Step into a BODYCOMBAT workout and you’ll punch and kick your way to fitness, burning up to 740 calories along the way. This high-energy martial-arts inspired workout is totally non-contact and there are no complex moves to master. A LES MILLS instructor will challenge you to up the intensity and motivate you to make the most of every round. You’ll release stress, have a blas

With live and virtual classes to choose from what are you waiting for? We hold BODYCOMBAT classes everyday. So get yourself booked on today!

For more information and to book online make sure to click here!

It’s a well-known and undeniable fact that exercise helps you keep fit & healthy and using supplements to help boost the results of every workout you do is a great way of getting more out of your programme.

Taking supplements on board at specific times really can improve the impact that each workout has on your body, so we thought we’d take some time to explain when (and how) you should be focussing on your supplements.

It’s important to remember that there can be too much of a good thing though, we wouldn’t advise you gobbling it ALL up before, during and after every single workout you do – these supplements should be taken as part of a varied and balanced diet; and they do say that variety is the spice of life.

Before you start your workout a good strong black cup of coffee doesn’t just give you the obvious caffeine ‘boost’, it also increases your metabolism and helps you to burn fat faster when you do begin your workout. If you are exercising here at Diana’s, why not make a pit stop in The Café for a nice cup of pre-workout Jack’s Beans coffee?

You could also enjoy a pulse bar with your coffee (the MyProtein Pulse Bars available in The Shop here contain one gram of L-Carnitine, a gram of Taurine and 100mg of Caffeine) to help break down fatty acids, produce energy and stop your skeletal muscle taurine stores from being depleted.

There is a range of supplement drinks available on the market that contain minerals and nutrients that can help you both pre and intra workout. The L-Carnitine, Green Kick and Red Kick drinks are all great, both before and during your workout, they are all packed with various goodies including caffeine, taurine, guarana extract, sugar and sweeteners, all of which help to replace the nutrients you lose during sweating and exercise.

Once you’ve completed your workout, why not kick back in The Café with a great tasting Hurricane XS protein bar from MyProtein? They are an excellent snack to eat post workout as they provide up to 28 grams of premium protein with only 23 grams of carbohydrates (depending on the flavour). The addition of creatine monohydrate in these bars helps to grow and maintain muscle mass and also helps to improve performance in high intensity, successive bursts of short-term exercise (like a HIIT class for instance).

For more information on supplements and how they can make a difference to your results, chat to our team the next time you are in, or give us a call and book a meeting; any specific questions? Drop them in the comments below.

As the hot topic of childhood obesity continues to rage on, we ask when is the right time for children to start going to the gym?

Staying fit and healthy is important at any age and starting with a sensible fitness plan from a young age encourages us to stay fit and healthy for life!

We’re not talking about pumping iron from 5 years old but rather creating a sustainable and safe fitness plan that fits in with your child’s growth and development.

It’s all about finding an activity that your child is going to enjoy and is appropriate for their age. For example, choosing a group activity could also benefit your child by enhancing their social and team working skills as well as their fitness.

If they find a sport they really love, they may want to consider competing too, adding another element of excitement and fun.

We’re all familiar with the general benefits of introducing sport and fitness to our lives and these remain true for children too:

1. Raising self-esteem
2. Maintaining a healthy weight
3. Building a healthy body for life
4. Controlling stress
5. Improved sleep

Let’s take a look at specific benefits and activities for various ages:

2-3 year olds

At this age the main benefit we’re looking for is improved motor skills. This can be achieved through running and throwing. Fun and creativity should be promoted over structure and strict form. We want to avoid over stretching these young bones as they are still developing. Swimming is also a great activity at this age.

4-5 year olds

Motor skills are maturing and we want to start focusing on balance and coordination at this age so it’s a perfect time to introduce more complex movements such as skipping and gymnastics.

6-12 year olds

Your child will be developing their own interests and style during these years. Activities can now be extended to yoga, advanced gymnastics, climbing, swimming and team sports, such as football and basketball.

13-18 year olds

Your children are now young adults and their exercise habits will begin to look more structured and resemble adult regimes. The teenage years stereotypically lead to an adoption of more sedentary activities; it’s important to ensure other options are presented in order to keep your child fit and healthy and pave the way for adult fitness too. Options for how to get involved at this stage are endless.

Let’s help our children get fit for life!

Offering your child access to a mixture of activities from working out in the gym and swimming to taking part in team sports and group exercises, allows them to form a healthy relationship with fitness from an early age.

If you do encourage your child to take part in these activities, you need to monitor them carefully. Children can easily overdo it when they become enthusiastic. So ensure you choose the right activity and support your child to work at the right level for them.

It’s also important to share positive body messages with your children. Going to the gym isn’t about achieving the perfect body as defined by society, it is about making the right choices that promote a healthy lifestyle.

Eating less does not mean weight loss

Yes, you heard correctly. Eating less does not create the need to burn body fat. Instead, it creates the need for the body to slow down. Contrary to popular opinion, our bodies hang on to our body fat and will often opt to burn muscle tissue instead. Only as a last report, if our bodies have no other option, will it start to burn body fat. So for the best weight loss results, you need to eat healthy and blast your workout!

Resistance training does not bulk you up

If resistance training was all it took to get bulky then just about everyone that touched weights in the gym would be getting bigger. For the majority of us, resistance training is a necessity to achieving that fully sculpted appearance that we so desire. To get bulkier we need to be in a calorie surplus where we are eating more calories than we burn and training with moderate weights.

Crunches are the key to flat abs

They may be the most iconic abdominal exercise around, but doing crunches is not actually the best way to slim your midsection. Doing crunches does not burn off a lot of calories, so they don’t help in a major way with fat loss. While crunches do tone a small portion of your abs, moves involving your distal trunk – which includes your shoulders and bum – more effectively engage your entire core. So you will tone your abs far more dramatically if by doing planks and bridges.

Static stretching is sacred

While it’s often repeated that static stretching is a must before workouts, recent studies have proven that “static stretching done pre workout can reduce performance and power”. While static stretching should still be a part of your post workout routine, dynamic stretching should be your focus at the start of a workout.

It is often said that yoga has healing powers. Our expert trainers know for a fact that downwards dog could be the key to better muscle strength, better health and even a better night’s sleep.
Yoga has been getting countless celebrities hitting their mats recently and displaying their love of the lotus position by posting some seriously inspiring selfies.

Jessica Alba, Ellie Goulding, Lea Michele of Glee and Lady Gaga are just among the many, many celebs caught up in the yoga craze. Even Beyoncé has been posting pics on Instagram with her latest ‘bridge’ pose!

What is yoga all about?

Yoga is a calming, comforting ancient form of exercise first developed in Northern India. The discipline uses meditation and a variety of postures to affect both the body and the mind. The use of the ‘Om’ sound not only relaxes and encourages breath control but can even open the sinuses to combat any head colds. It can also aid your immune system fight off any unwanted illnesses.

The postures themselves can be used to improve a person’s posture, and can seriously help the spine in doing so, so anyone who knows the aches of sitting behind a desk could have their pain taken away by practicing yoga. It can also help with your balance and flexibility by keeping your joints working and strong to prevent any cartilage breakdown and releasing any pent-up tension.

Yoga is excellent for the blood, too! It may sound strange, and even scientists are struggling to figure out how it does it, but yoga can increase blood flow and even lower blood pressure and blood sugar, leading to some significant health benefits. It’s even proved to be good for your bones and therefore your core strength.

The celebrities have got it right!

Even if your health is tip-top right now, yoga has another purpose. Many studies have shown that yoga can actually make you live a much happier life. In completing the exercises on a regular basis, yoga allows you to be much more focussed and relaxed so if the stresses of the work day are on your shoulders, shrug them off with a shoulder-stand instead.

If we’ve convinced you that yoga is the way to go, join in with the yoga selfies and send them our way!

Post them on our Facebook page: Diana’s Health & Fitness or Tweet us your pics: @Dianas_Gym