given goal. They should pay attention to detail - posture, exercise form, range of motion, resistance, repetition speed and smoothness, rate of perceived exertion etc.

The trainer should intervene when there are potentially injurious factors, such as the rounding of the back during a dead lift, and they should continuously attempt to focus the client on the exercise by using appropriate levels of correction and encouragement.

If the trainer is asked to justify a particular exercise choice they should be able to do so - and should not feel threatened by the request. There must be a rationale for training approaches, and the training should always be the most effective, whilst being safe, for the client's individual goals.

I would also expect a trainer to have sound nutritional knowledge, an understanding of health related issues, and good communication skills (especially active listening).

One last thing to look for in a trainer is their commitment to their own training. A good trainer should be in regular training, but more than that, they should be always on the lookout for furthering their knowledge and experience. They must be forever questing for better practice, better technique, and better understanding of the needs, and wants, of their clients.

Qualifications are never enough: they are the bare minimum. Watch the trainers with their other clients; assess them as they work, or as they train themselves, and only when you are happy with what you observe should you place yourself in their hands. Once found, however, a good trainer is invaluable.