How to Avoid the Christmas Fat

This is the time of year when all that work done in the gym can come undone with all those Christmas festivities. But it doesn't have to be like this and you can still enjoy Christmas if you make a few alterations here and there. Below are my top 6 tips on keeping (fairly) healthy during this period. 1.) Don't allow Christmas to last too long:- enjoy yourself eat what you want (in moderation)but only for 3-4 days. Don't allow to stuff yourself for over a week, which can easily happen if you just sit there and eat on Christmas day and go through to the new year and beyond! 2)Eat some nuts:- Walnuts, cashews, Brazil nuts and almonds are all a great source of calcium, which helps build strong bones and teeth. The British Heart Foundation recommends we eat a handful a day and there's evidence that they can even reduce cholesterol. Just ensure they are the unsalted variety. 3) Get Dancing:- With the success of 'Strictly' there's never been a better time to go dancing. Ballroom, disco or salsa it doesn't matter what it is as long as you move that body. Depending on intensity and your weight you can burn over 400 calories dancing. If you're dancing you consume less booze and party food as well. Now the party season is here, why not take advantage and burn some extra calories on the dance floor. 4.) 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! 5.) At parties and Christmas tea choose more natural foods such as sea food, lean meats and chicken/turkey rather than sausage rolls, spring rolls and pizza which are higher in carbohydrates and saturated fats and lower in good quality proteins. 6.) Stay Active- During the slump between Christmas and New Year's Day, why don't you keep active and go for a walk, jog or a bike ride to burn off some of that Christmas dinner, rather then sitting in front of the t.v. and going through yet another box of chocolates 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 wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year.

My Top 5 tips to looking great in that 'little black dress'

It's the party season and it's that time of year when ladies dust down their 'little black dresses' and attend those festive parties. However shock horror, you may not feel that confident as you've gained a few pounds since last year and you haven't stepped foot into a gym or dance studio for some time. But don't despair, there's still time to look great in that 'little black dress'. 1). Do squats-This exercise is the king of butt exercises, as it works all the muscles of the butt, making it more toned and uplifted. Not only that it hits the muscles in the legs too, so you can get toned legs at the same time doing just one exercise! Try doing 2 sets of 15-20 reps with or without weights and build up to 5 sets, with a 30 seconds rest in between. 2). Dead lifts-use either a bar-bell or dumbells, this works the lower back, glutes and hamstrings. Ensure you have a slight bend in your knees and slowly and with control bend at the hips, lengthening the spine and keeping the weights close to your body and go down as far as you can, breathing in. Breath out and keep your stomach muscles tight as you slowly return to a standing position. Do 2 sets of 15-20 reps and build up to 3 -5 sets. 3.) Plank-this Pilates exercise works the core muscles, helping to strengthen and tone the stomach muscles. Lay prone on the floor and lift yourself off the floor having your forearms supporting you and on the balls of your feet. Ensure you draw your belly button towards your spine, keep your stomach tight and remember to breath. Ensure your shoulders, hips, knees and ankles are in alignment. To make it easier rest one or both knees on the floor. Do 3 sets of 10 - 20 seconds. Progression will be increase the time spent in plank. 4). Push ups- If squats is the King of the lower body then this is the King of the upper body. This exercise hits the chest but also helps tone the shoulders and triceps. Who doesn't want toned and honed shoulders and arms when wearing that strapless dress. There are various levels the easier one is on your knees with your hips forward and in line with your shoulders. Hands are one and a half shoulder widths apart and hands are inline with the chest. Harder version is the same position but off your knees. The shoulders, hips, knees and ankles should be inline. Bend your arms until they are at a 90 degree angle, with elbows in line with shoulders and sticking out to the sides, then with control push yourself back up, ensuring you don't lock out your elbows and keeping your body in alignment. Aim to do 2 sets of 6-10 reps and progress to 15-20 reps of 3 sets as you get stronger. 5). Stand up straighter- posture is really important and if you ensure that your ears, shoulders, hips, knees are in alignment than you will instantly look slimmer and the bonus is that if your posture is good, there's less strain on your lower spine, therefore less chance of getting back pain. Try doing a mini circuit incorporating these exercises. Do them in this order:- Squats, Push ups, Dead lifts and planks. Do all exercises back to back and rest for 30 seconds before doing again. Do 3-4 circuits in total. Doing the exercises in a continuous pattern will help keep the heart rate up and burn body fat as it becomes an aerobic exercise. Try adding a sprint on the spot for 30 seconds as well to get your heart rate up even more and burn some extra body fat.

Activity Levels in Mums and their Children 'directly linked'.

Recent research conducted from Cambridge and Southampton universities have discovered that the more active a mother is, the more physically active her child is. The study examined 500 mums and their 4 year old children. They wore heart-rate monitors to measure their activity levels over a 7 day period. The research also discovered that many of these mothers' exercise levels fell way below the recommended levels and factors such as if they had a job and whether the child had any siblings, influenced the mother's activity levels. The researchers concluded that parents have an important role to play in developing healthy exercise habits early on in life and the more activity a mother did, the more active her child would be and it was likely that activity in one of the pair influenced activity in the other. The study also discovered that for every minute of moderate-to-vigorous activity a mother engaged in, her child was more likely to engage in 10% more of the same level of activity and for every hour that a mother was sedentary than their children would be sedentary for nearly 11 minutes.

How much exercise will you have to do to burn off that Big Mac?

Everything we eat consists of a certain amount of calories and each item of food contains different amounts. Depending on what type of food it is and how it is cooked decides how many calories each one contains. Our bodies need a certain amount of calories a day, on average men need 2,500 and women 2,000. If you exercise a lot you may find you need to consume more then this, however if you consume too much then what the body needs, then these extra calories will be converted into fat and stored. A lot of junk food 'restaurants' are now showing customers how many calories are in each of their foods, so customers can make an informed choice and hopefully start to think that these types of foods should be eaten sparingly instead of being a main part of the staple diet. Here I present a selection of some of our nation's favourite foods, how many calories they contain and also more importantly how much time needed to exercise to burn such meals off. Full English breakfast (698 calories) - you will need to walk the dog for 3 hrs 41 mins or swim for 2 hrs, 2 mins to convert these calories to energy. Fancy that bacon sandwich? Or McDonald's egg Mcmuffin that will be 280 and 290 calories respectively and you will need to swim for the best part of an hour to burn it all off! Fancy having a Gregg's steak bake for lunch? That's another 420 added to your daily calorie intake and you will have to do nearly 2 hours of gardening or 2 hrs, 13 mins, walking the dog. A pepperoni pizza will be 970 calories, that's the best part of half the total daily amount of calories for a woman! You're need to do 5 hrs , 7 mins of walking that dog or nearly 3 hrs of swimming to avoid it adding to those hips. Fancy a pint, than that will be 200 for a bitter and 158 for a shot of Jaegerbomb, have a few of those ....and you can do the math on how much exercise you will have to do to avoid storing these empty calories as fat....a hell of a lot! Of course all that drinking will make you hungry again and you will need to get yourself a take-away. That KFC box will set you back a whopping 1080, that includes the diet coke and you will have to do just over 3 hrs of swimming or 5 hrs , 40 mins walking that dog again. The classic Donner Kebab that will be 642 and will need 1 hr, 52 mins of swimming to burn off. Oh and that Big Mac, that contains 492 calories and that's before you add the milkshake(490) and large fries (510), that's a gut busting 1,492 calories! To burn that lot off you'll need to walk for 6 hours or cover 9.5 miles! These types of food are ok in moderation and can be part of a well balanced diet but as you can see if these foods are consumed too often than those calories will soon add up and get out of control and the only direction they will be heading for will be on you as fat! Food for thought?

Seven Life Habits To Help You Live Longer

Back in April 2012, Lester Breslow, died at the age of 97. He was a distinguished public health doctor who in 1965 published the results of a study of 6,928 adults in California. It showed that the length of life was dependent on seven life habits. The fewer an adult followed the shorter their life expectancy was. The seven life habits were: Moderate consumption of alcohol, no smoking, regular exercise, 7 - 8 hours of sleep per night, maintenance of a normal body weight (BMI 18-24) by eating moderately and regularly and regular consumption of breakfast. This is a good check list to look at and decide if the lifestyle you are following needs improving if you want to stand the best chance of living longer and maintaining a good quality of life in your older years. How many do you follow?

Stressed Parents = Fat Kids

According to recent research by Dr Elizabeth Prout-Parks, a physician nutrition specialist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, found a connection between parent-perceived stress and more frequent fast food consumption by the family. She and her fellow authors have speculated that stressed parents may be buying more junk food to save time or reducing the demands of meal preparation. They also pointed out that children of stressed parents may result in less supervision, who may than go on to make unhealthy food and activity choices. The World Health Organization (WHO) regards childhood obesity as one of the most serious global public health challenges for the 21st century. According to the latest available figures 2012/13, 19% of 10-11 year olds, were obese and 14.4% were overweight. Reception (4-5 year olds), 9.3% were obese and 13% were found to be overweight. This means almost a third of 10-11 year olds and over a fifth of 4-5 year olds were obese or overweight. In order for parents to avoid this trap and your children becoming a statistic, than planning ahead is essential. Fast food can be expensive and is high in saturated fats, salt and sugar and often low in protein, vitamins and minerals. Why don't you cook more food when you have the time and freeze the extra. In that way when you're rushed you only have to take the food out of the freezer and reheat it. This food would be much more nutritious and healthy. Foods such as cous cous, pasta, rice, stir-fries, vegetables, pulses and fruit are both quick and nutritious and can be a staple of your family's diet.

The XXX Factors for Building Muscle (Part 3)

In the last of my series on the top 3 X factors that I believe are the most important in helping to build muscle, the final piece of the jigsaw is arguably the most vital but is often the most over looked. The final X factor is nutrition. It's no good doing varied and intense work outs, allowing time for each muscle to recover fully before challenging them again, if the fuel you are consuming to help build them is not enough and/or is the wrong type of food. The body in order to repair the muscles that have been damaged during work outs, need Protein to help rebuild them and increase their size. The main source of protein comes from animal and diary products, such as chicken, meat, fish, cheese, eggs, butter and milk. They can also be found in non-animal products such as pulses, tofu, textured value protein, seeds and nuts but you have to consume a lot more in order to gain the same amount that you would get from animal sources. A lot of people prefer to now use protein shakes as they can be more convenient and you can consume a lot more protein in one go, rather than struggling to consume the same amount from chicken and eggs. Herbalife has recently brought out a whole new range of products to help both professional and keen athletes and sports people. The 24 range includes a pumped up version of Herbalife's leading protein shake, which is the world's number one meal replacement product, the Formula 1 shake. This shake is called Formula 1 Sport and contains Whey protein rather than soya, as it is transported quicker into the muscles, as its the body's preferred source of protein. It also has a unique blend of carbohydrate-protein and fibre with essential vitamins and minerals that the body needs to repair itself fully. This comes in Vanilla Cream flavour and so lends itself well to adding other ingredients to it such as fruit or peanut butter to add further vitamins, fibre or protein. I would recommend consuming this after a work out, as this is when your body needs it the most. In addition to this you can have it as a snack between meals to help top up your protein needs. In the 24 range there is also the more advanced protein shake for those who are serious about packing on the muscle. Called Rebuild Strength, this is a high protein recovery shake that you consume after training. Packed with 25g of high quality whey protein and comes in a tasty chocolate flavour. Unlike a lot of other inferior protein shakes, there are no artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners in this product. Herbalife also believes in the policy of 'from seed to feed', meaning that unlike a lot of cheaper protein shakes that can have other companies involved during the development stages, Herbalife uses no outside companies and vigorously checks the product at each key stage of development in order to ensure that it contains the highest level of quality of ingredients and is fully in control of what goes into each product. Also professional sports people who can get tested for performance enhancing drugs can be reassured that every product from every batch produced in the 24 range are screened for prohibited substances by an independent 3rd party. Water is also important for our bodies, as we are made up of about 70% of water and is used to help transport nutrients to cells and get rid of waste products. In order to function at our best we need to consume at least 2.5 litres per day, even more if we are working out or in a hot environment.

The XXX Factors on building muscle (Part 2)

On my last blog I covered how important it was to up the intensity of your work out in order to stimulate the muscle enough to grow. If the muscle isn't placed under pressure, there's no reason for it to build more muscle fibres, to perform the task its asked to do, as it can already do it with the fibres it already has! In Part 2 I will be explaining the 2nd X Factor:- Rest & work out variation - how many times have you seen a really skinny guy in the gym throwing around weights and he seems to be in there all the time, 24-7 and he doesn't look any different from when he started a year ago! In fact he looks like he's putting on body fat rather than muscle! Why is this? What is going on? You would think if he is battering his body day in and day out he should be packing on lean, mean muscle and looking like a champion body builder and not a skinny weakling! It's the fact that muscle growth doesn't occur during your time in the gym but the magic happens once you leave that gym and start resting. When the body is resting and has been given adequate nutrition (more on this later)than the muscle fibres which have been ripped down during the work out can be mended and made bigger (hypertrophy). However if you're constantly working out in the gym, like that skinny guy, with the increasing swelling belly than all you're doing is ripping down the muscle and not allowing enough time for it to mend before ripping it down again. Over a period of time the muscle in fact becomes smaller and as the body only has enough energy stores for 1 to 1.5 hours per session, if you continue past this point your body will strip down the muscle to continue the work out (catabolism). This is something you don't want, as muscle mass burns more calories at rest compared with fat and this helps to keep your metabolism up and if your body starts to strip this away and leaves the fat, your body composition starts to change and your metabolism will slow down as fat% increases and muscle % decreases- not a good look! You must get plenty of sleep, at least 8 hours, as this is the time when the muscles start to rebuild and recover. This is also when testosterone and Human Growth Hormone (HGH)is produced, the hormones that help muscle growth. You must factor in rest days at least 1 day of total rest per week and split your fitness work outs in order to allow 48 hours rest of each muscle, before training them again. E.g on Monday do chest but don't do chest again until at least Wednesday, so do back or legs on Tuesday instead. Try to vary the work outs so you have heavy and lighter training days in order to help the body to recover and avoid over training. The other thing to avoid is continuing doing the same old fitness programme for months, maybe even years! The body adapts to exercise extremely quickly, so in order to continue packing on the muscle you must change your programme about every 6 weeks so you keep the body guessing and avoid plateauing. Also during each session mix up the order you do each exercise. If you always start with the bench press then start with chest flyes or pullovers instead, to keep the body guessing and make each session feel different, so each visit to the gym feels fresh for both mind and body. I leave the last word about keeping the body guessing to keep growing to arguably the most successful and influential body builder of all time, Mr Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Your muscles tend to become complacent and resist growth if you are constantly doing the same workout for them. But if you try all different types of training methods, exercises, weights, set-rep combinations and training tempos, you keep the muscles off balance. They sort of say to themselves, ‘Wow, there’s a new thing here. He just did 10 sets of 20 reps, and the next workout he’ll do 20 sets of five reps. I’ll never get used to this. I can never build up a resistance to the training, so I guess I’ll have to grow!’”

The XXX factors for building muscle (Part 1)

I was talking to a young man in the gym today regarding the best way to build muscle and if there was some magic X factor behind it all. He was spending many hours in the gym, 7 days a week, believing if he did this and than went home and ate anything he wanted as he was young enough and had 'done enough' to burn it all off, he would build muscle. However despite doing all this he wasn't seeing any results. I explained to him that there are in fact 3 X factors to successfully build muscle. If one or more is ignored than it will be harder if not near impossible to build muscle successfully. Although genetics is an important factor in determining how much muscle we can build and we all can't end up looking like 'Arnies', even if we had the best nutrition and work out plan in the world, as not everyone has the right genetic make up to do this. However you can always better yourself if you embrace and ensure you follow all 3 of these X Factors:- 1). Intensity of your workout-what's the point doing 3+ sets of 6-12 reps if the weight you are using isn't any way near heavy enough and after completing your 12th rep you look smugly in the mirror, thinking you've done enough but knowing you could have easily lifted another 10 reps at that weight. If that's the case you must lift heavier. The body is in general quite lazy and will only progress in strength and fitness if you push it. Go heavy and when you hit that 10th or 12th rep your muscles should be screaming and shaking as you reach muscle failure. If you reach this point you are stimulating the muscle enough to encourage growth as the muscle fibres are quite literally ripped apart, only to be rebuilt bigger and stronger in order to accomplish the same task again. But once the body can do that weight you than must increase the weight or change up your fitness programme, in order to continue to stimulate the muscle and encourage growth.

How exercise can reduce the risk of heart disease

This week we heard of the sad death of alternative comedian, Rik Mayall who suddenly died at the age of 56. According to his widow he had an 'acute cardiac event' after he had finished his morning run. However the post mortem was inconclusive and it may take weeks to discover what the cause of death was. No doubt in some corners of the press they will now say that doing exercise can kill you! Although performing exercise does have some risks, these risks are far out weighed by the benefits. Doing moderate exercise according to research will help you reduce the risk of heart disease and suffering a 'cardiac event.' Data collected confirmed that inactivity is considerably more dangerous than other major risk factors, such as smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Doing exercise can help reduce the risk factors by strengthening the heart and lungs, reducing body fat, blood pressure, increased insulin sensitivity of muscles, increasing the uptake of glycogen, therefore controlling blood sugar levels better and helping to reduce cholesterol levels. Therefore you stand more of a chance of suffering from an 'acute cardiac event' if you sit on your butt all day doing sweet FA, rather than doing a bit of moderate exercise. Government guidelines suggest that doing 5 x 30 minutes of moderate exercise a week, (feel slightly out of breath, slightly perspiring and slightly uncomfortable) will reap these benefits. Exercise has also shown to help those who already have heart disease and have suffered from a heart attack to live longer and live better quality lives. Evidence has shown that exercise can reduce morbidity and mortality in this group of patients by 19% compared with usual care. Working with those who have had past cardiac events I know from personal experience how exercise can help improve their every day lives and reduce the risk of further events. I know of one older lady from my older people class who suffers from angina (slight blockage to coronary artery that causes chest pains). She used to suffer from the symptoms a lot, having to use her GTN spray (this relieves the pain by opening up the arteries more, increasing blood flow). Since exercising she hasn't had to use the spray in years! So remember the evidence shows that the benefits of exercise far outweigh the risks of suffering an 'acute cardiac event.'

How People Around You Impact Behaviour

This abridged version of this article is by a really insightful guy called James Clear and shows how the people we spend the most time with influence our thoughts and actions. If you want to change and improve yourself you must surround yourself with those that will help and encourage you to reach your goals. Pieter Ernst was a physician with an interest in community-wide behavior change and he was currently in Mozambique. For nearly twenty years, a brutal civil war had ravaged the population and landscape of the country. The war had ended three years earlier, but the entire healthcare system of the country had been crippled. Thousands of mothers and children were dying from preventable diseases. The biggest problem was the scale of the issue. Dr. Ernst needed to reach a population of 107,000 citizens with a staff of just 19 people. Ernst realized that it was impossible for his team to do it alone. Furthermore, he knew that if they were going to reduce the incidence of preventable disease for good, then significant behavior change would need to occur within the community. His team couldn’t stay in Mozambique forever. These changes had to happen in the homes and minds of the community. Ernst came up with a plan. Changing the Habits of 107,000 People First, they found over 2,000 volunteers from the community. Then, each member of his 19-person staff was responsible for teaching groups of 10 to 15 volunteers from the surrounding community about the steps they could take to reduce the incidence of preventable diseases. Then, each volunteer would visit 10 to 15 households and share what they had learned. The volunteers repeated households every two weeks and continued to spread the ideas. But this was the part that made the plan brilliant: the support group for the volunteers was not the 19-person healthcare staff. It was the other 10 to 15 volunteers in their small group. Each group of volunteers talked among one another about what was working, what wasn’t working, and how to get people on board with the changes in their community. What happened? Not only did they reach the massive population, they also got the changes to take hold. The number of underweight children was cut by half. The mortality rate of children under five dropped. Pneumonia treatment was six times better than before the project began. In a followup survey taken 20 months after the project had officially ended, the volunteer groups were still operating with 94% of the original volunteers and the health metrics continued to improve. [1] The changes had stuck. For good. The public health victory of Ernst’s team is impressive, but this isn’t just a feel-good story. There is a deeper lesson here that we can all apply to our own lives. Most of our behaviors are driven by two things: our environment and our beliefs. And environment is perhaps the most powerful of those two because in many cases your environment can shape your beliefs. This is especially true when you consider your environment to include the people who surround you. Consider the community in Mozambique. In the beginning, the community had a certain identity. After the war, many basic public health approaches simply weren’t part of daily life. But as the volunteers began expanding their reach, working with each other, and sharing news of what techniques were working, the community began to develop a new identity. New behaviors began to be seen as normal behaviors. And when a new behavior becomes the norm for any particular group, the change sticks for good. The lesson is simple: doing something is much easier when it’s the normal thing to do in your community. There were only 2,300 volunteers in the Mozambique project, but 107,000 people began to take on new habits and behaviors when the identity of the group changed. This happens to all of us. We take on the behaviors of the groups in which we live and the communities to which we belong. •Want to workout more? Become part of a group where working out is normal. Not a goal. Not an event. Just part of the lifestyle. •Want to do better work? Surround yourself with people who make each day a work of art rather than seeing work as a reason to clock in and clock out. •Want to live a life of service? Step into a group where service is part of the day-to-day routine. Lasting behavior change happens when it’s part of the cultural norm.

Take your Training Outside

At last summer seems to be here (for the moment any way). While the sun's out why not take your training outside. Who wants to be working out in a gym or studio when you could be doing it outside. Studies have shown that the body and mind respondes well outside where you can reconnect with nature. Also you can get some sunlight that will provide a natural source of vitamin D for maintaining strong bones and teeth and can help with improving mood. Combining your exercising in the great outdoors will enhance the experience and lift your mood. Try taking a jog around the local park or bike it in the woods. Use the local park benches and playground equipment for a resistance workout such as chin ups, tricep dips and push ups. A lot of local parks now have dedicated outside gyms so you can do the same exercises as you would do indoors but getting the extra benefits of training outside. Try out a local outdoor class such as boot camp or Tai Chi- the only limit is your imagination. If you choose to train outside don't forget to wear sun protection, hat and carry water to keep hydrated. Come on get out of the house and start exercising outside before it starts raining again.

Exercise Helps Prevent & Improve Dementia

Exercise has shown to help reduce the risk of developing dementia later on in life or slow down the progress of the disease in those diagnosed with the condition. Even light exercise was found to be better than doing no exercise at all. Any form of exercise is beneficial and the number of different types of exercise undertaken can make a difference as well. Those doing 4 different types of exercise over a 2 week period showed a decreased risk when compared with those performing 1 type of exercise. Exercise can also improve mobility, cardio vascular function, balance and strength, improving a person's quality of life and reducing the risk of falls and hospital admissions. Studies have also shown that exercise helps to improve a person's memory in the early stages of dementia. A trial was conducted where a group of people with memory problems were encouraged to undertake 150 minutes of physical activity per week of moderate intensity (the recommended government guidelines) and showed an improved cognitive function with this improvement lasting for 12 months.

Following an Active Lifestyle is as Important as Exercising Regularly

I see a lot of people in the gym working out hard and sweating but they seem to not change shape. When asking them if they are reaching their goals they often tell me that they're feeling healthier but are still not losing weight. When I ask a few questions I find out that although they are working out 2-3 times a week they are not being active outside the gym, spending a lot of time sitting, using the car and using the lift instead of the stairs. Also their diet hasn't really changed and they're skipping meals, having too much fatty foods and take-aways and their portion sizes are still far too big. They also often fall into the trap that they spend too much time in the gym, thinking it will do them good but often doing them more harm. If you train for more than one and a half hours you will be burning muscle rather than fat as your glycogen levels have depleted and your body needs the presence of glycogen to enable it to burn fat. So all they are doing is burning away the very tissue that will help burn body fat at rest and run the risk of causing injury through over training and lowering their immune system. If you are training for a long distance event such as a marathon, than you need to take on board more nutrition in order to prevent muscle catabolism. So an energy drink high in nutrients that the body needs, such as Herbalife's H3O Pro or Hydrate drinks would be ideal to replace the lost nutrients such as glycogen and continue the fat burning process. So a change in lifestyle outside the gym is as important as regular periods of active exercise in order to achieve the best results. So my top 5 tips in getting the best results are:- 1.) Don't over train and allow a day off in between heavy work outs for your body to recover. 2. Ditch the car and start walking or cycling-you'll be surprised how many extra calories you'll be burning. 3. Keep take-aways to a minimum. 4. Get plenty of sleep in order for your body to repair the muscles and recharge your energy levels for the next work out. 5. Don't skip meals-eating regular well-balanced meals which are high in protein and low in saturated fats will help keep your metabolism up high and prevent your body going into 'starvation mode' and storing fat when you do eat. If you'll always in a rush in the morning and skip breakfast, try a Herbalife protein shake, they come in many different flavours including chocolate, strawberry and cookies & cream. At around 225 calories per serving they are both nutritious and low in calories compared with a lot of breakfast choices. Check out my Website at www.titanfreestyle.com for further details on Herbalife products.

How Walking Can Help Combat Back Pain

According to a study published in the journal, Clinical Rehabilitation, a walking programme is just as effective at easing lower back pain as muscle strengthening programmes that involve specialist equipment. 52 patients with lower back pain were split into two groups. One group completed a muscle strengthening programme comprising 2 to 3 sessions per week for 6 weeks, while the other group did a 6 week aerobic walking programme, beginning with a 20 minute walk 2 to 3 times a week, progressing to a 40 minute walk. Both groups improved significantly in all areas and walking showed that you didn't have to use any expensive equipment or extra costs to help relieve lower back pain. Also walking or just being outdoors for as little as 5 minutes, has been shown to make a positive impact on a person's mood and help improve lower back pain.

How Music can help give you better workouts

According to a study by Sweatband.com the average workout lasts 19 minutes longer if you are listening to music. The poll surveyed 1,621 regular exercisers and asked whether they listened to music while working out. Many from the 61% who did, said they saw noticeable benefits from using music while exercising such as being 'distracted from the pain/intensity' of the work-out and helping to 'break up the monotony'. Researchers also asked them how long they spent working out for. The results showed that those who didn't listen to music exercised for about 39 minutes, while those who used music worked out on average for 58 minutes. Maz Darvish, CEO of Sweatband.com said, "We tend to unconsciously pick up our pace and exercise rate if listening to a fast-paced tune that we enjoy but it also helps to pass the time quicker." The study also found dance music to be the most favoured genre with 31% choosing that over other styles of music. Personally I prefer a bit of rock and metal to get me moving, but whatever gets you motivated is great.

New Gym Ideas

Are you bored with your gym routine? Than try these new moves to keep your routine fresh and bore free. Dry Tri:- Try rowing for 1.5km, bike it for 6km and run for 3 km. Note your total time and try to beat it next time you visit the gym. Cooper It: Named after a fitness test, do a 10-minute warm-up then run, cycle, cross train or walk as hard and fast as you can for 12 minutes and make a note of how far you went. Next time you do it try and beat the distance. Go Hard or Go Home: Pick six machines and work as hard as you possibly can on each of them for five minutes. Because it seems like a short workout, you’ll work more intensely than if you aimed to do 30 minutes straight.

Moderate Exercise can help and prevent Depression

According to recent research from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, moderate exercise can not only help treat depression but can prevent its development in the long term. In the first study of its kind to focus exclusively on the impact exercise has in maintaining positive mental health and its role in preventing depression later on in life, Professor Guy Faulkner and PhD candidate George Mammen's reviewed 26 years of research findings and discovered that even minimum levels of exercise can help prevent depression across all age groups. They acknowledge that other factors can influence the condition such as genetics however there was enough evidence found from the study to conclude that regardless of a person's predispositions, there was a clear implication for everyone. Mammen commented, "It's definitely worth taking note that if you're currently active, you should sustain it. If you're not physically active you should initiate the habit. This review shows promising evidence that the impact of being active goes far beyond the physical."

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.