Category Archives: Personal Training

Exercise of the Month – The Wall Sit

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The wall sit is an exercise you can perform just about anywhere, without any gym equipment.

This exercise involves sitting, with your back against a wall in a squat position and simply holding the position for as long as you can – with practice this will improve over time!

Teaching Points:

  • Keep your head and back touching the wall
  • Keep the legs at a 90 degree angle
  • Hold your arms out in front of you to work your shoulders

This exercise builds on your isometric strength and endurance in the quads and glutes – a favourite exercise to perform for the pre-ski season!

There are a number of variations to the wall sit which include using a stability ball, one legged wall sits or holding weights in your hands.

Check out our new Exercise of the Month video as Personal Trainer Caroline Riddall demonstrates the stability ball wall sit.

Happy training, any questions please ask!

Caroline Riddall, Personal Trainer, Caversham Health & Fitness

Exercise of the Month – Incline Bench Two Arm Dumbbell Row

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For this exercise you will need Dumbbells and an Incline bench, alternatively you can prop up one end of a straight bench.

Set Up

  • Set dumbbells down at the high end of the bench
  • Lay face down on the bench so that your chest is at the end of the bench
  • Your feet can either hang off the end of the bench or be placed on the floor on either side of the bench for stability

Action

  • Grasp the dumbbells with an overhand grip (palms facing you) and raise the dumbbells off the floor slightly
  • Keep your head up and your eyes looking forward, and then slowly raise the dumbbells up as far as possible
  • Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of the movement, and then lower the dumbbells back to the starting position

Teaching points

  • Keep your eyes up
  • Increase the intensity and effectiveness of the exercise by pausing for a count of 1-2 at the top of the movement

Check out our brand new video as Personal Trainer Ben Wilson demonstrates this month’s Exercise of the Month – The Incline Bench Two Arm Dumbell Row.


EOTM written by Oli Greiner, Gym Instructor, Caversham Health & Fitness

Any questions, please ask an instructor. Happy training!

For more information call us on 0118 948 4849

Happy New You…

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Happy New You - Exercise Tips for the New YearBeat the post holiday blues and shape up in 2013 with top motivation tips from our in house personal trainers Caroline Riddall and Ben Wilson;

  • Coming back to the gym after Christmas can be hard. Give yourself a few sessions with slightly lower intensity to make it easier on yourself and so you will be more motivated to come in.
  • Mark your outlook calendar with your workouts as if they were actual appointments. This makes you plan around the sessions and hopefully you won’t bail at the last minute!
  • Set appropriate mini and long term goals. Make sure you set more than one so you can celebrate each time you complete one of them.
  • Keep a log of all your gym workouts, try to improve all the times/weights/reps every session so you can visibly see your progress.
  • Try new classes, this will help to mix things up and you might find a new class you really enjoy!
  • Try something new in your routine, a 2000 m row or maybe a change of exercises altogether to start fresh for the New Year.

How can our trainers help?

FREE Member Review
Book in for a FREE Monthly Review with one of our trainers – Caroline, Ben or  Andy. Our trainers can help you change your exercise routine, show you some new exercises and help you with your technique.

Personal Training
A personal trainer can help you at all stages of your training.  If you are new to the gym a PT will get you started on a programme designed specifically for based on your personal goals.  If you are a seasoned gym user a PT can help you fine tune your workout and stay motivated.  Your PT will introduce you to new exercises to work different areas of the body, increase fitness or burn fat … whatever you are aiming to do!

Not sure if it’s for you?  Try a PT Taster – just £60 for 3 one hour sessions.

See our latest offers and promotions at Caversham Health & Fitness

Goal Setting for Success

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Quite often people find themselves stuck for motivation or are forgetting their original goals for this year. This is perfectly normal when somebody hits their goals and doesn’t feel the need to set another target, other priorities have become more important or boredom has set in and you no longer feel that your routine is stimulating you so inevitably you’ve run out of patience.

A simple, process for keeping that fire going is setting a short, medium and long-term target.

Here is an example of a plan for somebody who wants to lose 14lbs:

  • Short Term:  First 4 weeks
    Read up on diet and exercise techniques or consult a Personal Trainer at Club CHF for a free program review and get some immediate tips and pointers. Aim to lose 2-3lbs.
  • Medium Term:  8 to 10 weeks
    Continue researching to keep the momentum going and anticipate things slowing down. Aim for 7lbs fat loss and start to set new fitness goals.
  • Long Term:  10 weeks onwards
    When target of 14lbs of fat loss has been achieved, set a new goal and start the process over again.

If you are struggling to set a goal, we are more than happy to have a chat to see if we can come up with something that you think might be attainable and monitor your progress with a free, monthly member review.

Andy Knight, Personal Trainer, Caversham Health & Fitness

Read Andy’s previous blog on Motivation

Exercise of the Month – Side Lunges

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Side Lunges with bicep curl using a medicine ball or weight

Sitting at computers, desks and driving are more common now than ever, a lot of gym based exercises also mirror these movement patterns. The human body needs to be strong and flexible in all movement patterns, for this reason side lunges are necessary to incorporate into a training schedule.

The Technique

Stand with your feet together, draw the abdominals in, roll the shoulders back and down, ensuring a good neutral start position.

Take a step to the side, whilst curling the arm holding the ball/weight, bend into the moving leg keeping the standing leg straight.

Power back from your buttocks and thigh to the start position still maintaining good posture.

Repeat 12x each side, rest for 30 seconds then repeat twice.

Benefits

Improving posture and function, working to encourage flexibility in the hip and inner thigh, tones and conditions the thighs and gluteal muscles in the backside as well as the biceps.

Caroline Riddall, Personal Trainer, Caversham Health & Fitness

We have some fantastic offers on personal training at Club CHF with our in-house personal trainers.
Try one of our new packages
PT Taster – 3 personal training sessions for £60
PT Multi 8 – 8 personal training sessions for £225
PT Multi 10 – 10 personal training sessions for £250

For more information call us on 0118 948 4849