Results Conditioning » strength

Exercise clinic #4: 1 arm dumbbell snatch

richb — Tue, 25 May 2010 11:15:23 +0000

The dumbbell snatch is a version of the Olympic lift, the snatch, performed with a dumbbell in one hand. You move the dumbbell from the floor to above your head in one explosive movement.

The dumbbell snatch is a full body movement and most of the major muscle groups come into play, particularly legs, shoulders and core. It requires a mixture of strength, agility, power, speed, balance and co-ordination to perform which is what makes it such an effective exercise.

As well as being a great exercise to improve power I also use it with clients who want to improve their muscular tone using lighter weights and higher reps.

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Exercise clinic #2: Deadlift

richb — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 12:46:00 +0000

This time we look at another compound barbell exercise, the deadlift. The deadlift targets the muscles of the posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, lower back) and like the squat is another must do exercise to include within your training if your goals are increased muscle size or strength gains.

Many people avoid the deadlift due to a number of reasons and some of these I have listed below.

Exercise clinic #1: Barbell squat

richb — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:10:35 +0000

This series of posts looks at some of my favourite and most effective exercises that I use on a regular basis within my personal training sessions. For each of the exercises I will look at correct technique and teaching points, other variations of the exercise and then list some sample workouts. For this first post I will be looking at the barbell squat.

BARBELL SQUAT:

The squat is a compound movement that works primarily the quadriceps but also involves the hamstrings, glutes, calves and lower back. It also requires a strong core to help to maintain good posture and stabilise the body. The squat is an exercise I would recommend anyone to include in his or her workout programme especially if the aim is to increase strength or muscle size.

Training for cage fight part 3: “Video”

richb — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 19:39:00 +0000

For today’s training session we were still focusing on strength work basing the workout around compound exercises such as deadlifts and squats as well as introducing some more sport specific moves such as the press-up with knee strikes.

We warmed up using a mixture of medicine ball exercises such as swings, rotations and lunges with rotations alongside bodyweight movements such as press-up with rotation. The main workout consisted of the following exercises.

Deadlift

Powerbag squat

Barbell push press

Superset: Alternating arm kettlebell floor press with Press-up to knee strikes on floor bag.

Underhand grip recline rows

Core superset:

For today’s session we focused on 2 rotational movements that would not only work the core but also help to improve punching power.

Standing weight plate rotations

Medicine ball Russian twists with chest pass (For this exercise Marlon got into a position to do a Russian twist and I stood in front of him. I threw the ball to Marlon, alternating the height and direction each time. Each time Marlon would catch it and then perform a twist on each side before throwing the ball back to me. The aim was for Marlon to keep his lower body as still as possible, maintain a straight back and not lose his balance.)

For our next session we will start to bring in more power-based exercises such as jump squats, plyometric press-ups, sledgehammer strikes etc.

Training for up-coming cage fight part 1.

richb — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:52:11 +0000

This series of posts will follow the progress of Marlon as he trains for an upcoming Semi-pro cage fight at the beginning of May. Marlon will be training with me twice per week alongside his current MMA sessions. The first few weeks we will be focusing on basic strength work using large compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, clean and presses etc. After this we will move into a power phase where we will add more explosive type movements and plyometric exercises such as jump squats, plyometric press-ups, medicine ball slams, box jumps etc. Over the last few weeks we will focus our sessions more on increasing power endurance and anaerobic fitness. This will be done by using more fight specific exercises such as sprawling, ground and pound, pad drills etc and working in 5-6 minute rounds to help simulate MMA rounds.

Our first session is outlined below.

Warm up:

We started off by warming up with a mixture of dynamic movements, functional flexibility and sport specific movements such as medicine ball swings and rotations, lunges, active hip flexor and hamstring stretches and hip escapes.

Main workout:

For the first session we focused mainly on exercise technique rather on how much weight we could lift, working around 10 reps. We started with a lightweight to help warm up the targeted muscle groups and then increased the weight slightly each set completing 3-4 sets per exercise.

Deadlift

Clean and press

Squat

2-handed kettlebell swings

Recline row and walk over press-up on a low step (These 2 exercises were completed in a superset with no rest between the 2).

Core superset:

After the main resistance workout we finished with a superset of 2 exercises that targeted the core. Each exercise was done for 30 seconds.

Medicine ball Russian twists

Press-ups with handclaps (Marlon got into a press-up position and I knelt in front of him. He performed one press-up and then lifted his right hand of the floor and clapped my right hand aiming to keep his body still by engaging his core muscles. He then repeated with another press-up followed by left hand clap).

At the end of the workout we cooled down and stretched focusing on lower back, hamstrings and hip flexors.

I will be posting more of the workouts over the next few weeks complete with video clips showing a sample of some of our sessions.

Compound lifts “Members”

richb — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:29:15 +0000

Many people head to the gym with the sole aim of increasing their muscle size and strength but fail to reach their goals. This could be down to a number of reasons such as poor nutrition and ineffective training for example. Many people spend hours in the free weights area following programmes that are not suited for their aims and goals. This post looks at three compound lifts that should be included in any mass building programme. Compound lifts are often referred to the “Big lifts” work multiple muscle groups and target large muscles such as the chest, back and legs. They can help to increase muscle size since performing them will help to generate a bigger hormone response compared to exercises that target small muscle groups. Out of the 3 lifts covered here only one of them tends to get used and especially young males often over use this exercise. The bench press is king of the exercises when it comes to young men trying to build muscle mass; it is also the exercise that more often or not is performed with bad technique. The other 2 big lifts, which are the squat and deadlift, tend to get overlooked. Many males will tend to focus far to heavily on their “show muscles” of the chest and arms. If you want to increase overall muscle size then make sure you follow a balanced programme, which means do not neglect the lower body!

: Pull ups

Strength and power workout “Members”

richb — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:57:21 +0000

This whole body workout combines large compound resistance exercises combined with plyometric based exercises to help you improve your strength, power, anaerobic fitness and burn plenty of calories. This workout superset’s (performing 2 exercises back to back with no rest) strength exercise with an explosive cardio based movement.

Personalised training plans “Members”

richb — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:57:55 +0000

As a member you can now receive detailed training plans that you can follow either at home or your local gym. These plans will be designed with your goals in mind and include exercise descriptions, photos and video clips showing exercise techniques and progressions so you can keep your workout fresh and keep achieving results. Once you are a member all you need to do is e mail over your information such as aims and goals, equipment available, length of session and exercise history and we can start putting together your personalised plans. As well as your plan you will also receive nutritional advice and ongoing support to make sure you get the most from your training. After 4-6 weeks or whenever you feel like you’re hitting a plateau or becoming bored of the routine then we will help you to update it and progress it.

Become a member today and start achieving the results you have always wanted.

Fitness Packages

richb — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:23:38 +0000

At the Results fitness studio not only do we offer personal training in single sessions and block bookings but also fitness packages. These 6 week packages are designed to help you achieve specific goals by following structured programmes and personalised eating plans.

Results Burn it: If your goals are to lose weight, drop body fat and tone up by increasing lean muscle then this is the package for you. Combining a sensible eating plan with circuit style resistance training and high intensity interval workouts this will help you get the desired results.
Package includes: Food diary, diet advice, measurement sheet to track your inch loss and a weekly weigh in.
Results Mass Builder: This package is designed to help those that want to increase muscle size, strength and power. Using a mass building programme based around large compound exercises that will increase overall strength, explosive movements to help produce more power and a individual eating plan this 6 week course will really help you to pack on quality muscle size.
Package includes: 6 week mass building programme, detailed training programme and training log to record progression, eating plan and supplement advice.

Contact Results Conditioning for more information.

New Workout- Muscle size and strength programme Members

richb — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:18:58 +0000

If your goal is to increase muscle size and strength then this programme could be what you need. The programme is a 3 day split which means training your whole body over 3 days, so for example Monday you would train your chest and biceps, Wednesday back and shoulders and finally Friday legs and triceps. By doing this you get to work each area of the body with more intensity and volume compared to training the whole body every session. Each muscle group also gets a full week of rest before it is trained again giving them time to fully recovery and grow. If you are new to weight training then I would suggest you spend a good few months performing whole body workouts 3x per week to help build up a solid foundation. Also use this time to learn the correct techniques of the main compound (exercises that work multiple muscle groups) free weight lifts such as squats, deadlifts, bench press, bent over rows, military presses etc.

Follow the plan below to create a workout programme that will work for you and help you create the muscular physique you desire.