 Kids and Sport - do you know how much is too much?
Newsflash - kids don’t automatically know how to play sports, they will need to be taught the basic motor skills and be given time and opportunity to progress. As adults we need to make it fun, varied and simple. We need to focus on the skills that are taught, not on performance outcomes. Here are some general things to consider;
Ages and Stages Ages 5-9 – Fundamental stage – Have Fun
Ages 9 -11 – Learning How to Train Stage – Develop sport specific skills
Ages 12 – 16 – Training Stage
Ages 16- 18 years – Training to Compete Stage
Please note: This is a guide only, different children will develop at different rates peaking at different ages and for different sports. We are the role models, as caregivers and parents, it is our responsibility to ensure that learning a sport, and the specific skills for it, is first and foremost - fun and safe. By Sharon Bouwer Registered Personal Trainer Owner Operator of Letsgetactive.co.nz  Do you have a fitness tracker and ignore the heart rate application? Do you go to group glasses and the instructor asks you to count your heart rate and you just pretend to! This could be your missing link to why you workout and find your weight or fitness doesn't budge!
To get the most out of your workout, you need to be working out at around 70-85% of your maximum heart rate (MHR). To calculate your MHR:
For example; if you are 30 years of age
If you are looking at your heart rate monitor on your fitness watch and it reads 100bpm you are likely not working hard enough - you might feel that you are, but you aren't! So step it up a notch and kick it up to at least 70% of your MHR. Some additional safety points to note:
By Sharon Bouwer Registered Personal Trainer Owner Operator of Letsgetactive.co.nz What is incidental exercise? It is exercise that you do throughout your day without actually knowing it, like taking the steps instead of the lift, parking the car across the car park and walking those few extra paces, walking the dog to the park- not driving him there, etc. Incidental exercise can, and does, definitely help! Any movement you do can help! It may seem silly taking one extra flight of stairs, how can that help right? But If you walk that set of stairs everyday of that week it makes a huge difference. Sitting has become the new 'smoking'. In other words, people are now starting to become more aware of the negative effects on your body of sitting for two hours (or more). There is a big move to standing desks, having 'walking meetings' and getting up of their butt more! Sitting is not good for you, our body is not designed to sit for long periods of time, and some of us sit at desks all day. In today's busy age we often don't have time to slot in an actual exercise activity in everyday, (and that's another blog!) so this is the perfect opportunity for incidental exercise. Simply add in more 'movement' into your day and call that your exercise, then it's back to your actual planned exercise activity the next day. So tomorrow, wear your flat shoes, park a little bit further away, or better- ditch the car and walk, go for a light stroll for 10 minutes on your cuppa break then do the same at afternoon tea break, if it's raining do laps of your house putting only one piece of washing away on each lap. There are many ways to add in incidental activity without needing to get your gym gear, be creative, have fun! It's fantastic for your circulation, heart health, bone health, vitamin D, fitness, mental health and more! Stop sitting and get moving - just do it!  By Sharon Bouwer Registered Personal Trainer & Bootcamp Instructor Owner Operator of Let'sGetActive.co.nz Find us on facebook Do you want to get rid of love handles, belly bulge or that extra wobble around the middle? It's a very common area for people to want to 'spot' target, and the general answer is - you can't spot target. To move that excess weight around your middle you need to do two things -
You can add in some abdominal exercies, these are always great to help strengthen your core and once your core is strong a lot of other exercises become easier, but let's be honest here, you may get some stomach muscles back but it's unlikley you'll remove a layer of excess weight by targeting the area with crunches. Some good overall abdominal exercises are planks, there are so many versions of planks you can try, don't get stuck just on your traditional plank. Also do other functional exercises like the squat and lunge, press up and burpees - almost everything uses your core, so why not work your core and other parts of your body. Work smarter not harder!  When you are sick it's hard to know if you should exercise or not? As a general rule of thumb if your illness has moved into your chest and affects your breathing then you should stop. You should also stop if you have a temperature or are feeling dizzy and have body aches. When you should carry on: a simple cold that is only giving you the sniffles, a mild injury where you can still use other parts of the body, or times of stress. It is important to keep up activity, but you don't have to keep it up at the same level. When you are sick just take an easy walk, do some activity round the house, take it down a notch. Some fresh air and movement is still benefiical but you don't want to risk injury or make yourself even sicker! It's hard to know when to exercise if you are tired. There are different levels of tired. Are you tired because in general you are feeling low on energy, sluggish or stressed, or are you tired because you haven't slept 4 nights in a row due to a sick child or massive work deadline. If it's the former then exercise will help, it will give you energy, help you sleep better and in turn help adjust thought patterns, if it's the latter then your best exercise is to sleep and watch your nutrition.   We are excited to bring you our new program - Fitness Boost for Mums. Make use of the summer days, get active, get social and join us for 6 weeks of group outdoor workouts, it’s boot camp without the boot. Help to increase your fitness, get you active and meet other mums. We’ll use a variety of equipment like kettle bells, dumb bells, boxing gear and slam balls, we’ll also do some bodyweight and cardio work. We’ll play games, we’ll learn, and we’ll work out! Each workout will leave you feeling energised and sweaty! You will work at your own pace in a relaxed no pressure environment. Our workouts will be suitable and flexiable for Mums, we won’t be bear crawling, we won’t be skipping or doing sit-ups. We will be smiling, sweating and spending time on ourselves, just what every busy Mum needs. All fitness abilities welcome. Bring your baby/toddler/child along to watch, or come along without them for some "you" time. Your trainer is a Mum of two girls under 5, and can relate to you. You'll also get weekly newsletters with tips, nutrition advice, personal contact with the trainer and facebook updates and photos. Don't delay as spots in our last and current programs booked out fast...don't wait to get active, life goes faster than you think. For pricing and more details on our workouts see our website, or view our facebook page. Details
 Chair/bench step ups 1. Stand in front of a bench or chair with feet hip width apart. 2. Step one foot up onto the chair bringing the feet together on the top. Ensure both feet are securely on top (not hanging off the back) 3. Step one foot back down to floor. Do this with a count of 2 seceonds, ie two seconds for up, 2 seconds for down. This is a purposeful slow activity to put your muscles under tension. 3. Repeat the entire sequence, but stepping up onto the chair/bench top with the opposite foot. 4. Continue to step up and down, alternating the stepping legs with each repetition. Aim for 15 on each leg, stop and rest, then reapeat another 1-2 times. Safety: ensure your seat isn't on wheels, or isn't going to topple over, make sure the seat surface is hard (not soft like a couch), take it slowly. Advanced: use the same leg (do not alternate) x 15, then swap legs, this will fatigue this leg and use this muscle more. Advanced: lift your knee up high when on top of the chair and lunge back down low when on the ground. Option: If a dining room chair is too high, use your front door steps, or internal home steps, or the step from the deck to the grass etc, start slow and increase the pace. A lower step is more of a cardio exercise, a higher step is more of a resistance/strength exercise using your bodyweight as the weight. Image: workoutlabs.com
 image: livestrong.com There are different goals for health and fitness, some want to lose weight, keep healthy, gain cardiovascular fitness, 'tone' up, and others want to bulk up, if your goal is to bulk up (gain muscle mass) then here are a few tips that have worked for me.
1. Do less reps at a higher weight. Don't sweat it out for endless gym sessions at a lower weight doing x 15reps, aim for 3 sets using a heavier weight with 8-10 reps. You should be struggling... 2. Use a spotter (or better - a Personal Trainer!). This will also help you to use heavier weights, using a spotter enables you to safely push yourself and gets you to the gym with a goal of increasing your weight that day. Plus it's more fun with a friend! 3. Have rest days, allow the muscles to repair. Going to the gym endlessly tired and not repaired from the last workout means you aren't going to be able to lift a heavier weight that day, and also the risk of injury is higher. 4. Have a leg day. Your legs enable you to have a strong core, to lift more weight on standing, to do things like dead lifts and the smith machine. But mostly it means you look and feel balanced. No one thinks seeing a top heavy guy with wirey legs is hot... 5. Have a cardio day. This means spending a day out of the gym, or away from the weights, get some fresh air, this will help with your endurance and overall energy, and can also be used as your rest day. 6. After your workout up your protein and add a small amout of good carbs. You'll probably need to double your protein. Try to do this in a natural way with tuna on wholemeal bread/pita, or full milk, chicken and sweet potato. If you are using a protein shake or bar choose wisely, some of these are worse than chocolate bars with sugars and additives. 7. Keep going. Don't take a week or two off here and there, muscle gains happen when you are using the muscle. 8. Do compound exercises. Do things that mean you are using multiple muscles to get better results, a more rounded workout, and is usually more fun. This means doing things like slam balls, ropes, trx, kettle bell lunges, or the chest press as opposed to a single bicep or tricep curl, dead lifts as opposed to seated leg raise machine etc. 9. Eat more. To gain muscle is to gain mass, you need to eat more calories than you burn off, you'll need to eat the right foods, dense foods. If you eat the wrong foods because you think you are able to take in more calories, then you are probably just going to gain fat not muscle! Tricep Dip Use your dining room chair, or other sturdy chair, it needs to have a hard surface (a couch wont work)
 image: livestrong.com
After having twins Tina decided it was time to set herself a fitness and health goal, it was time to put herself back in the driving seat of her own life, and so the adventure of "mummy to marathon" began! With already having a child only a year before she fell pregnant with the twins, Tina felt she hadn't fully lost the weight from her first pregnancy. Tina struggled with her weight gain after the twins were born and didn't feel like herself, a challenge was needed... Training officially began in June, but she was already active earlier in the year by joining a gym and completing a couple of fun runs - the Colour Run and the Albany lakes, these are 5km's - a far cry from the 42km's of a marathon! Training for the Auckland Marathon involved a lot of babysitting from helpful friends and family, some major changes in a busy mummy diet, and a look at how she was going to manage three kids under 2, a home, a business run with her husband, and the doom and gloom of winter bugs and colds. After what seemed like a long time, the day arrived, Tina was nervous, excited, and a bit emotional about this major achievement. Tina completed the marathon with an awesome time, and didn't stop to walk once. Because her training was so well planned there were no injuries and only mild sore muscles afterwards. Congratulations Tina, you are now a marathon runner! I'm sure your three tots are proud! Let's hope your story will inspire others to be amazing, to go outside of your comfort zone, and to call on those around you for support.   1. Don't worry about what you ate or didn't do yesterday, today is a new day, get focused today.
We all suffer set backs, whether that's having 5 Christmas meals in a row with family or a binge night out, maybe a sickness that prevents you from moving, or medication that see's you putting on weight for no reason... the common thing here is you, this is happening to you, you can get up tomorrow and get back on the wagon. Are you going to make it happen? 2. Get rid of the leftovers, make better choices. Chrismtas and New Years are over, you do not need to hang on to that half a bag of snacks or half a bottle of wine in the fridge, throw it out and restock with healthy and yummy options. Nourish yourself and replace all those nutrients you've lost. 3. Set an exercise schedule and stick to it. You might not have time for a 60minute walk, or a 45 minute gym session, but you can make time for a 20 minute walk or jog. Do some press ups and sit ups at home. There 's no excuse, get moving.  Last week I set my team members homework, here it is.
Go ahead and use it as your at home mini workout while you are on holiday, at the beach, off work or not at the gym. Keep active, keep healthy, keep energised. Homework: 1 x 20/30 minute fast paced walk (or jog, if you are already a runner) 1 x 15 squats, 12 lunges ( 6 on each leg), 2 x 10 jump squats (rest in between) 2 x 12 split/jump lunges (switch legs, rest in-between) 15 incline press-ups (basically press-ups on your dining room chair seat) 12 bench dips/tricep dips (also on your dining room chair) 2 x 10 sit ups (rest in between) 2 x planks, hold for 60secs each time, with a rest in between (if your feeling up for it repeat the whole thing again!) Adaptations: You can do both of these (run & strength work) on the same day if you have time, or split them up. If you have injuries etc please adapt, maybe you can do one of the above twice :) Enjoy! A plateau is when your body gets used to doing the same level of physical activity. You might think you are getting fitter - because it's getting easier, but that is when you know it's time to change it up. For example you might be running twice a week for 30 minutes, or you might be taking the same spin class on a Tuesday night. By doing the same activity over and over your body adapts and it becomes less challenging and less effective. To get stronger, leaner, lighter, healthier and happier you, you need to challenge your body (and mind!) How to change it up?
It is more beneficial to do a 15 minute workout full of variety that brings your heart rate up and down, then a 25 minute same paced jog/walk on the treadmill. Change it up! As well as keeping it different for your body, you are also learning new skills, meeting new people and having a lot more fun in the process.  Personal Trainers - do I really need one? For some people to change their life to a healthy way of living is going to be a complete over haul of how they live. This might involve major changes; sleeping, eating, cooking, shopping, receipes, getting up at different times of the day, cutting back on other activities to allow time for exercise, forming new habits, moving away from un-supportive/unhealthy peer groups and more. A trainer should provide an environment that makes it as easy as possible for this major change to occur, so that when you are ready, they are there with all the hard bits' sorted, and all of the easy bits' left for you to do. A trainer is there to support the long term lifestyle change of that person. When you go it alone it's all too easy to fall off the wagon, the trainer is the friend that doesn't judge, shows up, wants results as much (or sometimes more) than you, they get it, they want it, they live it.  Do I really need to follow the program set for me, why can't I just change it around a bit to suit how I feel? When your Personal Trainer writes you a program it is well thought out, (this includes 1:1, bootcamps, sports training etc) the exercises are in a certain order and they will target different muscle areas to suit your goals and your injuries, - it will be highly beneficial to follow the program in that order. The first exercises you will usually do are the harder ones, the ones that use more energy, need more balance and effort, these are called compound exercises and they basically use multiple (or more than one muscle), for example a squat or a bench press. Then you will move on to isolated exercises which is only using one muscle eg a bicep curl. Also your Personal Trainer might be writing your program in order to fatigue (use) different muscles, for example, one chest set, one back set, one leg set, one ab set. Or just a chest day, just a back day, just a legs day. Often described as split programs, or push and pull. A qualified Personal Trainer puts a lot of thought into their program, their client and their exercises, (I know I do!) so you can trust them and trust the process and that leaves you just to focus on sweating it out!   Thinking of trying some summer running?
A pair of great shoes and some internal motivation is all you need. I suggest you run for 1-2 minutes then walk for 1-2 minutes, thus bringing your heart rate up and down. Mentally it is easier to say "I'm only going to run for a minute", than "I'm going to try and run for 15 minutes". Another way to get going is to set yourself a goal, "by the end of November I am going to run round my block without stopping" , or "I will run to that lamp post and walk to the next" and so on. Listen to your body, if your knee or back hurts, it hurts, so stop, find out why - wrong shoes, injury, flat footed/technique, maybe you need a Podiatrist, a Physio or a new sports bra? See you out there! |
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