Let’s Get Physical

Gaining a six pack for some is as seasonal as Christmas. Most people only want a six pack in time for summer holidays. However a six pack is like a dog……not just for Christmas it’s for life, at least in my crazy world anyway.

So how is this elusive six pack achieved? Sit ups? They can contribute. Crunches? Only half way there. Build up the muscles in the mid section is only half of the job. If you have fat in the mid section then the abs aren’t visible.

This my personal plan of attack to achieve a six pack and strong all round core.

1.    You should work and exercise the body as a whole. This can be the whole body in a session or broken down into various body parts. However you do this, vary the exercises and do not work out for any longer than an n hour. Perform exercises such as squats and other exercises incorporating free weights. Squatting activates the muscles of the core to stabilise the body.

2.    Perform abdominal isolation exercises such as crunches, sit ups and leg raises. If you are familiar with using exercise balls use this to provide an unstable surface to lie on. This will activate your abdominal muscles to help you stabilise.

3.    Last but by far the most important is to check your diet. You will need to reduce the amount of saturated fats from your diet. Split your meals into smaller more frequent portions and consume more fluids.

Follow these rules and you’ll be on your to a strong physique you’ll be proud of showing off on any beach…….not Blackpool or Southport Beach though!!

When it comes to throwing a baby shower, having a sport or fitness these days is becoming ever increasingly popular. This is something you’ll find you more popular with younger mother in their twenties and thirties. It quite manageable and easy to manage, from the decorations down to the food made available.

It is more often than not thought of that sport themed baby showers should be held for baby boys but there is no rule that says that this must be. The theme is more a reflection of the parent than the expected child. It’s not unusual for a sport mad couple to have a baby shower themed on their favourite sporting team.

If you go for a general sporting theme it will be quite easy to plan and decorate for. There are many general sporting items that you could use such as posters of sports teams and sports stars. Also there are balloons that come in a variety of shapes such as rugby balls and footballs.

Remember to hang up banners and posters to add to the theme. You could also give out pompoms to the girls and get them cheerleading in cute little outfits. Even giving out little trophies at the end of the night. These will look fabulous on your tables and your guests will love to take one home!

Do you have a personal trainer? Are they providing you with enough help and giving you the motivation you need? If not, here are 8 reasons why you should fire them:

1.    They always cancel or are hours late – Remember that you are paying for the service and tell them that you expect to get what you are paying for. Everyone has emergency situations and has to cancel appointments at some point, but if it becomes more of a regular occurrence, tell them where to go.

2.    They never return your phone calls – Generally, a personal trainer should be able to help you and talk to you even when you’re not in a session. Communication is key and if they don’t return your calls you need to discuss this with them.

3.    They don’t give you their full attention – If you find your trainer starts talking to other people during your workout you need to discuss it with them straight away. Not only is it rude, but they are there to help you!

4.    They don’t respond to your feedback – You may find that the workout they have given you is now becoming too easy and needs to be changed. If this happens but nothing is done about it you need to tell them your concerns.

5.    They push questionable supplements – Always talk to your doctor before taking supplements. Taking these isn’t such a bad thing but don’t let your trainer push them on you.

6.    They diagnose injuries and illnesses – Your trainer is not a doctor. They may know a thing or two about injuries but always get advice from a doctor if you feel any pain. Don’t let them make you work through the pain either, it if hurts, stop!

7.    You’re ready to do it on your own – At some point, you will feel ready to do it alone which is great. Don’t be worried about telling your trainer this, they should respect you for figuring out how to make the transition on your own.

8.    You just don’t get along – when you employ a personal trainer it may not always be a match made in heaven. Remember, it’s ok to tell them what you are looking for, they may even recommend someone that will fit your needs better!

Let’s face it, see some red faced man or woman jogging along the pavement, headphones on and sweat pouring and many of us shake our heads inwardly and think ‘why?’

The recently released comedy, ‘Run Fat Boy Run’, had an excellent skit on just this. That confused shudder at the idea of running a marathon and therefore having to train for it, day in, day out, in hot sun or (more likely in the UK) freezing rain. What’s the point? Aren’t there more important and/or satisfying things we could do with our time? Isn’t it just some sort of post-modern self-flagellation for the ‘sin’ of not adhering to the Gospels of Public Health and the martyrs to fitness and sexiness we see on the cover of GQ, Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan and Vogue? Is regular, strenuous exercise really just part of the cult of the body-beautiful and therefore something that can be sneered at justifiably?

Somewhat unsurprisingly I’m going to say not.

This isn’t to suggest that everyone should train up to run a marathon. It doesn’t mean that everyone CAN train up to run a marathon, or that running a marathon is even the best way to keep your body functioning properly.

But this is precisely the point – we shouldn’t regard regular strenuous exercise as something extra. It isn’t only for people obsessed looking ‘hot’ or just as a way of expiating the guilt of excess. Regular exercise that gets us sweating, our hearts pumping hard and makes our muscles ache slightly is the basic requirement to keep our bodies functioning properly. It isn’t about becoming an athlete or proving anything to anyone, it’s just about keeping our bodies working.

To anyone without an eating disorder, the idea of not eating at all is a crazy one. We know that it will harm our bodies and we also know that we will begin to crave food and feel uncomfortable – in fact we get this craving to some degree every day. Just because our bodies don’t crave exercise in the same very apparent and nagging way as they do food and water doesn’t mean that exercise isn’t as important in its own way to the continued functioning of our bodies. Yes we can go a lot longer not exercising than we can not eating, but the damage done to our hearts, bones, joints and even minds is profound and often lethal.

In evolutionary terms human bodies haven’t changed that much since our ancestors were running around under African skies, hunting animals, gathering nuts and berries and trying to avoid being eaten by Big Things With Sharp Teeth. Our bodies still crave salt, fats and sugars. Our bodies still store as much fat as possible, and why? Because our bodies are still operating as if we are all hunter-gatherers still on the food chain of other animals.

If we had to spend most of our days walking for miles and climbing trees and sheer rock-faces in order to find our food, it wouldn’t matter so much if we pig-out from time to time on sugar or fat. If we had to run hard and fast for at least 30 minutes everyday to avoid a big predator or to bring down a woolly Mammoth for dinner, then it wouldn’t matter so much if we over eat over a few evenings. We would burn almost all the fats and sugars we eat as part of our usual routine, or at least when winter comes and food becomes more scarce.

Our bodies are optimised to graze on small amounts of food regularly and to consume a larger amount of fattier, higher protein foods once in a while as part of a daily grind of moving around A LOT.

It may be that one day in the distant future our bodies evolve so that metabolising fats without physical activity becomes a possibility, along with the possibility that our posteriors grow into huge and comfy sacks of fat, a bit like bean-bags but softer, and our left hands turn into TV remotes. In the meantime though, without even 30 minutes of hard exercise every day we’re at best paving the way for an even more decrepit old age than is necessary, with aching joints, angina and concentration problems. At worst, we’ll spend our days sweating hard in even the mildest heat only to keel over with a heart attack one day having gulped down that all important extra pint or hazelnut chocolate.

Perhaps just a little jogging isn’t such a bad idea after all. Now where did I put my trainers and I-Pod…?

With the Swine Flu threat awareness level reaching 5, it seems that the world may be on the brink of a pandemic. Phase 5 indicates that the virus is being spread from human to human so it is extremely important to make sure that germs are not spread. Make sure that you wash your hands and throw away tissues after use.

Eating the right types of food may also reduce your risk of catching a cold or flu. Having a healthy lifestyle and eating a wide variety of healthy foods will help to boost your immune system. The key to making sure that you don’t come down with an illness is to make the changes to your diet before the bugs gets to you.

Here are a few tips on how to reduce your risk of catching a cold:

•    Eat more fruit and vegetables – Everyone should be having 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. I know that this can be difficult but by doing this you will get all the vital vitamins, minerals and antioxidants your body needs. Try having a glass of fresh Orange for breakfast and keep a bowl of fruit available that you can grab on your way out of the house for a quick snack.
•    Keep up a healthy diet – As well as eating fruit and vegetables, you also need to eat other foods to keep your immune system strong. Poultry, fish, whole grain and nuts all have nutrients that you need for a healthy diet. Iron and Zinc are also important; these can be found in lean meats. A deficiency of these could lead to a weaker immune system.

Obviously having a healthy diet isn’t the only way to help prevent colds and flu. Make sure that you wash your hands throughout the day, make sure that you get enough rest, get some exercise and get your flu vaccines from the doctor.

Whatever your shape or size, whatever your age, there is always an activity that you can participate in to keep up your fitness levels. Keeping fit doesn’t mean that you need to push yourself to the limits of your endurance and you don’t need to be a professional in the sport you decide to take up either, just make sure that it is something you enjoy doing that your health will benefit from.

Some people decide to hold back from activities because they feel self conscious, either about their ability or body. Taking part in arranged classes will motivate you more and provide you with support; it will also give you the opportunity to make new friends.

Walking is a great way to exercise; it’s simple, cheap and means that you can capture some beautiful scenery whilst you’re at it. Walking will improve the condition of your heart and lungs and will of course work on the muscles in your lower body. Walking is also low impact which means it will not be too stressful on your joints.

Here are a few tips on how to incorporate more walking into a normal day.

•    If you need to go to the local shops, walk, don’t drive.
•    If you have children, walk them to and from school, increasing the speed weekly.
•    If you use the bus or the train try getting off a stop earlier than normal. (As well as doing you good it will also mean a slightly cheaper fare!!)
•    Once a week arrange to go on a brisk walk. Try to go on a different route each time to keep it interesting.

Walking isn’t the only way to keep fit; try swimming, cycling, dancing, football and swimming too.

With all upper body exercises grip and wrist strength are very important factors. If you have weak wrists you run the risk of injury during pressing exercises such as the bench press or shoulder press. With weak wrists usually comes a poor grip. If your grip is compromised you will suffer in exercises such as pull-ups, rows and the deadlift.

A poor grip and weak wrist can have an impact on your day to day lives. The everyday minor things like picking things up, opening doors or jars for example can all prove to be difficult if you lack strength in the forearm. Sports like golf and tennis benefit greatly from increased strength in this area.

So how can you improve your forearm and grip strength? The tried and tested methods are using dumbbells to perform wrist curls. These can be done by curling to dumbbell towards you with the palm facing upwards and also curling the dumbbell towards you with the palm facing down extending the wrist upwards.

You could also try using a grip strength coil or a handmaster which is basically a stress ball of varying density allowing you to progressively increase wrist and finger strength and in turn grip strength.

To achieve good muscle tone a form of resistance is necessary to force the muscle to change. Most women want to achieve good muscle tone but they struggle to. It’s not because they are physically incapable, it’s mainly because they have the idea that touching any form of weight will make them look masculine.

Feminine hormones work to prevent a woman losing her femininity. For this to happen a woman would have to take male hormone replacements!! Other women in the gym will keep using the same weights for years and wonder why they see not progress. To achieve change a change in stimulus is also required.

With every workout the intensity must increase. Try increasing the weight from workout to the next or increase the number of reps; however it’s inevitable that the weight must increase gradually to keep seeing improvement.

When training there always comes a time when you get to that point when you are not making many or even any noticeable changes. There are different types of movements you can adopt while working out.

There are:
•    Compound – this is where you use the target working muscle and all the surrounding stabilising muscle to aid the movement. As a result more weight can be utilised
•    Isolation – this is where you focus on the working muscle mainly as much as possible. You can never completely isolate the muscle
Compound movements are generally used for building mass and isolation to shape and fine tune. To get through a plateau try the starting with a few sets of isolation exercises to fatigue the target muscle group, then follow up with a compound movement. You will have to reduce the weight for the compound movements as the target muscle will generally be tired and weaker as a result.
Try this for about 4 weeks then return to a conventional routine.

In the gym there are so many people who appear to have no manners at all. Most gyms are well equipped and set up with the latest equipment that we all pay to use with our monthly membership fees.  The equipment is usually the latest available and is maintained and updated on a set basis.

To help keep the environment at its best and pleasant to the users they only ask that we clean up after ourselves. If you use a dumbbell, place it back in the rack when done. If you have used the weight plates, once finishes place them back on the weight plate trees provided, or at least keep them out of the way.

So why is it that there are many useless individuals that leave everything lying around? It’s bad enough that these same cretins throw the weights down for effect, but they then abandon the weights and over onto the next machine or weights. I am annoyed because I was stood near some abandoned weights this morning and accused by staff of using it because the area was last in use by myself on his rounds. The culprit was stood there listening in with an ignorant look on his face!

Even worse, it turns out that Hepatitis C can be spread through the contact of any infected persons sweat. So clean up the equipment when you’re done. Better still make sure you clean up everything before you use it just to be sure. You don’t want to get more than what you have paid for.