Thom Hemp - TH Fitness

I feel absolutely distraught and angry at the same time. After spending many years in Afghanistan in the military and then as a private contractor, I lost many friends and colleagues, and even more left a part of them out there. Many suffer to this day with PTSD and the horrible events encountered.

Don't get me wrong, there was some great times and some heart warming differences made, I experienced the good, the bad, the ugly and the absolutely horrific events the country had to offer, almost losing my own life several times.

Words just don't describe some of it and people find it hard to believe what actually happened.

But why and exactly what did we achieve after so much sacrifice.

I feel for the women and children of Afghanistan and my prayers are with them.

To my friends and colleagues on the way out...keep the head down and safe travels.

That look you give when someone doesn't rerack weights. SWIPE for what goes through my head 🤣😂.

The gym is a lot of things. It is an amalgamation of sweat, hopes, and ego. It is both therapeutic and anxiety-inducing, the sounds of steel clianking, machines whirring, laughter and grunts with some pop singer screaming over a beat that has more bass drops than seconds in the song, it's a place for everyone and a place where everyone is accepted.

I don't know why but it still shocks me how people do not clean up after themselves or rerack weights.

Is it entitlement, lazy, selfishness, disrespect to staff and other members or just lack of common sense?

Thankfully the majority of members in do clean down and rerack, so I just wanna say thank you, you are the best.

P.s. Your mf set isn't done until the weight is returned.

What does physical fitness mean to you?

Five unanimous components of physical fitness are cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and body composition.

Do you favour one element more than the others?

At present I am not the biggest I've been, or the strongest or even the fittest. But I am not solely concentrating on any one element like strength, or bodybuilding, or my endurance. I am really enjoying more of a hybrid mix and feeling fit. I am enjoying the cardio but still lifting heavy.

My concentration is on a nice balance of all elements and to be able to carry out tasks that will be required of me without any undue fatigue.

I want to be that person you would be happy to see kicking the door in when you are in trouble. 🤣🙌

A great weekend was had 💙

Back to it 💪🚒

Training 🔥 and Training 💪

Fantastic day was had with the boys to finish a great weekend.

Back to action tomorrow very content 🙌

Hope everyone managed to get lots of Vit D and hugs 💪

Training for aesthetics versus strength?

You have to decide what you want to be, what your goals are, and your training has to reflect that.

But for most people, their goals are to look good and be able to say they can lift pretty heavy weights. If you don't have priority for either of the two (you don't care for aesthetics more than strength and vice versa), which should you focus on first, and for how long?

If you’re more interested in muscle than strength, you might train hypertrophy and strength at a 3:1 ratio (for example, 6 weeks of higher-rep training followed by 2 weeks of lower reps). Reverse this ratio for a greater emphasis on strength development.

Where you will find the two approaches differ however, is that when training for aesthetics you will put an equal amount of focus on training secondary, isolation exercises whereas strength trainers will only focus 20% of their time on “accessory” exercises.

The key difference between the two approaches however is when it comes to dieting.

To build a solid physique requires three components, training, nutrition and recovery. There are multiple ways to approach all three aspects but all are required in some form when building a physique.

To get stronger once you are past the beginning stages of training will usually require a caloric surplus, this because greater the more advanced you get in your training which unless carefully planned and executed, will lead to excess fat gain.

The main issue I have with training for aesthetics is that it tends to be a younger age group who are missing out on the benefits of having optimal hormonal levels and making accelerated progress in terms of strength and muscle mass.

If you just start training and immediately go into having a specific arm day then you are literally wasting the most anabolic period of your entire life.

In my honest opinion until you are at an advanced level, training for strength is training for size to a large degree, pump work will do nothing if you can’t handle challenging loads. The bodybuilders you see doing pump work are still pressing 6 plates total at a minimum which is significantly more than your average joe.

Training for aesthetics versus strength?

You have to decide what you want to be, what your goals are, and your training has to reflect that.

But for most people, their goals are to look good and be able to say they can lift pretty heavy weights. If you don't have priority for either of the two (you don't care for aesthetics more than strength and vice versa), which should you focus on first, and for how long?

Well if you’re more interested in muscle than strength, you might train hypertrophy and strength at a 3:1 ratio (for example, 6 weeks of higher-rep training followed by 2 weeks of lower reps). Reverse this ratio for a greater emphasis on strength development.

What's your preference?

Definitely part of the parish now 🤣 should I dust off the football boots 🙈

But if you want local communities to support your business...then support local communities 💙

Theory and Practice. Where do the two meet? Do they rarely intersect?

Here we are at the half way point with . Check out the post but it got me thinking as during this time we have closed a business, opened a new business, got the gyms running again, I started a new career, juggling a new born, a 7 year old and many other obstacles.

Now unless you train high performance individuals who's jobs are in sport, fitness or athletics, or someone wants to commit to a show or competition your clients are people, with real stresses.

For example - after progressive overload the next buzz word is periodization (OK maybe its calorie deficit 😅) but a proper periodized program requires little to no breaks, and the following are a few realities of personal training.

People get sick
Peoples kids get sick
Work gets busy
Family joy or crisis happen
Holidays happen (maybe not so much at the min)
Etc. Etc.

All of these things can lead to lack of adherence, lack of sleep, poor nutrition and time away from training.

You got to remember you are in the service business and your job is to help remove stress from your clients lives.

Don't get me wrong, there is a time when you have to call people on there bu****it, and be brutal and I am all for that 🙌🤣

Every minute someone leaves this world behind.

We are all in the “the line” without knowing it.

We never know how many people are before us.

We can not move to the back of the line.

We can not step out of the line.

We can not avoid the line.

So while we wait in the line…

Make moments count.
Make priorities.
Make the time.
Make your gifts known.
Make a nobody feel like a somebody.
Make your voice heard.
Make the small things big.
Make someone smile.
Make the change.
Make love.
Make up.
Make peace.
Make sure to tell your people they are loved.
Make sure to have no regrets.
Make sure you are ready.

Just chilling in helmand province ready for what Afghanistan has in store...

New career, new journey, new challenges, new business venture...i couldn't possibly do it all if I didn't have an amazing team, friends and family 💙.

But it all means nothing if I can't take my friends and family along and give them the best possible opportunities.

Something always has to give in the beginning and that was my training, I have been absent from the gyms the last 4 weeks but slowly coming back as my new routines settle and I cant wait to share our new venture with you all (its caused a lot of hair loss 🤣)

But I am happy enough with my starting canvas (body Shape) to work on...those sporadic sessions have helped maintain a little...time to build again.

What an amazing day...welcome back to all our members . 🧡🖤

Tomorrow I fade into the background a little and become a a recruit again...

..but the gyms will still move forward and progress with some huge projects as I have an amazing team around me.

Here is to the next chapter...

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.