Over the next five blogs, I’ll be selecting one of the top five functional training tools in the industry which are transforming the way we train our clients as trainers, achieving results in half the time!

Each review will rate the kit in terms of affordability, versatility and usability giving marks out of 10, 1 being least and 10 being most.

This week we examine the pioneer of suspension training, TRX…

Nowadays it’s not uncommon to walk through a public park and catch sight of an exerciser hanging from a tree from what can only be described as human webbing.

It is in fact a new wave of functional training equipment called suspension training epitomised by TRX.

TRX is a cleverly designed total body workout tool with an adjustable pulley device that can be anchored to a tree or door frame.

This enables you to use the handgrips and feet anchors to test your bodyweight against gravity in a vast repertoire of exercises to develop core body strength, as well as joint and muscular stability.

TRX was invented by a former U.S. Navy Seal in the 1990’s but only marketed in 2005 to the public worldwide.

I latched onto the product when it was introduced to the fitness industry in the UK at, you guessed it, the Fitpro Convention back in 2009.

It’s taken a while to catch on in the UK due to the competition out there but now the big chains like Virgin Active have come on board, TRX looks like it’s here to stay.

Stability is a major part of training with this training tool especially when your feet are anchored into the harness targeting your core musculature and testing balance.

Take the traditional press-up.

Anchoring the feet in the harness places huge emphasis on the midsection aswell as your upper body, even more so with the atomic press-up.

Pulling exercises are a dream and the most effective back exerciser out of all the functional tools with exercises ranging from double arm rows to assisted chin ups.

As far as portability goes, the TRX is a sure-fire winner.

You can use it anywhere but I would suggest having instruction before trying it alone as beginners find it difficult to control their core on certain exercises and adjusting the pulley and anchoring the feet can get frustrating.

If you’re looking for a device to take away on holiday, this would win hands down but in my experience it lacks the ‘user friendly’ element.

So how does TRX rank amongst the other functional training kit?

Affordability – 10/10

When TRX was unleashed onto the market it cost £160 for the full package. You can now get suspension trainers that do exactly the same for just over £30 so great value for money.

Versatility – 7/10

You can work the whole body in a very different way to other equipment, heavily dependent on stability and balance rather than absolute strength so if you’re goal is building muscle this might not be for you.

Usability – 6/10

Anchoring the feet and changing the pulley length can be annoying and exercisers with a weak core and back problems may experience difficulty but on the whole pushing and pulling exercises are the best out there.

Next week – the last in the series – Kettlebells!

Over the next five blogs, I’ll be selecting one of the top five functional training tools in the industry which are transforming the way we train our clients as trainers and achieving results in half the time!

Each week the reviews will rate the functional kit in terms of affordability, versatility and usability giving marks out of 10, 1 being least and 10 being most.

This blog we look at a piece of equipment that got its inspiration from Bulgarian shepherds lifting sheep and lambs.

I give you the Bulgarian Bag…

Invented by Ivan Ivanov in 2005, the Bulgarian US wrestling team coach at the time, the Bulgarian Bag was his answer to giving athletes the edge with minimal equipment and maximum effect.

It broke into the fitness industry, as did many of the functional training tools, gravitating towards the MMA and boxing studios in 2008, before being unleashed at the Fitpro convention in 2011 where I was lucky enough to sign up to one of the first Bulgarian Bag Instructor courses.

I instinctively knew that this piece of kit would make it big in the fitness industry.

And so it has…

Like the Battling ropes and ViPR, it really does unlock the movement potential of the body and puts a stamp on functional movement.

It’s unique doughnut shape enables you to create rotational movements like no other and, in my opinion, the most effective exercise in the world for the waist, the Bulgarian Bag spin.

They are a perfect tool for working every muscle in the body, coming in weights from 5kgs to 17kgs and are the most portable of all exercise equipment with the ability to carry the load on the shoulders comfortably.

I’m often loading FIT1000 Bootcamp crew with bags and marching over Primrose Hill.

Workouts with the Bulgarian bag do become hand, wrist and shoulder intensive so if you have pre-existing conditions they might not be suitable but there are plenty of novel alternative exercises that test multi-directional movement, providing that total body blast for maximum calorie burn.

All things considered, they’re certainly a sure-fire winner in my locker.

And the scores on the doors….

Affordability – 10/10

The original Bulgarian Bag was made by a company called ‘Suples’ with bags ranging from £100 for the lightest 5kgs to £250 for 17kgs. Only recently other companies have copied the bags at a better value price ranging from £30 for a 5kgs to £53 for a 20kgs bag giving it the edge over other equipment.

Versatility – 8/10

A vast array of exercise alternatives, many of which are unique to this rotational master!

Usability – 7/10

Users tend to experience fatigue in the grip before fatiguing the body in the spin and some of the exercises (the power snatch seen below) can take longer to master than with other equipment. However, it’s portability means it’s a perfect workout partner in any setting and if you can stick with it, results will follow.

Next blog – TRX

Over the next five blogs, I’ll be selecting one of the top five functional training tools in the industry which are transforming the way we train our clients as trainers and achieving results in half the time!

Each week the reviews will rate the functional kit in terms of affordability, versatility and usability giving marks out of 10, 1 being least and 10 being most.

This week we examine a piece of equipment that has revolutionised loaded movement training and, in my opinion, is the best concept to hit the fitness industry in my lifetime as a personal trainer.

I give you ViPR!

The annual Fitpro convention (held at the Excel, London) is a showcase for cutting edge fitness products and hot trends and this is where ViPR caught my eye!

On first impression, it looks like a big log of wood but on closer inspection, you realise that it has specifically designed handles and a rugged, rubber outer coating for durability.

ViPR, which stands for ‘Vitality, Performance, Reconditioning’, does exactly what is says on the tin.

It epitomises ‘functional’ movement, ‘bridging the gap between strength training and movement’ as the inventor Michol Dalcourt proclaims.

There is a never ending library of multi-directional, loaded movements to work every muscle in the body giving a total body workout, all adding up to improved flexibility, coordination, power, agility, fitness and strength in a way that is so different from any other piece of fitness equipment.

We, at FIT1000 boot camps, utilise ViPR into almost every workout for that very reason. The original shape and design means you can lift, drag, throw, carry, pull, push and perform any run-of-the-mill exercise with added directional movement.

ViPR comes in different weights ranging from 4kgs to 26kgs but don’t be fooled by the seemingly light weights as the way each exercise is loaded, a 10kg ViPR will challenge even a seasoned athlete.

So how does it stack up on affordability, versatility and usability?

Affordability – 8 / 10

Prices range from £115 for a 4kg to £319 for a 26kg but for a full body workout, it literally is all you need so is well worth the outlay.

Versatility – 10 / 10

The most versatile piece of kit on the market.

Usability – 9 / 10

Once you’ve mastered the basic exercises with an instructor or in a group setting, the sky’s the limit in terms of what you can do with the ViPR. It’s super portable and ideal for use at home, gym or outdoor space.

If you haven’t tried the ViPR you’re missing out as its revolutionising how we strength train and stretching the movement capabilities of the human body.

Next blog – Bulgarian Bags!

Over the next five blogs, I’ll be selecting one of the top five functional training tools in the industry which are transforming the way we train our clients as trainers and achieving results in half the time!

So what is this phenomenon ‘functional training’?

The buzzword is banded around far too often. ‘True’ functional training refers to strength training in movements that are replicable to real-life situations and are based on the primal movement patterns of bending, twisting, squatting, lunging, pushing, pulling and gait or the actions of walking and running.

Basic functional strength exercises manifest within one direction or single plane of motion and as we develop our functional strength we are capable of combining these movements into multi directional loaded exercises to maximise overall body strength, flexibility, coordination and fitness.

The training equipment we will be discussing over the coming weeks encourage this loaded, total body approach.

Each week the reviews will rate the functional kit in terms of affordability, versatility and usability giving marks out of 10, 1 being least and 10 being most.

This offering we’ll start with the most recent addition to the fitness industry, the battling rope!

Battling ropes

I remember these making their debut at the Fitpro Convention at Loughborough four years ago, filtering into contact/ combat studios (MMA, boxing) but they didn’t really emerge into mainstream gyms for wider use until recently.

They are certainly unique.

As soon as you engage in the trademark ‘power slam’ exercise (below), you understand why they were so popular with combat sports, recruiting the whole body but particularly shoulders, back and wrists.

Add exercises like single and double waves (below), side slams, star jumps and snakes on the floor (below) and you realise this is what high intensity interval training gets its name for.

I wouldn’t call this ‘cutting edge’ kit.

At the end of the day, all you’re doing is chucking a rope around in as many different ways as possible but it can be used for all abilities and it does create the fun-factor in any circuit, great for an explosive warm-up or an upper body metabolic workout without too much leg action.

Battling ropes offer an express workout solution but be wary of using them if you have pre-existing shoulder or wrist injuries and be sure to start off in an instructed setting such as boot camp or in a gym to set technique.

All-in-all, a valuable addition to the fitness industry.

Affordability – 7 / 10

Quite expensive – Prices range from £60 to £160 depending on the length and diameter. The typical size is 50 feet with 1.5 inch thickness so anchored around an end point leaves you with 25 feet of work distance. Obviously the longer and wider (2 inch) the rope the harder the exercises.

Versatility – 8 / 10

Offers a wide range of unique, low impact exercises which are highly upper body dominant.

Usability – 6 / 10

Most people will find it a fun alternative to conventional movements, easy to pick up technique but avoided by shoulder, back or wrist sensitive exercisers. Not very portable as it’s the equivalent of transporting a large snake in a bag and you’ll need a stable anchor point, fixed being better. The home use factor is limited as you’ll also need a large area but perfect around a bench in a park.

NEXT EDITION – ViPR!

However there has been no single test to measure overall fitness including aerobic fitness, anaerobic fitness and strength endurance………until now!

I give you the ‘Ben-Ten’ test.

I designed this test primarily for clients to monitor their progress in addition to getting a great total body, express workout. After countless efforts by a wide ranging client base, I’ve formulated standards to rank an individuals overall fitness.

Try it for yourself as a monthly gauge of progress or an express holiday workout!

A 5 minute warm-up and cool-down are advisable.

Repeat the circuit twice as fast as possible.

The Burpee x 10

The Press-up (ladies kneeling) x 10

The Jump Squat x 10

The Plank Extension x 10

Standards (timed from start to finish in minutes).

Outstanding = < 2 minutes
Good = 2.00 – 2.30
Average = 2.31 – 3.00
Needs work – > 3.01

Best of luck!

No matter what you think about the phenomenon, genetic testing has become the ‘must have’ service for personal trainers not to mention olympic athletes, premiership footballers and elite coaches realising the benefits to performance and unlocking the guesswork surrounding diet and exercise prescription.

After all, every one of us is made differently.

Our DNA contain genes which provide instructions for what we look like and how our body’s function and it is the small variations in these genes that cause the differences in our make up.

It therefore makes sense to know which variation of a gene we carry, so that exercise professionals can prescribe the right exercise and diet plans to achieve your genetic potential.

Sounds revolutionary….how does it stack up?

The evidence to support using DNA to map potential in sport is staggering and we, at Benjamin Hodson Personal Fitness, have been conducting tests to provide a truly bespoke service for over a year now achieving remarkable results.

So what does DNA testing measure?

We use a pioneering company called DNAFit to test samples at a laboratory analysing a panel of 45 gene variants specific to diet and exercise.

We collect samples using a simple swab test and the report is sent through within two weeks.

Here are some of the parameters measured and unveilings that I found out about myself I never knew before.

Exercise

The test revealed what type of sport best suited my body.

I have a 50%/50% power to endurance ratio of genes, so for the exercises I enjoy, a mix of long distance running and high intensity interval training is recommended to get the best out of my training.

I have a tendency towards a high VO2 Max or aerobic capacity.

It’s therefore best to schedule competitive events regularly into my training plan to maximise performance.

I’m lucky enough to have a fast recovery rate.

I don’t need to schedule in as many rest days and can pretty much train hard most days of the week without compromising performance.

My personal injury risk is low.

I can continue with sports with high impact and thankfully don’t have to be over cautious when it comes to protecting my joints.

Diet

I’m able to eat carbohydrates and saturated fat without worrying about putting weight on.

I have a very low sensitivity to carbs and low sensitivity to saturated fat which means I receive less energy per calorie of both carbs and fat than someone who puts weight on easily when they eat bread, pasta or dairy products.

A low carb diet wouldn’t be advisable for me as I’d lack energy and wouldn’t be able to concentrate although sticking to slow releasing or low GI foods would help in weight management.

This was good to know!!

I should stay away from smoked or chargrilled meats as much as possible.

The test revealed that I have enzymes which activate potentially toxic substances present in meat cooked at high temperatures and recommends increasing my intake of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, cauliflower and spinach to improve my livers detoxification.

I should eat an abundance of foods with antioxidants.

I need to eat berries, dark leafy greens and citrus fruits as my body is predisposed not to neutralise what are called ‘free radicals’ which damage the body and can lead to illness.

I have a raised requirement for omega-3, vitamin B6, B12, vitamin D and folic acid.

Interestingly, I have a possible predisposition for hypertension when I eat too much salt.

Drinking alcohol in moderation activates a gene that increases my ‘good’ cholesterol.

Probably something I didn’t need to know!

I am lactose and gluten tolerant.

As well as this genetic deep-dive into your wellbeing, we offer one-to-one consultations to make sense of the data but the report does outline the findings clearly.

We also prescribe detailed genetic meal plans that suit your make-up to maximise weight loss and optimise health and bespoke fitness programs.

Ultimately, this cutting edge approach to diet and exercise has given our company the tools to offer clients the best possible service, taking the guess work out of ‘what works for some and not for others’.

If you’re interested in finding out how DNA testing will compliment your training and diet or to book an appointment for a swab test please visit our DNA Lifestyle Coaching page.

The action itself mimics the hula hoop motion of yesteryear, maximising hip rotation through a loaded centrifugal force.

The piece of equipment that is used for the exercise is a relatively new functional strength training tool which has been in the wrestling world for years.

As soon as this doughnut-shaped bag of sand caught my eye at the Fitpro convention in Loughborough 6 years ago, I immediately wanted to grab one and jump straight on the training course.

So I did….

The Bulgarian Bag has now filtered into mainstream gyms across the country so if you still haven’t used one, you’re missing out.

And the best exercise for a slimmer waist?

The Bulgarian Bag Spin

Start with a light bag (5kg for women, 8kg for men) and practice the spin technique with three sets of 20 each side.

Once you’ve mastered the technique, incorporate the spin into your usual workout regime hitting five sets of 20 reps each side.

You’ll never see results like it!

If you want to experience it for yourself, come along to FIT1000 boot camp where the Bulgarian Bag and ViPR are our trademark!

But is it lactic acid or some other process going on?

Research suggests that ‘lactic acid’ cannot exist in the human body.

The term has been thrown around sports science since the 1920’s due to the link between the production of ‘lactate’ during high intensity exercise and acidosis in the muscles.

Lactate, it then seems, does not cause acidosis in the muscles.

How is lactate produced?

When you do high intensity exercise, energy production through the normal ‘aerobic’ pathway isn’t available as there’s not enough oxygen coming into the system.

Energy production is therefore supplemented through a process called anaerobic glycolysis, the anaerobic route without the presence of oxygen, which creates a high energy compound called ATP and by products called Hydrogen and Lactate.

It is the hydrogen that interrupts the natural PH balance of the muscles, interfering in your muscles fibers’ ability to contract which causes the burn that eventually cuts your exercise short.

Lactate actually works against hydrogen to neutralise the acidity in the muscles so that you can exercise for longer.

What about the burn after you’ve finished exercising?

Between 12 – 72 hours after exercise the burn you’re experiencing then is known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS, attributed to simple mechanical damage through microscopic tearing.

So lactate is a good thing?

Absolutely. You would not get fit without it to the same degree you do with it.

Lactate production during intense exercise stimulates a phenomenon called mitochondrial biogenesis after exercise.

The mitochondria are little factories inside the muscle cells where aerobic metabolism occurs to yield energy.

An increase in the concentration of mitochondria inside muscle cells is one of the major adaptations to training that improve endurance performance. And lactate makes it happen.

Hence why endurance athletes train high intensity intervals in order to improve their endurance capacity and performance.

How will it make you fitter?

The answer is train like an athlete.

High intensity interval training and more specifically lactate threshold training will boost your fitness like no other.

Training intervals where your heart rate is essentially going into the anaerobic training zone for sustained bouts (roughly over 80% of maximum heart rate) and then recovering in the aerobic training zone (below 80% of maximum heart rate) will train the buffering capacity of lactate to the burning effect of hydrogen and therefore enable you to work at higher intensities for longer.

Post-workout, the high lactate levels will increase the energy producing factories or mitochondria, increasing endurance and aerobic fitness.

Contrary to many viewpoints, we, as human beings, are designed to run and if trained in a progressive manner, is the best way of burning calories and keeping lean.

But be smart.

Considering the multi-directional movements involved in locomotion together with almost three times your body weight crashing through your body on each stride, it’s essential that your body is conditioned to cope with the demands.

The muscles around the foot, ankle and lower leg are the epicentre of this activity so it’s important to strengthen these in conjunction with any running program.

Try these foot and calf raises (3 x 12 on each) after a warm-up and before your run to strengthen your body’s natural shock absorbers; the plantarfascia, achilles tendon, calf muscles and tibialis anterior or shin muscle.

It’s probably no surprise to you but men find it easier to lose weight than women. Fact.

So why?

Apart from the obvious that men are bigger, they naturally possess more muscle mass than women, therefore can shift their calorie burning machine or metabolism into overdrive with less effort.

The overriding reason for this is hormonal.

Testosterone fuels muscle growth. According to a BBC investigation in 2014, on average, men produce about 20 times more testosterone than women so they have a natural advantage.

However from experience, women can even up the odds by being exercise savvy.

The answer is to train heavy weights in compound strength routines (multiple muscle group exercises) to maximise metabolic rate and essentially kill multiple birds with one stone.

And the answer is NO ladies. You will not bulk up, a common myth in the fitness industry.

So here it is.

For anyone wanting to send their metabolism into overdrive, try this metabolic circuit of four compound exercises lifting 10 reps as heavy as possible maintaining correct form, repeating four times.

Squat press – 10

Romanian deadlift – 10

Reverse lunge curl to press – 10

Lateral lunge to high pull – 10