Benefits of Fitness Training

The benefits of fitness training are numerous and significant. Regular exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight, improve your mood, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Additionally, fitness training can help improve your cardiovascular health, bone density, and increase your energy levels. It can also improve your flexibility, balance, and coordination. Incorporating fitness training into your routine can significantly improve your quality of life.

Latest Training Techniques for Fitness

There are many training techniques for fitness that can help you achieve your fitness goals. 

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

This technique involves short bursts of high-intensity exercises followed by short rest periods. HIIT is an effective way to burn calories and improve cardiovascular health.

Functional fitness training

This is another technique that has become increasingly popular. This technique focuses on exercises that mimic everyday movements, such as squatting, lunging, and twisting. This technique can help improve your balance, coordination, and overall strength.

Group training classes

This is also a popular way to incorporate new training techniques into your fitness routine. These classes are led by certified instructors who will guide you through a variety of exercises. It’s a great way to stay motivated and connect with other like-minded individuals.

Bodyweight training

This one is another technique that requires little to no equipment. These exercises use your body weight as resistance to help improve your strength and flexibility.

Suspension training

This is another innovative technique that uses a system of ropes and straps to help improve strength, balance, and flexibility. This technique is ideal for those who want to challenge their body and add variety to their workouts.

Strength training with resistance bands

This is also a popular training technique that can help improve muscle strength and endurance. It’s a great way to add resistance to your workouts without the need for heavy weights.

Yoga and Pilates Fusion

This is a combination of traditional yoga and Pilates exercises. This technique is designed to improve strength, flexibility, and balance. It’s an excellent way to improve your mental and physical health.

CrossFit Training

This is a popular technique that involves high-intensity exercises that target the whole body. It’s a great way to improve cardiovascular health, endurance, and overall strength.

Boxing and Kickboxing Training

This is another popular training technique that can help improve your cardiovascular health and overall fitness. It’s an excellent way to release stress and improve your coordination.

Working with a Personal Trainer

Working with a personal trainer can help you achieve your fitness goals. A personal trainer can provide you with individualized attention and guidance to help you achieve your fitness goals. We can also help you develop a fitness plan that’s tailored to your individual needs and preferences.

Developing a Fitness Training Plan

Developing a fitness training plan is essential to help you achieve your fitness goals. It’s important to set specific, measurable, and achievable goals. A fitness plan should also include a variety of exercises and techniques to keep you engaged and motivated.

Achieve Your Ultimate Fitness Goals with Le Physique Personal Training

If you’re looking for the best fitness training experience in Vancouver, look no further than Le Physique Personal Training. Our team of certified personal trainers are experts in the latest training techniques and are dedicated to helping you achieve your fitness goals. With our personalized approach to fitness training, we’ll create a workout plan that’s tailored to your unique needs and abilities. Choose Le Physique Personal Training for the best fitness training experience in Vancouver.

The post Get Fit and Healthy with the Latest Training Techniques first appeared on Le Physique | Vancouver Personal Training.

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

What is high intensity interval training you ask? It is a cardiovascular training method designed to push the body to its limits while taking adequate rest sessions between sets. The short bursts of intense exercise allows the individual to maximize their work out period and increase gains. The working interval generally lasts for anywhere between 15 seconds to 3 minutes in length and vary depending on your personal fitness goals. The general trend is to gradually decrease intensity as the working sets get longer in duration, however, it is important to make sure the set is not too easy.

Make sure to push yourself an appropriate amount and not to the point where you induce feelings of nausea. The rest period is designed to help the body recover after an intense amount of exercise. A greater rest period should be used for novice gym users, to balance the intensity of the working interval. Advanced gym goers can decrease rest intervals to push themselves even more.

Rest periods are a good time to rehydrate the body, to keep your mind and body sharp. Without the right hydration, your performance declines. A good indicator is listening to how you feel, if you feel thirsty during a workout drink water! Water is 75% of all muscle tissue and 10% of fatty tissue and dehydration can have a huge impact on your athletic ability.

The work to rest ratio is the amount of rest an individual receives based on amount of work done. This is adjusted according to the goals of the participant and modified later in the program. Start with a work to rest ratio of 1:3 meaning for every 60 seconds of exercise, take 180 seconds to recover. As you become more comfortable with HIIT, you can change to a 1:1 ratio but eventually work towards a 2:1 ratio, where work time is greater than rest time.

What should you be doing during the rest periods?

Beginners may want to perform “passive rest” (complete rest) where you might take a seat, grab some water or catch your breath during the rest time. As you become more fit, swap passive rest for “active rest” where you’ll move during the break, but with low intensity to keep the heart rate at a moderate level.

If you have access to multiple pieces of equipment, don’t be afraid to combine different types of exercises within the same day. Everyone likes variety and for many, running for an hour straight can be boring. In a split exercise interval training program, you can swap between the two exercises performing alternating sets of each for your desired interval. An example would be 30 seconds sprint followed by 60 seconds rest and 30 seconds of skipping before resting 60 seconds again. Changing up the program  can keep exercise exciting and make you come back for more. If you are training for a marathon or a sport specific event, I would recommend you stick to a training in the same modality.

How often should I do HIIT workouts?

HIIT workouts should be performed 2-4 times per week in within 30-60 minute sessions. Two sessions a week will enable the user to maintain their current level of fitness while subsequent sessions will yield growth. Five or more HIIT sessions a week can lead to over training, burn out and possibly injuries.

3 Benefits of Interval Training

1. Burn more calories in a shorter amount of time
2. Increase speed and endurance
3. Provides variety and keeps cardio sessions exciting

With all these extra hours you saved, you now have more time to pursue your hobbies, get additional work done and spend time with loved ones. This is a perfect exercise to keep you fit while saving time during the busy holiday season!

Kevin Kwok – Studio Coordinator

Kevin enrolled in numerous sports program as a child, which exposed him to an active lifestyle early in life. He played ultimate frisbee competitively at the junior level while in high school. Kevin now focuses his training exclusively on dragon boating. He has been paddling for the past 4 years and hopes to make the Canadian National Team in 2021. He hopes he can motivate others to accomplish their short and long term fitness goals.

The post Save Time & Maximize Gains with Interval Training first appeared on Le Physique | Vancouver Personal Training.

Have you ever seen pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or Kamal Shah and wonder how their arms got so big? Do you want to fill up the sleeves of your T-shirt and have massive pipes hanging off of your torso? Everybody wants bigger arms, and if you follow my evidence based arm training program listed below, this dream will be a reality.

When training any part of your arms, it is important to remember a couple of things:

1) To get bigger arms or any muscle in general, you must train that body part 3 times a week for maximum growth.

2) Do the challenging lifts at the beginning of your workout. Do not do tricep extensions before you perform close grip bench press.

3) Try to complete all multi-joint exercises first because they target more muscles per repetition. The body puts in more work to perform these exercises when compared with single joint movements. 

4) If you want to maximize your time in the gym consider combining exercises together.

5) Once you have completed a set of biceps, perform a set of triceps immediately after. These are opposing muscles, so when the biceps are recovering we can hit triceps or vice versa.

6) The muscle is at rest when fully contracted at the top or bottom. Avoid locking out at the bottom or top of each exercise as they are the easiest portions of the exercise.

7) Try to find a lifting tempo, this can usually be determined by finding a lift, lowering and pause phase. A typical tempo used in the gym is 1/3/0 (lift/lowering/pause), we want to limit the amount of time spent in the pause phase

Biceps 

The word biceps translates to two heads, “bi” meaning two and “ceps” meaning heads. This can be further classified as the short head and long head whose origin and insertion I have listed below. The long head is located on lateral side of the humerus (outside edge) which puts the short head on the medial side (closer to the torso).

Keep in mind when using an ez bar or olympic bar while doing any of the lifts listed below, a wider grip will put more strain on the short head of the bicep. A narrow grip will target the outer head. The weight is on the elbow and no longer on the bicep when it is fully contracted at the top, so try to avoid locking out at the top.

To really develop bicep peak, remember to supinate the wrist ( have the palms facing upwards) at the top of each rep to target the long head of the bicep. Another way to target the long head is to place the elbows behind the body and perform an incline db curl, it allows the long head to maximally stretch.

Short Head Origin: coracoid process of scapula  Insertion: radial tuberosity

Long Head Origin: supraglenoid tubercle of scapula  Insertion: radial tuberosity

Function: flexion of the forearm at the elbow joint

• External rotation of the forearm (turning a key)
• Flexion at the shoulder joint (minorly)

Bicep Exercises

• Straight arm curl
• Dumbbell curl
• Incline dumbbell curl
• Ez bar curl
• Hammer curl
• Straight bar Cable curl
• Concentration curls
• Reverse curl
• Bicep curl with twist
• Cross body curl (pinwheel curl)
• Preacher curls
• Standing dumbbell curl
• Seated dumbbell curl

Brachialis 

The brachialis is located underneath the biceps. Most individuals forget about this muscle when they train their arms. This muscle is responsible for giving the bicep additional girth and has a large cross-sectional region, making it the largest flexor at the elbow. It is worked most when the hand is in a pronated (palms facing down) position or in a slightly supinated (i.e. palms facing each other) position. This puts the bicep brachii muscle at a mechanical disadvantage.

Origin: lower anterior portion of humerus Insertion: coronoid process and tuberosity of ulna

Function: flexion of the forearm at elbow

Brachialis Exercises

• Reverse dumbbell curl
• Reverse barbell curl

Tricep

Similar to the bicep muscle, the tricep can be translated to “three heads” The long head and lateral head of the tricep is responsible for giving the “horseshoe” shape on the posterior side of the arms. Most individuals consider the tricep a secondary muscle when building bigger arms. The tricep makes up a greater portion of the arm compared to the bicep muscles. The triceps main function is to extend the forearm at the elbow joint. The long head however, originates at the glenoid cavity of the scapula therefore it is responsible for adduction (bringing the arm from a T shape back to neutral) and extension (bringing the arms back from in front back to neutral) of the humerus.

Lateral Head Origin: outside posterior surface of humerus  Insertion: olecranon process

Long Head Origin: glenoid cavity of scapula  Insertion: olecranon process

Medial Head Origin: inside posterior surface of humerus Insertion: olecranon process

Function: Extension of forearm at the elbow joint

• Adduction of the arm (long head)
• Extension of the humerus at the shoulder joint (long head)

Tricep Exercises

• Tricep pressdown (rope or straight bar)
• Tricep dips
• Close grip bench press
• Skull crushers (db, ez bar, straight bar)
• Bench dip
• Close grip push up
• Overhead tricep press

Forearms – Brachioradialis

The brachioradialis is located on the forearm, and is the most prominent muscle in the lower arm. When you place your forearm on a desk with your palms facing down, the brachioradialis is the muscle running up and down the thumb side of the lower arm. It is the smallest of 3 main flexor muscles at the elbow joint, after the bicep brachii and brachialis muscle. The brachioradialis is responsible for flexion as well as supination and pronation of the forearm (enables you to rotate your palms up and down). Any exercise in a pronated (palms down) position or semi-supinated position (palms facing each other) will target this muscle.

Origin: lateral supercondylar ridge of the humerus Insertion: styloid process of radius

Function: flexion of the forearm at the elbow joint

• Pronation and supination

Brachioradialis Exercises

• Any pronated grip curl
• Bench wrist curls supinated and pronated
• Farmers walks
• Standing barbell behind back wrist curls

Training Methods

All of the exercises listed above can be performed using these training methods. In a subsequent blog, we will describe each training method in greater detail. Although there are many different ways of defining these training methods, I will list the most common version.

• Drop sets
  • Drop the weight by 15-25% each drop
    
• Eccentrics or negatives
  
  • Most people forget about the negative portion and think the concentric phase is where muscles are built.
    
  • The eccentric phase is stronger than the concentric phase therefore more muscle fibre tear occurs
  • 3-5 second rep count
    
• Pause reps
  
  • Pausing mid rep
• Cheat reps
  
  • Forced reps after initial set is complete
• Supersets
  • Combining two exercises back to back
• Shifting hand positions
  • On the dumbbell or barbell
  • Forces biceps to adapt and maintain dumbbell balance
• Concentration 
  • Single arm movements
• Time under tension (TuT)
  
  • Increases muscle fibre breakdown with increased TuT
    
  • Should typically last between 30-40 second per set

Nutrition 

You can perform all of these exercises but at the end of the day, nutrition is the determining factor for arm growth. In order to gain mass and get bigger arms you need to eat at a caloric surplus. Download a food tracking app on your phone such as myfitnesspal to ensure you are eating enough. Try to avoid foods high in trans/saturated fats and consume high protein meals 5-6 times throughout the day.

Kevin Kwok – Client Care Manager

Kevin enrolled in numerous sports program as a child, which exposed him to an active lifestyle early in life. He played ultimate frisbee competitively at the junior level while in high school. Kevin now focuses his training exclusively on dragon boating. He has been paddling for the past 2 years and hopes to make the Canadian National Team in 2019. He hopes he can motivate others to accomplish their short and long term fitness goals.

The post How to Get Massive Arms (AKA Pipes) first appeared on Le Physique | Vancouver Personal Training.