The Differences between Self Defence and The Martial Arts

Recently I was invited to run a self defence course at a local academy for a group of students. I started the class asking what they thought they were to expect and hope to gain from attending such a class. The feedback I got was that they expected to get fit, lose weight and learn some 'kick-ass' kicks and moves. I explained to them that they'd come to the wrong class as true self defence has nothing to do with the 'Hollywood' version of a street fight with flashy kicks to the heads of the 'baddies' and spectacular multiple strikes that are eye catching and pleasing. The techniques in true self defence are short, sharp and brutal, just like a real street fight. Their expectations has made me wonder if many people out there think the same and confuse the glamorous fights of the silver screen as a true reflection of the real world. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although there are many techniques taken from the martial arts that can be used effectively on the street, such as elbow strikes, punches, knee and low kicks, these have to be stripped down to their raw basics in order to work in the 'real world.' There are some exceptional martial artists who due to years of training can perform wrist locks and the like under pressure but those with less skill or allow the pressure to get to them will be in trouble when they try to put a complicated move on an unwilling opponent on a street late on a Saturday night outside a kebab shop, far removed from the safety and the rules of the dojo. In self defence techniques must be basic but effective and can be performed even under pressure. The objective is to get out of the situation that you have found yourself in as quickly as possible. You are not there to have a 'prize fight' or impress anyone. Why try to kick someone in the head (which could be caught)when a simple straight punch or a head-butt would do? Your thoughts and comments on this matter would be most welcome. Incidentally I will be doing a Boxercise class from now on at the school as I think that is closer to what the students want.

It's Christmas!!!!!

It's that time of year again when it seems all your hard work in the gym, all the sweating in those classes and your diet goes to pot and you feel you've gained a few stone in only a few days! It doesn't have to be like that. Here are my top 5 tips in enjoying your Christmas without putting on too many pounds. 1.) Don't allow Christmas to last too long:- enjoy yourself eat what you want but only for 3-4 days. Don't allow to stuff yourself for over two weeks, which can easily happen if you just sit there and eat leading up to Christmas, than Christmas itself and go through to the new year. 2.) Don't overload the plate for your Christmas dinner-you want to leave room for pudding, and you will comfortably feel full not feel like an over-stuffed turkey! 3.)Take a walk after Christmas dinner-this will burn off a few calories, give you energy and avoid attacking those tin of chocolates too early. 4.) At parties and Christmas tea choose more natural foods such as sea food, lean meats and chicken rather than sausage rolls, spring rolls and pizza which are higher in carbohydrates and saturated fats and lower in good quality proteins. 5.) Get some exercise in between Christmas and new year:- go for a jog or visit the gym. This will make it much easier to restart your fitness regime in the new year rather than having two weeks off and doing nothing. I hope this helps so you can avoid some of the pit falls of the Christmas season. I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year. All the best and I will see you all in 2014.

Exercise can help reduce brain damage caused by alcohol

According to new research carried out at the University of Colorado Boulder, regular aerobic exercise such as walking, running and cycling may help in reducing the damage alcohol can do to the brain's 'white matter' and even help prevent damage. The study, Alcoholism:-Clinical & Experimental Research, used, 60 moderate to heavy drinkers who all underwent a modified type of MRI scan to enable researchers to follow the position and path of water molecules travelling parallel to nerve fibres in the white matter as they travelled through the brain. "What our data suggests is that, beyond just giving people a different outlet for cravings and urges for alcohol, exercise might also help to repair the damage that may have been done to the brain," explained Angela Bryan, co-author of the study. "It might even be a more promising treatment approach for alcohol problems because it is both a behavioural treatment and a treatment that has the potential to make the brain more healthy." However she warns, "it is not our intention to suggest that a person can erase the physiological damage of heavy drinking by exercising.

How to get a flat and toned stomach

One of the main fitness goals for both men and women is to get a flat stomach. But unfortunately this goal is often never realised fully. To help us understand this we have to look at the reasons we store fat around the stomach. Belly fat is a result of too much processed food in the daily diet, inactivity & our body's hormonal response. For example, high levels of the hormone cortisol (which is elevated by stress, overtraining and lack of sleep) affects our response to insulin and encourages fat storage around the middle. So how can you get a rippling 6 pack safely & efficiently? It all begins with nutrition. First of all, if we look at the abdominal muscle group we will see that each of us has abs, and that it is the natural shape of the muscle which gives the appearance of a 'six pack', however in order to make these muscles prominent we must melt away the overlying subcanteous fat layer, & thicken the muscle. In order to do this you need to clean up your diet by reducing or eliminate processed foods, grains and wheat (it is thought 6-7% of the population are intolerant to gluten), as these can cause inflammation of the stomach & promote fat storage. Also drinking plenty of water to flush out any nasty toxins – another cause of fat storage. Processed foods can cause bloating, and too much salt in the diet can cause water retention which will affect the appearance of the midsection. Increase your protein levels by eating plenty of chicken, meat, fish, pulses, eggs and protein shakes. So what to eat? Try a nutritional shake for breakfast add some fruit for added vitamins and minerals and this contributes to your '5 a day'. For lunch chicken and salad and for dinner fish or meat with plenty of vegetables and a little bit of carbohydrates such as rice, pasta or potatoes. Have a couple of healthy snacks such as a protein bar or a piece of fruit to eat between meals in order to maintain a high metabolism and stop your body falling into 'starvation mode.' Although nutrition is about 80% of the battle you still need to exercise to achieve those results. What type of exercise is best? Exercising at a high intensity with compound movements, and bouts of high intensity cardio are a quick way to melt away excess fat. Be sure to get adequate rest & good quality sleep in order to reduce your cortisol levels. Try yoga or Pilates to help strengthen the core muscles and improve posture. Ideal ab exercises include woodchops, hanging leg raises, Russian twists, reverse curls, V-sits, medicine ball throws and plank. Once you clean up your diet and perform some of these exercises you will soon start to see a difference. Try writing a food diary to monitor progress - often people don't realise what they eat throughout the week until they see it written down on paper. Preparing food in advance is also a key way to stay on track. Try cooking extra when preparing a meal and freeze it for later this saves both time, money and stops you from grabbing something convenient yet unhealthy which will scupper your goals. Try following these tips and watch your abs emerge from that body fat.

The Importance of Nutrition to get the Best Results

As pointed out on the BBC program the other night, 'The Men that made us Thin,' exercise alone can't help us lose weight as doing moderate exercise will only make a small dent in our overall daily energy expenditure. The importance of nutrition is often overlooked in the pursuit of losing weight or improving ones health, which is a bit mad considering 80% of weight loss is achieved through healthy nutrition. So you can see if you don't get the nutrition right you will be setting yourself up to fail. In order to succeed and reach your fitness goals you must seriously look at what you put in your mouth on a daily basis and see if you are selling yourself short. So how can you get your nutrition on track in order to get the best results? An easy option whould be a Herbalife Formula 1 shake. This is the number 1 meal-replacement shake in the world, underpinned by science that shows in clinical studies that daily use of a meal-replacement shake along with moderate exercise has been proven effective for managing weight. This great drink comes in 6 tasty favours including strawberry, chocolate, cookies and cream and tropical fruit. Each shake is calorie controlled at just 220 Kcal and is a healthy meal in a glass as all the nutrients that you would find in a well-balanced meal such as protein, carbohydrates, essential vitamins and minerals are present. Being a G.P. Referal instructor and personal trainer I speak to a lot of people and find a large percentage either skip meals due to lack of time or appetite or have a high calorie and saturated fat meal which is often lacking the essential nutrients the body needs to be healthy. I knew there had to be a solution out there and that's why I become an independent distributer for Herbalife. They have loads of other fantastic products that can enhance your well being such as Formula 1 express bars, protein bars, multi-vitamins and 'Liftoff', a low calorie energy drink that you can have anytime and anywhere which is only 10Kcal per serving and has 100% of your vitamin C, which helps to alleviate tiredness and 100% of your B group vitamins for normal energy metabolism. If that's not enough it even contains 75g of cafferine, to help increase alertness and improve concentration. This is a great alternative to all those high calorie energy drinks that are on the market these days. Whether you are an elite athlete, recreational gym user or office worker that needs a pick me up during the 3 o'clock slump, Herbalife has a product for you. Why not check out my website that has a link to the Herbalife website, which shows their full product range. If you like what you see than please contact me for further details.

Hydration & Exercise

Around 60-70% of our body is made of water, so it's fair to say that water is vital for survival. Drinking 8-10 glasses of water each day is recommended, but during exercise or when in hot environments, we need to drink more, because we sweat more. But is water enough? Or do we need sports drinks to stay properly hydrated? Sports drinks will keep you well hydrated and give you energy if you're participating in high intensity exercise for 90 minutes or more. However, if you're not exercising to this level, plain water will be enough to re-hydrate you. Studies have shown as little as one percent dehydration can cause major changes in body temperature, while two percent dehydration will drop your performance levels significantly! So to operate efficiently it's vital to keep your fluid levels up. Other drinks that contain high amounts of carbohydrates (such as Lucozade and Red Bull and soft drinks) stop water being absorbed quickly and therefore can delay hydration, so are not suitable before exercise. So if you're doing a high intensity workout that is more than 90 minutes in duration than choose a sports drink. But, if you're not working out to this intensity and you're trying to lose/control your weight than water is best as otherwise you may find yourself putting on weight because of the extra carbohydrate content. If you don't like the taste of plain water, add a little cordial to give some flavor or a slice of lemon, orange or a sprig of mint. Hydration tips for exercise Make sure you're well hydrated before you exercise — start drinking approximately two hours before Keep your fluids topped up during exercise Always remember to re-hydrate after exercise.

Get a body like a celeb do kickboxing

Want a body like Angelina Jolie, Carmen Electra, Eva Mendes or guns and abs like Van Damme? Than learning kickboxing is the answer. All these celebs honed their toned bodies by practicing the martial art known as kickboxing. Kickboxing burns body fat, tones and strengthens muscle and increases stamina. Its a total body blaster working arms, chest, back, abs, legs and butts. Also its a great stress buster, where you can release that energy and channel it into something good. In a typical training session you can burn between 600 and 888 calories an hour. This will depend on intensity levels and weight of the person taking part but as you can see you can burn a serious amount of calories in a short space of time. Kickboxing also improves balance, co-ordination, flexibility and can build confidence and self-esteem. So get the body that you want and punch and kick your way to fitness.