The Health Benefits of Playing Squash

Squash at Source health and fitness

Squash is a fantastic sport for fitness. One of the great benefits of squash is that it’s easy toget started, is suitable for all ages and it’s relatively inexpensive.

Due to the popularity of the sport most people will know someone that plays and this is a great way to pick up the basics. Then, once you have grasped the essentials, a few lessons could be invaluable.

Playing squash can have a number of positive health and fitness benefits. Here are some of the key fitness benefits of playing squash:

• Improved aerobic fitness, with more oxygen circulated around the body to better muscular endurance.
• Burns off calories with energy being supplied to the muscles and not forming fat.
• Boosts flexibility and sprint speed, due to the fast-paced nature of squash.
• Improves hand-eye co-ordination with concentration required for serving.
• Develops the strength and power of muscles, notably leg and arm muscles.
• Furthers concentration and mental strength, with matches often lasting for some time.

Boosts a player′s cardiovascular fitness (the heart and lungs), allowing more oxygen to be pumped around the body and help energise muscles.

If you are interested in playing squash why not give us a call on 021 4505128 for more information.

Zumba in Cork Rocks with Mariusz (Mario) Rys

 Zumba has taken the fitness world be storm. Even those who loathe working out find themselves working up a sweat and having fun with this high impact dance based workout. There’s nothing like cranking up the music and letting your body go, and Zumba does just that, working your core, thighs and butt in the process.

At Source Health & Fitness we find our Wednesday nights @ 7pm and Friday Mornings @11am are simply amazing with the maestro Mariusz (Mario) Rys.

Note; Our Friday morning classes finish up for the month of August.

What to wear?

You can wear any type of fitness clothes- sweat pants, shorts, tank tops, t-shirts… anything comfortable and cool. As for shoes- wear cross trainers or dance shoes. Just keep in mind if the bottom of your shoes ‘Look like a tyre’ on the bottom- eg. Running shoes, do not wear them in class. These type of shoes make ‘side to side’ moves quite difficult.

What if I am not co-ordinated and I can’t dance!!!!

Be patient and don’t get frustrated! Ok, we admit the first few classes may be frustrating, because you may not know the songs and will not know the teaching style of your instructor. You may feel like you have two-left-feet, but I assure you after you attend a few times you will catch on!!!

What if I’m out of shape and I can’t keep up?

Know your body!!! Most people know their limits. If not, see your doctor before attempting any form of exercise. Always work out at your own pace until you are comfortable with the routine/exercise.

What kind of people are in your Zumba Class?

People of all fitness abilities, ages, sizes and nationalities take Zumba Classes.

For the Zumba programme and full program information on all our classes check out www.sourcehealthandfitness.com

Source Health & Fitness is located on the grounds of Silversprings Hotel, Tivoli, Cork

Triathlon training in Cork….25 Metre Pool in Cork….Source Health And Fitness has it covered.

Does the length of the pool really matter when training

The answer is a resounding yes!!!!

So, why does a pool length matter so much? The answer is tumble turns and starts. The shorter the pool length, the more tumble turns are needed to go the same distance. Also, the ratio of time spent performing tumble turns compared to time spent swimming is higher. This is very important, because tumble turns and starts have the benefit of being faster. You can push off the wall with greater speed than you can swim. In addition, tumble turns allow swim specific muscles a momentary pause. This pause allows for a faster recovery compared to continuous swimming.

There are also physiological differences that come into play, particularly when comparing Shorter pools to a longer pool. In a shorter pool, even mid-level triathletes are swimming a length in 20 seconds. This is barely enough time to engage the anaerobic system, which isn’t needed much unless the exertion is more than about 15seconds. By the time the anaerobic system gets engaged, you have to do a tumble turn, get a momentary rest, and then get to start the next length fresh.

So, why does all this matter to you? It is important because open water triathlon or endurance swimming has no tumble turns or resting periods. Thus, training regularly in a longer pool will provide more open-water specific benefits for most workouts.

If you cannot swim in open water or Olympic pools, should you just pack it in and leave triathlons to the pros? Absolutely not! There are many world class swimmers who train most of the year in 25 metre pools even though their primary races are in a open water or Olympic sized pools.

If Triathlons are your thing and you are training in a 25 metre pool, don’t worry too much about faster tumble turns and underwater kicking. You want to be proficient in turns so you don’t hit your head on the wall. Instead, focus more on improving your swimming ability to turn in faster pool times. And, it is okay to skip tumble turns altogether and use open turns. Another strategy is to skip the turns altogether by swimming lengths and turning around without your feet ever touching the wall. This is a tremendously challenging workout as it involves constant stopping and starting making it almost impossible to establish a rhythm. If you focus on the swim and not the walls, you can go a long way to increasing your swimming endurance.

Bottom line- when training for pool or sea events – the longer the pool the more swimming endurance you will build up.

For more expert swimming advice, contact Eilis Burns– renowned Swimming Coach with Source Health & Fitness, Located on the grounds of Silversprings Hotel, Silversprings, Tivoli, Cork

Women & Weights at Corks Source Health & Fitness

Ladies, please do not regard the weights area as ‘The Mens Domain’ in the gym. Weight training is an essential part of weight reduction.

If, after a few weeks of using your workout programme, you find that you weight has remeined the same  dont be disheartned…. check out your favorite pair of jeans… hopefully fully they fit better. If you have been training correctly you should find that you have lost body fat from working out on the cardio equipment (ie. treadmill, x-trainer, bike) but that you have gained muscle(we like to refer to this as defination!). As muscle weighs heavier than fat, you have most likely lost more fat and gainer muscle.

HOW MUSCLE HELPS YOU LOOSE FAT!!

Muscle tissue is alive. any living tissue requires energy. Muscles get their energy form calories. Now, if you are not eating more calories than you are burning throughout the day, your muscles take them from fat. This will speed up your metabolism and increase your overall fat burning and keep body fat to a minimum.

So Ladies, don’t pass the weights the next time you’re in the gym, ask the instructor for a weights program and start proper fat burning today!!!!

Brendan Ledwith is a Fitness Instructor with Source Health & Fitness located in Silversprings, Tivoli, Cork