WELCOME
CLEAR MOTIVATION WINS THE DAY
THE sizzling summer sun has arrived in earnest and many of us are finalizing preparations for a well deserved holiday in a slightly more pleasant climate. Panic and fear may be setting in regarding the state of our beach bodies, making us hit the gym like never before. Guys could well be picturing one of the perfectly chiseled movie star torsos from our Blockbuster Bodies cover story (p33 English, p76 Arabic) as they bust another 10k out on the treadmill and add another set of bench presses to their regular routine. For the girls it might be the desire to look like model Miranda Kerr (p68), as they strut their stuff on the Costa Del Sol, which is fueling their workouts with added gusto. But, as Fitness First’s Corporate Wellness Manager Hisem Hagras explains in his column (p58), such short-term and superficial goals are never going to last the distance when it comes to creating and sticking to a healthy lifestyle. It’s a well trodden path. We go on holiday, indulge ourselves, put our feet up, and then on our return, can’t really be bothered to get back into our health and fitness regime. What’s the point? We’ve not got another holiday booked for ages and after a summer break spent over-eating and scarcely breaking into a sweat it just seems too much like hard work to get back to the level we were at before the break. But it’s all about finding the right motivation – being clear about what we’re trying to achieve and why. If we hit the gym, eat well and live well, for the right reasons, we’re far more likely to stick with it. With Ramadan approaching those who fast will need this strength and clarity in their motivation in order to keep their fitness goals on track and it’s entirely possible to do so with a sensible approach and the correct planning. The experts at Fitness First have provided some great advice in this issue (p61 English, p80 Arabic). The mind is a powerful tool in our fitness armoury and it’s something that fascinates former Manchester United Strength and Conditioning Coach Mick Clegg who has developed a new cognitive training programme called Seed for Speed, which is attracting the attention of elite athletes the world over. I tracked Mick down to his unassuming gym near Manchester in the north of England to learn how he’s training the minds of sporting stars, in conjunction with their bodies, to help them reach the full potential of their athletic performance (p41). We also bagged an exclusive interview with England Rugby Sevens star Chris Cracknell (p28), who has needed to stay fully focused and motivated in his battle back from injury as he targets a return to action in this summer’s IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow. Richard Bevan Editor
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BUILD BALANCED ARMS HEAVY ROPE WORKOUTS YOGA FOR CORE STRENGTH GET YOUR MOTIVATION RIGHT – ASK HISEM STAY FIT DURING RAMADAN HEALTHY FASTING FOR RAMADAN YOGA DURING RAMADAN Q&A WITH PEEWEE SANCHEZ, REGIONAL YOGA TRAINER FOR FITNESS FIRST MIDDLE EAST TRANSFORMERS – FITNESS FIRST SUCCESS STORIES CELEBRITY WORKOUTS WITH MIRANDA KERR HEALTHY EATING WITH BALANCE CAFE
FEATURES
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ENGLISH RUGBY SEVENS STAR CHRIS CRACKNELL TALKS ABOUT THE LONG ROAD BACK FROM INJURY AND HIS WORLD CUP AMBITIONS FITNESS COACH MICK CLEGG ON HIS FASCINATING CAREER WHICH IN CLUDED 11 YEARS AT MANCHESTER UNITED AND HIS LATEST SEED OF SPEED ADVENTURE
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BLOCKBUSTER BODIES HUGH JACKMAN JOINS AN ALLSTAR CAST AS WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE TOP 15 BODIES IN HOLLYWOOD AND WHAT IT TAKES TO TONE AND BULK UP FOR THE SILVER SCREEN
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Au Revoir Beckham
David Beckham signs off his illustrious career in style as Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain beat Brest 3-1 in the 38-year-old Englishman’s ďŹ nal game as a professional footballer at Parc des Princes in Paris.
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THE REAL X-FACTOR
Aussie Steve McCann warms up prior to the BMX Vert Final at the Montjuic Pool on Day 1 of X-Games Barcelona.
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EXTREME BASE
Russia’s Valery Rozov records the world’s highest ever base jump by leaping off the north face of Mount Everest, 7,220 metres above sea level wearing nothing but a wingsuit exactly 60 years after Hillary Edmund made the first successful ascent of the famous mountain.
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CHEESY RIDER!
HEALTH NEWS
15 TIME WARP
July 30th 1930
BODYBUILDERS have long known that cottage cheese is ‘The Don’ of all cheeses when it comes to giving your body much of what it needs while at the same time enjoying a tasty snack. It’s packed with as much as 15 grams of protein, much of it slow digesting casein, great for muscle growth and also good for keeping hunger at bay. Many people like to eat it as a late-night snack so that while they sleep, the casein keeps doing its thing. Cottage cheese is also low in carbs and low in calories at around 120 per serving or around 80 calories in the low-fat or fat-free varieties. The standard stuff has between four and six grams of fat, with none whatsoever in the fat-free stuff while its rich bone building calcium content (around 70 grams per serving) has been known for years. More versatile than most cheeses, cottage cheese can used as a side dish or in desserts, it can be added to pasta sauces or baked potatoes or even blended into your smoothies.
SPORT NEWS
Uruguay on top of the world In the summer of 1930 the first-ever FIFA World Cup is staged in Uruguay. The South American country is selected as the host nation due to the fact that they are the two-time reigning Olympic Champions and are currently celebrating 100 years of independence. Only 13 teams take part with seven of them from South America; two from North America; and Belgium, France, Yugoslavia and Romania Europe’s only representatives. All four British teams are ineligible from the showcase event having withdrawn from FIFA due to a row over payments to amateur players, although several UK players do find their way into the tournament representing the USA team. On a balmy day on July 30th, roared on by a bulging crowd of 100,000, the hosts become the first World Cup winners after beating Argentina 4-2 before being presented with the trophy by FIFA President Jules Rimet.
THE X LIST Phones are getting smarter, but which ones are the smartest…? Apple iPhone 5 Arguably the most stylish of the smart phones in the looks department the iPhone 5 is packed full of enhanced features like Nike + which allows you to track your runs and analyze info such as calories burned. It has the benefit of Apple’s huge app store and uses the super-quick, super-slick iOS 6 operating system. The screen is thinner than that of its rivals but it’s crystal clear and 4 inches long, making it great for widescreen viewing. The 8MP camera and 1080p HD video are superb while the iPhone 5 is also equipped for mega fast 4G networking.
Samsung Galaxy S4 Hot on the heels of the hugely successful Galaxy S3 is the S4. This is one powerhouse of a phone with a huge full HD screen, 13MP camera and a whopping 64GB of storage space. Using the Android 4.2.2 operating system the Galaxy S4 is packed full of clever apps such as S Health which provides tailor made exercise programmes to help you reach your ideal weight along with other health and nutritional advice. The WatchOn app is also very cool, allowing you to control devices in your home such as your TV, using the S4. You can also control the phone with your eyes or by hovering your hand across it!
HTC One A close run second to the iPhone 5 in its ‘eye-pleasing’ quality the HTC One is making a bold attempt to oust Apple and Samsung from their place at the head of the table in the smart phone market. The stylish aluminum case provides much sturdier protection than the casing on the iPhone. The Full HD 4.7 inch screen quality is outstanding – the best on the market – while the Android operating system is incredibly user friendly and ridiculously quick. The sound quality is excellent too while the 4MP camera and HD video are surprisingly good.
Sony Xperia Z
Google Nexus 4
Google’s latest offering to the smart phone market is an excellent choice for Android lovers on a budget. Sony’s Xperia Z is sleek and It’s available at sure to impress discerning roughly half gadgeteers with its multiple the price of its covert ports and clever features. Android rivals and while the One unique element of this design quality isn’t perhaps to phone is that it is fully water and the same standard, the Nexus dust resistant, meaning you can 4 lacks nothing in its operating use it in the shower or in the capabilities. The clarity on the 4.7 middle of a shamal! inch screen is great while, like the The 5 inch HD screen is superb Sony, a quad core snap dragon and the 13MP camera delivers chip and 2 GB of RAM make a punch while the battery life is this one of the most powerful among the best on the market phones on the market. The and the quad-core snapdragon camera and video quality are chip and 2GB of RAM mean both decent while the Android awesome processing speed and 4.2 operating system is incredibly power. easy and enjoyable to navigate.
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MOVE OVER TO THE DARK SIDE by James Sidhu Fitness Manager, Uptown Mirdif Chocolate – so good but actually pretty bad right? It’s the cheat food that we all love to indulge in when we’re giving ourselves a ‘day off’ but deep down, we know we shouldn’t be eating it if we want to stay on course in our health and fitness goals. Not according to Fitness First’s Fitness Manager James Sidhu. Chocolate of the milk variety may be the arch enemy but dark chocolate, especially the kind containing at least 85% cocoa, actually has some pretty cool health benefits that are often overlooked. Here Sidhu puts forward the case for why you should go over to the dark side: Q Cocoa butter is derived from the cocoa bean and contains a high proportion of monounsaturated fats (healthy fats) as opposed the polyunsaturated fats (not so good fats). This fat is important for brain function and your immune system.
Q Dark chocolate also contains a high amount of minerals and vitamins to help maintain a healthy body. High amounts of Copper, Potassium, Iron and Magnesium (magnesium helps resist diabetes and heart disease).
Q The actual sugar content of good quality Dark chocolate (85% +) can be as little as 5grams per 40g serving.
Q Dark Chocolate is high in antioxidants, even more so than some often celebrated ‘Superfruits’ like Blueberries and Acai berries. These antioxidants can clear the body of free radicals that intensify the aging process and can potentially lead to cancer.
Q Studies have shown that eating dark chocolate a couple of times a week can lower blood pressure, the healthy fats contained can also aid in keeping arteries in good condition and actually avoid the hardening of arteries (Arteriosclerosis. One study had subjects eat dark chocolate for 15 days as opposed the white/ regular chocolate and found the dark chocolate eaters had lowered BP levels and improved insulin sensitivity, which is great news for diabetes sufferers. Q Brain function and activity can and general cognitive function can be improved, as eating dark chocolate can increase blood flow to the brain and heart. Research is showing that the risk of stroke can also be reduced due to this.
TAKE THE PLUNGE TO RELIEVE SORENESS After hitting the gym hard we often feel it in our muscles – sore thighs, tight calves, aching biceps. In order to reduce the chances of having to walk like John Wayne the following day, submerge yourself into a cold bath (add ice cubes if you can to really get the temperature down) and try to stay in it for 10 to 15 minutes. This is a trick used by many top athletes to reduce soreness after training sessions and it can also work wonders for us regular gym users.
Q Chocolate is widely accepted as a food that would weaken and erode tooth enamel over time, but on the contrary; Dark chocolate can actively harden tooth enamel as it contains high levels of Theobromine which has been shown to do achieve this. Q Dark Chocolate can improve your mood and focus as it contains ‘Phenylethylamine’. This is the chemical your brain produces when you feel like you’re falling in love. This also drives the brain to release endorphins which in turn will make you feel happier.
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Health Bulletin SHORTER BURSTS OF EXERCISE GOOD FOR INACTIVE MEN
NEW PLANS IN PLACE TO ADDRESS PNEUMONIA AND DIARRHOEA DEATHS IN CHILDREN A new Global Action Plan has been launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF which has the potential to save up to 2 million children every year from deaths caused by pneumonia and diarrhoea, some of the leading killers of children under five globally. The Integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea calls for closer integration of efforts to prevent and treat these two diseases and sets ambitious targets to reduce mortality rates and raise levels of children’s access to life-saving interventions. “Too often, strategies to tackle pneumonia and diarrhoea run in parallel,” says Dr Elizabeth Mason, Director of Maternal,
Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health at WHO. “But as countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Malawi, Pakistan and Tanzania are already showing, it makes good health sense and good economic sense to integrate those strategies more closely.” The new WHO/UNICEF Action Plan sets clear goals for the world to achieve by 2025: a 75% reduction in incidence of severe pneumonia and diarrhoea from 2010 levels among children under five, and the virtual elimination of deaths from both diseases in the same age-group. It also aims for a 40% reduction in the global number of children under five who are stunted.
20 MINUTES OF YOGA STIMULATES THE BRAIN
A STUDY by a graduate of the University of Illinois has reported that a single, 20-minute session of yoga improves brain function compared to 20 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise. The yoga participants’ results in reaction time and accuracy in tests of cognitive function were far better than those who had walked or jogged on a treadmill for 20 minutes. “Yoga is an ancient Indian science and way of life that includes not only physical movements and postures but also regulated breathing and meditation,” said Neha Gothe, who led the study. “The practice involves an active attentional or mindfulness component but its potential benefits have not been thoroughly explored. “Following out tests it appears that following yoga practice, the participants were better able to focus their mental resources, process information quickly, more accurately and also learn, hold and update pieces of information more effectively than after performing an aerobic exercise bout. “The breathing and meditative exercises aim at calming the mind and body and keeping distracting thoughts away while you focus on your body, posture or breath. Maybe these processes translate beyond yoga practice when you try to perform mental tasks or day-to-day activities.”
STUDIES in Norway have shown that just four minutes of vigorous (high intensity) exercise three times per week is enough to make previously inactive men fitter and a lot healthier. Researches at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology found that short bursts of exercise can improve the body’s maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), and one of the advantages to this approach is that it’s easy to implement in everyday lives. Their study measured the changes in VO2max in 24 inactive men after they completed a 10-week training course which involved three weekly high intensity interval sessions. In some cases the VO2max levels had increased as much as 13% while blood pressure levels were down in all cases. “It has to be noted that the subjects of our study were previously inactive, and the same effect on physical fitness cannot be expected in active individuals,” said Arnt Erik Tjønna, a postdoctoral fellow at the University. “Nevertheless, since we know that more and more people are inactive and overweight, the kind of improvement in physical fitness that we saw in this study may provide a real boost for inactive people who are struggling to find the motivation to exercise.”
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Altitude of spring: 2,042m
Monviso mineral water is bottled at source in the Italian Alps in the heart of the Monviso mountain, the highest natural spring in Europe. Naturally pure, minimally mineralised and with one of the lowest sodium contents in the world. All of which makes Monviso mineral water the perfect choice for everyone.
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OOREDOO AND MESSI TEAM UP FOR CHILDREN’S HEALTH OOREDOO and the Leo Messi Foundation have announced a trailblazing new initiative to support mobile health clinics in providing medical aid for children in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. At a special ceremony in Doha, Qatar, Ooredoo Chairman H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani and football star Lionel “Leo” Messi announced the launch of the initiative, setting the target of reaching two million children by 2016 across Ooredoo’s markets. Ooredoo supports a wide range of health services throughout its footprint, as part of its commitment to promoting human growth and giving back to the community. For example, Indosat, part of Ooredoo, has provided more than 600,000 people in Indonesia with free healthcare services through its mobile clinics programme launched in 2008. Now, working in partnership with the Leo Messi Foundation, Ooredoo plans to roll out mobile clinics across its global footprint with a particular focus on children’s health, in addition to enhancing the range of services provided by the clinics in Indonesia. Ooredoo Qatar is trialling a 24/7 mobile
health advice service and Indosat in Indonesia is developing a similar service enabling access to doctors and health related information via text, voice and rich content. H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani, Chairman, Ooredoo, said: “We believe that young people should be given a full range of life chances so that they have the opportunity to
grow and reach their potential. Disease and lack of access to healthcare is a major barrier for young people in many parts of the developing world and we see the mobile clinic initiative as a practical and impactful solution to this. This initiative will enable us to work with the Leo Messi Foundation and transform our Indonesian mobile clinic initiative into a global force for better health.”
MOURINHO BACK AS CHELSEA MANAGER CHELSEA FC heralded the return of the ‘Special One’ as Jose Mourinho arrived in West London for a second spell as manager following a three-year stint at Real Madrid. The 50-year-old Portuguese reportedly felt ‘unloved’ by the Spanish club despite guiding them to the La Liga title in 2011-2012 with a record 100 points. He replaces Rafa Benitez at Chelsea hoping to emulate his first reign at the club between 2004 and 2007 when he won five trophies including back-to-back Premier League titles before going on to win the Treble with Inter Milan. “In football, in my career, I’ve had two great passions, Inter and Chelsea,” said Mourinho, who is expected to target Champions League
success as a top priority, “and Chelsea is more than important for me.” Mourinho’s return is not the only change to the leadership of the Big Three as the two Manchester clubs also welcome new managers. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson left his post after 27 trophy laden seasons at the helm and is to be replaced by former Everton manager David Moyes. Roberto Mancini, meanwhile, was shown the exit door by Manchester City after just three seasons in charge, despite leading the club to their first league title in 44 years during the 2011-2012 season. The Italian will be replaced at City by former Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini.
GET INVOLVED Summer Cricket Camps at the ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City
Learn to Dive at the Pavilion Dive Centre, Jumeirah Beach
Partake in some Martial Arts in Abu Dhabi
Go ten-pin bowling in Ras Al Khaimah
Summer sessions of cricket are being organised for youngsters at the ICC Global Cricket Academy between June 30th and July 4th and an intensive five-day camp between July 7-11. Age groups range from under13s and under-18s and also children aged between 6 and 11. For more information visit: www.iccglobalcricketacademy.com
The Pavilion Dive Centre is the only PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) 5-star Career Development Centre in the UAE. From complete entry-level to children’s courses there are over 30 PADI courses to choose from. For more information e-mail: divecentre@jumeirah.com
The Muay Thai Capoeira Sports Club is the first professional Muay Thai Club in Abu Dhabi and offers plenty of opportunities to learn many of the Marial Arts, including Kick Boxing, Karate, Muay Thai (Thai Boxing), Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts. For more information visit: www.abudhabimuaythai.com
The Super Bowling Centre has 12 lanes for a spot of ten-pin bowling and also has 10 billiards tables and table tennis tables. Search ‘Super Bowling Ras Al Khaimah’ on Facebook for more information.
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Fitness First welcomes residents to XFit Beach Event FITNESS First hosted an innovative beach-side session of XFit while the temperatures were cool with local residents enjoying some high intensity functional training in the sunshine. The two-hour session showcased just how easy it is to get fit without the use of gym equipment and in a fun environment such as Jumeirah Beach. Led by Fitness First’s expert XFit coaches, the session included specialist workouts that demonstrated ways to achieve fitness goals with the use of sheer body weight. It combined a variety of functional movements such as swimming and running on the sand. With the focus firmly set on improving overall fitness, XFit helps individuals achieve their fitness potential in a short space of time. Have you tried XFit yet? Classes are available daily at Fitness First Dubai Knowledge Village. For more information, call 044298744.
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Are you ready for TUFF 5? The Ultimate Fitness Firster is back and it’s bigger and stronger
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itness First Middle East continues to innovate the fitness industry with the launch of T.U.F.F 5, a new high impact intensity workout devised by Nathan Brown, Head of GX, Creator and Founder of the original T.U.F.F programme. With this new release look out for the thrusters and sumo high rows in what will be an explosive workout session that will take your breath away. In just 45 minutes of this innovative freestyle routine you will burn up to 800 calories and achieve maximum benefits in muscle conditioning and weight loss. The revolutionary workout is designed to dramatically change the shape of your body through a three dimensional plane, utilising your bodyweight, barbells and resistance exercises. This optimum combination aims at decreasing body fat and increasing lean muscle mass., helping you to reach your maximum potential.
My Ride keeps on rolling
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Y Ride has proved so popular with Fitness First members in the Motor City branch that the facility is being rolled out to six more clubs, meaning more and more people can enjoy the most powerful indoor cycling experience. Having opened in Motor City late last year the My Ride has become a big hit and is now available at the following branches: DIFC, Al Manzil, Abu Dhabi Mall, Ibn Battuta, Burjuman Centre and the Mirdiff City Centre clubs. You will never ride the same route on My Ride as there are over 1 million variations to choose from and thousands of pre-set challenges which are designed for people of every fitness level. In addition to the pre-sets you can watch your favourite TV shows and films or you can catch up on current affairs and watch the news whilst riding.
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Downward Dog Start on all fours with hands directly under shoulders, knees under hips. Walk hands a few inches forward and spread fingers wide, pressing palms into mat. Curl toes under and slowly press hips toward ceiling, bringing your body into an inverted V, pressing shoulders away from ears. Feet should be hip-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold for 3 full breaths.
WHAT YOU SAID on Tell us what motivates you to workout every day?
“I just look at myself in the mirror and I say: ‘You’re still fat! Go workout.” – Kunal Thakur “Self satisfaction, awesome GX instructors, socialising with others, challenging myself, the list goes on.” – Amal AL Radhi
“Seeing the results is enough to keep me motivated.” – Moath Mohammad
g the top FITNESS First and Emaar have joined forces to bring ‘Yoga at the Top’ sessions to both members of Fitness First and members of the public on the decking of the 124th floor of the iconic Burj Khalifa this summer. The specialized yoga sessions are taking place against the stunning backdrop of the Dubai skyline during the summer season – June 6th to July 13th, from 7:30am – 8:30am each Thursday until Saturday. In a bid to help the Dubai community boost their fitness and relax their minds the sessions are being charged at AED150 for non Fitness First members and AED125 for members – a small premium which offers plenty in return. Fitness First members can purchase their tickets from the following clubs: Burjuman Centre, Ibn Battuta, Oasis Centre and Mirdif City Centre.
Warrior Stand with legs 3 to 4 feet apart, turning right foot out 90 degrees and left foot in slightly. Bring your hands to your hips and relax your shoulders, then extend arms out to the sides, palms down. Bend right knee 90 degrees, keeping knee over ankle; gaze out over right hand. Stay for 1 minute. Switch sides and repeat.
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29 Mike Gallemore talks exclusively to CHRIS CRACKNELL, who made the switch from playing Premiership 15-a-side Rugby Union for Bath, Harlequins, Cornish Pirates and Worcester to the England Rugby Sevens Team, who have played a pivotal role in the runaway success of Sevens Rugby worldwide. Having made a successful return to action in the ‘Rugby Rocks’ event in London last month Chris is aiming to get back into the England Sevens Squad for the IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow at the end of the month.
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EVENS Rugby has been a popular pasttime for more than 120 years but in recent seasons it has taken off globally and is beginning to rival the 15-a-side version in the entertainment stakes. The IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens in Russia is about to capture the imagination of an increasing following of rugby fans worldwide when 24 nations compete over three days for the coveted crown of IRB Sevens World Champions. Chris Cracknell, a formidable back-row forward when he played Premiership Rugby, is proof that you can play both games but believes Sevens Rugby is gaining in popularity and will soon match the level of the 15-a-side game. “In today’s sporting world the fans want to be entertained and watching international 15-a-side Rugby where goal kickers reign supreme is becoming too predictable,” says Chris. “How many Premiership games are won by penalties, where scores like 9-6, three penalty kicks to two, regularly settle the issue. In many matches the only points’ scorer is the kicker. Look at Johnny Wilkinson’s continued success with the boot. It’s commonplace for the ball to stay for long periods of the game in the possession of the pack who grind away trying to elicit penalties instead of setting up try-scoring opportunities. “Whereas, Sevens Rugby is like a breath of fresh air for the fans. It’s fast, it’s furious, it’s skilful and it’s entertaining. The average number of tries scored in an international IRB Sevens match is 5.8, which far outnumbers international 15-a-side Rugby. “The other advantage for the fans is that IRB Sevens tournaments are played over two-days, with the
&KULV &UDFNQHOO “I try and keep my gym programmes functional and rugby-specific with power bags, sleddrives and repeat sprints. I try and keep it fresh and make it different. It’s no longer a case of monotonous bench presses and chin-ups as I would do as a 15s player. My Sevens regime is not as boring and it’s relevant. Cross training works. You might be in and out of the gym in 30 minutes, but you can repeat as and when you need to.” qualifying leagues played on a Saturday and the knock-out games and the final on the Sunday. You can take the family to an enjoyable, entertaining, fun weekend for a quarter of the cost of watching an 80-minute, 15-a-side game. In terms of value for money and sheer fun, there’s no comparison.” Cracknell believes there will always be a following for 15-a-side Rugby but that Sevens Rugby is gaining momentum month on month, year on year. “With Sevens Rugby now an Olympic sport for the 2016 Games in Rio people are suddenly becoming more interested the game,” he says. “It’s a no-brainer for rugby fans, as far as entertainment goes. It opens your eyes as a spectator to a faster, more open game. “Rugby Sevens will soon be on a par with the 15-a-side game. Sevens Rugby is a sleeping giant which is awakening and capturing the imagination of a whole new audience of rugby fans. It’s true that 15-a-side rugby will always have its place on the worldwide stage but as 2016 approaches, more and more nations will be strengthening their Rugby Sevens Squads to compete in the Olympics.” After coming back from a chapter of injuries over the last year or so, Chris is bidding to make it to Rio with the England Sevens Team in three years’ time. “My aim is to go to the Olympics,” he says. “I’ve had the privilege of representing my country and my England shirt takes pride of place at home. Now I want to become an Olympian and win a gold medal. “I had my hip rebuilt after last season and was in rehab throughout the pre-season period. Then at the beginning of this year I played in the Gold Coast in Australia in the first tournament of the IRB season and 15 seconds into the game I was running across the pitch when I changed direction suddenly and my knee crumbled beneath me. It was a double whammy – it’s been a pretty dreadful time for me all round so far.” But Chris has battled his way back to fitness and is now on the verge of launching his bid to get back into the England Team. “After my injury
in Australia, the main thing was getting my leg straight after the operation,” says Chris. “I built myself a sort of home gym in my living room while I was housebound. Firstly, I had to get the quads-to-hamstring ratio built back up again in even proportions. I’m a great fan of cycling so my main rehab was getting out on my bike for two or three hours, cycling from London to Brighton. It’s good cross-training for your core fitness and good for getting fit to play Sevens. “I’ve been back in training for a couple of months and I’ve started working again with the England Squad. I’m a dreadful spectator. It’s not been good watching the England Team from the sidelines, particularly with them not having a successful season. “Although I’ve had a tough year or so I haven’t had that many injuries in my career. Being one of the older members of our England Squad I’ve been helping with the coaching. It’s been good to work with the boys and it’s helped me to see the tactics of playing Rugby Sevens from a different angle. But now I’m getting towards full fitness I can’t wait to get back into the Team.”
DUBAI HOME FROM HOME
Cracknell represented England in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Dehli but was far from happy with the outcome. “It was a bizarre experience. We came so close to winning a bronze medal. It was fantastic to be there representing my country but I feel it was a case of unfinished business,” says Chris, who has enjoyed considerable success with the England Sevens Team. “The Commonwealth Games takes place again in Glasgow next year so that’s the next thing on the horizon. That will be huge. It’s a different challenge altogether. From a playing aspect we want to win gold. I’m deeply competitive and the only way to rectify what happened in 2010 is a gold medal.” With a promising career ahead of him as a back row forward in 15-a-side Rugby it was a surprise to many people in the game that
he chose to switch to playing Sevens Rugby. “I decided to turn to Sevens Rugby because it was a new challenge and I liked the game. Being a back row forward is tough. Nick Easter, who I still rate as the best No.8 in the game, also plays Sevens Rugby. The fitness level in Sevens is higher than it is in the 15-a-side game. In Sevens you need to have high skill-sets. You have to have an array of core skills. You’ve got to improvise and be able to kick with both feet, pass with both hands, read the game well and you’ve got to do it all at pace. “You have to hit every area of your game at speed. Pre-season training is vital. It’s very adaptable and interchangeable. Speed, endurance and power are essential. It’s taxing and it’s difficult – with plenty of repeat sprints, 100 metres, with not a lot of rest in between. “I’ve become a massive fan of multifunctional training. Marcus Smith in Dubai is an expert in this field. We’ve been friends for a long time. He introduced me to multi-functional training which I’ve incorporated into my training regime. “With my rugby 15s background, if I spend time in the gym doing loads and loads of power and strength training I know I’m going to put on unnecessary weight. So I try and keep my gym programmes functional and rugby-specific with power bags, sled-drives and repeat sprints. I try and keep it fresh and make it different. It’s no longer a case of monotonous bench presses and chin-ups as I would do as a 15s player. My Sevens regime is not as boring and it’s relevant. Cross training works. You might be in and out of the gym in 30 minutes, but you can repeat as and when you need to.” Chris didn’t get up to full fitness to play the IRB Sevens at Twickenham but he’s determined to be in the England Squad for the IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens and well before the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens later this year. “I’ve got a soft spot for Dubai,” he says. “It’s like a home from home from for me. “I can remember playing rugby in Dubai as a
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*\P EDVHG FRQGLWLRQLQJ Professional Sevens players need to be highly explosive and strong in both the upper and lower body to withstand the physical confrontation from opposition and allow them to be strong in the tackle in order to maintain possession. Gym-based training ought to focus on players’ individual weaknesses while maintaining player strengths, thus allowing players to stay injury free while at the same time enhancing their performance. Strength programmes should LQFRUSRUDWH VSHFLÀF PRYHPHQWV WKDW LQFUHDVH explosive strength and power that translate to RQ ÀHOG SHUIRUPDQFH VXFK DV VTXDW YDULDWLRQV Olympic lifts and its variations, bench and shoulder presses and their many variations, and plyometric exercises. Additionally, a combination of low (1-8) and high (12-20) rep schemes should be included in to programmes WR LQFUHDVH WKH UHTXLUHG SK\VLFDO FDSDELOLWLHV (strength, explosive power, strength & power endurance). Depending on the amount of training days per week and the overall training schedule, programmes can be separated across a week focusing on different physical UHTXLUHPHQWV )RU H[DPSOH
17-year-old at the Exiles Club at the old Dubai Country Club. It was, without a shadow of doubt, just like a party in the desert. It was wonderful. The atmosphere is fantastic and so are the people. With the number of expat English people in Dubai, we always get more crowd support than any other nation. In fact, we get more support from the fans in Dubai
than we get when we play in London. “The hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I run out to play in Dubai. Certainly, the Dubai Rugby Sevens are always something special for the England boys. Fingers crossed I’ll be there later in the season soaking up all that fabulous atmosphere – after we win the Rugby World Cup Sevens.� Q
Day 1: Lower body strength & explosive power with injury prevention before or after. Day 2: Upper body strength & explosive power with injury prevention exercise before or after. Day 3: Whole body explosive power and speed.
TOP 15 BLOCKBUSTER BODIES THE leading men in today’s action movie roles are getting bigger and bigger. Beefcakes are in vogue and the greater the steel, the more the appeal. On the star-covered streets of Tinseltown, muscles mean money and modern-day A-Listers spend as much time sculpting their physiques as they do honing their acting skills. Here we reveal the top 15 blockbuster bodies, the movies that carved their muscle-bound reputations, and the secrets of how they created their hulking frames.
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JEREMY RENNER
AGE: 42 BLOCKBUSTER ROLE: AVENGERS ASSEMBLE (2010)
Renner has been swimming in the choppy waves off the coast of California since his teens. He’s maintained his lean physique throughout his adult life by continuing to swim and by landing roles in the Bourne Legacy and Avengers Assemble where intense hand-to-hand combat training was required. Regular MMA sessions also keep him fit as a fiddle.
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AGE: 40 BLOCKBUSTER ROLE: DREDD 3D (2012)
AGE: 39 BLOCKBUSTER ROLE: INTO THE BLUE (2005)
Kiwi Karl Urban underwent intensive workouts over a 14-week period in order to get extremely fit and supple for the role of Judge Dredd in Dredd 3D. “I worked out twice a day, ate 6-7 meals a day and it was hell,” laughed Urban after the shoot. “Half of getting into shape is eating the right food, so every two hours you have to feed your body the right nutrients in order for it to respond and for the muscles to repair and grow. Staying in shape is a full-time job and one that I don’t particularly enjoy. Working on Dredd was intense but I thrived in that environment.”
Prior to landing the lead role in Into the Blue, Paul Walker was the lean-butskinny cop-turned-racer from the Fast and the Furious series. He needed to bulk and tone up to star alongside Jessica Alba in the underwater thriller and did so with his own furious regime which he calls the “jailhouse workout”. Instead of hitting the gym he’ll workout at home, undergoing frantic high-intensity TRX, bodyweight and kettleball circuits before hour long sprints around the block. Sounds intense but the results are worth it.
KARL URBAN
PAUL WALKER
12 JAKE GYLLENHAAL
AGE: 32 BLOCKBUSTER ROLE: PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME (2010) It took Jake Gyllenhall four months to get the wash-board abs he shows off in the lead role of Prince Dastan in the Disney flick Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Four months of intensity that led his personal trainer to compare his life to that of a top athlete’s. “There was nothing hard about it, man, I was paid to get in shape,” said Gyllenhall.
JAKE’S PRINCELY WORKOUT:
PREWORKOUT SNACK: Half a banana, some nuts and an espresso. MORNING WORKOUT: An hour-and-a-half cardio workout while wearing a 20lbs flak jacket to simulate the weight of armour. Interval training (10-minute uphill sprint, followed by abs exercises). Repeat sequence five times, then a 10-minute run, followed by stretching. BREAKFAST: An egg-white omelette, a small protein shake and an isotonic drink to replenish salts lost during training. LUNCH: Baked potato with tuna and salad. EVENING WORKOUT: An hour of resistance training using cables to simulate sword fights; pull-ups, press-ups, abs exercises using weights; finish with stretching. DINNER: Soup and a protein shake. Snacks/supplements: Two litres of water, protein bars, dark chocolate, supplements rich in omega-3, 6 and 9. No foods containing refined sugar.
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ERIC BANA
AGE: 44 BLOCKBUSTER ROLE: TROY (2004)
Former stand-up comedian Eric Bana landed the role of Prince Hector in Troy opposite Brad Pitt and more than held his own against the Hollywood A-Lister. Cast for the role in September 2002, Bana had until March the following year to work on his physique and the results speak for themselves. Bana didn’t mind the long hours in the gym, it was getting the grips with the ancient fighting skills and bareback horse riding that troubled him.
JASON MOMOA
AGE: 33 BLOCKBUSTER ROLE: CONAN THE BARBARIAN (2011) Hailing from Hawaii, Jason Momoa added 25lbs to his already impressive physique for the lead role in the 2011 flick Conan the Barbarian. He needed to, given that the role was made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger who was in his pomp in the mid 1980s. Momoa, who also plays the hulking Khal Drogo in hit TV show Game of Thrones, went from 210lbs to 235lbs using a training method called Accelerated Results 7 (AR 7) developed by his trainer Eric Laciste which involves fewer exercises and lots of short sets. “In 30 minutes, you’ll do 330 reps of three exercises – two to three times more than you’d do in a typical old-school weight workout,” said Laciste. “But because they’re grouped into sets of no more than seven reps, the focus is still on muscle building.” The workout uses a 7-6-5 formula on each exercise. Start with 7 sets of 7, then do 6 sets of 6, then 5 of 5, then move onto the next exercise. “It was hard as hell, but it changed everything from the way I walked to how I felt, and it made my whole core stronger,” said Momoa who supplemented his training with a diet heavy in broiled
chicken and natural peanut butter. “The goal was to not only build size, but also to become nimble and quick.” This method of training also gave Momoa a fantastic cardio workout, increasing calorie burn, as there is very little rest between sets. MOMOA’S BARBARIC WORKOUT: Start with Series 1, choose a fairly light weight load as you have a lot of reps to get through. Do 7 sets of 7 squats, rest for seven seconds then do 6 sets of 6, then 5 sets of 5. Rest for 1 minute then move onto the next exercise, repeat the sequence then move onto the final exercise. Once you’ve built up your strength and stamina add in Series 2, following the same sequence and do the two back-to-back. Series 1 Deadlift Squat Jump Squat Series 2 Kettlebell Swing Burpee Medicine Ball Slam
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CHRIS HEMSWORTH
AGE: 29 BLOCKBUSTER ROLE: THOR (2011)
Aussie Chris Hemsworth had never lifted weights before he toned up big time for the role of Thor. The former Home & Away actor’s secret? Intense heavy kettlebell swings but rarely more than six reps. That explains those colossal arms then.
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MICKEY ROURKE
AGE: 60 BLOCKBUSTER ROLE: THE WRESTLER (2008)
Mickey Rourke put himself through the wringer in order to re-build his body for his starring role in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler in 2008. Rourke, an actor-turned-boxer-turned-actor again, who was 56 at the time, ate a heck of a lot of nutrients and, “trained all day, everyday, for seven months.” Rourke puts it like this: “Basically I had to go from 192lbs to 235lbs, so it consisted of eating between six to seven high protein, low carb meals a day, lots of supplements and 2-3 protein shakes that were really king size. We did a two-mile run on the beach every morning and then went back to sleep. Then we got up a little later and went and lifted weights for an hour and a half and had lunch. A little while later we’d do cardio for about 45 minutes. And then in the evenings we’d go back to the gym and lift weights. Then we’d have about an hour and a half, two hours of wrestling practice. This went on for seven months.” At 56 that’s no mean feat!
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RYAN REYNOLDS
AGE: 46 BLOCKBUSTER ROLE: BLADE TRINITY (2004)
Even before his more recent role as superhero Green Lantern, Ryan Reynolds had one of the most perfectly sculpted torsos in Hollywood. It all started in 2004 for his role in Blade: Trinity. Those who had seen him in earlier films were shocked at his incredibly ripped frame. “I was pretty unhealthy in my early career,” he said. “I didn’t care what I ate or what I drank.” For the Blade film Reynolds really knuckled down. After three months of six-days-per-week workouts and eating 3,200 calories a day Reynolds had gained 25lbs of muscle. “That time changed my life because it taught me you can actually do things that were previously impossible.” And who are we to argue? He maintains his physique to this day with a reported body fat percentage of 5%.
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GERARD BUTLER
AGE: 43 BLOCKBUSTER ROLE: 300 (2007)
Gerard Butler’s favourite part of his workout during his training for the modern epic 300 the rowing machine. After months of training he admits he wasn’t quite ‘cut’ enough, so with two weeks left to filming he hit the rower hard and it made all the difference. He even continued to workout on the rower during filming. Intensive periods on the rower followed by weights was the perfect combination for the affable Scot. To keep his energy levels constant he ate between five and eight meals a day, spread out every two hours. Butler’s ‘300’ workout O Start with 30 minutes on the rowing machine then do these exercises as a
circuit with as little rest as possible in between to get a good cardio workout at the same time as you build muscle. This is an advanced workout, reduce number of reps as appropriate to your level. O Pull-ups – 25 reps O Deadlifts with 135lbs – 50 reps O Push-ups – 50 reps O 24” box jumps – 50 reps O Floor wipers – 50 reps O Single-arm clean-and-press with 36lbs O kettlebell – 50 reps O If you still have time or energy left, finish off with another 15 minutes on the rower.
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VIN DIESEL
AGE: 45 BLOCKBUSTER ROLE: THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (2001) Former nightclub bouncer Vin Diesel burst into the limelight with a series of eye-catching roles and an even more eye-catching torso in the early 2000s. His role as the ripped Dominic Torretto in 2001’s The Fast and the Furious gave audiences their first glimpse of Diesel in the action hero role and they liked what they saw. In addition to weights and cardio Diesel admits he has a fondness for Yoga, saying: “I want to be agile, I want to be panther-like.”
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DANIEL CRAIG
AGE: 45 BLOCKBUSTER ROLE: CASINO ROYALE (2007)
Personal trainer Simon Waterson left no stone un-turned as he set about transforming Daniel Craig’s body into one suitable for the modern-day James Bond films. “The workouts were a blend of power lifting, with a lot of compound exercises thrown in,” said Waterson. “This allows you to work out extremely hard with heavy weights, and because it’s so intense the heart rate is elevated. Therefore, you are working not only on the development of nice lean muscle tissue, but you’re also getting a bit of cardio as well, and keeping your body fat down.” The results speak for themselves. Prior to shooting Skyfall, Craig’s third outing as James Bond, in 2011, producers wanted him to gain 15-20lbs for the role. He was fairly lean after starring in Cowboys and Aliens but he started gaining muscle soon into his training. To hit his target weight of 180lbs Daniel ate 2,880 calories per day which included 180g of protein for optimal muscle growth. In order to trigger the muscle growth he had to train intensely. At his age he couldn’t do 5-6 sessions a week so he took a streamlined approach and trained smarter with 3-4 sessions lasting 45 minutes. Build a Bond body: Chest & Triceps Bench press: 60 kg Incline Barbell Press: 4 sets x 6-10 reps (1 minute rest between sets) Skull Crushers: 3 sets x 6-10 reps (1 minute rest between sets) Rope Extensions: 2 sets x 8-12 reps (1 minute rest between sets) Back & Biceps Weighted Pull ups (get out your dip belt): 4 sets x 6-10 reps (1 minute rest between sets) Deadlifts: 3 sets x 4-6 reps (1 minute rest between sets) Barbell Curls: 3 sets x 6-10 reps (1 minute rest between sets) Incline Dumbbell Curls: 2 sets x 8-12 reps (1 minute rest between sets) Shoulders & Legs Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 sets x 6-10 reps (3 minutes rest between sets) Lateral Raises: 3 sets x 8-12 reps (2 minutes rest between sets) Bulgarian Split Squats: 3 sets x 6-10 reps per leg (2 minutes rest between sets) Standing Single Leg Calf Raises: 3 sets x 10-15 reps per leg (1 minute rest between sets)
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Since first being cast in the role of Wolverine for the X-Men movies in 2000 Hugh Jackman has maintained a bevy of female admirers. The Wolverine is back this summer in the latest installment of the smash-hit series and the 44-yearold Aussie is looking as ripped as ever. His fitness regime is divided into three equally important phases – mass building, weight/strength training and maintenance of the body. He wakes up at 4am and eats four egg whites. He doesn’t eat any carbs after midday and before bed has a protein shake.
HUGH JACKMAN
AGE: 44 BLOCKBUSTER ROLE: X-MEN (2000)
TRAIN LIKE A WOLVERINE
To get the body of The Wolverine you need to train like a beast. Jackman’s 12-week plan is divided into two phases – bulking up and cutting. Each circuit should only take around an hour but as Jackman says, “the training is pretty intense”. Throw in the cardio work on alternate days and you’ll be ripped and ready to roar in no time. PHASE 1 – BULK IT UP The bulking up circuit follows an 8-6-4 sequence of reps over three sets of each exercise. Use heavy weights – you want to be almost at failure on the last rep in each set. Combine with a high-protein daily calorie intake of around 6,000kcal. Set 1 8 reps (two mins rest) Set 2 6 reps (two mins rest) Set 3 4 reps (two mins rest) Day 1 (Chest and Triceps) Bench-press Incline dumb-bell fly Close-grip barbell press Tricep dip Press-up Day 2 (Back and Biceps)
Single Arm Dumbell Row Wide Grip Lat Pull Down Close Grip Chin Hammer Curl Standing E-Z Bar Curl Day 3 – Rest PHASE 2: THE CUT For the second phase use lighter weights with more reps and add in High Intensity Interval Training cardio sessions on alternate days to strip the fat while retaining the muscle for that ripped definition. Also drop your calorie intake to around 3,000 kcal daily. Set 1 10-14 reps (1 min rest) Set 2 10-14 reps (1 min rest) Set 3 10-14 reps (1 min rest) Set 4 10-14 reps (1 min rest)
Day 1 (Chest and Triceps) Day 2 (Cardio) H.I.I.T. circuit on the exercise bike. This will not only give you an excellent cardio workout, it will build the leg muscles and increase calorie burn long after the workout is finished. Warm up then cycle at maximum capacity for 20 seconds, rest for 1 minute, then repeat. Do this 10 times – you must be at absolute maximum capacity to get the full effect. Day 3 (Back and Biceps) Day 4 (Rest) Repeat cycle and add in alternative cardio workouts using the same H.I.I.T principle of 20 seconds flat out, 1 minute rest on the treadmill or rower.
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JASON STATHAM
AGE: 45 BLOCKBUSTER ROLE: CRANK (2006)
From humble beginnings as a professional racing driver in the early 1990s, Jason Statham has catapulted his way up to the very top of the Hollywood A List thanks to one of the most dedicated work ethics in the business. Statham maintains his awesome physique with the help of his personal trainer, Dan John, and when it comes to preparing for a role they crank it up a few notches (sorry!). He trained for six days a week in the lead up to starring in Crank: High Voltage in 2009 but no session lasted more than 35 minutes. To say it was intense would be an understatement. Here’s how he described it: “Horrible, nauseating and a nightmare but priceless.” Statham would choose a combination of six exercises, set a required rep range for each, and then repeat the cycle five times. The time taken to complete all five circuits is how he measured his intensity. The target time was then used to increase the intensity as his fitness levels built.
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TOM HARDY
AGE: 35 BLOCKBUSTER ROLE: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)
Tom Hardy was already in pretty great shape after starring in 2011’s Warrior but for the role of Bane opposite Christian Bale in The Dark Knight Rises he took it up a level. Bane is meant to be Batman’s most physically imposing enemy and for the 5’ 9” Hardy this meant he had to bulk up a heck of a lot to look good against the 6’ 1” Bale. Hardy weighed in at over 200lbs during filming which means he added at least 30lbs to his body after Warrior. “I had about six weeks prior to filming where we tried to gain weight,” he said. “It was important to make Bane a large and threatening character.” In order for Hardy to look as menacing as possible his personal trainer Patrick Monroe worked on his shoulders and chest with a series of press-ups. The results, as we’re sure you’ve seen, are pretty staggering.
REEBOK LAUNCHES NEW DANCE FOOTWEAR AND APPAREL COLLECTION REEBOK has recently launched Reebok Dance – a brand new apparel and footwear collection designed for style and fitness highlighted by unique and functional features that capture the fundamental movements of dance. Taking inspiration from Latin Dance, the Reebok Dance collection combines bright colours and bold detailing with feminine designs and silhouettes. The apparel collection fuses bold colours and layering options, creating striking and energetic pieces. Reebok PlayDry technology is also built in for moisture management during those high energy workouts. With design details including layering options, the apparel is customizable to meet each woman’s individual workout and style needs. The collection includes; Dance Short Bra – a bold twist on a classic tank, the Dance Woven Cargo pant a stylish take on a dance wardrobe essential, and the Dance Hoodie – a sleeveless hoodie with attitude. The footwear collection was designed in collaboration with international dance instructors and with key dance movements in mind as a priority, resulting in highly technical dance footwear. The functional, yet fun and inspiring Reebok Dance footwear collection includes; the Dance URLead Mid – a sassy, cool mid-cut sneaker inspired by the Reebok Heritage Freestyle Model with added dance performance elements for more comfort, stability and control during the workout. The vibrant colour scheme of this shoe celebrates the energy and passion that dance brings. The mid cut design provides stability and support during dance activities. The breathable mesh, synthetic overlays and 3D FuseFrame combined provide lightweight, seamless support. The 3D UltraLite technology provides lightweight cushioning. This shoe has all the key movement technologies too – pivot point and turn zone, vertical and horizontal flex grooves and the forefoot grip. The second shoe in the offering is the Dance URLead – a low cut shoe built for more mobility and street style than its mid-cut cousin, helping you feel good so you can let loose on the dance floor. The Dance URLead incorporates; breathable mesh, synthetic overlays and 3D FuseFrame, 3D UltraLite technology, pivot point and turn zone, vertical and horizontal flex grooves and forefoot grip. This new Reebok Dance collection is part of the brand’s commitment to women’s fitness, aiming to change the way women perceive, define and experience fitness. Reebok wants to
empower women to pursue a more engaging form of fitness, embrace their passions and get physically, mentally and socially fit. “Reebok is committed to women’s fitness and we understand that dance is a workout that offers women a fun workout with well-rounded fitness benefits,” said Barbara Ebersberger, Vice President Studio Fitness. She continued: “Our new Reebok Dance collection is designed to enhance women’s dance workouts, allowing them to let loose, have fun and celebrate with one another without sacrificing the all-important fitness elements.” Reebok has also signed a group of internationally renowned dance instructors as Global Ambassadors. Ilyse Baker (USA), Esther Frangenburg (Germany), Vanessa
Vassallo (France) and Jessica Exposito (Spain) bring proven experience in a variety of dance, music and teaching fields to Reebok Dance. Using these insights, the Global Ambassadors work alongside the brand to create exclusive instructional videos and content for consumers around the globe and inject their dance knowledge, passion and expertise to the apparel and footwear collections. The Reebok Dance collection is available at Reebok stores across the UAE, including, The Dubai Mall, Mirdif City Centre and Dubai Festival City, as well as, GO SPORT in Ibn Battuta and Mall of the Emirates. The collection is also available in Qatar and Kuwait stores and through www.reebok.com.
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Richard Bevan talks to
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SOWING THE SEED OF SPEED WORKING for 11 years as the Strength and Conditioning Coach for one of the world’s biggest football clubs, Manchester United, during a period in which the Red Devils dominated the game with players like Roy Keane, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo, is just about as exciting as it gets as far as jobs in the fitness industry go. But, as Richard Bevan finds out in the latest of our Behind the Stars features, Mick Clegg has something that’s arguably even more thrilling going on in his rough and ready gym in the north of England. He’s pioneering a new methodology of elite training that focuses on the development of faster cognitive awareness and reaction times to “produce a super powered brain for athletic performance”, in conjunction with plyometric, functional and traditional training. It’s something Mick calls the ‘Seed of Speed’ and it’s gaining attention from a host of top level athletes as the 55-year-old follows his dream of nurturing “the next Ronaldo”.
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(Top) Nicky Butt is put through his paces on the fitLight system. (Above) Roy Keane’s 2000 gym appraisal shows he’s never done weights. (Right) Michael Carrick works out with Mick.
elite athletes arrive on a daily basis eager to one of the best performers on this work with Mick on his futuristic equipment. piece of equipment. There’s The Cave Automatic Virtual “Paul was incredible on it and his Environment, which projects 3D images of son was absolutely amazing too,” he multiple tennis balls bouncing around in a says. “I can’t say whether his son will box at different speeds, in different directions; become a top footballer, or cricketer, The Cave Automatic hitting off the walls and each other as they or not, but brain-training wise, he’s Virtual Environment, go. The athlete is tasked with tracking four phenomenal.” which projects assigned balls during a 10-second period There’s also the D2 Light Training 3D images of while standing on a constantly moving Board: A board covered in scores multiple tennis balls wobble board. Trust me, this is hard. I wasn’t of small lights which flash on in a bouncing around in a box at different even standing on the board when I tried it random sequence requiring the speeds as the athlete and the most I could track was two balls. athlete to hit them to switch them tracks them. But while I was there, a 17 year old player off as quickly as possible. This one from Manchester United’s Youth Team was also develops peripheral vision, as having a session with Mick. He was out well as reaction time and hand-eye of breath having just been put through his paces coordination. in the gym and was also having to concentrate on But the piece of kit that Mick is most excited by, and maintaining his balance on the wobble board but he the one which most comprehensively showcases his continually managed to track either four or three of full Seed of Speed methodology, is the fitLight Trainer. the balls. It’s basically eight wirelessly controlled discs which “It works on your concentration and also your emit L.E.D lights with a central PDA controller. When peripheral vision and awareness,” says Mick who was a light flashes on from one of the discs the athlete the first person in the UK to use The Cave when he puts it out by breaking the beam with their hand, foot, brought it to Manchester United following a research head or even racquet. Although not much to look trip to the University of Montreal in Canada several at, it’s an incredibly flexible system that can be set years ago. Recently retired midfielder Paul Scholes, up in any number of ways according to the sport the renowned for having outstanding ‘vision’ and athlete is training for. Discs can be stuck to the wall, awareness on the football pitch, was, according to Mick, the floor, on posts – just about anywhere – at a variety
of heights and used in conjunction with other forms of training. For example, Mick set up a circuit for the young Manchester United player where he had to do five barbell squats, followed by a series of plyometric jumping exercises over a vault and then go straight into the fitLight sequence which worked both his hands and his feet. He then set up a different fitLigtht sequence and while the player was in the midst of frantically rushing around switching the lights out Mick kicked the ball to him with the player required to control it then pass it back. “Once we’re working concentration, reaction time, peripheral vision, hand-eye coordination, feet-eye coordination along with some power development and plyometrics, and then adding the ball into the equation, we’re multi-tasking at a very high level,” says Mick. “All of that together is what Seed of Speed is all about and by developing all of those areas performance will really improve.” Mick is clearly extremely excited about the potential of Seed of Speed to create a new generation of elite athletes as he embarks on the next phase of what has been a fascinating journey working within the fitness industry. He was Manchester United’s Strength and Conditioning Coach (or as he prefers to call it “Power Development Coach”) from 2000-2011 – a period during which the team won an astounding 17 trophies including seven Premier League titles and one Champions League. But his route into what many
STARTRAINERS MICK CLEGG people in the fitness world would consider a ‘dream job’ was anything but conventional. Surprisingly, the Englishman wasn’t particularly sporty as a child and spent his early adult years playing guitar in a band on the Manchester club circuit. He only started going to the gym at 20 years old after seeing a photograph of himself in which, he says, “my arms were thinner than my guitar strings.” But his passion for his newfound hobby and his drive for improvement saw Mick make huge gains within just 12 months and he was soon turning his hand to coaching. In the early 1980s he bought the Olympic Sports Club and set about drinking in as much knowledge as possible from wherever he could get it – boxing, yoga, meditation, plyometrics (advanced jumping exercises) – you name it, if he thought it was useful, he studied it and it all became part of his repertoire. He also began training his children – Michael, Steven, Amanda, Mark and Shaun – from an early age. All of them became incredibly strong, powerful kids (four of them became champion weightlifters), who stood out for that reason among their peers. Michael and Steven were both scouted by Manchester United and signed schoolboy forms – Michael made it right through to the first team where he made 23 appearances (he’s now Sunderland’s strength and conditioning coach) while Steven represented the youth team for several years. But it was the outstanding physical condition of the boys that caught the eye of the United coaches and it was former Assistant Manager Brian Kidd who first suggested Mick come into the club to work with the first team. But Clegg almost blew his big chance when he told Kidd that there was no way he could get older players doing the advanced physical training his sons were doing.
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“I was doing plyometrics with the kids at the time and he’d seen our Michael and Steven and thought it had great potential,” he says. “I said, ‘Brian you can’t go teaching plyometrics to the likes of Gary Pallister and Peter Schmeichel – they’re big lads and have been in the game for years’. Brian got annoyed with me and that was the end of it. I thought I’d blown the biggest chance I’d ever have to work with Manchester United. But I wouldn’t have been training them in ways that were right for the team at that time. I knew what Michael and Steven could do, but these were much older guys.” However opportunity came knocking again for Mick when Kidd moved on to Blackburn Rovers taking with him head physio David Fevre who was replaced by current incumbent Rob Swire. “Rob came to see a lot of what I was doing at the Olympic Sports Club and when they opened the new Carrington training facility he asked me to go and train the kids and run the gym,” says Mick. The key moment in the transition to working with the first team came when Roy Keane injured his knee
and came to see Mick to help with his rehabilitation in the summer of 2000. “I had a boxing club and incorporated boxing into the training,” says Mick. “Roy used to do some boxing, he’d had a few matches in his younger days so he enjoyed it and we got on really well together.” Keane would often criticize Mick deliberately to see what he was made of but the coach displayed his skill at dealing with different personalities. “I would turn around and shout, ‘Just get on with what I’ve told you to do, I’m the coach around here so shut up and get on with it.’ He encouraged that and loved it. It got the best out him. If I’d been soft I would’ve been left out but because I challenged him I won his respect.” Gradually Keane’s team mates heard about the work Mick was doing with him and one by one they started drifting in asking if they could start having sessions.
Eventually new assistant boss Steve McLaren noticed what was going on and summoned Mick for a formal interview with a view to becoming the full time Strength and Conditioning Coach. It’s hard to believe it now, just a decade and a half later when it forms such an integral part of top level football training, but at that time, footballers didn’t do any weight training in the gym. The walls in Mick’s Olympic Sports Club are adorned with induction sheets for each player from that period. On Keane’s the notes read, ‘Never done weights before’, the same applies to David Beckham’s, Ryan Giggs’s, Dwight Yorke’s...almost all of the players. “I sat down with about 13 people, physios, coaches etc and was asked loads of questions,” says Mick. “This was in 2000 – remember United had just won the Treble without doing weights so they were saying
45 Treble without doing weights so they were saying ‘Why should we do weights? Why should we do plyometrics?” “Steve said, ‘I’ve had loads of fitness coaches over the years and they all come up with different ideas.’ “He had this big calendar board behind him. He pointed to July 1st and said, ‘That’s where we start pre-season’ and then pointed to August 8th and said ‘That’s the first game of the season, write on the board all the fitness training we need to do to get them right for the start of the season.’ “I said, ‘Steve you cannot put fitness training on a board before you put the football training on because
20s. Ryan really took to it so I went out and got a yoga teacher called Louise who took yoga with them for a couple of years before they got someone else in.” “You could tell it really suited Ryan. It didn’t so much suit Roy Keane and it suited Gary Neville even less! Everybody’s different.” Giggs took the physical aspect of training up a gear from the old school of Keane, Pallister, Steve Bruce and Co. But it was when an 18-year-old Portuguese by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in 2003 to replace the outgoing David Beckham that Mick was really able to take the training up to the next level and develop many of the ideas he’d been cultivating over the years.
“We did a lot of strength work, because he did his own speed work out on the pitch. We did press ups, chin ups, dips, mid section work, core stability and all that sort of stuff. We did some fast foot work sprinting, squats, dead lifts, power cleans, plyometrics – a bit of everything. But with Ronaldo it was the maintaining of a regular training regime that gave him such dramatic results.” you’re a football team. You put the football on first, what you need to progress on that side of it, then I’ll fill in what we need to do fitness-wise to complement what you’re doing.’ “He was blown away and said, ‘I’ve had all sorts of people coming in here and not one has ever said anything like that.’ “That’s why I was invited to come in on a full time basis.” But with no existing culture of gym work, Mick had to take things slowly. “I was doing plyometrics with the United kids but I couldn’t just start doing it with the older first team players. The younger players like Darren Fletcher had being doing that stuff with me from the start so when he came through to the first team he was great at it but I certainly couldn’t start doing it with Roy Keane and people like that. It was a gradual process and you had to vary what you did with certain people according to the individual.” Ryan Giggs was one of those players most open to trying new things, keen on doing anything that would prolong his career. It was Mick who first introduced the Welshman to yoga, a practice widely acknowledged as helping Giggs overcome the hamstring problems that dogged his early career. “We wanted to expand on the stretching we were doing so I thought back to the yoga I’d done in my
Ronaldo made it clear that he was absolutely determined to do whatever it took to become the best player in the world. As well as spending hours after training out on the pitches at Carrington, working on the skills that would one day twist the blood of defenders the world over, he insisted on regular daily sessions with Mick to develop the body he needed to make the most of his talents. “Ronaldo was the ultimate trainer, he was so dedicated,” says Clegg who helped the wispy teenager become the sculpted powerhouse we see today (pictured opposite). “People think his transformation into the player who left the club in 2009 took a few months but it didn’t, it took five and a half years. We did a lot of strength work, because he did his own speed work out on the pitch. We did press ups, chin ups, dips, mid section work, core stability and all that sort of stuff. We did some fast foot work sprinting, squats, dead lifts, power cleans, plyometrics – a bit of everything. But with Ronaldo it was the maintaining of a regular training regime that gave him such dramatic results. “He didn’t just wait until the Boss said, ‘right we’re going to have a gym session today,’ he wanted to come in every day with a regular routine. If you get that over a period of time you see much better results than if you’re just doing it sporadically. He made sure he got what he wanted and what he needed from his training.”
In contrast to Ronaldo, Mick believes former strike partner Wayne Rooney could have further exploited his substantial talents had he put in extra work in the gym. “Wayne did some boxing with me and you could tell he’d boxed before,” he says. “It’s probably the only bit (of gym work) he enjoyed. The only time he really gave absolutely everything was when he broke his metatarsal before the 2006 World Cup. He worked his socks off then and showed what a great athlete he could’ve been – to me, he could’ve been better than he is now. If he’d have come closer to matching the work Ronaldo did he’d have been an absolutely massive player, but he didn’t. “I remember looking in a magazine that listed the world’s top 100 players. Ronaldo was No.1 and Rooney was something like 17th. I think that gap would have been closer, or Wayne could have eventually taken top spot, if he’d been able to emulate Cristiano’s attitude towards the gym.” When Ronaldo left the club for Real Madrid in an £80 million deal that made him the most expensive player in history, Mick was left with something of a void in his working life. But, never one to rest on his laurels, he began figuring out what he could do to take his training to the next stage. “For six months I was thinking, ‘What have I learned from the experience of working with Cristiano and talking with him about his training.’ And I remember waking up in the middle of the night with this phrase going round my head: ‘rapid cognition, rapid cognition’. It was like a sign! I studied the term and tried to understand what it was about.” He took a trip to Canada with son Michael to spend a week with psychophysicist Professor Jocelyn Faubert at the University of Montreal, studying his techniques. It was here that he discovered The Cave 3D Environment and on his return he convinced Manchester United to install the device in Carrington whereupon Mick began incorporating brain training into his regular gym work with the players. But it was after leaving the club in 2011 that he was able to start really developing his Seed of Speed philosophy and piecing together the equipment and techniques that he hopes will help him create another world-beating superstar. “Once Ronaldo left, it left a hole that I needed to fill, and I needed to fill it by producing another Ronaldo. But you’ve got to be able to find these people and work with them in various ways. The trouble with being at a football club is you’re restricted in what you can do because they have lots of other people looking after different aspects of the training. But now I’ve got the opportunity to look at speed, skill, power, strength, flexibility, endurance, visual field, concentration. It all comes together.” Years of experience working with the full range of people, from kids right through to athletes at the highest level, certainly appear to have led Mick to a winning formula and having sown the Seed of Speed the sporting landscape looks set to flower with the fruits of his labour in the coming years. Q
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You may be shocked to read that I begin with triceps before the biceps. This is because the triceps make up a lot more of the arm than biceps. Simply put, if you want to add mass to your arms and see them grow, start with triceps in your workout. Choose four movements for your triceps; this should be broken up into three compound moves and one isolation movement for full blood saturation. Don’t be afraid to go for the burn. Here’s a sample triceps routine Q Skull Crushers – four sets of 8-10 quality reps Q Weighted or Assisted Dips – three sets of 8-10 quality reps Q Kneeling tricep kickbacks – three sets of 8-10 quality reps (pictured above) Q Tricep press down with V-grip – three sets 12-15 quality reps
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Biceps are responsible for bringing the arm towards the body by flexion of the elbow joint. That’s pretty much their function. So it’s simple, curl, curl and curl some more! The thing to play with is your grip to get a good all round feel – choose between wide, narrow, normal, pronated (palms up) and supinated (palms down). Again choose four big movements that will allow you to move big weight with good form and choose an isolation movement to get those biceps screaming! Here’s a sample routine for the biceps Q Straight Bar Bicep Curls (Olympic bar) normal grip – four sets of 8-10 quality reps Q Standing Bicep Curls – three sets of 8-10 quality reps Q Standing hammer curls – three sets of 8-10 quality reps (pictured left) Q Cable curls with straight bar grip – three sets of 12-15 quality reps
)25($506 No arms look good without a good set of forearms. There’s nothing that shouts BEAST more than when you see huge forearms peeking out of the bottom of that baggy t-shirt! Try to train forearms with a simple workout of 6 to 8 sets weekly. Just 3-4 sets of barbell wrist curls for 10 to 15 repetitions, followed with 3-4 sets of reverse barbell wrist curls.
Cycling these workouts over six weeks or so will yield great results as long as you are consistent in your training as well as your daily intake of calories.
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Heavy Rope
TRAINING
Fitness First’s XFit Head Coach Jojo Aragon shows how to get your heart rate pumping and increase your core stability by using ropes. XFit allows gym users to venture out of their comfort zones. No machines, no treadmills or high tech gadgets – just plain old weights, rings, boxes, bars and ROPES. Yes heavy rope training is one of those forms of functional training where we use our whole body in a wavelike fashion. It never fails to amaze members how fast a few quick whips up the rope can get you to your maximum heart rate.
BENEFITS
Q Increases core stability Q Increases Coordination Q Increasing your strength, power and endurance Q Good for overall muscle toning – especially shoulders, arms, abs and legs Q Good alternative metabolic workout Q XFit is beneficial for sports such as skiing, MMA or football
CORRECT TEMPO Common movements include waves, slams, throws, spirals and whips. Start out by doing 3- 4 sets of 20-second intervals with 40 seconds of rest in between. Normally, members discover that these exercises engage not just their arms and shoulders, but their whole body. After a few weeks of working out in this way you will get stronger and your conditioning and stamina will improve. When this occurs you can increase the duration of the routines and decrease the rest times between each of these exercises.
CORRECT FORM Create a solid base by planting your feet a shoulder width apart. Lean back a little and place most of your weight on your heel and stabilize your core. Keep your feet grounded and pivot your torso from side to side. During each pivot, flip the ropes over as if you were throwing them to the floor on each side of you. This movement should create a wave-like motion with the ropes.
HOW TO PREVENT INJURIES:
Q Wear protective gloves Q Use anti-slip powder for increased grip Q Train your grip and forearm Q Do not over-train, do heavy rope training no more than twice a week
WORKOUT: 10 box jumps 20 alternating rope waves on each side 10 push up release 20 rope slams 15 min A.M.R.A.P (as many rounds possible)
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HOW DOES YOGA IMPROVE CORE STRENGTH?
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By Peewee Sanchez, Regional Yoga Trainer, Fitness First Middle East Recently I was asked if the difference between yoga and pilates was that pilates strengthens the body and yoga stretches it. The answer is a definite ‘no’. Since yoga has been around for at least 6000 years (according to archaeological evidence) it is safe to say that yoga postures have been toning people’s bodies for a long, long time – longer than any other type of workout on the planet. There are several ways in which yoga movements do this and I have broken them down into four ways for an easier understanding.
1) Isometric holding of core muscles during yoga postures Most yoga postures tone the muscles of the body by holding the body in a position for a long time and using gravity as a form of resistance. For instance, putting your body in a position against gravity that causes your abs and back to engage is a great way to tone your core as modern research has shown that holding an elbow plank works more of your core muscles than a traditional abdominal crunch.
2) The Postural Abdominal Grip When you move your torso out of neutral alignment the core muscles automatically engage to stabilise you. You can try this yourself by standing straight and pushing one hip forward and then notice the effect this has on your abdominals. Simon Borg Olivier, co-author to “The Yoga Bible” calls this a postural abdominal grip. Some yoga movements induce this in order to recruit the core stabilisers to activate to make the poses more stable. As mentioned above, the yoga pose is held for a long period of time depending on the strength and endurance of the practitioner – the longer the hold, the harder the muscles work to maintain the position.
3) Breathe into Core Power Breathing itself is good for the abdominals. When we breathe in, the diaphragm contracts and draws downward so that air can fill the lungs. When the belly is relaxed the breath becomes deeper because you are giving the lungs more space to move as the abdominal organs are able to move out of the way. But the diaphragm, like any other muscle, only contracts in one direction. In order to get all the air out of your lungs there is combined effort between the intercostal muscles of the rib cage and your abdominal muscles. Try this: squeeze your belly as hard as you can (bend over in a crunch to make it easier) then hold the contraction and try to take a deep breath. So since the muscles of exhalation include the abdominals, then breathing properly should work the abs. And you can do this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the rest of your life. Another breathing practice you should do is khapalabhati, which should only be learned from a certified yoga teacher for your safety.
Turn the page for a Yoga workout that will improve your core strength
4) Synchronized movements with breath So now that you know how to breath properly, it’s time to layer in some simple repetitive movements that, when done with proper breathing, have a very good effect for core conditioning.
52 YOGA FOR CORE STRENGTH All you need to improve your core strength is in the Yoga Workout below.
SINGLE LEG LIFTS – Raise and lower legs, keeping lower abs engaged, breathe in to lift the leg and breathe out to lower. Ten times per leg, don’t touch the floor with your foot between lifts.
BEND KNEES and drop knees to one side then the other, looking in the opposite direction, keeping knees of the floor (10 times).
DOUBLE LEG LIFTS – Same as above but both legs (10 times). HALF MOON STRETCH – Stand straight and bend body to one side keeping hips and chest forwards (options available depending on level of difficulty – hold for 5 breaths on each side).
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BOAT POSE TO TABLETOP
Lift your legs with arms extended sideways (knees can bend if too difficult) hold for 5 breaths then put feet down, hands under shoulders and lift the body (knees can bent if too difficult).
SIDE PLANK – Hold for 10 breaths, make sure hand is underneath the shoulder (if you want a challenge try grabbing and extending the leg!).
BAKASANA
From the downward facing dog position, try to bring your knees to the tops of your arms and balance with bent arms.
ELBOW PLANK
Hold for 10 breaths, make sure elbows are underneath shoulders.
REMEMBER
Cool down and relax! Yoga classes are available daily in all Fitness First clubs. To find out the times of a class near you, visit the website: www.fitnessfirstme.com/UAE/find-a-class.php
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MAKE SURE YOUR MOTIVATION IS RIGHT WE all have reasons for working out. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to feel good about the reflection you see in the mirror. But some reasons for hitting the gym are definitely better and more motivating than others. The goals you set and the reasons why you work out help set the tone for your entire lifestyle and can even play a role in your long-term health and success. But there are common reasons people exercise that might seem positive at first glance but can actually be unhealthy or destructive. If you fall into one of these categories, don’t despair. There are better reasons to work out that will help you flip your thoughts into a more motivating direction.
Because you feel fat Do you hit the gym hard the morning after a night of unhealthy eating to help you undo the previous night’s damage? While a good bout of exercise can get you back on track, what you don’t want to do is punish yourself with exercise. Working out shouldn’t feel like torture or used as a way to right your wrongs when it comes to food. When you do that, you’re completely missing how awesome exercise is for your health and well-being. Instead: Exercise to feel strong and energetic. Instead of punishing yourself by overdoing your workouts, focus on how great exercise makes you feel.
By Hisem Hagras
To eat whatever you want
To energize when you’re lacking sleep
To run away from your problems
If your sole motivation to work out is to help make up for your regular fast food or dessert habit, it’s time to re-examine your priorities. It’s much easier to over-eat calories than it is to burn them off. It takes about an hour of jogging to burn off just one Big Mac (and that doesn’t include the fries and soda). Sweets and other junk foods don’t give you all the vitamins and minerals you need to reach your fitness goals either.
Exercise is known as a natural energy booster, but if you’re using workouts as a way to get going when you’re not getting enough sleep in the first place, you could be doing your body more harm than good. Without proper rest, you could experience the effects of overtraining, which can break down your muscles and make you weaker, and eventually your body could view your workouts as yet another stressor.
We all come across problems and stress in our lives, and exercise can be a good stress reducer. But if you’re using exercise as a way to escape from all of your problems, you may be asking for trouble. Exercise alone won’t solve everything; you must deal with life’s struggles directly.
Instead: Exercise to indulge occasionally in your favourite treats. Think of it as a way to support your healthy lifestyle by boosting your health and happiness, and not trying to outsmart a bad diet. The key is to make those treats occasional and not the norm.
Instead: Exercise to improve your overall health, including the quality of your sleep. It’s so important to respect your body and give yourself the rest it needs. Research shows that exercise can improve sleep patterns, so start focusing on the positives instead of using exercise as a quick fix to get through your day. If you choose the gym over adequate sleep too often, your body may not
Instead: Exercise to be better equipped to handle problems as they arise. Use your work out time to clear your head for a while or use the time to think through any issues you may be facing. Sometimes, when you’re engaged in physical activity, a new solution or idea will come to you that you can then implement in your life to resolve issues.
benefit in the way you hope.
TAKES 1 HOUR TO RUN OFF A BIG MAC!
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To get skinny If you view exercise as nothing more than a means to fit into a certain size, you could be sabotaging yourself. Regardless of body size or weight, working out is a must for everyone. Exercise is not a chore to achieve your dream body. Instead: Exercise to get fit, and because it’s good for you. Exercise isn’t just for people who need to lose weight. Even “skinny” people need to work out for their health and well-being. Refocus on finding workouts that you enjoy, and you will then stick with them for the long haul. This goes for intensity, too. If you can’t keep up with long workouts five days every week, switch to something that you can maintain as part of your healthy lifestyle. Come up with a list of exercise benefits that matter to you, and think of them when your motivation is low, or when your body isn’t responding the way you’d like. So, the next time you head to the gym, think about the real reason you’re exercising to improve the quality and longevity of your life.
61 HERE ARE FIVE TIPS THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO CONTINUE TO STAY ACTIVE IN RAMADAN WITHOUT OVER-TAXING YOUR SYSTEM OR JEOPARDISING YOUR FAST. 1. ADJUST YOUR FITNESS GOALS
Why it’s important to stay fit during the Holy Month of Ramadan? Exercise during the Holy Month of Ramadan is highly recommended. A sedentary lifestyle in this period will take a heavy toll on your health and fitness goals. It is very easy to lose muscle as well as add on additional fat due to the long periods without food and water. Your body will react similarly to hibernation mode, consuming and storing as much fat as it possibly can to cope with the prolonged periods without fuel. There’s no need to stop exercising during the holy month of Ramadan, but it’s important to adapt your regular fitness regime around the times your body feels best suited for exercise. Be that before Iftar or after you break your fast. Don’t quit – stay fit.
Recommended mended workout timing The one and a half hour window before Iftar is an ideal time to slot in your workout. At this time, exercising ng will take your mind off your appetite and knowing that you’ll be able to eat shortly will keep you u motivated. Alternatively, you can work out 30 minutes before breaking your fast with water and dates es and then continue the second half of your workout for a complete 60-minute workout. If you do o this, remember to eat and drink slowly – try not to get too much in too quickly as this will cause major ajor discomfort. Morning workouts are great but you should alter your regime to something light like Pilates, yoga or Body Balance as you’ll need to conserve your energy stores for the rest of the day until you break your fast. If you can’t fit in your workout before Iftar, you could have a light Iftar and fit in a moderate-intensity evening workout. With this option, leave a two-hour window after breaking your fast, so that your body has enough time to stabilise, digest and get hydrated. Keep your workouts concentrated and short.
This month, make your goal simply to maintain your current weight. Making fitness or weight loss improvements requires you giving your body a deficiency of some sort, which causes a reduction in energy and often compromises the immune system. Both of these will affect your ability to fast.
2. REDUCE THE INTENSITY OF YOUR EXERCISE This allows you to stay consistent in working out without over-taxing your gy reserves. If you usually lift 10 kg energy weigh weights, switch to 8 kg, and if you normally work o out for an hour, reduce it to 30 or 45 min minutes. Try taking 3–4 movements hitting major body parts in a circuit style arrang arrangement. Four rounds of 10 reps using larger muscle groups when you train will w allow you to sculpt as well as define your body during this period.
3. GRO GROUP EXERCISE AT FITNESS FIRST With g group exercise classes designed and timed specifically for those fasting during the Ho Holy Month of Ramadan, classes yoga, Pilates and Body Balance are like yo a grea great way of keeping you active and toned. toned Yoga iis gentle to the body and raises your eenergy levels; ideal during the holy month. m You’ll find classes available before and after Iftar, as well as morning sessio sessions. Your favourite higher energy classe classes like Body Pump, Body Combat and RP RPM will also be available either before or after Iftar. Check your club’s Group Exercise (GX) Timetable for details.
4. MIX AND MATCH If you usually do separate cardio and resista resistance training sessions as a part of your you workout and can’t do both in Ramadan, combine both in a resistance Ramad training circuit. trainin
5. BE CCONSISTENT Consis Consistency is the key to success. It will make the biggest difference in keeping you fit during Ramadan. Focus on small, regular work-outs instead of your usual regula routine. Do what you can, when you can. routin The im important thing is to stay fit and stay healthy and always listen to your body. health
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FASTING THE HEALTHY WAY During Ramadan, our diets change and during this month our diet should be as simple as possible. The key to staying healthy is to eat as much as any normal day but include foods with a higher fibre content to provide fuel for the whole day and plenty of fluids to stay hydrated for as long as possible. Make sure you avoid oily, fatty, fried and sugary sweets.
HERE ARE SOME TIPS AND ADVICE TO HELP YOU TO EAT HEALTHILY DURING THE HOLY MONTH OF RAMADAN:
ALWAYS EAT AT SUHOOR
WHAT TO EAT WHEN YOU BREAK YOUR FAST
Consider Suhoor as your breakfast and never miss this meal. It is imperative to eat the Suhoor meal to fuel your body with energy it needs throughout the day. It is strongly recommended that you have a nutritious meal at Suhoor because a completely empty stomach will result in fatigue all day long and overeating at Iftar. Be sure that your Suhoor meal contains all the food groups including protein, complex carbohydrates, fruit or vegetables and some dairy. Complex carbohydrates with a low GI (Glycemic Index) are foods that get digested slowly, making you less hungry, while providing constant levels of energy. Examples include oats, lentils, brown rice, grains and seeds.
We recommend that you break your fast with water, dates, soup and a salad and then eat your main dish. Drink plenty of water and fresh fruit juices between Iftar and Suhoor so that your body can maintain its fluid levels.
GENERAL DOS AND DONTS Stay Hydrated – do not forget to drink plenty of water before fasting and as you break your fast. Between Iftar and Suhoor, drink a minimum 12 glasses. Limit your fat intake – limit fat but do not cut fat out completely. Healthy fat (for example omega 3 fish oils, natural fats found in nuts) is a good source of energy, especially when fasting.
STAY AWAY FROM FRIED, GREASY AND SUGARY FOOD Limit your sugar intake. For something sweet, stick to fruits as they are naturally sweet and rich in vitamins and minerals as well as being a great source of antioxidants.
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FITNESS FIRST NEWS
HEALTH NEWS
RAMADAN
YOGA DURING RAMADAN By Dr. Sundara Beam Rao Kasinath, Yoga Instructor, Fitness First Middle East
Yoga is an ancient science which helps you balance the body, mind and spirit. Yoga involves breathing exercises which increases the capacity of the lungs and provides a larger intake of oxygen into the blood stream and poses which help you stretch the muscles to increase flexibility. Design your yoga practice to avoid dynamic movements but include calming poses and breathing exercises which focus on the mind and soul.
YOGA SEQUENCES DURING FASTING All non-intense yoga is recommended during fasting and Sun Salutations of low intensity with adequate intervals between poses is highly advised.
ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING This is a simple practice which will help you calm your mind and also help regulate your body temperature. Sit in any cross-legged posture with your spine straight and your shoulders relaxed. With your left palm on your left knee, close the right nostril with your right thumb and inhale deeply through your left nostril. Close your left nostril with your finger, release your thumb from your right nostril and exhale. Keep the left nostril closed and inhale from the right. Now close the right nostril with the thumb and exhale from the left. This is one round of practise, continue doing seven, 14 or 21 rounds.
FORWARD BEND SEQUENCE The backward bend produces heat in the body but all forward bending like the forehead to the knee pose cools the body’s systems. Forward bend moves relaxe the heart and helps the metabolism by creating a negative suction pressure to the abdominal organs. Sequences of forward bending help the heart to pump the blood to the brain and give a good control over the mind. Yoga aims to balance the body in order to still the mind, so cooling forward bends are perfect during the heat of summer while you are in fast.
FORWARD FOLD – STANDING The standing forward fold has more effect on the body when compared to the seated forward fold. It helps to energise the heart, focus on the balance and give you a good concentration and determination. Other poses to try include Hip openers, wide legged pose and half shoulders stand variations.
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REGIONAL YOGA TRAINER FOR FITNESS FIRST MIDDLE EAST
SF: What is your favourite way to train? PS: Every morning I do one to two hours of yoga. In good weather this usually happens at 5am before I leave for work. In fact I don’t personally consider my yoga classes a workout even if I do them with my students. One of my students recently asked me how come I never break a sweat and I’m always smiling when I do the poses. The answer is simple - the lack of sweat is because I have mastered the pose and the smile is part of my personal practice. Usually most yogis are purists in that they feel that they don’t need anything else but yoga for good health. Lately though I have just trained to be TUFF certified instructor. I got into
SF: Tell us about your specialist role within Fitness First and what it entails? PS: I train yoga teachers throughout the Middle East with Fitness First. I am the representative of the Yoga Alliance. Fitness First is a Registered Yoga School RYS200 with the Yoga Alliance. Through me we run a training program for aspiring yoga teachers through all our territories and regions in Middle East and North Africa. Other things that I’m tasked with include hiring and development of all our yoga teaching staff and continuing education for them. I also develop and manage our yoga products and programs in order to give the members the best yoga experiences possible.
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SF: Why are you interested in that particular area? PS: I truly believe that Yoga is what I have been put on this earth to do. It is beyond a job for me. It gives me complete fulfillment to know that I am sharing my passion for it and truly improving people’s lives for the better with what I do. Just as yoga has totally revolutionised my life and my world, I see the benefits in my students. Not only does their health and vitality improve, but I see the change in people’s level of positivity and calmness. When people come back and tell me that their shoulder moves properly now, or that they don’t get anxiety attacks like they used to, or that they react with calmness when faced with irate customers – this really fuels me.
the TUFF training originally to see how my level of fitness compared. I was surprised not only about how fit I was but also how many similarities that yoga has with three-dimensional training. If you think about it yoga is the oldest three-dimensional training ever invented. But TUFF really blew me away and will probably continue to do so for a long, long time. I find it really complimentary with my yoga and have been doing it thrice a week for myself and soon to teach it as well.
SF: How can Fitness First members interested in your specialist area get involved? PS: First of all I want more people to understand that yoga is a really great workout. When you watch a yoga class you probably don’t see much going on – but if you’ve never tried it I challenge you to try it to see what it can really do for your body, your mind and your sanity levels. We have a lot of yoga for you to choose from. If you want an easy and relaxing workout and a good night’s sleep there’s GENTLE YOGA. If you want cardio, fat loss and a more peaceful mind there is FLOW YOGA. If you want strength and stamina and a stronger core then POWER YOGA is for you. Lastly, if you want to hang upside down like a bat and relieve the compression from your joints then try SWING YOGA. SF: What is your number one motivational tip to members? PS: There is always next week. We are not instant noodles. The best things in life take time. So take the time to perfect your technique and feel the results in your body. Throwing yourself into the movements blindly and without awareness results in injury. Injury gets in the way of what you want to achieve. So move with awareness and always try your best. At the same time if you’ve given it your all and yet you still aren’t where you want to be, always remind yourself again and again: There is always next week.
66 AFTER
BEFORE
CHRISTOPHER J. CAMERON Trainer: Nikola Markovic Winner of the Samsung ‘Biggest Loser’ Challenge
I
used to be that typical guy who made the same New Year’s Resolution each year – ‘I am going to lose weight this year’. I always seemed to keep it up for a good two months but would then just stop. This annual exercise ended because, more often than not, I would make excuses like ‘I have no time’ and ‘I’m too busy with work’, or any other reason I could come up with which was viable at the time. Last summer I decided not to travel as it would give me some time to re-evaluate what was important to me and it was towards the end of the summer period that I met Nikola Markovic (pictured right) out and about one evening in Dubai. We began talking about our jobs and I found myself intrigued when he told me about his experiences as a fitness trainer. So I began to ask questions about his motivational techniques, weight-loss ideas and exercise regimes. It was the spark I needed
to get fit. After a couple of weeks I made the decision that it was time to focus. This time it felt different because, subconsciously, I chose to not let anything get in my way. I started working with Nikola in September at the Dubai Media City branch and we worked for five days a week together for three months. He would vary the exercises at each session which helped me because my attention span was quite low. He also kept an eye on my diet and made sure I wasn’t consuming more than 1,800 calories a day. The variation of strength training, cardio, weight lifting and plyomeric training really challenged me but it was the boxing which was my favourite. I started to lose weight and was pleased with how my body was changing. I was entered into the Samsung Fitness Challenge to represent my club and I won the ‘Biggest Loser’
Nikola Markovic, Personal Trainer, Fitness First Dubai Media City.
section, having lost 32kg in 69 days working alongside Nikola. Words cannot express how happy I was. Once the competition was over I felt completely different, full of energy and life. I was overwhelmed by the amount of people who were amazed by my transformation. I would have to say my favourite moment after the competition was when Nikola forced me to go to the store to buy new clothes that fit me properly. I was in the dressing room trying on some trousers I never thought I would fit into – I began to well up as I easily slipped into a pair of 32” waist jeans. My achievement was made all the more satisfying because I did it alongside Nikola. Together we are able to maintain my motivation and achieve a goal I never thought possible. I changed my body and overall health, but Nikola changed my life!
ASK HISEM
SPORT NUTRITION
SPORT REHAB
YOGA
FITNESS FOCUS
67
DOROTHEE TARBAH Trainer: Monro Reyes
I
am Dorothee, I’m 47 years old and I’m a housewife with three children. Our family moved to Dubai seven years ago and prior to the move I had been an active horse rider, riding in competitions for 15 years. I was always in relatively good condition before my pregnancies but directly after my second child and the relocation to Dubai my activities halted and I started to gain weight. The change in lifestyle had left me overweight and unable to feel active as I spent most of my time running around doing chores for the kids. With three active sons I felt the need to keep up and spend some quality time with them, but after a few years of continually gaining weight it made me feel sluggish and always exhausted with every move I made. I decided to join Fitness First Uptown Mirdif in October 2012 with a determination to lose weight. I thought it best if I sought professional help. Within two months of training I was amazed to see I had reduced my body fat from 34kg to 26.7kg. In that period, although I had clearly improved a lot, my trainer, Monro, kept on motivating me because he knew I could achieve more. To keep my interest in maintaining my performance alive he would use different routines. After nine months I’m now able to run 10k in just over an hour. My weight had plummeted from 97kg to 73kg and my body fat mass down from 34kg all the way to just 9kg. Now I feel stronger and active – more so than I was during my horse riding days. I can spend a lot more quality time with my kids after the daily chores and I have to go shopping for new clothes because my old wardrobe simply doesn’t fit. I get plenty of complements from my friends on what I’ve achieved. With determination and a lot of motivation from Monro I’ve improved a lot both physically and emotionally. I couldn’t be happier.
Monro Reyes, Personal Trainer, Fitness First Uptown Mirdif
HAMID KHAN XFIT MEMBER What made you join XFit? I was really interested in the approach to a new type of training. When the XFit team explained the concept I couldn’t wait to start. What changes have you noticed to your fitness levels/weight/bodyshape so far? The weight loss has been noticeable. I’ve lost 4kg so far, my body is more toned and I feel so much healthier. Explain what you enjoy most about XFit? I enjoy every aspect about it. The trainers are all brilliant, very knowledgable and very easy to get along with. The other members are all really friendly and all dedicated. It’s a great environment to train in. Also, I enjoy working to the clock in timed workouts. Why should other members try XFit? Quick goal achievement, group workouts, the high motivation in classes. It’s a new approach to training! What is your fitness goal? To get a six-pack. I can’t wait to achieve my goal.
68 CELEBRITY WORKOUTS
0,5$1'$ .(55 The Kerr Workout Ever wondered how Australian model and Reebok Ambassador Miranda Kerr maintains such a super toned, trim body? Here’s a workout that will do just that. Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday: Complete circuit once with minimal rest time between exercises: 15 minutes: Jog/sprint – sprint 30 seconds, jog 2 minutes, repeat. 10 minutes: Jump rope – 5 minutes regular jumping, 5 minutes advanced jumping technique (one leg, knee tucks and double skips). 20 minutes: Lower body work – BB squats, BB lunges, BB reverse lunges, box jumps. 10 minutes: Jump rope – repeat above sequence. 15 minutes: Inclined treadmill (at least 15 degrees) – 3 minutes sprinting, 6 minutes walking, 6 minutes walking backwards.
Monday and Wednesday: Miranda loves to incorporate yoga and pilates into her workout schedule so do at least 30 minutes twice per week.
To supplement your training during Ramadan why not try this delicious lentil soup recipe which is packed full of nutrients.
Lentil Soup INGREDIENTS: 1 cup of red lentils 2 tbsp of Egyptian or wide rice 1 medium onion 1 clove of garlic 2 tsp of ground cumin 1 tsp of ground dry coriander 1 tbsp of fresh parsley for garnishing 1 tbsp of spring onion, finely chopped 1 tbsp of vegetable oil Salt and pepper to taste
METHOD: Wash the lentils and rice and boil them in water until cooked. Chop the onion and garlic and fry with the cumin and the dry coriander on a low to medium heat. After a few minutes add this mixture to the lentils and rice and heat for five minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Take the pan off the heat and blend the soup using a hand blender. Place back on the stove and heat for another few minutes until piping hot. Garnish with parsley and a sprinkling of chopped spring onion and serve.
شوربة العدس المكونات
كوب من العدس ا صفر١ معالق طعام من ا رز الم ي٢ حبة بصل متوسطة١ فص ثوم١ ة كمون+صغ * ملعقة٢ ة كزبرة يابسة ناعمة+صغ * ملعقة١ 5 4 ين+ ملعقة كزبرة طازجة لل١ 5 7نبا * ملعقة طعتم زيت١
التحض طريقة
4 * يغسل العدس وا رو ويسلق لح< استوائه , لعدة دقائقB يضاف الكمون والكزبرة وتق, الزيتG* 4 Bيقطع البصل والثوم ويق العدسJثم تضاف ا لعدة دقائقBتطحن الشورية ومن ثم تغ تزين باوراق الكزبرة الليمون الحامض+عص * وتقدم مع
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جيسون ستاثام
العمر٤٥ : الدور الرائج :كرانك )(٢٠٠٦
من بدايات متواضعة كqعب 5 مح+ف G* 4سباقات السيارات G* 4مطلع التسعينيات من القرن الع ين ،شق جيسون ستاثام طريقه إJ رأس قائمة كبار نجوم هوليوود بفضل واحدة من أبرز أخqقيات العمل G* 4صناعة السينما .حافظ ستاثام ع Bلياقته البدنية الرائعة بمساعدة مدربه الشخ{ ،دان جون .وعندما يتعلق _ ا مر * _ السينما 7إJ بالتحض _ +ي دور G* 4أفqم الحركة ،يحتاج النجم * * *4 تحف +بنيته الجسمانية .وقد تدرب ستاثام لمدة ستة أيام G* 4 _ 4 4 5 5 ئي G* bفيلم "كرانك: ا سبوع *G ال hسبقت تصوير دوره الر * الف+ة * هاي فولتيج" G4عام ،٢٠٠٩ولكن لم تستمر أي جلسة أك +من ٣٥ * دقيقة .و يمكن وصف التدريب بأنه كان مكثفًا وحسب ،إذ سيكون ذلك تهوي ًنا لقدره .وها هو ستاثام يصفه بكلماته" :تدريب فظيع، ويبعث ع Bالغثيان ،وأشبه بكابوس ،ولكنه يُقدر بثمن" .اختار مزيجا من ستة تمارين ،ووضع نطاق التكرار المطلوب لكل ستاثام ً كرر الدورة خمس مرات .وقد استعان ستاثام بالوقت منها ،ثم ّ المستغرق G* 4إتمام جميع الدورات الخمس كوسيلة لقياس كثافة َ تدريبه .وبعد ذلك ،كان يستخدم الوقت المستهدف لزيادة كثافة التدريب كلما تقدم G* 4مستويات لياقته البدنية.
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توم هاردي
العمر٣٥ : الدور الرائج :ذا دارك نايت رايزز )(٢٠١٢
جدا بعد كان توم هاردي يتمتع بالفعل بلياقة بدنية عالية ً دوره الرئي G4 bفيلم "وورير" ،ولكن _ داء دور * 4 ب< أمام * * كريستيان بيل G* 4فيلم "ذا دارك نايت رايزز" ،ارتفع هاري بلياقته إ Jمستوى أع .Bكان * 4 ب< يمثل عدو باتمان الذي 4 يع hأن هاردي – يفرض عليه i أك +أذى جسدي ،وكان هذا * يتع< عليه أن يب4h الذي يبلغ طوله ٥أقدام و ٩بوصات – * 4 * 4 عضqت جسمه بشكل 5 i شكل جيد أمام بيل أك +ح hيبدو *ٍ G ٍ الذي يبلغ طوله ٦أقدام وبوصة واحدة .وكان وزن هاردي 4 يع hأنه أضاف إJ يتجاوز ٢٠٠رطل أثناء _تصوير الفيلم؛ مما * جسمه ٣٠رط ً qع Bا قل بعد فيلم "وورير" .قال هاردي: تقريبا قبل بدء التصوير ،وقد حاولت "كان أمامي ستة أسابيع ً 4 4 شخصا ب< أجعل أن المهم من وز 7فيها .وقد كان * ً زيادة * 4 5 شكل ضخم البنية ويمثل ً تهديدا" .وح hيبدو هاردي *ٍ G 4 الشخ{ مدربه عمل ممكن، تهديد أك+ جسما 7يحمل i * * باتريك مونرو ع Bتضخيم كتفيه وصدره باستخدام سلسلة من تمارين الضغط .وكانت النتائج – بكل تأكيد – مذهلة حقًا.
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RAMADAN
HEALTH NEWS
FITNESS FIRST NEWS
SCENE
ممارسة اليوجا
شهر رمضان
اليوجا علم قديم وممارسة اليوجا تساعد ع تحقيق توازن طبيعي # ال تعمل ع ب $العقل والجسد والروح .وتستند اليوجا ع تنفيذ تمارين #التنفس > # كسج $إ; مجرى الدم ،ما يساعد 7تمدد العض4ت كبAة من ا? بشكل جيد وضخ كمية تقوية عض4ت الرئة وتزيد من قدرتها؛ Hتتمكن من التنفس ٍ # وزيادة مرونتها .وتتضمن اليوجا تقنيات للتأمل تساعد 7#السيطرة ع العقل؛ ما يساعد ع ال# A الذه والسيطرة الجيدة ع أعضاء الحس. كA # ال تركز ع العقل والروح. تساعد ممارسة اليوجا ع نحو مناسب 7تجنب الحركات الديناميكية وتتضمن تقنيات التأمل وا?سAخاء وتمارين التنفس
سلسلة $ ا%وضاع الجسدية لليوجا أثناء الصوم
ب> $ ننصح بممارسة تمارين غ Aمكثفة 7#شهر رمضان .وينصح بشدة التقليل من تمارين اليوجا بالوضع > ا?ول الذي يمثل تحية الشمس والتوقف لفAات كافية # ا?وضاع ،والتقليل من ممارسات وتقنيات التنفس > وا?وضاع لمساعدة الجسم 7 #العمل بشكل منتظم 7 #رمضان.
التنفس من المنخر البديل
# متعاكس $مع المحافظة ع استقامة يساعد تمرين التنفس البسيط 7 #تهدئة الذهن وصفائه ويمنح سيطر ًة جيد ًة ع الذهن ،ما يساعد 7 #تنظيم درجة الحرارة .اجلس بطريقة مريحة وساقيك > > ا?يمن واستنشق بعمق من المنخر > ا?يمن ،سد المنخر > ا?يمن المنخر > الكتف .$ضع يدك اليhى ع الركبة اليhى وأغلق بإبهامك > # ا?ي .hأغلق المنخر ا?ي hبأصبع السبابة ا?يمن الظهر وإرخاء > > > o > > > با?بهام ا?يمن وازفر من المنخر ا?ي .hهذه دورة واحدة من الممارسة، وازفر ببطء من المنخر ا?يمن ،واستمر بإغ4ق المنخر ا?ي hوالتنفس من المنخر ا?يمن .وا?ن أغلق المنخر ا?يمن n فتح > ب $ وهكذا ،تتنقل # ا?نف 7 #منتصف دورة النفس وأكمل دورة من ٧أو ١٤أو ٢١مرات تنفس.
سلسلة ا%نحناء إ$ - ا%مام
ا?مام ،مثل وضع الوجه 7#مواجهة الركبة يمد أجهزة الجسم با?حساس بالAودة .وا?نحناء إ; > يساعد ا?نحناء إ; الخلف ع رفع درجة حرارة الجسم وووضع ا?نحناء إ; > ا?مام يريح القلب n t الغذاz؛ إذ يولد 7#البطن ضغطاً سالباً" كافياً للسماح بشد عض4ت البطن .وتمارين ا?نحناء إ; > > ا?مام تساعد القلب 7 #ضخ الدم إ; الدماغ وتمنح الفرد سيطرة ويساعد 7 #تنظيم عملية التمثيل > # # بالAودة مثالية 7فصل الصيف خ4ل شهر رمضان. جيدة ع العقل .تهدف اليوجا إ; تحقيق التوازن 7الجسم من أجل صفاء الذهن، تعت Aأوضاع ا?نحناء إ; ا?مام لبث n ا?حساس t وبالتا; t
الساق 3إ$ - ا%مام – الوقوف ث 5وتمديد
الساق $إ; > o ا?مام 7#وضع الجلوس؛ فهي تساعد ع تنشيط القلب # ك Aع التوازن ما يمنحك # وال# A # تركAاً جيداً وتصميماً. بث وتمديد لها كث Aمن ا?ثار مقارنة > > من > # # # الكتف.$ كب Aوأوضاع الوقوف عن طريق رفع الجزء ا?ع من باتساع القدم$ وفتح الجلوس أوضاع ضمن الردف$ وتوسيع فتح اولتها ز بم ننصح ال خرى ا? وضاع ا?
1:39 13/5/6 PM
ISSUE_20 PG 63 &62.indd 3
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RAMADAN
HEALTH NEWS
FITNESS FIRST NEWS
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الصيامبالطريقةالصحية تناولالسحور
إعت +السحور وجبة ا فطار الصباحية من المهم تناول السحور _ نه يزود الجسم بالطاقة، i وكث +من الناس لديهم صعوبة G* 4تناول السحور ,ومن المهم أن تأكل وجبة السحور _ ن * المعدة الفارغة تماما سوف تؤدي إ Jالتعب طوال اليوم و ا فراط G* 4تناول الطعام عند ا فطار. يجب أن تحتوي وجبة السحور ع Bكمية من iال4 * + وت< كالبيض ،والبقوليات ،والسمك _ ،نها تساعد ع Bالشعور بالشبع لمدة أطول احرص دائماً ع Bتناول السحور و تذكر بانك تستطيع أن تأخذ غفوة خqل 5ف+ة الصيام لكنك لن تكون قادر ع Bتناول الطعام أو بتحض +وجبة السحور قبل الخلود إ Jالنوم ح5h ال اب لجعل تناول السحور أسهل ،قم * تتمكن من تناول الطعام ب عة والعودة إ Jالنوم. يجب أن يحتوي السحور ع Bجميع اصناف الطعام ) الحليب ،اللحوم ،النشويات، الفواكه ،الخضار ،و الدهون الصحية(.
الن[ )ص( خVل الصيام إتبع قواعد Z
:قاعدة الثqث :ثلث لطعامه، ،و ثلث ل ابه ،وثلث لنفسه ,و يقصد الرسول)ص( بقوله أن نقسم المعدة إ Jثqثة اقسام :ثلث للطعام، ،ثلث لل اب، ،ثلث للهواء إبدأ بالتمر )ثqث حبات( ،ومن ثم الحساء ،ومن ثم السلطة ،ثم إذهب لصqة المغرب ئي.b وبعدها عد لطبق الر *
القواعد العامة لشهر رمضان المبارك
تن¤ bب الماء فهو أك +أهمية من الطعام للجسم ,ابق قارورة لتذك+ك ب ب المياه ،وتذكر عليك ¤ب ١٢كوب )٢٥٠ المياه إ Jجانبك * مل( ع_ B ا قل * 4 ب< ا فطار والسحور حاول دائماً تبديل العصائر/ *4 الم وبات الغازية بالمياه ،فهذه ملعقت< الم وبات تحتوي عB _ طعام من السكر ع Bا قل. الحد من تناول الحلويات ،واستبدالها بالفواكه ،ع Bالرغم من أنه من الصعب تجنب تناول الحلويات خqل شهر رمضان ،تناول الحلويات بعد صqة العشاء بإعتدال) احرص ع Bأن تكن حصة الحلويات أك +من حجم راحة يدك(. ا كثار من تناول 4 الخ وات والفواكه، ،تذكر بان الفواكه بطبيعتها حلوة _ المذاق وغنية بالفيتامينات والمعادن ومضادات ا كسدة.
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RAMADAN
HEALTH NEWS
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@ يأ Aخمسة نصائح صحية تساعدك ع0 فيما + الشعور بالنشاط والحيوية ,رمضان دون إرهاق أجهزة جسمك أو تعريض صيامك للخطر. -١اضبط أهدافك البدنية اضبط أهدافك البدنية G* 4رمضان ولتكن أهدافاً 4 الحا ،Jفإن بسيطةً تتمثل * Gالمحافظة ع Bالوزن * كان هدفك فقدان الوزن والحصول ع Bجسد يتمتع 4 البد7 بلياقة بدنية عالية فقم بتعديل برنامج تمرينك * وتعويضه عما يفقده من طاقة ،ف qترهق نفسك وجهاز المناعة بالتمرين وتذكر أن ذلك سيؤثر عB قدرتك G* 4الصيام. -٢قلل من كثافة التمرين تقليل كثافة التمرين يسمح لك بالبقاء مثابراً عB التمرين بدون تراجع نشاطك 4 4 واست+اف طاقتك ،فإن كنت تحمل أوزاناً تبلغ ١٠كلجم قللها لوزن ٨كلجم، وإذا كنت تتمرن لمدة ساعة فقللها لمدة 5ت+واح * 4 ب< ٣٠و ٤٥دقيقةً .حاول أداء ٤-٣حركات لتعزيز قوة أعضاء الجسم الرئيسة G* 4حركة دائرية منتظمة ،و٤ من أصل ١٠جو ت باستخدام مجموعة العضqت _ ا iك +حجماً؛ فا ستمرار G* 4ممارسة التمرين 4 عال سيساعدك * Gالحفاظ ع Bمستوى لياقة ٍ ومتوازن G* 4هذا الشهر. -٣التمرين الجماعي هناك صفوف للتمارين الجماعية 5 ال hوضعت * *4 وحددت أوقاتها خصيصاً للصائم< G* 4شهر رمضان المبارك ،ويحتوي الجدول ع Bصفوف لليوجا وغ+ها من التمارين ورياضة البيqتس وتوازن الجسم * المصممة للمحافظة ع Bنشاطك ولياقتك. اليوغا رياضة خفيفة وتمنح الجسم القوة والطاقة 5 ال hيفتقد إليها ،وهي الرياضة المثالية G* 4هذا الشهر * ا فطار وبعده الكريم .تتوفر صفوف اليوجا قبل 4 و Gالدورات الصباحية .كما تتوفر صفوف زيادة * الطاقة المفضلة لديك ،مثل تمارين البدي بومب والتمارين القتالية والتدريب بالدراجة الثابتة )(RPM ا فطار أو بعده .يرجى ا طqع ع Bجدول قبل مواعيد التمارين الجماعية G* 4النادي لمعرفة مزيد من التفاصيل. -٤اجمع * 4 ب< التمارين وادمجها إذا كنت تمارس تمارين القلب والمقاومة كل عB حدة كجزء من التمرين الخاص بك و تستطيع أداءهما معاً G4رمضان ،فاجمع * 4 ب< تمارين القلب * والمقاومة وقم بدمجهما معاً بدائرة واحدة. -٥كن مثابر المثابرة مفتاح النجاح! إذا كنت تطمح إ Jأن تحقق كب+اً G* 4المحافظة ع Bلياقتك البدنية G* 4شهر فارقاً * القص+ة والمنتظمة عوضاً التمارين عB ركز رمضان، * عن التمارين الروتينية المعتادة .تمرن عندما تشعر بأنك بحاجة لذلك ،وقم بما تستطيعه .المهم أن تحافظ ع Bلياقتك البدنية وتتمتع بصحة جيدة واستمع دوماً إ Jجسمك.
الحفاظ ع 0اللياقة البدنية , +شهر رمضان المبارك 4 5 ال hيُنصح بمزاولتها لما لها من فوائد عديدة G* 4 .شهر رمضان i تعت +ممارسة الرياضة * Gشهر رمضان المبارك من العادات الصحية * يعتاد الجسم ع Bنمط حياة محدد قد يشكل عبئاً ثقي ً qع Bصحتك وأهداف اللياقة الخاصة بك ،ولذلك من السهل جداً فقدان وال اب 5 وا مساك عن الطعام لف+ات طويلة .ويتفاعل الجسم عB النسيج با ضافة إ Jزيادة الدهون نتيجة ا نقطاع العض B * 4 5 أك +قدر ممكن من الطاقة ليتكيف مع طول ف+ة الصيام نحو مماثل ليكون * Gوضع خمول وسبات؛ إذ يستهلك ويخزن الجسم i 5 وال hيتم خqلها تمويل الجسم بأي من العنا الغذائية الqزمة له .وإ Jذلك ،حاجة للتوقف عن وا متناع عن الطعام * _ 4 4 4 5 ال hيكون فيها جسمك * Gوضع ممارسة الرياضة * Gشهر رمضان ولكن يفضل أن تضع جدو ً منتظماً لممارسة الرياضة * Gا وقات * ا فطار .تذكر " ،تستسلم وحافظ ع Bلياقتك البدنية". ا فطار أو بعد وجبة مناسب لممارسة الرياضة ،وذلك قبل الوقت المناسب لممارسة الرياضة , +رمضان 4 المثا Jلممارسة الرياضة G* .هذا الوقت ،ستساعدك الرياضة عB ا فطار بساعة ونصف ،وهو الوقت يُنصح بممارسة الرياضة قبل * تحف+ك .والخيار 4 5 قص+ة ما يساعد 4 * G4 الثا 7هو ة ف+ بعد الطعام تناول بمقدورك سيكون أنه تعلم التفك G* 4 +الطعام؛ إذ عدم * * * * 4 دقيقةً الثا 7من التمارين الرياضية بحيث يزيد التمرين الجزء مواصلة ثم والتمر الماء وتناول فطار ا من ٣٠ قبل الرياضة ممارسة * عن ٦٠دقيقةً .تذكر ،كل كب+ة. كث+اً ب عة * وا¤ب ع Bمهل وحاول أ تأكل * والتمارين الصباحية مهمة جداً ،ولكن يجب أن تكون ذات نوعية خفيفة كب+اً ،مثل رياضة البيqتس، أو متوسطة الشدة ،و تتطلب جهداً * أوااليوجا أوتمارين المحافظة ع Bتوازن أجهزة الجسم؛ إذ * 4 يتع< عليك الحفاظ ع Bمخزون الطاقة لبقية اليوم 5 ا فطار. ح hموعد ا فطار ،فننصحك بتناول وجبة وإذا لم تستطع ممارسة الرياضة قبل إفطار خفيفة وممارسة تمارين متوسطة الشدة G* 4المساء .ومع هذا ا فطار؛ 4 ¥ الخيار5 ، *4 يتس hلجسمك اس+ح لمدة ساعت< بعد * 4 الكا Gلهضم الطعام استعادة توازنه وإعطائه الوقت * وتعويض ما فقده من الماء .ولتكن التمارين وقص+ة. الرياضية مركزة *