Tuesday 29 May 2012

80:20 rule

A lot of people are all or nothing when approaching exercise and nutrition. However, consistency is the key. The saying "We are what we do consistently", couldn't be further from the truth in the training environment. When we train, our body makes tiny adaptions to the stimulus, if the stimulus is regular. Building muscle is a prime example. Micro-tears in the muscle will occur after doing resistance training. These repair and re-grow slightly stronger/larger.

If you want results, a gradual approach is often the winning way. If you train 5 days one week, 1 the next, then 4 days, then no sessions for 3 weeks, etc, it is difficult for your body to adapt, recooperate and move forwards. Training once or twice a week, consistently over time, will more than likely produce visual results.

Nutrition is very similar. Living like a saint one week and then eating takeaway every night the next is not a good way to go. I live by the 80:20 rule. Doing things well with my food 80% of the time and relaxing for the final 20%. Preparing good meals during the week and healthy snacks. I love using the routine of work to fall into a healthy eating pattern. Knowing where you are and at what time you can eat, means you can plan ahead. If you have a meal on the road at the weekend or a bithday celebration, etc, then this won't affect your progress because you have had a good week. We are what we eat. If you want to be lean, eat lean. Fish, good cuts of meat, salad, veggies, fruit, nuts.

Routine scares some people but in this game it really works. Get into the HABIT on a regular basis and you will see the changes!

Sunday 20 May 2012

Repetition Guidelines


In any resistance based training routine there are many factors which need to be considered when designing your own specific program. The first most important step is recognising / deciding what outcome / progression you would like to achieve from the implementation of a set program.
Are you looking to improve your strength to perform better in a particular sport or athletic event?
Are you hoping to increase the amount of lean tissue your body is comprised of (hypertrophy); helping you to lose weight?
Do you want to work on your muscular endurance before attempting to complete for a longer duration event?

Only when you know what you want to achieve can you begin to set your repetition ranges and design an effect routine… So ask yourself what do you want to improve?



 Repetition ranges have been studied closely for a long time and we now have a good understanding of how an individual’s performance will be affected following different periodised exercise programs. This has led to average reps, sets, weight as % 1RM (Repetition Max), recovery time and contraction velocity (speed of contraction) guidelines being established.


Goal

Strength

Power

Hypertrophy
Local Muscular Endurance

Repetition Range
(reps)

1-5

1-5

6-12

15+

Sets


2-6

2-6

3-6

2-3

Weight
(%1RM)

85

60

67-85

<67

Recovery Time
(seconds)

180

120

60-90

30-45

Contraction Velocity
(concentric seconds/eccentric seconds)


2 - 2

1 - 2

2 to 5 - 2 to 5

1 to 2 – 1 to 2

* All recommendations should be viewed in context of individual´s target goals, physical capacity, and training status (beginner/intermediate/advanced).

From experience I can also say not everybody will fall directly into these categories so use the ranges as guidelines and find what works best for you. You will also get “crossing-over” and when training directly for strength you will inevitably experience changes in hypertrophy and muscular endurance performance as well so don’t worry if you are aiming to improve in more than one area.
For more help or advice in program design or to find out what area (strength/power/hypertrophy/local-muscular-endurance) you should be working in to improve your performance/ goal progress please contact a member of the gym team or email djb@tonbridge-school.org .

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Free Body Fat Testing
Coming soon

Have your body fat checked anytime in June for free!

·         Get specific and see if all your hard work in the gym is paying off
·         Assess your progression since our last event in March
·         Evaluate any weight-loss/weight-gain
·        Start to prepare for Summer


With a good diet and regular training you should see noticeable improvements in BF% over a 2-3 month period. Assessments limited to one per person, subject to gym teams availability, booking always required. For more information, booking and full terms and conditions please speak to a member of the gym team or email djb@tonbridge-school.org