GB Personal Training News

As a London Personal Trainer I spend around 1000 hours a year training my clients and have discovered that 7 reoccurring mistakes are made on a frequent basis. Just by taking note and correcting these 7 issues will dramatically improve your results and prevent injury.

1. Learn to breathe
Breathing correctly is vital when exercising. Deep breaths provide more oxygen to the body and in turn provide you with the ability to work harder; they also prevent you from becoming dizzy or light headed. Breaths should be taken deeply and from the pit of the stomach or diaphragm. Get into a good habit of breathing out during the hardest part of the exercise and in during the easiest. For example, when performing a push up breathe in on the way down and out on the way up. Never hold your breath, even when stretching!

2. Take your time
This is one of the most common mistakes I see and the harder the exercise becomes the more tempted you are to rush through it. Muscles need time to work and be stimulated, unless you are training for speed. A good test is to ask yourself whether you would be able to pause at any part during the exercise movement, if not then you are moving too fast. Chances are no matter how slow you think you are moving, you are probably moving too fast. A squat should take around 5 seconds, 2 seconds down, pause for a second and 2 seconds up.

3. Think technique
Concentrating on your technique and good form will ensure that you target the correct muscles and don’t develop bad habits. Bad technique is a sure fire way to get injured, if your technique starts to fail then stop the exercise. The last thing you want to do is develop a motor pattern for an incorrect movement. Start off with the correct movement and concentrate on that movement the whole time, think about what muscles are working and how it feels.

4. Tighten your core
If you want to develop 6 pack abs, a strong core and prevent injury then you must switch on your core. By switch on I mean brace your stomach as if you were about to take a punch – pull your navel in towards your spine and squeeze. Performing this action not only protects your spine but also gives your stomach muscles a thorough workout. If you switch on your core during every exercise the chances are you won’t need to do many individual core exercises to develop your stomach. The fact is that your core is working hard during most exercises (providing you are not lazy and using machines) and so the need for targeted stomach muscle exercises should be at a minimum.

5. Reduce your rest periods
I don’t believe in long cardio sessions, in fact research has shown that they don’t work anyway. If you want to get a good cardio workout then reduce the rest periods between your exercises. I see too many people at gyms idly standing around talking or reading magazines. To get the most out of your workouts reduce your resting times and increase the intensity. I like to put 2 or 3 exercises back to back with no rest periods to really get the heart rate up and lungs working.

6. Warm up the correct movement patterns
Starting your exercise programme without a warm is just asking for trouble. Not only do warm ups prepare your body physically but also prepare you mentally. The warm up should replicate the movements that you will be performing in the actual workout. If you are going to be pressing things over your head then make sure you push your arms up and down overhead a few times first. If you are going to be doing heavy squats then some body weight squats first will prepare you for this.

7. Stretch only the tight muscles
Everybody is designed differently and we all have some muscles that are tight and others that are more flexible. It is pointless performing a stretching routine that focuses on your most flexible areas; you should leave these alone and work on you most inflexible muscles. In order to neutralise your posture and improve your range of movement you should only stretch the areas that really need it.

I just wanted to share with you my excitement at the completion of my revolutionally new bodyweight exercise book. With 60 progressive bodyweight exercises and 1 million possible workouts, this book will help you strip fat and tone your body in record time without the use of any equipment.

My “No Gear Workout” book has been the product of thousands of hours of personal training along with years of research and study. I think I have finally put together an exercise book that everyone can use from young to old, novice to athlete. And the best thing of all is that you need no equipment at all, so you can train anytime, anywhere!

I’m just putting the final few touches together and producing some great free bonuses to accompany the book. The book will be ready for Christmas and available at the website http://www.nogearworkout.com or http://www.nogearworkout.co.uk please bear with me while I prepare the website ready for this time.

If you would like a copy of this book then you can email me info@gbpersonaltraining.com and I will contact you as soon as it is available for purchase.

My motivation: 

I’m turning 30 next year and I was starting to notice my body was changing. I was developing bat wings and my skinny jeans were suddenly starting to not look so skinny! I was also feeling sluggish and finding it hard to wake up in the mornings. On top of that I just generally felt quite down and unmotivated. I knew joining a gym was not going to change things – I would be horribly enthusiastic for the first few weeks and then lose interest… I wanted something more long term and I wanted someone around to motivate me. So I decided on finding myself a personal trainer. 

The search: 

It’s actually harder than it seems to find a trainer who is willing to come to you and not be based in an expensive gym. I had read articles about making sure you found someone who you connected with and who understood your needs. After trawling through the internet and meeting several very strange PT’s I came across Greg’s website. After a few email exchanges where he asked a few simple questions about my motivations and aims, he gave me a form to fill in and agreed to visit me in my house for an initial assessment. I filled in the questionnaire and I really liked the way he was so thorough in his questioning. It made me consider why I was doing this and also what my long term aims were. It also made me realise how completely inactive I had become and made me see I was definitely doing the right thing. We decided on the intense weight loss program to kick start me in to action with the main focus being on toning up and generally getting more energy. 

The Program: 

The routine is extremely varied and interesting. I’m a morning person so I settled on 3 early morning sessions a week. We go to Hampstead Heath and do a series of exercises in a routine which I never get used to and so I never get bored! Some days are harder than others but I always feel great afterwards and I haven’t yet woken up not wanting to do them! The exercises are based a lot on core work which I was not used to… my problem area is my tummy and I was concerned by the fact that we weren’t doing endless amounts of sit ups. But Greg explains the rationale behind all of the exercises we do and soon I learned the benefits of core work as opposed to exercises that just focus on one muscle group. The exercises also consist of short, sharp bursts which shock the system in to action. It’s hard work but far better than spending 30 minutes on a tread mill! The arm exercises have also been really good. I do a lot of work with a medicine ball which means I am strengthening my arms with every session. I told Greg at the very start that my ambition was to be able to do one proper press up – 8 weeks in and I can already do 10! 

The Service: 

Greg is extremely professional. He is always on time and extremely adaptable which is good given my busy and ever changing schedule! He is amazingly enthusiastic and really great at motivating you, even on days when you wish you could have just had a few more hours sleep! He never makes you feel intimidated or like you are being pushed too hard, but you always walk away feeling like you have done a great work out. People sometimes ask me why I bother with a personal trainer at all, but on cold winter mornings I know that without Greg there to support and encourage me there is no way I would be motivated enough to do this on my own.  

The Results: 

This is the bit you are probably most interested in! My body is definitely changing but in a way that I have never had before. I seem to be getting leaner and stronger. I have had to tie a knot in my pyjama bottoms to keep them up which can only be a good sign! I have also noticed that my clothes have become loose and when I go to the fitting rooms I am no longer having to squeeze in to size 12’s… Its also great that people have started to comment on how well I look and that I look like I am losing weight. The biggest benefit is my energy levels. I no longer get that afternoon slump and I have no problems waking up in the mornings. My mood has also improved greatly. I have so much more enthusiasm for work and for socialising that even my friends have commented on how much more they see of me now!

I would recommend GB to anyone interested in improving themselves mentally and physically, I can honestly say I enjoy it so much and it is the best thing I did! I no longer fear my 30^th birthday and the aim is to be in a size 10 dress for the occasion!