In a recent podcast I spoke about the importance of developing a coaching philosophy based on fundamental elements that pretty much sum up your 'style'. One of my key components is 'movements not muscles'.
I like to use exercises that involve the whole body.
Last week I was delivering a workshop to physio's on programme design and I wanted to explain why this was so important. All too often rehab exercises focus on 'isolation' exercises (fine during early stages but at some point you need to challenge the system).
Fortunately my friend and colleague had some science to help back my argument. I used this slide to show the delegates that whole body exercises stimulate the release of testosterone and growth hormone, both of which are pretty important for training and rehab.
One reason I like to use whole body movements during rehab and conditioning is because is fires up the hormonal system like nothing else.
So there you have it, if you need to slap down some muscle mass (either for the beach, performance or to repair an atrophied muscle following injury), move that body!