1Life Blog

Whether you are an athlete, a fitness fanatic or someone brand new to exercise, it’s likely you’ll be looking at ways in which you can improve your performance and reach your personal goals. And good nutrition is a key part of this.  

Forming good habits when young can be the key to maintaining an active, healthy lifestyle later in life. Given the chance, most young children enjoy being active but even by the time they reach school age, some children’s lifestyles are becoming increasingly sedentary due to increasingly busy family lives, the lure of screen time and other non-active commitments.

It’s ok to admit that some of us need new challenges and goals to keep our health and fitness programme moving forward and progressing. Taking part in an organised sporting events can provide you with the incentive you might need to give your training real focus. These events will not only provide a focus for your training and something to work towards, but they can also act an excellent motivator.  Training with a friend or partner can spur you both on and keep your motivation levels high as you work towards improving your performance ahead of the event.

If you are new to the gym or it has been a while since you last worked out it can be difficult to know where to start.  How much time should you spend on cardio and where do you begin with strength training? These are all questions which might be going through your head.

Whether you’ve just completed the London Marathon or another epic 24.2-mile race – well done.  What an achievement, we applaud you. Having spent months carefully building up your running distance and eating the right foods to fuel your body it is easy to forget about how you should appropriately recover from running a marathon.  Unfortunately, this is true of many runners but recovery after a gruelling marathon is just as important as the training itself and is often the most undervalued part.

Exercise in almost any form has been proven, time and time again, to be an effective stress-reliever.  Not only does being active boost your feel-good hormones, it also acts as a great distraction from day-to-day worries.  If life is getting a bit hectic and it’s leaving you feeling a bit frazzled why not get moving in a bid to manage stress.

With spring now in the air our thoughts often turn to the fact that summer is just around the corner; and if you’ve booked your summer holiday you might be feeling sheepish when it comes to dusting down the beachwear.  

Setting yourself a challenge can be a great way to motivate yourself, improve your performance in the pool and gain a sense of accomplishment while having fun along the way.

Whether you’ve just learnt to swim or are a competitive swimmer, everyone can benefit from setting themselves challenges which will push your boundaries both physically and mentally.

Get motivated

Sometimes, it’s hard to get into gear, or perhaps you’ve lost your way a bit with swimming, and you’ve fallen into the same old routine of swimming for half an hour or completing so many lengths each session. Do you leave the pool wondering if you could have given a little bit more or pushed yourself that bit harder? If this is you, then a challenge could be just what you need to shake up your watery workouts.