Out & About June 2017

Fed up of buying your dad socks for Father’s Day? VICTORIA BROWN has some gift suggestions to help improve his fitness and some routines to get him started. Keeping dad fit

Personal trainer Vicki Brown is the founder of LiveFitNow, based in Wash Common. For a free consultation, more information and links to online home fitness videos, visit: www.LiveFitNow.co.uk

Regardless of current level of fitness from beginner to pro there are many Father’s Day gift ideas to help dad feel fit and healthy – or you might even suggest you could start the health kick together.

HIIT ROUTINE BURPEES 1. Drop to floor into a plank position from the standing position. 2. Thrust your knees toward your chest into a low squat position. 3. Jump as high as you can from the low squat position. 4. Land in the standing position with your knees slightly bent. HIGH KNEES 1. From a standing position, raise and lower one knee at a time as if running in place. Bring the knees to the same height as the hips and keep your thighs parallel to the ground. 2. Alternate legs and go as fast as you can. JUMP SQUATS 1. Stand with your feet together. 2. Lower into a squat and swing your arms back behind you, and then quickly jump up, swinging arms overhead. 3. Land into a squat position with your feet hip width apart, and swing your arms back again. 4. Repeat as quickly as you can, jumping in and out with your feet each time. JUMPING JACKS 1. Start with your feet together and your arms at your side. 2. Open your legs and bring your arms up and out in one swift motion and then jump back to the start position and repeat. MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS 1. Begin in the plank position with your right knee by your chest and your left leg extended. 2. Switch your bent leg and straight leg simultaneously as if you were running and repeat.

TRICEP DIPS 1. Position your hands shoulder-width apart on a secured bench or stable chair. Slide your butt off the front of the bench with your legs extended out in front of you. Straighten your arms, keeping a little bend in your elbows to keep tension on your triceps and off your elbow joints. 2. Slowly lower your body by bending your elbows. Inhale as you lower your body towards the floor, and stop once your upper arms are parallel to the floor. You should have a right angle between your upper arms and the forearms, and your butt should be a few inches off the ground. 3. Push yourself back up to the starting position using your triceps, don’t allow your body to take over. BODYWEIGHT SQUATS 1. Start in the standing position with your feet slightly wider than your hips. Your toes should be pointed slightly outward. Keep your spine in a neutral position. 2. Breathe in, break at your hip and push your butt back. Keep sending your hips backwards as your knees begin to bend. Keep your spine in neutral, chest and shoulders up and watch a spot on the wall in front of you. Squat down until your hip joint is lower than your knees, parallel. 3. Breathe out, drive through your heels, keep your knees out and return to the starting position. PLANK 1. Place the forearms on the ground with the elbows aligned below the shoulders, and arms parallel to the body at about shoulder-width distance. 2. Ground the toes into the floor and squeeze the glutes to stabilize the body. Keep the spine in neutral and hold that position as long as you can with good form. (Do not let the hips lift up or drop down to stay up.)

n A GYM MEMBERSHIP

Or if your father already has one, perhaps some personal training sessions to help get him motivated. A mat, adjustable weights or maybe a piece of cardio equipment such as a bike or treadmill. This can be a great escape and help him to focus when training. Getting workout-specific headphones can mean less movement and slipping when moving, so look for the appropriate kind. A gadget for your workouts to make it even more fun. From Fitbit to Garmin there are numerous ways to track your workout and heartrate while exercising. Here are a couple of routines to get dad started that he can try at home BODYWEIGHT ROUTINE Repeat each of these as many times as you can . PRESS UPS 1. Start in the plank position on your hands. Make sure you keep your spine in neutral and your core engaged. 2. Lower yourself towards the floor by bending your elbows to approximately 90 degrees. 3. Then push yourself back up to the starting position. If you cannot complete this on your toes drop down to your knees and complete the same movement. n HOMEWORKOUT EQUIPMENT n WORKOUT HEADPHONES n A NEW PAIR OF TRAINERS Maybe a voucher for the local running shop or take a trip to buy them together. n WORKOUT BAND/WATCH

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