Fitness Archives | Page 2 of 8

Do You Enjoy HIIT Workouts?

10.07.2024

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If it’s the kind of exercise you enjoy, then a bit of HIIT can certainly form a part of your overall exercise plan.

But.

If you’re doing HIIT several times a week and it’s the main part – or the entirety – of your workout plan, then it might be worth considering making a change.

I would argue that repeatedly doing HIIT sessions is likely not optimal for your body, especially over the longer term.

Often, doing HIIT regularly leads to injuries. This might be caused by simply doing too many repetitive, explosive movements too often; or perhaps a […]

Static Stretching Before Your Workouts

2.07.2024

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Fitness

Do you do static stretches before a workout?

We’ve all warmed up for an exercise session by putting a muscle into a longer position and holding still.

This is a static stretch – you’re stretching and not moving.

But did you know that this kind of stretching actually increases your risk of injury?

This is because static stretching is great for switching muscles off… And it’s not a great idea to relax a muscle you’re about to use or rely on during a workout!

Instead, mobility drills are way more effective as a warm up.

A decent […]

Have You Tried Everything to Improve Your Chronic Pain?

16.05.2024

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Fitness, Health, Mindset

If you’re struggling with a long term injury or pain, you’ve likely tried a whole load of ‘stuff’ ranging from rest to therapists, as well as other things like diet changes, supplements – or good-old blaming your age!

But, have you ever tried being less specific and just working on improving mobility in your body as a whole?

This pretty simple thing can work absolute magic.

Of course, a decent hands on therapist can be awesome and super helpful – but if you’ve been seeing someone (or a variety of people) and doing all the corrective exercises for […]

Seeking Toned Arms?

5.02.2024

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Fitness, Weight Loss

Lots of people ask me for help in toning up their arms – it might feel like quite an uphill battle, but actually, a few adjustments to your workout routine will help a lot!

We can’t choose where our body takes fat from first, and while simply losing weight will result in smaller arms, we still won’t achieve that toned look without gaining muscle and strength in them.

And so – perhaps obviously – if you want to tone up your arms, your focus needs to be on building up the muscles in your arms. Don’t focus only on the […]

Do You Wear A Fitness Tracker?

7.12.2023

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Fitness, Health

Most people I meet these days have some kind of wearable fitness tracker.

Their popularity has EXPLODED over the last few years.

Personally, I use an Oura ring, which I find pretty good. It’s more a sleep and recovery tracker which also tracks activity too.

The other day, I caught myself looking at the data from the previous nights sleep and thinking “oh, that’s nice”. I then proceeded to forget all about it and just move on with my day.

Which got me thinking about how many of us must do this.

Wearing these things is only useful […]

Don’t Exercise To Lose Weight

30.11.2023

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Fitness, Weight Loss

I saw an advert for an exercise class which promised to burn 900 calories per session.

This makes me roll my eyes.

I really can see the appeal – if you’re trying to lose weight, I know this kind of advert sounds awesome!

But if you’re trying to lose weight only with exercise, you are fighting a losing battle.

You will never out-exercise a bad diet.

A standard sized chocolate bar is somewhere around 200-250 calories.

That’ll take you about an hour to walk off, or about 40 minutes if you do something more intense for […]

Cardio Exercise Is Terrible For Fat Loss

7.11.2023

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Fitness, Weight Loss

There was a study released recently which compared cardio, strength training and a combination of both together.

I believe this is the first study to have compared these three types of exercise for their effects on fat loss.

The results?

Those who only strength trained lost more body fat and maintained more muscle than those in the cardio only group.

And even a little more than those in the combined group! (This is interesting to note – more work doesn’t always equate to more results).

Remember that while, at least for the short time, you’ll burn more calories during […]

Will Deep Squats Damage Your Knees?

1.11.2023

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Fitness, Health

I had an interesting conversation with a client this morning about squat depth and knee health, and I thought it might be of interest to some of you.

There’s a bit more information about this on the Facebook group – if you’d like to read more, please do join at www.facebook.com/groups/fitbiztraining

So, a deep squat is defined as going below parallel. Parallel is the point of a squat at which your hips are in line with your knees. Below parallel is the point at which your hips are below your knees.

Clearly, a lot of […]

Workouts Designed for Women

17.10.2023

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Fitness

Workouts “For Women”

The fitness industry has a lot to answer for. There’s a lot of rubbish touted as fact, and one of the biggest red flags when you’re buying a workout program is if it has been designed for women!

These programs involve lighter weights and higher reps.

Apparently they make your body sculpt without ‘getting big’.

The first thing to know is that it really is HARD to gain enough muscle to make you look bulky, especially as a woman.

The next thing is the exercises generally contained in these workouts. They’re not usually the […]

Should You Exercise If You’re Sore?

10.10.2023

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Fitness, Mindset

Should I exercise if I feel sore?

Yes. You probably should.

It’s starting to be shown in research that what many have known from experience for a long time is true. Exercising on top of a muscle ache will generally reduce the severity of the ache more quickly than resting. Getting your body moving and making things flow is helpful.

This said, there are different types of soreness.

If you’re sore due to an injury, then you should probably back off the injured area until the initial inflammation has gone down and you have a plan for fixing […]

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