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ULTRA-FIT MAGAZINE
GETTING YOU FIT FOR THE SUMMER Win a Club La Santa Lanzarote holiday for 2 worth over £1500
Vol.19 No.4 June 2009 £3.99
VOLUME NINETEEN NUMBER FOUR
the beach p78 Win the arm’s race Muscle shaping tips
GET OUTSIDE Get on your bike with Cyclosportive Race a Triathlon Get Cricket fit Fitness walking
WEIGHT LOSS GUARANTEED
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RUN FASTER, RUN LONGER Tips from star athletes www.ultra-fitmagazine.com ISSN 0957-0624 0 4
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The ultra-FIT interview KELLY HOLMES and her fitness tips Sh a th pe is u s p Ne um w pr w om s m ith ot ubs er ult ion c f r p1 ribe or a-F 14 r £3 IT
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GET LEAN Shape up for
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WOMEN’S FITNESS
Walk your way to weight loss... Walking is great exercise - it’s natural, free and good for you! Don’t be lulled into thinking it’s not ‘proper’ exercise. It is and Caroline Sandry tells you why.
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WOMEN’S FITNESS
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MOTIVATION
Rec
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MOTIVATION
c overy is all in the
mind Cognitive hypnotherapist Trevor Silvester unveils some unusual pain relief and recovery techniques – all tried and personally tested ’m clumsy. I don’t like to admit it, but I’ve broken far too many bones for it to be anything else. This means that I’ve spent a lot of time in plaster, but the upside is it’s given me a lot of first hand experience in applying my skills as a cognitive hypnotherapist to pain relief and injury recovery. Unfortunately, injury is an inevitable consequence of most sports, so finding ways of healing quickly and reducing discomfort without resorting to over the counter remedies should be part of every athlete’s armoury. The good news is that there are some simple, but highly effective ways of utilising the mind/body connection to help you recover from injury and ease pain. And I know from personal experience that they work!
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A self-fulfilling prognosis? Before I became interested in cognitive hypnotherapy, like most people I took my doctor’s diagnosis of what was wrong and how long it would take to recover as
gospel. In fact, studies show that a high percentage of people heal at the rate suggested by their doctor. Now it could be that doctors are spot on in their prognoses or that they just stick to an average rate of
Despite the fact that I was shaking like a blender, I had the presence of mind to use a technique I teach on my cognitive hypnotherapy course to relieve my pain recovery - but this didn’t appear to be the case, recovery slowed or speeded up according to what the patients in the trial
were told to expect. So, if your recovery rate can be influenced by the information that you’re given by someone in a white coat - their mind influencing your body – couldn’t your own mind do that for you independently?
The proof of personal experience I’m going to use a couple of examples from my personal medical history to illustrate some techniques that can help you minimise the pain of injury and reduce your recovery period. Every time I’ve used this, I’ve recovered in half the time the doctor predicted. The first injury was sustained as part of a celebration a couple of years ago when we bought out a bottle of champagne. I tried to open it, but the cork was a stubborn little thing and resisted my manly attempts to wring its neck. So I reached for the nearest useful implement – a table knife. Unfortunately, it slipped and severed my thumb tendon making an alarmingly large hole. My thumb stopped responding to suggestions and I very quickly went into shock. Luckily my wife, an ex-police officer, went straight into professional mode and took control – even telling my dog to ‘step back, there’s nothing to see.’ Some habits die-hard. Despite the fact that
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FITNESS EXPRESS
The
Arms Race Bring out the Big Guns by blasting away with the biceps and triceps Instructional Photos: Ultra-Fit Images/Grant Pritchard www.grantpritchard.co.uk sk most guys what muscle group they really want to look good and we can guarantee that a large percentage will say their arms. Nothing screams like, “I keep myself in good shape” more than welltoned upper arms peeking out below your T-shirt sleeves. But don’t be fooled into thinking it’s all about the biceps though as, for a truly balanced and well-developed look, the triceps are equally, if not more important. For women too, with sleeveless tops a fashion constant, well toned arms without a hint of the dreaded ‘bingo wings are equally a must have. Before
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Nothing screams like, “I keep myself in good shape” more than well-toned upper arms peeking out below your T-shirt sleeves you all rush out and frenetically target your arms, remember though that they are often the levers for bigger muscle group movements and that, if you are bench pressing, doing pull-ups, lat-pull downs or overhead presses, your arm musculature will be getting plenty of work to do. The workout below is therefore a great compliment, not a replacement, to a balanced resistance programme containing predominately compound (mulit-joint) movement exercises, such as the bench press. Use it to top up your training and to ensure you keep up in the ‘Arms Race’.
The Workout
10 minutes CV warm-up: Go for the rowing machine - perform 5 minutes easy.
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All of the exercises are paired. Perform the first exercise of the pair and then, without any rest, go straight onto the second. Then take 60 seconds’ rest before taking on your second set of the two movements. Where rep numbers increases between sets, drop the weight by about 5kg from the last set. For the final sets of the Preacher curl and French press, try and squeeze out as many reps with as good form as possible having dropped the weight from the previous sets. If you struggle to perform 10 pull-ups on your first set either use an assisted chin/dip machine or perform negative reps (where you just lower yourself slowly, without the pull up part), or use a narrow underhand grip on a lat pull down with a weight that allows you to perform 10 reps.
1a) Narrow grip pull-ups x max, x max, x max reps 1b) Standing biceps curl x 15, x 15, x 15 reps (60 seconds’ rest)
2a) Narrow grip bench press x 10, x 12, x 15 reps 2b) Triceps push down x 15, x 15, x 15 reps (60 seconds’ rest)
3a) Preacher curl x 10, x 12, x max 3b) Overhead triceps extension x 10, x 12, x max
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FITNESS EXPRESS
Narrow grip pull-ups A really tough exercise to start with but a great one for building biceps strength Targets: biceps (and shoulders), upper and lower back
Start
✱ Use a narrow underhand grip to really target the biceps. ✱ Ensure you fully straighten your arms on the ‘hang’, you’re only cheating yourself if you don’t ✱ Avoid swinging to gain momentum, make the movement smooth and controlled
Finish
Standing biceps curl The classic biceps movement but often performed really badly ✱ Keep your elbows and upper arms locked tightly against your body. ✱ Don’t sway from the lower back ✱ If you can’t maintain strict form, reduce the weight
Start
Finish
Targets: biceps
Narrow grip bench press Start
Finish
Targets: triceps (shoulders and chest)
Any pressing movement involves the triceps but, by narrowing the grip from a standard bench press, they become more dominant in the exercise
✱ Grasp the bar with a shoulder-width (no wider) grip. ✱ Keep your elbows tight to the body rather than letting them flare out. ✱ Drop the weight considerably compared to your normal ‘bench’ weight
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CLIENT + TRAINER
Knock shape ultra-FIT talks to Sarah Dewey and Ian Burbedge about how boxing training got Sarah down to a size 10 Client Sarah Dewey Age: 31 Job: sports rehab therapist specialising in deep massage, hence the need to stay strong and fit. Single, no kids Used to play Lacrosse UF: You’ve been doing Padbox (the boxing based workout) for two years now, how have you found it? SD: My body shape has changed tremendously. I’ve gone down two dress sizes to a 10. So not only have I lost weight but I have toned up as well. My arms have become much firmer and my tummy flatter and I’ve got a waist. And I’m still curvy! You must feel good! I feel so much more confident. All my friends and family have really noticed and said how well I look. Now, if I have a nontraining day, I still want to train, which I never would have before. Have you tried similar workouts before? I had done a boxing class before Padbox.
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But after I had been told how to punch properly by Ian (Padbox instructor Ed), I realised how different the classes were and how Padbox is much more like proper boxing! Plus the other class did not keep me motivated.
After I had been told how to punch properly by Ian, I realised how different the classes were and how Padbox is much more like proper boxing! So what’s a typical workout like? We always do at least a 10 minute warm up on the rowing machine or running, then one session a week is all boxing and the other two vary from weights to circuits. Sometimes Ian will throw in a big abs or cardio session. I
don’t stop for the whole hour but he keeps it fresh, by chopping and changing things all the time. I don’t get bored and nor does my body with the exercises.
The trainer Ian Burbedge ex-amateur boxer and boxing trainer Why did you decide to use Padbox to train Sarah? Before Sarah started Padbox she was just running and that was not really working and I thought that we needed to add some resistance work. And I suggested that she do boxing. And she’s really got into it and toned up brilliantly. Do you think women should do boxing training? Yes, I’d have to say that …. the training, it gets the result, and women can pick it up quicker (than men) because we use reactionary moves. Women think more about the movement than going hell for leather with the punching, like guys. They flow a lot easier. Once you’ve got the movement you can always add the power.
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CLIENT + TRAINER
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PEAK FITNESS
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PEAK FITNESS
FREE & NOT SO FREE ENERGY understanding energy pathways By Dr. Jason R. Karp, Ph.D.
We often say, ‘I don’t have a lot of energy today’, or ‘You can feel the energy in the room’, but what really is energy and how do we use it and crucially for sport, fitness (and everyday life) how do we get more of it? ultra-FIT
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GEAR TEST
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GEAR TEST
Beat the
credit crunch with brilliant budget Home Gym Kit
Times are tough financially but buying cheap home fitness kit can often be a false economy. Nik Cook shows you six of the best that won’t break the bank but will deliver great results. udget fitness equipment is a minefield of flimsily constructed, badly designed and poorly researched tat. It is possible to find brand new exercise bikes and rowing machines for under £50, cross-trainers for under £60 and treadmills for under £80. However, no matter how tempting such an apparent ‘bargain’ appears, I wouldn’t touch one with a bargepole. You can almost guarantee that not only will they feel clunky and uncomfortable to use but, if you do train hard on them, they’ll probably break down (or just break) within weeks. Such cheap and nasty kit will
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not inspire you to train regularly and usually ends up as an expensive clothes’ horse, in a skip or on E-Bay. Based on my experience of testing a lot of pieces of home gym kit I would definitely recommend a minimum spend limit on the ‘big four’ of: Treadmills: £1000 Cross Trainers: £750 Exercise Bikes: £500 Rowers: £500 Although these price points may seem a bit steep and are only a rough guide this is what my testing has told me. It might be perfectly possible to
pick up a great bargain in a sale but, my advice on spending less than these amounts would be ‘buyer beware’. Make sure you thoroughly test the kit with at least a twenty-minute workout and ensure it comes with a minimum three-year warranty on parts and labour. However £500 is hardly ‘budget’ for most people so, what pieces of decent can you get for much less. Out of the six I’ve come up with, five come in at under £50 and all are well under £100. Most of them you might probably be familiar with and they could even be described as ‘boring’, but there is no doubting their effectiveness and their value.
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SIX-WEEK WORKOUTS
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SIX-WEEK WORKOUTS
Look as hot as
the sun Nik Cook shows you how with the first 6-week part of a 12-week bikini body shape up plan. s a personal trainer clients often asked me who my favourite clients to train were? They’d usually assume that I’d name drop some celebrity and then go on to say how really down to earth and normal they actually were. Alternatively, they’d think it must be a sportsperson or hard-nosed businessman, for their ‘win at all costs competitive attitude’. However, the most enjoyable and rewarding clients to work with were brides to be. They had a fixed date to work towards and always showed focus and determination that was unrivalled in the gym. Looking great in their dress on the big day was obviously the main priority, but so too was looking amazing in their swimsuit on honeymoon. What follows is typical of the sort of programme that I used to put them through and it got great results!
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Maximising your bikini body A twelve-week plan is ideal as it’s long enough, for physiological adaptation to take place, but not too long that the training becomes boring mentally and physically. And with a shift in the emphasis of the workout after 6-weeks you’ll only be following the same workout structure for that length of time – part 2 and the other 6-weeks of the programmes will feature in our next issue. In the first 6-week block you’ll do 4 workouts per week. Three are gym based and the fourth is CV, a 30min steady pace effort. The resistance work is essential as it lays the foundation of muscle mass that’ll fuel your calorie/fat-burning engine down the line. Don’t switch off when you hear the word weights, CV training is not the only way to shape up. Sure it will get rid of some fat but chances are it’ll also get rid of valuable muscle. You’ll end up with that strange ‘thin-fat’ look where although your
overall body/limb size is small there is not much muscle tone and crucially no real sexy curves to fill your bikini. This isn’t good and without metabolism raising muscle it’s a
without looking like a former Eastern Bloc shot-putter. By heavy, I mean sets in the 610 rep range, where you’re struggling to complete the last couple of reps. Don’t fall
Don’t fall for the myth that lifting light weights for lots of reps is good for toning recipe for fat gain in the future. Lifting weights is great for women and, because the vast majority lack the hormonal make-up to gain bulk, all the benefits of increased metabolism, improved strength and enhanced bone density will be achieved
for the myth that lifting light weights for lots of reps is good for toning. Muscles either shrink or grow- lifting high reps with low weight will simply increase muscular endurance, whilst heavier weights and fewer reps will add shape, definition and tone.
Bikini Body Workout part 1 Leave at least 48 hours between workouts - so an ideal week would have you resistance training on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with your 30 minute steady CV session on the Sunday. How to perform The workout consists of paired exercises. The first exercise is a compound (multi-joint) exercise that’ll build strength, and promote that valuable fat burning lean mass. Progression is the key to success so as soon as you can manage 3 sets of 10 reps with a given weight, move onto a heavier weight, even if you can only manage 6 - 8 reps next time. The second exercise is more ‘beach specific’ and is included to develop a sexy natural athletic look. It’ll also add some fun and variety to your workout. Do one set of each pair before resting and moving on to the second set, and then the next pair. In all you’ll do 3 sets (of pairs) of exercises. Warm up with 10 minutes on the cross-trainer and do some functional movements, such as marching on the spot and arm-swings. Cool down with 5 minutes on the cross-trainer. Exercise Barbell Squat Skipping Incline Dumbbell Press Med Ball Throw Walking Lunge Ball Hamstring Curl Lat Pull Down Straight Arm Pull Down
reps x10 1 minute x10 x20 x10 x15 x10 x15
sets x3 x3 x3 x3 x3 x3 x3 x3
recovery (60 seconds’ rest) (60 seconds’ rest) (60 seconds’ rest) (60 seconds’ rest)
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HIS ‘N’ HERS
Body
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HIS ‘N’ HERS
Building Bodybuilding might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s no denying that the men and women who participate in the sport train incredibly hard and are able to develop powerful physiques. They have a specific knowledge of how to get their bodies into the shape they want when they want. His and Hers went in search of the hows from two top practitioners who are also personal trainers and coaches – Anita Albrecht and James Llewellin. hen ultra-FIT met Anita and James the two bodybuilders were in their build up phases, both looked incredibly healthy and fit. The subsequent run into a competition requires serious dieting and often an increase in cardio that produces a look that can make the pursuit of the body beautiful seem more like the pursuit of the grotesque. Gossamer thin skin and drawn faces, with ripped bulging muscles can and do turn people off of the sport. However, listening to the very sensible and realistic advice offered by Anita and James it became apparent that you should definitely not judge their sporting book by its cover. And they had tips that would benefit anyone wanting to shape up.
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UF: How did you get involved in the sport? AA: If I’m honest because I used to be really fat. I really struggled with my weight. I started weight training when I was 18……. I met a personal trainer called Shawn Toms when I was 20 and he said, ‘You know what you’re 4’11” you’re of muscular build, I think you should give body building a try’. And that’s how I got into it really.”
JL: I started lifting weights at school. Then I got heavily into surfing and I knocked the weight training on its head. I then started weight training again seriously in 2001/2 at 27. The guy that got me into told me that I would never make a body builder. He said I did not have the right genetics for it… Why do you love pushing yourself so hard? JL: Bodybuilding is a pretty niche sport and I can’t really tell you why I’m doing it. I just love lifting weights. I like the regulation and order within my life and that’s something that bodybuilding brings for me. If I’m preparing for a show the rest of my life clicks into place as well. What’s been your most effective workout and what training are you doing at present? AA: Legs I absolutely love legs. They are more my strongest point I get a big adrenaline rush from training them (with) big heavy squats, big leg presses, doing stuff with your calf’s that really makes them burn – I’m a bit sick like that! At the moment I’m doing a lot of super-sets, 4-6, anything up to 15-20 reps. I do 6 sessions a week, using a split routine (at the time of
the interview Anita was 16 weeks out from competition. Ed). I’m also doing cardio everyday at the moment. JL: In the off-season I train heavy, but less frequently. I train each body part every 10 days. For example I’ll do quads and hams (hamstrings) on a Monday, on Wednesday chest and triceps, back and biceps on Friday and shoulders and calf’s on the following Monday. Reps are around 6-10, fairly heavy, couple of warm up sets and then one set to failure. So I’m in and out of the gym pretty quickly, probably about 40-50 minutes maximum. Pre-contest I tend to train 5 days, 3 days on, 1 day off, then I’ll have 2 days on. I like to be in the gym more when I’m about to compete I get more of a buzz from it. How do you control your shape? AA: It’s not so much controlling it - it’s more about monitoring it for me. Bodybuilding is about symmetry, it’s not just about size. I find it hard to build my upper body compared to my legs. You need to make sure that you allow enough rest for those body parts that need to grow and really stimulate them when you train them. Constant monitoring using callipers, measuring tape and visually also is crucial. I also take photos weekly as competitions approach so I can monitor progress. You also need to have someone who will give you an honest opinion. JL: My arms have always been my muscle group that everyone associates me with. I’ve had to work on my chest. My legs and my calf muscles used to be a real weak point. So with these I upped by training to twice a week. Because calf’s are used everyday for walking for example, they’re used to body weight so what I did was hit them with completely the opposite, with low reps, and as heavy weights as possible, just to shock them. Within two years they grew 18 inches. I also think that restrictive split routines can work where you train your bad body parts. And nutrition is crucial, where (with the restrictive split
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FITBIZ
busine s mind your
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FITBIZ
DISCOVER 5 CLUES THAT REVEAL WHETHER YOUR CURRENT THINKING IS A BARRIER TO YOUR SUCCESS Have you ever followed a specific strategy or method in your PT (or other fitness) business and failed to get the results you were expecting? Perhaps you put an advert in the local paper and failed to get as many new clients as you had hoped for. Why is it that some PT’s appear to achieve success easily whilst others fail? Most frequently the answer lies in our mindset – in the way we think. Yvette Nevrkla provides food for thought on how we can ‘think’ differently for success. ’ve heard it said many times, ‘Success is 5% Strategy but 95% psychology.’ It’s your thinking that most profoundly affects your experience of life and your results. Yet something which is so influential is often ignored. Very few people ever invest any time in understanding their current mindset. In fact, many people are not fully aware of just how responsible their mindset is for their results let alone knowing how to work on it. If you’re a personal trainer/fitness professional then developing your awareness and understanding of the role that mindset plays in success is critical. It is critical not only for the success of your own business but for the success of your clients since mindset will determine their results just as it does yours. Understand this for yourself and you will develop some tools to help your clients achieve the results they want too.
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Here are 5 behaviours to look out for in yourself which indicate that you are not yet programmed for success. Procrastinating If you are putting things off over and over again, holding back from doing something in your business whether that’s an action, making a decision, this is a sure sign that your current thinking is getting in your way. Most often, procrastination comes
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from fear. Fear of failing, fear of rejection, fear of offending, fear of ridicule. There will be something that you are worried about; something you fear will happen as a result of you taking action and it can be enough to keep you procrastinating for a very long time. Blaming What are you blaming for your current situation or results? Whose fault is it? The economy? Your family? The personal training profession? Your Gym? Blaming is a key trait of someone who isn’t programmed for success. Blaming involves giving your power away to anything and anyone else so that you don’t have to take responsibility. Your success or failure isn’t in anyone else’s hands except yours. If things aren’t working then you need to look at what you’re doing or not doing and change it.
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Making Excuses Just like blaming, making excuses for your actions or inaction is just another way to avoid taking responsibility for your results. ‘I didn’t or couldn’t do it because….’, We’ve all done it but the important thing is to realise that you are doing it and to recognise that it is you who is holding yourself back. There is often a deeper reason holding you back and stopping you from doing the thing/things you need to do.
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