Time to Train

Not having the time to exercise is the best reason not to do it, but don’t let yourself believe that if you don’t have lots of time on your hands then you can’t work out, get fit and feel fabulous. You can. Don’t underestimate the difference you can make to your fitness with small changes to everyday activities and don’t think you need to find 90 minutes to get yourself to a gym to work out. There are ways and means and Ace have some great tips.

So have a look at some of our time-sensitive training tools…

 

Exercise 

• If you are really short on time but dedicated to the cause, get up half an hour earlier than usual and bang out a 20-minute home HIIT session. There are loads of quick workouts online, check out our You Tube channel for some ideas with no equipment necessary: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXS0FqhEiLrYfCPA4uIa0cw. A half hour HIIT burst in the morning will not only leave you feeling wonderfully energised and virtuous, but also earns you a particularly delicious breakfast! 

 

• Schedule your weekly exercise sessions into your diary, just like you would your kids’ swimming lessons or any other weekly commitment. Shift away from the mind-set that exercise is a flexible entry in your diary. It isn’t. It isn’t selfish to take that time for yourself. It’s crucial to how you function and feel. 

 

• Re-enforce your planning by making sure your sports bra is clean and your pre and post workout food is locked down. Once you’ve made those plans you’ll be less willing to slack off a class! 

 

• Get the family involved - if you can't get a workout in, put some music on and have a dance with your kids. They will love it and it’s very easy to build up quite a sweat. Add some star jumps, squats and some quick grapevines and get your groove on!

 

• If it's a nice day do running races outside with your kids, or kick a ball about - take any opportunity you can to get your heart rate going, even in family time.  

 

• ENJOY your exercise. If you find exercising a chore, then find something you like doing and apply the HIIT principle! Dancing, swimming, netball whatever, just try and really get your heart rate up in short sharp bursts. Team sports are a great way to make sure you commit to a workout and if you get the buzz from doing it, you’ll make the time!!

 

• Try and increase your activity in every day actions. Use a staircase instead of a lift, walk to do local errands rather than drive, do some core strength actions while you’re watching TV...  Small changes, big improvements!

Ace offers a weekly range of classes, which we have designed to be as convenient and accessible as possible for very busy people!

For full list of all our classes see http://www.ace-london.com/schedule.html.

 

My Cup Doth Renneth Over

 My Cup Doth Runneth Over

Every healthy eating, lifestyle and exercise plan will include some advice on drinking lots of water. And with very good reason too.

Here’s why…

•       Our body is made up of 60% water, which we lose throughout the day by sweating, breathing and going to the toilet. It is essential that we continually replenish our water supplies and keep ourselves hydrated to keep our bodily functions working, transporting nutrients around the body, regulating our temperature and digesting food.
•      Drinking water can also help us lose weight and for a pretty simple reason; water helps us feel fuller for longer, and as a result we consume fewer calories.
•       Water is AMAZING for your skin – ask any supermodel if you don’t believe us! Certain toxins in our bodies cause the skin to inflame, which can result in blocked pores and acne. Water helps flush out these toxins and reduces spotty outbreaks.
•      Water boosts your productivity and concentration and keeps you alert and refreshed. Drink throughout your mid-afternoon slump and if it doesn’t make you feel more awake then at least your bladder will keep you on your toes! 
•            One of the most common symptoms of dehydration is tiredness - so if you’re feeling sleepy DRINK! 
•       Working out (at one of Ace’s cracking classes) causes muscles to lose water and to tire. It’s crucial to drink plenty of water whilst exercising to make sure your muscles can complete your workout.
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How much water you should drink a day massively depends on your activity level, age, and how much water you consume through coffee, tea, or water rich vegetables and fruit.  There is no magic number but follow these simple tips to stay hydrated:

-        When you wake up, before you have your brekkie, drink one large glass of water.

-        Drink 30 minutes before eating a meal (this can help control your appetite, too).

-        Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits with high water content throughout your day, e.g., melon, strawberries, cucumber and lettuce.

-        Get in the habit of keeping a refillable water bottle with you at all times (Anna loves her Bobble).

-        If you find water too boring, then you can always spice it up by infusing fruit and mint (Charlotte loves the Avoin Colorlife water fruit infuser with fresh lemon and mint).

So drink up, drink up! 

Cheers!

For any further information on exercise and nutrition please get in touch via

 info@ace-london.com

Time time time, see what’s become of me

Life is a massive juggling act of responsibilities and commitments, and finding the time to exercise and eat healthy is often the first casualty of a busy lifestyle. BUT (and this is a big BUT) eating well and staying fit not only makes you feel fabulous but also gives you great energy to take on the daily grind! 

So it’s worth learning some clever time-saving tricks that will allow you to  do it all… This is time management, the ACE way!

 

2 hrs planning for 7 days of good eating

Dedicate two hours of your week planning menus and making sure you have what you need to make it happen. Shopping the ACE way means you won’t ever have that moment where you end up making cheesy pasta because it’s all you have to hand. Think about what you are going to eat, have a look in your cupboards, do a shop, do some advance cooking…. and relax. 

ACE are creating an essential list for your weekly shop, which we will publish soon. In the meantime here are some of our top tips...

 

1. Go FROZEN - The amount of frozen fruit, veg and herbs on offer, already chopped, diced, shredded etc is amazing and great value for money. It means you have instant padding for your protein supper AND can throw together a soup in minutes. Sure, the fresh stuff is a bit better to have raw but for stews and soups frozen is fine and means you don’t have to worry about only having droopy beans to work with.

2. Stock up on protein - meat, chicken & fish- buy in bulk and then individually bag them up and freeze them. You can easily take something out to defrost before you go to work and as soon as you get home it will be ready to be cooked.

3. Batch cook - once a week or even once a fortnight cook in bulk and freeze-in family size or individual portions. This not only saves time but is great for portion control and making sure you don’t over-eat.

4. A family affair - don’t cook three different meals a night. Get your kids and partners eating the same as you. We’ve got loads of creative recipes coming your way that the whole family will enjoy. Teach your kids about eating healthily and make it yummy for everyone. 

5. Tins & packets - keep in stock a drawer full of lentils, barley, quinoa, whole-wheat cous cous, brown rice etc.. The list is endless - all quick and easy to make and great additions to your soups, stews or all on their own. Likewise for tins, stock up on chick peas, cannellini beans, kidney beans and you'll always have something delicious ready at hand to throw on your salad or add to your stir fry.

Ace's Top Tips for 2016!

Happy New Year! Following two weeks of Christmas holiday indulgence now is the time when pretty much everyone resolves to get fit and healthy and lose some weight. We all feel like we need to take our wellbeing seriously at this time of year to set a pattern for the months ahead. So here are some top tips to help you get on your way….

• First of all it might be an idea to consult a personal trainer who, if you can't afford to have on a weekly or biweekly basis could certainly point you in the right direction certainly as far as exercise and nutrition are concerned.

• Adopt a new High Intensity Impact Training regime and try and get two HIIT sessions into your weekly schedule. HIIT is all the craze right now and it can all be done with just your body weight so you don’t need to join a gym! You can do HIIT at home and there are tons of online resources to help you do it. Get your friends and family involved- if you commit to training with someone it will make it much more fun and there's less chance you'll miss one of your training sessions! (If you want to take part in a group HIIT session- check out ace’s on  our schedule  www.ace-london.com

• Get the right kit in! Use the sales to buy a new pair of trainers or some cool sports gear – it can help motivate you. Don’t let not having the right things stop you... if you find some good discounts you’ll be excited to test out your new things.

• There are so many diet plans our there make sure you chose one that is right for your body type and that you can stick to! Joining weight watchers or slimming world is in many ways the easiest way to achieve results and food plans are all done for you. Do not attempt to do any fad diets or cut out any food groups. This can not be held up long term and although you might see some short term weight loss results it is impossible to maintain and the weight will pile back on.

• My Fitness Pal is a great app - it will work out exactly how many calories you can have a day and you record every little detail. It's a really easy (and free!)  app to use, but the real success lies in carefully recording each and everything you eat as soon as it's gone in your mouth. So long as you do this and you are vigilant, you'll lose that extra holiday weight!

• Drink Drink Drink… and not the hard stuff! Water helps your body get rid of the toxins, improves skin, reduces fatigue, healthier teeth, bones and joints as well as increases your fat metabolism! So don't wait until you are thirsty- aim to drink at least 2-3 life's a day and watch the fat melt away!

• Sleep & Relaxation- people often don't realise quite how important sleep is! If you want to make some serious changes, both in your body and your general healthy & wellbeing, make sure you try to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Let your body and muscles (especially if you are working out) recover and repair themselves. Try and schedule some sort of relaxation into your week. Cortisol (the stress hormone) and the adrenal system is complicated but high cortisol level are responsible for weight gain so try to keep those stress levels down by including some sort of meditation or yoga into your week.

• Last but not least – chose a plan. There is so much advice and information post Christmas  about healthy eating, exercise & fitness it can be completely daunting. Choose one or 2 people to listen to who offer ideas that are realistic and achievable and try to fade out the rest. A short term detox plan can help you get on your way but avoid anything too faddy that require an impossible number of ingredients in your cupboard and hours at your disposal. The best new years resolutions are ones that last more than a week so try and go for the long term lifestyle approach!