Red Hot Personal Training's Christmas Gift Guide

Busy getting ready for the christmas celebrations? With Christmas just around the corner we thought it would be a good idea to share our favourite ideas for healthy Christmas presents.

1. You know how we have said how important a good nights sleep is (see blog dated Oct 27) so with that in mind how about a new supportive fluffy pillow that you can just sink into. To really go all out, why not get a silk pillowcase too. Silk not only feels luxurious but has wonderful properties that can help keep your hair shiny and tangle free and your skin smooth, bonus!

2. A wonderful piece of kit to have at home is a foam roller. Benefits of using it before exercise include increasing blood flow to muscles and range of motion and using it after exercise helps aid recovery and relaxation.

3. Lavender, Frankincense and Rosemary essential oils are a wonderful gift to give, as they help to enhance blood circulation, calm nervous tension and are also anti-inflammatory, so they are excellent after a tough workout. Use them in your bath, in an infuser, mixed with a carrier oil and use on your body or just add a few drops of lavender oil onto your pillow for restful sleep. Be sure to use the best oils as you can find to really benefit from them.

4. Have you tried Bamboo workout clothing? Clothing made from bamboo is wonderful at keeping you dry as bamboo is sweat wicking and comfortable during tough workouts, is a great option for allergy prone skin, is antibacterial and feels so soft against your skin. Bamboo is also a great choice for the environment too as it is biodegradable and only needs rain water to grow. We especially love Bamboo trainer socks.

5. Resistance bands are so simple and easy to use, take up little space and can be used to target multiple muscle groups. We love to incorporate these bands into our clients exercise plans and show them many ways to use them in a daily workout routine for strength, muscle and flexibility gains. The favourite type of band among our clients at present is the ‘Band of doom”(named by Red Hot Personal Training clients as you can really feel it working!!). It’s a strong, thick loop band that can be used as a precursor to many exercising as it activates the hips when placed around the thighs and used for squats, side steps etc. It can also very effectively target the glute muscles, thus strengthening and helping to turn back on those all important posterior chain muscles. As an added bonus its amazing for achieving a peachy derrière!

P.S How about a gift of Personal Training vouchers? Red Hot Personal Training has received a great deal of requests for gift vouchers to give as a present this Christmas. A 'one off session' voucher can be purchased for £45 or a package of 10 sessions for £400 making a saving of £50 per session! Please see the 'Prices' tab of our website for more details.

(Red Hot Personal Training, Pilates and Pre and Post-Natal)

Why I love working out with my Kettlebell

Are you looking for a way to tone your entire body, activate those essential posterior chain muscles, improve your posture and lose weight as an added bonus? Look no further than the kettlebell.

Why I love to work out using a Kettlebell

1. A sweat producing whole body toning workout can be achieved in a very short amount of time.

2. Only one piece of equipment is required and it can be done anywhere! (Please make sure children and pets are well out of the way!!)

3. All the major muscle groups can be worked out, including the very important posterior chain muscles. (Those muscles that are made weak by excessive sitting and underuse leading to back pain issues, non-firing glute muscles etc)

4. Its fun and gets that heart pumping for a great cardiovascular workout too!

My three favourite kettlebell moves:

1. The mighty Kettlebell Swing is such a simple but powerful move. You will see great changes to your bottom, and tone in your legs and tummy too! (I personally aim to do a minimum of 100 swings at each session. Try reps of 20, 30, 20, 30 with a 20 second rest break in between each set.

2. The Kettlebell snatch is such a fast and fun move that once you have masted it you will really enjoy the fluidity of it. (Good form is key here. Research the correct technique or ask a trainer to show you how). Try 12-15 reps each side x 2 reps.

3. The Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlift is not only great for the legs and stabilising muscles but a good core and balance exercise too). Try 12-15 reps x 2 sets each leg.

If you are a beginner I would advise starting off with a light weight such as a 4kg/6kg (women) or 9kg/12kg (men) and then once you have perfected the moves then consider upping the weight as you get stronger.

Please see the video attached for a sneak peak at these three moves. x

Yummy NO BAKE protein bar recipe

These homemade protein bars are a healthier choice than many shop bought bars that sometimes contain mysterious ingredients that can't even be pronounced! Ideal for a quick snack, whilst traveling, for hungry children after school, a quick pick me up during the day or perfect if endurance training.

These bars require about 15 minutes of prep time, then an hour-long rest in the refrigerator to set. Recipe makes about 16 bars.

• 140g chopped almonds
• 160g porridge oats
• 100g unsweetened coconut flakes (shredded coconut should work, too)
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (Ceylon cinnamon is best)
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 200g almond butter (or peanut butter)
• 120ml (1/2 cup) maple syrup
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1.     Line a 9-inch square baking tray with parchment paper. Lay the paper over and up the sides of the edges as this will make it easy for you to remove and slice the bars later.

2.    Toast the chopped almonds for maximum flavor (you can skip this step, but your bars won't be quite as awesome): In a medium pan over medium heat, toast the almonds, stirring frequently, until they are fragrant and starting to turn lightly golden on the edges, about 5 minutes. Transfer them to a medium mixing bowl. 

3.    Add all the remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir until blended. The drier the mixture, the firmer the bars will be, so stir in extra oats if the mixture seems too wet. If its seems too dry you might need to drizzle in another tablespoon of maple syrup to help it all stick together.

4.    Transfer the mixture to the baking tray. Use a spoon to pack the mixture down as firmly and evenly as possible.

5.    Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight. This gives the oats time to set.

6.    When you are ready to slice, lift the bars out of the baking tray by grabbing both pieces of parchment paper on opposite corners. Use a sharp knife to slice the mixture into squares.

7.    For portability, you can wrap individual bars in plastic wrap or parchment paper. Bars keep well for a couple of days at room temperature, but I recommend storing individually wrapped bars in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for best flavor. They will keep for several months in the freezer.

Enjoy:) x 

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

Make 2018 the year to get fit and toned, here's how!

A new client came to Red Hot Personal Training in search of ways to improve upon her body shape and in particular muscular definition and asked why she had not seen her body change at all despite going to the gym 3 times a week and running on the treadmill for 30 minutes?  Now there are many answers to this question that would effect her results including diet, stress levels, hormones, sleep pattern etc however, our next question was very important. Do you incorporate the free weights, suspension equipment, medicine balls etc available or ever do bodyweight exercises? No she replied I just want to burn calories as quick as I can and go home as I really don't like running!

After explaining the benefits of incorporating all these other options into her exercise routine we set clear goals for her to reach that would utilise a variety of exercises equipment and also the addition of body weight exercises that would challenge her and force her body to adapt and change for the better.  

The take home message we really want to get across is please don't stick to the same exercises routine for every session.  Give the treadmill a break for a bit and explore other options. Mix it up and your body will always be kept guessing. Add in those bodyweight exercises including planks, pull-up, press-ups, squats, lunges etc and see your body increase in strength and muscle tone.