Tag Archives: Personal Training

Myth 2 – you shouldn’t squat

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The number of times I have heard people say that they have been told they “shouldn’t squat”- or do anything with any kind of weight – is fairly high. I don’t know who gives this advice out, but I’d like to meet them and have a bit of a friendly word. My main problem with this is that the squat is a normal, regular human movement. In fact, every time you sit down, you do the down portion of a squat, and every time you stand up, you do the up portion of the squat. Why do I get a bee … Continue reading →

Myth 1 – I shouldn’t lift weights

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I saw a patient with back pain the other day. Formerly a strong guy, rugby player, used to go to the gym etc. He still does gardening, but because of a previous injury many years ago, he had been warned off any type of heavy lifting, running or significant activity. He came to see me after carrying a 2 year old grandchild around a museum for half a day. So here’s a thing. A formerly strong and fit person who got back pain from carrying a kid around a museum- and in his day to day life, he doesn’t really … Continue reading →

Running injuries are Load management issues

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I see quite a few running injuries in clinic. They basically boil down to overload – either in the short term or long term. Short term overload/ trauma: Fall over and hit a rock, twist an ankle, tweak a knee – that tends to be a short term overload. You know you’ve done something specific to a particular thing because you remember the thing that happened. Trauma is a bit of a dramatic word to associate with it, but it is the one that we tend to use. Long term overload/ training error The other end of the scale is … Continue reading →

Inevitable decline?

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I hit a “significant age” in 2019. This, along with the people I see in clinic on a weekly basis has made me think a bit…. If I gave you a list of things that in 20/30/40 years you might not be able to do – would you be scared? Well, here is a list of things that I’ve seen people not be able to do…. Sitting on the floor and then standing up. Standing up off a chair. Standing up off the toilet. Walking up the stairs. Walking down the stairs. Walking to the end of the road. Walking … Continue reading →

Training Error- a catch all term.

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Training error. It’s a catch all term which you may or may not have come across. The phrase has been coined relatively recently to provide a bit of guidance as to the reason why some people end up with so called “overtraining” injuries. To get an idea as to why this is “Training Error” we need to think about how training works. In effect, no matter what your sport, you are looking to get stronger, faster or more skilled. In order to create this change you want to be challenging your body and mind to encourage adaptation. As you rest … Continue reading →

Does the exercise matter, or the mindset?

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I remember growing up and seeing all these training books about how to train like the SAS, or the Marines, or the Seals. All the fitness magazines with new ideas on how to get strong within 4 weeks… Helpfully, in the next edition, 4 weeks later, there would be another article telling you how else to train to get fit in another 4 weeks. These days we have magazines telling you the shortcuts to success, how to train like Kilian, the killer workout that will make you look like Henry Cavill or Jason Momoa, how to train harder for your … Continue reading →