Stretching is still very much a debated subject within the scientific community. Some studies suggest the benefits are undeniable regarding injury prevention, while others report little or no benefits at all. There are a few things that everyone does agree on though: stretching improves flexibility, and when done correctly stretching can increase the range of motion of the fibrous fascia surrounding the muscles of the body. I want to explain these points further and hopefully provide you with the knowledge required to achieve your running goals faster.

It has been, or should I say used to be, a long standing misconception that strength training was just for athletes and casual fitness enthusiasts who wanted to build bigger muscles. However, it is now widely accepted that strength training is an integral part of many sports conditioning programmes, as a means of improving power, speed and muscular endurance.

Sports specific strength training requires a more sophisticated approach than merely picking up an impressive weight and curling it to absolute exhaustion. While most sports are very skill specific, it's easy to see that most of them require some kind of muscular endurance, speed, power or even all three.

What is the Fat Burning After Effect

The fat burning after effect is the sum of the calories burned after exercise (EPOC – excess post exercise oxygen consumption) plus the lactic acid contribution of exercise (LACE).

All energy originates from the sun. Plants convert the sunlight in to energy via photosynthesis. The plants are then eaten, or an animal which has eaten the plant gets eaten, depending on where he/she sits in the food chain. From here, the energy is converted in to carbohydrates, proteins or fats.

There is only one single diet I would recommend for weight loss. This diet actually involves a lifestyle change that has been shown to promote fat burning for fuel, positively influence hormone levels and is actually convenient and manageable. Read on.

When choosing a diet for age related health reasons you should consult your doctor or a nutritionist as you are no doubt at risk of negatively affecting your health.

When I did my qualifications many moons ago to become a personal trainer you get taught some basics about resistance training with weights and 'rep ranges' the general consensus is:

• 5 or less for pure strength
• 8-12 muscle building
• 12-15 and above for endurance/tone

What should you be lifting and for how many reps?

We've all heard the old adage muscle weighs more than fat...this is not strictly true, one pound of fat equals the same in weight as one pound of muscle. (Just like a tonne of feathers is the same as a tonne of bricks).

Where muscle and fat differ is the density, muscle is active tissue and a lot denser than body fat, thus taking up less room as the picture clearly demonstrates. 

This means stepping on the scale only gives half a story. To determine healthy body composition, consider your percentage of body fat in proportion to muscle mass.