There is one exercise class I’ve never tried and that’s spin. For someone who doesn’t consider cardio as their best gym activity (I get bored easily, with each minute seeming like an hour), spin didn’t seem like a good fit.

For some reason, I found myself wanting to give it a go, and without a second thought, decided to try virtual spin and willingly ventured into the studio armed with a towel and bottle of water.

So did I survive? Yes, I did. Very much so. I arrived at the class 10 minutes before to acquaint myself with the bike and turned my legs over to warm up. The class started, and after a short while I was up and down hills in various countries, pushing myself and most importantly: enjoying it! The virtual instructor tells you when to raise out of the saddle and increase your resistance. My fitness tracker seemed equally impressed too.

As you’ve probably guessed from my earlier comment about getting bored, one of my main fears of spin wasn’t my physical ability, it was my ability to concentrate and push myself for a long period of time. The nature of spin means your mind is occupied as much as your legs so time just seems to fly. One of my other fears was fitting in, however this really didn’t even enter my head in the class; it’s built around working at your own level. My only competition was me.

Would I do it again? I can already answer that question, I enjoyed it so much, I did another a couple of days later. So if you’re like me and have spent years not doing spin, I’d encourage you to give it a go, the beauty of having virtual and live instructor classes is you can find an option that suits you.

We know we’re meant to consume at least 2 litres of water a day; but why is hydration so important to maximise performance?

Hydration forms a key part of a balanced diet, although its impact upon performance is often overlooked. Water is a vital component of the diet as the body is made up of around 70% water. With 85% of the brain made up of water; blood at 90% and muscles at 72%; water is essential to maintain hydration and bodily functions.

When exercising we lose fluid in the form of sweat to keep our body temperature at a desired 37oC, this is what we call thermo-regulation. Water is usually sufficient to use during exercise, however, for intense exercise or that that lasts longer than an hour you may need to use sports drinks to replenish hydration levels, carbohydrates, salts and minerals. Hypotonic drinks are great for rapid hydration as they are a thinner density than blood and are great for quick rehydration. According to Cohen, hypotonic drinks don’t usually contain electrolytes and therefore aren’t optimum for exclusive use during long bouts of exercise of over 30 minutes. Isotonic drinks, however, do contain electrolytes and carbohydrates which allow them to work well for longer periods of exercise. They can be absorbed relatively quickly as they have a similar density to blood.

Hypertonic drinks, however, are best used either after or several hours prior to exercise as they are absorbed more slowly than isotonic and hypotonic sports drinks. They have a high concentration of carbohydrates so can either be used to replenish glycogen stores after an endurance event or as part of ‘carbo-loading’ prior to sport.

The physical benefits of exercise are well known: increased fitness levels and bone density; reduction in likelihood of strokes and heart attacks; increased muscle tone and stability (to name a few). But how does exercise impact on your mood?

In a nutshell, exercise, can and does boost you mood. In addition, this wondrous activity can also have a positive impact on stress, self-esteem as well has helping to combat anxiety and depression¹.

Exercise is frankly a good habit to get into. It doesn’t mean you have to run marathons (although of course you can), exercise can be as simple as a spot of gardening or walking the dog. According to Mind, as your body adapts to increased activity levels you get a natural energy boost, which can make you feel less tired².

And if you’re struggling for motivation, just remember how good you feel after you’ve exercised and go for it!

Sources
¹https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/how-to-using-exercise

²https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/physical-activity-sport-and-exercise/health-benefits/#.WYg-c4jyu1s

Firstly let’s get acquainted with what DOMS are. DOMS stands for delayed onset muscle soreness which is the muscle pain you feel usually 24 – 48hrs after exercise.

A lot of different things can cause DOMS, but it’s usually as a result of movements that cause a muscle to contract whilst being lengthened e.g. sprinting downhill, dumbbell chest flys and bicep curls.

DOMS aren’t exclusive the those new to exercise, according to the NHS is can occur when you ‘start a new exercise programme, change your exercise routine, or increase the duration or intensity of your regular workout’.

Why do they occur so long after exercise?
DOMS occur thanks to the exercise causing tiny tears in the muscle. This then causes a mix of chemical reactions which go on to irritate nerve endings and result in the delayed muscle soreness.

5 tips for preventing and dealing with DOMS
- Do a warm-up – limbering up and foam rolling will help activate the muscles you are going to use
- Take paracetamol rather than ibuprofen and anti-inflammatories can reduce the muscle’s ability to adapt
- Prevent or reduce the length of DOMS by having a post-exercise ice bath
- Keep active – turning your legs over on a bike or doing alternative exercises can help, some studies have shown that and continuing to exercise won’t increase DOMS
- Once your DOMS have healed continue with the exercise that initially caused them, the more you do it, the less likely your DOMS will return at least not to the same degree).

If you experience the soreness for longer than 10 days you should seek medical advice. If you have severe swelling or bruising or immediate pain rather than delayed pain you should also seek advice.

Sources:  NHS, Huffington Post

HIIT exercise is a trend that has been sweeping the nation for a while now. But what exactly is it? HIIT stands for High-Intensity Interval Training. It is centered around short bursts of exercise that are split with a shorter period of rest allowing you to give 90-100% effort in short bursts.

- For all levels – want to push yourself go for 40 seconds exercise with 20 seconds rest. New to HIIT? Go for 20 seconds exercise with 10 seconds rest and build up to 30 seconds exercise with 15 seconds rest.
- Fits around your schedule – if you only have 15 minutes to spare, just do 15 minutes
- You don’t need any equipment – of course you can do HIIT on an exercise bike or rower, but if you haven’t got access to these, just you and a small area will do.
- Feel the burn - HIIT is said to burn fat for hours after you’ve completed the exercise due to an increase in metabolic rate

Top tip – download a HIIT timer app on your phone and set up your intervals

Duane from our gym team at West Park has devised this workout for you. Let us know how you get on!

- Sprints – 2 x 20 secs work, 10 secs rest
- Burpees – 2 x 20 secs work, 10 secs rest
- Skipping – 2 x 20 secs work, 10 secs rest
- Battle Rope – 2 x 20 secs work, 10 secs rest

Let’s face it, we’ve all been there, we’ve overhauled to our lives to achieve goals quickly. With big goals comes the pressure of commitment, and inevitably we end up deviating from our plan and giving up. Pressure isn’t mentally or physically beneficial in the long run.

A lot of people wish to change their diet to be healthier and increase the amount they exercise. And whilst there is nothing wrong with throwing yourself into things; the key is to make changes that are sustainable which allow you to continue getting enjoyment and benefit for life. Once you settle into your new lifestyle, it’ll become the norm.

Top tips for making sustainable lifestyle changes
- Don’t put too much pressure on yourself
If the word ‘diet’ crops up, chances are it comes stacked with pressure. There is nothing negative about the word goal so why not make small month-by-month goals that are realistic and achievable? If you deviate from your plan, don’t dwell on it; tomorrow is a new day.

- Get support
Support can be a great motivator and help focus you. Whether it’s a friend you train with, or the family you eat with, get everyone on board with your lifestyle change; they’ll help you keep on track.

Members of the health club can also get support from our team with programmes, expertise and motivator sessions, why not give them a try?

- Don’t miss out
Some diets can be really restrictive meaning meals with friends and events are out the question and you’re too exhausted to exercise. Not only is this not sustainable, you’ll lose a lot of enjoyment. Your lifestyle change can simply be making better choices with regard to food and drink or taking the stairs and not the lift. A lifestyle change isn’t a punishment, it’s just a new way of living.

- Try something new
You can make your lifestyle change fun by trying new foods and activities. Whilst your motivation is at its highest, find new activities, join a new class or group and investigate new foods, flavours and recipes.

- Do online food shopping
One of the ways to combat ‘accidentally’ buying a box of 6 cakes and a bag of chocolate buttons is to remove yourself from temptation. Why not switch to doing your food shop online? You’ll be out of harm’s way and the likelihood of a bag of crisps jumping into your trolley and ruining your new lifestyle is slim.

Planning what you’re eating on a week-by-week basis is key to success; you can prep, defrost and have all the ingredients at your fingertips and ready to go.

- Congratulate yourself
This is the important one. Congratulate yourself for starting it, congratulate yourself for all the small improvements you make, learn what works for you and keep going. A lifestyle change is a long term, sustainable plan so make sure it’s enjoyable, you want this to become a way of life.

The Erewash Triathlon is one of the biggest and most popular events on the sport and health calendar in Erewash.  This year's event takes place on Sunday 21 August 2016 at West Park in Long Eaton with competitors from across the country and beyond.

Now in its ninth year, the triathlon continues to grow in popularity and is open to athletes aged 15 and above and of all abilities. The triathlon will start with a 400m swim in the West Park Leisure Centre pool, followed by a 10-mile bike ride before competitors complete the event with a 5km run within West Park.  The Council is working in conjunction with StuWeb to bring you this year's triathlon.  You can enter online here.

July will see the launch of our virtual group exercise classes. We're really excited about what these can offer and can't wait to see people trying out our new range of classes.

Virtual classes are great for all levels, from group exercise pros to someone just wanting to try something new.

Here are just a few of the classes you can take part in: