KettleBell Military Press

5 Components of Physical Fitness

 

Physical fitness is the ability to function effectively throughout your workday, perform your usual other activities and still have enough energy left over to handle any extra stresses or emergencies which may arise. 

You will reach your desired level of  physical fitness faster by understanding the five components of physical fitness and how they fit together.

Physical fitness is the ability to function effectively throughout your workday, perform your usual other activities and still have enough energy left over to handle any extra stresses or emergencies which may arise.

The components of physical fitness are:

*  Cardio respiratory (CR) endurance - the efficiency with which the body delivers oxygen and nutrients needed for muscular activity and transports waste products from the cells.

*  Muscular strength - the greatest amount of force a muscle or muscle group can exert in a single effort.

*  Muscular endurance - the ability of a muscle or muscle group to perform repeated movements with a sub-maximal force for extended periods of times.

*  Flexibility - the ability to move the joints or any group of joints through an entire, normal range of motion.

*  Body composition - the percentage of body fat a person has in comparison to his or her total body mass.

Improving the first three components of fitness listed above will have a positive impact on body composition and will result in less fat. Excessive body fat detracts from the other fitness components, reduces performance, detracts from appearance, and negatively affects your health.

Factors such as speed, agility, muscle power, eye-hand coordination, and eye-foot coordination are classified as components of "motor" fitness. These factors most affect your athletic ability. Appropriate training can improve these factors within the limits of your potential. A sensible weight loss and fitness program seeks to improve or maintain all the components of physical and motor fitness through sound, progressive, mission specific physical training.

Principles of Exercise

Adherence to certain basic exercise principles is important for developing an effective program. The same principles of exercise apply to everyone at all levels of physical training, from the Olympic-caliber athlete to the weekend jogger.

These basic principles of exercise must be followed.

Regularity

To achieve a training effect, you must exercise often. You should exercise each of the first four fitness components at least three times a week. Infrequent exercise can do more harm than good. Regularity is also important in resting, sleeping, and following a sensible diet.

Progression

The intensity (how hard) and/or duration (how long) of exercise must gradually increase to improve the level of fitness.

Balance

To be effective, a program should include activities that address all the fitness components, since overemphasizing any one of them may hurt the others.

Variety

Providing a variety of activities reduces boredom and increases motivation and progress.

Specificity

Training must be geared toward specific goals. For example, people become better runners if their training emphasizes running. Although swimming is great exercise, it does not improve a 2-mile-run time as much as a running program does.

Recovery

A hard day of training for a given component of fitness should be followed by an easier training day or rest day for that component and/or muscle group(s) to help permit recovery. Another way to allow recovery is to alternate the muscle groups exercised every other day, especially when training for strength and/or muscle endurance.

 

Overload

The work load of each exercise session must exceed the normal demands placed on the body in order to bring about a training effect.

Damian@FitnHealthy

Getting Motivated With Physical Fitness

Most people would spend money to enroll in gym memberships or buy those fitness equipments only to quit as soon as they start. Either they are too busy that they couldn't find time to keep it going or they quickly lose their interest due to lack of motivation. It's easy to start a lifestyle of fitness.  What's difficult is how to be consistent with it.

Studies reveal that most Americans engage in physical fitness only once in a while.  Others don't even exercise at all. And yet, about a quarter are able to find time to go the gym and sweat it out to their heart's delight.  

How could they?
It's easy to start a lifestyle of fitness.  What's difficult is how to be consistent with it.  Most people would spend money to enroll in gym memberships or buy those fitness equipment only to quit as soon as they start. Either they are too busy that they could no longer find time to keep it going or they quickly lose their interest due to lack of motivation.

In order to stay motivated, try to set some fitness goals and write them on paper. Putting them down on paper gives them more weight than just saying things to yourself.  be specific and realistic with your goals.  Instead of telling yourself that “I will start working out in a gym next week and build some muscles,” try writing it down in paper as “I will start working out in a gym next week, 3 times a week, Monday...Wednesday...and Friday, after work.” Setting unrealistic goals may lead to disappointment and frustration.  Exercise can give you a healthier body and add a certain glow, but it won't catch you a lover or turn you into a celebrity or supermodel.

 Setting aside a specific regular time for your fitness regimen is important to keep your enthusiasm going. The number one reason why most people, especially women, don't exercise is because they're too busy doing things for other people: their spouse, their kids, their boss. 

Make a plan or schedule for all the little stumbling blocks that usually get in the way and incorporate your time for exercise into your daily routine. Be sure to follow it and stick to it. Biking to work or taking a walk to do errands make a great deal in adding physical activity to your lifestyle.

Treat exercise as a social event by joining a group or being with a workout buddy.  Camaraderie helps in keeping the spirits up. Make family time a lot of fun by playing catch or kick with your kids, or swimming together in a lake or pool. Routine variations help, such as working on several activities during the week will help develop different sets of muscles and skills. 

While athletes do this for cross-training, one doesn't have to be in training to enjoy the benefits of mixing different sports, such as running, biking, and swimming.

 When fatigue interferes with your desire to workout, something may be wrong with your eating habits. Eating small meals frequently throughout the day is much better than skipping a meal, say lunch, and  then eat a big dinner.  Starving yourself affects your brain and leads to fatigue.  

However, eating too much at once slows your metabolism and makes you feel sloppy. On the other hand, eating frequently keeps your blood sugar level constant and maintains your energy level up. High-protein and high-fiber foods such as nuts and fruit are a good snack to give yourself a boost.

Treat yourself with rewards whenever you complete a cycle of your schedule, say every month, buy yourself something to encourage you for your effort. Some experts suggest putting a small amount of money in a jar every time you work out. At the end of the year, use your collected cash to buy something just for you.

Being consistent helps you become motivated. And the more you exercise, the easier it gets. Building more strength helps muscles develop more mitochondria, the cell parts that turn sugar into energy. The more mitochondria you have, the harder you can exert yourself. You also increase the number of capillaries which helps the oxygen flow to your muscles to provide more energy.

As you continue being faithful with your schedule and goals, the changes may not be visible at once.  Most of these bodily changes are invisible but they are happening and are important in laying the groundwork for a strong, healthy physique. As the cliche goes, “no pain, no gain.” Stick to it and you will soon realize that everything will fall into its proper places.

Damian@ufitnhealthy

Zwift-The Future Of Indoor Cycling

Cycling is Social.

Here at Zwift we believe that the best parts about cycling are the places you go and the people you go there with. Outdoor cycling is great. But weather, traffic, time constraints and distance from other cyclists can take the fun out of it. That’s why we’ve created a new destination that places you and your bike into immersive, detailed, 3D landscapes with other cyclists from around the world.

Now you can ride with anyone at anytime. Packed with real-time stats, stunning lifelike graphics,
and the latest in massive multiplayer online gaming, Zwift has kicked up the indoor cycling experience. We think it’s the greatest innovation in cycling since the bicycle.

Source http://zwift.com/index 

Does the Fitbit Work ?

Does the Fitbit Work and Why to Buy One!

There are loads of reviews out there that you can Google but does the Fitbit work? Well that really depends 100% on you. Sometimes you have to make an investment in order to get the benefit, and this is the case with the Fitbit. Surprising gadgets that can help improve our lifestyle arrive every day due to the constant advances in technology...and so along the way some of these can help our frugal ideals.

 

So what is the Fitbit? The device was first launched in 2008 and then later there was an improved version in 2011. In short it is a wireless device that tracks your activity metrics and sleep patterns. How exactly does the Fitbit work, well it contains a 3D motion sensor similar to a Wii remote. A wireless USB docking station automatically uploads your data to the Fitbit website. Daily progress can be checked at any time either via the display on the device or by logging onto the website. In addition there are also apps for the iPAD and Smart Phones so you have no excuse for not having the latest data at your fingertips. The Fitbit is small and discrete and you just clip it onto your belt or shirt. At night it slips into a soft wrist band. Start using it and you will be amazed at what it can show you about your lifestyle and activity levels.

 Does the Fitbit work, well the device only provides you with data in a consistent way each day. However, even if the data is not 100% accurate you can measure your progress since it is always measured in the same way. After that it is really up to you to unlock the potential....no device can actually magically make you fit without any effort!

Get More Sleep:
Without doubt most of us really have no idea just how much sleep we are getting or how well we really slept during the night. Does the Fitbit work to help you get more sleep? It can't make you sleep but it does act as an eyeopener to see the graph of how many times you woke up during the night. For example the second time I used it it showed that I had woken 11 times when I thought that I had only woken up once! By tracking the actual hours you sleep you can then make sure that you get to bed on time, have a nap during the day or use the weekend to catch up on your sleep deficit.

5 Good Reasons to Buy a Fitbit:
Lets look at how the Fitbit can potentially improve your lifestyle and perhaps save you money at the same time:

* Better Sleep: It tracks your sleep and makes you aware of your sleep patterns. You can learn from this and make sure you get enough sleep. The immediate impact is that you will have more energy and be more efficient€¦longer term your health should improve since many conditions are related to sleep deficit.

* Higher Activity Level: The more active you are the more calories you burn, the fitter you get and you are more likely to be able to keep your weight under control and within healthy limits. The more energy you have the more things you can fit into the day!

* Improved Fitness: The Fitbit makes you aware of your activity level so you automatically start moving around more€¦and this will improve you general level of fitness. And with improved fitness there is normally an improvement in overall health€¦providing you are also eating and sleeping correctly. So really you can see why this is a lifestyle choice.

* Awareness: By being aware of your activity level you can make the choice do something about it. You can sit at your desk all day at work or you can make sure that you get up and walk around. Stand up when you are on the phone€¦.go and see that person in accounts and talk face to face€¦start using the toilet on the next floor so that you can walk further!

* Save Money: And the bottom line is that if you are fitter you will tend to adopt a more healthy lifestyle which will save money on food. Can you ditch the gym membership as well? That depends on your level of motivation€¦it is really difficult to keep up a regular exercise routine on your own without going to a gym€¦and this is where the Fitbit could just tip the balance.

Does the Fitbit work and can it help you achieve your objectives? It does what it says on the box and the rest is up to you!

Source Richard Shield |Go

Virtual Fitness Training - The New Trend in Fitness

We all know the deal - watch what you eat, follow a fitness routine, and, if it is within your budget, join a gym or hire a personal trainer and you will lose weight, look good, and feel great. Often this will work, at first. The problem is, most of us have a hard time sticking to this ideal. Busy lifestyles, lack of sleep or energy, or loss of motivation usually kick in at some point to throw us off our accomplished health routines. What does it take, most of us wonder, to achieve results that can last, and not break our budget?

Welcome to the world of virtual training. With today's ease of technology and mass of social networking sites, in addition to the need for budget-friendly options, the next step in fitness is virtual training. What is virtual training? Virtual training is doing a fitness routine with your fitness coach from the comfort of your own home, or anywhere you have a computer, without the burden of paying high fees for your trainer to come to you. 

One of the top fitness trends is cost-conscious workouts using limited equipment. 

How is that accomplished? 

 

Directly through your computer and Internet service! Simply set up convenient times to meet with your fitness coach, set up the free computer program Skype™, make sure you have a video camera and microphone with your computer (most new computers come already equipped with these features), grab your workout sneakers and you are ready to go! A full workout routine can be accomplished in a small space using your own body weight, or a set of dumbbells, for equipment.

Virtual training has all the benefits of in-person fitness training without the drawbacks of having to physically leave your home or office. Accountability is the most critical factor for maintaining an exercise routine and continually making progress towards your goals. 

Regular virtual appointments with your fitness coach keep you on track, pushing you with ongoing support and encouragement to achieve desired results, without ever having to leave your home! 

Safety is another key factor in exercise, and your credentialed fitness coach will ensure that you make safe exercise progressions based on your health and level of ability and that you use good form for each exercise. 

Motivation is yet another essential element to fitness success. A fitness coach trained in behavior change techniques will ensure you overcome your personal hurdles and set-backs along the way with strategies that work specifically for you.

Hiring a high quality fitness coach is essential.
Before making a commitment to working with a particular fitness coach, review his/her credentials.

Look for a fitness certification from a respectable organization in the fitness industry that has received accreditation from the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), and the American Council on Exercise (ACE) are a few that are accredited by the NCCA. Also look for a college degree in an exercise or health related field and for experience. Many experienced fitness coaches will provide references or testimonials. And, finally, many fitness coaches go through additional training in behavior change principles, which helps clients like you to move past personal barriers that may have been delaying progress. Wellcoaches® is a corporation, endorsed by the American College of Sports Medicine, that trains health and fitness professionals in coaching competencies.

Ask your Trainer / PT/ Coach what training he/she has had in behavior change or coaching.

As you work on your goals, remember to use all available resources to help you achieve desired results. Virtual fitness training is one convenient and affordable resource that can bring you to real success.

Source : Sonja Boggs| Ezine

Developing A Workout Routine

If you are focusing on improving your health by losing weight and getting fit, one healthy habit you should not overlook (aside from improving your nutrition) is developing a workout routine.
Naturally this can be a bit awkward especially when starting out for the first couple months. It takes a considerable amount of effort to remove yourself from the couch or bed and get that body moving again. For many, it will be a slow process as your legs, arms, and body get used to exercising.
However once you make it past that initial stage and are able to exercise for 30 minutes to an hour, you've crossed the first and most difficult hurdle. Now the fun can really begin!
The Importance of Developing A Workout Routine

 

  The next item of business is figuring out exactly which activities you want to continue doing on a weekly basis which is why developing a workout routine can really help.
One important point to remember in regards to exercise is that you don't want feelings of boredom to creep in. These thoughts can fester leading you to slowly give up this healthy habit and that's the last thing you want to happen.

This can be compared to the types of foods you eat. It would become extremely boring to eat the same meal each and every day. Who would want to eat in this manner unless you absolutely had no other option?
You should consider exercise in the same way. Doing the same workout day after day may be fine for a couple of months but eventually you may get bored with this routine. Granted this is not true for everyone, and if you are able to run the same course 4-5 times per week month after month, then by all means stick with that.

However for those of you who like change and want to have a diversified portfolio of workouts, then creating a workout routine can really help keep you motivated and focused.
Naturally before you can create a workout routine, you need to not only have some options, but also the abilities to do the activities safely and properly. That's not to say you can't try out something new like a sport or activity you've always wanted to learn. If that's the case just be sure you get someone who is qualified to teach you how to do the activity properly.

Personally, my workout routine has grown immensely over the past two years. When I first started exercising, the only activity I did was walking - four times a week for about an hour at a time.
Sure that doesn't sound all too exciting, but my 300 pound self at the time could only handle that amount of activity safely.

After a couple of months, walking turned into hiking, then a couple of months later into jogging. Once I was able to run for an hour without feeling completely drained afterwards, I knew I had developed a newfound endurance and energy level I had not enjoyed in over a decade.
Over the past year I have experimented with a number of different activities. I started playing tennis again, attending a local Bootcamp class, biking with my dog, snowboarding regularly during the winter, a gym membership to my local LA Fitness, and even did the Insanity at-home workout program to see what that was like.

 

  These days I have a consistent workout routine that I usually stick with week after week. Monday and Wednesday is Bootcamp class, Tuesday and Thursday is tennis, and I usually either run or bike my dog on Friday and on one of the weekend days.

Maintaining this diverse workout routine keeps me motivated to stick with my plan every week. Best yet, I never go more than two days in a row without some type of exercise.
If you have had issues sticking with a consistent fitness routine, developing a workout routine so you can regularly exercise which will not only get you into better shape but you'll lose weight too! The best of both worlds.

Source Gregory L. Gomez

Fit Body Fit Mind

Working out is not only beneficial for your body but you can also boost your brain power by exercising. Most of us know that exercise makes us feel full of vitality; we can go from feeling sluggish to sparky, regardless of the workout. You could swim a few lengths at your local health club  swimming pool or take a run through the park. But how can exercise boost your brain power, you may wonder?

 

 Neuroscientists have discovered that even an easy running workout can boost the growth of thousands of new brain cells, which in turn improves memory recall. A crucial element for learning new skills and retaining the information learned. This is because exercise boosts circulation, increasing the supply of oxygen to muscles and to the brain.

There isn't evidence to suggest that one particular exercise activity is better than another for boosting brain power, however the more you can get your heart and lungs pumping the better for the development of brain cells. Even a twenty minute run on the treadmill at your local gym will provide significant benefits. Also dancing is another great way to get the cardiovascular system working towards improving your brain power.

Exercise not only can increase memory recall, there is also evidence to suggest involving yourself with team sports can lead to reducing the effect of depression and also warding off the onset of dementia. This is attributed to the natural affects of exercise on the brain and also the social aspect of team sports. If this type of exercise can be taken outdoors, then the benefits improve even more. As being at one with nature has been proven to create a better mood and also lower blood pressure.

It's far too basic to say you will become a brain box by doing exercise but it can be also be used to prevent or prolong the absence of illness which can impact on mental function. Not only for the benefits of brain but working out can relieve stress, diabetes and other cardio problems.

You can incorporate exercise into your daily life, through activities such as yoga, where you not only use your body you also use your brain for remembering the asanas. Any form of exercise which involves mental function will be of benefit; dancing and learning routines, martial arts and even memorising various aspects of your surroundings when you go out for a run or a bike ride. Noticing the changes of the seasons or if someone has changed the front of their home, this all aids to improving brain power.

By avoiding exercise is not only detrimental to your health it can affect your mental wellbeing too, so there should be no excuse for not getting to the gym, fitness club or even a brisk walk up and down the road will be good for you, a fit body equals a fit mind.

Source Billy Briar / Go 

 

Will The Popular Running Apps Get You Ready to Run?

With the new partnership between ACE and the Women’s Running Series, it is a good time to review and comment on some of the more popular and well-known running apps. It seems that I get an email every month from a fitness technology company touting a new running app. So, what do I look for in a running app? Are they really all that different? Most share the standard features and have millions of dedicated users. Check out my thoughts below, then tweet me your favorite running app and why.

RunKeeper – Free (with paid upgrade available)

RunKeeper is a popular Boston-based running app available in eight different languages. One of the first running apps, RunKeeper has a dedicated following of more than 20 million users. The app has an easy user interface that tracks stats like pace, distance and time. Add a sensor and monitor heart rate as well. It also comes with a goal-setting option and, if you need that extra motivation, a coach in your headphone with built-in audio cues. One of the features of the paid app provides live tracking, but use with caution. While your friends can track and see where you are on a map, so can others.

MapMyRun – Free (with paid upgrade available)

With the tag line “You pound the pavement, we provide the motivation. Plan each stride and learn from every route,” how can you not want to at least try MapMyRun. By using the built-in GPS on your mobile phone, MapMyRun will track your duration, distance, space, speed, elevation, route and calories burned (if you preset your body weight) on an interactive online map. On a business trip in Cleveland and looking for a place to run? Check out the thousands of training maps created by users just like you. (By the way, Cleveland has 5,382 routes and 350 courses.) You can even find a local running group with which to tag along. The paid MVP in app purchase is even smart enough to plan your route; you just tell the app how far you want to run and it finds the route for you.

Nike+ - Free

You don’t need to run in a pair of Nikes to use their app (but I am sure they’d like you to). Gone are the days of the sensor in your shoe—now all you need is your mobile phone and the Nike+ app. In addition to the standard tracking features of time, distance and pace, the app converts your runs into a Nike Fuel score, so you can challenge your non-running training partners to keep up with your pace. One of my favorite features of Nike+ is the live cheering option. Have you ever been on a 10K and needed just a little extra push? Use this app, share your run to Facebook or Path and when anyone likes your mile postings, you will hear a cheer in your headphones. My brother ran the DC marathon a few years ago, and I tracked his progress and cheered along the way, even though I was 5,000 miles away. Same caution of live sharing as mentioned in RunKeeper.

Zombie Run - $1.99 and up

What if you could make a game out of your runs? Now you can with Zombie Run.
Thousands of runners experience an “epic adventure” during their run that motivates them to run faster and farther than ever before. I know I’d run faster to avoid being eaten by a zombie. New to running and want to train for that upcoming 5K in a few months? They have a sister app with an eight-week training program. Zombie Run takes your own music and combines it with an action-packed game while you burn those calories. (And there is no truth to the rumor that Zombies don’t like McDonalds and that if you stop for a snack, they will track you down.)

Strava – Free (with paid upgrade available)

Designed originally for athletes, Strava takes social fitness to a new level. What if your training partner can’t sneak away from the office at lunch for your team run? Or perhaps you’ve moved to a new city? Use Strava and get back that sense of camaraderie and friendly competition that drove you to achieve your best when training with others. The free version allows for unlimited activities per month with detailed maps and activity analysis. You can challenge friends through virtual challenges and watch their progress. The premium version for $59 a year includes progress and performance goals, leaderboards and additional analysis features.
People use running apps for all sorts of reasons. Some use the app to track milestones, others to brag to their friends about their personal best. No matter the reason, if you get that extra motivation to exercise from technology, it gets two thumbs up in my book. So the next time you run around the block, consider trying one of the many running apps. Like I say “… an app a day keeps the doctor away.”

Note: Extended use of GPS available in many running apps will drain your battery.

Source : Ted Vickey, M.S., is the Senior Consultant - Fitness Technology for ACE

ZUU

An unusual Australian workout trend is taking the UK by storm. Called Zuu, it involves squatting, scrambling and slithering around the gym, just like a wild animal.

This is like no gym class I’ve ever been to before.Check Out My Ankor What is Ankor Training ?

“Bear crawl” yells the instructor and the other six participants drop to the floor, scrabbling around on their hands and knees, clambering towards the middle of the room and back again.“Gorilla!” he yells and there’s a mass swinging of arms and bounding forwards with flat feet. Bemused, I join in, channelling my inner Mowgli as I literally ape what the others are doing. But just as I've mastered the marsupials, we’ve moved on to “Iguanas!” – which involves a sort of slithering plank – followed by “Frog squats!” – dipping and bobbing with bent knees like a hyperactive amphibian.

I feel, and look, utterly ridiculous. But then so does everybody else. We’re clambering and scrambling, rolling and diving, jumping and heffalumping our way around the floor - legs and arms akimbo - in response to the seemingly random animal names that our instructor, Jay Moore, is bellowing at 30-second intervals. Gone are the dour gym-faces we were sporting moments ago. We’re making such a spectacle that a crowd has gathered. Some are so intrigued that they’ve abandoned their cross-trainers to join in.

No ordinary gym class

It's a far cry from my usual inner-city gym experience: sweaty, testosteroney, adrenalin-filled dystopias, where the frenzied hum of machines drowns out my every thought. There's something about them that fills me with dread, from the buff bankers hogging the treadmills, the toned-and-tanned gym bunnies preening in the changing rooms, or the fact that nobody ever speaks or – worse – cracks a smile; they don’t tend to be welcoming places.

Unless, that is, you're at Virgin Active’s Health Club in Aldersgate, east London, pretending to be a lizard.

 The bizarre display is known as 'Zuu', an Australian-born fitness sensation that has just landed in the UK. Virgin Active has been trialling it at three health clubs in the capital and, so successful has it proved, that it's being rolled out across the whole country this summer. Based on primal movements and animal instincts, it’s a combination of strenuous cardio intervals, strength building and agility exercises. With fans including Sir Richard Branson, international sports teams and the military, it’s being hailed as the biggest fitness craze of the year. Better still, it’s as easy as it sounds: simply listen to the name of the animal and start moving around the room as if you're it (sound effects optional).
Invented by Aussie fitness fanatic Nathan Helberg, a father-of-four who describes himself as an “expert in primal pattern movements”, Zuu was piloted in Queensland in 2010. Since then, it’s become one of the continent’s most popular exports, with programmes in the USA, France and Japan. In a recent survey, the American College of Sports Medicine named high-intensity interval training as the top global fitness trend of 2014 – and Zuu aficionados haven’t looked back.

Don't worry about looking silly?

I, meanwhile, am still being put through my paces. Virgin Active’s classes are currently only 15 minutes long (though they have plans to extend them to 45), but boy what a 15 minutes. Lights are flashing before my eyes; my limbs feel like deadweights; I’m sweating from places I didn’t know existed. One of the men drops out halfway through; others are frantically mopping the floor with their towels. Frog follows iguana follows cobra (another slithery one, with a side-to-side stretch); bear follows gorilla follows crocodile (during which I collapse and forget to pay attention).
“The idea is to keep the heart rate nice and high,” insists Jay, when I gasp defeat. “They’re all natural movements that your body should be doing; it’s just that it hasn’t done them in a while. You stop doing this sort of thing when you’re a kid, so Zuu is about recapturing that energy and agility. You’re up on your feet and constantly moving. Don’t worry about looking silly” – this, at the sight of me, derriere in the air, trying to mimic a frog – “because you’ll feel great afterwards.”

Zuu has three main selling points: for all the pain, it’s over pretty quickly; it doesn’t require much space, so it’s perfect for tiny flats; and it gives impressive results. Just 15 minutes of rolling around like you’re at a three-year-old’s birthday party can burn between 500 and 1,000 calories. In real-life terms, that’s two Starbucks double-choc muffins. Or a sharing bag of salt-and-vinegar Kettle Chips. Plus wine. “It hits every part of the body from a fitness perspective,” adds Jay. “Women love it for weight loss or toning; men love it for muscle-building. Your heart rate fluctuates so much that it’s really good for you. If you put the work in, you’ll get so much out.”

Unleashing my inner beast

The name is, in a way, a bit of a misnomer – because not all the moves are named after animals. There’s the “sumo scissor” (a squat followed by kicking each leg alternately); the “thumb rock press” (a particularly undignified number requiring your hips to be in the air and your head to touch the ground) and the “hindu push up” (which reminds me of the ‘worm’, a move that should otherwise only be attempted by break dancers).
There’s even an advanced stage, for when you’ve perfected the animal motions, whereby participants wear a resistance harness to make everything even harder. Feeling energised – or possibly delirious with exhaustion – I try it on for size. It’s like a miniature backpack attached by a lurid orange cord to a gym barre. I look like I’m going abseiling – or trying out for a part in the new Transformers movie. More than a few curious stares shoot my way as I run through my best mammal moves, feeling disconcertingly like I’m on a leash.

Then, suddenly, my 15 clammy, agonising minutes are up. In the communal spirit of Zuu, there are high fives all round – followed by rapid gulping of water and sighs of relief. I feel shattered but refreshed; like I could climb a tree and swing from its branches.
“The number one piece of feedback we’ve had,” says Jay, “is how much fun it is.” I can see exactly what he means. Whether it’s squatting like a frog, pouncing like a tiger or simply hopping up and down to get rid of my kangaroo’s pouch, this is my kind of gym class. People are – whisper it – actually smiling. And all it took was a bit of monkeying around.

Five Zuu moves to try at home

The Gorilla: Think Planet of the Apes. Long, heavy arms and big bounds forward
The Frog Squat: Bend your knees, keeping your feet flat on the floor. Get low – so low you feel your thighs burning – and then pop up, as if on to a lilypad
The Bear Crawl: Bum in the air, hands and feet on the ground. Ditch your dignity and skulk forwards for four steps, then backwards for four
The Iguana: Get into the plank position and move alternate hands and feet forwards. Think Catherine Zeta Jones in Entrapment, minus the cat suit
The Crocodile: As above, but tuck your elbows in and scuttle forwards, jaws snapping.

Source :   telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health & ZUU creator Nathan Helberg touring the world with Ankorr Director Dirk Gardner

Trackers - How technology is helping us monitor and improve our health

Self-tracking is the practice of measuring and monitoring your health, activities or diet through technologies such as smartphone apps, wearables and personal genomics, empowering you to take control of your day to day health. Richard MacManus explains the benefits and risks of self-tracking and looks at:

• What exactly is being tracked
• The tools and techniques being used
• The best practices of early adopters
• How self-tracking is revolutionizing the health and wellness industries
• How the medical establishment is adapting to these new trends

 The book will be available 1st January 2015, $29.99... Already available as a Kindle eBook as below

Apple's iWatch and HealthKit: What They Mean for Health and Fitness Pros and Their Clients

The fusion of technology and the fitness industry continues at warp speed. This brings both excitement and concern, with users around the world waiting for the release of the new iPhone 6, new iOS 8 and the closely guarded Apple iWatch. Rumors suggest the devices will be both fashionable and practical.
Wall Street has also been watching the buzz around the new Apple products, as this is the most significant event for Apple under the leadership of Tim Cook (and not Steve Jobs). With the introduction of HealthKit, it is also Apple’s attempt to make the iPhone not only the center of the user’s digital world, but also of his or her physical world as well.
The HealthKit framework within iOS 8 will offer more health and fitness functionality by linking devices with a user’s health information, using the iPhone as the central hub. Now users will be able to capture and monitor health and fitness information such as pulse, steps, blood pressure and sleep habits. These health measures offer a clear and current overview of a person’s overall well-being. While it is true that individual apps have been doing this for years, the new HealthKit will allow these health and fitness apps to sync data about the user’s health and fitness across a variety of wearables and apps, organizing them all into one dashboard application—the iPhone.
Within the fitness industry, excitement started a year ago when Apple hired fitness-industry expert and ACE Pro Jay Blahnik as one of the first of many hires specific to health and fitness. After years spent consulting with Gatorade, Nautilus, Schwinn and Nike, Blahnik was all in with Apple. In December 2013, Apple met with the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. governing arm of the federal government for all things medical, to discuss mobile medical applications, likely to ensure that HealthKit would not cross a regulatory line.
This is exciting news for our industry, so how can personal trainers and health coaches benefit from such technology? Here are three things I will be watching for in the weeks and months that follow the announcement:
Being Connected. Our world continues to become even more connected. It is through being connected that trainers and health coaches can engage with their clients, keeping them on the path to wellness. Through the new iPhone platform, clients will be able to share with you integrated insights into their daily lives (activity, sleep, steps, food, pulse rate, etc.) that wasn’t previously possible. No longer will you need to guess what your clients did outside of training or if they took your advice—it will all be there with a click of a button. How’s that for accountability? New business models for training and coaching will be developed to take advantage of this technology and the job of a trainer or coach will no longer be limited to inside the four physical walls of a gym, opening up new markets not only down the street but around the world.
Deeper Collaboration. We’ve seen that it takes a team to make a real difference in the lives of our clients. From trainer to physician, coach to nutritionist, the power of collaboration, being in sync and in real time, is one highlight of the new HealthKit. It will take time for each team member to understand his or her place in the overall HealthKit matrix, but what is exciting is the possibility of overall health for our collective clients. More teamwork between practitioners allows trainers and coaches to stay within their scope of practice and seek partnerships with others in the healthcare industry.
Proceed with Caution. Apple is late to the game with regards to fitness tracking, but many expect it to succeed where others have not. While Jawbone and FitBit do a good job of tracking activity, many consumers still see wearables as “unstylish” and the buzz of the wearable soon wears off with a sharp decline in use after just six months. A device has yet to emerge with enough authority to encourage mass adoption (not good if you are relying on this data). Apple could change that perception with their historic strengths in design and new hires in fashion, which means more people will be more inclined to wear a device and thus more health data will be collected.
As we share more personal and confidential information across the cloud, there will be more debate surrounding security and privacy with this type of information. Apple has taken steps to ensure our privacy, with requirements that apps using HealthKit not store information on the cloud and not share information without user consent. Of course, there will always be a risk when sharing data through the cloud, but does the benefit of sharing outweigh the concern over privacy? Or vice versa?
Remember, Apple is not the only kid on the block using smartphones for health. In the US, there are nearly 170 million cellphone users, 70 percent of whom use smartphones. Within the smartphone category, the iPhone is by far the most popular, with 42 percent of users, followed by Samsung at 28 percent, 7 percent for LG, 6 percent Motorola and 5 percent for HTC. However, when looking at the operating systems of these smartphones, Android takes the lead with 52 percent, Apple at 42 percent, and Microsoft, BlackBerry and others making up the remaining 8 percent (ComScore, 2014). The takeaway? If you only work with Apple, you will be missing out on 58 percent of the population that uses a smartphone other than an iPhone.
I am a believer in effective uses of technology and am excited about the Apple announcement, as well as the upcoming announcements from Microsoft and Google within the health and fitness space. New technologies and innovations like the iPhone, the Apple iWatch and HealthKit are not a magic bullet, but they can be a very powerful tool that, when properly implemented into trainers’ and coaches’ businesses, can lead to new clients, new revenue streams and new partnerships. These technologies will never replace a qualified and certified personal trainer or health coach. After all, clients hire us for our knowledge and accountability, but they keep us for our personality and ability to connect with them.

Source : By Ted Vickey Ted Vickey Ted Vickey, M.S., is the Senior Consultant - Fitness Technology for ACE. He’s been an ACE Certified Personal Trainer since 1992