Do you roll with it??

Exercise regularly? Got a marathon or half marathon race coming up? Keen cyclist or gym goer? If you have not been using a foam roller as part of your daily cool down/recovery routine your really are missing out.  

Not just for the elite athletes, foam rolling aka Self-myofascial release, is a form of self-message to release tight muscles  or trigger points (specific "knots" that form in muscles) as you put targeted pressure on your fascia.  The fascia is a fibrous layer of connective tissue that surrounds all of the muscles in your body.  If this layer becomes sore and restricted post exercise, muscles will also become restricted in their movement and this is not conducive to great performance and may ultimately lead to injury. This is where foam rolling can help. 

Once just popular among elite athletes due to the immediate and strong impact rolling has on their performance and overall recovery, many people have now discovered the fantastic benefits including:

1. Improved Circulation

2. Injury Prevention

3. Enhanced Recover

4. Reduced exercise related soreness

A foam roller will set you back between (£8-£35) depending on quality so a relatively inexpensive piece of kit to have at home. If you regularly suffer soreness after exercising, or exercise and want to reduce the chances of injury it is a must buy!!

Top tips on using a foam roller:

• Keep it slow (Roll over each area slowly and pause for 20 seconds on tight spots to relax the muscle and release any tension).

• Keep breathing as this helps facilitate the muscles to relax too.

• Avoid rolling the IT band, instead focus on the glutes for the stability they offer.

For further info and some great foam rolling exercises (especially runners) see this great Guardian article 

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2014/feb/28/foam-roller-runners-guide-muscles

Three fitness tests to try right now

Want to test your strength, flexibility, muscular endurance, vascular health and longevity to name a few? Try these simple at home tests and see how you score. Ways to improve are also detailed below.

Test 1

30 second sit-to-stand test (Tests lower body muscular strength and endurance)

Start by sitting in a chair (approx 17” high from seat to floor and without arm rests ideally) with your arms crossed over your chest in front of you and simply stand up then sit straight back down again as many times as you can in 30 seconds. Make sure you touch the seat chair with your glutes (bottom) and stand completely straight at the top of the move. Count how many times you complete one stand up and sit down. It may be easier to ask a friend to time you for the 30 seconds.
How did you do? (The following results are taken from 60 year old test subjects so if you are a lot younger than this then you should be able to perform the above average scores!)

Females:

Level 3 (Less than 12 ) = Below average

Level 2 (12-17) =Average

Level 1 (Greater than 17) = Above average

Males:

Level 3 (Less than 14) = Below average

Level 2 (14-19) = Average

Level 1 (Greater than 19) = Above average

Test 2 - 30 second standing on one leg test (Tests postural instability, vascular health and even dementia risk!)

Stand on your right leg and raise your left leg up off the floor several inches. (Your left foot must not touch your right leg/foot for support).

How long can you hold this stance for without too much wobbling? Dont forget to try the other leg too. If this was easy try it again but with your eyes closed this time!

Level 1 = 30 seconds + with eyes closed. Fantastic!

Level 2 = 20-30 seconds + eyes open. Not bad at all. This is what everyone should be aiming for at the minimum.

Level 3 - Less than 20 seconds = There may be balance issues/vascular damage that needs investigating. Is one side significantly easier than the other? Look into possible issues with the spine.

Want to improve your time? Try standing on your right leg whilst cleaning your top teeth and then standing on your left leg whilst cleaning the bottom teeth. In this way you will be incorporating balance training into our daily life.

Test 3

Standing straight touch toes test (Tests flexibility especially in legs and lower back)

There is some evidence that being able to touch your toes is a good marker of how flexible you arteries are and an inability to reach the floor with your fingertips can be a predictor of a future heart attack. Issues of mobility or stability must be looked into if you cannot yet touch your toes in this move.

To perform this test stand up straight with your feet close together but not touching. Reach up from the hips and then bend forwards towards your toes. Not touching the floor? Try this. Stand tall again and simply rotate your pelvis forwards into a slight posterior pelvic tilt (tuck your bum in and forwards). Keeping this position reach up and forwards again and see what happens? Did you get further down this time?

Everyone should be striving towards being able to touch their toes from this standing position and with regular practice this will be achieved. If you simply are not getting any closer, investigate mobility and stability issues with a personal trainer or physical therapist.

Red Hot Personal Training

One-to-one PT sessions, Group training, One-to-one Pilates sessions, One-to-one pre and post-natal sessions, Nutrition for weight loss

The power of 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

Stand up for fitness!

Did you know that sitting down for too many hours every day can seriously impact your health? I wonder how many of you have just stood up!

Sitting facts:

• Research estimates that if you cut back on the time spent sitting down to under 3 hours a day in total, it could add two years to your life expectancy.
• An analysis of 18 studies found that people who sat for the longest periods of time were twice as likely to have or develop Type 2 Diabetes or heart disease, compared to those that sat the least.

Although a daily workout is absolutely essential for your health offering many physical and mental benefits, its equally important what you do in-between and if that is mainly sitting down in an office, at home or travelling try these suggestions below.

Here are some tips to get you moving:

1. Aim to not sit down for more than 15 minutes at a time without standing up or taking a quick walking break.
2.  Try standing up when you talk on the phone or use your computer/ipad etc.
3. Try and cut down on your TV time each day and incorporate regular standing breaks into your viewing time. (Go and make a cup of tea for example).
4. Simple body stretches performed after sitting down will help your circulation.
5. Do small bouts of exercise throughout the day. Every hour or two, take the opportunity to do some squats, standing lunges, high knees, toe touches, or push-ups against the wall. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy, complicated, or long. Just a few minutes will do!

Can Red Hot Personal Training help you? We offer the following:

• Online Personal Training
• One-to-one Personal Training
• Pilates Instructor
• Pre and Post-Natal Exercise

The Joy of Pilates

Increased flexibility, incredible core strength, enhanced endurance and great for creating a long and lean body too! Who doesn't strive for these?

Don't underestimate the benefits of practicing pilates as there are many and often more than meets the eye including stress reduction, injury prevention and rehabilitation and better mind and body connection.

If you have ever attended a large Pilates class and been stuck at the back wondering if you are doing the exercises correctly and struggled to locate your 'core' or even know what it truly is or how it works in conjunction with the exercises and everyday life, then trying a small group (2-6 people) or one-to-one sessions with a Pilates instructor could be just right for you.

To truly gain the benefits of Pilates really going back to the very principles at the heart of this amazing art is essential and from there progress can be made to identify and address weaknesses and build more challenging exercises into the sessions when you are ready. 

What we love about Pilates is that it is such an inclusive form of exercise whatever your age, fitness or experience , there is always a range of exercises and adaptions that are possible. 

Set some 'me time' aside and explore the joy of Pilates. 

Red Hot Personal Training and Pilates offers tailored one-to-one or small group Pilates sessions carried out in your own home, work or local park to help you realise the true Joy of Pilates.