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Our advice – Starting an exercise routine

1. What are the best exercises for getting a beach-ready torso for the summer?
   In addition to exercising to achieve a beach-ready torso, it’s important to get your diet right. We all tend to indulge in comfort food over the winter but naturally we swing a bit more to the healthy stuff in the summer months. Make sure you drink lots of water and eat fresh salad, fruit and lovely vegetables. The staples for a fit torso are sit-ups, push-ups and squats, but don’t forget the simple things such as walking, even if just locally, is a great way to boost your fitness levels.
2. How do I tone up my arms? Can you give us your top five exercises?
   It’s not a good idea to go straight into vigorous exercise if you’ve not done anything for a while, build up the intensity gently. Perhaps start with some resistance work, I like to use resistance bands then tone up the arms with bicep curls and triceps push (like a reverse push up) and lat-pulls.
3. What advice would you give someone who is just starting out on a new fitness regime?
   Don’t set your expectations too high. Be realistic with the time you can commit and set targets that are achievable. To give yourself five dedicated minutes of working out a day is not a bad place to start, as this will be five minutes more than you did yesterday. I’m a believer in doing small bits of exercise regularly, even starting out by Cleanercising for some light exercise before moving onto more rigorous exercises.
4. What are the best exercises to target male problem areas such as the stomach that will help to build good core muscles?
   The ‘Plank’ is a fantastic exercise; I do this for about two minutes every day. Essentially this is supporting the whole body with just your toes and forearms on the floor. Start with 20 second bursts and increase this as you get more confident and your strength builds up. Obviously the basic sit-up delivers results as does lying on your back and raising your feet six inches in the air and holding for as long as you can. Remember to stretch out your abs when you are done, you can do this by rolling onto your stomach and arching your back. This helps prevent stiffness the next day and helps to promote definition.
5. What sport offers the best fitness results?
   The best sport to achieve great results is always going to be the sport that you enjoy the most. You must enjoy whatever you do, you then will keep going and therefore achieve results. Select an activity that you look forward to doing as this will keep you motivated and ensure you stick to it. It could be swimming, walking or cycling for instance.
6. What are the best toning exercises you can do in the home?
   I’m not a believer in spending loads of money on gym membership. I do all my non-skating exercises at home. Sit ups, the plank, push-ups etc. are all so easy to do at home as well as using household items such as Daily washing-up liquid as weights.
7. What is the quickest way to get fit? Do I need to pull a log up a mountain like Rocky?
   There is no quick way! It has to be a lifestyle choice, that’s why I suggest a small amount of exercise daily so you are most likely going to stick with it. Being realistic is one of the best ways to keep motivated.
8. Is it best to work different muscle groups in different sessions i.e. shoulders and back and then chest and arms?
   This all comes down to individual preference but don’t forget to work your calves, legs and core. It is easy to incorporate more than one muscle group into one activity and do remember that for muscles to grow and repair themselves, they need rest, so doing bicep curls every single day is not advisable in the long term. It’s important to be sensible with your approach and not be obsessive about one group or certain muscles; it is overall fitness that’s the key.
9. What exercises would you recommend for couples to take part in together?
   The more people you can share your exercise programme with the better. Involving others will help keep you motivated and pretty much anything you do as a single person can be done as a couple.