What if we were to tell you that you could strengthen your core without even thinking about it? Sounds good, right? No more guilt from not doing your physio/chiropractor/PT homework. Try these 5 tips next time you go for a stroll…
The 3-Step System to Setting Clear Goals for 2019
Happy 2019 everyone! We’ve been working lots lately, both personally and with our clients, around goal setting. As fitness and therapy professionals, we are trained in goal setting and how to make them SMART but having attended several seminars and workshops this year, we’re really learning how to drill down and set much more manageable goals which are easy to measure.
The great thing about it is that you can use it in any context. Health-related goals, professional goals and personal goals. Let’s make a start on the bigger picture, then work it down to something you can work on a practical level.
How Sports Massage Could Be the Answer to Your Back Pain
A study recently found massage more effective for reducing back pain than medication and other traditional methods.
According to the research, 40% of subjects who had a weekly massage for 10 weeks reported a significant reduction in their pain, compared to just 4% of subjects receiving usual care.
I’ve been practising sports massage for over 10 years and, where it was a little-used treatment for back pain when I first qualified, it’s now often the first thing people investigate when suffering chronic pain and we’re now getting more enquiries than ever here at the studio.
So, want to know a bit more about it and see what all the hype is? Read on…
Wonderful walks in Bristol and beyond
Last weekend, Andy and I packed the kids and the dogs into the car and took ourselves off to Westonbirt Arboretum. Nestled in the Cotswolds, it’s a lovely way to see the best of the gorgeous autumnal colours we get from nature this time of year.
We were out for a good 4 hours, kids kicking up the leaves and dogs sniffing out new friends in the forest. We were all exhausted by the time we got back.
According to research we can burn as many calories per mile brisk walking as we can jogging. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know I do like to bang on about how we need to make exercise enjoyable to make it work and that the gym isn’t for everyone.
With this in mind, I’ve compiled a short list of great places to go in Bristol and beyond should you be one of the many who would much rather be out walking in the great outdoors than pounding on a treadmill in the gym.
How to engage your core
One of the first things we teach during a consultation is how to engage the core muscles. This is a fundamental part of any core strengthening work and can be easily applied to everyday activities, enabling you to use these muscles as a foundation for movement and perform functional exercise throughout the day.
Exercise When Ill – is it Safe?
We are well and truly in germ season now and the winter bugs are spreading like wildfire. So, if you’re training for an event or have those last few inches to shed to it your target…what do you do? Keep your fingers crossed and ‘sweat it out’ or give yourself a break and come back stronger on the other side?
5 Reasons Your Weights Routine May Be Damaging Your Back
We all know by now that strength training is good, right? It’s great for boosting metabolism, maintaining a strong core and increasing bone density, amongst a vast multitude of other benefits.
We will always be strong advocates of weight training for these reasons but we do get some people coming through our door who started with all the right intentions and ended up doing more harm than good though lifting weights.
Here’s our short guide to reasons why your weights sessions could be damaging your back health. Avoid these the next time you hit the gym to make sure you’re getting the best from your workout and not compromising your back in the process.
4 Simple Ways To Stop Your Phone Hurting Your Neck
As a nation, we now spend a day a week online.
At 70%, more of us than ever are using our smartphones to stay connected so it’s no surprise that there is a steep rise in the number of people suffering from neck, shoulder and upper back pain.
‘Text-neck’ is now a thing as we spend over 3 hours a day (and increasing) curled over our phones.
The average human head weighs 10-12 lbs. As your head tilts down, the gravitational pull on your head places additional pressure on your neck, up to a staggering 60 lbs at 60 degrees (or a small labrador to put it into perspective!)
5 Reasons Why You Should Lift Weights
I have had a few conversations recently with clients about the importance of resistance training. It often gets overlooked in favour of it’s sweatier counterpart, cardio, as that’s what we were always told to do to lose weight, right? In fact, you could be missing a trick by walking past the weights section as it turns out there’s much more to gain than bulging biceps…
5 Reasons to Drink More Water
We know that drinking water is good, right? It’s a no-brainer – we hear it all the time; ‘drink more water!’ ‘water is good for your health!’ ‘drink 8 glasses a day!’ But when we drill down, do you really know why it’s important to keep your fluid levels up, do we understand the impact of not being hydrated?
Let’s explore a bit deeper.
