The side plank is a great core exercise as it forces the lateral stabilisers of the body like the oblique’s and glutes to work hard to maintain stability and alignment through the body. When you swap sides it will also highlight any deficiencies or weaknesses that may be present from side to side. 

The Snatch is one of the Olympic Weight Lifting movements and is in my opinion the most technical single move that you can perform with a barbell. It is built on the foundations of the overhead squat and although it can be taught safely to beginners with the right instruction, I’ve marked this as an advanced exercise as you should have some level of strength and experience with resistance training before giving it a go.

The broad jump or standing long jump is an introductory plyometric exercise that can help improve explosive power. Although it is introductory plyometrics, I’ve categorised this as being advanced because you need to have some strong legs to control the landings for this one. You should already be very comfortable squatting and should be able to at least squat your own bodyweight before considering this as an explosive power exercise choice. 

The walking lunge is a fantastic lower body option for improving leg strength in a manner than transfers to many life and sporting contexts. The nature of transferring weight from one leg to the other through periods of being on only 1 leg for support mimics exactly the demands of walking and running. Good lunging technique and strength will help you walk, run, jump and generally be a lot more stable through your lower body.

The deadbug is a great core and ab exercise when executed with correct technique and control. It is a good starting point for raising awareness of the core and a neutral spine as you have the floor to brace your back against and use as feedback. Take care to use slow controlled movements and you can integrate the breath as you move too to learn how the breathing can help create tension and stability around your spine.

The box squat has a variety of uses within a training program. I most often find myself using it when teaching beginners to squat with the barbell but they struggle to get the same depth as when using a kettlebell for goblet squat. It gives you a target to sit onto and to make sure you hit depth meaning that you develop consistent technique but also have the extra confidence of the box to aim for. Start the box at the height you can get to comfortably and as your skill and confidence grows, take height off the box so that it gets lower over time. Once you can consistently hit your required squat depth then you can take the box away and try free back squat.

As the Scottish Government unveils it's 4 phase approach to lifting lock-down restrictions, it looks like gyms and the leisure industry will be the hardest hit. 

Will we be allowed back into our beloved gyms before the end of the year?

The Push Press is a full body explosive lift. You can start to handle heavier weights overhead which gives greater overload than you might be able to achieve with just shoulder power alone. It also gives the opportunity to develop rate of force development as you skilfully try to accelerate the weight overhead! If you are an overhead or power-based athlete then the overhead press is perfect for improving power. It is essentially a more advanced version of the strict press and so is a great skill to start to develop to take your general strength training to the next level. Make sure you have mastered the strict overhead press before attempting this. It is a staple for Weightlifters to improve their overhead strength but it is also very useful for developing power that will transfer into jumping and throwing based movements. 

:With the current situation surround Covid-19, many regular gym goers have built makeshift home gyms are embracing home workouts with minimal equipment.

Will this enthusiasm last and will the home gyms become a hanger for clothes, disused as we slowly transition back to normal?
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From my discussions with many of my current personal training clients, I’ve discovered a few key themes: