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Keeping active during winter is essential

2018-07-30  Staff Report 2

Keeping active during winter is essential
Alvine Kapitako WINDHOEK - As the winter season comes to an end, more people are getting ready to embrace the summer. And fitness enthusiasts will tell you to remain physically active in winter just as much as the summer. New Era spoke to Vaughn Letlhagoje, a certified fitness instructor on why people should remain active in winter as much as the other seasons. “When it is cold people get comfortable,” commented Letlhagoje. In winter people tend to eat a lot more. This is the body’s natural reflex to fight against the cold because “fat keeps you warm.” “The body stores more fat during the winter so that is the time to do a lot of exercises to burn calories,” said Letlhagoje. The boot camp instructor also spoke of the benefits of working out, saying exercise is important for general health, strengthening of the body, strengthening of the immune system, for better blood circulation, and it prevents diseases such as diabetes and heart diseases. People with conditions such as heart disease first have to seek medical attention and approval of the doctor before engaging in intense exercise such as boot camp, said Letlhagoje. “The doctor needs to analyse how severe the condition is and prescribe what would be better exercise for such a person. People with severe heart conditions usually go to bio-kinetics,” said Letlhagoje. Letlhagoje is the founder of Feuze Fitness, which offers boot camp sessions to people in Windhoek. “If the doctor is fine with it, we start off with low intensity programme with enough rest period in between just to get the heart used to pumping fast at a higher pace.” In as much as working out is good for people, nutrition is just as important, cautioned Letlhagoje. “What you put in is what you are, that’s why it’s best to combine both fitness and nutrition. Most people join boot camps to lose weight but a person gets hungrier when they start training. Finding the perfect balance in order to burn the right amount of calories to achieve losing weight is important,” advised Letlhagoje. Drinking enough water is just as important, said the fitness instructor. “Always keep a bottle of water with you. Your body tells you when you need water. As soon as you feel thirsty that is your body telling you that you need water. Listen to your body,” he advised. Overall, Letlhagoje has observed that more Namibians are embracing fitness and healthy living. “We are becoming more health conscious. It’s a sector which a lot of people are looking into in terms of health. By analysis, if I look and compare to back in the days, a lot of people are jogging and there are many fitness events coming up. There is an awakening,” he added. As a result, more people are joining the fitness sector as a means to make money. He explained the fitness industry in Namibia is not yet developed. Having studied Fitness Science and Sports conditioning for three years in South Africa, he says he has always been a sports fanatic. “…I played rugby,” he added. At the age of 16, he broke his leg and went through physiotherapy and bio-kinetics. That is when he knew that he would pursue a career in fitness, he reminisced. After completing his three-year qualification in South Africa, Letlhagoje returned to Namibia and started boot camp with about five people in public parks. “The first four months I didn’t charge a fee,” he added. Letlhagoje said he wants to train as many people as possible in order to build a healthy nation. He does this through the Fitness Ambassador Programme. “An ambassador has the benefit of joining the fitness service at the lowest rate by receiving a 50 percent discount on membership fees allowing those with financial troubles to have the opportunity to get fit,” concluded the fitness instructor.
2018-07-30  Staff Report 2

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