Fitness

Single Leg Squats - Pistols

2012-02-21T02:36:00.000-08:00

Today I am going to talk about my new favourite exercise – Single Leg Squats. This exercise is also known as The Pistol! Now, I will say right off the bat that these are an incredibly difficult exercise to perfect, but are also very beneficial for leg power. Ok, single leg squatting is one of the most demanding exercises out there, but also one of the most beneficial.

How to do Single Leg Squats

To do the exercise, we begin by standing on one leg, with the other out in front of us. We keep our hands/arms to the side. We then bend at the standing knee, lowering our body as low as possible. When we are at the bottom, the foot is flat and our hamstrings will be resting on our calf. We then push back up to the original position, and this completes one rep. Easy?

Benefits of Single Leg Squats

There are a good number of benefits to the pistol and here are some:

Strength – the main benefit (in my mind) to single leg squats is the strength that we can gain from doing them. The muscles that will benefit are; glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and core.

Balance – another major benefit from doing single leg squats is the improved balance that can be developed. Our balance is challenged immensely while completing this exercise.

Co-ordination – linking in with balance, slightly, is the benefit that our co-ordination can be improved through completing the exercise. As we have to focus our body to multiple different actions our co-ordination is challenged and therefore can grow and improve.

Flexibility – through the exercise we can become more flexible in the legs and glutes.

This exercise is a fantastic exercise to include in our workout. As we progress we can add weights to make it more challenging and continue progress. Our legs become so powerful through these exercises, but we also receive many other benefits.

A Frustrating Experience

2012-02-18T02:56:00.000-08:00

I contribute to another website regularly and read through other people’s work on this website. I came across a page that was titled ‘The Top 5 Exercises to Burn Belly Fat’. This list included exercises such as crunches, sit ups and stomach twists. As I have mentioned on this blog before, to burn fat, including belly fat, you have to burn more calories than you take in and it is as simple as that. I sent the author a reply suggesting that these exercises will not really burn the belly fat, but will help to tone the abdominal muscles.

I said:

“These exercises don't burn belly fat! They just tone the abdominal muscles.”

His reply:

“In order to tone you need to exercise. Exercise burns fat. Just noting that.”

I sent another reply, trying to explain myself, suggesting that aerobic exercises, that burn more calories are better for reducing the belly fat and that these exercises are good, but are not the best for ditching the gut. I have yet to receive another reply as of writing this. I really hope that I do get a reply as I am very intrigued to what he has to say.

I have nothing against the exercises that the guy was writing about but I really disagree with him promoting (probably in order to make money) these exercises as the top five to burn belly fat when they really are not. Another thing that I did not really understand was the fact that the profile picture suggested that he was…… ahem, fat.

It is really frustrating that people are putting pages like that on the web with seemingly no research behind it at all. I am quite happy to admit if I have made a mistake, but I will have put research in at least.

Rant over!

Protein

2012-02-15T09:44:00.001-08:00

Protein

I have previously posted blog entries regarding carbohydrates, fats and dietary fibres. This entry looks to discuss protein.

What is Protein?

Proteins, as a nutrient, are chains of Amino acids that contain around 4 calories per gram. Amino acids can be divided into either essential amino acids or non-essential amino acids.

In nutrition, protein is broken down in the stomach in order to provide amino acids to the body, including essential amino acids that cannot be created by the body itself. Our body does not store protein so it is important that we eat it on a daily basis for a number of reasons.

Protein is needed by us humans in order to grow and maintain our condition. Experts advise consuming between 0.8 grams and 1.1 grams of protein per pound of your body weight, per day.

Benefits of Protein for Weight Loss

Protein is an essential thing for the body in general, but it can also be extremely important to people wanting to lose weight or fat.

An important factor of protein is that it takes longer to digest and leave your stomach. This leaves us feeling fuller for longer, and this means that we are less likely to unnecessarily snack between meals, therefore we eat fewer calories.

Protein also burns more calories through digestion, and general use, and so this can aid in any weight loss we are attempting.

It is important to note here that this blog IS NOT promoting an Atkins/high protein diet, or anything similar. I do not agree with these types of diets and am merely showing how through eating the right way protein can help lose weight.

Benefits of Protein for Muscle Growth

When weight training, our bodies need protein to develop and maintain muscle. Protein is used to repair the tiny tears that are made when we exercise. The protein also helps to increase the muscle mass. Because amino acids can be burned by the body during exercise it is essential that we refuel our muscles with protein, as well as carbohydrates.

Research appears to suggest that it is important to have protein shortly before and shortly after weight/resistance training to fuel our muscles and allow them to repair and grow.

Other Benefits of Protein

Protein has other benefits too, such as:

Repairing injured/torn tissue
Protein also helps build skin, hair, nails and cartilage
Prevention of various conditions such as anemia and hypotension
Helps with circulation
Heals injuries

Be careful with Protein

As with all food intakes there are things to be careful of. There is, of course, a risk of eating too much protein. This can lead to excess calories, and potential weight gain. Also, if we eat too much protein and not enough carbohydrates the body can form ketones and release them into the blood.

Conclusions

Protein is something that we need to intake everyday. It is so important for our everyday health, but can also help us with weight loss and muscle building. As with all food, it is important that we do not over eat it though.

Fat Is Not The Enemy

2012-02-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

Today this blog looks to discuss fat(s). The idea of a low fat/no fat diet is often branded around for weight loss. The truth is that fat DOES NOT make us fat. The simple science is that is we eat more calories than we burn off they get stored by our body as fat. So it is (excess) calories that make us fat. If we eat too much, we put on weight/fat. It is also true that we need fat in our diet; most fat is good for us. However, it is true that gram for gram, fat contains more calories (9) than carbohydrates and protein (around 4). It is; therefore, fine to include fats within our daily calorie allowance.

There are four different types of fat out there; Trans fats, saturated fats, mono-unsaturated fats and poly-unsaturated fats.

Trans Fats

Ok, these are fats that we should definitely try to avoid as much as possible. These are man made fats. According to the National Academy of Sciences suggests that trans fats contain no known benefit to humans with regards to health. It is also suggested that trans fats lower the amount of good cholesterol in our bodies, which increases the risk of coronary heart disease. There are other suggestions as to the adverse affects of trans fats. There is a suggestion that the risk of type 2 diabetes increases with trans fat consumption. There is also investigation into theories suggesting that risk of cancer may be increased with eating trans fats. A study published in Archives of Neurology looks into the theory that the consumption of trans, and saturated, fats promote the development of Alzheimer disease.

Saturated Fats

Saturated fats are animal fats, and really do have a fairly bad press. Saturated fats are nowhere near as bad for us as trans fats, or as bad as they are sometimes made out to be. Saturated fats have been linked with diseases, such as cardio-vascular disease, for example. In reality, in moderation, and eaten with good fats, saturated fat is not a huge problem to our health.

Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated

These are the best fats that are good for our bodies. Foods containing monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which is great for us. It is also possible that these fats help to increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.However, this is still in debate.

Ultimately it is all about moderation. Fats are certainly not our enemy, so looking at the fat content of food is not what we should be doing. We should, however, be aiming to cut out trans fats as much as possible, and we should be more focussed on the calorie intake of our food. Fats are an important part of our diet, but should not make up more than 30% of it.

Drinks and Calories

2012-02-04T08:35:00.000-08:00

I regularly listen to the Jillian Michaels Podcasts and there is a regular guest doctor who appears on the show. We all know that fizzy drinks/sodas/pop, or whatever else you may call them, are not good. However, the doctor suggested that what we drink has had a major impact on weight gain, and suggested another major drink that can really hinder with regards to calorie intake. The drink(s) in question is fruit juice. I decided to investigate all of this further and so this blog will look into drinks and calories.

Fizzy drinks/sodas/pop

Firstly, fizzy drinks/sodas/pop. A medium coke at McDonalds (this is based on UK data) contains a massive 170 calories. For a drink this is quite remarkable to me. Too many of these drinks and the calories really begin to mount. It is really important, with regards to weight control, to not drink too many of these drinks.

Diet fizzy drinks

When choosing diet drinks the calorie intake and sugar intake is reduced significantly. However, other additions to the drink maybe even worse for us! So in terms of weight control these are good, but there are many issues with other things added to diet drinks.

Fruit Juice

It is pretty common knowledge that fruits contain plenty of sugar. However, this is not really a problem as fruits contain a lot of vitamins and minerals to make them worthwhile eating, plus the calories are not that high. Fruit juices, however, contain a large amount of calories. For example, 200ml of orange juice can have around 90 calories in it. The main issue, in my mind, with fruit juices is that we automatically expect them to be good for us and so have no worries when drinking them, however, the calories can easily add up through drinking them.

Overall fruit juice is the best of these types of drinks as they have far more nutritional value to them than the others but it is important to watch just how much we are drinking because of the relatively high calorie amounts.

The importance of a treat

2012-02-03T02:15:00.000-08:00

Treats (listened to a great playlist while writing this, find it here)

When focussing on a fitness regime and diet plan it is very easy to get yourself in a mode where you feel you must resist all ‘bad’ foods. This blog post, however, will encourage the occasional treat and explain why it is (or at least can be) quite importan to weight management.

It is important to understand that a ‘cheat day’ is not being promoted here. A bingeing session can easily undo all the good work that has gone on before. The point of this blog is to encourage the occasional treat in order to keep our fitness aims on track.

First of all there is a simple psychological issue to deal with. The less we are allowed something, the more we want it. If we have it in our mind that we are not allowed to eat cake, we will want it even more. Having a treat now and again will help to stop this craving happening and therefore we can stick to our regime far easier, without so much temptation!

Another problem is just how easy it can be to punish ourselves is we do ‘slip up’. This can lead to things like comfort eating (a big problem that I know all too well) and overtraining (which I have discussed here). It is important to remember that if we do ‘slip up’ we can always rectify it. We can easily change the diet plan to fit in treats and we can always put in some extra exercise sessions.

It is also possible that, through depriving ourselves completely, when we reach our fitness or weight loss goals, we simply go off our diet plan and then all the hard work is ruined.

To conclude then, as long as we still get the right energy and nutrients from our diet through fruits, vegetables, wholegrain, protein and the right fats there is still a place for a treat. It is important, however, to know that they are a treat and should not replace meals. Be aware of the extra calories and alter the diet to incorporate them. Small treats every once in a while will help us to control ourselves but depriving ourselves of all sweets will more likely lead to binge and over eating.

10 Minute Workout

2012-02-01T08:18:00.000-08:00

I read of an interesting workout from Craig Ballantyne, C.S.C.S. on the Men’s Health website. The workout is, according to the website, designed to get our body off to the right start first thing in the morning in order for us to burn fat. This is a short, explosive workout! The workout comprises 5 exercises and requires NO equipment at all. I really like the idea of this workout and, after completing it a few times myself now, it really does work the body in this short space of time. This is why I wish to share it.

1. The first exercise is 20 repetitions of jumping jacks (star jumps). To do this we begin with our feet slightly apart and hands by the side. We jump, spreading our legs shoulder-width apart, whilst at the same time raise our hands above heads, before jumping again bringing the arms down and the feet back together.

2. The second exercise in the workout is prisoner squats. To do a prisoner squat we stand with our chest out and our hands behind our head. We sit back at the hips and lower the body as far as possible by bending the knees, without moving the back. We then push back up. We should aim to complete 12 repetitions of this exercise.

3. The third exercise is one of my favourite exercises; push ups. To complete push ups we get our legs straight with our backs and rest on our hands that are beneath our shoulders. We bend our arms, maintaining the straight line from feet to head, until the chest reaches the ground, and then we push back up. This exercise requires 15 reps.

4. The fourth exercise of the workout is forward lunges. These are quite difficult to master but are beneficial. From our standing position we step forward with one leg. We bend both knees until the front leg is parallel to the floor and we hold this position briefly before returning to the standing position. The aim here is to complete 12 reps with each leg.

5. The final exercise of the workout is one that I had not come across before and is known as stickups. We stand with our back to the wall and feet slightly off the wall. We then place the back of our arms against the wall with the upper arms parallel to the floor and the elbow bent at 90 degrees. We keep the arms against the wall at all times while raising them above our head and slowly returning to the start position. We aim to complete 10 repetitions.

So this is the workout and it really is effective. I would suggest trying this out first thing on a morning once of twice a week and see what results you get from it. I would also suggest adjusting the number of repetitions to suit your needs.

Overtraining

2012-01-30T10:57:00.000-08:00

Overtraining

A major, potential, problem with people exercising is overtraining. Many beginners, when they first begin training, over train, I know I did. Overtraining, as the name suggests, is essentially when some trains too much so that their body cannot recover in time. Overtraining is most common in weight training, but can also occur with runners and other athletes. Overtraining can stem from many things. For example, some people feel that the more they workout, the more they will benefit and they allow for no recovery time.

Symptoms of Overtraining

There are a wide variety of problems that can develop through overtraining. This list covers many of them:

Plateau in performance
Chronic Fatigue
Injury
Sore Joints and Muscles
No motivation to workout
Lack of Appetite
Weight Loss
Insomnia
Depression
Illness
Lack of Sex Drive

Recovering from Overtraining

Luckily, overtraining is easy to get over. Essentially, the only thing that needs to be done is rest. We still need to maintain your diet as we would normally, but the rest will allow the muscles to recover and get back to the levels they should be.

Prevention of Overtraining

There are simple ways of ensuring that we do not overtrain in the first place. Firstly, and possibly the most important factor, we should allow for a substantial rest period between workouts. If we have an intense arms workout on Monday, then Tuesday we should rest the arms and focus on other muscles. Another good method is to ensure that we have a variety in our exercise routines and training techniques. Outside of exercise, things like a good diet and the correct amount of sleep will help to ensure that we do not overtrain.

Dietary Fibre

2012-01-28T02:29:00.000-08:00

Recently I wrote a blog discussing carbohydrates, and this post will address dietary fibre. Fibre has a major role with the body but often people lack knowledge of what it actually does.

The main function of fibre is to keep the digestive system healthy. Essentially, fibre speeds up the excretion of waste product and toxins from our body in order to prevent diseases building up. If there is not enough fibre present in our diet can cause irregularities in the bowel as well as discomforts with the stomach. Around 18g of fibre is an acceptable amount each day, however up to 35g is recommended. We must ensure that higher levels of fibre consumed is matched with higher consumption of water, as fibre absorbs water from our body.

Dietary Fibre and Weight Loss

There are a number of benefits to eating fibre when look at weight control. Firstly, foods that are high in fibre are generally low in fat and calories, and therefore we are less likely to put on weight. However, there are two key points that make eating fibre essential for weight control. Fibre slows down digestion, which leaves us feeling full for longer, so we remain satisfied for longer after a meal meaning we are less likely to eat extra calories that we do not need. Fibre also helps us to fill up quicker, so we are less likely to over eat and gain weight and fat.

Not All Good

Of course, while too little fibre is bad for us, too much fibre can be just as bad. Too much fibre can lead to problems such as dehydration or internal discomfort. A major potential problem of consuming too much fibre is that it can lead to the body not absorbing fewer minerals, especially zinc, iron, magnesium and calcium.

So, it is important that we get enough fibre in our bodies everyday but we do need to be aware of how much and ensure we do not go too far. There are many foods that we probably should be eating anyway that will help us meet our fibre requirements, things such as vegetables, wholemeal foods and whole grains.

The Benefits of Water

2012-01-27T03:33:00.001-08:00

Are we drinking enough water?

We here a lot about the importance of drinking water on a daily basis for the good of our health and that is what this blog will look into. Simply put – the body cannot function without water.

Many sources agree that water is one of the most important factors for weight loss and keeping the weight off. Not only does water help to keep us naturally satisfied, in terms of controlling our appetite, it also helps our body to metabolize fat.

Another major positive of water is what it can do for the skin. Some research claims that it helps to reduce the appearance of wrinkles on the skin and other research states that acne is reduced through higher water consumption.

Water can help to fight infections all over our body. The main reason behind this is that it helps to flush toxins from the body and this prevents them from infecting our body.

Here’s a benefit of water to exercise. It helps us train more effectively. Obviously, after working out it is essential that we replace the water that we have sweated out, but research also suggests that our bodies work harder and better when exercising if we are more hydrated.

There are many more benefits to water, such as aiding digesting and protecting tissues, as well as reasons why we need to keep hydrated, but these are some key things that I feel are important to me and bear some importance to fitness, health and weight loss.

Oh, and just on a kind of side not, there is no need to purchase bottled water, regular tap water is fine and, in some cases, is better than the bottled water we buy.

Carbohydrates

2012-01-25T06:58:00.000-08:00

There is a lot of confusion with regards to healthy eating. Carbohydrates is a major discussion point with some quarters stating that carbohydrates should be cut down (or even out) and some people suggesting that carbohydrates are the best thing for you. The truth is that carbs are not all bad, and are not all good. Simple?

What are Carbohydrates?

So what are carbohydrates? Carbohydrates, also known as saccharides, can be split into two separate groups; simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are, essentially, sugars and can exist in natural or refined forms. Complex carbs are referred to as starch and also be found in natural or refined forms. The main function of carbohydrates is to provide energy to the body.

Simple Carbohydrates

As mentioned before, simple carbs can be natural or refined. Common examples are lactose and sucrose. Sources of natural sugars are fruits and vegetables. Refined sugars are found in things like cakes, chocolate, honey, soft drinks and sweets.

Complex Carbohydrates

As with simple carbs, complex carbohydrates can be natural or refined. We can get our natural complex carbs from foods such as bananas, beans, potatoes, nuts, whole grains and root vegetables.

So should we eat carbohydrates or not?

We should absolutely have carbohydrates in our diet. Carbs are a fantastic source of energy for the body. Low carb diets exist, and have had major publicity, but the truth is that eating too much is why people put on weight, regardless of where we get our energy from. In fact, there are fewer calories in 1g of carbohydrate than in protein or fat. The key to carbohydrates is, essentially, choosing the right type of carbohydrate to consume. We should focus at getting our carbohydrates from vegetables, wholemeal foods, and other complex carbohydrates. Most reliable sources will suggest that around 60% of our energy should come from carbohydrates.

The Importance of Mixing It Up

2012-01-23T07:58:00.000-08:00

An interesting idea with regards to training is that of mixing your workout up. People get together a set of exercises that make up their regular workout, and they start to see the benefits. When I first started out I had my set routines that I would do every workout. Now, this is not the worst thing in the world. However, there are some issues that can arise through completing the same routines.

The first issue is the idea of the workout becoming ineffective. If we run at the same speed on the treadmill everyday for 20 minutes, our body will eventually hit an area of stability, where the body has become accustomed to the workout so it has a lessened affect.

Another issue that can arise is that muscles can not get enough time to recover. If we pound our muscles everyday then they have no chance to heal between workouts, and the chances of injury increase. Ensure that we complete low intensity workouts in between highly intense workouts and this should not be a problem.

One final issue that can arise is boredom. If we do the same workout everyday, there is a good chance we will get bored of it. This can lead to us not completing the workout fully or to the best of our ability and can sometimes lead to skipping workouts altogether!

There are many ideas to ensure that our workout does not become stale. First of all, we can be more flexible with our workouts. If we like to workout on an evening, try throwing in an early workout to change it up a bit. In terms of weight lifting, we can change from weight machines to using free-weights. There are many other ways of changing up our workouts so be creative and keep the workouts working!

Do Not Underestimate the Power of Walking

2012-01-20T07:39:00.000-08:00

Many people struggle with the idea of weight loss and are often defeated before they begin on their quest. It is often simple little changes that can make a big difference with regards to weight loss. People expect that they will need to be on a treadmill for an hour a day, every day to see real results. This is not quite the case! Walking at a regular pace for just half an hour can really help to burn stored fat and help that weight come off. Walking is great for improving our overall health and fitness as well as helping to tone our muscles and strengthen our hearts.

Walking at 3mph for 10 minutes will burn around 43 calories. This may not sound a lot, but it all adds up! Besides, this is just 10 minutes.

One of the great things about walking is that it is so easy to do. The effort required is not too great, and most people can do it. Walking can really boost your weight loss, even if you can only manage a small amount each day so there is no need for making excuses about not having the time to exercise – go for a 10 minute walk for a start.

Try to make walking part of jobs you would be doing anyway. For example, instead of driving to the shops, walk. We will be burning calories doing something we were going to do anyway. Or why not add an extra 5 minutes to walking the dog. If we walk the dog for 15 minutes, add extra time on to burn some extra calories.

Another great thing about walking is that it is free! Many people, understandably, avoid the gym due to high prices. With walking there is no cost and so money can be saved while getting in shape!

Walking is a great place to start with weight loss, as it is easy to do, can be incorporated into our normal daily routines and, best of all, it is free! Have a great weekend!

3 Eating Rules that Bodybuilders Use

2012-01-19T13:19:00.001-08:00

Today I found an interesting article that discusses three eating rules that bodybuilders follow. So if you are wanting to bulk up in muscle, then take a look at these ideas.

1. The first rule is to never skip breakfast (bodybuilding or not, you should never skip breakfast by the way). In terms of building and maintaining muscle, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The main point behind this rule is that the longer you wait before eating after you wake up, then the longer the body remains in ‘fat storage mode’. This means that muscle is broken down and used for fuel, but eating sooner stops this from happening.

2. The second rule in the article is to eat protein and carbohydrates after a workout. Again, this seems to me like something we should be doing anyway, whether we are trying to build up or not. However, in terms of bulking up this is important as muscle growth is sped up through eating protein and the carbs are to refuel and aid in muscle repair.

3. The final rule is to take a daily dose of creatine. Research has shown that older men taking creatine have increased muscle strength and power after just seven days. The article claims no side effects to creatine but great gains. You should certainly do your own research when using supplements and be careful but studies seem to support the benefits of creatine.

So these are the eating rules for body building but these rules can be useful in helping with weight loss, toning up and building lean muscle too, we just have to adapt them to our workouts.

Tests of Fitness

2012-01-18T06:35:00.000-08:00

Upon browsing the internet I came across a page that offered 6 tests of fitness. The idea is to complete the set exercises and a rating is given as to how well we complete each exercise. Now, I would not consider these rating accurate myself, the tests certainly give goals to aim for. For example, being able to only do 10 body-weight squats is not poor (despite these tests indicating so), it is an excellent exercise to build strength. Here are the tests though:

The Plank – get in the push up position but rest on the elbows and forearms. Keep the back straight. Hold the position for as long as possible. Here are the ratings for The Plank; if you can hold for 2 minutes or more then you get an excellent rating, 75secs to 2 minutes is good, 45 seconds to 75 seconds is average and anything less is poor!

Body-weight Squat – keep the feet shoulder width apart and lower the thighs slowly until they are parallel with the floor and slowly raise back up. The ratings for a body-weight squat are; 50 or more reps is excellent, 30-49 is good, 16-29 is average and 15 or less is considered poor.

Press-up – straight back, hands on the floor, bend the elbows lowering the chest to the floor, and raise again. The ratings for a press ups are; 50 or more reps is excellent, 30-49 is good, 16-29 is average and 15 or less is considered poor.

1km Run – simply run a kilometre. The ratings for this run are; 3 minutes or less gets an excellent rating, 3mins-3min 29 seconds is good, 3mins 30secs to 4mins 29 seconds is average and any longer is considered poor.

500m Row – obviously we require a rowing machine for this part of the test, and the idea is to complete a 500m row as fast as possible. The ratings are; 1min 30 sec or less is excellent, 1min 31sec–1min 44sec is good, 1min 45sec–1min 59sec is average and 2min or more is poor.

Pull up – the final test is pull ups, one of the hardest exercises out there. 12 or more reps is excellent, 8–11 reps is good, 4–7 reps is average and 3 or fewer is poor.

I would be careful not to take the ratings too seriously, as we all have different levels and I would say that these tests should be used to set goals for our self rather than put us down if we hit ‘poor’ in a rating. That being said, all these exercises are useful and can help improve our fitness and health levels.

My 5 key exercises

2012-01-17T07:16:00.000-08:00

I am going to discuss what I consider to be 5 key exercises that I incorporate into my workouts each week. These are exercises that I think are the best. I primarily complete home workouts and each of these exercises can be completed at home any time.

1. Pull ups – pull ups are probably the best exercise from this list. They are so beneficial to us and should be included in our workouts. They are great for the biceps, the back, the shoulders and the core.

2. Push ups – a must in any home workout! This exercise works the triceps, shoulders, chest and back muscles and also helps strengthen the core.

3. Squats – this is my favourite workout for the legs. Squats contribute to increasing the size of the leg muscles (and the buttocks) and also help to develop core strength. The exercise can be made more difficult by adding weights. These help to create explosive power in our legs!

4. Skipping – the benefits of skipping are vast. This is where the cardio comes from in my list. Skipping helps to improve fitness, flexibility, co-ordination and balance. The great thing about skipping is that it is easier on the knees than running/jogging and cycling.

5. The Plank – my love for The Plank is no secret. It may be my favourite exercise of all time! It has been in my workouts for so long now and I can’t see it leaving. The Plank helps develop core strength, and tones the abdominal muscles.

This, of course, is just my opinion. These are the exercises that I get the most out of and do the best for me. However, I think that if you use them correctly, they will help to develop the body that you want.

The Benefits of Stretching

2012-01-16T08:54:00.000-08:00

We are often so pressed for time (a poor excuse) that we often forget the importance of stretching and leave it from our workout. However, a few minutes invested in stretching, before and after a workout, can be extremely beneficial.

Here are some of the benefits:

1. Increased flexibility - some reports suggest that as little as 5-7 minutes before and after exercise will lead to an increase in flexibility.

2. Injury prevention - through stretching it has be found that we are far less likely to injure ourselves when exercising and exerting our muscles.

3. Muscle tone - it is suggested that through stretching our muscles can gain a more defined look as muscle toning is heightened.

There are many other benefits to stretching too, such as improved circulation, and it is important that we make sure we do not miss stretching from our workouts.

Benefits of Weight Training for Fitness and Health

2012-01-14T04:27:00.000-08:00

When thinking of our general health and well being weight training is something that should definitely be considered. In this post I will discuss some of the many benefits of building muscle.

Firstly, although cardiovascular exercise is a fantastic method for us to burn fat, building muscle will help us burn extra calories each day. Some sources claim that an additional pound of muscle gained can lead to our body burning an extra 50 calories each day. The good thing about this is that we're burning muscle while we are resting.

An obvious, but important, benefit to weight training is the increased strength we can achieve. For many this is why we begin weight training.

Another great benefit of weight training is that the risk of injury can be reduced. The stronger the muscles we have, the more stress and impact our body can take and we should see increased muscle flexibility, which can help keep us from pulling muscles.

Our physical appearance can improve through weight training. Aside from the fact that muscle building can help us to lose fat, we can also can lean muscle and get a more defined look about us, a look that many people want.

The final benefit that I will mention in this post is the fact that weight training can help our body to function better. Through stronger muscles we can get more support to our joints and will also see an improvement in our posture.

These are just some of the benefits of weight/muscle training, there are others too. Hope these inspire!

Curl Ups - A great abdominal exercise

2012-01-13T08:42:00.000-08:00

This blog post is about an exercise known as Curl Ups and they target the whole abdominal area. This is a very effective abdominal exercise and will help tone and develop the abdomen.

To do the exercise, firstly we lie down; face up with our left leg straight on the floor and the right leg bent, with the right foot flat. Underneath the natural arch of our back we place our hands, palm down. We then slowly raise our head and shoulders from the floor without bending the lower back and spine. When we are in this position we hold it for 8-10 seconds. This counts for one repetition. Complete 5 repetitions and then swap legs and complete another 5 on the other side.

This exercise is so good because it works the whole abdomen but minimises the stress on our back/spine.

Four Key Rules for a Great Workout

2012-01-11T08:36:00.000-08:00

This blog entry will discuss four key ideas that will make for a great workout. These are simple tips that will ensure that we make the most of our workout.

1. The first rule is to make sure you breathe. I know this seems fairly obvious, but I have seen it many times before where people are holding their breath while doing reps. It is easy to forget. A simple way to remember is to ensure that on the harder part of the exercise, the pulling up of a pull up for example, we breathe out and on the easier part we breathe in. The main thing is to make sure that you are breathing!

2. Your aim is to fail! This may seem silly. Ok, this is not exactly what the goal is. The idea of this rule is to push ourselves to the limit of our strength. Always be safe, however, we don’t want injuries.

3. Take things slow (or fast). With cardio exercise we should perform as fast as we can! However, with other exercises it is often best to perform slowly. Performing exercises at a slower rate will help to work the muscle more and therefore we can get stronger.

4. Finally, one of the most important things with exercise – FORM. Good form is arguably the most essential thing with getting the most from a workout. Through correct form we reduce the risk of injury and gain more from specific exercises. We will see the best results from performing exercises correctly.

Hope these tips help!

Pull Ups

2012-01-11T04:38:00.000-08:00

Me doing chin ups

Today I am going to discuss an exercise that should form some part of any home workout, pull ups. To do a pull up we need something to pull up on, a pull up bar is an affordable and easy item to use, that can be inserted into a doorway.

To beginners, a pull up can be a truly challenging exercise, and it may be useful to use, for example, a chair to help practice good form. When we start getting good at pull ups though, they are one of the most beneficial exercises out there. Pull ups work the biceps and the muscles of the back; trapezius, rhomboids, the posterior deltoids, the latissimus dorsi and the teres major. The biceps get more work when the exercise is completed with the palms facing towards our self (this is the one often referred to as a chin up), and the back muscles gain more from the exercise being done with an overhand grip.

To complete a pull up, the body is suspended by the arms as we grip our pull up bar, and we pull ourselves up with muscular effort. The elbows will bend and we aim to bring our head above the bar and lower again. This is one repetition.

A good tip for when the pull up is mastered is to add a weighted belt (or any other weight) to make it even more challenging and to help develop our muscles further.

This exercise is highly recommended, and when we combine it with press ups, we get a decent upper body workout.

Inspirational Fitness Quotes

2012-01-09T03:26:00.000-08:00

Today I though I would share some quotes about health, fitness and exercise that I enjoy and that may help to inspire you in some way!

“Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.” - Mark Twain

“In general, mankind, since the improvement in cookery, eats twice as much as nature requires.” - Benjamin Franklin

“There’s lots of people in this world who spend so much time watching their health that they haven’t the time to enjoy it. ” - Josh Billings

"If it weren't for the fact that the TV set and the refrigerator are so far apart, some of us wouldn't get any exercise at all." - Joey Adams

"You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be." - David Viscott

"The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results." – Anthony Robbins

"Today I do what others won't, so tomorrow I do what others can't" - Jerry Rice

"No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everybody on the couch" - Unknown

Hope these inspire you, let me know what you think!

Calorie Listings

2012-01-06T02:17:00.000-08:00

On Twitter I saw a post that claimed calorie listings can be up 20% wrong. I found this fascinating. I decided to look further into this and found many different reports (just do a search on Google) that make claims that back this up. It appears that in restaurants the calorie amount listed may be accurate over an average.

“On average, the calorie counts were accurate. However, the lab analysis showed that 19% of the foods tested had 100 or more calories in excess of what was on the website.” (CNN)

Another report, however, is even more damning. This report suggests that on average, the food measured ten calories higher than what the restaurant had claimed.

With much focus on healthy eating and ‘calorie counting’ this makes things slightly harder!

Two simple rules for working out

2012-01-04T00:26:00.000-08:00

As I have mentioned before in my blog posts, food and diet is such an important part of fitness, health and muscle building. It is therefore very important that we eat correctly around our workouts but this can be hard to do. Here are two little tips though:

1. Avoid eating a full meal less than an hour before a workout. No our body won't explode if we do, but we will be very uncomfortable and will not be able to get the most from our workout. If we are hungry before our workout we should grab something like a banana that has a good supply of carbs as it will help us during the workout.

2. After a workout it is important to re-fuel as soon as possible. We need to ensure that we take in carbs to replenish the energy levels that we have been using and we will need protein to repair the muscles that we have used during our workout.

Hope these little tips help!

Little Changes for Weight Loss

2011-12-29T00:39:00.000-08:00

Weight loss is a hot topic - always. And it is fair to say that many people really struggle to lose the weight that they want, and it is easy to understand why. There is so much information out there that contradicts itself, and many people are enticed by 'crash diets'. Crash diets are NEVER a good idea. But here are four ideas that can help to shed a few extra pounds.

1. Drop fruit juice from your diet. Despite it seeming a healthy drink, fruit juice contains a lot of sugar and people can drop a good few pounds a month by replacing it with water.

2. Avoid energy bars and products along similar lines. The reason for this is that when working out the energy from your last meal should be enough to get you through so you could do without the extra calories!

3. Add a piece of fruit or a vegetable to each meal. As well as the extra goodness you will receive from eating them, you will also feel fuller for longer and therefore be less likely to snack and will need less from your next meal.

4. Cut out the booze! As severe as it may sound this can help shed a good amount of weight each month. Or you could always try switching to a lighter beer!