Hamstring: The Forgotten Muscle

The hamstring is probably one of the most forgotten about muscles and that’s probable because they can't be seen in the mirror, so people may think they're not as important as the Quadriceps (quads). Personally, I’m just lazy, so once I’ve done my variation of squats and lunges, doing hamstring exercises are the last thing on my mind.

However, recently I found out that I might suffer from knee problems because my Hamstrings are weaker than my Quads. I know knee problems are quite common in females and after having a read around the problem, I think this might be something a lot of females might relate to.

Before I go any further, I think I should explain the function of the Quads and the Hamstring and how they relate to your knees.

So your upper leg contains two opposing muscle groups, your Quads and your Hamstring. These muscles together, move your hip joints and your knee and stabalise your knee.

Your Quads flex (bend) your hip and extend (straighten) your knee and your hamstring extends (straightens) your hip and flexes (bends) your knee. In most cases, the Hamstring tends to be weaker than the Quads because the Quads are bigger and are used more frequently in day to day activities.

I’ve suffered from ‘bad’ knees for about a year now. I went to physio, completed my rehab exercises and home works and had the all clear to go back to weight training, but things were never the same.

It is important to have a balance between your Hamstring and your Quads because a strength imbalance increases the risk of injuries, such as damage to your muscles, ligaments and joints. As your Quads contract, your Hamstring lengthens and if you’re Hamstrings are too weak, your Quads will pull your Hamstring faster than it can lengthen, which may be too forceful and that’s where the injury starts.

Putting this into context with my own training regime, it all makes sense. I rarely train my hamstrings anyway, in comparison to my quads, so this does not come as a surprise at all *sigh*.

So how can you fix this problem then? It’s simple, train your Hamstring!

There are several exercises that can be done, which I will list below:

1.     Stiff Leg Deadlift 

2.     Lying leg curl 

3.     Good mornings 

4.     Exercise ball curls 

5.     Kettlebell deadlifts 

6.     Glute bridge 

All these exercises should help increase the ratio between your hamstrings and your quadriceps, which should hopefully fix the problem.

G

 

Sunday Funday

The weather wasn’t too bad on Sunday, so after church I decided to have a little workout in the park with my cousins. It was a short session which consisted of bodyweight exercises.

Bodyweight exercises are so convenient. You don’t need equipment, you can workout literally anywhere and all you need is your body! 

What I like about these types of exercises, is that they require more flexibility and balance in order to perform reps, in comparison to weight training. Because you have to use your bodyweight to adjust the difficulty of exercises, you learn how to make use of your entire body in any given movements.  

It's all about becoming one with your body because you’re literally working with what you've got and your body HAS to tone itself because it’s naturally being conditioned to the same weight all the time. Not only that but, you can workout towards your own strengths and weaknesses, as through doing certain exercises you'll be able to learn what muscles are stronger/weaker.

There is an ongoing discussion about Bodyweight Training vs Weight Training but that’s a different blog post. Personally, I like them both and think when combined together you get good results, but that’s just my opinion. J

But yh ...since the weathers getting better now, I plan to do a lot more training in the park on weekends…so anyone interested let me know and lets do this!

G

You're More Beautiful Than You Think

I was inspired to write this blog post by the recent Dove Real Beauty advert. For the few that haven't seen the advert yet (click here) , a FBI forensic artist is behind a curtain and draws the individuals portrait by their own self description. The artist then draws a second portrait of the same individual but this time the drawing is based on a strangers description of them. 

When the two portraits are compared, the portrait based on the individuals own self description was very unflattering and miserable. However, the portrait based on the strangers description of the individual was more softer, more realistic and somewhat - happier.

It highlighted that these women had self distorted images of themselves and did not realise how beautiful they were. Whilst watching the advert I got quite emotional because I know for a fact I can relate and a lot of people I know can relate too. It just goes to show that we are all too consumed with a perception of what we think we should look like, when really we should just embrace the way we are.

Not too long ago my friend who works in a school, asked me to come and workout with some of the year 11s, so I did. When I met them we discussed their goals and why they wanted to start working out. Sadly, their responses were "I want a body like Beyonce and Kim Kardashian".

It made me realise that the majority of us, and when I say us, I'm referring mainly to those in the black community, are obsessed with the image that the perfect body is a slim waist, thick thighs and a big bum. These girls were only 15/16 and already they were worried about getting big hips and a big bum. I had to remind them that they were only young so there bodies had not even fully developed yet.

But lets be honest, a lot of females decide to start working out because they are trying to achieve that same "perfect" body. My opinion is, if that's your only motivation to work out, then your doing it for all the wrong reasons and your motivation to workout probably won't last that long.

Personally, i'm working out to improve my fitness and although looking good does come into it, it isn't my main goal. Some of you are probably rolling your eyes because I'm talking about not being obsessed with having wide hips and a small waist but these are features I possess so I can say this, but through working out my bum and hips have got smaller,  but these are sacrifices I'm willing to make in the hopes of becoming fitter.

But yh... the advert got me thinking and made me realise that what most people see as negative features and flaws - they blow it out of proportion, when really they are actually positive and beautiful qualities. The moment we stop pressurising ourselves to look like others and conform to an idealised beauty and the sooner we start being happy within ourselves,  we will start enjoying life a lot more.

Next time you find yourself having a stand off with your mirror don't focus on the new flaw you've discovered, focus on that flawless beauty that it yet to be re-discovered again!

Stay beautiful.

G

Meal Prep

Im a busy body- I leave my house at 7:30am and don’t usually get back home until 9/10pm everyday. Getting home around them times to now start cooking my meals is even longer than it sounds…so what do I do? I meal prep!

On Sundays, I cook enough Protein, Carbs & Veg to last me for the working week (Mon-Fri), put them into individual containers and keep them in the fridge. There’s no need to put the meals in the freezer because the food will still be fresh by the time Im ready to eat it.

This saves so much time and money as it allows me to avoid eating rubbish, spending money on food or skipping meals when I’m out and about during the week.

I just grab a container and ‘voilà’ …Im good to go.

Try it….meal prep for a week and see how much time and money you save.

G

Bare With Me ...I'm Just Having A Moment

Have you ever had those moments where you feel down and you don't know why? Well I've been having one of them recently as well as suffering a knee injury.

So I haven't been able to work out as much as I would like because of my knee and it's stressing me out. I've felt de-motivated to even do anything (I’m even struggling to write this post). So what have I turned to for comfort...food! Yes you heard correctly comfort food!

I've found myself comfort eating and doing things so out of character and its doing nothing but making me gain pounds ...ecccckkkkkk! Whatever ab ‘definition’ was forming on my stomach is now non existent :-(

...But not to worry...I know what I need to do :-)

For the next couple of weeks I'm going to shock my body and play with it, (laughs hysterically) that sounded so wrong but Im basically going to put my body through trial and error. I'm looking to eat clean and I mean squeaky clean. For example, no salt, saturated fats, refined sugars etc.

My meals are going to be pretty boring and bland, no dressing or nothing. The only thing I’ll be using to season my food is lemon. This is to try and reduce my body fat and to try and get them abs to come through.

I've been trying to get abs for agggessss now and it's not easy! But I'm not going to give up until I've tried everything there is to try. I’ve figured that it's all about trial and error and finding out what works for your body and to be honest I still have a lot more to learn about my own.

I already know that what works for one person might not work for another and I may not necessarily see any results, but at least I’ll be able to tick this method off my list if it doesn't work and ill continue to try others. 

I decided to post this really just to show that I am human lol. Yes that's right I bleed red not blue just like the rest of you. I know a lot of people think I live, eat, breathe & sleep fitness which is true to an extent, but I do have my moments as well lol.

Anyway...I shall upload progress pictures in four weeks about my trial and error period.

Until then…happy fitness

G

Happy Holiday

Whilst everyone has been suffering from freezing temperatures and snow flakes, I've been away on holiday. 

The majority of the time a holiday is used as an excuse to go wild and throw away good habits. The restaurant dining, lazing about, lounging, fast food meals, late night snacks, excessive alcohol consumption and messed up sleeping patterns can sometimes leave you feeling more tired than before you left for your holiday.

But not me, I decided to take my healthy lifestyle with me.

To some extent I've still managed to "eat clean and train dirty'' as Get Bodied By J would say. I say to some extent because if I told you I didn't have the occasional cocktail I would be lying lol.

I wasn't away for long so I could have waited and continued when I got back. Not working out for 5 days probably would not have made much of a difference but every little helps. The little I done would help to balance any excess fat I would gain whilst out there and would also help me from getting physically stale. I mean theres nothing worse than returning home after a holiday and feeling like your starting from scratch. 

I didnt have access to a gym so body weight training was my best friend. As most of you would have realised by now, I literally workout anywhere! My fitness has no boundaries...from public transport, to beaches, you name it... I'll do it.

Whilst in Portugal my routine consisted of runs across the beach and circuit training wherever I found space. Obviously a couple of people stopped and looked at me weird in the process of my circuits on the beach but that's nothing I'm not used to. I also practiced a couple yoga moves with my friend. 

I done the 300 circuit I got from my Spartanfam trainer Chaka Bars.

The circuit consists of:

-30 tricep dips

-15 chin ups & 15 pull ups

-30 sit ups

-30 Russian twist sit ups

-30 squats

-30 lunges

-30 burpees

-30 wide pulls with feet on the floor

-30 push ups

-30 box jumps

I won't lie...when I got to 30 burpees I was so tired I didn't know what to do with myself.

If you don't know what some of these exercises are YouTube is your friend. (I will start uploading videos very soon I promise)

Im glad I took this frame of mind with me on holiday though. I exercised, ate smart and still managed to enjoy my holiday.

So people, when your away, find ways to stay as active as you can and eat as clean as you can to avoid unnecessary weight gain and to make the transition back to real life a little easier.

G

The Perfect Fit For The Perfect Run

After a long day at work I jetted off to 'Somerset house' for a sneak peek at the new Nike trainers - Flyknit Lunar1+.

These trainers are available for both men and women and are great for running.

What makes these trainers so unique is that they provide the perfect fit and feel as though they were made just for you. How have Nike done this? Well, when you go pick up a pair of these trainers you’re taken to Nike’s Steam Lounge. The trainer is placed in a steam machine for several minutes and then you try them on. Whilst the trainer is still warm, gentle pressure in the form of a foot massage is applied to the trainer to mould it to the contours of your foot.

I could physically see the transformation!

I could actually feel the difference and the trainers felt a lot more snug and comfortable.

 

 

Thanks to these beauties there will be no more uncomfortable trainers for your morning runs!

So head down to Nike town and get your pair just in time for spring!

G



MidWeek Motivation

So this week several people have asked me for advice on how I stay motivated on this journey. Firstly you need to ask yourself how bad you want it because being fit and healthy is something you have to commit to long term. All these quick fixes are temporary and so are the results.

Personally, for me short term motivation comes from team work and pushing boundaries. By short term motivation I'm talking about a day when I can't be bothered to train but I know I have to.

Team work

I've found working out with someone or in a group is more productive than working out by myself. I find I work a lot harder and push myself out of my comfort zone. I particularly like working out with males or females who are just as crazy as I am and stronger than me because we will never take it easy in the gym.

When I've trained with males I usually find that my body is able to reach targets I never knew it was capable of.  As much as I hate to admit it, let's be honest, guys are stronger than girls, so being able to keep up with a guy in the gym gives me a buzz and should keep him on his toes because I shouldn't be able to do what he's doing.

Pushing boundaries

As you've probably already noticed I like to do random things like squatting humans on my shoulders or upside down sit ups on the train. This is because I actually find them things quite fun!

People who say working out and the gym are boring don’t know how to create their own fun!!!

Obviously doing the same gym routine all the time can become boring and tedious so why not switch it up a bit. I find these random things make my training sessions a lot more exciting and challenging, plus it allows me to put my fitness to the test.

I mean what's the point in being fit and strong if you can’t test how fit and strong you are.

Staying motivated in the long run I guess comes from wanting to encourage people to look after their physical and mental well being.

It's so true that when you look good you feel good. My confidence has increased so much since the beginning of my journey.

Fitness has taught me that there are no boundaries as I've been able to do things I never knew I was physically capable of, especially as I wasn't active as a child or teen.

My journey has allowed me to turn negative thoughts into positive actions and I just hope I can inspire you guys to do the same.

So people why not stay motivated by trying random things like chin ups or pull ups on a tree, handstands on a parked car or squatting your boyfriend or girlfriend !!!

Whatever you do just make sure you have fun whilst doing it.

G

Stretch Sundays

So today was supposed to be 'leg day' but when I got to the gym I had a change of heart. I actually couldn't be bothered so I decided to work on my flexibility and stretch out my body instead.

Flexibility is important because it:

• Improves your performance
• Decreases the risk of injury
• Reduces muscle soreness
• Improves your posture 
• Improves muscle coordination
• Improves balance and coordination

I decided to practice some Yoga stretches and although I've never been to a yoga class I would like to thank Instagram- my yoga teacher.

I seem to be quite flexible so I think yoga is something i'm going to take up.

By increasing your flexibility through stretching, your balance and coordination improves during a workout. Whereas the lack of flexibility can cause your movements to become slower and increases the chances of muscle strain and injuries after a workout.

So make sure you include stretching as part of your exercise regime.


G