Health Hub
Having a Dry July has great health benefits. We've brought together a collection of articles that could help you with your Dry July.
A Beginner's Guide to Fitness
By Kirsty Welsh on
I’ve worked in the health industry for long enough to know the biggest goal when an individual joins a gym is, ‘I want to get fit!’
What does this even mean?
If you want to ‘get fit’ you need to start with a good definition of what fitness means to you, otherwise where do you even begin? It can be overwhelming!
Here’s a little bit of help to get you going. Physical fitness can be defined as the ability of the body to perform with energy and alertness. (Yes please, where do I sign up!)
Fitness to me is not just physical; although we normally focus on the physical, I prefer to look at fitness as a blend of mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health. The beauty of physical activity is that movement allows us to think clearer, feel happier within ourselves and connect us to understand ourselves and the world around us. Yes, beginning with physical fitness is a great start!
When it comes to movement, there are a number of different components that make up health and fitness; cardiovascular endurance, strength, power, agility, balance, flexibility, muscular endurance and co-ordination. It sounds like a lot, but the best balance you can achieve of each component will bring you the greatest feeling and energy of optimal health and fitness.
Each part is so important; ‘cardio’ keeps your heart and lungs healthy and enables you to walk, run, swim, ride, keep up the with Kardashians and the kids! Strength training (or resistance training) often gets neglected particularly by females. Lifting weights or even just your bodyweight is so important to long-term health and wellness. The more lean muscle you have on your body, the higher your metabolic rate and therefore the amount of energy you burn throughout the day, outside of exercise. Resistance training is a vital part of body weight maintenance, as well as helping to prevent ageing and diseases such as osteoporosis and diabetes. Having muscle tone also shows self-care and self-respect!
The other components are often overlooked while gym goers tend to prefer activity that challenges their heart rate and maximises energy burn. However, flexibility is absolutely essential for long-term wellness, for preventing injury as well as caring for current injuries, aches and pains, for spinal health and increasing circulation to all parts of the body, helping us to be at optimal health.
A great, balanced exercise program would include a couple of cardio sessions per week (such as walking, running, and cycling), yoga and a strength training session or two. The most important thing is to remember that movement should be part of your lifestyle, an enjoyment rather than a chore. Choose activities that appeal to you! Join a local gym or fitness studio, find a recommended personal trainer, workout outdoors with a friend, buy a few basic pieces of equipment for home, map out some beautiful outdoor walking tracks, try a dance class, so long as you are moving regularly and consistently you are well on your way to great health and fitness! Good luck and enjoy your new happy and healthy lifestyle!
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Motivation to Exercise
By James Anderson on
This whole “exercise thing” can be so annoying. From finding the time to finding the motivation, exercise – can be a real bitch. We both know it’s good for us, so why is it so difficult to stay on top of? Well, I think there are 3 main problems.
Problem #1 - It’s painful.
We’re genetically wired to try and achieve pleasure whilst avoiding pain. We create a “pleasure hierarchy” for ourselves, putting the most important things first and everything else, well, who cares. After all, which would give you more pleasure? Staying in your warm bed on a cold winters morning or doing burpees at 6am? So how do we overcome this?
Solution - Set goals.
Create an inspiring vision that allows you to rise above “the workout” and able to see the bigger,...
Kickstart Yourself Back Into Movement
By Leanne Hall on
We’ve all been there. Hitting the gym regularly, eating really well and feeling fabulous. Then it happens. Maybe we over eat at a work function, or take a week off the gym because we’ve been feeling unwell. Or maybe we just feel bored with our current fitness routine. Whatever the trigger, the result is the same. Motivation takes a drastic nose-dive and we find ourselves frustrated, and perhaps even depressed at the fact that we just can’t seem to pull ourselves together and get back on track.
So how can you get back on the health and fitness wagon? Well, here are my tips to help get you back to your healthy self again!
Identify Obstacles
When motivation disappears, the first question you need to ask yourself is this: “Why?”
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