Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2022 i Women's Fitness

As we wave goodbye to 2021, a year that had so much hope heaped on it, I doubt I’m the only one who is looking back on the past two years as those that have provided plenty of turbulent times. And as I write this, there’s still a lot of uncertainty ahead, but during it all, I’ve found a great sense of comfort through exercise. Whether running, weight training, cycling or hiking, getting a sweat on always quietens the anxious chatter in my mind and leaves me feeling positively great. So this year, my goal is simply to keep moving for a healthy body and mind. If you want to have a healthy year too, read this month’s cover model, superstar PT Jillian Michaels’, secrets to success on page 16.…

Get Set, Go! For quality activewear that will see you through the toughest workouts, look no further than the new Morisot collection from Pocket Sport, which comes complete with go-faster stripes for a super-sporty feel. The long-lined Morisot Sports Bra, £48, boasts anti-sweat mark technology and offers superb support, incredible comfort and flattering coverage. The matching Morisot Leggings, £68, are totally squat-proof thanks to the trademark waistband grip and opaque fabric. Visit pocket-sport.com WEAR THIS... Feel the burn Say ‘so long’ to cold backs and builder’s bums! New British activewear brand Stretch & Burn (stretchburn.com) is on a mission to solve common fitness gear problems – such as tops that ride up and bottoms that fall down – with their super stretchy all-in-ones. Made from a highly breathable, sustainable compression…

JOEY BULL Joey is a four-times UK Fitness Champion and a PT of 30 years. She’s also an author, dance teacher, former GB adventure racer and flag flyer for the fit 50+. youtube.com/joeybull KIRSTIN FERRIE Kirstin is a Pilates Instructor and Clinical Trainer at Ten Health & Fitness. She believes movement is a medicine that can create change in physical, emotional and mental states. ten.co.uk KAT FARRANTS Kat Farrants is founder of Movement for Modern Life,›dubbed ‘the Netflix of Yoga’.›Her mission is to help you live a happier, healthier and more sustainable life. movementformodernlife.com SARAH CAMPUS Sarah Campus is a personal trainer, nutrition coach and founder of LDN MUMS FITNESS, a holistic wellness solution encouraging all women to make health their priority. ldnmumsfitness.com…

‘Athletics is a sport where you can feel very able. There are so many events you can try on the track or field that I can’t imagine anyone not finding something they’re good at. ‘When you find your event, you’ll feel good about yourself and your confidence will grow. You’ll also look forward to training, instead of dreading it. Athletics works every part of your body, so it’s great for overall fitness. ‘You don’t have to take part in competitions to enjoy athletics. There are many groups and clubs that simply gather for the love of sports. But I think you’ll want to compete, at some point, when you find what you’re good at.’…

Gyms reopened, races restarted and group exercise numbers rebooted – keeping fit returned to some semblance of normality in the middle of 2021. But while we can hit the weights room and exercise with friends again, the global pandemic will still play a role in how we approach fitness this year. The move towards maintaining mental wellbeing as well as physical health through exercise is here to stay. And while we’re not solely exercising at home any more, Covid-19 has sped us towards a mixed schedule of at-home and in-person workouts. So with 2021 behind us, let’s carve out an approach to keeping fit that will work on an individual level – whether that means upgrading your recovery, taking a more cathartic approach to exercise or even investing in digital…

If 2022 has arrived and you’re ready to turn up the burn, we’re here to help. Every January, gym membership sign-ups spike, but data shows that by February 48 per cent of us have given up on our new year goals. What we need is a training method that will whet our workout appetite and keep us interested beyond the first few months. Enter hybrid training. Hybrid workouts are the sweet spot between strength training and endurance work. The sessions might appeal as much to distance runners as they do to heavy lifters. Why? Because they have a little bit of everything. Hybrid training combines more than one training method (think, heavy lifting and HIIT, or isolation exercises and cardio) to continuously challenge your body. The net result is your…

Mushrooms have long been treasured for their health benefits, with previous studies reporting on their antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular-protective qualities. Now new research from Penn State College of Medicine in the US shows that the nutritional powerhouses may boost mental health, too. After assessing the diet and mental health data from over 24,000 adults between 2005 and 2016, the researchers discovered that those who ate mushrooms had a lower risk of depression than those who didn’t. They chalk this up to the antioxidant ergothioneine, found in mushrooms and which may protect against cell and tissue damage. ‘Mushrooms are the highest dietary source of the amino acid ergothioneine… Having high levels of this may lower the risk of oxidative stress, which could also reduce the symptoms of depression,’ explain the researchers.…

Cocos Organic Strawberry Yoghurt Made with dairy-free coconut milk and gut-friendly cultures, this yoghurt is a great source of protein, and works perfectly as a satisfying snack. £4.99; cocos-organic.com Bodyhero Protein Shake This ready-to-drink shake contains 20g of protein from yellow split peas and all nine essential amino acids. Throw it into your gym bag to fuel up post workout. £2.70; bodyhero.com Free Soul Dual-Use Vegan Blend Vanilla Powder This combo of plant protein from pea, soya and rice comes with added B vitamins, calcium and magnesium for the perfect workout package. £24.99; hollandandbarrett.com The Protein Ball Co. Lemon & Pistachio With 7g protein, these zingy balls are made with cashew nut butter, roasted coconut, lemon oil and juicy dates.› £1.99, theproteinballco.com…

Most plant foods contain some protein, which means you can easily obtain the protein your body needs from many sources. These include: • Legumes: beans, lentils, peas, chickpeas and peanuts • Soya products: soya milk alternatives, soya yoghurt alternatives, edamame beans, tofu, tempeh (fermented soya beans) and soya mince • Grains: bread, pasta, rice, oats, bulgur (cracked) wheat, teff, freekeh, spelt and seitan (wheat protein) • Pseudo-grains: quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat • Mycoprotein: Vegan Quorn • Nuts: walnuts, cashews, almonds, pecans, Brazils, pistachios and nut butters • Seeds: sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, flax, hemp and chia seeds…

Huel Hot & Savoury Mexican Chilli £49.50 for 21 meals; uk.huel.com Already a huge hit in the fit food sector, Huel’s Hot & Savoury range of nutritionally complete meals are packed with rice, quinoa, vegetables and spices, for a good balance of carbs, protein and fats. Ready in five! Deli Kitchen 6 Carb Lite Wraps £1.40; Tesco If you’re looking for a grab-and-go lunch option, bypass a bagel from the coffee shop and opt for this low-carb, low-calorie wrap. With just 14.6g carbs per wrap, it’s a good source of fibre and tastes great with a filling such as salmon. Press Protein Soup £4.50; press-london.com Get your health kick without the prep by warming up one of these high-protein soups. Boasting 18g of plant-based protein per serving, they’re also high…

‘I’ve been living in pain since December 2010, when I had an 80mph ski crash that shattered my right leg. I tried nerve blockers and huge amounts of painkillers but I felt my judgement getting cloudy and, as a downhill skier going 92 miles an hour, that’s dangerous. ‘I’d heard about CBD but, as an athlete, was concerned about purity so approached Dragonfly CBD [an organic, seed-to-shelf brand]. While on location filming Ski Sunday, I committed to two hours of yoga a day plus CBD. It was amazing – I skied daily for seven weeks without swelling on my leg or pulsating pain keeping me awake. I felt incredible all day. Now I can push myself again. ‘When I wake up, I take six drops of Narrow Spectrum Dragonfly CBD…

‘I followed a plant-based diet and never looked back’ What inspired your health transformation? ‘I was always hoping I would wake up one day and not have depression – that I’d get better with the help of external things that would make me happy. I’ve had such a wonderful career and I have wonderful children and a fantastic partner but, ultimately, no job, holiday or amount of money could fix my anxiety and depression. I realised I had to put the work in myself. And that started with not drinking alcohol.’ How did you find going sober? ‘It’s been a journey, but a wonderful one. I’ve been sober for almost two years and it’s changed my life. I was never an alcoholic, but the self-sabotage and dark thoughts were getting…

Nicki Petitt Nicki is an online fitness coach and workout writer. She brings energy via Zoom Room, which will challenge your body and create a stronger mindset. Find out more @nickipetitt Eve Boggenpoel Eve is a holistic healer, yoga teacher and author. Her work is grounded in a deep appreciation of inner stillness as a pathway to transformation. @eveboggenpoel Joanna Ebsworth A qualified Level 3 PT and fitness instructor, Jo has been combining her love of exercise and writing for 15 years, and is keen to inspire others to be active. @joglows Louise Pyne Louise is a qualified nutritionist and freelance health writer. She specialises in women’s health and wellness, as well as children’s health. louisepynenutrition.com Christine Bailey Christine is a performance nutritionist, chef, author and keen runner. She runs…

As we wave goodbye to the damp squib that was 2021, many of us are feeling more than ready to embrace change, set new challenges and make 2022 the year we finally hit our fitness goals. And if there’s one woman on the planet who knows all the secrets to undergoing a successful body transformation, it’s health and wellness expert Jillian Michaels. The world-renowned personal trainer, businesswoman, author and television personality has been helping people become the best versions of themselves and lead healthier, happier lives for more than two decades. Her fitness DVDs alone have sold over 100 million copies worldwide, while her workout platform, The Fitness App By Jillian Michaels, is the top-rated diet and exercise app for women, having won a host of ‘best-of’ awards from both…

Shine bright Brighten up your runs wearing Sweaty Betty’s Power Boost Reflective Workout Zip Through, £110, Power High-Waisted Reflective Gym Leggings, £75, and Power Reflective Headband, £10; sweatybetty.com Supercharged shoes These Saucony Vizipro Endorphin Pro 2 Shoes, £190, mix ultra-bright colours with reflective details for max visibility on the road; saucony.com Light headed This sweat-wicking Saucony Solstice ViZi Headband, £20, has reflective accents and a cosy fleece lining to keep your ears warm in cold conditions; saucony.com Seeing stars The reflective stars on these Designed By Sports Starlight Leggings, £41.99, come to life in the dark so you can run with confidence knowing that oncoming traffic can see you; designedbysports.co.uk Show some ankle When the sun goes down, wear these breathable Brooks Carbonite Socks, £10, with built-in visibility on the…

Looking for an extra push to help you lift another rep or run a faster time? A bank of research already shows that music can boost performance. Indeed, one 2019 study in Psychology of Sport & Exercise reports that exercisers’ heart rates and peak power outputs are higher when listening to upbeat music than when listening to a podcast or having no audio. Lyrics, tempo and rhythm can all evoke an emotional response, which is perhaps why women report feeling more energetic, motivated and optimistic after hearing the Ultimate Motivational Playlist –a playlist of 10 songs that research commissioned by Gala Bingo shows appear often in motivational sets. The exercise-boosting effect of music is in part down to auditory processing, but music can also create a distraction that may help…

The pandemic relegated workouts to our homes. We transformed living rooms into gyms and invested in exercise kit for our garages. And, while many of us have now returned to fitness studios, there’s no doubt that lockdown has piqued our interest in home exercise. Digital fitness options have proven popular – Les Mills reveals a 900 per cent increase in sign-ups to Les Mills On Demand (LMOD; lesmills.com) since January 2021 – but gyms have also reported a rapid recovery in memberships. Turns out, we want the best of both worlds. Omnichannel fitness is a blend of in-gym and home workouts. As the Les Mills 2021 Global Fitness Report notes, most exercisers prefer a 60:40 split between gym and home workouts. ‘The digital fitness boom and growth of home working…

Here are the components of your hybrid training sessions… Strength This is a compound (multi-muscle) lift that will improve your strength. Rest for 90-120 seconds after each set of this move. CESE (calorie expenditure & strength endurance) This part focuses on high volume and high intensity over 15 to 25 minutes, with the aim of burning maximum calories. Isolations Single-muscle exercises that target any areas overlooked in the compound exercise. Rest for 60-90 seconds between sets.…

‘Each morning we are born again. It’s what we do today that matters most’ Buddha Immunity has been on everyone’s lips these past couple of years, but it’s not just vitamins C and D that can help reduce your susceptibility to infection. Yoga is a useful way to stave off illness. In a review of studies undertaken between 2005 and 2017, practising yoga daily for longer than four weeks was shown to have impressive results. It boosted the number of IgA antibodies,  the first line of defence against infection. It also increased several types of white blood cells and helped reduce inflammation. Infection isn’t just a result of exposure to pathogens, however. We’ve all known someone who picks up every bug around when they’re working too hard. Research confirms the…

Team GB weightlifter Jenny Tong uses it to recover from gruelling training sessions, US soccer star Megan Rapinoe swears by it to improve her sleep, and triathlete Rachel Rutherford takes it to calm anxiety. What’s their secret remedy? These sportswomen are among a growing band of athletes turning to CBD oil (cannabidiol) to aid recovery and perform at their best. ‘Since using CBD, my sleep has improved drastically and had a huge impact on my recovery, meaning I’ve been able to increase my training capacity,’ says Tong, who uses Puresport drops at night and muscle balm post exercise. Other athletes say CBD helps ease pain, calm nerves and improve focus. So how does this plant remedy work and could it help boost your workouts? HERBAL HERO CBD is one of…

Trying to conceive can be an emotional affair – the initial excitement of deciding to start or increase your family, the increased intimacy of sex with a purpose and, of course, the joy of a positive test result. But sometimes things don’t go so smoothly, and those early nights, once so enjoyable, turn into a pressure to perform while you’re ovulating, only to lead to dashed hopes when your period arrives. And then, if you haven’t conceived after a year of regular sex (two-to-three times a week), the dreaded word ‘infertility’ starts to be mentioned. But with around a quarter of all infertility cases having no known cause, it’s worth looking at complementary methods such as yoga to increase your chances of falling pregnant. BE REGULAR If you’re not ovulating,…

IP stands for Ingress Protection Marking, and rates the degree of protection your earphones have against the damaging effects of dust and water (or sweat). Composed of two numbers, as in IP 57, the first number (5) refers to dust, the second (7) to water. For dust protection chose a minimum of IP5X. If you want your device to be dust proof, opt for IP6X. When it comes to water or sweat, protection ranges from IPX1, against dripping water; IPX4, against splashes; and IPX7 or 8, which, depending on the brand, can be used for swimming (to a depth of up to and over a metre, respectively).…

MEET THE ELITE Dutch Paralympic athlete Fleur Jong won two gold medals at the World Para Athletics European Championships in June 2021 by setting two new world records in both the women’s 100m T64 and women’s long jump T64 events. She went on to win gold in the women’s long jump T64 at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, setting another new world record of 6.16m. CARDIO ‘For my first 16 years, I was an able-bodied girl, but I became disabled due to a bacteria in my blood. I had a new body and a new kind of life, so I thought I’d also find a new sport. I went to a Paralympic talent day where I tried all sorts of sports including athletics. I now specialise in the 100m and the…

‘Motivation is short lived. It comes and goes and is different for everyone. You cannot rely on it to keep you going. How do I stay motivated? I don’t, but I keep going anyway. How? Here are my most successful tips. ‘A habit is a second-nature action – it is something you usually form in childhood or when you’re growing up and is based on what your parents and carers teach you and on the kind of lifestyle you lead. You need to change up the idea that fitness is an add-on activity and start to believe that it is a habit for life. Remember your mum always telling you to eat breakfast before you leave the house, or to stop biting your nails? Well, just as those things have…

Phoebe Schecter, NFL coach and captain of GB American football team, shares her experience of a plant-based diet… ‘I turned vegan five years ago when I started to dive into personal training and began to research what was going into my body. I wanted to make sure I was getting the best nutrition possible to fuel my workouts. ‘Ensuring I get enough protein is key for my fitness regime. A lot of people switch to›veganism›(which is wonderful) but don’t always appreciate what our bodies may be missing nutritionally. I used the Bio-Synergy DNA & Epigenetics Testing Kit (£219; bio-synergy.co.uk) to really help me understand –›and the app is amazing at providing essential info, too.› ‘To top up my diet I take some supplements. Vitamin D is a must (especially when…

We’ve come a long way from the meat-eating athletic stereotype of the ’90s. These days, there’s an increasing awareness of the performance, health and environmental benefits that a vegan diet has to offer, and many of us are looking to veganism to support our health and fitness goals. Indeed, data shows that the number of vegans in the UK has quadrupled to more than 600,000 during the years from 2014 to 2019. It’s become such a popular choice that leading authority on fitness nutrition, Anita Bean, has compiled a brand-new collection of vegan recipes and know-how: The Vegan Athlete’s Cookbook. ‘Writing a solely vegan book for athletes has been a dream of mine since I wrote The Vegetarian Athlete’s Cookbook (Bloomsbury Sport, £14.99),’ reveals Bean. ‘This book provides evidence-based advice…

Want to try CBD? Look for the following information to ensure a good-quality product and correct dose, says natural health expert and chemist for Dragonfly CBD, Dr Timothy Bond. • Quantity of CBD in milligrams per bottle [eg 500mg/1,000mg]. This tells you the product’s strength. • Quantity of CBD in milligrams per drop. This allows you to measure the right dose. • Number of drops of product allowed a day. The UK recommended limit of CBD is 70mg a day. • A ‘THC-free’ guarantee. By law, products must contain less than 0.2 per cent THC. • Evidence of third-party testing by an independent lab, to ensure THC free and pure. • A batch number, allowing you to check quality. TIP: ‘Start with a lower dose,’ says Dr Bond. ’Perhaps try…

When you think about trimming and toning your legs, you probably imagine a loaded barbell at the squat rack. That’s great, but what if we told you that you can get just as effective a lower body workout without using the weights, machines or even a gym? This bodyweight leg circuit is super effective at building strength and shape because it incorporates unilateral (single-leg) moves that not only work the entire lower body, but also engage your core muscles as they have to work extra hard to help keep your body balanced. It will also train your muscles in more than one direction and work multiple muscles at once, which saves time and burns more calories to boot! To do the workout, simply perform each exercise for 40 seconds, taking…