{"id":28934,"date":"2024-08-28T16:07:03","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T15:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fitshop.co.uk\/blog\/?p=28934"},"modified":"2024-08-28T16:07:03","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T15:07:03","slug":"exclusive-interview-jay-younger-on-functional-fitness-recovery-and-favourite-kit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitshop.co.uk\/blog\/exclusive-interview-jay-younger-on-functional-fitness-recovery-and-favourite-kit\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive Interview: Jay Younger on Functional Fitness, Recovery, and Favourite Kit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At Fitshop<\/a>, we pride ourselves on connecting with athletes and fitness enthusiasts from all walks of life. Today, we turn our attention to Jay Younger, a 31-year-old fitness devotee from Edinburgh who has spent the last decade honing his skills and dedication to functional fitness. Coming from a sporting family\u2014his grandfather played professional football for Liverpool FC<\/a>\u2014Jay brings a refreshing authenticity to the fitness world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This interview is the latest in a series where we\u2019ve had the privilege of speaking with some remarkable athletes. Earlier this year, we sat down with Neil Adams MBE<\/a>, a five-time European judo champion, world champion, and two-time Olympic silver medallist, to explore his storied career. Now in his 60s, Neil continues to inspire through coaching and commentary, sharing his insights on training, judo\u2019s evolution, and the 2024 Paris Games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also caught up with Ellie Natasha-Baker<\/a>, one of Britain\u2019s rising stars in athletics. Known for her impressive performances in the 800m and 1500m events, Ellie has won multiple medals at European championships and continues to break records, including Zola Budd\u2019s long-standing record in the 1500m. Ellie credits her Fitshop-supplied home gym as a key part of her training success, and during our interview, we discussed how personalised equipment has helped her push her limits and achieve new personal bests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to get inspired? Let\u2019s jump into Jay\u2019s story about his functional fitness-based routine<\/a>, the challenges of recovering from injury, his go-to equipment, and what he aims to achieve in the coming months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Functional Fitness Training and Equipment Preferences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\"Fitshop_Jay_Younger_Interview_Taurus_Elite_Half_Rack_V2_Action_600_600-300x300Q: What is your current training plan?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jay:<\/strong> The type of training I\u2019ve been doing is a lot of high-intensity functional workouts. I actually started with basic functional fitness, so that involved a lot of cardio kit integrated with compound movements. Then I moved into high-intensity functional workouts, which have been really fun\u2014learning gymnastics and the more technical Olympic lifts. I\u2019m coming back from an injury, so my training is a bit different at the moment, but hopefully by June or July, I\u2019ll be back to doing what I used to, including the gymnastics and all that stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What\u2019s your experience with Fitshop?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jay:<\/strong> I went into Fitshop probably back in 2014. That was when I was first getting into proper weight training after leaving Loughborough University. I remember buying a pair of dumbbells, and I had these skinny biceps trying to do bicep curls with 14kg weights! But yeah, that was my first experience, and since then, I\u2019ve always come back, bought kits from you guys, and it\u2019s served me well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What\u2019s your favourite piece of equipment or exercise?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jay:<\/strong> My favourite equipment would probably be a squat rack. I love squatting\u2014it\u2019s the king of all exercises. I believe it works every muscle in the body. It\u2019s amazing, especially if you haven\u2019t got a lower limb injury. I feel like it\u2019s the perfect exercise to build your base fitness or to progress your strength. It\u2019s really good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Injury Recovery and Rehabilitation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\"Fitshop_Jay_Younger_Interview_Taurus_Elite_Ski_Trainer_Setup_600_600-300x300Q: How have you managed to overcome your current injury?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jay: <\/strong>The injuries have really humbled me. I tore my pec, so I\u2019ve had to do a lot of external rotations, internal rotations, adduction, abduction\u2014you know, all that stuff. But it\u2019s been good. It\u2019s actually taught me how to move better, especially in terms of engaging the right muscle groups. The movements I\u2019ve been doing are just basic things like pec decks, basic flys to try and get that range of motion back in my chest. I\u2019ve also been doing some military presses. But now I\u2019m starting to get more confident with the injury. I\u2019m nearly at the stage where I can move into more of the gymnastics phase again. Hopefully, I\u2019ll be doing some bar muscle-ups and ring muscle-ups soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What kind of exercises have you been doing during injury rehabilitation?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jay:<\/strong> Since my surgery, I\u2019ve been doing a lot of rehab around my shoulder and pec area. It\u2019s involved a lot of basic movements like pec deck, pec flys, abduction, adduction, flexion, extension\u2014all the fun stuff. But it\u2019s been really good because it\u2019s taught me more about my biomechanics and how to move properly again. Instead of just going through the motions, I\u2019m actually engaging my lats and the proper muscle groups. Hopefully, within the next two or three months, I\u2019ll be back doing more complex gymnastics movements like bar muscle-ups, ring dips, and ring muscle-ups. So yeah, it\u2019s been a positive experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Future Fitness Ambitions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Q: What are your future fitness plans?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jay:<\/strong> I\u2019m hoping to compete again in June. I\u2019ve got another competition in August, and then I\u2019ll probably be competing again around October or November. It was really frustrating with the injury because just as I was getting really fit and ready to compete in a proper functional fitness competition, I tore my pec. So hopefully, by the end of this year or early next year, I\u2019ll be doing the Open again, and maybe I\u2019ll make the quarterfinals\u2014who knows!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highlighting the Equipment:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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