Zach Fraser Fitness

Client Spotlight: Ilenia (the Sicilian sensation)

Ilenia came to me wanting to lose weight and didn't know where to start, she found herself going to classes at the gym but didn't know where to go from there. She worked long days on her feet and was tired after.

✅We created a training plan that she could do outside of the classes to provide her some freedom with training and to build her confidence in the gym.

✅We implemented more consistent meal times and after a short period, her energy levels were higher.

✅Ilenia was able to drink, and go out for dinner weekly while LOSING 8KG so far!

Ilenia's journey continues and an expression of hers I want to share is "Everything is better with a smile". She smiled all the way through her sessions and I think is a key part of her success.

Are you going to the gym and are a bit lost? Have you started doing classes but don't know what's next?

DM me and find out what you can achieve!

Client Spotlight: Ayren

Photo 1 is Ayren's fantastic 10kg weight loss and photo 2 is his current bulking phase.

Ayren came to me looking for structure and accountability as he felt he wasn't progressing in the gym.

He felt he was spending too long in the gym and wasn't seeing progress.

Initially, we started spending less time in the gym and making more progress than he had in years.

He got super strong and built muscle, which he enjoyed so much that he asked for an extra training day, he would then begin a PT course of his own shortly after.

Ayren is an example of what you can achieve if you are driven to achieve a better body composition and confidence in the gym (not bad for an almost 50-year-old ay?😜).

Want to see what you can achieve? DM me to find out

Leg press cheat sheet:

Firstly I apologise for this looking like I finger-painted this graphic.

🔻Foot position matters when it comes to leg pressing and squatting. Although all the leg musculature will be stressed during any stance the above shows you how to bias certain areas.

🔻Wide feet, such as a sumo stance are often misinterpreted as more glutes and hamstrings, however, a hip width stance and high feet should be adopted on a leg press.

Low feet hip-width stance is best for overall quads.

For the nerds let's talk about why:

🔻Although a wide stance creates the sensation of squeezing the glute max and shortening it, there is less shortening compared to a hip-width stance. Furthermore, a wide stance decreases your range of movement = less lengthening = less glute bias/muscle growth.

🔻For example, all the best glute focussed exercises take place in a hip-width stance: Hip thrust, RDL, Lunge, Bulgarian split squat, and Step up. So your squat/leg press should be no different. Side note - Hip flexion/ hip hinge is also important for these movements.

🔻Quad focus is far easier, more ankle dorsiflexion (toe up) and greater knee flexion = more range of movement for your quad = more quad bias/muscle growth. Wide feet cause the inside of your thigh to go through a longer range of movement and narrow feet cause the outside of your feet to go through a longer range of movement = more bias/muscle growth.

The internet can be confusing on this subject, so save this post so you can spice up your leg press. Let me know if this helped you.

Summer Upgrade:

Have you been training for some time and feel like you’re stuck in a rut or not making as much progress as you want? I want to help you.

I want to provide you with the 12 weeks of coaching to upgrade what you get out of your training. Something that answers all the questions I had when I started and removes the second-guessing.

You will be able to achieve all this without:
Sacrificing your social life
Demonising food
Doing endless cardio

Give me your best effort for these 12 weeks and I will provide you with the rest to upgrade your physique, confidence, and knowledge to continue making great results after this time.

The best part? I am offering this hybrid plan (a mix of online and in-person) for a reduced price.

Want to know more? Fill out the application in my bio or send me a message with ⬆️in it.

Talk soon,
ZF

How hard should you train?

This is often debated, however leaving 4 reps in reserve (RIR) is the minimum you should be leaving to consider it to be a "hard set"

The closer you go to failure the more fatigue you may accumulate.

I recommend 1-2 RIR as this will ensure you maximise your adaptations.

Be smart about the exercises you choose to go heavy on - if it scares you to go heavy, then don't try going to failure on it.

Are you training hard enough?

DM me if you need that extra push to upgrade your exercise routine and ensure you are getting the most from your workouts, and specifically every set.

Female (at least I spelled it right here) Fat loss is a bit more complex, so tracking it needs to account for this.

Don't let the scale weight put you off, instead only compare on a 4 weekly basis to get a true understanding of your weight loss.

Don't let a fluctuation stop you from achieving your fat loss goals.

Be patient and trust the fat loss process, just like Emma continues to do and see results.

If you need help creating a calorie deficit alongside this don't hesitate to get in touch and talk about how you can reach your goals, my dm's are always open.

All you have to do is start...

You don't have to have the worlds best fitness or nutrition plan, this would most likely be overwhelming

Take that step to make a small change such as:

🔻2-3 exercise sessions a week
🔻2 fruits/veggies per meal
🔻2-4k more steps per day
🔻Sleep an extra hour
🔻Increase your protein intake by 30g
🔻Drink 2 more glasses of water

Once you have mastered one or two add another.

This is often the early stages of seeing progress and it is what joseph has been doing for the last 4 weeks and he's noticing the difference. Big changes coming in the near future...

Try this for yourself and see how this helps you reach your goals.

❗️P.S 1 more week to get your application in for my next intake of 1-2-1 personal training, message me to find out more❗️

Client Progress: Andrew

🔻Andrew came to me looking to make a habit of going to the gym 3x a week, to build muscle and to strengthen his lower back as his dad suffered with back pain.

During the 12 weeks Andrew:

🔻Built confidence - he confidently walks between equipment and is comfortable performing every exercise.

🔻Built muscle - he now has a "vanity t-shirt" (the first t-shirt he started to feel tighter round the arms).

🔻Strengthened his lower back - technique was mastered before increasing his deadlift by over 30kg with much more to come.

🔻Andrew now looks to progress by himself and keep this routine he has built. He turned up and smashed every work out and will continue to progress towards his goals.

🔻Unlike previous attempts to reach his goals, he now has a plan that he knows will get him results and has new found confidence in the gym.

If you are in a similar place to Andrew 12 weeks ago, get in touch and lets work together to reach your goals.

Lets talk about Heel lifts/Squat wedges

Try squatting as low to the ground as you can right now. Now try it by going on your toes and lifting your heels. You will probably feel way more comfortable and be more upright if you didn't fall over...

Put simply, raising your heel gives you temporarily more ankle mobility, allowing your knee to travel further over your toe. Notice the angle of the wee dragon on my sock🐉.

This allows you to have:
🔻A deeper squat, without lower back rounding
🔻A more upright posture
🔻A more quad-dominant squat

If you have poor ankle mobility or you want any of the benefits from above, use a small plate (2.5kg) under your heel or ask to borrow my squat wedges.

Want more help with training/nutrition? get in touch today!

Read more for terminology:

Reps: the number of times you perform the movement one after another

Sets: Blocks of reps, separated by rest periods

Follow this easy self-adjustable way to progressively overload your lifts and get stronger and gain muscle.

As you progress you may only be able to increase the weight on one set, choose your last to prevent fatiguing.

Now I know you are probably shocked that I don't have my ass out since I am talking about b***y gains, butt (hehe) it doesn't make this any less true.

Kicking back is a poor stimulus for growing the b***y and it is hard to increase the difficulty through extra weight to keep making progress. Do these instead:

Glute bridge - Puts the b***y under the most strain when you're squeezing at the top (shortened muscle position), which the other exercises on this list don't do. It is important to do both!

Squat - Push the hips back a little more as you descend for a little more b***y activation. Maintain a straight back though!

Romanian deadlift (RDL) - Bend the knees slightly more than when focussing on hamstrings alone. This means the b***y gets involved more. Don't push hips forward all the way at the top to keep the b***y under tension.

Walking Lunges - A lean forward will force you to use your b***y more throughout the movement. Make sure to push with the front leg and not the back.

Add two of these to your leg workout and see how you get on!

If you enjoy an exercise make sure you do it. I will always push myself on bench press and its one I really enjoy.

Split squats are a great exercise that I rarely do because I try and get out of doing them when they're on my gym session.

A variation of a movement may be the very best for activating a muscle group, however, similar exercises won't be a mile off and I guarantee it won't impact your results massively in the long run.

BUT

There are exercises that are a waste of time. Even if you enjoy them, don't put your effort into them.

Please stop pulling a cable through your legs. Yes, you can feel your bum but that's because you are squeezing it. The resistance does not line up with your glutes very well and that results in the weight not adding much tension onto your glutes. Tension is important for muscle growth.

Go do a hip thrust if you want to grow the b***y.