Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) February 10, 2011
Posted by breathefitness in Human Anatomy.Tags: anatomy, diet, energy, exercise, fat burning, fitness, food, health, ibs, irritable bowel syndrome, lifestyle, metabolism, Nutrition, peppermint, stress, weight loss, wellbeing
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Hello all
My next blog is all about IBS with all the info about it, how to control it and how to ease it. IBS in basic terms is where the intestines go into spasm causing food passing through them to go too quickly or slowly causing pain in the abdomen plus many other symptoms.
IBS is a condition growing heavily across the plant and unfortunately has no cure. There hasn’t been much research done on this either so sometimes in hospital if you have a digestive problem and they are unable to find the problem sometimes you will just be diagnosed with IBS even though there have been cases where you just need a change in nutrition or may be a allergy to a food type.
What causes IBS?
Again due to the lack of research no actual cause can be proved but it is thought that causes can be from the following:
- Stress
- A bacterial, parasitic or viral infection
- Lactose intolerance or an adverse reaction to a food
These symptoms can cause an inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract as becomes very sensitive and spasms with bodily reactions. This in turn causes abdominal pain that then leads to constipation or diarrhoea. These spasms make it difficult for the intestines to ferment food which is why it could pass through quickly or very slowly.
Symptoms
There are many many known symptoms for IBS one person may have some and another have totally separate ones. Below is a list of the most common.
- Abdominal Pain
- Constipation
- Diarrhoea
- Nausea
- Panic Attacks
- Dizzy spells
- Rapid weight loss
- Blood in the stools
- Increased gas and bloating
If someone has any of these symptoms then you can be sent or an endoscopy, colonoscopy, blood tests to rule out other conditions and can lead to the diagnosis of IBS. Most of the time these tests will find an inflammation of the stomach or intestinal tract that will usually show that IBS is the problem.
How can it be controlled?
Ok so there is no cure but that isn’t the end of the world. It affects nearly 20% of adults in the western world so many people have to deal with it but can be controlled through many ways. Supplements such as peppermint is a great way as aids digestion so if your body struggles to ferment the food then peppermint helps it along. Peppermint will soften the intestines so that they do not spasm when you eat so make sure it is taken on an empty stomach. Probiotics put ‘friendly bacteria’ into your body so will help digest food and prevent growth of further harmful bacteria in the body. Glutamine which is an amino acid calms inflamed tissue so is also known to help as well as dietary fibre which absorbs water in your body so will prevent diarrhoea.
Other ways to help IBS is to exercise. Stress on your body can make IBS worse with spasms so exercise will release feel good hormones into your system preventing abdominal pain and other symptoms someone may get. Exercise also keeps the bowels moving normally so can help with symptoms. Learning relaxation techniques i.e. controlling your breathing as when a reaction occurs it is easy to panic making it worse. Learning to control breathing over time may help you control when you can sense a reaction about to start. Eat small meals regularly, if you eat large meals the body already has problems digesting to the excess food will cause the body to spasm. Eating small meals will allow the body to digest and pass through the system easily and without problem.
One thing that tends to be asked to try is whats called an ‘elimination diet’ as it may not be known what exactly causes reactions so keep a food diary and when you get a reaction check to see what just went into the body and cut it out to see if that was the cause. Try to reduce alcohol intake due to the wheat and cut back on caffeine and high fat foods.
The reason I wrote this blog is because I actually suffer with it myself. I was diagnosed over 3 years ago after 8 months of testing. Those 8 months were a very difficult time where I got many panic attacks, nausea of the worst possible extent and abdominal pain that I am sure only a woman giving birth can feel 
. 3 years later I have full control over it where I take peppermint everyday and also have a medication on my to take incase I have a reaction. As a personal trainer I exercise regularly to keep the bowels working normally. You may be wondering how did you get it in the first place seeing as you are a healthy person? Well the time I got it I was going through a very stressful time with my job that I was unable to control and that stress lead to symptoms of nausea and panic attacks so had to go through 8 months of that before an endoscopy showed a large inflammation in my stomach.
Anyway I wanted to write this to show that if you have it and worrying that you can control it and can live life normally with it.
Feel free to contact me if you would like anymore info on this.
See you soon for the next blog
Anthony Mayatt, Personal Trainer and Sports Scientist (BSc Hons)
http://www.breathefitness.uk.com
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Exercise and Pregnancy February 7, 2011
Posted by breathefitness in Human Anatomy.Tags: anatomy, body shape, core stability, diet, endurance, energy, exercise, exercise and pregnancy, fat burning, fitness, fitness training, gym, health, lifestyle, metabolism, muscles, Nutrition, personal training, post natal, pre and post natal, pre natal, pregnancy, strength, stress, weight loss, wellbeing, workout
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Hey all
After the success of my last blog I thought I would continue writing a blog on certain populations and discuss pregnancy on this one. What I do want to stress first is that I would recommend hiring a qualified pre and post natal trainer if you are pregnant or just given birth so that you know you are in safe hands. There is safe exercise you can do on your own but if entering a gym then I would recommend having that trainer with you.
Benefits
These are the list of benefits to exercising during pregnancy
- Labour is perceived to be less painful (not proven)
- Improves circulation
- Reduces swelling
- Less weight gain
- Improves balance and posture
- Reduces cramps, aches and joint soreness
- Improves aerobic and muscular fitness
- Reduces post natal belly fat
- More rapid return to pre-pregnancy weight and strength
I am sure you are reading those benefits and thinking yes without a doubt I must exercise now I am pregnant. Before you do though you must follow these guidlines as you cannot just exercise the same way as everybody else due to physiological changes happening within your body.
- Try to exercise at least 3 x per week.
- Don’t exercise laying on your back after the first trimester (after 3 months)
- Don’t do exercises that mean a sudden change of direction.
- Avoid exercises that put trauma on the abdominal region i.e. crunches
- Try not to overheat and make sure you replace all lost fluids
- Warm up and cool down every single session.
- Consume enough calories roughly 300 additional calories a day to maintain metabolic homeostasis.
- Also do not hold your breath during exercises, if you havn’t exercised before then start very slowly and progress over time.
- MOST IMPORTANTLY consult your doctor regularly to make sure everything is progressing safely.
If you was to notice any small change in your body physiologically then stop exercise all together and seek advice of a doctor. This could be as small as a headache to bloody discharge. That is obviously a very severe problem and is very unlikely to happen but make sure you listen to your own body.
I am not going to post any actual exercises you can do as I feel it would be better to seek advice from a professional in person. It wouldn’t feel right to give you an exercise that you could preform wrongly by yourself and cause a problem.
Post natal
Ok so once you have given birth the main question I am always asked is how long should I wait before I can start exercising again. There really is no general time frame as it depends how healthy you were leading into the pregnancy. If you exercised during pregnancy then you can start immediately whereas if you stopped during pregnancy then it is best to start back very slowly and progress. Everyone should be able to do lower abdominal and pelvic floor exercises immediately to help to start strengthening up the core muscles. Aim to get out and walk more so that you can improve your cardio fitness and over time pick up your training even more. Over time you will notice your strength return then you will be able to do more with your exercise regime.
I hope this blog gave you some useful info away from the usual exercise list as I felt it was important for people to know a different side to when and how to exercise during and after pregnancy.
See you all soon for another blog
Anthony Mayatt, Personal Trainer and Sports Scientist (BSc Hons)
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Children and exercise February 1, 2011
Posted by breathefitness in Human Anatomy.Tags: anatomy, body shape, child obesity, childrens exercise, diet, endurance, energy, exercise, fat burning, fitness, fitness training, gym, health, injury, lifestyle, metabolism, muscles, Nutrition, personal training, strength, stress, weight loss, weight training, wellbeing, workout
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Hello all
Welcome to my next blog. This one is based around trying to promote healthy exercise to children but mainly weight training. Research used to suggest that nobody should do weights before the age of 16 but new research suggests otherwise so I will explain all the pointers and how you can safely get your child(ren) to do weights exercises.
Firstly from early age it is important to try to get your child into a routine of exercise so that they find it fun and want to continue it as they get older. One way in doing this is for you (the parent) to exercise as kids copy their role models so show them that it is a good thing to do. As they get older exercise with them whether it is a kick around in the back garden to keep active. Modern times there is too much fatty foods and technology that seem to make people think they can sit and do nothing and that is not the right message to be sent out.
Now when it comes to using weights any child from about the age of 11 onwards can safely use them. This is during the main age of puberty so is a great time to promote a healthy body when they are already going through so many changes. Firstly I must stress that it is of importance that if you would like your child to partake in this then you should go to your local gym/leisure centre as they all do what is called junior gym so the children are supervised by a trainer specialised in children’s exercise. I do not promote it at home as certain weight exercises should be avoided before reaching mid to late teens. When it comes to metabolism the younger you are the faster it is and as you get older it slows, so if you can promote exercise at an earlier age the metabolism will stay faster the older they get which in turn should mean slimmer and healthier with age. On average a childs metabolism is 30-40% faster than an adults.
Benefits of Children weight training
- Increases flexibility as during a time with muscle and tendon growth
- Improves body composition
- Decreases blood pressure
- Increases muscle and bone growth
- Increase cardio respiratory function
Guidelines to using weights
Ok so it is not as simple as just lift weights and they will be healthier there are guidelines as to what they should and shouldnt do to promote their health in a safe way. I would suggest that in a gym environment children of 11+ should always start with weight machines and not free-weights as this will allow then to perform a safe technique and not put too much loading onto the joints.
- Aim for them to do 1-3 sets with about 8 different exercises
- Should rest between 1 and 2 minutes per exercise
- Focus on technique first then once learned gradually increase resistance by very small amounts.
- Upper body can do 8-12 reps and lower body 15-20 as the legs can tend to take more during that age.
- Warm up and cool down with a mixture of cardio, mobility and static stretching
- start once per week and increase to 2-3 if possible.
Children have an increased sensitivity to heat so will lose more thermal energy than an adult during exercise so is important that they have a drink on them at all times and drink regularly.
So you can see that by promoting this in a safe way weights at puberty can really be beneficial for them as they get older. You are looking at lower cholesterol, an increased lung volume, healthier heart rate. One time it is advisable not to weight train is if you know your child has a high lactate production and to take caution if they suffer with asthma and diabetes. In that situation make sure they are under guidance at all times.
One point I want to finish and focus on is that one of the main worries for parents is that they feel using weights at an early age will stunt their childs growth. Under these guidelines they will actually have a healthy growth and increased flexibility. The reasons why growth may be stunted is too much pressure on the joint so that is lifting very heavy weights on a regular basis or putting too much pressure on a joint i.e. gymnastics. Most gymnasts are very short because they go through extreme ranges of motion causing so much pressure on the joint that the bones stop growing. Doing multi joint weight exercises such as a pulldown, squats for example will promote healthy growth.
I hope you enjoyed my blog and got some pointers and as usual feel free to ask any questions using the comment tab and I will answer to the best of my ability. Most of all I hope we can start to promote exercise to reduce child obesity as it is a problem getting out of control.
See you soon for a new blog
Anthony Mayatt, Personal Trainer and Sports Scientist (BSc Hons)
http://www.breathefitness.uk.com
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Gait Analysis January 29, 2011
Posted by breathefitness in Human Anatomy.Tags: anatomy, biomechanics, fitness, gait, gait analysis, gym, health, injury, jogging, lifestyle, walking, wellbeing
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Hey all
My next blog was inspired to me by one of my followers on Twitter who was telling me that they was having their gait analyzed because her ankles her causing problems so thought I would write about it and how an analysis can come in handy for you.
Gait analysis is studying human motion watching the way they walk using biomechanics and helps to determine whether incorrect gait is what maybe causing a discomfort in the body. When you walk your legs need to go through certain motions and if any of these are missed that could show a mechanical problem in the body. Below is an image showing the phases of walking from when the foot is on the ground to when it is swinging.
Ok so to explain I will take each phase in order describing the leg that is highlighted in the image. The first phase is heel strike then moves in foot flat, forward stance, heel off then toe off. In the swinging phase it goes from a bent knee to straight leg and then goes back to heel strike. Now the only time when these phases may change depends on your speed of movement. If you are walking you would go through all these phases but as you speed up into a jog or run then you should have less of these. In a full-out spring you would normally only have toe strike in the stance phase and all the swing phases.
Ok so that’s gait explained so into analysis. Now the reasons why you may need this analyzed is because you may notice that you have ankle, knee, hip problems and they could be due to the footwear you have. Lots of so-called ‘running’ shoes are badly designed and give the wrong padding and support causing the body to go out of sync resulting in repetitive injury and messes up your gait. Some sports shops actually do the analysis so that they can choose the correct footwear for you. It is done by putting you on a treadmill with a video camera watching your feet from behind. They can then determine your stance and swing phases and also notice other differences such as if your feet are turned outwards, inwards etc.
So if you feel like the trainers you wear cause pain and discomfort it means they are not suited to your gait and may be worth while getting it analysed. Will save you money in the long-term getting correct trainers and will be better for you health wise.
Hope you liked the blog and see you again soon for another.
Anthony Mayatt, Personal Trainer and Sports Scientist (BSc Hons)
Stability Ball Basic Core Exercises January 11, 2011
Posted by breathefitness in exercise, Fitness equipment.Tags: back raises, ball pass, body shape, core stability, crunches, endurance, energy, exercise, exercise ball, fat burning, fitness, fitness ball, gym, health, lifestyle, muscles, side crunches, stability ball, strength, swiss ball, weight loss, wellbeing, workout
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Hello all
I have spent a lot of time over the Christmas period sorting out a YouTube account and creating lots of videos demonstrating various exercises. The first blog of this new year is to show you a selection of basic core exercises that can be performed using the stability ball.
Ball Pass
You would generally think that you would need to sit on the ball to work your core but this one can be done on the ground. Hold the ball in your hands with legs stretched out then crunch passing the ball in between your legs, stretch out then repeat passing the ball back into your hands once again.
Side Crunches
This exercise aims to work the obliques muscles. Lay sideways on the ball with a wide leg stance to keep you balanced. Bend over the ball as much as you can then crunch using the other arm to reach as far as possible. Remember to do the same number of reps on both sides.
Crunches
This is simply a crunch but performed while sitting on the ball. Lay back and push your hips forwards and keep that position locked whilst doing the crunches. Keep your head faciling upwards and perform slowly and controlled and this will work the abdomen well.
Back Raises
This exercise strengthens the muscles in the lower back. It is a very deprived area but vital in achieving pure core strength and good posture. Lay frontwards on the ball and curl over it as much as possible. From there raise your back to the point you feel a crunch in the lower back, pause then return to the start.
Hope these exercises gave you some help with what to do with the ball and will do many more blogs in future showing various exercises. If you like my vids then feel free to subscribe to them here otherwise I will see you soon for a new blog.
Anthony
http://www.breathefitness.uk.com
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How to stand on a stability ball! November 30, 2010
Posted by breathefitness in exercise.Tags: challenge, core stability, core strength, endurance, energy, exercise, exercise ball, fitness, fitness ball, fitness training, gym, gym ball, health, injury, lifestyle, muscles, personal training, squats, stability ball, strength, swiss ball, wellbeing, workout
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Hello all and welcome to my next blog which is a bit different from the norm. I have had a lot of people ask me recently how to stand on a swiss ball because it is one of those ultimate things to do when your core is strong and people have watched me do it in the gym so thought I would write a blog about it. Below I have uploaded a video of me doing it with standing squats to give you an idea of the movement in getting onto it.
When you should attempt to do it?
Firstly before attempting this you really need to have some strength in your core first otherwise you are prone to fall and cause injury. To do this only took me a couple of hours so once you have the strength it isn’t difficult to do. This blog isn’t about how to get a strong core so I suggest reading one of my previous posts about how to do that. Firstly you should be able to kneel on the ball and balance once you can do that then it is time to try to stand up.
Standing up
Ok so firstly and you’ll be able to see from my vid you should kneel forward onto the ball and put both knees on. Once you have done that it is all about confidence from here. Just try putting 1 foot on the ball then balancing again. Once this is complete now comes the hardest part. This requires more confidence than actual strength as the fear factor comes in about falling. Put both feet on the ball and keep your hands there to roll the ball around to keep you central and to get used to that position. You may need to attempt these parts quite a few times just to get used to the movement before the actual standing part. Once this has been done it is all about just standing up. Make sure you go up slowly and controlled otherwise going too fast will roll the ball and you’ll be on the floor very quickly. This will take the most time to master as the adductors tend to shake a lot at first due to feet positioning not being on a flat surface. After a while the movement will get easier and you will be able to stand up straight. For now forget practicing any other movements on the ball just get used to standing.
Getting off
Ok so you may be happy at getting up and suddenly realise you have to get off it again. This part is actually quite easy as you will be able to see from my video. You quite simply just quickly move one foot off the ball straight to the floor and the other leg will then just rest on the actual ball.
Other things to consider
Ok so some pointers before trying this: firstly make sure the ball is pumped up properly if it is too soft then balance will be tougher and make sure the pump slot is in place as you don’t want that coming out while attempting this. Secondly the floor surface, I am sure you already know that when trying this you should do it on a soft surface so if you fall then it won’t cause any problems. If you do fall then imagine like you are doing a handstand when you fall you go into a forward roll so do that as you fall.
I hope this blog was helpful and would love to see your videos when you manage to finally do it. Keep me informed with how you are getting on or whether you need more tips.
I have started a YouTube channel where I will be uploading many videos of how to do hundreds of exercises so will keep adding to it each week and feel free to subscribe to that here – breathefit
See you all for a new blog soon
Anthony Mayatt – Personal Trainer, Sports Scientist (BSc Hons)
Stabilizer Pressure Bio-Feedback November 22, 2010
Posted by breathefitness in Fitness equipment.Tags: anatomy, body shape, brain, core muscles, core stability, fitness, fitness training, health, injury, lifestyle, muscles, personal training, pressure bio-feedback, stabilizer, strength, stress, weight loss, wellbeing, workout
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The stabilizer was designed by physical therapists to detect spinal movements during exercise. It is very similar to a blood pressure monitor where the pressure is measured in the blue air-filled bag that is attached to a gauge and pump.
Core stability is about re-teaching the transverse abdominis and lumbar multifidus muscles to contract together to provide support to the lumbar spine. In lamens terms this means that you are trying to evenly contract the core muscles to pull everything in keeping the body stable. Too many people nowadays cannot do this resulting in lower back pain and arching of the lower spinal region. By using this to help re train the core muscles it could help in the long run to lose weight, strengthen the muscles, reduce muscular pain and enhance posture. The muscles are meant to act like a corset around the waist pulling everything in evenly so having a strong core should give that feeling all day and the stabilizer helps to achieve this.
How Does it Work?
The image below shows the basic set up of the stabilizer and 1 of the exercises that can be performed using it. Exercises can be done standing or laying (mainly laying). Firstly you would lay down flat then put the bag under the lower back (bag must be empty). Once this is done you would pump it up to roughly 40mm Hg which is what is regarded as neutral pressure. From here while holding onto the pressure gauge you would do very slow controlled movements trying to keep the gauge at 40 throughout movement. There will always be some added pressure to the gauge but by trying to keep the muscles controlled they will be re-trained to stabilize together.
I think this is an amazing piece of equipment but would advise only to be used by health professionals. I use it will nearly all my clients and they all feel the benefit of using it. Their postures are stronger and muscles are tightening up. All in all well worth the training and research on it.
Hope you enjoyed my blog and feel free to message me regarding anymore info.
Anthony Mayatt, certified Sports Scientist (BSc Hons) and personal trainer
http://www.breathefitness.uk.com
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Echinacea – All you need to know November 8, 2010
Posted by breathefitness in Nutrition.Tags: cold, diet, echinacea, energy, flu, food, health, herb, infection, lifestyle, strength, stress, supplement, wellbeing, workout
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Hello all and welcome to my next blog all about the supplement echinacea. It is a plant native to the USA and is used as an immune system booster to fight off infections such as colds, flu etc.
Echinacea is a natural antibiotic and fights infection by killing bacteria, viruses and fungi. It does this by stimulating immune system cells keeping the infection at bay or if already infected help to fight it off shortening the current cold or flu. Echinacea has also been known to help fight other problems such as thrush, and infections of the urinary tract or middle ear. It can also help against herpes infections, bronchitis, sinus infections and is being studied to see if it helps AIDS. It can also be applied to the skin to heal wounds such as boils, abscesses, eczema, burns, mouth ulcers and cold sores.
Echinacea is normally taken 5 times a day due to the fact each dosage is normally very short lived so needs to be taken regularly. It has never been reported to have any side effects but are warned to seek advice of a doctor if pregnant or breastfeeding. As it is also a plant anyone alergic to daisies could potentially be alergic to this herb too.
Hope you liked the blog and see you all for a new one soon
Anthony Mayatt, Personal Trainer and Sports Scientist (BSc Hons)
http://www.breathefitness.uk.com
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Swiss Ball November 2, 2010
Posted by breathefitness in Fitness equipment.Tags: ball, body shape, diet, endurance, energy, exercise, exercise ball, fat, fat burning, fitness, fitness ball, fitness equipment, fitness training, gym, health, lifestyle, metabolism, muscles, personal training, push ups, strength, swiss ball, weight loss, wellbeing, workout
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This article to give you as much information as possible regarding swiss ball (exercise balls). In the health and fitness world these are still regarded as new so a lot of controversy still stands and more research still needs to be done. I have studied and researched these and from a personal point of view a superb piece of equipment especially for people unable to afford to join a gym and want to exercise at home.
This article will take you through a selection of exercises and ways it can be used for different goals. To talk you through every exercise it does would mean me writing a book so will take you through the main tips for them.
Which to buy?
When buying one of these they come in various sizes so that they fit your height. They range from 45 up to 75cm with the smallest ball for shorter people and vice versa. If you go into a local shop to buy one the average size is a 65cm ball. They range from £10 up to £50 due to the quality of the material of the ball. If you are a beginner then buy the cheapest but an advanced person may want to spend a bit more as there’s so much more advanced exercises to do on them.
Many people think that the ball is only used for the abdominal muscles, which is far from the mark. Yes the idea of the ball is when you sit on it and are unbalanced the core muscles activate but by doing this helps improve the other muscles around the body. No matter what exercise the body is taken off balance so to balance the body stabilises improving posture and strength. The next section will take you through some exercises.
What exercises can be performed on it?
Ab crunch
To start off with the basics a traditional ab crunch is always the best way to start on the ball to get a feel of it. Start by sitting upright on the ball then take small steps forward to the point where your lower back is on the ball and your buttocks are in front of it. Pull in the stomach and slowly curl the abdomen to the point where the lower back is soon to leave the ball pause then lower back to the start.
Plank
This exercise activates the deep muscles. Kneel on the floor with arms resting on the ball then roll the ball forwards so that your body is in a straight line and only arms are resting on the ball and toes into the ground. Hold this position to the point where you cannot maintain a straight line anymore rest for a minute then redo. (see image provided)
Press ups
To get more of an upper body workout press ups are a great way to improve strength rather than just doing then on the floor. Start in the same position as the plank by kneeling on the floor but this time put your hands wide on the ball. This is more of an advanced exercise so will take some practice. Raise your body so that your in a normal press up position with your hands on the ball, get your balance then very slowly lower your body pause then raise again. Don’t do these like traditional push ups, these are slowly slowly and controlled and you will really feel stronger after each time of doing them.
Wall Squats
To work the legs wall squats are probably the best exercise. Find a wall and put the ball against it slightly lower than shoulder height then lean against it facing away from the ball. Now take one step forward so that your body is at an angle and stand with feet shoulder width apart. Once in position slowly lower your body till your legs are at a 90 degree angle pause then raise back to the start. As this exercise gets easier you can hold weights or anything you can find to add more resistance to the exercise.
Resistance exercises
Any weight exercise can be performed on the ball such as a dumbbell press, bicep curls etc. I find using the ball is much better than a bench for weights as your body has to stabilise so more pressure is put on the muscles your working. It would be worthwhile to have someone on hand to help when doing resistance exercises though incase you start to struggle so start off with light weights before progressing.
The ball can be used for stretching as it rolls so the ball has many many uses. One extremely important thing to remember is breathing technique on the ball. Always breathe out at the first part of a movement then breathe in on the way back.
I hope these tips helped and that you all know what to do with a swiss ball now. Need anymore info then feel free to contact me.
Article by Anthony Mayatt certified personal trainer and Sport scientist (Bsc Hons) www.breathefitness.uk.com
