Day 25…

25 Advent Calendar Tips – Health & Fitness

1st December 2010
Do exercise you enjoy. If you are enjoying your training your body and mind will respond better.

2nd December 2010
Eat little and often. Enjoy your healthy snacks and spread your meals by reducing the portion but eating more regularly.

3rd December 2010
Let exercise be a part of your life. Try to maintain activity daily, whether you use the stairs instead of the lift or have a scheduled workout, keep active.

4th December 2010
A little of what you like doesn’t do you much harm. From time to time its ok to have a naughty snack, just make sure you don’t get into the habit of having it regularly.

5th December 2010
Get a workout mate.  Sometimes training with a friend is more motivating, increase your enjoyment and make it a social.

6th December 2010
Nibble on nuts. Unsalted nuts and seeds are a great healthy snack, encourage yourself to have a small bowl on your desk and graze responsibly.

7th December 2010
Warm up properly!  Increasing your muscle temperature by 1 or 2 degrees before exercise reduces the risk of muscle strains.

8th December 2010
More movement.  Exercise with functional movements, the more movement your body gets in your workout the harder your energy system will work. Move safely and freely.

9th December 2010
Little is better than nothing. Doing a short effective 15-minute workout is better than nothing.  If you cant afford the time, then get in that short session.  This can make a huge difference to your health and fitness.

10th December 2010
Drink water! Try to maintain good hydration by drinking at least 2 litres of water a day.  This will by far increase you concentration and alertness. (See this earlier article)

11th December 2010
Are your trainers right?  When exercising make sure you have a decent pair of trainers, it’s crucial, to avoid injury and muscle imbalances.

12th December 2010
Resistance train. Incorporate resistance training into your workout, your body can burn just as much or even more energy through muscle strengthening workouts.

13th December 2010
Get rid of the junk food in the cupboard. If you can’t control yourself to maintain moderation don’t have it there. Pretty simple really.  Click here to see more

14th December 2010
Don’t plateau. If you have been doing the same training routine for a while now and you don’t feel you are getting the benefit, alter your programme or adjust the exercises you are doing, this way you can spark new muscle groups and fibres.

15th December 2010
SMART training. Set yourself goals that are Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Use these tips to help you..

16th December 2010
Hunger may not mean you are hungry. Remember not to confuse the different types of hunger. See an earlier post I wrote this year.

17th December 2010
Don’t sit for too long. When we are static for too long our muscles become tight, this is when muscle imbalances can arise. Get up from your desk every hour and have a small walk around or a stretch.

18th December 2010
Stretch. After your work out, take time to cool down and stretch, tell your body you are winding down, this way your muscle are being told to relax.

19th December 2010
Get more sleep. A good nights sleep will boost your immune and energy system controlling your weight.

20th December 2010
Smile, laugh be happy. Try to smile or laugh at least 5 times a day, and maintain that sense of humor. Laughing is not just related to facial expressions, but it causes a number of chemical changes within the body. Good hearty laughter helps release enzymes and hormones that are helpful for normal functioning of various organs.

21st December 2010
Don’t diet after Xmas. I know you may feel like you will have over done it with the eating and drinking during this festive time but don’t feel that you need to put yourself on a diet. Diets do not work! See an earlier blog of mine for the reasons why.

22nd December 2010
Think positively. Change your mind set, when you are aiming towards something go about it with lightness and positivity. If you are enjoying what you are doing you will more than likely achieve it.

23rd December 2010
Don’t go hell for leather. As the New Year approaches try to think about how you will sustain your New Year Resolutions. Don’t over do them, gradually encourage them into your lifestyle, you will be more likely to maintain them.

24th December 2010
Walk more. Try to implement more outdoor walking into your life. Take the family, the dog. Start with that fresh Boxing Day walk, trust me, you will feel better after that large dose of Xmas dinner.

25th December 2010
Enjoy it!.  ”Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveler, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!”  ~Charles Dickens.

Pregnancy Fitness..

New to in touch studios…

We are now doing specific pregnancy training sessions, in the BS3 area of Bristol!

If you are pregnant, or know anybody that is pregnant please get in touch.

To maintain a healthy baby, a healthy you, and to prepare your body for the stress of labour it is important to maintain or start exercise whilst pregnant, but do you know the fundamentals, what to do and what not to do?

To enquire about our pregnancy fitness sessions please get in touch!

info@intouchstudios.co.uk
www.intouchstudios.co.uk
01179396601

Tobacco Factory now has a Gym…. not just an ordinary gym..

Find us in the Tobacco Factory!

find out more, to request details email info@intouchstudios.co.uk

Brrrrr…

The higher your fitness level… the warmer you will be this winter!

Gift Voucher fitness packages…Now available..

Encourage friends or family into a new or fresh exercise routine this Xmas.
Contact us to purchase

Shall I wait until the New Year? Or get that ‘head start’ above everyone else?

Use the run up to Xmas as a positive head start to achieving your fitness.

Don’t make the mistake of leaving it until the New Year, start your New Year’s Resolution early. There are 5 weeks to Xmas and so much can be achieved in that time.

If you get the mind set now, then come the New Year you will only have to work to ‘continue and improve’, and not ‘begin and graft!

So start now and intouchstudios WILL help you achieve that level before Xmas if you truly want it!

Then all you have to do is pick it up again after an overindulgent Xmas.

So get intouch for your no obligation chat to see how we can help you.

www.intouchstudios.co.uk . 0117 9396601 . info@intouchstudios.co.uk

Obesity… Anyone for a Big Mac??

Sitting in a café on a leisurely Sunday morning reading the paper not really expecting much, but to my absolute horror I see on the front page of the Saturday’s Guardian an article titled “McDonald’s and PepsiCo to help write UK health policy”. I’m sorry if I sound abrupt here but what the hell.. I read on giving the article the benefit of the doubt wanting to make sure I’ve read it correctly before blogging a hasty opinion.

The Department of Health is putting the fast food companies McDonald’s, KFC and processed food and drink manufacturers such as PepsiCo, Kellogg’s, Unilever, Mars and Diageo at the heart of writing government policy on obesity, alcohol and diet-related disease.

Having finished and realising that I had actually read it correctly, I was truly in a state of fury. I just cannot believe the thought pattern of what could be a ‘turning point’ decision for our industry and for the obesity epidemic.

Please read the article ..and please tell me your views.

Although I hear what the Health secretary, Andrew Lansley, is saying I don’t ‘feel’ it, I don’t get it, and I most certainly don’t agree with it, but who am I to challenge the big businesses. I’m just a small town personal trainer with a huge passion, all the drive in world to encourage ‘change’, and the determination to help people understand the simple principles that could help fight this ever growing obesity epidemic.

The approach that Andrew Lansley’s proposing is to reverse the system. He is not trying to rid of these mass produced chains of what I struggle to call food, but to encourage these big fast food chains to make changes in the quality and healthiness of the products that they produce.

Now I as I said, I ‘hear’ what he is saying, but I don’t believe it will work. These businesses are not out to help encourage healthy eating, which really is the heart of the problem, if they were then they wouldn’t have produced such stodge in the first place. They are big businesses and the main priorities for them are sales and growth!

I just feel that even if they come up with a decent policy on paper assisted and lead by public interest health and consumer groups, having these fast food businesses associated with the paper would be so wrong. It sends out the message to children and adults whom eat from them, these products are healthy and it’s ok to eat and drink them.

These products not only have high salt and fat contents but the chemicals that they contain mess with the naturalisms of the human body. Most, you cannot call food, and the drinks do not count towards your water hydration intake.

Wendy Oliver
Intouchstudios Bristol

What… £2-Billion!!!!!

On the Radio this morning there was a debate on obesity. Now here is a horrific statistic for you…

Obesity costs Britain over £2 Billion per year. With that in mind apparently Britons consume over £2 Billion worth of “fast food” per year! (funny that!)

As much as I wholeheartedly disagree with the ‘fast food/junk food’ industry and the intense marketing of it, can we solely blame the industry and the inventions of this food? (Can I really call it food).

At the end of the day WE HAVE THE CHOICE whether to eat it or not, dont we? We have “good food” available, we are intelligent mammals and we know what is good and what is bad.

What is the cause of Britain’s obesity epidemic?

Education?
Greed & Desire?
Economic Climate?
Laziness?
Naivety?

Seriously, why are we always fighting obesity?

Wendy Oliver
www.intouchstudios.co.uk

New gym, new concept

3 SHOCKING HEALTH STATISTICS!

1. One in every three Britons say that they do not eat vegetables because they take too much effort to prepare!

2. In 2003, Britain ate more ready meals than the rest of Europe put together!

3. In 2004, 40% of British patients entering and leaving hospitals were found to have malnutrition!

Are you one of these statistics???

intouchstudios . loft 5 . tobacco factory . raleigh road . southville . bristol . BS3 1TF
0117 939 6601 info@intouchstudios.co.uk www.intouchstudios.co.uk