Helen asked: I’m 6 months pregnant and feeling in the worst shape of my life! I was very active before falling pregnant.. going to gym and power walking, but I’m worried about exercising for obvious reasons. Can anyone recommend some light exercises I can do that will keep me in shape? Baby is due in Summer and I like the idea of being a yummy mummy!

Answer…

For most women it is absolutely fine to continue exercising during pregnancy, however please ensure you consult your medical professional if you have any concerns, pain, bleeding, previous miscarriages, high blood pressure etc.

Sliding down the wall.  This is great for your legs and your bottom muscles, but avoid it if you have knee problems.  Stand with your back and bottom against a wall.  Make sure your feet are hip width apart and about 50 cm away from the wall.  Starting with a small movement, bend your knees to slide down the wall.  Squeeze the bottom muscles and then slide your body back up the wall by straightening the legs.  Repeat this up to 8 times.  Make sure your back doesn’t arch as you move and keep your heels on the floor.

Cat stretch.  This will work the upper body as well as allow you to enjoy some movement in your spine.  Take yourself onto hands and knees, hands beneath shoulders, making sure the elbows stay soft, and knees below hips.  Tilt your pelvis as if you were putting your tail between your legs and then gently round the back up towards the ceiling bringing your head forwards to look at your knees.  Return to your start position, making sure you keep your shoulders away from your ears.  Repeat up to 4 times. 

Please avoid any sit ups while you are pregnant and after the birth until your midwife has said that it is okay for you – they won’t flatten your tummy.  Instead, practise your pelvic floor exercises at frequent intervals.

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.

Julia Crossman is a Body Control Pilates trained Pilates instructor who is qualified to teach Reformer – a specialised piece of equipment. She is also a supervising teacher for the Body Control Pilates teacher training course.

Ask Julia about: Pilates Techniques, Pregnancy Pilates, Posture & Alignment, Core Exercises, Lumbar and Pelvic Stability, Pelvic Floor Exercise.

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Russ asked: I need some advice on trying to build up my abs. I’m on holiday in 8 weeks and my aim is to have a six pack. I currently go to the gym 3 evenings a week and do a variety of crunches. I also run 3 times a weeks for about 30 to 40 minutes.

Answer…

Abdominal definition will only really show if you have a body fat percentage of less than 12%. No amount of crunches will ’spot reduce’ on your abdominal area if this is not the case. 

Assuming you have a low body fat percentage then 8 weeks in enough time to sculpt visible abs. My major advice when training your abdominals is not to treat it differently from any other muscle in the body. When most people work their biceps they lift a heavy resistance for a maximum of 15 reps but when it comes to crunches they do 100’s of reps.

They will grow like any other muscle in the body by following the principle of progressive overload.  Add resistance to your ab exercises and if you can do more the 15 reps, it’s too easy so make it harder! 

Try also to get away from crunches, they are easy and boring. Look into using a pull up bar for leg raises & twists and use a kettlebell to challenge your abs with some more demanding exercises. 

Good luck!

Alan Cook is a REPs level 3 personal trainer, triathlete and endurance expert.  Alan became an ‘Ironman’ in August 09 and is now training for the China Ironman in March and French Ironman in June 2010.

Ask Alan about: Cardio Fitness, Endurance Training, Core Training, Sports Conditioning, Agility Training, Muscle Growth, Weight Loss.

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Jim asked: Hi, I was just reading the post about coffee and it got me thinking about whether eggs are good or bad. There’s so much conflicting advice about how many you should eat a day/week so could someone advise? I try to eat a lot of eggs for protein so is it a good idea to remove the yolks?

Answer…

This is a good question. You are so right about all the conflicting advice that we read about eggs. It is generally the media that portray such conflicting advice but it is the scientific research on this subject which holds the answer.

We now know that dietary cholesterol contributes insignificantly to cholesterol levels in the blood and it is other factors that contribute to raised cholesterol levels.  There is a wealth of scientific evidence to confirm this now. Current research available on the whole supports the consumption of eggs. 

Nutrient value of battery eggs is questionable so stick to free range or organic. They are an excellent source of quality protein and the yolk is rich in Omega fats as well as minerals such as iron and zinc and vitamins such as Vitamin D, E, B12 and Folic Acid. So enjoy your eggs every day, especially the yolks!! 

Gwen Warren is a Nutritional Consultant and member of the British Association of Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy.  Gwen is also a corporate Health Promotion Consultant for Bupa and experienced lecturer.

Ask Gwen about: Nutrition, Nutritional Therapy, Sports Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Digestive Problems, Menopausal Symptoms & PMS, Chronic Fatigue.

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Paula asked: I have just started running after having my second child.  My goal is to run a 5km in the next couple of months and maybe a 10km sometime this year.  I haven’t done much running before so wondered if you’ve got any good running tips for someone starting out?

Answer…

Hi Paula.  The first thing you need to do – if you haven’t already – is buy a good pair of running shoes, preferably from a specialist running store where you can get professional advice on the best type of shoe for you.

If you have just started running your first goal is to run for 20 mins without stopping.  The key is to build up gradually over several weeks, with a combination of walking and jogging – 2 mins walk/1-min run intervals for a total of 20 mins is a good starting point.  Once you can run continuously for 20 mins you can concentrate on building up your running time and distance.

Aim to go out 3 times a week and avoid running on consecutive days – your body needs time to rest and recover in between sessions. If you do want to exercise on your rest days, opt for a lower-impact activity such as yoga, cycling, swimming or strength training.

Good luck!

Louise Graham has been a keen runner for 15 years and is a UK Athletics licensed running group leader.  In 2009 she set up mumswhorun, a women-only running group that promotes running as an ideal activity for women.

Ask Louise about: Running Fitness, Running for Beginners, Running Event Training, Running Gear, Running For Mums, Fitness For Mums.

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Jim asked: I’m interested to know what the latest health and nutrition research into coffee is.  I’ve read so many mixed reports.  Is it good or bad for you?  How many cups should I have a day?  Is it better to have decaff?

Answer…

When looking at research it’s always helpful to know who asked the question, all the positive research I’ve found about coffee drinking (there may be others I’ve missed which I’d certainly be interested in reading) has come from Vanderbilt University Institute of Coffee Studies.

This organisation states quite clearly on the home page of their website that their job is to look for benefits of coffee.  They are funded by coffee producing countries and grants from the corporate sector including such companies as Nestle and Starbucks.  Their website is www.vanderbilt.edu/ics/ if you want to find a reason to keep drinking the coffee!

On the flip side most independent research finds the exact opposite.  Research published in the American Journal of Psychiatry studied 1500 psychology students and found that moderate and high consumers of coffee were found to have higher levels of anxiety and depression than abstainers, and that the highest consumers had the greatest incidence of stress related medical problems, as well as lower academic performance.  A number of studies have shown that the ability to remember lists of words is made worse by caffeine so drinking coffee before work is likely to cause a poorer start to the day than otherwise.

Coffee makes you feel more energised and alert in the morning which is why most people get hooked on it. But does it really?  Dr Peter Rogers of Bristol University wondered if caffeine really did energise or whether it simply relieved the symptoms of withdrawal. When he did his research he found that coffee drinkers after drinking coffee don’t feel any better than non coffee drinkers they simply feel better than after they’ve woken up.

Decaffeinated coffee is not caffeine free and unless it is organic you are also subjecting your body to the chemicals used to leach the caffeine from the beans.

Caffeine is an addictive drug that can cause physical withdrawal symptoms for a few days if you stop suddenly.  However, drinking water can relieve this but if symptoms are particularly bad then a few drops under the tongue can relieve the symptoms without subjecting your digestive system to any negative effects.

How much, if any, to drink comes down to personal choice.  My recommendation generally, particularly in those with health issues, is to cut right down and maybe have the occasional cup as a treat after a meal out rather than a daily fix and to make sure they “pay” for it by drinking extra water. Personally I prefer any food substance to as least “mucked about” with as possible but if you do go for decaffeinated ensure it is organic.

Carole Batchelor has diplomas in Holistic Nutritional Therapy and Allergy Intolerance Therapy and  is qualified to Diagnostix level in Callahan Techniques Thought Field Therapy.  She is also a Grief Recovery Specialist.

Ask Carole about: Food Intolerance, Thought Field Therapy, Bloating, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Fatigue, Gall Bladder Problems, Grief, Anxiety, Stress.

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Adam asked: I took up running this year to help me get fit and lose about 3 stone.  Every time I head out running I’m fine for the first 5 to 10 minutes then I get a really bad burning sensation at the bottom of my calves.  It is so bad I have to stop and walk.  I used to run regularly for 40 to 50 minutes and have never had anything like this.  I dont think its my trainers as I’ve tried different ones and still get the pain.  Any suggestions or ideas?  Thanks.

Answer…

The most common cause of this kind of injury is strain of the achilles tendon or a muscle tear.  It is unusual for this to cause a burning pain however.  This implies irritation of the nerve(s) in the area.  Sometimes, as a muscle tear heals (muscles normally heal very quickly and quite easily because they have a relatively good blood supply) the scar tissue laid down binds to local nerves preventing them from moving freely between the soft tissues of the leg.  Henceforth, prolonged exercise such as running can produce a burning pain in the legs.  Specific stretching and deep tissue massage, provided it is not too vigorous (i.e. should not aggravate your symptoms), eventually resolves the condition. 

Other alternatives are vascular dysfunctions (probably very unlikely if you have been a relatively active person, how long was your break in running?). Another possibility is a bit of wear and tear in your back restricting nerve movement into your lower limbs.  Sometimes called intermittent claudication, this form of it is usually self limiting and settles with time.  If not physiotherapy helps. 

If it is both calves producing pain simultaneously, it is more likely to be caused by something more central, i.e. the back, and that is where I would want to assess first.  If this sounds most likely to you I would suggest seeing a physiotherapist so that you can get back to your running ASAP.

Hope this helps, get back to me if you have any further questions.

Paul Cremin is a physiotherapist with over 9 years practice experience.  He has a degree in Physiotherapy, a Masters degree in Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapy and a degree in Sports Science.

Ask Paul about: Lower Back Pain & Sciatica, Neck & Whiplash Injuries, Accidents & Sports injuries, Pelvic Pain & Knee Pain, Injury Rehabilitation.

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Tina Asked: I am 43 years old and very overweight. I haven’t exercised for a very long time but feel I need to start something to improve my fitness and lose weight. I am too scared to join a gym so a friend said I should try Pilates.  Is Pilates safe for someone of my size, about 5 stone overweight? Could you recommend some easy exercises for me to get started with at home?

Answer…

I teach men and women of all shapes and sizes so I see Pilates as a very safe form of exercise regardless of weight. 

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends resistance work as a great way for building lean body weight and Pilates includes many resistance exercises.  If you do have any worries though, it is advisable for you to discuss these with your general practitioner.

Why not try doing the knee fold exercise at home?  This is a great exercise for strengthening the postural muscles in your abdomen.  Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.  Lift your pelvic floor by gently tightening the muscles from the back passage round to the front passage and gently pull your naval towards your spine.  Try to lift one knee up towards your chest keeping your pelvis stable (i.e. moving it as little as possible).  Then lower the leg back down to the floor with control.  Repeat on the other side.  Do a total of eight on each leg.

Please remember that you should do some cardio exercise five days a week for 20 minutes.  This can be as simple as a brisk walk at lunchtime with friends or taking the stairs instead of the lift.

Good luck and let me know how you get on.

Julia Crossman is a Body Control Pilates trained Pilates instructor who is qualified to teach Reformer – a specialised piece of equipment. She is also a supervising teacher for the Body Control Pilates teacher training course.

Ask Julia about: Pilates Techniques, Pregnancy Pilates, Posture & Alignment, Core Exercises, Lumbar and Pelvic Stability, Pelvic Floor Exercise.

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Ali asked: I suffer badly with PMS. Are there any alterations I can make to my diet to help reduce the symptoms?

Answer…

PMS can be relieved very effectively by making some small changes to the diet. PMS is usually due to an imbalance in hormone production.

Consumption of refined sugar (in the form of confectionery, biscuits, cordials and sugary drinks, cereals, cereal bars, processed foods and chocolate) can significantly unbalance your hormones so cutting these foods out of your diet as much as possible (with the odd treat at weekends) has shown in clinical practice to greatly improve the symptoms of PMS. Try it for one month.

Also Magnesium and Vitamin B6 tend to work together to help relieve PMS.  Magnesium is natures tranquiliser and can help alleviate the cramping associated with PMS. Supplement with 300mg-500mg Magnesium per day. Dark green leafy vegetables and brazil nuts are rich in magnesium.  

The pains associated with PMS are a result of inflammation so you could also take a fish oil (omega 3) supplement which encourages the production of anti-inflammatory compounds in the body or you could use one tablespoon of cold pressed flaxseed oil every day over salads, in mash/soups etc.  Make sure you drink two litres of water every day to help alleviate any bloating from water retention as a result of PMS.  

Gwen Warren is a Nutritional Consultant and member of the British Association of Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy.  Gwen is also a corporate Health Promotion Consultant for Bupa and experienced lecturer.

Ask Gwen about: Nutrition, Nutritional Therapy, Sports Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Digestive Problems, Menopausal Symptoms & PMS, Chronic Fatigue.

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Lisa asked: Recently I’ve been experiencing some awful reactions when I eat certain foods. The strange thing is that there doesn’t seem to be a link between the foods: hot chocolate, fizzy drinks, fruit juices, some spicy foods, casseroles, porridge. I get really bad tummy ache, hot flushes and need to go to the loo after eating them, sometimes within just minutes. Do I have a food allergy or could it be something else that is causing it?

Answer…

I’m sorry to hear you’ve been suffering.  From what you’ve told me it sounds like you may well have several food intolerances. There are several key differences between intolerances and allergies, notably speed of reaction as allergies tend to be instant whereas it can take your body anywhere between 15 minutes and 4 days to give you a symptom to a food intolerance. Food allergies, often, though not always, will result in a rash or swelling of the mouth.

To understand why some foods which have been ok up until now suddenly become a problem I use the analogy of a barrel. If your body is a barrel into which we load substances which are toxins to us gradually over time the barrel will fill up. Environmental and lifestyle factors such as stress can make the barrel fill up more quickly. Once the barrel gets full foods that otherwise wouldn’t be a problem suddenly cause it to overflow giving us very unpleasant symptoms. This means that it isn’t the orange juice that made the barrel overflow that is necessarily the biggest problem it’s simply (switching metaphors for a moment) the last straw.

The link between the foods you’ve listed might well be that they are acid forming in the body but without knowing more – for example what was in the casserole, which spices on which foods and whether the porridge was made with cows milk and what if anything it was sweetened with I can’t be more specific. For now I suggest you avoid the foods mentioned, increase your intake of alkaline foods such as vegetables and brown rice and recommend you see a food intolerance/nutritional therapist to help you get to the bottom of the problem.

Carole Batchelor has diplomas in Holistic Nutritional Therapy and Allergy Intolerance Therapy and  is qualified to Diagnostix level in Callahan Techniques Thought Field Therapy.  She is also a Grief Recovery Specialist.

Ask Carole about: Food Intolerance, Thought Field Therapy, Bloating, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Fatigue, Gall Bladder Problems, Grief, Anxiety, Stress.

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Stefan asked: For fat burning, what is a reasonable time to burn a certain amount of fat? For example to burn a few kilograms healthily, over what period could this result be expected?

Answer…

Body fat is stored under the skin (subcutaneous), between the muscles (intramuscular) and around the organs (visceral).  These fat stores are the body’s largest energy reserve, a lot like a savings account. 

If we eat more calories than our body burns this savings account builds up, gathering and saving energy for a time when we might need it.  This overflow of calories and build up of fat is called a ‘caloric surplus’…it is all the rage nowadays, everyone is doing it! 

Just 100 excess calories a day will BUILD UP your fat stores 10lbs (4.5kgs) a year. 

To burn off our fat stores we need to reverse this process and burn more than we eat, creating a ‘caloric deficit’… not quite so popular!  The shortage of calories forces our body to burn off our fat stores, just like we might dip into our savings account when we are running low on cash. 

Just 100 calories burned off a day will SHRINK your fat stores by 10lbs (4.5kgs) a year. 

The key point to remember here is that fat burning only occurs when a caloric deficit exists – eating less than you burn, or burning more than you eat.  This means that no matter how hard you train in the gym, if you eat the same number of calories as you burn, your fat weight will remain constant.

Your body might burn 2500 calories through normal daily metabolic activity (resting metabolism, movement, digestion).  You might then head to the gym and burn off 500 calories on the cross trainer.  However, if you have eaten 3000 calories your body’s fat stores will remain constant: 3000 in total burned, 3000 in total eaten… no caloric deficit… no fat burning!

Don’t make the mistake of thinking “I burned 500 calories of fat in the gym today”.  It is only burning off fat if it is 500 calories MORE than you ate that day, otherwise it is just burning off what you have eaten through the day.  This is one of the most common misconceptions about fat burning… people forget that it is about energy balance (calories eaten vs calories burned) rather than just how much you burn in the gym.

Now that we’ve cleared that up, here is the calorie deficit timescale -

A 100 calorie deficit a day = 0.2lbs fat loss a week
A 500 calorie deficit a day = 1.0lbs fat loss a week
A 1000 calorie deficit a day = 2.0lbs fat loss a week.

Calorie deficits greater than 1000 calories a day are very hard to achieve and sustain, so amongst people in the know - personal trainers, nutritionists, exercise physiologists - it is widely accepted that the most fat you can realistically burn a week is 2.0lbs (just under 1kg a week).  Total weight losses might be greater than 2.0lbs a week, but this is usually water and/or muscle tissue loss rather than pure fat loss.

So to lose your few kilograms healthily you are looking at somewhere between 3 to 6 weeks of a sustained 500 to 1000 calorie deficit.  

Liam Sartorius is a REPS level 3 personal trainer specialising in resistance training and weight loss.  With over 10,000 hours 1:1 personal training, he has a wealth of experience in body shape and body weight change.

Ask Liam about: Fitness Training, Circuit Training, Muscle Building, Muscle Definition, Exercise for Weight Loss, Nutrition for Weight Loss.

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