Expert Articles

Do you find yourself nervous and anxious on race day?

We're all familiar with the idea that we should be exercising so why is weight training for over fifties an important factor that is often over looked? More importantly, why do we need to exercise?

Office workers find it difficult to make the most of their training and lifestyle changes because there is no physical activity throughout the day due to their long hours in office. Generally, 8-12 hours are taken in a day with work then no activity usually happens to and from work when commuting. Also, there is no time outside of this because the workplace might be far from home travel takes time.

There is nothing new in using a diary to plan your day, week, year however do you take the time to plan your training and make sure it's in your diary.

Everyone has a DANGERTIME where they forget all their healthy eating principles and start munching away mindlessly. For some people it's that afternoon slump, for others it's meal preparation time and for some it's the late night supper snack.

Firstly, if you are not aware what interval training is, it is an alternate method to aerobic exercise that has gained vast popularity in recent times. The most common type that you may have heard of is High intensity interval training (HIIT). In HIIT training you combine short bouts (10-30 secs) of high-intensity exercise (>85%intensity) with recovery periods (20-60 secs) at low or moderate intensity (50-75% intensity).  Regardless of your gender, age, experience or fitness levels the structure of interval training allows someone to perform at high-intensity for extended periods of time, which activates metabolic pathways that are not usually worked in continuous training. So, what does this mean?

Movement and weight/resistance training not only shapes your muscles but it strengthens your muscles, bones and overall health as well. Increasing and maintaining adequate muscle mass is one of the most effective ways to keep body fat at bay and to improve overall health and fitness, especially as you age. Your body is continually removing old bone and replacing it throughout all stages of your life. Peak bone mass (or bone density), which is our maximum bone size and strength is reached by around age 30. After 30 bone resorption slowly begins to exceed new bone formation which leads to bone loss. Up until age 40, all bone removed from your body is replaced however, after 40 less bone is replaced. Bone loss in women occurs fastest in the first few years following menopause and it continues as we age. Most women enter menopause between the ages of 42 - 55 and as their estrogen levels drop dramatically women undergo rapid bone loss. If you have low bone mass it then increases your susceptibility to fractures primarily to the hip, spine and wrist. Lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise can help to influence bone mass, just as poor health choices such as smoking, poor nutrition, inactivity and excessive alcohol can also decrease bone density. For the majority of women bone loss can be slowed through good nutrition and exercise which can help protect against osteoporosis and other health ailments like fractures later on in life. Key reasons women should do weights:

The Art of Cutting Weight

Let's set the scene, you've been hard at work improving your fitness, you've hit the pavements and have slowly been racking up the kilometres, and your goal race is fast approaching. All of a sudden you are hit with an intense pain in your knee. Sound familiar? If so then there is a high chance you would have been advised to jump on to that medieval torture device and "Roll your ITB out!" Painful, right?