Welcome to another FitChicks Insider VIP Newsletter!
This week FitChicks are scaling down in volume, cutting back from 5 sets of 5 reps to only 3 Sets. While this may seem counterproductive, it’s actually a really great way to continue improving throughout the course of their 6 week program. The catch has been that the 3 Sets they are doing, where possible, are heavier than they’ve been lifting.
Certainly technique is still important and we don’t want anyone lifting with poor form. However, we’ve already found that with longer rest breaks than they’re used to and some great flexibility and mobility exercises between sets, these girls have been able to lift more weight and improve their strength heading towards their 6 week Targets.
Certainly technique is still important and we don’t want anyone lifting with poor form. However, we’ve already found that with longer rest breaks than they’re used to and some great flexibility and mobility exercises between sets, these girls have been able to lift more weight and improve their strength heading towards their 6 week Targets.
That’s one of the real benefits of working with fitness professionals that know what they’re doing. If you truly want to improve you can’t just wing it in hope. You need to know the most effective exercises, how to perform them safely and effectively and then how to program it for best results.
Read on for this week’s news…
Dave Lambert
Oxygen Health & Fitness
Barbell Rows
As we enter Spring/Summer I always get a lot of questions about how women can shape up and tone to wear those backless dresses with confidence. For shaping the back, you don’t need to look any further than the Barbell Row. However, forget the idea that a barbell row is just a back exercise.
Before you even perform your first pull, the glutes, hamstrings, and hips are working to stabilize you. Oh, and don’t forget the abdominals, which keep your low back from crumbling. If they don’t fire efficiently, it could be the difference between a smoothly pulled row and one involving a lot of jerky momentum. When this subtle movement at the hip and glutes occurs,it takes them out of their stabilizing role, leading to a greater likelihood of a rounded lower back.
Before you even perform your first pull, the glutes, hamstrings, and hips are working to stabilize you. Oh, and don’t forget the abdominals, which keep your low back from crumbling. If they don’t fire efficiently, it could be the difference between a smoothly pulled row and one involving a lot of jerky momentum. When this subtle movement at the hip and glutes occurs,it takes them out of their stabilizing role, leading to a greater likelihood of a rounded lower back.
So while it’s a kick-ass full body exercise, the barbell row is also prone to a whole lot of butchering.
- You should grip the bar for a barbell row like you would a bench press, tight. A tight grip will transmit force to the shoulder and make it stronger.
- The position for the hands when rowing is just outside shoulder-width
- Once you have a solid grip on the bar and we’re bent right over the barbell. You should be closer to 90 degrees than 45. If you can get closer to 90, and maintain a strong position, you should. If you can’t, you need to work on some flexibility and mobility exercises to improve your hip hinging ability.
- Lift the chest up slightly, arch the low back a bit, and get your head in line with your spine.
- Brace the abdominals to get as stable as possible.
- Pull through your elbows to somewhere around the lower abs/navel. Pulling to your upper abdomen encourages shrugging the weight up rather than pulling it back, which can shift the entire focus of the exercise.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together hard at the top. After squeezing hard at the top it’s natural to want to send the weight crashing down to the floor, but stay strong and lower the bar under control.
Squeeze the shoulder blades
At the top contracted position, focus on pulling your shoulder blades together hard at the top for a brief pause of 2 seconds, getting everything you can out of the actual contraction. If you can’t hold your reps for that long, you need to lower the weight slightly.
FitChicks Secrets in demand
It always tends to get busier in the fitness industry this time of year as people come out of Winter hibernation and want to get “fit for Summer”. We’ve received a number of requests from potential Kiama Fit Chicks interested in our Free DVD and Info Pack titled “5 Secrets to a FitChick Body”.
This special 24 page report outlines everything you need to know to shed unwanted body fat and get fit and toned for Summer. The DVD demonstrates exercise techniques, tips and case studies from FitChicks in Kiama.
If you know someone who needs a Kiama Personal Trainer click here and we will mail out the Free DVD and Info Pack to her with a handwritten note on your behalf. If they sign up to FitChicks thanks to your referral, we’ll send you both to the movies for free!
Kel cuts the cardio
Kelli Campbell is our reigning Oxygen Member of the Week and now also stars as our Transformation of the Week. Kel has only been training at Oxygen for about one month but already in that time has undergone a huge mental shift in how she approaches her training.
Having always been a keen cardio fan, Kel has shifted her mindset to now realise that strength training as well as shorter bursts of high intensity conditioning is the way to go.
Her efforts at FitChicks have seen her inch towards targets she thought were unachievable just 4 short weeks ago. Her focus on technique has seen her improve strength and posture and it’s already translating into more muscle definition in the arms especially.
She’s put in some strong efforts at Super Saturday recently including this 50kg Sled Push. Last Saturday was a particularly tough strength/cardio mix and although it took her to within an inch of her life, she never quit and kept pushing through the pain. She even swung a 20kg Kettlebell to take up the intensity, even if it was by mistake…
Having always been a keen cardio fan, Kel has shifted her mindset to now realise that strength training as well as shorter bursts of high intensity conditioning is the way to go.
Her efforts at FitChicks have seen her inch towards targets she thought were unachievable just 4 short weeks ago. Her focus on technique has seen her improve strength and posture and it’s already translating into more muscle definition in the arms especially.
She’s put in some strong efforts at Super Saturday recently including this 50kg Sled Push. Last Saturday was a particularly tough strength/cardio mix and although it took her to within an inch of her life, she never quit and kept pushing through the pain. She even swung a 20kg Kettlebell to take up the intensity, even if it was by mistake…
