News Archive 04 |
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D is for Doing Something About It
Get Me The BodyDoctor I used to be thin once. In the womb. Apparently, I gave great scan, without so much as a whiff of orange peel or a wobbling buttock in sight. As a toddler, I was a cute, fat-free thing with a well-adjusted attitude towards the communal changing room. How things have changed. Now that I've hit the wonderful age of 30, my figure is not quite so perfectly formed. In fact, if I'm being honest, my bits aren't so much gently drifting south as warp-factoring their way down there at a velocity not yet seen in the 20th century. It is a sorry sight. Those FHM bra-and-pants shots do not beckon. No matter how much air-brushing there is available, painting my toe nails on the beach while sporting the briefest of Gucci thongs is simply not an option. And that's what made me think something had to give. It wasn't the chub-ster jokes or the return of the summer holiday snaps, or even the fact that one of my friends asked every other girl round the table, except me, to appear in his promotional poster campaign. It was my dearth of retail opportunity. I'd suddenly reached the stage when going shopping for clothes wasn't much fun. In lieu of the retail high, I often ended up plumbing the depths of depression as I squeezed into tight skirt after tight skirt, eyeing up the Marina Rinaldi. From being one of those trendy first-floor department-store chicks, slipping into a bit of Ozbek or D&G, I slowly found myself scaling the floors until I reached the third - where you find the coats and loads of elasticated-waist designers with Big, Blooming and Plus in their names. Enough was enough. I contacted the BodyDoctor. David Marshall, or the BodyDoctor, is personal trainer to the stars. Well, quite a lot of them anyway. His studio gym in St John's Wood is frequented by models, actors and movers and shakers from the world of TV and music. He trained Dani Behr for her television series Dani Dares, during which she passed a commando fitness course with 95 per cent fitness. As an ex-footballer himself, he's worked with David Ginola and Les Ferdinand, as well helping thesps shift unwanted kilos for particular roles. Self-taught, he's been perfecting his regime for the past 15 years. With a belief that you're supposed "to work with your body not against it", Marshall's work-out is based around a lot of fat-burning cardiovascular exercises coupled with weight-training complementary muscles while keeping the neck and other parts of the body completely relaxed. So, as I walk into his multi-gym complex thing, I am secretly dreading the next six weeks. Marshall bounds over, barefoot in baggy shorts, with a Noel Gallagher haircut, all full of cheeky chappie charm. "R-i-i-i-ght," he says in a faux Mancunian accent, "Let's take a look at you." Wired up to a heart monitor, I'm made to do a round of the gym - rowing, cycling, pulling on various machines followed by what feels like 30,000 situps in one of those "hey, you, fat person!" harnesses that you see in the Sunday papers. After all that, my heart rate is quite low, as a result of being fit as a child. Next come the fat-squeezing crampons, testing to see just how much adipose my body has managed to squirrel away in the past 30 years. Grabbing great chunks from underneath my upper arm (21.7mm), around my waist (27.2mm) and underneath my shoulder blade (16.3mm), David then proudly announces that I'm a healthy, or rather unhealthy, 38 per cent fat. He then makes me stand on a pair of scales that send an electric shock through your legs, from foot to foot, timing how long it takes to get through the mounds of flesh. So there I am, standing in the studio multi-gym in my new trainers (first bit of retail therapy in ages), I'm 38 per cent fat, my chest is 39.3/4inches, my waist is 37.1/4inches and my thigh 24.1/8 inches. Things are not looking good. I have a six-week programme ahead of me... No alcohol; three litres of water a day; protein and vegetables after I've trained, vegetables and starch when I haven't. No dairy or fat. Four times 1 1/2-hour work-out sessions a week, swimming on my days off. It sounds do-able with a bit of cheating here and there. "Most importantly," I say, "d'you think you can get me down to at least a slim size 12?" "'Course," he says with a smile. "Trust me, I'm a body doctor." The BodyDoctor can be contacted on 0171 625 6222 or The BodyDoctor's website. Fees are £60 a session Next week: how much has she lost? |
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Artichoke A natural liver tonic The artichoke (Cynara scolymus) belongs to the thistle family. While the size of the flower heads is the most valued and sought after feature in commercial cultivation of the artichoke, the plant's leaves are of equal importance for medicinal purposes. Active ingredients include the bitter substance cynarin, fatty acids, enzymes and vitamins. The artichoke thrives best in a warm climate. It is mostly encountered in Mediterranean regions where it not only grows wild but is commercially cultivated. The plant juice, obtained from fresh-pressed flower heads and leaves, is a perfect example of the old saying "May your food be your medicine." To discover the medicinal uses of this plant juice, Walther Schoenenburger combined ancient knowledge (2,000 years ago artichokes were considered food only the rich could afford) with the latest scientific research of the cells and their biochemical actions. From this he obtained new concepts and insights regarding the elements of fresh artichokes: they are extremely beneficial to the liver. Pure natural juice pressed from flower heads and leaves will intensify the action of the liver by promoting the build-up of protein throughout the whole body. Thus, the liver's essential function - to eliminate toxins from the blood - is favourably influenced. In this way, the action of pure artichoke juice contributes to the general well-being of the whole system. Pure artichoke juice is a natural biological remedy, ideal for therapies or treatments where the constitution of the liver needs to be regenerated. Hand-in-hand with such a liver-purifying, liver-protecting process, old age symptoms - which usually originate with deteriorating liver tissues - are delayed in quite a natural way. Liver disorders are often manifested in symptoms such as flatulence, nausea, migraine headaches, diarrhoea or constipation. In addition to stimulating the production and flow of bile, artichoke juice has a similar effect on the function of the kidneys and strengthens the metabolic assimilation of fats. And last, but not least, the cholesterol of the blood is reduced. Such a beneficial stimulation and purification of the vital liver functions by artichoke therapy usually results in an increased feeling of well being and a new-found zest for life. It has been said, and quite rightly so, that "the condition of the liver depends on how the liver treats the liver." When combined with fresh-pressed cellular watercress juice, the effects of artichoke juice are greatly enhanced. Because of all the above -mentioned beneficial properties, artichoke juice may be combined for a synergistic effect with nettle, potato and tomato juices to cleanse the body most effectively and to lose weight naturally and safely. |
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Good News, Bad News
It's a New Year, you've overindulged on mince pies and other goodies over the holidays and you feel guilty, if not a little fuller than you were before the Christmas break, so what do you do? You go down to your local gym and sign up, a membership fee is paid and your conscience is slightly clearer as you attend your first introductory session where an unfeasibly fit instructor takes you through your paces on the equipment. They promise you the earth, new body, new vitality and a new direct debit mandate, but hey, your gonna look good, right? Did they tell you how many thousands of members they had? Did you wonder why with all those thousands of members it wasn't packed to the rafters? Could it possibly be that they don't really care that your New Years resolution doesn't last till February? That done you go home feeling rather pleased with yourself and promise to attend at least twice a week. Two weeks later and you've not actually made it back there yet, (did they call to ask where you are?) but hey, you've paid your membership fees, your not going to let all that money and good intention go to waste are you?..THEY HOPE SO. Wanna make that direct debit pay off? Really want that new body? Wanna get fit? How? BODYDOCTOR FITNESS GIVES YOU WHAT YOU WANT - RESULTS Bodydoctor Fitness has brought something vital, but sadly lacking, to the fitness industry - TUITION. Are you fed up with a gym that gives you a towel and a locker key and not much else? Or a trainer that is more concerned with his/her body than yours? Well, join the club, it's a very large one. You now have the opportunity to make that health club membership more than something you gave up on before you even started. We teach people (thousands of them all over the world) how to exercise correctly - if you know what you are doing; you are more likely to be successful in what you do. We teach one-on-one or by post, and in the future we will offer one-to-one INTERACTIVE training, via this web-site. We achieve dramatic results because, quite simply, we make you do what you need to do - no more - no less. We don't waste time, we get straight to the point, i.e. what do you want out of the time you put in? Usually the answer is results, as quickly and safely as possible. Most people (including sports professionals) exercise incorrectly, that's why they don't get the results they desire, not because of a lack of effort. Unfortunately, huff and puff alone won't get you there; you need to channel your energy MORE EFFICIENTLY in order to get maximum results, and to do this you must work your body as an entity, not in bits and pieces. Bodydoctor Fitness will give you the knowledge to go with your effort, and that's all you need. Sounds simple, but exercise and nutrition are, it's just that most people think something sounds better if it's more complicated. KEEP IT SIMPLE, LET IT WORK! Universal Studios, West Ham United FC, the entire cast of THE major football movie (about to be filmed) and thousands of others have, to their delight, why don't you try it? |
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Client Archive
I purchased your Beginners Programme back in July 2000 - and followed it meticulously. I lost 1.5 stones, and still have another 1 stone I would like to lose. I am 28 years old, weigh 11st. now and am 5ft.4. I am interested in following a different programme, as I am getting a bit bored of the same programme. I noticed you are bringing out a new programme in 2001 for people who have already done the Beginners Programme. Please can you let me know when it is available, as I am dying to get into something a little different, so i can vary my routines. I actually lost my 1.5 stones by September and have since stayed the same - since I returned to University:). I am so determined to lose this next stone, but need another kick-start. As I'm home for Christmas for the next 3 weeks, am planning to try and lose another 7lbs, so fingers crossed!! |
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Science of exercise Over the next months these articles will introduce a new way of looking at muscle function. Last week the Dorso/Ventral contractile field was outlined. Imagine it as a dual ring of muscular tissue that encircles the body and is able to take the face towards the genitals - flexion, or away - extension. Butterfly stroke uses the D/V muscles. These flexion/extension movements act or pivot about the lower abdomen and kidney region. The Chinese saw the centrality of this area and called it the dantian or hara. But most fish, from which our bodies are derived, use a bending to the side to push their way through water. This movement is called lateral flexion or side bending. When bending to the side the lateral abdominal muscles contract. The abdominal and chest wall is 3 muscular layers thick, in the model I'm developing only the 2 external ones are placed in the lateral contractile field. Side -bending is a core movement pattern. The muscles involved can be felt when you lie on your side and lift both legs up, away from the floor. Specifically the external oblique and the internal oblique are activated. These muscles run at right angles to each other, when both contract equally they balance each other and your legs, in the example above, go straight up. Usually one or other of the muscles is dominant and bending to the side is also associated with bending forwards or backwards. Osteopaths call this coupled motion. Side-bending is coupled to flexion or extension.
As noted above your body wall is 3 muscle layers thick. The outside 2muscles, the external and internal oblique are continuous, from an embryological perspective, up into the chest wall, the external intercostals and internal intercostal. Learning about muscles from dissection makes them look separate to the abdominal muscles, in reality they are not. During embryology the ribs just grow into the front body from the back, making the intercostals look different to the abdominal muscles.
Next week we'll follow this lateral contractile field up into the neck and head.
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