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29 March 2021

Peripheral Heart Rate Action Training (PHA): The Anti-HIIT Workout

1 Comment / Fitness Blog / By Andy Vincent

Following on from my last blog about the risks associated to HIIT , I want to focus this blog on an alternative form of training called peripheral heart rate action training (PHA)

How does creatine actually work, and how will it a

How does creatine actually work, and how will it affect your training?

Muscles use energy in the form of ATP. The body can regenerate ATP from different pathways via fats through beta-oxidation and carbohydrates via two pathways, one anaerobic glycolysis and the other aerobic, called oxidative phosphorylation. These pathways are slow to regenerate, whereas phosphocreatine rapidly regenerates ATP.

ATP (adenosine triphosphate) has three phosphate groups. To release energy, the body releases one phosphate group to produce the exact amount of energy needed for muscle contractions.

Breaking that ATP molecule down to ADP (adenosine diphosphate). The body only needs to release one phosphate group. This provides the right amount of energy plus maintains the ADP molecule as a stable structure for rapid uptake of one more phosphate group.

However, muscles only store a small amount of ATP.

Muscles store creatine as phosphocreatine (PCr). When ATP levels drop during intense activity, phosphocreatine donates its phosphate group to ADP, regenerating ATP and allowing energy production to continue without delay.

Creatine kinase is an enzyme that catalyses the transfer of the phosphate group from phosphocreatine to ADP, quickly converting it back into ATP. This rapid reaction provides an immediate supply of ATP to sustain muscle contractions.

Supplementing with creatine increases phosphocreatine stores in muscle, enhancing the body’s capacity to regenerate ATP more quickly.

This extra reserve helps you push out an additional rep or two when you’re reaching your limit or allows slightly prolonged effort at max intensity during short sprint intervals. It also improves recovery between sets by speeding up ATP replenishment.

This is one of the most common statements I’ve h

This is one of the most common statements I’ve heard throughout my career.

It’s a complex topic. Firstly, “dieting” is a concept created by the weight-loss industry. We all follow a diet, but here, we’re referring specifically to actively trying to lose weight. The issue is that if a weight-loss phase drags on too long, it loses its initial drive and focus. I’ve mentioned this before: most people struggle to maintain a successful caloric deficit for much more than 12 weeks. Three months of reducing your energy intake is a long time; it spans many events throughout the year: birthdays, holidays etc.

Dieting should be short and focused, followed by a plan to exit the diet phase. What’s good here is that you’ve managed to lose some weight and stabilise it, which confirms you were in a deficit. Then, you transitioned to maintenance.

It’s worth stating that you haven’t been “dieting” in the sense that you haven’t sustained a caloric deficit, or you would have been losing weight consistently. What’s likely happening here is decision fatigue because you are constantly thinking about food choices.

If your nutritional choices are solely tied to weight loss, then it will be overwhelming. Instead, try to create lasting habits like prioritising protein at each meal, eating plenty of fruits and veggies, making smart swaps to reduce the energy density of certain snacks, avoiding store-bought sauces, and limiting butter and oil, but do this as part of a shift to being more health-focused.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by having to think about these choices all the time, you need as many of these actions on autopilot as possible.

I think it’s wise to mentally take a break from dieting during a weight-loss phase to focus on staying weight stable. Many people overlook championing weight stability. I suggest starting the new year with a focused 8-12 week period of intentional weight loss. I also covered these ideas in my latest podcast: "Is Now the Right Time to Diet?" which came out yesterday.

Give it a listen; it highlights some of the challenges you’re currently facing.

Ever start a diet with all the best intentions onl

Ever start a diet with all the best intentions only to fizzle out after a few months? You are not alone, and that is what the latest episode of my podcast is about. Asking you the question - is now a good time to diet?

🎧 Subscribe and Listen wherever you get your podcasts
📺 Or watch the episode on my YouTube Ch nel

#AndyVincentPT #SmarterStrengthTraining #trainsmart #podcast #fitnesspodcast #strengthtraini podcast #avpt #onlinepersonaltraining #fitnessobsessed #FitnessGoals #StrengthRetention #weightlosstips #dietplan #healthyhabits #consistencyiskey

What is a Supported Step Down? And should you incl

What is a Supported Step Down? And should you include a Supported Step Down in your routine?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock when it comes to fitness content, you’ve probably seen coaches talk about making an exercise more “glute dominant”. And within that topic, this supported step-down variation gets a lot of hype.

This setup (holding on) allows you to sit back, limit knee bend compared to a regular step-down, and lean forward through the torso, which creates a greater stretch on the glutes for better potential with loading.

I hadn’t actually tried the exercise until today, so I decided to give it a go for the first time and share my honest feedback.

Coming in, I was a bit sceptical because it always seemed challenging not to overuse the supporting arm. My initial thoughts were confirmed during the exercise; I found it tricky not to rely on that support.

Still, I think it’s a solid accessory movement. Personally, I prefer the step-down variation, where you don’t place weight onto the leg that touches the floor. Yes, it involves more knee flexion but keeps the workload constant on the working leg.

This supported version has merits. Just be mindful as you load it up and progress, especially if you’re training close to failure. You’re likely to rely more on that supporting arm.

So, ask yourself: what are you trying to overload? If it’s the glutes, the role of that arm matters.

As always, my advice is to give it a try and see for yourself!

📍@lisbonstrong

#StrengthTraining
#MobilityMatters
#RangeOfMotion
#JointHealth
#FunctionalStrength
#FullBodyWorkout
#MovementQuality
#FitnessTips
#MobilityTraining
#TrainSmart
#BodyweightTraining
#InjuryPrevention
#PushUps
#PullUps
#FlexibilityTraining
#StrongerEveryDay
#FitnessGoals
#GymEfficiency
#WorkoutInspiration
#SupportedStepDowns

Squats & Deadlifts are great. It’s true, they d

Squats & Deadlifts are great.

It’s true, they deliver great bang for your buck in terms of how many muscles they work.

But there’s a point, once you get moderately strong, when they become a monumental faff. Setting up, stripping down, doing warm-up sets, and working through all your sets, including rest periods, can take a long time. Most people I know end up spending over 20 minutes on just one of these lifts.

Depending on how you define “bang for your buck,” this trade-off doesn’t always seem great.

In the same amount of time, I could do two hard sets of:

1️⃣Bulgarian split squats
2️⃣Back extensions
3️⃣Leg curls
4️⃣Leg extensions

I’m not saying you should never do them; I’m just saying don’t rely on them all the time. The time trade-off isn’t as optimal as you’ve been led to believe.

And, trust me, it’s liberating to take these lifts out of your routine sometimes and focus on exercises you can do quicker.

Tell me, how long does each of these lifts take you?

#StrengthTraining #LegDay #FunctionalFitness #WorkoutEfficiency #LiftSmart #StrengthCoach #SquatLife #Deadlifts #TrainingTips #BuildStrength #LegsAndGlutes #SplitSquats #StrongerFaster #FitnessJourney #MuscleBuilding #TimeEfficientWorkouts #TrainingSmart #LiftHeavy #GymLife #FitnessMotivation

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you don’t

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you don’t ever need to mobilise, but a very smart thing to do in strength training is to choose exercises that expose the joints to their full range of motion.

For example, I could do push-ups where my chest touches the floor, or I could elevate my hands onto yoga blocks and take my shoulder girdle through a greater range of motion. This exposes the shoulder to more shoulder extension. Or, with my pull-ups, I could stop with my shoulders not fully flexed overhead, or I could drop all the way into the hang before pulling up.

In the video's example, I’m using elevation to create a deficit in range of motion, taking my ankle, knee, and hip through the large range of motion available to them.

Emphasising range of motion could be the missing key to improving both mobility and strength in your workout.

Then, you can focus on mobility in areas that these exercises won’t necessarily target, such as spinal rotation and flexion, hip internal and external rotation, shoulder extension, and internal rotation.

This is a great way to be more time-efficient when you work out 👍🏻

#StrengthTraining
#MobilityMatters
#RangeOfMotion
#JointHealth
#FunctionalStrength
#FullBodyWorkout
#MovementQuality
#FitnessTips
#MobilityTraining
#TrainSmart
#BodyweightTraining
#InjuryPrevention
#PushUps
#PullUps
#FlexibilityTraining
#StrongerEveryDay
#FitnessGoals
#GymEfficiency
#WorkoutInspiration
#HealthAndStrength

My initial thought is that life’s too short to e

My initial thought is that life’s too short to eat carbs only on training days!

But all joking aside, this nutritional strategy originates from nutrient timing and carb cycling. The idea behind these approaches is that training primarily uses glycogen as a fuel source. So, to manage this have an increase in carbohydrate intake on training days. Carb cycling often includes high, moderate and low-carb days: low-carb days on rest days and high-carb days on the most intense days. It can be a useful strategy when dieting and eating in deficit, as it can allow you to maximise your workout performance on training days. But this approach is hard to stick to because your exercise schedule dictates your nutrition.

Nutrient timing (eating most of your carbs around your workouts) is usually no more effective than eating a consistent amount of carbs daily. Because keeping carb intake level can help maintain muscle glycogen throughout the week, and exercise drives glycogen into the muscles as part of training adaptations. Research into nutrient timing is, at best, mixed but generally leans towards showing null benefits compared to eating level carbohydrates.

All that being said, there may be times when increasing carbs on days of high energy demand makes sense, for example, when doing a long run as part of marathon training. But the idea of having carbs ONLY on training days is, in my opinion, a hard “no.” You’re likely to feel sluggish on days you have none. Life isn’t just about workouts. If you have kids, a job, or other demands, you need to ensure you’re fueling for cognitive function and daily vitality.

Also, remember that muscle recovery happens on rest days too, so if you restrict energy on those days, you’re also limiting nutrients essential for recovery.

In summary, for some, having high-carb and low-carb days might be practical. For those dieting, timing carbs around workouts could also help sustain performance. However, I strongly advise against days with no carbohydrates. And, as with many things, if you want to try carb cycling, prepare for some trial and error, as being too extreme with this approach can come with noticeable drawbacks.

How to Position Weights for Heavy Dumbbell Chest P

How to Position Weights for Heavy Dumbbell Chest Press 💪

Struggling to press heavy dumbbells because you can't get them into position? Here are some tips to get you lifting safely and efficiently!👇

1️⃣ Focus on Technique First

Before even thinking about lifting, focus on your setup. Quickly tip back to get the weights low and stable.
Don't aim to kick the weights halfway or all the way up before pressing – this puts you in the hardest or most unstable part of the movement.

2️⃣ Avoid Shortchanging Your Reps

You're missing out on strength gains if you're not bringing the weights into a deep, straight position on each rep. Practice pressing from the very bottom to get used to this starting position. This will be essential for handling heavier weights later on.

3️⃣ Don't Rush to Go Heavier

Instead of always chasing the next weight, focus on mastering your current weight with good form. Once you're used to pressing from a deep position, you'll find it much easier to increase weight.

Give this a try, and let me know how you get on! 💥

📍@lisbonstrong

#ChestPress #StrengthTraining #MuscleBuilding #RangeOfMotion #ChestDay #DumbbellPress #FitnessTips #WorkoutInspo #StrengthCoach #PushDay #GymMotivation #LiftHeavy #FitnessJourney #FitTips #FormCheck #ExerciseTechnique

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