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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In Conversation with James Fisher and James Steele (part 1): Do you train to TRUE muscular failure? Understanding perception of effort, discomfort and intensity
An Agreed Definition of Intensity? When conversing with a wider audience there can however be a challenge, potential for miscommunication, in the interpretation of the term used. As James Fisher, James Steele and others have pointed out, there are trainers and researchers who associate the term “intensity” with the percentage of a 1 Rep Max (%1RM) being used during exercise. A 1RM is the most weight an individual can lift for one single repetition of an exercise. A percentage of this load is then often used for a given number of reps in research papers and in training routines, …
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The story behind Bill DeSimone’s course on integrating Functional Training with HIT
We have recently had the opportunity to work with personal trainer, author and speaker (NSCA, Club Industry, REC) Bill DeSimone to create a new course titled Functional Training: A Biomechanics Approach to Integrating FT with HIT. Controversial? Some seem to think so. And I get that reaction, if you had told me I would be involved in presenting a course that includes FT ten years ago I would have likely scoffed too, I was younger then and thought I knew damn near all there was to know about exercise. I started my career in personal training in 2000 and thankfully …
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Do I need to workout on vacation?
Vacation, a time of year we all look forward to. Time to switch off from everyday stressors and get some much-needed rest, relaxation and for some maybe even a little adventure. Assuming you are not headed off on some physically demanding break like hiking the Andes, surfing the Hawaiian swells or building your time away around running a marathon the question may arise “should I keep doing some kind of workout?” If you are just going for a week away, you may simply want to relax and physically, as well as mentally unwind. Your decision can depend on the …
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Doctor Doug McGuff Talks Fitness and High Intensity Training For The Over-40s
Doug McGuff MD, is a family man who successfully combines a highly intense career as an emergency physician, with a passion for high intensity exercise. A long-time strength training enthusiast and advocate, he has written four books on exercise including co-authoring the best-selling Body by Science. A fifth book, The Primal Prescription details how to navigate the modern healthcare system and when possible, how to avoid it altogether. For over 20 years Dr. McGuff has also operated Ultimate Exercise a personal training facility in Seneca, helping to keep South Carolinians and enthusiasts from all over the globe in peak physical …
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