Health Advice

To become a stronger and better runner doesn’t amount to just having a perfect running technique, your programme needs to be adjusted to improve your running, reduce risk of injury, and improve your overall fitness levels.

This should include a strength training programmed that improves your posture, strength, core stability and flexibility.

Incorporate plyometric exercise jumping exercises that can be used to develop power and aim to reduce the amount of time that your feet spend not the ground during running exercise that increase your speed and agility.

Incorporate hills, sprints and steady pace running into your running programme and regime.

You should aim to do at least one plyometric session per week, as these are high impact exercises to start off with they should be kept short to start off with and build it up to a half hour session.

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Working out with weights has a myth that it may bulk your physic up. That’s not necessarily true as it take a lot of effort and time to reach that level. Training three times a week with a day’s rest in between each session and combine this with aerobic exercise and a healthy diet and you can see the results of a toned body in weeks. Many women avoid weight training because they feel it may bulk up their muscles yet strength training is critical to maintain a healthy weight and strengthen your body. Research has found that women don’t gain muscle mass as they don’t have the hormones necessary to build massive amounts of muscle. Even men have a tough time gaining muscle.

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A recent study shows that around the time of conception a women’s diet may influence the sex of the child. A study suggests that a high calorie diet at this time and regular breakfasts might increase the chances of a boy - the study looked at 740 women who were having their first baby and provided records of their eating habits before and during the early stages of pregnancy.

IVF researchers have found that high levels of glucose enhance the growth and development of male embryos at the expense of female embryos. Skipping breakfast depresses glucose levels in humans and so may be interpreted by the body as indicating low food availability. The report also said that the trend for low calorie diets could explain why the proportion of boys is falling in developed countries.

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The Food Standards Agency advises that to maintain a balanced diet we need to eat a variety of foods from each of the five food groups. You can be eating the right foods but even if your portion sizes are too big this can cause a problem hence portions too needs to be controlled to aid a healthy diet and long term weight loss. An average portion of fish or meat should be no bigger than the size of a pack of cards!

Daily percentages of your daily intake are recommended below:

• Breads and Cereals - 33%
• Fruit and Vegetables - 33%
• Milk and Dairy - approximately 15%
• Meat and Fish - approximately 15%
• Foods high in fats and sugars - less than 8%

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Breakfast is the most important meal of the day to kick starting your metabolism and boosting concentration. From a bowl of cereal to some fresh fruit it is recommended that you have something to eat within the first hour of waking. One of the most popular choices is Grapefruit – having only 70 calories it is virtually fat free. Recent research indicates that people who eat half a grapefruit every day are more likely to lose weight without changing their diet because it lowers insulin levels reducing their appetite and making them less likely to store fat hence the suggestion that it aids help the body’s metabolism and burn fat.. It is also a source of many nutrients and a good source of vitamin C as well as lowering cholesterol.

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If you are a long term suffer from irritating or sore feet, it’s worth having your feet or foot checked out by a podiatrist, who can give you advice regarding caring for your feet and shoes that will give you lifelong benefits. Wearing the right shoes for the right job when your younger is crucial if you want to avoid foot problems in old age. Some podiatrists like people to bring in their old shoes when going for check-ups so they can advise them properly. Common problems are wearing the wrong shoe size or the wrong style for what they are doing. For the correct fit there should be a 1 cm gap between the end of the longest toe and the end of the shoe. Generally low fronted slip-ons and court shoes have to be smaller than the foot to stay on and people are surprised between their foot size and their shoes.

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The British Health Journal has published the results of a 15 year study of peoples salt intake, it revealed that individuals who ate and consumed less salty food, could potentially expect a reduction of a 25% lower risk of cardiac arrest or stroke, together with a 20% lower risk of premature death.

Furthermore evidence is presented that a reduction of Sodium might prevent cardiovascular disease, and confirm conclusively that lowering the amount of salt intake also reduces the risk of high blood pressure, strokes and heart disease.

In the UK the Food Standards Agency recommends no more than 6mg of Salt. Some foods which can contain high amounts of hidden salt are those such as ketchup, soy sauce, mustard, pickles and mayonnaise.

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