Download your fitness

In an ideal world, we'd all be able to afford a personal trainer to take us through our paces. Sadly, unless you're a Hollywood star that will remain as much of a dream as winning the London Marathon. But now there's a whole range of fitness applications that you can download to your IPhone or Ipod touch, which means you can get the next best thing - a fitness expert at the touch of a finger.

YogaTrainerLite, free
Always wondered how you do a downward dog? Got some spare time in the morning or before bed to do yoga but not quite sure how? This application has a huge variety of postures which are illustrated with pictures, along with written and voice guided instructions.
You can customise your practise by building your own sequence of postures, follow a pre-built sequence or just do a few postures, whatever suits. With sequences for both the beginner to the advanced, this is perfect for someone who doesn't have the time or money to go to a yoga studio regularly but needs guidance.

Ifitness, £1.19

Experts recommend that if you train regularly, you should change your exercise programme every four to six weeks. If you don't, you won't see any improvement in shape or fitness because your body will get used to the stimulus. The best way to do this is to book in with a personal trainer but this application is a great second best. It has a database of over 150 exercises, and it's even divided into muscles that it targets so you can focus on just your bottom or your core if you choose. Alternatively, opt for one of their pre-programmed routines, ranging from strength building to weight loss. You can even track your progress by logging your workout results which is sent automatically to your email.

Ipump Workout, free
To build strength, muscular endurance or simply to lose weight, this application can help. It includes two total body workouts so if you're unsure about how to put an exercise programme together, it's perfect. It includes images and videos of each exercise, as well as audio counting of each repetition. just like a personal trainer so there's no skipping out of doing the correct amount of repetitions. So, much like having a personal trainer on hand, there's no pretending you've forgotten how many you've done. You can also keep a log of the number of sets, repetitions and resistance that you perform which is a perfect way of ensuring that you progress and continue to challenge yourself.

RunKeeper Pro, £5.99
Whether you're new to running or you have started entering races, this is a brilliant application although it's only designed for the 3G Iphone. It uses the phone's inbuilt Global Positioning System so that runners, cyclists and even hikers can track the duration of their workout, pace, distance and even speed. This means, no more having to log on to mapmyrun before you go out for a run to check distance. Simply take your phone and it will do it for you. You can also download it onto your phone's dashboard and share the results with friends – if you dare!

BlueSpark Heart Monitor, £2.39
You can spend anything from £25 to over £200 on a heart rate monitor but now you don't need to with this nifty application. To use this you must have Apple headphones with a microphone or an Iphone 3G with inbuilt microphone. It's this which tracks the sound of your heart beat, either through a wrist or neck pulse, helping to provide your beats per minute as you exercise. Why is this important? If you know your heart rate, you can ensure that you're pushing yourself hard enough, and training in the right heart rate zone for your purpose. Ok, the motivation to push still comes from you but you're far more likely to do it if you can see the results for yourself. The downside is that you need to be somewhere quiet for the microphone to pick up your heartbeat and reviews vary on how accurate it is as you exercise.

Ipump Pilates, £2.99
If you take a Pilates mat class, likelihood is the teacher will gear the class to the weakest member in the group which is frustrating if you feel ready for more. The alternative used to be an expensive studio based class but now this affords another option. It has 63 images, videos and audio coaching and you can play music while you do it. For something so exacting as Pilates where you're trying to overcome years of poor posture or muscular imbalance, this is not the same as having someone watch you but it's a good start for helping you build your core strength.

** For all applications, read the limitations before downloading as some require extra system requirements in order to view videos.


Image by Free-StockPhotos.com

Core exercise four

In gyms and fitness shops up and down the country, Swiss Balls loom. But don't be tempted to even use one until you can do core exercises on the floor. So many times people get on these and do crunches with their feet moving, the ball bouncing up and down all signs that you're exericising incorrectly and using your back or muscles in your hips.
First of all, get the right Swiss ball for your height.
If you sit on the ball, your legs should form a perfecct right angle with the floor - if not, you've got the wrong size.
Now, roll slowly back so that the ball is in the small of your back.
Place your hands behind your head, but don't grasp them together and keep the elbows wide so they're just in the periphery of your vision.
Your feet should be flat on the floor hip width apart - if too difficult, widen them to give yourself a broader space of support.
Now,imagine that there is an apple between your chin and your chest and keep this in your mind as you slowly crunch up, breathing out as you do so and pulling up on your pelvic floor. HOld for a beat, and then return to the start position.
Do three sets of 20 ensuring you do not rock the body up or bounce on the ball.

The Celebrity Cycling Club

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When the rich and famous aren't working out with their personal trainers, many of them still make sure they lead an active lifestyle and burn the calories even while getting from A-B. Elle MacPherson, Madonna, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Pamela Anderson are just a few of the A-List who use their pedal power.
It's a brilliant way of getting your heart rate up, particularly if you find running difficult but make sure you work at it. Try finding a hill and cycling up it ten times, or cycle 1 minute at a difficulty rating of 6/10 with two minutes at 8/10.
Interval training like this will mean that you're burning calories even once you've stopped working out.
Try Evan's for a bike www.evanscycles.com (ask about their off season bikes for cheaper deals) or if you're after a cruiser like Pamela and Jennifer's, log on to www.nirve.com for a Paul Frank Cruiser. For the ultimate bling bike (not one that you'd ever be able to lock up outside your local supermarket) a Danish company has just created the Aurumania gold Bike Crystal Edition, a 24carat gold bike decorated with 600 Swarovski crystals for £71,987. Useful.

Express lunch

If you've been dieting for ages and never seem to lose any weight, the culprit could be your lunch.
Most people on a diet are good at starting the day on the right footing, and even manage to get the evening meal right.It's lunch times that most people fall down as they don't think they have the time to prepare anything and so grab something from a supermarket or sandwich shop. Little do you realise quite how many calories are lurking in what you pick up, even the so called healthy options.

Do you always manage to start off your day well with oats or cereal and then it all ends in failure come lunchtime? Most of the time it's because you end up starving and you have no choice but to grab something from a sandwich store or supermarket.

Pret Chicken Jalopeno Wrap contains 433 calories - add a coffee and you're looking at over 600.

EAT Ham and Mustard Salad is 363 calories

Starbucks Prawn Mayo sandwich, a shocking 496 calories

I could go on but you get my drift. Have one of these and then the additional hot drink, packet of crisps or even the odd bit of chocolate and you're looking at a vast part of your calorie intake.

Instead, try planning out some lunches during the day. Most people say 'Oh, but I don't have the time.' Truth is, it can take five minutes to make yourself a scrummy salad, or even throw a Convent Garden fresh soup in a pan.

Try this Salmon Salad with Chickpeas and Asparagus

Ingredients
Mixed salad leaves
Tin of pink salmon
50g chickpeas
Few tomatoes
1 spear of cooked asparagus
1/4 avocado (don't go overboard, they're high in fat)
Lemon juice to dress

Basically, bung together, squeeze with lemon juice and you're done. Delicious


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Core exercise three - Oblique plank

For the third exercise of the series, place your elbow below your shoulder and ensure your head, neck, hips, knees and ankles are all in line. Then engaging your core, raise up on to your elbow so that your body is in a straight line without dipping from ankles to head. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat three times and change sides.
As a beginner, start on your knees rather than coming up on your feet. To make it harder, come up on to your hand rather than elbow.
If you're pregnant or suffering from lower back pain avoid all of these exercises and see advice from a GP.

Core exericise two - The Plank

This is an exercise that my clients seem equally to love and loathe because it's a killer but it works. Only move on to this exercise once you have mastered the ability to roll down without falling down for ten repetitions.
Try the half plank first, once you can hold this for 3 x 1 minute, go on to the full plank. If your lower back hurts at any point, stop. This is sign that you're not using your core muscles properly and they need to be strengthened.

The Half Plank
Come on to your knees and lean forward, placing your elbows under your shoulders and your forearms flat on the floor. Your neck and hips should be in a diagonal line straight down to your knees without any dip in your lower back. if you're not feeling it anywhere, more your torso further forward and you will fill it in your core. Build up to holding for one minute. Repeat three times.

The Full Plank
Once you have mastered the above, come up on to your toes keeping your body in line as if you are a plank of wood. Keep engaging those core muscles, and keep your neck in line with your body, face down imagining there is a string coming from the crown or your head keeping your neck lengthened.

Pilates core exericise one

One of the most important group of muscles that are often neglected - or completly forgotten about are the core muscles. These are the deep muscles that effectively form a corset around the stomach, helping to flatten the abdomen, strengthen the back and improve your strength in every day life.
Whether you're starting to get fit just to feel a bit healthier, or you're training for a sport or a race, the core is vital. All limbs lead from this power house and if you get it strong, it will transform your life.
Most people find it difficult to activate the core muscles though, mainly because greedy muscles such as those in the bottom, hips and the six pack like to take over. So it's vital to start off slowly and learn to re-activate the connection between your mind and musculature.
Start with this exercise and once you can perform it well, go on to any of the next series that I will be posting.
Pilates Roll down
Sitting up right, feet on the floor about a hand's distance apart, bring both arms up in front of you parallell to the floor. Take a deep, slow inhalation. Now, as you exhale out of your mouth as if blowing slowly through a straw, curl down through the body aiming to curl the pelvis and lower back to the floor and the rest of the spine, one veterbrae at a time.
If you can only go half way without falling backwards or your feet coming off the floor, don't worry, keep practising. Your neck and head should come last as you exhale arms over your head.
Now, take a deep inhalation, roll your arms back over your head paralell with the floor and curl up, one veterbrae at a time from the head, neck all the way through the spine until you are sitting upright. Throughout it, focus on holding the muscles that you clench to stop yourself going to the toilet. The pelvic floor is part of the core muscles so activate this, and the rest will come into play.
Repeat 10 times.
It's vital that you don't progress with the core exercises until you have mastered this. If you're confused, let me know and I will explain more.
Follow this link for a video demonstration of a half roll http://www.videojug.com/film/pilates-half-roll-down