Low-Intensity Fitness Training (LIFT), from Meglio.
Personal Trainer Emma Taylor has crafted 10 easy-to-follow exercises to enable you to do a complete full-body workout at your desk.
Here at Meglio, we’re passionate about helping you get fit and stay fit for life. So, with the LIFT programme, we’ve developed a suite of bite-sized exercises to fit into daily life. We all need to make lasting changes, for long-term health.
Office-based workers are at a greater risk of ill health than those with active jobs. Studies have linked excessive sitting with obesity, type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer, and early death. So, get LIFT-ing!
Emma says: “We want to make it as easy as possible to fit segments of exercise into your daily life. These 10 quick office workouts can be used as a whole, or you can pick and choose based on the time you have available. The important thing is just to do something.
“A healthy lifestyle isn’t a short-term aim – it’s a lifelong journey. It takes three weeks to create a habit, and three months to create a lifestyle. Stick with it and you’ll reap the rewards.”
LIFT Quick Office Workout, in association with Meglio
Squats and Calf Raises
Tricep Dips
Jumping Jacks
Side Bends
Lunges
Press Ups
Running On Spot
Plank
Squat Combination
Bicep Curls
Remember – always ensure you warm up before every workout and stretch after every workout to avoid injury.
LIFT Body Coach Emma explains why resistance bands are perfect for exercising at work: “Resistance bands are perfect for use in the office – they’re low in cost, super efficient, lightweight, small enough to fit into a briefcase or handbag, and you can do a multitude of exercises with them that will get results.
“What’s more, there are 5 different levels of resistance band tension … so not only is there one for every ability, but you can work up to tougher tension bands as you get fitter, if you want more of a challenge. It really is the best all-round piece of kit for taking wherever you go.”
Where is the core exactly, and why do I need a strong one?
Rectus abdominus may sound like something you’d find in Jurassic Park, but it’s actually the name of the muscles that form the sought-after six pack. The ones most people think of when you mention the word ‘core’.
As the name suggests, though, your core goes much deeper than just your abs. It’s the most important muscle group in the body – an interior support network around your pelvis, spine and ribs – and it plays a critical role in most everyday activities.
Your core muscles activate before just about any movement – whether you’re scooping up your toddler, bending down to pick up a £10 note, pulling an emergency stop, or even just sitting on the toilet. So it’s crucial to keep them in good shape.
The benefits of a strong core:
Better posture
Less lower back pain
Improved mobility
Injury prevention
Improved sports performance
Personal trainer and LIFT guru Emma Taylor says: “Strong core muscles make day-to-day activities as well as sporting activities much easier. A strong core can help increase energy levels, increase endurance and reduce the likelihood of injuries. A strong core can also help improve posture as well as reduce lower back pain.”
How to get started
A great way to start strengthening your core – slowly and safely – is with Meglio’s specially designed LIFT exercises. Developed in collaboration with Emma, these exercises are easy to follow and portioned into bite-sized chunks, to fit into your day at a time that suits you.
With a few marathons and triathlons under my belt, I decided this year to turn my skills to my new passion, open water swimming, the main event being the Thames Marathon swim challenge on 4th August, a 14km swim from Henley bridge to Marlow bridge.
My training to date has largely involved some early morning river swims with my #TeamMeglio colleague and triathlete Barry Keane, plus I also joined the Henley Open Water Swimming Club (HOWSC) and my new swim friends have welcomed me into their family and introduced me to lots of amazing places to swim along the Thames.
On Sunday 30th June I took part in the Selkie Henley Classic. This is a 2.1km upstream early morning swim which takes place annually the weekend before the Henley Royal Regatta, giving swimmers the chance to take on the exact course the rowers compete in.
With my alarm set for 3am, I crept out of the house and soon found myself arriving at the Henley Event village with the first wave being led down the tow path by torch light to the start line. My start wave followed and after a short safety briefing we plunged into the water, which was remarkably warm following the recent sunshine.
The klaxon sounded and after jostling amongst the swimmers for a clear race line I settled into my stroke. It was a magical swim and I enjoyed the challenge of swimming upstream along one of the most famous stretches of water.
At the finish line I was greeted with a medal, a cup of hot chocolate and reunited with my flip flops for the stroll back to the event village. Nicely organised event, great atmosphere and definitely one to consider for the 2020 calendar!
This week we launched our LIFT project, an accessible and achievable low-intensity fitness technique meant for everybody and every body. Whoever you are – young or old, fit or injured, novice or elite athlete – LIFT’s simple routines can be a gentler path to a healthier heart, body and mind.
As LIFT was created to inspire those of us who sometimes need a nudge in the right direction, we want to hear how you achieved something inspiring using the power of exercise.
Maybe you overcame a career or relationship setback. Maybe you were fighting back from illness or injury. Maybe you completed your first 5K, or maybe it was just time to rediscover a better you.
We want to know what you did, how you did it and why. And as a thank you for sharing your inspiring journey with us, we’ll send you the latest, greatest Meglio equipment to help with your fitness journey.
Ready to be inspired?
Here’s one that we love, but don’t feel you need to be an Iron Woman or ultra-runner to make our Top Meglio Stories List!
Need a hand creating your story? These questions might help you uncover the secret to your journey’s success!
How you went from zero to hero
What method you chose and why
What or who inspired you
How your exercise journey transformed other aspects of your life
How to enter
You don’t need to send us thousands of words or have perfect prose! Just tell us your story in your own words. We love a good photo too, if you’re feeling brave.
Unfortunately we can’t publish all of the stories we receive, but if yours is chosen we’ll send you some free Meglio gear to kickstart your next fitness adventure.
In the second part of our documentary with James Dasaolu, two time Olympian and the second fastest British 100m athlete of all time, we follow his journey back to fitness.
After months stuck in a rehabilitation boot, James is now continuing his recovery and increasing his activity levels. Varying his time between the physio room and the gym, James is working hard to strengthen key muscles and re-educate his body; ready to hit the track once again.
After rupturing his Achilles tendon in November 2018, James required career saving surgery and support from the British public via a crowd-funding campaign, to get his career back on track
Just home from the ETU Middle Distance Championships with a gold medal and her first official title, European Middle-Distance Champion! Shortly after, Katrina Matthews gave us an insight into her recent success.
Living as a professional athlete has meant a few adjustments to general lifestyle, routine but also fitness/race fitness mentality. I have spent the last couple of years as an “age-grouper” training hard with a full time job, planning long term and “peaking” fitness for a determined race. With highly regarded advice, from multiple sources, as a new professional my mentality was “I’m fit, lets race”. This was the idea that got me into racing back to back middle distance triathlons over the last 2 weekends. It is a fortunate position to be in because optimal recovery can be achieved rather than a 40hr working week, compression socks and some early nights. I raced hard in both races, but I did have a game plan and tactics to which I was also granted some luck that I was able to play it out. IM 70.3 Finland was the priority race of the two, being first and with a known highly level of competition. I was up against a few ex/current ITU athletes and a former 5th in the world and seasoned pro plus a few other big names. With a tough bike I landed well into 3rd on the run and having run comfortably into 2nd I was able to drop the pace and conserve the stress thinking ahead for the next weekend. The European Champs was held in Targu Mures in Romania, not a part of the world I would have thought specifically to visit if not for this race. The town had culture and such a welcoming atmosphere my preconceptions were immediately wiped. It was my first time in Elite GB kit but I still very much felt part of the wider GB Age Group team with a few friends racing as well. Despite the occasional bad credibility rep and expensive nature of the GB Age Group, the team ethos really excels itself in these events!
By arriving into Romania on Thursday (race Sunday) I had had 4 days of very light training around travelling constraints and very little else. I had focussed on good sleep, good food (substantial carbs, protein, fruit/veg and chocolate) and lots of general self TLC. Despite this, on Friday morning I was still feeling fragile, unmotivated and just tired. Not ideal for 2 days out, but with some positive encouragement (and another nap) I got out on the bike to recce the course and although I couldn’t muster the effort required to physically recce the swim course I took a thorough look (2hrs lounging in the sun on the bank watching in admiration very motivated age group athletes). For me, the day before a race my nerves dissipate, as by this point you can’t really do anything else so the race is out of your control- hence why worry. Not a conscious mental strategy just (in my head) factual. Normally the day before a race I would do a very light swim (20mins), spin (20mins) and strides (15mins) but not be tied to this. This race, just a swim, due to the higher overall load during this period my coach decided it was all that was necessary which I was more than happy to agree with! I was feeling so much better having dropped the training yesterday and feeling it was the right decision (I’m good at convincing myself of this) I ticked off race admin, elite briefing and found some relatively plain spaghetti before an early night. Having been slightly unwell in a the last few races I am playing around with my pre-race and during-race fuelling strategy. This race is the best so far; super plain carbs (sadly no pizza now) and zero planned caffeine during the race (hoping to build this back in).
Race day was a very friendly 0900 start, swim was non-wetsuit which wasn’t ideal for me with more ex ITU swimmers. I was 3rd out of the water, which was pretty good. My only race specific plan today was to go steady on the bike (IM 70.3 Staffs and Finland I had gone too hard early and paid for it). Legs therefore felt great today sitting at “easier” watts. By the second lap of 4 I got a bit bored and pushed on (thinking I was now in 2nd, but actually was leading). 2 more laps of constantly undulating and technically challenging TT’ing flew by and the heat of the day was building up (late start negatives starting to shine through). Into transition and my first experience of handing someone your bike and they rack it for you (amazing) I heard I was in the lead “by miles”… not that useful but reassuring all the same.
4 laps of 5km with 3 dead turns a lap all in the centre of a small town was challenging but with hundreds of supporters (including lots of GB Age Group supporters) it was actually great. After 1 lap I had a 4min lead, 2 laps 4.5mins and knowing it would be a tough challenge for even the best runners in the game to take 4 mins out of me in 10km I settled into a much more socially pace for the last 10km, just putting one foot in front of the other and trying to grab as much water as I could.
I knew the only thing that would stop a win now was the temperature, now 29C. The water being handed out wasn’t cooled (at all) and I was barely getting a couple of gulps per aid station. I made a real effort to slow into the aid station (dodging a few people each time), ensuring a decent cup of water and now an available soaked sponge. My father had also lent me a plain white hat which, although initially didn’t quite meet the image standards, I was so grateful for mid run. Crossing the line was a happy relief. A tough 8 days “in the office”. It was made so worth it for the win and the experience. I’m really proud with my body for coping with this back to back racing load and I have learnt so much about the importance of physical and mental wellbeing. Re-confirming my belief in knowing when it’s ok to just say no, I’m not going to do that session and having the confidence to believe you can achieve something which on paper looks out of reach. Two years ago, I raced as an GB Age-grouper for the first time in the Europeans and today I won the Elite race. How? I just continued to work on my weaknesses (and strengths) day in day out, committed to just improving myself.
You’ve spent the winter training, trying and sometimes failing to hit all the sessions set by your coach or yourself, but now you’re in race season and every race needs a plan. When to taper? How much to taper? What numbers to hit on the day? The reassuring fact is that there is no one right way, no perfect solution for everyone. You can’t follow a set recipe for this, but you can make your own recipe based on a few key ideas. For IM 70.3 Finland I had an unusual taper week with an Olympic distance race chucked in as well (not advised!) but I still tried to follow my basic principles.
The feeling of laziness or restlessness during taper week can make you feel like you’re “losing” fitness. In actual fact you’re allowing your body the optimum chance to adapt to the training load you have put it under. The shorter more intense sessions you do during taper week remind your body of the work to come and maintain the readiness. Tip 1; You might feel like you want to “do more” during the tapering period but try and resist. Add in an extra light stretching session, a yoga class, a foam roll or even find a new skill/hobby. In the week building up to Finland I started researching new recipe ideas and making some new tasty dinners, this kept me occupied and enabled me to resist the urge to do more.
Race nerves can be your biggest enemy. They make you think your body is falling apart, the little niggle you wouldn’t have thought twice about has now become something you think about with every set of steps even though it hasn’t actually got worse. By focusing on recent successful training sessions, you can rationalise that you have good form and that these nervous feeling are just irrational fears, admittedly easier said than done. Tip 2; Make sure your plan includes the effects of race nerves. Know you’ll feel more stressed and try to be comfortable with it. Add extra faff time, extra snacks and just take the time for yourself. In the build up to Finland I took the time to scroll back through training peaks and look at the stats I had achieved and focused on those to plan accurate time/pace goals for the races. This really calms my nerves as you then know you can hit these SMART goals as it’s data from things you have already achieved!
My final tip for race week is to make sure your equipment is in the best shape it can be. We spend so much time training and looking after our bodies, yet people often neglect their equipment. Tip 3; Clean your bike, especially your chain. The science says a clean bike is quicker, you want all the watts you’ve trained so hard to get to go straight into your speed. Treat your equipment with the same respect you treat your body. Ensure it gets the best care!
Pre Finland, I had a full wash, a new chain and a visual check test of my TT position I had been training in. I also packed wet wipes and chain lube along with my foam roller and lacrosse ball- body and bike; equal respect!
So, having put my pre-race plan into place as best I could I was on the start line at 1530. The unique afternoon race start meant all the pre-race admin was saved for the race morning which was great because you then didn’t have to do any of it the day before and you could rack and prep in slow time.
The pro men were off first and as the gun went for us, I found a good spot to find the feet I realistically could hold. I knew Lucy Hall and India Lee would be well out in front so I held onto Anna Noguera for the first half of the swim until we both went off course due to the current and a sighting mistake, frustrated I took the lead and then held in a small pack with Kaisa Sali. Out the water in 3rd (just) and onto the bike course just ahead of Anna and Kaisa.
Both of them tracked me closely for 15km before Kaisa overtook and started pulling away. I decided to stick on my planned power rather than push on with Kaisa. Anna still on my wheel. At the half way point I realised both Kaisa and Anna had been issued a drafting penalty and when I looked behind I was on my own for the second half. With no idea of the gaps ahead I pushed on but held steady watts over the fast homeward bound route.
I felt like I was really lacking leg power and could see my average watts just slowly dropping. Frustrated and disappointed I just sat in and tried to hold on. I often use the tactic of “just get to T2” and then decide how you feel. At this point my back and left knee were starting to build in discomfort and I was also worried about my previous knee injury. All of these thoughts were getting me down but… I pushed on.
Into T2 I heard splits and knew I had a podium chance again! I couldn’t really believe it so settled into 3:50/kms. A bit fast but I felt great. All of my issues on the bike dissolved (again, similarly to 70.3 Staffordshire) and I felt great. I had hydrated and fuelled well on the bike too so had nothing to worry about. I ran a steady but strong 10km stepping up into 2nd past Lucy Hall and around 15km it was clear I wasn’t losing time and could relax and enjoy it!
At the back of my mind I knew I had only a week to recover after this race so I took a rare opportunity to sit back in the last 5km and drop the pace slightly, an incredible privilege that age group racing doesn’t have as you never know where you are in the race. Crossing the line to podium again was incredible, 2nd was the absolute best I could have had against star India Lee so I was very satisfied. Eager now to get that top step though!
Low-Intensity Fitness Training (LIFT), from Meglio.
Fancy being a bit more toned? Exercising with resistance bands is an easy way to improve your fitness at home, by enhancing strength, flexibility and muscle tone.
We’ve joined forces with Personal Trainer and LIFT Body Coach Emma Taylor, who has developed some easy-to-follow resistance band exercise to do whenever you have the time.
Emma explains: “Resistance band exercises can easily be adapted for multiple fitness levels. This is a cost-effective way to work your entire body. And the bands are small and portable, so you can even work out when you’re travelling or away from a gym.”
LIFT Resistance Band Workout, in association with Meglio:
Bicep Curls
Calf Extensions
Side Bends
Tricep Extensions
Travelling Squats
Russian Twists
Upright Row
Standing Knee Lifts
Cross Body Reach
Chest Press
Remember – always ensure you warm up before every workout and stretch after every workout to avoid injury.
Order Meglio resistance bands and loops online – all come with a convenient storage bag and exercise guide.
Our looped resistance bands are suitable for all levels of fitness and training. Whether you’re a beginner trying to find the correct strength to work to, or a specialist wishing to mix and match resistance strengths, our loops are perfect for you. We’ve worked with professional physiotherapists and fitness experts to ensure we provide the best quality, Latex-Free bands.
Are you ready to make the shift to LIFT?
You’ll find extra resistance-band exercise videos coming soon on the Meglio Hub.
You’ve heard of HIIT. You’ve been terrified by Insanity. You’re keen to exercise but looking for something a bit less intense…
Meet LIFT – Low-Intensity Fitness Training. Accessible, achievable exercise for long-term physical and mental health.
And the best thing? Anyone can do it. Young and old, fit and unfit, newbies and pros, injured and healthy, children and adults.
Meglio has worked with personal trainer Emma Taylor to create a series of easy-to-follow exercises that anyone can do, almost anywhere. So you can get LIFT-ed in the privacy of your own home, at a time that suits you.
These exercises can become part of your daily routine. There’s no huge effort required, no special clothing, or expensive gym membership. You don’t have to waste time travelling to a pricey class. You don’t have to do it in front of an audience.
There’s no novelty factor – this is for life. LIFT is an exercise routine you can actually stick to long term. And one that’ll really make a difference to your health and wellbeing.
The benefits of LIFT:
Lower blood pressure
Stronger bones
Stronger core
Weight loss
Improved mobility
Reduced stress
Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease
Emma Taylor is passionate about LIFT and its potential to get people moving. She says: “Low intensity exercise, such as walking and jogging, has a plethora of benefits. This gentler way of exercising is much more sustainable throughout life and is therefore arguably more beneficial. Working at a lower intensity will help reduce the risk of injury compared to working at a higher rate and will be achievable for a much larger percentage of the population. It is good for those who are new to exercise, those who are recovering from injury, those who have diabetes and also the older generations.
“Scientific research shows that regular exercise – even at a low intensity – can provide a simple way to maintain brain function, improve new brain cell growth and improve cognitive brain function. Regular low-intensity training can also help protect against a variety of ailments, such as cardiovascular disease and various metabolic conditions.
“Since we’re a society that doesn’t exercise nearly enough, I was keen to be involved in the LIFT project – to help show people that even just 20 minutes of gentle exercise 3-5 times a week can have a considerable positive effect on both their physical and mental wellbeing.”
Our first LIFT video features one of our most popular products, the Resistance Band.
