Month: February 2016

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How’s your love muscle?

Published by Hannah

Phew! I just got done an interval and weights training session which I haven’t done in a very, very long time. It felt so good to get the old love muscle working, to get that blood pumping through my veins.  It also happened to be the start of Lent last week.  You know, that time of year when it seems that everyone gives up chocolate or cake, or chocolate cake, or alcohol – depending on how dry January went – for 40 days but no one knows why.  It also happened to be Valentines Day on Sunday.  It seems to me that last week was love muscle week.  That’s right, your old ticker, the old ‘strawberry’, the old “your heart is the size of a fist so fight with it”. Our hearts are muscles which need to be tested in many different ways to grow.  Just like any other muscle your heart needs working, perhaps even more so than others. Hearts are synonymous with love but how many of us actually look after and take note …

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HIIT for beginners

Published by Hannah

HIIT is a term which has recently been flying around the fitness industry like a kid in a sweet store (which is interesting as HIIT is supposed to shift the sweets – the effect of them that is). HIIT stands for ‘high intensity interval training’.  It means putting in all your effort, a harder amount of work, everything you’ve got for a short interval followed by a rest period or a low intensity interval.  This type of training burns fat and in a shorter amount of time – so no lack of time excuses here – and if that weren’t enough it also produces ‘afterburn’ in your muscles.  Once your workout is through your muscles will still keep burning calories.  So not only do you burn more fat, and in less time, you then continue to burn fat afterwards.  Essentially HIIT gives you the best bang for your buck. Give these HIIT sessions a go:                                         …

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I’ve got my Tight Pants on

Published by Hannah

In my room I’ve got my favourite pair of jeans hanging up, nope not in the cupboard, but hanging from a shelf. They don’t fit me anymore. Sure I haven’t tried them on in a while but the last I did I couldn’t pull them over my legs. I distinctly remember when I thought the washing machine was shrinking them, turns out it was just my legs growing, in the wrong direction. I’ve kept them as a reminder, and goal, of where I used to be and where I’d like to get back to. One fitness tip which people always suggest for weight loss is keeping old clothes. If you get rid of all your old clothes you won’t remember, or realise, how much weight you have put on. Makes sense right?! In a way it’s like a frog in boiling water, if a frog is placed in boiling water it jumps out. If I try and put these old jeans on I just won’t fit. If a frog is placed in cold water which …