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8 Benefits of being Outdoors

by Fitness Excel, posted in Uncategorized

The Outdoors offers numerous benefits for both our physical and mental well-being. Listed below are some of the key benefits of spending time outdoors:

  1. Improved Physical Health: Outdoor activities encourage physical movement and exercise, which is essential for maintaining good health, being outdoors provides opportunities for physical activity that can improve cardiovascular health, strengthen muscles, boost endurance, and help manage weight.
  2. Vitamin D Production: Spending time outdoors exposes you to sunlight, allowing your body to produce vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption, bone health, immune function, and overall well-being.
  3. Mental Well-being: Being in natural surroundings has a positive impact on mental health. Studies have shown that spending time outdoors can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. The sights, sounds, and smells of nature can promote relaxation, enhance mood, and provide a sense of calmness and tranquillity.
  4. Cognitive Benefits: Being outdoors has been linked to improved cognitive function, attention, and creativity. Natural environments can enhance problem-solving skills, increase focus, and provide mental clarity. They also offer a break from constant screen time and digital distractions.
  5. Connection with Nature: Spending time outdoors allows us to connect with the natural world. It fosters a sense of appreciation and awe for the beauty of nature, leading to feelings of interconnectedness and mindfulness. This connection with nature has been associated with increased happiness and life satisfaction.
  6. Better Sleep: Exposure to natural light and physical activity during the day can help regulate your body’s internal clock, promoting better sleep quality at night. A good night’s sleep is crucial for overall health and well-being.
  7. Social Interaction: Outdoor activities often provide opportunities for socializing, simply enjoying nature with others, being outdoors facilitates social connections and a sense of community.
  8. Environmental Awareness: Spending time in nature can increase awareness and concern for the environment. It promotes a deeper understanding of the natural world, encourages sustainable behaviours, and fosters a desire to protect and preserve our ecosystems. For more information on outdoor health and wellbeing workshops and 1:1 sessions contact fitnessexcel@gmail.com

Pilates at Home, Effective Workouts

by Fitness Excel, posted in bone health, flow, health, Pilates, posture - the neck, strength training, well-being

Pilates is a fantastic exercise method that can be easily practiced at home. It focuses on core strength, flexibility, and overall body conditioning. Here are some tips on how to exercise at home using Pilates:

  1. Set up a dedicated space: Find a quiet area in your home where you can spread out a mat or a soft surface to exercise. Ensure that you have enough space to move comfortably.
  2. Warm up: Before starting your Pilates routine, warm up your body with some gentle movements to prepare your muscles for the workout.
  3. Start with the basics: If you’re new to Pilates, it’s essential to begin with foundational exercises. Start with exercises that target your core, such as the Pilates Hundred (abdominal exercise), Pilates Roll-Up (spinal articulation), and Pilates Single Leg Stretch (abdominal strength and coordination).
  4. Follow instructions from a qualified teacher can guide you through various Pilates exercises, ensuring proper form and technique. Look for reputable instructors or platforms that suit your needs and skill level.
  5. Progress gradually: As you become more comfortable with the basic exercises, gradually increase the intensity and challenge of your Pilates routine. Add variations, increase the number of repetitions, or introduce props like resistance bands or Pilates balls to make your workouts more dynamic.
  6. Focus on proper form and alignment: Pilates emphasizes precise and controlled movements. Pay attention to your form, alignment, and breathing throughout each exercise. Engage your core muscles, lengthen your spine, and maintain a neutral posture.
  7. Mix it up: Keep your Pilates routine interesting and diverse by incorporating different exercises that target various muscle groups. Include exercises for the arms, legs, back, and glutes to achieve a balanced full-body workout.
  8. Listen to your body: As with any exercise program, it’s crucial to listen to your body and avoid overexertion or pushing yourself too hard. Take breaks when needed and modify exercises if you have any physical limitations or injuries.
  9. Cool down and stretch: After completing your Pilates session, cool down your body with gentle stretches. Focus on lengthening and stretching the muscles you worked during the workout.

Remember to consult with a healthcare professional or certified Pilates instructor if you have any pre-existing health conditions or concerns. They can provide personalized guidance and modifications based on your needs.

8 Quick Strategies to Overcome Procrastination when it comes to Exercising:

by Fitness Excel, posted in "life coach", adventure education, camino, fitness walking, flow, health, mental health, outdoors learning, Performance, Pilates, Resilience

1. Break it down into smaller, more manageable tasks: Instead of thinking of exercise as one large and daunting task, break it down into smaller, more achievable steps. This could include setting aside time for stretching, going for a short walk, or doing a quick workout video.

2. Make a plan and schedule it: Set a specific time and date for exercise and stick to it. Schedule it into your daily routine so it becomes a habit.

3. Find an accountability partner: Enlist the help of a friend or family member to hold you accountable for your exercise routine. This could include checking in with them regularly or even exercising together.

4. Create an enjoyable experience: Find ways to make exercise more enjoyable, such as combining your exercise in a different environment such as the outdoors, whilst appreciating nature.

5. Reward yourself: Create a reward system for when you complete your exercise routine. This could be anything from treating yourself to a favourite snack or activity to buying a new workout outfit.

6. Use positive self-talk: Use positive self-talk to motivate yourself and overcome negative thought patterns. Focus on the benefits of exercise and remind yourself that it’s a form of self-care that will improve your overall health and well-being.

7. Start small and build up: If you’re just starting out, don’t feel like you have to jump into intense workouts right away. Start small with a few minutes of exercise each day and gradually build up over time.

8. Remember, it’s normal to struggle with procrastination when it comes to exercise, but with some dedication and the right strategies, you can overcome it and make exercise a regular part of your routine.

6 Reasons to Attend a Wellbeing Retreat

by Fitness Excel, posted in "life coach", adventure education, fitness walking, flow, health, mental health, outdoors learning, Pilates
Health & wellbeing in an outdoor environment, connecting both body-mind.

The definition of a retreat is that you travel for a purpose of promoting health and wellbeing through physical, psychological and/or spiritual places where you are able to get away from the stress of daily life to unwind, recharge and relax, this is usually a location by the sea, park, forest surrounded by nature and nice landscapes and can range between 1 day to 1 week or more.  The idea is to improve your health and wellbeing through connection, exercise, take stock and pause, whilst facilitating peace and calm.

Wellbeing retreats have developed over decades, the aim is to help people live a more harmonious life, a typical day of an exercise retreat may involve a group of people taking a walk, incorporating some Pilates, Yoga and breathing, engaging in meaningful conversation and eating healthy.

You don’t have to travel to exotic destinations and undertake 2 weeks, just 1 day in a local environment will allow disconnection from routine, technology and the on-line world, it allows a shift of your perspective and can boost your energy and revitalise you, an exercise retreat is aimed both at addressing both body and mind, the physical and psychological.  You take away the stress of normal life allowing a more mindful, balanced and connected life.

6 Reasons to undertake a Wellbeing Day

  1. Reconnect, bring zest back into your life.
  2. Get outdoors into the fresh air.
  3. Connect with nature, become curious and explore new landscapes and geography.
  4. Switch off from life’s busyness.
  5. Get expert advice from the leaders on the wellbeing day.
  6. Take away and implement strategies learnt and incorporate them into your everyday living.

Key Benefits of Forest Bathing

by Fitness Excel, posted in "life coach", enrichment, fitness instruction, fitness walking, flow, health, mental health, outdoors learning, Pilates, well-being

Forests are an incredible resource. They produce oxygen, purify our water and cleanse the air we breathe; the forest is a truly remarkable resource. In Japan two thirds of the country is forest, it is one of the greenest in the world with a rich diversity of tress and is sometimes referred to as the green archipelago.

Forest bathing known as (Shinrin-Yoku) was first created in Japan, 1982 and refers to the healing techniques which restore both the physical and psychological health of the human body, and when especially exposed to a forest environment which activates the senses smell, vision, touch, taste and hearing. 

Our modern lifestyle is busier than ever with increasing levels of stress which can lead to low mood and poor sleep.  Good quality sleep is essential for our health, well-being and for the functioning of our immune system and forest bathing may be a solution.  Li, (2018) research on participants sleep patterns after spending up to 2 hours walking in a forest environment shows an increase in sleep activity, in addition participants were significantly less anxious.

Further, Wen, et al (2019) studies on Asian adult populations and the health effects, used the forest for physical activity to include interventions such as walking, Pilates, yoga and sight-seeing. The data reveals a significant reduction in blood pressure.  The present research on emotional states such as depression, fatigue and tension anxiety also showed a decrease in negative emotions and an increase in positive emotions when walking in a forest environment.

It is recommended to incorporate more green exercise into our daily lives, even short bouts of outdoor exercise can have a big impact on our mood, feel less tired and tend to have a longer-lasting energy boost.  A brisk walk outdoors is easier than going to the gym or working out on a treadmill, it is both rewarding and more enjoyable.

References

Li, Q. (2018) Shinrin-Yohu; The art and science of forest-bathing, how trees can help you find health and happiness.

Wen, Y. Yan, D, Pan, Y, Gu, X & Liu, Y (2019) Medical empirical research on forest bathing (Shinrin-Yoku): A systematic Review

7 Coaching Tips for Exercise Adherence

by Fitness Excel, posted in "life coach", fitness walking, flow, health, mental health, outdoors learning, Performance, Pilates, Resilience, well-being

How do you motivate yourself for exercise? Below are some 7 quick tips to get started.

1.Make a regular schedule of you daily routine, work, social engagements, appointments, family or managing a home.  Identify where you spend your time.

2. keep a diary and write down exactly when and how you are going to exercise, whether it’s an early morning run or an exercise class, could you fit in a session between work or study and meeting friends in the evening. It is also useful to plan and book ahead your fitness routine that you are going to attend that week, most gyms and leisure centres now have online booking apps.  By scheduling exercise in advance you commit yourself to your exercise programme.

3.It is important to have variety in your exercise routine, for example, change your walking, running programmes by adding different routes, speeds, challenges, incorporate Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi or strength training into the programme.

4.Focus on doing rather than thinking, there are many times we can use excuses to skip an exercise session.  Excuses can range from ‘its too cold’, I’m ‘too busy’ or ‘too tired.  Recognise the inner dialogue which goes on and change this to a positive state. 

5.You can also use visualisation technique of recalling when you felt great after a previous exercise session, anchor and recapture those feelings and thoughts and use the visualisation to imagine yourself feeling energised and fit. 

6.Use a fitness App for tracking your progress, these can be useful for monitoring the amount of steps you walk or miles you run and act as a motivational tool.

7.Use goal setting to determine what you want to achieve, this will help, encourage and motivate you when times get tough. Create new goals regularly to ensure you are on track.

Green Exercise

by Fitness Excel, posted in Uncategorized

Green spaces such as parks, forests, hills provide an opportunity for people to take time out from their daily routine and stressful environments and engage in nature, connect with their senses in outdoor activities.  As populations become more urbanised, green spaces will provide a future key role in the promotion of health and well-being.  Outdoor activities and health and well-being has many benefits, such as when visiting green spaces, simply viewing nature may assist in the maintenance of health.  Wolf & Wohlfant (2014) claim as people visit green spaces regularly and engage in physical fitness, they are less likely to be overweight and by integrating regular visits to a park establishes good health and fitness routines which acts as an intervention to a sedentary life. 

Forests are natural environments usually defined as ‘areas covered by trees.  Forest bathing is a term used known as (‘shinrin-yoku’ in Japanese) it is a traditional meditative practice characterized by walking in a forest or other types of exercises which take place combined with awareness and contemplation of the surrounding natural environment (Antonelli et al. 2019). Although forest bathing originated in Japan, it has become popular in western countries to promote relaxation and aid in stress relief.  Current evidence suggests there are additional benefits such as an improved immune system, cardiorespiratory and respiratory system and elevated mood.

Studies undertaken by Firby & Raine (2022) outline in their research there is increasing evidence to suggest the numerous health benefits from engagement with the outdoors, including enhanced immune functioning, improvement in sleep quality, mental health and well-being outcomes include reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression, stress reduction and increased self-reported happiness.

References:

Antonelli, M,  Donelli, D, Carlone, L, Maggini, V Firenzuoli, F & Bedeschi, E (2022) Effects of forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) on individual well-being: an umbrella review, International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 32:8, 1842-1867, doi: 10.1080/09603123.2021.1919293

Firby H, Raine R. (2022) Engaging with nature and the outdoors: A scoping review of therapeutic applications in contemporary occupational therapy. British Journal of Occupational Therapy. 0(0). doi:10.1177/03080226221126893

Wolf, I. D. & Wohlfant, T. (2014) Walking, hiking and running in parks: A multidisciplinary assessment of health & well-being benefits. 130. Pp.89-103

Prevention of knee injuries in female footballers

by Fitness Excel, posted in fitness instruction, health, Performance, Pilates

Football soccer is the most popular sport worldwide, there are around 265 million players with trends showing a rapid growth in the sport and in particular female players. One of the most common injuries is that of the knee with the anterior cruciate ligament being the most serious in terms of the onset of osteoarthritis and long-term absence from the sport.

Knee injuries in female footballers is higher compared to males with adolescent girls being at risk most.  Studies undertaken by Walden, et al (2012) suggest in their data that a programme consisting of a neuromuscular warm up significantly reduced ACL injuries, these exercises consisted of core stability and knee control activities. 

Performance in football is determined by many factors, physiological, psychological and biomechanical, although the emphasis has been on the main factors of health-related fitness such as cardiorespiratory fitness, flexibility, speed, muscular strength and endurance, Nikolaidis (2010) states a question on the contribution of core stability in injury prevention and health has also been raised.   Core stability may provide several benefits to the musculoskeletal system, ranging from low back health and preventing knee ligament injury by providing a foundation for greater force production by upper and lower extremities in sport performance.

Core stability is the ability to control the position and motion of the trunk over the pelvis to allow optimal output, transfer and control of force. Nikolaidis (2010) argues decreased core stability was reported to be associated with a higher risk of injuries in the knee or lower back.  This is supported by Myklebust & Steffen (2009) who claims prevention programmes should be implemented from the ages of 12-14, focusing on a warm up with good movement patterns, exercises which address and improve the lower extremity, core strength as well as awareness and neuromuscular control during static and dynamic movements.

References:

Myklebust, G & Steffen, K (2009) Prevention of ACL injuries: how, when and who. doi:org/10.1007/500167-009-0826-9

Nikolaidis, P (2010) Core stability of male and female football players. doi: 2478/v10101-010-0007-9

Walden, M, Atroshi, I, Magnusson, H, Wagner, P & Hagglund, M (2012) Prevention of acute knee injuries in adolescent female football players: BMJ 2012:344:e3042

Health Benefits of Walking & Pilates

by Fitness Excel, posted in bone health, camino, fitness walking, health, mental health, outdoors learning, Pilates, pilgrim walk, posture - the neck, strength training

Both walking and Pilates are low impact activities which reap many health benefits to include improve balance, co-ordination, deep muscular activation, posture and mindfulness.

Walking address the cardiorespiratory fitness and resistance training from Pilates addresses improved muscular strength, studies undertaken by Takeshima, et al (2013) have demonstrated that the combined programs, either undertaking both activities on the same day or alternate dayes, walking one day and strength training the following day has significant improvements in endurance, functional strength, agility, flexibility, serum lipids and blood pressure over a 12 week period.

In regard to coronary heart disease, Maestroni et al (2020) found that progressive resistance training provides an improvement in cardiorespiratory function comparable to aerobic training alone, when combined they offer more substantiated improvements in both fitness and strength as well as systolic and diastolic blood pressure which may be significantly lowered by resistance training.

Those suffering from anxiety also benefit. In Australian studies on women in their 50’s and 60’s, Ripton (2015) state that women with depression who walked 200 miles a week had more energy and those with anxiety may benefit as cortisol, a hormone that provokes a stress response is lower in those who walk compared to those who are sedentary.

Both walking and Pilates can also be challenged by adding nordic poles for walking to increase the instensity of the walk which can burn more calories, poles also encourage you to stand tall, tighten the abdominals, act as an aid for balance, whilst resistance bands, tubing, circles can be incorporated into Pilates programs to increase strength and intensity.

References

Maestroni, L. Read, P. Bishop, C., Papadopoulos, K., Suchomel, T. J. Comfort, P. & Turner, A. (2020). The benefits of strength training on musculoskeletal system health: Practical applications for interdisciplinary care. Sports Medicine, 50(8), 1431-1450. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-020-01309-5

Ripton, N. (2015) The surprising health benefits of walking

Takeshima, N, Islam MM, Rogers, ME, Rogers, N.L. Sengoku, N, Koizumi, D, Kitabayashi, Y, Imai, A, Naruse, A. (2013) Effects of nordic walking compared to conventional walking and band-based resistance exercise on fitness in older adults. J Sports Sci Med, Sep 1:12 (3): 422-30.

Mindfulness Walking

by Fitness Excel, posted in "life coach", fitness walking, health
The Art of Mindfulness Walking

What is Mindfulness Walking?

Mindfulness is the practice of bringing your attention into the present moment where mindfulness walking is the practice of becoming aware of your surroundings and how your body and mind feel whilst moving. There are many benefits to this by focusing on the present moment you can increase self awareness and develop skills to manage your stress and maybe see a different perspective on any stressful situations in your life. Autumn is a great time to be outdoors, by engaging in the local environment and appreciating nature, mindfulness walking helps you to connect to your senses, releasing stress and anxiety and promoting health and wellbeing. Find out more about our mindfulness walking sessions by visiting http://www.fitness-excel.com