Hands up who has bought Hands Up???

Next week sees the release of Justin Fletchers debut album Hands Up. I was lucky enough to of been given a copy early to have a listen to, well I say me but as soon as it came through the post the kids took it away from me!!!

You probably all know Justin from the television in programmes such as something special, gigglebiz and his new programme Justin's House but he has decided to ventured into the world of music and let me tell you I'm glad he did.

The album has 20 different tracks ranging from classic children's songs to some brand new funky songs :

1. Hands Up

2. The Hokey Cokey

3. Music Man

4. The Sun Has Got His Hat On

5. The Grand Old Duke Of York

6. The Teddy Bear's Picnic

7. Heads Shoulders Knees And Toes

8. Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf

9. The Laughing Policeman

10. Old MacDonald

11. Nellie The Elephant

12. Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside

13. Incy Wincy Spider

14. The Wheels On The Bus

15. If You're Happy And You Know It

16. Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush

17. Ten In A Bed

18. Frère Jacques

19. The Sailor's Lament

20. Justin's Lullaby

I have to say this has been on repeat since it came into the house, all of my kids have loved dancing to it and they range from ages 6 down to 2 so it definitely appeals to everyone. My eldest daughter has started singing along to the songs and even making up dance routines to teach to her sisters.

My personal favourie is the signature tune Hands Up and a lot more adults have come to love this album as they have started exercising to it.

One lovely man Steven has even vlogged along with his 3 year old daughter to show you how they have benefited from it and here are some guidelines that he has written to help you with it :

Having danced to the album with my 3-year-old daughter I would say that participating in the full album is theequivalent of 40 minutes of low-impact aerobic exercise.

This would be similar to going for a brisk walk, or dancing! Based on a 200lb adult, this sort of exercise generally burns around 350 calories per 40 minutes.

This is the equivalent of

40g of kettle chips (Any flavour) and

175ml glass of white or red wine.

However, I've come up with ways to make the Hands Up Album a more HIGH-impact aerobic activity, by incorporating lunges, squats and jumps for the adults (see below) in order to make the songs more cardio vascular. This sort of exercise works the large muscle groups in the legs i.e. the glutes, quads, hamstrings and calf’s and some of the movements would help to work on the core too. This would take the calorie burn for a 200lb person up to around 420 calories.

420 calories is the equivalent to

Pain au chocolate and a Skinny Latte from Starbucks

Calories burned during exercise depends on your weight and, more specifically, your BMI (Body Mass Index) so while it would be correct to say that you can burn up to

420 calories doing the Hands Up Album, this figure is based on a person of 200lbs (14 stone). If we're appealing to mums, the average woman weighs around 11 stone so the calorie burn would becloser to 283 calories. Which would be the equivalent of

A Mini Milk Chocolate Bar

And a large Cappuccino with skimmed milk!

From the M&S cafe

  

“As a “stay at home” parent myself Ithink it would be great for health conscious mums (and dads) to know that while they’re singing along and dancing with their children in doors, they’re “earning” calorie treats to have later. If they spend 40 minutes participating in the CD in the more high impact ways I’ve suggested, they can enjoy a “guilt-free” treat later!”

How to make the Album more high impact:

Here are a few examples.

"Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush"

The key to making this song more high impact aerobically is for adults to keep fit together and "jump" around the Mulberry bush to the beat of the music, rather than just "walking around". This would make the motion during the song, similar to skipping, which if carried out for 3 minutes (the duration of the song), is a GREAT cardio work out.

"The Hokey Cokey"

I suggest holding light weights while doing the actions to give the arms a work out (you can use wrist weights orthere are objects all around the house you can use as weights) while making a punching action for the left and right arm "in/out" sequence.

Also, when you do the Hokey Cokey, you should be jumping, legs together, into the middle, rather that just walkingforwards and backwards.

The "knees bend, arms stretch, rah rah rah" part can incorporate a squat.

For the part where you put your left leg in and take your left leg out, adults could perform a lunge, which works the Glutes.

"The Laughing Policeman"

Marching on the spot during the verses with high knees is an excellent cardio work out, but the key to this song is holding a plank position for the duration of the policeman's laugh. Four 15second bursts of laughter, which is a great core, work out and the kids will love seeing you trying not to laugh.

"Heads Shoulders Knees And Toes"

A classic song for bending, stretching and touching your toes but we could make it a bit harder by doing dynamic squats.

Finally, the title song “Hands Up” is such a good dance tune that you can do all kinds of high impact dance moveswith jumps etc that will really get the heart and lungs working!

The CD can provide a fun “home work-out” for parents. Because most of these songs have a fast beat and high tempo rhythm, they lend themselves brilliantly to a work-out for adults and a fun time for kids, which is healthy to everyone.

If you can cut out 500 Calories from your daily intake then you will lose 1lb per week which is a really healthy weight loss and because it’s done gradually it’s more likely that you will keep the weight off, so by doing this album with your kids daily you are more likely to hit this target.

Why not give it a go and let us know if you enjoy it to, you have to admit it looks like fun and it is a great way to interact with your child at the same time as losing weight. I will be giving it a go come the Summer once I have given birth.

The album is available to buy on the 5th of March but you can pre order it now from Amazon, HMV or Sainsburys. 

Once you have bought the album feel free to let Justin know what you think of it either on his facebook page or on his twitter page and don't forget to use the hash tag #handsupjustin

xxx