Why we should Exercise

Adults should do some type of physical activity every day. Any type of activity is good for you. The more you do the better. The following advice is from NHS England.

Adults should:

• aim to be physically active every day. Any activity is better than none, and more is better still
• do strengthening activities that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) on at least 2 days a week
• do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week
• reduce time spent sitting or lying down and break up long periods of not moving with some activity

What counts as moderate aerobic activity?

Moderate activity will raise your heart rate, and make you breathe faster and feel warmer. One way to tell if you’re working at a moderate intensity level is if you can still talk, but not sing. Examples of moderate intensity activities include brisk walking, water aerobics, riding a bike, dancing, doubles tennis, pushing a lawn mower, hiking.

What counts as vigorous activity?

Vigorous intensity activity makes you breathe hard and fast. If you’re working at this level, you will not be able to say more than a few words without pausing for breath. In general, 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity can give similar health benefits to 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity.

Most moderate activities can become vigorous if you increase your effort.

Examples of vigorous activities include jogging or running, swimming fast, riding a bike fast or on hills, sports, skipping, aerobics, martial arts.

 

What activities strengthen muscles?

To get health benefits from strength exercises, you should do them to the point where you need a short rest before repeating the activity. It is best to get a chartered physiotherapist or qualified personal trainer to advice you on this.

There are many ways you can strengthen your muscles, whether you’re at home or in a gym and this includes lifting weights, using resistance bands and body weight exercises (such as press ups).

Always gain advice from a qualified professional before starting a new exercise programme or if there is a change in your health status.

How we can help

• Physiotherapy
• Personal Training
• Pilates
• Exercise classes

Stay Healthy
Lisa

Blog post by Lisa
Senior Physiotherapist
MSc MACP MHCPC MCSP 
Emma James Physio

Benefits of weight bearing exercise

What is Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a health condition that weakens bones, making them fragile and more likely to break. The stage before osteoporosis is called osteopenia.

Oestrogen, a hormone in women that protects bones, decreases sharply when women reach menopause, which can cause bone loss. This is why the chance of developing osteoporosis increases as women reach menopause.

How can weight bearing exercise help?

Weight-bearing exercise, especially resistance exercise, appears to have the greatest effects on bone mineral density.

Numerous longitudinal studies have examined the effects of exercise training on bone health in children, adolescents, and young, middle-aged and older adults. There is compelling evidence that routine physical activity, especially weight-bearing and impact exercise, prevents bone loss associated with aging.

In a meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT), exercise training programs were found to prevent or reverse almost 1% of bone loss per year in the lumbar spine and femoral neck in both pre- and postmenopausal women (Wolff et al, 1999).

In addition, exercise training appears to significantly reduce the risk and number of falls and the risk and incidence of fractures is also reduced among active people (Carter et al 2001, Gregg et al 2000).

Preliminary evidence from a high quality trail indicates that exercise training is effective in improving bone density in older women (75–85 years of age) with low bone mineral density (Liu- Ambrose et al, 2004). In this 6 month trail, 98 women were randomly assigned to participate in resistance training ( n = 32), agility training ( n = 34) or stretching (n = 32). The greatest increase in cortical bone density were observed in the resistance training group, followed by the agility training group. The stretching group experienced losses in cortical bone density.

In Summary:

Regular weight bearing physical activity appears to be important in preventing loss of bone mineral density and osteoporosis, particularly in postmenopausal women.

How we can help optimise your bone health:

1. Physiotherapist lead assessment, treatment and guidance on appropriate weight bearing exercises
2. Pain relieving modalities (acupuncture, floatation therapy, manual therapy, massage therapy) to reduce pain to allow the individual to participate in regular weight bearing activity
3. Personal training

More Information:

Please read the full article for more information. Warburton et al, 2006. Health benefits of physical activity. CMAJ.

Stay Healthy
Lisa

Blog post by Lisa
Senior Physiotherapist
MSc MACP MHCPC MCSP 
Emma James Physio

 

Benefits of working with a Personal Trainer

There are many reasons why having a Personal Trainer (PT) can benefit you, people of all ages and abilities. See better results by living a happier more active lifestyle.

A Personal Trainer will help build a unique training plan for each individual, which can easily be adapted and adjusted. Exercises can be regressed or progressed depending on the level of fitness, injury, results driven, time and if having an ‘off day’.

Top 5 Benefits

1. Faster and Better results

Having a Personal Trainer will make sure you stick to your programme and push you to your limits during a workout session. Often when you work out solo you can become distracted and don’t push yourself as much. Time is always an excuse as not to work out but having a PT can adjust programs so they are just as affective no matter what the length of time you have available.
By pushing your boundaries, you will see faster results, this could be weight loss, toning up, cardio/fitness level or strength.

2. Fat loss and Muscle Gain
This is not everyone’s main goal but for 80% off people hitting the gym it is. Having a Personal Trainer, they know the right exercise each individual should be doing to achieve their goals. A mixture of weight training to gain muscles and become stronger and cardio to get fitter and leaner

3. Reduce chance of injury
A Personal Trainer will teach proper form and technique, which will prevent injury. Injuries can easily occur from not warming up properly or doing exercises incorrectly.

4. Establish a lifestyle habit and routine
A Personal Trainer can help motivate and encourage to create new habits. Once a routine is established it is easier to stick to, making it part of your lifestyle will make it easier to achieve results. Exercise and diet are all about consistency if you want to see those results.

5. They fit into your schedule
We all have busy lives and lots going on the beauty of a Personal Trainer is that they will adapt their time to fit in with you. So if you need an early morning or late evening workout a PT will be there.

6. Flexibility on Location
Many do not like working out in a gym as it can be crowded and over whelming. A Personal Trainer can change the location of any workout from either the gym, a home work out or even outside.

7. They can help with specific goals – an Event
As well helping set realistic goals a Personal Trainer can help set a training plan and train for specific event whether this be a run, triathlon, swim or a sporting event etc. With events you need to reach a certain level of fitness to be able to compete and stay injury free.

8. Mentor / Mental Health
Exercise realises endorphins which are ‘happy hormones’ they can help make you feel good physically and mentally. A Personal Trainer can help motivate you when you are suffering from mental health issues, they can help keep you on course to release the greatest number of endorphins. This in turn helps with a person’s overall wellbeing. A PT cares about how stressed you are, they will listen to you, they want to give you the best results which can be impacted on how you are feeling.

If this sounds interesting and you need that extra push why not call or email Emma James Physio to find out more….
reception@ejphysio.co.uk
01442 870686

Pippa
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Blog Post by Pippa
FCO Gym Manager & Personal Trainer
Emma James Physio

 

The importance of rest and recovery when training

This should be the easy part of our training but it tends to be the most neglected part. Rest is just as important as the actual training itself.

In order to see an improvement in performance, our body needs to be exposed to stresses, the body then needs time to adapt to the stresses and this is the period of recovery. Rest and recovery are vital in the prevention of injuries.

7 Important guidelines to consider after training which will improve recovery:

1. Cool Down and Stretch
After exercise it is important to cool down to bring your body temperature back down and also to stretch the muscles that you have worked.

2. Replace fluids
It is important to replace your fluids after training as you lose a lot of salts whist training.

3. Nutrition
It is important to make sure you eat properly after training because this will boost your recovery.

4. Rest
It is essential to put your feet up and rest!!

5. Massage or self-massage
I would recommend a regular massage when you are in training however another option is to use a foam roller or tiger tail and do it yourself.

6. Sleep
Sleep is essential for recovery. When we are sleeping our bodies produce a growth hormone which plays an important part in our tissue growth and muscle repair.

7. Listen to your body
Most importantly!!! If you are tired your body is telling you to rest, so do it.

More Information:
Personal Training
Massage
Sports Massage
Nutrition
Happy Training & Resting Buddies!
Kerry
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Blog Post by Kerry
Group Gym Manager & Personal Trainer

Are you getting enough exercise?

Hiya,

Are you reaching the recommended amount of exercise each week to stay healthy?

NHS guidleines recommend adults ages 19- 64 should try to be active daily and should achive the following a week to stay healthy:

• At least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity such as cycling or brisk walking every week and
• Strength exercises on 2 or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)

  Or:

• 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity such as running or a game of singles tennis every week and
• strength exercises on 2 or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)

At Emma James Physio we have expert personal trainers who can create tailor made exercise programmes for you incorporating strengthening and aerobic (cardio) exercise either 1:1 with the trainer or with a buddy or in a small group.

We also run spin classes and legs, bums & tums with our in-house top Personal Trainer/ spin instructor extraordinaire Kerry McCann.

More Information:

• Personal Training
• Classes

 

Blog Post by Lisa
Senior Physiotherapist
Emma James Physio

Post Pregnancy exercise

Hi,

Being a mum I know the importance of exercise after having kids so heres my Top Tips on why Post Pregnancy exercise is so important to your wellbeing.

Regular exercise after pregnancy can:

• Promote Weight loss, especially when combined with reduced calorie intake
• Improve your cardiovascular fitness
• Strengthen and tone abdominal muscles
• Help enhance your mood
• Improve flexibility
• Reduce the heavy postnatal depression with a healthy mind

 

Why not try our Post Pregnancy exercise classes at Emma James Physio:

• Bespoke luxury personal training and physio studio
• Specialist care for hypermobility, bladder issues, complicated biomechanics
• Fitness studio for every women and people wanting to get back into exercise, we are almost the luxury stepping stone back to the gym
• Rehab gym
• You are not just a number in a class, our studio has a more personal feel
• Exercise in a friendly and fun environment
• Small group classes

Further Information:

• Visit our website to find out more www.ejphysio.co.uk
• Woman & Child
• Mummy MOT

Post by Emma James – October 2018

Mum & Daughter training sessions

Hiya,

I just had to share one of my lovely patients stories with you, enjoy!

“My Mother has always been my best friend, and since going to University I’ve really missed our quality time together.

We both really enjoy working out, especially together, and we love to go to fitness classes together; but, surrounded by other people, it’s hard for us to call this quality time spent with one another.

In an attempt to remedy this, my mother booked us in for a joint personal training session at Emma James Physiotherapy and it completely revolutionised how we work out together.

We get to bond, whilst also partaking in little challenges against each other, set by the trainer (which I hate to admit but I, more often than not, lose to my mother in…).
We get to spend that really valuable time together, whilst also working out; this is especially great for my mother, who works a lot and often struggles to find time to work out.

The exercises set by the trainer found a happy medium between both of our strengths in different areas, allowing us both a solid workout, whilst also pushing us to be better in the areas which we were less used to working.

Joint training sessions at Emma James Physiotherapy are an occasion that I also look forward to, not only as it allows me to spend time with my best friend, but the session also pushes me in a tailored, fun workout”.

If you would like to find out more about our personal training sessions please visit www.ejphysio.co.uk

All the best,
Emma
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Blog Post by Emma
MD, owner & senior clinical director

Press Ups – the benefits

What are the benefits of press ups…..

Press ups are not only great for your chest, but they do a tremendous job of defining your abs, triceps, shoulders and torso.

• Press ups build strength – across the whole body
• Press ups boost metabolism
• Improve your posture
• Prevent lower back injuries by strengthening your torso

Learn more about Personal Training at www.ejphysio.co.uk

Tips for running

Here are my 9 essential top tips you will need to get up and running!

Is my:

1. Face and jaw relaxed
2. Head upright, slight lean looking forwards to a point 20-40 metres away
3. Shoulders in a relaxed and comfortable position
4. Natural curves of the spine
5. Arms move in a pendulum – like movement close into the side of the body, with the movement coming from the shoulder joint
6. Elbows bent at 90 degrees
7. Fingers and thumbs relaxed
8. Hips and shoulders facing forwards, with a minimum rotation
9. Focus on keeping core strong

 

Happy Running!
Kerry
Personal Trainer & Gym Manager at Emma James Physio