Parkour: The Best Sport for Getting In Shape

Now taking part in any sport that involves a lot of cardio will get you in shape fairly quickly, but here I have a fairly new sport that is, in my opinion, the best for getting in shape, Parkour.

Now there is some confusion as to what Parkour is about. Parkour is a sport that was founded in around 2003 and has exploded into the media as one of the fastest growing sports on the planet. This is because it can be what ever you want it to be. If you want it to be competitive, artistic, social, or anything else you want from a sport, Parkour can be that sport for you. It can be either a team or individual sport. By definition, Parkour is the art of movement, which involves moving in an environment in a fluid or explosive way.

So here are the benefits of Parkour over other sports, it improves your balance, agility, co-ordination and overall knowledge of what your body is capable of dramatically. You become more aware of how you are moving through your environment, which translates well over to any other sports that you participate in.

There are many approaches to Parkour, and no single one is the "right" way of doing Parkour. You may want to leap over great gaps, run up walls, show off by flipping from great heights, or merely try to move without stopping.

Parkour, requires great explosive strength as well as a lot of cardio, training consists of fast runs and intense body weight exercises, which will give a six pack in a matter of weeks! You can either train alone or with friends, however you should always remember to never overstep your limits. If there is a move you are not comfortable with, don't do it.

So what do you need to practice parkour? none, all you need is your self, a pair of trainers and a place with plenty of obstacles. Many people hire gymnasiums to make use of the equipment in there, which is fantastic for making obstacles.

So how do you get started? youtube is overflowing with videos of people showing off their skills, as well as many videos that teach you how to do all of the moves, as well as some training exercises, these links should help you get started:

http://www.youtube.com/user/DemonDrills/videos?view=1

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3C95A11A609D1317&feature=plcp

http://www.urbanfreeflow.com/category/artfitness

But most importantly, Get out and move!!!!!

The 3 Easiest Ways of Getting Healthy

Now getting healthy is not the same as being fit. Being healthy is merely the absence of illness (physical and mental) and a general well-being. In the developed world, we often lead very sedentary lifestyles. Just think of how long you spend a day sat down, and how many things you can do without actually standing up. This IS making us fat. Americans top the scales as 33% are obese, but the rest of the western world is not far behind, with the UK at 26% and the rest of mainland Europe between 20 and 30 %. However, just because you aren't obese doesn't mean that you aren't overweight. In the UK 44% of people are overweight. This is also coupled with the fact that less than a quarter of people get their 5 portions of fruit and veg per day and only 20% take part in any form of exercise for more than 11 days out of a month! This is giving people unnecessary health risks by sky rocketing the likely hood of heart failure, stroke, hypertension etc etc.

The worst thing is that being, or becoming healthy is not actually that hard. These 3 easy changes you can make to your daily routine will make vast improvement to your health. This will not get you in shape, but it will significantly reduce the amount of fat in your blood and can decrease the risk of many weight related illnesses by up to 70%. If you don't do any formal exercise at the moment, I urge you to commit to these changes, it could save your life.

The first change is obvious, diet. Just changing from whole milk to skimmed milk, or having brown bread over whole meal, or even making the same meal from scratch rather than a pre-prepared meal will make vast improvements to your health. For a simple way of improving your diet this might interest you; An Alternative to Calorie Counting

Secondly, is something that has taken off greatly in the last couple of years, NEAT. This is your Non Exercising Activity Time, which basically means how much time your are active for when you aren't in any formal exercise. This is typically very low in the western world, as we spend most of our time at work, class and home sat down. Just being stood up for half an hour out of 24 can give profound health benefits, but you should aim to maximise the amount of time you can stay stood up for. There are a number of ways to increase your NEAT; walk/cycle to wherever you need to go, if it's within a 5 minute drive then you should be walking there. Take calls outside, if you work in an office you should make an effort to stand up at your desk, and whenever you make a call be sure to get up and walk around outside. Even sitting down on an exercise ball instead of a chair can count towards your NEAT as it engages your back and leg muscles in order to stay upright.

Studies have shown that making an effort to maximise your NEAT can increase the calories you burn per day by 500! Studies have also found that people with more active jobs, such as labour or working in a busy bar/cafe etc burn more calories per day than those that work in an office and then do 2 hours of cardio at night, because they are doing absolutely nothing for the remainder of the day. By maximising your NEAT you can actually make vast health gains without doing any formal exercise.

The third way of getting healthy might strike people as being strange, but you can improve your health dramatically by exercising for just 3 minutes a week. Now if you want a six pack then you need to do a lot more than just 3 minutes, but from a pure health perspective 3 minutes is all you need. This is by doing something called High Intensity Interval Training (HIT), which consists of you either running, cycling or swimming for 30 seconds at your very maximum intensity, then resting for 10 seconds, repeat 3 times and do this twice a week. These short bursts of highly intense exercise help to maintain healthy internal organs and can prevent many heart diseases along with many other, yet to be fully tested, benefits. It maintains your body's ability to perform at high intensity and boosts your metabolism throughout your day, by making you more energised and active.

While these will not give you a six pack, just exercising for 3 minutes out of a week, maximising your NEAT and steering clear of  unhealthy food will put you well and truly on the right track and could greatly improve your life expectancy, as well as your quality of life.

How to Measure Your Progress Properly

If you're training for performance, then the best way of measuring your progress is how your performance improves. However, many of you will be exercising to "get in shape". Now this is quite a subjective term, so this means it is hard to accurately measure how your progress is going.

Many people think that your weight is the most important, or even the only way of measuring your progress. However your weight can be deceptive. This is because, as you burn fat, you also will most likely build muscle. So say you lost 2 lbs since last time you measured, this might seem a little poor but you may well have lost much more than 2 lbs in fat but gained a lot of weight in muscle aswell. So your weight may not have changed much, but the composition of your body has changed for the better. This leads to what is probably the best numerical measure of progress, your body fat percentage. these can be found at most gyms as well as pharmacies etc. Now be warned, body fat measuring machines can lie. It may say that your percentage is higher or lower than it actually is. But do not worry, although these machines may be inaccurate they are very consistent. This means that, as long as you use the same machine, the change in your body fat percentage is very accurate (even though it will always over or underestimate your fat percentage as it is always off by the same amount) which is what you really want to be looking at. If your fat percentage is going down, that's all you need to worry about.

The next methods are somewhat more subjective, but they also give you more more insight and a better sense of achievement when you have made good progress. Firstly is how you feel, if you feel stronger, fitter, happier, more energetic or better in any way, then you're making good progress.

Finally, the most subjective but also the most satisfying way of measuring your progress, how you look. If people start noticing that you're getting thinner, then you're making great progress. When you look at yourself in the mirror, try to work out where you lose fat the fastest, or more importantly, where you start to put on fat first (although you can't control it you do lose/gain fat in different places at different rates). You should look at yourself at the same time of day and in the same mirror, as lighting and different mirrors can change the way you look significantly.

So to summarise; your weight can be deceptive, just focus on the direction your body fat percentage is going, and if you feel and look better/ fitter you're making great progress.

As always, Good Luck.

Home Workouts vs The Gym

A lot of people have preferences either to working out at the gym or at home, others do both. Here I will try to help you decide which is the best for you.

We'll start with the gym, this is generally perceived as the best option. It has the most equipment, including many more weights and machines than someone would most likely buy for home use. However it also has some downsides. It can be very intimidating to a beginner, especially the free weights section, as it feels like people will judge you or laugh at you for not going hard enough or not lifting heavy weights. This can increase the risk of injury greatly and may discourage you from coming back again. Although it has the best equipment, you also have to share it with other people, so it can be hard to stick to the workout you want to do if the gym is busy, or even get to do any of the exercises you wanted to at all. Furthermore, gyms can be far away which is often an inconvenience and membership is often expensive, which can put people off massively.

On the other hand, home gyms are convenient, they have no closing time, and you have all the equipment to yourself (assuming you have any). There are masses of exercises you can do with just your bodyweight, which are great for fitness, toning, beginners and recovery. If you want to, you can buy some equipment, such as dumbbells, a portable pull up bar, a barbell, etc for about the same price as a month or two's gym membership. Home workouts, therefore, would suit the student, or busy lifestyle that wouldn't be able to travel to the gym. However, this means that you are limited in the muscle gains you can make (if this is your target), as you would have to buy new weights every time you wanted to progress, for most this would probably be a happy compromise for the amount of money saved, just because you won't be a body builder doesn't mean you can't get in killer shape from home (plus you can watch tv, films etc. in your lounge whilst working out). I have heard of gamers that are trying to get in shape doing short workouts in between games or even doing as many press-ups as they can between the time they die and respawn.

However, going to the gym and working out at home do not need to be mutually exclusive. It would be a very smart idea to get a gym membership and then have a couple of dumbbells and an exercise mat at home for those days when you can't make it to the gym, or just to supplement your gym routine. 

If you are going to get a gym membership, then you should go 2 or more times a week, in order to get decent value out of your membership. This doesn't mean that you have to go and do weights or hit the treadmill all the time, there are lots of other facilities (pools, courts, sports halls etc) that you can also utilise, and therefore get better value for your money. 

You can't go far wrong with either, if you're a total novice then try a few exercises at home so that you know what you're doing and what your body is capable of before joining the gym. If you're after massive muscle gains then the gym is probably the best bet, but you can still gain muscle and get in shape for a lot less money at home.

 What I'm trying to say is that, everyone has specific goals, and specific circumstances. If you don't want to or can't join a gym, don't. Just be sure to make sure you workout at home. Try to work out which is best for you, whether it's home, the gym or a blend of both. 

As Always, Good Luck.

Why Swimming is the Best Form of Cardio

Now then, when I say cardio I am referring to the three classic forms of cardio; running, cycling, swimming. There are others, such as interval training and plyometrics that are more modern approaches to cardio, but these will be covered in another post.

 Swimming can have many more benefits than both running and cycling. First off, it could save your life. If you don't know how to swim, stop reading this and get some swimming lessons NOW, it could quite potentially save your own or someone else's life.
Next is a quite well known point, but it is still valid. Swimming is much better for your joints, this means that you can enjoy going for a swim, long after you are too old to go for a run. This also means that it is a great method for physiotherapy and generally avoiding injury if you have weaker joints.

But now we'll get into the main reason why swimming is much better than cycling and running, it uses your whole body. This means that you burn more calories, as you are using more muscle groups at once. It also leads to a more proportional gain in muscle mass (think of how good a swimmer's body looks) as opposed to running, which doesn't really lead to any significant muscle gain, and cycling, which leads to massive legs but an underdeveloped torso. It also helps your overall body co-ordination, as you are synchronising your legs, with your arms, with your breathing.

Finally, swimming can greatly improve your respiratory system; due to the fact that you have to control your breathing, alongside with the increased resistance to expanding your chest in water as opposed to air. This leads to bigger, more efficient lungs that will aid you in all other exercises. In other forms of exercise, such as running, some people (such as myself) struggle to breath properly and get out of breath quickly or become wheezy (due to asthma or other conditions). Personally, I have found that swimming allows me to exercise for much longer without getting out of breath whilst in the pool, but has also allowed me to stop my breathing from going out of control whilst on a run. Although I have heard of other people having their breathing worsen due to swimming, so be careful if you have any respiratory conditions.

In short, swimming could save your life, and leads to a more rounded, whole body workout that can increase your cardiovascular fitness greatly, whilst going easy on the joints.

Alternatives to swimming that also give whole body workouts include; interval training, rowing, plyometrics (jump training), as well as yoga, aerobics and many more that burn a lot of calories, and help to build muscle.
It would be best to try all of these different methods, to see which one suits you best. Find the one that you enjoy the most, as this means you are more likely to stay motivated to keep at it for a long time, but also switch it up so that it doesn't get old.

As always, Good Luck.

How to Rehydrate Properly

After an intense workout, you're going to be sweating a lot. As everyone knows, this means you have to drink something in order to rehydrate yourself. But how? Most people don't really think about this, as they assume that as long as they're putting liquids into their body it must be rehydrating you properly right? well I'm going to show you that what you drink during and after workouts can greatly change how effective you rehydrate yourself.
If you don't rehydrate yourself, you will stay dehydrated (which everyone knows is dangerous).

 Now there are two main options here, just water or a sports drink eg lucozade. These both have their limitations.
Drinking a lot of water at once (as you would be tempted too after a hard workout) can rehydrate you fairly effectively.  However, water absorption is dependant on ions and nutrients being absorbed aswell, if these are not present, then water is not absorbed. Meaning that not much of what you drink is actually absorbed and just passes through your body, resulting in delayed rehydration.

This is where sports drinks claim to come in. They do contain these nutrients needed for effective water absorption. However, they often also include high glucose. Glucose has been shown to actually reduce water absorption in levels present in most sports drinks.
So what should you drink?

The best way of rehydrating yourself is to drink water with the nutrients needed for effective water absorption, without the glucose. The most important ion involved in water absorption is Sodium, which is in salt. So what you should do is put 1 tablespoon of salt into a cup of water. Then put one tablespoon of that salt water into the drink you'll take with you to your workout, this is all the salt that you need to put in, as not a massive quantity is needed to have a big effect on water absorption. If you forget, or don't have time to do this. The next best alternatives are to sip normal water. This means that the water can be distributed by the body, and doesn't have such an effect on the nutrients in your body. If you must by a sports drink, then try to find the one with the least glucose.

For what to eat after a workout please see my previous post, Why you Should Always Eat After a Workout,

As always, Good Luck.

Why You Should Always Eat After a Workout

It is well known that you need to burn more calories than you take in, in order to lose that body fat. A lot of people think that this means a crazy workout scheme and starving yourself. And while that can be an effective way of losing fat, it can also be dangerous.

Once you've finished your workout your body goes into what is known as a catabolic state. This means that it is breaking down your energy stores in order to make enough energy available, in the absence of food. The problem with this is that, when your body is in this catabolic state your body will begin to break down protein (muscle) as well as fat in order to make enough energy available. Therefore if you workout really hard and then don't give your body the nutrients it needs, you will start to break down the muscle that you just worked so hard to build, instead of your unwanted fat. 

So you should have a decent, low fat, high protein meal within 40 minutes of working out, however the sooner the better. This makes your body realise that it needs to keep breaking down those fat stores, but it doesn't need to get desperate and start breaking down protein. A lot of people often take a protein shake to the gym with them, this is a great way of quickly replenishing your body with the supplies it needs. 

Another problem with not eating after a workout, is that your body doesn't have enough nutrients to repair itself. This means that your recovery time after workouts will be slower, plus you will more sore the next day because your muscles are still tired from the workout. Most importantly this means that your body doesn't have enough nutrients to grow. This means you won't be able to gain muscle, and your progress will be much slower. 

Many people think it is a good idea to workout hard in the morning, before breakfast. This is a VERY BAD IDEA. As I mentioned earlier your body needs nutrients to repair and grow, in the morning you probably haven't eaten for a long time, so your stomach is completely empty. This means that just being awake before breakfast is burning fat. When you add a long hard run or an intense workout, your body will resort to burning muscle much quicker than normal. This doesn't mean that you can't do anything before breakfast, as it would be a waste to ignore this prime fat burning period. What I recommend is a short, nicely paced walk. If you break a sweat, or can't talk normally then you're probably going too fast. You should do this as soon as you can after you wake up. If you have a dog, try taking it for a walk before breakfast and see how you feel after. You shouldn't be awake for more than half an hour before eating, as again your body will start to breakdown that muscle. 

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You should try to get in some high fibre cereal, aswell as a good, low fat source of protein, such as eggs or a protein shake. If you don't eat breakfast, then your body will not function at it's best for the whole day. You will probably end up eating more throughout the day in snacks and other meals that you do have, which would exceed the amount of calories you would take in at breakfast. Ideally, you should eat 6 small meals a day, but we'll get to that in a later post. 

TO SUMMARISE

You should eat within 40 minutes of finishing your workout (the sooner the better), alternatively bring a protein shake and drink that immediately after your workout and then have a large snack when you get home. You can exercise before breakfast but only at really low intensity for no more than 30 mins, and have breakfast IMMEDIATELY. 

As Always, Good Luck

An Alternative to Calorie Counting

Every one knows that most diet plans focus on low calorie intake, which inevitably leads to calorie counting that often involves all sorts of complicated maths and points etc. So here I have an alternative way of keeping your diet in check.

One of the most important parts of your diet is often overlooked by many people, and that's fibre. In a healthy diet you should eat about 30-50 grams of fibre each day. Which I'm sure not that many people often achieve. The benefits of a high fibre diet are that it gives you a much healthier and cleaner digestive system, but a lot of people don't realise that fibre (as well as protein) is really effective at keeping you from feeling hungry throughout the day.

By looking at the amount of fibre in foods instead of the amount of fat or calories etc you only have to worry about one part of the nutrition, instead of all the annoying calculations. Generally speaking, the high fibre foods are often much healthier, as they are often lower in fat and less processed than other foods. A lot of people think of fibre and just think about cereals and bread but all fruit, vegetables, roots, nuts, berries, seeds are high in fibre. By making sure to eat high fibre foods, you will also cut the amount of calories you take in, the amount of fat you take in and also the less processed and preserved your food will be as a result of just choosing high fibre foods.

Two simple changes you can easily make to your diet, that will definitely help you on your way to a healthier and fitter body, are the cereal you eat at breakfast (always always have breakfast) and the bread you buy.

Buy choosing a high fibre breakfast you will feel fuller throughout the day (so you won't feel the need to snack as much) as well as avoiding all the high sugar, processed cereals that won't keep you full for nearly as long. Two great choices would be Weetabix or Fruit & Fibre. Secondly, you should change to brown bread, the more seeds and grains in there the better, not only does brown, or wholemeal, bread keep you fuller for longer than white bread, it also contains less calories than white bread. It often has many other nutritional benefits such as minerals and vitamins, that you wouldn't get from white bread (as that part of the grain is removed).

By making these two simple changes you will easily reach 50 grams of fibre a day (one medium slice of wholemeal bread contains 16g of fibre on its own!)  this will aid weight loss as well as significantly lowering your risk of digestive disorder (irritable bowel syndrome etc) as well as many other diseases (such as coronary heart disease).

As always, Good Luck.