Today we’re resurrecting 3 great shoulder exercises that you rarely see..
Each one primarily targets a different head of the deltoids and when combined offer a great, well rounded shoulder workout.
Enjoy,
Tom’s
15 Minute Holiday HIIT Workout
We’ve got a simple 15 minutes Home HIIT workout to help you burn off some of those holiday calories….
You can do this anywhere, whether at home, a relatives or in a hotel room…
Set your timer for 4 sets of 45 second work & 15 rest, complete the circuit below with 60 seconds rest between rounds…
1) Squat Jumps
2) Lateral Hops
3) Plyometric Lunges
4) Start Jumps
Enjoy,
Body Weight Triceps Workout
Try this great Triceps workout at home or the next time you’re away…All you need is your own body weight…
Beginners: Each exercise 3 sets to failure
Intermediate: Each exercise 4 sets to failure
Advanced: Each exercise 5 sets to failure
£2.99 Abs
Hey Guys,
Today we’re going to show you how to get better Abs for only £2.99…
All you need is an ab roller & your own body.
3x Ab Roll-outs to Failure
Circuit, each exercise to failure, no rest between..3x rounds, 60 seconds rest between rounds
– Jack Knives
– Sit Ups
– Leg Raises
– Heel Touches
Enjoy
Are You Over Training?
It’s normal to be stiff or sore after a workout, however if the pain is severe of you’re just not healing it’s possible that you’re over training.
It’s great to be motivated and hit your training hard but not at the expense of your physical & mental health…
Training hard needs to be met with suitable rest & nutrition to fuel your recovery, without it:
– you’ll feel crap
– be at risk of injury
– won’t make progress
Signs of Over Training:
– severe muscle & joint pain
– persistent aches lasting longer than 2-3 days
– constant fatigue & tiredness
– decreased performance
– failure to progress
– stress, depression or low mood
– insomnia/poor sleep
Avoiding Over Training:
– structure training to ovoid using the same muscles on consecutive days
– if it’s sore don’t train it
– learn how to perform exercises properly
– train with your brain, not your ego
– get 8 hours sleep/night
– protein requirements more than double following resistance workouts (48 hours)
– take the time to understand & learn about nutrition & recovery
– stretch daily
– take at least 2 rest days/week
– invest time in relaxing & de-stressing
– No caffeine after lunch
Follow these key points and you’ll drastically reduce your risk of over training, however if you’re still experiencing symptoms take some rest & deload..If the symptoms persist, see your doctor.
Happy Health,
Tom’s
What Is: Mind to Muscle Connection
M2MC is the communication between the brain and the muscles.
Developing effective signalling has a range of benefits & will enhance your performance and progress.
Effective training often means leaving your ego at the door and literally lifting with your brain…
Here we look at what it is and how to do it…
Boulder Shoulder Workout
Strong Shoulders.. .
They look great & provide the foundation for all up upper body lifts…
Including shoulder development within your routine will help protect you from injury as well as aid you in continuing to progress in lifts such as your bench press…
We’ve got a simple & super effective shoulder workout for you:
– Military Press: heavy 5×5 (explosive press)
– Dumbell Circuit, slow, lot’s of tension 7reps each x 3 rounds
Front Raise
Lateral Raise
Rear Delt Flye
– Face Pull 3×10-15
– Y-Raise 3×10-15
Enjoy…
Bent Rows – The Back Builder
Bent Rows are awesome!
They are great for developing the middle of the back (traps) which controls scapular retraction…As a compound (multi joint) exercise they also engage the biceps and rear deltoids.
This makes them a great exercise for building strength & muscle mass… Today we’re looking at how to get the most from them & safely…
How To Shrug – Properly!
Technique – it’s essential to all exercises! Particularly Shrugs though…
So many people get this great exercise wrong, the consequence of which means stress on the Rotator Cuff & a high risk of Injury…
Furthermore, the better the technique, the better the results!
Strength vs Size
Often resistance or weight training is universally referred to as ‘strength training’, even by personal trainers. This is worrying as in the majority of cases the style of resistance they’re relating to is far from ‘Strength Training’…
It’s important to understand the difference.
Resistance Training
This is simply the process of applying resistance to a given movement therefore forcing the muscles to work harder, resulting in micro tears and inflammation. In time, given adequate nutrition & rest, this can result in larger and/or stronger muscles. The way in which this is done though will have a huge influence on the outcome.
Strength Training
Technically known as ‘Myofibrillar Hypertrophy, this is the neuromuscular process of increasing a muscles force production. This is done by lifting heavy weights in an explosive manor for short periods of time. In our world we often refer to this as ‘high weight, low rep’. This style of training relies on explosive contractions and adaptations within the muscles actin and myosin fibres which produce the contractions.
Size Training
Technically known as Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy this uses metabolic overload and the accumulation of blood and sarcoplasmic fluid within a muscle to produce micro tears to the lining , the result is an increase in size & glycogen (sugar) storage but not necessarily strength. These adaptions are achieved by working the muscle under tension for longer, with a lower weight in a controlled manor. Typically this will be achieved via sets of 10+reps lasting at least 45 seconds where the individual adds voluntary muscular contraction to increase blood flow to the working muscle. We often refer to this as ‘low weight, high rep’, training for ‘pump’ or ‘metabolic overload’.
Which One Is Best
Traditionally it was believed that Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy cannot occur without Myofibrillar as the process of lifting any weights should make you stronger right?! However new research is showing that this may be untrue and that focusing on one may result in a reduction in the other.
Sarcoplasmic Pro’s & Con’s
– quick increase in visible size
– pump feels great
– no real increase in strength
– not functional adaption – fairly useless to an athlete
Myofibrillar Pro’s & Con’s
– Functional adaption – stronger
– Great for sport
– Also makes muscles bigger
– High demand on the nervous system
We recommend using a periodised training programme that would have you working solely within each field for 6-12 weeks before transitioning to a pyramid system that utilises both for 6-12 weeks.
We will release individual articles on all 3 of these offering example training plans & rep ranges.
Regardless of which phase you’re in your results will remain dependant on applying sufficient overload to your muscles paired with adequate rest & nutrition.
Happy Health,
Tom’s
Tom's Health & Fitness 