Fitness
Make stretching a part of every workout
Regular stretching keeps your body flexible by making your joints mobile and your muscles limber.
Do I have to be a fitness veteran to take a group exercise class?
Our members often experience nervousness or uncertainty before beginning a group exercise class. Below are answers to some common concerns that members face. Now you’ll see why group exercise is for everyone!
1escape Motivation Boosters - Ten easy ways for healthy eating, healthy weight, healthy you!
Waiting for next Monday, next week or any time in the future delays the time that you will start to feel better. Commit to your health right now and for the rest of your life.
Why do women exercise?
Why do women exercise? To get thin, right? That seems to be the message that women are exposed to on a daily basis. Magazines scream headliners at us like ‘Get the perfect body’ ‘Flat tummy fast’ ‘drop a dress size in 2 weeks’. Inside they are littered with ‘body beautiful’ images of how we should aspire to look. The women in the photos look confident, happy and successful and we are told these women have “succeeded” by training hard and avoiding the dreaded carbohydrate. So is this the reason that women train? Is it purely aesthetical? Are these magazines keeping the fitness industry in business?
Top tips for the Mini Marathon with 1escape health club
The annual Flora Mini Marathon is a fantastic opportunity for women across the country to come together and walk, jog or run while raising funds for their chosen charities. But it is much more than that. For many it will be their first time to participate in a marathon and therefore can be quite a daunting experience. This need not be the case, however and to help we have put together some tips to ensure that your big day goes well.
Keep Those new years resolutions with 1escape Health Club
Each January sees numerous resolutions being made - the most popular being to get fit and lose that Christmas flab. While the month is always started with good intentions, these resolutions can soon lose momentum as we try to juggle our busy lifestyles. However, the professional training team at 1escape, state of the art health club in Smithfield, offer their top tips on how to plan and carry out your new fitness regime successfully.
Experts warn not to stretch before workouts
Static stretching before workouts or sport can be detrimental to performance, and even harmful, according to a new study. Kieran O'Sullivan, of Ireland's University of Limerick, told Leisure Opportunities that doing static stretching just before performing in a match or before exercising is a bad idea, as it actually significantly reduces performance (speed, agility, ability to jump).
The Running Man Core Training and Diet
Core training is an imperative part of preparation for any kind of competitive long distance excursion. For a marathon and triathlon, it really does help against obtaining injuries and recovering quickly from tumbles. And after you've swam the guts of a kilometre, getting on your bike straight away would be a flustering prospect to say the very least. 1escape's Ray Lee took me through my paces, and by take me through my paces I mean inflict vast amounts of pain on various parts of my legs. This resulted in it being sore to sit down - what kind of exercise makes it sore to do nothing!? My hamstrings and quads were literally stinging for a couple of days afterwards - granted, the fact that I then went upstairs and ran 13k on a steep incline straight after the core session probably didn't help matters.
Running Man: Training, Eating & Fighting The Energy Slump
I've never eaten healthily in my life. Truth be told, I actually started training as a way to assuage the guilt of enjoying vast amounts of curry and other assorted goodies without having to worry about it going to my trunk and other noticeable areas. 'Five a day' is, somewhat stupidly, not something that I could realistically consume, even on one of my good days. Instead, I simply try to watch what I'm eating as best I can - despite slipping up on innumerable occasions and having my local takeaway on speed dial (being on a first name basis with your delivery man is never a good sign). I also supplement what I can for with vitamins and supplements like Maximuscle Viper and Recovermax.
The Running Man: Adidas Dublin Half Marathon
It's amazing how motivational 8,300 odd extremely fit people can be. I started the day with fairly grounded aspirations after a summer marred by injury, but soon found myself running harder and better than I have in years. The course felt a lot tougher this year, as race organisers mixed it up, giving it a more cohesive feel, but making it inherently tougher, with, seemingly endless, added hills. It was an extremely slick affair though, and the folk behind the race should be thoroughly proud of the job they've done; this was a really well organised event that exuded an infectious and joyful atmosphere. Thanks to all the spectators as well, for cheering us on at the tougher sections, and the all important last 400 metres - which was the point when I feared death the most.
The Running Man: Hitting The Wall
You often hear of marathon runners and triathletes talking about "the wall", a metaphoric description of the utter exhaustion that one feels when exercising for a long period of time. It's understandable when partaking in a marathon (26.2 miles) or an Iron Man (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2mile run) - but what do you call it when someone, despite a relatively high level of cardio, can only manage 6 kilometres on the treadmill? Especially when they've just banged out over 13 on a steep incline on the previous day? Sure, the vast amounts of booze I consumed over the weekend wouldn't have helped (Coors 'Light', my arse), and neither would the fact that I get three-day hangovers.
The Running Man: The Swim Training Begins
Legendary triathlon coach Joe Friel always said that you should never do complete triathlon training in one day. By that, he meant don't partake in all three activities (swimming, running and cycling) in the same day - and especially not the same distances as an actual competitive triathlon event - while you're simply in training mode. Me being me, I ignored this; as a rule, you probably shouldn't really ignore set-in-stone training plans from elite coaches. Last Wednesday, I cycled 30k, ran just under 13k on a steep incline, did some free weights, and then partook in a fifty minute swimming lesson.
The Running Man: Roadrunning, Chocolate and Ghostbusters
There's something inherently wrong about buying Men's Fitness and a giant Galaxy bar at the same time. Needless to say, the woman behind the counter at Dublin airport looked unspeakably perplexed at this double purchase, as I made my way to London for another early morning junket. The likes of these magazines are always a good motivation booster, but made me feel really bad about chowing down on some chocolate at half six in the morning (don?t judge me). All the chocolate in the world couldn't make me feel as bad as I do with the complete and utter lack of swim training I've been doing lately, though.
If you would like more information about fitness then why not organise an appointment with one of our personal trainers. Simply complete the enquiry form attached and we will be in contact to arrange a suitable time for you
