Just a quick update from me today; I’m super-excited to have been nominated for the UK Blog Awards in their Lifestyle category!!!
If you’ve enjoyed reading my blog over the past year, I’d really appreciate it if you’d HOP OVER HERE to cast a 15 second vote. It’s super easy; just your name, email address, and hit ‘OK’ – no spam!
It would make the world of difference to me, and every vote really does count! Thank you x
The battling ropes might look easy, but when executed correctly your whole body will be screaming in fabulous-workout-pain! I find that they challenge me in ways that are totally unlike other equipment, and can yield transformative results from a ‘toning’ perspective. They’re ‘tough fun’, can help develop power, explosiveness, muscular and cardiovascular endurance, build functional strength and toast fat! By design, they’re slightly too cumbersome and heavy to take around with you anywhere in the Prada – so on this occasion I opted for the Omnia installation at my local Virgin (no, these are not paid links, just good practise!). Find out why and how, here…
PLANE SAILING: The human body was not designed to move on a single linear plane alone. Battling ropes enable you to move on many different planes, thereby working a host of stabilisation muscles, encouraging stability, balance and ultimate ‘functional strength’ – which is somewhat of a holy grail to me. The ropes are effective at working each arm independently, as opposed to a bar which works in a linear, synchronised movement, whereby the dominant arm likely bears most of the load. Ropes are supreme at eliminating strength imbalances. You’ll also get a killer ‘crush grip’ from grasping the rope as you flail your limbs about!
LOW IMPACT, HIGH INTENSITY: If you’re looking for low impact cardio and muscular workout [but don’t fancy aqua aerobics] then these ropes could be you’re NBF! When executed properly they’re low impact on your joints and can take you well into the aerobic as well as the dreaded anaerobic zone. Also they help train a broad span of the neuromuscular system, as the power starts at the core and is then communicated through your legs and arms. They are super versatile you can use them as a full body worker, or a workout finisher or just pick your favourite exercises to compliment your training.
HOW TO?
First off, find a rope that’s suitable for you; this will depend on rope length, thicknesses and ultimately weight. I think that the best way to estimate it is as follows: if your form/technique feels like its loose, switch to an easier rope. I’d never pick a heavier weight at the expense of form, because that way injury lies! The resistance is determined by how much slack there is in the rope. If you move further away from the attachment point you’ll find that it decreases the exercise intensity. If you step toward the atachment point it will increase the intensity.
On days when you don’t have a huge amount if time but want to get a great workout in (and not leave the gym feeling as though you could’ve done more) I think battle ropes deliver in spades. A quick 15 minute workout (interspersed with some press ups and burpees) can leave you utterly drenched! Adjust the rope and the amount of slack so you’re being challenged and introduce some HIIT TRAINING – it’s time efficient, challenging and gets your metabolism firing during as well, as an afterburner! (more on this here) Alternate between 1 minute closer to the anchor point (this will be your recovery time) and one minute farther away where you’ll be working at maximum heart rate for one minute! Here are my two favourites:
Battling-Rope Waves (as below picture)
a. Grip the ends of the rope at arm’s length in front of your hips with your hands shoulder-width apart.
b. Engage your core and start by alternately explosive slamming each arm.
Battling-Rope Simultaneous Slams (as below picture)
a. Stand up tall and grip both ropes at the end,
b. Pull the ropes up high into the air and as you slam them down get into a half squat position.
c. After you slam, stand up and return to the starting position.
d. Repeat.
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During a recent Leg Session (one of my favourite body parts to train), I decided to do some ‘plyo box squats’. The word plyo – a contraction of ‘plyometric’ – basically means ‘jump training’. A simple practise, yes, but an awesome weapon in the fitness arsenal, due to the amount of muscular and cardiovascular exertion it generates. This is a little post on the benefits on plyometrics, why box squats are so fantastic, and how to execute them correctly! Also included are some step-ups – oldies, but goodies ?
1) WHAT IS IT ???
Plyometric training is a great way to exert maximum effort in a very short space of time. It’s often executed through bodyweight compound movements, for examples burpees, box jumps, jumping lunges, jump squats etc. An easy way to think of it is that your feet don’t typically stay one the ground for too long. The musculature in the body is made up of slow-twitch muscles (aerobic strength – think endurance, marathons), and fast-twitch ones (more about anaerobic strength – think heavy weight training + explosive movements). Plyometric training is a superb way to develop these fast twitch muscle fibers, as the exercises efficiently condition you for greater speed, stamina and explosive power.
2) KEEP THE FORM!!!
Whilst you’ll be pushing yourself, and it’s pretty tempting to go all out as you get caught up in the adrenaline-fuelled jumps, I’d suggest slowing down in order to ensure your form remains perfect. Jumping exercises aren’t risk-free, as you’re working at speed; landing incorrectly could easily injure a wrist, knee, ankle etc. twist an ankle. Avoid concrete if you can find a softer, sprung surface. Also if you have weak or injured knees etc this type of training should certainly be avoided.
3) WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS ???
I’m a huge fan of squats and have written at length about their benefits in the past. These box squats give you the benefits of plyo plus squats, and if performed correctly, activate the largest muscle groups in the body (i.e. the quads, glutes and hamstrings). To boot, they also engage a good deal of stabilising muscles too (e.g. transverse abdominus, adductors, gastrocnemius, erector spinae). Being that they target larger muscle groups, that in turn boosts the operating metabolic rate which encourages faster recovery, and in turn consumes more calories. The legs might therefore burn their most calories whilst you’re at rest – the virtuous circle of burn! Also there’s the core reinforcement angle too – that muscular girdle we all wear around our midsection absorbs so much of our daily flak. The more conditioned we keep these muscles (abdominals, obliques, glutes & spinal fibres), the better we’ll feel! They really are marvellous, multi-purpose exercises.
4) HOW TO: Here’s how to incorporate box jumps into your lower-body training days:
1. Stand at a comfortable distance from the box in a neutral position.
2. Drop quickly into a half squat, and then just as you’re ready to jump, explode upwards from your hips, swing your arms, and push your feet through the floor to propel yourself up onto the box.
3. When you land on the box, envision the way cats land when they jump from something; you, too, should try to land this silently, squatting down to absorb the impact.
4. Jump back down, and once again absorb the impact by landing quietly, squatting as you do so.
5. Repeat to exhaustion.
Also, why not have a go at these step-ups too (as below images). Great for isolating single legs, and if you execute this with a regular rhythm and for a minute at a time, you’ll soon feel the burning benefit of the box ?
Image shot at Virgin Active Mayfair.
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Pick up the viper on the gym floor!!! No not the venomous snake, but this functional, weighted cylinder that’s built for strength training. The benefits of functional training are huge; it’s an industry buzz-phrase that gets plenty of air time, but boiled down, it just means ‘exercises that are like the everyday movements’. The VIPR (a catchy acronym for Vitality, Performance and Reconditioning) is an excellent way to access this, with workouts that help to develop strength, build tone, hone balance, improve coordination, and intensify calorie burn. This post looks at why you might want to use it in your workouts…
A) WHAT IS IT?
Functional training involves bodyweight exercises that help to teach your body to handle it’s own weight, placing emphasis on multi-joint movements rather than trying to isolate a specific muscle. The result of this is to strengthen the core muscles (hips, abs and back) & lift your ‘body awareness’, posture and balance by adding stability to the musculoskeletal system. A byproduct of improving muscular balance is to help prevent injuring more fragile parts of your body too, as well as using more of your existing muscle mass whilst exercising which promotes quicker calorie burn, more weight loss, and therefore improves the composition of your body!
B) WHAT DO YOU GET?
The results are much as you’d see from heavy weight training: more strength, better tone, improved stamina… However, the big difference is that functional training doesn’t need you to deliver ‘maximal power’. Instead, you just carry out the movements you’d otherwise make during regular, everyday activities (for example, the squat you’d perform to pick something up from the floor, reaching atop the book case, climbingthe stairs etc). It schools the body to move on multiple planes (not just rotationally, but up and down, as well as front, back and side-to-side).
C) THE VIPR:
The VIPR is a cylindrical rubber tube of varying weight, with three handles (one central, two at shoulder-width) and is a seriously versatile instrument for the pursuit of functional training. There are a supposed 9,000 types of exercise you can do with it, which is handy because they cost about £200 (c.$310) for the 12kg weight – that’s 2p per exercise! It’s also yet another fun piece of equipment that adds variation and a new challenge to your training – and sometimes, that newness can be everything when it comes to motivating yourself to get on with it! Here are four ideas for Vipr exercises:
1) PLANK THROWS (as below picture)
i. Start in a plank position
ii. Place the ViPR to the left side of you. With your right hand grab it and pull it across to your right side, and all along maintain a strong core.
iii. Repeat on the other sides.
2) BENT OVER ROWS (as below picture)
i. Start by bending forward at the hips until your body is at a circa 45 degrees angle, maintaining soft knees (not locked). Make sure you have a neutral spine, keep your shoulders down and back, and open up your chest.
ii. Holding the ViPR in a neutral grip, let it hang below you and then slowly and in a controlled manner ‘row’ the ViPR up to your chest. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top, but avoid tensing / shrugging your shoulders.
iii. Then return to the starting position. Repeat.
3) FRONT SQUAT TO OVERHEAD PRESS (as below picture)
i. Hold the ViPR a shoulder width apart and with an overhand grip, bring your elbows forward ensuring your palms are facing upward. The ViPR should be resting on you anterior deltoids. With legs a shoulder width apart, sit down and back, as though you’re sitting down into a chair. Ensure to squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Deeper squats are fabulous at really exhausting the lower body, but are not recommended for those with weak knees!
ii. Keep the weight on the heels and try not to extend the knees beyond your toes.
iii. Keep you abs tight, roll your shoulders back and stand tall, maintaining a straight back.
iv. Exhale with exertion.
v. Keep a soft bend in the knees when you push up. This will keep the work in your legs and not your knee joints. As you come to standing position perform an overhead shoulder press.
4) BURPEES (as below picture)
i. Standing tall, come into a full squat (read how to above).
ii. Then come onto your toes, and lower the ViPR to the ground. Ensuring your hands are directly under your shoulders.
iii. With both feet, simultaneously jump back into a plank position (hands extended)
iv. Finally jump back in and up into a squat position. Repeat
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I’ve left this ‘Christmas gift list’ post very late in the day, but not by accident; December will have been a seasonally indulgent month for many of us, and the last thing you want think about whilst you’re toasting with a flute of delicious bubbly is a ‘healthy reboot’. However, now is the time to snap up those last-minute healthy gifts, ready to help loved ones re-focus on the New Year reforms – and there are still 3 very productive shopping days left to do it! Click MORE to check out the 14 essential goodies on my FitnessOnToast wish list from my wander around London’s iconic Harrods
1. Technogym Wellness Ball – Active Sitting
The ball allows you to exercise at work or at home. Slumping for hours at your desk is far from healthy, so getting up for a walk and a shuffle about is very much encouraged whenever possible; but whilst you’re sitting, the ball helps to improve your posture and engage your core. You can also do countless exercises on the ball to strengthen your muscles and improve balance.
2. Trainers – Nike Air Zoom Pegasus
Investing in a good pair of trainers is key; choosing precisely which ones will entirely depend on your foot. If you can, opt for a run assessment with a qualified sport scientist. I personally love these Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 31 Flash (women’s running shoe). The focussed monochrome aesthetic means you can easily wear them both in and out of the gym environment – so pair them with a pair of skinny jeans or baggy yoga pants! The shoe itself is lightweight and supportive, the design features hi-vis reflectivity, and with it’s weather protection it’s perfect to keep those feet dry during the cold & damp months that lie ahead in Britain!
3. East India Company Tropical Punch (Blend 68)
I think an indulgent and luxurious tea blend is a great gift for anyone health conscious and this one tastes great! A delicious blend of white tea with hibiscus, rosehip and orange peel, with a punch antioxidant hit!
4. Magimix CitiZ&Milk Limousine Coffee Machine
Coffee remains an excellent pre workout drink! This retro-chic machine is high up on my list for a stylish serve ?
5. KitchenAid, Artisan Stand Mixer 6.9
I adore this Mixer – it’s a piece of functional art and I’d love to get my hands on it. It’s a bit of a pricey purchase so for now I’ll just be drooling over it. There’s a 10 speed motor to achieve fast and thorough mixing for whatever food you’re making (cakes, bread, ice-cream (!!) etc), and it has this gorgeous, rich metallic finish. Pure retro perfection!
6. KitchenAid Artisan Cordless Hand Blender
This gorgeous little device effortlessly blend soups, smoothies and sauces.
7. Luxurious Pillows
You may have read one of my numerous posts on the importance of sleep, and investing in a good, plump, fluffy pillow is a key part of the ethos. After all, you spend a significant proportion of your life in bed – yet still, it’s never enough! The choices are vast – memory foam, artificial, allergen-free, hungarian goose down etc – take your pick!
8. Lavender Oil
I like my home to feel like a sanctuary, so that when I walk in from a tough day’s training, it reminds me of a spa! Clean, sparse, and if possible, smelling of fresh laundry, lavender, citrus etc. I’ve linked to my favourite in the above, Kneipp Lavender Herbal Bath oil. Ahhh….
9. Wuesthof Kitchen Knife set
For the ultimate in precision-preparation of all your healthy dishes for 2015 !!!
10. Monreal Clothes
Whether you’re a tennis player or a chic fitness fashionista – anything from this brand goes!
11. Maison Du Chocolat 100% Coro Bar !!!
Pure chocolate, this bar is the most intense I’ve encountered, with full flavour and no added sugar. Can your palate handle it?
12. Sweaty Betty Bag, Deluxe Studio Holdall
Great holdall with laptop sleeve, extendable design and internal wet pocket, perfect for post-swim. The yoga mat straps, shoe pocket and mesh water bottle holder make it a pretty awesome all-rounder!
13. Cold-Press Juicer from Kuvings
This ‘masticating’ Juicer is perfect for vegetable & fruit juices. It squeezes out the juice & leaves more of the nutritional value intact, by chewing the contents, NOT spinning it and heating it up (which creates simpler sugars, and destroys the vitamin value). You can also make yummy cake with the fibrous pulp it spits out (mmm cake!)
14. Sweaty Betty Outfit – for performance but also to inspire you to train in the new year.
– Sweaty Betty Motion Run Tights Specifically for cold runs with therma fleece fabric for warmth and breathability during training.
– Sweaty Betty Tessellate Luxe L/S Top with high-stretch and sweat-wicking materials, great as a base layer.
– Sweaty Betty Steady Luxe Knitted Jumper – this cashmere blend jumper will keep you warm and is perfect for bit of layering.
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On your marks… get set… SHOP!
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I WAS WEARING
Leather Biker Trousers – Zara
Canada Goose Montebello Jacket
Leather Booties – Zara
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Merry Christmas to you! I went for my Xmas morning brisk walk on a gloriously sunny Primrose Hill today (click MORE to see all the pics). My companions were a few of my fave mini mince pies from Selfridges (i’ll miss them in a week or so – sigh!) to keep me fuelled through the walk ? because what’s the point in training hard if you can’t enjoy all the trimmings of a day like today ?! Savour it, and then get ready to hit it hard tomorrow! Post-indulgence workout tips-and-tricks to follow soon. x
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I’ve wanted to share this awesome experience for a while now, but it’s been embargoed… until now! Earlier this year I was whisked away to visit the Adidas global HQ in Germany with 5 other bloggers from around the world, to view the upcoming ss15 collection, to style my favourite pieces and participate in a photoshoot featuring the clothes. Click MORE to get my insight into this fabulous head office, and see some of the clothes that will grace their stores in time for the next bout of warm weather!
This post will be split into 4 sections; 1) The HQ Mega-Campus, 2) The Company’s Design Collaborations, 3) The Design Team’s Inspiration and 4) Some cheeky shots of me having styled a couple of outfits :D… Straight to it then:
1) THE HQ MEGA-CAMPUS:
The head offices are based where the brand was originally founded by Adi Dassler (I’m pictured with his bronze brother, below) some 90 years ago, in his home town of Herzogenaurach, Germany. That was our base for the few days. The grounds are vast – 346 acres vast – and accommodate a full complement of 3,800 staff, who get to enjoy regular visits from sporting legends such as Lionel Messi, David Beckham and the New Zealand All-Blacks rugby team -super cool! The campus is split into numerous zones – the design house, the marketing department (‘Brand Centre’), the playing fields, the stadium, the playing courts, the show room etc – they’ve got a zone for everything! Architecturally, the aesthetic is ultra-modern, with high ceilings, abundant glass walls, angular functional designs and gorgeous vistas over rolling green fields. Employees are encouraged to use the phenomenal gym, train in the grounds and eat healthy organic foods served in the gorgeous canteens. The entire place evokes a sense of healthy lifestyle and is really quite inspirational – it almost feels like a game as opposed to a workplace!
2) THE DESIGN COLLABORATIONS
Adidas is a truly world class fitness and lifestyle brand, and they seem excited to exhibit their product journeys in an almost museum-like way; it was an immense privilege to have been offered such an insight into their inner workings. Throughout the trip, a considerable emphasis was placed upon the authenticity and heritage of their historic collaborations, so I thought I’d share the intel, which I found fascinating…
The company was formed in 1924 and their emblematic ‘3 stripes’ have been worn by countless athletes since. David Beckham has had his foot 3D mapped here, as well as musicians fronting campaigns including Missy Elliot, Rita Ora, Pharell, Kanye and lets not forget the hip hop era when RUN DMC had everyone literally raise up their Adidas with the tune ‘My Adidas‘. The company was also one of the first to engage in a large-scale collaboration with a significant fashion designer – Stella McCartney – creating truly iconic sports luxe pieces. Stella designed the whole team range for Great Britain at the Olympic games in 2012; a successful collaboration fusing functionality and style; the collaboration is celebrating 10 years (started in 05).
Then there’s the Y3 range which was created with Yohji Yamamoto in 2003, who at the time was unique in wanting to create a shoe together with Adidas, which turned into an immediate runaway success! Jeremy Scott, one of their most celebrated collaborations, created the infamous Torero jacket. His eponymous wings shoes, a true style statement, are regularly seen both in and outside of the gym environment (in my view, the successful test of a true crossover collaboration).
There are of course certain heritage points in history that one tends to associate with Adidas – hip hop especially with the Originals collection – but the collaborations they’re doing now are bringing that image up to date. The three stripes (originally made for stabilisation of the shoe) are identifiable but also visible to a sporting crowd, and have come a long way. The most recent collaboration with Pharell and Kanye pushes the boundaries yet further, fusing fitness, fashion and contemporary culture ever more. There’s growing focus on the women’s collection too, from a functional and fashion perspective, and it all feels far more relevant and considered these days. I was also delighted to find how much emphasis is put into sustainability and the environment (but thats for another post perhaps).
3) THE DESIGN TEAM – INSPIRATION
Meeting the design team was a fabulous experience. A full 5 months before the products ever go on sale, the entire ss15 collection is fully completed and ready to be styled! The team walked us through the design process from inception as a mere idea, through scale production, to the point where you walk into the shop and think ‘wow, this all makes sense’!
To start with, a trend team worldwide looks at how global trends are forming & developing (I was super-flattered that little old me made it onto their mood board for the ss15 collection, as per the above shot – the designers hadn’t realised it was me ? ) for each sport individually, and cross references that with how the consumer is behaving. The design directors then filter this information into what is relevant for Adidas as a brand. The inspiration for the ss15 collection overall was ‘organisation’, as they found that consumers seem to be moving more into cities; to solve for that, they wanted to imbue an urban skew to the collection.
In that ‘conceptual, designer-type of way’, the team talked about seeing the ‘city in movement’, to make the collection dynamic, and giving it motion, with a twist. They reference the need for the end product to be uniform, so that when the consumer walks into the store, it should look like theres a story being told.
Print is their way of tying all this together in colour. The colour story for the ss15 is ‘night flash’; which is basically accented ‘pops’ of saturation all over the place, in combination with a neon glow orange. Monochrome remains a mainstay, as do dynamic prints, and everything that is still functional and performance focused. Materials are selected bearing in mind four main things; i) functionality/performance, ii) fashion, iii) staying with the story and iv) sustainability.
There are many more images to follow from my friends at Adidas – I’m really looking forward to seeing the main shots from the pro photoshoot and seeing the products hit the stores! Hope you enjoyed the little insight into their fitness universe ? Happy new year, and may 2015 be the healthiest yet!
FYI – these were my fabulous blogger compatriots for the occasion. We had Natalia (Trendy Taste) from Spain, Fay (Beautiful Active Life) from Singapore, Linda (Linderella) from Munich, Ally (Substance) from Australia and Alex (Fashercise) from London – a proper global blogger representation, and all with some superb sites! ?
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I reject the idea that with the advent of January, we need to reinvent ourselves to pursue a monk-like existence of restraint. It’s totally unrealistic, unsustainable, not very much fun, and all a bit of a tired 90s cliché! Sure we might have predictably lost track a bit in December – not a crime, just human – but we can get right back on course without going to extremes. To me, there’s so much more sense in pursuing a healthy, sustainable and enjoyable ethos for as much of the year as possible – and that includes treating yourself. This is the entire ethos of my blog, and I’m finally putting it into a guide so that you can benefit from the discoveries it’s taken me years to make.
I’ve spent about 12 months putting this guide together with Dr Michelle Storfer, one of London’s leading Nutritionists who shares my ethos. Health & fitness is a choice that’s open to everyone, all the time. Even if you just dip in a little more than you used to, that’s progress too! Click HERE (or on the picture above) to download the guide & start your year as you mean to go on! Good luck ? x
I’m super excited to announce that at 19:00 GMT tomorrow evening, I’ll be hosting a quick Google hangout ‘panel discussion’ about Fitness Technology for Argos! This is a huge year for ‘fit tech’, with some enormous innovations out there, so we’ll be discussing 4 intriguing pieces of kit – pros & cons. On the panel will be Liina from Mind Over Matter, David from MensRunning, and Lori from Wild and Grizzly who’ll be sharing their thoughts too! For those wondering whether or not I have a comically deep baritone voice, tune in at 19:00 (GMT) on Tuesday 6th January (tomorrow) via the LINK HERE, and have your say during Q&A! ?
As a response to a recent email, I’m going to start showcasing some of the gorgeous places to exercise in the truly special city that is London! Today, I’m starting with one of my absolute favourites, the stunning Hampstead Heath. It’s an epic park which finds itself a mere 6km away from the gridlocked traffic of Trafalgar Square -but you’d barely believe it was the same country! To my mind, this is the ultimate escapist parkland This post also coincides with a little feature I put together for Gap over on their styld.by site yesterday – super exciting, check it out! Click MORE to read my thoughts on this beautiful part of London & see its secret gems!
Hampstead Heath is a vast 790 acre expanse of incredibly diverse land, with parts of it feeling like an intimate and enchanting ‘secret garden’, yet other areas resembling lush, rolling green meadows – some gorgeous panoramic vistas, and some delicious lakeside waterscapes – all teeming with wildlife, in stark contrast to the dense residential zones which surround it! These spaces remind me so much of Swedish forests, and vividly remind me of running around the Scandinavian countryside as a child. It’s a wonderful variation on the typical ‘groomed’ parks you’ll find elsewhere around London. The Heath, as it’s affectionately called, entrusts a sense of calm, overlooking the hustle and bustle of London below. I always find that working out in the fresh air helps with natural endorphin release! It’s beautiful throughout the season and a great place to watch them unfold.
Parliament Hill, otherwise referred to as ‘Kite Hill’ (for fairly self-explanatory reasons), boasts some mesmerising views of London and as with any hill it’s perfect for treacherous HIIT sprints!
Kenwood House, a hidden gem, nestled among the wood, mainly know for the artwork it houses (including self portrait of Rembrandt!), but it’s also the perfect place to pick up a cup of green tea and sit in the outdoor cafe and bath in the sun after a long run.
There are also ‘ladies’, ‘men’s’ and mixed swimming ponds, which are open to the public all year round. However to use the Mixed pond in the winter time you’ll have to join the Hampstead Heath Winter Swimming Club. Or be a duck…
Further, there’s an athletics track and a Lido, as well as several fitness classes running throughout the year. British Military Fitness is good fun – challenging, varies each time, social and best of all (I think) in a beautiful outdoor setting. There are also countless running clubs to sign up to!
Alternatively, just do your own training! Just find one of their 186 benches and do some leg work. Or bring a resistance band, skipping rope, a TRX, a yoga mat or just yourself – park training offers endless variation and fun!
Thanks to Gap Fit who sent me this look from their ss15 collection to feature on their styld.by page!
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