Spring is on the horizon, despite the snowy weather, and as we know keeping up with your exercise regime can prove quite tough when life (and snow!) is getting in the way. As the old saying goes, however ‘Summer bodies are made in these winter months’ and so it’s vital you keep up with it. Aiming to get everyone off the sofa and into their trainers, global shoe brand Deichmann has teamed up with personal trainer and fitness expert Charlie King from MTVs brand new body transformation show ‘Beach Body SOS’ and ‘The Only Way is Essex’, where he has been helping co-star Gemma Collins kick start her fitness/exercise journey. Knowing how excuses can get in the way of exercise, here he is to bring you his ‘FIT TIPS’ and matching the correct footwear in order for you to get the most out of your exercise session.
Charlie says: “Over the last year I have personally changed my training regime. I was getting injury after injury lifting heavy weights and then having to take time out of the gym to recover. I knew this was my body telling me to give it a rest. It’s important we listen to our bodies and treat them with the respect they need. Obviously I wasn’t about to give up exercise full stop so I decided to investigate different exercise methods which could still help build/maintain muscle but also take off the high impact heavy weights were having on my body.
Firstly I decided to train doing compound exercises. Compound meaning an exercise that engages two or more different joints to fully stimulate entire muscle groups and, indeed, multiple muscles. Examples of compound movement are exercises such as squats, lunges, deadlifts, chest press, shoulder press, pull-ups and kettlebell swings. Exercising with this method has numerous advantages: You burn more calories throughout your workout, because more muscles are working. They allow you to get a full-body workout in less time. This also links in to time management. Those excuses of not having enough time just won’t do. They key is, if you are short of time, focus on those big muscle groups and trust me you will see the benefits.
Compound Exercise:
Bench Press – Barbell or dumbbells. 3 sets of 10-12 reps Medium weight. (I have 15kg each side). 2 minute rest between sets. Chest/Shoulders.
Pull Ups (Body weight or assisted) – 3 sets till failure. This may mean you get 10 out on set one and 2 out on set 3. The idea is to build strength at your maximum level. Rest 2 minutes between sets. Biceps and back.
Squats – Barbell. Start light, practice good form. The perfect exercise to build strength in the legs and all body. Think about your breathing and engaging your core when squatting. Breathing is very important. 3 sets of 10 reps 2 minutes rest between sets.
Lunges – Body weight, dumbbell or barbell. After squats, lunges are great to build individual strength on the legs, keep those glutes fired and build solid quads. You will be slightly tired and sweaty by now so try 3 sets of 8 reps on each leg resting 2 minutes between sets. Do 8 reps on each leg before changing.
Shoulder Press – Final exercise of this regime, back to upper body and a great exercise for working these shoulders. Grab a pair of dumbbells (I opt for 12kg) My tip is to give the triceps a good squeeze when the arms are fully extended so you are working arms and shoulders. Bring the weights back down just below shoulder level and then drive up again for the rest of the set. 3 sets of 8-10 reps 2 minutes rest between sets.
The Nike Downshifter 7 are one of the most comfortable I have ever worn. They are supportive for my feet which is really important for me because;
a) I have quite curved high arched feet which is not ideal
b) To drive weight properly (i.e. when squatting), you need a good pair or trainers which soles are flat to the floor for execution of movement and stability.
These trainers offer that and I actually feel I can put that little bit of extra weight on my bar knowing my feet are fully supported.
Running:
My preferred choice of cardio is running. I switch it up weekly by changing the techniques of my run. Sometimes I enjoy long endurance runs where I can go for 10k and focus on pace, change of scenery and clearing my head. Other weeks I head onto the treadmill and do interval sprints which means I’m constantly increasing and decreasing my heart rate which is great for burning those calories, working on my fitness and building my speed.
An example is running at speed 10 as my minimum speed, then increase the speed to 15 for 30 seconds before taking it back to speed 10. My other style of running is Sprints which is a more impactful, exhausting style of running. This means for a required distance I max out my absolute speed and power, then stop regain my breath for 1/2 minutes and repeat the process for the required time I choose. I tend to do this style outside in a park using benches or trees as posts to sprint between.
My favourite is to run long distance, I have quite a busy lifestyle so getting a good hour in once a week is a great way to have some time for myself, work on my fitness and just take in my surroundings. If you are new to running my tip is to take it steady. Start by power walking in a park for example and adding little 2 minute intermittent jogs throughout. This is a great way to build your endurance, fitness and won’t be too stressful. If you haven’t run for a while or ever as such, it’s important to keep in mind the stress on the legs so stretching, warming up and cooling down is vital. It goes without saying that footwear is important and getting the right trainers that are comfortable, resilient, light and supportive are key components to helping you keep that running up and progressing.
The CK Racer Mens Trainers are perfect for my runs. Training inside or out they are robust, cushioned for different impact from road surfaces to treadmills and give my feet the support they need. The main thing with running is you do NOT want your feet to rub to the point where you get blisters. Make sure you get the right size. I would always try to fit into a 8.5 but truth is I’m a 9 and I buy all my trainers in a 9 now. It’s funny but when I wear a good pair of trainers my performance is so much better. I like to be fashionable and colourful when I exercise and so these really are the perfect pair.
Keep in mind when choosing your cardio/aerobic exercise of choice that running is great for numerous reasons it’s a great way to use the aerobic energy system to burn calories and increase your heart rate. Plus, hill running, beach running, running on uneven surfaces are great ways to build agility, co-ordination and strength in the legs. Start by going to your local park once a week for 30 minutes and walk, jog, walk jog … Before you know it you will be signing up for the London marathon!
HIIT Training:
I’m a big fan of the infamous HIIT workouts these days. HIIT stands for High intensity interval training. This method of exercise describes a workout which alternates between high intense bursts of exercise for a set time, followed by less intense workouts or a rest period.
For example, try running as fast as you can for one minute and then walking for two minutes. Repeat that three-minute exercise five times for a total of 15 minutes. Sound easy? Don’t be fooled, this highly-effective way to burn the fat and stay toned will be the best thing to add into your workout. To begin with, HIIT is very time-efficient and will mean that no matter what your schedule is you can get your exercise in – whether you want to squeeze in a workout during your lunch break, or are more interested in using your time more wisely outside of the gym. Research shows you can achieve more progress in a mere 15 minutes of interval training (when done three times a week) than jogging on the treadmill for an hour. It’s documented that just two weeks of high-intensity intervals improves your aerobic capacity as much as six to eight weeks of endurance training.
Not only do you burn more calories during a HIIT session, but the effect of all that intense exertion kicks your body’s repair cycle into hyperdrive. That means you burn more fat and calories in the 24 hours after a HIIT workout than you do after, say, a steady-paced jog. Most people aren’t used to pushing into the anaerobic zone – that lovely place where you can’t breathe and you feel like your heart is trying to jump out of your chest – but in this case, extreme training produces extreme results. Further recent studies found that after eight weeks of doing HIIT workouts, individuals could bicycle twice as long as they could before the study, while maintaining the same pace.
High knees, fast feet, or anything plyometric like jumping, lunges work just as well to get your heart rate up fast. In fact, some equipment like dumbbells can make HIIT less effective because you want the focus to be on pushing your heart to its max, not your biceps. When doing my HIIT sessions I include mountain climbers, high knees, burpees and squat jumps. Anyone who ‘s been on a diet knows that it’s hard to not lose muscle mass along with fat. While steady state cardio seems to encourage muscle loss, studies show that both weight training and HIIT workouts allow dieters to preserve their hard-earned muscles while ensuring most of the weight lost comes from fat stores. In addition to increased fat burning and more muscle preservation, HIIT stimulates production of your human growth hormone (HGH) during the 24 hours after you FINISH your workout. This is great news since HGH is not only responsible for increased caloric burn but also slows down the ageing process, making you younger both inside and out! Start saving the cash on that expensive eye cream and invest it in a good pair of trainers.
The Adidas CF Racers are my go to trainers for my HIIT sessions. Because of the of HIIT sessions and the variety of exercise, its really important to have a flexible trainer. With burpees, mountain climbers you need to get a good bend in the foot with comfort, with the jumps and explosive movement you need the cloud foam cushioning and of course for sprints, rows etc you need a trainer with a good sole and grip. I find the Adidas Neo extremely comfortable and supportive for what I put them through. On the image side of things they are pretty eye catching to wear and I feel confident and pretty cool wearing them.
I like to do my HIIT sessions solo and I strongly suggest you do it this way too. This is because HIIT requires focus and is all about maximising your effort and keeping on track with rest periods. If being done correctly, you will not have the ability to speak in the rest zone so chat to your friend once the 15 minutes is up. So all that’s left is to look at your current fitness regime and see where you would like to fit your HIIT sessions in. I opt for Tuesdays and Thursdays so I can do my resistance training on the other days.
A tyical HIIT workout I would do is:
20 seconds of Burpees, 20 seconds high knees, 20 seconds crunches and 20 seconds press ups. Rest for 1 minute and repeat 3/4 times. Simple, effective and be prepared to sweat.
Charlie King stars in MTV Beach Body SOS, Wednesdays 8pm on MTV. His fitness focus has enabled him to work as a fitness columnist for Gay Times, complete the Men’s Health 6 Week Challenge, launch the London 10k with Help for Heroes and participate in Maximuscles Home of Gains. His Instagram is @charlie_king85 and his website is www.charliekingfitness.com