Technical articles on General
FitPro congress 2010 – inspirational
This year was my first ever visit to the FitPro spring convention. I had heard how incredible it was, the quality of the speakers and the enthusiasm and inspiration delegates come away with. This article is a short summary of my initial thoughts, with more detailed articles to follow. (more…)
Upstream medicine
I was recently invited to a think-tank of forward-thinking exercise professionals (before you think it, I was surprised to get an invite too!) and one of the topics on discussion was ‘upstream medicine’.
The term upstream medicine refers to the use of diet, exercise and a general healthy existence as a means to avoid preventable lifestyle diseases such as Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, Coronary heart disease, Hypertension etc – rather than deal with problems in future, take steps to prevent them becoming a problem in the first place. Obesity and its co-morbidities are the biggest problem the NHS faces today, and the trend is increasing at an alarming rate – our year on year increase in people suffering from obesity is outstripping that of America – in other words, we are out-eating the Americans. (more…)
Three Peaks Challenge
It all started as a charity idea. The company I work for has an obligation to raise money for a different charity every year, through a variety of different means. Over the past couple of years this has been through sponsored swims, sponsored rows etc. This time I wanted to do something outside of a gym setting, yet still requiring a decent amount of physical exertion! I wanted to take part in a challenge, not perform an effortless row for a few minutes and throw a couple of quid in a bucket afterwards.
The point of the walk was to raise money for a children’s orphanage, and we did – £2000 in total.
After a few minutes of brain-wracking, the idea of doing the three peaks surfaced. I had always wanted to do it, and if a charity was going to benefit from my endeavours, all the better. To make it a worthwhile project for the charity we would need to do it as a team – the more people we had involved, the more money we could make. A quick phone call to my girlfriend Rachel managed to secure the first team member, and a quick group email across the company did the rest.
Plyometrics
A good trainer or coach will have a range of techniques designed to get the best out of his trainee or athlete. For sports people in particular, it is important to be able to develop speed and force – without necessarily needing to increase strength.
Plyometrics, sometimes referred to as explosive jump training, or high velocity ballistic training, is the exercise technique designed with this in mind. This article looks at the science and techniques of plyometrics. (more…)
Introducing health lifestyle habits
The condition of your body is a relatively accurate reflection of your habits and lifestyle. Excluding the lucky few with the genetics that allow almost ritual bodily abuse, we are a product of the stimulus we expose ourselves to. There is no hiding place from the figures that define us – our physical abilities, size and body composition measurements.
If you look in the mirror the reflection that greets you will more or less tell you everything you need to know about your lifestyle. How happy that makes you is another matter – I am not suggesting we all need to look a certain way, and if you are happy fat, thin or athletic, then fine. If you aren’t, then this article aims to gently guide you on the right path, helping you develop the kind of habits that will lead to an altogether healthier existence. (more…)
Goal setting
Gyms the world over are full of people wanting to achieve something – a personal goal. The problem is many members don’t actually realise the importance of setting a goal, far less the importance of sticking to it. There are strategies and tips which can be employed when it comes to setting a successful goal, the simplest and best known being the SMART method. This article discusses the SMART method and how it can be used in a training context. (more…)
Snow, snow, snow
Around the time that this article was being written, the country is largely under a blanket of snow, many schools are closed, the transport network is in chaos, and the Hoyles Fitness team have been out building snowmen and playing on sledges. (more…)
New Year – New You
According to a survey for Sky, among the top ten New Year resolutions are ‘Lose Weight’, and ‘Get Fit / Exercise More’. When the Hoyles Fitness team came up with the snappy title for this article, we thought it was original; until we saw it in the gym, in the local and national newspaper and even on a television feature. So while we can’t claim any exclusivity on the title, we hope that some of our ideas to kickstart a health and fitness campaign will be of use. (more…)
Training Smart
Whatever the task at hand, it is always important to use the right tools for the job. Exercise is no different; this article explains how. (more…)
BMI – Body Mass Index
Body Mass Index is an equation used by specialists to determine whether or not a person lies within a ‘healthy’ weight range.
It is a very common method of evaluating individual people to see if they are under or over weight. The method involves comparing a subject’s weight to their height. By dividing the weight measurement (expressed in kilograms or lbs) by the square of the height (expressed in meters or inches) results in the BMI. A BMI of below 18.5 is considered underweight, between 18.5 and 25 is an indication of a healthy weight, 25 to 30 is considered overweight, a BMI of over 30 is referred to as obese, over 35 is known as morbid obesity, and over 40 indicates extreme obesity.
The BMI test does however have its limitations, so is only used as a general guideline for assessing healthy weight.