Fitness

At some point or another, you’ve probably felt like a hamster on a wheel while using the cardio equipment at your local gym. This feeling is usually accompanied by the “well at least i’m doing something” thought that justifies a not-so-challenging cardio session. I like to call this “blah” cardio. It happens to the best of us, infact, my recent “blah” cardio session inspired me to write this post.

Travel is fun and exciting but whether it’s for business or pleasure it can take its toll on your fitness levels.

As a personal trainer, i can’t count the number of times a client has asked me “How do i lose weight from my stomach/thighs/arms/butt?”.Unfortunately, there is no such thing as ‘spot reduction’ – you can’t choose the area of the body from which you will lose fat.

It can be hard to find the time to get to the gym, particularly if you have kids.

We are all aware of the obesity epidemic in this country, and of the sad reality that a large number of those affected are children. Whether you feel that both you and your children should become more active for health reasons; or simply that it would be a fun and positive way to spend quality time together, why not include them in your exercise routine?

When considering fitness for children, it is important to emphasise activities as fun rather than simply hard work. Make enjoyment the priority!

This fantastic workout targets strength, endurance, aerobic fitness, stability, balance and will power! It will challenge your whole body and push you to the limit (in a good way!).

If you struggle to fit an hour long exercise session in each day, why not try breaking your exercise up into smaller, manageable sessions throughout the day?

Today whilst running along the beach with the wind bellowing against my face (it was very windy) looking more like Robocop than an athlete due to all my running gear, I thought everyone who can do this could at least try it. Once you get fit enough to run without sounding like you have a chronic airway disease it’s extremely enjoyable.

Interval training is a great way to spice up your cardiovascular workouts, boost your metabolism, increase your aerobic fitness and shed unwanted body fat while maintaining lean muscle mass.

Key detoxification processes are all enhanced by exercise. While it seems that any sort of exercise helps, there are certain types that will really jump-start a cleanse.

Most gyms these days are kid-friendly, offering child minding facilities that allow busy Mums some time to themselves to squeeze in a workout. If your local gym doesn’t have a creche, membership doesn’t work into your budget or you prefer to be around your bub while you exercise, this is the perfect workout for you!

In order to make fitness improvements and reach goals, we must push the boundaries. The body is an amazing, readily adaptive machine and if you repeatedly do something that you find easy, you won’t improve.

This week’s challenge is to push the boundaries and complete as many push ups as you can in 60 seconds.

Most of us have heard the term “core strength” at some point, whether it be at the gym, on television or at the physiotherapist’s office, but what exactly is core strength and why is it so important?