Read my top 5 household items you can used as exercise equipment .With exercise equipment being hard to source as well as expensive you may have to be a bit more creative with your workouts in ordered to meet you fitness goals. Over the passed few weeks I have looked at different items in the home and how you can use them as exercise equipment.

I have come up with 5 items that you can use in replace of normal exercise equipment. Chair    A chair is a great item to use as an exercise aid you can use it for so many exercise like:  Inverted press ups Triceps dips  Bulgarian Lunges  Step ups Reverse chair crunches  Raised legs crunches  Tinned food  Tinned food can be used as weights like bake bean tins are 415g in weight and if used affectively can really hit the smaller muscle groups like the shoulders, biceps and triceps. If you find them too easy them just up the repetitions. Try these exercise with bake bean tins: Triceps extensions  Triceps kickbacks  Shoulder lateral raise  Shoulder front raise  Bent over lateral shoulder raise  Biceps curls Reverse Grip Biceps curls  Backpack  The backpack is a great item that can be used and you can add household items like books to make them heaver. You can actually pretty much do a fully body workout using a backpack, these are some great exercises to try: Squats Bent over rows Lunges Upright Rows Clean and press Shoulder Press Chest Press Towel  A towel can be used for many exercise but i find it great for core and stretching exercise. why not try these core exercise with a towel: Jump rope sit ups Towel Teaser  Cross-Chop sit ups  Stairs  Your stairs can be a great piece of exercise equipment. Climbing stairs for just seven minutes a day decreases your risk of having a heart attack by half over 10 years. You don’t just have to climb your stairs in one way, why not try these methods: Long steps Transverse Sprints Jump Crawl  calf raised Crouch Walk

There are many reasons why it is worth hiring a personal trainer. Most people think people hire a trainer because they want to loose weight. That is one reason however over the years of being in the industry I have found there are so many more. Also you may not know the benefits of employing a trainer until you try it!!

I have some questions I ask people when they are considering a personal trainer. The questions are as follows:

Do you want to loose weight but struggle to achieve your goal?

Do you lack knowledge of what exercise to do?

Do you lack motivation with regards to exercise and eating healthy?

Have you suffered with an injury and don’t know what exercises to do that are safe?

Are you training for a sports event and don’t know how to design a program for yourself?

Do you find exercise a chore and boring?

If you answered yes to any of these questions hiring a personal trainer could really benefit you! why not give me a call on 07595949293 to book a FREE consultation.

I regularly hear people saying they cant exercise due to a injury or condition, and 99% of the time this is not the case. Their is always ways in which you can work around your injury, however this isn’t always easy.

I train a variety of people with injuries and conditions. One of the most common is back pain and spinal issues. My degree in Sports and Exercise Science and 10 years experience in the industry has given me the knowledge to work round these problems and even improve them.

Using the right technique and exercises I have helps people with the following :

• Hypertension
• Post cardiac arrest and stoke rehab
• Slipt disc
• Tilted pelvis
• Osteoporosis
• Sports injuries

So please don’t feel like an injury or condition mens you cannot exercise, however some professional support from a personal trainer maybe what you need to kick start your fitness routine again.

When you have had a heart attack you maybe nervous to start exercising, you may not know what to do, but being active is the best way to strengthen your heart and aid recovery. The NHS provide some brilliant cardiac rehabilitation sessions however after these you are left to your own devises. I have trained a number of people after their cardiac rehabilitation and they have gone to to be fitter and healthier people for it.

Firstly, start slow aim for around 15-20 minutes of exercise 4 times a week. During these session you should be a little short of breath but not so breathless you cant talk, Tight chest, dizziness, palpitations and shortness of breath are warning signs and if you feel any of these see medical assistance immediately.

12 weeks post heart attack or heart surgery you should be able to exercise to a good level but always aware of signs and symptoms.

I have found really satisfaction training clients post heart attack and we have achieved some amazing results. A positive attitude, trust and building confidence is the key to achieve your goals post heart attack. Doing that alone can be a daunting process so hiring myself to help may rally help your progress.

A full fitness analysis could be the key to a fitter you .

A client of mine two months ago ask me if I tell them what I think there goals should be and how they could achieve them. I have never had this before and was happy to write something for them. Before I knew it I was engrossed in the document I was writing and produced two pages of goals, strength and weaknesses and my opinion on how my client could improve.

The client that I am now talking about has vastly improved over the last two months and their new goals has helped not only with their fitness but their wellbeing too.

Due to this I am offering all my clients a fitness analysis. If you would like one please let me know in your next session.

Over the last few months I have been reading various articles from a variety of sources. I have read various research on the above title. Many people explain these as the four pillars, which we need to work on in order to reach that fitter and healthier you!!

Sleep

I read a fantastic article on sleep deprivation this week. The article explain how sleep deprivation is one of the biggest factors relating to stress, depression and over eating sugary foods. It also expressed that the quality of sleep far outweighs the duration of sleep.

The article said the key to good quality sleep is:

• No computers and phones around an hour to 30 minutes before you go to bed
• Consistent bed time (the human body loves routine)
• No caffeine based drinks up to 5 hours before bed time
• Take Valerian Root Supplement

Exercise 

I love reading articles on exercise as its what interest me the most! With fitness watches on the up and everyone talking about the amount of steps they have done I was wondering where we got 10,000 steps as a daily goal from.

10,000 steps originates fro Japan in the run up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Pedometers became all the rage during these olympics and the pedometer used to stop working at 10,000 steps and then need to be reset. It was then concluded that someone who did 10,000 steps a day was moderately active.

NutritionPeople always say you should not eat too late at night if your trying to loose weight. The latest diet I have read with regards to times of eating said you should have breakfast around 10am and dinner at about 6pm to optimise weight loss. However, I have found little research that suggest that time you eat affects weigh loss. Therefore I think more focus need to be about what you eat and not when you eat it.

Relaxation

Escapism is key every day in order to stay relaxed and reduce stress. They say a minimum of 10 minutes a day is key. Escapism is where you take yourself out of reality, too much brain stimulation from work, social media and social life can increase stress levels. You need to find how to escape!! this maybe reading a book, playing sport even playing a computer game, find what things work for you and try doing them for at least 10 minutes a day

So the summer is now over and as we get into autumn I feel i should share my health tips to get you through the autumn and winter months.

My first advice would be to supplement yourself with Vitamin D this winter. I have previously explained this in a blog before but due to the lack of sunlight most of us lack Vitamin D during the winter. Supplementing it can really help with your mood and energy levels throughout the winter.

Secondly, get outside!! this is key as most people spend their winters inside. By getting outside it can really help to boost your mood and immune system in the winter.

Finally, take note of how much coffee and tea you drink in the winter. As it gets colder we tend to opt for these hot drinks, however they can cause you to be dehydrated and the increase in caffeine can affect your sleep and mood. Why not try Hot water with lemon or fruit teas rather that the caffeine high tea and coffee.