Alesha's fit tips September 2010

Bike Seat Height

I sometimes see people on bikes with their knees coming up to their ears and wonder if anyone has told them that the seat height adjusts. One thing that will make riding a bike – stationary or otherwise – much more difficult, is a seat height that is too low (shorter levers and all that). The thing you need to make sure of is that when your foot is at the bottom of the stroke you have about 10 – 20 degrees of knee bend – anything more than that is going to make cycling harder and it’s also not going to do your knees any favours. On the flip side, some people put the seat too high and find themselves swaying from side to side to compensate for having their legs too straight at the bottom of the stroke. This can lead to a bunch of other problems around the back and hips. If you are in any doubt ask one of our coaches to help you get your height just right.

Pregnancy & Exercise

There’s often a degree of uncertainty in the minds of mums-to-be as to whether they should be exercising during pregnancy. The long and short of it is that (assuming there are no complications) a good exercise programme will help to keep both mum and baby healthy and also control weight gain – which usually means a faster return to fitness after the birth. It is always wise to check with your doctor prior to starting a programme but assuming that you get the green light here are a few tips: Avoid doing exercises while lying on your back (affects the blood flow to the foetus) and don’t over do it when you are stretching. Try not to stand up too fast if you have been working on the floor. If you are new to exercise start slowly and stay that way. If you are already an exerciser, recognise the fact that you will probably need to cut back as the pregnancy progresses. Good activities for pregnant ladies include walking, swimming, cycling and low impact aerobics.

BOSU

Developing balance has always been a bit of a Cinderella in the gym, but the arrival of the BOSU ball has changed all that. Now there are people doing all kinds of weird and wonderful exercises whilst balanced on the rubber dome. In addition to improving balance, the main reason for the popularity of the BOSU ball is the emphasis it places on core (midsection) strength and stability. The difference between the standard exercise ball and the BOSU is the BOSU’s flat bottom makes it more stable and therefore allows you to do a variety of exercises, which - unless you’ve been to circus school - are well nigh impossible on the big round ball. If you want to give it a go, try doing some light weight arm curls standing on the BOSU flat side down; you can make it more difficult by flipping the ball over with the dome side down. Talk to our coaches and they will happily help you build the BOSU into your programme.

Perfection

The pursuit of perfection is a curse for many of us. We miss a gym session, down a chocolate-chip muffin, have a night on the town or (Lord forbid) put on a couple of pounds and all of a sudden the world is about to end. Yes there are some dedicated individuals who relentlessly pursue their fitness goals without ever falling off the wagon (and good on them for that) but for the rest of us mortals the reality is that we will slip up every now and again. That’s life, get over it and move on. And by the way, if you’re going to have the chocolate chip muffin for goodness sake enjoy it. As for missing the odd session in the gym, this is not the end of the world. You won’t lose all the fitness you have gained, neither will you go up a dress size or have to let out your trousers out. If you factor in to your psyche the chance that you will “err and stray” every once in a while, you will be much healthier for it.

Push-Ups

Push-ups used to be the staple punishment of sports coaches around the globe – still is in some teams. Little did those coaches know that they were giving the objects of their loathing one of the best all round upper body exercises in the book. If you want an exercise that works your chest, shoulders, back and even abdominals, it’s hard to go past the push-up. In order to do a good push-up, your hands should be shoulder width apart and just forward of your shoulders. Your back should be flat. When you lower your body keep your head up and take your shoulders directly down. Come far enough down for your chest to be three inches or so off the floor. Ladies can get a similar training effect by doing the kneeling version. If you want to make things a little harder, placing your hands closer together will emphasise the triceps, and moving them wider apart will work the chest more. So hit the deck and give me twenty good ones.

Specificity

One of the things that you should be aware of when putting your exercise programme together is that most fitness is specific. For example being fit to play football doesn’t necessarily mean that you would be fit for ballet dancing (although given England’s performance in the summer they may have done better in tutus). To use a less extreme example, even though both are team sports, being fit for football won’t necessarily make you fit for rugby. Being fit for cycling doesn’t mean that you will be a good runner and being fit for swimming won’t help you in a gymnastics hall. So if you are training for a particular sport it is important that you tailor your programme to include activities and movements that you will be using in that particular event. That’s where things like dumbbells, kettle bells and exercise balls come in very handy because they can help you to reproduce the exact movements you will be using in your chosen sport.

Diets

It’s not exactly classified information that a lot of people spend their lives yo-yoing from one diet to the next. If you are one of those people, here are a few reasons why you might fail to stick to a diet: 1. You set unrealistic goals 2. You let food become your enemy. If you chose to fight food you will almost always lose. Learn to understand what triggers cause you to overindulge in unhealthy foods and manage them if you can. 3. Some people think they can lose weight by dieting alone but it’s the diet and exercise combo that works best. 4. You thought that by missing the first meal of the day, you were getting off to a flying start. Wrong. Missing breakfast sets up an insulin response that usually causes you to eat more later in the morning. 5. You were so hungry when you arrived at meal times that you hoovered up your meal without it touching the sides. Make a deliberate effort to slow down and appreciate your food, and you’ll find that the urge to overeating isn’t so overwhelming.

Better Bones.

There are a huge number of studies that clearly demonstrate that in addition to improving muscle strength, regular weight training (in fact all weight bearing exercise) helps to build stronger bones. And while better bones won’t necessarily turn heads at the beach they will ensure that you have a strong frame as you get older and that’s a huge plus. Post menopausal women are most vulnerable to osteoporosis (the loss of bone density) and it is this group that will particularly benefit from a strength training programme. This really isn’t a difficult one: Starting weight training after the menopause is a great idea but women of any age should be strength training for better bones. And before you start on about not wanting to get all muscly, forget it; women don’t have the hormonal make up to develop big muscles.