Fitness Friday!

If you're one of those people who don't really like reading about fitness and such and prefer my fashion posts, that's cool, you don't have to read, but for those of you who don't mind, read ahead! :)

Since January I've been going to the gym, trying to eat healthy and generally been trying to have an all around better lifestyle. I did actually start this healthy kick in order to slim down and tone up for my holiday in June, but I actually love exercising! I never ever thought I'd say that. I mean, I'm a girl who loves to sit on her ass munching an entire pick and mix and binge watching a TV series. But I do love exercise!

Well, when I say I love exercise, I mean I love the gym. I know you get those people who are literally addicted to going and go everyday and then you get those people, guys mostly who like only train their arms and end up looking like lightbulbs, but there are those normal people who just go in, do their workout and go home and enjoy an everyday life! 

I've not actually lost any weight as such since January, but I actually got banned from weighing myself by my trainer and I ended up not caring anymore. I haven't actually measured myself in a few weeks, but last time I did I'd lost at least half an inch from everywhere and lost an inch around my bum! So trust me when I say; The scales do not matter!! You could be heavier than when you started working out and actually look and feel healthier and thinner (if that's what you're going for), it's muscle weight girls!

Now I know a lot and I mean a LOT of women seem to think if they go to the gym and start lifting weights they'll end up looking like a bodybuilder, but that's so wrong! You just tone up, I mean nobody really wants bingo wings now do they? 

Since I started I've actually gotten a hell of a lot stronger and I didn't even realise. I, as I've mentioned do have a personal trainer who I see once a week, and he's helped me so much and I don't think I'd feel as good without him, but if you can't afford one, that's fine. You just have to be motivated. If you're motivated you can do anything you set your mind to! 

In January, 10kg squats were killing me and I'm now up to 30kg easily, which, I might add doesn't sound like much, but it's half my body weight which impresses me quite a bit! Squats are my favourite exercise mine you. Also, when I started the gym I was used to only my baby (and I mean baby, Tayla often tries to run off with them) 1kg hand weights that really don't do anything. I'm now up to about 15-25kg with my upper body, depending on the exercise, but I have quite weak arms to be honest so that doesn't bother me. 

Of course, you can't just exercise alone and expect to see a difference you do unfortunately have to eat healthily. That doesn't mean that you have to wake up and eat a lettuce leaf, or live solely on vegetables. There are plenty of amazing recipes that are so healthy and taste so so good! Plus, we all deserve a cheat day, I'm sat writing this after a chippy and some chocolate. See? It's fine to eat what you want every now and then! 

My chocolate raspberry lava cake - only 178 calories! 

If you've always wanted to start the gym, and have been intimidated, or have no idea what to do, just try it. Trust me, I was petrified, I was googling all around to try and find out Gym Etiquette and what exercises to do. And to be honest, I would recommend a personal trainer, even just for your first session, although most gyms offer an induction service where you can get a personal one on one session with an instructor and they'll write up a personal plan for you. I know it looks daunting, but it's not as scary as you think, just give it a go, you might love it! 

I haven't posted any personal pictures of myself, purely because I'm writing this post on a whim and I am having a very lazy day and have not showered.. we all have pyjama days now and then! :) If people like the post, I'll try and pluck up the courage to post some progress pics next time. 

Hope you enjoyed my little fitness update, I enjoyed sharing it with you and if you'd like to read more then let me know! 

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram for all things fitness, I'm always posting my food and stuff on there!

Have a great weekend everyone! 

xo.

P.s. As a side note, I'm not trying to get you to go to the gym, I'm not saying you need to, you're all amazing just the way you are and if you are happy in your own skin that's amazing, just sharing my opinions and advice for anyone looking for it! x.o.

Fitness fashion

So you may have read that I recently started the gym. It's going really well actually and I'm loving it, even if I do feel like I'm dying the day after I've been with my personal trainer. 

Of course as I was going to the gym, this called for new gym clothes so heres a few things I bought.

I didn't want things specifically just only for the gym so I thought a couple of normal vest tops (in the size up just so they're a bit looser) would do the trick. I did look at special fitness ones, but my running vest top irritates the hell out of me as it just rises up with any movement. The grey speckled one was £4.99 from H&M and the green was reduced to £2 in NewLook's sale. I did buy a few more colours as well, even though I know nobody's looking at me I hate wearing the same things all the time!

I also bought leggings as I thought these would be much easier to move in, these blue ones were £3 from Primark, probably won't last all too long but ah well. I also got two plain black pairs from Select for £8. 

The sports bras were obviously an essential and I was surprised at how expensive some are! I got these two from SportsDirect for £7.99 each and considering I only go to the gym twice a week right now I have time to wash them in between sessions! After my first session with my trainer he recommended I buy weightlifting gloves as my hands weren't getting a very good grip on the weights and there's no way I want to be dropping one of those bad boys on my feet! I think these were only £6.50 and surprisingly were from Tesco!

I also got the bag from JDsports in their sale for about £6, I think. All in all I spent about £60 ish on everything I bought which isn't too bad! I don't get those girls that go into the gym, full face of make up and spend more time fussing over what they're wearing than actually exercising. So far I'm deciding to stick with it, up until my holiday in June at least! 

xo. 

On the run..

Now that the kids have finally gone back to school and aren't littering the streets with their bikes etc I can finally start running again! Okay, the kids being out may have been a bit of an excuse not to do it.. Anyway, I've always wanted to be able to class myself as a 'runner' and lets be honest none of us would say no to a hot runner's body. I originally bought all the running gear - trainers, top and bottoms, special running socks, trainers and water bottle - a while ago for around £80. I know, it sounds expensive but I know I'd rather pay out the money and avoid injury. I used to be one of those people who just thought "Ahh I'll go running in my normal trainers" but this is probably the worst thing you could do and would no doubt have sore feet and legs in the morning. 

Excuse my messy room, I did warn you in the last post! In this picture I pretty much am an ambassador for Karrimor. The top is really good and has a built in sports bra, although I usually wear a normal bra underneath as well just for a little more support. The bottoms breathe really well at the back of your legs (which is great for my sensitive skin) only downside is that they have no pockets except for a little one round the back (strangest place to put a pocket ever). I'm even wearing Karrimor socks! I think I got a tad roped into the whole Karrimor brand whilst buying my stuff..

 

Top

Bottoms

Socks

Shoes

Water bottle

Just a few pictures from my run, well more my little walk after my run :) I felt a tad silly wearing sunglasses to run, but It's so so so bright out today, and roasting so thought what the hell. I really wanted to run across this field I saw on my way out, but some other people got down there first and I have a little bit of a complex of thinking people are watching me run, so went across the train bridge by my house to have a wander.

 Now for the technical (kinda) bit. I used to use the MapMyRun app to record my runs, but I saw one of my friends using the Nike+ app (free on Google Play store) and decided to give it a try as it seemed to give more info. You can even sync it up to Facebook and if anyone likes the post, you get a little cheer through the app (this is apparently supposed to make you more determined..). But either way here are a couple screenshots from the app.

The app records your distance, time, calories burned and also how many minutes per mile. This wasn't a particularly long run as it was absolutely roasting out and my first in quite a while but 12.07 minutes per mile isn't bad for what I think is my fourth ever run! I will admit I got a tad lazy when I first bought the stuff and it's barely been used.. but I promise you all I will to try and run at least three times a week! and might post a little screenshot on another post if I remember, or improve.

Any other runners out there? Would love to read about your experiences :)

30 day shred, is it worth it?

Hey there! So after 34 days I've finally finished the 30 day shred and thought I'd post my results/review of the DVD :)

Right so first thing's first, I've been trying different exercise videos and programmes for over a year now, trying to beat that post baby weight and I'm happy to say I've nearly gotten down to where I want to be! I used to do Tiffany Rothe workouts a couple days a week along with healthy eating and I lost a stone in just over 6 months so I'd definitely recommend her for beginners and people who aren't so into exercise! 

But after christmas this year I still had about 8 or 9lb left to lose and the youtube workouts weren't working for me anymore, I'd hit that stupid plateau. I might have mentioned before that me and my friend are off to Greece for a girly holiday next year and she told me about the 30 day shred and as she was also going to be doing it I thought I'd give it a go. I have previously tried the Insanity workout but it actually made me ill so I had to stop :(.

The 30 Day shred is by a fabulous woman named Jillian Michaels, who's a fitness trainer featured on Biggest Lose USA. It's a 25-30 minute daily workout based on circuit training and three different levels of fitness. Each level contains 3 circuits of 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio followed by 1 minute of abs. You're supposed to do each level for 10 days then move onto the next one until the 30 days are up. Now on the actual DVD, Jillian mentions nothing about taking any rest days, but on a podcast I've heard about, she says you're supposed to take at least one rest a week so I think it depends on your personal preference and how you're feeling.

I didn't follow an actual diet plan during this workout, but I do tend to eat quite healthily 4 days out of 7, it would be more but I just have such an addiction to pasta!

LEVEL ONE.

The first day of level one I'm not ashamed to say, killed me. I thought I was quite fit, considering all the youtube workouts I'd been doing but after the first workout I was on the floor panting and sweating away. The second day I was in quite a bit of muscle pain, but I pushed through and just did a more relaxed version of the workout. Ooh forgot to mention that as well as Jillian there are two girls - Natalie and Anita that you can follow. Natalie's the more advanced version and Anita the beginner 'easier' version. (I put quotes here as on level one I wasn't finding this particularly easy either!)

By day 7 I was finding it quite a bit easier and I found myself pushing to do the more advanced versions of the workout an by the end of the first level I was feeling pretty confident about my improved strength.

LEVEL TWO.

Three words can describe level two: Oh. My. God. I've read it before, but I now agree with it whole heartedly - level two is the devil's work. It was the worst 10 days worth of exercise I've ever done. I mentioned above about the rest days and although I was adamant I didn't want to take any, I actually ended up having three during level two. Not making excuses but those darned lunges actually gave me a knee injury that I still feel the ache of now! Although I didn't want to rest, it wasn't 3 consecutive days of rest so I let myself off. I was so insanely happy to have finished level two though and ended up dreading level three.

LEVEL THREE.

Okay so despite my fear of these last 10 days due to the horror of level two, I actually genuinely found myself looking forward to doing each day of level three's workout! Safe to say I was shocked at this. I found that if you put on some more upbeat music as by day 21 that stupid 'music' played in the background was doing my head in. The only thing about level three is that there's quite a bit of jumping so if you have weak ankles try just following Anita's version of the cardio. 

I did end up having one more break two days before the end, but that was due to a shopping trip last Saturday and getting in quite late. 

I don't actually know how much (if any) actual weight in pounds I've lost as I don't like looking at the scales anymore as it puts me off, especially seeing as you probably will put on a bit of muscle weight through this. But, saying that I have actually gone down to my previous bra size in the back giving my bust size a loss of 2 inches. I've also lost an inch on my waist and about half an inch round my hips and legs. Although this little loss on the lower body hasn't actually allowed me to comfortably fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans, they do successfully do up now! I've kind of resigned myself to the fact now I'm not going to lose anymore as my hips widened quite a bit having my little monster, but I don't mind :) I'm most proud of my stomach and bum. I'll never be flat stomached, I know that but both my stomach and bum have lifted slightly giving them more of a defined look. I can also feel the difference in my stomach, as it's like a rock when I tense :)

All in all I think the 30 day shred is worth it. Even if you don't lose anything, you still feel a lot stronger than before you start, knowing you've done some good to your body which is always a bonus! 

Anyone else tried this and had good results? Give me a comment below and let me know what you thought of it :)