Health and fitness

Free weights are a great way to build muscle and burn fat. Dumbbells, kettlebells and the barbell are three pieces of kit that, used correctly, can become key players in your fitness routine.

Exercise is good for you. It is a mantra we hear all the time but what evidence is there to back up the claim? We have discovered, with the help of the American Council on Exercise, some studies that provide the evidence to back up the claim that fitness and exercise can help you get/stay healthy.

Functional fitness prepares our muscles for daily tasks by simulating common movements you might do at home, at work or in sports. While using various muscles in the upper and lower body at the same time, functional fitness exercises also emphasise core stability.

at Kelsey Kerridge we believe that in order to make changes in your life that will leave you healthier, fitter and happier, then New Year Resolutions are as good a place to start as anywhere.

Our team of fitness professionals in the Outlooks Gym believe the best way to keep New Year Resolutions is to set incremental, achievable goals and make those goals measurable. Incremental, achievable goals mean that you can get the motivational buzz of reaching a target regularly; measurable goals mean that you can actually see your progress. That is also a mighty strong motivational factor.

For so many people, the motivational value of putting your name in the frame for an event is second to none. It focuses the mind, it adds impetus to your training and it allows you to talk to friends and family about physical activity without feeling like – well a bit of a freak!

What with work social occasions, school nativity plays, carol concerts and any number of other commitments, the time you can allow yourself to exercise gets severely reduced. You don’t want to be the party pooper who turns down invites so you can keep up with your fitness routine over Christmas but you also know how horrible you will feel if you let everything go to pot.

The question for gym goers and those who love their exercise is whether you should still exercise if you are suffering a cough or cold? There are two parts to this question: the first is whether exercising with a cough or cld will help you recover or make things worse? The second question is one of etiquette – should you go to the gym with a cough or cold and risk infecting others?

The simple equation is calories in versus calories out. If you burn more calories than you eat, then you will lose weight.

Of course, it is much more complex than that but, we believe that simple messages and simple solutions are often the most effective.

There are a huge number of websites dedicated to weight loss so we have sifted through them to come up with some pointers that will help you lose weight effectively and safely.

In the Observer Magazine at the weekend, there was a small after-thought type article entitled ‘Exercises to help avoid an early death’.
While the threat of an early death is a bit strong, I thought it might be a good idea to reiterate just how good for us different forms of exercise can be.
First a reminder about the general benefits of exercising regularly, not just to avoid an early death, but to ensure a lifestyle that is as active, healthy and illness injury-free as possible.
There is the impact that regular exercise has upon the important systems that keep our bodies functioning. Cardio-vascular or aerobic exercise helps the muscles of the heart to stay strong, it helps the lungs to work efficiently and those two things combine to send oxygenated blood around the body efficiently.

Physical activity and regular exercise is vital if women are to counter the, sometimes debilitating, effects that menopause can have upon their bodies.