Benefits Of Thick Bar Training Coming Soon To TSC

Tonbridge School Centre is currently in the process of providing a range of training equipment which will easily convert any ordinary dumbbell, barbell and bar into an equivalent “Thick Bar”. So I wanted to take the time to discuss the benefits behind thick bar training so to help maximise their use and educate all our members on the benefits that will be freely available to them without even adapting there current programme.

I’m presuming that the majority of people won’t have had access to this particular adaptive training as in the U.K equipment is limited. Having personally trained and worked in a number of different gyms throughout the U.K from mainstream gyms in London and Leeds; to local individual clubs in Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells I have only encounter the product a handful of times.

The Benefits of thick bar training are linked with the development of muscular strength and endurance. There are a number of different reasons for this, some which are more obvious and others which are not so obvious.

Firstly when performing any pulling exercise like One Arm dumbbell rows or Chin Ups, when using the Thick Bar, your grip will be tested a lot more. Your forearms will have to work much harder to hold on to the same weight, increasing the tension in the muscle, and improving the strength of your grip. This is great for many different sports and improving your grip will help you work more efficiently in future training sessions.

Secondly I look to discuss the principle of "Irradiation". I will use a practical example to help you understand the concept without all the Scientific Information. You may already be aware that when contracting a muscle you also contract surrounding muscles. A good Practical example I have come across helps you understand what I’m talking about.

1.      Try flexing your bicep as hard as possible without making a fist.

2.      Flex your bicep as hard as possible whilst making a very tight fist.

3.      You should notice your bicep contract much harder when making a tight fist.

4.      If you flex your forearms hard enough you will begin to feel tension not just in your arms, but in your shoulders, chest, and back.

This is the Irradiation principle in action. The nerve impulses of surrounding muscles can amplify the effect of that muscle. When training for strength gains you can generate much more tension within Prime Mover (main muscle being used in exercise) and synergists (supporting/surrounding muscles).

The more your body uses Irradiation in the pulling movements the stronger your forearms will get. This strength will directly translate into other pressing movements when squeezing the bar hard. Allowing you create more tension when training and maximise progression.

One last point to make on the subject is you cannot combine the thick bar work and lifting straps. Although lifting straps may appear to allow you train harder, as you may be able to hold more weight when performing pulling movements. You don’t rely on your grip at all no Irradiation occurs and they weaken your ability to generate tension in your forearms. After all the strength gained is not functional or usable without the straps.

Circuit blast for Beginners, Semi-Pro & Pro.

Circuits are one of the best ways to train the whole body working various energy systems and muscles. Find below a circuit based workout incorporating cardio and muscular stations. There are three levels and an outstanding time goal for each proving to make for a challenging work out.

Level	Row (m)	Squats (reps)	Row (m)	Press ups (reps)	Row (m)	Squat Press (reps)	Row (m)	Sit ups (reps)	Row (m)	Burpees (reps)	Treadmill 5% (km)
Beginner	200	10	200	10	200	10*5kg Barbell	200	10	200	10	1
Semi-Pro	400	20	400	20	400	20*10kg Barbell	400	20	400	20	2
Pro	1000	50	1000	50	1000	50*10kg Barbell	1000	50	1000	50	4

Beginner	Semi-Pro	Pro
17 minutes	30 minutes	45 minutes

For any help or assistance with any of the exercises please seek help from the gym team.

Dan.Byrne

REVIVE

YOUR DIET AND NUTRITION SOLUTION

¨ 6 week course commences 9th of May

¨ Monday 7-8pm

Available to members and non-members at £45

Fat-loss, drop a dress size, tone-up, have more energy, improve your sleep patterns and more!

· Limited Spaces!

¨ Book at reception to guarantee your place.

Philip Jeffreys- Marathon Man

My name is Philip Jeffreys - Duty Manager here at TSC since December - and I have recently run the London Marathon 2011. It was one of the most amazing days of my life, through all the hard training that you put in through those cold, rainy and snowy winter months, it is all worth it when you cross the line.  

Running the London Marathon was possibly the most rewarding experience of my life.  The support throughout the run was incredible - at every point I began to feel myself lagging, there they were, a troupe of Pancreatic Cancer supporters, shouting support and my name, waving, and smiling. This was exactly what was needed to make me pick my feet up again and keep going. The emotions that you go through from start to finish are the most incredible experience you will ever go through. At the start you will go through nervousness, excitement and the unknown – through to the finish where all the pain that has gently come on through the run, with the sun pounding on you with its heat, blisters on your feet, rubbing like crazy, to the amazement of joy when you come round the corner from Buckingham Palace and your running up the mall with only 385 yards to go, you find that extra energy to sprint across the finishing line and the happiness that it brings is out of this world.      

What a fantastic day, wouldn't have missed it for the world.

 

GET FIT, GET STRONG, HAVE FUN!!

COMING SOON TO TSC!!

Fish oils for health

When choosing a fish oil, go for a variety that provides the body with Omega 3 and 6. Cod liver oil was always favoured in the past. However, Salmon oil is more oily and will provide the body with more nutritional value. I would recommend Salmon oil, even if it slightly more expensive. Fish oil can help:

• lower cholesterol.
• lower blood pressure
• reduce inflammation of the joints
• improve your mood (it has also helped improve conditions such as ADHD and depression)
• improve brain function
• improve recovery from exercise
• slow down the ageing process 

You can't ask for more than that! If you don't eat much fresh fish, visit your local health food shop for more information on a high quality supplement.

Training your back muscles for strength and power

Improving the muscles in your back is beneficial for everyone. For the purposes of this article we are going to focus on developing the back muscles for strength and power. The sort of strength and power that is functional. What I mean by functional is something that will help you in sport and in life. In this article we will look at what I think are the best exercises for improving this area as a whole.

Firstly lets have a look at the muscles in the back in more detail:


The diagram shows the different areas of the back. The green area highlitghts the upper back and is called the trapezius, the blue area is the middle back, which is also referred to as the lats and the red area is the lower back or erector spinae. In my opinion, a common mistake that people make when training their back muscles for strength, is that they try to isolate the different areas too much. You need to work this area predominately as a unit. This is what it was designed for. My favourite exercises for the back include:

1 - Deadlift - this is the most natural exrecise around. Bend through your knees, keep a tight back and lift the weight from the floor. Simple. If you get strong at this exercise you will pack a huge amount of muscle on your lower, middle and upper back. The next time you move house and have to lift heavy objects, you will feel the benefits.

2. Farmers walk - Hold a pair of heavy dumbells, kettlebells, or any heavy objects in each hand and walk. Walk for a set distance and do multiple sets, or walk a total distance and simply finish the distance as quick as you can, even if you need to drop the weights and start again.




3 - Barbell cleans - A very technical exercise if they are done properly. These will make you explosive through your hips as well as powerful through your back. These are fantastic for sporting activities. They will make you jump higher and run faster.

4 - Mixed grip pullups/chinups - These will add size and strength to the lats. Vary your grip position to hit the back in all different ways. These will also develop your arms.



A back routine including the above could look like this:

Barbell cleans - 5 sets of 5 reps
Barbell Deadlifts - 4 sets of 8 reps
Pullups - 4 sets of maximum reps
Farmers walk - 3 sets of 50 metres with heavy dumbells.

This is an advanced routine so make sure you receive guidance on any of the above exercises from one of our trainers if you are unsure. The above exercises will not only strengthen the back but the benefits will spill over into other areas. The forearms, upper arms, shoulders, abs, obliques and legs will all feel the affects.

Enjoy!
Oli.

know your colours!

If you look in your fridge, on your dinner plate or in your shopping trolley what do you see? Lots of colours? I hope so. Having a variety of natural foods with a range of different colours is a perfect way to ensure you gain a whole range of different nutrients. Below are some examples of what certain colour foods provide for the body:

Orange - foods include sweet potato, carrots, mangoes, apricots. These provide beta-carotene which is beneficial to the skin and the eyes.

Purple - Blueberries, plums, rasberries, blackberries, dark grapes provide anthocyanins which protect the brain, heart and eyes.

Reds- tomotoes, water melon and pink grapefruit all provide you with lycopene, repsonsible for lowering the risk of cancer. 

 

The above are just a few examples of why a mixture of colour is a great way to balance your diet. The next time you go shopping, put some new fruits and vegetables in your shopping basket. Try something different every week and feel the benefits.

Oli.

Breathing Techniques to Improve Performance

Breathing techniques are very important for all different types of training; however they are often overlooked as a non-essential minor detail with respect to overall performance. This couldn’t be any further from the truth and the following article breaks down the benefits to performance, basic breathing techniques and guidance on improving individual focus. So whatever your goal; lowering your overall heart rate without lowering exercise intensity, increasing your one repetition max (1RM) or developing improved focus and concentration the following information may prove invaluable in helping you achieve it.

When studying the basic anatomy of the lung we discover, although a single organ, each lung is divided into a series of lobes. The right lung is composed of three lobes; the upper, middle and lower. The left lung is similar in construction but only has two lobes the upper and lower. For the purpose of the article I want to focus on just the distinction between the upper and lower lobe and there relationship with two different types of common breathing.

Shallow breathing involves the contraction of intercostal muscles in between the ribs and normally only draws air into the upper lobes. Deep breathing by comparison relies on the intercostal muscles alongside the activation of the diaphragm (large sheet of muscle similar in appearance to a parachute positioned internally at the bottom of the abdomen). It aids in breathing by moving down upon contraction increasing the space within your thorax (upper part of the torso). This creates a negative pressure within the thorax causing the lungs to expand and air to be drawn in. This causes air to be drawn into the lower lobes first, where gaseous exchange can take place more efficiently as well as utilising more of the lungs surface area.

The higher percentage of oxygen in the blood stream and improved VO2max (body’s ability to absorb and transport oxygen effectively) causes muscles to receive increased levels of oxygen, a key component fuelling any aerobic based work. This allows the heart rate to decrease, without reducing exercise intensity levels. As more oxygenated blood is delivered in each stroke volume/contraction of the heart.

With regard to improving a 1RM the increased oxygen levels may not have any direct effect on you physically when performing the lift. This is true as when performing any near maximal effort work your body works anaerobically (energy being produce is without the presence of oxygen), so the increased oxygen levels bear no relevance. However, when performing deep breathing an individual’s parasympathetic nervous system is activated. This causes certain physiological changes in the body; dilation of blood vessels, slowing of the heart and constriction of the pupils. All these changes aid in helping you focus and concentrate and perform to your maximum in any situation.

The easiest way to stimulate deep breathing is to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Initially you may find it more difficult, but with a couple of months practice you’ll find all the above benefits are yours. Once you have learned this deep breathing you will be able to do it autonomously and at high intensity. As demand on performance increases you will use this technique through a “normal” breathing pattern without using the nose breathing technique. It also stops you from straining you intercostal muscle through over use, often leading to a dull ache in middle back. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Dan. J. Byrne

Red Nose Day at the Tonbridge School Centre

As you may know this Friday is Red Nose Day and here at TSC we are having a big fundraising event for Comic Relief. We have given ourselves the challenge of keeping a triathlon running for 24 hours starting 10pm Thursday 17^th and finishing Friday 18^th but we need your help. You can choose to do 1, 2 or all 3 disciplines either on your own or as a team. Half hour time slots are sold for £10 each, 3 for £20 or you can be sponsored. We still have time slots available so please come in to Reception to book yours but you’ll have to hurry as they are filling up quickly!

On Friday there will be Bingo running in the bar between 10am – 1pm. Tickets are £10 and include a speciality coffee, cake and 2 bingo cards to get you started. A goody bag full of TSC and Red Nose Day treats for the winner.

Also running Friday night will be the Red Nose Day Quiz in the bar. Starting at 7pm until late, teams of up to 6 with 6 bottles of wine to the winning. £10 per team.

All the money raised during the event will go to Comic relief, 2 years ago we raised over £1100 and this year we want to beat this total.

Thank you in advance for all of your support.

Training with a new born

My son has just turned 15 months. It has only really been the last few months that he has started to sleep through the night. Before he was born, I was training up to 4 days a week and this routine was working well. I knew I would be in for some sleepless nights but I was unsure on how this would affect my training. What I began to realise was how little sleep you could actually function on, compared to the regular 8 hours you may have had previously. Sleep deprivation will affect your exercise but don't get too dissapointed if you aren't as fired up for your gym sessions like before. You have to accept that some days you will feel good and others not so good. Sleep is also how we recover from a gym session. So if you used to train on consecutive days, or every other, you may need a couple of extra days to aid recovery. Go easy on yourself as well. When training, a general rule of thumb is to improve on your last session. Constant gradual improvement, will enable you to get closer to your goal. If you have had a tough night however, don't worry if you can't match your last session in regards to duration or intensity. The key is to praise yourself for exercising, even if you do less and you will always feel more energetic afterwards!

The next issue becomes time. If you are a full-time mum or dad, or if you both work, time to actually exercise probably becomes more of an issue than sleep. Life will be a juggling act at the best of times, and trying to squeeze a gym session in could be way down your list of priorities. If you are desperate to exercise but don't always have the time to get to the gym or a class, then a short power workout at home is a great way to keep you focused! I invested in a couple of Kettlebells. I fling these around in the bedroom (in a controlled way!), once my son had gone to bed. Although it wasn't the planned session I wanted to do at the gym, I was still getting my muscles working and my heart rate up. This kept my confidence up and didn't let my fitness drop too much before my next visit.



If you don't have dumbells or kit at home, then even body weight exercises are fantastic. Squats, lunges, jumping jacks, pushups, mountain climbers, planks, sprints, etc.



If you are struggling for time, come and see one of our instructors for a home workout. We can build this in to your weekly routine and provide you with some ideas to keep you exercising!

I am told the sleep and time situation improves....in about 15 years. Can't wait!

Oli.

Protein for FAT-LOSS

-Here at the sports centre I run a nutritional course called Revive. At Revive, people often join the course to lose weight. Losing weight isn't the term we like to use. Instead we promote 'fat-loss'. If people lose inches, they don't care about the scales. If you maintain your weight and drop body fat, the weight you have maintained will be muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, and it is important we build muscle for a number of reasons. This is something for a different post. The following are all reasons why you should up your protein intake for fat-loss:

Protein will fill you up.

Protein based foods take more time to break down and they therefore fill you up for longer. If a food is broken down quickly then you will feel hungry sooner. Satisfying your appetite is the key to any fat-loss programme.

Protein keeps your blood sugar levels steady.

Protein will also slow down the rate of digestion of other foods. If you eat certain carbohydrates, you get a rapid rise in blood sugar levels, followed by a dip or the 'sleepy' part of the day. However, combine any form of protein with this and you immediatiely slow down this absorbtion. If you often feel tired after lunch, reduce your carbohydrates and up your protein.

Protein is very low in calories.

Not only does protein fill you up, it is also lower than carbohydrates and fats, in regards to the calories it provides per gram:

Protein = 4
Cartbohydrates = 5
Fats = 9

For fat-loss you need to be reducing your overall calorie intake. If you are doing this without feeling too hungry then you are more likely to maintain your fat-loss goals.

Protein speeds up your metabolism.

A higher metabolism means we burn more calories at rest. Building muscle also raises our metabolism.

Protein promotes the release of the hormone Glucagon.

Glucagon promotes fat-burning. Carbohydrate promotes the release of Insulin, which is a fat-storing hormone. This doesn't mean that carbohydrates are bad for us, but it means you need to get the balance right.

Protein based food include the following:

Fish:

All fish is a fantastic source of protein. Fresh is best but tinned is great to have in the cupboard to add to meals or as a snack.





Meat.

Go for unprocessed natural meats. Organic/local produce is even better.

Dairy.

Eggs, cheese, Milk and yoghurt are all good examples. One of my favourites is cottage cheese for a quick and easy source of protein. Eggs are a great way to start the day. Try this simple recipe to combine both and add to a salad or small jacket potato:

Ingredients

2 hard boiled eggs
1/2 tub of cottage cheese
Sea salt
black pepper
(Add a little mustard for extra flavour) 

Directions

1. Hard boil eggs and chop.

2. Mix in cottage cheese, mustard and season to taste.

3. You will have a high protein low fat egg salad in no time

Vegetarian options:

Quorn
Beans
Lentils
Soya
Dairy again (if not a vegan).


Start increasing your protein intake to your 3 meals a day. If you can also start to incorporate protein based snacks into your day then you will feel even better. Follow this and see how much more energy you will have, simply through controlled blood sugar levels.

I will leave you with some protein based snacks:

· Nuts

· Seeds

· Natural yoghurt

· Cold meats – a fantastic snack for weight maintenance, blood sugar levels and these are low in calories. An example is a chicken drumsticks, slices of ham etc.

· Cottage cheese with oatcakes or rice cakes.

· Protein shake

· Glass of milk

· Celery and peanut butter

ENJOY!!

Oli

Learn Your...

Compound Fundamentals

 

Essential training regime to increase physical size and strength as well as enhance sporting performance.

 

Compound lifts utilise multiple large muscle groups and mimic similar ranges of movement to those commonly found in sports. Most professional athletes-particularly those whose disciplines require a particular level of strength or explosive power (i.e rugby players, sprinters) - will perform heavy compound lifts as part of their regime. The exercises shown below are the key foundations to compound lifting and should be perfected before moving on to more elabourate moves later on.

 

Deadlift

 

1. Stand with your feet under the barbell
2. Bend down without lowering the hips and grip the barbell with your preferred grip outside of either leg.
3. Bend your kness until your shins are touching the bar.
4. Lift your head and chest to straighten your spine before lifting.
5. From this position, continue the movement upwards, lifting with both your hips and knees simultaneously.
6. Finish in a strong position with shoulders pinned back and hips pushed forwards against the bar.
7. Return the bar to the floor through the reverse sequence taking care to keep the barbell as close to your body as possible.

 

 

 

Back Squat

 

1. Set up the squat rack with the bar racks set at shoulder height and the safety bars set to just above your hips.
2. Duck under the bar and rest it on your traps at the top of your shoulders, not your neck.
3. Have your feet slightly wider than hip width at approxiamately the distance apart they would be for performing a standing jump.
4. The squatting movement should resemble that of sitting on a stool, with the hips 'clearing' (moving backwards) as the knees begin to bend, this will also keep your back straight so try to use this as the catalyst for the whole movement.

 

 

 

Power Upright Row

 

1. Lift the bar from the floor as you would during a standard deadlift.
2. Once at the top, return the bar to approximately knee height maintaining spine angle as shown below.
3. From this position, complete the remainder of the upwards phase of the deadlift powerfully so that the bar can continue to move past its usual resting point.
4. Using your shoulders, keep the bar moving upwards, keep your elbows above your hands at all times to utilise your shoulders as much as possible.
5. Bring the bar as close to your collarbones as possible before allowing it to return to the rest position at the top of the deadlift.
6. As with all compound exercises, try to keep the weight close to your body throughout to avoid injury.

 

 

Push Press

 

1. Set the squat rack up as you would do for a squat, with the bar racks at shoulder height. The safety bars may not be required.
2. Lift the bar from the racks and hold it in a relaxed position across the front of the chest. (Clean hang).
3. Bend at the hips and knees slightly before each repetition.
4. As your legs straighten explosively, drive the bar overhead until your arms are straight.
5. Carefully lower the bar back to shoulder height, once again bending at the hips and knees to 'catch' the weight as it falls.
6. Repeat, remembering to use your legs throughout the entire set.

What to do....

Each of these exercise uses a key aspect of more advanced, dynamic compound lifts which can be learnt in due course. Establish a solid foundation by perfecting the exercises shown here with particular emphasis on form and fluidity of movement as opposed to weight.

To do this effectively, keep the weight the same for all four exercises-this will help you to improve strength in the areas you are weaker whilst developing  the explosive power and speed of movement required for compound lifting in elements such as the deadlift and squat.

Perform 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps of each exercise.