Sigma Physique

ESCAPING THE GROUP MENTALITY
Im loving the opportunity to work 1on1 with clients who have only ever trained in large groups.
Theres probably dozens more reasons why Group PT is inferior to private training than you may realise.
... Training Bronwyn on her banded rack dead here is an example (140kgs top half). Previously Bron hadnt had an opportunity to do private PT, just group PT.
In 2 weeks at Sigma we have also been able to find a squat variation that works far better for her body and the main reason.. drumroll.....
She wears a calorie tracker and burns as many cals doing heavy weight training as she did doing cardio based training.
The only difference is, sh
GETS STRONGER AND BUILDS MUSCLE/"TONES"
from this style of training.
Great work Bron, killing it💪
James
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UNTIL THE JOB IS DONE..
The most effective change i ever made to my training is moving away from higher volume 20+ sets per workout to an all out 5-10 working sets.
I treat the workout and exercises as a tool for a job. The session isnt over until the job is done.
... Volume cant make up for lack of intensity, its taking our body somewhere it hasnt been that forces adaptation.
This leg session was only 5 working sets total:
Seated Leg Curl- 2x stack 6-8 reps
Reverse Band Hacks- 245kg x6 & 205kg x16
Banded Leg Press- 1x 20reps (+30 lockout partials)
Some bodyparts and sessions will use volume as the tool for the job but intensity is always king.
James💪
° Currently have some online Coaching Vacancies available °
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"CONSTRUCTIVE CARDIO"
Sigma Coach @rach_soda bringing out the classic Farmers Walk.
One the best displays of strength and mental toughness and burns a shed load of calories.
... For most people this will be a far superior than bike, tmill etc for dropping bodyfat through training
We get the benefits of burning the same or more cals than cardio + the opportunity to stimulate muscle growth and improve athleticism, "core strength" and show off a bit 😉
This is another reason why traditional cardio is inferior for a good physique.
James 💪
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PROGRESS IS PROGRESS..
Despite having to put up with my fat ass and a tautologous and uniformative title, im detemined to recover this post.
To simplify "progress" i primarily consider 2 variables. (The 2nd almost always overlooked)
... 1) Increase in weight moved or repetitions (with same quality of "form")
2) use the same weight but improve technique/form
The first example is obvious, the 2nd not so clear.
To steal an example from Joe Bennett-,
● Bench Press 100kgx5 with form that is subjectively rated as a 6/10
Next week-
100kgx5 with 7/10 form- you have now progressed.
Why, because more weight is being attributed to the target muscles.
Although i managed increase weight on my rack pull from last week, my goal was to simply improve my lockout form.
Point is, sometimes we need to use our brains and consider that progress comes in many forms, however will never come without consistency and having a clear goal/reason for every exercise you do.
(And for those at Sigma last week that said im wearing "tights" , i reserved the last 3 seconds of the clip for you😉- joking, love you all 💜
James 💪
• Taking on new online coaching clients currently, get in touch to discuss•
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Who doesnt want some nice guns? Summer is coming....💪

TRAINING ARMS...
Apart from dicking around with light weight and not training arms often enough,
* Full YouTube Video Is Up * (chuck us a sub!)
... One of the neglected factors for those with underdeveloped arms is elbow issues.
Not only does this mean time off training but often never being able to go heavy enough to stimulate growth
Having been a victim to this, ive worked hard to find well braced and alignment movements where i can go beast mode and heavy.
For those without elbow issues, this is still a cracking workout💪
• Taking on some new online coaching clients currently, get in touch to discuss•
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WHAT LOOK ARE YOU AFTER?
Ladies, (the open minded ones only)
Bertrand Russell felt we should have a review or audit of our beliefs every so often. Critique our ontology and epistemology.
... This is my invitation to review your beliefs and pressupositions to losing bodyfat and "toning" and exercise choices for your goals.
@rach_soda is a perfect example of trusting the process and seeing that consistent weight training produces a femine and desirable body.
This is a look you will almost NEVER see from someone doing group training or F45 etc
Rach has been my client for 3 months and completed exactly ZERO cardio sessions. ZILCH.
Oh, and before you make judgements, shes a single mother in her 40's with 2 children and works 3 jobs. Cant wait to see how she looks in another 3months.
My goal is to help you all on your own individual journey to the physique you want. (Rach- arms higher and spike the calf 😉) James💪
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RACK DEADS- BOSS vs BEAST
Ive written many times why rack deads are a boss movement.
To add to the nastiness im using reverse bands that give assistance at the bottom and turn off on the way up.
... YES THIS ACTUALLY MAKES IT HARDER 😊!!
My lockout needed work on these and bands need slight adjusting to perfect the profile but -
Reverse Band Pulls are definately a beast for big backs and have it all over traditional rack pulls for me.
James
● Online coaching available, get in touch to discuss suitability ●
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20 YEARS OF TRAINING WOMEN
My thoughts on how EVERY woman with goals to look leaner, sexier & healtheir should train.
Ive condensed 20 years into 60 secs...... & they say girls are very complex🤔😁
*** Full YouTube in Bio ***
Girls, its not entirely your fault if you haven't reached your dream body.
Whilst We all have to take ownership of our work ethic and results, the menu of training options youve been offered is very ordinary.
Group Circuit training and cardio as primary sources of exercise are almost always sub-optimal but who has told you?? Not the PT studio or gym trying to sell you such..
And where can a female go to learn to lift weights appropriate to her age, injuries and goals and feel comfortable doing so?
Not to devolve into a sales pitch but thats what Sigma is all about👙💪
James
*** I currently have some openings for online coaching or online comp prep, get in touch to discuss ***
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WHEN YOU KNOW WHERE HOME IS
I still get shivers down my spine walking back into Sigma after time away.
I love this place so much. The more gyms i see around the world, the luckier i feel to be part of Sigma and where we are headed.
... My vacations are primarily spent learning, relaxing and thinking about what i do best- change physiques.
Stepping away can bring clarity , this time it brought a vindication of sorts.
Lots of plans in my tiny little brain 👌
Im very proud of @rach_soda for all her amazing managing sigma whilst i was away and big thanks to Michael also for his help. @ Sigma Physique
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WANT PECS PT.2- FOLLOW THE BICEPS....
In Part 1 we touched on bicep/upper arm alignment whilst pressing. Now we focus on what we *should* be doing on EVERY chest movement- 'Driving the bicep into the pec'
Hopefully soon you will start to see a pattern of what our upper arm/bicep is doing (or should be doing) during a well performed chest movement.
... Cable flyes/crossovers are the quintessential example of this as we quite literally drive biceps into pecs.
■ Im not driving my hands together, im driving bicep into pec (big difference)
During an effective bench press/dip etc (any) we are also driving bicep into pec, its just less obvious but the cue is the same.
This is probably the genesis of people banging the DBs into each other at the top of DB Bench. At least their heart is in the right place.
There are several other factors in terms of chest position and cable setups but this should give you a good start.
James 💪
▪ For those who have contacted me for online coaching, i have some limited availability for individuals who are open minded and dedicated to advancing their physique. Get in touch and we can discuss▪😊
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PECS?- JUST FOLLOW YOUR BICEP...
I was going to title this "THE GYM WITH ONLY 5KG, 10KGS & 50KGS PLATES...."
You think im kidding, i am not. Thanks for making me feel weak with only 1 plate each side "Alex Fitness" 😏
... Anyway, true to form, i will give some helpful content regarding pec development.
Apart from a bunch of other hopefully helpful cues ill provide on pec development shortly, a great start is:
Draw a line directly along the bicep from elbow joint to shoulder/delt/G.H joint and this will be the area of pec fibring being most predominantly targeted.
The more flared out the elbows, you will see how this will follow to line up with pecs better than elbows tucked in which follows to be more delt dominant.
There are several other factors which i will cover later and some anatomical differences such as the structure of your shoulder capsule, GH joint but this should give you a good start.
James 💪
▪ For those who have contacted me for online coaching, i have some limited availability now for dedicated individuals looking to advance their physique. Get in touch and we can discuss▪😊
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WHY WE USE BANDS AT SIGMA & WHY THEY ARE FOR BAD ASSES😈
One would be forgiven for thinking using bands from the top (reverse bands) on hacksquat for example is making the movement easier.
As you get to the bottom of the movement the bands stretch and the load becomes lighter and as you come back up they turn off and the weight is equal to whatever is on the machine.
... In fact, although very counterintuitive , reverse bands *should* make the movement harder.
My bands go with me all over the world, including St Petersburg and here in moscow. I won't compromise on exercise profile, my results or my client's.
If anyone wants a detailed write up on how this is the case and an argument for why most should never squat without it, more than happy to
Meanwhile i added some footage of setup at the end.
James 😊
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RACK DEADLIFT- FORGOTTEN GEM👌
The Rack Dead/Rack Pull is the forgotten gem.
And before anyone suggests i cant pull from the floor, i can pull over 550lbs at 6"5 :)
... In this clip i had to stand on a pile of 25kg plates to be high enough to make the range of motion nasty for 200kg x 10 on my last set.
Right, Whats the difference between the 2 variations:
1) Floor Deadlift will generally have more hip/glute involvement. This will be dependant on whether you sumo or conventional stance. Its more "globally taxing" in virtue of the range of motion.
2) Rack Dead should be more upperback dominant in that you can usually use more weight, thus the mid/lower traps have to work harder to stabalise your scapula and quite literally prevent your arms from being ripped off. (The scapula essentially floats accross the back)
So why rack dead?
1) some of us don't want bigger asses but want bigger or stronger upperback or lower back/spinal erectors
2) as its less taxing overall we can do them more often with maximal weight as compared to a floor dead. The more often we can train a good movement, the better.
3) some of us have awful leverages for floor deads. Being tall, i can only sumo dead from the floor but my long legs don't allow for conventional stance, thus my glutes/hips get hammered more than lowerback.
Traditional deadlifts are an amazing movement but in looking at overall output , rack deads are often a better choice for many.
James 💪
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WHY "BACK SQUATS" ARE INFERIOR...
If you are wanting bigger quads, the primary consideration is the squat that allows you to
1) gain as much knee flexion as possible (depth usually)
... 2) with as much load/weight as possible (with good form)
However, simply choosing the squat that allows the most depth isnt enough.
The amount of torque created by the knee joint vs the hip joint is ultimately dictating total load to your quads:
Hang in there, this will be simple and worth the read:
1) at the bottom of the squat if you are to pause and look where the bar is and have a training partner mark a line on your thigh directly under the path of the bar, you could actually calculate how much torque is going through the knee joint and how much through the hip and thus load to quads.
**** The closer this line is to your knee joint, the more torque through the hip= more hip/glute dominant
**** The closer this line is to your hip, the more torque is going through the knee joint= more quad dominant.
Front squat allows us to be more upright, thus having the bar closer to being directly over our hip, making it more quad dominant.
A back squat is closer to 50/50 (bar over the middle of thigh) making it neither hip nor quad dominant and thus not fully taxing either. (Worst of both worlds)
There are better options for glutes than squats but *nothing better for quads* than squatting as it loads the quads through the lengtened range where they are strongest.
Lets use squats for what they can do best= build big quads.
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DONT UNDERESTIMATE THE LEG EXTENSION 💪
Apart from Sigma Coach @rach_soda getting payback , theres a reason we include leg extension.
Most quad growth will always come from movements emphasizing the mid-lengethend range of your quads (squat, legpress etc).
... This is simply because muscles move more weight in those ranges and less when the quad is shortened like leg extension.
HOWEVER, the leg extension has some assets at its disposal such as perfect alignment and bracing (especially with seatbelt) and it isnt globally taxing like squats and some other compound movements so it is a great way to finish quads off when you are cooked or used at start as an "activation".
I prefer using it for giant sets, drop sets, just something to absolutely crush quads at the end of leg day and get tougher at pushing through lactic acid. It hardens you up mentally and makes upper body sessions easier.
Underestimate it at your own peril 😉💪 James
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HOW HARD DO COACHES AT SIGMA TRAIN??
Just a small snippet of the last movement of Sigma coach Rach's leg session today...(profanity alert if audio is on👌)
Ive always felt as a coach, its important to provoke some level of inspiration or spark to clients.
... Often people dont realise how hard some trainers work. Personally i feel like a fraud if my intensity cant match my clients or staff.
Ive met my match here, @rach_soda is raising the bar for me and the sigma clients 💪
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CHEST DAY @ SIGMA
●YOUTUBE VID IN BIO●
Apart from lats, pecs seem to have the most potential for growth simply in virtue of better technique rather than increasing weight.
... Most guys and gals ive trained at Sigma are very delt dominant, often from weak mid traps and poor neural connection with pecs.
Check out the full video in the bio and consider making some real improvements to chest training :)
James ❤
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A recent chest session of mine. Id like to think theres at least 1 thing everyone could take from this vid to improve their chest workout.
Full of content, no bs, nothing sexy (except me of course...😏👎) enjoy

Anyone looking to train in a facility with great equipment, programming and expertise talk to James and the team at Sigma. James has been in the industry for decades and is serious about helping people to achieve real changes in their physique.

Anyone looking to train in a facility with great equipment, programming and expertise talk to James and the team at Sigma. James has been in the industry for decades and is serious about helping people to achieve real changes in their physique.