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sit ups don't give you a six pack | Durham PT

9/25/2014

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Durham Personal Trainer | Glenn Hill | 07983570574

I have discussions about this very subject on a daily basis, one of my gym members (no names) recently was telling me i was wrong and that we need an Abs class because these classes and sit ups give you a flat tummy or six pack.  If i had a pound for each time i have heard this i would'nt be living in Chester le Street in a 3 bedroom rented house.

Nearly everyone  wants to get rid of the fat in a specific area of his or her
body. When clients tell me they want weight loss, in their minds they are really referring to that specific layer on the hips, thighs, belly or arms. This common feeling shared by people of all shapes and sizes has birthed an almost universal belief that fat can be removed from a problem area by exercising that specific area, for example abdominal work for a six pack....Nooo.  Celebs still claim their flat stomachs come from hundreds of crunches, then they bring out an exercise video - the truth in that scenario is more often than not is they have paid for a Personal Trainer and have been getting beasted and nutritionally guided for months.

Unfortunately, the promise that you can lose fat on a specific “problem area”
by exercising that area is a myth. Also known as “spot training” or “spot reducing”, this myth continues to thrive despite the massive research, which disproves its claim. When we exercise certain areas of our body, such as doing crunches, we will strengthen our abs, but it will not remove fat from our belly. 
Muscle and fat are made from different material and thus one cannot be turned into the other. Fat is stored on our bodies in a certain order that is determined by gender, genetics and blood flow. When you gain weight, it usually goes to your “problem area”, and when you lose weight, your “problem area” is usually the last area to lose the fat. Consequently, “spot reducing” just leads to newly developed muscles hidden under a layer of fat that just
won’t go away.  However more muscles are always good as more muscle means more calories used at rest (metabolism).

The truth of the matter is the  only way to lose fat in a specific area is to lose weight in general. In order to lose weight in general we must increase our exercise and in particular our lean muscle percentage which in return will reduce our fat percentage (start seeing our abdominlas).  Exercise routines should incorporate the movement of large muscle groups for efficient calorie burning. As you develop and strengthen muscles, you also become leaner and increase your metabolism.  Thankfully, as the weight slowly comes off, you’ll notice the fat on your “problem areas” start to disappear as well.

So sit ups and abdominals for a flat tummy? absolutely not, you would be better off doing weighted squats for a flat tummy.( when done properly all of your leg muscles, abdominals and lower back are working together)

Set up a free consultation to learn more how to physically and mentally develop yourself.


Glenn ( bored of talking about sit ups ) Hill
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Personal Trainer Durham
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mini exercise sessions beat long sessions | PT Durham

9/25/2014

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Personal Trainer Durham | Glenn Hill | 07983570574

This blog is all about the benefits of lots of shorter exercise sessions over the traditional long session.

I have been a staunch advocate of short sharp exercise sessions for some time now and have even implemented a program for NHS choose in the NE featuring three or more four minute hard sessions for weight loss.

According to modern science, not only do multiple short sessions of exercise generally provide the same health and fitness benefits as a comparable amount of exercise completed in one uninterrupted workout, but by most measures, the briefer bouts are better.

We are not even talking about short high intensity(tabata style) efforts here which we know provide profound extra benefits over long slow efforts.

For instance, researchers at the Capital University of Physical Education and Sports in Beijing strapped small monitors to the ankles of a group of healthy men. The monitors measure changes in blood flow, providing an indirect measure of arterial stiffness. Less stiffness is healthier.

Then they had each individual, on alternating days, ride a stationary bicycle or rest quietly for half an hour. Some rode for 30 minutes uninterrupted, while others rode for two sessions of 15 minutes each, with 20 minutes of rest between.

After the 30-minute session and the two 15-minute sessions, the men’s arteries were more pliable than when they rested. But the arterial benefits did not linger long after the 30-minute workout, dissipating within 40 minutes when final measurements were taken. Not so with the shorter sessions; after the second of those, the men’s arteries retained extra flexibility 40 minutes later.

Similarly, when researchers examined exercise and blood pressure control in a 2012 study, they found that one 30-minute afternoon walk improved blood pressure readings for 24 hours among adults with borderline hypertension. Three 10-minute walks spaced throughout the day improved overall blood pressure just as effectively, but unlike the single session, they also blunted subsequent spikes in pressure, which can indicate worsening blood pressure control.

In another study presented at the sports medicine meeting, Taiwanese researchers reported that eight weeks of treadmill jogging significantly improved college students’ endurance, and the improvements were almost identical, whether the volunteers jogged for 30 minutes or for three 10-minute sessions on the same day.

So all of this begs the age old question do you have time for exercise?  Do you really not have time for three 10 minute walks?

Even better do you have time for three 4 minute tabata style high intensity workouts ?  You can even do them at home.  Check them out for free on my Youtube channel 



Glenn ( you DO have time ) Hill

Personal Trainer Durham | 07983570574


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Modern stretching or BodyMap

9/25/2014

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Personal Trainer | Durham | Glenn Hill

A little bit about this blog, i am discussing the fact that some modern magic works better for stretching tight muscles than traditional stretching, Massage stretching or PNF.

My credentials to talk about this subject are:

18 years Army Fitness and being a physical training instructor
Sports Massage Therapist level 3
Master Personal Trainer
BodyMap Practitioner
(BodyMap is all about looking at functions like breathing, eyes, balance, spatial awareness and proprioception in order to take our brain out of threat/fear which improves all of our functions including flexibility and power -it's upstream thinking (in your brain) it works)

Let me tell you the story that suprised me too:

I have been training one of my PT clients who has tennis elbow and tendonitis of the shoulder, we have been doing a bit of running and lots of functional leg and core work.  Our recent sessions have been very hard so i decided to take her through a BodyMap assessment and maybe some massage etc as a form of a full Body/Brain MOT.

I tested her spinal, hip and shoulder  flexibilty and pain levels before going through the body map protocols.  Within ten minutes she was 6 inches closer to touching her toes, spinal and shoulder mobility had improved hugely especially on 1 side.  Pretty amazing really as we are not actually stretching anything just moving eyes, breathing and some other magic (it's a secret-ask Dax) .

The interesting thing here is i wanted her to get the extra inch to touch her toes so i reverted back to downstream thinking of pulling, bending, stretching etc.  Lower limb/posterior chain massage,  massage stretching )pin and stretch, PNF stretching of hamstring and fascia release techniques.

You would think that this has got the extra inch wouldn't you?  WRONG

The process of painful sports massage and PNF looks to have put the client back into a state of threat/fear and limited her toe touch - posterior chain flexibilty hugely.  She is now 5 inches from touching her toes?

So traditional methods of improving flexibility have actually reduced it after the initial BodyMap (your brain just giving you flexibility because it feels safe)

I have learnt a lot today about how your primary giver of mobilty and function (brain) hugley supersedes our attempts of stretching for flexibility and function.

Cool i would like to here your thoughts, questions on a Postcard...

Glenn ( Durham PT geek) Hill

Shortlisted on the National Fitness Awards 2014
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Need help losing weight

9/25/2014

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I am always trying my best to help everyone be fitter, healthier and happier.  Can i help you?   All of the ways as FREE help i will provide for you...
Hopefully by now you have got in touch and i have been able to help, if not what is stopping you?

Personal Trainer of the year shortlisted 2014

Glenn Hill (Personal Trainer County Durham)

07983570574
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Personal Trainer Durham-Crossfit Level 1 Trainer

9/16/2014

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Hey tribe in true Ex Army/Glenn Hill style i attended the level 1 Crossfit trainer course over the weekend with absolutely no idea about Crossfit.....MENTAL.
This is typical me and just to expand...... other Glenn Hill moments were running the Biel 100km race twice without training (no i never learnt the first time), attending the Army Physical Training Instructor course and Army Diver (frogman) course without training.    Berlin Marathon, German duathlons, biathlons and 320 mile charity bike ride without training.
 
You get the idea, i just rely on the fact that the human body is tough and you can pick things up along the way. (i am not suggesting other people copy this though lol)
 
I digress, i was very interested in Crossfit (the sport of fitness) and without knowing much about it or even attending a workout or Ramp (a preparation course you are supposed to attend prior to completing a workout) i booked myself on the level 1 trainer course in Manchester.
 
I intended on attending the preparation ramp and a few classes before my course but work and staff shortages ensured that never happened.
 
I turned up and soon figured out that the other 40/50 course members had all been doing Crossfit for months or years and knew what was going on.  However i said nothing and cracked on, actually no one realised that i was an absolute novice.  I was picking things up quicker than some and holding my own.  I told a couple of the other students that the course was great and i liked the whole Crossfit thing and explained that it was my first ever taste.
 
Well end of Day 1 and the instructional staff who where excellent had been told that i was an absolute novice and thought it was hilarious.  The weekend was great and i am loving Crossfit and hope to be smashing loads of it soon.
 
Morale of the story here is confidence and a base level of fitness can go a long long way in preparing you for anything.  Actually it's all about what's going on in our heads if we think we can do it we generally can.  If we think we can't then we definitely can't.
 
Crossfit is constantly varied high intensity functional movements combining gymnastics, Olympic power lifting and cardio.
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That's me third from the right on the front row, sporting itrainhard.co.uk t-shirt......awesome.

If you would like to find out more or learn some functional training just give me a call on 07983570574.
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Alcohol stops weight loss - Boom

8/5/2014

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Alcohol stops weight loss - Boom

So this is a video blog talking about the negative sides of alcohol, well actually just talking about the fact that booze can stop your fat loss for up to 3 days.

Listen and watch as i explain my method of staying in shape and still having more than the odd beer.


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5 tips on stress reduction

7/16/2014

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Picture5 tips on stress reduction
5 tips on stress reduction

Heya my awesome tribe

Personal Trainer Durham

I am going to talk about stress and give you 5 top tips to reduce stress, before we do that i will explain why stress is so bad for our health and weight.

Not sure you know this but stress is one of the biggest killers and even CHDs and strokes can be caused by stress.  We are starting to believe that stress is the foundation of most fatalities, think about it.

Obesity which can cause diabetes, heart disease and strokes can be caused directly and in directly by stress.  How can stress keep us fat or make us obese? 

Directly - hormones

Release of the stress hormone cortisol which can stop the fat burning process and hold onto the fat, great for survival of a caveman over the winter months but life threatening for stressed out modern people.  Also when you are stressed you will be most likely be in the sympathetic nervous system which is the flight or fight nervous system when blood is shunted to the limbs ready to run away or fight to survive.  This blood should be in your gut to aid with digestion and fat burning.
Indirectly - eating

So indirectly is more common and more noticeable than the hormonal effects of stress on us, so you are stressed and you go for junk food to make yourself feel better or even worse you starve yourself as you are not hungry.  Both have a very negative effect on your metabolism and keeping fat off in the future.

The medical definition of stress is, “the perception of a real or imagined threat to your body or your ego.” It could be a tiger chasing you or your belief that your spouse is mad at you (even if he or she is not). Whether it is real or imagined, when you perceive something as stressful, it creates the same response in the body.

Years ago stress would be a productive thing for the caveman because it would shunt blood to help a caveman catch his food or escape from a threat or during the winter months it would retain fat to help him survive the winter.  Unfortunately 100,000 generations as a hunter gatherer and 10 generations of modern agriculture our brains haven't developed enough to distinguish actual and perceived threat.

You feel stressed or threatened and a sudden influx of adrenaline, cortisol, and other stress hormones floods your system, raising your heart rate, increasing your blood pressure, making your blood more likely to clot, damaging your brain’s memory centre, increasing fat storage, and generally wreaking havoc on your body.

My tips are as follows and work for myself and my clients: 

  1. Move. A great way to reduce stress is enjoyable exercise, a bike ride, horse ride, yoga or a nice run in the woods.  Remember though your brain still sees exercise as stress, it is a stress on your body and mind so if the exercise is too tough or competitive it could have the opposite effect.  For myself a nice mountain bike ride through the woods on a hot day de-stresses excellently.
  2. Breathe. Most of us hold our breath often or breathe high in the chest, anxious breaths. Deep, slow, full breaths have a profound affect on resetting the stress response.  Your brain can feel in threat or stress and often some big slow breaths breathing through the diaphragm is the first and quickest way of bringing you back into the correct relaxed nervous system and de stressing and helping you relax or sleep.
  3. Sunshine. This is the life giving rays of the sun, the vitamin D from the sun has been proven to make you feel happy and has been know to treat depression.  I have been using the sun actively for improving my clients self esteem and morale for a long time now, normally a bit of exercise or cycling in the sun.  15 minutes of sun a day is recommended for good health, get some real sun on your skin each time.
  4. Sleep. Lack of sleep increases stress hormones. Get your eight hours no matter what.  Take a nap if you missed your sleep. Prioritise sleep.
  5. Think Differently. Practice the art of noticing stress, noticing how your thinking makes you stressed. Practice taking deep breaths and letting go of worry. Don't let bad people let you get down, ignore what other people think.  Always think positively i actually try and take a positive with everything i do, every time i mess up i think of the benefits.
So to summarise stress is a real big deal and could mean the difference between fat or fit or dead or alive.  I believe that i am the only Personal Trainer in County Durham who thinks of stress as the number one component when working with my clients.  If you would like some more info on what i do please check out the rest of my blogs on here or on my website www.itrainhard.co.uk.

I am running a get fit and lose fat quick for your holidays program with almost unlimited personal training and nutrition support for one month for just £500.  I only have 5 places and one has just gone so if you like how i operate please get in touch ASAP to get my help and support.

Glenn(the stress go to guy North East) Hill

07983570574    01913874222


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The life of a unique Personal Trainer

7/10/2014

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The life of a unique Personal Trainer

Glenn Hill

This blog is all about what i do as a Personal Trainer and coach that, perhaps is a little different to the others you may find.

You can decide.. i am best known for running a ladies gym, hair salon and being a specialist female only personal trainer. Actually my speciality is helping ladies above 30 years old get much fitter, lose some weight but mainly get their heads in a much better place.

I have had a lot of success at this and i put it down to the other stuff i do and the knowledge and experience that gives me.

I have given my PT clients a break for two weeks now, well actually i designed an online training plan and gave them my drop box password which has all my digital classes and challenged them to get fitter even without me.??

As i am away taking soldiers from all walks of life mountain biking down some of the scariest trails Uk has to offer.  So far trails around North Wales and North West Scotland.  The benefit of becoming proficient at something difficult and scary like mountain biking is mainly because the process takes you out of your comfort zone and helps build you up as a person.  It also helps build a sense of team work, self reliance, determination, mental strength, physical strength and fitness.

These attributes can help anyone in any other circumstance including work, thats why big business spends millions sending their workers on team building training.

I am taking a group on a Biking course putting them through their paces and teaching them skills and techniques on arduous terrain.

Today was awesome the group and myself navigated around loch Morlich high on the cairngorm road and cycled up a huge hill to Rothymurchus Lodge(old army lodge high up in the Cairngorms) we then technically descended our way down a steep single track descent called the Lairig Ghru.

These activities all have an element of risk and sometimes someone gets hurt, and yesterday was one of those days.  I have been coaching mountain biking for a number of years now and have never had a student in hospital, that is until yesterday.

The student was a little un-fitter than the remainder of the group and the last descent of the day she took a tumble and injured her hand.  We were not sure if it was broken, i quickly assessed for mobility of wrist and hand it seemed ok which was a positive sign.  So i calmed her down, gave her a sip of water and an energy gel and then put a support sling around her to support and elevate the hand/wrist.  We then evacuated her to the nearest A&E which was Inverness and waited hours watching all the usual druggies and drunks coming in and out.  Eventually she was treated and we found out it was only severe bruising which was great news.

So that's just a couple of my days, the experiences my students  recieve on these epic days are amazing and life changing and it's these experiences and knowledge which i take back to my awesome clients that makes all the difference when it comes to helping them and making what i do a little different.

Hey though...Mountain Biking isn't just for fit soldiers, biking around the woods has become a great method of de stressing and helping with the fitness and morale needs of atleast one of my PT clients. "She loves it now and is much fitter and happier"

Anyhoo i just though i would share a couple of days in the life of a unique Personal trainer.

Glenn(Adventure Coach Personal Trainer) Hill


Losing weight and feeling great in County Durham doesn't come easier than this.


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Teaching the NHS about health in South Tyneside Hospital

7/4/2014

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teaching the NHS about health in South Tyneside Hospital

Personal trainer chester le street

So not sent a blog in a while, this one is about me and my grumpy assistant teaching the health professionals about health.

I have been giving out some freebies again, this time trying to help a great bunch who are a brilliant resource, the NHS.

Nursing staff and other hospital staff are renownded for being over worked and under paid, so i thought it was my duty to help them out.  I thought a free plan with some clever knowledge, some short exercise blasts and a great weight loss nutrition plan all of which can be done at home or in the work place.

My aim was to help people change a unhealthy habit for healthy ones and if they lose some weight in the process then that is great.

So the staff of South Tyneside Hospital have received my chose to lose campaign, done over three different times to ensure i can help as much staff as possible. 

  • Talk about metabolism, after burn and golden hour
  • Indroducing the plan and ourselves
  • Demo fitness session
  • Free nutrition plan
  • Free home exercise plan
  • Free weight loss recipe book
  • Free motivation for weight loss ebook
  • Free metabolism ebook
  • Free alcohol ebook

They weigh and measure themselves at the start of the challenge and at the end.  Ta Da they lose weight, feel great and learn some stuff in the package.

Habits hopefully changed for good.


Glenn (helping the north east get fit)Hill














Check out my page or phone 01913874222


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    Glenn Hill Personal Trainer Newcastle, ex Army PTI, Diver and P Company trained.  All ladies gymnasium owner in Chester le Street

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