Foam rollers: The essential kit

Ask most people who exercise whether they do enough stretching or flexibility after working out and the anser is no. Yet flexibility is a vital component of fitness and without it you are effectively just creating a good looking facade with strength and cardiovascular work but on a poor foundation which will eventually result in fundamental problems.
But if you don’t have the time to do hours of yoga and can’t afford regular sports massages, what can you? One solution would be to invest in a foam roller which works on the same principle as a sports massage therapist but costs around £10.
A foam roller is a cylindrical piece of hard foam which you use to self massage your body and helps to release the myofascia, lengthen muscles and increase blood flow and circulation to the soft tissues.
Myofascia is the soft connective tissue that wraps and connects muscles, bones and blood vessels. Often due to injury, misuse or lots of exercise without sufficient stretching it and the underlying muscle tissue can become stuck together resulting in restricted muscle movement and reduced flexibility or range of motion in joints.
Moreover, if one muscle is inhibited another muscle will kick in to do the work resulitng in a domino effect which will eventually lead to biomechanical failures.
So how exactly does rolling on a piece of hard foam help? Foam rollers work by tricking the muscles into relaxing by stimulating the action of a sensory receptor in the muscle fibres called the Golgi Tendon Organ. This is highly sensitive to muscle tension and when it feels a muscle being stretched too tight, it forces it to relax and lengthen to prevent it tearing.
Of course, a foam roller is no substitute for a professionally trained sports massage therapist or for seeing someone if you are injured. But at just over £10 it should be a vital piece of equipment for anyone who exercises, from the occasional 5k runner to someone running regular marathons. The downside? It is painful but stick with it every day and you will see huge improvements in flexibility, range of motion and sports performance. Visit for a range of Foam rollers.
Visit here for exercises that you can do with the foam roller

What's a Beep Test?

If the only type of fitness you have ever done was PE at school, then you may never have had the pleasure of coming across the dreaded beep or Bleep test as it is known.
The test is a way of measuring a person's aerobic fitness - or maximum oxygen uptake (V02 max).
The test is made up of 23 levels with each level lasting approximately one minute. Each level comprises of a series of 20m shuttles with a starting speed of 8.5km/hr. This increases by 0.5km per hour each stage. So, what's the point you may wonder?
With training it is possible to improve your oxygen uptake and the beep test is a simple tool to mark your progress. And in terms of improving your fitness and sports specific goals it is worth being able to improve your V02 max levels.
Why? During most forms of exercise, the body depends on oxygen to help provide the nergy it uses. It is extracted from the air by the lungs and transported via the blood to the working muslces. As intensity increases, there's an increase in the body's demand for oxygen.
But at a certain point, oxygen demand can not satisfy the muscles and the body switches to anaerobic (without oxygen)metabolism. The only disadvantage to this is that the body can only sustain high rates of energy production for a short while. Therefore, improve oxygen uptake and you are more liklely to avoid the high levels of fatigue that come with anerobic methods.

Diet measuring tools

Further to my earlier post, it's always a good idea to check your portion sizes every two to three months as it's easy for them to slowly creep up. and more often than not, portion size is the main cause for why dieters fail to lose weight despite changing what they are eating.

Salter Nutri-Weigh & Go Kitchen Scales, £44.03 (www.dietandfitnessresources.com)
This handy litle device calculates calories, percentage of calories from fat, cholesterol, fibre, protein, as well as GI values for over 1400 foods, ingredients and liquids. It's perfect for those people who are commmitted to weight loss as it helps to educate you about foods.

Adjust-A-Cup 4 in 1 measure, £9.75 (www.decuisine.co.uk)
Forget having to buy four separate measuring cups. This dishwasher safe piece of gadgetry measurs pits, cups, ounces and millilitres. And unlike many other measuring devices on the market, it is suitable for use with dry and wet ingredients.


The Diet Plate, £19.99 plus £3.99 (www.thedietplate.co.uk)
One of the simplest and most ingenious ideas, this correct portion sizes for carbohydrates, protein, and veggies marked out on the plate. Of course, there's always the option to build a potato skyscraper upwards but here's hoping you wouldn't!

cooks Dry Measure, £8.0 (www.mykitchencupboard.co.uk)
This is a favourite of this particular Fitbitch as you can use it to check your dry ingredient portion sizes (over eating of the muesli is a particular weakness) and can be used for cooking too.

Portion Distortion

Nowadays, most people don't even register how big the cakes, muffins and sandwiches are in coffee chains. Over the last five years, portion sizes have got out of control and as our minds get used to what we're served, so our own meal sizes spiral out of control - and our weight.
So, how do you know the right amount you should be eating?

Follow this simple guide to help you in eating the correct portion sizes..

Grain Products
What One Serving Looks Like
1 cup of cereal flakes - The size of a fist
1 pancake - A compact disc
½ cup of cooked rice, pasta, or potato -½ of a baseball
1 slice of bread - A cassette tape
 
Fruits and Veggies
What One Serving Looks Like
1 cup of salad green - A baseball
1 medium fruit -A baseball
½ cup of raisins - A large egg
 
Dairy and Cheese
What One Serving Looks Like
1 ½ oz. cheese - 4 stacked dice
½ cup of ice cream - ½ baseball
1 cup serving of milk, yogurt, - The size of a fist
 
Meats and Alternatives
What One Serving Looks Like
3 oz. meat, fish, and poultry - Deck of cards
3 oz. grilled/baked fish - Chequebook

 
Fats
What One Serving Looks Like
1 teaspoon of oil -The size of your thumb tip

The Science of Weight loss

In yesterday's Observer Sport, Olympic windsurfing medallist, Bryony Shaw was interviewed and talked about how she burns fat by training in the morning before eating.
'I'll do it first thing in the morning before eating so that I know I'm burning off calories from my stores.'
How does this work?
The body holds around two hours worth of energy in the muscles and it's only when this is depleted that energy from fat stores is used. So, it's generally believed that if you exercise on an empty stomach you will get to these fat stores more quickly. If you want to further ensure this, stick to a meal of protein for your supper which will help to deplete glycogen stored in the muscles further. Of course, you have to weigh this up against having the energy to exercise - if you end up so tired you can't exercise for as long or as hard then re-think your strategy.

Delicious days

Most people think that dieting means having to cut things out and deprive yourself. But turn it around by exploring what foods are out there that you've never tried, or experimenting with new recipes. There's no better time than the summer to do it when there's so much fresh produce around.
This weekend with temperatures reaching plus 20C, myself and friends opted for a BBQ, having red mullet stuffed with lemon and capers and gilthead bream with lemon and bay leaves, servied with sliced fennel and radish salad in lemon juice and a red onion and fresh tomato salad. Delicious, high protein, low fat meal.

The New Nike Lunar Glide

Last night I was invited to the unveiling of the new Nike trainer, the Lunar Glide which has been two years in production.
Held at their new pop-up cum- art installation store, 1948 down a small alley in the ultra cool district of Shoreditch in London, we were first treated to a potted history of the Nike trainer.
Hard to believe now but the iconic ticked brand only started in 1968 with the first shoe, the Cortez in 1968. This was follwed by the invention of the infamous 'waffle' shoe created by co-founder, Bill Bowerman who hit upon the idea after pouring rubber into his' wife's waffle machine to create grip.
Since then, Nike has gone through the 'Air' phase but now, they've created a female specific shoe that works for both a over pronator (someone who rolls in when they run) and someone who is neutral. How does it work?
Instead of a hard inner support for overpronators, the shoe has an angled sole so if you are neutral you get soft cushioning. Overpronate and your foot will roll and be supported by a harder structure beneath the cushioning.
it's a sound idea as often you can be a neutral runner until you tire. This can lead to changes in the way you run turning you from a typically neutral runner to someone who overpronates.
The shoe will hit stores in July priced £80.