A Podcast Collection On High Intensity Training and Wellbeing, with Simon Shawcross
Here’s a collection of a selection of my podcasts over the years (from most recent to oldest). 14 December 2020, HITuni’s 21st Century Certifications! In this episode we meet Simon Shawcross, founder and director of HITuni, an e-learning provider that specializes in delivering courses on high intensity training (HIT) and evidence based fitness. Simon shares his passion for HIT and the positive impact that exercise has on people’s lives that has driven him to dedicate the last seven years to developing premium online certification-level courses for personal trainers, as well as a number of non-certification courses for those who want …
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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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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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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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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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Attentional Focus: Internal vs external Visualization during Resistance Training
Today I want to look at where attention should be placed during resistance training: is it best to focus on simply lifting the weight or is it better to focus on the contraction of the targeted muscle tissue? A research paper was recently published covering this very topic so we will delve into this paper as well. What is attentional focus? This term simply refers to what is it that are you focused on or thinking about, whilst you are engaged in an activity. During High Intensity Resistance Training (HIT) you can perform exercises with an external attentional focus …
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HIT vs HIIT, Sprints vs Resistance Training: What’s the Difference?
Is there a physiological difference in response between sprinting all-out (on a bike, treadmill, rowing machine etc) until you are unable to maintain a peak cadence level versus performing a high effort resistance training (RT) exercise? Due to a perceived dichotomy between cardiovascular exercise and resistance training, this is not a question that has been significantly explored in the scientific literature. A recent research paper published in PeerJ, titled “Similar acute physiological responses from effort and duration matched leg press and recumbent cycling tasks” and authored by James Steele, Andrew Butler, Zoe Comerford, Jason Dyer, Nathan Lloyd, Joshua Ward, James …
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