Tag: workout

Posted on

The 4 Ingredients Missing In Your Workout

The 4 Ingredients Missing In Your Workout

I used to work in a gym. I am very grateful to have been part of the Virgin Active PT team. I learnt a lot.

I used to walk around the gym floor for hours and hours, about 50 hours a week without clients, was walking on the gym floor. I approached and talked to hundreds of people and coached them as well.

One of the things I would ask was something like “why do you do this routine every time you come here?” or “why do you exercise?” or” do you enjoy what you are doing?” and so on.

Many times the answers would be something like: “I do it because it’s healthy“, “I do it because I was told it’s good for me“, and the best one was “I am bored of it but I still do it“.

 

Don’t we do things we don’t like or want to do every single day? Why, after spending 8 hours in front of the computer, we choose to be surrounded by even more electronic devices and spend another couple of hours in another box getting bored and doing something because we have to do it.

Don’t get me wrong, since I was 1995 I’ve been practicing Karate and competing at international level. This sport, if you want to call it so, it’s not something superficial, it’s not a “I feel like training today” thing, nope. It’s a responsibility.

But, the difference is that Karate is my thing. It’s what gives me life, what makes me feel like a champion and actually be a champion. Yes,  it is something I have to do, but it is something that makes me grow as an athlete, coach, entrepreneur and as a human being.

 

It’s substance, there are no superficial layers. There is passion, there is life in what I do. Is there life in your exercise routine? These are the things missing in peoples’ workouts. And here’s how to bring some substance into your workout routine.

 

In terms of substance, just like Karate, the outdoors make no exception. When you train outdoors you start feeling alive as you actually interact with the world surrounding you.

How come you will never get bored training outdoors? I can only talk here about my own programs, other Personal Trainers have other methods and many just take the exercises from the gym and bring them outdoors.

 

Here’s how we do things here at Urban Women Fitness through The Merisoiu Technique:

1. You repeat but not really.

Our sessions vary from session to session. There are elements, the basics, we always go through but the main theme of the session changes. In a 3 months, 12 sessions of 1h30m, program you practice 6 different type of sessions.

In some instances you work the same muscle groups but in a different way. So you repeat the training but not the same session.

Practice makes perfect so a certain degree of repetition, particularly the basics, is necessary. There is so much you can do in 3 months though.

 

2. Different environment

Today you train in the sun tomorrow it’s a snow storm. Every session is different form a weather point but also how the ground feels and looks.

Even if we go back to the same location it’s going to be different from yesterday. That means you will work your body in a different way. Which is a good thing.

There are many physical and mental challenges with this change in weather, all aimed I conditioning your body, mind and spirit, so you get stronger from the inside out.

The Merisoiu Technique

3. A practice, an art

Exercising for weight loss or fitness is boring. Hunter gatherers didn’t stay fit because they were concerned with their fitness. Athlete, we don’t keep fit because we want to stay slim. That’s comes with the practice of our art, or because hunters needed to hunt.

The Merisoiu Technique was developed with this in mind, not the hunting part though. It is a lifelong pursuit and here we strive for mastery.

My clients focus on the process of perfecting their movement or their sequences and, in the process, they get fit, toned, healthy and lose weight as well.

Develop patterns that you can gradually get better at. The feeling of accomplishment will keep you going and not get bored.

 

4. Feel alive.

Just what I’ve been talking about at the beginning. That substance we, as society, have forgotten about. We focus so much on fashion, trends and how we look in bikinis that we forgot the outside reflects the inside.

I like to look good in my bikinis, but most than that I like to feel proud and confident in my own skin. The bikini will look good after I feel good in my skin.

What does that even mean? We all see this in a different way. I can only tell you my view of feeling good in my own skin.

For me it means to feel strong. To feel grounded and in control of my body and that includes any type of movement, posture, breathing, everything. But those things comes as a result of what’s going on inside of myself.

 

So what does “feeling good in your own skin” mean to you?

Have questions or in need of advice? Contact me.

Posted on

The Secret IngredientTo Turn Your Boring Workout Into Purposeful Training

The Secret Ingredient To Turn Your Boring Workout Into Purposeful Training

Substance. That’s what is missing and so many Personal Trainers forget to educate their clients on.

My knowledge comes not only from the gym, or from Karate, no, it comes from Daito Ryu, Ninjutsu, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Target Shooting, Swimming, Latin American Dancing, and more more more.

There is more that meets the eye and there are things you cannot learn from a book.

For fitness and exercise to turn into purposeful training you need that SUBSTANCE. That’s the secret ingredient that makes many hate exercising or only do it for weight loss or only because they were told they “have to do it”, or only because “it’s good for your health” etc. And after a few months or a year they give up.

Of course they do, there is no substance in what they are taught to do. It’s not their fault though.

 

So how do you get substance?

 

1. Passion

If in your fitness or exercise routine there is no passion, no love and excitement then it will not work. You don’t need to like the training itself, you can only like the results.

But even so do what you do with passion. I know sometimes when I go to my Karate class or even think about it I feel like coming up with the best excuse ever for not going.

Sometimes it’s the last thing I want to do (shhhh don’t tell my Sensei). But I do go, and when I am there, maybe I don’t give 100%, but what I give I give with passion. Whether it shows or not I feel it and that’s the secret.

 

2. Purpose

Goals are great and they are a must but what’s the purpose, what’s behind those goals, that’s what will keep you going when the tough gets tough? What are you going to do when you see results not showing up or they show up slower than you expected?

Because that happens. If getting results was that easy everyone would get them. Purpose!

 

3. Skills

We are build to learn and grow. If we don’t do something that makes us grow we will not do it for a long time. And you waste your time as well. Develop skills, learn patterns, study your body, learn complicate movement sequences and you will fall in LOVE with your training.

I have personally developed movement sequences for my clients and they challenge their minds. That is substance.

champion

 

4. Champion.

This is what wraps up everything. Do the thing that makes you feel like a champion. Train like a champion. Be as dedicated as an elite athlete. Eat as healthy as an athlete. Have the mindset of a champion. Because there is an athlete in you, you are just an untrained athlete.

 

Missing something? Let’s figure it out together.

Posted on

Should You Hurt After Your Workout?

Should You Hurt After Your Workout?

 

What is Delayed Onset Of Muscle Soreness or DOMS?

DOMS is that discomfort, or muscle ache or soreness, that occurs 24-48 hours after activity. Although I must say that some experts agree on 12-72 hours after activity.

Either way it happens to everyone, fitness beginners and elite athletes.

 

Why DOMS happens?

“Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a common result of physical activity that stresses the muscle tissue beyond what it is accustomed to,” says David O. Draper, professor and director of the graduate program in sports medicine/athletic training at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. “Small microscopic tears occur in the muscle”.

 

Do you need to feel sore after your workout?

The aches and pains are a sign that the muscles are adapting to the new training routine, exercise or movement.

Adaptation means your muscles are making progress and they will perform the movement easier the next time you do it.

Hurting really bad doesn’t mean you worked really hard, rather it means that the movement or exercise you did is new for your body, it is strange and it needs to get accustomed to them.

DOMS does not indicate how hard you’ve worked. This is just a misconception. Your session can be really easy but very new and still get sore muscles the day after.

As mentioned before, it does indicate that your body is adapting to the type of training routine or movement. There is progress.

swimming

Variation

When you do the same things over and over again you plateau. Your muscles adapt to certain specific movements, or very similar, and those exercises become more comfortable to perform.

However, you are not made of a few main sets of muscles: quadriceps (thighs), hamstrings, gluteus maximus, triceps, biceps, trapezius.

To continuously develop your all round muscle strength you should cross train.

That means you vary your training. For example, let’s say you are a runner. Variations can be:

– cycling

– mobility and flexibility

– swimming

– strength training

– balance and body weight transfer

– rock climbing

 

And so you develop your muscle strength all round. You may get sore muscles if you do something new; that’s something you haven’t done at all for a couple of months. But that’s normal.

 

How to reduce muscle soreness

You cool down is the most important. This includes about 10 min of light aerobic training such as light jogging and then stretch, I’d say about 15 min of all body stretching.

Get some inspiration from Urban Fitness Academy visitors section.

Other options include: rest, ice, massage, heat.

I personally go with stretching.

 

Conclusion

Although we love to feel that pain because we get excited that we got results, the truth is no results occur over night. But sore muscles can tell you that in fact you are working the muscles.

On the other hand you should feel your body and be aware of which muscles work during your session and not based on the pain you feel after.

If you don’t feel pain the day after your session that does not mean your workout was a waste of time.

 

It is important to  make the difference between moderate muscle soreness induced by exercise and muscle overuse or injury. To know when when, for example, you are experiencing muscle soreness and when you have overstretched or pulled a muscle.

Oh…and if the soreness prevents you from doing daily activities that is too much and this will prevent you from continuing training. Not to mention some beginners end up hating it all together.

Posted on

8 Reasons Why Training Outdoors Is Less Stressful

8 Reasons Why Training Outdoors Is Less Stressful

We have too much stress and worry in our lives. If keeping our bodies healthy and strong has to be stressful as well then we are getting nowhere. It’s just…wrong.

So here’s why training outdoors is far less stressful, just a few of the reasons

 

1. Dirty shoes, or shoeless, doesn’t matter

When you enter the gym with dirty shoes you feel awful or other people staring at you make you feel awful. Outdoors no one cares, not even the squirrels. They can be full of mud for a month if you don’t feel like washing them up. In the gym you can’t go with dirty shoes, they would probably kick you out.

And you can’t take your shoes off either, healthy and safety regulations. And if you do, or others do, imagine the smell 😉 No stress.

 

2. Where will you go?

A problem I faced with my clients very often when I was a gym PT. If there is sweat on the floor how many option do you have? Yuck. How far can you go? In the outdoors if there’s dog poo here you just take two steps to the side and it’s clean. No stress.

 

3. No space to move

In the gym if you don’t like a corner of the gym you can only move a few feet away before you hit a wall. Outdoors you can run or walk for 10 min and you find a totally different place. Unique. No stress.

 

4. Too crowded

In the gym, when it’s busy you struggle to find your little corner to do your sit-ups. That or do them in the middle of the gym…if you have room. In the outdoors you have km of land, you can go anywhere you feel comfortable. No stress.

 

5. Too close for comfort

In the gym is someone moves around to much, like skipping rope, or pushing and smashing things against the ground they almost step on your feet or hit you.

In the outdoors there is room for anyone to do anything, wherever they want whenever they want, and you as well. No need to go around others to make sure you don’t get hit. No stress.

 

6. Rainy days

If it rains and you want to enter the gym you have to dry up first. In the outdoors the more it rains on you get the more incredible you feel. And no one kicks you out. No stress.

 

7. Things break down

In the gym is your favorite piece of equipment breaks down….or worse if someone sits there for half hour, you need to change your routine.

In the outdoors there is no equipment. And you don’t need any, to get and stay healthy and fit. All you need is your body and creativity. Lots and lots of creativity. No one will take that and it won’t break down. You just have to make sure your body, the only equipment yo need, will not break down. Ahhhh…No stress.

Photo Credit: martinak15 via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: martinak15 via Compfight cc

8. On your own terms

Don’t you hate it when you want to do an early morning training and have to wait for the doors to open?

The gym closes and opens at certain times…..that won’t happen outdoors. No stress.
In the outdoors you can do whatever you want (with respect for nature, law and oters around you) and whenever you want! Who’s up for 3am training? No stress.

 

In summary…

Outdoors you don’t have to be worry about being clean, how you smell, how you look, your makeup, huffin’ a f puffin’ or any other sounds you want and feel like making. Not worry about throwing stuff around, about people looking weird at you, someone interrupting your training to say “hello” or give you their invaluable advice. Or worse, trying to sell you stuff. No stress.

Outdoors you are you, you can be anyone you want, you can do whatever you want, within the rule of law and respecting others and nature.

Outdoors training doesn’t mean you do the same boring gym routines just outdoors. Outdoors you can train for strength, cardio, flexibility, mobility, endurance and you don’t even have run on the hamster wheel (aka treadmill). And it’s a lot more challenging.

 

Finally, training outdoors is freakin’ awesome! And if you have the right guidance, knowledge and source of creativity you will have the time of your life and awesome stories to tell your friends and family. Who will ever tell the story of how they ran on the treadmill.

 

Ready?

Do you feel in any way intimidated by the gym book a free call with me and we can come up with an outdoors specific training routine for you. Are you ready for this adventure? Let’s make you life awesome.

Posted on

What Does The Warm Up Actually Do

What Does The Warm Up Actually Do

A warm up simply brings your body into a state of readiness for the movements to come.

A warm up raises your heart rate, your body temperature and sends blood flow to the muscles to be used later on as well to tendons and ligaments. It also lubricates joints.

Remember the webinar I held where I talked about synovial fluid and fascia? If you haven’t seen it already you can request access here.

Benefits

Some of the benefits of warming up or preparing your body for physical activity include:

• reduced risk of injury

• increased flexibility

• better physical performance – you might have noticed that if you just start running the first 10-20 min are very difficult and then it gets easier; that’s because your body has warmed up

• better focus – you get into “the zone”; but this happens ONLY if you stop checking your phone, facebook and texting during your session (unless there is a good reason for it of course)

The warm-up is like a heater. Some heaters don’t heat up the room until they have reaches a certain temperature themselves.

Same with the body, the body needs to reach a certain temperature, flexibility and level of preparation to function at its best.

Components

1. Low intensity cardio – to raise your heart rate and body temperature
2. Dynamic movement – to mobilize the muscles, tendons and ligaments
3. Agility, acceleration, deceleration, speed drills – specific to your sport
4. Sport specific skills

mer-ka-bah-filming11

Guidelines for warm-up

• start with low intensity cardio

• start slow and build up

• do dynamic movements (for example this one) and not static stretches (static are the ones you hold for 10-15 sec and are for cool down section)

• mimic movements you planned for your main section of your workout or specific to your sport

• “wake up” your core – do a couple of planks, some pressups, squats etc

• but don’t fatigue your muscles – particulalry the core as you’ll be using this no matter what you plan for your workout, even if you isolate muscle groups

Mental preparation

Having your body is in one place and your mind in another is the recipe for injury.

The 7th Guiding Principle Of Karate-Do says that Calamity springs from carelessness. That’s just lack of awareness.

Throughout time I noticed that it takes about 20 min to get the mind out of the work – family – other things and into the present moment. So this is the warm-up.

This is one of the many reasons the sessions with my clients are 1h30min and not 1h , 45min or 30min. I put a lot of emphasis on being aware of what we do at any given point in time.

This being said, do you have a proper warm up set for your training? If you need advice and guidance book a free call with me.

Posted on

How To Structure Your Workout

How To Structure Your Workout

You might think I’m just going to give you a routine. What I will actually do is make you think. I will give you the steps to create your routine but then you will do it by yourself. And then you can come to me with it and we can fine tune it.

Your workout is simply structured like this

1. Cardio warm-up – about 10 min

2. Warm up stretches. These not stretches you hold. They are movements that slowly stretch and unwind your body and which should mimic the exercises you have planned in your main section.

3. Main section. This is where you push really hard, your main workout. Around 30 min.

4. Cardio cool down – about 10 min. Here you can walk , slow jog etc

5. Cool down stretches. Here you can really stretch, holding the stretches for 10-15 sec and even give that box split a try. But be aware there are some basic guidelines for stretching to avoid injuries. However I will not discuss them here now.

Now, if you were to work with me you’d add the technical section as well, just before the main session.

Ok, cool, so this is it. This is how it looks. Usually training sessions last 1h but my sessions and those of my clients last for 1h30min.
Why? you ask. It’s simple. Before the “push hard” section we practice technique.

This ensured the body knows how to move and what to do in the most efficient way. This is where we build strong, long lasting foundations.

Furthermore the body and brain cannot just understand and fine tune movement after one try, so we are consistent and we repeat and build on the previous sessions.

I personally like to make my clients understand that training is more than just moving the body, it requires attention, focus as and fine tuning details.

We look at breathing, posture, general movement (what move before what so we avoid injuries) etc.

iphone-388387_1280

How to plan your session

1. Type of session. Decide whether you are doing a strength, cardio, endurance etc.

2. Strength session. What are you going to focus on? Upper body, lower body, core or full body? Then select 6-7, maximum 8 exercises. Depending on your focus you make the appropriate choices. If you do a full body you might want to consider alternating arms with legs, doing 1 arms exercise then 1 legs, or 2:2 etc. If your focus is on arms but want to bring some leg exercises in you can simply do 2-3 arms:1 leg.

3. Cardio session. This is usually characterized by speed training doing exercises such as sprinting, cycling or jumping and bring strength exercises in between. You can also do running intervals, or on the cross trainer (but that’s indoor and it can get boring). So here we also talk about power and explosiveness, getting your heart to beat faster.

4. Endurance. This can be done either by long duration training (running, cross trainer, cycling for long periods of time at a constant pace/speed) but also by holding positions for a longer time (planks for example, or squats). A mixture is the best.

Other stuff to consider

But wait, besides the general, basic structure outlined above there are a few elements to consider, again general knowledge.

1. Don’t fatigue your core. You will use your core muscles in almost everything you do. Even if you isolate muscle training you still use your core up, even if less. So make sure you don’t do intense core exercises at the beginning of your workout as it will fatigue and it leads to injuries. Save them for the main section and towards the end of your session.

2. …but you should “wake up” your core muscles, to get them going. Try doing some press-ups or planks. But not too many or for too long so you don’t fatigue. If you are not supervised by an experienced coach you can easily you can easily end up injuring yourself due to fatigued muscles.

3. Don’t overdo the cardio. Again you want to warm up the body not fatigue it.

4. Avoid brutal warm-up stretches. They should unwind your body, opening up the joints and releasing the muscles so they can stretch and contract easily.

5. “Calamity springs from lack of carelessness” (the 7th Guiding Principle of Karate-Do). This means that when your mind is not where your body is there is lack of awareness. And this is when injury happens. If you cannot focus and be mindful you should stop your routine and re-gain your focus, change your routine to match your state of mind or even stop and go home.

6. Resting. Athletes rest, they even rest for one whole week after a series of intense training sessions. Take one week off training ever 12 weeks of training or somewhere around there. This does not mean you stop moving, it means you do something else such as swimming if you are a runner, running if you are a cyclist, play squash, badminton, practice some Tai Chi etc.

7. Recovery between sessions. Allow for at least 1 day between sessions. This is a general rule but, depending on your level, your training purpose and your routine this can change. If you have a routine and you are unsure of how to plan your rest get in touch.

8. Be flexible. Your routine should allow for unforeseen circumstances. Injuries, emergencies, feel unwell etc can get you out of balance but you need to adapt.

Progressions

When you reach the plateau not matter how much you try you may not see any progress anymore so you need to make some changes. To change your routine get creative by addressing:

★ number of exercises
★ number of sets
★ target repetition range
★ recovery periods between sets (decrease, increase)
★ workout frequency
★ movement speed – slow to fast
★ different exercises
★ stable to unstable surface
★ simple to complex
★ split routines

Things to add you probably never thought about

These are some elements that very few consider and if they consider many don’t action them as it seems they are not useful, but actually they are the foundations. You are as strong as your weakest link!

1. Fluid movement
2. Breathing exercises
3. Flexibility and mobility ONLY sessions
4. Meditation
5. Barefoot or minimalist training (caution here, risk of injury)
6. Balance ONLY sessions
7. Training the foot muscles (strong foundations…)
8. Posture

So now let’s design your program, keep it simple, then you can work on it. Download the PDF document I created for you, a table for you just to fill in, and get started.

Are you stuck or need guidance on this planning? Jump on a FREE call with me and let’s create a program for you. I will also help you program your rest days and training for a month. Book here.

Posted on

How Long Does It Take To Get Fit

How Long Does It Take To Get Fit

Firstly, it depends on what “being fit” means to you. For example for some being fit can be gaining muscle, for others running a marathon, for others be great at the sport they practice. The dictionary says that fitness means the condition of being physically fit and healthy.

Then it also depends on your training routine, which depends on your goal of course. And then if your training is not properly planned and you overtrain your body will not make progress, adaptation will not occur. Same goes if you don’t train hard enough.

It depends on the supply of nutrients. Adaptations occur not when you exercise but after, in the recovery period. So the recovery time also plays an important role.

 

How your body adapts to exercise

Whether you are a coach or not it is important to have at least a basic understanding of what’s going on with your body when you begin a new training routine or you just got back into training.

What you are looking for is to maximize the adaptation phase and avoid exposure to exhaustion phase.

 

Physical activity and the nervous system

Before you see any major changes with regards to your physique, the first adaptations occur in the nervous system.

Regular training and practice cause adaptations in the central nervous system allowing greater control of movements.

Thus movements become smoother and more accurate and performance improves.

Once the adaptation occurs after a certain stimulus (training routine) the initial rate of gain usually begins to slow down. And this leads to the well known plateau.

This happens within a few weeks, 6-8 in general, from starting the training program. What you do next to create the new stimulus is critical, and it makes the different between reaching your goal, stagnate or drop training.

When we perform an activity our senses provide constant feedback regarding limb position, force generation and the performance outcome through the nervous system

 

Structuring an appropriate adjustment or modifying the fitness programme will keep progress moving in the desired direction.

To change your routine get creative by addressing:

 number of exercises
 number of sets
 target repetition range
 recovery periods between sets (decrease, increase)
 workout frequency
 movement speed – slow to fast
 different exercises
 stable to unstable surface
 simple to complex
 split routines

Photo Credit: Alain Limoges via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: Alain Limoges via Compfight cc

But still…how long does it take?

In general give your routine 6-8 weeks, training 3-4 times a week. And have a way to measure your progress.

For example with my clients the progress is easily visible as they can hang for longer, crawl with a better technique and longer distance, or manage to do all the unusual movements, sequences or exercise combinations I come up with.

If you train outdoors like we do, and change locations, every few weeks you must go back to the previous locations and perform the same techniques to see the progress.

Or counting, works as well. However outdoors the terrain is never the same so what you can do in one location will be different from what you can do in another location, so you must think whether counting is the best option.

How long does it take to get OUT of shape?

So to get into shape, or rather to increase your fitness levels, it takes 6-8 weeks before you need to makes changes and take it further.

To get out of shape it doesn’t take that long. If you stop training for about 2 weeks your cardiovascular fitness will begin to drop.

According to Dr. Edward Coyle, The director of the Human Performance Lab at the University of Texas at Austin, in highly-trained athletes, VO2 max decreases by 7 percent in the 12 to 21 days after stopping training and another 9 percent during days 21 to 84.

VO2 max is a measure of the maximum volume of oxygen that an athlete can use. It is measured in millilitres per kilogramme of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min).

The initial decrease in cardiovascular abilities is followed by muscle mass and strength atrophy.

The good part is that your body can get fit faster if you were fit in the past. And also the fitter you are the less your fitness will decrease if you stop training for a couple of weeks. But why would you do that anyway?

Make it easy for yourself and, when you don’t feel like training, just do something to  maintain the level you are at. To maintain your fitness you don’t need an extreme amount of training. Aim for 2-3 days a week, not necessarily high intensity workout, just maintaining the level.

Also, a decrease in fitness levels is not a good excuse not to take a break. Athletes have 1-2 weeks break from training to recover and, in some cases, to get past plateaus. You won’t get out of shape in a few days.

There is a lot of information and science behind this adaptation process, but I tried to make it short, to the point and just answer the question: how long does it take to get fit. Hope I managed to clarify.

 

If you need advice on your training routine you can book a free call and together we can create progressions or regressions in your routine to get you back on the right path or to set you on the right path. Book the free call here

Posted on

What To Do When You Are Short On Time To Train

What To Do When You Are Short On Time To Train

If you don’t feel amazing then you will not be able to make others around you feel amazing either.

And to feel amazing you must look after your health. And part of that is movement. Not workout, not exercise but movement.

What’s the difference

Well training, circuits and training systems all have their place. As a qualified Personal Trainer I know the importance of a properly designed training program. It’s a must if you work towards a goal and need to make proper progress.

However I also advocate for creativity, flow and the pleasure or pure, simple movement. Sometimes it’s good to break the pattern, to stop counting sets and reps and just allow your body and mind to be creative.

So that’s movement and what I coach.

The benefits

Whether it’s simple movement, a properly structured training routine, a sport or just walking through the forest, crawling under tree trunks and up steep hills the core benefits are the same:

• Energy. My mother says it’s like an energy drink. She hasn’t done any type of movement in over 30 years! and how she started running, 1 min at a time.
• Reduce stress, anger, frustration, depression name it. And if you also do stretching and Fluid Movement you also reduce physical stress.
• It leads to other healthy habits, such as nutrition and healthy, quality sleep. They will automatically begin to change for the better when you start training.
• Done regularly it lowers risk of many chronic diseases, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke according to NHS
• Boost self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy

You got the picture. You will feel amazing and you will make others around you feel amazing.

“If exercise were a pill, it would be one of the most cost-effective drugs ever invented,” says Dr Nick Cavill, a health promotion consultant.

 [tweetthis]“If exercise were a pill, it would be one of the most cost-effective drugs ever invented,” Dr Nick Cavill[/tweetthis]

When you are short on time

Ok you have your business or are very busy at work and cannot fit a 1h or 30min full training or movement routine.

That’s fine. Because remember the things which will create a massive difference in your lie are small habits done on a consistent basis.

So when you have 5 min or 10 min you could do the following:

• A quick, short and classic routine: 50 star jumps, 30 press-ups, 30 squats, 1 min plank, 1 min side planks left and right, and add other exercises as needed depending on the time you have. Need help to decide what to do? You just need to ask, click here.

Alexandra Merisoiu Watch Fit

• Incorporate movement in your daily routine. This is my favourite. Here are a few examples:
o crawl upstairs
o balance on one leg when brushing your teeth (careful this can lead to injury though)
o before you sit down to have your meal do 30 squats
o crawl/inverse crawl/jump/frog jump around the house between rooms, if possible

• Stretch throughout the day.
You may think “ah stretching is no worth, it’s not going to help me with anything”. I must disagree and say you are wrong here. Stretching, unwinding your body is imperative to reduce physical and psychological stress. And if you bring in Fluid Movement that’s even better as it will release more tension in the bosy. So stretch often throughout the day.

Here’s what you can begin with. The stretch I teach all my students.

• Deep breathing exercises.
Ok, now why would I want you to do this? Well there are about 16 reasons why breathing exercises are important for your physical and psychological health.For example:

o improves and maintains your cardiovascular capacity.
o helps you heal faster by directing the breathe into areas of the body where there are injuries and illnesses.
o relaxes the mind and brings clarity, focus, allows room for more creativity and productivity.
o encourages good posture. When you slouch notice how your body closes up and your breathing becomes shallow. Then you take a deep breath, your chest comes out and your body naturally straightens.

Read all the other awesome benefits of practicing deep breathing, here.

Breathing exercises

And here are two deep breathing exercises to begin with:

Step 1. Make sure you breathe correctly, that means when you breathe in you make your stomach big, when you breathe out you pull your stomach in.

Step 2. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth

Step 3. The exercise. Let’s take 4 seconds as count for breathing in, out and holds. You can adjust them to fit your level:

Linear breathing technique

I use this as a warm up for the others.

– BREATHE IN through your nose on a count of 4
– BREATHE OUT through your nose on a count of 4.
– Repeat

Triangle breathing technique

Imagine an equilateral triangle. It has 3 equal sides

– BREATHE IN through your nose on a count of 4.
– HOLD on a count of 4.
– BREATHE OUT through your nose on a count of 4.
– No hold after this one. Repeat

Adjust the in breathe, out breathe and holds according to your level.

More advances breathing techniques are square, rectangle, therapeutic breathing.

I can give you more ideas but just try one of these and see how they work out for you.

__________________________________________________________

Alexandra Merisoiu is the Founder and Coach at Urban Women Fitness and creator of The Merisoiu Technique.

She works with professional women in their 30’s and 40’d helping them to relieve stress and take them feeling overwhelmed and exhausted to feeling energized, enthusiastic and transformed.

Her HODs (Habits Of The Day) series helps you

★ Change the way you feel physically & emotionally, for the better
★ Reduce aches and pains (shoulders, back, neck etc) and feel excellent in your own body
★ Be more calm, patient, focused and productive
★ Build discipline and learn to be consistent
And it’s a step by step process

To sign up for Alexandra’s 28 Days HODs, click here

Posted on

100th Blog

100th Blog Post

Thought I’d make something special for my 100th blog post. So I picked (hand picked that is 😉 ) a few sentences from each blog post I wrote and added the link to the blog post it came from. A piece of wisdom from each of them. Some more interesting than others, but starting with the first ever…

    1. Researchers at the University of Essex in England are advancing the notion that exercising in the presence of nature has added benefit, particularly for mental health. Benefits of Exercising Outdoor
    2. Eating healthy snacks between meals helps control your weight and provides healthy protein, healthy fats, fiber and carbohydrates. Healthy Snack Ideas For You
    3. If you do them [breathing exercises] constantly you will feel great improvement on your stress levels,patience and coping mechanisms. Stress, anxiety and depression
    4. In the UK we have adapted the original food pyramid and underpinning guidance to follow what is called‘The Eatwell Plate’ . Nutritional Guidelines
    5. Just because it’s fruit doesn’t mean it’s good if you are trying to reduce the amount of sugar intake. 7 Easy Ways to Reduce Sugar Intake
    6. When breathing in a correct manner we have more power, more control over our bodies and we reduce the risk of certain injuries. Learn The Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique For Running
    7. Matcha tea is a natural caffeine boost & green tea finely milled or fine powdered.  Vivid Drink Matcha Tea Review
    8. Your skin absorbs anything you put on it from water to chemicals we use every single day several time a day. Why what you Put On Your Body is very Unhealthy and how you can Change that
    9. A mother’s depression, especially when untreated, can interfere with her child’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. What meaning do you give to depression?
    1. Even if you immune system is down you have less changes of contacting a virus outdoor than indoor with 100 other people. 7 Things I do to avoid the FluYoga silhouette virabhadrasana II warrior pose

    2. Use Ginger to reduce muscle and joint pain, swelling and stiffness Painkillers in your kitchen Part 1/4
    3. It is important to learn simple and fast ways you can do instantly to relieve the stress, center yourself and regain focus How to let go of stress instantly
    4. How you use your it determines how it works and how it feels; your body can be a well oiled machine or an old and rusty pickup truck. How To Use Your Body To Reduce Aches And Pains
    5. When you want to improve productivity, focus, reduce stress and be healthier but you struggle, there is nothing better that creating and nurturing a good habit, which comes automatic, it’s fast and easy. How to easily create healthy habits that stick long-term

    6. Rather than me or anyone else telling you what to eat I wanted to give you a very very brief explanation of what carbs are,, what are their properties and types of carbs are there.  Good carbs Bad Carbs
    7. Fitness, power and strength shape our bodies yes, but as a consequence our mental processes, our self esteem and finally the actions we take on a daily basis dramatically change. How fitness changes you at a physical and psychological level
    8. Do you dread Mondays? No need to, it’s a day like all the others. 10 Habits for a Happier, Healthier Monday
    9. The squat, even without any weight and when done properly, strengthens your stability muscles to recover faster after an injury, small or big, regain your balance faster and injury free when you trip, slip or otherwise lose balance, balance how the body functions, strengthening the weaker points. The squat: Why to do it,  How to do it
    10. Fish seems to help with tummy troubles such as Indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel diseases. Natural Painkillers in your kitchen Part 2/4
    11. Reconnecting with the Earth’s electrons has been proved to promote intriguing physiological changes and subjective reports of well-being. What does Earthing have to do with mental health?
      PauseAnd breathe
    12. Meditation is not only about quieting your mind, but rather allowing your thoughts to pass, one by one, without judging them in any way. Meditation What, Where, How, When & Why
    13. If you want to make any changes in your life then you need to change your attitude, that’s what training in cold weather does. Why 99% of my clients are afraid of outdoor winter training
    14. Your brain is naturally turned on when the phone is around, waiting for alerts from it, this prevents the body from achieving the desired state of total relaxation. 7 reasons why you shouldn’t sleep with your phone
    15. Whether we talk about mindful eating, walking or running, they all contribute to our mental and physical wellbeing. 3 steps to Mindful Eating and its benefits
    16. Besides getting stronger and fitter I’ve gained so much more, higher self esteem, confidence, calmness, patience, resilience.[when I chose the outdoors over the gym] 6 reasons why I choose the outdoors over the gym
    17. For a food to taste good it need fats and sugars, if it lacks one it has more of the other; watch out fat free food lovers. 13 simple nutritional habits to improve your health right now
    18. “Everything breathes: breathing is the inspiration of Life within all living forms of reality” 1st Principle of Conscious Connected Breathing – J. Yost. How I breathed my way into physical and mental well-being
    19. Mindfulness is paying attention rather than anything else, mindfulness is everywhere and in everything we do. The role of mindfulness in my childhood
    20. Press-ups are not limited by muscle mass. You do not need muscles to be strong and those who have muscles are not necessarily stronger than those who don’t. How to do a full press-up and Why
    1. Although no one has ever seen the mind, we can consider the brain as the platform for the mind and thus a platform for out mental wellbeing. How nutrition affects our Mental Health
      cherries
    2. Calm joint and headache pain with Natural Painkillers in your kitchen Part 3/4
    3. When you want to achieve something there are times when you need a kick in the butt, and no one is more able, motivated and caring enough than your coach to do that. Why on earth would you want a Coach?
    4. Recovery it’s largely about tissue regeneration and nutrient delivery. How much rest do you need for fitness gains
    5. MOBILITY is the ability to move or be moved freely and easily. FLEXIBILITY is the quality of bending easily without breaking. The difference between Flexibility and Mobility
    6. Scientists have discovered a connection between connecting with the Earth and reducing inflammation in the body which is responsible for many diseases we suffer from. How I discovered Earthing
    7. [training outdoors] is the best way to warm up when you’re cold. You will walk around in a t-shirt while others have coats. 10 awesome things about training outdoors
    8. [Breathing] helps detoxify your body. 16 benefits of practicing deep breathing
    9. When we sit or stand tall the exchange of information is free to go back and forth helping us function at our optimum level, heal faster and better, have more energy and vitality and sending nutrients where we most need them. 3 ways to enhance your meditation experience
    10. Don’t go to bed with your mind running around.Allow your mind to settle before you fall asleep for a quality rest. 11 habits to help you feel better in your own body
    11. Rhythmic exercise, such as walking, can be conducive to the process of self-discovery. What is a walking consultation and Why I do it

    12. By stretching your fingers, toes and consequently wrists and ankles you: improve the blood circulation to those areas, you relax your tendons, ligaments, muscles which leads to relaxation further up the arm or leg and better connectivity to the hands/fingers, feet/toes, reduce the risk of plantar fascia or carpal tunnel syndrome, improve range of movement in your hands, wrists, feet, ankles and thus freedom of movement. How to stretch your fingers and toes and why
    13. Physical tension leads to impatience, mood changes, frustration and mental stress. This in turn lead to lack of focus, creativity and productivity. How to relax your shoulders while you sit tall
    14. [Self-Discipline] is one of the 20% skills that contribute to 80% of results when applied to the right habits or areas of our lives. Building Self-Discipline
    1. Make anger or stress a matter of minutes rather than days, weeks and months. How I managed to manage my anger and stress (when I used to be like this)Alexandra Merisoiu Urban Women Fitness
    2. “It was everything I wouldn’t and haven’t done before…it was LIBERATING” What Nadia has to say about her Urban Women Fitness outdoor training sessions
    3. Going to bed with your mind running around means it will still be running for a while after you fall asleep and there goes your restful night. How to wake up fresh and energized every morning
    4. A busy mind leads to an imbalanced body. And the opposite is also true, a balanced body leads to a balanced, calmer mind. 5 lessons I learnt from balancing exercises
    5. Walnuts, besides fats, have a good amount of iron, vit-B6 and magnesium, grapefruit (as you guessed) vit A and C in abundance and grapes vit-B6. Why listen to what your body asks…sometimes
    6. Train hard but train with purpose. No matter where you train, be creative and search for variety. Have a purpose and experience the journey Why your workouts are boring and 4 ways to make them exciting

    7. Target shooting is indeed a sport of the mind. It also teaches you about relaxation, mindfulness and focus. It’s a challenging sport. 3 Mindfulness Lessons From Practicing Target Shooting
    8. Weight loss is a result of a healthy lifestyle and a healthy lifestyle has several components: Body, Mind, Emotions, Soul and Social. Weight loss is simple…
    9. The difference between leaving someone with the love for sport and exercise and making them hate it for the rest of their lives. “Beasting” vs Smart Coaching
    10. “Science has proven, beyond doubt, that the content of our thoughts and emotions directly and immediately influence our biochemistry” Kelly Howell (Sound Healer, Meditation Guide, Consciousness  Researcher) How the meaning you give to your words can make you sick
    11. When you deal with weight loss have a plan, a healthy lifestyle plan, and stick to it. Have a schedule of exercising, create healthy habits for the entire family and just focus on the process only.  3 Mistakes Women Make Which Increase Stress Levels
    12. One of the reasons they [athletes] do [have coaches[, and one of the reasons I have 3 coaches training me right now in Karate, Obstacle Racing and running and business, is Struggling to stay motivated? This is why…
    13. You know I always mention about “the purpose behind your training” and I always say the purpose is not the same thing as a goal. Purpose vs Goals
    14. All [The Merisoiu Technique] principles blend into each other creating a bigger picture which gives you a better understanding of how health really works and stop seeing health as a goal in your life. How Does The Merisoiu Technique Really Works
    15. I believe, from my experience, that running can and should be enjoyable and pain free. I know because my running transformed from painful to actually enjoying it. 7 Ways To Make You Enjoy Your Running
    1. Mindfulness does not have to be meditation, a chore, a to do thing on the list and in fact i tcreates more time and space rather than reduce it. What’s all the fuss about mindfulness
      swimming
    2. We struggle too much to follow thousands of rules. 3 Ways To Stay Healthy And Fit For Life
    3. If you brushed your teeth only once a week would your teeth be healthy? Why Training 4 Days A Week Is Essential For Transformational Results
    4. We do not realize that if we respond to stress and tension with more stress and tension we make things worse. We cause tension after tension after tension.Why You Should Master The Art Of Nothing
    5. Don’t believe what I, or anyone else tells you or writes about,you need to filter the information we all give you and think for yourself.  Confused About Food: How To Get Past The Confusion
    6. I am a firm believer in taking long walks outdoors after leaving the office. The space and fresh air  clears the mind and calms down the nervous system. By the time you get back home you’ve cleared most of the negative emotions and thoughts. 3 Ways To Cope Better With A Stressful Working Environment
    7. You’ll never ever progress being comfortable. Nature will get your out of your comfort zone at every single training session, no exception. 3 Things That Happen Instantly When You Train With Nature’s Elements
    8. Every habit, healthy or not, has its purpose in the body. Your brain uses those habits to solve something. The Secret To Creating Healthy Habits That Stick Long Term
    9. We run from one corner to another, always in a rush, always looking at the time and always under some type of pressure. We seldom, if ever, stop to breath and look around. Finding Balance In Life
    10. When I think about my daily diet I always go back to when my grandmother used to cook for her grandchildren in the countryside. 9 Simple & Intuitive Approaches To Healthy Eating Habits
    1. Among the benefits of tree scrambling you have  core strength, arm and shoulder strength,coordination, agility, flexibility, mobility and even lower body strength depending on the tree and how you climb through it. Reclaim Your Nature
      tree-scrambling
    2. It’s the details make the whole so cutting out all your favourite foods and going to the gym 5 days a week all of a sudden will not necessarily work for building healthy habits leading to a healthier lifestyle. How To Use Triggers To Effortlessly Create Healthy Habits
    3. Make it easy and fast to prepare your training by making permanent lists and strategically placing them where you can easily see them. 3 Ways To Design Your Environment And Make Exercise Easier And Enjoyable
    4. Posture sends stress signals to the brain. 3 Awesome Benefits Of A Great Posture
    5. Muscle soreness can kick in anytime within 72 hours from your training session. Some experts say 24-48 others go to 72. 5 Ways To Deal With Muscle Soreness Without Medication
    6. We, humans, are build to move, yes. But we are also programmed to grow, to learn, to develop, to make progress one way or another. We are evolving all the time. And that makes us happy, thrilled, excited about that thing that we do. So why is it that so many people don’t like it. Some go so far as saying they hate it, exercise that is. Why? How To Fall In Love With Your Training Routine
    7. Weight loss is easy, it really is, when you stop trying to lose it and just look after your body from the inside first. And have patience. Why Weight Loss Should Not Be Your #1 Priority
    8. Running is more than just physical movement, it requires consistency, dedication, resilience and discipline. When you become a runner your body changes but most importantly your mind changes as you face challenge after challenge. What Can Running Do For You
    9. As the spine straightens and lengthens you get that feeling of release in your lower back and throughout your spine. 5 Awesome Benefits Of Sleeping On The Floor
    10. It’s good to have a Coach you can lean into when things get difficult. It’s even better if you like your Coach, the teaching methods, exercises, the empathy, enthusiasm, energy, philosophy (if they have one) and what they stand for. The First Step To Take As A Beginner In Fitness
    11. Stop exercising and start moving in ways you’ve never done before. STOP Exercising! Do This Instead
    1.  5 Secrets To Less Pain And More Freedom Of Movement
    2. If we cannot control the simple act of breathing how are we suppose to control our thoughts, our bodies or ever the world around us. And if we cannot feel and fully experience breathing how are we supposed to be mindful of anything else within or around us. HOW to breathe and WHY it is important
    3. When you feel your body is not working at its peak, you feel aches and pains everywhere,you feel as if your body is falling apart.  Are you falling apart?
    4. Your mind and body are always connected. One influences the other and when one is out of balance the other will be as well. Where Do You Hold Your Stress? And 5 Steps To Combat Stress
    5. MOBILITY is the ability to move or be moved freely and easily. MOBILITY is an indication of how well and efficiently we move. FLEXIBILITY is the quality of bending easily without breaking. FLEXIBILITY is a component of MOBILITY. Why Your Flexibility Today Is Different From Yesterday
    6. To get rid of many of these physical pains and stress all you need it 5-10 min. Do This NOW To Revitalize Your Body
    7. Bringing mindfulness into running makes it a lot more enjoyable. Do You Hate Running? Here Are Three Steps To LOVE It
    8. Zanshin is the state of readiness in Budo practice. Budo is the code of Martial Arts, the Martial Arts path, an education system in the modern world, rather than a fighting system  like many people believe. What Is Zanshin And Why It Is Important For You
    1. Everyone lives different lives and so we all need different things. It all comes down to mindset really. What Day & Time Is The Best For Training Sessionsbarefoot

    2. We are so dependent on our eyes nowadays. We receive most of our information through the sense of sight. It seems to me we are slowly losing the ability to feel. Stop Looking And Start Feeling
    3. Why does our butt stick out when we heel strike if heel strike is the natural way? Then back arches and we end up with back pain, thus hating running. Don’t Run On Your Toes…Or Heels
    4. In the end the experience you have is the only thing that matters . Getting Off The Treadmill Of Life
    5. Cultivate the art of attention and focus and your life will change Why I Stand For 1h30m Training Sessions
    6. The way you go through life, the way you see the world, how you feel and what you listen to will change the way you live your life. How To Cultivate The Art Of Attention And Focus
    7. Practice breathing and your running performance and your general health will see huge improvements. TMP 001: Breathing Technique For Runners
    8. Your cannot balance properly to strengthen your foot muscles and the rest of the body if you cannot hold a nice, relaxed, elongated posture. You MUST address your POSTURE. Strong Foundations For A Strong Pain Free Body
    9. If the foundations of a system are weak then the entire system is weakened and will collapse sooner or later. Why And How To Look After Your Feet
    10. If I had to choose the one thing I’d like my clients to take from their experience of training with me that’ll be Posture. If there was one thing I could choose. How To Stop Your Shoulders From Hurting At The End Of The Day
  1. We are organic beings and we should remain in contact with the matter we are made of. The Risks Of Going Barefoot

crocodile

Posted on

Why I Stand For 1h30m Training Sessions

Why I Stand For 1h30m Training Sessions

Ever since I began practicing Karate, 20 years ago, I learnt that training is at least 1h30min long. Not 1h, not 45 min. And I kept it this way. Here I will explain WHY this is so important.

Today we have all sorts of sessions. And they are all good. They target different things, mostly weight loss or general fitness. And I agree with them all.

However, what they also do is turn us into little robots. Sorry…but the attitude of “get in and get out” is like programming a machine.

What is the general 1h training:

1. Rush inside the gym with the sole purpose of exercising and leave as quickly as you can. This is called “me time”

2. Warm up 10min

3. Stretching 5 min… most people don’t even remember that. That’s not even half of I do with my clients

4. Main session. This is usually a circuit of general exercises to target specific goals. The circuit, in many situations, is not actually broken into small pieces and each exercise explained thoroughly: how not to injure yourself, why that’s important, what muscles you are working and how to BREATH

5. Cool down and stretch….maybe….5min??? Noooo…..that’s not enough. And most importantly the exercises in the main session seldom improve mobility and flexibility. Read here why they are so important.

6. Rush out the door

So much rush and lack of attention and focus leads to all these injuries we see everyone suffer from. I’m not saying that not rushing will definitely lead to no injuries, ever. But the risk is far greater when we rush.

What a 1h30min session does:

1. Brings you THERE. Not just your body, that’s not enough, you are there with the mind. You are focused and prepared. That’s a true “me time”. This can be done through meditation or some deep breathing exercises (which by the way helps with warming up your body besides many other benefits).

2. Warm up, without rushing, ok…..that can be 10 min

3. Stretching 20 min!! Yes, 20 min if your training has a limited number of exercises which improve flexibility and mobility as well as working towards your final goal

4. Technique. Before the killer cardio session you go through ALL exercises which will be in the session. You break them down to its smallest elements. You adjust and make sure your body understands how to move and what to expect. This way you reduce the risk of injuries….a lot.

5. Cardio session. This is where you put into application what you practiced earlier.

6. Cool down and stretching, 20 min stretching again. If your session had elements of mobility and flexibility it can be shorter. But most routines don’t. Many of them tighten muscles and with 5 min stretching you are no actually doing too much.

And these are only the basics 😉

clock

Benefits of such long sessions

I train myself and my clients like this all the time and here’s what happens

1. It takes you about 20 min to get out of the rushing world and work/family related thoughts. The world full of noise and clutter and into a moment of peace and focus dedicated to yourself. That’s the “me moment”. Twenty minutes.

2. Reduce the risk of injuries because you actually warm up properly, stretch and you go through technique. You understand how to move your body, how to adjust, why you are doing all those things you chose to do.

3. Your Coach is not rushed when explaining the elements of good posture, breathing and efficient body use which can make the greatest difference in reaching your goals and protecting your body. If they do explain these at all

4. You get the most out of your Coaches’ knowledge. Knowledge which you can take home and apply yourself whether in your individual training or daily life (like posture and breathing for example).

5. NO RUSH. I cannot stress this enough. We are always on the run. We NEVER ever have time. There is enough time. You can make time. You can stretch time. If you only take a moment… and breathe

6. You pay attention. Rushing around will only cause chaos, mistakes and injuries in your mind and body. Is a hardcore training worth all that? Causing your body extreme pain (the wrong kind of pain). Pay attention to yourself, your body, your movement and the world around you and you will be HAPPIER, FITTER and HEALTHIER

[tweetthis]Cultivate the art of attention and focus and your life will change[/tweetthis]

These are some benefits from the top of my head. But these 1h30min sessions are priceless for me as a Coach and my clients. They get the very best of me and my knowledge.

I have time to explain every little details, building strong foundations for 12 weeks before I let them go knowing they know what to do by themselves in the correct way.

 

 

Posted on

How To Fall In Love With Your Training Routine

How To Fall In Love With Your Training Routine

The other day I kept thinking why is it that so many people start a workout routine and then they either look very unhappy after a while, they don’t enjoy it or they just give up coming up with all sorts of excuses.

The thing is humans were built to move. Our bodies are made to move. So why is it that so many people don’t like it. Some go so far as saying they hate it, exercise that is. Why?

From personal experience as a sports woman, practicing many different sports, and as a coach to women and men as well, I believe the answer is simple. And you will learn what that is in this blog.

We, humans, are build to move, yes. But we are also programmed to grow, to learn, to develop, to make progress one way or another.

We are evolving all the time. And that makes us happy, thrilled, excited about that thing that we do.

Think about it this way. You are in the same line of work, doing the same thing day after day, nothing ever changes. You see the same buildings, roads, people, same process and routines. You are happy when you begin but how long does that happiness last?

I changed a few jobs and worked in a few different, unrelated industries and I remember every time I’d be very excited at the beginning and loved what I did. So I was making huge and fast progress.

That’s because it was something new for me and challenging. I was learning new skills, improving others and making progress in many different ways.

Now back to exercising

It’s the same thing with your workouts. If you keep the same workout for weeks and months you will end up doing it for the sake of it. Checking your phone, email and facebook likes. Because it’s BORING!!!

Now that does not mean that repeating the same techniques isn’t necessary. That’s very important for progress and fine tuning. I should know that, Karate is what I do and we repeat one techniques thousand of time to master it.

However within your regular routine you can bring other elements that you’d love to learn, that challenge you to think, to find solutions and alternatives.

 alexandra-15 - Copy

Here are some things you can bring in your routine straight away to LOVE it more:

 

1. Change scenery. If you are indoors go outdoors. If you are outdoors find different places to do your run and workout. Take different routes. Changing the workout location will challenge you in a different way. I actually changes the way your body will move and function.

2. Be creative. Allow your body to flow and move freely. Be a little weird. It will enable you to create some really cool things. Stop thinking about what others might say if you start crawling around in your local park. Do it, be weird.

3. Fine tune. Pay attention to what you are doing and try to do it better and better. Think, think and think some more. This is also a form of being mindful and aware. Get your brain involved, that’s what it’s there for, it will love to get involved.

4. STOP. Chances are you are in a hurry all the time. When you workout you want those 30 min in and out. Now, forget about “gotta sweat and feel the burn” for a moment. Stop and look around, listen, feel, smell, see. Open up your senses. This small habit brings with it a feeling of calmness and peace leading to a better workout than otherwise.

5. Learn new skills. As I said before, we are programmed to learn and always grow. Get a Coach and learn some new stuff. Then you can bring them into your routine.

 

Oh, and stop watching and “learning” from youtube videos. They have their place but not when you learn something new.

You can work with a coach face to face or virtual. You will learn and get more out of being coached than watching videos presented by someone who doesn’t see what you are doing, who has no idea who you are, what you like, what your passions are, how you function and where you’re heading.

So go try some or all of these things, come back to this post and comment below.

And if you want to have a chat about this type of coaching book a FREE call with me.

Posted on

3 Ways To Design Your Environment And Make Exercise Easier And Enjoyable

3 Ways To Design Your Environment And Make Exercise Easier And Enjoyable

Developing the habit of exercising regularly can be difficult for some. For others it may be easier to start with but when they hit the plateau it gets really difficult to keep going. What’s your challenge?

There’s a thing you can do to make life easier for yourself. That’s designing your environment in the right way.

From experience I can tell you that waking up at 5 am 6 days a week to go running, followed by work (I worked in corporate banking back then) and then to courses (Masters in International Business) can sometimes be very difficult.

However not matter how difficult it gets you need to push a little bit through it otherwise you end up at the beginning and have to start all over again.

So here are 3 tips to think about when designing your environment for success.

woman-running

3. Use triggers

I wrote about triggers in more detail in another blog, right here.

Triggers are habits you do automatically without thinking too much about them. Like brushing your teeth in the morning and before you go to bed. Or pushing the right pedals when you drive, you don’t think about it anymore.

Triggers can also be for example when your kids come from school or when the alarm sounds in a certain way.

Choose a special ringtone for when you have your running days, you will set your brain to activate when it hears that particular ringtone and you will jump out of bed and run out the door.

These are triggers you can use to get you up and running, literally.

 

 

2. Make a list

Depending on the type of exercise you go for you will need different kit and accessories. Make a list of what you need.

I used to have a list for Karate class, one for running in summer, another for running in winter, at night or on rainy days and others for whatever other types of activities I was doing.

I’d have the lists on post-it notes and place them somewhere where I could easily see them without actually looking for them.

Make it easy and fast to prepare your training by making permanent lists and strategically placing them where you can easily see them.

 

1. Don’t wait until the last moment

Waiting to put your kit in your bag 5 min before heading to your outdoors session might just put you off.

Same goes for when you go for a run after work. When you arrive home don’t change into house clothing, change into your running kit straight away. Trust me it works like a charm.

Have everything prepared and ready to go.

 

Now you have 3 simple steps to make your workouts easier and less of a hassle: use triggers, make lists, and get everything ready beforehand.

 

Want a more personalized tips on designing your environment? Then book a FREE call with me and let’s get your triggers, lists and prepare you to enjoy your exercising days.

Posted on

Reclaim Your Nature

Reclaim Your Nature

I was a lucky child. I was born and raised in a big city where I had almost everything a child wanted. But every summer holiday my parents would send me to the countryside to spend 3 months with my grandparents.

The little poor village had 2 small shops. There was no cinema, not many buses, the closest city was pretty far away. We didn’t have cell phone network and there was not internet and we didn’t have electricity or sewage system (my grandparents were building the house themselves).

However that place was a paradise for me and my friends. I used to forget about my shoes for days and days, going barefoot on the hills, through rivers and lakes, sand, stones and earth. Everywhere at any time in the day or night.

There were 2 activities I enjoyed the most though:

1. Building tunnels through thorny bushes and crawling through them

2. Climbing trees

Nowadays when I climb trees I do it a bit more elegant let’s say, refining my climbing technique through coaching.

The video below, Tree Scrambling, shows how we train and condition our body here at Urban Women Fitness through the Natural Movement Principle part of the six guiding principles of The Merisoiu Technique.

tree-scrambling

Benefits of tree scrambling

Among the benefits of tree scrambling you have  core strength, arm and shoulder strength, coordination, agility, flexibility, mobility and even lower body strength depending on the tree and how you climb through it.

But you get more out of tree scrambling than physical benefits. These are:

Focus
Precision
Patience
Creativity
Self-confidence
Elegance
Learning new skills which makes training enjoyable and less monotonous and boring.

Posted on

Why your workouts are boring and 4 ways to make them exciting

Why your workouts are boring and 4 ways to make them exciting

 

I used to be a Personal Trainer in a gym. I loved it and I learnt a lot. However I could not help but noticing how many people would come to the gym and seem bored by what they were doing.

 

I used to talk to many of them, and although they had a good training program in place, one that got them results, and change it every 6-8 weeks to keep getting results, they were bored….bored of everything.

 

To be honest until I went to USA for my studies I never stepped into a gym. Really, why would I? I was practicing sports, Karate and others, 6 days a week, sometimes twice a day. And I had a purpose, I had variety, I had excitement. I never thought about health or weight loss, those came with the purpose and excitement.

 

I went to the gym in the USA and after a few years here in UK. Everything the beginning was exciting, new stuff, new things. But after a while no matter how I changed my routine it was still boring.

 

And I dare to believe that there are many of you who feel the same. So I wanted to give you the salt and pepper of efficient, always interesting and never boring training routine.

 

1. Purpose

 

I will begin by saying that health and weight loss are not part of your purpose. Sorry girls, but it’s not.

 

Health should be there all the time, we should not make of it a goal. Health is the foundation of success in business, life, career and whatever you want to excel at. Health is not a milestone.

 

Weight loss is something many of us want but we never consider that this is not one of those things you will have forever, it’s not there to stay for the rest of your life. You lose weight then at some point in your life you gain, then lose again, then gain.

 

I tell you this because I had many ups and down with my weight. But because I always had a purpose behind my training I never stressed to much about it.

 

Weight loss comes as a result of health. And health should always be there, you should not even have to think about it, it should be automatically part of your life. If should be your life for that matter.

 

So what’s the REAL purpose?

 

When I coach my students I give them a purpose. It can be a challenge to learn and master a technique, or a run, or any other event, or something they’ve always dreamt about doing or achieving but never could.

 

Training outdoors is a challenge for most so that itself can be a purpose for a while.

 

Personally, the purpose behind my training is to get really, really good at what I do. And the milestones are races and competitions.

 

For a while my purpose was to condition myself enough to train outdoors in the winter in shorts. Achieved this winter!!

 

But do you know why those are purposes and weight loss is not? One of the reasons is that when you master a technique, you cross a finish line or you get that medal no one ever can take that back from you.

 

That’s an achievement for life, while a slim body (which you will get anyway because you train with purpose) with come and go throughout your life.

 

So train hard but train with purpose.

P1000376 

Photo Credit: Michael Cohen / Wild Forest Gym

2. Variety and creativity

 

This is one of the reason the outdoors are such a big part of my life. When you train outdoors you will never, ever experience 2 identical sessions.

 

Even if you try and replicate it going in the same places and doing the exact same exercises, it will always be different.  And these are some of the reasons:

 

– weather will be different from day to day, even from hour to hour

– the earth will be different, muddy, frozen, dry or wet.

– the ground is never flat, you will go up and down, left and right and you will need to adapt

– if you get bored of one place you run 2k and you find something totally different. The difference can be from field to thick forest. This is what one of my students said to me once.  And he was right.

 

In a gym environment the trick is to be very creative. When I was coaching in a gym it was difficult not to fall into monotony like others.

 

I was always coming up with new stuff and so my clients stayed with me for months and some of them are still with me now after 2 years.

 

One of the reasons they liked training with me was because I bring variety and creativity wherever I train. Outdoors is my most creative environment though.

 

So, no matter where you train, be creative and search for variety. Don’t fall into routine and monotony, it’s not exciting.

 

3. Experience every moment

 

No matter how much purpose and variety you have if you don’t experience the moment you will not love what you do.

 

This means to breath, feel, see, touch, smell. And so many times we don’t do it. But when we are outdoors the different aspects of nature automatically make us open up our sense.

 

Because everything is different all the time we suddenly need to become aware of what’s around us. There is no monotony.

 

No matter what you do don’t do it for the sake of it.

 

Have a purpose and experience the journey. Then the results, whatever they may be will soon follow.

P1000364

Photo Credit: Michael Cohen / Wild Forest Gym

 

4. Learning

 

And finally whatever you do never stop learning, developing, evolving. We are humans and learning is part of our evolution. We are hardwired to continuously learn and develop.

 

Take you training routine as a personal development journey, because that’s what it actually is.

 

Stop being a little robot and use your cognitive skills to be creative, develop and learn something every time you do your training session.

 

Combining 20 years of sports, particularly Martial Arts, and bringing natural movement training and running as well yoga, in my coaching gives me the possibility to show my students so much about movement and make them enjoy every moment they spend with me and then working out alone.

 

This way they:

– always have variety

– always experience the moment

– always look forward to our sessions and…

– always have a purpose behind their training – learning more and more and getting better and better if we don’t have an event planned for them ;).

 

Hope this inspires you to take your training sessions to the next level and actually enjoy them if you aren’t already.

 

As always if you want to chat with me feel free to book a call with me or if you want to learn more about my philosophies read my free ebook The Merisoiu Technique

Posted on

How much rest do you need for fitness gains

women running

How much rest do you need for fitness gains

women running

What are rest and recovery

 

Rest is part of recovery. Recovery is what happens in your body after the end of a workout. So rest includes sleep, nutrition, time for stillness—both mental and physical, activities that provide active-recovery that provides mental/physical relaxation such as yoga and swimming, frisbee,  tennis, a walk in the park etc. Rest can include movement as long as it does not challenge the body.

 

Recovery it’s largely about tissue regeneration and nutrient delivery. Exercise creates a physical stimulus for the body to get better at a given challenge and this requires blood flow or circulation. Circulation brings nutrients to the tissues, nutrients provide the material to facilitate the improvement, and circulation is enhanced by movement. So lighter workouts can be a good idea for recovery as they enhance circulation.

 

Thus, a “rest” day is characterized by a need for some movement and not by sleeping and sitting on the couch all day. Movement is a daily occurrence. A rest day is a day where you you remove the challenge of hard exercise.

 

 

Rest time to gain fitness and not to lose it

 

It is important to first distinguish between the rest required to gain fitness, and the rest that will cause a loss of fitness. We don’t get stronger, fitter, and faster during exercise. Training benefits occur immediately after exercise. Furthermore the body needs up to 7 days to adapt to an exercise stimulus.  Thus the workout is the stimulus, while recovery and improvement is the physical response.

 

It works like this. Intense exercise drives fitness down. During rest fitness increases and eventually ‘supercompensates’,  thus elevating fitness above level before training. When the process is repeated as fitness reaches its peak, fitness continues to improve.

 

Supercompensation is the period after training during which there is a higher performance capacity than prior to the training period.

 

The key to getting this to work correctly is proper timing of rest between workouts. Not giving enough rest, or resuming activity too soon (i.e. before supercompensation) will  result in decreased overall fitness. Wait too long, however and there may be no gain in fitness.

 

The correct resting period depends on the individual and intensity of the activity, but should generally fall within 24-48 hours for most athletes.

 

 

When do fitness levels begin to fall?

 

 

I did my research and these are some figures I found regarding the time length needed for fitness and strength to suffer a noticeable decrease.

The studies referenced herein assume rest to be complete inactivity and that you have a decent base of regular training for several months. Infrequent training without goals or commitment is just random activity and will not lead to fitness gains so talking about rest and recovery doesn’t make much sense.

 

 

Fitness in terms of VO2 max

VO2 max is the volume of oxygen that your lungs and blood can deliver to your muscles. This is important for sports like cycling and running.

Fitness, from VO2 measurements starts to be affected beginning the 4th-7th day of rest. Until then nothing changes but your mood.

When rest time reaches 14-30 days  there is up to 6-20% of VO2 max loss.

At 90+ days VO2 max falls 27.5%     from peak fitness.

 

 

Strength

In terms of strength, changes are slower. There significant decrease in strength for up to 7 days or so. After than chemical changes in the muscles begin to take place but muscle endurance is more affected than strength.

At 14-30 days muscles begin to decrease in size and fewer repetitions are possible. Endurance is affected even more.

After 30 days of rest there is a noticeable decrease in strength by up to 10% as well as power. A 300lb max back squat now becomes 270lb.

At 90+ days A 300lb max back squat now becomes 237lb. Strength performance can decrease 16-21%.

 

 

Maintaining fitness gains, especially strength gains, can be done with maintenance training at a significantly reduced volume and intensity.

 

 

The initial fitness losses shouldn’t trouble the recreational athlete. Adding 30 seconds your running benchmark is not make much difference. In fact, it may even be helpful as strategic detraining (decrease in fitness) can help overcome plateaus.

 

Since the studies referenced herein assume rest to be complete inactivity this is good news as usually when we “rest” we still do our daily activities and not sit all day.

 

 

Conclusions

 

Proper recovery is as important as proper training. And, as with nutrition and everything else, there are many strategies claiming to be the correct way to train and recover.

 

Also as usual, there are rarely any strategies that will work for everyone universally. Manipulating training-recovery strategy to fit a specific individual can take some trial and error, but it provides a better understanding of what the body needs.

 

An appropriately challenging workout will, in general, require one to two recovery days.

An appropriate workout creates a sense of mild soreness, where you can feel that the muscles were challenged. Soreness should not be a debilitating and painful experience that lasts for several days. That is a poorly designed workout.

 

Many people wrongly believe that a workout must be so hard that you should feel significant soreness for several days (unfortunately, many trainers deliver this well).

 

It is important to train just above—but not too far above—one’s current abilities. Better fitness is not achieved by long gaps between training days which you’d need if you experience extreme soreness.

 

 

If you’d like to know more please download my free eBook “15 Healthy Habits For The Body”

 

 

Sources, research and further reading:
http://www.crestedbuttecrossfit.com/cbcf_blog/2014/10/rest-recovery-and-detraining-.html
https://www.acefitness.org/blog/3565/recovery-redefined-how-much-rest-you-actually-need
http://www.builtlean.com/2012/06/05/overtraining/
1
1. Detraining Definition: Mujika, Padilla S
Cardiorespiratory and metabolic characteristics of detraining in humans. NCBI/PubMed
2
Stephen Brooks, Jacky Burrin, Mary E. Cheetham, George M. Hall, Tom Yeo, Clyde Williams
The responses of the catecholamines and β-endorphin to brief maximal exercise in man
European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology 1988, Volume 57, Issue 2, pp 230-234
3
Stephenson, Roy
Comeback Trail: Detraining, Retraining and Maintenance of Fitness for Ultra Endurance Runners
TrailRunner Magazine, December 2011
4
COSTILL, D. L.; FINK, W. J.; HARGREAVES, M.; KING, D. S.; THOMAS, R.; FIELDING, R.
Metabolic characteristics of skeletal muscle during detraining from competitive swimming.
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: June 1985
5
Dr. P. Darrell Neufer The Effect of Detraining and Reduced Training on the
Physiological Adaptations to Aerobic Exercise Training
Sports Medicine, November 1989, Volume 8, Issue 5, pp 302-320
6
E.F. Coyle, M K. Hemmert , A.R. Coggan Effects of Detraining on Cardiovascular
Responses to Exercise: The Role Of Blood Volume
Journal of Applied Physiology Published 1 January 1986Vol. 60no. 1, 95-99
7
K. Madsen , P. K. Pedersen , M. S. Djurhuus , N. A. Klitgaard  Effects of detraining on endurance
 capacity and metabolic changes during prolonged exhaustive exercise
Journal of Applied Physiology Published 1 October 1993 Vol. 75 no.  4,  1444-1451
8
Hortobágyi T, Houmard JA, Stevenson JR, Fraser DD, Johns RA, Israel RG
The effects of detraining on power athletes.
Europe PubMed Central [1993, 25(8):929-935]
9
Mujika I, Padilla S
Muscular characteristics of detraining in humans.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise [2001, 33(8):1297-1303]
10
Hakkinen K, Komi PV (1985). Changes in electrical and mechanical behaviour
of leg extensor muscles during heavy resistance strength training.
Scandinavian Journal of Sports Science 7: 55-64
11
M. E. Houston, E. A. Froese, St. P. Valeriote, H. J. Green, D. A. Ranney Muscle performance,
 morphology  and metabolic capacity during strength training and detraining: A one leg model
European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology1983, Volume 51, Issue 1, pp 25-35
12
READY, A. ELIZABETH; QUINNEY, H. ARTHUR
Alterations in anaerobic threshold as the result of endurance training and detraining.
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: 1982
13
NICHOLS, J. F., D. ROBINSON, D. DOUGLASS and J. ANTHONY
Retraining of a competitive master athlete following traumatic injury: a case study.
Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 32, No. 6, pp. 1037–1042, 2000.
14
Calculation based on the Daniels & Gilbert VO2 max equation, which applies best to running with variables
only for velocity and time. The “Fran” workout is equated to a 1500m run, until more research on VO2 max
and CrossFit is available.
15
KRAEMER, WILLIAM J.; KOZIRIS, L. PERRY; RATAMESS, NICHOLAS A.; HÄKKINEN, KEIJO;
Detraining Produces Minimal Changes in Physical Performance and Hormonal Variables in
Recreationally Strength-Trained Men.
Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research: August 2002
16
Neufer, PD.
The effect of detraining and reduced training on the physiological adaptations to aerobic exercise training.
Sports Med. 1989 Nov; 9(5): 302-­‐320.
17
William A. Sands PhD, CSCS
Incorporating Recovery into Your Microcycle
National Strength and Conditioning Association Online Edition: http://www.nsca.com/education/articles/incorporating-recovery-into-your-microcycle/
Posted on

10 Habits for a Happier, Healthier Monday

10 Habits for a Happier, Healthier Monday

Do you dread Mondays? No need to, it’s a day like all the others. But here are my top 10 tips to get your week started positive, healthy and full of energy.

Hyde Park (7)

1. Push yourself into an early morning WORKOUT.

Better yet do it outdoor. The fresh, crisp air will wake you up, boost your immune system and get the engine going for the rest of the week.

 

2. Start with a healthy, colorful BREAKFAST.

And looking forward to it the evening before.

 

3. Start your week with a morning MEDITATION.

It can be any type of meditation, you can do Tai Chi, walking meditation, yoga, visualization or meditate like a monk. Whatever works for you.

 

4. Watch and listen to INSPIRATIONAL, POSITIVE speeches and videos.

Nothing better to get your brain into thinking positive from the beginning of the week and get motivated.

Try this amazing track on youtube, one of my all time favorites  50 Positive Thoughts To Live An Awesome Life

 

happy

5. Start with a SMILE.

Whoever passes your way smile, it will make you feel better and it will brighten up their day as well.

 

6. Morning STRETCH.

This always wakes me up and relaxes tight muscles from the night before. Don’t be too harsh on yourself, just light stretching. If you have injuries or pains leave the stretches for a bit later after your body moves a little.

 

7. SILENT your phone at night and don’t use it for 1 hour after you wake up.

According to some studies people who don’t check their social media or use mobile devices are more productive during the day. I would add more clear minded and have more energy. Tried and tested many years ago before reading any statistics. Try it.

 

8. Make someone a COMPLIMENT

Throughout the day make at least one person a compliment, it can be anyone and about anything. Like the smile this will make their day and you will feel better as well. Win-Win.

writer

 

9. Start with a list of five things you are GRATEFUL for.

Appreciate the little things as much as the big, important events in your life. They are all part of you and complete your life, and the more you acknowledge them the more often they will happen to you.

 

10. Each time you meet someone, silently wish them HAPPINESS, JOY and LAUGHTER.

I think this is my favourite. I do all of the above throughout the week and like all of them but this is so powerful that it has to be at the top of my list.