Peripheral Heart Action (PHA) – What is it?

Peripheral Heart Action (PHA) put simply, is working completely opposing muscle groups in a way to reduce lactic acid build up and maximise calorie burn.

The majority of people I train are on an overly busy schedule so their workouts need to be efficient as well as effective. PHA is great for this, it could be that you work upper body, lower body then the core in one little mini-circuit, rest for 45-60 seconds (depending on fitness & goal) then repeat so the desired amount of sets are complete.

As one muscle group works, the others get a complete rest meaning the muscles can recover and rid themselves of that horrible lactic acid burn. This therefore maximises your workload as you will be stressing the body for more time throughout the workout and spend less time resting. Because of this increased workload, PHA is great for building fitness as the heart is working overtime to keep the blood flooding to the differing working muscles which also hugely boosts circulation.

Example Routine:
Standing Barbell Press x10
Back Squat x10
Crunches x20

30 seconds rest between exercises.
2 minutes’ rest between each routine.

The above example can be progressed / regressed depending on the individual’s goals or current fitness levels. Altering the rest times, rep range, weight used or complexity would all alter the intensity of the routine.

This Is something I use a lot with clients and I highly recommend you give it a go, whether you’re looking for ways to burn off that stubborn fat, increase fitness, increase lean muscle, improve muscular endurance or just put yourself through a good tough workout Peripheral Heart Action will work for you.