The Lissom Technique is the truly innovative creation of two exceptionally gifted specialists in human movment and part of the Balance strength and conditioning team Julien Diaz & Jason Prog.

Lissom is a free flowing movement technique that encompasses a combination of simple but challenging moves and stretches to build core strength, flexibility, balance and endurance.  The movmements used in Lissom stem from movments which have been in use for centuries through dance, martial arts and most importantly play. Lissom takes technicaly difficult moves and breaks them down into managable and enjoyable routines.

The Lissom technique  has been born out of the need to challenge both the physical and mental elements of our bodies.  Our bodies are designed to move in a free flowing and dynamic way, yet in todays society we have become very rigid in our movements as a result of the computer generation.  

Using body resisted exercises is both physically and mentally challenging.   It is this type of movement which really challenges the body’s stability and coordination and strength.  Using precise techniques to achieve good alignment through movement brings fluidity, stability, flexibility and strength.  Overall, there is a feeling of body empowerment, liberating your body and mind. 

There are two Lissom classes at Balance at 7am and at 7pm every monday, please call to book or for more information.

Introducing the WarMachine for the ultimate in “3D bodyweight training.”

Jonathan Lewis, Cj Swaby and Ricardo Abreu will be sharing their expert knowledge and experience of how to get the most from this exciting piece of kit.

They will go through basics of press, pull, legs, trunk and combined, compound movements  before “pulling the pin” and meeting the challenge of rotational control.

There will be plenty of tuition and group work using the WarMachines so there will be plenty of time to practice and ask questions to learn how strength, endurance, and power are delivered with balance, control and flow.

 Cost is £35.

For those that decide they can’t do without CrossCore’s Pulley Suspension System in their lives £35 will be discounted from the cost of your WarMachine.

 But we’re not selling time shares! You don’t have to buy one! Just as use of the WarMachine is increasing at Balance Performance gym  you will start finding War machines across London and UK so if you want to get the maximum from them this workshop is unmissable. 

Call 02076272308 to book a spot or call Jonathan with your questions on 07960 861 267.

Look forward to seeing you there,

Regards

Jonathan.

 www.crosscore-USA.com

http://bit.ly/ijyJKr

Chris Chirsalys - professional circus/sideshow performer

This article was written by J.P. Brice. Co-inventor of the War Machine Suspended Pulley Trainer by CrossCore, Inc.

Bodyweight training. It’s been around forever. But as the sports of bodybuilding and powerlifting really started to evolve in the 50’s and 60’s, we became fascinated with big, shiny, “muscle specific” machines and training with massive amounts of weight. Bigger was better, especially in the 80’s when I began lifting. Well, I will always have a deep passion for bodybuilding and heavy weights. It’s just who I am. But, now that I am almost 40 with three bulging discs caused by all the years of heavy squats and shrugs, I now tend to put longevity first when I train. After all, big muscles are really only temporary, but your tendons, joints and skeletal system are forever and you’ve got to take care of them.

Nowadays there is a growing focus on getting back to the basics. By basics I mean bodyweight training, tire flipping, kettlebells etc. I personally think the recession the past few years has had a lot to do with this. Lets face it, lifting your own bodyweight is pretty affordable compared to a rack of dumbbells. But at the same time I also think that we are all realizing after sixty years of huge leaps in fitness equipment technology, that good old fashioned basics can often give you the same desired end result, if not better.

Today some of the most popular bodyweight training routines include suspended straps. Some are made from two separate straps and some are joined together in a Y configuration toward the top near the anchor point. There are many great attributes of these straps such as allowing us to workout at many different locations, giving us a wide range of exercises that can isolate each muscle or combine many in the same movement…including the beloved “core” we all hear about these days. Straps give us a variety of multi-planar, compound exercise movements that tend to be much easier on the joints because they compliment the body’s natural mechanics. I have to be honest, as a heavy weightlifter of over twenty five years, I first laughed at these straps. I thought, “These don’t weigh 500 lbs….what use could I possibly have for them”. After I was able to shove my ego to the side I soon realized the benefit bodyweight training could offer even me. I now incorporate bodyweight training into my workouts and all my shoulder pain has gone away and my back is much better than it used to be.

Now that I have covered why I personally think bodyweight training is making a comeback and what it has done for me, let me put a different “spin” on things. Imagine adding a 3rd dimension to bodyweight training with suspended straps and even gymnastics rings. An improvement of balance through imbalance. The 3rd dimension I speak of is by way of adding a pulley to these straps that now gives your presses, pulls and everything else you did before, “rotational movement”! Because rotational movement now allows you to train one side of the body at a time or both together, any limitations your bodyweight training routine had before are now totally gone. The balance this improvement creates and the mind-muscle awareness you gain in your form and overall functionality is incredible. Rotation is also great for telling your weak side it had better quickly catch up with the dominant side. I know, my fellow weightlifters out there are still skeptical. But hold on, I’m getting to the icing on the cake for you. The implementation of the suspended pulley also allows you to attach counterweights to one side. These counterweights can range from kettlebells to weight plates. I like kettlebells because they balance perfectly when being hoisted on a pulley. The isolation exercise capability via freeweights (curls, tricep extensions, lat rows, etc.) is now just like being at the gym and the single pulley transfers all the actual weight to the handle so not much weight is needed. If that wasn’t enough, resistance bands can be used in place of the counterweights to give the user even more resistance versatility, not to mention a whole slew of different cable attachments that can be used.

This new “hybrid” concept in bodyweight training equipment is sure to please the beginner all the way up to the elite athlete and I’m convinced it is the future of many exciting things to come in our industry. Now get out there and do the “iron cross” on those rings…but this time with rotational movement!

J.P. Brice
“Life’s A Battle…Prepare For War”
www.crosscore-usa.com

The WarMachine is available in the UK and throughout Europe from Balance Performance shop. Click on this link and take a look: WarMachine

A few examples of the versatility in bodyweight training that the Pulley suspension system of the WarMachine offers personal trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, bootcamp providers and anyone else who likes to take their physical training outdoors. Free flowing, fluid strength, conditioning, speed, power and endurance.

interested in future education workshops in pulley suspension training across Europe? go to http://www.warmachine-europe.com

want to buy and your from UK/Ireland? you can go direct to the product page: War Machine http://bit.ly/ijyJKr

Outside of Europe and want to know where you can find the WarMachine near you? go to http://www.crosscore-usa.com

Director and Sports Injury team physiotherapist Graham Anderson is now installed in Delhi for a month for the whole of the event and currently setting up the medical clinic for the welsh team. graham is no stranger to event sports injury management with 4 Commonwealth and 3 Olympics games to his name. Fortunately Balance has depth in its team and breadth of experiences that span the sports, performance and professional spectrum so whilst we miss Graham dearly we are not left short of expertise.

Graham in Delhi ahead of the athletes to set up medical clinic

Meanwhile Raphael continues his work in athletics, Fran with cyclists (running our joint Cycling and Fitting clinic at CycleFit Covent Garden) and Paula as author of Running Repairs obviously has many runners beating a path to her door. Of course we dont just work with those engaged in our “specialist” sports area and everyone on the sports injury team sees the countless number of combat athletes that come to our London facility. Including our team of athletes on the “Fighters Development Programmee” (Brazilian Ju Juitsu, Boxing and MMA all represented )

Saturdays 1.30-2.30pm – cost £10

Location: Strength and Conditioning Studio @ Balance, 113 Gauden Road, Clapham North, Lambeth, London, SW4 6LE.

This Saturday Balance is very excited to have boxing back on our timetable of quality physical training sessions. This is not boxercise, cardiokick or any other fitness industry invention – this is boxing.

Boxing training, apart from being a useful way of improving boxing skills is excellent for overall health and fitness,  conditioning for other sports or disciplines, develops agility, co-ordination and confidence.

The coach is Dennis Ricketts who has been involved in boxing for 25 years and is enthusiastic as ever about the sport and what it offers its participants (whether they have a desire to compete or not). As an amateur he was Royal Navy Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion.

Dennis holds credentials as an ABA Coach, Professional Boxing trainer/second and has additional knowledge and experience in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Dennis will also be available for personal boxing training before and after the class.

We have known Dennis here at Balance for many years as he has been a regular user of our gym and studio, giving our heavy bag a serious pounding and putting significant mileage on our speed rope.

Any questions give us a call – 02076272308.

MMA Bay arranged a Q&A session on their forum with Michael Bisping, I logged on and asked a question on strength and conditioning. http://tinyurl.com/pb3lgx

There is also a training video on the Industrial Strength London website http://www.islondon.co.uk

We havent gone live with our online Physio retail shop as yet but we still stock a bunch of things to assist people through the early days of sports injury or back pain episode. Then onwards through rehabilitation and ongoing maintenance then you get onto strength and conditioning (at home or an independent gym facility for the best results).

The Power Wheel is an awesome piece of fun…Steff fo

und this review of the power wheel… http://tinyurl.com/awkq3f

Steff contacted us via Twitter, if Twitter is something you use follow Balance at http://twitter.com/BalancePhysio

power wheel pike

We see a lot of martial artists and combat athletes at Balance. Men and women from different clubs across London have either searched on google and discovered us or they have heard from friends that not only do the physiotherapists at Balance have an in depth understanding of movement and therefore all sports but also that the strength and conditioning team employ moves that integrate all of the ground, stand up and transitional work required to be a well grounded athlete. Without good quality movement and efficient mechanics all the strength you believe you have in your kick, punch, throw, clinch, hold, pin, roll, elbow, knee, lock, guard or mount is wasted.

A strength and conditioning coach’s job is to drive your physical status/integrity high enough to cope with the specific demands of your sport or art.

A good strength and conditioning coach will unlock your potential but its the technical coach who will make you execute your sports moves more effectively.

We often see poor technique at the root of an injury (even if it was traumatic) so we encourage our clients to make special efforts to work with a good coach who can break down and analyse specific technique to the same degree as we do with athletic movement in general.

Combat Sports/MMA kicking seminar

Nicky Carter (WBC World Thai Boxing Champion, Thai Boxing Coach) with coach Phill Ireland (Double English Thai Boxing Champion -6 x World Stick-fighting Champion -Level 3 Fitness Trainer -3rd Grade Doce Pares Black Belt -Thai Boxing Coach)

It was great to hear from Phill Ireland, Thai Boxing and Doce Pares (stick fighting) coach, that he was putting on a “kicking seminar”. Phill is not only an excellent combat sports coach  (he has coached national and world champions) he breaks down technique in an understandable way, so this workshop is highly recommended!

Contact Phill directly for further details:

“Hi, well we have another exciting seminar running

Kicking Seminar

5th April 2009 at 1pm-4pm and cost £25.

Acacia Fitness Centre, Dartford, Kent

A specific kicking seminar to help you all improve your kicking technique as it can be tricky to get it right.

We will cover low kicks, body kicks, high kicks, teeps and variations of them all.

Places are limited so for more information or to book your place call me on 07967963309
Phill Ireland”

I remember the joys of cross country running at school; moving with heavy loads across boggy, rocky, steep, treacherous terrain as a Royal Marine; and tackling the mountains of British Columbia as an adventure racer. All far more honourable and interesting than a city marathon road run – but that’s just my opinion!

So I was particularly impressed watching the Edinburgh Men’s 8.9km Cross Country race on Saturday afternoon and the speed the runners sustained around the Holyrood Park course , even whilst tackling the steep inclines at the foot of Arthur’s Seat, and also against strong winds. The winner, in 26:51, Ethiopian Abebe Dinkesa,  produced a phenomenal kick at the beginning of the last lap that left the world class runners that led up till then in his wake and unable to catch up.

What the winner did requires, in addition to his in-built running talents,  leg strength, strength and power endurance. Such qualities are necessary in all running based sports and activities – so that would include almost everything – and also all stand up sports and activities – that would include almost everything else.

So whether its cross country or marathon, hockey or thai boxing getting strong and powerful legs that can keep on producing the goods over an extended period of time should be a goal.  But its not about leg extensions and hamstring curls, or going to Body Pump once a week.

Running practice, practicing strength/strength endurance, practicing power endurance and a lot more running practice whilst being strong and powerful is required (as opposed to only steady pace running). For other sports – practicing your sport in an intelligent structured way is what will improve specific elements within it.

The tools and methods you use will determine the magnitude of the results you get based on the amount of hard work you do, the discipline you show and the recovery strategies you employ.

These are the most effective tools for the task of leg strength, endurance and power:

• Hill sprints – leg and trunk strength, anaerobic power, aerobic recovery. You don’t need to live in Wales to do this and it isn’t about a run that has inclines on the route.

• G-trainer intervals – this treadmill is the ultimate tool for running based intervals. Leg strength, power and over speed training way beyond what can be achieved conventionally.

• Kettlebells - strength, power endurance training without the joint stress and providing a far greater stimulus to your body than running alone. Why not barbells or dumbbells? The kettlebell, when used correctly, demands that you accelerate against resistance and decelerate the resistance and do so repeatedly. Add the angles used, the total body involvement and the synchrony of effort in the hip, pelvic girdle, trunk (core), and shoulder girdle found in kettlebell lifting and you have much more of a stimulus for athleticism than any other form of resistance training.

• using your own bodyweight to develop strength and power is essential. It allows you to move freely, unencumbered, change speed and the overall emphasis of the drill rapidly, increase the complexity or simplify the moves you are using instantaneously to reflect what you are trying to achieve. For metabolic conditioning you might want to use movements you are very familiar with, to improve your movement skills you need to employ challenging movements. Either way bodyweight training whether ground based, stand up, hanging or transitions from one to another are needed to be a better athlete.

• Flexibility and movement training – being flexible can NOT make you stronger! I hear many people saying. But it simply doesnt matter how much weight you can lift, or tension you can apply if the range of movement you can use it over is limited.

hope all this makes sense…let me know if you have any questions and contact me via the contact page.