Running 101

Greeting from Greece! Muhahaha!
Since I am probably not able to (or likely not interested) in going near a computer this week I actually made this post before I left. So it's not going to be one of my best things, but we'll manage, I'm sure.

Since my previous posts haven't really been all about serious workouts/technique/how to's I'll be making one today. And this is one for all you runners out there! Because you're all doing a hell of a job!
But I still see people out running, doing it completely wrong. Well, to be honest you can't really run wrong, can you now, but there are certain (little, simple) things you can do to improve a lot!

1 - Keep your chin up, work it girrl
Yep, that's right. Stop looking down on the ground, your feet will do the job without your eyes' supervision! And this is not just to look like you got things under control, it'll help your breathing a lot too! Imagine a string attached to your upper head - by holding your body up right, you'll also have a much lighter run.
I know the road can be uneven and you have to look at it, but that is why I chose my route only on the foundation I'm running on.

2 - Think about your arms, show 'em off
It is your legs doing the most of the job, but you would be surprised to know just how much your arms can help you! Having your arms flap down the sides like dead spaghetti is actually more energy consuming than using them. So pump those arms, swing them from hips to shoulder, but for the love of god keep your shoulders relaxed! They are NOT allowed to be placed under your ears! Take a deep breathe. Relax shoulders but pump your arms.

3- Relax them fists, you ain't fighting no one. I hope.
Relaxing your hands means less energy used and we like that! Though some people say you should squeeze your thumb with the other fingers if you get stomach cramps, so feel what is best for you! This is a very discussed subject and a matter of preference so go try some different things!

4 - A safe landing
Running is almost like flying and the landing is critical! Some people land on their toes, some people land on their heels - both are not good! If you land on your toes you are causing too much strain on your calf muscles and if you land on your heels you'll get lower back problems. "Well, what is left to land on then!?" Fear not! We call it the ball of the foot which is just inbetween it all, but a little closer to the toes than the heel - you land on the ball of the foot and push off, but try to get as much foot on the ground before pushing off. You can have the heel on the ground too, just don't land on it.

5 - Everything in place
We now know where to land on our foot, but what about the rest of the body?
When your foot is solid on the ground your knee should be directly above it and your hip should be directly above your knee - it's all very symmetrical! But your upper body has to be leaned a little bit forward to get a fluid motion when running.

I go for a run to relax and not to think about a danm thing and I know you feel like there's a 100 things to think about while running right now! But after a few runs with these techniques it should come subconsciously so don't worry! Just try it out one by one and I swear your run will improve!

Take a break - Rest Days

Hi guys!
August is here - I read somewhere that August is like the summer's Sunday and it is true! Slowly we start adjusting to everyday life again, school, work etc. I'm a lucky one, I'll be leaving for Greece next week to celebrate the last working year for me is official over! I'll be starting university this September. Freaked out much?

Well, this post is not about important things like Greece, but it is about something important though! I guess the headline sais it all? Yep, we're talking rest days! I chose this subject because it is very relevant for myself these days. The active girls I'm following on Tumblr keep mentioning this and I know if you just started working out or haven't started yet a rest day sounds like the best thing in the entire world! But I am this far in my addiction to exercising that I have a really hard time going just one day without it. Especially now when I'm leaving for Greece in a week, things need to speed up and I don't feel like I can miss one day's workout. This is bulls***! Pardon my French. Rest days are so important and I need you all to remember this! Because many people forget this when they start feeling the addiction of exercising!

Some days you need this more than the gym - and it's okay!

So do something else on your rest days - make them fun! Go to the beach, go shopping, see some of those friends you haven't seen in a while because you had to work out! Go go go have a life! Or you could, like me, watch all the tv you normally can't!

"Well, why are rest days so darn important then", you might ask. There are a million good reasons and I'll give them right now:

TISSUE REPAIR:
The first reason to stay home from the gym! Like it or not, when you are lifting weights your body is actually making damage to the muscle tissue and this is not a bad thing because that's what makes them grow - but after damage follows repairing and you need to respect your body for that. You'll be feeling those sore muscles for days if you've been doing it correct and hard enough.

REPLENISHES ENERGY STORES:
What the hell does replenish means, right? Don't worry, I had to google it too. It basically means rebuilding something - in this case energy stores. This makes perfect sense to all I hope! If you take a rest day your body will be even more ready to a H.I.T class, crossfit, weight lifting etc. the day after tomorrow.

KEEPS THE MOTIVATION:
Yep, you might end up hating exercising if you keep pushing yourself every single day! Don't get me wrong, people do that for a living - but for us just doing it as a hobby you need to take a break or else you'll have a bad time. I myself are definitely not there yet, but I think you really need to be careful. Make your workouts a reward, not a punishment and these rest days will also come more easily.

DECREASES RISK OF INJURY:
Also pretty simple. Don't push your legs/arms/stomach to maximum every single day, your body don't like that! You can push yourself, I love people who push themself, but keep it realistic. People who run 10 km a day, every day - it's a fact that their knees are ruined as they hit 40. Not cool! Respect your body!

So yeah, I think those were some pretty awesome reasons to keep it down - how many restdays you need I actually can't tell. It depends on your workouts and how long you're at it. But just always use your brain. If you feel your knee is stupid or your body is impossible to work with take a break that day.
Go easy on yourself!

I'm Puzzled - The Power Of Protein

Hi there beauties!

Are you out sweating in the sun? Whether it's sweat from lying on the beach with nothing but a bikini on or it's from running, swimming or riding your bike - I approve! 

I am on my computer writing this post (obviously), but I get my workouts done too! I was thinking about what to make this post about. Like, if I just started training, what would I like to know? I remember being confused and uninformed about protein powder. So many of the bloggers I was following were bying that stuff by the bucketful! I knew it would do something for your muscles, but what exactly that was I couldn't tell? My cousin then asked if we should buy some and share it just to see if it works. I've been searching the net to find stuff about it, but there's so many people saying different things, I don't know what to believe! 

I read that the "natural" amount of protein in your body are used for various things besides growing muscles - like growing your hair and nails too. Therefore it needs to divide the protein around for all the tasks and when you increase your protein intake the body has more stuff to work with on those muscles. Does this make any sense? No? Yes?

If you are an athlete or something fairly similiar it should do great for your body. Everybody agrees that your workouts are nothing without protein. But then the question is, how much protein? If you, like me, train 5-7 times a week an hour each day, you shouldn't be needing protein shakes according to experts. You should be able to absorb protein through your meals. A healthy breakfast with eggs or high protein yoghurt/skyr, lunch with little bread and a lot of fish maybe and dinner with low fat meat like chicken or turkey and salats with lots of beans, broccoli and sprouts. You can search for other foods with protein, but these are the ones with most in it. 

If you drink or take protein supplements, they say you should do it 3 times a day. One when you wake up in the morning, fresh out of protein in your body after many hours sleep, one after your workout where the muscles are still working and one right before bed, so your muscles have something to work with during the night. Days when you do not work out you should still drink a shake or similiar right during the day - they say you shouldn't forget that because your muscles are recovering and need the protein even more! So remember that! No workout doesn't mean no shake!

Well, according to studies I should be getting my daily protein, but I still agreed to share that protein powder with my cousin because I'm too curious! And because I wanna help you guys!

 I got the protein powder the week I left for my vacation, so I haven't truely gotten around to try it for real, I just gave it a go after a workout or two. 

We bought the 100 % WHEY Gold Standard in the Chocolate version. And I know this sounds absolutely delicious, but I will never get use to the taste of that much protein! Therefore I have worked my way in the kitchen, making a recipe for you guys for the best protein smoothie ever! I eat it for breakfast after my workout! Yummy! I'll show you guys down at the end!

So yeah. There's not much conclusion to as what protein does and if you should drink more of it - if you're overweight you can't use it to lose weight, it actually works the other way around. You should eat healthy meals with lots and protein so you get the right energies and not just air and protein. But I still think I will test it. And if nothing else, I have some delicious powder to various cake recipes and a GREAT smoothie!

The amazing protein smoothie ala Nanna:

 - About 30 gram of 100 % WHEY Gold Standard Chocholate mixed with fat free milk 

- 5-6 frozen strawberrys 

- 1 banana

Mix your protein powder and the milk to a shake in a shaker - then pour the shake in a blender with the berrys and the banana and BAM! Best smoothie ever!

Delicious Summer Yummys

Hello there!
The summer can be a hard time eating healthy and staying fit when one's routine is out of balance and all you really want is unhealthy stuff. Fear not my friends!
I've been searching my Tumblr for some healthy recipes to try out here in the summer heat and I must say they look SO good! I found my top 3 and I hope it's of any use to some of you!

#1 - Avocado Chocolate Pudding - Recipe video here

#2 - Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt - Recipe link here

#3 - Creamy Vegan Garlic Pasta - Recipe link here

The Real Push-Up

Hello my beautiful friends!

Today I want to shed some light on a problem I see way too often in the gym! The push-up. Because there are so many people doing it wrong in the classes I'm taking. Wow. And if done repeatedly wrong a push-up can do more damage than it can do good. So I decided to show you guys how a proper push-up is done! And because I work out I am a lazy sloth the rest of the day and it will therefore not be me showing you guys how to do so, but more likely pretty girls on my Tumblr! Okay? Okay!

Now, there's severeal ways to do a push-up depending on how experienced you are. My gym teacher in High School use to call the push-up on your knees for a "girl push-up" which is just so wrong. Wrong,wrong, wrong! There is nothing girly about it! A push-up on your knees (if done correctly) are just to take the pressure of your lower back - if your arms can't take the weight. It is impossible to do a push-up on your feet correctly if your arms can't hold it. Therefore a push-up on your knees are way better because you'll get the right result. And I don't see anything "girly" in getting your stuff right!! But then again, how would my High School Teacher know that? He didn't get anything right!

What I am trying to say is this.. Do not do push-ups on your feet if your body isn't ready! I don't care how many of your friends can do it, you'll get injuries in your back and if your technique isn't right it will do no good for your muscles! So please start off small and work your way to the top! I do a lot of weight lifting and I myself can't take more than five-ten push-ups on my feet before it starts to hurt my back. And it's just not worth it! 

Whether it's up a wall, on your knees or just a push-up on your feet it will do great things for your arms, but it is so important to do it right!

You need to start out as a plank. Either on feet or knees. Your hands should be right under your shoulders or a little wider if you like. 

Your neck has to be even and on line with your spine, meaning you should look down the whole time. 

You can not let your center body sack down, meaning your abs are at work too! Tighten that stomach and straighten your back.  

Like a plank, your butt has to be down so your body doesn't create a reverse V.

I hope you guys got something out of it? Because push-ups can be God's gift to your arm! Well, your entire body if done right! We like!

Inspiration & Motivation Of The Day

Guuuuys!
It's June ya'll!! You know what that means, right? It is officially summer! Bikini season and not-so-much-clothes season has kicked in! Yaaay! Or naaay? Either way, you have a body and I bet it is super beautiful! Though, sadly many girls/women, including myself, are unhappy with their bodies. Some more than others, but it is a common thing among females. So today is in the name of love your body and I will try to make everyone comfortable in their own skin. If not, just for a minute! Therefore I didn't need you guys to look at skinny girls in bikinis today so I collected some of my favourite quotes around the internet about appreciating yourself and just being more true to yourself and your workout.
I know from personal experience that summer sometimes can be a kick in the face with all the wishes that didn't come true and maybe a reminder of how slow a process changing your body really is. Summer is great so make it great! No matter what you look like! That's my quote of the day!

The Tough Tabata

Hi guys!
Summer is all over us and if you are (like me) inspired to touch up that body before bikini season kicks in, here's something!
I've been going to a lot of classes lately and my favourite at the moment is High Intensity Training - also known as H.I.T class. This is a class where you focus on both cardio training and core strengthening. I love it and it is super hard and super effective!
In this class we have a pass called Tabata. This is a killer! It is various rounds of exercises you're doing over and over again within a planned amount of seconds. Sometimes you're doing the exercises for 30 seconds and sometimes 40 seconds, it depends on the instructor and songs.
I found an amazing instructor on Youtube called Amanda Russell who's going to show you guys the most effective workout! I just love it! ... And hate it a little bit too. Tabata is a challenge. It's all about getting your pulse sky high! In this video she does the exercises 20 seconds at a time and a wicked 8 rounds of them! Usually in my classes we only do 6 rounds, but if you're doing it as a total workout, you can easily do 8 rounds. And it is all about testing yourself! Please remember that. It's all about getting you out of the comfort zone and that's why a class is better for me. I need an instructor to yell at me when I'm stopping or doing the exercises too slow. So if you're doing this home alone, please have in mind that you need to push yourself. Not to the limit, but over! A little sweat never hurt nobody!
So get yourself going with this gorgeous girl Amanda Russell! She is truely amazing! Click for her Youtube channel here!