Healthy Forever Fitness Motivation

The Consumption of Water and the Importance of Hydration   Your body depends on water to survive. Every cell, tissue and organ depends on water to work properly. For example your body uses water to maintain its temperature, remove waste and lubricate your joints. Water maximises physical performance, helps with nutritional absorption, weight loss and boosts energy. Water is needed for overall good health. To stay hydrated it is recommended that you consume between 2 and 3 litres of water to remain healthy. This needs to increase if you live in hotter climates or exercise regularly. It is highly advisable to drink before, during and after exercise to boost your energy levels and keep you fully hydrated.  Not all of your recommended allowance needs to be plain water, for example some can come from water flavoured with fruit or vegetable (berries, lemon, lime, orange or cucumber slices), or from tea and coffee. Tips for Staying Hydrated Drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up in the

  Why do we need to relax? There are so many health benefits when we allow ourselves time to fully relax. One of the biggest well-being factors to relaxation is the increase in blood flow to our muscles and the lowering of fatigue. We live very stressful lives and tend to miss this very import component of optimal health.  Without relaxation our stress symptoms and anxiety increase which can lead to ill health inducing high blood pressure, heart and circulatory disease.  Relaxation techniques can help with the reduction of stress and also aids in the limiting of muscle tension and chronic pain.  Relaxation helps both physical and mental health. Relaxation techniques have also been known to reduce mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia  How do we fully relax? There are many forms and techniques to enable us to relax. When we say we are relaxing.......are we really? The answer to this is probably ' No '!  Why do I say this? Often, when we say we ar

  Journaling  The simplest ideas can be the most effect. Writing a journal, taking a thought from your mind and writing it down becomes a "visual"........you can see how you feel. This is our own private space where we can express ourselves. You don't have to be a professional writer and your thoughts might be a few sentences.....it doesn't matter.  Start your journal every day with three positive thoughts or three things you are grateful for on that particular day. This can be as simple as "the sun was out today" or "I had more energy today" or even "My favourite song was played on the radio as I was driving to work". The aim here is to make us more positive by looking for the things that make us happier in life and giving less power to the negative emotions that can overwhelm us during our every day lives.  There are some great apps out there too (if you prefer this to a paper journal), that can prompt and remind us to write these posit

  Cardiovascular Health Aerobic exercise is any activity that gets your blood pumping, increases your heart rate and gets your large muscle groups working. It is also known as cardiovascular activity. This activity can be achieved in many ways and not just at the gym or by joining exercise groups. Some examples of cardiovascular activity are: Walking Swimming Heavy cleaning Gardening Jogging Runnung Cycling The UK Government physical activity guidelines for adults :   "Each week, adults should accumulate at least 150 minutes (2 1/2 hours) of moderate intensity activity (such as brisk walking or cycling); or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity (such as running); or even shorter durations of very vigorous intensity activity (such as sprinting or stair climbing); or a combination of moderate, vigorous and very vigorous intensity activity." Looking at the above information you can see that by adding just  half an hour  brisk walk into your day, five times a week you will be

  Lifting for Longevity  Why is it important to lift weights? Apart from building strong muscles, the benefits include burning body fat, strengthening joints and bones, reducing the risk of injury and improving heart health. To lift safely, it is very important to start slowly, take rest days and make sure that you are lifting with good posture (form). Two or three 20 to 30 minute strength sessions every week can result in significant health benefits. Increased Muscle mass: Our muscle mass decreases drastically as we age and strength training can help to reverse this natural tendency. Strong Bones: Strength training increases bone density and helps prevent fractures Joint Flexibility: Lifting weights keeps our joints supple and can help prevent the onset of arthritis Weight Control: As we build more muscle, our bodies burn calories a lot easier enabling us to maintain or lose weight. Improves Balance: Strengthening exercises increase flexibility and balance, preventing falls and redu

  Challenging yourself to live your best life Rediscover  'you'  by challenging yourself to change. These challenges do not have to take a lifetime. Challenges can take place for just 3 to 5 days to acquire a  'taste' , or you could set yourself a 30 day challenge.......it's your personal growth challenge and for you to decide.  Setting challenges will help to increase your own self-esteem, create belief in yourself and build upon your knowledge for all that interests you.  A challenge can be the motivational tool to set you up for a small change or equally a whole lifestyle change. I have prepared a PDF challenge as an introduction to building healthy habits.  The challenge is for a short period of time, but with a  'lifetime'  change in mind. The challenge is the motivational tool...... the habit changes are aiming for the lifetime goal of improving our health in everyday life.  The support of a group is an additional plus if you are taking part in a chall

 Why are Functional Movements Important? Functional Movements Functional movements will take our joints through their full range of motion, whilst working the stabilising muscles at the same time. This is so important in preventing injury and promoting healthy movement back into our bodies.  Staying active as we age is essential for a happy and healthy life. The general movement patterns of our bodies are push, pull, squat, hinge, walk. Looking at each of these movements individually will help us understand their relevance in our every day lives.  I will show you how implementing these movements back into our daily routines will help regain any loss of mobility and balance. Simplified : Squat  - The action of sitting down - From a standing position to a seated position and back to a standing position Hinge  - The action of a hip movement whereby the hip movement is the prime mover rather than the knee. For example a bow, where the legs are straight while maintaining a flat spine. Push