Extremely busy and much more productive than yesterday's day of moaning on as if my life is somehow difficult or unprivilaged.
The only result of this has been that I can't write an article of length, but what I can do is showcase a few videos about Powerlifting that will hopefully get you in the mood for shifting some massive weight and/or hopefully inspire the fire to train.
Okay, so today everything got on top of me just a little bit.
I compete in 12 weeks and 6 days as a natural bodybuilder as I have been banging on about for the past 2 years.
I'm not used to having quiet days as a PT...quiet weeks happen rarely during my career as a PT... but today I found myself sat at the gym not really doing much (and it was looking as if it was going to be the same for the majority of the week) as well as stressing as to how to get clients, hours and ultimately money to not only feed myself but in order to progress this comapny and my PT career.
I then trained my legs using too high a volume of reps, I trained for far too long and subsequently gave my central nervous system a thorough going over resulting in me making excuses and not doing my cardio, core and calves workout usually reserved for a Monday evening.
So, stressed out about money, my business, and completely feeling like I have lost track of all my goals.
It happens to us all from time to time.
Then, I stumbled accross this video of Michael Maldonado. I will let the video tell the story far better than I ever could.
It brought tears to my eyes, made me plan new classes to start on Wednesday, plan all my workouts and various other projects for the next coming weeks. I was truly inspired by this man's dedication, drive and passion for the gym, working out and staying in shape.
It's normal and perfectly fine to have off days like these, the trick is knowing probable areas to look to find motivation and solace.
Today I found Michael Maldonado, and he is my new hero.
Chris Kershaw
P.S. Here's my back session to prove I'm back on it :)
Still, in many gyms the old school bodybuilding techniques are
utilized; single body parts trained on individual days with a
selection of exercise worked for between 1 to 5 working sets
training, often to absolute failure with as heavy a weight as
possible.
Pumping iron- the film that really made 'old paradigm' bodybuilding what it is today.
The stereotypical bodybuilder in previous years has tended to avoid
training “core” cardio/ fat burning work has traditionally been
high volume low intensity training involving a great deal of time on
a single piece of cardio equipment such as a treadmill...doing for
example a slow walk up hill for a good 40-60 minutes. Or as many
people in gyms do....lots of steady cardio, followed by a few
resistance machines and some crunches.
This is a great way to achieve very little for your time spent in the gym.
I've noticed many bodybuilders use atrocious form when training and have no cardiovascular fitness or flexibility, so if you are doing traditional bodybuilding make sure you are practicing good technique, posture and maintain your flexibility in order to be apart from the crowd.
Aims
The purpose of this article is to show that as someone who has
ambitions to build muscle, to build a 'better' physique or who just
wants to simply carry on enjoying doing training can do so in SO many
different ways. As a man or woman you needn't go near “the weights
section” to achieve any of your goals and through this article I
would like to give you a brief introduction to some of these training
methods in order for you to give them a try.
Welcome to the new world of bodybuilding and exercise.
New Bodybuilding and
new and old training techniques being utilised more and more
IMPORTANT NOTE: Many of these training methods are ANYTHING but new,
but the sudden resurgence and sudden popularity of these methods
makes it just simpler to refer to them as 'new.'
From the CrossFit website: “CrossFit is the
principal strength and conditioning program for many police
academies and tactical operations teams, military special
operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of
other elite and professional athletes worldwide.
Our
program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general,
and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing. Combat,
survival, many sports, and life reward this kind of fitness
and, on average, punish the specialist.”
So essentially, Crossfit is circuit training under a
different and more popular name with better advertising and
qualifications.
There
are CrossFit classes, gyms and competitions and many many people have
had fantastic results using CrossFit programs. I've used CrossFit
methods in my own training and when training clients and find it's
structure to be very conducive with quick and effective workouts
using minimal equipment.
Assault courses, races and challenges
By this I mean organised events such as the 'Spartan Races and the
'Tough Mudder' events.
I imagine these events spawn from army style reality TV shows,
computer games and films, as well as easily accessible coverage of
extreme sports making these events massively popular (in fact one of
my clients will be taking part in a Spartan Race this year.) These can
be gruelling, brutal events that are therefore so rewarding when you
get through them. And in training for these events you are probably
going to get a few additional goals along the way. I'd definitely
recommend giving one of these events a go or trying out some of the
training workouts suggested by these organisations.
Primal Flow and functional and bodyweight training
Primal Flow is a system of functional dynamic training that combines
many different exercises and movements in order to create flowing
patterns that (hopefully) seamlessly come together to form a very
different workout than a lot of people are used to.
From
the founders of Primal Flow (an organisation called Creating Chaos):
The
Primal Flow™ is a system created by creating chaos which
provides all over free body conditioning.
No equipment is
needed and the flow is for all fitness levels.
If you want
to make the flow harder or easier just adjust the times to suit.
More videos will follow so you can combine the various flows to
create all over body workouts.
I am a qualified practitioner of Primal Flow and can honestly say
that is possible to achieve pretty much any exercise goal using your
own bodyweight, however the beauty of Primal Flow is that you can
integrate equipment into the workout, the possibilities are endless!
Here is a clip of me demonstrating an individual flow comprised of a
number of different exercises and stages:
How I Roll!!
Bodyweight and functional exercise...TRX, Rip60's etc
Many gyms, fitness professionals and the general public are
increasingly using suspension training as a larger part of their
respective exercise regimes. I have used these suspension trainers a
great deal and due to the lack of equipment you need and the tiny
amount of space required they are a fantastic alternative to more
traditional training methods.
Exercises utilising suspension trainers are extremely effective in
developing core strength, balance and co-ordination as well as making
regular exercises just that little bit more challenging. I find they
are excellent for improving peoples every day functionality (so are
excellent for functional training) and even more importantly I find
them hilarious fun.
These suspension trainers can be used in many of the training methods
mentioned in this article, flows in particular can be incredibly
effective and fun on these great pieces of equipment.
From
tabatatraining.org:
“Tabata was founded by a
Japanese scientist named Izumi Tabata and fellow colleagues at a
department of physiology in Japan. Izumi and his fellow
scientists decided to conduct a study to compare moderate
intensity training with high intensity training.
He conducted the tests on 2 groups of athletes; 1 of the
groups used the moderate intensity interval training and the
other using high intensity interval training.
In group one; the athletes were training in moderate
intensity workouts (70% intensity) for five days a week for a
total of six weeks with each training session lasting an hour.
Group two trained in the high intensity workouts for 4 days a
week for a total of 6 weeks with each session lasting 4 minutes,
at 20 seconds of intense training (170% intensity) and 10
seconds of rest.”
So essentially, Tabata training is a brutal (speaking from experience
I know this is true if it is done to the correct intensity) form of low volume high intensity interval training. You work for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds for a number of minutes (usually 4) I also
use Tabata style sets in warm-up drills and with bodyweight and
resistance exercises, as well as using similar techniques in many of
my classes and sessions with clients.
It is such a quick and effective cardiovascular work out that serves
as another way of saving you time, and just shows you can make an
effective workout in any amount of time you have available. Plus it
allows me to say, yet again, that there are simply no excuses for not
training (obviously there are exceptions, but very very very few)
This, like Primal Flow techniques can be used with all sorts of
equipment. I have never done TRX tabata training but it sounds like
something I should try in a work out in the near future!!!
A sample tabata session can comprise of a huge variety of exercises.
Here's one i've been using on my clients recently:
Tabata Battlerope Circuit
Cycle between these three:
Double Battlerope Squat slam
Single-handed flicks
Double battlerope slam with jumping lunges
Boot Camps
I believe these classes have grown in popularity due to similar
reasons as the growth in popularity in events such as Tough Mudder
and the Spartan races, and as they are even more accessible due to
the massively flooded Personal Trainer market, with many many PT's
and instructors out there trying to make their own mark and business
means that every gym, studio and field can be utilised to stage a
Boot Camp tailored towards many specific and general bodybuilding/
exercise goals.
I sometimes teach an indoor boot camp and have recently started an
outdoor Boot Camp where I try to make as brutal and fun as possible.
Get yourself down to your local Boot Camps and hopefully you'll see
what an effective and fun experience they can be!
MMA Training
I don't know ANYTHING about MMA fighting, I haven't seen any fights
or anything, but I have used a couple of MMA inspired exercises and
have loved them, it will definitely be an avenue I will be exploring
further in the future.
I love kettlebells, they are such a versatile piece of kit. They
light up any workout and used correctly are fantastic for any number
of exercise goals be it full body conditioning, explosive strength
training, hypertrophy...you name it, kettlebells can do the trick.
Personal Training is all about keeping things fresh and inventing new exercises every day.
Kettlebells have returned in a big way over the last few years and I
don't think they will be going anywhere soon!
I use kettlebells for grip training, lower back, glute and hamstring
strength as well as performing olympic lifts with kettlebells. Swing
a kettlebell around for a few minutes and you'll probably invent
about 20 new exercises.
I will be an advanced kettlebell instructor as of March which is
going to be an incredibly worthwhile journey I am sure!
The most benefitial element of kettlebells in my opinion is that they
are so much fun to use; the possibilities are literally endless, and
if you can come up with new exercises, new workouts and new
approaches you will literally never be bored in a workout again, and
if you are, you are doing it wrong.
Kettlebell classes are very popular as well, so if you are unsure but
want to get cracking with some “cannonballs with handles” get
down to a class, or ask a Kettlebell qualified PT to give you a
session or two!
Another name for plyometrics is “jump training” and exercisers
are supposed to produce the a maximum force for short periods of time
in order to increase speed and power, massively elevate the
heart-rate and improve cardiovascular fitness.
I throw plyometric, explosive movements into circuits, boot camps,
client sessions and my own sessions. Quite simply, plyometrics are
awesome and largely just use bodyweight, so this is another feather
in the “you can ruin yourself anywhere, no excuses” cap!
'Calisthenics'are a form of exercise
consisting of a variety of simple, often rhythmical, movements,
generally without using equipment or apparatus. They are intended
to increase body strength and flexibility with movements such as
bending, jumping, swinging, twisting or kicking, using only one's
body weight for resistance.
Here are some amazing videos from the Barstarzz crew who have
inspired many of my workouts. Just look at some of the amazing
exercises and physiques created through this style of training.
These guys are huge in America and are gaining popularity throughout
the world in a very similar way to parkour/ free running. Using
bodyweight and bars and everything they can swing off these men and
women are helping to create workouts that not only look amazing, but
make you look amazing as well.
I use callisthenics all the time without even realising and hopefully
some time soon will have a callisthenics class.
Conclusion
Traditional bodybuilding and weight lifting isn't needed to achieve
your exercise goals, and in fact by incorporating/ taking part in any
of the concepts discussed in this article and providing yourself with
a varied, progressive and fun workout plan, you will almost certainly
achieve better results than those just sticking to the traditional
8-12 reps of 65-85% one-rep max trainers seen in gyms everywhere.
Try everything, keep it varied, enjoy training and get to where you
want to be, and when you get there, aim higher, change goals and pass
on the message to the next person to start on the journey.
And if you don't agree with this, just ask one of the guys from your
gym to come to try a circuit training class with a decent PT
(preferably my class as it is hilarious for me to watch this) and
watch them die on their probably neglected arse (because most of them
slack off on leg training as well!).
Learn to love the feeling of your body not wanting to do that extra
rep but getting it done anyway! Once you know you can train to this
point and keep going you know how to train. Now make the exercise
that caused that feeling harder.
My Keys to
Motivation and Achieving the Physique I Want
Purposes of this
article
Talk about where people fall down in their attitude and approach
towards training and subsequently lose motivation
Explain my motivational techniques and training mentality
The problems I see
Not training legs
Incorrect technique
Training 'like everyone else'
Distractions such as talking, people using machines, finding an
appropriate song on your ipod
Being bored
Lack of Specific Goals
Relying on a training partner, not training when they are inevitably
aren't available for the odd workout
Solutions
NOT TRAINING LEGS
Training
legs is the foundation of building a phyaique you are proud of
whether you are male or female. It is the hardest body part to train
and at first you will probably feel awful when you first train them
correctly. However training legs burns the most calories, works
absolutely every muscle group and because most leg exercises utilise
the biggest muscle groups such as the glutes, quads and hamstrings
it will stimulate the body into producing more Human Growth Hormone
which is essential if you are to maintain or build upon your
skeletal muscle and burn body fat. If you're not sure on how to get started with leg training here's a sample workout for you :)
NO EXCUSES
This is the attitude to get into your head right from the very
beginning....and keep it there because it is the most valuable and
motivational attitude there is. Get in there and get it done, the
weather is no excuse, not being able to get to a gym is no
excuse...the only excuse for not training is illness and genuinely
needing rest. You can train anywhere using just your
bodyweight....which will be the subject of some videos in the near
future I hope.
INCORRECT
TECHNIQUE
Most people don't have years and years of experience of training
when they enter a gym or try out a new workout routine or when they
suddenly decide “it's time to get MASSIVE!!!” It took me until I
went onto my Advanced Instruction course to realise that I had a
terrible back posture when doing all bent-over rows, deadlifts and
squats. I needed a PT to correct this and make me see where I was
going wrong, and since then I've had fewer injuries, better results
and been able to train more effectively, so just ask a PT to monitor
your form when you begin a new program, it will make such a
difference to your results and will keep you motivated along the way
TRAINING 'LIKE
EVERYONE ELSE' What
I mean by this is that many people look the same, do the same thins
as, and subsequently achieve just as little through training as
everyone else. When you go into the gym go in to train harder,
faster and more intensely than the person next to you. Train to make
people look at you just because of how hard you are training, to
make them think “fucking hell, He's training hard!” Be a
machine, do the exercises correctly and go in there to ruin yourself
in under an hour and you will get results!
My personal technique to
get me 'in the zone' for this is imagining I am possessed by a demon
when I am training. It sounds a bit over the top, but that's exactly
how you should be training!
DISTRACTIONS
A lot of people get talking to people between sets and before you
know it 10 minutes have passed and all the intensity has gone out of
your training. If you train with someone make sure either you or
them are really cracking the whip, give your training partner as
little rest as possible, literally ride them into the ground. If you
train alone get some headphones in whether you have music playing or
not, frown a lot, generally look unapproachable (although always
remain polite, well-mannered and understanding as much as possible)
do what it takes to stop yourself being distracted. A technque I
have been using recently is writing down my workout, putting 45
minutes on the stopwatch, starting the stopwatch and training and
stopping at sero whether the workout is complete or not. You'll be
surprised at how much harder you will work to get it done!
BEING BORED I
don't have much sympathy for this excuse for having a lack of
motivation due to the endless amounts of equipment, work out
techniques, training styles, Personal Trainer availability amongst
other things. A quick look at websites such as bodybuilding.com or
rosstraining.com or my facebook group C & J Personal Training @
The Works for new ideas or if you are still stuck for inspiration
have a few PT sessions to get you started with creating your own
workouts
LACK OF SPECIFIC
GOALS
This is a huge problem for most people. In my experiece goals such
as “I want to be bigger and more toned” or “I want to lose
body fat from my lower abs and bum” just aren't goals that produce
enough motivation. The best goal will involve a specific date and
consequences should the goal not be met. For example you could book
a photoshoot or enter a show or 10k run. My goal this year is to
enter at least one natural bodybuilding show, this keeps me training
hard and pretty much disciplined with my nutrition and fluid intake.
Set youself specific goals that mean a lot to you and you will see
the difference in your motivation.
RELYING ON A
TRAINING PARTNER IN ORDER TO WORKOUT Having
a training partner is fantastic, I trust my training partner to tell
me off when I'm slacking in anyway and to keep me training hard,
however, you will let your training partner down, and they will let
you down at some point, if this is all it takes to stop you from
working out then you are not going to get anywhere with your
exercise goals. My solution to this is always be prepared to train
alone (the “oh but I need a spotter!” excuse just doesn't wash;
use dumbbells if you are afraid of a barbell crushing you or use a
bit lighter weight) or have a number of training partners who you
can call upon if you are let down.
So, in order to stay motivated my plan would be to have an attitude
of “there is absolutely no excuse for not training apart from
illness,” to have specific goals, wear headphones when training to
avoid distractions, have a training partner or training partners who
will push you all the way, always be prepared to train alone, imagine
being possessed by something bigger or more powerful than yourself
and keep things varied. Having numerous people on hand to keep you on
track such as a Personal Trainer is also ideal to enable you to
achieve the body you want.
