4 Swimming Strokes for the Next Time you go Swimming

Looking for some new swimming strokes? We all know that swimming is a fantastic low impact calorie burner. But if you know what to do, you can use your time in the pool to hit those target areas you’re wanting to improve. On your next visit, why not select one of our swimming strokes below and give it a go!

Chest and Back

The front crawl is the stroke for you as it recruits the chest muscles, the lats and other back muscles. The stroke is perfect for you if you enjoy fast paced swimming as it generates the most force.
Because this exercise requires rapid movement of the arms, going from above the head to down by the sides of the body, you’ll tap into your fast-twitch muscle fibre potential, leading to improvements in speed and power.

The Lats and Hamstrings

Unsurprisingly, the Backstroke will really work your back as your Lats pull your arms beneath the water and back to the surface again.
Your hamstrings come into slightly more due to the back-down position. The muscle group propels you via the flutter kick, which helps drive the body forward.

Full Body Workout

The Breaststroke uses many different parts of your body, allowing you to build strength, power and endurance.
The arm motion has similarities to that of a frig, which builds your gluten muscles and quads.

Shoulders

The butterfly stroke will really kick your fat burn into high gear. This stroke is excellent for boosting your metabolism; targeting your chest, shoulders, and back; and helping to build better power and strength.
This stroke requires the arms to move forward simultaneously, then into the water and back again. Your core will scream as it keeps your body stabilized moving through the water.
This is a great stoke to perform as interval training sessions in the water. The intensity will make it easily possible.
And after all that hard work, why not visit the spa area where you can sit back and relax in the Jacuzzi, breath deeply in the steam room or take advantage of the sauna.

5 Healthy Eating Resolutions

Below are 5 healthy eating resolutions you can try today.

1. Eating more omega-3s

Solution: Seek out seafood
Getting more foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids might just help you keep your blood pressure down. Research suggests that omega-3s can help improve your mood, which we all need a little help with in the short, dark days of winter. Aim to get two servings of fish a week, particularly fatty fish, such as salmon, sardines and some types of tuna, which are rich in omega-3s. Not a fish lover? Opt for walnuts and flax, which are good non-fish sources of omega-3s.

2. Pile on the veggies

Solution: Get out the roasting pan
If you’re of the mind-set that “vegetables don’t taste good,” but know you should eat more of them since they’re teeming with healthy nutrients and fibre, get out your roasting pan. Roasting vegetable caramelizes their natural sugars so they taste fantastic. It’s an easy way to cook veggies for dinner—pop a pan of them in the oven and make the rest of dinner while they roast.

3. Up your fibre intake

Solution: Experiment with whole grains
Getting enough fibre may help prevent cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and a number of cancers. And eating more fibre may help you slim down. One of the easiest ways to up your fibre intake is to eat more whole grains. Quinoa, whole-wheat couscous, bulgur and polenta are all quick-cooking options to add to your weeknight repertoire.

4. Eat less meat

Solution: Learn to like tofu!
A popular reason to cut back on meat is for environmental reasons, but you’ll be helping your heart too. When you replace meat with soy, you’ll naturally eat less saturated fat—and research shows that saturated fat increases LDL. While tofu might not have a real “flavour,” that’s what makes it so versatile—it soaks up the flavours of a stir-fry sauce or marinade like a sponge, making it taste terrific!

5. Rein in your sugar addiction

Solution: Read the labels
You’ll quickly realise just how often sugar is added to foods when you look for it on ingredients lists. Even things that you don’t think are sweet, like tomato sauce, crackers, condiments, and salad dressings can be packed with. Ingredients are listed in order of how much exists in the product, so if sugar’s near the top, that’s a red flag.

Try out the 5 Healthy Eating Resolutions!

Sourced: www.eatingwell.com

Fitness Habit it takes 21 days!

Start a fitness habit and you will not fail this January. To get yourself fit this January, you will want to make sure that your motivation sticks and that you’re able to achieve your goals. Many of us make a vow each New Year’s Day to adopt clean, healthy living and get ourselves well, but the majority of these resolutions have fallen by the wayside by the time February comes around. What is the key to ensuring that you stick to your goals? How can you make sure that week after week, your motivation stays high? Psychological studies suggest that the 21 day habit theory could be the key to success.

Much of human behaviour is based around habit forming – repeated actions that become routine, and create a big part of who a person is and what they do. Habits can be positive or negative: you might make it a habit to always check your doors are locked before you leave for work, or you may have a habit of leaving your keys in the door and risking a break in. The way habits form has been studied for years, and Charles Duhigg‘s book on the 21 day theory offers the most compelling evidence.

Keep going for 21 days and you will have your fitness habit!

This theory states that if the same behaviour is repeated every day for three weeks, it will become a habit. The person will start to complete the action through muscle memory, or start to feel a need to do the action. It will stick for as long as the person allows it, and when that habit is a negative one it can start to cause problems. Many people have a habit of selecting comforting unhealthy foods over healthy ones or choosing sedentary activities instead of exercise. To break these habits, they need to be replaced with new, positive ones.

When it comes to fitness, developing good habits is the best way to ensure that healthy living stays with you. At first, it can be easy to get demotivated when you try to start a workout plan – after all, changing your habits is a tricky task once you have become set in your ways. However, to ensure that you keep at it and to help exercise become a part of your daily routine, make sure you stick at it for 21 days. As the theory goes, by the end of those three weeks you will have made exercise a habit rather than a chore, and it will be much easier to keep at it in the coming months and years. To reinforce this desire to succeed, make sure you keep track of your fitness progress through the 21 days. As you start to see results, you will have much more of a reason to keep building that fitness habit – and to reach your goals.

Retired Irish Rugby Stars prioritise fitness – Gordon Darcy joins The Dartry Health Club!

Keeping up their fitness is a priority for Irish rugby players after they retire.  They are used to the benefits of exercise and the endorphin rush that helps them to feel confident and good about themselves.  It can be detrimental to retired players to just stop exercising both from a physical and a mental point and can even lead to depression.

Gordon D’arcy is only retired 5 months however he has no intentions of hanging up his fitness boots.  We are delighted to welcome him along with his Irish team mates to The Dartry Health Club in Rathgar where they can train in comfort and amongst friends and family.

Gordon Darcy tweets about his new gym in Rathgar: The Dartry Health Club

In a recent article about his retirement, Gordon discusses just how important keeping fit at The Dartry Health Club is to him.

‘We are delighted to have Gordon and the other players training at The Dartry Health Club.  Our members love to see them training and they are just so polite and friendly.  It is fantastic to see them keeping fitness in their lifestyle and sharing it with their family and friends”, Ciara Lefroy, Director of Iconic Health Clubs