Yearly Archives: 2019

July 15, 2019

LISTENING TO YOUR BODY.

We’re living in a society where our to-do lists are never ending, and we’re expected to do it all: work, raise children, keep up with social engagements, go to the gym, cook meals, clean the house – the list is endless. We often get so caught up in our commitments that we lose touch with how our bodies feel and what they’re telling us.

We need to let go of what our minds tell us we ‘should do’ and start listening to what our bodies tell us we need. Here are just a few ways you can aim to reconnect with your body’s natural cues:

Give yourself a break from exercise if you’re feeling fatigued
We all know those days when we feel truly exhausted after a hectic week, a sleepless night, a stressful event, and going to the gym is the last thing we feel like. Instead of forcing a terrible workout, it might be a good idea to take a break and spend that extra hour relaxing or catching up on sleep.  

It’s not about avoiding exercise whenever you ‘don’t feel like it’- regular exercise is important and can be a great stress reliever. However, on those days when you’ve already over-worked yourself and are feeling truly sore or tired, it’s important to take a day off to rest if your body tells you to. If you still want to be active in some way, you could always go for a walk in the fresh air, or do some slower-paced yoga.

Respect your injuries 
One of the worst things you can do when you’re experiencing an injury is to ignore it and keep going at full pace. Exercising with an injury can cause serious damage and will only worsen the injury, which means more recovery time and potentially putting your health at risk. 

If you’re experiencing a serious injury, be sure to visit your doctor who will be able to advise you on the best way to proceed. Most minor injuries take a few weeks to recover at least, so you should avoid exercising or placing strain on your injury at all. Once you get back to the gym, start out slowly and build your way back up – it’s unrealistic to expect to get back at full form.

Prioritise sleep when you’re feeling run-down 
With so much going on in our lives, it can be difficult to get as much sleep as we need. While the number varies for different people, experts suggest adults need around eight hours of sleep a night. 

When we get run-down and our immune systems are compromised, getting enough sleep is absolutely key to helping our bodies fight infection and keep us healthy. If you’re feeling ill or low on energy, try to prioritise your sleep.

Pay attention to your hunger and fullness cues 
Due to the effects of diet culture and our modern lifestyle, our relationships with food is complicated and many of us have lost the connection with our hunger and fullness cues; we either ignore hunger pangs when our bodies crave energy, or continue to eat past the point of feeling satiated. 

Being tuned in when our body needs food, and when it’s had enough, is key to our physical and mental health. If you’re suppressing your hunger instead of having a snack or meal when your body tells you to, you’re depriving yourself of the energy you need to live. This can lead to crashes in your blood sugar, mood, and much more serious consequences when driven to the extreme. Alternatively, regularly over-eating when you’re not hungry, either out of boredom or for emotional reasons, can lead to disease and weight gain.   

Work to distinguish when you’re actually hungry or full, or when you’re under- or over-eating due to emotional or environmental reasons. Eating is intuitive, therefore you’ll be surprised by what your body is actually telling you when you start to listen to it. 

July 1, 2019

EXERCISING DURING THE HOT SUMMER MONTHS.

Exercising over a hot summer can be challenging as our bodies struggle to deal with the increased heat and humidity and keep cool. Usually, our bodies are warmer than the environment – when this changes as a result of rising temperatures or exercise, our muscles regulate heat by releasing sweat, which allows the body to cool down. This becomes dangerous both when we fail to replace the fluids lost in sweat, or when the body is unable to cool itself down and begins to store heat, increasing our core temperature and putting our internal organs and central nervous system at risk.The result of this can be heat exhaustion and, ultimately, heat stroke. 

To make sure you avoid these issues, there are several measures you can take to protect your body and ensure you remain safe and healthy while exercising in the summer.

1. Don’t push your body too hard
Exercising when it’s hot places your body under extra strain. It’s important to remain aware of this, paying close attention to how you’re feeling throughout your workout. Look out for any sign of light-headedness or weakness and reduce your intensity or stop training.

Understanding that you are not going to be setting any personal bests, or performing to your usual standard or intensity, is really important. Don’t push yourself too hard and make sure you take consistent breaks to allow your body to regulate its temperature.

2. Aim to exercise at a cooler part of the day
Exercising during the hottest part of the day is a bad idea, especially if you’re sensitive to the heat. Make the effort to either wake up early and squeeze a workout in before the day warms up or wait until later in the night once the heat of the day has started to dissipate. Not only will your workout be much more enjoyable, but you’ll be able to perform much better.

3. Wear the right clothing
Making sure you wear the right type of clothing can be incredibly helpful in keeping your cooler during your workout. Choose breathable, lightweight, and light-coloured workout gear that will allow your sweat to evaporate, and you to cool down effectively. 

4. Keep hydrated
One of the most important things you can do when exercising in the heat is make sure you are staying properly hydrated! Guidelines suggest that you should be drinking between six and eight glasses of water each day (the equivalent of around two litres).

5. Try a different kind of workout
If you’re struggling to keep up with your usual exercise regime, try out a different type of training that will allow your body greater opportunity to remain cool. For instance, if you’re a long-distance runner, try swapping your long runs for a shorter HIIT session or spinning class that will allow you to take on water and work out for shorter periods. 

Less aerobic-heavy classes such as yoga or Pilates are also a good option in the heat as your heart rate does not typically increase by a large margin, and your body temperature will remain fairly constant. The summer is also prime time for swimming – not only is swimming great exercise, but there is no better way to stay cool while working out, even if you do it outdoors.

June 17, 2019

HOW TO INSPIRE YOUR CHILDREN TO LOVE EXERCISE.

A number of recent studies show that a large number of children in the UK are not receiving enough daily activity, with only 1 in 3 kids being physically active every day. As technology develops and becomes more widespread, children are spending more time looking at screens, and less time moving their bodies.

Exercise has multiple benefits for children. Not only does it help them develop strong muscles and bones, maintain a healthy weight and decrease the risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes, but it aids mental developmental and health, increasing motivation, focus and learning.

Encouraging your child to be active and love exercise will set them up for life, equipping them with the skills and confidence necessary to stay active and healthy.

Here are just a few ways in which you can inspire your children to be active from a young age:  

Provide active toys
A good way to get kids moving when they are young is to provide fun, active toys they can play with. This could be something as simple as a ball, although there are plenty of options to choose from. Not only will this get them moving and having fun, but it will help them develop motor skills, hand-eye coordination and other vital abilities.

Lead by example
It has been shown that children who regularly see their parents enjoying sports and physical activity are more likely to do so themselves. If you treat your body with respect, your children will notice this and work to imitate you. Stay active yourself, and you’ll provide your children with a positive role-model, influencing what they see as normal and healthy.

Play with your child and exercise as a family 
Inspire your child to be active by taking the time to play with them and exercise as a family. Make activity enjoyable by taking them for a bike ride or walk in the park – add some fun with a little game or challenge. The opportunities are endless if you use your imagination. Make exercise and games a regular part of the week, and it will effortlessly become a habit for them.

Turn off the TV
Limit TV time and computer use. The general recommendation is no more than 1 to 2 hours of total screen time a day, including TV, videos, computers, and video games. Screens are not all bad and they have a time and a place, but they shouldn’t be used all the time. Free time can then be used for more physical activities.

Allow them to try different sports and activities 
One of the best ways in which you can inspire your children to love exercise and make a life-long habit of it, is to help them find a sport or activity that they absolutely love and are passionate about.

June 3, 2019

WHY YOU NEED TO WORK ON YOUR FLEXIBILITY.

Your flexibility is, put simply, the ability of your joints and body parts to achieve their full range of motion, allowing you to do simple, everyday tasks. Like most things, your flexibility decreases with age as your muscles lose their natural suppleness and become more prone to developing aches, tears and pains. 

Working to maintain your flexibility is very important for a number of reasons – some of the benefits include:

An increased range of motion
If your muscles are tight, you’ll experience a reduced range of motion throughout your body. This can make it difficult to do simple things such as reaching overhead or bending down. Working on your flexibility will make your everyday activities (as well as exercise) much easier. 

The prevention of injury
When you don’t stretch, you increase your chances of injury as the tendons and ligaments around your muscles stiffen. Tight muscles reduce your range of motion, making it easier to injure yourself. Flexible joints require less energy to move through a greater range of motion. Working on your flexibility increases your range of motion and lowers your risk of injury to the muscles, tendons and ligaments. 

Reduced back pain
There are multiple muscles that feed into your back. When these muscles get stiff and tight, it’s common to experience pain. For example, when your hamstrings are tight, they pull the pelvis down and create more pressure on the lower back. Tight hip flexors and pelvic muscles will also place extra stress on the spine.

Stretching all these muscles regularly will help to ease tension and soreness which will in turn relieve pain in the back and other areas of the body. The more flexible your pelvic muscles, hamstrings, hip flexors, and quadriceps, the less stress you’ll feel in your lower back. 

Better posture
When we spend time hunched over a computer, certain muscles in our body — such as shoulders, back, core, and neck — actually shorten. This can have a big impact on your health, even increasing the amount of cortisol (the stress hormone) being released in your body. Stretching will help to lengthen and strengthen your muscles, reducing the effort it takes to maintain good posture throughout the day and can help you to feel more relaxed.

What are some different ways to stay flexible?
 The best way to maintain flexibility is to stretch regularly. Whatever your age, you should try to stretch for a short period at least once a day. If time is short, focus on stretches that work the larger muscle groups such as shoulders, hamstrings, hips and lower back, and calf muscles – areas that are prone to stiffness and soreness as we age.

Yoga is also a great way to stay flexible and supple as postures focus on lengthening muscles and relieving tension in the body.

May 20, 2019

THE IMPORTANCE OF EXERCISE AS A PARENT.

As any parent will know, a consistent exercise routine is one of the first things to go after you have children. With shifting priorities, less time to yourself, reduced sleep and less energy, it is entirely normal for new parents to find themselves exercising less.

While it is common for your usual exercise routine to slow down or even come to an abrupt halt, it can still be possible for parents to incorporate some form of exercise into their week. Regular exercise is essential to the well-being of everyone, parents included. It has been proven to have a positive impact on depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. It relieves stress, improves memory, results in better sleep, and boosts overall mood.

How can I do more exercise as a parent?
While finding the time and motivation to exercise as a parent is tricky, there are a few ways you can include more in your daily routine. The important thing to realise is that your definition of what makes up exercise has to shift after you have children. Change your perspective, and exercise and activity aren’t as hard to achieve as you might think.

1. Be active throughout the day
One of the most efficient ways to fit exercise into your day is to make it a part of your usual daily activities. For example, instead of taking an hour to go to the gym, you can be active in a number of different ways such as walking to the shops instead of hopping on the bus.

2. Exercise more efficiently
One of the skills you pick up very quickly as a parent is time management and making the most of every free second you have. You need to exercise more efficiently with the time you do have – an effective workout doesn’t need to eat up a large chunk of your time, it can be done in 20 minutes. For example a HIIT routine is high in intensity and speedy. 

3. Invest in home gym equipment
If you are working out at home, it might be worth investing in a few items to help you out. Equipment doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive – a workout mat, resistance band, skipping rope and a set of dumbbells are just a few things that could help you do the job.

4. Make exercise a family affair
One of the most effective ways of squeezing in exercise is to involve your children. Not only will you get more exercise, but your children will too. A few ways to exercise together are to walk/cycle/run around your local park (an idea might be that you run while you kids cycle so you move at a similar pace), play ball games together such as football, or go swimming. 

May 6, 2019

The Negative Health Impact of Stress.

Source: Study Medicine Europe
https://www.studymedicineeurope.com/study-medicine-bulgaria-english

Did you know that between 75 and 90 percent of all doctor’s office visits are due to stress-related complaints? For this reason, it is important to understand the many different ways in which stress impacts our health and wellbeing. This infographic guide from the team at Study Medicine Europe shows how stress affects the body and also offers some practical pointers on stress management.

How Stress Affects the Body

When we feel stressed, our brain triggers a “fight or flight” response which pushes the body into survival mode. Once in this state of high-alertness, the stress hormone, Cortisol, can temporarily modify or shut down functions that get in the way, such as your digestive or immune systems or even your growth processes. This is why you may experience symptoms such as headaches, heartburn and stomach aches when you feel stressed.

The Impact of Chronic Stress

Chronic stress refers to when your stress system is continually activated over a long period of time. This overuse puts a lot of pressure on the body and increases the risk of certain illnesses. Studies have found that people who suffer from chronic stress are more likely to suffer from particular conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and burnout.

Combating Stress

We all know that it’s important to look after our physical health, but sometimes we forget about the importance of taking time to look after our mental health. Part of being healthy is learning positive ways to manage stress. Some ways to do this include learning mindfulness, being able to recognise your stressors, and making lifestyle changes.

Learn More About the Negative Health Impact of Stress

If you are curious about the science of stress and would like to find out more, why not check out the below infographic. This handy guide looks at how stress work and lists out the many ways it can affect our health. It also outlines some things you can try to reduce stress in your own life.

Read the infographic below to learn more!

April 17, 2019

EXERCISE BURNS FAT – SO WHERE DOES THE FAT GO?

It’s no secret that fat loss is a modern obsession. Most of us have some, most of us want to lose some. Surprisingly, then, one of the most obvious questions raised by all this fat-fixating is never really addressed: when it leaves our bodies, where does the fat actually go?

If you’re unsure, you’re not alone. Some would believe that fat turns into muscle, or that it leaves the body via the colon, both of which are incorrect. Others may believe that fat is converted into energy and lost as heat (no doubt based on the “energy in equals energy out” assumption). Trouble is, this would disobey a fundamental law of chemical reactions, known as the conservation of matter (or mass), which states that the same amount of matter comes out of a reaction as goes into it. It doesn’t simply vanish.

Put simply, fat tissue is full of lipids – compounds that store energy. Even if those compounds are broken down and generate heat, you’re still left with the same number of atoms you started with.

So, where does the fat go?
When you begin to run low on fuel you produce a hormone that, when mixed with oxygen, breaks down fat in order to use its energy. When fat is metabolized, it needs to go somewhere. Once converted to carbon dioxide and water, over 80 percent of each measurement of fat leaves the body as CO2. The rest is released as sweat and urine.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean you can get rid of any unwanted jiggle by simply huffing and puffing on the couch. When you engage in any form of physical activity, however, your body’s metabolic rate is raised significantly. So a higher intensity workout will produce more huffing and puffing – more energy burned, more converted fat expelled.

Knowing that fat is actually leaving your body via your lungs might even make those extra reps a little easier to get through.

April 1, 2019

DOES EXERCISE REALLY IMPROVE BRAIN POWER?

Research suggests regular aerobic exercise can boost the size of the hippocampus, the core of the brain’s learning and memory systems.

When you exercise your body releases a lot of good things, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is good for the health of brain cells.

The idea is that when you exercise you’re much more likely to cause the brain to make new brain cells.

This is backed up by a German study that showed how cycling while learning a foreign language helped people remember new words better.

March 18, 2019

HOW TO EAT MORE FRUIT & VEGETABLES.

We all know we should eat more fruit and vegetables… but we don’t. The key to solving this lies in convenience: if we make it convenient to eat more of the healthy food and we will. Here are some practical tips:

Make them ready-to-eat
After buying your fruit and vegetables, wash, prep and package them. Buy lots of apples, grapes, carrots and bell peppers. Wash the apples and the grapes and put them on display where you can see them or in food containers – all ready to eat. Sliced apples taste great with honey and cinnamon or with peanut butter (watch portion size!). Wash the bell peppers and carrots, peel them, and put in the fridge for a quick and easy grab-a-snack.

Make smoothies
Another very convenient way to get your greens in is to blend them in a smoothie. Bananas can mask the taste of spinach and even broccoli and it makes a cost-effective blend. Blend together an apple, a ripe banana, a handful of spinach and two cups of water and you are pretty much set with your 5-a-day. 

Make it a challenge
Adding vegetables to every meal is a challenge but it can be done – give it a go. You can always add some lettuce to your sandwich or a sliced tomato and cucumber salad with a tablespoon of olive oil will be a great edition to any dinner. Whatever you eat has to come with a vegetable in it – these are the rules. Or challenge yourself to a fruit-a-day. Pick a fruit beforehand and make sure you have it with breakfast or lunch on the following day. 

Make your own toppings
Always buy plain yogurt and make your own fruit toppings for them. Dice apples, bananas, peaches and add some honey to the mix.

Don’t hide them away
Very often we have the best of intentions to eat more fruit and veggies and we buy a lot and stuff the fridge and then… don’t eat them. It becomes an out of sight – out of mind kind of situation. To avoid that, keep the fruit that doesn’t need refrigeration on countertops and tables where you can see them and put the rest in the middle of your fridge, not in the bottom compartments where you won’t see them. The more you see them, the more you’ll want one.

Have a meatless day once a week
See if you can make a meal just using some vegetables. You can have a vegetarian bean curry or bake sliced tomatoes with an aubergine and some feta cheese in foil.  A vegetable-based dinner can taste great. Pick a day a week and make it “meatless”. 

Get creative:

  • Use mashed avocado instead of mayonnaise on sandwiches. 
  • Mash cauliflower in with your potatoes.
  • Use lettuce instead of bread: you can make ground pork baskets with lettuce or have it instead of a wrap for your diced grilled chicken. 
  • Frozen vegetables are extremely convenient and will go nicely with pasta and frittatas.
  • Make apple crisps: 1) slice apples thinly 2) spread them out into one layer on a baking sheet 3) sprinkle one side of the apples with cinnamon and honey 4) bake in the oven at 200F (90ºC) degrees for 2.5 hours.
March 4, 2019

WHAT DO PULSES DO THAT FULL-RANGE EXERCISES DON’T?

We’ve long known that when it comes to resistance training it’s fatigue, not load, that generates change within the muscle. 

We also know that maximising fatigue comes down to manipulating range of movement and repetition speed. New insights now clearly show that pulses are a great way to maximise fatigue when lifting light weights for higher repetitions. 

Example 1 – Squats:
Full-range squats, as you’d expect, fire up all the global muscles that drive your body away from the ground. This highlights how full-range squats are great for working the glute max, rectus femoris and the hamstrings.

With squat pulses there is a more isolated activation of the quadriceps muscles closer to the knee. The activation of these muscles is key for stabilisation.

Example 2 – Chest Press:
Full-range chest presses result in activation of the key push pattern muscle groups, the pec major and anterior deltoid. As soon as a pulse action is introduced there is a significant increase in the activation of lat dorsi, again acting as a stabiliser.

In Summary
These findings highlight how combining pulses with full-range exercises changes activation patterns and allows you to engage all the key target muscles. This is the secret to maximising fatigue and driving muscle change