Humans are built to be upright for most of the day, but modern lifestyles find us seated for longer periods than ever before. In the past we used to stand up for most things, whether it was for work, going to the shops, the bank or connecting with friends. Today most things can be done from a seated position, it’s considered a technological advancement. But it’s definitely not been an advancement for health.  Prolonged sitting causes issues in five areas.  
 
The first is that it compromises your structural stability.  Sitting can weaken your glutes and cause your hip flexors to shorten. This can contribute to back pain, particularly if your sitting position isn’t optimal. Sitting puts stress on all your postural muscles. If you don’t have adequate muscle tone to support you then your body can adapt to slumped stance as it’s new normal. This can create neck tension and contribute to headaches.

The second peril created by prolonged sitting is the risk of chronic health conditions. Sitting down compresses your organs and slows circulation. It’s associated with a greater incidence of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Standing up even briefly gets your circulation going and takes the pressure off your organs, muscles and joints. As your body decompresses the circulation can return and vital functions can resume.

Prolonged sitting can also cause blood pooling in your legs. This can lead to spider veins or more serious varicose veins. In rare cases, problems with veins can develop into blood clots or deep vein thrombosis. This risk is greater when on a plane due to the more cramped conditions and dryer cabin air. Most vein issues have a hereditary component so if a family member has had an issue then it’s particularly important to be vigilant about regular movement.  
 
The forth health consequence of prolonged sitting is weight gain. It’s obvious that if you’re at your desk you aren’t burning calories (you’re probably consuming them). But sitting is also slowing your metabolic rate and reducing the efficiency of your digestion. The best case scenario is that you’ll metabolize fat less efficiently. The worst case scenario is the risk of metabolic syndrome. This is a cluster of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes, promoting weight gain around your middle.
 
In addition to your physical health, prolonged sitting can affect your brain. Robust mental health is largely dependent on the appropriate release of happy hormones. Good circulation is required for these systems to operate effectively. In addition to this, when your brain isn’t receiving oxygen your cognitive capacity decreases. When you don’t have time to stand up for a few minutes that’s the exact time you need to stand up for a few minutes.
 
Regular exercise has an important role to play in mitigating some of the risks associated with prolonged sitting. But driving to the gym a couple of times a week doesn’t entirely solve the problem. Inappropriate exercise can overload a structurally unstable body, making you vulnerable to injury and illness. You can still have a strong, healthy body if you have a sedentary job. But it requires movement a little and often, plus a targeted exercise regime that stretches areas of tightness and strengthens areas of weakness.
 
The human body is an amazing machine capable of extraordinary resilience. Investing the time in keeping it moving can help protect your functionality, vitality and good health.

Many people kick off their new fitness regime in their tired old trainers. They figure they’ll consider investing more in footwear if they adhere to the exercise. But unfortunately wearing the wrong footwear means your muscles need to compensate in unnatural ways. This can cause pain and create injuries from shin splints all the way up to lower back pain. Faulty footwear can derail your entire regime before it even gets off the ground.    

If you’re in the market for new shoes don’t worry about what anyone else is wearing – their needs may be very different to yours. The best shoe for you will depend on things like whether you’re an under-pronator, an over-pronator and how high your arches are.

It’s certainly tempting to pop into a big-brand shoe barn and choose the prettiest shoes but they are unlikely to be fit for purpose. Running shoes probably won’t provide the lateral support you need for a Combat or Attack class. Many people are reluctant to have multiple pairs of shoes for multiple purposes but it’s not as wasteful as it sounds. Each pair of shoes has a certain number of “wears” in it, after which the soles are worn out and don’t give you the same support. For example, most running specialists recommend that running shoes be replaced every 400 to 500 miles. So if you own three different pairs of shoes then it will be three times longer before you’re back at the shoe shop. The best way to choose the optimal shoe is to get a full gait analysis done, or at least visit a specialty shoe store to be fitted by an expert. It can be helpful to take your existing shoes to your fitting. The way the soles are worn will provide clues to your foot posture. Taking shoe short cuts is likely to compromise your outcomes. If you’re lucky you’ll end up with multiple pairs of unusable shoes. If you’re unlucky you’ll find yourself injured at the physio, spending far more time and money than you ever would have spent on the right shoes.

If you don’t have the budget for new shoes then consider avoiding heavy impact activities until you do.  If you’re new to exercise it’s likely you’ll be able to make good progress towards your goals without needing impact activities in the short term. Save those activities for when you need to dial up your workouts and your budget permits you to step up your footwear.   

Exercise should improve your structural stability and quality of life. Don’t let choice of shoe undo you. Make the investment and enjoy the results. 

I’ve written about the importance of sleep for weight management and general wellbeing. But getting enough sleep can be easier said than done.  Here are five handy ways to pack more rest into your life.  

Number one is set a weekday bedtime that’s appropriate for your nature and your household. Then structure your habits to adhere to it most days.   It doesn’t mean you’ll always hit it but at least you know what it is!

Number two is to get organized to get to bed at the planned time. It’s very easy to become too tired to go to bed and stay up in front of a screen or a fridge.  Start to close down your house and life early in the day so that you don’t get too tired to begin your bedtime routine. As early as 5pm start to lock up the house, send final emails and lay out clothes for tomorrow.    You can even get into your pajamas and take out your contact lenses if that helps speed up the process later.

Number three is give yourself some reasonable daily deadlines for the final stimulant of the day, whether it’s work, screens or sustenance. Working hard all the way to bedtime interrupts the body’s natural circadian rhythms. Artificial light from devices such as ipads, phones and computers suppresses the release of melatonin, the sleep-promoting hormone. Add in stimulants like caffeine and carbs and you’ll find yourself tired, wired and more likely to repeat the cycle again tomorrow. Set a daily deadline for the last time you’ll see a screen or a snack!  As the day ticks past this checkpoint your body and mind will learn to shut down.    

Number four is manage your sleeping environment – keep your room tidy, temperate and free of artificial lights. Invest in linen you like and a book you enjoy.  You deserve a peaceful end to your busy day.  

Number five is to measure your sleep. Use a Sleep Cycle App to check you’re meeting your goals.   Greater awareness will help you make the changes you need to get the results you want.  

Sometimes sleep deprivation is unavoidable for periods of time, but often a late bedtime is just a bad habit. Sleep is the body’s time for repair and rejuvenation. It’s not just about weight management – healthy sleep habits are one of the most important things you can do for your wellbeing.    

Term four is over and it's time for summer break! A big change in routine is a great opportunity to implement new healthy habits.  Kids are notoriously quick to adopt expectations and painfully slow to let them go! What happens in the first 6 days of the holiday will likely set the tone for the whole 6 weeks.  Habits such as eating cocoa pops in front of the TV every morning will fast become the norm and any deviation will be considered a rude imposition.

Start as you mean to continue! Kids enjoy a lot of festive treats at this time of year so it’s a good idea to cut back on treats at ordinary meals. If you are not out celebrating it’s healthier for kids to expect snacks such as fresh summer produce and protein-packed options such as cheese, nuts and natural yoghurt. This takes a bit of shopping and planning but it’s well worth it to improve the snacking habits of the whole family.  It’s easy to neglect family mealtimes in the term-time chaos of extra-curricular activities and homework. If your family isn’t very good at sitting down to an evening meal together now’s a great time to start the habit. Your children might be ready to learn some new skills. Most primary school aged children enjoy being involved and will take pride in assembling a salad, setting the table and pouring the water.  The time you spend on teaching will pay dividends in term 1 of next year when you have confident little helpers to share the load.  

It’s a good idea to limit screen time over the holidays and an even better idea to provide active alternatives. Buy Christmas presents that promote outdoor activity.  It doesn’t need to be a bike or a trampoline, most kids enjoy balls, skipping ropes and chalk for some hopscotch. Plan fun outdoor activities to build family fitness.  There are lots of great walks and bike rides to try out or you can make up your own adventure. Last summer my friend took our children on a wonderful “Ten Slide Challenge” where they spent a day sampling playgrounds around Auckland, taking photos at each. The best inspiration for activities often comes from like-minded friends.  When you’re on the look-out for active adventures you’ll find that fun ideas pop up all the time. 

Don’t let unhealthy habits develop by default when the school holidays start. Give some thought to what you’d like family life to look like, then implement the building blocks for a happy healthy summer.   

Most people begin an exercise regime to control their weight or combat a health condition.  But exercise also improves your brain function. Physical activity increases blood flow to the whole body, including your brain. The greater the blood flow, the faster oxygen and other important nutrients can get where they need to be.  This promotes your brain’s ability to adapt and grow new brain cells regardless of your age.    
When cognitive function is improved so is quality of life. Being alert, attentive and thinking clearly help you to perform at a higher level and get things done faster and better.    The time you spend exercising is made up for in greater efficiency and effectiveness for the rest of the day.   

The hippocampus, the brain area closely linked to learning and memory, is especially receptive to new neuron growth in response to exercise.  After the age of 70 the size of the hippocampus shrinks by around one to three percent a year. Studies have shown that engaging in regular exercise can curb this shrinkage, meaning that active people stay sharper for longer.   Exercise has also been proven to delay the onset of Alzheimers for people at risk, and it can slow the progress of the disease. 

Improving blood flow to the brain is just one of the many ways exercise supports cognitive function.    Stress is a major inhibitor of clear thinking and exercise is a constructive way to manage it. Exercise moderates the negative effects of stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. Over-secretion of these hormones affects all parts of the brain, in particular the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. The effect of stress on the hippocampus explains why you can be forgetful when you’re under prolonged pressure.   Intense stress does more than just distract you from important tasks, it actually damages your memory too.  Excessive stress hormones also hamper the work of the prefrontal cortex. This is the part of the brain responsible for judgment, understanding and impulse control. It’s another area of the brain you really want blood flow getting to!  

Exercise is just as good for your brain as it is for your body. It seems that the smart people are exercising and the exercising people are smarter, not to mention happier.    

Most of my pregnant clients tell me they will be back training with me within three or four weeks of the birth. It’s not a good idea to correct a pregnant woman but I have yet to see this actually happen!   When I had my first daughter I too was inspired by media images of effortlessly svelte pregnant women out jogging with the buggy.   Having exercised dutifully through the pregnancy I was quietly confident this would be me. I found the reality of having a baby quite different!

The first three months of a baby’s life is often called the 4th trimester. It can be helpful to see the phase as an extension of the pregnancy rather than a time to return to pre-pregnancy form.   Recovery is about building a platform of health and vitality to advance from in later weeks. There will be some weight loss but it’s normal to continue to look pregnant for a few weeks as the uterus takes time to contract back to normal size.   The amount of weight you lose in the recovery phase will depend on your genetics, your condition pre-pregnancy and activity during the pregnancy.    

The first few months is not a time to worry about weight loss. It’s an overwhelming period of learning new skills, new emotions and coming to terms with a new identity.   Being tired and under pressure can affect the hormones and habits that affect weight gain – check out my posts on how sleep deprivation and stress can affect appetite and fat storage.  

When your baby is little it may be that resting is the most effective weight loss strategy. If you exercise when you don’t feel up to it you may stimulate stress hormones rather than happy hormones.    This can lead to emotional eating and compromised milk supply.   If you get to 4pm with coffee and chocolate on board and your milk supply is lagging you will find that baby is tired, wired and hungry.    This can mean a broken night of sleep ahead and even more difficulty the following day.   

If you are serious about weight loss in the early weeks the most sensible thing you can focus on is treat control.    This can be a challenge when well-meaning visitors press treat foods on you, insisting that you need the calories for breastfeeding. It’s true that you need an extra 200 to 500 calories a day but these should be nutrient-dense foods that promote milk supply. Treats are good for the soul but if you want to lose baby weight moderation is important.

When you feel you’ve settled into a routine and have your foundation habits in place you may be ready to return to a structured exercise program. Get clearance from your LMC and check out my article on how to rebuild your body after pregnancy.

I love all of my clients but I must admit my pregnant clients are particularly special.  I really enjoyed having a personal trainer through my two pregnancies and it’s lovely to accompany other women down that path.   

Staying active and mobile during pregnancy has many positive aspects for baby and Mum. It’s no time to be confined to the couch, the latest guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists urge all healthy pregnant women to take up some form of exercise even if they have previously been inactive.  

The first main benefit is a healthy pregnancy. Studies have shown that women who exercise during pregnancy are more likely to have healthier weight gain, reduced risk of gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia, shorter labour and a faster recovery.    

The second benefit is a more comfortable pregnancy. Nobody tells you in advance that pregnancy is so much more than a bump, it’s a whole pile of discomforts!   Staying active and keeping within a healthy weight range addresses the muscle imbalances and structural changes. These contribute to lower back pain during pregnancy and cause issues after pregnancy.   Staying strong and active reduces the risk of back pain that plagues many pregnancies. Exercise can also help digestive health which can become a challenge as you grow.  

The third benefit is a healthy baby. Exercise in pregnancy provides the child with long term health advantages in terms of body composition. You can positively affect your child’s metabolic rate for the rest of their life or curse them with a lifelong difficulty in maintaining a healthy weight.  

The forth benefit is the ability to return to healthy weight range after pregnancy. At the time of our lives we’re having children we’re already becoming vulnerable to weight gain because of the age-related reduction in lean muscle mass reducing metabolic rate. Lean muscle mass inevitably reduces further during pregnancy.  Even if you’re fit you’ll need to slow down a little as the body directs it’s resources into growing a little human.     

As well as the physical benefits of keeping active there are lots of psychological benefits. Pregnancy is  a time of change and transition which can be unsettling. Keeping up fitness and strength improves confidence and the endorphins lift your mood.

The benefits of being fit in pregnancy are so well recognized that increasing numbers of clients are coming to me prior to being pregnant, wanting to be fit at the front end.   Check out my tips on how to exercise safely through pregnancy.