Here is a video montage of the worlds strongest gymnasts in action. Really impressive stuff and whilst the strength feats on show are above and beyond what the average person requires it does go to show what an impressive physique can be carved using nothing more than a set of rings. Enjoy the video;
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“Nothing good comes in life or athletics unless a lot of hard work has preceded the effort. Only temporary success is achieved by taking shortcuts.”
Roger Staubach
“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save & preserve it.”
Plato 427-347 BC
Gymless Training Blog
Lord Of The Rings Video
Alistair Ramsay - Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Eccentric Pull Ups - The Best Way To Achieve Your First Full Pull Up
Alistair Ramsay - Monday, May 03, 2010
Pull Ups are the best way to develop a powerful back and strong arms yet many lack the strength to be able to perform a single repetition of this great movement. As a result the pull up often gets excluded from many training programs.
This is a flawed attitude, the fact that you can't do a single pull up should indicate that this is an area of weakness and therefore something you should be working on in your training. Too many people stick to their strengths and ignore their weaknesses!!
If you are struggling to perform your first pull up, the best way to get there is to start performing eccentric pull ups.
In an eccentric pull up you jump up to the top of the movement to bypass the tricky concentric phase. Once at the top you slowly lower yourself to the floor fighting against gravity all the way. Once at the bottom of the movement you use your legs to jump back up to the top of the pull up and repeat.
Here is how a cycle of eccentric pull up training could work;
Week 1
If you have any question/comments regarding this post it would be great to hear from you. Please get in touch using the "comments" link below and I shall aim to get back to you ASAP
Alistair Ramsay
BSc Applied Sports Science
Personal Trainer London
This is a flawed attitude, the fact that you can't do a single pull up should indicate that this is an area of weakness and therefore something you should be working on in your training. Too many people stick to their strengths and ignore their weaknesses!!
If you are struggling to perform your first pull up, the best way to get there is to start performing eccentric pull ups.
In an eccentric pull up you jump up to the top of the movement to bypass the tricky concentric phase. Once at the top you slowly lower yourself to the floor fighting against gravity all the way. Once at the bottom of the movement you use your legs to jump back up to the top of the pull up and repeat.
Here is how a cycle of eccentric pull up training could work;
Week 1
- 3 sets of 5 Eccentric Pull Ups (10 second descents)
- Repeat twice per week
- 4 sets of 5 Eccentric Pull Ups (10 second descents)
- Repeat twice per week
- 5 sets of 5 Eccentric Pull Ups (10 second descents)
- Repeat twice per week
- 3 sets of 5 Eccentric Pull Ups (15 second descents)
- Repeat twice per week
- 4 sets of 5 Eccentric Pull Ups (15 second descents)
- Repeat twice per week
- 5 sets of 5 Eccentric Pull Ups (15 second descents)
- Repeat twice per week
If you have any question/comments regarding this post it would be great to hear from you. Please get in touch using the "comments" link below and I shall aim to get back to you ASAP
Alistair Ramsay
BSc Applied Sports Science
Personal Trainer London
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Handstand Master At Work
Alistair Ramsay - Saturday, May 01, 2010
Hats off to this man who demonstrates some very impressive strength and balance in this video;
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3 Simple Ways To Increase Growth Hormone & Burn Fat
Alistair Ramsay - Friday, April 30, 2010
Here is a short video from Eat-Stop-Eat author Brad Pilon discussing the importance of growth hormone for fat loss. Check it out below;
Growth Hormone can help you burn fat, increase muscle and boost your metabolism, that is pretty good right?
The best news is that boosting levels of this powerful hormone is actually very simple. Outlined below are three of the best ways to naturally increase growth hormone production in your body;
Quality Sleep
During your sleep, levels of growth hormone spike. Constantly depriving yourself of quality sleep is a sure fire way to limit the production of this important hormone. Not to mention all the other detrimental effects poor sleep can have on you over the long-term.
High Intensity Workouts
Workouts that produce high levels of lactic acid are great for triggering growth hormone release. These type of workouts are not easy, far from. But they are very effective.
Examples include high volume strength workouts with minimal rest periods and/or high intensity conditioning routines such as hill sprints.
Short Term Fasts
In his best selling product Eat-Stop-Eat, Brad Pilon shows how short term fasts can naturally help increase growth hormone levels. It is well worth a read. Check out my Eat Stop Eat Review for more information.
If you have any question/comments regarding this post it would be great to hear from you. Please get in touch using the "comments" link below and I shall aim to get back to you ASAP
Alistair Ramsay
BSc Applied Sports Science
Personal Trainer London
Growth Hormone can help you burn fat, increase muscle and boost your metabolism, that is pretty good right?
The best news is that boosting levels of this powerful hormone is actually very simple. Outlined below are three of the best ways to naturally increase growth hormone production in your body;
Quality Sleep
During your sleep, levels of growth hormone spike. Constantly depriving yourself of quality sleep is a sure fire way to limit the production of this important hormone. Not to mention all the other detrimental effects poor sleep can have on you over the long-term.
High Intensity Workouts
Workouts that produce high levels of lactic acid are great for triggering growth hormone release. These type of workouts are not easy, far from. But they are very effective.
Examples include high volume strength workouts with minimal rest periods and/or high intensity conditioning routines such as hill sprints.
Short Term Fasts
In his best selling product Eat-Stop-Eat, Brad Pilon shows how short term fasts can naturally help increase growth hormone levels. It is well worth a read. Check out my Eat Stop Eat Review for more information.
If you have any question/comments regarding this post it would be great to hear from you. Please get in touch using the "comments" link below and I shall aim to get back to you ASAP
Alistair Ramsay
BSc Applied Sports Science
Personal Trainer London
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What Are Progressive Calisthenics?
Alistair Ramsay - Tuesday, April 27, 2010
I often get asked what are progressive calisthenics? Well apart from being the oldest form of strength training there is, progressive calisthenics are also amongst the simplest. Here is how they work;
Progressive Calisthenics have been used by warrior cultures through the ages and remain the primary strength training method used by many military personnel to this day. However they are not just for tough guys, far from. If you lack the strength to perform a certain movement e.g. a push up, progressive calisthenics allow you to regress the exercise to a level that you can perform. This makes it a system suitable for anyone from complete beginner to advanced athlete.
Progressing a movement is simply a matter of manipulating the leverage to a less favorable position. Using the pushing movement as an example, here is a mini-series of exercise progressions or 'progressive calisthenics' that you could use to take you from weakling to your first push up;
Of course it is not just pushing movements that are used. A good system of progressive calisthenics will use pushing, pulling, squatting and core progressions to effectively strengthen the body from head to toe!
Progressive calisthenics can build through a long series of progressions until you are able to perform some pretty awesome strength feats such as handstand push ups or one arm pull ups
Hopefully this post has helped to clarify exactly what progressive calisthenics involve. For more info on the history of calisthenics follow this links Calisthenics Explained.
- Practice a movement
- Get stronger
- Progress onto a harder movement
- Get stronger
- Progress onto a harder movement
Progressive Calisthenics have been used by warrior cultures through the ages and remain the primary strength training method used by many military personnel to this day. However they are not just for tough guys, far from. If you lack the strength to perform a certain movement e.g. a push up, progressive calisthenics allow you to regress the exercise to a level that you can perform. This makes it a system suitable for anyone from complete beginner to advanced athlete.
Progressing a movement is simply a matter of manipulating the leverage to a less favorable position. Using the pushing movement as an example, here is a mini-series of exercise progressions or 'progressive calisthenics' that you could use to take you from weakling to your first push up;
- Vertical Wall Push Ups
- 45 Degree Push Ups
- Eccentric Push Ups
- Full Push Ups
Of course it is not just pushing movements that are used. A good system of progressive calisthenics will use pushing, pulling, squatting and core progressions to effectively strengthen the body from head to toe!
Progressive calisthenics can build through a long series of progressions until you are able to perform some pretty awesome strength feats such as handstand push ups or one arm pull ups
Hopefully this post has helped to clarify exactly what progressive calisthenics involve. For more info on the history of calisthenics follow this links Calisthenics Explained.
Suspension Training Exercise Video
Alistair Ramsay - Monday, April 26, 2010
Here is a neat video detailing some of the many suspension training exercises you can do. The guy in the video is using gymnastic rings but other suspension training systems like the 'Jungle Gym' and the 'TRX Suspension Trainer' would also work well for most of these exercises. One of the great things about suspension training is the portability factor. You can take these bits of kit with you anywhere you go and hook them up over door frames, goal posts, tree limbs etc giving you the freedom to get in a great workout wherever you are.
Hill Sprints - The Ultimate Conditioning Tool
Alistair Ramsay - Friday, April 23, 2010
Hill Sprints have to be the single most challenging conditioning workout there is. High repetition kettlebell work, burpee ladders and 400m intervals are all a real test but none of these can match the demands placed on your muscles and energy systems during a prolonged session on the hill.
In this blog post I am going to examine some of the benefits you can derive from these cruel but brilliant workouts;
Hill Sprints will improve your cardiovascular fitness
This needs little explanation, just try sprinting up a hill and see how your heart and lungs respond at the top? Unless you are an athletic freak your heart and lungs will go into overdrive and this is after just one run. See how you feel at the end of 10!!
Hill Sprints will improve the efficiency of your energy systems
This goes hand in hand with my first point. Hill sprints create an enormous demand on your energy systems (anaerobic and aerobic) leading to more efficient conversion of fuel to energy. This helps improve your stamina and endurance meaning you will no longer cough up a lung when you run to catch a train or when your playing football in the park with your friends.
Hill Sprints will burn fat and drastically improve your body composition
I think you will be hard pressed to find a workout that is more effective at burning fat and improving your body composition than hill sprints.
Hill sprints target almost every muscle in the body in particular the large and powerful muscles of the legs and hips. The combination of strength, speed and stamina needed in these muscles to drive your body up the hill produces a cascade of lactic acid which helps trigger the release of potent fat burning hormones such as HGH.
In addition the high intensity of hill sprints will create a high level of Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) that will keep your metabolism elevated for a sustained period of time after you have finished the workout. Some people refer to this as an 'afterburn' effect of exercise.
If you want to drastically alter the composition of your body then get your nutrition in check, do some strength training and supplement with a couple of hill sprint sessions a week. You will be lean in no time!!
Hill Sprints will make you more effective on the sporting pitch
Almost all field sports involve high intensity efforts followed by periods of active recovery. Hill sprints mimic this perfectly. Furthermore the intensity of hill sprints will far outweigh anything that you do on a sporting pitch. This is a good thing because when you come to play your sport you will feel like you could run forever!
Hill Sprints bridge the gap between strength workouts and conditioning
If you are short on time, then hill sprints provide more bang for your buck than almost any other form of training. Sprinting up a hill with a decent gradient will help strengthen all the major muscles groups in your lower body whilst simultaneously giving your heart and lungs one hell of a workout.
Hill Sprints help prevent pulled hamstrings
Traditional sprint workouts on flat ground often coincide with pulled hamstring muscles. This is not a problem on the hill. The reason you are less prone to injury is that you cannot reach maximum speed when running up a gradient as gravity and tiredness put the brakes on you.
Hill Sprints help prevent overuse injuries
Due to the high intensity of hill sprints you can only perform a handful of them until you are absolutely smoked. The actual distance you travel is tiny in comparison to the folks who head out for long distance runs a couple of times a week. This means you are far less likely to suffer the common chronic overuse injuries that plague long distance runners.
Hill Sprints reduce the impact on your joints
Your joints take less of a beating when you perform hill sprints because your foot has a shorter distance to travel before it hits the ground. Again this is great for keeping your body healthy.
Hill Sprints are free
No one is going to charge you a monthly fee to run up a hill. You get to escape to the outdoors and challenge yourself in the elements.
Conclusions
So there you go, a whole host of reasons to start getting hill sprints into your training routine. You will hate them, but you will also love them!! Are hill sprints the holy grail to fitness training? No, but then there is no such thing. Are they brutally effective? Absolutely.
In this blog post I am going to examine some of the benefits you can derive from these cruel but brilliant workouts;
Hill Sprints will improve your cardiovascular fitness
This needs little explanation, just try sprinting up a hill and see how your heart and lungs respond at the top? Unless you are an athletic freak your heart and lungs will go into overdrive and this is after just one run. See how you feel at the end of 10!!
Hill Sprints will improve the efficiency of your energy systems
This goes hand in hand with my first point. Hill sprints create an enormous demand on your energy systems (anaerobic and aerobic) leading to more efficient conversion of fuel to energy. This helps improve your stamina and endurance meaning you will no longer cough up a lung when you run to catch a train or when your playing football in the park with your friends.
Hill Sprints will burn fat and drastically improve your body composition
I think you will be hard pressed to find a workout that is more effective at burning fat and improving your body composition than hill sprints.
Hill sprints target almost every muscle in the body in particular the large and powerful muscles of the legs and hips. The combination of strength, speed and stamina needed in these muscles to drive your body up the hill produces a cascade of lactic acid which helps trigger the release of potent fat burning hormones such as HGH.
In addition the high intensity of hill sprints will create a high level of Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) that will keep your metabolism elevated for a sustained period of time after you have finished the workout. Some people refer to this as an 'afterburn' effect of exercise.
If you want to drastically alter the composition of your body then get your nutrition in check, do some strength training and supplement with a couple of hill sprint sessions a week. You will be lean in no time!!
Hill Sprints will make you more effective on the sporting pitch
Almost all field sports involve high intensity efforts followed by periods of active recovery. Hill sprints mimic this perfectly. Furthermore the intensity of hill sprints will far outweigh anything that you do on a sporting pitch. This is a good thing because when you come to play your sport you will feel like you could run forever!
Hill Sprints bridge the gap between strength workouts and conditioning
If you are short on time, then hill sprints provide more bang for your buck than almost any other form of training. Sprinting up a hill with a decent gradient will help strengthen all the major muscles groups in your lower body whilst simultaneously giving your heart and lungs one hell of a workout.
Hill Sprints help prevent pulled hamstrings
Traditional sprint workouts on flat ground often coincide with pulled hamstring muscles. This is not a problem on the hill. The reason you are less prone to injury is that you cannot reach maximum speed when running up a gradient as gravity and tiredness put the brakes on you.
Hill Sprints help prevent overuse injuries
Due to the high intensity of hill sprints you can only perform a handful of them until you are absolutely smoked. The actual distance you travel is tiny in comparison to the folks who head out for long distance runs a couple of times a week. This means you are far less likely to suffer the common chronic overuse injuries that plague long distance runners.
Hill Sprints reduce the impact on your joints
Your joints take less of a beating when you perform hill sprints because your foot has a shorter distance to travel before it hits the ground. Again this is great for keeping your body healthy.
Hill Sprints are free
No one is going to charge you a monthly fee to run up a hill. You get to escape to the outdoors and challenge yourself in the elements.
Conclusions
So there you go, a whole host of reasons to start getting hill sprints into your training routine. You will hate them, but you will also love them!! Are hill sprints the holy grail to fitness training? No, but then there is no such thing. Are they brutally effective? Absolutely.
What is Fitness?
Alistair Ramsay - Thursday, April 22, 2010
If someone was described as being extremely 'fit' most people would assume that this person had the ability to carry out endurance type activities such as long distance running with minimal exhaustion. However this is a misguided perception, what is being described is 'cardiovascular endurance' which is but one of the many components that comprise 'fitness'.
The term fitness is actually a very broad term that is used to described the following qualities;
You see fitness is relative to the goal. For example a powerlifter would have very high levels of max strength, making him/her very 'fit' for his/her chosen sport which involves lifting as much weight as possible in the deadlift,squat and bench press. However, ask that same powerlifter to run in a 10,000 meter race and they would suddenly not be so 'fit' as their cardiovascular endurance would be virtually non-existent.
When embarking on an exercise program, it is not enough to just have the goal of getting 'fit', you need to know what it is you want to get fit for as this will greatly impact the type of training you should perform in order to reach that goal.
The exception to this rule is if you are training for no particular goal other than you want to get yourself in better shape (which probably applies to the majority). In this instance followinging a fitness program that targets several components of 'fitness' is the option. This will give you a base level of General Physical Preparation (GPP). For many this is all the 'fitness' you will ever need, furthermore it puts you in a better position to then zero in on a particular 'fitness' goal should you choose to pursue a particular avenue of the 'fitness' equation.
Take home message, make sure your training is aligned with your fitness goals. If you have no specific goals then train all the components of fitness to give you a strong base of GPP.
If you have any question/comments regarding this post it would be great to hear from you. Please get in touch using the "comments" link below and I shall aim to get back to you ASAP
Alistair Ramsay
BSc Applied Sports Science
Personal Trainer London
The term fitness is actually a very broad term that is used to described the following qualities;
- Strength (and all its sub-types)
- Muscular Endurance
- Speed
- Flexibility
- Mobility
- Cardiovascular Endurance
You see fitness is relative to the goal. For example a powerlifter would have very high levels of max strength, making him/her very 'fit' for his/her chosen sport which involves lifting as much weight as possible in the deadlift,squat and bench press. However, ask that same powerlifter to run in a 10,000 meter race and they would suddenly not be so 'fit' as their cardiovascular endurance would be virtually non-existent.
When embarking on an exercise program, it is not enough to just have the goal of getting 'fit', you need to know what it is you want to get fit for as this will greatly impact the type of training you should perform in order to reach that goal.
The exception to this rule is if you are training for no particular goal other than you want to get yourself in better shape (which probably applies to the majority). In this instance followinging a fitness program that targets several components of 'fitness' is the option. This will give you a base level of General Physical Preparation (GPP). For many this is all the 'fitness' you will ever need, furthermore it puts you in a better position to then zero in on a particular 'fitness' goal should you choose to pursue a particular avenue of the 'fitness' equation.
Take home message, make sure your training is aligned with your fitness goals. If you have no specific goals then train all the components of fitness to give you a strong base of GPP.
If you have any question/comments regarding this post it would be great to hear from you. Please get in touch using the "comments" link below and I shall aim to get back to you ASAP
Alistair Ramsay
BSc Applied Sports Science
Personal Trainer London
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Inflammatory Foods
Alistair Ramsay - Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Inflammation is a chronic condition in modern society which causes aches, pains, disrupts internal organs and over a prolonged period of time can lead to more serious problems such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes!!
The reason so many people suffer from chronic inflammation is due in large to their diet. The following foods are known to cause inflammation in the body yet for many these foods provide the bulk of their food intake;
If you have any question/comments regarding this post it would be great to hear from you. Please get in touch using the "comments" link below and I shall aim to get back to you ASAP
Alistair Ramsay
BSc Applied Sports Science
Personal Trainer London
The reason so many people suffer from chronic inflammation is due in large to their diet. The following foods are known to cause inflammation in the body yet for many these foods provide the bulk of their food intake;
- Fried foods
- Soft Drinks
- Processed Meats
- Foods cooked at very high temperatures e.g. charred foods
- Sugar
- Hydrogenated Fat
- Artificial food additives/chemicals
- Processed Salt
If you have any question/comments regarding this post it would be great to hear from you. Please get in touch using the "comments" link below and I shall aim to get back to you ASAP
Alistair Ramsay
BSc Applied Sports Science
Personal Trainer London
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SIr Isaac Newton and Bodyweight Calisthenics
Alistair Ramsay - Friday, April 16, 2010
Calisthenic strength training like any other form of strength training requires the production of force to overcome resistance (in the case of calisthenics, the resistance comes from your own bodyweight and the pull of gravity). The more force you produce, the stronger you are.
Where does Sir Isaac Newton fit into all this?
Amongst other things Sir Isaac Newton is famous for his Laws of Motion. These laws are particularly relevant to human biomechanics as you will see below;
Sir Isaac Newton's Second Law of Motion states that;
Force = Mass x Acceleration
Using this equation you can quickly see how to manipulate the rules of physics to increase force production in your calisthenic workouts thus helping to increase your strength.
How do you do this?
Since 'Mass' is a fixed variable in calisthenic training, you must alter 'Acceleration' to increase force production.
This is done by increasing the 'acceleration' of a movement during the concentric phase (working against gravity). Using some calisthenic exercises as examples this would mean performing the upwards phase of a push up or pull up as explosively as you can.
Since Force = Mass x Acceleration and you have increased the 'Acceleration' then the overall 'Force' production must be greater!!
There you have it, an extremely simple way to increase force production in your calisthenic workouts using the fundamental laws of physics that will help boost your overall strength levels.
Where does Sir Isaac Newton fit into all this?
Amongst other things Sir Isaac Newton is famous for his Laws of Motion. These laws are particularly relevant to human biomechanics as you will see below;
Sir Isaac Newton's Second Law of Motion states that;
Force = Mass x Acceleration
Using this equation you can quickly see how to manipulate the rules of physics to increase force production in your calisthenic workouts thus helping to increase your strength.
How do you do this?
Since 'Mass' is a fixed variable in calisthenic training, you must alter 'Acceleration' to increase force production.
This is done by increasing the 'acceleration' of a movement during the concentric phase (working against gravity). Using some calisthenic exercises as examples this would mean performing the upwards phase of a push up or pull up as explosively as you can.
Since Force = Mass x Acceleration and you have increased the 'Acceleration' then the overall 'Force' production must be greater!!
There you have it, an extremely simple way to increase force production in your calisthenic workouts using the fundamental laws of physics that will help boost your overall strength levels.
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