"Blame it on the Rain!"

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So it’s a brand new year and you wake up with a smile on your face. There’s a definite spring in your step as you bounce out of bed and you know you got it. This time your new years weight loss resolution (2010 is my year to slink into those sexy skinny blue jeans!) is going to work and there’s nothing, nothing that can stop you from making it real.


Nothing that is, but the weather. Tip tip tip. Drip drip drip. Cold, grey, cloudy, and windy. No, unfortunately I am not describing the background to a scary ghost story about a haunted house on a hill. I am talking about the reality of life right outside your front door. Make that dripping from your ceiling.

Too bad. Too sad. Guess the gym is going to have to wait for another day and you can put those sneakers back in the closet right? Wrong.

It’s time to take control people. So what if it looks like doomsday outside your window? Who says you can’t do something super-energetic and calorie-burning right there in your living room? I am here to tell you that you don’t have to be a slave to the gym or be disheartened because the weather isn’t on your side today. When you want to work off all that guilt from your holiday eating, you just have to work out. And honey, when you can’t get to the gym, you just got to make that gym come to you.

Here are 4 fabulous ways to keep your fitness resolutions this year!

Push ups: you can choose between girly style (on your knees lifting your torso weight only) or good old military style (on your toes lifting your entire body weight evenly). Either way, you are going to get your heart pumping and your body screaming --- in a good way! Do two sets of 10.

Squats: Get your posture right by practicing with a trainer or someone experienced with the exercise the first few times. Once you have your positioning right you can try and go for 4 sets of 15 each of these free squats. Amongst one of the most efficient movements for a full body workout, these killers work all the way up from your calves and hamstrings right to your abdominal core. Burn baby burn.

Jumping Jacks: Get back to the old days of PT in school! Boosting the blood pumped to the heart this works as a great cardiovascular workout when you don’t have access to a treadmill. Also, it can actually be a lot of fun. Think 2 to 3 sets of 20 reps each depending on how much you want to push it.

Spot Jogging: Cant get to the park? Rain upto your knees keeping you from your beloved treadmill in the gym. Use your very own bedroom floor instead. Just crank up some Tiesto on your ipod dock and start running. While you stay in the same spot. Keep jogging till your tune is done. Then lie down, relax and breathe.

Most importantly, always, always, enjoy your work out!

"Exercise Injury-Free"

wessexhealth.co.uk

Its such a common sight, you actually end up thinking it’s perfectly normal. Gym members contorting their faces while lifting weights. Runners wincing in pain while struggling up a hill. Yoga students exclaiming in discomfort while continuing to stretch down to their toes. Injuries. Part and parcel of working out? Yes, definitely to some extent. If you are the kind of person who likes to challenge themselves physically, it is likely that you push your body to its limits when exercising, and so, in some instance , you can find yourself paying for that enthusiasm with a mild injury.


But more often than not, injuries from exercise come from other sources. An uninformed trainer can often push clients to do exercises that are simply not suited for them (eg. Asking a heavily overweight person to run several kilometers can be suicide for the knees). Perhaps an even more common way to get injuries is when an inexperienced person attempts to exercise without any knowledge of whats right for them. Too often have I seen people at the gym strenuously lifting heavy weights that are not just too heavy for their body size, but also being lifted with the worst posture possible.

Without a doubt, these people tend to suffer from unnecessary aches and pains. And to make matters worse, performing these same exercises repeatedly over a period of time can lead to chronic muscle/joint injuries which will not go away. My advice? Do your research before starting any new form of exercise. If you feel like its too intense for you, talk to the instructor. Particularly if you are trying to lose weight, make sure to check with your physician to ensure that the kind of exercise you are choosing makes sense for you. And finally, if you have odd pains and twinges in your body, stop what you are doing and check for any potential injury with your doctor.