Tiger Fitness

Fitness, Tiger, Thetford, Academy, Tiger Training

I’ve named this Januarys column ‘re-gaining control’ because I don’t care who you are, or how good you are, at some point over this festive season you’ve come off the rails with your diet and training and do you know what – that’s ok!

I tell many of my clients that Christmas is ok to binge, I mean, that’s tradition – right? (Everything in moderation, of course) We all know we’ll be surrounded by our family and loved ones, there will be far too much food laying about and we’ll continuously snack throughout the celebratory period! It’s the build up and recovery to this that will make the difference.

During the build-up, try to be as good as possible. You’ll appreciate Christmas that much more as well as the foods and drinks that you’ll consume, almost having a sense of relaxation while your mindful that you deserve the treats from being strict in the run up to the big day(s).

After, this is the hard part! Pulling ourselves out of our festive jumpers and back into our workout clobber! The lethargic feeling you get after consuming copious amounts of sat fats and refined sugars is hard to over come but you need to give yourself a plan (doing some exercise the day after the mass intake of the goodies!)

New Years can be a great starter mark for you in your fitness journey, whether it’s a kick in the right direction or just an adjustment of new goals and different bars set higher it can be a time where you start doing bits for yourself again. Grab a pal and go make it happen, stop putting it off – remember, you need to work off that Christmas feast!

For all of you that came to the CBC Annual Community day on Sunday 1st September you may have stumbled across our event on the back field called ‘Boudica backdraft’.

You know, the part of the field that had the 6.5 tonne lorries, Giant Tyre Wheels, ‘A’ frames and all the other gruelling stuff that the event co-ordinator, Rob Breen, had managed to make in time for this team event!

The event was a taster run for a competition that will be running next June. It brings male and females together to work in a team of 4 and to use their strength, power, endurance and teamwork ability to ultimately win what can only be known as ‘The Hybrid Showdown’.

Athletes were invited down to participate in the full day event and take on 5 tough workouts which would see them climbing the leader board and fighting for first place!

Rob, as well as myself and many other competitors are part of the Fire Service, next years event will be held so that up to 40 teams can enter and profits raised will be going to the Fire Fighters Charity.

Training days will be commencing soon and will include an array of weird and wonderful kit, movements and technical building blocks to enable any teams a good chance at competing for the win!

If this is something you feel like you’d be interested in, then drop me an email and we can talk through it, even if confidence is an issue, you can commit to training days without pressure to compete, just get a feel for the environment, lifting and shifting oddly weighted objects and ultimately making fitness fun, not to mention the great people you’ll meet along the way!

Boudica Backdraft have recently started Facebook and Instagram pages for you to follow all the stuff that will be happening in the years to come, check them out and follow the movement.

People, including body builders and athletes use fasted cardio when they’re stripping down body fat. Mostly in the mornings, before breakfast, with nothing apart from water in their stomachs for hydration, this can be very effective for that particular goal!

If you’re looking to drop some fat weight, then fasted cardio can be a good way of doing so, look to get your heart rate between 120bpm-150bpm. This can be done by walking incline on a treadmill or jump in on one of my Ti30 classes, which start at 8am!

Do be aware though, working out on an empty stomach can seem harder due to insulin levels, so your workout rate may decrease. Also, if the workout was really good and the body becomes really hungry, be careful not to overeat and/or stuff your face with the wrong foods and undo all that work you’ve just done!

Fasted cardio should only be done when incorporated with a healthy balanced diet and not used to drop masses amounts of mass, fast. Please speak to a professional to get any info and remain safe!

No matter what your fitness goal, having a strong and healthy heart is key to your development in training. The heart is the organ that helps keep everything working as good as it should and needs to be looked after.

All of us will look in the mirror are pick little flaws in ourselves. We’ll pinch our muffin tops or love handles, we’ll shake our belly and legs and we’ll try and hide our double chin and then we’ll try and focus on those ‘problem areas’ when we train.

If you’re 220ibs, holding extra weight in your belly, breasts, love handles and arms but your main problem area is bingo wings then hitting an all over body workout will be much more effective than just training your arms. Of course, over time this will help tone but training those small muscles only burns a small number of calories.  Adding some arm exercises in to some HIIT training then becomes so much more effective, you get so much more out of the time you are using and burning extra calories and fat.

Unfortunately, we can’t just focus on one problem area and become super toned there, even though that would be great! The only time this may be possible is if you’re already in a good condition and are training aggressively to build in that particular muscle group!

Doing fully functional moves in your training will help keep your ticker working effectively, help you burn that unwanted fat in and out of your problem areas and help tighten and slim you down to a more flattering figure.

Our heart rate is a real big sign of how hard we’re working when exercising, obviously, the buckets of sweat and fatigue are great signs too but generally we can rely on our heart rates to tell us if we’re working hard or not hard enough.

I’m sure you can relate to this but one of the main reasons that either you or someone you know won’t invest in their fitness is being able to afford it - which baffles me. Thetford has many options for gyms and fitness classes and to join them really doesn’t break the bank.

These are just a few examples of what we spend our cash on but if we were to manage our time more efficiently or make cut backs on things like takeaways or alcohol we could afford a fitness membership and not only bring up our physical health but our mental health too.

I’m offering a really good deal at the moment – Pay for one class and enjoy the rest of the week for free!! Not only is it a perfect offer so you get to enjoy any class for the small price of just £6 but you’ll feel the benefits from day 1. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please email me or find me on socials.

If you’re new to training or overweight and just recently started training OR you’re one of the lucky ones who remains slim but has a poor diet you’ll probably feel uncomfortable before, during or after exercise!

That feeling where the body starts to heat up, our heartbeat rises, the lungs are taking more air in more often, our sweat glands open filling our clothes with the tears of fat and sometimes we can start to lose our heads a bit! Guess what, it’s natural!!

The great thing is that the more consistent you are with making fitness a priority, the better you’ll feel during and after fitness, the faster you’ll recover and actually, the more you’ll enjoy it too!

I recently remembered just how much I hate that feeling! It was the Tuesday after going to a festival. The Monday was a write off (Obviously) and Tuesday wasn’t much better. I’d relaxed my ethics and gone on a day sesh with a few pals, neglecting my food routine and exchanging it with beer and spirits. By the time we got back to the hotel, I hadn’t eaten anything all day and I’d returned to a share bag of Kettle Chips – I ate them all!

When it was time to train I felt awful! Lethargic, slow, un energised and totally unable to do what I normally can BUT I did it, it was horrible but all those toxins had started to make their way out of my system and after, I genuinely felt better.

This can be down to ‘tracking your workouts’. It doesn’t matter how good your memory is, you’ll never be able to remember the exact amount of reps you’ve done, on each weight, for how many sets and the rest you have between them!

Grab yourself a notebook, the old school pen and paper will never lose battery on you and by writing these things down, helps you remember more and has less distractions than popping your notes down on your phone then social media surfing between sets!

This is the same for your eating habits. If your main goal is to cut down on some calories to burn some fat, get it logged! There are some brilliant apps out there that can help you keep on top of your calorie intake and help you stay motivated while doing so!

If time or direction is an issue, it maybe worth looking at a professional to help with your training and help keep you on track! Personal Training is offered at The Functional Fitness Suite between myself and another female PT, if this is of interest to you, then get in touch!

Recently I delivered a ‘Health and Nutrition’ presentation to the learners at Catch 22 college as part of their ‘Love Yourself’ themed class and it got me thinking, do we love ourselves enough?

The start of a fresh new month in a fresh new year often means a fresh new you, right? Of course, there are the resolutions and it’s all for the greater good! We all make them and it’s to become more positive in our way of living.

The festive season is a great time for all those that celebrate it. It is a time to see all of the family you haven’t seen all year, feasting on delicious food and of course the presents!