A study in the American Society of Clinical Nutrition identified the main reasons to prevent weight gain after an initial successful weight loss programme. They found the more successful people continued to exercise regularly, had a support network during difficult times, approached problems directly and adapted ways of overcoming these problems. The people who relapsed [...]
Case Study : Triathlon - Claire Van Helfteren. Claire Van Helfteren hired Clarice House Personal Trainer Nolan Sunnassee to help her start to running again after two ankle operations which had prevented her from exercising normally for over two years. Claire: I started training with Nolan having had two ankle operations in 2010 and 2011. [...]
Clarice House Personal Trainer Nolan Sunnassee outlines to key reasons why people find it hard to lose weight. As summer is rapidly approaches many are seeking to lose weight in order to get that beach body. But what the major reasons why you can’t lose weight and get into shape? Toxicity - Chemicals, heavy metals, [...]
Clarice House Personal Trainer Nolan Sunnassee investigates the benefits of using Swiss Balls. Swiss balls are common place within gyms around the world now but what benefits do they provide for the average gym goer? Made popular by rehabilitation specialists in Switzerland over sixty years ago and popularised by American physical therapists (Chek 1996, 2000), [...]
Clarice House Personal Trainer Nolan Sunnassee highlights the importance for exercise for all ages. Average life expectancy for a man was 65 years old in 1950 and by 2050 its estimated to be 91 years old (Dept of Work & Pensions) With life expectancy growing rapidly in our society, exercise is a great way to [...]
Simplistically repetitions are dictated by your goals: Reps Goal 1-3 Power 1-5 Strength 6-8 Functional Hypertrophy 8-12 Hypertrophy 12-15 Strength Endurance 15+ Endurance In reality you have to consider many other factors, such as the persons training age, training experience, chronological age, sports participated in, body type, flexibility, nervous system, technical ability, past [...]
This is a commonly asked question which depends on various factors. Protein is a macromolecule that is found in fish, meat, eggs, nuts, etc. Proteins have many important functions in the body, including supporting repair, growth, producing hormones and enzymes as well as making antibodies, balancing fluid levels and as an energy and potential carbohydrate [...]
Want to get the best results from your exercise? Then you need to ensure your movement is using the right muscles in the right sequences. Anyone I have trained over the years will tell you that the most important part of improving any exercise is technique. Great technique will make the line of force from [...]
When most people undertake an exercise programme they have a clear picture of what they would like to achieve from it. Whether its fat loss, muscle strength, toning, training for a sport or event, its important to note that exercises are NOT created equally. The muscles, bones, connective tissue and nervous system in your body [...]
Glycemic Load Foods. Confused about what to eat when you are trying to lose fat? A good starting point is to learn about how your food affects your blood sugar, as high blood sugar is related to various illness and weight gain (Elliot 2002, Apovian 2004). The University of Toronto in 1981 developed the idea [...]
Case Study - Sue and Geoff Looser. Sue: As we are both aged 47 plus but love to ski two or three times a year, we realised we needed a specific training programme in order to get the most out of our trips. Even more so as we have sedentary lifestyles and jobs and do [...]
For most people wanting to lose weight or improve there health, fats are viewed as the enemy, but what is the truth? Fats are part of the nutrient family called lipids. There are three specific types but triglycerides are the most common type in our diets. These can then be further split into subcategories relating [...]
The Karolinksa Institute in Sweden found that eating 300g of Spinach significantly increases the oxygen available to your muscles. They found the nitrates in spinach allow the cells to work 5% more effectively. What is probably more amazing is that the effect can occur after only 3 days of consumption (Weitzberg 2011). Kale is [...]
But what physiological effects does being overweight or obese have on your body? Depression - The more fat you have the more depressed you are likely to be. Why? The diet many overweight and obese people consume tends to be low in tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin (a neurotransmitter which positively effects mood). (Breum [...]
Case Study: Elspeth Hutchinson. Elspeth is a local housewife approaching her 65th birthday. Generally active with gardening, decorating, gym and finally ski-ing, she has suffered badly for some years from the onset of cervical spondylosis. This is an age-related degeneration of the vertebrae and discs in the neck. Elspeth endured severe head and neck pain [...]
Your body is an amazing machine. It automatically repairs you from injury, regulates your body temperature and prioritises and absorbs from the nutrition you provide it with. However, when making physiological modifications such as getting a more compact shape or increasing muscle size, the body needs enough force to signal change is needed. When astronauts [...]
Muscle weighs more than fat - FALSE Muscle tissue is denser than fat, however one pound of fat is the same weight as one pound of muscle. Adding more muscle to someones frame will add compacted tissue making you look smaller and more toned, despite whether their weight has changed or not. Muscle turns to [...]
Case Study: Claire Spurway. With the London 2012 Olympic Games only a few months away, thousands of athletes around the world are training hard to reach the standard for this once in a lifetime opportunity. One such athlete is Claire Spurway, who hopes to represent Great Britain in the 200m sprint event. Claire, from London, [...]
The short answer is yes! If you don’t eat breakfast you have a higher chance of being obese. A UK study analysed the eating habits of over four thousand teenagers. Out of these 32% didn’t consume anything for breakfast and they were the ones much more likely to be obese (European Journal of Clinical Nutrition [...]
Eating blueberries boosts your memory and concentration for up to five hours. According to research from Reading University, the antioxidants within berries activates an enzyme in the body called Enos. This enzyme stimulates the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain keeping you more alert. Additionally, Blueberries classed by scientists as a superfood, are [...]
