Health & Beauty LET THE GAMES BEGIN by Rowena Kitchen T
he Olympics are going to dominate our summer. Every single television channel will have cleared their schedule for constant coverage of every event. The front page of every paper and magazine will be devoted to the games and if the British win a medal of any colour it will be covered with the intensity of a Presidential Election. From diving to running and jumping to any number of sports involving a ball we will not be able to escape it! London will grind to a halt, tempers will fray and the ‘locals’ will treat tourists less than gracefully as the heat rises. But us lucky folk in the depths of the countryside can raise our glasses, when the occasional gold medal is won, all the while remaining calm and carrying on.
Britain won the bid to host the Olympics in 2005 giving us plenty of time to prepare, build and train in time for the big day. The opening ceremony is going to feature a short film starring Daniel Craig as James Bond adding to our mystery, allure and our very Britishness or so the committee hopes. The environmental policy for the Games has played its part with the creation of parkland and the renovation of canals along with hours spent deciding which low energy sources to use and how to best package all the tons of food that will be prepared for the athletes in the Village and the spectators in the stands.
wrestling need a strong central core. We are obsessed with our ‘core’ these days; it’s a real watchword in the media. Without a strong core you are sunk and life not worth living, but what is this mysterious area! The core basically runs from your chest down to your behind. This area, especially your stomach and your back, represents your centre of gravity. It needs to be strong to support the rest of your body. Fitness is important whether
you are trying to get past Usain Bolt or
Eating like a winner is easy. For a start stop dieting. 90% of dieters put back all the lost weight, plus a bit extra for luck, within two years of the diet.
Someone somewhere will have the figures of how many cartons of apple juice will be sipped and how many bread rolls eaten. It will be no surprise that the numbers will turn out to be very high indeed. A professional athlete does not eat like a mere mortal but shovels it in like no tomorrow. A man on a rowing team will be taking in about 6,000 calories a day just to stay at the same weight and have enough energy to get through a day of training. No matter what the country the concerns for the competitors are the same: being fit and healthy. All the sports from aquatics to table tennis and dressage to
just get round the supermarket in record time. Exercise stimulates the release of endorphins. These are the chemicals in your brain that help relieve pain and boost your mood. This in turn helps with fighting feeling blue by elevating your mood. Toned muscles or at least less, sagging ones mean you will look better with your clothes on or off. This can be achieved with exercises using light handheld weights at home or in the gym if you prefer a more structured environment.
Exercise strengthens your bones. Bones get stronger with weight bearing exercise – that can be as simple as walking more. Try to vary the gradient of your walks to encourage different muscle groups to work. Going up hill is good for the large group of muscles that are your behind and going down
is good for the front of the thighs and is great for increasing bone density. Holding your stomach in, pulling it towards your spine during any activity increases your core strength. Eating like a winner is easy. For a start stop dieting. 90% of dieters put back all the lost weight, plus a bit extra for luck, within two years of the diet. Eating well and recognising your danger areas is a better bet. You know why you eat recklessly and no book or diet published in the women’s pages of the paper, promising to be your new best friend, is likely to help unless you actually want to change.
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Illustrations by Lisa Wyman
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