Winter has officially arrived. The opaque tights, boots, winter coats, scarves and woolly jumpers are all back on the scene. And as the temperature drops, it makes regular exercise require that little bit more will power, as the excuses come in thick and fast. (more…)
Gym
Changing Seasons
Tuesday, November 29th, 2011The Joys of a Lazy Workout
Monday, February 28th, 2011New Year, New You! otherwise known as Here We Go Again!
Monday, January 10th, 2011As the nation recovers from its collective hangover, so begins the nation’s collective healthkick, which is normally along the lines of lose weight and exercise more. Although you may be feeling bombarded by adverts for new diet plans on tv, and be sick of being accosted by sales teams promoting the latest gym offer for the new year, don’t switch off altogether as there are some fantastic deals to be had! (more…)
Exercising the right frame of mind
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010Us women can be so critical and mean about weight: to ourselves, and to each other. Weekly magazines are full of pictures of celebs, showing us know who has gained, who has lost and it seems we just don’t tire of those dramatic weight loss / gain stories. In our real lives our judging eyes fall most unsisterly onto the other women we meet, literally sizing each other up. (more…)
Regular exercise? Falling off the wagon…
Monday, November 8th, 2010Well, it had to happen, didn’t it? And just when everything was going so well too… I was on the verge of being one of those sporty, active people who just builds regular exercise into their daily routine – oh how I long to be one of those people! – but I have to face up to the fact that I’m more of a fits and starts kinda gal. Always have been, but I live in hope that I won’t always continue to be! (more…)
In the words of Obama – Yes we can!
Thursday, July 15th, 2010Some of us have got it in spades – others, not quite so much – but everyone wants it. Motivation. How do you get it and how do you keep it going? Now, we all know the benefits to body and mind of living a healthy lifestyle, which includes regular exercise, blah blah blah…. But what is the extra factor which makes people prise themselves off the sofa after a long day at work, put on their workout clothes and get exercising? As the numbers continue to swell at my bootcamp classes I was curious as to the specific reasons which had led people to join up.
One new recruit is following a weight loss plan to get in shape for her summer wedding. After blowing her budget on a bespoke dress, she felt she couldn’t then justify hiring a personal trainer to help her fit in to it! On joining up she managed to drag her best mate – and bridesmaid – along with her, so now she has no excuses for missing a class! Another has committed herself to attending a school reunion in August. She’s not worried about baring all in a tiny bikini this Summer. Instead, despite having left school over ten years ago, she is determined to wow them all with her best possible self in her tiniest possible summer dress. A third is looking forward to a reunion with a foreign boyfriend, and wants to welcome him at the airport with a new, improved body, and show him what he’s been missing out on!
It doesn’t matter what it is, but there’s nothing like having a goal to work towards to keep you motivated. Not forgetting all the pit-stops along the way where you can congratulate yourself on your iron will and iron–ish abs! So get that diary out, when is the next special event, party or holiday where you would love to look your best? Set a date, formulate an action plan, get some decent sportswear and a good pair of trainers, and – in the words of Obama – Yes we can!
Powering to a pert bum
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010Yippee!! Here comes the sun! and with it comes the prospect of glorious summer holidays and – dare I say it? – BIKINI BODIES! Eeek! Now if you have limited time and possibly limited motivation, you – like me – will want to know the most effective exercises to help ensure your bum, tum and thighs are looking half decent before the grand unveiling. And it is with a certain degree of pride and smugness that I can reveal, according to a recent health and fitness magazine, that the three killer exercises required are all ones that I practice regularly at my boot camp classes.
For a pert bum power lunges are the way forward. At boot camp we tend to do a few minutes of them between sets of other exercises or while waiting for team players to finish during a game. The secret here is little and often – and to be honest, a few minutes is more than enough!
For a trim tum the plank is said to be the best stomach-flattening exercise. Deceptively difficult to do, you’ll feel the burn immediately. We tend to do it for a couple of minutes, including unplanned breaks! and treat it as an endurance exercise.
For toned thighs squats are the exercise of choice. These lend themselves to more variation, which helps liven them up a bit! My favorite squat-type exercise which we practice is squatting with your hands by your sides, touching your feet and then jumping up with your partner behind you helping to lift you up on your jump! This exercise always gets some laughs, as well as working your partner’s biceps at the same time!
So, no more excuses, why not put these ultimate exercises to the test with the aim of having a beach body that you can be proud of! Have fun!
My first boot camp
Monday, May 24th, 2010I rocked up at my first boot camp fitness class feeling fairly confident. After all, I ran twice a week and considered myself quite fit – surely I’d have no problem keeping up with the beginners class. How wrong I was! Ten minutes later I was gasping for breath, the last one in the group to finish the latest sprinting exercise and feeling as though I may be sick. “This never happens to me when I go for my gentle jogs around the park” I thought! Hmm… there may be a reason for that. If an all over body work out, increased levels of fitness and pushing your pain/endurance threshold to the max are your kind of thing – then boot camp is where it’s at. Did I mention it’s also great fun, sociable and exhilarating too? It is.
I finished my hour class exhausted, caked in mud and wondering whether my white t-shirt would ever be white again, but also a fully committed convert to boot camp. One day, I told myself, I won’t be the last to finish every exercise. One day, I might even make it into the intermediate group – imagine that! One day…
