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Report: Mike Heatlie As personal trainers it is imperative that we consistently excite our clients with innovative and challenging Male vs female needs Lean legs and toned buttocks are, without question, a desirable goal among mostly all women. A firm midriff with the enviable “six-pack” is certainly highly appealing to men. Unfortunately, many personal training practices either ignore key variables essential for the development of these gender goals, or they fail to truly stimulate the muscle groups by performing old-fashioned or ineffective exercises. If we can combine our muscle groups through functional movements, we are then implementing far more innovative and effective personal Diet I cannot stress enough the importance that diet plays in attaining lean and toned muscle tissue. Proper dietary practices are more important than any exercise, as no matter how many squats orcrunches your client performs, if their body fat percentage is too high, then the adipose tissue directly underneath the skin will prevent your male clients from having a visible six-pack, and your female clients’ buttocks and legs will not appear shapely. For your male clients to achieve a six-pack, and for your female clients to have lean legs and buttocks, their body fat percentage must be low enough for the desired appearance:
Exercise certainly promotes body fat loss, but the biggest battle our clients face is their intake of foods and fluids. As personal trainers it is crucial we address daily calorie consumption in the form of food diaries and implement a highly effective nutritional plan designed specifically for promoting body fat loss. MEN – achieving the six-pack Once a meticulous dietary plan has been implemented, the personal trainer then has to address exercise prescription and assess which exercises will fully stimulate the target muscle tissue. The biggest mistake I see exercisers make in fitness centres around the world is countless amounts of sit-ups and crunches being performed every day. For many now, including myself, sit-ups are an old-fashioned and out-of-date exercise, and in the years to come they will be considered so. They are not completely ineffective, but without question the abdominals and obliques can be stimulated far more effectively using rotation exercises with cables. At the US Olympic Training Centre in Colorado Springs, a standing rotary torso machine was designed as strength and conditioning coaches became wise to the concept of functional rotary training for the trunk, rather than ineffective crunches being performed lying on the ground.1 One of the main criticisms of sit-ups is the lack of resistance placed upon the muscle group. It is not uncommon for an individual to be able to perform numerous amounts of sit-ups as the stress being placed upon the abdominals is moderate at best. Additionally sit-ups require movement through one plane of motion, sagittal, which is non-functional. To fully stress the entire abdominal musculature, we need to move through all three planes of motion. When using cable exercises we have an advantage as we can use a higher resistance through quality functional rotation of the trunk. The abdominals and obliques are not used for forward flexion as much as they are used for stabilisation and rotation. When we rotate our trunk with a cable resistance, our entire core region will contract in order to limit rotation. Additionally, when we use standing cable exercises through rotation, we are activating so many more motor units from other muscle groups, such as the hips, spinal stabilisers, and the lower extremities, therefore increasing energy expenditure. This is highly advantageous for the personal trainer and client as isolating muscle groups costs time, something that we and our clients never seem to have enough of. If we can combine our muscle groups through functional movements, we are then implementing far more innovative and effective personal training sessions. The advances towards rotation exercises for core development stem from physical therapists such as Gray Cook who combines the theories of rehabilitation with strength training. Cook states the vital importance of combining relevant movements with resistance through appropriate ranges of movement rather than isolation exercises. The integration rather than isolation notion was advanced further into sports training that is movement-based incorporating numerous rotational movements. Through performing exercises which combine muscle groups through rotation, our clients will strengthen their core region far more effectively as they are training their core muscles to contract to prevent full rotation. This is not the case when our clients perform sit-ups or crunches. Additionally, our muscles contract more effectively when they are lengthened prior to contraction – this is not possible when performing sit-ups. The following four exercises fully stimulate the entire core region as well as activating numerous other muscle groups through functional movements: 
1. Cable rotation The initial rotation should be a fast-explosive movement, followed by a slow, well-controlled eccentric phase.
2. Reverse woodchoppers Similarly to cable rotations, we must slow the eccentric phase after the initial fast-explosive rotation.
3. Rows with lunges An incredible exercise for function, core activity, and muscle recruitment of the entire body. This exercise should be performed at a controlled speed.
4. Step and rotate From a standing position, step sideways rotating the trunk, creating an intense contraction of the trunk muscles. Hold for one second and return in a controlled movement.
When performing exercises for buttocks and legs it is essential we move away from fixed weight machines and Smith machines and fully challenge the targeted muscle groups using more functional movements. Open-chained exercises such as seated leg curls and extensions, and seated abductor/adductor have little or no scientific grounds for prescription, and are far less effective than closed chained exercises, especially those that work on one leg. When performing exercises using fixed weight machines, all the stability is provided by the machine. This, in effect, turns off motor units within our muscle groups as their recruitment is not needed. If one were to perform a squat using one leg, you can imagine the recruitment required not only from the muscles of the leg and buttock, but from all other stabilising muscles in the entire core region and lower back.
1.One-legged deadlifts An outstanding exercise that produces quality stress on the glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings, and recruits many stabilising muscles from the core region.
2. One-legged squats Can be perceived as an advanced exercise but can be modified through adjusting squat depth to suit all clients.
3. Travelling lunges Travelling lunges are a more effective exercise over static lunges as they are more functional and allow for greater hip extension.
4. Sumo squat Sumo squats increase muscle activation of the inner thigh.
Sets and reps It can be argued that the prescription of sets and reps is another out-of-date training modality that is useful in bodybuilding, but not in the context of personal training practices. The downside to prescribing sets and reps is that we are judging our client’s state of fatigue prior to the session. If your client were to perform 12 repetitions of squats, they may well be prevented from performing more repetitions crucial to his or her progression. Muscle adaptations take place at the stage of fatigue, and it is vital for us as personal trainers that we accurately judge when our clients have reached the point of overload. This is the skill of the personal trainer, and by setting a repetition limit we may be training our clients to a threshold preceding their overload capacity. Additionally, sets and reps tend to promote rest periods after every exercise. In order to promote physical adaptation, exercise intensity needs to be increased, enhancing metabolic and hormonal activity which is central for losing body fat and creating the lean physique and figure most of our clients desire. Conclusion To successfully create lean muscle tissue for our clients, we must initially address their daily consumption of foods and fluids, which
1. Hedrick A (1995), Abdominal Training at the Olympic Training Center Takes 2. Cook G and Fields K (1997), Functional Training for the Torso, Strength and Mike Heatlie MSc is one of the leading Personal Trainers worldwide. Mike holds a Masters Degree in Medicine & Science in Sport & Exercise and a 1st Class Honors Degree in Sport & Exercise Science. He has a ten year Personal Training relationship with US singer Gwen Stefani, and is the author of the epic ebook 'Lose 10 Years, 10 Pounds, in 5 Weeks!' www.mikeheatlie.com Copyright © Mike Heatlie Personal Training 2007 All Rights Reserved You have permission to publish this article in web sites, ezines, electronic publications, and any media format, as long as the article | |||||||||||||||||||||
