Women's Fitness April 2024

Recently, a certain piece of research caught my eye. It reports that just 10 minutes of moderate-intensity running can put you in a better mood, and I know that this is true because I’ve seen it and I’ve experienced it. But if I’m being honest with you, lately my relationship with running has been somewhat turbulent – it hasn’t been giving me that feel-good factor that I’ve spent years enjoying. Instead, it’s just felt like a lot of hard work. You’ve been there, too? Well, a separate study says that we tend to undervalue the importance of enjoyment when selecting an activity, and I think that is a really pertinent point when it comes to running. I don’t mean whether you enjoy the action of running or not – as…

STAR LETTER ‘I HAVE A RENEWED VIGOUR FOR EXERCISE!’ ‘I started my fitness journey in the heady months of summer, where the long days, sunny evenings and blue-sky mornings made it easy to get out for a run or to do some weight training in the garden. Soon though, the gloomy short days of winter arrived with freezing cold mornings and rain looming in the murky grey skies, and my motivation for getting outside to exercise started to dwindle. Thank goodness for WF expert, Joey Bull who, in the February issue, wrote a fantastic response to the question: “How can I find motivation to exercise in winter?”. Her words have given me a renewed vigour for exercise and inspired me to get out and get moving! I have even cut…

FIT NEWS Spring into action Hop, skip and jump into sunnier days wearing Triumph’s new collection of Triaction sports bras. Meticulously crafted using cutting-edge tech, each design prioritises comfort, support and style to empower your active lifestyle, as in this wireless, lightly padded Gravity Lite Sports Bra (£50 in sizes 32-42, A to F cups), featuring innovative cups for the ultimate in breathability, freedom of movement and extreme bounce control. Pair with co-ordinating pieces from Triumph’s SS24 range of apparel – such as the Cardio RTW Sports Leggings, £50, Smart Active Infusion Shorts, £46, and the Smart Active Infusion Hoodie, £72, seen here – for a fresh outlook this season; visit uk.triumph.com to fit your fit. DO THIS… Greater heights After a years’ hiatus, the new look Keswick Mountain Festival…

DOMENIC ANGELINO Angelino is the lead exercise scientist at Trainer Academy (traineracademy.org) and head coach at Fitness AI (fitnessai.com). He’s an expert in strength and conditioning, resistance training, exercise psychology and biomechanics. Q: ‘How can I avoid hitting the “wall” during my marathon – and what should I do if I do hit it?’ A: ‘When someone talks about hitting the wall during their marathon, they’re often referring to experiencing glycogen depletion. Glycogen is a stored form of fuel that can be broken down into glucose, and can then be further broken down to provide energy to your muscles in the form of ATP, to help you keep going. ‘The best way to avoid hitting the wall is to have a strategy for getting glucose into your body, so you…

COVER INTERVIEW I would say that as soon as I was walking, I was running. I was that girl at school who always had an activity on every day after lessons – from running and athletics to ballet – but swimming was my main sport. I was swimming at a high level, so I was swimming twice a day, every day. That was my childhood, and people say I missed out on a lot, especially between the ages of 16 to 18 because I never went out drinking with my friends at the weekend. I was just swimming all the time, but I loved it. Both my parents were in the police force and really into fitness. They’ve done marathons their whole lives and they’re always up in the mountains,…

If you want a stronger lower half, it might be tempting to do basic squats every day, but when it comes to building strength in the core, glutes and legs, it’s important to work your muscles from all angles. ‘This low impact core and lower-body workout requires minimal equipment and is designed to improve your strength and stability, with exercises to highlight and improve any imbalances,’ explains Ellie Adomaite, personal trainer and PT support manager at YOUR Personal Training (yourpersonaltraininguk.co.uk). ‘It’s perfect for strengthening the glutes and hips, along with the quads, hamstrings, abdominals, obliques and lower back.’ HOW TO DO IT Exercises should be performed slowly, focusing on control and muscle engagement. Try to squeeze the targeted muscles throughout each repetition and every exercise. As you progress, you can…