When Should You Do Cardio?
When Should You Do Cardio? Contrary to popular belief that you should perform cardio after a strength session, the current research offers mixed results. Dependant on your training goals, it may provide you with a different answers. Schumann et al. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20101919) Compared the effects of 3 different 8-wk training programs endurance training, strength training and…
Member Story: Simon – My 1st Powerlifting Competition
” This is a post Tom has asked me to write in relation to competing in my first powerlifting competitor yesterday at the BDFPA Welsh Qualifier in Cardiff. I’ve been weight training for around 25 years in numerous ways of training such as specific for throwing events in athletics, bodybuilding, strength training and callisthenics. But…
Belt or No Belt?
Should you wear a lifting belt? Roll back a few years and I would have answered that wearing a belt was cheating, along with wearing wrist wraps and any other ‘lifting aids’. Fast forward and my opinion is very different to this. So what is the reasoning behind wearing a belt? When I’m talking about…
Follow Your Own Path
Can you remember the first time you lifted weights? I can remember struggling to bench press 40kg, not knowing how to squat or deadlift. I would look at guys who could bench press the 30kg Dumbbells and think wow that’s impressive, I’d like to be able to do that. I had a good conversation with…
What Makes A Good Snack?
Firstly , any normal meal can be broken down as a snack,just eaten in a smaller portion but for the sake of this post, let’s go with what is defined by the dictionary: ” A small amount of food eaten between meals” As a template for a good snack, it should be based around a…
Cardio for Meatheads
Cardio for Meatheads There may come a point in the pursuit of looking strong, that you need to do some sort of cardio. Ask yourself, what type of cardio do i enjoy? If you are happy putting in the time just incline walking for a hour, great. If this isn’t for you, then you will…
Are these ‘health’ foods making you fat?
Are these ‘health’ foods making you fat? Avocado Dried fruit Nuts Extra Virgin Olive oil Dark chocolate Hummus Gluten free anything Salads covered in dressing Flapjacks Granola Some of these foods have many benefits to offer but they could also be the reason that you are not losing fat. You may have decided to make…
Patience & Progress
Don’t be in a rush to progress. Let’s look at progress in terms of building muscle and strength. Slow and steady wins the race with this one. During the beginner stage you will make your fastest progress, you will be able to increase your weights very often, the progressive overload principle works wonders here, keep…
Weight Training Advice: The Key Questions Answered
Here is an article Tom wrote for Coach Mag ‘Weight Training Advice: The Key Questions Answered’ http://www.coachmag.co.uk/fitness/5187/weight-training-advice-the-key-questions-answered
RPE – Simplified
Do you have any experience of using RPE (rate of perceived exertion) or Reps in reserve within your training ? Inspired by @miketuchscherer I learned about this method a few years back. It’s a useful way to auto-regulate your training. This system uses a scale that compares the rate of effort with the number of…
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