Back pain from Gardening?

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I dug a hole in our garden the other day. (yes, I call that gardening). Unsurprisingly I ached a fair amount afterward – for a good couple of days. You could even say I had the dreaded “back ache”. Yes, despite being fairly active, lifting weights and trying to keep in as good a shape as possible, a day of spade work and repetitious activity gave my body a bit of a shock in terms of making me want to sit down and take some pain killers. It wasn’t simply doing gardening that did this, it was the constant repetition … Continue reading →

Motivation to do exercise.

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It doesn’t come from your physio. A lot of people struggle with motivation to do something new, something that might help with their health. Normally the motivation occurs when the consequence of not doing exercise is worse than simply doing exercise. For example, when Type II diabetes has been diagnosed, when bones have become osteoporotic, or when “all of a sudden” you’re unable to get up off the floor. It is human nature to wait until something goes wrong, or to wait until something needs to be done before it actually gets acted upon. Think back to school homework. Think … Continue reading →

Human movements: How not to lose them as you get older

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The words “deadlift” and “squat” provoke particular images and predictable responses from a number of people. People who don’t “do” the gym tend to see them as a bit of a scary thing which can lead to some pretty scary injuries, and are therefore classed in the “do not do this activity” section of their heads. The fact that these movements are based around everyday movements – or what should be everyday movements seems to pass a lot of people by. Pick up something heavy. That’s a Deadlift. Sit down and stand up again. That’s effectively a dead-stop squat. Normal, … Continue reading →

F.I.T.T. Principle

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Ever heard of the F.I.T.T. Principle? If not, read on – it’s important to anyone wanting to progress in their chosen sport. So you have a training programme but are you following the F.I.T.T. Principle? Well you should be. It’s a set of guidelines that will help you get the best out of your training and it stands for: Frequency: how often you train Intensity: the level of effort you put into each session Type: the activity you are doing Time: the duration of a session Lets expand on those a bit, so you know what you’re doing and why … Continue reading →

Fall Prevention

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If you have a small child who has not yet learned to walk, yet you are worried about them falling over, what should you do to prevent them from falling over. There are 2 options really: Don’t allow them to get up off the floor. If they’re always on the floor they can’t fall over. Encourage them to learn to walk, gradually increasing their sense of balance and strength as they do so. I think you might agree that the first option really isn’t viable, so what we tend to do is let them get on with it. They want … Continue reading →

Pregnancy Fitness with Zoe

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Around six months ago I learnt the delightful news that Zoe, a friend from the Glossopdale Harriers running club, was expecting her first baby. As we chatted I could tell she was 100% committed to keeping herself active and healthy throughout her pregnancy. She made the decision to be proactive in her approach to pregnancy fitness, and to be honest, I wouldn’t expect anything less from her. I was delighted to have her on board for Pregnancy Fitness. Zoe is a regular runner both socially and competitively, and was up for trying anything that would make pregnancy more comfortable and the birth … Continue reading →