Hi Fit Fam

I have the pleasure of writing this blog from the comfort of my lovely Parents home back in the not so sunny Northern Ireland.

Today's blog is inspired by a client.  Whilst performing a normal stance TRX squat, she asked me....Jill why does it matter where my feet are?  Will it effect where I feel it?  Or is it better, do I burn more calories another way? 

So after answering her question, it lit a light bulb..... NEXT BLOG!!!!

So Squats!!!!

Squats are the Mummy (for the ladies) Daddy (for the boys) of leg exercises.  They are a compound, full body exercise. 

A compound exercise is one that involves more than one muscle group.  The muscles involved are.

Glute Muscles.
Quadricep (front thigh).
Hamstring (back thigh).
Calves (back of the lower leg),
Many stabilising muscles in surrounding moving joints,
Trunk muscles.

In order to squat movement needs to occur at three joints.  The hip, knee and ankle.  Each of these joints enable movement in all planes!!! (confused about planes check my past blogs :) )  Therefore there are many squat variations and you may well feel that certain squats target certain areas more than others.  Hence the reason for this blog!!!

As a Personal Trainer I am aware that the legs need to be trained in all planes so there is balance in the muscles to prevent injury and provide shape, and
definition.  But as to what stance????

Here it goes.   In my opinion there is no "right" or specific foot position for targeting specific areas, in essence all the above mentioned muscles should be engaged.  If however you want to isolate your quadriceps only... do leg extensions, these are isolation exercises!!!!

" In a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, scientists studied different foot positions during squats and found they made no difference in the muscles activated (which include the glutes, quads, inner and outer thighs). " taken from about exercise.com

You may have read this and are a little disappointed.  You may have wanted to know how to shape your inner thighs with a specific squat... sorry!!!!

The reality is that all the mentioned muscles are targeted when you squat.  However your foot position may effect the range of movement.  For example a wide stance may enable greater range of movement!!!

So what it simply means and my advice is to try various squats in your routine.  This will add variety to your training.  We are aware that the body does get used to certain exercises.  So changing stimulus eg the foot position, plane, movement pattern, repitition range and weight etc will be the key in getting the shapely lower body you want!!!!!!

Hope this cleared things up a little!!!!

Until next
week

Stay Healthy

Jill

HI Fit Fam

Hope this finds you all well, and you had an awesome week....

This weeks blog is all about eggs in light of it being Easter soon.  Most of us associate Easter with Chocolate eggs, but I can assure you that the health benefits of eating normal eggs outweigh that of the chocolate ones (however a little treat will not hurt).


Over the years eggs have had alot of bad publicity from claims that they contribute to high cholesterol, and that you should stay away from
them, or limit your intake etc.... But like everything you read and hear it is
generally based on stand alone facts. 

Over the years the word fat has become public enemy number one!! It has beencited as the reason for an increased risk of heart disease. As Eggs contain an amount of fat in the yolk,  people then condemned eggs.  They then gravitated toward eating egg whites as a substitute.  However the yolk is where many of the vitamins and nutrients are found.

SO with that in mind I want to highlight the benefits of full eggs and why you should include them in you balanced diet.  NOTE the word balanced!!!!  Eating 12 full eggs everyday, may not be balanced!!!
 
 

Benefits

Eggs are an excellent source of protein, they provide a number of key vitamins such as

Vitamins
A: good for the skin and  growth.
D: strengthens bones by raising calcium absorption.
E: protects cells from oxidation. 
B1: helps properly release  energy from carbohydrates.
B2: helps release energy from protein and  fat.
B6: promotes the metabolism of protein. 
B12: an  essential vitamin in the formation of nerve fibres and blood cells.

Minerals
Iron:  essential in the  creation of red blood cells.
Zinc:  good for enzyme stability .
Calcium:  most important mineral in  the strengthening of bones and teeth.
Iodine:  controls thyroid hormones.
Selenium:  like vitamin E, it protects cells from  oxidation.

Honestly there are very few foods have the same diverse nutrients as eggs do.  These nutrients are  specifically needed for the health of the nerves and the brain.

They are also extremely diverse, hard boiled, scrambled, poached, baked.... the list goes on!!!!


Eggs and Cholesterol

Your body needs some cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D, and substances that help you digest foods. Your body makes all the cholesterol it needs. However, cholesterol also is found in some of the foods you eat.  One being eggs.

Issues regarding cholesterol can be very confusing. Dietary advice on the subject often promotes avoiding foods with cholesterol in them. However like I mentioned the body needs to achieve a balance when it comes to cholesterol consumption. Consume fat from healthy sources such as eggs not cakes and pies is the key.

Recent Research has documented that eggs do not appear to promote heart disease risk.   However one group of people should avoid high consumption of eggs that being diabetics as they might show some increases in cholesterol with higher egg consumption.

Well I hope you enjoyed this little bit of information about eggs!!!!  So what's for breakfast, lunch or dinner????

Until next week

Stay healthy!

Jill

Hi Fit Fam

I hope that you had a fantastic week.

Today I wanted write about a condition called Adrenal Fatigue!  Many of you may be re reading the condition and thinking what is that?

I had heard about this condition and often seen other Trainers mentioning it, but I never really fully understood what it was, how it effected the body and how it can effect anyone.  This was until a new client of mine
reported that she is recovering from it.

So today I will look at

What is Adrenal Fatigue?
How it effects the body?
Symptoms.
Ways to safeguard against it

What is Adrenal Fatigue?
 
On the whole Adrenal fatigue is a collection of signs and symptoms.  It causes the adrenal glands to function ineffectively. As we are aware the adrenal glands are vital for hormone regulation in the body, key for stress response, metabolism and balance or water and salts.

Your adrenal glands are responsible for

They are  the "fight or flight" regulators that give you that adrenaline
surge you need in an emergency situation.
They regulate cortisol levels.
They help regulate glucose levels


Adrenal Fatigue can have a major effect on your life with serious cases
resulting in difficulty  getting out of bed.  Adrenal Fatigue is often
associated with intense or prolonged stress, however it can also arise during 
or after acute or chronic infections. The word Fatigue indicates that sleep may
help relieve the symptoms, but its is a condition that is often not easily
identifiable. You may look   relatively normal  and may not have any obvious
signs of  it but you live with a general sense of achiness, tiredness or  "gray"
feelings.


How it effects the body?

Adrenal Fatigue effects the balance in the body.  It effects the balance of carbohydrate, protein and fat  metabolism, fluid and electrolytes in the body, and the cardiovascular system.  Your body is an awesome machine and does its best to cope with under-functioning adrenal glands, but at a cost long term. 

A person suffering adrenal fatigue finds that their adrenal glands cannot adequately meet the demands of stress. Stress can come in many forms, an emotional crisis, a  physical crisis such as major surgery, or any type of severe repeated or  constant stress in your life.

Symptoms

They are many signs and symptoms.  Here are a few.

You feel tired for no reason, even though you are sleeping well.
Getting up in the morning is a struggle, regardless of the
hour you slept.
You constantly feel rundown or overwhelmed.
Your recovery from stress or illness is long.
You crave salty and sweet snacks.
You feel more awake, alert and energetic in the evening time more so than in the day.
Weight gain.
Hypoglycaemia low blood sugar.
Light headedness, dizzy spells.
You feel worse after exercise.

Treating Adrenal Fatigue

If you have adrenal fatigue, you do not have to live with it for the rest of
life.  You can make necessary lifestyle and dietary changes to treat your 
disorder.

Here are some tips to recover,

Rest during your work breaks (preferably at 10 a.m. and again anytime  from 3 to 5 p.m.)

Sleeping until 9 a.m. as often as possible.

Laughing

Exercising, however exercise selection nust be modified as you do not want
to over stimulate the adrenal glands.

Minimizing stress, maybe this means changing job? Partner? taking more time
for you.

Taking negative people out of your life

Eating regularly and healthy

Add fun daily

Avoiding junk food- self explanatory

Taking calcium and magnesium supplements

Taking  vitamin C each day

Supplementing vitamin E 

Taking B-complex supplements 


I hope you enjoyed reading this article and are slightly more aware of the condition.  If you have any questions about this, or you are concerned, contact your doctor or get in touch and if I can guide you in the right direction, I am more than happy to!

Until next week

Stay stress free

Jill

Hi Fit Fam

Hope you all hard a great week.

Sometimes you get bored with plain tuna, so today I am giving you a tasty way to spice up your tuna ,it is healthy, filling and nutritious.....

Jills Tuna Patties

Ingredients can make one large or two smaller ones

1 can of tuna in water
2x egg whites
1 Tbsp of Paprika, or spice of your choice
1 Teaspoon of flaxseeds
1 Teaspoon of low fat philadelphia cheese
Small amount of mixed veg.  I used a little carrot, spinach and frozen veg.


Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.  It will be very soft, but they will form into patties. 


Once you have them in a patty shape, sprinkle with sesame seeds.

You can either cook on a skillet or as I do microwave until firm.  They will be
soild.
 
Calories approx 200Calories for full mixture.

Enjoy.  If you make them let me know if you like them

Until next week stay healthy

Jill