If you have never exercised before then now isn’t the time to start exhausting yourself with strenuous exercise. Light walking would be all I recommend but what if you’ve trained for years to keep your body in tip top condition and are now wondering what you should do?…

Here are some changes to expect during pregnancy and what I recommend you do to stay fit and healthy whilst pregnant (For you and bub!):

First of all the number one exercise I suggest is to walk every day. This can be done throughout your whole pregnancy; it is cost effective and is done at your own pace.

For some, walking is enough but I also believe that maintaining muscle tone is important too. Whilst pregnant we lose a lot of muscle mass, our body is providing nutrients to the baby and hormones promote an increase in body fat rather than muscle. As long as diet is correct the increase in fat is healthy for the babies’ health and you will lose the extra weight quite rapidly once baby arrives. Exercise is important but is not a tool to lose weight at this time. To maintain your strength and muscle mass you need to include light weight sessions to your training. The intensity will depend on your pre pregnancy body and exercise regime. This is where you need to know your limits or get personalised advice from a professional. As your pregnancy progresses remember that relaxin is pumping through your body and your joints may feel weaker and a little wobbly. Avoid lifting too much weight or repetitive movements keeping reps and weights low.

Throughout your pregnancy but especially during your third trimester swimming is a fantastic way to work out. Allowing the weight to float off your body feels amazing and gives it a break from carrying that weight around.

Stretching is also important. We tend to get tighter and find the extra weight on the front causes discomfort in our backs, legs and shoulders.  During my pregnancy I felt tightness through my back, glutes and hamstrings. Participating in a prenatal yoga class I found helped to stretch out those sore parts and was gentle enough to do from week 6 all the way through to week 40! As well as a workout Prenatal yoga is also a great way to socialise with new mums to be and to chat with them and the instructor about any new experiences.

Meet Fiona! She was my yoga instructor throughout my pregnancy and was great! She started her prenatal yoga class to help women come together by providing a network of other mums. Her sessions were personal to the individuals in the class. Each week we had different body parts we needed to stretch and she catered for them all. It was great to relax and unwind the mind and body!

I am passionate about yoga which is why I made a decision to work for myself full-time as a yoga teacher and yoga therapist. Yoga provides many benefits from a physical practice to a mental calming and grounding for our own well-being.  I teach general level classes and for the past 6 months have also been teaching prenatal classes and more recently mums and bubs yoga.  I love these classes.  It is a very different class and very special to teach and support women through their stages of pregnancy, offering a class that is preparing them for birthing. Mums and Bubs is beautiful.  Little bubs coming to class and absorb the benefits of their mothers yoga practice. We do movements to stabilize the hips, open and stretch the chest and back from the physical strain of nursing bub. Lots of very gentle supportive poses and also include bub in some the poses. They are both beautiful classes and you have the opportunity to share with other people in the room who are going through the same things as you.  

http://www.yogatherapybrisbane.com.au

Hope this helps!

Lianne xxx

P.S Look after yourself during pregnancy more than ever, your body is not only your temple but your precious bubs too.

To gain the most out of your workout we need to be sitting at around the 70% to 85% of our maximum heart rate (MR) of our workload. When we sit at this range of intensity we use a combination of aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. Aerobic, being fat (which burns at a slower rate) as our prime energy source at a low intensity to a shift of carbohydrate as our primary energy source as we increase in intensity. So why not use the two. So my recommendation to maximise your fat loss and carbohydrate stores is to train at least 3 days per week at the 85% MR intensity. When we do this kind of training it is important to keep your carbohydrate stores high, otherwise your high performance will not be achieved. Lets use elite athletes as an example where the diet consists of high carbohydrate, high protein and high essential fats. Remember that they do train everyday for long periods.

Happy training!

If the purpose of personal training has to be summed up into one single word it would be – results. As a personal trainer I believe its your job to achieve results for your clients in every area of their lives – in their body, nutrition, and training (the obvious ones), then it’s about mental state, health, daily performance, time management, relationships, and all the goals a client has.

To achieve results in clients it should be shown that the same thinking to achieve results in their body is the same anywhere in their life. For me and us at FLAUNT IT, I believe its always important to practice what we preach.

Of course your personal trainer should have a body you aspire too, of course your personal trainer should train like an athlete of some sort, of course your personal trainer should be a  friend and referred by people you know. More importantly they should also be successful in other areas of their life as well – are they healthy and live a desirable life style. Have they achieved success with their personal relationships, and they always motivated when you see them and open when they are having a hard time. Are they achieving their goals in live?

Personal trainers are becoming our life mentors of today. You will see a good personal trainer regularly so its only natural they will have influence over your life. Find a personal trainer who’s worth influencing you so that you can achieve the results you want. It’s all about results.

Potatoes are a good source of starchy carbohydrate, vitamin C and dietary fibre, and supply small amounts of vitamins and minerals. The fact that they are eaten so frequently makes them are significant source of many nutrients in the human diet. Their reputation as being “fattening” is undeserved, although the fat that is added or used to cooking potatoes may deserve that tag.

An average-sized potato (150g) has 390kJ (95Cals). It would be difficult to gain weight by eating potatoes – more than 80 would be required to increase weight by just 1kg. However potatoes absorb fat readily so hot chips generally have three times as many kilojoules as straight potatoes.

The smaller the chip the higher its fat content. 100g of fine cut chips has over 20g of fat, about twice as much as thick hot chips or wedges, with just under 10g per 100g.

Remember that our dinner plates have increased in diameter over the past decade and so too has our waisteline, so when we are serving up our lunch and dinner plates with lots of NUTRITOUS foods, it is important to remember that it is the total energy amount (kJ) of what’s on the plate that matters, not that small serving of potato that is within it.

Happy Eating :0

At the base of the inverted U imagine this as the lowest form of motivation and the peak of the U or the apex is the highest level of motivation. This is the same for performance whether it be in your career, fitness or life. So it’s easy to see that when we have low motivation our performance follows suite and as we climb higher on the Inverted U of motivation, our performance levels increase.

So as we start out in 2012, try your hardest to search and find the absolute driving forcing (motivation) that will make you perform at your best throughout the year and sit at the TOP of the Inverted U.

Happy Training :0

The premise of detoxing is based on the Ancient Egyptian and Greek idea of believing foods consumed, can rot and produce toxins that harm the body. By Wikipedia: Detoxification is an alternative medicine approach that proponents claim rids the body of “toxins”, accumulated harmful substances that are alleged to exert undesirable effects on individual health.

Commercial detoxification usually includes one or more of: dieting, fasting, consuming exclusively, or avoiding specific foods (such as fats, carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, juices, herbs or water), or colon cleansing. Detoxing is not supported by science, with no medical benefits demonstrated, and is based on questionable or disproved scientific claims.

Detoxification has been referred to as an elaborate hoax used by con artists to cure nonexistent illnesses. Medical experts state that body cleansing is unnecessary as the human body is naturally capable of maintaining itself, with several organs dedicated to cleansing the blood and gut.

People have dropped weight from detoxing but this was from the reduced calorie consumed. People have body water levels dropped but this was from the reduced bad foods they ate, and this all happened sometimes within only a week. Unfortunately once the detox was complete and people generally returned to their normal living and this cycle repeats itself.

Detoxing should correct the below “10 things we all experience that are toxic to your body”, because these are the everyday pillars that our health and wellbeing is built on. I know for a fact as a personal trainer detoxing your body is not just exclusion of the bad stuff we consume, it’s also about the inclusion of all the right stuff and right activities that create good health. Good health is never just achieved. Good health is something we have to work on and maintain. The pursuit and conscious action towards good health only stops when we do. Life uses our energy and we need to put it back into us.

Here is my list of 10 things we all experience that are toxic to your body:

1. Excessive body fat
2. Low fitness levels
3. Inflamed and sticky red blood cells
4. High adrenalin levels from stress
5. Dehydration
6. Mineral deficiencies
7. Irregular & badly form bowel movements
8. Inability to naturally relax & sleep well
9. Poor muscle tone
10. Always getting sick

We are what we eat and do. We all know how the below negatively affect our body:

• Cigarettes
• Alcohol
• Junk food
• High prolonged stress

Then we are also aware of the negative effects of excessively consuming:

• Sugar
• Saturated fats
• Processed carbohydrates

If you’re serious about detoxing I recommend blood type dieting. For those of you unfamiliar with blood type diets, we each have our own individual blood type A, B, AB & O. Each blood type has certain foods which are harder for it to break down and some which are more beneficial for its type of blood. By eating food specific for your bloody type your body’s natural ability to heal is increased.

As a personal trainer I have seen the results firsthand what blood type diets positively do for people’s bodies.

Making a decision to learn more about your health and make a difference in your body’s wellbeing regardless of its forms is still always something to be proud of. Taking the first step in any direction for wellbeing is always the hardest. Unfortunately a lot of our society just doesn’t know any better and is lead by the best advertised products in the public eye.

Detoxing can start simply by drinking 4-6 litres per day. Did you know without even lifting a finger your body needs at the very least 2500ml of water per day?

• 1500 ml/day excretion by kidneys in the form of urine
• 500ml/day evaporation and sweating from the skin
• 300ml/day from the lungs
• 200ml/day from the gastrointestinal tract

Are you drinking this much? Remember this is only to maintain your normal water levels. Doing one thing and getting a result in your body, then going back to your old habits will only get you back to your original starting place. If you are interested in taking this more seriously please get in contact with me or a naturopath who is experienced and knowledgeable. I believe that having a strong, healthy body that looks its best is one of the most important factors in ensuring you get the most out of life. Feeling great about the way you look builds confidence that can help you open doors to greater opportunities. My philosophy is to celebrate your image and to be proud of the efforts you have put in to develop your body.

Is your:

• Heart healthy
• Bowels regular
• Immune system strong
• Body recovering quickly
• Stress levels low
• Daily energy output high
• Thinking always clear
• Life organization at its best
• Body fat levels low
• Body muscle shape and quality at its best
• Body image and self esteem the best its ever been
• Relationships strong and communicating openly and effectively

The 2012 man is lean, muscled, healthy & operating at his best.

In the following weeks I will be working through each of the above dotted areas to maximise the results in my client’s lives. Sign up for my blog if you haven’t so you can keep track of the knowledge I share. Having clearly understood goals set is the key to successful life results.

Dream small to make big dreams reality.

Wishing you all a happy new year.

Christian Aquilina

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year =)

Extrinsic motivation is a drive that comes from an outside force. An example of this is where a friend of yours has the look that you desire. So your motivation will come from looking and being like your friend. This may come in the form of body image, relationship status, popularity or everything that you don’t have. Now in my experience intrinsic motivation is what will see us fulfil our dreams and desires long term where we ourselves have felt that burning desire to achieve something in life.  So find that burning desire in YOURSELF to see what the next three months brings for you.