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Double Two Day Split Program

What do you guys think is worse? A personal trainer who thinks he/she knows EVERYTHING just because they have a certificate, or a trainer who's aware of how many different approaches there are to training and nutrition, and is still trying to learn? I spend a lot of time networking with other trainers, bodybuilders and so forth and I ask a lot of questions and take a lot of stuff on board. Sometimes I wonder if people are thinking "this guy is a trainer, why is he asking questions? He should know this stuff!" but my attitude is "I know some things, but I'm still trying to learn more". I think that's better than just arrogantly insisting that you know it all already and anything you don't know is not worth learning, wouldn't you agree?

Here's one of my favourite quotes:

"What is wisdom? It has little to do with beliefs. These change year by year from person to person. Only one who does not dare give up beliefs because he has no wisdom will insist that others believe as he does.Cleverness learns something, but wisdom gives up some certainty every day."


So anyway I was thinking a lot about my own training and reading a bit and discussing things with other guys and girls, and I've decided to change my approach a little. As you might know, I like to train a different body part each day in what's known as a "five day split", which means I can do a hell of a lot of exercises on each body part and then give them a full week to recover. I mix it up a bit with some other approaches from time to time but the 5 day split is what I always come back to.

Well, I was thinking about this and how certain body parts seem to be responding & progressing better than others. For example I think my arms and shoulders (front delts at least) are doing pretty well, but I'm a little frustrated that chest and legs aren't really keeping up with them. So why would that be? I apply pretty much the same approach to each body part with most of my programs.

I'll tell you what I decided. In actual fact I am training arms TWICE a week and everything else once a week. If you understand exercise and physiology to some extent you'll be aware that when training chest, the tricep also contributes, and when training back, the biceps contribute. So for example I would really be training triceps on Monday, biceps on Tuesday, and then biceps and triceps together on Friday. It's no wonder my arms are showing better results than any other body part, they get worked twice as often!

So I'm changing my approach and starting out with what I call a "double two day split". How it works is that on day one I am doing all PUSHing exercises such as for chest, triceps, quadriceps and calves, and on day two it's all PULLing exercises such as for back, biceps and hamstrings. There's a rest day after this, and then I start over again but with some different exercises for each day. This way I will be hitting every muscle group twice every week, just like I've always been doing with my arms.

I'm sticking with more or less the same exercises and rep ranges as I utilised in my previous 5 day split program, but just spread out over the whole week instead of one day at a time. I made good progress overall with this program last month, so with this new strategy I'm sure to get even greater results.

Happy new year everyone! Make this a great year by training hard, eating right, and being good to yourself and the people you care about!
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Some photos of me after hiking up a mountain.

I went away last week and did a bit of bush walking, hiking, rock & mountain climbing.

I've always loved doing this sort of thing and for some reason it had been quite a few years since i last went out and enjoyed the wilderness. Anyway, you can see some pictures on my training blog of me before and after climbing the mountain. Also I'm wearing my awesome new Personal Training uniform! Well, the hoody anyway, not so much the jeans!

Click those links for the photos.
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Loving my new strength program and the delayed onset muscle soreness that comes with it!

As shown in the last blog entry, I'm on a new program and  working towards getting a little stronger, a little firmer and nicely defined toned muscles.

Each day after warming up I'm going into a strength exercise such as dumbbell bench press, deadlifts, dumbell shoulder press and so on. I start with 25 reps, then 16 - 18 reps, then 12, then 8, and then I'm ready to go on to some heavy sets with a target of 4 - 6 reps.

I think it must be a winning strategy, because I've been nice and sore all this week. Specifically in chest since training last monday, and also very much so in the triceps after training on Friday. I'm starting out with an overhead dumbbell extention for triceps. My triceps happen to be perhaps my best and most responsive muscle group, so even though I really enjoy training them it's fair to say I might not always push them quite so hard as other less responsive muscles. This time though, the overhead extension took me to complete temporary muscle failure (don't worry, this is a good thing!), and that's just the first exercise of the day!

Of course on arms day I am alternating bicep and tricep exercises each set, so I'm pushing my biceps just as hard. I'm certain that this program will have my arms looking their best and the strongest they have ever been in time for Summer.
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How's my deadlift form?

Yesterday was back day and that means DEAD LIFTS. I wanted to check my form so i set up my phone to take a video of me performing this exercise.



As it turns out, my form was not too bad and I did a personal best at 5 reps of 100kgs. I was pretty pleased with this!

Dead lift is a very important exercise that I think most people should have as a part of their fitness program. It's a functional exercise which carries over into day to day life, helping you to lift heavy objects at home or at work safely without risking spinal injury. It's VERY important to get the form right though, so don't be shy to ask someone to teach you how to do it. Bail up a Personal Trainer, staff member or just one of the experienced guys or girls at the gym when they're not busy, people are usually happy to help.
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What exercises should be in your Personal Training Program?

I spend a bit of time talking, networking and comparing notes & strategies with other Personal Trainers, body builders and fitness enthusiasts about what makes a good program, amongst other things. Ideally as a PT I'd really like to have a consistent approach, that gets results for everyone. In reality though, everyone's goals are different, people are starting out from a different level of ability and de/conditioning, and may have different biomechanical issues to overcome. That's not to mention dietary issues, and how much effort and consistency they are prepared to put into training.

So for these reasons (and more!), there's no "one size fits all" approach. Every client's program will be different, that's why it's called Personal Training. When you hire a Personal Trainer you should expect a personal program tailored to your circumstances and goals in all aspects from exercise selection, volume and intensity, nutrition planning and even style of coaching and motivation.

With that being said, I'm increasingly of the opinion that there are a handful of exercises that should be utilised in the vast majority of programs. These are the exercises that recruit the most muscle activation, improve core stability, burn more calories, and encourage more fat loss. You might be surprised that I am talking about the three classic body building exercises; Squats, Deadlifts and Bench Press.

Now before you stop me because you think these exercises are only for body builders or power lifters who's goal is to get huge, lets address that myth first. If you want to get bigger, eat more and lift heavy! If you want to get smaller, firmer, more toned with less fat, eat less, and lift heavy! Building muscle through resistance training is what will give you that lean, firm and toned appearance that most of us aspire to, while also increasing the amount of fat we burn through out the day. To reiterate, you will not get bigger unless you consume a higher amount of calories than required.

These are also functional exercises that carry over into every day life. For example, practising good lifting technique in the gym with squats and deadlifts will go along way towards preventing spinal injury the next time you have to move the sofa at home, or fetch a box of stationery at work.

The issue with the "big three" exercises is that many people are not able immediately able to perform them. In these cases the Personal Trainer's job is to identify the biomechanical issues (postural, flexibility, and so on) preventing the client from successfully performing the exercise, and then create a program with appropriate stretching and descended versions of the exercises which address these issues.

Aside from our squats, deadlifts and bench press (or the descended exercises which will lead up to them), the balance of exercises included in the program will be selected according to the client's individual needs. For example, a client with rounded shoulders might require stretching of the chest muscles, and strengthening of the back muscles to improve shoulder posture. This is just one of many common postural issues that may need to be addressed in the program.

We've covered resistance training and to a lesser extent stretching, we need to talk about cardio as well.

Again, the choice of cardiovascular exercise will vary from client to client. If you enjoy running or jogging, that's easy - get out for a jog on days in between gym or PT sessions. If you're less likely to enjoy that (like me), we can try boxing drills, bodyweight resistance circuits, interval training, or combinations of all of these.

To summarise, the Personal Trainer's job is to provide a program that is both enjoyable, effective and suited to the client's individual needs. Within the program there should be room for flexibility to alter the choice of exercises as the client's abilities and conditioning improves, or as new functional issues are discovered.

Most of all, a good trainer aims to get the client to a point where their knowledge and ability allows them to continue the program without further instruction. Often times the client will continue working with the trainer due to the additional motivation and encouragement provided, or choose to return sporadically as they find that they need a more challenging program.

Remember, if you're in Brunswick Personal Training and great results are just a click or two away!
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