The New Rules of Fitness for 2013

We’ve entered 2013, and yet most of us think of exercise like it’s 1991. Let’s toss out the old and welcome the new.
The old: long sessions of jogging, or marathon sessions on the elliptical machine or treadmill, or working every bodypart individually on a dozen different weight machines and dumbbell stations, doing circuits in a women-oriented fitness center, taking dance-aerobic or kickboxing-aerobic classes.
There’s nothing wrong with all that, but it’s not how we live today. Today, we live online, in a world of Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and Pinterest, of Gmail and iPhones. The way we live and think online isn’t at all how we think about fitness.
Let’s take a cue from how we actually live and think today, and change up fitness. Let’s rethink things for 2013.

The New Rules of Fitness

If we take cues from our online world today, here’s how we’d do fitness (and some of us are already doing it this way):

1. Small. In the world of tweets and SMS messages, long classess or gym workouts or jogging sessions just don’t seem to fit. We don’t have time for all of that. So toss out the workout, and instead think of fitness as small as a tweet. Sprint up a hill after getting off the train or parking your car. Sprint up a flight of stairs as you go into the office. Do some pushups before a meeting. Do some squats after sitting for 30 minutes. Pick up a friend, put him on your shoulders, and carry him for a block. Let’s call it a fitness bit instead of a workout.
2. Social. We rarely do anything online or offline without sharing it, or collaborating with others. So share your fitness bits, or do them with others. Play a sport. Find a place where others are sharing their fitness bits too (it’s probably where you’re already sharing other stuff).
3. Distributed. Everything is out there in the cloud these days, not just on one server but distributed across many. But when we schedule a workout, we schedule it at just one time. So 1990s. Instead, do bits throughout the day, distributed among all the other little tasks you’re doing. Do some yoga sun salutations in the morning, a bit of walking or sprinting on the way to work, some bodyweight exercises at your desk (or in front of your living room couches for us work-at-home bums), some basketball or walking/running with friends after work, some chinups at home in the evening. It breaks up all the sitting you usually do, which is a good thing.
4. Fun. We do most of our stuff online because it’s fun. Or at least, I do. I love reading good stuff online, or collaborating with friends, or sharing something interesting I’ve found or thought about. So why is fitness so boring to so many people? They’re doing it wrong. It’s fun as hell. If you’ve been doing exercise you hate, find something funner: a sport, playing with your kids, walking or running with a good friend, a new challenge with a group of friends.
5. Open. Let’s toss out the days when companies had proprietary, secret methods for getting you in shape, and you had to hire a trainer to tell you what to do because he had all the knowledge and you didn’t. Instead, let’s share our best methods, learn from each other, improve on each other’s methods and share those. Let’s find a good way, like open-source software has, to collaborate and share our fitness methods.
6. Exportable. These days, the best services allow you to export your data anytime you want, and you can take that data anywhere you want to take it (yes I know some services don’t do that, but those guys suck). So let’s do the same with fitness — instead of having to do your workout at a gym, or a track, or a yoga studio or crossfit gym or some other specific place … be able to take your workout anywhere. You can do bodyweight exercises anywhere … do yoga poses anywhere … do chinups at the playground or on a tree branch … sprint up a hill or some stairs … walk briskly anywhere. Be fluid with your fitness and be able to adapt to wherever you are.
7. Fast. We work with unprecedented speed online these days. If a page takes 10 seconds to load, it’s too slow. That was unimaginable 15 years ago! So let’s get our fitness to move at the same speed: remove all the barriers to doing a fitness bit. Page speed comes when you remove all the heavy stuff from a page or app — so remove the heavy stuff that slows you down before accessing the fitness bit. What are some of the barriers? Having to go to a gym, sign up for a class, get some clothes or equipment. Instead, you should remove anything that keeps you from doing a fitness bit right now, or at any moment you want to do it.

Those are the new rules of fitness, and they will keep you active, all the time, if you give them a try.
If you’re interested in starting the fitness habit in 2013, check out my Simple Fitness Habit course, with a panel of fitness experts, a mini-course on how to form fitness habits, and a diet portion called The Mindful Diet.
The Simple Fitness Habit
http://zenhabits.net/fit13/

Nurtition and Training

Step 3: Protein

One of the most important pieces of the puzzle to help you reach your goals is protein. Protein is essential for rebuilding and repairing muscle tissue, as well as for overall good health. Meeting your daily protein goal is critical to achieving rapid results. We recommend at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, spread out over the day (including protein shakes when necessary). Some of the key benefits of optimal protein intake include:
Muscle growth, strength and repair

Enhanced recovery time between games
 Immune system function (especially organic whey protein)
 Weight Loss/Weight Management
 Helps to stabilize blood sugar levels, and also helps to control hunger

Nutrition and Training

Step 2: Omega-3 Fish Oils

 

Of all the supplements you can take, one of the most important is fish oil, specifically Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil. Our modern diet does not provide nearly enough of this critical nutrient as we need, which is why it’s so important to take additional Omega 3’s through supplementation. Here are some reasons why Omega-3’s are so important:
 Omega 3’s help to switch off the genes that store fat (lipogenic) and to turn on the genes that break down fat (lipolytic)

Help to increase utilization of fat stores as energy from the fat cells
 Helps to reduce inflammation causes by sports and intense training.
 Reduces pain as a result of decreased inflammation
 Helps to improve mental focus, memory and overall brain function
 Increases levels of serotonin (makes you feel happy), which has a very positive effect on mood and control of carb cravings
 They can help to reduce risk of a laundry list of diseases, including heart attack, stroke, congestive heart failure and diabetes

Nutrition and Training

Step 1: Water

 

Our bodies are made up of over 75% water. Without proper hydration, we will very quickly impair normal body function. For health, body composition and/or athletic performance, it is extremely important that we drink adequate amounts of water. Here are some of the main benefits of optimal water intake:
Helps to control cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone that can cause excessive oxidative stress to the body and brain. High cortisol levels also impair your ability to lose weight.

Helps to regulate body temperature, especially important during exercise.
 Delivers nutrients and oxygen throughout the body

Helps to detoxify your kidneys and liver, especially from environmental pollution and the poisons we unknowingly eat


Helps with the absorption of your vitamins and minerals


Helps to protect your body from injury by lubricating the joints

Why is healthy eating important?

Louise Pyne finds out how ditching sugar and eating well could add years to your looks

Sometimes, nothing beats the thrill of peeling open a chocolate bar and savouring every bite like it’s your last – but while your taste buds will thank you for the party, your body won’t. Sad, yes. Surprising? Not so much. What’s really hard to swallow is new research revealing that regularly riding the sugar rush not only adds inches to your waistline, but speeds up the ageing process, too.

The study by Leiden University Medical Centre and Unilever found that people with high blood glucose levels look older than those with lower levels. The scientists also found that every additional millimole of blood glucose per litre above the average added a whopping five months to facial features. And this was after common ageing factors such as smoking and sun-damage were taken into account.

The bitter truth

High blood glucose is usually caused by a diet packed with simple sugars, found in foods such as chocolate, biscuits, white bread and pasta, so it stands to reason that weaning yourself off your sweet habit and focusing on a healthy lifestyle just might be the secret to keeping skin smooth and supple. ‘Reducing the amount of the hormone insulin in your bloodstream could be the key to slowing ageing,’ says Patrick Holford, nutritionist and author of The 10 Secrets of Healthy Ageing (£14.99, patrickholford.com).

Eating sugar causes insulin to surge into the bloodstream, helping your cells to absorb glucose and use it as energy. Over time, one too many sweet-toothed binges can make your body resistant to the effects of this blood sugar-balancing hormone. This leads to above-average levels circulating in the bloodstream, a factor linked to conditions such as metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and now premature ageing

Written on your face

Regularly scoffing sugar can also damage the structure of collagen, the protein responsible for keeping skin supple. This process (glycation), results in substances known as AGEs (advanced glycation end-products). Too many of these inhibit your natural ability to produce and use antioxidants – the important nutrients that protect your cells from free-radical damage, which increases the likelihood of sagging skin and fine lines.

There’s no magic pill to make you look 10 years younger, but there is compelling evidence to show that cutting back on sugar ,can give you a beauty boost and help you remain healthy well into old age. We’re not saying that you should go cold turkey – after all, you’d be miserable without the occasional treat – but chomping down on the right foods 80 per cent of the time could take years off your looks and help your body fight an array of degenerative conditions and diseases, too.

Edible beauty

As the skin ages, it’s vital to ensure an optimal intake of antioxidant vitamins A and C, and essential fats. ‘Fatty fish such as salmon are high in vitamin A and essential fats,’ says Patrick. ‘Vitamin C is actually highest in broccoli and peppers, and the next-best source is berries. If you press your palm and the underlying colour is white or grey with no hint of yellow, you’re not getting enough beta-carotene from red, orange or yellow foods,’ he adds. ‘Eat more carrots, sweet potato or butternut squash.’

It’s not just our skin that starts to change with age. As we grow older our bones become more susceptible to wear and tear, so it’s important to chow down on strengthening minerals including calcium, magnesium and zinc, found in seeds such as chia, pumpkin and linseeds. Adequate amounts of vitamin D are also vital to fend off brittle bones and joint pain – so aim for at least 20 minutes of daily exposure to sunlight or pop a vitamin D supplement.

Ageing also makes it harder for your body to absorb certain nutrients such as vitamin B12, thought to be one of the major causes of dementia. ‘I’d recommend supplementing with 100mcg a day,’ advises Patrick. Folic acid is also an important vitamin that helps maintain muscle mass, so stock up on plenty of green veg, beans, nuts and seeds. ‘Finally, the B vitamins are essential for maintaining healthy levels of the amino acid called homocysteine. High levels of homocysteine have been linked to a raised risk of age-related cognitive decline,’ reveals Patrick. To counteract the effects, munch on wholegrains, meat and fish.

Menu makeover

These healthy meal ideas are packed with youth-boosting nutrients to help keep you looking gorgeous from top to toe. Simply mix and match the meal ideas for glowing skin, a slimmer waistline and improved memory and concentration.

BREAKFAST

• Porridge with blueberries, ground almonds, cinnamon and oat milk.
• Rye bread with poached eggs (using omega-3 free range eggs)
• Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon
• Probiotic yoghurt with chia seeds with a handful of berries
• My Get Up and Go! made with coconut milk and strawberries [shake?]

SNACKS

• One pear with a handful of almonds and pumpkin seeds
• Two oatcakes with houmous
• Oatcakes with nut butter
• Carrot or pepper sticks and cottage cheese
• Sugar-free soya yoghurt with berries

LUNCH

• Pumpkin and butternut squash soup
• Chestnut and butter bean soup
• Quinoa, veggie and cashew salad
• Peppers stuffed with olives and feta cheese
• Salmon and asparagus omelette

DINNER

• Lentil stew served with asparagus and broccoli
• Sweet potato with salmon and green veg
• Turkey mince chilli with a small portion of wholegrain rice and a green mixed salad
• Stir fry made with bok choi, onions, peppers, bean sprouts, cashews, tofu, and broccoli served with quinoa and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds sprinkled
• Tuna steak with bulghur wheat and beetroot salad

DESSERT

• Steamed pear and blueberries served with crumble made with oats, pecans, almonds, 1 tablespoon of xylitol and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
• Quinoa-flour pancakes with blueberries
• Berries with Greek yogurt, grated coconut, cinnamon and ground pistachios
• Dark chocolate and orange mousse pots
• Baked apple with a drizzle of maple syrup

Stop sweet cravings

1 Cut down slowly rather than going cold turkey. If you take two sugars with your tea, reduce it to one before phasing it out completely

2 Eat little and often to keep blood sugar levels balanced

3 Allow yourself a couple of squares of dark chocolate when temptations strikes

4 Always read labels to avoid hidden sugars in pre-packaged food

5 Keep healthy snacks such as an apple and nuts in your handbag when you’re on the go

To read more about healthy eating go to: http://www.womensfitness.co.uk/healthy-eating/653/why-healthy-eating-important

 

 

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