The Nation Newspaper

Tag: fitness

  • ‘Engage in fitness walk’

    ‘Engage in fitness walk’

    Lagos State Head of Service (HoS) Mr. Bode Agoro, has led civil servants at  the ‘Walk for Fitness Exercise’, organised by Public Service Office (PSO) in his office   

    It started at Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, through State Secretariat, Alausa, and ended at Balogun Bus Stop in Ikeja.

    Agoro said the walk was worthwhile to inform, educate and persuade civil servants to take responsibility for their wellness by keeping fit.

    Read Also: Umar faces  fitness  race against  Equatorial Guinea

    He said: “Walking for fitness helps to maintain a healthy weight and lose unwanted and undesirable fat. Walking helps to prevent or manage heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer and Type 2 diabetes. Walking improves cardiovascular fitness.

    “Workers can take this opportunity of walking for fitness, interact, network with one another and be in a relaxed mood.”

    A director at Ministry of Health, Dr. Muritala, said: “Walking is a great way to stay healthy and strong.”

    He lectured workers on high blood pressure and diabetes, analysing the cause, treatment and repercussions of non-adherence to medical prescription by patients.

    “We should engage in regular exercise to make our body fit and sound. But I advise those that with either high blood pressure or diabetes to visit our doctors regularly and ensure we use the prescribed drugs,” Muritala said.

  • FORMER GREEN EAGLES’ STRIKER OLUMUYIWA OSHODE: Secrets of my fitness even at 71

    FORMER GREEN EAGLES’ STRIKER OLUMUYIWA OSHODE: Secrets of my fitness even at 71

    At 71, Olumuyiwa Oshode a.k.a Lucky Boy looks sprightly for his age. The ace footballer is still fit as a fiddle, a grace not enjoyed by some of his teammates. In this interview with TAIWO ALIMI, he speaks on his keep-fit secrets and his footballing days in school and the national team. 

    At 71, Lagos-born ex-international, Olumuyiwa Oshode is ageing gracefully. Clad in a striped shirt over black pants and dark blue cardigan, he was at home throughout the interview.

    Age has not robbed him of his memory either as he easily recalled the great moments in his career.

    Oshode played last for Nigeria at an international meeting during the 1968  Olympic Games in Mexico but there was a déjà vu feeling as the septuagenarian speaks about his golden days in the famous  green-white-green colours  of Nigeria.

    “It is a glorious moment for me at the 1968 Games in Mexico,” began Oshode in an interview on the margins of the 1st  Lagos Junior League (LJL) symposium held in Lagos.“ We did not pass the first round as we lost to Spain and Japan in our first two matches.

    “But in the third match, which I played the team was overhauled by coach Joszef Ember (Hungarian) and we played brilliantly to draw Brazil 3-3; I can remember that Kenneth Olayombo scored an early goal for us and even the second before the half time.

    “Then Peter Anieke netted the third; in fact we were leading by 3-0 and Brazil came back to equalized in the second half. The world showed us great respect after the match and I would say Nigeria got the attention of world football after that game,” he recollected.

    Before the Olympics, Oshode described by teammate and former national team coach, Tunde Disu as one of the best strikers from Nigeria, had  dazzled his community with his soccer artistry.

    His  foray into soccer started at Ahmadiyya College, Agege, Lagos and alongside Disu (captain) won the 1965 School Cup (now Principals’ Cup) among secondary schools in Lagos State. His latent skill was spotted by coaches of the junior National team and between 1965 and 1968; he was an active  player in the national team.  Around  this  time,  he also signed for ECN football club (now NEPA FC) and blossomed as a great striker. In 1965, he was in the ECN team that had a two-leg international friendly with   Asante Kotoko of Kumasi, Ghana.

    ECN could not hold on to him for long. He joined the Lagos famous club-Stationery Stores in 1966 and here he picked his first major medal. The 1967 Challenge Cup-Nigeria’s version of The FA Cup was recently christened Aiteo Cup. Super Stores retained the trophy the following year (1968)  with Oshode playing  a prominent role.

    “It was at Stationery  Stores that I was given the nickname ‘Lucky Boy’ because I used  to score important goals for the club,” Oshode said. “Sometimes the coach would introduce me into a game as a substitute  but I would score the vital goal to win a match; and this made me to be very popular with the fans.”

    He remembered the second glorious outing quite vividly due to the semi-final clash against highly motivated Leventis FC.

    “The 1968 edition was full of  drama and I remember  Leventis players were well motivated  since they were promised a holiday in Cyprus and Greece should they defeat Stores,” he recalled. “ They played  so well and were leading 2-1  almost by the dot of 90  minutes; and I was playing with injury and wanted to leave the pitch but the coach refused to remove me.

    “In fact,  some of our supporters were already leaving the stadium when a pass came to me and it dawned on me that this is the final move as the referee was already consulting his watch; Fregene was in goal for Leventis and I kicked the ball with all the strength left in me.”

    Oshode watched the ball sail into the net and at that moment the whole stadium erupted with jubilation. Stores moved on to the final match and lifted the trophy for the second successive year.

    No longer could the young Oshode be stopped as he quickly moved to the National senior team and by 1968 became a part of history as the first Nigerian team to qualify and play in Olympic Games soccer event. Before the Olympics, Oshode had played for the National senior team in a friendly match against Brazilian top club Santos FC, in 1968.

    “What made the match memorable was that legendary football icon Pele was playing then for Santos and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. I scored the first goal for Nigeria.”

    Oshode travelled to the United States of America (USA)  courtesy of a Lagos’ State Government sport scholarship after the games and played for his school, the Columbia University. He studied Chemical Engineering.

    “That time football was not popular in the USA and was not  as big as we  have today; basketball and baseball were more popular. I was there till 1974 and came back home after my education.”

    Oshode still remember vividly his teammates. As he dished out the names, a hint of sadness crept into his voice because many of them, he noted, are either dead or dying off.

    Among my contemporaries in the game are Tunde Disu, Peter Fregene, Anthony Igwe, Paul Hamilton, Sebastine Brodericks, Augustine Ofuokwu, Peter Anieke, Tony Igwe, Muhammed Lawal, Baba Ali, Sam Opone, Duro Adigun, Inuwa Rigogo, Segun Olumodeji, Kenneth Olayombo, and Sam Garba Okoye.

    “Most of the players I played with are dead now and the rest are dying off,” he said with misty eyes. “Ofuokwu, Opone, Olumodeji, Anieke are all dead; Fregene and others are sick and the few of us that are around do get together whenever we can. Tunde (Disu) and I are very close and it is because of him that I am here for the impressive Lagos Junior League symposium.”

    He lamented the sordid treatment that has been meted out to them by those in football authority. “I think we should be given better treatment because any people that forget their history cannot move forward. We are history of Nigerian football and the nation needs us to forge ahead.”

    A man of style, the septuagenarian said none of his children is into football. “I play for Jesus now. I am a member of Jesus team.”

    Oshode is excited that the Lagos Junior League would produce more quality players after the likes of Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho and Dele Alampasu were discovered.

    He said he was happy the 57 councils in Lagos State have signalled their interest to participate in this year’s edition which is expected to kicks off on  September 23, 2017.

  • Navy personnel holds fitness walk

    Men of the Naval Training Command, Nigerian Navy, have held a 20-kilometre fitness march to reassess their physical and mental wellness. More than 2000 personnel marched through the Apapa axis.

    The Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Rear Admiral Obi Ofodile said the walk was to equip the naval personnel with key training on efficient performance delivery. He said the march would further stimulate their intellectual alertness to their statutory duties of security.

    He said: “For you to train them for efficient and effective performance, they have to be physically fit and mentally alert. Apart from annual medical examinations which every personnel undergoes, they also undergo physical test. One of such test is this route march. The objective is to know your fitness. They will be able to absorb teachings and acquire knowledge. The men are very fit. As we left there was an ambulance following us which came back empty. Nobody fell out. We covered a total of 2O-kilometer.”

    Ofodile also explained that the force was unrelenting at devising new strategies to combat problems of insecurity around the country.

    “The world is dynamic and there have been various security challenges coming in various forms that were never known to the military. So as these things comes so also we try to find solutions to them. There are a good number of ways of bringing up our men which has been introduced,” he said.

  • Exploding whipped cream dispenser kills fitness blogger

    REBECCA Burger, who had a large following on Instagram, where she posted regular pictures of herself promoting fitness products, was killed in eastern France in what the family said was a domestic incident

    An Instagram star and well-known fitness blogger has died in a freak accident after a pressurised cannister used for dispensing whipped cream exploded, hitting her in the chest, her family has said. Another post included a photograph of a dispenser, which has a small pressurised cannister, alongside a warning not to use similar devices.

    “Do not use this kind of utensil in your home! Tens of thousands of defective devices are still in circulation,” warned a France official. Her death comes after two similar accidents in France in 2014 but neither resulted in death.

    France’s National Consumer Institute (INC) had already issued a warning over the same type of cannister, saying the plastic lid may not be able to withstand pressure from carbon dioxide inside.

  • 3SC sweat on the fitness of Ajani, Faleye

    3SC sweat on the fitness of Ajani, Faleye

    Shooting Stars forwards, Ajani Ibrahim and Sunday Faleye who were unable to take part in yesterday’s  practice sessions will still be monitored closely ahead of Sunday’s league tie with ABS.

    Ajani, SportingLife was informed, skipped the training owing to malaria while Faleye who is yet to hit the ground running in the second round of the league was also rested from the session due to headache.

    SportingLife was told that both players will be assessed by the Oluyole Warriors‘ medics if they are fit enough to train today but that they are still being looked upon to feature for 3SC this weekend in their must win league tie with ABS.

    But, Olabisi Samuel, a defender with the Oluyole Warriors, is a major doubt ahead of the weekend crunch tie due to an undisclosed ailment.

  • Transforming fitness to business

    Transforming fitness to business

    Women are increasingly proving that financial independence can be achieved through self-employment and entrepreneurship. One example is in the fitness industry, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Chief Executive, Afrifitness, Rachael Okesola, is creating a successful fitness business. She runs an online personal training fitness class, afrifitness.com, providing innovative health and fitness services to help people transform their lives through intelligent nutrition and exercise.

    Okesola is a  nutritionist, pilates expert and entrepreneur.

    Born in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, she  moved to the United Kingdom  (UK) with her  family when she was four. She studied Business Administration at the University of Hertfordshire and graduated in 2008.

    On graduation, she started working as a data analyst, but found the job wasn’t suited to her creative streak.  She decided to pursue a career in digital marketing. She was hired by Grant Thornton, one of the top accountancy firms in England, as a digital marketing executive.

    Later on, she went  to work for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). She also worked with BT, Microsoft and Accenture.

    After an eight -year career in marketing, she decided to trade-in the corporate life for a more active and adventurous lifestyle back home. After graduating, she realised that her health had suffered due to her lifestyle in the university.  She gained weight and that bothered her immensely. One day she had a conversation with her eldest brother who had embarked on fitness journey. That inspired her to take on her  own fitness journey. As she embarked on her weight loss journey, people started to ask about what she was doing to lose weight. So she decided to start helping people by training to be a fitness dance instructor, and then started Afrifitness in 2014.

    She started the business in the UK  with little  capital from home, using her website and the social media platform. Posters, social media and promotional events helped her gain clientele. With very little overheads, her training and qualifications, Okesola attracted a lot of clients through online classes, private and group sessions.  From satisfied clients, word went around. She put a lot of energy and enthusiasm into every class. With time, people trusted her. Her  multi-faceted approach to fitness training saw her use vlogging (video blogging), Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat as well as Instagram. She now has  followers. She  has  a big social media presence and established a   franchise to grow the  business. Operating from her online platform, Okesola  can take on clients all around the world.  Though successful in the UK, returning back to Nigeria was something on her mind. In February this year, she came in to hold a fitness event. It was only supposed to last two weeks. After a successful event, she started seeing more opportunities and networked with other fitness professionals. Since then, Okesola decided to relocate permanently,despite the operational challenges she met. When she settled down, setting up the business  was a challenge at the beginning but it is now rewarding.  Discussing the initial struggles, she explained that  it was really tough to get the business off the ground. But she keep doing the right things, using the social media to show case her products. Today, she has  caught the attention of A-listers. So far, she has worked with a wide range of clientele from professional women , post rehab, people with special needs and individuals to everyday people looking to live healthier lifestyles.

    While she runs online classes, she also hosts real classes  in Victoria Island, Lagos and  has provided everyone with a platform that makes it simple and practical to plan healthy meals, incorporate an exercise routine, and achieve balance in their lives.

    To make it a difference, she offers  30-day nutrition plan, 30- day training plan  to target stomach fat,  exercises to retain  and build curves, accountability sessions and daily motivation and    email support.

    Her Shred- It- Nutrition Plan incorporates a lot of the foods  known and loved.

    She believes starting and running successful business requires a lot of belief, determination and a strict routine.

  • Body Fitness

    Body Fitness

    FITNESS is a general state of health and well being. It is a lifestyle but men often take it for granted. Being fit means that you are able to push the limits of your body and not face any serious consequences.

    Ways to stay fit:

    1. Eat properly, portioned balanced meals and reduce sugar intake.
    2. Drink plenty water.
    3. Exercise regularly.
    4. Go for long walks, take the stairs and don’t sit in a position for too long.
    5. Get active at the gym if you have the time/resources.
    6. Get involved in sporting activities like swimming, cycling and running.

    Benefits of fitness:

    1. Regular exercise strengthens the heart and improves contractile function.
    2. It helps control weight.
    3. It reduces anxiety and depression.
    4. Strengthens immune system and bones, increase resting metabolic rate which helps burn calories.
  • Fitness test at Army contest

    Fitness test at Army contest

    Various army brigades slugged it at a sporting fiesta in Ohafia, Abia State, but it was essentially to keep fit ahead of a bigger, forthcoming military contest, reports SUNNY NWANKWO

    The locals knew that something remarkable was happening in their town when they started seeing an influx of military vehicles. The visitors ended up at the 14 Brigade headquarters, Ohafia, Abia State. Their mission was not to fight but to see who was fit enough to win this year’s  Inter-Brigade Sporting Competition. The contesting soldiers were drawn from various army formations under the 82 Division of Nigerian Army, Enugu, Enugu State.

    Ohafia, a populous suburban community, came alive as the soldiers slugged it out at the games. Their goal was to qualify to represent the Division in the upcoming Nigerian Army Sports festival later in the year.

    The brigade’s relations officer, Major Sydney Mbaneme in a statement said that the competition would provide them with the opportunity to discover male and female athletes who will represent the Division when the army national competition starts.

    Some of the competing brigades included 14 Brigade Ohafia (host), 13 Brigade, Akim Barracks, Calabar, Cross River State, 82 Division Garrison, 2 Brigade, Port Harcourt and 34 Field Artillery Brigade, Obinze Imo State.

    Games competed for during the five-day event were marathon race, tug of war, obstacle crossing, scrabble and cross country, among others.

    At the end of the games, the host was the overall best with seven gold medals, seven silver and one bronze. Thirteen Brigade, Calabar came second, garnering four gold, three silver and one bronze. The third position went to 82 Division Garrison, Enugu with two gold and five bronze medals.

    In the individual performance, Private Ibrahim Buhari of 2 Brigade, Port Harcourt came first in the Half Marathon Race. Lance Corporal Eunice Gwaji of 82 Division Garrison, Enugu came tops in the female category.

    Lance Corporal John Adeyemi of 13 Brigade, Calabar came first in the Cross Country, male category, while Eunice Gwaji of 82 Division Garrison, Enugu also finished top of the female category.

    Private Garba Musa of 2 Brigade, Port Harcourt who finished in 5 minutes 2 seconds beat other competitors to emerge the winner of the obstacle race.

    14 Brigade Commander and host Brigadier-General Fejokwu Lawrence while declaring the event close commended the army sports personnel for comporting themselves throughout the 5-days the event lasted.

    Fejokwu, represented by his Chief of Staff, Col. Yakubu Hassan, commended the individual and team quality of the competitors and the display of comradeship and sportsmanship while the event lasted. He was upbeat that the representatives of the Division would excel at the forthcoming Nigerian Army Sports festival.

    Yakubu said, “The event has been able to showcase the best talents to form a strong team for the Division in the forthcoming Nigerian Army Sports festival.”

    He urged those who will represent the Division to report to camp early to enable them train harder to achieve success when the national competition starts.

    The event was attended by Col. Samsudeen Amusa, Deputy Director Physical Training, 82 Division. Lt. Col. Christian Okonkwo, Commander 14 Brigade Garrison, Lt. Col. Sani Ahmed and Hon. Dike, among other dignitaries.

    It featured a wonderful performance display from the popular Ohafia War Dancing troupe that entertained spectators at the event.

     

  • Infinix lauches fitness enhancing gadgets

    Infinix lauches fitness enhancing gadgets

    Fast growing smartphone company, Infinix Mobility, has launched its first collection of wearable technology accessories, which includes a smart bracelet, X-band (XBO1) and headphones ‘The Dual noise cancellation’ XE02.

    While the bracelet is a fitness enhancing accessory, the headphones aim to improve sound quality, while disrupting background noise.

    The first of its kind from the company, the X-band bracelet was described by Infinix Marketing Manager Olamide Amosu, as an innovation, crafted in premium space magnesium alloy, with a bracelet body processed with brushed metallic texturing.

    X-band monitors users’ movement from walking to running, allows users to plan and achieve their fitness goals, and its smart-watch feature comprises a digital display screen which shows time, date and other notifications, allows users to receive phone calls and a seven- hour battery life with fast charge enablement.

    The smart bracelet also works with the customised X-band App that allows users to connect and share their fitness goals achieved on social media.

    On the other hand, the headphone is a major upgrade from its predecessor (XE01), which can power for more than 10-hrs on a full charge.

    It comes in a unique 2.5 D wrapped density, featuring a red-green-yellow tri color LED indication that is both functional and aesthetically appealing, as well as guaranteed automatic noise cancellation quality (IC) of 95 per cent with Hi-Fi sound.

    Amosu believes that both accessories are a proof of the use of technology to better enhance consumer lifestyle, in line with the brand’s vision to create the best experience with technology.

  • Navy on fitness march

    Navy on fitness march

    Nigerian Navy (NN) personnel at the weekend embarked on a 10km fitness march, to assert their physical alertness in combating criminality.

    The march, which was led by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Fergusson Bobai kicked off from the Naval Air Station, Ojo to Kirikiri and back.

    According to Rear Admiral Bobai, aside keeping the personnel fit for their duties, the march was aimed at deterring criminalities in the command’s area of responsibility.

    ‘’In the face of current security challenges in the country, the need to keep personnel fit for operation cannot be overemphasised. This is why fitness and mental alertness are among the critical element of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas’ policy thrust.

    ‘’It is with this in mind that the Nigerian Navy organises the one-day route march every quarter aimed at raising the level of physical fitness of personnel in the command,’’ Rear Admiral Bobai said.