The Australian Government has been running a ‘Swap It Don’t Stop It’ health campaign to help Australians fight the obesity epidemic. According to a recent study, almost 40% of adults are overweight and 25% are obese. That’s more than half the population dealing with weight issues. It’s not only unhealthy it’s also sad that in a country where the ability to be active and play sport is widely and readily available people still continue to put their health at the bottom of the priority list. This is even more surprising when it seems like one in ten persons is a personal trainer being paid to help people lose weight, get fit and stay healthy. Go figure.
The ‘Swap It Don’t Stop It’ campaign suggests swapping the chocolate bar for a piece of fruit, swapping video games for a ball game in the park, walking instead of driving, etc – great ideas and little things that can make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. A little can go a long way and even the extra five minute walk or taking the stairs instead of the lift can have an impact on your health within a few short months.
When it comes to your fitness and sporting pursuits there are activities that you can swap for others to change up your routine, improve results, get over a plateau in your training, and shock your body so it continues to perform at its best. A few little tweaks and changes here and there can give you the change you need.
* Swap interval training for hill runs to work on your lower body strength, reduce the risk of injury and improve running performance. Start with 3 hill runs and increase each week until you are doing approximately 8-12 x 100m hill sprints.
* Swap the comforts of the local swimming pool for open water swims. You’ll have to work harder on your stroke and you’ll break the monotony of staring at the black line. Just make sure to always swim with someone and keep close to shore.
* Swap the outdoor cycling once a week for an indoor spin class. RPM or Spin is a great indoor workout that can really challenge the body if you push yourself hard enough. In 45 minutes you can burn over 600 calories while changing up your routine. If you normally take a spin class, get outside on the bike instead.
* Swap one of your weight training sessions for Yoga or Pilates. Both will deliver a full body workout that will challenge your strength, flexibility and balance. Flexibility is often neglected and by including a bit of yoga and stretching to your training routine will improve results in other sports as well.
How often do you change up your training?
That 40 per cent is a very surprising stat, really? Like you say so many people are personal trainers and even more gabbing on about sport all of the time. Is that a new finding?
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics these are the stats. It’s shocking but that is the case – we have too much fast food and modern day technology to thank for that.