How Long Will it Last?

Have you noticed how, since the Olympics, the parks, pools and gyms have been packed with people huffing and puffing their way through new fitness activities? Even ordinary velodromes have become oversubscribed.

There's no doubt about it: team GB's unsurpassed medal success has inspired many into action.
However, while charging into a new sport with all guns blazing is to be applauded, 40% of novices fall off their fitness wagon within the first year of taking them up.

But whether they have weight loss, a 10km race or cycling in their sights, the golden rule for people taking up a new sport is to go easy.

Multi Sporting Events

Multi-sport athletic events, such as triathlon and duathlon, have become one of the fastest-growing categories of sport in the world. Competitors are drawn to the opportunity to challenge themselves both physically and mentally.

Championship Triathlon Training is about achieving peak performance in triathlon and duathlon, whatever your age, goal or event.

Several training elements are necessary for success in multi-sport racing at any level: mental preparation, training for technique and training for strength, speed and endurance.

Benefits of Weight Training

1. Weight training tones your muscles which looks great and raises your basal metabolism, which causes you to burn more calories 24 hours a day. You'll even burn more calories while you're sleeping.

2. Weight training can reverse the natural decline in your metabolism which begins around the age 30.

3. Weight training strengthens your bones reducing your risk of developing osteoporosis.

4. Improves your muscular endurance.

5. Lifting weight will NOT develop big muscles on women...just toned muscles!

6. Makes you stronger hence strength gives you confidence and makes daily activities easier.

7. Weight training decreases your resting blood pressure and lowers your resting heart rate, a sign of a more efficient heart.

8. Weight training decreases your risk of developing adult onset diabetes.

9. Weight training increases your blood level of HDL cholesterol (the good type).

10. Weight training improves your posture, balance and coordination.

11. Weight training improves the functioning of your immune system.

12. Overall elevates your mood and energises you.

Sport Relief

Sport relief is about trying to help the lives of many disadvantaged/vulnerable individuals/families both home and abroad, through the power of sport. By doing sport, having fun and raising a little money on the way everyone can do good.

Sainsburys sport relief mile Sunday 16th see tens of thousands of people taking part in the ultimate sport relief challenge. Even if you cant take part yourself support those that do.

So why not take part this weekend, visit www.sportrelief.com to make a difference.

Exercise Begins at Home

Andy Darling says we spend £300m annually on home-exercise equipment, which he describes as a boom industry, but much of the equipment ends up unused. As a personal trainer and ex athlete I recommends items such as Swiss balls, dumbbells, dyna-bands, and boxing pads. Ab machines/accessories are white elephants, exercise bikes as likely to become ornaments and Steppers as a complete waste of money. Personal trainer David Hislop says: “A large number of people buy equipment for home use on impulse and they haven’t got either the motivation or any idea how to get the most out of it. The equipment is usually bought at supermarkets such as Lidl or Aldi. No matter what the quality, though, the bottom line is that very few of my clients have the self-motivation to follow an exercise plan away from the gym or where ever I'm training them.

The article mentions a lady who admits she lacks motivation to use her exercise equipment and man who built a gym in the roof of his house using quality equipment bought from Ebay. He says: “I bought commercial quality kit, and it’s lasted so much longer than the stuff you get in the high street.” Darling points out that Arthur Johnson & Sons, the auctioneers in Nottingham, specialise in selling off equipment from gyms that are being refurbished. Another man describes how he has a garage full of free weights. He has a membership at a local gym but finds it too busy in the evenings so does most of his training in the garage.

Pumping Iron Can Help With Weight loss

A study from the Boston Medical School has concluded that lifting weights may be as important as aerobic exercise in the fight against obesity. Scientists have proved that building muscle can help re-programme metabolism. Brooke Harrison from the University of Colorado said: “These findings indicate that interventions designed to increase skeletal muscle mass may prove to be critical weapons in the fight against obesity and obesity-related diseases including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.” The scientists created a mouse that could be bulked up with type II muscle (the type of muscle which helps in lifting heavy loads or in short bursts of speed). When the gene for type II muscle was switched off and a sugary high-calorie diet introduced the mouse grew fat but when it was turned on the mouse grew more muscles and lost weight even when it continue with a high calorie diet.

New Year Fitness and Diet Articles - Various

Unsurprisingly, the first full working week of the year brings a host of articles on shaping up. Below is a summary of what is on offer:

The Guardian - A series of booklets entitled The Official British Army Fitness Programme.

The Independent – A series of booklets called The No Diet Diet which suggest the ‘easy way to make 2008 the best year of your life’.

Daily Mirror – Davina McCall launches her new column entitled Get fit with me …. Anyone can do it!

The Sun – Lose weight … with Lorraine. Lorraine Kelly is going on the Fit Squad diet and readers are invited to join her.

The Mail – Diet Secrets of the A-List - Ashley Pearson tells us how Hollywood stars keep their figures trim. The conclusion is that the stars never miss a day’s workout.

The Express – Carol Stephenson tells of how she logged on to the internet and lost 8lb in 21 days

Daily Telegraph – Team Telegraph experts offer tips on how to rebuild self-image and husband-and-wife team surgeon Stephen Reed and naturopath Dr Penny Kendall-Reed introduce their No Crave Diet.

The Times - times 2 offers tips on defying age. Many fitness and diet tips are on offer. The Times also offers readers who join The Times Health Club a free pedometer.