Today was my first EVER Julia Buckley workout. She recomends starting with 5 days of bootcamp sessions, so that is the plan for this week. I have to teach spinning Monday and Tuesday night, which means double sessions for me. The moves were simple and Julia gave exellent verbal instructions, along with options to make the moves more or less intense. It is up to the viewer to decide what level they are at and to work towards a positive progression over time.
One of the reasons I signed up to be a #FitnessRockstar was for the accountability. Strength training is something I never make time for, but always wish I had when I line up at the start line. Working with Julia means I have no excuses. Everything I need is available at my fingertips as all her workouts are available online. Luckily, I have some weights and mats at home which means I just need to take over the living room for an hour each night. Oldland isn’t too keen that he can’t see me when the door is shut but he will get over it.
To make this experience with Julia as real as possible, I am posting my ‘before’ photos. Note they were after 2 bottles of Diet Coke, a posh kebab, and small popcorn at the cinema. I am an apple-shape and am finding that the stress from work and lack of sleep make my stomach the place for even more fat to hang out. To combat this, I know I need to work on my food choices. For this first month though, I am going to work on sticking to my exercise schedule and then work on healthy food selection in November. It is important not to change too much too fast or too drastically because it can be overwhelming and cause you to quit. I am not about to become a quitter!
Drumroll please……
Julia thought it would be fun for all the Rockstars to share a bit about themselves and what fitness means to them, Here is the quickfire #JuliaBFit Fitness Rockstar Spotlight Interview with,errr, me:
1. For me, fitness is all about: Feeling healthy and hanging out with like-minded people who are always up for new adventures. I pride myself on being a capable person and being fit helps me be independent too.
2. I get most excited to do my workout when: I know the tunes are going to be awesome. Good music makes everything more enjoyable.
3. When a workout really pushes me to my limit, I think to myself: ‘Come on, Tubbs!’ which is my maiden name and what my husband shouts at me when I am finishing my parkrun. 4. I’m most likely to skip my workout if: I am super-tired, have to work late, or it is raining, hence why I need my community to hold me accountable with this project! 5. In a group fitness session I’ll be the one who: Is up-front so I can see what the movements are. I am also watching the other participants to see how they are doing. As a fellow instructor, I can also be a bit critical of the instructor if I feel they are being unsafe. 6. The item of exercise equipment I’d most hate to go without is: A sports bra, my running shoes or my GPS watch. Soon to be dumbbells? 7. The last thing I usually do before starting my workout is: Take a sip of water 8. My top 5 workout music tracks are: Well, I haven’t downloaded new songs on my iPod in several years, so ‘Put Your Hands Up For Detroit’, ‘Dog Days Are Over’, ‘Womanizer’, ‘Insomnia’, and anything 80s. 9. If I start feeling meh about fitness I give myself a boost by: Signing up for a race or setting up a meet up with some blogging friends at a new fitness class, follwed by coffee or drinks. 10. The most important thing I’ve learned about fitness in the last year is: Everybody struggles and nobody is perfect. But if you consistently work hard, you can achieve anything you put your mind to.
A photo posted by Mollie, the Happiness PT (@ptmollie) on
If you want to join me, Julia, and the other Rockstars, click here to sign up today. Online access is much cheaper than a gym membership. Plus you can do it at home, on your own schedule.
This post contains afflitiate links, which cost you nothing but help me maintain the blog. All opinions are honest and my own.
Hello there! So much has been going on behind-the-scenes here- marathons, international challenges, extra hours at the day job, and something that I can’t wait to tell you about. I will be posting details on it all but let’s get to the exciting news first.
I have been selected to be a Julia’s Buckley Fitness Rockstar. I have known Julia virtually for a few years now. My friend, Becca, of From Strength to Strength, introduced me to Julia back in the days of the Zero Calorie Advent Calendar. Julia’s workouts are simple, effective and accessible to everyone. She started off with a book, Fat Burn Revolution, and now has a huge online gym.
Julia was looking for Fitness Rockstars to help spread the word about her offerings (so affordable and accessible) and I was keen to get involved. As a fellow fitness professional, I am happy to support and promote Julia. Her programs work (several of my friends have had tremendous success) and I am ready to be her next success story. Julai’s Fitness Rockstars are a collective of people with a mission to make the world a healthier, happier place (it is like we are all curt from the same cloth!). We’re not professional athletes, or even what many would consider typical “fitness people,” but we all appreciate the privilege of having the ability to move our bodies and we’ve all experienced having our worlds rocked by the astounding difference fitness and health has made to our lives. You may think that personal trainers are always motivated to workout, but I can tell you that it isn’t true. We have struggles just like our clients.
Neither are we celebrities, or in a position to spread our message to millions of people, but if something we post can help light the fuse that helps anyone to discover myriad of amazing benefits of doing what takes to be fit and strong which ripple out into all areas of life, then we’ll feel like stars for sure. Together, we think we can shine enough light to make a difference. If I can get even one of my readers to start moving their body in a positive way towards a healthy lifestyle, I will feel like I have won.
From now until January, I am going to focus on strength training. It is something I always say I need to do and now is the time. The plan is to start with the 5 day bootcamp, as these videos have more instructions and will give me a solid knowledge base to proceed. The plan is to mix Ignite sessions (which are 30 minutes and require no equipment) with Rebellion Stength sessions. The Ignite sessions I can do at work on my tea break and Rebellion I can fit in in my free evenings.
Here is a rough idea of my training schedule:
Monday nights- I teach spinning at Forest Fitness
Tuesday nights in October- I teach spinning at the Velodrome
Wednesdays- Ignite at work
Thursdays- Rebellion workout at home
Friday morning- Adidas Runners session at King’s Cross
Saturdays- Rebellion workout at home
Sunday- Rest I will soon share from ‘before’ photos and take body measurements. Each week, I will aim to post a quick update on how things are going for me. This public declaration should hold me accountable so I will stick to it!
Hello there! So much has been going on behind-the-scenes here- marathons, international challenges, extra hours at the day job, and something that I can’t wait to tell you about. I will be posting details on it all but let’s get to the exciting news first.
I have been selected to be a Julia’s Buckley Fitness Rockstar. I have known Julia virtually for a few years now. My friend, Becca, of From Strength to Strength, introduced me to Julia back in the days of the Zero Calorie Advent Calendar. Julia’s workouts are simple, effective and accessible to everyone. She started off with a book, Fat Burn Revolution, and now has a huge online gym.
Julia was looking for Fitness Rockstars to help spread the word about her offerings (so affordable and accessible) and I was keen to get involved. As a fellow fitness professional, I am happy to support and promote Julia. Her programs work (several of my friends have had tremendous success) and I am ready to be her next success story. Julai’s Fitness Rockstars are a collective of people with a mission to make the world a healthier, happier place (it is like we are all curt from the same cloth!). We’re not professional athletes, or even what many would consider typical “fitness people,” but we all appreciate the privilege of having the ability to move our bodies and we’ve all experienced having our worlds rocked by the astounding difference fitness and health has made to our lives. You may think that personal trainers are always motivated to workout, but I can tell you that it isn’t true. We have struggles just like our clients.
Neither are we celebrities, or in a position to spread our message to millions of people, but if something we post can help light the fuse that helps anyone to discover myriad of amazing benefits of doing what takes to be fit and strong which ripple out into all areas of life, then we’ll feel like stars for sure. Together, we think we can shine enough light to make a difference. If I can get even one of my readers to start moving their body in a positive way towards a healthy lifestyle, I will feel like I have won.
From now until January, I am going to focus on strength training. It is something I always say I need to do and now is the time. The plan is to start with the 5 day bootcamp, as these videos have more instructions and will give me a solid knowledge base to proceed. The plan is to mix Ignite sessions (which are 30 minutes and require no equipment) with Rebellion Stength sessions. The Ignite sessions I can do at work on my tea break and Rebellion I can fit in in my free evenings.
Here is a rough idea of my training schedule:
Monday nights- I teach spinning at Forest Fitness
Tuesday nights in October- I teach spinning at the Velodrome
Wednesdays- Ignite at work
Thursdays- Rebellion workout at home
Friday morning- Adidas Runners session at King’s Cross
Saturdays- Rebellion workout at home
Sunday- Rest I will soon share from ‘before’ photos and take body measurements. Each week, I will aim to post a quick update on how things are going for me. This public declaration should hold me accountable so I will stick to it!
Ride London is only seven weeks away and this year I am determined to ride all 100 miles of the route. For readers new to the blog, let me briefly update you on my attempts over the years:
2013 (inaugural year)- Ballot spot. Got a flat tire on Leith Hill and my feminist pride meant I missed the time cut-off for Box Hill. Total ride ~ 93 miles. 2014- Ballot spot. A wee bit of a hurricane hit London and entire course is shorted for safety reasons. Total ride ~ 86 miles. Tragically, I bought a shirt that said ‘100 miles done’ before the race at the expo. 2015- Ballot spot. We moved house in May and I didn’t start training due to length of new commute. Deferred entry to 2016. 2016- ?
I have a score to settle and am going to ride all 100 miles this year even if it kills me. I am taking my training very seriously and am committed to accomplishing my goal.
As part of my training, I have been going on lots of long rides with my husband and his friends (see Strava for my training log). Some they have organised themselves, but we also signed up for Evans Ride It Reading event in May. For that ride, we stayed with friends in Pangbourne and it was only a few miles ride to the start line. I opted for the medium route (approximately 60 miles),while the boys went for long (approximately 80 miles). It was a gorgeous day for a ride and there were organized fuel stations along the way with lots of yummy food.
In addition to riding outdoors, I still teach indoor cycling once a week at Forest Fitness Gym and I have been training to starting leading classes at the Lee Valley VeloPark’s indoor cycling too at the Velodrome in Queen Elizabeth Park. Even though these rides are indoors and on a stationary bike, they can also be invaluable for sportive training. Try to find a studio near you where the class focuses on riding, without any upper body work. After a few weeks of single classes, start adding on another without a break. You don’t need to follow the lesson plan for the second class, but instead aim to ride with consistent RPMs and a bit of resistance.
Indoor cycling studio
Turbo trainers, or similar machines such as rollers, are another way to fit in more training indoors. With weather, family life, and traffic, getting out the door is sometimes tough. You can use the time on the bike to catch up on your favourite TV show, watch a film, or listen to a podcast. To make it more interesting, download the Zwift app. I haven’t tried it myself but lots of friends on Strava (yes you can log your training on there) seem to love it. It will give you a bit more structure to your at-home sessions and has a competitive edge to it if that is motivating to you.
Being outdoors is nice too.
My longer rides are proving to be a struggle as I need more strength in my upper body to maintain my posture. I also need to work on building the endurance in my legs. This realization is one of the reasons why I am spending this week here on the blog and Instagram sharing my tips on becoming a stronger cyclist. Today’s lesson is to spend lots of time in the saddle. After all, practice does make perfect. If I want to be good at riding a bike continuously for seven hours, I need to spend time gradually building up the length of my rides to prepare my body for that task. The benefits of long training rides include:
First long ride with husband & his co-workers to Southend-On-The-Sea
Aerobic base building/Strengthening your cardiovascular system for the longer rides
Getting your body used to performing the same motion for several hours (endurance)
Opportunity to work on fuelling and hydration (in case something doesn’t agree with your body)
Practice changing a flat tire and trouble-shooting other mechanical failures, should they occur
On top of all this bike riding, I am supposed to be marathon training. As the training for both events overlap, I have subbed long rides for my long runs and but have struggled to find energy during the week to get my short runs in. Work is full on, making it hard to get away from the desk or my email day or night. I cannot continue on like this though because it is just getting to be too much to fit it all in. But I cannot afford to skip training for either is I want to be successful. I hope the aerobic base-building and mental training from cycling (7 hours with my thoughts and no way to write down all the things I think about is a long time) will prepare me to jump into full marathon training mode in August. Last night, I did a 5 mile run at marathon pace and it felt alright even in the heat and humidity (a nice change from the usual London weather). My body felt tight though as I stretched out in the garden.
Next steps for me? More rides, more runs, more strength training, and more stretching. Easy, right?
I would appreciate any and all tips about balancing multi-discipline training while working full-time. Leave a comment below!
With the increased sunshine and daylight hours, I seem to have had a boost in my energy levels. I wanted to let you know what I have been up in recent months.
First off, I went on a week’s holiday at the end of April to Egypt and Turkey. My girlfriends from uni met me in Cairo for a few days. For the second half of the trip, I met my husband in Istanbul for a few days by the sea. It was really nice to get away from work for a few days. I will be sharing my Active Travel tips for both cities soon. Since then, I have been trying to get out and do more. The time off really helped me refocus and find my motivation to be fit again. With that has come more runs at lunchtime and more workout classes after work, such as Best’s Bootcamp, Studio Lagree, and Fierce Yoga (review coming soon!).
Inside Studio Lagree
After watching The Runner Beans video, I had a better idea of what to expect at Studio Lagree. The name, better known in big cities like Toronto, doesn’t offer much insight into what the workout will be like. The founder is a reformer Pilates instructor, which explains the basic design behind their M3 Megaformer machine. But these have many more bells and whistles- straps, handles, loops, and two stationary platforms- than a regular Pilates reformer. Nadine, one of the master trainers for the London studio, took myself and the other new clients through the names of each feature to help us understand instructions during class. Instructors don’t lead the class by demonstrating on a machine, but instead giving verbal instructions continuously throughout class. Lagree method is big on slow and steady. Each in and out movement should happen over four counts. Nadine circled the studio to give one-to-one instructions for those (myself included) who needed help with their form.
Working my inner thighs
I have done a few reformer classes before, but that didn’t make sliding on these machines any easier. I lost my balance several times and even stumbled off. Every muscle, partially the core, is challenged during this class, due to the design of the machine. No matter when you turn up, you will experience something a little different as every class is full body, but the instructor can choose which routine to lead. This will help to continually challenge your body in new ways no matter what your schedule is during the week.
The biggest struggle for me was remembering all the names for the different parts of the machines and then knowing which move I was supposed to do. Some had common names (lunge) some were trickier (Mermaid, Dancing Bear). The instructor will say to watch so and so but it can be confusing if you don’t know anyone’s names or simply can’t see them in the dimly lit room.
The studio holds 12 machines and there are changing facilities. Lockers have a keypad and showers are available. Towels can be hired for £1 and there is a small range of fitness clothing available from lululemon, Michi, and Toe Socks. (Studio Lagree recommends you wear grippy socks rather than go barefoot in the class). The staff was super friendly and helpful during my visits so far. I even brought a friend who hadn’t been to the gym in a while. She enjoyed it but also found it challenging- in a good way! We both moaned about our DOMS the next day over text messages.
Thanks to Studio Lagree for gifting me a few class passes. All opinions are honest and my own.
On 6th April, the Holbourn Black’s store held an event with The North Face (TNF), highlighting their new Mountain Athletics range. TNF athlete, James Pearson, told his story about becoming a professional climber. It was sweet, because it was basically the story of how he met his wife and she trained him to become a stellar rock climber.
James telling us about his journey
After hearing James, we headed out with TNF trainers to run the streets of London and get an effective workout with just our body weight. Unfortunately, both parks were closed so we ended up on the pavement on the north bank of the Thames along the Embankment. It was tough being only one of three girls, with tons of guys, but I held my own (aside from the press ups). It was fun racing through 5-6 exercises per set doing as many rounds as we could in a few minutes. It was a great workout, followed by a recovery run back to the store. I was lucky enough to get Pulse leggings, Graphic Play Hard vest top, Motivation 1/4 zip top, which are 3 of the 9 pieces from The North Face’s new Mountain Leisure line. The idea behind the line is to get outdoors and train for something. I found the Motivation top to be really soft and breathable during my workout with the TNF trainer. There was a bit of wind along the river and the sun had set by the time we started moving. I am going to wear the pieces a few more times before I give a proper review so check back next month for the scoop. On my trip to Cairo and Istanbul, I ended up wearing the Motivation top nearly every day, as the nights were quite cool. It was very kind of The North Face and Black’t to invite me to this fun evening. I look forward to exploring more of the outdoors in and around London in my new Mountain Athletics kit. Luckily, high elevations are not required to have fun.
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