Men's Fitness Guide

Welcome to the latest Men’s Fitness Workout Manual, our all-new collection of training plans and advice from the pages of the UK’s leading fitness magazine. Whatever your exercise goals, you’ll find plenty in the following pages to help you achieve them. In the opening chapter, we’ve compiled an abundance of useful info to help you get the most out of the workouts that follow, ranging from simple tips for the first-time trainee to advanced upgrades for the veteran gym-goer. Then it’s straight into the workouts, with a collection of simple but extremely effective fat-loss and strength-building sessions. You’ll see that each workout can be performed using just one piece of gym kit in half an hour or less, making them the ideal way to add workout routines to your busy schedule.…

1 'THE MORE YOU TRAIN, THE BETTER THE RESULTS' Yes, you need to train hard and regularly, but doing too much too often is going to be counterproductive. If you’re new to working out, start with three sessions a week, to give your muscles time to recover - and grow - before training them again. Too little rest between sessions can result in overtraining, when you feel tired, fatigued and demotivated. You’re also more likely to suffer from injury. 2 'YOU CAN TURN FAT INTO MUSCLE' Fat and muscle are two totally different types of tissue, so it’s impossible for one to turn into the other. Muscle is active tissue that burns calories, while fat tissues store excess energy. When you train hard, it’s possible to burn fat and build muscle at the…

1 IF YOU FEEL PAIN AT ANY TIME DURING YOUR WORKOUT, STOP IMMEDIATELY Yes, it’s difficult mentally to stop midway through a workout, but listen to your body. Don’t be tempted to work through the pain or you could make a small problem significantly worse. 2 MAINTAIN PERFECT FORM FOR EVERY REPETITION, OR REP, OF EVERY EXERCISE Each exercise in this book comes with detailed notes on form and most gyms have qualified fitness professionals on hand who will be happy to help if you’re unsure about an exercise. 3 PICK A WEIGHT YOU CAN MANAGE EASILY THE FIRST TIME YOU DO ANY LIFT This allows you to concentrate on perfecting the form - you can increase the weight over time. Leave your ego at the door - choosing a weight that’s too heavy is…

LEARN TO WORK IN This is gym code for “sharing the equipment”. Generally, the wrong thing to do is shuffle around the equipment looking as though you want it but not saying anything. If someone is using the kit you need and it’s the only station in the gym, wait until they’ve finished their set - don’t talk to them while they’re squatting - and then politely ask if you can work in (use the equipment while they’re resting). Most people will be fine with it. And it goes without saying that if someone asks, you should share your kit with them, too. BRAINSTORM YOUR BACK-UPS Before you hit the gym, think about what you’ll do if the kit you need is unavailable. As you get more comfortable with working out, you’ll be…

THE COACH Christian Thibaudeau is a world-renowned strength coach and author who has competed as an Olympic lifter and a bodybuilder First, let’s make one thing clear. It is definitely possible to build a muscular, lean body while making strength, speed and power gains. In fact, I would say that training like an athlete and turning yourself into a performance machine is actually the best way to get an aesthetically pleasing body - you just need to choose the right perform ance -b oosting exercises and tweak the loading parameters in order to optimise your body composition. Lift Off If you want to build muscle, forget bodybuilding-style isolation exercises, such as dumbbell curls, and instead focus on compound lifts, such as bench presses, squats and deadlifts. Sprinters and rugby players perform these moves in…

THE COACH Dave Hembrough is a UKSCA accredited strength & conditioning coach and qualified sports therapist, who has worked with professional athletes in a variety of sports. Do you lift weights or play sports regularly? Then there’s a good chance you’re repeating the same movement patterns a lot. The key to getting stronger, building more muscle and staying injury-free is to look after the muscles that perform these movements. If you don’t, they’ll tighten over time, restricting the range of motion through your joints, especially your ankles, hips, back and shoulders. Mobility is defined as the ability to apply strength through a functional range of motion. If your range of motion is compromised, it will hamper force production and stop you from working out to your full capacity. For example, if you overwork…