If you are new to running and need a few extra tips on the best way to get started, this video should be just the ticket.
Filmed by the video platform Bizzibox, i am asked to discuss the basic principles of running and what you should do to get the most out of a running regime.
For more interactive tips on how to prepare for marathons, check out the other fitFAQS running videos.
Builders may not have the best reputation for being the healthiest specimens of human beings on the planet, but if a recent study is to be believed, the copious amounts tea they stereotypically drink cannot only help to ward off heart disease but also aid in boosting brain function.
Research, funded by the Tea Advisory Panel “TAP” (you couldn’t make it up), discovered that drinking 3 or 4 cups (2 mugs) of black tea a day, with or without milk, dramatically reduces the risk of heart attacks, keeps the body hydrated and helps to improve general alertness and mood.
And if that wasn’t enough – Tea also appears to have anti-Cancer properties.
The reason researchers believe that Tea has such an impressive effect on health is all down to the natural plant antioxidants called polyphenols. It is thought that polyphenols interact with the biochemistry of the body and have an anit-inflammatory and antioxidant effect, helping to guard against heart disease and cancer.
This is all very fascinating, but what intrigues me is that in the very same press release which was sent to me yesterday, it goes on to say that after water, Tea is the UKs most popular drink with over 77% of Brits enjoying just over 2 mugs of tea a day, whilst on the next page stating that Heart Disease is the UKs biggest killer.
So, in the one breath are told that Tea is our saviour and to safe guard us against Heart Disease we should drink at least 2 mugs a day yet the article then goes on to say that as a nation, we already drink bucket loads of the stuff anyway.
So, the question i have for TAPS is this:
If Tea was really that much of health saviour, how come that despite the fact that as a nation we are drinking the stuff like it was going out of fashion, Heart Disease is still the UK’s biggest killer?
As you’ll have read from my original article on vibrating plates, i neither think they are a miraculous invention or a complete waste of time – i just think they are a little over hyped. In my opinion, Power plates can be used as part of an exercise regime and if used properly by chosing a few select exercises, they can certanly help to firm up flabby muscles and give us a bit more tone.
However, do i now have to eat my words and admit that power plates may be more effective than i originally thought?
A recent article printed in The Daily Telegraph, reports of a new study carried out by a Belgian physiotherapist whose findings on the effectiveness of power plates on weight loss may come as great news to power plate fanatics and the overweight population.
Physio Dirk Vissers (surely his middle name can’t be Diggler – i’ll try and find out) carried out experiments on 61 overweight and obese subjects over the course of a year.
And the results……
The group who exercised on the Power Plate lost an average of 11 % of their body weight, compared to just 6.9% in the group who exericsed using more traditional methods. Both groups were placed on a restricted diet. More interestingly still, apparently the group usng the power plates lost alot of their excess weight from their stomachs and kept it off.
So, is this irrefutable proof that Vibrating Plates are they the way forward and that performing a series of exercises on a platform that shakes your bits is the answer to long term weight loss?
I’m not convinced, or at least i’d like to see the exact details of the experiment, such as:
……..or is that slanderous?
Anyway, let me know your thoughts.
Are you encouraged by this study or like me, a little cynical?
The London Marathon - What's the worst that could happen?
If you are one of the thousands of people who watched in awe at the thousands of “normal” everyday people pounding the streets of London today and reckon you have got what it takes, its never too early to start your training.
The inspirational sight of seeing the mass of charity runners taking part in the final Flora London Marathon (before Virgin take over the reigns next year) always provokes widespread interest in taking on the 26.2 mile course and gets people thinking – “you know what, i reckon i could do that!”
Well – why not prove it!
Entering a marathon could not be easier. All you need to do is contact a Charity you feel strongly about and register your interest in running a marathon for them. Although you are not guaranteed to get a place, if you register your interest early enough you are more likely than not to be welcomed with open arms and given a place – on the condition that you can raise at least £1500 for that charity.
For a list of some fantastic charities to run for, click here and take your pick.
Then all thats left to do, is get yourself to the start line next April and run 26.2 miles!
Starting training early is something very few marathon entrants do, yet i cannot stress the importance of beginning gentle training runs as soon as you can – and what better time than Spring? Its light, still cool enough to stop you from over heating and in my view the best time of the year to run.
So if you’re new to ro running, get kitted up and take to the streets. You don’t have to run fast, far or even that regularly, just set out on a walk / jog for 20 mins or so and ease yourself in to the running mindset. You will be amazed at just how quickly you not only begin to thoroughly enjoy the exercise and the feelig of running but also at how quickly you will be able to run further and further as your fitness improves.
There are plently of sites you can search for to give you runinng tips and advice on how to take on your first marathon but luckily for you fitFAQS is the perfect place for both.
To download the increasingly popular fitFAQS running guides, click here and choose a training plan that suits you. If you are a novice, i’d suggest you download the 10km guide first, then as you get fitter download the half marathon and then marathon guides to really tax yourself and elevate your running fitness to even greater heights.
To really get to grips with how to prepare your body to tolerate the demands of a 13.1 or 26.2 mile run i would strongly suggest that you buy my book “The Marathon and Half marathon: A Training Guide.”
Now in reprint, the book tells you everything you need to know about enduarnce running and takes you from your very first tentative step to the jubilation of crossing the finishing line.
So what are you waiting for?
If you have any tips or you would like to recommend any charities that fitFAQS visitors should run for, let us know by leaving a comment below.
Of all the weeks in the long build up to a marathon, this is the week that the 35,000 runners hate the most.
Preparing your mind, body and soul to plod for 26.2 miles around the Capital is initially one hell of a daunting prospect, yet as time goes by and training becomes a routine rather than a chore, it can actaully become enjoyable and a part of life. Jump to the final week where training intensity should drop dramatially and runners can begin feel like aged animals – waiting to let loose on the streets of London.
Many runners in the final tapering stage of their running programme feel a number of emotions as race day looms - ranging from anxiety to a general feeling of slugishness and lack of fitness making the prospect of tackling the 42km course and even more daunting prospect.
So what should you be doing if you are taking part in Sundays race and don’t know what to do with yourself?
Above all do not give in to your body’s demands and head out for a long or intense run. After months of training, your body and legs are currently protesting at not being used and will effectively be urging you take to the roads and be exercised. By all means go out for a gentle 3 or 4 miler but do not fall for the belief that you are not fit enough for the challenge. If you have trained properly (by reading The Marathon and Half Marathon: A Training Guide) then you will have the fitness to complete the course in the time you want and if you haven’t trained properly – well its too late now, so one extra training run isn’t going to make any difference.
So, if anyone reading this is taking on the London Marathon this Sunday please take it easy and put your feet up.
If any other runners have some tips they ahve followed in these anxious last days before D-day let us know!
Ok, so it’s not a fitness, running or nutrition post as such, but i thought i’d share with you some rare seen talent.
Millions of us were left in hysterical fits of laughter after watching “Stavros Flately” and his son cut some shapes on the dance floor on “Britains Got Talent” last weekend but I believe their talent is not a patch on what you are about to witness in the video above.
I think you’ll agree that the performer in the video above, has the potential talent to surpass anything Michael Flately did in River Dance and given some decent guidance, will set the world of dancing alight in the years to come.
This performer, i am proud to say, is my daughter and i ask you now to sit back, relax and witness a dance routine that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up on end.
Enjoy!
Boy have i had some stick for giving for this one over the years!
If you haven’t already read the article, click here, if you have i’d really like to know your view on the big question – whether walking is better than running to lose weight!
Evidence, experience and common sense has led me to view that actaully it is a no brainer.
When was the last time you saw a fat runner, or at least someone who runs regularly? You haven’t. Runners burn alot of energy both during and after their training simplpy down to the effort they have to put into keeping their legs moving at an increased pace.
Walkers on the other hand simply amble along without putting the body under any form of overload, thereby not giving it the stimulus to burn off significnat amounts of fat. Walking is great for those people who are very overweight or very new to exercise, but for moderately active peopel to think a 4 mile walk in the woods is going to have a significant impact on reducing their midriff is kidding themselves.
After an interview on BBC Radio London last year, i put my point of view across on air and the walking community got really pissed off with me – lest of all my aunt! Well walkers i’m sorry if you don’t agree with some basic principles of exercise physiology but its time to face the fact that as nice as a stroll in the woods is watching the birds tweet in the trees, running is really the only way to make a significant difference to your waistline.
I’d love to hear your views, whether you agree or disagree with this post. It seems like it a highly emmotive subject and i’m keen to hear what you think.
Blanket solutions for solving our flabby bellies and saggy bingo wings are rife in the media.
Eat this, do this exercise, cover yourself in Malaysian seaweed etc and such advice is plastered all over glossy magazines and be honest -you’ve fallen for at least one.
If you have not already read my post on the main fitFAQS wesbite, click here to read extracts from the Introduction of my book From Flab to Fab to see how we are all so easily led to believe what we read.
Why is it that everyone from the Governement to “health experts” try to convince us that there is a “one-size-fits all” solution to getting into shape and losing weight?
Generalisations and blanket terminology may make the lives of journalists that much easier when writing a column, but when it comes to informing the public on how they should be eating and exercising to stay fit and healthy, it’s not helpful to omit important facts for the sake of convenience. Sensationalist headlines and ill-informed columnists are perhaps some of the guiltiest parties in creating the well-known misconceptions in the health industry, but hopefully with the help of this website and my book From Flab to Fab, you will learn the truth behind some of the most common diet and fitness myths and learn how and why our individuality plays such an important role in helpingus acheive our health goals
So, what do you think? Is the importance of learning our individaul needs stressed to us enough, or is blanket advice adequate to help improve the state of the nations health?
After months of hard work, late nights and maybe a few too many glasses of a cheeky Australian Shiraz, all the fitFAQS Running Training are here and available for download absolutely free.
The Training guides for 10km, Half Marathon and Marathon distances were written to give runners of all abilities quality information on how to properly train, eat and prepare for a race they may only do once – so i wanted to make them good.
After trawling through the Internet for other similar guides, i have yet to find any which are as comprehensive or detailed as ours and the fact that they are free for download, you’ll hopefully feel makes them that much better. However, they may not be free for long, so seize the opportunity and get downloading.
And the good news doesn’t stop there. Overtime, we will be tweaking and improving the running guides to make all three better and more comprehensive.
Just some of the planned improvements include:
Exactly, when these improvements will be made is hard to say but once i find another equally good cheeky Shriaz to keep me company, i can assure you, it won’t be long. If you have any ideas on how the guides can be improved, or any additions you think we shoudl include, let us know by commenting below or emaiing us dirext at fitFAQS.
It must be stressed though, that although these free running training guides are comprehensive, they are no substitute for my book “The Marathona and Half Marathon: A Training Guide.” The 10,000 word guides may be comprehensive but it doesn’t come close to the information you get from my 65,000 word book.
That said, to get you started click here to go the fitFAQS download page and chose the guide(s) of your choice.
Happy Training.