Sports Nutrition – New Year Diets

The top New Years resolution in 2014 was to lose weight, unsurprisingly. But how many people actually manage to see their resolutions through? Studies show that only 8% of people are successful in keeping their resolutions, and many people give up in the first week, especially when it comes to weight management. On average Britons spend £37m per year on wasted gym and slimming classes.

The truth is, many people lie to themselves. Missing out sly snacks when calorie counting, rounding a 40 minute jog up to an hours exercise or justifying calorific treats because you’re having a salad for tea. If you really want to get fit, you have to be honest about how unfit you are to start with.
To conquer a new diet or fitness regime you need to be realistic. Don’t force yourself to work out like a body builder when you haven’t actually been to the gym since last years resolution.

The trick is to make small changes, gradually. Don’t expect to lose 10lbs in the first week, or even the second. 12 weeks should give you good, measurable results and you’re less likely to suddenly regain any weight because you’ve stuck to a routine for a significant period of time. When you see the results you will feel a lot more motivated to stick at it.

Be kind to yourself, banning your favourite foods will only make you crave them more. Instead, have smaller portions, less frequently as a treat. Once you start losing weight and feeling fitter you’re more likely to lose your appetite for these foods and opt for healthier choices to keep up your hard work.

To be successful on a new fitness regime you need to work changes into your daily life. Attend gym classes or swimming sessions once or twice a week to begin and don’t expect to be able to go to the gym seven days a week, because lets face it, that’s pretty unrealistic! Amend your diet to eat healthier foods more often and unhealthy foods in smaller and less frequent quantities. Be wary of your portions sizes as this is an easy way to cut down your calorie in take without even realising.

You should aim to do 150 hours of exercise per week. This could be a long stroll, a gym session or a swim. Mix it up and keep yourself interested and motivated. Set realistic monthly goals to work towards and don’t expect too much from yourself. Remember to praise yourself when you’ve had a good workout or have lost a few pounds as positive rewards will help keep you motivated.

For a range of sports nutrition supplements and  accessories visit http://www.sportsdirect.com/accessories/sports-nutrition. Keep up to date with SportsDirect’s competitions and get ideas on staying healthy and fit at http://www.facebook.com/sportsdirectuk or http://www.twitter.com/sportsdirectuk.

SportsDirect.com’s Guide to Getting the Whole Family In The Pool

Recent articles have expressed that children, all around the World, are physically less fit than what their parents were when they were the same age. Higher body mass index and increased weight has been made accountable for this, according to exercise physiologist, Grant Tomkinson, as well as lower levels of exercise. SportsDirect.com take a look at how family swims can tackle this issue.

Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise when it comes to utilising the majority of muscles in the body and  helps improve aerobic fitness. Being a low-impact sport, it is not too strenuous on children, but it will make a difference to their overall level of fitness and keep them active.

Aerobic fitness levels have also decreased in adults, and lack of exercise could increase chances of a heart disease or stroke. Swimming for an hour burns approximately 500 calories and acts as a mini resistance workout, due to the fact that water is about 800 times denser than air, so it is a great way to shape up.


Going swimming as a family has numerous benefits. Parents will be motivated to go and do exercise and it will be more of a fun and sociable activity for children, instead of them sticking to just swimming lessons. By the whole family heading down to the local pool, it will also help children’s confidence in water as they will become more familiar with it, and it will help to develop their swimming skills.

Children won’t necessarily see swimming as a chore either as it can be made fun too. Parents can alternate between more ‘serious’ swimming, such as lane swimming and ‘fun swim’ which involves slides and inflatables. Therefore they will be increasing their aerobic fitness as well as having family fun.

For a range of  swimming and buoyancy aids, as well as swimsuits and accessories visit http://www.sportsdirect.com/pages/swimming. Keep up to date with SportsDirect’s competitions and get ideas on staying healthy and fit at www.facebook.com/sportsdirectuk or www.twitter.com/sportsdirectuk.

SportsDirect.com’s Guide To Fitness Classes for 2014

Fitness classes are a great way to lose weight and can be much more fun than enduring an hour at the gym. However, with so many different classes available it can be daunting when it comes to choosing one to try out. SportsDirect.com take a look at the latest exercise classes that are set to be huge in 2014.

Exercising can feel like a chore, but when thrown into classes with a group of people and everyone is learning together it can be much more motivating than an hour on the exercise bike or treadmill.

A class that is not dull in any sense is Aerial Fitness. It  is a fairly  new class to hit the UK and is very popular with celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow and Pink. Based on an idea discovered in Buenos Aires, Aerial Fitness combines a range of different workouts including yoga and pilates , all in the air, using hoops and slings to help improve fitness, burn off fat and strengthen core muscles.

For people who love dance, Virgin Active have launched Fierce, an African tribal dance class that aims to improve flexibility, strength, and acts as a cardio workout. The class involves jumping, stomping, twisting and kicking to create a high intensity and strength building dance class that will also build stamina. It is ideal for people who have previously tried out Zumba or Bokwa®.

Over the past year CrossFit gyms have been popping up around the UK and are set to get even bigger in 2014. A mix of cardiovascular activities, stretching and weightlifting, CrossFit training involves competing and submitting best times online. Typical exercises that are included in the program are squats, pull-ups, push-ups, running and rowing and is perfect for people who want really push themselves to the next level and have a competitive spirit.

Similar to CrossFit, Boot Camp acts as a full body workout and uses the same format as circuit and interval training.  Predominately performed outdoors, though some classes are taken inside,  the class takes inspiration from military boot camp and includes a lot of short sprints, push-ups and plyometric exercises to help build fitness and increase strength.

Finding a class that encourages and maintains motivation is key, as is trying out a range of different classes. Visit www.sportsdirect.com/fitness-and-exercise-equipment and get kitted out before trying out a new class. Keep up to date with the latest news too on their blog.