Posts in “Top Tips”
Compound Exercises – What’s the big deal?
You might have heard about compound exercises or movements and thought to yourself, “what’s so special about these exercises?”, “what’s the big deal?”. In this blog I’m going to explain what a compound exercise is, what the benefits of focusing on them are, and what my favourite compound exercises to build a workout around are. […]
Read articleCan fitness apps be as effective as a personal trainer?
A recent BBC article posed the question “can fitness apps be as effective as a personal trainer?” In this article there was a discussion on the use of new fitness apps over face-to-face 1-to-1 personal training with a human instructor. Now of course I believe that personal trainers are more effective than existing fitness apps, […]
Read articleKeeping well over Winter
Over winter we all get little sniffles, colds and illnesses that make the already chilly weather and dark evenings that much more miserable! As much as calling in sick, wrapping yourself in blankets and whacking Netflix on sounds like a dreamboat, if you’ve already gotten yourself ill, even this winter pastime can be ruined. So […]
Read articleA Personal Trainers Guide to…gym lingo!
Here at motive8 North our personal trainers welcome a wide range of gym goers, but we’re probably best known for helping gym newbies become gym pros… At some other gyms there’s a tendency to assume that everyone always knows what the gym lingo is…reps, sets, DOMS, intervals, HIIT…it can get very confusing. With that in […]
Read articleHow To Improve Your Bench Press
Ahhhh the humble Bench Press – an often overlooked and under-used lift. When the Personal Training team listed their favourite lifts, this was not one of them! Why? Because of it’s complexity – do you arch your back, how do you breathe, where should your hands be….and so on. And it’s for this reason, it […]
Read article5 reasons you can’t lose weight
Here at motive8 North, we help people work towards a wide range of goals with one of the most common being weight loss. Most people have struggled with losing weight at some point in their lives…sometimes people struggle to initiate weight loss and sometimes people struggle to ‘keep it off’. And it’s our job to […]
Read articleKnow Your Numbers! – Blood Pressure awareness week (6th – 12th September)
Often, when experiencing high blood pressure, people experience no symptoms. This could result in the first signs being something major such as a stroke or heart attack. Usually the only way to really know you have high blood pressure is to simply check it… which is something you probably don’t do too often, right? With […]
Read articleHow to improve your Deadlift
We love a deadlift here at motive8. They are a great functional move and we would encourage people to not be scared of them! Whether you’re a beginner or a dab hand at them, there are always ways to improve your deadlifts. Technique Tips For someone new, it’s all about a hip hinge and not […]
Read articleNutritional Myths Busted
A couple of Friday’s ago, the personal training team got together for their first staff training session since the gym reopened. We like to use these sessions for open discussions about…well….anything fitness related really! On this occasion we looked at nutrition. Everything from recommended portion sizes, how much protein we should be eating, to food […]
Read articleThe Ultimate Guide To Reading Food Labels
‘Don’t eat packaged foods’ is a common piece of advice, but it doesn’t have to be that way! Trying to remove packaged foods from your diet will put yourself under unnecessary stress by limiting the level of convenience in your diet. Trust me when I say this…long term diet success DEPENDS on convenience. Whilst it’s […]
Read articleEat Your Way To Hydration
With the recent heat wave, it is clear how easy it can be to become dehydrated pretty fast. Whilst staying hydrated is important, keeping up with your water requirements can be challenging! However, becoming dehydrated can result in severe adverse effects, after all it is the most important nutrient and one we cannot survive without. […]
Read articleNot all personal trainers are created equally
Here at motive8 North, our team of trainers provide a professional, reliable service that help you get the results you deserve…but not all personal trainers are created equally! Having spent over 10 years training clients, and almost 20 years training in a range of gyms, I’ve put together a short list of some things that […]
Read articleAlternative tips for good health
So, most our gym members and clients know that I (Emily) live bit of an alternative/hippie/spiritual/holistic lifestyle outside of the gym. And most of my clients will tell you how I incorporate a holistic approach to training sessions and how it benefits them. Here at motive8 we are also interested in good health. Good health […]
Read articleReturning to Gym Based Exercise
We previously blogged about getting back into the gym after the very first lockdown. Whilst we’re excited about the return to gym based exercise, this time it’s a little different. Let’s face it, we had Christmas and New Year, a couple of days in the gym and then boom – lockdown 3. Three months later, […]
Read articleSimple Standing Stretches
Stretching. We are always saying you should do it, but why? Stretching is such an important part of fitness: it can help improve your range of motion, increase blood circulation, help reduce the risk of injury, improve posture, reduce muscular tension, is good for managing stress and the list goes on. Plus, it just feels […]
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