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Esteem Fitness is a carbon positive company, offsetting more carbon than it produces.

Fitness Matters

MBT – Masai Barefoot Technology
MBT is the first physiological footwear that is footwear that by design has a positive effect on whole body.
One of the human body’s most complex tasks is to keep itself upright and balanced when walking and standing. A multitude of supporting muscles throughout the whole body are responsible for this- the body supporting muscle system.
Conventional shoes support and lead the foot, stabilising the body in an unnatural way, this may lead to health problems consistent with modern civilisation such as joint and back pain.
The secret behind the effect of MBT physiological footwear is in its sole’s special construction, this creates a natural instability underfoot, which stimulates and exercises the body’s supporting muscle system.
The instant you put on a pair of MBTs you experience the difference and the every step is a small workout for the entire body. Wearing MBTs leads to multitude of benefits including: significant gait and posture improvement, relief of pressure on the joints and back, multiple muscles exercising simultaneously stimulating metabolism and speeding up regeneration and a toning up effect on the abdominal, leg and buttock muscles.

For Approved MBT trainers and Suppliers [click here]

Our top tips towards achieving improved fitness
We genuinely want to ‘get you from where you are to where you want to be’. An integral part of our service is providing you with honest and current information that will encourage and promote a healthier lifestyle. So here are some key health and fitness tips for you to adopt – starting from TODAY!

Drink more water

Dehydration, often mistaken for hunger, can lead to fatigue, slows the metabolism and can reduce your concentration and short-term memory. Drinking at least 1½ -2 litres of water each day will not only help fill you up but can ease joint pain, help your organs such as the kidney and liver work more efficiently and improve the condition of the skin.

Hydration

Muscle is approximately 78% water, so without adequate hydration muscle won’t function properly. Fluid replenishment before, during and after exercise is essential to avoid progressive dehydration. Always consume more fluids than you think you need before and after exercise, and strive to drink six to eight ounces of fluid every 15 to 20 minutes during exercise.

Always eat breakfast

Missing breakfast sends a message to your body that you're "starving" because you haven't had food in a number of hours. As a protective mechanism, your metabolism slows down and tries to conserve energy - exactly the opposite of what you want to happen! Breakfast also gives your body the fuel it needs to exercise effectively.

Strength training = weight management

Your muscles burn calories during physical activity. What you may not know is your muscles also burn calories when your body is at

rest. Increase your muscle mass, and you'll be increasing your metabolism and your body's capacity to burn calories both during activity and at rest.

Exercising in the cold

The biggest risk of exercising in the cold is too much heat loss. Clothing is generally a good insulator because it has the ability to trap air, and if the air is trapped beside the body, the temperature will be maintained. Keeping warm is vital – for hands, feet and especially the head, because as much as 50% of heat loss is through the head.

A walk a day keeps the doctor away

Walking has proved its health benefits in numerous studies, it is low risk, easy to start, and inexpensive. A regular walking programme can reduce blood cholesterol, lower blood pressure, increase cardio vascular endurance, boost bone strength, burn calories and keep weight down. Walking is one fitness activity that allows you numerous options. Once you have reached a point where you can walk a few miles with relative ease, you can start to vary the intensity. Walking hills, in addition to increasing your cardiovascular endurance, is a great way to tone the legs. Concentrate on lengthening your stride or increasing your speed. And don't forget to reward yourself after each workout with a few minutes of relaxing stretches to help prevent sore muscles. Listening to lively music while you walk is also a great way to energise your workout. But if you wear headphones, keep the volume down and watch out for traffic that you may not hear.

Reduce your portion sizes

It is a fact that if we weigh too much we are eating too much. Sometimes we are eating very healthy foods, but we are eating too much of them. So it is vital that we become aware of how much we are eating and that we reduce it. Use a smaller plate, weigh food on your kitchen scales initially so that you know the weight of the everyday food items, use the same size of plate for meals so that you know how much food to put on it. We have to get used to controlling the portion sizes and hence the amount of food we eat.

Increasing the thermal effect of food

Some of the energy we expend comes from the ingestion, digestion and absorption of the foods we eat, also known as the thermal effect of food. This process accounts for approximately 10% of total calories taken in at any given meal. Eating smaller meals throughout the day will increase this percentage slightly.

Fad failure

Fad diets that restrict calories substantially can cause the loss of lean muscle mass, along with the loss of fat. The loss of muscle mass has a corresponding effect on the metabolic rate. Very often the weight is put back on at a faster rate and a cycle of weight gain is started, often leading to a progressive increase in body fat with each consecutive cycle.

Hydrogenated fats

These are mostly man-made fats where quantities of unsaturated vegetable oils have been heated to extremely high temperatures, subjected to high pressure and subjected to the forced application of hydrogen. It is used in some bakery items and margarines, other common sources are takeaway foods and many ‘low fat’ processed foods. Studies show that it isn't so much how much fat there is in your diet that causes problems, as what kind of fat, and hydrogenated fats are the worst. Avoid buying biscuits, cakes, pastries, or anything else that has hydrogenated oil on the ingredient list or Trans fats on the nutritional label.

Cholesterol control

Insulin increases your cholesterol. Everyone manufactures some cholesterol and more than two thirds of the body’s cholesterol is manufactured rather than eaten. lf you eat a lot of refined sugars as contained in most sugary drinks, biscuits and cakes or you drink a lot of coffee and other caffeinated beverages, you will have an insulin response resulting in higher cholesterol.