Modern day convenience and technology has taken its toll on the human body, resulting in poor posture, which is the cause of many injuries and chronic conditions.

In the last two weeks the Unlimited Personal Trainers have started the initial phase of our posture assessment and mobility analysis. These tests allow us to see the trouble areas, and ensure we train our clients according to their needs, to release tight muscles and activate lazy muscles.

The effect of tight muscles pulling on bones = bad posture. Our goal is to allow freedom of movement, increase stability and strength, and then obviously move onto performance and body composition.

“What do we do with the results?” … Clients are sent an email with their posture results:

Posture Screen - Jai Forster example

We also will keep a copy and compare their improvements over time. Also; We conduct a mobility assessment (Overhead squat) and provide clients with a list of warm-up, dynamic flexibility & activation exercises to complete before every PT session. Out aim here is to break-down old patterns and to encourage movement in new and exciting ways! This process will ‘wake up’ those lazy areas and alert the central nervous system (CNS) that something new is happening. It’ll create an alertness in the body which avoids injury and encourages better technique and posture.

Further to this, if you move well during exercise your results will accelerate. You’ll remain injury free and produce more powerful & dynamic workouts that boost metabolism, strengthen muscles, and burn more fat. Not only will it benefit the body, the brain will get a workout sending new messages through the CNS, increasing left and right side brain stimulation, coordination, balance, spatial awareness, higher pain thresholds, etc, etc, (the list goes on, and on…).

This assessment process will be repeated 3 times a year to track our clients progress.

This is another way we ensure best practice in our personal training service.

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Serves 4

1 small brown onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

¼ cup Italian parsley

Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

¼ cup olive oil

1 cup sprouted chickpeas, or tin chick peas

½ cup sesame seeds, soaked in water for 1 hour, then drained

1 cup almonds, soaked in water for 1 hour, then drained

1 cup walnuts soaked in water for 1 hour, then drained

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 ½ teaspoons  ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander  (you can add fresh coriander also)

1 teaspoon celtic salt or sea salt

Preheat the oven to 180 C.  Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Put the onion, garlic, parsley, lemon juice and oil into a food processor and process until well combined. Add the remaining ingredients and ¼ cup water and process until well combined and the mixture comes together to form a thick paste – you may need to add a little extra water if the mixture is too dry. I left the water out to see how dry the mixture was and found the mixture was slightly sticky. I added 3 tablespoons of spelt flour. You may need to experiment.

Take heaped tablespoons of the mixture at a time and roll into neat balls.  Repeat to make about 30 falafels in total. Place on the prepared tray and bake for 25 minutes, turning once during cooking, or until lightly browned and firm to touch.

Serve the falafels with sprouted hummus dip, yoghurt dip etc.  Falafels go nicely in a green salad with avocado and some of the coriander pesto mixed through.

One of the best ways to target fat loss is through low intensity cardio, such as a brisk walk. This low level of intensity primarily uses fat as the main fuel source. Higher intensity training, such as a long run uses glycogen as the primary fuel source. The best time to perform cardio is fasted, such as first thing in the morning before breakfast. A simple 30 minute walk at this time will actually burn more fat than if it were performed at any other time of the day! The next best time, is immediately post workout, providing it was a high intensity one. The reasoning for these times is that blood glucose is at its lowest during these periods, as so will not last long as a fuel source, as such fats will begin to be used quicker. This is due to the fact that a) you haven’t eaten for a good few hours, or b) blood glucose was used up in your workout prior.
However keeping in mind you cannot out train a bad diet, a diet low in carbs, and high in fats and proteins is key and I will touch on this in further posts.

James Buchanan

There’s this guy on Facebook who knows pretty much everything on these topics.

He’s an all round good guy…

Want to know who he is?

As you may have noticed, we are now training you under a specifically periodized program.

So what does it all mean?

Our training programs are made up of three key aspects. Here’s an example:

Macrocycles: Your 5 month training Focus

Mesocycles: Each four week phase

Microcycles: Each week within the phase

This can be explained as follows:

If my training goal was to compete in a Triathlon in December, my Macrocycle would be the 5 months between now and the triathlon. Each of those months would then form a mesocycle, focusing on:

1. Conditioning
2. Base Strength
3. Strength
4. Power
5. Specificity

Mesocycles break up the training period to help the body develop in a progressive and more effective way.

The Mesocycles are then broken down into Microcycles. These are the individual weeks which include a variety of sessions that develop the key outcomes for that training phase.

Each of these aspects creates a periodized program, and can easily change to suit your training goal. Using this process mean that you can expect greater results over the course of your training program!

CORIANDER PESTO

Fresh coriander is an excellent blood purifier;  2 teaspoons of coriander pesto every day for 3-4 weeks is known to remove heavy metals from the body.  Heavy metals include mercury, lead and aluminium.  This pesto also goes well as a dollop on poached eggs, as a dressing for salad or as a dip.

Makes 1 ½ cups

2 cups firmly packed fresh coriander leaves

170ml (2/3 cup) extra virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, quartered

1/3 cup brazil nuts or any raw nuts

1/3 sunflower seeds

1/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

Place all ingredients into a food processor and process to a smooth paste.   This pesto can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 1 week.  Pesto can be frozen for up to 3 months.

An example of a 5 day split is: Day 1 – Chest/Triceps

Day 2 – Legs

Day 3 – Off

Day 4 – Back/Biceps

Day 5 – Off

Day 6 – Repeat.

In this Article I will be focusing on the Chest, its anatomy, biomechanics and the best exercises to stimulate it.

Anatomy and Biomechanics

The chest is comprised of two separate muscles, the Pectorals Minor, and the Pectorals Major which has two heads, clavicular and sternal. We can divide the chest into 3 segments, upper, middle and lower, these segments can be targeted through specific exercises. The chest cannot be split from inner to outer. The segments can be seen on the picture of Franco Columbo quite clearly.

The main function of the pectorals major is to horizontally adduct the arms, such as bringing your arm across your body. Its secondary function is to internally rotate the humerus (Shoulder). An example of this is an arm wrestle.

When splitting the portions up we can see that different functions are involved:

Clavicular Head: This contributes to both functions listed, but also helps to flex the anterior deltoid (front of the shoulder) this can be seen when raising your arms in front of you.

Franco Columbo: Portions Highlighted

Emphasis

The different portions of the chest can be emphasised when performing movements, they cannot be Isolated however as the entire pectoral major will contract as one. This emphasis occurs because your brain will preferentially recruit the muscle fibres that are best suited to perform the movement, if the lower portion has the greatest mechanical advantage, then it is the section that will be most heavily worked.

The main way we can target the different areas is by adjusting the incline/decline of the bench we are lying on, an inclined bench will more heavily target the clavicular head and upper portion, while a declined bench will more heavily target the lower portion, flat being of course for the middle.

When selecting exercises it is important to know what you want to work on. Generally speaking most people have lagging upper chest development in comparison to their middle or lower portions. When choosing the exercises, we want to emphasise the portion we want to develop the most.

As such approximately 3 exercises should be performed for the chest every 5 – 7 days, the first two should target the region needing the most work, and then the last one can target the rest. For this article I will explain 3 exercises for the chest and outline each region they target.

Exercises

Incline Dumbbell Press: This is a movement done on an inclined bench in which you push the dumbbells up above you. This exercise targets the upper portion of the chest, and the pectorals minor. It should be done at approximately a 30 degree incline, this is where the pectorals minor is most targeted, any higher and anterior delts are used more. This movement allows for correct biomechanical form, unlike a barbell press where your hands are locked in place, DB’s allow your hands to come closer together at the top, and spread further at the bottom.

http://completely-anabolic.com/more_rest_more_results.html

Steps:

1. Lie back on an incline bench with dumbbells on your thighs.
2. Use your thighs to help push up the dumbbells one at a time
3. Hold the dumbbells at shoulder height with your hands facing away from you. This is the starting position.
4. Breathe out and push the dumbbells up with your chest.
5. Lock your arms out at the top, the slowly lower the weight to the starting position.
6. Repeat #4&5 for reps.

The shoulder blades should be squeezed tight the entire time, so as not to allow the shoulder joint to lift up. Feet should be placed flat on the floor, and the lower back should not be arched too much.

Dips: This is a bodyweight exercise and one of the best overall exercises. It is done between two parallel bars, and even though it works the triceps and shoulder fairly heavily, it can be thought of as an extreme decline press, especially if you lean slightly forward at the torso. These target the lower to middle portions of the chest.

http://fitnessanddefense.com/chest-dips/

Steps: 

1. Start with the arms nearly straight and the torso slightly bent forwards, with the ankles curled up slightly. Elbows should be pointing slightly out from the body so as not to recruit the triceps (Back of the arm) as much.
2. Slowly lower yourself by bending at the elbow and lowering your shoulder, the shoulder should reach a depth lower than your elbow, that is break parallel.
3. Push yourself back up and lockout your elbows.
4. Repeat #2&3 for reps.

Ideally dips should be done on parallel bars and not the behind the back variation where you place them on a bench, as this causes unnecessary stress on the shoulder joint. You should be thoroughly warmed up before attempting these. To increase the resistance hold a dumbbell between the legs or attach a weight belt. To make them easier, you can use bands to help make you lighter.

Dumbbell Flyes: This is performed on a flat bench with a pair of dumbbells. The advantage of this exercise is that it allows you to isolate the pectorals major more efficiently. Unlike the pressing exercises that use two limbs (Shoulder and elbow) and multiple muscle groups such as triceps and shoulders, the fly motion utilises only the chest for movement. This exercise is perfect for performing at the end of a chest workout to allow the chest to get a good stretch and finish it off.

http://www.drivelinebaseball.com/2010/08/27/elbow-injuries-and-what-causes-them-bonus-stephen-strasburg-content/

Steps: 

1. Lie down on a flat bench with dumbbells held out overhead and palms facing in.
2. With a slight bend in your elbows (about 30 degrees), lower the weights out too your side in an arc, until the wrists are in line with the chest.
3. From here, bring the weights back up by pulling your arms together, making sure to keep a constant bend in the elbow. Squeeze your chest tight at the top of the movement.
4. Repeat steps #2&3 for reps.

Much lighter weights than a traditional press should be used, as you are much weaker in this plane of motion, pectoral tears can occur if the weight is too heavy to be able to lower properly. Feet should be flat on the floor, and your back should be held tight.

Conclusion

There are many more variations of chest movements, but the push, fly and dip are the prime movements for chest development. Specialising in body splits allows for better results to be obtained, depending on your goals. I will cover the rest of the body in further article throughout the year, but hopefully for now this gets you thinking.

James Buchanan.

REF:

Here’s links to the sites for the 4 pictures I used.