MEDIA RELEASE: On behalf of the Matt Hampson Foundation Hambo Throwdown 2024 This summer’s inaugural Hambo Throwdown is the first all-wheelchair-user functional fitness event in the UK.  The Matt Hampson Foundation charity is organising this event to give active wheelchair users an opportunity to satisfy their demand for competition within an inclusive, specifically-adapted fitness competition.  As an inclusive event, the Hambo Throwdown will also bring together top athletes in the world of para sport alongside first-time competitors.  Hosted at The Panic Gym in Melton Mowbra ..read more

Doctors consistently recommend exercise as a tool for improving sleep.    But certain types of movements might help you snooze more than others, experts say.    Resistance training – using weights, body weight, or resistance bands – is the best way to improve your sleep, according to Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, a physiologist who specialises in sleep therapy.   This involves movements like squats, lunges and push ups – as well as lifting hand weights or using machines.    Resistance workouts encompass a broad range, but generally include exercises which put your mu ..read more

lkley’s brand-new health and fitness venture, XO Fitness, is pledging its support to some of the region’s neediest families by becoming a patron of The Principle Trust Children’s Charity. XO’s owners Chris Cummins and Harry Morse have a long association with the Skipton-based children’s charity, raising thousands by hosting an annual fitness competition. Following an extensive refurbishment, the state-of-the-art Hybrid training facility opened on 2nd January within The Moors shopping complex. XO is the second venture for Chris, 33, and Harry, 26, who also operate a CrossFit gym in a converted ..read more

Physical activity improves cognitive and mental health in all sorts of ways. Here’s why, and how to reap the benefits. What are some of the benefits, specifically? Exercise offers short-term boosts in cognition. Studies show that immediately after a bout of physical activity, people perform better on tests of working memory and other executive functions. This may be in part because movement increases the release of neurotransmitters in the brain, most notably epinephrine and norepinephrine.   “These kinds of molecules are needed for paying attention to information,” said Marc Roig ..read more

When you think of exercising for weight loss, what do you picture? Running? Cycling? Something that gets your heart beating hard and your body sweating heavily? Aerobic exercise has traditionally been associated with slimming down, while weight or resistance training – challenging your body to lift, push or pull its own weight, or that of barbells, kettlebells or dumbbells – was reserved for bodybuilders who were bulking up.    According to a survey published in 2022, around two thirds of people in England are meeting the national exercise guidelines of 150 minutes of aerobic activi ..read more

Gym operators, trainers, staff, or other trainees can be liable for sexual abuse at the gym. Sexual abuse can involve just one incident of abuse or a series of abusive behaviours and acts. Examples of sexual abuse at the gym include undesirable sexual advances, jokes, hints, suggestions, offensive comments, or the display of pictures that target a person because of his or her sex.   The severity or prevalence of the sexual abuse could influence which damages the victim will recover. The more severe the abuse, the bigger the punitive damages the victim is likely to get through his or her ..read more

How do you tie your shoelaces? Do you sit down, crouch, or flashily stand on one leg? As with most things in life, it’s a question of balance. What can be a little shaky at the best of times becomes even harder as we get older. The first time you notice that you can’t right yourself after a fall can come as a shock. The cost of falls to the NHS and social care has been estimated at £2.3 billion per year. A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine last year found that people who cannot stand on one leg for 10 seconds are almost twice as likely to die within 10 years.  &nb ..read more

Exercise appears to enhance how your immune system targets and eradicates cancer cells In recent years, one of the most provocative questions in cancer research has been whether a regular exercise habit can prevent certain cancers from taking hold.   The answer, as with any question related to cancer, is complicated. But a recent study published in The British Journal of Sports Medicine offered a glimpse of how regular physical activity affects the risk of prostate cancer, the most common male cancer in Ireland.   In one of the largest such efforts to date, researchers collected data ..read more

Viral online exercise challenges, like the 75 Hard or the 12-3-20, might get you in shape in the short run, but they may not help you build sustainable healthy habits. A new trending workout seems to emerge every month. Each guarantees a happier, healthier, stronger and leaner you.   There’s a viral challenge, known as “75 Hard,” which promises to improve your mental toughness if you work out for 45 minutes twice daily — while also sticking to a diet and drinking a gallon of water a day, among other things. Another, known as 12-3-20 (not to be confused with 12-3-30 or 25-7-2), claims to t ..read more

Over a quarter of those who exercise say they do so to change how their body looks – with less than three in 10 actually enjoying it, the research found. Less than three in 10 adults say they actually find exercise fun (Three-quarters of adults admit exercising feels like a chore, rather than being enjoyable, according to research. Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) say the main reason they exercise is for physical gain, while 25 per cent take part simply because they feel like it is “something they should do”. But just 28 per cent, of the 2,000 adults polled, claim they find the activity fun. &n ..read more