LEARN AND GET INSPIRED WITH PROATHLON

Before I start, post workout muscle soreness is not an indicator of a good workout, nor is it a sign that you are increasing muscle mass and getting stronger.  Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is the soreness you feel after training and is caused by microscopic tears in the muscle cell. It is common for the soreness to kick in 12 hours after training and can last on average 72hrs (but sometimes longer). [...]

Gone are the days of legs bums and tums classes & endless boring cardio. More and more women are turning to weight training to build muscle and increase strength and it’s great to see. We’ve been preaching this for years. Watching our female members gain strength, muscle, competence at lifting and confidence in the gym is one of the many reasons I love my job. If you are new to weight training or [...]

HIGHER ENERGY LEVELS, REDUCED BLOOD PRESSURE & IMPROVED BODY COMPOSITION CAN ALL BE OBTAINED IF YOU CREATE THE FOLLOWING THREE HABITS... Don’t worry, I am not going to bore you and talk about calorie counting, nor am I going to promote a magical supplement.  All I am going to be talking about is basic habits around hydration, meal patterning and snacking.  Which, in my opinion should be the foundation to how and when [...]

  Attention all PROATHLON members and followers. Here is the next warm up flow for phase 4, 2024, small group personal training, specifically for all whole-body weight training sessions. The warm-up flow is as follows: https://youtu.be/0ZuGSgkyM-s Rotational squat x 5 Technical sit down Sit & reach into full body bridge x 2 Reverse straight leg sit-up into glute bridge, into knee into straddle x 2 Technical stand up Repeat the above on [...]

You’ve just started exercising, you’re highly motivated and have a ‘LET’S DO THIS’ attitude. So you decide to go from not doing any exercise to training 5+ times per week. You hobble from one workout to the next thinking more is better until training begins to falter. Possibly because you keep getting sick or aren’t sleeping so well. Your appetite has changed, and one minor injury has suddenly turned into a series of [...]

Breaking the Cycle: Why Yo-Yo Dieting Doesn't Work and How to Overcome It In the quest for rapid fat loss, many individuals find themselves ensnared in the cycle of yo-yo dieting. It's a familiar tale: embarking on a restrictive eating plan, experiencing initial success, only to rebound and regain the lost weight, often with added pounds.  Our world is constantly speeding up and we expect the human body to respond in the same [...]

What do muscle mass and your pension pot have in common? Quick answer = the bigger the better (*no you don’t need to be a body builder) Age-related muscle loss, called sarcopenia, is a natural part of aging. After age 30, you begin to lose as much as 3% to 5% per decade.  Less muscle means greater weakness and less mobility, both of which may increase your risk of falls and fractures. But [...]

You jump on the scales and hey presto, 2 lb down, smiles all around. The following week, you weigh in and you’ve gained 3 lb. disaster. All that hard work wasted and you throw in the towel. Sound familiar?  If changing your body weight is the goal, the best thing to do is zoom out.  Weight loss is NEVER linear. It will be up and down like the Nemesis at Alton Towers. If [...]

The Pros and Cons of Fasting: Is It Right for You? In recent years, fasting has gained significant attention as a potential tool for improving health, promoting weight loss, and even extending lifespan. However, like any dietary practice, fasting comes with its own set of pros and cons, and whether or not it's suitable for an individual depends on various factors including their health status, lifestyle, and goals. In this blog post, we'll [...]

Consistency over time is key to improving your health and fitness long term. Using the 7-day average method is a great way to stay on track, keep you feeling positive and motivated. Let’s take step count for example. A high daily step count (or high non-exercise activity thermogenesis if we are being geeky) is an important contributor towards fat loss/weight maintenance.  Let’s say you are targeting 12k steps per day. The problem with [...]

GOAL SETTING TO SMASH 2024 It’s Blue Monday - the most depressing day in the calendar year according to Sky Travel. Are they right? Well this sudden drop in temperature certainly does’t help. Personally, I’m excited about the year ahead and that’s mainly because I have set my goals for the year and have a vision of where I want to be by December 2024. If you’re feeling a little blue about the year [...]

Learn how to abdominal crunch  The abdominal crunch, a popular core exercise we often see botched. People perform crunches way too fast with not enough control and because of this they often end up doing hundreds of reps.  We rarely programme above 3 sets of 6 reps. So check out our coaching points and video tutorial below and you’ll be crunching like a pro. Perform abdominal crunches on a stability ball instead of [...]

CORE BLIMEY! 3 core exercises you should be doing ABS…yes abs are the subject of todays rambling. Whilst we all love, or hate the A word depending on where we’re at on our journey. We all kind of want them, in some way, shape or form. Wether it’s a rippling 24 pack like PT Gav or a cute flat back like Simon ‘Ikea’ Jackson. But do not fear, this isn’t a post about [...]

Sleepless in The City  Fingers crossed you catch this post after a a solid 7+ hours of good sleep in the growth chamber. If that’s not the case, never fear the Proathlon Blog is here.  Sleep, that sometimes elusive necessity that we can neglect, or against our will have it stolen from us like the muscle mass that was taken from us during Hyrox training. With all of the magic potions, secret hacks [...]

How’s your blood sugar looking, Zoe?  So, the new craze is well and truly upon us! If you haven’t seen an advert or a human with a yellow patch on the back of their left arm, it’s time for you to leave the house and get some fresh air!  Zoe is a new ish, and quite excellent continuous blood sugar monitor/education tool. Backed by top investors, it really has taken off…just like your [...]

PROATHLON take on Hyrox London! What is it? Hyrox is a new “ish” functional fitness / endurance competition that is taking the fitness industry by storm. The founders created it so that the everyday gym goer…yes you and I, can have a measuring stick to check our progress and strive towards. It’s long and enduring as you might have guessed and can take between 1 hour (if you’re very quick) up to 2-3 [...]

6 exercises to improve posture ‘Stand up straight’, ‘Stop slouching!’, alright mum, calm down! Yes, it’s annoying, but to be fair, none of us really want to walk around looking like Quasimodo. So, stand tall Esmeralda and let’s crack on! As humans we sit more than ever and of course many of us have it built in with our work lives but fear not. There is a way to exercise and build lean [...]

What type of progress is more important to you; Immediate progress that’s less easily maintained, or maintainable progress that may not be as rapid? Society has driven us towards wanting things done quickly, done efficiently, done NOW. This is great for productivity and profit but, when it comes to the human body (both physically and mentally) fast isn’t always better. The 12-week transformation is both popular and big business in the fitness industry. [...]

PROTEIN SHAKES. ARE THEY NEEDED? Important note to begin with team; You don’t need to get your protein from a supplement to increase muscle mass. Protein dense whole food sources like meat, poultry, eggs, and even some nuts are all great protein sources that we will always recommend. That being said, how many of us leave our gym class or personal training session and can quickly consume a well balanced high protein salmon [...]

Quick and convenient are two words that pop to mind when we think of breakfast, especially during the working week. It’s no surprise that two slices of toast with butter, porridge or cereal tend to make up a large percentage of what people eat for breakfast. They’re quick, convenient and cheap. But these ultra processed, carb heavy, protein low breakfast options are not fuelling your day optimally, nor are they what we recommend [...]

Keep it simple. Keep it simple. Keep it simple. Repeat. It’s simple! It’s Wednesday afternoon and I’ve just had a great discussion with PT Ryan and class member/everyday hero Sandeep. Typically Ryan was getting geeky with Sandeep about his hip hinge but Sandeep was more excited to tell us how great he’s been feeling recently. I remarked that he’s been very consistent and he agreed. He’s managed to attend lunchtime class at least [...]

I’M INJURED - SEE YOU NEXT MONTH? So, I’ve broken my toe and heavily bruised the rest of my left foot. I love running most days and I can’t play my sport for 4-6 weeks. Send help, this could get ugly.. Don’t worry, less ugly more beautiful here. Just because I can’t squat, lunge, put more than 25% weight through one of my feet, it doesn’t mean I can’t train. I could sit [...]

Holidays are on the horizon. It's bikini and boardies time. The desire to workout and eat well is strong. The countdown is on, it's time to look and feel our best! The holiday arrives - we feel awesome about ourselves ... but how many of us stop exercising as soon as we get there? What a waste! Keep it up! I absolutely love exercising whilst I'm on the road. Whether it's travel for [...]

Stiff back, sore neck, tight shoulders?  Try out these 3 locomotion drills - with practice we promise they will help you move and feel better. Locomotion drills strengthen the whole body and really engage your core. They especially work the shoulders, back and legs. An increase strength and range of movement can alleviate pain and discomfort in those areas.   Look a bit crazy?! Believe me your body will thank you for doing these [...]

BEAT LATE-NIGHT SNACKING We all start the day with good intentions - what we’re going to eat and what we’re going to avoid. We know we need to be good to reach our goals. Yes to eggs, no to the croissant. Yes to the water, no to the diet coke. Yes to the veg, no to the crisps. But often when you get home you’re tired. It’s been a long day, You’re a [...]

Using tempo and creating time under tension is so effective for increasing strength, muscle mass and overall performance. We know the feeling. The set is 10-12 reps, and we’d love to get them done as fast as possible. It feels great to rack up the numbers and hit those targets without a shake or a wobble. The truth is, for certain training styles that is totally fine and effective, so why do we [...]

We're excited to show the world our new gym and state-of-the-art training facility near St. Paul's, London. Over the past few weeks we have undergone some changes. A facelift if you will, and no, we aren't talking about the addition of Mitch's shiny teeth. We decided we wanted a new and more energizing appearance and we’ve had our eyes on some new gym kit! So we set an attainable target, stuck to our [...]

OBESITY – OVER FAT AND UNDER-MUSCLED? Almost three quarters of people aged 45-74 in England are either overweight or obese. (Health survey conducted in England 2021) This probably won’t come as much of a surprise, but what other changes are associated with this increase in fat mass? Are we over fat and under-muscled? A hormone associated with muscle growth and maintenance is testosterone. It is produced in the body in response to [...]

MOOD BOOSTER - 5 WAYS EXERCISE HELPS YOU FEEL BETTER Exercising when you are highly motivated is easy (if only every day was like this). It’s the days when we are tired, stressed, too busy or just cant be bothered that really challenge our decision to exercise. So next time you have one of these days (and we all get them) approach your workout from a different angle, with the aim of [...]

A New Physiotherapy Clinic Opens at PROATHLON A new physiotherapy clinic, Life Physiotherapy, has opened here at PROATHLON, offering a full range of holistic physiotherapy services for busy City workers in and around EC4 and St Paul’s. The clinic offers expert help for spinal injuries, back and neck pain, sports injuries and recovering from surgery, as well as providing acupuncture and treating headaches and migraines. Roberto Colombini, who owns Life Physiotherapy, has [...]

Six Ways to Manage Stress To help us manage stress it’s useful to understand the autonomic nervous system and its two component parts, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.  The autonomic nervous system is a system within our bodies responsible for largely involuntary bodily functions like digestion and heartbeat. “Fight or flight” When we experience stress, the autonomic nervous system is activated and the sympathetic nervous system triggers a “fight or flight” [...]

What is small group personal training? We think our small group personal training programme is one of the best in London. We also think the level of coaching you’ll receive is miles better than your average 1:1 personal trainer.  Yes, you could say we are biased but, we have our reasons. So let us bring you up to speed with what small group training actually is… WHAT IS SMALL GROUP PERSONAL TRAINING? [...]

Why power training is important, whatever your age - and how to get started If you’re struggling to run for the bus or your legs are shot to pieces after walking up the escalator, then it would be a good idea to incorporate some power work into your training. There are many benefits of power training, and it's something that we encourage everyone to build in to their training with us, whether [...]

Why are steps important for weight loss or fat loss - even if you work out. When we start a new fitness or fat loss plan, our first thought is usually to increase the number of gym sessions or classes we attend each week.  And that’s a smart strategy: more exercise = burning more calories, and if that results in a calorie deficit, hey presto, weight or fat loss occurs. But what many [...]

How much water should I drink each day? The human body is approximately 60% water and the health benefits of staying hydrated are well-documented:  Improved energy and brain function Lower blood pressure Better skin and hair Relief from headaches and even constipation. Let’s face it, we all know water is good for us and we all know we should be drinking it...  However, studies have suggested that many people are actually chronically dehydrated. [...]

You are on a fat loss mission and you’ve started well. You’re 3 weeks in and you’ve started to see some changes in body shape and some movement on the scales. But, you have a big social event coming up in two weeks, all of your friends are going to be there who, you haven’t seen for ages. You know it is going to be an indulgent night, you want to enjoy yourself [...]

What are the benefits of Vitamin D? The clocks have gone back - winter is officially here. Sadly we now have less sunshine each day and therefore less chance to top up our Vitamin D levels. How to get more Vitamin D Vitamin D is synthesised by the body in response to sun exposure. Research suggests that the majority of people are chronically deficient in vitamin D because they rarely get full body [...]

3 simple steps to improve your posture We all know that sitting down for long periods of the day is not good for posture. Standing desks are a small improvement, but even when standing for long periods we tend to shift and slump. Enter a global pandemic forcing millions of people to work from home in poorly set up work stations and less overall physical movement and it’s no wonder that shoulder and [...]

10 strategies to help you get better sleep. You need approximately 8hrs of uninterrupted sleep everyday. Fact. If you are getting less than 8hrs and waking up more than once per night then this is an area of your lifestyle that needs improving. Lack of sleep can: Drive up inflammation within your body. Inflammation is something you do not want more of as it can aggravate other conditions and diseases. It can also [...]

Part 2 – Digestion The digestive system is complex. We could write pages and pages of detailed information, which would quite frankly bore you to tears. Instead, do a simple assessment of your digestive health and then follow our basic tips to improve your digestion, day in, day out for a number of weeks and see if this makes a difference. For the majority of our clients it works. Assessing your digestive health [...]

In this 3 part series of Get Healthy, we talk about the foundations to good health: breathing techniques, digestion & sleep. Before you read on, understand that all 3 areas are closely linked and can easily affect one another. Part 1 – Breathing I know what you are thinking. I breathe, If I didn’t I would die. So why do I need to read on? Well, It is how you breathe that we [...]

IN-PERSON, ONLINE & ONDEMAND We are super excited about reopening our doors on the 27th July and can’t wait to welcome you all back into the gym. It’s time to turn 2020 around, focus on you, your health and finish the year fitter, leaner and stronger. Our number one priority is to #protect all members and staff. We have gone above and beyond the guidelines set out by Government and UK Active [...]

Have you ever wondered why despite training in the gym 3 times per week consistently for 5 years, nothing ever changes? You switch up your program every few weeks, follow the routine, but there is no progress. It’s quite likely that you may have overlooked the single most important factor in getting positive results from your training - progressive overload. You can have the perfect training program, with all parameters optimised for obtaining your [...]

Get equipped with the best kit for home workouts. See our space saving recommendations and options to suit all budgets below: Dumbbells A pair of adjustable dumbbells will give you the biggest bang for you buck. This versatile bit of kit is our number one recommendation for home gym equipment. Depending on your budget we would recommend the following... On a budget? Go for a pair of adjustable dumbbells with a screw pin collar [...]

Weighing up which is the best gym near St Paul's for you and your training needs? Here are some of our members explaining the benefits of being part of PROATHLON. We are really proud of our members and the feedback we receive from them as we continue to push the limits with fitness, strength and nutrition. GET FIT. GET LEAN. GET STRONG.

For those of you that have been asked to work from home it is likely that your step count and daily movement will be severely reduced. This is going to leave you stiff and immobile. To combat this we have put together some simple hop mobility exercises incorporating 4 hip stretches and 1 movement flow for you to run through each day. Stretching is also great for activating your parasympathetic (rest & digest) nervous [...]

With so many health and fitness apps, products & services on the market it can be hard to know which one piece of fitness tech you should own. Sleep apps, mindfulness apps, DNA testing, blood work, heart rate variability (HRV), the list goes on. All of these products and services are effective; they focus the consumer’s attention on their health and fitness, with the hope that the user makes positive lifestyle changes. This can [...]

Are you getting enough fibre in your diet each day? We recommend the following fibre intake: Women 30-35g per day Men 40-45g per day What is Fibre? There are two types (both are important): Soluble fibre Relatively indigestible, water-soluble carbohydrates found in plants that undergo metabolic processing to enhance bowel health. They include: Oats, dried beans and peas, nuts, barley, flax, fruits like oranges, bananas and apples. Vegetables such as artichokes and carrots. Insoluble [...]

Short on time, have no equipment but need a full body workout? Then look no further. Try our FIT hotel room workout below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBcNZZKcI2M ROUND ONE 1 Slow jog 2 Shoulder tap press up/ shoulder tap kneeling press up/ kneeling shoulder tap press up 3 High knee jog at 60% 4 Double lunge double squat 5 Sprint 10s each at 80%, 90% & 100% 6 Travelling front support 7 Hop to [...]