Gym Myths Exposed!

The best defense against failure is good and accurate information.  If you go on the internet nowadays you will almost definatly find yourself smack bang in the middle of contradicting advice, opinions and so called facts. If your new to all of this aswell it can be a confusing situation.

So here we have listed a few of what we consider 'Gym Myths' to help newbies and even already established gym goers stay on track:

1)  Women shouldn't lift weights


Men and women build muscle in the exact same way; 'stimulating muscles by overloading them with resistance training'. However frankly ladies you don't produce enough testosterone or growth hormone to get big and muscly. So to achieve that lean/toned physique most of you are after, mix up your cardio with Resistance/Weight training. 




Dont shy away from the weights section ladies














Here is a good article that goes into further detail in regards to training for women.

http://www.aarondaleyfitness.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/girls-with-weightrainophobia.html

2) Turning Muscle into Fat or Vice Versa

Lets be blunt... you simply can not turn fat tissue into muscle. What you can do, and should be aiming to do is increase your muscle mass through weight/resistance training and getting rid of the fat through diet, cardio and exercise. Doing both of these will reduce your bodyfat percentage giving you the body you are aiming for.

3)  Carbs are Bad

A lot of people try to steer away from carbs. Especially those who's main concern is losing fat. Don't get me wrong if your aim is to lose fat then you definatly need to monitor the amount and type of carbs you take in, however if you want to gain muscle then you're going to need them. If you take them out completeley you'll burn more bodyfat during training perhaps but you won't be able to keep it up for long. Carbs are basically your fuel for a workout. 

4)  1000 Crunches a day will get you a six pack

Defined Abs or even just a flat stomach  comes from being lean. If your bodyfat is high then no amount of crunches will produce a six pack, your abs will just continue to be covered underneath a layer of bodyfat. Everyone is born with abdominal muscles, you just need to lose the fat to make them visable! Diet is key when it comes to getting that washboard abs look!

Rob Riches (One of the worlds top fitness models)

 5) Machines are better than free weights



Machines have just as many disadvantages as they do advantages. Free weights allow for full range of motion and bring in the use of stabilisation muscles however the risk of injury is greater because incorrect movements outside the range of motion can occur. Combining machines and free weight exercises is the best way to go.



Free weights incorporate your stabilisation muscles unlike machines, however they allow room for poor form which in turn causes injuries







6) Supplements can replace a good diet


These days the supplement industry is massive, there are huge variety of supplements for sale claiming to do anything and everything. To young lifters especially they can be seen a a 'quick fix' to get the quick results they crave. The truth is sipplements can never replace a good diet. The body prefers whole foods and they are actually absorbed better than supps. Combining a good diet with supplements is recomended and will give you the best results.

Replacing meals with supplements will
be of no benefit. Being on a healthy diet
and encorporating supplements within
that will get you the results you want.

Basic Supplements such as; Whey Protein, Creatine, Flaxseed oil definatly deserve there place in a muscle building diet

7) Spot Reducing Fat



Unfortunatly it is imposible to spot reduce fat from a specific area of your body. Fat is burned through cardio and a clean diet. For example, doing crunches will not burn fat off your stomach, however a 30-45 minute cardio session will burn fat throughout the whole body including the stomach.

8) Changing the shape of your muscle


Every individuial is born with a different body and muscle structure. A typical example would be someone who has 4 visable abs at their leanest, hoping to create an '8-pack'. Although you can make your muscles bigger and more visible through weightlifting it is actually impossible to for anyone to reshape any muscle.

'Ben Noy' Top UK Fitness model. - Genetics decide the shape of your abs, training can only increase the size of the muscle.

Team Swench - #BackDay

So today we were once again at G&A Fitness in Sheldon, Birmingham! smashing out a big back session!

Here's todays workout:


We always start with pull ups, just to get the blood flowing through the whole back and to get warmed up! We did 4 sets of around 12-15 reps.

Next was Deadlifts! We cant stress enough how important deadlifts are to your Bodybuilding/Strength routine. A big compound movement which works your entire body. We went with more of a strength workout today: 5 Sets of 5 Reps.  We tend to mix up the rep range over a few weeks and then one week we'll just do single reps to just max out and hit some pr's!

Deadlifts tend to be a noisy exercise!!

On to some rows next!



Seated Row - 4 Sets of 8 Reps


Rowing movements are essential for your back development. Today we went with the seated (weight-Loaded) Rowing Machine. Keeping your chest right up against the pad removes any momentum, and lets you get that full stretch and squeeze on every rep.

Underhand Rows - 4 Sets of 8 Reps


We like to get some underhand rows into our routine as the change of grip activates your lats much better we feel. Although it will bring your biceps into the movement slightly.

 

Lat Pull Overs - 4 Sets of 8 Reps

We find that not a lot of gyms actually have this machine. It gives your lats a really good stretch and workout. You can do the same exercise with dumbbells, however I feel it puts a lot of stress on your shoulder joints, and because of previous shoulder injuries we prefer this machihne.

              
Lat Pull Downs (Close Grip) 4 Sets of 8 Reps

We finished with some Lat Pull Downs. We went with a close grip hand placement today. Remeber to keep your back straight on this exercise. Leaning too far back will cause your bodyweight to assist in the lift.






             

                                                    And here's our back development so far!

Getting To Know Team Swench: Scott Sawyers

Scott Sawyers:


Stats:

Age:  23
Height:  5 ft 10
Weight:  13 stone / 83kg
Favourite Colour:  Black, Red
Favourite Food:  Steak, Eggs
Hometown:  Birmingham
Music:  Hip Hop, RnB, House
Hobbies:  MMA, Gym, Nando's :)
Films:   The Godfather, Apocalypto, Dead Presidents
Idols:  Anderson Silva, Arnold Schwarzneggar, Phil Heath




How did you get started bodybuilding?


Around 2 and a half years ago i weighed around 14 stone and was out of shape (none of that weight was muscle either). I wish i had a picture so you could see the difference. I went on my first boys holiday and realised how self-conscious I was as I never took my top off once. I came back and joined the gym straight away.  I used to go every morning by myself before work and eventually started transforming my body. Now im the same weight I was when I was out of shape but with around 10-12% less bodyfat and a lot more muscle. It gave me a massive confidence boost and made me who i am today. I took up MMA training along the way, which I loved and started competing in aswell. This pushed my fitness through the roof! I'm now a fighter at Fearless MMA (Amateur 1-0 and Semi-Pro 2-0). Check out the previous blog post on Fearless MMA for more info.




















What's your diet like?


I put on fat quite easily so i keep my diet as clean as possible in the week and tend not be as strict on the weekend. Thats assuming im not cutting weight for a fight. I keep carbs quite low and just aim for high protein in every meal. I'll try and get the majority of my carbs in before 2pm. I keep my diet basic as i find its easier to prepare meals that way, so it mainly consists of Eggs, Chicken, Steak, Fish, Brown Rice, Veg and sweet potatoes.




Top Three Exercise:


Deadlifts: I've always done deadlifts from day one. Simple and effectitve and will push your strength through the roof and are a great mass builder. My 1 Rep Max at its best was 225kg at 80kg bodyweight, so not too bad.

Incline Dumbbell Press:  Best exercise for the chest in my opinion when done with correct form. Since doing this instead of flat db bench my chest has improved dramatically. It really makes the upper chest pop out.

DB Shoulder Press:  Shoulders used to be my least favourite muscle group to train. However nowadays my shoulders are one of my best bodyparts and thats due to dumbbell presses.







Dreams and Goals?:

Me and Shiro have been friends since his birth as i went to his moms nursery! After training for a while we realised we worked really well as a team and people regularly would stop us in the gym (and still do) to ask us stuff, so we started up Team Swench with the aim to help as many people as possible. My aim is to turn this into a succesful business (Personal Training, Gym Clothing) and i would love to be able to get to the point of opening our own gym one day. Maybe a bit of Fitness Modelling along the way aswell. And with the MMA side of things, i eventually want to fight professionally and take it as far as possible. Keep posted for info on my title fight this december!




Twitter: @Scott_sawyers
Instagram: Scott_swench



Getting To Know Team Swench: Shiro Miller

Shiro Miller:


Stats:

Age:  21
Height:  6 ft 1
Weight:  13 stone / 83kg
Favourite Colour:  Blue, Gold
Favourite Food:  Steak, Jerk Chicken
Hometown:  Birmingham
Music:  Hip Hop, RnB
Hobbies:  Gym, Gym and ermmmm Gym
Films:   The Wood
Idols:  Victor Martinez






How did you get started bodybuilding?

I was real skinny as a teenager, I started messing around with some weights that my dad had in our garden. and actually started buidling a bit of muscle. After a going on holiday to malia in 2010 I came home and joined the gym with scott and the rest was history. We trained hard and I literally blew up within 7 months, and have continued to improve my physique ever since.




Before joining a gym. Probably around 10 stone.



At Around 13 Stone





  







What workout routine has worked best for you?

I've tried all sorts of workouts, rep-ranges etc. but i think ive had the best gains with a normal 5 day split. a typical bodybuilding routine giving each muscle group a seperate day to train. for example this is what we currently do:


Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Legs and Forearms
Wednesday: Shoulders and Traps
Thursday: Arms
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Back
Sunday: Rest

I keep my rep range around 8-12 although some weeks we'll completely switch it up and do 3-6 reps and even single reps on big compound lifts as more of a strength workout.





Bent Over Rows



Incline DB Press




















Whats your diet like?


I pretty much eat as much as possible everyday! I eat around 6 meals a day. Im lucky to have a very efficient metablosim as i hardly put any fat on, yet im still constantly gaining muscle, good genes i guess! I keep my diet high in carbs (Pasta, Rice, Potatoes) and protein (Eggs, Chicken, Tuna, Steak, Pasta). If im having a cheat meal i like a pizza now and again!






Your Top 3 Exercises?



Bent Over Rows (Underhand Grip) - i feel like this exercise has added some nice thickness to my back while also hitting my lats reallywell due to the underhand grip. i like to go heavy as possible whilst keeping good form.

Barbell Curls (EZ Bar) - I like doing these with strict form, getting that good strecth on the bicep at the bottom of the rep and a nice squeeze at the top. Definatly the exercise that has got my biceps growing!

Deadlifts - I've got a love/hate relationship with these. i hate doing them as there such an intense exercise when done properley however i can't deny that they've helped a lot with my back development, mass and thickness. Also its increased my overall strength which obvioulsy helps with all my lifts.

Dreams and Goals?

I aim to be one of the top male Fitness Models and live the lifestyle. Photoshoots, magazine covers etc, to travel the world competing and being featured in magazines would be a dream. And then of course Team Swench becoming a succesful PT business , and eventually opening my own gym. I'd also like to get into normal modelling aswell at some point.



Twitter: @ShiroMiller_
Instagram: _shii





Welcome to Team Fearless MMA....

Post By Scott Sawyers:

As much as i have a passion for bodybuilding, right next to that is MMA. I train and fight out of Team Fearless MMA, Birmingham.

"We believe that exercise is not only about improving your fitness and well-being, but also about being part of a team that drives you to achieve your goals. This is why at Fearless MMA, we offer top of the range exercise facilities delivered by expert coaches and instructors who have excelled in there chosen fields" - www.teamfearlessmma.com



The gym has all the facillities that you need for MMA and fitness training:



. 24ft Pro Fighting Cage
. 2 x 50ft Matted Area

.  Top of the range weight   training facilities

. Muay Thai
. Olympic Freestyle Wrestling

. Submission Wrestling

. Circuit Classes

. Womes only Martial Arts
. Kids Classes and much, much more!





Team Fearless is located in the Jewellary Quarter, one of Birminghams most central and prestigious spots.

The head coaches are brothers Kaish and Kamby Banger:


Kaish Banger


Kaish began training at the age of 16 and has now been practising Muay Thai for over 18 years. he boasts an excellent record of 18 Professional Thai Fights with a record of 13 wins and 5 losses. He has also held the WKN Lightweight Title and has represented Great Britain/Englad numerous time at home and abroad.


Kamby Banger

Kamby has won the british title three times as well as numerous area and English titles (Olympic Wrestling). He also captained the Great Britain Cadet Team to the World Championships where he ranked in the top ten. Kamby was also invited to wrestle with the US Wrestling Camp and has trained with Olympic Champion Kendall Cross

Both have extensive knowledge and their approachble and humble manor makes them top coaches, proven by their own success and the success of fearless students.



Amrit Kumar (Muay Thai Instructor)



James Samuda (Fearless MMA Fighter)



Scott Sawyers (MMA Fighter) Alongside Head Coaches Kaish (Left) and Kamby Banger (Right)



Fearless Wrestlers After Competetion

 

 

 After training at quite a few gyms, Fearless MMA is right at the top of the list. The gym boasts a great family atmosphere with no egos, just hard constructive training, great coaching and teamwork. in this enviorment its impossible not to progress reach your goals! Also with so much upcoming and already established talent coming out of the gym in Thai-Boxing, MMA and Wrestling the only way is up!


Special mention for Fearless Fighter Tom Breese as he will be fighting for the Bamma Welterweight Title this december! Currently holding a 5-0 Professional MMA Record (All 1st round finishes) and a Semi-Pro record of 8-0 hes one of the UK's top prospects.



Bamma 10 - Breese vs Magee

Twitter: @Breese0121

www.teamfearlessmma.com



#TeamSwench - Twitter Q&A

 “@KamdenP: @Team_Swench it’d be good to know what the mass building moves are…. The one move you can’t miss in your session?”

Here’s a rundown of our favourite exercises and ones that we consider essential to building muscle:

                                                                       Deadlifts:

We’ve always done deadlifts since we started lifting. There great for your lower back and hamstrings however and as it’s a compound movement they really work all the muscles in your body. I also believe by doing deadlifts you create a good overall strength foundation and in turn that will obviously help with all your other lifts! we use all different rep ranges when it comes to deadlifts, switching between 8-12 reps as a hypertrophy workout and then sometimes we drop to just 3-5 reps and even singles on more of a strength/powerlifting workout. 

                                                             Incline Dumbbell Press:

Although we mix it up with barbells, dumbbells and machines I would have to say we’ve seen the best results since focusing on incline dumbbell press. Really works the whole chest, but emphasises on the upper part, and really brings out the upper chest nicely (great for those low cut t-shirts!!). Make sure to keep the arching of your back to a minimum as this take the 'incline' out of the exercise.

                                                   Smith Machine Shoulder Press

As we’ve both had shoulder injuries before, we’ve stuck to the smith machine when it comes to shoulder pressing. Now our shoulders have recovered we throw in some dumbbell presses as well. The smith machine just stabilizes the weight more reducing the risk of injury, while still giving your shoulders a good workout. Just remember to work all heads of the shoulder throughout your workout to maintain a balanced shoulder muscle which will reduce to likelyhood of picking up an injury.

                                                                      Squats

If you want that complete physique it’s a must that you train legs and to put it simply, you can’t beat squats when it comes to training legs. There the king of leg exercises and once again as a compound movement it works your whole body, again creating that strong base for you build on! Squats tax all the muscles in the legs – quads, hams, glutes and even calves. They also strengthen the hips and lower back.

                                                         Underhand Lat Pull Downs

We’ve also switched from doing regular lat pull downs and switched the grip to underhand. This does bring your biceps into it a bit more but it activates the lats much better in our opinion and will help in getting those wide lats we all want!

                                                                      Pull Ups

We’ve always started a back day with pull ups. they get the blood pumping through your muscles. Using different grips and hand widths you can hit your whole back, and especially the lats. It’s a great exercise for back width and general strength.

Honourable Mentions:

Bent Over Rows (Back)

 EZ Bar Curls (Biceps)

 Close Grip Bench Press (Triceps)

Arnold Press (Shoulders)

As always this is only our personal choice. They key to bodybuilding is trial and error. Everyones body works in different ways. your body may respond to an exercise much better than someone elses would, so its essential that you try different things and find out what works for you.

Dont forget you can contact us by, E-mail, Twitter, Instagram and on here, so feel free to get in touch with any questions requests etc!