So what’s the best way to determine if you’re getting enough water? The first indicator is thirst. If you’re thirsty, take a swig or two of water, or more if required. If you ignore this first warning sign then you risk mild to moderate dehydration, symptoms of which include (source NHS website)

• dizziness or light-headedness
• headache
• tiredness
• dry mouth, lips and eyes
• concentrated urine (dark yellow)
• passing only small amounts of urine infrequently (less than 3-4 times a day)

So its essential to keep hydrated. Your body is over 80% water, your muscles are 75% percent water, your brain is 74% water and your bones approximately 22% water so get it down your neck!

It will help flush your toxins and it’s a vital tool in aiding digestion, lubricates your joints and is great for healthy skin and hair too.

So plenty of incentives to reach for the H2O!

Dave

The link below takes you to the BBC website, have a read.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17818223

In some of the parks in Bristol there are similar training equipment, not quite in the same category. They couldn’t be classed as machines. They are geared more towards using your own body weight and strength e.g. pull up and dip bars.

Even if your local park hasn’t got what you may term as training equipment there are great alternatives.

For example a park bench is a great tool for press ups and dips. Maybe your park has a surrounding wall that is low enough for your perform step ups? How about squatting against a tree? Sounds strange but its an effective exercise to get those leg muscles burning!

So next time your walking or jogging around your park, get your thinking cap on, what could you safely utilise for your next exercise session?

http://www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelay

Dave

• New carpet for the stairs and landing area
• Carpets for all 3 bedrooms
• Move the position of a radiator in the box room
• Paint all 3 bedrooms
• Paint Hallway and landing area
• New bed for 3rd bedroom
• New bedroom furniture

Quite a list. Some of these projects can be accomplished relatively quickly. Others will be medium and longer term projects. But where to start? Which one can I complete that will then allow me to move on to the next one on the list?

I could choose any one of them but for me it has to be the smallest job first which is the moving of the radiator in the box room. I’d leave it to the professionals and call in a plumber as it would only take them an hour or so. Once its done I can than start to tackle the painting in that room, move on to paint the other bedrooms, get the new carpets and finish with the bedroom furniture.

Why am I telling you this? Well let’s but a ‘fitness spin’ on it after all it is a health & fitness blog!

People who lack motivation to start exercising or change their eating habits may only need one small thing to help them on their way to a healthier and fitter way of life.

It could be joining a fitness class in their local village hall or park, maybe a phone call to a Personal Trainer or a chat with a friend who then agrees to join them for a weekly run or bike ride.

It may be eating one less takeaway meal a week, one less bag of crisps or chocolate. Something that gets the ball rolling.

If you feel this relates to you have a good think about what you can do to help kick start a different way of life. It doesn’t have to be a major step just something that you feel comfortable with doing, something you’ll find fun and challenging.

People set themselves New Year resolutions but why wait? Think about what you want to achieve and write down that small step. Scribble it down on a ‘post it’ note and stick it on the fridge or write it in your diary, somewhere where you read it every day.

Start thinking about it now and then make sure you action it as it will be the trigger to a healthier and fitter you!

Dave

So what about a blog listing the good things that you may be eating as part of a traditional Christmas? The stuff that if you eat SENSIBLY will actually provide you with a good amount of nutrients that your body will thank you for. Notice that I capitalised a certain word there?

Turkey

Its a great protein provider which is an essential building block for producing strong muscles and bones. I’m not suggesting your going to suddenly pack on a load of muscle whilst sitting around the dinner table!

Brussel Sprouts

The much maligned sprout seems only to appear over the festive period. Some people hate them. I love them. If cooked properly their tasty and also full of anti cancerous compounds. So ignore the bad press and get them on your plate!

Cabbage

The previously mentioned sprout is part of the Cabbage family so there are many similarities in benefits. The cabbage offers calcium, magnesium (which helps to absorb calcium into the bones), potassium, vitamin C as well as a good dose of fibre.

Peas

Full of Vitamin K which helps your bones to absorb calcium. Peas also contain Vitamin A which helps your immune system.

Carrots

These contain antioxidants called carotenoids which help in fighting cancer. Also they are good for the eyes! No they wont help you see in the dark but research has shown that the chemicals lutein and zeaxanthin may help to prevent cataracts.

Broccoli

The King or Queen of vegetables! This is another vegetable which has anti cancerous properties and is packed with nutrients such as Potassium (which helps muscles to function correctly), calcium, Vitamin C, magnesium, beta-carotene, Vitamin A, lutein and zeaxanthin.

Oranges

I always associate Satsumas with Christmas, it must be a childhood thing. These days I eat oranges on a daily basis, I hope you do too! As well as Vitamin C, oranges contain blood pressure lowering potassium and cholesterol lowering pectin. Oranges also provide you with calcium for strong bones and teeth and well as 3.4 grams of fibre for a medium sized orange. Not a bad return from one fruit.

There are a load more fruit and vegetables that I could have listed but hopefully this gives you an idea of what you can get onto your plate and know you’re introducing your body to a range of great nutrients.

Please be aware that cooking the vegetables will reduce their nutritional value but I’m certainly not advocating you eat raw sprouts on Christmas Day!

Whatever you decide to eat or do over the festive period I hope its a good one!

Dave

Ultimately though the choice is yours, you can choose to ignore or embrace this type of information. Nothing can 100% guarantee you against any illness or disease but at least you can make a positive step to reducing the chances of being part of the statistics.

Here’s the link

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16031149

Dave

After I qualified as a Personal Trainer I immediately embarked on my 4 week Sports Massage course. It ran from a Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Intense but a great expericence. There was a lot of theory to take on board but there was a lot of practical as well.

Every day we would have the opportunity to practice Sports Massage. I’ll admit that prior to the course I hardly ever stretched which had made my muscles very tight. My course tutor discovered her course ‘dummy’ within a matter of days!

She used my legs to show people what scar tissue and knotted muscles felt like. My legs were prodded, poked and massaged by her and the course students over the subsequent four weeks.

But by the end of the course weeks my legs felt great! Why? Because most of the scar tissue and knots had gone. It was a painful experience at times but it only lasted a few seconds as fingers or elbows were pushed deep into my knotted muscles. But they felt more flexible and my range of movement was much better and my muscles were working far more efficiently.

After I qualified I joined a Health Club for a few months where I offered Sports Massage. It kept me busy. The chief complaint that people had were tension in the neck and shoulder area and the majority of them were office workers. Not surprising really if you consider the amount of time that most of us spend in a seated position both in an out of work.

The transformation that my muscles went through just proved to me what a great benefit a Sports Massage can be to your overall health and well being.

So whether you are a sporty person or a non sporty person give your muscles a recharge and book in for a Sports Massage. If you live in Bristol you can get a 20% at Core Strength Studios if you mention yours truly.

Dave

But sometimes even the music cant stimulate me. Personal or business matters may be filling my head during the run and the music cant quite help. My legs are feeling heavy and I’m strating to struggle. So how do I get my mojo back?

I use my imagination. I pretend I’m in a race, an Olympic one at that. I’m currently in 4th place, there’s 2 miles to go and I’m hunting down the 3 in front of me. There’s even an excitable commentator in my daydream telling the viewers that I’ve come back from a nasty injury and I’m quite unfancied for a medal position. The Press have even suggested that I could be over the hill, past it!

Every few minutes the ‘commentator’ receives an update as to the distance and time difference between me and the leading pack and yes I’m gaining on them. I have loved ones in the crowd with motivational banners cheering me on. My 5 year old daughter is shouting “come on Daddy!”

Suddenly I can see one of my ‘prey’ and he’s struggling to keep up with the other two. I get past him easily and I’m in bronze medal position. But I’ve been training 4 years for this moment and I’m not going to settle for a bronze. So I push on, I’m now catching up with the 2 leaders, the excitable commentator is going to have an aneurysm. He cant believe his eyes, he’s convinced that I may have “gone too soon” but I’m closing in, chipping away at the leaders, determined that I will catch them.

I’m now a few hundred yards from the finish line also known as The Kings Head pub. I pass the Car Wash and the smelly burger van and my running mojo is back. Do I beat my imaginary challengers on the line? Do I collect my gold medal from the lovely Holly Willoughby? Of course I do, its my daydream after all!

Dave

But what happens when you don’t give your body the chance to recover. After all you’ve pushed your heart, lungs, muscles, tendons and ligaments (have I missed anything out!?). Surely they need to recover? Yes they do. Its during the recovery that the body repairs itself and you come back that little bit stronger, fitter, leaner and meaner!

But what happens if you’re body isn’t being given the chance to recover, what happens if you’re overtraining and how do you know when its happening?

Possible Symptoms of Overtraining (not to be confused with a Hangover!)

• A general lack of energy and lethargy
• Aches and pains
• Decrease in your workout intensity
• Headaches
• Cant sleep
• Suddenly catching more colds / sore throats
• Feeling irritable
• Loss of enthusiasm for training
• Increase in injuries

Those symptoms could easily be caused by other factors other than overtraining but if you feel that you are exercising too much you could also check out this method developed by Heikki Rusko a Professor of Exercise Physiology and Sport.

He first introduced this to cross country skiers and is called the Orthostatic Heart Rate test

• Lie down and rest comfortably for 10 minutes the same time each day (morning is best).
• At the end of 10 minutes, record your heart rate in beats per minute.
• Then stand up
• After 15 seconds, take a second heart rate in beats per minute.
• After 90 seconds, take a third heart rate in beats per minute.
• After 120 seconds, take a fourth heart rate in beats per minute.

If you are not overtraining your resting heart rate will remain consistent during the readings. However if you are overtraining your heart rate may well increase between the 1st and 4th reading. Rusko found that during tests, the BPM would rise by at least 10 BPM or more.

If you think you are overtraining then simply rest by either reducing the intensity of your workouts or stop exercising for a day or two and perform the resting heart rate test again. You should also see that many of the symptoms listed earlier will disappear. If you have any doubts then you should always consult your GP to make sure there arent any other underlying issues.

Dave

Its a great way to help somebody on the road to fitness and improved health.

Get in touch for further details. Or just click on this link and purchase the required amount. We’ll then send you a voucher in plenty of time for Christmas.

http://www.calonpersonaltraining.co.uk/charges.php

Dave