Massage – Shiatsu
Aug0
In my massage series, here’s the second of 14 types…Shiatsu.
I had never had a Shiatsu massage myself as I tend to stick to Deep Tissue Massages to relieve strains and release kinks in my muscles. But a friend had been talking about it, so finally I decided to experience this for myself. It was a true revelation.
Shiatsu ((指圧 Japanese stemming from shi, meaning finger, and atsu, meaning pressure) is performed by a therapist ... Read More
The Travelling Warrior
Jul0
Apart from the tips on how to eat when you are totally busy travelling around, be it for holiday or pleasure – it is obviously harder for us weak-willed individuals to work out whilst we are on the road. So here’s some ideas of things you CAN easily do, just send spouse and kids off to the buffet, whilst you buff your body!
In a hotel:
You really can do a ton of different exercises in a hotel, here’s a favourite selection of mine…find a radiostation you ... Read More
Listen to your body
May0
This week a close friend of mine ended up in hospital. Hospital staff called it a miracle he came through the door upright, usually people with his issue would have been carried through! Although he had needed a little push to get him to go, he went to the doctor after not feeling great for a while and will live a healthy life because he listened to his body…
I have always believed that at the end of the day – you know your own body best. Or at least, you should know it ... Read More
on the right path?
Apr2
Life is all about ups- and downs. Maintaining a healthy body and healthy mind is no different!
This weekend, I was trying out some fitness wear. When showing my choices to my patient shopping friend, the sales woman said to him “I hope I will look like her when I am as old as she is”…
I think I’ll take that as a compliment…. 
... Read More
Zurich2Venice
Apr0
So from time to time, I am inspired to write not just about my own love of sports and keeping fit and healthy, but about the journey someone else takes.
I have this great friend, Roddy, that when we used to work together, would always be on the verge of starting a fitness regime. We’d travel around Europe together on business and he would “maybe” join me in the gym in the morning, or “almost” go on a run with me at 5am..but never quite make it. So we joked ... Read More
Swimming
Apr2
As a (former) triathlete, swimming is 30% of the race. Not so much in time, but definitely in effort I never knew how to do freestyle, and started out doing my triathlons swimming my 1500 metres or even 3km doing breaststroke instead of freestyle. But although I was a fast breast-stroker, I realised soon enough that I simply would never improve my speed out of the water until I ... Read More
Running Schedule
Apr0
It’s Spring… finally! Spring means you wanna get outside again, (well if it isn’t raining too much
Spring also means that you start looking at that bathing suit or trunks and wonder how it’s going to look this year. Or rather more pertinently – how YOU are going to look. So Spring is the time a lot of people try and make good on those resolutions ... Read More
TRX training
Mar0
In the last year, I have been introduced by my PT Nando to TRX training. Yesterday I continued on the learning path with Chris Dovale at Equinox San Francisco.
TRX training is a great way or working out and can literally be carried with you anywhere. I just love it. Instead of using all sorts of machines, or even dumbbells/weights, it uses your own bodyweight. The core system consists of two pairs of straps, hooked at an elevated level. That means, you can hook it over a door, a ring ... Read More
Wundachair
Feb0
No, I didn’t make a spelling mistake- this piece of torture is called the Wundachair. It’s part of the standard Pilates session – and it is really quite amazing.
... Read MoreIn sickness….
Feb1
Here I am writing a blog about health… and end up talking about illness. However it’s the natural other side of being healthy and worth spending a few words on. And those words are “don’t let being sick stop you from being healthy!”. What I mean is that too often a slight cold, or even light flu does not mean you have to stop exercising (obviously you need to consider how sick you are! I am only talking about minor illnesses here). As with all things though, you ... Read More
Crosscountry Skiing
Jan0
Adding a bit of variety seems to be quite easy at the moment – the winter weather is throwing in all sorts of challenges and obstacles but at the same time – it makes it a great time to do something out of the ordinary. Ofcourse, you can continue your workouts as you did before indoors, but why not make the most of the cold weather (across a lot of the western hemisphere at least) and go out in the snow and on the ice?
Cross-Country skiiing – like many sports really ... Read More
Great set of stretches!
Dec0
Here’s for all of you who didn’t buy into my winter fun suggestions of earlier this week… a nice half an our stretch work-out you can do in the warmth of a fitness centre or even at home.
Start loosening up – just take a couple of deep breaths in, letting your stomach extend as you inhale. Exhale through your mouth.
Do all off the below about 20 times (either side for arm/leg movements) not forcing the pace, but letting it flow ... Read More
Snow fun
Dec0
This time of the year offers heaps of new types of entertainment and fitness-ability… due to that one special ingredient: snow.
Snow means you can go skiiing, or cross-country skiing, often at the same time as skating etc. But even without resorting to special sports – it offers so many ways of getting a flush on your cheeks and your heart pumping. Simply taking a walk becomes a different kind of work-out. Don’t be put off by the fact that it is cold, bundle up and ... Read More
Swim training
Dec0
Of all the training sessions you can do, swimming is often overlooked – even by me. I realised suddenly I hadn’t written up any swimsessions yet! Major oversight, for sure. Swimming is great exercise. I once looked at a health magazine that posted pictures of sports men/women of various sports AND at various ages, so like at 20, 40 and 60. The swimmers aged the most graceful of all of the sports displayed by far. They kept a great shape (that nice V-shape) and long, defined limbs. ... Read More
Soft tissue
Dec0
An expansive topic – Soft Tissue. Meaning all the tissues that are not bone, effectively so skin, underlying layers as well as muscles and tendons. Often injuries start occurring when layers of tissue get “glued” together – causing less flexibility and more friction for other parts to move. Or your muscles develop tiny tears which can lead to scar tissue which in turn can lead to more tearing etc. So all in all, keeping your soft tissue loose is definitely something ... Read More
Skipping
Nov0
As I am still fighting some very annoying and persistant injuries, I am struggling with my normal calorie-blasting activities. I keep telling myself this is a mental challenge instead of a physical one for once, and I can deal with it… but it is still v. hard not to experience that feeling of exhilaration when you have completed a good run or great, very muddy, bikeride through the woods…
So Caleb, my cross-fit trainer, managed to find one thing I can do… jumping ... Read More
Cross-Fit
Nov0
I am just discovering a whole new way of training… or maybe I shouldn’t call it new, since it is a natural progression in many ways from all the “old” philosophies about training. But new or not, I am loving it! My trainer at Equinox, Caleb Chiu, is taking my through my paces, and despite the injuries I still have (read my prior blogs) I am finding that after a couple of sessions those are becoming less even though I have done some pretty nice workouts. Feeling ... Read More
Keep on running…
Oct0
A great run to do after a busy week is one that adds a little fun to your day. So rather then merely heading out, and pounding out the miles at your regular pace, let’s get some variety in there!
If you listen to music whilst you are running, then you can use that to alter your pace. If you don’t have music along …. which I don’t when I run in the woods, simply preferring to really enjoy the silence around me although I am sometimes rather disturbed by my own ... Read More
It’s getting cold and dark…
Oct0
If you are living in the Northern hemisphere…you will know what I mean with the title above..
It’s getting to that time of the year that when you get up in the mornings, it is dark and when you get home in the evening it is dark again. Not to mention that temperatures are dropping and you start getting your wintercoats out of the mothballs.
So when I turn to my friends and ask them to come out riding or running with me, they kinda give me that look that says ... Read More
Setting Goals!
Oct0
This week I have two friends who will be running marathons – separated by some 15,000 miles! Coen van Schijndel will be running the Eindhoven marathon – hoping to run it in exactly 3 hours (wow!) and Mike Kelly will be aiming to finish in 3:30 (wow2!) in the Chicago Marathon…
I love the fact that both these guys have been keeping me motivated with their stories of their training. I know what it takes to run a marathon – you are out there for hours just running ... Read More
