The Naked Warrior

Training

The 15-min workout: Who says they’re too busy to move!

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Yes today we live in a busy world where the clock tick tocks far too quickly and before you know, there is no time to exercise!

Whilst it can be argued that you burn a higher percentage of fat during low intensity exercise performed over an extended time frame, such as going for long walks or doing fasted cardio, the benefit of exercising only for a short period of time cannot be underestimated.  Seriously if you want more bang for your buck and don’t want to spend all day exercising, you can achieve great results by exercising in short, hard sessions.

Don’t get me wrong, a simply for a walk for 15 minutes you will still burn more energy than if you sat on the couch!

When you exercise at a high intensity, where you become breathless and fatigued, you will burn carbohydrates stored in your body. Whilst it is not fat burning, it does have great benefits for you, especially if you have eaten too many carbohydrates which could potentially put you at risk of converting excess carbohydrates into fat.

The real benefit of a 15 minute intense cardio session such as sprinting, hill runs or plyometric training comes after the workout has finished.  Your body will still burn a lot of energy as you are recovering from the session. Depending on how hard you train, it could take several hours for your body to return to a resting level.

Short hard workouts improve your fitness level so you will be able to progressively exercise for longer periods of time and at a higher intensity in future workouts. The longer and harder you can train, the more energy you burn. And coincidentally, the fitter you are, the more fat you will naturally burn during exercise.  Now there’s an incentive!

It is a lot easier to fit blocks of 15 minutes into the day for some rather than committing to an hour of exercise at one go so for those with busy lifestyles, a short intense workout is ideal for them.  Don’t forget that the more you can move on a daily basis the more calories you burn and if you look at the bigger weight loss picture this will most definitely assist in someone meeting their calorie expenditure needs.  Every little helps!

Top Tips to Fight the Winter Woolies!

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During the winter months it can be very easy to slip into the “World of Comfort” and “Land of Excuseville”.  You may find yourself battling with the blankets in the morning or succumbing to the lure of the TV and sofa in the evening to avoid being out in the cold.  Why is it at this time of year that we allow ourselves to have more treats and indulge?  It is easy to comfort eat and go for the calorie laden food to “feel cosier” and “warm up”.  At the same time as letting our nutrition slide it is easy let ourselves slip into our big baggy comfy warm clothes and before we know it, we are carrying a few extra hidden kilos.  But, the hard work and effort to get you where you are today need not go to waste over winter.  All that’s required to stay on track and avoid being one of the many who rush to get their beach body ready is a little dedication and commitment so that as we come out of hibernation and head into the warmer seasons you can be confident that you will look and feel great.

 Here are our top tips to help you to stay on track:-

  • Start planning your Summer Holiday, where do you want to go and when will it be? Why not book it now and put a picture on your desk or in your car so you can see it everyday what it is that you’re working towards.
  • Go shopping and buy those shorts or that bikini that you want to wear all summer and leave them hanging somewhere in your bedroom so you can see them every day.
  • Put your training clothes by the side of your bed so you roll straight out of bed and into your workout gear.
  • Revisit “Fat Loss Take Control” for healthy options when you eat out to avoid going for the indulgent options.
  • Throw out the baggy comfy tracksuit that can easily be slipped into and unconsciously filled out.  If you can buy yourself a new item of clothing now, then do so and use this to measure any potential weight gain over the winter.  If it starts to feel tight, you know something isn’t right!
  • Make sure you regularly weigh yourself and check in with your measurements and if you find these have gone up then get back on track sooner rather than later so it is easier to manage and there are no scary, unwanted surprises.
  • Commit to someone, help them stay on track with their goal and be their training partner.  Why not commit to doing an event together to assist this?

Training

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Exercising should be fun and rewarding, leaving you feeling revitalised and full of energy! If you don’t like an activity then don’t do it, life is too short to push yourself through punishing workouts!
Whilst I believe that to see a result you do need to set a goal and have a structured, challenging plan to get you towards achieving success, I also believe that training needs to be intuitive and you need to listen to your body. If one day you feel like walking instead of running, perfect, go with that. If you wake up tired one day and want a rest day, even better – this is your body telling you that progress is happening and it needs recovery to repair and grow!

EXERCISE & NUTRITION FOR GREAT SKIN

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The skin is the largest organ of the body and reflects what is going on internally. If you do not exercise or eat a healthy balanced diet that contains all the essential nutrients your skin is not going to look your best.

When it comes to your wedding day every bride wants to look the best that they can possibly be. The secret to ensuring that you glow on the day when all the attention is focused on you is to get active and eat well.

Simply by getting the body moving and doing some form of cardio exercise will increase circulation, taking more essential nutrients around the body as well as to skin cells. This in turn assists in cell regeneration as well as help to expel toxins through the skin via sweating.

Getting active also helps to reduce stress which relieves pressure off of the adrenal gland. When the body contains excess adrenalin this can cause stress related pimples etc. Regular exercise will also help control hormone production which will also combat hormone related acne.

Weight training will help to tighten the muscles and the body not only looks better, it will have a shapely figure with great posture. More muscle will mean an increased metabolism so the body’s functions and processes run regularly to take nutrients from food and remove waste and toxins.

Just by having a body that is fit and healthy will radiate a glow of wellness.   Exercising outside is beneficial to the skin as the fresh air will stimulate a glowing complexion.

From a nutritional point of view the key to great looking skin is ensuring you put unrefined natural foods into your body. Eating processed foods, drinking excessive alcohol puts strain on the system that accelerates the aging process. You should ensure you eat food rich in vitamins and essential fatty acids to slow down the aging effect that free radicals have on the body. Antioxidants repair the damage that free radicals do to all cells, muscle and organ tissue in the body. (FYI: free radicals occur naturally during the exercise and as a by product of metabolising food and generally the body can deal with this. However environmental factors such as pollution, smoking, pesticides etc expose the body to more than it can tolerate hence the need to increase antioxidant intake to outweigh this)

The essential nutrients for great looking skin are:-

Vitamin C: Required for growth and repair of all tissues as well as being required for formation of collagen. Collagen provides elasticity to the skin that helps keep it supple and firm. Vitamin C is found in a wide range of fruit and vegetables – key is to eat a ‘rainbow’ of colours.

Vitamin E: Fat soluble vitamin that slows down aging process by preventing breakdown of tissues and protects against free radicals and the oxidation of essential fatty acids. It is abundant in natural vegetable oils such as, corn, soybean and safflower. Avocados are rich in Vitamin E also.

Vitamin A: Promotes healthy skin as antioxidant and prevents skin aging. Found in eggs and dairy. Plant sources of beta carotene (which the body converts into Vitamin A) are dark green vegetables and orange ones such as carrots and pumpkin.

Other top tips:-

  • The body is made up of approx 70% water and for it to function at its optimum it is essential to stay hydrated – ensure you drink 2 to 3 litres a day, potentially more if you exercise and sweat a lot. Also reduce caffeine intake as this can cause dehydration.
  • Sleep – the body repairs at night so you need to ensure you get at least 6 to 7 hours a night. To look great on your wedding day get a good night’s rest before.
  • Eat wholegrain products to ensure adequate fibre intake to prevent body becoming sluggish and toxins reabsorbed.
  • Ensure protein intake adequate to assist in growth and repair of all cells in the body.