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I’ve finally gotten my “butt” into gear and written another article, today I’ll be focusing on ass!!
The glutes if you want to be technical.

Women’s goals are generally focused on tightening up their tummy, getting rid of their bingo wings, and tightening up their butts.
They’re right about training their glutes but the jane fonda style workouts aren’t really cutting it anymore.

This goes for men too, if any of you really play any sports, be it tennis, running or basketball it all starts with the glutes.
If I had known 10 years ago that the glutes were the one of keys to increasing my vertical jump for basketball then I wouldn’t have focused so much on training up my calves.
Me and my friends were convinced that having bigger calves would allow us to jump higher. To some degree it helped but we were wasting our time.

What we should have done was target the first muscle that activates in any given movement – The glutes.

The glutes and posture -

Possessing strong glutes also allows us to keep our pelvis in neutral position. In most cases we generally assume that due to peoples lifestyles, ( sitting down, driving, running/walking) the hip flexors tighten up causing the pelvis to tilt forward and throw the lower back out of alignment, when this happens the glutes become inactive. The glutes also help control the tracking of the knee joint making sure it doesn’t track out of line when we do any single leg movements i.e running/jogging. Restoring your structural balance is vital in having a healthy body so always have a balanced exercise program that promotes all movement patterns.

Isolation or compound exercises (multi joint)

There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to training your glutes, any type of movement that stimulates the glute fibers will be sufficient. However there are quicker ways, remember progression in your exercises are the key to improving strength as well as tone.

What I have found to work with my clients is performing a series of  2-3 exercises run in a circuit style to improve strength and activation, If need be also foam roll the opposite muscles to inhibit overactive muscles. If you have knee issues then I recommend seeing your doctor and a certified trainer to come up with exercises that work around your problem.

The Big 3

3 exercises to challenge your glutes in a different way.

Split squat

Single Leg Deadlift with KB

KB swing

Remember work your glutes, they’re more important than just the look…….Say no to pan-cake butt.

With summer coming round the corner I’m sure everyone has that beach body goal in sight. Now is the perfect time to start and so here are a few tips to help you with your goals…

1. Keep a food diary – Whether it is checked by your trainer or not logging the foods you eat will help you keep your diet in check. I would recommend getting a trainer at your local gym to check up on your food diary and recommend any swaps you could make. Try lowering the amount of processed foods and if eating out try eating as healthy as possible.
2. Change your exercise routine – I’ve had clients ask why they haven’t been losing weight even though they’ve been going to the gym 3 times a week, doing lots of cardio and crunches?
   The level of activity you are undertaking may not be enough of a stimulus for your body to raise its metabolic rate.Use resistance exercises to build lean muscle, muscle is more compact, it weighs more than fat but makes your body burn more calories to maintain it thus having an increased metabolism burning more fat overall.
   For the ladies that are worried about gaining bulky muscles you shouldn’t worry about gaining that amount of muscle unless you are progressively overloading them.
   Where do you see this progressive overload happen? On the Adductor and Abductor machine. I’ve seen some women lift about 80% of the weight on these machines in the hopes that are toning the area when in actual fact they are increasing the muscle size in that area.
   Remember to do big movements, things like squats and lunges that will help you rapidly lose weight a lot faster than just working on the smaller areas such as the dreaded bingo wings and back boobs.
3. Find a workout buddy – With the current economy not everyone can afford to hire a personal trainer to push them throughout the session but this doesn’t mean you can’t get the same results. Working out with a friend that has the same goals as you definitely helps you push yourself to work harder. Join a gym with your friend and motivate each other to achieve your goals.
4. Get a good night’s rest, aim to be in bed by 10.30pm each night. Growth hormone is secreted during a good night’s rest this hormone can help you gain muscle and drop fat. Try to turn off all electrical appliances and get a good night’s rest. Just remember to leave the alarm clock on!
5. Keep your water intake to a minimum of 2-3 litres a day. Keeping your water intake high will help elevate your metabolism as well as flush out the unwanted toxins in your body. Fat cells need to be hydrated before they can shuttled around the body to be used as energy.
6. Do something active – This could mean gardening, go for a bike ride, walking to work or just taking a walk during lunch, and take up a sport. Anything to get your body moving, the more you stay active in your daily life the more it will help you overall. I’m sure you people already know this so get off your butt and get moving.

Alright I hope this has helped in some way, remember to train smart, eat healthy and think positive. Talk to your trainer before you decide to design your own workout programs and remember I’m always here to help you.

Good luck in achieving your goals

If you’ve decided that you wanted to a hire a personal trainer to get you back in shape here’s a few things to consider.

The UK fitness industry has seen a surge in the number of people qualifying as personal trainers over the last couple of years, all of them eager with good intentions.
I have worked in this industry for 5 years and been a regular gym user for 10 years and I’ve seen my share of bad trainers so I’m going to present my how to spot a bad trainer guide to help you make the right choice.

1) They don’t ask you want YOU want

Any good trainer will ask questions to find out what your goals are, this is our chance to find out as much as we can about you.
What you want to achieve, what you’ve done before, what results you’ve gotten, what activities you’re currently doing, etc.

Depending on the level of trainer this is the perfect time to assess your structural balance/posture assessment, in most cases clients display imbalances in their muscles causing them to move differently. A common one we see is the over-activity of hip flexors and weakness in the glutes, this generally leads lower back pain and instability of the pelvis.

The consultation process is probably one of the most important parts and generally not a good idea to be skipped, if we don’t know anything about you we can’t give you a personalised approach.

2) They don’t pay YOU any attention

I was having a training session in the local gym chain I was a member of at the time and a trainer was giving a lady a training session.

The exercise he chose to give her was the split squat, excellent exercise for the glutes, knee stability and core control.
The way he delivered her through the exercise was appalling, this poor lady was given a weight to use that far exceeded her own capabilities, her back was compromised by the inability to hold her posture, her technique and balance was terrible.
What was the personal trainer doing while she was being put through such a tortuous exercise? He was looking out the window at other people, only looking back to count repetitions, never did he ask her how she felt during the exercise, not once was her technique corrected and a great exercise ruined!

Absolute focus is on you the client, all exercises are dangerous when done wrong but when done right the benefits are great, look for this when the trainer is coaching you.
You don’t want a trainer to be watching TV, talking on the phone or just looking out the window in a daze when YOU are paying for their “expertise.”

3) They don’t explain the exercise and the reason why they chose it

Always question why the trainer has chosen this exercise for you, they should be able to explain why they are giving you an exercise and what the benefits are.

4) They don’t listen to you

During the consultation process I learned from a client that she previously had another trainer but decided to leave her because she just didn’t listen.

She wanted to lose weight, she gets bored easily, and she hates spending a long time doing one thing. The trainer failed to the acknowledge her needs, the client after 3 weeks of training with her decided that she could do these exercises by herself. Every single one machine based exercises, and the cardio was done with the trainer standing by her while she talked about her personal life.

The client has to be happy with what they are doing, the trainer has to adjust the programming accordingly or at least have a good reason to why they are making you do something.

5) Changing the intensity

The majority of gym members are beginners, these are the ones that have never trained or are out of shape with little experience. If you’re just starting out, watch out for trainers that chuck you in at the deep end.

We all mean well and we want to help you lose that weight, but if you can’t do an exercise then we have to regress, this is why we need to focus on you, if we see you struggling or it’s too easy this is where we ask you questions.

For example –

The dynamic lunge – if you’re finding this exercise is too hard regress to the static lunge holding something for balance, or regress to a step up.

Be wary of trainers that fail to spot you struggling.

6) Just because they look the part doesn’t mean they know anything about training you

There are good teachers and there are bad. Some look the part but have no idea about training someone, don’t be fooled into thinking that big muscles means they are great teachers.
Again you have to think about what’s important…..the results. You want to get to your goal in the quickest possible time. Trainers are becoming smarter and smarter, so whatever shape or form they come in as long as you are getting results then that’s the most important thing.

7) Qualified trainers

Make sure you go to a certified trainer before you pay someone to train you, always check credentials. Be wary of private personal trainers as anyone can put an advert in the paper.

8 ) Rapport

There are some great trainers out there but you do get the odd few giving us a bad name.

When hiring a trainer it’s a partnership between two people, they become part of your support unit and if you don’t even get along then you have to question why you chose this trainer.

When hiring a trainer its best to test out the waters by buying a one off session, this allows you to see how well you receive their instructions, how patient they are with you, whether they correct your technique and whether you generally get on with them.

I hope this guide has helped you to spot a bad trainer, there are so many trainers to choose from that it gets a bit daunting. Not every trainer is the same and all have different styles of training, the most important thing is that you’re safe and happy doing what you’re doing.

Good luck achieving your goals.