Health Related Fitness Tips

Daily calories (May 17th)
The amount of calories you consume daily to maintain your health related fitness is very individual, however an average man needs approximately 2,500 calories a day and an average woman 2,000 calories to maintain their weight. The consumption of high calorie-foods which are high in fats and sugar are widely available and in some cases cheaper in super markets. By eating too much processed foods that contain high levels of salt and sugars and fast foods rather than regular natural sourced meals you are putting yourself at risk of increasing your body's fat levels. Regular rigorous exercise daily will of course burn some of the calories you consume so the more you exercise the more calories get burned. So the quality of the food you consume is crucial to striking the calorie balance so that you have sufficient energy to exercise well enough to sustain your fitness levels.
"Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them."
Henry Ford

Running is so good for you (May 16th)
Running and jogging is such a natural way to exercise that can greatly enhance your physical and mental wellness as well as maintaining your ideal body weight. Running is a very efficient time intensive exercise and by running only half an hour every day you can increase you immunity to illness, strengthen your bones and muscles and exercise your heart muscle. Running doesn't require a lot of expensive equipment and as long as you have well fitted running shoes it is fairly safe also try and find some expert running/jogging advice so that you can maintain gradual improvements over time. The benefits of regular running go far beyond just simple fitness and well-being as your everyday mood can be enhanced and any anxieties reduced as a result of sustained aerobic exercise.
"Running is my meditation, mind flush, cosmic telephone, mood elevator and spiritual communion"
Lorraine Moller (New Zealand International Marathoner)

Motivate yourself (May 15th)
Often on a day to day basis it is hard to motivate yourself to exercise so try to remember how much better you will feel soon after training and use that as a positive lever to get you exercising. Some individuals are motivated by wanting to achieve a healthier, leaner and toned body and some people just want to feel better mentally and more alert. Staying motivated over a long period of time might be determined on what type of motivation you respond to whether you fear failure so therefore you won't stop in case you fail or you may the type of person who needs to succeed to feel on top of life. The key to motivation is to figure out what works for you as an individual and ignore the leaning towards lethargy whilst recognising when you actually need to rest and avoid feeling guilty about it. Consistency is the way forward so recognising your motivational strengths and practising them will form solid health habits that help you achieve your fitness goals no matter what they are.

Stress (May 14th)
There is no clear cut way to reduce stress however a combination of different stress reduction interventions can create a more favourable life balance that can lessen the effects of stress. Clear and realistic life goals and fitness targets can greatly enhance your ability to offset stress in your everyday life, the key is being consistent and remaining active every day even when you feel mentally tired try to do moderate exercise as this will assist in maintaining mental wellness over time. There are various stress reduction methods that are more effective following exercise such as PMR Progressive Muscle Relaxation, this method involves lying flat on your back in a quiet and relaxed environment, then systematically contracting and relaxing your muscle groups starting from the top of your body and working down. Relaxed systematic breathing exercises, where the emphasis is on slow deep abdominal exhalation, combined with positive visual images will reduce the effects of stress.

A vegetarian diet (May 13th)
If you are considering converting to a vegetarian diet then it is important to pay extra attention to certain food groups such as proteins to maintain your health and well-being. Always try to to maintain protein levels within nutrition plan and non-meat proteins alternatives include beans, eggs, nuts, tofu, yoghurt, lentils and cheese. Yoghurt as a food is rich in protein, vitamins and minerals also found in milk, live yoghurt also contains bacteria which can help the body to fight infection. By combining the varying types of plant based proteins you can ensure that you get sufficient protein requirement for the maintenance of muscle, mental alertness and everyday health. Some vitamin supplements can also assist in meeting your nutritional needs and important minerals such as folic acid normally found in liver can also be found in green vegetables and whole grain cereals.

Foods for fitness (May 12th)
To enable you to remain frequently active and fit you need to avoid illness as much as possible, this can be achieved by a sensible exercise programme and a diet that sustains your immune system wherever possible. Pumpkin seeds are rich in magnesium and zinc which can significantly boost your immunity levels and by trying to eat a varied diet of coloured vegetables and fruit daily you will greatly enhance your immunity levels. You have to consume vitamin C every day because it is not stored in the body and can be found in citrus fruits, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, peppers, potatoes and berries. Pistachio nuts contain high potassium levels as well as vitamin E which can help maintain your physical wellbeing. Foods that contain Vitamin C boost collagen production and maintain healthy skin as well as reducing free radicals that damage cells within the body.

Exercise your upper body (May 11th)
A French writer called Victor Hugo from the 19th century once said "people do not lack strength, they lack will". If you want to improve your upper body strength you have to be disciplined and frequently increase the amount and intensity of the training you perform. Regular daily press ups are an excellent way to maintain your upper body strength and muscle tone around the shoulders, chest and upper arms. By gradually increasing the number of press ups you do daily you can over time achieve very good physical upper body results and help improve your core strength. The additional use of weights and resistance gym equipment can further enhance muscle tone, strength and muscular stamina. With the different types of gym equipment available you can vary the upper body and abdominal muscles so that you get a balanced level of upper body fitness. To get the best results without getting injured try and seek the advice of a qualified coach or fitness instructor so that you exercise techniques are correct from the beginning.

Train hard and lose weight (May 10th)
Intense and high quality training aligned with sufficient recovery phases can work positively towards you burning more calories and reducing your body fat percentage. How hard you train could be the difference between being marginally healthy and extremely fit indeed, working hard is down to individual fitness levels, age and exercise background. Fitness training programs have to start from where you are at in terms of your real fitness so that you can start training at the right level of intensity to suit you. When you are regularly exercising it is important to give some attention to the quality of your exercise not just the frequency and the duration. So an excellent start to changing your approach to your health is to have a fitness assessment carried out by a health consultant or fitness instructor so that you can start at the right level of intensity. If you keep training hard and systematically improve you will also reduce any excess body fat percentage and achieve your ideal weight level.
"Faith is a passionate intuition." William Wordsworth

Sore tendons (May 9th)
If you have exercised excessively sometimes you are left with sore tendons and this is called tendonitis. Tendons are tough bands of connective tissue that attach bone to muscle. Inflammation of surface of the tendons and the tendon sheath occurs and leads to pain and in some cases a visible thickening of the tendon. This type of injury can be caused by poor technique and from sudden changes in the type of exercise performed. The best treatment of a tendon injury is firstly to rest and ice the area without directly putting the ice on the skin and then seek medical advice. If you are a runner never ignore Achilles tendonitis always rest first and look at ways to avoid future discomfort, this may be achieved by considering specific running shoe inserts.

Feet fit (May 8th)
A lot of eastern medicine principles revolve around health and energy channels called meridian ways where the energy 'chi' is transported through the body to create a balanced harmony of health. Reflexology is an alternative eastern therapy that has its roots based in Chinese culture it is a complementary therapy that involves pressure manually on areas of the feet in line with the nerve endings under the skin. Reflexology increases blood flow directly to the feet therefore improving circulation which is particularly important to people who are diagnosed as diabetics. This pressure stimulates energies within the body and that can assist in different healing processes. The feet are a map to the rest of the body and there are areas on the feet where pressure should be applied to channel energies to assist in health and wellbeing.
"Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm."
Abraham Lincoln

Don't lose your fitness (May 7th)
If for some reason you need to reduce your training don't get disheartened and stop exercising altogether, try and sustain some maintenance training to remain fit. One of the main principles in fitness and health is 'use it or lose it' because it cannot be stored for a long period of time and has to be worked on regularly. A reduction in fitness occurs when the physiological benefits are lost after prolonged periods of activity. So try to maintain some basic exercise activity because fitness loss becomes more significant after a period of 14 days inactivity in trained individuals. By performing low levels of maintenance training you can offset this dramatic fitness reduction so that when it is time to start rebuilding your training and fitness again you will not be starting from zero again. When you begin your training programme again be very careful not to rush this process and build up very gradually over time to enable your body to adapt without breaking down.
"If you lose, don't lose the lesson" The Dalai lama

Do you want to live longer? (May 6th)
To enable you to live a longer life in terms of years you of course need to be more regularly active so that you can sustain the duration and functioning of the heart and lungs the main driving forces of the body. People often say they want to live a long and happy life and this statement holds the key to prolonging your years and that is to have a happy disposition. Some health experts suggest that by being happier you can prolong the duration of your life whilst also improving the quality of your life in the process. Research has shown that being married can lead to a prolonged life where married men live up to three years longer than their single peers and also that married women have a 46% lowered risk of a stroke than single women. Eating more healthily, sharing problems and drinking less amounts of alcohol are believed to the contributing factors for a prolonged life. Non-smokers of course can live up to 10 years longer than a regular smoker.

The importance of sleep (May 5th)
If you don't get enough good quality sleep it will catch up with you short or long term and can be detrimental to your overall health. If you don't have enough quality sleep you are likely to suffer from being more stressed, irritable and tired, however according to researchers on sleep at Loughborough University in England by taking a short 15 minute sleep in the afternoon you can restore your energy levels and improve your concentration levels. It is important to try and stabilize your health with 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep a night on a regular basis which will give you a greater ability to perform endurance activities, also sustain your mental wellbeing.

Recovery (May 4th)
Someone once said if you don't think you have enough time to stop and rest then that is probably the time when you should. Whether you are in a training programme or just within your day to day lifestyle you should include rest and recovery within your schedule. If you have a hectic lifestyle it is important to stop from time to time, either systematically on a short term basis or as part of a long term consideration. You have to stop and recover in order to rejuvenate your mental and physical energies. A Japanese health study showed that by taking a rest of 20 minutes during a long endurance run could actually benefit you more than if you tried to push through to an exhaustive conclusion. Planning recovery breaks as part of your everyday existence is absolutely necessary for your physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.

Work together to get better (May 3rd)
Often your mental wellbeing is dependent on maintaining a positive outlook in your life and this can be achieved in a number of ways. Exercising regularly is of course a good start as it can reduce the effects of anxiety and stress. There is also a motivational technique called ?Positive Banking' which can assist you in maintaining a positive mental outlook even through difficult times in your life. You partner up with a friend or family member and agree to contact them regularly every day or every other day. Once you have agreed this informal positive contract you then share with that person three positive things that have happened since you last spoke, the other person does the same. This positive process can overtime produce a habit of having a more optimistic focus within your life and recognition that supporting others is beneficial to you as a person.
"Treat people as if they are special and they become special."
Brian Tracy, American Motivational Coach

Relax and exercise (May 2nd)
Everyone you meet says they don't have time to exercise and regular exercise can not only keep you physically fit and healthy but can also reduce stress and pain levels. Being active daily can reduce pain by increasing your serotonin and endorphin levels within the body, exercise will help you sleep which can also boost your resistance to pain. Muscle tension often causes neck and back stiffness that can lead to back pain muscle soreness. Exercise can reduce muscle tension caused by stress and general daily life such as driving and sitting in front of a computer for long periods of time. Exercising in water can be very relaxing as water not only supports the body structure and reduces the weight bearing on the joints but can perform essential exercise too. Hot water dilutes the blood vessels and reduces blood pressure so exercise followed by a relaxing warm bath can reduce any excess stress levels to hopefully a more manageable level.
"The time to relax is when you don't have time for it."
Sydney J Harris (American Author & Journalist b 1917 / d 1986)

Muscle soreness (May 1st)
If you are training vigorously on a regular basis you will almost certainly experience some muscle soreness and stiffness at some point in your training. Often after hard exercise you can experience sore and stiff muscles and this process is known as D.O.M.s Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness. People experience this pain and discomfort after running long endurance events and can for a few days feel muscle soreness and in some cases pain. Keeping well hydrated and having relaxing hot baths followed by very light stretching can help ease out the muscles. Light exercise either cycling or swimming can help with the recovery phase as well as eating carbohydrates to build up your muscle glycogen stores again.