Beat P-O-B with our top diet and fitness tips from GB athletes Victoria Pendleton and Jessica Ennis
Tuesday 14 August 2012
The Olympics is over and quite frankly, we’re not sure what to do with ourselves. If you’re one of the many thousand suffering from POB (post-Olympic blues) then why not get up and follow in the footsteps of Heptathlon gold medallist Jessica Ennis and Olympic cycling champion Victoria Pendleton? Read our guide to these superwomen’s diet and fitness tips…
Victoria Pendleton
In a recent interview, 31-year-old Victoria Pendleton states that the best way to avoid snacking is to have a fibre-rich breakfast. She opts for two slices of wholemeal toast because ‘you feel fuller for longer’ and her personal favourite topping is peanut butter topped with slices of banana.
And the carbs don’t stop there. For lunch, Victoria will have a sandwich (with cheese or chicken and salad) followed by a piece of fruit and a yoghurt.
In the post lunch energy slump that the majority of us prone to, Victoria suggests that you ‘think ahead and carry healthy snacks in your handbag to avoid buying junk’.
“Drinking water is also essential as a lot of people tend to confuse hunger with de-hydration, so keep yourself hydrated”, she adds. Dinner doesn’t have to be boring, with Victoria often choosing a tasty Moroccan chicken dish accompanied by cous cous, using her fat-busting George Foreman grill. Yum!
Jessica Ennis
A recent survey by Littlewoods has revealed that the abs associated with the perfect figure would be those belonging to Jessica Ennis, and it's not hard to see why - she's gorgeous!
The Great Britain poster girl’s torso isn’t as difficult to achieve as you may think either. Ennis’ coach, Toni Minichiello, suggests a modern twist on the core strengthening plank in the’ Foot-tap and Arm-tap’ exercise below:
1 Get into a plank position with your back straight, bum in line with the rest of your body and hands beneath your shoulders.
2 Lift your left arm 30cm to the left, tap it down, then return to the start position. Do 10 reps, then repeat with your right arm. That's one set. Do three sets of 20 with 60 seconds' rest in between. Repeat the action with your right leg, then your left leg.
He further adds that fast running in short bursts is a great method to boost overall fitness levels (say goodbye to long distance treadmill sessions - hurrah!) as “doing shorter distances with shorter recoveries means your body gets used to working hard when it’s not fully comfortable. You’ll get fitter quicker than with slow running. Try two to three sets 100m to 200m sprints, with a five-minute rest in between.”
On fitting training around a busy work schedule, Minichiello advises to ‘make tweaks’ to your routine to avoid giving up on exercise altogether. He adds, “split a long run into two shorter ones - say pre-and post-work. Life can get in the way, so keep alternative sessions in mind. Something is better than nothing."
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