Free Taster Day at our London injury clinic

On Saturday December 1st between 11am and 3pm you will be able to visit Balance SW4 and see exactly what the facility can do for you.

Balance has been open for over 6 years now, for 4 of those years Julia Skene-Wenzel has been teaching Pilates matwork classes in our first floor studio.

Now the Pilates Sanctuary has been created and we have turned over some our space to Julia and co-founder Alice so they can now offer one to one and small group sessions using equipment specifically designed for Pilates.

To mark the set up of this new pilates centre in Clapham, SW4 we decided to have a Taster day.

Not just so you can see what pilates can do for you but so you can discover the depth of knowledge that exists at Balance to assist recovery and heighten health, fitness, vitality and well being.

For more info go here: Taster Day - Saturday December 1st


Hope to see you then.

The Amish Workout on Yahoo! Health

The Amish Workout on Yahoo! Health:
First published online 24th August 2007.

The Amish are an interesting culture - a throwback to days and times long gone. Simple living, some might say "backwards." Yet in many ways, they may be light years ahead of many of us more "modern" types.

The Amish were "green" well before it became vogue. Horse and buggy instead of cars. Candlelight at home. Solar panels and windmills to generate energy. They leave a carbon footprint the size of a gnat. According to Daniel Miller, an Amish busnesman, "the world may run out of oil and gas, but we will always have the sun and the wind."

Another way the Amish have pulled away from the average American is in their fitness levels. Although the Amish typically shun all outside sources of energy, they have no shortage of internal energy when it comes to using their bodies.

They don't have any health clubs, and a personal trainer would certainly go out of business if they had to rely on Amish communities for clients. So how do the Amish do it? The answer is simple - the old-fashioned way.

I was recently in Lancaster PA, and could not help but notice not only the horse and buggy I was driving behind (I didn't beep...honestly), but also the Amish walking, biking, and working hard in the fields, on the farms, and in their shops and around their homes.

Constant motion was the constant. I doubt that "sedentary" would describe any of them, at any age. There was no time in front of television, computers, or video games - and I did not see a single iPod.

This lifestyle pattern that I observed firsthand has also been scientifically studied, with some very meaningful and telling results.

Dr. David Bassett from the University of Tennessee monitored physical activity and other health-related parameters in both Amish adults and children, and compared them to the rest of us.

Amish men averaged 10 hours of vigorous activity daily. Using a pedometer it was determined that Amish men take over 18,000 steps a day and Amish women, despite usually being homemakers, logged over 14,000 steps a day.

Their activity levels amounted to six times the amount of weekly physical activity than in the adults of most modernized nations.

In addition only 4 percent of the Amish were obese, and only 26 percent were overweight - compared to the U.S., where approximately 30 percent are obese and over 60 percent are overweight!

In a second study of Amish children, Dr. Bassett found similar healthy trends. The Amish youth had extremely high levels of physical activity, and obesity was rare - not exactly the snapshot of our average American child.

One fairly remarkable study finding was that in the Amish community, the number of steps taken per day was the same for children and adults.

In sharp contrast, in "modern" America, not only are our children much less active (than their Amish counterparts), but activity levels steadily decline into adulthood, where sedentary behavior rules. This is a major health issue since being sedentary is as dangerous to your health as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.

I knew the Amish were a strong, fit bunch but I was surprised there was not more obesity, given their relatively high fat, high sugar, meat and potato, cake and pie diet. Hence the power of physical activity combined with moderation.

Despite the above, and I don't think you'll be seeing "The Amish Diet" or "The Amish Workout" book anytime soon. The real take-home message is that just being more active and avoiding sedentary behavior can go a long long way toward improving your overall health profile.

Planned exercise sessions are important but on days where there are time constraints or other issues, don't fret-just keep moving. This fits with Dr. Stephen Blair's scientific body of work from the Cooper Clinic in which he showed that individuals who were relatively "active" (i.e. avoid sedentary behavior) reaped significant health benefits in terms of longevity and disease prevention.

They almost did as well as those involved in planned daily exercise routines. The key is to look for ways in everyday life to keep moving. Take a walk, use the stairs, wash your car, and mow the lawn. It all adds up and will complement those trips to the gym.

It seems that sometimes we must take a few steps backwards to move ourselves forward.

What do you think your grandparents or greatgrandparents were doing on a day like today - but way back then. How different was their lifestyle than yours when they were your age? Were they more active than you? Would they be suprised at your daily routines?

2007 DrNick.com . All Rights Reserved.

Pilates Sanctuary at London Physiotherapists facility SW4 (Clapham)

Balance physiotherapy London home - Physio Clapham: "Pilates Sanctuary at Balance Julia Skene-Wenzel and Alice Croucher formed Pilates Sanctuary in November 2006 with the aim of providing high quality Pilates instruction in the Clapham area of South London. Both trained with the Pilates Foundation... [read more] "

Balance physiotherapy London news - Strength, conditioning and fitness training - Physio Clapham

Balance physiotherapy London news - Strength, conditioning and fitness training - Physio Clapham: "The Undisputed: L.A Boxing and Kettlebell Training Holiday 2008 The team that brought you the adrenaline packed tv show, ‘The Contender’ (well, sort of!) proudly present The Undisputed. A fun and intense week of boxing and kettlebell training in a unique location in the Hollywood Valley, Los Angeles."

London Physiotherapy faciltiy

Balance Performance Physiotherapy is based in Clapham, London, SW4 6LE, 1 minute from the Clapham North Underground Station.

Physiotherapists, sports masseurs, strength and conditioning coaches, podiatrists, nutritionists, acupuncturists (Traditional Chinese Medicine), Pilates instructors, sports physician (Sport GP)

For the best chance of recovery from a sports injury, back pain (or any other spinal problem), or a traumatic or orthopaedic operation, such as an ACL reconstruction, or shoulder arthroscopy you need to employ experienced physiotherapists who are part of a team.

This team should know how to take you all the way through the process:

• from injury,
  
• to being pain free,
  
• to regaining function,
• to returning to work,
• to returning to your physical training
• to restarting sports or other specific training
• to playing, performing, enjoying whatever activity it is you pursue

Ultimately you want to be at a point where you are actually better than you were when you got injured in the first place.

Balance Performance Physiotherapy offers:

1. Physiotherapy
2. Personal Fitness Training
3. Sports Massage
4. Dietary advice
5. Custom made orthotics
6. Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture
7. pilates
8. kettlebell training
9. rehabilitation and fitness goods and equipment.

We will be starting to post a regular blog here. This is the first and i have set this up as part of my personal blog for Industrial Strength London it may be that the blog becomes part of the main Balance website which is at www.balancephysio.com

In the mean time subscribe to this blog and i will update you with what's going on at Balance.