Monday, 23 March 2009

London Marathon - without Paula Radcliffe

The London Marathon is just over a month away . Paula Radcliffe has unfortunately got a broken toe and can't run this year. She had another problem with her foot which was resolved but now has a fracture. A great shame for her.. and also for runners who are inspired by her.

Everyone is getting inspired to run outside in the wonderful weather we have been having ..lots of people are out running and jogging. I know from my time at the top in competitive gymnastics that this is when discipline keeps you going. Your training programme carries you through despite any wobbles. The great thing about this warm weather is that the UK runners will have a chance to acclimatise to the kind of conditions on 26th April.

The running season is here but the London Marathon is the star!

Saturday, 21 March 2009

BMI body mass index

Your body mass index tells you basically whether you are fat, thin or just fine.

The hands-on way is to feel how much skin you can pinch between your thumb and first finger.

The official way is to work out where you are on the BMI scale.

How do you do it?

You find some scales and record your weight in kilogrammes. Our weight varies enormously depending on what you have eaten during the day, and especially what time of day it is. Probably the most consistent result will be first thing in the morning - and this is also when you are likely to be lightest having gone for at least eight hours without food.

Then you find out what your height is in metres - the gym is probably the best place, but you can put a tape measure upright against a door or wall.

Then divide your kilogramme weight by your height in metres, and then divide that answer by your height in metres again.

For example

If you weigh 70kg, and you’re 1.75m tall, your BMI is 22.9 .


70 /(divided by) 1.75 = 40

40 /(divided by) 1.75 = 22.9

What's your weight in kg and your height in metres?

What's your BMI?

Come back for what the figure means in the next post.

Thursday, 19 March 2009

BackFlip Queen Katie Cannon

Backflip Queen Katie Cannon had a fantastic time recently filming a show for Sky called "Gym'll Fix It". This is Katie's idea of a perfect TV show - as she does think Gym fixes everyone's problem.

Katie was taking part in a physical challenge competition which might hit the TV airwaves in a few months' time. She thoroughly enjoyed being part of an uptempo group and of course the competition added to the enjoyment. It is all a bit hush-hush but as someone who tried out for the show "Gladiators" Katie was pleased to find out more on the inside track about that programme, too.

On balance though, Katie is very pleased that she has decided to support children to enjoy gymnastics and that BackFlip Performers has been so successful with children and parents alike.

" I still love performing gymnastic moves - especially the backflip - but am excited that so many kids in BackFlip Performers are gaining confidence and doing it too"

Saturday, 21 February 2009

Dance for Comic Relief

The first show was on BBC this evening.
It was interesting that the most energetic acts were among the three most popular with the audience ..
Robert Webb doing Flashdance and the Eastenders guys doing High School Musical
all gymnastic.
Even better, the showdance, "Electricity" from Billy Elliott featured the backflip.
the famous move for BackFlip Performers.
Katie Cannon has helped with gymnastic training for auditions for Billy Elliott-
it is good for cross-training and helped with all-round confidence.

Sunday, 8 February 2009

Snow joke!

All the snow last week was a fantastic opportunity to simply get out and have some fun! It was interesting how many parents looked as though they had had a great day with their children.
The hills were covered with people sledging, snowboarding and skiing and the snowmen I saw on the BBC's One Show were amazing.

Horrible for people who had power cuts or got stuck in traffic, but it did create an opportunity to get out and have fun as well.

Friday, 16 January 2009

Kids Obesity

There are toddlers of two years old receiving treatment for obesity.
In the papers today it said that one child being treated in Gwent in Wales weighs
2 stone 9 lbs ( 16kg) , and that the average weight of a two year old should be 1 stone and 12 lbs ie 12 kg.

What a frightening thought. These children end up moving less and type 2 diabetes is
now being diagnosed in children under 10.

Of course if they could all join a group like BackFlip Performers they would learn to have fun and enjoy moving around. Even a little bit of exercise would be good - and of course eating more healthy food, too.

But moving around gets the endorphins going and the feel good comes from natural healthy stuff not junk food or TV.

Monday, 12 January 2009

X Factor Alex loses weight naturally

Did you watch X Factor?

It seems that Alex Byrne who won singing "Hallejuh" went from a size 12 to size 8
over the five months that it took to film the show.

She is reported as saying that she just lost the weight naturally. I am sure
knowing you were going to be filmed for TV would help you be
more conscious of how you look. It is great to know that she didn't
go on any crash diets.