by Mollie Millington | Jun 3, 2020 | giveaway, health, product review
Wellness and immunity are two things that are very important to me, probably because my immune system isn’t great. I always seem to be at the doctor for one thing or another. I had pneumonia when I was a child, a really bad case of the chicken pox too (while my brother had one spot and felt fine) and then had glandular fever (mono) in grad school followed by a blood clot (partially due to genetic predisposition). The simple things to keep a body healthy, such as not smoking or doing illegal drugs, are something I have been able to embrace for my entire life. Obtaining good quality sleep and keeping stress levels low are something I have always struggled with. I am a light sleeper and tend to over-commit, so those two things alone probably knock some of my natural immunity. I shared my top immunity tips with the Thinking Slimmer gang back in March and thought you might find them useful too. Hopefully these are accessible enough that you can start to incorporate them into your daily life.
Add colour to every meal with an additional serving of fruit or vegetables. These natural foods have a range for vitamins and minerals that your body needs to obtain from food. The additional serving might be a side salad with dinner; sliced carrots and bell peppers as a snack; something added to a recipe, such as frozen peas; fruit with yogurt for dessert. Remember, you want five servings a day with varying colours. When in doubt, go for the veg!
Keep a moody diary to look for patterns with sleep, daily routine, exercise, and stress levels. These will all interact with each other, in good and bad ways. Remember you want to keep stress low and sleep at least eight hours. If you are not hitting eight hours, try adding an additional 30 minutes every two weeks and see if you feel more energised.
If you get hungry, have a glass of water and keep hands busy (give yourself a manicure, wash the dishes, or put away the laundry). Eight glasses or two litres of water a day is optimal. Hunger pains can sometimes mean you are dehydrated though. To avoid succumbing to every twinge, drink your water and see if you can distract your mind from food for about 15 minutes. If you are still hungry after that, have a snack.
Take a multivitamin with vitamin D3. This is really important if you are a picky eater or limit different food groups to have a multivitamin to ensure your essential nutritional needs are met. In addition, levels of vitamin D3 in Covid-19 patients seems to influence severity of symptoms.
Exercise more. It will help relieve stress, strengthen your cardiovascular system, make you physically stronger, and can give you an energy boost. Read more at the US National Library of Medicine if you need additional info, although it seems that the exact mechanism is unclear. Here is a peer-reviewed study on the topic which cites how new technology will help us figure out the “how.”
Try FourFiveCBD Immunity Box. Ok this is a little cheeky to suggest, but FourFive CBD sent me one of their limited edition boxes to try out (and I have one to giveaway too). It contains the following:
What did I think of everything? I am really enjoying the CBD effervescent tablets on the hot days we have been having as of late. Pulsin products I have had before but not this flavor bar. It was a perfect way to refuel after a home workout. Finally, I have been taking two of the Ashwagandha plus capsules every day. I hadn’t heard of this root before, but the handy flyer that comes with the box explains the benefits of each product. Ashwagandha is supposed to reduce anxiety, lower cortisol levels, and aid in muscle recovery. These are all the things I need in my life right now. I have only been taking it for two weeks and am trying to monitor myself for changes.
Things I still need to try: Vitamin D is something I was already taking so once I finish the bottle I have, I will start taking the nutrigold capsules. The cacao will be used for baking this weekend as I have brownies on my brain as of late. The biotic and vitamin C I will start taking later as I wanted to try the Ashwagandha on its own first.
Are you ready to try all of these for yourself? Head over to my Instagram to enter to win a box for yourself. As I have to ship it to you, the giveaway is limited to those with a UK postal address. Contest closes 12 June 2020 at midnight. Winner will be contacted via direct message on Instagram. Good luck!
One more thing- with every purchase of the box, FourFive CBD donates £5 to Compassion London. So, if you don’t win, your purchase will make a difference to those less fortunate. Very cool indeed.
Thanks to FourFive CBD for the complimentary product. All opinions are honest and my own.
by Mollie Millington | Feb 5, 2018 | class review, giveaway, spinning
My fitness career started as a Spinning® instructor. The training made me what I call a purist- I don’t lift weights, clap my hands or do press ups during my classes. Unfortunately for me, in the last few years the London fitness trend has seen a big demand for the ‘all-body’ indoor cycling classes (if this format gets you to go to class- go for it!). I struggled to find studios that shared my philosophy on cycling style. My favorite studio was Cyclebeat near Moorgate but that was recently bought out by Boom Cycle. When I heard about a free class is Islington, I was intrigued. What sold me was that my friend, Lucy from Paddle Pedal Pace, said the Keiser instructor was great. She and I have the same thoughts on how an indoor cycling class should be instructed.
Body Junkies is a new studio that opening up in Islington last year. It was founded by friends, Jason and Stephen. They have boxing, Zumba®, yoga, high intensity interval training (HIIT), total conditioning, mommy/baby classes and more. They have their own app for booking too which makes it easy to schedule your workout on the go. The studio is one open room but very versatile as the boxing equipment hangs from the ceiling on custom tracks. They means the bags can be moved out of the way when not in use. There are two showers, a toilet, and cubbies for storing your kit.
The location is less than a five minute walk from Holloway Station on Holloway Road, near the Emirates Stadium and London Metropolitan University. When I arrived, I was greeted by the owners. The brand new Keiser bikes were set up in a semi circle around the instructor’s bike. The visiting instructor was Darren Teagles, who captivated us for 45 minutes using only two positions on the bike. The music was banging and the light were kept low (which I prefer because then no one can see my red face). The ambience allowed me to forget about work and simply focus on getting a fantastic workout.
These new bikes allowed us to sync to the TV screens, showing us (and the instructor) our RPMS and power rating. Each had a digital display that allowed you to see this info on your bike, alongside a gear resistance rating. Darren also created teams during class, where we had to push ourselves to win. The computer program splits up the class evenly, so one team doesn’t have an advantage. The energy in the studio was great! Most of the class were Body Junkies members, with a few journalists and bloggers. The studio team were very friendly and we got to try their smoothies after class. I was so impressed that the class was held captive with only two simple moves and a profile that built on the previous section. Most people have short attention spans and look bored in my class if we are sitting on the bike, even on a seated uphill climb (hopefully it isn’t my teaching style).
We are talking about me teaching a one-off spin class, so if you think you would be interested, please let me know with a comment below. Regardless, I think you should visit the studio! Enter my giveaway below to win two Body Junkie sweat towels, a steel water bottle, branded canvas bag, and a free class of your choice.
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| Win this plus a free class! |
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks to Body Junkies for inviting me along to the complimentary class. All views and opinions are my own.
by thinkmarsh | Feb 5, 2018 | class review, giveaway, spinning
My fitness career started as a Spinning® instructor. The training made me what I call a purist- I don’t lift weights, clap my hands or do press ups during my classes. Unfortunately for me, in the last few years the London fitness trend has seen a big demand for the ‘all-body’ indoor cycling classes (if this format gets you to go to class- go for it!). I struggled to find studios that shared my philosophy on cycling style. My favorite studio was Cyclebeat near Moorgate but that was recently bought out by Boom Cycle. When I heard about a free class is Islington, I was intrigued. What sold me was that my friend, Lucy from Paddle Pedal Pace, said the Keiser instructor was great. She and I have the same thoughts on how an indoor cycling class should be instructed.
Body Junkies is a new studio that opening up in Islington last year. It was founded by friends, Jason and Stephen. They have boxing, Zumba®, yoga, high intensity interval training (HIIT), total conditioning, mommy/baby classes and more. They have their own app for booking too which makes it easy to schedule your workout on the go. The studio is one open room but very versatile as the boxing equipment hangs from the ceiling on custom tracks. They means the bags can be moved out of the way when not in use. There are two showers, a toilet, and cubbies for storing your kit.
The location is less than a five minute walk from Holloway Station on Holloway Road, near the Emirates Stadium and London Metropolitan University. When I arrived, I was greeted by the owners. The brand new Keiser bikes were set up in a semi circle around the instructor’s bike. The visiting instructor was Darren Teagles, who captivated us for 45 minutes using only two positions on the bike. The music was banging and the light were kept low (which I prefer because then no one can see my red face). The ambience allowed me to forget about work and simply focus on getting a fantastic workout.
These new bikes allowed us to sync to the TV screens, showing us (and the instructor) our RPMS and power rating. Each had a digital display that allowed you to see this info on your bike, alongside a gear resistance rating. Darren also created teams during class, where we had to push ourselves to win. The computer program splits up the class evenly, so one team doesn’t have an advantage. The energy in the studio was great! Most of the class were Body Junkies members, with a few journalists and bloggers. The studio team were very friendly and we got to try their smoothies after class. I was so impressed that the class was held captive with only two simple moves and a profile that built on the previous section. Most people have short attention spans and look bored in my class if we are sitting on the bike, even on a seated uphill climb (hopefully it isn’t my teaching style).
We are talking about me teaching a one-off spin class, so if you think you would be interested, please let me know with a comment below. Regardless, I think you should visit the studio! Enter my giveaway below to win two Body Junkie sweat towels, a steel water bottle, branded canvas bag, and a free class of your choice.
|
| Win this plus a free class! |
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks to Body Junkies for inviting me along to the complimentary class. All views and opinions are my own.
by thinkmarsh | Feb 19, 2016 | giveaway, recovery, running
It’s Friday and what better way to welcome the weekend than to have an amazing giveaway.
I have teamed up with the good folks at Urban Massage to offer one lucky reader free entry into the Vitality North London Half Marathon on 20th March 2016 (complete with a finish in Wembley Stadium). In addition, the winner will receive a 60 minute massage from an Urban Massage therapist, to be used either in preparation for the race or as recovery.
I will be running the race and am looking forward to the new route this year.
Please note, there are some T&Cs with this. The same person must run the race and receive the massage. The winner must contribute one blog post to ptmollie.com by 10th April 2016. Winner must also complete 2 social media shares tagging @massageapp by this date.
So what are you waiting for? Enter now and good luck! Big thanks to the folks at Urban Massage for this fantastic prize.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
by thinkmarsh | Feb 11, 2016 | gift guide, giveaway, technology
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Doubling up on my trackers,
because they do different things. |
Christmas just happened and we are rapidly approaching Valentine’s Day. How do you celebrate the ‘holiday’? My husband sees it more as a card company promotion, but I try to get him a little something. If you have a sporty partner and are considering getting them an activity tracker, here are my tips on selecting one as a gift:
Be ready with a ‘why’. Hopefully they have mentioned wanting one, how all their friends got one for Christmas, or seem curious about how activity trackers work. Valentine’s Day is not the time to make your partner feel insecure about their body shape so give it consideration as a gift choice and be ready to explain why you choose this as a gift.
Technological abilities. Are they capable/interested/confident in learning how it works? Will they want to monitor heart rate or keep track of how much water they drink? A basic model might suite your partner fine or if they are a technophile, bells and whistles might be best.
What apps they use. If your gift receiver has all of their training logs on Nike’s free app, they might not be keen to switch to TomTom. Check if they use Bounts (my referral code is millington1695) or another reward program and if their activities can link. It would be a shame to loose all that sweat for nothing.
Primary sport. Is the person a runner, swimmer or cyclist? Different disciplines are tracked with various measures (GPS, altitude, RPM, etc) and you need to match this. You also will need something waterproof for swimmers as not all trackers can get wet and/or used for swimming.
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Should the tracker have a large visual display?
This Mio FUSE lights up when you tap the screen. |
Size of wearable and the person– If possible, check out the wearable in person to see how big it is. Getting the most expensive GPS watch won’t do your wife any good if it weighs down her arm so much that she can’t run.
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| I have dainty wrists, so big trackers can be cumbersome for me. |
Additional accessories required. When in doubt, accessories are always a good option as they tend to be a bit less specific. Headphones, arm band, bum bag, portable charge pack, Bluetooth remote control, selfie stick, or a paper based training log are all good items if you can’t decide which activity tracker to pick.
Ready to try out an activity tracker (or give it to a friend)? Rem-Fit offers s sleeker wrist activity tracker with their 200 series that syncs with the Rem-Fit app on your SMART phone. It is only $99.00 (£68) so very affordable for newbies to give activity tracking a try. There are loads of different color silicon bracelets too so you can find one that will match every outfit. Or you can wear it on your belt. This tracker will monitor your sleep, steps, distance travelled, and calories burned.
Enter today. Competition ends 15/2/16. Winner will be drawn by random by Raffelcopter. Best of luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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