Women's Fitness July 2015

Want to shape up for summer? At H&F, we believe it’s not just about looking good in a bikini, but feeling your best too. Whether you want to feel confident on the beach, book an adventure holiday or play summer sports, being your fittest will ensure you enjoy summer to the max. So this month, we’ve turned to our favourite sportswomen for shape-up inspiration. In ‘My beach-body secrets’ (page 50) Olympic windsurfer, Bryony Shaw (plus other celebs whose jobs mean they’re always beach-ready) reveals how she gets in peak physique. If you want the body of an athlete, you need to eat like one too. So dump that crash diet and fuel up like a pro, by reading ‘Eat like an athlete’ (page 64) where sportswomen, including 400m runner Christine…

STAR LETTER DETOXING SAFELY I love your magazine and have been a subscriber for many years. As a dietician, I particularly felt the need to mention ‘Is your detox making you ill?’ (June issue). Detoxing has become a very frustrating area with patients and the general population wishing to follow certain fads – it’s great to hear accurate information being explained appropriately! Samantha Mulholland, via email A SUNNY OUTLOOK ‘21st century protection’ (June issue) was great and, as you pointed out, with the latest technology, protecting yourself is getting easier. I’m going to make sure that the sunscreen I use in the future has UVA and UVB protection – it’s much easier to fake tan than erase wrinkles and sunspots. All the expensive anti-ageing creams in the world aren’t going…

‘The killer exercises are the best ones’ @lil_lady_kc ‘Any Jillian Michaels one. Yes, they deliver, but boy do I dread them’ @iamkimmi12 ‘Running – cardio is my worst fear #dread’ @TabithaHolland ‘Burpees! I end up completely disorientated – I don’t think my brain can keep up with my body.’ Catherine Hill ‘I dread exercising outside in bad weather, but once you’re out there, it’s never as bad as you think it’ll be!’ Becca McClelland…

1 BE SEEN AND HEARD If you’re under the weather, getting seen by a doctor isn’t always easy, but there could be a solution. With the Babylon app you can book a video consultation with an NHS-approved GP or specialist on a smartphone or tablet. Available from 8am-8pm, six days a week, consultations can occur within minutes and prescriptions can be sent to a local pharmacy. Available from the App Store and Google Play, the first month is free, then it costs £4.99 per month, or £29.99 per consultation for non-subscribers. 2 ATTEND AN ALTERNATIVE FESTIVAL If Glastonbury isn’t your thing, how about a different vibe? Set in the beautiful Stanford Hall Estate, Nottinghamshire, Yoga Connects 2015 (July 3-5; yogaconnects.co.uk ) is dedicated to the joy of…

Work up a good glow to prolong your life. That’s the take-home message from a recent Australian study of middle-aged and older adults. Despite current exercise guidelines advocating 2.5 weekly hours of moderate-intensity exercise, researchers found that vigorous activity (think jogging, aerobics and competitive tennis) trumps moderate activity (such as social tennis or gentle swimming) when it comes to longevity, so much so that the death rate for those who do vigorous exercise more than 30 per cent of the time is 13 per cent lower than their less sweaty friends.…

HIT THE BENCH! Want a natural lift? Try the bench press. It’s arguably one of the most popular gym exercises, and a sure-fire way to tone your chest. But according to data published in the European Journal of Sport Science, the angle of your bench counts. Researchers studied pectoral muscle activation during a barbell bench press at 0°, 30°, 45° and –15° bench angles. While a flat bench did indeed work the upper and lower portions of the chest muscle, an incline of 30° or 45° was found to be more effective. Intriguing. CELEBRITY QUOTE ‘I wouldn’t say [I work out] a lot, just consistently. People think you have to work out for two and a half hours… but, it can be little. It can be 20 minutes; it could…