Still to this day I see in most gyms the remains of what used to be a very ignorant gym junkie training method, which are training habits purely fixated on the upper body, with no consideration of the lower body. Like my friend said on facebook, there are too many Y shaped body’s being produced, and not enough X shaped body’s being produced.

Whether if its arrogance, ignorance, or just the fact that lifters & body comp enthusiasts are not well educated on training the lower anatomy, its definitely something that I would like to address, or at least inform my community on the basics of training the lower body to be sexy, strong, and lean.

Training the lower body has a gigantic hormonal impact on the body

Whether your goal is to bulk up, get lean, or just stay in shape, training the lower body has its advantages. Specifically to detail, training the lower body impacts the endocrine system (hormonal system) like no other. Did you know that the biggest and strongest muscles in your body are actually the quads (thighs) and gluteus (bum)? Yes they are! This means if you’re after raw full body strength, you need to spend a lot of time training the quads and glutes.

But what if I want to be lean and ripped? Well then you need to spend even more time training the lower body. Let me explain. Your primary fat burning & anabolic hormones are testosterone or androgen hormones, growth hormone, and IGF-1. These hormones are responsible for the repair of damaged muscle tissue, and for regulating and decreasing body fat. When you train the largest and strongest muscles in your body, which are the quads and gluteus, you generate a huge hormonal response, allowing for much more potent fat loss and muscle building.

Training the quads

Alright! I only ask that you read on if you’re ready to start getting the blood pumping downstairs.

I will begin by addressing quad (thigh) training. The quad muscle is comprised of four heads, the rectus femoris, vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis, and the vastus medialis. While the first three muscles I mentioned tend to be quite strong, there is clear evidence that there is a common muscle imbalance between the vastes lateralis (which is the big thigh muscle sticking out on the side of your legs, tends to be the one you notice first when the muscle is flexed) and the vastus medialis (which is the smaller tear drop shaped muscle located in the bottom inside of your thigh right above the knee) Infact if you have not been training the quad muscles properly, you will most likely not even have a developed vastus medialis, but a noticeable lateral quad development.

The structural imbalance between the two heads of the thigh muscle is a common muscular glitch that can bring about knee pain. So if you are a person who suffers from knee discomfort when training the lower body, these exercises I’m about to show you will do much good.

The exercises I’m about to present are my 3 favorites for training and developing sleek, sexy, and strong quads. But before anything, I recommend if you are not confident or skilled in training your lower body, or epically lacking in coordination, get a certified strength coach or certified personal trainer to help you.

Exercise 1-the split squat

 The split squat is by far one of the best lower body exercises ever. Strength & conditioning Guru Charles Poliquin is a big preacher of this exercise for correcting structural imbalances in the lower body, as well as transforming your thighs. This exercise is a must for any lower body program.

Begin by placing one foot out in front of you, and the other behind you (split stance). The back leg and foot are only for balance and should not do any work. Most of your weight wants to be on the front foot. With the weight on your front foot, slowly lower your body straight down towards the floor on a 4 second count (meaning count 4 seconds before you reach the bottom range of the exercise) as you descend towards the floor, allow your knee to slowly track past your toe, but as soon as your front heel lifts of the ground, your knee is to far forward, so find a medium where your knee can travel past the toe without your front heel lifting of the ground. At the bottom position, drive your front foot into the ground and come back up into the original position. A good tip is to not lock out the front knee, keep a slight bend in it, as this will keep precious muscle tension on the exercise.

Exercise 2-Back heels elevated squat

The back heels elevated squat is a great variation for people who cannot perform proper barbell back squats. While barbell back squats are the king of all lower body exercises, some if not most of us do not have an orthopedic or flexibility profile that can qualify us to do to the lift. So what to do? Regress to a back heels elevated squat.

By elevating the back heels, you manipulate the ankle joint to allow for a smooth descend into a deep squat. I recommend using a weight plate to elevate your back heels of the ground; usually it will be about 1 inch. In other cases you can elevate the back heels higher for a much more aggressive recruitment of the thigh muscles.

With your back heels elevated, begin the descend of the squat by allowing your knees to slowly drive forward, as your knees drive forward, your pelvis should begin to drop down into the bottom position, again, perform this exercise with a 4 second lowering. Once your bum passes your knees and pretty much touching your calves, drive your feet into the plates as well as the ground to bring yourself back up into the top position. Once again as well, do not bring your knees to full lock out.

If you’re a beginner, I recommend starting with dumbbells or kettlebells, then once strength is developed, load up for a barbell behind the back.

Exercise 3-eccentric back squats

Eccentric based exercises are a lot more advanced then basic lifting. During the lift, your primary focus is to extend the time under tension during the lowering of the squat. For example instead of performing10-12 reps with a 4 second lowering, you will do 2-4 reps with a lowering of 12 seconds. This is a pretty full on style of training that is not for beginners, but I still included it in this article as its one of my favorite methods for maximizing growth and strength of the quads. Don’t worry, you can do it! Just make sure that if you’re still a beginner, focus your bulk of training on split squats, lunges, leg presses, and back heel elevated squats. Then eventually move up to more difficult exercises such as this one.

In the squat rack, load up the bar behind the neck as if you were going to perform a normal back squat, in this exercise, elevating the back heels is optional. Begin your usual lowering but this time, slow down the descend and focus on counting to 12 seconds before your bum reaches the lowest point of the lift (brutal!) once at the bottom position, drive your feet through the ground and come back up to the starting position. I would suspect that 1 to 2 reps on this tempo would be realistic for someone first trying out this exercise. If 12 seconds is too hard, try 8-10 seconds.

For repetition protocols, I recommend beginning with 10-12 reps for 3-4 sets of the split squat and back heels elevated squat. And 2-3 sets of the eccentric back squat with 2-3 reps.

Stay tuned for part 2, which will be on training the gluteus, and hamstrings!

Dumbells, barbells, kettlebells, clubbells, cables, medicine balls and sledgehammers; these training tools are a must have for every person who is serious about getting fast results with strength, endurance, power and body composition. What about machines? Are they useful in the gym environment? Do they get you results like free weights?

How about I dissect this subject on machine training and explain why the leg press is one of the best machines to use for fast results with your physique.

There are 3 main reasons why we should use machines. Here they are as follows:

1) During a musculoskeletal rehab program

Lets say you have a football player who has just injured his rotator cuff in the shoulder. You would not expect him to move straight onto big lifting such as a bench press or military barbell press; or a dancer who has just slipped a disc in the lower back. Barbell squatting and deadlifitng would be out of the question also.

However machines can be a low risk alternative for muscle activation and movement in the joints. Yes, of course machines will not activate important stabilizers, as well as the core due to the fixed position. Lets face it, if they are a client, with a serious goal and you’re their coach, you need to start somewhere and progress. Machines give you that opportunity.

Note: If your going to deal with a client that has an injury or suffers pain, make sure your qualified to train that particular client.

2) To strengthen a structural imbalance

One of the biggest reasons that people plateau with gains in strength and size is that a particular muscle used during that lift is weak. For example, a client of mine may be lacking results in the bench press and through specific testing; I find out that the triceps are the weakest muscle, which causes a poor lockout at the top of the lift. My goal? Strengthen the triceps through isolation training; this may call for some machine work.

3) Body composition

One of the tricks of the trade I use for effective fat loss and body transformation is the lactic acid technique, which involves using both free weights and machines to bring about high lactic acid levels in the body. This brings me to the point why the leg press is one of the most effective machines to bring about fast fat loss.

Let me explain!

The quads (thigh muscle) and the glutes (bum muscle), are largest muscles in the body. When trained correctly they create a powerful fat burning and hormonal response. Growth hormone and testosterone are the primary anabolic and fat burning hormones stimulated during lower body training. The leg press can be used at the end of your lower body workouts to create this effective hormonal cascade that will bring about fast fat loss.

The best leg press finishers for fat loss  

Want to truly shock your body in fast fat loss! Try these two leg press routines at the end of the workout, but don’t expect to be walking for a while at the end of these!

6-12-25 drop set on the leg press

This finisher begins with selecting a weight that you can maximally do 6 reps on, (don’t expect it to be much by the end of your workout) bang out one set of the 6, then immediately drop the pins to a weight where you can complete 12 reps, a 20 kg drop in weight would be a safe number. Once you have a completed a set of 12, immediately drop the pins to a weight that you can complete 25 reps on! This is where it gets hard! Another 20 to 25 kg drop would be safe for the 25 reps.

Here is an example of how it should look:

• Set 1-100 kg for 6 reps on a 4010 tempo

• Drop your weight immediately!

• Set 2-80 kg for 12 reps on a 3010 tempo

• Drop your weight immediately!

• Set 3-60 kg for 25 reps on a 2010 tempo

Complete 2-3 sets of this, see if you can walk!

2 minutes non stop on the leg press

Brutal and unforgiving for the beginner gym member, yet exciting and thrilling for the fitness freak! When done properly, expect fat loss and lower body growth.

2 minutes on the leg press is one of my favorite finishers on the lower body. Its simple! Choose a decent weight, not too heavy, not too light; you may have to play around at the start to see what you can cope with. Take your time and execute the leg press non stop for 2 minutes straight. Remember what I said, NON STOP! That means you cant stop, if you have to stop half way through the set, you either chose a weight to heavy or you are wimp who cant handle hard training!

Alright! Its 2012; we all know that most of us, if not all of us, are partly guilty of eating like crap over the holidays. For some, eating like crap left them with the consequence of elevated body fat levels. It could be the belly, for others its the thighs and bum and for some it’s the upper back.

Wherever you store most of your fat, it’s a situation that can be dealt with. And hey! It’s a new year, so why not kick start your health and fitness goals with these ten tips to get you results immediately with your physique and health:

1. Drink green, white and black tea

Wine, beer, soft drinks and sugary drinks were probably the dominant liquids consumed during the Christmas break. Now you must think of a bang for your buck liquid alternative to drink so your body can start repairing and burning fat. Drinking various herbal teas on a regular basis is a great way to kick start your metabolism, lower inflammation, aid in detoxification of harmful toxins and prevent cancer.

Green tea is my favourite. It increases insulin sensitivity so you can burn more fat, raises basal metabolic rate, blocks up to 30 grams of starch during meals, and kills intestinal pathogens. These are just a few things green tea does in the body. A word of warning, make sure your brewing tea leaves in a tea net, as drinking excess tea from chlorinated tea bags will increase the risk of breast cancer. Aim for at least 2 cups of tea a day with out fail.

2.  Alkalise the blood with raw juices

Alkalizing the blood is one of the best methods to increase energy and vitality. Too many people overlook the importance of alkalizing the blood. If you have a raw juicer, I recommend trying green juices first thing in the morning when you wake up to alkalize the blood. A good green juice combo is a mix of, celery, cucumber, spinach, lime, ginger, pineapple and green apple. Feel free to try different vegetable and fruit combos. Remember, don’t use to much fruit as over consumption of fructose can lead to fat storage. If you don’t have a raw juicer, try green vegetable powders such as primal greens from Poliquin or Vital Greens.

3.  Give cancer risk a knockout with unlimited consumption of cruciferous vegetables

Ok, we all know that we should eat our vegetables, but how many of you out there actually eat 5-7 servings of vegetables a day. Is that to much? Ok, how about 3 servings, I think that’s easy enough? Cruciferous vegetables such broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and brussel sprouts all contain a unique antioxidant called sulpheraphane. This potent phytochemical is primal for decreasing cancer and decease risk. But to maximize absorption of this phytonutrient and other antioxidants, eat these vegetables organic, and steam them for about 3-5 minutes.

4.  Don’t overlook the leg press

Over use of machines in the gym is definitely a big no no if you want a healthy, strong and lean body; but using machines such as the leg press smartly can bring about fast and effective results with body composition.

At the end of your workout try these 2 finishers:

2 minutes on the leg press non stop (BRUTAL!!)

3 drop sets of 6 reps (heavy) to 12 reps (medium weight) to 25 reps (light)

This is also brutal. These finishers will not only leave in a wheel chair, but it will trigger the release of a potent fat burning hormone called growth hormone.

5.  Forget six pack training and focus on interval training

The truth is, if you really want diamond cut abs, six pack training such as crunches and leg raises are not the most effective way to get you there. Instead, focus on all out interval and sprint training. For some people, running as fast as they can on a treadmill can be foreign and quite a challenging experience; but through clinical practice and numerous study’s, it has been proven that interval training is far more superior for ripping up than sit ups are.

Try interval training either on the treadmill or rower, and focus on either 30 seconds off maximal activity with 30 seconds rest, or 1 minute off continues activity with 1 minute rest. For an even greater challenge, try 20 seconds of maximal activity with 10 seconds rest.

6.  Eliminate pro inflammatory foods such as gluten, soy, dairy and wheat

Food induced inflammation is one of the biggest reasons for phantom fat storage. I refer to phantom fat storage as to when im dealing with a client that stores fat for no reason, even when there off carbohydrates and sugar, eating a high protein diet and training there hearts out till they fall to the floor. When you have inflammation, your body releases stress hormones such as cortisol, which is a fat storing hormone, especially for the abdominal area. The usual suspects? Well you can certainly point the finger at gluten, wheat, soy, dairy and some times even eggs. Eliminate these foods out of your diet and I guarantee you will see fast results with how you feel mentally, physically and how great your physique is.

7.  Take fish oils and carnitine for rapid fat loss

I have written numerous articles on the outstanding benefits of regular supplementation of fish oil. For an even better bang for your buck supplement protocol, try paring fish oils and carnitine together.

L-carnitine is an amino acid. Its main reason for being potent for fat loss is that it drives stored fat into a place called the mitochondria. The mitochondria is located in every cell in our body, it is the powerhouse of our cells, the fire, the flame, the engine, when fat is shuttled into the mitochondria, its burned and metabolized for energy. Omega-3 fish oils also aid in this process by increasing cellular activity, making these two supplements the bread and butter for rapid fat loss.

8. Go on a 14 day protein boot camp

Any time I want to lose body fat quickly and get my health back on track, I engage in a 14 day protein bootcamp. During this period you follow one simple rule, if it doesn’t walk, run, swim, or fly, or is not a nut or a vegetable, then don’t eat it!! Even fruit! During the 14 days you want to give your body a rest from consuming sugars and carb rich foods. Instead focus on getting your carbohydrates only from vegetables. The animal protein and smart fats will increase thermogenisis (heat) in the body and raise basal metabolic rate. This 14 day initiation period is crucial if you’re serious about losing the holiday pounds. For some people it can be a struggle; for others, it’s easy. The results speak for themselves. And remember during the 14 days you are aloud unlimited consumption of vegetables, reasonable amounts of smart fats such as nuts, oils and butter, and hit for 5-7 servings of animal protein a day.

9. Don’t eat more than 2 hours before bed time.

Pre-bedtime meals can be a major roadblock for long-term fat loss success. I always believe to eat if you’re feeling hungry, as long as it’s the right food; eating too close to bed time can alter your quality of sleep. If you eat too close to bed time and your food is still digesting when you sleep, your body’s ability to reach stage 5 sleep, which is the deepest sleep you can reach, is impaired. When you reach a deep sleep, your body is flooded with anabolic hormones such as growth hormone and melatonin. These two hormones are primary for recovery from stress, building the immune system, and burning fat.

Try not to eat 2 hours before bed time, this will ensure your dinner is fully digested, and your body can reach a deep sleep. If you feel a bit peckish, take 15 grams of a fiber supplement before you sleep, which should ease of the hunger.

10.  Shop smart in the supermarket; avoid tuna, non-organic strawberries and canned tomatoes

Toxic load in the body is one of the worst things to promote. If there’re 3 foods I would say to avoid in the supermarket, it would be tuna due to the high mercury levels, non-organic strawberries due to the high pesticide content and canned tomatoes due to the high heavy metal content. There are a lot of other foods I recommend to avoid, but start with these 3. Consuming too many toxins can really destroy the body from the inside out, be smart when you shop, by organic food when you can, especially fruits, vegetables, and meat should be free range, grass fed, and organic when possible.

You may know that I am not a big fan of aerobic training. In fact, I don’t think there’s any good benefit that you can get from aerobic training that you can’t get from strength training or anaerobic sprinting, and there are some key negative health effects. Indeed, did you know that aerobic exercise increases oxidative stress, chronically elevates cortisol, and has been shown to lower testosterone levels in men. Even more concerning, intense aerobic exercise in animals decreases reproductive organ size and function, while lowering androgens and causing extreme oxidative stress!

To read the rest of this article CLICK HERE.

By Charles Poliquin

http://charlespoliquin.com

James Alamanos is a Professional Trainer, Sports Kinesiologist and Stretch Therapist who specializes in providing an exercise-based approach to treating pain of the muscles and joints. He believes that optimal health and performance is achievable and sustainable for people of all ages and levels.  James is currently practicing out of Fitness First Melbourne Central and Melbourne Physical & Natural Therapies Studio in Fitzroy.

Hands up if you’ve had back pain.  Chances are that right now as you’re reaching up to put your hand in the air you’re getting a little twinge in your lumbar spine.  I assure you you’re not the only one.  In fact you are very much in the majority with recent studies suggesting that back pain in its various forms affects over 75% of the world’s population.  Many of these cases cause major pain and discomfort, restrict our ability to complete everyday activities and some are so severe they are categorized as a disability.

Are you surprised?  Probably not – you’ve likely heard the anguished groans of your co-workers as, with one hand supporting their lower back they get up to go home after a long day chained to their desk.  Modern lifestyle plays a huge part in the prevalence of back pain. Most of us live a primarily sedentary life; whether it’s at the work desk, in the car or on the couch we dedicate a large portion of our lives to the seated position.   This activity was never meant as a preferred state of being but for many of us it has become our primary function.

This prolonged sitting has not gone undetected by the body.  The body’s matrix of bones, muscles tendons, ligaments and fascia respond to every movement or lack thereof with a compensatory allowance which enables us to function efficiently on the things that we do the most of; in the case of the human race, we sit…a lot, and our muscles have evolved to accommodate this.

The hip flexors, primarily the ilio-psoas complex, (consisting of two muscles, iliacus which attaches to the pelvic crest and the femur and Psoas major which attaches to the lumbar spine and femur) play a major role in back pain.  They flex the hip joint allowing us such common tasks as walking, running, bending and of course sitting.  Sitting for long periods puts the hip flexors into a habitually shortened position which over time can contribute to many physical impairments such as lower back pain by the action of the pelvis and lumbar spine being pulled forward.  We see this classically in people who have excessive curvature in their lower back.

An overwhelming majority of people have chronically tight hip flexors and this has dramatic effects on our posture and movement causing among other things chronic muscle tension, pain in the back, headaches and even breathing difficulties.  Generally, to counter this, stretching the hip flexors and strengthening the gluteal muscles and abdominal muscles can help to reduce pelvic tilt and decrease lower back pain if the correct methods are used.

What are the correct methods you ask?  One approach that has been shown to have remarkable results in helping people overcome their back, shoulder, neck, hip and knee pain is an advanced form of flexibility training called Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Feedback (PNF) Stretching.  Developed by Dr Henry Kabat in the 1940’s and 50’s as a way to help polio patients regain lost range of motion, PNF uses a combination of stretching, isometric contraction, breathing and relaxation techniques to assist the muscle lengthening process, after which specific strengthening, mobility and re-patterning exercises are employed to teach the body the desirable posture and movement.

With accompanying lifestyle adjustments, regular PNF stretching and strengthening exercises have transformed the lives of many of my clients.  It has given them the tools to help them manage their pain, avoid surgery and regain normal function; and it can for you as well.

OK EVERYONE!!!

Here is the deal! We know the days are counting down and the silly season is just around the corner. And we surly know that Christmas and New Years Eve week is not our finest moment when it comes to diet choice and exercise consistency.

Let’s face it; those times are for truly letting go and tapering down from a big year. BUT HEY! It doesn’t mean that the weeks leading up to Christmas & New years have to be less productive. These are the crucial and final weeks to get your body in sizzling shape and impress your friends and relatives out in the sunshine with sleek curves, and a sexy body. Or at least lose some stubborn body fat.

Now listen up carefully……………

Fitness4Ever is doing a special 4 week challenge called the summer sizzle body fat challenge. This is a deal you won’t want to miss! This challenge if you decide to take it is results based and includes a whole bunch of goodies, which include the following

• Body fat % assessment done weekly

• 1X-one on one 45 minute coaching session every week for 4 weeks

• 1X- one hour group training session (4 on 1) for 4 weeks. This session is going to be fun, effective & dynamic with lots of cool exercises and training secrets to get the fat burning instantly!

• Rapid fat loss nutritional intensive plan (A 4 week food choice guide to get rapid fat loss at its peak)

• Free online nutritional seminar CUT THE CARBS FEED THE FAT (which was a sold out charity event)

• Melting point Ebook (5 of the top fat shredding workouts that will get your fat burning to melting point)

And how much is this small investment going to be???

Well everything in the pack is valued at over $300 BUT YOUR GETTING IT FOR $120!!!!
The top 3 people who get the best results, will win an awesome gift pack with lots of goodies!

So is there a catch??

NO!

Just make sure your signed up by Tuesday the 29^th of November, as this will be the closing register day.

HOW DO YOU SIGN UP?

or contact me on 0435062081

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??

Get signed up and lets start getting lean for summer!!

In health & fitness,
Michael Keon