Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health. Staying active improves your fitness, makes you stronger and helps delay or prevent chronic illnesses and diseases associated with aging. Here at Personal Best Fitness, North Hobart we offer all types of options to increase your levels of strength and fitness including personal training, small group training, and a variety of group fitness classes.
Group Fitness classes are for everyone. It doesn’t matter what level of fitness you have or what exercise experience, there is a class suited to everyone.
You can be confident that when you join a class at Personal Best, our qualified instructors will guide you through the safest, most effective workout in a fun, encouraging environment that will see you getting results every time!
Joining a Group Fitness class can also be a great way to meet new people and make new friends. Why not bring a friend along, exercise, and get healthier together?
The key to lifelong fitness is to start slowly, build steadily and enjoy yourself. Our classes provide a fun and social atmosphere, whether you are just starting your fitness journey, if you have been into fitness for a long time or anywhere in between.
Here at Personal Best, we love to empower people of all ages and abilities to get the most out of themselves to achieve their goals and be more confident in what their body can do, by making fitness fun and enjoyable.
Our instructors are eager to welcome you in class to share their enthusiasm, motivation, positivity, and drive and to help you maximise your results.
Check out our classes on offer HERE and read on to find out about the many great benefits of participating in our fantastic group fitness classes.
7 Benefits of STEP class
Step class is a full-body cardio workout that includes stepping up and down on a stationary step. It includes basic stepping movement patterns that work your heart and lungs and tone your legs and butt.
Improves cardiovascular health
Improves bone health
Tone and shape your legs and butt
Lose weight
Improves mental health
Low Impact to minimise impact and stress on joints
7 Benefits of CIRCUIT
Circuit is a total body workout that combines cardiovascular fitness with strength training. Many exercises are included in the class and the intensity and impact levels vary. This class is ideal for everyone.
Improves muscular endurance
Increase strength
Offers a full-body workout
Improves cardiovascular health
Circuit training is time efficient
Increases metabolic rate
Perfect for all levels of fitness
7 Benefits of PILATES
Pilates is a form of low impact exercise that aims to strengthen muscles while improving postural alignment and flexibility. Pilates is a mind-body exercise and requires the focus to be on the breath, posture, and controlled movement. All classes include low and more challenging options.
Improves balance, strength, and flexibility
Reduced risk of injuries
Reduces lower back pain
Improves posture
Reinforces joints
Tones body shape
Improve circulation
By committing to 3 classes a week at Personal Best Fitness, you will maximise your results by balancing the optimal mix of cardio, strength, and flexibility into your weekly routine.
We want to continue to help you establish good exercise habits, to chase your goals of becoming fitter, faster, stronger, happier, and healthier together, so why not give one of our fantastic group fitness classes a go and reach your Personal Best fitness today!
Nadia Roulias
Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor
At this time of the year, we often need to carry heavy, bags and parcels and this can play havoc with our back, neck, and shoulders. We can learn a great deal from farmers as they are some of the strongest, healthiest, and most mobile people you’ll find, but it’s not because they spend their days lifting weights in a gym.
However, they are lifting heavy things – bags of feed, mechanical equipment, hoses, hay bales, buckets of water, sick animals, you name it – and they’re carrying them from one place to another. Most of the rest of us aren’t carrying heavy things around all day, so for us, we need to think outside the square if we want to mimic what the strongest people do. Enter Farmer’s Walks.
Unlike most exercises one does the in the gym, there’s almost no technique to be learned in a Farmer’s Walk (a type of loaded carry). You simply pick up a weight or two and start walking with them by your side. While you can use dumbbells for this exercise, kettlebells are almost perfectly designed for the purpose with the offset handle making them feel very natural to carry.
The benefits of picking up and walking with heavy things are many, but to summarise a few of the key upsides:
They strengthen your grip. And everything else.
This has carryover effects to numerous day-to-day tasks like opening jars and carrying shopping, and anything else which requires a tight grasp. Studies have also shown a direct correlation between grip strength and longevity: the stronger your hands, the longer you’re likely to live.
It doesn’t stop with the grip though. Your forearms, shoulders, upper back, core (abdominal muscles), glutes and all your leg and foot muscles are working overtime to help you move the weight from one end of the room/road/park to the other end – and strengthening and stabilising you in the process.
They help correct your posture.
When you’re walking with kettlebells or dumbbells in your hands, your body can no longer get away with moving on autopilot; the only way to fight the extra weight pulling you forwards or to the side is to actively engage your postural muscles. Even after you’ve put the weights away, your body remembers what it did to stay upright and starts to do it unconsciously.
They build muscle.
In addition to making, you stronger, they add some muscle to your frame and tighten everything up. It certainly won’t be ‘bulky’ muscle; it will be a little bit added to your whole body, working with your added strength to make you more resilient. As with all resistance training, this is especially important as you age: the loss of muscle in older age (sarcopenia) is one of the main issues leading to poor health and loss of independence.
They improve balance.
Every time you take a step when you walk, you’re balancing on one foot, brief as it is. When you add weight to your hands, your balance is being tested more than usual – everything is working harder to stop you falling over. This is especially true when you’re holding a kettlebell or dumbbell with a single hand as you’re not only fighting extra total weight; you’re also working against being pulled over to the side. If you slow the movement down, you’ll find it’s a very intense exercise in controlling your entire balance system.
They boost fat loss and cardiovascular health.
Farmer’s Walks have the effect of turning the very natural movement of a short walk into an exercise which elevates your heart rate and your breathing due to all of the muscles in the body working with every step. A working muscle is also a muscle which is burning energy so you’re really ‘stoking the furnace’ of your metabolism when you add a loaded carry to your sessions.
So, what are you waiting for? Pick up a couple of kettlebells and get walking!
By Tom Flint
At Personal Best Fitness we offer you all 3 of these mediums to help you look, feel and function better. Recently, when some of our personal trainers have taught group exercise classes, we have had some questions and comments about why the class has been a different format, had different exercises or varied intensities.
If you read below this may help, explain to why some classes are taught in a different way or format.
Remember, ‘change is as good as a holiday’!
What is Group Exercise?
• This type of exercise involves instructors teaching and leading individual through in-person classes, usually more than 8 participants.
• Group exercise classes are designed for different fitness levels utilising a variety of equipment to teach many types of classes, from cardio based, indoor cycling to fit bar and forever Active.
• The class is pitched to the ‘middle’ and then some regressions and progressions of each exercise are offered where possible. The goal is fitness with fun!
• Classes and instructors vary from time to time so please check Facebook each Sunday for an updated timetable.
What is Small Group Training?
• This type of exercise expands the personal trainer’s role from strictly one on one to small group training by working with two or more people, but in a small group of less than 6 typically.
• The focus is on providing some personalised programming within the workout to cater for individual’s needs.
• As the group is smaller more attention can be given to technique and individual feedback.
And how is Personal Training different?
• Personal training is a specialised service which includes individual goal setting, fitness appraisal and exercise programming with a personal trainer in a one-on-one setting. Personal trainers provide exercise technique instruction, monitor progress, and progress your program based on your individual response to the program.
• It may include but not be limited to improving balance, co-ordination, functional strength, injury and exercise rehabilitation and cardio fitness to improve activities of daily living. Exercises are likely to reflect actual activities someone might do during the day.
• Personal training also caters for people with chronic health conditions such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, joint replacement and the like.
• It enables you to gain the maximum benefits from the time that you have available.
If you would like to know more, please have a chat with one of our team.
People who exercise regularly have better mental health and emotional wellbeing, and lower rates of mental illness.
Exercise is important for people with mental illness – it not only boosts your mood, concentration, and alertness, but improves cardiovascular and overall physical health.
Many of us find it hard enough to motivate ourselves to exercise at the best of times. But when we feel depressed, anxious, stressed, or have another mental health problem, it can seem doubly difficult.
The link between exercise and mental health is complicated. Inactivity can be both a cause and a consequence of mental illness, for example. But there are lots of ways that exercise can benefit your mental health, such as:
The levels of chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin, stress hormones and endorphins, change when you exercise.
Regular exercise can help you sleep better. And good sleep helps manage your mood. An interesting fact is, Cortisol, a hormone that reduces stress is only produced when we sleep.
Exercise can improve your sense of control, coping ability and self-esteem. People who exercise regularly often report how good achieving a goal makes them feel.
Exercise can distract you from negative thoughts and provide opportunities to try new experiences.
It offers an opportunity to socialise and get social support if you exercise with others.
Exercise increases your energy levels.
Physical activity can be an outlet for your frustrations.
Common barriers that get in the way of starting exercise are feeling overwhelmed, feeling helpless, feeling bad about yourself, or feeling pain.
If you can begin to think of exercise as a priority and important for your mental health, you may find small amounts of time to fit it in to your schedule. So, start small and start slow doing low impact classes such as Yoga or Pilates. What about a stretch class? It is always helpful to exercise with a friend so invite a friend to exercise with you.
Any exercise is better than none, and it doesn’t need to be strenuous or long. Experts recommend adults should be active most days, aiming for a short leisurely walk around the block or on the beach is a good start. You can always speed up as you begin to feel fitter.
Lyndy Burt
Professional Counsellor, Accredited Supervisor PACFA Reg
As a Personal Trainer we have several tools that occupy our ‘toolbox’ and what often differentiates good from outstanding personal trainers is their ability to prescribe the most appropriate exercises for each client. The TRX is one such tool.
The TRX suspension trainer stands for ‘Total Resistance Exercise’ and it is essentially 2 straps anchored to a ceiling, back of a door or high on a wall.
The TRX helps you to improve mobility, flexibility, strength, endurance, and power whereby your bodyweight becomes your machine and gravity your resistance.
Arguably, the TRX is one of the most functional pieces of equipment as you must engage all muscles simultaneously rather than isolating smaller ones. You attach yourself to the TRX by gripping the handles with your hands or placing your feet in the foot straps.
Suspension training works by challenging your body in a somewhat unstable environment. This forces you to constantly engage your core to perform each exercise and to also improve your balance. Adjusting the level of difficulty for each exercise on the TRX is as easy as moving your hands or feet and like all exercises, you can regress and progress with the TRX.
For those new to functional exercise, it is best to start with small body angles and after 4 to 6 weeks, increase the degree of difficulty by increasing the angle you are working with. For beginners, performing exercises like rows, it is helpful to have the straps short. This reduces the degree of instability which a longer strap would provide.
Left to Right: Beginner TRX Row and Intermediate TRX Row
When performing a pushing movement using the TRX it is beneficial to have the straps fully lengthened. This is because it too reduces the degree of difficulty as the angle you are on is less. Sometimes changing the position of your feet before changing the position of the straps can alter the degree of difficulty of the exercise.
When you are performing exercises with a foot or your feet in the foot strap’s, it is helpful to have the straps set at mid-calf length. This is because it again reduces the degree of difficulty by keeping your feet close to the floor and your body streamlined.
Left To Right: TRX Lunge Starting Position and Bottom Position
Using the TRX is ideal for varying the level of instability, from beginners through to advanced. I recommend asking your personal trainer or having a personal training session to learn more about the benefits of the TRX for you and developing some challenging, but exercises that will add variety to your program.
Frances Sullivan
Master Personal Trainer
Improving Quality of Life and Brain Function
One of our goals at Personal Best Fitness is to encourage everybody to look and feel better and function in a more optimal way.
Robert is certainly a ‘shining’ example of that. Diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) over the last 3 years. FTD is characterized by the nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain being lost. It can impact behaviour, personality, language and movement.
Robert’s wife Heather has been a regular at Personal Best for some 10 years and is well aware of both the physical and mental benefits of exercise and knew that Robert was eligible for the Home Care Package that included funding for personal training.
Prior to starting personal training with Fran, Robert had difficulty getting into and out of a chair due to his posture and lack of strength. He had put on weight due to his brain wanting him to be sedentary.
Since Robert has started personal training with Fran, Heather can see many positive changes.
‘He is learning new motor patterns and movements and when he comes home from Personal Best Fitness, he is more engaged with the world around him and is more vibrant. Robert even now notices weeds in the garden and pulls them out, which is a great help to me.’
Robert’s carer Sandy brings him to Personal Best Fitness in a taxi and recently Robert gave the driver directions to the gym from the Eastern Shore!
Heather feels that going to the gym is the most stimulating part of Robert’s week as it extends his brain function and it is significantly slowing down the rate of deterioration in brain function.
Six months ago, when Robert started on the exercise bike, he could pedal for 3 minutes on resistance 4, now he has progressed to 2 x 5 minutes on resistance 7. Robert’s walking gait has also improved, and he is able to co-ordinate his opposite arm and leg.
‘It is so rewarding to work with Robert, he has a wonderful sense of humour, and he has started to ask why we are doing specific exercises. His posture, balance and strength have improved greatly, and he has lost weight’. Fran
Robert now moves with more confidence and feels a great sense of achievement when mastering new exercises.
If you know of someone who is eligible for the Home Care Funding Program and could enjoy a better quality of life, please have a chat with our front desk team.
Comfort, Fear and Growth Zones
What do these 4 zones mean when we are thinking about lifestyle change? In the current climate, we are finding ourselves in many situations that are requiring us to simply find another way.
It is likely that many of you have had to make some sort of life change recently. Below is a very simple way of looking at the why’s of these processes, tips to help you be successful in making this change and in turn enabling you to reduce the stress and anxiety surrounding such choices.
Change can be challenging but not changing is harder the longer you leave it. We are not saying you need to make changes, but it is likely that we all can improve some aspect of our lives. Whether this is building muscle, modifying weaknesses, or developing an entirely new facet of yourself, it is always good to re-evaluate your health and fitness goals and allow change and understand that this, although scary at times, is all OK!
Below is a diagram from the “Coaching Institute”. It is useful as it helps to breakdown and understand the process we go through when facing change or situations that we may fear. Do we immediately look at the situation as a red light and jump back to the comfort zone or do we break down and understand the situation and grab it with both hands to use for personal and professional learning and growth?
We are all capable of change. It takes a bit of work and a willingness to face our fears head on.
Lifestyle change is one of the hardest changes to make. It takes approximately 21 days to build a habit and to have it feel like a normal occurrence. Lifestyle change should encourage positive change in our lives. Too often we think a lifestyle change is removing something unhealthy from our lives instead of adding something that is healthy or good for us. For example, instead of worrying about the snacks you have during the day, why not add in some avocado or boiled egg into your morning tea break? This focus is on the positive aspect rather than the negative.
Below are some tools to help you succeed.
Before starting your “change” write down where you are currently in your life. Are you happy with how it is going? Write down why you want to make the change and then write down the benefits it is going to have for you. This will help you to reach your “Growth Zone.”
2. Create structured daily activities that lead you towards your overall goal. Structured daily activities can remove the excuses. Moreover, if you are focused on the activities you won’t worry about any external factors that may creep into your though process and shift you back to your comfort zone.
Start to be aware of how you react in any given situation. Do you fold your arms often when talking to people about what you have done or doing, or do you stand tall and in a strong posture? When you are aware of these different mannerisms you can expand your comfort zone by not being so reactive or affected by others’ opinions. Can you respond rather than react?
Track your progress so you can see your new healthy habits. This helps you to find purpose and conquer objectives. I suggest celebrating your new healthy habits, not by going back to the ‘bad’ habit just once, but by doing something new.
A change can be a reinvention of yourself. How exciting would it be for you to find that side of you that lifts weights, light or heavy, that person that can get up every morning and go for a walk before the day truly starts? Imagine reinventing yourself to the place where there are no barriers…because your body can keep up with you.
All the best.
Fran Sullivan
Master Personal Trainer
I’ve been in the fitness industry for a while, I’l like to think for long enough to recognise the difference between function and fiction.
If there’s one thing that really bugs me about what I do, it’s what I call the “cerebral onanism” of human movement. You see human movement isn’t that hard, we all start practicing it long before we learn language, and yet I see youtube videos where the explanation of a movement, takes 10 times longer than the movement itself!
I often think, how am I supposed to teach all that instruction, in the time the movement takes?
I can label many of the muscles in the human body in Latin, and every good Personal Trainer should know flexors from extensors, but I cringe when I hear people primarily cuing muscles instead of movement.
If I can get through my life without ever seeing another fitness video where the trainer instructs participants to “engage your core”, I’ll be happy.
Why?
Because while human movement is easy, the human body is an incredibly complex system which thankfully is largely automated because without the automation we would all stop breathing the moment we went to sleep. There are many many muscles in the trunk that our body uses to stabilise the spine in response to different force vectors, velocities, and movements, a handful of which someone decided to label “core”.
The idea that I need to activate muscles in order to move well raises many questions, that I cannot think of good answers too, here are some examples:
I know that there are 3 branches of the thoracodorsal nerve that goes into each of my left and right Latissimus Dorsi, the big muscles in my back I use for pulling actions. But I can’t feel any of them, nor can I point to them without a textbook the way I can point to my big toe. So, If I cannot locate them by feel, how am I supposed calculate how many electrons I need to send to each branch to get the best results based on the angle of my shoulder when I’m pulling?
There are 10 muscles that stabilise the sole of my foot, I can’t think of two things at once, how am I supposed to think about 10?
Does anyone really think Logan was calculating which of his core muscles he needed to activate and how much, in response to his flipping/ twisting inertia and the rapidly changing direction of the pull of gravity when he was 6 metres off the ground in his freestyle BMX final, or was he just thinking about spotting his landing?
I once heard probably the best skateboarder in human history describe a trick as “it’s all in the big toe”, as opposed to saying, “I just activate my Extensor Hallucis Longus”, now if they are both the same thing why does it bug me?
Here’s why:
Done well, explanations of what is occurring during a movement can be informative, and if the client/athlete believes that activating something helps, it probably does, because belief is a powerful performance enhancer. Athletes that believe in a god outperform those that don’t, regardless of which deity they believe in. Who remembers Power Bands?
But what matters is the movement and feeling confident in the movement.
I met someone at a function recently, he told me “I’ve been working with my trainer weekly for years, I never go to the gym without him, because I’m afraid of doing something wrong”,
I changed the topic so I could avoid telling him that if he continued doing this, he would never be fit, strong or healthy.
Similarly, I once overheard someone in the gym saying, “I’d much rather lift light weights with correct form, than trying to lift heavy weights”.
These are both examples of an idea becoming a barrier to movement and human movement is rarely, if ever perfect, but it improves with practice, without doing something wrong, you’ll never do it right.
Our body responds to stimulus, form follows function, it builds muscle in response to regular movement, it lays down myelin around the nerve sheath in response to repetition, tendons thicken in response to loading, our body produces Human Growth Hormone and Testosterone in response to strenuous lifting (heavy things). Lung capacity increases if we regularly get out of breath.
Lean muscle mass, and lung capacity are two of the more reliable predictors of longevity.
Some people don’t have the metrics to be great dead lifters, or rowers, me, I am too tall and have to much bulk to be a great hill climber on the bike. But that doesn’t mean I can’t ride my bike up hills, enjoy doing it, get benefit from it and get better at it. When I think of my most ‘successful’ clients, they all have one thing in common. It’s not a great knowledge of anatomy, nor is it the ability to activate many muscles at once while concentrating on the task at hand. It’s consistency, they exercise regularly, with many of them I know when they will be at Personal Best, even if I’m not there, and because of the work we have done together, I know they are safe and building strength and fitness while practicing the movements I have programmed for them.
I’ll leave you with a case study.
I spent over a decade coaching someone who loved competitive sport and worked very hard at it. During the 15 years we worked together he won state, national and world titles. When we first started working together, he told me “No matter how much I try I can’t activate my glutes”.
Glutes are a hip extensor, it quickly became apparent that he couldn’t get good extension from his hips, and because of this, his glutes were doing very little. So, we spent a year stretching his hip flexors, and all of a sudden, his glutes started working, no thought required! On his part anyway.
Marc Hand
Master Personal Trainer
Why Spin?
Have you recently woken up from a comfortable night’s sleep and opened your curtain, only to be greeted by an ever-darkening morning sky, the feeling of cold coming through the glass window against your face and thought to yourself, “Going out there for my morning walk just doesn’t look too enjoyable today.”? Despite this, you go anyway. Happy that you’ve stayed true to yourself and your fitness goals. But all the while wondering if there’s an easier and more comfortable way of doing this at such a time of year. Fortunately, I have a solution for you!
Indoor cycling classes can go by many different names. Spin, Spinning and Spin class are frequently used and what you may have heard your friends, family or other gym members speak of. Spin classes are typically 30 – 60 minutes long and simulate riding a bike outside by increasing and decreasing the “spin bike” resistance dial. Up hills, down hills, flat roads, standing or seated. You name it, a qualified indoor cycling instructor can put it into a Spin class! Whether you’re a novice gym goer, aspiring athlete or somewhere in between, spin classes can be of huge benefit to your mental and physical health, and overall wellbeing. In addition to these benefits, here are some reasons to make it a part of your weekly routine at Personal Best Fitness.
The cycling action offers a low impact form of huff n puff exercise. Spin classes are perfect if you’re recovering from an injury, starring down the barrel of knee surgery or just feel as if you need to take things a little more gently on your joints. Regardless of your fitness goals, you will still achieve a great workout. A well-designed class by an experienced instructor will allow you to go at your own pace. Afterall, fitness and physical activity is about improving the way you look, feel and function.
Whether you’re looking to increase your huff n puff fitness, lose weight or increase leg and core strength, spin classes can offer it all in a single workout. The action of pedalling with resistance will help your body deal with any instability as a result of weaker muscles. Increasing your heart rate will help you burn calories and increase your metabolic rate. You can burn up to 600 calories in a spin class. That’s the equivalent of 6 glasses of wine.
Increasing heart rate for prolonged periods like you will experience in a spin class will help to increase your bodies tolerance to other physical activities such as weight training, bush walking or hanging out the washing.
Beyond the physical benefits you gain from a spin class, you will not find a single person arguing about the benefits exercise can have on mental health. Increasing your heart rate and moving your body is scientifically proven to relieve stress and anxiety. This partly occurs as a result of the body producing endorphins, sometimes known as the “feel good” hormone. Spin classes are a great way to do this, along with the added social benefits of being in a room with like-minded people and the affect it can have on your mental well-being.
Here at Personal Best Fitness, we currently offer two spin classes per week. Both are 45 minutes in duration. This gives you enough time to properly warm your body up, enjoy a good workout and finally a cool down and stretch to aid the bodies recovery process. I invite you to join me for Spin on Wednesday at 6.15am or Saturday morning a 8am. We will help with your bike set up and teach you all you need to know.
Tristan North
Certified Spin Instructor
In my previous article , I wrote about the importance of exercise and exercise variability on mental health. I’m going to expand on this topic in regards to what is happening in the brain and the tissue and how that can be incorporated into exercise.
Regular physical activity plays a crucial role in health maintenance and disease prevention. However there is an increasing occurrence of excessive exercise among certain population groups, which have adverse effects on both physical and mental health. I want to set a framework to help you find balance and question your perspective about what exercise is for you and how you approach it.
I believe, all too often in our society we approach exercise as something we have to do often because we want to lose weight or use it as a mechanism to keep on top of our mental health. Both of these reasons are perfectly valid and effective forms to achieve such outcomes, however I want to prompt you to think about why it is you exercise and whether what you are doing is enjoyable.
In my previous article I wrote about the Default Mode Network (DNM) and how it is active when a person is focused internally, e.g. Ruminating, and is less active when focused on attention-demanding tasks. Previously I wrote that a hyperactive DMN is associated with mental health issues such as obsessive behaviour, anxiety and depression. I explained how a hyperactive DMN results in less neural patterning, meaning we continue to strengthen the same neural networks, therefore have the same thought processes, increasing our anxious thoughts.
When relating this to exercise, one of my favourite sayings is ‘create more movement options’. What does this mean? Simple.
Move more, move different and move more often .
It doesn’t matter HOW you move, as long as you are spending time doing different exercises, reaching in different planes of motion and getting your heart rate UP and DOWN in different increments regularly. Any exercise is good exercise, however if relating this to our brain activity, we want to be able to keep exercise enjoyable and variable in order to thrive rather than survive in everyday life.
Having spent a lot of time working with cyclists, I always think they’re the quintessential example of what we’re talking about here. Cyclists are by nature pretty obsessive people! They often have what we term ‘type-A’ personalities, i.e. they’re ambitious, rigidly organised and status conscious. They’re your classic ‘high achievers’. Cyclists spend a lot of time in the same position, often a lot of time in a similar heart rate zone and, are quite often in high achieving occupations.
Which comes first, the obsessive behaviour or the rigid exercise routine? It’s a chicken or egg situation. Someone with a type-A personality is likely to be more attracted to endurance sports, e.g. cycling, running etc, because being driven in this sport is what allows them to excel at it, however too much of this type of activity, ie. low neural patterning, will also result in a hyperactive DMN.
There is nothing ‘wrong’ with cycling itself (I spend a lot of time riding bikes myself), however for people who spend a lot of time doing one thing, even sitting at a desk, should consider creating more movement patterns.
This is where at Personal Best Fitness we see the benefit of implementing tools such as ViPRs in your exercise routine. ViPRs bridge the gap between movement and strength. By shifting weight, rather than lifting it against gravity, engaging your muscles with variable stimuli. They allow us to adapt to new movement patterns by stretching and loading as you move, resulting in a lean, long and strong system.
“Any exercise is good exercise, as long as what you are doing resembles what you ‘think’ you are doing.”
Written by Senior personal trainer, Sofia Tsamassiros
Timetable
6234 5969
People who exercise regularly have better mental health and emotional wellbeing, and lower rates of mental illness.
Exercise is important for people with mental illness – it not only boosts your mood, concentration, and alertness, but improves cardiovascular and overall physical health.
Many of us find it hard enough to motivate ourselves to exercise at the best of times. But when we feel depressed, anxious, stressed, or have another mental health problem, it can seem doubly difficult.
The link between exercise and mental health is complicated. Inactivity can be both a cause and a consequence of mental illness, for example. But there are lots of ways that exercise can benefit your mental health, such as:
The levels of chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin, stress hormones and endorphins, change when you exercise.
Change can be challenging but not changing is harder the longer you leave it. We are not saying you need to make changes, but it is likely that we all can improve some aspect of our lives. Whether this is building muscle, modifying weaknesses, or developing an entirely new facet of yourself, it is always good to re-evaluate your health and fitness goals and allow change and understand that this, although scary at times, is all OK!
Below is a diagram from the “Coaching Institute”. It is useful as it helps to breakdown and understand the process we go through when facing change or situations that we may fear. Do we immediately look at the situation as a red light and jump back to the comfort zone or do we break down and understand the situation and grab it with both hands to use for personal and professional learning and growth?
We are all capable of change. It takes a bit of work and a willingness to face our fears head on.
Lifestyle change is one of the hardest changes to make. It takes approximately 21 days to build a habit and to have it feel like a normal occurrence. Lifestyle change should encourage positive change in our lives. Too often we think a lifestyle change is removing something unhealthy from our lives instead of adding something that is healthy or good for us. For example, instead of worrying about the snacks you have during the day, why not add in some avocado or boiled egg into your morning tea break? This focus is on the positive aspect rather than the negative.
Below are some tools to help you succeed.
