Vhi HealthClub

Exercise in Later Life

Exercise guru Philip Phelan is back with his tips for exercising as we get older. He explains that more and more older people are exercising having grown up through what he calls the ‘fitness boom’. Philip recommends weight bearing exercises to prevent osteoporosis, such as resistance training, squats, lunges and free weight while swimming is excellent to take the weight off the body and still get a great workout. Perhaps the easiest of them all, walking can be great for overall fitness and perfect for all ages!

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(3 minutes 13 secs)

Get Fit & Lose Weight - The Final Step

It’s been eight weeks and we are now at the end of our ‘Get Fit & Lose Weight Programme’.  We hope you are fitter and healthier! Training guru Philip Phelan is back with us encouraging diversity in our training cycles and says we should try something new every few months to keep our exercise interest alive. Philip suggests working to a goal like the Mini Marathon, for those who have just started training, or a Triathlon, for the more advanced, to keep our training focused for the whole year.

Congratulations to all of you who have followed this two month programme – do email us your stories and goals on healthclub@vhi.ie

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(3 minutes 43 secs)

Get Fit and Lose Weight – Week 7

We are in to the last phase of our Get fit and lose Weight in two months programme with two weeks remaining We’re in week seven and resident dietician Nuala Collins is back with the encouraging news that our results should be showing and that our new eating habits are lifestyle changes for the long-term. Nuala gives simple and easy to follow tips on how to fit in the recommended five portions of fruit and veg a day and encourages us to give up alcohol for just one week in order to really make sure we reach our goals. In amazing she says what cutting out beer, wine and spirits, even for a week, can do.  Make a diary, she says, of your daily diet before and after and really see what a difference regular meals, eating breakfast and avoiding snacks and fast food can make, not just to out waist but our overall health and well-being.

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(4 minutes 55 secs)

Get Fit and Lose Weight – Week 6

Fitness expert Philip Phelan helps us through the last few weeks of our eight week plan.  He says we should now be feeling the positive impact of our work so far and now is the time to determine the key areas we need to change and to re-assess our fitness plan. The most important part at this stage is to stay on track and to remember that if you miss a few dates at the gym to continue with the programme after the break. Also, compare your results now to when you started, this will be great motivation!  Tune in to hear Philips advice and also to hear the story of Deborah Lawlor who joined a gym four years ago and hasn’t looked back since.

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(4 minutes 31 secs)

Get fit and lose weight in the new year Week 5

It's week five of our new year Get Fit and Lose Weight programme and out Diet and Nutrition expert Nuala Collins is back with us. Over the past number of weeks Nuala has looked at breakfast and dinner and now it’s the turn of lunch to take a healthy twist. Nuala suggests to take your lunch with you to work so you know for sure you’re sandwich doesn’t have a spread or mayonnaise, saving you 200 calories! Her top tip for lunch is a rice or noodle salad with far less calories than the average sandwich. Nuala also stresses that we are half way through and it’s time to congratulate ourselves and to have a small treat – but not a food treat! Tune in for more of Nuala’s advice.

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(4 minutes 17 secs)

Get Fit and Lose Weight – Week 4 – Time to hit the gym again!

It's one month into our ‘Get fit and Lose Weight’ programme and this is the point where people often try to do too much too soon warns fitness guru Philip Phelan. Philip stresses we should take healthy exercise at the pace that suits us in this phase and be inspired by the inches dropping off. The most important part is to get into the habit of going to the gym, regular exercise, and to build it into your daily lifestyle and habits.  Make habits which will last he says! Tune in to hear Phillip’s advice and listen to the reactions of some of the people following the programme. Listen here...

(3 minutes 47 secs)

Get Fit and Lose Weight – Part 3

Its week three of our ‘Get Fit and Lose Weight in two months’ programme and dietician Nuala Collins is back with the next phase of our food and diet advice. Nuala says mix good eating habits with more exercise and says the simple route is to get more walking into your day – leave the car at home. She says to start walking thirty minutes a day and to add on small changes to your new diet - particularly at breakfast time: ‘If you have a breakfast, you’re less likely to snack mid morning on high calorie foods and you don’t end up ravenous’, Nuala explains. So by leaving the breakfast roll in the garage forecourt shop and switching to porridge or toast we can save 900 calories! Email us with your progress through the series on healthclub@vhi.ie

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(5 minutes 17 secs)

Check out Nuala's steps to losing weight.

New Year Get Fit Series – Week 2 - First Day at the Gym

After the festive season lots of us aim to get fit and lose weight. Our first port of call is usually to join a gym but figures show that 80% of us don’t see it through the year. In this second part of our eight week series exercise coach Philip Phelan explains what to expect on that first day in the gym and stresses the importance of designing the right programme to help you succeed!   This is the second week in our ‘Get Fit in Two Months’ Programme which has Nuala Collins guiding us through diet and Philip working out our fitness regime. Let us know how you are getting on and mail Aileen on healthclub@vhi.ie

Listen Here... (3 minutes 16 secs)

Nuala Collins with week one of her healthy eating plan for the new year

Get fit and lose weight in two months with Nuala Collins and Philip Phelan: In week one Nuala kicks off her diet regime. Listen here... (4min 54sec)

Over the course of the next eight weeks on Vhi Health Club Vhi diet and fitness experts Nuala Collins and Philip Phelan will be running through a healthy living plan for the new year. In this first instalment – dietician Nuala Collins takes us through the initial steps to healthy eating and helps us lay down rules for a health food life.

The aim of this plan is to eat 500 calories less a day to attain your target weight. Nuala explains about ideal target weight and how to work your own out. She also takes you through the initial stages, planning your start date, documenting your eating habits and the beginning of the small changes you can make to see a difference in your shape and health.

‘The better you prepare now in week one the better chance you have of succeeding over the next eight weeks’, according to Nuala.

Listen as Nuala explains how to lose at least 10 pounds over eight weeks armed with a digital weighing scales, a notebook, a photo of your face and a new cooking plan! Join in the challenge to lose weight and get fit and tell us about your success (or failure!) on healthclub@vhi.ie. In next week’s episode on January 16th our fitness guru Philip Phelan will kick off his exercise plan to make us find that new shape and energy for 2007.

Check out Nuala's steps to losing weight.