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bodyweight training Archives - Crawley Fitness

Dec 16
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How to Eat and Lose Weight at Christmas…

By | Ladies Fitness, Personal Training Crawley, Weight Loss | No Comments

If you’re looking to keep in shape (or even lose a bit of weight) over the Christmas period it can… be tough.  There’s food everywhere, and for the most part it’s they’re not the healthiest options.

So, what do you do?

A super simple tip is to eat well before you go out.  Now conventional wisdom says you’ll eat twice as much but with a little care (and a lot of listening to your body) you should end up eating less when you go out. And by well I mean lean protein, low G.I. carbohydrates and lots of vegetables (there should be plenty of Brussels sprouts floating around)!

Then you have flexible dieting.

Lets keep it simple and practical.

Say you eat 2000 calories to maintain your weight.  If you’re off out in the evening for a meal and think you’re going to eat 1500 calories — then you make sure you’re breakfast and lunch are only 500 calories.

This isn’t an exact science, and it’s not perfect either BUT if you want to eat when you’re out and enjoy the festive season then it’s a perfectly practical option to keep your weight in check.

Just make sure to make the most of those 500 calories, full of nutritional dense foods (think vegetables again) and protein.  For the simple reason that the evening is highly likely to be higher on the carb side of things.

Last tip (you can combine all these options) is learn to make healthier choices when you do eat out.  Pick the right balance of proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats.  By that I mean lean protein (think chicken breast, turkey, salmon and lean beef), lower G.I. carbs (think brown not white and starchy carbs instead of sugary ones), and by healthy fats you can have salmon and plain nuts (not salted etc).

And lots of vegetables (are you seeing a trend here?) these nutrient rich, low calories foods should become staples of your eating.

Away from the eating side of things don’t forget to keep your body moving.

The gyms might be shut but that’s no excuse.

Make the most of crisp, sunny Winter days and go for a walk, take the stairs and not the escalator when you’re doing your Christmas shopping and squeeze in a few bodyweight exercises (press-ups, chin ups, squats and core work) to keep your body moving.

Christmas doesn’t have to be the overindulgent fest many folk think it is.

Apply these simple tips, keep moving and enjoy!

And if you’re looking for a little help with your eating and exercising come the New Year… get in touch with our team on 01293 552 511.

We have over 40 classes per week, offering 1-2-1 personal training and are here to help!

Now go and have a great Christmas!

 

 

Aug 21
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The Benefits of Bodyweight Training…

By | Gym Crawley | No Comments

If you’re looking to build a leaner, stronger and more functional body then you can’t go far wrong by starting out with Bodyweight Training.

Unfortunately we’re so disconnected with our own bodies that we tend to associate fitness with the gym.  And while that’s not wrong… it’s not always the best way to get started.

For most folk the problem with the gym is you don’t really get guidance other than the ‘standard workout routine’ given to everyone regardless of their fitness goals and you’ll quickly out grow it.

Not to mention the fact that there is little point lifting weights (that you have to pay for) when you can’t even lift your own body.  Take Lat Pull-Downs for example.  You see people using the machine at the gym but how many do you see doing the bodyweight equivalent?  A pull up (or chin up depending on the grip you use).

Bodyweight training is where it all begins.

Key Benefits to Bodyweight Training

Aside from saving the time and the money you’ll save by not having to go to the gym.  And aside from the fact that you can do bodyweight training anytime and anywhere there are many more benefits.

Firstly, the vast majority of bodyweight exercises are compound exercises.  They work around more than a single join which is healthier for your body, a better calorie burner if you’re looking to lose weight and much, much better for building a functional body that works in day to day life.

Second, you can only use a machine in one way.  That gets boring but with bodyweight you have a multitude or variations that work different muscles, work them differently or put an emphasis on different areas.  Classic examples are narrow, normal or wide grip press ups — the bodyweight version of the bench press.

Third, you can do some very cool party tricks with bodyweight exercises.  Anyone who has spent any time on YouTube will be blown away with the impressive folk working on in the parks on bars, doing crazy versions of press-ups and gymnastic style hand balancing or the human flag.  Impressive feats of strength that build a great looking body and impresses your friends too.

Simple Example of Bodyweight Workouts

Bodyweight Progressions

Of course it’d be wrong to say you only have to use your bodyweight.  That’s what the faddy exercise programs want you to believe — that their system is all you need.

The reality is for many bodyweight training is enough but if you want to progress you can.

The technique you learn from bodyweight squats can be used to perform barbell squats in a rack.  The strength you build from press-ups can allow you to progress to the bench press or even harder add shoulder work to your routine with a hand stand press up!

Our Fitness Classes

At our gym in Crawley our main goal is to get people in great shape with a functionally fit body.  Our cardio sessions are intense and our workouts make the most of both bodyweight and more advanced versions with equipment.

You’ll squat, you’ll lunge, you’ll press, pull, lift and drag.

Our classes offer an all over body workout and we have classes for both men and women.

If you’d like to find out about our classes get in touch by entering your name and telephone number in the box on the side of this page or by calling a member of the team on 01293 552 511.

Jul 22
0

Best of Bodyweight Fitness Training

By | Exercise and Fitness, Ladies Fitness | No Comments

You don’t always have to join a gym to get a good workout (although it definitely helps on the motivation front) because you can do a lot with just the weight of your body.

Lifting, pushing and pulling your own bodyweight fitness training is an excellent way to start building your strength and coupled with methods (a Tabata for example) it’s a very good way to get your heart rate up, build up a sweat and burn a lot of calories.

Plus you can do it where ever and whenever you want.  Bodyweight fitness training is the perfect holiday workout or quick fix if you can’t make it to the gym today.

Here’s a short and very inspirational clip of some the amazing exercises you can incorporate into a bodyweight fitness workout.  While some of the exercises shown are high level and require good fitness and strength another benefit to bodyweight training is there are usually different variations you can use.

For example you could do a press-up on your knees, progress to doing it on your toes or increase the difficulty by putting your feet on a chair.  You could even go one step further by doing your press ups on an unstable surface (like a fit ball).

One exercise, several variations that let you train at your level and also allow you to progress, get stronger and get fitter.