Rob and Charlotte share their tips
We're in February now, chances are people are flagging on their New Year fitness/healthy eating kick. What would be the first thing you would say to them to help motivate them?
ROB: Keep going, see February through, if you can keep going, by the end of the month the fitness / healthy eating kick will be a regular habit which you will find it easier to stick to.
What other motivational tips do you have?
ROB: If you run out of time to do your normal session, try and still squeeze a mini one in, for say 10 or 20 mins, just raise the intensity right up. These can sometimes be your best sessions. Also if you’re feeling a bit off and / or unmotivated, still do your session but re-assess what you are going to do after you have done your warm up. You may suddenly feel great after the warm up has blown the cobwebs out or if not have a real light session. This way you still do something when you normally wouldn't and keep mentally on track forming your fitness habits.
For someone who is just beginning to work out, what exercises would you suggest that they begin with?
ROB: Keep it simple to start with - Body Weight exercises get someone to show you correct form, but these are the fundamentals to build on. So, Press-ups, Squats, Lunges, Pull Ups (may need assistance), Dips, Plank. Get good at these before moving onto free weights. You also need to do cardio, but start as you mean to go on with Interval Training just keep it lighter intensity at the beginning. Interval is simply, higher intensity cardio output followed by periods of lower - repeated. It could be a 2 minute run followed by a 2 minute walk to get your breath back. This is far better for fat burning, than long steady cardio.
What are your workout essentials?
ROB: A good mindset, goals and targets to beat each time you work out, to keep pushing yourself further on.
What sort of fitness trends are you predicting for 2012?
CHARLOTTE: 1) I think we'll see a surge in popularity of bodybuilding, particularly amongst women. I know a number of women who've got involved with the sport for the first time this year (myself included!) in search of the ultimate physique. Bodybuilding training has taken a bad rap in the past, but I truly believe this is a positive step forward as more and more women strive for an athletic, trained body, and suggests that strong really is becoming the new skinny!
2) Corrective exercise will continue to develop as more people understand the relationship between optimal movement and both aesthetic and performance based results.
3) Heart rate monitoring will make a comeback in 2012. Interval training in particular has reigned supreme during 2011, but energy system training in general is an area I feel could be made more individual and hence effective, which is why I think we need to see people using monitors to determine rest periods, rather than just time prescriptions. Sure you can use visual and verbal feedback as an assessment, but with physiological data available and easy to use, why wouldn't we?
4) I think there'll be a big increase in grass roots sports participation because of the Olympics. I also hope that the Games will raise awareness of not only the physical benefits of sport and exercise participation, but also the sociological and psychological ones too.
5) I think more people will recognise that rest and recovery are just as important as training methodology for both optimal fat loss and optimal performance. This includes nutrition, stress management, sleep, relaxation and stretching.
What would you say are the best exercises for targeting the following areas, back, arms, stomach and legs?
CHARLOTTE: You can’t spot reduce fat, so the best exercises for fat loss are those that recruit a large amount of muscle fibre in one go and thus burn a high number of calories. These include multi-joint exercises such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, overhead presses, bench presses and core stability exercises such as the plank.
What would you say are the best cardio exercises that target fat loss?
CHARLOTTE: The best cardio exercises vary from person to person depending on your biomechanics and what you enjoy doing; again exercises that require multiple muscle groups simultaneously will burn a much larger amount of fat; burpees, cycling, treadmill sprints, boxing, rowing and battling ropes are all good examples.
We're always complaining that we don't have the time - what sort of workout tips can you give us that we can do anywhere and anytime?
CHARLOTTE: Firstly I think it’s important to increase the amount you move throughout the day. This doesn’t have to mean doing specific exercises; simply walking more and getting up on your feet regularly will help keep you mobile, reduce stress and help keep your weight in check. In order to really stay in shape, however, you have to make exercise a priority; 30 minutes at home 3 times per week is enough to really start making a big difference to your waistline and fitness levels.
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Femalefirst Taryn Davies
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