Psychologies magazine liked our blog so much they asked us for a few New Year tips for their readers. Download the article to see what their favourite few are. Personally I like them all!
- Forget sit ups every day for a flat stomach. Holding a plank for 30 seconds every day will tighten your abdominal muscles and give the appearance of a flatter stomach.
- Learn to love weights. The majority of calories are burnt in the muscles (specifically the mitochondria). So, muscles are the furnaces – the more furnaces you have fired up (or the greater the mass of muscle that is active), the more calories you will burn, not only in your workout, but also throughout the day as a boost to your basal metabolic rate.
- It has been proven that regular weight training can boost your basal metabolic rate by 15%. So incorporate exercises that challenge numerous muscle groups and multiple joints (compound movements) into your workout routine.
- It is a fact that 1 pound of fat takes up 18% more space than 1 pound of muscle. So, keep it simple – pick just 5 or 6 simple
exercises that require all the muscles of the body to perform and repeat them regularly. - No one wants to look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Always work the chest to back on a 2:3 ratio. Always training the back more.
- Walk tall, lift the chest and keep your eyes on the top of the road to instantly remove pounds and make you appear taller and slimmer.
- Generally try to move more everyday. To burn 250kcal more each day increase incidental exercise by moving. Walk when on the phone, do the housework. Even fidgeting helps!
- Eat your breakfast. Break the fast. Skipping breakfast slows down your metabolism as your body adjusts to cling on to any nutrients and calories it can find.
- It is a myth that eating carbohydrates after 4pm makes you fat. Eating excess calories makes you fat! Try and space 4 hours between breakfast and lunch and 6 hours between lunch and your evening meals making protein the base of all meals.
- Let’s get realistic. Simply doing 10 minutes of activity every day will drastically improve your health. But by exercising 3
times a week for a minimum of 20 minutes you can achieve your fitness goals.