FEELING SPORTY, LOOKING SLOUCHY !!!

So the 25th has come and gone, but the Christmas break isn’t quite over yet! I’m still enjoying the festive holidays, lounging around with friends and family, so I like to wear something comfortable for the occasion. The way I feel right now has inspired this ‘look’ – it’s sporty but relaxed and more importantly feels so soft and comfortable.

I teamed up one of my favourite sporty brands Monreal London’s  block white and neon-trimmed black ‘mesh’ tops with a pair of very loose-fitting, impossibly soft, Sweaty Betty pants and black Asics shoes with gold detailing. Some days you just don’t want tight clothes (especially after a few packs of mince pies) and these pants are perfect for lounging around. All these items are from the upcoming spring summer collections and will be on sale in the first quarter of the year. Thanks to ‘Santa’ and a BIG thank you to Asics, Sweaty Betty and Monreal for some fab Xmas pressies

MONREAL MESH TOP
SWEATY BETTY YOGA PANTS
ASICS GEL ZARACA SHOES
(All SS14. Shot in and around London’s gorgeous Belgrave Square)

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SPORT RELIEF ON TOAST: OPTIMISING FOR THE SWIMATHON!!!

I’m still splashing away in the pool, learning to swim the front crawl for the fabulous cause that is Sainsbury’s Sport Relief, kicking off on March the 23rd 2014 at the epic Olympic pool. Anyone can take part and if swimming isn’t your cup of tea there’s also the cycle / marathon . You’ll be getting fit for 2014 (the classic resolution) whilst raising money for some of the poorest in the world. Why not sign up?! Check it out HERE!

You might notice that whilst I’m rattling on about swimming, I’m not in a pool in these pictures (shot outside the newly re-opened Kenwood House, just at the top of London’s Bishops Avenue, aka Billionaires Row). Yes, it’s hard to swim through air, but this post is actually about training the small stabiliser muscles that comprise the shoulder; it’s usually these smaller ones that are susceptible to strains in the pool, and are often neglected when you train in the gym. To build them up and prevent injury, there are a few simple exercises you can do with just a trusty resistance band…

WHY BOTHER? (THE THEORY)
The rotator cuff stops the humerus (upper arm) from slipping out of its shallow joint. It’s made up of four muscles (the Infraspinatus, the Supraspinatus, Subscapularis and the Teres Minor), and when they all work efficiently together, they enable the shoulder to stay stable, whilst the stronger more dominant muscles do their thing, such as the deltoids. They’re much like the flaps on an airplane, where comparatively tiny pieces make a huge difference to the overall shape of the flight. The smaller stabiliser muscles are easily neglected when weight training, but if you introduce the below exercises into your shoulder routine, you’ll definitely find you can reduce the risk of instability and injury but also improve you shoulder strength and work harder.

THE PROBLEM:
Instability injuries are easy to avoid but equally very easy to induce when training; our bodies are exceptional at trying to find the path of least resistance when performing an exercise, but if you’re not paying attention you could be dangerously sacrificing form. For example Charlie, my fab swimming coach and physiotherapist tells me I’m showing signs of right arm dominance whilst swimming. As I get to grips with the freestyle stoke and increase the distance I’m swimming, I’ll start pulling harder and lifting my right arm higher than my left arm. The left, being slightly weaker is struggling to perform at the same level as the right. This doesn’t sound like a very serious injury/ concern, but if this imbalance continues I will likely end up developing shoulder strains on my right side – BAD! I could damage the ligaments and muscles of the deltoid groups as they will be working of their tolerance levels.

OK – NOW, THE FIX:
To combat this instability I need to make sure I’m strengthening my rotator cuff, on both sides, whilst also increasing the strength and mobility on my left. This doesn’t mean that I only train the left, but I need to focus on the left slightly more. This can be done by increasing the repetitions on the left for a short time and make sure both sides are stretched well after every training session, both on land and water. Here’s my shoulder-strengthening routine, which I do 2-3x a week:

1. INTERNAL ROTATION (as per below pics)

Using a resistance band, shortened to your appropriate level of resistance, perform 3 sets of 15-20 repetitions.
• Holding the band with your elbow bent at your hip
• Keeping your elbow close to your side slowly bring your arm across your body.
• Return to the start position and repeat.

2) EXTERNAL ROTATION (as per below pics)

Perform 3 sets of 15-20 repetitions.
• Hold the band with your elbow bent and at your side.
• Keeping your elbow close to your side, slowly rotate your arm outward.
• Return to the start position and repeat.

3) EXTERNAL ROTATION WITH ARM ABDUCTED 90 DEGREES (as per below pics)

– For the starting position, raise the elbow to shoulder height. Keep it bent, at 90 degrees (as if forming an L-shape) and with the hand facing forward
– Slowly raise your hand until it’s level with your head; the elbow should remain at shoulder level throughout the motion. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat for 15-20 reps, 3 sets.
– N.B. as per the pictures, use a resistance band when performing the rotator cuff exercises to start with; as you progress and build strength, perhaps move on to the cable machine. You may find that the resistance band no longer does it, but avoid overloading these muscles, as they are prone to snapping.

Below are some more pictures from the afternoon spent around a truly fantastic English Heritage site!

I was wearing:
T-SHIRT: Sport Relief t-shirt, available at all Sainsbury’s stores from the 17th February 2014’.
SHOES: an absolute favourite from the upcoming Asics SS14 collection
LEGGINGS: Vevie Brunswick Satin Rouche, as ever.
JACKET: Montebello Parka from Canada Goose
SUNGLASSES: Prada

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A TOAST TO FITNESS !!!

I’ve been writing Fitness On Toast for a year now – it’s been huge fun, the response has surprised me enormously, and has taken me on some fabulous adventures! A big thank you to everyone who has supported the blog, for reading, for browsing aimlessly, for your lovely emails and heartening comments… I’d like to propose a toast to fitness; let’s make 2014 the healthiest year yet! Now I don’t want to sound like a spoil sport, and a bit of a tipple is called for around this time of year, but to help you along, I’m reposting this “Alcohol vs Fitness” article I wrote at the start of 2013, as it’s totally relevant for this evening :D! HAPPY NEW YEAR xx

ALCOHOL UNCOVERED
http://fitnessontoast.com/2013/01/03/alcohol-vs-fitness/

1) IF YOU MUST: Make it one or two glasses of red a day (shown to decrease the risk of stroke, heart disease and cancer, by elevating good cholesterol, and is rich in polyphenol antioxidants for cell health). Alternatively, a straight spirit (vodka, gin or scotch) is fine, but avoid mixers which are bursting with simple sugars, and are quickly metabolised into fat!

2) CONSIDER THIS: Every 1 gram of fat is 9 calories, 1g of protein is 4 calories, and 1g of alcohol is 7 calories. Alcohol is almost as calorifit as fat, but has only ‘empty’ calories with no nutritional value, and only speeds up fat storage. A double gin & tonic is 175 calories (c.10% of a girl’s RDA calorie intake, alot for something that doesn’t fill you up!)

3) THE SCORES:
– Single G&T: 75 calories
– Glass of champagne: 91 calories
– Can of Stella Artois: 247 calories
– Shot of straight vodka: 55 calories
– Glass of Baileys: 133 calories

4) ALCOHOL’S EFFECT ON MY TRAINING?: It can stop you reaching your goals by dampening performance, recovery and focus. Although it’s absorbed quickly, it metabolises slowly and can still affect the system up to 48 hours after consumption. It decreases strength, dehydrates (damaging to the kidney), exhausts the body (impairs liver function, as it metabolises alcohol at the expense of glycogen), disturbs sleep (crucial for muscle recovery), slows down reaction time, disrupts the body’s balance and coordination, impedes cardio exercise (raises blood pressure so the heart works harder to pump blood through the body) etc…

5) SUMMARISING IT ALL: A typical night out likely involves >3 drinks and some cheesy chips at the end. That could easily amount to 1250-1500 calories in itself, which is >60% of your daily calorie allowance on top of what you’ve already had that day!. No wonder next day you’ll feel bloated and tired, so perhaps try to avoid the hangover fry-up, as you won’t need the calories!!!

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THE BEST OF THE REST !!!

To save these ‘fitness fashion’ images we shot in Monaco and Cannes from being confined to the lonely depths of my hard drive ( ), I thought I’d post a series of photos which I just didn’t have space to showcase during the summer blogging frenzy! If nothing else, it’s making me think of sunnier climes whilst the rainy British winter unleashes it’s worst; but also, it reminds me that we’re only 5 months away from things warming up once again, so it’s almost time to start getting back to bikini shape – see them all below…

For any 2014 newcomers to Fitness On Toast, firstly, welcome . Secondly by way of background, last year I discovered what has now become one of my favourite luxury sportswear brands – Monreal London – and documented the rise of gorgeous fitness clothes in THIS POST.  Their clothes are glamorous, beautifully made and practical, lavishing materials and shapes that flatter and gently exaggerate our ‘good curves’. It’s all very fresh and trendy, with dresses and separates where white is the base colour, flicked with some sparing and geometric colour/textures to break things up. I loved last years collection (some still available at Matches), but I can’t wait to show you their SS14 collection – it is simply gorgeous!

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“GRAZIA MILLE” !!!

I’m so excited to have been featured in the latest edition of Grazia Magazine published today (and on the homepage of their online site HERE). With a focus on Instagram as their source of ‘fitspiration’ (I’m @fitnessontoast), they’ve listed me as one of their four most motivational fitness blogs! All I can say is ‘Grazia mille‘ guys, feeling very flattered ? My [belated] resolution to you, dear readers, is for plenty of delicious recipes, challenging workouts and chic looks to come in 2014. Stay tuned…

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MY GRAZIA ‘SS14 GYM OUTFIT’ DETAILS…

Just a quick Fitness Fashion post in response to the emails I’ve had asking for details on the Grazia outfit. I was asked to put something together comprising SS14 collection pieces, so I reached out to some of my favourite sports apparel brands for their new collection pieces to feature. Here’s an inventory:

JACKET: Nike ‘All Over Flash’ Women’s Running Jacket, available now HERE
SPORTS BRA: Sweaty Betty ‘Stamina’ Sports Bra in Lime Green, will be available from www.sweatybetty.com
TOP: Monreal wide-mesh cotton sports top with Lime Green trim, will be available from www.matchesfashion.com
LEGGINGS: Vevie ‘Brunswick’ satin ruche, as I’d featured in this previous post  and available HERE
BAG: Sports bag, £850, Monreal London, will be available from www.matchesfashion.com
SHOES: Gel-Super J33, £100, Asics, will be available from www.asics.co.uk

And for anyone wondering about the other shoes I was wearing which they’d featured, the fabulous rainbow-multicoloured ones, they’re Asics Gel-Noosa Tri 8’s, available right now, HERE! See more detail shots from the photoshoot here…

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FITNESS ON JUICE – I’M DOING DETOX WEEK !!!

ETHOS: To tackle this at the outset, I don’t associate with the word ‘diet’ because of all the unrealistic and futile notions it conjures up. Regular readers of Fitness On Toast will know that I favour the long-term, sustainable and healthy lifestyle choice of eating clean for most of the time, and indulging in the odd treat on occasion. But between today, 13th January, and Friday 17th, I’ve been asked by Philips to take part in “The World’s Biggest Juice Detox”, which will involve me giving up on solids!

SCANDAL WAIVER: I’m not undertaking this ‘detox diet’ because I want to “lose 5lb in 5 days” as the literature implores. Neither am I looking to enter the controversy around whether it’s healthy to sustain the body on what is essentially just nutrient-infused fructose (fruit sugar). I recognise there are benefits and disbenefits, but that’s not what I’m after here. I am undertaking this in the spirit of discovery, to find out whether I feel a perceptible difference in myself by consuming only assorted blends of juices 6x a day. It’s an experiment that might very well  work, or it might not, but the idea has piqued my interest, so I’m guinea-pigging myself and I’ll soon let you know whether it’s worth the considerable hype!

LOGISTICAL NIGHTMARE? To execute my fresh juicing each day, I’ve been supplied with this centrifugal juicer, and a VAST box of fresh fruit and vegetables by Philips. It’s enough to get me through the full 5 days, and has absolutely TAKEN OVER my poor creaking fridge, in which there is barely room for one extra cherry.

I’ll be updating my Instagram (@FitnessOnToast) & Twitter with regular ‘juice blends’ (with ingredients list) in case you fancy whipping up one or two of them along with me. The juice I made below is their ⚡?Turbo with a kick!?? which involves 2 Apples 1/4 medium Pineapple 1 handful Spinach 1/2 peeled Lime 1/2 Celery stick 3cm chunk Cucumber 1cm Ginger root 1/4 medium Avocado Ice cubes – yum! I’ll also post my final review of the program here at the end of the week, so keep an eye out for the update. Have a good week

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SUN-SALUTE YOGA ATOP ‘THE SHARD’ !!!

This week, I was invited by Gap to a very special yoga class. It took place 1016 feet (310m) above London’s pavements, on the 69th floor of Europe’s tallest building The Shard at the crack of dawn, to watch the sunrise over a stunning 360-degree view of London. Certainly not your average sweaty bikram backdrop! Given the weather was utterly flawless with just a wisp of fluffy haze on the distant horizon, the spectacular natural theatrics didn’t disappoint; This was quite simply the most epic and magically uplifting yoga session I’ve ever done! Get the review & pictures below…

When I arrived at London Bridge station at 07:00, the City was threatening, shrouded and pitch black. From ‘The View’, you could see London’s veiny little roads illuminated by millions of Christmas tree fairy lights (though actually street lamps). Then at 07:45, at altitude, we began the session by waking up the muscles, stretching out in the ‘downward dog’ and similar poses. Within minutes, the sun slowly began to break from the horizon, throwing off a gorgeous deep red glow, warming the sky and the all-glass room we we’re in. Seconds later, it sparkled like gold as it was saying ‘good morning’ through the last of the mist, and by the time I left the building it was a perfect sunny winter’s day.

In truth, I’m not particularly good at yoga, and this class was a reminder of just how relatively inflexible I really am. I do a lot of weight training and although I always stretch and use the foam roller, I think a good yoga session a week would do me wonders. That was why one of my 2014 New Years resolutions is to improve my flexibility through this ancient Indian exercise going back c.5,000 years!! Aside from improving flexibility it can help build strength (especially the core), hone balance, and may also help those who suffer from lower back pains, high blood pressure, heart disease, and general aches and pains.

I find that the focus on breathing and the mind is of greatest benefit to me; why you ask? “Surely everyone knows how to breathe and think!?” Yes, but doing it well is harder than it sounds, and I find that an awareness of one’s breathing and thoughts helps us to control them. The removal of unnecessary mental anguish can help improve our overall well-being, is de-stressing and can even lift the mood. That, combined with a stunning vista like this left me simultaneously invigorated and relaxed – a unique feeling that I only seem able to get from yoga!

For the occasion, GapFit generously kitted me out with an entire outfit which I’m wearing in the shots. The clothes are very ‘Gap’ – relaxed and comfortable, with a strong emphasis on appealing details. I particularly liked the soft, satin feel of the pants and the fun patterned print; some pants tend to ‘dig’ into your waist, but it was though I’d forgotten I was wearing any at all – they were that comfortable!

(Gap’s photography provided by SuzyJay.com) 


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ITS A WALK IN THE PARK !!!

This post rounds up what I think are the “6 key health benefits of walking”. Boring? No, actually quite topical; I’ve received a few emails asking what to do if you a) hardly have any time to workout and b) haven’t trained for a very long time (or in fact, ever). For this scenario, I think it’s wise to ease in gently; ‘going for a walk’ might not feel like a workout per se, but if you do it regularly and properly, it comes with several wondrous health benefits, which I discuss later. Above all, you don’t need membership, and it can be squeezed in whenever there’s a bit of extra time; walking to or from work; on lunch breaks; on holiday as an eager tourist etc!

Depending on your current fitness level, a brisk strut may very well get you sweating and raise the heart rate too. As you progress you can increase the distance and/or speed, switch between high and moderate intensity, decrease the ‘recovery periods’, and find hills/steps to climb. If you’re unsure how many steps you take in a day how about trying out a pedometer; Britain’s NHS suggests we should aim to take >10,000 steps a day to see health benefits, which sounds VAST, but our lazy-day average is supposedly c. 4,000, so it’s definitely achievable! Here are my top 6 health benefits you’ll enjoy by going for a little walk:

1) DEVELOPS STRONGER BONES: Walking is far less strenuous on your joints than running, and can reduce the risk of osteoporosis by increasing bone mineral density. If you’ve a brittle, battle-scarred skeleton, this is a great way to exercise in a relatively low-impact manner.

2) HEALTHY HEART: High blood pressure and high cholesterol – both of which are significant contributors to heart disease – are proven to be reduced by walking regularly. The process has a regulating effect on the blood pressure, whilst it promotes a reduction in LDL cholesterol (the bad type) and an increase in HDL cholesterol (the good type!).

3) CONTROLS WEIGHT: Depending on fitness level and the intensity, a little aerobic walk can get you sweating and raise your heart rate, thereby toasting calories. A 30 minute walk at pace (4 mph) will burn c.150 calories, which is another cupcake gone – *poof*!

4) CLEARS THE MIND: The psychological benefits of a long walk are such that it can help clear a mind full of stress and worry, reduce depression and even improve the quality of sleep! Wandering around a gorgeous park with a friend and taking in some of mother nature’s happenings, can generate a fabulous serotonin response to get your mind humming along nicely, whilst also boosting your Vitamin D intake (which we can’t get easily from food)!

5) ENERGISES THE BODY: Walking at pace is a superb way to promote oxygen to flow around your body, reducing muscle tension and stiffness, and encouraging a more energised constitution. Just a 10 minute walk after lunch-at-your-desk is a fabulous way to burn some calories and power up at the same time! It’s also a great ‘active recovery’ after a workout.

6) TONES UP YOUR MUSCLES: A hill-walk every day can really bring shapely definition to the calves (through the ‘push-off’ phase of the step), quads (used in the extension), even glutes (employed when the hips rock during the walk). Increasing the pace will engage the hamstrings, hip flexors, and buttocks, whilst increasing the incline will work the calves more. A mild swing of the arms should also help to introduce some tone there, compounded with arm weights.

I was wearing: Missoni headband, River Island maxi dress, Asos shoes. All pictures shot at the Grand Hotel Du Cap Ferrat

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THE IMPORTANCE OF CHEATING !!!

“Dear Clean Diet; I’ve cheated on you, and I’m not in any way apologetic”. On Sunday, I was invited to a delicious ‘fashion-themed’ tea at London’s Berkeley Hotel, and I happily accepted, fully aware that it would contain very empty calories… But I have a theory that eating clean all of the time, forever, is actually quite boring, antisocial, and unrealistic – in short, cutting out fun is no way to live life!

My solution? Cheating, once a week. A day where I know there’s an enjoyable treat in store. Something that might well be 500 empty, purposeless calories just waiting to be savoured. It’s NOT a day when I binge mercilessly for 24 hours, but rather an isolated event on a pre-specified day. I know that if I plan it around doing something social (like, for example this tea), there’s less danger of falling off the ‘clean eating’ train for the rest of the week. It’s a psychological indulgence to reward a week of solid discipline, and I consider it really helpful as an accompaniment to any reasonable training regime.

Regular readers of Fitness On Toast will know that my ethos is centred around a sustainable lifestyle choice of eating clean for most of the time, training regularly, and enjoying the occasional treat to balance things out, and punctuate the focus! HOWEVER, it’s not just some crazy ethos plucked out of the air; professional body-builders see value in this practice as well. Their theory is threefold;

1) GLYCOGEN: A cheat day is supposed to encourage the restoration of the body’s diet-starved glycogen levels, which help to transport proteins back to muscles more readily,
2) POWER UP: There is fatigue-reduction and the concept of ‘replenishing the carbohydrate store’ to provide more energy to train harder at the next workout,
3) METABOLISM: and a radical calorie-bomb is thought to shock the metabolism back into life, after the body perceives starvation and has entered a low-energy conservation mode.

There are some downsides to this practice too, and ‘cheat obsession’ is definitely to be avoided, but if your one-treat-a-week complements a balanced regime of healthy eating and regular training, all in sustainable moderation, you can cheat on your diet regularly, guilt free ? !

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