Ok, so it’s week two and easy move two! Today it’s the clean & jerk with shoulder press, a compound move using both the upper and lower body, great for an all round cardio wake up call! Form is important so watch and listen carefully, add weight as you strengthen, but always be careful to start slowly and build from there…
I have been working with Rick Hay here in London especially looking at Nutrition and how important it is to be aware of pitfalls when planning your diet. Adding IsoWhey to your daily plan is a great way to start, but bear in mind thew following points to get the full advantage of the IsoWhey program..and see the results!..
Know What you’re eating…
There are some common mistakes that we all often make when it comes to optimum nutrition. If you are able to eliminate most of these whilst on your Anti Ageing and Fitness Transformation you will really turbo charge your weight loss results.
So here are some of the most common pitfalls to good health :
…Choose one or two to focus on each week and you will feel the difference!
Have you ever had ‘one of those days‘ where you get out of bed and everything just seems to go wrong? It’s like a snowball effect where more and more things go belly up as the day progresses and it’s like there is nothing you can do to stop it?.
These days can be very stressful and if we’re not careful this stress will build up and get stored within our central nervous system and remain there, causing a number of damaging side effects that we probably do not even associate with the initial stressful situation.
While some events which are pretty stressful, are hard to avoid and which we all may have at some point or another, (like moving house, a death, divorce or a breakup) – others in our day to day life we can effect and lessen the damaging effects. A lot of it is having the strength of mind to change our thought process. This is not easy. Sometimes when we have a situation in our lives we seem to just go over and over it it our minds…it can drive you crazy! I unfortunately I have a couple of these situations occurring at the moment and yesterday I had one of those ‘snowball‘ effect days…and I could feel the stress levels increasing dramatically in my body and there was nothing I could do to stop it as I was getting more and more frustrated with the unfolding events- culminating by my running home in the rain late for a really important appointment, only to be completely drenched by a passing car speeding straight through the massive puddle on the road (I was sure on purpose!) – Well, I made it to my appointment (an appearance on a live TV show, of all things!) – so I then HAD to change my thoughts away from my ‘disastrous day’ thoughts which were on repeat in my head.
The show went really well and afterwards I realised that my day had totally changed. While I still had lots going on, the tortuous thoughts had ceased, I felt calmer and the drive home was smooth (even through peak hour!). I then had to go to the hospital to visit a very good friend of mine who is very sick at the moment, and you know what, I realised as well that no matter how bad your day may seem, there are always those who are worse off – my friend, despite her pain, remains positive and with a sense of humour in tact, and I thought if she can do it, I’m damn sure I can – and YOU can too…
Stress can have many damaging effects, but a main one is Obesity. Clients have often said to me they are eating well and doing their exercise routine but not seeing results – stress, for whatever reason will often be the culprit – the hormone cortisol is released and this will inhibit weight loss and actually make it harder to lose those extra pounds.
There are many different ways to handle your stress levels, different things work best for different people – above is a list of easy things you can try if you find yourself caught up in the repeating thoughts that just won’t dissipate. I have talked about meditation before, either by itself or through the practice of Yoga – this can train the mind to be more prepared for these situations when they occur and also deal with them better when they do. Here’s a link to my previous blog to better explain it - “Meditate for Motivation”.
But don’t give up – and don’t forget, “Think, Act…Be”
We have all heard that one of the main excuses given for people not doing exercise is that they simply do not have enough time – people will often priortise work or family commitments over their own health – despite the fact that without their health they are no good either to their work or their family!
Most people tend to think of exercise as a means to losing weight, or maintaining a certain fitness level and of course a healthy lifestyle – but it is now realised just how important exercise is for improved productivity in the workplace.
There is a common belief that doing exercise releases a rush of the ‘feel good’ endorphins, and although there is actually little hard scientific evidence of this, anybody who has done a really hard workout or done a great run will certainly vouch for this – you don’t always need scientific proof to know something works!
So how can such exercise helps with our workload??
It seems that exercise may give our body a better chance at dealing with stress (a big cause of weight gain and lack of productivity). Exercise can force the body’s physiological systems to ‘communicate’ better than without specific exercise – i.e the cardiovascular system talks to the renal system, which then talks to the muscular system and these are all controlled by our nervous systems, which must also communicate – what does this mean? – that the more sedentary we are the less efficient our bodies are in responding to stress.
Research from the University of Bristol showed that after exercising during working hours, participants “returned to work more tolerant of themselves and forgiving of their colleagues” – plus they had better performance shown by improved time management and better mental sharpness. This shows that it is more than just the feel good response but a physiological one. So, if companies provided their staff with this exercise ability, they should get in return more efficient employees, happier in themselves, working better together plus a reduction in sick days and greater attendance and attitude, thereby reducing costs and improving productivity, even if there is a reduction in hours worked, as shown in a recent Swedish study, where workers were given 2.5 hours a week to exercise, resulting in better productivity with less hours.
Further evidence is put forward by Dr John Ratey (an author and psychiatry professor) – there is a protein called BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), and when secreted it boosts brain cell growth and strengthens cell to cell connections. This, it is thought leads to increased learning capacity – and guess what triggers this release of BDNF – that’s right – EXERCISE! This also works more efficiently when the exercise is combined with cognitive tasks, hence increased productivity after your lunch time exercise class, and a better time for decision making as well perhaps?!
So, exercise will help you to be more focused and think clearly, plus enhance your learning ability as well as the fact it can boost your mood and in turn reduce stress and relieve anxiety…when you put all this together imagine two people going for the same job – one exercises the other doesn’t, who do you reckon may have the better attitude/mindset and therefore chance of getting the job (all other factors being the same?)….it’s about looking after your body AND your brain, and getting along that career path quicker (and having more fun along the way!)
Here at Isowhey HO I have been teaching exercise classes for the last few months, (see pic below), I have simply turned an office area into a gym, I got some dumbells, a skipping rope and a couple of fitballs and hey presto a Circuit class is born! I also teach Yoga and Pilates on other days. So many workplaces could also implement this type of exercise system into their office space and I’m sure would see a great improvement in their staff morale. Having to go to the gym after work really eats into your own time, and by the time you get there, and get home and eat it’s time for bed!
SO, by offering this type of activity in the daytime, means no more
“I just don’t have the time” excuse!
What do you think? Does your employer offer any type of exercise allowance? and if they did would you use it?…
*IsoWhey employees completing a work ‘Cardio Challenge’
“Don’t give up” – is an amazing song by Peter Gabriel and the fabulous Kate Bush, if you haven’t heard it try and download it – it may bring a tear to your eye but it is haunting and also inspirational – i love it when you can actually hear the lyrics to songs and they actually mean something and have to capacity to move you – so, don’t give up…even when it seems like nothing is going your way, your haven’t lost the weight you wanted, or got the promotion you had worked so hard for, or your partner turned out to be different from whom you thought them to be -or…whatever it may be.
Gratitude…something all of us should find time for, just think of anything positive that is happening or happened in your life and be grateful for it, when you feel down look around and see the others who are not as well off as yourself, and be grateful, – not always easy, but try not to lose sight of your goals and pat yourself on the back for what you HAVE achieved. Sometimes you need to move the goalposts, and thats ok, be aware of what you have done but stay focused on what you need to do. Think about it, write it down, and DO it! Even though I repeat what I say – it needs to be said, and I want you to ‘get it’!
You are creating yourself every day, just know who and what you want to be and keep on aiming for that – you will get there…
I don’t know about you, but I clearly remember the clanking of the milk bottles as they were delivered daily by the local milkman, I remember trying to get to it before my little brother so I could get some of the delicious cream that always just sat there on top, saying
, drink me‘ – (which I frequently did!)
As I have talked about in various blogs there are many, many reasons why people gain weight and/or have difficulty losing it if they do. Neither is there any one answer to these reasons that fits every person who has issues with their weight. . .
So, here we have the video to accompany my recent Pole Dance blog. Hopefully this may inspire you to try this new and exciting way to lose weight, improve core/upperbody strength and stability and increase overall wellness… and enjoy yourself! :)
“Being Obese isn’t easy” – either physically or mentally, there are many reasons as to the cause of this condition, but I am talking here about the nuts and bolts – Diet & Exercise.
Elements playing a part may be
- lack of sleep
- stress
- medications
- hereditary
- lifestyle
- medical/hormonal
Read On…
More good news this week – especially for people suffering from Diabetes or who are overweight / obese. A research group from Adelaide (University of SA) has just published a study in the Australian Journal of Nutrition & Metabolism*.
