This Weeks Top Tip - Squatting

The squat is an excellent exercise for adding size and strength to the lower body. It also has a fantastic carry over for most sports and will help improve performance in just about any lower dominate sport.

However having said that you need to earn the right to squat. 

Squatting isn't as simple as placing a barbell on your back and bending down with the knees. It's about engaging the whole body and for the body to move as a unit. I see people day in, day out placing the squat in their workout and the truth is, only about 2% of these people are able to squat with proper technique.

For the other 98% of you I strongly suggest leaving the squat for a few months to focus on structural balance and remedial work.

I structural balance every client of mine to see what imbalances both tension and muscular they have. To date I've only seen two people who have demonstrated proper technique for squatting. In most cases people will be tight in the hips causing them to lean forward. Many people have tight calves stopping them from keeping their heels on the floor and almost certainly, people have one leg stronger than the other - performing a squat with imbalances only increases the risk for injury and limits the training effect.

For those of you who are unsure of correct technique when it comes to performing a squat, ask any well qualified personal trainer and they should be able to help. Alternately you can locate a PICP 2 qualified strength coach and they'll be able to test for lower body discrepancies, recommend advice and have you squatting within about 8-10 weeks.

For locating a PICP Strength Coach please visit the following site:
http://www.charlespoliquin.com/TrainerDirectory/FindaCoach.aspx

This Weeks Top Tip

When Performing any pressing movements using dumbells, such as the flat dumbell press, it's best to take a semi supinated grip (palms facing in towards the body) instead of a pronated one (palms facing away from the body).

There are several advantages to this grip:

1. A semi supinated grip places less stress through the should joint. i.e it's safe for the shoulder
2. It allows for a greater stretch in the bottom position and greater range of motion
3. It recruits a higher percentage of muscle fibers of the chest and studies have shown it to develop quicker strength gains than using a pronated grip.

 

When teaching clients any dumbell pressing movements I always teach them the benefits of a semi supinated grip. Although some are reluctant, within a week they can all see an improvement.

Training Built Upon Science

Fish oil was shown to decrease symptoms of depression when supplemented by adolescent boys who were experiencing depressive states. 

This is the latest study to demonstrate the anti-depressive qualities of supplementing fish oil.

Source:  Kentaro Murakami, Yoshihiro Miyake,  Satoshi Sasaki, Keiko Tanaka, Masashi Arakawa, Fish and n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Intake and Depressive Symptoms: Ryukyus Child Health Study, PEDIATRICS (doi:10.1542/peds.2009-3277)

Now Writing For MyProtein.com

Over the last month I've been given the opportunity to write for a large UK based supplement company, My Protein. This is a great step for my future career as a strength coach and personal trainer.

The article is on the topic of Omega 3 and the importance it has on our health. It has been featured in their September news letter and been sent out to over 250,000 readers

You can check it out at the following link - Amazing Omega

This Weeks Top Tip

A recent study suggests by drinking four cups of an inexpensive, readily available green tea may help strip excess body weight. The study found that green tea as capsules or tea significantly reduced 2.5kgs of body weight over 8 weeks.

Source: Hursel R, Viechtbauer W, Westerterp-Plantenga MS. The effects of green tea on weight loss and weight maintenance: a meta-analysis. Int J Obes (Lond). 2009 Sep;33(9):956-61.

Top Tip For Tricep Training

The tricep muscle is comprised of three different heads - the long, lateral and medial head. It's impossible to purely isolated a single head of the tricep, however by the orientation of the upper arm in relation to gravity and to the body, you can affect the percentage of recruitment of each head.

For Example:

From Incline to Perpendicular - the further away your arms are from your navel, the greater the recruitment of the long head of the triceps.
E.g Seated French Presses, Overhead Tricep Extension w/rope.

Flat - Exercises in a flat position tend to recruit more the lateral and long head of the triceps.
E.g Close Grip Bench Press, Lying EZ Bar Tricep Extensions

Decline - The closer your arms are to your torso the greater the contribution of the medial head of the triceps at the top position. At the bottom position the lateral head does most of the work.
E.g Decline Close Grip Bench Press, Decline EZ Bar Tricep Extension.

You may also want to consider hand position. As a general rule, pronating the grip (palms down) increases recruitment of the the lateral head and a supine grip (palms up) increases recruitment of the medial head.

Knowing this information will hopefully add value to your workouts and place new size and strength onto your triceps!

This Weeks Top Tip

Women who reported high use of household cleaning products had a two-fold risk of developing breast cancer according to a scientific questionnaire and poll

Source: Self-reported chemicals exposure, beliefs about disease causation, and risk of breast cancer in the Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study: a case-control study

This Weeks Top Tip

Test subjects who had the lowest levels of blood serum vitamin D had significantly increased risk for developing Parkinson's disease. Those that had high levels of the vitamin demonstrated protection against the disease.

Source: Serum Vitamin D and the Risk of Parkinson Disease, Paul Knekt, DPH; Annamari Kilkkinen, PhD; Harri Rissanen, MSc; Jukka Marniemi, PhD; Katri Sääksjärvi, MSc; Markku Heliövaara, PhD Arch Neurol. 2010;67(7):808-811. doi:10.1001/archneurol.2010.120

This Weeks Top Tip

By taking a good quality multi-vitamin each day will help with fat loss and lipid panel improvement in obese women

 Source: Effects of multivitamin and mineral supplementation on adiposity, energy expenditure and lipid profiles in obese Chinese women, International Journal of Obesity (2010) 34, 1070–1077; doi:10.1038/ijo.2010.14; published online 9 February 2010

When working with clients, whatever the goal I will always recommend a good multi-vitamin to take each day. However not all multi-vitamins are created equal and some can even compromise you health instead of improving it. The products I normally recommend are from the UK's top health care professionals, Nutri.

Multigenics w/iron and Multigenics w/out iron

Please note: males should take a muti-vitamin product without iron and females with iron

You can purchase these two products through Nutri by calling: 0800 212 742 and Quote ID no. 3054468

This Weeks Top Tip

Training twice a day is the fastest way to improve your physique, whether it be for fat loss, muscle growth or strength

If you're lucky enough to have the time available for twice a day training I would definitely recommend it.

To avoid over training and total 'burn out' you need to allow at least a 4-6 hour window between your AM and PM sessions as well as keeping on top your nutrition and supplementation.

I would also recommend taking a 'deload week' every 3rd week whereby you only train once per day for that week to help improve recovery and avoid over training.