​Think Healthy Thoughts...

It’s already August and maybe you still don’t feel as fit and healthy as you wanted to be this summer. If this sounds like you, don’t panic! Jules Baker, Head of Fitness, provides 5 easy steps that will still get you in shape for that summer holiday away or the bank holiday break

1.Eat clean

The key to success for a healthy body is 80% what you consume. Therefore, it’s encouraging to see that eating clean has become such a popular trend over the past few years. Choose to eat natural and whole foods; picked from a tree or farmed from the ground. In addition to eating good food, always ensure your calorie intake per day is less than the amount of calories you burn

2.Keep active outside

Fresh air does wonders for your mind and body. Take the time to enjoy as much time as possible in the Great British Outdoors. Even a gentle walk in the sunshine is good for you – not only for the exercise but you might even get a little bit of a tan to make you look healthier too.

3.Juice

We all know it’s essential to have our 5-a-day. Make this easy to achieve by having fruit and veg juice every day. With the huge variety of fruit and veg that exists, there are endless combinations of juices to try out. With this in mind, remember to get the quantities right; use at least 1 vegetable and 1 fruit (only 1 fruit helps keep sugar levels down). For example, Apple and Kale is a popular choice. Get your daily fix with San Marco’s Juice of the Day, or even better, be proactive and make the juice yourself!

4.Exercise to tone

Unfortunately beach bodies don’t come naturally for us all. When working on defining your abdominals, legs and arm muscles, ensure you work with your own body weight. The best exercises to introduce include push ups, squats, lunges and pull ups.

5.Enter a race

Summer is the season to set yourself a challenge. Whether you choose to run 5k, 10k or even a half marathon, anything you do will be an achievement and gets the heart rate going. However, if running is not for you, there are plenty of other options. How about a bike race? Or maybe an obstacle course? For anything you choose do, just remember to warm up, stretch and cool down to reduce the risk of injury.