Optimal training frequency for muscular strength and size
Strength gain and muscle size are two key motivating factors for those of us who engage in resistance training. You can find wildly differing opinions out there on how frequently a muscle group should be trained to optimize size and strength, ranging from daily workouts at one extreme to one workout every month at the other. In this post we will look at some of the various physiologic factors we need to consider when planning frequency of training for strength and size, including: Hypertrophy Edema Neuromuscular adaptation Glycogen Storage The “pump” What I intend to do is tease out …
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In Conversation with Skyler Tanner: How strength training helped me complete a 25K race
Skyler Tanner, Exercise Physiologist and course leader of the latest HITuni short course: Running with Strength, has recently completed the J&J Rrail Running Reunion, a 25K race. I had the pleasure to chat with Skyler about his experience, his training for the race and how he combines HIT with running and here’s what he has to say! First of all, can you tell me what the race was? Sure sure. So the race is called the J&J Trail Running Reunion. The time that you got for the race was three hours and 15 minutes. You came 10th …
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Running with Strength: Skyler Tanner on harnessing the strength you’ve built with HIT to master running
Exercise Physiologist, Skyler Tanner, is course leader for the latest HITuni short course release: Running with Strength. Since filming the course with Skyler, we have had the opportunity to sit with Skyler to ask him about his background, his business, his approach to strength training and about his passion for running. From Basketball to Smart Strength Many of you reading this post will likely know of Skyler; through his great blog posts, presentations and the work he does at Smart Strength. For those who haven’t yet had the pleasure or are interested in to learn more about background, …
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Full Body vs Split Routines
One of the common characteristics of the HIT approach, is the regular use of full body workouts. But what about split routines? Are there any benefits to using split routines in your own training or with your clients, or are they best left on the shelf? A full body routine is one in which all major muscle groups of the body are exercised each workout. When most people think of a HIT routine, they typically imagine a full body routine consisting of somewhere between 3-12 exercises. Examples include: Full Body Routines Full body routines were commonplace in …
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The Rarest Exercise Machines We Tried at Mike Petrella’s STG Strength and Power Gym
As we pull into the parking lot, I see Mike Petrella by the door to STG Strength And Power, which is just as well as the gym is so new to this location there is no external signage. I am excited to catch up with him again after meeting a week previously at the REC conference. We step inside a cavernous space that feels aircraft hangar-like in dimension. This space however is not filled with private jets, instead it acts as a considerable containing space for row upon row of exercise machines. And there are many, no one has done …
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The Duo-Extension: A New “Arthur Jones” Machine in 2019
Half a century ago Nautilus inventor, Arthur Jones’ mind was focused on attempting to solve yet another challenge to improve exercise: how to make the squat safer and more effective. When the solution to doing just this became apparent to him, he referred to it in his IronMan magazine column of November 1970 as “The Final Breakthrough”. What’s the problem with barbell squats that inspired Jones to look to better such a classic exercise? Squats are a relatively high-skill exercise, some people’s knees don’t get on with them and those with low back issues may well find squats uncomfortable …
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What is the primary muscle or muscle group this exercise targets? Take our quiz.
Knowing the human body is critical in order to be able to prescribe appropriate exercise programs for your clients and answer questions they might have on how the human body works. Every personal trainer should be able to formulate routines that target the body effectively and to do so, you need to know which exercises stimulate which muscles or muscle group. Our quiz will help you test your knowledge on exactly that! Are you ready for it? Note that for each exercise, many, many, MANY different muscles are involved and depending on the role they play in a movement, they …
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The Impact of Training on Muscle Fiber Types
We recently received a great question about muscle fiber types from an individual taking the HITuni personal trainer course. The student was concerned that when an individual partakes in HIT, there may be conversion of IIx fibers to IIa fibers. He pondered that if this does happen, then it might be a negative for aging muscle, as it would speed up the loss of the fastest-twitch fibers. He asked if I thought this was problematic. This is a valuable question and gives a springboard to dive into the fascinating subject of fiber types from a slightly different perspective than my …
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A Template for Resistance Training, Updated for 2019
One of the questions that I asked James Steele to elaborate on during our recent interview was: if he were to lay out a template for personal trainers introducing clients to resistance training/HIT, how would such a template look today? Let’s explore his answer, as well as James Fisher’s input into the elements that make up the template. Steele starts out by highlighting that his template is best considered as a base that can be built on and experimented from, to fit the individual client and their needs or as James puts it “their context”. The following is a pragmatic, …
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In Conversation with James Fisher and James Steele (part 2): This is why you might want to use heavier loads with your clients
In this post we are going to look at the impact that the load we choose to use whilst performing an exercise has on our results. This is the second in a series of blog posts inspired by and featuring recent conversations with James Fisher, Senior Lecturer Sports Conditioning and Fitness at Southampton Solent University, and James Steele, Principal Investigator at UK Active Research Institute; Associate Professor Sport and Exercise Science at Southampton Solent University. Read the first one on perception of effort and its impact on achieving true muscular failure. In research, the load used for an exercise is …
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