People do the craziest things

Thanks to fellow blogger Truth2BeingFit for this great video for an inventive workout on the treadmill.


I love doing my interval training on the treadmill (pre-broken-toe!) but would never think of doing this crazy stuff - I have visions of making a total arse of myself, but still think I might give it a go when the gym is nice and empty.


What do you think?

I'm Listening..... I'm Listening....

(image from creativebits.org)

What tunes are in your iPod?  What type of music motivates you in your workouts?

I thought I would list the tracks I am currently listening to, then realised I have way too many, so here are some of my favourites (in alphabetical order).

Woke Up This Morning by A3 - if its good enough for Tony Soprano, its good enough for me.

Paranoid by Black Sabbath - the rock chick in me still hasn't died.

Ever Fallen In Love by the Buzzcocks - a classic!

Not Nineteen Forever by The Courteneers - an indie band from Manchester. I really like them.

Ain't That A Kick In The Head by Dean Martin - this is 'our' song, gotta love Deano.

Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors by The Editors - I like dark, dingy music and this band from Birmingham fits into that mould.

A Little Less Conversation by Elvis - THE KING!

Daddy's Gone by Glasvegas - pure genius! 

Down In The Tubestation At Midnight by The Jam - Paul Weller is still the Modfather.

Canned Heat by Jamiroquai - happy memories of fun times in London, UK.

The Age Of The Understatement by The Last of The Shadow Puppets - for those who loved The Artic Monkeys you will love this band.

Time Is Running Out by Muse - a newly found favourite for me, in fact I went last night to see them in concert.  Brilliant!!

Rat Race by The Specials - rude boys at their best.

Space and Time by The Verve - this is most definitely not a workout out track, in fact the whole album hasn't got the right beat BUT Urban Hymns one of my all time favs.

Tell me what you workout to - I am always looking for new tunes!

my chocolate challenge?

so I am 20 days, halfway, through my 'Lent' challenge - where I decided to give up chocolate, cakes and biscuits (cookies), but continue to torture myself by baking with my kids.

I love cooking and baking, plus its something the kids enjoy too.  Today I made chocolate chip cookies,  just the standard Hersheys recipe, but its a favourite in our house because they always turn out so chewy and chocolately (just shame I couldn't eat one though).

How are you doing on your lent challenge, I know a few of you decided to join me?

ditch the crunches

(image from purplemotes.net)

Its widely accepted now that doing a hundred ab-crunches is not the most effective way to obtain a flat belly.
Over the next few weeks I will post some alternative methods for working your abdominal area more effectively using functional (full-body) movements that will strength your core and stabilise your spine.

This week we will look at Mountain Climbers - of which there are a number of variations to suit all levels.

Basic Mountain Climber

Mountain Climber using TRX of course you need TRX suspension rings to do this, and its one of the products on my list to buy. You can check out the product here.

Valslide Mountain Climber again this is another product I must buy, portable and inexpensive, great for on-the-road workouts.  This would be a great exercise to do as Tabata or 30:30 splits.

Stability Ball Mountain Climber this comes from a great video from Craig Ballantyne at Turbulence Training. 6 minutes ab workout without a single crunch in site.  This exercise doesn't look as challenging as it feels - try to cheat on this exercise and you will just fall off the ball.

Cross Body Mountain Climber I use this exercise loads in my workouts - I normally time myself to see how many reps I can do in 1 or 2 minutes.

Let me know if any of this work for you.  Or do you have any other favourite Mountain Climber exercises?

the best of the week

So here are my favourite articles from the weeks news, hopefully you will find something fun within!

(image from dailymail.co.uk)

Most swimsuits these days are based on the 1950's standard 'hour-glass' figure which researchers believe was a product of the rationing years. Speedo have done their research and found that only 19% of women these days fit that shape, 49% of us falling into the 'bottom-heavy' category. M & S have listened to the results and have produced 3 new swimsuit that fit these new categories.

Before putting on your running-shoes, think carefully about the surface you are running on, it maybe be doing you more harm than good.

Picking the names of my two boys was really hard work, but at least I didn't chose any of these Terry Bull names!

And just before you shun the treadmill as a dying fad - how about you consider using the new Anti-Gravity treadmill engineered by NASA.

and just for fun, did you know that most peoples ear lobes are in line with their nipples!

Ok thats me signing off for the weekend, have a good one folks

Thanks crunchy its Friday

Its my friend Sheila's birthday on Saturday and I thought I would get her some of her favourite things.
She is a bit of a foody and I know she loves home-made granola, so I whipped her up a batch of my yummy recipe. Its so easy to make with simple, healthy ingredients.  I haven't bought commercially-produced granola for years, why would I when they are full of hydrogenated oils and refined sugar, that  don't even taste that good.  See below for recipe.


I also bought her my favourite book of this year, The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak.  Its an amazing story set in Nazi Germany in WWII, told through the eyes of Death. We see Death follow the life of a young girl,  Liesel Meminger who after the death of her brother goes to live with foster parents. I don't know why I liked this book so much, but its one that I couldn't wait to read each night and left me pretty emotional at the end.  


Have you read this book? What's your favourite book so far this year? I am always on the lookout for something new.


And finally of course a bunch of flowers, the tulips are in the flower markets already!! Does this mean that Spring is going to be early?


Granola Recipe:
6 cups whole rolled oats
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup sunflower oil
2/3 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla


add to granola when cooled:
cranberries and toasted slivered almonds

Preheat oven 350.
Combine dry ingredients.
In a saucepan heat oil and honey at low until honey melts.  Add vanilla and pour this over dry stuff.  Toss to coat.
Spread mixture onto baking sheets and bake until golden, stirring every 20 min.   Takes about an hour.  Cool completely before storing.
Munch away!

working out when you are sick

I am going to touch wood and say that thankfully I haven't been sick for ages! That's probably a jinx right there.  But what happens when you get sick and you still want to work out, what are the rules - are we allowed?
Common sense screams out that we should fully recover before doing a strenuous intense workout, but would it be ok to just show up and go through the motions with a lighter load? Here is how I would approach it;


I WOULDN'T WORKOUT IF:

• I had a fever
• was highly contagious
• if I  had the trots or nausea

BUT I WOULD TRY TO WORKOUT IF:

• I had a mild cold and the worst was over. For example a runny nose, scratchy throat, sneezing - but I would keep the workout low-intensity.

The worst thing to do is to do a crazy high-intensity workout and hamper your recovery.

Another theory I have heard before is 'if it [the illness] is above the neck, it’s okay, but if it’s below the neck, it’s not okay'.

How do you deal with sickness and exercise?