Powerlifting Classes Starting at Bridge Road Barbell

BRIDGE ROAD BARBELL POWERLIFTING CLASSES

1st course start date - 8th April

2nd course start date - 13th May

BRB are starting a beginner's powerlifting class. Suitable for complete beginners and more experienced lifters looking to refine technique.  This will work as a 5 week course. Over the 5 weeks we will look at technique for the squat, bench and deadlift and appropriate training methods. 

The beginner's class will last 1 hour. It is advisable to arrive 15 mins earlier to warm up.

Once you have completed the 5 week course you will receive a certificate from Bridge Road Barbell to say you have completed the beginner's course and providing you feel confident to, you are free to join the Novice class which begins straight after the beginners class, also on a friday evening.  

SIGN UP ASAP. THE COURSE STARTS ON THE 8TH APRIL!

The Novice course will be a step up, revisiting technique, but also looking at training methods and learning to build the lifts with additional movements. Both the beginners and the novice classes can be signed up for in 5 week blocks. 

The cost for a 5 week block £25. We have limited the number of the people per course to 10, so if you miss the start date on the 8th April, you will be able to start the Beginners course on the 13th May. 

To sign up you should message the BRB facebook page with your name, age and a little information about any training you may have done before. Payment can be made in advance via bank transfer or paypal (preferred). You will be sent payment details in response to contacting the gym via Facebook or texting 07788 268672 or Emailing info@bridgeroadbarbell.co.uk

Press Up Challenge

Here is a challenge for you to try this month.  I am doing this routine this month in addition to my other training. To add in some extra chest and tricep volume work into your routine, try this press up routine.

-  Test how many push ups you can do in a row.
-  Divide that number by two and on day 1, perform 5 sets of that number of press ups across the day.    You can do the sets split up across the day, or all together as a workout.  The next day you will do 5    sets again but add one rep to each set. The following day add another rep to each set and so on.    -- - You do this until you have doubled the number of press ups you originally started on.
- Take a rest day every 7 days.

For example

If you can do 40 press ups in a row, then....
Day 1 you would do 5 sets of 20 reps.
Day 2 - 5 x 21 reps
Day 3 - 5 x 22 reps
Day 4 - 5 x 23 reps
Day 5 - 5 x 24 reps
Day 6 - 5 x 25 reps
Day 7 - 5 x 26 reps
Day 8 - Rest day
Day 9- 5 x 27 reps
Day 10 - 5 x 28 reps
Day 11 - 5 x 29 reps
Day 12 - 5 x 30 reps
Day 14 - 5 x 31 reps
Day 15 - 5 x 32 reps
Day 16 - Rest day
Day 17 - 5 x 33 reps
Day 18 - 5 x 34 reps
Day 19 - 5 x 35 reps
Day 20 - 5 x 36 reps
Day 21 - 5 x 37 reps
Day 22 - 5 x 38 reps
Day 23  - Rest Day
Day 24 - 5 x 39 reps
Day 25 - 5 x 40 reps
Day 26 - Rest Day
Day 27 - Rest Day
Day 28 - Re-Test max press ups in one go.

Try it and let me know your results.

Phil

Why you shouldn't make New Years Resolutions this year...

"Some people want it to happen, Some wish it would happen,

Others Make it Happen." Michael Jordan

It's a time of year when most people will have long since forgotten what their New Years resolutions were last year, and may already have a few they intend to set for this year. Likelihood is that many of you set a few New Years resolutions last year and stuck with them for a few weeks or sometimes only just a few days before giving up. My suggestion would be this. 

Do not set New Years Resolutions. 

This attitude only encourages people to delay working towards something. It's the 'I'll start next Monday" or "next week" or "next month" or next year" or once I've got everything else in my life sorted out attitude which stops people from getting anywhere. 

Face facts, the stars are not going to align and everything will never be perfectly suited to you getting going with whatever it is you are setting out to achieve. Successful people are the ones who do not need everything to be perfect to get started. They just get going.

Successful people do not need a tradition like setting New Years resolutions to enable them to move forward. They start right away. 

If your goal is important to you, GENUINELY important to you then why waste time? Your time on this planet is very short and time only seems to go more and more quickly the older you get. If for example you want to be fitter, healthier, in better shape, and it makes you in some way unhappy that you are not then think carefully about what is actually stopping you. It is never ever too late to get what you want, and there are some fantastic inspirational people out there who have gone after what they want very late in life and never given up. 

 Chances are the only thing between you and achieving what you want to is you and your attitude towards life. When you strip back all the excuses, and make yourself fully accountable for what you achieve then you will get somewhere. 

One of the most frustrating habits these days is people 'searching for motivation'. For some reason everyone has to find motivation before they do anything. People use the excuse of 'not being motivated'. That's just a kinder way of saying "I'm currently too lazy to start work on this”. 

Motivation is not a problem. Motivation takes two seconds, if you are overweight or unfit the benefits from not being in that physical state are obvious and are clear motivation. The problem is not motivation, the problem is your attitude and the inability to follow through with your initial goal. 

I advise you to go on YouTube and listen to Mark Bell's speech entitled 'who are you?', and really think about it. Do you want to be someone that if someone else was to describe your character they would say you are lazy and struggle with 'motivation' or would you rather be someone that inspires others because of your strong will and determination? Everyone is capable of inspiring others and many will without knowing it. 

So when it comes to New Years Resolutions, maybe try to recognise that just because it's going to be 1st of January, nothing has changed. You are still the same you and the world is still the same place is was before. Don’t be part of the same inevitable cycle of making and breaking resolutions. Change your thoughts and good intentions into action this time, and why not start today? 

Rant of the Day - Gimmicks Vs Coaching Tools

I regularly am pissed off by things I see in the fitness industry (I use that as a global term to cover all things gym related) so this is as much for my benefit as it is yours.

Here is my thought for today....

I have seen a lot of trainers recently who, the second they come back off a course, (teaching them how to use items like TRX suspension straps or the Power Plate for example) they forget all other training they used to do with clients and solely focus on their newly found 'passion' for one specific type of training.  It is my personal belief that you should not trust a trainer who marries him or herself to a specific training system and tells people that their (very blinkered and equipment specific) training system is all you could possibly need. 

For example, Kettlebells and suspension training systems like TRX, are just examples of tools you can use  with your clients as part of a well rounded approach. Do not trust someone who tries to offer sessions almost exclusively on one piece of equipment. There is nothing wrong with being versatile and using equipment for multiple purposes but you need perspective and to understand that no one thing is the answer. Too many trainers fall in love with one style of training and subsequently push their clients to do this exclusively. 

A good coach should just view these things as tools, not the be all and end all. Gimmicks are ok but 9 times out of 10 they are just reinventing the wheel and are often poor substitutes for barbell compound movements and bodyweight exercises. They can have their place but do not be fooled by someone who attempts to convince you that you can dismiss all your other training and just train with their system and you'll cover all your bases.  

Largely trainers like this are trying to simply maximise their earning potential having paid out for the cost of the course. I cannot blame them for this, but I believe that any new information, coaching skills, or equipment usage should be introduced and used when appropriate and not simply dominate that trainers repertoire suddenly.  It shows a fickle nature to the trainers approach, and I believe that whilst developing new skills and acquiring new knowledge a coach should have some consistency and rather than jumping from one fad to the next, they should build some knowledge and ability to coach what should be the fundamentals.

In my opinion these fundamentals include (but are not limited to) the following...

Squats, Deadlifts, Bench, Overhead Press, Vertical Row, Horizontal Row and Power Cleans (for more advanced individuals). 

Yes there are thousands of variations of these movements and as a coach you should be able to pick the appropriate variation for your client to match whatever stage they are at with their training.  With this in mind I will reiterate that doing a course on using TRX straps and then subsequently all your training sessions, with all clients, becoming largely focussed around TRX shows that you are trying to apply the same training style and method to everyone and not treating each clients individual needs. 

Bottom line, to the coaches and trainers, try to recognise the things which are simply gimmicks, or rather realise that whilst some of these things can be implemented in small doses as part of a full training programme, they are not the be all and end all.  A coach needs multiple tools in his arsenal but should have a good understanding of basic movements which all weight training programmes should be based upon.

To the individuals considering using coaches or trainers to assist them, beware of coaches who sell one specific gimmicky training method to you.  A coaches job is to filter and apply a multitude of information and use it appropriately.   Don't believe everything one coach says automatically either.  There are too many 'gurus' in this business and people with aggressive social media tactics who try to make themselves infallible with the backing of their almost fundamentalist true believer fans who will shoot anyone down who challenges their guru's 'wisdom'.  

Thats all for now. 

Phil

Alternative ways of progressing other than increasing weight and reps

There are more ways of progressing than simply increasing the weight or the number of reps...

Try an appropriate selection of these methods to see better progress...

1. Rest less between sets
2. Use greater range of motion
3. Introduce short pauses at or near sticking points
4. Use better technique (knee tracking, neutral spine, increase depth on exercise like squat)
5. Use less ‘psyche up’ on heavy lifts
6. Use less supportive gear (belts, wraps, suits etc)
7. Train alone or with no music
8. Use fewer warm up sets than normal (take bigger weight jumps)
9. Perform more reps during warm up sets. Pre-exhaustion.
10. Perform the exercise further down the workout order.

Phil