Injury to any sportsman or woman whether being athlete level or recreational can be devastating and there is nothing worse than being told not to train for the next so many weeks/months. This recently happened to me in May 2009 (now Aug 2009). Previous to this I was training solid for my upcoming ultra marathon race in September 2009. On a particular session (trail) i was running at a nice half marathon tempo pace when i felt a 'twinge' in the lower part of my left abdominal/hip region. Me being me, decided it would wear off and i could run through it (note - being an ex soldier we are all invincible and injury is a weakness!). The pain became more apparant and eventually brought me to a walk/limp and i struggled to weightbear my left leg.
After about 10 minutes of walking and light stretching i felt fine again so i jogged back to my car (about 2 miles away from where i was) back on metalled roads and obviously wearing trail trainers which my body didn't like! Having felt like i hadn't worked hard enough i decided to head to the gym and do some other work - working on med ball rotational work and trying to activate deep core musculature i felt the original pain coming back. Again, telling myself i am weak and i can fight through this weakness pushed me on to another set of medicine ball core work - this was the icing on the cake for me and a sharp pain set deep through my lower abs and into the very top of my left groin.
The following week i couldn't walk and couldn't work, even sleeping was painful - the irony of it is, being a full time sports injury therapist i should have headed straight off to see a colleague at the clinic i work at. Eventually I did. It is now 10 weeks later and i have tried to undertake 2 runs and got no further than 2 miles without pain - the ultra marathon i entered is now a distant dream and the treatment is only now starting to slowly work!
The morale of the story... Even if it is a small niggle, your body is letting you know something is wrong, its' the bodies way of communicating with your brain - telling you to stop what you're doing!
If you are injured or know anyone who might be trying to fight through an injury, my advice would be to stop immediately and come see us at Citytherapy.org.uk and get yourself checked over. I am speaking from experience and from one keen sportsman to another, don't make the mistake i did! 'Pain isn't always a weakness!'
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Thursday, 30 July 2009
Saturday, 25 July 2009
THE EASE OF FITNESS
Ok, Here's the deal! I have been a member of many gyms in my time, as well as working in them as fitness staff upto manegerial levels... The difference for me was when working at a gym; the time i had to spend watching members train in the gym.
You see, the way i personal train is the way i train myself and having been a British Military Physical Training Instructor i'm a pretty tough cookie when it comes to physical fitness. I believe that pushing my clients to their physical limits not only gets them in the best shape they have ever been, but they learn something about themselves too.
If only i could say the same about the current day gym goer and current fitness trainers that are employed in these so called gyms... I don't mean to sound patronising however, there comes a time when you have to ask yourself, if a person going to the gym, standing around talking to their mates for 20 minutes, bench presses a quick 10 reps, heads over to the water fountain for a swig then sits in the sauna, steam room or jacuzzi (or all 3) for an hour, then showers, heads off to wherever they maybe going and then justifies a hard session in the gym! It's absolute craziness!
What is it all about? when my clients come to me for their session, the next hour of their life is complete discipline to fitness, occasional water stops and back in again with the tough love. There is no mincing around the place, if my clients can speak they are not working hard enough! and before anyone tells me new science blah blah about training at low intensity and how good these new fangled machines are... who are you trying to kid, me or yourselves? My latest client has lost over 30lbs in nearly 3 months and he hasn't touched a resistance machine, fixed machine or whatever you want to call them.
Another amazing thing i have witnessed in the gym, and you may have seen this picture before. A girl; made up to the nines and not a hair out of place, draped in top notch fitness gear, sat in a recumbant cycle reading a damn book!
Is a gym these days a social networking place and/or a place to chill and read a book?
Excuse me if i'm wrong, and don't get me wrong i hate gyms at the best of times... But if a member goes to a gym they go there to train hard for that duration. Whenever i train, indoors or out, my earphones are in, listening to training tracks and i'm not interested in chatting to people, watching the latest soap on the tv's attached to the cardio equipment. I am in the zone, pushing my body and mind to its physical limits and i walk/stagger out at the end feeling on top of the world, an endorphin release that lasts all day... can the book reading, sweatless doris on the bike say that? Or the overweight 'look at me' bench presser, cutting around the weight area like he owns it say that? I don't think so...
so, again, i have to ask, is the need of a gym for people to get fit & healthy or just a local meeting place.
what is it with the generations of today wanting quick and easy fixes to long term health, weight loss or whatever? why can't people understand that it takes dedication, hard work and sometimes tears and pain to get what you want... and i'm not just talking about fitness, the nutrional intake is just as important. Maybe this is why gyms are always trying to recruit new members (see last blog), because new members get a month or two down the line, don't see any results from the mind numbingly boring cross trainer and a few sets on the fixed resistance machines so they leave, give up because it's not working. suprise suprise! The sales team sold them the new body they wish for and not educated them in how to get it! They don't tell you at the contract signing stage that to get that 6 pack your gonna have train like an absolute monster for the next however months, change your complete lifestyle, give up the burgers and 10 pints on a Friday.. Because people wouldn't join!
I'm a realist, i tell it how it is! There is no magic to health & fitness, just lies & deceit to get you to join something under false pretences - it's called emotional marketing! I don't lie to any of my clients when they have their initial consultation, whats the point, if after so long they not seeing the results i have promised them, they will stop coming! All of my clients know from the word go, what they are getting themselves into when they start with me, and after the 1st or 2nd session of complete pain they become acustomed to it, the brain expects the body to get beasted, but on the same hand, physical and mental changes happen!
I rest my case.
stusarmy
You see, the way i personal train is the way i train myself and having been a British Military Physical Training Instructor i'm a pretty tough cookie when it comes to physical fitness. I believe that pushing my clients to their physical limits not only gets them in the best shape they have ever been, but they learn something about themselves too.
If only i could say the same about the current day gym goer and current fitness trainers that are employed in these so called gyms... I don't mean to sound patronising however, there comes a time when you have to ask yourself, if a person going to the gym, standing around talking to their mates for 20 minutes, bench presses a quick 10 reps, heads over to the water fountain for a swig then sits in the sauna, steam room or jacuzzi (or all 3) for an hour, then showers, heads off to wherever they maybe going and then justifies a hard session in the gym! It's absolute craziness!
What is it all about? when my clients come to me for their session, the next hour of their life is complete discipline to fitness, occasional water stops and back in again with the tough love. There is no mincing around the place, if my clients can speak they are not working hard enough! and before anyone tells me new science blah blah about training at low intensity and how good these new fangled machines are... who are you trying to kid, me or yourselves? My latest client has lost over 30lbs in nearly 3 months and he hasn't touched a resistance machine, fixed machine or whatever you want to call them.
Another amazing thing i have witnessed in the gym, and you may have seen this picture before. A girl; made up to the nines and not a hair out of place, draped in top notch fitness gear, sat in a recumbant cycle reading a damn book!
Is a gym these days a social networking place and/or a place to chill and read a book?
Excuse me if i'm wrong, and don't get me wrong i hate gyms at the best of times... But if a member goes to a gym they go there to train hard for that duration. Whenever i train, indoors or out, my earphones are in, listening to training tracks and i'm not interested in chatting to people, watching the latest soap on the tv's attached to the cardio equipment. I am in the zone, pushing my body and mind to its physical limits and i walk/stagger out at the end feeling on top of the world, an endorphin release that lasts all day... can the book reading, sweatless doris on the bike say that? Or the overweight 'look at me' bench presser, cutting around the weight area like he owns it say that? I don't think so...
so, again, i have to ask, is the need of a gym for people to get fit & healthy or just a local meeting place.
what is it with the generations of today wanting quick and easy fixes to long term health, weight loss or whatever? why can't people understand that it takes dedication, hard work and sometimes tears and pain to get what you want... and i'm not just talking about fitness, the nutrional intake is just as important. Maybe this is why gyms are always trying to recruit new members (see last blog), because new members get a month or two down the line, don't see any results from the mind numbingly boring cross trainer and a few sets on the fixed resistance machines so they leave, give up because it's not working. suprise suprise! The sales team sold them the new body they wish for and not educated them in how to get it! They don't tell you at the contract signing stage that to get that 6 pack your gonna have train like an absolute monster for the next however months, change your complete lifestyle, give up the burgers and 10 pints on a Friday.. Because people wouldn't join!
I'm a realist, i tell it how it is! There is no magic to health & fitness, just lies & deceit to get you to join something under false pretences - it's called emotional marketing! I don't lie to any of my clients when they have their initial consultation, whats the point, if after so long they not seeing the results i have promised them, they will stop coming! All of my clients know from the word go, what they are getting themselves into when they start with me, and after the 1st or 2nd session of complete pain they become acustomed to it, the brain expects the body to get beasted, but on the same hand, physical and mental changes happen!
I rest my case.
stusarmy
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Do we really need a gym?
Right, i am a realist... I say it how it is when it comes to fitness. If a client comes to me for weightloss i have no concerns about telling that person to stop shovelling crisps and burgers into them. The same goes for gyms and health centres alike.
Do we really need to spend that much money on something we can do for free? I have worked in the fitness sector and worked in various chain gyms, local gyms and health centres and they all have on ething in common. They dont care about their members once they have signed you toa contract.
Let me paint you a picture that might sound about right if you have been a member of a gym!
You walk into a gym and usualy faced with the receptionist and i imagine you would say.. "Hi, i'm looking to join a gym" to which you will usually have a reply of something like, "Hi, welcome to our gym, i will pass you to the membership team", more commonly known to you and me as the sales team.
This will be a sharpe dressed, good looking man or a woman with killer heels, short skirt and a face of makeup!
They will go through the usual bumpf of what goals you want to achieve and what sort of prices they are looking at for gym memberships, what sort of contract they would want.
Following the initial meet and greet you will then get a tour of the gym where they will show you around all the fitness equipment, show what classes are available, possibly private areas for ab work and mat work, the lockers and showers and finally the pool, sauna etc should they have one. All this looks amazing to someone walking blind into a gym but let me tell you whats going on...
Sales teams need to sign you up to hit their targets, they aren't interested in your fitness goals or aspirations, trust me, i've worked with sales teams! They need your contract signed so when they hit target they get a huge commision bonus on memberships sold, in the meantime your forking out for a gym membership that was sold to you very cleverly.
So, once you have your membership you will usually get told you are elegible fora free fitness programme by one of the fitness staff! Sounds great right, wrong. You will have an appointment booked with some spotty nosed kid whos done a distance learning course in gym instruction who will go through the same bumpf about fitness goals... sometimes, in fairness to them, they will check your BMI, Body fat etc... forget BMI because its a load of $%&*"!.. anyway, i digress, your fitness instructor will then go on to write your all singing all dancing fitness regime that will usually consist of 10 min treadmill, 10 min bike, 10 min cross trainer, 3 sets of 10 chest machine press, repeat on the shoulder machine press and maybe a few other fixed resistance machines!
Once this is done, off you go into the world of your new gym with a one size fits all fitness programme paying an absolute bomb for the privelige!
oh.. I nearly forgot, dont be fooled by the even bigger con!
If your unsure at the sales team point and say to the sales person you may have a think about it they will almost certainly pull this one out of the bag:
If you sign up today i will cancel the joining fee! Wait, a joining fee? what exactly is that? £25.00 upwards to join a gym, surely if i am commiting to a 12 month contract as a customer i shouldn't have to pay a joining fee? It's another con to get more money out of you! If it was so important how could they manage to cancel it just because your unsure whether to join!! I'll tell you why, because they need your membership for their monthly target!
It is also interesting to note why sales teams are constantly selling memberships and recruiting more members? even the bigest gyms should have a cut off point, say 3000 members for example. If there are constanly recruiting that tells me they can't keep hold of their members right? surely if they recruit 3000 and their gyms live upto the sales pitch, no one would ever leave! So why do they? The last gym i worked in were recruiting 1500 new memebers every month but were also losing 1500 members each month at the same time too due to poor cleaning, no towels, over crowded, poor service from instructors etc etc...
here's the good news! don't waste your hard earned money on a rip off gym! Get your self outdoors, in the fresh air and use your own body to train with and utilize whats around you, park benches, hills, etc etc... What if its raining i hear you ask! Well, all the more reason to get our in it, feel refreshed and your nice hot shower to come home to sounds even more appealing!
Not sure what to do outdoors, no problem.. grab my out door fitness guide now... email me at info@squaddiefit.co.uk for more info and prices, trust me its alot cheaper than even a day pass at your local gym!
More to come on the truth about gyms, im not done with them yet!
stu's army!
Do we really need to spend that much money on something we can do for free? I have worked in the fitness sector and worked in various chain gyms, local gyms and health centres and they all have on ething in common. They dont care about their members once they have signed you toa contract.
Let me paint you a picture that might sound about right if you have been a member of a gym!
You walk into a gym and usualy faced with the receptionist and i imagine you would say.. "Hi, i'm looking to join a gym" to which you will usually have a reply of something like, "Hi, welcome to our gym, i will pass you to the membership team", more commonly known to you and me as the sales team.
This will be a sharpe dressed, good looking man or a woman with killer heels, short skirt and a face of makeup!
They will go through the usual bumpf of what goals you want to achieve and what sort of prices they are looking at for gym memberships, what sort of contract they would want.
Following the initial meet and greet you will then get a tour of the gym where they will show you around all the fitness equipment, show what classes are available, possibly private areas for ab work and mat work, the lockers and showers and finally the pool, sauna etc should they have one. All this looks amazing to someone walking blind into a gym but let me tell you whats going on...
Sales teams need to sign you up to hit their targets, they aren't interested in your fitness goals or aspirations, trust me, i've worked with sales teams! They need your contract signed so when they hit target they get a huge commision bonus on memberships sold, in the meantime your forking out for a gym membership that was sold to you very cleverly.
So, once you have your membership you will usually get told you are elegible fora free fitness programme by one of the fitness staff! Sounds great right, wrong. You will have an appointment booked with some spotty nosed kid whos done a distance learning course in gym instruction who will go through the same bumpf about fitness goals... sometimes, in fairness to them, they will check your BMI, Body fat etc... forget BMI because its a load of $%&*"!.. anyway, i digress, your fitness instructor will then go on to write your all singing all dancing fitness regime that will usually consist of 10 min treadmill, 10 min bike, 10 min cross trainer, 3 sets of 10 chest machine press, repeat on the shoulder machine press and maybe a few other fixed resistance machines!
Once this is done, off you go into the world of your new gym with a one size fits all fitness programme paying an absolute bomb for the privelige!
oh.. I nearly forgot, dont be fooled by the even bigger con!
If your unsure at the sales team point and say to the sales person you may have a think about it they will almost certainly pull this one out of the bag:
If you sign up today i will cancel the joining fee! Wait, a joining fee? what exactly is that? £25.00 upwards to join a gym, surely if i am commiting to a 12 month contract as a customer i shouldn't have to pay a joining fee? It's another con to get more money out of you! If it was so important how could they manage to cancel it just because your unsure whether to join!! I'll tell you why, because they need your membership for their monthly target!
It is also interesting to note why sales teams are constantly selling memberships and recruiting more members? even the bigest gyms should have a cut off point, say 3000 members for example. If there are constanly recruiting that tells me they can't keep hold of their members right? surely if they recruit 3000 and their gyms live upto the sales pitch, no one would ever leave! So why do they? The last gym i worked in were recruiting 1500 new memebers every month but were also losing 1500 members each month at the same time too due to poor cleaning, no towels, over crowded, poor service from instructors etc etc...
here's the good news! don't waste your hard earned money on a rip off gym! Get your self outdoors, in the fresh air and use your own body to train with and utilize whats around you, park benches, hills, etc etc... What if its raining i hear you ask! Well, all the more reason to get our in it, feel refreshed and your nice hot shower to come home to sounds even more appealing!
Not sure what to do outdoors, no problem.. grab my out door fitness guide now... email me at info@squaddiefit.co.uk for more info and prices, trust me its alot cheaper than even a day pass at your local gym!
More to come on the truth about gyms, im not done with them yet!
stu's army!
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