If you’re new to sport then you’ll not recall the many decades when women were forced to buy small men’s sports clothing in a range of bloke-ish blues, blacks and greys. The cut of these clothes was rarely flattering and the fit was male-orientated and definitely not great for the female physique. Remember flappy running shorts and vests that revealed too much bare skin? Oh dear!

You see, if you’ve been paying attention, women tend to have longer legs compared to men, and shorter bodies. They have smaller waists and bigger chests and hips. Many sporty women are proud of their physiques so they prefer to have clothing that fits beautifully and offers a flattering line.

Brilliantly, contemporary women’s fitness clothing includes feminine-fit, bright colours and detailed design. The choice is amazing too, so you do not need to look like your pal’s twin sister, unless you want to!

One key trend also sees a range of sports clothing that can be worn to the gym or for everyday wear. Lycra and sports-fitting clothing are comfortable so many women are now choosing to wear leggings and sports tops as leisure wear in the evenings, when walking the kids to school and at weekends.

You don’t need to be a Tomboy to love sports

Take a close look at the detailing in women’s sports clothing today and you’ll see a host of feminine features. Tops are cut to neatly fit waists and chests. Sports shorts and trousers offer room for wider hips but without being unflatteringly baggy.

Clothing is cut, nipped, tucked and designed to follow the contours of the female physique.

However, for women who do want to hide some areas  of their body, such as bums and tums, there are designs that will still flatter. Skorts, for example, are created with a skirt over the top of lycra shorts to offer a more flattering look. Sports tops and vests also come in tight-fitting and looser fit to suit the individual’s shape.

T-shirts with v-necks or round necks and pretty capped sleeves are also popular among women who want to keep fit and look good.

This summer look out for fitted vests, especially those with internal bra supports. Women’s two-in-one shorts are also set to be big. The shorts have an internal Lycra short with a looser-fit running short over the top.

If you don’t want the top of your legs to be on display but you still want to look summery  choose capri or three-quarter length leggings or sports pants. There is a choice of high waist, low waist, wide waist and with drawstring or without.

The sports clothing colours this season

Bright pinks, berry colours, vivid blues and purples are set to be big again. This year look out for yellows, lime greens and oranges, too. In fact, it’s a year for rainbow coloured clothing!

And who ever imagined that sports bras had to be black or white? Sports bras and supporting crop tops now come in an array of fabulous colours. So much so, that your sports bra could easily double as a top in itself when the going gets hot.

Looking fit and feminine never felt so good!

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By the end of the 90 minute class, Jane was in no doubt that she needed to attend a yoga session at least once a week, if not twice.

She says: “I realised just how stiff my joints and muscles are during the yoga class. I could hardly even touch my toes at the class start but by the end I was able to wrap the tips of my fingers under my toes. So this was amazing progress.

“I had heard that runners have tight muscles, especially in their legs but I really didn’t realise how tight my muscles are.

“I know that it’s of benefit to runners to have nicely stretched muscles and some flexibility, especially if we want to avoid injury, so I decided there and then that I’d pursue the yoga thing.”

That was three years ago. Jane still attends a regular Ashtanga-style class and has definitely reaped the benefits.

She says: “I feel so much more balanced in my running style and stronger, too. I have much stronger core muscles and I rarely get injured from my running. I am now in my early 40s so I would be expecting to pick up regular niggles but the yoga seems to perfectly balance the running.”

The benefits of yoga for runners

• The range and number of yoga postures can help to correct muscle imbalances that result from high-impact training. Yoga can help to align the joints, improve bone density, stretch and stabilise the body to prevent pain and injury, particularly in injury-prone areas such as hips, hamstrings, Achilles tendon and the iliotibial band (IT band).

• Standing yoga postures correctly align the knee, strengthen the arches of the feet to provide better shock absorbers and maintain healthy connective tissue in the foot and shin.

• Standing yoga postures also improve balance, pelvic stability and leg strength.

• Dynamic and flowing yoga sequences develop a sense of rhythm between breath and movement. These sequences can also improve stamina and coordination.

• Yoga breath work and concentration exercises can improve body awareness and confidence – and lead to a more positive attitude to your running pursuits.

Why not book up a few yoga sessions at your gym or local yoga centre in the coming months and see if you reap the same benefits?

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Researchers from North Carolina State University compared the muscles used for jogging with those used for brisk walking – and they found that a slow jog is actually less tiring than a fast walk.

But how can that be? Brisk walking doesn’t seem to make us as out of breath as jogging.

Well, it seems that a muscle in the calf is used in a more efficient way when we run, allowing energy to be released… which, in turn, stops us becoming tired as quickly.

The researchers carried out ultrasound scans to find out how muscles reacted when volunteers were running and walking.  A spokesperson for the study said: “Muscles work too inefficiently to speed walk, so the body turns to running in order to increase efficiency and comfort, and to conserve energy.

“Other than Olympic race walkers, people generally find it more comfortable to run than walk when they start moving at around two metres per second, which is about 4.5 miles per hour.”

Further explanation reveals that the muscle in the calf can’t catch up to the speed of the gait as we walk faster and faster…but when we shift the gait and transition from a walk to a run the muscle becomes almost static and doesn’t seem to change its behaviour very much as we run faster and faster.

This finding is also good news for people who excuse themselves from exercise claiming that that they do not have enough time. (This is the biggest excuse for not keeping fit, by the way!) Jogging is faster than walking and this means you can squeeze in a quick jog – and save on body energy. Result!

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Accessorise: Headbands, sweatbands, arm warmers, bags, gloves, socks, laces, you name it, the fitness accessories arena is burgeoning with a host of funky kit and designs. If you want to be a trend leader this year at the gym or while out for a run you need to find a unique accessory and wear it with pride.

Black and white: Last year, fitness clothing was bright. Think neon yellows, pinks and greens. In 2012, the fitness trendies are fighting back with a return to neutral colours, and especially black and whites. But don’t mix and match white tops with black leggings. It’s all black or all white if you want to keep up with the trendies.

Hair today: Beards are in for the guys, while long hair is on trend for the girls. Apparently, there is nothing cooler than a buff athlete with a burly beard (think David Beckham). And for the ladies, the hottest look is definitely not short, pixie cuts but long lovely locks (perhaps tied up in a high bun for your workout).

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Gore Running Wear Pulse Beany

Now the colder weather is here, those who love outdoor sports will need to keep their heads toasty.  The Gore Pulse Beany is an ideal for difficult runs as it is lightweight and made from quick drying material to keep them comfortable and warm.  The reflective detailing will also help to keep them safe and visible in low light, or at night.
2. Ronhill Switch Glove

Ronhill Switch Glove

It’s not just their head that needs to be snug, their hands shouldn’t be left out in the cold either (poor things!).  The Ronhill Switch Glove is made from a special soft, lightweight fabric that will keep hands warm and dry, whilst allowing excess heat and moisture to escape for added comfort.  It even has a thoughtful waterproof  mitt  you can pop over the fingers.
3. Puma Womens Body SL Trainers

Puma SL Trainers

If toning up is their New Year’s resolution, the Puma Women’s Body SL Training Shoe is a perfect gift.  They not only look stylish and give all the comfort and performance you’d expect, they tone your legs by creating resistance and micro-instability to activate the muscles as you move.  They could even be a perfect gift to yourself – it is hard to look just for other people!  Imagine toning as you do your weekly food shop, I’d feel smug!

4. Camelbak Octane LR Hydration Pak

Camelbak Octane LR Hydration Pak

We all know how important it is to stay hydrated when you’re exercising (drinking a litre an hour), but it can be really irritating to carry a bottle of water, especially if your loved one runs, hikes or cycles.  The Octane LR Hydration Pak from Camelbak straps onto their back leaving their hands free, placing the water weight onto the hips for extra comfort.  It is made from ultra-lightweight materials so it won’t add bulk or interfere with performance, and has pockets to stash other items they might need like energy bars.  Refreshing!

5. Ronhill Vizion Waist Pack

Ronhill Vizion Waist Pack

The Ronhill Vizion Waist Pack is a perfect present for those who like to exercise outdoors as they can not only store their keys and other accessories, but their MP3 Player too.  If they like to listen to their favourite songs as they run, they can simply feed the headphones out of the handy headphone port!  The bright fluorescent colour and reflective detailing will also help to keep them visible and safe when running or training in the darker months.

6. Suunto M1 Unisex Heart Rate Monitor

Suunto M1 Heart Rate Monitor

Not only does this Suunto M1 Heart Rate Monitor tell you your heart rate (as the name suggests!), but it also lets you know how many calories you’re burning off. Both the heart rate and calories are calculated in real time, so it’s a brilliant motivator. Ideal for gadget fans of either sex.

7. Men’s Ronhill Vizion Contour Tights

Mens Vizion Contour Tights

Perfect for winter running when the light’s not so good. These Men’s Ronhill Vizion Contour Tights come with a handy back zip pocket which is great for an MP3 player. A great pressie for a keen runner; he can wear them in all weather conditions, so there’s no excuse not to go out for a winter run!

8. Reebok Step with DVD

Reebok Step with DVD

If your loved one works out at home, this adjustable Reebok Step with Workout DVD is a great Christmas pressie idea. There are three height levels they can increase as their fitness improves.

9. Nike Womens Cyclone Running Jacket

Nike Womens Cyclone Running Jacket

This  Nike Womens Cyclone Running Jacket ticks all the boxes; it’s lightweight, water resistant and highly breathable, so it can be worn in the harshest of conditions. If you’re looking for a pressie for a fashion conscious runner, this jacket is as stylish as it is practical and comes in crimson or voltage yellow.

10. Reebok Yoga Set with DVD

Reebok Yoga Set with DVD

For experienced yoga-goers to those taking their first tentative steps into yoga world, this Reebok Yoga Set with DVD includes an eco friendly mat, strap to carry it in, cork block and DVD of yoga suggestions. Take your pick between vibrant chemical blue (as shown) or wild berry.

So there are some great ideas for you, I hope they help to ease the panic! And if you’re lucky enough to get one of these gifts – even if it is from yourself (it’s been a hard year!) – you can write your thank you letter to me Simplysweat.com

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The great thing about Panache Sport sports bras is that you can wear them for various sports. Most sports bras are designed using the compression method, which presses your breasts to your ribcage. How Panache Sport bras differ is that, rather than using compression, they use encapsulation, which holds and supports each breast individually, as opposed to squished both breasts to your ribcage. This reduces movement in all directions. Your breasts move up, down and sideways when you exercise, which can damage the Cooper’s ligaments that maintain your bust’s shape. Wearing a Panache Sport bra will drastically reduce bounce, helping to keep your bust in good shape.

Extensive research, using innovative 3D motion and biomechanical tracking techniques found that Panache Sport sports bras reduces bounce for a 32E bust by up to 83% compared with exercising  braless.

Features :

Wide, comfortable shoulder straps spread pressure around shoulders
Smooth inner cups reduce friction
Underband secures the bra to the body
Underwires sewn into the layers and wrapped in silicone provide extra comfort
Microfibre fabric wicks away sweat
Mesh panels keep skin cool
Adjustable straps provide a great fit
Hooks and eyes are padded for comfort
Back straps can be joined together for a racer back, giving greater freedom of movement

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In 1960 Rome became the first country to organise games similar to the Olympics for disabled athletes, but it wasn’t until 1976 in Toronto that different disability groups were merged together in one international sports competition.  At the Beijing Paralympics in 2008 there were nearly 4000 athletes from 146 different countries, and next year athletes will compete in 20 different sports including cycling, shooting, sailing, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair football and wheelchair basketball.

Looking set to win some Paralympic medals in 2012, the GB men’s wheelchair basketball team triumphed at the European Wheelchair Basketball Championship in September winning gold, with the women’s team taking home the bronze.  Also looking to succeed is the GB male sitting volleyball team, who secured their place in the Paralympic games at the European Championships in Rotterdam.  A very similar sport to standing volleyball, sitting volleyball is not played in wheelchairs and to qualify only 2 out of the 12 players can have what they term as ‘minimal disability’.

The amazing Martine Wright, who lost her legs in the 7/7 bombings is soon to join the women’s sitting volleyball team, describing it in a Radio 5 interview as “a rare opportunity, a huge opportunity that I never, ever dreamed of when I had legs” (BBC News).  Wright continued, “No one should underestimate the power of sport as a rehabilitation tool”(BBC News) that helps to give people back the confidence and sense of purpose they may have lost and even, like Martine, enabling them to do things they never would have believed they could do before.

For Paralympic road cyclist Rachel Morris, her training actually helps her cope with the acute pain of her unusual condition Reflexive Sympathetic Dystrophy, which led to the amputation of both her legs.  Using her hands to cycle the bike, Morris is of course aiming for Gold.  However, advocates of the games encourage people to focus on the athletes’ achievements and not their disabilities. Check out the Official Website of the Paralympic Movement for more information on games, athletes and events, including the Paralympics.

With 1.14 million tickets soon to be allocated on November the 18th, organisers are confident that the stadiums will be full of spectators cheering the GB Paralympic teams to victory.  If you didn’t manage to get tickets, never fear, you can always try and get some for the Russian Winter Paralympics in 2014!

Image : Stuart Grout

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As the temperatures drop and the evenings get darker, it becomes increasingly important to wear running gear that is insulated and has reflective piping – the more the better!  Ronhill have produced the Vizion Windlite Jacket, an ideal lightweight running jacket that is both wind resistant and water repellent, keeping you protected against the elements.  The jacket comes in Fluo Yellow for men and Fluo Pink for women, with reflective graphics and tape, which means it boasts 360 degree reflectivity, providing maximum visibility.

The Vizion Windlite Jacket is also LED compatible, which means you can attach Ron hill’s battery operated Vizion LED Running Strap, a brilliantly simple gadget that either glows or flashes to make you extra visible in bad light. It easily clips on to your jacket and you can wear as many as you want, thought I would avoid covering yourself in them in case you start to look like a mobile disco!

If you love to listen to music whilst you run, Ronhill have also produced an ideal two-in-one with their LED MP3 Armband which not only comfortably holds your MP3 player, but comes with the Vizion LED so you can listen to you music and been seen in the dark.  It’s easy to see why Ronhill have earned a reputation as a leading British running wear brand!

If I say the word headband to you, I’m sure horrific visions of 80s aerobics classes will float through your mind, however if, like me, your ears really feel the chill on colder days turning an attractive shade of pink, wearing a lightweight headband can help keep them warm whilst regulating your body temperature.  Ronhill have produced the cotton Women’s Vizion Headband (yes, it matches the jacket!) which keeps your ears warm and of course increases your visibility in poor weather conditions, all without even a whiff of Jane Fonda.

It’s not just your ears that can suffer whilst running in the winter but your hands (mine often take on a matching shade of pink), in which case investing in a good pair of lightweight gloves seems the most obvious solution.  However, gloves and touch screen MP3 players or phones lead to the irritating situation where you have to remove your gloves to change a song or answer a call, getting a cold hand or accidentally dropping the glove – all of which sounds like far too much hassle! Fortunately, some running gloves, such as the comfortable F3 Sports Glove by eGlove, have developed in line with technology.  Just as warm and soft as a traditional glove, the F3 Sports Glove is designed with conductive fabric on the forefinger and thumb that enables you to use a touch screen without having to take them off  (having recently tried a pair, I can safely say that it really does work!). They even have all important night reflective detailing, and can of course be worn for a multitude of activities.  Brilliant!

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However, the most recent press has not focused on the fantastic achievements of female boxers but on the Amateur International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) suggestion that all female competitors should fight in skirts, an idea they attempted to trial during the World Championships.

Although few teams decided to put their boxers in skirts, the coach of the Polish boxing team Leszeck Piotrowski explained to the BBC that she enforced the AIBA’s suggestion with her boxers because wearing skirts “gives a good impression, a womanly impression”.  Piotrowski then continued (some might say sounding slightly more like someone from the 1950s than the new millennium) “wearing shorts is not a good way for women boxers to dress”(BBC Sport).

In an era where we consider ourselves so ‘post-feminism’ it is irrelevant, it seems shocking that sexism in sport is still rife, and that we continue to have debates over what is appropriate for women to wear.  Female boxers have – if you excuse the pun – fought long and hard to get the public and officials to look past the issue of gender and focus on the sport itself, to talk about the athleticism of boxers who have dedicated their lives to training and becoming the best at their profession.

The fact that the AIBA claims that women should wear skirts (that are not just skirts, but extremely short ones) so that spectators no longer get ‘confused’ about the gender of boxers in the ring as men and women wear similar gear, is an argument so astounding it led Taylor to call it a “disgrace”. It would be interesting to see what the boxing world would do if a male boxer decided he found it most comfortable to fight in a skirt, or even a sports bra!

Female athletes should of course be taken as seriously as men and, more importantly, be given free choice to decide what they would like to wear.  Their clothing should be based on comfort and performance, not what is considered ‘ladylike’ or, depressingly, even titillating.  In how many other sports do men and women dress alike?  Could you imagine female jockeys being forced to wear miniskirts whilst riding in the Grand National?  I imagine it would be virtually impossible to ride side saddle à la Jane Austin at those speeds.

What do you think?  Is the AIBA’s argument that women should wear skirts when boxing so spectators can easily differentiate between men and women a valid one?  Do you think all female athletes should dress in a more ‘feminine’ way?

Whatever your opinion, the road to fighting the stereotypes in women’s boxing has already been long and arduous, and looks set to continue as the 2012 Olympics approach.   As Taylor recently declared on Irish Television, “I want people to be focusing on my boxing, not what I’m wearing” (RTE), let’s just hope that the future coverage of female boxing focuses more on their amazing achievements than their outfits.

images : US Navy

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I know what you’re thinking; that all sounds VERY embarrassing.  However, as we all know, in these modern times we barely use our body to its full capacity, spending long hours at our desks behind a computer.  Even at the gym, as Bee’s article explores, we exercise “mindlessly”, getting into repetitive habits and not challenging our bodies in new ways.

Having felt like a hamster on a wheel in my local gym before, the statement by Erwan Le Corre (founder of the American “Move Naturally” sessions) that we are “zoo humans” struck a chord.  Humans crave interaction with nature, a desire Bee names as “biophillia”, and much like the forlorn apes and gorillas we see in cramped zoo cages, a lack of outdoor interaction can lead to mental health issues such as depression.

Prehistoric workouts tap into little used muscles through natural movements such as climbing, crawling and jumping, all things we tend to associate with childhood.  Whilst watching “Origins of Us” on BBC 2 last night, I found it fascinating and awe inspiring just how brilliant the human body is.  As Dr Alice Roberts tracked the human body’s evolution from apes, to walking upright, to long distance endurance runners, to tool users, she highlighted how our bodies still retain many ape like qualities – being able to rotate our arms 180 degrees for example, comes from tree climbing.  We are literally designed for this kind of outdoor workout.

However, as Bee found out, we are constrained by a fear that the tree-climbing child does not have, disbelieving the strength and agility of our own bodies.  Yes, falling might hurt, and I’m not denying that the ungraceful sight of a grown woman flying face first onto the local cricket pitch isn’t slightly embarrassing, but you only have to look at the impressive robustness of Free Runners (another form of more acrobatic outdoor exercise, not for the faint hearted!) to see the resilience of the human body.

Despite the potential for some serious awkwardness when my boss happens to stroll past and sees me swinging wildly from a tree branch, and even the possibility of me being sectioned when I am spotted dragging my knuckles and charging like a gorilla next to the children’s play ground, the idea of evolutionary fitness appeals to me.  The health benefits, both mental and physical, the liberating release from the sterility of the gym and from what some may consider ‘normal’ behaviour (at least you can say you’re not boring!) makes a prehistoric workout a brilliant, fun, free way to exercise.

So, this weekend you may well see me dangling from an oak tree in my local park, grinning like a maniac.  I seriously hope you’ll join me!

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