My top 7 goals for 2015....

My goals for 2015 ... 2014 was a pretty big year for us, we got married and bought our first house so 2015 has a lot to live up to. Instead of setting unrealistic or immeasurable resolutions I have decided to set my self a few small goals that I can actually achieve and measure the results. Once I have completed them I can set some more and keep growing through the year instead of wading towards a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Visit family more.

As I noted in my round up of 2014 my first goal is to see my family more. This year I am really going to make it a priority to go across and visit my family when we go down to Surrey in the summer. 

Improve my cardio.

I spent a lot of time at the gym last year but due to shift changes we have had to cancel our membership so I am going to invest in a workout DVD for now then get the weights out in the garden when the weather improves. My cardio is very bad and I am not a fan of running so I am going to try some different bits to up my cardio. 

The year in review ... 2014!

2014

New year is a time for reflection so I have been having a think about my 2014 experience. It has been an amazing year and will be a pretty hard one to top to be fair. 

January

We kickstarted the new year as we meant go on by attending our good friends wedding at Durham Castle, it was a wonderful day and the bride was simply stunning. January was also quite special for me as I reconnected with a good friend … life is too short to loose good friends.

February & March

February was quite quiet, we were continuing with the wedding planning and hitting the gym hard! March was pretty much the same as February, there was a lot of time at the gym as we hit 6 weeks to the wedding. I went for my wedding hair trial with my cousin … only took 102 hair grips hehe mum was also well underway with the alterations to my dress.

Beast mode at the gym

102!!

Weight training ... time to get buff ...

With the wedding only a few months away I have decided to hit the gym hard in an aim to get buff for my big day. Part of that includes making sure that my arms are all toned for my strapless dress. This involves doing some weight training, I would do this at the gym but a lot of the machines are too wide for my shoulders so I cant get the right motion without it feeling uncomfortable. The other option is the weight room however this is usually filled with meat heads who are annoying as hell. 

So I decided that the best thing to do would be to make use of the fiancés weight gear at home. See he has a bar and barbells with lots of different weight, so I can reduce the weight to suit my needs and do stuff without feeling like I'm being stared at by a bunch of meat heads. 

As such this weekend fiancé has been teaching me a few exercises I can do at home with him spotting. First up was dead lifts, this is where you squat down with the bar in front of you then lift the bar up to your waist keeping your back straight. The next one was the squat, like it sounds you stand feet shoulder width apart then squat, only difference is that you hold the bar across the back of your shoulders. 

Mid squat - push down through your heels 

Gotta keep that back straight

It was a lot of fun, I've been doing squats at the gym with a kettle bell or with the weighted bar thingy but it was good to do them with a proper weights bar and weight. Fingers crossed after doing a few months of these along with my normal gym routine I will be all toned up and ready for my dress fitting in January. 

Think I am going to stick to doing these at home with the fiancé spotting me for the time being, never know in a month or two I might be strong enough to try doing some at the gym.

Next up I need to start doing bicep curls and maybe see if I can find something to do flys on to help tone up my upper arms. The pulldown is good at the gym but its always best to switch up your exercises so you tear different parts of muscle and so you don'g get complacent, your muscle starts to remember the movements so it becomes less effective this is when its time to switch up the weight and the exercise. This is why I have been trying to rotate through some different exercises for my muscle groups, keep them guessing and when it starts getting easy ... up the weight!! 

Go Hard or Go Home!! 

xXx

Race For Life .... 48hrs to go!

Hey, 

So its 48hrs until my Race for Life 5k!! I'm a little bit nervous ... I'd like to be able to a) run at least 60% of it b) finish in an ok time. 

First the bad news: I woke up this morning with a blocked nose and mega sore throat!! I think I have picked up a cold of someone damn it, knew I felt off the last few days ... bit tired not enough energy. I put it down to the training and thought I wasn't eating enough, turns out it might be this. So tomorrow I will be eating throat lozenges like they are going out of fashion, dosing up on vitamin C and giving my throat a good spray with the Covonia. 

Other potentially bad news is that summer has decided to turn up just in time for us to run. Now when fiancé did his 10k Blaydon Race in the sun the other month he said it was mega hard as the heat just starts to get to you and you cant cool down. I'm hoping there will at least be a breeze as our gym has been really warm the last few sessions and it really is a lot harder when your overheating anyway. 

Well moving on from that ... today was my last gym session before the big day!!  

I decided to keep it easy today, 20 mins on the cross trainer, 5 minute up hill walk and a 5 minute jog for cardio then just some back, legs and stomach work on the machines. Kept it simple on the cardio to make sure I have enough energy for Sunday, and because I am going for an 8 mile bike ride tomorrow to keep fiancé company on his run eek ... glad I'm the one on the bike.  

Post Gym Session - bit warm!

Other then the training I am all ready for the fun part of the race - I've got my bright pink adidas top, my running leggings have pink accents on them, you can see the pink on my trainers and my arm band then I even got a bright pink running jacket just in case it was raining so I am fully kitted out in pink!! 

£14.99 Sports Direct Karrimor
Thin and breathable whilst still being water resistant.

Anyway this is just a short one ... I will post more after the race but it might take me a little while. See after the race I will be driving down south for our weeks holiday ... for that I hope the weather does stay warm hehe 

Wish me luck! and if you want to donate I have a link on the side of my blog! 

xXx

Venturing into the world of protein shakes ...

As I am now in count down mode until the Race For Life 5k next Sunday I am trying to really push my gym sessions. 

Earlier in the week I had a bad session my running didn't go as well as I had planned, I tried to push through but it just wasn't happening. I was really disheartened as I want to do well in the Race and I want to prove something to myself. I tried all my motivational tools but sometimes no matter how hard you push you hit your limit. Afterwards fiancé was a bit worried about me as I was a bit shaky ... this is probably because I'm not eating enough protein and calories for how many I burn of. 

So in preparation for next week and in support of my increased training we decided I should try getting some protein shakes for after my work outs. Now I'm not going to start doing shakes and supplements all the time, this is just for after my work outs as a boost. I know some people will say to just eat more but I actually eat quite a healthy diet its just that food isn't the be all end all. Plus to get increased protein in your meals you have to buy more protein which costs a lot more then a 1kg bag of powder hehe

Giant delivery from MyProtein

Anyway on wednesday my protein arrived. We ordered me a 1kg bag of impact whey protein in Latte flavour from MyProtein.Com, this is the company fiancé has been using for the past year. He also started taking whey protein after his workouts when he first start training and it really helped him... so hopefully this will give me the boost I need.

Overly packaged?? 

I tried my first shake after we opened the box, its 1 large scoop of powder with either water or milk. I went for water, started out with 200ml. This was ok, the latte flavour is really great its like drinking an iced  coffee almost. But at the same time it was a little bit too watery for me personally so I decided that I'm going to use the minimum amount of water which is 150ml.

 

Latte Protein Powder 

I tried one with this amount of water after my work out yesterday and it was a lot better, I think it also helped that the water wasn't ice cold.

Girly pink mini shaker!!

Anyway I am going to keep taking my shakes after my sessions and I will let you know how it goes. 

As a side note the fiancés free protein cookies are really nice, he got them with a code and will be reviewing them on his From Fat to Fit blog in the near future. We got a box of chocolate orange and he let me try a bit of one, it smelled amazing and actually tasted really nice. 

Oh and the giant blue thing in the box is a foam roller - I will post more about this after I have had a play with it.

xXx

Gym Motivation ...

Had a session in the gym tonight, decided to mix it up a bit and go for weights first. Did a little bit of research and found that there are a whole host of advantages to doing your weights first. Not sure if it helped me or not but I shall give it another go and see what happens. 

Any hoo whilst I was running on the treadmill I hit my wall, I'm not a distance runner and haven't really bee training enough for my 5k which is annoying ... but sometimes life gets in the way of things so you just have to push through. 

This got me to thinking about my motivation ... specifically little phrases we tell ourselves to just do one more or go one minute longer. You know the ones I mean they are dotted all over Pinterest ... well here are a few of my favourites ... 

Think about the achievement but dont settle ...

If you believe you can do it your half way there ...

Work Hard - Get Results ... 

and always remember ...

Other sources of motivation for me are obviously my fiancé for his achievements over the last few years    and this is a random one but you have to check out the Rock on Instagram. He is immense some of his pics working out are insane .. the guy is a machine ... The Rock!

xXx

Check this out ....

For anyone who happens to read my ramblings, I think you should check out my Fiancé's blog - From Fat to Fit. He will be doing a guest post at some point soon about his training regime ... he's training for the Great North Run.

From Fat to Fit

xXx

Training update ...

After posting about my new gym gear thought I would also pop in a quick update on my gym progress.

Running is not going as well as I had hoped which has me nervous with Race For Life being just round the corner. Think it's time for a massive push for the finish line. 

Aside from that its going quite well, my arms are starting to look more defined and I can almost make a muscle which had fiancé in giggles as his arms are huge! 

Shoulders are looking really good from found the pull down which will be good as my wedding dress is strapless. 

Still working on my thighs and legs, calves looking better not as wobbly lol my thighs need more work, think I need to go back to squats and barre plies to get lean toned thighs. 

Here is a quick post work out tummy pic from the other day. If I keep at it hopefully it will look like this all the time. 

Motivation. Hard work gets results. 

xXx

New gym wear ...

So recently I've been doing a lot of training in the gym for my up coming Race For Life, as such I have been investing in new gym gear. (see previous posts)

When I'm in the gym I like to wear legging fit bottoms as they stay out of the way and dont bunch up etc. I had been wearing some really old school black capri length ones from years ago and this first pair of Karrimor capri running leggings. Then I bought a pair of cheap Primark black capri leggings to rotate in as well, see we tend to go to the gym a few times a week so its hard to keep on top of the washing without it looking like we live in a laundry.

Anyway I forgot to post these Karrimor ones when I got them so I decided to post them now since I have bought some more hehe. I bought the newest ones the other day as my plain black ones have a zip at the knee which can dig in on some of the machines and they are ancient. Also the grey and blue ones are a bit thicker round the thighs so can get a bit warm in the gym with the warm weather we have been having recently.

These grey ones have a lining from the seam at the knee up and vents at the gusset. They also have a zip pocket at the back and gel stuff round the leg holes to stop them riding up. However this stuff makes pulling them on od so I tend to roll the end back when I pull them up hehe they are really nice and comfortable but can be a bit warm in the gym. Got them in the running section of Sports Direct and at £10 much better value then any of the Nike Dry Fit normal gym leggings. 

Next up are my newest ones I picked these up the other day again from the running section they were under  £10 too. They are a thinner material and dont have the lining or vent but do still have the pocket at the back. They are really comfy and look quite nice on. They also had these in all black and in general Sports Direct have a great selection of running leggings and capris which would work for normal gym wear if you dont fancy forking out the Nike and Adidas prices. Even in Sports Direct with 30-40% off they were about £30, which I find a bit steep for gym leggings. 

If you have read my previous post you will know that I get all my gym gear from Sports Direct, its quality brands but at up to half the price. I think both of these were 70-80% marked down. I like being able to have a nice selection of stuff to mix and match without having to worry its going to break the bank. For us that is really good as we are trying to save up.

On my most recent visit, which was after the gym as its 2 minutes away, I also had a look for another sports bra. I've currently got 1 black Lonsdale bra shape one, a LA gear pink crop to style and a purple camo cropped style. So I decided to have a look see if they had any more as the LA gear ones are only £6, unfortunately they didn't have my size in a colour I wanted. So when I was over at the tills I had a look at the Lonsdale ones, they are done by bra size and seem like a mix between the cropped and bra styles. Anyway I couldn't see my size in any colours all they seemed to have were really big sizes. On a hunch I got one of them with my back size out to look at, it looked ok even if it was the wrong cup so I bought it to try on at home, £6.99. Again these are much better prices then the Nike ones which are 15-20 with money off, which is a shame as some of them are really nice.

Anyway when I got home I tried on my new top waiting to see how big it would be and would you believe it ... it fits!! now this had me in fits of giggles as you can see it is advertised as a 32D now there is no way in hell I am even close to a D cup so unless this has a lot of stretch and is supposed to be a really tight fit I dont wana see the D cup girl try it on. I took great pleasure in announcing to the fiancé that I am in fact a D cup!! and brandishing my chest at him.

I love the colour and fit of this the back has a bra clasp at the bottom of the racing back.

My new 32D sports bra lol 

xXx

Gym update ..

So in the last few weeks I have aquired some new gym gear.

First up is just a little towel I got a the gym, I have a grey one from in our welcome pack but when you are going to the gym a few days a week its nice to be able to swap out so stuff can be washed and dried  properly. This is also the reason I have lots of different gym tops and bras so my stuff is fresh and clean.

Next up is my new running shoes! I decided that as my run was coming up soon it was time to get some actual running trainers. My current gym shoes are just a pair of adidas youths size 5 1/2, at the time they were the only decent priced trainers I liked the look of. I would recommend any girls out there who are just starting out to take a look in the kids/youths section of places like sports direct as they have good deals on good brands. 

The new ones are also adidas but they are designed for running, they have a nice thick heal to cushion the impact and lots of ventilation so stop feet sweating and getting minging. So far they are going really well, no pain or rubbing as yet, which I was expecting with them being brand new. 

I love the colour as well, not a big fan of white trainers they remind me of being a kid then of the chav kids at school who loved bright white trainers. These also came in a black but they were a bit harsh. I looked at a couple different pairs in Sports Direct but the girl said the heal on these would be best for me, and they were on offer at like £35. I did have a look over at the specific running trainers in the running section but they were all 45-90 odd quid which is a bit much for a 5k charity race and also a bit much for keep fit running. Plus if you talk to some of the professionals they actually recommend you buy a pair of decent shoes that are the best for you not necessarily the 'best' out there. 

I also picked up this karrimor arm strap for my iPhone, fiancé has the same one in yellow and black, they are really good if like use you like to listen to music then you train. the shiny bit on the front is a soft plastic that conducts so you can still use the touch screen on an iPhone and there is a little hole in the top for your headphones. The only downside I have found is that its one of these one size fits all deals so is a bit big on my arm even on the smallest size. The fastening is just velcro so I think I am going to give it a custom re-model hehe 

These next items might seem a bit random or try hard but bere with me. I picked up some Nike dry fit women's weight lifting gloves also from Sports Direct (its the only sports shop near us and offers branded stuff really cheap) Now dont get me wrong I have not been hitting the free weights with the fiancé, instead I got these for when I use the weight machines.

I know they have the rubber handles but if your gym is anything like ours you will know that those things are well worn and can move around a bit. Also I find that if I've done a good cardio session first or if its a warm day my hands slip which causes problems with my motion. I also got them as I was starting to develop callouses just under my fingers which is not a good look on a girl, having the gloves my grip is much better even when its warm and the callouses have stopped. 

I would definitely recommend looking into some if you are going to be using a lot of weight machines or will be starting with the free weights. 

The last bit of gym wear is a new gym top hehe I couldn't help myself when I saw it I love the colours on the adidas logo and I dont actually have a black one. The design is the same as my grey Nike and pink Adidas ones mainly because I find this style really comfortable. 

The length of the vest means that all three just cover my bum, I like this because they dont ride up or flap around when I run which I've found shorter tops can do and this is really irritating when you are trying to run etc  The racing back is a fairly obvious choice as it stays out of your way when you are moving your arms about so you dont have any restrictions on your motion, it also allows for excellent ventilation. The three tops are also all a bit loose, I like tight bottoms but looser tops so I can stay cool, the fairly straight sides on these mean that these are a great shape for me. 

So this was £10 from Sports Direct and the same style of top comes in lots of different colours for both Nike and Adidas. If you are looking to stock up on sports wear I would recommend looking in Sports Direct before going anywhere else. We have bought so much different stuff for me and for fiancé, he's had football stuff, running gear and general workout gear so we can definitely attest to them having a good variety.

The last two pics are just on here because I wanted to show them off but didn't want to put a whole post up. I decided to invest in some new swimwear for the gym because my stuff is mainly really old or bought for wearing abroad not swimming. I got these from Sainsburys of all places and I love the pattern its so bright and timeless. I'm having to get used to the one piece as its got tummy support which means that pulling it on is different to a normal cozzie. As for the two piece for that I'm having to get used to the briefs, I'm not overly confident about my bum so I have usually gone for shorts style bottoms. 

xXx

Race for Life update!

So me and the fiancé have joined a gym!! We took the plunge and joined the local Bannatynes. Our friends have been members for a while now and they had some passes that would give fiends three days for £9. Once we went along we decided that it was actually a really nice health club, the gym has great machines, pool is a decent size and the classes look really good. 

When we had a chat with one of the membership guys he told us that they had a deal going on. The standard one is that if you pay up front for either 6 or 12 months you can get a percentage off but as a special easter deal if you joined before the end of march you got april free on direct debit. The best deal for us was the direct debit as we dont have a lot of spare cash lying around so thats what we went with. We also got a booklet of deals & coupons and a gym starter kit, this normally costs £15 and actually turned out to be really useful. 

So in our packs, the little drawstring bag, we got a really good water bottle, handy grey gym towel and a pair of over ear headphones (which the fiancé loves). The bag is a little small for us to use in general as we like to go to the gym then go for a swim so need space for a big towel and toiletries but the rest of the stuff is awesome. I'm considering buying another one of the towels in bright pink so I dont have to keep drying this one. 

So after we decided to join the health club I realised that going to the gym several times a week meant that I would need a few sets of swim wear and gym wear neither of which I had. I had a few sets of swimwear but they were fairly old bikinis from when I was younger and going on holiday, the most I have recently used bikinis for is sun bathing and a single trip to centre parcs a few years ago. As for gym wear well I've not been a gym bunny so didn't really have anything to wear other then some long tanks and leggings. So I took a trip to sports direct and picked up a few new pieces, I love sports direct for sports gear we have bought so much stuff for the fiancé from there at great prices. Its especially good if you are only just starting out and dont want to spend a fortune or even if like us you are trying to save up for something. Anyway here is a quick snap of my purchases. 

Bright pink and purple adidas racing back top (that matches my trainers lol), grey and pink nike racing back top, LA fitness crop top/sports bra in hot pink, purple grey and black sports bra and a LA fitness electric blue top with built in bra. Also picked up a new Lonsdale sports bag all for £44!! which is a massive bargain as some of the sports stuff I have seen is £20 - £30 for a top etc Only thing I think I need now is a pair of trackies to pull on over my leggings for those days when the english weather has decided to play up. 

As for the swimwear I bought a couple of new pieces in Sainsburys when they has a 25% off sale. Got a really cute blue and white paisley 2 piece and a couple of tank style tops for those days when you dont want your tummy on show. Nearly bought the matching paisley swimsuit but they didn't have my size which was a bummer. After I bought them I decided to dig out my old stuff from my mams loft and discovered that actually a lot of it was still really nice and in good condition so I now have a surfeit of swimwear to choose from. To be fair some of it is probably more holiday appropriate as its not got the support for swimming lengths so its not too bad. 

After I got my new bag the fiancé decided he really needed one. His grip isn't really the right shape and his holdall is a bit big for just him. He decided one a bit like mine would do so we went for another trip to sports direct (which is right next to the gym and went on both occasions before going to the gym) we were just going to have a look see what they had in the mens section when we found the exact bag in more colours. Bright baby pink, black with yellow writing, then the two favourites: light grey with orange and navy with white writing. 

As you can see the navy won out. So now we are fully kitted out and have been attending the gym nearly 3 times a week, 4 on weeks when fiancé has training sessions. 

Its going really well I tried running on the treadmill but it nearly killed me so I have been building my core strength up and as of saturday have started interval training. Fiancé is being my PT and controlling the speed, he's got me doing 5 intervals 2 mins walking and 2 jogging. First one went really well I wasn't pegging out by the end and even managed to push out a 6th jog to hit 2.70 km. I know thats not amazing but for me its an achievement as like I said I'm not a runner.

Anyway I will keep you updated with my progress and hopefully it wont be long before I'm ready to start properly training to run the whole 5k.

xXx

Race For Life Update .. My pack arrived!!!!

Got home from the gym today to find that my Race for Life Pack had arrived!!! Cue a very excited Emma. 

I immediately opened it to see what was inside: wrist bands for me and a supporter, sponsorship form, running number, personal message card and supporters message card! plus the best bit of all my varsity style Race for Life T-shirt, which I will be wearing to work tomorrow with pride!! 

Cancer we're coming to get you!!

And now to see all the goodies inside! Clockwise, welcome card, I race for card, sponsorship form, running number and then wristbands (pink for me Blue for fiancé) Center is my supporters banner for the fiancé and family to brandish on the day.

All Pink, All Fabulous.

And finally the epic-ness (hehe) that is my varsity style Race for Life T!! navy blue with Pink glitter lettering!!! Totally wearing this for work tomorrow!!! Also now considering buying the varsity style tank top to actually run in. 

Check me out!!

As for the training, its going ... not amazing right now as I need to start building up some stamina but I've got until july 7th to get myself ready! Hopefully the weather will improve soon (currently snowing) so both myself and fiancé can get some running done outside. Though we are considering joining a gym at the minute so that will mean a lot more training for me :) will keep you updated!

xXx

Cancer, We're coming to get you!! Race for Life!!!

So to try and motivate myself to really keep going with my new fitness kick, and having been inspired by the fiancé, I have decided to sign up for the Race For Life 5k in Durham! 

So I have until July 7th to turn myself into a runner ...eek!! Now I know its not an especially long run however I am not a distance runner in the slightest! At school I hated anything over 200 metres, I was always a sprinter and have managed to avoid doing any running since year 9 when options allowed me to drop PE. So now I have to up my cardio work and move away from the bike and onto the treadmill! 

Luckily I have a secret weapon ... the Fiancé. He is currently in training for the Great North Run and doing the Blaydon 10k in June as a warm up so I not only get a running buddy to train up with but also someone to give me tips that he's picked up. 

If you want to sign up to a Race For Life in your area just go to raceforlife.org.uk and search using your postcode. If you want to donate to my race just look me up on Just Giving. If your feeling in an especially giving mood you could even look up the fiancé and donate to his Just Giving page for Breast Cancer Care. 

I will keep you updated on my progress :D 

xXx