31 Oct Red Bull fitness writing portfolio
Deni – a qualified PT – worked for Red Bull UK as a fitness expert. She wrote numerous features on health, wellness, diet and exercise.
The secrets to crafting a strong core
How less stress and plenty of sleep can help you get in shape for sport, by Red Bull fitness writer Deni Kirkova.
It’s important to have a strong core no matter your sporting ambitions. Your form and balance in the gym rely on good stability, and once you train up your core muscles you’ll be less likely to get injured. Plus, your workouts will be much more effective.
If you want to carve out abs of steel, you’ll need to do more than just crunches. The key is to couple healthy lifestyle habits like staying hydrated and getting good quality sleep with effective exercises.
Some of the tips below will help you perform pretty much all exercises better and more safely, especially compound movements such as back squats, pull-ups and deadlifts.
Calm down
Stress slows your recovery time after exercise, plus it has been shown to cause weight gain around the middle.
To manifest calm and serenity, overhaul your working and home environment. Give yoga, meditation, and mindfulness techniques a go.
Check your diet
Is an abundance of heavy meats and white carbs bloating you, weighing you down and tiring you out? It’s time to take a good, hard look at your diet. You can’t out-train bad eating habits so swap in some healthier options.
Aim to eat more unprocessed, plant-based foods with lots of nutrients, fibre and protein. Swap out red meats for tofu and quinoa, white bread and pasta for sweet potato, and cheese for nuts and avocado. Stay hydrated as well.
10 fail-safe tips to help you get into lifting
Weightlifting can help you sculpt the body of your dreams and stay healthy for longer. But what if you’re a novice? Don’t stress, Red Bull has your back…
Resistance (weight-based) exercises coupled with adequate protein intake help to preserve your existing muscle mass if you’re on a diet, ensuring you lose only fat. They’re also essential for building and sculpting your shape if you want to work on growing a shapelier bottom, toned arms and even ab muscles.
But it’s not just about aesthetics. Weightlifting helps promote healthy bone density so we’re less likely to suffer osteoporosis and bone fractures as we age. Genius, huh? Never tried lifting? No worries, here’s how to get started
Use your body weight
Start by mastering your squat form in your living room. Try doing deadlifts, chest press, lateral raises and single arm bent over rows using a couple of tins of beans. Once you’ve got your technique down, you may feel more confident to step it up to the gym.
Start light
When you get into the gym you may be tempted by the big weights. This is not a good idea as you most probably aren’t ready to lift them, so you won’t be able to, and this could put you off. It shouldn’t be impossibly hard. Furthermore, you could pull something!
Start squatting with an eight kilogram kettlebell on your chest or 20kg unstacked barbell on your traps and progress from there, week by week.
9 films that will motivate you to train
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Read more about Deni here.
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