John Lark

I thought that might grab your attention. The truth is that there is NO secret to what personal trainers use in within their personal training methods.

The truth is that the application of these methods will differ from individual to individual and this is the key to success in any fat loss programme.

We also believe in training with intensity, constancy of purpose and a clear vision of where you want to be. We are not interested in tyre kickers or persons afraid of placing an honest effort into the programme.

Our personal training system follows the following route:

1) Start Line

It is important that any personal training system has a results based approach. It sickens me to see personal trainers ‘wing it’ with their clients seemingly guessing what they should be doing – all under the pretense of making it ‘fun’ and enjoyable. Our enjoyment comes from seeing results and progression. For this to happen our personal trainers will record body composition, visual changes and structural balance. If a complete profile is required we look to taking bloods for a comprehensive look at the body’s systems.

It is also at this stage that your personal trainer sets your goals and then more importantly matches behaviours to take you to those goals.

2) Flexibility

Our personal training system is based on a corrective approach to the body. Tight muscles are located and a specific and tailored personal stretching programme is implemented. Our personal training clients often feel an immediate difference in their flexibility with the techniques we use.

3) Anabolic Activity

Our focus here at Sphere Personal Training is to focus on exercise that will stimulate, invigorate, bring balance and create an environment for development, growth and strength. Most of our clients who come to us for personal training come to us through frustration at lack of results. Normally they are cardio junkies, pounding the roads every day.

The problem with this is that it is stressful to the body, often too stressful. Hormonal imbalances are created, metabolism is floored and energy levels hit rock bottom. We aim to flip this on its head and include more anabolic activity such as strength training and interval training. Overall these methods work out as more invigorating, and results-producing. Clients see progression every time they set foot in the gym.

4) Diet and Nutrition

Our personal training system is geared towards correcting behaviours and making nutrition practical. It is like the Torvill without the Dean. Our Sphere Nutrition System follows a progressive and long term approach. 3 distinct phases take you through and with the help of your personal trainer, Sphere will drive these towards your goals. Our long term nutritional approach can be found here.

5) Sleep

No sleep, no recovery. And that goes for recovering from the high octane day you may have been through at home or at the office. We offer a 10 point coaching list for you to work your way through to normalise your sleep patterns.

6) Stress

Managing your stress is no easy task and following steps 1-5 with your personal trainer is a HUGE step forward. Taking and relinquishing control of your body is equally as important. Again , our personal trainers follow a 10 step methodology to help you manage your stress levels.

7) Digestion

Imagine a system of your body that is so sensitive that problems there can be directly expressed in pain in your lower back and give you that poochy belly look. Correcting digestion is largely achieved through supplementation recommendations. However, our personal trainers can coach you in specific habits that willunderpin your digestive efforts.

Our system is constantly evolving. Our duty of care is to provide you with a service that is supported by science and applied with professionalism and a duty of care to the client.

John Lark M.A. CSCS is a personal trainer and owner of Sphere Fitness. He can be contacted at 01-5052131.

Are you frustrated with your efforts to lean up, ‘get cut’ or just shift the weight? As a personal trainer in dublin this is the biggest complaint I hear.

Now before you dig any deeper taking you back to you roots as a child, relationship with your father/mother and love of psychoanalysis look at your current situation.

Take check of the following and make sure you can check all the boxes.

If you can’t then my suggested advice to you would be to go back to the drawing board and like all good school reports write down ‘must try harder’. My work as a personal trainer has determined that this is crucial.

For example, are you following your current nutritional and exercise programme with 95% compliance?

What that means is that if you decide to train three times this week are you hitting the magic 100% ( 3 out of 3 attempts) or are you scoring 33%?

Likewise with your nutrition plan. Eating to a plan may ask you to ensure that you have a breakfast EVERY morning. 7 out of 7 mornings will give you resounding 100 per cent. 1 out of 7 is clearly room for improvement.

Scoring your efforts is always crucial.

One of my secrets that you can read about at john lark .com is a training diary. Without this I am sure that I would have wasted countless hours of guess- work and results in the gym and kitchen.

A simple act of recording what you do with your exercise is a great way to keep focused on the task in hand.
But what if you have ticked all the boxes and are still disappointed with your results?

You are only as strong as your weakest link. So if you find training easy but can’t get your head out of the doughnuts then this obviously needs addressing.

But what if your weakness is out of your remit and definitely out of your control.

Some of us just lack the motivation to do anything.

We are on a permanent go-slow. Opening a tin is an effort. Changing channel on the remote is like asking one to climb Everest.

This is often corrected by consuming small (6-7 feedings) a day, a diet rich in fish oil and other Omega-3 hot cakes (Flax, Olive Oil, Hemp Oil) and starting the day with meat and nuts.

Dopamine, a positive and exictory neurotransmitter is raised when we eat tyrosine rich foods such as those found in meat and poultry. So starting the day with meat and nuts is a sure-fire way to kick your day off correctly.

Once you have the necessary drive and motivation to take action you are really ‘sucking diesel’.

Your road-map if shifting stubborn fat deposits depends on where you store them.

Some people just can’t shift the fat off their arms or their thighs.

The reason for this is an imbalance in your sex hormones, in particular oestrogen and testosterone.

So if you think that just ‘losing weight’ will miraculously shrink the fat off your arms and legs think again. You can target stubborn fat deposits with correct training protocols, nutrition and supplementation. This addresses the reason why we store stubborn fat deposits – our hormones. A skilled personal trainer will help you determine what you need to do to specifically target this.

It is the same reason why our growth hormone levels are reflected in the levels of fat we have around our knee and lower leg. It is the same reason why our insulin levels affect the levels of fat around our waist and back.

This system called Biosignature is based on 27 years of detailed research and practical clinical experience, correlating body fat measurements with hormonal profiles. Its founder, Charles Poliquin certainly has an eye for details.

You see body fat is not malicious. It doesn’t lie on your hips to spite you.

Likewise it is not your fault that over-exposure to plastics, toxic and heavy metals, poor food sources can all contribute to the imbalance in hormones that in turn causes us to store fat where we just don’t want it.

The good news is that with a successful and detailed road-map based on training, nutrition and supplementation it can be resolved. The results speak for themselves.

John Lark is a personal trainer and specialist in fat loss. He can be contacted at www.john-lark.com or 01-5052131 where you can pick up your subscription to his monthly bulletin packed full of helpful hints and tips.
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