“Aim to do two 20- to 30-minute technique sessions during the week where you focus on improving a specific aspect of your stroke like your breathing or kicking,” says Sam Williams, swimming coach at Swim Studio London (swimstudiolondon.com). “Then do a longer session at the weekend where you add extra lengths or time each week to monitor your progress.”
STAY RELAXED
“Endurance sports like cycling and running are all about exertion, but if you’re doing it properly, swimming should be the opposite,” says Williams. “If you’re too tense in the water, you’ll end up thrashing around, wasting energy and tiring yourself out. Instead, focus on staying balanced in the water and maintaining a relaxed stroke.”
KNOW YOUR KIT
“Make sure you train wearing and using the kit you plan to race in,” says Williams. “You wouldn’t try to break a new pair of running shoes in the week before a marathon, and swimming is no different – the last thing you want is a new pair of goggles that start letting in water on race day. Having battle-tested gear that you trust and feel comfortable in for hours at a time will stand you in good stead.”
CYCLING
Photography iStock
FREQUENCY IS KEY
“Aim to ride every other day if you can, making sure you have at least three rest days a week,” says Cyclist magazine’s James Spender. “Even if you only have time for short, 30-minute sessions, a few of these spread across the week will be more productive than just doing one three-hour ride on the weekend. The regularity will help you become more comfortable on the bike and improve your muscle memory for pedalling.”
NAIL YOUR NUTRITION
Using the correct fuel will help you train and recover to the best of your abilities. “Have an easily digestible meal that combines healthy carbs and protein – say, wholegrain rice with chicken breast and green veg – about two hours before your session and a similar meal afterwards,” says Spender. “During the ride, top up your energy levels with a bar, gel or swig of energy drink at 20-minute intervals once you pass the two-hour mark.”
LEARN ROADSIDE REPAIRS
It might sound obvious, but being able to change a flat tyre is an absolute must, whatever your level of fitness or experience. “Even if you’ve never had one before, do a practice run during training to familiarise yourself with the process,” says Spender. “You can’t always rely on having other cyclists around to help you if something goes wrong, and the last thing you’d want is for a mid-race puncture to undo all your hard work.”
RUNNING
MAKE A HAPPINESS PLAN
Even if you stick perfectly to your schedule, it’s not a given that you’ll feel great while you’re training. “It’s normal at times to feel unhappy about how you performed in a training session,” says Kim Ingleby, a British Athletics Coach and personal trainer. “So write down the runs that you’ve really enjoyed and how they made you feel. Then write down what you are unhappy about. Write these on one side of the paper and then, on the other side, write down what you can do to become happier with them. From that list, choose a maximum of three areas to focus on each month to improve and create goals that you can work on.”
FIND MID-SESSION STRENGTH
During hard training sessions there can be a voice in your head telling you to stop. “This is so common, and it’s our mind’s way of looking after us,” says Ingleby. “When this happens you have two options. First, you can decide you are going to walk or slow down for a minute and get your focus back, breathe deeply and start again. Second, breathe it out: as you inhale, say a positive word like ‘strength’ and exhale out the stopping thought for six breaths, focusing on growing in strength and letting go of fatigue. This sounds too simple to work – but it does.”
GET A WINNING MINDSET
Towards the end of any race, whether it’s a 10K or a triathlon, is where the going really gets tough. “When you start to struggle, think of all the people who inspire and motivate you, the people you love in your life and your reasons for taking part in the event,” says Ingleby. “I also find it useful to break the longer running events into 5km or 10km chunks so that as you complete each one, you realise you can do it. Another trick is to have a mini-movie or soundtrack in your mind for near the end, which you can ‘play’ to keep you going until you cross the finish line.”
When Shaun Stafford was forced to hang up his rugby boots because of a career-ending injury, he turned his focus from training for performance to training for physique. And he hasn’t looked back. In the six years since, his dedication has built a body that’s been rewarded with not one but two World Beauty, Fitness and Fashion (WBFF) titles. Discover his training, diet and recovery secrets so you too can make big changes to how you look with your top off.
Model ambition
World champion fitness model Shaun Stafford reveals how he builds and maintains his award-winning body
How did you get into fitness modelling?
I used to play rugby but that came to an end because of injury, so I had nothing left to train for. This was about six years ago. At the time the fitness show phenomenon was just beginning, so a mate mentioned it to me and I decided to give it a try. I won the first one I entered and from then on I was hooked. I did some research into the industry and came across the WBFF, so I started entering their shows.
How did you find the transition from training for a team sport to an individual one?
The training didn’t really change – the main difference was the diet. As a rugby player I was almost always in a calorie surplus, but training for physique rather than performance alone, you’re doing it in a calorie deficit where you want to hold on to muscle tissue but lose body fat. The most important thing is to learn what works for you. You need to give yourself enough time to lose weight, to build muscle or whatever your goal is. Then you can fine-tune the techniques that you know work for you.
What’s the hardest part of preparing for a competition or shoot?
You need to develop a certain mindset. If you want to give it everything you’ve got – and you need to if you want to make a big change – then you have to follow the principle of train, eat, sleep, repeat. The problem with this mentality is that you don’t exist in a little bubble. There are other people in your life who have to bear the brunt of that – friends, family, colleagues. You have to be single-minded and it’s a very selfish existence. During prep you are not fun to be around!
How did becoming a dad affect your training and diet?
My current prep has been the hardest I’ve ever done. I have a one-year-old boy so I am awake one hour earlier and up at least two hours later each weekday, and then you don’t have much time to yourself at weekends. Having kids makes getting into shape harder, but there are ways to make it easier – stay on top of your diet and cram in your workouts when you can, like training during your lunch break, which is a great option to let you use your time more efficiently. Book training sessions into your diary like meetings. I used to train in late afternoon, but I’ve shifted it to the morning now, and that has massively helped. It means I am working out while I am still energised, whereas by late afternoon I am exhausted and can’t train with the required intensity.
How important is it that you find some life balance?
It’s 100% imperative to find a balance. You need to spend time with your mates or your loved ones during any hard contest prep or during a transformation challenge because it makes you feel human, rather than like a robot who only trains, eats and sleeps! Happiness is key to a successful transformation. Yes, you have to go through a tough process to get a result, but it won’t work if you hate that all you’re doing is working out or you’re just obsessing about the foods you’re not eating – it has to be sustainable over a long period of time. To make a long-term change, you have to find some balance.
What are the common reasons that people fail to build the body they want?
A lot of people lose their way because they don’t have a timeframe. Everyone wants to look a little better, but without setting a deadline, it’s so easy to let it slip. Setting a goal, giving it a realistic timeframe that’s tough but achievable, then breaking that down into mini targets you can tick off each week is one of the best ways to stay in control and to stay motivated.
Tell us about the workout you’ve put together over the following pages.
There are three workouts, one for arms, one for shoulders and one for abs. Each workout is based around tri-sets, which is where you do three moves back to back with minimum rest. When you want to increase training intensity, and especially if you haven’t got much time to train, tri-sets give you the ability to hit a muscle group in a variety of ways in a very efficient way. They also increase the training volume you can do, which is one of the most important factors behind building new muscle tissue.
Shaun Stafford is an Optimum Nutrition ambassador and performance director of City Athletic in London (cityathletic.co.uk). Turn over for his world title-winning upper-body workout
BUILD BIG ARMS
This biceps and triceps tri-set session will help you pack on arm muscle
Workout 1
How to do it
1 Start with the first triset, which works your biceps, beginning with 1A. Complete all the reps then move straight on to 1B, do all the reps, then move straight on to 1C.
2 After the final rep of 1C, rest for 90 seconds, then go back to the start. Repeat this pattern until you have done all three sets of the biceps tri-set.
3 Once you’ve completed the first tri-set and rested for 90 seconds, move on to the second tri-set, which works your triceps. Follow the exact same pattern, only resting after move 2C.
Tri-set 1 Biceps
1A DUMBBELL BICEPS CURL
Sets 3
Reps 12
Tempo 2111
Rest 0sec
Stand tall, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Curl the weights up, keeping your elbows close your sides, until they are at shoulder height. Pause, then lower them back down slowly.
1B DUMBBELL SPIDER CURL
Sets 3
Reps 12
Tempo 2111
Rest 0sec
Without putting the dumbbells down, bend forwards from your hips with straight arms. Curl the weights up towards your chin, pause, then lower them back down under control.
1C HAMMER CURL
Sets 3
Reps 12
Tempo 2111
Rest 90sec
Stand up and hold the weights with a palms-facing grip. With your elbows close to your sides, curl the weights up, keeping your palms facing one another. Pause at the top, then lower.
Tri-set 2 Triceps
2A TRICEPS EXTENSION
Sets 3
Reps 12 each side
Tempo 2111
Rest 0sec
Stand tall holding a dumbbell in one hand overhead. Slowly lower the weight behind your head, then straighten your arm to return to the start.
2B TRICEPS KICK-BACK
Sets 3
Reps 12 each side
Tempo 2111
Rest 0sec
Lean forwards from your hips, holding a dumbbell in one hand by your outer thigh. Raise the weight behind your body by straightening your arm. Pause, then return to the start.
2C DUMBBELL PRESS-UP
Sets 3
Reps 12
Tempo 2111
Rest 90sec
Start in a press-up position but holding dumbbells, with your hands close together. Lower your chest towards the floor, pause at the bottom, then press back to the start powerfully.
GET ROCK HARD ABS
A tri-set to sculpt a six-pack plus a finisher move adds up to your best ever body
Workout 2
Shaun Stafford’s six-pack secrets
1 “A lot of people think getting a six-pack is all about diet. Actually I know people who eat perfect diets but don’t have abs because they don’t train them. If you want the best set of abs possible then you have to dedicate training time to it.”
2 “You have to engage your abs and maintain tension on them for the duration of each set. The mind-tomuscle connection is huge for your abs, because if they’re not engaged you’re not working them fully and won’t get a peak contraction.”
3 “Focus on your breathing so that you’re fully exhaling on the contraction part of each move. This will ensure you keep your abs fully engaged and also stay mentally attuned to how they are working and feeling during each rep.”
1A RUSSIAN TWIST
Sets 3
Reps 25
Tempo 2111
Rest 0sec
Sit holding a dumbbell in both hands with your abs engaged. Keeping tension on your abs throughout, rotate fully to one side, back to the middle then across to the other side.
1B DUMBBELL V-SIT
Sets 3
Reps 15
Tempo 2111
Rest 0sec
Lie in a sit-up position holding a dumbbell in both hands. Raise your torso off the ground while bringing your knees in towards your chest. Return to the start and repeat.
1C DUMBBELL CRUNCH
Sets 3
Reps 15
Tempo 2111
Rest 90sec
Lie in a sit-up position holding a dumbbell across your chest. Keeping your feet on the floor, raise your torso off the ground and hold at the top. Return to the start and repeat.
2 DUMBBELL ROLLOUT
Sets 3
Reps 6-12
Tempo 2111
Rest 90sec
Kneel with a dumbbell in each hand. Lean forward from your hips and engage your core. Roll your hands away to lower towards the ground. Reverse back to the start.
SCULPT BROAD SHOULDERS
Add serious size across all three parts of your shoulder muscles to build a bigger, wider torso
Workout 3
How to do it
1 Start with the first tri-set, which works the whole shoulder joint, beginning with 1A. Complete the reps then move into 1B, do all the reps, then move straight into 1C.
2 After the final rep of 1C, rest for 90 seconds, then go back to the start. Repeat this pattern until you have done all three sets of the tri-set.
3 Once you’ve completed the first tri-set and rested for 90 seconds, move on to the second tri-set, which works the three muscles of your shoulders individually. Follow the exact same pattern, only resting after move 2C.
Tri-set 1 Shoulders
1A ARNOLD PRESS
Sets 3
Reps 12
Tempo 2111
Rest 0sec
Hold a dumbbell in each hand in front of your chest with palms facing your body. Press the weights up, rotating your wrists as you go, to end with palms facing away. Return to the start.
1B OVERHEAD PRESS
Sets 3
Reps 12
Tempo 2111
Rest 0sec
This move is a slightly easier version of the Arnold press because you start with palms facing away, and maintain this wrist position for the entire set. Keep each rep controlled.
1C ALTERNATING PRESS
Sets 3
Reps 12
Tempo 2111
Rest 90sec
Finishing the tri-set with alternating press means you work each arm individually to give the muscles slightly more time to recover between reps, so you can work them harder for longer.
Tri-set 2 Shoulders
2A REVERSE FLYE
Sets 3
Reps 12
Tempo 2111
Rest 0sec
Hold a light dumbbell in each hand and bend forwards from the hips. Raise the weights, leading with your elbows, then lower back to the start.
2B LATERAL RAISE
Sets 3
Reps 12
Tempo 2111
Rest 0sec
Stand tall with a dumbbell in each hand. Raise them to shoulder height, leading with your elbows. Pause at the top, then lower back to the start under control.
2C FRONT RAISE
Sets 3
Reps 12
Tempo 2111
Rest 90sec
This is like the previous move except instead of raising the weights to the sides, you raise them in front of you. Keep each rep slow, smooth and controlled for greater growth.
175g dark chocolate (approx 80% cocoa solids) 350g soft tofu 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder Juice and zest of 2 oranges Grated orange zest and chocolate (to serve)
Makes 4 servings
TO MAKE
• Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool slightly.
• Blend the tofu, protein powder and orange zest and juice until smooth and creamy.
• Spoon into four dishes and chill in the fridge until set.
• Decorate with a little orange zest and grated chocolate.
WHY SHOULD I HAVE IT?
Flavonols in chocolate are thought to protect against the cellular and tissue damage caused by intense training. Tofu is a good protein source but don’t eat it too often because it contains phytoestrogens, which can affect your testosterone levels.
Per serving
Calories 294
Protein 26.2g
Fat 6g
Carbs 32.5g
Protein balls
INGREDIENTS
180g peanut butter 90g agave honey 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder 45g porridge oats Makes 10-12balls
TO MAKE
• Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and form into walnut-sized balls.
• Place the balls in the fridge for a couple of hours until they harden.
WHY SHOULD I HAVE IT?
Peanut butter is a good source of monounsaturated fats, which are linked with improved cardiovascular health, and it’s also packed with protein and fibre. Oats are a source of beta-glucans, a soluble fibre that can lower cholesterol via its interaction with the bacteria in your gut. Agave honey adds sweetness, but it’s low-GI, so it doesn’t have the fat-storing effect of other sweet foods that contain sucrose.
Per ball
Calories 133
Protein 5g
Fat 8g
Carbs 12g
Protein squares
INGREDIENTS
170g almond butter 75g butter 100g honey 100g dried apricots, chopped 25g mixed seeds 1tsp cinnamon ½tsp bicarbonate of soda 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder 100g wholemeal self-raising flour 150g porridge oatsMakes 8 squares
TO MAKE
• Melt the butter, almond butter and honey in a large saucepan.
• Add the protein powder, apricots, seeds, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda, flour and oats.
• Press into a greased or lined baking tray.
• Bake at 180°C/gas mark 4 for 20 minutes until the edges are crisp but it is still soft in the middle.
• Leave in the tray until completely cool, then cut into eight squares and refrigerate.
WHY SHOULD I HAVE IT?
Almond butter is high in monounsaturated fats, vitamin E and manganese. Seeds are rich in essential minerals such as zinc and copper, which play critical roles in energy metabolism.
There’s nothing like a steaming bowl of porridge on a cold morning – or a warm morning, for that matter, because the oaty breakfast is pretty much the healthiest way you can start your day. It’s packed with slow-release carbohydrates to fuel you up, not to mention protein to build muscle and keep you feeling full (plus an extra hit from the milk). It’s ready in minutes – in fact, you can do it in the microwave if even the simple method below is too much of a faff for you – and you can top it with almost anything you like for bonus health points.
INGREDIENTS
50g porridge oats
200ml milk
1tbsp manuka honey
2tbsp pecan nuts, halved Handful of blueberries
TO MAKE
• Put the milk and oats in a pan.
• Cook over a medium heat for eight to ten minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Top with the remaining ingredients and serve immediately.
Get the goodness
Milk is packed with muscle-building protein and calcium, which helps your body to metabolise fat efficiently.
Manuka honey contains methylglyoxal, an antibacterial agent that helps the body to fight infection.
Pecan nuts are high in heart-healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, as well as providing another hit of protein.
Blueberries offer pterostilbene, a compound that helps the body break down fat and lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.
Why? Magnesium is an important dietary mineral, and deficiencies are associated with impaired sleep quality. Such deficiencies are more common in athletes because you lose magnesium through sweat. Supplementation can improve your sleep quality and is most effective for sleep-deprived people who also have low dietary magnesium intake – those with healthy magnesium levels may not find that their sleep quality improves after taking supplements. But although increasing your magnesium levels can help improve sleep quality, it does not have a sedative effect – that means you don’t need to worry about getting sleepy or drowsy after taking it.
How to take it Magnesium isn’t a time-dependent supplement – in other words, you don’t have to take it immediately before bed. The standard dose is 200mg of elemental magnesium, while magnesium oxide is not recommended for supplementation because it can cause diarrhoea and isn’t as easily absorbed as other forms. Magnesium gluconate should be taken with food; all others are fine on an empty stomach.
2 Lavender
Why? Lavender oil has been traditionally used in aromatherapy for its relaxing scent. Recently, it has also been used as an oral supplement to treat anxiety and reduce intrusive thoughts, which can increase the time it takes to fall asleep. It’s also been shown to improve sleep quality, though more research is needed to determine the exact mechanism behind this effect.
How to take it To supplement with lavender, take 80mg of lavender oil 30 to 45 minutes before bed. As mentioned, lavender supplements are particularly effective if you have intrusive thoughts that affect sleep, and they may also have a positive effect on general anxiety. Lavender aromatherapy has also been found to improve sleep quality when used either at night or in the afternoon. You’ll need an aromatherapy machine to benefit from this at night (safety reasons) but candles are fine for daytime sessions. Dosage is more approximate than with oral supps, but studies on lavender use a minimum of 30 minutes’ exposure. It’s thought that using lemon balm alongside lavender can bring greater benefits.
Everyone likes ribs, but the secret to making this muscle-building pork feast taste amazing is Chinese five-spice powder. It takes its name not from the number of ingredients, but the way this single spice mix hits on all five principal tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. The sweet, spicy flavour acts like a bridge between salt and the heat of chillies, giving these ribs a really round, warm deliciousness. It also lends meat a handsome reddish tone – like the one you get when you put meat in a smoker – which is a big improvement over the unappetising grey tinge that ribs can take on when they’re cooked in the oven.
WHAT
HOW
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
2 Season your ribs on both sides very simply with salt and pepper and dust with the Chinese five-spice powder.
3 Place the ribs meat-side down in a pair of aluminium or glass baking dishes. Cover the dishes with foil and roast the meat for four hours.
4 Drain off the drippings. Flip the ribs over using two spatulas (and an extra pair of hands, if you have them) so the meat side is now up. Be gentle, as they may be so tender they start falling apart.
5 Paint a layer of palm sugar caramel sauce on the ribs and return them to the oven uncovered for a further 20-30 minutes. Serve straight out of the oven.
Photography Jean Cazals, iStock
Taken from Cooking, Blokes & Artichokes by Brendan Collins (£20, Kyle Books)
Better eating, digested
Make sure you’re getting the most from your food to get lean with less effort
Here’s a truth that might be hard to swallow: even if you’re prepping everything you eat, sticking religiously to your five-aday and eating more wild-caught salmon than a grizzly bear, there’s a chance that your best-laid diet plans are falling apart the moment it all goes into your mouth. The part of the puzzle you might be missing? Digestion – the process by which your body extracts the essential components from all your carefully cooked creations.
“Ultimately, digestion is everything,” says Luke Leaman, body composition specialist and founder of Muscle Nerds (musclenerds.tv). “If you’re not able to digest and assimilate your food you’re not able to get things into your body that you need.” The process starts before you take a bite: when you smell, look at or (according to some research) even think about food, your body begins the processes you need to digest it, from producing saliva to upregulating the enzymes it uses to break the food down.
By giving your system a crucial nudge here and there, you’ll extract more nutrients from what you eat. Leaman explains how to make sure you’re not biting off more than you can, er, digest.
Q HOW CAN I TELL IF I’VE GOT PROBLEMS WITH MY DIGESTION?
A LOOK AT WHAT’S COMING OUT
“First, look in your toilet bowl. If there’s undigested food in there, it’s a sign you aren’t digesting or assimilating your food properly. Similarly if you’re eating and getting bloated, getting gassy, there could be a problem.”
Q WHAT’S THE SIMPLEST STEP TO BETTER DIGESTION?
A MASTICATION
“The first thing to address is chewing your food. William Banting, who wrote what’s often called the world’s first diet book, Letters On Corpulence, said that people weren’t chewing enough, and it’s still true today. Nobody really masticates: it’s just chew, chew, swallow. If you’re shovelling a Tupperware container of food down in 30 seconds, you aren’t helping yourself. It sounds like the dumbest thing ever, but do you chew until your food is liquid? That’s the easiest place to start.”
Q WHY DO I FEEL WORSE WHEN I’M STRESSED?
A BECAUSE YOUR BODY’S NOT FOCUSING ON DIGESTION
“Stress impairs digestive function. If your body’s chronically stressed and in fight-or-flight mode, it won’t care about digestion. Stress also depletes the acids your stomach uses to break down food. If you’re really stressed, you’ll start pulling sodium into cells and retaining it, and you need sodium to make that acid. It’s not just about cortisol – if someone’s stressed for a long time, their body stops producing cortisol and starts running on adrenaline. The key is keeping the sympathetic nervous system in balance and achieving a ‘rest and digest’ state. Stretch, do yoga, have a nap, do some meditation… they all work on stress, and they’re all free.”
Q WHAT ABOUT THE THINGS I ACTUALLY EAT?
A THINK PLANTS
“Eat like a vegan or a vegetarian and add meat if you want. You need vegetables for fibre, phytonutrients and a host of other stuff. A healthy body doesn’t want to be fat.”
Q HOW OFTEN SHOULD I BE EATING?
A PROBABLY LESS FREQUENTLY THAN YOU THINK
“Eat three or four meals a day. People eat six, eight, even ten times a day, but if you’re eating that much a day your body never has a chance to chill out. Aim to have three meals a day, with a shake or a snack around your workout. If you find you’re still hungry add something else elsewhere in the day.”
Q SHOULD I TAKE SUPPLEMENTS TO HELP ME DIGEST?
A MAYBE, BUT FIX THE BIG STUFF FIRST
“There are a few options if you want to do this. A nice broad-spectrum digestive enzyme might help if you’re having issues. Also consider pepsin, which breaks down meat, or ox bile, which emulsifies fat. But they’re for fine-tuning once you’ve fixed the bigger stuff. Start on chewing, stress levels and the veg in your diet, then go from there.”
Leaman suggests you eat “like a vegetarian or vegan” because the fibre and nutrients in veg are crucial to digestion (you can have meat too)
Photography iStock
ACTIVATE LEAST MODE
Your body doesn’t digest well under stressful conditions, and for good reason: for our ancestors, getting chased by a sabre-toothed tiger was a good time to divert resources to flight (or fighting) and not digestion. Unfortunately, your nervous system has trouble distinguishing between your nine-to-five worries and a life-or-death situation, and so you need to calm down. Download the Headspace app, take ten minutes a day to meditate, and add some mobility to your evening routine.
250
THE SIZE, IN SQUARE METRES, OF YOUR SMALL INTESTINE
A key issue with digestion is surface area. Stretched out to full size, your small intestine has the same area as a tennis court. Stress denatures certain tissues in the intestine, which means food moves through your digestive system too quickly because of the reduction in surface area. Keep a handle on stress, and you’ll keep your small intestine in shape.
It’s hard to avoid kale these days. The so-called superfood is found in everything from salads to smoothies because of its antioxidant phytochemical content. And now new research suggests that the leafy green can also improve heart health: subjects drank 150ml of kale juice every day for three months and then had their blood compared with their pre-trial samples. The results, published in the Biomedical And Environmental Sciences journal, found that blood concentrations of healthy HDL cholesterol increased 27% and that the ratio between “good” HDL and “bad” LDL cholesterol improved 52%. High LDL cholesterol can significantly increase the risk of coronary heart disease.
“Olympic lifting is very technical and to be good requires a lot of practice,” says powerlifter Tom Hamilton (see p68). “If you get bored easily, it isn’t for you. The benefits are clear though – it builds strong, powerful physiques, requires a good level of flexibility, gives you clear targets to work on and can be fun.”
Olympic weightlifting
It’s a sport in itself, but you don’t need a singlet or gold-medal aspirations to benefit from increased power, mobility and speed
What is it?
Training and competing in the two Olympic lifts: the snatch (where the bar goes from the floor to overhead in one move) and the clean and jerk (where you “clean” the bar to your shoulders, then push-press it overhead and drop underneath it). Competitive lifters get three attempts at each to post a combined total for both.
What’s it best for?
“Although I compete, I first learned the lifts for developing power for other sports,” says strength and conditioning coach Alex Adams. “It’s essentially jumping with weights, so it improves not only strength but speed and rate of force development.”
What are its limitations?
It’s not exactly entry-level. “To do the full lifts safely requires very good mobility, flexibility and balance,” says Adams. “This shouldn’t put people off – practising the positions is a great way to improve knee and hip flexibility.” But forget the cardio until you’re experienced. “Fatigue reduces rep quality, so Oly lifts aren’t great for metabolic work until you’ve learned your technical limits.”
Instant expertise
Learn the hook grip
Tuck your thumb under your first two fingers. It hurts but it works. “It secures the bar much better and leads to higher loads lifted in the long term,” says Adams. “Anyone who lifts should use it.” It’ll also help you improve your deadlift.
Know your power hangs
“The terminology is fairly simple: power variations are lifts caught in a half squat or higher,” says Adams. “Cleans and snatches can be done from the ‘hang’, meaning that you don’t start from the floor – but you could start anywhere from knee to mid-thigh, depending on what you’re working on.”
Don’t say “squat clean”
“That’s a CrossFit thing,” says Adams. “In reality, every full squat or clean should be caught at full squat depth – otherwise it’s an indication that you could be lifting more.”
You’ve made it when…
You can clean and jerk your own bodyweight. “That’s my initial benchmark, but you’re doing well if you can then progress to snatching bodyweight,” says Adams. Want to compete? Standards are high: to qualify for a English national competition you’d need to total 239kg as an 85kg lifter.
Build power
“Most sessions will begin with snatch or a snatch variant,” says Adams. “It takes the most speed to execute so it comes when you’re freshest. I usually do both lifts on the same day but vary the exact exercise to limit the crossover and fatigue. Most sessions will have a heavy squat or pull but rarely both. Assistance work like pressing, rowing and back and abs comes last.”
1 Snatch pullSets 5 Reps 2
It’s easier than the full snatch, but still a great power generator. Set up with the bar on the floor and your hands fairly wide. Drive up, and bump the bar off your hips as you shrug it slightly upwards. Drop, reset and go again.
2 High hang clean Sets 4 Reps 2
Start with the bar in your hands, with a shoulder-width grip. Bend your knees slightly, then do a small jump as you explosively bring the bar to your shoulders.
3 Front squatSets 4 Reps 3
Take the bar out of a rack with it resting across the front of your shoulders, supporting it slightly with your fingertips. Squat down with your weight on your heels, and drive back up.
4 Bent-over rowSets 3 Reps 8
Bend forward at the hips, and pull the barbell to your sternum. Pause, then lower.
5 Hanging leg raiseSets 3 Reps 10
Hang from a bar with your legs straight. Bring them until they’re at 90° from your torso, pause and lower.
CrossFit
Functional movements, ultra-high intensity… and injuries? Not if you do it right
What is it?
A fitness company, exercise style and competitive sport, incorporating elements from high-intensity interval training, Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics, calisthenics and strongman. Strict CrossFitters might follow the crossfit.com “mainsite” workouts of the day (also known as WODs), following a three-days-on, one-day-off format, but most CrossFit gyms will run their own programming, incorporating strength and skill work.
What’s it good for?
“Developing an all-round base of fitness that includes metabolic conditioning and strength and skill and mobility,” says CrossFit London coach Andrew Stemler. “I think there’s a lot of truth in the idea that we fail at the edges of our competence – so the further we can push those edges out the better. If two runners who have done the same endurance regime line up on the starting line, the one who can do snatches or handstands or pull-ups seems to have an edge over the one who can’t.”
What are its limitations?
“As a fitness regime – if you do it twice a week for fun – it can suffer from a lack of specialism,” says Stemler. “If you’re practising snatches, handstands, pull-ups, rowing, running and deadlifting, the gains won’t be as great in any one area than if you specialise – but, of course, if you specialise, you neglect another area.”
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Know your WODs
The best-known workouts are named after girls – Elizabeth, Diane and Cindy are some of the best-known – or deceased soldiers, known as “The Hero Workouts”. The latter are usually vicious, and a solid time on Murph – 100 pull-ups, 200 press-ups and 300 squats, bookended by one-mile runs – is essential.
Do the penguin
If you can’t do a double-under – the skipping trick where you twirl the rope twice per jump – you’ll get nowhere in CrossFit competition. Master it fast with the penguin hop: jump in the air, slap your hands to your thighs twice before you land, and repeat at speed. You’ll get calf work and co-ordination.
Talk EMOMs
Newbies do the mainsite WODs, but all the cool CrossFitters use “every minute on the minute” (EMOM) training to pack in work without compromising form. Pick two or three moves, set a clock going, and do your reps at the top of the minute. The quicker you move, the more you get to recover. Try it with front squats and dips.
You’ve made it when…
The “kipping” pull-up and the ring muscle-up are the first things to master: both take skill and co-ordination. “After that, the aim is to do a classic WOD such as Fran – 21, 15 and nine reps each of pull-ups and thrusters (a front squat into a press) with 42kg – in a reasonable time,” says Stemler. Aim for under ten minutes.
Get go-anywhere conditioning
The WOD Kalsu, named after ex-NFL player Bob Kalsu, who died in the Vietnam war, is CrossFit’s most deceptively brutal workout. Hardcore CrossFitters do it with a 60kg barbell, but you should start light. Start with five burpees and continue (for the rest of the minute) doing thrusters. On the next minute start over again with five burpees and keep going until you’ve done, yes, 100 thrusters. Rest, and cry.
1 Burpee
Drop into a press-up position and let your chest hit the floor, then hop back to your feet, jump and clap your hands over your head.
2 Thruster
Holding dumbbells at your shoulders, squat and then stand up, using the momentum to help drive the dumbbells overhead.
The Outside View
All that intensity doesn’t come without issues. “The problem I have with CrossFit’s gymnastic elements is that the sole focus seems to be on the volume of repetition with little regard for control, body alignment or required strength,” says calisthenics specialist Darren Onyejekwe (see p64). “Kipping pull-ups and muscle-ups, handstand walking with massively extended spines and wall-assisted handstand press-ups where the legs are thrown up into the air to generate momentum to make the movement easier… Once you combine these movements with fatigue and a competitive environment it’s a recipe for disaster.” The lesson? Build up to them properly.
The Outside View
“I’ve got a huge amount of time for calisthenics,” says physique coach Jonny Jacobs (see p66). “If you need proof of how calisthenics can change your body composition for the better, just look at male gymnasts. These guys are solid muscle from head to toe, mobile and flexible with low body fat.”
Calisthenics
Build functional strength with no kit – in the gym or in the great outdoors
What is it?
Technically, it’s almost any form of bodyweight training – but recently it’s come to mean the ultra-modern “sport” of urban calisthenics or street workout, consisting of moves done on pull-up bars or playground equipment, focusing on advanced variations that include bar spins and muscle-ups.
What’s it good for?
“Calisthenics is a great training method to build lean muscle mass, gain strength and master control of your own body,” says Darren Onyejekwe, a calisthenics specialist otherwise known as Bodyweight D. The last part is one of the most important: by learning to build tension throughout your body, you’ll be in better control when it’s time to lift. And, of course, it’s great Instagram-fodder.
What are its limitations?
“If you’re trying to pack on loads of muscle mass, calisthenics isn’t the most efficient option,” says Onyejekwe. “Combined with a sensible diet, it’ll create a lean, defined body, like a gymnast’s.” Without added weight, you’ll also have to think creatively to train your legs. Pistol squats are an option, but they take mobility and balance.
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Know your scapula
“Your shoulder blades can sit in four positions: protraction, retraction, elevation and depression,” says Onyejekwe. “Even people who can do the advanced skills often don’t have a clue which position they’re using.” The scapula pull-up will help with retraction and depression: hang from a bar, and keep your elbows straight back as you pull your shoulder blades together, aiming to get your shoulders away from your ears.
Unleash L
Make the L-sit your new favourite abs move. “This static position should be one of the first skills you learn,” says Onyejekwe. “But most people will need to work on their core strength and hip flexors.” If you can’t do the full thing – hands on the floor, legs out – start between two chairs, holding your thighs horizontal with knees bent. Do 60 seconds of this in as few sets as possible, twice a week.
Fly the flag
The human flag is the side-on move you’ve seen in endless Instagram pictures. “It’s a ‘semi-opposed’ skill, meaning that it requires you to push with one arm and pull with the other,” says Onyejekwe.
You’ve made it when…
“Calisthenics is all about the quality of movement over the quantity,” says Onyejekwe. “A lot of people are attracted to it by the highlight-reel moves, but I’d say make sure you can perform clean, full-range reps of press-ups, dips, pull ups, squats and hanging knee raises. I respect anyone who’s striving for clean movements and is in full control throughout the entire range of movement.”
Build bodyweight strength
“This workout is focused on strength, so the reps are kept low and there’s a decent amount of rest between sets,” says Onyejekwe. “Focus on quality movement.” Do it twice a week, supersetting the moves marked A and B, resting for as long as you need to get through the reps.
1 L-sit hold
Sets 3 Time 20-30sec Rest 1-3min
Do it on bars, or the edge of a sofa/chair. If you can’t manage the full version, tuck your legs.
2A Pull-up
Sets 5 Reps 5
Aim to pull your elbows behind you, and touch your collarbone to the bar on each rep.
2B Dip
Sets 5 Reps5 Rest 1-3min
Lower until your upper arms are parallel to the floor, pause, and push back up.
3A Press-up
Sets 5 Reps 10
Keep your hands under your shoulders, tuck your elbows to your sides, and touch your chest to the floor on each rep.
3B Inverted row
Sets 5 Reps 10 Rest1-3min
Lie under a bar/Smith machine with your feet flat and body straight. Pull up until your chest touches the bar, pause and lower.
4 Hollow body hold
Sets 5 Time 60sec Rest 1-2min
Lie on the floor, then bring your hands above your head, arms straight, and feet off the floor. Hold it.
5 Superman hold
Sets 5 Time 60sec Rest 1-2min From the hollow hold, roll onto your front and do the reverse, Man of Steel-style. It’ll build near-bulletproof abs.
6A Bodyweight squatSets 5 Reps 20
With your feet shoulder-width apart, squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor, pause, and stand up.
6B Half bridge
Sets 5 Reps 12 Rest1-2min
Lie on the floor with your feet close to your glutes. Drive your hips up in the air, pause and lower.
Physique training
Just want to look good? No problem – but “chest and triceps Monday” is so three decades ago, bro
What is it?
Assuming you aren’t planning to step onstage and bust out a double-biceps spread, physique training is simply training with aesthetics, not performance, at the forefront of your mind. It uses drop sets, forced reps and other techniques to cause maximum muscular damage in the pursuit of gains. You can also use it in tandem with other training to hit your weak spots and bust through plateaus.
What’s it best for?
“In essence training to improve body composition is about increasing lean muscle while reducing body fat,” says coach (and PhD in male body image) Jonny Jacobs. “For optimal results, combine strength training with anaerobic conditioning.”
What are its limitations?
Training to failure – or for tempo – isn’t always transferable to sporting disciplines, so if you’re looking for success on the five-a-side pitch or for a 5K PB, you’d be better of focusing elsewhere.
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Know your hypertrophy
There are two kinds: sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar. In sarcoplasmic, the volume of muscle cell fluid sarcoplasm increases – making your muscles bigger, but not necessarily stronger. Myofibrils, on the other hand, are what contract and generate power, and increasing their density will help you do it better. To build the latter, make your lifts explosive.
Invest in RMR
“Your resting metabolic rate dictates how much energy you’ll burn when you’re not in the gym,” says Jacobs. “Build more lean muscle, and it’ll improve.” Translation: by lifting weights, you’ll transform your body into a 24-hour fat-furnace.
Get on HIIT
“It wasn’t invented by Instagrammers,” Jacobs says of the increasingly popular interval training method. “It’s what we used to call a finisher.” What most people are missing is the high intensity part. For best results, use it twice a week at most – and leave it all on the floor.
You’ve made it when…
You see your body fat percentage start to drop. As a general rule, you’ll be able to see the outline of your abs at 10-12%; less means shredded. “Single-digit body fat is incredibly impressive and for most people takes a lot of dedication,” says Jacobs. “Very few people can maintain it, and it’s more about food than what you’re lifting.”
Put on size
“Three sets of eight to 12 reps is old-school for a reason – it works,” says Jacobs. “For any physique programme, aim to do large compound lifts first, then add in accessory exercises such as biceps curls, lateral raises or triceps push-downs. To improve body composition keep rest periods to around 60 seconds.” Here’s a classic chest-builder.
1 Bench pressSets 4 Reps 12
Keep the reps to a 4010 tempo: lower for four seconds, and press up for one.
2 Incline dumbbell press
Sets 3 Reps 10
This time, you’re going to hit a 3111 tempo. Pause at the bottom and top of the move, giving your pecs a chance to stretch.
3A Incline dip
Sets 3 Reps 10
Lean forward as you perform the dip – it’ll target your chest more.
3B Dumbbell flyeSets 3 Reps 10
Do this move with slightly bent arms, and pause at the bottom of each rep to feel the stretch across your chest.
The Outside View
“Bodybuilding can be great fun, but old-school training like having an ‘arms only’ day where you do a ton of volume just doesn’t make sense to me and isn’t necessary,” says powerlifter Tom Hamilton (see p68). “My view is that there should be an element of powerlifting within your training programme whereby you have some objective progress, monitoring lifts instead of just basing your opinion on if your training is working by what you see in the mirror – which is very subjective.”
Photography Glen Burrows Model Tom Eastham
The Outside View
It’s a pretty niche sport – and rife with infighting – but fun. “Powerlifting seems fairly misunderstood but can be a great entry into weight training generally,” says Olympic lifting coach Alex Adams (see p60). “As long as powerlifting programmes have enough variety they don’t do you any harm. Problems arise when you become too specialist and only do the competitive lifts.”
Powerlifting
Getting strong in the Big Three lifts isn’t just for huge guys – weight category competitions mean anyone can impress
What is it?
Technically, it actually means competing in the Big Three lifts (bench, deadlift and squat) – it isn’t considered good form to call yourself a powerlifter if you just train in them. The sport comes in “raw” (just T-shirt and shorts) and “equipped” varieties, the latter allowing knee and elbow wrapping, alongside spring-loaded suits that provide a hefty degree of assistance.
What is it best for?
Raw strength. “While it can have some carryover to building muscle, powerlifting’s main focus is one-rep strength in the big three,” says powerlifter and coach Tom Hamilton. That means lots of low-rep training, watching your figure (it’s a weight-categoryobsessed sport) – and, of course, focusing on the finer technical points of the big lifts.
What are its limitations?
“Its strength may also be its weakness,” says Hamilton. “A heavy focus on maximal strength and particular lifts during a programme may cause overuse injuries – and, of course, there’s the danger of neglecting qualities like conditioning or mobility.”
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Go sumo
Most comps allow either regular or sumo-style deadlifting – you should experiment with both. For the latter, keep your feet double shoulder-width apart and your hands inside your knees – it’s an ideal option for a tall man.
Mention Westside
Westside Barbell, founded by Louis Simmons, turns out the strongest lifters ever, thanks to an ultra-competitive atmosphere and Simmons’s combining of speed-lifting “dynamic” days with all-out max effort sessions. Also worth noting: they rarely do the Big Three outside competition, building strength with endless variations like the box squat and close-grip bench press.
Know your programmes
At some point, somebody’s going to ask you what you’re “running”. Lifter and coach Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 is the safe option, but for extra points mention the Cube (a popular new method based on Simmons’s ideas), Coan-Phillipi (a deadlift programme used by the man regarded as the best lifter ever, Ed Coan) or Smolov (four times a week squat plan – for maniacs only).
You’ve made it when…
It’s not as simple as dividing your total by your bodyweight: limb length, muscle size and overall stress make a difference – put your numbers into wilkscalculator.com for a readout powerlifters will respect. “To be a competitive high-level powerlifter you’d need to aim for a Wilks of 400-plus,” says Hamilton. “If you have no desire to compete but enjoy the three powerlifts, a 300-plus Wilks would make you one of the stronger guys in your gym.”
Get triple-threat strength
“One way to train is a daily undulating periodisation, or DUP, approach,” says Hamilton. “This means you use a variety of reps and sets throughout the week for the same movement, allowing you to spread the volume over the course of the week.” So you might go heavy on one day, do light reps for speed on another, and have a moderate high-rep day on the third. Here’s a typical workout.
1 Squat
Sets 4 Reps 3
“Do your first set off your rate of perceived exertion, or RPE,” says Hamilton. “They should feel like a 9, or very, very hard – but how heavy that is will vary from week to week. Do your other sets at 85% of your max.”
2 Bench press
Sets 3 Reps 6
Do these at 75% of your max. In powerlifting, it’s all about the set-up: keep your grip wide enough that your forearms are vertical under the bar, and press into the floor with your feet to help the lift.
3 Pull-up
Sets 3 Reps 6
These should be hard but doable. Add a weight vest if you need to.
4 Dip
Sets 3 Reps 10
Add a weight belt, a dumbbell between your ankle or – if your gym’s really cool – chains around your neck.
