Low back pain is pain, muscle tension, or stiffness localized below the costal margin (bottom of your ribs) and above the inferior gluteal folds (bottom of your buttocks), with or without sciatica, and is defined as chronic when it persists for 12 weeks or more. Note, the programme I have designed is for those suffering with what is often [...]
Awesome night at the 5S Halloween Party... Massive thanks to all those who came and contributed to the huge amount of booze and snacks... It was a great night! This is definitely going to become a yearly event... An infamous Halloween party in the best gym in Macclesfield! Here's a few pics from the night... [...]
Thoracic Mobility The thoracic spine is the twelve vertebrae between the base of your neck and the bottom of your rib cage. Often when we refer to the thoracic spine in a training environment, we are referring to the muscles which surround it. If the your thoracic spine is restricted, it can cause a whole [...]
Ab Roll-Outs Ab roll-outs work your abs incredibly hard while requiring you to maintain posture of your lumbo-pelvis region, making them one of the best core exercises in your arsenal. The need to maintain a neutral pelvis and lower spine position while bending and extending your hips and knees makes the ab roll-out not only [...]
Foam rolling is a method of hands-on therapy that you can perform yourself, often referred to as self-myofascial release. The aim of these techniques is to use pressure to stimulate a sensory receptor called the Golgi tendon organ that tells the muscle fibers to relax. The Golgi tendon organ (GTO) is a proprioceptive sensory receptor organ that senses changes [...]
I have 5 personal training sessions today on top of 6 classes. I programme specifically for each client, usually working it in 2-3 week blocks. Every 2-3 weeks the programming is re-assessed, aiming to constantly improve the training and optimise results. I am currently working on another 3 week phase for my client Hil who [...]
Chair & Desk Setup While the key to keeping your body in good health is movement, sometimes it just isn’t feasible to maintain the optimal amount of physical activity. It’s therefore important that you have your desk and chair set up in a way that at least tries to minimise the negative effects of desk [...]
The primary action of the core is to provide stability. Therefore, you must first and foremost train your ability to resist the forces that are going to be applying stress to your spine. There is some controversy around sit-up type exercises, which stems from the fact that repeated bending and twisting of the spine can [...]
I have been putting a runners prehab programme together. It will be completely FREE when you register your email on the 5S website (so we can send it to you... don't worry, I don't have the time to send you spam, wish I did). Numerous studies show that a high percentage of both novice and [...]
The RKC Plank A common point I hear being made is "once you can plank for a minute with ease, you need to progress the exercise". In my opinion, if you are planking with ease, then you are not properly engaging your core musculature. My go to front plank variation is the RKC Plank. The [...]
