Health_Fitness_UK_July_2017

FITNESS KNOWLEDGE
trainer at The Gym Bristol. ‘You could
vary the sets [try doing hill intervals, for
example] or increase the speed of your
movements to improve your overall
performance and get more from your
workout.’ Do this and you’ll free up time
to spend using the other kit as well.
such as squats, lunges, deadlifts, chest
presses, bent-over rows, chin-ups and
dips,’ says Gray. ‘These moves require
oodles of energy and are great for fat
loss. A lot of my clients love the adductor
(inner-thigh) machine, but a squat will work
the adductors, rest of the lower body, core
and lower back.’ In short, these moves
offer more bang for your exercise buck.
movements,’ says Vertue. ‘For example,
perform 10 squats, then immediately
[without rest] do 10 push-ups. By going
from a lower- to an upper-body exercise,
your body is quickly shunting blood from
the legs (from the squat) to the arms
(for the push-up). This takes quite a bit
of energy and will burn lots of calories.’
DROP IT LOW
If you’re still plugging through the
3 x 12 reps session that the gym
instructor gave you a year ago, it’s time
to mix up your weights workout. ‘Your
body needs progressive overload to make
progress,’ says Gray. And this means
taxing your muscles more this week than
you did last week. ‘If you’re coming in and
going through the motions, you’ll struggle
to see results. Try doing dropsets, which
involves completing an exercise at a certain
weight before dropping the weight slightly
and performing the same exercise. This is a
great way to push the body to failure [when
it can’t physically do that move anymore,
which leads to strength gains].’
WORDS: Sarah Ivory PHOTOGRAPHY: iStock
GIVE IT A REST
Sure, rest periods are important. They give
your body a chance to restore, recover
and replenish, meaning you can hit the
next set just as hard as the last one. But,
by cleverly selecting exercises that work
different muscle groups, you can skimp
on rest, give worked muscles a chance
to recoup and keep up the intensity.
‘Switch between upper- and lower-body
CURB THE CARDIO
Love spending the entire hour on the
treadmill? Bad news – unless you’re
training for an endurance event, spending
that long on a cardio machine isn’t the best
use of your time. What you need to do is
to up the intensity and decrease the time
of your aerobic session to supercharge
cardiovascular results. ‘There are lots
of ways to increase the intensity of your
workout,’ says Allyn Condon, personal
TRACK YOUR TIME
If you're motivated by competition, one
of the most effective ways to gain strength
and improve your fitness results is to
compete with yourself by tracking your
workouts. ‘When you’re not sticking to a
plan, you really will struggle to see results,’
warns Gray. ‘To get the most out of any
workout – whether it's long or short – you
need to be recording what you’re doing
and aiming to improve on that [by running
a bit faster, lifting more weight or clocking
more reps, for example] week-on-week.’
Yes, it’s time to invest in that workout diary
you've been promising yourself.
Health& Fitness 101