Another Milestone Reached

I’m gradually edging closer to becoming a qualified PT. I recently attended the workshop for my Level 3 qualification, having completed the accompanying e-learning for Advanced Anatomy & Physiology and Programming & Coaching. In my mind, although I have a long way to go before completing my advanced diploma, this was the biggie. Failing my A&P exam would mean resits hanging over me while I completed my coursework. Failing on the assessment would mean that certificates for other modules would be delayed, even if I passed them.

Another London course, another swanky studio...

I seem to have some sort of aptitude for study, but not a huge amount of self-belief. I love studying and learning and for the most part, don’t get freaked out by exams. But I have never been brilliant at “science-y”  things, giving up Science at school at the earliest opportunity in favour of Literature and Maths. This goes someway to explaining why the A&P parts of my course have held so much fear for me. I’m interested in the body, it’s a fascinating thing, but it’s a complex machine described by lots of long and complicated names. There was never really a point in my study where I felt comfortable with my level of knowledge. I could remember a bunch of stuff but I didn’t necessarily *understand* things.

So it was with some trepidation that I turned over the question paper containing 37 multiple choice questions on the afternoon of day 1 of the workshop. “Multiple choice” no longer equates to “easy” in my mind. Somehow James, my tutor, managed to distract us from our pending results for the remainder of the course to the point I almost forgot I was awaiting them.

The roof terrace at 37 Degrees

I am over the moon with my solid pass. I can now focus on the assessment I need to complete in the next 5 weeks without feeling distracted by scheduling resits and revising again. The assessment, while a lot of work at this stage, as I’m not used to carrying out fitness assessments or designing programmes for real, live people, feels straightforward. I can do this. I’m methodical and organised and will get it done. Hopefully it will be fun along the way.

And ultimately I know I will pass because I care about getting this qualification. I am interested in the subject and I want to be able to apply my knowledge. Leaving the course venue at Olympia, having spent two days with a great bunch of people, some new faces, some familiar, learning by design and by sharing ideas, I felt elated. I was enthused and excited. This was how I wanted to spend my time. It felt like home and even though I’m a quietly-spoken, introverted 30-something who takes on far too many challenges and there are definitely people who are better suited to be a PT than, I know I will make something of this in some way, because I really really want to.

Living life in balance isn't always easy

Bandying About

I'm flying out to the U.S. of A with my dad tomorrow for a bit of a tour around Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans and Louisiana. We're staying in different hotels every other night on average so although my trainers are coming with me I won't have time to get used to the area and learn where's safe to run. I've done some research and although most of the hotels are quite swish and have a "fitness centre" that could mean almost anything so as a back up I'm also packing a resistance band. These take up almost no space at all so are great for travelling when you want something to ring the changes from running and bodyweight exercises. It's a new addition to my workout kit that I'm still getting to grips with, so to speak.

I got mine from MilletSports, although they're widely available, and it came with a nifty little booklet with guidelines on how to use it safely and some exercise ideas.

So I've had a little play around and come up with a mini routine that I'm going to try while I'm away. Please exercise caution when using a dyna-band. Unless you are using a flat band I would advise against doing the press up. Always remember to exhale with the effort.

Pull down - Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip width apart and the band held above your head, hands shoulder width apart. Pull your hands out and down in front of your chest. Return to the start position in a controlled movement.

Squat - Stand on band with legs hip width apart. Hold one end of the band in each hand and bring them up to shoulder level, palms forward. Perform a squat as normal.

Double arm pull - Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip width apart and the band held in front of you at chest height, hands shoulder width apart. Pull your hands apart and out to the side then return to the start position in a controlled movement.

Chest press - Lie on the floor with the band under your back, just below armpit level, holding one end of the band in each hand with arms bent. Extend the arms and push your hands upwards in line with your chest then return to the start position in a controlled movement.

Bicep curl - Stand on band with your legs hip width apart, hold one end of the band in each hand by your thighs. Slowly flex your arms, bringing the hands up to your shoulders then return to the start position in a controlled movement.

Tricep press - Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip width apart. Wrap the band around one hand and dangle it down your back. Reach behind you with your free hand and grasp the free end of the band. One arm should be bent, elbow pointing upwards, beside your head and the other by your bum. Extend your bent arm straight up above your head and return to the start position in a controlled movement. Repeat on the other side.

Press up - Place the band flat across the widest part of your back, roughly in line with your arms. Hold the ends in your hands so that you can feel the tension. Perform a press up as normal.

Side step - Stand on band legs hip width apart, holding one end of the band in each hand. Keeping the tension in the band, take a small step to one side, then bring the other leg to meet the first. Perform 10 side steps on each side.

Leg press - Lie on your back on the floor with hips and knees bent at 90 degrees. Loop the band around your feet crossing the band to make an X. Hold an end in each hand near your shoulders or hips, depending on how much resistance you want. Brace your core and slowly extend your legs, pushing your feet away from you until the legs are almost straight. Return to the start position in a controlled movement.

Have you used one of these before? Got any other good exercises I can include?

P.S. Just because I'm away doesn't mean there won't be posts. I've scheduled a few for while I'm away which I hope you enjoy. See you in June!

Disclaimer: MilletSports allowed me to choose products up to the value of £50 in return for a review on my site. All views are my own. The fitness band was priced at £9.99 at the time of writing.

Head to Toes

Tell you something, I'm glad to be on the other side of last week. My Level 3 PT workshop and Advance Anatomy & Physiology exams caused me some amount of stress about revising, wondering if I could fit in any exercising around revision, actually revising and changing all my travel plans at the drop of a hat (thanks TFL). In the name of being sensible and focused on the main priority of actually passing my exam I didn't do much in the way of exercise apart from a plank everyday (I'm up to 3 and a half minutes now!) and two 3.5mile runs. 

Lack of exercise makes me restless but other things have also been making me feel a bit giddy and excited so now the exam is out of the way I thought I'd share them with you. Let's start with some vibram five fingers. Yes, they do look weird and freaky, but they are surprisingly comfy so far. I'm not 100% sure I'll keep them but they were a third of the price of the Nike free training shoes I've had my eye on. I'm not intending to run in them but rather to use them in the gym and classes, especially those involving weights. This is partly inspired by James, my instructor on the Kettlebells course, and partly by the pins and needles I sometimes get when doing things like rebounding wearing my running trainers, which are the only sports shoes I own. 

I also got quite a couple of foodie parcels including some nom bars and a case of Dorset cereal that I'd managed to cash in some "Yeokens"on the Yeo Valley website for. I love my food and I love a freebie or a bargain and frankly I can't look at that packaging and not smile.

On nom nom nom!

Other foodie highlights were my first attempt sweet potato chips with home made guacamole and a series of breakfast shakes including pear with butterscotch swirl protein, frozen cherries with cherry bakewell protein and pear, avocado and spinach smoothie. All really tasty.

That's a G'n'T... just to balance out the healthy

Kit and food aside, something I didn't expect to get quite so much enjoyment from this week was meditation. I've been using the Headspace app on my phone most days to do ten minute guided (non-spiritual) meditations which I've thoroughly enjoyed and felt the benefit of. I've probably given people at work something to talk about as I sit on one of the sofas in the canteen with my eyes closed doing these occasionally. There's a ten meditation program you can get for free but I've enjoyed it so much I'll probably sign up for the annual subscription now.

What were your highlights last week. Have you used Headspace or do meditation? 

Medicine Ball Workout

There's really no excuse for not being able to do a workout in your own home these days. There are loads of simple bodyweight exercises you can do and you can find basic pieces of equipment quite easily. Supplier of sports clothing and equipment, MilletSports, contacted me recently and asked if I would like to write a product review for them. Now I'm a sucker for a bit of kit but as I'm trying to build up my collection of equipment it seemed a perfect opportunity to fill a couple of gaps. I already own a weighted hula hoop, BOSU ball, skipping rope, kettlebell, dumbbells and yoga mat but there's a couple of other pieces I'd like. They have a huge range of kit and equipment for all manner of sporting endeavours at competitive prices with free delivery on orders over £50. They produce a nifty magazine that you can read online to boot.

Now the title of this post has probably given away the fact that one of the items I chose was a medicine ball. A 5kg medicine ball to be precise, that arrived just 2 days after ordering. It's a versatile bit of kit that I'm hoping to get a lot of use out of. To kick things off I've put together a little workout that you can try yourself either in the gym or at home. Try 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps of each exercise. Oh and please excuse the quality of the photos. I was trying to do them with a timer in a small space...

Squat with overhead reach - Start by holding the medicine ball at chest height. Perform a normal squat but as you rise back to a standing position, raise the medicine ball overhead. As you squat down again, bring the medicine ball back to chest level.

Shoulder press - Start by holding the medicine ball at chest height and then extending the arms up and pressing it towards the ceiling. Return to start position. Remember to brace your core and step one foot slightly behind to stop yourself swaying too much.

Chest Press - Lie on the floor and hold the medicine ball with both hands just above the middle of your chest. Extend both arms straight up and press the ball away from your chest towards the ceiling. Lower back to the start position.

Glute bridge - Lie on the floor with both feet on the medicine ball. Push down through the heels and raise the hips to a bridge position. Hold briefly then carefully return to the start position. Make this even tougher by balancing on one leg at a time and keeping the other leg raised.

Bicep curl - Hold the medicine ball with both hands, elbows tucked into your sides. Starting with the hands at your thighs, curl the arms up until the ball almost touches your chest and lour back down again.

Tricep Press - Hold the medicine ball above your head with both hands. With the elbows pointing forwards bend the arms so that the ball drops behind your head. Extend the arms back up to the start position, concentration on keeping the elbows still.

Russian Twists - Sit on the floor with legs and hips bent at 90 degrees and body leaning back at around a 45 degree angle, holding the medicine ball with both hands. Twist your body to one side, moving the ball with you. Return to centre and repeat on the other side.

Crunches - Lie on the floor with knees bent at 90 degrees and feet on the floor. Lift the medicine ball   towards the ceiling with straight arms. As you curl up into a crunch, keep your eyes looking towards the ceiling and arms straight, lifting the ball slightly. 

Pressups - Adopt a standard press up position but with one hand on the medicine ball. Do a press-up then roll the ball to the opposite hand and repeat.

Plank - Place both hands on the medicine ball and hold a plank position. This pose is more unstable than a regular plank so don't fret if you can't hold it for very long to begin with. Work up to 3 x 30 seconds.

Happy workout! Keep your eyes peeled for another workout featuring another piece of new kit soon!


Disclaimer: MilletSports allowed me to choose products up to the value of £50 in return for a review on my site. All views are my own. The 5kg medicine ball was priced at £29.99 at the time of writing.

Berkshire Fitness Scene : Power Yoga

Running and yoga often seem to go hand in hand. As one of many runners who are guilty of not stretching as much as they probably should, doing yoga means I do at least some maintenance to stop things going "ping". It's also good for strength, flexibility and, for me anyway, general well being.

I first remember doing yoga at University in a vast sports hall. Our slightly plump, silver-haired instructor was called Dorothy and to this day she's the best instructor I've had. I've dabbled in other classes over the years but never gone back to it regularly. I'm yet to try hot yoga but Body Balance has been an on-off part of my regime. There are lots of yoga classes in my neck of the woods but a "Power Yoga" class at Reading Sports Park caught my eye so I thought I'd give it a go. The class description said I was in for one hour of "physical, dynamic yoga, heating up the body, toning and cleansing." so I expected lots of movement, maybe some challenging poses and to feel as though I'd really worked.

Unfortunately I was disappointed. The studio itself was nice enough, with mirrors and room for 20 people. The instructor didn't introduce herself, ask if any one was new or had any injuries, and adjusted people without asking if it was ok to touch them. Little things but if I'd had no previous experience I'd have been really put off by that. I normally make a point of introducing myself to the instructor if I'm taking a class for the first time but I didn't get a chance. The class itself was fairly standard too. Some variations of sun salutations, lots of downward dogs, a couple of balances, some warrior poses and stretches rounded off with 5 minutes of relaxation. I felt worked but not challenged. Few options for different abilities were given and I certainly didn't get warm.

I'm glad I went, it certainly did me good, but I would rather do the Body Balance classes included in the price my gym membership than pay £7.50 for a class like that. The search for an exciting local yoga class will continue!

King of the Swingers : Kettlebells 101

It was back to school again for me last weekend to do a course I'd been looking forward to for a while, the latest in my FutureFit adventure, kettlebells. This time I got to go to the wonderful facility that is the UEL SportsDock. I want to go back to University... purely to study somewhere like that.

We had a double whammy of instructors, James and Jacqueline. Jacqueline actually designed the course and James has a great method of delivery. Kettlebells are thought to have originated in Russia and the exercises you perform are built on a philosophy of effectiveness of movement. This was reinforced a great deal throughout the course. When you get your head around that the techniques make a lot more sense. When you learn that the Russian masters of sport have to have spent at least 10,000 hours in training alone to merit the award then you know they mean business.

I'm sure many of you have wielded a kettle bell at some point in your fitness life. Maybe you've done deadlifts or swings or even presses. Now I thought I knew how to do a kettlebell swing. Boy was I wrong! 

"More hip snap Vikki"

"You're extending your arms too much"

"Don't lift with your arms!"

Kettlebells are a very humbling thing. They can give you a great full body work out but so much comes from the lower body. Anything that involves lifting the bell, pretty much comes from the glutes. We've sent so much time being told to stand with feet hip distance apart that the wider base you often need feels alien, as does sticking your hip out to rest on in the rack position. 

We had about 2 hours in the class room and the rest of the course was a constant work out in the studio, learning and practicing techniques and exercises. As a beginner you run the risk of getting horribly bruised. By the end of the first day I already had the beginnings of callouses, bruised forearms and biceps even with sweatbands to pad the area and chalk to reduce friction. On the plus side my core has never felt so toned!

Another bruise for the collection

Beginnings of callouses

It was a fantastic course; challenging but so rewarding. I got to meet up with Louise who I met on the Level 2 Fitness Instructor course and I get to spend the weekend with James again this weekend as I take on the Level 3 PT workshop. However if I hear one more joke about cups of tea when I mention kettle bells then I might scream. Or throw one at the offender. And man would that hurt, believe me.

Oh and the course... yeah... nailed it!

Just about in shot flaunting H&S rules and NOT looking at my kettlebell in windmill pose 

Virtual 5km for Lullaby Trust

You may remember that back in January I ran a virtual 10k. The idea is that you pledge £5 to run either 5k or 10k within a given month, send in photographic evidence that you have done so and receive a medal for your efforts. The money goes to a different charitable cause each month. In the month of May, my friend Hayley is organising a virtual 5k for her chosen charity, The Lullaby Trust. The Lullaby Trust provides specialist support for bereaved families and anyone affected by a sudden infant death.

I've signed up and am looking forward to doing my part. If you would like to take part, or know someone who would, then please head over to the Facebook event page and sign up.