Fitness Wales, a foundation set up were 40 years ago to get people exercising and to encourage more people to train as fitness instructors, say that you shouldn’t wait until New Year’s Day to put in place your New Year resolution to lose some weight.  The run up to Christmas means that most of us stop thinking about exercise completely, assisted by the fact that the nights are long and dark and the days are cold, wet and usually miserable!

It is much easier to curl up on the sofa with a family sized bar of chocolate while the wind howls outside than it is to put on your workout gear and start exercising.  People hate exercising in winter; nothing is worse than having to take off your nice, warm sweater in a chilly changing room at the gym!

Let’s face it, Christmas is a stressful time of year is well as being expensive and although it is tempting to unwind at the end of the day with a glass of wine, a 20 minute session of moderate exercise will do the same job in relaxing you and will actually be good for you.  People forget that wine is laden with calories and has no food value whatsoever; it goes straight into your fat stores, while your liver struggles to neutralise the alcohol content (alcohol is toxic to the body, remember?).  Two glasses of wine is around 240 cal, the equivalent of close to 30 minutes vigorous exercise when you come to burn it off.

So think about it – if you start exercising now in these weeks before Christmas you can indulge a little over Christmas and not face the awful realisation on the second of January as to just how much weight you have put on.  Think of it as crisis management!

Other Posts Of Interest:

Abs Exercise Equipment – Exercise your Abs the right way.

At Home Exercise Equipment – What are your choices?

Posted by: At Home Workout Reviews

Fitness Equipment – Start Exercising Now

The high level of staff absence within the NHS is currently under the microscope as government and managers try to see what they can do to reduce the number of days staff have off sick each year, which costs the NHS millions.

The average NHS staff member has up to 10.7 working days off sick every year with a high incidence of absence through stress and physical problems such as back injuries being reported.  This level of staff absenteeism can have a negative effect on patient care with theatre lists and clinic sessions having to be cancelled due to low staffing levels.

Many staff claim they do not have sufficient time during breaks to eat healthily and often grab crisps and chocolate just to keep them going instead of going to the canteen to get a meal or a sandwich.

A new report has come up with a series of guidelines to try and improve the health of NHS staff which includes access to counselling to deal with worries caused by stress, regular health check ups and advice on healthier eating and ways to fit more exercise into the working day.

Ideas that have been given include walking up the stairs instead of taking the lift and parking the car at the back of the staff car park and walking.

Other relevant posts:

At Home Fitness Equipment – A look at different types of exercise equipment.

Posted by: At Home Workout Reviews

Fitness Levels Of NHS Staff Studied

It looks like parents are getting it wrong when they say how much exercise their kids are getting, according to a report by the British Heart Foundation.  Approximately 70% of the parents questioned believed that their kids were getting the recommended daily amount of exercise whereas, when the children were questioned, it appeared that only around 10% of them believed they were getting enough exercise, which is a worrying trend.

The BHF say parents need to stop fooling themselves and start taking action to prevent their kids becoming obese, and local councils have been urged to improve the quality of local sports facilities and put on more events to encourage children to exercise.  The incidence of obesity in children between 8 and 14 years has risen alarmingly since the 1990s according to a new report, and the Foundation claims that urgent action needs to be taken to prevent a generation of Couch Kids (as they are called) growing up and becoming obese adults.

Recommendations include standardised guidelines on how much exercise children should be getting, and urges schools to increase the opportunities for physical activities on a daily basis, such as games lessons on more days of the week.  At home, parents are encouraged to bring back more of the traditional activities with their families such as going for a walk together or going to the park to play football instead of sitting together in front of the TV or computer.  The Department of Health has backed these calls by stating that dealing with obesity in childhood is a major government priority.

Other posts of interest:

Home Fitness Equipment – What’s available and what works?

Ab Exercise Equipment – What you need to know if you don’t want to be ripped off.

Posted by: At Home Workout Reviews

Are You Wrong About Your Childs Fitness Level?

Everyone seems to be looking for Ab Exercise Equipment these days. The general public’s fascination with their abs seems to have no bounds. A whole industry seems to have built up in this part of the home fitness equipment market.

These gadgets claim they can give you chiselled, flat and sexy abs in just five minutes a day! Well if you live in La La land this may be true but unfortunately in the real world this just isn’t going to happen. If five mins a day is all you are prepared to exercise fair enough it’s better than nothing but don’t expect the miracle results promised in the Infomercials. As Scotty from Startrek would say  “You canna change the laws of physics captain”

To get the six pack you desire as well as exercising the abs you are going to have to reduce the amount of fat that’s covering them else you just won’t see them. For most normal people the goal just isn’t a realistic one. Your BMI will have to be very low (I think to low for most people) so the goal just isn’t usually worth the effort.

Better to focus on the entire body and look to implement regular exercise into your schedule to help increase your overall muscle mass and therefore your fat burning machine. Why just focus on your abs? Focusing on your abs alone is like putting a Porche engine in a mini even assuming you could do it what would be the point? you’re still left with a mini!

Focus instead on healthier living (we all know what that is don’t we), adding some more exercise and activity to our lives. In other words get off the couch and move a little.

For those still fascinated with Ab Equipment here is a small collection that I have written reviews about in the past. Just remember to apply common sense – If it looks to good to be true it probably is!

The Ab Circle Pro

Great fun, build quality not the greatest but if you use it as just a part of your workout can be a helpful addition.

The Ab Flyer

Not the cheapest piece of equipment but if you’re not short of money could be just what the doctor ordered.

The KettleWorx

I love this type of exercise programme. Inexpensive using simple equipment (a Kettle Bell) nothing to break and easy to learn. Not specifically just for the abs so I like it even more.

These are just a few pieces of the most popular Ab Workout equipment you can find today. If you look hard enough I’m sure you’ll find something that will suit you and your budget. Just remember their isn’t a magic bullet it takes some hard work from you to make it happen.

Posted by: At Home Workout Reviews

Ab Exercise Equipment