Health & Fitness – Get Out & Play! (part 1)

Take action right now, celebrate life and fitness with these easy ways to rev up your workout.

Burn Without The Sweet.
Swimming gives a cardiovascular workout and is great if you suffer joint problems. But to maximise your workout, I advises you to focus on getting a proper swim technique before swimming further. Seventy per cent of successful swimming comes from reduces ‘drag’, so keep your body as horizontal as possible to reduce the ‘drag’ and increase the speed of your swim.
To burn more calories while swimming and have fun, I suggests:
- Adding Resistance. Wearing buoyant ankle cuffs adds a challenge as they keep your feet afloat, making it harder to paddle. Or, don flippers – they make you move faster but your legs work harder, so you get a cardio and strength – training workout.
- Interval training. Instead of just doing laps, swim 10 laps with buoyancy cuffs and then do 10 without. Or, do leg extensions or tricep dips in the water after every lap.
- Building Speed.  To build up speed and distance, swim as many lengths as you can within a certain time (perhaps 20 laps in 20 minutes). The goal is to increase the number of laps you can do in the same time.

Walk Your Way Trim.
A brisk power walk improves your heart and lung capacity, and tones your body. If you’re already putting in 30 minutes, three to four times a week, great! But to pump up that walk, I suggests:
- Arm Work. Punch or swing your arms overhead actively. Do each arm movement for about five minutes during your walk.
- Interval Training. Alternate squats, hops, high – intensity lunges or shuffles with five – minutes brisk walks. If you’re power walking on a treadmill, select an uphill cross training programme.
- Pace Quickener. If your workout is 30 minutes, time your outward journey at 15 minutes; on your return, aim to reduce the time by walking faster. Stresses the importance of stretching, a good five – minutes warm – up before stretching is better than stretching with a cold muscle. Dynamic stretching gets better muscle performance during workouts, while static or prolonged stretches are ideal after a workout.

Fire Up Your Body.
We’ve all heard about the physical, mental  and emotional benefits of yoga. The right teacher will be able to provide correct knowledge about yoga – the right way to move the body, the right methods to do the poses. If done incorrectly, without proper knowledge, one can easily injure the body.
Heat Generators. There are several forms of yoga such as Ashtanga, Iyengar and Vinyasa, all part of Hatha yoga. These various methods are created with different approaches and asana (pose) work. Assuming one knows the correct methods and poses, it’s possible to link the poses. By doing so, there’ll be changes to the body; such as creating more heat in the body. Vinyasa and Ashtanga are examples of yoga styles that flow from one pose to another. These styles help the body “generate heat” – they’ll improve blood circulation and strengthen the body.
Power Poses. For a more intense yoga session, look for a class which incorporates inversions. When done correctly, these poses revitalise and rejuvenate one’s body system by reversing the effects of gravity and flooding the vital organs and brain with nourishment. Examples of inverted poses are Bridges Pose, Plough Pose and Shoulder Stand Pose.

to be continued in part 2

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