by Keith Tucker | Jun 26, 2018 | Exercise For Optimum Health, Weight Loss and Performance, Health and Fitness Fundamentals
Is Swimming Enough To Stay Fit?
Is swimming enough to stay fit? There is a yes and a no answer to this question, that i get asked regulary. “I swim or I am thinking about swimming, is that going to be okay in helping me to stay fit”?
The answer is, initially yes. Just getting in a pool if you’re not a swimmer and swimming up and down just getting yourself use to the water, is going to keep you fit and help you be strong, you might drop some weight as well.
The issue being is that people often just carry on doing the same thing of just swimming up and down and there are two problems with this.
- The first one is that, quite quickly they get a bit bored. They hit their 40 laps or whatever they can do in the 40 minute time frame they have given themselves. There often isn’t enough time to expand their training any further. Alot of people get use to that and see no further weight loss or fitness change.
- Secondly, is that the body gets use it and therefore stops changing. Swimming is like anything else, you need to be challenging your body. So doing high intensity interval training (HIIT). Jump into the pool, swim really hard and then relax, swim really hard then do an easy length and continue going hard then easy, hard then easy.
Changing that up will mean that swimming will keep you strong, keep you fit and help you lose weight. But continuing to do length after length, and the body will get use it quite quickly and therefore your swim session won’t be enough to stay fit.
Keith
by Keith Tucker | Jun 19, 2018 | Exercise For Optimum Health, Weight Loss and Performance, Health and Fitness Fundamentals
Should I Have Muscle Soreness After Training
I have been training people for quite a long time, it’s best not to admit how long ;-). But one of the things people regularly ask me as they start training is, ‘should i have muscle soreness after my training sessions’?
Now obviously that depends on what you do. If you’re going for a walk then the answer is no, not really, unless you’re walking alot futher than you’d otherwise be use to.
When should I have muscle soreness after training
But if you’re introducing weight training and you’d like to see results from you’re weight training, wether you want to lose weight or tone up or gain muscle. the answer is yes.
After training you should be stiff and sore. Its called DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). We’ll talk more about DOMS in a separate video.
DOMS should last between three and five days, so DOMS normally passes in three days, a particulary severe case is five days and its probably you lifted a little bit to heavy. If it continues for more than that, then definietly speak to your trainer and find out if you’ve pulled or strained something.
So yes, you should be stiff and sore after training.
Keith
by Keith Tucker | Jun 11, 2018 | Exercise For Optimum Health, Weight Loss and Performance
What Is The Least Amount Of Training I Can Get Away With
A question I regularly get asked is, ‘What is the least amount I can get away with in terms of exercise’? ‘How can I just do as little training as possible and still get some results?’ So I can maybe lose a little bit of fat, or so I can train my heart and lungs so that I’m a bit fitter and can climb stairs and not feel too out of breath?
The line that’s going around at the moment is that 30 minuites, three times a week is a good amount of time. But you can actually get away with 10 miniutes! So you can do 10 minutes of exercise three to fives times a week BUT it’s got to be intense!
How to achieve it
You have to work really hard, pushing yourself as much as you can. Get on a spin bike or find a nice hill, or if you can run then run. You can even do a nice quick HIIT training routine. Do a warm up into it then go as hard as you can for 10 minutes, cool down and call it a day.
So 10 minutes is the least amount time you can spend training, as long as you are going as hard as you can without hurting yourself, three to five times a week.
That’s the least amount of time you can getaway with.
Keith
by Keith Tucker | May 23, 2018 | Exercise For Optimum Health, Weight Loss and Performance
So, what are the best training methods?
Well that depends on what you’re training for! Or what is that we are trying to achieve. If we pick up a magazine for running or cycling you’ll find endurance training programmes, or a body building magazine for strength training. There are plenty of magazines and newspapers that talk about weight loss, but there is also training for longevity or lifestyle.
We all choose to start training for many different reasons, what’s yours?
Is it about weight loss, muscle gain, do you want to be stronger? Do you simply want to have the energy you need to run around with your kids or grand kids?
There are so many different types of training methods out there, which one do you choose? Which one will get you the results that you want, in the time that you want?
There are many different types of training protcols available depending on what it is you want to achieve. From Weight Training, HIIT, Running, Swimming , Yoga and Pilates. They all give different results and vary in the amount time it takes to achieve your results. Lets take a look at what gives you fast and effective results.
Many people ask me, what is the best training protocol? Usually they are talking about weightloss, so lets look at that. When we are starting out and we are wanting to make the body lose a little bit more weight or tone up. HIIT is often the best way to go about dropping a bit of body fat, HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. Lots of magazines are talking about it, other trainers are talking about it.
HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training for weightloss
This type of training method burns a lot of calories in a short amount of time, so you get a big bang for your buck. The downside is, longterm it can be stressful for your body and could lead to injuries, so you want to mix it in with other types of training styles. But if you want fast results its HIIT training. So you work really hard then you rest and recover, work really hard then rest and recover. Make sure you warm up thoroughly and cool down well.
So if you want the biggest bang for your buck its HIIT training, High Intensity Interval Training. Its a hard strong training protocol that burns fat form your body and helps you tone up. That’s what we’re looking for, often when people ask me, what is the best training method?
Keith
by Keith Tucker | Mar 12, 2018 | Exercise For Optimum Health, Weight Loss and Performance
A great blog for you guys by our new guest blogger, Sharyl Thwaites.
A very honest look at what it takes to overcome our bad habits and get the results we are looking for. YOU CAN DO IT!
“It takes 21 days to kick a habit”
Powerful idea. I wondered if the same was true of adopting a habit…
Read this blog if you’re looking for inspiration on:
- Overcoming life’s lows with physical and mental wellbeing
- Turning health and fitness into a lifestyle
- Using results to stay motivated
I first realised how out of shape I was when I returned to the UK after my stint of travels. I’d spent some months in LA surviving on fast food and alcohol and could no longer fit into my jeans. People made comments about how ‘different’ I looked – and I knew they didn’t mean ‘healthy’ different.
No money
Not only was I struggling to fit into my jeans but I also didn’t have two coins to rub together. Getting a car to transport me to the first job I accepted just wasn’t affordable, so I decided to get a pushbike. It was the only way I’d get around for a while before I could re-surface financially.
The first week of cycling was punishing both mentally and physically – my whole body ached. I dreaded that journey every day for weeks.
But as time went on, I noticed my muscles were changing – the ride in was getting easier and my clothes weren’t so snug.
A simple pleasure
Eventually I did get a car, but I decided I’d still bike to work come rain or shine. It became my simple pleasure. My colleagues thought I was crazy on those cold, sodden days, but it made me happy and was a great way to start my day. I was feeling healthy in body and mind.
Along with my cycle to work, I experimented with home HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts. The results were amazing.
Those results inspired me to revisit my diet. I don’t deny myself the opportunity to indulge now and again but it’s nice that it feels like a treat when I do, rather than it feeling part and parcel of my daily life.
It’s a natural high!
Not only did eating healthily and exercise change my body shape for the better, it changed my whole life in a really positive way.
- My sleep pattern has become regular
- I don’t feel lethargic
- My moods are mostly positive and happy
I vary my workouts from week to week, so I never find myself getting bored with the same routine. This includes some spin, HIIT classes, and some resistance work.
Yoga is also great for stretching and relieving tension in my muscles and mind.
For me, working out and eating a healthy diet has become a part of my everyday life and without it I just don’t feel like me. With fitness and clean eating, I feel happier than I’ve ever felt.
Sharyl’s results after HIIT work outs and healthy eating.
No shame
We all get those days when we don’t want to work out and we want to eat bad foods.
I’ve realised that is absolutely okay! It’s great to take a day off and enjoy the relaxation and naughty foods. But I’ve also realised that too many days like that make me feel tired, unmotivated and unhappy.
Mind over matter
Sometimes my mind gets the better of me and I eat those 10 biscuits, but the majority of the time I have learned to gain control of the cravings and urges. Instead of eating those 10 biscuits, I have a bowl of fruit and yogurt and if that isn’t appealing… well, I wasn’t really that hungry, was I?
I choose this lifestyle to not only feel good about myself, but also because I believe keeping my body healthy is the key to a long, healthy and happy life.
Sharyl
