Wednesday 29 August 2018

Running Tips


Want to run faster and further?  Here’s a few tips to help

Get the right shoes.  Get your gait analysed and take advice.  That pair of trainers you have had knocking around for years won’t provide you with the support you need and will lead to injury.  Any reputable sports shoe shop will offer a treadmill and a linked computer to show what will work best for you.

Increase slowly.  Don’t go rapidly from a short distance to a long one, build up slowly.  Similarly with speed, work at intervals first (a short distance at a higher speed followed by a slower pace), then increase generally.  Try to only increase speed or distance, not both at the same time.

Eat well.  You can have the best car in the world but put in the wrong fuel and it won’t perform well.  Same with your body.  Eat complex carbohydrates, protein and fat.  Leave out the sugars, the useless calorie laden snacks and the alcohol.  If you want to get the best from your body – give it a chance!

Get some sleep. Your body needs a chance to recover and rest.  Aim for at least 7 hours every night.

Enjoy it! If you set out on a run telling yourself it will be too difficult and you can’t do it – guess what will happen?!  Yep, it will be awful – get a positive mindset and it will make all the difference

Monday 27 August 2018

Think you can’t run? Think again


I have run half marathons, in fact I have run most of my adult life.  But a couple of years ago I decided that I couldn’t run any more.  My back hurt and I was getting old.  And I left it at that. 

Then more and more of my clients started running.  They told me about their progress and we worked hard on their stamina, combined with some resistance training.  I felt jealous and decided that the only thing stopping me running was the voice in my head that kept telling me that I couldn’t do it.  I downloaded the NHS ‘Coach to 5k’ app and got a grip. 

The first few days were a heady mix of excitement and fear.  Would I be able to do it?  Would my back hurt?  Would I have to give up?  Then I decided to change the voice (in fact the app tells you to do that).  I changed to ‘this is good. I am enjoying this.  I can run’.  From that shaky 3 minute run I have surprised myself.  I followed the app, running on the treadmill, day after day.  Thank you to those of you that noticed and offered encouragement.  Slowly I built up the distance and then I was off.  I ran outside.  OK, so I’m not fast, but I can raise a sweat and its quicker than walking.  I have gradually built up the distance and its now well over 5 k and I feel terrific.  I feel good physically and also mentally.  The sense of achievement is fantastic.  Its what I always say, you never know what you can do until you try.  Give it a go – surprise yourself ! 

Wednesday 22 August 2018

Holidays over?




We will soon see all the familiar faces back as you return from your holidays.  We went away last weekend and took our kit in our bags – and there it stayed!  The gin might have had something to do with that!

We know that some of you will feel quite unfit when you get back.  Different (more) food, less activity and the odd drink or two all go together to make it imperative that we get back to the gym.

And its not all in the mind.  Research carried out by the University of Liverpool, published in June showed the results of what happened when volunteers were told to stop moving.  Previously fit students were told to cut their daily steps to below 2000 a day and to sit for at least 3 ½ hours a day.  They did this for two weeks. 

After 2 weeks blood tests showed raised blood sugar levels, decreased insulin sensitivity and  less healthy cholesterol profiles.  They has also lost muscle mass in legs and gained fat round their abdomens.  It really does happen ! Happily, most quickly returned to their normal base line when they started to go back to their 10,000 steps a day and normal activity levels.  The same experiment on older people (over 65) showed similar results but a slower return to normal levels.

So, two weeks does make a difference, for the most part reversible, but the next time your activity tracker tells you to move – remember – its doing you a favour ! 

Wednesday 15 August 2018

Personal Training - Special Offer

For a limited time, Tommy is offering Personal Training for 2 or more people.