Categories Diet, Exercise tips, Health Tips, Personal Training, Weightloss

Are you just soooo over your belly fat? Yes, read on..

So, unfortunately as we age, our metabolism starts to slow down, our muscle mass loss is quicker and we lose our waists. For women, our waistlines thicken and lose our shape and for the boys, that cuddly beer belly starts to shine through.

Can we do something about this. Yes of course, but again, as we age, our exercise and activity needs change. It’s not all about diet, there’s a lot of activity that needs to take place. We can’t just diet and think that’s going to fix it. Yes it will to a degree, but for the plus 35s (yes sorry it does start then! unless you are genetically blessed, and we all know at least one of those friends!), you need to work at it and change some habits.

What causes the pesky belly fat to hang around? Well stress (cortisol hangs onto the fat) it’s a serious cause of belly fat resistance so we need to reduce that, eating too much for our activity level (if you are sitting down all day, you don’t need to eat so much), lack of sleep or interrupted sleep try to get some good shut eye which could mean changing a few evening rituals, lack of activity, too much alcohol, too many lattes and overindulging in the dairy altogether, eating processed or packaged foods or another serious cause is, “I just can’t be bothered syndrome” which collectively is, I can’t, I don’t feel like it, its too dark, I have a sore toe, I’m too tired and I don’t have time. All of which takes a bit of time to actually change in our mind to allow us to exercise.

The To Do List

Unfortunately we aren’t all made the same way so not all workouts and advice suits everyone, if you can adhere to a book or an app, then great, but if you can’t you need some motivation, like a Personal Trainer at least once a week to knock on your door and get you moving for at least 30 mins, will keep you on track. This way you can at least receive a more personalised program tailored to you.

But, in general, here are some things you could try:

You need to combine muscle growth with cardiovascular exercise to get the best results. Constant moderate exercise and doing the same thing day in and out will not help entirely. So you need to mix it up.

  • At least once a day, at lunchtime if you work in an office, in the morning before work or after work, you need to have a moderate walk for 15-20 mins.
  • Office workers, make sure you get up out of your chair once every 30 mins and have a walk around.
  • Try to not have more than one milk based coffee in one day, if you do make it medium at most and try to stick to tea and water mostly. Add a lemon or a strawberry, or even cucumber is nice in your water bottle if you fancy something a bit more interesting.
  • Try to control stressful periods with taking yourself out of the stressful situation and into something different for at least 10 minutes when you are feeling overwhelmed.
  • Put some thought into what you are grabbing for lunch if you are out ‘n’ about, more clean food protein and salad is the best option, try to stay away from chinese, mexican, roasts with gravies and chips etc, you know the drill. A salad sandwich, home made salad, or leftovers is the best option. If you have to eat out, try Japanese, a salad bar (just avoid too much processed meats), or the roast with the veggies and no chips and gravy. There are plenty of more healthy option cafes around these days so choose one of those if you can.
  • Your workouts need to be frequent and different, if you can’t sign up to a class/gym or a personal trainer, try adding a bit of a jog to your walk, walk for 2 mins, jog for 30 seconds, walk for 1 min, jog for 1 min, then run up a hill, then back to walking. The body fat responds to the random activities well and the change of intensities.
  • Building muscle is soooooo very important to add into your days. Fairly easy to do, there are plenty of resources but try some basics first that don’t need any equipment: squats, lunges, push ups, crunches, tricep dips, burpees, etc. Contact me for a free basics program.
  • I’m a massive advocate for exercising outdoors because it just makes you feel so much better all round, so here are some more things you can do… Get on your bike and ride, go outside for a beach walk, most beaches have stairs or at least some dunes to run up and down, the sand changes the intensity and builds great leg muscles, the local parks have equipment and benches use them to step up on, push ups and tricep dips, go for a hike on the weekend, or more adventurous, try actual hill climbing or join a group to take you out rock climbing.

But seriously, even if you are just sick of the fat for vanities sake and want a hot bod, you really need to consider making some changes if you have belly fat. This visceral fat is dangerous to your health, its stored around your abdominal wall and organs and associated with increased risks of type 2 diabetes, hormonal fluctuations, heart disease, various cancers and Alzheimers disease. It’s a scary health issue not just a vanity issue especially if you are ‘mid-life’ shall we say!

Addressing it as soon as you can see it is the best time to get on top of it. Then you can look super hot and be super healthy too.

If you need help with this, I’m here to help you navigate making changes to your lifestyle, even if it’s just a couple of visits to get you on track or a check-in once a week to get you moving.

I have been personal trainer and nutrition coach since 2007 and I love to help people make the changes needed to be not just body healthy but emotionally happy too, they generally go hand in hand. So wherever you are, if you are reading this and just don’t know where to start, contact me for a chat to see what we can put in place for you! You can also follow me on instagram @create_health_fitness.

Angie

Categories Exercise tips, Health Tips, Nutrition, Personal Training, Weightloss

CreateU4x4 fitTechnique Program 30 June to 28 July

What’s it all about??!!

This has been designed as a 4 session x 4 week beginners wellbeing program or can be used as a “check-back-in” program for anyone who falls off the healthy wagon.  It has been designed to specifically address 4 key areas:

1. How you are feeling now about your body image, current health, mental wellbeing, fitness level, and how we are going to get you on track.

2. Addressing tricky weight management issues, food preparation techniques and nutritional education.

3. Increasing your strength and changing shape, cardiovascular health and fitness, looking well, feeling strong and good about yourself, gaining confidence along the way.

4. Fitness activities outdoors to increase feelings of mental space as well as being in a very different environment than usual, getting out and doing an activity on location such as hiking that you may not necessarily do and a view you might not necessarily see very often! This gives you a real sense of achievement doing things that are essentially difficult and outside of your comfort zone.  Boosts your happy hormones!

We believe that committing to a program and connecting with the same group of people regularly with a similar focus will give you a sense of belonging and achievement.  We will also be doing weekend outdoor group activities on location somewhere around Perth and based on the groups overall fitness level. Our food preparation classes are fun, hands-on and nutritionally informative, you’ll be provided with a list of ingredients to bring along and we will make our goodies together… then you can take them home.

Its an intensive one this one, and one you need to commit to over 4 weeks, including weekends.  The theory behind this is that you can’t get away with anything, we are always there backing you up!

At the end of the program we will take a break then if you choose to go again, we can pop you back into another program or into one of our regular group training sessions suited to your level of fitness and your favourite times. You can also choose to do some one-one training.

Contact us for further details, to register your interest or to book in. Locations are primarily northern suburbs of Perth. If you are interested and are south of the river, please still contact us to register your interest.

After 12 years working in health and fitness, watching and listening to clients needs and feelings, this program has been designed from experience and with a real focus on gaining better overall health and confidence.

Categories Diet, Exercise tips

Some Quick Fatloss Tips!

10 Quick Tips!

1. Don’t let yourself get hungry, mostly we starve ourselves of foods but this just engages the fasting mechanism. Fix it – eat, but nutritious, low GI foods, grainy breads, fruits, veggies, yoghurt and nuts, seed mix etc. Don’t deprive yourself of food, just stay away from the bad stuff. Sugar is the enemy, white carbs, crisps, rice cakes and the like. Eat low GI foods to ensure a slow release of insulin to control your blood sugar levels. Useful information can be found here http://www.glycemicindex.com/;

2. Remember to eat breakfast. Be careful of commercial breakfast cereals as they can be very high in sugar (high is +15g per 100g). Opt for a grainy bread, eggs and spinach, Toast and peanut butter, oats, etc. If you can’t eat straight away, try to leave some low GI bread at the office and have your brekkie there (of course, be early to work!);

3. Make it a mindset and a planned effort to lose 10% of your body weight, this will give you substantial cardiovascular health benefits. A well planned diet and exercise program works wonders but you need to make an effort to do it, the more you plan your meals, the better your health and body weight will be.

4. Eat a diet low in saturated and transfats – your body does not require saturated or transfat to function. Leave it behind.

5. Make sure you exercise everyday and include substantial weight bearing exercise. Take a local class, commit to some personal training sessions or buy some DVDs and weights. Exercise should be built into your life every-day, as a routine task.

6. Eat protein with every meal, but keep it to a small portion, you only require 1g/1kg of protein (if you are 65kg then you require only 65g of protein per day), doesn’t sound much does it? Remember that any nutrient you consume in excess gets stored as fat, this includes protein. So unless you are body building or an athlete, try to stay close to that amount of protein per day.

7. Base your meals around small amounts of protein, legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.

8. Avoid anything with an artificial sweetener in it, it is known to change your appetite, give you false hunger.

9. Your diet should contain, 20-25% good fats, 20-30% protein, 50-60% carbs. (non-white carbs)

10. Be active everyday, think about food as fuel, consider a long term commitment to your health and weight plan.

Things to remember:

At least 50% of the Australian population are overweight or obese.

23% of Australian children are overweight or obese

$1.2 Billion Dollars are spent each year in the Australian Medical System due to weight related conditions.

For more information or a personalised meal plan and training program, please contact us.

Angie Hazell is a Certified Nutrition Coach and Personal Trainer. Angie and her team provide services in the areas in and around Subiaco, Wembley, Mt Hawthorn, Mt Lawley, Joondanna and Balcatta.

Categories Exercise tips, Health Tips, Personal Training

Gym Workout

If you can only see your personal trainer once or twice per week, why not supplement your personal training workouts at one of the 24 hour gyms Jetts Fitness or the like. More and more people are working till late and can’t fit in their usual fitness in during usual gym hours. Of course I would alway recommend having a personal trainer as well just to keep you on track and build on your specific goals. Personal trainers also keep you motivated and compliant with your gym routine.

If you are thinking of joining a gym outside of usual hours then you might not have a personal trainer available at your 24 hour gym, so here’s a basic programme to get you on your way if you don’t have one.

Start off with:

1. 10 minute workout on a cross trainer, treadmill or bike with little resistance;

2. Break up your cardio with strength training using the free weight or machines, for bicep curls, tricep extensions, flies.  Try to keep your reps low initially to 5-10 but the weight you are using should be very hard at rep 10. Heavier for bicep curls, bit lower for tricep extensions and flies so you might want to start off at 2-3kgs or lower. Stick to 2 sets of each and alternate between the three.

3. Cardio between your strength sets, get back on your cross trainer and pick up the pace, go on for 15-20 mins and use one of the programmes, set it for 15-20 mins, rolling hills, intervals or the like.  You can do this on the bike, treadmill or x-trainer.

4. Legs and Bums – leg press, smiths machine for weighted squats, or fitball squats with some 3kg weights are always good as well as lunges.  Keep your reps to 10-12 initially, but try to get to 3 sets.

5. Warm down with another cardio machine at a lower resistance for 5-8 mins.

6. Work on your abdominals, use a fitball for usual crunches, oblique crunches, etc, there are lots of abdominal exercises you can do not laying on your back but you’ll need to ask one of the personal trainers at the gym or contact me for more information on that!

7. Stretching programme is a must, basic stretches include, hamstring stretch, quad stretch, glute stretch, hip flexor stretch, lower back stretches, upper body stretches and neck stretches.  See my earlier posts for a stretching programme or contact me for more information on this.

Remember that all exercises are not for everyone and you may have specific strengths and weaknesses so take care when doing all exercise to get your technique right.

Gym’s usually do provide an assessment but the 24 hour gyms may not always have a personal trainer on hand. It is worth consulting with a personal trainer to get a programme that’s right for you.

Angie Hazell is an experienced personal trainer specialising in women’s fitness and family fitness, please contact for more information on specific exercises or look through the blogs for more exercise posts.  Create Health & Fitness personal trainers perth services the Perth metro area and surrounding suburbs including, Mt Lawley, Mt Hawthorn, North Perth, Subiaco, North Beach, City Beach, Floreat.

Categories Exercise tips, Health Tips, Personal Training, Weightloss

Workout at Home!

Try this workout over easter when your personal trainer is taking a break or when you can’t get to the gym! This home workout should take you between 30-45 mins and should get your heart pumping.

1. Warm up – Workout_Warmup

2. Cardio section –  Workout_Cardio

3. Strength section – Workout_Strength

4. Cool down by doing step ups x 50 but slowly, not running.

5. Stretches – Workout_Stretch

Exercise should be part of your daily routine, so make it achievable.  If you can’t workout for an hour that’s ok, try breaking up your fitness routine with an after work jog, walk with the family, try an aerobics or Zumba class, swimming or enlist a personal trainer to help you.  Even a personal trainer once per week to keep you on track is better than none at all.

Angie Hazell is an experienced Perth personal trainer specialising in Women’s Fitness, Outdoor Personal Training and Family Fitness, servicing the perth metro area and surrounding suburbs including Mt Lawley, Mt Hawthorn, North Perth, Joondann, North Beach, City Beach, Subiaco, WA. Contact Us now for your FREE TRY OUT SESSION!

Categories Exercise tips, Health Tips, Personal Training

Are You Pregnant? Here are 8 Reasons Why You Need to Exercise!

Lets take a look at why pregnant women need to exercise.

What are the benefits of exercise during pregnancy?

Cardiovascular Fitness

Maintaining a level of fitness throughout the pregnancy so as to better cope with the needs of a new baby and to assist with the labour which is a physically demanding experience.  A fit and strong mum to be can endure the labour more easily.

Improvement of Muscular Tone and Strength

As we all know hormone changes affect women at all stages of life but also during pregnancy.  Particularly hormones affect muscular strength and tone which means saggy bums and legs ladies! Those squats, lunges and specific exercises can help to maintain tone in those trouble areas.  Strengthening these areas also assist to protect joints due to excessive elasticity in the muscles, ligaments and tendons during pregnancy hormonal fluctuations which can lead to injury.

Stress Reduction, Improvement of Well-being and Self Esteem

Fitness is a good way to take a break from the stresses of life.  During exercise you will be focussed on the exercises you are doing, having a little chat to your trainer who loves to listen, and your happy hormones are released! Feeling better about yourself is important as your body is changing is so important and strengthening up those areas that are becoming a little more ‘floppy’ and keeping your weight under control is all part of your workout.

Weight and Nausea Control

Some women report that a work out reduces their nausea symptoms, even as hard as it may be to exercise, they believe that exercise makes them feel better.  By being more active will help to keep your weight gain to a minimum and all ‘baby’.  Regular work outs will also give you some time to chat to your trainer about healthy choices, to help you resist any cravings for unhealthy foods that are not good for your baby, your skin or your weight control.

Reducing Back Pain and Improving Posture

Specific exercises and stretches will assist with maintaining good posture throughout your pregnancy and reducing back pain. Stretching regularly will help to reduce back pain so the addition of pregnancy yoga or pilates can also be very beneficial.

Promotion of Good Sleeping Patterns and Reducing Fatigue

Participating in regular fitness is very good in general lifestyles for promoting a better sleep pattern and reducing fatigue. However, in pregnancy this is especially true when there are many more factors leading to your fatigue such as carrying extra baby weight, hormones, worry, etc.

Prevention/Reduction of Fluid Retention and other Nasties

Regular exercise will also improve your circulation, will assist in preventing and reducing fluid retention, varicose veins and the dreaded haemorrhoids and constipation.  All very good and essential reasons to exercise during your pregnancy.

Returning to Exercise Postnatally

When your bundle is home and you are settled, a quick return to exercise is easier if you exercised during your pregnancy.  After the birth, a regular exercise programme will help to heal a traumatised uterine, abdominal and pelvic muscles and your muscle tone will return more speedily.  Those muscles, ligaments and tendons that have been weakened by hormones need to return to normal to prevent any injury to joints.

But one of the most important parts of postnatal exercise is the management of coping mechanisms of having a new life, exercising regularly is a large part of keeping post partum blues at bay.  Remember you can always bring your baby to your workout and trainers will adjust the workout to how you are feeling on the day so you can still exercise.  We understand the needs of new mums and will accommodate those.

There are always general and specific risks associated with pregnancy and you do need to consult with your doctor and a qualified personal trainer with specific knowledge in training for pregnancy prior to commencing an exercise programme.

Angie Hazell is an experienced personal trainer and looks after mum to be, new mums and women’s fitness in Perth, North Perth, Mt Lawley, Mt Hawthorn, Joondanna, Subiaco and surrounding suburbs. We offer a new mum programme and a free ‘try out’ session. Contact Us for more details.

Categories Blood pressure, Diabetes, Diet, Exercise tips, Health Tips, Personal Training, Weightloss

Isagenix Health & Fitness Plan Week 1! I’ve lost 3kg in 5 Days!

OK so I am a personal trainer, but even personal trainers can gain a little weight right?  Yes that’s me, i’m normal, I do eat nutritious food and am vegetarian but my work hours, late nights and stress have all contributed to this weight gain, lack of sleep and general feeling of being unwell all while trying to keep up and provide a good service to my clients.

Quick action is needed now or I won’t be able to continue cope with my Personal Training, running the business, my legal office work, my study load and my poor family does suffer I have to say, and perhaps others too!   Does this sound familiar to anyone?! oh and I’m getting older. YEY!

Enter, The Isagenix Programme

So Isagenix is about top quality nutrition, stress management and anti-ageing, brilliant, exactly what I need.

Well it’s week 1 of my Isagenix programme and I have to say I am really surprised. I am notoriously sceptical of these programmes but I really am pleasantly surprised.  The first thing that I noticed was fluid loss, the second thing which has really, really made a huge difference this week is sleep, and quality of sleep.  It is AMAZING.  I get up at 5am every morning and I don’t finish work until 8.30pm at least 3 nights per week. I have to say, I’m tired, usually, BUT this week I can’t believe how much better I feel. I actually feel awake and well, better than I have felt in ages.  My skin is better, and my eyes are clearer, already, in one week!

The rest I can show you in pictures.

I started on Tuesday with a health check at Chemmart in Mt Hawthorn, they were awesomely nice there, I generally do measurements and BMI for my own clients but they also do cholesterol and glucose tests right there, which I can’t do, which is so it’s so easy! I don’t get any kickbacks from Chemart by the way.  But it’s a great initiative. Had I done my own checks I may have just tried to deny my weight and BMI!

See the photos for my starting results. Apart from having already low cholesterol and on the money BP due to my own exercise and diet programme, my BMI was obviously not good, scary and my waist, definitely not where I usually am. Horrified actually for a trainer to have this waist measurement. I’ve obviously been in denial!

I am 170cms tall

On Tuesday My Waist was – 86cms (Bad)

My weight 72kg

Now see my results, bear in mind I started my programme on Tuesday!

I have an Isagenix 1/2 shake and a zucchini slice for brekkie (eggs and zucchini baked in the oven)

– An isagenix bar for lunch

– some nuts and fruits for snacks or 1/2 Shake with berries

– and then a nutritious and portion controlled dinner.

Not too hard is it?

Amazed actually, I’m beginning to think that this programme is really amazingly good!

The science behind these products has come from years and years of testing, with nobel prize winning scientists, they are obviously doing something right!

I have already come down 1.5 cms from my waist, lost 3kg since Tuesday and I measured this on Friday morning.   You can see the evidence from the pictures.  I’ve also been on crutches all week due to an ankle injury but hopping around on those is incidental exercise at its best!

I think the bit that I’m most excited about is that I have more energy and I can sleep. Sleep really does retain weight and fluid around your middle.

I’m off to hit the books again, as I have an assessment due for my Advanced Coaching, I’m hoping for an equally great post for next week!

If you are on any medication or have health conditions it’s best to get your doctor’s approval first before embarking on any change of lifestyle.

If you want more info on this system please see  www.isagenix.com or feel free to ask me any questions.

Categories Blood pressure, Diabetes, Exercise tips, Health Tips, Nutrition, Obesity, Personal Training, Weightloss

Fed up of Fat? Feel Like You’re Ageing Fast? Need More Energy?…

NEED TO KNOW MORE?

As a Nutrition Student,  I don’t usually recommend anything other than fresh, real food and exercise, but having witnessed the life changing benefits first hand of a number of people, I would recommend these products to anyone. Better sleep, increased immune function, weightloss, lower blood pressure, lower diabetes risk, improved skin appearance and much, much more energy. These are just some of the benefits of the programme when followed correctly.  Of course, I couldn’t recommend any programme without exercise so with a minimum of a 30 minute brisk walk per day, it really is a programme that anyone can follow.  For added exercise, join one of our group training sessions, see our group timetable for sessions or personal training is another available option.

Isagenix products are extremely well researched, are produced from natural ingredients and most are gluten and lactose free.

Real results, I use these products everyday to be able to keep up with my 15 hour work and study days!

For more information see www.createhealthandfitness.isagenix.com

Categories Exercise tips, Gift Cards, Health Tips, Personal Training

Gift Cards for Personal Training

If you know someone who needs a bit of encouragement to exercise, why not buy them a Create Health & Fitness gift voucher for Christmas! We will send you a gift card and voucher for a $ value that you are comfortable with.  Even better, why don’t you join them for some support! Click here to contact us by Wednesday 21 December to make sure you receive your Card and Voucher in time for Christmas.

Categories Exercise tips, Health Tips, Obesity, Personal Training

Are you embarrassed to exercise with other people?

Are you holding back from exercising because you are worried about how you are going to look in fitness clothes?

Are you overweight and everything rolls and wobbles at every step and you can’t even think about jumping or running, there isn’t a bra in the world that can keep those babies under control!!??

Do you secretly crave to have a body that you don’t have to hide behind baggy clothes and do want to do something about it?

If this is how you feel, then this is a common feeling.  It is sweeping Australia and stopping men and women from exercising and leading a healthy life.  It is contributing to obesity and lifestyle diseases, which can be avoided with a consistent exercise and healthy eating regime.

To address the first few issues:

THE CLOTHING

If you are overweight then you are more likely to feel ‘ok’ in a baggy t-shirt and leggings, this is fine, it hides all the wobbly bits and yes there are bras out there that cater for the larger woman exercising.  Have a look at Intimo, they have fabulous products. You can also add a crop top that you can get from any sports store for added support.  It is also a good idea to wear a tight singlet under your baggy t-shirt as it does ‘fly up’ when you are exercising this = embarrassment, not to the trainer or person you are exercising with but it can be for you.

Leggings need to be sports leggings or capris as the material is thicker and more supportive. The leggings you get at a fashion store are thin and you can generally see straight through them, bottoms up!  I would recommend Asquith of London exercise pants not only because we sell them but because they are super comfortable, breathable, stylish and definitely not see through.

So clothing is sorted, no need to be embarrassed about this anymore.

THE EXERCISE

If you are feeling a bit embarrassed about your fitness level then personal training is your way forward, at least for 6 weeks to get your fitness to a level where you can cope with a group environment, you have built some muscle tone and lost some weight.  6-12 weeks is an ideal time to introduce yourself to fitness and feel confident.  2 personal training sessions per week plus a planned timetable of activity and diet advice will get you well and truly on your way to a healthier lifestyle.   After your initial personal training block, then you are ready to join a group if you wish or split the two.

So, if you are thinking ‘OMG It’ll be like I’m on the Biggest Loser’, well, not exactly.  The Biggest Loser is not exactly real life, however, your training isn’t going to be easy either.  BUT the main thing about personal training is that it is ‘personal’, tailored to you and you only.  This means that you choose where you want to train and when you want to train, so if you want to exercise indoors initially, away from sight, then you can.  If you don’t mind being outdoors then we train somewhere close to your home or work.  So you don’t need to deal with other people looking at you, as this can be quite an ordeal for the new, self conscious, exerciser. We will push you, but not to the point of it being dangerous for you.

SECRET ‘HOT BODY’ CRAVINGS:

Some people joke around about their weight or body size with their friends as if they don’t care, but sometimes they are secretly very sad because they are not feeling well, don’t feel confident about themselves and fall into the awful place of feeling as if they aren’t worth being slimmer (and I don’t mean super skinny, I mean curvy healthy), or it will never happen. It can be of great sadness to some people that they don’t look the way they did a few years ago and can’t see a way out. Well, fear not, we are here to help, we listen, care and really want you to succeed if you do want to have a healthier lifestyle and hotter bod! Along with your personal training you will get a coach who helps you along with way.  We will show you how to eat properly, how to lose some kilos and how to tone those muscles.

But there are some things you can do without a personal trainer and indoors, Wii games are fabulous for fitness and getting moving, walking up and down your stairs at home or put in a fitness dvd but do choose one to suit your fitness level.  They are all things you can do out of sight of others.

You will be enjoying a healthier life in no time!

For more information or to book a consultation please contact Angie Hazell, Personal Trainer of Create Health & Fitness, servicing Perth City and surrounding suburbs, Mt Hawthorn, Mt Lawley, Joondanna, Subiaco and North Perth.