A quick bonus tip:

Originally coined by Chila, Peckham and Manheim, back in 1981 and used for the title of their course at Michigan State University: ‘‘Myofascial Release’’

What is fascia tissue?

Fascia is the body’s connective tissue. It's fibrous cobweb-like connective tissue found throughout the whole of the body runing from head to toe. Your fascia provides a framework that helps support and protect individual muscle groups, organs, and the entire body as a unit.

What is a strength curve?

A strength curve is a graphical representation of how a muscle generates and applies force in a specific direction. This force is then represented using three basic categories: ascending, descending and bell-shaped.

Eccentric contraction explained:

An eccentric contraction occurs when a muscle lengthens under load. An example of this would be when you're lowing yourself into a squatting position. Generally speaking, a muscle can be upto 150% stronger during an eccentric contraction than a concentric contraction. 

Concentric contraction explained:

A concentric contraction occurs when a muscle shortens. An example of this would be when you're coming up from a bottom of a squat.

What are muscle fascicles?

In anatomy, a muscle fascicle is a bundle of skeletal muscle fibers surrounded by perimysium, a type of connective tissue.

Who is Michael Goulden?

Michael Goulden is the founder of a training company and is a resistance training specialist in exercise mechanics. He has been integrating exercise mechanics with neuromuscular preparation to create a uniquely sustainable approach to health, fitness and performance.

Who is Charles Poliquin?

Charles Poliquin is recognised as one of the world’s most accomplished strength coaches, and has produced hundreds of medals, wins and personal bests for elite athletes in over 17 different sports, including athletes for both the summer and winter Olympics, the NHL, and NFL.

Who is Ben Pakulski?

Ben Pakulski, nicknamed the Pak-Man, holds an Honors Degree in Kinesiology and is an IFBB professional bodybuilder and winner of the 2008 Mr. Canada competition. In the IFBB, he finished 2nd twice in 2008.

What is a level 5 trainer?

Our level five trainers are our ‘elite’. They’re seriously experienced, and incredibly knowledgeable. They have all gone above and beyond, attending numerous industry events, clocking up multiple courses, and spending numerous hours learning through practical experience with clients. They have shown unparalleled dedication to becoming the best personal trainers possible, and have been recognised in the health and fitness industry for their level of excellence.

What is a level 4 trainer?

Our level four trainers have gone the extra mile. All of them have further industry qualifications, whether in nutrition, post-natal exercise, endurance or hypertrophy. They have attended workshops, webinars and courses to lift their learning above others in the area. They are likely to have been a personal trainer for several years, and be pushing to learn more about how they can offer the best possible advice to you.

What is a level 3 trainer?

Our level three trainers are fully qualified, with industry-recognised qualifications, but are relatively new to personal training. What they lack in experience, they will make up for in dedication and enthusiasm. All our level three trainers work closely with a more senior member of the team to ensure the Hall Training quality of service is maintained, and you make constant progress towards your goals.

Did you know?

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Aug 2016

Five things we learned about fitness in July

TAGS: 5 things weve learnt

It’s a new month already, and time again for our monthly review of the best new health and fitness studies. This month, brilliant research on obesity, preferential activating different muscles during squats and, of course, Pokemon Go all make an appearance!

 Vector force is important when you’re training for sport performance
One very interesting study primarily looked at training for sprinting, however, the principles can be transferred to training for any sport. It examined the effects of using different force vectors (essentially the direction of force) and how that can impact on performance. For example, squats (which have a vertical force vector) did not increase performance as much as hip thrusters (which have a horizontal force vector). Thus, when training for a sport you should always think about what direction the force of your sport is. High jumpers are vertical, sprinters are horizontal.

Fat has more of an impact on obesity than sugar
Should we really be as worried about sugar as the media makes out? Well, a new study in the International Journal of Epidemiology would suggest not. The study looked at the contribution of all macronutrients towards total energy intake. The results showed that a higher percentage of total calories in came from fat rather than sugar. In short, there is no point in reducing sugar if the number of calories you consume is still higher than the calories you expend, as this will still cause weight gain.

You can’t preferentially activate the vastus medialis during a squat
There have been numerous theories about foot and hip positioning and how different joint angle and ranges of motion can be manipulated to emphasise the use of the vastus medialis over the vastus lateralis during a squat. However, this study showed that this was not the case, and although it is possible to increase quadriceps activation in the squat, each of the quad muscles increase at the same rate.
Having said that I would like to see a study done on an excessive heel elevation. As we use an exercise called the Cyclist Squat, which places the heels in an elevated state well beyond that of Olympic lifting shoes and find this really targets the vastus medials more so than the other quadricep muscles.

Yes, you should ‘Catch Them All’!
Now, this is the topic that everyone is talking about . . . Pokemon Go! I have never seen so many people out and about in Oxford as I have in the past few weeks. Nobody can dispute that Pokemon Go is getting people out of the house and walking around. This is particularly helpful when we consider a recent study, which highlights the need for regular exercise to break up long sedentary periods, and suggests that people should do at least 150 minutes of exercise every week. With an estimated 75 million downloads (gym memberships worldwide are estimated at 150 million) should we appreciate Pokemon Go more as a health app than a game? We think so!

Not all types of training require pre-workout
With pre-workout formulas becoming more and more popular among gym goers, it’s good to know whether they actually help or not. One study this month has shown us that acute pre-workout supplementation (containing caffeine) does improve anaerobic peak and mean power. However, there was no improvement on upper and lower body power or upper body strength. This result may be because caffeine has a dose-dependent effect when it comes to strength and should be individually dosed to each person based on body weight. However, the take-home lesson for now is, that you don’t always need a pre-workout, depending on what type of training you are doing at the time.

Watch this space to see what we learn next month! Besides getting out and playing on Pokemon Go how many of these points can you action in your training today?  

References:
1. Effects of a six-week hip thrust versus front  squat resistance training program on performance in adolescent males – a randomized controlled trial, by Contreras, Vigotsky, Schoenfeld, Beardsley, McMaster, Reyneke, & Cronin, in The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 2016
2. Adiposity among 132479 UK Biobank participants; contribution of sugar intake vs other macronutrients, by Anderson, Celis-Morales, Mackay, Iliodromiti, Lyall, Sattar, Gill and Pell, in The International Journal of Epidemiology 2016
3. Can you emphasize vastus medialis activation in squats?, by Beardsley, Chris
4. University of Leicester. (2016, July 25). Pokémon Go could ease Type 2 diabetes burden. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 9, 2016 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160725090154.htm
5. The effect of acute pre-workout supplementation on power and strength performance, by Martinez, Campbell, Franek, Buchanan and Colquhoun in The Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2016