Does Green Tea melt fat? Does drinking hot tea with a meal melt fat? We found some interesting information about the benefits of Green Tea and the polyphenols and catchins which may boost metabolism and help your body burn fat.  The general guideline is to consume 2 to 3 cups of green tea per day or 100 to 750mg of green tea extract.  Drinking a hot drink will not instantly melt the fat, there is a digestive process before your body uses the chemicals in the green tea.

Are you looking for a fitness challenge, on the water? While everyone else is running their half marathons and marathons go for something different. Have you ever heard of a Quadrathon - SWIM/BIKE/RUN AND KAYAK! www.bayadventure.com.au has the details of this annual event.
If you are a regular kayaker, paddler, stand up paddleboarder check out www.oceanpaddler.com.au. for upcoming ocean competitions.
Coming up on Sunday, March 18th, 2012 is the BRIDGE to BEACH race.
 

Stretching - Why is the person next to you more flexible.  You could touch your toes when you were 12 but can hardly reach your knees. Genetics, age, injury balanced muscles all play a part in how flexible you are.  If you don't use it, you definitely lose it. Regular stretching will get you out of your mess of tight muscles. Try the new Body Bolster Stretch class.

Why is yogurt good for you? We always recommend yogurt as a great, healthy snack, easily digested and high in protein.  We thought it would be a good idea to explain WHY yogurt is SO good for you.

One cup of plain low-fat yoghurt provides 400mg of calcium, more than a cup of milk.  Yogurt has as much potassium as a banana and as much protein as an egg or 60g of meat.  The live bacteria in yogurt help in digestion and protect you against other harmful bacteria.  

Don't be tempted by thinking you are being healthy by eating yogurt covered nibble foods such as raisins, nuts and fruit bits as they are FULL of sugar and fat.  You will be eating more sugar than yogurt.  Also beware of yogurts which are flavoured, high in sugar and artificial additives. 

SHOPPING TIPS FOR BUYING YOGURT: Look on the container and check if it says 'live and active cultures.  Choose a brand that is low in calories and fat with as few additives as possible. Plain is best! Some manufacturers heat the yogurt after it's cultured to increase the shelf life or reduce tartness but kill the good bacteria in the process. GREEK YOGURT is becoming very popular as it is almost double the protein of regular yogurt. Traditional GREEK YOGURT is made with sheep's milk which is more easily digested than cow's milk. Again don't be fooled by the full fat, sweetened or honey greek yogurt quite often sold at fruit shops, loaded with fat and sugar. Click on the picture to read more.

If you have an UNSTABLE PELVIS do the clam exercise. Pelvic stability will result in greater hip joint mobility, greater hip tone, and better-toned thigh muscles. Lie on your side with your knees bent and your feet in line with your spine.
1.Place your head on a pillow.While exhaling, keep your feet together and lift your top knee in an arc, without moving your pelvis.
2.While inhaling, slowly lower your upper leg.
TIP:While lying on your side, lift up your waist so there is a small space between the floor and waist (creating a 'mouse house'). 
When you are walking or running try keeping your hips as still as possible, avoiding swinging side to side. You will find yourself using glutes to stabilise your hips.
An unstable pelvis is often diagnosed by a physiotherapist and it is one of the most common problems with body alignment.
Book in at RANCAN SISTERS FITNESS for a one on one PILATES PRIVATE LESSON AND ASSESSMENT and then progress to a group reformer class. In the meantime we love this website for Beginner's Guide to Pilates. Click on the picture to read more.

The Barre Workout by Rancan Sisters class is a 60 minute dynamic total body workout, targeting all the muscles involved in body re-shaping. The class uses a traditional ballet barre and each participant has their own ‘tool kit’ which includes a soft 9cm ball, 2kg handweights, yoga mat and yoga strap.  They are required to wear pilates ‘grip sox’ and regular workout gear (soon the layers are stripped off as you heat up VERY quickly in this workout).  We use the portable barres with a limit of 8 clients so form and position can be corrected throughout the workout.  The ballet barre is used for support and a reference line for body alignment.  The exercises are specific and unique to the Barre Workout.  There is a Barre Workout stance which you apply to all the exercises – whilst standing you are constantly tucking your bottom under activating the glutes and anchoring the transverse abdominus – switching on the deep abdominal muscles . The class starts with a warm up, light cardiovascular then stretching using the Ballet Barre. After the stretches,  the class is broken down into muscle groups.  Each body part is isolated and a sequence of exercises targets muscles  using high repetitions  followed by elongating stretches.  For the most part, the exercises are isometric contractions that burn fat and carve muscle. Each muscle group is taken to fatigue for maximum results.

When do you change your exercise routine? To continue to get results, whether it's weight loss, muscle gain, tone, cardio endurance it will be necessary to mix it up every 4 - 8 weeks. At RANCAN SISTERS FITNESS, within your 10 week course, the program will be varied in intensity, load and variation to get maximum results.

Why are soft drinks and DIET soft drinks bad for you? We can understand the attraction, it fizzles and sparkles and tastes sweet--who couldn't love that? Some of our clients love a diet coke for the caffeine hit and zero calories BUT Do you really know what is contained in soft drinks?