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Athlete profile- Kitty Blomfield

Competed Spring cup 2015 first powerlifting Comp and totalled 470kgs, broke records for squat and deadlift in her weight class

Competed in deadlift only at PRORAW8 and won with a 207.5 deadlift

Currently in preparation for IFBB physique.

Extremely valued member of CAMPVS and an inspiration for many of our female clients.

Upper Back Is The New Chest

Upper Back is the New Chest

How much do you bench?

An age old question, asked by bro’s the world over since the beginning of time.

The bench press is considered the ‘Number One’ exercise for developing the chest, and is also a massive ego exercise for every man. If I had $1 for every time I have had clients and friends come to me and ask, ‘How can I bench more?’, I would be a moderately rich man.

Generally, when at a bench plateau the answer is to do more chest and triceps. Not a bad idea, these are the prime movers in the bench press so it makes sense to train them up. Over the years, however, I have slowly shifted my perception of bench press and I now see it as a fundamentally whole body exercise.

To me the bench press is not a specific chest exercise. It is an expression of upper body pushing power. So if you want to pump up your numbers it’s time to start thinking outside the box.

If you want to improve your bench press – train your back.

Something all the world’s best bench presses have in common is the fact they look like they have a tortoise shell on their backs. A large bench press requires stability in the shoulder girdle and high quality scapula motion. A strong upper back will facilitate this outcome.

Three of my favourite exercises for upper back development are:

Banded Face Pull – I like to perform this in sets of 15 to 20, big focus on getting elbows above shoulders. Focus on keeping it upper back and shoulder - as you get tired you will try to turn this into a shrug

Underhand Band Pullapart – Done correctly this exercise will shred your lower trap and rear delts. There are many variations with this as well. Once my athletes are competent with this movement I like to add in a slight elevation of the band from chest to nose and back. This forces the athlete to maintain the lower trap contraction whilst moving the scapula into upward rotation. For this exercise I like 1 set of 100

Z-Press – Counter intuitive I know, but done correctly nothing will burn your upper back more than correct Z-pressing. As a movement it brings together both our face pull and band pullapart into the one motion. This is why I like to add the elevation element to the pullapart. When you come to overhead press you need to be able to hold some retraction whilst driving upward rotation of your scapula. You can program a Z-press in a number of different ways, however, for a beginner keep the weight light and work in sets of 15. Put a premium on quality of movement.

Upper back is the new chest (#lads) and you might be surprised to see how much your bench improves from adding in some of these simple exercises a couple of times a week into your training program.

Video through the CAMPVS YouTube channel is available for this article.

 

http://nathanielhodges.blogs.com/my-blog/2016/05/an-under-utilised-gem-in-the-gym.html

 

http://nathanielhodges.blogs.com/my-blog/2016/04/spirituality-for-performacne-tactical-breathing.html

 

for training goodness check out

Jonathon Danaher ǀ BExSS ǀ ASCA lvl 1
Head Coach – Valkyrie Strength and Performance
email: [email protected]

​Instagram: @valkyrie_strength_performance

mob: (+61) 0439393904

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Notes for those who want to do more research

Joe Defranco has been a big influence on how I coach and he is a massive fan of training up your #backboobs. I have unashamedly taken a number of cues from him in this area of training and for good reason. They work. So if you are looking for extra resources on upper back training check him out!

https://www.defrancostraining.com/upper-back-training-secrets-to-avoid-shoulder-injuries-increase-power/

CAMPVS Athlete Profile #1

Introducing Tommy Cachia

he has played rugby union at a national competition and also at a state level. He has competed at a regional level in swimming and could hold in his own on the volleyball court . Struck down from a persistent patella tendon injury cut the endeavours of playing semi-profession/ professional rugby short. He then found the art of Muay Thai and has been training for 6-8 months now and is looking to have his first fight in September. He is looking to return to rugby union next year to fuel the passion that's very real.

Tommy spends a fair bit of his time at CAMPVS being coached by Benny and is in full training mode to step into a coaching role at CAMPVS. Above his very clear achievements he's backed by one the best characters iv seen for a young man his age and he's showing all the clues for a successful career. Keep an eye out for this up and coming coach and athlete.

The 4 Real Reason People Fail In The Gym & What You Can Change

Let’s get really really clear on why people fail when they finally make the decision to take control of their health, strength, fitness or generally anything under those categories. After looking back over some journals and then placing against my current years of experience in the industry it becomes clear why people never follow through and it’s never any of the following.

 

Time, money, access to education, kids, distance, travel time, support networks, competency in the gym, current fitness level or even belief in oneself!

 

Here are the biggest components that determine success and lasting change:

 

1. Its no secret that goals are important but why is it that we know this but still don’t do it? Because the word “goal” has been so overused by the industry that it has no weight or meaning. What clients need is a clearly defined OBJECTIVE that needs to be achieved within a scheduled timeline. How do we give the objective weight? By associating ourselves with the person who lives that objective. J How does this person train? What does this person wear? How does this person eat? How does this person plan? How does this person celebrate? How does this person help others do the same? Once this is written down we essentially become this person. Goals are out OBJECTIVES are in.

 

2. From day one up until the objective is achieved, it is just a big bunch of decision making and then managing those decisions. So why is it so hard for clients to make the right decision when we have given them every single resource they could need and map, that if followed would see them achieve the objective? When a client “falls off the wagon, or misses a session” they made that decision based on the current person they think they are, because of the background story they keep hearing “what’s the point? I’m never going to make it, I don’t want to annoy anyone, its better if I stay like this, I don’t deserve it” and so on. What if they make their daily decision being the character in point 1? Being the character they are moving into and making decisions from that place? Would the percentage of poor choices go down? YES. MAKE DECISION FROM THE VERSION OF YOU AT SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION.

 

3. I see so many people who are great at the above 2 and can hold the end in mind in great detail but still be very derailed when the daily plan of eating and training are thrown off by an unseen event. Some classics are forgetting gym clothes, not packing food, someone forgets the kids, client is prepared for deadlifts and coach says “we are doing conditioning today” haha. My point is adaptability!! Understanding that from point A to point B things will change and the plan will most likely change at times. Being flexible in your behavior and anticipating early that change will happen can mean you make solid choices and those small choices eventuate into success. Going for some quick sprints in the park with some explosive push ups and chin up holds are 10x better than spitting the dummy when your circumstances mean on a certain day you cant get to the gym. Not only that you are also training your art of utilization and the belief that “there is always a way”.

 

4. My final key reason for people failing is understanding that you can never use your emotions as EVIDENCE. As coaches we all have clients that say the following “I feel “. “ I feel I’m getting fat, I feel I’m getting skinny, I feel I’m getting weak, I feel I’m not good enough”. FEELING something actually means nothing to yourself or a coach I’m sorry to say J if you have clear measures in place that are in line with the objective and they are showing positive, then your feelings mean nothing. Simply the fact of you thinking that way will destroy your ability to fulfill 3 (adapt) and 2 (conducive choices) because what you are really saying is “I’m not the person that can fulfill the objective”.

 

 

Hope this helps some coaches and clients alike bridge some gaps about why we can have all the information and plans that have worked over and over but some clients still fall short.

 

 

Other articles regarding retention, compliance and achievement are:

 

http://nathanielhodges.blogs.com/my-blog/2016/04/a-deeper-observation-of-high-performers-what-are-you-missing-out-on.html

 

http://nathanielhodges.blogs.com/my-blog/2016/03/8-ways-to-get-your-arse-to-the-gym-as-a-student.html

 

http://nathanielhodges.blogs.com/my-blog/2016/02/10-overlooked-components-of-powerlifitng-preparation.html

 

Hodges

 

 

 

 

 

When You Stop Chasing Opinions You Attract The Wise

Opinion Vs. Laws

 

In this day and age in training, nutrition and business everyone has their opinion of what will work and what wont. Social media is a festering living organism that gives everyone a voice on topics they have no idea about. It makes it worse when we have social media “celebrities “ that have quite following pushing products, opinions and philosophies.

 

Here is some advice for anyone wanting to learn more about any topic on planet earth, if someone is trying to explain to you a concept, model or framework and he or she use end reference e.g. “This is the only way it can work” or “ if you apply it in this way it will never work”. Tread carefully if you’re taking it on board.

 

If this doesn’t land with you it’s ok, just recognize that the outcome you want to achieve has 294874 (literally that many) ways to get there, some roads may be tougher than others but you will arrive if you utilise a few LAWS along the way.

 

The Law of hourly rate.

 

This can be called a law because its always happening whether you like it or not, the question is whether you are taking advantage of it. You seem to like electricity although you have no idea how it actually works. Think about this, if you were your own boss and you were being paid for every hour in the day would you still have a job? To put it bluntly what are you doing every single hour of every single day taking tiny steps toward your ultimate outcome?

 

Now this has been said over and over but here is something that will make it hit home. What if a professional bodybuilder just an hour a day gave him/herself a “break” from his/her personal legend where they sat on the couch watching TV eating ice cream? Here’s the worst part of this situation, the sitting and eating can be rectified but now this person has lost an hour where he/she was not thinking about and feeling what standing on stage in first place is like. This cannot be regained. It sounds ridiculous for a bodybuilder to do that so why are you doing it? Maybe you don’t know your ultimate outcome? Here’s a start, what is that one thing you do that all of life’s stressors and worries go out the window? Start there.

For those chasing an outcome or a result you may be waiting on others or most definitely navigating some challengers, your going through hell your on the perfect path if you give up your back at square 1 with nothing. When your stuck on the waiting game and you feel you are doing everything you can. Turn to yourself and learn more about you, see yourself achieving whatever it is you want, learn to ask beautiful questions, act as if you have already achieved it, and pull others along with you.

 

The Law of Gratitude

 

When was the last time you sat and focused on everything you have, everything you have created and everything you have achieved? All of the best leaders and athletes in the world do not operate for self-satisfaction. Ask any of the top athletes what it meant for them to win. “ I had to win this one for my team mate, for the coach, for my family” how many times have you seen an athlete win the whole way through a tournament only to fall in the final bout? It’s a pattern and it goes like this. Lets take a tennis player for example

“ I have an opportunity to share my talents and show my team what it means to me for them helping me out this whole preparation” this psychology = smart decision-making, smart strategies and patience. When the player gets to the final match

“ What could I do with all the winnings, people will see me as a champion, I will be respected in the sport” this psychology is extremely internal and selfish, this = rushed decisions, short-term gains, anxiety.

The player loses the match.

 

It doesn’t make sense on any level to receive more of what you do not express gratitude towards. If you are wanting/needing more clients be there 100% and give everything you can to the clients you have currently, they are putting food in your mouth. Feel grateful for every dollar you have, every chance you get to train.

 

Try this.

If you wanted to be grateful for 20 things what would they be? Write them down and notice how much good you have. Spend 5 minutes expressing gratitude before your next meal and see how good the food tastes even if it is chicken and broccoli.

 

It’s so easy to sit back and find things we are not happy with I challenge you to challenge yourself and see how much good you can find, that’s the magic.

more fun things.

http://nathanielhodges.blogs.com/my-blog/2016/05/a-good-sign-youre-just-about-to-break-through-is-when-it-seems-nothing-is-happening.html

 

http://nathanielhodges.blogs.com/my-blog/2016/05/why-you-may-be-suffering-at-workchoosing-rewards-over-environment.html

 

http://nathanielhodges.blogs.com/my-blog/2016/04/spirituality-for-performacne-tactical-breathing.html

 

Nat

 

 

 

Put Your Big Girl Panties On

Something to think for about the business owner or others wanting to get their idea up and running...step 1 DO IT NOW, imagine what you would be doing if you started when you had the idea.

I'm slinging some gift content just below..

.............4 sections of strategy or critical analysis............

1. what is the barrier to entry ? high, low or moderate and does this fit with your mission?

2. what are the threat of substitutes outside of clear competitors? e.g: if your business is tiling whats happening in the world of DIY or a whole other waterproof material?

3.Who is providing input for ideas,systems, people or structure? is it just you or do you have the advantage of a 3rd party?

4. What is local market up to and what is the global market movements - info is available through a heap of websites

5. Don't give a F%^& about the above hieroglyphics and just broadcast an obnoxiously loud message and see who sticks ( a personal fav)

Hodges

A Good Sign You're Just About To Break Through Is When It Seems Nothing Is Happening

The life cycle of Exponential Tech, Tech is something i MUST get better at so here is something very relevant and history has a funny way of repeating itself

1. Digitalisation- once something becomes zeros and ones the growth curve is exponential 
2. Deception - there will always be s slow growth period where people will dismiss it and the concept deceives people.
3.Disruption- people who are resistant to change will have their feathers ruffled
4.Demonetisaition- making money in tech will be what can you give for free that others pay for?
5.Dematerialisation- take away the expenses of materials for the digital world
6.Democritisation- Complete accessibility.

From Steven Kotler,

I sit here and use a free app with free wifi, free audio, free conversation platform, free marketing delivering content and hopefully something that you can take a think about. Maybe save you some money/ time or give you a clearer direction. All extremely valuable.

 

we are all suckers of instant gratification whats it costing you?

http://nathanielhodges.blogs.com/my-blog/2016/05/why-you-may-be-suffering-at-workchoosing-rewards-over-environment.html

Chase exposure and trial by fire

http://nathanielhodges.blogs.com/my-blog/2016/04/a-deeper-observation-of-high-performers-what-are-you-missing-out-on.html

 

 

Its Provocative ... Gets The People Going!

 

 

The majority of people start out in the gym with a buddy that has some sort of experience. Its rare that your lifting journey starts with a well informed, well educated established coach or athlete. When we first step foot inside a gym the first-person that gets recognition is the guy with a huge chest or arms are shoulders. This gives the young gym goer some purpose or aspiration then the training begins…usually consists of training the muscles that the young lifter can see Chest, Shoulders, arms, back and legs (unintentionally neglecting hamstrings).

 

This approach will yield a result, some strength in the bench press some overall hypertrophy of major muscle groups. During this time undoubabtly this will be said somewhere along the way “ squats, deadlifts and lunges will hit your glutes hard” By no means is this statement wrong but there has been some advancements lately by a brilliant guy and coach by the name of Bret Contreras who extensively studied the activity of the hip girdle and surrounding musculature namely the glutes (glutei maximi, glutei mediei and glutei minimi) The role of the glutes has always fascinated me as they are always unseen but always talked about and I couldn’t wrap my head around why my glutes only became sore after uni lateral lower limb movements not the already mentioned back squat and deadlift. A few notable authors and coaches have claimed that the king of the gluteal is the squat and deadlift…

 

The repeating theme here is that axial loaded (top to bottom) is the key to getting lovely lady lumps. Here is an easy to understand example of why this doesn’t make sense, all muscles have a line of pull, which is on display when competitive body builders become very lean. The striations of the muscle dictate the pennation angle and line of pull, notice a body builders striated glutes the fibres run predominantly mediolateral (side to side). . Yes of course the glutes are hip extensors but in combination with other hip extensors during compounds movements are they really being worked as hard as what we think? EMG research has proven this to be the case that smaller side-to-side movements and anteroposterior (front to back) movements have shown far greater EMG readings then a 1rm back squat (Contreras, 2013).

 

Here is a list of glute exercises in order of progression that everyone should be doing

 

Supine hip extension (glute bridge)

Single leg Glute Bridge

Fire hydrants

Clams

Band clams

Quadruped hip extension

Quadruped hip hyperextension

Light band pull through

Reverse hypers

KB swings

Hip thrusts

Barbell hip thrusts

Back extensions

Band back extensions

 

Please notice that all exercises listed are either anteroposterior or mediolateral loaded.

 

IMPORTANT

90% of the population cannot access there glutes as we have slowly progressed to a society of seat dwellers , it is imperative that hip flexors , ITB (Illiotiobial band)and TFL (tensor fascia Latae) , hamstrings , adductors and erectors be addressed with stretching mobilisation or manual therapy to allow for glute function . If a client or acquaintance

You know likes to squat and their predominant DOMS are in quads and low back please advise them to read this or any of the work by Bret Contreras.

 

Training when you are a poor student

http://nathanielhodges.blogs.com/my-blog/2016/03/8-ways-to-get-your-arse-to-the-gym-as-a-student.html

 

 

Different approach to strength

http://nathanielhodges.blogs.com/my-blog/2016/02/unconventional-client-unconventional-coaching.html

 

 

Nat

 

 

3 Door Ways Where The Honey Moon Never Ends

What happens after the honeymoon period?

 

Like every single lust filled relationship a business or start up goes through the same process. You have this team of inspired creative individuals chewing off their own arm in anticipation to get started. This initial sex drive creates genius in the workplace imagination and creative is flowing to the point where the leader will have to say no to brilliant ideas to service the phenomenal ideas. We all know what it feels like to wake up next a person and the only circulating thought is going full caveman and having your way. There is a level of vigor that exists to the same extent when operating and entertaining an idea to life.

 

Your sitting at your breakfast table slamming a tasteless but practical breakfast in anticipation to get out and show the world your art, you roll into the building or office and your team are hard it, serving clients going above and beyond, coming up with questions and answering them before you have chance to process what the fuck they are talking about. Clearly you have a culture going on. This process continues for 3-6 months, the profits are rolling in and your growing, you start to recognise yourself as a deserving successful leader.then it happens

 

Your eating the same tasteless breakfast and you recognise how terrible it tastes, your team are quiet, late but fulfilling there duties, you feel you need to come down on them hard to fight for there positions but they are still ticking boxes and crossing tasks of lists, the profits are still there but it doesn’t feel the same. You hear the odd sound of people clinking coffee cups and the monotonous tapping of the soft and smooth Mac keys. It’s eerie and dead because in this moment you have joined the other 90% of lifeless office spaces watching the clock tick.

 

The Honeymoon period is long gone

 

What every leader/ manager needs to recognise is that whatever they are feeling in their 3 brains (head, heart and stomach) so is your team and clients. If you the leader are having a human moment getting caught up in the day to day, the grind, the cycle of day and night SO ARE YOUR TEAM!!! It appears that the most successful individuals looking back and right now have developed strategies and rituals to move through these periods and maintain the rage on having an effect on the world. Here are some tactical approaches for yourself and team to keep growing and progressing.

 

1. Publicly elevate and champion key members, organize a catch up outside of the workplace for the sole reason of having fun, leave the business talk behind. If the conversation swings around back to the workplace then let it be, this is great indicator that your team are still adding value and reflecting on their work looking at ways to make it better. During this time call someone out for his or her achievements because something magical happens. Both party’s giver and receiver receive a hit of a very important chemical…serotonin. Unlike dopamine and inherently selfish chemical, serotonin serves the person receiving the award and the person giving the award. By Osmosis the team will strive to have that shared feeling of significance. By making this a standard it can add to continuation of the culture and the team working as a unit. A very influential person in my life shared this “ If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far, go with many”. I must add going fast does not mean far. I will give some clarity and content around how neurochemicals work in the workplace in a later article.
   
2. As the leader it is imperative to know your team on a very deep level, If you cannot uncover in them what really makes them get up in the morning and what is the most important values and beliefs they navigate life with then you will need to take a very surface approach to drive behavior e.g. incentive schemes or the manipulate the 2 most valued commodities, time and money. This approach is expensive, tactical and very short term. It will only last so long until you run out of ideas reinventing the wheel. Helping your team uncover, desires, goals and unique purposes to them will build honor trust and insane work ethic. As long as you’re providing a platform of skills and capabilities to see them follow through and progress to this goal the rage will be maintained. Notice my continual use of this phrase J. If you cannot do this within yourself do not expect anything you say to land with your team, “if you want your reality to change you have to first change within”
3. “In the pause of reflection comes insight”

We are thrown into an education system that teaches us how to prepare. We prepare for grade school in Pre School; we prepare for high school during grade school, all the way into years of preparation for retirement ……then guess what we prepare for? That’s right, death. How do we know where the hell we are if we can only see a future that never actuals comes? Insert carrot and stick analogy

If you desire a team of high operators then it appears that a skillset and mindset of owning the moment and celebrating the wins are a ritual that needs to be practiced. All we ever have is unfolding moments of now and the debate on past and future is very long winded and cannot be proven wrong or right. “Who you are right now is only who you chose to be moment ago”.

Make reflection a part of your processes and watch the gold arise.

 

More on teamwork and leadership in

 

http://nathanielhodges.blogs.com/my-blog/2016/05/why-you-may-be-suffering-at-workchoosing-rewards-over-environment.html

 

http://nathanielhodges.blogs.com/my-blog/2016/04/a-deeper-observation-of-high-performers-what-are-you-missing-out-on.html

 

http://nathanielhodges.blogs.com/my-blog/2016/03/4-reasons-why-your-goals-left-you-empty.html