Triceps

Triceps brachii comes from the Latin for “three-headed muscle of the arm”.

It is the large muscle on the back of your arms and is responsible for extension of the elbow. It is also the antagonist to the biceps brachii and brachialis muscles. The triceps help to fixate the elbow when the hand is involved in fine or intricate movements such as writing. It originates from the scapula, so therefore also becomes a stabilising muscle for the shoulder joint and aids adduction of the arm. The muscle is also capable of contracting statically.

The triceps muscles can be trained either through isolation or compound extension movements. Examples of isolation movements would include cable push downs and extensions where the arms go behind the back.
Examples of compound movements include close grip bench press and military press. A close grip on the bar really targets the triceps more than a wider grip.

You should always train your triceps through their full range of movement as they cross two joints (shoulder and elbow).

It is very rare to rupture or tear your triceps muscles.

Tri-set Strength Training

Tri-sets are doing three exercises back-to-back with no break. During these sets you can either pair exercises that are non-competing, in other words opposing muscle groups, or you can target the same muscle. If you are stuck at a training plateau then tri-sets may be what you need to start progressing again!

A tri-set is a series of three exercises performed in a row with 10 second rests between exercises. You could do squats, leg presses and leg extensions for a quadricep tri-set or the bench press, skull crushers and overhead cable extensions for a tricep tri-set

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

  • Improve muscular endurance and cardiovascular performance
  • Increase athletic performance
  • Can be time efficient
  • Boosts mood and mental health
  • Can promote weight loss
  • Good for motivation
  • Effective for burning calories and building strength

Calves

The calf muscle, on the back of the lower leg, is made up of two muscles:

THE GASTROCNEMIUS
This is the larger calf muscle, forming the bulge visible beneath the skin. The gastrocnemius has two parts or “heads,” which together create its diamond shape.

THE SOLEUS
This is a smaller, flat muscle that lies underneath the gastrocnemius muscle. The gastrocnemius and soleus muscles taper and merge at the base of the calf muscle. Tough connective tissue at the bottom of the calf muscle merges with the Achilles tendon. The Achilles tendon inserts into the heel bone (calcaneus). During walking, running, or jumping, the calf muscle pulls the heel up to allow forward movement.

Unilateral Strength Training

Unilateral training is where you are only working one limb at a time. In most traditional training movements, we use both limbs concurrently to complete the task at hand. For example, you can perform an alternating dumbbell press whilst one arm in the extended position, promoting stabilisation of supporting muscles and driving mechanical stress and fatigue.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

  • Corrects Imbalances
  • Core Stabilisation
  • Boost Sport Performance
  • Decrease Injury Risk
  • Improve Muscular Stimulation
  • Speed Injury Recovery
  • Develop Motor Skills

Hamstrings

BICEPS FEMORIS – Not to be confused with the bicep muscle in your upper arm!! Its main action is flexion at the knee, but it is also responsible for extending the thigh at the hip and lateral rotation at the hip and knee.

SEMITENDINOSUS – Responsible for flexion of the leg at the knee joint and extension of thigh at the hip. It also medially rotates the thigh at the hip joint and the leg at the knee joint.

SEMIMEMBRANOSUS – Lies underneath the semitendinosus. It is responsible for flexion of the leg at the knee joint, extension of the thigh at the hip and medial rotation of the thigh at the hip joint and the leg at the knee joint.

If you spend much of your day sat behind a desk, then it is not unusual for your hamstrings to feel tight – however, it might not solely be your hamstrings causing the issue. If your hip flexors and the muscles in the front of your pelvis are tight, this can elevate the attachments of your hamstrings (it causes an anterior tilt in the pelvis and basically places your hamstrings in a lengthened position) which in turn creates that feeling of tightness. Make sure you stretch your hip flexors out as well as your hamstrings before and after exercise!

Pyramid Training

Pyramid training is a group of sets, of identical exercises, that begin with the lightweight and higher reps, escalating to a heavier weight and fewer reps. A full pyramid training is the extended version of this, decreasing the weight after you have reached the peak until you complete the pyramid.

There are a few different versions of pyramid training. A reverse pyramid means big at the top and narrow at the bottom. And that’s what pyramid training means in a weight training context. You start heavy and gradually decrease the weights or reps or you start light and gradually increase the weight or reps. Or you can include both in an extended set and work up and back down.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

  • Helps to activate the CNS
  • Increases muscular strength and endurance
  • Good for motivation
  • Keeps you energised
  • Good for getting the correct weight
  • Good for warming up properly for the rest of the pyramid

Time Under Tension

Time under tension (TUT) refers to the amount of time a muscle is held under tension or strain during an exercise set. During TUT workouts, you lengthen each phase of the movement to make your sets longer. The idea is that this forces your muscles to work harder and optimizes muscular strength, endurance, and growth.

In TUT workouts, you slow down the movements of each repetition and spend more time on the eccentric phase of the exercise. By slowing down the movement, the muscle is held under tension for a longer period, which may yield better results.

To incorporate TUT technique into your exercise program, slow it down. Performing movements at a slower tempo will stimulate your muscles to promote growth. You may have to use a lighter weight since the increased time will be more difficult to sustain.

To use the tempo method, slow down the eccentric phase of each repetition. Extend each eccentric phase by 2 to 6 seconds. Or you can make the eccentric phase double the length of the concentric phase.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

  • Muscle recruitment is being used maximally throughout the session
  • Increase muscle growth + strength
  • Adds variety to your training
  • Can help to burn fat
  • TUT workouts are designed to create tension in your muscles for a longer period, which leads to muscle growth. The harder you make your muscles work, the better the results
  • Using slow movements can help you to be more purposeful while at the same time allowing your mind to relax. This can stimulate awareness and concentration, which helps you to be more mindful
  • When you pay attention to your movement, you can focus on proper breathing techniques, alignment, and movement patterns

Pre-exhaust Strength Training

Pre-exhaust training is a strength training concept which was designed to fully stimulate larger body parts that might otherwise be held back by relatively weaker body parts during multi-joint movements or compound exercises.

For example, if you were to do a pressing movement for your chest, this involves many other smaller muscle groups such as the triceps at the back of your arms. These smaller muscles normally tire much more quickly than the large muscles so in theory you stop the chest press movement when your triceps are tired not when your chest muscles are.

Pre-exhaust seeks to address this by firstly working the larger muscle involved in a movement with what is known as an isolation or single joint exercise before moving onto a compound movement or multi joint exercise, meaning in theory all the muscles involved now tire at the same time, so before your chest press movement you would do 1 set of a chest fly type movement (isolation) for 12-15 reps before moving onto your pressing movement (compound)

There are two commonly used ways to use the pre-exhaust concept the first and most used is to complete the isolation exercise first then rest between 60-90 seconds before moving onto your compound movement, or a more extreme method sees you move from isolation to compound movement with no rest.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

  • Muscle recruitment is being used maximally throughout the session
  • Increase muscle growth + strength
  • Adds variety to your training
  • Can help to burn fat
  • You are getting double the work on the big prime mover and only one set of work on the smaller synergist
  • Pre-fatigue of the bigger mover so both the prime-mover and the small can reach overload at the same time
  • The workout intensity is extremely high by forcing the target muscle to a point of muscular failure and then pushing them through even more training volume using a compound movement.

Shoulders

THE DELTOIDS
‘Delts’ are teardrop shaped and have three parts, anterior, medial and posterior. They control the flexion, abduction and extension of the humerus.

ROTATOR CUFF
Made up of four muscles (see below) – the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis. These help to stabilise the shoulder joint and assist with the abduction, adduction and rotation of the humerus. Due to their location, they are prone to small tears and impingements.

Supraspinatus – This helps to hold the humerus in place and to lift the arm.
Infraspinatus – This is the main muscle for rotation and extension of the shoulder.
Teres minor – This is the smallest of the rotator cuff muscles and its main role is to help with the rotation of the arm away from the body.
Subscapularis – This is what holds the humerus to the shoulder blade and aids the rotation of the arm and allows you to hold your arm straight out and to lower it.

LEVATOR SCAPULAE
This helps with the elevation of the shoulder blade.

TRAPEZIUS
These allow your scapula to elevate, retract and depress.

RHOMBOIDS
These can be found under your trapezium and help with the elevation and retraction of the scapula.

Indoor Cycling and Spin Session

A spin class is a high intensity cycling workout that generally takes place on a stationary machine with a heavy, weighted flywheel that is linked to the pedals.

Most spin classes last for around 30-50 minutes; it’s rarely necessary for them to be any longer and participants can expect to leave sweaty and with heavy legs.

Nearly all classes will be led by an instructor who calls out intervals (when to pedal hard and when to slow it down, when to level up & lower down) – and this person has a huge effect on the class.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

  • Endorphin Rush
  • Develop Strong core and back
  • Toned quads and Bum (not build muscle)
  • Big calorie burner – 500-700cal in a 45 min class
  • Time efficient
  • Flexible joints – knees, ankles, back
  • Healthy skin
  • Improve fitness
  • Boost immune defences