COPING DURING LOCKDOWN

Thanks @anxiety_wellbeing for highlighting this. Anyone else feeling a little overwhelmed?

When first presented with Lock-down, I was full of good intentions, visualising how it would look, being bombarded with social media images and information of how to cope with these strange times. I tried to think of ways to fill mine and my boys time, making sure we wouldn’t get “bored”. Little did I know that just doing the day to day tasks were going to be pretty full-on, never mind trying to add in all my “good ideas and intentions”. What I initially thought would be fun, turned out to be a bit stressful if I’m honest.

Why I asked myself?

What I didn’t take into account was I would also be dealing with the emotions, the worry, the uncertainty, the abnormality with no previous skills in dealing with this kind of situation before and no way of escape.

Despite the talk of easing lock-down (depending on how you interpret the governments messages, personally I think not much is going to change for my household in the next 2-3 months) I have found and am still finding my own coping mechanisms. Some healthier than others. My moods fluctuate daily, as does everyone else in the household, so that in itself is a bit of a tightrope act, trying to help manage and consider everyone else’s emotions.

How can we help ourselves?

1. NEVER BEAT YOURSELF UP FOR TRYING TO COPE.
2. GO BACK TO BASICS.
   Prioritise
   Get up in the morning
   Get dressed
   Make proper food
   Clean the dishes
   Get dressed

WHAT is working for you, helping you

Breakfast before your morning workout?

Who eats breakfast before their morning workout?

Who eats a carb-rich breakfast before their morning workout?

Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com

As a fitness instructor I get asked whether we should train on an empty stomach?  Or if we had to eat, what should we eat?  Normally I would advise a high protein/low G.I. food. Such as a protein shake, or a banana and some nuts.

It has also become “trendy” to follow and intermittent-eating plan, which means people would skip breakfast altogether whether training or not.

Now, a new study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (Naharudin et al. 2019) has confirmed that eating breakfast makes a difference and improves your training performance

Using two resistance trials, the researchers tested how eating or not eating breakfast influenced muscular performance.  Here are the results:-

Study Results

Compared with the breakfast trial, during the no-breakfast trial participants performed 10 fewer back squat repetitions over the four sets, for a decrease of 15%. Specifically, there were fewer back-squat repetitions in sets 1 and 2. Also, in the no-breakfast trial, the participants completed fewer bench press repetitions in sets 1 and 2, for a decrease of 6%. There were no differences between trials in sets 3 and 4.

Major Study Takeaway

From this study, it is clear that eating breakfast increases the force production output of morning resistance-training workouts. The researchers go further, suggesting that, for optimal muscle strength performance, the breakfast food should be high in carbohydrates. This leads to the next question:

Why is a high-carbohydrate meal optimum for morning resistance training?

Benefits of Carbohydrates Before a Morning Workout

An important fuel for optimizing resistance training performance is the glycogen in muscle. Glycogen is the stored form of glucose molecules that the body uses for bursts of energy, such as those needed in resistance training. The body breaks down or converts most carbohydrates into the sugar glucose. Glucose is absorbed into the bloodstream, and with the help of a hormone called insulin it travels into the cells of the body where it can be used for energy.

10 Facts About Breakfast

Breakfast is a strong way to start the day and offers a range of benefits.

Here are 10 facts about breakfast from the data presented in a review article on the effect of breakfast on appetite regulation, energy balance and exercise (Clayton & James 2015).

1. People who regularly skip breakfast tend to have higher BMIs.
2. The prevalence of obesity-related chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, increases in people who miss breakfast regularly.
3. People who eat breakfast have healthier lifestyles.
4. People who eat breakfast eat fewer snacks.
5. Although people who omit breakfast tend to eat a little more at lunch, this increase does not fully compensate for calories missed at breakfast.
6. People who exercise in the morning are encouraged to eat breakfast 1–4 hours before exercise to avoid any deleterious effects on the workout.
7. During nighttime sleep, liver glycogen drops by about 40%.
8. People who eat breakfast have a higher resting metabolic rate (i.e., burn more calories) in the morning than those who don’t.
9. The breakfast meal typically equates to 20%–35% of daily energy requirements for adults.
10. People who want to maximize their early-morning exercise performance—but do not wish to eat breakfast—may be able to improve their workouts by consuming a carbohydrate drink.

*Article information taken from article written by Len Kravitz, PhD, is the program coordinator of exercise science and a researcher at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where he recently won the Outstanding Teacher of the Year award. Len was also honored as the 2006 Fitness Educator of the Year by the American Council on Exercise.

 

Chocolate and coffee are good for your brain – I should be a genius….

Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels.com

Why Your Brain Wants You to Eat More Chocolate

The brain is arguably the most important organ in the body, and we all could probably do a better job of nourishing our brains.

Here’s a list of foods that will help

Coffee

My brain LOVES coffee, as does the rest of me but the exciting news is that science agrees.

Coffee is rich in antioxidants like the neuroprotective compound phenylindane, which forms during roasting and gives coffee its characteristic bitter bite.

While human research in this area has been conflicting at times, numerous studies suggest that lifelong consumption of coffee was associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and dementia. The effect was found to be stronger in women than in men.  However we are talking just 1-2 cups of coffee a day, more than that, or a sudden increase can increase the risk.

Dark chocolate

Yippeeeeeee

The flavanols in dark chocolate and cocoa have known anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which research has found to help enhance cognitive performance and function.

Just make sure to stick to a high-quality dark chocolate, without added sugar or fat.

Salmon

About 60 percent of your brain is made up of fat, and the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish may play a unique role.  Omega-3 supplementation appears to boost brain health and protect against neurodegeneration in older adults.

Another study found that consuming more fish, independent of omega-3 content, seemed to improve the volume of gray matter, the area of the brain responsible for muscle control, emotions, decision-making, memory, and more.

Blueberries

Berries, especially blueberries, are rich in anthocyanins and other flavonoids that have been shown to help support memory function.

Blackberries, raspberries, cherries, and other deeply hued fruits are also all fair game.

Walnuts

Walnuts are loaded with phytochemicals and polyunsaturated fats linked to a wide range of brain benefits.

A 2012 study found that eight weeks of walnut snacking substantially improved verbal reasoning scores in college students.

Green tea

Not a coffee drinker? green tea has been suggested to help improve memory, brain function, and attention during demanding cognitive tasks.

It seems that the unique combination of caffeine and the amino acid l-theanine gives green tea its status as a brain superfood.

8 TOP TIPS TO LOSING WEIGHT (AND KEEPING IT OFF)

Do you want to lose weight? The good news is you can use the following eight tips to support your weight loss help to keep the weight off.

1. Keep a food diary. This will help you identify baseline eating habits. Measure portions and read nutrition labels. Find an app or a food tracker (myfitnesspal) to input the recorded information for a summary of calories, carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Seeing what you eat written down makes sure you don’t suffer from eating amnesia.

2. Be realistic and make sensible changes to your diet that you can adhere to. If the changes feel too drastic you won’t stick at it. instead, consider a more realistic opportunity for change.

3. Assess your cupboard and fridge contents. Clean out foods that are inconsistent with your eating plan (hard if you have kids I know), However everyone benefits if you load up on healthier, nutrient-dense foods. 

4. Try reducing quantities by using smaller plates, and taking longer to eat your meals.

5. Incorporate an achievable physical activity into your day. This has to be something you actually enjoy and find relatively easy to incorporate into your daily routine. Ideally, you need to be doing about three x 10-minute activity bouts, or 1 x 30 minute class, per day. This could be as simple as doing the school run, walking the dog, cleaning the house (with gusto) or having a boogie to your favourite tunes. Or coming along to one of my fitness classes! which leads me onto…..

6. Gather support and surround yourself with like-minded people. Social support is very important for weight loss success. Social circles also predict health behaviours. Reach out to like-minded family and friends who are practising healthy behaviours. If none are, it’s even more reason to look for a group or fitness class to join.

7. Invest in some scales and a measuring tape. By keeping tabs on your weight and more importantly your size, you can see when regain begins and make the necessary adjustments to stop it. In fact, studies suggest this is a key behaviour of people who lose weight and keep it off (Coughlin et al. 2013).

8. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Think about the long term. There isn’t a quick fix or a magic potion. You’re thinking years, not weeks or even months before you can say you have changed an eating/fitness habit and made it a lifestyle. So many people start on a new healthy lifestyle program and have lost motivation by week 6. They either aren’t patient enough, they aren’t seeing changes fast enough, or they were too drastic from the outset and weren’t able to sustain their plan.

Is There a “Best” Diet?

Losing weight isn’t so much about which eating plan you follow to lose weight, but rather about whether you can create enough of a caloric deficit to lose weight and keep it off. While the “best diet debate” may continue indefinitely, most scientific evidence supports a clear conclusion: When it comes to weight loss, it doesn’t matter which diet a person follows, as long as he or she can stick with it (Johnstone et al. 2014).

Meditation and Happiness —

Meditation is an incredibly powerful tool for processing emotions, alleviating stress and also for boosting happiness. The latter of these concepts may not be one that you have connected to meditation before, but with regular meditation you are highly likely to soon feel your happiness grow. Happiness & Relaxation When you spend an ample amount […]

via Meditation and Happiness —

Eat fat to get thin?

The Press has gone bonkers for the latest advice on low-fat diets being bad for us this week.

The Guardian”Official advice on low-fat diet and cholesterol is wrong, says health charity”

The Telegraph “‘Eat fat to get thin’: Official diet advice is ‘disastrous’ for obesity fight, new report warns”

The Daily Mail “Now experts say low fat diets are BAD for us: Obesity charity claims we should stop counting calories and eat more healthy fats – but the Government brands advice ‘irresponsible'”

So who is right? Does anyone think, here we go again?

I would think the advice of the diet where we are encouraged to eat more fat, cut carbohydrates and ignore our calorie intake could be equally as damaging, as the advice to eat low fat, high sugar diets which have been pushed for the past 10 or so years.  Especially in the hands of the everyday normal person, who doesn’t necessarily understand a saturated v’s an unsaturated v’s a monounsaturated fat.

Surely a diet where we eat natural, unprocessed foods, and a good variety of them, where we eat complex carbohydrates, rather than simple carbohydrates, and we moderate our portion control is the healthiest option?

Do we not stick to the old adage “a little of what you fancy does you good?”

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3603951/Now-experts-say-eat-fat-combat-obesity-Damning-report-calls-major-overhaul-dietary-guidelines-advises-people-stop-counting-calories.html#ixzz49nLZzD00
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Primark coming up trumps

Mint bubble hem top

Do you feel good in nice new gym gear? I know I do. I want to go to the gym, I want to work out that bit harder. I feel more motivated. 

Like anything, it’s nice to feel you look good. Even when you’re getting hot and sweaty at the gym. I have been known to use a new gym top or new leggings as a reward. It’s a catch 22. You set yourself a new goal, achieve it, buy some new swanky leggings that you feel great in, chuck out those old slightly faded, baggy at the knees leggings, and the best bit is you then can’t wait to your next workout. Bonus!

So a few weeks ago when I was perusing through primark I stumbled across some fabulous bubble hem tops. They are racer back, nice and long in the body, with elasticated bubble hem. I love them. They hide all multitude of mummy tummy sins. And they are lovely and cool and lightweight too, and come in a variety of colours.  I got a fab bright orange one, I can’t find it in the website, but I have found this lovely mint one, and brilliant black one. At only £5 each they were a complete bargain. So next time you’re in Primark, why not wander into the sportswear section. You might be pleasantly surprised. 

Black bubble hem top 

RUGBY REHAB

With the #armynavyrugby today, I thought what better subject to write about other than some exercises for rugby players to help improve their game, and as ongoing maintenance to help rehabilitate after injury, or even better, prevention of injury. It’s also close to my heart as the little men in my life both play rugby and love it. My eldest started with contact this year, and as a mummy, I watch matches holding my breath but bursting with pride all at the same time.

Any exercise where you improve mobility, flexibility and core strength is going to help any sports person. Rugby players in particular put their bodies through very ballistic movements and rapid directional changes, and forceful impact. A super strong core is essential to this sort of exercise. It allows for an efficient force transfer, for example when in a scrum, you will be able to transmit the power from your legs through to your shoulders, pushing the force into your opponent. Without this core strength the power would be no where near as strong, and misalignment or injury of the shoulders neck and spine would be possible. Flexibility and mobility is also very important. As I mentioned the game demands rapid directional changes, so maintaining flexibility will help prevent sprains and misalignment. Can you guess where I’m going with this?  PILATES. Can you imagine big burly rugby players doing Pilates? No? Well they should.

Mobilizing exercises for the spine and shoulders, such as the Spine stretch and  Spine twist, the saw, the swan and shoulder retraction exercises. Strengthening  exercises such as a seated upright row with resistance bands, the dart and Pilates push ups.  Chest openers are also important, to help improve the postural alignment of the shoulders and spine.

Working the major muscles in the hamstrings, quadriceps and glutes are all important in rugby training. Shoulder bridge exercises, and side lying clam are good examples of exercises that can be performed. Thinking of hamstring strains, which seem to crop up quite a lot, we need to concentrate on developing flexibility through the legs and hips, but also core control and mobility and stability in the pelvis. One leg circles are my favourite for this. When done properly they are one of the toughest exercise to perform, whilst using both stabilisers and mobilizers.
Do you know anyone who would benefit from Pilates training?

Tight Hamstrings?

One of the most common complaints in my classes are “I have really tight hamstrings” especially when doing the abdominal work, if I’m asking people to straighten their legs, i.e. in flutter kicks.  Or of course when trying to do stretches at the end of the classes.

We are unfortunately a product of more sedentary lifestyles, our bodies are made to move.  We are meant to walk, and unfortunately modern life means we do a lot of sitting.  In turn switching off our gluteal muscles, and shortening muscles in the hip flexors and legs.

The feeling of tightness in the Hamstrings can normally be traced to a problem in another area of the body, rather than having “short” hamstrings, we likely have a tightness in the hip flexors, lower back, glutes, and calves.  When your hip flexors are tight, it can cause a pelvic tilt that causes tightness in the lower back, and a tight lower back often results in tight hamstrings. Therefore to alleviate the tightness we need to perform stretches that target all these areas. Caroline Jordan has a great YouTube clip which demonstrates some lovely stretches which will target all the above mentioned area’s.  It is her post run stretch routine.  Which is quite handy with the Plymouth Half Marathon just next weekend.

Some causes of short hamstrings.

Despite my comments above, there are also some causes of shortening of hamstrings, and these are listed below.

• Long hours sitting or driving.
• Poor posture whilst sitting.
• Back problems cause the hamstrings to try and help stabilize the back (but this is a catch 22 as tight hamstrings can be the cause of back pain).
• Lack of core strength which overuses the hamstrings to help stabilize the trunk.
• Weak gluteal muscles which make the hamstrings dominate in moving the leg backwards.

Is it a problem having tight/short hamstrings?

Tight or short hamstrings can be a major cause of lower back pain.  As I mentioned earlier, tightness in the hamstrings could be coming from another area such as the hip-flexors, pelvis, and the gluteal muscles.  All or any of which are going to effect your posture, causing imbalances and weakness, which if not rectified lead to pain.  So yes tight or short hamstrings will cause problems and so should be worked on and not ignored.

How can you improve tight/short hamstrings?

Stretching alone will not help long term with improving tight hamstrings.  The trunk and core stabilizing exercises need to be performed in conjunction with stretching.  You need to make sure your abs, glutes and inner thighs are doing the lions share of the work.  So these areas need to be strong.   Exercises such as Pilates, Walking, Kettlercise, will all help.

Stretches you can perform

 

 

 

 

 

 

Woo-hoo!!

Morning, I’ve got a spare 10 mins as the hubby has taken the boys for a haircut.  Luckily they all have good heads of hair, which ensures I get 30 mins every month, whilst they go on a Jones boys hair cut session.

Why the woo-hoo, well I got on the scales this morning, and have lost 4lbs.  I must admit I was feeling a bit trimmer, and have managed to get into a pair of pre-pregnancy trousers, they are a bit snug, but they look OK.  Isn’t it amazing how the number on the scales can make or break your day?  It shouldn’t matter, we know that muscle weighs more than fat, we know that being obsessive with weight loss isn’t healthy, but show me a woman, or man, who doesn’t get a kick out of feeling a bit trimmer.

So how have I done it?  

The good old fashioned, put less in my cake hole and expend lots of energy (aka calories) by working my butt off.  There is no quick easy solution.  There are no gimmicks or tricks or body lotions or potions.  you have to work for what you want.  You can be clever about it though, the sorts of food you consume, and the type of exercise you perform, can lead to faster results.  And for the lotions and potions, well, they make your skin glow, and make you feel a bit better, so what the heck, apply away.  Just don’t be conned into spending loads of money on them.

I’ve been using Herbalife to help me with the calorie deficit part of putting less calories into my body.  It works well for me.  I find the shakes fill me up, and they are super speedy.  They are high in protein, and did I mention they are super speedy?  I like their tea too, it’s a good caffeine boost.  You do eat healthy snacks throughout the day, which you need to plan in advance, or if you’re like me you end up eating cake instead.

But basically a high protein low calorie diet will do the trick with speedier weight loss.  I am not an advocate of cutting out carbohydrates.  We need them, and as Joan Collins said when asked, why she looks so fabulous, she replied with “carbs darling, carbs”.  But try and stick to complex carbohydrates, and stay away from ‘white’ food, go for the brown alternatives.

As for the fitness, a program where you add weights to your workout will burn more fat, and build more muscle.  Kettlercise is claimed to “melt fat” and I blinking love it.  I’m biased as a Kettlercise instructor, but it’s a program that gets great results FAST.  It’s good for strengthening too, for core stability, and mobility.  As a pilates instructor, I think it really works on similar principles, with a bucket load more cardiovascular workout added in, which helps with the fat/calorie burn.  Ladies worry that working with weights will build muscle, it doesn’t.  Not unless you are pumped with steroids and hormone supplements. Think Victoria’s Secret Models, “Every time a Kettlebell swings, a supermodel gets her wings…..or something like that”

Right that’s the clan home from the haircut, so have to dash.