Women's Fitness September 2016

Do you eat like a saint all week, only for your healthy intentions to vanish once Friday night arrives? According to the latest research, 83 per cent of us admit to overindulging at weekends, with one in 10 women eating an average 3,000 calories each day on Saturdays and Sundays. That’s over half a pound of weight gain that needs to be lost again! If, like us, you love indulging, turn to ‘Beat weekend weight gain’ (page 50) to discover how to have your cake and eat it too – without the need to yo-yo diet. In more good news, eating cake is key to a hot new Scandinavian wellness concept called Hygge (pronounced hue-gah) that’s about to sweep the UK. In ‘The good life‘ (page 60), discover how adding…

STAR LETTER SQUEEZING IN WORKOUTS Reading ‘Time To Run’ (August issue) was a real wake-up call for me. Sometimes I’ve struggled with the stresses of day-to-day life, whether they’ve been caused by work, family life or simply life events. But I can make all the excuses I like. I can find time to keep fit. When I was younger, I used to be a member of a running club and I really loved it. So after reading H&F, I’ve taken note of your tips on how to squeeze a workout into my schedule and I’m determined to keep it up. And even just the short runs I’ve completed so far are de-stressing me as well as helping me get fitter. It’s a double whammy! Shulah Clarkson, Great Yarmouth OLYMPIC INSPIRATION…

1 SWEAT IT OUT Whether it’s climate change, habitat loss or illegal trade, the plight of endangered wildlife is enough to make you break out in a sweat. But if you join the Zoological Society of London’s 10K Stampede on September 18 you can make your sweat count! London Zoo is hosting the run, where you can prance, prowl or run through the zoo before heading into Regent’s Park. All money raised will help care for and conserve some of the most endangered species in the world. Entry from £30; zsl.org/stampede. 2 FIND YOUR TRIBE Confused about the best way to build your fitness regime? New studio Centric: 3Tribes in London’s Crouch End does the work for you. Three rooms offer a different experience for a different tribe, with classes…

‘I may get a trend wrong, but when it’s right it’s rewarding’ ‘Instinct told me that by teaching exercise, I could positively impact people’s lives’ ‘I get up at 5.45am, meditate for 10 minutes with a “let go” or “thankfulness” mantra; shower and dress, then grab my breakfast of oat mix and almond milk topped with blueberries and nuts before heading out the door. My day can start and end at any one of our 62 UK gyms – I could be travelling to Manchester to mentor an instructor one day and, the next, I’ll be planning class timetables for the year ahead or going through attendance data at my base in the Barbican venue, before visiting the Mayfair club to join in with a class and get feedback from…

When was the last time you played tag? Well, maybe you should revisit it. It seems playground games such as hula-hooping, hopscotch and skipping burn more calories than jogging, and work more muscles, too. Experts at Fitness First found that a 45-minute session of skipping, star jumps and tag burns around 465 calories. The same time spent jogging burned a third less – just 300 calories. ‘Kids move in bursts, changing direction rapidly, doing bodyweight exercises and using muscle groups in different ways – they’re basically doing interval training,’ says Fitness First manager Andy McTaggart. Give us the fun workout any day!…

BEGINNER BENEFITS Good news for fitness newbies. The benefits of being active are far greater for those who are naturally unfit, shows new research from The University of Glasgow. In a study of almost 500,000 people, scientists found those with a low level of fitness and strength saw their risk of heart disease and early death fall when they got active. Those lucky people with naturally high fitness levels (defined by the body's ability to deliver oxygen to the muscles) or strength were at low risk of premature mortality and heart disease whether they were active or not, probably due to genetic factors. 42% OF BRITS RUN. IT’S NOW THE UK’S THIRD MOST POPULAR HOBBY AFTER READING AND COOKING.* PROMOTION GET FIT WITH KETTLEBELLS Kettlercise Lean in 14 (£24.99; kettlebellseminars.co.uk)…