My home 'turf'!
I decided I needed to create a space to put all my health and fitness stuff, so here it is: GO! Fitness. On this site I’ll be keeping you up to date with the classes I’m teaching and other things to do with diet, mental well-being and physical fitness that I find worth sharing.
If you’re interested in Fitness Pilates or High Intensity Interval (HIIT) classes check out this section!
xKine
Experiencing low back pain during sit-ups or crunches is quite a common issue. While it is beneficial to strengthen your abdominal muscles by doing sit-ups, this exercise puts strain on your back muscles and should not be performed if you have back pain, according to Brian Mac Sports Coach.
Bad, bad sit-up technique!
Sit-ups use more of the hip flexor muscles—which attach between the thigh bones and lower back than the actual rectus abdominus (the “six pack” muscle). During a sit-up the abdominal muscles are only responsible for the first part of the movement, after that the hips take over. This is particularly the case if you use momentum to do your sit-ups and also if you do sit-ups with straight legs. Overworked or over-tightened hip flexors affect the alignment of the spine by creating an forward pull on the lumbar vertebrae. This in turn is a very common cause of back pain, particularly in the lower back region.
What to do!?
I’m not banning sip-ups, however if your back bothers you when you do them, don’t push through the pain – choose a different exercise. Exercises that work the entire core are a good bet, for example front and side planks and glute bridges. If after laying off the sit-ups for a while, your back does get better and feels stronger, you can go back to doing them again. But with safe technique! That means:
Also consider using a Swiss ball which provides support for the lower back and reduces pressure on the spine.
Abs, abs, abs… how do you get a nice flat stomach? A lot of people and maybe women in particular, are super-focused on getting a lean midriff. As a result they spend aaaages doing sit-ups and crunches hoping for that washboard to emerge.
Some of you may have heard the expression “abs are made in the kitchen”. This is very true. It’s mainly your diet that’s responsible for how your abs look. You can do all the sit-ups in the world, but if you don’t reduce your body fat, you are never actually going to see those toned abs. People are generally predisposed to have one of two types of abs: you either have the shallow, flat abs or you have the defined, deep-etched abs. But, until you get rid of the body fat covering your abs, you can’t really know which type you have. Once you become leaner your actual shape is revealed, and you may realise you have more of a waist than you thought, or you might be more straight up and down. When you know what shape your midsection is, it’s easier to tailor the exercises to suit your body. For example, if you’re quite straight up and down (like me), you don’t want to be overdoing the twisting exercises that can exaggerate this particular shape.
What to do then? Focus on your diet; engage your core as much as you can, do some ab exercises just like you train any other body part. And remember, just like any other muscle group, your abs need time to recover between workouts – in other words don’t work abs every day. Assign a day or two in your workout routine to your abs, and watch your middle ‘lean out’!
Man, it’s cold and grey out! All I want to do is lie wrapped up on the sofa and not move until spring. And I’m not alone. The gym has been practically empty lately. Despite their good intentions after New Year’s, people seem to have given up and gone into hibernation. Now is the time to give yourself a positive boost to set you up for a fab spring!
Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside.
‘Positive thinking’ may sound like a cliché, but that does not make it less effective! In the field of positive psychology, the term ‘flourishing‘ refers to a state of optimal mental health. A flourishing person is someone who experiences positive emotions, excels in daily life, and is a contributing and productive member of society. The paper ‘A Tuesday in the Life of a Flourisher’ by Catalino and Fredrickson (2011) describes six everyday activities that promote flourishing: helping, interacting, playing, learning, spiritual activity, and exercise. Now, don’t think that bouncy, happy people are just born that way; there are steps we can all take to increase the positive emotions we experience. In her book ‘The How of Happiness’, Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky discusses how we can go about increasing our innate potential for joy and happiness in our lives. Based on her work, here is a list of tips that you can incorporate into your life and work to give yourself a solid injection of positivity:
So, people, go forth and be positive! I, for one am going to the gym to hang out with people and work up some endorphins!
These tasty burger buns are low in carbs, and they’re also milk and gluten free. They’re very quick to make, and you can easily throw them together while the rest of the food is cooking. The buns also work really well as accompaniment to soups etc. The recipe is originally from the blog Lilalife.
Ingredients (makes 4 buns):
Grind the sesame seeds in a blender (or mortar/other appropriate machinery!). Mix all the ingredients. If the batter seems too thick, add a bit of water. Make into bun shapes on baking parchment. Sprinkle with whole sesame seeds.
Bake at 200º C/gas mark 6 for 15 min.
Do you feel you NEED sweets? The average Brit eats in excess of 15 kilograms of sugary confectionary per year. That’s a calorie count equivalent of about 230 Mars bars, or 38 pints of full fat cream!
No surprise then, that over-consumption of sugary sweets is one of the most common reasons behind obesity. Quite a few people seem to have no problem skipping important meals like breakfast. However, resisting sweets or skipping that afternoon choccie bar can seem like an impossibility. For many wishing to lose weight or change their eating habits, giving up sugary indulgences in the biggest barrier. Physiologically, the human body does not require Twix bars and jelly beans, so why do we eat these things? According to a 2009 survey, the top reasons people give for buying sugary snacks are:
Sugary sweets and choccies contain chemical substances that trigger the release of feel-good hormones in your brain, giving a you similar effect to opiate drugs. This is the reason many are talking about chocolate as being addictive. In actual fact, however, the quantities of these substances are much smaller in chocolate compared to other foods like tomatoes and fruit. When was the last time you heard someone complain of a tomato addiction? Exactly. Which is why it seems reasonable to believe the mood-enhancing effects of sweet treats are more to do with psychology than chemicals. Think about the soothing, pleasurable feeling of chocolate melting in your mouth… Many of us associate sweets with rewards, whether it be for for surviving a bad day at work or acing a test; eating sweets gives us a warm, fuzzy feeling.
So, how can you go about managing your sweet intake? According to experts, the best way is through a combination of increased awareness, practical moves, and mental training. I have scoured the web for tips on how to cope with sweet cravings, and here are some of the more useful tips I came across:
Nom nom wrappy goodness! Photo: Hot Chocolate media
Have a go at making these versatile and super-tasty wraps! This recipe makes about 8 large wraps. Make a double batch and put some in the freezer for convenient lunch/dinners.
Ingredients:
Mix the dry ingredients first, then add butter or oil. Work the mixture to a crumbly texture. Add the water gradually until you have a smooth dough that does not stick to the bowl.
Cover the dough and let it rest for 20 min.
Divide into 8 chunks that you knead into ball-shapes. Put the ball on a on a square of non-stick baking parchment, flatten it with your hands and then use a rolling pin to roll out to a wrap of about 5-6 inches across. Or make twice as many smaller ones!
Heat a non-stick frying pan (medium heat – make sure it’s not too hot, you don’t want charred wraps!) and fry the wraps on both sides until they’re golden brown (well, brown blotches anyway).
Put the finished ones on a damp cloth while you’re frying the rest to make sure they stay soft.
Have you ever thought “I should exercise right now. If I don’t work out, I’m never going to get fit“, yet still stayed on the sofa rather than going to the gym? Statements like these have many hidden obstacles. For one thing, feeling like you should do something makes it seem like work, or an obligation. That’s no fun. You’re also thinking about what will happen if you don’t exercise – in other words, you’re threatening yourself with punishment (the image of being unfit). This is what psychologists call negative self-talk. Subconsciously, you’re flooding your mind with negativity.
Below is a section of a good article by Margaret Moore. If you aren’t sure of whether or not you are a negative self-talker, or if what you say to yourself is not useful, here’s a good, brief description.
What kinds of self-talk should you watch out for?
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Switch to positive thinking and get fitter
Next time you’re at the gym, think I can do this! Generating positive thoughts can help you perform better. It will feel silly and fake at first, but if you use positive self-talk, actually saying to yourself, “I am strong, I am able, I can do this” you really will perform better than those who talk negatively. Get rid of all the negative self-talk, and that includes “trash talk”. Insults will not get you motivated or fired up to exercise better. The more negative talk people use, the poorer their performance. Forget telling yourself “I am lazy; I am clumsy; I am being bad. Say to yourself, “I am awesome, I can do anything, I am strong and capable”. To increase your chances for success, focus on what you are doing right or why it feels good to do this particular move or exercise rather than saying I’m tired or it hurts or I can’t do this. You are not ignoring how you are feeling; you are just concentrating on what is making you feel good when you are doing it.
