Namita Nayyar:
3 abdominal exercises you would highly recommend to get strong abs?
Zoe Salmon:
- Crunches and pulses with a medium to heavy weight handheld at forehead level. Heels elevated. Followed by reverse crunches.
- Mountain climbers on the TRX.
- Good old fashioned planks on elbows & toes – front and side planks – holding each for at least 1 minute and squeeze your entire body. For front planks alternate feet positions from narrow to wide and also one foot on top of the other. Alternatively merge both the front and side planks by gliding your front position to each side. You can do all this on the floor or a vibration plate for added intensity. Keep working on new PBs – try to increase from 60 seconds each to 90 seconds etc.
- Three components that are must in a workout regime?
Namita Nayyar:
Three components that are must in a workout regime?
Zoe Salmon:
For me it’s all about getting fitter, leaner and stronger. I like to focus on:1. Weight lifting for strength 2. HIIT for cardio 3. Pilates mat and reformer to help with posture and flexibility while helping to prevent against injury.
Namita Nayyar:
To maintain good physique, it is also equally important to manage one’s diet. How do you incorporate nutrient rich foods in your meals?
Zoe Salmon:
I’m passionate about my diet and I love learning about nutrition, so much so that I recently completed a nutrition course. I find it really fun and simple to incorporate nutrient dense ingredients into my meals. Your health is your wealth and you only get one body so it’s vital to take care of it by fueling it with food that will help fight against illness and disease. We all need to care about nutrition and make better choices in what we eat and how we live if we want to enjoy a healthier life.
For breakfast I like to start the day with a tonic I’ve created which includes distilled water, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, ginger, dates, figs & prunes.
For lunch I’ll have my own superfood smoothie which contains a plethora of my favourite seeds, nuts, oats and powders. I use almond milk and add in distilled ice & a frozen banana.
For a snack I’ll have an avocado with freshly squeezed lime juice and Himalayan salt.
I have my dinner post-workout and so I always ensure I have a good source of protein; I tend to vary between salmon or chicken or a medley of chickpeas, black beans & kidney beans. Sometimes I’ll add in buckwheat noodles too. I love vegetables especially spinach, sweet potato and broccoli. I never have sauces, instead I’ll season with Himalayan salt & black pepper and sprinkle my meals with spices such as chilli flakes or turmeric. I love adding spices as their health properties are the healthy cherry on top of a healthy cake!
Dessert is a must as I’ve such a sweet tooth so I will have nature’s candy, my favourites are antioxidant rich berries and also pink grapefruit and kiwi – I eat the kiwi skin for extra fibre.
Namita Nayyar:
Are there any foods that need to be kept to a minimum in a healthy diet?
Zoe Salmon:
Like any normal person I love certain foods which aren’t considered healthy! I try to keep these foods as fun weekend ‘treats’. Balance is key, as long as I know I’m fueling my body with the nutrients it needs then I don’t mind giving myself ‘treats’ at the weekend! You have to enjoy life and I would never want to restrict myself from eating the foods I really enjoy.
After filming my BBC documentary ‘The Big Fat Truth About Low Fat Foods’ where I spoke to industry experts and I experienced first hand the serious damage to health that processed foods with low fat and low sugar can have, I now tend to avoid processed foods and eat only natural fresh whole ingredients. I’m always looking at food labels and I steer clear of any items with artificial additives or preservatives etc.
We need fat in our diet especially for brain function but it’s important to be aware of the daily recommended allowances for saturated and unsaturated fats and make good food choices based on this. I know I tend to go over my allowances at the weekends; ice-cream is my weakness!
Disclaimer
The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
