Celebrating women’s health and fitness all over the world! Have a look at our top tips inspired by today’s topic of celebration!Did you know, we often spend more on maintaining our car than we do our own health?‍

Pilates/ Functional Movement ScreenOften when exercising in the gym, as much as we try to work each section of our body equally, there can be unbalanced load through some parts, for example in the legs. We work hard doing endless squats and lunges to tone the thighs and buttocks but often these exercises can over work the quadriceps muscles (front of the thigh) and leave our hamstrings (back of the thigh) feeling left out! This can lead to problems around the knee such as patella maltracking and tightness in the hips. In order to maintain balance on a free standing squat we need to lean forward slightly, putting increased load through the quadriceps muscles. However if you try squatting leaning off something such as a TRX strap or a supportive bar, you will find that you can put more weight through the heel of the foot on standing which will in turn cause the hamstrings and glutes to work harder. So why not try swapping half of your normal squats for these new ones and see if you can feel the difference?

If you’re someone who only has time for short bursts of exercise through their busy day but find the average routine a little boring, why not spice it up by adding a foam roller? By doing simple every day exercises on a foam roller you will be creating an unstable surface which means that your body, and more importantly your core will have to work twice as hard in order to stop you falling off. By making this easy, simple change to your daily exercise routine you are increasing the challenge and could be burning more calories in the same amount of time, making that short exercise period extra effective!If you’re unsure about your exercise posture try booking in for a studio Pilates session or even try out our free functional movement screen and have one of us help you to gain the most out of your fitness routine.

‍Osteopathy

‍Sometimes when increasing levels of exercise in attempts to get fit we start to notice little aches and pains that we didn’t have before or even find ourselves getting injured, often setting us back on our fitness journey. Rather than sitting by or just coping with it why not get it checked out? Our osteopathy services can help with a variety of symptoms and injuries, using techniques such as soft tissue massage and manipulation to get you feeling back to top health. Common injuries that present in the clinic from a sudden increase in activity include torsions/twisted pelvises, shoulder impingement, knee pain and general aching and stiffness in the neck and back. And these are just to name a few!

Even if you are just struggling to cope with that little niggling pain that you have had for years, come and get it seen to as it can often be the constant niggling pains that wear us down day after day, bringing down your health with it.So whether its treatment of an injury of simply prevention of stiffness or reoccurring injuries from creeping back up, make sure there is nothing physically stopping you from being fit and healthy by coming in to see one of our osteopaths at Bridgeham.

Health Check

‍If you’re already involved in a healthy eating and/or fitness plan or if you’re just looking to improve your general health why not come and see us for a health check? This is a great way to get a collective picture on your current health and enable you to form realistic goals for your journey ahead, whether it is used as a starting base line or you would like to see the progress you have made so far from all that hard work.

‍Massage

‍Are you aching from having worked hard on getting fit for summer, doing those extra squats and planks at the gym? Why not book in for a nice relaxing therapeutic massage to loosen those muscles and ease you back into your daily routine? Or if you’re looking to start improving your general health, but having a stressful, busy time at work or in life, try having a relaxing massage as this can help de-stress the body, a known factor to have detrimental effects to your health.Or try a sports massage to help ease the muscles out of delayed soreness post work out and increase the recovery time preparing you for an even harder work out at your next fitness session.

‍Nutrition

‍The conflict between brown and white sugar! – Every day women are trying to find food swaps to reduce their daily calorie intake one example being opting for brown sugar instead of white. However it has recently been said that in fact there is not much difference between the two! The main one being that brown sugar contains molasses which gives it a darker colour and richer taste but both being refined sugars, there is only roughly a less than a 10 calorie difference between the two. So for a richer taste go for the brown sugar but for calories try xylitol, a natural sweetener with about 40% less calories!However remember that calories aren’t everything! When looking at food labels ensure that you are not simply checking the calorie content but also the sugars and saturated fats as these both contribute hugely to the build-up of fat.

Up your greens! Research has shown that thanks to brain boosting vitamin K, eating greens like kale and spinach can slow the rate of cognitive decline. So whether it’s blitzed up in your morning juice or made into a lunch time salad, keep up those daily greens!Book in with our amazing nutritionist to find out useful food and supplement ideas to help you improve your diet and get a little healthier!