All About You PT

Time To Detox?

2012-03-05T12:16:00.004-08:00

We are all exposed to thousands of toxins and chemicals on a daily basis at work, in the home, through the air we breathe, our food and water supply, and through the use of pharmaceutical drugs. In addition, we are eating more sugar and processed foods than ever before in human history and regularly abuse our bodies with various stimulants and sedatives.

For decades, scientists have been studying the pollutants in our air, water, food, and soil. U.S. industries manufacture over 6 trillion pounds of 9,000 different chemicals a year. They dump billions of pounds of industrial chemicals into our air and water year after year. So now scientists have started to examine pollution levels in humans and their findings are deeply disturbing.

The foods and drinks we like the best, unfortunately happen to be the ones that are the worst for us.

The Truth

The more of these you consume the more acidic your body will become.

Our bodies are extremely clever at surviving, and set up defense mechanisms against substances that could harm our vital organs. In this case it is FAT. Our bodies use Fat to defend its self against an acidic system. This can also explain one reason why exercise is sometimes quite ineffective.

The organ most under threat is the Liver. Research clearly proves that our bodies are not capable of eliminating all the different toxins and chemicals we inhale and ingest every day. They simply accumulate in our cells (especially fat cells), tissues, blood, organs (such as the colon, liver and brain) and remain stored for an indefinite length of time causing all kinds of health problems. (Here are pictures of what pollution build-up looks like in the liver, versus a healthily functioning liver).

However the production of acid is also a natural function within the body. All of the cells (billions of them) that make up the human body are slightly alkaline, and must maintain alkaline in order to function and remain healthy and alive. However when we move, their cellular activity creates acid and this acid is what gives the cell energy and function. As each alkaline cell performs its task of respiration, it secretes metabolic wastes, and these end products of cellular metabolism are acid in nature.

Other than the liver one of the main areas that is subject to serious health issues is the Intestines and the Colon.Look at this picture on the right, would you feel constipated, bloated and lethargic? Would your bowels be irritated by this build-up day in and day out causing what we today call IBS? Just think about what other problems toxic build-up like this can cause? Stomach pain and constipation? Fatigue, gas and bloating? Overgrowth of Candida? Headaches and indigestion? Weight gain and a large protruding belly?

It has been stated that over 90% of disease in America could be traced to unhealthy conditions in the bowel. “The poisons thus generated (in the bowel) pollute the bloodstream, causing every tissue, gland, and organ of the body to gradually deteriorate and be destroyed.

When do you need to Detox?

If this is the first time you've been exposed to this life-changing information, you've probably never considered this simple question: Are you clean inside? Of course you take care of the outside: You shower, brush your teeth and wash your hair on a regular basis, but do you clean yourself inside? In this modern, toxic world it's becoming a simple fact of life that our colon & Lymphatic System (the ‘sewer system' of the body), liver and other organs also require cleansing. Just like a car requires an oil change periodically.

‘You service and tune your car up every 6-12 months or every 5000 miles. Why? To ensure that you get the most from it and that it lasts longer…When was the last time you did this for yourself? And what is more important – you or your car?’
If you experience one or more of the following, then it's time to detoxify:

Frequent fatigue and low energy
Flatulence, gas & bloating
Excess weight
Impaired digestion
Irritability, mood swings
Bad breath & foul-smelling stools

Recurring headaches
Constipation
Protruding belly ("pooch")
Powerful food cravings
Skin problems
Metallic taste in mouth

For more information on The All About You Detox programme contact us at the studio.

Learning lessons from a 6 year old

2011-12-26T12:25:00.000-08:00

So it’s the end of 2011! I hope it’s been a good year for you?...

I enjoy this time of year as I use it as an opportunity to reflect on the past years successes and failures and plan out how I’m going to make the next 12 months even more productive and successful.

On Christmas day my sister came round with her partner and little Henry who’s six and just a bundle of energy! After shooting at each other with guns, teaching him tricks from his magic set and playing for hours with game after game, it’s amazing to see how much he hated losing at anything!

It got me thinking that maybe we should try to be more like kids in this respect! Why do so many people lose the desire to succeed so easily?!

Kids have very little fear, they say what they think, they just want to have fun and they want to win!

Now that’s a pretty good outlook for anyone’s life in my eyes!

What happens to us as adults though?

When do we stop wanting to win?

Why do we accept we don’t want to get the best from our relationships, from our jobs and from our health?

Life doesn’t have to be this way. We CAN win at everything! We can have great relationships, a great career, great health and fantastic fitness levels. We just need to decide to do it and then make a plan to get there.

2012 is going to a very good year, I’ve decided this already! ;-) We’ll see the country come further out of recession and more opportunities for growth will be available for us.

As for our health and fitness, The Olympics is coming to town and we’ll be inspired by the performances of Mo Farah, Dai Greene, Ben Ainslee and Jessica Ennis to get out there and move a bit more!

If you want to win in 2012 then forget what you may have been told by others, lose the fear and the inhibitions, and decide that you want more…

Write down your top health, relationship, business and personal goals for next year, get out and make it happen and don’t give up until you win!

Contact us at the studio to find out how we can help you with your health and fitness goals.

http://aayou.co.uk/contact/

Stressed? What a joke!

2011-12-15T13:52:00.000-08:00

Its Christmas time and no one really wants to read about what exercise they should be doing when all they want to do is crash out on the sofa and watch Deal or No Deal Christmas special! Or, what organic, locally farmed, grass fed produce they should be consuming on Christmas day – it’s that time of year when everything goes out of the window!

We WILL all over eat, we WILL have a few too many Bailey’s and we WILL do very little in the way of movement and it’s OK to do this, you need to listen to your body, give in and let it rest up from time to time.

PLUS – guilt is a wonderful thing for getting the studio’s busy in January!!

We all get caught up in the busy-ness of life, our work schedules become almost unmanageable, the stress of family and home life can get a bit too much, we realise how expensive this time of year can easily become and we forget about actually having some fun.

I was talking to one of my client’s this week about his work Christmas party and he told me he is hosting a laughter workshop!

Now, I’m open to a lot of weird and wonderful ideas, but this sounded a bit “out there” to me! Then the more I thought about it, the more I realised what an amazing idea it was. Laughter really is the best medicine...

GOOD FOR HEALTH
Laughter has been proven to relieve pain and enhance the immune system.
It reduces stress hormones like cortisol and dopamine and increase endorphins, the feel good chemicals.

GOOD FOR THE MIND
Laughter brings focus away from negative emotions like anger, guilt and stress and brings a positive outlook on things.

GOOD FOR A SIX PACK?!
A good belly laugh exercises the diaphragm, it contracts the abdominals and even provides a good cardio workout!

Simply put it provides a fantastic stress management tool, I’m sure we all enjoy sitting down to watch Only Fools and Horses on Christmas day to relieve the stress of the inevitable Christmas day family arguments?!!

It allows you to be in the moment, feel good, give you a different perspective on life and create a positive re-framing of your current situation.

The simple fact is that this year has been a tough time for a lot of us. However, with a New Year approaching I think we need to re-assess our priorities and make a conscious effort to laugh more and have fun in every aspect of our lives. This should be a priority of anyone who wants to live a more healthier life. So cheer up! It’s Christmas!!

Back To School

2011-11-23T03:00:00.000-08:00

My lovely girlfriend was telling me about this lunatic she works with; he’s like the forrest gump of the I.T world, one day he just started running and he just hasn’t stopped! He’s found another slightly de-ranged fella to be his running buddy and the two “marathon men” are embarking on the slightly ridiculous challenge of completing 12 marathons in 12 months!

So I decided I would help out and make sure they were in a fit state to head off on their little adventure...

A little bleep test to determine their current fitness level and give me a bit more information to put a specific training programme together, and obviously a nice way to see them suffer and find out if they’ve got the staying power!...

Here’s Jamie’s take on the afternoon...

Sunday afternoon began with the feeling of returning to school as we prepared ourselves for the physical challenge that is the 20 metre bleep test.

Set in one of the gymnasiums at the old College for Education, now Northumbria Police HQ I really expected Mr Sugden, the PE teacher from Kes, to march in armed with whistle in hand and barking orders!

Fortunately we were joined by David Osgathorp, a high profile personal trainer from London, who was on hand to give us some much needed advice and feedback from the results from the test.

Langley and Jamie were joined by Judy and Zach for the opening stages of the test, but Zach soon found other interests (mostly climbing on police mannequins and peddling like the dickens on one of the many exercise bikes dotted around the room) and Judy later dropped out leaving the two marathon men to push themselves as far as their legs would take them.

The test had certainly picked up its pace by level 9 (or were we just slowing?) and the pair sprinted from point to point to hit the beats. Looking good at level 11 quickly turned to lagging behind as level 12 closed in. Langley reached shuttle 10 in level 11 before dropping and Jamie fell a shuttle later - showing how equal our relative fitness levels are as a pair.

We await the results with trepidation and David will be setting us a series of personal goals to help us in our build up to Anglesey.

If this wasn't enough we then set off on a 16 mile riverside run from Newburn back to Hexham. A tough run, but very rewarding on completion.
The training programme is on it’s way fella’s...
If you want to find out more about Langley and Jamie’s challenge head over to www.marathonmen.co.uk and help them in their goal to raise money for www.tinylives.org.uk

I’ve been inspired by their goal and if these dodgy old knees can take it then I may even join them for one of their marathons (let me know the flattest course fella’s ;-))

I’ll keep you all updated on their progress.

What's The Dukan Diet All About?

2011-08-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

The Dukan diet has been getting a lot of press lately with A-list stars such as Jennifer Lopez, Giselle Bundchen and most recently Victoria Beckham reportedly following it to lose their post pregnancy pounds. But what is it? How does it work and is it safe?

French doctor Pierre Dukan is responsible for creating the diet over 10 years ago as a treatment protocol for his obese patients.

It is essentially a four-phase, high protein, high fibre, low calorie diet and has certain similarities to the Atkins diet in its extreme nature and in the results patients expect to see. Apparently dieters can lose as much as 1-2 pounds per day during the initial “Attack” phase.

How does it work?
Phase 1, the "Attack" phase, is quite simple: Eat all you want of lean protein, along with 1.5 tablespoons of oat bran and 1.5 litres of water daily. That’s it. Dieters can choose from 72 lean or low-fat meats (excluding pork and lamb), fish, poultry, eggs, soya and non-fat dairy.

This is followed by the "Cruise" phase, which allows unlimited amounts of 28 non-starchy vegetables every other day along with a core diet of unlimited lean/low-fat protein and two tablespoons of oat bran.

Carrots, peas, sweetcorn and potatoes are not on this list of vegetables but appear in the next phase.

Phase 3, "Consolidation," allows unlimited protein (including pork and lamb) and vegetables every day, along with one piece of low-sugar fruit, two slices of granary bread, and one portion of hard cheese. Dieters can also have 1-2 servings of starchy foods and 1-2 "celebration" meals

Phase 4, "Stabilisation," is the maintenance portion of the plan. Which includes rules such as one day a week, follow an all-protein diet as in Phase 1, eat three tablespoons of oat bran a day and walk for 20 minutes daily and never take elevators or escalators.

So is this the answer and should we all just follow this to achieve great results?

Well, in short, NO!

Any diet that encourages the body to deplete its glycogen stores will have a negative affect on the body; the book warns dieters they may suffer from bad breath, constipation, dry mouth and fatigue, all indications of ketosis which is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening state that stresses the liver.

As a health and fitness professional I feel it is my responsibility to bring about lasting change, to look at creating optimal health through safe and effective exercise and nutrition.

All the evidence out there points to the fact that diets simply don’t work. Anything that is so restrictive in its nature to cause such drastic weight loss can not be good for your body.

My first issue is the difference between weight loss and fat loss. You can head to the toilet and lose a few pounds of “weight”; you can reduce your water intake for a day or two and have the same effect. The truth is you need a long term healthy approach to diet and an effective exercise programme to bring about lasting change to your body composition and fat levels.

Burning 3,500 calories will result in a 1 pound of fat weight loss. Now that is going to be a seriously tough training session for a pretty small amount of progression. That’s why any fat loss based exercise programme MUST contain a supervised nutritional element.

You can’t out-train a bad diet!

Unfortunately for us Health and Fitness Professional the glossy magazines out there absolutely love to report on the eating and exercise habits of “celebrities”. If Posh Spice is doing it then it must be amazing!

Why are women so obsessed with what she does?!

The simple fact is that she has been in good shape her whole life. It’s up for debate as to whether she has been healthy for that time!

All of the women you see in magazines have never been seriously out of shape. 90% of the photo’s you see of them have been air brushed and most of them have probably had an eating disorder or two over the years and yet we still aspire to be like them?!!

The simple truth is the quick fix approach will produce quick fix results that produce rapid “weight” loss but rarely result in long-term success as the restrictive nature is extremely difficult for dieters to adhere to.

Our advice is to work with a professional who can not only provide exact exercise and nutritional advice tailored to your individual needs but also provide the accountability to enable you to stick to this programme.

For information on our training and nutritional programmes contact us at the studio: david@aayou.co.uk

Personal Boot-camp training with All About You Performance and Wellbeing

2011-07-01T02:42:00.000-07:00

Do you need to get in shape for a holiday, a wedding, a sports event or just want RESULTS FAST? Are you willing to work hard for them? Then a personal boot-camp with All About You Performance and Wellbeing could be for you.

Our personal boot-camps are an intense, bespoke series of workouts designed with one goal in mind; RESULTS! At All About You Performance and Wellbeing we understand that sometimes people just do not have the time to dedicate months to an exercise or fitness goal, therefore we are now offering this personal boot-camp service.

The boot-camp consists of a short term commitment of either 4, 5 or 6 weeks. Each week there will be four workouts, each offering a different way pushing you to the limits. The exercise sessions may include; resistance training, outdoor cardio workouts, boxing, circuits, body weight training, flexibility and much more. A diet plan will also be provided to compliment the exercise programme.

The boot-camps are hard work, be prepared to sweat, but they offer a safe and fun way of getting you GUARANTEED RESULTS!

You can use the boot-camp for whatever fitness goal is necessary. It could be getting beach fit for holiday, ski fit for the winter, running a 5km or 10km race. Farah aged 30, used her 6 week programme as a Bridal Boot-camp so she could drop a dress size for her big day. Check out her results; she lost 7lbs, including 2inches of her tummy and over an inch off her waist and hips.

“…the boot-camp was hard work, but worth it. I feel thinner, more toned and have bags of energy….”

The cost of the boot-camp depends on the option you choose, there are 4, 5 or 6 week programmes available. So if you are interested in finding out more about this exciting new guaranteed results service, please contact James Hutchison at the studio.

Studio number: 0208 348 9706
Mobile: 07979 022120
Email: james.hutchison4@btinternet.com

Does Weight Training Make Women Bulky?

2011-06-10T01:59:00.000-07:00

There are numerous myths and scare stories around the issue of female resistance training that cause most women to stay well away from the weights room in the gym through the fear of growing bulky muscles.

This simply won’t happen!

The truth is that women don’t have enough of the hormones in their body that allow for increased muscle mass. In fact they actually have 10 to 30 times less amounts of testosterone and human growth hormone than males.

In fact most male weight trainers will tell you that simply lifting weights isn’t going to guarantee instant muscle gain. It takes serious dedication, a precise and appropriate weight training programme, a strict and scientifically engineered diet complete with dietary supplementation and for a number of guys, chemical enhancement to see these results!

Muscle mass just won’t suddenly appear because you dare to lift weights. Unfortunately many women believe this myth and therefore miss out on all of the benefits that strength training offers.

Weight training is incredibly beneficial to women and my team of trainers and I incorporate some form of strength training element into all of our female client’s programmes. The down side is that YES, it may mean that your overall weight may go up but as I always say to my clients “is the number on those scales really important if you look and feel so much better?”

The bottom line is that muscle tissue weights more than fat. Therefore, as you increase your muscle tissue, your "weight" will increase.

However, here’s the good bit, Muscle is thermogenic which means that by having more of it this will increase your resting metabolism. The denser your muscle tissue, the more calories you will burn even at a complete rest. Those with dense muscles burn more calories by just engaging in their regular daily activities. In fact, research shows that for each pound of muscle earned, you will expend 35 to 50 more calories per day. So, if you gain three pounds of muscle, you will burn 40 more calories per pound, which equates to 120 additional calories per day, which translates into 3,600 additional calories per month and ultimately results in a weight loss of 10 to 12 pounds in a single year.

Weight training is also an incredibly powerful weapon against osteoporosis, a disease characterised by low bone mass, leading to an increased susceptibility to fractures of the wrists, hips, and spine. About 3 million people in the UK have osteoporosis and every year more than 230,000 fractures occur because of it. In fact, statistics show that one in two women over the age of 50 will suffer from an osteoporosis-related fracture during their lifetime.

So maybe the question should be can we really live healthily without weight training?

For more information contact David and his team – HYPERLINK "http://www.aayoutraining.com" www.aayoutraining.com

2011-06-08T23:50:00.000-07:00

Seven Reasons To Detox

Detoxing has received mixed messages in the press in recent years. Unfortunately there is a lack of understanding as to how proper detox programmes can benefit every individual not only from a weight loss angle but also in their general health and wellbeing. There are always extreme approaches to every health procedure but a sensible detox programme doesn’t need to involve a week of water, beetroot juice and 2 colonics a day!
This can be done very safely, sensibly and leave you feeling amazing!
So why should you detox?
Improved Quality of Life

Sadly many of us just simply put up with poor health. We live with joint pain, headaches and poor digestion for years unnecessarily. It doesn’t need to be this way! Even issues such as poor memory, energy levels and mood can be improved when we are able to restore the body’s health and vitality.

When we detox, we allow body to use its energy to restore and repair cells, organs and systems that need to be repaired which leaves us much stronger afterwards. Did you know that 50% of our daily energy level is used for digestion? When we detox there is much more available energy for the body’s internal ability to “fix” what needs to be “fixed”!

To Prevent Chronic Disease
Free radicals are present in all living cell and are a part of the cell processes. However excessive free radicals in our cells can attack the cell membranes causing cell and tissue damage and leading to conditions such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cataracts, strokes and many more. There is more and more research into the benefits of alkalizing the body as it is known that cancer cells cannot grow in an alkaline environment. With a detox the PH of the body moves from more acidic to more alkaline!

For Anti-Aging Benefits
As previously mentioned, free radicals and heavy metals attack the body sometimes causing irreparable damage internally and externally. Detoxing rids the body of free radicals and heavy metals allowing it to better absorb nutrients including anti-oxidants and vitamins which are essential for fighting oxidative stress – one of the biggest factors in premature aging.
Weight Loss
The simple theory of calories in verses calories out simply doesn’t work! If someone’s digestive system isn’t functioning properly they won’t lose weight! FACT!

A detox programme allows the body to get rid of toxins stored in fat cells and as water weight. When the body eliminates these toxins the water weight disappears and it is common to lose inches of fat, often around the middle.

Strengthen your Immune System
Toxins stress the immune system and also drain the body of energy trying to eliminate them leaving our immune system weakened. This leaves us open to colds, flu and other more serious ailments. Performing a regular detox allows us to strengthen the immune system and fight off infection. Strengthening the immune system also reduces the body’s inflammatory response to external allergens such as pollen and other airborne allergens as well as reduced sensitivities to additives in food, wheat, lactose and other common food allergens.

Create Body Balance
The body’s systems were designed to work in harmony with one another. The nervous system, endocrine and digestive systems perform precise operations to keep us functioning at our optimal level. When these systems fall out of balance our health is compromised.
A detox restores balance to the body allowing us to function properly. Our mood is drastically improved, sleep patterns return to normal and we actually feel rested. It allows the digestive system to function properly, expelling waste immediately and preventing the buildup of toxins.
Remove Toxins and Parasites from the Body

Long term exposure to toxins can affect cell growth, behaviour and immune response and the only way to combat this is through a programme of elimination.

Parasites are also common issues affecting proper digestion. They find their way into our bodies via skin or oral ingestion and they feed on our supplies depriving us of vitamins, nutrients and amino acids.

Heavy metal toxicity and parasites can cause numerous disruptions to the blood, lymph, heart, liver, eyes, brain and joints that conventional medicine often fails to diagnose. A simple consultation can detect any issues with parasites and treat them accordingly.

The Art Of Chillaxing..

2011-06-07T01:53:00.000-07:00

Meditation and the art of “chillaxing”

If you struggle to deal with Monday morning’s or Tuesday and Wednesday morning’s even then perhaps you need to learn how to switch off a bit more. Our meditation and relaxation specialist Simon Paul Frost from HYPERLINK "http://www.mymeditation.co.uk" www.mymeditation.co.uk explains more...

Ask most people if they meditate… the answer would be NO…
Ask most people if they want to feel calm, relaxed, be free from tension, anxiety and be happy about life…the answer would be YES…

Why is it then that most people don’t meditate…but desire the mind set and feelings that meditation provides?

I believe it is the old associations: after all, what does the word meditation mean to you? Orange robed monks sitting in silence for hours on end – a chilled out hippie or even an anti religious practice that is more witch craft than prayer … the list could go on!

If we feel limited by restrictions in our lives then we can lose hope – if however, we can remain calm then we enter a place of better understanding and from this objective perspective we can create any desired changes.

How often have you been in a place of regretful hind sight? Wouldn’t it be great to be in a place of productive fore sight and be able to focus on the things you do want rather than waste your energy on all the things you don’t?

Times have changed but our human needs haven’t – we all love to feel calm, we all love to relax and we all would love our lives to be happy and positive…so what are you waiting for?

If you learn to meditate (like a work-out for the mind; the more you do the quicker and faster you become) not only will you be able to understand what meditation is all about you will also be able to say to this modern world that you also know how to “chillax”!
To chill = to feel calm and anxiety free.
To relax = to be tension-free and happy.

Info on Simon – HYPERLINK "http://www.simonpaulfrost.com" www.simonpaulfrost.com
For meditations – HYPERLINK "http://www.mymeditation.co.uk" www.mymeditation.co.uk

The Max Test!

2011-05-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

When our client Kevin came to me with the idea of doing the ultimate triathlon in one year, Swim –(Hellespont - effectively crossing from Europe to Asia!) Run The Marathon and Cycle from Lands End to John O’Groats I thought he was a bit of a lunatic; now he’s been coming in to the studio for a while we all know he is!!
So how are we going to ensure that the training programmes we’re giving him are actually taking his fitness to levels he’s never been before to deal with these challenges?!!

Well, that’s where our relationship with The Centre for Health and Human Performance comes in handy. Not only can they take our clients through a VO2 max test their team of experts (http://www.76harleystreet.com/sections/team/sportperformance ) can assist us in creating excellent programmes to deliver the results clients like Kevin are looking for.

VO2 max is measured by getting the lungs to work as hard as they possibly can during an incremental exercise test. As the body works harder the lungs draw more oxygen to supply the muscles, the aim of the test is to reach the point of exhaustion where the lungs are at their maximum.
It’s VERY tough on the client!

Anyone that comes in to the studio knows when Kevin is in the building! So it was great for all of us to have a rest from his grunting and groaning as the mask quietened his screams!

VO2 max is the gold standard of fitness testing, it measures the maximum amount of oxygen in millilitres, one can use in one minute per kilogram of body weight. It is not dependant on the size of your lungs. Olympic champion rower Matthew Pinsent has a lung capacity of eight-and-a-half litres, but when it comes to a VO2 max test, he and fellow rower James Cracknell fall behind little Paula Radcliffe!

Although it is possible to train this in order to increase these levels genetics plays a major role in a person’s VO2 max and it is believed that heredity factors can account for up to 25-50% of the variance seen between individuals.

The highest ever recorded VO2 max is 94 ml/kg/min in men and 77 ml/kg/min in women, - Both were cross-country skiers.

Whatever your goals may be, whether its training for that endurance challenge, or recovery from major surgery, your health and human performance is vital and our relationship with 76 Harley Street allows this to happen.

For more information on this contact us at the studio – david@aayou.co.uk

Are you SAD?

2011-03-17T01:14:00.000-07:00

At last we’ve started seeing some sunshine! The clocks go forwards at the end of the month and it will officially be British Summer time and we can hopefully start to enjoy some better weather and being outside a bit more!

Over the last few weeks it’s amazing how many people have commented that at last they’re starting to feel better, just in the last few days at the studio’s we have noticed that clients cold and flu symptoms have cleared up, energy levels have increased and a few more smiles have started appearing! Do the cold dark days really have such a huge impact on us?

Its incredible how many people do actually suffer from Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression or winter blues.

SAD is a mood disorder which affects people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year but experience depressive symptoms in the winter. Although SAD was once regarded skeptically by the experts, it is now well established as a serious medical condition.

Symptoms vary from sleeping too much, having decreased energy levels, to feeling depressed. Though symptoms can be severe, they are usually not long term.
Typically sufferers experience difficulty waking up in the morning, morning sickness, oversleeping, over-eating, with particular cravings for carbohydrates and consequent weight gain.

Other symptoms include a lack of energy, difficulty concentrating on completing tasks, and withdrawal from friends, family, and social activities.

There are many different treatments for seasonal affective disorder, including light therapy with sunlight or bright lights, cognitive-behavioral therapy, supplementation of the hormone melatonin and the cure for everything – EXERCISE!
Whether you actually suffer from SAD or not, inevitably during the winter months we experience lower energy levels and the miserable weather is often reflected in our moods. The good news is as with most illnesses the power to improve it is in your hands...

The blue feeling can usually be dampened or extinguished by exercise and increased outdoor activity, particularly on sunny days. The positive effects of exercise are endless: Increased energy levels, improved circulation, increased fitness, fat loss and enhanced mood as exercise stimulated the release of endorphins.

The natural feel good chemicals which decrease the stress hormones such as cortisol and increase feelings of euphoria and a general state of wellbeing are released during exercise. Just exercising for a short period of time will improve your mood. Ten minutes of moderate exercise is enough to improve your mood, your vigour and also decrease fatigue.

So if everyone around you is sick of seeing your miserable face you can now look forward to the great British summertime as an opportunity to get back into that exercise routine to not only feel great mentally but get in great shape physically too!

Happy Days!

Look after your heart this Valentine’s Day.

2011-02-11T09:45:00.000-08:00

It seems that every high street shop has their special promotions planned and heart shaped decorations in the window’s directed at cashing in on us clueless guys in our attempts to show our love for our partners!

The beauticians are promoting their pampering products, the flower shop is stocking up on red roses, the confectionary store is crammed full of heart shaped sweet delights and the local restaurant has created a special Valentines menu.
What do you do?

Well here’s a novel suggestion. Instead of just giving a simple gift that will end up being thrown away, used up or eaten why not give something a lot more lasting….. If you really want to give your heart to that special someone then why not give them a very healthy heart?!

Did you know that heart disease still kills more people in the United Kingdom than any other condition? National statistics showed one in five men and around one in six women died from heart disease, including heart attacks, in 2005, and around 2.7 million People are estimated to be living with coronary heart disease in the UK and this number is rising each year.

The majority of us lead a lifestyle which encourages an unhealthy diet, excess alcohol consumption, lack of sleep, a stressful working environment and a serious lack of physical activity. I can almost guarantee that you will have at least one of these factors in your life at the moment.

Obviously hereditary conditions account for a number of cases but a huge number of cases are self inflicted through poor choices on the individual’s part. Most heart disease is avoidable if we take simple measures to improve our lifestyle. Too many people in the UK are exercising too little, eating diets too high in fat, salt and sugar, and consequently, becoming overweight or obese.

Another huge factor that we allow into our lives to cause damage to our heart is stress. Stress is the way we all react to change. It includes our mental, emotional and physical responses to the pressures of everyday life.

The pace of our lives in the 21st century is getting faster and faster. Consequently it seems to be harder to find the time to exercise or cook well-balanced, healthy meals. We rev our engines with stimulants like caffeine, sugar and nicotine but then need depressants like alcohol to slow us down again.

Stress is also associated with depression and anxiety disorders and can reduce the amount of pleasure you get out of life. Chronic stress can numb you to feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment. Eventually, this numbness could have a negative impact on your work and your relationships.

How do we change and create long term health benefits?

The simple answer to long term health is long term practice. Unfortunately as stated earlier we live in a world that runs at 100 miles per hour and we want everything now. Therefore we look for the quickest possible way to achieve our desired results.
These usually include prescription medication. What they don’t tell you is that these medications only mask the underlying problems and that every drug has a side effect and a negative impact on the human body, and are you really taking control of your own health by taking a pill?

There are other ways to look after your heart that are much more effective, long lasting and enjoyable.

1. Exercise

Even a brief amount of exercise each day will enable your metabolism to start functioning more effectively. It will reduce excess body fat, stabilise blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, strengthen the heart an it is a fantastic way to alleviate stress.

2. Take control of your diet

People talk a lot about reducing the amount of fat in your diet and to an extent this advice has been taken a bit too far. Saturated fats WILL increase the clogging of the arteries but Omega 3 oils and essential fatty acids are crucial for the body to survive a healthy existence.

The big change that needs to be made in the majority of diets is a reduction in the amount of refined carbohydrates. Consuming these types of foods not only causes bloating and poor digestion, they also raise blood sugar levels, which stimulates the production of insulin.

Unfortunately we are extremely misinformed about what we eat. Food companies are allowed to exploit our naivety and as a result consumers are unaware of what foods are actually good for them and those that are actually causing more harm. The key is to eat real foods preferably organic as often as possible.

3. Relax

We need to slow down our body’s adrenal system, turn off the fight or flight response and learn to relax, replenish and recharge. Simple processes such as cutting out the amount of stimulants we consume and learning to breath properly get a higher quality a quantity of sleep and take time to switch off each day.

So this Valentine’s make plans to look after your health and give your loved one a healthy heart for years to come, - but probably go with the flowers as well to avoid ending up in the doghouse!

We’ve got a great article on stress management coming up in the next few weeks...

Creating a new habit.

2011-01-31T01:25:00.000-08:00

The first month of 2011 has already passed us by! How has it gone for you?

If you wanted to change your diet have you succeeded with that and lost a few pounds? Have you been following a regular exercise programme? Have you managed your time more effectively? Or even changed your job?

Whatever changes you’ve wanted to make to your life it’s never easy to maintain the effort required to make it happen...

We are all creatures of habit and even with the best intentions often fall back into the old routine

“Old Habits Die Hard”

Often the biggest problem is that we aim to make drastic changes to our lives that simply are one step too far...

• 40-a-day smokers decide to quit all together
• Junk food addicts start to follow a 1000 calorie a day diet
• Those that haven’t exercised in years decide their going to run the marathon!

Drastic changes like these will usually fail because the new habits needed to deal with these changes are too extreme from the behaviour the person has previously been used to.

It then becomes such a negative experience that often people fall back into previous habits and in some cases are worse for the experience!

How do we stop this from happening and guarantee a positive experience?

The 7 steps to creating a new habit:

1. Write down your plan and keep it somewhere you will see it every day.

2. State specifically what your goal will be each day. E.G. “I will exercise for a minimum of 10 minutes today.”

3. State what your trigger will be. E.G. “I will exercise every morning after brushing my teeth.”

4. State who you will report to. E.G. “I will comment on the All About You Facebook page about my workout each day”

5. Post your goal publicly. – Use your social media for positive use.

6. Tell as many people as possible about your goal.

7. Celebrate your new habit at the end of 30 days.

It really is that simple!

The key is to not set your goals too big.

Creating a complete lifestyle change is going to require incredible determination and willpower and will increase your chances of failure.

If you haven’t exercised in years then face it... Training for the marathon is going to be pretty tough!!

But, doing 10 minutes of exercise per day is very do-able.

Set yourself up for success, not failure!

This exercise is about forming a new habit and taking small steps to achieve a big goal.

Plan an achievable goal, tell the world, do it and report on it EVERY DAY and you WILL succeed!

With one goal achieved you will then have the confidence to set bigger and better goals in the future with this simple method of establishing a new habit.

Ready to go with your first one?

Then head over to our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/All-About-You-Performance-Wellbeing/159779797381162?v=app_4949752878&ref=ts

And join us for a 10 minute training challenge!

Reduce the stress and reduce the fat!

2011-01-10T05:47:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when we all sit down and decide we're going to make some real changes to our lives! New Job, new exciting plans, new body!!

We obviously want to help you to get that amazing new body! Everywhere you look there are pictures of "celebrities" who've lost a ton of weight on the latest "amazing diet" and although they may look great you need to make sure the diet is safe for you, that you have set yourself realistic goals and that you are not setting yourself up to regain the lost weight within a few months!!

I don't believe that any kind of diet works long term for weight loss - but that argument is for another blog post...

It's our job at All About You to educate you, give you the tools to make long term gains, enable you to create a healthy body full of energy vitality and most importantly feel great about yourself!

We’re here to set you straight, tell you the truth and still get amazing results... And so this post is all about hormones and in particular the hormone cortisol which may have a huge influence on your body's ability to control your body fat levels.

Cortisol is your body's primary stress hormone and is responsible for, among other things, the 'fight or flight' response that you've heard so much about.

It works this way; when a stressor affects you in day to day life, such as being cut up in traffic, arguing with a spouse, being under a tough deadline or being chased by a wild tiger, your adrenal glands on your kidneys secrete cortisol directly into the bloodstream where it causes us to release amino acids from our muscles, glucose from the liver and fatty acids from our fat cells into the bloodstream for use as 'emergency fuel' to help us fight or flee.

This would normally be fine, especially if those stressors are few and far between but that's not the case for most of us. Most people live in a continual state of stress where cortisol is being released time and time and time again leading to permanently elevated cortisol both in the bloodstream AND in the cells themselves.

Trouble is, whilst short exposures of cortisol are useful and can be beneficial, long term they're downright destructive leading to:

- Increased appetite and food cravings
- Decreases in lean muscle mass
- Increased Anxiety and Depression
- Decreased libido
- Increase of PMS symptoms
- Increase in menopausal side-effects
- INCREASE IN BODY FAT

And guess where cortisol-created body fat wants to live?

Right up there on the belly!

This means that if you're carrying excess fat in your abdominal region that's stubborn to shift, you're more than likely to have chronically elevated cortisol causing the problem. And again, it may not have anything to do with the total number of calories you're eating.

How do you reduce it?

Well, there are numerous ways in which we can re-establish normal cortisol levels in the body and start burning fat but the best are simply 'natural cures' that can be applied almost immediately and with very little expense.

In fact, the first one is absolutely free!

It's called SLEEP.

That's right; sleep is one of the most important factors in cortisol control as a lack of both quality and quantity of sleep leads to elevated cortisol and a depression of other important metabolic hormones. Fail to get enough sleep and at the right time and you'll be doomed to struggling with your body fat forever. Conversely, make even a few moderate sleep habit changes over the next few days and you'll start to see the fat shift.

Because cortisol is related to sleep and wake cycles and is triggered by light, you should aim to spend the last few hours before bed in a dimmed or dark room and aim to be in bed by 10pm and sleeping by 10.30pm.

It sounds too early, I know. Especially with late night TV and those emails you have to do before bed but hey, your hormones don't know about TV and email, they know stress. You want to lose fat? Then get to bed! In fact, bright TV's and bright computer screens are the last thing you want just before you hit the hay. They keep your cortisol pumping through both the light they emit and the potential for stress they evoke

Try identifying high-stress situations in advance and working out coping strategies to deal with them as they arise. Add exercise (though minimise aerobic exercise which releases more cortisol) and relaxation techniques and eat a clean and healthy diet and your cortisol levels will soon come under control.

Once they do you'll see the fat disappear faster than easier and with far less effort than ever before.

Start by getting some good sleep for just 7 nights and see what happens.

Surviving A Night Out On Killer Heels!

2010-11-29T11:17:00.000-08:00

It’s Christmas party season and for the girls out there that means digging out the little party dress and the high heels and can mean coming to visit us at the studio with knee, ankle or lower back pain.

High heels may look great on but the damage they can do to your posture, lower back and lower limbs is pretty scary. The heels shift the position of your hips causing them to tilt forward put extra pressure on the muscles of your lower back and tightening the calves, the Achilles tendon, the hip flexors and the muscles and fascia of your feet.

But fear not! We are here to help you look fantastic at your Christmas party without the painful side effects…

Here is your High Heel Survival Stretch Programme!

The Arch Stretch
Wearing heels causes the muscles in the foot to shorten and tighten.
Applying downwards pressure whilst you roll the golfball along the foot can help to stretch out those tight muscles and release any knots that have formed.
It may hurt a bit but it’s worth it, a bit like wearing your heels!

Hip Flexor Stretch
Place knee on floor with the other foot out to the front. Tuck the hips forward, squeeze the buttocks and feel the stretch through the top of the thigh and into the hips.

Hold each stretch for about 20 seconds x 1-2 per day

Calf Stretch
Stand on the edge of a step.
Drop your heel toward the floor off the step, keeping the legs straight
Hold for about 20 seconds or until the tension eases off.

This simple programme will take you two minutes to complete but will relieve the painful effects of wearing high heels - I follow this all of the time and happily totter around in my heals on a Saturday night!!

Do Premier League Football Players Need Personal Trainers?

2010-11-21T23:58:00.000-08:00

David Osgathorp investigates the recent injuries to Owen Hargreaves, the approach to rehab training and asks the question; Will Hargreaves play again?

Having gone through a number of knee injuries at a young age which resulted in me giving up competitive sport I always take an interest in players recovering from injury.

I was really pleased to see Owen Hargreaves back in the Manchester United starting line up 777 days after his previous start – a lucky omen possibly? Unfortunately that wasn’t to be and Hargreaves come-back appearance lasted just five minutes!
What was the reason? This is a guy that plays for Manchester United and England; he’s gone through the best possible exercise rehabilitation over the last few years. He plays for Sir Alex Ferguson who never risks any of his players unless he’s 100% confident that they are match fit and able to add something different to his star-studded team.

Hargreaves cost Manchester United £19million from Bayern Munich in 2007 and was England’s best player by a long way at 2006 World cup but over the last two years Hargreaves has spent his time competing on treadmill’s and with dumbbells and United’s Carrington training ground rather than getting stuck in to United’s opponents at Old Trafford. One of the fundamental principles of training is called Specific Adaption to Imposed Demand (SAID). That means if you want to get fit for football you need to play football, the only thing you get better at lifting dumbbells is lifting dumbbells!

His fitness programme will have been designed in this way with his specific needs in mind. Training would have included specific leg strengthening exercises, core conditioning, and specific stretch and post-training recovery techniques before going anywhere near the first team squad.

This isn’t your typical player recovering from injury though, apparently he was told by Richard Steadman, the Colorado based surgeon that his knees were in a worse state than any other professional footballer he had examined in 35 years! Which begs the question will he ever be able to compete at the top level again and will his knees be able to stand a full 90 minutes let alone a full premiership season?

Perhaps United need to look at a similar arrangement to the one Tottenham have with Ledley King, the captain who doesn’t train and instead, is wrapped in cotton wool between matches. The performances King has delivered for Spurs, and in particular during their march towards fourth place at the end of last season certainly warrant that approach.

What can be done?

In my opinion the main issue with football teams is that they don’t give players the one to one training they really need. They spend millions of pounds on acquiring players but very little or no investment in training them to their specific needs.
Hargreaves has spent the last two years working with the physiotherapy team and strength and conditioning specialists at Old Trafford to get him back to “match fitness”. He then joins up with the first team where they all work in the same way. All players warm up together in the same way, they all stretch in the same way, they all throw a few weights around the gym in the same way which is fine for 80% of all professional players but extremely detrimental to players coming back from long term injuries.

Hamstring injuries are very common amongst footballers. The hamstring muscles act as the brakes for a player when they change pace or direction on the pitch. Every footballer will stretch their hamstrings during a pre match warm-up. This is great from most people but for some players it can cause more issues.
If a player has developed long weak hamstrings and you then stretch these even further you’re only going to cause more problems. Hargreaves hasn’t played for two years, there’s a very strong possibility that his hamstrings are probably not the strongest!

Hargreaves is desperate to play again, United are desperate to get something out of their £19 million investment before he inevitably moves on or retires at the end of his contract but the truth is unless they take an individual approach to Hargreaves training he will probably never complete a full 90 minute session again.

Football is a team game, players want to play, if they can’t play they want to train together. They all need to be involved in the training ground banter and to feel part of a unit. Hargreaves has been on a painful and lonely journey over the last two years and it is understandable that for his own mental state he wants to back involved with the first team squad but I honestly believe that if he wants to play first team football again he needs to look at creating a unique training programme that works for him.

Homeopathy at All About You

2010-11-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

We are always looking for ways to improve the service we deliver to our clients at All About You and we are pleased to announce that Louise Robinson has recently joined the team to offer homeopathy treatments.

Louise has kindly written an article for our blog and will also be delivering a free talk at the studio next Thursday 11th November 7:30pm - 8:30pm.

Why not try homeopathic remedies as an alternative treatment for seasonal bugs?

The damp and drizzle of a typically British autumn is well and truly upon us and as always there are an ever increasing number of seasonal bugs about!

Many people look for alternatives to conventional drugs to combat flu and other seasonal bugs. Parents have also become increasingly concerned about giving their children medications such as paracetamol and cough medicines, especially as increasing number of over-the-counter medications have become off limits for children.

Homeopathy is a system of medicine which is based on treating the individual with remedies that trigger the body’s natural system of healing. Remedies are prescribed on an individual’s experience of their symptoms, matching the most appropriate medicine to the patient.
Homeopathic medicines, known as remedies, are non-toxic and safe for use in babies and children, and research has shown that homeopathic remedies can be effective in the treatment of people with respiratory tract infections, otitis media infection and inflammation of the middle ear – commonly referred to as an ear infection and sinusitis.
Recurrent coughs and infections should been seen by a professional homeopath but homeopathic remedies can be used at home in acute short-lived conditions *. Many remedies, available over the counter, can be useful for treating many winter ailments and each has their own particular characteristics.
Homeopathic remedies commonly used in winter illnesses include:

Gelsemium: the number one homeopathic “flu” remedy! Symptoms are slow to come on, where there is much heaviness and drooping, fatigue, clammy skin, flushes of hot and cold, dizziness and congestion.

Belladonna: indicated where the symptoms have come on suddenly and there is heat, throbbing and pain, irritability, and symptoms worse from jarring. Children can be obstinate and may bite or hit.

Pulsatilla: has blocked painful sinuses, sticky mucus, patient feels better in the fresh air and has a changeable, clingy, tearful mood. Children will want to be carried.

Bryonia: the symptoms are slow to come on, there is much dryness and pains are worse from even the slightest movement. Firm pressure on the affected area is helpful. They are irritable and want to be left alone. Children may reject what they have just asked for.

Phosphorus: this is a hacking, tickling cough, often with sweating. The patient is worse at night and might ask for icy drinks or ice cream, which may be vomited up immediately. They may be hoarse and are better for affection and massage and worse for cold air.

Rhus tox: slow onset with high temperature and great restlessness, constantly changing position, muscles stiff and painful. Any draft or cold air will aggravate. There is a feeling of heat inside, but skin is cold to the touch. There is a desire to sip water.

Nux Vomica: throat feels rough and scraped, extending into the ear, with constricted feeling and hoarseness. Heavy feeling in stomach with nausea and vomiting. This patient is irritable and cannot bear noises, light or odours.

* Any ongoing health concerns should be discussed with a GP.

Come and hear more about how homeopathy could help you!

Louise Robinson and Melanie Tomsett from LM Homeopathy will be at All About You to talk about the benefits of Homeopathy and offer advice on any particular family health concerns on

Thursday 11th November 2010 from 7.30pm – 8.30pm

All About You Performance and Wellbeing, 3 Broadbent Close, Highgate, London N6 5JW

As numbers are limited please call to book your free place for the evening.

Contact

Louise Robinson BSc (Hons) LCHE RSHom

Tel: 07502 024 421

Email: louise@lmhomeopathy.com
www.lmhomeopathy.com

Walk away that waistline

2010-09-23T02:54:00.000-07:00

Walk away that waistline!

By James Hutchison

Ever since the late 1970’s when Jim Fixx’s best selling book “The complete book of running”, hit the shelves, jogging and running has been seen by many as the best form of exercise (despite the author dropping dead a few years later whilst on his morning run), especially for weight loss. There is no doubt that running is a very effective form of aerobic exercise, which in turn can promote many health benefits to the runner. It is also true that most sports such as football, rugby, tennis etc. all require some level of running ability, be it short sharp sprints or a more endurance based jog.

However, in my experience as a health and fitness professional most of the clients I meet rarely play competitive sport (if they did I would base their programmes towards sports specific exercises anyway) and a high percentage feel sick at the thought of spending hours pounding away on the treadmill. There are also a significant amount of people who would be advised not to run due to knee, hip, ankle injury or general obesity issues. So it is safe to say that running isn’t for everyone.

The good news is that there are other ways of improving your physical fitness and losing weight. Walking is often the most under- rated activity when it comes to weight loss due to the perception that it is easy and ineffective. However, a brisk walk (getting slightly out of breath, not a poodle around the shops) for 30 minutes per day for an 80kg individual can burn approximately 1400 calories per week, this same walking rate for a 60kg individual would burn around 1100 calories per week.

So if you multiply this over the year it can burn up to 75,000 calories (for an 80kg individual) or 56,000 calories (for a 60kg individual), or to look it another way 21 lbs or 16 lbs of fat respectively. These statistics clearly show that an achievable target of a 30 minute brisk walk per day can be an effective weight loss tool, if accompanied by an adequate nutrition plan.

Another advantage that walking has over running is that it doesn’t have a counter productive effect to resistance training. One of the most efficient ways of losing weight and burning fat is too build lean muscle tissue. Building muscle mass not only makes the body more aesthetically pleasing, but makes the body more metabolically active which in turn burns fat more efficiently.

If an individual is attempting to build lean mass in the gym but then going for a long run the next day there is a high chance that the new muscle tissue is being broken down in this process. This would not happen during a brisk 30 minute walk as the body is not pushed to the same limits, in fact it has been shown that brisk walking itself can raise the bodies metabolic rate.

Starting your walking programme

 Get yourself a pedometer. A pedometer is a device that clips onto your waistband and counts how many steps you have taken. This handy piece of kit can act as a motivational tool as it allows you to keep an accurate record of how far you are walking each day, which can then be used to set progress targets. A 30 minute brisk walk will take approximately 3600 steps. You can buy a pedometer for around £10 from www.proactive-health.co.uk

 Get yourself some comfortable shoes. Walking for 30 minutes everyday is not a huge burden on an individual’s timetable, but if this walk was causing sore and blistering feet it would not take too long before 30 minutes in front of the television is a far more tempting use of time. So I recommend either some comfortable trainers, or some walking shoes. Check out these links for some ideas; www.sweatshop.co.uk or www.blacks.co.uk

 Find somewhere interesting to walk. There is a greater chance of you sticking to your new walking regime if you find interesting walks to go on. These do not have to be in rolling countryside or in areas of outstanding natural beauty, but it is easy to search online or go down to the local town hall to find information on walks in your local area. I am lucky enough to be based in the Highgate and Hampstead area in North London where there are hours of walks on the Heath. Check out www.innerlondonramblers.org.uk/walk-hampstead-health.html for more information.

So all that is left for you to do is to get yourself outside, start walking and get burn that excess fat. Remember though, every effective exercise programme should be accompanied by an adequate nutrition programme, this does not mean starving yourself or surviving on powdered foods or milkshakes, it means a diet that provides an optimum amount of nutritional value whilst at the same time promotes a slow and steady weight loss (or weight gain or maintenance depending on the individual dieter). For more information how to plan effective weight management programme contact me at the studio on james@aayou.co.uk .

Good luck!!

Reduce the stress and reduce the fat!

2010-09-15T05:34:00.000-07:00

Cortisol is your body's primary stress hormone and is responsible for, among other things, the 'fight or flight' response that you've heard so much about.

It works this way; when a stressor affects you in day to day life, such as being cut up in traffic, arguing with a spouse, being under a tough deadline or being chased by a wild tiger, your adrenal glands on your kidneys secrete cortisol directly into the bloodstream where it causes us to release amino acids from our muscles, glucose from the liver and fatty acids from our fat cells into the bloodstream for use as 'emergency fuel' to help us fight or flee.

This would normally be fine, especially if those stressors are few and far between but that's not the case for most of us. Most people live in a continual state of stress where cortisol is being released time and time and time again leading to permanently elevated cortisol both in the bloodstream and in the cells themselves.

The trouble is, whilst short exposures of cortisol are useful and can be beneficial, long term they're incredibly destructive leading to:

- Increased appetite and food cravings
- Decreases in lean muscle mass
- Increased Anxiety and Depression
- Decreased libido
- Increase of PMS symptoms
- Increase in menopausal side-effects
- INCREASE IN BODY FAT

And the cortisol released will be stored primarily on your belly!

This means that if you're carrying any excess fat in your abdominal region that's stubborn to shift, you're more than likely to have chronically elevated cortisol causing the problem. It may not have anything to do with the total number of calories you're eating.

How do you reduce it?

Well, there are numerous ways in which we can re-establish normal cortisol levels in the body and start burning fat but the best are simply 'natural cures' that can be applied almost immediately and with very little expense.

In fact, the first one is absolutely free!

It's called SLEEP.

That's right; sleep is one of the most important factors in cortisol control as a lack of both quality and quantity of sleep leads to elevated cortisol and a depression of other important metabolic hormones. Fail to get enough sleep and at the right time and you'll be doomed to struggling with your body fat forever. Conversely, make even a few moderate sleep habit changes over the next few days and you'll start to see the fat shift.

Because cortisol is related to sleep and wake cycles and is triggered by light, you should aim to spend the last few hours before bed in a dimmed or dark room and aim to be in bed by 10pm and sleeping by 10.30pm.

It sounds too early, I know. Especially with late night TV and those emails you have to do before bed but hey, your hormones don't know about TV and email, they know stress. You want to lose fat? Then get to bed! In fact, bright TV's and bright computer screens are the last thing you want just before you hit the hay. They keep your cortisol pumping through both the light they emit and the potential for stress they evoke

Try identifying high-stress situations in advance and working out coping strategies to deal with them as they arise. Add exercise (though minimise aerobic exercise which releases more cortisol) and relaxation techniques and eat a clean and healthy diet and your cortisol levels will soon come under control.

Once they do you'll see the fat disappear faster than easier and with far less effort than ever before.

Start by getting some
good sleep for just 7 nights and see what happens.

Running Technique and It’s Importance in Avoiding Injury

2010-09-09T01:51:00.000-07:00

Our new trainer Daniel Humphries has put together an article to assist you in your training for the Highgate 5K run, hopefully it helps.

Running to some people is not the most enjoyable form of exercise, me included, but it is important to consider a number of different factors when running. One of which has become more prevalent to elite sport-persons and the recreational runner is technique and the biomechanics of running.

The efficiency of your movement, will aid your ability to run and more importantly your ability to avoid injury. Elite athletes like sprinter Usain Bolt through to long distance runner Haile Gabrselassie have spent of lot time correcting their running techniques to make sure their body moves in the most efficient way to make them the best. Running technique or style can be described as the overall action of the body including body angle, arm swing, foot placement, rear leg lift and length of stride.

How Are We Causing Ourselves Injuries By Running Badly?

As we get older it becomes more and more important to consider our technique as we become more susceptible to repetitive strain injuries in our lower limbs. Our body’s ability to work as a shock absorber decreases with age, therefore the body is under greater stress particularly at our joints in our latter years.

Injuries to elite athletes are inevitable also to the recreational runner. Mike Antoniades a speed, conditioning and rehabilitation coach highlights some of the most common reasons for getting running injuries:

• Bouncing up and down too much
• Over striding
• Not using the hamstrings enough
• Landing on feet too heavily
• Breaking action on landing
• Not using arms
• Twist torso side to side while running
• The head and upper body are bent forward
• Jogging slower than they can walk

Other factors that may cause injury outside of technique can be:

• Structural weakness that individual athletes are born with, e.g. Leg length discrepancies and pronation.
• Postural weakness developed through training.
• Poor running surfaces.
• Muscle imbalance developed through training.
• Worn out running shoes and/or spikes, or, a change of shoe brand.
• Overtraining and/or lack of sufficient recovery.
• Chronic repetitions on hard, artificial running surfaces.

Most of these factors as trainers and participants we have control over and can make reasonable adjustments to our training to avoid the potential for injury. If we become biomechanically inefficient we are doing damage to ourselves and also not running effectively.

How You Probably Run Now!

There are a number of different techniques widely used by sport and fitness professionals. The most common being the heel-toe action. The heel-toe action is when the foot lands on the heel, rolls through the foot and pushes off the toes. This action is applied on the grounds of it being safe and efficient yet the neither is true. On closer examination, lower limb injuries have remained constant in runners for the past 30 years, this despite innovations in shoe technology.

If you are running with your heel hitting the floor first with the sole of your foot pointing upwards you are creating a massive amount of force through your body. The greater the speed you are running at, the greater the angle the foot is at, the greater the force generated. Running trainers are usually designed to take this into account and have highly cushioned heels. This design has been found to very inefficient and also work against the normal muscle and tendon functions particularly in the ankle.

On the opposite end is runners with a toe strike action. This is where first contact with the floor is made by the ball of your foot. This has a much longer stride with the leg generating a lot more speed and power through the calves in particular. This has a lot lower impact on the legs particularly at the ankle and knee joints. It is more common to see this technique to be used by sprinters or short distance runners. It is good for beginners to use this technique due to this lower impact and this allows for the muscle to fire in the appropriate order.

So How Should We Be Running?

One proposal for the correct running style is that of the Pose running style. This the medium between the two previous styles talked about. This is where the runner lands with a mid-foot strike pattern and a flexed knee stance with the torso leaning forwards slightly. There should be a vertical alignment from the hips through the knee to the heel in the supporting leg. Pose running has a much shorter stride length with more emphasis going into using gravity to generate power in the stride. This then generates less force through the heel, ankle, knee and hip joints. This technique is less likely to cause common running injuries like Achilles tendinitis, shin splints and calf injuries. This is due to the better shock absorption in the technique but also because the muscles are being used in a similar fashion to that of when you are walking.

If you need some help with your running style, just want to start exercising, or would like more information on what we do at All About You, then feel free to contact us at the studio - 020 8348 9706 or via email david@aayou.co.uk

(1) ARDENSE, R (2004) Reduced Eccentric Loading of the Knee with the Pose Running Method Reduced Eccentric Loading of the Knee with the Pose Running Method, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: Volume 36(2) February 2004 pp 272-277 [Accessed] http://www.posetech.com/library/dr-02-04-004.html

(2) SICCO A. BUS (2008) Ground Reaction Forces and Kinematics in
Distance Running in Older-Aged Men. Applied Science: Biodynamics. [Accessed] http://faculty.fullerton.edu/gnoffal/Courses/561%20Course/GRF%20running%20-%20Bus.pdf

(3) ANTONIADES, M (2009) Are You Running Properly? [Accessed] http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/health_and_fitness/4286146.stm

(4) BALK, M et al. (2009) Master the Art of Running: Raise Your Performance. Anova Books

(5) ENGLEBRACHT, R (1994) Injuries, Biomechanics and the Implications for the Coach. [Accessed] http://www.athleticscoaching.ca/UserFiles/File/Sport%20Science/Therapy,%20Recovery,%20&%20Restoration/Engelbrecht%20Injuries,%20Biomechanics%20&%20the%20Implications%20for%20The%20Coach.pdf

Why failure is what most dieters experience.

2010-08-30T12:13:00.001-07:00

James Hutchison, senior trainer at the studio and in his final year of a Psychology degree has sent me this great article on why dieting won't work - have a read and leave us your comments...

The obesity epidemic is fast becoming a crisis in the United Kingdom. The term clinically obese is defined as, “a body mass index of 30 kg/m² or greater,” 1. In fact the NHS released statistics in 2009 that claimed 24% of adults in England were clinically obese, an increase of 15% since 1993 2.

This same report shows there is a 14% increase in raised waist circumference in adults across the same time scale. More alarming figures were released this summer by top market researchers Mintel showing that almost a quarter of women in the UK are wearing size 18 clothes or over 3, that equates to approximately 6.2 million people. So with obesity problems like this it is no surprise that the diet industry is big business. There are no official statistics for the amount of money spent on the UK diet industry, but estimates in the US quote figures of between $40-$100 billion 4. So for the industry to be making this kind of revenue they expect one thing, your failure.

If every person who put themselves on the (place generic diet brand here) diet actually kept the weight off, then there would be no need to sell the memberships, promote the books or champion the powders and potions that bring this miraculous weight loss.

Speaking as someone who has worked in the Health and Fitness industry for over ten years I can honestly say the clients of mine who have successfully lost weight and kept it off are those who do two things; first of all they work hard in raising their exercise levels, not only in the gym or in personal training sessions, but overall in their lifestyle. This could be exercising outside of the gym by taking up a sport, or just walking more often or cycling with the kids. Secondly, and most importantly they adopt a sensible balanced diet, which provides adequate nutrition and calorie intake to sustain their daily activities, but a regime that they can stick to without falling off the wagon every week due to treat deprived binges.

So, if the solution is so simple, why do so many dieters fail? I am going to answer this question from a psychological perspective rather than in the more traditional nutritional (regulate your blood sugar) sense. It would be common sense to assume that if a persons attitude towards a behaviour, lets say their attitude towards eating healthier, was positive, then they are likely to participate in that behaviour. However, it was shown years ago that the correlation between attitude and behaviour was as low as 0.30 5 (1 being a perfect correlation).

Over the years their have been many academic studies into attitude and behaviour change, one of the most significant was proposed by Ajzen & Fishbein; the theory of planned behaviour 6. This model has shown (with empirical evidence) that a person’s actions can be predicted accurately using knowledge of their attitudes towards the behaviour, subjective norms about the behaviour and perceived behavioural control. What this means when related to a person wishing to diet is their behaviour can be predicted more accurately by knowing their attitude towards dieting, what they believe other people will think of them if they do or do not diet, do they believe they can succeed if they diet and most importantly do they show intention to change.

Another theory has grown out of this model, mainly focusing on peoples intention to change. Gollwitzer has proposed the idea of Implementation Intentions 7, and has good empirical support to back it up, such as Sheeren & Orbell (2000) 8. The concept of Implementation Intentions can be summed up as plans to participate in a behaviour that a person will need to perform to achieve a goal. The implementation intentions will specify when, where and how the behaviours will be achieved, this will not just provide the person to time to evaluate their goals and think practically how to achieve them but also provides an emotional and psychological contract that they have signed.

So, my advice to those who are thinking of dieting is to look at the situation from a psychological perspective. Make sure before you go ahead with the latest fad diet in a glossy magazine that you choose an eating regime you believe you can stick to. Then take time to write down when you are going to start, where it is going to happen (such as more home cooked meals, avoiding certain restaurants, spending more time at the gym), and most importantly, how you are going to achieve this.

It is important to prepare meal plans and give yourself 3 or 4 small goals each week, such as drink more water, cut out chocolate, reduce salt intake etc. It is also so important to have this Implementation Intention on paper, if it is sitting as a word document on your lap top you are not going to see it. Print it out, put it up on the fridge or somewhere where you and those around you will see it regularly, and make sure you add your signature to it. If you do these small but significant tasks, it will greatly increase your chances of achieving your goals and avoiding the gut wrenching guilt of previous failures. Good luck!

For more information about the psychological perspective of weight loss and exercise goals, I will be holding a seminar at the studio in the near future. So please join the mailing list on the website www.aayou.co.uk to be kept up to date.

For more information on how to choose a nutrition plan that suits you, please browse the website or contact the studio on 0208 3489706 to book a consultation with one of our nutrition experts.

References
1: Smolin, L., & Grosvenor, M. (2003). Nutrition Science and Applications (4th Ed.) USA: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
2: Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet: England, February 2009. Retrieved 18 August, 2010 from http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles/obesity/statistics-on-obesity-physical-activity-and-diet:england-february-2009
3: Mintel Press release on UK dress sizes: England, August 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2010, from http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/press-releases/587/size-matters-a-quarter-of-uk-women-now-size-18-or-above
4: The diet business: Banking on failure: England, February 2003. Retrieved 18 August, 2010 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2725943.stm
5: Wicker, A.W. (1969). Attitudes versus actions. Cited in; Hogg, M,A. & Vaughan, G,M. (2005/2008). Social Psychology (5th ed.). Harlow: Prentice Hall

6: Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behaviour: cited in; Hewstone, M., Stroebe, W., & Jonas, K. (2008). Introduction to Social Psychology a European Perspective (4th ed). UK: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.

7. Gollwitzer, P.M. (1999). Implementation Intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. Cited in; Hewstone, M., Stroebe, W., & Jonas, K. (2008). Introduction to Social Psychology a European Perspective (4th ed). UK: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.

8. Sheeran, P., & Orbell, S. (2000). Using implementation Intentions to increase attendance for cervical cancer screening. Health Psychology, 19, 283-289.