Here are some of the best results of 2009!

I have selected three of the best before and after photos from the past 12 months, to show what can be achieved with a bit of hard work and determination. I hope these examples inspire you to take control of your training and work hard to get to where you want to be!

Well done to everyone who has worked so hard this year: as a client base we have lost well over 150% bodyfat in 12 months!!! Let’s hope 2010 can be even more impressive…

Pras B.

Pras started with Shaun Stafford Training an injured and overweight banker 6 months ago. Since then he has kissed good bye to his shoulder injury, started training hard, and has taken control of his diet, dropping over 12% in little over 4 months. He has also seen massive gains in strength and fitness, and his before and after photos are a testament to his hard work and ‘no excuses’ attitude! Here is what he has to say:

‘Training with Shaun has been a life changing experience! He has instilled a ‘never say die’ attitude in me, and won’t let me settle for anything less than my best… the results are now there for everyone to see, and I am a convert for life! His methods, know-how and motivation are the best I have ever seen, and will work for any body willing to do what it takes!’

Freddy S

As you can see, Freddy has really changed his body in just the few months he has been training with Shaun. In five months, he dropped 9kgs in unwanted weight, went from 22% bodyfat to a trim 11%, and increased the size of his chest, back, arms and legs, whilst dropping inches off his waist!

He also has gone through the roof with his strength, nearly doubling his overall bench press, pull-up and squat scores from his initial testing values. He is a great example of how to change around your lifestyle, and get to where you want to be with minimum fuss. Here is what he had to say;

‘Since training with Shaun, my time spent in the gym has been really productive. I used to train 3 x/week, but never really get anywhere. Since meeting Shaun and getting onboard with his program, I have kept the amount of training time the same, but now I leave the gym exhausted having crammed twice the amount of work into a session. He has also given me some great advice and guidance with my diet and supplements, and the results speak for themselves!’

‘I can’t recommend him highly enough; he now trains 3 other guys from my office, and they all love the training and are on their way to similar results to mine…’

Ryan B

When Ryan started training at Shaun Stafford Training he was already in good shape; a lean 12% bodyfat and toned 66kgs. He wanted to put on some size and weight, whilst staying lean… the Valhalla for most guys into their training.

After fixing his diet and putting some structure into his training, 6 weeks later saw him sit at 70kgs and at an incredible 6% bodyfat. He put 6cm on his chest, 2 cm on his arms, 4 cm on his legs, whilst dropping 8cm from his waist.

‘Shaun really gave my training a boost and the six weeks of training was the hardest I have ever done! I started seeing results after just one week and they kept going right ‘til the end of the program. I fully recommend him and his methods to anyone serious about getting results!’

Shaun S

Anything you can do…

What started out as a fun challenge for me, ended up being a really good wake-up call, and an eye opener in terms of what is achievable in a short period of time. Being out with a serious injury for 6 months coupled with a slackening off of my dietary habits, lead me to be a fairly out of shape 92.5kgs and 17.7% bodyfat.

After a month (4 weeks) of hard graft; a very disciplined & focused diet, 4-5 x  per week training sessions, and a boat load of supplements, I eeked in at a respectable 84.5kgs and 11.9% bodyfat. It worked out at an 8kgs loss and a reduction of 5.8% bodyfat! I kept it going past the 4 weeks, and got down to 9%, which was low enough to see my pancreas creating insulin, so I decided to stop there!

If you want to achieve these sort of results, or want information on any of the training, nutrition, or supplementation, please get in touch with Shaun at shaunstaffordtraining@hotmail.com or via the contact section of the website! We look forward to hearing from you in 2010!

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In light of the current economic conditions, training prices will be frozen for the start of 2010! Training can be purchased in the following blocks:

Pay As You Go: Initial session £120, every session after £60.

Block of 10: £550. (£55/session).

Block of 20: £1000. (£50/session).

To purchase a block of training, or for any other information on training and the services we offer email shaunstaffordtraining@hotmail.com

Tabata Interval Training.

By Shaun Stafford.

The Tabata protocol is a high-intensity training regimen that produces remarkable results in a very short amount of time. A Tabata workout, or Tabata sequence, is an interval training cycle of 20 seconds of maximum intensity exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated without pause 8 times for a total of four minutes.

Credit for this simple and powerful training method belongs to its namesake, Dr. Izumi Tabata and a team of researchers from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan. Their groundbreaking 1996 study, published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise, provided documented evidence concerning the dramatic physiological benefits of high-intensity intermittent training.

After just 6 weeks of testing, Dr. Tabata noted a 28% increase in anaerobic capacity in his subjects, along with a 14% increase in their ability to consume oxygen (V02Max). These results were witnessed in already physically fit athletes (Olympic level speed skaters). The conclusion was that just four minutes of Tabata interval training could do more to boost aerobic and anaerobic capacity than an hour of endurance exercise, and was found to be far more effective at reducing body fat levels.

How effective can just 4 minutes of exercise be? You will be amazed at how intense the four minutes of exercise will feel. The intervals tax both your aerobic and anaerobic energy systems, as well as putting great strain on your CNS and muscular system.  The 20 seconds of work must be flat out (As Many Reps As Possible- AMRAP), followed by 10 seconds of complete rest.

The 10-second rest periods in the Tabata workout are important, both physically and mentally. Not only do they allow partial recovery, they also provide psychological relief. Switching back and forth from work to rest makes the workout go quickly. Plus, it allows you to train at a higher level of intensity, which is the sole reason for the training protocol.

Good exercises should revolve around compound movements that are relatively simple, and can allow the transition from maximum work to rest in a split second. Such exercises can include, but are not exclusive to, Pull-Ups, Bench Press, Squats, Deadlifts, Pulls, Dips and Thrusters. It can also involve CV cycles using Treadmill, Rower and Bike Sprints.

Tabata Intervals can be performed with less sets than 8 to accommodate novice/intermediate athletes, but should be restricted to 8 at the top level to maintain a degree of intensity. This protocol can be used up to twice per week during the appropriate training cycle.

Wanna get Big? Get Strong!

By BJ RULE (www.optimallifefitness.com)

“Everybody wants to be a bodybuider but nobody wants to lift no heavy ass weights.” Ronnie Coleman.

Do you want to grow? Do you really want to put on some size, pack on some serious muscle? These aren’t exactly strange or unusual requests, but they are goals that are seldom realised.

Too many individuals spend too much time isolating joints and muscles in their training and as a result their physiques don’t really change. Choices of sets and reps are also often wrong with most people still opting for rep ranges that don’t even challenge or engage fast twitch muscle fibres, these are the ones with the greatest ability to grow!

The reason why isolating muscles is flawed when people want to pack on some serious size is that the system (body) isn’t challenged enough to create growth. Now don’t get me wrong isolation has its place to overload specific muscle fibres but isolation doesn’t challenge the CNS or Hormonal systems enough to promote overall growth.

Compound exercises not only make the working muscles grow but they make everything grow. A Squat or Dead Lift will cause growth throughout your whole body as they challenge and stimulate both the nervous system and the endocrine system.

As mentioned above most people also make mistakes when choosing sets and reps. Often the muscles fibres that have the greatest propensity for growth simply aren’t challenged. For the fast twitch fibres to be stimulated the load needs to be heavy enough. Volume can still be achieved via more sets.

An old but tried and tested means of putting on size and getting stronger is to employ a 5 sets of 5 reps approach. So you are able to progress and keep on progressing you will first need to test your 1 repetition maximum (1RM) in some of the main lifts.

So go ahead and test your 1RM in the following:

Squat, Dead Lift, Bench Press, Front SquatBent Over Row, Standing Press and Chin Up (weighted).

On the first week of your new programme all you need to do is perform 5 sets of 5 reps at 70% of your 1RM ( this can include or exclude warm up sets). This should be easy enough and it isn’t going to be all that heavy (it will be heavier than what you can arm curl!) but it will stimulate your CNS.

The next bit is the key to this programme. All you need to do is add 2.5% to the lift when you next train it. A recommendation is to perform that lift once a week and therefore add 2.5% every week. Due to GAS (General Adaptation Syndrome) your body will have recovered enough in that time and will have adapted so that the increase will be achieved. You continue to do this until a plateau is reached (you can’t perform 5sets of 5) then all you need to do is retest your 1RM and start again.

The following programme can be utilised to apply the above 5sets of 5 with 2.5% progression protocol:

Session 1

Dead Lift

Bench Press

Chin Ups

Session 2

Squat

Bent Over Row

Overhead Press

Session 3

Front Squat

BBell Lunges

Pull Ups

An ideal split is a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You will obviously need to eat a lot of protein to feed the machine.

What do you have to lose? Give the above programme a try and watch your body grow and get stronger than ever!

I would just like to thank everybody who supported our charity Movember this year. We smashed our £2500 target and raised £3760! Shaun led the way with £1520, followed by Matt (£570), Ben L (£440), Ben C (£410). Leon, Daryl and Jason all got stuck in too and raised £820 between them!

Movember is an annual, month-long celebration of the moustache, highlighting men’s health issues, specifically prostate cancer.

Movember has continued to grow each year, both in terms of participation numbers and funds raised. In its first year, 30 Mo Bros took part in Movember and last year, across the globe more than 173,000 Mo Bro & Sistas got on board, raising more than £14 million across the Movember’s men’s health partners globally.

To date, Movember has raised over £30 million globally for the fight against prostate cancer and depression in men. And, more importantly, as a direct result, male awareness of health issues has improved with Movember helping to spread health messages directly to millions of Mo Bros & Sistas around the world.

Thanks to all the Shaun Stafford Training Clients and Friends who supported us this year!!!

Push/Pull Training.

Push/Pull Training is a great split for advanced trainees looking to base their workouts around recovery. It allows you to hit the key upper body groups hard on days 1 and 2, before hitting legs/abs on day 3, giving each group a full 48hrs off before they are worked again!

It works by splitting your routine into upper body ‘Push’ (chest, shoulders, triceps) and ‘Pull’ (back, biceps) exercises, allowing you to focus in, and get enough sets/reps on each group to illicit a strong training effect.

The key benefit of this method is that is reduces the chance of ‘over-stressing’ muscle groups: splitting a session by movement allows better recovery of groups that can often become overworked. It also means you can up the frequency of your training, allowing you to hit the gym more often, build more muscle and burn more fat!

Start by trying to train three days on the bounce; first hit your Pull Routine (consisting of Pull-ups, Rows, and Curls) before hitting the Push Workout (Presses and Extensions) the day after. Then hit your legs for day three, including some abs/core work. Here are some sample routines to get you going;

Day 1; Pull.

Pull-Ups                      4 Sets                          6Reps                          90-120Rest

Seated Row                 3 Sets                          8Reps                          60-90Rest

Barbell Curls               3 Sets                          10Reps                        60-90Rest

T-Bar Row                  2 Sets                          12Reps                        45-60Rest

Pull-downs                  1 Set                            20 Reps                        Na

Day 2; Push.

Bench Press                4 Sets                          6Reps                          90-120Rest

Decline Bench             3 Sets                          8Reps                          60-90Rest

Incline Db Press          3 Sets                          10Reps                        60-90Rest

Shoulder Press             2 Sets                          12Reps                        45-60Rest

Push Ups                    1 Set                            20Reps                        Na

Day 3; Legs/Abs.

Deadlift                       4 Sets                          6Reps                          90-120Rest

Barbell Squat               3 Sets                          8Reps                          60-90Rest

Hyper-extension            3 Sets                          10Reps                        60-90Rest

Walking Lunge            2 Sets                          12Reps each                 45-60Rest

Reverse Crunch              1 Set                            20Reps                        Na

Take day 4 as rest or rinse and repeat.

http://www.mensfitnessmagazine.co.uk/exercise/total_body/3187/pushpull_workout_for_big_muscles.html

Stair Climbing Challenge.

By Shaun Stafford.

Believe it or not, Stair Climbing is a total body exercise. It obviously hits your legs hard, but it also works your upper body and core as you can use your arms to pull you up the banisters to get a better time. You also need good muscular endurance and power, in addition to a strong aerobic and anaerobic cardio base! The Gherkin has 40 floors with 1037 steps to navigate, with a time of between 10-15mins seen as a good effort for an ascent.

To develop the key muscles used in the legs (Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes and Calves) focus on squats, kettlebell swings, lateral hops and step-ups in circuit fashion. Hit 20-30 reps on each, before moving straight on to the next exercise. Hit 2-3 circuits, with 1-2 minutes in between, and look to add weights/ resistance where you can.

For the Upper-body and Core, work a similar circuit of lat-pulldowns, back extensions, single arm rows and side planks. Work each exercise for 60 seconds, and do 2-3 complete circuits, with 1-2 minutes rest in between.

To get your cardio up to speed, mix in some intervals with any usual cardio work you do. Keep them short and sweet, with 40 second blasts (over 90% intensity), spaced with 1m20 recovery periods (around 40% intensity). Start with a couple of sets, and look to increase that number to about 10 (20mins). To keep impact down, focus on the stepper, bike, and cross-trainer. You should also look to get some actual ‘match practise’ in by finding a big staircase and get climbing. Look to build up to about 20 minutes of climbing per session to get you ready for the event, and when you feel comfortable, try and increase the speed at which you climb.

Each session needs to be finished off with some foam rolling and stretching. Target the ITB, Quads and Calves, and spend about 5 minutes each for both foam rolling and stretching.

This workout should be done 1-3 times per week on non-consecutive days.

For more info, or to see this article in full, visit the www.shaunstaffordtraining.com

What is Osteopathy?

Osteopathy is a way of detecting and treating damaged parts of the body, such as muscles, ligaments, nerves and joints. It is a very Holistic way of treating a variety of common conditions including:

*Sports Injuries

*Repetitive Strain Injuries

*Post Operative Rehabilitation

*Biomechanical Problems

*Arthritic Pain

Finding the Perfect Balance!

Stephen Makinde has been a practicing Osteopath for over 6 years, and is also a Senior Lecturer at the British College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is Head Practitioner and Director of Specialist Clinic Perfect Balance.

As well as having a Bsc in Osteopathy (Hons Ost.Med) and an Msc in Clinical Neuroscience (ND), Stephen is also a trained Postural Correction Exercise Therapist, complementing his practice of Osteopathy and allowing him to advise people on postural re-education and injury prevention/rehabilitation whilst exercising.

Through-out his years as a practicing Osteopath, Stephen has developed his expertise in the use of other techniques such as cranial osteopathy, medical acupuncture, functional positional release, MET, PNF and many others as well as manipulation.

Coming from a strong sports background, Stephen continues to follow his passion for sports by treating many top level professional athletes. He loves the gym environment, as he is able to work closely with Personal Trainers, Biomechanics Specialists, GP’s and Physiotherapists making sure to get to the core of your problems and keep them away.

Stephen is one of the Practitioners involved in running our performance biomechanics clinics and uses Quintic™ biomechanical analysis software and Gaitscan™ force plate analysis software to get excellent results and reduced injury occurrence with junior and top level athletes.

To find out more visit the Perfect Balance website www.pbclinic.com or to make a booking please phone 0800 0724 012 or email info@pbclinic.com

Here is the full article from October’s Edition of Men’s Health on Plateau Busting!!!

Bench Press:

Your bench is only as strong as the weakest muscle used and there is little doubt that your Rotator Cuff will be the culprit! These muscles are vital for all shoulder and upper limb moves, stabilizing the joint and leading to more control lowering and pushing a weight back up! Strong ‘Cuffs’ also slash the chance of Bench Press related injury, so stick a couple of sets (2 x 8-12each) of External Rotator moves at the back-end of your workouts, and reap the rewards of bullet-proof shoulders and a bigger bench press!

Squat:

A great plateau buster for the squat is to try Cluster Training. Set the bar with a 5RM weight, and complete 10Reps. The trick is to do you 5Reps, then rack the bar. Take a 10-15 second pause, and try for 2-3 more reps. Rack the bar again, rest 10-15 seconds more, before aiming to complete the set with a final 2-3 reps. This method allows you to use a heavier weight for a higher net volume per set, stimulating great gains in both size and strength! (p.s. try it with lifting shoes/ barefoot for better ground contact with your feet).

Biceps:

Assisted Negatives are great for getting over a bicep slump! Grab a partner and load up a barbell with a slightly lighter (10%) than normal load. Curl it up for a full range, and then get your partner to add weight by pulling or pressing it back down. Your aim is to control the bar back down for a full range, working against your partner’s resistance with a good tempo (4-6 seconds). This technique taps into your under-used eccentric strength reserves and allows you to get more out of each rep!

The Front Squat.

Adapted from www.stronglifts.com.

Like every strength training exercise, proper Front Squat technique will help you achieve bigger weights while minimizing the risks of injuries. Here’s how to Front Squat with Proper technique.

What’s a Front Squat?

The Front Squat is a squat done with the barbell on your front shoulders instead of on your upper-back. Put the barbell on your front shoulders, bend through your knees & come back up. Front Squats are a great variation for Squats when you can’t do these for whatever reason.

Front Squat Benefits.

The Front Squat has a more upright position than the Back Squat because of the front bar placement. Implications:

• Lower Back Friendly. Less forward lean on the Front Squat. You can’t squeeze the bar or tighten your upper-back. Meaning less total weight & thus less spinal compression. Try Front Squats if you have lower back issues. Chances are you can do them without problems.
• Builds Muscle. The front bar loading will pull you forward. Abs will work hard to keep your torso upright. Front Squats will work your whole legs, but your quads more than your hips.
• More Strength. Clean grip Front Squats will help your Power Clean & Overhead Press which have similar racking/starting positions.
• Enforce Good Technique. Do Front Squats wrong & you’ll lose the bar. Try Front Squats for a while if your Squat technique is not the best.

The Clean Grip.

Front Squats using the Clean Grip will feel uncomfortable at first. Many switch to the Cross-armed Grip for that reason. Don’t be one of them. Front Squat with a Clean grip because;

• Safer. It’s easier to keep your elbows up so the bar doesn’t roll of your shoulders using the Clean Grip.
• Carry-over. Power Cleans & Overhead Presses become easier because you’re using bigger weights in a similar position on the Front Squat.

If the Clean Grip hurts your wrists, you have tight wrists and/or triceps. Stretch your wrists & triceps 3-4x/week, flexibility will improve.

Front Squat Setup.

Your shoulders support the weight, not your hands. Always keep your chest big & elbows up. Else the weight will get on your hands and stretch your wrists & elbows which will hurt. Big chest, elbows up.

• Foot Stance. Slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. You can go deep without your arms touching your legs & use your hip muscles better.
• Toes Out. Your toes must always follow your knees. Point your toes out at about 30 degrees.
• Chest Up. Put your chest forward & lift it up. This gives the bar a solid base to sit on & makes it impossible to round your upper-back.
• Tighten Lats. You can’t tighten your upper-back on Front Squats like on Squats. However you can tighten your lats: spread them.
• Look Forward. Up is bad for your neck, down will make your lower back round. Look forward, fix a point in front of you.
• Grip Width. A narrow grip pushes the bar against your throat, making breathing difficult. Wide grip is harder to keep your elbows up. Use a grip width of about 55cm/21″.
• Bar Position. Put the bar on top of your front shoulders. Behind your clavicles & close to your throat. Coughing is possible, clavicles might hurt. Front Squat more, you’ll adapt.
• Hands Open. Your shoulders support the weight, not your hands. Open your hands, relax them. Three fingers under the bar is ok (pink up).
• Elbows Up. Put your elbows up – upper-arms almost parallel to the floor – so the weight doesn’t end on your hands.
• Elbow In. Push your elbows toward each other during the Front Squat. It’s easier on your wrists.

The Front Squat.

Your hip muscles are stretched when you break parallel. Use that stretch to bounce from the bottom. DO NOT relax your hip muscles & DO NOT bounce off your knees. Keep your hip muscles tensed.

• Push From The Heels. Heels off the floor impairs stability & power and is bad for your knees. Push from the heels & curl your toes up.
• Sit Back. Squat between your legs while pushing your hips back. You’ll stretch your hip muscles when breaking parallel. Bounce from it.
• Break Parallel. Should be easy because of the upright position. Squat down until your hip joint is at least lower than your knee joint.
• Knees Out. Never let your knees go in during the Front Squat. You risk knee injuries & won’t train your groin. Push your knees out.

 Use fronts squats as part of your training to add a new dimension to your lifts and increase power, core strength and total body size!!!