Exercising During Pregnancy

Staying active during pregnancy is important to promote an easier birth and quicker postnatal recovery. So just because your pregnant doesn't mean you have to stop exercising. Here are some tips on how to exercise safely during pregnancy  

1. If you are already exercising then it is okay to continue following the advice below, but if you are starting exercise while you are pregnant then you are advised to visit your GP or Midwife first.

2. Core stability training will assist in antenatal balance as your centre of gravity changes, give you strength to push during birth, and get you back to your pre-birth shape. After the first trimester; avoid lying in a prone position (face down) on your stomach, so no back extensions or press ups! On all fours is an ideal position to adopt for core stability, simply drawing in the abdominals and including arm and leg movements is an excellent place to start. Remember to work your pelvic floor muscles too; do this by including fast and slow contractions of the muscles that stop you doing a wee. Doing these exercises pre and post pregnancy will give you greater bladder control.

3. Aerobic training is great for you and your baby's circulation, but too much at a high intensity can cause overheating; so stick to interval training (using effort and rest periods), allowing short bursts of effective exercise followed by a longer or same rest period, for example; 1 minute moderate intensity followed by 1 minute low intensity.

4. Resistance training is considered safe during pregnancy and is advised in order to help with postnatal baby duties! Repetition ranges of 8-12 are most appropriate for benefits in strength and endurance. Aim to work at a moderate level without over-exerting yourself, 1-3 sets depending on your fitness level. Listen to you body and rest plenty between sets. Consider functional exercises such and squats, lunges and shoulder press.

5. Gentle stretching is advised during pregnancy, particularly areas that you have worked, however, a hormone called relaxin is present during pregnancy which helps to loosen connective tissue in preparation for birth, this means that all muscles, ligaments and joints are affected. So avoid stretches that are held for longer than 10-15 seconds, and do not over-exert the stretch, keep it comfortable.

If you would like more information about pre and postnatal exercise then please get in contact or CLICK HERE as I am a fully qualified ante and postnatal instructor who can adapt your training programme to your new needs. 

Many thanks for reading

Pete

Small Changes...Bigger Picture

I'm sure that a lot of you reading this having started a new exercise or diet to help you with your New Years resolution. So below I have put together some of my top tips that I give my clients when they start Personal Training with me.

It is best to make small changes slowly rather than big changes quickly as you are more likely to stick to small changes.

Dietary Advice

1. When dishing up a meal or snacking eat 10% less than you normally would eat.

2. Try to think first and if there is a better choice make that one.

3. Try to avoid foods with more than 5g per 100g of sugar in.

4. Try to avoid buying anything marked 'LOW FAT'. I know this sounds strange, but usually when something is low in fat it is high in sugar or something else that is bad for us.

This naturally rules out chocolate and other really sweat things that if we are honest with ourselves we all know that they aren't that good for us.

Exercise

Wherever possible try and swap your transport for working. I can't stress enough how important walking is. It is a really good foundation for your mind and body.

It teaches your body to burn fat and be more efficient, prepares your body for exercise, it is free, you can do it anywhere and you don't need special equipment to do it.

Try and get at least 3 hours a week of doing some kind of whole body exercise, that will incorporate increasing your heart rate as well as bodyweight or resistance exercises such as squats, lunges, press ups etc.

Finally I would like you to remember that being healthy or the weight you want to be and living a happy healthy life doesn't restrict you from eating certain foods, having another chocolate bar, going down the pub with your friends for a pint, or eating out at a restaurant.

Changing is easy if you make small manageable changes.

Remember.....

1. Crash diets or diets full stop don't work.
2. You can eat food and a lot of the right food and still be healthy.
3. Fat doesn't make you fat SUGAR does.
4. Exercise can be fun so find something you enjoy and get out there.
5. Walking is good.

Move a little bit more and make better choices, then good things will happen.

Thanks for reading

Pete

Making Your New Years Health Resolutions A Habit

It is the new year and the time where we say.. "right this year I'm going to get fit and healthy". I wish as many people would prioritise their health and fitness in the other 11 months of the year as they do in January, as we could see a big reduction in depression, stress and other related conditions.  If this sounds like you then here are some of my top tips on how you can keep on track for a fitter, healthier, stronger you in 2015.

1. Do More

Instead of concentrating on eating less of this or that, focus on what you are going to add More of in 2015.

- More activity

- More lean protein

- More good fats

- More vegetables

- More water

- More weight lifting

- More fun at PB Fitness Bootcamps

Doing MORE Sounds a bit more manageable then deprivation.

The beauty about the more approach rather than restricting is that you're are giving your body more nutrients so it doesn't give you blood sugar dips that's leaves you craving the bad processed foods.

The more you move and enjoy exercise the better you feel about your body shape, health and fitness and the less you want to shove your face full with sugar and artificial food that doesn't make you feel great.

2. Break Down Your Goals

Take your long term goal (for example loosing X amount of weight, running 5k in X amount of time) set yourself an end date by which date you wish to achieve your overall goal. (It is vitally important that you set realistic time phases for your goals). You then need to break this long term goal down into shorter term goals for example 4 week or 2 week goals. By breaking your long term goal down your goal will seem a lot more achieveable and as you hit each short term goal this will also keep you motivated and focused to carry on.

3. Shout About It and Tell The World

Take to Facebook and Twitter, tell your friends and family what your goals are and when you want to achieve them by. This will not only act as motivation as you are now accountable for your goals, but people will also take interest in your goal and ask you how it is going. They will also offer you support and encouragement through the hard times and give you the motivation that you need to keep on going. Let people know when you reach each of your short term goals as again this acts as great motivation to keep going to your next short term goal. Don't forget, if you see one of your friends mentioning about reaching a goal then congratulate them and offer them the encouragement and motivation that they deserve.

4. Reward Yourself

When you achieve your short term goals then reward yourself with a treat. For example this could be a shopping trip for new clothes, a special meal, a special night out or anything you like. You need to remember that this treat is only for when you achieve your goals. If you treat yourself whenever you like then it will not work as motivation for you to carry on with your new lifestyle.

5. Personal Training
If you know of someone who struggles to maintain motivation or needs a push in the right direction then don't forget there are a number of different Personal Training options that you could do with PB Fitness, which are designed for you and your needs and requirements to improve your relationship with your body, food and give you a health boost.

You can check this all out by >>CLICKING HERE<<

I hope you have found these tips helpful and useful for you to stick to your New Year resolutions. Finally one of the most important reasons to remember as to why you have chosen your new lifestyle in 2015 is because you wanted to be a happier, healthier, fitter, stronger you in 2015.

Many thanks for reading

Pete.

How To Stay Fit, Healthy and Motivated During Winter

As we get ready to put the clocks back this weekend and the nights have started to draw in, I have been asked a few times recently as to the best ways to keep motivated over the winter month and how to give a bit of life and energy into your current fitness programme.

This made me think about what I do this time of year with my own personal fitness programme to keep myself motivated and it is a very simple answer....Variety....by this I mean cross training, so mixing up the types of exercise that you do.

One of the major factors in keeping your motivation levels high during the winter is change, as this will ensure that you don't get stuck in that same old routine that you have been doing for the past year. For example if you like going out on long runs or bike rides then over the winter months avoid getting wet outside and head to the swimming pool. Swimming is one of those great exercises were you get a whole body workout (some cardio and resistance) and what is even better it is non weight baring so it doesn't have such a harsh effect on your joints as running.

Another way is if possible why not flip your day on its head? During the win
ter months as it gets darker earlier it becomes easier to talk yourself out of doing exercise after work and just to go home, sit in from of the fire and watch TV all evening. If you get your stuff ready the night before, set the alarm for slightly earlier then head to the gym, go on a run, for a swim, take a class before work. This will lead to you feeling more motivated and energised for the day as well as freeing up your evening too.

Buddy up. having an exercise partner with similar goals to you is great as you can motivate each other support each other and work together towards your goals. As well as bouncing different ideas off of each other. Why not try out some new or different group exercise classes. With this you will keep your training fresh and interesting and it can also be good way socially to meet new people.

One of the most important things that you need to think about as always is nutrition and hydration. It is still important to keep your hydration levels up during the winter, and I also say that it is better to take small sips throughout the day and try to avoid gulping it down. When it comes to nutrition then it is really important to think about what you are eating and my best advise to my clients is to make sure that you are eating a well-balanced diet.

Hiring a Personal Trainer. Having a PT over the winter months is also a great way to stay motivated as firstly you know that you have someone waiting there for you each session that you booked which makes it harder for you to talk yourself out of exercise. As everyone has different goals then as a qualified fitness professional it is part of our job to help you through your journey to achieving them, understanding your needs and goals, being on your side and giving you our best professional advice to help you stay motivated and reach your goals. Another advantage of having a PT is that you don't have to think about what you are going to do each session, just turn up, exercise and go!

Over the winter months we can often become fatigued and feel tired a lot quicker than we think so it is important that we give our body enough time to relax and recover and spend some time treating yourself. Think about taking the time for a deep tissue massage, which can be vital in keeping your motivational and energy levels high, but also giving you that time to just relax and let your body heal.

The benefits of having a nice soft tissue massage is that it will help remove lactic acid from tight muscles, breaking down tight facia resulting in better tone in muscle mass and relaxed body of muscle. This in turn can benefit and improve future performance, which is key if you are training for a long term goal such as a marathon next year.

I hope this helps you on your way to staying fit, healthy and motivated this winter.

Many thanks for Reading

Pete

P.S. If you would like any further information or to book Personal Training or a Soft Tissue Massage then please click here.

P.P.S...Remember

What Is The Best Way To Lose Your Belly?

One of the most common fitness goals that people come to see me with is.... 'I would like to lose my belly'. So what is the best way to help lose your belly? Below I have put down the best way to beat the abdominal bulge. As we have all been told you can't spot reduce fat on just one part of the body. So doing countless number of crunches is not going to get you that perfect flat toned stomach.

Research that was published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning researched the effect of abdominal exercise on abdominal fat (September 2011). The study looked at the effect of specific abdominal exercise on body composition and abdominal muscular strength and endurance for 5 days a week for 6 weeks, as compared to a control group. All subjects followed the same diet during the study.

The results of the study showed that there was no significant effect of abdominal exercises on the body weight, body fat percentage, abdominal circumference and abdominal skin fold measurements in the abdominal exercise group. The only difference there was between the 2 groups was the ability of the abdominal group to perform significantly greater amount of sit-up repetitions.

What is the best way to reduce abdominal fat?

1. Good Nutrition - We have all heard the saying you can't out train a bad diet...it is completely true!
2. Resistance Training - Compound (large/number of muscles) Movements under load, which in turn will help to recruit maximal muscle fibres, which in turn will lead to a larger metabolic response as more muscles are working at once. For example you should consider - squats, lunges, deadlifts, pull ups, shoulder press etc
3. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) - This is very popular at the moment and is one of the latest crazes in the fitness industry, it involves interspersing fast burst of effort with low intensity rest periods. this helps to boost your metabolism.
4. Low Intensity Interval Training (LIIT) - This is exactly the same as HIIT the only different being the speed at which the exercises are carried out. your work and rest cycles are much longer than when doing a HIIT approach.
5. High Intensity Steady State Exercise - This looks a performing your activity at a steady, challenging but manageable pace (usually between 60-70% of your maximal heart rate) for 20 minutes or more and aiming for a heart rate between 120-150 beats per minute.
6. Low Intensity Steady State Exercise - This can include exercises such as walking or jogging, without putting to much stress on the body. This method is good as it can be used on an active rest day compared to just sitting down on the sofa.

I hope this information has helped you and you can now go away and include some if not all of these training methods in your own exercise programme. If however, you would like me to put together all the above in an effective fitness programme then please let me know. We will first sit down and have a talk about your exercise goals, do a full body screening looking at body fat percentage, waist to hip ratio, body alignment. We will then both agree on the best plan of action to help you work towards your fitness goal. 

For more information please visit my website by clicking here 

Thanks for reading

Pete

Why You Should Add a Conditioning Programme Into Your Running/Cycling Programme

So you have started a new running or cycling programme, however, what are the benefits that you are missing out on if you don't include a strength and conditioning programme.

Firstly lets have a look at what a strength and conditioning programme is and what it is not:

A strength and conditioning programme is not:

• Finishing a run and doing sit ups and press ups
• A random sequence of weight training exercises without a plan

The English Institute of Sport defines strength and conditioning as:

"...the entire development of an athlete and what is needed to improve their physical performance".

One of the major benefits of a strength and conditioning programme is that it will help with injury prevention. This is because as you follow a conditioning programme then the programme should reduce muscle imbalances, as well as strengthening tendons and ligaments, which will lead to fewer injuries.

Having a strength and conditioning programme will make you feel stronger, nearly every sport will involve the application of force. The best and quickest way to strengthen your legs is with squats and lunges, and this strengthening will in turn aid with leg endurance and stamina increasing the amount of force that you can apply.

You may feel that the only way to get faster is to just run and run or to just ride and ride. However, running and riding are both very technical skills which when broken down and looked at they can then be rebuilt and help you to run or ride in a more efficient way improving speed and energy usage. 

If you are wanting to improve at a sport then you should definitely be looking at including some sort of strength and conditioning programme that is specific to your sport. I have worked with people to help them with their running, cycling, swimming, triathlons, tennis, badminton and football, and they have all seen vast improvements in their reductions in injuries, increased flexibility, and general improvement in performance.

If you would like more information on getting a strength and conditioning programme from PB Fitness then please let me know or visit my website.

Many thanks for reading.

Pete 

 

'Fitness Just Isn't For Me' - Here's What We're Going To Do About It.

When you think of a traditional gym members, a certain profile automatically comes into your head.  These people have high levels of fitness and participate in a lot of physical activity. If you think about an obese person, an ante or postnatal woman, or the elderly then you probably don't make the initial link with fitness.

It is a common myth that fitness isn't for everyone, and when I was setting PB Fitness up it was (and still is) my aim to smash that myth and make 'exercise fun and accessible for all'. 

As we all know people come in all shapes and sizes, and with their own special fitness requirements, medical conditions and exercise experience. These factors taken into account means that a one size fits all approach definitely doesn't work when it comes to exercise. Everyone has their own target and goals that they want to work towards, this could be being able to run 10 meters or completing an Iron Man, which is why at PB Fitness each target is considered just as significant as any other.

Another aim that I had when setting PB Fitness up was to make people aware that exercise doesn't necessarily have to be done in the gym or even involve breaking a sweat. For people that are continuously on the go then it is more beneficial for them to exercise their mind and body through yoga or gentle exercise. For post natal women, incorporating more movement into their daily routine is important. I always try to encourage my Postnatal clients to take the baby out for a walk in a push chair, to get them out of the house, active and it has a positive impact on building energy for the day.

As a fitness professional I understand the requirements of each individual and what type of exercise is appropriate for them, is important in helping me to reach my mission statement of 'making exercise fun and accessible for all' and getting more people to lead active lives. I believe that giving people the knowledge of what is available and appropriate for them will help to break down the barriers of exercise being something to fear, when it is really something that is accessible to everyone. This is why at PB Fitness you can have a free consultation to talk through what is the best way to go about reaching your goals.

One recent example of this is that I had a client come to me and say that they don't have much time, find exercise boring and dislike doing repetitive exercise. With all this information taken into account I designed a programme that kept the exercises short and sharp, the sessions were fun as they were design around single set training, circuits and game based drills. This meant that there was not much rest and enable us to pack in a huge amount of exercise into the valuable time we had.

Why not take that first step and book a free consultation with me to discuss how we can make your fitness goals fun and accessible to you.

Many thanks for reading

Pete