There are many examples of how you can take your favourite gym workout outside – like taking your bike out for a ride on a bike track for a cycling workout, or running/ walking down a trail or path at a nearby park rather than running in place on a treadmill. To challenge your body to keep gaining results, exercising outdoors can have many advantages, not just the awesome scenery. Exercise variation outside means you are more likely to work your body in different ways.

#1 – Sunshine. Sun exposure means VITAMIN D!!! An increase of endorphin’s are also released by the body when exposed to sun. Of course, being sun smart as well – vitamin D has loads of benefits on the body such as: reducing depression, fighting diseases and immune- boosting benefits.

#2 – Psychological Benefits. Outdoor training is great for the mind. Exercising amongst trees and wildlife can give you a healthy mood boost and can help with anxiety and stress.

#3 – Wind Resistance. The wind (even increased temperature and hills) can actually help you burn more calories. When running or cycling outdoors, you may have to deal with the wind, which can offer natural resistance. A strong headwind can help you burn more calories, as you have to work harder to move a little faster, which activates the larger type II muscle fibres that are responsible for strength and definition.

#4 – Easier To Stick With. Creating an exercise habit is difficult, but finding one you enjoy can make it easier to come back to. So that shot of pleasure you get from being outdoors may mean it’s more likely you’ll stick to your program.

#5 – The Scenery Stops You From Getting Bored. Running through different scenery means you have a lot to look at, which means you’re less likely to get bored and end up exercising for longer. When the sun is shining, why would you want to be indoors in a stuffy gym stuck watching boring daytime TV?……..

After spending the past few days or even weeks bed ridden from being sick, you may be itching to get back to training after missing so much time off. But the most important rule is to listen to your body – because if you return to working out too soon or do not stop when you are sick, you can relapse or intensify the symptoms.

The nature and location of your symptoms is an important determinant of whether you should stay in your slippers or in your runners. We must differentiate between ‘above the neck’ symptoms such as runny or stuffy nose, watery eyes or a mild sore throat. ‘Below the neck’ ones are a cough, a congested or tight chest, an upset stomach, muscle aches or fever. If your symptoms are above the neck and you feel OK, it is fine to do a light work out. Research from Ball State University in Indiana found that infecting subjects with a mild cold virus did not affect their ability to exercise moderately. Lung capacity of the infected subjects was the same as that of the healthy ones, and running on a treadmill for 15 min felt no harder.

Ever heard of the old saying “sweating out a cold”? Is there any truth to this? Well, bringing up your body temperature is a way of fighting a virus. Keep the activity light to moderate and brief. Hard exercise compromises the immune system, allowing a virus to strengthen its hold. When you have a fever, you should not work out because your body temperature is already too high. Working out naturally raises your body temperature and elevates your heart rate. You do not want to intensify the effects of a fever with physical exertion. The body is already under stress in fighting the infection, so adding additional stress through vigorous exercise will do more harm than good. This could lead to loosing too much water or fainting.

It is very important to return to exercise with caution. Monitor how you feel, make sure you stay well hydrated (particularly if you have had a stomach bug), avoid getting wet and cold and look out for signs that you are overdoing it such as a work out feeling harder than it should, shortness of breath, weakness or dizziness. Remember to:

1. Stay well hydrated
2. Eat and drink after training
3. Take some multivitamins or probiotics
4. Don’t overtrain
5. Wash your hands after the gym
6. Don’t linger in damp clothing after exercise

The best thing about bootcamp is that it is suitable for all fitness levels (the strong, the weak, the fit and not so fit). Bootcamp classes pushes you past your mental or physical block. There is no slacking, no matter what your fitness level may be and you are forced to push yourself through your barriers, with the help and guidance of your instructor. It’s a major benefit to have someone telling you to fight through what you think you cannot do. Most of us need that extra push and that is why the instructors are there to help you.

1. Keeping Motivated 

It’s easy to have commitment issues with the gym – whether it’s after work or early in the AM most people find it difficult to fit workouts into their schedule. Signing up for a bootcamp program will get you on the fitness bandwagon no matter what motivates you and will keep you on a consistent schedule . All you would need to do is take a few hours every week to commit to these time slots and you’ll see, the more consistent you are, the easier it is to stay motivated.

2. Increased Energy

A large amount of the classes are timetabled in the early morning so there is still time to shower and have breakfast all before getting to work. A bootcamp workout is most likely the hardest thing you will have to do all day – how awesome does it feel to get it out the the way early?! While everybody else is on their 3rd morning coffee – you will still be energised from your AM workout!

3. Building Strength

Halfway through the program – this is when you will start to notice some changes in your body. Whether it be progressing your push ups from knees to toes, or increasing the weight of your kettlebell, you’ll be able to notice a difference. Weights that you had been using when you first began, and exercises you were doing at a beginner level are also move up to an intermediate or an advanced level. suddenly – all your hard work and dedication starts to pay off.

4. Toning Up

Bootcamp challenges every muscle in your body – so you’re bound to feel the burn and intensity. By constantly moving for an hour, your body has little time to rest, therefore your burning hundreds of calories, even when you stop. In the course you may even slowly start to notice some baby bicep definition – yay gains!

5. Weight Loss

Now this takes some discipline in the kitchen to start seeing results from your boot camp sessions. As well as keeping consistent with exercising, we can also help you with your meal plans. Working at 100% and leaving class dripping with sweat, dos not mean you can eat what ever you like! Try tracking your calories and macros using an app like MyFitnessPal.

6. Confidence Booster

After your first class of absolutely smashing your workout, you will get that burst of energy and confidence when you realize what you just endured and completed. Getting through a tough workout can build your confidence and self esteem. Exercise is excellent for the body and mind. After all the progress and gains made, you will notice a huge improvement in how many more reps of a certain exercise you can do, and how far you’ve come. One of the most important things you’ll build at boot camp is confidence!

“A mental health disorder in which a person becomes obsessed with imaginary defects in their appearance. The worry and anxiety associated with the perceived fault becomes overwhelming and can dominate a person’s life.”

BDD is classified as an anxiety disorder and it’s believed to affect 1-2% of the population. It’s a mental illness that causes people to worry incessantly about the way they look. They often lose hours a day checking their reflection or working out in pursuit of the ‘perfect’ body and in extreme cases, withdraw from social settings or work because they feel they are too hideous. It might be their nose, their skin or even the length of their arms. People with BDD believe that 1 or 2 areas wreck their entire appearance. While most of us can name a feature or two that we wouldn’t mind improving, sufferers of BDD are completely consumed by their perceived flaw.The difference between normal body image concerns and BDD is repetitive behaviours. Someone with Body Dysmorphic Disorder might mirror- check for hours every day and constantly measure or weigh themselves or compare themselves to other people in real life or those on social media. Sometimes they’ll spend a couple of months or even years at a time fixated on one aspect of their appearance then it might shift and they’ll become concerned about a different aspect.

How It Happens

Similar to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), a lot of behaviour associated with BDD is a result of misfiring in the amygdala region of the brain, which controls our emotions. It’s the part of the brain that sounds an alarm and makes us stressed if things aren’t right. The amygdala lights up in response to a stressful situation, but brain scans show it lights up randomly in sufferers of BDD, who then seek to attach something to the stress. They get super stressed out and search for a reason why, and for whatever reason, people with BDD attach that stressed- out feeling to how they look. They also have incredible attention to detail and also appear to have something wrong with their visual system. It’s like they see a jigsaw puzzle but they haven’t put it together- they see the little pieces and become very focused on a single thing and take it out of context. BDD affects men and women equally, it can run in families and people who have grown up with controlling parents or as a victim of childhood bullying appear to be at a higher risk.

Spotting The Signs 

Simply wanting to lose weight does not warrant a BDD diagnosis. A person with BDD may experience a significant amount of distress or become seriously anxious if they can’t their points or become super harsh on themselves and think they’re a failure. It’s normal to have fleeting moments of dislike for an area of your body. But for most people the moment passes and life goes on. Yet for sufferers of BDD there are certain behaviours that intrude on leading a normal life.

• Checking. A person with BDD will spend hours a day checking themselves in the mirror, or any reflective surface, analysing their body. They’ll look, touch and feel their skin obsessively.
• Comparing. Sufferers of BDD compulsively compare their own body, nose of other body part to others in magazines or online.They will always unfavourably compare.
• Avoidance. Many people with BDD will avoid situations where they believe they’ll look worse (e.g beach, pool or environments with bright lights). In extreme cases, a person can become housebound, making jobs and relationships difficult to maintain.

The fact that BDD is still not widely known about or understood by the general public mans sufferers may endure the condition for years without recognising it. Most people with BDD won’t realise they’ve got it – they actually think they’re ugly. One of the simplest ways for sufferers to start to understand they may have BDD is to consider how their assessment of their appearance compares to what others think of them. Do people around you say, ‘Why are you on a diet? You have a beautiful figure’. Or, ‘Why do you need to lose weight, you’re the perfect size and shape’. If your assessment of yourself is at odds with those who love you, it may be an indication that you have BDD.

Know Someone With BDD? 

If a loved one constantly puts themselves down and stresses about aspects of their appearance, take these suggested steps:

1. Reframe the problem. It might be tempting to try and reassure them that they’re beautiful but that won’t alter their perception of themselves. Reframe the problem in terms of ‘anxiety about appearance’ rather than appearance itself.
2. Plant the seed. Most people with the disorder only discover it exists about 10 years after the onset, and so informing them that there’s this thing called BDD can be really helpful.
3. Help them get help. St Vincent’s Hospital Eating Disorders Treatment and Recovery Service treats BDD or they can put you in touch with a therapist in your area.

While it may be hard to admit that you’re ashamed of your appearance, if you think you, or someone close to you, may have BDD, finding a psychologist or therapist with specific experience treating the disorder. Treatment may involve cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), which helps change unhelpful thought patterns. 

Cardio Training

When we speak about cardio – the most popular types are walking, jogging and sprinting. Depending on your specific fitness goals there are certain types of cardio that are better suited to everyone. But generally speaking the human body needs to burn more calories (energy output) than we eat (energy input) in order to lose weight. Cardio is one form of exercise that can help contribute to this “energy output”. If your main fitness goals are to focus on FAT & WEIGHT loss then a low intensity steady state would be suited for you. Walking burns the most fat per calorie when compared to jogging and sprinting. Fat requires o2 (oxygen) in order to be broken down for energy. The lower the intensity, the more oxygen is available to be used by the body to break down fat. When jogging/ sprinting LESS o2 is available – meaning that your body will use different sources for energy like carbs for energy. No matter what the intensity levels are at – cardio is excellent to build and increase your fitness levels and stamina. 

Resistance/ Weight Training

When completing a steady state cardio (e.g jogging or walking at the same pace) this may burn more calories per minute BUT resistance training will continue to burn calories even after completing the workout! If you’re one to sit on the couch after training -your body is still working and burning off calories. This is called EPOC (Excess- Post- Exercise Oxygyen Consumption). The best part of resistance training is that you mainly lose FAT, rather than losing different ranges of muscle masses when cardio is completed. Losing muscle mass will mean your WEIGHT on the scale is lower, but may not give you the body you desire. Resistance training protects, shapes and maintains your muscles – and “tones” your body up to the shape you want it to be.

Cardio and Resistance training both have their advantages – but the best method for general weight loss is incorporating BOTH cardio and weight training. If in your case, your goal is to lose a large amount of weight cardio is a great way to increase your fitness levels and burning calories quickly. But to achieve that dreamy, toned and sculpted body of yours – you will need to add some weights into your workouts.

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) 

HIIT workouts are an awesome way to increase your body’s fat burning ability. Of course with everyday busy schedules, not everyone has the time for a long walk after work (multiple times a week), which is optimal for weight loss. BUT performing just a 15 minute HIIT session can actually burn more fat than going for an hour walk. High intensity interval training produces an ‘after- burn’ effect similar to what happends to your body after resistance training. This is a great training method that is time effective which gets your heart rate up fast and burns more fat in less time than ANY other workout.

Have you always wanted to know the truth about carbs, fats and protein? Find out how much of each of these you need daily and why, plus lots more. Use this fact sheet to understand what your body needs, and why you don’t have to frustratingly avoid certain foods that you want as part of your healthy living plan. 

CHO (carbohydrates), proteins and fats supply 90% of the dry weight of the diet and 100% of its energy. All three sources provide the body with energy, but the amount of energy in 1 gram differs:

• 4 calories in a gram of CHO  or PROTEIN
• 9 calories in a gram of FAT

These nutrients also differ in how quickly they supply energy to the body. CHO are the quickest – fats are the slowest. The body uses these basic units to build substances it needs for growth, maintenance and activity. CHO, proteins and fats are digested in the intestine, where they are broken down into their basic units:

• Carbohydrates into sugars
• Proteins into amino acids
• Fats into fatty acids and glycerol

Carbohydrates – Simple VS. Complex

Simple CHO include table sugar, syrup, candy, cake, beer cookies and soda. These are the bad carbs which most of the time – should be avoided in large quantities! These are small molecules, so they can be broken down and absorbed by the body quickly and are the quickest source of energy. They quickly increase the level of blood glucose (blood sugar). Fruits, dairy products, honey and maple syrup contain large amounts of simple CHO, which provide the sweet taste in most candies and cakes.

Complex CHO include starches and fibers – (bread and pastas), other grains (rye and corn), beans and root vegetables (potatoes and sweet potatoes).

Because complex CHO are larger molecules than simple CHO, they must be broken down into simple CHO before they can be absorbed. They tend to provide energy to the body more quickly than protein or fat. Because they are digested slower than simple CHO, they are less likely to be converted to fat. They also increase blood sugar levels slower and to lower levels than simple CHO, but for a longer time.

If people consume more CHO than they need, the body stores some of these CHO within cells (as glycogen)  and converts the rest to fat. Glycogen is a complex CHO that the body can easily and rapidly convert to energy. Glycogen is stored in the liver and the muscles. Muscles use glycogen for energy during periods of intense exercise. The amount of CHO stored as glycogen can provide almost a day’s worth of calories. Neither low- carb diets nor low- GI diets are a magic pill for fat loss; the main thing is to eat the right amount of healthy foods that fuel metabolism, which in turn will help you burn fat. The important thing to remember is that your body needs carbs, especially if you are performing intense exercise. Without CHO your body will begin to break down your muscle tissue to fuel your body, which will sabotage your efforts. It’s not as simple as dividing complex carbs from simple ones. A great way to rate carbohydrate quality is the Glycemic Index (GI). It attempts to classify foods by how quickly they break down and high they boost blood sugar levels.

Protein is used by the body to repair muscle, bone, skin, teeth and hair among other things. It maintains and replaces tissues to function and grow –  without it, the entire structure of the body begins to break down. Unlike other nutrients, your body can not assemble protein by combining other nutrients, so it needs to be prioritised if achieving to be your best looking and healthiest body possible. Protein is one of the most metabolic macro-nutrients, meaning that the more protein you eat, the more calories you burn. If you’re going to overeat on macro-nutrients (protein, carbs or fats) protein is usually your safest bet – calories are still calories though so you can’t eat as much as you want. The body contains large amounts of protein which is the main building block in the body. Adults need to eat about 60 grams of protein per day (0.8g per KG of weight or 10-15% of total calories). Adults who are trying to build muscle need slightly more. Children also need more because they are growing. People who are limiting calories to lose weight need a higher amount of protein to prevent loss of muscle while they are losing weight.

Fat plays an important role in helping the general functioning of your body such as your heart, nerves and muscles. Fats are complex molecules composed of fatty acids and glycerol and the body needs fats for growth and energy. Fats are the slowest source of energy but the most energy- efficient form of food. Each gram of fat supplies the body with about 9 calories, (more than twice that supplied by proteins or carbs)  Because fats are such an efficient supply of energy, the body stores any excess energy as fat. The body deposits excess fat in the abdomen, under the skin – to use when it needs more energy. The body may also deposit excess fat in blood vessels and within organs – where it can block blood flow and damage organs which can cause serious disorders. There are different kinds of fats monosaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated fats. 

• Saturated fats can increase your risk of heart disease and increases your blood cholesterol, in particular increaseing the bad (LDL) cholesterol. Saturated fat mainly comes from the fat you can see on meat and chicken, from dairy products and from some plant foods like palm and coconut oil. It can be found in processed foods like biscuits, pastries and takeway foods that have used ingredients like butter and palm oil.
• Trans fat (trans fatty acids) are a different category of fat and are in foods that use hydrogenated vegetable fats, like deep-fried foods and baked foods like biscuits, cakes, pastries and buns.
• Healthier fats include monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats (omega-3 and omega- 6). Sources of monounsaturated fat include avocados, almonds, cashews, peanuts, cooking oils made from plants or seeds – canola, olive, peanut, soybean, rice bran, sesame and sunflower oils. These fats help the cholesterol balance in your blood by decreasing the bad (LDL) cholesterol and increase the good (HDL) cholesterol.

 

And there you have it. By now, hopefully you have learnt a lot of interesting facts all about carbs, fats and protein. We hope this may encourage you to make some what healthier choices when food shopping – knowing what all of these to do our bodies. Just remember calories are still calories, so you can’t eat as much as you want. 

Create a food journal. Writing down every time you eat and what you eat for a week or two, can give you an insight to why you’re choosing junk food over healthy and whole foods. Do you notice that you might’ve grabbed something from a take away store because you forgot to pack something healthy that day? Or you can consider the reasons why you are incorporating junk food into your daily meals.

Identify your favourite comfort foods. Once you know what your favourite junk foods are, this can help you minimise them in your diet. A good idea is to go through your kitchen and remove all of those foods, without them in the house the less likely you are to eat them. Same for work, try not to have them around you in the office. Once you know what you crave – you can better manage it and plan for a healthy alternative.

Make healthy swaps. If you crave something sweet, instead of having a donut or a block of chocolate, which might satisfy your craving (but may also make you feel like CRAP and may come with a list of negative health problems) – try and substitute it for a slightly healthier option. Perhaps some yogurt with some fruit, which can still be a tasty snack but a whole lot better for you!

Write up a meal plan. This can definitely help you cut down on the amount of junk food you consume each day and create a whole new diet for you. Include your breakfast, lunches, dinners and all snacks. Remember to be realistic with your plan, it is okay to include meals that are eaten on- the- go, and also you may need to prepare and cook meals in advance if you are busy in the evenings. This leads us to the next point….

PREPARE AND COOK HEALTHY MEALS/ SNACKS.  Aim to include foods from each food group most days: grains, protein, fruits, vegetables and dairy, to help ensure you’re meeting all your daily nutrient goals. If you have less time to prepare meals during the working week – meal prep on the weekend and store your food in the refrigerator. When you’re grocery shopping for your food for the week, avoid shopping when hungry – because everything looks appealing. Make a shopping list and be specific with it, also try and stay out of the aisles that contain your fav junk food snacks. Pre-pack snacks with you to take to work to help you from going down to the cafe for a brownie. To help snacks more satisfying include lean protein, high fiber foods and some healthy fats – such as yogurt with fruit and nuts, peanut butter with some apple slices, mixed nuts, cheese, dips such as hummus with whole grain crackers or carrot sticks.

 

HELPS YOUR CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH

Cardio is important for protecting yourself from heart disease, burning calories and lose/ maintain your weight. What comes to most peoples minds when they think cardio is hopping on a treadmill or the bike for an hour or two (yeah right, like any one wants to do that – BORING!) Cardio is meant to place a moderate amount of stress on your heart and lungs so that they’re challenged enough to make beneficial physiologic adaptations to support the higher level of physical activity. How your choose to place stress on your heart and lungs is up to you. If you manage to keep your heart rate up during your workout then absolutely you can punch, kick and jump your way to a healthy heart in your Fight Club classes!

IMPROVED TOTAL – BODY STRENGTH

To punch, kick and jump requires a decent amount of strength. During a boxing workout you may punch or kick hundreds or even thousands of times which requires your upper body, lower body and core to engage. In our Fight Club classes we also like to add in a few strength and HIIT exercises into the workout. Resistance training strengthens your bones and reduces the progression of osteoporosis. Using your body weight can also help you maintain or increase your lean muscle mass which is critical to keeping your metabolic rate burning at maximum capacity.

IMPROVED HAND – EYE COORDINATION

Hand- eye coordination and its affect on total health can play a very important role in a persons fine and gross motor skills. People with good hand- eye coordination tend to have better physical coordination as a whole. This can become particularly important during ageing, as coordination and balance become compromised, increasing the risk of falls. When you’re paired up with a partner and tasked with a drill you must be able to see the target, react to the target and hit the target, all while the target is moving an changing position. But with practise, your hand- eye coordination improves big time!

DECREASED STRESS LEVELS

Almost any form of moderate/ vigorous physical activity can decrease stress. Exercise increases endorphins, boosts mood and works as a form of meditation which then improves sleep – all of which helps to reduce stress. Boxing is a option to let off some steam because you transition between high intensity bouts of exercise and moderate intensity recovery periods. When you’re pushing yourself through a couple of minutes of high intensity punching or kicking, you don’t have much mental power left to worry about your daily problems and dramas, you’ll be focused on breathing and mentally preparing for the next round.

IMPROVED BODY COMPOSITION

Boxing is an incredible method for improving your body composition because it combines muscle- building strength training moves and high amounts of cardio which burns through calories. Improving your body composition is a goal for most people who want to lose weight or just increase their overall fitness levels. If you are regularly participating in a boxing program and following a nutritious eating plan – there’s no reason you won’t see changes in your overall shape.