All posts tagged: Fitter

The simple exercise rules that can make you fitter, stronger and healthier

The simple exercise rules that can make you fitter, stronger and healthier

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore The article below is an excerpt from my newsletter: Well Enough with Harry Bullmore. To get my latest thoughts on fitness and wellbeing pop your email address into the box above to get the newsletter direct to your inbox. If it was easy, everybody would do it. This statement certainly applies to exercise – but it’s not as complicated as certain salespeople might have you believe. There’s a bad habit at the moment of people inventing or exaggerating a fitness problem, claiming they are one of the select few with the solution, then trying to sell it to you. But if you understand the foundational principles behind exercise, you can sidestep this snake oil. The body adapts to become better at the things you consistently ask it to do. This is why progressing from zero exercise to some exercise (in any …

You don’t need a full reset to get fitter – try these small changes instead

You don’t need a full reset to get fitter – try these small changes instead

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore The article below is an excerpt from my newsletter: Well Enough with Harry Bullmore. To get my latest thoughts on fitness and wellbeing pop your email address into the box above to get the newsletter direct to your inbox. Have you ever made a dedicated push to get in shape? If so, chances are you overhauled everything – your diet, your exercise plans, your sleep routine, even your wardrobe. This probably worked for a while, and will continue to work for a select few. For most people, however, these major changes soon prove unsustainable and fall by the wayside. But what if there was a better way to nudge your health in the right direction? I’ll try to explain this with an analogy. If you wanted your living room to be a different colour, chances are you wouldn’t buy a new …

20 minutes of cycling can make your brain fitter

20 minutes of cycling can make your brain fitter

Published by Jenni Sidey

Even a brief time spent on a bedside pedal device has positively impacted an area of the brain related to memory, according to recent research published in Brain Communications. In a study involving 14 participants suffering from medically intractable epilepsy, researchers recorded activity in the brain before and after the participants engaged in approximately 20 minutes of light to moderate cycling. After cycling, the participants showed a higher incidence of fast electrical bursts (known as “ripples”) in the hippocampus. This is a well-known brain structure involved in learning and memory. For several years, scientists have been researching these ripples and their role in helping the brain sort and organize new information and replay memories. However, this study was unique because the authors were able to view the patterns directly in a human brain via intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG). This is an uncommon type of monitoring used for patients undergoing pre-surgical evaluation. Exercise has physiological effects throughout the body, including on brain activity. In the current study, participants aged 17–50 who were evaluated for epilepsy surgery at …

I’m A PT – Here’s How To Get Fitter Without Even Realising

I’m A PT – Here’s How To Get Fitter Without Even Realising

Published by Sam Flores

Only 8% of people who set New Year’s resolutions actually end up achieving them, some disappointing research shows. Speaking to the BBC, psychotherapist Rachel Weinstein said that part of this high failure rate may have to do with the belief that we’ll be “a completely different person” in the new year. Instead, people like Lannay Dale-Tooze, a personal trainer at Gymshark, think that going slow and steady – as well as “habit stacking” – is the way to go. “Habit stacking is all about linking a new action with something you already do, making it easier to stay on track,” Dale-Tooze said. “We all have daily habits, like brushing our teeth, putting on shoes before heading out, or watching TV after dinner. If you attach a new habit to something you’re already doing, it’s easier to make it stick.” Here’s how the trainer would start “habit stacking” exercise: 1) Stretch for 10 minutes when watching TV in the evenings Stretching, which Harvard Health says can counteract the negative side effects of sitting all day, is …