James Harrison Personal Training

13/07/2025

Hey ladies! Let’s demystify a common question when it comes to strength training: Low Weight, High Reps vs. High Weight, Low Reps – what’s the difference and which is right for you? 💪

This visual breaks down the two popular approaches, and both have their unique benefits for building a strong, confident you!

• Low Weight, High Reps (Top Image): This approach often involves lifting lighter weights for more repetitions (think 12-20+ reps per set
• Benefits: Excellent for improving muscular endurance, enhancing blood flow to the muscles (hello, “pump”!), and refining your exercise form. It can be a fantastic starting point for beginners to build foundational strength and confidence before increasing the load.

• High Weight, Low Reps (Bottom Image): This typically means lifting heavier weights for fewer repetitions (often 3-8 reps per set).
• Benefits: This is where you build serious strength and power! It’s incredibly effective for increasing muscle mass, boosting your metabolism, and developing that strong, capable feeling.

My Personal Preference? High Weight, Low Reps! ✨

Why? Because I’ve seen firsthand, both personally and with my clients, the incredible strength gains and body composition changes that come from challenging your muscles with heavier loads. It’s truly empowering to see what your body is capable of, and it translates so well into feeling stronger in everyday life too!

Ultimately, the best approach often involves a mix of both over time, depending on your goals and what your body responds best to. But if you’re looking to get truly strong and reshape your physique, don’t be afraid to embrace heavier weights!

Which approach do you lean towards, or are you curious to try? Let me know in the comments! 👇

20/02/2024

This is what my client had to say about our training together. She was brilliant to work with and was awesome to see her strength grow. For context when we 1st started she was lifting a 30kg deadlift then over the time we trained together increased that to 80kg for 3-5 reps!! She increased all over body  strength and I believe we had some laughs on the way!

I've got a limited number of slots still available at the moment, so if you wanted to start feeling better and stronger comment below or DM me "Strong". I'll be more than happy to have a chat to work out the best plan for you going forward!!

Thanks James

 

11/02/2024

29/08/2023

⏰ Limited Time offer - 2 weeks free PT ⏰

I'm opening up my online and face to face Personal Training for 14 days in September. I want to kickstart your training, start building good habits and you to become more consistent with your fitness.

We will work together over the 2 weeks to build a platform and routine you can stick to to become a stronger, fitter and healthier version of yourself!

This is NOT for.....

❌ Women that want to weigh themselves every hour of every day and obsesse over their weight

❌ Ladies that want to do 2 hours of training everyday and feel shattered all the time

This IS for....

✅ Women that want to start weight training but are not sure where to begin or feel uncomfortable about lifting weights

✅ ladies that want results that last with a simple system to follow once the challenge has finished

If this sounds like you DM me to word "INTERESTED" and I'll send you all the details.

I want to get this challenge started on the 4th of September so entry will close at 6pm Sunday 3rd. Everyone that manages to complete the challenge will also be entered into a draw to win a months free Personal Training or Two months free online training.

Please feel free to share or tag any of your friends that might be interested

Thanks, James

19/04/2023

Hey ladies thinking about whether or not to start strength training? Well I'm a massive fan of strength work for women and here are 5 reason why you should get on it!!

1️⃣ Fat loss. For this you need to burn calories but just doing cardio will not necessarily burn fat. While strength training you will also burn calories but you will also be building muscle which requires more calories to maintain,  repair and grow. (Kind of were the 'afterburn effect' comes in - still burning calories after your workout) Which leads to point 2

2️⃣ You get to eat more! Kind of speaks for itself but your body will require fuel to build and repair your muscles. Also by increasing your muscles mass you will burn more calories day to day just by living! (Resting metabolic rate)

3️⃣ Feeling better and gaining confidence. Difficult to judge as it's a very personal thing but I believe these go hand in hand with each other. The better you feel the more confidence you have in yourself. Plus when you start feeling stronger and seeing yourself improving, you feel great and it gives you the confidence to keep going and keep working hard inside and outside of the gym.

4️⃣ Make life easier. By getting stronger everyday tasks become easier. Life doesn't take as much toll out of your body because it has a greater tolerance and your body moves more efficiently. Also, personally I find that, a heavy training session means you sleep well and therefore wake up feeling more refreshed and energised.

5️⃣ 🍑 Who doesn't want a great a$$? Apart from the benefits of strong glutes; helps protect the lower back, helps prevent knee injuries, helps with balance and better propulsion in walking and running. The glutes are the engine of your muscular system and where all your power comes from!

Let me know if I missed any or anything you get out of strength training that I've not covered!!

Well done if you have got this far and comment 🍑 if you found this type of post useful! Feel free to tag anyone that you feel need to see this post and get into strength training!

15/02/2023

Deadlift set up. Setting up in the wrong position can hinder your progress and potentially cause injury.

Often I see people start with their hips too high and effectively do an RDL to lift the bar. This will limit performance as the muscles in the legs will not be optiminally utilised.

At the other end trying to 'squat' the lift and having the hips too low means the Hamstrings are 'slack' again creating inefficiency in the lift.

The best position to get into has the hips between the shoulders and the knees creating the strongest shape to lift from.

If this was helpful leave a 👍 in the comments below.

07/02/2023

🤯 Opportunity: For 5 online and 5 face to face Ladies… 🤯

I'm going to take just ten who are fed up of looking at the scales but want to get into their best shape in the next 90 days through my ONE-time 2023 Wonder Woman Special 👊

We will work together to find the best way to achieve your goals and get you feeling in your best shape…

[without having to do endless hours of boring cardio or give up ANY of your favourite foods, drinks or social events…]

This is NOT for…

❌ people who want to workout 7x days a week (followed by 11 months of an unused gym membership)

❌ people who want to give up their favourite foods, drinks and social events to get in shape…

This IS for…

✅ someone who's truly ready to take action (it’s been put off long enough - it’s a new year, January’s almost done!)

✅ someone who wants their results to stick long after you’ve hit your goal (We want awesome results - but we’ll get there with a simple system you’ll WANT to continue with after we’re done 👊)

I will choose the five (in each group) based upon who I believe will get the very best RESULTS and be the most fun to work with across the 90 days!

DM me the word "INTERESTED" now and I'll send you all the details

Please feel free to share or tag any of your friends that might be interested.

Thanks, James

14/12/2022

Med Ball slams: a common exercise in the gym but often done poorly. The main thing is intent, it's a slam not a drop! You want to try and put a hole in the floor!

Get as tall as you can at the start of the movement then throw the ball down as hard as you can. Your finish position should be similar to landing from a jump.

A word of warning. Make sure you are using the correct ball. This is a 'slam ball' so it doesn't bounce much. Not all med balls are the same so just check before you start. The last thing you want is a broken nose!!

Give this post a like if you found it helpful and leave a 👍 in the comments below if you would like to see more like this.

Thanks, James

30/11/2022

Kettlebell swings are one of my favourite exercises if done correctly. They are excellent for working your posterior chain (hammy's, glutes, lower back) as well as adding explosive power to your lower body!

Often the teaching que is to drive the hips forward which can lead to over extending your back and potentially causing injury.

Instead aim to stand up straight 'aggresively'. This will drive your hips forward without an over extension of your back.

If you want to know more about the kettlebell swing or kettlebell training in general ask me a question below or DM me and I'll be happy to help!

If this was helpful please give it a like and if you would like to see more like this leave a 👍 in the comments. Thanks, James

21/10/2021

Sunday 9am

Bit of a throwback to my Sunday morning functional fit class from a couple of years ago!!

The class is now back but under the new name of circuits same time 9am!!

If you want to know more either ask me or turn up and check it out for yourself!!