Tag Archives: fitness

Men, get a Golden Wonder body for summer

Trunks feeling a little tight? Moobs making you miserable? Man up! We’re here to tell you how you can still lose the calories, without losing the Golden Wonder crisps this summer….

Whether you’re shopping for swim shorts, or following the Mrs around the mall ahead of the big holiday, you can still crunch on crisps whilst toning up.

Here are a few cheeky ways to keep that fat burning before you fly off…

For Big Guns: burns up to 100 calories

Go shopping! It may sound like the world’s worst activity, but pushing a shopping trolley around for half an hour can burn over 100 calories. Lugging heavy shopping bags home will also help to build up your biceps.

For Stacked Shoulders: burns up to 350 calories

Spending an hour in the attic searching for suitcases, carrying them around the airport, and packing and unpacking them could burn a massive 350 calories before you even get to your destination…awesome!

For Thick Thighs: burns up to 500 calories

Having a quick BBQ with your mates before you head off? Get the beers in son! Lifting crates for 30 minutes can help build up thigh, buttock and quad muscles and burn 500 calories due to the constant squatting action.

For Chiselled Abs: burns up to 600 calories

In the park and getting in some sneaky rays before you go? Watch out for those good lookin’ girls. If you sit up every time to take a look, you’ll be on your way to a stomach that even Peter Andre would envy…(just don’t let the Mrs catch you!)

So go on, munch on, and work that summer strut…

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Gok Wan helps you to feel good

Gok Wan is working on a new campaign, that you’ve most probably seen on the TV, with Activia on how to feel good on the inside.

The style and lifestyle guru told us all about what he does to feel good and relax and shares his tips on how you can too.

Here’s what Gok Wan had to say ….

What sort of things will you to help you relax?

Seven hours of sleep a night and I want to read a book every month. I’m not going to put so much pressure on myself; I’m going to try and have as many of my weekends free as possible. And my new one which is going to be switching my mobile off, which I’ve never done. I’ve had a mobile for many years and I’ve never ever switched it off, so now it is going to be switched off from 9pm till 6am. That’s a big thing for me.

How can women make themselves feel good on the inside?

Obviously a lot of it is diet, not lose-weight-diet, but what you eat. Just make sure that you’ve got some balance in your life. I don’t think it’s right for anyone to turn around and say stop drinking so much, don’t eat fried food. What fuel you put into your body is very important. It’s not just about dresses, shoes and handbags, it’s about what fuel you put into your body and again I reiterate that this is not about weight loss, it’s about making sure that you feel as healthy as you possibly can. If you are going to splurge out and have a month of bad eating and drinking, that’s absolutely fine as far as I’m concerned but what you need to do is get some balance to make sure that you are looking after yourself and you are getting your five-a-day, making sure you’re getting your minerals, protein. That’s been a huge part of me growing up in catering, my mum, dad and me we fed people so we had to make sure that we were giving people the right amount of portions, things aren’t too heavily fried because it doesn’t make you feel very good about yourself.

What diet tips do you have for people who want to lose weight this New Year?

I don’t, I’ve always prided myself on the fact that I don’t give diet tips out. There are so many diets out there, whether it’s Atkins, Dukan or your diet clubs, the way I stand I would be slightly a hypocrite to give out tips telling people to lose weight when I’ve always told people to celebrate the body that you’re in and afterwards your body will start celebrating you. A lot of the time when I’ve done the TV shows women have felt better about themselves and naturally they’ve lose weight because a lot of the times people overeat for security, for comfort or because they’re very unhappy. When you feel better about yourself and you feel healthier in your overall aesthetic and when you look in the mirror you get a pleasant feeling as opposed to a feeling of dread you won’t need to find comfort in food as maybe you did.

If you could suggest a couple of New Year’s Resolutions for women to make to make them feel better on the inside, what would you suggest?

I would say definitely look at alcohol, alcohol is a big contributing factor to women not feeling good about themselves. Drinking water is huge and something that we all need to do more of. And limiting yourself to splurging. Then of course don’t deny yourself, just make sure that you’re aware of what you’re drinking and eating. Anything in excess can become quite harmful. Give yourself a new haircut, a new colour, looking after your skin, maybe speak to someone at a beauty counter and ask for advice on new make-up or a skincare regime – all of that stuff can be quite inexpensive and make a huge difference as well. I think if you can afford it just once a month having a massage done, getting a manicure or a pedicure, letting someone do your grooming instead of having to do an at-home job, all of those little treats can help. I think working out a budget as well is important because you can only do what you can afford. Whether you’ve got £10, £50 or £100 a month, making sure that you spend that money wisely and you’re getting the most from it. It might be a new lipstick and it could be as simple as that or it might be a weekend away with your girlfriends at a spa.

Femalefirst Taryn Davies  

Read the full interview here 

Gok Wan is the new brand ambassador for Activia’s Feel Good from Within 2013 campaign. Activia and Gok are on a mission to change the way women feel good this year, and help women all around the UK feel good from within. Activia is a source of calcium. Calcium helps maintain healthy bones. Enjoy as part of a healthy balanced diet and lifestyle

Check out www.facebook.com/activiaUK and on here you’ll be able to access Activia and Gok’s top feel good tips for 2013 by clicking on the “I pledge” button

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The real reason why we don’t want to exercise – school PE lessons

It seems there’s a deep rooted reason why we don’t want to workout and it has nothing to do with being tired and busy – it goes all the way back to our childhood.

Women are being put off exercise for life by their school PE lessons, a study has found.

Secondary school classes are the ones most likely to affect girls and it’s competitive classmates, grubby changing rooms and embarrassment of getting sweaty in front of the boys that leaves us likely to hit the gym.

A survey found that more than half of school age girls said their PE lessons had put them off doing any exercise at all.

Sue Tibballs, of the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation, which carried out the study, explained to the Mail Online:

“If only activities on offer are competitive sports like netball and hockey you are going to have whole swathes of girls who feel pushed out and don’t want to exercise.

“That continues into their adulthood.”

She also warned that teachers were finding it difficult to get pupils enthused by sport because girls were ‘worried about their hair and nails.’

“It’s also hard because there aren’t many sporting role models for girls. While boys grow up dreaming of playing for England, women’s sports tends to get pushed out.”

During the study, 1,500 school-age boys and girls were questioned about how often they played sport and their attitude to PE lessons.

The results revealed girls tended to become less and less positive about sport as they grew older, with many blaming secondary school PE lessons for putting them off.

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Tips on eating out and staying trim

Having to say goodbye to a social life whilst we’re on a diet is a thought that resonates with plenty of people, but why exactly?

Just because we’re making small changes to our diet it doesn’t mean that we should have to sit in and wallow in our own thoughts, which I’m guessing would mainly be about food.

Here we have the top tips from Bodycraft, the experts of weightloss, about how you can dine out and maintain a healthy weight.

It’s not rocket science.
· Don’t starve yourself throughout the day, going to a restaurant when you are really hungry will only encourage your appetite for those calorie laden dishes.
· Avoid fried dishes and speak up to your waiter. Ask for your food to be steamed, baked, grilled or poached.
· Be careful of those sauces! There isn’t a point in ordering the poached fish or baked chicken if it is drowning in a creamy rich sauce. Try to order tomato-based sauces if you need to at all
· Don’t feel compelled to order a 3 course meal, but if you do, try to choose light options like fruit or sorbet and order extra vegetables with your main course to fill up on
· If you are going for a starter, try the soup. Make sure to avoid creamy soups and go for broth-based soups made of vegetables as they contain mostly water which is a great way to fill up without the extra calories.
· Substitute potatoes and french fries for a salad where possible but watch out for the dressings. Creamy dressings are full of unwanted calories/fat so make sure to ask for it on the side so you can limit how much you use.
· Don’t feel compelled to finish the whole meal, or have that extra helping. Take it home and enjoy it for your lunch the next day.
· Take your time with your meal. Eating slowly will help you to eat less as your body has a chance to start acknowledging that it is full.
· Alcohol is full of calories, try a white wine spritzer (with soda). It’s a great lower calorie drink that lasts longer throughout the meal.

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The ultimate marathon survival guide

If you’re planning on going for gold in this year’s marathon, your normal training regime will need a complete overhaul.

Preparing your body for the huge physical strain will take time and expertise. Luckily, we’ve rounded up top tips from the best experts around to give you the boost you need to cross the finish line like a pro.

Justin Way, Personal Trainer and Fitness Expert at Pure Gym (www.puregym.com) has three top tips for marathon success.

  1. Stretching is a great way of keeping mobile and injury free during your marathon training regime. Even if you’re not a regular exerciser a weekly stretch can help you relax and promote healthy blood flow which is quite invigorating. When you stretch make sure you stretch your major muscles, think of where you may feel tightness…..the back of your legs, your lower back, any stretch around your hips is good as there are a lot of muscles cross these joints. Generally, holding a stretch for 15-20 seconds would be enough to relax the muscle, if you hold it for around 30 seconds then this would help improve flexibility.
  2. Tracking your progress is so important, it allows you to set staggered short term objectives to help you towards your ultimate goal. What you record depends really on what you do and what you want to achieve, but logging things like how long you ran for, how far you rode and how many repetitions you completed is important if you want to beat your personal best come marathon time!
  3. A warm down towards the end of a workout is extremely beneficial. The length of the warm down really depends on how intense your workout was. As a general rule, the harder the workout the longer the warm down.

If you want to make the most of your training regime, you’ll need to make sure you’re staying adequately hydrated. These 3 top tips for healthy hydration from the Natural Hydration Council should ensure you’re always kept topped up.

  1. For most light intensity types of exercise including swimming, golf and walking, and for any physical activity lasting less than 45 minutes water will rehydrate you adequately
  2. Sip water in small amounts during and after exercise. For example, sip 150-300 ml roughly every 20 minutes during exercise5, and then drink 250-500 ml fluid5 once you have finished exercising.
  3. Replenish fluids regularly especially when sweat rates are high and/or exercising in warm environments.
  4. If you’re serious about your fitness, you may need a little extra boost to take you from weekend runner to Olympic hopeful.

Hurdler and Olympic hopeful Ruben Tabares explains: “I have discovered the power of nutrient-rich whole foods and take Sun Chlorella ‘A’ because it is an extremely effective nutritional tool to provide the body with a unique fuel for achieving optimum physical performance. By incorporating Sun Chlorella ‘A’ into the diet, amongst other health benefits I also get a powerful ‘dual-action’ effect – an instant energy boost prior to physical activity as well as a repair and anti-inflammatory benefit after training.”

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Mr Motivator wants us to turn our home into the gym

Finding the time to fit in exercise is difficult sometimes, so why not turn your home into the gym?

Picking up a mop or duster can not only make a contribution to fitness and health, but it can also keep your house spick and span as an added bonus.

The British Science Association has teamed up with legendary fitness guru Mr. Motivator and the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University for National Science & Engineering Week 2012 in March, to help keep the nation fit whilst doing everyday jobs around the home.

Their research shows that doing up to an hour of chores a day can burn off the minimum daily recommendation of 200 kcal of moderate intensity exercise:

The Heptathlon

Time

1. Dusting the house or changing bed linen

60 mins

2. Mopping floors

45 mins

3. Vacuuming carpets

45 mins

4. Going shopping with a basket instead of a trolley, carrying it home and putting it away

45 mins

5. Scrubbing the bathroom

45 mins

6. Gardening

40 mins

7. Mowing the lawn

30 mins

David Stensel, Reader in Exercise Metabolism at Loughborough University says: “Research has shown that some household activities use enough energy to be classified as moderate intensity physical activity. The minimum recommendation for this type of activity is approximately 200 kcals of energy expenditure per day.

“The amount of activity required to burn this will vary depending on age and body mass amongst other factors but for the average UK person aged 35, the calculations in the Housework Heptathlon are a good guideline for a way to expend energy and do something constructive around the home.”

Mr. Motivator, who has provided advice for people to get the most from their household workout, added: “Whether it’s dusting your mantle-piece, cleaning the bath or cutting the grass, putting in some elbow grease around the home can help you work up to the energy levels needed to shed the suggested daily calorie count. Grab your cleaning products and become a Housework Heptathlete now for better health!”

The British Science Association has also come up with a ‘Top of the Mops’ top 10 songs to help boost your exercise during the housework routine:

1. Shine, Take That

2. Car Wash, Rose Royce

3. So Fresh, So Clean, Outkast

4. The Boy Does Nothing,
Alesha Dixon

5. Coming Clean, Greenday

6. Shine On, Kooks

7. Work, Saturdays

8. Beat It, Michael Jackson

9. Do Somethin’, Britney Spears

10. Steam, East 17

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Exercising in your 20s leaves you healthier in your 40s

The secrets to a longer and healthier life have been discovered by researchers and it comes as no surprise to find eating less and exercising more on the list.

Scientists revealed the steps that people in their twenties should take in order to maintain a well-balanced body into their late 40s.

Avoiding alcohol and cigarettes could reduce the risk of troubles later in life, according to the study. They also found that eating less and exercising more can help to lower the risk of disease.

Kiang Liu, a professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine told the Daily Mail: “The problem is few adults can maintain ideal cardiovascular health factors as they age.

“Many middle-aged adults develop unhealthy diets, gain weight and aren’t as physically active.

“Such lifestyles, of course, lead to high blood pressure and cholesterol, diabetes and elevated cardiovascular risk.

“In this study, even people with a family history of heart problems were able to have a low cardiovascular disease risk profile if they started living a healthy lifestyle when they were young.

“This supports the notion that lifestyle may play a more prominent role than genetics.”

The study looked at more than 3,000 participants and helped to confirm Liu’s beliefs that the young generation will have many long-term benefits by keeping fit and active earlier in life.

Whilst we may have already been aware of this information, another study reinforces the idea that we need to be thinking actively about our health, especially considering what impacts it may have on us later in life.

Liu continued: “Many studies suggest that people who have low cardiovascular risk in middle age will have a better quality of life, will live longer and will have lower Medicare costs in their older age.

“There are a lot of benefits to maintaining a low-risk profile.”

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Biggest workout mistakes

Spending hours in the gym but not achieving your goals? You could be making some very simple yet common workout mistakes.

Fitness expert at The Chelsea Club, Neil Johnson, is here to give us the lowdown. The ‘face of FAME’, Neil is a personal trainer to the stars and has a history of working with Take That, East 17 and Boyzone.

#1: Sit Ups = Six Pack

Not quite! In fact too much concentration on the abs and no focus on other areas of your body could lead your stomach to expand and a pot belly rearing its ugly head! Sit ups combined with an overall weight loss programme, a balanced diet and regular exercise will help with this.

#2: Under Eating

All too often I see people trying to lose weight by starving themselves. Yet this doesn’t actually help you lose weight, instead it leaves you with muscle loss, a slower metabolism and less energy. By having a diet which consists of eating foods in moderation but exercising regularly at the same time – this is how you will lose weight.

#3: Ignoring Weights

Do you spend all your gym time doing cardio? Chopping and changing between the treadmill and the cross-trainer? People, particularly women, tend to gravitate toward cardio exercises and avoid weights like the plague. There’s a myth that weight training will bulk you up. This simply won’t happen unless you go too extreme. In fact lifting weights will tone and firm up your muscles, something that cardio actually cannot do. Maintaining regular weight training will increase your body’s ability to burn fat around the clock.

#4: Repeating Workouts

Going to the gym 2/3 times a week and doing the same routine each time will work to begin with. You may see some pounds drop straight off and your body getting firmer but this needs to be maintained. The way to do this is to keep pushing yourself, keep adding to your workout. Whether that means increasing the weights you are using or adding quarter of an hour onto your cardio training every couple of weeks, you need to be always progressing.

#5: Skipping Stretching

Stretching is so important both before and after a workout but is the most common mistake. Stretching is important to be done properly and not rushed as it increases our flexibility, helps with a better posture and also decreases muscle injury.

#6: Playing Favourites

Playing favourites in your training can lead to problems. Many of us have a body part we prefer to workout on or a particular exercise we like doing more than others. However, favouring these can leave you unbalanced with poor posture. When you workout you need to work out the whole body.

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Drink yourself fit

Sometimes we’re just looking for a quick fix, something that doesn’t take much effort and will leave us feeling better for it.

New research suggests that a common drink could significantly improve the physical health of those of 65.

A major study published in the March addition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that the more green tea drunk, the more self-sufficient and mobile people were.

The study was conducted over a period of 3 years and followed 14,000 Japanese individuals over the age of 65. The amount of green tea consumed over this period was monitored along with the incidence of physical disability and the level of care they needed.

In those who drank 1-2 cups of green tea a day the incidence of functional disability dropped by 10 per cent, in those who had 3-4 cups it dropped by 25 per cent and in those who had more than 5 cups a day it dropped by 33 per cent.

The researchers concluded that “Green tea consumption is significantly associated with a lower risk of incident functional disability, even after adjustment for possible confounding factors.”; that is to say Green tea drinkers fared better as they grew older (even after taking into account that ‘green tea drinkers’ already generally had healthier diets, lower smoking rates, were better educated and had more friends and family to rely on).

To date no one is entirely sure why green tea may help promote good health so significantly, but it is known to contain high levels of plant chemicals called polyphenols, which occur in higher levels in green tea than normal tea and have numerous associated health benefits. Furthermore, the researchers noted one recent study found green tea extracts seem to boost leg muscle strength in older women, which may indicate a possible mechanism.

However the tea works the results are significant and make it clear that if you want to stay active as you get older going green is the way forward.

Which Green Tea?

The exciting new Green Tea Diet Blend from Natur Boutique has been specifically created to harness the health benefits of green tea in a tasty way aiming to make it more appealing to everyone.

The blend combines green tea with the rare and exotic Java tea, which is a powerful antioxidant, and therefore aids the body with removal of unwanted waste molecules safely. The blend also contains Liquorice offering a friendly sweetness and a delicious taste to the tea.

Natur Boutique’s Green tea blend is available from www.naturboutique.co.uk and costs just £2.95.

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Olympic weightlifter hopeful Sunny Brar shares her fitness tips

Keep your body healthy and happy with five top fitness tips from York Fitness athlete Sunny Brar

Sunny Brar, Central England Weightlifting Champion and ranked number two in Britain, shares her five personal top tips on how to stay fit, healthy and motivated.

Keep hydrated

Try and drink at least two litres of water a day! I try to drink at least four litres because of the amount that I train. The times which I haven’t done so, I have noticed the negative impact it has had on my performance. However, filling up a 2L bottle helps me to achieve this every day as there are no excuses but to drink it as it is there.

Get your body ready

It is really important to stretch before and after training as flexibility is really important if you want to get the most out of the workout.

Be prepared

If possible, try and prepare your meals ahead of time so you have good, healthy food to hand when you need it. I prepare my meals the day before so I don’t find myself wasting time in the supermarket or eating the wrong thing because I am starving or rushed and I always have something to hand so my body is fuelled and ready for the next training session.

Show some respect

Always respect the weights you lift! Start your warm up by lifting lighter weights but always remember that your warm up lifts are just as important as your work-out weight lifts, because if you can’t get the technique right on the lighter lifts you’re going to struggle with the heavier ones!

Get the right kit

Make sure that you have the right kit for your workout, particularly footwear. Trainers may work well for general cardio workouts but for weightlifting you need more support. I have got a pair of shoes specifically designed for weightlifting. They are custom made in the ‘Superman’ colours and besides from loving the look of them, the heel gives me more support and therefore stability in the squat position.

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