Feel Alive Fitness | Blog

Train from home or outdoors!

noreply@blogger.com (Feel Alive Fitness) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 14:01:00 +0000

Can't afford a Personal Trainer?

Don't like the gym?

This article is about exercises you can do at home or outdoors. These exercises are for muscle conditioning, if you want to build muscle you will need to invest in some free weights. Please contact me if you want advice on what equipment you should be buying: stephan@feelalivefitness.com

The exercise regime should be executed as follows: 3 sets, 15 reps, 30 seconds rest
If you find this to easy, increase the number of reps. The workout should roughly take 30min.

Remember to warm up, cool down and stretch.

Squats - make sure your ankles stay in-line with your knees as you descend, keep your back straight with your core engaged and push through your heels when you ascend.

Lunges - make sure both legs end up in a 90 degree postion, with your upper body descending in a straight line, keeping your back straight and core engaged.

Prone Flyes - Keep your spine in a neutral alignment, soft elbows (slightly bend), lift both arms of the floor, squeeze your shoulder blades together, lower and repeat

Press ups - Place hand shoulder and a half width apart. Keep your back straight, lower your chest to the floor, pointing your elbows outwards and press up. Please visit my YouTube channel to see variations of this exercise - www.youtube.com/stephanfitness

Sit-ups - Place your legs at a 90 degree angle, engage your core, keep a gap between chin and chest, lift chest & shoulders of the floor and squeeze those abs. Please visit my YouTube channel to see variations of this exercise - www.youtube.com/stephanfitness

Oblique Sit-ups - Place your feet at a 90 degree angle, place your arms across you chest, keep a gap between chin and chest, lift chest and shoulders of the floor and twist to the left trying to reach your leg with your elbow, repeat the same for the right side. Execute by alternating each side.
Dorsal Raises - Place your hands on your bottom, lift your chest of the ground, make sure you don't hyper extend. Please visit my YouTube channel to see variations of this exercise - www.youtube.com/stephanfitness

Enjoy! Leave comments, feedback and subscribe.

The healthy burger recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Feel Alive Fitness) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 09:21:00 +0000

This is my first attempt to post a recipe, I welcome any feedback.

What you need is:

500g less than 5% fat beef mince meat
1 egg
1 chilli (doesn't have to be hot
1 tomato
1 garlic clove
1 avocado pear
1/2 onion
15g of wholemeal break flower or wholemeal bread crumbs
1 granery/wholemeal roll
A few baby spinach leaves

Prepare the burger patty mixture:
Chop up the chilli, the onion and the garlic. Put the mince in a bowl, add the egg, half of the chopped onions, half of the chopped chilli, half of the chopped garlic and the flower. Add some seasoning such as black pepper and paprika. Mix it all together and mould 4 evenly shaped burger patties. Either grill the patties or put them on a George Foreman. Cook it to your likings.

Prepare the salsa:
Chop the tomato and put it in a bowl with the rest of the garlic, onion and chilli.

Prepare the avocado:
Take the avocado and mash it up into a paste

Prepare the burger:
Cut the roll in half spread both sides with the avocado paste and the salsa, put the patty on with some baby spinach leaves. There you go a nice and healthy Burger and it's yummy!

"Train Like An Animal"

noreply@blogger.com (Feel Alive Fitness) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 13:44:00 +0000

Training like an animal is very important if you want to see results.

It's like that in life...at work for instance if you only do the bare necessity you will most probably stick with your job for a long time and won't get a promotion. But if you work hard and do more than expected, people will notice and you will reap the benefits.

It's the same with your training, if you only do your number of reps and sets and don't go further, although your body could, you are not going to progress and have little results.

Our body is amazing! When we train we brake some of our muscle fibres and our body fixes them and makes them stronger so they can cope with the stress better next time. This encourages muscle growth. It's no different with the cardio-vascular training, we push ourselves to the limit and our body prepares itself for next time and therefore be more efficient.

Now, how can we make sure we improve in the areas we want to improve? YOU TRAIN LIKE AN ANIMAL! Here are some tips:

Train with someone who is stronger, fitter than you and try to exercise at their level.
Write down your weights, reps, sets, rpm, hr, time and try to beat it every time you exercise.
Prepare yourself mentally; concentrate and psych yourself up, believe you can do it, KNOW you can do it.
Make sure your diet is spot on. Eat too little and you will not have the energy, eat too much and you feel too heavy, bloated and tired.
Drink plenty of water during the day at least 2l a day.
Find the energy/drive/animal that sits within you and really go for it.
And most importantly you have got to Pull a face and make a noise; the louder the noise and the uglier the face the better. Then you know you are pushing yourself.
NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER

If you think this is too hard, you can't be asked or this is not you then you need to find a personal trainer who will help you pull a face with you ;-)

More Weight loss tips!

noreply@blogger.com (Feel Alive Fitness) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:24:00 +0000

As a personal trainer and someone who used to be overweight I know how tough it is to lose weight. Personally I found the exercising bit easy and actually enjoyed it, but I did struggle very much with my diet.

Losing weight myself and helping others lose weight over the years, I discovered a few tricks that helped me and my clients...and here they are in no particular order:

Drink a pint or glass of water just before you eat
Chew your food more than usual
Use a smaller plate
Always leave some food on the plate
Stop eating before you are completely full
Drink plenty of green tea
Eat your last meal of the day 1 hour earlier than usual
Use the stairs not the lift
Walk rather than drive if you can, no matter what
Choose the healthy option

These are some of the tips that I found easy to implement with great results. But remember stick to it for at least 8 weeks no matter what change you choose.

Personal Training v Gym

noreply@blogger.com (Feel Alive Fitness) — Mon, 17 May 2010 10:49:00 +0000

The Pros and Cons!

Gym

Pros:

Facilities
Social interactions
Cheaper than Personal Training

Cons:

You have to get ready, drive to the gym train, shower, change and go home = time consuming
Can be intimidating
Gym users usually don't know what to do
Help is not always at hand
Gym users usually stop going to the gym after 2 months and keep on paying

Personal Training

Pros:

Training sessions are designed specifically to the clients needs
Goals are usually reached quicker
Safe and effective training
Progressive training
Nutritional Advice
Clients usually stick with Personal Training for years
The trainer comes to you, which saves time and guarantees you a workout

Cons:

More expensive than the gym (but at least the clients use the service)
The only social interaction would be with your trainer

Top 10 reasons "to drink" Aloe Vera Gel

noreply@blogger.com (Feel Alive Fitness) — Fri, 14 May 2010 13:07:00 +0000

By Dr Peter Atherton MB Chb, DObst RCOG, FRCGP

& Advisory Board Manager of Forever

Imagine slicing open an Aloe leaf and consuming the Gel directly from the plant. Forever's signature product, Aloe Vera Gel, is as close to the real thing as you can get. The first of its kind to receive certification by the International Aloe Science Council, this rich blend of pulp and liquid gives us a product as near to nature as possible. The proof is in the Aloe - after reading my top 10 reasons why I think you should drink Aloe Vera Gel, you will definitely see why Aloe Vera has earned the nickname 'the medicine plant'.

10. Effect on the gut

Aloe Vera has a wonderfully beneficial action on bowel function which results in smooth and efficient transit of contents, often eradicating inconvenient, colicky pain. This action, of course, is of great benefit to sufferers of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a problem that affects about one in five people in the Western world at some stage during their life.

9. Assists in healthy digestion

A healthy digestive tract ensures that nutrients from the food we eat are absorbed into the bloodstream. There is clear, clinical evidence that by drinking Aloe Vera Gel the bowel is able to absorb these nutrients more efficiently, especially protein. I also suspect that many other substances are much better absorbed under its influence.

8. Effect on gut flora

Aloe Vera is a natural 'balancer' in many areas and nowhere more so that inside the gut, where it tends to regulate the various bacteria and yeasts that inhabit it. For example, if a person were to suffer with too much yeast in the gut, such as candida, regular ingestion of the Gel would tend to reduce this overgrowth. The same can be said of the more unfriendly bacteria that can accumulate in certain conditions.

7. Effect on the skin

When they are first produced deep in the epidermis skin cells are rather large and very much alive, but by the time they reach the surface after 21-28 days (in normal skin) they are a shadow of their former selves and are transformed into just thin flakes of keratin which eventually fall off. Aloe Vera Gel provides the essential nutrition to feed the basal cells and therefore the skin remains healthy and is able to perform its vital functions more efficiently - as well as looking much better!

6. Increases the activity of fibroblasts

Fibroblasts are specialised cells found in the skin and their job is to produce fibre such as collagen and elastin. These fibres give the skin its structure and, of course, make it look plump and elastic. This is fine from a cosmetic point of view but they are also extremely important in wound healing, as these fibres create a mesh or network over which the new skin cells advance to close the wound. The effect of Aloe Vera is to stimulate them to reproduce faster and therefore, being more of them, they make more fibre. The time taken for wound heal under the influence of Aloe Vera can be reduced by up to a third.

5. Antiviral activity

Within the mucilage layer of the leaf which surrounds the inner Gel there is a long chain sugar or polysaccharide. This has the capability of being able to help defend us against attacks by various viruses, from the common cold to the extremely nasty virus that can cause AIDS. This sugar has actually been extracted from Aloe Vera and made into a drug which, when give alongside regular antiviral agents in the treatment of AIDS, appears to have a synergistic effect, making the treatment more efficient.

4. Anti-inflammatory and pain killing effect

Among the substances that have been identified in Aloe Vera are several that are naturally anti-inflammatory and painkilling. People who take it regularly often find that inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis or ulcerative colitis, are greatly benefited. Although we do not have the hard, clinical evidence, I believe that other inflammatory bowel conditions such as Crohn's disease and diverticulitis are also helped in many cases.

3. A useful source of minerals

Some of the minerals found in Aloe Vera include calcium, sodium, potassium, iron, chromium, magnesium, manganese, copper and zinc. This is because the plant tends to grow in areas where soils are rich in these minerals and its roots are able to absorb them and deliver them to us in a very available form.

2. A useful source of vitamins

Aloe Vera Gel contains a large number of vitamins - even trace elements of vitamin B12 which is rarely found in plants. Apart from vitamin A, it contains B-group vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E and folic acid. Many of these vitamins cannot be stored by the body so we need to constantly top them up from the food that we eat. What better way than by drinking a daily amount of Aloe Vera Gel while at the same time building up the body's defence system against oxidative stress naturally?

1. A general tonic for good health

By drinking the Gel with all its important ingredients (often now deficient in our food) including 19 of the 20 amino acids needed by the human body, and seven of the eight essential ones that just cannot be made, the body is able to get enough to allow complex enzyme systems to work really well. This means the body can function at 100%. The net result to the individual is a wonderful feeling of wellbeing which tends to go with an improved ability to withstand and even fight illness.

As you can see from these 10 great reasons, taken daily - either alone or mixed with fruit juice or our other wonderful antioxidant product Pomesteen Power - Aloe Vera Gel is one of the best nutritional supplements available!

You can view and order our Aloe Vera Gel here

Exercising tips for losing weight!

noreply@blogger.com (Feel Alive Fitness) — Fri, 14 May 2010 12:27:00 +0000

Number 1 tip: Moderate intensity for 1hour three times a week. This can be walking/jogging, cycling, swimming, hiking...anything where you can control the intensity and keep it consistent. Here is how you do it the uncomplicated way:

The "Intensity Scale" 1 to 10:

1 = sitting/lying down and resting
10 = lungs hanging out, can't talk, on the edge of being sick

Considering the intensity scale, "moderate" is a 3-4. This means you are breathing a little heavier than when you walk to the shops. Now! This needs to be consistent for the whole hour, which means you might start of jogging but end up walking the last 10-40mins...it all depends on your current fitness level.

Try this for 8 weeks and you will be amazed with the results.

What do they mean with “your core”?

noreply@blogger.com (Feel Alive Fitness) — Fri, 14 May 2010 11:55:00 +0000

Your core are muscles that keep you upright.

Think about it the only bone that connects our top half and lower half is our spine, which is in fact made up of many smaller bones called vertebrae and they are held together by ligaments, cartilage and muscle. Doesn’t sound like a very strong structure does it?

In order to keep us upright and our spine safe, we use our belly muscles and lower back muscles. These muscle are the ones we call “the core” and they make up a number muscle groups, but what you need to know is the areas that are important. The lower section of our belly leading into the pelvis (below waist line) is normally neglected the most causing a weak core and possible lower back pain.

There are many exercises that can enhance the muscles in the lower belly area. But a key tip is to try and push the muscles in that area inwards towards your spine as you do a sit up. Breath out as you go up and breath in as you relax and go back down.

I hope this explains a few things and makes more sense too.