Issue 3

Improve Your Health

Live your best naturally healthy life

Improve Your Health1 min read
Let’s Get Walking!
What better way could there be to enjoy your exercise than stepping outside for a walk? Whether it’s a gentle 20-minute stroll in your lunch break or a day spent hiking through the mountains, walking is the most natural form of exercise you can do an
Improve Your Health1 min read
Improve Your Health
Managing Editor, Women’s Health and Fitness Bookazines Katherine Watt With thanks to Women’s Fitness Art Director Jennifer Ratcliff ADVERTISEMENT SALES Tandem MediaBusiness Development DirectorRichard Rowe, 01233 228750, richard.rowe@tandemmedia.co.u
Improve Your Health2 min read
Walking!
The Alzheimer’s Society services, including the Dementia Connect line, have been used more than 3 million times in the past year, showing how crucial the charity is for those needing support with dementia. Thousands of people living with dementia hav
Improve Your Health3 min readDiet & Nutrition
FROM SLOW TO speedy
WALKING IS ONE OF the most basic forms of exercise known to us. But it’s about much more than just getting from A to B. ‘We were born and built to walk; it’s movement our bodies were designed for,’ says fitness expert and personal trainer Caroline Sa
Improve Your Health3 min read
UPGRADE YOUR Walk!
Oxygen is energy when it comes to walking. ‘I like to really fill my lungs with air. I think of it as double breathing – I breathe twice as hard as usual,’ says Roger. ‘If I usually breathe in for three steps, or three seconds, then I’ll breathe out
Improve Your Health7 min read
Walk to WHITTLE YOUR WAIST
AS WELL AS GIVING your overall mental and physical health a boost, walking the ideal way to keep a healthy weight. This means you can explore beautiful routes around the country (or world!) – either for some precious alone time or with family and fri
Improve Your Health4 min readMental Health
SOOTHE your MIND
WE’VE established how good walking is for toning muscles and boosting your heart rate, but there’s also something intangible that a good yomp in the countryside does for your mood. As you’ll know if you’ve ever headed outside with a niggling question
Improve Your Health4 min read
Walk Your Way To Bliss
Not all who wander are lost, said JRR Tolkien, and he was right. A gentle stroll helps you feel calm, collected and present. And when you walk with meditative purpose – reflecting on the beauty of nature and taking time just for you – you’ll return f
Improve Your Health3 min read
6 Reasons To Go Solo
‘A solo adventure is one of the most empowering things you can do,’ says Zoë Watson, founder of Bliss Sanctuary for Women in Bali (blisssanctuaryforwomen.com). ‘It gives you an opportunity to make decisions for yourself, experience new cultures and n
Improve Your Health2 min read
Listen While You Walk
WHILE YOU can simply step out and soak up the sounds around you when you walk, it could also be a great chance to learn a language, listen to positive mantras, or master new skills, all while improving your health. ‘Our modern lifestyle is very scree
Improve Your Health4 min read
Perfect your POSTURE
It’s a good idea to warm up your spine before you set off on your walk. Firstly, jog or march on the spot for about a minute. Then, stand up straight with your hands on your hips, keeping them facing forward and rotate from the waist in both directio
Improve Your Health3 min read
BARF Necessities
Humans have been walking the earth for millions of years. Until relatively recently in the great scheme of things, we did so mostly with bare feet or in very simple, modest footwear. Harvard University has shown that when we walk without shoes we act
Improve Your Health2 min read
Strollin’ In The RAIN
Have you ever noticed the smell of rain? Or rather, the smell of the ground and air during or after the rain? If not, the next time you’re out in a downpour, take a deep breath. That sweet, fresh, soothing scent is called petrichor, and it is serious
Improve Your Health1 min read
How To Enjoy A Rain Walk
Being fully present always begins with breathing, so bringing your awareness to your breath is the first step. Mouth-breathing triggers a subtle anxiety response whereas deliberate and focused breathing through your nose is calming and works wonders
Improve Your Health5 min read
TRY A WINTER wander
You can make your regular walk twice as effective for your fitness levels by picking up a special pair of poles and trying Nordic walking. This style was first created in Finland to help cross-country skiers train when there was no snow, but non-skie
Improve Your Health5 min read
If You Go Down To The WOODS…
THE SOOTHING SMELL of pine trees, the calming effect of an ocean view, the beautiful sunset that can move you to tears… we’ve all felt the power of nature. But a groundswell of research is now showing that spending time in the great outdoors gives yo
Improve Your Health3 min read
Get some VITAMIN N
AS WE EXPLORED in the previous article, every time you head out for a walk you’re treating your body and brain to a spot of ecotherapy. Whilst that sounds like some pricey new spa experience, ecotherapy - the term for the healing benefits of spending
Improve Your Health4 min readDiet & Nutrition
THE WONDERS OF Seaside Walks
MEMORIES OF THE SEASIDE always take me back to Norfolk, where my Nana was born and raised before retiring in Holt, near Cromer. Whenever we visited we were guaranteed a trip to go crabbing in Cromer, or a brisk stroll along the Blakeney coast. Even a
Improve Your Health3 min read
Explore the CONCRETE JUNGLE
Want to plan your route? Try walkit.com where you can find the most direct or least busy routes and work out how many calories you’ll burn too. THE WORD WALKING usually conjures scenes of muddy hiking boots and rolling green hills, or perhaps riverba
Improve Your Health4 min read
Tim for WALKIES!
IMAGINE YOU HAD A LIVE-IN fitness guru who could encourage you to get outside to walk and maybe even jog a couple of laps around the park? If you’ve got a dog, you’re already there! From a potter round the park to ‘dogfit’ classes and even Canicross
Improve Your Health1 min read
‘My Dog Inspired Me To Run Further’
‘I’ve always been reasonably active but I would head for the gym rather than going for a run; the idea of jogging just didn’t appeal to me. Then I got my dogs and realised I could use the time I spent exercising them to keep myself fit, too. Instead
Improve Your Health2 min read
Charity Challenge
If it’s a hilly course you’ll be tackling, incorporate hill training into your preparations. CHARITY WALKS ARE THE perfect way to help you reach your fitness goals with added feel-good factor. What better motivation to stick to your training programm
Improve Your Health2 min read
USING A pedometer
A PEDOMETER IS A CLEVER gadget that senses your movement and calculates the number of steps you take. Most styles account for all step-like movement – not just walking workouts but walking around the house, the office or climbing stairs, for instance
Improve Your Health2 min read
Sports Watches
Featuring a bigger display and a lighter design than its predecessor, the Watch3 uses LED and infrared rays to estimate the amount of oxygen in your bloodstream so you know when to slow down or push harder. With over 120 home workout programmes to ch
Improve Your Health5 min read
Walk This Way…
The Ramblers are a group that have long been known for connecting people who love walking, hence the companionship of a group and Ramblers Walking Holidays was set up to cater for those who want more than a day’s walk. More than half of its customers
Improve Your Health3 min read
On Top Of The World
THE HIGHER UP Mont Blanc you walk, the more other-worldly the landscape becomes. I’m beyond the tree line, at 2,400 metres, close to the refuge of the Nid d’Aigle, where the grass peters out and the rocks take over. A fellow hiker comments that it fe
Improve Your Health7 min read
Follow The Camino…
PILGRIMS HAVE BEEN walking the Camino de Santiago for a thousand years or more. It is a Christian pilgrimage with routes all over Europe, each leading to the same majestic destination: the cathedral at Santiago De Compostela, in Spain. While many peo
Improve Your Health2 min read
Set Up A Walking Group
INVITING FRIENDS OR family to walk with you is a great way to make your walks more fun and enjoyable – and it should ensure you stick to your plan whilst motivating others. So, why not consider creating your own walking group? Simply fi nd several pe
Improve Your Health4 min readDiet & Nutrition
Your post-ramble RECOVERY
BY NOW YOU’RE probably raring to go with your next walking adventure, so keep up the momentum by ensuring you let your body build strength and recover. ‘A brisk walk is naturally anti-ageing, says Karen Cummings-Palmer, a nutritionist for supplement
Improve Your Health4 min read
Fantastic FEET
Q What can you do to save your feet if you discover your footwear isn’t suitable once you’ve set off? Emma McConnachie, podiatrist for the College of Podiatry says… Watch out for hotspots – areas where you feel rubbing where a blister could form. If
Improve Your Health2 min read
HOT to TROT
The Vango Stone 20 rucksack has classic styling, making it suitable for all locations and terrains. This versatile and robust bag also comes in a funky checked design. • £20, vango.co.uk Who says rucksacks have to be plain? This pretty fl oral Canyon
Improve Your Health2 min read
Best Foot Forward
Vivobareboot The Tracker (£190, vivobarefoot.com) this minimalist boot is designed to protect your feet over rough terrains, yet allow natural freedom of movement thanks to its ‘barefoot’-style sole. Jack Wolfskin Force Striker Mid (£140, jack-wolfsk
Improve Your Health1 min read
Packing The Right Coat
This fresh looking Columbia OmniTech Ampli-Dry Shell Jacket (£135 columbiasportswear.co.uk) is waterproof and breathable with 4-way comfort stretch, adjustable hood and cuffs, and underarm venting. The Columbia OutDry Extreme Nanolite Shell jacket (£