How to Up Your Home Gym Game

The Smarter Home Gym: The Viturivian Form Trainer

With the recent global pandemic, home training has taken the fitness industry with a storm. This has led to a revolution in equipment fueling a race for the best, all-in-one training system. The Vitruvian Form or V-Form for short is one such equipment, within a sleek, compact design that can be easily stored and set up in literally minutes. The V-Form brings the forefront of elite sports science training through quality engineering to your living room in a compact, easy to use platform. The V-Form trainer enables you to train multiple strength paraments for a stronger you.

Strength Training Fundamentals: Developing a Stronger You

Mankind has always had a fascination with strength and it’s the ability to progress to new feats. As a sports scientist, strength has a fundamental function in training and exploring a few of its key pillars are vital in developing a holistic training program. In this article, we will explore 1) Strength in Antagonistic Muscle Groups for functional control, 2) Explosive Strength or Power and 3) Strength through Range of Movement or being strong and flexible, two parameters sometimes misconstrued as two different ends of a continuum. These principles can be adapted to your training even if you don’t have the Vitruvian Form.

1) Strengthening Antagonistic Muscle Groups

Day and Night, Land and Sea, Sun and Moon. We live in a dualistic world, where opposing pairs work and function together to create harmonious form. Similarly, our body functions the same with antagonistic muscles such as the bicep (flexion) and tricep (extension) performing opposing movements at the arm. By training both sides, one is able to develop a segment that is well balanced in terms of aesthetics but also one that can generate force with control effectively. This mitigates muscular imbalances that can place additional stress on connective tissue that can lead to wear and injuries later in one’s training facilitating longevity. 

2) Power: Explosive Strength & 3) Measurement

Power is defined as the rate of force development. It’s one thing to be able to move a huge amount of weight but another to be able to do it quickly. Hence training in an explosive nature is critical to expanding your strength base, focusing on rapid force developments utilising plyometric training on reducing your max weights to focus on an explosive concentric movement. Explosive training also results in greater motor unit recruitment and facilitating better neuromuscular development. 

3) Flexible-y Strong: Strength through Range of Movement

The epitome of strength is not only being able to move weight but to do so in a dynamic manner and across a large range of motion. For example, being able to catch your body weight after making a sudden direction change and lean in order to avoid an opponent in a sport means that you have more control of your movements and ultimately reduce the chance of injury. It is important to note that this parameter is to be done with reduced weight and focus on control and time under tension and done in couple with a regular loaded stretching practice for example as seen in yoga where dynamic postures are held for a period of time. This also helps to further develop neuromuscular connections leading to overall strength improvements. 

Luke A J

Certified Personal Trainer, BSC in Sports Science & Physiology, First Class Honours in Sports Science, Exercise & Health

Instagram: @lukeandrew22