3rd Age – The Perimenopause & Menopause

As a 40- something year old woman I’m now approaching (or maybe I’m in the middle of) ‘the change’ – commonly known as the menopause.  As physiological changes occur, and because I’m inquisitive, I want to understand what these might be and how they may affect my body. Should I change how I exercise, and are there any nutritional changes I could make that will ease any symptoms? Alongside my personal interest, I’m also a women’s fitness/wellness professional. I see women before, during and after pregnancy for remedial massage and exercise in personal training sessions. So I see it as my duty to be clued up … Continue reading

Top 5 reasons to get a Personal Trainer

I’m often asked why people have a Personal Trainer. It is true, you can go out for a run or to the gym and exercise on your own. Many people do that and are perfectly satisfied and motivated to put in the effort. But, many people aren’t and don’t. Personal Training will bring BIG Benefits to most people. Here’s our Top 5 reasons to have a Personal Trainer:   1. Motivation – Lots of people the lack of motivation to exercise, even if you’ve the desire to get fitter/healthier or the need to prevent a medical condition developing/getting worse (for example the potential onset or management of … Continue reading

Jasmin Paris’ Record Breaking Bob Graham Round – Support

It isn’t every day you get an email asking if you want to be involved in a “fast BG”, and when it did come through from Jasmin, my reply was “absolutely, no question…um… when you say fast… how fast exactly”? The Bob Graham can most easily be described as a Fellrunning challenge in which the runner must traverse 42 Lakeland peaks in 24 hours. About 67 miles of running, with nigh on 8000m of ascent. It is a pretty tough day out, and just by setting out you certainly are not guaranteed to be finishing it with in 24 hours. … Continue reading

Why Setting Goals Works

This is applicable to many things, but I’m coming from a Personal Training perspective. When someone first comes to us we spend a good amount of time nailing down the motivation behind their desire to change, and what they ultimately wish to achieve – their GOALS. From this, we have two things – the WHY and the WHAT. But HOW do we get to the goal, and what will it take to get there?  It is these things that will keep the motivation going during a tough session or when the initial enthusiasm is wearing thin. It is exactly these issues we can … Continue reading

Top 5 tips to Better Running

1. Set Goals Simply saying you want to ‘get fitter’ is really good. But what is way more powerful is saying ‘I’d like to get fitter so I can go out sledging for the afternoon with my kids, or, I’d like to be able to run my local parkrun or a fell race.  Then add an end date (enter the race you’d like to do) and you are working your way towards a SMART goal (I’ll explain about those in another post). Think of a goal that’s in the near future (3-4 weeks away) so you’ll get that sense of accomplishment soon. … Continue reading

The Importance of Sleep

The benefits of sleep and sleeping well need little introduction. But do we all get a good nights sleep? We think it’s worth spending a little time during this week (Sleep Awareness Week) to think about what you can do to promote better sleep for yourself. 6-12 March 2016 Poor sleep, reduced hours sleep, insomnia or disturbed sleep all take a toll on our physical and mental states. It can even be dangerous in some circumstances (driving, operating machinery, or even leading to bad decision-making). Many of us will experience insomnia at some point in our lives. Insomnia on a ‘temporary’ or … Continue reading