Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2024 i Women's Fitness

As we scramble off the beach and turn to face a short steep hill up to the café I hear our instructor’s voice from the back of the pack: ‘Hang on to that lottery ticket! Squeeze those lemons!’ We’d been romping along a coastal path, enjoying the Italian sunshine but this incline presents our first real challenge. We are not just walking, we are Nordic walking, which means using poles. The old me would be leaning forward, groaning, sweating and probably cursing, and taking short steps on the balls of my feet – calves screaming. But the Nordic walking me is taking big ‘heel-then-toe’ strides, squeezing an imaginary lemon under my big toe to activate the power of my glutes, and gripping tightly to a fictitious lottery ticket I have…

1. DO AN ASSESSMENT Whether your chosen outdoor venue is a park, the roads or your garden, start creating your workout by assessing the area. What outdoor tools do you have at your disposal? Perhaps there are hills, paths or circular loops for running intervals. Maybe there are benches or low walls for step-ups, dips and incline/decline push-ups. A high wall is great for squat holds and wall walks. If you’re really lucky, you might have access to monkey bars, swings or pull-up bars. Hey, who said that playgrounds are just for kids? 2. CREATE A GOAL What do you want to get out of your outdoor workouts? Decide on a primary goal – it might be to lose weight, boost endurance or gain strength. If your aim is weight…

BEAUTY BAG Inkey List Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm (£11, uk.theinkeylist.com) Plump your lips while you pump: these new tinted balms work hard to visibly increase lip volume, without giving any nasty tingle on application, thanks to six per cent tripeptide complex, plus six per cent Ultra Filling Spheres, which deliver hyaluronic acid to boost moisture and fill fine lines on the lips. The proof is in the plump! IT Cosmetics Glow with Confidence Sun Blush (£32, cultbeauty.co.uk) A 24-hour hydrating bronzer and blush hybrid? Do tell us more. Work out with confidence and add a soft healthy glow to your skin with five summer-loving sun-kissed shades, suitable for every skin tone. Formulated with hyaluronic acid, skin-plumping peptides and antioxidant-rich vitamin E, these multi-taskers nourish your skin while adding dimension and a…

‘I always thought the day I fell pregnant would be the day I turned the page and started a new chapter,’ reveals Australian weightlifter, CrossFit Games athlete and mum-of-one Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, 30. But, in a surprise turn of events that has stunned the CrossFit world – and her, too – the six-time Fittest Woman On Earth is currently in training to compete in the final of the 2024 CrossFit Games this August, following the birth of her first child – daughter Willow – in May 2023. ‘As it turns out, I didn’t even realise I was pregnant during the early part of my first trimester,’ says Toomey-Orr. ‘I was traditionally taking some time off after the CrossFit Games in 2022 to let my mind and body relax, and I figured…

TRAINER TIPS Every year, a wave of new exercise trends floods the fitness landscape, each promising the ultimate solution for weight loss and building muscle. But, amid the flashy trends and quick fixes, personal trainers have relied on the same principles to get people into shape for years: effective cardio mixed with regular strength training, increased activity and, of course, a healthy diet. If you’re looking to get more from your workouts, leading personal trainer Will Duru explains how to pare down your fitness to what works – minus the fads. 1. ACCEPT THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS In the ever-evolving world of fitness, you get fads and you get enduring principles. As a personal trainer, people come to me every year wanting to lose weight and build muscle, and, for that,…

TYRE FLIP Reps: 20 Face the tyre with feet wider than hip-width. Shift hips back and squat as far as you can, keeping chest lifted and extending your arms between your feet. Slide your hands under the tyre, then push through heels to rise up out of the squat, flipping the tyre up and over as you do so. Shuffle forward, drop down, repeat. Try to do it fast. POWER SQUAT Reps: 20 Start with feet hip-width apart inside the tyre and drop into a squat, keeping the weight through your heels and chest lifted. Push down through your heels to explode up into the air. While jumping, widen your stance and land your feet on opposite sides of the tyre rim, with soft knees. Step back down into the…

Running COOL RUNNINGS (£63, asics.com) From tanks and tees to shorts and shoes, the new range of summer running kit from Asics has everything to keep you feeling cool and dry when the temperature rises, including these light, flexible and breathable Road High Waist Tights. SUUNTO Sonic Bone Conduction Headphones (£129, suunto.com) Sweatproof and water-resistant, these open-ear headphones let you listen to your favourite music while allowing you to be aware of traffic or the sounds of nature. Incredibly lightweight, a full 60-minute charge delivers 10 hours of battery life. Compressport Visor Ultralight (£22, compressport.com) Made from a ventilated and fast-drying mesh fabric that quickly wicks away sweat and moisture, this visor boasts an articulated peak that can be lowered for increased sun protection or raised to widen your field…

SUCCESS STORY ‘My journey to become a professional jockey began at the Pony Club, where I did show jumping and eventing as a child. I got my first pony, Magical Toffee, at the age of nine and took him pony racing at my local racecourse, Cheltenham, where we won. I loved the speed and the thrill of racing, and I just wanted to go fast – I caught the bug from then on. ‘I have no background in horse-racing. My parents never pushed me to become a jockey – I was just very determined, and from a young age knew it was something I wanted to do. I took myself out of school without my parents’ permission. I knew I loved racing, so I wanted to focus all my attention…

Reformer Pilates has boomed in popularity in recent years. The workout uses a reformer bed with adjustable resistance to support and intensify Pilates moves. While the machine may seem like the holy grail of Pilates equipment, in reality, the essence of each exercise lies in the principles and movements themselves. So, by modifying exercises and swapping a machine for gliding discs and resistance bands, you can benefit from some of the most effective dynamic reformer Pilates moves on your mat – and for a fraction of the cost – in the comfort of your own home. HOW TO DO THIS WORKOUT Complete this workout on a flat, hard surface, such as tiles or wooden floors. You will need an exercise mat, a resistance band and two gliding discs. Simply work…

Clean greens Vitamin B12 is super important if you follow a plant-based diet but, thankfully, Ro-Gro Biofortified Microgreens (£4, Wholefood stores) has your nutrient needs covered. Sustainably grown, the pea shoots have been biofortified with vitamin B12 to help people that struggle to get enough of the hard-to-obtain vitamin. The salad staple is also rich in vitamins A, C and K, as well as fibre and protein. Throw a handful into summery salads or layer into sandwiches for a nurturing treat. Gut lover Keep gut bugs happy throughout summer and beyond with Bio&Me’s gut-loving bars (£1.20, bioandme.co.uk). The flapjack-style treats come in three different yummy flavours – Toffee Apple, Superberry and Cocoa Hazelnut. Each bar is crammed with no less than nine plant-based ingredients including wholegrain oats, pumpkin seeds and…

1. TRY A SUPPLEMENT Nootropics enhance focus by affecting biochemical pathways and brain mechanisms, with nutritional supplements often containing key ingredients that support cognitive functions, such as attention and concentration. Caffeine, a widely recognised nootropic, stimulates the central nervous system by blocking adenosine receptors, which leads to increased alertness and concentration. L-theanine, found in green tea, promotes relaxation and, when combined with caffeine, enhances focus while reducing jitteriness. Omega-3 fatty acids are crucial for brain cell structure, improving mental clarity. Bacopa monnieri, used in ayurvedic medicine, enhances neurotransmitter function, improving focus and cognitive processing. Additionally, B vitamins including B6, B12 and folate, are essential for neurotransmitter synthesis and optimal brain function. It’s important to use nootropics as part of a balanced lifestyle that includes nutrition, exercise and sufficient sleep. Try…

RUN STRONG Water is essential for your body to function. You are around 65 per cent water, and water is necessary for everything from blood volume and heat regulation, to the digestion and absorption of the food you eat. You lose fluid all the time – as water vapour in your breath, through your skin as sweat and through excretion. And, as you exercise, especially at high intensities and in warm conditions, fluid losses increase. Drinking to replace your fluid losses is something you do instinctively throughout your life. But when it comes to sport and exercise, the messages around how much you should drink, and the content and composition of that liquid, can seem pretty complicated. So what, and how much, should you be drinking? TRAINING TIPS Until relatively…

Think back to your last outdoor workout – how did it make you feel? Happy? Energised? De-stressed? The chances are it made you feel all these things and more, according to the latest data, which shows that exercising in the open air is a boon to your health. The powers of green exercise are so impressive that research in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health shows women who train outside are 28 per cent less likely to feel depressed than those who train inside. And the same study reports that women who do some of their workouts outdoors log over twice as much exercise as those who stick to an indoor-only workout plan. But perhaps the biggest contribution outdoor exercise can make to your wellbeing is the overall positive…

We all have our own natural pace and speed of walking. But, by upping the speed and varying the way you walk, you can turn each stride you take into a calorie-burning move. Want to burn fat, tone your thighs or tighten your tum? Read on for tips on all these, plus how to get the best and fastest results from your walking workouts. HOW FAR DO I NEED TO WALK? The standard recommendation is to aim for 10,000 steps a day to reap health rewards. This may sound a lot, but during a 30-minute walk you can easily take anywhere between 2,000-6,000 steps, and you’ll still have the rest of the day to build up to your 10,000-step goal. A good starting point to getting fitter is to establish…