Rees Fitness Personal Training
Strength, Fitness & Behaviour Coaching
Last summer I did my best to explain why everyone (including women and the elderly) should do weight training in order to get stronger (click here). Well, The American Journal of Medicine have published a report that backs me up! They say:
This one is for all you office workers out there. If you find yourself sitting in front of your PC for 8 hours a day, you are probably storing up a load of problems for your body.
Not only the obvious ones like getting fat and unfit, but soon your joints are going to start giving you problems, your mobility will reduce and risks of repetitive strain injury (RSI) will increase.
I’ve been spending the last few months working with Joan, who has been in a wheelchair for a long time. The goal has been to help her stand and re-learn how to walk. And that is the important bit…she needs to relearn how to walk. How do you teach someone how to walk? Is it just a case of “put one foot in front of the other?” At first, I thought it was as simple as that. But I now know, if you do that you will fall over. There is a hell of lot more to it than just that. Just some of the things you need to do include:
Pregnant Weight Training A while ago I wrote some posts about exercise during pregnancy (click here, here, here and here). So here is a little bit extra on the subject. I want to direct you to a new bit of research done to test the safety of resistance training for pregnant women (click here for … Read more
Seated Row – Good
Name: Seated Row
Also known as: (If you know these by any other name, please leave a comment below).
Main muscles used: Upper and lower back.
Other muscles used: Biceps, back of the shoulders.
Top tips:
Scapular Retractions
Name: Prone Scapular Retractions.
Also known as: (If you know these by any other name, please leave a comment below).
Main muscles used: Upper back.
Other muscles used: Back of shoulders.
Top tips:
Doorway Chest Stretch
Name: Doorway Chest Stretch. Also known as: (if you know this by any other name, leave a comment below). Main muscles used: Chest. Other muscles used: Front of the shoulders. Top tips:
Do less, score more.
This is a line I heard a top level coach telling one of his fighters. The fighter was moving around, ducking, weaving, attacking, blocking…generally doing plenty of work and making his presence felt…but he was not actually scoring any points, or getting the job done!
I’ve actually stopped procrastinating and actually signed up! Yep, Jane asked me if I wanted to give it a go, and before my brain engaged, I just said yes. So this summer, I will be running the Nettle Warrior race…wish me luck!
We should all strive to have a fit and capable body. I don’t care if you are:
Fit and capable body trapped inside.
A fit and capable body is hidden away inside all of us, and for health, performance and quality of life reasons, we all should try to help it get out. There are different components of a fit and capable body. Here are my favorite ones:
It is official. A lady at work told me about a chiropractor who says that women should not squat with more than 10 kilograms, because it is dangerous for them. He did not say that a particular woman, with a particular injury, should not use more than 10 kilos…no, he said no women should do it…
Blood Pressure testing
It seems that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is to change it’s guidelines on how high blood pressure is to be diagnosed. I mention this because I get quite a few people being refered to exercise due to high blood pressure, and it is one of the things included in the physical/fitness assessments (click here for more info) I conduct on people.
One of my favorite websites I keep going back to for reliable information, is a section on the NHS site they call “Behind the Headlines” (click here). Here they take a look at some of the major health stories in the papers, and give you the facts. Take a look at just a few of the ways the papers blow a health story out of all proportion, and you will understand why one of my favorite saying at the moment is:
Stretching before running does not necessarily prevent injury a US study of over 2,700 has suggested. Click below for the full story:
If you are a woman and if you go to the gym, please take 5 minutes to read this: http://www.excelsiorgroup.co.uk/blog/being-woman-gym-diary-intern Almost every other day I talk to a woman in work who refuse to do anything that does not involve little pink dumbells in fear of “turning into a man”.
Swag
I stumbled across this story (click here for the story). Basically, people were paid money if they managed to lose bodyweight. And they were more successful than another group of people who were not paid money. But, when they were measured again 9 months later, they had regained most of the weight.
My friend Robin has just started a Facebook page for the fitness centre where I work. There will be timetables, offers and information posted up there, so please, take a look and link to it. Craven Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre Share and enjoy! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Craven-Swimming-Pool-and-Fitness-Centre/169284923107407
I just remembered a chat I had with a friend the other day. We were discussing healthy eating, and he mentioned that it is so difficult to get hold of fruit and veg these days. Pardon?
Over the last year or so, I have worked with a few people who are, for various reasons, been confined to a wheelchair. Each person has their own specific training needs, but a common factor between them (and a lot of the general population also) is a need to strengthen their “core” body muscles (the girdle of muscles that stabilise and support the spine and body).
For any human being, sitting for prolonged periods of time can weaken these muscles. And with weaker stabilisers:
Bird Dog – Good
Name: Bird Dog
Also known as: (if you know this by any other name, leave a comment below).
Main muscles used: Bum.
Other muscles used: Belly, sides,
Top tips: