We often feel that if we can’t turn up to our workout ready to give 100%, then we shouldn’t bother at all – and that if we’re not sweating or pushing ourselves, then we’re not achieving anything.
But this is just not true.
If you’re tired, in pain, or just simply not in the mood, 99.9% of the time, you’re still best to turn up to your workout and do what you can.
While sometimes it IS a good idea to take some rest, it’s more often true that doing a bit of […]
Knees are funny little things.
You could argue that they’re not very well designed; they’re fairly complicated, plus they have to take a lot of weight despite the lack of support they have compared to, say, your hips.
And so, knees are easily and frequently injured.
So, how can we make our knees less likely to get injured?
By making sure the joints above and below are working in the way they’re designed… That’s your hips and your feet / ankles!
If your hips are tight and the muscles around them are weak, then every time you […]
There are all sorts of reasons you might not fancy joining a gym, but, do you need to bite the bullet if you want to do resistance workouts? Do you need the equipment in the gym if you’re to make decent strength gains?
Well, with 16 years experience in designing home workout programs, I’m here to let you know that it is absolutely possible to improve your strength at home!
One of the biggest benefits of exercising at home is the convenience. Not only does the time you have to commit to your workout reduce because of not […]
Most of us would benefit from strength training, although one could argue that the importance becomes greater with age.
As we age, the amount of muscle we have on our bodies naturally reduces, and this means that our strength reduces too.
Of course, that means changes to your figure, but more importantly a reduction in muscle mass and strength also means decreased motor control and balance – which then means higher chances of falling.
I believe that with strength training, we can reduce your risk of injury in general by maintaining and improving your strength and coordination.
Then we can think […]
First up, if you haven’t already, please come and join my new Facebook Group – it’s full of practical advice and ideas to think about when working on your health and fitness.
There are so many benefits to using resistance training. If you keep generally active as much as you can, and have time to fit in one kind of structured workout, then resistance training has to be it – it has the most broad spectrum benefits… In fact, when we lay out the benefits of resistance work, it really shows how true this is.
Mental Health
This […]
I’m often talking about the importance of resistance training for fitness, health and weight loss, and that is absolutely the best place to focus your exercise efforts.
Resistance training should be your priority.
But there is some benefit to adding in aerobic exercise too.
Make sure you choose something you enjoy though – don’t look only at the calorie burn and instead also consider what you’ll be able to maintain long term.
If you love a nice long walk on the flat, that’s great. If you prefer to do something that feels a bit more like exercise […]
First up, if you haven’t already, please come and join my new Facebook Group – it’s full of practical advice and ideas to think about when working on your health and fitness.
We often hold ourselves to very high standards when it comes to our diet and exercise routines.
If we’re not seeing what we want to see – or if we’re not seeing it as quickly as we would like – we often throw in the towel and quit.
We end up with a bit of an ‘all or nothing’ approach, which can look a bit like yo […]
Monday is apparently the most miserable day of the year – the third Monday in January has been marked out by science as the most rubbish day of the year, every year.
Whether you go with this particular date or not, we do seem to universally agree that January and February are the least fun months of the year. The days are short, the weather is cold and miserable and the long days and warm weather seem a long way away.
Which brings me onto the positive impacts of exercise for mental health.
Have you ever really thought about how much […]
Happy New Year!
I hope you’ve all enjoyed a Christmas break.
Have you made any New Year’s resolutions?
Aren’t they FUN! We feel like we’ve already achieved something by writing them down!
Remember though that we’re making these grand plans for the year ahead off the back of two weeks of doing not a lot, having eaten in a different way to usual and having been in a different routine to usual.
This different perspective means it’s easy to forget that that ‘urgh I need to eat better’ feeling goes very quickly, as well […]
First up, have you joined the new Facebook group yet? If not, please do – this week I’ve written about Christmas and the benefits of cold!
Today, let’s look at discipline.
It is THE answer to staying consistent with your plan. It’s the thing which will make you stick to your routine even when you don’t want to. It means you’re not hanging on to your willpower hoping you feel the urge to do the things you need to do, and instead, you just do them because you have an internal motivation to do it.
For […]
