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A healthier you

Family with young kids

When you're balancing a career with the needs of a young family, you get little 'down time'. It's important to be fit to handle everything your life throws at you, and to set a good example.

Josh and Corrine will show you how to establish a good eating and fitness routine.

February Exercise Program Nutrition & diet Recipe

February Exercise Program

Make sure you warm up for at least five minutes before doing any exercise. Try going up and down the stairs a few times or simply marching on the spot.

Always add time for a simple cool down stretch at the end of an exercise session. Check out the Fitness-Inspiration website if you need any guidance on what stretches to use.

Lunges

With your hand on the back of a chair, stand with your feet parallel. Take a giant step back with one foot. That heel should be lifted, your hips square and facing front, and your weight centred between your feet. Breathe in as you bend both knees, the front knee over your ankle forming a 90 ° angle. Keep your back straight so you drop straight down and not leaning forward, pulling your abs in. Breathe out as you straighten your legs back out, the pressure on your front foot, especially the heel so you use your bottom and the backs of your thighs. Repeat slowly 8 to 10 times then change legs.

What does this do?
Strengthens your bottom and thighs (glutes, quads and hamstrings) and is one of the best shaping exercises for this area. It helps with balance and uses abs for stabilising.

Make it work harder:
Carry small hand weights, and stand with your feet together and step into the lunge position each time (remembering to the keep the back straight).

Do the workout at home:
Any surface at hip height is good for support if necessary.

Tricep dips

Sit on the edge of a stable chair, your hands shoulder width apart and your fingers curling over the edge. Walk your feet away until your bottom is just resting against the edge of the seat. Your feet should be flat and knees above the ankles at 90°. Slowly breathe in, bend your arms at the elbows and lower your bottom towards the floor, keeping your back straight and close to the chair. Your bottom shouldn't go lower than your knees. Then breathe out, pull your tummy in towards your spine, and straighten your arms by pushing with your hands. All the work is in the arms, not your legs! Repeat 8 to 10 times, more when it gets easier.

What does this do?
This really targets the backs of the upper arms and firms them easily. We tend to use the muscles in the front of the body in everyday life, so this helps to balance the upper body and to function more in unison, while looking better. The abs are acting as a stabilizer.

Make it work harder:
Take your feet further away from the chair but keep the same back alignment.

Do the workout at home:
Any chair with a seat at the correct height will work; you could even use the edge of the bath.

Shoulder (deltoids)

Sit on a hard chair or stand with your feet shoulder width apart, tummy in, back straight and knees slightly bent. Have your elbows bent so your hands are at your shoulders, palms facing outwards. Breathe out and push your arms toward the ceiling (imagine you're pushing the ceiling away). Breathe in as you slowly bring your arms back to the start position (this time imagine resistance, as if you're holding the ceiling up). Repeat 8 to 10 times. Be careful not to strain your neck or hunch your shoulders at any point.

What does this do?
This is great for strengthening shoulder muscles. It will help to correct weak, sloping shoulders and poor posture (so often in life we're leaning forward and rounding our shoulders!). This makes you stand taller and helps prevent posture problems later in life.

Make it work harder:
Use small hand weights (not so heavy you lose alignment).

Do the workout at home:
You can use any object of the right weight, they don't have to be gym weights. Try cans or small bottles of water.

Abs (plank)

Lie face down on a mat or padded surface, arms bent with elbows close to your sides and palms down. Pull in your tummy. With you tummy lifted slide your elbows forward to directly under your shoulders and lift your hips off the floor. This should create a straight line from knee to shoulder. Keep shoulder blades wide apart, your spine straight. Your nose should be pointed toward the floor and your tummy should be tight to stop your lower back sagging. Breathe naturally, keeping tummy, bottom and legs tight. Hold for 10 seconds (progress to 30 and then 60).

What does this do?
This trains your abdominals and spinal extensors (the muscles down the side of the spine). It improves your core strength, tightens your abs and gives you a stronger back. All this creates a better posture.

Make it work harder:
Hold the position for 60 seconds, and when that's easy try the exercise with your weight resting on your toes.

Do the workout at home:
You can use a large folded towel as a padded surface if you have no mat.

This month's nutritional recommendations

To help keep you on the go, feeling fit and healthy, you need a well-balanced diet. From foods that are easy-to-prepare to nutrients that will support your busy lifestyle, here are our top tips:

Protein: Eggs are a quick, nutritious option for any meal. Low sugar cereals with low fat milk or soya rice milk have a low GI and extra goodness. Also good for protein is chicken, and occasionally eating grilled or roasted red meat.

Oily fish: Full of omega 3, which is really important for brain function and joints, try a salmon dish for the children.

Seasonal veg: Brightly coloured or dark green veg will provide lots of fibre. This goes for fruit too. Try to get your kids eating five different varieties a day; sugar-free fruit juices are a good way to boost this.

Snacks: For slow-release energy and protein have fruit, or mixed fruit and dried nuts. Humus with wholemeal pittabread is good too.

Drinks: Go for lots of water and limit fizzy drinks.

Golden nugget

Balancing work with a young family is tough. To make sure you have enough energy you have to eat well, exercise to stay strong, and make sure you get enough sleep. The mind/body connection is very strong and need to fuel both in order to cope. If you're not in good shape it's hard to make sure your kids are!