TONY THE FRIDGE MAN - HE RUNS WITH A FRIDGE!

I'd like to introduce to your Mr Tony Phoenix-Morrison, for those that don't know him already, he's the guy that runs around with a Smeg fridge on his back....Tony the Fridge.

Tony is known for his impossible challenges and for raising awareness and cash for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation - giving hope to those affected by cancer.

To date we have seen Tony take on challenges including running the Great North Run (with a fridge), running 30 Great North Runs in 30 days (with a fridge), and running for 24 hours (yes, again, with a fridge). Now most of these challenges would put even accomplished runners out of their comfort zone should they take them on without any weight on their backs, never mind with a 42.5kg fridge.

Tony takes on these challenges to create a parallel with the burden of cancer and raise awareness for the cause. He has raised over £36,000 so far, and aims to raise a lot more.

This weekend Tony starts his next challenge which is dubbed the 'Smeg Endurance Challenge' and involves Tony running 40 marathons in 40 days, from John O'Groats to Lands End. You can track Tony's progress online at http://tonythefridge.com/follow-tony-the-fridge/ and you can donate to support Tony and the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation at http://www.justgiving.com/tonythefridge.

I first met Tony when I returned from Holland and attended the Newcastle parkrun 3rd Anniversary Event, where Event Director Ian had asked Tony to speak about his fundraising journey. Since then we have ran together at Sweatshop SRC and have got together since to see how we might be able to collaborate further.

I am proud to be able to say that I am able to join the likes of Smeg, Berghaus, and Sweatshop, in supporting Tony towards achieving this challenge. My business Optimal You will be providing Tony with Green Vibrance and Maximum Vibrance green juice powders to fuel the duration of the 40 day challenge, with the intention of providing increased energy, concentrated nutrients, reduced lactic acid, and a means towards cancer prevention through optimum nutrition.

We will be keeping tabs on Tony throughout the challenge with the aim of meeting him when he runs through Newcastle to offer some more support. Lets get behind this man with a fridge and keep him going strong!

You can follow Tony on twitter @tony_the_fridge  and check out his website at www.tonythefridge.com

Have a great weekend, and think about what you might be able to do to challenge yourself like Tony.

We are so lucky to be healthy and we should make the most of that every single day.

Thanks,

Niyc xx

niyc@optimalyou.co.uk

Twitter @optimalyou1

Facebook Optimal You 

www.optimalyou.co.uk

Positive Psychology | Personal Training | Optimal Nutrition

Why metabolic training?

Metabolic training is highlighted as one of the most effective ways to torch fat and improve overall fitness. Using this method of high intensity training gets your metabolism going, and keeps it raised well after your workout is over, meaning you burn more calories throughout the day, even when not exercising. 

Metabolic training involves completing high intensity exercises which work multiple body parts, with little rest in between. 

For example, a metabolic circuit might look something like this:

20 jump squats with 2.5kg dumbbells

20 dumbell shoulder press

20 lunges with 2.5kg dumbbells

20 spiderman press ups

20 cross body mountain climbers

20 v-sit ups

Complete the 6 exercises above without rest, then repeat the circuit 4 times. There should be little or no rest between each circuit repeat - and this will be difficult!

Jillian Michaels, inspirational coach and trainer of The Biggest Loser television series, is a high profile supporter of metabolic training, vouching for it's fitness and fat loss benefits.

Why metabolic training?

1. It burns through fat faster
2. Workouts are shorter (but harder)
3. The metabolic after burn lasts longer
4. It helps break plateaus
5. Muscle mass is preserved and increased

I will be incorporating metabolic training into some of the training sessions I am leading next week for the Victoria's Secret Bikini Body Bootcamp at boutique personal training gym Sound Mind and Body.

The bootcamp will run from Monday to Friday, with sessions each morning from 6:30-7:30am. 

Included within the bootcamp package is a welcome pack with 5 day detox plan, nutrition guidance, shopping lists, meal plans, food diary, and home workouts to ensure maximum results. 

Day one of the bootcamp will include an introductory seminar focussing on optimal nutrition and how to eat for a long lean body. The talk will run for 30 minutes from 6am and will be followed by the first bootcamp session of the week. 

After each daily session, a Maximum Vibrance super greens protein shake will be provided - just like the ones favoured by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley when training for her role in the Transformers movie. Maximum Vibrance is an all in one supplement that alkalises your body, boosts metabolism, and supports detoxification. 

For more information or to book a place on next weeks bootcamp (and try some metabolic training for yourself!), just get in touch.

Thanks,

Niyc xx

niyc@optimalyou.co.uk

Twitter @optimalyou1

Facebook Optimal You 

www.optimalyou.co.uk

Positive Psychology | Personal Training | Optimal Nutrition

Building your butt - advice for a glutes focussed workout

A friend of mine recently asked how she could work her glute muscles (the bum!) without placing too much emphasis on her quadriceps muscles (front of the thigh), which she was worried were becoming too large after doing a lot of spinning. I thought I would write a quick blog to share my ideas.

Spinning is an amazing way to stay fit, burn fat, and energise your body, although what some people do find is that it can build bulky muscle in the legs. If you haven't done much cycling in the past and then start to spin a lot you might feel like you are bulking up rather than slimming down. This effect may only last a short time, until the fat burning effect of spinning takes hold and legs become more toned and lean. However, if you are genetically predisposed to build muscle easily and have an endomorph or mesomorph body type, you may feel that you are getting too bulky, rather than achieving a long lean figure that you want. Stretching can help with this, and regular foam rolling can help loosen the muscles and lengthen the way they appear.

To effectively work the glute muscles, they must be switched on before you work them. Activation exercises such as bridge and clam shell can help strengthen the glutes and make sure that they are working effectively before you start the main body of your workout.

Following from bridge and clam shell, band walks are a useful way to start your workout and really feel the effects straight away! Ouch!

*To perform band walks, take an exercise band and loop it around your ankles. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart (the band should be under tension and stretched around your ankles), and move sideways along the length of your gym, or for 15 steps if exercising at home or outside. Make sure to keep the tension in the band, and your feet at shoulder width for the duration of the exercise. Take small steps, and you should feel it working deep into your glutes muscles.

Exercises which isolate the glutes include weighted barbell bridge, forward leaning lunges, deep squats and deadlifts. I would suggest 3 sets of 12 repetitions for each exercise, with a 30 second break in between each set.

It is important to stretch out any muscles after you have trained them, in order to improve flexibility (which is one of the key components of fitness, that is often overlooked), and lengthen and develop the muscle. Stretching also reduces any pending stiffness, and improves efficiency when performing your next work out or daily activities. Stretch after training for a minimum of 30 seconds per body part, taking deep breaths throughout, and focussing on moving deeper into the stretch with each breath. Follow this up with some foam rolling using a cylindrical roller, or a tennis ball for a more localised self massage. Yoga is also great for stretching, strength, and flexibility, and ideal for achieving a long, lean, and de-stressed body.

Hopefully this will all help!

If you have any questions then email me at niyc@optimalyou.co.uk or come and see me at Sound Mind and Body boutique gym for a workout!

Thanks,

Niyc xx

www.optimalyou.co.uk

Optimum Nutrition

I have been presenting seminars in London this year as a means of extending my network and gaining enhanced experience within private training and development. I mainly deliver on wellness related topics, be it physical activity in the workplace, Positive Psychology, or sport, exercise, and nutrition. This time the topic was 'Optimum Nutrition', and how to eat for health and well-being. 

The seminar was around 2 hours in length and covered topics such as the nutrition basics, lifestyle diseases,  alkalising, eating raw, and superfoods. Nutrition is a passion of mine and so it was great to be able to speak on such an interesting and valuable subject and hopefully inspire the audience to not only use the information but also to continue to educate themselves with regard to reaching optimum health through positive nutrition. 

Of particular interest to both the audience and myself was the information surrounding the subject of alkalising. Most people will probably remember pH testing within chemistry labs at school.....well the concept of pH is now very much in the public domain and is being extended to relate to food choices and diet. 

The idea is to reduce acidity in the body by choosing alkaline foods for the most part of your diet. Alkaline foods include green vegetables, nuts, grasses, and super foods, herbs, spices, and citrus fruits such as lemons and limes. Acid forming foods which can be linked to inflammation and disease within the body include dairy products, meats, sugar, sweeteners, chemical additives and preservatives, and much fruit, and should be limited within the diet. 

Eating alkaline and plant based foods offers benefits including increased energy, antioxidants, fibre, good fats, and lots of vitamins and minerals which are bioavailable and easily absorbed by the body. Alkalising can help maintain healthy immune function and prevent illness and disease, and can assist in reaching your weight loss goals.

Juicing is an easy way to get concentrated nutrients into your diet, and within the seminar this week we made up complementary green juice for delegates to sample - for which the response was very positive!  We included spinach, kale, cucumber, celery, pear, and lime, but if you don't have the time to blend and juice you might consider using a green juice powder such as Green Vibrance and just adding a scoop to water, or indeed to the juice itself to boost your nutrient intake. 

When craving sweets, chocolate, or caffiene, grabbing a green juice is a really effective way to boost your energy naturally and avoid the sugar high and low. Try it :)

Niyc xx

Green Juice info at www.optimalyou.co.uk

Twitter @optimalyou1 

Supplementation of vitamins and minerals is an area of particular interest to me, and one that has provoked wider debate and divided opinion. I am personally inclined to support the view that supplementation of vitamins and minerals is a positive step in achieving optimal health. Alongside this I believe that food is the medicine of the future and, in fact, of now. 

So many of our soils and foods are deficient in nutrients, with reported declines in quality over the past 100 years. This means that whilst we may be eating a healthy diet, it may not be enough to provide the nutrients and trace elements that help support immune function and prevent disease and debilitation. This suggests that something else is needed to provide the micronutrients that are essential to proper and optimal functioning. 

Through supplementing vitamins and minerals in the diet, a greater level of health and well-being may be achieved, with specific conditions also able to be effectively targeted. Alongside breakfast I take 2 multivitamin tablets, extra vitamin C to the value of 2000mg (for immune support), an extra vitamin B complex (for energy), acai berry as an antioxidant (particularly important when training in order to tackle the extra free radical production as a result of exercise), omega fish oils (great to help the breakdown of fats in the body), and extra vitamin E (to help my problem skin). Around half an hour later I take a green juice, made from a scoop of Vibrant Health Green Vibrance powder mixed with water, and then have a magnesium supplement on an evening (to help with sleep and aid fat breakdown). It sounds like a lot to be taking, but having honed my supplement intake over the past year, this is what I have found works for me. 

However, not all supplements are created equal! Binders and fillers can be hidden nasties in many vitamin supplements, and as such you must be careful to select a quality product which allows maximum benefit from the active ingredients without allergens and toxins (certain binders and fillers are acceptable and may even add benefit to the supplement). Some supplements also include artificial colours and flavours, so look out for these too. 

In addition to this, many believe that taking additional vitamins and minerals is a waste of time and that there is no evidence to support their efficacy in promoting health. I am by no means a doctor able to prescribe a supplement programme, I am just explaining what works for me and makes me feel great! I will love to write in more depth on this subject in a later blog post so look out for that.

Vitamins and minerals are available from health food stores, and I get my green juice from www.optimalyou.co.uk

Thanks,

Niyc xx

Having been reminded of the fact my blog has been neglected a little recently (thank you Ian Goudie!), I have decided to commit to updating at least twice per month from now onwards - call it a New Years resolution if you like!?

Given the time of year, and the surge in motivation towards health and fitness gym goers, I'd like to talk (as I often do) about parkrun, and give a brief report of the past few weeks, and what have been highlights for me.....

As you will probably already know, parkrun is a free, timed, 5km run, held each week in parks across the world, with our local parkrun being held in Newcastle on the Town Moor. parkrun goes ahead come rain or shine, and was even held on Christmas Day morning, as is the tradition.

The turn out of Christmas Day 2012 saw 135 parkrunners in attendance, along with some keen volunteers, willing to give up their time to allow others to run. This is a great example of the parkrun spirit and the friendliness and sense of community that exists. 

On Saturday 29th December, the last parkrun of 2012, I attended parkrun as a volunteer. I had noticed a comment posted on the Newcastle parkrun facebook page that one of our parkrunners was planning on beating a personal best that day and I thought I would complete the course alongside him - trying to pace as we went along. There were 217 runners in attendance, and the weather was pretty dismal and raining as is often the case on a Saturday morning in Newcastle! Mick had previously attended parkrun as an invaluable volunteer, taking the course and finishing photographs each week. He has since moved into participating in the run itself, and has now completed the course four times, each time achieving a PB. On this occassion the time to beat was 59:05, and so we started with a brisk walk and lots of talk to catch up and pass the time. At the first kilometre marker I admit I may have been chatting a little too much and we were off pace slightly, meaning the first km served as a warm up, with a little bit of time to make up!

We passed through gate 1 and grabbed some motivation from marshall Malcom who is now very much a piece of the furniture at Newcastle! By 2k we were back on target and passed through the mud at gate 2, with marshall Steven joining us for the remainder of the course. Keeping an eye on time we pushed through 3k and around the gravel part of the course to 4k and gate 3 where we were greeted by more marshals, offering their support. By this time we only had 1km to the finish line, and were on target for Mick's PB.

Towards the end of the course Mick was tired, although helped along by Steven's motivating words, and a few photographs from a rogue photographer, we were almost going to make the PB timing. Mick came across the line at 10am as timed by our watches, and so assumed that the PB had been missed. However, when the results came through and the official times had been processed, Mick had achieved a PB of a whole minute, coming in at 58:06. Amazing! I feel so proud to have been a part of helping achieve this goal, and can't wait to see Mick smash his next target in a few weeks time!! What an inspiration to all of us to challenge ourselves and achieve something.

This weekend at parkrun, Saturday 5th January, we saw a huge spike in attendence figures, with 401 runners completing the course. It seems the New Year has inspired many runners to dust off their trainers and run at parkrun, either as an existing runner, or as a first timer. 63 first time runners attended parkrun on Saturday, including the first finisher, which is great news for increasing participation within exercise in the area. I really hope we will be seeing those runners again as they run parkrun either for fun, or as a means to improve times and fitness levels on an ongoing basis (or both!).

Of particular note this weekend was the presence of Tony the Fridge! You may have seen Tony taking on the likes of the Great North Run complete with his fridge on his back, and he is challenging himself to complete 100 miles of running in 24 hours with this 42kg fridge on Friday March 29th. Tony is raising money for The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and completed parkrun on Saturday in 33:01 - absolutely incredible! 

To support Tony you are able to donate at, http://www.justgiving.com/tonythefridge 

                                                            Can you spot the fridge???

To register for parkrun, whether it be Newcastle, Whitley Bay, Sunderland, Durham, Chester-le-street, or beyond, visit www.parkrun.com then print off your barcode and turn up and run. Whether completing 5km takes you 15 minutes or over an hour, Ian Kirtley and the team will love to see you down there, as will I. Happy running in January!

Thanks, 

Niyc xx

Inspired by the Olympics

Have you been inspired by the Olympics to get more active? The final of the mens 5000m has certainly inspired me to encourage participation in physical activity, sport and exercise this week.

Hopefully people across the UK have been inspired by what they saw last night when Mo Farah achieved a second Olympic gold for Great Britain in the 5km. What a race by Mo! And what a great way to raise the profile of UK athletics.

parkrun, together with Join in Local Sport are aiming to make Saturday 18th August the biggest parkrun ever and get as many people in the UK running and walking 5000m as possible.

No country has ever done this before, so let GB be the first!

With North East parkruns now at Newcastle, Whitley Bay, Gateshead, Durham, Chester-le-street Riverside, and Sunderland, theres no excuse not to get involved!

Register once at www.parkrun.com and find your local event - most events also have a Facebook page and Twitter feed if you have any questions or want to find out more. Once you're registered, just turn up ready to to run or walk for 9am at any of the parkruns around the UK. If you don't feel like running or walking parkrun, why not volunteer or simply come along to watch.

parkrun is completely free and ran entirely by volunteers. To get as many people running and walking at parkrun this weekend, everyone is encouraged to bring a friend or friends along to try it.

I am in Newcastle this weekend and will be running at Newcastle parkrun at the back of the field as Tail Runner - come and say hello!

Get involved and be a part of creating the biggest parkrun participation event ever!

Its not just the elite athletes that can do something to make us feel proud of UK athletics, we can all do it too :)

Niyc

xx