The Optimise Health Blog

I am less than 3 weeks away from my first sprint Triathlon. As you may see from the blog I intended to do a Triathlon last year to prove to myself I had fully recovered from Malignant Melanoma. This goal was thwarted last year by a slipped a disc and 5 months of standing up with sciatica. Undeterred I have entered the Castle Howard Triathlon on 21st July. Before commencing training this year I lost 6 Kg over 4 months through diet changes, mainly reducing processed carbs, cooking from fresh and reducing portions.  My weight has come down to a steady 87 Kg with benefits seen in my knees and running/swimming/cycling times. I have been training with a buddy who did the Castle Howard Triathlon last year and is fitter than me in all events - a good person to chase! I certainly have felt benefit in company and the motivation to continue training when we are tired or needing to push it to the max in cardio training. Barriers have included injury - an ankle sprained slipping on...

Image © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited Physical preparation for sustainable exercise activity is key to maintaining and improving your physical health. True fitness is a good balance combining stability, power, stamina/cardio, flexibility and strength. Your exercise goals should include elements of all these areas to keep you on track. If you miss out on one key area its not long before you come unstuck or injured. See the rest of the Guardian article  on physical prep and take a look at my previous post on how to make a start with achievable steps in physical goals. Dr Ben Sinclair Linked In Profile http://www.twitter.com/#!/search/menshealthtips About Sinclair Health Ltd

Goal setting is a thorny challenge - how high can we afford to set the bar by creating realistic yet achievable goals without selling ourselves short? The old saying goes if you aim for nothing you will hit it every time; equally there are plenty of proverbs prompting action over inaction. So how can we make and achieve goals in an upward ascent to reach the pinnacle of overall health we strive for? A recent practical article from Harvard Health describes a way of making and achieving realistic goals step by step. This stepwise approach is key to achieving the most achievable goals first, enabling an attempt a new higher goal - like training to climb everest by starting with smaller mountains and working up to the main event. If you are trying to lose weight you need to set a realistic timeframe and fast weight loss is never healthy or sustainable long term; reaserch shows many yo-yo dieters put it all back on again in the following weeks; any weight loss needs to be sustainable ...