On The Sixth Day Of Christmas, Hall Training Systems Gave To Me...

...A Simple Concept To Make Progress!

Incorporate a stop watch and note book into your workouts. Both the timing of rest intervals and recordings of weight/reps/sets lifted are key for success in the gym.

This may sound like such a simple yet obvious tip, but I see so many people fail to utilise such simple methodology.

On The Fifth Day Of Christmas, Hall Training Systems Gave To Me...

...A More Effective Way Of Doing Pectoral Flyes!

When performing pec flyes most trainees perform the exercise on a bench lowering the dumbells out into a T shape.

Although slightly felt in the pecs this technique hits more the lats than the chest.

A better technique would be to extend the arms out into a Y shape lowering the dumbells so they come in line with the ear. Thumbs should also be pointed up towards the ceiling at the bottom of the motion. This is better felt in the chest as it follows the line of the clavicular fibers (upper chest) of the chest muscle.

Also try performing this exercise on a stability ball with the hips lowered as it will give you a greater stretch in the chest than performing it on the bench.

Important: Although this is a more effective technique than the 'typical' way of doing it you should only use 10% of your 1 R.M bench press when performing flyes.

On The Forth Day Of Christmas, Hall Training Systems Gave To Me...

...A Possible Solution For Gout!

Olive Leaf Extract has been shown to inhibit the enzyme xanthine oxidase, which is the main way that uric acid is formed in the body. Excess production of uric acid is highly inflammatory and can cause the disease gout, an inflammatory arthritis that primarily affects the big toe. 

 

The activity of xanthine oxidase is a normal function of your liver and so is the production of uric acid.  However, when your liver becomes inflamed or is stressed, uric acid production can increase to very high levels, setting the stage for the development of Gout

Source: Olea europaea leaf (Ph.Eur.) extract as well as several of its isolated phenolics inhibit the gout-related enzyme xanthine oxidase

On The Third Day Of Christmas, Hall Training Systems Gave To Me...

... Use Lemons To Lower the GI Of Foods!

By adding the juice of half a lemon or lime will help lower the Glycemic Index of that food by 30%

This is a great tip to use if trying to stick to a low carb option, but have business commitments that won't necessary allow it.

On The Second Day Of Christmas, Hall Training Systems Gave To Me...

...Incorporate Saunas For Faster Fat Loss!

For some real obese clients I like to integrate sauna sessions into their training schedule. 

2x 1 hour sessions, in a regular sauna for 12 weeks can result in a loss of up to 11kgs of fat! 

Environmental toxins are fat soluble so stored in body fat. If someone is poor at detoxifying (most fat people are) it can be easier for them to lose body fat simply by sitting in a sauna for two hours a week.

I've used this on two of my clinets with success, however it does require great discipline and commitment on the clinets behalf... An hour in a sauna is longer than you think!

On The First Day Of Christmas, Hall Training Systems Gave To Me...

...Taylor your warm up to the exercise!

When it comes to weight training I see so many people inappropriately warm up or completely neglect it all together.

A good warm up regime can help improve performance in the gym and reduce risk of injury. You need to taylor your warm up to the exercises in your workout. I've talked to a lot of people who claim 10 mins on a bike is a great warm up prior to performing squats?!... This is both idiotic and stupid!

Your warm needs to reflect the ACTUAL movement of the exercise. So when warming up for squats perform several warm up sets with a lesser intensity ON the squat, NOT the bike!

For example: my working set could be 80kgs for 6-8 reps. 

My warm up would be 40kgs for 6 reps (rest) 55kgs for 4 reps (rest) then 65kgs for 2-3 reps (rest) 

then into working set.

This is vitally improvement, as not only does it reduce the risk of injury but will also help prime the nervous system and help to further embed the movement pattern of that exercise.

This Weeks Top Tip

Flat pressing, whether it be with a barbell or dumbells usually plateaus off and many people struggle to make necessary strength improvements. For the majority of new clients I focus a lot on both incline and overhead pressing movements.

Prioritising these lifts over a 6-8 week period will prove to show great increases in flat pressing movements i.e the bench press.

This Weeks Top Tip

Applying a forward lean when performing the Seated Leg Curl will help to make this exercise more effective by recruiting a higher proportionate of muscle fibers and allowing for a greater stretch at the top of the movement.