Zombies.......RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

ok something a bit different for you today. I like most use Nike run or similar apps to help keep you motivated while out running and to generally track how far you have gone. This is great and a useful app with which you get cheers from you friends and can race yourself.
But yesterday I stumbled across something a little different, an app which motivates you in a far from traditional way ...................... by emersing you in a post appocalyptic world where you are running for your life from ZOMBIES!
Now I know some of you out there will be thinking this is a bit silly, however I was curious and thought the idea of running in a game intrigued me.
The basic idea is simple, you start a run and you are lead through an audio story (inbetween your own music playing) through various missions, all the while picking up items to help you along the way. However the way is fraught with dangers and every so often you hear the warning ZOMBIES RUNNNNNN!, the only way to evade the attack is to run faster!!! each attack lasts about a minute, if you are caught you loose some of your collected items.
Now ofcourse these are fake zombies and you wont die or suffer catastrophic injures if caught, however its suprising how the ever louder groans and quickening beeps motivate you to run faster...... (just be careful if you are running in towns)

Now I tried this out for the first time today, not really knowing what to expect so I turned it on picked my music and started my first mission. Immediatly the story begins to unravel in your ears, interspersed with your music. I was merely 5 minutes into my run when the first zombie attack occured and I RANNNNN like I've never run before in a training run with zombies breathing in my ears and warning beeps getting closer motivating me speed up even more before finally I managed to evade them. This aspect is great for me and probably many others as once out on a run I tend to settle into a bit of a plod.... I can go for miles I'm just not very fast so this aspect really will help me improve my sprinting and hopefully my speed overall.
Now I am yet to see how long this will keep me intrigued and todays run was just a short 5k to the gym, and somewhere along the way I accidently locked my screen (this will stop the app) which meant I didnt finish my mission or see any more zombie attacks. I believe there may have been 2 attacks in this mission and the missions I believe are all around 30 minutes long, as you complete a mission it unlocks the next and I'm guessing zombie attacks get more frequent as you progress....

But I guess im going to have to wait to see in my next run, luckily my mission is paused and I can start this up again on my next run which I actually cant wait to go out and do... so I'm guessing for now this app is working for me :-), I think trying it at dusk or in the woods on trail runs could make it even more eery!!! thats if you dare :-)

The price for this app is a little high, it had been on offer but now its reverted to its £5.49, but I think thats money well spent to give a little fun to what can be boring monotonous runs.

so for now.............. RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!

A Week in my training schedule

Hello all,

just a quickie today, just thought id let you all know how things are going. I can honestly say my inner gym bunnie is winning the war over my inner food monkey.
I am slowly regaining the time and the love for the gym and training. Im already into my 5th hour of training this week which feels great.
so from last Thursday heres a little peek into what i get up to :-)

Thursday = 30min swim, 30 minute spin
Friday = Long walk with Puppy (im at work all that day but pup comes with me and we go for a trundle around 5pm)
Saturday 5k Run
Sunday Rest day
Monday = 30 min Cross fit, 1 hr spin, and 30 minutes of weights
Tuesday = 1 hr spin 30 minutes boxing
wednesday = 1 hr tough cross fit training (1  mile run 2 k row x3 no rest)
and tonight it will be 45 minute swim 30 minute bike :-)

I know this isnt for everyone, but just trying to make your routine varied and intresting helps and doing the things you love which for me is spinning/boxing and cross fit (my new friend)

Hope you are all going well out there

keep going, eat well, train hard and reap the rewards.

Cross Fit

hello all, appologies again for the delay between posts life is a bit of a whirlwind at the moment.

However id like to spend a couple of minutes telling you about cross fit a new training system which is booming at the moment.

Crossfit is a great all round work out focusing on functional movements (things you do in real life) and cardio. A PT friend of mine was recently putting up his latest cross fit work out and it got me looking into it.

i found a great free app (crossfit daily) which gives you a new work out every day. Now some of these work outs will be too hard for novices involving pull ups etc however there are plenty we can all do.

i tried my first session out on monday involving 800m run, 50 sit ups and 50 back extensions then repeat 3 times no rest in between.

now with all cross fit the aim is to time how long it takes you to do the rounds with the aim to improve each time you do that work out.

Now when i did this session the first round was fine, the second ok and by the third i was beginning to feel the pinch... but you feel a great achievement after and with most cross fit work outs they wont require you to spend hours in the gym and many you can do at home.

After mine i had a good sweat on but then carried on to do 80 leg press, 36 bench press, 36, chest press and 36 row. I felt great.

yesterday i was teaching spin but tonight i have yet another cross fit work out to do, why not try it yourself at home:

3 rounds timed of:

10 burpees

20 squats (with or without weight)

30 sit ups

i will also be doing a 5 k run :-)

so go on, give it a go and see what you think.

ill keep you updated on my sessions.

Things that make me mad

ok so i know i have been on and off the radar for a while now but im still fighting the good fight.

To Summarise, Ive had a few issues with health which has now finally seemed to have come down to a very deficient me in Vitamin D (levels which are barely detectable). This has meant Ive been battling to maintain my fitness due to some of the side affects of low vit D which include muscle and bone pain and tiredness, not to mention the affect on the immune system which has meant it seems like Ive just had one bug after another over the last year. However all that aside im battling on and despite a weight gain over the year of 1 stone im am not to concerned as theres light at the end of the tunnel....... at least i now know im not going mad and there has been a cause to the various symptoms which i just couldnt conect the dots on.

anyway... now that i have filled you in on whats been happening with me on to my main topic which is Things that make me Mad!!!

Now obviously i blog about fitness and health but always try to remain objective and encourage a healthy balance but sometimes you hear people doing or saying things that just make you want to scream:

1. Fad Diets
2. LOW CARB!!!!!
3. Being a slim healthy size yet still saying you need to loose weight!!
4. as long as I count my calories its fine
5. I want to build tone but loose weight

ok so these are just a few of the things which make me mad but they are all very common themes i hear day in day out being discussed by people in the gym

Fad Diets - as I've said and will always say moderate what you consume but do not cut out/replace or overly restrict. if a diet is telling you to cut out one of the main food groups steer clear. we are omnivores for a reason and need every (Natural) food group to help sustain healthy bodies and minds. the worst in my mind is the NO CARB diet..... Carbs are our most important and basic form of energy resource they are not bad as long as you stick to natural unprocessed forms (remember if its white its more than likely processed... nothing but coconut in nature is naturally white)

OK now im all for being aware of what calorie intake you have had in a day..... its obviously a simple equation energy in - energy used = energy stored. But i am not keen on diets which allow you to eat anything as long as you count it..... for example its ok if i have a mcdonalds today as long as i eat nothing else!!! NOOOOO a mcdonalds as a treat if you really want it (and ask yourself if you really do) is fine but please learn not only to be aware of calories but also which foods are healthy choices, and which should be avoided such as highly processed meals/snacks or treats.

Now on to those you here in the gym discussing the fact they cant understand why they arent loosing weight (you look and see a slim toned normal person and wonder what the heck have they got to loose? a butt cheek?)....... ok now when you are carrying excess weight you can slim and tone up at the same time.... however if you have reached the normal to lower levels of your weight range and you are doing a significant amount of muscle building/toning excercises.... well im sorry you are unlikely to loose much weight its known muscle is heavier than fat and you may even put a few pounds on (good pounds) but you will find your shape changes........ GUYS PLEASE STOP OBSESSING ON WEIGHT AND CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK TO LOOKING AT HOW YOU LOOK OR FEEL....... DO YOUR CLOTHES FEEL LOOSER? YES? THEN GREAT!!!!!! WHO CARES IF THE SCALES SAY YOUVE LOST NOTHING.

At the end of the day people we all make mistakes we all have bits of us we dont like, but please start to be happy with who you are, dont follow trends or new celeb diets or take those models in the magazines to be ideal examples.... just learn to make healthy choices, live energised lives and treat yourself every now and again....... after all we are all meant to be different... imagine how boring life would be if we all looked the same.

Rant over

loving autumn running

ok so maybe its not most peoples idea of fun, and ive gotta admit often I have a full on argument in my head with myself to get that motivation to go out in the cold and run, but once I'm there its really quite peacefull and it feels great to be reclaiming my own time and along with it my own body.

You will all be pleased to know i kept to my word and despite only taking the tiniest 4.5 kilo rucksack with me on holiday to portugal i managed to get in there my trainers and running gear........ oh yeah now your impressed lol... well thats the dedication im putting into myself im determined to shift this bit of weight ive put on this year and get back on track.

Im beginning to slowly but surely get my feel for running back, ive recently downloaded a personal running trainer ap which has a 16 week marathon program on it. so i started it this week (i know winter .... hummm maybe not the best timing.... looks like ill be running in the snow) and although i think 16 weeks may be a bit optamistic im going to follow the program and if one week feels a little tough i will just repeat it then move on ....... but you never know i may surprise myself and do it in the 16 weeks.

So roll on a winter of running, of wooly hats and foggy mornings, of crispen air and frosty footprints.... whatever the season may bring im ready.

ooops.................

Ok so as you all know i have battled for many years with my weight but finally triumphed in loosing over 8 stone and becoming a Personal trainer and fitness instructor.

Well now to the oops................

 early this year i was working in my full time job as a venue manager fo nottingham Trent as well as working between 10-20 hrs as a PT and fitness instructor this meant a total average working week of 60-70 hours. This was fine but training myself was getting tough to fit in but i was just about managing..... but then.............

I fell in love i met my current partner in early january and suddenly i needed to fit someone else in to my life.
As with all relationships early on came the dating.... the eating out, the drinking.... the lets have a takeaway night in etc etc................

initially work stayed the same, so what lost out you may ask? well my training schedule did and as a result so did i.

Everyone says with love comes a belly........ :-) initially mine didnt the high work load and running about kept the weight off, but soon i became run down i did not have enough time for everything. not only this but my already hard hit training schedule was dealt more blows and i was just too run down to train as i always have.

what happened you may ask? well i was happy and initially my muscle mass kept my metabolism high so i didnt see too many adverse effects, however with the low training i soon lost muscle mass and with that came the belly....

i am ashamed to say i have put on just over a stone ooooops

so what do i do? well i soon decided my health and happiness were more important than my work or bank balance and even my clients (what kind of role model am i if i put on weight) so This has meant i have now come to the decision to stop Personal training (for the moment) and just teach my tri club and spin classes with effect from the end of this month.

this means i have now regained some me time, yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

i am happy as larry, very much in love but also very ready to banish this belly back to where it came from!!!!

so i appologise everyone for falling of the blogging wagon, but i hope you can see why, and i also hope this shows all of us fall a little now and again but as long as it is recognised and a plan put in motion to stop it in its tracks then we will win

Fat mairi will not get her claws back into me!!!!

watch this space for updates on my progress...

P.S im even taking my running shoes on holiday with me next week :-)

Pole Dancing Mahem

ok so there are many fitness crazes out there, some are worth more than others, i have in my time tried a fair few.....

Zumba this is a great fun work out and good cardio altrernative to aerobics...; however for me who is never the most graceful it wasnt one i chose to continue

Body Bar, i love body bar its brilliant for building strength and tone but some find it a little scary and think they will all come out looking like arny (not the case unless you want to) but i understand for some just as Zumba was for me its not their choice.

Power plate.... ok not my favourite and often used wrong (guys if you just sit or stand on it the fat is not going to magically melt away!!!) but can be good for incorporating into core strength excercises and also helps to relax muscles after a workout

and many many more ...boxercise (LOVE IT), pilates (good for core strength), belly dancing (not personally tried but good for core im told), etc etc etc

However my new found fun and great strength and core work out is.............................................

POLE DANCING..... yes i did say it pole dancing

I love it.. im not yet very good but its a great mix of fun, overall strength building, toning and core... its the whole package... and when your good at it you can make a work out look not only impressive but sexy too!

i have currently had 3 lessons, now ladies i warn you there will be some bruising involved but i am told this eases with time, and you will be initially shocked at how hard it actually is... but it is also a lot of fun once you get over the intimitation of swinging around a pole (somewhat ungracefully at first)

i can now do a fire man swing, a back swing, a chair swing and almost a carosel to chair swing, as well as climb the pole (ISH), hold my own body weight in some slightly graceful positions and im now starting to try some pole sits (sitting half way up the pole only using legs to hang on :-)

its amazing to watch our instructor Kat from Pole kat Fitness nottingham ... there are things she can do that even those so called strong guys in the gym wouldnt have a hope in hell of...... one day i hope to do the same, but meanwhile im crying out to have my own pole so i can train at home and not just have one lesson a week as for me upper body strength has always been my weakness and this will help as well as giving me great tone and killer abs woop woop

so if you have a class near you get out there and give it a whirl...... and if someone is taking photos for you be prepared for pain when they ask you to hang on just as you were about to get off!!!!!