Saturday 31 December 2011


New Fitness wishing you a very Happy New Year!
Join me in an exciting new year of fitness and a Happy Body.


New Years is the perfect time to create or add some sparkle to your life, so get ready for a fantastic fitness year, and set yourself up for an amazing 2012!

Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au


Friday 23 December 2011


God Jul (Swedish for Merry Christmas)!!!!


Christmas is around the corner, actually tomorrow for me and my family, and we are all busy planning food and social events, but have you given your training schedule a thought?

Christmas is the time to catch up with family and friends, and enjoy some fantastic food, but we don’t have to overdo it and feel bad about Christmas before and after. Make Christmas what it should be, the time of the year when we spend a nice relaxing time with family and friends and just enjoying life as it was meant to be.


Remember that life is full of hurdles but if you are fit it is so much easier to jump over them and keep going.
                        

How to stay fit over Christmas!


A lot of people put on weight and lose their fitness over the Christmas holidays, making Christmas Season something to dread.


Many people put off fitness during the holidays believing that they do not have the time to exercise and enjoy the holiday season. Staying fit and enjoying the holidays at the same time can be done together.


1. Eat Before You Go –. If you have an event planned for later in the day, don’t skip a meal to “save” yourself for later. Eat a smaller meal on your meal time and you will be less tempted to overindulge if you have already eaten.

2. Choose Treats Wisely – Pick something you only have during the holidays and not something that is available all of the time. And use it as a treat, something you only eat over the holiday.


3. Don’t Skip Meals – While it might be tempting to skip meals thinking that will make up for the holiday treats, it is actually counterproductive.


4. Control Your Drinking – Alcohol is an easy way to add the calories.


5. Exercise Whenever You Can – Exercised doesn’t mean just at the gym, go for a walk before every meal or after every meal.


6. Make It A Family Affair – Plan activities to do such as walking, playing tennis, bike rides, or a game of 4 squares in the driveway.


7. Don’t Forget Strength Training – You don’t have to go to the gym to maintain your muscle mass; push up, sit-ups, dips and using the ther-a-band are great alternatives.


8. Don’t Set Unrealistic Exercise Goals – But aim to exercise 30 minutes a day, if you are a bit tired after a long working year and Christmas, make it into 10 minutes walks three times a day to start with.


9. Don’t Attempt To Stick To An Unrealistic Diet During The Holidays and think Green. – If you enjoy your favorite foods in small portions you will feel more satisfied, and just because a lot of the holiday food don’t “come” with a green salad add it and that will fill you up. Trying to stay away from certain foods may cause you to eat more than you intended.


10. Drink Plenty Of Water – Water helps counter the dehydrating affects of travel or alcoholic beverages. Water will also help satiate your appetite as thirst is often mistaken for hunger.

11. Make workouts a priority – Try early morning workouts.


12. Remember Christmas is one day a year! You don’t have to eat Christmas food throughout and sit on the sofa and listen to Christmas Carols the whole summer.


On Boxing Day we are back to normal; start the morning with a walk, and get right back into three “normal plate” meals.


The festive season is supposed to be a time for fun, joy and celebration.


Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!!!!

I'm look forward to a year of successes and many great fitness stories and goals to be won. See you in 2012!!


Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au


Wednesday 21 December 2011

Don't know what to cook tonight?

Try this!!!!! You can serve the salad by it self or with something from the BBQ.

Quinoa salad

Ingredients (serves 5)

  • 1 cup quinoa, uncooked  
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1medium onion, red or yellow diced
  • 1 can lentils, drained and rinsed

Method

1.    Cook quinoa according to package directions.

2.    Meanwhile, pour olive oil into a nonstick pan.

Add the onion to the pan and saute’ over medium heat until tender.

3.    Add the lentils and cooked quinoa to the pan and mix together. Continue to cook for five more minutes.

Serve immediately and garnish with springs of parsley.


Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au

Thursday 15 December 2011

EXERCISE YOUR BONES
 
Regular weight-bearing exercise helps build up bone mass in young
people and helps maintain your bone strength during adulthood.
The great thing is, it is never too late to start exercising, and with the right
program your bones will thank you!
For those who already exercise, it is important that your program includes exercises that are important for bone health. It is very easy to adjust your program to include ‘osteogenic’ (or bonebuilding) exercises:
Here are some pointers:
• People with medical conditions or those who have not been exercising
regularly should consult a doctor before starting any exercise program.
• Weight-bearing exercises that are moderate to high impact and
weight training are the key osteogenic exercises. Therefore,
activities that involve lifting weights, running, sprinting, jumping
and skipping are ideal. In contrast, low impact activities, like
swimming and cycling, are beneficial for cardiovascular health and
weight control but will not promote bone formation.
Good bone building activities include:
• strength training or resistance-training programs
• jogging/running
• jumping
• dancing
• tennis
• volleyball
• brisk or power walking
• Ease into your new exercise program slowly, and progress
gradually with supervision from a qualified exercise specialist.
• Physical activities that are short in duration but high in intensity
will tend to build bone most efficiently (i.e., short sprints rather
than a long, slow jog).
• Two short exercise sessions separated by eight hours are better
than one long one.
• For bone health, if exercise time needs to be reduced, it is better
to reduce the length of each session rather than the number of
sessions per week.
• In older adults and the elderly exercise that improves posture and
balance will help prevent falls and reduce the likelihood of suffering a
bone fracture. The best approach here is to improve muscle strength and
undertake specific balance and co-ordination exercises.
• Maintain a balanced, healthy diet and lifestyle. Ensure your
calcium and vitamin D intake is sufficient, as both are required for
building and maintaining bone mass. Avoid smoking and excessive
alcohol intake as this can contribute to bone loss.
Improving your lifestyle factors (i.e. exercise and diet) alone cannot prevent
osteoporosis; for some individuals medications may be required to
keep bone loss in check.
When considering bone health, it is actually possible to exercise
too much, so your program should be tailored to suit your
individual needs.

Consider these important facts:
• Women and teenage girls who exercise to an extreme degree can
develop amenorrhea (cessation of menstruation) due to oestrogen
deficiency. Oestrogen deficiency in younger women contributes to
bone loss, in much the same way that oestrogen deficiency after
menopause does.
• Preoccupation with excessive exercise may go hand in hand with
eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia. The loss of essential
nutrients associated with these disorders has a harmful effect on
bone, and in anorexics, extreme body thinness often results in
amenorrhea.
• Both male and female athletes who undertake excessive exercise without
adequate caloric intake are at heightened risk of osteoporosis. Athletes
who train hard while trying to keep their weight below a certain level for
competitive reasons are at particularly high risk.
• Excessive exercise can result in stress fractures or joint damage.
• The elderly and those who already have osteoporosis can put
themselves at risk of fracturing if they suddenly begin a strenuous
that might increase the likelihood of falling.

Happy Healthy Body Training

Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au


Monday 12 December 2011


4 good reasons why you should have gluteus exercises in you training regime!
There are many good reasons, not just cosmetic, to include gluteus exercises in your training regime.
The gluteus are the biggest muscle in the body and they look after a lot of the day to day movements that we do. If they are fit, they are ok but if they are weak they can be part of at lot of problems. Because they are not really involved in our inactive daily life they may become weak.
When we are standing, sitting, laying and walking we really don’t use the gluteus maximus, the largest gluteus muscle. You have to walk actively taking long steps to active them.
Due to our inactive lifestyle and our inactive gluteus muscles our hip flexors, back muscles, and hamstrings have to take a lot of the stress. Which could give you back pain. 

Advantages with a strong a bottom:
You get a better posture
You engage your gluteus muscles in combination with your pelvic when you are active.

You will look after your back

In a proper lift we should use legs and gluteus. If these muscles are weak, we will put a lot of the stress on the back muscles.

You support the spine
When we walk, run, jump, climb and so forth, a lot of pressure is put on the back. If your gluteus and legs are strong they will support the spine.

You get more energy
There is nothing more tiring then walking around with a sore back. If you have a strong and healthy back you don’t get as tired and daily life will be easier.
So start using squats and lunges in your training sessions and you will not only feel how good your cloths fit but also how much easier daily activities gets.

Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au

Tuesday 6 December 2011

Hej (swedish for hello) and Good Morning,


Life doesn’t always follow the smooth run that we expect it to!

Sometime life takes a totally different turn to what we are expecting and daily life might feel like a struggle or you might be so stressed at work that daily life might feel hard and that last thing you can think of is exercise.

I know how it feels, but I have also realized that exercise helps me through these times. It takes me from the feeling of that everything is hopeless to a state of mind where I feel – I’m strong, I can do this and no one has the right to make me feel bad.

Exercise is a powerful tool when it comes to the connection between body and mind; exercise not only makes us smarter; it also makes us less stressed, depressed and anxious.

When you exercise you body produces endorphins, which are considered stress hormones – there are forty of types of them, with receptors throughout the brain and the body – that calm the brain and relieve the muscle pain during strenuous exercise. The theory that exercise fills your brain with this morphine like substance matched the good feeling people get after exercise.

Aside from elevating the endorphins, exercise regulates all of the neurotransmitters targeted by antidepressants. It elevates levels of norepinephrine, which wakes up the brain and gets it going and improves self-esteem. Exercise also booster dopamine, which improves mood and feelings of wellness and jump start the attention system.

I’m sure that most of you have experienced the sense of – I have to go for walk when you feel upset- , that’s the bodies’ way of helping you coupe with the situation.

Of course we all have time when we really couldn’t be bothered doing exercises, and that’s fine we all deserve a bit of “Today I don’t feel like doing anything….” , but it is important that we take responsibility for our health and how the lifestyle can assist us with that.
So even though you sometimes don't feel like doing a hard exercise session, try to go for a walk and make the body move and get those "good feeling" hormones kicking in!


Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au




Sunday 4 December 2011

Good evening,




Being a Swede we still hold on to the Swedish Christmas traditions. So today being the second of advent I have made the special spiecy gingerbreads. I know; now you think that sounds sweat and not very healthy, and you are so right - heaps of suger and butter, but it is Christmas season and a special occasion so if we don't over do it  we can still enjoy Christmas specials.

I will contiune my normal training routines throughout the season, and up til Christmas I'll have our normal healthy menues planned on Monday through Thursday. This way I don't have worry about some Christmas parties here and there.

Enjoy the wonderful Christmas season and stay tune for more health and fitness news.

Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au

Friday 2 December 2011




Fitness should be all about a healthy body not model looking bodies!!!

We are constantly fed by media about celebrities diets and training for the perfect body, but is that really the focus we should have? I admit I don’t mind having a fit body that looks athletic but most of all I want my body to be healthy.

Being skinny is not being fit. You can have a skinny body, but an unhealthy inside. You can have weak muscles and bad joints and not be able to move or function well.

Being at a good weight is part of being fit. But it’s not everything. It also means that your muscles and joints are fit and healthy, you can walk, run, jump, climb, bend over, etc. It means you can lift your own groceries, tie your shoes and run after your children or grand children.

You can get slim by not eating anything but that is not healthy, but you can’t be fit by doing nothing.

It’s all about the balance!

If the gap between meals is too long your body gets too hungry. This is the reason people overeat at their next meal. That’s why it’s important to carry a healthy snack in your bag so that you aren’t starving by the time your next meal comes around. This way you keep supplying your body with energy throughout the day. A lot of people feel it is hard to keep track of your eating habits when you are working. But it’s not! It is as easy as carrying a fruit in your bag or bringing a home-cooked meal for lunch instead of eating out.

So, after we have the meals under control what should we do for the muscles and joints?

As you have heard so many times before it’s all about mixing cardio and weight training.

Whatever form of cardio you prefer, it can be swimming, zumba, running or walking you need to do weight training as well. Weight training is important because it tones your body. Weight training does not mean that you will have big bulging muscles. In fact, it is important for everyone since it helps tone lean muscles and helps make bones stronger.  Lean muscles are calorie-burning machines and it will make your metabolism soar. Cardio is important for your heart. But, cardio is not enough on its own. Neither is weight training. You have to do both to become fit!!

Getting my heart pumping, my muscles working, my lungs out of breath, and some sweat dripping just makes me feel so alive. The numbers on the scale and the size jeans I wear are just markers, indicators; icing on the cake, actually.

And that’s what a healthy body is all about!!!!!

Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au

Wednesday 30 November 2011


Hej!!(Swedish for hello),
We are already into December, I can't believe it!  Very soon everyone will join in all these crazy Christmas Parties, but don't forget about your health and fitness. There is no reason for not doing your training just because you are going to a Christmas Party later on in the day.

On top of all the Christmas Parties that divert us from our normal eating and fitness routines, we are stressed about getting everything ready for Christmas.

Don't let your emotions and stress ruin your holiday season.  Keep your dinner menus and training planning and there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to stay fit and healthy over the busy seasons leading up to Christmas.

After my normal breakfast (the oats and fruit as you saw the other day) I did a cross-fit training session, something different to what I normally do. Really fun and hard work!! After that I was ready for some sessions with clients. For lunch I had a nice red lentils soup, (recipe as below);
Red lentils soup                                 
4 servings

2 tsp oil                                                                
2 yellow onions
3 dl red lentils
1 tsp curry
4 carrots
1 tsp vegetable stock
1,3 l water

Salt
Pepper

Method

1. Peal and cut the carrots and the onions fine. Heat the oil and fry the

carrots and the onions together with the curry.
2.  Rinse the lentils and add them to the mixture.
3.  Add the water and the stock, and cook for about 10 minutes o
until the lentils are soft.
4.  Season with salt and pepper. Puree soup in a blender.
Reheat soup.

For dinner we will have burritos.


Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au

Monday 28 November 2011


Is there a best time of day to exercise?
After the children got older and I went back to work I always do my training in the morning, either before breakfast or after. This works best for me now because of family commitments and work. Even though I like sleeping-in, I am managing my biological clock by setting the alarm and got the body used to the early morning training sessions.
One of the top reasons people give for not exercising regularly is lack of time. For many people the best time to exercise is the time that is most convenient and the time that fits into a busy schedule.
Research on exercise and the time of day is growing, but still limited. In general, if you can find a time for exercise that you can stick with consistently, you will be much more likely to train regularly and get better results.
Human sleep and wake cycles follow a daily cycle called circadian rhythms. It's this cycle that regulates our body temperature, blood pressure, alertness and metabolism, among other physiological functions. In general, these rhythms conform to our 24-hour day but may be reset due to your work and family environment. Research by the University of North Texas found that although circadian rhythms are inborn we can reset them based upon our behaviors. For example, using an alarm clock, establishing meal times, and even when we workout are all ways to help rest our rhythms. They found that people who consistently exercised in the morning "teach" their body to be most ready for exercise at that time of day. When they switched to evening exercise they didn't feel as strong and not as motivated.


Some people are just naturally morning people. They have no trouble exercising fist thing in the morning. Others don't get moving so quickly and are more likely to feel like exercising later in the day. If you have such an obvious preference it's pretty easy to decide what sort of exercise schedule you might stick with. The interesting thing is that research shows that no matter when you think you are better able to exercise almost all of us are physically stronger and have more endurance in the late afternoon.


But most importantly, if we are not training for the Olympic Games, whatever time during the day you can do your training and stick to it that’s when you are going to do your training.


While there is specific research being conducted on this topic, unfortunately the answer to the question, "What is the best time for exercise?" varies based upon the specific question you ask, your training goals, your work commitment, family commitment, but they do have some conclusions:
·         Morning Exercisers Are More Consistent
Even though afternoon exercise might be optimal from a physiological standpoint, research also shows that morning exercisers are more likely to stick to it than late-day athletes.
·         Evening Exercise and Sleep
Does exercising too late in the evening keep you up? Studies have shown improvements in sleep from both morning and afternoon exercise, so it's not yet clear if evening exercise keeps you up. Most research supports the idea that exercise can improve sleep quality, and again it all depends on how your body works. If you can do a moderate intensity training session and then go to bed and have a good night sleep, great go for it!



The good news is that you get to decide the best time for you to exercise based upon your personal goals, schedule and lifestyle. Ideally, you will pick a time that you are able to stick with consistently and make part of your daily or weekly schedule.

Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au


Saturday 26 November 2011


How to be happier

We know from research that exercise improve moods and get us that kick of endorphin that makes us feel good and happy. Exercise is the single most popular tool we have to optimize our brain function....exercise not only makes us smarter; it also makes us less stressed, depressed and anxious. It increases brain-cell production in the hippocampus; the brain's center for memory and learning, and boosts norepinephrine and dopamine.
But research also shows that there are some behaviours associated with life satisfaction and optimal wellbeing. We have to work on these behaviours and make our self happy, and not think it's just going to happened or I can't be happy if I don't change my whole life.
Think about this:
  • practicing acts of kindness towards others – both in your existing social circle and outside of it.
  • devoting time to nurturing and enjoying relationships with family and friends.
  • practicing optimism when thinking about the future.
  • focusing on what you do well rather than your mistakes when you approach a new task.
  • learning forgiveness.
  • spending periods of time being "mindful" – focusing on the "here and now" rather than planning or worrying about your future.
The good life is here for us but we have to preseve it and work on it.
Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au


This is funny, but unfortunately this is what it all comes down to.
We develop the technology to help us and make life easier and more fun, but we are killing our bodies.
10 years ago we had to get up from the couch and change channels, we had to get out of the car to open the garage door, we would walk to the colleague to ask them to go for a coffee, the kids walked to school and now we don’t even have to walk to the video shop - we download the film to our computers.
We are slowly killing our bodies and brains by not moving enough. 
What would you rather have a flat screen and a big belly or a flat screen and a flat stomach, the choice is yours!

Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

Thursday 24 November 2011


This was my breakfast today! A great mix of muslie, nuts, Special K and fruit, which will keep me going nicely until lunch.


Part of a good breakfast, and of course all other meals, is that you take your time eating. Set aside 15 minutes at the table, sit down and enjoy your food.  Enjoy the taste, don’t stress and give your body time to get the feeling of fullness.


Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au


Monday 21 November 2011


Don't know what to cook tonight? Try this!!!

Salmon Lasagna

Ingredients (serves 5)

  • 500g smoked salmon
  • 1 big bunch dill
  • Enough lasagna noodles to make four layers in a baking pan

Béchamel Sauce

·         2 cups milk                                                                      
·         ¼ cup unsalted butter
·         ¼ cup unbleached flour
·         ½  cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

·         ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, sprinkle on top

Method


Béchamel sauce

1.    Melt the unsalted butter with the flour over low heat.  Stir rapidly. Cook this for 1 minute and remove from heat.

2.    Slowly add the milk to the mixture, constantly stirring into a thick sauce.

3.      Season with some sea salt, and continue stirring until the right consistency has developed. Remove from heat and add Parmesan.
 

Lasagna

Preheat oven to 225C. Cover the bottom of the dish with salmon, and cover the salmon with dill, then a third of the béchamel sauce.  Put a layer of lasagna down. Repeat two more times. Top with a final layer lasagna sheets of and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au