Christmas Damage!
A lot of my clients have come to me asking for some quick ways to limit the damage caused by Christmas and the looming N.Y.E celebrations so I thought I’d compose some quick advice for you all!
1. When you in a hole stop digging! It’s very easy after a binge to keep going with the thought that you can start a fresh in the New Year. This is fatal! With Christmas being a three day feast the time between Christmas and N.Y.E is vital for damage limitation. If you continue to eat and neglect training for this week you can easily clock up an extra tens of thousands of calories more than normal- which can equate to many pounds of weight gain.

2. Do something ANYTHING just don’t sit there on the sofa stuffing your face! Even if it’s just a quick 20 minute bodyweight circuit if the gym is shut or a long walk with the dog- just do something!

3. If you can cut the carb’s at dinner and after 6pm. Try having just protein in the form of lean meat and a some fibrous vegetables like broccoli and kale in the next few days for dinner and you’ll soon see that extra weight you’ve gained start to fall off

4. If you can at N.Y.E try to stick to low carbohydrate options such as spirits with diet mixers- try to stay away from beer and cider.

5. Get back to training after N.Y.E on New Year’s Day no matter how bad the hang over!- even if it’s just with a few sets of press ups, crunches and squats this will mentally help you get back in the rhythm of training from day one and will push that hang over out the way for the day.
6. Rehydrate- Christmas and N.Y.E can leave you chronically dehydrated over a period of several weeks leaving you fatigued and many bodily systems not operating at their best- so start making sure you clocking up the water each day even if you’re not feeling thirsty.

Have an excellent and also safe New Years Eve!
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Personal Training Tips

Riding Fitness Out Now!

Well the book is finally out! After months of hard work by Shirley the designer and myself the book is available on pre order on Amazon now. Copies will be sent out on the 3rd of January. The second book now is well underway and will be concentrating on fitness for people in the police, fire and security service- this one should be completed by late July. I’ve well and truly got the writing bug now and hopefully this will lead to all five manuals I have in mind being taken to publication. Riding fitness

Doing it Like the Greeks

Doing it like the Greeks

No not what you might first imagine!

The Greeks were obsessed with a physical culture far beyond anything that we see today. In fact in many ways, it could be seen to be one of the foundations upon which their society was built. Physical training dominated an Athenian youths schooling in the middle teen years with an emphasis on climbing, throwing, running and combat techniques. Indeed physical perfection was an indication to a Greek not only of one’s health but also one's education and social status- ‘the Greek, with his keen eye for physical beauty, regarded flabbiness, want of condition, and imperfect development as a disgrace and a sign of a neglected education’( Gardiner)

The Greeks followed three main forms of physical training. Martial, Pedagogical and Restorative. This is in line with my own thought about a complete training program for a complete view of health, strength and personal physical development. Many people follow one of these lines of training but neglect the others leading to imbalances within the body and never truly achieve what they are capable of.

Martial- This referred to the combat arts. From Pankration – wrestling combined with open hand strikes, pugilism- early boxing, javelin throwing, discus, and submission wrestling the Greek was expected to practise and become competent at them. Sparring develops not only self-discipline but it takes the strength you have gained in other forms of training and teaches the body how to use this strength in a practical environment. I believe everybody is capable and should indeed practise some form of physical sparring, even on a very light level as it is an innate human capability that will develop speed, agility, strength and power.

Pedagogical- This basically put being able to use one’s own body against its own weight- such as gymnastics or external force as in weight training. This is where the base strength is developed. This period was one of the main forms of early training for children as the name suggests. Much higher strength levels can be achieved in the martial training if the strength is also worked on aside from the combat training. The main emphasis was on compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, chins and pull-ups and dips.

Restorative- in Greek history this would refer to downtime away from the exercise but also include light stretching exercises, massage and hot baths etc. Today we have many more means of restorative exercise bought to us from around the globe! Yoga, Tai Chi, Pilates, Meditation, Very light kettlebell and Indian club work are all excellent forms of restorative exercise that if regularly practised have an immense nervous system, muscular and psychological benefits.

Within my own training, I try to practise all of these at least once a week for an integrated approach to training. Many times when I’ve placed too much emphasis on one over the other I’ve ended up injured, fatigued or hit Plateaux’s that have disappeared when I’ve brought balance back to my schedule. If you are looking for a personal trainer in Brighton don't forget to message me and we'll get you started hitting all the elements of fitness above!

Steve Cotter Interview!

I recently had the chance to interview Steve Cotter head of the IKFF one of the leading kettlebell organisations world wide. The IKFF is predominantly a G.S (Girevoy Sport) organisation- the sport of completing as many reps over designated lifts in a time limit- normally 10 minutes.

For the layman hardstyle kettlebell practise is a more diverse form of kettlebell training with a greater variety of lifts and techniques practised- this style is popularised by the Russian Pavel Tsatsouline.


Sam-Can you tell us how the IKFF first was formed?-

Steve- IKFF was formed because I saw that there was a need for a kettlebell organization that existed to support its members rather than just the owners. Further, I was not satisfied with the quality of kettlebell lifting that was existant at the time in US. I had been exposed to much higher-caliber lifting technique from Champion Russian and Eastern European lifters and IKFF was created to be able to bring high quality technique and more precise attention to fine details to fitness professionals. Lastly, I had for several years prior been receiving inquiries from interested people who appreciated my teaching methods and style and wanted to become trained by me.

Sam- Who initially taught you how to use kettlebells, what do they do now?-

Steve-I first learned off a basic DVD and trained on my own at home, then went to Pavel Tsatsouline's RKC course. Immediately Pavel and I hit it off and he asked me to assist him in teaching the RKC students. After 3 years with Pavel, I realized I had surpassed what he was capable of teaching me about kettlebells and wanted to pursue higher education, which was not available in US at that time with the exception of Valery Fedorenko. Pavel is very famous and is known as a great coach, he is still doing his thing. He is great at what he does, it is just not for me.

Sam-What do you see as the main differences in technique from hardstyle to G.S-

Steve-Well GS is Girevoy Sport, which is the competitive component of kettlebell lifting. This is where the best lifters show what they can do. Rather than marketing-based or verbal descriptions of one's kettlebell prowess, GS is the chance for one who thinks he or she is pretty good with the KBs to actually demonstate it on the platform. There is no method of GS, there is the sport of GS.

Hardstyle is a brand name. From a technical perspective it is a good entry level system, fine for those who are beginners or have no aspiration of achieving a high level of KB competancy. To compare hardstyle to GS is like comparing sandlot baseball to Major League baseball. They use the same tools but the level of expertise is clearly different.

Sam-For sports specific goals and conditioning do you think hardstyle or G.S is better?

Steve-I think what you are calling GS is superior in most every regard. There is a misconception that GS is a style because that is in the interests of those who promote their brand of training to create that illusion. The reality is that there is no style, there is methods and techniques and the applications of them. Whether one wants to do 1 rep or 1,000 reps the quality ought to be as high as is possible. So I would prefer to learn from those who actually compete and can put up high level numbers. So in this regard GS is at a higher standard, but of course it is not as big of a market from a business-promotion standpoint

Sam- How do you see G.S and hardstyle evolving in the future?

Steve-I cannot speak for the evolutionary future of Hardstyle. I think they have a productive business model and they had a 10 year headstart on any other Western organizations who promote kettlebells. They also have a legion of devoted followers who are are committed to promoting the Hardstyle name. So they will continue to grow for some time. On the other hand, over time the consumer will become more and more educated and there will continue to be new and more sophisticated information available. As the saying goes, in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king, but gradually people develop clearer vision and will no longer be satisfied with average.

GS as a sport is and will continue to grow because there are always those who demand the best of themselves and have the heart and courage to test themselves. Those who value quality will seek out the best training they can find and the more time that passes the more clear it becomes that the best KB lifters are those who compete in the sport. The general population wants general fitness, not world-class fitness so I think the future of kettlebell training will be a blend of methods and a synthesis of the best information available, regardless of what it might be called.

Sam-Apart from kettlebells what are you favourite conditioning tools/techniques?-

Steve-In addition to kettlebells I prefer body weight conditioning of all sorts, as the body is the machine and kettlebells or any other tools are simply extensions of the body at best. Mastering control of the body should be the first priority. I like things like Fat Gripz to intensify basic movements like pull-ups and dips (increasing grip strength) and also like Indian Clubs for shoulder girdle, wrist, elbow and spine mobility as well as for grip endurance. Yoga is an excellent mind-body discipline as is Qigong (Chinese art of breath cultivation) and various methods of meditation. Included with body weight conditioning is assorted flexibility, joint mobility, agility and plyometric training. I like all sorts of useful, full body-mind exercise methods. To move is to be alive!

Sam-We've seen you do some amazing pistol squat feats of strength, I like many people struggle with these- Please can you give us some hints on how to start progressing the strength and balance neccessary for a full pistol!-

Steve-A few pointers to start with: balance on one leg, work on hip flexor and hamstring flexibility. A good way to start is to use a box or chair to first limit the range of motion so one can develop good control with the movement.There are many tips. Here are some articles I have written which will provide some further help for the readers:http://fullkontact.com/resources-articles-5.htmlAlso here is a very in-depth instructional DVD teaching how to start with pistols up to a very advanced Level:http://www.ikff.net/store.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_new.tpl&product_id=4&category_id=1It is my pleasure Sam, thanks for the interview!

Diet and Photo Shoot Finished!

So the diet finally came to an end a couple of weeks ago, and yep I made my target weight of 13.7 down from 16 stone in 8 weeks! The diet was a standard carb depletion diet, dropping the carbs each week and upping the protein,however to lose all the water under my skin in the last week before the shoot I contacted the excellent, physiques training of Brighton, who are specialists in pre-competition bodybuilding nutrition.

The techniques used in the last week of dieting I can't really go into here, as they are Physiques Training company secrets so to speak, to get their competitors on peak condition for their time on the stage- to bring out enhanced vasularity and muscle definition.

I've learnt a lot from the diet- it was harder than any training i've ever put my body through- as it is a mental battle 24/7. Its given me a greater understanding too of the mental challenge thos who sufer from a weight issue have to go through. It is very easy for us as trainers to dismiss those who struggle with their diet as weak willed, but dieting down from a high carb diet to that of a low one has shown me some of the torment they go through.

What has also been redefined in my mind is that looks are in no way synonymous with either health or strength. When the photographs were taken, I think I look the best I ever have done, but I was also at my weakest I have been since I was a teenager. My strength levels dropped dramatically and I was lethargic all day. Now I'm back eating more, I have gained a stone but my strength levels have hit new peaks.I am back grappling and doing some powerlifting stuff- activities I couldn't have even considered whilst dieting. The pictures in this blog are some images from the photo shoot- hope you like them!

Anyway for now Stay Strong and train hard- out.

Garrett ''Iron Eater'' McCarthy Steps it up

Always after training one of my most dedicated clients I am filled with new vigour.

Some clients can really energise you with their passion and drive. Garrett is one of these folk. Like in my previous post about the 'Eye of the Dog' Garrett has got this ability in abundance- to push through the pain barrier and not be broken no matter what is thrown at him.

I've been training Garrett now for over year to bring his condition up for the Ultra Jungle Marathon. A series of self sufficient marathons run back to back through the Amazon rain Forrest- a crazy feat you might think- yet this has been Garretts passion for some time.

He was one of the top third of finishers in the Marathon des Sables- the ultra marathon run through the Sahara desert.However After an unsuccessful attempt at the Jungle marathon a few years back, he is back in 16 weeks to attack the hostile environment with avengeance.

Garretts training with me has centered around bringing his core strength up to an excellent standard with the use of kettlebells,body weight drills and resistance bands. His muscular endurance too, in particular the posterior chain has surpassed all my initial expectations.
We now can work non stop without a break for the whole 60 minutes, with double and single kettlebell work interspersed with bodyweight drills- however one of the main aims now is to keep Garrett injury free up to the race date.

I will keep you posted on Garretts progress and am sure he's going to be amongst the top finishers for this race too- go iron eater go!!

Dieting!

Four weeks ago I started what has to be honest one of the most challenging things I have ever done! Knowing that a photo shoot for my website is approaching I decided to diet down using a pre competition bodybuilders type diet to shed 1.5 stone in 7 weeks and boy has it been tough! I'm 4 weeks in now and have already reached my target weight of 14.7 and am still dropping! The weight has slowed down a little now but I'm sure by the end of it I'll end up a lean 13.7. Body fat levels have dropped from 16% down to 8% now with abs coming through nicely.
Each day it is a mental battle to resist certain foods and to keep up with the training when carbs are cut each week but it has given me a new respect for those who do this regularly to compete on the stage.
Not only that dropping from 16 stone to under 14 psychologically is hard- you feel that all the hard work you've spent building yourself up is going to pot- something I hadn't expected. I'll before and after pics when the diet is completed and let you judge for yourself!