Tag Archives: andy knight

Get Fitter & Stronger – Spartan Training

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Personal Trainer Andy KnightWhen I started Spartan training I believed it was something that the gym had been missing and a chance to give certain members the chance to indulge in the more rigorous aspects of training in a group scenario.

Having a keen interest in boxing, I’ve always loved the gritty blood, sweat and tears atmosphere found throughout the boxing gyms across the world. It’s no mistake that those who spend time perfecting the sweet science of boxing are supremely conditioned athletes who have learned that extra bit of steel through putting in 110% effort.

As well as focus pad work, I share a few of the secrets that have been taught to me over the years that go into creating supremely fit athletes.

There are no bells and whistles to go with some cheesy music, just a strong work ethic and desire to better yourself that keeps everybody getting fitter, stronger and conditioned further than they had ever thought was possible.

Make no mistake; the first few weeks will be hellishly difficult. As you persist however, you’ll find that your endurance and work capacity will sky-rocket. Whether you’re a casual runner, gym goer, sports person or martial artist, you are guaranteed progress.

Andy Knight, Personal Trainer, Caversham Health & Fitness

Join Andy for Spartan Training every Tuesday, 19:30 at Caversham Health and Fitness.

Exercise of the Month – Supine Row

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The supine row is a great exercise for strengthening the upper back. It essentially uses the opposite muscles to a push up and is almost a mirror image of the action.

This exercise can be used as a progression for somebody who’s perhaps not quite strong enough to perform full pull ups yet, but can also be adapted to more advanced trainers.

Set up

Set a barbell on the pins of a rack (or smith machine) at mid thigh level. Lie face up on the floor under the bar with your hands in an over or underhand grip.

Action

Pull yourself upward until your chest touches the bar and then return to the start position. While performing the movement, think about pulling the shoulder blades down and back rather than just pulling from the arms. Keep the core braced and body straight throughout.

Please do not hesitate to ask one of the trainers to give you a demo if you are unsure about any part of the exercise.

Andy Knight, 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

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 – The Front Squat

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Not everybody feels the benefits from Back Squatting and perhaps find the movement a little unnatural compared to some, so often find they shy away from the movement. Of course there is always the concern that performing an exercise under a heavy load going through your upper back can cause some nasty injuries if failure is reached and necessary safety precautions haven’t been used.

Make way for the Front Squat! The load is shifted to the front of the torso (over the collar bone) and allows a more upright posture due to the load being on the front of the torso, acting as a counter balance. This gives you more control over the bar and the ability to dump it at a moment’s notice if you’ve pushed beyond failure.

The setup:

  • Set a bar just below collar bone level in the squat rack.
  • Either cross your hands over so your hands rest on the knurling (rough part) of the bar, or place 2 fingers and rest them on the under side of the bar.

  • Force the elbows high and allow the bar to rest in the small divot that’s created at the front of the shoulders. Do not be alarmed if you feel as if it is choking you at first, you will find the correct groove within a few attempts of doing this.
  • Take in a belly full of air to brace the abs, squat down under the bar with a slightly wider than shoulder width stance and drive your heals through the floor to unrack the bar. Take a small step back away from the supports.

Action:

  • While ensuring that your toes are slightly flared, simultaneously break at the hips and knees, slowly squatting down as low as is comfortable without allowing the lower back to round.
  • When you hit the bottom of the movement, drive your heals through the floor, use the glutes and hamstrings to drive the hips forward and thrust your head upwards to come out of the bottom position.
  • Keep elbows and chin held up high throughout.

Please do not hesitate to ask one of the trainers to give you a demo if you are unsure about any part of the exercise.

Andy Knight, 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

Exercise of the Month – The Deadlift

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Often misunderstood and given bad press, but if done correctly it can be an incredible tool in building muscle mass, strength, decreasing risk of injury and improving overall body conditioning.

Most people integrate Deadlifts in to their ‘Back’ day, but when done correctly will hit the hamstrings, quads, whole back, abs and shoulders. It forms one of the ‘Big 3’ Power Lifts and will compete with the Back Squat for most peoples’ strongest lifting effort.

How is it done?

The principle behind a Deadlift is easy, but in practise it’s not just as simple as merely picking up a barbell from the floor. When teaching the lift, I find that breaking the lift up into 3 parts is the easiest way to teach it.

The Set Up:

  • Stand facing a barbell (on the floor) with a shoulder width stance. The bar should be roughly half way over your feet with the shins fairly close.
  • Squatting down with your chest high, grasp the bar with an overhand or mixed grip. Your arms should be just beside your thighs with your triceps locked.
  • Ensure that your hips are sunk low and chest is forced as high as possible.

The Pull:

  • Once the set up is complete, you’re ready to pull. Perform the action by simultaneously driving your heels into the floor and driving your hips forward, pulling the bar up your shins. The bar should stay as close to your body as possible, ensuring that it travels in a straight line.
  • As the bar gets past your knees, squeeze your glutes to complete the lock out phase.

The Descent:

  • Keeping the chest as high as possible, reverse the motion down, maintaining the same level of tension in your body as you applied when lifting from the floor.

The single most important element of the lift is that you maintain your neutral spine, keeping your back flat. If this isn’t possible and you find your back rounding, it is heavily recommended that you focus on improving your flexibility before going heavy.

Andy Knight, Personal Trainer, Caversham Health & Fitness

Why not try the new Advanced Lifting class with instructor Ben, Wednesday evenings at 7.30pm