Women's Fitness June 2017

As we go to press, London is basking in an unexpected heatwave – a tantalising taste of the summer months to come. Want to enjoy the season to the full? Your ticket has arrived! Whether you want to be fit for outdoor adventures or feel body confident to hit the beach, in this month’s issue you’ll find all the expert solutions you need for a happy, healthy summer. Supercharge your fitness in just four weeks with our two-part workout plan, ‘Build an outdoor body’ (page 94). The fresh-air sessions are proven to get you fit faster while boosting your self esteem and sculpting you from top to toe. Boost your glow by ditching your bikini diet for the nutrition-boosting tips in ‘Turn everyday foods into superfoods’ (page 56). Then prepare…

STAR LETTER FAMILY PLANNING ‘I’m 37 and trying to conceive so I was very pleased to come across your feature ‘Reduce your Fertility Age (May issue). I’ve been worrying that I’d left it too late but your advice has made me realise that living a healthy lifestyle will help and is of the utmost importance when it comes to prolonging my fertility and improving my egg health. Getting food wise, relaxing, beating bad habits, choosing the right dietary add-ons and genning up on supplements is key to egg health and overall fertility. There may be no sure-fire way of knowing how long I have left on my fertility clock, but I feel more confident that I can spin it out and start a family. Thank you for the good advice.…

1 DIVE IN! If you’re an open-water swimming fan, or are tempted to take the plunge, why not sign up for Swim Serpentine, taking place on September 16, 2017? New for this year, there’s a half-mile distance, which is perfect for first timers. For more seasoned open-water swimmers, there are one-mile and two-mile options, plus a ‘Super six’ category, where you can enter five races and swim a total of six miles! Entry costs from £25; swimserpentine.co.uk. 2 PERFECT YOUR GAME Love a game of tennis in the summer? Brush up your technique and stretch your muscles with some yoga on the Annabel Croft Tennis Holidays Wellbeing Tennis Escape. Enjoy eight hours of coaching, additional complimentary court hire, three yoga sessions and resort spa and gym entry, plus a…

‘I healed myself from an underactive thyroid’ ‘I wake up at 5.30am, meditate in bed for 30 minutes to set my focus for the day, then do stretches and handstands to get my blood flowing. After a swim and sauna in the gym of my building, I head home to get ready for work, and eat porridge and seeds to balance my nervous system. I then focus on things that need a lot of thought, such as writing an important email to an investor, before going to my office for 9am. I fit lots of calming activities into my morning routine because once I start work – a typical day includes five to seven meetings with corporate partners, investors and journalists – there’s little time for me. The goal of…

How much do you love your active wear? According to research by beabetteryou.com, 65 per cent of Brits now wear their fitness kit when not working out. In the survey of over 1,000 people, 72 per cent said they wear gym kit to go shopping, 50 per cent wear it to go for food and a dedicated seven per cent even wear it out on a date. The capital of athleisure fashion is Liverpool where 71 per cent wear their workout clothes for daily life, closely followed by Birmingham where 69 per cent do the same. Sounds like a good excuse to splurge on some new summer kit!…

GO THE DISTANCE Inspired by the London Marathon? You may want to run 26.2 miles sooner rather than later. According to recent data from Georgia State University in the US, marathoners reach their running prime aged 25 to 34. It/s particularly bad news for speedy runners, who lose a huge two and a half minutes from their marathon best every year from the age of 35. Slower runners fare slightly better, losing two minutes and 45 seconds annually from age 50. Whatever the pace, you/ll still reap health rewards from running, such as improved cardiovascular health, but new PBs may prove elusive… 224 MILLION MILES is how far we carry our gym bags every week – and sometimes don’t even make it to the gym!* FOOTIE FITNESS If you…