Women's Fitness October 2015

Whether it’s a topless David Beckham gracing billboards in his underwear, an exuberant Usain Bolt entertaining the crowds at athletics meets or a suave Lewis Hamilton being papped on the red carpet, male sports stars have long been idolised by men and women alike. Sadly, our many talented sportswomen have never enjoyed the same spotlight or inspired such adoration. Often labelled ‘butch’ or ‘dull’, their lack of media presence has seen girls look instead to pop stars and B-listers for their ‘icons’. Until now. Thanks to a huge summer of female sporting achievements – think Jessica Ennis-Hill triumphing at the athletics World Championships, Serena’s sixth Wimbledon win, the Lionesses’ best performance by a senior England football team since the 1966 World Cup, plus an explosion in fitness and sports fashion…

STAR LETTER BABY STEPS Thank you for your Fitness Expert piece on losing baby weight (August issue). I’ve recently had my first baby and put pressure on myself to lose the weight very quickly. After reading this article, and learning that it takes an average of a year and seven months to get back to pre-pregnancy weight, I’ve reduced the excessive cardio I was doing and instead I’m trying to walk 10,000 steps a day with my baby in a pram (using a pedometer smart phone app). By spending the previous ‘cardio time’ preparing healthy meals with real foods, my (breastfed) baby and I are nourished and I feel healthier in both body and mind than ever! Thanks for encouraging me to do this the healthy way. Morag Murray, Inverness…

1 GET SNOWSPORT SAVVY Snowboard and ski fans, get your kicks at Freeze Big Air, the biggest ever snow and music event to be held in the UK, brought to you by the brains behind the Cornish surfing festival, Boardmasters. On top of snowboard competitions, the event, held in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on November 14, will feature the best in Alpine food, live music and a huge après-ski party. Tickets start from £37.50. Visit freezebigair.com for more information. 2 CARRY ON CAMPING With big bonfires and nature’s golden hues, the autumn months are lovely for camping, and we’ve found the campsite accessory to keep you warm and toasty. The Rumpl blanket (£100; bearandbear.com ) is durable, lightweight and made from the same materials found in…

Trick yourself into exercising harder during a HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout by choosing short intervals over longer efforts. That’s the advice from a new study in Medicine & Science In Sports & Exercise, which shows exercisers perceive workouts with 30-60 second intervals to be easier than those with longer 120-second periods. Even though the time spent exercising, and activity intensity, was the same for all workouts, participants reported a lower rate of perceived exertion (RPE, or how hard exercisers think they’re working) after doing more intervals for shorter time periods. Nifty.…

TAKE YOUR CUE! If you find it tough to stick to an exercise regime, science has confirmed the answer may lie in making it part of your routine. According to a new Iowa State University study, the secret lies in establishing a workout ‘cue’, such as always hitting the gym after work (the end of the working day is the cue) or setting the alarm to go off an hour early for a morning bike ride (the alarm is the cue). And you don’t have to stick to doing the same class for this to work. As long as you link it to your regular exercise cue, hitting that new dance class or swimming instead of cycling won’t scupper your routine. Habits really are hard to break. CELEBRITY QUOTE ‘Working…

WALKING FOOTBALL FOR: NEW EXERCISERS A newfangled sport that’s grown from one team to over 20 in the past year. And it’s no surprise, given Southampton Solent University reports it kick-starts fitness and reduces body fat in 12 weeks. RACE WALKING FOR: FAT LOSS If you walk at 5mph, this activity, during which you must be in contact with the ground at all times, blasts 220 calories in 30 minutes, the Journal of Sports Medicine & Physical Fitness reports. NORDIC WALKING FOR: BODY TONE Walking with poles works the upper and lower body muscles. Data shows that Nordic walkers lose around 11 pounds and see a 29 per cent increase in aerobic fitness after four months of training.…