Women's Fitness April 2016

Spring is on its way and it’s time to re-energise your body and mind, ready for the warmer, sunnier days ahead! First, is your workout working for you? If you’re spending hours in the gym for little reward, you need to read ‘The great fitness face off’ (page 50). From 5:2 fitness to Exercise snacking, H&F fitness ed, Sarah, has tested the latest workout methods to help you find the one that’s best for you. Want a stronger, fitter body? Then one plan that’s sure to work for you is our four-week ‘Full-body reset’ workout (page 98), guaranteed to get you in shape by this time next month! Is your diet really as healthy as you think? Whether you’re hooked on smoothies, have gone gluten-free or refuel with sports drinks,…

STAR LETTER FINDING YOURSELF I look forward to reading H&F every month and always save articles to keep in a binder so I can go back to them and read them again. Since I started my fitness journey a year ago, I’ve run two half marathons and two 10ks and lost a whopping three stone in weight. I ran the first half marathon (Bath Half 2015) eight months after having my baby and after years of IVF medication. This year, I have three half marathons, a 10k and a full marathon to look forward to. I just wanted to state that if anyone feels like they don’t recognise themselves, as I did after my IVF journey, then there is a healthy way forward to regaining yourself, and perhaps even a…

1 GET WHIZZING Have you jumped on the juicing bandwagon yet? If not, here’s a hassle-free way to get you started. Smoothie delivery company Natural Blender delivers all the ingredients you need (including superfoods such as chia and maca), in the right quantities, plus five unique smoothie recipes (10 portions) to your door, for just £24.50 per week. Just add water and ice and whizz! Visit naturalblender.com. 2 BOOST YOUR SPA BREAK Imagine you could get even more out of your spa experience. Well now you can! Champneys has launched a new range of two-to-five-day Specialist Retreats where you’ll be guided by experts on matters of fitness, detoxing and wellbeing. Cleanse your mind and body with yoga led by Chris James, learn about detoxing with Amanda Hamilton, meditate with former…

‘Keeping work and downtime separate makes me happier’ ‘Life is all about having experiences and I hope I’m creating amazing experiences for people’ ‘I get up at 7am, have a shower and eat breakfast – usually Quinoa flakes and Kia seed porridge with berries and nuts – while catching up on personal emails. For mental clarity, I don’t do anything work-related until I go into my home office at 8.30am, where I’ll meditate for 15 minutes and fill in my Daily Greatness Business Planner. After that, my day can go anywhere. If I stay at home, I’ll prep for events by emailing trainers, locations and caterers, and updating social media. If I’m out, I’ll be checking out venues, trying fitness classes and looking for instructors I can team up with.…

Want to shed pounds? Dance away the calories. New data from the University of Brighton shows that contemporary, street and swing dance burn more calories per 30 minutes than running, cycling or swimming. To discover this fact, researchers tracked the heart rate, distance covered, energy expended and psychological state of 15 dancers from City Academy. During a 30-minute class, dancers burned an average of 293 calories, compared to 264 calories for running……

YOUR PACE OR MINE? Marathon runners, listen up! Next time you take part in an endurance event, you might want to run with the female pack. That’s according to new research from Leeds Beckett University, which reveals that women runners are better at pacing 26.2 miles than men. Not only do female marathoners start at a more conservative pace than men, they’re also less likely to drop out. And running with same-ability athletes results in a more even-paced run. So don’t start too fast and slow down towards the finish; run strong. 3 OF THE BEST… POP-UP FIT PARTIES Meet like-minded exercisers at a special monthly workout event! THE WELLSCENE ( thewellscene.club ) Pop-up fitness aficionados will love The Wellscene’s mix of on-trend classes…