In my last blog I said that I was extremely positive for the coming weeks and here’s why. This week not only did my runner’s world magazine turn up so did my muscle and fitness hers magazine! Both magazines are full of great training ideas, inspirational stories and great facts!

I have already earmarked a number or articles in both and am psyched  to start a new training program next week following the ‘Home for the holidays article’ from Muscle and Fitness hers.

The article focuses on training 2 body parts 4 days a week and 2 days of cardio. Over the summer I’ve focused a lot on running and weight training has taken a back seat with only doing one session a week all over body workout.

So the workout which is shown by Ava Cowan, team Gaspari IFBB figure professional, is great when you are limited to time! This is definitely something I am finding lately.   The workouts can be done at home or the gym and all the sessions can be completed in less than 20mins! Perfect!

Workout Splits

Monday: Back, Biceps

Tuesday: Chest, Triceps

Wednesday: Cardio

Thursday: Shoulders, Abs

Friday: Legs

Saturday: Cardio

Sunday: Off

I am definitely following this plan the next few weeks, and really putting some focus into each body part, the only change I would make is to include more cardio! I’m hoping I will notice some difference in the coming weeks!

Food Diary

This week hasn’t turned out quiet the way I wanted.

Unfortunately I havent followed my training plan due to work and being sick!

However I feel extremely positive about the comings week and my healthy eating! Although I haven’t lost any of those 6lbs, I do feel that I have become more conscious of my eating and to help I’ve started keeping a food diary!

Keeping a food diary is great for anyone watching what they are eating I find that it definitely helps to keep me on the right track. When craving naughty snacks I am stopped by the fact that I will have to document it in my food diary. It also helps to identify patterns, i.e. at what times of the day do you crave chocolate or cake!

So heres a peep at my food diary

Friday 29^th October

On waking: Pint of water

Breakfast:  Omelette with red onions and Mushrooms. 1 Cup of black coffee

Snack: Pear

Green tea

Lunch: 2 Bernard Mathew’s chicken drumst icks with salad and glass of innocent smoothie.

Snack: Grapes and Hand full of peanuts

2 Pints of Water and green tea

Dinner: Cous Cous with mincemeat and salad

Green tea

So it’s not perfect, but hopefully over the next few weeks I will improve and start to prepare and cook my meals. Over the last year I have become lazy with preparing meals and therefore I generally eat foods which are easily prepared or go out for breakfast, dinner or lunch.

I will keep my food diary for the next few weeks and see how I get on! The blog will definitely be updated with any pounds I am successful in losing.

New Week New Plan!

Last week was all about being healthy, although I stayed away from naughty snacks in the week, I once again over indulged on the weekend. So this week I will be trying harder! Over the last 6 months I've put on 6lbs, none of this has been down to lack of exercise! Instead it’s all over eating and over indulging! Although once in my life I lost 3 stones, the journey which brought be to this stage of my life, I am now struggling to discipline myself again. Each slice of cake is eaten with the thought ' ill burn it off tomorrow' each rich meal is consumed thinking ' I only live once.' But it’s after when the jeans have gotten to tight and the scales scream out a number I haven't seen for years that the cold sweats begin! For the last couple of months I've tried find an excuse other than I'm over eating such as its down to stress and emotional baggage, which probably are all reasons for me to over eat but not the reason for weight gain! I have the discipline to the exercise each day, I now need to focus on what I put in my body! So here begins the journey to lose 6lbs! I really hope by the end of the year I succeed although I have no idea where to begin! I'll share insights into my food diary good and bad throughout the week!

 A small update on last week was that although I hit the plan and even went to spinning on my rest day, I had a disaster of an Friday and did not manage to get to the gym! Saturday changed to a rest day and yesterday I was able to hit the pavement, running a fast 6 miles. Unfortunately it wasn’t the 10 miles I was hoping for, but I had limited time.
Monday : Rest
Tuesday : 10k Run
Wednesday : Interval training + Body Pump class (taster)
Thursday : Cardio
Friday: PT
Saturday : Rest
Sunday : Long Distance Run

Enjoy your week!

Coffee after my workout

I’ve fallen into a bit of a habit that after my morning workouts I grab a (free) coffee and drink away as I get ready for work. (Thank you to Nuffield Health Gym in Reading for offering a free cup coffee in the mornings!)

Until joining Nuffield’s health gym I wasn’t much of a coffee drinker and would drink 2 cups a week if that. But now I look forward to my after workout coffee, I’m not sure if it’s because of the taste or because I’ve worked out and my body appreciates the caffeine! But as I drank my coffee Monday morning I felt guilty, I’ve always tried to be healthy and avoid eating or drinking things which do not offer nutritional gains, especially straight after a workout!

So I’ve done some searching and found one study which was tested on a handful of people a few years back. The study looked into the affects of having caffeine combined with carbohydrates after a workout vs. carbohydrates alone. And the results were in my favour of drinking coffee after my workouts!

Apparently drinking a cup of coffee after your workout helps to refuel your muscles and speed up recovery! Which for all those fellow fitness freaks out there is really important, because daily intense workouts really can sometimes become hard and I hate missing workouts simply because my body hurts! (In moderation of course, I understand rest is essential also but there is a balance, and I don’t like to use the ‘I’m resting excuse’ too often as it sometimes is a lie)

The science behind it all.

Glycogen is the muscle’s primary fuel source during exercise, as it is immediately accessible. Glycogen is formed from excess glucose stored in the muscles and liver from carbohydrates you have consumed. This would explain the need to carb load before a big event to stock up on glycogen energy.

This energy supply can last from 30 – 90mins, obviously this will depend on the intensity of the work out and the Glycogen levels. Therefore for people who train daily it is important to keep levels toped up.

So how does drinking coffee fit into all this? Well by consuming this one cup of coffee (caffeine) you muscles glycogen levels are restored quicker.

But points to note are that drinking excessive amount of coffee is not good for you, everything in moderations, hence my one cup 4 times a week seems acceptable.

Since Monday I have trained every day, having done 2 spinning classes, 10 miles running and a 1hr 45min personal training session, I was surprised today how well I am feeling and how much my body has been able to sustain. Is this the coffee I wonder? Most weeks I manage 3 intense days worth of exercise and by the 4^th my body is extremely sore and my legs will no longer run or spin, however I was shocked this morning in Spinning where I was able to push myself as hard as I did at the beginning of the week!  I think next week I will have an no coffee week and see how I get on!

‘You’re not supposed to eat before spinning!’

I went along to spinning again today and it was great, I can start to feel my fitness levels rising in spinning and the ability to push myself harder as the weeks go by. As my fellow spinners chatted away about work, home, people they knew, I heard a comment which I thought ‘really is that true?’

I left the class a little intrigued and thought this is something I really need to look into! So the comment which you may have guessed (from my title) was ‘You’re not supposed to eat before spinning!’

I wonder if this is true. The first explanation that came to my mind was it mustbe  because you could be sick while spinning! I never eat before my morning workouts and that’s simply because I have no time to eat and then let my breakfast settle.

So here are some points I’ve found from my reads this morning!

-          By doing spinning in fasting mood you can burn more body fat vs. having eaten in the last two hours. The science behind this is that your body will have low blood sugar (carbohydrates) to fuel spinning, therefore you will dip into your fat stores a lot quicker!

-          Avoid eating an hour before the class as it can make you nauseas and also the feeling of being full. I’m sure this is the last thing you want while you are doing seated and standing hill climbs.

-          Have a carb and protein meal an hour or two before the class. Which I believe is okay if the class is in the evening, but it does become a bit difficult when the class is at 6.45am.

-          If you feel you must eat something before a class try one of the below snacks, they should provide the energy you are looking for. Below are some examples of snacks you can try.

o   Oat cakes with peanut butter,

o   Banana,

o   Yogurt,

o   Granola bar/ muesli bar

o   Energy drink

-          Make sure you have drunk enough water, especially if the spinning class is first thing. Remember you body has gone without water all night so you will naturally be dehydrated upon waking. Can you imagine going through a spin class and not having drunk any water!

I would say though every individual is different and until you’ve tested your body out you won’t know if you’re suited to eating before spinning or not.

From my own personal experience i find that I train better first thing without having eaten anything so i am in a fasting state, although I must drink a pint of water upon waking. However if I am exercising after work I do find myself snacking on fruit or a muesli bar 45mins before I go to the gym, without it I’ve noticed my performance does suffer.

So are you a faster or eater?

High Visibility this Winter

I was about to write a post about running , and my achievements and the last few years. But as I began to type I thought about how dark it is now in the mornings and I really need an high visibility running Jacket.

Over the last year my running has progressed and as the dark mornings have approached I have decided that it will not stop my morning runs! Hence 6.30am Monday morning i was on the roads of Reading pounding the pavements! Obviously i want to remain safe and seen by oncoming vehicles so i went on the hunt to find a suitable jacket! 

High-visibility clothing is the way forward with so many bright reflective colours available from a number of brands; runners have nothing to worry about! For me it’s important to be comfortable, dry, warm and for the outfit to look good!

Sweatshop currently has some great deals, especially if you’re not looking to spent a lot, which currently I’m not!

This is my favourite of them all!

This Ronhill jacket can be found in Sweat shop and along with it you also get Ronhill Beanie, Glove set and snap band and LED light for £60! With a hood and fleece lined collar, your guaranteed warmth and protection as the weather gets colder. This is defiantly in my basket to purchase

If you’re looking for a bargain then the Karrimor range is great! This jacket is only £18 and will definitely keep you safe while out running in those dark mornings or evenings.

Brooks and Saucony also offer this range of clothing although being a big fan of pink these won’t be my first choices, but they are definitely value for money! And do the job they set out to do! The orange Saucony jacket comes with an USB LED and micro fleece hat and glove set for £80! I’m extremely excited now, can’t wait to purchase my jacket with the LED light, finally I won’t have to dodge cyclists and cars any longer!

Focusing on the week ahead

I feel a little rubbish today! The week started off really well, with me sticking to this week’s training plan, and extremely excited about my blog. So many thoughts running through my mind that I couldn’t wait to write about! However work took over, allowing me no time to write about training and tips I had!

Thursday I dragged my friend out for a 10k run, having moved my personal training session to Friday (which I’m still aching from.) Yesterday I skipped my run, telling myself I would go today!

Now I’m sitting here, feeling a little disappointed for not getting myself outside and going for run! I could go now, but I just do not have the motivation... I have lot of admiration for my trainer and best friend who regardless of how they feel and work load they rarely skip their weekend runs! What’s wrong with me my mind screams....  I won’t make excuses, I am being lazy! As a result I’m lacking inspiration and not sure what to focus this post on! All the great thoughts i wanted to share have disappeared!

So instead of getting too down, I’m focusing on the coming week, with my plan already written out. My main focus of my coming week will have to be what I eat. Since my birthday in July I have been over indulging in a lot of non healthy snacks. This week I have a pat with my trainer that no cakes, chocolates, biscuits or crisps will be eaten! It will be interesting to see how challenging this will become and if I will be able to overcome the cravings.

Training Plan for the week ahead.... (This plan I intend plan to stick with!)

Monday: Run (to make up for the one I missed this weekend)

Tuesday: Spinning and Abs

Wednesday: Personal Training

Thursday: Rest

Friday: Interval Training and Weights

Saturday: 10 miles

Sunday: Rest

Spinning

So this morning I woke bright and early, if that’s what you can call waking up at 5 am, and headed to the gym. The spinning class at Nuffield’s health club begins at 6.45am, however to avoid disappointment and not getting a bike you do need to be at the gym by 6.30am. It’s a very popular class and has roughly 20 bikes which are always filled. The classes run on a first come first serve basis!

I’ve only just recently started spinning again with a gap of 3 years. I was somewhat a spinning fanatic doing about 7 classes a week, but now I think 1 a week is sufficient.

I think spinning is great; it is an intense cardio workout where you can definitely get the most out your workout. Spinning classes are instructor led cycling done in a fitness studio, where individuals control resistance and speed of their bikes. The instructor will go through a number of routines which is usually in sync with the music. Routines will vary incorporating hills and speed, some of the extreme instructors will have you doing push ups on the handles and squats as you pedal!

Benefits of spinning

1)      Burns calories and lots of them! A 30 min session can burn up to 500 calories.

2)      Low Impact. Unlike Running and other aerobic exercises spinning keeps pressure of knees and feet!

3)      Motivation. How many times have you come to the gym only to head home in 30 minutes without breaking a sweat? What I find about spinning classes is that you have nowhere to hide, with everyone else in the class pushing themselves you too are spurred on to push yourself.

4)      Strength building. A great thing about spinning is that you are also building strength in your legs. My reason to take up spinning again was too alternate between running days, but I still wanted a workout where I knew my running would not suffer.

5)   Varied routines so you will never feel bored.

So as I walked into the class this morning, and no one had yet arrived I thought great, I can choose any bike! Well I was wrong, majority of the bikes had already been claimed with towels, water bottles or a jacket being placed on the handles. This made me laugh! Is this the case because people like certain bikes and place in the class? I know we are creatures of comfort and do not like change but isn’t claiming your spinning bike 15 minutes before the class begins a little too extreme?

As the class began I was still half asleep, wondering why I wasn’t in my nice warm bed. The instructor began the class with a warm up and stretches, and then it was straight into the workout with consisted of speed and hill training. The routine was in sync with the music, and the class was broken into seated hills, seated sprints, standing climb and hill/ sprints alternating. By the end of the 45mins my legs were burning and I was definitely worked!

You can only get out of spinning what you put in! So if you shy away from increasing your resistance and are pleased that the instructor never noticed it’s only yourself you are cheating! The instructor still gets paid regardless, so make the most of the class and really push yourself!

I have heard many people avoid spinning because they do not think they are fit enough! I find this concept strange; surely the only way to get fit enough is to start attending a class. My tips are to ignore the others around you and just focus on yourself. Everyone is too busy pushing themselves to even notice you.

It would be great to hear your thoughts on spinning?

Interval Training and Today's Session

So my day didn't go as planned. The aim was to go gym before work, some how i slept through my 5am alarm. So after work i left the office and headed across the road to the gym. I go to Nuffield's Health club in Reading based in Green Park. It's a great gym, the staff are lovely and you are never short of equipment to use.

So with my training plan in hand i started my workout.I began with High Intensity Interval training (HIIT). HIIT is great if you are doing a short workout but want to make the most of it, not only does it burn more calories than a steady pace 5k it will also improve your regular running helping to increase your pace, and I'm speaking from experience here!

Another benefit of interval training is that it will help loose body fat and decrease your body fat %.

I have a number different HIIT plans some including hills, but below is an example of today's HIIT run.

5 mins Warm up
2 mins at HIIT Pace - This should be a pace which you can only sustain for 2mins.
3 mins at Jog Pace
2 mins HIIT/ 3 mins Jog x 4  ( Example of my speed was 10.6kph Jog/ 13kph HIIT)

At the end of this workout you should feel great! (Well not exactly a little sweaty and tired!)

This was then followed with my weights workout. I decided to do each exercise once and repeated the mini circuit 3 times. I love super setting it works the body parts that little bit harder and also speeds up your workout.

Super setting is when you do one two exercises back to back with no rest in between. Example i did 15 bench press reps and then straight in to 15 push ups.

Summary of my work out below
All 15 Reps x 3 Sets
Bench Press - 20kg Barbell
Push Ups
Reverse Fly - 4kg Dumbbells
Upward Row ( this was the only change to my planned workout because the lat pull down machine wasn't free) - 17.5kg Barbell
One leg Squats - 20kg Barbells
Lunges - 20kg Barbell
Hamstring Curls - Abs Ball

The work out was finished with Stretches.

I felt definitely worked and enjoyed the 1hr gym session. I definitely have every right to treat myself now!

I have some great weight training tips focused at girls and will post in the next few days.

Training Plan for the week ahead

Monday: 5k Interval training followed with some weights.
Weights Workouts
Bench Press
Push ups
Lat Pulldowns
Reverse Fly
Single Leg Squats
Lunges
Hamstring Curls

Tuesday: 6.30am Spinning Class at Nuffields Gym.
I find this a great cardio alternative to running!

Wednesday: 10k Run

Thursday: Personal Training Session

Friday: Boby Balance Class
This will my first time attending this class so will feedback on my thoughts.

Saturday: 10 mile run in Windsor

Sunday: Rest

On a daily basis i'll share my thoughts, hurdels and tips from my training...

The Beginning - To Present (Fast Forwarded)

This is exciting all. My first ever post!!! With so many things floating around in my head i am not sure where to start. Do i share my training plan for the next week,or do i write about the recent half marathon i ran or even about the 10 mile run I am off to do this morning!

Well there is no better place to start but the beginning. So the beginning is this like many students who move out to uni, I to piled on the weight. I didn't see the weight pile on nor did i acknowledge the fact that i was taking up a little more space than i used to, however one sad shopping trip bought me back to reality. The size 14 had gotten to tight, it was time to buy the next size up... this is the beginning and there is no looking back since.

I will not bore you about the painful years that followed in which i lost the weight ( this I can share on a later post) i will skip forward and come to the present. I now train 5 times a week, run minimum 23 miles and week and run a number of half marathons a year. This is now me a 'freak about fitness'

Many of my friends and colleagues have commented on what an inspiration I am, so here I am to share my fitness journey with whom ever may come across this blog and hope to inspire others with their fitness goals!