Visit to the pyramids anyone?

How do you like your pyramids?  Ascending?  Descending?  Complete?  What am I talking about I hear you cry?!

As we near the end of yet another month, I thought I'd stay in line with Mash-up May for this week's blog and make the most of it before we move into June's theme.

 We all know that exercise can become a little bit tedious sometimes, the workout you once loved may now fill you with dread, you might have reached the inevitable plateau, or you might simply be looking for a new way of training.

Have you tried pyramid training?  Pyramid training can be a really effective way of training to increase your strength, improve your muscular endurance and for increasing your muscle mass.  Our muscle mass decreases with age so it's really important to increase / maintain it for as long as possible.

First of all, don't panic when I start going into fitness instructor talk about pyramid training - it's suitable for all ages and abilities, and I use it with all my clients from time to time.

 The three basic pyramids are ascending, descending and complete.  Let me explain:

 Ascending:
- You start with a light weight and gradually increase to a heavier weight with each set
- As the weight increases, the number of repetitions decreases
eg;
1st set of 12 repetitions
2nd set of 10 repetitions (increase weight)
3rd set of 8 repetitions (increase weight)

 Descending:
- You start with a heavy weight and gradually decrease to a lighter weight with each set
- As the weight decreases, the number of repetitions increases
eg;
1st set of 8 repetitions
2nd set of 10 repetitions (decrease weight)
3rd set of 12 repetitions (decrease weight)

 Complete:
- A combination of ascending (weight increases each set) and descending (weight decreases each set)
eg;
1st set of 8 repetitions
2nd set of 6 repetitions (increase weight)
3rd set of 4 repetitions (increase weight)
4th set of 2 repetitions (increase weight)
5th set of 2 repetitions (decrease weight)
6th set of 4 repetitions (decrease weight)
7th set of 6 repetitions (decrease weight)
8th set of 8 repetitions (decrease weight)

 Points to note:
- the weights you use will depend on your own individual training needs and experience (you can even do some exercises with no weights)
- always take a short rest between each set
- there is no conclusive evidence as to which pyramid type is best, go with your  own personal preference
Running pyramids:
You don't have to use this method solely for resistance training either, I quite often use it for running sessions, eg:
- I run 6 laps of a playing field, rest, run 5 laps, rest, run 4 laps, rest, run 3 laps, rest, run 2 laps, rest, run 1 lap
- As the number of laps decreases, I increase my running speed and also increase my rest time so that I have more recovery time in-between
- As with the resistance training examples above, I can do a session where I either decrease my laps each time or increase my laps each time or do a combination of the two.

 If you need to spice up your training then why not give pyramids a go.  This is a very basic overview so if you need more information then please get in touch.

 Get out there, make the most of the last week of Mash-up May because this time next week we'll be in 'Joyful June'.

 #mashupmay
#joyfuljune

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