Personal Training


When choosing your training there must be a strong reasoning behind every choice – the particular exercises, their order, sets, reps, rest, intensity, frequency, duration etc. Above all of those decisions the most important one is – the actual type of training and/or their mixture.

There are 4 types of training: resistance training, cardiovascular training, flexibility training and skills training. There is no extra "magical" type of training. However...

Fancy training names are employed by "new school" personal trainers –

  • Functional training,
  • Correctional training,
  • Core stability training,
  • Holistic training,
  • Kettlebell training,
  • Yoga training,
  • Power plate training etc.
 

 

New school personal training "toys"

– new school – attractive, interesting and innovative personal training. Or... is it? What stands behind the "new school" personal training? How good is the reasoning for using it to achieve the exact goals? How big part of the flashy names is just a commercial trick to attract an attention of potential clients?

Functional training

The name "functional" accurately describes the purpose of such training – to train for the exact movements and sports. Actually, it is not new school at all. Various sports athletes have been training specifically to their sports for as long as sports exist.

It's been presented by personal trainers as something very innovative though in the last few years. The name "functional" has been put on the market to stand out from the rest of the "non-functional", "old school" training.

Let's see what's so functional about the "functional" training when it's applied to a general public.

So a regular person comes down to a personal trainer with the usual needs – become fitter, lose some weight, feel and look better. Ok... What is specific and functional about such goals? – Nothing – For cardiovascular fitness you have to do a cardio training; to lose weight you have to affect your biggest muscle groups through a resistance training and spend some extra calories by doing cardio training; stretch to increase mobility, flexibility and speed up muscle recovery after each training session. By doing so you will primarily work on your cardiovascular fitness, fat loss/muscle maintenance and flexibility – no extra woo-doo training needed. Such goals achieved will make you feel and look good.

What could be the specific tasks, movements for a regular person to train for? – open a door, maybe reach to scratch a back or some other body part?

Functional training for physically inactive people – it is as ridiculous as it sounds...

Correctional training and core stability training

As the name states, correctional training is meant to correct postural problems. Nothing's wrong with such goal, a poor posture does result in various problems. In order to correct it core muscles have to be strengthened, muscle imbalances eliminated by strengthening weaker muscles and stretching tight muscles. That's what the correctional training does.

Core stability training has a sole purpose to isolate mid-section muscles and strengthen them. That's what the core stability training does.

Let's see what classical compound movement exercises like squat, dead lift, bent over row and bench press can do –

  • They engage core muscles extremely well (even bench press, if taught by a personal trainer experienced in power sports),
  • Among them they primarily work all biggest muscle groups (if there are any muscles disproportionally weaker, the whole body engaging compound movements will force them to catch up as different muscle groups work simultaneously, sharing the loading between them).

So the classical compound weight training exercises do the same job (including stretches on tight muscles as stretching is/should always be done after resistance training) like correctional and core stability training.  PLUS – they do what correctional and core stability exercises don't –

  • Inflict much higher protein degradation (muscle stimulation) on big muscle groups,
  • Can engage fast twitch muscle fibers as well as slow,
  • Can accumulate high levels of lactic acid,
  • Stimulate hormone activity (resulting in more efficient fat burn),
  • Burn much more calories,
  • Stimulate central nervous system at another level.

A regular person who needs the posture to be corrected, core strengthened is very likely to also benefit from extra kilograms of fat lost and the better shaped body as well as the improved posture and strengthened mid-section.

Inventing a bicycle (not even as good as the original) when it's already there – doesn't seem very smart...

Holistic training

Holistic training pretty much ends with its name said. It's an empty phrase to impress uneducated and/or brainwashed audience.

Obviously, holistic in a general sense means something emphasizing on a whole. So when it's used in a gym environment – resistance training, cardiovascular training and flexibility training then? – Just what any average beginner in a gym does.

A simple, holistic question –

Why bothering to name something that is quite frankly a whole nothing...?

Kettlebell training

There must be something almost mystical or at lest very special about kettlebell training if so many people look forward to try it and even more personal trainers are specifically offering it.

Mysticism aside, let's have look at what kettlebell training is. It is resistance training. That's it. That's what it is.

Kettlebell is a piece of equipment for resistance training – along side with barbell, dumbbell, resistance band, body weight etc. Due to kettlebell weight (normally 2 -32kg) it is most suitable for lactic acid resistance training which can be also done using barbell, dumbbell/-s, resistance band, body weight etc.

A simple question again –

Why aren't there any ads with personal trainers shouting out load how they are offering barbell, dumbbell or resistance band training (actually it would sound quite silly)?

Ads exclusively offering kettlebell training DO sound silly to someone who knows something about training...

Yoga training

Yoga training is on the list of "new school" not because it is new but because of its ever growing ability to attract new masses – yoga is hot!

Firstly, what is yoga training? It is a combination of mid body section exercises and stretches. That's what it's good for – strengthening abs and lower back and improving flexibility.

As it is so popular, does it mean that a vast part of general population have a strong mid-body and flexibility as their main goals? From what people tell to personal trainers over 90% have a need, goal to lose weight/fat, improve a physique. Yoga is NOT the prime training to achieve such goals.

The question remains open –

Why is it so popular then? Maybe because you get to lay on a mattress without sweating too much...

Power plate training

Power plate training has got a very powerful name... and even more powerful PR.

What it really is, it's £7000 for a vibrating surface on which you stand. To turn this vibrating surface into training you have to launch an isometric (not moving, staying still) exercise – for example, freezing for few minutes in a squatting position. By the way, isometric training is NOT the most efficient way to produce lactic acid and burn calories. It will produce some lactic acid in muscles engaged and it will burn some calories. Then you can try and launch the same isometric position without the £7000 vibrating surface and you will get some lactic acid accumulated in muscles engaged and will burn some calories. What you won't get is the placebo effect, the expectation that the expensive, fancy machine is going to do the job for you... 

Contact Personal Training 4U (personal trainer Rolandas) for no nonsense "old school" personal training.

 

 

Old school personal training "big guns"

 
Rolandas Malinauskas
Personal Training 4 U
Fordham Street
LondonE1 1HS
07742 193 913