My top 5 exercises you must be performing.

Hi all. Mark here again for this week's blog installation. 

I hope everyone is looking forward to the Easter break.  Alltone Fitness Studio will be closed over the easter break and will re open on Tues 29th March.  BNG Boot Camp and group fitness will not be running over Easter and will recommence indoors at Watsonia Primary School, 240 Nell Street, Watsonia on Tues 5th April. Happy Easter!

This week I will be sharing with you my top 5 exercises and explaining the benefits and why you should be performing them in your exercise programs. Most of you that know me well, won't be surprised to find out that all 5 exercises are full body movements. 
What are full body exercises I hear you ask? Well let me explain. Compound exercises (full body movements) also known as multi jointed exercises, burn more fat, use multiple muscle groups and build the most strength and muscle. Examples of compound exercises are push ups, squats, chin ups, medicine ball slams and burpees just to name a few. Some compound exercises can be difficult to learn while some may be more effective than others. In this blog I will explain why my top 5 full body exercises will give you maximum results in the shortest amount of time. 

5 Burpees ( Insert evil laugh here )

Used by fitness boot camp instructors and personal trainers world wide, burpees are one of those full body exercises most people love to hate. This high intensity exercise will give you a entire full body workout in just minutes. A high level of focus and intensity is required to be able to push through a set of 15-20 repetitions. Here's how to perform a burpee. 

From a standing position, squat down, put your hands on the ground, kick your legs out behind you, do a push-up (optional), then kick the legs back up into a squat position, stand and jump as you swing your arms overhead. If you’re an advanced exerciser or want to add even more “oomph” to this exercise, you can wear a weighted vest as you do your burpees. Good luck! 

4 Medicine Ball Slams 

Not only is this exercise fantastic at building upper body, core and leg strength, it is also fantastic for stress relief. Best of all though, it is quite easy to perform. 

To do a medicine ball slam, you simply get a medicine ball (those big heavy balls you can often find in the corner of the gym), raise it overhead, then swing your arms down as you release the ball and slam it into the ground as hard as possible. Keep your spine in a neutral position thorough the entire move, abs are tight and slight bend in your knees as you slam the ball into the ground.

3. Push Ups 

Push-ups are one of the oldest and most basic of exercises for a simple reason. They work! The exercise positions all the muscles in our upper body and builds optimal strength in the forearms, shoulders and chest. Performed correctly, you will also target your core and glute muscles. 

To do a pushup get into a high plank position. Screw your hands firmly into the ground directly under shoulders. Keep you abs and glutes tight throughout the movement. Lower your body by bending your elbows back on a 45 degree angle and keep your forearms vertical. Keep your back flat and eyes focused about three feet in front of you to keep a neutral neck—until your chest grazes the floor. Push back up

2. Barbell Squats 

It is one of the most primitive movements known to man and without doubt one of the best exercises for lower body muscular and strength development. Barbell squats will increase your core strength. This is because through the entire movement your core muscles need to work hard to keep your body upright and support your lower back. 

Begin with the barbell supported on top of the traps. The chest should be up and the head facing forward. Adopt a hip to shoulder width stance with the feet turned out as needed. Keep your abs and glutes tight.  Descend by flexing at the knees and hips while pushing your hamstrings back. Keep the knees tracking in line with your feet and avoid them tracking too far forward over the toes. The goal is to keep the torso as upright as possible. Continue all the way down, keeping the weight on the front of the heel. At the moment the upper legs contact the lower legs reverse the motion, driving the weight upward.

1. Deadlift to Overhead Press

The premise of the deadlift-to-overhead press is fairly straightforward: you pick a heavy object off the ground and lift it overhead. The object can be a dumbbell, barbell, kettlebell, medicine ball or sandbag. However, the following people who display poor mobility/stability, are inexperienced or have lingering injuries should seek advice on properly performing this exercise before attempting it.

When youpick the object off the ground, which is called a deadlift, you’ll need to have good form: looking forward with your knees bent, butt out, and back straight. You then stand by extending your hip forward, as you stand or after you are in a standing position, hoist the weight overhead – using your hip and leg muscles to assist your upper body with driving the weight up.

Foam Rolling vs. Stretching

Hi all, 

Mark here from Alltone Fitness personal training bundoora and BNG boot camp bundoora. Christmas is almost here. Hooray, I hear you say!  This time of year brings many social gatherings, work deadlines, christmas parties and so on. Being such a stressful and busy time of the year means we usually put our health and fitness on the back burner while consuming too much alcohol and nasty christmas calories. It's extremely vital to keep up with exercising this time of the year. Stay on top of your nutrition, plan your week ahead and factor in any days which you may be heading out for a not so healthy meal. Alltone Group fitness Greensborough & and BNG boot camp Reservoir will assist you with fat loss, gaining muscle strength and increasing cardiovascular fitness. Don't be one of these people that wait until the new year comes around only to realise that your 5 kg heavier than you were pre christmas. 

Today's blog was taken from the dailyburn website and written by Amanda Woerner. It tackles the topic of stretching vs foam rolling and the differences between the two. In my group personal training bundoora classes I'm often asked the difference between the two and which is more beneficial. I hope the following article provides you with some answers. Enjoy! 



 Written by Amanda Woerner - Dailyburn August 2015

You know you’re supposed to be foam rolling and stretching your muscles, to keep your body strong and healthy. But what if you can barely squeeze in your workouts in the first place — let alone 10 extra minutes at the beginning and end of each session?

Before you give up on your recovery routine entirely, we’re about to make it easier for you to manage. While both foam rolling and stretching have their merits, if you’ve only got time for one, you should grab your trusty foam roller, says DailyBurn Fitness/Nutrition Coach Sarah Snyder. “Foam rolling gives you all the same benefits of stretching as, well as added benefits,” she says.

Here’s why foam rolling comes out on top and how to do it right.

Foam Rolling vs. Stretching: Before and After Your Workouts

No matter how eager you are to start (or…finish) your workout, it’s important to resist the urge to jump straight in without warming up your muscles, Snyder notes. But, we’re officially giving you permission to scrap the minute-long hamstring holds you’ve been doing pre-run.

“When you’re stretching a cold muscle, your body goes into defensive mode, and what happens is your workout performance is hindered,” Snyder says. Static stretches can essentially “freeze up” your muscles, preventing you from getting a full range of motion when you’re on the move, and potentially leading to injury.

That’s why foam rolling before a workout can be a better use of your time. “The techniques you have to use for foam rolling help engage your muscles, so you’re already doing a little bit of exercising when you’re warming up with foam rolling,” Snyder says. Bonus points if you can add some dynamic movements to your warm-up as well.

After a workout, it may be tempting to collapse into a sweaty heap. But your body can reap real benefits from taking a few minutes to relieve the tension built up in your muscles. And while static stretches post-workout may help lengthen muscle and improve flexibility, foam rolling does all this and more by also targeting and relieving tension in the myofascial layer of your body. “Stretching doesn’t get the myofascial layer, the connective tissue that is protecting all of your muscles,” Snyder says. “With foam rolling, you’re able to break up some of the tension there that has built up.”

How to Foam Roll

While you’ve probably been stretching since sixth grade gym class, foam rolling is new to many people. But a few simple techniques will help make sure you’re rolling right, Snyder says.

Relax. “Sometimes, when you’re going over some of those areas that are tender, you tend to tense up,” Snyder says. “Try to relax.” As you’re foam rolling, concentrate on keeping your shoulders pulled away from your ears. Reminding yourself to inhale and exhale while you roll will also help ensure your muscles stay loose, too.

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Engage your core. As with any other exercise, you’ll want to keep your core tight and engaged while foam rolling, Snyder says. This will help ensure your hips aren’t sagging and throwing your alignment out of whack.

Pay attention to pain. We’re not going to lie; foam rolling doesn’t always feel great. After all, it’s not easy to work out kinks in your muscles. (Ever gotten a deep tissue massage? Ouch.) But if you ever start to feel serious pain, it’s time to stop, as you can make an already-aggravated area worse. “Another tip is to make sure you don’t roll over your joints or bones,” Snyder says, noting that putting undue pressure on your joints could cause injury.

Roll slow. You only want to move about one inch per second while you’re using this recovery tool, Snyder says. Aim to spend about one to two minutes targeting each muscle group, rolling fully up and down the length of the muscle about four times.

The bottom line: “After a workout, in an ideal situation, if you did foam rolling and stretching that would be great,” Snyder says. But if you’re short on time, scrap the stretching and dedicate yourself to your foam roller instead.

Great article and really worth noting the benefits and importance of foam rolling before and after your workout. 

Mark, Vanessa, Bronnie and John form Alltone Fitness and BNG Boot Camp northern suburbs would like to wish you a Merry Christmas! 

Back to Basics Chapter 2 - ENERGY SYSTEMS

Hi all

Mark here from Alltone Fitness and BNG Boot Camp Reservoir. With Summer literally around the corner, now is the perfect time to try group personal training bundoora or our personal training mill park. Your first session is only $5 with no contracts or membership fee's. If group fitness bundoora is more for you then try out our heart pumping boot camp northern suburbs for only $2, hurry as spots are limited.

Chapter 2 of our back to basics blog series covers the energy systems of the human body. All human activity from running to sleeping requires energy. The food we eat provides us with the fuel we need to carry out daily activities we participate in. Fats, carbs and proteins are broken down in the body and converted into energy. The breakdown of food to produce energy can occur under two conditions. ANAEROBIC: Without sufficient oxygen present or  AEROBIC: With sufficient oxygen present.

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is the basic unit of energy in the body. ATP is energy which has been created in the muscle cell and is the fuel for muscular contractions. As ATP is constantly being used, it needs to continually be produced and resynthesised.There are only limited amounts of ATP stored in muscles, once this store is used up other energy systems must produce ATP. This is acheived via three main energy systems which brings us to the next energy system ready to help out.

Adenosine Triphosphate - Creatine Phosphate (ATP-CP)
Named afetr the two energy molecules involved in the system - ATP-CP. Creatine Phosphate is stored in muscles in small amounts, its role is to provide energy for ATP resynthesis in muscle cells when there isn't enough time to break down fuels such as glucose. There is no oxygen required in this system so it doesn't require a complex series of reactions. This is an important energy sysytem for exercises or sports which involve explosive and high intensity movements such as sprinting and pure strength training. This energy system is only available in short periods of time, usually around 0-10 seconds of max effort. Once this all out effort is to continue for more than 10 seconds then an additional source of energy must be found. This takes  us to the next energy system.

Lactic Acid System.
After creatine phosphate runs out and energy is still required to continue at high intensity, ATP can be supplied via the breakdown of carbs being glucose. This process is called anaerobic glycolysis, this is the breakdown of glycogen to glucose and produces lactic acid as a by product. All the cabs we consume are broken down to glucose, this glucose can be stored in the muscle cells and the liver in the form of glycogen. The lactic acid system energy system can sustain the anaerobic generation of ATP FOR 45-60 seconds at around 90% intensity. If a person is wanting to continue exercising beyond this point they can do so with use of the aerobic energy system.

Aerobic Energy System
This an extremely important energy system because we use it for everyday living. It is the system we use for everyday activities like walking.  Its called the aerobic system as it produces energy in the presence of oxygen. As the duration of exercise increases the muscles use more amounts of oxygen and produce carbon dioxide and water as by products. The breakdown of glucose in the presence of oxygen is called aerobic glycolysis The complete aerobic breakdown of 1 glucose molecule is able to produce a total of 36 ATP molecules.

 So next time your in the gym and feel the fatigue set in, remember that your body is going through a complex process while drawing upon different energy systems in order for you to keep working hard.

I hope you found this informative and useful

Mark - Alltone Fitness www.alltonefitness.com.au