A relatively new kid on the block is Broga, which is a combination of stretching, strength work and yoga. The fitness website BrogaYoga describes it as “the best core-strengthening, muscle-toning, cardio-working, stress-reducing, clarity-enhancing yoga postures combined with functional fitness exercises for an amazing workout.”
It is an age-old discussion – which is the best fitness method, cardio training or weight-training. The first thing to say is that both methods of training do different things and are good for you in different ways and under different circumstances. They are also not mutually exclusive, they both contain an element of each other, so cardio activities will hold an element of resistance work, while weight-training will comprise some aerobic activity.
As you throw yourself whole-heartedly into your new gym routine, you start to get niggling injuries, you feel tired and lethargic or after a few weeks you simply can’t be bothered. These are all common problems that people encounter when they start a new fitness regime. The good news is, they are challenges that, once identified, are easily overcome.
Shoulder pain and shoulder weakness is a prevalent condition in women as they hit middle age. The good news is that many issues with the shoulder can be relieved by exercise and the more exercise you do, the better it is for the shoulder.
You need to give yourself permission to be physical. Whether that is spontaneously dancing around the kitchen while you are making your evening meal; doing a few squat thrusts and jumping jacks before you go to work in the morning or shoving on a pair of trainers and just running – Forest Gump style – just for the hell of it.
There are still a few days left before you have to abandon your evening runs and bike rides, so let’s take a look at a few outdoor exercises that you can do while there is still enough light and warmish temperatures.
A well-structure boot camp class can help meet the recommendations for physical activity in healthy adults. It provides both aerobic and strength training and combines moderate and vigorous exercise.
Speed and agility are two qualities that are needed in a wide range of sports and everyday activities. Rugby, football, hockey, badminton, basketball – any sport that involves changes of direction, varied speed or balance maintenance, will benefit from its players working to improve speed and agility.
We all know that one of the benefits of exercise is the release of the ‘feel-good’ endorphins, a powerful, naturally occurring substance that makes you feel elated and full of energy, despite just taking part in strenuous activity that should have made you feel tired.
Endorphins have actually been called the body’s natural opiate and scientists believe they react with specialised receptors in the brain and spinal column to hinder or block cells’ transmission of pain signal and trigger feelings of euphoria.
Keeping fit while raising a family is a challenge that many people are facing right now. Lost sleep, demands on your time, demands on your attention, let’s face it, going to the gym and keeping your body at peak fitness is hardly at the top of your priorities when you are also being mum or dad. But there isn’t any reason why you can’t get some exercise in during your child-raising years, it is just a matter of compromise and imagination.
