Fitness

August Intentions

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August Intentions

I know I’m a little bit late in posting this but anyway here are my intentions for August! As always I have a mix of lifestyle, food, fitness and education goals in here.

Meditate more

I downloaded the headspace app awhile ago I got really into the first cycle of it doing the 10 minute every day. I was doing it in the morning found that I kept falling asleep! So instead of being a sensible person and moving my meditation later in the day I just stopped. My whole morning routine has changed quite a lot recently so I’m going to try and give it another chance in the morning if that doesn’t work and then move it to later in the day.

Yoga flows

As I mentioned my morning routine has changed and it has allowed me the time to do quick flow every morning which I have been doing and I have been loving. When I do these flows I typically follow Cat Meffan on YouTube, but this intention is to start doing my own flow. Really finding what feels good for me and what my body is needing.

Lunchtime reading

Since starting my new job I haven’t really had a proper lunch break, I tend to eat my lunch sat at my desk and continue working, so this intention is to step away from my desk at lunchtime and to start reading, I have a massive list of books I’d like to read I’m not getting through them and I have no time to read.

Lifting

I’ve started back at the gym and have started to include weights into my training plan and I’m loving it –  although the pain in my legs are telling me otherwise!! This intention is to keep lifting and to keep progressing with the weights. It’s really easy to get stuck doing the same thing and lifting the same weights – but I’m determined not to do that.

What have you set out to do this month?
 

Race Plan

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For those of you who don’t know, I work for a sports events company! We organise triathlons, duathlons and half marathons! This weekend was our biggest event of the year, the Outlaw Triathlon! Which is a 2.4 mile swim, 112mile bike and 26.2 mile run! 

Now I am not saying that watching the athletes take part and cross the finish line has inspired me to complete an outlaw, but it really has inspired me to get back to training and entering events.

I know it sounds cheesy but watching people who have spent months and months training and preparing their bodies for the event and finally crossing the finish line is really inspirational. Even though they all look like they’re in agony it really made me want to push myself again and have that feeling.

So far I have completed the London marathon, the Humber Bridge half marathon, a couple of 10k’s, a few 5K’s, and two sprint triathlons. 

I would love to do another half marathon, and as many triathlons as I can! I am actually quite tempted to increase the distance and try to complete a standard distance tri.

So, with that in mind I’ve got a little bit of research to see what races are left this year and at the start of next year. This is what I found:

https://www.thehullmarathon.co.uk 

http://www.tape2tape.co.uk/events/gruesome-twosome/

https://www.sportsystems.co.uk/ss/event/LunacyRun

https://racebest.com/races/gunpowder-plot-10km

I would like to know what you’ve got on your Race calendar for the remainder of the year  and what you’d like to take on next year

Abs Abs Abs!!!

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Flexbody

Lets be honest, we all want better abs or even some abs in my case!! 

For the most part I eat well and I exercise a fair amount, but I know I could always do more to get the dream abs! I have seen the advert on tele where Cristiano Ronaldo is wearing the stick on machine creating his mega abs I have to admit I never really thought it would do anything, especially not make me have abs like him!

So when I was asked if I would like to test one out I was well up for it. It would make mind up if they would work or not and if they did, I would have crazy abs! Win Win in my head! 🙂 

Looking into these Flexpads I noticed they were not just for working on your abs game, but they can be used for sore muscles and building strength in areas which you might normally struggle. The pads use Electrical Muscle Stimulation which can enhance maximum strength, aid in muscle recovery, support rehabilitation, generates 30% greater maximum muscle contraction through involuntary activation. I have quite a few issues with my neck and shoulder so was really excited to try it out and see if it could help me at all. 

I received the combination pack which had the Flexabs and the Flexbody in. The Flexabs is the bigger batman 6 pack looking pad and has a small control panel on the from and two gel pads that help to conduct the electrical pulse and stick them onto your skin. The Flexbody is the smaller pad with just two pads either side of the control panel. 

Each one has an on and off button which works as the dial for the intensity, and a mode button which gives you the choice of which patterned you would like. They are both really simple to attach and use and really allow you to use them as you want, if you want to be doubled over in pain with it, you can! 🙂

The information you get with it and their website show people wearing them whilst doing exercise. Now not only do I think this isn’t a good idea as it would hurt a lot, my wouldn’t stick on full to be able to move a lot, I typically sit on the sofa for the 20 mins whilst it is doing its magic!

I have got into a really good routine of using it every morning but missed using it for the past week due to being away with work. I had started to see some progress with how my abs were looking and how much better my neck was feeling, so I am 100% going to get back into using it regularly and show you if there is any difference! 

**This product was gifted to me, but the photos and opinions are my own! 

Running Life Sign Off

Planned it!

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So my holidays and busy weeks and weekends I have really let my fitness go to pot! I feel very uncomfortable in my body and although I know I don’t need to go on a diet and exercise to loose weight, but I would like to get back feeling happy in my body again.

There is a local gym where I live which has a gym and a swimming pool, there are also a few courts that you can hire out for racket sports. So I have decided to join it! It will cost me £30 a month so I have set a plan out to make sure I get the most of my time at the gym. 

I have always loved swimming so will be getting back into it as often as I can, I will also do a mix of cardio and weights. My commute is just over an hour each way, so when I am working in the office I don’t get home until  after 6 and I work at home a few days a week. I think saying I will do a minimum of 3 sessions a week is a reasonable target.  This is my plan:

Session 1: Arms & Abs

Session 2: Legs & Abs

Session 3: Cardio & Abs

I am also going to try to swim and do yoga as often as I can and also would like to do a game of badminton or squash at least twice a week! 

 

I would love to hear what you have on your plan to keep you on target…

Making it H”App”en

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Staying fit and healthy would be so much hard without a little bit of help – I don’t pay for a trainer or a nutritional advisor but I do use a lot of Apps to keep me motivated and on track. 

So I thought I would write a little post about the main ones I really couldn’t without:

TomTom My Sport

I have a fitness tracker watch, which I wear all day everyday, except when I need to charge it! and this has an app on my phone which allows me to see everything from the watch. It tracks my daily steps, my heart rate, how many calories I have burnt and things like that. When I go for a run, bike ride or a swim the watch will also track that and log distance, pace, elevations and a map of the route. 

The watch connects straight to my phone so I can see exactly how things are progressing. 

Calm/Headspace

I am pretty new to the meditation world, but I am really starting to enjoy it. I started using the Calm app which I would simple breath with. It encouraged you to take a big breath in and hold it for a second and then let it out. It is so simple but it really does make you feel so much better if you are having a moment. 

The Calm app also has a few other features which include stories to help you sleep, sounds to help you relax and a meditation course where you are talked through different sessions. The free version allows you access to quite a few sessions, but you can pay to gain access to all of them. I only have the free version and think it is really good and more than adequate. 

I have also just started to use the Headspace app, this app is helping me learn to mediate. So far I am on session 7 of the take 10 series. This is a series which encourages you to take a little time each day to stop, breathe and allow your mind to accept thoughts, sounds and distractions but to bring your focus back to the breath, This is an app that you have to pay for but if you have a premium Spotify account, you get one year free.  

YouTube

I know this isn’t just an app, but I love YouTube and I really do use it all the time for workouts and watching my favourite foodie and fitness vloggers. 

Clue

This is a bit of a weird one, typically people use a cycle app when they are trying to get pregnant – and that is certainly not what I use it for!! I really like being able to see how I am feeling on in the run up to my period. 

What apps do you use to keep you motivated and on target?