health – Page 2

So as “Quitters Day” (Jan 10) and “Blue Monday” (Jan 20) recede in the rear view mirror of our daily lives and we start to fall into the rhythm of a new year, let’s spare a thought for all those people (some of whom I’m sure most of us know) who have yet to get going on their resolution to “hit the ground running in ‘25”. Their intentions back in December 2024 to revitalize their fitness and wellbeing efforts were highly commendable…but has the INTENTION yet to be put into ACTION??

We get it! Good intentions are fine, but as John Steinbeck said, “Intention, good or bad, is not enough”.

YouGov have found that improving physical health is the most common New Year resolution (66%). Women are slightly more likely than men to prioritise physical health with seven in 10 women choosing this goal (69%) compared to six in 10 men (62%). However, a study by Strava discovered that 80% of people they surveyed had given up on their resolutions by the second Friday in January.

I doubt they would find it so easy to abandon their fitness journey if they had a personal trainer guiding and motivating them.

The Role of a PT

I see part of my role as a PT in some ways as a training “partner” whose purpose is to help my client maintain their enthusiasm for staying with the programme we have jointly designed to achieve our agreed targets. Of course, this is just one aspect of the client/PT link which illustrates the value of the relationship. If you are considering appointing a personal trainer for the first time it might be helpful to draw attention to the key benefits of working together on a single-minded path towards your fitness goals.

Expert Guidance
Professional PTs are qualified to instruct and demonstrate correct exercise techniques which ensure
that the client will not injure themselves. As an example, you might think that the squat is basically
simple down-and-up, but a personal trainer would be looking for the correct head position, the precise upper and lower back position, the exact pelvis position, accurate knee alignment and optimum foot position.
(Maybe not as straightforward as it seems!)
We can also design bespoke workouts to be in tune with your personal fitness level, your aspirations
and any physical or mental constraints you might have.

Personalised Workouts
Each client will receive an exercise plan constructed to meet their fitness goals.

Keep It Fresh and Engaging
Personal trainers will work to ensure that your workouts are not boring or repetitive and they will modify your exercises to match your needs and capabilities as the training programme advances.

More Efficient Use of Time Because of the professional management and execution of the fitness training which a PT brings to the party, clients find that there is more efficient use of their time which leads to more effective workouts and less time and effort wasted on inappropriate routines.

Improved Confidence
For clients who engage with their PT in a gym environment there is the added bonus of receiving
expert tuition on the use of the equipment and this does wonders for confidence.

Support for Special Goals or Health Conditions
This requirement is more common than you might think and on several occasions I have varied a
routine for a client who was preparing for a competition or event. I also frequently have to
adjust a workout to cater for a client’s medical condition, post-surgery or during and after pregnancy. For instance, I have worked one-to-one on a rehabilitation plan with a client in their 70s after double knee replacement, worked with clients post-mastectomy and post-significant back surgery.

Education and Enlightenment
It almost goes without saying that, working so closely with a PT, clients often find that they are able
to acquire a better understanding of their physical strengths and weaknesses, positioning and general body-awareness. In addition, all the talk of “muscle groups”, “core engagement” and “shoulders back!!” is bound to “rub off” at some point and increase awareness of the significance of posture, balance and positioning!

Please contact me if you would like to know more about working with your own Personal
Trainer!

Research and Acknowledgements
https://www.strava.com
https://www.vogue.co.uk
https://business.yougov.com
https://www.verywellfit.com/reasons-to-hire-a-personal-trainer-1231372
https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/benefits-of-personal-training

OK, the excuse is that it’s Christmas and you have ‘the cocktail flu’: there’s the headache; the dry mouth; queasiness. After all, alcohol is a toxin (if you look up the dictionary definition of a toxin, trust me, you’ll never drink a drop again!).

It’s funny how an exercise session can seem like a great idea after a night on the booze!

I’ve heard it said more than a few times that many people believe you can “sweat out a hangover”. It is possible to lose a very tiny amount of your alcohol intake through sweat, urine and your breath, but I’m not sure that I have seen any evidence that it significantly reduces the damage that alcohol can do to your body and your energy levels.

One of the longer-term impacts that alcohol “over-indulgence” has on fitness is that it affects the muscles that are most important when practising resistance training (the fast-twitch fibres).

And one of the most common effects of alcohol consumption is the craving for food that it promotes – and usually not healthy food (speed dial Papa John’s anyone?). In fact fatty foods can cause blood pressure to rise and this can’t be a safe way to start strenuous exercise!

Jokes aside, there’s a few things to note if you choose to train while you have a hangover:

First, you could make your hangover worse. You will already be dehydrated from the alcohol intake and the exercise is very likely to intensify it. Hydrate, Hydrate… HYDRATE!

In addition, while you’re enduring your own personal hangover you may be feeling a little unsteady (not just in your stomach) but also in your head. This can affect your coordination and balance so you need to be very careful that you don’t fall over/trip/sprain joints.

Hangovers also have a strong tendency to occupy the mind and impair judgement so it can make using equipment such as skipping ropes or weights risky.

It also should be fairly obvious that exercising with a hangover is stressing an already ‘stressed’ body that is trying to fight the alcohol in the system. Strenuous exercise on top of this can add unhelpful pressure to a delicate state!

BUT you CAN do SOMETHING:

Exercise with Care

You needn’t use a heavy night’s drinking as an excuse to avoid exercise the next day BUT, if you want to stick to your exercise schedule through thick and thin, then as your PT I would ensure that it is a very “lite” version of your usual workout with some low intensity cardio and that it doesn’t go ahead unless some precautions are followed.

And here’s why:

It is essential not to exercise when still drunk. You must wait until you’re sober and in the meantime ensure that you take on board a lot of water to mitigate the dehydrating effects of excess alcohol. And continue to drink water during and after exercising.

If you’re hungry or planning to exercise before a meal eg breakfast, avoid foods which take a long time to digest and make it a good old banana instead, for example.

It sometimes can be acceptable to “treat yourself” to a bit of exercise if the hangover is not too “heavy”. In fact, it may actually be good for you and help you reduce your suffering by kick-starting all of the body’s normal, healthy and positive reactions to exercise. It’s bound to relax muscles, get the blood flowing and increase feelings of wellbeing.

A good walk or a gentle jog, yoga or pilates-type strength/stretch session might be better than throwing around the KGs for 24hrs

You might even find that the endorphins that you’ll release while you’re exercising will soon sort out your head!

But they won’t be a cure for the hangover! That, you will have to suffer through – I hope it was worth it!

Research and Acknowledgements

https://www.menshealth.com/uk/fitness/a31092928/exercise-hangover/

https://www.verywellfit.com/should-i-exercise-with-a-hangover-1231205

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/fitness/strength-training/a703344/hangover-workout/

Tag: health

The Real Benefits of Hiring Your Own Personal Trainer

Is It OK to Exercise with a Hangover?