Welcome to the June 2011 issue of Fitnorama magazine

The health and fitness world is incredibly di-verse and includes everything from exercise to music to diet, from training for improved sports performance to weight management plus ho-listic exercise systems such as yoga and Pi-late’s. The commonality between all of these health and fitness topics is that they only work if you do them with sufficient intensity, regular-ity and for a prolonged period of time – appli-cation is the key! It’s all too easy to buy into the latest fad, type of class, nutritional approach or supplement but if you don’t apply the rules of consistency and effort, chances are you will make little or no progress. That’s why, here at Fitnorama, we like to focus on the basics. The thing is, while the basics might not be sexy, they DO work. The basics – be it regarding diet, exer-cise or sports supplementation, will give you the majority of the benefits you seek from ex-ercise. For example, people often argue over the merits of various diets for weight manage-ment. Which dietary approach is best – Atkins or the Zone? Paleo or Weight Watchers? The truth of the matter is that virtually every diet that causes a reduction in calorific intake be-low your baseline requirements will result in weight loss – essentially all diets work! The same is true of exercise. Fitness professionals the world over frequently debate the advan-tages of one exercise versus another. Squats versus lunges, bench press versus press ups, pull ups versus lat pull downs and so on. The thing that many of them fail to realize is that

the best exercise is the one you do regularly! Legendary Belgian Tour de France cyclist Eddie Mercyx was once asked what the best exercise is for cyclists. His replied ―Ride a bike, ride a bike, and ride a bike!‖ Sometimes the answer to our exercise questions really is that simple. So, in this issue you won’t find any fads or fal-lacies but simply good solid fitness and exer-cise advice. The info we provide has been tested in the trenches – all the experts are successful trainers with long lists of happy cli-ents. They live and die, professionally speak-ing, by the quality of their advice and they wouldn’t be Fitnorama experts if they didn’t have a proven track record! When you read any of the articles in our magazine you can be assured that the expert is writing from per-sonal experience and describing the very methods he or she uses every working day. How’s that for quality assurance?! We hope you enjoy this issue of our magazine – we put our hearts and souls into each and every article. All you need to do is put YOUR heart and soul into your exercise and nutrition regime and between us, we can get you fitter and healthier than you ever dreamed. Enough with the hyperbole – turn the page and take a big step towards a new, healthier you. Patrick Dale

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Model: Natalia Muntean Photographs: John Dorton

On The Cover

TOTAL RUNDOWN P6 - ENDORPHINS P8 - MIND BODY CONNECTION

P10 - ARE YOU TRULY FIT P16 - TOP TEN NUTRITION TIPS P18 - BOOTY CALL P24 - ESSENTIAL EXERCISES WORKOUT P28 - WHAT IS FUNCTIONAL TRAINING ARTICLE P32 - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW RICHARD CALLENDER P38 - TEMPO RUNNING P42 - DANY LEVY INTERVIEW P52 - KETTLEBELL SNATCH P56 - HOW TO ACHIEVE LONGEVITY IN FITNESS P60 - MEDICINE BALL SHAPE UP WORKOUT P64 - BALANCE IS ALL IN THE BRAIN P66 - TRAINING SYSTEMS P69 - ABS TRAINING TIPS

P6 - ENDORPHINS

P18 - BOOTY CALL

P32 - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW RICHARD CALLENDER

P42 - DANY LEVY INTERVIEW

P52 - KETTLEBELL SNATCH

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Ever wondered why you feel so good after a hard gym session or why you get that exhilarating rush whilst on a rollercoaster? The answer is endorphins and they have all manner of effects on the body.

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The word endorphin ("endogenous mor-phine") literally means self made morphine or opiate. Endorphins are chemicals that are produced to send signals to target cells in order to evoke a certain response. They are produced by the pituitary gland when stimu-lated during exercise, excitement, pain and during a bit of the other! They resemble opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a feeling of well being, as well as sup-pressing pain and effecting metabolic re-sponses.

C hange in mood state

It has been well documented that exercise can help you recover from depression and prevent you

from becoming depressed in the first place. Becoming fitter and healthier can boost your self-confidence and self-esteem. More than that, each time you exercise you are physi-cally creating endorphins that improve your mood and suppress the negative effects of stress. When endorphins are released dur-ing exercise it suppresses the release of cortisol (a major stress hormone). Prolonged high levels of cortisol have been known to cause blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemia. It can also decrease bone density and muscle tissue. High cortisol levels also cause high blood pressure and increased abdominal fat, which is associated with a greater amount of health problems than fat deposited in other areas of the body. Do you ever crave chocolate when you feel a bit low or stressed? That is

It’s all well and good being fit but fit for what exactly? For some, fitness means being able to bench press 500 pounds while for others it means having 18 inch arms and being ripped to shreds. There’s nothing wrong with these fitness achieve-ments but they are very limited, by which I mean having massive arms is great but if you can’t bend down to tie your shoe laces, are you actually fit for anything useful? Opening jam jars maybe. And before you say that I am anti-bodybuilding or weight lifting, what’s the point of being able to run a marathon in two and a half hours if you can’t even rip the wrapper off a post-race energy bar? Obviously, within certain sports it is nec-essary to develop specific fitness aspects at the cost of others but how many of the so-called bodybuilders at your gym will actually ever set foot on stage? Likewise how many runners are likely to break the top ten in even a local standard race? The answer to both questions is very few! So, if you aren’t a competitive body-builder, weight lifter or strong man, sub three hour marathon runner or 35 minute 10K runner, maybe you’d be better off with a bit of cross training and developing other elements of your fitness. The following list represents some stan-

dards of fitness that most of us should be

able to achieve more-or-less at the same

time without having to train specifically,

peak for or taper down to. Like lacing up

your workout shoes, these are just things

you should be able to do. Training to de-

velop this kind of all round fitness will en-

hance your health, your appearance, your

sporting performance and also make your

hair grow back—or at least that’s what I

hope! 11 | Fitnorama | June 2011

Sometimes, the amount of nutritional informa-tion around can be overwhelming and with much of it being contradictive, it’s hard to know just where to start! With that in mind, the purpose of this blog post is to provide you with 10 common sense and easy to apply changes so you can, little by little, move your reroute your current eat-ing habits towards and healthier and more nutri-tious diet.

Don’t try and implement all of these points over-night! That’s not the aim of this post. Read the list, take one or two of the points that you can implement right away and then gradually add one or two more points over the coming weeks. A month or two from now, your diet may well be unrecognisable and your body will thank you for it!

3 Select whole grains. Refined grains such as white wheat, white rice, white pasta etc are devoid of fibre. Fibre is essential for intestinal health. It helps to keep your bowels in good

working order and also contains no calories so it is an ideal nutrient for weight management. Eat whole grains and not refined grains to ensure you are getting plenty of fibre in your diet. Select wild rice, wholemeal pasta, sprouted grain breads, leave the skin of your fruits and vegetables, eat oatmeal and not refined breakfast cereals.

5 Drink water, not soda. Your muscles are approximately 70% water, your blood is around 90% water. You

need water to help keep your joints lubricated, your body cool, remove toxins from your digestive system and even the whites of your eyes are mostly water. On average you need around five pints of water per day, more if you exercise regularly or live in a hot country. Don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink water – drink little and often. Dehydration interferes with fat burning and you will likely feel more energetic and healthy if you consume adequate amounts of water every day.

2 Get more nutrients. It’s amazing but many people suffer from malnutrition despite being drasti-cally overweight. How

is this possible? Many modern, processed foods provide calo-ries but that’s about it. No vita-mins, no minerals, no fibre, minimal water but lots and lots of salt, sugar and other harm-ful additives. Build your meals around vegetables and fruits and you’ll increase the nutri-tional value of each and every meal you eat.

4 Eat the rainbow! By eat-ing a diverse mixture of naturally brightly col-oured foods, you ensure

you are getting a variety of nu-trients in your diet. Eat reds, greens, yellow, oranges, pur-ples, whites etc. Try to eat three differently coloured vegetables or fruits in each and every meal.

1 Cut down on sugar. Fat generally gets lambasted as

being the biggest dietary evil but it’s sugar that is

actually the biggest problem in Western nutrition. Sugar causes an increase in insulin secretion and insulin surpasses fat burning. Refined sugars are the worst so check your food labels for sugar content. Naturally occurring sugar in fruit is fine in moderation but packaged foods, breakfast cereals, baked goods and sweets all contain lots of sugar and are best avoided if you want to be slim and healthy!

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Ph

oto

: Jo

hn D

ort

on

Don’t hesitate and keep it fresh,

but more importantly consistent

and you’ll enjoy the summer in

your favorite bikini and will love

the way you look naked - it’s

booty call time!

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Reverse Crunch to Push Out Adopt a crunch position with the fingertips placed behind the ears. Tilt the hips to ensure the back is flat and maintain the head in a neutral position. Keeping the abdominals contracted and the back pressed into the ground, bring the knees in towards the chest. From here, push through the heels to extend the legs outwards to a 45 degree angle. If the back arches, extend the legs further away for the floor. Variation or progression: Perform a crunch on each repetition, as you bring the knees to meet the chest.

Gym Ball Raises Place a small gym ball be-tween the feet, keeping the knees soft. Adopt a crunch position with the fingertips placed behind the ears. Tilt the hips to ensure the back is flat and maintain the head in a neutral position. Keeping the abdominals contracted and the back pressed into the ground, lift the ball off the floor to no greater than 90 degree angle. Lower the ball back down as far as you can, to the point where you feel your back begin to arch. Variation or progression: Rotate the ball from the hips at the bottom of the movement

Dynamic Side Planks Lie side on with the upper body propped up onto one elbow. The feet, hips, elbow and head should all be in line. Keep the head in a neutral position, the elbow inside of the shoulder and the abs contracted. Lift the hips up off the floor, so that the upper hip bone is pointing towards the ceiling. Hold this position for a mo-ment, then return to the floor. Variation or progression: Perform with the elbow slightly elevated off the floor

The Midsection

a

a

a

b

b

b

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AM: You’ve already have a full and still expanding career, what would you say is your proudest career achievement to date? DL: I was thrilled to win the UKBFF Bikini Class at Body Power this may, as it was my first ever competition. I love my work for The Sun newspaper and I'm also very proud to be the female figurehead for The Active Channel on SKY.

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How to do it 1) Place a kettlebell slightly ahead of your feet.

2) Then think about pushing your hips back as if sitting back on to a bench,

making sure that you crease at the hips whilst maintaining a straight back

position. Your shoulders should be back and down. You will then be in the

correct starting position. If you’ve got it right then you should be feeling a

stretch in your hamstrings, just like in the swing.

3) Grasp the kettlebell with one hand.

4) Swing it back as you would the swing. Then powerfully snap the hips for-

ward to initiate the forward swing of the kettlebell.

5) Now, as the kettlebell starts to come up, at the point where it reaches

about chest high, pull your elbow back by bending your arm and retracting

your shoulder blade. Think of it as trying to elbow somebody in the face be-

hind you! The kettlebell should remain straight in front of your fist and not

flip over or down, in other words, kept under control. Once in the pulled

back position, thrust it forward again and continue with the downward

swing and repeat. Be sure to control the arc on the way down. As per the

swing, you don’t want to project the kettlebell out too wide.

High pull

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B e Consistent with Your Training and Nutrition I am often asked what I consider to be the most important aspect of

getting into great shape. My answer each and every time is ―consistency.‖ Almost any-one can stick to a rigorous workout plan and strict diet for a few weeks, but those who truly achieve fitness are consistent in their approach. This means that you should eat well and workout regularly and with purpose, not just sporadically. Write your workouts down beforehand, have a schedule of which muscle groups you want to train on each day, and stick to it. Sure, life gets in the way sometimes. When it does, of course you can miss a workout or two, or even a take a week off. The key is to get back to the gym and return to your fitness routine as soon as you can.

C reate new goals frequently A great way to ensure that you are making progress is to continually create new goals. You should al-

ways have a series of long term and short term goals you want to accomplish. The most important parts about having goals are to make them specific and to write them down. For example, ―I want to lose 10 pounds (lbs.) in the next four weeks‖ is a goal that is much more likely to be completed than simply ―I want to look good in a bathing suit.‖ Also, be sure that you have a plan for reaching your goals. Even after achieving the physique you desire, try to experiment with new training methods to refine your muscles even more, and always strive to im-prove on what you have accomplished. Don’t be afraid to expand your horizons. You may want to enter competition or, perhaps you may even want to become a fitness model.

K eep your workouts fresh, excit-ing and interesting Performing the same workout rou-tine over and over again is not only

boring, but it causes your body to adapt and your results to plateau. Instead, you should

always be on the lookout for different exer-cises and workout routines. Get creative and invent new exercises that target your mus-cles differently. When the weather is warm, take your workout outside. If you usually workout alone, bring a friend along to your next training session. There are many ways to keep your workouts exciting, so get out there and experiment! In my 10 years of living the fitness lifestyle, I have found these principles to be exception-ally helpful and have enabled me to make the pursuit of my goals not only rewarding, but enjoyable as well. It is my hope that you will apply at least some of these suggestions to your own attempt to change your lifestyle and that you will be healthy, happy, and fit

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This final move is an effective rotational core ex-ercise that also strengthens your shoulder girdle and arms.

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and the ball held firmly in both hands Twist your upper body so that the ball is posi-tioned outside of your thigh and your shoul-ders are tuned through 90 degrees Keeping your arms fairly straight, rotate your upper body and swing the ball diagonally up and over your opposite shoulder Return to the starting position and then repeat On completion, change sides and perform an identical number of repetitions.

You’ll need a bit of space for this one, especially if you have a light medicine ball.

Workout sponcered by Jordan Fitness

Don’t be afraid to perform this exercise with a reasonably rapid tempo to develop rotational power – important in many sports.

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Targeting your chest, shoulders, triceps and core, this is an effective and time efficient ex-ercise that will also spike your heart and breathing rate.

Hold the medicine ball at chest height with your hands behind rather than under the ball Stand in a staggered stance and push-press the ball away from you. Try to throw the ball as far as you can On releasing the ball, immediately chase after it. Pick the ball up, turn and throw it back to where you came from Continue to ―chuck and chase‖ for the duration of your set