Inspired?

Fitness means different things to different people and used at different times. For some, fitness is exciting, enjoyable and people look forward to it, it means confidence and pure positivity. However, for others, fitness is a judgement, fitness is not enjoyable, has negative attachment and something that people dread.

Both perceptions are completely understandable. We all know that a level of fitness is good for the body. It reduces illness, sickness, improves wellbeing, confidence and much more. However, first impressions count and for many, their first experience of exercise was at a young age, possibly in a sport that they weren't particularly great at. These experiences stick and can last a lifetime if you let them.

However, if this kind of smudge distorts your thoughts on exercise then it's worth redefining what fitness is. Well, it certainly isn't competition, losing, being ridiculed, belittled or left feeling miserable.

We've already discussed that fitness does great things to physical and psychological health. We all know this and it's no grand revolutionary statement for me to say this. We are creatures of movement, hunter gatherers and with that, we have to accept the instinctive needs of our genetics. Our bodies require exposure and expeditions. We're designed to walk, run, jump, climb, throw, twist, wrestle and much more. Our evolution has for many, taken us away from these type of activities. There is, for our survival, no longer a need to do these things. However, as much as our lifestyle have evolved, our health needs are still the same. Movement facilitates and encourages many internal functions like digestion, circulation and healthy respiration. It releases endorphines making us feel good as well as natural adrenaline.

It seems that humans are better at providing advice, care and direction to others rather than ourselves. This is reflective of our compassionate, loving and parental nature. To love and care for people is our way. We are survivors and protectors.

With everything mentioned, what advice would you give to someone that you love about fitness and health? Possibly your son or daughter? Would you suggest fitness? With your answer in mind, would you suggest the same for yourself? If your answers are different then why? Let's face it, you can't truly love someone or look after someone else if you don't look after yourself? It gives us peace of mind to know that loved ones are in good health and taking care of themselves. When this isn't occuring, we worry and have concern. If you don't look after your own health then you aren't loving people or offering them peace of mind.

Exercise doesn't have to be miserable, painful or mundane. There are so many ways to enjoy activity that you could quite literally do something different for every day in your life and you still won't exhaust what is available.

My advice to help make sure that you keep going and stick with it are that you should be able to answer 'yes' to 3 questions with whatever actovity you do.

Are you learning or engaging in the activity? If not then you won't receive that mental stimulation that we all require.

Are you being challenged? If not then the chances are that you won't receive great benefits.

Are you enjoying it? If not then the likelihood is that you won't stick it out long enough to benefit.

It's always worth reviewing your activities periodically? Circumstances change and new experiences are what keep us ticking.




- Posted whilst adventurising using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Wellington St,Leeds,United Kingdom

The Ultimate Stomach without Sit Ups - Part 2 of 4

After reading and practising the breathing patterns in part 1, you'll be embedding great habits that can support exercise but it's worth mentioning at this point that you should always be conscious about this in movement and just naturally breathing too. If lifting or performing exercises and your back starts to really hurt or dominate an exercise that it shouldn't, the chances are that your breathing has become lazy and isn't engaging low and internal abdominals.

The next step is to now start being functionally strong. Well, what do I mean by that? It's all very well being able to perform something in isolation and in a controlled environment but if you're unable to do it through natural movement or in normal circumstances then it almost renders itself as pointless. I'm aware that walking around, pushing your stomach out and then breathing out hard would feel rather strange and possibly attract a few stares so let's just take 3 natural movements of the spine and master these first.

Flexion, extension and rotation. These movements occur through every single step you take, every time you stand up or sit down and pretty much most of the time through movement. The issue is that they become lazy so it's time to get the right muscles working.

Firstly, standing up in a normal standing position, whatever that is for you, I want you to flex and extend the spine and maintain those good breathing habits. Keeping legs relatively straight, I want you to reach down towards your toes and in doing so, breathe out hard and draw your low stomach in tight. After a couple of seconds, stand up again and draw a big breath in, looking to inflate the stomach and pull your arms out to the side and back to fully open up the chest. Repeat this movement10-15 times and again, practise it 2-3 times daily to start embedding strong and positive habits through normal movement.

Along with the above exercise, we need to encourage the same good habits through rotation which is the strongest movement plane of the body and possibly the least engaged in traditional exercise. Stand facing a wall at arms length, soften your knees and engage into your hips. Reach out directly infront and place your finger tips on the wall. Keeping your hips forward facing and one hand touching the wall, pull the opposite arm back (keeping elbow extended) to behind you so that your trunk twists and aiming to rotate through 180 degrees. As you go through this movement, breathe in as before (inflating the stomach), hold for a second and then reverse the movement back to the start (whilst breathing out) and alternate with the opposite side.

Doing these two movements together will create a strong and functional neurology for your core. Mastering the basics is the key to getting the great success that you want. After 7-10 days, you will start to notice that daily movements are engaging your core much more than before. Filling your glass from the water cooler, checking your blind spot whilst driving, all these movements are becoming more functionally sound.

For video interpretations of the above movements, check out our free online fitness tool to get tailored exercise programmes, nutritional guidance and our very own personal tracking system to keep you going in the right direction.

Why runners must train for strength

Running is a fantastic way to keep fit and a natural movement for us as humans to do. However, it should come with a large warning sign, it is pure impact and many runners are guilty in thinking that running on its own, done enough, is a great way to stay in shape. My question to that would be "what shape"? It will work your heart and lungs fantastically and if balanced well, a great programme will help you achieve outstanding results but all this impact will take its toll. Only a few miles is several tonnes of accumulative pressure hammering down through your ankles, knees and hips and spine.


Without strengthening your joints, musculature and tendons, the skeleton itself will bear the brunt of this repetition and impact. Movements that should be considered ideal for running are movements that are going to gain full range through potential weaker or tighter spots. Typically, the problem areas are tight calves, anterior tilt of the pelvis, hyper-mobile lumbar spine and kyphotic upper spine with forward and internally rolled shoulders. Not too much to worry about then, seriously, no matter how poor you feel your posture is, you'll always be able to make huge improvements and often simple exercises can be the most effective.

Ideal exercises and patterns are squats, lunges, core exercises and movements that encourage complete shoulder extension and mobility in the thoracic spine (upper spine). Two strength sessions a week can be enough to support even a serious club running regime. Why not try a month free with our online fitness system to get you started with some effective and functional strenthening exercises.

Why treadmills aren't that great

As the most popular form of exercise on the planet, running is something that most of us have at least tried at some point. And as great as it can be, running must be respected and understood to what is being demanded of the body.

With gym machinery becoming more and more exploited as an industry that provides great and quick solutions for the consumer, the treadmill is now a household recognised term that offer an alternative to running outdoors. What many people don’t realise is that moving on a treadmill is worlds apart biomechanically from running outdoors. Notice that I didn’t use the term running but moving. Firstly, one point to note is that running, typically applies around 2 tonnes of pressure through the joints over just one mile. Therefore, it stands to reason that focussing on stability, strength and function would be a good idea prior to even considering running as an activity.
However, lets get back to treadmills and why they may not be that great. The reason I felt so compelled to write this is because, I don’t actually go into gyms that often yet on one of my last visits, I saw a queue of people waiting patiently behind 5 ‘in use’ treadmills. My gosh! So, you pay however much monthly to put your gym kit on and wait in a warmish place for a machine that doesn’t do your body many favours…insanity but maybe a little unfair as unknowingly, treadmills appear to be good. So let’s look at the differences. Treadmills have a belt that you can manually control to speed it up, slow it down and also, if you have a fancy treadmill, change the holding position of the ramp. This belt gets fed from the front, underneath the user to the back requiring the user to lift one foothold and then replace it down in the same actual place in space but a more forward point on the belt. There is no requirement to actually drive the body forwards but just lift your feet alternately and then place them back down.

We are all aware that the human body is an incredible device. It’s natural ability to adapt to situations and environments has maintained our survival over thousands and thousands of years. It does this by being efficient, streamlining it’s own need to expend energy and perform. In the above situation, this habit can encourage the body to distort the intended running pattern into merely kicking heels behind the body as the belt zips through. Without having to drive the body forwards, there is no real need for hip flexion which is an essential part of the running pattern.

So, what does this mean in bigger terms? Well, as modern lifestyle sees many people spend hours seated daily, slumped over a computer, there are many very common physiological imbalances stemming from this which lead to certain areas of the body becoming dominant leaving neglect in other areas. Treadmills don’t encourage the dormant areas to become active which can allow this compensation to just continue. These improper musculoskeletal relationships distort posture, movement even further and can lead to pain and chronic injuries. The most common areas of disaffect are:

• knee instability problems
• weak lower abdominals
• weak hip flexors
• tight and restrictive lower back extensors
• immobility in the thoracic spine (upper back)
• tightened chest and shoulder muscles

To add insult to injury, when muscles are being worked but don’t have optimal range or flexibility then they will not fully benefit. Running further or more or harder is not going to make the difference. The key is to get everything working properly. When your car starts making rattling noises or needs the tyres inflating, the car will not be working to it’s full potential and the body is no different.

My intention is not to fully slate treadmills as I believe they do have a place. In rehabilitation, they offer a very controllable environment to monitor and gradually progress variables to safely bring individuals back from injury, but when it comes to free moving and efficient bodies, they may not be the greatest solution.

What are the benefits of exercising during pregnancy?

Mike Hendricks - NASM certified personal trainer

Why exercise? It may be hard enough just to get dressed every day if you're feeling bloated and sick to your stomach, but believe it or not, a little effort can leave you feeling energised and perhaps a bit like your pre-pregnancy self. Because exercise promotes muscle tone, strength, and endurance, it can help you carry the weight you gain during pregnancy, prepare you for the physical stress of labour, and make getting back into shape after the baby is born much easier. Before beginning any exercise programme, make sure you follow safety advice, especially now that you're pregnant.


Exercising now will: Give you more energy

Pregnancy can rob you of energy, but regular bouts of exercise, such as brisk walking will make you feel able to tackle your daily tasks. Exercise strengthens your cardiovascular system, so you don't tire as easily. With muscles that are strong and toned, you need less effort to engage in any activity, be it shopping for food or sitting through meetings at the office.
Help prepare you for the rigours of childbirth

It makes perfect sense: the better shape you're in, the stronger you'll be to cope with labour and the delivery. Giving birth is akin to running a marathon -- it requires stamina, determination, and focus. Keeping physically active during pregnancy is good preparation for the hard work of labour. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) states that weight-bearing exercise throughout pregnancy can reduce the length of labour and decrease delivery complications. Additionally, some research has shown that fetuses of women who exercised during labour may tolerate labour better than those of the non-exercisers.

Reduce pregnancy discomfort

Exercise stretches and strengthens your muscles, which helps your body cope better with the aches and pains of pregnancy. Stretches ease back pain, walking improves your circulation, and swimming can strengthen your abdominal muscles.

Fend off the pregnancy blues

Pregnancy is a nine month rehearsal for a big event -- childbirth -- and, after the initial excitement of telling everyone is over, you're left with a lot of waiting. By the sixth or seventh month, pregnancy can become downright tedious. And boredom may result from the increased weight gains and tiredness restricting your social activities. Finding a new activity appropriate for pregnant women may be one answer. "The best thing I can do at the moment to get some relief from feeling as big as a house is to do aquarobics... I find the relaxation session at the end -- when we float to music -- very therapeutic. It also gets you out of the house," says Kim.
Help you sleep better

When you're carrying all that extra weight in front of you, finding an ideal position to sleep in at night can be a real challenge. Exercise will help you work off any excess energy, and will tire you enough to lull you into a deeper, more restful slumber.
Reduce stress and lift your spirits

Pregnancy and having a child is a life-changing, momentous event which can leave you feeling ecstatic yet overwhelmed and anxious at the same time. One good way to shake the blues is by dancing to the beat of a happy tune. One study found that exercise can boost your levels of serotonin, a brain chemical linked to mood, putting you in better spirits. When you're feeling a little down, try putting on your favourite CD and kicking up your heels in the living room, or sign up for a low-impact dance class. Make sure you follow low impact aerobics and let your trainer or teacher know that you are pregnant.

Improve your self-image

Face it: your body's not the svelte thing it used to be, and although you know it's for a good cause, watching the scale creep its way up to numbers you've never seen before can be disheartening. Staying active can make you feel less frumpy. It can also help you shed weight faster postnatally.

Help you get your body back faster postnatally

This alone is reason enough for many women to embark on a pregnancy exercise regime. As Angela puts it, "I am ready to get back to an active lifestyle and reclaim my body!" If you've managed to maintain your strength and muscle tone all through your pregnancy by staying fit, your body will have an easier time bouncing back after you give birth.

What to Stretch & what to strengthen

Most people make the mistake of never scientifically deciding which muscles they need to stretch and which ones they need to strengthen.


Typically, we stretch everything (or nothing) and mindlessly go down the line of exercise machines without thinking about which muscles we are working and why. Unless you have had a thorough musculoskeletal assessment, you are undoubtedly ignoring many muscles that are relatively weak and strengthening muscles that are already too strong relative to their partners working at the same joint.
For example, if you have rounded shoulders you probably should be doing fewer chest and lat exercises and more mid- and lower trapezius exercises. (Don’t waste your time looking; middle or lower trapezius machines do not exist.)

Another example of an overworked muscle is the upper rectus abdominis (six pack). One of its partners, the transverse abdominis, is typically ignored. Again, not only do transverse abdominis machines not exist, but overuse of other machines will actually lead to weakening of this muscle due to lack of use.

Moreover, the greater the imbalance between rectus strength and transverse abdominis strength, the greater your chance of low back pain. Ab machines only worsen this imbalance.

We also tend to ignore some muscles that need to be stretched (if you're stretching at all) and sometimes stretch muscles that we don't need to stretch.

At best, you are wasting your time with unnecessary stretches and redundant exercises. At worst, you are exacerbating muscle imbalances that can lead to joint dysfunction, pain and chronic injury.

Since we all have to deal with the constant gravitational pull of the earth, we all have naturally occurring musculoskeletal imbalances that are caused by how muscles are designed to work.

In simple terms, there are two basic types of muscles.

Tonic muscles tend to become shortened if we do not specifically stretch them.

Phasic muscles tend to become elongated (too long is as bad as too short) and weak.

Tonic muscles are basically designed to work to maintain posture and tend to work most of the time.

For example, the psoas, the major hip flexor, works constantly while you're standing. The upper trapezius, where you may feel tightness or knots in your neck and shoulder area, works whenever you move your arm.

Phasic muscles, on the other hand, tend to become weak if not specifically strengthened.

Our muscles never work in isolation; they function in groups often termed force couples that must be balanced in all three planes of motion (saggital, transverse and frontal).

If one muscle is too tight, it dominates the force couple and disrupts the natural movement of the joint. On the other hand, a muscle that is too weak will not do its share of work. This also disrupts the natural movement of the joint and overworks the muscles that act as assistants in the movement.

A prime example is the gluteus medius, the muscle that brings your leg out to the side, commonly and mistakenly referred to as the outer thigh. When this muscle becomes weak, the piriformis often implicated in sciatica - and the tensor fascia latae often implicated in pain on the outside of the knee  become overworked.

Tonic muscles tend to become facilitated, that is, they work even when they are not supposed to be working. In addition, even when you are trying to work other muscles, facilitated muscles will try to take over. Thus, you will never get rid of a muscle imbalance if you do not stretch and relax the tightened muscles before you try to strengthen the weakened muscles.

For example, if you do not stretch the hip flexors (psoas) and back extensors (spinal erectors) before you work your deep abdominal muscles, you may not get the full strengthening effect of your ab exercises. The short, tight, overworked muscles will "intercept" the nervous system signals from the weakened, inhibited muscles. This is a common reason some people feel strain in the low back while doing stomach exercises even if their form is perfect.

Just like a car with poor alignment, trouble - possibly severe is imminent if the alignment and imbalances are not corrected. In order to design a fitness program that's right for you, it's imperative that you know which muscles are which.



Tonic Muscles                                                    Phasic Muscles

Upper Trapezius (neck and shoulders)                Serratus Anterior (fingerlike muscles near armpit)

Levator Scapula (neck to shoulder blade)           Rhomboids (between shoulder blades)

Short Cervical Extensors (back of neck)             Middle and Lower Trapezius (mid-back)

Pectoralis Major (chest)                                     Triceps (back of arms)

Pectoralis Minor (deep chest muscle)                 Gluteus Maximus (butt)

Lumbar Erectors (low back)                              Gluteus Medius (hips)

Psoas (hip flexor)                                               Transverse Abdominis (deep abdominals)

Rectus Femoris (one of the quadriceps)              Rectus Abdominis - lower segments (abs)

Piriformis (deep hip muscle)                               External and Internal Obliques (abs)

Short and long adductors (inner thighs)               Vastus Medialis (inner/front of knee)

Hamstrings (back of legs)

Gastrocnemius (superficial calf muscle)

Soleus (deep calf muscle)

Remember, unaddressed muscle imbalances will lead to joint dysfunction and pain.

A musculoskeletal assessment and subsequent, logically based program of stretching the right muscles and strengthening the right muscles in the right order will lessen these naturally occurring imbalances and lead you to a better functioning and more attractive body. If you'd like to find out more about having a complete postural and functional review then speak to one of our specialists.

the ultimate stomach without sit ups - part 1 of 4

There is so much talk about stomach exercises and it seems to be such a hot topic for people. The problem is that far too many people focus on the appearance of the stomach and not so much the function of the stomach. It stands to reason that getting the stomach working properly will not only improve the finished product but also ensure that your exercises don't come at the expense of your posture.

Firstly, let's get a few things straight. The stomach contains a vast set of muscles yet non are key drivers in human functional movement. This means that exercises like sit ups bear no relevance to your body and are more likely to cause pain or injury over time due to them encouraging supporting muscles to become dominant. With this in mind, get out of the habit of seeing isolated stomach movements or typical 'ab' exercises as any good whatsoever. The stomach works to stabilise the body, provide a crucial connection between upper and lower body and protect vital organs therefore conditioning the stomach in those natural situations is going to be much more functional and effective.

We'll come onto what exercises are good to condition the stomach, but first let's understand how the stomach is designed and what purpose it provides. This is more than worth understanding if you really want to have an incredible washboard stomach. It may not have been necessary as primal man to know this as our lifestyles caused us to constantly engage core muscle but our current lifestyle causes almost the opposite often leaving core lazy and weak. So, the core is made of two distinct elements known as the inner and outer units. The inner is the stabilising unit. This consists of involuntary muscles that work subconsciously to keep us upright, support spine and posture.

The outer unit is made up of bigger and more voluntary muscles that create movement in the body. One problem is that if your inner unit has picked up bad habits, then movement in the outer unit only serves to compound the problem and embed poor neural pathways which become harder and harder to repair.

So let's start at the beginning and get the inner unit working properly helping maximise the benefits of bigger movements. It may sound like we're starting with absolute basics but breathing is the first part of getting this right. As babies we breathe from the stomach and as we develop, we tend to breathe more and more from higher in the lungs. This leaves the inner unit to become lazy and reduces the efficiency of the oxygen supply to the body. Not very good hey - so let's start to improve this situation.

Abdominal breathing exercises are an excellent way to engage inner units and work the core. Eventually, the techniques of this can be applied into exercises but nail the basics first.

Ideally, these should be done standing up. Slightly softened knees, stood tall with stomach drawn in. Take a big breathe in through the nose and at the same time, inflate the stomach. Then breathe out a concerted breath through the mouth and draw the stomach back in tight. Look to do 10 of these, 2-3 times daily for at least 10 days to start embedding the habit of doing this without having to think about it.

Refer to this training video for a demonstration, notice after how just a few days of performing this drill make you much more conscious and in control over core stabilisation and get ready for my next blog on taking this to the next level.

The Perfect Circuit

After spending a great deal of energy over the last few years writing courses and programmes for various providers, a lot of good things have come out of this work, one being how to shape the perfect circuit.

If you're not familiar with circuit relative to exercise then it is simply a cluster of exercises put together to be done with short rest periods in between. This style of exercise is typical to classes and a great way to get an effective work out in a shorter space of time.

Having spent 6 years in the forces before my time in the fitness industry, I've got a great deal of exeperience of different approaches when it comes to circuits, some good and some pants. Particularly whilst developing our Primal Pattern course, we developed a simple structure for all body movements. This was intended to organise patterns that were low, moderate and high impact to help coaches clearly understand the complexity of movement upon the body. The fantastic and coincidental crossover that arose from this was that our categorisation translates to energy demands on the body for the movements making it and excellent matrix to base circuits from as you can keep a flow in the circuit whilst alternating between low and high demand exercises.



Bodyweight movement

So, how can you use this? I would start by ignoring the columns and just using the rows. Plan 3-4 circuits, each one with one exercise based upon a movement from each row (advanced being high demand, basic being low demand). Perform 3-4 cycles of each circuit before moving on to the next. 15 seconds between exercises and 60 seconds between circuits. Try the following times depending on your ability (30 seconds - beginner / 45 seconds - intermediate / 60 seconds - advanced)

For example:

• Circuit 1
• Exercise 1 - Press Ups
• Exercise 2 - Alternate lunges
• Exercise 3 - Tuck Jumps
• Circuit 2
• Exercise 1 - Pull Ups
• Exercise 2 - Farmers Walk
• Exercise 3 - 30 metre sprints
• Circuit 3
• Exercise 1 - Squats
• Exercise 2 - Woodchops
• Exercise 3 - Burpees

That is simply it! It's a simple system to keep your circuits effective, avoid pattern overload which can lead to pain, chronic pain and injury.

Why not enjoy 30 days FREE of our online tailored fitness programmes giving you completely personalised video programmes and nutritional guidance. Click here to get started.

Let me know how you get on with the exercises and fire any questions straight back

Using your body

Its been a manic week of travel this week and all very exciting.

Starting some research on kettlebells with Sheffield Hallam, we've been working with some of the GB olympic strength and conditioning coaches showing them how to use kettlebells properly and discussing the training benefits.

It's very interesting working with coaches from different backgrounds as we all have very unique and different experiences as well as expertise which can often lead to very different opinions but essentially all working towards the same single goal: what works the best!?!?

If you've been tuning into my blogs then you'll already be aware of our unique bodyweight training appraoch that we call Primal Flow. We've arranged to take it to some of the national coaches who'll be giving their feedback on it which will be fantastic.

This week Jenny, myself and two very experienced coaches took on an almighty Primal Flow circuit. James Walker, a Kettlebell Master Trainer and tutor joined in as well as Ben Hockman, an MMA and kickboxing conditioning specialist who runs Martial Arts Company Beyond Fighting. Both coaches have years of both competitive and coaching experience behind them and have a wealth of experience in having sampled many different types of fitness training. With their seasoned expertise, we were keen to get their thoughts on our sytem.

The session was simple and had two waves. Both had 4 work stations each focussing on different areas - upper, lower, core and movement. The first wave was geared towards stability & strength and had 4 layers, each progressive to the last in movement and duration. The second wave only had 3 layers but was aimed at power and anaerobic capacity. Despite the session taking just 45 minutes, it was fair to say that we were all well worked by the end.

Here's what they had to say:

James Walker "A new era of bodyweight training!, takes what you thought you knew about bodyweight training and flips it on it's head..."

Ben Hockman "Having been a martial artist for 13 years, I've done a lot of bodyweight focussed training. But this is different and you have to try it! The primal movements force you to stabilise whilst also requiring far more strength than you would for the standard push-up or squat. The constant and rapid variation between exercises also ensures a great functional conditioning workout without exhausting one particular muscle group to the extent of needing days off to recover. Great system and if you still believe in the need for equipment to get a good resistance and cardio workout, think again!!!"

Very kind words and obviously, they were both well paid for that. If you'd like to become qualified as a Primal Flow specialist then look at our next course dates and if you'd like to experience this type of training then look at your nearest class of our OutFIT sessions.