February is ‘Heart Month’, and this is ‘Heart Week’ with Valentine’s Day on Sunday. I am a firm believer in self-care as a top priority – when we take care of our health we are in the best position to give love and help to others. I mean self love in it’s truest sense means caring for our mental and physical health, self-respect, self-control, self-discipline and maintain high standards for one’s self.
I’m also anti-virtue signalling and buying into the commercialism of Valentine’s Day – particularly without true love and good intent behind the gestures. A box of chocolates will never make up for lack of consideration or care the rest of the year.
It’s often the little gestures of love and care that mean the most when combined, with congruence, with the loving messages.
The heart is the symbol of love and I recently attended a 6 hour conference about the heart, observing an academic autopsy of the heart, its surrounding tissues, lungs and associated skeleton, which was very interesting.
We all know our heart is essential to life and yes we can break it yet it still amazes me what little care folks take of their heart, often abusing it with a highly processed and sugar based diet, smoking, stress, poor sleep and lack of exercise.
Angina, atrial fibrillation, arrhythmia, coronary heart disease, cardiac arrest and cardiomyopathy are a few of the many heart conditions that for most of us are preventable when great care is taken of our diet and exercise.
I take an L-arginine/L-citruline supplement 2 x daily (Pro-Argi 9) which strengthens the cells of the walls of the heart and vascular system and also assists in the production and performance of Nitric Oxide in the body.
Its effects are to normalise blood pressure (clients have come off their BP meds), boost energy, immunity (its also includes vitamins B12, K and C) normalise appetite and clarify the skin. It improves heart and vascular health and is recommended to suffers of Raynaud’s, unstable BP, and poor circulation.
I follow a natural and low carb diet, drink alcohol occasionally, eat lots of veggies, get plenty of exercise and sleep and practice positive mind management. So I’m doing all I can to take care of my heart. I implore you to care of yours – reach out if you want advice.
Speaking of love, I got the chance to follow my first love which is Dance this Sunday when the ‘Funktastic’ Nikkie Riozzi taught us how to house dance, I loved it and it was a fab way to start a Sunday – big thanks to Nikkie for giving her time and talent x
Shall we commemorate and how?
Can you believe we have been sharing our online classes for 48 weeks as of this week. I’m sad to think that it’s been a year since I have stood beside you in our classes and equally I’m heartened by the challenges we have faced together and for the comfort and support we have provided for each other – a big thank you.
So how do we mark this occasion, any ideas?
Week 48 Online
More fabulous dance and fitness coming this week. Daisy is back from working on the movie, and between us we have lots of fitness and dance fabulousness to keep you in shape and out of trouble whilst staying safely at home.
I am taking clients outdoors as well as working with One to One training clients on Zoom and with the cold easterly winds I want you all to stay safe and warm when training outside. Here is some great info (with an HCW addition) from the Mayo clinic.
Winter Fitness: Safety tips for exercising outdoors
Dressing in layers, protecting your hands and feet, and paying attention to the forecast can help you stay safe and warm while exercising outdoors in cold weather. Read on…
Winter fitness- Safety tips for exercising outdoors (Mayo Clinic)
In the Summer, Walk Like An Egyptian…
…but in the winter walk like a penguin!
DYBO Live & Online – This week’s Classes are as follows:
Monday
6.30pm Boogie Fit (Beginners/Returners)
7.30pm Total Tone (All)
Tuesday
6.30pm HIIT (Simple & effective fitness training)
7.15pm Core Power – Complimentary when attending HIIT or DF or £3.50
7.45pm Dance Fit (Intermediate)
Wednesday
6.30pm Old Skool Step (All levels)
7.15pm Barre Fit (All levels)
Thursday
6.15pm Contemporary Stretch (All levels)
7.30pm Dance & Perspiration (Fitness with a Dance focus, more experienced)
Friday
6.30pm Freestyle Fitness Yoga (Relax, Restore and Reboot)
****** All the above classes change and vary weekly! *****
How to prepare your 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.
Fees, you have THREE options!
£6.50 per class. Paid in advance please.
10 Class Voucher £55 ( to be used within 12
weeks of purchase)
Membership, unlimited classes, £50, plus a lockdown bonus of free access to all videos of the classes! (Valid first to last day of calendar month, paid on the first day of the month)
If things get so tight that you can’t afford it then please reach out to me, I want to keep you healthy and happy and help you through this tough time and trust that no-one will take advantage of me.
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. As reference, I do have a Paypal account but it costs money to receive and move money.
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.
Attending any DYBO class will assume agreement with above terms and disclaimer.
Gut Healthy, Anti-Inflammatory, Carrot, Turmeric and Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon nut oil
- 1 leek sliced
- 1 cup chopped fennel (1 small head)
- 3 cups chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped butternut squash
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger (about 2″ piece)
- 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 1 can low fat coconut milk
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the fennel, leeks, carrots, and squash. Saute for 3 – 5 minutes until the veggies start to soften. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, salt, and pepper, and saute for a few more minutes.
- Add the stock and coconut milk. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Once the soup is cooked, add it to a blender and blend until creamy. You could also use an immersion blender. Taste and adjust seasonings to your taste.
Try a blob of coconut yogurt in the centre and serve with sour dough bread
That will warm you up!
Wishing you a wonderful happy heart week
Remember I love ya,
H xxx
