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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In Conversation with Adam Zickerman: What’s changed since Power of 10?
This is a further blog post in a series featuring outstanding individuals from the HIT community who we spent some time with on our trip to the US earlier this year. In this post, we feature Adam Zickerman, owner of Inform Fitness and author of Power of Ten 10. Adam’s serendipitous career in exercise Adam has been a successful gym owner since the late 1990’s. In fact, 2018 marks his 21st year in the business of teaching the principles of sound strength training, but how did it all begin for him? He had always been athletic as a kid and …
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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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In Conversation with Fred Hahn: 20 Years of HIT, the Golden Age of Nautilus and Intermittent Fasting
Those of you who have already read the blog post overviewing our recent trip to the US will know that we got to meet up with some great individuals and business owners from within the HIT (High Intensity Training) community. This is the initial post in a series of more in-depth articles about each of the people that we got to meet, first up: Fred Hahn. A career in fitness: Fred Hahn Fred has had a passion for exercise ever since he became a member of The Charles Atlas Club when he was 10 years old. Flash forward to …
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The Rough Guide to Testosterone
This post is all about testosterone (T), we’ll look at what it is, what it does and where it comes from. We’ll cover the reasons that it is an important hormone for women as well as men and how low testosterone levels negatively impacts both sexes. We will detail some of the symptoms of low testosterone and what you can do about them. Then we will look at what the latest research reveals about the impact of exercise, both resistance training and aerobic, on acute and long-term levels of testosterone. By the end of the article, you’ll know a lot …
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17 Myokines You Need to Know About Today
Skeletal muscle tissue is made up of muscle fibers, connective tissue, blood vessels and nerves. Under the control of the somatic nervous system (SNS), skeletal muscle produces force, creates movement. Muscles get bigger and stronger if you exercise, smaller and weaker if you don’t…simple. This is the basic understanding of muscle that most of us have. There is however more benefit to exercising muscle tissue which we are not able to directly observe, and which science is only just beginning to reveal. It was my recent conversation with Doug McGuff, MD, that lit a fire under my desire to understand …
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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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HIT and Running: An in-depth conversation with Skyler Tanner about Resistance Training and Cardio
Skyler Tanner is an exercise physiologist based in Austin, Texas where he operates Smart Strength, a HIT-focused, evidence-based, strength training studio. Skyler also regularly brings a fascinating perspective to all things exercise, through insights on his blog, skylertanner.com. I have been intrigued by his recent writing on combining resistance training or HIT with running, an interest that he has developed over the last 5 years. Before any die-hard HITers choke on their coffee at the mere mention of running, Skyler still communicates that by far the most important thing that you can do for your physiology exercise-wise, is to apply …
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High Intensity Training with Resistance Bands
In this post, I want to look at resistance bands: how useful are they, who can benefit from them, and can be used for HIT? Outside of simple equipment such as chin bars and push up handles, another piece of home exercise kit that people tend to consider for strength training are resistance bands. The idea of resistance bands is appealing: a potential gym’s worth of exercises promised in a portable pouch the size of a typical handbag. What’s not to like? Watch Simon explain three key points about resistance bands Different types of resistance band Resistance bands …
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