October 2022 - Caroline Circuits

How to avoid injury

Injuries are a nightmare – you just feel like you’re getting somewhere with your training and fitness and boom, an injury rears its ugly head. So, how can you avoid getting injured? Here are my top tips for staying in peak condition:

Don’t skip your warm ups and cool downs – we are all guilty of this every now and again, that age old excuse of “I don’t have time to warm up or cool down”, the question is do you have time to be injured? The likelihood of getting injured when you neglect your warm up and cool down increases dramatically. This is why I make sure I include a warm up of dynamic stretches and a cool down in all my online workouts.
Don’t run before you can walk! Start gradually and build as your strength and fitness grows. Going in too hard too fast is one of the leading causes of injury. It is great to hit the ground running and push yourself but there is a balance, push yourself but do so safely!
Prioritise recovery – you can’t expect results if you don’t give your body the chance to recover, repair and grow. If you train arms hard one day, focus on legs or core the next, or give yourself a rest day between hard sessions. Use active recovery like walking the dog, Pilates, yoga or swimming to allow your muscles to recover and adapt and to allow them to perform the next time you ask them to.
Focus on form – this is key for weight training. Having good, correct form is vital to stay injury free when strength training. Make sure you have been taught correct technique or follow a group programme which has all the important teaching points on exercises as you do them. Even better, workout in front of the mirror so you can see errors and correct them. This is definitely worth getting right before you start increasing weight, reps and sets as you can do some real damage if you’re not careful.

I have long since been an advocate of strength training, particularly for women, and with this in mind I built my platform – Caroline’s Circuits. My workouts are 4 times a week for just 30 minutes. They focus on strength based circuits which work different muscle groups and challenge the body, keeping the heart rate moderate to high with passive or active rest – they give the perfect mix of strength and cardio for the best results.

The workouts are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday (they are all recorded and available to you on demand within an hour of the session if you can’t make the live). Classes have been specifically designed to suit all fitness levels and create fitness habits which last & which produce results.

Intrigued to know more or have a go? Try a class for free here or read more about the platform here.

If you have any questions please do get in touch.

For more workout ideas and to find out a bit more about me check out my Instagram.

Caroline x

World Osteoporosis Day – let’s strength train!

World Osteoporosis Day (tomorrow – October 20th) has the tagline “Step up for bone health” this year – how apt. Step ups are just one of the exercises I advocate to help boost bone health, but how does it all work? Osteoporosis affects one in three women aged 50 plus. Osteoporosis causes bones to become brittle and weak so that they are prone to breakages, these fractures can be a major cause of pain and have a horrendous impact on daily life. But the great news is that there are things that we can do to help combat the drop in bone density which causes osteoporosis.

First up – exercise. Strength training specifically is so important as we age. Our bone density naturally reduces as we get older from the age of 35+ (and especially post menopause with the decrease in oestrogen) along with muscle mass which is where the increased fracture risk comes in. Strength training (with weights, bands or body weight) helps to build more bone tissue and stimulates our bone cells to produce bone resulting in stronger and denser bones. The loading we put our bones under during strength training enhances this effect when compared to non-weight bearing activities. Just 30 minutes 3 times per week of exercise has been shown to enhance brown cell growth and subsequently bone density.

So how do we go about these exercises? As a strength training coach, I focus on devising workouts which really focus on building bone strength both using weights and without. Examples of strength training with just bodyweight would be hill/stair walking, skipping, dancing and jogging, where the impact of movement can have bone strengthening benefits. If you already suffer with weak bones or osteoporosis, you need to be careful of any high impact moves or sudden twists in the spine, so do consult your doctor regarding the correct exercise programme for you before getting started.

If you have weights or bands then incorporate these into your workouts to add extra resistance – for example weighted squats or lunges would be ideal. Press ups and planks also are great exercises with just bodyweight.

As well as being vitally important to our bone health, resistance training also helps us to build our muscle mass (and no we aren’t talking about bulking up here), helping with our overall balance, reducing the risk of falls and injury but also giving us a huge mood boost along the way! It also helps with weight management, improves our sleep and our health…. the list is endless!

Secondly is nutrition – having a balanced, healthy diet is vital but particularly calcium, vitamin D and protein which are key to bone health. Also avoid smoking which will have an adverse effect on your bones.

If you think you are at risk of osteopenia you can have a bone scan which will show you exactly the current health of your bones if you are concerned.

Intrigued to know more or have a go? Try a class for free here or read more about the platform here.

If you have any questions please do get in touch.

For more workout inspo and to find out a bit more about me check out my Instagram.

Caroline x

Functional fitness

This week we are talking all about functional fitness – what is it and should we be doing it? Is it just another fad or actually something fundamental which you should be trying to incorporate into your weekly fitness regimen? Definitely the latter!

Functional training can be a little confusing as you would assume that all training has some functional benefit which is true but we are specifically talking about movements which mimic key movements we do in everyday life – think about it as training for life. For example sitting – we sit down and stand up off a chair, off the bed, off the loo many, many times in a day but all too often we don’t actually train that movement. We have slightly fallen into the trap of training like an athlete – for performance, rather than training functionally for the movement patterns we do in everyday life.

Functional exercise can help prevent injury, trips, falls and generally enhance day to day living, especially as we get older. More often than not people get injured doing day to day activities e.g. lifting something heavy in the wrong way like dragging the lawnmower out of the garage or getting out of the bath rather than in the gym doing their workout. So whilst you might be strong at lifting a weight in a certain movement pattern or be a great runner it might not actually help you to take the bins out each week! That’s not to say there isn’t a place for running and other types of training but it’s important to get the functional work in too.

So let’s take a look at some of the best functional exercises for everyday life. The very best are compound movements, those exercises which use more than one muscle group at once, engage the core and really mimic movements in our lives. If you think about it, we don’t just squat down to unload the washing machine, we squat down, lift the basket, twist with it at waist height then pop it on the side. So a machine at the gym which isolates the hamstring or quad muscles can’t replicate that movement at all. Compound movements as part of a resistance training regimen not only build muscle strength and enhance bone density (find out more about that here) but also work on stability, balance and mobility which really helps to injury-proof ourselves, especially as we age.

The best part about functional training is that we really can do it anywhere – it primarily uses body weight and if you wish dumbbells or resistance bands rather than machines. A couple of great examples would be the squat with a press, press up and bicep curl shoulder press. Take a look here to see some great functional exercises you can try at home today.

If you’re looking for a way to get started with functional and strength training my platform, Caroline’s Circuits, is just 30 minutes 3 times per week. They are interval training circuits which work different muscle groups and challenge the body, keeping the heart rate moderate to high with passive or active rest – they give the perfect mix of strength and cardio for the best results.

The workouts are Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9am (they are all recorded and available to you within an hour of the session if you can’t make the live).

Mondays and Fridays are workouts focusing on all the muscle groups. A strength-based class where you have the option of using weights or exercising without equipment.

Wednesdays are focussed on the lower body – legs and tummy toning. Using resistance bands if you have them but equally all the classes can be done without equipment.

Classes have been specifically designed to suit all fitness levels and create fitness habits which last & which produce results.

Intrigued to know more or have a go? Try a class for free here or read more about the platform here.

If you have any questions please do get in touch.

For more workout inspo and to find out a bit more about me check out my Instagram.

Caroline x

Marathon Recovery

There is always a lot of talk about how to train for a marathon, about fuelling your way round a marathon and nutrition strategies but what happens after you cross the finish line, how do you help your body recover from the 26.2 miles?

Marathon training is a serious undertaking and runners set aside months, or even years to train for one, so the recovery must be taken seriously as well. Running a marathon puts serious toll on the muscles and body and results in some “damage” that extends beyond just sore muscles. This includes:

Suppressed immune function – it is going to make it more difficult for your body to fight off bugs and infections in the weeks following a marathon.
Muscular strength is reduced – inflammation and cell damage are increased in the two weeks following a marathon so be mindful of this when returning to training (more on this to come).
Muscle memory and coordination are both compromised which means that repetitive stress injuries are more likely when running hard or fast in the two to three weeks post race.

Prioritising your marathon recovery is key to long term training and staying injury free. So, here are my top tips for returning to running and strength training after a marathon.

Step 1: When you cross the finish line

Don’t just sit down or stop, walk around and stay moving (even if you feel like you have jelly legs!). This will keep the blood moving around the body, delivering nutrients and removing waste product from the muscles. Usually, there will be food and fluids available as you cross that finish line, take advantage of these and as soon as you can start rehydrating and refuelling – your body will definitely thank you for it. You will definitely be dehydrated after 26.2 miles so get some fluids in asap and then focus on carbohydrate right foods (yes you can start with jelly babies!), then think about some protein to help rebuild those damaged muscles.

Step 2: In the hours following the race

Here food is the key! As soon as you can stomach it, try to have a substantial, balanced meal – most marathon runners will swear by a burger and a pint at this point but whatever you fancy, you should go for it! Important things to note here are:

Try not to celebrate too hard – your body needs some rest and relaxation and lots of rehydration so too many alcoholic drinks aren’t wise!
Wait a couple of days before having a massage as muscle damage can be increased if this is done too soon.
An ice bath can really help your legs recover (followed by a nice warm shower!).
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
Your next meal should be nutrient dense meal – fruit, veg, healthy meat, whole grains etc.
I also strongly recommend supplements to help with inflammation, muscle recovery & joint support such as magnesium, turmeric and ashwaghandha.
Get an early night – sleep is vital to help your body repair.

Step 3: The next day

Get out and walk. Running isn’t recommended the day after the marathon but a gentle walk will help get the blood flowing. The goal here is to move not to workout! A gentle foam rolling session is a good idea on the day after the race – but be gentle!

Step 4: The week after

Be patient! 5-6 days off running is generally recommended following a marathon. This is a great window to do some non-impact cross training such as gentle swimming or cycling – remember your body is in recovery mode. Some light strength exercises and mobility work can be useful here to aid recovery but I am definitely not talking heavy weights! Some gentle core work, glute and ITB rehab work and light band exercises would be beneficial.

The most important thing in the week post marathon is sleep to help your body and mind get back into the running zone. After 5 or so days you can head out for a 20-30 minute tester run to make sure there aren’t any aches and pains and see how your legs are feeling. You can then apply the reverse taper rule and gradually build back up to normal mileage and strength training over the next few weeks.

Once you’re back to it post-marathon you can try one of the Caroline’s Circuits classes for free here or read more about the platform here.

If you have any questions please do get in touch.

For more workout ideas and to find out a bit more about me check out my Instagram.

Caroline x