BRICKS AND MORTAR

I was recently on a CrossFit level 2 course.  One of the main themes of the course was the programming of movements to increase levels of fitness.  Combat Ready Gym offers classes in CrossFit and Krav Maga as do many of the larger warehouse gyms in US. In fact it was a Krav Maga coach that created the CrossFit kids course initially.  The point I am trying to make is people often train in one class and look for differences in the others.  

The more I teach, the more I understand the commonalities.  In CrossFit and Krav Maga it's often a rush of the practitioners to go for the funky moves and miss out the basics.  When people watch the CrossFit Games they see the top percent of athletes doing movements and look to emulate them.  They forgot about the basics that will last them a life time.  Thats the same as the Krav Maga mob.  They look to over complicate and learn the most complicated of movements without a solid understanding of the initial movements. Overlook the basics and you can't build a solid structure on top of it and eventually it will collapse. 

I like to teach a lot of basics (fundamentals) and we can use the more exotic stuff to keep interest high and challenge us.  However, you always must keep in mind that to be successful you need a solid concrete base.  

So with that in mind in CrossFit get back to the foundational movements and in Krav Maga get the boxing and low line kicking sharp. 

Train and stay safe. 

Marcus

Should You Dread Your Training?

In a way yes you should.  There should be a little fear of the unknown, that little step outside your comfort zone that keeps you sharp.  If you are doing your own programming and you ain't dreading it a little then you are not working as hard as you could be.  I remember years ago heading up to Arbroath to train with Mark Davies and the guys in the car would all be nervous and talking about what pain and torture would be inflicted on us.  It kept you sharp and afterwards gave you something to talk about.  Every time you step on the mat or in the gym you should have a little fear about what is in store.  Embrace it and make yourself stronger and more adaptable.  Don't let it consume you and use it as a reason to stop.

Use of force

In training we often talk about 'the force ladder' and 'the use of force' and legal ramifications.  The law is set in regards to self defence and differs in each country. There are differences even between Scotland and England.  You don't really need to have a good understanding of the law as it is merely common sense, like most of the laws that govern us.  If someone attacks you, or lays hands on you, then you as an individual will know the perceived level of threat.  Someone touching your arm is not as serious as someone trying to bludgeon you.  However, the touching in another scenario may be just as serious.  

At the end of the day you are entitled to keep yourself safe, and if you feel threatened then you can use physical force.  You should of course try and exit or verbally de-escalate. However, you can't always run away and in some cases the de-escalation opportunity has come and gone. You must remember to be proportionate in your use of force and never to be excessive or cruel.  Common sense would tell you not to stamp on someones head, for example, unless you are in some sort of military life and death situation.  Then again, a multiple attack situation can be viewed as being as dangerous as being attacked by a single person with a knife.  At the end of the day most of us will never have to get physical, thankfully.  And if you do, then remember the use of force and make good decisions quickly.  Report a situation to the police, and a solicitor will argue in court for you if need be.  

Make your training micro reality.  Sometimes use break away techniques and verbal de-escalation.  Other times go all out.  

Opportunity

EVERY ONE GETS A SECOND CHANCE ITS CALLED TOMORROW

So a Monday is the hardest day of the week for many people to get motivated and get doing what they really want to be doing.  With the weather being so unpredictable at the moment people often don't want to venture out to train when its torrential rain.  At the other end of the spectrum we get a few hours of sunshine and people naturally want to sit outside as opposed to training.  It's Scotland, the weather can be awful but Monday is the start of something fantastic - a new week.  It's a chance to be a new you.  Last week is the past, when your training was mediocre, your diet was terrible and you felt like you made little progress.  Well here you go. You get to do it all again, but only better.  Don't let it be like groundhog day. Take that week by the scruff of the neck and tell it how great you are going to be. How you are not going to let a day called Monday make you feel bad, and how this week you are going to train 4 days instead of 3.  You're going to eat healthy all week and even add in some fasting.  Your going to cut out all sugar as well.  It's your life and you get one shot.  You are dying every day you wake up, and as you get older you will find birthdays come around quicker every year.  Don't sit about waiting for something great to happen to you. Get up and make it happen.  As for the weather -don't let some rain put you off going anywhere or doing anything.  You're waterproof already.

Building a workout routine

Recently we had a request on Facebook for how to build a good weight training regime. It got me thinking, how do you build a good regime? My personal rules have become so ingrained that its hard to express them in so few words, but I'll give it a try. Everything you are about to read is my own opinion, formed from years of experience as it may be, but its still only my opinion. Its not a comprehensive guide, but rather a set of rules that have helped me, and which stand up to reason – the greatest test for fitness advice!

Rule 1: In order to get bigger, start big, get small. How often, in a commericial gym, do you see guys whacking out a few sets of bicep curls, a few sets of bench, then five minutes on the treadmill and that's them? Maybe I spend too much time watching other people when I should be checking my own form, but I see this kind of behaviour a lot. These guys are putting the cart before the horse, working the small muscles before the big muscles – or even not at all. In every session you should aim to exhaust the larger muscles before you start to work your way down to the small. Which means, start with legs (even if you hate doing them, you NEED to train legs, as I will discuss below), next to back, then to chest, then shoulders, THEN you can start thinking about your biceps and your triceps. Bicep and triceps are small muscles, and work best as a part of a chain, utilised in large compound movements. Do the big movements first, and you will experience big gains. Bicep curls are the icing on the cake, not the main course. 

Rule 2: Do legs. Legs are the biggest muscles in your body, if you neglect them, you are neglecting over 50% of your strength, almost all your explosive power, and also hampering your ability to burn calories. This means doing deadlifts and squats, the two great, and most neglected, strength exercises. If you don't know how, find someone to teach you. If you aren't squatting, you aren't lifting.

Rule 3: This is less a rule, and more a guideline. Start with low reps, and heavy weights, then work yourself down, as you work smaller muscle groups, into the higher rep range. This means you are recruiting the full range of muscle fibres in your first few exercises, as it takes the entirety of your muscle to lift near its max ( when you can only manage 3- 5 reps of an exercise), and then as you get onto your isolations (bicep curls etc) you are burning out your muscles and exhausting the smaller muscle fibres which are hit by isolations. 

These are just a few simple rules. There are many, many more. All of these rules have exceptions, and you will probably hear different fitness professionals argue different methods for different results. By and large though, these rules will serve you well as an amateur, and unless you are specially looking to body build professionally, or compete in a specific event, will do you well. But I encourage you to research for yourself, and to find what works for you, after all, that's the joy of weight lifting. Good luck!

Mastering your body weight - the pull up

The pull up is one of the defining marks of upper body strength. It is crucial for building a good power to weight ratio, and is the first step for everything from bodybuilding to gymnastics. Its hard to overstate the importance of this movement because it's so integral for physical strength and fitness - and here's a shocker, its not just for boys. 

Some of the greatest gymnasts in the world are women, and are perfectly capable of managing their bodyweight to the same degree as men. Women actually have the advantage with bodyweight manoeuvres, as the average female has a smaller frame and shorter arms than most men, allowing them greater control over their own weight. The problem is the build up. Many aspiring athletes (men and women) attempt to jump right into pull ups, thinking that they should 'definitely manage at least one', then become demoralised when they don't live up to their expectations. This becomes a belief that 'I'm just no good at pull ups', when in fact, they just haven't given themselves the chance. 

The only way to get good at anything is repetition, and having a pull up bar in the home to practise with is a great way to build up strength. I recommend buying a pull up bar that stays up from tension, such as this one http://www.powermyself.com/powermyself-chin-up-bar.html, so you don't have to go drilling holes into the walls of your house. Every time you pass the bar, make yourself jump up and try a few pull ups. If you do struggle to manage one, don't give up hope, there a range of ways to build yourself up to a full pull up.

Negatives: There are two parts to any exercise, the lifting, and the lowering. The lifting is the part that most people focus on, and it recruits a variety of muscle fibres, especially the fast twitch muscle fibres responsible for explosive power. However, the often neglected lowering phase, is just as important. If you find you can't lift your own body weight, you can practise for it, by a series of lowerings or 'negatives'. If you focus on just jumping up to the pull up bar, and then lowering yourself as slowly as you can for a series of reps, this will build up the strength of your lats, and bring you closer to a full pull up.

Band assisted: If you have resistance bands, these can be a great way to help aid your pull ups. Attach your resistance band to your pull up bar by looping it round the middle. Put your knee or foot through the loop and allow it to partially support your weight as you hang from the bar. Now try and do a pull up. You should find this easier. This can be a good way to help build up a portion of the movement that you struggle with. So if you can't quite get your chin over the bar, practise with bands, focusing on a full range of motion, until you can.  You can buy all different sizes of bands from www.amazon.co.uk

Inverted rows: This is a great exercise, and can be done almost anywhere. Take an overhand grip, either on a set of rings set at around chest height, or a Olympic bar racked around waist height. Put your feet out so that your body is parallel to the ground. Then, pulling back with your elbows., and with your core tight, row yourself up to the bar/rings. This is a great way to build up to pull ups, as its the same motion, just with less of your bodyweight to lift. It can also be done at home. If you have sturdy table, lie under it and practise rowing yourself up to the edge.

So as you can see, there's plenty of room for walking before you can run. Don't be daunted, get stuck in, and you'll find it isn't so hard as you thought!

Images courtesy of Claire Watson photography

Diet 101

So there is a wealth of information out there for you concerning diets. Adverts on the radio saying eat this, weigh yourself, all will be fine. Or eat caveman diet or start weekly fasting. Or even don't eat real food have this stuff from a packet as if you were a space man. Celebrity diets are everywhere and everyone has their own take on what we should be eating. The truth is we are all individuals and lead such different lifestyles that our diet is a very unique thing. If you want to take control and haven't got the time to do the research then try and stick to some simple guidelines that we will offer to you over the coming weeks.

If you are looking to lose weight, gain weight, gain muscle, tone up whatever you want I think the first port of call is a food diary. So for the next month, keep a journal of everything you eat and drink and I mean everything. Describe the portion size so that it means something to you. People weighing food have far too much free time on their hands or are following recipes. We are trying to keep it simple here. Also, record how you feel in your food diary. Sometimes it can take a few days for a "bad" food to show up and make us feel lousy. Stick down the time you eat at as well and how long it takes you to consume said meal. The idea behind this is to frighten you into your actual food intake, your lack of water or your over consumption of alcohol. It might even highlight foods you should take out your diet as they make you feel crap. On the other hand you might realise why you are not putting on that lean muscle as your diet consists of a protein shake and a subway.

Get a little notebook from a supermarket for a £1 and write in it. Keep an excel spreadsheet or I am sure there are apps out there that will do it all for you. The thing is, we want to do it ourselves and take control of this. Do it for a month, then spend some time going over the information you recorded and see if anything jumps out at you.

You don't need hand holding you can do this. Take control, this is the first step. If you have any questions about it drop me an email or post them up and I will try and help.

Marcus