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.

12 Reasons Gluten Should Be Eliminated From Your Diet

The following article was written by world renowned health and strength coach Charles Poliquin. I explain to all my clients why they should ideally eliminate gluten from their diet.

Charles Poliquin has written 12 reason why it should be eliminated if you're sensitive to gluten.

"Gluten is a protein found in most grains eaten in America and all over Europe. For most people gluten intake will come from wheat products, but as well from barley, triticale, rye, oats, spelt. Oats are supposed by nature to be gluten free, however, they get cross-contaminated by being carried in trucks that also carry wheat. You should also know that American strands of wheat have the highest content of gluten in the World.

Gluten has been isolated as a risk factor is so many diseases, that is almost impossible to count them all. At the time of writing this blog, the functional medicine circle has isolated at least 55 diseases linked to it.

I have to pick 12 main reasons to eliminate gluten from your diet:

1. Gluten inflames the brain. The auto-immune response to ingesting inflames the brain. It deposits a type of plaque that interferes with proper communication between cells. Gluten is so bad for brain function that I know of at least one Formula One stable who bans their pilots from eating it.

2. The glutamate content in gluten kills brain cells. Glutamate is an excitotoxin, which means it overexcites brain cells, which either damages or kills them. Its docking station in the brain is called the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor). Excessive excitation of this receptor is linked to many psychiatric disorders.

3. Gluten has been linked to autism. EVERY single client who came in for a consult to help their autistic child, have seen that the removal of gluten that the most influential factor to heal their child. They can also see how reintroducing gluten by accident, such as birthday cake consumption at a friend’s place immediately flares up all behavioral changes associated with autism.

4. Gluten is associated to osteo-arthritis. Removal of gluten from the diet, immediately attenuates pain levels.

5. Gluten can induce depression. The inflammatory responses associated with gluten consumption can induce depressive symptoms. No amount of meditation or talk therapy will get you off depression if you are gluten sensitive. Fixing your biology is crucial before undergoing any psychotherapy.

6. Gluten will ramp down your thyroid. Food intolerance to gluten has been shown negatively affect thyroid function.

7. Avoid developing celiac disease. In order to develop celiac disease, you need three things 1) genetic predisposition 2) an environmental trigger such as surgery, excessive stress, or a virus 3) a diet that contains gluten. If you avoid gluten, you cannot develop celiac disease.

8. Gluten aggravates menopausal symptoms.  All functional medicine practitioners will agree that removing gluten from the diet lowers dramatically the frequency and severity of the symptoms traditionally associated with menopause such as night sweats, hot flashes, headaches, mood swings, and fatigue.

9. Gluten is associated with accelerated aging. For example, dermatologist Nicholas Perricone M.D., points that the inflammation associated with wheat leads to faster wrinkling processes, and avoidance of wheat leads to faster skin regeneration.

10. Gluten exacerbates auto-immune diseases symptoms. Multiple studies have shown that removal of gluten from the diet lowers all symptoms commonly seen with auto-immune diseases.

11. Gluten weakens tooth enamel and leads to cavities. Consumption of gluten has been linked to more frequent tooth decay and loss of tooth enamel.

12. Gluten negatively affects body composition. When one stops eating gluten, BioSignature practitioners see immediate drops in subscapular, mid-axillary, umbilical, and supra-illiac sites. That is because gluten raises insulin dramatically and since it is also a strong allergen raises cortisol. The combination of raising both hormones leads to central obesity." - Charles Poliquin

This Weeks Top Tip - Leaner Legs

 For women who store excess fat on their legs, adding watercress into the diet can have a dramatic impact on leaning out the legs. The legs are a fat storage site for those people who have problems with high circulating levels of estrogen. 

Watercress is heavily rich in indole-3-Carbinol (I3C) and B-phenylethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) two compounds that help to detoxify estrogen out of the body.

I recommend consuming a bag (60-75g) to two bags per day of watercress for 8 days then to take 8 days off, then repeat.

I've had great success using watercress and had one client drop her quadricep skinfold by 10mm in a week and another drop 9.6mm in 9 days!!

Start adding watercress to your meals to see the benefits for yourself

This Weeks Top Tip

According to a new study reported last Friday in the Journal of Pain, published by the American Pain Society, daily doses of raw or heat-treated ginger effectively relieved muscle aches and discomfort - and that includes even severe pain following strenuous exercise.

The scientists worked with 74 student volunteers who were divided into three groups. One group was given raw ginger, one group received heated ginger and the third group received a fake ginger placebo.

Muscle pain was induced in the volunteers by having them perform 18 eccentric muscle exercises. Then the research subjects were tested on 11 consecutive days to see if those taking the ginger had reduced muscle aches and pains. And they did -- dramatically. 

The results showed that both raw and heat-treated ginger lowered muscle pain intensity by 25 and 23 percent, respectively. 

Source: New Study Reports Ginger Effective For Muscle Pain Relief