Refresh Your Breathing is by our team member Andrew Bui, our team are amazing and we want to share with you that being a Personal Trainer is not all we do at ALTA Fitness.

Not too long ago, Estelle wrote an insightful article about breathing techniques for better mental health. Click here to refresh yourself. To follow on, James Nestor, in his new book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, believes we’re all breathing wrong… Really? But how?

From the very moment we are born, we breathe intuitively. Such a basic biological function yet taking air in and letting it out wrongly can have led to poor mental and physical health. Gasp! Perhaps we do need a few tips and intentional breathing exercises to assist in generating greater health and wellbeing.

James has explored and discovered the hidden science of ancient breathing practices to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. With research and self-experimentations, he breaks down 5 ways to transform your breathing with slight adjustments in how we inhale and exhale. You’ll never breathe the same way again (gasp through your nose!).

1. Stop breathing through your mouth
2. Use your nose
3. Improve your lung capacity
4. Slow down
5. Hold your breath
6. Check out the link here for a more detailed explanation on the 5 ways to improve your breathing.

It’s fascinating the discoveries we are finding about the body and mind as more scientific research are done from the simplest to complex functions we do. And we’ll do our best to continuously learn new methods and exercises to help our members be fitter, healthier and happier.  Andrew Bui

Coming out of lockdown while exciting may cause some of us to be feeling a little more anxious than usual.  James Nestor, in his new book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, argues that modern humans have become quite bad at the most basic act of living.

Nestor details in his book that our inability to breath properly may be contributing to our anxiety and other mental health problems. What Nestor and many other health professionals are discovering is that breathing could be an overlooked key to finding more calm and peace in our daily life.  Instead of trying to tame our anxiety with our thoughts, breathing in a particular rhythm allows us to bypass our mind’s complexities, targets the body directly and sometimes find immediate relief.

In a 2017 study, highly anxious people were assigned to take a course in diaphragmatic breathing relaxation, and they practiced twice a day at home. Diaphragmatic breathing (or belly breathing which is something I often talk about), involves breathing deeply into the abdomen rather than taking shallow breaths into the chest. After eight weeks, they reported feeling less anxious compared to a group that didn’t receive the training. They also showed physical signs of reduced anxiety, including lower heart rate, slower breathing, and lower skin conductivity.

The way we breathe can also set off physical changes in the body that encourage either stress or anxiety. Breathing influences the sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) branches of our nervous system.  certain techniques can help bring about more parasympathetic calm and relaxation. Certain techniques can help bring about more parasympathetic calm and relaxation, allowing us to consciously take control of our breathing and therefore our nervous system and in turn, your anxiety.

There are many techniques to try if you want to practice breathing for better mental health. Many of the following have been derived from pranayama, yogic breathing that dates back to ancient India.

• Ujjayi – Deep breathing with a narrowed throat, creating a ocean- like sound
• Bhastrika or Belly Breath (one I readily use) – inhaling and exhaling forcefully
• Nadi Shodhana – Type of alternate nostril breathing, where air is inhaled in one nostril and exhaled through the other, sometimes with breath hold.
• Box breathing - Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4, and exhale for 4, and repeat.

In the same way that mindfulness practice isn’t just meditation, breathing as a practice isn’t just waking up every morning and doing 10 minutes of box breathing. It is very important to be aware of the way you breathe in everyday life (or even while checking your emails or waiting for the traffic light to turn green).

Our lives bring many things to worry about so if breathing is sending messages to our brains that something is wrong, it’s no wonder we feel anxious and ultimately why many of these breathing techniques can bring such profound healing.

To read the full article by James Nestor click on this link.

There is so much to talk about when it comes to gut health but, today I’m starting with a bit of rundown of what our gut does. Ultimately what I am getting at is, what we put in our mouth must go through our system and along the way is absorbed for its protein, carbohydrate, fats, fibre, vitamins and minerals. I am always in awe of our bodies and we should cherish them and feed them with the nutrients they need to thrive.

What is the Gut?
The term ‘gut’ is used to describe the digestive system and relates to the entire gastrointestinal (GI) Tract which includes the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, the small and large intestine through to the rectum. The gut contains a large quantity of bacteria and other microbes, our gut microbiome mainly resides in the large intestines and is thought to be one of the most densely populated ecosystems in nature.

What does the gut do?
Thinking of the gut as a tube, the gut is a complex structure that with its large surface (30-40m2!!) absorbs the nutrient from our food as it travels to the lower gut. As the food travels it breaks down, mixing with acids and enzymes. Protein eventually turns into amino acids, carbohydrates into simpler sugars and fats into fatty acids. Along with vitamins and minerals these nutrients are absorbed by the small intestine. Any dietary fibre and any components that escaped digestion enters the large intestines where diverse populations of microbes break some of them down through a fermentation process providing nourishment for the microbes and helps them to multiply. It takes 24-60 hours for our food to complete its journey. Our circulatory and nervous systems are also integral to our gut function.

The importance of gut health…
The gastrointestinal tract is basically the organ of digestion and nutrient absorption and serves a physical and biochemical interface of our internal and external environments – known as the gut barrier. As we travel through life from birth, infancy, adulthood and mature age it is recognised that the macronutrients we consume play a major role in shaping our gut health and is strongly influenced by environmental factors and lifestyle choices.

Maintaining a diverse gut microbiome is positively correlated with good gut health. From birth a baby’s microbiome is colonised by the microbes from the mother. During infancy the first a child’s source is through mothers’ milk then the gradual introduction of foods promotes a shift in the gut microbiome towards that seen in ‘healthy’ adults. Other environmental factors also come into play with the exposure of antibiotics and infection determining the distinctive characteristics of the infant’s microbial community. In general, within 2 years an infant’s gut microbiome resembles that of an adult and by 2 ½ – 4 years their gut microbiome has fully matured. It is critical that a stable core of diverse gut microbiome is advantageous to maintaining long term health. As we move through life changes in diet, sickness, pollution and exercise among other things as well as genetics and other environmental factors, cause a decline of our gut microbiome.

So, look after that amazing body of yours by looking after your gut health as when our gut is not working to its best and having a healthy diverse microbiome then we are open to being unwell and not living your best healthy lifestyle.

Source: The CSIRO Gut care Guide: Dr Michael Conlon, Dr Pennie Taylor, Dr Cuong D Train, Megan Rebuli, 2021

Every story starts somewhere. We start not at the beginning and not at the end but about halfway along, somewhere along age 55.  Aging is unforgiving and it is accompanied by a progressive decline of muscle mass, muscle quality and muscle strength, a condition known as “age related sarcopenia”

Primarily from middle-age, a 1% per year loss of muscle mass occurs. On average, people lose about 30% of their muscle power between ages 50 and 70. In severe cases a loss of up to 50% can be experienced by the age of 80’s’-90’s.

Age-related sarcopenia includes factors such as hormonal imbalance activity, lack of movement or inactivity, poor nutrition, chronic illness and loss of neural integrity and function in the peripheral and central nervous systems. One interesting hypothesis is that mitochondrial deterioration in muscles and motor neurons is the primary initiator of sarcopenia.  Mitochondria is the powerplant to all cells! Well, I know of a way to increase the quality and number of your mitochondria.

Exercise: Resistance training/lifting weights has long been the number one most promising method for treating sarcopenia. Understanding how age, gender and hereditary affects muscle-related gene expression, protein recycling and protein turnover will dictate how one can use weight training to our advantage.

Weight Training: Weight training has been shown to be beneficial across all age groups including those with chronic illness. Some of the most noteworthy benefits include an increase in muscles density and neuromuscular patterning and a ability to perform activities of daily living, such as carrying groceries, getting out of a chair, taking out the trash, walking and climbing stairs, gardening, and better balance and coordination.  But general weight training might not be enough.

It is possible that targeting specific dysfunctional mitochondria areas and increasing healthy mitochondria in motor neurons and muscle fibres could provide a better strategy for reducing sarcopenia.  Science has shown that resistance training can enhance muscle mass and function even in 90-year-old subjects. The theory is that by targeting specific dysfunctional mitochondria areas and increasing healthy mitochondria in motor neurons and muscle fibres with specific exercise can fast track muscular function in age related sarcopenia.

Many studies have shown that with eccentric weight training adults with sarcopenia receive greater benefits than traditional concentric weight training alone, improving muscle strength and mobility function. Benefits of eccentric training is that it produces relatively greater force with lower energy consumption, making it an attractive option in strength programs to improve physical performance.

 If you have any question, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Well, here we are near halfway through the year and I’m wondering are you achieving what you wanted to this year or do you feel as if you’re just treading water?

The 1^st of Jan isn’t the only time to set goals or intentions, in fact it is often the worst especially if you are just thinking of a goal, ambition or intention just for the sake of it. Every day is a good day to do this especially when you get to the point of enough, I’ve had enough of dreaming or thinking but not doing!!

I love this saying ‘Foresight is good, Hindsight is better’! I use this saying when I have realised, I’ve missed out on something big or made a mistake and then realised I missed a great opportunity by not acting on it prior. Yoga is this for me.  I’ve started it and I’m going but I’m disappointed I’m not doing it every single week. After a month of big hikes and cycling I’m disappointed in myself as I’ve pulled up with sore knees and I know in hindsight Yoga would have helped with strengthening and stretching to minimise the pain (in my case maybe the PT needs to get a PT! or blame it on teens who need to be picked up from sport or taken somewhere!!)

So, when it comes to your fitness, health and wellbeing and how you thought the year might be looking but in reality isn’t, then talk to us. Linda & JC are taking one-on-one Goals & Intention coaching sessions to help you achieve them or set them – just click here and make a booking.  The cost is normal PT pricing, and as always we have got your back to help & support you achieve whatever it is for you.

 If you have any question, please do not hesitate to contact us.

While we enjoy a lovely bouquet of sunflowers, their seeds are what we are really interested in. Sunflower seeds are harvested from the head of the sunflower plant. Their distinct nutty flavour and high calorie nutritional value provide a number of health benefits; helping to support your immune system and increase energy levels. The seed itself has a black and white striped exterior which is not recommended you eat. However, if you crack it open, inside you’ll find a white seed which can be eaten raw or roasted. Sunflower seeds are quite versatile, much like any nut and can be used in salads, sprinkled over a stir fry or your morning oats, used in your own trail mix or even used as spread instead of peanut butter! 
 
So what can sunflower seeds do for our health? 

Reducing inflammation 

For those with short-term or chronic inflammation, sunflower seeds can offer anti-inflammatory benefits. The seeds contain vitamin E as well as other plant compounds that can reduce inflammation. 
Sunflower seeds are also rich in ‘healthy’ fats, including polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated which are good for heart health. Consumption of these seeds have been linked to lower rates of cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. 
 
Support the immune system  

It’s very important to have a healthy immune system, especially in this day and age. Sunflower seeds are a source of many vitamins and minerals that can support your immune system and increase your ability to fight off viruses (covid or otherwise!). These include both zinc and selenium. Zinc plays a vital role, helping the body maintain and develop immune cells. Selenium also plays a role in reducing inflammation, fighting infection, and boosting immunity. 

Boosting energy levels 

Sunflower seeds are very high in protein and help boost your energy levels. While the high levels of protein within the seeds already help boost energy levels, other nutrients such as vitamin B and again selenium can help keep you further energised. Put simply, the vitamin B1 present in sunflower seeds can help you convert food to energy, which can keep you active throughout the day. Selenium can increase blood flow and deliver more oxygen to your body. 

As more and more chemicals are entering our lives through our food, skincare and cleaning products, it is time to discuss how they affect your body, cause harmful side effects, and how we can help reverse this trend and be healthier.

One way of doing this, as discussed by Cyndi O’Meara in her book Lab To Table, is to start practicing Counting our Chemical Calories.  That’s right, counting the amount of chemicals our body absorbs daily.

In times past, your body was able to naturally regulate and maintain weight and health. Life was simpler, with way less choices in the foods we ate, the cleaning products we used or the creams and cosmetics we put on our skin. However, our bodies are now being exposed to a toxic overload of chemicals in our everyday lives and we, as a society, are getting sicker and fatter, even though we are eating less fatty food and exercising more.

One of the reasons behind this is our bodies desire for homeostasis, a state of balance among all the body systems needed for the body to survive and function correctly. It tries to maintain a toxic free environment, taking the good stuff from what we consume by way of eating, breathing and skin absorption and excreting the rubbish and by products through urine, feces, carbon dioxide and sweat. If the body cannot eliminate all this toxic waste, and maintain balance, it stores it away until it can in our fat cells, often called Cellulite!

However, with more toxic chemicals entering our body through food production, skin care and household products, the harder it is getting for our bodies to get rid of them all and it is storing them for later in those fat cells.  That’s right, your fat cells, once used in times of fast and famine to store fat for when food was scarce, are now being filled with an overload of toxic chemicals.

Interestingly, our body does have a natural way of trying to eliminate all these excess toxins, and that is through a process called “having a cold or flu”. Our bodies will dump the toxins in mucus and try to excrete as much as is needed to again maintain balance.  Ironically, people don’t like having colds, so they take medication to stop the flow of mucus and thus stop the elimination of toxins. This is compounding the problem creating fattier, less healthy individuals, and eventually more severe colds!!

That is why I believe it is so important to try and change your eating and lifestyle habits. Some simple steps towards this are:

• Eat only simple, good and wholesome food. Where possible, eat organic. Join the wave of people that growing their own vegies, even a pot of spinach on a balcony can help!
• The skin is the largest organ we have! Take care of what you put on it! A great rule of thumb for cosmetics is: if you can’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin.
• Eliminate harmful household cleaning products. Although we don’t consume them, we do inhale them, which cause an increase in chemical calories count.
• Always read the list of ingredients on not only food but your skincare and cleaning products. My rule is: the less ingredients the better!

While balance is the key to a healthier life, we must acknowledge that we are never going to rid our lives of all toxic chemicals. Taking these active steps to decrease your chemical calories count will give our bodies a chance to eliminate the toxic load and rid itself of excess fat. We can regain our energy and be healthier, fitter and happier.

If you have any question, please do not hesitate to contact us.