Attitudes Towards Training

The world of fitness is varied and there are good points, bad points and plain confusing points. This week I want to address attitudes towards training, recently I have heard some very confusing statements by people in regards to their training, such as, ‘how do I lose weight with the least effort?’ ‘I don’t want to train like that because I will get really sweaty’ ‘I don’t do those lifts they are too difficult’ ‘I am not very good at that so i never train it’ and so on…

A large percentage of people who go to the gym will do the same thing day in and day out, the same thing for months and years, with little motivation, little energy, no thought to adding new elements, people today seem to do what they think they know and little else, hardly pushing themselves, never working up a sweat, no increase in weight, intensity, pace or recovery, just same old different day.

Firstly the simplest way I can put it is ‘if it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you!’ training should challenge your abilities, you should work, sweat, push hard, dig deep and have to power your way through. Recently I did circuit based training on my weaknesses, I chose for things I am not great on and put them into a chain focusing on my technique, strength and endurance.  You won’t lose weight sticking to the same pace, you won’t get fitter doing the same few exercises with huge amounts of rest, you won’t get bigger lifting the same weight for the same reps, you will simply plateau.

There are so many types of training, so many variations and so much to master, there are a multitude of lifts, fitness and endurance training methods, lifting techniques, skill and agility building, flexibility and all round conditioning methods, so try them, bring back some excitement to your training and if you’re not sure where to start then find a trainer, we have a personal training team here at Breadsall Priory, we all have various backgrounds and experiences with fitness and our individual training methods vary and complement one another, we offer one to one training, group classes, inductions, personal programs and not to mention we are always happy to answer your health and fitness questions, our training team also work on the reception so don’t be scared to have a quick chat about your training or what new training we are doing, fitness is our career, our passion and we love the opportunity to talk about fitness and jump at the opportunity to train. So let’s reignite some passion and bring back that get up and go, in short, let’s get back in the gym and let’s smash it!

My Weakness Workout

30 wall balls
20 double unders
10 pull ups
5 muscle ups

For 5 rounds.



Karl O'Sullivan

It Is The Season!

Christmas is coming up soon! Which means a few things, adverts, presents, stock piling of the kitchen and of course, the Christmas parties, which means drink, lots of drink. Now I have no intention and urging you to be on the wagon this Christmas, after all it is the season to drink and be merry, but I will outline a few drinking facts and maybe that will encourage more reserved drinking or a rethink of your regular training. On a typical British night out it is not seen as unbelievable to consume anything in the way of, a bottle of champagne or brandy, ten bottles of beer, eight doubled up spirits or bomb upon bomb of the Jager.

The drink	Alcohol	Workout
Champagne	11%	3 hours dancing
A bottle of brandy	40%	4 hours cycling
10 bottles of larger	5.1%	1.5 hours playing squash
8 gin & tonics (doubles)	37.5%	2 hours football
6 Jagerbombs	35%	1 hour of rowing

So in short if you have parties lined up this merry season, then gear your training towards that high intensity calorie burn and remember, drink responsibly and be merry!
 

 

Metafit

The Metafit™ bodyweight training system is an effective and simple tool for to maximise results. To burn fat you need to change the resting metabolism, work big muscle groups with high intensity intervals and get quick results for your clients and Metafit does all three Created by a former Royal Marine Commando and a national gymnast Metafit™ combines traditional bodyweight exercises with the latest interval and Tabata techniques to set the metabolism on fire! No expensive kit required for this workout just hard work and dedication. Corey one of our trainings will soon be getting qualified to deliver this unique style of teaching and delivering it here at Breadsall Priory Leisure club. The training is in December so get along to one of Corey sessions over the festive period and try it out for yourself. Keep an eye out for Corey’s blog to see how the training went and what to expect when we launch our new class. Metafit will seriously change your body!

Gym Myths by Karl O'Sullivan

We’ve all heard gym myths, those little pearls of wisdom passed down from one big guy at the gym to another not so big guy, such as you have to separate muscle groups to get big, cardio is for losing weight lifting is for building, you need fat to turn into muscle and so on, gym myths can be hilarious, my current favourite is ‘as you get older your fitness drops and you gain weight’ this theory that as you get older you get fat and that’s just the way it is, is a complete myth and absurdity. Let’s look at it objectively, all people, that is humans are animals, we may have 3D televisions and cool phone apps but we are still animals and part of the animal kingdom, now keeping that in mind what other animal on the whole planet gets fatter as it gets older? What creature has the genetics which say as you get older you are going to be fat? …that’s right, not a one, there is no animal or any unavoidable reason that’s says you will get fat and overweight just because you get older. It is true as you get older your metabolic rate will drop and your level of cardiovascular fitness will see a decrease, but a few tweaks in life style and diet will tackle the metabolic rate issue and cardiovascular fitness peaks around your early forties and then doesn’t see a significant drop until you are well in your seventies! Now that is an amazing thing, the human body is meant to stay active and healthy as we get older and with modern science and health care we can all look forward to longer, healthier and more active lives. The few things to remember are as you get older and wiser you need to train smarter not necessarily harder, when you’re young you can lift big and push yourself to high intensities, put as you get older you need to allow more time for your active recovery and maintenance, being sure to take time to maintain flexibility, good posture and overall function. Also except that you can’t burn the candle at both ends and eat lots of junk food and stay slim, the metabolic rate as you get older can’t handle that kind of life style, so its making the smart choices, eating more natural and clean, cutting back on unnecessary indulgences, that’s not to say you can’t treat yourself to a glass of wine and a dessert, but maybe don’t get trapped in the student mind set of several bottles and then an all you can eat at the local take away. I truly believe the time invested in your health and fitness will ensure a much greater and longer lasting happiness.

Swimming at Breadsall Priory

Come along to Breadsall Priory and make the most out of all our facilities including our swimming pool. Swimming is a brilliant way to exercise and because water is about 800 times denser than air you can work hard and burn more calories than out of water. Because swimming uses so many different muscles your heart and lungs must work hard to supply them with oxygen. Swimming can support up to 90% of the body’s weight in water meaning those of you that might have any disabilities or illness such as arthritis can take part in a comfortable environment.

Swimming is a brilliant all round body workout and particularly good for your core strength, the constant kicking in the water will give your legs a brilliant workout and will vastly improve your cardiovascular fitness.  It is a fantastic way to get that toned beach body that many people desire, it will improve your strength and it is statistically proven that people experience less tension, anger and depression after a good swim. I have personally used the pool for the last year at Breadsall Priory and the results I have seen from it have been very encouraging.

Corey Hodgkinson

Method, Load and Intensity

Two of the most common things we hear on the gym floor are ‘I want to lose weight and tone up’ and ‘I want to build muscle and tone up’ first of all toning is a myth, the principle is incorrect, the toning of muscle is an illusion, we can increase and decrease muscle mass and we can increase and decrease body fat percentage, toning is what we see when we increase muscle mass and decrease body fat percentage.
So how do we hit these goals, I use the same method, compound moves, also known as multi joint movements, such as squats, dead lifts, bench press and rows. The reason these exercises are so great is because they use large muscles we require a huge calorie burn to fuel the movements which means great for fat loss. Also sticking with compound moves from a muscle building point is good because lifting heavy through compound moves increases testosterone and HGH (Human Growth Hormone) release, which results in increased gains in muscle mass.
So if you’re looking to slim down or bulk up its time to focus on those compound moves, for either gain the method is the same (compound lifts) what we change is load and intensity, if you’re looking to get ‘toned’ and drop body fat perform your compounds moves in a circuit, focus on challenging but achievable weights, with a high intensity and little rest. If the building of muscle is your goal then stick to a move hypotrophy based training using a heavy weight with between 12-15 reps, lifting heavy, increasing load and strength, taking adequate rest to ensure maximum lifting capability and remembering never to sacrifice technique for weight.

For the first week or two practice compound moves focusing on technique and range of movement then start to use appropriate weights. Happy lifting!

a few compound moves are: squats, dead lift, pull up, press up, bench press, bent over row, squat snatch.

Why Don't More Guys Take Fitness Classes?

Why is it that every time you look into a class studio you see mostly or only women? Why are guys so afraid of doing a fitness class? In my experience of teaching a range of fitness classes at Breadsall Priory, from circuits to pump fx, kettlercise and even postural and stretch classes I have noticed that if you were to take the top ten percent of the fittest members we having training the majority are women. Their fitness, strength, skill and adaptability is far greater and that’s not just in regards to aerobic fitness and flexibility, I’m also talking about strength and technique, the best lifters at dead lifts, squats and lunges are all women, the guys are getting left behind, which is odd because most guys entering the gym have similar goals, ‘I want to lose my gut and build some muscle’ and most men have only ever dabbled with resistance work usually with a friend, they lift a few dumb bells, swing a few curls and force out a few dozen old school sit ups.
Now let’s look at the class formats, most classes on our timetable are all centred on fitness, weight loss and muscle building (or toning) which is what most people are always after, men quite often think that they need to do very heavy weights and have long rest periods to build muscle, which is simply not the case. In circuit classes, pumpfx and blastfx classes the start is always focused on technique, you can’t lift heavy until you can lift correctly. After the proper form has been developed we can start increasing load and intensity which will see that reduction in body fat and the building of some very functional muscle. Another great thing about classes is you have a trainer there with you, checking your form, showing you correct technique and coaching you through a whole variety of different movements and exercises, remember you don’t need to train longer you need top train smarter!
The fitness industry is changing and fast, the old school of pumping iron and three sets of ten is becoming less and less of a focal point, now it’s about looking the part and being able to walk the walk, you have to put that muscle to the test, I bulging pair of biceps is good for filling out a t shirt, but when your little sister starts beating you silly on the pull up bar maybe it’s time to drop into a few classes and learn some real gym skills.
So don’t be shy gentlemen book onto some classes and try something new, in one week you could sample a dozen different classes with more and half a dozen different instructors, that’s a lot of skill and knowledge just ready for the taking, so get involved before the women of Breadsall Priory show us up even more!

Written by Karl O'Sullivan Group Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer

Exercise isn’t just about how you look

Exercise not only makes you feel better about yourself, I exercise regularly and it makes me feel great afterwards. It helps out in everyday life, the fitter you are just from increasing your heart rate from day to day activities such as running for the bus and going up and down the stairs without running out of breath has a huge effect on your life. Airports can be daunting places if you don’t have much upper body strength, lifting your suitcase off the platform can be too much for those who don’t use their upper body enough. This is why it is important you get the balance between cardiovascular training and muscular strength training, looking good will therefore become a bonus.

Our bodies are designed to work quite vigorously and without regular movement nothing works properly. Think back before people had office jobs and microwaves were invented, people had to chase down their own dinner, dig for their own vegetables and climb tress for their fruit this has all changed now and for this reason it is essential you keep your body active.

There are many health benefits from regular exercise, osteoporosis is prevented, you will have much more energy, sleep better, depression is at a lower risk and it also slows the onset of dementia.

Keep active and let’s enjoy exercise, here at Breadsall Priory we have a huge range of classes available including

: Yoga

: Circuits

: Boot camp

: Hydro

: Legs Bums and Tums

: Stretch and relax                         

and many more!

Along with a well equipped gymnasium with fully qualified gym instructors and personal trainers on hand to offer you help and guidance.

Corey Hodgkinson

What is Tabata Training?

So many people ask, how can I get in shape quick? Or how can I drop weight quick? It seems the quicker the better in many cases and there is a one word answer, Tabata!
so next question, what is tabata training? It was researched and developed by Dr. Izumi Tabata and his colleagues at the National Institute of Health and Nutrition. The training developed was based around very high energy and intense burst of activity with short recovery and then repeating, such as interval training, except the key with tabata training is you choose a training method which rope in as many muscles as you can and requires maximum effort, then you give it all you’ve for the twenty seconds, it has to be relentless and without pause. The training works well with such things as sprints, rowing, swimming  or heavy punch bag work, you can even expand to compound lifts such as heavy bag work, where you not only lift with speed and power, you also slam the heavy bag back down to earth and repeat.
through tabata training it was found that athletes tested has an increased' VO2 max (the point at which they get winded)  14% in six weeks. According to the journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 6 to 8 very hard 20 second intervals with 10 second rest periods may be one of the best possible training protocols.

Your resting metabolism is higher in the few hours immediately after exercise as your body adapts to the stresses of the workout. Tabata routines burn more calories than a longer, easier, session. As your resting metabolism burns predominantly fat, this means you get fitter and leaner with less training, that’s good news to many!

The basics of Tabata training is 20 seconds flat out, 10 seconds easy and repeat.

The routine

Warm up Ten minutes easy shadow boxing or jogging on the spot.

Work period  squat down until your thighs are level with the floor, then explode upwards, leaping as high as you can then land controlled and lightly. Repeat for 20 seconds.

Recovery period jog for 10 seconds.

Repeat eight times this method isn’t for the faint of heart, but its simple in principle and yields great results, so if time is of the essence and you want those gains fast then follow the wisdom of  Dr. Izumi Tabata.

Good luck.


Karl O’Sullivan

 

Why choose studio classes?

More and more people are turning to studio based fitness classes to achieve their goals. Whether it’s Yoga or Pilates to Circuits and Body Pump, at your local gym or village hall these classes are a hit!

They provide extra motivation, more variety and a sense of belonging compared to training on your own. Class attendees feel they belong to something and provide a great base to socialize and meet new people.

Instructors have the ability to be more creative and show off their talents and expertise to large groups whilst watching their class achieve fantastic results.

 All in all group fitness is a winner and here at Breadsall Priory Leisure Club we offer a fantastic variety of studio, outdoor and pool based classes to meet everyone’s needs and tastes. Our instructors are highly trained and experienced to deliver not only a great class but also a great service. There is a great buzz at the club between our members and instructors with fantastic results from our members who loyalty attend our classes.

 We deliver over 10 different types of class over 6 days a week culminating in over 40 classes a week so get yourself booked in now and find out what your missing out on.

Simon Tranter

Motivation to get fit!

Do you need motivation to get fit?

Any of the following reasons should be motivation enough!

1) Increase your lifespan.

2) Help you sleep better.

3) Reduce you daily stress levels

4) Improve your eating habits by encouraging a healthy lifestyle

5) Make life more pleasurable by having the energy to enjoy life

6) Improve your sex life

7) Reduce your chance of getting ill

8) Increase the amount of seratonin in your blood.  This is your bodies natural happy drug

9) Improve self esteem

10) Maybe even change your life.  We know of many people who have embarked on a fitness regime only to take it up as a career or even the improved motivation, self esteem and character it has given them has driven them to do something different.

You will never know where life takes you if you can just make that initial step.  Personal training can help, as can fitness membership.  The first step however comes from within.  YOU should be your biggest fan and You should be your biggest motivator. Don't rely on others to get you there, but instead use their knowledge, skills and expertise to deliver the results you already know you are capable of!

BE YOUR OWN MOTIVATOR!