Winter: the perfect time to exercise 

Winter is often the time of year when people start to put on unwanted weight, feel a bit under the weather and suffer from the flu. This makes winter the perfect time to exercise.  With the correct exercise programme you can keep that winter weight off or even lose it. Intense exercise causes the body to release feel good endorphins like serotonin , which can combat the winter blues. Regular intense exercise can also improve your immune system helping you avoid colds and flu. So here’s my tips for training for the winter.
1) Head to the gym or exercise in the house where its nice and warm.
2) Try something new, hire a personal trainer, take a new class, or buy an exercise video
3) perform some high intensity short burst exercises like weight training, circuits or CV interval training for 40minutes 3 times a week.

All that running not making a difference?

Good news for those  with ACL injuries

Good news for people who sustain anterior cruciate ligament injuries and want to know their chance of returning to sport. A study published by the American Journal of Sports Medicine this month followed 64  national league American Footballers with ACL injures for 5 years. It found the majority made a return to competition after 9-12 months and two thirds of those Footballers suffered no loss in power and performance on return from injury compared to before the injury. So with the correct rehabilitation the majority of people with ACL injuries can expect to return to full pre-injury performance and fitness levels.   So if you have suffered from an ACL injury your sporting life neednt come to an end with the right rehab programme.

Suffering from recurrent ankle sprains? 

Mum’s Superfoods

What are you actually eating?

Its so easy to go through life not paying much attention to what we eat. But what if we actually want to see a true reflection of our diet? Research indicates the most accurate way to find out the content of our diet is to keep a seven day food diary (Manore 2001).  So if you feel like investigating why not keep a seven day food diary. Just note down the time of day, a description of the food and the amount you eat, and remember no cheating! (To download your free food diary click on the following link: seven day diary).

Not all dietary fats are bad for us. In fact for a long time now nutritional experts have been telling us we must consume more omega fatty acids in our diet. This view has been supported in a recent study where the diet of Inuit of Nunavikthe population in Canada was compared to the rest of the Candian population. It found that the Inuit of Nunavikthe poulation consumed more omega 3 fatty acids in their diet via their traditional consumption of oily fish than the rest of the Candian poulation. In addition the indigenous poulation were also found to have significantly lower incidence of coronary heart disease, even though they were more likely to smoke. Similar findings have also been found when comparing the diets of fish loving Japan to the fish loathing western world. So if your family have a history of coronary heart disease you might want to eat a bit more oily fish. Good sources aof Omega 3 fatty acids can be found in salmon, mackeral, herring and sardines. If you don't like fish try flax seed oil, rapseed oil, canola or walnuts.