Leg Exercises- Advanced!

Hi, Lani here. My favorite sessions in the gyms are my leg days. Depending on the type of training period I am in, I can lift heavy with less reps or lighter with higher reps and still able to elevate my heart rate in any period. Because your legs and butt are bigger muscle groups, more energy is required to move them in different patterns and therefore can reduce fat, increase bone density or (if it is your goal, don’t worry ladies) increase muscle mass.  

Power Clean- speed strength movement. This exercise is great for athletes or people who want to improve their speed strength to their sport because the movements are quick and explosive, much like the movements they will be performing in competition.

Heavy Deadlift- This is my favorite exercise as it works my legs, abdominals, butt and back.  Perfroming tis exercise properly, it will help you to safely increase your strength and build muscle mass (if this is your goal, not mine). I use the sumo stance and the mixed grip (hook grip) to help me grip the bar when I lift a heavy weight.

Balance Board Squats- Squats effectively work most of the major muscle groups of the butt, hips, thighs and abdominals. Exercising on balance boards help improve sore strength, proprioception and balance. Combining both of these together, and you get a challenging and effective all-round body exercise.

Single Leg Deadlift with a Twist- When this movement is performed correctly, the single leg deadlift pattern requires the recruitment of all of the muscles up the posterior chain. It encourages your body to use both sides just as efficiently and improves balance. Adding a row to this exercise advances the movement by increasing the number of muscle groups that are working and therefore burning more calories.

Please enjoy the video and remember that form always comes first before the amount of weight or reps you are lifting. Also, until you can perform the primal squat, bending and lunge patterns you should not try these more advanced exercises.

SEE VIDEO OF THESE EXERCISES HERE

Yours in good health,

Lani

Tokyo Fitness- Personal Training Tokyo

Elana Jade Beauty Salon Tokyo

Review: "Toe Shoes" Adipure by Adidas

I have been testing out the Adipure "barefoot" trainers for the past few months and thought I would write up a bit of a review.

I am a big fan of barefoot training, in fact, as a young runner we were always encouraged to train barefoot on grass to strengthen our feet/ toes and legs in general.  Although I dont run barefoot anymore, I still always tried to train in the gym barefoot. Unfortunately this is often frowned up by gym operators!

The Adipure is basically designed to mimic being barefoot, with a little extra protection for the soles of the feet.  I was originally a Vibram Five Finger wearer, the originators of this type of shoe, but wanted to see how Adipures measured up. To be blatantly honest, one of the main reasons I wanted a change was the Adipure looks a lot cooler! Of course any shoe that looks a "foot glove" looks a little weird, and I am not ready to wear them out on the street just yet, but for the gym they work!

But the real question is, does it improve movement/ training in the gym? Structurally the Adipures are very flexible and do allow for very natural movement. The soles are a little more stiff than the Vibrams that I have worn, but I prefer this when I am doing heavy weight training as I get a quicker response via the nerve sensors in my feet and it also allows for a very good base of support.

The highlight for me in the design are the toes. With the Vibrams my toes felt slightly displaced, but the "wetsuit" like material in the Adipures are very comfortable (dont notice any seams) and I really feel good control of my toes.

All in all, I think Adidas have done a great job with these shoes and its great to see a major shoemaker get into this market. Their ability to promote "barefoot" training shoes will benefit many people who are currently training in heavy, cushioned  gym shoes and in turn suffering from a variety of orthopedic injuries.

So why dont I run in them long distances? I have progressed to "Free" trainers (little support and super flexible soles)  for running but after years of running thousands of kilometres in running shoes I am not ready to change. I have tried short runs but had some pain in my platar fascia (bottom of my feet) and Achilies tendons. Short bursts on soft surfaces are fine, but for longer running, for now, I will stick to the "free" trainers.

So all in all- I say five toes shoes are a great step in shoe develop! They definitely do improve training conditions and your body"s bio-mechanics.

 I encourage anyone wanting to make the transition to do so with caution- start slow! Gym training, walking, short jogs are a great way to allow your feet to adjust- after all, they more than likely havent worked right for decades!

Check out the Adipures here.

Yours in health,

Nathan
Tokyo Fitness Personal Training