How to get over your exercise slump

We’ve all been there… started off doing so well, making it to the gym 3-4-5 times a week and feeling great! But then, you fall off the exercise train for a couple of days… maybe over indulge in the foods you know you shouldn’t and then you are left feeling like sh*t and feeling no motivation to get back into exercising! Sound a bit like you?

Well 2021 is here and it’s time to leave what felt like a slump of a year behind and get back into the exercise routine you know you enjoyed at some point! Here are some of my go to tips to get back on track when that exercise slump hits!

Ease into exercise with an activity that you enjoy – whether that be going for a bike ride, hike, swim at the beach or a group fitness class! Starting off with an activity that you find enjoyment in is a great way to get the muscles pumping and heart rate up without necessarily feeling like you’re exercising! This could be just enough to help you find your motivation to get your body moving and ass back to a regular routine! Even better, try something new! This could be a dance class, pilates, boxing, cross-training and so much more!
Bring a friend – I’m sure there’s someone in your life who you can convince to come to the gym with you, even if its just one workout! Exercising with a friend can make it so much more enjoyable and can be a bit of a catch-up session! Instead of meeting for brunch or coffee, meet at the gym, the park or a walkway and then if you must… go get your brunch afterwards. Even better is challenging you friend in a workout to see who can complete the most reps during an interval or setting a workout and see who can finish it first!
Book it in as an appointment with yourself – things are starting to get back to normal since the Christmas/New Year break so its time to book in your appointments and set your schedules! If you see exercise as something you don’t have time for anymore, make time and put it visibly in your diary or calendar as time for yourself! You don’t like to skip an appointment and pay that cancellation fee so don’t do that with your workout!
Making it once or twice is better than not at all – you may not be motivated or quite ready to smash out the same number of workouts a week as you did when you were more motivated but anything is better than nothing! If you can only drag yourself to the gym once, its probably more than you did the week before so see that as a win! Then slowly you will get back to two or three times and start to feel more motivated as you feel your mood and energy improve again! Don’t beat yourself up when you can’t do the same as when you were more in routine!
Record down your activity – each time you do a workout, write it down in your calendar or start a workout tally for yourself! I personally love looking back on the week and seeing how active or inactive I have been with moving my body and find it motivating to challenge it the next week to see if I can do more or different kinds!

Don’t give up on yourself! The motivation will come back, you just have to be patient and do your best when you can!

“Fitness HQ for women is a boutique Women’s only 24/7 gym, in the heart of Albany. Services include a full-service gym, small group fitness classes, personal training, and infrared sauna.”

Top 10 Body Weight Exercises

Getting fit doesn’t have to be complicated. Simple body weight exercises can be a great choice for achieving gains in strength, flexibility, and overall health. Best of all, you can usually do them just about anywhere. While we are eagerly awaiting level 2 for the gym to reopen, there is a number of exercises that you can do with no equipment at all.

Here are 10 of my favourite body weight exercises you can do at home, all of these exercises are able to be modified to make them easier or more challenging.

BURPEES

I know they aren’t everybody’s favourite exercise but burpees are a great exercise to strengthen your whole body from head to toe. They help with coordination and stability, as well as getting your heart rate up to burn lots of calories. Burpees work the arms, chest, core, hamstrings, glutes and quads. Plus there are lots of different options to make burpees easier or harder, so start with easy stepping options and change it up as you get fitter and more coordinated.

BEAR CRAWL

The bear crawl is another great exercise, primarily a strength and mobility enhancing exercise. It works your core muscles just like the plank, but since you’re moving, it engages more muscles and forces your core to work harder to keep you stable. Your abs, shoulder, chest, glutes and legs are the primary muscles used during this exercise. In fact, you are using all these muscles at the same time. It also increases joint mobility in the hips, wrists, spine, ankles and the knee.

SQUATS

Squats are a great basic functional movement . We do this movement a lot in our daily life, for example sitting or standing from a chair or picking up and putting down a box. Squats work your quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, abdominal muscles, lower back and your glutes too. Not many exercises can claim to recruit so many muscles at the same time! Squats build strength in your legs and hips but also help with mobility and balance. Strong legs are essential for staying mobile as you get older. Not only do they develop leg strength, they also workout your core and stabilising muscles. These muscles help you to maintain balance while also improving the communication between your brain and your muscle, which helps prevent falls.

SPLIT SQUAT and LUNGES

Firstly the main difference between a split squat and a lunge is movement, with a split squat your feet stay in place whereas with a lunge you are either stepping forward, backward or sideways to get into the lunge. With both exercises, all the muscles in the lower body and hips are working, and also the core muscles are activated to provide stability. Lunges/Split squats can help you develop lower-body strength and endurance. Split squats are a great beginner lower body move and can be an great asymmetrical exercise for sports people and runners. Lunges/Split Squats can be made more advanced with different placements of weight, foot position and instability equipment.

PUSH UPS

Push ups are a great exercise for the upper body muscles with the added benefit of developing core stability. The push up also trains your lower back, upper back and glutes. You can target different upper body muscles just by changing the position of your hands/arms. Like the burpee, push ups have a lot of different options to make them easier or harder. You can start on your knees and advance to the feet option. Elevate your hands is a great way to make the exercise easier while being able to still do them on your feet. Try them on a wall first then move to a chair/floor when you get fiiter. By elevating the feet you can really make this a challenging exercise for the super fit athlete.

Y-T-L-W RAISE

The Y-T-L-W Raise is a multi-part move that targets your upper back. At the same time, it stabilizes your shoulder blades and strengthens your rotator cuff. This exercise is very beneficial for people with desk-bound jobs or who drive a lot for work and have limited range in their shoulder movement, it also strengthens your shoulder muscles in every direction.

PLANKS

Planks are a very versatile exercise that target a lot of the most important muscle groups in the body namely, transversus abdominis, rectus abdominis, oblique muscles and your glutes. Planks work the stability of your core muscles and help stabilise the pelvis. They are also essential for lower-back health and are highly effective at working your abdominal muscles. Like most of the exercises on my list there are also heaps of different variations of Planks to keep them challenging. Start on your knees first and push your hips forward to create a straight line in your body. Advance to your feet when you can do a minute comfortably. When you can do a minute on your feet, make it more challenging by moving your arms or legs and create more instability.

DEADBUG

The “dead bug” exercise is one of the simplest and best moves out there when it comes to strengthening your abs and core, without putting extra strain on your back. It engages your deep inner core including your transverse abdominis and pelvic floor. It’s a safe and effective way to strengthen and stabilize your core, spine and back muscles. This improves your posture and helps relieve and prevent low back pain. You will also improve your balance and coordination.

SINGLE LEG ROMAINIAN DEADLIFT

These are a excellent strength builder for your posterior chain. They work your hamstrings, glutes, outer thigh, lower back, ankles and core. They can be used as a warmup/activating exercise or as a great glute/hamstring tie in move. Going single leg adds a balance and hip/glute stabilization component so your hamstrings really have to work hard.

HIP BRIDGES

This exercise is a great exercise to target your glutes and hamstrings. They also require you to activate your abdominal and lower back muscles in order to keep your body stable – so they are also a great core exercise. You can use Hip Bridges as a good warm-up exercise to get your glutes activated before a leg workout, as a main lower body exercise as well as a basic rehab exercise to improve core and spinal stabilization.

“Located in Albany on the North Shore, Fitness HQ is the gym for Women. We run over 20+ group fitness classes as well as providing a safe comfortable space for ladies to work out in our main 24 hour gym”

I thought you said RUM: A beginners guide to running

Slow down

Newbies often think they are running too slow when in fact many are going too fast, meaning it quickly gets too difficult. Try jogging at the pace of just a fast walk for the next month and you’ll find that you will be able to go a lot further a lot easier.

Take small steps

Shortening the length of your stride can help big time. Practice over a 30 meter or so length (or between two light poles) and see if you can add in an extra 5 steps or strides over that distance!

Start with short distances

Start by jogging slowly for short distances. For example, from one lamp post to the next and then walking in between the next two (This is how I first started). Aim to do that for a total of just 15 minutes, twice a week, if you’re starting out or getting back into it after a long break. If you’re a bit fitter, try a walk-run or run-walk approach. Alternating blocks of walking/running with blocks of running/walking. e.g. 4 mins of running with 1 min of walking for 3 rounds = total running time 12 mins. Try to increase the rounds first, then look at increasing the running time. e.g. 5 mins running with 1 min walking. By using an on/off approach you are also reducing the amount of impact you are subjecting your body to.

Speed up or go further?

Once you can do a complete 15 minute jog, increase your speed by jogging slowly one way for 8-10 minutes then ‘racing’ back to where you started. Your total run time will get shorter, which at this stage of your running career is perfect – or – hold off on increasing speed and get out for a third run each week instead – idea being to do one or the other, not both.

Stop

If something doesn’t feel right, stop. If it hurts, stop. If something feels a bit weird, (and you get to be the judge of what that means), stop. This is an exercise in learning how to love jogging, not a game of pushing through pain. Seek guidance from a medical practitioner e.g. physiotherapist, podiatrist, if pain doesn’t go away.

Running Tips:

(This first one’s going to be a bit hard during this lockdown period but if you’ve got a good pair of supportive gym shoes/cross trainers that aren’t too old might be fine to get you started). Invest in a good pair of runners, go visit one of those specialist shoe stores (I go to our local Shoe Science store in Albany) yes the shoes do cost more but it’s well worth the investment in making sure you have the right type of shoe for your walking/running pattern. A quality, well-fitting and supporting sneaker will prevent aches and pains…no not muscle pain, but permanent knee, shin, and foot injuries that can plague you for life, if you suffer an injury.

If you walk/run a regular block (loop), then make sure that you also go the other way or vary your route .Our body (tendons, ligaments and muscles) get used to going that one way – the ups & downs, the level of the road. No road is level like a treadmill, so if we don’t vary the way/direction we go, we can end up with imbalances with the muscles, tendons and ligaments from our feet to our legs, hips and core which can then lead to injuries. With my current niggles, I just go straight out for time/distance and then turn around and come back the same way. I also vary the terrain every couple of runs by going to my nearest sports field or school and running on the grass (less impact) as there are no grass verges where I live to run on.

Do strength and conditioning and core work. These are hugely important for injury prevention and improving your running form and economy. For example when we go on a longer run, we tend to get tired. This causes us to slump forwards, which can cause pain in the neck, back and shoulders. By having a strong core, you can help prevent this. Many running niggles can be traced directly back to the fact that the glutes, the main hip muscles and the biggest muscle group in your body, simply aren’t doing their fair share of the work. Five minutes a day spent doing targeted exercises can reap significant rewards. A simple mix of planks, side planks and crunches can build your core strength, and squats and bridges are great for glutes.

Good music! 🙂 As you start increasing your time and distance, I find a good playlist with motivating music and a good tempo helps me go that bit further or go a bit longer. You can find already compiled playlists and albums on iTunes, Spotify or make up your own.

Benefits of running:

Healthy mind – running reduces stress and releases happy hormones.
Sleep easier -Runners enjoy better sleep, giving them more energy.
Healthy heart – Cardiovascular fitness goes up, blood pressure goes down.
Breathe easier – Running lessens the effects of asthma and helps to strengthen your lungs.
Keeps you young – Runners age better and live longer.
Better sex – Running improves stamina.
Strong immune system – decreases your risk of illness.
Weight loss – Running burns around 100 calories a mile (1.6 km). 3 miles (4.8 km) = 1 large doughnut.
Stronger bones – Boost your bone density and help prevent osteoporosis.
Toned legs – Runners have great leg

“I often hear someone say ‘I’m not a real runner. We are all runners. Some just run faster than others. I’ve never met a fake runner. (Bart Yasso)”

” Fitness HQ for Women is the North Shores boutique 24/7 womens gym. At Fitness HQ we pride ourselves on having an inclusive gym where women can feel comfortable and non-intimidated”

Importance of stretching and flexibility

We have all heard the trainers harp on about stretching after exercise and we often think it’s not necessary or you don’t have time. We all know if we are one of the guilty ones who just do a quick 5-second stretch or nothing at all and run out the door.

Benefits of stretching more:

Posture. You know, that thing that most people struggle with (especially if you have a desk job)? It’s not as easy as just “sitting up straighter”. Bad posture can come from tight muscles, and stretching therefore can prevent these muscles from getting so tight. Bad posture can lead to tightness which in turn can give you pain and cause injuries.
You will become more flexible. This is a pretty obvious benefit of stretching, but vital, daily tasks like bending over to tie your shoe, or throwing a ball for your dog, all become easier when you are more flexible.
Improved circulation. As you stretch, you increase blood flow, which allows your body to transport nutrients, and get rid of waste, faster.
Faster recovery. By stretching your muscles, you promote more blood to the area. The more blood flow, the more nutrients it will bring to recover and fix your muscles faster.
Better Coordination. This may seem like an average point, but coordination is so important, especially as you get older, as having this improved coordination and balance will prevent as many falls or accidents.

Should I stretch before I exercise?

Definitely! Before jumping into the weights or cardio, make sure you warm up and then do some dynamic stretches before the main part of your workout. Dynamic stretches are moving stretches that aim to put the joint through its full range of motion and get the blood flowing to the right areas. An example is a lunge, swinging one of your legs back and forth or ankle, or shoulder circles This warms up your muscles safely. If you try a static stretch, such as holding a quad stretch, this actually cools the muscle down and can use up too much muscle energy performing this stretch, and then have a poor workout due to your muscled already being fatigued!

How often should I stretch?

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that each big muscle group should be stretched at least twice a week. The American College of Sports Medicine also recommends static stretching after every workout.

How should I perform static stretches?

Try to be symmetrical. You want both sides of your body to be at the same level when it comes to stretching. This is especially important for those with injuries.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommend holding every stretch for around 60 seconds for maximum benefits, however, they claim holding a 15-30 stretch is very beneficial as well. Minimum 15 seconds each side.
Don’t bounce in your stretch. Hold a stretch smoothly, and don’t aim for pain, aim for tension. Pain can be a sign you have gone too far, and you should release your stretch a little bit.

What about yoga?

Yoga is amazing for flexibility, it helps you strengthen and lengthen your muscles in a safe and effective way. You don’t have to be “naturally flexible” in order to do yoga. Yoga helps your body stretch in new ways, and it is also a great way to destress the central nervous system. In saying that, you don’t have to practice yoga to become more flexible or to do a great stretch session.

Flexibility and stretching can greatly improve some aspects of your life. It can make day-to-day activities easier, improve your posture, prevent injuries, and may even reduce stress. An excellent benefit of stretching is your performance. You may think that is only important to athletes or people who play sport. However, stretching is very beneficial for everyone. By being more flexible, you can increase the range of motion in your exercises which in turn recruits more muscle fibers which can make you fitter, faster, and stronger. It also improves your posture and decreases the likelihood of getting injured and bad aches and pains.

Come join in one of our weekly Yoga classes or look at our stretch board in the main gym for some inspiration after a workout. All of our other classes include this critical aspect as part of the cool down, so try not to duck out of class early and miss it!

“Fitness HQ for women is North Shores 24/7 Boutique gym just for Women”

How to take the dread out of the dreadmill (a.k.a treadmill)

Winter is just around the corner and the bad weather is on its way! In no time it will be rainy, windy and cold!! Outdoor running starts to feel like it’s not even an option anymore so it’s time to hit the treadmill. But to many people running for 45 minutes or so on a treadmill does not sound like a lot of fun.

So here are a few ways to mix up your running on the treadmill this winter:

The most common answer: BLAST the upbeat music. I would highly recommend creating a playlist of your favourite upbeat tunes or discovering new upbeat music to listen to as you run. This can be really motivating and get you in a great headspace to beat your PB or even just get you past the first 10 minutes! Spotify has some great running playlists already made too.

Podcasts! I find running to a podcast so motivating and distracting from the fact I’m running. Find a topic you’re interested in whether that be health & fitness, crime stories, comedy, etc. and I’m sure there will be a great podcast available.

Watch a video. Now you need to be careful with this one because you don’t want to fly off the end! Find a YouTube video or Netflix episode, set up your phone/tablet on the front of the treadmill, plug your headphones in and run! This is a great distraction that makes time go a lot faster. We all spend hours on the couch binge-watching TV series at some point over winter so why not burn some calories too.

Interval train. Breaking your runs up on the treadmill can make it a lot more interesting and feel a lot quicker. Going for a slow distance run often feels like hours on a treadmill when it’s only been 20 minutes… so why not smash a half an hour session at a higher intensity and mix up your runs. Pick a speed that challenges you and run at that pace for 2 minutes. Because this is a higher speed than you normally run at, 2 minutes should be enough to get your heart rate up and leave you feeling puffed. Now break this run up with 1 minute of slower speed or power walking. Continue this for 10 minutes. Now increase the running time to 3 minutes and repeat. Mix up your interval training to what speeds and intervals suit you but remember to challenge yourself!

Find a buddy. If your bestie goes to the same gym then why not arrange treadmill running/walking dates and coffee. Walk and talk is something a lot of females love to do. So why not do it on those rainy winter days side by side on a treadmill. Challenge each other or even race to keep it interesting. Sometimes having someone with you to support you and distract you makes it that little bit better. Training on a treadmill means that you can go at different paces and still be next to each other for a yarn or just moral support.

Set goals. Running on a treadmill is a lot different from running outdoors. You might discover you can run a lot further and faster on a treadmill. So, set yourself some goals to aim for and smash them before the end of winter. Whether that be distance goals, time goals, or amount of times you run a week goals!

“Fitness HQ for women is a boutique Women’s only 24/7 gym, in the heart of Albany. Services include a full-service gym, small group fitness classes, personal training, and infrared sauna.”

I like big butts: How to grow your glutes

Looking through social media, big butts seem to be very on trend at the moment, and while some people may think it’s great and want to grow their glutes, others may not, and that’s perfectly okay, everyone has different goals for their bodies! But if you’re looking for some tips to grow those glutes, keep reading.

Anatomy of the glutes

The Glutes are made up of 3 muscles, the Gluteus Minimus, the Gluteus Medius, and the Gluteus Maximus. Each plays a different role, so you want to ensure you are working all three, just like you would train the front and back of your legs.

1. The Glute Maximus is one of the largest muscles in your body and is the most superficial (close to the surface) of your glute muscles, which means that this is the muscle that will give you some shape and mass.

2. The Glute Medius is located on the sides of your butt and main role is hip abduction (think taking the leg away from the body) and helps with overall stability of the pelvis.

3. The Glute Minimus is the deepest and smallest of the glute muscles. It works with synergy with the glute medimus to abduct and internally rotate the thigh. They provide stability, and assist with simple tasks like walking and running.

Why should you train your glutes?

It’s not just about getting a Kim K butt (although, I’m not convinced hers is 100% real!) Bigger and toned glutes not only look ascetically pleasing but strong active glute muscles are great injury prevention. A sign of inactive glutes can be lower back pain, knee pain, tightness in your quadriceps, poor posture or excessive fatigue in your quadriceps to name a few. Bear in mind that inactive glutes are not the only cause of these injuries, and you should always get these issues checked over by a physiotherapist.

How to train in the gym:

Start with training the big compound exercises first, which for your glutes is 3 main movements:

Squats
Deadlifts/ Hip Hinge exercises
Hip thrusts

There is lots of variations of the 3 compound movements. Make sure you are using a weight that is challenging for you but can still preform with perfect technique. Think about squeezing and contracting the glutes with each rep. You want to push yourself to fatigue where you can feel the burn in the glute muscle. If you finish the set and you could of done 5 more reps, try increasing the weight. We ideally want to finish the set 2 short of failure (2SOF), meaning you had only 2 more reps left in the tank for that set. Aim for 8 – 12 reps.

Then you want to add more isolated exercises:

Bulgarian split squats
Bridges
Reverse Lunges
Curtsey lunges
Donkey kicks / kick backs
1 leg Romanian Deadlifts
Hip abduction exercises

Resistance bands and glute activation:

As we generally sit a lot with our daily life, our quadriceps can become tight and dominate. If you only feel your quadriceps working when you do a squat, glute activation is really important for you to “switch on” the glute muscles for your workout. This is key to be able to grow your glutes.

You can activate your glutes by using a mini band. You want to make sure that the resistance band is tight around your thighs, just above your knees, or around your ankles. There are a number of exercises you can do to warm up your glutes, such as squats, crab walks, clam shells, glute bridges, donkey kicks, fire hydrants and many other hip abduction movements. It should only take you about 5 minutes to warm up your glutes, you don’t want to tire yourself out before you’ve even started your workout!

How long will it take to grow my glutes?

This will depend on genetics, how often you train, and what you eat.

Nutrition is really important as well as the training to grow your glute muscles. You want to make sure you are in a calorie surplus and eating adequate daily amount of protein. We recommend eating 1 x BW (KG) to 1.5 x BW(KG) = grams of daily protein.

You can still gain muscle on your normal number of calories or even in a deficit, but it will take longer. Eating a calorie deficit can work well if you would still like to lose body fat while still toning your glutes.

While eating in a surplus, it is said to take around three months to really grow your glutes and see progress. However, genetics also plays a part. By adding some of those compound and isolated exercises to your next leg day, I’m sure you’ll start to see some results soon!

“Fitness HQ is a locally owned and operated boutique gym in the heart of Albany. With 24 hour access, you can get fit, when it fits you!”

The Truth About Abs

Different parts of the abdominals, how to get a flat stomach, how to strengthen your core…

We’ve all heard or tried to crunch our way to a six-pack! But I’m sure you soon realized that no matter how many you did, that six-pack never showed! The truth is there are more and better ways to effectively work out and define your abdominal muscles which a big part of this is your diet and getting leaner. Before we begin talking about how to define the abdominals it is best to understand how the muscle group is made up.

The four main muscles within the abdominal muscle group are:

Rectus abdominus – the long strap of muscle that extends the entire length of the abdominal wall (the muscle that is associated with the “six-pack” look). This muscle is responsible for all your movements that involve flexing or extending the spine e.g sit-ups or mountain climbers.

Internal & External obliques – these are considered your side muscles with your external oblique being the most superficial (closest to skins surface). In simplified terms, the external oblique runs downwards from the posterior part of the ribs to your abdomen and pelvis. Internal obliques lie underneath running from your pelvis/abdomen up towards the ribs (work in opposite directions). These muscles are responsible for any twisting, side flexion, or rotating of the torso e.g bicycle crunches.

Transverse abdominus – the deepest of the muscles with fibers running horizontally anteriorly across your middle. This muscle helps to compress the abdomen and stabilize the pelvis (known as the corset muscle as it provides the corset effect). This is the most important as it sits closest to the spine and improves posture and strengthens the lower back.

The core of your body

Abdominals play an important role in overall posture, balance & stability, good back health, and everyday tasks. The abdominals are the literal core of your body so it is important to train your abs for strength not only the idea of a flat stomach. When you have a strong core, you are less likely to put pressure on your lower back and reduce the chances of back pain as you get older. A strong core also helps to prevent injury throughout your everyday life by keeping your posture in check and giving you the support, you need to carry out things during the day.

The unfortunate thing with abs is no matter how hard you train them unless you’re eating a healthy diet and losing overall body fat your six-pack won’t show. That’s not to say that doing a lot of core exercises isn’t beneficial as you will be improving your core strength, however, you will not be able to spot reduce your stomach fat to show off your strong core with thousands of crunches. The key to improving your core definition and strength is to incorporate a range of core exercises into your everyday workout routine as well as lose overall body fat. People store excess body fat in all different places whether it be their stomach, hips, thighs, back etc, which can also affect the amount of hard work you will need to put in to get a strong visible six-pack.

Before you think it’s going to be a never-ending battle between you, the gym, and your diet… Here are some of my helpful hints to get you closer to that six-pack and an overall stronger core!

Engage your core throughout the day! When you’re sitting at your desk all day try and take a moment every so often to adjust your posture and activate your core. This means sitting upright and squeezing your tummy muscles together. If you do this enough times it will begin to feel natural.
Focus on compound movements that involve your core throughout your whole workout. In fact, in almost every exercise you should be engaging and activating your core in order to stabilize your movement. Such as during pushups – squeeze the core, front weighted squats – squeeze the core, and shoulder press – squeeze the core. This is all beneficial to your posture, preventing injury and executing the exercise correctly.
Try adding a 5-10-minute ab routine to the beginning of every workout. Often people save their ab exercises to the end of their workout and then choose to skip them out because 1. You’ve run out of time or 2. You can’t be bothered. Adding abs to the beginning of your workout will help fire them up to remain engaged for the rest of your workout.
Understand your gut! Checking your stomach out in the morning is always so much more satisfying than later in the day because of our tummy’s bloat. Bloating is completely natural and you cannot stop it from happening however, you can help reduce it by understanding what works for you. Certain foods may cause you to bloat more than others. Try and figure out what makes you bloat the most and control your portion sizes to prevent that 5-month-pregnant feeling.
Get up and move! The more energy you expend each day the better for not only your overall health, mood, gut, and energy levels but also helps aid in fat loss by burning more calories.
Focus on your core – when you are exercising your core, really focus on those muscles and practice proper engagement and contraction of them as you do the exercise. This is the best way to really feel that burn and get the most out of your workout.

Come chat to us about booking in for a complimentary personalised program and we can show you some of our favourite ab exercises. There are much better exercises than the traditional crunch or sit-ups.

“Fitness HQ for Women is a New Zealand owned and operated gym in the heart of Albany, North Shore. Our services include group fitness classes, personal training, and providing a 24-hour access boutique women-only gym”

Getting back on track after the Winter slump

The dark mornings and nights, and the moody weather of Winter can cause motivation to be at an all-time low. Now that spring is here and the days are looking a little brighter here are a few tips to help you get back into your gym routine.

Set Your Next Goal

Organising your next significant goal is one of the best ways to keep you on track. With a challenge planned for the near future, you will be less likely to give in to the urge to skip a session.

Here are some examples:

6km/12km/ Half or full marathon
Sign up for a triathlon
Tough Gal Challenge – An obstacle mud run. Great way to challenge all your aspects of your fitness and have fun too!
Goal to squat or deadlift bodyweight
A goal to beat your own 1000 m, Ski erg, rowing or 5km Run time

Plan tomorrow, tonight

Spending a few minutes at the end of each day thinking about what you’re going to do tomorrow, and physically writing it down, increases your likelihood of completing the task.

Plan your workout
Plan what time you will train
Write a mini goal for your session
Have everything you need laid out and ready to go – gym gear/clothes, alarm set, food and snacks prepared etc.

Train with Others

Making a commitment with a friend or a group not only makes the workouts more fun, but also keeps you accountable. Knowing that you are meeting someone will make you less likely to skip the gym. Convince a friend to join you and take turns at planning your workouts to keep things interesting. Joining a group fitness class is also a good way to make friends at the gym to keep you accountable.

Change your workout routine

Repeating the same routine and exercises can become boring and contribute to motivation loss. To avoid this, try out a new workout style, new exercises, or a new group fitness class. By switching things up you’ll keep your mind and body engaged. Doing the same routine continuously can create some great results (if you are doing a progressive overload), but can become very monotonous and boring. It’s great to try new things and challenge your muscles in a different way to keep yourself interested. Come see us for a new complimentary personalised weights program for the main gym.

Treat yourself to some new gym gear

A term called “enclothed cognition” refers to the psychological influence that clothing can have on us. It suggests that “dressing for the part” subconsciously changes our behaviors and attitudes. Basically, if you’re dressed for the gym, you’re not only more inclined to be active, but you can feel more confident in your abilities, leading to improved focus, motivation, and gains. So yes, this is your excuse to go buy some new gym wear that you feel good in 😊

“Fitness HQ prides itself on a safe place for ladies to feel comfortable, motivated and supported towards their health and fitness goals. With over 20 group fitness classes per week, there is something for everyone!