January 21, 2013 · 2:01 pm

Top ski tips for hitting the slopes

Top Tips for hitting the slopes and surviving them:

  • Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.  Don’t delay and start your training regime now. Most of all ski injuries occur due to lack of lower limb strength, endurance and flexibility. Every year I see accidents and injuries occur, which could have been avoided if the correct training protocols were put in place ahead of time. It takes time for the body to be conditioned and like anything else in life, leaving things to the last-minute leaves little room for error.
  • Strength train. This is probably the most important. Don’t waste your time on the treadmill, bike or cross trainer. There is no carry over functionality to the sport at hand. Rather spend your effort on a structural balance strength programme. A major factor in preventing all knee injuries whilst skiing is to strengthen the hamstrings. This is the muscle group that weakness the most as the quadriceps may do more than they should, yet it is the hamstrings that protect the knees.

ski-1

  • Remember to hydrate. Often forgotten and over looked but adequate hydration levels are essential for all performance. Just a 5 percent drop in water levels can equate to a 20 percent drop on performance. Correct fluid levels minimise the risk of cramping and strains. An electrolyte supplement is a good idea for those more advanced.
  • Train your stabilizers. The most common injuries are shoulder and knee areas. Some of these could be avoided by training the rotator cuff and shoulder girdle and the Vastus Medialis Oblique to stabilise the knee.  Whilst it is important to squat, lunge, and dead lift (all major muscle group exercises) if you neglect the small groups the chances of injury goes up 10 fold. The stronger the support system i.e. the stabilizers, the more the larger motor units can focus on doing their job, the less likelihood of an injury occurring.
  • Sleep. Adequate rest is important to allow the body to rest and recover. For most that embark on a ski trip, they go from a sedentary job sitting in front of a computer to 8 hours a day to bring out skiing 8 hours a day. The body simply doesn’t know what has hit it and goes into shock.  Muscle stiffness known as DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) occurs 24-48 hours after training. A decent night’s sleep allows growth hormone production which repairs damaged muscles, allowing you to train and ski harder. 

skiing-wallpaper_422_34595

Whilst it is no secret that the human body is an extremely complicated machine and we are all different these are some basic tips that should see you through the ski season hopefully injury free.

For a free consultation please email info@totalcityfitness.co.uk to find out more

Train hard, live well !

Grant

Total City Fitness

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October 16, 2012 · 2:10 pm

3 Simple ways to get fat- The mistakes that everyone makes and how to avoid them -Part 2

The ultimate Body Pump Squat


Since posting the first part of the series, simple mistakes to avoid getting fat, there has been an extremely mixed response. Some very positive feedback and some direct hostility from those die-hard spinners, on my seemingly personal attack on their beloved spin class and the wonders that it has done for them, or more appropriately lack thereof. It is for this very reason that I have decided to veer the point of discussion on to some more poignant time wasters in the gym that yes, will make you fat!

Before I discuss this next step I would like to point out something seemingly obvious, yet relevant to this discussion. Commercial gyms are there to make money. What I mean by this if there is something that seems to be popular, no matter if it is good, effective or possess any real health benefits; they will have no hesitation implementing it. Why else would these very same gyms have abductor and adductor machines, sell sugary drinks, low quality supplements and employ a sales force that looks like they work in a MacDonald’s rather than in a gym. The simple answer is to turn a profit and there are certain things a gym “needs to have” to sell memberships. Or so they would have you believe.

This brings me onto the point of Body Pump. In my personal opinion you would be better off not coming into the gym because this is a class that does more potential harm than good. There is a famous saying that goes any exercise is better than no exercise at all but this statement is false in its entirety. If you are not better off than before is there any point?

Body Pump was created in 1991 by Phillip Mills and takes places in over 70 countries. An average session lasts for 30 to 60 min (depending on where you go) and over 10000 gyms use it on a daily basis. All its routines are pre-choreographed and 8 specific muscle groups are trained. A great money spinner and membership lure for the unsuspecting person full of hope and vigour. So what exactly does Body Pump promise? This truly amazing class offers it all, but mainly focuses on weight loss, with the added benefit of “cardio strength” a new term that doesn’t exist, better posture (this is even worse than the claim of cardio strength) and aerobic fitness.

The problem with this class lies with its many false promises. No one exercise routine can deliver all. Getting stronger and fitter are unfortunately on the opposite ends of the training spectrum. For all training to be efficient and effective, giving long-term results it has to be periodised. The reps, sets, rest and general programme design all have to adapt as you the individual progress. Any set structured class cannot allow you do this. One of the major flaws with this class is incorrect load and improper form. I have yet to see a Body Pump teacher do a proper squat. That is ass to grass, hips below knees. Anything else is not a squat and will leave an imbalance between the VMO and Vastus Lateralis; the glutes will not activate and guess what, injuries happen! In a structured workout one should not incorporate bent over barbbell rows, deadlifts and squats in the same workout as it overloads the lumbar spine, but don’t worry the weights in Body Pump will probably be too light to make a difference anyway. How this class improves posture is astonishing as there are no postural exercises in place. These postural muscles need to be  trained in a different phasic movement and often require static holds for such change to take place.

Then there are the questions of load and rest. If the load is too light it has no effect, period. I can wave my arm up and down a 100 times, and yes it will burn, but that will be about it. No training effect will take place. If the muscular system is not placed under adequate stress with regards to load, no change will take place, no matter how much you sweat.  Sitting in the sauna doesn’t make you lose fat, just water, so why should this be any different.  This is before even analyzing how  a programme should be structured , large muscle groups before small, set allocation to large over small and rest time required.

In a nutshell there is no science to the training effect from a Body Pump class. Just because something is tough doesn’t mean it is optimal for your results. Almost every client I have seen that been a Body Pump regular has had to be re-trained in full form of movement. This is one thing that I have noted is that these short bouncy movements encourage by this class, leave the individual with tight muscles and a shortened range of motion and injuries. If you are serious about your results pay for a few personal training sessions to get a program and learn the ropes. It is amazing how many people will have no problems buying the latest training gear but won’t want to spend the money on someone with professional expertise. A personal trainer will only keep their clients’ if they can provide results, so if you have done the hard thing and got to the gym rather make it productive.

Train smart!

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October 8, 2012 · 12:51 pm

3 Simple ways to get fat- The mistakes that everyone makes and how to avoid them -Part 1

Since I began my journey into the fitness industry almost 17 years ago I have seen countless fads come and go, some good, some bad, some utterly bewildering. There will always be a never-ending pursuit for the average person wanting to be in shape, to look and feel good. This is all good and well but now with so much information available to us where do we turn and who do we trust.  Before I diverse too much, as this is a topic for another day, I would like to discuss the 3 simple mistakes I have seen over the years that are guaranteed to make you fat and what you can do instead.

Lean Arms and Legs Anyone ?

Try Spinning: This has to be one of the greatest sales tricks ever invented and gyms love this to sell memberships. Have you ever heard the line “Look at our great spinning studio, its amazing exercise and you are guaranteed to lose weight, especially in the legs and bum.”  What an absolute load of rubbish! The only people who benefit from spinning are those who sell the memberships. The main problem with spinning is exactly that, all you do is spin. There is a large amount of oxygen and energy required from spinning, but this is not necessarily a good thing. The body is truly an amazing thing and one of its great tricks is to adapt to the stress placed upon it and to make things easier for itself. So to do this the body decides (this is very clever by the way) to increase its intra muscular and sub cutaneous fat. That is the fat between the muscles and the fat between the skin and the muscle. This allows for a quick release of energy from the cells that use it most and what better way to do that than to increase its fat cells in the legs. Another great feature of exercise such as spinning is high cortisol production. So for all of those stressed out executives who have excess body fat and often poor testosterone production, guess what you are probably worse off for spinning. The increased cortisol production from long term cardiovascular work with not enough resistance is a quick and simple to increase abdominal fat and burn some precious muscle therefore lowering your metabolic rate.

Before those die hard spinners hunt me down and say how great spinning is, one must understand the reason for their exercise. One size does not fit all. You might see results in the short term but in the long term nothing will change for the better. If you are overweight in the legs, bum and abdominal area spinning is not for you. There are far more effective exercises out there. In fact have a look at your spinning instructor. I would say that for every 1 instructor that is in shape there will be 15 to 20 that are fat and overweight. Let’s not forget that these people often teach 3 classes a day so isn’t something wrong?

For those who enjoy the cardiovascular type of training, high intensity interval training (HIIT) is a far better way to, especially for fat loss. It takes half the time and produces real results. The main chemical responsible for fat loss is growth hormone. The precursor to this is high lactate (lactic acid.)  This infers that the more lactate you produce during training the higher the growth hormone response will be and the more body fat you will lose. The bonus with this type of training is because it is short and intense in nature, cortisol levels are not elevated to the extreme therefore it does not increase abdominal fat. It has nothing to do with how much you sweat (as spinning does this) but rather the chemical exchanges that take place to elicit fat loss.

The Right Stuff!

Beat Spinning-Try this sample program below for fast effective results:

Treadmill or rowing machine

Sprint for 30 sec as hard as you can (90% to 95% effort)

Rest for 30 sec

Repeat 20 times

A Simple program but if you do it correctly you should feel sick to the stomach afterwards.

Train smart!

Click link below to follow the blog and stay tuned for part two of: 3 Simple ways to get fat- The mistakes that everyone makes and how to avoid them

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October 1, 2012 · 11:51 am

Wheels maketh the man- Skinny guy leg program

One of the biggest mistakes that most guys do when they begin to start working out is that they neglect to train their legs. I have seen this countless times that some of the guys with the most impressive upper body’s look they are trying to do their best impression of a golf tea and will probably blow over if a string wind comes up. I often wonder why this is, that guys have an obsession with chest abs and biceps. When speaking to female colleagues and clients,  a man with good lean muscular legs definitely ranks up there. So why the neglect and lack of enthusiasm for leg training. One thing for sure is that leg training is tough, absolutely grueling in fact. If done properly this is not fun. It is far easier to sit on the bench press and back out reps, then sit under the squat bar. The ironic thing is that if someone is battling to put on size and lose fat on there upper body one of the best things that they can do it squat. the is a far greater hormone production (growth hormone and testosterone) from training legs as opposed to the upper body .

So without further delay here is a 3 day leg program to develop some serious size and shape:

Monday

Exercise                                                              Sets      Reps            Tempo          Rest

A1 Normal Stance Squats                             10         10               4010             60 sec

A2 Lying Hamstring Curl                              10         10               4110             60 sec

(toes straight)

B1 Barbell Split Squat                                      3          10 to 12     3020           60 sec

B2 Single Legged Hamstring Curl              3           8 to 10        3110           60 sec

(toes straight)

Wednesday

Legs

Exercise                                                                 Sets       Reps        Tempo           Rest

A1 Close Stance Squats Heel Raised        10           10              4010              60 sec

A2 Lying Hamstring Curl                              10           10              4110               60 sec

(toes in)

B1 High Steps                                                     3            10 to 12    3020             60 sec

B2 Single Legged Hamstring Curl              3             8 to 10     3110              60 sec

(toes in)

Fri

Legs

Exercise

Sets      Reps         Tempo          Rest

A. Squats , Normal Stance

1             15            40X0              75 sec

1              12           40X0              75 sec

1              10           40X0              75 sec

1              8              40X0             75 sec

1              8              40X0             75 sec

1             10            40X0              75 sec

1             12             40X0             75 sec

1             15             40X0             75 sec

1              25            20X0             75 sec

B . Incline Leg Press Toes out                    4          15 to 20    20 10             45 sec

Please note that this is an extremely taxing program and should not be used for more than 6 weeks.

Any questions please email:

info:totalcityfitness.co.uk

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September 17, 2012 · 11:23 am

The ideal eating day ?

One of the most common questions I get asked by my clients and athletes, that I train is what should an ideal dietary day look like. I must point out that this is not absolute day, merely an example and I would much rather educate on correct choices and why certain things at certain times are important, than simply listing what looks like a seemingly random food list.

Whilst it is true that at different times, along with different physique stages and goals, this may vary I will post what I believe to be an average healthy day of eating for an optimal functioning and looking physique.

 

 

 

Breakfast is the key here and the choice you make here often reflects what will happen later. Each meal or snack should be consumed every 2 to 3 hours thereafter

 

Breakfast: 0600-0700 (within half an hour of waking up)

Smoked Salmon Omelette, cup of berries, small handful of mixed nuts, greens drink, 1 tbs fish oil

  • 100g smoked salmon
  • 2- 4 whole eggs
  • Large portion of spinach

 

Snack:

  • 100g diced chicken or turkey breast
  • Watercress and broccoli drizzled in extra virgin olive oil
  • Handful cherry tomatoes

 

Lunch:

Large Chicken and Prawn Salad

  • 100-200g chicken
  • 1 cup prawns
  • 1 avocado
  • Large bag of mixed leaves
  • Lemon juice and olive oil
  • Red onion, peppers, broccoli
  • Tangerines or orange slices
  • Small handful mixed nuts

 

Pre Training

  • Handful BCAA, 1 apple, 1tbs almond nut butter

 

Post Training

  • BCAA, Whey Protein Shake

 

Dinner

  • 100g 300g lean cut sirloin steak
  • 50g to 100g baked  sweet potato
  • Watercress, spinach
  • Mixed seasonal veg, i.e. carrots peas, beans , mushrooms etc

 

Dessert * optional

  • Small portion of strawberries and clotted cream
  • 1 tbs fish oil
  • 5000 iu Vitamin D3

Liquids to be consumed throughout the day

  • As much water as possible
  • As much green tea as possible
  • Coffee in moderation

 

There are a few assumptions here:

 

No food allergies exist, all food is organic. Please note that there are a few supplements mentioned here. I firmly believe that these should not be considered as supplements but rather as part of a stable nutrient based diet that these days we cannot do without. For those of us living north of the equator D3 is a must for the poor sunlight we have. Fish oil contains an absolute essential fat that we cannot negate for both physique and cognitive capabilities. The greens are responsible for alkalising and it is nearly impossible to eat enough to balance our acidic diet.

 

Eat smart, live well!

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September 6, 2012 · 12:44 pm

5 Tips for Optimal Body Composition

It seems like it is that time of the year again when the gym fills up after the summer holidays with most people looking a little worse for wear. So what’s the best thing to try and shift those holiday pounds and fight off the winter blues?

 

Below are some top tops to fight the flab, shape up and feel great:

 

1.)Strength train with a high number of sets. One of the keys to a lean muscular physique is to produce a high amount of growth hormone when training. The higher amount of lactate produced during training the higher the growth hormone production. Aim for a minimum of 32sets, with short rest times (max 60 sec) for optimum growth hormone production, but keep the workout to an hour. No point in running the hard work by pushing those cortisol levels too high!

 

2.) Drop regular cardiovascular work and use interval or high intensity training (HIIT). A simple method is sprinting for 30 seconds, resting for 30 seconds, repeat 10 to 20 times. This is far more effective in burning abdominal and visceral fat then regular slow paced cardio which is good for two things, wasting your time and burning your hard earned muscle.

 

3.)Always eat breakfast. This is not negotiable for losing body fat. A breakfast that is high in protein and essential fatty acids will boost the metabolism, improve insulin sensitivity and reduce cortisol levels. For more information see the TCF meat and nut breakfast.

 

4.) Take a protein shake after your workout. After a hard training session cortisol levels should be sky high. A well timed whey protein shake does two things here. Firstly since there is no blood in the stomach to digest food they body absorbs a liquid meal best after training. A whey protein shake is quickly absorbed by the body, allowing the muscles to recover quicker than if this were negated. More lean tissue equal less body fat. Secondly by spiking the insulin levels with a fast acting shake, the body lowers its cotisol levels. Lower cortisol levels lead to less abdominal fat.

 

5.) Lastly sleep. Although this seems simple enough, I cannot over estimate the importance of a good night sleep. If you are not sleeping enough (with both quality and quantity) it will be almost impossible to lose belly fat. Sleep allows for the body to repair and reset its hormonal patterns. It is then that we produce a large amount of growth hormone and lower cortisol levels.

 

Above are just some of the key points that will help achieve that optimal lean physique. Train smart!

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August 21, 2012 · 10:23 am

Breakfast- The Secret of Champions ?

The old adage of breakfast is the most important meal of the day has been a hot topic of debate for many years but is there any truth to that? And if so what are the best choices, fruits; cereals, bread?

A typical breakfast ? A sure way to get fat!

The Total City Fitness Breakfast Special:

To answer the first question yes is breakfast is essential and timing is paramount for optimum benefit. I would like to make one point here that eating at work, 3 hours or so after waking up is not breakfast but a late morning snack. Breakfast should ideally be consumed within the first hour of waking. The reason for this is twofold.  Firstly cortisol levels will continue to elevate and if left unchecked for too long will lead to unwanted fat gain especially in the abdominal area. The second reason is that the longer you go for without eating the more likely you are to choose something you shouldn’t. There is strong evidence that shows those who miss breakfast will stand a greater chance of being overweight. In fact I would go as far to say that missing breakfast makes you fat.

Let us not forget that it can be a 10 to 12 hour window from the time you have your last meal at night till the first meal in the morning. Leave this too long and you could be hampering your chances of obtaining that optimal level of low body fat and sacrificing hard earned muscle. Often when a gap is too large between meals, sugar levels will drop in the blood and the body will demand a quick fix. This is not your fault the body simply knows what will bring it back up the quickest and often craves for foods either high in sugar or fat.

There is the other side of the coin of what to eat for breakfast. If losing body fat, high energy, reduced inflammation and mental alertness are important to you then avoid cereals like the plague. There is no healthy cereal on the market and this has been a marketing campaign to fool the public. Cereals at the base consist mainly of sugar or wheat. One plays havoc with insulin the other food allergies and both have a direct effect on inflammation and body fat.

So what to eat then? Total City Fitness recommends a meat and nut breakfast. Although this may be a bit for people to get their head around this is one of the healthiest breakfasts around, in fact it is what we are designed to eat.

For more information on the Total City Fitness meat and nut breakfast click here!

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· 10:21 am

Total City Fitness Meat and Nut Breakfast

Benefits of the TCF Meat and Nuts Breakfast:

Breakfast of Champions!

 

This is one of the biggest secrets to obtaining a lean and optimal physique, whether male or female, young or old everyone will benefit from this.

 

We are designed to eat like this. Before the likes of cereals and the other rubbish was available this is what our ancestors ate. As hunter gatherers we would hunt and forage and this is what would be available and I sincerely doubt there were too many fat caveman running around.

 

So what is exactly in the TCF meat and nut breakfast? In a nutshell (excuse the pun) a portion of natural animal protein source, i.e. chicken, fish, eggs, meat etc accompanied with a small portion of a variety of nuts. For simplicity sake peanuts are not included as they are not a nut but a legume and have adverse effects on the body. One of the biggest challenges I find with people changing their breakfast is the mental aspect of moving away from cereal to an animal source and think this can’t be breakfast. Ironically there is no problem having sausage and bacon for breakfast but for some reason chicken seems unheard of.

The benefits of this breakfast include:

  • High mental alertness
  • Better decision making throughout the day related to food choices
  • Increased protein synthesis
  • Decrease food allergies
  • Higher energy
  • Decreased insulin sensitivity
  • Feeling full for longer therefore less cravings
  • Reduced body fat levels
  • Increased muscle tone

 

These are just some of the benefits of a meat and nut breakfast. It is however important to note that you should rotate your foods, both meat and nuts as often as possible. Eat within the first hour of waking up and buy organic whenever possible.

 

Put down the cereal and try the TCF meat and nut breakfast. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!

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August 15, 2012 · 3:02 pm

Hypertrophy for the masses Part 3- Variety, Damage and Tempo

Hypertrophy for the masses Part 3- Variety, Damage and Tempo

 

Hypertrophy for the masses- Beginner Series

The last component of the hypertrophy series focuses on three topics. Variety of exercise and the differentiation within each particular exercise to target muscle growth by means of an alternative angle, grip or stance .Sufficient damage to the muscle itself along with the muscular system, with regards to the load stimulus,  too little or too much intensity (the load) can alter the training effect. The forgotten art of tempo training i.e. how long the duration of the set itself should take to have the desired hypertrophy effect.

A key aspect in any hypertrophy programme is to ensure that the muscle is hit from a variety of angles, utilises different grips and stances. The body is an extremely complex organism and adapts very quickly. Take the bench press for example, too much flat bench press will limit the growth of the upper chest, if an incline is selected what is the best angle, 30 degrees, 45 degrees ?  The answer is none are right or wrong; all need to be factored in. Once the body has been exposed to a particular movement or exercises and it adapts and needs to be forced to change. The same can be said with the order of exercises selected. For other reasons it is wise to pick the most neurologically demanding first but this should not always be the case. The same goes with grips. A close grip pronated pull up acts differently to a medium grip supinated pull up as with wide stance deep squats to close stance heel raised squats. As mentioned in the previous articles exercise selection is first important and the most essential and once this is decided the fine tuning can begin. As with most things variety is the spice of life and this applies directly to training. It just needs to be thought out and planned.

Next is the damage to the muscle needs to be sufficient. We have discussed damage through rest in the previous article but this damage applies directly to load (the intensity in relation to the 1 rep max). If the load is too heavy and the desired reps will not be reached and hypertrophy gains not maximised. The same goes if the intensity is too light there will not be enough stimuli to promote muscle gain. The individual should be able to complete the required sets in the allocated rep range. By the end of the last set this should be close to failure but it is better to keep a constant load rather than pyramid up as the total load i.e. reps X sets X load will be more. If as a beginner the reps start to drop either the load was probably too much and should lower the weight, as this will induce more a neurological strength training effect with the incorrect rest times that the body is not prepared for. If they complete the sets with ease a strength endurance adaption comes into play with not enough reps being performed to maximise to maximise endurance. For those at a higher training level if the weight drops more than a 5 percent variance it would be more beneficial to change exercise rather than compromise detraining strength gains.

Tempo is one of the forgotten arts of training. Very few magazines, books or so called experts even mentioned but it is key to mastering hypertrophy gains. This has been made popular of late by training guru Charles Poliquin.  For example a set done at high speeds (both lifting and lowering the weight) compared to one done at slow speeds (lifting quickly and lowering slowly) will have completely different effects even if the weights and rest are the same. You cannot equate a set that takes 20 sec to complete to one that takes 50 sec to complete. This is also known as time under tension (TUT). The muscle needs adequate time TUT to provide enough stimuli to induce growth. The range is roughly from 45 sec to 75 sec TUT to damage the muscle sufficiently. This is the time to put egos away as the weights will be significantly lower to start, but the results will speak for themselves. This type of training is extremely demanding on the body. The reason for this is the body is stronger in the eccentric phase (lowering the weight) than the concentric Phase (lifting the weight) so the balance of time needs to be managed.

Mastering these techniques are some of the keys to packing on the muscle, and what best time to start training properly than at the beginning.

Train smart then hard!

Grant Koch

Personal Trainer & Strength Coach

www.totalcityfitness.co.uk

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July 23, 2012 · 2:18 pm

Hypertrophy for the masses Part 2- Rest, Reps and Sets

Image

Hypertrophy for the masses beginner series

These are three essential components for those striving to pack on those pounds. Mastering and understanding these elements are all part solving the puzzle, each critical, none more important than the other.

More often than not most of the clients I see do not have any idea of how long to rest for the desired training effect.  Selecting the wrong rest time can have a completely different training outcome i.e. resting for 3 to 5 minutes between sets is perfectly fine for strength training, as the nervous system needs time to recover , but is way too long when training the muscular system. A key ingredient for hypertrophy is causing enough damage to the muscles and minimising rest time is one way to do this. The ideal time for hypertrophy is anything from 60 sec to 120 sec, depending other factors like supersets, exercise order and exercise selection. Resting too long allows too much recovery time and the net result is there will either not be enough damage caused or it will shorten the allocated time for the rest of the workout and compromise the completion of the sets. On the other hand resting to short will not allow enough weight to be used, i.e. the intensity will be too low, resulting on a different training effect, more likely to be strength endurance and not the desired hypertrophy effect.

When looking at a training effect this will often be dictated by how many reps per sets have been performed. There is an argument that some people will get better results from either lower or higher reps this is often dictated by fibre make up. Those who are more predominantly fast twitch based tend to do better with lower reps and vice versa. There is however an optimal range that induces the hypertrophy effect in most individuals, this being the 8 to 12 rep ranges. If the reps are lower than this the individual will be training for a different effect i.e., functional hypertrophy, relative or maximal strength. This doesn’t mean that there will be no muscle growth but would more than likely be considerably lower with different rest periods and sets needed. If the reps are higher the slow twitch fibres are more likely to be called upon and a strength endurance effect will be more likely the outcome.

When designing a programme, once the exercises are selected the most important thing will then be sets. This determines everything from there and dictates the training effect. The greater the number of total sets the greater the hormonal response, i.e. growth hormone and testosterone. (It must be noted that the greater the number of reps per exercise the fewer the sets should be) Although this may sound complicated and almost like a paradox, one must remember another component of hypertrophy training is variety of exercises. There should be a medium to high number of sets with hypertrophy training but incorporating a number of different exercises. There should be no fewer than 12 total sets but if super setting or using giant sets anything up to 26 sets would be acceptable.

When starting out if you can master these three facets of the iron game you well be will on your way to packing on those pounds of muscle. Remember when designing your programme once your exercises are selected to choose your sets. Based on this both reps and rest times should fit into this fairly easily.

Train smart then hard!

Grant Koch

Personal Trainer & Strength Coach

http://www.totalcityfitness.co.uk

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