The Importance of Rest Day

Anyone who has a love of going to the gym will know that rest day feeling where you are itching to get your hands on a pair dumbbell but physically your body is sore and tired from a whole week in the gym.

Now as much as your mind wants to go workout your body needs that well deserved rest. 

So here are my 3 big reasons to start loving your rest days.

1. When you are lifting heavy weights or doing high repetition you are burning out that muscle, ripping it, tearing it so that when it re grows it grows larger and fuller. But if you consistently keep hitting that muscle without any rest you are giving it no time to re grow larger so it will slow your progress down massively. So if you think of your rest day as a growing day instead it might make your mind realise that is required in order progress. Just think of all those gains growing away while you are resting away and you will start to enjoy it more especially once you start to progress more and more. 

2. Sometimes when you are just starting out you want to go workout as much as possible so that you can reach your end goals as quickly as possible. However, you have to see it like this. The more times you workout each week you have to consistently continue to do that to maintain the physique you have built. So for example if you are in the gym 10 times a week in the hope it  will speed things up you will have to continue to go 10 times to maintain and even MORE to progress. So that's why it's important to know when to stop. Doing a 1 hour session 5-6 days a week is perfectly acceptable but I think anymore than that you will burn yourself out and will end up jeopardising your progress.

3. Injuries. We all know what DOMs feel like and I even enjoy that feeling knowing that I've done something right. But when you don't give your body time to rest you won't be just feeling sore and aching from the workout you will constantly be picking up injuries. Strained or pulled muscles can mean that you can't train so in effect by over training you are again not going to progress because you will have to have time off with your injury. The time off may only be a few days or a week or so but if you continue to over train the injuries will worsen and you could be end up having to have months off.

I hope these points have given you good reason to enjoy a lazy Sunday letting those teared up muscles grow bigger and better. And if you can take one point from this post let it be this if you want your body to work hard for you, you've got to respect it and listen to its needs 💪 now let's all going into the new week rested and ready to smash it 🏋  

 

What is Fitness to you?

What defines fitness to you?

So basically I was inspired to write this post by _laurenfitness on Instagram she basically spoke about doing what makes you happy. This inspired me to write a little bit about this because I feel very strongly that we should do what we feel is right for our own bodies and what we actually enjoy doing.

I completely enjoy everything about lifting weights and getting stronger each time I hit the gym. I love the rush of endorphins I get when I smash a workout and the sense of  achievement from getting that pump. That is what fitness is to me.

However, just because I feel this way doesn't mean everyone will. I believe that we should support each other no matter what our goals are. Whether you want to run a marathon, be a bodybuilder or climb a mountain. It's important to realise that just because the girl pounding the treadmill has a six pack doesn't mean that the girl with no abs isn't as fit they may just be at different stages or have different goals.

I think we have all got a bit hung up on this word ‘goals’. Now I'll be the first to admit that it is important to have goals so that you know you are moving in the right direction but don't become so hung up on them that you lose the enjoyment in what you are doing. The main ‘goal’ should be that you love what you do.

If you find something that you love to do you will not want to stop and you will keep on reaching higher and higher. This is something I truly believe in and that I feel that once you find that love for something within fitness whatever it may be you won't feel the need to skip it or have any guilt attached to it when you do because you are not doing it because you have to its for the love and enjoyment of it.

This is why I am loving the #strengthfeed movement on Instagram at the moment as it promotes self love in everything you do no matter what your strength is. Definitely go check it out for inspiration.

I hope this has inspired at least one person to be considerate of everyone's choices when you see anyone in the gym, on social media or anywhere. It's nice to be nice 💕

5 Things I Learnt Before Turning 25

I'm back! Sorry I've not posted in almost two months! I've kept meaning to write a post and I have lots of ideas but real life just kept getting in the way. But I'm back and I'm a whole year older, I'm now 25 😱 So in honour of my birthday yesterday I thought I would share with you the top 5 things I've learnt over this past quarter of century!

1 Do not compare yourself with others. Just be the best version of you that you can possibly be. I love the quote below its so true. Your beginning might be someone else's middle and like wise. Only you know what goals that you would like to achieve in your life you only need to live up to yourself so stop looking what everyone else has because you will end missing all the good things you already have in your life. This is something I learnt the hard way and it wasn't until I learnt to love me for being me that I realised I don't need to compare myself to other girls anymore. It's so much more relaxing to be comfortable in your own skin and not have to worry that girl has better hair than me or she has a smaller waist, bigger boobs ect all of that becomes unnecessary when you can love what you see in the mirror already.
 

2 Don't expect to feel like an adult at 25. When I was younger I had this idea in my head that when I was 25 I'd be this grown woman with swishy hair in my grown up crisp white shirt and constantly be walking around in 5inch designer heels. This is not how 25 is don't get me wrong I see those women when I'm out and about but I'm not one of them. I'm still stood in my converse with my messy gym hair and most of the time I still feel like I look like a teenager but that's ok. I've grown to accept what 25 is to me will be completely different to someone else. And quite frankly I'd like to get away with looking young for as long as possible!

3 You don’t have to try and please everyone. There is going to be people that don't like you and there is absolutely nothing you can do to change that. I used spend so much of my time trying to be polite and nice to people that weren't that way in return and so now if you don't like me I will just ignore you. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life. Trying to please everyone is exhausting whether it's your friends or family sometimes it's ok to just say I can't help you today I'm going stay in bed all day watching 2000 re runs of the Kardashians because it's important to have that time just for yourself.

4 You have probably lost a few friends over the years. But it's important to realise that doesn't make you a bad person or that you were a bad friend. We all grow at different rates as people and sometimes you just out grow friends too because you end up being at completely different stages of life that it's impossible to have anything common anymore. But I 100% believe that it is better to have handful of close, ride or die friends than having a whole bunch of people you can't rely on. The people I have in my life of so important to me and when you surround yourself with good people it makes it easier to recognise the shady ones.

5 Have fun! I realise that I do have adult responsibilities but I am in no way going to miss out on being young. I want to cherish every second of it so I will enjoy my twenties with nights out on the town, travelling to as many places as I can fit in and spending time with people who make happiest. Everyone's idea of fun is different but it doesn't matter what it is that makes you happy it's just important that you go do it RIGHT NOW, I insist!

I hope this has given some insight for what's to come for any of the babies out there, 25 isn't so bad after all! So thank you if you've taken the time to read this and here's to next 25 🎉

Primark Haul

My posts have been very fitness related recently and that's mainly because that's what I've been enjoying the most in my life currently but my other big love is shopping! So considering I'd just been paid I decided to pop into primark to see what Spring treats they had in store. Primark is one of those places where you go in and you want to buy everything or there nothing but tat. This time I was lucky!

Item 1
I got this beautiful Bardot top in a burnt orange colour and it came in at £6. Now these Bardot tops have been all over the high street and I think they are the perfect Spring/Summer top as they are really flattering and show off a little shoulder but the floaty material could hide a bloated bbq belly if necessary 😳 They also had this in white which I'm debating going back to buy. It has cute little bobbles on the sleeves and buttons down the front and I can't wait to wear it!

Item 2
Well it's 3 items but they are all the same just in different colours. They are THE most perfect skinny trousers and this is why I now own four pairs of them (I already had some grey ones). They are a stretchy material so they feel like they are inbetween a trouser and a legging which makes them so comfortable but my favourite part about them is how amazing your booty looks in them 🍑 So I got them in navy, black and the black and white tribal print. The tribal ones I thought would go perfectly with the orange top and a pair of lace up sandals for a laid back summer vibe and they came in at £11.  The black pair are slightly more cropped which I thought would be good for the time of year and all of them are thin material so they aren't too stuffy for when it is hot and they were £4 in the sale (yes even primark have sales 🙊) And finally the navy pair which were £8 and I thought they would look great with my next item.

Item 3
This coral knitted vest top which was only £4. I absolutely love coral in the summer I feel it goes well with a tan and compliments my silver hair. It’s slightly sheer and has a V Neck and as I said previously I would team this with the navy trousers and gold jewellery. As it is plain I feel that it would make a great basic that you could throw on with so many things throughout the summer.

Item 4
This next item I had to buy as I'd seen it on so many primark hauls and the crazy cat lady in me couldn't leave it. It is this grey slightly cropped T-Shirt with cat on the pocket and a logo saying “you've got to be kitten me”. They had so many different fun varieties of colours and logos I will definitely be getting more before they go out of stock. This is something you can just throw on with jeans at the weekend really casual but still has that fun quirky element. This was £6 which is bargain because topshop sell similar ones for around £20.

Item 5
A must have for this summer, a button up denim skirt. I got mine in this bright blue colour but I'm going to go back and get the white too. It fits really well and is a great length which can be difficult for me as I'm only 5 foot 1. This would look cute with pastel colour tops I have a baby pink Ralph Lauren checked shirt that I like to wear mine with. This was only £10 which again is really cheap as these skirts elsewhere are more than double that price.

Overall primark really do have a great Spring/Summer collection but you have to be prepared to search through the rubbish and have a good eye for items that don't look like they would be from primark. So I know this hasn't been fitness related this week in a way it all ties in because we lift weights to make our bodies look good so why not show it off in your brilliant new summer wardrobe I know I feel way more confident in my summer gear this year!

5 Exercises to a Bigger Rounder Booty!

The past few months I've really upped my game in the gym and I've been training legs at least twice a week and I've noticed a huge difference in my quads, hammies and my booty (I now actually have one). I've gained quite a fair bit of muscle in these areas and although I am still miles away from my ultimate goal for the first time ever I am starting to feel proud of my body and the hard work I've put in to get where I am so far.

So this post is going to be focused on my leg routine so if you are after a tighter, rounder booty then try incorporating the below 5 exercises into your gym routine and you will notice results once you start putting in the work work work work work 🎶

Exercise 1 -Walking lunges
Now I usually start my leg day with these and for me I feel they work my quads so much more than standard lunges. First things first select a weight which is suitable for you or if this too much you can start without weights and work your way up to them when you feel ready. Then stand with your legs shoulder width apart, take one step forward and drop your hips so that your rear knee is bent and nearly touches the ground. Remember to keep your back straight,  push through your heel and keep it as controlled as possible. Now slowly raise yourself back up and step forward with the opposite leg to repeat the process. I usually do these up and back down again for 4 sets (so 8 in total). I then superset my walking lunges with barbell squats which leads me on to exercise number 2!

Exercise 2 – Barbell Squat
A superset is when you go straight onto a different exercise in between sets without a rest. I usually have about 10kg weight on the barbell but set this to whatever is comfortable for you as much as it is important to push yourself you need to make sure you still have good form otherwise you won't target the muscles you want to and will end up injured. I have been gradually working my weights up little by little each week. Firstly stand with your legs  hip width apart and your feet turned outwards then lift the barbell over your head and place it across your shoulders like the picture below. Then squat downwards as if you were about to sit on a chair again keeping your back as straight as possible and driving through your heel. I do a set of 20 of these after each set of walking lunges and then 3 sets of 20 reps once I've finished my lunges (so 6 sets in total). I also like to do 20 reps of pulsing squats after my last set so just stand in the squat position, do little pulses up and down and feel the burn🔥

Exercise 3 – Hip Thrust
Next up hip thrusts! Now these can look a little a bit awkward in the gym but you just have to get over it for love the booty🍑 So firstly lie on the floor flat on your back with your knees bent and bring your heels in towards your bum. Slowly raise your hips up as far as you can whilst tensing your glute muscles the whole time and then slowly bring your self back down again. I tend to do 3 sets of 15 reps and I use a 10kg weight which I hold onto my hips as I raise up. For my last rep on each set  I hold my stance for 20 seconds or until I want to cry. A good variation of this exercise that I recently started doing is doing the hip thrusts on the leg extension machine as it allows you to go much heavier for instance I've been doing 40kg when doing them this was as apposed to 10kg. So to do this just rest your elbows on the seat and have the pad resting on your hips and raise your hips as far as you can and again try to hold it as long as you can to feel the burn 🔥


Exercise 4 – Split Squat
These next 2 exercises I do on my second leg session of the week. For this you will need a bench and a set of suitable dumb bells. Take one step forward and place your rear foot on the bench. Hold your dumb bells in each hand and let them hand either side and then bend your knee and hips downwards and repeat for each side. Try to do 3 sets of these with 15 reps on each side. This exercise targets your glutes more than a standard squat.


Exercise 5 – Sumo Squat
These are an absolute killer on your inner thighs and glutes and I must be crazy because I love them. I use a 15kg kettlebell with these squats but as all of these exercises they can be done without weights but you will really see maximum results if you do try to use weights. Stand with your legs much wider than shoulder width apart as wide as you can with your feet pointed outwards and then lower into a squat and try to get the kettlebell as low as possible the lower the better but keeping good straight posture throughout. I do 3 sets of 20 reps of these and then 20 pulses after my last rep like I do with the barbell squats.


So there you have it 5 exercises to get that peachy bottom! As I said before I am still a long way off
from being where I want to eventually be but the above exercises has given me more definition than anything else ever has and I can't wait to continue sharing the next steps on my fitness journey with you as I am always trying out new stuff I've found on Instagram and YouTube.

5 Tips for Cutting Carbs

For nearly a year now I have been trying to reduce the amount of carbs in my diet and make better choices when it comes to food. Obviously we all have bad days or even weeks sometimes but don't get discouraged just get back on it the next day or week after and that will ensure that you don't fall back into bad habits. Here are my top 5 tips for cutting down on carbs.

Tip 1
Get on the spiralizer bandwagon! Trust me once you try ‘courgetti’ you will not miss pasta at all. There is so much that you can do with it in terms of recipes and there is even ready spiralized versions at supermarkets now so it is really quick to make literally just 5 minutes in a pan. Tesco sell courgetti along with the butternut squash and carrot versions. By using these in place of pasta you will save your self so many calories yet still have a really filling meal.

Tip 2
Swap your potatoes for the sweet variety. Sweet potatoes are still a carb but they have less carbs than a standard potato and for me they tend to leave me feeling less bloated. I like to bake mine in the oven like a jacket potato and serve with a big salad. They are also great if you have a sweet tooth because they can take the edge of if you have cravings for the sweet stuff.

Tip 3
If your family or partner is having a meal with rice, pasta or potato instead caving in and just having the same because it's easy (which is what I used to do a lot) use the main protein portion of the meal to serve to everyone but have yours with vegetables instead. This might sound boring but what I tend to do is say for example we are having chilli instead of rice I will bake a bell pepper in the oven and put the chilli in there with a salad on the side or with bolognese I will stuff the bolognese into baked portobello flat mushrooms. It's just about getting creative so you still feel like you are having what you enjoy but without the extras that you don't need.

Tip 4
Eat little but very often. If you just eat 3 small meals a day and lower your carbs you will end up starving all the time which is no good for your body at all especially if you are lifting heavy weights in the gym as well. So to avoid this you will need to increase your meal frequency. So I tend to have 4 small meals a day and 2 snacks so I will have my breakfast around 8:30 then around 11 I will have a small meal consisting of protein and veg then another of the same meal around 1:30, a snack mid afternoon, my evening meal and then another snack after dinner. By doing this you don't get chance to feel hungry which can lead to you overeating when you do eat. This also keep your metabolism faster which means you will burn more calories throughout the day.

Tip 5
Up your protein! This will keep you fuller for longer but without the horrible bloated feeling and insulin spikes. So I try to eat 50% protein, 30% carbs and 20% fats but everyone is different because we are all different shapes and sizes so this works for me but to find out what your ideal is just google macro calculator and it will work it out based on your height, weight, exercise levels and most importantly your goals. A good way to keep track of whether you are eating enough protein is on myfitnesspal. If you keep track of what you are eating you can then see where you need to tweek your diet if you are not getting all the nutrients your body needs. To up your protein try to base each meal largely on a protein and then a side of vegetables so breakfast try eggs, chicken for lunches and lean mince for dinner then having protein rich vegetables such as broccoli, spinach and asparagus.


The above tips have helped me achieve a flat stomach which is something I had always strived for but never quite got there and I do feel that was because I was eating too many carbs. Us Brits do tend to have very beige diets in general so get more colourful in the kitchen and it will help you achieve that lean body you've been striving for. I will definitely be following this guide this week as last week wasn't the best food wise but I am ready to jump back to it to smash my goals and the above tips really help me believe I can get to where I want to be.

Top 5 Super Cute Gym Leggings

I am a big believer in if you look and feel your best you will work harder to reach your highest potential. For me making sure I have cute outfits for the gym makes me feel good and in turn I feel like I can complete a killer workout. Today I have my top 5 favourite gym leggings that are on the market at the moment to show you and I have tried to include different price ranges and trends that I currently love.

1. These are the nike legend 2.0 spot leggings.I have quite a few pairs of Nike leggings already so I know that they are amazing quality and they fit perfectly. I am only 5 foot 1 and their leggings are just the right length for me because with any trousers/leggings when you are short sometimes you have loads of material bunched up at the bottom but these are always absolutely perfect! I love the polka dot print because it's quite kitsch so they are quite unique and would definitely make you stand out in the gym. They are a dark grey mottled background and have a high waisted fit so they would go perfectly with a crisp white cropped vest or sports bra. I have actually purchased these myself as I loved them that much when I came across them for this post. I got mine from urban outfitters for £25 they were on sale and was meant to be £45.

2. Next up are a pair from the brand gymshark. They seem to be a relatively new brand but they have some really cool leggings for women and majority are fairly cheap because most popular brands tend to be £45+ for leggings and gymshark are coming in at between £20-£30. The pair I've selected from their range are grey with a pink waistband. I love grey leggings for one big reason they make your booty look amazing! These also have darker patches on the calves and under your bum which I think would accentuate your hard earned curves. The pink waist band adds that pop of colour to the leggings and they would look great with a matching pink muscle vest. Perfect colour for spring.

3. These next pair I had to include as they've been such a big trend over the past couple of months. They are the black mesh panel leggings. These ones in particular are from MyProtein but literally everywhere has them to name a few I've seen them on missguided, boohoo, asos and even primark. This particular pair are my favourite as they don't have too much on show I mean you don't want to have it all hanging out when your at the gym you know you are there to work hard and I think some pairs on the market would draw the wrong kind of attention. But these are very subtle with two neat mesh panels just above the knee they are much more classy. They would go with literally anything so they would definitely be a staple piece. They are coming in at £20 which again is on the cheaper side and myprotein tend to have quite a lot of deals on so look out for voucher codes on their website.

4. So I wanted to throw in a Capri pair of leggings especially with the warmer weather coming up I think this pair would get a lot of wear. They are from the website www.doyoueven.com they are a bright pink to make the boys wink 😉! They are very girly but they are also stocked in blue if pink isn't your thing. The geometric print gives them a bit of an edge and I like that they have a high waisted black waistband as this breaks up the print and creates the perfect silhouette. They are slightly more expensive at £40.40 but this might be because they are a very popular brand at the moment. You can also buy the matching sports bra for £27.20 to complete a super cute gym outfit 💁

5. This next pair aren't in the slightest bit summery and I don't even care if they aren't on trend because I loved them so much as soon as I saw them and I think they will be my next pair for my collection for sure. They are another pair from MyProtein and they are colour block leggings. I feel like these would be another staple piece because they have the sleek black top section but then the lower half is a really cool mix of purple and the space print. But because these are in block sections they aren't overpowering at all so these would be good for someone who usually sticks to plain leggings and wants to try something different but not all out jazzy! They are £24.99 so really affordable I am actually really impressed with the variety of clothing on MyProtein as I didn't realise they did clothes until recently so they are definitely worth checking out.

I literally love buying new workout clothes because it gives me more motivation to go to the gym in my new outfit and gym leggings are literally the comfiest clothes I own I do wish they were appropriate for the office because I would live in them 🙈! Hopefully this has given you some inspiration of what sportswear is currently out there so we can all get our sass on while we are lifting in the gym.