Health and Fitness Coach
28 April 2010 10:43 pm
You’ve done the training. You’re feeling fit. It’s time to think about your strategy for the big day. Factors such as the type of training, food, recovery, and race day strategies can be the difference between a PB and a PF (personal flop!) What can you do in the two weeks leading up to a race and on the day that will deliver your best running effort yet?
Taper your training:
Tapering training will enable your body to be fully recovered from all those long runs you’ve subjected it to. It gives you a chance to build up important stores such as your iron levels, zinc and white blood count. Do you need any more reasons to cut your training back? Most people jump at the opportunity!
Tapering is dependent on the distance of your race. For a marathon I would suggest halving your total distance/time run for the last two weeks. Doing shorter easy runs, mixed with a few sprints will help with speed, but really it’s just about maintaining what you’ve already got.
For a half marathon, the more prepared you are, the more time you have for tapering. Your last long run should be 8 days before, but if you only decided only three weeks before the race to do it, you may very well need that extra bit of time! You won’t make a huge difference to your fitness in the 8 days leading up to the race, but you run the risk of being tired/injured if you smash yourself so close to it.
For any distances less than a half marathon, give yourself four days off running before the race and you should fresh a daisy on the day.
Get stretching:
Admit it, you don’t stretch enough. What is it with most runners and stretching? It’s about as popular as a cold shower in winter (maybe because it can feel just as painful!). Hamstrings, calves (stretch with both a straight leg and bent), glutes, hip flexors, and lower back are the essentials. Click here for a video on some popular runners stretches. You may prefer to join a yoga or body balance class as this will stretch not only your running muscles but others you never even knew you had.
What to eat and drink before the race:
Click here to continue reading…..
Tagged As: fitness, fun run, half marathon, marathon, running
23 March 2010 11:07 pm
Recently I appeared on Mornings with Kerry-Anne to give her some tips on how to Hula Hoop. You can watch the clip here (use the tabs on the right of the video to locate the Hula segment).
Ever since October 2009 when Michelle Obama hula hooped 142 times without stopping, the world has gone hooping mad! Gyms and dance studios are including more and more hooping classes, and many celebrities are coming out of the woodwork saying it’s their workout of choice.
Hula Hooping originated in ancient Greek times when it was invented as a form of exercise. Although the name ‘hula hooping’ came about in the early 1800’s when British soldiers witnessed Hawaiian women performing hooping as part of a dance. The 1950’s was when hula hooping really took off, and while it has always been popular amongst kids, it’s only been recently when the adult world has rediscovered their love of the hoop.
Nintendo Wii Fit has a lot to do with the sudden popularity of hula hooping as do celebrities such as Michelle Obama. Wii Fit’s hula hooping game is a really effective cardiovascular workout. Whilst standing on the Wii you have to rotate your hips trying to keep your virtual hoop from falling. In the meantime more hoops are flung in your direction and you have to lean your body whilst rotating to catch them (or you get donked on the head). I was embarrassingly puffed the first time I tried this, luckily I wasn’t the only one!
Tagged As: fitness, fun, Hula hooping, Weight loss
3 November 2009 4:53 pm
Editors Note: This post is written by our elite performance specialist Andrew Verdon. Andrew has completed a Diploma in Exercise Science, Certificate IV in Fitness, Level 1 Strength Coaching Qualifications with ASCA. He is currently completing a Post Grad Diploma in Applied Science (Elite Sports Training) and will go on to do a Masters in Recovery.
The well known “30 minutes a day” exercise guidelines were released back in 1995. These guidelines have recently been updated and new guidelines for physical activity were released by the ACSM.
The ACSM is the American College of Sports Medicine. It is the peak body for sports medicine in the world and is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world with more than 20,000 members.
Tagged As: Exercise guidelines, fitness, Health, Strength training
7 September 2009 5:47 am
Editors Note: This post is written by blogger Mary Ward who writes about various health care career topics.
Many people attribute the onset of childhood obesity with too much video game playing. There is definite truth to that as kids have gone from playing outside all day long to sitting constantly in front of the screen and playing video games without taking a breather. There is however a new evolution of video games that are actually good for you and/or your children that can help you to burn calories and ultimately lose weight. Who would have thought it? Here we look at the top video games that can help you stay active, burn some calories, and ultimately shed the unwanted weight.
Read more…..
Tagged As: exercise, fitness, product review, video games, Weight loss
13 August 2009 4:29 am
Editors Note: This article is written by David Hodgeson a Performance Coach, Business Architect and Advisor. You can visit him at I-Acomplish or read more about him on the About Page

Your secret weapon is something you already have unlimited access to, is more powerful than any supercomputer and can be honed to your every whim. I think you already know what I’m talking about. The answer is your mind.
Our minds perform the most complicated tasks without us needing to think about them. This autonomous control in life’s critical actions hints at the potential of our minds. They say we use around 10% of our mind. This has proven difficult to prove and disprove. What we do know is that the minds ability to adapt is huge. The potential of our minds is incredible and yet we know so little about it. The following example demonstrates what training our minds the right way can do:
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Tagged As: fitness, mind training, performance, psychology
5 August 2009 2:38 am

Many people who have a dream of running a marathon push it to one side because they are filled with the fear that it’s too much training, they don’t have the time, or they aren’t fit/strong enough. Well I am here to dispel that fear by showing you in the simplest way possible a training program for anyone who can currently run 10km without stopping. If you are an experienced marathoner wanting to run a PB (personal best) then this program may not be detailed enough for you. But if you are a first time marathoner, or an amateur, then this program is exactly what you need to get fit enough to complete 42.2km.
Tagged As: fitness, marathon, running, Training, Weight loss
3 August 2009 3:59 am

If you’ve been stuck in an exercise rut, repeating the same old exercises, with barely any results, then maybe your body needs to be shocked by something new and different. Cross training is a workout that constantly changes, working all systems in the body from musculo-skeletal and cardiovascular. What’s the benefit? A body like Jose and Juanita over there, fit and strong with the explosive power of a leopard!
You can read the dictionary definition of cross training, however, I like to call it the ultimate ‘Smash-em-up’ session! You know those days when you’ve got pent up stress, or you are feeling down, they are the best days to get into that gym (or lounge room) and go NUTS! Crank up the music, don’t worry what other people may think (security may be called) because when cross training you do whatever it takes to get your heart leaping out of your chest, and sometimes that means going crazy!!
Cross training is the combining of different exercises for different parts of the body that will improve strength, agility, fitness, and power. It usually involves big compound movements where multiple joints are working at once which elevates the heart rate giving the person a cardiovascular and strength workout at the same time. Explosive movements, such as jumping, build strength and fitness at the same time which is the ultimate aim.
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Tagged As: Cross training, exercise, fitness, strength, tone, Weight loss
18 July 2009 7:24 pm
Recently the British Telegraph featured a story on a woman who was saved by her fitness and washboard stomach…

A British woman’s “washboard” stomach muscles have saved her from dying in a freak paragliding accident, doctors say.
Peggy Williams was on a holiday in Andalusia, southern Spain when a gust of wind caught her paraglider and lifted her off the top of a cliff, theTelegraph newspaper reports.
Thrown about like a rag doll, she plunged 5m and was dragged across a rocky outcrop on her stomach.
Ms Williams suffered a torn liver and almost severed her pancreas but was ultimately saved by her stomach muscles which acted as a “girdle” to protect her other vital organs.
“I kept seeing rocks going past me and smacking me,” Ms Williams was quoted as saying.
Read more…..
Tagged As: abdominals, fitness, Health
4 May 2009 12:04 pm

Recently I competed in and completed the 2009 Boston Marathon (that’s me on the left being an idiot at Niketown!). I have never seen a city get so hyped up by a road race, not just on race day but the preceding days as well. It seemed bigger than Christmas day, New years eve and the big game rolled into one. With 25000 competitors, it’s a big race, but New York gets double that, as does Sydney’s City to Surf. So why is there such a hype around the Boston Marathon and is running this race really worth the gruelling winter training and US$250 involved?
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29 April 2009 8:45 pm
Have you ever wondered what exactly the celebrities do to stay so hot and sexy? One magazine company FitnesMagazine.com have collated over 50 celebrity workouts straight from the celebrity trainers. It’s very kitch but you can try Demi Moore’s Butt workout, or Uma Thurman’s Shoulder exercises. Maybe you’d like to know how Angelina Jolie trains her legs and abs!?! There are some silly exercises in there but also some good variations of the traditional exercises such as twisting lunges (Angelina Jolie). I particularly like this video of a variation of the twisting crunch, called The Rockette. Try it, it’s actually quite effective. Watch your lower back though…