Calling All 50+ Year Olds – Why Fitness Matters Even More As You Age

Fitness is undoubtedly aimed at the young. Social media is awash with images of abs and ripped bodies. Now while this can inspire many, it can turn just as many off who feel they will never achieve that look. And while there’s nothing wrong per se with those things, they aren’t what fitness is really …

Don’t be one of those guys that just trains arms

Over the years, I've lost count of the number of times I've seen guys whose almost entire gym routine consists of endless sets of biceps and triceps exercises. If you really want to build some muscle, then you need to train more than just your arms, which after all are quite small muscle groups. Training …

Why Weight Training Will Improve Your Health

As each exercise fad comes and goes, there is one method of training that never goes out of fashion and that is weight training. When thinking of weight training many people visualise huge bodybuilders. This can induce a feeling of intimidation in many and is one of the main reasons people are discouraged from going …

Learn to Brace

Nearly every coach or personal trainer worth their salt agrees that when lifting weights, it is important to learn good technique. However, while it’s important to learn the correct set-up and movement pattern for each exercise, an often overlooked and vital part of the process is learning to brace your core. Bracing your core is …

Supplements and Celebrities

I am increasingly drawn to the conclusion that the main purpose of celebrity these days is to sell or promote consumer goods to us. Not a day goes by without some new advertising campaign kicking off, and some bright and bushy tailed celebrity trying to convince us that our lives will not be fulfilled unless …

I Am Not A Guru

In this blog I want to touch on a phenomenon in the health and fitness industry that has been vexing me for some time. This is the rise of health gurus and life coaches (especially the type of coaches who promote get-rich quick schemes). Religious gurus litter history, but the rise of the health guru/life …

Untangling Science

I  don’t know how many times I have read a headline in the media based on a scientific study that suddenly declares it’s findings as absolute statements of truth. Science like nearly every facet of life is not straightforward, nor is it infallible. I am not writing this as a critic of science as a …

Training on Unstable Surfaces – The Whys and Wherefores

Unstable surface training became popular in the 1990’s with the widespread use of exercise and BOSU balls, wobble boards and small inflated discs, among therapists and trainers. It is rare to find a gym these days that doesn’t have these items as standard equipment. However, they are widely misused by both those in the industry …

Why You Should Make Sure You Train Legs

 I have had the experience of observing many people training in gyms over the years. A common trend I see in many gym goers is doing minimal leg work or even worse none at all. The most ridiculous manifestation of this phenomenon is the guys who look like this. There are many reasons that men …

Final Factors for Success in the Gym

Just to tidy up this series of blogs, there are a couple of other factors that can and will affect your success in the gym. While in my opinion these aren’t quite as important as the six I have already discussed, they are still important enough to merit discussion. Genetics will obviously have an important …