SHUTTERBUG PANCAKE DAY MARDI GRAS PARTY.
5 STEPS TO A HOT & HEALTHY BODY WITH MINIMUM COST!
In the world we live in most of us believe it costs a lot to get fit and stay healthy, I know I used to. It’s always go to the gym (gym membership costs a bomb), get a personal trainer to work you out (bomb), buy this DVD workout or that special tool that will work out your this that or the other (it all adds up)! With this ‘double dip recession’ most people can’t afford that, so here are 5 things you CAN afford to do with minimum cost to get/stay fit and healthy, and hopefully have fun whilst doing it.
1) Use Your Local Park!
It’s the healthiest place to workout; whether you’re running, stretching, or resistance training. The park is full of trees; trees produce oxygen! The key point when doing any form of exercise is to breathe, as a good flow of oxygen to your muscles reduces the build up of lactic acid and cramp.; rather than running on the roads and breathing in car fumes! Take a look at the Bartendaz workouts so you can see how to utilise the kids climbing frames to give your body a complete workout.
2) Do It with Friends
Working out with a group of friends brings an element of fun and boosts healthy competition to push yourself further. Also look up local groups to train with, a lot of people nowadays create groups within their area, whether it be via facebook, on their local forums, or just plain old word-of-mouth. If you’re London based you might want to try the Spartanfam, this group is sponsored by Nike and based in Shoreditch. It’s a full mix of gender, age, and abilities; the trainers are friendly and easy to talk to, and best of all it’s absolutely FREE! If you are looking to attend this group be prepared to WORK OUT! Better yet set up your own group, bring in family, friends, friends of friends, work colleagues, neighbours; and have certain people designated to do different elements of the workout.
3) Home WorkOuts
Be sure to incorporate home workouts as well, your full body workout (cardio and resistance, etc) happens in the park – at home you can focus on toning the muscles. Whether it be in the morning before you hit the shower or at night before bed spend 20-30 mins doing sit ups, push/press ups, squats, lunges, leg lifts, etc. Work out a routine that’s easy to remember, make sure you do 3 sets of 10 repetitions per exercise.
4) Healthy Eating
For some reason it costs more to eat healthy food that’s good for you than it does to eat crap food that’s not. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for this that I’m not prepared to go into, all I know is this does not make a blind bit of sense. If you have a garden you may want to grow your own fruit, veg, and herbs; it’s not that difficult or time consuming and you’ll definitely feel some sense of reward. Alternatively you’ll have to buy it, now this is where some cost comes in; if you don’t want to incur the extra cost think about swapping out one of the not so necessary items in your monthly outgoings such as that extra pair of shoes. You may already be eating the right foods, just remember not to over boil your veg (you’ll boil out all the goodness), eat foods that are high in protein, choose lean meat, and low-fat dairy products.
5) Believe In Yourself
You can do it!!! Don’t expect instant results (if you want that go and get lipo), sweat and self discipline/determination are key and they don’t always come easy. If you put the work in and workout properly, you’ll get your desired results!
WAYS TO GET THAT PERFECT BODY!
There’s hardly anybody who is totally happy with his or her figure. Everybody has one or more problem areas that one is unhappy with. But instead of complaining about it, whoever wants to lose some weight should first of all start to do some sports. That is not to say that you need to get a membership for a gym and work out there. Instead, it often suffices to go jogging. You don’t even have to run for a long time, around 20 minutes is enough. The important thing, however, is to do this on a regular basis, about three to four days per week. You just have to be a little patient but in the end you will see some results. Another positive effect concerning jogging is the fact that movement causes the body to release endorphins. Since the results of going jogging are weight loss and a generally increased well-being, it is advisable to muster the self-discipline to do it on a regular basis.
Looking great while doing sports
Of course, every fashionista will agree that no matter where you go, you will always want to look as good as possible. So you will want to make sure that you have some fitting clothes available for doing sports. If you don’t you can easily find your next best buy at Zalando!.
The most important thing is the shoes because if you wear a pair that doesn’t fit perfectly you will sooner or later feel uncomfortable in it. Furthermore, it can affect your health in a negative way. Since high quality trainers are so important you should definitely look for trainers from a respected manufacturer. Many people consider Adidas to produce the best trainers around in terms of quality and looks. Since you will have a very wide range of pairs of shoes to choose from, you should definitely take your time making a decision.
GET FIT FOR 2012: CYRENA’S WORKOUT PLAN
So I’ve been hitting the gym for a little over a month now and I have definitely noticed a change in my stamina. My workout plan was set up by Personal Trainer Lawrence Okoye at Nuffield Health, I had told him that I wanted to work on toning rather than weight loss and I wanted to concentrate on my stomach/waist and thighs; prior to this I had no exercise routine whatsoever so he had to make it ‘interesting’ enough for me to work through it.
Lawrence suggested I work towards achieving 45 minutes of cardio using a combination of the Cross Trainer, Summit, and Rowing machines followed by 4 circuits to work the core muscles. Knowing that there was no way I could possibly do 45 mins of straight cardio at the first attempt he suggested I build up slowly, starting with 10 mins on the Cross Trainer, 5 on the Summit, and 10 on the Rower.
Circuit 1
Core Bag – Squats and lifts
Kettle Ball Swings
Viper – “Thread the needle” holding above the head then twisting and treading through legs with a squat
Roll Outs on a mat – kneel down then roll forward using the lil wheely thing
Do each 10 times then repeat the circuit 3 times
Circuit 2
Ball Roll Outs – feet on the ball, hands on the floor using core to pull knees in then back out
Roll Outs on mat – same as in circuit 1
Dumbell Raises – Front raise, Lateral raise, Flys
Do each 10 times then repeat the circuit 3 times
Core Circuit
Canoe – Rowing with the Viper
Heel Touches – lying on your back with knees bent, using core to rock and touch your heels
Leg Chops – again on the back with one leg bent, using core to chop straight leg with opposite arm
TRX
Squat Jumps – holding on to the straps squatting as deep as possible then jumping
Back Rows – kind of like a stand up push up only you’re pulling yourself up at an angle
I started of doing 25 mins of cardio followed by these circuits which really worked up a sweat! Over a few weeks I pushed myself to 55 minutes of cardio!!!
Next I’m going to test out the classes, I’ve been told that Combat Aerobics; Legs, Bums, and Tums; Body Pump; and Yoga will do the trick. Stay tuned!
GET FIT FOR 2012: BOXIT BOOTCAMP
Yesterday I had a major breakthrough, if you have been following my GET FIT for 2012 series you will know that up until a month ago I did not nor had I ever worked out before; gym membership…? Pah!!! Well now, I have a gym membership at Nuffield Health which I’m using to the fullest, (I’ll be putting up my personal workout regime aka #cyrenasworkoutplan on here soon) and I’m looking into external classes/boot camp sessions. I tend to workout on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (if I don’t keep strict days I won’t go); as this week was full of bank holidays I spent one of my ‘workout days’ in bed! So, back to my breakthrough yesterday – I did 45 mins of cardio at the gym in the morning, then in the evening I went to Boxit Bootcamp! TWO BOUTS OF EXERCISE IN ONE DAY PEOPLE!!! I’m truly growing in this department!
One of the things I’ve always wanted since I was a child was a punching bag, take from that what you will, but you can imagine my excitement when I was invited to attend a Boxit 2 the Beat class in Brixton. It’s a non stop, 1 hour, intense pad circuit class with a live DJ spinning house tunes so you can literally Boxit 2 the Beat! They say you can burn up to 1,000 calories in one hit and it definitely felt like it; the class has you sweating buckets! The instructors have you bouncing around, punching pads, doing squats, lunges, crunches – everything to work out your entire body. The best bit for me was the stretching at the end because that’s when I knew it was almost over! Just kidding, well not really…I’m feeling the effects as I type this but I would definitely go again. I’ve been told the outdoor class is great too! I recommend everyone gives this class a try at least once, you’ll be hooked. The best stress relief!
For more info on classes and to register take a look at the Boxit site here
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