INBODY 1

It’s a stressful time for many people at the moment because of the current financial situation, and high stress levels leave you more susceptible to disease. There are many ways to relieve stress, though, such as doing high intensity exercise and through acupressure.

I have spoken many times about the benefits of exercise. These include an increase in immunity levels so you’re less likely to fall sick, a reduced chance of having heart disease and cancer, but it is also helpful in relieving stress through the release of endorphins. One way to release theses endorphins is to do high intensity exercise like weight training, running or sports.

Reflexology is another great way to release tension in the body and feel relaxed. By applying pressure to the feet, tension is released which causes physical change to the body. The benefits of reflexology include improved functioning of the system by improving lymphatic drainage and circulation, stimulation to the nerve pathways, and muscle relaxation. When the body is relaxed it is more able to resist illness. Just like exercise, reflexology helps release of endorphins, the body's natural feel-good hormones, to relieve stress

Reflexology helps to reduce chronic stress, as this is the long-term stress that is unhealthy. Someone with chronic stress will have high blood pressure that over time will damage the heart and arteries, leaving the person more susceptible to heart disease. This problem is exaggerated by the way behaviours people do when they are stressed. Some people drink, smoke or eat poorly when they are stressed and that makes the whole situation worse. Also, stress hormones are released when someone is stressed and these hormones suppress the immune system’s white blood cells, which makes the person more susceptible to diseases such as the cold and flu.

Massage is another great way to reduce stress and has other benefits. Massage helps lower blood pressure, reduces stiffness in the body and enhances the quality of sleep. There are several different kinds of mainstream massage. Swedish massage is the most common technique using superficial stokes designed for enhanced circulation and general relaxation. The main areas to work on are the neck and lower back. Many people have sore necks and backs due to incorrect or lazy sitting, or because of injuries to these areas. Myofascial massage is a stronger massage designed to lengthen the muscles and to relieve chronic muscle tension. The last one is sports massage, which is used to increase blood flow to an injured area to assist healing.

Another way to reduce stress is with aromatherapy. Essential oils can be inhaled or applied to the skin to stimulate the brain to trigger a reaction and helps relaxation.

Most people know that doing cardio is beneficial and important for weight loss and health. Although there is a lot more to it that aimlessly running on treadmills or taking the dog for a walk. I hope to explain why doing cardio regularly is beneficial and how to do it in a way that maximises the potential benefits.

The human body is designed to be physically active. And when we are not, it is detrimental to our health. Sedentary people lose their cardiovascular fitness and tend to have poor health of the heart and lungs. Exercise that puts stress on the lower body such as walking and running, causes the bones of the legs to become stronger. This prevents osteoporosis. Running and walking is a great way to release stress and blow off steam. Morphine-like chemicals are released when you do cardio at a high intensity. It’s a natural high. Cardio also helps increase the length and quality of sleep. This helps improve energy levels. When you’ve got blood pumping through your veins and oxygen readily supplied to the muscles and brain you feel brighter, more alert and more productive. And of course, weight loss. Doing cardio burns calories.

Okay, so we know that it’s beneficial to do cardio. Now, what do we do, and for how long? ACSM recommends 3-5 days of cardio for about 30-60 minutes. I think it is important to do something daily like walking to work, or taking the dog for a walk. But it is more important to do some high intensity exercise. This is what improves heart health. Doing exercises at 70 to 85% of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age) or at a “moderately hard” intensity is what I always advise. Start off doing 20 minutes or whatever you can do, and then gradually increase the time. I recommend doing this 2-3 times a week. However, sedentary beginners may want to begin at a lower level of intensity. I recommend the talk test. Exercise at an intensity that you can hold a conversation without being too breathless.

Now people ask me “but if I train at a lower level of intensity I’ll lose more fat right?” In a way. You use a higher proportion of fat to carbs when you train at low intensity. However the total amount of calories used is more at a higher intensity, carbs, fat or otherwise. Put simply, don’t worry about calories of fat, but the total calories lost. You lose more total calories at higher intensity.

There are many types of cardio exercise out there. My advice? Do something fun. Take a class that you like, go for a walk, play sport, bike to work. If you plan to jump on a treadmill or bike, that’s fine, just vary the resistance, do interval training. Interval training involves varying the intensity between periods of hard and easy levels. Try doing 2 minutes of an easy intensity exercise then 1 minute of hard intensity exercise. Repeat this until the total exercise time is over. Any ratio of different intensities is fine, just experiment with different interval times and lengths. Interval training is beneficial because you train at a high intensity (and get the heart benefits of training hard) but you can do it for a longer period of time than training continuously. Good Luck!

Most people know that doing cardio is beneficial and important for weight loss and health. Although there is a lot more to it that aimlessly running on treadmills or taking the dog for a walk. I hope to explain why doing cardio regularly is beneficial and how to do it in a way that maximises the potential benefits.

The human body is designed to be physically active. And when we are not, it is detrimental to our health. Sedentary people lose their cardiovascular fitness and tend to have poor health of the heart and lungs. Exercise that puts stress on the lower body such as walking and running, causes the bones of the legs to become stronger. This prevents osteoporosis. Running and walking is a great way to release stress and blow off steam. Morphine-like chemicals are released when you do cardio at a high intensity. It’s a natural high. Cardio also helps increase the length and quality of sleep. This helps improve energy levels. When you’ve got blood pumping through your veins and oxygen readily supplied to the muscles and brain you feel brighter, more alert and more productive. And of course, weight loss. Doing cardio burns calories.

Okay, so we know that it’s beneficial to do cardio. Now, what do we do, and for how long? ACSM recommends 3-5 days of cardio for about 30-60 minutes. I think it is important to do something daily like walking to work, or taking the dog for a walk. But it is more important to do some high intensity exercise. This is what improves heart health. Doing exercises at 70 to 85% of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age) or at a “moderately hard” intensity is what I always advise. Start off doing 20 minutes or whatever you can do, and then gradually increase the time. I recommend doing this 2-3 times a week. However, sedentary beginners may want to begin at a lower level of intensity. I recommend the talk test. Exercise at an intensity that you can hold a conversation without being too breathless.

Now people ask me “but if I train at a lower level of intensity I’ll lose more fat right?” In a way. You use a higher proportion of fat to carbs when you train at low intensity. However the total amount of calories used is more at a higher intensity, carbs, fat or otherwise. Put simply, don’t worry about calories of fat, but the total calories lost. You lose more total calories at higher intensity.

There are many types of cardio exercise out there. My advice? Do something fun. Take a class that you like, go for a walk, play sport, bike to work. If you plan to jump on a treadmill or bike, that’s fine, just vary the resistance, do interval training. Interval training involves varying the intensity between periods of hard and easy levels. Try doing 2 minutes of an easy intensity exercise then 1 minute of hard intensity exercise. Repeat this until the total exercise time is over. Any ratio of different intensities is fine, just experiment with different interval times and lengths. Interval training is beneficial because you train at a high intensity (and get the heart benefits of training hard) but you can do it for a longer period of time than training continuously. Good Luck!

Having a healthy strong core is not all about six-packs and flat stomachs. There is much more to it than that. I hope to explain what the core muscles are, describe the benefits of having a strong core, and show you how to get one!

The core includes the six-pack muscle, but there are many more muscles that make up the core. These include the lower back muscles, the side muscles and, probably the most important muscles, the ones underneath close to the spine. One of the main functions of the core is to provide stability and power to the limbs and body. The other function is to provide movement - you wouldn’t be able to get out of bed without using the core muscles.

What happens when you have a weak core is that you lose your body’s alignment. This is exacerbated by sedentary computer jobs and causes slouching. This is seen as forward rotation of the shoulders and protrusion of the stomach. Over time this may lead to damage of the spine.  Having a strong core can prevent injuries because strong muscles support the hip and spine to provide better protection. One of the core muscles (transvere abdominus) acts as a natural corset around the spine. But a lot of people don’t use this muscle as much as they should. When this muscle is activated, the spine is more protected. Learning how to activate this muscle is the key to core strength. So how do we do it? Think about trying to get into the world’s smallest pair of jeans. When you suck in the stomach you are essentially activating this muscle. Practise this. Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Now draw the belly button in as far to the spine as you can (remember imagine getting in to those tight jeans.) Do this for 30 seconds then have a break and repeat. Try this every day. Eventually it will become natural to activate this muscle all the time.

It has been found that people with back pain generally do not activate this muscle enough, and by learning to turn this muscle on, back pain symptoms can reduce. Another benefit of a strong core is that the improved posture makes the stomach look flatter because you are essentially sucking in the gut. The is especially evident for women who may have the dreaded “pooch.” A lot of the time a change in posture reduces this protrusion because the stronger muscles hold the abdominal contents in place. When doing abdominal exercises, try to do equal amounts of exercise. Don’t cause imbalances by only doing sit-ups. Work the lower back muscles as much as the six-pack abs. Otherwise imbalances can occur and this can cause problems later on.

There are many ways to do core exercises. One of them is on unstable surfaces where the abdominals are activated to provide stability. A good piece of equipment is the Swiss ball. They are cheap and can almost replace a gym. You can do tons of exercises on a Swiss ball with a couple of dumbbells. Pilates is another way of exercising that focuses on working the muscles “from the inside out” and is very good for achieving a lean appearance. And for those who still want the six-pack for summer, remember that you can’t see those abs if they’re covered with fat. Eat well and exercise. No magic bullet I’m afraid. Good Luck!

It’s important to do everything we can to maintain or enhance our health. It’s a lot easier to enjoy life when we are feeling well. Here are some tips to increase your longevity and enhance your quality of life.

Everyone knows smoking is bad for your health but unfortunately too many people still smoke. Of course, if you do smoke, it is very hard to stop. You may not feel like you are in control of it. You are however in control of whom you smoke around. Passive smoking is very harmful. Do not smoke around children or people you care for. Smoke greatly increases their chances of lung and heart disease.

Do not drink excess alcohol. It harms the nervous system, causes liver damage and brain damage. It does make the annual Christmas party more fun, but unfortunately that’s one of the few positives of drinking alcohol in excess. By the way, the level of excess alcohol is likely to occur far earlier than the stage of having a hangover. Binge drinking is the worst. For a typical male, binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more drinks in about 2 hours; for a typical woman, four or more drinks in about 2 hours. Women may be more at risk of suffering brain damage than men. It is thought that for women the damage exists after fewer years than for men.

Our bodies are made up about 75% water, not 75% coffee, not 75% soft drinks. Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. We drink too many things that rot our minds and rot our teeth. Drinking water does the complete opposite: it enhances concentration and the fluoride protects our teeth. Much cheaper than going to the dentist. As for those drinks that contain artificial sweeteners, research shows that some of the proteins in the artificial sweeteners are carcinogenic. Stay away from them.

Eat 4-6 small meals a day. Every time you eat, your metabolism increases and you burn more calories at rest. This helps you to lose weight. As a society we are too overweight and at high risk of heart disease and bowel cancer. Reduce the risk of such illnesses by incorporating healthy foods into your diet. Remember that food pyramid your doctor gave you 5 years ago? That’s the one. Follow that. Forget the fad diets. No one wants to like as thin as Posh Spice, do they? Eat lots of green and colourful foods. Any foods that are white or cream coloured should be questioned.

One easy way to avoid becoming sick is by having good hygiene. Stay away from sick individuals, avoid touching the door handle after washing your hands at the toilets, and do not eat your lunch at common computers. Those keyboards are filthy.

Stress plays a big role in health and happiness. Find things to do to relieve stress. Schedule some “me-time” into your day. Go for walks, listen to music, practise yoga, read a good book. Anything you can to chill out. To good health!

Here are some exercise ideas to get you out of hibernation and back in to the gym. It’s important to keep the big picture in mind. That is, your health, and maintaining or improving your body. Let’s fight off colds and flu this winter with exercise. Regular exercise boosts the immune system and improves mood. Although the weather is miserable, here are some no-excuses exercises that anyone can do regardless of the weather.

The first type of exercise is skipping. Skipping ropes are very inexpensive yet skipping is very effective for improving cardiovascular health and weight loss. The important thing is to wear comfortable shoes and use a lightweight rope. While skipping, stand up straight and look straight ahead. Try to make small fast jumps and gradually increase the amount of time skipping to 10 minutes without rest.

Kickboxing is a very popular way to exercise. It is great for weight loss and toning but also for stress relief and improving self-esteem. You can either do boxing with a personal trainer, or go to a group boxing class. In group boxing classes it’s important to take things slow, warm up properly, don’t lock out the elbow joint when punching and use the appropriate equipment if needed, such as wraps and gloves.

Get your running shoes on and jump on a treadmill. Running is one of the best cardiovascular workouts around and great for weight loss. It’s important to wear good footwear with a lot of cushioning. Running on treadmills is a lot easier on the knee and ankle joints than running outside on the footpath. Treadmills nowadays have suspension systems that provide shock absorption. Try running for 20-30 minutes up to 3 times a week. Adjust the resistance and angle of the treadmill for variation and for more of a challenge.

Many indoor pools are heated in the winter and swimming and water-based exercise provide a great total body workout. Water provides natural resistance and supports the body’s weight, reducing stress on joints. Water aerobics are a very safe way to train and often involves many movements using aquatic equipment and the natural resistance of water. Many indoor pools have swimming lanes and water aerobics classes. Try a class; it’s harder than you think.

Stretching is good for injury prevention, lengthening muscles, releasing tension and reducing pain. Many people do not incorporate stretching into their routine but it’s important to do so and can be done in your own home. The important thing about stretching is to warm up first for 5 minutes by doing some light cardio and to stretch to the feeling of mild discomfort not pain. Use these ideas to be physically active this winter.