Chasing the pain

When it comes to chronic injuries a good rule is 'dont chase the pain'. Had a client today who again highlighted this point coming in with knee pain. Turned out that one of her glutes was not doing its job (was very weak compared to its partner) and creating a big hip imbalance causing her to favour one leg more and th...at knee to undergo more stress than it wanted to. The real culprit though was the hip flexor which when gets too tight switches off the butt - and then the hamstrings and lower back muscles (making up the rear chain muscles) need to pick up the load (got chronic tight hamies? - might be from your hip flexors). Moral of the story - dont chase the pain!

Outdoor Training in Munich

What a beautiful day in Munich! Looking forward to getting outdoors and training clients in the English Garden today. Kettlebells and my TRX are two of the best tools when it comes to outdoor training.


Here's a quick sample workout:

Warm up - 5 minutes light jogging

Dynamic Stretching - 4x Sun salutations

Main Circuit:

1. Pull ups with TRX

2. Single leg squats with TRX

3. Push ups

4. Walking lunges (farmers walk) with kettlebells

Rest 2 mins and repeat
Interval Training

10 round of 20 Swings with 1 minute rest between each round

Stretch those problem areas - statically or using contract/relax - foam roll if available too.
Enjoy!

Spartan Workout

Want to test your level of conditioning? I was recently sent this Spartan inspired workout from a fellow trainer that I have slightly modified. Note - not for beginners:

To be completed as quick as possible with an aim to do it under 20 minutes.

• 25 Pullups
• 50 Deadlifts (50% bodyweight)
• 50 Pushups
• 50 Box jumps
• 50 Floor swipes
• 50 Cleans (50% bodyweight)
• 25 Overhead Presses (50% bodyweight)

Good luck - let me know how you go?

4 Sensational Flat Stomach Secrets...

1. Chill out! Stress of any kind - emotional, physical, nutritional or mental - results in high stress hormone (cortisol) levels. Cortisol stores fat around your middle, ruining any chances of seeing a toned tummy anytime soon. The remedy: aim to be asleep by 10:30pm, and make sure you get some regular quiet time – yoga and meditation are both great, the herb Rhodiola Rosea can also help

2. Keep exercise regular, short, and hard. Long duration exercise isn’t just ineffective, it also releases more stress hormones into your blood. Keep your workouts short, high intensity, and resistance exercise based

3. To crunch or not to crunch? You’ve probably already got a six pack, it’s just hiding. Pumping 100 sit ups out every day is only going to give you bad posture and back pain later in life, but won’t burn fat around your middle. Leave them out, or see our on how to incorporate them properly

4. Great Abs Are Made In The Kitchen: Hidden intolerances and yeast (candida) overgrowth can cause abdominal inflammation and bloating. Cut the sugar and  excessive starchy carbs, take prebiotics, also a high strength probiotic, some kyolic garlic extract, can all work wonders

Here's to your new, lovely lookin' flat stomach!