Highly energetic exercise increases the demand on our body to produce energy to sustain activity. This increased demand can create a build-up of free radicals which may damage our DNA and contribute to ageing. New research by scientists at Edinburgh Napier University and Ulster University has found that watercress can help to prevent DNA damage caused by intense bouts of exercise.

Dr Mark Fogarty, from Edinburgh Napier’s School of Life, Sport and Social Sciences says, “Although we are all aware of how good exercise can be for our bodies, pounding the treadmill, lifting weights, or doing high levels of training can take its toll. What we’ve found is that consuming a relatively small amount of watercress each day can help raise the levels of important antioxidant vitamins which may help to protect our bodies, and allow us to enjoy the rewards of keeping fit.”

For eight weeks, ten healthy men, were given 85 grams of watercress and asked to participate in high level exercise on the treadmill. The results were then compared to an eight-week study that was conducted without watercress consumption. Findings indicate that participants who had taken part in intensive exercise, but had not consumed watercress, were found to have more DNA damage than those who had consumed watercress.

Additionally, the effect of eating watercress was not reliant on an accumulative build-up in our bodies, those that ate the vegetable just two hours before exercise experienced the same benefits as those who had consumed the vegetable for eight weeks.

In order to help our bodies prepare for the increased demand of intense training, it’s vitally important to warm up and cool down after each session and make sure that your body has enough time to recover.

Power Plate is an excellent tool to help you warm up and cool down and it’s also perfect for injury rehabilitation. Vibration training helps to increase your flexibility by allowing your muscles to contract and relax multiple times a second, increasing the blood circulation to your joints and muscles to enhance stretches and prevent injury.

Check out Power TV for all the latest Power Plate warm up and cool down exercises as well as new stretches and exercise programmes.

This integrated version of the lunge will challenge your stability and strength.

Frae is the ultimate healthy snack, it’s fat-free and super delicious! Lovingly made on a British farm from real yoghurt, it’s the ultimate snack to keep you both satisfied and trim as the new season approaches.

Over the next two days we have 15 Frae vouchers to give away to redeem at any of their London-based stores. The voucher entitles you to a cup of their delicious frozen yoghurt and two healthy toppings of your choice!

All you have to do is post your best tips on our Facebook page on how to stay healthy the fun way. Whether it’s spicing up your diet or jazzing up your exercise routine – we want your most inspiring tips. We’ll pick the top seven suggestions today and top eight tomorrow and if you’re one of the lucky winners, we’ll post out your prize, easy! ** This competition is limited to our London audience and vouchers will be redeemable at any of Frae’s London locations:

• Kings Road
• Chelsea
• Notting Hill Gate
• Notting Hill
• Topshop, Oxford Circus
• Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge
• Camden Passage, Islington
• The Broadway, Hammersmith
• Boxpark, Shoreditch

Want to know more about Frae? Find them on Facebook and Twitter.

The pro7 is the first commercially available Power Plate machine to offer integrated video coaching with embedded proMOTION™ technology. Boasting the very latest in touch-screen technology, the machine comes with more than 1,000 exercise videos and 250 progressive full-body workouts to follow.

So why not come and visit the friendly Power Plate team on stand H270 and be one of the first to try this incredibly exciting and innovative addition to the Power Plate range.
In addition, you can also find out how it can be used to retain existing and attract new members, as well as being a great way to generate additional revenue.

You can also sample our great new training concepts, this is the perfect opportunity to do so. On booking your class, you will be entered automatically into a prize draw to win a year’s Power Up training at your facility!

Spaces are limited for each class and bookings will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis so don’t wait around.

To secure your place, please call Stephen Powell on 07920 862265 or email your full name, company/ facility name, contact mobile and date and time of your preferred class to: stephen.powell@powerplate.com

To find out more about LIW and register for free online, please visit www.liw.co.uk .We look forward to seeing you there.

LIW Class timetable
Time Day one: 18th September 2012
11.00 Post-natal core
12.00 Bootylicious
13.00 Power Plate and ViPR drills
14.00 Post-natal core
15.00 Tri Fit
16.00 Power Combo

Time Day two: 19th September 2012
11.00 Power Plate boxing for fitness with Hatton Academy
12.00 Bootylicious
13.00 Power Plate and ViPR drills
14.00 Thump Boxing
15.00 Tri Fit
16.00 Power Combo

Time Day three: 20th September 2012
11.00 Bootylicious
12.00 Power Combo
13.00 Power Plate and ViPR drills
14.00 Tri Fit
15.00 Integrate to accelerate

Attack your core with this great exercise incorporating the stability ball.

Research undertaken into the health of employees by Medibank Private in 2005 showed that healthy employees are nearly three times more productive than unhealthy employees, with poor employee health and absenteeism costing Australian business $7 billion annually.

Stress plays a major part in the poor health behaviours of Australian employees, with unhealthy Australian workers having poor stress management techniques as well as low energy levels and poor concentration. Another major consideration point in the research is the number of employees who claim to have experienced a medical condition – mainly back and neck pain.

However findings from workplace studies reviewed by Monash University suggest that companies that introduce workplace health programs enhance employee performance, creating a healthier work environment and aiding in employee retention.

This has prompted Power Plate in Australia to create the Power Plate® concept – a program designed to build corporate wellness, increase staff productivity, reduce absenteeism and aid recruitment and staff retention.

The concept is simple and affordable. Taking time out on the Power Plate machine a few times a day will improve circulation, better posture, boost concentration and enhance productivity. Introducing our quick, three minute series of stretches on the Power Plate machine provides employees with a break from their desk and a chance to revitalise themselves during the work day.

Power Plate equipment takes up a small amount of room and can be set up in any common area. Machines can be integrated into a pre-existing fitness centre if this has been already established. Alternatively the machines can be set up in breakout areas or common areas within each of the floors of the business. With some of our larger corporate clients, the Power Plate machines can also be installed within the offices of the majority of partners.

Wellness in Action – Sainsbury’s UK

FitStop pilot, managed by Power Plate, was run at Sainsbury’s Coventry office. It encouraged employees to perform a 3 minute series of stretches on a PP training machine during their work day. Around 85 employees received a FS induction, with a random sampling of 41 staff completing a bi-monthly questionnaire during the six month pilot. Results include:

• 37% decrease in the number of employees who spent more than 7 hours per day sedentary
• 67% decrease in those that felt unable to cope with workloads due to stress
• 70% increase in the number of employees who did not take any sick days during the final 3 months of the trial
• Almost 90% said they noticed increased energy levels and productivity as a result of the pilot.

“Feedback from employees was fantastic, with staff using the machine daily to perform various stretches and for longer workouts before and after work. It proved to be a convenient way for staff to re-energise during the working day. A number of our staff reported an increase in productivity, reduction in stress and improved circulation as a result.” – Tracy Thornton, HR Service Implementation Manager at Sainsbury’s.

Here at Power Plate, we’re lucky enough to work with 33 year old Cystic Fibrosis sufferer, Kate Smith from London. Kate was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at the age of four and since her diagnosis, she and her parents have done all that they can to ease her condition and suffering.

Cystic Fibrosis is one of the UK’s most common life-threatening diseases. It’s caused by a faulty gene that controls the movement of salt and water in and out of the body. The condition affects the internal organs, especially the lungs and digestive system, by clogging them with sticky mucus making it difficult to breath, digest food and making sufferers more prone to infections and illness.

It is well documented that exercise is one of the best methods to shift the mucus which clogs up the lungs, so from an early age Kate has thrown herself into exercise and tried to lead a healthy and active life. As part of her regular exercise regime, Kate trains on her Power Plate, which she believes is a vital tool – helping her to keep active and well. “As I hold poses on the Power Plate, the vibration makes muscles contract and relax helping to clear mucus from my body,” she explains. “My lung function has increased and it’s a huge boost to feel my body getting stronger.”

At 29, Kate was given a life expectancy of just 31, but Kate has defied this two-year life expectancy and is now 33, working full-time with young offenders as a Treatment Manager. Kate admits that fitting exercise around a busy job can often be difficult, but according to her, it’s definitely worthwhile: “Being able to use my Power Plate just a couple of times a day is fantastic for my health. Even when I’m really tired, I can do gentle exercise on it, so it’s perfect if i feel ill and the thought of a jog is too daunting. It’s a great cardio workout that vibrates my lungs and keeps my bum in shape too! Since I’ve had it I haven’t been admitted to hospital at all.”

As well as working full-time, Kate also raises funds for Cystic Fibrosis. If you would like to help her to continue her fantastic work, please visit www.ivebeenkittened.com. You can also read Kate’s inspiring story in the Prima Summer Special, on shelves now.

Now I’ve taken it just that one step further.

This challenging and advanced core exercise on a Power Plate machine is sure to get your abs burning.

A record 4,200 paralympians from an estimated 166 nations are taking part in the fourteenth Paralympic Games – between 29th August and the 9th September.

As the buzz around the Games continues, the London 2012 Paralympic Games are expected to be the largest and most commercially successful Paralympics ever. Following on from the Summer Olympics – the growing interest in Paralympic sport worldwide contributed to a significantly higher demand for tickets to the Games than in previous years, breaking sales records!

The Games also mark the return of the Paralympic movement to its birthplace. The British village of Stoke Mandeville first hosted the Stoke Mandeville Games, an athletics event for British World War Two veterans, to coincide with the opening of the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. The Stoke Mandeville Games was the first ever organised sporting event for disabled people and served as a precursor to the modern Paralympic Games.

Power Plate is very proud to have supplied this year’s participating Paralympians with IFI (Inclusive Federation Initiative) stage two accredited machines to help facilitate their training and preparation for events. The Inclusive Federation Initiative is a programme that encourages the UK fitness industry to become more inclusive, catering for the needs of people with disabilities.

The Power Plate pro6i™ with proMOTION™ technology is the latest model to achieve this Stage two accreditation. Through the incorporation of its proMOTION cable resistance system, disabled users can use the platform independently to perform a wide range of dynamic exercises, benefiting from the vibrations even when they are not on the platform.

As well as being a beneficial form of exercise for disabled users, Acceleration Training on a Power Plate machine is often prescribed by healthcare professionals as part of a wider treatment for individuals suffering from conditions such as Arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Diabetes.

So as the world comes together to witness the extraordinary achievements of the Paralympians, we will be cheering on Team GB and hoping for yet more Olympic Golds!