Technique is the number one factor in any fitness programme. You can wear the latest gear, work out on the highest of high-tech machinery, train regularly, but without perfect technique your body shape is unlikely to ever change, and you will become more susceptible to injury. In my experience, this is the area where most people fail.
The best resistance-training exercises should be chosen more for their 'correctness' than for their novelty. They should maximise effectiveness, safety, proper biomechanics, muscle function and client compliance. But the culprits aren't the machines themselves - they're safe if used properly - but they can be used in laissez-faire gyms that are reluctant to tell amateurs they don't know what they're doing. Or that what they are doing - without the benefit of a £30-an-hour personal trainer, isn't going to give them the body they think they're getting.
correct your technique
Technique is very specific. It literally means moving a leg half an inch here or pushing your hips back more there. Simple as it is, the repositioning of the body makes all the difference to the end result. Like any new project or venture, you have to learn the technicalities before you can perfect it. For example, someone who has basic computer skills might take two hours to do something on the computer that a computer whiz could complete in half an hour. It is the same with your body. You could spend two years training, with minimal results, or seek the services of a professional and after two sessions, be well on the way to a great new body. Another very important factor relevant to technique is the actual quality of your movement whilst going through the motion. I can now put on a great comedy act imitating the way some people exercise. By showing my clients how these people execute a move and how they should execute a move are two entirely different things. Every movement has to go through a certain range of motion or speed. If you move too quickly through a move, it will appear easy and you will also be stressing the joint rather than the muscle. This is the body's way of cheating by relying on the momentum rather than on controlling each move.
To prevent this from happening I encourage my clients to use the split-second technique. Every exercise has two movements, a start and a finish. Between the two movements hold we hold the move for a split second and feel the muscle you are supposed to be working by squeezing it. Then control the movement on the way down. It's rather like making a fist and then squeezing your fist as hard as you can - you can literally feel the pressure building up.
Think about the martial arts guru Bruce Lee. He never worked out with weight. His beautifully sculpted body came just from working with his own body resistance. I often encourage my clients to try and work their muscles without weights so that they can really feel the muscles working by using their own strength and not relying on external strength. Try this basic exercise right now to understand this. Take your arm out to the side, up to the shoulder level and down again. Simply swing it up and down several times. This is the way most people work their muscles. Now try this more controlled version. Lift your arm up to shoulder level, hold it there for a split second, squeezing through the shoulder and bring it back down with resistance. Do this several times and feel the difference. Now imagine implementing this technique into each and every exercise. Yep! A new body awaits you. You have just learnt to correct your technique. By taking a muscle through a full range of motion you are working the full length of the muscle and will acquire the lean, lengthened look you desire. Working with short pulsing moves as in Callenetics prevents the muscles from being worked a full range of motion. Leave your thoughts of work or the kids behind. Without concentrating on the muscles you are supposed to be working you will not achieve the desired results. Each time you work a specific muscle I will train you to focus your mind on doing the exercise correctly by feeling the muscle you are working.
core stabilisation
Core stabilisation is all about creating strength through the central girdle: the abdominals, waistline, lower and middle-back muscles. When these muscles are weak and untoned posture is poor and it is very difficult to achieve the desired results whilst training other parts of the body. I call this mid-section of the body the boss and the other muscles the workers. If the boss is not sitting firmly on his throne demanding orders, his workers are going to slacken off. Similarly, if the central girdle is not in control whilst working other muscle groups, the results will be greatly reduced. As part of our first training session, and at regular intervals thereafter, I will teach you how to get in touch with working your central girdle correctly.
After grasping the concept of keeping the torso stable, I view the arms, legs and head as entirely separate. The torso constantly in place, we are now in a position to work all the other muscle groups with perfect technique. We take an arm and work an arm muscle without the interference of any other body part. We work the lower body with control, building perfect balance and strength through the legs. In other words, to gain the most benefit whilst working a specific muscle the torso needs to be firmly in place. My favourite line to get this message across is 'no other body part is invited to the party'. Stop jiggling the rest of your body around whilst you work a specific muscle. The only muscle moving is the one you are working. This does require a certain amount of practice and discipline but once mastered, it will never be forgotten. This is an area where I see many women failing and is one of the first technicalities I correct. You will be amazed at the incredible control and power you have over your body once you learn core-stabilisation techniques. In addition, just by being aware of these muscles in everyday activities such as walking and standing will give you improved posture and make you look at least five pounds lighter.
perfect posture and balance
Posture is normally described as neutral alignment - the ankles, knees, hips and shoulders are parallel to the floor, with a slight inward curve through the lower part of the spine and a slight outward curve in the thoracic level of the spine. Losing the ability to maintain neutral alignment during various activities causes injuries. Sitting and standing incorrectly causes muscular imbalances in the body and affects posture and alignment. Most of our balance skills are acquired are around the age of ten, but with poor muscle tone, coordination and posture we lose the intensity of our balance skills as we get older. This is true if you are out of shape. However, once you start to increase your muscle mass and gain control over your technique a wonderful surprise awaits you. The strength created through many of the standing-leg routines I'll be teaching you, will bring with it renewed balance and poise. Additionally, as your balance improves so will your quality of exercise, as you focus more on technique.
