Powerlift pyramid

Warm up thoroughly before performing this or any workout!

The powerlifts (those used in competition) are the squat, bench press and dead lift. Powerlifters compete to see who can lift the most weight in these exercises. The totals are then added up and the winner is the one who has lifted the greatest combined load. For our workout today we aren’t going to attempt any one rep max effors as there is a lot of risk associated with 1RM performance but at the end you could plug your results into the calculator provided to estimate your 1RM and then your powerlifting total…

 
1) Squats
Perform a 10 minute pyramid of barbell squats, increasing the weight and reducing the reps set by set until you run out of time. Make sure you use a spotter or a squat rack to minimise the risk of injury.

2) Bench press
Perform a 10 minute pyramid of barbell bench presses, increasing the weight and reducing the reps set by set until you run out of time. Make sure you use a spotter or a power rack to minimise the risk of injury.

3) Dead lifts
Perform a 10 minute pyramid of barbell bent legged, increasing the weight and reducing the reps set by set until you run out of time.

On completion use the calculator http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html to workout out your 1RM for each exercise and then add the score for each exercise together to give you your powerlifing total. Post your scores below!

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Strength is defined as the ability of a muscle or muscle group to exert maximum force and is an essential quality that most recreational sports people need to develop. Combined with a well rounded conditioning programme, strength training can have a huge impact on playing performance including increasing speed, reducing the likelihood and severity of injures and making players more resistant to fatigue. In this article, we’ll explore just how to set about gaining some strength for your sport…

Firstly, it’s worth mentioning that training for strength is very different from the bodybuilding type training that many people engage it. Bodybuilding workouts utilise relatively light loads, short rests, and multiple exercises per muscle group and are all about creating bigger muscles (correctly termed hypertrophy) whereas strength training focuses almost exclusively on increasing performance. Bodybuilders, while often very big, are generally not as strong as smaller athletes who focus on strength training. Strength training will cause some hypertrophy but it is a by-product of training as opposed to the aim. The hypertrophy caused by strength training can best be thought of as “functional” or, in other words, not only will the muscles look bigger, they will also be much better suited to the demands of your chosen sport. The muscle developed by strength training will be useful rather than “all show and no go” which is more likely to be the case with bodybuilding training.

To develop strength, exercises must be selected that allow a significant amount of weight to be lifted. Exercises such as squats, dead lifts and bench press are the cornerstone on which to build an effective strength training programme. These compound or multi-joint exercises provide plenty of “bang for your buck” and will allow you to get the most from your training time. Isolation exercises such as dumbbell flies and tricep extensions are not ideally suited to the development of strength as they don’t permit large loads to be used safely. Don’t worry if you have no idea about how to go about designing an effective training programme as later in this article we’ll provide you with a basic strength training workout to get you started.

The chart below shows the difference between hypertrophy, general strength and maximal strength training.

As you can see, heavy weights, relatively low reps and longer rests are the parameters for strength training – it’s all about quality as opposed to quantity and each work set should be performed with near a high degree of focus and intensity. Maximal strength training is suitable for those who already have a history of working out with heavy weights and want to specialise it strength sports such as weight lifting, power lifting or highland games whereas general strength training is more suited to field sports such as rugby, Gaelic football and sports where strength is just one element of the physical characteristics needed for success.

Because of the near maximal effort required during strength training, it’s important to warm up thoroughly prior to exercising. Once a general warm up of light cardio and dynamic stretching has been completed, it’s time to do a more specific warm up for the exercises to be done on that particular training day. The best way to get ready for a strength training workout is to perform a couple of light to moderate sets of each exercise before piling on the weight. This gives you the opportunity to practice the exercises in question and also assess your strength on that particular day. Only after you have completed 2-3 “warm up sets” should you start working with weights closer to your 1 repetition maximum (1RM). This practice will reduce the likelihood of suffering injury and also make the work sets more effective as your muscles are more likely to be working optimally after a few specific warm up sets.

Once you are fully warmed up and ready for your working sets, you may want to consider using a pyramid approach and increasing the weight slightly set by set – this practice reinforces your warm up and allows you to ease into your workout.

For example:

1^st Set – 5 reps at 65kg
2^nd Set – 4 reps at 70kg
3^rd Set – 4 reps at 75kg
4^th Set – 3 reps at 77.5kg
5^th Set – 3 reps at 80kg

To keep improving your strength, it’s vital that you keep striving to lift progressively heavier weights. If you lift the same weights week after week, month after month, your strength levels are very likely to remain the same. Regular increases in the weight lifted or the number of repetitions performed will ensure you keep making progress with your strength training.

In part 2, we’ll provide you with a simple strength training programme that will fit into your regular weekly workout schedule.

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Our Dead Lift and Press up Superset workout uses virtually every major muscle in your body in double-quick time – excellent for when you are pushed for time!

Duration: Against the Clock
Equipment: Barbell, exercise mat
Method: Perform 10 sets of 10 reps of bent-legged dead lifts using 60-75% of your body weight but adjust load as necessary. Alternate sets of dead lifts with 10 sets of 10-15 reps press ups (on knees or toes as appropriate). Aim to complete the workout as fast as possible whilst maintaining perfect form to also challenge the cardiovascular system. Adjust the reps and/or loads to meet your current fitness levels.

• Bent legged dead lifts – 10 sets, 10 reps @ 60-75% of 1RM
• Press ups – 10 sets of 10-15 reps

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Bulgarian split squats

Yesterday we told you why lunges are such a great exercise. Today we’ve got 12 lunge variations to keep your workouts fresh and your legs in great shape!

Lunge variations – 12 of the best

Lunges come in varying degrees of difficulty from straight forward to very challenging. Whichever variation you choose to do make sure you always warm up thoroughly before exercising and get the OK from your doctor is you are new to working out. The exercises below are presented in approximate order of difficulty…

1)      Static lunge (also called a split squat)

• Stand next to a wall for balance
• Take a large step forward with your left leg
• Lower yourself down towards the floor by bending both knees simultaneously so that the rear knee almost touches the floor and the front knee is bent to 90 degrees
• Push back up into the starting position
• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions before changing lead legs

2)      Basic forward lunge

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, head up and looking forward
• Take a large step forward with the left leg and simultaneously lower yourself into the lunge position
• Immediately drive off the front leg and up to return to the starting position
• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions before changing legs

3)      Forward alternating lunge

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, head up and looking forward
• Take a large step forward with the left leg and simultaneously lower yourself into the lunge position
• Immediately drive up and return to the starting position
• Perform another rep but this time leading with the right leg
• Alternate leading legs for the desired number of repetitions

4)      Basic backward lunge

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, head up and looking forward
• Take a large step backwards with your left leg and simultaneously lower yourself into the lunge position
• Immediately drive off the back leg and return to the starting position
• Repeat for the desired number of reps before changing legs

5)      Backward alternating lunge

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, head up and looking forward
• Take a large step back with your left leg and simultaneously lower yourself into the lunge position
• Immediately drive off the back leg and return to the starting position
• Perform another rep but this time leading with the right leg
• Alternate leading legs for the desired number of repetitions

6)      Forward or backward reaching lunge

• This variation puts extra emphasis on the muscles of the glutes
• Perform your preferred lunge – forwards or backwards
• Simultaneously flex at the hips and reach down to touch your foot
• Stand up straight as you drive up  and back into the starting position and repeat for the desired number of repetitions

7)      Forward or rearward overhead lunge

• By holding a weight above the head, this variation is more challenging than the variations described earlier
• Using a barbell, dumbbells or medicine ball, extend your arms overhead
• Perform either forward or backward lunges for the desired number of repetitions
• Avoid hyper extending your lower back when performing this variation

8)      Single arm overhead lunge

• As above but holding a weight in one hand only which will challenge your balance and core strength to a greater degree

9)      Forward lunge onto a step

• Increasing the range of movement significantly increases the muscular demands of this exercise
• Facing a 4” step, perform a forward lunge onto the elevated surface to increase the range of movement at the lead leg
• Make sure you lower your rear knee as close to the floor as you can without actually touching the ground

10)   Rear foot elevated lunge (also called a Bulgarian split squat)

• This variation is very challenging both in terms of balance and increased range of movement
• Stand with feet shoulder width apart with an exercise bench approximately 24” behind you
• Bend your left leg to the rear and place your left foot on the bench – you should now be in a split stance
• Lower yourself straight down so that your rear knee is close to touching the floor (flexibility permitting)
• Push up into the start position and repeat for the desired number of repetitions before changing legs
• This exercise can also be performed with your rear foot suspended in a TRX or similar to challenge your balance further still

11)   Walking lunges

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, head up and looking forward
• Take a large step forward with your left leg and lower yourself down into the lunge position
• Instead of returning to the starting position, step through with your rear leg and immediately into another lunge
• Perform for repetitions or distance

12)   Jumping lunge (also called split jumps)

• This variation of the lunge develops explosive jumping power and is great for players of racquet sports, fencers and runners
• Stand in the split squat position with your left leg forward and knees bent so that the rear leg is almost touching the floor
• Powerfully jump vertically and change leading legs in the air
• Land and descend into the split squat position
• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions

With all lunge variations, try to make sure your front knee stays over your foot and never goes forward of your toes as this can put undue stress on the knee joint. To make any of the variations more challenging feel free to hold dumbbells, place a barbell across your shoulders or hold a medicine ball in front of your chest.

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Lunges are one of the most versatile and beneficial exercises for the muscles of the lower body and, assuming you have good healthy knees, should be included in pretty much everyone’s workout from ladies looking to tone up their bums to athletes looking to increase leg power. No matter what your fitness goal, there is a lunge variation to suit you! In this article we’ll look at why lunges are so darn good and explore some of the variations you can use.

Why lunge?

One of the reasons lunges are such a good exercise is that they closely mimic natural locomotive patterns (walking and running) which means they transfer very well to everyday activities and sports. Unlike squats which utilize a bilateral (2 legged) movement, lunges are unilateral meaning that the legs work independently which ensures both legs work equally. Some 2 limbed exercises allow a strong limb can compensate for a weak limb e.g. leg presses, which can lead to muscular imbalances and possibly injury. With lunges, if you do discover an imbalance between one leg and the other, just make sure you lead with your weaker leg and only do as many reps with your strong leg as you did with the weaker one and you should find that your strength should soon even out.

Another benefit of lunges is the requirement for balance – the relatively narrow stance combined with the large stepping motion means that balance is challenged far more significantly than many other exercises. Balance is defined as “your ability to maintain your centre of mass over your base of support” and is a vital component of most sports and every day activities. Any exercise that promotes the improvement of balance is well worth doing!

Many exercises involve very little in terms of multi-limb movement but lunges require lots of simultaneous joint movements and as a result can enhance coordination.  Coordination refers to your ability to move 2 or more limbs in a controlled fashion and is a skill we need on a daily basis. Coordination is not improved by performing leg presses or leg curls where as lunges, especially some of the more advanced versions that will be discussed later, can have a profound effect on the development of coordination.

The large range of movement at the hips when performing lunges can have a beneficial effect on dynamic flexibility. Flexibility – defined as the range of movement at a joint or joints – can be reduced with some exercises. This “adaptive shortening” is one of the reasons weight training sometimes gets a bad rap in terms of flexibility. Lunges require a full range of movement so the muscles of the hips (the glutes, hip flexors and hamstrings) are unlikely to shorten significantly because of this exercise.

In part 2, well give you 12 lunge variations to keep your workouts fresh and your legs in great shape!

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Work all your major muscles with todays workout: The Big Moves Body Blast

Duration: 30 minutes approximately
Equipment: Kettlebell/dumbbell, barbell, free weights, stability ball, exercise mat

Method: This is a great full-body workout which will hit all your major muscles, elevate your heart rate and burn lots of calories – a real do-it-all workout! After a light warm up including cardio and dynamic stretches, complete the following circuit 3-5 times. Rest 1-2 minutes between laps. Cool down with some more light cardio and a full body stretch. 

1. Kettlebell Swing: 12 repetitions (can also perform with medicine ball, weight disk or dumbbell)

2. Press Ups: 12 repetitions

3. 1 Arm Row: 12 repetitions per arm

 4. Push Press: 6 repetitions per arm

 5. Bent Leg Deadlift: 12 repetitions

6. Kettlebell Snatch: 6 repetitions per arm

7. Stability Ball Back Extensions: 20 repetitions

8. Twist Crunches: 20 repetitions

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Todays workout is all about legs!

After a thorough warm up, perform a 3 set pyramid of the following exercise increasing the weights set by set. Ideally, your last weight on the first exercise should be your first weight on the second exercise and so on… (See example below)

1. Overhead barbell squats (e.g. 15 reps 20 kg, 12 reps 25kg, 10 reps 30kg)
2. Front Squats (e.g. 15 reps 30kg, 12 reps 35 kg, 10 reps 40kg)
3. Back squats (e.g. 15 reps 40kg, 12 reps 45kg, 10 reps 50kg)
4. Tabata body weight squats*

* Tabata squats: 8-10 sets of bodyweight squats 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds recovery. Rest 1 minute between sets and 2 minutes between exercises.

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Straight to the point with no fluff or stuffing, in this series of articles we’ll tell you the three best exercises to give you maximum benefits from your workouts…

A broad strong upper back can really add an extra dimension to your physique. In addition, your upper back counterbalances your chest muscles so, for the function and health of your shoulders, it is important to give this out of site area as much attention as your pecs.

Chin Ups and Pull ups
Performed with an underhand or overhand grip respectively, both variations of this exercise are back building exercises. To get the most from your chin ups/pull ups, make sure you pull your chest up to the bar and not just the tip of your chin. If you are strong enough, you can make this exercise more effective by attaching weights to your body using a specially designed chinning/dipping belt which is available from sporting goods stores. Okay, so technically that was two exercises but as both variations are so effective, we couldn’t leave one or the other out.

Bent Over Rows
Bent over rows work the area between your shoulder blades as well as your lats. Because of the bent-over body position used you may not be able to use as much weight as you can with other back exercises. You can perform bent over rows using a barbell or dumbbells. The dumbbell variation allows you to use your non-working arm to support your back which makes it a safer option for many exercisers.

Dead Lifts
The king of back building exercises! The dead lift works the whole of your back and puts significant emphasis on the upper back. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your toes under the barbell. Keep your feet flat and bend down to grasp the barbell with an overhand grip. Keep your hips low, your arms straight and your shoulders squeezed back. Using mainly your hips and lower back, lift the bar from the ground to hip height whilst maintaining a tensed upper back. Hold this top position for one to two seconds before pushing your hips back, bending your knees and returning the barbell to the floor.

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If you want to make improvements in your fitness or strength, you have to give your body a reason to adapt. Doing the same workout with the same sets, reps and weights every week is not sufficient stimulus to make your body change. On average, it takes around 6 weeks for your body to get used to as new workout. During the initial weeks of a new training programme, your body feels “threatened” by the routine and adapts by getting stronger and fitter. Once the perceived threat has been overcome, no further adaptations will occur until a new threat is introduced. In fitness terminology, this halting of progress is called “the plateau” and is often the reason people are unsatisfied with the fitness even though they go to the gym regularly.

To avoid hitting the plateau, it is important to make regular changes to your exercise routine. The best way to do this is by manipulating the training variables listed below. There is no need to change everything every time your train…just pick 1 or 2 things to change per week to keep your workout fresh and consider starting a new workout every 6-8 weeks – you should see your fitness levels rise steadily over time as a result.

The training variables…

• Increase your weights – small regular increases win every time and will make you stronger
• Increase the number of sets your perform per exercise – more work = greater benefits
• Perform more reps – adding a rep a week whilst keeping the weights the same is a great progression
• Reduce your rest time between sets – knock off 5 seconds a week to increase the intensity of your workouts
• Choose different exercises – bored of the chest press machine? Try the bench press
• Change the order of your exercises – if you always do legs last, try putting them first in your workout
• Use more complex exercises – squats are harder than leg presses, chin ups are harder than lat pull downs
• Try split routine if you are doing whole body workouts or vice versa
• Incorporate a training system like drop sets or supersets into your programme for variety
• Use a Swiss ball, medicine ball, Bosu or TRX to spice up your workout

Make some changes and mix things up – the only thing you’ve got to lose is your previous fitness levels!

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Straight to the point with no fluff or stuffing, in this series of articles we’ll tell you the three best exercises to give you maximum benefits from your workouts…

If you only ever do three exercises for your legs, these are the three to choose!

Squats
“A workout’s not a workout if you don’t do squats!” or so my coach used to tell me. Performed with a barbell on your shoulders, dumbbells in your hands, a rucksack on your back or just using your bodyweight, squats are one of the Kings of exercise. To perform a squat, stand with your feet hip-width apart and your feet turned out slightly. With your weight spread evenly between your heel and forefoot, push your butt back and bend your knees and hips to descend into the squat position. Aim for 90 degrees at the knees but don’t worry of you don’t make it down that far – work on your flexibility and you do it in time. Push your hips forwards and extend you knees to return to the standing position and repeat many and often!

Lunges
Lunges are a great lower body exercise with plenty of emphasis on the glutes and hamstrings. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands by your sides. Take a large step forwards so that you rise up onto the ball of your rear foot. Bend both knees and lower your rear leg to within one inch of the floor. Your front knee should be directly over your heel and your body fairly upright. Push down with your front leg to push yourself back to the starting position and then repeat but leading with the other leg. Continue alternating for the desired number of reps. Like squats, lunges can be performed with a bar across your shoulders, dumbbells in your hands or a pack on your back but are also very effective just using your bodyweight.

Stiff Legged Dead lifts
Want a rock hard butt and a strong lower back and hamstrings? Do stiff legged dead lifts. Stiff legged dead lifts are not the much maligned straight legged dead lifts seen up and down the country in the 80’s and 90’s which were performed by large men in spandex stood on top of step boxes. This is a very different, much safer and much more effective exercise than that back wrecker! Holding a weight in front of you in both hands and at hip height, stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Bend your knees slightly and maintain your knee angle throughout this exercise. Keeping your arms straight, push you butt as far back as you can, maintain a tight core and hollowed lower back, bend forwards at the hips and lean forwards to lower the weight down your legs. Only bend as far as your hamstring flexibility allows and never NEVER allow your lower back to round. This exercise is effective if you only lower the bar to knee height so forget about trying to touch the floor! To help you to get your hips leading this exercise, stand 12 inches from a wall and try to touch your butt on the wall as you lean forwards. And yes, leg curls ARE easier but easier seldom means better when it comes to exercise!

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