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As you can see I am at it again..I want to make you aware of the limitations of a one dimensional approach to your fitness. Over and Over; Again and Again I see it every time I walk into a public gym: People lifting as heavy as the can, doing the same exercises day in day out. Monday chest, Tuesday biceps….are you bored yet. I thought so.
Listen up here is a little gem of advice. Your body is more bored and that’s why you can’t get any results.
This is for both men and women: The way your body, and your brain, works is that it responds to different stimuli. It adapts to a changing environment all the time. That is what gets the brain juices flowing. Not being so pumped up that you can’t scratch your back.
Alright so What is it that make Ballerina’s better that Bodybuilders?
The short answer is APPLIED FORCE! You see the way a bodybuilder trains is to increase muscle size and definition, and also maybe his strength, but generally it’s about how you look. Whilst a Ballerina trains to be able to move, to be graceful to have control and explosive power, to have balance and ability.
As we have discussed previously, the concept of ‘healthy body’ and even of ‘fitness’ has advanced from the thinking of ‘big chest big arms’. Fitness is a multi-dimensional framework with many different aspects and approaches. Let’s see how body building shapes up.
I will be generous and say that body builders are stronger than ballerina’s but how do they compare when we evaluate them against deeper criteria of performance. How would you shape up when you look at yourself? What do your goals reveal about your current training style?
Acceleration from standing , Balance, Strength, Agility, Power Speed over a distance, Graceful movement , Plyometric Ability, Flexibility, Control of movement , Endurance.
It is important to recognise that body building trains muscles to be slow, they stimulate slow twitch fibres, where sports type training focuses on explosive, fast twitch training.
So there you have it, you can clearly see that bodybuilding is a discipline that fails to produce a completely healthy and fit individual. It might produce one that looks good in a vest, but when it comes to applying the strength they have developed they don’t have it. It’s kind of like a flatbed truck that has a v 12 engine, undoubtedly very strong, but it has no steering wheel, no tyres and no shocks. All that power, no application. Whilst the ballerina is like a sports car. Fast, elegant powerful, aerodynamic, superb road handling…you get the point. Which vehicle do you want to be?
Also, remember that most body building techniques focuses on the ‘slow-twitch’ mechanism in your body…this makes you slow! Whilst using your explosive mechanisms activates ‘fast-twitch’ fibres…work it out! For more info on fibre types refer to my article on Slow&Fast Twitch fibres.
Don’t fall into the trap of not learning to apply the force you develop. Exercise should be about acquiring a skill level that goes beyond mere strength or aesthetics. What that means for you is that if you have been doing the same routines, the same exercises for a while and you understand the basics of exercise it would be wise to look into expanding your knowledge, not only mentally but also physically. Switch your outlook from a performance based goal, like ‘I want to bench press 100kg’ to a skill based goal like’ I want to learn as many different types of push ups I can’. For ladies why not try to learn all the different types of lunges…it will add intensity to your workouts and you will not be so bored.

Learn, and keep improving your skill level. This is what movement is about. Challenge yourself to improve your ability. This is what leads to proper, sustainable results.

Kind regards

Jason Hough

Hi once again from your friendly, neighbourhood Functional Trainer.

It has been the goal of this site for quite some time to provide you, our readers, with information as to how you should exercise.

Due to popular demand i have deceided to release some of the programs i have collected over the last 10 years. These are the some of the best systems of training i have ever seen. I have arranged all the programs in order from easy to difficult in their respective boxes. I reccommend that you use the top ‘drop downs’ to download what you need. It seems the site program has messed with the order of the left side ‘pages’.

NOTE: Not all these programs are designed by me. Where possible i have credited the original source. This is a colllection of information i have gathered.

So what do you do if you dont know what the exercises are?

Some of the movements are going to be quite new and the more advanced programs are going to have you baffled. Obviously you are going to have to do some of your own homework. The names of most of the movements are universal so you can go to www.youtube.com and watch the videos. It is beyond my capability to explain individual exercises through the site, although i have taken photos of the abdominal routines, which will be posted shortly.

The ‘Pages’ are arranged into catagories including Ladies and Hypertrophy training. ALL PROGRAMS can be used by any person… actually i challenge some of the guys around to complete the female programs. They are seriously intense.

So what do i think is the order for training…. this is going to take some thinking on your part…what do you want to achieve?

The hardcore things on this site are the Explosive- and Combat- conditioning programs and they should not be attempted by beginners.

What i do with my clients is i use Functional Training early in the year with cardio systems to improve general strength, flexibility and stamina. Then as winter sets in i move to move hypertrophy style training to get strength and muscle bulk up ,so no one can see your getting heavier. ( 5 x 5, 7 x 7, german volume, compound programs) then depending on the client level i go into Explosive Power. I switch back to hypertrophy just before summer to work on shaping the muscles. ( super set, tri sets, finisher programs); i end the year with functional work of more intensity to really trim down the body…

I know i have been nervous to give people programs because it means i cant control your technique or intensity… so this information is given with a warning: Make sure you learn how the exercise is performed. Never lift more than your bodyweight for any exercise unless you are an athlete tha need specific strength.

Ok so go for it… you have the tools. If you need me you know where i am. I look forward to hearing any comments or if you find mistakes please let me know.

Kind regards

Jason Hough

Hello all

By this time it should be quiet obvious that your body is a system, this you understand. In addition, you realize that you should be training your body as a system, this means using your body to its fullest potential.

I would like to point out to you a system of training that limits your full potential. This is single plane exercise. Yes, you guessed it “bodybuilding” type training limits your potential.

When you analyze joint, connective tissue and muscle structure, it becomes very clear that your body has various strengths and weaknesses. The weaknesses are generally to do with stabilization or muscle imbalances over joints that have to balance movements in many directions, i.e. the knee. Most injuries occur because there is insufficient stability to counter-balance the forces on these joints.

In spite of this information, why do you still see people training in one plain(forward and backwards)? Why are they not moving as their body was designed? People, both male and female, are only training for their looks, not for their genetic potential. Now I have heard several people argue that being massively muscular IS actually their full potential, but I always remind them of being in the wild… where ‘too heavy, can’t run man’ is first on the lions menu for easy pickings. Training this way makes your body clumsy, stiff, and unable to work properly!

Look at the video for GINASTICA NATURAL…. Tell me this man is not at his full potential.

So how can you include multi-directional movement into your regime?

Firstly, try to incorporate free- or bodyweight exercises into your training program. Machine training is a perfect example of how to make your joints weak and lazy. Also, try using side-to-side movements. In the example of the knee joint, you have the options of doing forward, backward, sideways or diagonal lunges to add direction stress to the joint, muscles and connective tissue. This will help achieve better stability and overall strength.

Another way to help is to use integrated movements after you have trained. Integrated movements are combinations of upper and lower body movement’s e.g. Squat, curl, press, lateral lunge. This activates the whole body system to work together and therefore helps to counter the ‘isolation type’ flaw in your training.

You need to train in a way that allows you to access your bodies natural ability to flex, be supple and powerful. You need to train in a way that stimulates your brain to balance and co-ordinate movement as groups… a leg extension exercise is not stimulating anything except the fibers! Multidirectional movement forces new stimulus onto the muscle, and connective tissue, and forces your brain to control movement effectively.

Kind regards

Jason Hough

I would firstly like to thank all of you who have been using this site for information in the last year. When I started this free service I intended to use it as a platform to educate my clients about the scientific side to training… It has become so much more. The base has increased over the past year and we now have subscribers in over 25 countries around the world.

This year has brought all of us some complex and challenging opportunities to improve the way we think and use physical exercise to improve our quality of life. It has been a major goal of mine to teach people that there exists a way of training out there that is inclusive of the general population. That exercise and movement should be accessible to all, regardless of experience or age. This I have accomplished and will continue to push in further articles.

I have been privileged to have been writing for several magazines throughout the year and am happy to see that my philosophy and attitude is reaching people in the health and medical field out there. Exiting times lie ahead.

As for training, I have been helping clients to achieve massive growth this year in terms of speed, power, agility, lean mass, weight loss, endurance and flexibility, not to mention dieting, where most of us seem to slide the most. You name it we have done it! Congratulations to all those of you who have achieved your goals this year. It has been a long drive, and we have exceeded most of our expectations.

I have just completed the photos for next years upgrade to the website and we will have some new features, along with the quality of articles that you have grown used to. Also I look forward to completing the book I have been working on…finally I can say I am happy with the product, after writing and rewriting and changing it constantly.

I hope I can be of service to all of you in the future and hope you enjoy your holidays… I know I will be eager to resume the training year in early January as we start with compound circuit training to destroy the ‘holiday happiness’.

As always

Kind regards

Jason Hough

 This is probably one of the most frequently questions by new gym members… The answer however is not a simple one! You need to look at the three aspects of your training to ensure your success.

 The first and most important is diet, the second is resistance training, and the third is your cardio training. (I have discussed these aspects extensively in previous posts, feel free to browse) So, now that you have handled these aspects and you are, in fact doing all three perfectly it should begin to show results within two weeks! That is quick. From there the results will speed up until about the 4th week where your body will begin to adapt to the stimuli you have placed on it and plateau.

This is not a cause for alarm… it just means that you need to change one or all of the aspects. This is called progression and without it you are going nowhere fast. You need to analyse your progress in diet, resistance and cardio, to identify where you need work. This must be followed by action! It is no good that you work to your strengths ignoring diet or cardio for instance. You are setting yourself up for failure.

A common mistake made by most people in that they stay on one system too long and they stop getting results. Remember that your body will only adapt to a new stimulus, this is how it grows and becomes better. Unfortunately, it is quite a difficult thing to know how to progress you training and that is why you should get some help. You need to keep testing yourself to see where you need work. Feel free to mail me for advice or to come see me personally.

 There is one Rule to remember: Everything works, but nothing works forever! So essentially, it is your responsibility, or your trainers’ responsibility, if you have one, to make sure that you are constantly changing and adapting your efforts to ensure that you are moving forward. If you have been doing the same diet/ resistance program/ cardio routine for longer than 6 weeks chances are your body will be just as bored as you are doing it. THIS MEANS NO GROWTH!

The simple formula to follow is this…Each time you miss a session, or cheat on your diet, or fail to do cardio you add extra time too your goal. You should reach 85% of your potential within 6 months of beginning training. If you mess up your plan it will take longer and longer… and guess what: There is only one person to blame! Analyse your situation all the time. Look at your weak points and make an effort to destroy them. This is the only way you will succeed.

There are no short cuts for champions!

 Kind regards

 Jason

With the festivities behind us and a new year ahead of us I think it is appropriate to begin this years articles with Goal setting.

There is much to say about goal setting and I will try to keep it brief. You need to know where you are going and why you want to get there. This takes some soul searching and self-analysis. Next, you will plan how to get there and how long it will take you….

Here are some tips as to how to formulate your goals.

• State each goal as a positive statement:

Express your goals positively – ‘Execute this technique well’ is a much better goal than ‘Don’t make this stupid mistake.’

• Be precise:
Set a precise goal, putting in dates, times and amounts so that you can measure achievement. If you do this, you will know exactly when you have achieved the goal, and can take complete satisfaction from having achieved it.

• Set priorities:
When you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most important ones.

• Write goals down:
This crystallizes them and gives them more force.

• Keep operational goals small:
Keep the low-level goals you are working towards small and achievable. If a goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making progress towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for reward. Derive today’s goals from larger ones.

• Set performance goals, not outcome goals:
You should take care to set goals over which you have as much control as possible. There is nothing more dispiriting than failing to achieve a personal goal for reasons beyond your control. In business, these could be bad business environments or unexpected effects of government policy. In sport, for example, these reasons could include poor judging, bad weather, injury, or just plain bad luck. If you base your goals on personal performance, then you can keep control over the achievement of your goals and draw satisfaction from them.

• Set realistic goals:
It is important to set goals that you can achieve. All sorts of people (employers, parents, media, and society) can set unrealistic goals for you. They will often do this in ignorance of your own desires and ambitions. Alternatively, you may set goals that are too high, because you may not either appreciate the obstacles in the way or understand quite how much skill you need to develop to achieve a particular level of performance.

SMART Goals:

A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use the SMART mnemonic. While there are plenty of variants, SMART usually stands for:

• S Specific
• M Measurable
• A Attainable
• R Relevant
• T Time-bound

For example, instead of having “to sail around the world” as a goal, it is more powerful to say “To have completed my trip around the world by December 31, 2015.” Obviously, this will only be attainable if a lot of preparation has been completed beforehand!

Goal setting gives you the direction you need to achieve your best potential. Remember that goals must be specific to you: your body, your ability, you time and your commitment.

As a functional trainer, it is important that my clients understand where they are going so that they can see the bigger picture. Typically I suggest that clients set quarterly goals (3 months each) with there biggest goal at the end of the year. This will allow you to analyze your progress.

Goal setting and periodization go together….feel free to read my other posts about periodization.

Kind regards

Jason Hough

Functional Trainer

 The topic of periodization in sports performance is highly debated and hugely important to the success of an athlete and prevention of burn out.

 Simply put periodization involves structuring an athletes training regimen to allow the athlete to PEAK at the most important time… so that he/she can deliver the best possible performance.

 This involves so many variables that periodization has become a science in itself.

For the purposes of this blog, I will discuss how using periodization principles can help you to achieve sustainable results in your training and help you to prevent burnout, boredom and overtraining.

 You ‘Periodize’ your training by dividing it up into stages throughout the year. Each Stage or ‘Cycle’ has a specific objective. For gym users your aspects of fitness are as follows, in order of importance:  Cardiac fitness, Flexibility, Stability, Strength, Endurance, Functionality and Power. Each one of these aspects deserves attention throughout the year and if you ignore the stage before you will not achieve maximal performance in the stage after!  You will also notice that all stages overlap for example Stability will influence your strength aspect etc. 

 Each cycle should have specific goals and objectives, and you should record how you have achieved in each of these cycles. In addition, each cycle will produce different results. Most gym goers will stay in the strength phase for as long as possible, using the standard 3 x 12 rep range and a 4 day training split. Not only is this Neolithic thinking but it also prevents you from achieving your full genetic potential. A man who is strong but who cant bend over to pick up his daughter or even run with her for 5 minutes before having to sit down is, in my opinion, completely ridiculous… I would love to put him in the bushveld to watch him Bench Press a roaring lion to death!

So how long should you spend on each of these cycles.

Typically, I suggest using 4 weeks for each stage. Although for the power stage, I do not recommend you perform those lifts for longer than 3-4 weeks at a time as the impact on your joints.

 Also remember that rest is also important as an extra stage. When you are pushing really hard, trying to achieve maximal power, your body really takes a beating. You should incorporate ‘active rest’ periods as part of your regime.

 Structuring a periodization schedule for your training requires that you actually analyze your goals and measure your progress. You need to have areas where you would prefer to be in peak strength or peak fitness etc. design your programs so that you build up to achieve the goals that you set. By having different goals every cycle you will ensure that your focus is shifted and you avoid boredom. By focusing on each of the cycles, you guarantee a complete physique and a healthy body.

 It does need to be mentioned that periodization requires intense planning and program design. Hire a qualified personal trainer who has the required knowledge and experience to help you. Look at the trainer’s lifestyle and how they teach their clients: Remember that you need to be educated about exercise not just ordered about.

PROPER PLANNING PREVENTS POOR PERFORMANCE

 Kind Regards

 Jason Hough

 Personal Trainer

 Renaissance Body Science Institute

Cape Town

 Hello readers

 This is another one of my favorite topics to discuss with clients.  Most people ignore the benefits of a proper warm up before commencing their exercise routine. 

Most people are in a hurry: They do a quick 5 minute cycle and then they go straight into their routine, often performing near maximal lifts, directly after.  This attitude is very, very dangerous.
A proper warm up allows you to alert your body to the possibility of exercise.  Think of a car engine: If it is cold, you allow the engine to run for a little while before you drive.  Relate that to your body. If you exert your body before it is warm you run the risk of not only poor performance, but also irreparable damage and injury.  Warming up allows you to send blood and nutrients to the muscular system BEFORE you place a demand onto it.  This not only improves the internal temperature of the muscle but it aids in neural activation. This means better performance from the muscles.

So now, I would like to discuss the two types of warm up:

General Warm up requires that you heat the body to the POINT OF PERSPIRATION. This means spending up to 15 minutes before you even start training to get your body into training mode. A general warm up does not have to be light; you can really push it. This gives you the opportunity to go over your upcoming workout in your head and visualize the exercises you will perform.

 It must be noted that unless you are doing ‘interval sprints’, your warm up does not add to your cardio aspect of your training. It is still a warm up and you still need to do 20 minutes cardio after training!

 The second type is the specific warm up. This refers to you practicing specific techniques before you perform maximal lifts. An example would be doing 2-3 sets of very light squats before you attempt maximal exertion. This helps your brain to wake up the neural pathways you need to perform this compound movement and allows you to correct any technical faults you have before you go for it.

Both types of warm up are crucial if you are serious about your performance.  It shows maturity and foresight if you take the time to prepare your body for the work that lies ahead. Simply walking into the gym and ‘repping’ out maximal lifts is laughable and highly dangerous. You are really placing yourself at risk and you deserve injury if it happens!  No serous athlete would ever dream of achieving maximal effort without proper preparation, so why should you be any different.

Kind regards

 Jason Hough
Personal Trainer
Renaissance Body Science Institute
jason@functionaltrainer.co.za

I found this little gem at  http://www.bilanex.com/resources/myths.php  It serves well to dismiss popular training falsehoods through scientific proof…ENJOY

MYTH 1:   The more you sweat during exercise, the more fat you lose  The harder you work out, the more calories you’ll burn and thus the more fat you stand to lose. But how much you sweat does not necessarily reflect how hard you’re working. You sweat more in hot weather or dense clothing than you do in cool weather or wearing
MYTH 2:    While light exercise yields some benefits, it’s not nearly as beneficial as strenuous exercise.
Strenuous workouts do improve aerobic capacity far more than light or moderate workouts do. But that does not necessarily translate into a great health advantage. The death rates from coronary heart disease, cancer, and all causes combined are only a little lower in heavy exercisers than in moderate exercisers. Walking can control weight almost as effectively as jogging since the number of calories burned depends mainly on how much ground you cover, not on how fast you cover it.
MYTH 3:    Sports Drinks can help you exercise more safely and effectively
Sports drinks contain two main ingredients that are theoretically beneficial for exercisers: sodium, which helps the body retain water, and sugar, which the body burns for energy. But very few people exercise hard enough to sweat away much sodium or to use up their carbohydrate reserves, which the body converts to sugar. Unless you’re running a marathon or doing other exhaustive exercise, plenty of plain water is all you need.
MYTH 4:   Aerobic exercise tends to make you hungry, so it can actually undermine your efforts to lose weight
Aerobic exercise, such as jogging or brisk walking, may indeed increase your appetite — but only, it seems, if you need extra calories. Working out does not seem to boost appetite in overweight individuals, so exercise should help them slim down.
MYTH 5:   Strength training won’t help you get thinner, since it burns few calories and adds pounds of muscle
Strength training, using weights, machines, or elastic bands, can substantially increase the calories you burn. A typical session, in which you rest briefly after each muscle building maneuver, uses up calories at least as fast as walking does. Circuit training, in which you move quickly from one strengthening maneuver to the next, burns calories faster than walking. And your body continues to burn extra calories for hours after either type of strength training. More important, the muscle tissue you build consumes calories rapidly, even when you’re not exercising
MYTH 6:   You can lose fat from specific parts of your body by exercising those spots
There’s no such thing as “spot reduction”. When you exercise, you use energy produced by burning fat in all parts your body — not just around the muscles that are doing most of the work. However, spot exercise can strengthen, say, your abdominal muscles and can make you look as if your were thinner by helping you hold your gut
MYTH 7:   Building muscles reduces the body’s flexibility.
If you strength train without moving your joints through their full range of motion, you can indeed lose flexibility. But strength training can actually improve flexibility if you do move your joints fully. Be sure to stretch after a muscle-building workout to help keep yourself limber.
MYTH 8:    Strength training builds muscle and bone but does nothing for the heart.
An analysis of 11 clinical trials found that strength training can reduce levels of LDL cholesterol, the artery clogging kind (though it has little effect on HDL cholesterol, the artery clearing kind). Also, by fortifying the muscles, strength training reduces the likelihood that sudden or unaccustomed exertion, such as moving furniture or shoveling snow, will trigger a heart attack.
MYTH 9:   Strength training tends to give women a bulky, masculine physique.
It’s very difficult for most women to build large muscles because they have relatively low levels of the hormone testosterone. Both men and women can build firmer rather than bulkier muscles by working against lighter resistance more than about 25 times rather than heavier resistance fewer times
MYTH 10:   When you stop exercising, your muscles turn to fat.
Lack of exercise does make the muscles shrink, reducing the body’s calorie burning rate. But that doesn’t mean that the muscle tissue actually turns into fat – fat and muscle are totally different types of tissue. Nor does it mean you’re doomed to gain fat around the muscles after you stop exercising, you just need to cut back on the calories you consume. (Of course, the best way to stay slim is to eat a lean diet and continue to exercise regularly.)