Wearing my logo?!

Recently I got approached by College Custom and was asked if I would like to get my logo printed on a piece of clothing. Who wouldn't want to wear their own logo?!

College Custom are a company based in Brighton that personalises sports wear, clothing garments and accessories mainly for schools, colleges and universities. They are the sister company of LeaversHoodies.com.

They gave a such a professional and enthusiastic service I loved it! I was contacted the whole way through the process from the designing to the delivery. I would definitely go back to College Custom for any personalised clothing I want in the future!

I chose the hoodie in amongst the numerous other options on the website (there were loads to chose from!) due to being practical to wear during my training at hockey and wearing it to and from the gym. 

My hoodie arrived within a week of it being made and I had no problems at all in receiving the hoodie. It usually takes about 2 weeks from payment to delivery because all garments are made to the highest quality. As soon as it arrived I ripped the parcel open, I was super excited to try it on and my first impressions were very positive. The inside is like a fleecy material which is so warm and cosy and the fit is slightly baggy which I love in hoodies because it makes it easier to move when doing sports in my case.

At first I did think there was a hole in front hand pocket but then realised and was totally amazed because I had never had this little contraption in a hoodie, but it was a little incision in the hoodie to thread your headphones up the inside of your hoodie so the wire doesn't get in your way on the outside of the hoodie! I know, I was just as amazed...brilliant! 

I would definitely recommend using the College Custom service because the customer service I received was so exceptional and the garments are such a high quality. 

Go check out College Custom and Leavers Hoodies for more information and to check out their super cool range of garments to choose from! 

www.collegecustom.com

www.leavershoodies.com

So It is August 1st 2015 and last night whilst watching Pretty Little Liars (My reward from me to me as long as I have worked out during the day. It works.) I was listing ideas that I could incorporate into my blog as permanent fixtures throughout this journey to a healthier lifestyle and a fitter future and to make this blog a little more 'alive'. 

The first idea that I came up with is 'Monthly Motives' ( some fine alliteration there, Shan.) the whole idea around this is to get back into setting regular reachable goals at the beginning of every month. Since being home from uni I have admittedly slacked on the mentality side of my journey. At uni I used to set reachable goals each week whilst in the gym of what I wanted that week. Some of the goals included things such as not allowing myself to leave the gym unless I have worked out for at least an hour each day or No snacking between meals, substitute with water, making sure I am asleep by 10:30pm to get the most out of a sleep ready for a workout in the morning...you get the idea. These are the kind of goals I set myself every week when I first started this journey to force myself and push me into a strict routine (I needed to do be this strict for it to work).

Since being home although I haven't given up on eating clean or working out everyday ( I never will, I love it too much). I feel I have really lacked in keeping my mentality in shape. My motto is 'Mentality Over Physicality' because I believe your body will do anything you push it to do, its the mentality you have that will make or break your dreams (cheesy but true).

So this is where Monthly Motives come in. At the beginning of each month I will be setting 3 new goals for myself one for fitness one for health and one for lifestyle. Then at the end of every month I will be looking at how I did, focusing on whether I carried it out for a month, if I didn't, WHY? and if I did, what I did well and what the next steps/goals are.

So here goes...

AUGUST FITNESS:

The motive I want to set for this month is to work on my running pace to improve my running time and distance. Running outside and not on  treadmill is a lot harder because your legs have to do more work to keep pushing you along whereas on a treadmill the floor moves and your legs just go with it. I find when I run I rush, I become very impatient and try and power through the run all the way although this can be a plus because it makes me do a high intensity interval run, I want to work on my running distance and time to improve my long distance running. I was reading an article the other day on About Health on '13 Tips for Running Farther' and one of them stood out to me which is: Run at a Conversational Pace. I d never heard this before and thought it was such a good way to put it. So this is how I am going to judge my pace, if I can talk and hold a conversation easily without being out of breath my pace is good, even if it is at slightly slow pace I will be building up over 4 weeks. 

AUGUST HEALTH:

For my health motive I am going to make sure I have at least 1 glass of water as soon as I wake up. Before I have a morning coffee, my breakfast or anything else. I am following the well loved saying 'Hydrate before you caffienate' 

AUGUST LIFESTYLE:

This is a kind of big one, cutting the alcohol. Now I'm not a massive drinker I don't go on a 'mad one' every weekend but lately ive been drinking almost every weekend due to going to festivals and going out for birthdays so ive decided im going August with absolutely no alcohol intake. This is also mainly because I will be moving back up to uni at the beginning of Septmeber and although I have pretty good will power and self control, trying to go through freshers week without some alcohol induced nights out just wouldn't be the same( the excuses of a student everybody).

So... the 3 goals above will be my monthly motives... the laws of august...the great goals! that I will be working towards,at and with throughout the month of august. On August 31st I will be doing a follow up blog post to update on how I did and continue through to September 1st to set 3 new goals!

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How To: The Glorious Green Smoothie

Check out the video below on how to make my Glorious Green Smoothie!

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Healthy Ice Cream For Breakfast?!

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This is a suuuuper easy recipe to change up your normal breakfast especially as it is summer now (yes, English weather it's summer, do what you gotta do!) so ice cream for breakfast sounds pretty fab if you like ice cream!
This is not my original recipe but it's just ideas pulled from other recipes and made into a quick and easy recipe I use for breakfast

 You'll need: 

•  2 chopped bananas (or 1 depending on how much ice cream you want)
•  A choice of your own ingredient, I have used frozen raspberries but you can use anything to add flavour like cinnamon, Cacao powder or another type of fruit, anything! 
• Some toppings (nuts, dried fruit) 

 How to: 

• Chop the bananas before you go to bed and put in a freezer bag in the freezer for the night
•  In the morning whack out the food blender, and put your frozen bananas in with the other flavouring ( I used frozen raspberries)
•  Blend it all up, it takes a while to go into an ice cream like consistency, just leave it blending while your sort out your topping
• Once it's in a smooth consistency put it into a bowl and chuck your toppings on, and yes mine is ever so slightly 'Instagram ready' ( slight perfectionist) but it's just as good to chuck them on top
• Finally, grab a spoon, a glass of water and dig in!

My 4 Top Tips on Eliminating the Excuses.

There are so many positives to working out not only in terms of fitness and health but it can also just generally help you as a person.
The Number 1 positive I love about exercising is:

• It releases endorphins 

So learning about the good old endorphins in my old Health A-level class I found really interesting how they can be our 'natural feel good' hormones that are often released during exercise resulting in putting you in a fabulous mood after a workout! ( I know, what more could you want?!) 

• Stress Reliever

So you're near exams or a project due in date and you are last minute having the ultimate stress out? Well get those running shoes on and run it off or get to the gym! exercise has also been proven to help improve and control your mind set in stressful or anger fuelled situations. Whilst exercising your body releases 3 main chemicals (adreneline, serototin and dopamine)  that work together to relieve stress and enable to you take a better control over your negative emotions and ultimately bring you mood up from a low to a natural high. Even just 10-15 minutes of vigorous exercise can eliminate negative feelings, so I am sure revision could hold for 10 minutes while you run out the stress and create a revision ready mind set for you next session in front of your books/laptop.

So, so far I have briefly explained that exercise can have a pretty positive change on you generally i.e your moods, on your mind set, emotional control and of course your fitness and health so why are you still reading this and not outside exercising yourself into a good mood?!

okay wait before you go and do that take a look at the next 4 points to eliminating the excuses...

NUMBER 1
Setting yourself goals:
Now with this one alot of people set goals that are slightly out there and don't carry them out because "Its not working and its taking to long to reach the goal" and im not an expection to this because my goals used to be ridiculous ( I mean 'looking like Michelle Keegan in a matter of weeks' at 16 my goals were a bit excessive) and I always ended up giving in because I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere near to my (slightly ridiculous) goal. SHORT AND SWEET, these are the best goals in my opinion. 
Of course everyone that sets out on a journey of creating a better lifestyle and to get fitter will have the long term goal of a better body image, health and fitness but I mean REAL short and sweet.(and no I don't mean doing a 10 minute run with the goal of reaching Express Diner to get some fried chicken.)

Achievable goals are key. If I am in the gym I will set a specific goal for that gym session keeping them short and sweet. For example: I wont allow myself to leave the gym until I have done at least 60 minutes of working out no matter how long it takes or how much my mind keeps telling me to turn around and walk out the door ( burst into song, I know you want to) I will not leave (being strict and having a lot of mental strength really helps). Its just the same if I am outside going on a run, I wont allow myself to go home until I have done a HIIT run for at least 40 minutes. Achieving a goal is honestly the best feeling and will definitely motivate you to go out and smash another goal during your next workout!
So keep them short and sweet on a daily/weekly basis and it will all add up to achieving a long term goal!

NUMBER 2
Compete with yourself: (or the oblivious person on the next treadmill along)
Now anyone that knows me knows I am not a competitive person...HA who am I kidding I am UBER competitive! If you get on the treadmills or any other machine next to me in the gym you have just entered yourself into a competition without knowing, that's all I'm going to say...
I love being competitive with others especially in sports but also competing with my own personal bests. I am constantly trying out new workouts or new levels of workouts to beat my usual ones which, can make a workout so much more fun and interesting.
So what are you waiting for?! your personal bests wont come to you! GO GET THEM!

NUMBER 3
Reward System:
As childish as this point may sound it can really work. 
Yes, you can totally have that glass of wine or the Jaeger bomb while you're going out on a 'mad night out' tonight IF you've done your workout for the day! Simple as that folks, you get that workout in during the day, you can get the double vodkas in during the night!

NUMBER 4:
Nullify The Negatives:
"Its just who I am" 
This quote above is the one that I have heard the most when it comes to excuses of not exercising, and yes I always used to think this too but not one word of that is true when it comes to body image or your fitness levels. YOU can change that.
Way too many people influence your own thoughts and will ultimately lead to you believing you cant just because someone else says so, this then results in your attitude being the main negative that is stopping you from saying you can or you did. Take matters into your own hands, its easy enough saying that 'you can' but until you do you wont gain anything from it. So because 'YOU DID' read to the end of this blog post ( thank you for bearing with)  now 'YOU CAN' go and put it all into practise so you can say 'YOU DID' and 'YOU ACHIEVED'. (An awful lot of cheesiness in that last sentence)

Workout Routine Change Up!

I did a post near to when I first started this blog explaining the ins and outs of my old workout routine. Although I felt like that was a good routine to start this journey off with, I felt like I was hitting a brick wall and it wasn't really benefiting me because it was purely cardio based. So I stepped it up a level and worked out a new workout routine. After doing research into different styles of workouts I wanted to make sure I had plenty of muscle building and toning exercises because it is a really good way to burn fat.

Whilst researching I also came across the Cardio Bum horror stories, and that was when I stepped up the squats and glute exercises. No one wants a cardio bum! Peachy Perfect, always. 

Below I have written out and illustrated my workout I do everyday. ( Do excuse my ever so slightly green bean looking illustrated people) 

• 30 minute run 

I go for a 30 minute HIIT, where I will do exactly what I did on the treadmill in the gym:

Ill start with a slow jog then move into HIIT:

standard run for 1 minute

sprint for 30 seconds

standard run for 1 minute

sprint for 30 seconds. 

I will do that in 10 minute intervals.

4 days a week followed by my workout routine below which I do 6 days a week:

 Non equipment exercises:

 Burpees -  20 reps

Alternating push-up plank 30 seconds

Reverse plank - 20 seconds hold, repeat 3 times.

If you cant raise your body high enough, try straight arms instead of bending them.

Mountain climbers - 30 seconds. 

2x 30 second reps

 Plank - 20 seconds hold, repeat 3 times

Plank on your front.

Medicine ball:

5kg V up- 30 reps 

Medicine squat, rise lift above head - 20 reps.

Keep back as straight as you can and keep medicine ball to chest.

Mason twist /Russian twist with medicine ball - 30 reps

If you cant lift your legs at first, keep them bent with your feet flat on the floor whilst doing the twists.

Kettle bells: 

Pass through lunges 6kg - 20 lunges

Kettle bell swings 8kg - 30 swings 

Make sure you are lifting from your legs, it is super important to bend your legs when you swing down, lifting from your back will cause your lower back to become uncomfortable and ache later on. ( trust me, I learnt the hard way. This heads up will save you the pain)

One arm kettle bell push press 4kg - 15 reps on each arm 

Kettle bell single leg deadlift 6kg - 10 reps each leg 

Squat, kettle bicep curl, rise, push above head 4kg - 20 rep

This one is similar to the medicine ball squat:

• Hold the kettle bell at the "horns" close to your chest 
• Squat down, complete a bicep curl with the kettle bell
• Rise from the squat 
• Push above head

Repeat the whole workout 2x.

Post Workout Warm Down
I then move onto warming down because I want to reduce as much ache as possible the next day. I use the app 'DailyYoga' which has a ton of cool yoga workouts tailored to what you want.

• DailyYoga

I know this workout routine wont be perfect for everyone but I wanted to put it up to show that you don't always need to pay for a gym membership to workout and to give some ideas for other routines. If you don't have kettle bells or a medicine there are a ton of exercises that you can do that can have a similar effect on your body without using equipment, do your research and put your own routine into practise! 

2 Months Off the Gym!

So its now summer and I have come home from uni for 2 months and I wasn't sure whether I wanted to get a membership at a gym near home or just use the outdoors as my gym. Due to wanting to save money for when I head back to uni after summer, I've decided to take the next 2 months off the gym and make the outdoors my gym. I did buy 2 essentials that I wanted to have during my workouts over the summer as I felt they would make it more effective to what I want to carry on achieving plus I can take them back to uni with me and use them there too!
So The first thing I bought was a 5kg medicine ball. I wanted to get one heavy enough that it challenged me but I didn't want to get one too heavy that it would make it hard for me to use effectively.
I then bought a kettle bell set that included 4 kettle bells ranging from 2kg, 4kg, 6kg and 8kg.
Both purchases were definitely worth it! they make my workout routines a whole lot more fun and challenging. I just use a simple yoga foam mat for when I do exercises that involve lying down, for added padding and comfort on my back.

Kettle Bells: £24.99
 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Palm-Springs-Vinyl-Kettlebell-2kg-4kg-6kg-8kg/dp/B006LTCJ8K/ref=sr_1_88?s=fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1435241001&sr=1-88 -

Medicine Ball: £19.99
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Medicine-Crossfit-Strength-Training-Kilograms/dp/B00KSDC9QW/ref=sr_1_10?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1435241037&sr=1-10&keywords=5kg+medicine+ball

For my runs I just go on different routes around where I live, mainly country roads and hills because I live in a village with a ton of quiet routes to run on.

London Calling!

So I decided to spontaneously jump on the train to London for the day on my own to go exploring! it was super fun and could not resist going on a hunt for a supermarket called 'WholeFoods' that I had been told about before. Now anyone that knows me, knows if I could live off green juices and smoothies for the rest of my days I totally would! So I found it and walked into WholeFoods to find in front of me, a whole sections of fresh juices and smoothies. Heaven. The supermarket I would say specialises in raw, organic, and super healthy foods ranging from creating your own salads to raw protein bars! Although it is slightly on the pricey side due to the really good quality of the food and drinks they sell it is definitely my new favourite supermarket, however student life 'n' all means I'm definitely not rich enough to get my shopping regularly from there! I picked up two different green juices and a raw raspberry snack bar.
Triple Green Smoothie:
Apple
Kale
Spinach
Kiwi
Banana
Ginger
Lemon

Creamy Greens Chlorella:
Avocado
Banana
Spinach
Apple
Lime
Chlorella

There aren't many Stores in the UK as it is originally an American Store but I really hope they open some more in the UK! Check out their website for more info about them! 
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/

I then on my way home probably stupidly decided to walk down Oxford Street, not realising that there was fab Nike store that I caught a glimpse of  and then was drawn into!
I know I have said in a previous blog about being a student and not needing the best branded clothing for working out and I still 100% stick by that, but it is always nice to treat yourself now and again, I didn't go crazy and had to find a lot of will power not to spend a ton of money because I LOVED it all. I did pick up a new top and new leggings to add to my ever growing workout clothes collection. The top was £18 and the leggings were £30 and for Nike that's a pretty good find, looking online for Nike leggings, a lot of them come up with prices ranging from £60-£80 so I was pretty pleased with my finds and the quality of the clothes is super good!
http://www.nike.com/gb/en_gb/

Being Healthy On A Night Out? Ew.

There is no such thing as staying healthy on a night out as a student, because let's face it (as much as I love my green smoothies) standing drinking one whilst your friends drink their body weight in Jäger bombs WOULDN'T BE FUN. However there are some things that you could do that would make you feel less guilty. So how I look at it is I use the nights out as my cheat days because I'm consuming alcohol containing ridiculous amounts of calories, instead of eating cheat food for a day I'll have cheat drinks on a night out and eat super clean the during the day before a night out. You get my drift... I don't go out every week purely because I'm a broke ass student half the time and for some sections throughout the year I'll be focusing on my health and fitness so I won't allow myself to go out (boring I know, but work hard now and play hard later and all that). When I do go out I have some tips on making it work for me and maybe with you too. EARLY HOUR CRAVINGS Being students and stumbling home at 5-6 am after a night out through a street filled with shitty takeaway food that seem like heaven at the time, everyone gets cravings for it. I'm no exception cheesy chips all the way! BUT that's where I draw the line. Chips. I don't get burgers, pizzas, kebabs because I know I will gain nothing from it and I've gotten used to not having bready/doughy type carbs in my diet, but because I'm a student, and always starvin' marvin' after a night out I limit myself to chips (don't get the cheese on top, you can get through it...DONT DO IT). This all depends of course on the money I have left which is normally none. Next tip... COOK SOMETHING BEFORE Honestly, the amount of times I've thought about how future Shan is going to feel in situations. So during the day before your wild night out, quickly cook up some pasta with sauce or a jacket potato and put it in a container in the fridge ready for your slightly intoxicated 6am arrival to your fridge to find your self thanking your past self for thinking of you in a time of need. Pros to this? Saves you money, it won't have half the greasy shit you could intake in a takeaway on the way home AND your stomach is content (using the word 'content' loosely depending on how long you'll spend laying by the toilet for the next few hours getting rid of the 'good time' that is alcohol). DANCING On a night out when I've gotten to the stage of drinking when I don't know some people's names (we've all been there) you will not stop me dancing until they play the last song. Love. It. This can also be a super way to burn some of the calories you're pouring into your body through drinking, ITS A WIN WIN, drink more? Dance more! WAHEEEY! EAT CLEAN DURING THE DAY So chances are you're not going to want to work out or do any type of exercise the day after a night out (or like me, even move from bed unless the word food is mentioned) SO what I do is, eat super clean during the day and do a good workout during the day before the night out. If you're busy, start a couple of days earlier, eat super clean for a couple of days, it's worth it. THE DREADED HANGOVER I don't think there is ever a solid cure for hangovers it's just enduring it. However there are some things that can help. On a night out while your bladder is getting full but your mind is telling you to not 'break the seal' because you'll be back and forth weeing all night, this is the main way your body is going to lose potassium, now I'm no body nutritionist/scientist whatever, but potassium is needed for your body to function properly and if you're alcohol weeing all night you'll be losing a lot of potassium. So that hangover is basically your body trying to get all your bodily levels back to normal. Bananas are a smashing source of potassium so have a 1 or 2 bananas on your bedside table for when you wake up as they can help ease the symptoms of a hangover. WATER
Everyone says it but it's so true, drink plenty of water before you go to sleep. The alcohol will have made you super dehydrated which will cause your hangover headaches, I make sure I drink 2 glasses of water before I sleep and have a glass of water ready for me when I wake up. But it's down to your own body so drink as much water as is comfortable for you. So they are some of the pointers I use on a night out, it's just based on what I am comfortable with and how I see things for my own body it's nothing professional or based on scientific facts of food and life, just a few handy tips. I'm going to do another one of these kind of posts a couple of weeks before freshers week in September on how I'm going to stick to my routine and keep my strict mind set, although I'm not a fresher any more this coming year, I will for sure be having one hell of a week pretending I still am a fresher because fresher life sounds better than 2nd year life!