For many people who have never seen a gym in their life, when age fifty (or perhaps even age forty) roles around they really begin noticing they are getting slower, walking up steps is a little harder, playing hockey with the boys is getting tougher as they don’t have that pop to get to the puck any more.  Playing tennis with friends is getting tougher, as they don’t get to the ball like they used to, and their general mobility is declining.  All in all these people realize they are losing muscle and getting soft all around.

Regardless of your age, if this sounds like you, the question you need to ask yourself is, “What do I do to get in better shape?”  As an experienced Strength and Conditioning professional, my answer is that you should become familiar with the benefits of weight training and hit the gym.

Running is great for improving endurance, but it will not improve your muscle mass or increase your strength and power, elements you desperately need to maintain to limit the effects of aging.  After the age of forty, people lose 1-2% of muscle per year unless they are taking specific steps to avoid this decline.   Let me repeat – after the age of forty, someone who is not engaged in a reasonably intense weight training program loses 1-2% of muscle mass per year.   This accumulating loss of muscle mass and strength is the cause or precursor of many of the negative effects of aging.

In contrast, some of the health and lifestyle benefits resulting from a systematic weight training program include:

Increased muscle size and strength

Improved insulin sensitivity, which reduces unwanted weight gain

Increased functional independence

Reduced risk of diabetes

Reduced blood pressure

Improved sleep quality

Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease

Reduced risks of falls that result in broken hips

Reduced likelihood of depression

For more information on effective weight training methods go to www.laylor.com or contact any of our staff at 416 360 0460.

Effective methods, proven results – that’s the promise of Laylor Performance Systems.

By Clance Laylor

Even though you probably do not aspire to be an Olympian or a pro athlete, why would you not want to train in a manner that has been proven to be effective in increasing strength and physical performance?

Effective methods, proven results – that’s the promise of Laylor Performance Systems.

Yours in strength,

Peter Ingleton

CSCS. PICP

]]> http://www.laylor.com/2010/02/23/enter-training/feed/ 0 http://www.laylor.com/2010/02/09/ladder-rep-scheme/ http://www.laylor.com/2010/02/09/ladder-rep-scheme/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:50:13 +0000 admin http://www.laylor.com/?p=683 A “ladder” is a rep scheme that involves working up from one number of repetitions to another over a series of sets.  This is a very effective method for building strength.  A common example is to use a load that allows you to comfortably perform 5 reps, and then choose how many ladders you want to do.

If you want to do 5 ladders of 5 reps, this would be designated as 5 (1,2,3,4,5).  To complete this routine doing a single-arm lift like kettlebell presses or snatches, you would do 1 rep on left arm, 1 rep on the right arm, 2 reps on the left arm, 2 reps on the right arm, and continue in this way until you hit 5 reps.  That’s 1 ladder completed on each arm, with 4 more to go.  So you would repeat the process all over again four more times, and by the end of this you would have done a whopping 75 reps per arm.  You can apply this scheme to any exercise.

Hope this helps.

You have to get strong to handle the stresses of the downhill skiing, as imbalances in your quadriceps and hamstrings will reap havoc on you knees!   Your hamstring to quad strength ratio should be at least 80%.  A weak core will definitely put your lower back at risk, as downhill skiing puts a lot of stress on both your lower back and knees.

Here is a sample leg program:

A1.  1¼ Front Squat – 5 sets of 5 reps, 4112 tempo, 90 second rest interval

A2.  Leg Curls 2-1 toes pointed inward – 5×8, 4011, 90s

B1.  Low Pulley Split Squat – 3×10, 90s

B2.  Good Morning – 3×10, 4010, 90s

C.     Low Cable Pull-in – 3×12, 3110, 60s

If you don’t know what a 1 ¼ Front Squat is check out this video:

Plan for the hills and hit the gym with a plan!  For more information on performance-oriented weight training and nutrition go to www.laylor.com.

The areas golfers need to focus on in the gym include:

“Core” – Improving one’s “core” strength is vitally important for all athletes, including golfers, but is often misunderstood.  At Laylor Performance Systems, we train the core muscles in a manner that is truly functional and will transfer to improved athletic performance.

Back – Get off the lat pull down machine and start pulling your own body up to a bar and watch your driving power soar.

Upper back – The Powell raise and Trap 3 lift are extremely effective for training important postural muscles that are usually poorly developed.  Never heard of these lifts?  Let us show you!

“Rotator Cuff” – Performing a variety of special exercises designed to improve your external rotation strength at least twice per week will ensure this key area for shoulder health and stability is not neglected.

Forearms – If you don’t train with fat implements, train your forearms three times per week.  At Laylor Performance Systems, all of our dumbbells are 1 ¼ inches thick, which makes extra forearm and grip training unnecessary.

Do I really have to mention flexibility?  If you want to improve your flexibility you must commit to stretching for at least three hours a week!  The typical ten minutes of stretching after a workout is important, but it is not going to significantly improve your flexibility.

Hope this helps.

Clance Laylor

• Chin-Up = Bodyweight + 100lbs
• Bench Press = 236lbs
• Front Squat = 225lbs

Phenomenal effort Umayr! Contact his trainer Marc at marc@laylor.com if you are ready to achieve your own personal best!

Andrea is on course for an exceptional result in her 10-minute snatch test on January 23, 2010. Stay tuned!

Naturally, I have taken a progressive approach with Andrea’s training. After she completed Clean & Press 5 (1,2,3,4,5) ladder workouts with a 16 kg kettlebelI a couple weeks ago, I moved to Density Training before moving up to a 20 kg kettlebell. This approach protects against injury and helps the body to become adequately accustomed to that load. The side effect most women like is that density work increases fat loss. If you want to learn more about Density Training, read this blog – http://www.laylor.com/2010/01/11/breaking-plateaus/.

I believe this is an example of an effective strength and conditioning program. Like the term says, you need to get strong and improve your conditioning. To build real strength you cannot be jumping around the gym doing exercise after exercise. Pick just a couple of key lifts and make them the core of your program. After you knock those off and you still have some energy left, do some conditioning work to build stamina and burn off fat.

To learn more about Andrea and her training, check out this post:
http://www.laylor.com/2009/12/15/she-is-a-machine/