Category Archives: Exercise

November 23, 2015

HOW MANY REST DAYS DO I NEED?

Bored

A common mistake of people new to exercising – and even among experienced exercisers – is to workout too hard, too often. Overtraining can effect your health. By not allowing for proper rest periods in your workout routine, it is far more likely that you don’t adhere to your exercise habit, due to feeling poorly, excess fatigue or soreness, or even injury, if you aren’t allowing your body to heal in between workouts.

So how many rest days do you really need a week?
The number of rest days that you take each week depends on how intensely you train, especially relative to your fitness level. As a rule, if a muscle group is still sore from a previous workout, do not train it intensely again until it has healed and is no longer sore.

For example, if my thighs are sore from a lower body strength workout I did yesterday, I should not train them again today – or the next, if they are still very sore. In this case, it doesn’t mean I have to take a complete rest day; I could train my upper body or core, or stick to light cardio, yoga, stretching, etc.

Balancing your workouts to target different muscle groups on different days of the week allows you to take fewer rest days, but even then, you should save at least 1-2 days a week for rest, or at least active rest or active recovery.

What is active rest or active recovery? 
You don’t have to spend your whole ‘rest day’ on the sofa! Light physical activity on a rest day can help boost your mood, your health, and your progress or ability to maintain your weight or fitness level.

If you’re looking to stay active even on your rest days, a good rule is that the activity should not be something that would cause you sore muscles. Whether you’re walking, swimming, doing yoga, stretching, etc, it should be at a reduced intensity from your normal workouts.

What happens if I over-exercise?
If you don’t include enough rest into your workout programme, you are putting yourself at risk for overtraining, which increases your chances of health repercussions and otherwise avoidable injuries.

The best thing you can do is to listen to your own body; if you think it might be asking for more rest, don’t think that listening to that request means that you’re a failure or ‘slacking’. Rest is an important part of fitness and can be what makes the hard work you put towards your goals count.

Overtraining symptoms are diverse and different for each person, but here are a few symptoms you should watch out for:

  • Depression
  • Loss of appetite
  • Severe fatigue
  • Slower healing & longer recovery times
  • Changes in mood and ability to focus or concentrate
  • Amenorrhea – missed or very irregular periods
  • Aches & pains – particularly of the joints
  • Depressed immune system – increased chance of catching colds and other infections
  • Changes in performance – if you find yourself moving slower, lifting less than you’re normally able to, having to take more rest breaks and generally not pushing yourself as hard as you normally do, you could be overtraining.

November 2, 2015

EXERCISE OF THE MONTH: NOVEMBER.

Squat_thrust

SQUAT THRUST

Benefits:
Not only will this exercise give you a great cardio workout. It will work and sculpt your thighs too. It’s win win!

How to do it:

  • Begin in high plank position, with your body in a straight line from shoulders to ankles. Step your right foot forward toward your right hand.
  • Quickly alternate the positions of your feet, jumping your right foot back and left foot forward (beginners can start by stepping the feet backward and forward, rather than jumping).
  • Repeat as quickly as you can for 3 intervals of 20 seconds, with a 10 second rest period in between. As you progress, you can increase the number of sets and/or time interval.

October 2, 2015

EXERCISE OF THE MONTH: OCTOBER.

Pilates

BIRD DOG

Benefits:
This move strengthens and tones the stomach, sides of the stomach, hips and back. The emphasis on balance and alignment also helps with posture.

How to do it:

  • From all fours, reach your left arm forward at ear level and extend your right leg straight back at hip height. Imagine you are balancing a cup on your lower back and another on your upper back between your shoulder blades.
  • Brace your core and hold this position for 30-60 seconds. Make sure you’re not holding your breath. Carefully return your arm and leg to the floor. Repeat on the opposite side.

September 21, 2015

HOW MUCH EXERCISE SHOULD I DO?

Weight

Have you ever wonder if you are doing enough exercise? Are you confused by which intensity, frequency and type of activities you should be doing? Listed here are guidelines issued by The Department of Health, which outline the amount of exercise a typical person should aim for based on their age.

Adults (19–64 years):

  • Adults should aim to be active daily. Over a week, activity should add up to at least 150 minutes (21⁄2 hours) of moderate intensity activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more – one way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least 5 days a week.
  • Alternatively, comparable benefits can be achieved through 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity spread across the week or combinations of moderate and vigorous intensity activity.
  • Adults should also undertake physical activity to improve muscle strength on at least two days a week.
  • All adults should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary (sitting) for extended periods.

Adults (65+ years):

  • Older adults who participate in any amount of physical activity gain some health benefits, including maintenance of good physical and cognitive function. Some physical activity is better than none, and more physical activity provides greater health benefits.
  • Older adults should aim to be active daily. Over a week, activity should add up to at least 150 minutes (21⁄2 hours) of moderate intensity activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more – one way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least 5 days a week.
  • For those who are already regularly active at moderate intensity, comparable benefits can be achieved through 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity spread across the week or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity.
  • Older adults should also undertake physical activity to improve muscle strength on at least two days a week.
  • Older adults at risk of falls should incorporate physical activity to improve balance and co‐ordination on at least two days a week.
  • All older adults should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary (sitting) for extended periods.

 Children & young people (5-18 years):

  • All children and young people should engage in moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity for at least 60 minutes and up to several hours every day.
  • Vigorous intensity activities, including those that strengthen muscle and bone, should be incorporated at least three days a week.
  • All children and young people should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary (sitting) for extended periods.

Individual physical and mental capabilities should be considered when interpreting the guidelines. Always consult your doctor before you start a new exercise regime.

 

September 1, 2015

EXERCISE OF THE MONTH: SEPTEMBER.

Leg lifts

SIDE-LYING LEG LIFTS

Benefits:
Strengthens and tones your outer thighs, glutes and quadriceps.

How to do it:

  • Lie on your right side, with your legs straight and your head supported by your left hand.
  • Bend your right leg and place your left hand on the floor in front of you for support.
  • Slowly lift your left leg off the floor, pause then squeeze your outer thigh and glutes, before lowering to a count of 10.
  • Do 20 reps and then repeat on the other leg.

August 24, 2015

CONTROLLING YOUR WEIGHT – BACK TO BASICS.

Scales

The key to weight control is keeping energy intake (food) and energy output (physical activity) in balance. When you consume only as many calories as your body needs, your weight will usually remain constant. If you take in more calories than your body needs, you will put on excess fat. If you expend more energy than you take in you will burn excess fat.

Exercise plays an important role in weight control by increasing energy output, calling on stored calories for extra fuel. Recent studies show that not only does exercise increase metabolism during a workout, but it causes your metabolism to stay increased for a period of time after exercising, allowing you to burn more calories.

How much exercise is needed to make a difference in your weight depends on the amount and type of activity, and on how much you eat. Aerobic exercise burns body fat. A medium-sized adult would have to walk more than 30 miles to burn up 3,500 calories, the equivalent of one pound of fat. Although that may seem like a lot, you don’t have to walk the 30 miles all at once. Walking a mile a day for 30 days will achieve the same result, providing you don’t increase your food intake to negate the effects of walking.

If you consume 100 calories a day more than your body needs, you will gain approximately 10 pounds in a year. You could take that weight off, or keep it off, by doing 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily. The combination of exercise and diet offers the most flexible and effective approach to weight control.

Since muscle tissue weighs more than fat tissue, and exercise develops muscle to a certain degree, your bathroom scale won’t necessarily tell you whether or not you are “fat.” Well-muscled individuals, with relatively little body fat, invariably are “overweight” according to standard weight charts. If you are doing a regular program of strength training, your muscles will increase in weight, and possibly your overall weight will increase. Body composition is a better indicator of your condition than body weight.

Lack of physical activity causes muscles to get soft, and if food intake is not decreased, added body weight is almost always fat. Once-active people, who continue to eat as they always have after settling into sedentary lifestyles, tend to suffer from “creeping obesity.”

August 3, 2015

EXERCISE OF THE MONTH: AUGUST.

Skipping

INVISIBLE SKIPPING

Benefits:
Want the benefits of a great cardio move that will get your heart pumping, but don’t have the space for traditional skipping? Then forget the rope and just continue to rotate those arms while you’re jumping.

How to do it:

  • Stand with your feet close together, hands by your side.
  • As you begin jumping rotate your arms in a forward motion, as if the rope is in your hands.
  • Keep the arms going in big circles and make sure they don’t relax as you get more tired.
  • Try doing 3 intervals of 20 seconds, with a 10 second rest period in between. As you progress, you can increase the number of sets and/or time interval.

July 24, 2015

EXERCISE WITHOUT TRYING.

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No time for exercise? Try these sneaky tricks to work out with almost no effort at all:

Wash the car
Go on, it needs a good clean, anyway. If you’ve got a van, then you’ll really work up a sweat. Make sure to switch hands when you’re scrubbing to get a good, even workout.

Ditch the trolley
Opt for a shopping basket rather than a trolley if you’re not planning a huge shop, and really work your upper body.

Spring clean in summer
Have a good ‘spring clean’ anytime of the year. Move the furniture, scrub the walls and reach for those cobwebs. It’ll get your heart going, and you’ll be rewarded with sparkling house!

See the sights
How well do you know your local area? Set aside a day with friends to walk around the local sights, as if you were tourists. You may be surprised how many calories you burn in a day spent hurrying around on your feet.

Stairway to fitness
Dragging yourself up the stairs might seem tough at first, but your fitness will step up in no time.

Have a break
Get into the habit of exercising whenever the TV show you’re watching hits an advert break. You can do crunches, run on the spot or even drop down into the plank position.

Trim at your chair
If you work in an office, the chances are your posture will suffer as a result of hours sitting at a desk. Use your upper back, shoulders and abdominal muscles to maintain a good posture.

Fix it
Burn those calories by getting stuck into some DIY around the house. Sanding walls, tiling floors and building cabinets all require serious strength.

Squeeze!
Stuck in traffic yet again? Don’t sit and stress: work your pelvic floor. You can even do it on the bus, as long as you do it discretely!

Green fingers
Cut the grass, get weeding and potting. Heaving a mower around is a great workout for your core, legs and arms – and is a major calorie burner.

July 1, 2015

EXERCISE OF THE MONTH: JULY.

Push_Up

PRESS UP

Benefits:
Strengthens and tones your upper arms, shoulders and chest.

How to do it:

  • Position yourself on all fours, with your knees directly below your hips and hands below your shoulders, keeping your back straight.
  • Bend your elbows and lower your head towards the floor, inhaling on the way down.
  • Exhale and push your upper body back up by straightening the arms, keeping the elbows soft when fully extended.
  • Repeat 10 reps. To increase difficulty move the knees further back, or try a full push up on hands and toes.

June 1, 2015

EXERCISE OF THE MONTH: JUNE.

Side_Plank

SIDE PLANK TWIST

Benefits:
Targets the sides of the stomach, obliques (or muffin top as it’s affectionately known!).

How to do it:

  • Begin in side plank position on your left side, with your upper body supported by your left forearm. Extend your right arm to the ceiling.
  • Keeping your body straight, rotate your upper body and take your right arm through the gap between your body and the floor.
  • Return to the start and repeat for 12 reps, then repeat on the other side.