With the clock change behind us followed by Halloween, the transition in to November plus Guy Fawkes Night this upcoming week, we have lots of change and events going on!
It can all get a bit overwhelming and of course derail our self-care routine. The darker nights, drizzle and damp can make us want to shut the curtains and slob out on the sofa (often accompanied by a glass or mug of something unhealthy with relevant snacks). Pretty quickly our mental and physical health, wellbeing and appearance takes a nosedive! But all that negative stuff is preventable!
By creating a routine, and sticking with it, combined with nutritious natural food, keeping hydrated and staying away from the booze, processed foods and starchy carbs, as well as getting enough sleep plus some extra vitamins, especially Vit D, C and Zinc, you will keep energised and tip top all winter and for when the sun returns!
Follow 75 Years Young ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER’s Advice
“The biggest mistake any one can make about going to the gym (class) is to think about it”
i.e. just do it! no debating, excuse making or filling your time with things that are not as important as your health!
I’m really excited about our Special Halloween Night on Tuesday -I have created special playlists and routines for both classes – I hope you will come out and play and by the way encourage your family and friends to do the same, the more the merrier!
Guy Fawkes Night
Mini and Miki are petrified of fireworks, so our weekend is spent indoors keeping them calm. If you are someone who loves to have a party, bonfire and fireworks I urge you to consider quieter/silent fireworks to help the pets, wildlife and noise sensitive humans that are upset by them. Also please check your bonfire for sleeping animals such as hedgehogs before you light it.
Our very own clever and talented DYBO member Val Harris has written this lovely poem to remind us! (Val is a published author and poet), and she has given me permission to share her work. We encourage you to share this poster and please credit Val.
Menopause on Hold! (I wish !)
I promised you some information about Peri/Post Menopause health, fitness and wellbeing this week – well with my apologies I will share that with you next week because November has arrived and I want to bring you our next DYBO challenge and why!
My challenge for you this November is to ditch refined sugar for the month !
And everything that is sugar under another name, in disguise or behaves like sugar in the body (a list below), and by the way yes that includes Alcohol!!!!!
Here’s why!
By giving up refined sugar over the next 30 days you will enjoy
And more…
Please look out for and avoid:
Be careful of the type of sugar you consume at all times.
Look at the impact that processed sugar has vs that of natural sources of sugar…
I avoid Fructose too (unless its still in the fruit!) – it’s tough on the liver, it’s often in jams and ‘healthy’ sodas. Simply avoid anything that ends in ‘ose’
Aren’t sweeteners a better option?
In a word NO!
In fact they are far worse for you, they make the brain/gut think that you have had sugar, the body behaves like you have had sugar asking the pancreas to increase the insulin required to deal with these sugars, but they aren’t there, there is no energy (we use them thinking that they are good because they are low calorie) – the consequence is that your body then asks for more carbohydrates to deal with the uptick in insulin! It becomes a vicious circle resulting in stored fat (around the abdomen in particular), a damaged Microbiome that leads to a long list of mental and physiological problems and diseases!
There are many studies linking artificial sweeteners to obesity and a long list of significant illnesses.
If after this challenge you want to maintain a low sugar life style, switch to eating fruit rather than drinking fruit juice, and use honey, maple syrup, natural stevia drops and coconut sugar all of which provide some nutritional benefit but note they are still sugar and should be used in moderation.
I’ve created a 30-day chart for you to record your progress – completing it everyday will be great for motivation.
How about getting family members, friends and colleagues involved.
Even get sponsored!
And for even greater motivation, take some measurements in cm.
(Record your chest, waist, upper arms, thighs, hips) and take some pictures of yourself at the start and again at the end, you will notice brighter, eyes, better mood, clearer skin, improved mental clarity, increased energy and fat loss – you will feel and look less bloated too!) Make a note of how you feel , your energy mental clarity, skin and so on then re asses after you finish the 30 days.
Print off and cross of each successful day. You have a couple of days to get organised!
If you have a metabolic condition or any medical condition that you are concerned that might be affected by cutting out/down refined sugars please consult with your GP/ specialist medical professional!
The week ahead
Gut Friendly anti-inflammatory Pumpkin Soup
(recipe found on Sarah’s spoonful dot com)
Ingredients
- 1/2 small pumpkin
- 1 small onion
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger
- 1 thumbnail-sized piece fresh turmeric
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 vegetable bouillon stock cube
- 2 cups water
- 1400ml can coconut milk
- 2 tbsp olive oil (I would use coconut oil)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Cube the pumpkin into small, evenly sized pieces. Spread out onto a baking tray, drizzle with half the olive oil and place in the oven for 45-55 minutes.
- Roughly chop the onion and mince the ginger and garlic.
- Heat the remaining olive oil in a large pot.
- Add the onion and allow to sweat over a medium heat for five minutes.
- Add the ginger, garlic, turmeric, carrot and spices and sauté for a further five minutes.
- Mix the bouillon stock cube with a little hot water and whisk to remove clumps. Add this to the pot with two cups of water. Bring to boil and simmer for 25-35 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and add the coconut milk.
- Cool completely before adding everything to a blender.
- Return the blended soup to the pot and heat on the stove.
- Serve with any of your favourite toppings – eg, coconut cream, coriander, drizzle chilli oil
Enjoy!
I’m so looking forward to supporting with you health, fitness and wellbeing and hope you will join me in the Studio and on the sugar-free challenge for November.
Love ya,
Helen x
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DYBO Live & Online – This week’s Classes are as follows:.
At All Hallows, Farnham & DYBO Studio, Church Crookham (Book in Advance only): Zoom class details further down the page.
Monday (AH)
6.30-7.15pm: Boogie Fit
7.30-8.15pm: Total Tone – with bands, handweights and mat.
Tuesday (AH)
6.30-7.15pm: 5 in 1 Fitness – with bands, handweights and mat.
7.30-8.15pm: Dance Fit
Wednesday (DYBO Studio)
6.30-7.15pm: Old Skool, Step & Strength – Step, hand weights and band.
7.30-8.30pm: Barre Fit – Something to assist balance like a barre, eg. chair, worktop, mantlepiece etc.
Thursday (AH)
6.15-7.20pm: Contemporary Stretch – various equipment used at each class, contact me for info.
7.30-8.30pm: Dancespiration
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Joining us at All Hallows? – Protocols and information
I’m so happy to be able to run Face to Face classes at All Hallows and at the DYBO Studio in Church Crookham. My primary objective is to ensure that we all have a wonderful time with effective and fun classes that are engaging, relaxed and of course, safe.
To ensure that is the case I just want to share with you our class protocols to inform and reassure everyone. Not everyone has been out and about much over the past, almost 3 years, and some of us are more anxious than others about getting back to ‘normal’ life and activities since restrictions have been lifted. Please be patient with each other and me – I have the responsibility of keeping you all happy and safe whilst complying with governing body guidelines and providing the best experience possible.
*Denotes for you to do, the rest is just info…
Preparation
1) *Firstly ensure that you have booked by sending us an email info@dybo.co.uk confirming all the classes you wish to attend plus your payment method, be it as a member, using your voucher, or pay as you go.
No on the door bookings or payments can be taken. Bookings are not refundable or transferable. I will keep records of all attending.
2) *Preparing your kit bag/box. This depends upon the class you are attending.
Boogie Fit, Dance Fit and Dancespiration crew will only require your indoor trainers/dance shoes to change in to, sweat towel, and drink.
Total Tone and 5 in 1 crew – currently I am not sharing equipment in a group exercise setting so you will need your mat, a resistance band and light hand weights/equivalent in addition to your trainers, sweat towel and drink.
Contemporary Stretch crew need a mat, band, chi ball and at times 2 x tennis balls and a sock!
3) Re borrowing equipment – if you would like to try a class or have forgotten equipment then you may borrow equipment on that occasion and please ensure that you sanitise it before and afterwards (sanitising products supplied). I can assist you with sourcing your own equipment
On the night
*Please park in the playing courts and walk between the old school building and new sports hall, up a few steps on to the outside seating area, the studio door is to your right.
*Participants are required to arrive, enter and be in their personal exercise space between 5 and 10 mins before the class,
*Please change into your clean trainers for indoor activity as you enter, e.g. slip off your outdoor shoes, place in your bag, walk to activity area then put indoor shoes on, the same in reverse to leave. This is to maintain the hygiene and cleanliness of the space, avoiding stones and glass being walked in and potentially causing injury and to protect the lovely new wood floor.
*The toilets are open to use but please arrive changed, ready for activity so as to keep use time minimal and avoiding cues.
I will be sticking to class times for sanitising and ventilation purposes. Doors and windows will be open for ventilation, unless the weather is very cold, and if it’s hot, fans will be used to blow air forwards out of the windows and open door for maximum and safe ventilation. Our exercise space is much larger than the governing body requirements (more than double in fact) indeed the government have lifted all guidelines, so it will be easy to maintain 2m social distance but please do keep your distance as some of our clients are more vulnerable to infection and wary .
I will maintain social distance, however I will have a visor/mask if I have to come close to provide first aid etc.
After an entire teaching career facing my class participants with my back to the mirrors I have made the change (for now) to face the mirrors, this is for my safety in this strange Covid world, but I assure you that I will still be able to see everything you get up to and will coach, encourage and nag as effectively as usual!!!
*After a wonderful class and virtual hugs, change from your indoor trainers to outdoor shoes and sanitise your hands again if you wish.
*Please tell friends and family about our wonderful classes, I now have to rebuild my group exercise business after months away from face to face teaching due to the pandemic and more recently these flu and cold bugs.
When joining me at the DYBO Studio (No.42, GU52 0YA) I will send information directly including entrance code for the Studio and please note, advanced booking is required.
Fees, you have THREE options!
Please note that all Classes must be booked and paid for in advance and are non transferable or refundable.
Online payments only.
£7.50 per class.
10 Class Voucher: £65 (to be used within 12 weeks of purchase).
Membership: £50, unlimited classes, plus a bonus of free access to all class recordings on our DYBO TV channel, and another bonus of a £5 discount for one to one services for current membership holders.
To be paid by the 1st day of the month and is valid from the first to last day of calendar month,
One full month’s notice of membership suspension/cancellation is required with one membership restart permitted within a 12 month period.
Bank details are UK Fitness Academy Ltd.
Sort Code 09-01-28, Acc No. 04284324
Please email me when you have made a payment and use your name and what it’s for as a reference. eg. Jane Smith Class Voucher
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Joining us on Zoom? – Links and Information
Monday
6.30pm: Boogie Fit
7.30pm: Total Tone
Tuesday
6.30pm: 5 in 1 Fitness Class
7.30pm: Dance Fit
Wednesday
6.30pm: Old Skool, Step & Strength – Step, hand weights and band.
7.30pm: Barre Fit – Something to assist balance like a barre, eg. chair, worktop, mantlepiece etc.
Thursday
6.15pm: Contemporary Stretch
7.30pm: Dancespiration
****** All the above classes change and vary weekly! *****
How to prepare your Zoom environment
- You need space to move 2 side steps, 4 walks forward, 4 backward. Move trip hazards and furniture as much as you can (get help, be careful!) to give you maximum space for upper and lower body movement. Roll up rugs or secure them so they don’t slip or cause you to trip.
- Plugging your device in to your TV with an HDMI cable is brilliant as it gives you a good picture of you (like a mirror) and me – as well as boosting the sound if you go through the TV/Hi-Fi sound system. If you can place your device under the TV, then even better.
- I know some of you are using your phones – try to plug in to a speaker system (even those little speakers we have when we go on holiday would help) so that you can hear better as you move back from the phone. Angie has tried Bluetooth earphones and it worked well.
- Ensure you have maximum access to your Wi-Fi in the house and as close to the router as is feasible. Take phones off the Wi-Fi system and pop them on to your 4/5G network or place on airplane mode, unless that’s what you are using to join us, obviously. Ask family to do the same for the duration of your class – keep them off the internet whilst you need the bandwidth. The more bandwidth you have, the better the picture and sound and the less likely you are to lose the feed. Your health is a priority at this time and I’m sure they can do something else for that short time!
- Ventilate your exercise space, have plenty of water and towels to hand, keep your exercise equipment close – if you need anything, let me know.
- Wear correct footwear for your activity – putting an old pair of socks over the toes and ball of your trainers will help reduce friction when exercising on carpet (if they are a really old pair, cutting the toes open and then just having them over the ball of the foot is even better). It’s up to you if you want to dance or train in bare feet but be careful if you don’t usually do this as it takes time for the muscles and connective tissue of the feet and rest of the body to adapt to barefoot training.
- Make your own gym equipment. Save laundry liquid or milk bottles – you can fill them with water or wet sand/rice etc. to add weight and make a dumbell/kettlebell. I recommend you make a few in differing weights and you have written on them so you know what they weigh and seal the caps with tape to prevent leakage. Get a heavy duty shopping bag and put weighty items in it, check they can’t fall out and you have a kettlebell alternative. Make your own hurdles, put cushions, pillows, boxes, books on the floor to jump over. Use household items as floor markers for circuit activities. The stairs and outdoor steps are great temporary steps/benches for cardio and upper body work. The garden is a great open space to make an assault course or if you can get a signal, take your class or PT session outside, but do make it safe.
Disclaimer
I declare that all of the information I have given (both written and verbal) is accurate and truthful. I know of no reason why I cannot participate fully in any exercise programme and I do not deem it necessary to consult my medical Practitioner/GP/specialist. I undertake to inform my instructor should any information change.
I understand that I participate at my own risk and that any information given is not intended to replace or represent medical advice. I agree to comply with all terms conditions and class protocols and instructions as outlined above and whilst attending DYBO classes/training.
Do not attend classes if experiencing symptoms of Covid 19, Flu or airborne transmissible infection or have tested positive.
Attending any DYBO class will assume agreement with above terms and disclaimer.
