Tag Archives: healthy living

My First Time at BodyPump and Tips for First-Timers

After what for me feels like WAY too long, I am officially back in a gym! With going from living somewhere where I could walk to my gym in 25 minutes, to living somewhere where we don’t even have a proper gym in town, its taken me a while to find somewhere that meets my gym standards amongst settling into our new home and getting back into work.

But I’m back! I joined my nearest Total Fitness gym, and I’m determined to get my money’s worth out of this membership (because its so much more than my old gym!) and I’ve always liked doing classes because they push me both physically and a little out of my comfort zone. One class I’ve been super interested in trying for quite some time now is BodyPump, so I booked in for yesterday’s class, and here’s how it went..

Because I knew nothing about the class other than a general overview, I went straight to the class instructor to admit that I was a first timer and had no idea what was going on, and I would 100% recommend doing this if you are trying this class for the first time. She told me what equipment I needed to get and what weights to start off with and reassured me that I’d easily be able to follow along.

BodyPump is a weight based class, but its more of a light weight, high reps sorta workout. I grabbed a barbell and two of each of the weight plates, plus we also had a step box and a mat each. As the instructor told me to start off light, I put the lightest plates on first, which felt a little too light for me at first by I stuck with it anyway because I didn’t know what was going to happen so I figured it was the safest bet, plus because I’d been out of the gym for about 6 weeks, I thought it was best for me to start with mainly bodyweight anyway.

After a short warm-up consisting of mainly squats, we were given a little bit of time to adjust our weights for the next section of the workout, so I did change up the plates on my bar to go a little heavier, although not by much because I was still playing it safe. That said, I quickly worked up a sweat as we went into the main workout! We alternated a bit between the bar and using just plates, and also used the box as a sort of bench for doing chest work.

There was a lot of lower body work, lots of squats and lunges etc, but I was also happy when later in the class we did come round to upper stuff – primarily overhead which I didn’t mind because I’m good with overhead – and we actually finished the class on abs before going into a cool down and stretch.

Overall I really enjoyed the class. Yes, it took some getting used to and it’ll probably take me a few goes before I feel really confident in knowing what I’m doing in terms of the weights to use, but I definitely will be going back! It wasn’t as cardio as I had expected it to be, but I liked that about it, and even though I went quite light with the weights, I am feeling it a little bit today so that’s a great sign that its working!

If you’ve been considering the class for a while, or are looking for a new class to start, I would definitely recommend BodyPump, and here are some tips for when you do:

  • As I mentioned earlier, definitely speak to the instructor before the class starts and let them know you’re a newbie
  • If you can, find a spot right in front of the instructor, or at least where you can clearly see them so that you can properly copy the moves they’re doing
  • Start off light, even if you think you can do heavier – I’m a confident lifter and would normally lift a lot more than I used, but I’m so glad I went light because I did still feel the burn
  • Enjoy yourself!

I’m on the hunt for other classes to try out so if you’ve got any recommendations then hit me up!

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The Danger of Influencers

This is a post that I’ve been thinking about writing for a long time now, but so many things have happened recently that I just can’t keep my mouth shut.

This week, Kim Kardashian has set the internet on fire with her Instagram post promoting ‘appetite suppressant’ lollipops. Now you don’t have to be a genius to read those three words and think wow what a joke, right?

Well, the problem is not everyone will think that. Celebrities and influencers all over the world have been promoting nonsense like skinny teas, waist trainers and now, it would seem, these ridiculous sweets for years now, and as much as I had to say this, they wouldn’t still be doing this if these companies weren’t doing pretty well for themselves out of it.

Unfortunately, these influencers have absolutely no regard for the danger caused by what they post. Their loyal fans, especially when the person has a particularly young fan base, will support anything they do, and often believe a lot of what they say, or at least want to give it a try themselves, and all that leaves is a whole bunch of people sat on the toilet regretting how much ‘skinny’ tea they bought once they realise that everything they consume is just making a speedy route through them.

But it’s also about more than just the products they promote. Last week a photo emerged on the internet of a ‘behind the scenes’ view of Charlotte Crosby’s Instagram post, in which she’s wearing a tight yellow leather skirt, and in the post she says this is from her new collection at InTheStyle, but the reality of said photo is that the skirt isn’t even zipped up at the back because it won’t.

So tell me how this is from her new collection if it doesn’t even fit her? Now I don’t have a problem with the fact that she can’t fit into whatever size she’s wearing – we’ve all been there – but what I do have an issue with is that you just know that website is gonna say something like ‘Charlotte wears a size X’ and women are gonna not only be believing that, but ordering based on that assumption, and as someone who has spent a lot of time lately crying over clothes that don’t fit, I hate to think about the number of people this could affect.

I get the whole making a living out of being an influencer thing, but I just wish that some people would have more sense to reject offers of promoting products that can be harmful to their followers. It’s not like Kim K has the body she has just purely thanks to lollipops and an overpriced neoprene corset..

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Why I’m Struggling to be a Fitness Blogger Right Now

Fitness is a big part of my life, and I’ve always tried to include that side of my life in this blog, but the keen-eyed regular readers would know that its been quite some time since I posted anything properly fitness related. I mean, I’ve done a few reviews, and a handful of retrospective posts over the last couple of months, but that’s been about it, and while I miss writing about a subject that plays such a big part in my life, I’m struggling for a few pretty good reasons.

I personally feel like the fitness industry itself is so massively flawed. We’re forever having ideas pushed upon us like fad diets, ‘skinny’ products, how we need to look like this celebrity or why those extra pound we’re carrying are the worst thing in the world, and I don’t believe in any of this.

I’m a firm believer that fitness and healthy living is for everyone, no matter how old you are or how much you weigh. I’m a firm believer that you shouldn’t be creating negative associations with certain foods because carbs are super important and some fats are healthy and the world is trying to convince you that the only thing you should eat is kale but you can absolutely have that pizza and enjoy it and not feel like you need to spend the entire next day in the gym hating yourself for it. I hate the terms ‘cheat’ and ‘treat’ and anything that suggests that enjoying life is unhealthy. I believe in body positivity and I cannot stand for ‘fat shaming’ or ‘skinny shaming’.

I don’t believe that the sole purpose of fitness is about losing weight or changing the way your body looks. I think that just wanting to get a bit more active, or become a little bit stronger is absolutely enough if that’s what you want to do. You can run that 10K and have the takeaway without having to justify it as something that you ‘earned’.

Its because I believe in all this that I’m finding the words so difficult to get out, because I would hate for anything I write to sound like anything I don’t stand for. I would never want anyone to think that I believed in or encouraged any of the damaging things that the fitness industry preaches, and I’d rather not say anything than say the wrong thing.

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Kayla’s Bikini Body Motivation & Habits Guide

Now I’ve never believed in the term ‘bikini body’ or ‘bikini body ready’ – for me, a bikini body is any body in a bikini, simples. I’ve also never really trusted these fitness influencers or Instagrammers as I’m very wary of some of the products and diets that they endorse, so when it comes to Kayla Itsines I’ve generally not paid much attention.

However, I saw this book in the supermarket the other week; Matthew pointed it out as we’re trying to keep healthy and active in preparation for our trip to Hawaii in April, and at first I kinda scoffed, but then I had a little flick through and noticed that despite the title suggesting otherwise, at least half of the book is recipes, and I’m a sucker for a good recipe book, so it ended up in our basket.

Spoiler alert, I’m now treating this book like my bible.

The book is actually so insightful. The first part talks about habits and motivation, and some of the psychology that goes behind it, and how you can combat the set-backs and hurdles that many of us face day in day out. I must admit that I haven’t read all of this as I’ve got a lot of other books and journals that I use for habit tracking, so I didn’t feel this was particularly relevant to me, but after this bit, the book gets really good.

The next section of the book is all about nutrition and meal-planning. I went into this with a pinch of salt ready to read things suggesting certain foods are really bad for you, or you should cut down on this or that, but there wasn’t any of that and I did a little happy dance. Everything written is informative, well researched and completely balanced, and the nutrition part covers everything from your basic food groups to micronutrients to non-dairy, vegetarianism and veganism, so it covers a pretty good range of dietary needs, but what I love the most about this book is the meal planning.

Now the book itself has a 4 week food plan, including 3 meals and 2 snacks every day over the 28 day period, so if you like to follow something by the letter, this is absolutely great – it even includes your weekly shopping list! However, if like me you struggle to stick to an exact plan day in day out, Kayla also includes an example meal plan, that is a guide of how many portions of what food groups you should be eating each day, and how you can mix and match these to suit. Did I mention how much I love this?

Also included is a big glossary of example foods for every food groups, and portion sizes, so if for example your meal is going to be 2 grains, 2 veg, 1/2 dairy/alternative and 1 meat/alternative, you can simply flick to the back of the book, have a look at what these could includes and make up a meal from there. This makes everything so flexible and easy, and there’s absolutely no calorie counting, or cutting out certain foods – its all about getting the portions and proportions right. Its a meal plan, not a diet.

The recipes offer so many options, and not only have you got every recipe for the 28 day meal plan, there’s also extra recipes that you can substitute in if whatever’s on the menu doesn’t take your fancy! All the recipes are quick, easy, and based on a single portion, which is great because I hate having a recipe designed for 2 or 4 people and having to go through and scale all the ingredients down. Oh, and there’s also a section at the back for desserts!

I have been following the meal plan, in my own way, for two weeks now and I’m already noticing a difference (along side my regular gym workouts and running). Some meals I haven’t changed at all from what I was eating before, but I’ve just got a better balance in what I should be eating and the size portions I should be having. Its so easy to break down every meal into groups, so all I count is the number of portions of each group I’ve had – absolutely no stressing over calories or not eating this or that. Most importantly, I feel so good within myself because I’m eating well.

The final section of the book is workouts, and you get a little 28 day workout guide poster that you can follow along with your meal plan – again, given that I go to the gym 4-5 times a week as it is and know my stuff quite well, I wasn’t so bothered by this, but it is a good little plan.

So while the title of the book didn’t endear me to it in any way, I guess its just proof that you can’t judge a book by its cover!

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Why Has ‘Fit Shaming’ Become A Thing?

No, that’s not a typo in the title.

I, for one, cannot understand the shaming culture that we have created. We’ve had ‘fat shaming’ and ‘skinny shaming’ and unfortunately we still see this unnecessary viciousness every day, but what has really shocked me in recent months is what I personally like to call ‘fit shaming’.

This is something that I have personally experienced for a little while now, but whenever a new year comes round, I see this increasing across the likes of Twitter, and this is the bizarre concept that people seem to think its okay to try and make people feed bad about trying to be healthy. Not trying to be skinny, not fad-dieting or specifically trying to lose weight, this is just the act of trying to live a vaguely healthy lifestyle by going to the gym every so often, making a healthier food choice every once in a while or just trying to be more active.

Are you as confused by this as I am?

We all know that one of the most common New Years resolutions is people aiming to be a bit healthier or get fitter. Whether you manage the whole year, or just the first day, I think its a great resolution to have, and I don’t think anyone should be made to feel bad about setting this goal, New Years or not. Despite this, though, the keyboard warriors of the world love to try and make people feel crap about it.

Me? I’ve been teased by people I work with. Yep.. Snide comments about the fact that I went to the gym that morning, laughing about the fact that I packed a salad or teasing me and other colleagues when we compared Fitbits.

WHY IS THIS A THING?

I don’t really care about people making stupid little comments, but I just cannot comprehend why anyone thinks there is anything shame-worthy about fitness. I mean, I don’t think anyone should be voicing judgement on other people’s personal choices and decisions, but of all the things I just do not understand this behaviour.

I’m just gonna say it louder for the people in the back: LET PEOPLE LIVE HOW THEY WANT TO LIVE.

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Things My Personal Trainer Has Never Said

As part of my regular fitness routine, I do two 30 minute sessions with a personal trainer every week. I train with Steph not because I have to but because I enjoy it; she is as much a friend to me as she is a trainer, and she has pushed me further than I could have ever imagined.

PTs may be considered by most as paid torturers, but not only do they train hard in the gym, in order to gain their qualifications they also have to train hard and gain an incredible understanding of the human body, nutrition and training techniques, so they do really know what they’re talking about.

I’ve been training with Steph for 2 years now, and with all the wisdom she has shared with me in this time, there are some things she’s never ever said to me..

‘You can’t eat *insert here*’

Sure, a lot of personal trainers double up as nutritionalists, and many do help their clients put together meal plans and diets, but what I love about Steph is that she has never told me that there’s anything I shouldn’t be eating. Like me, she believes that treats are ok and holidays are for pigging out, and it’s so nice not having a voice in my head saying ‘you shouldn’t be eating this, what would your trainer think?’. In fact, she frequently tells me about the things that she’s eating! At the end of the day, food is fuel and if you’re still training and keeping balance, that’s all that matters.

‘You have to eat *insert here*’

As well as never restricting me, she doesn’t dictate. I get to choose what I eat, and while she’s always more than happy to offer advise when I ask for it, she lets me take the reins and learn things for myself.

‘You shouldn’t lift heavier than..’

Before I trained with Steph, I wouldn’t pick up a dumbbell heavier than about 5-6kg, and now I won’t touch anything lighter. There’s nothing she hates more than the belief that women shouldn’t lift heavy weights, and the only time she would ever stop me from going heavier is if she felt I wasn’t ready or I could risk an injury.

‘Weight gain is bad’

About every 4 weeks we do measurements. This isn’t to make me feel good/bad about myself, it’s just to track my body, and while I do get on the scales, the number doesn’t matter to her. Primarily we look at change in my actual measurements, and if the scales do go up, I’m never made to feel bad about it.

‘You shouldn’t miss a training day’

There are mornings when I wake up and I don’t feel up for training, whether it’s cos I’ve had a bad nights sleep, I’m not feeling 100% or I’m suffering from an injury. I am never told that this isn’t ok. A big part of training is understanding my body’s needs, and if it needs time off then that’s fine, and in the same way I understand that sometimes she needs days off. Missing a day or a week isn’t the be all and end all.

‘You have to get smaller’

She understands that everyone has different goals, and that not everyone goes to the gym to drastically change their body. Sure, I ultimately would like to see myself get a bit leaner, but it’s more about getting fitter and healthier, and if I don’t see any change in my body when I’m doing that then who cares?

If a professional PT has never said these things, why should anyone else?

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‘Healthy’ Words and Phrases You Need to Rethink

When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, everyone is different, and that’s ok. Everyone’s body is different, and the fact is different things work better for some than others; its all about understand your body and finding what is best for you.

But when it comes to fitness and health, there’s something I feel very strongly about, and that’s people trying to do things in a way that isn’t healthy, and while it might not seem like it to some, the way we talk about food and fitness can be very unhealthy. What am I talking about? Well do you use any of these terms?

Cheat days

There’s an actual psychological term called the ‘what the hell’ effect, and this is actually used in relation to diet psychology. Essentially its the whole ‘oh, I’ve had one slice of pizza, I might as well eat it all’ thing that I bet we’re all too familiar with. Well the same thing tends to happen when people give themselves a ‘cheat day’.

More than that though, the unhealthiest thing about cheat days is they make us feel guilty. You’re allowed to eat whatever you like, and eating what you want to eat isn’t cheating – all you’re doing is creating negative association.

Guilt-free and guilty

On the back of cheat days, I’m tired of people referring to things as either guilt-free or guilty. I’ll say it again: YOU CAN EAT WHATEVER YOU LIKE and you don’t have to justify what you eat to anyone. Food is fuel, and your body needs fuel to function, end of.

Weight loss

No, I’m not saying that you can’t think about weight loss if you’re trying to be healthier, but weight loss shouldn’t be your only goal. I am fitter now than I’ve been in the last few years, but I also weigh more, and that’s totally normal because while I have lost fat I’ve gained muscle. So many people, women especially, concentrate far too much on what the scales say, and get down when they don’t see that number dropping, but what you really need to be looking at is how you feel and look at measurements rather than weight.

‘Skinny’

Nothing gets me riled up more than ‘skinny teas’, ‘skinny pills’ or quite frankly any use of the word in relation to a product or food item. Chances are these products are full of chemicals, or just full of something that’s just designed to help you poop your innards out, and there’s nothing actually healthy about them at all.

Calorie-controlled

Sure, there’s evidence to say that reducing your calorie intake can lead to results, but if you limit yourself to 1300 calories a day but are still eating junk, that doesn’t make it any healthier. Calorie counting can also become an obsessive behaviour, and that unhealthy relationship with food that I talked about earlier, plus not giving your body enough fuel to function.

For me, the most important part of staying healthy is keeping everything in balance. We all have good days and bad days, but rather than stressing ourselves out over the bad days, we just have to relax and accept that it happens every now and then. Mental health is just as important as physical health, they both go hand in hand and you have to put yourself and your happiness first, always.

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Improving My Sleep Habits

Sleep and I are fickle friends; its a love/hate relationship really. The fact is, I really cannot function without it, and while everyone says this, I am the kind of person that can rarely make it to midnight, and more often than not is in bed by 10pm, if not earlier. I am also a napper, and if I am tired and need sleep, it doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing, if my body decides its time to sleep, I probably will – I think my finest moment was falling asleep while standing on a train in Japan. Oh yes.

The hate part of my relationship is that sometimes sleep doesn’t like me. I can be a fairly vivid dreamer, and while some nights I’ll sleep like an absolute baby, other nights I’ll be awake on the hour every hour. I’m not an insomniac, I’m just fairly restless, and some nights actually feel more draining than they do refreshing and restful.

So I’m in the market for anything I can do to improve my shut-eye, and I’ve already identified a few changes that need to be made in the hopes that I can see some real progression, and from here on out, I’ll be doing my best to stick to these new habits.

Clearing the clutter

I have this awful habit of leaving things in my bed when I’m about to go to sleep. Chances are my laptop will be on there somewhere, and probably a notepad or two, plus my iPad and maybe even some clothes that I haven’t got round to putting away yet – no more! From here on out my bed will be a place for me to sleep and just me.

Not getting into bed until I’m ready

I also have this horrible habit of getting into bed as soon as I get in from work, fully dressed with a full face of makeup, grabbing my laptop and getting a bit of writing done before I go to sleep, or putting on Netflix for a bit. The problem with this is that I then rarely want to get back out, so sometimes I’ll end up going to sleep without taking of my makeup and sometimes even sleeping in whatever shirt I was wearing that day so I don’t have to get up and change. Yikes, right?

Now, while I still have no issue with getting straight into bed when I finish my day at work (so much more common now I’m working 12 hour shifts), I won’t do it until I’ve eaten dinner, brushed my teeth, getting fully changed and all makeup off. I’m even making more of an effort during this time to get everything for the next day out and ready for the morning!

Having actual pyjamas

As I mentioned above, pyjamas are a bit of a fluid concept for me. I do have them, but sometimes I’ve been known to just grab whatever comfy top I can find rather than using actual pyjama options. Yes, I do have a few t-shirts and tops that I still have designated as pj options rather than day-to-day wear, but I’m training myself to remember to reach for these instead of any old shirt I can find.

Setting a pre-sleep skincare routine

More than just remembering to take off my makeup before bed, I’m actually working on sticking to a proper skincare routine before bed: makeup off, cleanse and tone face, moisturise etc. As well as being so much better for my skin, its actually a great way to wind down before getting into bed, and a little bit of self-care goes a long way!

Reducing the number of screens I’m on

I can be that person who is on my phone checking Instagram while trying to write a blog post on my laptop and also Netflixing on my iPad in the background. I like to consider myself a multi-tasker but really I’m just overstimulating myself. Now I’m on 12 hour shifts, I’ve found that I’m not reaching for my laptop anymore as soon as I get home, so I’m trying to make it more of a habit to leave my laptop for my days off, and instead just watch a movie or plan blog stuff in my notebook in the evenings after work – which also helps towards not sleeping with a laptop in my bed!

Doing distracting jobs

I’ve written before about the strange things that are the only things that I can stay awake doing, so rather than being on my many screens right before bed, I like to mix things up a few nights a week by getting other things done, like cleaning my makeup brushes, sewing or writing to-do lists for the coming days.

I’ve been trying to do all these for about 2 weeks now and I feel like I’m already seeing small improvements, so here’s hoping for the best!

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My Favourite Lower Body Exercises

So despite starting the year with a promise of monthly fitness update posts, that literally only happened in January. Oops, my bad.

I’m a little bit ashamed to say I’ve yo-yo’d a bit this year. I started the year on a high, but various aspects of life have been challenging my fitness journey and this has led to inconsistencies and going backwards at times, and while I’m a little bit annoyed about this, there’s nothing I can do looking back on it so all I can do is move forward.

My gym recently went through a big refurb, and while it never looked back in the first place, it looks so much better now! We have new equipment, new areas and a new pink wall that I’m particularly fond of, and the update has done wonders for my motivation.

If you read my new fitness plan back in May, you might have seen that summer is the time when I tend to focus more on my legs as I’m not running as much (and hate running during summer heat), and these are some of my favourite workouts for my lower body at the moment:

Plyo Box Jumps

The most popular new piece of kit in the gym is our new PlyoSoft boxes, and while I’d always considered them to be torture before I’d actually used them, but now I’m obsessed! I start off on a 45cm, the quickly moved up to 60cm and now I’m on 75cm and I’m aiming for 90cm by the end of August. Its a great bodyweight-only workout and I’m already seeing results!

Bosu ball squats

Because squatting isn’t tricky enough at the best of times, I’ve now taken to doing them on top of a bosu ball.. While this might not seem too different to squatting on solid ground, you’ll be amazed at how many more muscles you get working while you’re trying to maintain your stability!

Donkey kicks

While it may seem very cliche gym-girl, I love donkey kicks, and all the different variations of them. I have a little donkey kick routine that’s my go-to on days when I’m focusing on lower body, and I will do it over and over until the backs of my legs are screaming just cos for some reason I really seem to enjoy it..

Wall sits

Wall sits are probably the easiest possible exercise for your legs ever, and its amazing how much you feel the burn afterwards. If my legs aren’t already knackered, I’ll try and get in a few minutes of a wall sit at the end of a workout just to push myself right to the end – and then probably fall down the stairs out of the gym.

Swiss ball leg raises

These are killer for both abs and legs! Gripping a Swiss ball between your knees/calves, then raising your legs straight up and down while lying on the floor; I’ll tell you now its a killer!

What are your go-to leg moves in the gym?

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Glass Slipper Camp – Tiana HIIT

Hey Glass Slipper campers, are you ready for another workout?!

This month we’re gonna mix things up a little bit with a HIIT workout, so get ready to dig a little deeper because this month its all about Tiana!

So what is HIIT?

It stands for High Intensity Inverval Training, and the basic idea is that you give it everything you’ve got for a set length of time, then rest for a short space, then go again. Push, rest, push, rest; you get the picture. The best way to keep to your timings on this is to download an interval timer app on your phone, and set it to beep at each changeover.

The best part about this workout is it requires no equipment whatsoever, so find yourself some space and let’s get going! I recommend starting off doing each exercise for 20 seconds, and taking a 10 second rest between each exercise. If this is quite comfortable, push yourself to 30 seconds on, 10/15 seconds off, and try and get in as many rounds as you can!

This workout is designed to focus on your legs, so be sure to stretch well once you’re done!

Burpee jumps

While I often consider burpees to be torture, they are a great exercise for working your whole body and getting your heart pumping!

Frog Hops

To get the full effect, keep your body low and stick your butt right out as you hop in and out. (Apologies for my weak left knee!)

Frog Jumps

Like with the frog hops, try and keep low and movements small. Focus on just tapping the floor with your fingers each time, but keep your chest and head up.

Lateral frog jumps

Imagine you’re hopping from lilypad to lilypad. Really push up from each jump to drive sideways, and be sure to land on both feet at the same time.

Squat jumps

Finish off the set with a round of power jumps! Squat low and push up hard, little frog princess!

Congratulations princesses, you’ve just earned yourself a discount code! Buy either the Glass Slipper Camp or KettleBelle tank top, and get the second for just £5! Shop here, and just use ‘FITPRINCESS’ at the checkout!

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My New Fitness Routine

I mean, I couldn’t stay at Muscle Beach forever..

In line with my post from Sunday, I’ve gotta get back on track with my fitness training. Having only just recovered from the jet lag, this morning was my first day back at the gym since before holiday, and although I did spend my holiday running a 10K and a half marathon, I’m definitely feeling the slump from a lack of workouts recently!

Now I’m a firm believer that the term ‘bikini body’ is a load of bull, and it really does grind my gears when health and fitness companies try to use the summer as a way to shame people into thinking they should be slimmer, but while my motivation has nothing to do with that, I do want to up my training heading into the summer months, for myself, my body confidence and no other reason.

Running

Personally, I hate running during the summer. I live on the beach and you’d think that would be perfect for running during the summer but I cannot stand it; it’s busy and the sun is glaring down and there’s no shade plus kids and dogs and bikes are everywhere. No thanks.

I also don’t do any big races during the summer, primarily due to heat, so I don’t have to worry about training too much, but I do want to maintain my consistency, so I’ll be aiming to do at least two runs a week – preferably a 5K and a 10K, just to keep myself moving and on form. I don’t see the point in pushing myself too much as I’m too prone to injury!

Gym

The gym is probably where I feel my most confident when it comes to fitness. I’ve seen such amazing progression that I don’t feel at all ashamed to say that I’m proud of myself, and I’m not stopping here. I’ll be aiming to visit at least 3-4 days a week, mixing both weight and strength training with some cardio options like spinning and rowing.

Given that I’m reining back my run training, I can get away with doing more leg training, as when I’m preparing for races I’m very cautious about what lower body work that I do, so I’ll definitely be stepping up with squats and lunges galore. My main focus has always really been upper body, especially my arms, and that will still be a big focus for me, but I also really enjoy finding more functional moves and workouts to get my whole body engaged!

Home Workouts

Where most people would probably have an area rug on their bedroom floor, I have my yoga mat rolled out at all times. I try not to waste precious gym time doing exercises that I can easily do at home, so evenings are the times that I generally do more calisthetics. I have both the Tone It Up and Blogilates apps on my phone, so I’m aiming to stick to the TIU daily moves every day, as well as one video by either K&K or one of my Blogilates faves.

I’m also hoping to fit some more yoga into my routine, both for strength and flexibility as well as time for meditation and relaxation, and praying I can master that forearm stand!

Fun Fitness

On top of everyday exercise, I’m hoping to squeeze a lot more fun into the summer months – Swimming, long adventurous walks, high ropes, trampolining, anything that’s a little bit different and a whole lotta fun really! If I’m enjoying myself and I’m being active then even better, right?

Do you mix up your fitness routine when summer comes?

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Rewarding Fitness

Rewarding Fitness

Seeing results along your fitness journey is a fantastic motivator – it shows that all that hard work you’re putting in is paying off, and who doesn’t like to know that?

Rewarding yourself for hitting little goals is great, but defining those goals can be a little tricky. If your goal is weight loss, then its fairly straightfoward, but if, like me, your fitness journey doesn’t necessarily mean that the scales will be going down at all – for example, if you’re trying to gain more lean muscle. With that in mind, I’ve been thinking about new ways in which I can define success so I can reward myself with some treats!

Personal bests

A PB is always time for celebration, so set yourself a target to work towards, like a time for a certain distance, or a weight, and use that as the goal!

Fitbit streak

Now I have a Fitbit again, I’m back on the addictive path of constantly wanting to meet my step and activity targets for each day, so I’m going to be aiming to hit those goals every day for a consecutive period (30 or maybe 50 days) and using every time I manage it, treat for me!

Measurements

While sometimes you won’t find the number on the scales dropping, you’ll often see a huge difference in your body itself. Take a few measurements – waist, hips, arms etc – and check them every so often. You can reward yourself when you see those numbers changing in the way you want them too, perhaps every inch or two!

Sticking to routine

If you’re aiming to hit the gym 5 days a week, or go for a run everyday, reward yourself every time you manage to do this successfully over a certain timeframe, a month, for example!

Getting out of the comfort zone

Instead of just treating yourself over long periods of time, try and do something different every once in a while, and treat yourself when you do. For me, these are the days were I go to the gym in a crop top or sports bra, because it always takes a lot of confidence to be able to do that.

Have a think about what might work best for you, and roll with it! Then comes the fun part: deciding on your rewards and treats! To give you some inspiration, here are some of mine for this year:

  • New yoga mat
  • A pretty new swimsuit I’ve had my eye on
  • New jeans
  • Treating myself to a nice lunch
  • Nice running headphones

Have some fun coming up with your treats – the better they are, they harder you’ll want to work towards them! Good luck!

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Getting Fitness Ready for 2017


Let’s face it, no matter how hard we try to keep totally healthy over Christmas, its never going to happen. There are Christmas parties, Advent calendars and desserts galore, and quite frankly, at the end of the year you deserve these treats.

And with the year coming to a close, instead of looking back on my fitness journey from the past year, I’m enjoying myself in the run up to Christmas, but also using this time to start preparing for the year ahead!

To kick myself back into gear for New Years, I’ve bought myself a new Fitbit – the Charge 2. I had a Zip, but unfortunately it went through the washing machine at the start of the year and slowly died as a result, and I’ve since gone the year with no tracker, so I figured it was time to replace, and while I did love my Zip, I think the extra features on the new Charge 2 will really motivate me to keep active and track myself better! I especially love that it can connect to my GPS on my phone for my runs, and also I’m intrigued to see my heart rate and also my sleep patterns!

I’ve also spent a lot of time scrolling fitness on Pinterest for new workout ideas and healthy recipes, as well as pinning loads of motivational photos. Pinterest is so packed of great stuff, and I’ve found myself using it more and more recently to gear myself up for an amazing 2017!

A new year also means a new load of races to prepare for, and as I’ve been fairly lapse in my training recently, I’ve been going back to ParkRun to slowly ease myself back into running. The great part of that is that its not been as hard as I thought, and while my pace is probably a bit slower than it has been for the last year, I’m not struggling at all and my stamina still seems to be fairly good. We’ve also been running to and from the course, turning the 5k into a 10k, which is halfway to a 1/2 so bring on next year and my RunDisney events!

I’m also loading my phone with fitness apps, like Tone It Up and Blogilates, so I’ve got access to more motivation, inspiration and daily workouts! I love that loads of these workouts are quick and easy, and need no equipment, making them perfect for doing first thing in the morning before work, or before going to bed!

Here’s to making 2017 the best year on my fitness journey!

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Airborne Fitness at Oxygen Freejumping

I’m a firm believer in fitness being fun, otherwise its just a chore, right? So I, quite literally, jumped at the chance to try out the latest craze of trampoline fitness classes at Oxygen Freejump in Southampton.

Oxygen Freejumping

Now I actually have a background in trampolining (which made me even more excited to try this out), as I did it from the age of 3 until about 15, everything from weekly training to regional competitions, but I was definitely a little out of practice when I took to the springs yesterday!

Oxygen Freejump

Not only was I lucky enough to try out this class, but I was also able to bring my friend Jess, so after an early morning drive to Southampton, which is about 30 miles away for us, we arrived early and had a coffee in the little cafe.

Oxygen Freejumping

I had no idea how big it was there! In my head I had pictured a big room full of trampolines, but there were actually a bunch of smaller sections, as well as the main freejumping area, and it was in one of these little side areas that our class was held. Before we could get onto the trampolines, we had to get a pair of special grippy socks, which were £2 (but you get to keep them for future use!) then we were lead through to the hall by our instructor, Tyler.

Oxygen Freejumping Airborne Fitness

There were 16 little trampolines making up the floor, one per person, as well as three walls of trampolines and a small strip in the middle which is where Tyler demonstrated all the exercises. As with all good workouts, there was a warm-up consisting of 30 second rotations of different exercises – high knees, star jumps, lunges etc – before we got into things properly, and by the end of the warm up I was already feeling the effects; it was hard work!

Oxygen Freejumping Airborne Fitness

An hour flew by! Although we had quite a few little much needed water breaks, I’m not really sure where the time went; we moved from exercise to exercise, some were solo, some were done in pairs, and exercise sets were broken up by jumping laps around the room. We did everything from planking to bouncing off the walls, and while it was hard work, it was so much fun! I don’t think I stopped smiling and laughing for the whole hour.

Its worth noting that while the class is held in a separate area to the other bounce sessions, there’s just a net between you and the other Oxygen users, so its not entirely private! Not a problem for me, but if you’re not keen on public workouts, this may not be for you. I’d also recommend bringing a water bottle with you, it gets hot!

The class is £10/session, but I would 100% recommend it to anyone looking for something a little bit different and I’d love to go back; if I lived closer I’d probably make it a regular thing, and I’d also love to give freejumping a go!

Have I inspired you to book? Use discount code HERO20 today to get 20% off at your local Oxygen Freejumping centre!

I was able to participate in this class free of charge in return for this review. All opinions are my own.
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#YearOfFit – Let’s Talk Fad Diets

This post is probably the one I’ve been most looking forward to writing so far this year. I’ve done a bunch of research and interviewed people and everything, and the reason I’ve put in so much work is because this is something I feel so passionately about.

Now before I get into things, I’m just going to say that while I’m not an expert/dietician/nutritionist, I’ve studied a lot of the areas that are involved in this topic: food science, diet psychology and human biology, so I’m not just sharing opinions here. I’m also going to be using my own terminology, so let me just explain that.

Fad, of course, just means something that’s popular for whatever reason, but I’m going to be discussing the main two different types of diet that people do: restrictive diets and lifestyle change diets. Restrictive diets are just that – purposefully cutting out or restricting the intake of a certain food type or group; think Atkins, Slimfast, juicing, fasting 5:2 etc. Lifestyle change diets are the ones where you aren’t necessarily cutting anything out, you’re just looking at your diet more carefully, maybe working on a point system for foods etc. These are your classic Weightwatchers or Slimming World style.

Ok, so I’m gonna start with restrictive diets.

You’ve seen your favourite celebrity drop from a size 14 to 6 in the blink of an eye and they’re putting it all down to this new diet. Naturally, you’re intruiged, and with summer just around the corner and the thought of your bikini looming, you figure why not give it a go, right?

All of these diets offer quick results – big weight drop in a short amount of time. Now this seems great, and short-term, sure, they’ll do the job, but I’m gonna let you in on a not-so-little secret: as soon as you go back to your regular habits, all of that weight is gonna come speeding back to you, and might even bring a friend, sometimes leaving you heavier than you were pre-diet. All of the people I interviews put some weight back on, and most put it all back.

The biggest issue with RDs is that you are denying your body, which is something you should never do. You NEED carbohydrates for energy. You NEED those good fats to protect your organs and maintain a healthy metabolism. You NEED protein to repair and grow. I could go on. Now your body can go a certain amount of time working just fine if you cut back, but after a while, you’ll start noticing that you’re not on your A-game.

Now everyone’s body works differently, and this is where the effects of these diets can differ hugely. Take my mum for example. A good few years back, my mum did LighterLife – a shake based diet – and was loosing a fair amount of weight. Woo, right? Well yeah, until she started to find her hair was falling out.. Lots of my interviewees experienced breakouts, some felt sluggish all the time, I could go on.

So apart from denying your body vital nutrients (which not all of them do, but still), there are mental ramifications to these diets too. By cutting certain foods out of your life, even if only temporarily, your brain will change the way you perceive this foods, and this will generally go one of two ways. First up, and this is more common with sweeter foods, it can lead to a ‘forbidden fruit’ mentality; you can’t have it, therefore you want it even more. Hello cravings. A ‘slip up’ here will normally result in a response of – and this is a genuine thing – the ‘what the hell’ effect; ‘you’ve had one Pringle, you may as well eat the whole tube’ thinking. This mindset is NOT HEALTHY.

Alternatively, and more dangerously, it can lead to certain food having negative connotations attached to them, and this is association is most common with carbs. You’ve been ticking along on Atkins just nicely, but someone brought home a pizza and you had a slice, and now you feel horrendously guilty and you’ll spend your whole day tomorrow on a cross-trainer in an attempt to ‘atone’. This mindset is NOT HEALTHY.

We’ll move onto lifestyle change diets.

No, these diets can’t promise you a drop of 3 dress sizes in 2 weeks, but the average member can expect to lose 1-2lbs a week, which is still pretty impressive.

Notice how I said ‘member’? Well that’s because all of these diets promote a community aspect, whether it be weekly meetings, online forums or just support from other members, and this community plays a really key part in the success of the diet. Sure, you don’t have to attend the meetings to see the results, but having other people with you doing the same thing can be a real help and motivator.

So why are these diets better for you? For starters, you’re still eating properly. Yes, you might be cutting back on certain things, indulging less and watching what you eat very carefully, but you’re still eating real, balanced food. Balance is important. You might be counting ProPoints, or syns or even just counting calories, but you’re making your own choices and staying in control. I call them lifestyle change diets because over time, you’re just developing better eating habits, and the more you stick at it, the more eating better becomes a part of your lifestyle. We’re talking being healthier for life, not just until summer is over.

Talking to some people who have done these diets, they loved how they never felt that they were missing out on anything and how easy they were to stick to, compared to RDs they’ve tried. Now my interviewees did still have some negative comments about these diets. For example, one person struggled with how liberal the diet was, and due to over-eating some foods didn’t lose as much weight as she felt she could have.

But really, after reading all this, do I even need to tell you what’s best? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a hundred times if that’s what it takes: eat right and live healthy and your body will reward you. It is, first and foremost, your body, and it can look however you want it to look.

Being healthy and happy is so important, please don’t forget that.

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#YearOfFit – Meal Prep 101

Be honest with yourself now, how many times a week/month/year do you say or think the words ‘ok, I’ll start eating better again tomorrow!’? Mmhm.. We’ve all been there.

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In reality, the trick to successfully maintaining healthy eating is all in the preparation. Just taking a few hours out of your week to get yourself organised will save you so much time, stress and slip ups, and you’ll feel like a superhero for being so on top of things!

1. Sort yourself out with the right containers

The right container can be different for different people. My collection of lunchboxes is incredibly varied, but are generally all cute and quirky because that makes me excited to use them. For some people, having matching containers is more important. Design is really a preference thing, but what matters is that they do the job!

There are also a bunch of really nifty lunchbox hacks – for example, I use silicone cupcake cases to split up my lunch!

2. Know your portion sizes

The most common mistake people make with healthy eating is incorrect portion sizes. Yes, you can eat veggies until your heart’s content, but sometimes there is such a thing as too much of a good thing! You can find so many portion guides on the internet.

3. Work with variations

Sure, a lot of people see meal prep as making a big batch of one thing for several days worth of meals, but I guarantee it won’t take long before you get seriously bored of your regular chicken and rice dish. Instead of doing this, I generally make batches of meal components, eg grilling chicken pieces, and then I can mix up my meals by using different sauces, a different salad mix, making a wrap etc. This way you can look forward to your lunch everyday, rather than feeling a bit blah.

I do, however, have my favourite meals that I could eat all day every day, so I generally throw them in every now and then!

4. Think about reheating

The dangers of reheating certain food items are fairly well known, but be sure to look up anything you’re unsure about – rice is a surprise high risk item!

5. Freezers are your friend!

I don’t know why a lot of people are so anti-frozen food; its such a good way to preserve food without additives! Supermarkets offer so many frozen products that you can just microwave now, making them ideal meal-prep ingredients!

Are you a meal prep pro?

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8 Things Becoming A Runner Will Change Your Outlook On

In 2015, I took on the official title of ‘runner’ as I spent the year training to go from total novice to half marathon distances.

 

Now I’m by no means a professional, or the fastest, or an expert, but I am a runner nonetheless, and I’ve said it a good few times now: we’re a strange breed. Once you start taking your training seriously, you suddenly find your views and feelings on certain

1. Injuries – for normal people, a sprained ankle or bad back are an inconvience, sure, but for a runner, every little injury is a total disaster. Suddenly you’re filled with thoughts like ‘how many runs will I have to miss?’, ‘this will totally blow my training schedule’ and ‘oh God, what if I can never run again?!’; its basically the end of the world until you recover a few days later.

2. Bad weather – heavy rain, gale force winds, sub zero temperatures? Quite frankly there could be an earthquake and you’d still be considering ‘just a quick one’. I mean, once you’re wet, you’re wet, you might as well keep on running, right?

(Once you’ve run a Tough Mudder event, you know you’ll never be as cold and wet as you were coming out of Arctic Enema so rain worries become obsolete)

3. New shoes – shoe shopping is fun, yes? Um, no. Choosing a new pair of trainers opens up a whole can of worms: are they supportive, are they too cushioned/not cushioned enough, do you like the colour, have you worn this brand/model before, will they rub, I could go on..

You also hate throwing out your old faithful running shoes because you’ve gone through so much together.

4. Fibre – we all know fibre is good for us, but a big fibre-filled breakfast before a long run is an absolute no go, unless you want to lose valuable time in a port-a-potty or searching for a bush to squat behind.. Save your fibre for rest days.

5. Cold showers – suddenly the thought of jumping into an ice bath can sometimes be the best idea EVER. You’re not crazy, you’re a runner..

6. Medals and t-shirts – when you signed up for your first 10k, you didn’t really care all too much about that finisher medal or unisex performance top that was included in sign up, but now you basically decide whether or not a race is worthy of your time based on the standard of the medal/t-shirt; you can run that distance anytime, anywhere, so why should you fork out cash for the privilege if the goodies aren’t up to scratch?

7. Summer – we wait forever for summer to come around, but once its upon us, we quickly remember that we hate running in the daytime, and suddenly it’s a mission to rework your training times around the sun’s movement, and that’s before having to think about extra hydration, chaffing etc..

8. Runners – yep, now you’re a part of this community, you’ve left all your previous misconceptions about runners at the door. Every runner is still getting out there and doing it, we don’t judge each other. We smile and greet each other as our paths cross, we share race stories and training tips, and if you don’t get on with someone? Well you can just trip them up..

So now, want to become a runner?

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#YearOfFit 2016

Welcome to #YearOfFit 2016!

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New-ish series, following on from my previous #fitfordisney posts last year, this is going to be all about keeping fit and healthy, and enjoying it!

Now I just want to start off by saying I am no personal trainer, nor am I a nutritionist or expert; I am just a girl who loves keeping fit. If you’ve followed me for the last year or so, you’ll know that I spent the whole of 2015 training up for the two half marathons that I ran at the beginning of this month, along with another 5k and 10k. I love going to the gym, and tend to do so 3-4 times a week. Long story short, I am really enjoying my fitness journey so far, and I want to share more of it with you, and would love for you to have your own journey this year.

Another thing I want to clear up before this series really kicks off – there will be no body shaming here. This is about fitness and health, not size, but also your body is your body, and it can look however, and do whatever you want it to. Skinny? Good for you! Consider yourself a little on the larger side? Great! Fitness and a healthy lifestyle looks good on everyone!

So what can you expect from #YearOfFit this year? Well I’m going to be writing a combination of fitness tips and advice, sharing some of my favourite workouts, and also covering diet, from meal prep advice to some delicious healthy recipes, and if there’s anything you’d like to see, get in touch!

So right now I want you to think about what you want to get out of your #YearOfFit. You might want to run your first 10k, you might want to take up a new hobby; whatever it is, write it down, take pictures, whatever, and please please PLEASE get in touch to tell me what you’re up to! I’m excited to see who’s going to be with me on this adventure this year!

Ready?

Let’s do this!

(Want a little head start? Read my previous #fitfordisney series for some of my older posts!)

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