We all know how important exercise is, but it’s just as vital to listen to your body when you’re feeling sick. While pushing through a workout after a hard day can sometimes be a great idea, it’s not always the best idea to force your body into exercise.
Mix it up
Don’t get stuck in a rut. Your body (and soul!) will eventually rebel and your weight-loss will plateau.
Switch around your exercise routine occasionally to keep your body guessing and to ensure that you are targeting all muscle groups.
Have an MOT
Early detection of any health condition increases the chance of a cure, so have a health check for ‘hidden’ problems such as raised cholesterol, high blood pressure and glucose intolerance that don’t produce obvious symptoms.
Watch the booze
Alcohol contributes to anxiety and depression, high blood pressure, heart arrhythmias, weight gain and liver disease. You can assess if you are drinking too much at drinkaware.co.uk.
Cut back on salt
Salt contributes to the age-related increase in blood pressure. Avoid salty foods, don’t add salt at the table, and check labels to select products that have low salt/sodium content.
Cut back on sugar
Excessive sugar intakes are linked with weight gain and increased risk of type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, heart disease, stroke, dementia and some cancers. Public Health England suggests adults should have no more than 30g free sugars (7 sugar cubes) per day. Wean yourself off of sweet foods, and check labels to find products with the lowest sugar content.
Track yourself
The amount of physical activity carried out by middle-aged men in particular, is worrying low. Only 20% do light-to-moderate exercise, and 60% are totally inactive. Use an activity tracker or pedometer to monitor how much exercise you’re doing.
Never rush through warm-up and cool-down sessions
You might want to push straight to your desired speed while out running, or you think it’s ok to sneak into your workout class after warm-up or leave without doing the cool-down.
However, it’s important to warm up and cool down properly to prepare your muscles for the workout ahead, and to speed up recovery and avoid injury.
Form over speed
It is important to keep proper form during strength exercises or weight lifting to avoid injury. Shift your focus from the number of repetitions and make sure you have the correct form.
If you suffer from these work-related ailments, a Pilates exercise could help.
Sore elbows:
Resting elbows on a desk for too long can lead to over-sensitive elbows.
FIX IT! – Monkey Triceps:
Hold a 1-2kg weight in each hand. Bend knees with straight back. Hug upper arm bones into the side of ribs. Bend and straighten elbows to the maxi range, keeping tops of the arms hugging the midline. Repeat 12 times.
Back pain:
Slouching in front of a computer screen leads to pain in the upper back.
FIX IT! – Swan Prep:
Lie on your front with forehead on mat, hands directly under shoulders and shoulders rolled back and down. Lift abs in and up, lift head and chest and gaze forward. Keep tops of arms hugging midline, with shoulders back and down. Hold at the top, then lower down slowly. Repeat 5-8 times.
Aching wrists:
Repetitive mouse use affects the tendon of the index finger as well as the wrist and forearm.
FIX IT! – Serratus Press Up:
Kneel on all fours, wrists under shoulders, knees under hips, gaze forward. With straight arms, lower ribs between arms and draw shoulder blades together. Press hands down as if trying to push the floor away so the upper back rounds and shoulder blades spread wide. Move through these positions with control 8 times.
Happy New Year! As our minds start to focus on the year ahead, many will be thinking about making fitness and lifestyle changes. If this has got you wondering what the next fitness trends will be for 2018, then take a look at my top 3. You can decide if you want to take any of them on!
2017 has been a huge year for boxing, and it is predicted that 2018 will follow suit.
Whether at home, in the gym, or in group fitness classes, there are going to be plenty more women learning to bob and weave and throw a one-two punch this year.
This is the calmer cousin of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). LIIT workouts will still burn the same calories, but will take an extra 30-40 minutes to complete.
It can be as easy as taking a walk and changing direction and speed every 5 minutes. While you still need to incorporate intervals, the intensity is not as brutal as a HIIT session.
Fitness games have left the scene and in their place are virtual reality workouts.
The Omni by Virtux is a 360º small treadmill that connects to a game and allows you to run, pivot, jump and crouch while wearing trainers that interact with sensors on the treadmill. However, this all sounds a little too futuristic for me!
Supersets
Crank up any workout with this super-charged approach in which two exercises are performed back-to-back with no (or minimal) rest in between. Start with lower reps and then build up as you become more confident.
Stitch is a pain that appears in your side as you exercise and could be related to posture.
Those who slump their upper back forward when they exercise are more prone to a stitch as the position aggravates the nerves in the abdominal wall.
Try standing up straighter when you exercise and the problem should improve.