Bowling for physical activity
By Rachel Halleen

Ageing is the natural process of growing older and refers to the physical, psychological and social changes we experience. Unfortunately, as age increases so does the incidence of chronic disease, including increased risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease, among others. Regular physical activity has been associated with preventing and reversing the effects of these chronic diseases.

No matter your age, weight, health problems or abilities, you should try and maintain some form of physical activity most days.

Physical inactivity, that being not doing enough exercise,

Flexibility

Some people are naturally extremely flexible whereas others struggle to touch their knees. Flexibility is the ability of a joint or series of joints to move through an unrestricted and pain free range of motion. Your flexibility depends on various factors.

What factors influence flexibility?

Connective tissue

Connective tissue is a term given to several different tissues of the body that connect, support and help bind other tissues in the body. Connective tissue can further be broken down into three categories: loose connective tissue, dense connective tissue, and specialized connective tissue. Dense connective tissue

Overweight and Obesity in Children
By Rachel Halleen (AEP)

Did you know in 2017-18, 24% of children aged 5-14 were overweight or obese? That’s nearly 1 in 4 children carrying excessive amounts of body fat. Whilst the proportion of children being overweight or obese has remained relatively stable between 2007-08 (23%) and 2017-18 (24%), these figures are still alarming.

Implications of overweight and obesity in children

Perhaps we could blame modern technology and increased screen-time nowadays, or the availability of convenience and fast foods that influence poor dietary choices increasing energy consumption in children.

Exercise Right Week is an annual public awareness campaign through Exercise & Sports Science Australia (the accrediting body of our Exercise Physiologists).

The aim of this campaign is to highlight the importance of exercise, physical activity and movement not only for physical health but also for mental well-being. It showcases that exercise doesn’t discriminate, it is in fact for everyone regardless of age, weight, background or health status. This campaign endeavours to help Australian’s understand where they can get the right advice for their individual needs. The answer lies in an

This one is a 4 Life favourite!
It is super quick and easy to make and is perfect as a snack or sweet
treat.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients

95grams Medjool Dates
40ml Coconut Oil
125grams Natural Peanut Butter
100grams dark chocolate
1tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch Salt
75grams Puffed Rice
1tbsp Honey or sugar free maple syrup

Method

Step 1
Grab a blender and combine the pitted dates, coconut oil, peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract until a thick paste forms. Add some warm water, a tbsp at a time if it won’t blend. Don’t add more than

Feeling a bit stressed in the New Year? Have an event or game coming up? Pre-Season about to start? Just started at the gym? Feeling sore after the gym for longer than usual? Or Feel like you’re always tired and achy?

This time of year can be intense and chaotic for everyone. You might be on a health kick, trying to eat well and exercise, kids are going back to School, there’s different sports happening and pre-season’s about to start. Maybe you’re just trying to get fit for Summer, preparing for

Happy New Year!

New Year, New Me? Two years ago, we spoke about the difficulty maintaining our New Year’s resolutions and discussed 5 handy tips to help stay on track.

Well It’s 2019 now and let’s expand on this topic as once again New Year’s resolutions start passing by our mind. Let’s start 2019 differently. We will not make unrealistic goals, we will succeed, we will not give up. Is your resolution to do with health, fitness and wellbeing? We have the 5 Tips for you.

Treat yourself
TREAT YOURSELF! We can’t

ENCOURAGING HEALTHY BODIES & HEALTHY HABITS

4 Life is now offering group fitness sessions for high school students aged 13-17

We understand that exercise can be daunting and that most gyms have a minimum age limit of 16, so our Accredited Exercise Physiologists are here to
help.

Physical activity keeps teenage bodies and minds healthy

Australian guidelines recommend children aged 5-18 years have at least one hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day. On at least three days of the week, this should include activities that strengthen muscles and bones.

Not all young people are

‘the best way to treat an injury is to prevent it’

Whilst most people are aware that injuries are an inherent factor of sport, most do not know that over 25% of all sporting injuries could be prevented with better conditioning.

Sport injuries are most commonly caused by overuse, direct impact or the application of force that is greater than a tissues threshold. While it is difficult to prevent impact injuries such as fractures, overuse injuries are very preventable in most cases.

Sporting injuries are often divided into two categories: acute and chronic. 

Foam Rolling is a great way to self-massage through the sore and tight muscles in your body. Whether you are struggling from delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) from a recent gym session or simply that stiffness that won’t go away, foam rolling can help you!
Foam rolling is a form of myofascial release that works by breaking down adhesions and scar tissue that form on soft tissue after repetitive use. Foam rolling can help relax tight muscles to help with pain management and assist in recovery time. These benefits can