YPG Fitness BLOG

The male and female body is a work of art, from each limb to each organ and cell, everything has a purpose, designed to keep us alive and create more life. When I think about the female body, I can't help but admire it for the phenomenon it is. Growing a human inside it for 9 months, delivering this little human into our world and then producing th...

  Over the years as a personal trainer, I've thankfully seen a change in attitudes towards female strength training. Many years ago, there was a myth perpetuated that women couldn't strength train or lift any kind of weight during their training, because it would make them 'bulk up'. Women were consigned to aerobics classes, running and swimmi...

  If you're working hard at working out, but you're frustrated with the time it's taking you to build lean muscle mass, then you might want to take a look at your diet. Doing all the right things in the gym, need to be backed up by all the right things in the kitchen, too. When we train, tiny little tears appear in our muscle tissue. The body ...

Cacao beans are very rich in nutrients like magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium, zinc, copper, and manganese . They're thought to be one of the richest food sources of magnesium . Raw cacao beans are superfoods.Here are some of their awesome health benefits: Antioxidant effects. Cacao beans are absolutely packed with phenolic phytochemicals and fla...

  Are Your Stress levels Causing You to Overeat? "I'm so busy and stressed all the time, I'm juggling my career with family life, trying to also have a social life with my friends and some me time, as well as fitting in exercise. I put the needs of everyone else first, and mine second. I feel like I'm constantly putting out fires, before colla...

The Science Behind Carb Cycling to Shred that Belly Fat! How do you solve a problem like belly fat? It's the Holy Grail of diet and exercise and getting rid of the fat around our stomach area is often the hardest to shift. The answer could lie in a process called 'carb cycling' whereby you switch between days/weeksof high carbohydrate intake and da...

  Naturally Boost Your Dopamine Levels for More Energy and a Better Mood If you think back to the last time you did something that you really love, you'll probably remember it fondly. You'll remember feeling happy, excited, exhilarated, rewarded or a heady mix of all of the above. That's all down to a chemical called dopamine. What is Dopamine...

The Amazing Health and Fat Loss Benefits of Berries Who doesn't love berries? Especially when it comes to summer, when we find them in everything from fruit salads to cocktails and even topping our stack of Sunday breakfast treat pancakes. But what if I told you that berries weren't just juicy little parcels of natural sweetness? What if I told you...

The Keto Diet - Eating Fat… To Lose Weig ht! To lose body fat, we need to decrease the amount of fat we eat, right? Well, this is true, but only to a certain extent. Good fats are beneficial to health and if we get the balance right, they can also help us lose weight.   The Ketogenic Diet Explained The ketogenic, or keto diet is one which is v...

  Restoring the Core and Pelvic Floor Muscles After Pregnancy If you've recently had a baby, your attention is probably taken up with your baby and making sure they're thriving. Turning your attention to yourself might be far from your mind, but it's equally as important. You need to make sure you're eating right and getting as much rest as yo...

The Amazing Fat Loss Benefits of a High Protein Diet Losing weight is best achieved by combining regular exercise with a healthy diet. Working out with a personal trainer to make sure you perform exercises safely and properly will help you get the best from exercising. But getting your healthy diet right can be trickier. Some personal trainers will...

  My Top 5 Ways Women Benefit from Weight Training I hear it a lot when I'm training women. Many women are scared of weight training because they think it'll make them 'look like a body builder'. And I totally understand. But weight training done correctly really doesn't have to mean looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger! (Unless you want to.) We...

  How to Naturally and Effectively Reduce Water Retention Ah the dreaded water retention. As women, it can blight our lives without warning, making us feel bloated, lethargic and uncomfortable. Not to mention upset with the way it can make us look, like all our efforts in the gym and eating a healthy, balanced diet isn't working. But the good ...

The Benefits of Foam Rolling Here on my blog, I talk a lot about the benefits of exercising, especially the benefits of strength training for menopausal women. But the great work shouldn't finish when the exercise stops. It's just as important to stretch properly afterwards too. Proper stretching helps recovery and prepares the body for the next ex...

  We all know the importance of exercise. It helps to keep us fit, healthy and at a stable weight. But did you know that exercise helps to keep our bones strong, as well as toning our muscles? This is especially important for women approaching, during or after the menopause. After a woman goes through the menopause, and reaches her older years...

2x 180-200g stone bass fillets (you can use most white fish cod or seabass) 500g cherry toms (fresh tomato juice) 50ml double cream 25g butter (Very cold) 1 large courgette 1 shallot Mint/tarragon 4 green olives 4 black olives 4tbls olive oil (cold press rapeseed oil) Sal pepper 1 lemon First blitz the cherry toms in a blender until smooth, pass th...

1 large red beetroot 1 golden beetroot 1 orange 6 walnut halves 200g goats curd (can use ricotta) 2 radish 4tbls olive oil or cold press rapeseed oil Salt and pepper Wash beetroots, place on some foil and coat with 1 tbls oil some salt and pepper and the zest of ½ an orange, roast the beetroots at 180 degrees for an 75 mins. Cut in half to check th...