Category Archives: Travel

Take on how to tackle the festive season

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I thought I’d write a little piece to share on tackling this crazy time of year and your super(wo)man aspirations.

Perhaps it is more obvious to me being in the industry and having my own clients going through the trials of keeping fit and healthy whilst attending Christmas functions and holidays etc. But here’s a few common ones that I want to lay out and demolish.

Two scenarios.

Scenario 1)
 You’ve been working really hard at your fitness goals to date and want to maintain your awesome results whilst on holiday. But your Aunty is trying to throw her homemade biscuits down your throat and Grandpa wants to sit up and drink Scotch with you all night, he insists! Its been a whole year!

Scenario 2)
You’ve been contemplating this whole fitness gig. Your love handles aren’t disappearing on their own and you want to look great on the beach buuuut it’s Christmas! and how could I possibly start  now I mean it’s pretty doomed right? I’ll start in the New Year.

Back to Scenario 1)

You HAVE been working so freaking hard. Why would you let it go in the name of Aunties cookies? Ok they are incredibly delish so how about we go about it like this. Have 1. Saaaavour it, nibble it, dunk it, instagram it, what ever floats your boat :)
Emphasis on 1…not the whole batch!

Many people make the mistake of ‘oh I busted on 1 why don’t iIjust keep going’.
Because 1 is easier to work off than a dozen. 30 mins of running vs 6 hours. Yup yup. Unless of course your having your holiday conquering Machu Pichu then your pretty safe with the ol’ onesy trick.
It is a holiday after all so enjoy it within reason and step into 2013 with fire not a pot belly.

Scenario 2)

Just start now.
Remember that 2 steps forward 1 step back deal? Sure beats 2 steps back, 2 steps back.
Strap on your running shoes and call me. Ill see you in the gym.

Sample this: Before you eat it. Does it take you closer to or further from your goal? ;)

 

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Photo shoot prep. 1 week to go!

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I planned on this upcoming photo shoot 4 weeks ago then immediately fell ill for 2 weeks straight after. Talk about annoying! No gym, normal eating was out the window. Felt really weak :/
Comp was almost 2 months ago and although I went travelling afterwards for the entire month I kept my food clean and got workouts in where and when I could. Yes even if all I had was the beach and my own bodyweight!
I managed to maintain most of my comp results throughout and had a few weeks back in Dubai getting stuck in again. So seems to have done the trick :)
Back in the saddle again now and feeling ON FIRE!

 

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To my Parisian crew of Savage Sisters

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To my fellow Savage Sisters heading to Paris!

It’s crunch time. Our last week. This is where all those countless hours of hard work for months come to shine.
All that chicken, all those greens and all that sweat and yes even tears pay off!

Every day
Every workout
Every set and rep
The energy you put into it
The mental state in which you hold
Your game face
The precise portions
The precious minutes that you sleep and rest
Eeeeveeeerrrry little tiiiiiny detail counts!

I know your brains are probably mush right now but
make it better than ANYTHING you’ve ever done to date.

Lets go in with a blaze of glory and ROCK THE JOINT!!!

À bientôt! :)

Holiday workout!

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Its holiday time! Time to soak up the sun, shake off the working year and relax or twirl on the beach with friends :)

The crux is you’ve been working so hard for that beach bod and you don’t want to let all your efforts go to waste. “What can I do on holiday?” is a question I have been getting A LOT lately. So I thought Id put together a 35 minute workout that can be done 3 time per week to get the blood pumping and keep you in tip top condition in between sunning yourself by day and dancing by night.
Remember to enjoy your surroundings. Go for walks or runs wherever possible and keep active!

Enjoy! x

Equipment

  • Skipping rope or stairs
  • High bar or pull up worthy equal. Think kids playgrounds!

Warm up

  • 5 minutes easy jog getting the heart rate up gradually
  • 10 minutes skipping or stair work. Try have the least amount of breaks here. You want to bust a sweat!

Workout

In a circuit fashion follow this sequence

  • 20 Squats > Super set with 20 jump squats
  • 20 Lateral lunge with a twist (10 each side) > Super set with 20 split squat jumps
  • 10 Negative close grip pull ups > super set with 10 push ups
  • 20 suitcases
  • 1 minute plank
  • Either 100 stairs OR skips

Rest 1 min then repeat!  Do as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes

Suitcases: Lying flat on your back contract your core bringing your torso and bent legs up into a ‘V’ position. Roll 1 vertebrae at a time back down to the starting position. Use the timing 1:3

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THE ART OF SLEEPING UNLOCKED! How much sleep do you actually need?

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For something we do every night and takes up 1/3 of our life, the art of sleeping does not come so easily to some. It really does feel like an art form. Forever striving for perfection.  
If you or someone you know struggles/ has struggled with sleep, please read this article. I have been struggling with sleep lately as alot of people do (especially you flighties!)
This article is super informative and breaks down the stages of sleep and why we need them on order to function at our best. It also has some hot tips for getting better quality sleep. Which we all can do with!

Enjoy! and If you have any comments please share. Its always good for others to read too :)

Peace, love and snoozes zzzzzz

 Click here to read: http://helpguide.org/life/sleeping.htm

Feeling a bit tired and crazy? Read on…

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“You can live longer without food than you can without sleep. It has also been reported that if you go without sleep for extended periods of time, your mental health will be significantly compromised, and you may experience episodes of manic behaviour or deep depression”

For most of us, it won’t be as dramatic as going a week without sleep. It will be a more subtle kind of sleep deprivation that can take place because of bad habits, medical conditions, small children or shift work, and it can have a dramatic impact on our health, not to mention our quality of life.

Adequate sleep, which is six to eight hours for the average person, is required for your body to regenerate and handle day to day demands.

Quality of sleep is important, as well. If you are getting eight hours of sleep, but having it interrupted a number of times throughout the night, you may experience the same physical and emotional fatigue as someone who is not getting the quantity of sleep that they need.

Sleep Is A Pillar Of Holistic Health!    

Quality sleep will help with the aging process, speed metabolism, increase immune function, increase mental and emotional health, increase willpower and mental clarity, just to name a few things.

So what can you do to increase your level of quality sleep?

  • Bed time routine: we are creatures of habit, and our body responds accordingly. If we have the same routine before going to bed every night, our bodies adapt and will start releasing the hormones that promote sleep as soon as we begin the routine. This can be something as simple as having a cup of hot tea, and then brushing your teeth and washing your face. Or, it could be something a little more involved, like a warm bath followed by reading from your favourite book.
  • Turn off electronic devices: it may feel like you are unwinding when you watch TV, but don’t mistake numbing or being distracted with relaxing. It often feels good to zone out in front of the TV or computer, but your mind is going a mile a minute as it follows visual stimulation.
  • De-stress throughout the day: having a ten minute relaxation routine before bed doesn’t always cut it when you have been going full steam ahead all day. It is like going a hundred miles per hour all day and then putting your foot on the brake. You will not stop instantly. It is important to do relaxation exercises, like the ones listed below, throughout the day and not just at bed time.
  • Supplementation: To find out the best quality supplements please contact me and I will give you more info
  • Meditation: For those who aren’t used to meditation. Try a guide meditation on youtube or down load an app to your phone. My favorite is an app for iphones called Sleepstream2. It works with binaural beats to help bring your brain waves into a zen like state.
  • Limit caffeine: Coffee is an obvious culprit, but be careful of other caffeinated bevies like green tea, black tea, iced tea, cola and hot chocolate. Everyone metabolizes caffeine differently, but it can take up to seven hours to be out of your system, and if you want to be in bed early, that may mean kicking your skinny latte habit on your last coffee break.
  • Exercise: this releases the adrenaline and energy that gets built up from daily stresses. You don’t have to train for an hour. Even twenty minutes of exercise a day will help you to fall into a deeper sleep at night.
    Note: exercising actually stimulates you and will interfere with sleep if you do it within two hours of going to sleep, so get your dance on during the day or in the morning.
  • Journal: one of the number one reasons people report not being able to sleep is not being able to turn off their thoughts. Journaling is a great way to get out what is going on in your mind and clear your thoughts. It doesn’t have to be poetic or look pretty. Just get it out there, so that your thoughts are no longer taking up sacred consciousness when you want to be asleep. If you believe in prayer, this is also a great time to release your thoughts and worries to a higher power. Once you surrender your worries and desires, it is often easier to surrender to sleep.

If you have been putting your sleep habits on the back burner, here is your wake up call. Quality sleep is one of the number one keys to optimal health and it is time to master this aspect of your health. If you have had ongoing sleep issues, please consider seeing a doctor or naturopath to look deeper into underlying issues. But, whatever you do, don’t put up with lousy sleep!

Shared by Sam and Jes

So you want to travel aaaand be healthy? O.K lets go! Part:1

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On recent adventures and meeting new people who travel as an occupation, it astounds me how many health and wellbeing stressors these people are subjected to incidentally. There are the amazing PRO’S! that come with travel. But has anyone stopped to assess the real damage it does? Flying takes a massive toll on the body and Im going to research and bring to the table more discoveries on the repercussions and the best, healthiest ways to keep on track whilst flitting around the globe!
Here are a few starting points…

Dehydration

We usually feel most comfortable when the humidity in the air around us is about 40 to 70 per cent. In an aircraft cabin it falls to about 20 per cent. It is unlikely that your body will become seriously dehydrated for this reason alone, but it is common to suffer from dry eyes (which can cause serious problems for contact-lens wearers) and a sore or dry throat and nose. This dryness is often uncomfortable, but it might also make you more prone to infections.

The solution
Drink plenty of liquid throughout the flight – ideally water. Avoid alcohol, coffee and tea (which all have a diuretic effect), unless you compensate with even more water. Don’t worry if you have to keep getting up to go to the lavatory – the exercise might help prevent deep-vein thrombosis, or DVT (see below)

Lower pressure

Although the cabin is pressurised, during the flight the maximum pressure is much lower than you would experience at or near sea level. It’s the equivalent of an altitude of 6,000 to 8,000ft. Researchers have found that subjecting someone to this lower pressure reduced the amount of oxygen absorbed by the blood (a condition known as hypoxia). This can leave you feeling rather dizzy and faint. It can also increase the likelihood of clotting or DVT.

Lower pressure can also cause pain or discomfort in your ears, which is made worse by a cold, and some people find that it causes their feet and legs to swell.

The solution 
There is little you can do to combat hypoxia as it is a controlled environment but you can help combat DVT by moving around frequently and stretching your legs in your seat.

Confinement!

This is the biggest issue for most travellers and the most controversial on health grounds. Seriously, are we supposed to be cooped up like that for long periods of time? Im still waiting for onboard gyms to open… :)
Apart from the sheer discomfort of minimal leg room – cramps, neck cricks and so on – long periods of immobility lead to a higher risk of DVT, and the risks may be greater at lower pressure.

DVT occurs when blood in the lower leg flows sluggishly and eventually clots, causing pain and swelling in the short term and a risk of sudden death from clots reaching the heart or lungs.

The solution

Buy as much leg room as you can afford!
Wear comfortable, non-restricting clothes.
Get up and walk around the cabin at least once every hour and exercise in your seat.
Avoid crossing your legs, or keeping the same position for a prolonged period.
Don’t take sleeping pills unless you are able to sleep horizontally.
People at slightly increased risk of DVT include those on the Pill or hormone-replacement therapy, smokers, people who are overweight, very tall, very short, have varicose veins, previous or current leg swelling from any cause, are pregnant or have a history of cancer or vascular disease.
Now the big one…

JET LAG

We’ve all experienced it (some more frequently than others) and there have been many techniques shared on how to minimize this affect! Im forever to new suggestions but here are a few common pointers I’ve come across on my travels and the reasons why we feel so out of the loop!

As a rough guide, for each time zone you cross where the clock moves forward or back by an hour, it takes about a day for your body’s natural rhythm to re-adjust to the change. After a long flight you can be left feeling ill, disoriented and unable to keep awake during the day, or you may find yourself wide awake in the middle of the night. Some people suffer more than others, but few of us escape entirely. The farther east or west you fly, the worse you are likely to feel, though many people believe that the shortened nights that you suffer when flying west to east make things worse.

The solutions

Some of the advice for avoiding fatigue, such as taking day flights where possible, and avoiding heavy meals just before trying to sleep, also applies to dealing with jet lag. But there are other things you can do.
Set your watch to the new time when you board the plane – it helps you start adjusting as early as possible.
On arrival, try to keep awake until bedtime, and try to stay in bed until it is time to get up.
Some people believe that the hormone melatonin helps them sleep better and adjust to new time zones more quickly. I know of someone who experimented with this for a while and they reported it only works when you are ready to go to sleep anyway by making it easier to drop off.
Meditate! try meditating once you’ve got in and had a shower. It helps calm the central nervous system and reconnects your mind with the present. It’s easy to feel ‘spaced out!’
Foot note
If you would like to contribute any solutions, ideas, brain storms, contacts etc please email to jesika.body@gmail.com :)