Josh Hewett | Top Form Fitness

Sciatica: Facts, Symptoms and Treatment

Are you suffering from sciatica? Know all about it here and find how to reduce your pain. Sciatica is defined as the pain caused in the lower extremity resulting from irritation of the sciatic nerve. The pain of sciatica is felt from the low back that is the lumbar area to behind the thigh and can radiate down below the knee. The root cause of this pain is irritation of sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in body. It begins from nerve roots in the lumbar spinal cord in the low back and extends through the buttock area to send nerve endings down the lower limb. 1. Causes While sciatica is most commonly a result of a lumbar disc herniation directly pressing on the nerve, any cause of irritation or inflammation of the sciatic nerve can produce the symptoms of sciatica. This irritation of nerves because of an abnormal [...]

Josh Hewett2020-06-14T19:56:58-04:00

Tis the Season to Give Back to the Fitness Community (Guest Post)

I am actually a bit nervous offering up fitness advice on this man’s Blog. I am a runner, yet I am not sure I can run fast enough to escape the wrath of Josh Hewett should my words turn out to be rubbish. I do know some Karate, but there is no chopping your way through those Hewett warrior arms. Take a look for yourself. Click back a page or two within the Top Form Fitness Web site, blog, tweets and Face book video archives… we have enough outstanding strength and conditioning counsel to keep us going for a decade (or two). This had better be good. […]

Josh Hewett2020-06-14T19:55:46-04:00

Priorities of Function (Guest Post – Frank DiMeo)

For more than twenty years before I transitioned to the world of strength and conditioning; I was heavily involved with martial arts training. There was a very distinct progression of how we learned and trained. The priorities of function were adhered to and a very strong base of foundational techniques was established. For instance, the front kick was learned and practiced long before a back kick. A back kick would practiced long before a spinning back kick was learned. In strength and conditioning, the priorities of function are also extremely important. The main reasons for this are to invest your training hours wisely so the return on your investment is a solid base of strength and correct technique. If a person cannot do a full ROM bodyweight squat, he has no business trying to do a squat with a barbell. The human tendency is to be very impatient, and that can sabotage your progress [...]

Josh Hewett2014-11-29T00:01:57-05:00

Nutrient Timing: Is There an Anabolic Window?

I used to be a strong advocate of consuming carbs and protein within an hour post-workout to take advantage of the supposed “Anabolic Window”, when insulin sensitivity is greatest, damaged muscles are starving for protein, and muscle glycogen stores are depleted and ready to suck all that nutrition in to support faster gains. However, I recently attended a lecture by Brad Schoenfeld in which he discussed nutrient timing, and questioned whether it was as important as many thought. Because of this lecture and the reading I did following it, I have changed my opinion… I no longer believe the post-workout “anabolic window” is as narrow nor as important as I once thought. Let’s look at why. First of all, one argument in favor of consuming carbohydrates within 30 minutes post workout is that this would cause a spike in insulin which has an anti-catabolic effect and would increase nutrient uptake [...]

Josh Hewett2020-06-14T22:05:39-04:00

5 Benefits of Supplementing with Creatine

Despite being one of the most well-researched sports nutrition supplements around, there still seems to be a lot of misunderstanding surrounding Creatine. In this article I will attempt to clear up some of this confusion, explain exactly what creatine is, introduce Five Big Benefits of Creatine, and provide a few links to some of the relevant research. What is Creatine? First of all, let’s take a look at what exactly creatine is. Here is a simplified description: the basic currency of energy in your body is adenosine triphosphate (ATP). When your body uses it, it gives up a phosphate group becoming adenosine diphosphate (ADP). Creatine is stored as creatine phosphate (CP) in your body. Before your body starts using glucose for energy, it first breaks down ATP as a quick energy source. So when your body needs energy quickly (ie: power for the first few reps), the creatine “donates” its phosphate to [...]

Josh Hewett2020-06-14T22:06:32-04:00

Will Crossfit Bring You Gains or Pains?

We’ve all heard the expression ” No Pain No Gain.” Unfortunately I’ve seen far too many people have more pain than gain as a result of this philosophy. Part of the problem with an overly aggressive approach to getting in shape is that once you are injured you will have set yourself back significantly. As an example, let’s look at the popular yet somewhat controversial group fitness cult craze called Crossfit. Those who argue in favor of Crossfit insist it is a fun, effective, and intense approach to fitness that delivers fast results. Many believe it is also a terrific way to train for overall “athleticism”. => CHECK OUT MY ARTICLE IN THE TORONTO SUN ON THIS TOPIC! However, Crossfit has also gained a reputation for delivering more than it’s fair share of injuries as well. Part of the reason for this is the explosive nature of many of the exercises [...]

Josh Hewett2014-06-24T23:00:30-04:00

7 Quick Ways to Energize Your Workout

It can be challenging to stay motivated to exercise regularly. In my experience people come up with all kinds of excuses, including: not having enough time, not having the money, or not having enough energy. I’m going to address the “lack of energy” issue by introducing 6 Quick Ways to Energize Your Workout. => CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT MY ARTICLE IN THE TORONTO SUN ON THIS TOPIC. 1) Caffeine: Caffeine is one of the most common ways people use to boost their “energy”. Caffeine, a chemical present in coffee, tea, soda pop, “energy” drinks, and some sports supplements, is a stimulant that will increase your heart-rate and mental alertness. Athletes will often use caffeine before training to improve performance. Consuming 100 to 300 mg of caffeine before your workout is safe and effective for most people (a cup of coffee is about 100mg). Just practice moderation and if you drink [...]

Josh Hewett2014-06-24T13:01:49-04:00

Beginner AND Advanced Fat Loss Strategies (Gym Chat Interviews)

In this post I’ll be sharing two Gym Chat “expert interview” videos focusing on the popular subject of Fat Loss. This time I will be exploring the topic from a different perspective with coach Vic Magary. Vic is a former attorney and U.S. Army Infantry veteran who has been helping people lose weight and get fit since 2001. He resides in his hometown of Steubenville, OH (USA) with his golden retriever Coda. Vic focuses on a simple, effective and well structured approach to fat loss… working from the basic Macro principles down to the Micro details of your nutrition, exercise, mindset, and recovery. Let’s start by taking a look at our discussion about the fat loss fundamentals for beginners: […]

Josh Hewett2014-05-19T21:22:03-04:00

Your Ticket to the GunShow (Big Arms Routine)

Every red-blooded man with hair on his balls wants bigger, more muscular arms. It’s in our DNA. This is now one of my big goals for 2014… I plan on adding at least one inch to each arm within THREE months! How the heck do I plan on doing this? Well, the first step to growing bigger arms is to focus on gaining some quality muscle mass over your entire frame, by following a solid hypertrophy / muscle-building program, such as my Basic Anabolic Hypertrophy Training (BAHT) program and nutrition plan. I don’t recommend focusing on smaller muscle group too much until you have a decent base to build from. I don’t suggest trying to add inches to your arms during a “cutting phase”, or while following a caloric deficit. You need to be ready to gain some weight. Check out my BAHT blog post HERE: Basic Anabolic Hypertrophy Training [...]

Josh Hewett2014-01-25T23:10:15-05:00

How to Gain More Muscle Mass – GET BIG Program

After focusing on losing body fat for over a year, and successfully achieving a single digit body fat % as well as the coveted “six pack”, I’ve decided that I now look a little too “skinny” for my liking. So I’ve taken on a new goal, which is to gain a few pounds of muscle while minimizing fat gain. In preparation for this goal I’ve added to my knowledge of hypertrophy by doing a serious amount of reading, as well as speaking with other fitness experts who are well versed in the science of growing muscle. From what I’ve learned, I’ve put together what I believe to be a solid hypertrophy program. I’m about to list all the principles for WHY I set it up this way, so this may be a long post (bear with me!): I’m calling it BAHT (Basic Anabolic Hypertrophy Training). It follows some similar principles [...]

Josh Hewett2014-01-25T14:56:09-05:00

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