Fitness Friday| Healthy Snacking| Total Greek Fruyo Yoghurts

Following on from my post about healthy snacking and showing you my fun with fruit recipes I was kindly given the chance to try Total Greek’s new range of yoghurts Fruyo*… now I am not the type of girl that says no to food, especially not free food so obviously I jumped at the chance to try them.

I was especially excited as I eat tones of yoghurt… in my diet it is in its own food group. You would never open my fridge and not find a tub of Greek Yoghurt in there. It is so versatile, healthy and great for those with a sweet tooth. I use yoghurt in my overnight oats, in  smoothies, in recipes as a replacement for cream and as a healthy sweet snack; top it with fruit or honey or crushed up meringue or as a replacement for icecream.

Since I have moved house I now make sure all my post goes to my work address so that stuff isn’t left in the lobby in my apartment building. With most things its alright as it’s normally, clothes or makeup that is delivered there. However when my parcel arrived from Total Greek there was a bit of confusion as to why there was a cool bag of yoghurt being delivered there…. it’s not normally something that people order for themselves. I had to explain it was for my blog to the confused looks on my colleagues faces. When I opened the massive box I was very surprised to see a huge cool bag full of a wide collection of Fruyo flavours; Vanilla, Cherry, Peach and Pineapple. I had to guard the bag with my life as my colleagues were eyeing it up all day.

Anyways onto the product it self. Total Greek Yoghurt say that “Fruyo yoghurts are an exceptionally thick, protein-packed, fat-free Greek yoghurt with real fruit pieces. Ideal for breakfast, as a snack or dessert. It is packed full of protein with 7.7g of protein per 100g yoghurt… a benefit which will appeal to foodies, slimmers and fitness enthusiast alike. With no preservative, colourings or artificial sweeteners this is a substantial yoghurt upgrade for many.”

I love them!  Their vanilla flavour is divine!! You get a substantial amount of yoghurt in one pot and it is unbelievably thick and creamy! Unlike some Greek Yoghurt I have tried there is no sharpness at all. Matt and I have been having one each day as one of our snacks and I have been using the non flavoured one in my meals. I can quite honestly say that I am a total convert. I love that they are packed full of  protein in as well! It means I'm fuller for longer!

Do you eat yoghurt as much as I clearly do? Have you ever tried Fruyo yoghurts? Which is your favourite brand of Greek Yoghurt?

p.s. The picture above only shows a couple of flavours, but as they were so yummy Matt and I had eaten man before I got round to taking pictures… whoops!

Fitness Friday| Fitness Bootcamp Explained

Over the past few months you may have seen my many tweets or instagrams about the Kendal Bootcamp Class that I have been attending. Some of you know exactly what bootcamp is and attend one locally, others are intrigued and want to know exactly what they would be letting themselves in for. So this post is a review of the class and an explanation of exactly what you can expect at a bootcamp class.

What is a bootcamp class like?

Obviously all classes will differ, however they are all based around the same principles of getting out in your local park, getting you to work hard by mixing strength and cardio, getting muddy, having a laugh, and getting results!

So to start with there is about a 7 minute warm up which in my class consists of jogging about 100 meters about 4 times; alternating between high knees, side shuffles, heels to bums etc. During the 7 mins we also do a few 10 second bursts of sprinting on the spot, some punching and ab twists. The 7 mins really does warm you up from head to toe and can be quite tiring; in my first class I was knackered after only the warm up!

After everyone is warm we go into a cardio circuit. The cardio circuit is done in pairs and consists of 4 different stations. Person 1 completes an exercise at the station while person 2 sprints out to a lamppost about 70 metres away and sprints back. The whole time that person 2 is running person 1 will be completing an exercise such as mountain climbers, jumping jacks, holding a plank, push-ups or whacking a large tire with a 10 pound hammer. Once person 2 returns you swap. So this time, person 1 will be running to the lamppost and back while person 2 completes the exercise. Once the pair have both completed the exercise they move onto the next station which will consist of exactly the same thing, one runs while the other competes an exercise  Obviously the exercise is different at each station. Sometimes when our trainer, Ady is feeling mean he makes one of the stations a Bergan run, so instead of just sprinting off while your partner does the exercise, you have to sprint off while carrying a 30 pound rucksack on your back! It is very much pair work as the slower your partner runs the longer you have to complete the exercise. There is no rest between the exercises and you move quickly from one movement to another, meaning your heat rate is high and you are burning fat fast! It's a tough ten minutes, but much more effective than traditional workouts.

Once everyone has completed the 4 stations we move onto the next circuit which has 7 stations that vary between cardio and strength. Each one works a different area of your body. The photos above give you a good indication of what the stations can consist of. This circuit is timed and each station lasts for 1 minute, which doesn't sound long but when you are doing squats/running with a tire/holding a plank it is a loooong time! Ady walks around each of the stations during the minute to ensure that you are doing the moves correctly, getting the most out of it and pushing you to work harder. Thankfully he’s not a nasty drill sergeant that shouts in your face, he just offers gentle encouragement to push you harder, run faster and squat deeper. He knows each of the bootcampers well and understands their motives and fitness levels and adapts his approach to each of them.

After everyone has completed each of the stations we all play a game/relay race. This is  a great fun way to finish the session, and gets everyone's competitive side out, but it also provides a good laugh. After the games we cool down and have a good chat.

Review and Results

You can probably gather from my write up that I am an avid bootcamper. I go three times a week and actually find myself looking forward to class. It has to be the only form of exercise that I want to do all the time i.e no matter what my mood I still want to go to bootcamp. It works me hard, I always have a good laugh, I've made some great friends, it's affordable and I'm seeing amazing results.

I have been going to bootcamp for about 6 weeks now and I have seen a huge difference in my fitness levels and stamina. To be honest with you I thought I was fit until I went to the first class and almost threw up after only 25 minutes! I still get my but kicked every session but the joy with bootcamp is you get out of it what you put in. Everyone can benefit from it, you just have to go at your own speed... which for me is faster that it was 6 weeks ago. I don't weigh myself so can't tell you if I've lost any pounds, but I have significantly toned up and now have lovely toned arms, with a pretty good muscles definition;  my bum is more lifted and rounder, rather than just being large; my legs are getting more toned and my cellulite has almost disappeared; and for the first time in years my abs have some definition.

Overall I could not recommend a bootcamp class more. If like me you are anxious about starting a new class, please just bite the bullet. I put off coming for a long while because I was too anxious about meeting new people and starting something new, but I am so glad I had the courage to attend. I have significantly improved my fitness levels, which has helped massively with my running, and have toned up so much in only 6 weeks; I can't wait to see what I look like in another 6 weeks!

If you do live in Kendal and the surrounding area then please visit Kendalbootcamp.net for more info. Come down and give it a try or drop Ady an email or text; very often he lets you try your first class to see what its like and if it's for you. For June there is 50% off so you can attend all classes in June for only £25... bargain!

Do you attend a local bootcamp class? Do you love it as much as I do? Do you regularly attend a different type of exercise class that you love as much as I love bootcamp? 

Don't forget to check out my blogger of the week Rhiannon from The Barbelle. If you enjoy my fitness and health posts you will love her blog. It is crammed full of fitspiration!

Wednesday’s Workout| Plank Challenge

Who’s ready to get some amazing abs? I’m sure the thought of bikini season being just around the corner is pushing you to try a tone up a little so you are your most confident on the beach. Now abs are completely made in the kitchen, so if you are wanting some definition yes you need to work out your core but you also need to shed the fat so you can show off your new abs.

One of the most effective moves for toning the whole of your core is the plank. Not only is it effective, it is super simple to do, requires no equipment and only takes minutes to work you hard. You can see all the muscles that the plank works in the picture above.

The Tone It Up Girls know that the plank is a super effective and have started a challenge of their own the; #bikiniseries5minplank challenge… yes we even have our own hashtag! You can see mine and others attempts in the picture above, but follow everyone’s journey on instagram and Twitter with the hashtag. So the challenge is fairly self explanatory we are aiming to hold a 5 minute plank in 6 weeks time. Yes it seems like a long time! I’m still a long way off, with my max being 1.25, however each day I rack up more seconds so I should be there in 6 weeks!

I have only been doing the challenge for 7 days but already I am seeing great results. My abs are definitely stronger, especially my lower abs, I feel more toned and solid… if you know what I mean… less jiggly! So I could not recommend this challenge enough!

If you want to plank it out and mix it up a little, the below video is a great super short workout that is full of modified planks. It is only about 7 minutes long and you hold each move for around 30 seconds, so it is very manageable if you are a beginner, but the length of means it is still a good workout for those that are a little fitter. I cannot recommend the plank enough! If you want to have a toned core in time for your bikini then start today you will soon see results within a few weeks.

What do you think of the plank? Are you a lover of a hater of it? Which other abs moves do you recommend?

Don't forget to check out my blogger of the week Rhiannon from The Barbelle. If you enjoy my fitness and health posts you will love her blog. It is crammed full of fitspiration!