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Weighty Women

Many women have a fear about weight training they seem to believe if they lift anything heavier than a bag of sugar they will develop unsightly huge bulging muscles.
The truth is this is highly unlikely.

Firstly building muscle is very difficult, it takes time and dedication with a well thought out workout plan and nutrition plan, even the most gifted bodybuilders struggle to develop as much muscle as they would like.

Second, women lack the main building hormone for muscles which is testosterone.
There is a lot of research done on this topic. What they have found is weight training can actually give the appearance of smaller muscles.


A major benefit is the more muscle mass you have the higher the bodies metabolic rate therefore freeing fat from your body to fuel the energy demand. In turn women should and can lift heavy.

So put those sugar bags down ladies and lift some real weight.

Ryan Stewart

Personal Trainer

recipe for abs!

Everyone would love a 6 pack of rock solid abs but the fact is, performing abdominal exercises such as sit ups only strengthens and firms up the rectus abdominis muscle, more commonly known as the 'six-pack'. Doing these exercises is good as they will give you strong abdominal muscles but will do nothing to reduce the amount of fat on your stomach.

Abdominal fat is present because of too much food intake and the only way to get rid of belly fat and get those eye popping abs is to burn of the fat with a balanced diet and exercise.

Here is an example of a day food plan you should be eating to lower fat:

Breakfast

One tall glass of a homemade smoothie.

Homemade smoothie
1 cup 1% milk
2 tablespoons low-fat vanilla yogurt
¾ cup instant oatmeal, nuked in water
2 teaspoons peanut butter
2 teaspoons chocolate whey powder

Snack #1
2 teaspoons peanut butter, raw vegetables (as much as you want)

Lunch
Turkey or roast beef sandwich on whole-grain bread, 1 cup 1% or fat-free milk, 1 apple

Snack #2
1 ounce almonds, 1½ cups berries

Dinner
Mas Macho Meatballs
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
½ cup crushed saltine crackers
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed or whey powder
1 jar (16 ounces) tomato sauce
4 whole-wheat hoagie rolls
½ cup reduced-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded

Snack #3
Smoothie


Ryan Stewart
Personal Trainer

The Rotator Cuff

The rotator cuff is a very important group of muscles found in the back of the shoulder coming from the shoulder blade to the shoulder joint. They are important for posture, stability and movement of the shoulder and comprise of the teres minor, infraspinatus, supraspinatus and subscapularis.



A lot of injuries occur due to ignorance of these four muscles and any athletes or gym goers should become familiar with them not just to prevent shoulder injuries but to increase performance too. If you are looking to do any sort of isolation exercises then it should be rotator cuff exercises.


Good shoulder health will help performance in other exercises and sports from bench press to tennis. Working the rotator cuff will strengthen the shoulder girdle making it more stable and will aid anyone looking to lift more on the bench, shoulder press and other upper body exercises. It will also improve posture especially with those who have over worked the ‘mirror muscles’ thus improving rounding of the shoulders making the shoulders look wider and giving a bigger V shape as it helps to bring the shoulders back to their natural position.


Also along with improvements in shoulder stability exercising the rotator cuff will improve flexibility in the shoulder helping golfers, tennis players, javelin and most other team sports and individual sports where shoulder movements are demanding. Maintaining a flexible shoulder joint allows for greater range of movement over the joint therefore it can improve force whilst preventing injury.


Exercises for the rotator cuff are varied try these to take your body to the next level:

Swiss ball press up – place your hands on the Swiss ball shoulder width apart and take up the press up position, lower chest to ball keeping shoulders, hips and ankles in line then raise again.

Lateral Raise – holding dumbbells, if required, stand with arms by the sides thumbs facing body and palms facing backwards. Raise arms to shoulder level keeping pinkie finger facing the sky and thumb facing the ground then lower back to sides.

Lying Rotator Roll – lying on one side hold a dumbbell in hand of side facing ceiling, bend arm at elbow to ninety degrees and have wrist across front. Rotate arm at shoulder bringing hand up towards ceiling and keeping elbow in at side then lower.


Daniel
Personal Trainer

Go Guide West Lothian and Fit Inc

Open publication - Free publishing

Legs 11

Leg training it should be done

I often find every time I go to the gym that there isn’t a lot of people training their legs. Lots people say they don’t like training legs because of the intensity. I see lots of guys with big upper bodies and small legs, well done to them for the good upper body but I don’t understand why they want skinny legs with a large upper body. I decided to ask some of my mates do they train their legs?

The answer, “I run”


So I’m going to tell you why you should train your legs.



•Training your legs = more muscle, studies show that doing squats and deadlifts increase the release of testosterone more than any other exercise resulting in more muscle as testosterone is the bodies natural muscle building hormone.



•Also provide an upper body workout, squats and deadlifts work the whole body not just the legs. For example your abs work to stabilize, your chest muscles contact during a heavy deadlift.



•If you have an upper body injury you can prevent muscle loss in the upper body by doing squats and deadlifts.



•Increase overall strength. A stronger set of legs and a stronger core will increase strength in upper body lifts and help develop the upper body.



•Performing squats and deadlifts will help with mental stress, people don’t train their legs as it is very challenging, physically and mentally so performing such exercises will help with mental endurance and make you progress on your fitness journey.




Overall leg training = better all round health and bigger muscle and strength gains.




So get training those legs



Ryan Stewart
Personal Trainer

Core Strength

When it comes to the core people simply think of the abdominals, forgetting the back and other stabilising muscles around the shoulder girdle and pelvic girdle, being the foundation of trunk strength but they are only a small part of what makes up the core. It is weak and unbalanced core muscles that can be linked to low back pain. Weak core muscles result in a loss of the appropriate lumbar curve and a swayback posture. Stronger, balanced core muscles help maintain appropriate posture and reduce strain on the spine. Because the muscles of the trunk and torso stabilize the spine from the pelvis to the neck and shoulder, they allow the transfer of power to the arms and legs. All powerful movements originate from the center of the body and never from the limbs alone. Before any powerful, rapid muscle contractions can occur in the extremities the spine must be solid and stable and the more stable the core, the more powerful the extremities can contract. Training the muscles of the core helps correct postural imbalances that can lead to injuries. The biggest benefit of core training is to develop functional fitness; the type of fitness that is essential to daily living and regular activities like lifting and moving objects. Core exercises to include in your workout are; The plank – take up the press up position with feet together and lower onto elbows with hands flat on floor and elbows under shoulders, keep body in line from ankles through the hips to shoulders for twenty seconds plus. Yoga Plank – take up the press up position again but bring hands in directly below shoulders and feet together and maintain this position with ankles, hips and shoulders all in line. Side Plank – lie on side with feet on top of each other and elbow directly under shoulder, bring hips up so spine is in a neutral position and hold with ankles, hips and shoulders in line. Daniel- PT