Insights

Whatever sport we train for, we should be aiming to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. When we’re physically active, our bodies use up more energy (or calories).

The high intensity, low impact training style, that your joints will thank you for.

In the news this week, our Chief Executive, James Murphy, talks to the Herald about our latest acquisition of Concept Northern.

Maintaining fitness during pregnancy is great for you and your baby. Find out what you can do to prepare for the birth and get ready for your postpartum recovery.

Type 2 diabetes is an endocrine condition in which the levels of glucose (sugar) are too high in the blood. This can result in short and long-term complications which can impact physical and mental health and wellbeing. In a healthy person, a hormone called insulin, made in the pancreas is present. Its job is to help glucose get from the blood and into the cells where it is used to make energy. In a person with type 2 diabetes, there is either not enough insulin or it doesn’t work as effectively as it should. Type 2 diabetes is often associated with obesity and tends to be diagnosed in older people.

In simple terms, it is exercising your muscles using an opposing force such as dumbbells, resistance bands or even shopping bags. It includes any exercise that uses a force to cause muscular contractions and it’s often referred to as weight training or strength training. Often when we hear the term ‘weight training’, we imagine huge muscly men with bulging biceps. Unfortunately, this has put many women off using weights as they are too worried that they will look masculine. Yet, it is a fantastic way to tone up and get in great shape! To get into bodybuilder condition is extremely tough and you really do have to dedicate your life to it, so you do not need to worry about that! It is estimated that only 20% of women do resistance training.

It’s 9pm. You’ve done all you need to do for the day and you’re finally settling down for the evening. You aimlessly scroll through the TV guide, trying to find something to watch for the next hour or 2. You find nothing. “Ok, let’s take a look on Netflix. There’s that new thriller series that everyone is talking about, maybe I’ll watch the first episode and then head off to bed.”

As a young child I always dreamed of being an Olympic Athlete. Watching the likes of Roger Black, Colin Jackson & Linford Christie representing Team GB on the world stage, I would run around the garden in my vest and shorts, emulating my heroes. My goal was to win an Olympic Gold Medal and stand on the highest step of the podium. I would race at the school Sports Day with my parents cheering from the side of the field, and more often than not I would place first. I was inspired to join my local athletics club where I trained weekly and discovered I was pretty good at middle-distance racing such as the 800m & 1500m, and would enter races at both county and national level.