Health and fitness jargon explained!
27/07/2010 at 08:55pm by Rich Leigh, weight loss expert
If you speak to somebody that trains regularly or has some element of exercise knowledge, it may sound like they’re speaking a different language.
This quick guide to the most common gym buzzwords should help out – feel free to add any more in the comments section below!
AEROBIC TRAINING
Training that requires oxygen. It works your body's muscles which increases your heart rate and strengthens the heart and lungs.
ANAEROBIC TRAINING
Training which uses movements that require very little oxygen. These are quick explosive actions which last a short space of time, such as sprinting.
AGILITY
Agility is the ability to move and change direction and position of the body quickly and effectively while under control.
CARDIOVASCULAR TRAINING
Training, such as aerobics, running or cycling, that strengthens the heart and the blood vessels and helps to build up your general fitness.
COOL DOWN
A form of light training or stretching which allows your heart rate to gradually slow down after exercise, enabling your body to return to a near pre-exercise state.
LACTIC ACID
An acid produced in muscles as a result of anaerobic training. It slows down the body if it builds up too much – and is pretty painful too!
REPETITION
The number of times you perform an exercise from start to finish. One sit-up would be one repetition.
SET
A fixed number of repetitions, usually pre-determined by yourself or your trainer beforehand. For example, eight repetitions of a press-up may make one set.
V02 MAX
The maximum amount of oxygen a person can use in a one minute work-out. A high V02 max makes the body more efficient for performance.
WARM-UP
This is preparation time before the proper work out begins. This may include light jogging to get the blood flowing through the muscles.
So, what do you think? Are there any more beginner fitness buzzwords we’re forgetting?
Fitness product review feature coming soon...
21/07/2010 at 10:33pm by Rich Leigh, weight loss expert, Fat Free Fitness
Here at Fat Free Fitness, we're always thinking of new ways to provide useful material to you, our fitness/weight loss inclined readers.
With a wealth of fitness products out there, and a real lack of honest reviews - in the face of often scientifically spurious claims of product efficiency - we're hoping that this blog can become a useful way for our readers to see through or appreciate the claims of fitness product marketers.
As a team of personal trainers, we'll be providing informed reviews of products that come our way or that we learn about.
Keep checking back to see what we think of the ever-expanding world of fitness products, weight loss aids, and everything in-between.
If you have a recommendation for a product we should be reviewing, get in touch by emailing info@fatfreefitness.co.uk, or by tweeting at us @fatfreefitness.
When being fat can kill you
15/07/2010 at 06:12pm by Rich Leigh, weight loss expert, Fat Free Fitness
I’d like to think this was a nice positive blog, brimming with support, news and guest posts all bringing together our readership with one common factor: weight loss.
Today, I saw a news piece in the Croydon Guardian, through my daily search of health news. It revolved around the death of Britain’s fattest man, and I think it highlights a hugely important aspect of weight loss – personal liability for one’s situation – albeit in a very extreme way.
Essentially, ‘Britain's fattest man’, David Hone, was 50 stone, and has been applauded for his efforts in the weeks running up to his death last week. According to friends, he was rushed into hospital in March with emphysema, and only in the final few weeks of his life did he make a ‘brave bid’ to slim down – actually managing to drop ten stone, says the article.
The 48-year-old had to be winched out of his home by firefighters after collapsing three months ago, and was rushed to hospital in a ‘super-sized’ ambulance.
His closest friend Paul, who had known the David nearly all his life, quite rightly pointed out that his friend’s efforts had come too late.
“He gave up smoking, found fruit and salads and changed his lifestyle.
“It was just a bit too late and that’s the sad part about it - he tried too late, and the major damage was done.”
This is the frustrating part of the story for me. This was needless. He leaves behind a family. Friends. Former colleagues. A whole life. And why? Because it took him until a Dickensian double-take of his life just weeks before he died to realise that he had mistreated the only body he would ever have to ruin.
I am astonished that it takes a situation this extreme to make you take stock of the fact that we are our own masters, in an entirely literal way.
We can’t keep talking about how the state should be providing for people that allow themselves to become morbidly obese. There is a point at which we have to be honest with ourselves, allow fault to be placed at our door, and act accordingly to improve the situation. Unfortunately for David, this realisation wasn’t until his lifestyle had already got the better of him.
Blog readers, whether you’re reading this because you have a fleeting interest in health and fitness, want to lose a couple of pounds or fear that you cannot prevent the weight from piling on, please take David’s example and learn from it. Nobody is above science, and simple facts; no matter how many ‘fat gene’ stories attempt to have you believe otherwise, prove that if you eat less than the calories you burn as energy, you will lose weight.
David’s friend Paul told the Croydon Guardian,
“People have been saying he had a heart attack, but he had a fantastic heart - and not only that but a heart of gold.”
I don’t doubt for a second that he did have a heart of gold. But to misconstrue just how much pressure David’s condition was putting on his heart by playing the word ‘heart’ into a lovely sentence about your unfortunately departed friend is missing the point entirely.
He didn’t have a fantastic heart. He suffered; his condition was no doubt painful, demoralising and most importantly, entirely avoidable.
Cheryl Cole's weight a 'big concern'
14/07/2010 at 08:33pm by Rich Leigh, founder of Fat Free Fitness
Pint-sized Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole’s recent bout of malaria isn’t being helped by her poor diet, according to one leading celebrity nutritionist.
'Cheryl needs to take as much care with her diet and nutrition as she does with her make-up and appearance,' says nutritionist to the stars, Nicki Waterman.
Cheryl's weight is 'a cause for concern'
‘Cheryl's 7 stone and needs to go up at least another half a stone to help her boost her immunity. She needs to be taking in at least 1,800-2,000 calories a day.
‘She's not a big carbs fan, but she has no choice right now. It will be key in repairing her body. Crucially, she needs to have a balanced diet and arm herself with multivitamins,’ continued Waterman.
'She also smokes, which doesn't help.'
Cheryl, 27, hasn't been eating properly since her split with England international footballer Ashley Cole, according to sources close to the X Factor judge.
‘Any balanced diet has fallen by the wayside due to the stress of her split from Ashley,' the source told Now magazine.
‘She drinks a lot of water - which would ordinarily be fine but she only does it so she doesn't get hungry. She'll occasionally give in to her cravings and have the odd bowl of chips or crisps but generally she has to be reminded to eat.'
‘Her mum worries and is always asking: "Cheryl, have you eaten?" It's a big concern.
This is a case in point that just because somebody is slim, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re healthy – a good, balanced diet should be enjoyed by everybody, and not just those looking to lose weight.
50 Cent piles the pounds back on following dramatic weight loss
05/06/2010 at 11:01am by Rich Leigh, weight loss expert, Fat Free Fitness
Rapper-turned-actor 50 Cent has allayed fears for his health by showing off a new fuller figure at a gig in Colorado on Wednesday night, just a week after he posted images of him looking emaciated on Twitter.
The hip hop star made headlines when he posted pictures on his online blog showing his skeletal frame while shooting new movie Things Fall Apart, in which he plays a footballer diagnosed with cancer, and the pictures quickly did the rounds on Twitter and in the media, as people asked the most obvious question – how the hell did he lose all that weight!?
The rapper lost 54 pounds (24 kilograms) by surviving on a liquid diet, but 50 Cent proved he's been busy piling the weight back on by showing off a healthier look at a show in Denver on Wednesday.
He told the crowd, "I've been eating, I'll be back in shape in no time."
I’d never recommend for people to yo-yo in such a way given the dangerous potential side effects, but you have to respect his ability to stick to and follow through such dramatic weight loss, given his previously muscular physique, which will no doubt take him a while to regain.
50 Cent after losing more than 50 lbs.
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