You’ve always been healthy, but on a scale of one to 10, where would you score right now?
I’m a seven. I stopped breast-feeding Aiden when he was seven months old, but during that time, if I was feeling tired or had been running around too much, my milk would reduce, so I’d rest, put my feet up and eat! I’m now entering a new phase to get my fitness levels and my body back.

You had IVF treatment to get pregnant with Aiden – did it affect your attitude to health?
I tried everything to help me conceive and was as healthy as I could be. Basically I didn’t care about anything but the health of my baby; that’s why, after giving birth, my figure was the last thing on my mind.

How are you losing the weight now?
I’m very sceptical about taking something to help you lose weight, but I have added Cho-Yung green tea to my weight-loss regime. I’m old fashioned – I don’t believe in fads. The thing that works for me is healthy eating and a constant workout schedule. It might take longer to lose the weight, but you can maintain it long-term. I eat three meals a day, drink lots of water and replace my English tea cuppas with two cups of green tea each day, as it’s cleansing, full of antioxidants and kick-starts your metabolism. And I workout. I want to get into a sensible routine that I can maintain.

PENNY’S DIET DIARY
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs – one egg yolk, the rest whites – with granary toast and some sliced tomato.
Lunch: A warm salad with greens, wild rice, beetroot and maybe some salmon or a small piece of skinless chicken.
Dinner: No carbs, just lean meat and steamed vegetables.
Snacks: I eat a piece of fruit if I’m hungry.
Drinks: Two cups of green tea – I like Cho-Yung Weight Loss Tea – and one cup of coffee a day, lots of water, and one glass of wine every other night.

Words: Jane Druker

*For more on our Penny Lancaster interview and other health and wellbeing features pick up the latest issue of Holland & Barrett magazine.

Doctors have long known regular activity is vital for maintaining health. What’s perhaps less recognised is the fact that the right type of exercise can help you cope with, or even recover from, illness – and that includes serious diseases such as cancer. Here, we look at the evidence and show you how to get going. Remember, if you have any health conditions, you should always consult your doctor before embarking on a new exercise programme.

Deal with diabetes

This condition affects 2.8 million in the UK, the majority of whom have type 2 diabetes. If not well-managed, it can lead to problems including kidney damage and a raised risk of heart disease. And exercise is a vital element when it comes to controlling the disease. ‘Physical activity, combined with healthy eating and any insulin or diabetes medication you’ve been prescribed, will help manage your condition and prevent long-term complications,’ says Cathy Moulton, clinical adviser at Diabetes UK. ‘It could reduce your chances
of having a heart attack or stroke, and lower cholesterol levels – it’s essential for health.’

Which exercise? 

Anything you enjoy and stick to is good. But some activities may have particular benefits.

Combo training A combination of aerobic exercise and resistance training can lower blood sugar levels, found a study in the Journal Of The American Medical Association. So swap the last 20 minutes of your run for a session with dumbbells. Or why not try a Body Pump class, which combines aerobics with weights.

Cycling American scientists have found a programme of regular cycling helps lower cholesterol, important for reducing your heart disease risk in diabetes. ‘Try to do around two-and-a-half hours per week of exercise like cycling,’ says Moulton. If you’re not used to it, visit www.sustrans.org.uk for advice on bikes, safety tips and good routes near you. There are also subsidised NHS cycling clubs nationwide.

Ease joint pain

When painful joints are a problem, just the thought of taking a short walk around the park can have you crawling back to the sofa. But you don’t need to run a marathon to reduce symptoms. ‘Moderate exercise can ease stiffness, improve movement in joints and strengthen your muscles,’ says Jane Tadman of Arthritis Research UK. ‘It may feel counter-intuitive, but exercise is crucial for anyone with arthritis and joint pain as it increases flexibility and also helps combat fatigue.’

Which exercise? 

Choose carefully. High-impact workouts such as running can jar your joints, particularly if you don’t wear the right pair of shoes.

Tai chi ‘With its emphasis on breathing and slow movements, tai chi can improve your strength and balance, which cuts your chances of falling making joint pain worse,’ says tai chi trainer Angus Clarke (www.livingmovement.com). Researchers from the Tufts University School of Medicine carried out trials using tai chi methods to alleviate arthritis
and joint problems. They found a significant drop in knee pain, and the group also saw improvements in flexibility. Visit www.taichifinder.co.uk to find classes.

Stretching classes Stretching isn’t just for a warm-up  prolonged session is beneficial as an exercise in itself if you suffer from painful joints. ‘Yoga can be helpful, but if its intensity doesn’t appeal to you, then stretching and non-weight bearing exercise help ease joint pain without putting strain on your body,’ says Julie Montagu, co-founder of wellbeing company iNourish and a yoga specialist. Most gyms run stretch classe

Words: Orouj Tamimi

*For more on this article and other health and fitness features, pick up the latest issue of Healthy from a Holland & Barrett store near you.

Increasing  your body’s resting metabolism is key to successful weight loss – the higher this is, the more energy you will burn in the time between training sessions. To achieve this you need to turn each one of your muscle groups into little energy-burning furnaces, all working together to increase your body’s overall metabolic rate. Before you start any new exercise regime, make sure you consult your doctor – particularly if you haven’t exercised in a while.

The workout
During month one we are focusing on:
1 Conditioning your muscles, gently getting them used to the increase in activity.
2 Developing your aerobic capacity (the amount of oxygen your body can utilise during exercise).
3 Building your core stability and abdominal strength – the foundation that supports physical movement.

In each workout we will work both your upper and lower body muscle groups to boost your metabolism and stimulate an increase in energy levels. Our training is designed for any individual, of any fitness level. We use timed intervals for every exercise, so if you need to rest at any point during the workout, you can. Each time you work out, rest less. This way you can develop at your own pace, and get to measure your progression as your energy levels increase.  The programme we have created here is designed for you to do at home or in the gym, with or without a trainer. You will train three times a week, with two days of exercise and one of active flexibility (such as a stretch, Pilates or yoga class), to keep your body supple. Yoga is ideal, but if you are short on time then 30 minutes of dynamic stretching will help to keep your body supple.

Warm-up – 5 minutes cardio
Prepare for exercise by doing a combination of lateral steps, bodyweight squats and stair runs (right). Remember, your muscles need to be warm when you are stretching, so as not to cause you injury.

Now you’re all set to start the workout! Click here to download the Lomax exercises.

Exclusive reader offer
Lomax is offering 50 readers either a personal training session and health check at one of its London locations, or, for readers outside London, a nutrition consultation, plus an exclusive exercise DVD. Email your details to thelomaxway@lomaxpt.com with Healthy magazine in the subject line, by 3 February 2012.

Miles Harrington: Director of fitness at Lomax Bespoke Health, Miles has 12 years’ experience as a personal trainer, specialising in MetCon and boxing training. Miles has  worked with top Ironman competitors and trained at the Outbox school of boxing, run by David Haye. See www.lomaxpt.com for more information.

*For more on the Lomax plan please buy the Jan/Feb issue of the magazine from a Holland & Barrett store near you.

Exhausted your extensive fitness DVD collection? Fancy a break from sweating it out at the gym? While these are great ways to stay in shape, there are alternatives. ‘Adventure’ and ‘challenge’ are the new buzzwords in female fitness, as women take a leaf out of men’s exercise books and find more adrenalin-fuelled ways to get fit. ‘For years women wanted challenging fitness, but resources weren’t available and demand wasn’t met,’ says women’s football coach Erik Garner. Celebs jumping on the bandwagon, such as Cameron Diaz with her penchant for snowboarding and 27 Dresses star Katherine Heigl’s love of kickboxing, has further piqued female interest in more challenging activities. Healthy takes a look at the sports where women are proving it definitely isn’t just a man’s world…

Boarded up: the lowdown on snowboarding
Indoor snow centres springing up across the UK have made this sport widely accessible and popularity has grown as a result. Snow centres offer indoor slopes with real snow to give you a taste of the true experience.  When it comes to getting on a board, fear is your biggest hurdle, says snowboarding instructor Lara Suleyman. ‘Classes start with a warm-up and balancing techniques on gentle slopes. You then move to steeper runs, practising simple turns and how to link them to moving in a straight line.’ Typically, advanced lessons develop into three areas: freestyle (using metal rails to work off), free-ride (boarding off-piste through trees, ice or deeper snow) and high performance (carving, where you ‘carve’ either your heel or toe edge into the snow).
Snowboard instructor Ava Bise runs women-only classes. ‘Some women feel they are too old to snowboard, but with enough practise anyone can be great,’ she says. Over the last 10 years Bise has seen
an increase in female snowboarders as more women are exposed to the sport.

What can it do for me?
‘One session will burn around 400 calories, although this will improve with increased intensity as you ride,’ says Suleyman. And during that session, snowboarding tones your tum and bum, as well as your legs, plus it’s great cardio as you’re carrying and/or strapping on a board for hours at a time. But the benefits aren’t just physical – the sport improves coordination and balance. ‘Snowboarding can vary from a deeply meditative activity to a thrilling challenge – what could be healthier?’ adds Bise.
Where can I do it?
To find a snow dome near you, log on to www.xscape.co.uk. Alternatively, try www.thesnowcentre.com in Hertfordshire, www.snowdome.co.uk in Staffordshire, or www.chillfactore.com in Manchester.

The gloves are off: the lowdown on boxing
The premise of boxing is simple. You gain points by landing punches in areas above the waist, chest, or behind the ear. But you don’t have to get straight into a ring with an opponent. ‘Beginners can start with punch or sand bags,’ explains Richard Williams, the World and Commonwealth Lightweight/Middleweight Champion, who teaches female boxing classes. ‘When you feel comfortable you can start sparring with another boxer.’ But what makes women want to punch above their weight in such a tough sport? ‘It’s not just about strength, it’s about technique, too. You have to think tactically and that appeals to women,’ says Williams. Boxing’s popularity could also be attributed to celebrities such as Angelina Jolie being a fan, and films such as Girlfight and Million Dollar Baby, which feature female boxers as their central characters. What’s more, boxing is versatile – you can do boxercise, a high-energy class that incorporates boxing moves without physical contact.

What can it do for me?
Boxing is an intense workout and not for the faint-hearted. ‘It’s empowering and helps you get rid of stress in a controlled environment,’ says Williams. As well as being great for cardio, boxing works on resistance and stamina, and you can burn up to 800 calories an hour. ‘The sport is great for working out your upper body muscles and abs,’ adds Williams. ‘Plus it exercises both sides of your body equally, which isn’t common in other sports.’

Where can I do it?
If you want to join an amateur boxing club go to www.abae.co.uk to search for a club near you, or clubs like Rooney’s Gym (www.rooneysgym.com) in London offer female-only classes. Many gyms also
run boxercise classes for all abilities.

Words: Orouj Tamimi

*For more on this feature and other health and fitness features pick up the latest copy of Healthy in a Holland & Barrett store near you.

What a day! While preparing a morning battling with my email inbox at the office, I was unexpectedly invited to the Olympic park in London to watch GB battling it out with Austria in a game of handball.

For those desperate to see the new park, you’ve got lots to look forward to. There’s some stunning architecture in the making, much of it already completed, and a number of cutting-edge sports facilities. All of which will pave the way for up and coming sports stars, and hopefully, create future Trojan athletes. Now that I’ve seen the park coming into fruition, I’m sure it’s going to rejuvenate the UK sport industry too. Yes, you heard it here people, London 2012 will go down in sporting history!

Asides from ogling at the glittering new stadium and feeling a touch over patriotic and teary-eyed, I watched a women’s handball test match between Austria and Great Britain. If you’re a newbie to handball, much like I was before cosying into my seat at the game, here’s a condensed summary:

In layman’s terms, it’s a cross between football and netball. Players are allowed to to touch the ball anywhere on their bodies above, and including, the knee. When a player has the ball, they need to pass within three seconds of possession and dribbling, catching and kicking is all allowed. When it comes to tackling, body contact is acceptable and so is, er, pushing. That’s right, just as long as it isn’t at full arm’s length. So think Dodgeball with catching, pushing, and mini football goal posts. But the best bit about handball is the fast-paced action and matches packed with drama – exactly the reason why I’m adding it to my growing list of ‘sports to watch’ next summer.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, team GB didn’t take the winner’s spot (boo, hiss), but worry not, they have plenty of time to brush up on their handy skills for 2012. So let’s keep our fingers crossed.

The event was part of the London Prepares series and helps in the London 2012 Organising Committee, for more info about London Prepares, go to londonpreparesseries.com.

We’ve just returned from a press conference with sporting legend Dame Kelly Holmes who chatted about her mentoring scheme, On Camp With Kelly. We also met a few sparkling future athletes like Hannah England and Stacey Smith to see how they’ve benefited from Kelly’s scheme. Here’s how we got on…

Dame Kelly Holmes isn’t just an athlete, she’s a sporting treasure. Before her win at Athens 2004 when she became double Olympic champion (yep, remember that fantastic win?), she had scooped up ten other World, European and Commonwealth medals. Even now, she holds the UK record for 800m, 1000m, and 1500m indoors and is a ten time AAA champion.

But there’s no rest for the wicked. Kelly wanted to pass on her sporting wisdom to new talent and started up On Camp with Kelly, a mentoring scheme to help nurture fresh talent in athletics. So back in 2004, with the help of Aviva, Kelly coined a programme to coach young athletes as she realised so much untapped talent went to waste either because they were unable to sustain motivation, or didn’t have the resources to carry on with sport as a career. She says, “People were cynical when I came up with the idea, thinking I was too famous or simply wouldn’t follow through but seven years on, we’re still going strong! We teach them everything from nutrition, how to manage injuries, preparing for international events, to the smallest but vital, training of packing their bags for a big competition.”

“On Camp with Kelly is all about making sport accessible to people who otherwise don’t have the resources or support. When I started in the industry, I saw so many talented athletes some of who were better than me, but they all dropped out because the didn’t have the determination or help to pursue with sport. I don’t want to see that happen which is why I started the camp for middle distance runners like me.”

Hannah England is crossing her fingers and training hard to make the Olympic trials for next year’s games. “I’ve tried twice  to make it through, both times I was good enough but didn’t pass the trials. With help from the coaches at On Camp with Kelly and Kelly herself, I’m training hard and getting all the advice I need. I’m confident I’ve got a good chance of making the team this time.”

‘On Camp with Kelly’, supported by Aviva since 2004, is Dame Kelly Holmes’ mentoring and education initiative for talented young middle distance athletes. For more info visit www.oncampwithkelly.co.uk.

As the nights draw in and the weather gets cooler it can be tempting to pack away your walking boots and prepare to spend your evenings indoors. However, by doing so, you could be missing out on some great walking conditions, amazing sights and health benefits. In fact, autumn is one of the best seasons to do some serious walking.

Colder weather is excellent for walking

Traditionally, autumn makes for chillier weather, however there’s nothing better than wrapping up warm and getting outside. Cooler temperatures mean that you can tackle more challenging walks before it gets even colder. In autumn and winter, the health benefits of walking are even more important. Keeping up your exercise regime during autumn  can help keep those winter sniffles at bay. For more inspiring walks www.hi-tec.com/uk/inspiring-walks

Get your feet prepped this winter by going to www.hi-tec.com/uk/.

The new running: Jogging in water

The lowdown: ‘For some people, swimming training can get a bit repetitive – swimming lengths up and down,’ says Keri-Anne Payne, Olympic Open Water Speedo-sponsored swimmer. Enter the Aqua Belt. Worn around the waist, it keeps you buoyant in the water while providing support and stability – perfect to wear for jogging through water. ‘The Aqua Belt is very good for running in the water,’ says Payne. ‘It tries to push you out, so it’s important you try and make sure you sink back into the water. It can get really difficult the deeper you go through the water.’

The new dance trend: Zumba Fitness video game

The lowdown: Based on the dance fitness phenomenon, you can now Zumba in the comfort of your own home – with the help of a computer console. Learn nine different dance styles, from mambo to hip-hop and flamenco, with a range of difficulties taught by Zumba creator Beto and celebrity instructors. ‘It allows you to enjoy the moves in between classes,’ says Caroline Parsons, a Zumba education specialist. ‘You can do this alone or play with friends and family – and even host fitness parties.’

*For more about updating your fitness routine, see the September/October issue of Healthy magazine, on sale 24th September – 4th November in Holland & Barrett stores and selected newsagents nationwide.

Whether you prefer to run, swim, sweat it out in the gym or take a more measured approach in a yoga class, the way you exercise can be tailored and streamlined to maximise its benefits for your health. We spoke to the experts to find out how.

Get more from the gym

According to a recent US survey, one of the biggest mistakes people make in the gym is only focusing on certain parts of the body – e.g. abs or biceps – when you have to work your whole body to achieve a balanced look. ‘Many women make the mistake of not lifting weights,’ says Roberts. ‘They worry they’re going to build muscle, but they won’t have enough testosterone to do that.’ The gym drop-out rate is high as it can be dull. ‘Work out your goal for a month’s time and how you can achieve it,’ says Roberts.

Training drill

Try a half-hour peripheral heart action circuit. Alternate arm and leg exercises with a short rest inbetween. This keeps your heart pumping, so you’re working aerobically, as well as strengthening the whole body.

Top tips

• Have one heavy weights workout a week – two or three sets of 10-12 repetitions. They should be heavy enough to make you struggle to finish the last two repetitions of each set.
• Are you pushing yourself? ‘If you’re not puffing and panting two-thirds of the time, work harder,’ says Roberts.

By Karen Williamson

*To read more about how to maximise your exercise, see the August issue of Healthy magazine, on sale 6th August – 23rd September in Holland & Barrett stores and selected newsagents nationwide.

• Multivitamin and mineral complex ‘This is good health insurance for anyone who exercises, as your nutrient needs are greater,’ says nutritionist Anita Bean, author of The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition (A&C Black, £16.99).
• Vitamin D3 ‘A useful extra for immune support and bone health,’ says performance nutritionist Drew Price (www.drewprice.co.uk).
• Omega 3 EFAs ‘May help improve blood flow, boosting oxygen delivery around the body, improving aerobic capacity and endurance,’ says Bean. ‘It’s also good for joint health.’
• Probiotics ‘I highly recommend a daily probiotic such as acidophilus for good gut health and immunity,’ says Price.
• Caffeine, green tea, guarana ‘There’s good evidence to show these can boost endurance and mask fatigue, taken before you train,’ says Bean. ‘However people react in different ways to caffeine and stimulants so use with caution. And you only need consider them if your workout goes over 60 minutes.’
• Whey protein ‘An easy way to take on protein after a hard workout,’ says Price. Plus studies at the University of Surrey proved whey increases satiety and leads to decreased food intake.

By Hannah Ebelthite

*For more information on sports nutrition, see the August issue of Healthy magazine, on sale Saturday 6th August in Holland & Barrett stores and selected newsagents nationwide.