As the old saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt. In training it also leads to boredom, lack of results, lack of motivation and in worst cases, injury.

This article outlines ways of training that you perhaps hadn’t thought of, or were unsure about. The details are limited on purpose, as they are all massive individual topics on their own. This is just the starter for you, and a very quick outline of each.

keep working on improving your fitness in interesting and varied ways

Kettlebells

According to the fitness media, Kettlebells are the ‘latest’ Hollywood craze. The truth is they have been around for centuries (some reports suggest even the Mongol warriors used them). Essentially they are a heavy weight cannonball with a welded handle, and are a really functional piece of kit with hundreds of uses. Most of the traditional lifts are possible using a Kettlebell, and additionally lots of dynamic movements can be performed.

In my opinion, the dynamic swings are where the Kettlebell really comes into its own, both as a training and rehab tool. It offers more than dumbbells and barbells for the sport-specific athlete as well, as it allows movements to be performed under eccentric contraction at high speed. There is an argument that dumbbells could do the same job, and they can, but the inertia generated by the Kettlebell makes the exercise a shade harder than the stationary dumbbell.

Sample Kettlebell Circuit

• 40 x Double Arm Swings
• 20 x Single Arm Swings (Each Side)
• 20 x Single Arm Snatch (Each Side)
• 20 x Kettlebell Squats
• 30m Farmers Walk (Kettlebell in each hand)
• 10 x Turkish Get Ups

Perform this workout in the shortest time possible whilst maintaining good form. Repeat depending on your level of fitness.

Proper instruction on a Kettlebell is important, to ensure your technique is good, your movements are safe and you are getting the most from your workout. Speak to a Personal Trainer who is qualified with Kettlebells for help. Additionally, some gyms are offering beginner courses in Kettlebells, and even some group exercise classes using them.

Give Kettlebells a try and see the difference they could make to your usual routine.

Bodyweight Training

There are large numbers of (ill informed) people who view bodyweight training with a sort of snobbery, thinking that if an exercise doesn’t require weights then it is too easy. Nothing could be further from the truth – a good bodyweight circuit, or even adding a few bodyweight exercises to your training can give your workouts a completely new identity and transform your athletic ability and your shape. Using your bodyweight as resistance means the world is your gym – you don’t need a gym membership to do press ups, chin ups, jump squats etc.

The great thing about bodyweight exercises is they are kind to muscles and joints – they don’t require abnormal ranges of movement, can be adapted to suit your level of strength and can be performed in much less time – no need to set up kit means the workout time is shorter, keeping the intensity high and ensuring the workout is efficient.

To make a bodyweight circuit grow and evolve with you, a little creativity is required. There are thousands of variations when it comes to seemingly straightforward exercises such as Pull Ups, Press Ups, Sit Ups, Squats and dips, meaning with a little thought, a bodyweight programme can last you as long as you need it to!

Sample Bodyweight Session

• 4 x To Failure Chin Ups
• 4 x To Failure Press Ups (Feet raised for extra difficulty)
• 2 x 30 Jump Squats
• 3 x 20 Dorsal Raises
• 3 x 12 Dips
• 3 x 12 Inverted Rows
• 2 x 60 Second Plank

This whole session could be performed in less than 30 minutes and would provide an excellent workout. The exercises could all be adapted to suit the level of difficulty you were trying to achieve, but the important message is don’t write off bodyweight training until you have given it a try – I guarantee it will add something extra to your training regimen.

Body Pump

When it comes to group exercise, there is something for everyone. Personally, I regard things like Aerobics, Zumba, Salsacise etc as pretend exercise – they are like the real thing, but not the same. The idea of an aerobics class is exercise hell to me. Thankfully though, group exercise has moved on a long way from the ‘Keep Fit’ classes of the 80’s and 90’s, and we now have slick, polished products that have mass appeal. The Les Mills franchise is leading the way in group exercise, and my personal favourite of their classes is Body Pump.

Body Pump is choreographed weight training. It is not dancing in any way shape or form, but the tempo of the lifts is in time with music, which serves as a good guide to the correct form and speed of the positive and negative phases of the lifts. The class content is good, and the workout is all-body, which means it is fantastic for those will little time/motivation.

What impresses me about Body Pump is the variety of the exercises – it is beyond the curls and presses we have come to expect from the old school circuit classes. Body Pump incorporates Power Cleans, Deadlifts, Snatches etc, as well as the bread and butter lifts. The instructed form isn’t A1 (squats are taught with knees behind toes), but for those with an idea of weight training, it is a good way to mix up the training. Intensity is certainly not compromised – a good Pump class will wipe you out! The mixture of negatives, plyometrics and normal weight training will give you lots of ideas to take forward into your own training, increasing variety further.

My favourite thing about Body Pump is that because the instructor is lifting too, they can’t prance about like a hyperactive, over the top idiot, which is my biggest bugbear when it comes to group exercise. Hyperactive idiots aside, Body Pump is a great exercise class, so don’t turn your nose up at it on the basis that you won’t get a decent workout – I leave Pump classes a sweaty mess.

ViPR

A simple rubber pipe, with two handles on one side, and a single handle on the other, is finding is way into gyms and fitness classes. The ViPR (which stands for Vitality, Performance and Rehabilitaion) is designed to
provide an effective, whole-body workout, building muscle and burning calories through strength and movement training. One of Its particular strengths is in the cross body movements.

It can be lifted, dragged, thrown, stepped on, twisted – pretty much any movement you can think of. It is made from rubber, so will be hard to damage or cause damage inside or outside, and can easily be thrown in the back of a car, or carried on the back of a cyclist. With weights ranging from 4kg to 20kg, it is suitable for all ages and abilities.

VIPR provides the same functionality as a whole range of typical gym equipment, such as barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, BOSU/balance device and speed ladders.

Try a simple workout of:

Thread the needle – start with the Vipr in an overhead position. Lower yourself into a squat, rotating the shoulders and placing one end of the Vipr back through the legs. Keep your head up. Go back up to the overhead press position and repeat threading with the other hand.

Side flip and hop – place the Vipr on the floor and stand alongside facing it. Moving your arm across your body, squat down and lift one end of the vipr and flip it over, squatting down to lay it down, rather than dropping it. From the squat position, bounce strongly to squat at the other end and repeat.

Rising squat. Place the vipr upright in front of you. Grip the top, lift it, and squat down slightly..
Repeat the squat, each time throwing the Vipr inches upwards as you reach the top of the squat, so you eventually are squatting while holding the bottom of the VipR.

Try a circuit of each exercise, with a suitably heavy ViPR for 40s on 20s off, and repeat three times.

Some trainers claim over 7,000 moves are possible from Vipr.

Pilates

Pilates is a misunderstood and interesting one, because it has been wrongly rebranded by the fitness industry as a stomach-flattening class. Pilates is a therapy – its primary use is to treat core muscular imbalances that can manifest themselves as back, neck, shoulder and hip pain. Thanks to the fitness industry giving millions of people the absolute wrong idea of what Pilates really is, many gym goers are totally unaware of the amazing benefits this class can have on their bodies and their overall fitness.

Pilates places emphasis on the concentration of the mind to control general body movement, ensuring that precision is attained at all times. The benefit of this is that all lifting should come from the core, and control of the cover means control of the lift – these factors combine to result in less risk of injury, and improved performances on the lifts. As your strength increases, so does your capabilities and your aesthetic appearance – all from learning how to control your movements from your core.

Learning to breathe is of particular importance in Pilates. I know to many of you this will sound ridiculous, given you have managed to do a good job so far, but there is actually a way to breathe more efficiently, as practiced by Yoga and Pilates enthusiasts. Results of the more efficient breathing are said to be more energy, better muscular function and increased circulation. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to learn how to breathe better!

Given Pilates is a class, I can’t provide details of a sample session, but I can urge you to put your opinions to one side and give it a try – at worst you can write it off as a non-starter for you, at best you have discovered something that may change your life. Either way, if you never try, you’ll never know!

I hope these ideas will give you something to think about and experiment with in your training. We should never stop learning or trying new things. The human body is a remarkably adaptable machine, and it becomes ever more important to keep working on improving your fitness in interesting and varied ways that provide new challenges.

Good luck!

Tweet This Post