Archive for July 2009
Getting rid of fat around your belly
20/07/2009 by admin.
An unhealthy lifestyle can contribute to higher levels of fat around the body. Such factors as smoking, drinking, lack of sleep and lots of stress are all problem areas.
The worst kind of fat is visceral fat, which stores on the abdominal area, carries the biggest health risks such as heart disease and diabetes. However, on the plus side, you can do something about it because this type of fat is metabolically active so responds to a change in lifestyle.
How to find out if you need to do something about your belly fat:
You probably know already if you have too much belly fat but a simple test is to measure your waist. For men, a waist of over 40″ and for women a waist of 35″ would cause a risk to your health and is of serious concern.
Now, it’s all very well doing abdominal exercises which will strength and tone the muscles in your abdominal area but you won’t feel the benefit if you don’t rid yourself of that fat. So, along with your abdominal crunches, do some cardiovascular exercise, something which gets your slightly out of breath, power walking or running, or perhaps cycling. Aim to do this 3 times a week for at least 20 minutes. As you get fitter you can build on this but don’t get too carried away in the early weeks and get injured.
Preparing for exercising outdoors in hot weather
17/07/2009 by admin.
You should be prepared for outdoor exercise to ensure that your performance level doesn’t drop off through dehyration or heat exhaustion. Here are some tips for exercising in hot weather:-
- Wear suitable clothing so that your skin can breathe - so wear light coloured clothing with breathable fabrics
- Remember your sunscreen and reapply as necessary. SPF 20 or higher that protects against UVA and UVB rays.
- Use a cap to protect your head, especially if you are thin on top
- Remember drink - preferably a drink which contains electrolytes to keep your body’s fluids in check. Ensure you are well hydrated before you train. Your urine should be straw colour. If it is deep yellow or orange you are dehydrated.
- Avoid the hottest part of the day which tends to be lunchtime and early to mid afternoon. The best time to exercise is early morning or in the evening.
- Wear sunglasses - sports sunglasses are best. These should protect from UVA and UVB rays.
Exercising using body weight
16/07/2009 by admin.
We often use body weight in boot camp to exercise. Examples are squats and lunges, press ups and tricep dips. The great thing about these exercises is that you can do these in your home or outdoors. Here are some things to consider when using body weight for exercising:-
- Ensure you are doing the exercises correct
- Engage your core to ensure stability and provide added strength.
- Don’t use momentum - do the exercises in a controlled manner
- Focus on all stages of the exercise - ie not just the difficult part
- Remember your breathing, exhale during the difficult part of the exercise
- If you want to make exercises harder use gravity, resistance bands, dumbbells or medicine balls
- Balance the exercises, so if you work the front of your thigh, ensure you balance that out with an exercise that works the back of your thigh
A qualified fitness instructor can help you with many of the aspects listed above if you are unsure.
Last night’s boot camp
15/07/2009 by admin.
Well it happened…it rained on boot camp. Six months in…..and boy did it rain. However, you hardy lot didn’t get deterrred and kept battling away despite hideous conditions. You’ve come a long way in the last 6 months so a special mention to our long term boot campers….Claire, Paula Ali, Becci and Mariana.
Special mention also to Gus for some awesome running.
After boot camp, Social Secretary, Becci, did a great job of keeping us entertained whilst we were waiting for our meal. Looking forward to hearing what Becci has planned for us next.
Tuesday’s and Saturday’s Boot Camp
14/07/2009 by admin.
Tonight we will be meeting at Jerbourg at 6 pm and on Saturday we wil be meeting at Lihou Island headland at 10 am.
Remember to dress for the weather, you might need sunscreen. Also, don’t forget to bring a drink along.
If you are new to boot camp you need to complete a registration form.
How to avoid getting bored with exercise
14/07/2009 by admin.
It happens doesn’t it. After the initial keeness to get into an exercise routine, usually some diversion causes you to lose the enthusiam. Here are some tips to keeping the motivation:-
- Try different activities every so often, perhaps a game of tennis or badminton or a bike ride - you don’t always have to go to the gym.
- Train with a friend or your partner. It makes the session go much quicker and you can improve together.
- Set yourself an achievable goal to work towards.
- Alternate the type of exercise you do, so run one day, gym the next.
- Do group sessions…boot camps are the latest craze and a great change from being in the gym
- Make sure you incorporate rest days otherwise you will run the risk of getting bored, the exercise will become a chore and boredom will set in
- Avoid the plateau by changing the type of session you do, eg one day do a short fast run, the next session do a longer steadier run
- Above all select exercise that you enjoy
www.bowditchfit.com
Alcohol can interfere with fat burning
11/07/2009 by admin.
Our bodies use fat for fuel when we are doing low level activities such as watching the television or working on the computer. However, we can influence our body’s ability to burn fat by our lifestyle. Alcohol consumption can play havoc with our ability to burn fat.
We can only process up to a maximum of 1 oz of alcohol per hour. Bearing in mind that 12 oz beer contains approx. 0.6 oz of alcohol, if you were to have a ‘bit of a session’ your body could stop burning fat for many hours to come, quite possibly the remainder of the evening.
Alcohol contains lots of sugar which your body will store as glycogen and if not burnt as energy will turn to fat. Also, alcohol is seriously lacking in beneficial nutrients. At 7 kcals per gram can you afford to over indulge?
So, if you want to lose weight then you should definitely cut down on your alcohol consumption. There are lots of other health reasons related to high alcohol consumption but those are for another day.
Other factors which impact our ability to burn fat include lack of exercise, low calorie diets, lack of sleep and missing out on breakfast/meals.
To find out more about my nutrition advice service, personal training and boot camps click on the following link:-
www.bowditchfit.com
Foods to avoid if you want to lose weight and look after your health
10/07/2009 by admin.
I’ve noted some foods below which you should avoid if you want to lose weight and keep your cholesterol and blood pressure at healthy levels:-
Margarine - we are led to believe that margarine is good or us but the truth is that it contains hydrogenated oil which contains high levels of trans fats. Trans fat cause us to gain weight in the same way that saturated fat does.
Doughnuts - they have little to offer in terms of nutritional value - in short they comprise white flour and lots of sugar. Not only that, they are deep fat fried. They don’t have much going for them really.
Low calorie/high sugar breakfast cereal - if you aren’t careful with your choice of cereal, you could be eating a breakfast with little nutritional value, which is full of sugar but provides you with little energy. It will increase your insulin levels, storing the excess glucose (ie sugar). If you don’t burn off the glucose stored, it will turn to fat. That’s the short version. Choose a cereal with nuts and seeds and a sprinkling of dried fruit which is high in fibre and has no added sugar.
Remember, not all fats are bad, monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats are good for you and together can form 20% of your diet. Saturated fat should not form more than 10% of your diet.
Want to keep your skin looking young?
09/07/2009 by admin.
Then don’t spend too long out in the sun.
This is particularly relevant if you have fair skin that doesn’t tan but instead burns. Here are some key tips to care in the sun:-
- Avoid the sun when it is most intense. That is particularly from approx. 11 am until 3.00 pm.
- Buy a sunscreen that protects from UVA and UVB rays.
- Use a sunscreen with a high protection factor - 20+.
- Remember to keep applying sunscreen every 2 - 3 hours. Dont forget your ears and back of your neck. Always reapply after swimming or sweating.
- Wear a hat or cap, especially if you are thin on top.
- Be aware of the sun’s reflections such as from the water or sand.
Saturday’s Boot Camp
07/07/2009 by admin.
Saturday we will be at Bordeaux for boot camp, starting at 10 am.
