Sport & Fitness Issue 23

Page 1

N 0 . 1 H E A LT H , S P O R T & L I F E S T Y L E M A G A Z I N E I N T H E R E G I O N

Sport&Fitness Issue 23

Official magazine of

GET SET FOR THE DUBAI MARATHON

DISCOVER WHY YOU NEED KETTLEBELLS IN YOUR LIFE NUTRITIONAL ADVICE YOU CAN’T AFFORD NOT TO READ

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH BOLLYWOOD STAR NARGIS FAKHRI



ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, GO!

I

T’S a great time to be a sport lover in the Middle East. The climate is perfect at this time of year and the top class events continue to come thick and fast. Over the next couple of months stars from the worlds of tennis, golf, cricket, athletics, table tennis, cycling, motorsport, power boat racing and jet ski racing (deep breath) will descend upon the region. There really is something for everyone and we’re very fortunate to live in a part of the world where we have such an abundance of elite sport right on our doorstep. If such a tidal wave of athletic prowess doesn’t inspire us to get our fitness goals back on track following the excess of the festive period, then nothing will! One major event we’re looking forward to is the 2014 Standard Chartered

Dubai Marathon on January 24. The flat landscape and benign weather conditions always make for some sensational times. Last year saw five men cross the line in less than 2h:05m – the first time in history a marathon has produced so many sub-2.05 finishers. This year there’s a new route which race organisers believe could lead to even quicker times, so you never know, Dubai could just see a new world record created. Check out our race preview starting on pg 29. Many of you will be preparing to take part in the event – either the full marathon or one of the shorter races – and this issue is jam packed with great tips to help you in your challenge. There’s nutritional advice on pg 33 while renowned distance

running coach Martin Yelling reveals the secrets of good race pacing (pg 46) and Fitness First’s Hisem Hagras explains how you can use the marathon as a springboard from which to kick on with your fitness journey in 2014 (pg 66). I would also highly recommend reading the nutrition feature with American Randy Grant on pg 41. It contains some real revelations that have completely changed the way I think about food as well as vitamin supplements and it could just be one of the most important features you read this year.

Richard Bevan Editor

01






CONTEN REGULARS P8 15 19 P20 P21 P70 P72

SCENE WARM UP HEALTH BULLETIN SPORTS CALENDAR FITNESS FIRST NEWS STAFF PROFILE – WARREN ANGLIN CELEBRITY WORKOUT – TRAIN LIKE BAIN

HEALTH & FITNESS P53 P57 P60 P64 P65 P66 P68 P71

DO YOU KNOW SQUAT? – six reasons you should be doing squats GET THE KETTLE ON – make kettlebells part of your workout PRENATAL YOGA – how yoga can benefit expectant mothers HEALTHY EATING – make lasting changes for 2014 PREGNANCY FITNESS – with Regional GX Manager Elly Nunga ASK HISEM – kick on from the Dubai Marathon for year-long benefits H.I.I.T – get intense in the new year for faster results TRANSFORMERS – Fitness First success stories

FEATURES P35 P41 P46

NARGIS FAKHRI – the Bollywood actress talks yoga, fitness and stardom RANDY GRANT – the American nutritionist delivers some life-changing advice BEHIND THE STARS – Martin Yelling explains the art of race pacing

Sport&Fitness specifies that post-press changes may occur to any information given in this publication and takes no responsibility for goods or services advertised.

ISSUE No. 23 Published by: Worldwide Sporting Publications Ltd +44 1663 71992

Published in Dubai by: Prografix, PO Box 24677, Dubai, UAE (Tel) +9714 340 3785

June 2009 SSN 1- 46805671 Approval UAE National Media Council: Ref.816 30/5/2007 Trade Licence No. 1/104375/15280


NTS COVER STORY

P29

Or log onto www.facebook.com/ fitnessfirstme

2014 STANDARD CHARTERED DUBAI MARATHON A LOOK AHEAD TO ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST EXCITING MARATHONS


Red Hot Air Show Red Arrows y overhead prior to a match at the Emirates Dubai Rugby Sevens in late November.


‫‪09‬‬

‫‪YOGA‬‬

‫ ‪æÇdOD Ç ÉÇÑU‬‬ ‫‪ WK c*Ç‬‬

‫‪HEALTH NEWS‬‬

‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫الرغ ‬ ‫سيفي ‬ ‫ا سهام الحمراء ‬ ‫تط سماء قبل مباراة ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫‪$‬‬ ‫الثا ‪.‬‬ ‫د أواخر‬ ‫ ‬ ‫نوفم ت‪%‬ين ‬ ‫ أمارة ‬

‫‪WARM UP‬‬

‫‪SCENE‬‬


10

REVVED UP FOR EXPO 2020 Alexander Grinchuk from Ukraine performs during Red Bull Car Park Drift Regional Final at World Trade Center in Dubai ahead of the announcement that the emirate’s Expo 2020 bid had been successful.


‫‪11‬‬

‫‪YOGA‬‬

‫‪٢٠٢٠ u Ç W d Ç‬‬

‫‪HEALTH NEWS‬‬

‫‪0‬‬ ‫نها ريد بل كار‬ ‫الكسندر غرينشك من أوكرانيا ينفذ خ‪2‬ل ‬ ‫ا قليمية مركز التجارة العالمية‬ ‫بارك دريفت @‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ا ع‪2‬ن عن نتائج اكسبو ‪. ٢٠٢٠‬‬ ‫د قبل @‬ ‫ ‬

‫‪WARM UP‬‬

‫‪SCENE‬‬


12

TUNNEL VISION Look no hands! Dawid Godziek discovers the cyclical nature of life in Warsaw, Poland.


‫‪13‬‬

‫ ‪ u Ñè oH‬‬

‫‪YOGA‬‬

‫‪HEALTH NEWS‬‬

‫أنظر أيدي! داود غودزيك يكتشف الطبيعة الدورية للحياة‬ ‫ وارسو‪ ،‬بولندا‪.‬‬

‫‪WARM UP‬‬

‫‪SCENE‬‬


BUILD MUSCLES. GET STRONG.

AFTER WORKOUT. CONSUME WITHIN 30 MINUTES FOR FULL RECOVERY.

The product only has the desired effect as part of a varied and balanced diet. Consult your physician before use.

NUTRAMINO.COM


WARM UP

SCENE

HEALTH NEWS

YOGA

TIME WARP FEBRUARY 7, 1949 – DIMAGGIO PENS RECORD DEAL On February 7, 1949 New York Yankees baseball player Joe DiMaggio signs a record US$100,000 per year contract. No ball player has ever earned such a huge annual salary. Having made his debut for the Yankees on May 3, 1936, DiMaggio has become the team’s most important player and, in 1941 went on a phenomenal 56-game hitting streak from May 15-July 16. He is a threetime winner of the American League’s Most Valuable Player award – 1939, 1941 and 1947. DiMaggio eventually retires from baseball on December 11, 1951 having played for the Yankees his entire career and racked up 1,537 runs and 361 home runs. During his time with the team, they won 10 American League pennants and nine World Series championships. DiMaggio was named an ‘All-Star’ in each of his 13 seasons (he had a break from the professional game when he was drafted into the American army during WWII.)

XLIST – CHOOSE YOUR DUBAI MARATHON HEADPHONES... YURBUDS INSPIRE LIMITED EDITION

PHILIPS ACTIONFIT SHQ5200

BEATS BY DRE POWERBEATS

MONSTER ISPORT VICTORY

For headphones that stay firmly in place in your ears – Yurbuds Inspire Limited Edition are probably the best on the market. A Triple Magnet Sound system gives great 3-D sound while you can personalise your listening according to your environment with either noise canceling or ambient aware options. They’re also sweat and water resistant while music can be controlled from the durable tangle tanglefree cord.

One of the

Beats by Dre Powerbeats feature ear hooks made of plastic with rubber ear hooks. In true Beats style, these are unashamedly bright and colourful. Designed by Lebron James in collaboration with Dr. Dre they deliver clear sound at any volume while letting in some ambient noise, making them good for running in busy areas. You can also navigate through your music from the headphone cord which is handy when you’re on the move.

Monster

www.yurbuds.com

few ‘over ear’ sports es headphones on the market, the Philips ActionFit SHQ5200 weigh in at just 100g, meaning they’re extremely lightweight and comfortable to wear with sweat-proof ear cushions that sit snug on your ears. The cushions are removable and made of moisture wicking fabric to keep them dry when your workout starts getting sweaty! The SHQ5200s also feature a non-slip silicone headband and deliver impressive sound, particularly the bass frequencies. www.philips.co.uk

SENNHEISER PMX 685I SPORTS The Sennheiser PMX 685i Sports are an improved version of the hugely successful and popular Adidas PMX 680s. They again use neckband-style headphones making them slimmer and enhancing the sound performance. They’re extremely lightweight yet very durable and the ear buds are surprisingly comfortable despite being made of rubber.

www.sennheiser.com

www.beatsbydre.com

iSport Victory are geared 100% towards running. They’re robust and durable while the tangle-free cord, secures the SportClip earbuds. They’re also waterproof making them versatile and sweat resistant. The sound quality is excellent, even the bass tones at high volumes, with great noise isolation. There’s also a ControlTalk in-line mic with iOS control support that delivers decent sound quality for hands-free calls.

www.monsterproducts.com

15


SCENE

WARM UP

HEALTH NEWS

YOGA

HOW THE MARATHON BECAME 26.2 MILES…

SHOUT, SHOUT, LET IT ALL OUT! Having a good shout could aid your workouts. Participants on a fitness programme called ‘IntenSati’ are asked to yell encouraging phrases when exercising such as ‘I am strong’ or ‘I can do this’. Class members do a range of exercises such as interval training, dance, martial arts and yoga while shouting the positive affirmations. The theory behind IntenSati is that by shouting these motivational mantras people’s mental attitude towards their training strengthens which in turns makes them feel positive about their ability. There is also believed to be an added benefit in that the shouting distracts class members from any pain or tiredness they may be feeling during a workout. However, for obvious reasons this may be a technique best saved for training alone at home or in an organised group!

FRESHEN UP Calvin Klein Downtown Calvin Klein Downtown for women balances feminine woods and a soft, floral scent to create a confident, modern fragrance with a unique signature and an unexpected edge. Versace Pour Homme Oud Noir The magical essence of the sun setting over the desert, this heady scent is for men who like oriental fragrances. Versace Pour Hommee Oud Noir features leather, agarwood (oud), oriental woodsy notes and spices. Tommy Hilfiger Freedom Sport Freedom Sport by Tommy Hilfiger is an exciting and liberating blend of clary sage, sun-drenched karmaflor, and patchouli fraction, resulting in the scent of aromatic wood. Sporty, classic, and very cool.

16

The marathon was one of the original events of the first modern Olympics in 1896 but didn’t cover a set distance until 1921. The now-standard race length of 26 miles, 385 yards actually originated at the London 1908 Olympics – widely regarded as the Games which sparked ‘marathon mania’. The British Royal family requested that the race start outside Windsor Castle and that the route follow the 26 miles into London before entering the Olympic Stadium at White City and passing the Royal Box – an additional distance of 385 yards. Italian pastry chef Dorando Pietri led the field for most of the race as the people of London came out in their thousands to cheer the runners on, with flags and bunting hanging from many of the houses and work premises. Few people had ever witnessed such a feat of endurance before. The race took a dramatic twist at the 11th hour when an exhausted Pietri collapsed upon entering the stadium for the final stretch. He had to be helped to his feet several times as he attempted to stumble to the finish. In the meantime American John Hayes entered the stadium and crossed the line in first place. A semi-conscious Pietri eventually fell over the line in a time of of 2 hours 54 mins 46 secs, having taken a full 10 minutes to cover the final 385 yards, only to be later disqualified because had received assistance on the track. He was however awarded a silver cup by Queen Victoria in recognition of his efforts and he became an icon of the Games, going on to beat Hayes in a number of ‘rematches’ to prove his champion credentials. The 1908 Olympic Games marathon captivated the imagination to such an extent that in 1921 the Amateur Athletic Association ruled that from then on, all marathons must cover a distance of 26 miles, 385 yards.




SCENE

WARM UP

YOGA

Walk your way clear of stroke

CHOLESEROL LINKED TO BREAST CANCER

A

A

STUDY published in the American Heart Association journal ‘Stroke’ claims that a daily 90-minute stroll could cut the risk of stroke by a third, while also suggesting that power walking has little benefit. The study concluded that the length of time spent walking had a bigger impact than the speed of the walk. Walking at least one to two hours a day was associated with a reduced risk of stroke after they examined 3,435 healthy men aged between 60 and 80. Participants were questioned about the distance they walked each week and their usual walking pace. The research showed that men who walked for eight to 14 hours each week were a third less likely to suffer a stroke than those who spent no more than three hours walking.

Fizzy pop can change your brain

S

HEALTH NEWS

CIENTISTS in Australia say that drinking sweet drinks over a long period can lead to hyperactivity and alter hundreds of proteins in the brain. Previous studies have claimed that fizzy drinks can increase the risk of heart attacks and are associated with weight gain, brittle bones, muscle weakness and diabetes. But this study focussed on their effects on the brain. The research was carried out on rats that were fed sugary water. They became hyperactive and tissue taken from one part of their brains showed changes in almost 300 different proteins. Jane Franklin, a researcher at the Macquarie University of Sydney, said: “For many adults, these drinks represent a substantial proportion of their daily calorific intake, our research suggests that the long-term consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks in place of water can cause long-lasting changes to behaviour and a profound change in the chemistry of the brain. If you are thirsty, drink water. Soft drinks should be enjoyed in moderation.”

group of scientists believe they have found a link between cholesterol and breast cancer growth. Fat in overweight people can pump out hormones, such as oestrogen, which drive the growth of cancers. A team at Duke University Medical Centre, in the US, showed that cholesterol was having a similar effect. Cholesterol is broken down by the body into 27HC, which can mimic oestrogen and produce the same effect as the hormone in some tissues. Experiments on mice showed that a high fat diet increased levels of 27HC in the blood and led to tumours that were 30% larger than in mice on a normal diet. The findings, which were published in the Science journal, raise the prospect of using cholesterollowering drugs, known as ‘statins’ to prevent the disease. “A lot of studies have shown a connection between obesity and breast cancer, and specifically that elevated cholesterol is associated with breast cancer risk, but no mechanism has been identified,” said one of the researchers Prof Donald McDonnell. “What we have now found is a molecule – not cholesterol itself, but an abundant metabolite of cholesterol – called 27HC that mimics the hormone oestrogen and can independently drive the growth of breast cancer.”

19


SPORTS CALENDAR

January 24 Dubai Marathon Dubai, UAE

January Jan 8 – 12 Pakistan v Sri Lanka (Second Test, Cricket)

February Jan 16-19 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Jan 9-12 GAC World Tour Grand Finals (Table tennis)

Jan 22-25 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters (Golf )

Al Nasr Leisureland, Dubai.

Jan 30-Feb 2 Omega Dubai Desert Classic (Golf )

Jan 10 UAE Jet Ski Race (heat 2)

Doha Golf Club, Doha, Qatar

Dubai Autodome, Motorcity.

Jan 16-20 Pakistan v Sri Lanka (Third Test, Cricket) Sharjah, UAE

20

Feb-5-8 Dubai Tour, Dubai (cycling) Feb 7 UAE Wooden Powerboat Race Breakwater, Abu Dhabi

Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, UAE

Feb 14 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon

Jan 24 Dubai Marathon

Manar Mall, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

Breakwater, Abu Dhabi

Jan 10–11 Dunlop 24Hrs, Dubai.

Feb 1 – 15 Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series (Silver Cup)

Dubai, UAE

Feb 17 - March 1 Dubai Tennis Championships

Jan 30 – Feb 1 Dubai Show Jumping Championships,

Feb 28 Tri Yas (triathlon),

Emirates Equestrian Centre, Dubai, UAE

Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, UAE


FITNESS FIRST NEWS

Fitness First Draw Participation of over 1,500 Dancers to ‘Not So Secret Flashmob’

F

ITNESS FIRST Middle East surprised shoppers when they collaborated with Dubai Mall to host a ‘Not So Secret Flashmob’ towards the end of the year. Close to 1,500 participants danced to the choreographed routine of ‘Ain’t no Mountain High Enough’ at sunset, in synchrony with the Dubai Fountains, the world’s largest fountain system at The Dubai Mall while hundreds of people looked on. The Flashmob was led by Fitness First Group Exercise instructors who choreographed the routine and it was intended as a fun activity for the entire family. The event was created to send out a message to residents of Dubai about the importance of staying active and leading a healthy lifestyle and to raise awareness of Breast Cancer.

What you said on

Instagram: ahmed_edries1_9

rhyanryu22

#word-hard #gym #biceps #fitnessfirstme

Human Flag!!! #core #dubai #strength #workout #insaneworkout #fitnessfirstme #abs #sweat #fitness #traininsaneorremainthesame

weeja1 #fitnessfirstme JALAL M. MOHAMED: *$33+$!$++2 1$ ,.1$ %4-

What you said on Xfit Facebook:

ISHAQ DHAMASKAR: #4,!!$++2

WHAT DO YOU PREFER TO WORKOUT WITH ȃ#4,!!$++2 .1 *$33+$!$++2

TATYANA HAN: !.3' !43 *$33+$!$++2 1$ ,.1$ %4-ʖ

SIMONÈ GROBBELAAR: !.3' $0(5 (/ʘ0$65, (3 #.$2-ŗ3 , 33$1 2 +.-& 2 6$ 6.1* .43 KARSHIBAEVA ZEBINISO: #4,!!$++2 NITTEN NAIR: *$33+$!$++2 JULIAN PLETTS: #4,!!$++2 MERCY MACDONALD: *$33+$!$++2 AHMED SALEH: !.#8 6$(&'3ʖ

www.twitter.com/fitnessfirstme www.facebook.com/fitnessfirstme www.facebook.com/xfitfitnessfirst www.youtube.com/FitnessFirstME1

WALEED AL MASKARI: *$33+$!$++2

www.instagram.com/fitnessfirstme

21


FITNESS FIRST NEWS

F

ITNESS First continues to make a splash with the announcement that it is set to launch its new Swim Academy at select clubs throughout Dubai. The Swim Academy’s programmes cater to adults and children from the age of three onwards. The Junior programme offers swimming lessons for children from the age of three and focusses on developing water confidence, water skills and swimming progression through ten levels in a fun and educational environment. In addition, the programme offers Baby Splash classes to encourage early swimming skills for children aged three months to three years. Adults can enrol in swimming lessons as part of the ‘Learn to Swim, Adult Technique and Adult Fitness Training’ programme

For more details, call 800 FITNESS (348 6377), ( ) visit i i www.fitnessfirst-me. com or log on to the Facebook page http:// www.facebook.com/ fitnessfirstme

22

at the Academy, while ‘Ladies Only’ classes will be on offer at the Mirdif City Centre club. Mark Botha, Group Operations and Marketing Head of Fitness First Middle East, said: “Fitness First is always looking to enhance its product offering to help the community stay active and healthy with a wide range of fitness activities. We see swimming as a great addition to your existing weekly training or the chance to develop a new skill or simply become more confident

at swimming. World-class swimming instructors who remain vigilant about the safety of their students and can be trusted to provide the family a fun and productive session at the pool have been enlisted to offer the courses.” Instructors at the Swim Academy are qualified members of the Swimming Teachers Association (STA) with proven experience in putting even the most unskilled swimmers at ease during instruction. To enrol for any of the

programmes during the first term, individuals are invited to log on to the Fitness First website to register their contact details. Following this process, enrolees will be contacted for a swimming assessment. Fitness First will run the academy in six clubs including Mirdif City Centre, Uptown Mirdif, Burjuman Centre, the Meadows, Al Manzil (throughout the year), as well as Dubai Media City during the summer months (MayOctober).


FITNESS FIRST NEWS

HISTORY MADE BY INAUGURAL

‘FINISHING FIRST’ GRADUATES

A

SMALL piece of history was created recently when the first ever group of trainees graduated from the inaugural ‘GX Finishing First’ mentorship programme at Fitness First. The four-week training course is designed to develop the knowledge and skills of new instructors so that they are ready to stand up on stage and deliver a group class with confidence. Fitness First’s GX classes are renowned for their high energy, no-holds barred instructors and the six graduates, who showed 110% commitment during the programme, will now go back to their clubs ready to carry on this great tradition.

Here’s what some of the historic graduates had to say: Enrique: “It was an unbelievable experience, the best four weeks of my life. I am such a better instructor and feel confident in my coaching. I have already started telling everyone about Finishing First and to register on the course – even the Gold’s Gym instructors have heard about the course and want to attend as well!” Mona: “This truly was an uplifting experience for me. All the trainers were great and, although my timing was not always perfect, they gave me the guidance and feedback to improve week after week.” Nina: “Wow! I am so happy I did the Finishing First course – it taught

me more than the Les Mills training, I feel everyone should attend this course as I am now so much better and so more prepared to instruct in front of other people. Thank you so much Fitness First.” Julius: “I’ve never used a microphone, I had never been on a stage before. I’m feeling on top of the world after completing the Finishing First programme. I can’t wait to start teaching now – my confidence is so high thanks to the amazing trainers. The feedback and action plan was so professional that everyone will know about the experience I have had over the four weeks. Thank you so much for making me a better instructor, I hope I make you all proud of me one day!”

EVENTS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS… JANUARY 24 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon @ Jumeirah

JANUARY 25 XFit Beach event @ Kite Beach, Jumeirah

FEBRUARY 8 Movement Event @Fitness First Meadows

FEBRUARY 14 RAK Half Marathon @ Ras Al Khaimah

23


MAGIC AT THEIR FEET TWO of football’s great creative forces – past and present – Portugal’s Luis Figo and Spain’s Juan Mata discussed the upcoming World Cup and their experiences of playing on the game’s biggest stages when they met in Madrid for a Laureus Foundation event in aid of children and adults suffering from autism problems.

24


JUAN

MATA SF: You play in the English Premier League, what are your views on the England team?

JM: The English team is really very good. They have many players from the top teams in England and in Europe, so for me the England team is going to be a contender for the title in big tournaments. SF: If you’re picked for the Spanish World Cup team, what will it mean to you to go to Brazil?

JM: It’s going to be very special for me to be there. I feel so lucky to be training with such a team because we know each other really well. We know how to play because we are friends off the pitch, which is very important. If you are a team that wants to win you have to be like a family. I think that’s what we are in the Spanish team. That’s probably one of the secrets to the success we’ve had. Playing in the World Cup is the greatest experience for any player. I had the opportunity to play in South Africa and win our country’s first ever World Cup, so it will be fantastic to be part of that team again. We are facing a big challenge – to be World Champions again and keep writing history. It will be a dream come true to play and win a World Cup and in Brazil, a country that loves football. SF: How do you enjoy playing in the English Premier League?

JM: To be honest it’s amazing to play in England. Since the first day, I felt it was different, which is fun because in your career, when you are playing in just one league maybe you don’t know what’s happening in another country; how they play in different leagues. I think it’s important to be able to grow as a player knowing different types of football. In England the atmosphere, the stadiums, the different crowds, the organisation, everything is amazing. For us, we have to be focused on playing football and then the rest is easy. Playing in the Premier League is a pleasure for me. SF: Tell us about your involvement with Laureus as an Ambassador?

JM: Today we are in Madrid, doing an event with the Laureus Foundation and watch manufacturer IWC, a Laureus Global Partner, trying to help children when they have problems with relationships between each other. We come here to help them through sport, on this occasion through football and cycling. I think sport is a good way to improve as a person as well.

SF: Which other teams will do well in Brazil in 2014?

JM: I think it’s going to be really, really hard to win this tournament because obviously some of the countries that are going to be there are also really fighting to make it to the final. For me Brazil, the hosts, have a great squad with young players. They beat us in the Confederations Cup last summer. Italy, too, are going to really fight with us for the title.

SF: How did the children react to your visit?

JM: It was fantastic for us to come here and to see the kids. Some of them didn’t know who we are, because they don’t know much about football or sports – they are just trying to improve as a person with their lessons in this school. Others love football and they knew us, so it’s a mix of reactions, but the most important thing today was to help them feel how they can improve as people through sport and seeing how we can make them smile. This is the most important thing for kids, to try to make them happy.

25


MAGIC AT THEIR FEET

LUIS

FIGO SF: Are you looking forward to the World Cup next year in Brazil?

LF: First of all, I’m proud that my country [Portugal] qualified after winning the play-off against Sweden. I hope it will be an extraordinary event because for the national teams it is one of the best sporting events in the world. And with the passion for football they have in Brazil, it will be unforgettable.

SF Who do you think will win?

LF: Spain are one of the favourites as they are the reigning world champions. They have fantastic players and, without a doubt, are one of the strongest teams. At the same time it will be a challenge to see if the same national team could win the title two times in a row. So we will have to wait and see. But obviously they are one of the favourites.

SF: What do you think of Juan Mata as a player for Chelsea and Spain?

LF: I haven’t had the chance to get to know Mata very well, but I think he is an intelligent person. As a professional, he is a great player. All the Spanish and English fans that have the opportunity to see him every weekend can enjoy the way he plays and his quality. And he is young. I hope he has a brilliant career in front of him.

26




ARD D N A ST G N N I O K H A T E A R D-B MAR R I O A C B E R DU D E R E T S... T E CHAR E R ST E H T S HIT

T ’ N DO P O T G S N I N N U R

29


T

WELVE months after rewriting the marathon running record books, the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon will deliver what organisers are describing as a “dream route” when the award-winning event is staged this month. On January 24, more than 20,000 runners are expected to sign up for the Middle East’s biggest mass participation sporting event – and if the 2012 event is anything to go by, fans of world-class long distance running are in for a treat. In January 2013, the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon saw five men cross the finish line in less than 2h:05m – the first time any marathon in history has had so many sub-2.05 runners in one race. Indeed, Dubai can lay claim to another world first as the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon is the only marathon with ten sub-2:05 runners in its relatively short history – Berlin is the next best with nine sub-2:05 athletes. Last year, Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia (2:04:45) took the men’s title with compatriot Tirfi Tsegaye wrapping up the women’s race in an event that, for the last two years, started and finished in Downtown Dubai.

New Route For 2014, however, race organisers have created a new route which could yet see a world record time set on the streets of the UAE – and Event Director Peter Connerton is excited at the potential of the new layout. “Back in 2001, people told me that no-one of any note would come to run in Dubai and yet here we are today as the only marathon in history to have ten men break the 2:05 mark and a route that the elite athletes want to run due to the flat route and benign running conditions,” says Connerton. “It is all down to the commitment and dedication of the Dubai Marathon team, the support of title sponsors Standard Chartered and the backing of the Government of Dubai led by our patron HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and the Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council. “Obviously, it would be ideal to have the same route every year but due to the ongoing development of the city, we need to re-assess the marathon layout on an annual basis. “Many managers and agents of elite athletes have asked us to provide a route similar to the one we staged out of Dubai Media City in 2010 and 2011 so for 2014 the route is very similar in stages to that layout and we believe we have

30

given them the dream route they are looking for. Hopefully, the times of the elites will reflect that.” For 2014, the 42.195km classic distance race will start on the Umm Suqeim Road close to the Dubai Police Academy and take the runners down Jumeirah Beach Road to the Union Flag before turning back along the beachfront road and taking the athletes south past the Burj Al Arab and Madinat Jumeirah before the next major turn at the One & Only Royal Mirage. The marathon fields will then head back up the Jumeirah Beach Road and turn into Umm Suqeim Road and fight it out towards the finish line.

Major sporting event “The 2014 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon is set to be the biggest on record,” adds UAE Athletics Federation President and IAAF Council Member Ahmed Al Kamali. “The news that Dubai has won the right to host the World Expo 2020 is a massive boost for us all

and we look forward to staging the first major sporting event of 2014 on January 24.” While the elite field had yet to be finalised at the time of going to print, the provisional field sees a powerful men’s line up with nine men boasting sub 2:07 personal bests including 29 year-old Ethiopian Markos Geneti whose personal best of 2:04:54 was set at the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon of 2012 when he took third place behind marathon new boy Ayele Abshero who won in 2:04:23 (the fourth fastest in history at that time). Also set to star is Jonathan Maiyo, who was fourth in that race in 2:04:56. Another one watch is another young Ethiopian Atsedu Tsegay who won last month’s Delhi Half Marathon in a new race record time of 59m:10s and also won the 2013 Prague Half Marathon in 58m:47s. Also expected to be in the hunt are Ethiopians Bazu Worku (2:05:05) and Feleke Cherkos (2:06:00). In the women’s field, 2008 Dubai winner Berhane Adere (2:20:42) will be back on


Pictured below: Men’s champion Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia crosses the line to win the 2013 race in a time of 2 hours 4 minutes and 45 seconds while compatriot Tsegaye Beyene wins the women’s title in a time of 2 hours 23 minutes and 23 seconds.

the road alongside fellow Ethiopian Mare Dibaba (2:19:52) who set her personal best when finishing third behind race winner Asselefech Medessa in Dubai in 2012. Other big guns expected in the women’s field are 2012 Frankfurt Marathon winner Meselech Haileyesus and 2012 Amsterdam Marathon Champion Meseret Debele, also both from Ethiopia.

International recognition Such has been the international recognition of the event, the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon has – for the third year in succession – been awarded Gold Label status from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It’s an accolade the event is proud of and one based on several criteria including global media and TV coverage, the variety of international competitors and the quality of their previous race times. “When the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon was first recognized in 2011, it was

the first time a Middle East running event of any kind had gained IAAF Road Race Gold Label status so it was a major milestone in the event’s history,” says Connerton. “However, it also meant we had moved up a league in terms of quality and athlete expectation so the challenges now are to maintain that standard and, if possible, take to the race to even greater heights.” Such recognition is not only good news for the event itself but also for the event sponsors, including Standard Chartered Bank, now in its 10th year as the event’s title sponsor, and Adidas who are now in the third year of a five-year deal that sees them as the exclusive apparel provider for all participants and event officials and marshals. “The Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon continues to go from strength to strength and we look forward to seeing more than 20,000 runners on the streets in January,” says Jonathan Morris, Chief Executive Officer

Standard Chartered Bank United Arab Emirates. “The event, in which we encourage people to Run for a Reason, is a great way of bringing together all the different cultures and nationalities in the UAE. It is without doubt one of the key events in the Middle East sporting and social calendar.” It’s a point not lost on some of the biggest brands in the UAE and for the 2014 staging of the race, UAE water supplier Masafi will make its debut on the global running scene after signing up to become the Official Water Sponsor for the 2014 event. In an agreement that brings together two of the biggest brands in the Emirates, Masafi will make its sponsorship debut at the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon and provide runners with around 100,000 bottles

31



HOW TO STAY NOURISHED THROUGH THE MARATHON WEEK

1

Carbohydrate-loading means more than just stuffing yourself with pasta and rice at every meal. Proper carbo-loading means fueling your muscles without eating too much or too little and without upsetting your digestive system.

2

Eat your normal carbohydratebased training diet. Don’t dramatically change your diet. By running less in this final week, you will give your muscles the opportunity to get fully fueled with the carbs that you would otherwise burn off when running.

of drinking water and 25,000 juices. Masafi CEO Reginald Randall says: “Masafi is delighted to be a sponsor of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon. Water is obviously vital to ensure both the professional and the fun runners are kept as hydrated as possible during the race and help ensure the health and safety of all participants.” Fast and flat with excellent road surfaces throughout, the race will provide drink stations throughout the route at every 5km mark from 5km to 40km, while intermediary drink stations will have Masafi drinks approximately half way between each main drink station. Sponges will also be available immediately after each main drink station, medical points will be set up around 200m after each drink station and toilets will be in place every 5km from the 10km-40km marks. Event Director Connerton says he is delighted to welcome the name of Masafi to the family of sponsors associated with the world’s richest marathon and that the agreement is a perfect fit for both brands. “Both the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon and Masafi have earned their reputations as leaders in their particular fields so it is fitting to have the two brands – both major UAE names – combining for one of the sporting and social events of the year. “The health and safety of our competitors is paramount with the supply of refreshments and water sponges being a key element in our planning. As an Official Supplier, Masafi will have a premium position on the race route, while the brand will also be very high profile at the start and finish line.” Held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon is supported by the Dubai Sports Council, Adidas, Dubai Eye 103.8FM, Masafi, Dubai Holding, Dubai Police, the RTA and Dubai Municipality. Runners looking to register for the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon as well as the popular 10km men and women’s event and the 3km Fun Run can do so only at the official web site www.dubaimarathon.org.

5 6 7

If diarrhea is a concern due to premarathon nervousness, stay away from the fiber, whole grains and excess fruits, vegetables and juices. Include a little protein in your diet. Your body needs some protein on a daily basis to build, protect and repair your muscles. Don’t try any new vitamins, special supplements or magic energy drinks before the marathon. They won’t help.

3

8

4

9

You’ll probably gain a little weight this final week. Don’t worry about it. You are running less this final week and that means you will burning less fuel. If you’re doing everything right, you should gain about two or three pounds which indicates your muscles are properly loaded with carbs. Because you are running less this week than normal, you may become constipated. If this is a concern, eat such fiber-rich foods as bran cereal, whole grain breads as well as bagels, fruits and vegetables.

Be sure you are drinking plenty of fluids all week. This is true before any marathon. Your urine should be clear and you should have to urinate every two to four hours. Keep a water bottle handy at all times during the week. The day prior to the race have a hefty carbohydrate-based lunch and normal portions of a timetested carbohydrate-based dinner. Top it off with a bedtime snack, particularly if you will be unable to tolerate much food on marathon morning.

Hydration during the Marathon: Regardless of the temperature, drink about 250ml of water every 15-20 minutes during the marathon. That’s at least two cups. Maintain a normal blood sugar level by consuming 100 to 250 calories of carbohydrates every hour after the first 60 minutes of running. Slower marathoners can probably tolerate more. Use energy gels, Gu packs, Shot Bloks or Power Gel for quick, easily digestible carbs. If you intend to use energy gels, carry them with you.

On Marathon Morning: g g: Two or three hours before the race, eat a light, easily digestible breakfast.. Choose from cereal, bagels, oatmeal and a banana. Drink extra water up to o an hour before the start. Drink another e er 300ml right before the start.

After the Marathon: If you’re hungry, eat whatever sounds good. You earned it. Just be sure to eat some carbs along with whatever you crave (potato, bread, rice) to refuel your severely depleted muscles. If you feel nauseous, have some brothy soup; the salt might help you feel better. Or try ginger ale or a cola with some saltines or other simple foods. Force fluids into your system until you have to urinate.

33


REEBOK UNVEILS THE “UNNATURALLY QUICK” ZSERIES RUNNING COLLECTION

ZSERIES DESIGN INSPIRED BY HIGH PERFORMANCE ZRATED RACING TIRES

I

N 2014, Reebok unveils its latest running footwear collection, the Reebok ZSeries. This unique, natural motion product is inspired by the design of high-performance ZRated tires found on exotic high-end sports cars. ZRated tires are designed for use on cars that travel at speeds in excess of 149 mph (240 km/h) and the treads are engineered for ultimate ground contact and the ability to rapidly move in and out of turns at high speed. Reebok ZSeries running shoes are designed for high-speed performance as well. ZSeries footwear features a unique foam compound and radically sliced geometry similar to that of a high performance tire for ultimate ground contact and a lightweight, cushioned and more responsive ride. The underfoot grooves allow the midsole to flex and expand as the foot does, naturally increasing the edges in contact with the ground to allow rapid acceleration and easy control at high speed. For additional stability when accelerating in and out of turns, the ZSeries features a strategically placed NanoWeb upper that keeps the foot supported and centered providing enhanced control and stability so that the runner can move laterally with speed and quickness. Combined with a smooth, nearly seam-free upper for an irritation-free fit, the ZSeries is the complete shoe to ensure a smooth, quick ride. “At Reebok, we are committed to designing innovative, unique performance shoes for runners,” said Bill McInnis, Head of Running at Reebok. “We want to get people out of their comfort zone - to try new running experiences that will allow them to achieve their fitness goals. We believe in a varied running program of speed, distance and terrain that will help keep the sport fresh and exciting for runners of all levels. ZSeries is the ideal shoe for the runner looking to push themselves to become faster.” The Reebok ZSeries footwear is available for men and women from February at Reebok stores and through www.reebok.com, RRP AED465. Reebok is also introducing Reebok ZSeries footwear in Training and Walking models.

34


LET’S

DANCE! NARGIS Fakhri is one of the hottest new stars of Bollywood cinema. The New Yorker started out as a model before getting her lucky break when director Imitiaz Ali saw her picture on the internet and persuaded her to try out for the female lead role of ‘Heer Kaul’ in 2011 hit movie ‘Rockstar’. Fakhri, who has a Pakistani father and a Czech mother, had no previous acting experience and couldn’t speak Hindi! But she threw herself into the challenge and picked up the required skills in a two-month crash course in Mumbai. The 34-year-old received mixed reviews for her debut performance but caught the eye of director Shoojit Sircar who cast her in 2013’s ‘Madras Cafe’ as British war correspondent, Jaya Sahni, working on the front line during the Sri Lankan civil war. This time Nargis won critical acclaim and her star has soared ever since. A lover of yoga and Zumba, she was recently signed up by Reebok as an ambassador for their ‘Studio Collection’.

35


NARGIS FAKHRI SF: Tell us about your involvement in yoga, as well as dance and aerobics over the years? NF: I was introduced to yoga in 2007 by Russel Simmons. He gifted me some sessions and that changed my life, or I should say; it was the beginning of a new journey for me. I currently work one-on-one with a teacher in Mumbai by the name of Vandana Yadav. She has been kicking my butt for the last year or so! Yoga to me is not only movement and getting into shape, it means getting your breath, your body and your mind into shape. I believe that through yoga I have become a more fit and balanced human. As for dance and aerobics, I love fun cardio, so I choose Zumba which gets my heart rate up in a fun way. Plus with all the Bollywood jhatkas I am learning, that is also a great way for me to go forward in Bollywood dance as well as stay fit.

SF: Tell us about Reebok’s Studio Collection and why you like it? NF: Besides loving the studio workouts, I also need motivation in my life and I think Reebok has done a great job with their Studio Collection. Not only do women need workout clothing that is functional but we want it to look good. They have created some really great pieces for yoga and dance, fun colours and cuts and pieces that hold everything in so you can feel good when just starting.

SF: Give us an example of the kind of work you do to maintain your fitness and develop your physique – and how often do you train? NF: I’m trying to train as much as I can. I take advantage of my off days and focus on yoga, Zumba and meditation, as well as my diet. In this career choice you have an unstable schedule so it gets hard to maintain a routine. Sometimes I don’t train for a month and then SF: What are the benefits of SF: Tell us about the association I pay for it once I yoga for a healthy lifestyle? with Reebok, how it came about, get back into it. If NF: There are so many what it involves and why you I don’t train for benefits to yoga. If wanted to work with the brand? a month then I someone told me I can NF: Reebok had approached am conscious only choose one type me about being their brand of what I eat. of workout for the rest ambassador and I was absolutely I don’t count of my life, it would thrilled. It was a dream come true. calories and be yoga. Our mind I believe in a healthy, balanced if I crave is actually the most lifestyle. I also know how hard it something I important place to is for many to become motivated will indulge, conquer, only then into creating that type of lifestyle but the key is will our bodies follow. for themselves. In my heart and to understand Some people may have soul I want to help people. I your own body, a great physical body want to get them motivated and because if you are but their mental health is inspired to live a better life, mind, craving sugar too not balanced, which then body and soul. Reebok is a great often that means throws our entire system off. brand and one that believes in you need to take a When you exercise/ living with fire. look at what you are workout it should not only be eating and maybe need to about looking good, it should be cut out certain carbs. about feeling good. Yes, those happy I’m no nutritionist or dietitian so I hormones kick in (temporarily) but if you do can’t give others real medical advice, but I think yoga and become diligent with your practice, we, as humans, need to get back in touch with I promise you will see a longer period of ourselves and listen to our bodies. With Zumba, happiness with ‘feel-good’ hormones. You will I get my burst of intense and fun cardio and feel relaxed and high, your body will be toned then with yoga I can either do hatha or vinyasa and lengthened and your breath calm. I think it or iengar, or a combination, depending on how should be a part of our lives in the same way we I feel. I enjoy the stretching and lengthening of shower, brush teeth, eat and sleep. my body. I can do a split now and lift my leg up to my ear standing, which is so cool.

36

SF: Do you follow any particular nutritional plan? What kind of foods do you tend to eat on a daily basis? NF: I eat boiled eggs, or fried eggs with no salt, masala, toast, coffee, quinoa, simple yellow dal, steamed veggies like broccoli and carrots. I enjoy tuna with onions and tomatoes – no mayo and no bread. I like sardines and onions on melba toast. I often have museli with rice milk or steel cut oats and fruit. I eat every fruit imaginable and stay away from meats as much as I can. I would prefer to be a vegetarian but my mom gets scared and scolds me when I don’t have a little meat in my diet. So I’ll have chicken and fish but only for one meal a week. I don’t think I follow a particular plan, I’ve trained myself to like healthy foods. I try to stay away from dairy products and useless carbs like white bread and cake. I don’t drink soda or packaged juice ever – only water or fresh squeezed juice. I like green tea with manuka honey. Don’t get me wrong, once in awhile I’ll have french fries and a burger, but then I pay for it later. I’ll feel heavy and lazy, so it doesn’t happen often. I love dark chocolate though, it’s my weakness! SF: You started out as a model, tell us how you were ‘discovered’ or got your break in modelling? NF: I’m from New York City and we have a ton of agencies there for modeling, film and TV, so I just got pictures done and went to all the open calls. I started out with an agency called CESD, then went to Major Models before moving to Ford Models which is internationally known. Through that I decided to start traveling wherever in the world there were modeling opportunities. What better way to see the world – work and play. It was an amazing six years of traveling and then Rockstar happened and life changed. SF: Was becoming an actress something you always had one eye on or did it happen by chance – did you think you’d remain solely in modelling? NF: I thought I would go on to be a holistic doctor, or counselor/psychologist, maybe even a nutritionist. But never in my wildest dreams did I think I would end up being a Bollywood actress. This was a fluke, a freak accident...or should I say, an interesting gift from God, in which he has allowed my soul to grow to new levels.


SF: How important is it for you to live a ďŹ t and healthy lifestyle? NF: When I get into a hectic schedule and am not able to get a workout in, I can feel my mood tends to go down, tends to get melancholic and with that mood comes bad eating habits, which then spirals downward. But I have learned that if that does happen, all I need is a yoga session, or a Zumba session to lift my spirits and get myself back in check.

37



NARGIS FAKHRI SF: You became something of an overnight star in Bollywood, tell us how you got your break and had you done any acting before? NF: I’d done no acting and I couldn’t speak Hindi! I had no skills and was just thrown into something without proper preparation. But I think I did a real good job considering the situation and the circumstances. I’m so proud of myself. I had no fear and just went with it. Since I had modeled all over the world, my photos were up on the internet and the director of Rockstar, Imtiaz Ali, apparently saw my pic and thought my look was perfect for his character. Somehow they got my e-mail address and we wrote back and forth for a week until Imtiaz ended up in Prague and asked me to come and hear the story. We met two days in a row and spent six hours a day talking and getting to know each other. Besides my looks, I think my personality also fit the character, Heer Kaul, so Imitiaz asked if I was willing to come to Mumbai, try to learn Hindi in two months, develop some acting skills and give it a shot. I thought he was nuts but I went and I fell in love with the story and decided to leave Copenhagen – I had been living there for 8 months – packed my bags, headed to Mumbai and the adventure began. SF: How has your life changed since you’ve become a Bollywood star? NF: Well, I’ve lost my freedom, my privacy and my identity in a way. Unfortunately its not all as glamorous as you think, its an illusion! Behind the smoke and mirrors is another world, a lonely one. But on the flip side, I get to travel, and get to be a part of bringing stories to life, playing make believe. I get paid well and the best part is that I become a role model to my fans. I can motivate and inspire others to be the best they can be. That, by far, brings me the greatest joy. SF: How difficult has it been to adjust to the new level of attention – is it something you do naturally or did it take time to adjust? NF: I’m still adjusting, and it’s very difficult when you are someone who has lived a free flowing life, where you can do and say what you want at any time. But now I have to be mindful of what I say and do, which is fine in a way, because I’m learning to refine myself. I feel like I’m in finishing school now! It’s a journey for sure and a big adjustment, but somehow I’m seeing some positivity in all of it. SF: Being from New York, did you previously mix much in Bollywood circles? NF: I never had one Indian friend. Crazy huh! I was exposed to Hispanic and African American culture in NYC and as I got older I met a lot of

people from around the globe but I didn’t have an Indian friend...so strange! SF: How tough is it to keep on top of your fitness goals when you’re filming a movie – how do you go about it? NF: Super-hard, but I try the best I can. That’s all I can do. I don’t beat myself up if I don’t get a chance to train. If I’m tired physically or mentally I will chill out. I know my body – sleep is also so important in fitness and weight loss. You need a healthy mind as well as body so get your 8-10 hours. SF: You received critical acclaim for your role as Jaya Sahni in Madras Café. As a new actress on the scene, how satisfying was that and what research did you do for the role? NF: Yeah it was cool that they liked me in that film. I was scared of what people might say and how they would react. I thought I did a fab job in Rockstar but apparently I didn’t according to some critics! So it was nice to get some recognition. I did a lot of research, especially online...I love Google! I watched videos of what happened during the civil war, read articles and checked out the real journalist who was on the front line. It was so cool and emotional

for me at the same time. I’m so grateful to the universe for giving me a chance to be apart of this story. SF: What was it like acting alongside John Abraham? NF: He’s funny. John would get excited every time I did a scene well. He would say, “that was mind blowing” and I would wonder if he was making fun of me or if he meant it. I guess he meant it. He was great to work with; really a gentle, soft-spoken giant. I’m very lucky to have worked with him and hope I get to work with him again in the future. SF: As a fitness enthusiast, do you see yourself going more into ‘action’ roles in the future? NF: Oh yes! I hope so, I really do! I’m in the process of deciding on a martial art to study. SF: What do you have in the pipeline? NF: Oh, so many things! Film-wise, I finished Main Tera Hero with Varun Dhawan, which was directed by his dad David DHawan and now I’m looking forward to filming the remake of Shaukeen with Akshay Kumar. As for everything else in life, there is still so much to do, see and experience! Q

39


IJP DESIGN www.ijpdesign.com

DESIGNER GOLF CLOTHING BY IAN JAMES POULTER


EAT LIKE A CHAMPION

Randy Grant, nutritional consultant to some of the world’s top athletes, explains to Richard Bevan the importance of digestive enzymes; why synthetic vitamins don’t give us nearly as much benefit as manufacturers lead us to believe; why antiinflammatories are no good and high-protein, lowcarb diets are bad for you. Oh, and how dogs have had the whole thing figured out for years!

41


Randy Grant is one of the world’s foremost nutritionalists and works with some of sport’s leading figures such as World No. 3 golfer Henrik Stenson.

R

ANDY Grant is a man who knows all about blood. He analyzes it on a daily basis and it can tell him a whole host of things about your diet. It might be just a splodge of red goo to us but to Randy it’s a veritable treasure trove of information. He can tell if you’re eating the correct amounts of protein, fats, carbs or dairy; how well you digest your food; whether your cholesterol or blood sugar levels are correct; whether there are any unwanted bacteria present - you name it, Randy can see it. He’s the man responsible for advising worldbeating golfer Henrik Stenson on how to fuel his well-tuned engine. He must be doing something right as the Swede has just enjoyed the season of his life in 2013, winning the European Tour’s Race to Dubai and the US PGA Tour’s FedExCup. The American has also worked with a string of other top golfers such as Retief Goosen and Charl Schwartzel and many others as well as a host of NBA basketball players and Hollywood stars. He spends much of his time working with doctors on how to analyze blood and give nutritional information to their patients. And guess what? According to Grant, the long held notion that professional athletes should follow a high-protein, low carb diet is way off the mark. When two-time US Open winner Goosen was having chronic problems with his back which required continual pain relieving treatments just to get through tournaments, Grant was invited in to take a look at his blood and see if any dietary changes could help. “When I put Retief’s blood under the microscope, the red cells were very stuck together, his cells were hardly moving normally.” says Grant. “I just said, ‘Retief, I believe

your problem is proteins, there’s so much undigested protein in your blood.’ “Undigested proteins cause symptoms of fatigue, weakness, poor digestion and edema or inflammation and inflammation causes pain. The proteins build up and dump into the liver and kidney, which eventually form uric acid crystals getting into your joints and cause arthritis. “Retief said his doctors had him on a high protein diet. “I said, ‘OK, but if this were me, I would get off all proteins for a couple of weeks.’ I recommended a diet supplemented with enzymes and he felt some quick relief. “60% of our diet should be carbohydrates. A lot of people don’t realize there’s a difference between a good carb and a bad carb. Good carbs are 100% whole grain products, breads, pastas, brown rice, raw fruits and vegetables. Bad carbs are white flour, white rice, processed sugars. “A large percentage of athletes are ‘protein-a-holics’. They abuse proteins – eating them with almost every meal. Shakes, bars, meat. They think that they have to eat a lot of protein to keep the muscle strong. When we eat protein, if it has enzymes and if it gets digested, it gets broken down into what is called an ‘amino acid’. Amino acids build muscle, then muscle burns fat, so it all works for you. “But if we don’t break it down completely and process all that protein, it will enter the blood stream, build up and create edema or inflammation. As with Retief, and many ‘protein abusers’ it gets stored in your body – mostly in your back, neck and shoulders. “Then when you have an injury – the protein that is stored in the tissue goes to the injury

Enzymes are the key to life. Let’s say you love cheese, milk and ice cream and you use up a lot of lactase enzymes. Once they’re gone, you’re ‘lactose intolerant’ for the rest of your life.

42

causing swelling. Inflammation is a protein issue. “Most of the time a medical doctor will prescribe an antiinflammatory or NSAID. This is intended to thin the blood and move protein away from the injury to get the swelling down and take away the pain. Enzymes actually break that protein down! The biggest problem with antiinflammatories is that the first place your blood circulates with that excess protein is through your liver and kidneys. That’s why anti-inflammatories destroy your liver and kidneys. A lot of athletes have had liver and kidney problems. I know several NBA basketball players – Alonso Morning and Shaun Elliot for instance, who have had to have kidney transplants. “By taking in enzymes we break the protein down into amino acids, creating muscle, without stressing the liver. A big part of what we do with athletes is injury recovery and injury prevention.” Enzymes are crucial in the world of nutrition. They are present in all foods and we need them in order to break down and digest what we eat. When you cook something above 118 degrees Fahrenheit, you destroy the enzymes in the food, and your body now needs to produce its own. “Enzymes are the key to life,” says Grant. “If I could only say one thing in this article it would be the importance of enzymes. You have different kinds of enzymes. They’re in everything that’s raw. If you’re eating an apple for example, and you set it down because the phone rings – and you come back 10 minutes later and it’s turned brown. That’s the enzymes digesting the apple. If you had a piece of raw hamburger meat sitting on the counter for a day or two it would turn brown, spoil and rot because it


EAT LIKE A CHAMPION

“I have a McDonald’s hamburger that’s been sitting on my desk since 1999, almost 15 years old, and it looks like you bought it yesterday. It doesn’t have any enzymes so when you eat that, in order to digest it and get nutrition, you have to find some more enzymes.”

still has its enzymes. But once you cook that hamburger the enzymes are removed from it, and could sit for weeks never rotting. “Let’s say you love cheese, milk and ice cream and you use up a lot of lactase enzymes. Once they’re gone, you’re ‘lactose intolerant’ for the rest of your life. If you run out of the enzyme amylase that breaks down sugars, you’re a diabetic the rest of your life. The more you eat each food type, the quicker you’re going to run out of the enzyme you need for breaking it down. “So with that ATM theory…all withdrawals

(cooked food) and no deposits (raw food), eventually you run out of money (enzymes). Our body needs constant supplementation of enzymes to function properly. Previously we became diabetic when we were 60, 70, 80-years old but today we’re becoming diabetics in our 20’s because we eat so much more sugar.” The way to get around having to make an enzyme ‘withdrawal’ from your pancreas is to eat some raw food, or fruit with your meal. For instance, according to Grant, a slice of raw pineapple is an excellent way for breaking

down a meal of steak and chips. “Pineapple contains enzymes that break down protein so it would help with the digestion of that steak. It has amylase in it which breaks down starches and sugars that break down the potatoes and green beans and other things on your plate that are cooked. “That slice of pineapple just became almost a complete enzyme provider for the digestion of that dinner.” This is something that the Japanese and other Asian cultures have long been aware of, says Grant.

43



EAT LIKE A CHAMPION

f you throw him a bone, he will bury his bone. The enzymes in the dirt will break the bone down and make it soft so a week later he can come back and eat the bone.”

“When I travel to Japan, Korea or China, if you order something cooked, automatically you get 8-10 little plates of raw fruits and vegetables – radishes, peppers, ect. That’s your enzymes for that food,” he says. Apparently our canine friends are also clued up on the importance of taking in enzymes from food. “That’s why a dog will go outside and eat grass,” continues Grant. “You just gave him a big bowl of dog food from a can, he can’t digest it unless he finds some enzymes. If you throw him a bone, he will bury his bone. The enzymes in the dirt will break the bone down and make it soft so a week later he can come back and eat the bone.” While eating raw fruits, vegetables and nuts with your meals is a great way to give your body these extra enzymes it needs to break down food and convert it to energy, Grant’s company Divine Nature, has developed a range of natural ‘whole food’ supplements that combine multiple ingredients for a ‘one-stopshop’ enzyme, nutrient and vitamin boost. He supplies the supplements to the medical profession as well as the sports industry. “I travel around and work with doctors throughout the country to train them how to analyse blood. Using the microscope with their patients, they then recommend my supplements as needed. “That’s how my company has been built, working with doctors who then buy my supplements. I work with many professional golfers and have also been working with lots of basketball teams including the Miami Heat, the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns. “My supplements are totally different than any other supplement.

I use whole food supplements, I don’t use anything synthetic or chemical based in my products. “They’re full of enzymes, probiotics and whole food vitamins, which are the key things our bodies need. Take a look at your vitamins in your cupboard. Anything that ends in ‘ate’ – citrate, nitrate, sulphate, carbonate, aspartate etc – that’s a synthetic vitamin. “It shouldn’t say ‘vitamin C as ascorbate or ascorbic acid. It should say vitamin C as oranges, or green peppers. These are fractions of the whole food, they lack many of the other co-factors to make it a complete food. When we take a whole food supplement you get all of the co-factors, therefore all the benefits from it. It really enters the blood stream quicker and makes changes quickly to the body. “I have about 30 different supplements at Divine Nature, almost every one of them has enzymes in them. If we choose to eat a hamburger, we can supplement with enzymes to help alleviate the work of the pancreas. “That’s why we call them ‘supplements’ – we’re supplementing back in the enzymes lacking from the cooked foods. “Before Henrik Stenson and his caddie Gareth Lord go out for a round of golf they get my powdered supplement, add some water, and shake it in a little shaker bottle. “This powder contains 36 certified organic fruits and vegetables, probiotics and antioxidants, delivered into the bloodstream really quickly.” If top athletes, not to mention our canine friends, are clued in to the importance of food-based enzymes, you know there must be something in it. So ditch the synthetic multivitamins and go natural! Your body will reward you for it. Q

KNOW YOUR ENZYMES Raw foods contain the enzymes to aid in the digestion of everything eaten; however, cooking destroys those enzymes forcing the enzymes secreted by the body to do all the work. For proper digestion to occur these enzymes are required: Lipase: Breaks down fat that is found in butter, oils, cheese and meats. Lactase: Breaks down lactose that is

found in milk and dairy products. Protease: Breaks down protein that is

found in meats, nuts and cheese Amylase: Breaks down carbohydrates,

starches and sugars that are prevalent in potatoes, fruits, vegetables and snack foods. Cellulase: breaks down fibre, helping

to solubilise nutrients from fruits and vegetables. Enzyme Powerhouses

Eat these with meals to reduce pancreas ‘withdrawals’: PAPAYAS AND PINEAPPLES – for breaking down protein rich foods. SPROUTS  packed with nutrients, contain more than 100 times more enzymes than fruit excellent for all round digestion and overall wellness. RAW NUTS AND SEEDS  for breaking down fats found in cheese, meats, oils and butter. Must be raw, not roasted. RAW FRUITS AND VEGETABLES  for breaking down carbohydrates.

45



EAT LIKE A CHAMPION

f you throw him a bone, he will bury his bone. The enzymes in the dirt will break the bone down and make it soft so a week later he can come back and eat the bone.”

“When I travel to Japan, Korea or China, if you order something cooked, automatically you get 8-10 little plates of raw fruits and vegetables – radishes, peppers, ect. That’s your enzymes for that food,” he says. Apparently our canine friends are also clued up on the importance of taking in enzymes from food. “That’s why a dog will go outside and eat grass,” continues Grant. “You just gave him a big bowl of dog food from a can, he can’t digest it unless he finds some enzymes. If you throw him a bone, he will bury his bone. The enzymes in the dirt will break the bone down and make it soft so a week later he can come back and eat the bone.” While eating raw fruits, vegetables and nuts with your meals is a great way to give your body these extra enzymes it needs to break down food and convert it to energy, Grant’s company Divine Nature, has developed a range of natural ‘whole food’ supplements that combine multiple ingredients for a ‘one-stopshop’ enzyme, nutrient and vitamin boost. He supplies the supplements to the medical profession as well as the sports industry. “I travel around and work with doctors throughout the country to train them how to analyse blood. Using the microscope with their patients, they then recommend my supplements as needed. “That’s how my company has been built, working with doctors who then buy my supplements. I work with many professional golfers and have also been working with lots of basketball teams including the Miami Heat, the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns. “My supplements are totally different than any other supplement.

I use whole food supplements, I don’t use anything synthetic or chemical based in my products. “They’re full of enzymes, probiotics and whole food vitamins, which are the key things our bodies need. Take a look at your vitamins in your cupboard. Anything that ends in ‘ate’ – citrate, nitrate, sulphate, carbonate, aspartate etc – that’s a synthetic vitamin. “It shouldn’t say ‘vitamin C as ascorbate or ascorbic acid. It should say vitamin C as oranges, or green peppers. These are fractions of the whole food, they lack many of the other co-factors to make it a complete food. When we take a whole food supplement you get all of the co-factors, therefore all the benefits from it. It really enters the blood stream quicker and makes changes quickly to the body. “I have about 30 different supplements at Divine Nature, almost every one of them has enzymes in them. If we choose to eat a hamburger, we can supplement with enzymes to help alleviate the work of the pancreas. “That’s why we call them ‘supplements’ – we’re supplementing back in the enzymes lacking from the cooked foods. “Before Henrik Stenson and his caddie Gareth Lord go out for a round of golf they get my powdered supplement, add some water, and shake it in a little shaker bottle. “This powder contains 36 certified organic fruits and vegetables, probiotics and antioxidants, delivered into the bloodstream really quickly.” If top athletes, not to mention our canine friends, are clued in to the importance of food-based enzymes, you know there must be something in it. So ditch the synthetic multivitamins and go natural! Your body will reward you for it. Q

KNOW YOUR ENZYMES Raw foods contain the enzymes to aid in the digestion of everything eaten; however, cooking destroys those enzymes forcing the enzymes secreted by the body to do all the work. For proper digestion to occur these enzymes are required: Lipase: Breaks down fat that is found in butter, oils, cheese and meats. Lactase: Breaks down lactose that is

found in milk and dairy products. Protease: Breaks down protein that is

found in meats, nuts and cheese Amylase: Breaks down carbohydrates, starches and sugars that are prevalent in potatoes, fruits, vegetables and snack foods. Cellulase: breaks down fibre, helping

to solubilise nutrients from fruits and vegetables. Enzyme Powerhouses

Eat these with meals to reduce pancreas ‘withdrawals’: PAPAYAS AND PINEAPPLES – for breaking down protein rich foods. SPROUTS  packed with nutrients, contain more than 100 times more enzymes than fruit excellent for all round digestion and overall wellness. RAW NUTS AND SEEDS  for breaking down fats found in cheese, meats, oils and butter. Must be raw, not roasted. RAW FRUITS AND VEGETABLES  for breaking down carbohydrates.

45


46


THE ART OF RACE PACING is a renowned distance running coach. A former two-time national ‘duathlon’ champion, he has coached his wife, two-time Olympic marathon runner Liz Yelling, who won bronze at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, for the past 15 years. His sister Hayley Yelling is also a two-time European Champion in cross-country running while Martin produces a regular podcast ‘Marathon Talk’ packed with great advice for distance runners. Here Martin delivers some crucial advice for any debutants in the upcoming Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon on how to get their race pacing right.

P

acing is really important. When you sign up to run a marathon it’s a massive challenge and a big undertaking which takes a lot of months of preparation and a lot of effort. But if you don’t think about your pacing, all of that can be undone in the race itself. It’s really common for people to stand on the start, line, and pitch off far too fast. It’s easy to get too excited, and start too hard, and before you know it, you hit halfway, and you’re broken. You hit 18 miles, and you’re walking, by the time you hit 22 you’re thinking ‘I don’t know if I can finish!’ It’s a real battle and a really unpleasant experience. But it doesn’t have to be like that. If you get the training right, and the pacing right – the two things go hand in hand. You’ve got to be able to pace in training well and then be disciplined enough to have a plan around that pacing in the race itself. In training you need to practice what it feels like to run at a certain pace and you should therefore know roughly what your target finish time should be and your target for each ‘split’. Divide the race up into miles (or kilometres) and work out what time you should be running each one. Ask yourself ‘what does this feel like for me’. You need to lock in that feeling so that with or without a watch you can run at that pace. You don’t have to do it for the whole distance of a marathon before the race itself, but if you’re doing, for example, a five-mile training run, you need to

know that you can run at your target marathon pace without your head dropping off at the end. If you can’t do that you’re not going to carry on for another 21 miles. The important thing about pacing for a marathon is that it should feel easy for at least the first half of the race, particularly for a novice marathon runner. If it doesn’t feel easy for the first half, you’ve started too quickly. A more experience runner – someone who runs marathons regularly and puts in a lot of miles in training – will be right on the edge from early on in the race. They’ll be really pushing because they’ve trained so much harder. But, particularly for someone making their debut in this month’s marathon, you’re better off to feel under control for the first half, then start working, and then hang on for the finish. The steadier you start, the easier it is to finish the second half strongly. That doesn’t mean walk the first half; it means go at an even pace. If you’ve never run a marathon before and you’re standing on the line, excited about the race, there’s a huge chance you’ll go off too quickly because you’re with hundreds of other people. You need to forget about what anyone else is doing and stick to your own pace. If in the event, you get your pacing wrong and hit ‘the wall’ you need to have the mental strength to think back to your training and have confidence that you can go the distance. If you’ve done the

¤

47



IIff your longest training run has been six miles then it’s not surprising that when you turn up on the race day to do 26 miles you’re going to be filled with doubt and wondering if you can do it. But if you’ve built up to say a 20-mile run in your training, that gives you confidence that you can do 26 in the race. long runs in training you need to remind yourself of that during the race. You’ve got to have that self-belief that you’ve been there before, and you can reproduce it today. You’ll get that by doing the miles in training. If your longest training run has been six miles then it’s not surprising that when you turn up on the race day to do 26 miles you’re going to be filled with doubt and wondering if you can do it. But if you’ve built up to say a 20-mile run in your training, that gives you confidence that you can do 26 in the race. Motivationally, you should always think about the experiences you’ve already had, to drive the current day. You should also think about the reason that you’re doing the marathon in the first place. Why did you get off the sofa and go running when you really couldn’t be bothered? Are you running in someone’s memory, or for a particular charity? Whatever your motivation might be, keep that at the forefront of your mind during the race. However it’s also important not to think too much. Just put one foot in front of the other and run. It’s very easy to get bogged down in ‘overthinking’ but you’ve just got to get from A to B as quickly as you can.

TAPERING YOUR TRAINING About three weeks before the race you should be tapering down your training to ensure that you’re as fresh as possible on the race day. Keep the frequency up but do less. So if you run four times a week, keep running four times a week but just do less distance in each run. The temptation is to do more as you have a little panic when the race is approaching and you want to do more and more miles. But all that does is make you more and more tired. The week before the race you want to reduce your runs in stages – so you might do 40 mins, 30 mins, 20 mins then 10 mins for instance. You’re not going to change your fitness in the final week, that’s already done, but you might do too much and burn yourself out. The day before the race just go for a light run to stop you feeling lethargic, and keep your legs ticking over. If you get your training right, and your pacing right, you’ll enjoy the experience of your life in the 2014 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon. Martin Yelling is the series ambassador for the Human Race Events Pace Series. These running events aim to help runners better understand their pacing strategy. For more information and to enter upcoming races please go to: www.humanrace.co.uk.

49



Trainer

Making your health even

healthier

INSIDE 53 Do you know squat? Get the most from your squats

57 Get the kettle on Why kettlebells should be part of your workout

60 Prenatal yoga 'NV XNF@ B@M ADMDĆĽS DWODBS@MS LNSGDQR 'NV XNF@ B@M ADMDĆĽS DWODBS@MS LNSGDQR

64 Healthy eating Make lasting changes for 2014

65 Pregnancy fitness With Regional GX Manager Elly Nunga

66 Ask Hisem Kick on from the Dubai Marathon

68 H.I.I.T Work harder and smarter

70 Staff profile Warren Anglin

71 Transformers Fitness First success stories

72 Celebrity workout Train like Bain

51


Contact the Reception for more information.


SQUAT If you’re not already doing ing sq squat squats uat ua a s as a partt of your regular wor p par workout rkou koutt rro routine, outine, outine you y ou absolutely should be. Here’s Here re’s ’s why ’s wh tthe he squat is one of the best exer exercises cises i tthere here is: O Improves functionality and walk stability stabil sta bility ity O Improves Improv Imp r es bone bone density and bone strength str reng ength th O Dramatic Dramat Dra matic ic impact i imp act on core strength h support and lumbar lumba mbar supp pport O Helps p you run r n ffaster ru aster jump O Gives G es you Giv ou greater g ea gr eater vertical jum mp height sports O Provides Pro r vid vides e enhanced en e sport ts performance perfo per forma ance great The squat ua is such a g rea e t exercise e thatt I’d tha th I’d like to write e a book on it it, but I don’t have that tha that much ch space sp ce unfortunately, un y, so Ill share re some me pointers p po ointers with h you. you. you

1) RUN FASTER Running speed is influenced by being able to apply more force into the ground, and the fastest way to improve this is to increase lower body strength. Not only will heavy load front and back squats train the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves to produce more force, but they will increase strength in the entire core. This will allow you to integrate increased speed into movements on the field or court. Nikesh’s Top Tip: Include heavy front and back squats in a lower body training programme to increase speed for short sprint sports such as basketball, soccer and rugby. Sprinters and longer distance runners will benefit as well.

/ &$

53

By: Fitness First’s Senior Fitness Manager, Nikesh Naik

Do you know


Know your squats

2) SQUAT FOR BETTER MOBILITY AND LESS PAIN The general population will benefit from the ability to move better with less chance of lower back or knee pain by doing squats. A recent study performed on elderly people with osteoarthritis showed that squat training resulted in less selfreported pain in the knees, better balance, and faster walking speed. Nikesh’s Top Tip: A stronger lower body and core musculature will allow people of all ages to move more freely and experience less pain or chance of injury. Squats are the solution!

/ &$

54

3) GO DEEP AND GO HIGH Full-range of motion squats, in which you go all the way down past parallel so that the hamstring covers the upper calf, also increase vertical jumping ability and will enhance athletic performance. Nikesh’s Top Tip: If you want to perform better, get stronger, jump higher, and have a better body composition, make a commitment to doing full-range deep squats as part of your workout.


By: Fitness First’s Senior Fitness Manager, Nikesh Naik

4) DO FRONT SQUATS TO TRAIN FOR SPORTS The front squat is one of your best tools for achieving new levels of athleticism, flexibility, and dynamic mobility. It trains you to produce high levels of force that translates to sports such as basketball, football, crossfit, and rugby.

5) DO SQUATS FOR BETTER, STRONGER ABS Squats are a great exercise for your abdominal muscles and greater core strength means better sports performance. Recent studies showed that maximal lower body strength was associated most directly with strength in the core.

Nikesh’s Top Tip: Get faster and jump higher with proper front squat form. Including front squats in your programme provides an incentive for training flexibility, and for novice trainees, it can feel more comfortable than having a heavy bar on the back.

Nikesh’s Top Tip: Do squats for stronger, better-Looking abs that will allow you to perform better. For additional ab training, deadlifts are essential, and chin-ups are ideal for abdominal endurance.

6) START AT A YOUNG AGE – SQUATS ARE SAFE FOR EVERYONE Squats are an excellent exercise for ALL ages and research shows that you should begin doing them at a young age for better performance and injury prevention. Squats won’t hurt your knees or your back if performed correctly. Nikesh’s Top Tip: Everyone should squat and researchers suggest young athletes, in the best-case scenario, start training from 7-8 years of age so they may have up to more than 10 years of lifting experience by the time they are 19 years old. Naturally, training needs to be fun, but with strict attention to technique.

/ &$

55



A kettlebell or girya is a sphere shaped cast iron weight SG@S QDRDLAKDR @ B@MMNMA@KK VHSG @ G@MCKD NM HS 3GD kettlebell is used as a strength and conditioning tool that HMSDFQ@SDR LTKSH INHMS ETKK ANCX LNUDLDMSR 3GD RG@OD NE the kettlebell allows for unique positioning of the weight directly above your centre of mass and allows you to keep XNTQ G@MC @MC VQHRSR HM MDTSQ@K @KHFMLDMS VGHBG DM@AKDR FQD@SDQ DMCTQ@MBD @MC KNMFDUHSX HM SGD BNQD KHESR RVHMFR BKD@M @MC OQDRR RM@SBGDR RN SG@S XNT B@M OQNCTBD @ LTBG higher volume of exercise and thus greater conditioning @MC ƥSMDRR ^ !DB@TRD SGD BDMSQD NE L@RR NM @ JDSSKDADKK řRVHMFRŚ LHBQN LTRBKD ƥAQDR @QD QDBQTHSDC SN A@K@MBD SGD JDSSKDADKK TRHMF LNQD RS@AHKHRHMF LTRBTK@STQD SG@M VHSG @ CTLAADKK As more muscle groups are utilised in the swinging and movement of a kettlebell than during the lifting of CTLAADKKR O@QSHBTK@QKX ONRSDQHNQ BG@HM @MC BNQD LTRBKDR @ JDSSKDADKK VNQJNTS B@M AD LNQD DƤDBSHUD @MC XHDKC ADSSDQ QDRTKSR HM KDRR SHLD (E XNT V@MS @ KD@M RNKHC OGXRHPTD SG@S HR GHFGKX ETMBSHNM@K SGDM JDSSKDADKKR @QD ENQ XNTʖ^ / &$

57

By: Fitness First’s XFit Head Coach JoJo Aragon

Kettle On FOR GREAT RESULTS PUT THE


Benefits of Kettlebell Training Q Improves Power, Explosive and Maximal Strength. Q Improves aerobic capacity and endurance. Q Taxes both aerobic and anaerobic systems. Q Can be implemented in a clinical rehabilitation setting for athletes with lower extremity injuries. Q Provides a metabolic challenge of sufficient intensity to increase VO2max. Q Can burn up to 20.2 calories per minute.

Q Starting from the ground up, let’s consider our feet. Place your feet just wider than shoulder width apart with toes pointed out slightly. Place the kettlebell in the middle of your feet. First make certain that your feet are the correct width apart. If they are too close, you’ll never be able to swing the bell between your legs. If they are too far apart, you won’t be able to completely fire your gluteus, thus leaking power. Additionally, you will tax your hip flexors more which could result in injury. Rooting to the floor is key. Q Brace the abs.Your abs should be nice and tight throughout the movement. Q Grip hard. Whenever you are swinging weights around you have to grip as hard as you can. This will keep you safe and make you stronger.

/ &$

58

Q Increases musculoskeletal health by reducing neck, shoulder and low back pain, and increases trunk extensor strength. Q Is transferable to traditional weight training and bodyweight exercises and is an excellent alternative to traditional weight lifting. Q Improves balance, coordination and agility. Q Increases overall strength, grip strength, strength endurance, pull-up capacity, parallel bar dips ability, general endurance, work capacity and balance. Q Lowers heart rate and blood pressure.

Q Push hips back. Feel your hips and hamstrings stretch. If you are too tight this is actually a good thing. Feel the tightness in your legs and use it to recoil back like a rubber band. Q Keep the arch in the lower back. The “arch position” is one of the most important things when it comes to avoiding lower back injuries. Just keep the lumber region nice and tight.


By: Fitness First’s XFit Head Coach JoJo Aragon

Q Draw your kneecaps up into your quadriceps as you lock out your knees. This should happen simultaneously to the driving of your coccyx to your naval and the contraction of your gluteus. Q Simultaneously you need to shorten your abdominals by “zipping up” and exhaling a short, hard purposeful breath. Q Pack your shoulders and engage the lats as the power of the swing travels from the ground, through your feet, into your legs and through your hips and glutes, up into your lats, passing through your arms and shooting out of the bottom of the kettlebell.

Q Your arm is a pendulum. Don’t try to raise the kettlebell with your arm and shoulders. Let your hip drive do the work. Q Drive the hips forward. Imagine you are trying to make the kettlebell go forward. The centripetal force will do the rest and swing it up. Q When you are swinging, think of “hips and grips”. It’s also very important that you go between full relaxation and full tension. Q Keep your back straight and shoulder blades pulled together. Bend down and grasp the handle with both hands, palms facing you.

Swing kettlebell back down between legs. Allow the kettlebell to swing forward but do not extend hips and knees (as would be required to continue the swing). Slow the kettlebell’s swing and place on the floor between your feet in the original deadlift posture.

Q Using your hips, swing the kettlebell up to eye level keeping your arms straight.

/ &$

59


Peewee Sanchez, National Yoga Trainer – Fitness First Middle East

BENEFITS OF PRENATAL YOGA Prenatal Yoga can be a great way to prepare for childbirth. Here Peewee Sanchez, National Yoga Trainer – Fitness First Middle East explains the benefits that can be gained from this great form of workout.

60


SF: What is Prenatal Yoga? PS: Prenatal means “before delivery” which means that this type of yoga is given to pregnant women. The goals of prenatal yoga are to improve the general health and wellbeing of the mother, ease childbirth and help the baby in its growth and development.

SF: What are the benefits to the expectant mother of Prenatal Yoga? PS: Prenatal yoga is a multifaceted approach to exercise that encourages stretching, mental centering and focused breathing. Research suggests that prenatal yoga is safe and can have many benefits for pregnant women and their babies. These benefits include improved sleep patterns, increased tone and flexibility of the muscles and joints responsible for the birth process, calms the nervous system, decreases lower back pain often experienced as a result of the growing baby, reduce nausea, headache management and also improve breath capacity to fight against shortness of breath. Also prenatal yoga helps mothers bond with their baby and also meet other women who are also experiencing similar things. SF: What are the benefits for the Baby from Prenatal Yoga? PS: Yoga is a great way to reduce stress before and during childbirth. Also it help create a sense of peace which translates to happier and more relaxed babies. Aside from this one of the most beneficial for the growing baby would be the breathing exercises and breathing awareness that expecting mothers receive from this yoga class. Improved breath capacity of an expectant mother means that the baby growing inside of her also gets more oxygen, which is vital for growth and development. Also and most important, it helps expecting mothers develop a closer connection and deeper ability to listen and bond with their babies. This does not only last during the pregnancy but also for the entire duration of the motherhood experience.

SF: Is Prenatal Yoga good for all pregnant women or do you have to already be experienced with yoga to gain the benefit from the classes? PS: If you are having a normal and healthy pregnancy without any complications, and if your doctor has given you clearance to do yoga, then you should be alright to attend prenatal yoga sessions, even if you have not done yoga before. However, if you haven’t done yoga or any type of regular physical exercise before, it may not be safe for you to attend yoga classes during the first trimester, which is the time when the expectant mother usually needs a little caution with their activities. If you are fit to do prenatal yoga and your doctor has approved it, then even if you have not done yoga before you will experience even after your first class some improvements on how you feel. SF: Is Prenatal Yoga good for all pregnant women or do you have to already be experienced with yoga to gain the benefit from the classes? PS: If you are having a normal and healthy pregnancy without any complications, and if your doctor has given you clearance to do yoga, then you should be alright to attend prenatal yoga sessions, even if you have not done yoga before. However, if you haven’t done yoga or any type of regular physical exercise before, it may not be safe for you to attend yoga classes during the first trimester, which is the time when the expectant mother usually needs a little caution with their activities. If you are fit to do prenatal yoga and your doctor has approved it, then even if you have not done yoga before you will experience even after your first class some improvements on how you feel.

61



SF: Why do I need a special yoga? Why can’t I jump into a normal yoga class, anyway I know what I am doing and I feel OK. PS: There are certain movements in normal yoga that are actually dangerous for expecting mothers. Certain powerful breath work, ballistic movements, and certain power moves are actually not very good for both mother and baby. In particular twists are not advisable. Although normal yoga when done with the awareness to avoid certain movements will in fact be good for pregnant women, the instructor does not always have the time to give all the options to one person when they have a whole class to work with. In addition if its a particular style of yoga such as Ashtanga or some forms of power yoga, the predetermined sequence is not fit for pregnant women. This may put the pregnant woman at risk. Worse yet, if something actually does happen to the pregnant women in a normal yoga class, it is usually the teacher who is blamed for it, regardless if the woman had insisted on attending the class despite warnings. More importantly, a prenatal yoga class has been designed specifically to target the areas of concern during pregnancy and has an overall better result on both mother and baby than normal yoga. You can be doing normal yoga for years but it may or may not help you when the time comes. Prenatal Yoga on the other hand is very specific in this regard.

Prenatal Yoga Classes for second and third trimester mothers are now available for members and nonmembers at our Fitness First Community Club at The Lakes. The second trimester classes are on Sundays and Wednesdays 11:30am and Third Trimester on Mondays and Thursdays at 11:00am. A block of 8 classes is Aed 300 and Aed 400 for nonmembers. For more information and schedules log onto www.Fitnessfirst-me.com

SF: What happens during a prenatal yoga class? PS: The class can be divided into four activities. The first one is breathing. You’ll be encouraged to focus on breathing in and out slowly and deeply through the nose. You may also practice different breathing techniques and making deep sounds, such as humming or grunting. Prenatal yoga breathing techniques may help you reduce or manage shortness of breath during pregnancy and work through contractions during labor. Aside from this there are included some stretches to help combat tightness and discomfort due to changes in posture as lower back is pulled forwards by the weight of the baby and the mother’s body takes more stress from the growing baby. While standing, sitting or lying on the ground, you’ll gently move your body into yoga poses aimed at developing your strength, flexibility and balance. Props — such as blankets, cushions and belts — may be used to provide support and comfort. You’ll also continue to focus on your breathing. Another important part of the class is time to slow down and focus on yourself, your body, and come to terms with the changes happening inside of you and your life in general, as you take your first steps in the next stage of your life. Included in this is the forming of close, loving and welcoming connections with your baby through meditation exercises.

63


Eat Right BY BANIN SHAHINE Nutrition Fitness Manager, Fitness First Middle East

IF NOT NOW WHEN?

2014‌.New Year‌. New Lifestyle With New Year comes the opportunity for a fresh start. Make sure your main goal is switching to a healthier lifestyle and maintaining or achieving a healthy weight. Find your motivation:

Rate your plate on every meal:

What’s your motivation? Losing weight? Looking better in clothes? Feeling more energetic? Or simply improving your health? Be clear about what you really want and why you want to change, and use that to inspire you.

Make sure with every meal that your plate is divided as follows: Âź fruits (choose whole fruits) Âź vegetables (choose a variety) Âź protein (choose animal lean protein, or plant based protein) Âź carbohydrate (make sure most of your daily carbohydrates are whole)

Set a S.M.A.R.T. Goal: SpeciďŹ c. Make your goal speciďŹ c. It should be exactly what you want. Measurable. Measure your progress, so you can track yourself. Attainable. Set a series of small goals you can achieve in a short amount of time. Realistic. Do not set impossible goals. Timely. Set a time by which to achieve your goals. Start changing gradually:

Your ďŹ rst small step toward wellness can be a giant leap for your self-conďŹ dence. Don’t make the mistake of turning your life into an existence you no longer recognise as your own. Any unwise habits you have probably took years to form. Your best chance to change them is to take it slowly. Drastic changes make you lose your self-control with food. Make sure your changes are gradual and you will progress towards your long term goals. Fill up on vegetables:

Vegetables are not only high in vitamins, minerals, and ďŹ bres but also ďŹ ll you up with fewer calories. Make sure you are adding veggies to your daily meals. Fill half of your plate with vegetables, or start your meal with salad, this helps you not to overeat from the main dish.

Enjoy your food but eat less‌but how? 1 Use a smaller plate, bowl or glass and choose smaller portions.

Use a smaller serving spoon. 2 Take a small portion of your favourite foods that may be

high in calories or salt and enjoy each bite. 3 Take your time to enjoy your food, your brain needs

at least 20 minutes to realise that you are full. 4 Stop eating when you are satisďŹ ed, not full. 5 Don’t skip your meals especially breakfast

Skipping meals does not help your weight loss strategy, it sets you back. Skipping meals puts your body in starvation mode (your body thinks that you are starving and starts to store fat), and also skipping meals leads to binging on your next meal. And keep in mind your body is like a car (if you do not put fuel in it will not move), same if you do not put nutrition in your body it will not burn calories. Physical activity

Add exercise to your daily routine. Make sure you are exercising at least 150 minutes per week (moderate intensity exercise). Remember healthy nutrition will not make your lose weight without physical activity, and physical activity will not make your ďŹ t without healthy nutrition. If you ďŹ nd it is diďŹƒcult to start alone, you can ask for help from our experts at Fitness First, or simply ask for support from your family or friends. Remember that good health is a result of your overall eating pattern - every next meal is a new opportunity to nourish your body.

If you find it is difficult to start alone, you can ask for help from our experts at Fitness First, or simply ask for support from your family or friends. Remember that good health is a result of your overall eating pattern - every next meal is a new opportunity to nourish your body.

64


I

t’s been two months since my last column and I’m in to my eighth month of pregnancy, oh what a difference! I continued to teach seven classes per week up until my 30th week then dropped to five and am now down to two per week. With the increase in size of my bump many movements started to become harder (simply putting my trainers on can be a real challenge!) and I noticed a real increase in my heart rate when teaching Body Combat, due to the growth of the baby, so I am no longer teaching it. Body Pump and Tuff are still both manageable but I have again lessened the amount of weight I lift and spend more time coaching and correcting participants in TUFF than doing the workout myself. Every time I teach I wear my My Zone belt so that I can monitor my heart rate and ensure that it doesn’t elevate too high. It’s great to be able to see the graph of my heart rate once I download the data and see what happened during the class. I have aimed to keep below 70% of my maximum heart rate so that I am comfortable to know that I am not over exerting myself and placing any stress on the baby. BY FITNESS FIRST REGIONAL GX MANAGER ELLY NUNGA Unfortunately my plan to participate in the ante natal yoga classes did not happen due to my the length of time you continue to exercise for will busy work schedule, but so and you doctor is happy for vary from person to person. As the baby grows, now that I am reducing you to continue. It is actually I strongly recommend breathing can become more difficult as you have the number of classes recommended by the American exercising during less room for your diaphragm to expand and air College of Obstetricians and I teach, I will have more pregnancy, provided to get into your lungs so you may need to modify Gynecologists to do 30 minutes a time to attend classes and you have no medical day, most days of the week during further. go swimming without Swelling of legs and ankles can be very pregnancy. exhausting myself after a conditions or issues common in the third trimester which exercise can The two best forms of day at work. My priority preventing you from help with, but it is important to avoid standing over the next weeks is to doing so and you doctor cardiovascular exercise during for long periods and elevate your feet whenever pregnancy are walking and simply stay fit, active and is happy for you to you can. swimming and can be continued healthy in preparation for continue. It is actually for nine months. There is little or giving birth. Sleeping is recommended by no impact on your joints and big becoming a little more the American College muscle groups are utilized giving uncomfortable and Correct Nutrition your heart a good workout. difficult due to my increase of Obstetricians and Correct nutrition is also hugely important when If you are weight training prior in size and the fact that my Gynecologists to do 30 you are pregnant. You will need to gradually minutes a day, most to becoming pregnant, you body is now preparing increase your calorie intake as you progress days of the week during can continue and just decrease itself for once the baby is through the trimesters, but will need to ensure the amount of weight you lift born, randomly you eat plenty and healthily if you continue pregnancy. and increase the number of waking at 3am and then with a regular exercise routine as well. Many repetitions. This will help to keep 6am some days adds to women over eat during pregnancy and claim your muscles strong and keep you in shape. my tiredness!! Having said that, I still aim to get that they are ‘eating for two’, yes you are but one Yoga is also fantastic for keeping you supple between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night and the of those people is much much smaller and does and maintaining muscle tone with very little continuation of exercising has certainly helped not require the same number of calories!! Just impact on your joints. It can also assist with me to do this. remember, what you eat will affect your unborn your breathing and help to keep you calm and I strongly recommend exercising during child and how they develop and any excess kilo’s relaxed. As I said in my previous article, everyone is pregnancy, provided you have no medical you gain during pregnancy will need to be lost different and the amount of exercise you do and conditions or issues preventing you from doing afterwards. Q

Elly’s Pregnancy Fitness Journal

65


7UDLQLQJ IRU D VSRUWLQJ HYHQW LV D JUHDW ZD\ WR IRFXV \RXU ÀWQHVV JRDOV

66


%XW PDNH VXUH \RX NHHS JRLQJ RQFH LW·V RYHU

WANT TO RUN A MARATHON? Let your mind lead the way, not your body. By the time you read this, some of you will be about to take part in the Dubai Marathon others may have promised themselves that they’ll take part next year. Depending on your current level of fitness, it could take up to one year to prepare for running a marathon. Not only that, but the Dubai Marathon falls in January of every year. Do you see where I am going with this? NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION. .. AGAIN? SERIOUSLY? Now, bear with me. The main problem with New Year’s resolutions is that, they are often unrealistic. Especially, when it comes to fitness. Why don’t you use your achievement in this year’s Dubai Marathon as a base line for how you are going to train throughout the entire year? Whether it is to improve your finish time, or to decrease your recovery time, one of the best methods there is to combine Cardiovascular Endurance training, known as “Cardio” with Strength training, and flexibility. Consider the following reasons:

1. Increase “Fat Burning” People who rely on “Dieting” only, and don’t train, show that, on average, 75 percent of their weight loss is from fat, while 25 percent is from muscle. Muscle loss may drop your scale weight, but it doesn’t improve your reflection in the mirror and it makes you more likely to gain back the flab you lost. However, if you weight train as you diet, you’ll protect your hard-earned muscle and burn more fat. 2. Burning Calories Strength training increases the number of calories you burn while you are at rest. That’s because after each strength workout, your muscles need energy to repair their fibres. In fact, researchers found that when people did a total-body workout with just three big-muscle moves, their metabolisms were raised for 39 hours afterwards. They also burned a greater percentage of calories from fat compared with those who didn’t lift. 3. Mood Booster Yoga isn’t the only Zen-inducing kind of exercise. Researchers found that people who performed three weight workouts a week for six months significantly improved their scores on measures of anger and overall mood.

4. Improve your nutrition Exercise helps your brain stick to a diet plan. University of Pittsburgh researchers studied 169 overweight adults and found that those who didn’t follow a three-hours-a-week training regime ate more than their allotted 1,500 calories a day. The reverse was also true— sneaking snacks sabotaged their workouts. 5. Healthy Heart Researchers at the University of Michigan found that people who did three total-body weight workouts a week for two months decreased their diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) by an average of eight points. That’s enough to reduce the risk of a stroke by 40 percent and the chance of a heart attack by 15 percent. 6. IQ enhancer Muscles strengthen your body and mind: Brazilian researchers found that six months of resistance training enhanced lifters’ cognitive function. In fact, the sweat sessions resulted in better short- and long-term memory, improved verbal reasoning, and a longer attention span.

67


By James Sidhu Sidhu, Fitness Manager, Fitness First, Uptown Mirdif

Work Harder and Smarter With High Intensity Interval Training IT is the start of another year and, for many, a New Year’s resolution dictates that one must improve their current fitness levels with haste; especially if that healthy eating/exercise lifestyle went completely out of the window over the holiday period! For some; it may be the first fresh steps into a gym environment, for others; the long awaited return to a fitness commitment that has long since fizzled out. It is safe to say, however, that the primary goal for the vast majority of people training at the start of the year is weight loss, or, more specifically; fat reduction. This immediately conjures up a myriad of images depicting tedious and uninteresting cardio work, perhaps on a treadmill, for hours on end. Rest assured; this certainly does not need to be the case. In fact, research has proven that shorter but more intense cardiovascular workouts tend to be more effective in the long run than protracted sessions set at half pace!

68


High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has grown massively in recent years as the preferred training method for cardio exercise. This method essentially couples periods of short and intense exercise with less intense rest periods, in an alternating fashion. This is opposed to the traditional ‘steady state’ approach, which involves a continuous period of medium

intensity exercise that can go on for 45 minutes to an hour, or more. Steady state training does have its benefits; largely for those partaking in long distance endurance sports where continued effort at this level must be trained for long stretches of time. However, by and large, their goal is not to trim fat.

SO WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST BENEFITS OF THE HIIT METHOD? • • • • •

Improved fat burning and glucose (blood sugar) metabolism Improved resting metabolic rate (RMR) for up to 24 hours after the workout (burn more calories!) Improved VO2 max (ability to effectively transport and use oxygen during exercise) Improved insulin sensitivity An effective HIIT session can range from only 4 to 30 minutes

Setting up a HIIT session is very simple, but start with the basics and always begin with a warm-up period of 5 to 10 minutes (depending on current fitness level), preferably doing the exercise you intend to practice for the main HIIT session. The intense work interval should be short and taxing on the cardiovascular system; you should feel quite out of breath or close to it before the rest interval, it will not be as effective if you hold back and restrain yourself. The rest interval will last longer than the work interval; perhaps more than double the time, but the most important

aspect to remember is that you are still exercising during the rest interval; just at a reduced intensity. To help, visualise the intensity required for the workout; we can use the ‘Rate of Perceived Exertion’ scale (RPE) which ranges from 1 (barely no effort at all, just like sitting on the sofa and watching T.V!) to 10 (maximum effort, you could not possibly go on for much longer). You should aim for the work interval to feel like a 9 or 10, but really push the 10 only if you are well conditioned, while the rest period is a 4 or 5 on the RPE scale.

USING THE TREADMILL AS AN EXAMPLE, THIS COULD BE AN EFFECTIVE HIIT SESSION: 1. Start with a light warm-up at walking pace (Max 4 RPE) for 6 minutes (Warm-up) 2. Go straight into a hard sprint for 30 to 40 seconds at 9 or 10 RPE (Work interval) 3. Reduce intensity to 4 or 5, which should become a light jog or walking speed, for anything up to 2 minutes (Rest interval) 4. Begin the next work interval and keep switching between the work and rest intervals Even looping the above exercise for a minimum of two times can offer significant health benefits; all for less than 6 minutes of cardio activity! The key is to ensure you do give your very best effort during the work intervals; it is only a short period of time and a longer rest period is always around the corner. In the case that you do find that it takes longer than 2 minutes to recover from the intense work interval; it would be advisable to keep the HIIT session very short, between 2-3 loops. This way, you will find your ability to recover improve rapidly, as opposed to just reducing the maximum intensity, which would stifle your progression. HIIT training can be applied to any cardio exercise routine, so don’t limit yourself just to the treadmill; mix it up with the X-trainer, rower, or even skipping. Of course, adequate rest is required after any demanding session and particularly with high intensity ones, so training 2-3 times a week in this manner, interspersed with resistance based exercise, will form the foundation of a rock-solid exercise routine and ensure your New Year’s fitness resolution has the very best chance of success!

69


Warren Anglin PERSONAL TRAINER FF DUBAI FESTIVAL CITY

W

Age Sport Off Season weight On Season weight Years Training Titles:

arren Anglin is a personal trainer at Fitness First Dubai Festival City and a renowned bodybuilder who this year won back to back titles in the under 23 age category to climb to No.1 in the UK rankings. As if that wasn’t enough, in November, he travelled to Miami for the world finals where he competed in the junior category against the best junior bodybuilders on the planet. Here Warren talks to Sport&Fitness about his background in the fitness industry: “In secondary school I was a chubby guy weighing around 18 1/2 stone. I loved food and ate everything in sight. Also, coming from a Caribbean background the food choices were endless! I enjoyed sports like basketball and football but struggled to keep up with everyone because of my weight! One day my basketball coach approached me and told me, In order to be a better athlete you need to drop weight and increase your fitness or you’re going to struggle every time”. I knew I had to change my diet and start to do activities in order to be better! So I signed up to the gym both at school and outside of school and went five or six times a week doing both weights and cardio. I started to eat right, cut out all the junk food from my diet and I found my body started responding well to weights, healthy eating and drinking plenty of water. I started to see my physique change over the months. That’s where it all began and I haven’t stopped or looked back since! I’ve become a fitness fanatic and to this very day love every gym session I do! Further down the line one of my friends suggested I give competitive bodybuilding a go as I have a good physique for it at such a young age. At first I was a bit skeptical about it but wanted to give it a go. To cut a long story short, eight months on from him saying this I stepped on stage and loved every minute of it. The atmosphere, the adrenaline rush was immense and I knew I wanted to do more competitions. Last year was a great competitive year for me, winning back to back titles, one of which was the 23 British Junior, and becoming British No.1 then Natural Bodybuilder competing in the World Finals in Miami where it was a great honour and privilege to represent the UK in the 118kg World Finals. 92kg My motivation comes from wanting to improve my 4 physique, setting an example for others and inspiring others that with hard work, dedication and persistence BNBF Junior Midlands Champion 2013 you can achieve the body/physique that you want! BNBF British Junior Champion 2013 Two of the best quotes I like are: “go the extra mile, no-body is there” and “if it doesn’t challenge you it doesn’t change” both great quotes that I keep in mind when I want to improve and get better!

WARREN’S TOP THREE FITNESS TIPS: 1: DIET Diet comes first when trying to achieve your fitness goals. Whatever it may be, from fat loss to weight gain, get your diet right! 2: PATIENCE When trying to improve your physique you must have patience and don’t expect results straight away. Rome wasn’t built in a day - it takes months and months of hard work, persistence, and dedication to get results. Be Patient! 3: BASICS Stick with the basics such as deadlifts, squats, bench press etc. These exercises have built physiques like those of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronnie Coleman and Phil Heath plus many more! Don’t make your training too complicated.


Testimonials MYZONE was the answer and the huge missing link in my fitness work. Rhyan advised me to attend to help achieve the last stages of my goal as I wasn’t far from it but needed that extra discipline to achieve it, and that is exactly what MYZONE gave me.

I USHA SHAH

For more information on MyZone log onto: www.fitnessfirst-me.com

’ve been a member of Fitness First IBN mall for the last three years. My Fitness levels during those three years have been up and down, start-stop with little motivation apart from the last 12 months. December 2012 was my wake up call as I couldn’t fit into any dresses on New Year’s Eve so I plucked up the courage and booked Rhyan Vargas as my Personal trainer to help me lose weight and keep it off. I trained three times per week with Rhyan and suddenly within the first few months noticed a huge change in my body, my motivation was increasing and I found the excersises so much more fun. However, it still wasn’t enough to reach my target. I needed something a little bit more disciplined, something that would give me more motivation - not just for exercise but for nutrition and overall weight management. MYZONE was the answer and the huge missing link in my fitness work. Rhyan advised me to attend to help achieve the last stages of my goal as I wasn’t far from it but needed that extra discipline to achieve it, and that is exactly what MYZONE gave me. MYZONE has proved to me that you can achieve your goals quicker and better, and see results faster, as it improves your whole bodyweight management. It has helped me control my food, my exercise and how I train. My biggest recent challenge was to enter the MYZONE MEP challenge. I was pushed all the way by Rhyan who really believed I could win. Thanks to MYZONE I won the challenge and came within the first top three of the highest MEP counts. I’m now 100 percent sure that I will no longer need to wait till Feb 2014 to reach my target goal, MYZONE will make me reach it sooner.

JENNIFER MARTO SF: What made you decide to join XFit? JM: I’ve always loved challenging myself and “conventional” gym workouts were boring me.

It’s not just about lifting heavy weights and grunting; it’s about being mentally open to handling challenges.

SF: What changes have you noticed to your fitness levels/weight/body shape so far? JM: I’ve become stronger and my stamina has gone through the roof. I like carrying ALL my groceries on my own in one trip, instead of having to make two or three trips to the car. Losing a few kilos in the process is also fairly awesome!

SF: What is your fitness goal? JM: To be as healthy and mobile as possible for as long as I can. To be able to do physically demanding chores that other ladies cannot do, without a man’s assistance.

SF: Explain what you enjoy most about XFit. JM: No workout is the same. The workouts are always challenging – I love pushing the limits of what I think I can do. XFIT MEMBER SINCE JULY 2013

SF: Why should other members try XFit? JM: Besides the fact that it’s so rewarding to complete a tough workout even though I think I can’t, the camaraderie and friendships I’ve made are amazing. I have a morning XFit family!

SF: As a female, would you recommend XFit to other women and why? JM: 100%, besides the great health benefits you get from the workouts, I think it’s important to be strong for life. Wouldn’t it be nice to pick up your child without struggling, because they’re too heavy? Play with them without getting out of breath? Or just running a 10km race on a whim, it is for me. Xfit forces me to remove, “I can’t…” from my thinking, it’s made me realise that I can do much more than I ever thought was possible, in all aspects of my life.

For more information on XFit log onto: www.facebook.com/xfitfitnessfirst

71


CELEBRITY WORKOUTS

72


BULK UP LIKE BANE British movie star Tom Hardy has a classic masculine, bulky, ripped physique that has been showcased in films such Bronson, Warrior and the Dark Knight Rises, where he played Batman’s arch enemy ‘Bane’. Hardy’s trainer Patrick ‘P-Nut’ Monroe explains how he goes about adding lean muscle to the star’s frame: “I call my philosophy ‘signalling. Throughout the day you need to send constant signals to your body, so that it adapts in the direction you point it in. It’s better to do 10 press-ups every hour than 100 in a single burst. If you do things often enough, your body adapts for the task you set it, and you evolve.”

Bane’s Bulk Matrix Workout Do this press ups circuit four times with 45 seconds rest between each exercise and make sure you recover fully after each circuit.

CIRCUIT GUIDELINES Circuit 1 - 10 reps of each exercise performed on your knees Circuit 2- 7 reps performed on your toes Circuit 3 - 5 reps, performed with your bottom higher than your shoulders Circuit 4 - 3 reps with your shoulders higher than your bottom

THE CIRCUIT THE DIAMOND Place your thumbs and index fingers together in a diamond shape. Lower your chest to the centre of the diamond, then push back up again. Breathe raggedly.

THE SQUARE Position your palms so they’re ‘square’ with your shoulders. Keep your elbows tucked in, moving alongside your torso to detonate your triceps.

THE EAGLE Start in the same position as the rectangle, but this time spread your fingers as you lower and turn them outwards. Take the pain.

THE KONG Assume a press-up position on your knuckles, your arms at shoulder-width. Lower your chest to the floor, letting your elbows bend back like a grasshopper’s legs. This is a final killer on your shoulders.

THE RECTANGLE Set your hands wide apart, so that when you lower your chest to the floor your arms, chest and the floor form a rectangle.

73


SF ِ ً ِ ً

ِ ِ

ً ِ ً ِ SF ِ ً

ِ

ِ

ً

ِ ً ِ ِ

ً

٤٠٠ ُ

٣٠٠

٧٤

٨

ً

www.Fitnessfirst-me.com

ِ

ِ

ِ

ِ ِ

ِ ِ

ِ ِ

ِ ٍ

ِ

ِ



SF

SF

SF ّ

ً ً ٍ ُ ً ً ّ

ِ

ً ً

ّ ُ ً

ً

ً ّ

ً

SF ً ٍ ِ ّ

ِ

ً

ً ً

ُ

ً ً

٧٦


‫سانش‬ ‫بيوي‬ -‫الوط لليوغا‬ ‫المدرب‬ ‫فيتنس ف ست ال ق ا وسط‬

ÉÏ u Ç q U WK d* U uO Ç s ÑU9 bzÇu w WOM u Ç U uO Ç W Ñb ¬eOA U êuO ®ÖU LK dOC K WFzÇÑ WKO è ÉÏ u Ç q U WK d* U uO Ç s ÑU9 q 9 æà sJ1 ®WO{U d Ç s ÑUL Ç s lzÇd Ç qJA Ç Çc s UNOK äuB(Ç sJ1 w Ç bzÇuH Ç UM `{u ¬j è_Ç âdA Ç X dO fM O

٧٧


‫ ‪w ãÑUA ١٥٠٠ s d Ã‬‬ ‫ ‪WB Çd Ç WO{U d Ç WO UFH Ç‬‬ ‫ ‪X dO fM OH‬‬

‫‪0‬‬ ‫تعاونت فيتنس ف ست ‪$‬‬ ‫"د ‬ ‫ال‪%‬ق ا وسط مع مركز ‬ ‫مول" ستضافة فعالية رياضية راقصة بتاريخ ‪٢٥‬‬ ‫أكتوبر الجاري‪ .‬واستقطبت الفعالية نحو ‪١٥٠٠‬‬ ‫مشارك قاموا بالرقص ع‪ l‬أنغام إحدى ‪0‬‬ ‫ا غنيات‬ ‫الشه ة عند غروب الشمس‪ ،‬ورافق ذلك استعراض‬ ‫ ‬ ‫‪0‬‬ ‫أك نافورة راقصة العالم‪،‬‬ ‫د ‪ ،‬‬ ‫ما رائع لنافورة ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫المتفرج‪ s‬الذين احتشدوا ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫وبحضور المئات من‬ ‫ ‬ ‫‪.‬د مول‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫مؤهل‪ s‬من‬ ‫مدرب‪s‬‬ ‫أقيمت الفعالية تحت ‪$‬إ‪y‬اف‬ ‫فيتنس ف ست واستهدفت جميع أفراد العائلة حيث‬ ‫هدفت إ| ‪$‬ن‪ %‬رسالة حول أهمية اتباع نمط حياة‬ ‫ ‬ ‫‪.‬صحي ونشط ‬ ‫د ‬ ‫ب‪s‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫المقيم‪ s‬‬

‫‪What you said on‬‬

‫‪Instagram:‬‬ ‫‪rhyanryu22‬‬

‫‪ahmed_edries9_1‬‬

‫!!!‪ Human Flag‬‬ ‫‪#core #dubai #strength‬‬ ‫‪#workout #insaneworkout‬‬ ‫‪#fitnessfirstme #abs‬‬ ‫‪#sweat #fitness‬‬ ‫‪#traininsaneorremainthesame‬‬

‫‪ #word-hard #gym‬‬ ‫‪#biceps #fitnessfirstme‬‬

‫‪weeja1‬‬ ‫‪ #fitnessfirstme‬‬

‫ما قلته الفيسبوك‪:‬‬ ‫ ‪æÇ qCH ÇÐU‬‬ ‫ ‪q b Ç­ w ædL‬‬ ‫‪¿qO qO èÃ‬‬

‫ج‪2‬ل محمد محمد‪ :‬كتيل بيلز هي ‪$‬‬ ‫أك متعة‬ ‫اسحاق دهماسكر‪ :‬الدمبل‬ ‫ ‬ ‫سيمو غروبي‪2‬ر‪ :‬ك‪2‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫أمب ‪y‬ي‪ :‬يهم طالما نحن نتمرن‬ ‫عامر ‬ ‫!تاتيانا هان‪ :‬ك‪ ،2‬ولكن كتيل بيلز هي ‪$‬‬ ‫أك متعة‬ ‫كارشيبايفا زيبنيسو‪ :‬الدمبل‬ ‫ ‬ ‫نيت‪ s‬ناير‪ :‬كتيل بيلز‬ ‫ ‬ ‫جوليانبلي ‪ :‬الدمبل‬ ‫رحمة ماكدونالد‪ :‬كتيل بيلز‬ ‫!أحمد صالح‪ :‬وزن الجسم‬ ‫وليد المسكري‪ :‬كتيل بيلز‬

‫‪٧٨‬‬


‫‪YOGA‬‬

‫‪HEALTH NEWS‬‬

‫‪WARM UP‬‬

‫‪SCENE‬‬

‫‪ë‬‬ ‫‪ èà ÁUN Ç¢ Z U d u d UNFC W ÑU W ¢‬‬ ‫تم مؤخرا وضع ع‪2‬مة فارقة "صغ ة" عندما تخرجت المجموعة ‪0‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫دائمــا‪ ،‬فإنهم حرصوا ع‪ l‬تزويــدي بالتوجيهات‬ ‫المتدرب‪ s‬من الدورة‬ ‫ا و| من‬ ‫ـ لــم يكن ً‬ ‫ ‬ ‫جيدا ً‬ ‫ً‬ ‫أن توقيــت تدريـ ‬ ‫ا فتتاحية ل نامج ا رشاد "جي إكس ا نتهاء أو ً" ‬ ‫‪0‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫أدا أســبو ًعا بعد أســبوع"‪.‬‬ ‫ـ‪s‬‬ ‫ـ‬ ‫لتحس‬ ‫البناءة‬ ‫والتعليقات‬ ‫ست‪.‬‬ ‫ف ‬ ‫فيتنس‬ ‫ ‬ ‫@‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫أك من‬ ‫ال امتدت ‪ 0‬ربعة أسابيع‪ ،‬قد تم تصميمها بهدف تطوير معارف‬ ‫ـكل ‬ ‫ـ ســعيدة ً‬ ‫علمت بشـ ٍ‬ ‫جدا جتيــازي دورة ا نتهاء أو ً؛ فقد ‪ 0‬‬ ‫نينــا‪" :‬رائــع! إنـ ‬ ‫كانت هذه الدورة التدريبية‪ ،‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫المدرب‪ s‬الجدد ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ن أصبحت ا ن‬ ‫ح يصبحوا ع‪ l‬أهبة ا ستعداد للوقوف ع‪ l‬خشبة الم‪%‬ح وتقديم‬ ‫ومهارات‬ ‫تدريــب ليــه ميلــز‪ ،‬وأرى أنه ينبغــي للجميع حضور هذه الــدورة؛ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫أك لتدريب أشــخاص آخرين‪ .‬خالص الشــكر لفيتنس‬ ‫ـ‬ ‫بش‬ ‫ـتعدة‬ ‫ـ‬ ‫ومس‬ ‫بكث ‬ ‫أفضل‬ ‫أو‬ ‫قيود‬ ‫دون‬ ‫العالية‬ ‫بطاقتها‬ ‫ست‬ ‫ف ‬ ‫فيتنس‬ ‫ ‬ ‫إكس‬ ‫جي‬ ‫فصول‬ ‫وتشتهر‬ ‫ثقة‪.‬‬ ‫بكل‬ ‫جماعي‬ ‫فصل‬ ‫ـكل ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫والخريج‪ s‬الستة‪ ،‬الذين أظهروا ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ف ست"‪.‬‬ ‫ال ًاما بنسبة ‪ ٪١١٠‬خ‪2‬ل هذا‬ ‫المدرب‪s‬‬ ‫‪y$‬وط‪ ،‬وأصبح بمقدور‬ ‫ال نامج‪ ،‬العودة ‬ ‫جوليوس‪" :‬لم أستخدم أي ميكروفون من قبل‪ ،‬ولم أقف ع‪ l‬خشبة الم‪%‬ح مطلقًا‪.‬‬ ‫ا ن إ| أنديتهم وهم مستعدون لمواصلة هذا التقليد الرائع‪.‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫يسع ا ن ا نتظار‬ ‫و ‬ ‫ً‪.‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫أو‬ ‫ا نتهاء‬ ‫نامج‬ ‫ر‬ ‫ب‬ ‫إتمام‬ ‫بعد‬ ‫العالم‬ ‫قمة‬ ‫ع‪l‬‬ ‫أن ‬ ‫ن‬ ‫ا ‬ ‫وأشعر‬ ‫التاريخي‪:‬‬ ‫الحدث‬ ‫هذا‬ ‫ ‬ ‫الخريجون‬ ‫قاله‬ ‫ما‬ ‫بعض‬ ‫ي‪l‬‬ ‫فيما‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ح‪ s‬بدء التدريس؛ ‬ ‫إ| ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫المذهل‪.s‬‬ ‫المدرب‪s‬‬ ‫جدا‪ ،‬ويعود الفضل ذلك إ|‬ ‫أصبحت مدربًا أفضل وأشعر‬ ‫حيا ‪ .‬وقد‬ ‫فثق عالية ً‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫إنريك‪" :‬كانت تجربة تُصدق‪ ،‬وأفضل أربعة أسابيع من ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫تم ت التعليقات البناءة وخطة العمل بطابع ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ولقد ‬ ‫أن ‬ ‫سأخ الجميع‬ ‫وبدأت بالفعل إط‪2‬ع الجميع ع‪ l‬برنامج ا نتهاء أو ً ودعوتهم‬ ‫ال أقدمها‪.‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫اح ا لدرجة ‬ ‫بالثقة التدريبات ‬ ‫ا سابيع ‪0‬‬ ‫ال حظيت بها ع‪ l‬مدار ‪0‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ا ربعة‪ .‬شكرا جزي‪ 0 ً 2‬نكم جعلتمو ‬ ‫بالتجربة الرائعة ‬ ‫أيضا!"‬ ‫مدر جولدن جيم سمعوا عن هذه الدورة ويرغبون حضورها ً‬ ‫ ‬ ‫للتسجيل الدورة‪ ،‬كما أن ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫المدرب‪ s‬ر ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫جميعا فخورين ذات يوم!"‬ ‫ائع‪ ،s‬وع‪ l‬الرغم من مدربًا أفضل‪ ،‬وآمل أن أجعلكم‬ ‫معززة بالنسبة |‪ .‬وكان جميع‬ ‫ً‬ ‫م ‪" :‬كانت هذه حقًا تجربة ّ‬

‫‪١‬‬

‫ ‪X dO fM O ËÇb à ÊuH‬‬

‫‪٧٩‬‬

‫الجمعة‪ ١٧‬يناير‬

‫الحدث ‪ XFit :‬بيتش‬

‫ ‬ ‫جم ا‬ ‫ كايت شاطئ ‬

‫الجمعة ‪ ٢٤‬يناير‬

‫د‪,‬‬ ‫ ماراثون ستاندرد تشارترد ‪ +‬‬

‫جم ا‬ ‫ ‬

‫‪٢‬‬

‫السبت ‪+ ٨‬ف‪8‬اير‪،‬‬

‫الحدث ‪ :‬موفمينت‬

‫ فيتنس ف ست ميدوز‬

‫الجمعة ‪+ ١٤‬ف‪8‬اير‬

‫نصف ماراثون رأس الخيمة‬

‫ رأس الخيمة‬


‫ ‪ .u WO1ÏU Ã oKD X dO fM O‬‬ ‫ ‪w Ï w W U Ç rOKF‬‬ ‫أعلنت فيتنس ف ست‪ ،‬سلسلة النوادي الصحية والرياضية ‪0‬‬ ‫ا و| عالمياً والعضو مجموعة " ندمارك"‪ ،‬اليوم عن إط‪2‬ق أكاديميتها الجديدة للسباحة‬ ‫ ‬ ‫"سويم" مواقع مختارة جميع أنحاء د ‪ .‬وتم ‬ ‫‪0‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫التدري ا ول الذي سيبدأ يناير ‪ ٢٠١٤‬أمام الر ‬ ‫ا ن فتح أبواب التسجيل للفصل‬ ‫وتل برامج‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫اغب‪ .s‬‬ ‫البالغ‪0 s‬‬ ‫‪0‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫وا طفال ممن تزيد أعمارهم عن ث‪2‬ث سنوات‪.‬‬ ‫ا كاديمية احتياجات‬ ‫‪0‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫وس كز ع‪ l‬تعزيز ثقتهم وك‪ %‬حاجز‬ ‫ويوفر برنامج السباحة المخصص للصغار دروساً تعليم السباحة ل‪2‬طفال الذين تزيد أعمارهم عن ث‪2‬ث سنوات‪ ،‬‬ ‫الخوف من الماء لديهم‪ ،‬وتعليمهم المهارات ‪0‬‬ ‫‪$‬‬ ‫ا ساسية للسباحة وتنميتها من خ‪2‬ل ع‪%‬ة مستويات وذلك ضمن بيئة تعليمية مفعمة بالمرح‪ .‬وإ| جانب‬ ‫‪0‬‬ ‫‪0‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ال تشجع ا طفال الذين ت اوح أعمارهم ب‪ s‬ث‪2‬ثة أشهر إ| ث‪2‬ث سنوات ع‪ l‬تعلم أساسيات السباحة ل‪2‬طفال‪.‬‬ ‫ذلك‪ ،‬يوفر ‬ ‫"بي سب‪2‬ش" ‬ ‫ال نامج دروس ‬ ‫‪0‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫للبالغ‪ s‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ا ش اك دروس السباحة كجزء من برنامج تعلم السباحة‪ ،‬وتدريب التقنيات للكبار واللياقة البدنية للكبار ا كاديمية‪ ،‬‬ ‫ح‪ s‬تتوفر‬ ‫ويمكن‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫سي ‬ ‫فصول السيدات فقط نادي فيتنس ف ست بمردف ‬ ‫سن ‪.‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ال‪%‬ق ‪0‬‬ ‫وبهذه المناسبة‪ ،‬قال مارك بوتا‪ ،‬رئيس العمليات والتسويق فيتنس ف ست ‪$‬‬ ‫ا وسط‪" :‬تتطلع فيتنس ف ست لتعزيز عروضها ومنتجاتها للمساعدة‬ ‫ع‪ l‬بقاء المجتمع نشطاً وصحياً من خ‪2‬ل مجموعة واسعة من أنشطة اللياقة البدنية‪ ،‬ونعت أن السباحة تشكل إضافة كب ة إ| التمارين ‪0‬‬ ‫ا سبوعية الحالية‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫للمتدرب‪ ،s‬أو فرصة لتطوير مهارة جديدة لديهم‪ ،‬أو زيادة إتقان مهارات السباحة‪ .‬ويعمل ‪0‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ا كاديمية مدربون عالميون للسباحة يحرصون ع‪ l‬س‪2‬مة‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫‪0‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ط‪2‬بهم ويمكن الوثوق بهم تقديم حصة تدريبية ممتعة ومثمرة ل‪y2‬ة مسبح مخصص للتدريب"‪.‬‬ ‫ ‪0‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫الكب ة فنون تعليم السباحة ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ة‬ ‫وجدير بالذكر أن‬ ‫السباح‪s‬‬ ‫ح ‪ 0‬قل‬ ‫المدرب‪ s‬ا كاديمية هم أعضاء مؤهلون جمعية معلمي السباحة ومن ذوي ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫الخ ‬ ‫مهارة من خ‪2‬ل التدريب‪.‬‬ ‫ا ول‪ ،‬يمكن ‪0‬‬ ‫للتسجيل أي من ال امج خ‪2‬ل الفصل الدرا ‪0‬‬ ‫ل‪2‬فراد الدخول إ| موقع فيتنس ف ست لتسجيل تفاصيل ا تصال الخاصة بهم‪ .‬وبعد هذه‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫تقييم لقدراتهم السباحة‪ .‬وستبدأ فيتنس ف ست بتشغيل ‪0‬‬ ‫ا كاديمية ستة أندية بما ذلك مردف سي ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫بالمسجل‪ @ s‬جراء‬ ‫العملية‪ ،‬سيتم ا تصال‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ ‬ ‫د ل‪@2‬ع‪2‬م خ‪2‬ل أشهر الصيف )من مايو إ| أكتوبر(‪.‬‬ ‫سن ‪ ،‬وأبتاون مردف‪ ،‬ومركز برجمان‪ ،‬والسهول‪ ،‬وفندق الم ل )ع‪ l‬مدار العام(‪ ،‬ومدينة ‬

‫لمزيد من معلومات حول فيتنس‬ ‫ ف‪8‬ست‪ ،‬يُرجى ا‪J‬تصال ع‪ H‬الرقم‬ ‫‪ FITNESS ٨٠٠‬أو زيارة الموقع‪:‬‬ ‫‪ ،www.fitnessfirst-me.com‬أو‬ ‫الدخول إ‪ W‬صفحتنا ع‪ H‬فيسبوك‪:‬‬ ‫‪http://www.facebook.com/fit‬‬ ‫‪ nessfirstme‬أو إنستجرام‬ ‫@‪fitnessfirstme‬‬

‫‪٨٠‬‬




Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.