Exercise Sites That I am Loving Right Now

Hey everyone!

So I'm nearly through with No Run February, and even though my ankle is feeling better (I think), it's still not 100%. So, I reckon I am going to keep off my running shoes for a little while yet.

I've got an appointment at an orthopaedic assessment clinic in a couple of weeks (which is lightning speed for the NHS in my opinion), so in the meantime I am going to keep going with my strength and pilates. To be honest with you, I have found that it has been plenty to keep me ticking over for now.

The internet has been a huge factor in the reshaping of my exercise routine, so I want to share with you the two sites that I have fallen in LOVE with over the past month. Without these, I am pretty sure I would be crawling up the walls with run-less mentalness. Both of them have a comprehensive library of exercise programs, from beginner to advanced, so no matter what level you're at, I reckon you should give them both a try:

Blogilates: Pop Pilates with Cassie Ho

This came as a recommendation from a girl at work. When I told her about my initial dabble in pilates, she told me to try this site out for a bit more of a challenge.

Boy, was she right. Cassie, the pilates extraordinaire, is MENTAL (but in a good way)! Her challenges are grade A rock solid. Now, I like to think I have resolve of steel, but I have (shamefully) had to throw in the towel a couple of times. This challenge had me a quivering mess by the end:

But don't let that scare you off, there are plenty of beginner pilates workouts too if you want to ease your way into it ;)

Do Yoga With Me

Yoga is a great way to get some stretching in, and I really enjoy it, but I HATE yoga classes. I can't stand them. I have the flexibility of a steel rod, and wouldn't want to subject any yoga instructor to such a hopeless case. No, seriously. I studied yoga for six months in India and by the end I STILL couldn't squeeze myself into the lotus position.

At least if I do it in the comfort of my own home, the only one who can get frustrated by my lack of progress is me. Hence why I love this site. There is a huge variety of practices, focusing on all the body parts you can imagine, ranging from 15 minutes to over an hour and a half. So there is bound to be something to suit you.

My favourite at the moment is the Bend and Stretch. Melissa the instructor has an excellent manner, and I feel so relaxed by the end.  Doing it first thing in the morning makes for a great start to the day, and it's a really enjoyable way to make sure I am all stretched out :)

What workout sites do you swear by? I'd love to discover more, so please share them with me in the comments!

200 Calories

I saw these pictures recently on my favourite time-sucker Reddit, and thought I would share. I find these kinds of comparisons absolutely fascinating.

200 calories worth of...

Fast Food Burger

Baby Carrot

Apple

Dried Apricot

Hot Dog

Grapes

Baguette

Doritos

M&Ms

Celery

Full Fat Coke

This is just a selection, but if you're interested you can also check out the full set.

No-Run February: Update!

Is my ankle getting better? It feels like its getting better. It's still not totally better, but it feels better. I think it feels better. Is it really getting better?

We're over halfway through the month now (time flies when you're having fun, haw haw haw) so I thought I would give you all an update on my progress during No-Run February.

No it's not a national event or anything, it's just something I made up. I made it up to stop myself from doing anything silly and to give my ankle a chance to heal.

So how have I been getting on?... Well, to my complete and utter surprise, I haven't found it as devastatingly difficult as I thought I would. Yeah I still miss it, but not putting that pressure on myself to go out for a run as soon as I feel vaguely able is... nice. It feels like a weight has been lifted. I've made the decision not to run, and that's that.

I visited the physio last week, and I swear, the woman is a saint. She's not only my physical therapist, but kind of my psychotherapist as well. After all the bleating to her I do about my ankle, I wouldn't be surprised if she screams into a pillow the moment I leave the clinic.

Anyway, I told her about my decision not to run and the reasoning behind it, and she seems pretty happy. In fact, she was really excited when I told her I had been dabbling in pilates the last couple of weeks. She is a huge fan of pilates, because it is great for strengthening the muscles and correcting my alignment, which as I have mentioned before, is pretty dire.

I've also gone to see the GP, who has referred me to a podiatrist or an orthopaedic specialist... I can't remember which. I thought they were both the same (they both like feet) but apparently they are not. Anyway, the hope is that the foot person, whatever their specialism, will order me a pair of custom orthotics, which I can wear when I am running to make my feet function more like a normal person's, and not the mashed up disaster zone which I currently have to deal with.

So yeah, that's it so far. I'll let you know if I do manage to get back to running when the month is out. I'm started to feel quite zen about it now though - it'll take as long as it takes. Can't really argue with that.

DVD Review: Pilates for Dummies

As part of no-run February I am experimenting with different types of exercise that I wouldn't have tried before - one of them being Pilates.

I had a voucher that I hadn't used yet, so I bought this DVD from play.com: Pilates for Dummies.

Because let's face it, I am a bit of a Dummy.

I'm loving Pilates at the moment, pretty much because it works me out without putting pressure on my ankle.

This DVD has 18 exercises, and is about 25 minutes from start to finish (35 if you decide to sit through the intro).

As a workout DVD, it's great. The host, Michelle, is really friendly, supportive and is excellent at explaining the movements clearly. Being used to the tough love of Jillian, Michelle's patience and encouragement came as a bit of shock! You can see an example of her loveliness in the video clip below:

But how is it as an actual workout? For me, it's not challenging enough. I think this DVD is aimed at people who are maybe a little bit older, or are completely new to exercise. Don't get me wrong, I do get a little knot in my stomach that I get as a result of most ab workouts, but I just don't get the same kind of satisfying burn that I get when I am lifting weights or doing crunches with Jillian. One of my friends has recommended Blogilates for more challenging stuff, so I am going to give that a go next.

Meanwhile, I have recommended this DVD to my Mum. As she's a bit older, I think this DVD will be perfect for her, plus she'll benefit from the crystal clear instruction.

Think Pilates for Dummies is for you? Feel free to ask me any questions about it in the comments section!

How to Make a "Smug Holder"

So for Christmas this year, I decided to make Mr MFC a special holder for all of his bibs and medals. The man is so great, he has started to collect a fair few.

I know it's a bit late for Christmas, but Valentine's Day is coming up, and it makes a great gift for a significant other. Plus, the materials are really cheap and it's super simple to make (don't tell Mr MFC that, though)!

You will need a plank of wood, a couple of clothes pegs, superglue, and a bunch of nails. You might want paint as well to make it pretty, but that's entirely optional.

All my projects seem to start with a plank of wood...

 First, I checked that the wood fitted the bibs.

They did, hurrah!

I decided to make an explosive design, so roughly drew it on with a pencil...

You can see my other Christmas shopping in the back there...

To give it a real professional feel, I thought it would be an idea to make the edges straight and clean with some masking tape...

Next, I sourced some sample paint that I had bought for another project a couple of years ago. It had been sitting in my drawer for a while, but thankfully the paint was still good.

Who needs a mixing palette when you have a Sainsbury's invoice?!

Next - painting!!!

Looks a bit rubbish at this point

The masking tape worked a treat.

Starting to look awesome...

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Boo yah.

I waited for the paint to dry, then I superglued on the pegs and hammered in some nails at the bottom. 

And here is the finished article:

I'm really pleased with the way it came out, and so is Mr MFC. He worked so hard to earn those medals, so it's only right that he gets to show them off in style!

Weekend Chuckle: Running Motivational Posters

So the other day I came across some really funny motivational posters by Runners World. You can check out the full set here, but here are some of my favourites:

No-Run February

I know, I know, I keep going on about it. But this dang ankle is getting me down. It's been five months, and still very little improvement. When you like to run as much as I do, having an injury like this is very frustrating.

Just to be clear, I haven't been sitting on my backside idly waiting for it to clear up. I have tried loads of things, including regularly seeing a lovely physio in Edinburgh called Liesel. Her treatment has been great, but while it helped greatly in the beginning, I've seemed to come to a bit of a plateau.

Luckily, my ankle isn't so bad that I can't run AT ALL - just not very far. 5k is my absolute maximum distance. I suppose that is better than nothing at all, but I am really keen to get back up to 100% so I can start thinking about doing longer distances again.

Unfortunately, as my physio puts it, I am a "biomechanical disaster". I think a combination between unlucky genes and 22 years of slouching around has turned my legs into a pair of haphazard drumsticks. Basically, I have flat feet, weak inner thighs and knees that refuse to take their fair share of the impact when my foot hits the ground. That can be a fatal combination - as the last few months has shown.

However,  my physio says that I am actually really lucky. This injury has drawn my attention to all my biomechanical faults and as a result I can work on them, so I will avoid something much more serious cropping up further down the line when it is too late. Every cloud and all that...

I got running again as soon as I could - I think I was out of the game for about 6-8 weeks when I got the go ahead to start going again. My first run was only about 2k, and boy I suffered for it afterward. But I persevered and am now at the stage that I can run about 5k and only suffer minor pain afterwards. It's great, but I'm getting to the stage that even this (in my view) half-assed attempt at a running regime is nearly frustrating as not having one at all.

So I have made a resolution for February: no running. At all. Now that doesn't mean no exercise - far from it. In fact, I have found some amazing yoga, stretch, and pilates programmes online that I intend to do, as well as carrying on with my old faithful swimming and my favourite Jillian Michael's DVD. This month is going to be all about the strength and stretch.

On top of that, I am going to show my ankle some SERIOUS love. I have my various physio bands at the ready, so I am going to do my physio exercises with even more vigour. I'm even experimenting with cod liver oil - I'm a bit of a cynic when it comes to supplements but I'm at the stage where I have absolutely nothing to lose.

So here goes, fingers crossed these measures will heal my ankle once and for all! We will see, though.

Have any of you suffered an ankle injury? I am desperate for hints and tips, so please share them with me in the comments!

Sorry

Wow... I can't believe I let this blog die.

I remember when I first started my blog, I was scoping out other health/fitness feeds and came across a fair few that had been abandoned. Immediately I assumed that the authors had just thrown their dumbbells to one side with an almighty "fuck it" and decided to drown themselves in pile of Ben and Jerry's and Doritos instead.

So I will forgive you, dear reader, for thinking that the same fate had become of me. Let's be honest, I freaking LOVE B&Js.

I'm pleased to report however, that it has not. I'm still running (kind of), swimming, lifting weights and being sensible about what I eat (although not immune to the odd Dorito binge - everything in moderation and all that).

So why did I lose momentum? Well, the previous few posts should probably give you a clue:

And yes - I am STILL co-ordinating with my toenails!

That freaking ankle.

It has been around five months, and it still hasn't fixed itself yet. I guffed it, and I guffed it good.

So there were several reasons why I couldn't bring myself to write on the blog:

• I was feeling pretty miserable at times, and who the hell would want to read my emo whiny shit about a twingy ankle when there are people out there much worse off than me?
• This injury has just gone to confirm that I am indeed an idiot. I have so much more to learn about sport and fitness, so why should I go preaching to anyone else about it when I know naff all?
• And... er... laziness.

I have even abandoned my wonderful Twitter account... the account that showed so much promise (a retweet from Ellen Degeneres? Hello!). But, the other night I decided to idly browse my feed, and I came across this tweet from one of my heroes, Linford Christie:

A LIVING DOG IS BETTER THAN A DEAD LION
— Linford Christie (@ChristieLinford) January 30, 2013

I decided to take those words to heart. I am not perfect "lion", I get that. But I love what I do and try to do it with gusto. And this blog has become a part of that. So, I am going to revive this "dog".

Here goes!