Our core is really our core

 

The last 10 years or so “the core”  has been on every Personal Trainers “need to include”-list. You may know that your core is somewhere in the middle of your body,and that it is pretty important for you to be able to stand up. But many of us see “the core” as the “six-pack”, and don’t realize how many muscles are part of the core and how important they all are in functional movments. The major core muscles also stabilize the thorax and the pelvis during dynamic movements and it also provides internal pressure to expel substances (vomit, feces, carbon-laden air etc.).

Major muscles included are the pelvic floor muscles, which provides support to hold the pelvis and addominal organs in place, transversus abdominis wraps around your torso like a big belt and draws the abdomen in and stabilizes the spine. Retus abdominis are your “six-pack” muscles that runs from your sternum to your pelvlic bone and assists your body in bending back and standing up. Some of your back muscles are considered as part of the core since they support your abs while sitting and bending.

Along the side of your torso you have external and internal obliques, the internal runs from your hips towards your sternum and ribs. The external obliques run from your ribs towards your hips, and they stabilize the abdomen and assist with breathing. They are also important muscles for twisting and bending side to side.

Strong core muscles makes everyday life easier, everything from bending down to tie your shoes, getting a cup from the shelf to walking up the stairs. Weak core muscles leave you more susceptible to injuries, poor posture and back problems.

I hope this gave you a bit more understanding why it is so important to include different ab exercises in your exercise routine and not only do 100 sit-up per day.

 Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

 

No one is perfect but that doesn’t mean we can’t love ourselves!

Perfect is such a strong word with too many expectations connected to it.  The dictionary definition of perfect is “without faults: without errors, flaws, or faults”, and no one will fall into that category but everyone is perfect in their own way.

Our lives are stressful enough without the pressure of having to do everything perfectly; we are suppose to have great career, be a fantastic partner, exercise, eat healthy and look like twenty forever. This need for perfection drives people to extreme measures to get there and this often causes more harm than good.

We work too many hours per week to stay on top of things, we often focus only on those around us forgetting to put ourselves first occasionally, we fall for the latest fad trends in exercising (20 sec training per week, the 30 sec “abtwister”, or even no exercise at all), we have ‘healthy’ precooked meals delivered home and we have Botox, liposuction and all kinds of implants, just to live up to what we believe is expected of ourselves.

Aiming to be perfect is not only unrealistic but also a waste of the person we are, we need to start to appreciate who we are and what we already have. So how did we get to this distorted way of looking at ourselves? A lot of it comes from media that really pushes the way we should live and look. We are the role model for our children and the younger generation and we all know that “kids don’t do what they’re told, they do what they see”. If they see us treating our bodies like something we will constantly replace parts of, instead of seeing us looking after it and treating it like a valuable entity, they will do exactly the same thing to their bodies, and we will have generation after generations harboring bad self-esteem and unhealthy bodies.

Over doing something; over-eating, over consuming alcohol, over exercising even over eating healthy is a sign that the body and mind are out of balance.

We need to bring back appreciation and self love for ourselves and our bodies before we all “hit the wall” not just from over working but from trying to be “over” prefect. It takes courage to admit that you love yourself, but in order to love and care for others we first need to love and care for ourselves. 

 I would love to live until I’m 100, but when that day comes along I would like to be able to say –This is pure me, with my wrinkles and my old look but I’m proud to be fit, healthy and look like the 100 year old lady that I am.

8 ways to become the person you truly love and are proud of (with all its wrinkles, a bit of love handles and even too big ears and too small breasts);

·         Simplify exercise; go for a run, use body weight exercises, use free weight (you don’t have to rush off to a gym or jump on the newest super trendy fitness classes)

·         Leave the car and start walking

·         Cook at home with fresh products

·         Don’t compare yourself with others

·         Say NO, think about yourself and be the one that makes your own decisions

·         Appreciate your wrinkles and your aging body as wisdom from life

·         Don’t take short cuts; fitness and health is lifestyle not a week long diet or quick nip and tuck.

·         Be proud of how YOU, yourself, can change and keep your body healthy

We shouldn’t regret growing old, its privilege a lot of people don’t get.

 Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

You have to try this, a lovely soup and so easy to make. It is getting close to my favorite soup.

Chicken soup with curry

Serves 4

Ingredients

6 dl water

1 chicken stock cube

2 breast chicken fillets

1 garlic clove

1 red capsicum

400 gr coconut milk

100gr mushrooms

2 tsp red curry paste

Juice from 1 lime

Methods

Let the water come to a boil and add the chicken stock. Sear the chicken in a frying pan with the garlic. Slice the chicken into fine slices and add to the water. Simmer for about 3-5 min. Slice the capsicum and mushrooms finely and add to the water and chicken. Add coconut milk, curry paste and lime juice and simmer for another 3-5 min.

Enjoy with a nice piece of bread!

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

 

Great news, I’m so excited my first blog post at MindBodyGreen has just been published on:    http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12679/10-rules-i-live-by-for-gorgeous-skin-vibrant-health.html.

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

What has happened to common sense? Who told us that we shouldn’t walk to the shops, work or school? Who told us that food in a can is better for us that something freshly made? No one!!!! We have changed our lifestyle due to society changing, forcing us to believe that fast food, readymade food, prepared food is what we need because we don’t have time to cook with fresh products. 

We are so good at making excuses not to move, so I think we might end up back in the monkey stage with arms hanging low down in front of us with rounded backs and no bottoms.  

Anyway, back to the food issue. We complain about our weight, love handles, the big belly and yet most of the time you’ll hear – "I do everything right and still don’t lose weight". Well, my believes are that we are too depended on pre-cooked food that we have forgotten how easy it can be to cook healthy food.

By using pre-cooked and processed food you add so many “hidden” calories it can actually be hard keeping or losing weight.

Making a salad and put some fish or chicken on the barbeque will not take more than 10-15 minutes, and then finishing up the meal with fresh fruit and you will have a perfectly balanced meal in not time.

I have done some comparison in regards to price and calories for you to consider, a big Mac meal for four from McDonald includes; 2 big Macs, 1 cheeseburger, 1 6-pack chicken nuggets, 2 medium fries, 2 medium cokes, 2 small cokes, costs $27.90 and will give each person about 900 calories.

A cooked dinner at home with chicken (a fresh whole), potatoes and salad will cost you (including cooking ingredients) $13.78 for four and you will save about 260 calories per meals compared to a McDonald’s meal.

So start planning you meals, shop accordingly, and don’t use pre-cooked and processed food, or the microwave oven, and your body will thank you by keeping and adjusting to a healthy weight.
 Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

 

I made fish soufflé tonight. A perfect dinner for leftover fish or you can even buy fresh fish and boil it before use. The preparation is not long and when you have it in the oven you are done in the kitchen.

I usually serve it with steamed vegetables like peas, broccoli and cauliflower.

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

1 cup milk

1 tsp salt

Pepper (to taste)

1 cup+ steamed fish (I usually use white fish but you can use salmon too)

3 eggs, separated

Methods

• Melt butter in a small sauce pan.
• Add flour, milk, salt and pepper.
• Boil until thick and the remove from heat, and add the egg yolks one at the time.
• Beat the egg whites until stiff and mix carefully with butter mixture and the fish.
• Pour the mixture into a greased and breadcrumbs covered deep baking dish.
• Bake at 200 for about 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy a beautiful healthy and nice dinner!
 

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

 

 

Life is not always easy.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if life could always be “a dance on the roses ” (Swedish saying), but it isn’t.  We get tired, frustrated at work, fight with our partners, get angry with the kids, feeling that our families are overwhelming and sometimes you act in a way that you wish you hadn’t but at all these moments life was just too much.

You know this is life, and we have to make the best of it! We try our hardest most of the time to make our life just the way we dream of it to be.

So what can we do when we feel like throwing in the towel and crawl into bed and pull the cover right up over our heads.

You have a choice. Happiness is nothing you can buy in the store, you need to feel it and want it. So are you ready to look at those moments when everything seems too much, and learn from them to make the best of the situation?

I have those moments when everything seems too much and there is no way I can look at life and enjoy it. That’s when I dig into my “happy toolbox” and use tool by tool to fix the problem.

Find something positive about the situation

You want to be happy

You are worth being happy

You are strong enough

You decide over your happiness

Don’t try to change everyone else, but make sure to let them know that you want them in your life

Shake it off and do something that makes you happy

Write down goals and things you want in your life

I have given you a few of my tools from my toolbox, and I hope some of them or maybe all of them can be of help to you when you want to change a ordinary day into a fantastic day you can remember for a long time.

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au