To celebrate the fact that Spring is nearly here, and we've been open nearly six months already, we've got a VERY special offer coming your way tomorrow in the name of March Madness, so keep your eyes peeled for our awesome offer tomorrow!
I the meantime, we've got a great schedule of courses coming up to get you in fantastic shape for summer! Below is a summary of what's happening over the next couple of months, with a more detailed description of each below.
Tues March 15th - Kettlebell Bootcamp Level 2 (6 week course)
Sat April 16th - Kettlebell Bootcmap Level 1 (6 week course)
Wed April 20th - Olympic Lifting for Beginners (6 week course)
Sat April 22nd - Precision Nutrition Level 1 (8 week course)
Our ever popular kettlebell bootcamps are already in full swing (get it? :), and to make them even better we're once again splitting the courses into Level 1 (Beginners) and level 2 (Advanced) classes.
The next Level 1 course starts on Saturday April 16th at 10am at our awesome new facility in Godalming. This 6 week course takes place each Saturday and is suitable for anyone who wants to get fit and looking great in a new, dynamic and totally engaging way! Sign up early to avoid disappointment. The course is £59/person.
The next Level 2 course begins on Tuesday March 15th and is suitable for anyone who attended one of kettlebell bootcamps before. As well as teaching you the more advanced kettlebell drills, this high energy, slightly hardcore course will challenge and push you to reach new levels of conditioning and mental toughness. Whilst having a great laugh of course! That's the Phoenix Pro way. The course is £59/person.
Our first Olympic Lifting for Beginners course begins on Wednesday 20th April for 6 weeks. This course is ideal for anyone who takes part in sport and wants to get faster, more agile and more powerful, and thus perform better. It is also suitable for gym bunnies with a good level of fitness who wish to add a new element to their training. Then course will cover step by step technical coaching of the clean, snatch and jerk, as well as the essential strength developing lifts. If you're a keen runner, cyclist, triathlete, footballer, lacrosse player, rugby player etc etc, you NEED to be on this course. The course is £59/person.
Our first Precision Nutrition Level 1 course is currently under way and receiving fantastic feedback. The next course starts on Saturday 23rd April and is open to members and non-members of Phoenix Pro. This totally practical dietary course will teach you the science behind good nutrition and how you can use that knowledge to align your diet with your goals and still enjoy your food. The course is £75/person for 8 weeks and is available online as well as at Phoenix Pro.
For more information on any of the above courses or to book your spot, please contact us as info@phoenixprofitness.com or on 01483 801150
Have a great week!
The Phoenix Pro Fitness Team
www.phoenixprofitness.com
Monday 28 February 2011
Sunday 27 February 2011
The truth about training for fat loss
There is no doubt that the fast moving world of sport and exercise research combined with 'in the trenches', on the gym floor findings is an exciting place to be for coaches and fat loss seekers alike. New protocols, programs and nutritional strategies come up all the time, and there is a wealth of knowledge available to guide your journey to success if you are so inclined. What can make life difficult, however, is the myriad of conflicting views and ever changing opinions of various experts regarding exercise and nutrition, many of whom will advocate something new every month leaving nothing but confusion in their wake.
There are a number of ways to skin a cat, but if you're looking for fat loss, a good place to start is by taking a look at what stereotypically lean groups do and start applying those techniques to your own lifestyle.
Steady state aerobic exercise has taken some seriously heavy rap from trainers over the past few years, as Tremblay's (1994) landmark study demonstrated that high intensity interval training yielded a nine-fold increase in subcutaneous fat loss than steady state training. However, one look at the standard 'cutting' protocol for bodybuilders, the absolute masters or fat loss, indicates that submaximal exercise certainly plays its part in shedding those unwanted pounds. Indeed, longer stints of endurance exercise provide an effective way of increasing workload and thus energy expenditure, the latter of which being the most essential factor in fat loss. Unlike high intensity intervals, which relies heavily on carbohydrate as opposed to fat utilisation for energy, sub maximal training is a key stimulus for fatty acid oxidation, and thus plays an integral role in fat loss.
Bodybuilders, fitness models and other groups requiring high levels of body leaness often utilise what is known as depleted state training (training whilst fasted, ie. first thing in the morning before breakfast) in order to maximise the proportion of fat oxidised (ie. fatty acids stored in the form of tryglycerols in adipose tissue are mobilised in response to energy demands). In addition to optimising fat utilisation during exercise, depleted state training also upregulates the release of enzymes involved in fatty acid metabolism. Consequently, as it is dependent on fat rather than carbohydrate, a role for fasted, submaximal, steady state exercise(50-70% VO2 Max)becomes apparent. When utilising depleted state training, care must be taken to avoid muscle catabolism (breakdown) and the associated decline of basal metabolic rate. This can be achieved by increasing protein ingestion.
That's not to say that interval training doesn't play it's part too. Despite the fact that high intensity exercise primarily relies on glycolysis (the breakdown of glucose, a carbohydrate, into pyruvate), and the phosphocreatine system for energy, it nevertheless initiates a much greater Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), which is an increased energy requirement post-training. What is interesting is that this energy requirement is greatly contributed to via fat oxidation, meaning that high intensity intervals are, also, great for burning fat. Indeed, professional sprinters, who typically do considerably less overall work during a session than their long distance counterparts, are commonly the leanest athletes around.
Finally, resistance training, or lifting weights, lends itself extremely well to increasing basal metabolic rate and goal attainment providing the goal is fat loss rather than weight loss (muscle mass is considerably denser than fat and thus weighs more despite taking up less surface area). As well as initiating elevated heart rate and having anaerobic fitness gains, muscle gains resulting from resistance training also increases the energy cost of both exercise and recovery, making it a powerful stimulus for fat loss.
Obviously when deciding which fat loss strategy is right for you will depend greatly on your time availability and other goals. If you are a sprinter or thrower for example, steady state training is unlikely to be of use to you due to potentially negative impacts on your power output and anaerobic capacity. The take home message, therefore, is to think carefully about the following three things:
1) what tools you have available to you?
2) what your other goals are and which strategies will align well with them?
3) How much time do you have?
If in doubt, enlist the help of a good coach who will help you establish a program suited to you and your goals.
www.phoenixprofitness.com
There are a number of ways to skin a cat, but if you're looking for fat loss, a good place to start is by taking a look at what stereotypically lean groups do and start applying those techniques to your own lifestyle.
Steady state aerobic exercise has taken some seriously heavy rap from trainers over the past few years, as Tremblay's (1994) landmark study demonstrated that high intensity interval training yielded a nine-fold increase in subcutaneous fat loss than steady state training. However, one look at the standard 'cutting' protocol for bodybuilders, the absolute masters or fat loss, indicates that submaximal exercise certainly plays its part in shedding those unwanted pounds. Indeed, longer stints of endurance exercise provide an effective way of increasing workload and thus energy expenditure, the latter of which being the most essential factor in fat loss. Unlike high intensity intervals, which relies heavily on carbohydrate as opposed to fat utilisation for energy, sub maximal training is a key stimulus for fatty acid oxidation, and thus plays an integral role in fat loss.
Bodybuilders, fitness models and other groups requiring high levels of body leaness often utilise what is known as depleted state training (training whilst fasted, ie. first thing in the morning before breakfast) in order to maximise the proportion of fat oxidised (ie. fatty acids stored in the form of tryglycerols in adipose tissue are mobilised in response to energy demands). In addition to optimising fat utilisation during exercise, depleted state training also upregulates the release of enzymes involved in fatty acid metabolism. Consequently, as it is dependent on fat rather than carbohydrate, a role for fasted, submaximal, steady state exercise(50-70% VO2 Max)becomes apparent. When utilising depleted state training, care must be taken to avoid muscle catabolism (breakdown) and the associated decline of basal metabolic rate. This can be achieved by increasing protein ingestion.
That's not to say that interval training doesn't play it's part too. Despite the fact that high intensity exercise primarily relies on glycolysis (the breakdown of glucose, a carbohydrate, into pyruvate), and the phosphocreatine system for energy, it nevertheless initiates a much greater Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), which is an increased energy requirement post-training. What is interesting is that this energy requirement is greatly contributed to via fat oxidation, meaning that high intensity intervals are, also, great for burning fat. Indeed, professional sprinters, who typically do considerably less overall work during a session than their long distance counterparts, are commonly the leanest athletes around.
Finally, resistance training, or lifting weights, lends itself extremely well to increasing basal metabolic rate and goal attainment providing the goal is fat loss rather than weight loss (muscle mass is considerably denser than fat and thus weighs more despite taking up less surface area). As well as initiating elevated heart rate and having anaerobic fitness gains, muscle gains resulting from resistance training also increases the energy cost of both exercise and recovery, making it a powerful stimulus for fat loss.
Obviously when deciding which fat loss strategy is right for you will depend greatly on your time availability and other goals. If you are a sprinter or thrower for example, steady state training is unlikely to be of use to you due to potentially negative impacts on your power output and anaerobic capacity. The take home message, therefore, is to think carefully about the following three things:
1) what tools you have available to you?
2) what your other goals are and which strategies will align well with them?
3) How much time do you have?
If in doubt, enlist the help of a good coach who will help you establish a program suited to you and your goals.
www.phoenixprofitness.com
Thursday 24 February 2011
Train with the UK Personal Trainer of the Year 2010, wherever you are!
Since winning Personal Trainer of the Year 2010 I've been inundated
with requests from people wanting to train remotely with me, but
with the opening of my awesome new personal
training/fitness club, Phoenix Pro Fitness, in Godalming I haven't been able to take on any more remote trainees due to time restraints.
Well, I bring good news! Now that Phoenix Pro is open and getting
fantastic results our our 'in house' members, I once again have
some spaces for remote trainees.
Our remote training package gives you the opportunity to benefit
from top class coaching and programme design from the comfort of
your own home. Whether you train at a gym near you or in your
living room (or curently not at all!) a regularly progressing
programme, based specifically
on your goals, training history and biomechanics, combined with my
coaching expertise and support, is guaranteed to turbo charge your
fitness levels, boost your sporting performance (or your
performance in the game of life), and improve your health
significantly, not to mention have you looking HOT in time for summer :)
We offer both 3 month and annual remote training packages, both of
which include the following:
- thorough nutritional, lifestyle, biomechanical and health
assessments.
- individual programme design, changed every 4-6 weeks.
- ongoing email support
- full nutritional support to align your diet with your goals and
lifestyle
- our comprehensive Phoenix Pro Fitness Exercise Manual
Our 3 month and 12 month remote training packages are priced at
£49/month and £39/month respectively.
For more information please contact me at info@phoenixprofitness.com
Spaces are limited so if you want to make a big impact on your
fitness, waistline or performance this year without the personal
training price tag, get in touch today!
Have a great day,
Charlotte
with requests from people wanting to train remotely with me, but
with the opening of my awesome new personal
training/fitness club, Phoenix Pro Fitness, in Godalming I haven't been able to take on any more remote trainees due to time restraints.
Well, I bring good news! Now that Phoenix Pro is open and getting
fantastic results our our 'in house' members, I once again have
some spaces for remote trainees.
Our remote training package gives you the opportunity to benefit
from top class coaching and programme design from the comfort of
your own home. Whether you train at a gym near you or in your
living room (or curently not at all!) a regularly progressing
programme, based specifically
on your goals, training history and biomechanics, combined with my
coaching expertise and support, is guaranteed to turbo charge your
fitness levels, boost your sporting performance (or your
performance in the game of life), and improve your health
significantly, not to mention have you looking HOT in time for summer :)
We offer both 3 month and annual remote training packages, both of
which include the following:
- thorough nutritional, lifestyle, biomechanical and health
assessments.
- individual programme design, changed every 4-6 weeks.
- ongoing email support
- full nutritional support to align your diet with your goals and
lifestyle
- our comprehensive Phoenix Pro Fitness Exercise Manual
Our 3 month and 12 month remote training packages are priced at
£49/month and £39/month respectively.
For more information please contact me at info@phoenixprofitness.com
Spaces are limited so if you want to make a big impact on your
fitness, waistline or performance this year without the personal
training price tag, get in touch today!
Have a great day,
Charlotte
Monday 21 February 2011
Banishing Back Pain...
Yesterday my team and I here at Phoenix Pro Fitness had the
pleasure of hosting chiropractor and fitness coach Austin Lawrence,
and 25 health and fitness professionals, for a back pain workshop.
Mechanical back pain affects millions of people, with 85% of the US
population experiencing an episode at some point during their
lifetime. Indeed, both in the US and UK, a bad back comes second
only to the common cold when looking at GP/physician reason for
attendance figures.
Of all cases of back pain, 70% are due to lumbar sprain or strain,
10% are due to age related degeneration of discs and facet joints,
4% are due to herniated discs, 4% due to osteoporotic compression
fractures and 3% to spinal stenosis. All other cases account for
less than 1% of cases.
What this essentially means is that 70% of back pain is curable
with the correct combination of manual therapy and corrective
exercise. Contrary to popular belief, however, this does not mean
endless stretching of the hamstrings (which will probably add
further problems by increasing rather than reducing anterior pelvic
tilt and increasing lumbar compression),
or improving the strength of your back musculature (which is not a
precursor of back health, particularly in the short term, but back extensor endurance is...), or
doing loads of sit ups to strengthen your torso (spinal specialist
Dr. Stuart McGill actually initiated degenerative disc disease by
putting rats on a trunk flexion machine...).
So what is the answer?
Well, the bad news is that the answer very much depends on your
individual symptoms, fascial status and skeletal alignment. It could be a case of ankle binding, tight fascial trains, anterior femoral glide syndrome, reduced spinal stabilisation, amongst a host of other disadvantaged states..
The good news, however, is that all of these things are easily
identified and corrected with a thorough kinetic chain assessment
and subsequent soft tissue and decompression work. For members of
Phoenix Pro, this is included in your membership already, so if you
have any niggles at all we can straighten them out for you right
away. If you're not a member of Phoenix but would like a full
evaluation, please contact us today on 01483 801150 or
info@phoenixprofitness.com
Similarly, ankle and knee pain can often be rectified in a matter
of minutes.
Above all, remember that pain is your body's way of telling you
that something isn't right and needs to be fixed, otherwise it will
just compensate more and create other problems elsewhere.
Don't put up with pain, get it fixed!
Have a great week,
Charlotte
Friday 18 February 2011
Overtraining, and how to avoid it..
I received an email recently which made me think about over-training, and how, if it occurs in athletes who are regularly overseen by qualified coaches, the likelihood is a lot of people training by themselves may be succumbing to, or running the risk of it.
What is over training?
Over training (often referred to as burnout, overfatigue and chronic overwork) is defined as excessive frequency, volume or intensity of training that results in reduced performance, fatigue, illness or injury. These symptoms are often as a result of insufficient rest and recovery, and also inadequate nutritional support. There are various stages of anaerobic overtraining, with the initial decrements occuring in the neural system, then the endocrine system (reduced testosterone and insulin like growth factor and increased cortisol (stress hormone) levels), and then all of the body's systems (neural, endocrine, muscular, cardiovascular, metabolic, immune and psychological).
In the short term, over training is referred to as 'overreaching' and is a practice frequently utilised by the S&C community to promote significant strength and power gains. Indeed, a planned phase of over work (designed to suppress performance and build tolerance) followed by a period of rest to rebound performance levels, is often purposefully factored into athletic training programmes. It should be noted, however, that this is very different from prolonged periods of over work, which cannot be recovered from in a matter of days.
Over training syndrome brings about a feeling of reduced motivation, plateaus or reductions in performance, and lethargy, and is often caused by too high a rate of progression (ie. too rapid an increase of either volume or intensity, or both).
Whilst in laboratory research into overtraining is thin on the ground (not that many people want to purposefully train to the point of feeling crappy and significantly under performing) field studies have indicated that the overtraining state is specific to individuals and their genetics, training status and individual responses i.e the same stimulus can over train one person but not another.
So how can we avoid it?
If you're training under the guidance of a good coach, the chances are they will be monitoring your energy levels, strength, aerobic and anaerobic development and mood, and prescribing you programme accordingly, so you can probably rest assured that over training won't be an issue for you. If you are training on your own and feeling below par, however, it may be worth consulting an expert to discuss your current program and whether it is structured appropriately to get you to your goal, or whether you are just going to run yourself into the ground.
Optimal performance (and by that I mean functioning at your best whether it be for fat loss or an olympic medal) depends largely on the careful manipulation of work, rest and nutrition in order to promote adaptation without pushing the body too far over the edge and at risk of injury or illness. The more experienced an athlete is, the closer to this mark they need to train in order to stimulate a positive response.
Periodisation (the breaking down of your programme into annual, monthly (-ish, weekly and daily components) allows us to ensure that all of the essential components of an individual's requirements are covered whilst also allowing sufficient time to rest, recover and adapt.
At the end of the day, the key to avoiding overtraining is in the preparation.
Are you allowing sufficient time to recover from neurologically fatiguing workouts (ie strength training)?
Are you allowing sufficient time for psychological rest?
Is your diet supporting your body, or making life hard for it?
If in doubt, seek expert advice. It doesn't matter how slim you are if you feel like death and get injured all the time.
Train well!
What is over training?
Over training (often referred to as burnout, overfatigue and chronic overwork) is defined as excessive frequency, volume or intensity of training that results in reduced performance, fatigue, illness or injury. These symptoms are often as a result of insufficient rest and recovery, and also inadequate nutritional support. There are various stages of anaerobic overtraining, with the initial decrements occuring in the neural system, then the endocrine system (reduced testosterone and insulin like growth factor and increased cortisol (stress hormone) levels), and then all of the body's systems (neural, endocrine, muscular, cardiovascular, metabolic, immune and psychological).
In the short term, over training is referred to as 'overreaching' and is a practice frequently utilised by the S&C community to promote significant strength and power gains. Indeed, a planned phase of over work (designed to suppress performance and build tolerance) followed by a period of rest to rebound performance levels, is often purposefully factored into athletic training programmes. It should be noted, however, that this is very different from prolonged periods of over work, which cannot be recovered from in a matter of days.
Over training syndrome brings about a feeling of reduced motivation, plateaus or reductions in performance, and lethargy, and is often caused by too high a rate of progression (ie. too rapid an increase of either volume or intensity, or both).
Whilst in laboratory research into overtraining is thin on the ground (not that many people want to purposefully train to the point of feeling crappy and significantly under performing) field studies have indicated that the overtraining state is specific to individuals and their genetics, training status and individual responses i.e the same stimulus can over train one person but not another.
So how can we avoid it?
If you're training under the guidance of a good coach, the chances are they will be monitoring your energy levels, strength, aerobic and anaerobic development and mood, and prescribing you programme accordingly, so you can probably rest assured that over training won't be an issue for you. If you are training on your own and feeling below par, however, it may be worth consulting an expert to discuss your current program and whether it is structured appropriately to get you to your goal, or whether you are just going to run yourself into the ground.
Optimal performance (and by that I mean functioning at your best whether it be for fat loss or an olympic medal) depends largely on the careful manipulation of work, rest and nutrition in order to promote adaptation without pushing the body too far over the edge and at risk of injury or illness. The more experienced an athlete is, the closer to this mark they need to train in order to stimulate a positive response.
Periodisation (the breaking down of your programme into annual, monthly (-ish, weekly and daily components) allows us to ensure that all of the essential components of an individual's requirements are covered whilst also allowing sufficient time to rest, recover and adapt.
At the end of the day, the key to avoiding overtraining is in the preparation.
Are you allowing sufficient time to recover from neurologically fatiguing workouts (ie strength training)?
Are you allowing sufficient time for psychological rest?
Is your diet supporting your body, or making life hard for it?
If in doubt, seek expert advice. It doesn't matter how slim you are if you feel like death and get injured all the time.
Train well!
Monday 14 February 2011
Skinny Jeans Challenge! Would you like to drop 2 jeans sizes?
Firstly, Happy Valentine's Day one and all! Whether you are loved up, happily single or have yet to meet the one for you, I hope you're having a lovely day.
Here at Phoenix Pro we're turning our attention to the Spring, because a quick look outside tells us that it's on it's way - it's sunny! :)
Coming up in March we have our first Skinny Jeans Challenge, which is for all of you out there that have a favourite pair of jeans you just can;t fit into....
So what's involved?
The 8 week challenge begins with everyone taking part bringing in their skinny jeans and having their photo taken trying to get them on. We have to make sure you can't get them done up before you start!
You then take part in 4 Skinny Jeans Challenge classes per week (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri at 9.30am (a combination of strength, metabolic acceleration and regeneration classes programmed specifically to nip in your waist, slim your thighs and shape up your butt!
Each week you will also receive a coaching session covering the nutritional and lifestyle aspects of the challenge, which will not only help you achieve your 8 week transformation but also maintain it in the long term...
At the end of the 8 week challenge, you're a winner if you can say 'I can fit into my Skinny Jeans!' and everyone who fits into their jeans will be entered into a prize draw to win a pair of awesome designer jeans from Godalming store Catwalk.
So, if you are ready to drop some jeans sizes with the support of our team as well as like minded people, contact us today for more info!
01483 801150
or email info@phoenixprofitness.com
The challenge starts on March 7th and ppaces are limited to 20, so call today!
Here at Phoenix Pro we're turning our attention to the Spring, because a quick look outside tells us that it's on it's way - it's sunny! :)
Coming up in March we have our first Skinny Jeans Challenge, which is for all of you out there that have a favourite pair of jeans you just can;t fit into....
So what's involved?
The 8 week challenge begins with everyone taking part bringing in their skinny jeans and having their photo taken trying to get them on. We have to make sure you can't get them done up before you start!
You then take part in 4 Skinny Jeans Challenge classes per week (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri at 9.30am (a combination of strength, metabolic acceleration and regeneration classes programmed specifically to nip in your waist, slim your thighs and shape up your butt!
Each week you will also receive a coaching session covering the nutritional and lifestyle aspects of the challenge, which will not only help you achieve your 8 week transformation but also maintain it in the long term...
At the end of the 8 week challenge, you're a winner if you can say 'I can fit into my Skinny Jeans!' and everyone who fits into their jeans will be entered into a prize draw to win a pair of awesome designer jeans from Godalming store Catwalk.
So, if you are ready to drop some jeans sizes with the support of our team as well as like minded people, contact us today for more info!
01483 801150
or email info@phoenixprofitness.com
The challenge starts on March 7th and ppaces are limited to 20, so call today!
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