Spending 15 minutes each morning flowing through some yoga poses can help to improve your flexibility, core strength, and balance – which makes it a great addition to your morning routine.1 Why is yoga in the morning beneficial? Studies have shown that yoga can help improve your physical and mental health, including reducing physical symptoms associated with anxiety.2 Alongside this other studies have shown yoga can switch off your ‘fight-or-flight’ response temporarily, which helps calm your mind.3 How do you get started with a morning yoga routine? Before you begin your...
Getting fit or fitter can sometimes feel like an insurmountable goal. In fact, the sheer size of it all can often overwhelm you into procrastination mode, or into feeling fed up with the enormity of the task. But have no fear! There are surefire ways to get around this. They involve setting fitness goals that are specific, realistic and achievable, and then breaking them down into monthly, weekly, or even daily actions that will help you get there. Fitness goals are also important because they give you a vision of what is...
No time to get to the gym? Fit exercise around your busiest days with these 8 easy ways to fit exercise into a hectic lifestyle. 10-minute workout before breakfast If you can get up 25 minutes earlier, there's time to have a drink of water, do a 10-minute intense workout, and shower. Choose from hundreds of free videos on social media. Look for interval training, circuits, or a body weight workout. Walk your commute Can you walk at least part of your daily commute? Any extra walking will contribute to...
Your recommended daily steps by age You might already be a regular counter or even have an app on your smartphone which records every step you take. If you’re currently not monitoring this though, it’s worth considering exactly how many steps medical professionals recommend we take each day to help support our bodies’ physical health. Why is it important to reach your recommended daily step count? Moving our bodies regularly has innumerable benefits, from improving our circulation and heart health to supporting weight loss and lowering the risk of certain...
Protein is a vital nutrient that has many critical roles in the body. The building blocks of proteins are amino acids. There are 22 amino acids used in the human body. Nine of these have to come from the food we eat and are called essential. Functions of protein include repair and maintenance of body tissues, energy, the formation of some hormones, enzymes and antibodies, and the transportation and storage of molecules. Protein also increases thermogenesis and satiety, both of which are useful for weight loss. Let’s look at what...
