Steps to a dream body in 2022

Many people use this time of year to make New Years resolutions and dream about changing their bodies for the better.  Is this one of your resolutions this new year?

Picturing in your mind what you would like to acheive is fantastic but here are a few ways that can help you actually get there.

How committed are you to change? 

Your dream body will not be made overnight so understanding that you will need to commit to make exercise a part of your daily life and improving your diet so you consistently eat well are key to success. This is ultimately what we must strive for.

What do you need to focus on to get there?

Choosing an exercise programme designed for your individual body and personal goals in conjunction with a healthy diet will definitely improve your fitness, body shape and confidence not to mention enhance your mood and stamina. This is where a personal trainer can be invaluable and help you take away the guess work of what to do and when and motivate you to achieve your best.   

If you’re truly serious about your fitness goals make a commitment to yourself to do what it takes to make that happen. Keeping a diary of your exercise, increasing your daily vegetable intake and water consumption can have a big impact.

Remind yourself why you want to make the change

Do you want to be able to keep up with your small children in the park without getting out of breath, wear that size 10 bikini, be confident to stand up and present your work to a room full of people, sleep better? 

These are all achievable with the help of regular exercise and a healthy diet. Get excited about your goals and the final results, but make no mistake, if you don’t consistently exercise and support your training with a healthy diet, those results will never exist outside of your imagination and you’ll never find out how amazing it feels to have achieved them.

Always remind yourself of your goals and just go for it!

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Cold shower challenge

For the past 6 months or so I have been subjecting myself to daily cold showers in the name of personal interest. I first became aware of the benefits of cold water immersion, or ‘cryotherapy’ a few years ago but couldn’t quite get myself to stand under a freezing cold shower or sit in an ice bath more than a handful of times. This time I made a plan to have daily cold showers (and maybe a few ice baths along the way too) for 6 months! Well I am 4 months in and wanted to tell you what I discovered and what the known benefits are of this madness!

The most talked about benefits of regular cold showers are:

• Speeding up recovery after exercise

• Increased alertness (Oh yes you will feel truly awake after a cold morning shower!!)

• Eases stress

• Increases energy

• May help with weight loss as the cold helps increase brown fat that is more metabolically active i.e. it burns more calories than white fat. (To help enhance this action ensure you hit those brown fat receptors in the back and front of the neck)

• Better deeper sleep

• It actually feels so good after you step out of the shower and get a warm glow as you heat back up again.

Day 1: No, I can’t do it, its too cold to just jump right into a freezing cold shower. After procrastinating for what seemed like 10 minutes I negotiated with myself to get into a warm shower then turn down the temperature for just 10 seconds. Wow that’s cold, I only managed about 5 seconds and screamed so loud!

Day 2: This time no delaying just get in to a warm shower then try to beat yesterday’s time. I managed a few seconds more today but it still felt horrible!

Day 3: Why am I doing this? I held firm to my challenge and wanted to see if it got any easier as the week went on. Nope not today just as cold but I am starting to feel that nice warm glow after the shower and I also think my skin feels a lot softer too. (Softer skin and shinier hair is also a known benefit).

Days 4-8: It has become part of my routine now and I am starting to feel the benefits. After a tough workout I actually looked forward to the cold on my muscles.

1 month in: Well I wouldn’t say I am totally hooked but I am definitely noticing that I sleep better after a cold shower a few hours before bed.

Now: Does this shower dial turn any colder? I couldn’t get the dial to turn any colder this morning as I felt it was too warm. WAIT, I wanted to turn it colder?? I did laugh to myself as this was definitely not something I would have tried to do a few months ago. I think I have got used to the cold! No Ice baths to date but maybe it is time to give them another go.

Always listen to your body when trying something like this and ask your doctor before trying it if you have a medical condition. Work up the time spent in the cold water from a few seconds at first so you acclimatise slowly.

Red Hot Personal Training

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Enhance Your Workout with Resistance Bands

Resistance bands could be the one piece of workout equipment that can take your body to the next level of fitness, strength and overall muscle tone.  As a Personal Trainer, Pilates instructor and pre and post-natal teacher (www.redhotpersonaltraining.com) I find resistance bands a wonderful, versatile and full body strengthening little 'gym in my pocket' tools that really do work wonders.

Bands come in a variety of lengths and strengths so suitable from beginner to advanced athlete and some are made in a loop construction that adds to the versatility and variety of exercise combinations that can be used. They are budget friendly and can easily be used while away from home travelling as they are so portable and require little space to use. (Many of my clients travel with work a great deal so when they are away from home they can continue with their exercises whilst away).

Resistance bands allow you to get a full body strengthening workout without the use of any free weights or gym machines.  The key here is that working out with resistance bands produce a different type of tension on your muscles than that of free weights or resistance machines. They produce progressive tension so they actually create more resistance through the range of your repetitions. This is a good thing as the bands will be targeting your muscles fibres in a different way than you would achieve by just using free weights and machines alone. Resistance bands strengthen the neuromuscular system where it is weakest which is at the end of the range of motion but do not place as much strain on the joints than using heavy weights thus their is less chance of injury. 

Have you reached a fitness plateau?  Resistance bands can be an excellent way to add an element of fun and variety into your workout and can be just what the muscles are looking for to overcome that stagnation.

You can do just about any strength training exercise using bands. In fact an entire full body workout can be achieved (including a band warm up and cool down) using a set of small loop bands (in different strengths) and one 1.5 meter single length band. My diary is usually very full and that sometimes leaves very little room for me to work out myself. A short 20 minute band session can be amazing at achieving an excellent resistance workout in a short amount of time. 

Some body weight exercises can be taken to the next level by simply adding the use of a resistance band. For example, a plank with an alternating rear leg lift could be done with a loop band attached around the ankles for added resistance. 

If you have not tried integrating bands into your workouts you simply must give it a go as they are such a wonderful addition to any workout.

If you would like the help of a personal trainer or to purchase gift vouchers for a loved one please contact www.redhotpersonaltraining.com