Roller Derby

Oh wow have you seen this amazing sport? It is really popular in the USA and it's now sweeping the UK! 

If you haven't seen Whip It yet then get yourself onto Netflix and get watching! A 2009 film directed by Drew Barrymore really gives you a good view of what Roller Derby is all about! With speed hotpants and a good old healthy dose of competition what more can you ask for? 

Click here to take a sneek peek of what this womens-only sport is all about in the UK. If you fancy trying it out for yourself there are teams popping up all over Britain and you can visit Roller Derby UK for loads of great information on Roller Derby including Player Profiles and their own Blog too!

I personally found myself getting very excited that I have a team local to me called Dorset Roller Girls and get this, they practice just down the road from me! Such an empowing sport with great outfits too (I'm thinking hotpants, fishnets & roller skates how can you resist?) really ignites an unkown desire to take up roller derby for myself!  The only thing that puts me off is the fact that I literally cannot skate to save my life plus I'm only 5'1" and not sure I could handle being pushed about lol! I'm totally loving the idea of it though and I'm really looking for an excuse to check this sport out for myself! I may have to be 'passing by' during training one evening or something? Ha! 

Love Sophie..xxx

Jillian Michaels Review - Ripped In 30

This is my favourite Go-To workout from Jillian Michaels I do it pretty much every Monday as it is a great all rounder and really gets your heart pumping!  You'll need an exercise mat and some hand weights for this workout.

The DVD is split into 4 different 20min workouts starting easy and getting harder.  The idea is to do one workout for an entire week moving to the next for four weeks.  Each workout is then divided into three circuits which you repeat twice.  Jillian has broken each circuit into the 3-2-1 which includes 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs.  This keeps the workout varied and interesting.

Personally I like to do two of the four workouts in a row - Workout 1 and Workout 4.  This means I can get almost an hour of exercise in ranging from easy(ish) to really hard. I really enjoy this DVD and would definitely recommend you give it a go at only £8.08 from Amazon you'd be mad to give it a miss!

Love Sophie...xxx

The Christmas Dilemma!

So Christmas is nearly upon us and as someone who likes to be fairly strict when it comes to my exercise regime this poses a small dilemma for me! 

It would be ok if Christmas day was on a weekend then I would feel no guilt as I like to take it easy every weekend by not worrying about the calories! But as Christmas will be on a Wednesday I will need to relax my keep fit regime next week for at least Wednesday and probably Thursday...Maybe Tuesday too?! 

To many people this is probably a no brainer it is Christmas after all! And although I completely agree I don't want to have an entire week off only to find I have put on half a stone! 

It really is a funny thing once you get into exercise and a healthy regime, it really effects your entire life, routine and outlook! Although I know I deserve a rest I also know I will be feeling guilty for having a break over Christmas and with the children off school as well, it really leaves little time for exercise!

I still haven't come to a conclusion but I know I will try and squeeze some exercise in over the week, this way I may be able to balance out all the eating I will be doing!  

Maybe I'll go with this equation:

Christmas Dilemma Sorted = Eat Loads Of Food + Exercise = No Guilt!

I hope everyone has a fab Christmas!

Sophie..xxx 

Can I Workout When I'm Ill?

The best advice I have ever had when exercising when feeling ill is to follow the above/below the neck rule! If your symptoms are above your neck i.e. runny nose or sore throat then you can continue with your exercise although it is best to go at a lower intensity then usual. If your symptoms are below your neck then it may be best to skip the workout! Apparently studies have shown that exercising at a moderate intensity will not make your cold worse or compromise your immune system.

For more information on exercise and working out visit Jillian Michaels' website here.

Jillian Michaels Work Out Review - No More Trouble Zones

NO MORE TROUBLE ZONES was the 2nd Jillian Michaels DVD that I purchased and it is currently £7.54 from Amazon. Once I had been working out to Banish Fat Boost Metabolism for a good month I decided I needed to mix it up a little and I purchased this DVD. No More Trouble Zones requires an exercise mat but also a set of weights/dumbbells. I bought my first set of dumbbells for this workout which you can add or take away extra weights to. When you first start working out to this DVD the weight of your dumbbells will be very light (around 3lbs) and as you get better and progress you will find you can use heavier weights. This DVD goes at a good pace and is not too quick.  Jillian explains how to carry out each move at different intensities for every level of fitness and I find her little speeches motivational.  Don't be too put off by the music though as it is quite bland and in my opinion more like background noise to help you keep the pace really. Personally I prefer this when I am working out compared to more current dance tracks as sometimes these are not to everyone's taste and can actually put you off the exercises.

Again this DVD is split into seven circuits and you repeat each circuit twice just like Banish Fat Boost Metabolism. There is a 5 min warm up and a 5 min cool down.

Section 1 focuses on shoulders and quads including shoulder press with squats, back lunges and press outs.

Section 2 contains chest and ab exercises including chest press with sit ups, chest fly with leg raise and bicycle crunches and push ups.

Section 3 is biceps and glutes with dead lifts with hammer curl, static squats with bicep curls and side lunges.

Section 4 focuses on triceps and quads including tricep kickbacks whilst in chair pose, surrenders and crescent lunges. This section is quite difficult.

Section 5 is based on core and back and the moves are mostly carried out on the mat including double crunch, twisting plank, side toe tap and windscreen wipers.

Section 6 includes exercises for your stomach and glutes such as plank rows, superman, scissor kicks and hollow man.

Section 7 contains moves for your core and thighs and includes side planks, leg lifts and donkey kicks amongst others.

Personally I do like No More Trouble Zones, it's a good mid-week workout that will make your muscles ache but not tire you out too much.  I don't feel completely out of breath with this work out like I do with some others mainly due to the lack of cardio but I do enjoy the feeling of my muscles being used and worked hard so would definitely recommend you incorporate No More Trouble Zones into your weekly rotation of DVDs to help give you a well rounded workout and a fresh set of challenges!

Check out my FITNESS page for more Jillian Michaels Reviews.

Motivational Workout Tips!

As you may already know I am a big fan of Jillian Michaels, I workout around four times a week and admittedly some weeks I find it hard to spur myself on but by thinking about my goals and what I want to achieve I carry on.

Get motivated with these great words of wisdom from my favourite trainer Jillian Michaels:

Stick With It

Sticking with a new exercise routine is not easy — and anyone who tries to tell you it's simple is full of it. As I've said before, I'm not one of those people who naturally love working out, so getting up and doing my workout every day is an act of will. If you're having trouble staying motivated, jump-start yourself with these tips and then wait for your endorphins to kick in and work their magic.

Take it easy. It takes 21 days to form a new habit. If you push too hard too early, you'll end up losing steam and wanting to quit. Instead, commit yourself to advancing at a steady pace.

Listen to music. Get yourself a music player and put together some cool tunes to inspire you while you work out. Sometimes music makes all the difference.

Enlist a partner in crime. Invite your spouse or a friend, family member, co-worker, or even one of your online fitness buddies to pair up and work out with you. Exercising together will give you both more incentive to do it.

Get real. Remember that sometimes life will get in the way of your workout. Don't give up just because you had to take time off. There's nothing stopping you from getting right back on track

Get some fun fitness DVDs. If working out on your own is getting a little old, pick up some fun DVDs. I have a few you can try including Killer Abs and Kickbox FastFix. My latest DVD, Yoga Inferno, focuses on vigorous yoga sequences that will transform your physique. The DVD workouts are actually very similar to those of my online program. The exercises are a little different, but the methodology is the same. And the bonus is that you get to hear me pushing you through an awesome workout!

Reward yourself. By now you probably know my philosophy on this. I'm big on rewards — both for long-term and for short-term goals — so come up with some appropriate (non-food) rewards and enjoy them each time you achieve a new goal. You rock, so you deserve it!

Jillian Michaels Work Out Review - Banish Fat Boost Metabolism

Banish Fat Boost Metabolism is the first Jillian Michaels DVD I ever bought! It is a great starting place for anyone fairly new to exercise and also new to Jillian Michaels. There is no equipment required to follow this workout apart from an exercise mat and a TV and as it is currently only £6.92 from Amazon it is a total bargain.  For the same cost as one exercise class at the gym you can get unlimited workouts from this DVD!

Banish Fat Boost Metabolism contains only Cardio exercises and only one section of mat work which I quite like as you are not constantly scrambling around trying to get into different positions. Jillian is very motivational and also makes me laugh.  The music is nothing to write home about but to be honest you will be working so hard you probably won't even notice! The entire workout is broken up into 7 sections/circuits and you repeat the circuit twice in each section which keeps you from getting bored.  There is also a 5 minute warm up and cool down which I find quick and easy and doesn't take up too much of your time especially when you have finished and want to get on with the rest of your day/evening!

Section 1 includes a bit of kick boxing, side kicks, jabs etc. and basically gets you warm for the rest of the workout. 

Section 2 contains a lot of plyometrics which means jumping training so the moves include burpees, single leg jumos and 180 degree jumps.

Section 3 is mostly calisthenics intended to increase body strength and flexibility. The moves include butt kicks, high knees, jumping jacks and standing crunches.

Section 4 is all mat work including, crunches, walking planks and mountain climbers which all target your core.

Section 5 is my favourite section and gives you a slight break by taking you back to kick boxing including back kicks, knee crunches, punches and swing kicks.

Section 6 I feel is actually the hardest section of them all containing more plyometrics.  The moves include mountain climbers, scissor kicks, squat jumps and running man.

Section 7 is the final circuit and is slower than 6 presumably to start cooling down your body.  The moves include jump twists, standing pikes, knee crunches and small jumps.

Although this may appear like a lot of exercises the DVD run time is around 50 minutes and it goes really quickly. Jillian also shows variations on every move for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels which you can attempt whichever you like depending on how you feel.  As I have mentioned in my previous post Keeping Fit, Active & Healthy I work out 3-4 times a week so I would rate myself as fairly fit, however Banish Fat Boost Metabolism really makes you sweat and gets your heart rate up, by the end of this work out I always look a bit red in the face and feel like I have really worked out hard!  If you find this work out hard please stick at it, if you do it several times a week you will find you improve massively and be really surprised with the results and changes in your shape.

There are over 200 reviews on Amazon for the Banish Fat Boost Metabolism workout so check them out if you want more reasons to buy this DVD!

Please share my review with your family & friends and let me know what you think!