Level up Spring health and fitness

You only have to look outside your window to see longer days and more sunshine. That means one thing – Spring is here so it’s time to start thinking about upping your health and fitness to feel your best inside and out. We’ve put together our 5 top ways to start levelling up your fitness regime slowly but surely to get your body totally spring-fit alongside some quick and easy expert wins we offer to help you do it. 

  

Tip 1: Put a spring in your step(s) walking 

Sometimes we can let home-working be a reason to cut out any morning exercise. But it’s still the best time to get your muscles going and a little easy cardio workout in. If going for a jog sometimes seems a bit much, do a long walk instead. The Mayo Clinic suggests adding 1000 daily steps per week until you’re up to the 10,000 mark and if you’re doing that every morning alongside other exercise in the week, you’re doing good as it’s like an extra 2.5k run. Combined with your other exercise regimes it can just give you a little fitness boost and burn some extra calories. Carry a water bottle with you to keep hydrated, and if it’s really warm it’s also beneficial to restore electrolytes you’re losing while sweating with our Isotonic sports drink that boosts moisture levels and minerals at the same time. 

  

Tip 2: Home stretching and strengthening in your exercise regime 

We all know that Springtime brings haywire weather to much of Europe. Hello wind and rain, right? In that case, swap walking outside with 15-20 minutes of hard exercise in your living room or bedroom before sitting down at your desk. Push yourself to add in heavier weights if you have them, and improvise with filled liquid bottles if not, to up your resistance. Add in some great daily pre workout nutrition with Body&Fit Muscle Protect, which provides you with BCAAs, glutamine, electrolytes, vitamin B6, and more, all ingredients are proven to reduce fatigue and support energy metabolism — which also help set you up for a great day. We recommend the following exercise as a sure-fire way to get that blood pumping before you sit still. You can read more on our blog post on ways to keep moving at the (home) office. 

  

Do the following exercises five times with 30 seconds rest between rounds — add in heavy weights for for extra resistance: 

-    30 seconds Jumping Jacks or skipping rope 

-    10 reps Squats 

-    10 reps Sit-ups 

-    10 reps Push-ups (from the knees if the full push up is too hard) 

-    10 reps Superman 

-    30 seconds Planks 

 -  Stretch on the floor by sitting in a big V and stretch over to each side without bouncing going as deep as you can, then holding it for 20 seconds. 

  

Tip 3: Interval training to up your running fitness 

If you’re more of an all-weather runner, your body can get used to the same running route and pace. We’ve got two ways to up your running regime slowly but surely: 

-    Enlist a running buddy, one that’s faster than you. Running with someone is a great way to change up your routine naturally and you’ll up your pace too. 

-    If you’re a dedicated solo runner add in more intensive interval training. 

   

After you pound the pavement, think about a good protein hit post workout. Protein is always important to nourish your muscles, and your body uses glucose stored in your muscles as glycogen during your workout or run, especially during higher intensity training like interval training. Think out of the box and take our Body&Fit Mass Perfection, with just the right ratio of carbs and proteins in every shake - 30 grams of optimal distribution (slow released) carbs and 20 grams of protein per serving and there's less than 4 grams of sugar per serving. It can help you to recover quicker. 

 

An example strength-building interval run: 

-    After a long warm-up – 2.5-4K, run the following series of repeats as fast as you can without feeling too breathless: 3 x 100m, 3 x 150m, 3 x 100m. Take two to three minutes of standing or walking rest to recover between each rep. As you sprint, focus on leaning forward slightly and tensing backward with your hamstrings and glutes. If you’ve still got energy left, run a little further than usual at the end of your run at a slower pace. 

  

Tip 4: Half-repetitions added in for top training strength 

Half-repetitions are only to be added when you’ve upped your training regime and feel totally exhausted during sets as a way to squeeze in extra reps. It increases the exercise intensity and works the muscle past what it’s currently used to. It still trains your muscles even when they’re fatigued: you perform half the movement and stop at the point of greatest stress then repeat for as many reps as you can. For some quick win ways to increase your high intensity performance as well as stimulating muscle growth, you can consider supplementing your diet with the world-leading Creapure creatine available in powder and this creatine is also available in chewable tablets. You can read all about creatine in this blog post. Creatine phosphate is the phosphate part of a molecule that falls away during short and powerful movements of up to 10 seconds. It is part of the energy currency of your cells. Your body can make ATP from ADP again by supplying creatine, so it’s a great supplement to add in for keeping up muscle strength and building stamina. 

  

Tip 5: Supersets to supersize your muscle fibre 

The next easy way to up your training is to include supersets into your training routine. This works on the same muscle groups for around 3 different exercises, or works alternative body parts (usually opposing muscles). It really breaks the muscle down so your muscles will understandably feel the burn by your third workout set (if not earlier). For opposing muscle groups you alternate something like a bench press with a bent over row and promote muscle symmetry. To work the same muscle groups you’d do an exercise like walking lunges with your maximum weight, and then squats also with your maximum weight. Remember to stretch a little after each set to release the lactic acid in your muscles. One of our most popular products - Body&Fit Whey Perfection provides you with 22 grams of high quality protein and  contains all nine essential amino acids your body needs. It’s a fast-absorbing protein source offering daily nourishment to support the growth and maintenance of your muscles. Your (newly worked out) muscles will thank you for this one! 

  

Enjoy these easy ways to level up and maximise Spring training. We have many products in our wide range, supported by our nutrition experts, to help you get the most out of your training and make sure you’re at your peak — whatever that means for you.