Category: Mental Health

Benefits of Resistance Training -Is it for me?

Gone are the days when the weights area in the gym was reserved for experienced weight-lifters or people looking to ‘bulk up’ and gain masses of muscle and size. The past few years have seen a huge growth in interest in resistance and strength training for a wide variety of people. It really is true that whatever your ‘why’ for training, there will be benefits to be had in incorporating some resistance work. Read on to find out some common effects of resistance training (most of which are good!) 🙂

Heading back to the gym? Post lockdown fitness pending…

If you were a regular gym-goer or group exercise enthusiast before the events of the past year, chances are your training and physical activity levels have changed somewhat whilst facilities have been shut. Perhaps the shift to working from home has seen your daily activity levels drop or maybe it’s a long time since you had any kind of regular exercise routine but the last year has made you think more about the benefits of exercise for physical and mental health and you’re interested in getting started with something a bit more structured once gyms reopen. It may even be that the realisation that we may well be allowed out and about this summer after all has prompted you to make sure you feel and look your best. Whatever your situation, many of us are starting to think about the prospect of upping our training soon and having access to a greater variety of equipment and opportunities to exercise. Before you launch yourself into the gym or classes again, make sure you take note of my top tips below which will help you manage the transition with ease.

Mental Health – Managing Stress and Anxiety

As if life isn’t full enough of ups and downs and complications at the best of times – this last year has provided additional challenges for most, if not all of us. With constantly changing rules and regulations, limited social contact and additional stressors such as home schooling, loss of income, health anxieties and so much more, it’s no wonder that so many of us have found our mental health to be affected. Mental health and physical health often go hand in hand and so it’s essential that we do all we can to take care of them both. Whether you’re after a little or a lot more support with your mental health at this time, this week’s blog offers some things you can try straight away which may help to lighten the load and support you in looking after yourself in these challenging times.

Helmshore/Rossendale walks – Helmshore Loop and Robin Hood’s Well/ Ellen Strange Memorial

This week’s local walks are 2 of my favourite yet. Both from the Helmshore/Rossendale area, they offer great views as well as plenty to see along the way. These walks take up to an hour each although if you want to explore further afield, they offer great areas to do that in. You may also spend extra time taking in the wonderful views, taking photographs or splashing in streams and petting animals if you’re lucky. Of course, if you wish to make the walks shorter there are some options for that too.

What is fitness and how do we achieve it? Total fitness – home training.

Some of the most common questions that personal trainers and fitness professionals get asked include ‘What exercise is best?’ and ‘How often should I exercise?’ The answer to both of these questions are highly individual and depend on many factors including your individual goals for training, your current fitness levels and other lifestyle factors such as age and medical conditions. There are, however, a number of ‘components of fitness’ that we should be aiming to include in our training programmes and there are guidelines as to how often adults should be including activities that work on each component. With many of us building our own fitness schedules and routines at home for now, this blog aims to give you some guidelines and ideas for what to include and how often.

The Haslingden Halo (Rossendale) Local Walks

With gyms and leisure facilities still being closed and (hopefully) some warmer weather on the way (or more beautiful snow, you never know), what better way to get active this lockdown than to get outdoors and explore our beautiful local area?! This blog details 2 scenic walks up to The Haslingden Halo in Rossendale for you to try if you want to explore new routes and boost your health in the process.

Training at Home

With gyms and sporting facilities still being closed, we’re all currently destined to take control of our own training. We may struggle with knowing what to do or find ourselves stuck in a routine of doing the same things over and over. This blog explores a few of the options for at-home/outdoor training at this time which may just help you to shake things up a little and challenge your body and mind in new ways.

Habits vs Willpower

Whenever we try to change something that we do in our everyday life – whether that’s starting something new, stopping something we no longer want to do or simply switching the way we do something, we often refer to and rely on ‘WILLPOWER’. As willpower requires effort and energy, however, as soon as we start to feel tired, stressed, busy and so on (which we inevitably do at some point) we automatically revert back to our old, ingrained patterns because they are easier and more comfortable.