Book Recommendation: Strength Training Anatomy

Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier

Quite literally the best book out there for anyone interested in strength training, fitness or anatomy in general. 

The book is broken down into target muscle groups: back, chest, legs etc. This latest edition even has sections on stretching and injuries.

Every exercise is broken down in this book with great information and even better illustrations. The last few pages have great illustrations on muscles and the skeleton; listing muscle and bone names. Get clued up on what you're training!


Visit the Books page for more awesome book recommendations! Get inspired.

HIIT workout. 5 Rounds. Go!

I just did a fantastic HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout and thought I'd share it with you all.

What you need:

• Enough room for the length of your body and as high as you can reach
• A Kettlebell (or dumbbell)
• Yourself

Conditions:

• 5 rounds
• 10 repetitions

The movements:

• Burpees
• Kettlebell swings
• Kettlebell thrusters
• Bicep curls (10 each arm)
• Sit ups

Try and keep your rest between rounds low. 30-60 seconds is long enough. This should be a quick and intense workout. 

I used a 16kg kettlebell but the weight you'll be using is based solely upon yourself (or what you own). If you don't have a kettlebell then dumbbells can make a good alternative. If you have neither then stay tuned for future workouts by subscribing to this blog. Workouts are customisable, if 10 reps is too low, do 15, if 10 reps is too high, do 5 or 8. Keep it intense, that's the key!

Top tip! In later rounds take your time with the swings and curls, these are your 'active recovery' movements, breathe, recover and destroy the burpees and thrusters.

Find me on Instagram and Twitter! Neverforgottenfitness & NF_Fitness.

And don't miss the most popular post on the blog: The Misconceptions of Women Lifting Weights.

Mean and Lean HIIT Workout

Hey! So we all want to burn fat in the quickest time possible. Lucky for us, there's HIIT. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training, and there's loads of different styles and variants. But the basic idea is to raise your heart rate with really intense short bursts of physical activity.

So today I'm gonna share with you a really great, quick and simple HIIT workout that is customisable as well.

You will need:

• Yourself
• 20m stretch of area, be it a garden, a field or the street.

To start off with make sure you do a proper warm up and dynamic stretching routine, always train safe.

Mark out your 20m (roughly) stretch, this is your sprinting section.

So here's what you're going to do:

• 10 press ups
• Sprint 20m and back
• 10 jump squats
• Sprint 20m and back
• 10 jumping lunges
• Sprint 20m and back
• 10 sit ups
• Sprint 20m and back
• Rest 30-60 seconds
• Repeat

Do this for 5 rounds. It's going to be tough, but keep it up.

The distance is customisable, if a total 40m sprint is too much, drop it, if it's not enough, raise it.

The exercises and the reps are customisable too, change the rep range up or down and change up the exercises too.

Hope you enjoy this HIIT routine and benefit from it! 

Read our top post: The Misconceptions of Women Lifting Weights

3 Great Exercises for Big Traps

When we think about traps and training traps usually it's shrugs that pops right into your head. While shrugs are a great trap-builder and should be done there are some other exercises which are also great at targeting traps. Here are 3 great exercises for big traps.

Deadlifts

Deadlifts are such a great mass-builder for your entire posterior chain. Part of that chain being your traps. Traps should be trained through different planes of movement and deadlifts do just that. Imagine all the angles of strain your traps are put under throughout the entire movement of a deadlift. From the bent over position all the way through to the upright position.

Cleans

Cleans are definitely an underestimated movement for training traps. It's a powerful movement and involves your entire upper body but especially the traps. I feel the best pump in my traps after a good clean session. The hang, training the traps, the shrugging part of the movent, traps again. The nature of the clean means using momentum as well as strength and power to clean that bar up and as so you can move some heavy weight.

Facepulls

People tend to forget that the traps aren't just the chunky parts at the top, they also connect much lower down the back. They need training on a horizontal plane as well as through the vertical. With the facepulls you should really focus on squeezing at the end of the concentric phase and this will help build thickness in your traps.

I really hope this post has helped you out and given you some tips and idea's to improve your workouts. Please do subscribe to the blog and follow me on social media: Instagram and Twitter.

Most viewed post: Misconceptions of Women Weightlifting

First Impressions: Training at Colchester RFC

I've always loved Rugby, played at school, watch it on TV, go to matches. So the next step for me really was to play again! I started back up a couple of weeks ago now, the beginning of pre-season. We train twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7pm.

Everyone there is really friendly, coaches and players. Everyone has great patience especially with newbies like me, which I really appreciate. There is a whole range of ages, abilities and fitness levels.

Every training session is different, but always starts off with a good warm up and some dynamic stretching. Usually there's a little bit of fitness work first or some skills drills.

Sometimes we split into forwards and backs for some more targeted skill training, running lines and passing skills for backs, line-outs etc for forwards. I've been training with the backs, because honestly I don't think I'm big enough to be a forward, although it's also a shame I'm not really quick enough to be a good back haha.

We've done awesome fitness circuits with lifting, sprinting, jumping, weighted sleds (awesome), battle ropes and carrying team mates on your back and running. Definitely adds a new dimension to my fitness regime and gives me some fresh idea's for what I can offer clients of my own as well.

So, first impressions? I'm bruised all over and bust my lip up already, but... I'm LOVING it! The people are great, the fitness is great, the rugby... fantastic!

I'd definitely recommend joining your local rugby club, have a google, there must be one near you. If you're in Colchester pop along to Colchester RFC and join in.

Thanks for reading! More to come.

Most viewed post: Misconceptions of Women Weightlifting

Footwear for Fitness

We should really have different footwear for different types of training and I'll go through what's best for different activities.

Weightlifting

For weightlifting we want to be as stable as possible. Stability comes through the ground, our feet, ankles and all the way up through our body. If the ground we're on is unstable we wobble, we fall and lifting weight is dangerous. So the next link up, our feet, also follows the same rules. If what we wear on our feet is unstable... we wobble, we fall and lifting weight is dangerous.

So bearing this in mind, what kind of shoes are the best to lift in?

Flat and firm soled shoes are best suited to weightlifting. We want to have an unbroken surface area, flat and firm soles, something to feel strong against the ground with.

I wear Lonsdale Leyton shoes. They're nothing special, cheap and cheerful. Comfortable? Yes. Flat and firm soles? Yes.

There's loads of great shoes out there, I'd get some awesome Nike ones but I'm a cheapskate. There are also some great specialized weightlifting shoes coming out, Romeleos and adipowers. These are specifically designed for weightlifting and even give a solid higher heel for those of us with poor ankle mobility. 

Some people like to lift barefooted which I also do enjoy sometimes, but you must put safety first in a gym environment, lots of heavy things being thrown about means please do protect yourself as much as you can.

Running

There are different thoughts on footwear for running. Some people believe a minimal shoe which basically gives the soles of your feet protection and that's it is the best. However, I personally believe that with the impact of running; your feet, ankle joints and knee joints all need a bit more protection. Always go with a proper running shoe, breathable material on top with a 'spongy' heel and sole. It's definitely worth spending a little more money on running shoes, you can't really put a price on healthy joints. 

The running shoes I have are Nike Pegasus 32's, they're really comfortable to run in and give me all the proper protection.

Most specialist running shops, or even some mainstream sport shops, now have treadmills in which measure various things about your gait and running style. They can match you up with the best shoe possible for you.

Thanks for reading! I hope this post has been helpful for you, if it has please do subscribe to the blog and follow me on all the social media stuff. Instagram @neverforgottenfitness & Twitter @NF_Fitness. 

Previous Post: Skydiving: May Mayhem

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Skydiving: May Mayhem

Left (Me), Middle (Chloe), Right (Chloe's Dad). Before the jump.

So for my girlfriend's fathers' 50th birthday we went for a spot of afternoon skydiving. It was just a jokey suggestion at first, but then it actually turned into reality. It is also my partners 21st birthday this year so it was a joint venture.

The nearest jump site to us is in Beccles with UK parachuting, it's a great place and the people there are all super friendly; it really makes the jump a whole lot less intimidating. I can't recommend the people or the place enough, so if you're around the Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk area or even further afield definitely pop along to Beccles if you're interested in doing a jump.

After signing the waiver and all that stuff, we made our way round to the hangar area. We got our briefing about what to expect and what position to be in when we jump. We then hopped on over to grab our awesome jump suits and even more dashing head wear and goggles. A guy came over to help get us into our harnesses correctly. (Side note: guys, I'd recommend wearing boxers/underpants that holds everything together, the harnesses can be a bit uncomfortable in that 'area'...).

We had just a little time to wait before it was our turn. My tandem buddy was a guy called Steve, really awesome chap. We got over to the plane and he checked over all my harnesses and everything (quite a comfort). The plane had no seats or anything, just a carpeted floor. We all shuffled in on our butts and sat between the legs of the person behind you, in my case it was Steve. The plane starts going and your tandem partner starts clipping you onto themselves with various clips etc and passes you straps to tighten.

The view was really great from the plane, really helps take your mind off the jumping out business. Your tandem buddy has a nice chat with you as well which also helps.

In our jump group there were 4 tandems, 2 solo jumpers, a cameraman and a guy doing an exam with an instructor. Steve filled my in on the order on the way up, the two solo guys, then me. We got up to the right height, then lifted the shutter up. As soon as the shutter went up the solo guys just catapulted themselves out, and before you know it we're shuffling to the opening and I'm hanging out over the edge. Get into position. Head back. What seems a millisecond passes. Falling...

Such a rush! Just falling, it's so loud! We get stable and your tandem partner taps you on the shoulders and you can put your hands out. It really felt like we were falling for a long time, air rushing around you and pummelling your face. Then, a jolt, the parachute opens and the deafening loudness, the rushing, it stops. All goes quiet. So peaceful. We circle about, dip and float down to our landing zone.

Landing safely (whew).

It was such a fantastic experience, I cannot recommend it highly enough. Like I said before, the place and the people were just amazing and I'd definitely do it again in the future.

If you're interested in doing a skydive pop on over to the UK Parachuting site.

If you've got any questions related to anything in this blog please do ask, comment below, message me on Twitter (@NF_Fitness) or Instragram (@neverforgottenfitness).

Thanks for reading!

Karl

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