Wednesday’s Workout| 30 Day Abs Challenge

Image from Carly Rowena Instagram

How did last weeks workout go girls? It was a tough one! This weeks workout is again all about the abs… it’s only 6 weeks until June, so it’s definitely time to work at those abs to make sure you look and feel great on holiday! This weeks Wednesday workout is again a challenge, it is the 30 day Abs Challenge from the gorgeous Carly Rowena. Carly is an amazing fitness and beauty blogger who is stunning, has a great attitude to health and fitness and posts regular videos, so if you need some motivation go and check her out! She is definitely one of my favourites and I find her so inspiring and refreshing.

Her 30 day Abs Challenge asks you to workout for only 5 minutes each day for 30 days continually. She gives you 2 moves to carry out for 30 seconds at a time and then repeat then 5 times over. So it is super simple, but will be super effective. As you can see from the picture above, the moves vary each week, and they are all tough! I do a few of these at my Bootcamp Class and can promise you they are tough! However if you want to improve your abs in 30 days with only 5 minutes of work, the work has got to be hard work! You have to put in the effort!

As Carly states in the video, abs are made in the kitchen. To achieve definition and a nice toned middle you need to have a great diet. Abs are 80% diet and 20% exercise, so remember to put in the effort in the kitchen aswell! Carly explains the whole challenge very well in her video, so check it out for info, tips and the demonstration of each of the moves mentioned in the picture above.

I am going to start the challenge today! Are you going to join me? Just think of how good you will look in 30 days! If it looks too tough, just try to complete 1 minute worth of moves and build it up from there! It’s completely adaptable to your fitness level, and a little exercise is better than none!

Be sure to check out my blogger of the week and fellow Cumbria Blogger Anna from On The Dressing Table. She has the most amazing beauty blog, full of insightful and honest reviews, plus she is the sweetest girl!

Fitness Friday| Overnight Oats Recipe| Easy, Healthy Breakfast

Since moving into my new place I have been on a mission to overhaul my diet and eat fresher, greener and leaner. I eat regularly with 3 meals and 2 snacks each day, but my breakfast and lunch were not the healthiest. They were more grab and go, think cereal bars and cup-a-soups.

However for the past few weeks I have been frantically researching recipes and have discovered two new breakfasts, one of which I’m going to share with you. This week I’m sharing a recipe that is super healthy, easy to make, and the perfect way to start the day… Overnight Oats!

Overnight oats are essentially oats soaked overnight  in any liquid you fancy! The most common mixture is 1/2 of oats, milk and yoghurt. There is absolutely no cooking required so it takes literally minutes to prepare and they are easy to grab as you run out of the door in the morning.

I was dubious at first as I imaged it would just be cold porridge… and who wants to eat that. But the magic with overnight oats is that they can be totally adapted to suit your taste. You can add ingredients the night before and allow them to soak in or just stick with topping your oats with the extra ingredients. Below I am sharing with you my current favourite flavour, but feel free to get creative!

My oats are peanut butter and banana flavoured. The below recipe makes quite a substantial portion but I do a lot of exercise so need it, but if you a more dormant or can’t stomach a big breakfast, try using 1/3 cup of oat,milk and yoghurt. Here’s the recipe;

• 1/2 cup of rolled oats
• 1/2 cup of skimmed milk
• 1/2 cup of low fat natural/greek yoghurt
• 1/2 mushed banana
• 1/2 tbs organic peanut butter

All you do is mix all you ingredients together in a bowl. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge over night. In the morning take them out of the fridge, give it a stir and add whichever toppings you fancy. I add the other half of my banana chopped banana and a small handful of walnuts.

This breakfast is guaranteed to see you right through till lunch!

Nutritional info for the oats without any topping- Calories- 365, Carbs- 55g, Fat 10g, Protein 17g.

What’s your favourite healthy breakfast? Have you ever tried overnight oats? If so what toppings a flavours do you prefer… give me some ideas!

Don’t forget to check out my blogger of the week Natalia from Natalia’s Beauty Blog. If you enjoyed this post Natalia often posts about fitness too, so be sure to give her blog a read. She also has the most gorgeous OOTD posts.

Wednesday’s Workout| 6 Week Six-Pack Abs

 

It’s that time of the week again, it’s workout time! Firstly, thankyou to you all for the amazing feedback you have given me about this feature. There really are so many of you who say it helps them and inspires them to try something new, and I’m always over the moon to hear that I can help others. I hope that you all workout more that once a week, but even if you only manage the workouts I post on Wednesday, it is a lot better than doing nothing!

As last weeks workout was for the booty this weeks will focus on the majority of people’s problem area the abs. I am currently on a massive mission to gain a flat stomach in time for my birthday in exactly 4 weeks time! I currently have a little flabby bit on my lower abs and would love for it to be gone by then. Obviously abs are gained in the gym but shown in the kitchen so I am upping the strength moves for my abs but also trying my best to eat clean and lean so I can reduce my body fat and start to show off some of my abs.

The below workout is from one of my favourite trainers Jillian Michaels. Jillian is to credit for the 30 Day Shred that I’m sure many of you have heard of, but in America she is most know for being the tough trainer on The Biggest Loser. She takes crap from no one and makes them work hard, but after watching her on many programs it is easy to see that she truly cares about her “victims” and only wants them to be the best they can be.

This workout is similar to the 30 Day Shred but more concentrated on the abs and a little tougher. It really works all the muscles in your middle and makes you sweat. It is only 30 minute long, which is a short workout so there is no excuse not to try it. I have tried it only a handle full of times and found that I have had to adapt a few of the moves until I build up my strength but I am enjoying it.

I hope you give it a go. Let me know if you do and how you get on with it. Do you have any Ab workouts that you recommend for me? Or are there any workouts that you would like to see featured on Wednesday’s Workout?

Don’t forget to check out my blogger of the week Natalia from Natalia’s Beauty Blog. If you enjoyed this post Natalia often posts about fitness too, so be sure to give her blog a read. She also has the most gorgeous OOTD posts.

Fitness Friday| Freeze Your Fat| 15 Minute Isometric Workout

 

I don’t know about you but when I workout I am guilty of hammering the cardio and sometimes forgetting about strength…. which is not good! Strength exercises obviously build up your muscles and it is a fact that the more muscle you have the more fat your body will burn during the day! Now you don’t have to hammer the weights to get your strength workout in, in fact you can stay completely still and still work your body hard.

Above is a range of isometric exercises that slim you down and tone you up without moving a muscle! Isometric exercises require you to remain static and use your body's own resistance and weight to challenge your muscles. So all you have to do is hold each of the positions for 60 seconds, three to four times, will a 30 seconds rest between each.

1- Plank- Lie face down on the floor and prop yourself up on your forearms and toes. Keep your bum down and your body in a straight line. Concentrate on your abs and glutes and squeeze them as tightly as you can and hold still.

2- T-Stabilisation- Firstly get into a push-up position. Next shift your weight onto you left hand and rotate your chest to the right as the raise your right arm towards the ceiling. Keep your feet stacked. Hold for a few seconds, then try it on the other side. That’s one rep!

3- Wall Squat- Stand with your feet should width apart and back against a wall. Lower your body, slowly down the wall, until you knees are at a 90 degree angle. Push into your heels and hold still.

4- Lateral Raise- Start in a standing position with your feet shoulder width apart with your arms at your sides and a 1kg to 2.5kg dumbbell (if you have no dumbbells, use a tin of beans). Slowly raise your arms until they are in line with your shoulders and hold them there!

5- Static Squat- Start in a standing position with your feet shoulder width apart  or slightly wider. Extend your hands out in front of you to keep your balance. Sit back and down like you are sitting on an imaginary chair. Keep your head facing forward as your upper body bends forward a bit. Lower down so that your form a 90 degree angle with your knees and hips, ensuring that your knees never go over your toes. Press back into your heels and hold still.

Have you tried isometric exercises before? Or do you prefer to use weights? Which one of this moves is your favourite?

Fitness Friday| Portion Control

One of the hardest things I have had to learn on my journey to health has been portion control. There is no easy way around making your portions smaller, you just have to train your stomach over time. I remember when I first moved home after university; I felt hungry all the time as my mum was feeding me much smaller portions that what I had been used to. I hate to think about how big of portions I ate while I was at university!

If you are on a health kick and are trying to lose weight you need to keep an eye on your portions, there is no point eating healthy food if you are eating too large of a portion! Portion distortion is very common thanks to the fact that the average portion size has increased by 25-50% over the past 30 years. In fact the average restaurant portion could feed 2 or 3 people sometimes!

To control my portions I follow recipes exactly. I don’t have much flair in the kitchen, so I have to do this anyways, but tools such as the above help measure out the correct quantities of food. Keeping Measuring Cups* and food Weighing Scales* to hand can really help keep your portions in line, so you can imagine how thankful I was to receive these from Confused.com in a Fitness Goody Box they put together for me. However when you don’t have any to hand, you need to learn to eyeball standard portion sizes. A good way to figure out your portion sizes is to compare your food portions to something visual that is easier to remember, you can see examples of this in the table above.

Other than learning about correct portion sizes there are a number of ways to ensure you keep your overall serving sizes in line. Here are a few tips I have learnt and have heard of;

• Eat from a smaller dish- This is scientifically proven to trick yourself into thinking you are eating a larger portion.
• Divide your plate up into half, fill one half with fruit or veg, the other half should have equal portions of protein and starch. This is the ideal balanced meal!
• Serve food according to the portion sizes and don’t go back for seconds unless its more veg!
• Put away leftovers straight away to stop grazing. Try freezing them into single servings so you can use them for dinners at a later date.
• Never eat directly out of a packet or bag… you will ALWAYS over eat by doing this!
• At restaurants ask for a smaller portion, or a half portion, and if you have the courage order a child's meal.
• When at restaurants analyse your dinner and organise your dinner into the ideal portions and serving sizes as shown above and leave the rest on the side. Servings in restaurants can sometime be enough to feed atleast two people!
• If you have  dessert, share it! I know this is tough to hear for people with a sweet tooth like me, but your waistline will thank you! 

Do you eat the correct portions? If so how do you ensure you keep your portions sizes in line? Are there any other more fun visual comparisons that you know?

Fitness Friday| Healthy Living Tag| My Personal Regime

 

So this Fitness Friday is a little different to my other one’s and gives you a little insight into my daily life and routine, and my battle to become a healthier person. I have had quite a few of you ask me over the past few weeks what regime or routine I follow, or how did I lose weight, so this tag is perfect timing really!

I was tagged by the lovely Maya Craig from Super Food Babe, she is an avid Tone It Up girl and a great inspiration.  Her blog is full of healthy recipes and motivating posts, go check her out!

 

 

1. What did you eat for breakfast?

Today I had a banana and cereal bar at my desk. I admit that this is not the best start to the day and I do really need to work on my breakfasts. However I take pride in the fact I actually eat breakfast now, as I never used to and something is better than nothing!

2. How much water do you drink a day?

I drink LOADS of water! I have a glass when I wake up in the morning then go through 2 litres while I am at work, and then have another few glasses in the evening. So I imagine it’s about 3 litres of water. Water and tea are the only things I drink day to day. The easiest thing to do to make sure you drink more water is always have a bottle with you; on your desk, in your bag etc.

3. What is your current favourite workout?

I love my running! I am very happy that I finally do, it took me about 3 months of dragging myself outside and forcing myself to run 3/4 times a week to get to the point when I enjoyed it again. I admit somedays I have to force myself to do it and don’t enjoy it, but I mix it up. Somedays I run on the treadmill, others I go outside. Sometimes I’ll aim for distance, or I’ll do intervals, or hill sprints, or try for my quickest mile… keep it fresh and exciting!

4. How many calories do you eat a day?

I do not have a clue! I don’t calorie count at all. I have an idea of what I should aim for in each meal so if I buy a sandwich at the shop I know which one to buy. If you are calorie counting and trying to lose weight the amount of calories you need to eat vary for everyone, it all depends on your height, age, weight and exercise level, you can used online calculators like this one as a guide.

5. What are your favourite healthy snacks?

I love hummus and veg sticks, nuts, dried fruit, rice crackers etc. I get a lot of great snacks from my Graze box, which helps, especially when I have the nibbles in the office. One of my favourite healthy treats to have is a banana sliced in half and spread with a thin layer of Nutella… chocolaty goodness!

6. What do you usually eat for lunch?

I have soup everyday, either homemade, or a cup-a-soup if I’m unprepared. I have my soup with either some rice cakes, fruit, nuts, or carrot sticks and hummus. I am planning to become more organised and make more salads to take for my lunch, especially when Spring time comes round.

7. What is your favourite body part to strength train?

I’m torn between my arms or my bum. I love to train my arms because there are so many different exercises to do, plus you can see results VERY quickly so it’s very motivating. I also love to train my bum as I love to do squats. They work you hard, burn more calories than other strength moves and give you an amazing bum… what’s not to love!

8. What is your least favourite body part to strength train?

Either my abs or legs as they hinder the next day’s exercise and daily tasks. There have been times when I struggle to walk up or down stairs, or end up in pain whenever I laugh or sneeze. However the pain is always a good pain, as atleast I know I have worked my body hard!

9. What are your “bad” food cravings?

EVERYTHING! I love food, and love unhealthy food. I could not live without chocolate, Dominos Pizzas, or a crunchy fresh white baguette or bun! It is just a matter of learning not to eat unhealthy food everyday. However if I fancy a Dominos Pizza I will have one, I just choose a thin base, low fat cheese and a smaller size than what I used to have.

10. Do you take vitamins or supplements?

I don’t at the moment, but I do sometimes. If I am ill I will pop vitamins C everyday. I do try and take a multi-vitamin if I remember or some calcium supplements as I don’t get enough in my diet as I hate milk.

11. How often do you eat out?

About once a week. My boyfriend and I have a long distance relationship so at the weekend we like to go out for lunch or dinner together as a treat.  Because I know this happens I can compensate for it during the week. I make sure I eat healthy throughout the week as at the weekend I have a treat to look forward to!

12. Do you eat fast food?

Yes! I am human after all! I am trying to become a healthier person, but I don’t see why I can’t have a pizza every once in a while. I used to have a takeaway atleast once a week, however now it is more like once every three weeks/ a month. Being healthy is about moderation, not deprivation!

13. Who is you biggest supporter?

I would like to say myself, as I’m the one who pushes myself out the door into the cold to go for a run when I really don’t want to, however I know I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for the support from my boyfriend and my family. They are constantly telling me “well done for going for a run” and “look how skinny you’re getting”. Just the other day my boyfriend was telling my that I was disappearing!

14. Do you have a gym membership?

No. I tried the gym and figured out I can do everything I do there at home! It’s a lot cheaper! My mum and I have a lot of equipment between us; treadmill, weights, exercise balls and DVD’s. However you don’t need any equipment to workout! The road is free… get out and run! Use your own body weight for your strength training… squats, lunges, push-ups, the plank are all free to do and super effective!

15. How many hours of sleep do you get a night?

I aim for 7.5 as that’s the optimum, however recently I’ve been a busy bunny, so it’s more like 7 or 6.5 on a bad night!

16. Do you have a “cheat” day?

I don’t have a designated cheat day, but if I fancy a treat I will have one, I just make sure I don't’ have seconds, or have a treat the next day. If I’ve really indulged I’ll add an extra mile to my run, or make sure I workout twice the next day.

17. Do you drink alcohol?

Of course I do… I could not live without my champers! However I drink a hell of a lot less than I used to. I think alot of it comes from not being at university any more. However most of it comes from getting older… I’ve always had bad hangovers, but they are just getting worse, and I hate wasting my days off in a hung-over state.

18. Do you have a workout buddy?

I workout with my mum sometimes (when she isn’t injured, which she has been recently) and I also drag my boyfriend out for runs on Saturday and Sunday mornings. It’s nice to have someone beside you as you can encourage each other.

19. What is the best thing that has changed about your life since committing to a Healthy Lifestyle?

Probably that I love running again. I used to run alot before I went to uni and enjoyed it so much, but when I stopped doing it and then tried back at it, I found it difficult and punishing so I would never continue with it. However after many months of pushing myself I now have a changed state of mind. I now wake up on a Saturday morning and think “oh the weather’s nice, what a great day for a run!” ….  6 months ago you would of had to drag me out of bed on a Saturday morning.

20. What was the last healthy thing you did?

Last night I went out in the sub zero temperatures and pushed my tired legs to run 5k for the second day in a row. I am feeling it today, but I also never felt more proud when I had finished my run!

 

I hope the above answers helped demonstrate how I try to live a healthy life, and perhaps gave you some ideas and tips! Let me know if you are going to do the tag, leave your link below.

I do want you all the comment by answering… What was the last healthy thing you did? Lets share the inspiration and give ourselves a pat on the back by acknowledging our little accomplishments!

Fitness Friday| 2013 The Year of Health

 

It’s that time of the year again, gyms are getting full, health food shops have never been busier, and it appears that everyone is now running or cycling everywhere… all the time! Yes it’s the time of the year when 90% of us pledge that this year we are going to lose weight! So for 4 weeks the gyms are busy, the pubs are empty and we think that we’ve done ourselves some good thanks to our crazy detoxes or exercise regimes. Then it slowly creeps back to drinks after work, skipping a few workouts and before we know it your trainers are collecting dust in the back of your wardrobe and your fridge is fully stocked with wine and cheese!

So this year I am asking you to join me and not pledge to lose weight… no this year we are going to get healthy! You can do this anyway you want, be it small changes such as making your lunch everyday, walking home instead of getting the bus, having a 15 minute run round the block… it all still counts! Or you can really go for it and eat clean, train hard and challenge yourself everyday.

What I am aiming for, and I think you should all aim for is health! If you can change your attitude so you focus of making the correct choices everyday that will make you a healthier and happier person then the weight loss will not only come… it won’t creep back on! If you can teach yourself new habits… no more fizzy drinks, no more wine after a hard day at work, your weight WILL reduce, and it WON’T come flooding back on as it does when you go on crazy diets and detoxes.

What you, I, and everyone needs to remember is that weight loss is a lifestyle change! It is not a 2, 4, or 6 week eating plan, diet or regime. If you don’t learn to adopt healthy habits any weight you lose will just reappear over the year and you will be making the same resolution in 2014… to lose weight!

So my resolution this year is to make sure that next year, 2014, my resolution won’t be to lose weight!

How you learn your healthy habits is very much a personal journey, but for me I surround myself with healthy images, motivating pictures and interesting articles. For me I use my tumblr account where I follow other blogs who post pictures that inspire me to be fit and healthy, plus it’s great for finding workouts, challenges and information. I also subscribe to Zest Magazine on my iPhone, which cost me £19.99 for the whole year, which I think is a bargain! I also enjoy challenging myself and after completing my own Festive flat Tum Challenge and getting some great results, I am now going to follow the Love Your Body Challenge from the Tone It Up Girls. I know that Jayne from Miss Jayne Becca is a huge Tone It Up fan and will be doing this challenge also, so if you want to join us let us know, we can support each other! Having that support and encouragement makes it so much easier to stick to as well!

What do you think? Are you going to aim for healthy this year? How do you motivate yourself? Any tips, let me know!

Fitness Friday| Personal Weight-loss| Progress Picture

 

Firstly this post is a little bit late, my apologies, but like many of you, I have been especially busy the past week getting everything organised for Christmas. Now that I am at my Boyfriends’ parents house (where I’m spending Christmas) I can finally put my feet up and relax. I am currently writing this post while sitting in my PJ’s waiting for my tan to dry and nibbling on Cadbury’s Chocolate fingers… yum!

Anyways on to the purpose of this post… my personal weight-loss or even fitness/health journey. As you should all know by now, as I keep going on about it, I have been taking part in my own Festive Flat Tum Challenge over the past few months and although I haven’t quite achieved a flat tum tum yet I have seen some results which I wanted to share with you.

I have on this journey gained more than I have lost.. I have gain a new perspective on my health, body and fitness. I write this post as a completely different girl than what I was 4 months ago. For example, yesterday I was out in torrential rain running… I have officially turned into a mad runner… but more than that I enjoy it! It isn’t a chore, I enjoy going out and working out, I enjoy pushing my body and working hard and no matter how many pounds or inches I lose will change that.

Firstly I need to explain that I don’t use weighing scales, so I measure my progress through this progress  picture I am sharing with you, along with the inches I have lost and how my clothes fit. I used to have an unhealthy relationship with the weighting scale and would concentrate more on the pounds I lost than how I felt and looked. For example if I have a really good week where I had worked out 6 times a week and eaten healthily everyday but then I only saw a small amount of pounds lost I would feel awful, upset and demotivated. Now I concentrate on my performance in my workouts; how far or fast I run, how may squats I can do, how long I can hold a plank for. This means I end up pushing myself a little bit harder with each workout and I know the harder I work the sooner results will come.

To achieve the results I have I have simply changed my attitude; I focus on health not weight-loss. I eat healthy 80% of the time and workout 5/6 times a week for about an hour. I have not deprived myself of anything at all; If I want to go out for dinner and have a big burger I will. I just know to not have a huge big burger the next day. I eat 3 meals a day and have 2 small healthy snacks, so I am eating little but often. Because of  this constant grazing I am rarely hungry so I don’t end up binging on something I shouldn’t because I feel starving. With my exercise I aim for 30 to 40 minutes of cardio a day and 30-20 minutes of strength exercises a day. For my cardio I mainly run, but do use a mixture of workout DVD’s and games also such as Zumba. With my strength exercises I either makeup a routine of simple but effective moves such as Squats and The Plank or I use a DVD such as The 30 Day Shred.

So my results are as follows. In 4 months I have;

• Gone down about 2/3 dress sizes on my top (dependant upon the shop)
• Gone down 2 dress sizes on my bottom (again dependant upon the shop)
• Lost a total of 13 inches, including 2 inches off my boobs, hips and bum and nearly 2.5 inches off my waist!

I still have a long way to go till I will be completely happy with my body, but I am very happy with my results so far.

Have to been on a fitness or health mission this year also? Have you seen any results from exercise or changing your diet recently? I always love to hear about success stories!

Motivation Monday| Zumba Fitness Core Review| Personal Results

As you probably know, seems I keep banging on about it, I have been on a big fitness kick over the past 2 months. I’ve been working hard so I can fit perfectly into my party dresses this Christmas and New Year. I have been taking part in my self devised Fitness Challenge, however the other week I was kindly gifted the new Zumba Fitness Core Game to trial and to incorporate into my Festive Flat Tum Challenge.

As a huge fan of the Zumba workouts I obviously jumped at the chance to try this new game. Having exhausted all the routines and moves in the old one this was a nice change. The reasons why I love the Zumba games is that they don’t feel like a workout, you don’t have someone shouting at you demanding you to do push ups and jumping jacks, instead you get to dance along to some great moves and have a laugh. There have been many a times when my mum and I have been in stiches try to master some of the moves, one time my mum almost knocked me clean out while getting too overenthusiastic with the Zumba hand weights and hitting me in the head!

Anyways on to the new game! You can buy the Zumba Core Game for the Nintendo Wii and Kinect for the Xbox 360 and it is priced at £19.99, an absolute steal and only the cost of  a few exercises classes (or cocktails!) You can buy the game from the usual places, including Game. The game was designed and developed as research shows that the core is the one area that women are most unhappy about their own bodies and the area they most want to work on. It comes with a dance belt so you don’t have to mess around trying to carry a remote control, you can just dance you little bum off!

The review

What they say-

“Dance your way to flat, sexy abs! Skip the crunches and strengthen your core with the only game to sculpt you abs through an exhilarating total-body workout. Zumba Fitness Core focuses specifically on strengthening and sculpting your core, within an effective body workout to deliver the tight and toned abs for a sexy six pack. This energising dance-fitness experience features 40 tracks from Enrique Iglesias, LMFAO, Shakira, Bob Marley and more, and over 33 dance styles so you can party your abs off- without ever getting down on the floor!”

What I say-

“I have one other Zumba game, which I love and thankfully I can say the same about this one! I enjoyed the music a lot more than previous one, as there was more recent/recognisable songs. I think the dances are more diverse, you can find all sort from ballet to jive to African dance alongside the more traditionally Zumba dance; salsa and samba. If you are a newbie to Zumba, there is no need to fear as the tutorials are very clear and helpful so learning the steps is easy to do.

As with the older game, the workout options vary so you can match them to your mood. You can choose to dance one or two dances, picking from any of the routines, or you can do a full dance class, which are either 20, 40 or 60 minutes long.  I normally do the 40 minute routine, which is definitely long enough to feel the burn!

The feature I love the most is the ability to monitor your progress, just like my beloved NikeRun Ap, I love to see how I am performing and if I am improving! With the ability to monitor your progress and set goals it keeps me hooked in… I’m a bit of a nut for stats! So finding out how many calories I’ve burnt, achievements earned and technique scores is a great addition!”

Results

I have incorporated this game into my Festive Flat Tum Challenge and have been using it for about 3 weeks. So with my running, additional abs exercises and this game I have to say I am seeing results! I actually managed to fit into my target dress this past weekend, which didn’t fit 6 weeks ago… it barely went over my bum 6 weeks ago! You can also see how many inches I have lost on my waist! I put this belt on and was shocked to find it doesn’t fit anymore.. it literally hangs off me!

Overall I am more than impressed with this game! It has given me results and most importantly it is fun! I can’t wait to crack it out after Christmas and challenge my friends and family to it.. burn off that Christmas turkey!

Have you tried this game, or any of the other Zumba workouts? Do you enjoy dance workouts?

Fitness Friday| How to get a flat stomach

 

As many of you will know I have been taking part in my Festive Flat Tum Challenge for the past month with an aim to tone up and get a flat tum for Christmas. You may be asking… why work out in the run up to Christmas, with all the parties and food… am I mad?! Well yes, it is proving to be difficult especially with the boxes of chocolates being brought into the office weekly, but I want to look fab for Christmas so the challenge is worth it!

So with an aim to get that flat tum I have been doing my favourite, most effective ab workouts daily, and I wanted to share with you my tips on how to gain a flat tum. I am in no ways a nutritionist or qualified personal trainer, these are purely tips I have learnt through my passion for fitness and health. So here goes!

Firstly to gain a perfect flat tum you firstly need to get rid of the fat hanging around your midriff. You can do as many crunches as you want but if you have fat around your middle this will always hide the muscles you are building underneath. So you need to combine both cardio and strength exercises. Ab exercise alone won’t get rid of belly fat!  Think of it this way; you use strength exercise to tone from the inside, and you use cardio to loose the inches on the outside that will allow you to show your sexy toned stomach! So make sure you are working up a sweat for 30 minutes 5 times a week, at least!

Next step is strength, I want to share with you the go to strength exercises that I recommend to tone that tum as quick as possible. Basically you should be doing exercises that use as many muscles as possible in one go and for this I recommend The Plank and Bicycle Crunches!

The Plank is the best move I can recommend as it works a tonne of muscles all at the same time! You don’t need any equipment, you can do it anywhere and it works you hard in relatively little time! The Plank works your muscles more effectively than traditional crunches! It has been scientifically proven to build endurance in your abs, back and arms, as well as stabilise the muscles. It is also the perfect move building up strength for those dreaded pushups! Here is some tips on how to perform The Plank;

1. Lie face down on mat resting on the forearms, palms flat on the floor.
2. Push off the floor, raising up onto toes and resting on the elbows.
3. Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels.
4. Tilt your pelvis and contract your abdominals to prevent your rear end from sticking up in the air or sagging in the middle.
5. Hold for 20 to 60 seconds, lower and repeat for 3-5 reps.

Bicycle Crunches are my next tip! These little painful beauties have been proven to be the most effective abs exercise! This move, like The Plank works a series of muscles all at the same time. They work the  rectus abdominals (the six pack area) and the obliques (the waist). The Bicycle Crunch works those side abdominal muscles like no other core exercise, so if you want that sexy waist get going girls! Here is some tips on how to perform Bicycle Crunches;

1. Lie face up on your mat and place your hands behind your head, lightly supporting it with your fingers.
2. Bring the knees in to the chest and lift the shoulder blades off the floor without pulling on the neck.
3. Rotate to the left, bringing the right elbow towards the left knee as you straighten the other leg.
4. Switch sides, bringing the left elbow towards the right knee.
5. Continue alternating sides in a 'pedalling' motion for 1-3 sets of 12-16 reps.

So there we go! To gain your flat tum you need to burn off the fat with cardio and perform effective core exercises such as these often. I do them daily, but try to at least do them 3 times a week.

What are your favourite ab moves? Do you have any other exercise your recommend to tone up that stomach in time for Christmas and New Year?

Motivation Monday| Festive Flat Tum Challenge Week 3

 

*Images taken from Tumblr*

I am writing this post to give both you and myself some motivation as this past week my motivation has been zero!! I am actually appalled at the lack of exercise and control I have had over my diet, I have been a inspiration to no one this week, so I apologise to you, but mostly to myself! I need a good kick up the bum, and need to get my bum into shape!

I have picked my favourite pictures from Tumblr this past week, to motivate myself and you. Who doesn’t love picture of girls looking fit and fab, while working out hard! And  a good motivational poster always makes me want to go outside and run! I think my favourite picture this week is the Princess Tshirt.. I definitely need that to go running in… very cute!

So this next week is a fresh start, I am sticking to my Festive Flat Tum Challenge calendar, and I’m going to incorporate my new Zumba game* into my workout regime to see if it really will give my abs a good workout as it promises. I will also be trying out the below Holiday Squat-athon regime.  As I said before, I need a kick up the bum and need to get it into shape. I have a couple of dresses that are too small at the moment, with the hips and bum area being the worst fitting area, so I really need to loose a good couple of inches off them, and hope this regime as well as my Festive Flat Tum Challenge will help tone my bum up so I can fit into the dresses by Christmas. It’s a big ask, but I’ve got to try!

Squats are a great exercise move, and so simple! I’m going to try and get into the habit of doing my squats while brushing my teeth or while waiting for the kettle to boil… might as well make use of the time rather than stand still! I have also shared the poster next to the Holiday Squat-athon picture, as this shows you that you only need to do three simple moves often to workout out your whole bum and get a lovely toned one for Christmas! So aim to do the squats mentioned in the Holiday Squat-athon picture, but also incorporate lunges and jumping jacks into your fitness regime to get that perfect peachy bum!

How has your week been… inspiring or disappointing? Are you going to join me in the Holiday Squat-athon? Or are you still working on my Festive Flat Tum Challenge? Where do you get your fitspiration from?

Fitness Friday| Festive Flat Tum Week 1| Highs & Lows

 

*Images from Tumblr*

As many of you will know this past week I have been following my Festive Flat Tum Challenge, and as a result will be posting regular Fitness Friday posts on my highs and lows of the week gone by, plus some motivation for both you and I. This weeks are as follows;

Lows

This week I did not get off to as strong of a start as I wanted. I have been really struggling to wake up in the mornings... why is it so dark?! So have missed my morning workouts which is not good! I must do better next week! I have been trying to get to bed earlier so I will get into a routine of falling asleep earlier so I will find waking up less of a struggle!

Highs

Diet! This week my eating has been great, I’ve been eating clean and feel great because of it! I have not eaten crisps or chocolate, my only treat has been a cupcake on Cake Day at work, so I am giving myself a pat on the back for this!

I am also really pleased that I have ran 2 5k’s this week, although they are not the quickest, I am still pleased as this is the longest I have ran on the treadmill so far. I can run 5k outside easily as it is more interesting, but the treadmill bores me so much! So to stay on it for longer than 15 minutes is torture!

This next week I aim to get up earlier in the mornings and get my morning workout in, as well as keep up my daily cardio with the aim to run another 3 5ks! This next week I am going to take my body measurements, and some pictures, so I have something to mark my progress with. I am not weighing myself as believe this only demotivates myself. Anyways measuring inches lost is a much healthier way to analyse your health and fitness than being obsessed with the weighting scale. Scales do not take in to account muscle gained, and a toned body is much healthier and sexier than a skinny body with no definition! 

Are you stepping up your health and fitness in time to look great for Christmas? What have you done this week to make yourself proud? What fitspiration do you use to keep yourself motivated?

The Days Gone By| An Instagram Catchup

 

I hadn’t actually realised how long it had been since I’ve done an Instagram post, so I thought I would give you a little catch up on the happenings in my life.

1- During the middle of October my gorgeous man took me for a romantic trip to Edinburgh for our 5 year anniversary. The highlight was definitely the trip to the zoo to visit the Pandas! I have always wanted to see them, and was completely overwhelmed when I did. You can see more about my trip here.

2- This was my look for Halloween this year. I don’t often take part in Halloween but I enjoyed dressing up for a change. I did a post on the evening here.

3- I have recently started a Festive Flat Tum Fitness Challenge for myself, and for any others who want to take part; you can find all the details here. There is myself and a few others taking part, so feel free to take charge of your body and feel and look amazing for Christmas by giving it a go.

4- I have already ruined one of my Christmas surprises by begging for Michael Buble tickets, so my boyfriend had to let on that he had already bought some for me. I am beyond excited for this and can’t believe I have to wait another 8 months for it.

5-We have recently started Cake Day at my work place, and this week was my turn. We had a Brownie off between myself and another member of staff. It was very close as to who was the winner but I think I just nipped it in the bud.

6- This past weekend I finally visited Quayside market. I have lived in Newcastle for 5 years and never had the chance as I always worked at the weekend. I was pleasantly surprised and found an amazing store; No Bones, which makes amazing dog treats at super cheap prices! Perfect Christmas presents for your four legged friend.

7- I have been running most days for around 3 months now and even though I’m not the fastest I am really enjoying it and am still lapping everyone who is sitting on the couch! I have definitely noticed a difference in my waist line, skin and confidence since I started back, and am aiming to run for 30mins each day as well as doing an additional toning/strength exercise each day.

8- For bonfire night I visited my family in Carlisle and we went to Carlisle Firework display which is really impressive, I think around 35000 people watch it so there is always a great atmosphere.

9- A healthy dinner made my Master Chef of a boyfriend. It’s one of my favourite salads and is very easy to make, it's a mixture of tomato, spring onion, shallots, and chorizo, with a vinegar dressing.

10- An outfit of the day from when I went for lunch with my girls this past Saturday. I miss them a lot, so it’s great to spend some quality time with them catching up and eating good food.

11- I also visited Fenwicks Christmas Window this past weekend; always a highlight of the year for me! It was very busy with people queuing half way down the high-street to see it, quite understandable as there is something magical about it and it’s always impressive.

12- Wearing my poppy with pride on Remembrance Sunday. I very nearly ran into a remembrance parade today, but managed to stop just in time of ruining it for everyone.. now that would of been beyond embarrassing!

If you don’t want to miss anything on my Instagram you can follow me at Cat_Storey.

What have you been busying yourself with these past few weeks? What have been your highlights? Are you getting ready and excited for Christmas?

Fitness Fridays| Festive Flat Tum Challenge

This week’s Fitness Friday is a little more personal. I am setting myself a challenge of getting a festive flat tum! We have 6 weeks and 4 days until Christmas, or 46 days, really not long! However it is long enough to do something about your body if you want to! I know this time of year is busy and stressful, with parties to organise and attend, deadlines at work and university and Christmas shopping to be done, but if you can spare half an hour to an hour a day and make small changes to your diet you will notice a difference in your waistline, and will look amazing in your Christmas party dress... just imagine the dress!

By starting now, and by pushing yourself you will look and feel amazing, but more importantly will be the most confident you! I personally can’t wait to look drop dead gorgeous in my Christmas party dress, and turn some heads this year. Over the next 46 days I am challenging myself and you to become toned, motivated and confident.

I am aiming to tone up my hips, bum and tum (hence the title) and am going to share with you how I plan on achieving this as well  as keep you updated with on-going posts about all my highs and lows, meal ideas and workout reviews.

Diet- “Eat Clean, Eat Often”
With the endless Mince Pies, Christmas Chocolates, buffet tables and cocktails surrounding you over the next 46 days, it is vital that you are full of healthy food all the time to help you avoid temptation. I aim to;

• Eat 5 times a day- 3 meal and 2 snacks
• Eat clean(er)- Swap my snacks of crisps and cereal bars for fruit and nuts. If it comes from a packet it’s not going near my mouth.
• Reduce the carbs and up the protein- My dinner is always low carb, however I eat carbs for breakfast and aim to swap this for a more protein full breakfast, by replacing my cereal bars for egg; boiled or scrambled.
• Keep the alcohol to a minimum! I am doing pretty well at this since I have moved home, but still need to keep control of it at the weekends... no bottle of wines in front of the television on a Friday night.

An example of a typical days meal plan;
Breakfast- Yoghurt and fruit with scrambled egg, bacon & tomato/ boiled egg.
Snack- Green smoothie/ fruit/ nuts
Lunch- Soap (homemade ideally) or vegetable crudités with houmous.
Snack- Fruit/ nuts
Dinner-Chicken or fish with vegetables
Exercise- “Go hard or Go Home”
This is where I am going to excel! Go hard or go home as they say!
I already try to run at least 2 miles a day, 5 times a week, which has significantly helped my waist line over the past couple of months. I aim to continue this and also add another workout, so I will be working out twice a day, one workout will be cardio based, the other will be strength and toning.
The running will make up my 30 minutes of cardio but you can choose a different cardio exercise if running is not your thing. You could try swimming, skipping, aerobics, Zumba, cycling or even a brisk walk.
For my second exercise I plan on concentrating on toning by using a variety of workout videos. I am going to use the 30 Day shred workout, varying between levels 2 and 3 as they both use different muscles, as well as using the workout videos form the lovely Tone It Up girls, who have a Holiday Hotties workout challenge going for themselves at the moment. These workouts tend to last around 30 minutes, so I won’t be over doing it as I will only be working out for around 1 hour a day.
You can find the workouts below: (Note: the videos do not below to me, and I am not responsible for the content of 3rd party sites.)  

• 30 Day Shred- Level 2
• 30 Day Shred- Level 3
• Tone It Up Workouts- You Tube Channel

I have included two workout calendars, one the “Go hard or Go Home” option which I will be using, and another less strenuous plan for those just starting to workout or who don’t workout often. Yes they are both a challenge, but that is the fun of it! With your health and fitness you get back what you put in! If you workout hard and often then your body will soon see results, and you will look fab for Christmas.

I have designed the calendars to match my schedule and Christmas plans, but feel free to change them. Also one last tip; please make sure to stretch well after all your workouts!  

I will be posting regularly throughout this challenge, with updates on my Twitter and two blog posts a week. One will be Motivation Mondays, which will include a load of motivational pictures and sayings to keep you on track, the second will be a Fitness Friday, which will share my highs and lows, along with healthy meal ideas and workout video reviews.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter so you can keep up to date with the latest posts and I can spur you on with your own fitness kick.

Let me know if you do want to join me, I need all the support I can get! Do you have your own personal plans to get fit this Christmas? Are you aiming to fit into the perfect party dress like I am?

Fitness Friday| Daring to Detox

*Vitamins* *7 day Detox Plan* *Green Smoothie* *Fitspiration*

I have previously written about the subject of detoxing, and shared my opinions on the wild and wacky “detox” programmes that exist. For those of you who don’t know; I believe that such crazy detoxes like the Lemonade Detox are firstly crazy and secondly no good for your body or health. I actually have personal experience of the Lemonade Detox, and the Soup Diet and it was not pleasant; think migraines, dizziness, tiredness and passing out! I believe detoxing should involve getting rid of all the crap in your body by not eating any crap! You should eat clean everyday, all day, and try to include as many “super Foods” as possible to help aid the detox process.

A few months ago I was contacted by My Vitamins; who are people after my own heart, as we share the same beliefs on detox programmes and health. They suggested that I followed their specially devised 7 Day Detox Plan and report on my results. They told me the plan was designed to purposely target the 4 key areas that need to be cleansed regularly; liver, kidneys, skin and colon, leaving me refreshed, more energetic and with improved skin, hair and nails.

At the time, I was about to go on holiday so a detox gave me the chance to loose a couple of pounds and inches before the bikini came out. My Vitamins delivered the vitamins shown in the picture and advised me to follow the meal plan above. I admit that I did not follow the diet plan completely, as some of the ingredients are hard to get in my little town, or were expensive, so I followed it as closely as possible. Along with following the meal plan and taking the supplements, each day I ran for 45 minutes. The results of such a regime were about a 6 pound weight loss, and a 2 inch loss on my waist. More importantly I had AMAZING hair and skin, glowing!

After a couple of weeks of being very relaxed on my diet and fitness regime I have since embarked upon a detox again. This time I have not been following the above meal plan but have still took the supplied vitamins, and been running for 45 minutes each day. I instead spent Sunday night making a big batch of vegetable soup, for my lunches and a batch of green smoothie, for my breakfasts. My dinners are the only solid meal I have, which is chicken and veg, served with any spices or any tomato based sauce you fancy. Even though I have only been following this eating plan for 5 days I already feel a millions time better, my stomach looks flatter and my face looks less bloated.

The vitamins and supplements that were provided to me are described below.

• Ginseng- A natural stimulant, as opposed to caffeine. Improves circulation and oxygen absorption.
• Acai Berries- A supplement to help your PH balance and an aid fat loss. Widely regarded as one of the worlds leading Super Foods. A favourite with many stars such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
• Super Dophilus- Packed full of friendly bacteria. Great for digestion, it encourages the absorption of other nutrients within your diet
• Vitamin C- The best anti oxidant, and when mixed with L Carnitine, it posses a synergistic fat loss property by increasing the efficiency of the mitochondria to burn fat.

About My Vitamins themselves, I was hugely impressed. The rep from the company was lovely, extremely helpful and informative, and with his help I was given the vitamins and supplements most suited to my needs. My Vitamins aim to provide the same service to everyone. All their products are separated into categories based upon your goals such as “Detox and anti-aging” “Weight loss” and “Health and Wellbeing”. The vitamins are stored in resealable pouches, are reasonable priced and delivered to your door for free.

You can find visit the website here, and if anyone would like a copy of the Detox plan plus all the extra information then comment below and I can email you it.

What do you think of detox plans? Have you followed any and what were your results? What plan did you follow?

Fitness Friday| Sleeping Beauty

*Pictures from We Heart It*

Just a quick Fitness Friday for you lovelies. I am an avid reader of Zest magazine; a health and fitness magazine, and treated myself to the magazine app for my phone. I was amazed that I could get an annual subscription for on £20… such a bargain. The magazine is always filled with really interesting articles on health, fitness and beauty. One of their recent article’s was about getting a goods night sleep, and I thought it would be good to share it with you.

Considering many of you will be returning to university, sleep sometimes is hard to come by, especially in your final year when that dreaded dissertation comes around, so I thought sharing some tips would be helpful. I myself often have difficulty sleeping when I am stressed or anxious so any extra tips are always helpful.

Anyways onto what the professionals have to say. Here are the tops tips from Zest magazine that ensure you sleep like a baby;

1. Breakfast like a queen- Digesting a big meal takes a lots of energy, so eating your heaviest meal close to bedtime will disturb your sleep. A big breakfast (around 500-600 calories) followed by a smaller lunch and dinner stabilises energy levels and improves sleep. I think this is a little unrealistic and I prefer to actually eat 5 smaller meals throughout the day so I’m not eating a big dinner.
2. Meet your mates- A study published in the journal Sleep found the lonelier you are, the more likely you’ll wake at night, so have lunch with some friends. But if you’re off to Starbucks, remember an afternoon caffeine hit can take hours to leave your system, so opt for a herbal tea
3. Use the landline- Research shows being exposed to low-level radiation from a mobile phone close to bedtime makes it both harder to drop off and means you’ll spend less time in the deeper, more restorative phases of sleep, so you'll wake up feeling like you haven’t properly rested. Try to place your phone further away from you, at least not on the bedside table and not underneath your pillow.
4. Get intimate- A recent survey revealed one in six doctors recommended sex for insomnia, with good reason: getting frisky reduces stress and lowers your blood pressure, plus the hormone oxytocin released when you orgasm promotes healthy slumber, too.
5. Stop snoozing- Your body anticipates your regular alarm an hour before it goes off, so your sleep lightens and hormones release to give you a boost. hHtting the snooze button might mean a few more zzzs, but your body wont prep you to wake up a second time so you'll feel groggy.

What are your top tips to get a good nights sleep? Do you follow any of the tips above?

Fitness Friday| Row row row your boat

Carrying on with my fitness phase, this week my mother decided to mix it up a bit and go canoeing. I have done pretty well this week with my workouts and even managed to run up the hill I shared with you in last weeks Fitness Friday- Here. I was all ready to go for another run on Thursday evening, however as it was so warm here, my mother had decided that it was too hot to go for a run with the dogs, so a canoeing session would be more ideal.

I was excited to try this sport, and a little anxious, as I have only ever done it once before and I was 11 years old, so I was definitely out of practice. Thankfully while I was in Finland in June I had gone White Water Rafting twice, so had some practice with staying on a boat and controlling an oar. However I did not realise how sensitive your actions would be when in a smaller boat, to say mum and I had some difficulties when first starting was a bit of an understatement. We actually spent a good 10 minute rowing round in circles, shouting at each other and gaining some funny looks from passers-by. We mostly struggled with matching the strength of our rows, as I would always pull harder than my mum, but my mum would row quicker. At times we managed to get a rhythm going but we spent a good hour and a half on Lake Windermere zig-zagging across the lake. We did make the whole exercise a lot harder seems we had the boat back to front, so instead of draining water we collected it. It was a great evening, as it was so peaceful on the lake and a great way to see a sunset, we also caught sight of an otter than decided to follow us and play around behind us, which was rather cute.

I enjoyed my canoeing workout and would definitely do it again, and recommend it to others, especially with a friend. It was hard work at times, but mostly a great laugh and loads of fun. Its actually a great workout for the areas I need to target for my bridesmaid dress; arms, chest and back, and also hits your oblique (your waist muscles). For the 1 hour and 15 minutes I actually canoed for, it is estimated that I burnt around 150 calories. So it’s not as a big calorie cruncher as running, but it is perfect for toning. I now aim to do this once a week as a toning exercise, as I it worked my arms hard and was a great laugh. I always think its so much easier to work out if you are having fun, and if you have a variety of workouts. It also helps with your weight loss as your body is kept on its toes and doesn’t get used to just one single workout.

Have any of you ever tried canoeing, or other water sports? Or have you tried any new sports recently?