by Mollie Millington | Apr 13, 2017 | clothes, fashion, product review
Yesterday on my way home from work, the Evening Standard had an article about how offices should offer showers and lockers to running and cycling commuters.
I am all about reducing stink and have been run commuting for a few months in prep for the London Marathon. I have learned the hard way that millions of microscopic bacteria are the reason why your gym clothes smell after a sweaty workout. If you wash your clothes with the wrong cycle, temperature or detergent, you will compromise the fabric, reducing its quality. Poor maintenance of the fabrics means less wicking, longer dry time and the perfect conditions for bacterial growth. If I am running a race in hot temps, I stink a lot more at the finish line if I dump water on my head than if I don’t.
Nobody wants to be ‘that guy or gal’ who has an office strung up with sweaty gym kit with a smell that permeates the canteen. Here are a few things to think about to keep the smell of victory to a minimum in the office.
Tip 1: Choose the right material
When you are buying new workout gear, avoid cotton like the plague and instead look for:
Merino wool is a natural solution to avoiding post-workout odours. Made from the wool the Merino breed of sheep, this kind of wool doesn’t itch, helps you thermoregulate and doesn’t smell due to a natural oil secreted by the sheep called lanolin. Icebreaker, Smartwool, and ashmei are all brands that work with merino wool.
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| ashmei offices in Tring |
You can also look for the Polygiene logo. It is a silver-ion treatment of the fabric before final manufacturing occurs that prevents bacterial growth. It is permanently integrated into the fabric and will not wash out. Companies such as lululemon, Ron Hill, Adidas, Poc, DaKine and Polartech are just a few examples of partner brands that use this treatment on their products.
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| Polygiene socks make stretching out in the dining room more bearable. |
Tip 2: Wash it with the right stuff
This seems like the natural thing to do but sometimes the detergent we use or the water temperature settings don’t actually kill the bacteria. Don’t use fabric softeners on your tech fabrics as this could leave a residue that will effectively take away the wicking properties. A few products you could try are:
Revive by Odo Sport is designed to keep synthetic sports kit clean, oudor-free, and functioning properly. It shields the fabric from acquiring dirt between washes and adds a fast-drying agent to help kit to dry more quickly (which will keep stink down too).
Nik Wax Basewash® effectively cleans, deodorises, inhibits the build up of body odours, accelerates drying and improves cooling efficiency of synthetic base layers. If you have wool baselayers (we’ll talk about material choice in a minute), use NikWax Wool Wash™ instead.
Mr Black’s Sport Wash is all natural and biodegradable, yet able to squash the bacteria that cause your technical kit to smell a bit funky. Their philosophy is to prolong the life of your clothes as you have invested in them (and we all know how much good kit can cost).
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| Run commute warrior! |
A final option if you want to wash your clothes is to send clothes out during the day to be laundered. Indoor cycling studio and fitness gym H2 offers this as a service with a 48 hour turn-around time, which means the sweaty clothes never make it to your office to cause any offence.
Tip 3: Use Pay As You Gym (PAYG) to shower
Perhaps your training schedule only requires you to run or cycle in once or twice a week. If your office doesn’t offer shower or lockeroom facilities, look on the PAYG website to locate an inexpensive gym facility near work where you can freshen up and change before your first meeting. Long term it might not be cost-effective, but it could also help you smell fresh for the rest of the day.
Tip 4: Run home instead
Sounds simple enough, but make exercise a priority and run home from work instead of going to the pub. That way sweaty clothes can air out in the comfort in your living room instead of your work cubicle. Of course, it is challenging to keep the motivation up over the course of a day but think about how you will feel as the endorphins start flowing after a few minutes of sweating.
If you have any other ideas on how to keep your office from smelling like a locker room, please comment below. I know Londoners can be pretty creative with this sort of thing.
Portions of this post originally appeared on the H2 Life Blog.
by thinkmarsh | Apr 13, 2017 | clothes, fashion, product review
Yesterday on my way home from work, the Evening Standard had an article about how offices should offer showers and lockers to running and cycling commuters.
I am all about reducing stink and have been run commuting for a few months in prep for the London Marathon. I have learned the hard way that millions of microscopic bacteria are the reason why your gym clothes smell after a sweaty workout. If you wash your clothes with the wrong cycle, temperature or detergent, you will compromise the fabric, reducing its quality. Poor maintenance of the fabrics means less wicking, longer dry time and the perfect conditions for bacterial growth. If I am running a race in hot temps, I stink a lot more at the finish line if I dump water on my head than if I don’t.
Nobody wants to be ‘that guy or gal’ who has an office strung up with sweaty gym kit with a smell that permeates the canteen. Here are a few things to think about to keep the smell of victory to a minimum in the office.
Tip 1: Choose the right material
When you are buying new workout gear, avoid cotton like the plague and instead look for:
Merino wool is a natural solution to avoiding post-workout odours. Made from the wool the Merino breed of sheep, this kind of wool doesn’t itch, helps you thermoregulate and doesn’t smell due to a natural oil secreted by the sheep called lanolin. Icebreaker, Smartwool, and ashmei are all brands that work with merino wool.
|
| ashmei offices in Tring |
You can also look for the Polygiene logo. It is a silver-ion treatment of the fabric before final manufacturing occurs that prevents bacterial growth. It is permanently integrated into the fabric and will not wash out. Companies such as lululemon, Ron Hill, Adidas, Poc, DaKine and Polartech are just a few examples of partner brands that use this treatment on their products.
|
| Polygiene socks make stretching out in the dining room more bearable. |
Tip 2: Wash it with the right stuff
This seems like the natural thing to do but sometimes the detergent we use or the water temperature settings don’t actually kill the bacteria. Don’t use fabric softeners on your tech fabrics as this could leave a residue that will effectively take away the wicking properties. A few products you could try are:
Revive by Odo Sport is designed to keep synthetic sports kit clean, oudor-free, and functioning properly. It shields the fabric from acquiring dirt between washes and adds a fast-drying agent to help kit to dry more quickly (which will keep stink down too).
Nik Wax Basewash® effectively cleans, deodorises, inhibits the build up of body odours, accelerates drying and improves cooling efficiency of synthetic base layers. If you have wool baselayers (we’ll talk about material choice in a minute), use NikWax Wool Wash™ instead.
Mr Black’s Sport Wash is all natural and biodegradable, yet able to squash the bacteria that cause your technical kit to smell a bit funky. Their philosophy is to prolong the life of your clothes as you have invested in them (and we all know how much good kit can cost).
|
| Run commute warrior! |
A final option if you want to wash your clothes is to send clothes out during the day to be laundered. Indoor cycling studio and fitness gym H2 offers this as a service with a 48 hour turn-around time, which means the sweaty clothes never make it to your office to cause any offence.
Tip 3: Use Pay As You Gym (PAYG) to shower
Perhaps your training schedule only requires you to run or cycle in once or twice a week. If your office doesn’t offer shower or lockeroom facilities, look on the PAYG website to locate an inexpensive gym facility near work where you can freshen up and change before your first meeting. Long term it might not be cost-effective, but it could also help you smell fresh for the rest of the day.
Tip 4: Run home instead
Sounds simple enough, but make exercise a priority and run home from work instead of going to the pub. That way sweaty clothes can air out in the comfort in your living room instead of your work cubicle. Of course, it is challenging to keep the motivation up over the course of a day but think about how you will feel as the endorphins start flowing after a few minutes of sweating.
If you have any other ideas on how to keep your office from smelling like a locker room, please comment below. I know Londoners can be pretty creative with this sort of thing.
Portions of this post originally appeared on the H2 Life Blog.
by Mollie Millington | Apr 3, 2017 | fitness, product review, sport
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| Pink Ladies! |
Last week, I headed back to Surrey Quays, which is the neighbourhood we lived in when we first moved to London. It is always nice to go back and see how the area has changed. I am so happy when I go back to the area, probably because of the fond memories of our gorgeous flat and exploring London with fresh enthusiam.
When we lived there, the Decathlon in Surrey Quays was the only one store in the UK. Most of my personal training/fitness kit and cycling accessories came from there, as it was easy to access and really affordable (it took me 2 years to stop converting pounds to dollars). In the USA, most stores carry a variety of items while I find in the UK you have to go to a specialist store to find each thing you need. Decathlon has everything from running kit to ski gear to protein powder to free weights to warm fleece for the winter and wellies for dog walks in the spring to good old bike inner tubes. But it wasn’t until the scavenger hunt that I learned just how much variety they offer.
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| Bloggers are big on selfies |
Decathlon kindly invited nine bloggers down for a fun scavenger hunt through the store. There were three teams of three and I was on the Pink Ladies with Beki and Eileen. Each team started in different parts of the store and had a dozen or so questions to answer about the products on the shelves. We also had a bonus question about the Decathlon brands and what sporting discipline they represented. I had no idea that Decathlon had over 20 of their own brands for everything from camping to swimming to rock climbing to equestrian to court sports. They also carry big brands, such as Nike, Adidas, Salomon, Karrimor, etc. but in my experience, I have found that the Decathlon quality is just as good depending on what I need and how much I am willing to spend on it.
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| I bet you can’t see us. (Decathlon made us wear these jackets around the store) |
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| No one told us we were going to have to do math as part of one of the tasks. |
Decathlon even has their own brand of fitness technology products, Geonaute. If you are looking to invest in a heart rate monitor, GPS watch, action camera accessories, or ear buds, have a look at their selection. With Decathlon, they really aim to remove the finacial barrier of getting stuck in to a new sport or physical activity. Often times, I see people discouraged from trying something new because they don’t have the proper equipment or don’t want to invest too much in case they don’t like it. After walking around the store, I can tell you there are many products that can help increase your heart rate without decreasing your bank account by too much.
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| Trying to find the right strawberry-flavored protein and one of the answers to our questions. |
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| I just wanted to eat all the protein. Apparently, Eileen did too. |
After exploring nearly every bit of the store looking for clues, I am thrilled to say that our team won and were given awesome medals for our efforts while we enjoyed some great canapes and wine with the other bloggers. Each attendee was also given a brightly colored 20L rucksack, a fitness ball, a running bumbag, and soft microfiber towel. I was actually eyeing the 1 bottle carrier belt bumbag for the London Marathon and have pleased with it so far.
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| First place team celebrating our win over social media. |
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| ‘In-tents’ bloggers after the challenge was over. |
The scavenger hunt would be a lot of fun for families or schools to learn more about different types of ways to be active and there is a great potential for it to be even more interactive with the products available. I found a few new pieces of kit I would like to try (stand up paddleboard, horseback riding boots, and a Subea face mask with a snorket built in). As this was the first time the scavenger hunt was put on, Decathlon is taking our feedback and will tweak the experience a bit more (I suggested adding a time limit).
I would highly recommend keeping your eyes out for similar interactive events at your local Decathlon store. You can always stop by and have a wander around though to see what inspires you to get more active and/or explore the outdoors.
Thanks to Decathlon for providing us with a fun evening and great sporty items. All opinions are honest and my own.
by Mollie Millington | Jan 31, 2017 | education, product review
Since finishing my bachelors degree, there has rarely been a time when I wasn’t studying part-time. My career goal was to become an aquatic veterinarian so for several years I took classes part-time at the community college in my hometown to complete the prerequisite requirements. But unfortunately, I didn’t get in. I then found myself taking courses to become a nurse practitioner before realising I didn’t like people as much as animals. Grad school came a few years later, then my spinning certification, personal training, and additional certifications, such as Coach in Running Fitness, along the way. I enjoy learning new things in fields that interest me and enjoy the challenge of mastering new materials. Plus, these courses are often great ways to meet other people with similar interests or who work in the same field as you.
Lately, I haven’t been keeping up with the fitness industry advancements. As the day job isn’t allowing much time for part-time work in the gym, I find it hard to justify the expense of my time and money on fitness courses. Plus, I would need to take time off from work to attend classroom sessions or to revise for final assessments.
I was intrigued when Future Fit Training contacted me to be one of the first to try out their new Pro Zone. Offering webinars, discounted online CPD, and networking opportunities, it is perfect for busy trainers like me. It is a private Facebook group, meaning you can check in with the app you most likely already have on your phone. Plus, checking Facebook is something you already do automatically so you don’t have to worry about remembering to log into a separate place. Everyone in the group has been really friendly and willing to share tips and advice whenever someone posts a question.
Key benefits of membership include:
- 12 accredited webinars per year
- 25% discount on all Future Fit CPD courses
- Membership of an exclusive online fitness industry group
- Specialist guest webinars
- Unique promotions and competitions
- Engaging content to help maximise your PT skills and business
The webinars tend to be on Wednesdays ar 2pm, which unfortunately is while I am at work. However, they are recorded for later viewing and emailed to you if you registered. The first one I signed up for was about mindset training with the founder of the Body Transformation Academy. There are many more that I cannot wait to see. Here are a few examples:
It has only been two weeks since I have joined, and I am still getting used to navigating the group and having it be part of my daily check in. I see tremendous value in it though for new PTs or PTs who are trying to grow their business. I will be posting updates in the next few weeks on how I get on with it and what new stuff I am learning that will help you be healthy and happy.
When was the last time you took a class to learn something new? Did you continue to pursue it after the course ended?
by thinkmarsh | Jan 31, 2017 | education, product review
Since finishing my bachelors degree, there has rarely been a time when I wasn’t studying part-time. My career goal was to become an aquatic veterinarian so for several years I took classes part-time at the community college in my hometown to complete the prerequisite requirements. But unfortunately, I didn’t get in. I then found myself taking courses to become a nurse practitioner before realising I didn’t like people as much as animals. Grad school came a few years later, then my spinning certification, personal training, and additional certifications, such as Coach in Running Fitness, along the way. I enjoy learning new things in fields that interest me and enjoy the challenge of mastering new materials. Plus, these courses are often great ways to meet other people with similar interests or who work in the same field as you.
Lately, I haven’t been keeping up with the fitness industry advancements. As the day job isn’t allowing much time for part-time work in the gym, I find it hard to justify the expense of my time and money on fitness courses. Plus, I would need to take time off from work to attend classroom sessions or to revise for final assessments.
I was intrigued when Future Fit Training contacted me to be one of the first to try out their new Pro Zone. Offering webinars, discounted online CPD, and networking opportunities, it is perfect for busy trainers like me. It is a private Facebook group, meaning you can check in with the app you most likely already have on your phone. Plus, checking Facebook is something you already do automatically so you don’t have to worry about remembering to log into a separate place. Everyone in the group has been really friendly and willing to share tips and advice whenever someone posts a question.
Key benefits of membership include:
- 12 accredited webinars per year
- 25% discount on all Future Fit CPD courses
- Membership of an exclusive online fitness industry group
- Specialist guest webinars
- Unique promotions and competitions
- Engaging content to help maximise your PT skills and business
The webinars tend to be on Wednesdays ar 2pm, which unfortunately is while I am at work. However, they are recorded for later viewing and emailed to you if you registered. The first one I signed up for was about mindset training with the founder of the Body Transformation Academy. There are many more that I cannot wait to see. Here are a few examples:
It has only been two weeks since I have joined, and I am still getting used to navigating the group and having it be part of my daily check in. I see tremendous value in it though for new PTs or PTs who are trying to grow their business. I will be posting updates in the next few weeks on how I get on with it and what new stuff I am learning that will help you be healthy and happy.
When was the last time you took a class to learn something new? Did you continue to pursue it after the course ended?
by Mollie Millington | Jan 28, 2017 | clothes, product review, recovery, running
I cannot believe how chilly is has been the last two weeks in London! Don’t get me wrong, I love winter and have all the right kit to stay warm, but in the 6 years I have lived in London I don’t remember it ever being so cold for so long. While I was home in New York for Thanksgiving, I saw warm sports kit (merino wool, thermal, fleece lined) in all the shops, but I knew (or so I thought) that it would never be cold enough in London to wear it more than once or twice a year.
It was fortuitous that
SKINS Compression got in touch soon after and offered for me to test out their compression kit. I chose the A400 line because it features Adaptive Technology that helps regulate body temps. This seemed like a good compromise as London often has cool/windy weather, rather than hot or cold extremes. The leggings feature 360 degree reflectivity and have a pocket in the back of the waistband.
The A400 long sleeve top has similar features to the leggings, such as 360 degre reflectivity, moisture wicking, and dynamic gradiant compression. The other unique feature is silicone gripper on the hem of the top which keeps it in place as you run, bend, or stretch, meaning you don’t need to worry about flashing some skin but rather focus on your workout.
I have worn the A400’s on long runs, trail runs, parkrun, and a, eight mile run commute. I never felt too warm or too cold on my run, which was amazing to think how versitile . The compression is supposed to help with blood circulation and recovery. (
You can read more about compression technology here.) Obviously, the only downside to compression gear is how tight it is. You need to be confident in your body shape as SKINS leave nothing to the imagination. Every curve gets a form fitting hug.
The other tips I have for staying warm are wearing light-weight running gloves. This is something I always do to help my hands from developing more severe eczema. I have a pair of
sport E-Gloves that I really like to wearing when running. They don’t get sweaty or damp, even on long runs, meaning my hands don’t get cold. They also dry quickly so I can wear them a few hours later.
As you will see in my photos here and on Instagram, I am always wearing a snood in the winter. For some reason, as soon as I step outside in weather that is a bit cool, my nose runs. In the summer, I think I have allergies too which also cause excess mucus production. So I wear a snood in the winter to easily wipe my nose (don’t worry, I wash it regularly). It also helps warm you breathe when it is so cold outside, your nose hair freezes. You can bring the snood over your face and breathe in air that is warmed by your body temp first.
Finally, I wear a lightweight handband to cover my ears when it is really cold. It is also a bright High-Vis color to help me be seen. I would advise accessorizing with lights and reflective wear too if running in low light conditions. Yes, the clothes have 360 degree reflective bits but you want to ensure that all traffic and cyclists definitely see you coming.
I am so happy to say that SKINS is offering my readers a 20% discount using the promo code PTMOLLIE-SKINS20 on all full-priced items. Offer expires 31st January so head on over and pick up some kit today to beat the winter blues.
Thanks to SKINS for gifting me the A400 top and leggings. As always, all opinions are honest and my own.
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