Workout with me for 10 mins on YouTube!

Due to the questions I've received on how to start exercise, I thought it made sense to record an exercise video. If you are looking to get started and don't have too much time, try this calorie-burning workout for just 10 minutes. If you are feeling spicy, do it multiple times but you will be sweating buckets at the end of this anyway. Who doesn't have 10 mins? No equipment too!

Check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Yoga: Nigerian Yogis 2015 Yoga Core Strength Challenge

The Nigerian Yogis are back with another Instagram challenge! This time, we thought we'd help start your year off right with some yoga poses that help build core strength. Whether you are looking to tone your abs or get stronger or both, these will help you begin the journey in the new year.

This challenge lasts 15 days starting today, and one of the three of us will post a core strengthening yoga pose or routine daily. We would love you to participate by following 3 of us on Instagram, leaving us comments about what you would like to see, and posting your own photos using the hashtag. 

One participant who posts his/her own photos will be selected at the end of the month to get an Amazon gift voucher for a yoga mat. You could be that winner! Please repost and share with your friends as we continue to try to support Nigerian fitness in the new year.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

My Diet Tips

Last night, a friend asked me about my diet, and I remember saying something like I eat normally. I woke up thinking about this, and I realized that I lied terribly. And what's worse is that I hate people that do that when they talk about food. 

In Nigeria? Join an Online Fitness Training Program!

Are you in Nigeria and are looking for a way to lose weight, get healthy, or stay fit? Have you heard of AllthingsFitnez? 

Allthingsfitnez is a Nigerian-based online company looking to help people reach their fitness goals through proper training and dieting. It can be difficult to get the right information that focuses on the food we eat and the lifestyle we live. And so I think this is a great idea. They currently have 3 programs:

• The 12 weeks “fit and curvy woman” training program
• Kaycee’s 3 month Ultimate Fitness Program
• The ‘Perfect Body’ Online Fitness Training Program

You can find more information on their website http://www.allthingsfitnez.com, on Twitter (@allthingsfitnez and @lawreenzo), or by giving them a call (+2348164297612).

Check them out and let me know what you think.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Join Globeathon and TW Magazine in the Walk to End Cancer

This Saturday, September 28th 2013, Globeathon is partnering with TW Magazine to organize a walk to create awareness of the various women's cancers, and the steps we need to start taking to end these diseases. This walk is scheduled to take place in Lagos, Nigeria starting at 6:30am. The walk begins at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel, goes on to Bar Beach, and then all the way back to the hotel. 

At the end of the walk, there is the option of a spa treatment for participants with a healthy lunch (It is discounted, but it is not free). Walk, spa, food? Sounds great to me! If you are in Lagos, please go out to participate.

How do you register? Visit the Globeathon site or the TW Magazine site for more details.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

The 2013 Nigerian Blog Awards Nominations are Open

It’s time to nominate blogs for one or more of the 29 available categories. What do you need to do? Go to this link, and submit a nomination for each category. And don't forget to nominate Eights & Weights as the Best Fitness or Health blog!

Here are the instructions. Make sure you follow them so your nomination gets counted:

• Only one blog can be nominated per category.
• You do not have to submit a nominee for each category.
• The blog address (e.g. http://blogaddress.com) of the blog (not the blog name) must be entered.
• You must provide a valid email address before your nomination will be registered.
• Once you’ve submitted your nomination form, please check for an email from nigerianblogawards@gmail.com and follow the instructions in the email to ensure your nominations are counted. If you don’t follow the instructions in the email your vote will not be counted.
• Blogs nominated for categories they do not qualify for will not be counted.
• Forms that nominate the same blog in most or all of the categories will not be counted.
• If you make errors in your submission, send an email to nigerianblogawards@gmail.com and we can help you make the appropriate changes.

Get to nominating...

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Interview with Johnathan Akinyemi: Pain is Temporary

This may be a little late, but if you didn't hear before, you must have heard by now. This year, Nigeria had its first Olympic Athlete performing in rowing sports. Johnathan Akinyemi represented his country in Canoe Slalom at the 2012 London Olympics. I got a chance to catch up with him, and we had laughs and serious moments. But I must say, I was impressed with him as a person and as an athlete.

Eights & Weights: Congrats on getting to participate in the Olympics! It must be a relief now that it’s all over.
Johnathan: Yes, right after the Olympics, I took a couple of weeks to just relax. But I’m already getting into training for Rio and it’s getting pretty serious again there.

Eights & Weights: You actually start training about 4 years before? I’m fascinated with Olympians and how much effort goes into preparing, but I don’t think most people know that you start training 4 years before.
Johnathan: Yes, it’s basically this 4-year cycle with goals and objectives along the way. But as you said, that’s our lives, training for the Olympics. That’s why it was really disappointing when I got the 50-second time. Because you see that 4 years of training just slipping away. And then you have to start again for the next 4 years. I quite enjoy the ramping up bit, getting back into training and building that focus for the big games. I mean, there are races along the way, but the Olympics is the biggest event. It’s what makes the Olympics special.

Eights & Weights: So along the way, how many other professional events do you get involved in besides the Olympics? I think the average reader does not hear too much about all the other events.
Johnathan: With the kayak circuit, there is the World Cup Series, and that is 5 races in different locations around the world, mainly in Europe. And then there’s the World Championships each year.  There’s also a domestic premiership league in the UK, and I race in the highest league in the UK. So those are the big races in the season. It’s quite difficult to do both the domestic league and the international races, like racing for Nigeria, because timing usually clashes. But my main focus is the international circuit.

Eights & Weights: So tell me about yourself and your history. How did you get into kayaking?
Johnathan: Basically, I accidentally got into kayaking. I used to be really fascinated with motorbikes, like magazines and everything. I always really wanted a motorbike. And so I think my mum and dad, thinking that was too dangerous, found a way to steer me away from motorbikes by buying me a canoe. It worked though. I started getting more into it and racing on the whitewater, and then competing in the domestic divisions in the UK. I just loved it and it’s been a passion ever since.

Eights & Weights: Haha! But that’s not any less dangerous.
Johnathan: Exactly. I think it’s quite ironic how they tried to steer me away from ‘dangerous’ motorbikes by getting me involved in whitewater kayaking.

Eights & Weights: So how did you get involved in the international circuit?
Johnathan: Racing internationally started with me competing with Team GB as a junior. I did quite well; I was British Junior National Champion when I was in my final year as a junior, and then I came 14th in the Europeans, which was quite a good result. But it was really when I went to Nigeria for the first time in 2007 after my junior career that things changed. 

I was raised to always be proud of my Nigerian heritage, but it was when I actually went back that I experienced the atmosphere, the people, I felt really connected to it and decided I wanted to represent Nigeria. We worked with the rowing federation to establish a canoeing federation to compete, and it’s been such a great experience. It’s been one of the best decisions of my canoeing career to switch to represent Nigeria. I’m very proud.

Eights & Weights: Well, we’re proud of you too. But sincerely, I can’t imagine how it felt like to be the first to represent a country at the Olympics for a particular sport. What has the reception been like?
Johnathan: Because it is kind of a new thing in Nigeria, it’s more like curiosity, which is good. If people are curious, then maybe we would be able to get more youngsters involved in the sport. But especially at the games, I felt a big weight on my shoulders being the first to represent Nigeria in Canoe Slalom. I felt like lot of people were watching to learn what the sport was about. So it was a pity that I couldn’t have got farther in the competition. But it is my first Olympics and a lot of the other competitors were more seasoned so hopefully, at the next one, I’ll be more experienced as well.
The Olympic Committee in Nigeria has also taken a bit more notice of the sport since I qualified, and gotten behind me a lot more.

Eights & Weights: On Twitter, there was some hype about this new fellow representing the country for the first time in Canoe Slalom, and basically everyone was asking what Canoe Slalom was, supporting, and rallying behind you.
Johnathan: That’s what I thought was so great about Nigeria; people rallying behind me. That’s why I would have loved to go a little further. I thought that people were going to be annoyed at me really. There was a point after the race where I thought I couldn’t carry on doing this, but because the response was so positive, and because people kept saying how proud they were of me, it helped me bounce back. Now, when I’m having a bad day, sometimes I look back at some of those messages, especially on Twitter, and it helps me regain my focus as I train for Rio in 2016.

Eights & Weights: It's amazing what support can do. Since the Olympics have been over, have you got any endorsement deals? How has the Olympics affected your professional life?
Johnathan: Since I qualified in February, I have been focused fully on the sport, and raising money to train for the Olympics, which can be really expensive. I haven’t got any endorsement deals yet, but I’m hoping to get some funding from the Sports Commission or some sponsorship deals. But because canoeing is not the best known sport in the world, it is pretty tough to get sponsorship deals. It’s quite tricky. Because we need to raise money, we have to work, and then sometimes you find yourself not as focused on canoeing as you would want. It’s not the ideal situation for training. So I’m currently looking for sponsorship and throwing all my effort into training for Rio. (Ahem... Nike take note... The boy needs some endorsements)

Eights & Weights: Do you train in the UK? I’m not sure how developed Nigeria is in training for whitewater sports.
Johnathan: Well, training in Nigeria is still in the development phase. We’ve got boats out in Lagos, which we mainly use on the flat water. But at the moment, we have not got any whitewater training, so I may need to go out in December to like the Calabar region to try to find some whitewater that is suitable for training. 

My training is based in the UK right now. There are about 4 different man-made whitewater facilities in the UK, which is really good for training. And then typically, in the winter, I would head over to South Africa to train to escape the cold weather over here. There are about 2 training camps down there. In the summer, it gets pretty crazy just following the World Cup Series, wherever the races happen to be that year.

Eights & Weights: So what did your typical training regimen look like while you were training for the Olympics? I’m an avid exerciser but I’ve tried those rowing machines at the gym and they are not easy!

Johnathan: Laughs.. It's hard work. Two months before the Olympics, all my main training was in the canoe. I did recessions on the whitewater and then cardio work on the flat water. We put resistance on the boats. And then we occasionally did some weight sessions to especially work on the core, abs, and back, and of course big arm exercises.

Eights & Weights: Do you have a similar training regimen now?
Johnathan: That was in season. Right now, I’ll be more in the gym working on my general fitness. I basically get up in the morning at about 6:30, and focus more on cardio, using equipment like the  treadmill or rowing machines, just to burn calories because we still have to keep the weight off when in the canoe. And then I’ll work my upper body and core with big weights and low reps to build a lot of power. The keys ones I like to do are the bench press, bench pull, and weighted chin-ups. There’s also a lot of work I have to do for my shoulders also to prevent injury as well because you’re very physical on your shoulders in the whitewater.

So it’s basically 3 sessions a day: cardio, weights, and then hit the boats to work on the technical areas because it’s a very technical sport.

Eights & Weights: What about nutrition?
Johnathan: In terms of nutrition, because I want to be as lean as possible for canoeing, it is important to watch what I eat. In the evenings, it’s more lean protein and less carbs. But I usually eat a big lunch with pastas and rice to keep up my energy for my workouts. In the morning, I try to have a good breakfast: yogurt, fruits, or cereal. But because boats are made for a specific weight (mine is made for a 78kg person), it is important to watch your weight if you are into canoeing.

Eights & Weights: Well, I didn’t know boats were made for specific weights? That’s something new and interesting.

Eights & Weights: Okay, so you’re training for Rio, we know that. But what is the next big thing we can catch you on in the near future?
Johnathan: Now, the season is closing for 2012. I’ll be racing the British Open in November so I’ll keep you posted on the results. But the next big race is the Cardiff World Cup, which is scheduled for next June. That’s the next big one to watch out for.

Eights & Weights: Now, what people REALLY want to know. What is something personal that you think people would be surprised to know about you?
Johnathan: Let me think about that one. See if this was like a corporate setting, I would have been able to say “Well, I’ve been to the Olympics”. Hmmm… You’d probably be surprised how much chocolate I eat. I didn’t include that in my nutrition regimen earlier…Laughs… I love my chocolate. I had to cut it out right before the Olympics, but for an athlete, you’d be surprised how much of a sweet tooth I have. My favorite is a Mars bar. And I like to eat it in a weird way too, like eat all the chocolate from the outside and slowly strip off each layer one by one.

Hmmm...

If you'd like to learn more about Johnathan (he likes to go by Johny), visit his site, or follow him on Twitter.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: Teamng.com, AudioNigeria.com

Nigerian Blog Awards 2012 - Nominate!

The Nigerian Blog Awards are under way again :) Yes, that means it's time to nominate your favorite Nigerian blogs. Not just this one, but yes mostly this one...

Click on the image below for the link:

Here are a few suggestions on what you should nominate us for. Nominations close September 23rd.

Best Cause Blog: Blog about raising awareness for a particular cause, such as a medical condition or a political movement.

Best Fitness or Health Blog: Blog that focuses on healthy living, exercise, or wellness.

Best Tutorial Blog: Blog that focuses on teaching its readers through the use of step-by-step instructions.

Nigerian Blog of the Year: Best overall blog by a Nigerian or best blog with a strong focus on any aspect of Nigeria.

No, we do not win any prizes, and neither do you. But we do win the satisfaction of knowing you love us and recognize how hard we are working to get you the tools you need to be successful in your fitness program. So if you love Eights & Weights, nominate us. We really do appreciate it :)

If you want suggestions of other blogs to nominate. Let me know and I'll be sure to share.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Swing your Mood

First off, tomorrow is my birthday. Happy birthday to me!

Last week, I was reading a great article in SELF magazine about what makes people happy (This is the second time I’m promoting these people. Where’s my own cut?). I really want to share this because with the 9 to 5 and all the crazy things going on in our lives, sometimes we need to take a minute or two each day to do something that can improve our moods, and our mental/physical strength.

Here are a few of the takeaways from the article that can make us happier people:

• Charity work: When you help someone else, it can drastically change your view of the world, and make you a much happier person. And if you’re doing something physical, you can build your strength as well.
• Calling mum: This requires that you have a good relationship with your mother. But when you’re having a terrible day, a phone call to your mum can give your mood a 180 degree turn. Whether it’s because she gives great advice or because she is the one person that believes in you the most, I’ll never know.
• Take a walk: In the corporate environment, we are beginning to carry our work everywhere with us. It’s literally on our minds 24/7. But if you take a walk without the constant reminder of work around you i.e. the papers, computers, etc., you’ll clear your mind and be more refreshed (and burn some calories too!). Take the walk with your significant other, and you’ll even use the time to both clear your mind and recharge your relationship.
• Wash your hands: Okay, this was new to me too. But apparently washing your hands helps you feel more certain about a decision. Maybe because we feel like we’re wiping the slate clean. Certainty equals less anxiety.

So what are some of the things that make me happy?

• Prayer and meditation: There's nothing like that feeling when you've aired your mind out to God, and you're at peace. 
• Talking to my brothers: My brothers are like my best friends. So when I have had a bad day, I call one of my brothers because they are guaranteed to say something that would cheer me up.
• Dancing: Sometimes, I can just get home, take off my clothes, and start doing some ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ moves. Dancing always clears my head, and hey, it burns some calories too :-)
• Exercise: You didn’t think I’d skip this, right? How long have you known me? There’s nothing like that feeling after a run or a yoga class. It may hurt while I’m doing it, but the rewards are so worth it.
• A hot cuppa: Tea calms me. So if I’ve been running around, and I can’t find my bearing for some reason, I sit down and drink a cup of tea. Twinings Earl Grey with some honey is my favorite. And the aroma is fantastic too.
• My telly: I love TV shows because I can get invested in a character and watch him/her (mostly him) for years. By the way, this excludes reality TV (if I have to hear one more Big Brother tweet!). My favorite funny TV shows on right now are White Collar, How I Met your Mother, Royal Pains, Cougar Town, and since most of the others are on hiatus, I won’t blow up your screen with the list (but can I just say White Collar again?). 
• PBJ without the J: I love peanut butter. And on this lovely wheat bagel I’ve discovered? Yum. My colleague calls it a choke sandwich. It’s just too good.
• Good food: Funnily, I decided to mention this right after peanut butter. But bad food, although good for an instant, actually affects my mood later on. When I eat healthy, I have more energy, and feel more satisfied with myself, which equals a happier me.
• Music: I love music, anything from Eminem to Chrisette Michele to Ingrid Michaelson to Paramore. Someone told me a few days ago that if you hear me speak and then hear me rap along to Drake, you would never ever guess it was the same person. What can I say? I just love music.

What are some of the things that make you happy?

Look Better Naked

Yes, you read right; that’s exactly what the title is. I was reading bits of this book ‘Look Better Naked’ by Michele Promaulayko, and I thought it would be fun to share some excerpts. To lay it all out there, I know a few men and women who after a few years of marriage, still feel self-conscious naked around their spouse. One lady actually confessed to me that she sucks her stomach in at all times while she’s naked with her husband. And this includes during sex. If I’ve learned anything about the human mind, it’s that loving your body truly is a process.

So why are we so self conscious? Well, according to the book, it’s because we feel we are not the best version of ourselves. We look around and see people who we believe are a version of what we can be, and we beat ourselves up because we think we’re not society’s definition of 'hot'. I do like how the book emphasized nakedness because when you’re confident at that level, when all your flaws are evident, you’ll definitely be more confident with clothes on.

Here are a few thoughts from the book that I thought were spot on:

To get more comfortable with your nakedness, do more stuff naked (apart from showering and sex). e.g.
•    Take a full on bath
•    Eat dinner naked
•    Sleep naked
•    Get a massage completely naked
•    Ladies, get fitted for lingerie
•    Take a nude photo – well, this one is kind of scandalous so be sure to keep the picture locked tight

Aside from exercise, you can make small changes to improve how you look. e.g.
•    Improve your posture
•    Reduce your salt and soda intake to minimize bloating

There’s a lot more in the book that I think everyone should take time out to read. But the essence of it is that how we look is really about how we feel. Below are a few of my own tips on how to look and feel better naked.

Groom: Whether it is your face or down there, a little grooming can go a long way to make you look and feel better au naturel.
Exercise: I don’t really have to stress this point too much. Generally, people who exercise regularly look and feel better about their bodies.
Timing: Don’t just eat a boat load of food and then look at your body in the mirror. Note when you feel the sexiest, and then you can check yourself out. Gentlemen, it may help if you do some push-ups before you look at yourself in the mirror. Pumped up arms and shoulders, and a pumped up back are sure to give you the boost you need ;)
Treat your skin right: Exfoliate. Put some cocoa butter on. Wash your face regularly. Get tuned into the beauty secrets that keep your skin looking great. It’s no secret that great skin makes you look and feel hotter.
Dance around your house in your underwear: Need I say more? Just make sure the curtains are shut.
Relax: Your body needs physical activity, but it also needs alone time. Regularly set aside time to relax and notice the difference in your skin and even your health.
Role models: Are you envying the wrong people? Celebrities spend hundreds of thousands on their bodies, and yet they still need make-up and airbrushing to look the way you see them in the media. Change your ‘body’ role model, and you’d probably realize that your body actually kicks ass.

Do you have a different technique that makes you look and feel better naked? Please share.

Cheers!

What I Want to Know is… 'What Size is a Healthy Size?'

 

Welcome to the new Eights & Weights segment called ‘What I Want to Know is…’ where readers send in their questions, and based on the area of focus of reader’s questions, answers are provided. This time, a major area of focus is on what is determined to be a healthy size.

Now, because we are human, and humans are very visual creatures, we create impressions based on what we see. We all have markers in our heads for what size we think is healthy or not, and if a person goes below or above that, then we believe they are unhealthy. But is our dress size really a good marker for health?

As long as you are comfortable with your body, size is really not that important. Size helps us approximate weight, but it is not an absolute. The factors that are actually medically important are a person’s BMI (an approximation for the body fat ratio) and waist circumference.

BMI: The BMI (or Body Mass Index) is a number generated using the following formula:

So what really is the BMI? It is really just the weight to height ratio of an individual; that is how a person’s weight is distributed around their body. Right now, BMI is one of the reliable indicators of the body fat ratio of an individual. There are other methods that require machines (such as underwater weighing), but a person’s BMI can be calculated using the information at hand: Height and Weight. An unhealthy BMI can put a person at a higher risk for either obesity-related or underweight-related diseases.

Now, what’s a healthy BMI? This is dependent on factors such as gender, age, and race (yep, as I recently learned, even race). But in general, the following standards apply:

To calculate your BMI, use the widget at the bottom of this post.

Waist Size:  I can almost hear you go “What does waist size have to do with anything?” But studies have shown that men who have a waist size of more than 40 inches, and women who have a waist size of more than 35 inches, have a higher risk for diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and other heart diseases that may be tied to obesity.

These are some of the medically relevant factors in determining a healthy size. What do you consider a healthy size?

Two final points:

• I couldn’t end this without bringing up the world cup. Ghana, you tried hard, and took us far. But I guess we’re still out. Africa weeps, man.
• Again, thanks to those who nominated Eights and Weights for 11 categories in the Nigerian Blog Awards group B. My readers are the absolute bestest! Before I get all sentimental, I’ll just say that voting starts tomorrow July 5th. Be sure to click here to vote! Let’s bring those awards home :) 

Cheers!

Falling off the Bandwagon

It is a shame that most of the African teams in this World cup always seem to start a match out well, and then let the other team carry the match halfway through. Unlike the African football teams we’ve seen, we don’t have to give up all hope when we fall out of our exercise and nutrition routine and back into our old habits. There’s always the option to dust yourself off and try again.

Most people that are on a strict diet program tend to demonize food, and so when they backslide for a moment and eat that slice of birthday cake, it’s like they’ve sold their soul to the enemy. They get affected psychologically and start to think “I’ve already made a mistake, so I can go ahead and eat the whole cake and it won’t matter.” And then that one mistake leads to binge eating.

My opinion is that in order to stay healthy and fit, we need to change our relationship with food. If we treat cake as a complete no-no when we know we do love cake, do you know what happens? Our minds would constantly remain on cake. Thinking about cake 24/7 will inevitably lead to stuffing our faces with cake at some point because we feel so starved of something we enjoy. I was reading an article in SELF magazine the other day, where the True Blood actress Anna Paquin was interviewed. My love for her immediately grew when she said (and this is paraphrased), “I won’t feed you the lie most actresses do. I have to watch what I eat to stay fit. But I also believe that one dessert a week won’t kill me.” If we can have this type of relationship with food, we’d avoid the yo-yo effect caused by demonizing food and then bingeing on it.

This relationship is not only true of food. We also do the same thing with our exercise program. If we can’t make it to the gym one day, we think “I’ll make up for it tomorrow.” When we are too tired to go the next day, and the next day, we start to feel really guilty. Knowing we cannot make up for a few lost days, we turn our guilt into nonchalance and just stop going. Or as one of my readers felt this week, we may feel intense pain when we start working out, and that could drive us to wait a few days or weeks before going back to the gym. Our exercise routine could get so spaced out that our bodies don’t get used to exercising and we feel pain every time we work out. What happens then? We say “To hell with it!” and just quit.

Therefore, we also need to change our relationship with exercise. Exercise comes with pain, no doubt. But let’s not rest in the ‘now’, but the future. It will hurt for a few days or weeks, but as our bodies strengthen, we’ll see an increase in our endurance for pain, and a decrease in the pain itself. With these compounded, and as we see the effects of exercise on our bodies, we’ll be driven to do even more.

Now, let’s back up a little. We’ve talked about changing our relationship with food and exercise. But we also need to be a little softer on ourselves sometimes. Recognize that we may backslide just because that’s the way the human mind is wired. If we do backslide, how should we deal with it? We deal with it by realizing that a small mistake does not change our whole lives. So you missed one workout session? Jump back on the horse tomorrow and don’t dwell on today. You ate 5,000 calories in one meal? Oops! There’s always tomorrow. Continue controlling your portions then.

If you have a ‘falling off the bandwagon’ story, or have any questions, please leave a comment.

I’d also like to point out two things:

• The Nigerian Blog Awards group B nominations end today (May 27th). Please go and nominate Eights & Weights today before it’s over! Click on this link to nominate: Group B nominations.
• Starting next month, the Eights and Weights page will have a segment called ‘What I Want to Know Is…’ Please click here to send me a message about a question you have or a topic you’re concerned about, and it may make it to next month’s pool of questions!

Again, thanks for your support! Cheers!

                                 

Summer Series: Abs Like Whoa!

It’s still summer! Yes, we can’t all have packs that you can literally count, but we can work to get some abs to show off our bellies on the beach this summer. Mostly, when we speak about abdominal exercises, we envision the regular crunches or sit-ups. But in my experience, these can get boring pretty fast, and can also put a lot of strain on your lower back and neck. So I thought it would be fun to talk about some of the non-traditional crunches that don’t necessarily involve our fingers entwined at the back of our heads or our elbows taped to the sides of our ears. There are so many abs exercises, so it was pretty hard to narrow it down to a few of the best ones.


Abdominal hip lifts or raises: This exercise is great because it works both the front and sides of your abdominal when done right. It’s pretty easy just as the name implies, but it’s also easy to make some mistakes with the posture here. So how does it go?

• Lie flat with your back on the floor and your eyes looking up to the ceiling. I specify the part about the eyes because when you have your eyes to the ceiling, you probably won’t unconsciously lift your head off the floor.
• Lift your legs up while keeping your butt on the floor. Your legs should be straight up to the ceiling so the bottom of your foot is facing the ceiling.
• Put your palms on the floor on either side of your body for balance.
• While keeping your knees and ankles together, lift your hips off the floor (only your hips; not your head, and not your palms). Make sure you are using your stomach muscles here so don’t bend your legs towards your body because that works your lower back more than your abs. Again, try to lift only your hips off the floor while keeping your legs in their original position.
• Bring your hips back down to the floor and repeat. I found this great picture of how it looks at the Alaska Stars website.

Plank: The plank is also as simple an exercise as any, but here, posture also matters very much. So pay special attention to holding your butt and stomach muscles tight. It does not involve motion so it can be pretty hard to focus and maintain this position for an extended period. Here’s how it works:

• Assume the upper push-up position, with only your palms and toes on the floor.
• Transitioning one arm at a time, move your body to rest on your forearms (part of the arm from your elbows to your wrist). Most people prefer to clench their fists in this position.
• Try to keep your body as parallel to the ground as possible. This is where you need to tighten your stomach and butt muscles to prevent your butt sticking out or an extra curve in your lower back.
• Look down to the ground. This helps to maintain the position because if you look up, you could wreck your posture.
• Just hold this position for as long as you can. I like to do about 20 second holds. Hold for a while, break, and then repeat. Another good picture showing this exercise can be found at the Abs Like Stone website.

Belly Blaster: This is a variation of the plank. Here, rather than maintain the plank position, we turn it into a motion exercise.

• Assume plank position.
• Tighten your stomach muscles, and lift your butt up. As you lift up your butt, don’t let your stomach sag forward.
• Come back down to the plank.
• Repeat as many times as you can. Here is a picture showing a great belly blaster from Fit Yummy Mummy. I know, the name of the website was what got me too.

Side plank: This one is best done in front of a mirror because it’s a little difficult to feel if your body is straight or not.

• Assume the plank position above.
• Using only one of your arms, lift your other arm and your body off the floor, and let your body face the opposite side of the room resting only on one of your forearms, and the side of one of your feet. For example, if you are resting on your right forearm, your body should be facing the left side of the room. Only your right forearm and the right side of your right foot should be on the floor.
• Make sure your body is in a straight line from your head to your feet.
• You can put your other palm on your waist so it doesn’t get in the way.
• Release the fist of the forearm on the ground so the palms are facing the floor. Turn the forearm on the ground so that the fingertips are facing the same direction as your body (which would be the left side in our example).
• Repeat on the other arm.
• Make sure your body does not sag in this exercise so that you get the most out of it. Your hips should not be heading towards the ground, and your stomach and butt muscles should be tight. Looking forward also helps to maintain this position. Click the website name below for a picture showing a good side plank from the Abs Like Stone website.

V sit: This position is also relatively easy to describe, but it is something you have to build on because most people don’t have the necessary core strength to hold this position for long periods when just beginning an exercise program. However, it is a great strength exercise for the stomach muscles.

• Lie flat on the floor on your back with your arms at your sides.
• Lift up your legs so they are around a 45 degree angle to the floor.
• Slowly lift your shoulders and extend your arms so your body is in a ‘V’ shape with your arms extended forward parallel to the floor.
• If you cannot keep your legs straight in this position, you can bend your knees, but make sure your feet stay off the ground.
• Hold the position and repeat like we did with the plank.
• Here’s an example of the position from Vibra Body, and here’s a variation with bent knees from Hamilton Spectator.

Well, there you go. If you didn’t know you could get abs without crunches, I hope that has helped to provide you with some useful information. But as I always say, remember that you cannot lose fat in your stomach with strength training alone. You need the three steps: cardio, weight training, and stretching. And you also need to maintain a healthy diet.

Disclaimer: I have to mention though that any exercise advice given here is just that: Advice. I am not a personal trainer or trained fitness instructor, and so I simply give suggestions from my experience. If you are uncomfortable with any advice given here, please seek a second opinion.

Summer Series: See My Muscles

Ever notice how some people’s arms never seem to sag no matter how old they get? Those are arms that boys pray for, and women only dream of. We're still in our summer series and we're talking about killer arms today. You can get one step closer to your ideal arms by incorporating some of these exercises into your routine. Here goes!

Arm circles: Well, I like to call it swimmers’ circles. It involves circling your arms like a swimmer does in water. This exercise looks and sounds pretty easy, but when you get into it, you’ll feel that your arms are getting a pretty good workout. Stand up straight, and stretch your arms out on both sides of you, so you form a ‘T’. Make sure you stretch your arms, not have your elbows sagging down. Slowly circle your arms forward repeatedly. Note that you need small circles, not large ones, so a circle as big as your head is perfect. Do as many repetitions as you can, and then reverse the direction of the circles, so you can hit all muscles in your upper arms and shoulders. Do the same number of repetitions as you did for the forward motions. Here’s a picture that shows the position: Fitness Magazine.

Basic push-up: Presumably, we all know how to do a basic push-up/press-up. But again, it’s not so simple. Females tend to do it different from males because females tend to have less upper body strength. Here’s how it goes. Lie flat on your stomach. For the starting position, prop yourself up on your palms and raise your body off the floor. Your palms should be about shoulder-width apart. Keep your body as straight as possible (so your butt should not be sticking out or in) and tuck your stomach in. Your hands should be straight as well. Look to the ground because looking up can put unnecessary pressure on your neck. Slowly drop to the floor with control. Note that that weight of your body is still in your palms even in the down position. So you’re not dropping so far to the floor that your body touches the floor. Ladies, you can perform this exercise with your knees on the floor, but I encourage you to at least attempt some full push-ups. For a picture of the right starting and ending positions, visit appstate.edu.

Bench dip: This works out your triceps. Although they are called bench dips, you can use a low chair or even your couch. Here’s how it goes. Sit on a bench with your palms on either side of you on the bench, fingers facing forward gripping the bench. Plant your feet on the floor. Slide your bum forward until it is off the seat. Keep your arms straight in the starting position. Slowly (with control) lower yourself down and bend your elbows. Lower yourself down until your elbows are level with your shoulders, and then raise yourself up again. Try to keep your body straight during this exercise as we have a tendency to slouch or raise our shoulders to our ears. Do as many repetitions as you can. Here is the starting position: Trainers Aid1 and the down position: Trainers Aid2.

As always, don't forget the three steps: cardio, weight training, and stretching. The fun thing about our bodies is that we serve as weight too. So we just need to find ways to utilize our body weight.

Disclaimer: I have to mention though that any exercise advice given here is just that: Advice. I am not a personal trainer or trained fitness instructor, and so I simply give suggestions from my experience. If you are uncomfortable with any advice given here, please seek a second opinion.

Till next week readers. Cheers!

Summer Series: Tone Your Behind

Summer is here. Yay! Well, when the rain ends. And it’s about time to start working on those beach bodies. Over the next month, we will be talking about toning up for the sun.

Do you plan to rock those short shorts this summer? I know you bought them in the winter and thought “I’ll tone up. I have six months.” And then, here you are six months later. That’s okay. We’ll talk about a few of the best exercises you can do to tone up your bum.

The Squat: This is the quintessential butt exercise because you can really do it anywhere. If done properly, the squat really works out your body, especially your butt area. So how do you do a proper squat? There are so many different kinds of squats, but the most common is the chair squat. Here is the basis of the exercise:

• Push your bum back like your aiming for a seat
• Keep your feet planted on the floor either about hip width apart or slightly wider
• Keep your knees right above your feet, while making sure they don’t go forward beyond your feet. In other words, don’t over-squat where you can’t see your toes when you look down. Your knees should be right above your toes so that if you look down, you see your knees, then your toes.
• Keep your head straight
• Squat and then come up, squat and then come up. The repetitions expand and contract your muscles.

Lifting dumbbells on both sides of your body can help to intensify the squat a little bit. Here's a great picture that shows proper squat technique at girlwithnoname.com. Do several repetitions until you feel it in your butt. The amount you do depends on your body.

The Lunge: I love lunges because they work your bum and your inner thighs. You may need some space to do lunges to get the most out of the exercise. Again, there are many ways to do this, but the basis is:

• Step one of your feet back, and stay on the ball of that foot.
• Make sure your front foot is planted on the ground.
• Just like the squat, you should be able to look down and see your knee, then your toes. So don’t over-extend your knee.
• Keep your body straight.

The lunge is really about switching from one foot to the other, so you need balance to be able to get the most out of this exercise. Check out teamsugar.com for the basic lunge. Again, holding weights on either side of your body intensifies the lunge to get even more out of the workout.

Glute Kickbacks: This is one exercise that focuses entirely on the butt area.

• Go on your knees with your elbows on the floor. Your knees should be at around a 90 degree angle
• Make sure your spine is straight. We tend to curve our lower backs in this position.
• Extend one of your knees back and up so your foot is towards the ceiling, Make sure you extend with your knee so your leg retains its 90 degree position. Don’t move your leg or foot around.
• Bring your knee back down to the floor

This exercise is also about switching from one side to the other, but it is very important to keep your leg position as you raise and drop your knee. A good example of the kickback in the upward position is here: bp.blogspot.com. The downward position just has both knees on the floor.

There are so many other butt exercises, but I thought I’d stick to the most popular ones today. Please remember my three steps as you work out: cardio, strength training, and stretching. These exercises serve as strength training, but you should still incorporate cardio and stretching to get the most out of your workout, and to prevent injury.

Disclaimer: I have to mention though that any exercise advice given here is just that: Advice. I am not a personal trainer or trained fitness instructor, and so I simply give suggestions from my experience. If you are uncomfortable with any advice given here, please seek a second opinion.

Cheers!

Understanding the concept of calories

Calories can be difficult to understand because you hear so many different things from different sources. But here is the basic idea: your body needs a certain amount of energy per day to function properly .i.e. to digest food, walk, talk, exercise, etc. The amount of energy your body needs depends on your weight, age, gender, and how active you are. We get calories from food, and through metabolism, these calories are converted into energy. So the amount of energy your body needs is directly proportionate to how many calories you need.

If you consume more calories than your body needs, your body stores the excess as fat. When you work out, you burn the excess calories; which means you are essentially burning off the fat. This is how you maintain your body fat ratio. This is why it’s important to understand that there's no magical way to lose weight. It comes down to two things: exercise and diet.

To lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you take in every day. Visit https://www.caloriecount.com/cc/calories-burned.php for a tool to help estimate how many calories you burn per day based on your age, weight, gender, and level of activity. Note: it’s just an estimate. The amount of time it’ll take you to lose weight just depends on how many calories you eat minus how many calories you burn daily. When this value - i.e. amount you take in minus amount you burn - gets to about 3,500 calories, you have effectively lost about 1 pound or 0.45 kilograms (since 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound of fat).

Different levels of physical activity burn different number of calories depending on intensity. Please visit http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/SM00109 for a summary of about how many calories are burned with different types of exercises.

If you have more questions, please leave a comment or start a discussion on the Eights and Weights Facebook page here. Also, if there are individual fitness topics you'd like to hear more about, please leave a note on the Facebook page.

Cheers!

My motto for the week: To truly live better, strive to understand what your body needs.

The Key to Exercise is: "Start Doing Something"

Well, here we are! This one is difficult especially if you live in a city with limited access to gyms, or you work really late. It’s hard to exercise, but exercise is an important part of our overall health so we should find a way to fit it into our daily lives. Here are a few things we can do to push ourselves:

Get excited: First, get excited about it! Working out can be fun if you make it so. Get excited about possibly meeting your goals!

Sweat it out: Start some sort of physical activity. Whether it is walking more often, jogging on the beach, or playing with your dog, start something. Do something until you sweat. But again, don't overdo it the first time. For example, if you run 10 km (or 6.2 miles) during your first few workouts, you may strain yourself and kill your drive to continue.

Do your own chores: Yes, it’s hard if you have a maid, house-help, or if you have equipment that makes it easier to clean your home without actually bending over. But doing your housework gives you a good workout. If you have a backyard, do some gardening. Scrub your floors. Clean your windows.

Sit-ups alone equals nothing: If you’ve been doing 100 sit-ups every morning, and you have fat in your abdominal region, guess what? Your muscles may have been building under that fat, but to see those abs, you need to lose the fat on top. You cannot reduce fat in only one area of our body, so you need to do cardio exercises that help to lose weight all over. Some examples of cardio include running, walking, aerobics, and skipping.

Try new things: If there’s a class at your local gym, try it out. Buy a skipping rope and skip it out. Run or play volleyball on the beach. Buy some fitness DVDs and invite your fitness-minded friends over. Buy a bicycle. Whatever you do, have fun trying out something new that makes you exert energy. Remember to have fun with it!

Play a sport: If you know how to play a sport, fabulous! Sports are a great way to work out. Every corner in every city, there’s a football field, basketball court, or some playing field. Gather your friends together, and go play a sport. You will not only work out your body, but you’ll increase your coordination as well.

Dance your ass off: Whatever type of music or dancing you’re into, dancing is a great way to lose some weight, increase flexibility, and stay active. Plus, you’re having fun while you’re shedding pounds. So the next time you’re in the club, don’t sit at the bar; migrate to the dance floor.

Routine: Try to set aside a time period for working out. If it’s part of your routine, the chances are that it’ll become a part of your life. If you don’t set a time period for it, it’s easier to procrastinate.

Get a partner: If you surround yourself with people that want to stay active and healthy, you would be inspired to do so yourself.

If you have more tips on how you fit exercise into your daily life, please share it with our readers by leaving a comment. And don't forget, you can join the Eights and Weights facebook page by clicking here. There, you'll receive fitness tips, and have the chance to start a discussion on questions or ideas you may have. Next week, we will talk about understanding calories and how calorie counting really ties into weight maintenance.

Cheers!

My motto for the week: Your body is a temple; treat it that way.

Create a Nutrition Lifestyle

Most people seem to have trouble with where to start when it comes to diet and exercise. Because we live in a world of instant gratification, we are constantly looking for quick-fixes when it comes to our bodies and our health. But we have to accept that for any process to actually last a lifetime, it will probably begin pretty slowly. Also, no matter what the commercials on the television say, it cannot possibly be so easy or everyone would be doing it.

I was meant to write about how to jump-start both your nutrition and exercise regimen, but there is so much within each category, that I will split them into two weeks. This week, we will focus on the diet portion. I have documented some steps that I believe will help to jump-start a healthy diet (and of course hopefully avoid slacking off within the first week).

1.      Eat a healthy breakfast: Your breakfast kind of sets the tone for the day, so don’t eat a load of rubbish in the morning. And try not to skip breakfast. It just makes you hungrier so you eat much more during the day.

2.      You love what you love: Don’t give up food you cannot live without or you’ll be back where you started in a matter of time. Cut down, not out. For example, if you absolutely adore bread, you should probably not be on a protein-only diet. So many people think “If I cut out all food that seems ‘bad’, I’ll be fine”. But I don’t agree. Everything should be done in moderation. Cut out things that you know you can live without. Think about it. You'd be surprised to discover how much bad food you eat that you actually don't care too much for.

3.      The ‘Fast’ diet fad: Diet programs are exactly that – ‘programs’. People forget this and believe they can drink a Slim Fast, Muscle Fast or basically anything with ‘fast’ on the end of its name, and just shrink. Understand that these are created as part of a diet program, and if you do not follow the program to the letter, stay away from it entirely. If you look at the nutrition information on a can of Slim Fast, you will see that it is actually not that fantastic on its own. But as part of the program, it’s fine. Now, the program does require that you give up a lot of meals, so we’re back to item 1.

4.      Food Replacement: If you can replace something you eat for a healthier version, this is an easy way to lose some weight. Examples would be to replace white bread with whole grain, replace sugary cereal with a brand that includes whole grain or oats, replace white rice with brown, etc.

5.      Portions: We’ve heard this before. Just eat less. Don’t starve yourself, but don’t pile that jollof rice on your plate like your life depends on it. This is not boarding school; there will be more food tomorrow. And I know your mother said you must finish whatever is on your plate or in the pot, but you’re older now so you don’t have to keep doing that. Form the habit of eating till you’re satisfied, not till you’re about to blow up. This may take a few weeks to get used to, but your stomach will definitely adjust. I’ve read that it takes about 3 weeks for your body to adjust to a habit. 

      Also, sometimes, people believe because something is healthy, they should eat as much of it as they want. No. Everything has calories. Some have less, but the more you eat, the more calories you consume.

6.      Cut back on the booze: While you’re drinking that beer or martini, realize that alcohol has a lot of calories. Although you want to have a good time, you could wipe out days of working out by drinking too much. Beer and abs don't go together, no matter how much we wish they did.

7.      Water is the source of all things good: Reduce your intake of soda (Coke, Pepsi, etc.), and replace it with tons of water. Soda is a very sugary type of drink, and we all know that. On the other hand, water helps to replenish the muscles, helps with digestion, regulates body temperature, and does a ton of other great things to your body. There is a reason most of the world and most of our bodies consist of water. It is good for you. Period.

These are the main tips to jump-start your diet. Remember to go slow because if you shock yourself, you may start craving food even more and be right back where you started.

Next week, we’ll talk about jump-starting your exercise program. Sign up as a ‘Follower’ or join the Eights and Weights Facebook page here to get notifications when a new blog comes out every week. Please leave feedback, comments and questions.

Have a lovely week!

Benefits of a Good Diet and Exercise

I spent this week researching easy diet and exercise tips, and realized one thing: There are so many fads out there, but very little information on practical and easy application of how to apply this information. So I thought before we start to go into details about what to do, and how to do it, we need to understand why nutrition and exercise are important. Every individual may have a very different reason for staying healthy, but ultimately, there are a few general reasons why a healthy diet and exercise program are good for us.

Body image: Research shows that people that eat well and exercise have higher self confidence. And we are not talking about people who starve themselves. This is about people who make an effort to understand what they are putting into their bodies and how to keep themselves healthy. This is what this blog is striving to achieve; to allow people to understand the fundamentals of a good diet and exercise, and how to implement it for themselves to build a better body image. A good body image often does not depend on your weight or size.

Health Benefits: We all don't just want to live long, we also want to live well. Being African, we are prone to heart disease, diabetes, and a host of other diseases. Exercise and proper nutrition makes the heart stronger, decreases body fat, lowers blood pressure, increases bone health, and helps give the body more energy.

Relaxation and Stress Relief: It seems weird to put exercise in the same category as relaxation, but eating well and staying fit does make you happier and generally more relaxed. It could be a hormonal thing, or just because you are putting all your negative energy into something that is actually producing results. Exercise also helps us sleep better, so to all the insomniacs reading, hop on this train!

Brain Activity: I have read several research papers where the writers talk about how bad eating and lack of physical activity negatively impacts the brain. Some people just have great genes when it comes to mental activity, but most of us would benefit greatly from a good diet, exercise, and a good night's sleep. You might notice that your learning speed and memory are improving, and you are able to think better on your feet.

There is so much more you can benefit from a healthy diet and physical activity, but these were the ones I found most interesting. If you have any questions, or would like more information, please leave a comment or send me an email.

Next week, we will talk about how to easily jump-start your diet and exercise regimen, even if you do not yet know anything about diet and exercise.

Cheers!

The Fitness Drama of Eights and Weights

Hi readers!

This is the first blog post so I thought I'd give a little insight into what this blog is about. On one hand, I am very passionate about fitness, and on the other, very passionate about Africans. So I thought I could combine the two and provide fitness tips for Africans. Being an African woman, I understand the feeling of trying to work out and eat right, but finding that the food and tools available to us do not really give us much of an option. Our diet is full of things that are terrible for us. We were not raised with information about what foods are good for our bodies, only our souls. The diet and nutrition programs, although plentiful, are full of meals with ingredients we can't pronounce, and will only use once in our lifetime.

So if you are an African man or woman who has no idea what half of the items in the gym are for, this is for you. If you have no idea what oregano looks like, this is for you. If you don't play a sport, don't know what softball is, and you get involved in teasing contests with your family about whose butt is bigger, this blog is definitely for you.

Blog posts will be up once a week, so please check back every Sunday for new fitness tips. Leave feedback and comments.

Till next week!